#i'm still trying to get better using photo mode... i like how these turned out tho :3

[dellamortte]

In matters of the heart, one must be discerning.

[sirfrogsworth]

Let's talk about screens and eye comfort.

@krakenartificer wrote this in response to my motivated lighting post.

Maximum-visibility lighting is also accessible lighting. I cannot turn the brightness on my screen up any more than it is -- even a few seconds of a light-mode app at 75% brightness will give me a migraine. I believe you when you say that the train-light photos are legible to you. But with my screen at ~50% brightness in a medium-dim room, that second one, with the bright-white light, is already painful to look at. And since my pupils have constricted to protect me, I can't see almost anything else going on there.

I already mentioned that if people are having issues seeing dark elements in their content, their room may be too bright. That is a strategy to get the highest quality viewing experience, but it may not be the most comfortable for people with various eye sensitivities.

So I'm going to address eye comfort over image quality in this post.

I think many people have a misconception about the brightness setting on their display. Often people will turn it up and down depending on the content they are viewing. If something has a really bright element, they may turn it down. If something is too dark, they may turn it up.

That isn't really how display brightness is meant to work. This setting is meant to maintain picture quality and contrast as much as possible while raising and lowering the overall intensity of the display. And the intensity is meant to be adjusted according to the viewer's environment, not what is on the screen from moment to moment.

You want the intensity of light in the room to match the brightness of your screen.

Some people prefer to adjust their screen a little brighter than ambient so it is a little more legible. But that is a personal preference.

So if you are in a dark room, you'd turn the brightness down.

If you are out in bright sun, you'd turn your brightness up.

If your screen is displaying near white or pure white and it hurts your eyes, that usually means your room is too dark. A brighter ambient environment can help make "light mode" more comfortable. Try turning on some lights or going to a brighter space and see if it helps.

However, some people do not feel comfortable in brighter rooms. This is when you might consider "bias lighting." This is a soft light source behind your screen that you can adjust to the maximum tolerable brightness to keep your eyes from going into night vision mode or max dilation.

It's better if the bias lighting is spread out rather than using a small light source like a night light. Small light sources feel much more intense and can add to eye strain. You want the light to cover a large surface area.

String lights across a wall work well.

Or you can bounce a light off a wall or ceiling to diffuse and spread it out. Many people just put a light behind their TV and light up the wall behind it.

The idea is to make the room *feel* dark while still having enough light to keep your pupils from opening up and feeling like any sudden bright light source is blasting you in the eyeballs. Your pupils prefer gradual adjustments to light and dark. If you go straight from a dark scene to a bright scene without any bias lighting, your eyes might feel a bit melty.

If you are *still* uncomfortable with white on your screen and have a particularly strong eye sensitivity, then you might consider sacrificing picture quality for comfort.

Turning down your brightness is not a great solution because it makes *everything* darker. Again, the brightness of your screen should be close to the room lighting.

Typically, to get the highest quality image you want to adjust your screen so the blacks are as black as possible and the whites are as white as possible without losing any detail.

Rtings has a guide for monitors and TVs for this.

They have two patterns for black and white point adjustment.

They look like this.

You want to see bars all the way up until the reference point.

The white point is most commonly called "contrast" in display settings. Sometimes there will be a contrast adjustment AND a white point adjustment. In that case, the white point only deals with the brightest highlights and the contrast will affect all whites.

But if you have really sensitive eyes... forget the charts. Forget peak image quality.

Instead, try lowering your contrast and reducing the intensity of *only* the white elements rather than darkening everything.

The picture might look a little gray and dull, but you won't lose as much legibility in the shadow areas. You are just turning down the brightest stuff to make your eyes more comfy.

Max white point...

Lowered white point...

And if you still need to turn down your screen brightness, you can raise the black point to keep more detail in the shadows.

Again, that might not look great, but it will keep your eyes comfortable and you will be able to make out all the details you need to see.

You might also consider adjusting the color temperature of your screen to be warmer. Blue light is higher frequency and more energetic. Which means it can pierce and glare more than warmer light. So shifting things to the orange could also bring some comfort to sensitive eyes. Search for a “Warm” mode, “Eye Comfort” mode, or Night Shift settings.

Most TVs and monitors have these adjustments. Sometimes they call them different things, so you may have to do some googling. (God forbid tech companies ever agree on a standard.)

And if you are on a phone or laptop, you may need a special app to adjust these specific things. I would research "how to reduce white point" for whatever device you are using.

To review...

Adjust your ambient room lighting first. Brighter ambient room lighting can make bright white elements on your display more comfortable.

Display "brightness" should be adjusted to your lighting environment, not the content on screen.

If you don't like bright rooms, bias lighting behind your display can keep your eyes from going into night vision mode. This can prevent bright screen elements from being too intense or glaring.

If you have eye sensitivity issues, try all of the above first, and then consider lowering your contrast or white point setting. This will dim only the brightest elements on screen without making everything else too dark.

If you need to lower the screen brightness AND white point/contrast, you may lose detail in the shadows as well. You can try raising the black point to compensate. This is a worst case scenario and will probably not look great.

Consider warmer color temperature settings to reduce glare from high-frequency blue light.

[gullamor]

Nothing Good Happens In The Deep Roads

Hi, I'm new here to Dragon Age Tumblr. Publicly, anyway. I lurk. Anyway, I've been playing Veilguard like many of us I imagine. For show and tell I have brought you the most paranoia-inducing segment of one of the companion quests and I like... haven't seen anyone mention it or talk about it so I would like to add it to the collective borg of screams. So, like, spoilers. Duh. You've been warned.

Still here? No turning back. Okay good. Welcome.

SO ANWAY. I'm on a second playthrough now, trying out new options and classes and things. I get around to that point where you start to get companion quests fired up and Lace's kicks in earlier than a lot of them to me at least. Ya go down to the Deep Roads where nothing good ever happens. And my first time through, visiting Kal-Sharok I distinctly remember it being... fine. Like there were darkspawn and stuff but that's just the deep roads and they cranked the gross factor on the darkspawn anyway, so... what gives? Where are my bad vibes and sad times now of going down in the deep roads where nothing good ever happens? Enter playthrough numero dos. I'm picking through Kal-Sharok, really getting up in there. Trying to find all the things I missed. I was standing at the precipice before delving down into the Deep Roads. And my eye snags on this fucking thing:

Now, y'all with color coordination skills may note that all the bad guys and evil shit down here is red-coded. In my brain, I was just thinking to myself. Huh... that looks like a Venatori crystal. ... I don't remember there being Venatori on Lace's quest. So naturally, I'm curious. I continue on, and try to get up closer to get a better angle.

