#but some of it will come back in the future on the graduated exhibition they do next semester

[zan-77]

So ummm.... *taps mic* I've finished college! ::3

My thesis project has been approved and technically speaking I'm already a bachelor of fine arts hihi

It's been fun learning and growing, and god this was so much but I managed, and now is the end of one cycle n the beginning of many others ::>

I can finally have free time to do all the shit i wanna do lmao

[luvyeni]

LUCIFER ✦ ( 02z series masterslist & intro )

pairing ‎⸝⸝⸝ demon!02z x female!reader

𓄷 warnings 𓈓 murder (sunghoon has a back story and your grandma had some problems). death. supernatural themes. pwp. some angst. some fluff. will add more if needed...

genre. smut mdni. supernatural au. demon au.

nia's notes. a few weeks ago i got an ask to do a fic based on lucifer— so why not make it a series? the song gives me demon vibes idk why, but i hope everyone who reads it will like it,, all the fics will have bits and pieces from each other, but you can read stand alone if you want. ENJOY!!!

(🎧) ...playlist: lucifer ( 02z ), fatal trouble ( enhypen ), bite me ( enhypen )

TAGLIST. ASK TO BE ADDED !

THE DEMON IN MY CLOSET ...

wc. 6.1k+

synopsis. a week into moving into your deceased grandmother's mansion; everything goes smoothly; you've gotten most of your grandmothers things out of the house; still wearing the necklace you found everything is going good— except the door to your closet that won't stay closed.

𓄷 warnings smut mdni. mentions of abuse. mentions of death. oral (f. receiving). unprotected sex. softdom jake.

STATUS: READ HERE

THE DEMON IN THE KITCHEN ...

wc. 5.2k+

synopsis. sunghoon didn't want anything to do with you really; the only reason why he agreed is because jay had the upper hand on his vote. he hated your grandmother, he wished he could avoid you forever— so why is he currently sitting in your kitchen wondering why you've come home late?

𓄷 warnings... smut mdni. mentions of murder. sunghoon actually hates you. attempted murder ( twice ). reader likes some weird stuff. sexual tension. oral ( m. receiving ). rough sex. degradation.

STATUS: READ HERE

THE DEMON IN MY MIRROR ...

wc. 4.7k+

synopsis. he watches you through the mirrors of the house; watches how you interact with the boys, even sunghoon. he's enchanted by you; you're meant to be his; theirs, he can feel it— knowing that your time is almost up here, it's time he finally introduces himself.

𓄷 warnings jay is half human. mentions of a curse. jay is guiding her in her head. exhibition kink? mutual masturbation. oral ( m. reciveing ). unprotected sex.

STATUS: READ HERE

FOREVER OURS ...

wc.

synopsis. it's your last week here; you have a decision to make; will you put the necklace away leaving them behind— or will you start your new life in the city; not with your parents but with three new demons???

𓄷 warnings foursome, oral ( m & f receiving ), unprotected sex, breeding kink, rough sex , double penetration, lots of cum, heavy degradation

STATUS: READ HERE

you were freshly graduated from college; you should be spending your last summer as a non working adult having fun with your friends— hell doing an internship for your future company; anything really, anything would be better than this. because instead of doing any of that; you were stuck going to the middle of wherever emptying out your dead grandparents mansion.

“I didn't know the lady.” you tried to complain about it to your parents. “Mommy, this was your parents, why can't you do it?” your mother and her mother; your grandmother, never really got along growing up; your grandmother never approved of your father, so it put a strain on their relationship, which resulted in your mother moving out and moving to the city. She then married your dad and had you a year later.

you met your grandmother; well your grandmother met you, because your eyes were barely open, having been on earth a month when your mom came back home so your grandparents could meet their only grandchild, your mom told you that was the last time you saw your grandparents— they did send christmas presents, and birthday cards with a hefty check in it. “I didn't know anything about her except she was extremely generous when it came to money.”

your grandfather passed when you were five, that was the last time your mother went back, for his funeral. Instead of going into a home, your grandmother chose to stay in the huge home; by herself and live out the rest of her days, which she did; she died in her room, being found by her caretaker in the early morning.

The funeral was small; and you were being nice by saying that— it was only you and your mother; your father didn't bother to show, the lady didn't like him. Why would he bother? After putting her in the ground next to her husband, your mother was ready to put that part of her life to rest finally… that was until you got her will in mail.

“Everything?” your mouth hung open. “She's giving you everything? I thought she hated you?” your mother scoffed. “she didn't really have a choice, she cut all her family off; and she would rather be buried with the money than to give it to a charity.” your mother said. “at least she left you some.” she pointed. “to my granddaughter— she couldn't even remember your name.”

That's how your parents were able to retire early, with the huge settlement of money and new house, they decided to settle down and live out the rest of their days in solitude. “So why can't you do it?” you said, your mother turned to you as seriously as ever. “she died in that house, she was a spiteful woman, the type to find a way to become a ghost just to haunt me just in case I brought your father in the house” she said. “I want you to go up there and clear it of all her things and then we'll be up there in the early fall.”

That's how you found yourself driving up the extra long driveway to the huge mansion; the vines growing up the walls really added to the ghostly aesthetic. “she had a caretaker but not a gardener?” you parked right in front of the house, getting out of the car. “This house is scary.”

“Girl, we're having so much fun!” Your friend, Yeji, yelled into the phone. “really?” you said sarcastically. “I could totally hear you over the blasting music in the background.” you heard her giggle, before she told you to hold on. “Okay I'm alone.” The low music confirmed that. “Did you make it up there safely?”

You settled on a room, it was huge much like the rest of the house, unpacking the clothes you would need for the rest of the summer. “Is the house nice? Does it come with a pool?” You scoffed; “this house was made in the 1600’s , no it doesn't have a pool.” you said. “and it's okay, if you like creepy dim lighting and cold hallways even though it's 84 degrees outside.”

“Yikes.” she said, you nodded. “Yeah, this lady was loaded, but god did she not have any taste.” your face turned up in disgust. “Hopefully my parents will brighten this place up when they get here.”

After talking to yeji a bit, you let her go back to the party; at least one of you could enjoy the summer— meanwhile you had to find someone to eat. You weren't stupid the town was like a 30 minute drive out, so you made sure to pick up enough groceries to last you at least a week on your way here. Looking through the options, you settled on ramen; cause there was no way you were cooking anything else after a 5 hour long drive.

taking your bowl of noodles, making your way back to the room, you pass the many portraits of your mother as a child and a teenager— for your mother and grandmother to never get along, there surely were many; after making it back to your room, sitting the bowl on the nightstand.

Unfortunately there was no wifi, but you had data so that was good; you'd definitely had to change that wifi situation soon though, your mother was just obsessed with the Internet as you, there was no way she was coming here without it. Eating your noodles, scrolling through the stories with envy in your eyes, of all your friends enjoying their summers.

After finishing your food, and making yourself depressed; you decided to just go to bed, and start fresh in the morning— where you actually had to clean out her things.

The next morning you woke up at 11:30 feeling a little better than before, starting your day with a shower since you didn't have one in the morning; stripping yourself of your clothes, stepping into the warm shower, letting the water hit your skin, you let out a sigh of satisfaction; at least the water made you feel better.

after cleaning yourself; getting rid of yesterday, you stepped out of the shower, the foggy mirror in front of you. turning around to turn the water off— you turned around to face the mirror again. “what the fuck.” squinting your eyes, you rubbed them. certainly that wasn't a fucking person in the mirror. You quickly wrapped a towel around your body, wiping the fog off the mirror, your own reflection still there. “Great, not even 24 hours later and I'm already going nuts.”

You got dressed; deciding to finally tour the house— it was beautiful, despite the haunted nature of it; the furniture a bit outdated for your taste, but your parents will love it. you made your way to her bedroom; almost scared to go in— she died in there anyone would be scared. you pushed your worries aside, pushing the door open; walking inside.

The bed had been made after her passing, but everything else was still in the same place according to the caretaker. You started by stripping everything from the bed, throwing the sheets in the trash, emptying all her drawers; your mom said you could keep any jewelry she had, and she'll give the rest away to your cousins on your father's side. you then moved to her closet, separating all the clothes that you were keeping and the ones you were giving away, and finally the ones that you were tossing.

About 2 hours later you were done separating everything, putting the donation boxes in your car to take into town, throwing the clothes in the trash at the end of the long driveway. you kept a lot of things, turns out she kept a lot of clothes and her style wasn't that bad. “I’m gonna need a new suitcase.” you said to yourself.

You scrubbed everything down in her room; per your mothers request. “Yes mommy, I got rid of her ghost.” You rolled your eyes when she called to ask. “Great, is everything else okay?” you hummed. “Well despite the no wifi and being completely alone, yes.” You said. “Well we're still trying to sell here, we've found a realtor.” you let her go on and on, until she'd managed to talk for 2 straight hours— your stomach rumbling being the thing to interrupt the conversation. “Gosh love , have you eaten today?”

“I had some yogurt for breakfast.” you could hear her sigh. “It's 5:30 y/n and all you've eaten was yogurt?” She questioned. “Well I've been busy cleaning up your mothers home.” You said, she laughed. “Thank you, my daughter.” you mocked her. “Seriously honey, get yourself something to eat, I will call again.” you hummed. “And don't leave those clothes in your car, take them to the goodwill.” you nodded. “okay.” you hung up. “Really let's get you something to eat.”

After showering for the nights— luckily your eyes didn't create delusions this time, you settled on ordering take out, luckily someone was willing to bring you a pizza. “Thank you.” You handed the delivery guy the money. “Is this your new house?” he looked up. “My parents.” you said, he handed you the pizza box. “Scary.” was all he said before walking away. “Yeah.” You closed the door.

Taking your pizza back to your room; you almost made it back to your room— when you noticed the door to your grandmother's room was still open. “Hmm?” You were certain you closed it, you went to close it— but something caught your eyes on the dresser. It was a jewelry box. you don't remember putting that there; you don't even remember seeing it before.

You picked up the box, taking it with you to your room; sitting it on the nightstand. You finished your pizza; making an appointment on your phone to have wifi installed. “Sorry grandma, you might've lived in silence, but I need tv.” You finished the last bit of pizza, taking the box to the kitchen, returning back to your room, climbing under the covers; the wooden jewelry box still sitting on the nightstand.

You reached over, grabbing the box; it looked pretty old. You stopped admiring the details on the box; opening it. A thin silver necklace with a red and black pendant sitting in the box; it was the only thing in the box. You picked up the necklace, examining it. The necklace was beautiful, probably the prettiest piece that you took from your grandmother— yes of course you were gonna keep it, you wouldn't dare let your destructive ass cousins destroy something as beautiful as this. “Thank you grandma.”

