#Kept it pretty close to his original demon form design but I hope you like it anyway lol

[strawberrycartt]

Hiii! So I've had an idea. You know that song strawberry blonde which has a parody called strawberry cow, well it made me think about how cute Belphie would be with a strawberry cow design.

PHENOMENAL IDEA, ANON.

Anything strawberry related is 100% my jam so my excitement when I saw your ask was real.

[calumxkisses]

Us | c.h.

pairing: calum hood x f!reader

genre: fluff

warnings: none

summary: Michael and Crystal take you and Calum along to visit their wedding hall and it's the perfect location for a dance full of love.

a/n: am i obsessed with the idea of dancing with Calum? yes. let me know if you liked it. i'm still not really good at writing fluff imagines but i'm learning and i'll hopefully do better in the future.

you should read this imagine while listening to: us

➳

“So, this is the wedding hall?” Calum asks as he enters looking around the room. The structure is huge, there is still a lot to do but some decorations have already been fixed.

“Yeah, there are a few things we would like to change but it’s pretty much gonna be like this.” Michael responds, walking inside the room and looking around.

“It's lovely, guys. It's like being in a fairy tale.” You whisper while looking around the room. Your fingers are barely intertwined with Calum's as you look at the room, admiring the ceiling and the windows overlooking the sea.

You turn to Crystal and notice a tear running down her face as she admires the room. A smile forms on your face as you see your best friend so happy, her dream is coming true and you couldn't feel more proud of her.

This marriage has overcome the strangest obstacles, the biggest certainly was having to be postponed due to a pandemic, but their love has never stopped in front of these, it has grown more and more and to be able to be among the witnesses of their love is among the things you are most grateful for.

The room is very large, has an oval shape and is surrounded by windows overlooking the sea. Some tables have already been set up and embellished, they are also circular in shape and have floral decorations in the center. The tablecloth is embroidered in lace, it is pearl white but the different colored decorations, which accompany the flowers in the center, make the table look wonderful and original, recalling Crystal's passion for plants.

The chairs that surround them, simple but still elegant, have ribbons that decorate them. They’re gold and white, yet their simple design makes them look gorgeous.

“We are going to talk to the wedding planner to fix some things, in the meantime you can stay here and see if there is something else that we should change.” Crystal's voice grabs your attention, as she approaches Michael and takes his hand in hers. The wedding planner is at the entrance, smilingly waits for the couple and, for a moment, you think that there can’t be a more beautiful job than being able to make the dreams of couples come true.

“Calum, can you check that the stereo is working? They told me they fixed it but I haven't been able to check it yet, you'd be doing me a big favor.” Michael asks as he leaves the room grinning and not leaving time to Calum to reply.

“Gotcha.” Your boyfriend replies, shaking his head in amusement and smiling.

As Calum approaches the speakers, you take another moment to admire the room.

Looking up, your breath locks in your chest as Crystal's gorgeous decorations leave you in awe. The ceiling, which was previously simply white and wooden, is decorated with strips of tulle hanging like waves, giving life to a sense of peace and softness. The stripes extend all over the ceiling, giving the impression of being in the middle of the clouds.

In addition to the tulle, in a delicate way, some threads of small lights descend from the ceiling, romantically illuminating the room and creating an intimate and unobtrusive atmosphere.

A small elegant chandelier hangs in the center of the room, it is gold and its light is not as strong as someone might think, it is ideal to keep the room more illuminated in the most important moments, but its presence is more scenic than functional.

Some leaves and some flowers come down intertwined along the edges of the windows, hiding the window frame and making the atmosphere of the room even more simple and elegant.

The main theme is certainly white and gold, but Crystal and Michael made sure to add a few more hints of color as well, in order to make the room less monotonous and more fairytale.

The light inside the room disappears, leaving only the small lights that descend from the ceiling on. You open your mouth to ask what happened, but the words do not come out as your gaze rests on the sea outside the room, calm as in the best days, while a wonderful sunset is reflecting on the clear water. The sky is painted orange and pink, some clouds are scattered in the sky and you no longer have any doubts on why your friends have chosen this location.

There is a sense of peace in the air and you feel like you are in a different world, in a world of calm and joy, while the land where you have lived in these difficult months seems a distant memory.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” Calum whispers in your ear as his hands rest on your hips from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder and looking outside.

“If it's a dream, please don't wake me up.” You whisper, closing your eyes and letting the sea air coming in through the window on your left, caress your face.

“I could never do that, you are too beautiful when you sleep.” You can see him smile as he whispers those words and, as every time he smiles, you smile too. There is something contagious about his joyful expressions, they warm your heart and you can't help but share them with him.

“Does the stereo system work?” You ask after a few minutes of silence, turning around to face him and leaving a quick kiss on his lips.

“Do you want to try it with me?” he asks with a smile, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and pressing a couple of buttons on the screen.

“What do you mean?” A confused expression forms on your face. The long lilac summer dress moves with every blow of the wind but the summer temperature makes sure that you don't feel cold.

Calum puts the phone back in his pocket and, after a few seconds, the first notes of your favorite love song can be heard throughout the room.

While you smile, your boyfriend clears his throat and, reaching out his hand, asks you: “May I have this dance?”

Your cheeks turn red and the muscles of your face stretch into an even bigger smile as you nod and grab his hand. Calum walks you to the center of the room and holds your hips, bringing you closer to him.

And, as the first words of one of the most beautiful love songs echo in the room, you rest your head on his chest and close your eyes as your feet move to the sweet rhythm of the music.

Sometimes I'm beaten

Sometimes I'm broken

'Cause sometimes this is nothing but smoke

Is there a secret?

Is there a code?

Can we make it better?

'Cause I'm losing hope

Calum had never loved dancing, at least not this much. His footsteps were limited to a few twirls and jumps on stage or some weird movement on the dance floor, when the alcohol level in his body was way too high to be ashamed of anything he was doing. He had always seen dancing as something that did not belong to him, an activity that stressed him more than it should, and he had never imagined that he could love it so much.

But after you arrived in his life, one of the moments he loves the most is to dance with you, at two in the morning, in the kitchen, to the notes of any love song you are obsessed with in that moment, in the peace of the silence and of the sleepless night, while Duke looks at you confused and waits for the right moment to come ask for cuddles.

The way you let him hold you, the way you let yourself be vulnerable in front of him, away from judging eyes, and the way he feels like protecting you, in the darkness of the room, makes him feel a sense of calm that he hasn' t felt for a long time before your presence in his life.

And even if he was the universe's worst dancer and the whole world was watching him, he’d still dance with you.

Tell me how to be in this world

Tell me how to breathe in and feel no hurt

Tell me how could I believe in something

I believe in us

Calum squeezes your hand tightly as, observing you with eyes full of love, he spins you in front of him. The sunlight lights up your face and the man in front of you is sure he has never seen anything more beautiful. You look like a Greek goddess, the kind you hear in stories and in history books, the goddesses who saved the bravest soldiers and helped them in the toughest feats.

This is how he feels, ever since he saw in you a friend - and then a girlfriend - more than an enemy, he saw his little world in fractions being put back into place, with delicacy and love, and he is ready to sacrifice his most important assets to always have you on his side.

The sun is slowly setting, making room for the moon and all its stars. Yet, with him holding you tight, it seems to you that the world has stopped.

After the wreckage

After the dust

I still hear the howling, I still feel the rush

Over the riots, above all the noise

Through all the worry, I still hear your voice

Calum would be able to describe every single moment he walked into the dark and you led his way out with your light. Whenever he had writer's block, whenever anxiety kept him from getting through his day, whenever his thoughts got too dark and the demons took over, you were there.

Your delicate hands caressing his face or the sweet melody of your voice whispering comforting words, Calum remembers every one of these moments, every single one.

When the world becomes too heavy and distressing, he knows that you will be by his side and that you will help him carry the heavy weight.

And when the insecurities make their way into him, you will always be ready to remind him that he deserves to be loved.

So, tell me how to be in this world

Tell me how to breathe in and feel no hurt

Tell me how 'cause I believe in something

I believe in us

Tell me when the light goes out

That even in the dark we will find a way out

Tell me now 'cause I believe in something

I believe in us

Between dance steps, Calum lulls you slowly, the song continues to echo in your ears, and even your jaw relaxes. It’s so calming to not feel the weight of the world and the speed of time but to be able to enjoy this moment with a light heart and a head empty of all worries. In a society that runs fast and demands perfection from everything, having the opportunity to be able to stop and be left alone in love and peace is a luxury that cannot always be granted. Especially when your boyfriend is in an internationally famous band and you are trying to make your smaller, yet still of great value, dreams come true.

There is no worry about having to say the right words, having to wear the best clothes or just being yourself and praying to be accepted by millions of people who don't know you but who judge you as being part of your life.

‘She's not good enough for him’ or ‘He deserves someone more beautiful, with a perfect body, with a good mental health’ or even ‘She doesn't really love him, she does it for the money’ And there are also those gorgeous people he meets often, who work in some radio or who know mutual friends, and immediately those words written under your photos get inside you and make every certainty collapse.

You look at yourself into the mirror and you think they're right, that you're not perfect and that he really deserves one of those cover girls or someone who won't make him worry if you don't answer the phone. Insecurities that, however, under the sheets of a now familiar home, Calum makes you forget about.

And the words he whispers to you every day, the way he looks at you as if you were the most beautiful person in the world, the consideration he has of you, the notes he leaves on the table when he goes out or all those details that he pays attention to, they convince you that he doesn't care what size you are, the color of your skin or the negative thoughts that cross your mind, he loves you for your intelligence, for the kindness you carry in your heart and the delicacy with which you treat him, for the funny sound of your laugh and the way you make him feel in heaven, while reminding him to always keep his feet on the ground. And those comments, those ideas, disappear in the blink of an eye.

And now, like every time you’re with him, with your head on his chest and with his arms holding you, with the sea in the background and the lights that illuminate that corner of paradise that Crystal created, everything seems to be in the right place.

Used to be kids living just for kicks

In cinema seats, learning how to kiss

Running through streets that were painted gold

We never believed we'd grow up like this

Calum had never had good words to describe his love life. He had had love stories he was not proud of, toxic or in which he hadn't really felt strong feelings, and of the only good stories he had had, he didn’t like to tell about them because he was ashamed of how he had lived them. He believed that he hadn’t committed enough or that he hadn’t loved in the right ways.

So, he had decided not to try anymore, to put aside that desire to want to create something with someone and the more the people around him fell in love with and the more he thought about the effort he should have made, and all that stress made him forget the meaning to love. He didn’t want to meet anyone anymore, his life was good as it was.

And when you showed up awkwardly, in ruined makeup and wet clothes, Calum had thought of a thousand reasons why he didn't want to deal with you. Who shows up at an event dressed like this? What kind of girls does Crystal meet? And the way you talked about how your umbrella broke halfway and how you were about to be hit by a car didn't interest him. Calum just wanted to eat at that restaurant, pulled there by his best friends after a day spent in the studio.

And when the party moved to a friend’s house, it only bothered him how carefully you made sure you didn't spill your drink as you moved between dancing bodies and wagging dogs. He couldn't stand how you talked about life to Ashton, the love you put into describing the people who were part of it.

And when he saw you a few weeks later, he hated the way you greeted him and the way you worried about how he was doing. All too cheesy, too filmy and unrealistic.

But then, without realizing it, between one hateful look and another, Calum listened with interest to the way you talked about your passions and hobbies, how you described the places you had visited and the cities you dreamed of seeing. He laughed at you dancing and smiled when you paid attention to what people were saying around you, mentally marking down all the information to make sure to always ask the right questions.

And he found himself wanting the same attention from you, to see the smile you gave to others, dedicated to him. And so his answers to you became less and less cold and he had become less good at hiding his sweet eyes from you.

And even though every cell of his body was asking otherwise, to not feel another broken heart, Calum had decided to kiss you in the backstage of the iHeartRadio 2018, while you were wearing his leather jacket and moving his hair from the front of his eyes.

And the rest is history.

So, tell me how to be in this world

Tell me how to breathe in and feel no hurt

Tell me how 'cause I believe in something

I believe in us

Tell me when the light goes out

That even in the dark we will find a way out

Tell me now 'cause I believe in something

I believe in us

And like when Emily Bronte said ‘Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same’, as in the case of your love, there isn't much to do. You cannot go against fate if two hearts are meant to spend the rest of eternity together.

There are no arguments, reasons or strong enough excuses to separate those who are connected by much more than just love. And that’s what makes you this close, that in the darkness of the world, in the hell of fear and anger, that strong feeling resists, and fighting together is always better than doing it alone.

It’s a strong love, ready to defeat everything that tries to divide it, ready to sacrifice the absolute good of one, in order to spend the rest of life in misery together.

Like the rebellious angels, who preferred an earthly love to the eternal glory of God, so you are bound to laugh and cry together, and there is nothing that can make you happier than that.

Calum turns you around one last time, whispering a compliment in your ear and making your laughter echo across the room. The sun has now set and the stars are taking its place, the lights that descend from the ceiling look like little fairies that got lost admiring your love and the room has taken the shape of a magical forest.

Your friends are at the door of the entrance, with eyes full of love they look at the two of you laughing together and their hearts melt to see you so in love and they can’t help but imagine themselves in your place, in a few weeks, ready to dance and share the same love that you and Calum are sharing.

Breaking the peace of that dream, with pride and a grin on his face, is Michael, clapping and laughing at the way your boyfriend is completely in love with you but also feeling happy to see him so positively changed. He takes a few steps toward you and you don't need to hear him speak to imagine the comments he's thinking, making you and Calum shake your heads smiling.

“Just so you know, I expect to see you dance like that at our wedding too.” Your best friend's sweet voice says as she points at you by moving her finger between you and your boyfriend.

You run toward Crystal, her pink hair is tied up in a low ponytail, with a few tufts running down her face. Her smile is big on her face, lighting up her joyful expression. You have a billion questions to ask her, most of them are about the choices they made for the final decorations and your heart is so full at thinking about your best friends getting married.

You’re too caught up in your happiness to notice Calum, just a dozen steps behind you, smiling to his bandmate while whispering: “I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

“Well, you know what to do.” Michael responds by nodding with his head and looking proudly at his best friend.

“Will you help me organize the proposal?”

--

[btswishes]

Love me for who I am now

Bucky x Reader ( Chapter 5)

Previous / Next (6)

Summary: You apply for the Stark internship and end up getting it, so now you have 5 months to make a good impression to continue working with the Avengers.

A/N:  I hope the chapters are not too long with no action. Lets see how it goes from now on. I have no idea how long this might end up being, presumably not past 20 chapters. Sorry for any mistakes made, hope you enjoy it even a tiny bit.