Huh.. that doesn't look like a venatori smashy smashy crystal... that looks like a person... And then ALL AT ONCE I recall where her questline continues and how there's angry Red Lyrium Titan Lace by the end of her questline AND that Valta mentions 'something has found Lace' when we're talking to them and then we get jumped. There's no shot that's angry lyrium Lace... right..? So now like any sane person, I'm on my guard the entire rest of that quest. And I was fucking right to be BECAUSE SHE STALKS YOU THE ENTIRE TIME. I eventually remembered as I was playing you can zoom in with the photo mode they blessed us with and could see Lace. But they stalk you through the entire area until you get to the chamber where Valta is. I don't know if I caught them all, and I am too frightened to go back and find it so I dump all my findings here for the community to scream with me about.

tl;dr, and my thesis statement in all things with these games Nothing. Good. Happens. In the Deep Roads.

[exercise-of-trust]

right so i've been wanting to do a song of the eagles print set for easter ever since i saw this post last year, and after a lot of waffling (and a bit of despair) i finally have a test print i'm mostly happy with!

individual block photos and meta/process rambling under the cut, for anyone who's interested:

ok so each rotk block has a separate associated scripture fragment in english mode tengwar. they are not strictly "correct" transliterations because in my personal use i tend to make some adjustments to the official system for readability (e.g. mostly using the silme nuquerna instead of the normal silme for [s] and using short carriers for vowels following a hyarmen instead of trying to hang them directly off the back leg), and because i prefer quenya vowel order over sindarin (noldorin supremacy tenn' ambar-metta, get thee gone from my gate an thou dislikest it, etc etc etc). they are, however, hopefully legible despite this.

i had to limit myself to very very short snippets of verses, both for aesthetic reasons and because i would simply have given up if i'd had to carve a single line more of lettering in either alphabet. in order they are: he will swallow up death forever (isaiah 25:8), my soul waits for the lord (psalm 130:6), behold, your king is coming to you (zechariah 9:9), and he makes her wilderness like eden (isaiah 51:3). i went back and forth a lot about whether to put the tengwar blocks above or below the main blocks and in the end i think i like above better? i do like having the flexibility, though, and maybe when my neck and shoulders stop screaming at me i'll redo the tengwar sections to be half above and half below, which would let me swap out some of those verses for longer ones i liked better or add more context to the existing snippets.

in terms of the main blocks, i'm broadly happy with how they turned out, although my attempt to save on materials by carving both sides of each piece kind of backfired in that i needed to stop and wash them each time i wanted to use the carving on the other side. it was a nuisance and it made it difficult to get consistent pressure, especially on the mostly-black fourth block (which i might end up redoing anyway; i feel like the solid background doesn't mesh as well with the others as i'd hoped?) on the other hand it did let me use the expensive pink speedball stuff for all of the pictures instead of the offbrand gray kind i used for the tengwar blocks, which had a much more finicky texture. also, somehow out of a 425-letter-long piece of text, i carved exactly one letter the wrong way around (the R in the final "your" of the third block, if my patch job actually hid the mistake enough that you didn't notice). i'm not sure whether to be proud of that success rate, or bewildered that i still got one wrong despite getting all the others right.

the actual printing process still needs some streamlining (especially dealing with the awkward dead time in the middle from needing to wash both the main blocks halfway through), and i might fidget around with the chunk spacing a bit more (maybe shift the sing all ye people up a bit, since the second and third sections ended up having noticeably more white space at the bottom than the other two?), but on the whole i'm proud of how they turned out, happy easter, alcar i ataren ar i yondon ar i airefean 👍

[lilulicious]

Late weeknight ramblings...

While I get ready to finalize the thrilling conclusion to Chapter 5 (basically the third and final part of which was originally supposed to be a one entire chapter but it got too long even for me, go figure), I thought I'd do a mini photo dump and ramble on about something else for a change.

I was taking photo mode shots in Paradiso for the Space Frog Tuesday (unofficial) Starfield community activity on Twitter (I refuse to call it X, I've had my account there since 2011, I feel like I'm grandfathered in to still call it tweeting) as the theme was "Favorite Place" and I loooooove Paradiso. Anyway, I had a couple of extras, and I was thinking that my fantasy shot is the sexy beach encounter with Sam, but the reality of my existence would really be the sleepy beach encounter with Sam because honestly, with all the stuff I've been doing irl lately, I'm exhausted.

Since I've never really done an "about the author", this is as close as we're getting to one now. I just turned 57 in mid-April, I celebrated by going to the Sanders/AOC rally in downtown LA, my hometown, because I ain't dead yet. Although, I almost died from a pulmonary embolism in 2014, totally changed my perspective on life. Take no shit, try all the things at least once because why not? My first video game was Pong, let that sink in. I've never stopped gaming, I even played an arcade video game competitively, it was Sega's Derby Owners Club World Edition (DOCWE), I used to travel for tournaments in the early-to-mid 2000's, one of a handful of female racers, which... it was just buttons on a console but you would have thought it was heavy lifting to be a woman on that circuit. Wild times (see alt text on photos below). I played WoW for over a decade from 2006 until 2018, and then I ditched that for buying games on Steam, and ultimately found my way to a Game Pass sub, and I found Starfield that way. And, my first ever video game crush, Sam Coe, after all these years of watching other folks form their video game crushes and wondering how that was possible. Now, I get it.

I am a full time civil servant, I'm an officer on the board of my public sector labor union (unpaid), and I volunteer as a delegate to my state political party. Activism and volunteerism are core to who I am (Happy May Day, btw). I am multiracial Black, Indigenous, and White with one parent from Mexico and the other from the United States. I think one of the things that attracted me to Starfield was the prominent portrayal of women of color in leadership positions and the ability to craft a character more representative of the "you" that you want to be. Although, I tell you, "skin tone 6" can look pleasingly brown in one shot, and bloodlessly white in another (as evidenced by the two Starfield photos up top). The struggle mildly continues.

I do have a real life Sam of my own, his name isn't really Sam of course. He played Starfield a while, tried it on with Sarah, liked Andreja better, but he's hooked on simulator games. Supermarket Simulator is his current jam. And The Show, I listen to a lot of baseball talk. Not that I hate it, and one of my friends who occasionally wanders here to read my fic will call me out if I pretend I have anything but an enormous crush on Shohei Ohtani.

Anyway, this fan fiction writing has been a lot of fun and I'm going to keep torturing you all with it whether you like it or not, so I really hope some of you like it. Because just like Sam says when you tell him you do want the romance...

"Oh, and you're gonna get it." And then some.