You sat the box in between your legs, unhooking the necklace, placing it around your neck, snapping it. “Let's see.” you picked the box up, looking into the mirror. “So pretty.” You smiled, closing the box, sitting it back on the nightstand, yawning.

reaching over; you turned the light off; pulling the covers over your body, touching the pendant one last time before you fell into a deep sleep…

So unaware of what you had just done; who you just awakened, what you just invited into your life…

©️LUVYENI

[loudclan-clangen]

We have gotten a pretty good insight on how Rosehippaw illness had affected her and her parents but what about her sister?

As someone who knew someone who had a sick sibling it can be a big can of worms. Feelings of jealousy for the attention and special treatment thier sibling gets mixed with fear and sadness that the sibling is sick. I would love to know more about Dogwoodpaw as a person.

Love your work! ❤️

Dogwoodpaw, my poor, sweet, tired little girl, has never had a negative thought toward her sister ever in her entire life. Some combination of being the older more capable sibling and taking after her mom means that she has completely dedicated her life to taking care of Rosehippaw, much to her parent's deep concern. She hasn't slept a day in her life. Every free moment is dedicated to keeping her sister caught up on training and every moment of her actual training is spent trying to figure out how she's going to teach it to Rosehippaw later. This has resulted in an incredible amount of talent for Dogwoodpaw, but she has outright refused an early graduation anytime it is brought up, insisting that she won't earn her warrior name until her sister does. It's sweet, but it can't last. Sooner or later something has to give, and that something is likely either going to be Rosehip dying or Dogwood snapping and resenting her sister for holding her back. For now though they're as close as can be, and though Rosehippaw might find her a little bit smothering at times, Dogwood wouldn't have it any other way.

[Disclaimer: Dogwoodpaw is NOT exhibiting healthy behavior. There is not a "right way" to react to complex situations like this.]

Yes! At least if they want to become mediator at some point in the future. Theoretically they could give up their claim to the position if they wanted to, and then they would be allowed to, but that would be pretty uncommon.

For future calculation "former mentor relationships" are on, (not because I think that is a good idea but because the drama) so there's a little more wiggle room there, but I can confidently tell you that Silt isn't looking for a mate right now, and won't be taking any current characters as a mate. (Personally, I think that they would make a power couple with Jaggedtail, but alas, it was up to the game). I'll also let you know that they in fact do not have any more kittens with Owlstar. If they did I wouldn't have broken them up in the comic. (Joining up with Tundra and Chickadee would be fun too, as they are pretty close friends with Chickadeeblur, but the poly update doesn't come out until the *checks notes* 6th leader... wow this save has been around a while.)

[watchingblsnowandforever]

Hello!!!

Welcome back! =D

Part 2

Warning: long, long post (also a part 2 but I think y'all are used to it by now-) 😊😅

MattMick!! Also, Beer looking between them like that and Q and Toey peeking from behind cracked me up hehe

Also, does that mean Beer is single? Wait, maybe he's aroace. That'd be really cool.

I did see some hints of a throuple of him and MattMick, but I'm happy with either option.

SO CUTE 🥺🫶🏼

Poor QToey 😭

Their romantic moment got rained on so hard-

Exhibit: Here you can see three males from the species Homo sexuals. Two of them are already mated, and the third is in the courting process. We think the other male is interested too.

Oh- But I thought- oh, this makes sense actually. So the others know. I mean not really surprising when you think about it, to be honest.

With his unprecedented levels of obliviousness? Yeah, no, I get where you're coming from, Chain.

That's your biggest concern about getting a penguin?? 😭😭

Why does Peem look like the exasperated mom friend of the group 😭

After all the tiny crumbs of the past *checks notes* 8262 eps, this is a lot of progress.

HANDS. (I will never stop screaming about hands.)

Cuteee

Peem, babe, he hardly ever goes to class anyways. He's too busy following you around like a puppy.

Me, who holds handholding above everything else (yes, even sex): *DEEP BREATHS THROUGH THE NOSE* I'm fine. *SMOKE COMING OUT OF EARS* Totally fine.

Nothing to say, just a really good shot. (Also, Phuwin's exasperated smile seemed too real and then I learned Pond improvised that scene and yeah, that explains it)

ChainPun: only two people with matching pillow cases

QToey: missing (me?) [Sorry I couldn't resist 😭]

TanFang: peacefully asleep

PhumPeem: chronic insomnia, aggravated by Tan's snores

Matt: cuddling Mick

Beer: dreaming of him and his friends and their boyfriends all graduating with good grades

ChainPun. <33

Let me wrap this moment in my memory forever. (I tried to adjust the lighting a bit but it didn't really work out 😭)

AJSSHUJKJ!!!!! THEY GIVE ME TWO MAKE OUT SESSIONS WITHIN THE SPAN OF LIKE 4 MINUTES AND EXPECT ME TO BE SANE ABOUT IT???

No.

Look, we all expected this. I even said on record I wouldn't survive. And all that mental Muay Thai still didn't prepare me for this.

Till now, I have watched 60 BLs, give or take, so I've seen a lot of NC scenes. Compared to some of them, this is very PG-13, but this one really got me, like very few sex scenes have managed to. The intimacy, the palpable love, want. It all came together so beautifully in this scene.

Them saying 'I love you' during sex is canon! Yay! I knew it in my guts (wrote a fic about it) but feels so good to be right in canon hehe.

"I love you too, now kiss me again."

HANDS!!!! (It's canon now, they hold hands during sex, and so I can freely write a fic about it. Not that something not being canon ever stopped me but yeah.)

Fang: my brother is in safe hands. 😌

Also, love how Peem didn't hesitate to at the chance to kick both brothers and make it a streak 😭👍🏼

Honestly though, this scene shows that Peem is going to go to very long lengths to make sure Phum is okay, even kicking his own brother (which assures me that Peem maybe wouldn't hesitate that much to sucker punch their dad either, which is important information to have for possible future fics.)

How can one man be so goddamn cute??

The whimpering puppy noises- 😭

Cakes are so hard to bake, for real. This one is so cute though 😭😭🫶🏼

Puppy Phum- honestly is anyone surprised? No? Thought so.

This smile-

It holds so much happiness and the brunt of so many years of trauma. It's so beautiful. I'm probably gonna rewatch the heck out of this scene.

I end Part 1 here, Part 2 will be out (hopefully) soon!

If you got this far, thank you so much for reading! 😊 (All mistakes are mine, but in my defense, I literally fell asleep while writing this.)

Here, have a pie (of your favourite flavour) 🥧

[all-things-skylanders]

Could I request some boom bloom headcannons and share one of them (she’s bisexual )

Yeah, looking her over, I can definitely see that Boom Bloom has Bi Energy. This is actually the first requested character I don't have in my collection, so I'm relying on the wiki alone.

Updated Lore:

Boom Bloom was a sentient tree at one point, helpless and yet peaceful. She had no name, and yet everyone in the grove knew her, and she knew everyone else. Of course, that was because her only neighbors were other sentient trees! Boom Bloom lived for over a thousand years, meaning that she had watched the fall of the Arkeyan empire at the hands of the Giants, though she had never learned what it was like to meet the fabled Tree Rex.

After nearly twelve-hundred years of life, Boom Bloom found herself growing increasingly bored of the status quo. She had counted the leaves of every tree in sight a thousand times over, watched blades of grass wither with unwavering focus, and survived locust attacks for generations.

When change finally came, it was in the form of an Ent Ninja and his apprentice. The ent was the supposed Guardian of the Forest, though he mostly stuck to the more populated areas. The grove however, was the perfect spot for him and the little elf girl with him to train. For years, Boom Bloom watched as the elf grew into the future warrior, Stealth Elf. Boom Bloom herself watched the ninja training every day as well, soaking everything that she needed to know up, unlike the other trees who didn't care for learning such frivolities that they would never use.

When Stealth Elf graduated and moved on, the status quo set back in, but only for a short while. The villanous Dr. Krankcase dug up the entire grove of its trees and brought them to his lab for experiments, mutating each of them into what were intended to be his minions. The trees didn't take kindly to this, and were quick to rebel with their new bodies. All of Boom Bloom's old friends quickly were destroyed, as they knew nothing of using their physical forms, but Boom Bloom had learned of combat through watching the ninjas train, so with the help of her mutated powers, she destroyed Krankcase's entire laboratory, where the villain only escaped by a hair.

Boom Bloom's ancient wisdom and prowess rivaling the most decorated skylanders in the team, Boom Bloom was quick to become a Sensei when she sought out the famed Master Eon, teaching giddy recruits in the pursuit of patience.

Other Stuff:

Boom Bloom is Bisexual, though not towards other creatures. Boom Bloom has been caught flirting with flowers and shrubs around the academy, and has yet to exhibit any attraction to something capable of returning those feelings.

Due to their pasts as mutated trees, and similar ages, Boom Bloom and Tree Rex share a connection, and are commonly paired as duos when big guns need to be called in.

Boom Bloom sees Stealth Elf as something like a daughter, and tries to go on bonding activities and hang-outs, only to confuse Stealth Elf more and more, since the elf herself never knew Boom Bloom had been watching, and therefor felt none of the bond that Boom Bloom did.

Boom Bloom has next to zero social understanding. While she talks very formally and is seemingly polite at first, she can be blunt, emotional and easily confused, since she knows very little of her world beyond what she eavesdropped. She also has next to no concept of mortality and time, so she's given quite a few skylanders existential dread over their short lives.

Boom Bloom has severe survivor's guilt, as she knew her grove mates for nearly twelve centuries, and now she is the last one left. On late nights, she may be found in the middle of Life Zones, mourning her kin.

WOAH! That was a lot more than I expected to write, Boom Bloom really spoke to me a lot! She has a really solid concept that lends itself to my favorite brand of angst quite well, so I guess I kinda went overboard.

That's what I could come up with for Boom Bloom. Do you like it? I'm always down for feedback, as long as it's polite ^^

[more-than-a-princess]

Closed starter for @ahogedetective!

It had been Miss Yukizome's idea, in collaboration with the instructor of Class 79. And more often than not, Miss Yukizome got her way: Mr. Munakata supported her always, and with his support came Mr. Sakakura's enforcement, to the point that Headmaster Kirigiri wasn't about to object. But her teacher's heart, Sonia supposed, was in the right place: she always looked for ways for Main Course students to foster relationships not directly tied to their talents, or at least not handed out due to their proficiency in them. That, and the biannual Steering Committee Review was known to terrify the younger students: apparently last year, someone in the 78th Class had managed a panic attack during their exam, startling both the Steering Committee and the onlookers, often involved in various businesses and organizations looking to employ an Ultimate after graduation. In short, it would be a negative look for the school if the pressure put on the shoulders of their Main Course students caused them to break in front of the very people whom they needed to dazzle.

So it had been Chisa Yukizome's idea for the new Class 79: allow members of the third year class, Class 77, to mentor the newest first year students. To prepare them for what it would be like to be watched, judged, and scrutinized by the very people who allowed them entrance into Hope's Peak Academy as well as their future employers and benefactors. An opportunity to observe their investments, so to speak. The school couldn't only run on the Reserve Course fees, after all.