Tag list: @vicmc624  @yasminwashere​​

Word count:  4,076

Warmings: fights, harsh language, not part of the original MCU

Y/N- Your name                            

Y/L/N- Your Last Name                  

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

  Three moons shined over your new room one after the other, observing its slow but sure change. A white canvas starting to turn into a personal expression of ownership and personality. Working with Dr. Banner was quite enjoyable. It was you two at first till Tony joined in, showing you little tricks that increased your productivity by 50%. Amazing what one could do with an experienced teacher. You got used to the gym, going on your own at this point. Anxiety now a part of the past. The first week in the compound felt like more than a month. Cups and mugs, kitchen and rooms, you memorized it all by heart – a surprise even to some of the Avengers still struggling with it. Your brain but a sponge for all important information.

  Peeking inside your room, the sun gently warmed up your skin, awaking you to a missed call from Nea. Your fingers lazily, based on touch memory, rung her phone back.

“Why don’t you pick up when I call you?” she lectured you in the mic

“Because unlike your grand majesty vampire Nea, we mortals need sleep to function.” You murmured in a groggy tone “Maybe share your ambrosia with me next time.”

“They don’t offer super soldier serum energy drinks there?”

“No.” your voice sounded like two stones being grinded together. Palm rubbed over your eyes, leaning your body on that exact elbow seconds later “What do you want? It’s 6 fucking AM.”

“To have breakfast together grumpy.” Nea had a devilish tone, who knew what she was thinking in that pretty head of hers again.

“Now!?”

“No, no. At 9 maybe. Same place we usually go to.” It took a bit of convincing, but you ended up saying yes “See ya later sugar.” The beep following her voice made you throw the phone to the side and puff out, body falling back on the mattress. Your eyes shot open again a few cloud movements later, when you jumped off the bed and into the bathroom. Your gaze landed on the reflection, hair looking like you had an exciting night – wrong by a mile.

  6AM or not, you couldn’t fall asleep anymore, so what was the next best thing? Getting training over while everyone was hopefully still sleeping. Less embarrassment when you miss the punching bag and face plant in it – again.

  Workout clothes on your back, bag in hand and a big chug of water – off to the elevator for your exhausted self. Numbers appearing into the little screen one after the other, counting down the floors till you smelled that familiar cleaner. At this point it did the same job as a preworkout powder. Throwing the duffle bag on a bench, you dragged yourself around the gym - thrilled by the emptiness.

“Lovely.” Your voice rung out breathy with relieve. Some cardio later you began your usual workout program designed by yours truly the trio of demons - Nat, Steve and Bucky who in more than one way was the father of the shittiest things you had to do. What normal human being does upside-down crunches? 

  White chalk enveloped your fist in a cloud, as it made contact with the punching bag. The sheer force pushing back farther with each powerful blow. You huffed and puffed bearing the exhaustion starting to slowly drop and pile in your system. The little trickster in your head began hypnotizing you, making giving up or stopping now such a sweet idea, only one choice away. Yet if you didn’t finish up the daily routine you knew they would catch you and the penalty one was far from pleasant. Better the lesser evil than Satan himself.

“Glad to see you are not training your face for once.” The voice vibrated with an amused bass, conducted by the heavy boots shacking up the room with the same depth.

“Ha, ha.” Your skin made contact with the leather at the last word, taking the object off the chains in one clean swoop “Funny Sergeant. So much so I didn’t even laugh.” Fingers wrapped around your wrists as the punching-bag rested on the floor after its ceremonial thump, making sure there was no damage you could have missed with the lack of pain.

  His eyes enveloped your arm, running over your shoulder and to your face, no thought behind his blue eyes. Almost like a force of habit to check for something. Even if his body frame was big you could never noticed him moving, which was scary at first. Bucky could be anywhere at anytime with no sign at all.

“What got you up this early?” he grabbed a second punching bag and threw it on the hook, filling the huge gym hall with the sound of metal hitting metal “Night…terrors?” the sentence came out like a small whisper, hoping you didn’t catch it.

“Nope si-“

“Do I make you uncomfortable?” your words stuck on top of your tongue, just shaking your head “ Then why don’t you use my name the same way you call Steve and Natasha?” your eyes looked at him for a moment, before grabbing the weights from the side and tying them up to your waistline. His head turned to the side, somehow making him feel stupid for letting such a thing leave his lips. A coldblooded soldier, scared of a request.

“I actually had a goodnight sleep, that is until my best friend called me at 6am.” Your body pushed off the floor, chains singing out, tapping on your thighs.

“I see.”

  Palms firm on the bar, your neck crooked a bit to catch a glimpse of his sagging posture before refocusing in front.

“How did you sleep…- Bucky?” the blue color in his eyes twinkled with delight, maybe a hint of pleasure at how his name sounded coming out from your lips, with that sweet tone he seemed drawn to the past days. It felt almost like he longed to hear it again from decades ago.

“I slept.” His voice was colored with need to cover his lie with a coat of truth

“Doesn’t look-“ you pulled yourself up the bar “- like you did much of that. Trouble sleeping too?”

  Bucky’s fist kept hitting the bag at the same speed you were doing pull ups close by. Two sounds, hand in had married to a familiar rhythm intertwined by silence. His grunts sending a chill down your neck, convulsing it back a bit. It felt almost like his fingers were inches from touching you skin, the area blazing.

“Ugh.” You whined out, his ear twitching in your direction. The thud followed your body walking past him to your bag “I will go take a shower seeing how it is 8 already. Time sure passes fast with you Bucky.” A giggle rung out tugging on a smile. His lips parted, but he gave himself an unaffected façade, even if his heart was doing leaps.

“I don’t talk much.”

“Well maybe if you actually slept more, you would.” Scolding and serious about health issues with this man child, had become a daily occurrence. Seeing how he didn’t even try to lay down. “See ya later.” You waved the back of your hand at him, walking away.

  The showers in the compound were amazing. Everyone in the Avengers had their own one. Your shampoo and products were already resting inside waiting for you to jump in. It was a co-ed bathroom, but usually most of you guys had a different schedule so no encounters. Well maybe once or twice with Natasha, but it was fun aside from her teasing. The warm skin on your heel cooled down immediately after it made contact with the light navy tiles.

“Ohhh.” Your muscles made you spasm for a minute before adjusting to the temperature. Water running over your body, relaxing every bit of your strained figure, droplets gently massaging the pain from the inside out rhythmically. The stream pulled your hair down, elongating it with each pass over. You felt your arm lean onto the wall in front, just to enjoy the full effect of the radiating warmth, opening up your sinuses. Eyes slowly closing, taking you to a safe space, almost away from this world and back into another.

  After what felt like an eternity of alone time in the gym, Bucky had stopped working out just standing there. He had no more motivation. Fist draped with the soft material of the towel, he made his way to the shared showers before his body froze. Running water caught him off guard, but what laid the finishing blow was the delicious smell of flowers and fruits filling up his senses. Usually faint to people, but he was enhanced – a gift on missions, a knife to his chest when it came to things like these. He took a deep breath, trying to swallow the forming lump in his throat. Bucky didn’t know why this was so difficult for him. He had been in here with others before, but nothing made his blood flow faster than right now.

“Bucky?” your voice shook him out of his daze, nowhere to run anymore.

“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t know you were still here.” Your face flushed red upon hearing him actually answer, for a second you thought it was just a random sound. His heavy footsteps echoed on purpose, almost like he wanted you to know where he was exactly, so you would feel less uncomfortable or frightened. Eyes shooting in the direction of your door, where he seemed to have stopped.

“Something wrong?” your voice pitched with his presence so close to your naked body

“My shower is next to Sam and Steve on the other end, but-“ he stopped opening the door to the one positioned right next to you. “ My name is right here.” It took you a minute to register what could have happened, before a forced laugh pushed out your throat

“Tony got bored I guess.” He always pulled stunts like this from what you saw and were told by others. Pepper made sure to warn you, but you didn’t think he would go this far. Then again, why were you nervous in the first place anyways? Who cares, right? You knew Bucky wouldn’t do anything, he was just a puppy with a scary outer shell. Or maybe you wanted something - a thought turning your eyes a bit dark, glazed over almost.

“I swear, he needs his ass beat.” Bucky growled which didn’t help your situation or thoughts “I will wait for you outside.” Pressing your lips together you held in a thought, that just couldn’t sit still. Its metaphorical fingers pried an escape open.

“It’s ok. I trust you, plus we are team mates Bucky. I don’t think it will always be a nice encounter for us if I started going on missions soon.”  

  Tense air, steam filling not only the room but also your mind. Damn it! You cursed at yourself, but that soon dissolved the moment you heard the click and water hitting the tiles. For a moment air couldn’t come out of you, only the humidity in the room running over both your bodies.

  Gathering yourself together, the memory of your breakfast plans harnessed you into action. Your finger flicked the lid of the bottle open, pouring some onto your sponge. Cutting the water flow, you began rubbing it all over your body, bubbles forming a thin fabric like veil over your figure. Taking in the ambiance of the situation, you could smell that familiar scent that usually came off Bucky – almost relaxing you out of instinct.

“That is a nice shampoo you have there.” You spoke up. Bucky wasn’t a stranger, plus small talk could ease your nerves more. In your mind you were the only one feeling weird – far from the truth.

“It’s a body wash.” He said “I use it for both.”

“You can’t do that!” and just like that anxiety flew out of the window like it wasn’t here, in your chest at all “ That will dry your hair out!”

“It does the job. I don’t mind.”

“Well you should. I know it’s probably too much work for you, but you gotta put some care in yourself too Bucky. This is a terrorist attack to your scalp!”

“You seem very enthusiastic about this subject.” He laughed out, catching you of guard. He was having too much fun and you weren’t having any of it. Bucky should be taking you seriously. Pursing out your lips, the little devil on your shoulder crawled to your ear and whispered with an alluring voice. The corners of your lips curled up in the same evil smirk, as your fingers silently grabbed your mango ice cream with essential oils, shampoo. Tiptoeing over to the wall dividing you, you reached over pouring some on top of his head, while Bucky was busy explaining how it is a waste of time for him. Palm over your lips grasping your jaw, you tried to not let out even the smallest peep, no matter how much you wanted to bust out laughing – he would find out. The sergeant’s big hands rubbed the product into his long hair, before bringing his fingers to his nose and catching your snickering from the other side. A new found confidence started filling your blood circulation with adrenalin.

  Bucky didn’t say anything, he used your lack of concentration to do exactly the same. It took you faster to figure it out, his shampoo already soaked up into your hair, roots and scalp.

“Barnes!” a hostile hiss parting your mouth, mad at his childish behavior even thought you were the one that started it in the first place.

“An eye for an eye doll.” You could practically feel him smirking. Switching the game on you, it wasn’t fun being on the receiving end.

“Did you peep on me!” he laughed out and denied , seeing how riled up you were – feeding his inner self 

“Don’t let yourself fall prey to your primal instincts James.” This was the first time you used his first, real name. You wanted to tease him, he always acted like a kid so pushing his buttons wouldn’t be something too difficult to achieve. On the other side, fire lit up in his chest, flowing like lava all over his body, skin radiating waves off heat. Bucky’s eyes shot up almost over the wall, dark.

“Oh trust me doll, this wall isn’t high enough or strong enough if I truly wanted to take your figure in.” His palm hit the top of the only barrier between you two, proving his point. The tiles almost cracked under his pressure “If I wanted to I easily could.” Showing just how tall and massive he actually was. The water almost not hitting the floor could give you a good idea about his posture. The image of his back flexing in that pose intoxicated your mind, but you weren’t ready to give up the crown now.

“Don’t be ashamed Bucky. You lack a few years of experience sleeping through them. Happens, no one will put it against you.” Hitting him right in the manhood, low blow even if he was 100+ years.

“Say that after you have experienced me doll. 40s James couldn’t do to you the things super soldier me can.” Your voice hitched upon that whole sentence, the confidence in this man. You heard Steve joking about this from time to time, but coming directly from Bucky was a whole other thing. The shower felt like ages, when you stepped out wrapping the towel around yourself as tight as possible. Not taking your chance with meeting him you dashed towards the door, almost slipping.

“Careful doll face.” his right hand holding you by the waist, chest pressed into you. He had only one towel around his hips dangerously close to sliding off his hips and thick thighs. The water from his hair dripping onto your chest, fixed hungry gaze onto you. “Cat got your tongue? You were so talkative with that wall between us.” A light push and you found yourself back onto your feet and scrambling to get out to the lockers and to your room.

  You didn’t want to give yourself a moment to process what happened, so you got dressed and ran off to your destination. Flying through the crowds almost, leaving the situation streets behind.

“Wow wow!” Nea’s hands flew up when your body jumped into the booth she saved for you two “What got you all riled up?”

“I am NOT!” strenuous notes hitting her right in the face.

“Ok…so not the case then. I already ordered your usual. Mind?” you shook your head, leaving your light green bag close to you, trying to calm down. “So.” Leaning onto the soft pads on her palms, Nea eyed you up and down feeling embarrassment oozing out “ Did you break something or someone?”

“No, No. Can you just, drop it?” mimicking her posture you threw your face in your hands, wishing to A) go back in time or B) just disappear from the face of the Earth.

“I was going to but...” pulling her body back, letting it lean on the chair, she scanned “Let me guess. You dressed up in less than 10min, ran here for the same amount of time AND.” Her nose found its way to your hair, making you jump back protectively “You smell like a man, not a boy. A man. Not to mention your red face.” Nea paused, letting you take in her wave of words “Grab a glass of water and let’s see if it will evaporate. Tssssss burning.”

“Your order.” A waitress rolled up with your food. Thanking her, you flashed a forced smile watching her walk away.

“Spill it! Who was it?” arrows were being shot at you. Nea was your best friend. If you didn’t tell her, who would you? After a lot of consideration you sighed, giving her the sign she needed to get ready for this.

An explanation later 

“You got cocky.” Her arm taking in her weight on the table minutes after the whole story “ What does the agent even look like? Is he taller? I mean do you have an upper hand or something.”

“It was….Bucky.” you hid your face, waiting for the explosion. Not hearing anything pulled your eyes to her wide ones, mouth hanging almost to the table. With a light motion you closed it back up for her.

“The….the…WINTER SOLDIER!?”

“SHHHHH!” your body flung up, pressing both your hands to her mouth, almost stopping her air. Nea pushed you off, oxygen meeting her lungs before silence again. “Don’t yell!”

“Well I mean WHO WOULDN’T .” She noticed how uncomfortable you were about explaining “At least he smells really good. Is he as beefy as they say? Who is thicker him or Steve? What about Thor, heard he had a nice body too!”

“Calm down. I don’t wanna talk about other people like that.”

“Fine! Keep it to yourself then….” She eyed you, her posture sideways “How is the tower treating you? ” The topic changed to your daily lives and some tea about mutual friends. Breakfast was nice, quite refreshing to meet the city bustle compared to the Zen state of the compound. Nea knew exactly how to calm you down and get you back into your natural rhythm. After paying, you two made your way out the restaurant and back into the ensemble of random sounds.