Peace. **mic drop**

[tjemegames]

HSR: 2.3.1 PF Recap

This is the last solo post I'll be doing for endgame content. After I’ve finished 2.4’s cycle, I'll do one long post about all the EGC recaps for it; the same process will apply to all future cycles (subject to change upon the release of more modes—I can only yap for so long before hitting the dreaded word limit.) Everything should be easier for me to keep track of this way. I hope you'll like the new format when the time comes!

Apologies for the image distortion: Tumblr doesn’t do well with long photos.

A little later than I wanted to be on this recap but it's finally here! PF is still my least favorite form of endgame so I took my sweet time getting around to it. Thankfully, it only took three sessions worth of trying to finish this time around.

I ended up needing to use four different teams to get all 12 stars. While I did try to do both stages with the same two teams, this ultimately was not possible because the elites on stage IV were trickier to deal with and my chosen buffs were not working how I had envisioned they would. I tried using my stage III teams on IV, with every possible combination of the buffs, but I wasn’t putting out enough damage during the first phase of enemies, leading to a lack of cycle actions by the time the boss phase had arrived. It also didn’t help that Jing Yuan kept getting cc’d (i.e. trapping lightning lord), which always ruined my run, forcing me to reset time and time again.

Unsurprisingly, I called upon my resident dragon (good ol’ Mr. Failsafe) to waterboard my enemies to death. DHIL is great in a lot of places, but I don’t think he’s the most optimal unit for PF. I had to swap out so many of my support character’s pieces to make his side work for me. The process went a bit like this: gearing, trying, failing, resetting, failing, resetting, getting cc’d, resetting, failing, leaving, re-gearing, trying, failing, resetting, getting cc’d, resetting, failing, leaving, changing the buff, trying (again, and again, and again until I got tired of it and when back to the Jing Yuan team, just to be brutally reminded that that team was not going to work; thereby going back to the DHIL team), and persevering until I got enough points to move on to the second side.

These are the builds I ended up using on IV-1:

The Seele side was much less tedious; it followed the same process as the DHIL side, with the most notable difference being that I was swapping between secondary dps/support options instead of re-gearing my characters. It wasn’t until midway through the second session of attempts that I decided to just bite the bullet and use my severely underleveled Herta. With Herta in tow, I figured out the best strategy for giving myself as many turns as possible during the first enemy phase. After I got the rhythm going it was smooth sailing; that is unless Herta died or someone got cc’d by the deer’s roots, making me have to reset a nearly perfect run (disgruntled sigh). In the end, I was able to score over 33K points on this side, which was good enough to get me where I needed to be to secure the infamous 12th star.

These builds were used on IV-2:

Some of Herta’s stat information is incorrect because she’s actually lvl 60 on my account; Fribbels only generates maxed out showcases and I wanted the pictures to match. :)

Truly a process of all time. I suppose it was worth it because 800 jades added to the Sparkle fund is better than nothing. If the next PF only has follow-up buffs, I might lose it a little bit. I can't keep living like this. Himeko, please! Come home (on standard), I'm begging.

Alright, that's enough of this. I’ll see y’all in 2.5 for the next one. Thanks for reading!

[draculadailydrinks]

Days 9-10

5/15

Strawberry jasmine lemonade

This has to be one of my favorite drinks so far because the color turned out amazing and it didn't taste like watered down fruit. It took longer to strain the strawberries since I mainly used the outer red parts (I ate the inner parts to remove food waste) so it also required me to cut up more fruit. I also wasn't sure how the lemon juice would affect the color but it ended up making it more vibrant and red!

Overall tasted and looked great despite me not being a huge strawberry fan and I would do this in the future again. Maybe then I can make all the floating strawberry bits heart shaped...

OH AND THANK GOODNESS JOHN'S ALIVE.

The lack of updates got me thinking that maybe Dracula already used him as his blood bag, or if Johnathan got severely physically compromised when he tried to confront Dracula. Another possibility was John laid low and didn't write letters and such since Dracula has been catching on to him and it's the fact John gave his letters from 5/12 to Dracula.

Or maybe bc of that Mina (we heard her on the 9th and there was a 2 day gap before Lucy got hers but Jonathan's in a different country so may take longer) never heard from John besides the "hurried lines" and she went out to Transylvania thinking something may be wrong-

IN EITHER WAY JOHN'S ALIVE AND EXPLORING.

I'm still not over how Johnathan also is taking time to describe the setting in detail as usual but also scouting for ways of escape. He's checking all the locked doors (the blood storage chamber?? Dracula sir how old even is the castle did he just add more rooms as time went on) and examined the direction and location of the stairs and halls after seeing Dracula lizard down the wall and into a dark void.

He's very aware of what kind of situation he's in so I don't think he'll be too reckless. Though knowing how things go why do I feel like he's going to bump into something when his curiosity gets the better of him and end at the bottom of the cliff...

And we have not met Van Helsing at all. No mention or reference, the only people from John's life we know are Mr. Hawkins and Mina (idk if he knows Lucy) so far and considering how he's trapped he won't be able to meet anyone other than Dracula soon.

Wait what if Johnathan either dies or goes off the grid. Mina have not heard in months and she seeks out the Van Helsing guy and they both go to Transylvania to look for Johnathan perhaps?

5/16

And again, rose black tea

I'm glad that I fially found a good angle for full drink shot. Sometimes there's too much cup or it's out of focus/blurry but this one turned out nice. The tea color's especially gorgeous today so I had to take a zoomed in photo.

*spoilers under the cut*

OK SO. AHA. ABOUT THE BLOODY COLOR HUH

Oh man holy frick never did I expect Johnathan's accidental run ins with the horror in the castle walls moment to come this quick. I had to reread the section with when the vampire lady was trying to bite him just to be sure that yes, he in fact was bitten by a vampire this soon. I didn't expect things to escalate this quickly that's all-

The dialogue between the lady vampires and Dracula was fascinating though, since it seemed like part of the reason Dracula keeps John around is to prove a point that he could love after all. At the same time, even though his voice softened he still tells them they could have John once he is "done with him", as if Johnathan is means to an end.

Also the fact Johnathan's journal writing is more than just recording he's doing this to keep himself from not completely breaking down amidst experiencing whatever that was (i, too would have been scared to panic mode. He's trying his best not to be an unreliable narrator and that he has proof to come back to when things go even more out of whack and I strongly feel like his journal would be a cautionary tale to others.

Surprised that the count did not find the journal maybe he just forgot...or maybe he thinks there is nothing Jonathan could do in the situation.

Also you're telling me that Dracula exits his room and the castle in lizard fashion to kidnap random people for him and his vampire housemates? No wonder why the townsfolk and locals were extremely freaked out.

I wonder if the old woman at the inn personally witnessed a kidnapping.

[the-guilty-writer]

The Washington Tales

Request from anon: Could you perhaps write something about how the reader is Spencer’s kid and they don’t like how he always gets up and goes on cases and they’re stuck alone or with a babysitter so they try to make a point by running away and Spencer has to rush home?