The pairings had been assigned at random, though Sonia had let out an audible sigh of relief when hers had been handed out. Truth be told, she was worried she might be assigned someone who proved a challenge to get along with, like Iruma-san or Momota-san. But to her delight, she'd been assigned not just an underclassman but a friend, and hadn't hesitated to arrange for her and Shuichi to meet on an empty floor of the Hope's Peak Library after classes.

"Saihara-san!" She called quietly, giving him a smile and a small wave as he approached. There were a few other students working on collaborative projects, so their conversation likely wouldn't bother many. Still, it was only polite. "Thank you for coming. I was, in all honesty, concerned about how I might mentor some members of Class 79! But I do hope we shall work well together in this capacity, even though it is odd to be visiting the library for something other than selecting works of fiction to borrow."

She opened a folder to reveal a written form, soon to be filled out by her and every other member of Class 77-B with their assigned first year, depicting plans for exam project evaluations and the steps they'd take together to prepare the first year for the challenge. "Now," She began, as professionally as she could in the company of a friend, whom she'd rather ask if he'd visited a new exhibit devoted to Agatha Christie that was currently touring Tokyo. "What have you come up with thus far to show your recently-acquired knowledge or projects related to your talent? Perhaps I may be able to assist: unfortunately, our teachers are not joking when they tell you that if you fail to impress the steering committee, you may be held back another year."

[kiljoius-writes]

Downswing

Rating: General

Ao3 | FFN

Summary: Ibiki tells him, "Your feelings don't matter." Iruka thinks about it all night.

Iruka grapples with his identity as a sensei as his kids prepare to graduate.

Iruka focused genfic one shot

Word Count: 2.3k

Written for my writing friend, @elreinodelpurgatorio! Check out their stuff, too &lt;3

The day Iruka witnessed Hinata give Naruto a bento box with the reddest face known to man, he could already feel himself getting tired.

Sakura and Ino were always menaces. He had no issue fielding them and their fawning over Sasuke. It had been a long-standing thing at this point. But once he saw his other students exhibiting feelings for one another, he knew his peace would be limited.

Peace for Iruka was a quiet afternoon with a book, under the sun, but covered by a tree, by a lake. Quiet to contrast the chaos of looking after dozens of preteens all day every day.

Don’t mistake him. He loves his job, there’s a reason he chose it. Watching a little genin perfect their shadow clone, hit the center of a target with their kunai, find out their chakra nature – it’s what he lives for. To see them grow up and be capable little shinobi. Able to defend themselves, the people they care about, and their village. He doesn’t like to think about the horrors that might await them in their future, just hopes that he can impart some semblance of normalcy and care.

But watching horribly awkward 12- and 13-year-olds fumble about their emotions and hormones is both amusing and painful.

It starts with Ino loudly making fun of Shikamaru’s nose and her crying when he calls her Sakura’s signature insult, “pig.” Moves to Kiba trying to sit a little closer to Ino on some days. Naruto tries to give Sakura a cherry blossom, Hinata scaredly leaves a bento on Naruto’s desk, and Sasuke “hangs out” by a tree while he watches Hinata train.

The patterns accumulate, become more elaborate as they go through the months. He’s known these damn kids for years, he’s not ready for the drama. Wants them to keep being stupid little weirdos who make up silly games with their wooden kunai, tell each other jokes that make zero sense, pretend like they have ancient powers that make them immune to being ‘it’ during tag. That’s what he misses most, the peace of nonsense between children.

No, they’re going through weird hormonal transitions and Iruka wishes he could fast forward a year or two.

A meeting in the Hokage tower of available chūnin and jōnin doesn’t help.

A senior jōnin stands at the front of the room, addressing them all about a potential threat that looms over Konoha. Iruka listens carefully, knowing that he needs to pay special attention with the genin exams coming up. The last thing he wants is to promote a bunch of hormonal kids right before a potential war. He’ll hold them all back if he has to, he doesn’t want what happened to his parents to befall these kids. As annoying as they are, they hold a special place in his squishy heart.

It doesn’t seem too terribly serious, so Iruka keeps the information filed away. Makes sure it’s something to keep an eye on and check in about but stays calm. He’ll talk to his kids tomorrow about preparedness and knowing when to move to the defensive. For now, he just keeps those notes tucked in his pocket and breathes a sigh of relief that it isn’t more serious than he initially thought.

In the area outside of the meeting around, there are refreshments. He spots Asuma and Aoba where the gyoza is, Kakashi where the fresh fruit is, and Ibiki and Anko where the drinks are, and decides he can stick around for a bit. He comes up beside Kakashi to grab a napkin to spoon melon into, smiling at him.

“Kakashi,” Iruka acknowledges him first, moving down to the mango. “Ready for your team?”

“Ready as ever,” Kakashi responds, holding the napkin to his chest. “See what we have this year.”

“I’m sure you’ll be impressed.”

Iruka doesn’t like to blow smoke, but he likes the batch he has. Naruto was the hardest one for him, but in the end, he really liked the kid. It’s been a rough time, especially considering the ‘beginning’ of their relationship, but Naruto demonstrated to Iruka that he’s serious. And honestly, he might just hold a soft spot for the poor kid at this point. Sure, little Iruka thought it would be easier on everyone if someone housing a monster, specifically a monster that killed his parents, just….be gone. It took a lot of time for Iruka to reconcile his love of kids and teaching and his hate of the tailed beast that took his parents from him. Made him an orphan as a kid.

Naruto was an orphan from his first few hours of life and housed that same beast.

Naruto irritates Iruka and makes him laugh. Makes him feel sad, angry, happy, and love.

He’s just a kid.

They all are. Iruka reminds himself of this every day. It’s why he does what he does. They’re just kids.

They need someone to guide them, help them, listen to their snotty fits and philosophical questions. His job is their success. A teacher has to love their kids, and he thinks he does.

“Had enough of the runts?”

Anko is the first to crush his worldview at all times, today is no different. She strolls up with some sort of energy drink in hand alongside Ibiki, who stays quiet, for now.

“Not at all,” Iruka responds, looking away as he piles a small bowl with various fruits. “Opposite, even.”

“Yeah, right!” Anko snorts, and soon, the other jōnin are converging on him. Kakashi is smirking under that mask, Asuma and Aoba meander over, and Kurenai and Genma cross from the other side, too, curious as to what’s going on.

“Little hellhounds you’re responsible for,” Aoba comments, popping a piece of gyoza in his maw. Iruka sighs, regretting his decisions as he often does.

“Leave him alone,” Asuma says, scratching at his chest with his lighter in hand, though no cigarette in his mouth. “He’s got it hard enough.”

“They’re cuties,” Kurenai says, arms crossed behind her back while Genma chews a needle. “I’m excited for whoever you put together for my team.”

“Excitement is definitely the wrong emotion.” Genma rolls his eyes, then looks away, clicks his tongue. Just then, a little discussion breaks out between the jōnin over what teams will be formed and who will get what. The jōnin sensei were decided a few months ago, and it’s standard for them to be itching to see who they’ll be assigned.

Iruka finds it all to be noise that hurts his brain. A simple conversation with Kakashi has turned into an interrogation, turned to a gossip fest about his students.

Genin and chūnin exams were the extent of excitement in the village these days. Without attacks or wars or good movies, it was all about the kids who would be the next killing machines.

Iruka tries not to think about his role in that. Tries to think of the good he does. With several other jōnin berating him for contributing to a class of annoying preteens, he finds it hard to focus on their good.

“Your feelings don’t matter,” Ibiki tells Iruka in this flat tone that’s not picked up on by most of the group, only by Aoba and Kakashi, who both look up in surprise. It’s all Ibiki says before setting his half-full cup on the table and taking off for good.

“What d’you think he meant by that?” Aoba asks, stepping to Iruka’s side. Anko notices his abandoned drink and snatches it up.

Iruka thinks about it all night.

“You don’t think I’m being selfish, do you?”

Kakashi perks an eyebrow at his dubious book but doesn’t look up. Iruka’s hunched over, forearms on his knees, restless legs. When he doesn’t respond, Iruka just sighs, pulls at his fatigues to straighten them out.

It’s a Sunday, a few weeks from genin promotion, and Iruka still thinks of the low blow Ibiki dished out to him. Thought about marching into interrogation to ask him just what the hell he meant, why it would ever seem like he was making things about himself. Iruka thinks he’s selfless, to be totally honest.

“I do this job because I care about those kids,” Iruka says, rubbing the pads of his fingers into his forehead. “I know my feelings don’t matter. I’ve never made this job about me.”

Kakashi turns a page but remains silent. It irritates Iruka.

“I mean, I have lost my temper a couple of times. Mostly with Naruto.” Iruka sighs, rubbing his hands over his face. “It’s because I care about them so much. They think becoming ninja, it’s fun. It’s not supposed to be fun.”

Iruka looks up at the sound of Kakashi’s book shutting, watches him readjust his mask while staring out into the distance. Finally, he actually says something. “Your feelings don’t matter.”

Jaw dropped, Iruka reels backward. “That’s really funny coming from you, Hatake.”

“You make it about you and what you’re feeling.” It’s like a dagger to his back hearing something like this from Kakashi of all people. “What are the runts feeling?”

“Excited?” Iruka says with an unsure tone. “Over-confident? Weirdly emotional.” Kakashi raises an eyebrow, rests his book on his chest as he sinks into the seat. He takes it as a sign to keep going. “Hormonal, that’s for sure.” He slumps over, hangs his head. “Curious but some of them are nervous. I’m not ready for them to leave yet.”

Kakashi folds his hands behind his neck. “Jobs not about what you want. Ibiki was right. Your feelings don’t matter.”

A perfect way to enter the new week, with both Ibiki and Kakashi nonchalantly telling him he’s worthless.

It makes him reflect on what all this means; what he’s doing all this for.

If called, Iruka has no doubt he’d be ready and willing to step it up for this village his parents died for. But there’s also a reason he didn’t progress beyond chūnin. This village is his home, and he thinks he services it best when he’s here, in his home.

But…

Is he really just ushering in the newest generation of killing machines?

Is that what his sensei thought of him? What they thought of Hayate, Yugao, and Shisui when they graduated together? That he and they’d be ripe for training to maw their way through any threat, big or small? It’s hard to think he’d be lying if he said he never thought about his kids going into that world and feeling downright frightened.

But if that’s selfish, then maybe he’s selfish. There’s no way someone can tell him he’s wrong for loving those kids.

“Iruka-sensei.”

Torn from the paperwork that sits in front of him, his eyes lift to meet the lightness of his Hyūga girl. One of the ones he worries most for, blinking at him with a sheepish smile. He holds back an exasperated sigh and thinks back to Ibiki and Kakashi. His feelings don’t matter. When it comes to these kids; their feelings matter. He gives her a lopsided smile, nodding at her to continue. “Hi, Hinata.”