“Any plan?”

“Hm?” Nea was throwing you a worried stare “About?”

“The situation with the sergeant. You will meet him at some point in there. Gym, hall, common room. You can’t evade him forever. What if you end up being paired up on a mission? Y/N, you are not the type to let stuff like these effect your job.” She was right. There was no way to hide forever. Being bold was what got you in this situation and it could be the answer to it again.

“You are right. If we end up being in a place alone, I will talk it out with him. Probs apologies for making him uncomfortable.” Rubbing the back of your neck you paired the motion with an uneasy, maybe slightly painful laugh.

“ There you go again!” Nea crossed her arms in front of her chest scoffing, letting them fall forcefully. “Going in your head. To me it sounded like he liked it AND teased you back. Don’t force people away like you usually do just because you THINK they don’t like you.” Her smile was soft, sweet like that of a mother giving advice to her hurt child.

“OK!” balling your fingers in a fist you rose them to the level of your chin – aura filled with enthusiasm “I got this!”

“You do!” this girl could hype a crocodile to fly and actually do it.

“What is wrong?” you waved your hand in front of her concentrated face behind you, seeing as how your words weren’t registering anymore

“Better do what you promised me ok?” her hand pushed you back slightly, before you felt an arm as strong as a bolder grab onto you, lifting you off in one swift move.

“TAKE GOOD CARE OF HER!” your best friend’s voice being left further and further away. The disruptive winds were pulling your hair back with the speed the car was drifting with, drying out even the smallest water droplet left. In a moment’s notice you got smuggled in through the big window, finding yourself sitting in someone’s lap.

“Congratulations on your first mission kid.” Steve was holding onto the car’s wheel like there was no tomorrow, driving with speed close to seeing God.

“What is going on!?”you began moving around, confused, catching the city and your freetime in the distance. Bucky’s hands pushed you down onto his lap, trying to stop you from falling out the window

“Tony called. Something out of nowhere popped up and he needs us.”

“Us?” you gasped at the blonde man, trying to calm your heart from the contact with Bucky

“Yup.” His thumb pointed at the back seat “Bruce made sure to pack the stuff we need so just sit down and enjoy the ride. Bucky is pretty comfy.” He threw you a wink.

“Can I go to the back at least?”

“No can do doll. We can’t stop the car.” Your now seat explained

  Rage, confusion and who knows what else was stirring up in you, wanting to jab a punch in both the faces of the super soldiers. Tony too, he has been messing around a bit too much lately. Your back hit Bucky’s muscles when you leaned aggressively, pushing your arms to your chest as you blew a strand of hair out of your face. The whole situation pulled a light groan out of him, that didn’t go unnoticed to your shivering thighs.

“We will be there in a bit.” Steve grabbed the gearstick with the same aggression projected on the wheel, his knuckle turning white under the drip. There was no running away from this, first mission or not you at least wanted to know before hand, get briefed maybe. Your knee began jumping nervously. How bad could this actually be - sending 2 super soldiers and a bag of who knows what. If your metal dust was in there, shit was going to go down. Could you do it? Could you trust yourself enough to finish the job, not get yelled at….or die?

  Bucky’s vibranium arm ran over your uneasy leg and gently rubbed circles into the fabric of the pants. Head leaning down to your ear, fingers moving the hair to expose the shell.

“It’s ok, just relax. Nothing will happen promise baby girl.” Warm air over your skin, yet calming in a weird way “I have been told that my lap is pretty comfortable by ladies. Just enjoy it.”

“James! Buchanan! Barnes! How! Can! You! Be! Pervery! Right! NOW!!!” a hit to his chest between each word, send a vibration through his body, the laugh coming out distorted. Steve threw a look your way, but didn’t say anything, keeping his thoughts behind those serious eyes of his. As he let his best friend get beat up. Whatever it was, this mission was not just a field trip and Cap knew.

[fitzs-trained-monkey]

Chapter Ten: To Home and Friendship

(Images are not mine)

Rated: PG

~With every small disaster I'll let the waters still Take me away to some place real

'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone Is where you go when you're alone Is where you go to rest your bones It's not just where you lay your head It's not just where you make your bed As long as we're together, does it matter where we go?~

Home.

That wasn't a word I was used to. Not anymore.

"I stand by what I said earlier, Jack. You make an excellent pillo― Oh holy crap."

I gasped as Jack lead me inside the literal bunker that these guys apparently lived in. I wondered if I would ever get used to it, because their bunker was enormous.

We entered through a non-descript entrance, that nobody would have noticed, onto a platform that was less of a balcony and more of a catwalk which I guessed was the second floor, though I couldn't tell exactly because it was a bunker and it probably had more levels than I could see. The wrought iron railing of the balcony was formed into a design of circles atop rectangles. The catwalk ended with a set of steel stairs that curved with the wall.

My feet clanged on the metal as I descended the stairwell. At the bottom of those stairs on my right was a doorway that led somewhere else and on my left was what I guessed was the entryway. There was a big glowy-table-thing with a map on it in the center of the space, surrounded by several chairs. There was this big, greenish panel thingy attached to one of the tan tiled walls that looked like some sort of old timey computer equipment. Through a big gray archway, I could see into another room that looked like a library with a huge telescope at the end of it. On the far left of the room there was another hallway going off somewhere else. Dean stepped off the staircase and spread his arms out.

"Welcome to the Batcave!" He said, grinning. "I see you're impressed." Only then did I realize my mouth was hanging open. I closed it and shook my head.

"This place is colossal," I said in awe.

"Yeah, it's a little pretentious but you get used to it." Sam shrugged, passing me. Jack just stood over my shoulder, watching my reaction.

"True, but if you want protection, this is about the safest place in the world. It's got warding against every evil thing out there. Vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, you name it," Dean boasted. Just then, Isaac appeared on the catwalk, as far from us as he could.

"Ha! Then how did I get in here genius!" He jeered. It took every last drop of will power I had not to facepalm right then and there. It was warm in here and the hunters would certainly notice a sudden temperature drop. Was Isaac trying to get us discovered? (I'd say killed but he's already dead.)

"Yep, nothing gets in here unless we let it. Or, you know, bring it in accidentally." Sam shared a look with Cas and his older brother.

"Scooby-dooby-doo!" Dean laughed, shaking his head. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the story behind that or not. Meanwhile Isaac wore a sheepish expression.

"Oh, guess that’s how I got in then." Words cannot express how much I wanted to kick my brother at that moment. After he was finished laughing, Dean looked to Jack.

"Kid, you take Mcfly here, find her a room, get her all settled, then give her the grand tour. I'm gonna hit the sack." Dean turned on his heel with a wave and whistled his way out of the room. Castiel mumbled something about research and crossed through the arch into the library.

"We're gonna find the monster that took your family away, Marty. But until then, think of us as your new one." I looked up at Sam and was reminded again of how huge the guy was. His head was in a totally different weather system than mine and I wondered if it was harder to breathe all the way up there.

"Thanks Sam." I took three steps higher on the stairs and made grabby hands at him. "Come here."

Sam raised an eyebrow at me but obeyed anyway. I took a tiny jump and wrapped my arms around his neck. He stumbled back a bit in surprise but quickly recovered and wrapped his arms around me with a chuckle.

"Shut up, Gigantor. I gotta hug ya’ somehow!" I rebuked, defending my height... Or rather, the lack thereof. I guess his laughter was justified though. My feet were dangling at least a foot from the floor. I let go of him and dropped back to the ground, it felt like falling off Mount Everest. Sam just shook his brown mane, smiling down at me.

"If there's anything you need, like help reaching the top shelf, just ask." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, whatever Sasquatch. So, what are you gonna do?" I asked. Sam shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

"Put my stuff away. Then I'm gonna go reorganize the pantry, make sure you can reach the cereal," He smirked, and followed Dean's path through the other door-way.

"Way to rub it in, Sam!" I called after him. I heard him chuckle as he rounded the corner out of my sight. Then I rounded on Jack, who had been waiting patiently. "Well, Jack, if you wanna make fun of my height, now's the time to do it. Lead on!" I opened my arms, preparing for insults.

"It is rare that I get to feel tall, but I'm not going to make fun of you," He said, turning on his heel to lead me through the door-way behind us.

"Good. Cause' I might have slapped you if ya had." Jack looked back at me questioningly, but I just shrugged.

I followed him through twisting and turning hallways that I knew I wouldn't be memorizing anytime soon. We kept walking for what seemed like forever. Honestly, I was ninety-eight percent convinced that we might pass a sign that said: 'Now Entering Nebraska.' It didn't help that all the halls looked exactly the same.

"Back at the motel, the night we met, Dean said you had this thing," Jack remarked, turning to face me and walking backward.

"What thing?" I asked.

"I think he called it ‘A Napoleon Complex' or something like that," Jack said, innocently. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

"And do you know what that is?"

"No. I haven't looked it up yet. Do you know?" I snorted.

"Oh, yeah. I know," I said. Already thinking of a comeback for the next time I saw Dean.

"What is it?" Jack was simply curious. I smirked at him.

"Do you know who Napoleon was?" I asked him, I was pretty sure of the answer.

"No." Just as I thought. The Winchesters needed to teach their half-angel some history. As for now though, I could give him the watered-down version.

"Napoleon was a French dude, not to be confused with the ice-cream. He was five foot six and when people called him short, he blew them up." I told him. Jack nodded seriously.

"I see, so he was insecure about his height and used violence to compensate for it. Then, the complex was named after him." I had to give it to him, the kid was smart.

"Yep. Never mind the fact that he took over almost all of Europe, he will always be famous for being a human chihuahua." I had to at least teach Jack something remotely accurate. Jack frowned and his eyebrows pulled together as if remembering something unpleasant. I guessed he had come into contact with a chihuahua before, it didn't look like he was fond of them.

"So, Dean thinks you're insecure about your height," Said Jack, returning us to the original topic.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Are you?" I shrugged.

"Not really. I'm just obnoxious." Jack laughed, coming to a stop in front of a black door that looked just the same as the rest that lined the hall except for the plaque with the number 22 etched into it.

"This is my room," He said. "And that's Sam's." He pointed to the door on the left of his which had a 21 on it. "You can pick any of these other rooms." His eyes flicked to the door next to his on the right, room 24. I briefly wondered what had happened to 23. When I met his eyes, he looked at his feet, as if his shoes were much more interesting than me.

"Does anyone live in here?" I tapped the door with 24 on it.

"No, it's empty but you don't have to take that one if you don't want to." Jack glued his eyes to the polished cement floor and ran his hand through his hair, a tick I was sure he picked up from Sam.

"Why wouldn't I want to?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and putting my hands on my hips. I watched as a pink tint started to creep up Jack's neck.

"I don't want you to think that you have to stay in that one just because I want you too," He muttered.

"You want me to stay next to you?" I pointed out. Jack's expression went blank, his eyes wide as quarters.

"Um, I-I-I don't- I didn't mean--" Jack stumbled over his words. His gaze drilled straight into the floor, his hands were fidgeting, and his right foot twisted its toe against the concrete. His body language pointed at nervousness. Why was he this nervous? Was it me? He hadn't been this way before, what was different now? I decided to ease his nerves with a little humor. I stuck my hand into his line of sight and waved.

"Yoo, hoo! I'm up here, Jack." He flicked his eyes up to my face but kept his head down. "Well, not up per-say but you know what I mean," I joked. His smile was still pointed at the concrete. I guessed we'd just have to work on that.

"S-sorry." His laugh was a breathy one. I sighed, planting my hands on my hips.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Jack. It's nice to have someone who wants me around, I haven't had that in a long time." I smiled in what I hoped was a friendly way. Jack rocked back and forth on his heels and his mouth did that crooked smile of his. He even flicked his eyes up at me.

"Well, uh, what are friends for?" He sounded like he was reciting something he heard in a movie.

I wondered whether Jack was trying to flirt with me or not. A tiny part of me hoped that he was and another part of me kicked myself for hoping for that. How could I think that way? Jack was two, he was probably too young to understand feelings like that, if he even had them. He probably didn't have them. He was probably just doing his best to make a friend, by going off what he had seen. I mean, the movies are pretty against a boy and a girl simply being friends. Besides if he knew what I was, he wouldn't be standing here talking to me. He'd be trying to kill me. Isaac was right. Any friendship I made here, would never be real. It never could be.

"Right," I said softly. Now I was the one looking down at my feet. But I wasn't doing it out of nerves. I was doing it out of shame. Glancing up at him through my lashes, Jack's smile faltered for only a moment. He grasped the doorknob and turned it and as the door swung inward, Jack flipped a switch and the white florescent lights buzzed to life.

The room was simply decorated, and by that I mean it wasn't decorated at all. The walls, ceiling, and floor were grey and a built-in shelf stuck out from the far wall. In the center of the space sat a full-size bed with a plain white duvet, white sheets, and down pillows. There was a dresser pushed up against one wall, a desk pressed against the other, and a tiny night stand next to the bed, all of which were fashioned out of wood the shade of walnut.

"Um, it's not much, but we can get you some stuff to make it yours," Jack smirked down at me and I ducked past him into the room.

Other than those objects, the room was bare, but I found myself overwhelmed. My chest tightened and my eyes stung, it was so little, but it was more than I'd had in five years. I shrugged my backpack off my shoulders and placed my violin case on the bed. Keeping my back turned, my face hidden from Jack, I blinked rapidly to dispel my tears.

"It's wonderful, Jack. I-I love it." I took a deep breath and pasted a smirk on my face. When I had control of my emotions, I swung back to face him. "Now, how bout' that grand tour?" Jack's brows pushed together.

"Don't you want to put your things away, first?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Nah, I can do that anytime. This place is pretty awesome, I wanna see it all!" I grinned at him, pressing all the excitement I could muster into my voice. Jack grinned back.

"Well, um, what would you like to see first?"

"No idea! What's your favorite room?" Jack's eyes flicked to the side as he thought about his answer for a moment.

"The kitchen," He decided. His seriousness made me chuckle.

"I like the way you think. You lead, I'll follow!" This time, instead of smiling at the concrete, Jack smiled at my shoes! We were making good progress. Now if I could get him to smile at my face, then we would really be getting somewhere.

Jack swung around on his heel and walked about four paces before opening a door on the other side of the hall. This one was labeled with 23. 'So that's where it went.' I thought, as Jack pushed the door open and walked through. Inside was the kitchen. It wasn't the kind you have at home. No, this was one of those industrial sort of kitchens, all polished steel and florescent lighting. (The buzzing of those light bulbs was extremely annoying, but I would just have to get used to it.)

There were pots and pans everywhere. Any sort of cook where you could imagine was in there, hanging on racks, dangling from hooks, sitting on shelves, or habitually left on the stove. What looked like easily one hundred white plates were stacked neatly on the shelves of the giant stainless-steel island that dominated the space. Two ovens, stood side-by-side in a little nook, one of which had a griddle attached to the top. Hovering over the two ovens were large vents of gleaming steel.