Spencer Reid x teen!reader

Summary: Spencer's busy schedule leaves you feeling lonely. You run away, finding company in an old friend.

A/N: Alright if I'm gonna write Spencer I'm writing full on super-nerd-dad Spencer. We all know that this man is a total dork and i'm running with it. Only real ones will understand the title reference.

CW: reader feeling lonely, running away, nerd level is through the roof.

---

Spencer heard his phone ringing insistently behind him. He had already let it go to voicemail twice and the sound of the plastic against the table was beginning to interrupt his concentration. He turned away from the evidence board and moved towards the table to see who needed him so desperately while he was working.

“You better have not given my number out again, Morgan,” Reid said, recalling their past prank war.

“I never use the same prank twice, pretty boy,” Morgan said, not looking up from his files.

When Spencer saw that the number was your school he automatically became concerned. Your teachers were worried that you were beginning to fall behind on your assignments. They wanted to set up a parent conference with him, but the team had been so loaded with cases he simply didn’t have the time. He didn’t even have time for this phone call if he was being honest, but he picked it up anyway.

“Hello, you’ve reached Dr. Spencer Reid from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit,” he said, still in professional mode instead of dad mode from working on the case for so long.

“Dr. Reid,” the lady on the phone started. “We’re calling because your child, (Y/N) Reid, never showed up for school this morning.”

“Pardon?” Spencer said.

“They’re absent from school today,” the lady told him.

“Okay, thank you.” He hung up the phone and went to dial Garcia.

“What is it?” Morgan asked. 

“(Y/N) didn’t go to school this morning,” Spencer told him. Morgan gave him a sympathetic look.

“You’ve reached the FBI’s office of supreme genius, how may I serve you today?” Garcia answered.

“Garcia, can you track (Y/N)’s phone. They didn’t show up to school today,” he said.

“Sure thing… annnddddd they’re at your apartment.”

Spencer sighed. “Thanks, Garcia.” As soon as he hung up he called you, but you didn’t answer. He tried again, just for good measure, but he didn’t bother leaving a voicemail. There was a real possibility that you hadn't charged your phone- another bad habit you had fallen into recently. Instead, he texted the babysitter- you were old enough that you didn’t need one, but he hired a nice lady to check on you in the evenings just to make sure you were okay. He let her know the situation and to tell you to call him when she saw you that night.

---

When Spencer’s phone rang again he was still looking at the evidence board, trying to piece together the case. He averted his view from the crime scene photos to answer the call.

“Dr. Reid,” the babysitter sounded panicked and upset. “Dr. Reid, they’re gone.”

“Wait, slow down,” Spencer said as calmly as possible. “What happened?”

Now it sounded like the babysitter was close to tears. “I came into the apartment to check on (Y/N) and they aren’t here! They just left a note that says “Farewell, I am gone.” signed with their initials. Dr. Reid, I’m so sorry.”

Spencer felt a strange feeling bubble in his gut- a note could mean a million things. “It’s not your fault,” he told the babysitter. “But I need you to send me a picture of the note, okay? As clear as you can possibly get it.”

“Oh-okay.” She sniffled and Spencer heard rustling on the other end of the line before receiving the picture.

“Thank you,” he told her. “Don’t worry about it. Go home and get some rest.” He hung up before she could reply. 

He didn’t want to tell the babysitter that a note usually meant one of two things- either you’d been kidnapped and coerced into writing something to make it seem as if you had run away, or you had actually run away. And it didn’t take an expert in handwriting analysis to see that the note you had left was freely written.

“Damn it.” He wanted to say some other words as well, but Hotch had just walked into the room.

“What is it, Reid?” he asked.

“(Y/N) ran away.” Spencer looked desperately between his phone and the evidence board. Now, instead of his brain being too preoccupied with work all he could feel was worry. Anything could have happened to you and you had obviously been gone since this morning, but there was a chance that you had fled after the babysitter left you alone the previous night. You could have been anywhere.

“Go home,” Hotch told him. He tossed him the keys to one of the SUVs. “It’s about a seven hour drive back to Virginia. Get Garcia to help you.”

Reid thanked his boss and got into the car. He had never been one to speed, much less speed and talk on the phone at the same time, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Garcia looked through everything- people you could have called, public transportation you might have taken, even going as far as to hack into the security cameras at your favorite bookstore- but the only trace you had left was that you had pulled some money from an ATM.

Spencer drove straight to the apartment and looked around for any clues you may have left about where you were going, but there was nothing except the note. You hadn’t packed a bag and the amount of money you had wasn’t enough to sustain you for very long. You couldn’t have gone far. It wasn’t like his mom could take care of you and surely if you had showed up at one of your friend’s houses their parents would have called him. His brain was working at a million miles an hour, trying to think of where you could have possibly gone.

“Reid,” Garcia said, sympathetically, “I know I’m not a parent and I’m not a profiler, but have you ever stopped to think about why (Y/N) ran away?”

“I-” He paused, thinking about your behavior in the past few months. It wasn’t just the trouble at school- it was also not wanting to watch TV with him when he was home or even making dinner for yourself and not waiting until he got home to eat together. The team had been so busy that he had pulled away… and you had pulled away from him too. “I’ll call you back, Garcia.”

Spencer ran out of the apartment and back down to the car. He knew where you had gone. It was where he would have gone too.

---

You weren’t sure if there was a place you loved more than the Library of Congress. The building itself was glorious; looking as though someone had carved it all out of one massive slab of stone. The columns stretched tall and strong, supporting arches painted like tiles. Grand floors were patterned with shapes that fit together like a mosaic.

But it was the soul of the building that you really loved- being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of books that each had something to teach or a story to tell. You remembered coming there with your dad when you were younger and him telling you that as long as you had a good book in your hand you would never be alone. So of course when you felt most alone you went somewhere full of things that couldn’t possibly make you feel lonely- but the your heart still felt as empty as the apartment. At the moment, your only friend was fiction. 

“Oh, (Y/N) dear, we’re closed!” One of the librarians rushed up to you. She had known you since Spencer began taking you there as a baby. She had watched your taste in literature change from picture books all the way to helping you find a copy of a research paper you had wanted to write about for school.

You looked down a bit sadly. “I know visiting hours are up, but can I stay just a bit longer? My dad is away on a case again and I could use some company.”

The librarian smiled at you, the lines in her face far more prominent than they had been when you were little. “Of course. As long as you put your favorite friend away when you’re done.” She winked at you behind wire framed glasses and walked in the opposite direction.