“Do you think maybe, ehm, today, w-we could – “ Iruka blinks at her poking fingers, then back up at her. He sits up completely now, rolls his chair towards her to give her his full attention. She smiles a little, shoving her hands to her sides. “M-maybe this week we could have an off d-day? T-to let everyone relax…”

Iruka tilts his head, pondering the proposition.

Of all the kids, besides maybe Sasuke, Hinata was the last he ever once expected to ask for a break.

Must be serious.

Iruka pulls on his last week of being a genin.

Train, training, training.

“I-I’m sorry,” Hinata immediately begins which makes him wave his hand at her, more dismissively than he means to me. He pulls the hand down and turns to her.

“That sounds really nice,” he says it with all the sincerity he can muster. She looks at him curiously, clearly unsure as to whether to trust him. He clasps his hands together, leans forward. “Wednesday, day before the exams. Let’s go to the lake.”

“The lake,” she repeats, eyes unblinking at him. “I like the lake.”

“Me too,” he tells her, smiling a little wider now.

“I-I think the others do, too.”

Iruka feels a little warmer inside.

They do the usual preparations for the week without Iruka telling the rest of the class of the planned break. Makes it all the better on Wednesday, when tired eyes and exasperated sighs greet him, and he tells them to put their packs back on. They’re going to the lake.

With full sun, but plenty of canopy shade. With books and lunches and kunai and notes and bathing gear and sugary sweet drinks.

Iruka’s happy for his students to rush home to dress for the occasion, and he’s in comfortable shorts and a t-shirt when they arrive.

As he settles against the tree, he looks at the class. His kids that he’s loved for a long time. Trains his eye on a certain few, the ones he worked the hardest for. Sees them jump into the lake in bathing suits, scream and yell and laugh. Splash and push each other’s faces into the water. Kick their feet, make up games like they're just the kids they're meant to be. Call each other stupid and cute and crazy. Promise each other things won't change after this.

His chest feels warm.

Iruka pulls his arms behind his head and admires the generation of students he helped usher in.

He’s selfish, he realizes.

These are his kids.

Seeing them succeed is all he’s wanted in his adult life.

A sigh accompanied by shrieks and laughter and snorts and splashes and love surrounds him.

Umino Iruka is alright with being selfish.

[bahca-promotion-bahca]

Possible future exhabition spaces

SALTSPACE Pros and Cons

I like that they have a focus on graduate artists and want to help up and coming artist get in to the gallery space. This provides experience for artists and a taste of what exhibiting independently and/or as a geoup could be like.

The space is a place for many diffrent artist, you can become a resident with the gallery and also exhibit by becoming a member.

They also accommodate to charity events and local organisation.

This is there location on the map amd a pictire of the oitside of the building. As you can see it is a unassuming outside. It was not the easiest place to find and when visiting a fellow clasmates exhabition.

We actually got quite lost as there are diffrent entrances to the building. The gallery space is up a few floors and wasnt sign poster very well inside or out.

I think this is something that they could work on as it may turn away potential viewers of the exhabition.

This is the space inside. The space is rather small although they do provide you with the keys to the space and give you quite alot of freedom to install how you wish.

This makes the space more appealing to new artists in the industry as it means that you are still able to experiment with installing and your practice.

When exhibiting in the space you are soley responsible for install and opening night. They are able to provide a small amount of equiptment such as a small tv set, install tools and some tables/chairs.

It might not come with all the bells and whistles so to say, it dose provide freedom for the artist tho which i think is invaluable.

It will ultimately help the artist understand responsibility for their work and the spaces that they exhibit in.

As an new artist i think this is a reasonable amount of money to pay for a gallery space, paying for the space gives you the chance at exposure and experience. Knowing that the money goes back into the community and space, so other artists can have the same opportunity, is something i think we need more of. Artist should be supporting other artists.

Poster for workshop by artist and advertised by the salt space ^^^^

Some examples of the residents that work at the salt space.

This artwork is by Shona Wardrop, their 2022 resident. The artwork explores being a disabled woman in the artworld wanting to be a voice for these women.

[weltonreject]

omg a bull terrier would be even better than a cat (no hate to cats tho obvi), they could have a little bed behind the counter too for nap times

also re my last ask/your answer: i could say so much about bog bodies but main points are 1. they are super well preserved (like looked like i could still hold their hand, could see how they kept their nails, still had hair kind of well preserved) and it's all just bc of the bogs and 2. the history around them is v interesting and has to do with kingship and sacrifice (the name of the exhibit!), and i just find the combination of history preserved so well and the things nature can do so fascinating

and also also i wonder what it is in the air drawing us back to tgf? i hope more people join in and we can have a renaissance (also hello hathaway and cleo !! i think i have said before but i love the way u name characters i take so much inspiration from just the Vibes ur character names create when i am coming up with my own names (and also also i love lost and stolen and hope one day i can read it again (but also no pressure) and while i'm at it i do want u to know that i still carry it with me in the best way!! this is getting long so i will stop but !! u are master of creating such big feelings with literally all aspects of ur writing i hope to be lucky enough to read more in the future <3)

<3333 egr

howdy darling!! <3

oh i'm so glad we agree on the bull terrier AND a little bed behind the counter, but of course. she wouldn't just have to sleep on my feet or the ground! she's beloved by the (presumably) small town she Works in; she must be treated with respect!

re: bog bodies - that IS really interesting! the cross section of really well preserved artifacts that allows us to document and observe very human-made history AND that preservation being done strictly by nature! something very much untouchable in its forces by man! wow that's so fascinating holy shit-- oh i totally get why you'd have interest in this!!

i've started a little of my tgf reread but also have picked up tsh again because a friend recently read it for the first and i want to freshen up! either way, donna is pulling us back in... god help us

(lastly, thank you so much.... i never know what to say when people have positive reactions to lost & stolen and hathaway & cleo. they were just my silly little thesis project i was working on and struggling with forEVER (or at least it felt like it). then lockdown made it so i couldn't present the completed piece to my department and have that You Wrote A Novel (kinda) moment. so i sort of... forget? that i did it? and that i shared it? and there are some of you out there that have read it?? and think about it?? and it just makes me well up and feel so special and happy. i cannot thank you enough for reading it, let alone taking it in with such good faith and kindness. thank you thank you xo i've only begun to break out of my writing drought from graduating but i did take out all my original notes from lost & stolen the other day... i don't know if i'll have the Thesis Wall again but i think, maybe, i might start gathering some thoughts for the rewrite...)

[c03xistentw01]

hey there

it's been a while. I'm sorry. I've been so busy getting my feelings hurt over random guys on the internet.

Matteo. Or the so-called "Legami guy" as addressed to by me and my friends. I sent him a direct to which he replied after a whole damn month at 11:00ish pm. He seemed so chill and was all like "no worries it's really nice when people take initiatives" i explicitly asked him out after that to which he replied "I'm very pleased but I'm actually gay haha". As y'all know me at this point, yours truly SO did not give in and came back after a day with a new wave of spontaneounity in case that's a word, and told me about how i so sincerely hope that in the next lifetime we both be reborn as butterflies whose preferences are oppositely aligned. Matteo saw my message and didn't reply. He still sees my stories as well. Matteo hurt my feelings by us not being born as butterflies (or ladders) with oppositely aligned preferences.

Leone. The guy i met on bumble, with whom I've been chatting for quite some time, principalmente in italiano. Si, veramente. With him being super gentle and patient with my errors, we have been enjoying a bilingual, somewhat vague conversations over the past few weeks. He once called me "weirda". I'm guessing you won't be planning to ask a weirda out in the foreseeable future, nay?

Riccardo. I met him on bumble as well. In italian we've spoken as well. We've apparently been classmates before and he graduated before me and is now working in Padova come un software engineer, which he doesn't like that much, but eh. He mentioned that he can capirmi tranquillamente and asked me whether I had learned Italian stando qua in Italia? [update: I just told him I'll be glad to hang out if he was free and in Padova - in case, of course, he doesn't suddenly come out as asexual or something :s]

I'm tired. The rest is also potentially interesting like I went to Venezia for an in-person meeting with Maria and Laurent from AMA Venezia. They told me i was apparently the best candidate, smart and also Laurent (The Investor of the exhibition which contains performance art which is the very piece of art I'll hopefully be working on this summer instead of floating in a bottomless black sea of hot, humid and loud depression) had apparently taken a liking in me according to Maria (The organizer, who informed me that since I'll be doing an extracurricular stage, the monthly net amount of my allowance will be one-fucking-thousand euros).

Filippo is in New Zealand. Yes you read that right, he's in the southern hemisphere. It's good to be optimistic in times like this. He could be on Mars i could be somewhere in M31.

[prettyhennytea]

The latest episode of Married to Medicine brought back a familiar face as Quad Webb made her grand return. Phaedra Parks wasted no time in updating Quad on the latest gossip surrounding her ex-husband, Dr. Gregory Lunceford, and his new fiancee, Lateasha Lunceford aka Sweet Tea. It seemed like Sweet Tea was ready to give Dr. G everything he needed, including babies! While Quad played it cool at first, there was a surprise twist awaiting everyone.

Toya Bush-Harris had two major successes in this episode. The first was having an open and honest conversation about sex with her teenage sons - on important milestone for any parent. The second success came with the launch of her wine club, which ended on a high note despite some underlying tensions.

As we approach Sweet Tea's big day, let's dive into all the details from Married to Medicine Season 10, Episode 3.

To celebrate Dr. G's upcoming wedding, Toya decided to throw him a bachelor party while simultaneously organizing a pamper party for Sweet Tea. However, Sweet Tea seemed confused about what exactly a pamper party entailed but followed instructions to dress in lingerie nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Dr. Simone Whitmore and Dr. Jacqueline Walters enjoyed smoothies together while discussing Sweet Tea's situation. Simone mentioned that Sweet Tea felt overwhelmed with wedding planning and even wanted an assistant for grocery shopping - prompting them both to reminisce about their own experience when they were younger.

Simone expressed the need for Sweet Tea to step up into "grown woman status" sooner rather than later since she had responsibilities like running a private practice and taking care of her family at that age.

Dr. Heavenly Kimes met up with Sweet Tea for dinner where they kicked things off with shots - lots of shots! As the drinks flowed, Sweet Tea spilled all the tea about her relationship with Dr. G. She revealed that he complained about paying for everything and exhibited controlling behavior, even going so far as to make up a story about being robbed just to remind her to turn on the alarm. Heavenly recognized these patterns from Dr. G's past relationship with Quad and didn't want Sweet Tea to go through the same struggles.