To the right of the cooking station was the preparation area and a sink as big as your average tub. I'm not kidding. The thing was gargantuan. Above that monstrosity of a kitchen sink sat an array of porcelain cups, and a tissue box, on a shelf. To the right of that, there sat a large stainless steel shelving unit that was home to various cooking supplies and four white drawers in the middle.

On the far wall, was a brown bulletin board decorated with various notes, covered in scribbles and sketches, tacked to it. Beneath the bulletin was a table crafted from some dark colored wood, that was either oak or mahogany, and was attached to the wall. Affixed to the table were eight stool-like seats constructed from the same dark material as the table itself. Directly to the right side of the door, was a coat rack and six small lockers stacked vertically. The right wall was an archway and set of stairs that lead off into a hallway branching to the right and a different set of stairs to the left.

As I peered around to the left side of the door and past another steel shelf, I laid eyes upon what could only be the freezer/refrigerator combo. It was this enormous floor-to-ceiling white panel with five varying sized doors built into it. The far most door on the right was taller than me so I assumed that was the refrigerator and the other four doors were freezers. Why one would need four freezers, I had no idea, but I found myself liking the concept. Now that I had finished taking in the grossly oversized kitchen, I whirled to Jack and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at me. I stared him dead in the eyes.

"This. Place. Is. Awesome." I pointed at the refrigerator. "Five bucks says I could fit in there!" Jack's gaze followed my finger and he nodded.

"I think you could," He said. I took another glance around the space. I couldn't help it. The laugh bubbled up from my stomach, filled my chest, and bloomed in my throat. It had been a long, long, long, time since I had laughed like that.

"I went from having nothing, to living in this place! This is amazing!" I flung my arms around Jack. It was quite the feat on my part to refrain from crushing his ribs. I was so excited I could hardly contain it. I was bouncing up and down on my toes like a little girl! Though I guess, in the eyes of Jack and the others, that’s sort of what I was.

"I'm glad you like it!" Jack said, grinning.

"I don't like it, Jack. I love it!" I exclaimed. My stomach growled like an angry bear, just being in here was making me hungry. "Hey, as long as we're here, got anything good to eat? I'm starving!" That last bit was nothing new, I was always starving these days, always craving. But I was never craving food. Jack's throat suddenly looked extremely tasty. Thankfully, his voice broke me away from that train of thought.

"I like ice-cream," He said, brightly.

"Jack?”

"Hm?"

"We are gonna be awesome friends."

No, home wasn't a word I was used to. Not anymore. But I realized with a start, that for the first time in five years, I had one. A real one.

It looked like I was gonna have to get used to it.

Jack knelt down and opened the door on the bottom left of the freezer/refrigerator combo that I then dubbed 'The Wall of Cold Stuff'. He reached in, grabbed a tub of ice cream, then stood and kicked the door shut.

"The bowls are down there and the spoons are in the top left drawer," He said, pointing to the shelf in the back. I made my way over and grabbed two of each. We both sat at the table, across from each other, and Jack served up the ice cream. I then got the chance to glance at the ice cream's label. It was chocolate-chip-cookie-dough.

"This is my favorite flavor. What's yours?" I asked him, shoveling ice cream into my mouth and moaning as the sugary goodness coated my tongue. Jack must have found that funny because he ducked his head and laughed.

"I don't know. This one is pretty good, but I love the mint and brownie ones as well," He told me. I had noticed that Jack always took great care to think about his answers before he gave them. He took and asked every question seriously. I got the feeling that Jack was the sort of person who's curiosity was never satisfied.

"I can vibe with that," I agreed. Jack's brows furrowed, he placed his spoon down on the table, folded his hands in his lap and leaned forward.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what that means. Could you explain it?" He asked. I liked the way he behaved when he was curious about something, Jack just dropped everything to learn and focused entirely on whatever it was he was trying to understand. Right now, that thing was me. I found that I didn't mind his undivided attention.

"Oh, um, it means that you agree with something somebody said. Its like saying 'you're right' or 'I agree with you' or 'that's cool'," I explained. Jack nodded.

"I think I understand." I gave him a thumbs up and scooped another spoonful of ice-cream into my mouth, closing my eyes and savoring the flavor with a deep sigh.

"You know, it's been five years since I last had ice cream," I said. Jack froze his ice cream eating with his spoon still stuck in his mouth, his expression morphing into one of horror and pity.

"That's awful!" He said, he'd removed the spoon, but his mouth was still full of the dessert, "No one should have to go without ice cream for that long!"

"My friend, you are absolutely right," I replied, pointing my spoon at him. "Here's to ice cream and sugar highs!" I tapped my bowl with the spoon and Jack copied me, albeit somewhat confused as to what I was doing. Speaking of sugar highs, I could already feel one building up already. It had been way too long since I'd had this much sugar.

"Marty?" Jack wanted my attention.

"Hm?"

"I had a dream about you last night," He said, changing the subject. I stared up at him, pulling my spoon out of my mouth.

"Should I be worried?"

"No."

"What was I doing in this dream of yours?" I asked, straining to keep the nervousness that was building in my chest out of my voice. Jack frowned, picking at his ice cream.

"You said-- You told me you were dangerous and I shouldn't trust you, that you're hiding something."

I bit my lip, my eyes widening with shock. I struggled to keep calm and natural, my reactions could give me away. Just as I'd settled my expression, Jack looked up. "I can trust you, right?" I smiled as genuinely as I could, which was difficult to do with his gaze piercing into my soul like it was.

"Of course, you can! I may be clever but I'm not exactly diabolical," I said, giving my best laugh. Jack smiled and nodded, though I got the notion that he was reassuring himself more than anything. If he was going to say something else, he never got the chance because at that moment, Sam strolled into the room.

He stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of us at the table. Our heads snapped up at the same time and we froze. Jack had his spoonful halfway to his mouth and mine was already there. The three of us just stared at each other for a moment but Sam was the first to react.

"Come on guys, really?! It's six A.M.!" He exclaimed. I shrugged, removing the spoon from my mouth and pointing it at him.

"AM, PM. What's the difference? Live a little!" With that comment alone, Sam figured he wouldn't be getting anywhere with me, so he turned to Jack.

"Jack, come on, be an example." Jack glanced at his spoonful of dessert and shoved in in his mouth, quickly.

"Technically," He pointed out, directing his spoon at me, "She's older than me!"

"Hey!" I protested.

"What?"

"This was your idea!"

Jack shrugged. "I know, but you agreed. I was just stating a fact," he said. Sam sighed, shaking his head. The two of us turned our attention back to him.

"Jack, throw it away and put the container back in the freezer. If you want ice cream, you can have it at dinner. Not at six in the morning," He scolded. Jack swallowed his mouthful of ice cream.

"But Sam, look at how happy she is! Marty hasn't had ice cream for five years!" He tried. I nodded vigorously to emphasize the point.

"It's true, Sam. You only live once!" I said, shoving another bite of ice cream in my mouth. Sam's eyes flicked back and forth between us.

"Fine. Just this once," He sighed.

"Thanks Sam!" Jack and I grinned.

"Yeah, whatever." Sam rolled his eyes and left the kitchen, but I could hear the hint of a smile in his voice. When he was gone, Jack sighed with relief.

"I take it you do this a lot," I said to him. He looked at the ice cream with a guilty expression.

"I wouldn't say a lot."

"But often enough for him not to be surprised?"

"Yeah." Jack grinned sheepishly.

"Does he always catch you?" I asked him.

"Every time, yes."

We finished our ice cream and put our dishes in the sink. Then, Jack proceeded to show me the rest of the bunker. Sometimes I would ask about what was in few of the rooms and he would reply with an 'I don't know' or a few times a rather disturbing 'You don't want to know'. To say that his cryptic warning had no effect on me would be a lie. He spoke the words in a light hearted way that just made me more worried. So, I tried to push any speculations as to the contents of those rooms from my mind but kept step slightly closer to Jack from then on.

He showed me a garage full of a bunch of old-timey cars that I found myself figuratively drooling over, a room full of antique electronic equipment he told me not to touch, an impressive gym with an adjacent shower room, an infirmary, a shooting range that looked like a lot of fun, something they called the 'War Room' which was where the glowy table was, the extensive library, and an alcove with an gigantic telescope that Jack claimed nobody could figure out how to use. According to him, the glowy table in the war room could supposedly track monsters, but the Winchesters weren't sure how to use it. Much to my relief.

Jack also showed me a room where I immediately knew I would be spending most of my time. Jack rather confusedly referred to it as 'The Dean Cave'. I later noticed the paper sign tacked on the back of the door that was labeled with said name. Inside there was a flat screen TV, two recliners, a bar that I'd never use, a foosball table which I would definitely use, a record-playing jukebox that I hoped had some decent tunes, and a shelf full of books. The whole room was lit by these cool red and blue lights that looked to be made out of beer kegs. This was a place I could get used to.

"Jack, I think I found my second favorite room," I said, trailing my fingers along the rim of the foosball table.

"You'll have to ask Dean if you can use the T.V. he and Sam are still trying to figure it out." Jack sat cross-legged on one of the ugly plaid recliners.

"Remind me to help em' with that. I'm tech-y," I replied, walking over to observe the jukebox. I didn't know most of the titles displayed on the devices list of records, but my eyes landed on one that I'd know even if it was written in Chinese. "Oh my gosh! Jack, how do I use this thing?!" I squealed, excitedly. Jack hopped up to help me.

"You turn this knob to select which one you want, then you press this button to start it," He explained. I followed his instructions and watched the machine grab the record and put it on that spinning thing before it dropped the needle. I grinned ear to ear as sweet music filled the air.

~Wouldn't it be nice if we were older? Then we wouldn't have to wait so long And wouldn't it be nice to live together In the kind of world where we belong?~

"What's this one called?" Jack asked over the notes.

"Wouldn't it be nice, by The Beach Boys! It's one of my favorites!" I was surprised that it was here considering Dean's bias when it came to music.

~You know it's gonna make it that much better When we can say goodnight and stay together~

"I dare you to sing along, Jack-Jack." I grinned and nudged his shoulder.

"No thank you," He said, shaking his head with a pleasant smile.

~Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up In the morning when the day is new? And after having spent the day together Hold each other close the whole night through~

"Awww! Why not?"

"I don't know the words." He shrugged.

~Happy times together we've been spending I wish that every kiss was never ending Oh, wouldn't it be nice?~

"Fine!" I sighed in over dramatic disappointment, flopping onto one of the recliners. "But that excuse is only gonna work once!"

Jack chuckled, leaning his arms on the back of the recliner to look down at me. "I guess I better come up with more excuses then!"

~Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray It might come true Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do Oh, we could be married (oh, we could be married) And then we'd be happy (and then we'd be happy) Oh, wouldn't it be nice?~

"You can't evade me forever," I declared, kicking my feet back and forth to the beat of the song.

"True," Jack agreed, nodding. "But I can try."

"And try you will, young Skywalker," I said.

"I like Star Wars!" Jack noted, suddenly seeming to shift from being older than me to younger by about five years. It was an odd thing to watch.

"Who doesn't?"

~Goodnight, my baby Sleep tight, my baby Goodnight, my baby Sleep tight, my baby~

The music faded away but I maintained eye contact with Jack in a spontaneous staring contest. Why? Because, naturally the first one to break was a weakling and I was not going to take that title on my first day with these people.

"Is this a staring contest?" Jack asked, tilting his head a bit. He didn't blink.

"Indeed. We maintained eye contact for longer than twenty-eight seconds, so it's obligatory," You replied, still refusing to blink.

"I did not know that those were the rules," Jack said, sounding somewhat confused.

"Well, they're not. That's just how my family always played." You were quick to clear your throat and rid your tone of any sadness that slipped past your defenses.

"Oh, I see."

"I take it you two are having fun."

"Agh!" I shot up from my reclined position in shock and whipped to the doorway where I took in the sight of Castiel standing just outside the door frame, the ghost of a smile visible on his otherwise expressionless face. How long had he been watching? Embarrassment warmed my cheeks and I hoped we hadn't looked like idiots.

"Hey Cas! I don't know about Jack, but I'm having the time of my life!" I said. Then I turned to Jack. "Whattdya' say, buddy? Am I torturing you?"

"I've been tortured before, this isn't anything close to what that was like! Don't worry, Marty. You're a lot of fun." He stated, matter-of-factly. My eyes went wide and I tilted my head at him. I mean, what was I even supposed to say to something like that? "Oh, and you I won the staring contest." I found myself nodding slowly.

"Well, good for you. And that's got to be the weirdest complement I think I've ever gotten, but I'll take it." Jack grinned at me in his lopsided way and I turned my attention back to the other angel in the room. "Any particular reason for this visit or were ya just passing?"

"Sam asked me to check up on you two," Cas answered.

"Alright. Well, I was just about to ask Jack to help me find my way back to my room."

Cas simply nodded and walked off.

"So, why do you like that song so much?" Jack inquired as we strode back through the endless identical hallways.

"It was in one of my mom's favorite movies so she was always singing it. I love the tune as well and sometimes, when I'm sad, the words make me feel better," I answered. Jack frowned.

"I don't understand song lyrics. They never make sense to me."

"Would you like me to explain it to you?"

"Yes." Jack nodded and once again gave me all his attention.

"So, that song is about two young people who feel like they're living their lives stuck in place. There's so much they want to do but everybody says they're just to young to do it. They feel like they've outgrown the stage of life that they're in and they just want to move on. By being stuck where they are, they're afraid they'll miss their opportunity for happiness. So they dream about a day when they'll finally be free to do whatever they want, even if they that day may never come around." My thoughtful tone surprised me.

I hadn't meant to put so much of my own emotion into my explanation of the lyrics. If I kept on like this, the hunters would figure me out in no time. But there was just something about Jack, about the way he listened to my every word, that made me want to tell him everything about everything. I was weak around him. He made me let my guard down. I'd have to learn how to keep it up if I wanted to survive.

"Do you feel stuck sometimes?" Jack asked. His tone was sincere but his expression gave me no clues a s to what he was hoping to learn from his question. I nodded.

"I used to feel like I was living a loop, like every day was the same. It sucked." I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully. "But then four weirdos in an Impala showed up and my life is finally moving again!"

~With every small disaster I'll let the waters still Take me away to someplace real

Cause' they say home is where your heart is set in stone Its where you go when you're alone Its where you go to rest your bones Its not just where you lay your head Its not just where you make your bed As long as we're together does it matter where we go?~

Lyrics from: Home by Jasmine Thompson

[smolbeandrabbles]

Living Proof - Captain Emmett Dutton x Reader (Australia)

When She Says Baby / Starlight

GIF CREDIT: X 

@mandy23b​ @wltz-bby​ @happyskywhale​ #MendoTagSquad

Author’s Note: A little reimagining of When She Says Baby but also a sequel! At this point just thank @crawlingmist​‘s gif sets; the amount of inspiration is unreal And also the fact that I’m listening to a bunch of new music I haven’t had chance to...