The library was large enough to get lost in, but you knew where you were going like the back of your hand- It was the same book that you pulled out every time your dad was away. Not wanting to go all the way to the reading room, you sat down on the floor before carefully flipping through the book’s pages and beginning to read through something you so badly wished was being read to you instead.

---

Footsteps echoed through the library, coming slowly up behind you. You expected it to be a security guard, telling you that it was time for the library to rest for the night, so you nearly jumped out of your skin when the echoing stopped and you heard your dad’s voice.

“Love will not be constrain'd by mastery. When mast'ry comes, the god of love anon/Beateth his wings, and, farewell, he is gone. Love is a thing as any spirit free.”

You turned to look at your dad. He was still wearing his work attire, his hair a tangled mess of brown curls, but even in the dim light of the library you could see the small smile on his face. 

You scowled. “Though there was nowhere one so busy as he/ He was less busy than he seemed to be,” you retored and went back to your reading.

You heard Spencer sigh before walking up and taking a seat beside you. “I’m not busy now.”

“It’s a bit late for that, dad.” You didn’t take your eyes off the pages, but you were no longer reading the words, tears building up in your eyes.

Spencer gently pulled the book from your hands and closed it. “You know,” he started. “When you were little, Garcia bought you a box set of Dr. Seuss books. I thought you would be so excited to see all the fun pictures and colors, but every time you were given a choice, you always asked me to read you this.” He held up the book- The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. "Please tell me what's going on," he said quietly.

You turned away, not wanting your dad to see that you were crying. “I miss you, dad. You’re never around anymore and I get really lonely without you.”

“(Y/N),” he cooed, “why didn’t you say anything?”

You shrugged a little helplessly. “You catch criminals and save people. I can’t just ask you to stay home because I’m sad you’re gone.” It came out a bit sarcastic, but the tears were still real.

Spencer took a handkerchief from his pocket and softly dried your eyes before offering the book back to you. “Page 549, paragraph 2, last sentence.”

You carefully took the book from his hands and turned to the page, tracing your finger down to the location he had told you. As you read the line in your head, your dad said it outloud:

“Amour vincit omnia: Love conquers all.”

[gurugirl]

Okay queen G, where's our balancing act spoiler? You promised it today!! I'm waiting patiently like a good girl 😇

I was gonna share it later on but you've convinced me. Since you say you're being a good girl I'll give you the sneak peek early.

A Balancing Act Masterlist | Feedback & Comments

sneak peek from chapter 3 (coming this thursday)

Harry’s hand smoothed down her hip to her thigh and stopped at the hem of her dress before he began pushing the material upward, “Is this okay?” He whispered against her skin.

Y/n nodded and put her hand over his, assisting him in pushing her dress up, “Yes.”

That was all he needed to have them both return to the state they’d been in before he saw the framed photo of her on her wedding day.

“Good. Then let’s turn this terrible movie off and get you naked.”

She remembered him telling her he’d brought some things. But what his small suitcase revealed was not expected, a vibrating wand, black bondage tape, 2 sets of cuffs, and various sizes of clamps. And a bottle of lube.

Harry explained everything to her as he kissed her gently and removed her clothes, “We don’t have to use any of this. But I thought it would be fun to try. I think you’ll like some of these. Have you ever been tied up?”

Y/n shook her head as she ran her fingers over the smooth tape, “No. How does this work?”

He plucked the roll from her hand and began to unwind the tape as he spoke, “This won’t stick to your skin, it only sticks to itself. But it’ll work nicely to bind you. It’s not as harsh as rope and it’s easy to come off.”

When he pulled the wand out of the little cloth bag it was in he handed it to her, “Lie flat and put this over yourself. Place it where it feels the best and whatever setting you like the most.”

Harry was slowly getting into his dom mode and Y/n could see it. He started off gently and slowly. Lots of kissing, touching, talking… he had her feeling comfortable and she trusted him. The way he slowly kissed her arms and her tits, lowering his wet lips to the heavy underside of her breasts and squeezing her nipples as he dipped over her tummy and praised her, “Fucking gorgeous. Hard to believe I got so lucky.”

But when he told her to lie flat on the bed something had shifted into a different gear. It was a minute transition but it was noticeable. He unwound the tape as he watched her do as she was told.

She was completely naked while he was still dressed, which made her feel very vulnerable, exposed. She clicked the wand on to its low setting and placed the head in a spot she knew she’d like. It did feel good. She was already a bit wet from the kissing and the gentle touches but it didn’t take long for her to begin seeping and coating the vibrating silicone bulb that was pressed against her.

Harry kneed up to the bed and pushed her thighs further apart so he could see her better, “Because you’re new to this you probably don’t have any kind of safe word in mind yet. So if you don’t like anything, just tell me. Say stop and I will. If you like all this we can think of something to use in lieu of just stop. But for now, we’re not going to get too much into that kind of roleplay so no or stop will work.”

He wanted to show her the things he liked. These were all easy introductions into the way he liked to play and if they were going to be seeing one another more he felt it was good to start her out like this. Give her a slow, soft launch so she could explore the things she liked too. He’d move it up a notch later on. For now, the debut into dom and sub-dynamics would be very delicate. Eventually, they’d both learn what she liked together, that is if she wanted to stick around.

She nodded her head and Harry leaned over her and took the wand from her hand, “Arms over your head,” she quickly moved her arms upward as he positioned the wand against her clit and used the bondage tape to secure it in place, wrapping the tape around the handle to the top of her thigh and keeping the vibrating bulb at her pussy to give her just enough stimulation.

He climbed up and pushed her over to her tummy, the wand still working its magic, and pulled her hands behind her back, “I’m going to bind your wrists together like this,” he showed her the position and paused to make sure she didn’t have any objections, “and then,” he pushed her legs up by their shins, her ankles and feet up, thighs down, “use the tape to bind your ankles too. Is this okay with you?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

“Ah ah ah… Yes who?” He chided.

She bit her lip and smiled, “Yes, Daddy.”

Harry gave her a swat to her bottom, “There you go. I’ll give you one pass. If you forget to address me properly again we’ll take a break while I spank your bottom red.”

A Balancing Act Tags: @daphnesutton @indierockgirrl @stylesfever @harrys-jumper @ameerakane20 @harryssky1 @tobesolovelysstuff @jerseygirlinca

[littleblondesoprano]

Please forgive me if this is untoward, but I'd love some advice, if you're willing? The selfies you take are absolutely breathtaking and I was wondering how you get them to look so soft and ethereal? I've been speaking with someone who I'd like to share photos with, but every time I attempt to take them I hate every single one and feel discouraged. I don't *hate* my body, but I always think I look hideous and it kills me to think someone else will see what I see. Yours always look so pretty and if you had any tips or advice I'd be forever grateful ❤️

This is not untoward at all, my friend! I am always here for y'all, this is a safe, welcoming place <3 I'm gonna put this under a read more, just because I talk a lot, lol! :D

Firstly, thank you so much! You're so sweet, and I completely understand that feeling. Know that you are gorgeous and anyone who receives your pictures is one damn lucky person! I'm not just sayin that either, it's true!