During a family dinner, Simone, Cecil, and their sons Michael and Miles discussed college and future plans. While Cecil encouraged them to take their time in making decisions. Simone was eager for them to graduate and move out of the house as soon as possible - leading to a disagreement between the couple regarding their parenting approach.

On another note, Heavenly's daughter Alaura expressed her desire to attend college out of state but faced resistance from her parents who warned her about potential dangers in Florida - including windstorms and banking crises! They hoped their warnings would convince Alaura to stay closer to home for college.

Dr. Eugene Harris took his sons shopping in an attempt to bond with them. However, his attempt at relating by using a Steve Buscemi reference fell flat when they asked him never to talk like that again. The boys also had some follow-up questions from their previous sex talk but quickly realized it was better suited for mom's explanation.

Meanwhile, Toya prepared for Sweet Tea's pamper party alongside Phaedra. They dressed up in fancy lingerie while spreading rose petals on the ground before several shirtless men in red boxers arrived - ready for some pampering activities rather than anything sexual. Simone, Jackie, and Dr. Alicia Egolum joined the party where they were treated with foot massages and back rubs by the attentive men present.

As Toya's event came alive with relaxation vibes, it was time for Dr. G's bachelor party! After raising a toast "to the next chapter", the boys hopped onto a party bus and were greeted by strippers. The twerking and excitement reached new heights, with Dr. G joking about his pants potentially coming down - much to the amusement of everyone present.

However, across town at Sweet Tea's pamper party, things took a turn for the worse when she received news about an unexpected change in the wedding venue that would cost an additional fourteen thousand dollars. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Sweet Tea lashed out at her sister Kaneasha, resulting in a heated argument that required intervention from others attending the party. Dr. Jackie could be seen repeatedly telling Kaneasha, "that's your sister."

Heavenly then shared with the group that Sweet Tea had mentioned Dr. G's controlling behavior and expressed doubts about their readiness for marriage just two days before their wedding. Simone felt Heavenly was being shady by bringing up these concerns so close to the big day.

But amidst all this drama, another bombshell dropped as Quad unexpectedly arrived at the party! Toya was not pleased with her presence and questioned how she got invited in the first place. Phaedra admitted to inviting Quad due to everyone's curiosity about her whereabouts.

Quad and Sweet Tea engaged in friendly conversation as if they were old friends - further fueling Toya's frustrarion. Toya made it clear that Quad wasn't welcome there or at the upcoming wedding either.

While tensions escalated between Toya and Quad, Heavenly recognized it was a lost cause trying to mediate between them giben their history of accusations against each other. As tensions rose further, Toya asked Phaedra to escort Quad out of the party - leading to an intense exchange of words between them.

In her confessional interview, Quad declared Toya as her enemy but chose not to escalate matters further during this eventful evening before bidding farewell with a simple "bye now". However, it seems like we haven't seen the last of Quad just yet!

Catch an all new Episode of Married to Medicine Sundays at 9/8c on Bravo!

[ryanadrianprince]

UPDATE - HOW WAS STUDYING

I was thinking and decided it would be a good idea to do a final blog post, (well, semi-final as I do see myself coming back to this blog more consistently again in the future, if I ever decide to do a PhD maybe) of how my studies went and what I have been up to now.

I remember when I decided to study for my MA in documentary photography at Westminster a few years ago, I scoured the internet looking for any reference by anyone who had studied the course or something similar. I think I found like one person's blog, and it was a big help in me making my choice to apply for the course and also showed me the type/calibre of work that might be expected of me.

So here I am hoping that I can do the same for someone else, currently typing this post so as to not leave my blog open-ended. A bit like when you find a forum of someone asking a question on the internet to which you also need an answer and no one responds. Or worse yet it has a response, a possible solution and the person asking never comes back to the forum to let us know if all his problems are solved.

To begin, I'm proud to say that I finished my course with flying colours passing with a 1st, It was tough at times but we made it! Especially studying during the COVID pandemic, I think doing the course part-time over 2 years helped A LOT and I would recommend doing a masters in that way if possible.

A few notable achievements I can mention are, I was in The Royal Photographic Society's yearly photography exhibition, which then put me on their radar to judge it the following year. I exhibited work at Photo London and Peckham 24 the same weekend which was a complete buzz and I loved it. I received a bursary from the Martin Parr Foundation which helped me buy some photography equipment, I even got to meet Martin Parr and had a cup of tea with him. I managed to have a portrait in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, granted it was the first time it was online due to COVID but still a big achievement! I am showing my work at a portfolio review in Switzerland coming up very soon and if things work out I should be getting my first bit of experience as an associate lecturer soon too.

So all in all studying was good for me and it went very well I feel like my career has started to really kick off since graduating! I hope anyone considering doing the same or a similar course finds my blog and this post and gets some form of inspiration from me, the same way I did when was contemplating it and I found that other person's blog. Lastly, I'm fairly happy for people to reach out if they have any questions related to photography or studying.

Good Luck.

[nimy1234]

Signs It's Time To Renovate Your Home

Introduction

Remodelling your house can be exciting and stressful, and it might seem like there are many prospective upgrades to do all at once.

It's common to put off tasks until they are necessary, but some indications shouldn't be disregarded, and postponing a crucial update could end up costing more money in the long run.

It's time to get serious about your remodelling ideas if you observe any of these things taking place close to your house.

Signs It's Time To Upgrade Your Residence

Very Clear Sign Of Deterioration Is Exhibited By Your Home

Remodelling a house can occasionally be necessary. Deterioration may have caused structural problems, such as a leaky roof, decaying flooring on a front porch, or the need for foundation and fireplace repointing. Or perhaps the tiles in your kitchen or bathroom are coming loose, or your carpets are showing signs of wear and weathering dating back at least ten years.

Home deterioration concerns shouldn't be ignored because they may not only cause more expensive issues in the future (such as a failing roof, foundation, or porch), but they may also affect your satisfaction with the house and your ability to sell it in the future.

You Can Afford It

A financial investment is necessary when renovating a home, particularly if you're considering a major redesign like a kitchen remodelling or an extension. If your property has enough equity, a home equity loan might be able to help you pay for the renovations. Discuss your alternatives for funding a remodel with your banking institution.

You Plan On Staying In The Home Long Enough To See A Return On Investment

Remodelling might not make sense if you have high school-aged children and want to downsize after they graduate or if your profession frequently involves movement.

See Also Signs You Need To Upgrade Your Kitchen Right Away

Make sure you're not only going to enjoy the benefits of that redesign for years to come but that you also have a chance of recouping some of the expenditures when you sell, if you're considering a major home makeover that needs significant financial investment. You won't recoup much of your investment if you spend lakhs updating your kitchen and then decide to sell your home two years later.

A bespoke stone façade can be made with manufactured stone veneer, and installing custom garage doors is another renovation option with a great return on investment.

You're Emotionally Attached To Your Home Even Though It's Not Meeting Your Current Needs

Renovations are preferable to selling and moving from your current home and area if you have a strong emotional connection to them. You might be a part of a close-knit community where everyone is someone you can rely on. Maybe the local school is a great fit for your children. Or perhaps you have sentimental ties to this house because it was where your kids were born.

Whatever the cause, it's generally preferable to speak with an architect and obtain some renovation ideas for your home so that it better fits your present lifestyle rather than moving somewhere if your property is tugging at your heartstrings.

You Are Capable Of Tolerating A Short-Term Change In Lifestyle

House renovations are untidy and time-consuming, especially if a kitchen remodel or home expansion is involved.

Can you endure having a building site in your house for three to six months? Do you have practical and economical options for cooking and eating while the kitchen renovation is taking place?

Make sure you and your family members are aware of the brief inconvenience that will result and that everyone agrees that the disruption of a home redesign will be for the best.

Unwanted Visitors Are Present 

If you've seen bugs around your home, they're probably hiding in the attic or gutters. One of the key indicators that it's time to remodel your home is an infestation. To stop bugs from returning after an infestation, remodelling would be beneficial. The filthy parts of old houses are attractive to a lot of rodents and insects.

Get rid of any infestation, whether it's caused by rodents or something else, as soon as you can. You prevent other rodents and insects from entering your home by doing this.

Also Read:  Mechanism Of Home Renovation Loan |TimesProperty

Also Read: 10 Budget-Friendly Home Renovation Ideas You'll Love |Times Property

[beaucaras]

Name: Beau Caras  Nickname(s): Pseudonym (for his art) - Peregrine  Age: 32 DOB: January 16th  Gender Identity: Male (he/him/his) Sexual Orientation: Pansexual Relationship Status: Single Occupation: Fine Artist/Illustrator/Forger of Paintings Kinks: clothed sex, breath play, orgasm denial, exhibitionism, restraints, dirty talk Anti-Kinks: scat, gore, vore, watersports, fisitng

& Appearance

Height: 5′9″ Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Blue Distinguishing features: his hair is constantly in a state of feathery disarray, he always wears black and always wears long sleeves and pants regardless of the weather  Tattoos/Piercings: he has one of his ears pierced, though he doesn’t often wear jewelry in it; he has a full sleeve on his left arm that he designed for himself featuring various elements of greek mythology

& Personality

Negative Personality Traits: possessive, standoffish, obsessive, competitive, petty Positive Personality Traits: efficient, intuitive, protective, ambitious, witty, steadfast Beau is not a people person. He finds social interactions taxing and anxiety inducing and he generally avoids them as much as he can. Because of this, he comes across as prickly and arrogant/disinterested. He is very selective about his company, but those he does consider friends, he will actively do anything and everything for. 

& Background

Beau had always had an interest in art. From a young age, he was taken with the beauty of paintings from the Baroque and Renaissance periods of Art History. He fixated on them, deciding he wanted to learn how to do what they did and putting a surprising amount of effort into recreating pieces by the masters in order to learn their techniques. As he got older, this fixation evolved into an interest in attempting to create his own art, which became his one and only plan for the future. His art was surreal and dreamlike but stuck closely to the rules he’d gathered from his studies, as if he had never even considered breaking them. 

Graduating a semester early, he decided to forgo University and instead focus on his art, where his passion truly lie. It consumed his entire existence, always on his mind even when he worked the minimum wage jobs he needed to keep himself housed and fed. He wasn’t terribly successful in his endeavors, but he did manage to get ahold of art dealers, collectors, and curators every now and again through sheer persistence. 

One museum curator who had ended up working with him on multiple occasions, eventually became a friend - a remarkable feat for someone as outwardly prickly as Beau. Said director was also his entryway into the world of art forgery. The man had come by to see one of the pieces he’d been working on as part of a larger exhibition and saw a pile of his oil paint studies in the corner. They impressed him and he made the starving artist an offer he couldn’t refuse. 

Over a decade in the industry made Beau the best of the best. It had also made him fairly wealthy with no shortage of people interested in his skillset. He’d always been skilled at mimicking the style of artists he studied and those skills had just been honed by his lucrative line of work. Unfortunately, his personal work suffered from this shift in focus, losing any spark it may have had. Shallow concepts and dead expressions that even his impeccable technique couldn’t save, he found himself working on it less and less and investing that time instead into his forgeries. 