Original idea based on a discussion I had with @mandy23b​ and therefore heavily inspired by the bathtub makeout scene in “Hunt Angels” - and also why I threw a Kathner reference in at the end 😏😉 This is another one I started ages ago (December!) but took me so long to finish, and then it’s been kicking around waiting to post-!

Disclaimer: Gif not mine / lyrics not mine / Australia characters not mine oh my god look at the baby!

Premise: When you accidentally injure yourself, Emmett Dutton has the perfect remedy. You’ve got some plans to remedy some things for him, too... 

Words: 3527

Warnings: sexual connotations

_________

Tell me something, but say it with your hands slow When you touch me, paint me like a Van Gogh I wanna study every inch of you 'Til you trust me to make the angels come through

Like a choir singing, "Hallelujah" When my body's crashin' right into ya When we align, ooh yeah Do you feel me? Can you feel me? 'Cause I can't breathe

Where did you come from, baby? And were you sent to save me? Ooh There's God in every move, ooh And you're the living proof The way your hands can't shake me Soft to the touch like baby, ooh There's God in every move, ooh And you're the living proof 

Countin' freckles, as they run down your spine Show your demons, and I might show you mine One at a time, yeah, yeah What are you hidin'? What a design, yeah, yeah I wanna dive in, what a divine moment Can you feel me? Can you feel me? 'Cause I can't breathe

---

Emmett had to carry you home. You refused to look at him, grumbling nearly all the way back, which made him sigh; “I did warn you.” “This is embarrassing-!” You weren’t exactly sure how you’d done it either, but you’d certainly done something to all the muscles up your right hand side over your ribs. It felt like cramps and knots rather than a strain... but you couldn’t tell yet. And you thought you were okay, until it started audibly popping. Which you knew wasn’t normal, and it hurt to move - so there was no way you were walking all the way home. Besides as soon as Emmett heard it and started showing concern you knew you were done for.

Okay, you probably would have. But this was Emmett Dutton you were talking about so, of course he had to be the gentleman and carry you back. And you were making sure he knew that you were none too happy about that. “A bath will probably fix you right up.” You folded your arms with a pout - “That’s the best you can come up with? All that army training and bath is the best you can do-!?” “Funny, usually you’re not one for complaining about things like that…” He opened the door and you gasped; “Why-! Emmett--! What are you suggesting!?” But the look on his face only made you laugh as he closed the door with his foot, and then you winced. “Okay, I’ll behave. If you think the bath is the best place for me…  please, do take me to the bath, good Sir!” He shook his head, with a grin, “Oh stop!” Emmett took the stairs gently, making sure your body was still well supported. He entered the bathroom and paused with a small frown of his own, “What?” “Well I can’t actually put you in a bath still dressed, can I?” He swivelled, eyes searching the room for somewhere he could sit you, Emmett held you that little bit tighter too conscious of dropping you. “AH!” In the corner of the bathroom was a spare chair you usually placed towels and clothing on whilst you bathed – Emmett pulled this to the side of the bath sat you delicately on it, “Perfect.” You shook your head at him, with a small smile as he began to run the water, “I don’t think you know the meaning of the word.” That tone in your voice had him raising his head to you slowly, and that look on your face had blush dusting his. “D-Don’t you start.” You batted your eyes innocently, “But you are.” He pointed at you, backing up to find your favourite soap; “You were complaining at me less than 15 minutes ago!” You sighed gently, tipping your head and placing your arm across it for dramatic effect, “Oh but, Emmett, I’ve seen the error of my ways.” He very nearly stuttered through his next sentence, pouring a little more than necessary; “S-Stop it-! I’m n-not undressing you!” You tsked, “Oh, you’re no fun.” His laugh was strained as he left the room to collect you fresh towels and clothing, “I think the word you just used was perfect.” You shook your head, watching the bubbles begin to form in the hot water, and the steam rise in gentle clouds. As the bath continued to fill you decided not to waste time waiting for him to return and stood gingerly, slipping your clothes from your body yourself. You had to be careful at how delicate your side was behaving, but there was no visible bruise – so hopefully it would just be a cramp that needed heat to unwind. You didn’t even want to help him by throwing them on the back of the chair, instead leaving them strewn around the bathtub, before you shut the water off and stepped in. Emmett had the temperature just right, you would certainly give him that. You slipped beneath the water and let out a sigh of content, resting your head against the tub with a soft smile. He was perfect – and you weren’t about to let him forget it, especially when his blushes were always so damn cute. You heard his footfalls coming back towards you moments later, and as they reached the bathroom floor, even when you weren’t watching you heard his stumble. Then Emmett’s slight cough as he regained composure, but hesitated in walking across the bathroom to you. Sure he’d collected good soft towels for you, and fresh comfortable clothing, but he knew what was bound to happen if he got anywhere near you. The last thing you were going to do was stay in that water… beneath the bubbles at least. What you knew, of course, was that Emmett also wasn’t about to leave the contents of his arms anywhere but the chair next to you. To make him a little more comfortable you didn’t open your eyes, and kept taking relaxed breaths. A silent promise that you weren’t going to move like he thought you would. Emmett skirted the room, getting as close as he dared before placing the towels on the chair, eyeline everywhere but the bath, and yet he could still feel himself getting hot under the collar. And for a moment he hated that you knew all his ticks so well; because he also wasn’t about to leave the bathroom floor a mess. Gathering your skirt and shirt, he sighed gently at the way your underwear was just strewn nonchalantly at the foot of the bathtub; collecting these too Emmett couldn’t help but look up to the sound of movement through the water. A fateful mistake, as he came face to face with you, your head resting on your folded arms – inches from his face. His pretty blue eyes were suddenly wide, and they begged you not to move. Your slow blink was just as innocent before, your voice full of sugar; “Oh, Emmett, you’re such a sweetie. What would I do without you?” “Uh, I…” His eyes couldn’t help but trace the lines of your face, the sweet little smile you were giving him, your soft skin and the water droplets now running from it, the way the ends of your hair were now darkened, having already been soaked, giving them a gentle curl, the colour rising on your own cheeks at the temperature of the water. You reached out with a hand, knowing he was already immobilized; your touch was so warm and yet he couldn’t help but almost shake as you pulled him in for a gentle kiss. “Thank you.” “Y-You’re welcome.” His eyes still held yours, but Emmett was bashful – and suddenly in the silence he backed up, “Wait! NO!” He stood, face flushing again, “You-!” You sunk back into the water, “Aw, come on Captain… I could do worse.” “I’m leaving you here in peace! You’ll be the death of me at this rate-!” But your eyes and the pout on your lips worked like a charm and you patted the chair again; “And leave me alone? Oh… But Emmett! You wouldn’t, would you?” He swallowed hard, looking to the clothing in his arms, “Just… let me put these in the wash.” But he pointed at you, “No tricks.” “I promise.” Although you could only promise him anything but.

*** Emmett sat gingerly when he returned, as far from you on the chair as he could get, still wary of you and your feminine whiles. He knew what you were capable of, and wasn’t the least bit fooled by the innocent look on your face – and as if to prove he would be ignoring you, he set a folded newpaper across his lap, but he did spend a little longer than he thought necessary surveying the water. Steam was still rising, and he hoped that would help you. You drew your hand from the water and held it out for his; Emmett’s sigh was gentle, but he took it, running his thumb affectionately over the back of yours; “How are you feeling?” You nodded, with a soft smile, “Better. Thank you… You always do know best.” “Well,” His smile held all his adoration as he looked to your face, “Anything for my best girl.” That made you blush at least a little; he was honestly such a gentleman, whatever you did to get him, you were only ever intent on keeping him. There was silence for a moment, before he chuckled; “This seems awfully familiar!” Your mind flicked back to his return from Darwin, and your heart caught for a moment; “Hardly as serious…” But you gripped his hand a little tighter; talking about it still scared you, “I’m so glad it’s all over…” “Mhm…” Emmett’s hand slipped from yours and he stroked your hair, “Me too… At least life has a little more normality now.” There was some truth in that, he was stationed back here with you, where he belonged – currently. Although you’d already vowed to him that any movement he made from now on would take you with him. You nodded, closing your eyes and sliding your body further into the hot soapy water – lying still for a moment. Emmett kept his hand on the side of the tub for a moment, pausing to watch you – you were calm and serene, and he couldn’t help but stare at you in complete adoration for a minute. The colour that flushed your cheeks now was gorgeous, and you looked so content and happy. “How’s the side?” “Better…” He watched the water stir as you pressed your hand over your ribcage; “…Yeah. It doesn’t hurt as much.” “As long as it’s working…” You nodded once more, and even though your eyes were closed you continued to smile, bringing your hands back up to run them through your hair. He wanted to tear his eyes away from you, to sit here and keep you company whilst you relaxed; that was the right thing to do, that’s what Emmett would normally do. But it was the way that you had been staring at him from over the rim of the bath that got his eyes sweeping the water and him swallowing hard. You caught him at it; eyes cracked open – that smile turned quickly to a smirk, and his hand was in perfect grabbing distance.

“WOAH!” He had to steady himself on the other side of the bath with his right hand, left pulling from yours, but now resting against your shoulder. Emmett mere inches from touching the water himself; you tsked with a pout – surely his army training had been the thing to save him. Water sloshed from side to side and spilled to the bathroom floor with the force of his weight against the tub, you were sure he’d love that just as much. You were a little annoyed but it didn’t stop you from looping your arms around his neck; “If you’re going to spend so much time staring, Captain, you might as well join me…” “Y-Y/N!” Once again Emmett was flushed and stammering, but he hadn’t pulled away from you, “Stop!” Your hand ran from around his neck to over his chest, and his breathing became shallow as you continued to pull him closer. “Just kiss me, Captain…” He moved his hand from your shoulder to the tub, resting just to the side of your head, but Emmett knew better than fighting back, and lowered himself another inch to brush his lips to yours. Another mistake on his part, because you pulled him to you tighter, and when he pulled back he found himself lifting you from the water – body pressed against his. His sigh against your lips was soft at how warm your body felt against him; you were still kissing on him, and clinging to his shoulders to let him know you weren’t about to let him go. You released his lips and Emmett was breathless, so off guard that he was basically speechless, and you knew you had him right where you wanted him – tugging him back into the bath with you by his shirt collar. The front of his shirt was soaking and now plastered to his skin, and you’d assume that the back was the same at this point. You curiously glanced down the rest of his body, noticed his spattered trousers from the force of the water pouring over the side. Your eyebrow raised and you looked back to him; “Oh, Ooops…” “Y-You-!” He attempted to protest, and you pushed a finger to his lips, “Hush-! Join me…” “Y/N!” His eyes were wide and voice shocked by the notion. “Darling, you might as well…” You looked back to his clothing, hands sliding to the first few buttons, the first one was undone but as you travelled to the second his hand caught both of yours – but that only brought him closer to you as his right hand struggled to support his weight against the wet surface of the tub. “Y/N! This isn’t proper--!!” But you could still move your hands under his to undo that second button, and you leant up to kiss him again; “This is my house, and you are my partner…” third button, your next kiss was to his jaw “…we’re not in Darwin, we’re not at a party, we’re not in public…” then his neck, and Emmett slipped again, this time with a quiet moan, suddenly his shirt was even more soaking, and his body was pressed back against yours, “…And I love you.” But you hardly thought you needed to say that. His eyes met yours, clearly embarrassed as he stood straight, water cascading from him and to the floor. Emmett wiped the droplets from his face and ran his hands through his hair with a soft sigh; “You are… you know exactly what you…” He panted again, unable to finish, “I…” You waited for him to make a sentence, to say anything even coherent, but his fingers were already on his own buttons. His hands were shaking, you sat straight, and beckoned him back to you; “Baby let me help you with those…” Emmett’s resistance was gone, and he took your offered hand to allow you to pull him back to undo his shirt. It fell to the floor with no resistance – and it wasn’t long until the rest of his clothes joined. You bit your lip gently and huddled your body to let his join yours in the other end of the bath. Yet you didn’t leave him to get relaxed. Pushing forward through the water you wrapped your arms around him again, lips back on his, he embraced your body close to his; and with the temperature you couldn’t tell if the red in his cheeks was embarrassment or the heat – but you thought you knew the answer. He tangled his legs with yours as you ran your fingers through his hair; and the harder you kissed him, the further you pressed your body into his, the more delicious his stifled little moans became – Emmett always tried to keep them to himself. You always thought that odd; like he thought the whole damn street would automatically know you were having sex. (Though, had to admit to yourself that sometimes you wanted them to know what he was capable of doing to you). That only made you even more delighted when you managed to pull a real one from him; lips to his neck and grinding your body into his. He sighed your name, and then again, his grip on your body tightening as you smirked into his skin. Emmett gasped, and his fingernails dug into you, nudging your head he pleaded to capture your lips with his once more and you allowed him as much of you as he wanted – gasping as he gained the confidence to explore you. You were a marvel to him, every single inch of you beautiful, heaven sent. And yet even you knew that he was the real Angel here. The pain in your side was quite forgotten by now as other feelings stirred within both of you. You continued to grind against him until Emmett could barely breathe, he couldn’t kiss you, his head tipped back and his breaths became short and sharp pants; “Y/N-! Y/N! P-Please S-stop! Stop!” You did as he asked and stilled, waiting for him to calm down, which he did – slowly, and as his head raised you placed your forehead to his; both your eyes lust rimmed, and both of you gently panting. “Sorry, baby, I…” need you… I don’t just want you I need you… It was his turn to hush you, “I know…” His laugh was nervous, “I know…” but he kissed you gently once more, embracing you tighter, running his hands over your bare shoulders he placed a kiss to your forehead, before turning your body in the water. It was still at a moderate temperature, and you could spend some quality time together like this; your back pulled into his chest. Emmett looped his arms around your waist, and relaxed you both against the side of the tub, kissing your ear, back of your neck and finally your shoulder. You smiled gently; “Do we get to finish this later?” There wasn’t bashful silence this time, and you were met with a chuckle; “Perhaps.” You looked back at him; “…You’re really something else, Emmett Dutton.” His gentle blue eyes were inquisitive, maybe even confused, “I am?” “Yes.” You breathed, reaching back to pull his lips to yours once more, before resting your head against the side of his; “A real gentleman.” Then you giggled, “I’m not sure I am deserving.” He didn’t like that you’d say that, and shook his head, “No. No. I won’t hear a word of it.” His hands massaged you comfortingly under the water, “You deserve no less. I am humbled by your presence.” It was your turn to blush horribly at that, “Oh… Emmett…”

 *** The rest of the bath didn’t end without a few good old-fashioned hand wandering and teasing shenanigans, but as you dried and dressed each other between gentle kisses you both knew that in the end, bath time cuddles were the best medicine. Emmett still insisted on checking your side, but was happy that you looked absolutely fine – you insisted you also felt it, but dressed in more comfortable clothing, Emmett also insisted that you sit quietly with him whilst he read the paper; because, pulling him into the bath meant he hadn’t quite got around to doing that.