Well, and this applies for face or body (I've still not mastered the body bit, but i'm workin on it!) the biggest advice I can give is to get comfortable in front of the camera. What that means is, trying out your angles, turn and twist in weird ways that might feel odd at first, try out silly facial expressions to try and relax! When I do cosplay, or just selfie makeup, I always have to take a break in between pictures to be as silly as I possibly can. I'm talking making videos to whatever I'm listening to, headbanging (unless it messes up my hair), dancing around, crossing my eyes, and making the most hideous faces I can, just so I can get back into that happy, relaxed zone. Do the whole Sharpay trill but with your whole body! Limbo under nothing! Really commit to the bit and get yourself laughing! When you loosen up, or at least when I do, I find the pictures come out better, because I am genuinely having fun.

So, you're sending these to a special someone (👀) maybe thinking about them when you take the pictures will help, too! Think about how they make you feel - that warm, excited energy in your chest, and believe me, it translates to the photos. Try to imagine them in front of you, and how excited they'd react to seeing you, or how excited they'll be to be such a special recipient.

Another bit of 'technical' advice is try using your camera's timer! For body shots, I use the 10 second timer on my phone camera (usually in tandem with the 'Portrait Mode' preset under 'Contour Light' if you have an Apple - I'm not sure what Samsung or Android have, but there should be an equivalent) and start trying out poses. The timer helps because you can watch your pose and shift without having to fumble with the camera. This also works for like, face selfies too - but with that I, personally, use Snapchat's camera and 3 second timer function, just so my arms are free to wiggle.

There are also apps, if you want a variety of filters beyond Snapchat, that offer some good ones! I used to use BeautyPlus in highschool/early undergrad, because it gave me those images with sharp contrast. Just, beware the ads.

An issue I run into, especially with like, body shots, is running out of poses, or trying to think new ones up. I'm not sure if you run into this, but looking online always helps me! I'm a plus size person (also bi as hell so this is very fun for me) so going into the plus size tag on tumblr, or looking up plus size boudoir shoots/photographers helps to see people with my body type being sexy, and what poses they adopt. It becomes an issue trying to do all that by myself, but there are compromises.

Lighting is your best friend. In face or body pics! If you've got a soft light, maybe play around with how it looks on the planes of your face! That meaning, wave the light around your face and see how each angle looks in a mirror, or a camera. That's how I kinda started, besides messing with the blinds in the dining room when the sun hit the perfect spot. For me, full lighting on my face with shadow behind works best. As I learned from ANTM as a teenage bab, lighting can make a shoot.

But the biggest thing is just - try stuff! Try it even if you don't think it'll look good, and really take time afterwards to appreciate yourself. This is what I want you to do, this is my homework to you - I want you to try out taking pictures, body, face, whichever, and when you sit down to look through them (that's crucial, do not look through them until your energy for taking photos is gone - only do a cursory look as you take them, no in-depth look until after, that'll psych you out if you look too long while you take them) I want you to compliment yourself on each photo. You don't have to say it out loud, but I want you to appreciate how beautiful you are, because you are beautiful. I don't care if you think you're Quasimodo incarnate - you are fucking beautiful and I want you to realize that.

I also want you to know that I completely understand. For every 1 good picture I post, there's probably 50 that I don't. I've had times where I took pictures and bawled my eyes out because I hated how I looked. And I've gone back, a year or so after, and saw how banging the pictures actually were! So let me just say, doll, it's nothing wrong with you. Your mind might just be spinning you a horribly wrong yarn. And I say: snip, snip, motherfucker.

Besides, special person that's getting these photos? If worst comes to worst and they have such little taste as to not like you, then why ever would you want them around you? We want someone in your life who lives every inch of you as yourself and shows you that, early and often. But, you also owe that same energy to yourself, because you are amazing!

But just remember, a bad photo is just that - a bad photo. Everyone takes them, and it reflects nothing on you or how you look/appear as a person. If you start to feel yourself winding down, or psyching out, take a break, drink some water, and get sillay. Just play for a while! You've got this!! I have so much faith in you, and I am so proud of you!! <3

[smilepal]

CyberAsk 2077

1. When did you buy the game?

I first played Cyberpunk a couple weeks after it came out at a friends house, when it was still a buggy, almost unplayable mess on the PS4. I loved it immediately, and got used to saving all. the. time. But despite the flaws, I was immediately pulled in by the depth of the world and the connection you felt with the NPCs, and the overall aesthetic of the game. It was what gave me the kick to evnetually order a PS5 and in Jan. I started my first playthrough with Hiro. I had no idea how much CP would stick with me, and I definitely think the community both on discord and tumblr, and in person is part of the reason it's resonated so much 💖

2. When was the moment you knew you loved the game?

Walking out of V's apartment for the first time, and immediately feeling immersed in the world CP had created. It felt like such an adventure, and the plot managed to keep me engaged, but part of the fun was exploring the map, and discovering all the little secrets there, and just stopping to enjoy the surroundings on occasion. And how much fun I was having with photo-mode, slowing down and playing tourist with everything Night City had to offer.

3. Which character did you romance in your first playthru?

As one of the one's who was disappointed as hell we couldn't romance our talking brain-tumor (hello, than why the roller-coaster date?), I didn't expect to warm up to as many of the characters I did. Kerry was my first romance, followed by Panam. I didn't warm up to Judy or River the same, but I still appreciate their characters a lot, and had a ton of fun with their storylines. That being said, I would have liked a few more romances, or at least more attention to the ones that existed. Don't get me wrong I adore Panam and Judy but River and Kerry felt like afterthoughts, and you can definitely tell who the game was catering to.

4. Whose your favorite NPC?

Okay unapologetic Johnny simp over here but there were so many good NPCs. I adored Viktor and Kerry from the start but Takemura and Panam really grew on me too! And Dum Dum, which I absolutely did not expect. There were also a lot of side characters I enjoyed and would have loved to see more of--Regina and Pepe, and Tom/Roxanne and the Clouds crew.

5. Did you have inspiration in mind when designing your V(s)?

Oh absolutely. I was inspired by some of my favorite protagonists from TV shows/video games, that sort of headstrong and reckless but well-meaning character, with a good dose of angsty backstory 😂 One of the strongest things that influenced him was the aesthetic of cyberpunk, and the tattoos. I saw a mod of the Tyger Claw tattoos and started thinking about a character with a checkered past, and a boatload of enemies who followed them, trying to start over and build a new life.