Beau was not a people person. He had a total of two or three friends by the time he hit thirty and a short list of romantic relationships that hadn’t lasted longer than a month each. Loneliness was a beast he tried to avoid thinking about as much as he could, but he couldn’t run from it forever. His sister worried about him and even he couldn’t remain stubborn enough to feign ignorance forever. 

Coming to the Haus after receiving an invitation was both an attempt to get back some spark of inspiration with a change in scenery and a solution to his loneliness. What better way to deal with his apprehension when it came to social situations then to pay people to do them on one’s own terms? And the bonuses that came along with said company, well those were simply that - bonuses. At least, that’s what he tried to convince himself. He’d never wanted to be the kind of rich that paid for sex. 

& Useless Facts 

He can read Italian but he can’t really speak it.  

Beau has two siblings, he only talks to one of them regularly. He and his sister are close. 

For a while he was interested in trying to do taxidermy but the process proved too much for his stomach. He likes it in theory, not in practice. 

He thinks small talk is stupid and normally skips right through it. If he doesn’t, he just runs through a little script of non-answers and gets past it as quick as he can. 

He needs glasses but rarely wears them unless he’s working on the final stages of a piece in which fine details are pertinent. 

Beau has also learned to properly age paintings to add further air of authenticity. 

& Wanted Connections

someone who has commissioned him for his forgeries/ someone who unknowingly bought one and managed to tie it back to him eventually

someone who want’s to commission him

prior acquaintances

ex-friends: he loves hard and holds grudges like no one’s business 

ex-lovers

a muse or just someone to model for him so he can convince himself this is an artistic endeavor and he doesn’t just wanna fuck a bunch of hot guys 

new friends/fwb 

literally anything and everything

[fantaseawriting]

The Ghost Part 1

Lloyd Hansen x reader

The first part is in third person as it’s Lloyd’s point of view, the rest won’t be. This will be dark.

Triggers: this part has none. The next will include: kidnapping. Dub con non con. Choking. Slapping. Spanking. Degradation. Bondage. Unprotected sex. PIV sex. Anal sex. Oral sex (both male and female receiving). Forced orgasm. Forced submission. More trigger will be added as I write.

IF YOU DONT LIKE ANY OF THOSE PLEASE DONT READ.

18+. MINORS DNI.

Llyod stared at the screens in front of him, analyzing every piece of data he could find. He had been tasked with finding the ‘Ghost’. At least that is the code name the government had given the thief that had stolen more than a quarter billion in jewels world wide. The name wasn’t anything very clever. It was given to the thief due to the fact no one knew anything about them. How they stole the gems, when it happened or what the thief looked like. The Ghost had stumped agencies worldwide. Every crime happened in broad daylight, in crowded rooms with tons of security and cameras. Yet not once was anyone able to pinpoint who took the jewels. Each incident had a small commotion that distracted the guards, and then poof. The jewelers in question were gone. It wasn’t only jewels the thief stole though. No, the Ghost had started dipping their sticky little fingers where they didn’t belong. Llyod had no interest in helping the government find a little thief. Not until said little thief got in his way not just once, but three times now.

The first was during a jewelers sale his company had been paid to provide security for. The jewelers disappeared right under their noses and no one could explain what happened to him. The second was an art piece being sold at a private auction that one of his clients had hired his company to steal. Only the ghost stole it first. The last time was the icing on the cake that sealed the deal for him agreeing to hunt down the ‘Ghost’. An antique ring, with some long lost rumors of it being connected to some ancient buried treasure. Llyod had bought it as a joke at an auction years ago. His own private joke and graduation gift to himself. It sat in a box in a drawer in his closet, along with the other random pieces of jewelers he owned. He had gone into that drawer to grab some cufflinks, and only happened to notice the box’s position was slightly off from how he left it. When he opened the box, the ring was gone, in its place a small ghost charm, something the ‘Ghost’ had started leaving as a signature to mock those hunting them.

Llyod lost his mind at that. Nearly destroying everything in his room from the rage he felt. He immediately called and told them he would take the job. Open checkbook, no limit to find the ghost that was haunting them all. That was three weeks ago. Three weeks of digging up everything he could on the thief, with nothing to show for it. He was no closer to catching the thief that broke into his home now than he had been a month ago. He was going mad with rage. He had started killing anyone that came to report to him that once again they had nothing. He had been watching the security footage from every single robbery for hours. Nothing popped. None of the facial recognition software identified the same person being at two of the robberies, let alone all of them. No one pinged for height and gate matches either. He was quickly coming to the conclusion he wasn’t going to get anything off the footage. If he couldn’t get answers from the past, he would get them from the future. Set something as bait and wait for the ghost to strike.

——————————————————————————

The museum was crowded, full of rich people dressed to the nines, walking around looking at old jewelry while classical music played. One, tucked away towards the back of the exhibit, was the bait. A necklace that once belonged to a queen, made of diamonds and rubies. Worth nearly ten million dollars. Llyod picked the necklace himself from a line up of other jewelry pieces. From what he had learned, it was the perfect bait for the ghost, matching perfectly with previously stolen items. Shiny and expensive. It was one of many pieces of jewelry in the exhibit, all necklaces from some long dead royal or another. The exhibit had been up for a week, Llyod and his staff monitoring it constantly. He was getting antsy. The ghost needed to strike already.

He stood leaning against one of the railings of the overlook from the second floor to the first, where the necklace was. He preferred a high ground vantage point, hoping to be able to pick out the ghost from the crowd. A week of people watching had him on edge and furious. He believed his plan would work, but if the ghost didn’t show up soon he would be made a fool off.

“You look awful tense for someone at a jewelry exhibit.” A voice came from behind him. He turned to see the woman, her hair neatly styled to frame her face, her eyes twinkling in the light as she approached him, a flute of champagne in her hands. He turned back to watching the people below.

“I'm working.” Was all he said, hoping to dismiss the woman.

“And your work requires you to stand there scowling at everyone below?” She asked, a hint of amusement in her voice as she came to stand beside him, looking at the exhibit below. Llyod turned to look at her again, taking her in from head to toe. His gaze lingered on her breast, and the cleavage the gown she wore revealed. Right above she wore a necklace of sparkling diamonds and aquamarines. Expensive, but not overly so. Her gown complimented her skin and body, the perfect color and shade for her. She clearly had some money, but nothing screamed designer, so he doubted she was one of the many heiresses fluttering about the room. The fact that she approached him, yet her gaze remained on the exhibits below both intrigued and infuriated him.

“No, it doesn’t. That’s just a perk.” He answered her, turning towards her as he stepped closer. “What brings you here? You don’t scream entitled heiress.” The laugh that followed his words was almost magical, sending a rush straight to his groin as her twinkling eyes met his. Maybe the ghost not showing for another day wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Not if he had something else to take his frustrations out on.

“No. Not an heiress. I'm also here for work. Though something tells me its different from yours.” Her words were followed with a dazzling smile as she turned towards him. He took the opportunity to step even closer to her, only stopping when her hand that wasn’t holding champagne came to rest on his chest, right above the pocket of his suit.

“And what makes you say that?” He asked, a hand going to her hip.

“You don’t exactly strike me as a historian.” She responded, which caused him to smirk. He leaned down, the hair of his mustache tickling her face as he whispered in her ear.

“No, not a historian. But I could teach you a thing or two.” The hand he had on her hip slid to grab her ass as he spoke. She let out a scoff, using her hand on his chest as leverage to push back from him, which she allowed.

“I doubt that.” She said with an eye roll, sipping her champagne as she returned her gaze to the exhibits below.

“Playing hard to get doesn’t work when you approached me.” Llyod said, coming to stand behind her, pushing her forward into the rail as he caged her there with his arms on either side.

“I approached you because you were standing in the spot with one of the best views of the exhibits below. You can see nearly every exhibit, and its wasted on someone who is merely using it to scowl at everyone else in the building.” She stated.

“Not one of. The best view. It’s why I chose it, sunshine.” She scoffed at the pet name he gave her. Damn he loved when they played hard to get.

“We can agree to disagree then.” She said, attempting to wiggle out of his grasp, which only caused him to chuckle as he stepped flush against her, his tall frame dwarfing hers as she felt something hard pressing into her lower back. He gazed down at her, his view from over her shoulder allowing him to see down her dress and get a better eye full of her breasts.

“You’re right, sunshine, I think I found a better view.” He said, his voice low as his hands left the rail on either side of her to caress her sides. She used the opportunity to sidestep him in an attempt to flee. It mostly worked, only a hand on her elbow stopping her escape.

“I meant a view that would allow me to see the three exhibits that are below us.” She said indignantly. “They may be considered lower value but they still have a rich history and deserve to be admired.” She attempted to pull her arm from his grasp, but it was futile, his grip held firm to the point she was almost certain her arm would bruise.

“Why stare at those when you have such an array of beautiful specimens right here?” His tone told her his words had a double meaning.

“Clearly, we won't agree on this. Now if you would please-“ Her words were caught off by a commotion below them. His eyes flickered to the floor below as he saw his men rushing to the area below where he stood. He pulled her close, grabbing her chin to force her to look at him.

“Stay put, sunshine. I'll see you shortly.” He said, before letting her go and rushing downstairs. As he went, he heard the words,

“Very doubtful, Llyod.” But was more focused on the commotion below to process them. Once he reached the area of the commotion, he saw his men escorting out two gentlemen. He was informed they got into an argument that escalated, but it had nothing to do with the ghost. It was then the mystery woman’s words processed in his head. Very doubtful, Llyod. He had never told her his name. Fury rushed through his veins as he made his way back towards the stairs, stopping when his eyes hit the three exhibits he couldn’t see above, one necklace in particular. Diamonds and aquamarines. A dead ringer for what the woman was wearing.

“Lock everything down. No one leaves.” Llyod ordered furiously through his comms, and his team immediately went to work locking down the building as he headed up the stairs, his eyes scanning the crowd for the woman, who was nowhere to be found.

“Llyod what is the meaning of this? We can’t just lock all these people in here.” Brewer said, approaching him with a pissed off look on her face.

“The ghost was here. She was fucking right here!” He all but screamed, causing quite a few people to stare. He ignored it as he made his way back down to the exhibits alone. “Get the curator and have him check that necklace. Confirm its real.” His men rushed to complete his orders, pulling the necklace and a shaken curator into the side room.

“Llyod start explaining yourself or so help me-“ As Suzanne looked at Llyod an object in his suit pocket, nestled on the pocket square that rested there, caught her attention. “What is that?” Llyod looked down, grabbing the object once he saw it. He held up the little charm. A ghost made of what appeared to be diamond and gold, the only difference from the rest being this one had a winking face and its tongue sticking out, as if mocking him. And it was mocking him.