You got to be cuddled up with him, and closed your eyes to inhale his warm inviting scent, and because of the bathing products – he also smelt faintly of you. That gave you a little bit of an ego boost, and you desperately tried to think of something to send him down the road to do, any small errand – just to say Yes, he smells like me, because he’s MINE. But you couldn’t think of a good excuse, and so in your arms he stayed, which in all honestly you probably preferred, you could keep him all to yourself here. “Now I might actually get to read this!” He flipped over another page, surprised you were staying remarkably still. That raised a smirk from you, head on his chest; “OH! Don’t be so sure-!” Emmett tsked, almost knowing he shouldn’t have said anything and continued reading, until he noticed that something interesting was going on in your little town; “Are we engaged tonight?” You peered at him from underneath your lashes; “I believed we were finishing off from the bathtub…” His nervous chuckle was back, “Could… Could we go out instead?” “Instead-!?” You pretended to protest, but knew that considering what you’d just been thinking, you would love to have the Captain on your arm. “Well, alright, as well as-!” You pretended to think hard, “That depends. Where are you taking me tonight?" Emmett nodded to the paper; "Oh, they're showing that new Kathner film at the picture house..." You immediately brightened; "Kathner!? Now there's a good-looking man!" It was an obvious tease, but Captain Dutton fell for it anyway; "Y/N!" You grinned; "Nearly as good looking as you!" "Y/N!!" You pressed a finger to your lips in thought; “I wonder if he’s ever filmed any steamy bath scenes…” Emmett covered his face, in potential embarrassment for you as well as himself; “Stop it or we’re not going.” Your grin was however triumphant; “You don’t really want me to stop, do you Emmett? Baby… Me?” You batted your eyelashes and then took his hand, “I would love to go to the pictures to see a Kathner film with you...” You looked to the clock, “I think we can finish before the film starts-!” He sighed, with a gentle roll of his eyes; “Remind me what I’m going to do with you…?” You threw his paper to one side, looping your arms around his neck and straddling him suddenly – certainly a bold move – “What you always do incredibly well, Captain. Love me.” 

---

Thank you for reading!! 💕💕💕

[avoutput]

Final Fantasy VII Legacy || Nomura, Complex?

This is the 3rd out of 3 articles. Find the second here.

It’s time to get down to mythril tacks. At this point, I have talked about what this game meant to me when it was released and how it’s newest installment fared as a game. Finally, it’s time to talk about the impact the Remake has on what has unexpectedly become a robust and diverse universe. What does this mean for us at large, the players? This is a no-holds-barred SPOILER frenzy about anything and everything in the Squaresoft/Square-Enix pantheon. This means not just the games in the orbit of Final Fantasy VII, but the entire catalog at Square-Enix. To be honest, this is just the introduction, I don’t know if I even have an intent of going so far beyond the purview of the Remake, but in the spirit of the Final Fantasy gatekeeper, Tetsuya Nomura, I refuse to limit myself.

It’s been almost exactly a month since I started writing this article. It took so long to come back to this because I kept finding more and more content related to Final Fantasy 7 that I either forgot about or didn’t even know existed. On my own shelf sits Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and Crisis Core. I decided to watch Advent Children immediately after beating Remake. As a movie fan and amateur critic, the film is littered with terrible film decisions and was clearly the work of people who spend much of their time penning and creating video game stories. It’s a series of cutscenes without a controller attached and at a certain point, you realize Advent Children was never meant for film fans, but for fans of the game. Specifically for fans desiring an epilogue and more directly fans of Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth. The story is almost unintelligible because there is tons of connective tissue left to be assumed by the viewer. It is at once too far removed from FF7 in both linear real time and in-game universe time to be recognizable, and simultaneously inexplicable in what has transpired and why. It takes a crack at explaining it from moment to moment, but largely, it looks like they were looking for excuses to push the characters to act. I am not trying to review the film but rather my intent is to create a modus opendai for the gatekeeper, Mr. Nomura. The more I learned about the world of FF7 that was being created over the years, the more it seemed to lean on the stylings of this one man. In a way, Nomura launched Squaresoft and himself into a whole new stratosphere of fame and broke all expectations. In my first article, I mentioned that for a certain generation of fans, it was the perfect storm, but I would later find out the cause of the storm was Nomura breaking open lightning in a bottle, releasing his brand of design on the world with a multi-million dollar international company backing him.

If I may, let me take a parallel series by the same creator infested by the meta of his own other original creations, namely Kingdom Hearts. In its inception, it looks like two producers at Square were trying to make a 3-D adventure platformer game with characters as popular as Mario, but only the biggest brand on earth, Disney, could possibly beat the king of platformers. Nomura was… walking by and pushed himself into the conversation, and they decided if they could do it, they would let him direct. (Read more here) Yada yada yada, Kingdom Hearts was created. While I can’t seem to find (and didn’t look too hard to find) proof, I can only imagine that with KH having a tenuous new relationship with big-corp Disney, they focused more on a simple game that was straightforward. KH is very much a disney product with a little bit of artificial Nomura sweetener. With its unbridled success, Nomura was unleashed. Kingdom Hearts 2 would go on to be, in my opinion, one of the most unintelligible video game stories ever inscribed to plastic discs. But the power of Nomura’s story-telling is that we all understand it differently. He creates bedrocks, little story islands of unshakable facts that are connected via a salty sea of undefinable liquid moments. Cast out to sea, rudderless and deprived, you try to bring to your mouth this brine only to be dehydrated faster than if you had just sailed the sea and died in the sun between fact islands or lived long enough to tell the tale. And that metaphor is my tribute to Nomura. Long, winding, hard to remember, and just clear enough that you think you got it, but you still have problems with its construction.

It has now been over two months since I have last visited this article. What is keeping me from continuing? The incomplete nature of my knowledge of Final Fantasy VII lore. Unlike the Kingdom Hearts sea, VII is like a series of interconnected caves, and the more you unearth the more you learn. And therein lies the problem. The Nomura-verse is composed of both his methods and his circumstances. His methods, we have discussed, but his circumstance is game development. Unlike movies or books, games obviously have an interactive capability, but they also have a variable development cycle. Some titles come out quickly, others span decades. They also consist of different teams, story writers, directors, and a myriad of producers. This in turn can make it much harder to make a solid universe, especially when new additions start off in a place where a continuous story was never meant to exist. Nomura is at once hindered and strengthened by his circumstances. He can’t tell a better story because the development cycle of his vision is variable, and success is based on sales and popularity. Without success, he can’t create a new addition, and often in games, the end is meant to tie the whole thing up. Were there to be a sequel, a whole new story is thought up and tacked on wherever it fits. Gamers are pretty forgiving of this concept. Still, at the same time, Nomura probably wouldn’t make a concise story because it's not his style. For comparison, see the Dark Souls series. A game that both has deep lore and an involving story, but at the same time, the game doesn’t require you to know a single point to continue moving forward. This is almost the antithesis of Nomura’s style. In Souls, they let the player decide to explore its story caves, but doesn’t confront them with it to continue advancing. This is a strength of  video games. A strength that Nomura keeps using to his disadvantage.

Yet, Final Fantasy VII still excelled to unparalleled heights. It engages you in the same way all of the previous games in the series have, but with a slight departure on the strict fantasy theme, instead a merger with steampunk or semi-future. The series was changed forever, and so was gaming. Instead of doing the Dragon Quest method, expanding on the same universe design with different stories, Final Fantasy was emboldened to try completely random approaches with vector entries like VIII and X. For longtime fans, or fans of their original design, Every future title, MMO or Single Player, would go on to be successful, but not fully realized in their original context. Even the return to form in IX was much more playful than any of the original six entries. Gaming franchises have since become playgrounds for developers. Once they are accepted by fans, developers are emboldened and experiment with what would normally be a new IP, but instead use the financial shield of the famous namesake to move forward with new ideas. And in the case of Final Fantasy, when this concept of change works, it means that every numbered game becomes a wildcard. It’s a double edged sword for a gaming franchise that dates back to the 8-bit era. It has fans over 40 years old by this point and they may be willing to buy anything new. But this isn’t new to you and it isn’t a revelation for me. Final Fantasy VII Remake causes me to reckon with these demons I had buried years ago. It rips off a scab I thought had healed. I had given up on the past, a past where I was excited for a singular story, contained in a single universe, in a single title. I had given up on the glory years of Final Fantasy, but the Remake took me back and said, what if we told you everything you remember about the original was true, and everything we added after that was also true, even though you probably didn’t play it or even know it existed. Even if you do your very best, you probably won’t be able to track the story or interconnected characters if you aren’t in the know. It’s like joining a group of long time friends that are constantly referencing inside jokes, all of them just winking at each other, nudging you in the ribs and asking, “Do ya get it?” Truly, the Remake series thus far makes me feel lost at sea when what I wanted to feel like was coming home.

This retrospective has left me feeling broken. Based on the end of the FFVIIR, I sought out to reconcile all of the loose ends to all the connected media. However, spending time with the prequel Crisis Core for over around 40 hours, I realized this was a crapshoot. None of it mattered. It didn’t enrich the characters, it only made the story longer. It just added wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey “facts” to an otherwise complete(ish) origin point. The FFVII universe can’t handle the weight that is put on it. It’s a faulty bridge over a treacherous pass. On the other hand, that same bridge for some is a point of excitement. You tread the boards, one by one, testing your weight, hoping to get to the other side intact. And I think that is why we keep trying these games and why they keep getting made. We don’t want the fun to end, despite the fact that it has nothing left for us to be excited by. It’s a closed loop that we keep looking for something new in. By the end of the Remake, we are somewhere between ⅓ or ½ way across the faulty bridge, dangling between where we have been and where it is taking us. At this point, I am too mentally exhausted from trying to make sense of it all. Yet I am incapable of not enjoying it, the mental somersaults one does to understand the interconnected mess that is Final Fantasy VII. It’s too dear to me. I got on the bridge for so many reasons, but the biggest one is to be on the other side with all of the other fans who dared to play and dared to complete the game. To be in the know, to wink across the room. I want to be in that hyper-critical utopia where we all have one thing in common: We played Final Fantasy VII in 1997. And we all have something to say about it.

[thebiasrekkers]

Edge of Forever [BTS Space!AU}

BTS Space!AU [ ♧   ✪ ✿ ☆ ❂ ☾✘ ]  “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players:  they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays  many parts, his acts being seven ages.” The stage is set and the  stars are the guide for the lost souls that have congregated to one  point. A fixed constant in the universe for others to discover and  fulfill their wishes but will it come to ruin for others?

Pairings: BTS X OC (s) Genre: BTS Space!AU Warnings: Graphic Violence, Heavy Language

AO3

AN: I’m  so glad you all like this series! Graphics and all! There’s more to  come so please be patient! Please give all of the works here love and  feel free to message us!

Chapter 17- The Ghost Woman and the Hunter

Calling on your sins You're here in my dreams A desert place I'm not alone

Jin was on his last nerve. His absolute last one and it was all because they just had to go back towards the creepy caves where ancient people used to live and possibly use sticks as their form of technology. The doctor’s house was out in the middle of nowhere and quite near the ruins of a former city that the locals quite literally called Hell. He would rather deal with the pirates and the dangerous vacuum of space than have the possibility of demons or some sort of apparition possess him out under a rock.

However, they had no choice in the matter since Nyala was getting patched up by him. Yoongi had a few slashes, being treated for exhaustion and other things while Namjoon was helping Jimin with his parts. It surprised him greatly when he saw the scene upon their arrival to help, trying to figure out which was more shocking: the fact that Yoongi had 9 guys incapacitated or that Jimin had tore through the rest of them. He supposed that after being alone like that for so long, in their line of business--one had to adapt or die.

The same could be said of the rest of them.

He was no warrior himself but he did have a few tricks up his sleeve, as did Yoongi and Jimin. Though, the same tricks didn’t work out quite as well for Nyala. He looked down at her form, still not assured that she was fine. The doctor, who’s name was Hoseok, had gone over and over again with him that she truly was fine now. He’d believe it when she opened her eyes and walked around a few paces. The doctor was quite a quirky one, almost like Jimin--except louder.

But at least he appreciated the kind way he moved around the others. Jin noticed things that the others couldn’t quite see, mainly the little things like he would always stand to Vairuit’s left because he had a louder voice than the others because she tended to swing with her right hand when startled. Jimin would stare off into space when he was tired or hungry, blinking several times in a row when thinking about it. Now he noticed that the doctor always gestured wide and sidestepped everyone as he let them into his space.

Big gestures, keeping everything open while he talked. That was something that he noticed but the main thing he noticed was that he and Namjoon were alike. When they were focused on something, their entire attention was on it but outside of that--they were bumbling fools.

Already they’d had to banish Namjoon from the house to keep him from destroying everything. He’d dropped things on everyone’s feet and nearly stabbed himself with something of the doctor’s. Jin was just used to looking after Jungkook and his curious hands, now inherited a whole bundle of others in the process. To him, however, it seemed right that he did. Still, regardless of who he inherited--, there was one thing that needed to be done and it couldn’t be done without the man of the other hour. Some of them soon migrated outside to join the Engineer, finding him over towards the edge of the land as he stared at the ruins.

“You think that we were drawn here for a reason? Back to these ruins since we just came from this way?”

The question was posed by Namjoon when he turned to meet the ones that came out from the house. He was barely a philosopher but the thought struck him when he was stuck outside, to admire the beautiful--if not creepy-- view of the area. There was a pregnant pause, one that seemed to stretch out as Yoongi, Jin and Jungkook all took a good look at what he was talking about. The edges of the ruin poked out from the caves, almost inviting them in but Jin was more concerned about other things than the caves of death.

“Yeah, we came to get a doctor. Which... Jimin, Vairuit and Jungkook are going to stay here with Nyala while we go up to the ship to get our girl up and running.”

Namjoon took one last look towards the ruins and shrugged, giving into Jin’s words as he now had something to do besides ponder on what lay ahead of him.

“This is a pretty nice piece of technology. The way that they integrated the biological aspects into this android is almost...unnerving.” Hoseok commented as he reviewed the data with Namjoon. “I can see why you would need me, she needs just as much care as a doctor as she does mechanically. We are going to have to resuscitate her first before you put in the other components, to make sure her body can handle it in the first place.”

Jin and Yoongi watched the pair work, the countdown for resuscitation finally starting. The four of them grew increasingly nervous as the seconds passed, Yoongi having to put a hand on Jin’s shoulder to keep him from pacing. The lights on the now extended cylinders were flashing at an even slower speed as the robotic voice counted down the seconds. Once they reached the 20-second mark, they dulled until it hit zero. They all stepped back and watched as a flash of light came from them, sending a shock to the body that was curled up there. It shocked several times and each time, the body twitched as the nerves came alive. They could see it on the hologram of her anatomy, things lighting up where they were previously gray. The last shock lasted longer than the others as it forced the programming to react, slowly standing her up.