A lot of what influenced Hiro was my own playing style. I went into CP expecting to create a character who was good at stealth and sniping, and realized I didn't have the patience for it, and preferred to brute-force my way through most obstacles instead. So this shaped a lot of Hiro as well, and he's only become more fleshed out over time, and with some inspiration from friends. 💖

6. What's your go-to vehicle?

I started out driving Jackie's bike and switched to the Yaiba Kusanagi and didn't look back from it. The speed was a lot of getting used to, but the bikes feel easier for me to control, and I'm an absolute menace with the cars in that game. I'd intended to drive the Porsche more, but I couldn't get a hang of the squirrely turning. The Kusanagi fits Hiro better anyway, so I'm okay with it.

7. What's your favorite gig/mission/job?

I really enjoy the Judy and River quests, just for the overall storylines and how well they set the mood. The Judy ones are interesting, and you meet some really vibrant characters, and the River ones are just flat out creepy. I really like horror movies/games and it almost felt like something out of one. Definitely one of the few points in the game I was genuniely freaked out, and I still remember playing that one with the lights off and slightly regretting it. As for smaller quests, definitely enjoyed the Pepe one, especially with Johnny's narration. The Maelstorm quest where you have to go fetch Nancy was interesting too, if only to go poking around Totentantz in the meantime.

8. Which NC radio station do you switch to the most?

Radio Vexelstrom is my favorite, followed by Principales and the Dirge. Anything with a good beat, really. 👌 I love jazz in real life, but I was never able to get into the radio station that much. It felt out of place for me, or at least for my character. Maybe it would feel better suited for a Corpo playthrough.

Tagged by @roads-rise-to-meet-me thanks!! ❤️

Tagging: @rindemption @faepunkprince @wraithsoutlaws @onlymeandlife @katsigian @shinycorvidae @noirapocalypto @a-pirate @gloryride @saevus-brutalis @dreamskug @ladyizunia @erectum and @angelwhispersunknown (and anyone else who sees this and wants too, no pressure tho!

[veraynes-blog]

sam/gene and 5 or 23 for the cuddling prompts?? please and thank u (btw I'll never get tired of saying that I'm in love with your writing)

5. In the backseat of the car.

23. Reunion

I'm sorry this took a while to answer! To make up, I did both prompts! Well, near enough. After writing it, pretty sure this takes place somewhere in the Godawful Small Affair series, actually.. 🤔

Hope you like!

~

It's nearly 3 in the morning by the time the medics grudgingly say Sam's free to go (since, with trademark obstinacy, he refuses to get in the ambulance for what he insists are just a few bruises and a bit of dehydration), and Chris is done carefully taking down his initial statement of what happened inside the derelict factory building before the rest of the team had gotten there.

Gene stands away from him, busy surveying the efficient chaos of the crime scene. He watches Ray bully the last of the handcuffed perps into the back of a police van (with a sly smack that Gene automatically erases from memory); Cartwright crouching down and pointing at the cut length of rope they'd used to keep DI Tyler secured for the past 29 hours (not that he counted); the plods taking photos of the dropped guns that'll go in the evidence file later.

He wants desperately to light a cig, or better yet take one or five swigs from the hipflask in his pocket, but his brain hasn't quite dropped out of crisis-management mode yet. He's still on high alert, noticing everything that's happening around him, braced for whatever unlikely emergency or threat comes next. If he starts to relax, even a bit, he's afraid the grim fury and adrenaline that's gotten him this far will fade out of him, and instead - well. He doesn't want it happening in the middle of his crime scene, is all.

So he keeps his hands shoved deep in his coat pockets, keeps a scowl fixed firmly in place, glaring around the scene where his DI had almost been shot through his idiotic head an hour ago.

"Guv."

Gene doesn't react immediately as the idiot in question slouches towards him, instead swiftly cataloguing the sight he makes as he gets nearer. The docs have slapped an adhesive bandage across his forehead, over where the muzzle flash had singed him. He's got a split lip and the beginnings of a nasty shiner, and he winces as he slowly pulls his leather jacket back up over his shoulders.

"Gonna get a lift home, if you don't need me for anything else here."

Gene grunts. "I'll drive you." He says it without thinking, still not looking at him direct. It's not so much an offer as an order.

Sam pauses, eyeing him speculatively, then nods. "Thanks."

With effort, Gene forces himself to move at last from his glowering vigil, striding off towards the Cortina. He passes Ray as he goes, growls an order to take over running the scene, and then he's impatiently slamming his way into the car. Sam follows at a more sedate pace, faintly dubious expression on his face as he picks his way round to the passenger's side and gets in.

Gene doesn't look at him, and doesn't speak, as he gets the car in gear and pulls quickly away from the curb. It's almost oppressively quiet. Neither of them turns on the radio, and they're practically the only car out on the dark streets.

Which, actually, might be a blessing in disguise, because Gene hasn't slept in a little over 29 hours (funnily enough), has been running on single-minded focus, caffeine and nicotine throughout, and now that it's all on the downturn he realises belatedly it might be taking something of a toll. There's a tight, nervous feeling building in his chest, and every time he tries to switch gears his hand feels numb and clumsy on the stick. When he actually stalls the car at a set of lights, Sam has the audacity to shoot him a scandalised glance, and Gene knows he has to take a minute here.

There's a multi-storey carpark coming up, and he manages to keep himself under control long enough to steer the Cortina into the first floor of it. This time of night it's all but empty so he parks haphazardly over the lines, fumbling the engine off. His hands are shaking slightly.

Sam's looking at him like he's lost his mind now, eyebrows up in disbelief. "What's up with you?"

Gene turns on him wordlessly, aware that he's slightly wild around the eyes but truly unable to believe the right div he has for a DI sometimes. For a man who likes to spend all his energy proving how right and smart and superior he is most days, Sam isn't half thick when he wants to be.

"You got yourself kidnapped," he practically spits, suddenly furious that he even has to say it, acknowledge it, explain.

Sam just frowns offence. "I didn't exactly go asking for it -"

"But you did, though, didn't you?! Couldn't just do what I said for once, had to go skulking off on your own -"

"If you'd come with me when I asked, I wouldn't have had to -!"

"No," Gene snaps, bouncing his palm off the steering wheel. "You don't sodding well get to give the orders, Sam, you get to listen to them! And I said wait!"

His DI blinks, taken aback. He goes quiet for a few seconds, forehead all puckered up in bemusement - and then clearly can’t help himself. "But I was right! And, by the way, I'm the one who just spent the last God-knows-how-long tied to a bloody chair! But yeah, course, have a go because I showed you up -"

"You honestly think that's what I'm bothered about, you smarmy little git?!" He's hissing, frozen, near trembling in his outrage. He means to launch into a tirade about the unbelievable recklessness of going off alone half-cocked, the shit example that's been set, the sheer hell Gene's put his team through this past day and night demanding results from them. Instead, what barks out is, "I just nearly watched you get shot in the face. Believe me when I say, I do not give a fuck if you were right!"