“Son of a BITCH.” Llyod yelled, smashing the exhibit nearest to him. Just then one of his men came out of the side room, confirming the necklace in the exhibit was a fake.

“Fuck.” Suzanne whispered, realization dawning. “Check them all.” She ordered.

“No one, and I mean no one leaves this building until I’ve found her.” Llyod ordered, making his way through the crowd. Only he didn’t find her, she was already gone. And every single necklace in the exhibit turned out to be a fake. The crowning jewel was each and every fake had a microscopic ghost etched into the fake jewels, another taunt.

Llyod once again stood in front of the screens in his base office, watching the footage of the event. When he went downstairs, she casually left the event as if she didn’t have a care in the world. He had a dozen stills of her pulled up and zoomed in. She may have fooled them all, humiliating both him and the CIA that night. But now he had her. He new what she looked like. And soon enough, he would know everything about her. And then the minx would have hell to pay.

[cjsinkythoughts]

In Need of a Breath

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 4007

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, Zemo, Feelings, Another PTSD Flashback

A/N: So…Part 4 is going to have a couple parts to it. Maybe even three. I didn’t even make it half way through the episode on this one, mainly because I really wanted to fit in the Reader’s backstory and I wanted her and Sam to have a heart-to-heart again. I’m suuuuper tired, so I probably won’t be posting the next part for another few hours (it’s 5 am right now and I haven’t slept), BUT it’s my day off work and I won’t be doing anything I planned because my grandmother had a stroke a couple days ago so plans have changed and I’m staying in to help her, meaning I’ll mostly be writing all day. 

This Part is kind of a mix between off-screen and shot-by-shots, but it’s mostly off screen/what’s going on inside Reader’s head.

I’m really excited about future parts and the characters that are being introduced! I will say that after these parts, I will be doing one shots of previous MCU movies with the Reader, due to the information that is being given about the Reader now. You kind of see more of how she was affected/how she affected the previous MCU movies and what she was doing during that time.

Like always, this hasn’t been beta’d, again it’s SUPER early in the morning, and I’m really tired, so please excuse any mistakes! I hope you guys enjoy this part! Stay tuned for more to come later today!

FATWS MASTERLIST

cjsinkythoughts MASTERLIST

!SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

“You know…I’m really starting to regret saying yes to this.” You huffed out, craning your neck and squinting your eyes against the sun as you stare at the facility in front of you, hating the skin-crawling feeling of being back.

“Would you relax? Whenever you’re nervous, I get nervous, and I don’t wanna be nervous about this.” Sam shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“Do either of you have a better plan?” Bucky grumbled, crossing his arms.

Gnawing on your lips, you finally take the lead and breathe out, “alright. Let’s go then.” You could feel the hesitance from your - what were they? Partners? Coworkers? Teammates? - the fellas before they started after you.

There was a sick twist in your gut as you entered the building, going through the lobby and security.

You had been there.

You had been there when Zemo impersonated Bucky. You had been there when Zemo unleashed the Winter Soldier at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building in Berlin. You had been there during the battle at the airport. You had been there when Zemo turned Tony and Steve against each other in Siberia. You had been there when Zemo tore the Avengers from the inside out. Your family. The only family you’d ever known.

But you’d always been good about pushing your personal feelings aside for the sake of the mission. It’s what you’d been born to do. All you ever knew.

“Hey. Doll. You hear me?”

“Hmm. What?” You looked up from the ground to look into those enchanting blue oceans Bucky had for eyes, staring worriedly down at you, eyebrows pinched and forehead creased.

“I’m going in alone.” You frowned, opening your mouth to argue, but he shook his head. “Sam already agreed-”

“I didn’t necessarily agree-”

“You’re an Avenger, sweetheart.” Bucky tilted his head, speaking softly, those eyes of his worried. Worried for you. It made your stomach flip. “And you were there in Siberia, and that almost makes it worse. Especially considering you went after him. Just…just let me do this, okay?”

You cracked your knuckles nervously as you thought. It was a terrible idea. But it was an idea. And it was all they had. “Okay.” You finally relented, shrugging as your hands hit your thighs and slid up to your hips. “But don’t do anything stupid.”

“Steve took all that with him.”

Knowing about their little inside joke, you scoffed. “Sure he did. Go before I change my mind.”

You watched him walk down the hallway, hands fidgeting with excess nerves. “I think you’re the only one he actually seeks approval from.”

“Good thing I’m so lenient then, huh?” You joked, turning to Sam with a strained smile. Your smile slipped at the curious expression on Sam’s face, his eyes darting to each of your features. “What?”

“Are you doing okay?”

You groaned, throwing your head back. You thought you got out of talking about your feelings back in Baltimore. “Oh my God, Sam-”

“I’m serious. You…you just don’t seem like yourself.”

You shook your head, looking down the hall to where Bucky disappeared before turning back to him. It was weird to have a self that people recognized. Your whole life you’d been searching for it and when you finally found it…everything went to shit. “Honestly, Sammy, the only time I’ve ever felt like myself was with the team. Zemo took that away from me and now we’re here, practically begging him for help.”

Sam hummed, leaning against the wall. “Have you thought of taking a break?”

“What?”

“A break.” At your bewildered look, he rolled his eyes. “Cher, this time last year most of us were dead. This time a few months ago you found out about Wanda. This time last week you were out looking for her. Maybe you should just stop and take a breather.”

Shoving your hands in your pocket and looking at the floor, you couldn’t help but snort at his advice. “I haven’t taken a breather since I was eighteen.”

He clicked his tongue. “That’s my point. FBI academy as soon as you graduated. SHIELD recruit by 21, undercover operations leader by 24? Slow down. You’re in your thirties. Next thing you know, you’re gonna be ninety something, lying on your deathbed, wishing you had stopped to smell the roses.”

“If I live to be ninety, shoot me.” He chuckled in amusement. “I’m so fucking serious, Sam. I will not be put in an old folks home to play Bingo and be pushed around in a wheelchair. It ain’t happening.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” There was that infectious smile, which you unconsciously grinned back at. “Y/N…I’m serious. You’ve been in and out of missions since you were a teenager. What’s the shortest undercover operation you’ve done?”

“I dunno.”

He gave you an unimpressed look. “Yeah you do.”

Licking your lips, you turned away and shrugged. “A couple months. Seven weeks and three days, to be precise. September to October in 2012.”

“And the longest?”

“August 2007 to May 2009. Twenty one months.” 

Letting out a puff of air through his nose, Sam pushed himself off the wall and caught your chin between his fingers to make you look at him. “That’s nearly two years under cover. And I’m sure you went right back under after-”

“I was sitting at a desk for four months doing paperwork on it.” You defended yourself.

He shook his head, brows knitting together, lips drawn down. “You say that as if four months is enough time.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Sammy. I’m out. I’ve been out since Ultron and Sokovia. I haven’t been under in almost a decade-”

“A decade half the world was dead for half of-”

“I wasn’t!”

“I never said you were.” Sam sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. You were always amazed at his ability to keep his emotions in check. To stay cool under pressure. Sometimes you forgot how experienced he was with dealing with other people’s trauma. It was no wonder why Steve thought he’d be good for Bucky. “Listen. All I’m saying is once this is done…don’t go diving back into searching for Wanda. Don’t go running to the kid every time he calls - and I know you’ve been doing that-”

“It’s just been homework and stuff-”

“Y/N.” You stopped, biting your lip at the stern look he gave you. “Go home. Order take out. Binge watch TV. Go for a jog through the park. Actually meet your neighbors. Go grocery shopping. Just…live. If only for a couple weeks. Don’t worry about anyone else. Don’t pick up the phone, don’t drop everything because someone needs you. You need you.”

“I-I…” You shook your head, looking at him, sincerely apologetic. “I can’t. I wish I could. But I can’t. I’ve never had one normal day in my life. I’ve never had someone to care for, never had someone to care for me. I can’t let people I’ve come to…I can’t let them think I don’t care. I don’t even know where I’d go.”

“Whaddya mean?”

You winced, not thrilled for his reaction to your next statement. “I, uh, I sold my apartment in D.C.”

He gaped at you in complete disbelief. “You got it in December!”

“I know, I know. I liked it. I really did, but…I dunno. Nomadic life has always suited me better. It’s what I grew up with.”

He took a breath, making you cringe again. You don’t think you’ve ever legitimately gotten on his nerves like this before. “Have you ever thought that, instead of going with the flow and jumping place to place, putting down roots might actually help?” He cut you off before you could say anything, holding up a finger to stop you from talking. “I can’t imagine going from foster home to foster home like you did. I can’t imagine not having a home for as long as you can remember. Louisiana’s my home. Always has, always will be. But I understand your life has been anything but stable. And maybe, just maybe, that’s why you need some stability.”

You clenched your jaw, crossing your arms. “The Avengers were my stability. Steve was my stability.”

“Because you loved him.”

“I’m not doing this with you again.” You turned to walk down to the lobby to wait for Bucky there, but Sam caught your arm.

“You were in love with him! It’s okay! You two were super close! No one would blame you! Why won’t you just admit it? I’m trying to understand! Why won’t you-”

You tugged your arm away, finally snapping at him. “Because he could never be mine, Wilson! Is that what you wanna hear?!” Sam took a step back at your exclamation. You closed your eyes, swallowing the lump in your throat and pushing down the tears. “He could preach all he wanted about moving forwards, Sammy, but we all knew he was stuck in the past. He visited the museum every Thursday because her interview showed in his exhibit on Thursdays. He carried around that broken compass because her picture was in it.” You looked back up at him sadly, shrugging. “And I get it; it’s hard to move past your first love. I get it because…that’s what he was to me.”

There was a silence that blanketed the hallway, before he spoke up hesitantly. “What about Bucky?”

“I thought - I thought I was projecting my feelings for Steve onto him because I knew Steve couldn’t ever…”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “You thought? What do you think now?”

You cleared your throat. “I’m still figuring that one out.”

“If you ever need to talk, I’ll be here.”

You chuckled, nodding slightly towards him. “Back atcha. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you not being yourself lately, either.”

“It’s…a tough topic.”

You nodded in understanding. “Just know that I’ll support every decision you make as long as you think it’s the right one. Because I trust you. Steve trusted you. It’s all we can do to try to do what’s right. That’s what makes you a good man, Sammy. He gave you that shield for a reason, and if you think what you did was right…I’ll stand by it.”

The two of you stared at each other for a moment, calming down in each other’s presences and taking comfort knowing you’d be there for each other through thick and thin. “Thank you, cher.”

“Of course, Sammy. Now let’s go see what’s taking the old grump so long.”

He laughed at that, nodding in agreement, taking your offered hand and squeezing it as you made your way down the hall.

****************

“What?”

Bucky eyed you as you spluttered, coughing on the water you were drinking. “Please don’t choke, doll.”