Her eyes weren’t fully open and alive yet but she was up, her muscles getting used to the gravity.

Path Project Command Input: What seest thou else in the dark backward and abyss of time?

Her head shot up, registering the words that were said and her eyes opened wider as they showed the dull green that still didn’t look alive to the others. She took a breath, shaky but deep as she moved her mouth like she was speaking another language silently. The robotic voice paused before continuing.

State your designation and operate.

“I am LRL0723. Designation: Lirael. Operation in progress.”

With that, the android’s eyes finally shone with the correct light as she registered everything and everyone there. Before she could speak another word, she wobbled on her feet as everything started to sink in for her. Jin reached over and grabbed a blanket to wrap her up in as Yoongi stared, open-mouthed at what happened. Namjoon just barely caught her while it took a moment for Hoseok to come to his senses. Jin wrapped her up as best as he could before he noticed that there was something wrong with her. Tears leaked out of her eyes as the pain caught up to her in that form, no longer in a state of limbo. It was difficult for her to walk due to the damage to her legs and parts of her chest, her whimpers piercing the silence that had settled in the room.

“Why does it hurt?”

She cried that sentence over and over again as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Hoseok finally had to sedate her to keep her from the pain, hoping that it would help long enough for them to fix her. Her crying settled down as she relaxed, the drug reaching into all of her systems. Namjoon picked her up and placed her on one of the hospital beds in the infirmary, a place they had temporarily set up in when they activated her. All of them looked at each other before getting back to work, all of them having to act fast before the sedative wore off.

The path before you is one walked before.

The path before you is one betrayed for.

The path before you is one of good intentions.

The path before you is Heaven and Hell.

A golden path, one her feet joyously walked. There were others that were on the same path but they all came from different directions. All of them merged ahead of them and spiraled up, up into the abyss. There were different points along that path that glowed like stars, each of them having their own energy and called out to them with different voices. Yet, somehow the voices all sounded familiar--as if they were all different tones of the same one. There was one voice, so close yet just out of reach.

It was as if the answer was right there in front of everyone but nobody could speak it yet. She opened her mouth to answer the question posed to her but the feeling of cold water seemed to splash across her body. Waves against her feet, she turned around and saw her home planet with the others waving at her. Nyala thought to go back to them but the voice repeated its question.

“What doest thou seek?”

Nyala woke up from the dream with a gasp, the voice still ringing in her mind. It was like someone had spoken the question right in her ear, someone that just woke up and reached out to her. Jimin sprang up from his perch and placed his hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her back down onto the mattress. His warm eyes bored into hers, reassuring her that she was safe and sound as the memories came back to her. The attack, why she had originally left in the first place and why they were even there.

She opened her mouth to ask the questions but he silenced her with a finger, a slight smile curling on his lips. Vairuit was snoring in the corner, nothing even bothering her as Jungkook looked on. He kept a tight watch on his surroundings but if the Mao wasn’t bothered, then there wasn’t anything to be worried about.

“Nyala, everything is fine. We found a doctor and they’re up in the ship now to do what it was they were going to do. I need you to rest, which is also the doctor's orders.” He touched her face again but this time he used his abilities to tranquilize her again. If she could, she would have smacked him for doing such a thing again but as the room got hazy--she felt a set of lips on her knuckles, warmth spreading from the area and into her hand. It was a nice feeling and one that she held onto dearly as she fell into a grateful and peaceful sleep.

[brtprnce-blog]

name: rune nils lovik nicknames: rune , nils , or even just lovik age: twenty five gender identity: cis male birthplace: stockholm , sweden sexuality: pansexual / panromantic   pronouns: he / him  occupation: business student & drug dealer housing: potentas  sign: aries  pinterest: board spotify: playlist

hey it’s your local demigirl trash demon ! not much to say about me except i go by nary , i’ve been burnt by tumblr rp so many times i’ve literally gone by so many monikers so if you think possibly you might know who i am then feel free to ask about it ! i’m twenty three years old , use she / they pronouns , and live in kentucky ( good luck finding me if ur a stalker lol ) which means i reside in the central timezone. i do work at a local department store type deal , but since the holidays are over it won’t be as time consuming for now and i have until tuesday of next week off thank frick. anyway now on to this new muse who was inspired by an old muse or two of mine leggoooooo

it might be HIS SENIOR year but i still think RUNE NILS LOVIK looks exactly like HERMAN TOMMERAAS and sometimes i think the CIS MALE is actually them. of course i’m wrong , as he’s TWENTY FIVE and studying BUSINESS while living in POTENTAS here at lockwood. the ARIES can be rather BOLD and ALLURING , but also kind of RECKLESS and SUPERFICIAL his most played song on spotify this year was NARCISSIST by NO ROME FT. THE 1975 , so i think that says a lot.

PERSONALITY

element: fire ruling planet: mars — the planet of war & energy body part: head , face good day: energetic , encouraging , unstoppable , bold , devoted , caring bad day: proud , self centered , impulsive , bossy , stubborn , reckless , jealous favorite things: competitive games , new clothes , road trips ( in fast red cars ) , debating , expressing themselves through stunning verbal and physical feats , money , riches , fame , drugs , sex least favorite things: sharing their toys , being ignored , cramped spaces , losing , the word “no” , relationships , being tied down secret wish: to be number one how to spot him: high forehead , focused or manic energy , aggressive stance , toothy grin keywords: willpower , initiative , determination , passion , beginnings , self belief , self destruction

headstrong and determined , rune can be stubborn and willful. he has a tendency to dig in his heels , stand his ground and absolutely refuses to be pushed around.

he will butt his own metaphorical horns against the same obstacle until he break it down — often with the sheer force of will. confidently rune believes in himself and will champion others.

the essence of his energy shows up as encouraging , unstoppable , bold , devoted , and caring. in its shadow form , his energy can make him prideful , self centered , impulsive , bossy , stubborn , reckless and competitive. this fuckboy likes a challenge , but be careful because he can definitely be selfish and domineering.

like a match that lights the blaze , he can be a trailblazer and trendsetter.  pioneering and innovative , rune leaps without looking and puts his bold ideas out there.

his ruling planet is warrior planet and energy activator mars. on a positive note , he is filled with unstoppable life force energy. the negative manifestation is that he can become argumentative , confrontational and aggressive at pretty much the drop of a hat.

he is a leader and “idea person” , prizing originality and being first in everything they do. he’s a trendsetter and trend spotter , the one who gets the party started and the crowd hyped. count on rune to initiate a winning idea or plan.

he tends to have a lot of energy , which he applies to everything from tackling supersized projects to unleashing his lusty libidos with a lover.

this confident fuckboy is known to leap before looking , diving into each new experience with a zest for life that few others can muster. he loves to be number one and can be an amazing trendsetter and trailblazer.

rune is a true original who inspires others. with all of his fire power and can do attitude , there’s nothing he can’t ( and won’t ) take on. at times , he can be selfish or overly focused on himself. it can be a “ blind spot ” for him , and friends of rune can try to gently remind him from time to time to share his toys.

this super rich kid was born with an innate sense of entitlement , which helps him shatter glass ceilings but can also be off-putting to people in extreme doses.

this go getter can come across as abrasive or overly aggressive. however , rune will never back down from a challenge and can be a heroic champion of anyone in distress.

being born the sole heir and only son of a wealthy family was bound to have some influence on a young man’s personality. rune is a super rich kid and to this day enjoys making it known.

his father taught him to declare his dominance and money makes you superior , right ? those who knew rune lovik when asked about him would have told you the boy has no time or room to care about anyone but himself , which for the most part is still the truth.

he is a firm believer that money can get you anywhere ( regardless of how you make it ) and that has always held true so he deals drugs now to keep up with his preferred lifestyle.

he has a hugeeeeee ego. honestly , you’ll probably choke on his pride , but there is some part of him that wants real love. the near constant pressure to uphold family reputation growing up , to be the perfect son ? sometimes it’s enough to make him crack on occasion. every break down has only made him push harder and has driven him further away from his family. 

BACKSTORY

( tw: abortion ) born on a chilly spring night , march 21st , to one of the wealthiest families in stockholm , sweden. he was the first and the last , any unwanted pregnancies were aborted immediately. there was no need for anymore children , their heir to the fortune and family business already been birthed. an heir that was hardly a son , because  a son would be loved but he was just an heir to be used.

rune was raised up by maids and nannies , because his parents weren’t around enough. it was a mostly loveless childhood except for the help he was close to , his innocence lost too soon.

the pressures of being the perfect son gripped him before he was old enough to even understand. if he could be what his parents wanted , would they love him then ? would they stay home ?

his youth was pretty successful , he begrudgingly became what was expected of him — the spitting image of his father. his years as a teenager were spent stealing bottles of wine , experimenting with illegal substances , joy rides in expensive cars , different faces in his bed. no one noticed , or they at least they pretended not to , and for the most turned a blind eye to his bad behavior but somewhere deep down maybe rune hoped someone would take the time to care.

( tw: gambling ment ) once he was old enough , he was included in the family ‘business’ which isn’t what made them rich but part of the reason they stay that way. lots of gambling and illegal shit that his father calls ‘business’ to make himself sound like a professional.

( tw: drug ment ) at first he doesn’t take to it , but he finds he likes to not only deal but do copious amount of drugs. it doesn’t hurt that he’s making some money on the side !!

( tw: drug ment ) rune goes to his father in interest of becoming an actual member of the gang in the hopes of dealing for them , but those dreams were shot down. a lovik dealing drugs like a petty criminal ?! not a chance in hell mr. lovik would allow that.

( tw: drug and alcohol ment ) his father was quick to forbid him from ever even considering such peasant activity. so , he kept to luxury items such as but not limited to: cars , designer clothes , sex , drugs , and booze. he didn’t mind returning to all of his expensive things and played his part like he always had.

most would never guess that his lifestyle might not be to his liking , that he questions everything , that real love is something he has always desired.

when you look at him you would see a boy that cares about two things: himself and money. he acts like he is the best to hide the fact that he feels unwanted , unloved , and used. he hid behind family pride for a long time , but it was a facade carefully kept.

a few years ago  basically decided he was completely sick of living anywhere near his parents. he couldn’t do shit in stockholm without the public finding out and him ending up in the tabloids which just had his parents breathing fire down his neck for causing a stir. no shaming the family and the ‘business’.

so after applying to several different places in the states , he was able to get into lockwood and was quick to move out on his own. 

( tw: drug ment ) he is a p decent drug dealer on campus , so if your muse does drugs of any sort chances are they or someone they know has gone through rune at least once or partied with him. 

he doesn’t have any other source of income ( besides drug dealing and the money he gets from his parents for attending college for business ) outside of the occasional fight club shit he does for the heck of it. he’s a p good fighter and often wins money thanks to it.

SONG

super rich kids by frank ocean ft. earl sweatshirt — “ too many bottles of this wine we can’t pronounce , too many bowls of that green , no lucky charms. the maids come around too much , parents ain’t around enough. too many joy rides in daddy’s jaguar , too many white lies and white lines. super rich kids with nothing but loose ends , super rich kids with nothing but fake friends “

[stacks-reviews]

New Releases 11/14/17

‘Happy New Release Day! Today brings a few new manga and a graphic novel, along with a couple of new shows/movies, and even a new video game from Nintendo.

In Books  --Fairy Tail Volume 62 by Hiro Mashima “During the chaos of war,the demon Acnologia slinks his way into the ranks. As Erza, Wendy, and Gajeel prepare to face their hardest battle yet, a strange woman shows up to lift their spirits! The woman knows the secret to sealing Acnologia away, but will the gang be able to execute her orders! Meanwhile, brothers Natsu and Zeref go head-to-head, with their lives on the line! The fate of the world sinks further into peril when Zeref reveals his ultimate mission: Neo Eclipse!”

I can’t believe this series is almost over (at least in the US). Just one more volume remains. I think I’m going to wait to pick this one up until volume 63 comes out so I can get them together. The last volume I read was somewhere in the early 50′s, I think. I started rereading the series but paused midway through volume 8 and will continue from there once the last volume is released.

--Forbidden Scrollery Volume 1 by Moe Harukawa “Where else would a girl with the power to translate any tome she sets in her lap reside except a library? Sure, some books may be more dangerous than others, but that's far from discouragement for a true bibliophile like Kosuzu Motoori!”

Books that are dangerous. That may or may not magical in some form. With artwork that reminds me of Cardcator Sakura. Sign me up. I really would like to try this series cause as I’ve mentioned before I’m a sucker for books that have books being a form of power in worlds. I did flip through some of this volume when it arrived early at my work. And it looks promising.

--Frau Faust Volume 2 by Kore Yamazaki “After narrowly escaping a battle with Lorenzo, Johanna falls unconscious. In her wounded state, the century-old memories of her first encounter with Mephistopheles run through her head. In these memories are answers Marion is beginning to understand: what is the nature of his master’s immortality, and how is her curse inextricably tied to the body of her demon? Faust, Marion, and Nico’s immediate aim is to find Mephisto’s right leg, a mission that becomes more urgent when evidence of a young girl using demonic power comes to light. To find the next piece of her precious demon, Johanna may even need to form a tenuous deal with Lorenzo...”

From the creator of The Ancient Magus’ Bride comes Frau Faust. I enjoyed the first volume of this series which included a cute short about a museum that houses invisible exhibits. I would like to see Yamazaki explore that short more in the future. The first volume follows Johanna as she tries to find the missing pieces of the demon Mephisto held captive by the church. Along the way she gains an apprentice named Marion and they meet up with Nico, Johanna’s daughter.

My favorite part of volume 2 was learning about how Johanna meet Mephisto.

--Rose Volume 1 by Meredith Finch, illustrated by Ig Guara “A classic fantasy tale about a girl trying to restore balance to a broken world. Rose must connect with her Khat—Thorne—to become the Guardian the world needs. But things aren’t easy for Rose and Thorne, the powerful sorcerous Drucilla has many powerful and demonic allies—all of them focused on stopping one scared little girl who’s desperately trying to stay alive and do what’s right.”

I have been waiting on this one since I first saw the cover to issue one earlier this year. A warrior-girl with her giant black panther companion. It was a good start to the series though the volume felt a bit rushed. A few of the pages cut off part of some sentences near the end of the volume. I am looking forward to volume 2 and hope that the pacing might find a better flow. I think it’s worth checking out.

In Movies/TV Shows --91 Days “Prohibition—a lawless era where bootleggers prosper and mobsters prowl. Avilio Bruno has grown up alone in this murky world after the Vanetti's murdered his family. One day, he receives a letter that holds the key to revenge. Befriending the don's son, Nero, Avilio works his way through the Vanetti family and sets his vengeance in motion.”