“Break him out of jail?!” You repeated his words and blinked at him, absolutely baffled by his plan. “Oh my God.” You groaned as Bucky and Sam started arguing, moving your flashlight around the room. “Where the hell are we?” There was no response as they kept going back and forth.

“Zemo’s gonna mess with our minds! Especially yours! No offense.”

“Heelllloooo!” You tried again. “Where the hell are we?!”

Bucky turned on the lights, giving Sam a look. “Offense.” Glancing at you he quirked an eyebrow. “Stop worrying your pretty lil’ head, sweetheart. You trust me, dontcha?” Your breath hitched at his words. You quickly recovered, huffing and pouting - although you’d deny ever pouting - and crossing your arms. You stood between the guys like that, eyes darting to whoever was speaking, waiting for them to stop so you could actually think.

“Look. Let me just walk you through a hypothetical. Can I walk you through a hypothetical?”

You and Sam exchanged glances. “What did you do?”

“I…didn’t do…anything.” Bucky shrugged.

“How is it that you, one of the most deadliest assassins basically ever, are one of the worst liars I know.” You tilted your head at him, an eyebrow quirking up in confusion.

“Shush it you. Just, okay. The weakest point in any system isn’t the software, the hardware, it’s the meatware. The human element.”

The more you listened to Bucky’s “hypothetical”, the stronger the gut feeling telling you this was a terrible terrible idea got. You brought your hands up to your head, eyes wide as he spoke.

“I don’t like how casual you’re bein’ about this. This is unnatural.”

You couldn’t help but agree with Sam’s words, your head falling back and your eyes closing. “Sweet Jesus. Listen, God, I know we don’t talk much these days, but please, please don’t let this not be a hypothetical. I’m fucking begging you.”

A noise to your right made your head snap over. “Oh hell to the fucking no!” You shook your head as Zemo himself walked in, wearing a prison guards uniform. “Uh-uh! No way! Bucky, this was not part of the plan!”

“What did you do?!”

“We need him!”

“You’re going back to prison.”

“If I may-”

All three of you faced him, simultaneously shouting, “no!”

You held your face in your hands as your head dropped, shaking back and forth, your eyes squeezing shut, tuning them out for just a minute to think. Bucky had a point. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that, and the Avengers were technically disbanded, which was Zemo’s whole objective in the first place, but…God. You were good at compartmentalizing, but not that much. You were willing to put your feelings aside for the mission so Bucky could talk to him. Not for you to work with him. But he had connections, you knew he did, and he had information…

“Doll?” You looked up, Bucky anxiously licking his lips as he met your gaze. “I need you to say something.”

You looked to Sam, who shrugged, gesturing to Zemo. “What do you think?”

What did you think? What did you think?! You thought that it was the worst idea in the history of ideas and you should turn back and find another way! But…you knew this was the fastest, probably most reliable way to get information that you needed.

Dammit, since when were you the deciding factor?

You sucked in a breath, looking over Sam’s shoulder at Zemo, who lifted his hand in greeting. You raised your eyes to the ceiling, pointing your finger accusingly. “This is why we stopped talking.” Gaze dropping to the still waiting fellas, you gnawed on your lip, before hissing out, “ffffine…” Running a hand through your hair, you threw your hands up as you shrugged. “Fine. Okay. Fine.”

“Okay.” Sam nodded, taking charge again.

You couldn’t believe this was happening. Except, that was a lie. You could. You’d seen weirder. You’d experienced the impossible. Lived through the unbelievable. This…this was completely imaginable.

Which is why, with a lot of hesitation and very little confidence in this plan, you followed Zemo through the auto shop you were in until you reached a large room with a ton of different old cars.

Bucky’s hand found yours as Zemo explained what the plan was, rather vaguely, in your opinion, but at least he was explaining. Point for him. Not that it would make up for the level of distrust you held for him, but it was something.

You looked up at him, giving him a puzzling frown. He usually only grabbed your hand in front of other people when he was feeling anxious. Which, yeah, he had a right to be anxious right now, but it wasn’t the right kind. The type of anxiety caused by large crowds and loud noises, ones that startled him and threw him into a defensive mode.

But the look on his face made you squeeze his hand in reassurance. He was pouting, staring at you although he did something wrong - a puppy that tore up a pillow - and all you wanted to do was give him a hug.

“You’re mad at me.” He mumbled as the four of you headed out with Zemo in the lead.

“No I’m not.”

“Yeah you are. 

“Bucky, I’m not mad.”

“Listen, if I had a better idea I wouldn’t-”

You brought your linked hands up to your lips, pressing a gentle kiss to his gloved knuckles. “I’m not mad.” You repeated more firmly. “It’s just…a lot for me, right now.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on, Buck, I-I just…” You thought about your and Sam’s earlier conversation and suddenly understood what he meant. “I need to breathe for a second.”

His features twisted into ones of uncertainty, eyes squinting as you stepped outside. “Do you…do you wanna leave?”

You shook your head, tugging his arm to stop him and grabbing the sunglasses on his collar, slipping them over his eyes. “No. I just need some time to think. Hopefully the plane ride to wherever the hell we’re going will give me that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, James. I’m sure.”

He lowered the glasses on his nose to scan you over the frames, before nodding and sliding them back up. “Okay. You ready for this, then?”

“No.” You breathed, turning back to where Zemo and Sam were still walking. “Let’s do this.”

*****************

Climbing onto the private jet, you raised an eyebrow at Sam, who shrugged, giving you a bemused expression. A Baron…huh…who knew? You feel like you should’ve, yet there you were.

You sat besides Bucky, across from Zemo, crossing your legs and leaning back while staring at him through narrowed eyes.

His butler seemed nice, which made you even more suspicious. You obviously didn’t know as much about Zemo as you wanted to. It was a habit you picked up after years of undercover work; once the mission was complete, that was that. There was no looking back on it. No sitting on it. It was over and you moved onto the next one. It was a bad habit in cases like this.

The moment you spotted the notebook over Zemo’s book you knew something was going to happen, yet you still flinched when Bucky lunged at him, grabbing his throat. You leaned back in your seat again, steadying your now racing heartbeat. You decided you were too tense, trying to relax your muscles as Bucky sat back down in his seat.

“I’ve seen that book. It was Steve’s when he came out of the ice. I told him about Trouble Man. He wrote it in that book.” Sam seemed so proud of himself that something he recommended was written in Steve’s little book and it made you smile.

You remembered that; Steve and you were supposed to meet up for coffee after his run, but Fury called him in so you rescheduled it for when he got back. He asked you about Marvin Gaye. For your opinion. You told him to check it out and make his own.

You remembered asking him about that little notebook of his, and he just shrugged you off telling you about his list. He would read items off to you, but he never let you read the book yourself. You never found out why, and you supposed you never would now. The thought made an ache behind your ribs that you’d come to familiarize yourself with appear.

You smiled a little more as Zemo and Sam told Bucky how awesome Marvin Gaye was. “C’mon, baby. Back me up.”

Chuckling, you looked at Bucky. “They’re not wrong. But,” you quickly added before Bucky could whine at you, facing Sam again. “Neither is Buck. I mean, c’mon. You can’t find music like the 40’s anymore. Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Fred Astaire. Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.”

“Thank you.” Bucky grinned at Sam, who rolled his eyes.

“Okay, okay. But, I mean, c’mon! Everybody loves Marvin Gaye.”

“I like Marvin Gaye.”

“Steve adored Marvin Gaye.”

Your face fell as Zemo started talking about Steve and icons and Red Skull, your mind once again slipping away from reality.

~

“Kids love you.” You giggled as you finally made it out of his exhibit. You’d wanted to show it to him since he moved to D.C., and you’d finally got an opportunity after coming back from being undercover for ten weeks. “You’re their hero, you know.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just trying to do what’s right.”

You nudged him, scoffing at his answer. “You’re too humble. You’re a national icon, you know.”

Steve shrugged, looking around the museum at the planes surrounding them. “I never wanted to be.”

“Why not? Everyone loves you.”

“I’m sure not everyone loves me.” He rolled his eyes. “And…I just wanted to help. To fight. Protect my country and the people I cared about. I-I didn’t ask for…all that.” He waved behind his shoulder where his exhibit was getting smaller with each step they took away. “People were dying. Bullies were winning.”

You shook your head, spinning and walking backwards besides him to face him. “Sure, but you did that. And you became someone people could look up to in the process.”

He narrowed his eyes at you before asking, “why do you do what you do?”

“...because I’m good at it?”

“Honey.” He gave you a look. “Answer the question.”

You hummed in thought. “Because I couldn’t stand by, knowing there would be orphaned kids if I didn’t help any way I could.”

“Alright. Why do you do it in the dark?”

“Whaddya mean?”

He shrugged. “Why don’t you come out and take credit for all the lives you’ve saved?”

“Because that’s not why I do it. I don’t want that attention. I just want to know I’ve helped people. I’ve kept them safe.”

He gave you a soft smile. “I just wanted to beat the bully. I never wanted to be a dancing monkey, too.” You looked at him in a new light then, understanding where he was coming from. “Watch out, honey!” He grabbed you and pulled you aside before you could crash into a wall, arms wrapped firmly around your waist. He gave you that charming smile of his. “Wouldn’t want you hurting that pretty lil’ head of yours, now would we?”

~

“Y/N!”

You snapped back into the conversation, moving your eyes from the window to Bucky, who tilted his head, eyebrows pinched and eyes narrowed. “Sorry. So, Madripoor. That’s a fun place.”

You ignored the side eyed glances Bucky and Sam exchanged, Sam turning to you curiously. “You’ve been?”

“Once. Back in 2010 for a few months”

Zemo raised his eyebrows. “You’re lucky to have gotten out.”

You shrugged nonchalantly. “Lucky, maybe. Skills were a part of it, too, though.”

“Good.” Zemo nodded. “Because we’re going undercover…and if we blow it. We’re dead.”

You breathed out, shaking your memory away and getting your head back into the game. Because like the man you were severely wary of in front of you said, if you blew this, you were dead. And, sure, you didn’t want to live until ninety, but you weren’t even half way there yet. So dammit if you were going to die soon.

“Hey.” You looked over at Bucky’s murmur, his head tilting as he grabbed your hand and pulled you from your seat closer to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Are you okay? You know you’re going to have to be-”

“I know.” He nodded. You watched his Adam’s Apple bob as he swallowed thickly. “I’ll be fine. Just…tell me right now if you need to step out for this one.”

You gave him a smile that you knew he didn’t buy, just by the slight narrowing of his eye, his lips pressing together. “No. No, I’m good for this. If you think I’m gonna let you two idiots go into Madripoor with him - alone - oil that cyborg brain of yours, because there’s no way.”

He squeezed your hand, eyes still filled with uncertainty. “Are you sure?”

“If there’s even a slight possibility that I can protect you, then yeah. I’m sure, Buckaroo.”