I haven’t had time to try this one out yet but I really want to. There is a standard and an LE edition. The LE has an art box and comes with a 40 page companion guide that has, “artwork, character profiles, background information on Prohibition, the Chicago mafia, period firearms, and more.” And a set of six art cards.

--Atomic Blonde “An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.”

I was really excited to see this one because of how they treated the main character. They made her fight how a woman would actually need to fight. And they made it also realistic by how bruised and cut up she was after all this was over. When she got punched in the face that bruise would stay there. Some of those fights were painful to watch just of the pain you see was being done to her. The fight scenes in this movie were just fantastic. But the plot was a little convoluted. Maybe it will make more sense during a second watch. Either way it was an enjoyable movie to watch. 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/atomic-blonde-doesnt-pretend-women-fight-like-men-and-the-result-is-awesome_us_597b3c67e4b02a8434b5df58

--Blue Exorcist Kyoto Saga Set 1 “Born the spawn of Satan, Rin Okumura decides to hide his origins, and become an exorcist. He enrolls at the Exorcism Cram School, a training institute for exorcists located on the True Cross Academy grounds. But, his cover is blown during an attack by Amaimon, the King of Earth, and he is revealed to be the son of Satan. Terrified of Satan’s blue flames, his friends start to distance themselves from Rin…It is then that someone steals the Left Eye of the Impure King, sealed away in the deepest part of the academy, and Rin and the others find themselves embroiled in an unexpected crisis.”

The newest season of Blue Exorcist is starting to release. It was a pretty good season. And now I’m trying to remember if I finished it or not. I feel like I did but now I can’t remember.... Anyway. This is an Aniplex title so it is going to be a bit higher. There is a DVD edition and a Blu-Ray. They contain episodes 1-6 of this season. But if you buy the Blu-Ray it also comes with a booklet and some postcards.

--Doctor Who Complete Series 10 The final season of Peter Capaldi as 12 and with Steven Moffat as executive producer is now out as a complete set. Pearl Mackie was great as Bill Potts though sometimes I can’t help but feel like they could have done more with her character. Once I see the season again I might change my mind but for now that thought occasionally pops up. 

My favorite episodes of this season are “Smile”, “Thin Ice” if only to watch the Doctor punch that guy over and over, “Empress of Mars”, and the two-part season finale.

--In This Corner Of the World “Based on the award-winning manga by Fumiyo Kouno, In This Corner Of the World tells the emotional story of Suzu, a young girl from Hiroshima, who’s just become a bride in the nearby city of Kure during World War II. Living with her husband’s family, Suzu has to adjust to her new life, which is made especially difficult by regular air raids. But life must go on, and Suzu - through the help of her new family and neighbors - begins to discover the joys of everyday life in Kure. Much is gained in Kure, but with war, many things cherished are also lost.”

This just looks fantastic. I’m really excited to see this one.

--Pokemon Indigo League S1 The original that started it all is out on blu-ray for what should be the first time. I love the Indigo League. It’s where I started with Pokemon. And it has some the saddest episodes I’ve seen from the series. At least up until the point where I stopped watching. I tried to pick it back up during the last season and the new Sun and Moon seasons but it has been sporadic. 

This set has the first 52 episodes of the series. It also comes with a 64 page manga sampler, a recipe card, the complete Pokerap, and a “Who’s That Pokemon” gallery. I feel like they could have done more for this release as the extras just feel like a pull for you to start buying the manga and one of their Pokemon cookbooks.

I really hope they kept the other songs in at the end of episodes instead of just the Pokerap. I love the Pokerap but I also love the other songs. Yeah, I have them on one of the soundtracks but I’d still like to see them at the end of the episodes. 

The box itself is really cool. It is designed to look like the original Pokedex.

--Preacher S2  “Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy hit the road in search of God, and quickly realize they're being stalked by a killer cowboy from Hell.”

I wasn’t as crazy about this season as I was the first. I’ve been that way with a lot of series this year. It is still a good series and had a great start to the season. And ended with a great cliffhanger.

In Video Games --RiME (Nintendo Switch version) “In RiME, you play as a young boy who has awakened on a mysterious island after a torrential storm. You see wild animals, long-forgotten ruins and a massive tower that beckons you to come closer. Armed with your wits and a will to overcome—and the guidance of a helpful fox—you must explore the enigmatic island, reach the tower's peak, and unlock its closely guarded secrets.”

I’ve been really excited for this game for a while. But I am conflicted. It is half price if I get it on my PS4 but I was really hoping to get it for my Switch. Visually it looks gorgeous and the OST is supposed to be really good. But I have heard that the puzzles aren’t very challenging. I still want to try it out. Now I just need to decide what console I want it for.

[patrick--hockstetter]

Ahri

Innately connected to the latent power of Runeterra, Ahri is a vastaya who can reshape magic into orbs of raw energy. She revels in toying with her prey by manipulating their emotions before devouring their life essence. Despite her predatory nature, Ahri retains a sense of empathy as she receives flashes of memory from each soul she consumes.

Lore

Abandoned in the snowy woods of northern Ionia, Ahri knew nothing of her original family save the token they left her: a pair of matching gemstones. She joined a pack of icefoxes as they stalked prey on their morning hunt, and before long they adopted her as one of their own. With no one to teach her the magic of her kind, Ahri instinctively learned to draw it from the world around her, shaping destructive spheres and quickening her reflexes to take down prey. If she was close enough, she could even soothe a deer into a state of tranquility, so much that it remained serene even as she sank her teeth into its flesh.

Ahri first encountered humans when a troop of foreign soldiers camped near her den. Their behaviors were strange to Ahri and, curious to learn more, she watched them from afar. She was especially drawn to a hunter who, unlike his wasteful companions, used every part of the animals he killed, reminding her of her fox family.

When the hunter was wounded by an arrow, Ahri felt his life seeping away. She instinctively devoured the essence leaving his body, and gained brief flashes of his memories - the lover he had lost in battle, his children from a strange land of iron and stone. She found she could push his emotions from fear to sorrow to joy, and charmed him with visions of a sun-soaked meadow as he died.

Euphoric at the rush of absorbing the hunter's life, Ahri felt more alive than ever, and traveled Ionia in search of more victims. She relished toying with her prey, shifting their emotions before consuming their life essence. She alternated between dazzling them with visions of beauty, hallucinations of deep longing, and occasionally dreams colored by raw sorrow.

She grew drunk with memories that were not her own, and exhilarated in the lives of others. Through stolen visions, Ahri watched through their eyes as they pledged fealty to a temple of shadow, sacrificed offerings to a deity of the sun incarnate, encountered an avian tribe of vastaya that spoke only in song, and glimpsed mountainous landscapes unlike any she had seen. She experienced heartbreak and elation in tantalizing flashes that left her craving more, and wept at the massacres of Ionian villagers at the hands of Noxian invaders.

Ahri was surprised when the memories led her to discover the tale of an unearthly fox demon. As she absorbed more life essence, she grew to identify more and more with her victims, and felt guilty at ending so many lives. She feared that the myths about her were true - she was no more than a cruel monster. But whenever too much time passed between feedings, she sensed her own power fade, and could not help but partake once more.

Ahri tested her self-control by consuming small quantities of life essence, enough to absorb a memory or two but not enough to kill. She was successful, for a time, but was tortured by her unending hunger and soon succumbed to temptation, indulging in the dreams of an entire coastal village.

Tormented by her mistake, Ahri could not forgive herself and felt a deep sorrow that forced her to question her own existence. She withdrew to the forest caves, isolating herself in hopes of controlling her relentless desire. Years later she emerged, determined to experience every facet of life through her own eyes. Though she might indulge in occasional essence, she resisted consuming entire lives. With the twin gemstones as the only clue to her origin, Ahri set out in search of others like her. No more would she rely on borrowed memories and unfamiliar dreams.

A Fair Trade

Ahri walks in disguise, but this fortune-teller has her own secret. What are they both hiding?

The market smelled of burning incense and rotting cabbage.

Ahri wrapped her cloak around her nine tails and fiddled with her twin sunstone tokens to distract herself from the stench, rolling them between her fingers and snapping them together. Each one had the shape of a blazing flame, but they were carved in such a way that their sharper edges fit together, forming a perfectly smooth orb. She had carried the golden stones since before she could remember, though she had no knowledge of their origin.

Though Ahri was in a new environment, she was comforted by the latent magic buzzing all around her. She passed a stand with dozens of woven baskets filled to the brim with polished rocks, shells etched with legends from a seafaring tribe, gambling dice carved from bones, and other curious items. Nothing matched the style of Ahri's sculpted tokens.

"Care for a gem to match the blue of the skies?" asked the gray-bearded merchant. "For you, I'll trade a cerulean bauble for the cost of a single cryraven feather, or perhaps the seed of a jubji tree. I'm flexible."

Ahri smiled at him, but shook her head and continued through the market, sunstones in hand. She passed a stand covered in spiky orange vegetables, a child selling fruit that shifted color with the weather, and at least three peddlers swinging tins of incense, each of whom claimed to have discovered the deepest form of meditation.

"Fortunes! Come get your fortunes told!" called a young woman with lavender eyes and a soft jawline. "Find out who you'll fall in love with, or how to avoid unlucky situations with a pinch of burdock root. Or if you'd prefer your future left to the gods, I'll answer a question about your past. Though I do recommend finding out whether or not you're at risk for death by poisoning."

A tall vastaya with feline ears was about to take a bite of a spiced pastry. He froze and stared at the fortune teller in alarm.

"The answer is no, by the way. Yours for free," she said, curtsying at him before turning to Ahri. "Now, you look like you've had a dark and mysterious past. Or at least some tales worth sharing. Any burning questions for me, lady?"

Beneath heavy layers of incense, Ahri paused at the scent of wet fur and spiced leather lingering at the woman's neck.

"Thank you, but no," she replied. "I'm still looking around."

"You won't find any more Ymelo tokens in this market, I'm afraid," the woman said, nodding to Ahri's sunstones. "Like the ones you have."

The back of Ahri's neck prickled and she drew closer to the woman. She would not let her excitement get the better of her. "Do you recognize these? Where do they come from?"

The woman eyed Ahri.

"I think they're Ymelos, anyway," she said. "Never seen a pair in person. He only carved a small number in his time, and many of the sets were separated in the war. Dead rare, those."

Ahri leaned closer with each word.

"I'm Hirin, by the way," the woman said.

"Do you know where I might find this craftsman?" Ahri asked.

Hirin laughed. "No idea. But if you come in, I'll tell you what I know."

Ahri wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and eagerly followed the fortune teller past her booth, and into a caravan decorated wall to wall with animal skins.

"Tea?" Hirin said. "I brewed it this morning."

She poured two cups of liquid the color of plum wine, taking one for herself. The tea tasted of bitter oak bark masked by a cloying dollop of honey. Hirin held out a hand for the stones but Ahri kept them close.

"I'm getting the sense that these are special to you," she said with a wry smile. "Don't worry, I have no interest in peddling stolen sunstones. Bad for a girl's reputation."

"Can you tell me where they come from?" asked Ahri, handing them over gingerly.

Hirin held them up to the light.

"These are beautiful," she said. "I don't know how they fit together so perfectly. I've not seen the like."

Ahri said nothing. She stood frozen with curiosity, and did not take her eyes off the woman.

"Legend says the sculptor known as Ymelo collected fossilized lizard eggs from a thousand thousand years ago that he carved into intricate shapes. These ancient lizards lived long before the Ghetu Sea dried up to a desert, leaving only petrified bones and dust."

Hirin coughed, and Ahri detected a bitter note upon her breath, as if she had been drinking vinegar.

"Ymelo stones are designed as small pieces that fit into a larger sculpture," she continued.

The woman dangled the golden pieces in front of Ahri's face.

"Just as your past has left you with information to be desired, these stones may have many more parts that, when combined, create another shape altogether. Who knows what you'll become when you track down your history. With the missing pieces, you may learn more than you'd like."

"Those are pretty words," Ahri murmured, staring at the woman.

After a moment of silence, Hirin chuckled. "Some threads of truth, threads of my own invention. A fortune teller's weaving must be seamless."

The woman retrieved a hunter's knife from a cabinet.

"I weave in just enough of what you desire to make you stay," she said. "'Til the tea slows your muscles, that is."

A low growl escaped Ahri's lips. She would tear this woman apart. She tried to pounce, but her limbs did not obey. She was rooted in place.

"Oh, there's no need for that, lady. I only need a single tail. Useful for a variety of potions, you see, and extremely valuable. Or so I think. Never seen a vastaya with fox tails before. The tea freezes any pain, along with your... mobility."

Hirin wrapped a bandage around one of Ahri's tails. Ahri tried to resist, but she still could not move.

"You'll wake up tomorrow, good as new!" said the woman. "Well, with one less tail. Do you really use all nine?"

Ahri shut her eyes and reached out to the reservoirs of magic around her. The environment had plenty ripe for the taking, but she was too weakened by the tea to draw them to her. Instead, she reached into Hirin's mind, which was far more malleable, and pushed.

Ahri opened her eyes and stared hard into Hirin's. They deepened from lavender to violet.

"Hirin," she said. "Come closer. I would look into the face of the one who tricked me."

"Of course, lady," Hirin replied, transfixed. The woman's voice sounded hollow, as though it came from the bottom of a well.

She leaned in until her face was only inches away. Ahri inhaled, drawing essences of the woman's life from her breath.

...Hirin was a young girl hiding, hungry and afraid, beneath a market stall. Two men argued above, looking for her. She had nothing but empty coffers to show for her days' work...

Ahri continued to drain Hirin's life, sampling memories of raw emotion. They felt rich in Ahri's mouth, and she relished each unique flavor of emotion.

...Hirin told the fortune of a witch doctor shrouded in veils, receiving a copper for her troubles. She used the coin to buy a piece of bread, which she devoured in seconds...

...In a seedy tavern, a raucous group played cards. A man with eyebrows resembling butterfly wings gambled a golden Ymelo stone while Hirin watched from the shadows...

...Hirin tracked Ahri as she walked through the market. One of her fox tails peeked from beneath her cloak. She drew the vastaya into her caravan---

Enough.

Ahri stopped, her head spinning with renewed vigor. With each memory she stole from Hirin, she felt energy rush back into her weakened muscles, cleansing them of the poison.

Strengthened once more, she slowly shook her limbs awake and flexed her tails with a shiver. They tingled with pinpricks.

Hirin stood wide-eyed and dazed, still very much alive. It was she that would wake tomorrow, good as new - less a few memories that she would not miss.

With knowledge of the woman's life, Ahri's rage had faded. She brushed her hand against the fortune teller's cheek, then wrapped her cloak tightly around her shoulders and stepped out into the sunlit market.

Hirin would not remember her or their encounter. But Ahri had left the trade with a name to hunt - Ymelo - and the image of the man with soft-winged eyebrows was burned in her mind.