The other man at least has the grace to look embarrassed, wincing a bit. "I didn't mean... It would have been..." He stops, floundering, and at last Gene sees the slow realisation pass through him, sees him stop short and reassess what exactly they're arguing about. His shoulders drop, defensiveness easing off him as he finally seems to notice the strength of feeling currently radiating through the car. "Oh. Hey. But it's... It's fine, though. I'm fine."

He starts to reach out a soothing hand to touch him, and without thinking Gene smacks it down hard. They glare at each other for a few seconds. Sam goes to move again, determined, but Gene jerks away a second time. Still, neither of them say anything. His jaw is clenched so hard it hurts, nostrils flaring as he tries to breathe through the anger that's building in him.

He's not even sure what he's more furious about: that Sam defied him, or that he apparently thought nothing of the heart-stopping near-disaster Gene walked in on tonight, and which will no doubt be fixed behind his eyes for the foreseeable. It clearly hasn't occurred to the prat that Gene might have some thoughts on that. And alright, they've only been doing this 'behind closed doors' thing for a couple of weeks, it's not something they really talk about, but it's just... Well, he hadn't thought...

He'd assumed it went without saying, that he wouldn't be taking the risk of it all if it didn't bloody mean something.

His fingers grip restlessly at the wheel, trying to steady himself. He doesn't know quite how to do this, because Sam's not exactly the damsel in distress he's used to. He's not some petite, feminine thing he can hold against himself and keep safe. Those aren't the roles they have, not even close.

Except he doesn't know how else to do it, because right now that's the only instinct screaming in his brain.

So Gene shoots his hand out, thumps his palm against the other man's chest. Sam flinches in surprise at the sudden movement, staring at him perplexed - and then Gene curls his fingers in his jacket, hauls him insistently across the space in the car. It's clumsy. Sam comes haltingly and half-resisting, not understanding straight away what's happening, not knowing where to put his hands to catch himself. In the end he sort of topples into Gene, hissing pain and holding rigid against him, unmoving.

Gene doesn't care. It feels like the first deep breath he's taken in 29 hours as he pushes his cheek against Sam's bandaged forehead and gets the smells of leather and antiseptic and gunsmoke.

"Stupid bastard," he mutters through clenched teeth, barely audible.

Gradually, as the evident bafflement passes, Sam relaxes in increments. He's got his chin propped awkwardly up on Gene's shoulder, and carefully shifts about enough that he can more comfortably turn his face into the side of his neck, sighing a bit. One hand hovers uselessly in the air for a moment, then finally sneaks inside Gene's coat to settle against his side, and they go still like that.

It's not the kind of thing they do, this, even with all the other boundaries they've crossed recently. Not usually the touchy-feely types, either one of them. But Gene's blood is rushing like he's just thrown a punch, and he can't get himself to release the death-grip he's got fisted in Sam's shirtfront, or the arm clamped around his back. He keeps remembering the flash of the gunshot, the other man throwing himself at the floor like he'd been hit, all because Gene hadn't found him fast enough -

"M'fine," Sam says again, firm. His hand strokes aimlessly at Gene's ribs and chest, then drifts up to the back of his neck, holding him in place as he leans his forehead to Gene's temple. They rest like that for a minute or so, tension finally starting to ease off, until at last Gene feels the flighty rush of relief and endorphins start to kick in.

Sam pulls back enough to kiss him then, quick and insistent, both of them inhaling sharply at the welcome contact. It's brief. Even at this time of night they're in a public place, visible to anyone looking. Can't risk anything more lingering. But Sam leaves a hand on his knee as he finally eases himself back to his own side of the car.

"Stay at mine when you drop me off."

Gene clears his throat, already starting to feel awkward at the unprecedented display he's just indulged in. He busies himself turning the engine back on, getting the car in gear.

"Might have to," he finally concedes, fixing a scowl in place as he pulls them into reverse, arm over the back of the passenger seat to look behind them. "Some of us have gone without a decent kip the whole time you sat on your arse waiting for rescue -"

"Sod off!" But he's grinning, shaking his head with happy exasperation as Gene drives them home.

[bucks-little-hop]

it cannot wait, I'm yours.

Day 1 of @buddiefirstkissweek

Prompt:  Related to Pride

Read on AO3

Despite living there for several years, Buck had never actually attended L.A pride. He usually flew to New York City to celebrate with friends there. However, with T.K. being in Austin, they had agreed to go to each other’s Prides together. The only issue was T.K. couldn’t get off until the second day, and Buck didn’t exactly want to go alone. His first choice would have been Hen, but she got stuck working as well. He realized that he needed more friends than just his co-workers as he scrolled through his phone trying to figure out who to call. He could ask Maddie, but she would probably spend the whole time trying to find a cute guy for him to date. He loved the support, but sometimes he didn’t need to be reminded he was single when all his other friends had a significant other.

He thought about texting Michael, but they had talked last time he was over at the Grant-Nash household, and Michael was going with his new boyfriend. Buck was ecstatic that Michael finally found a boyfriend. It was about time. He deserved it. If Buck was his type, Buck for sure would have tried to date him. 

Wait, Josh was single and gay. He was probably going to pride, and likely wouldn’t want to go alone either. Perfect solution. He sent a text off and got a quick response before going to get changed. Normally Buck dressed pretty conservatively, but this was the one time a year he really let himself go all out. He put on his crop top that said ‘if you play for both teams you always win.’ It was probably his favourite shirt, he loved the slogan. He basically worked out for a living, and he was glad that crop tops highlighted that. He threw on his ripped jeans that were just on the right side of too tight, and had one rip that went a little too far up his thigh. He was lacing up his pride Dr. Martens when he heard a knock on the door.  

“So glad you could make it.” Buck pulled Josh into a hug. It was a bit of a surprise at first how well the two got along. They even went out on a date together before realizing they were better off friends. The teasing they would have gotten from Maddie would have been unbearable if it had actually worked out. 

“I’m just happy I have someone to go with now. I brought the face paints!” Josh immediately grabbed one of Buck’s kitchen chairs and pushed him down into it. Josh was already sporting a gay flag painted under his eye, and he clearly had plans to put on on Buck as well. “I know you care about your hair, but really I think we need some glitter in it. It’s the spray kind that comes out easy I swear.” 

Buck rolled his eyes but sat still while he got a bisexual pride flag painted under his right eye. “You can do the glitter, but I’m showering at your place. I’m not trying to deal with clogged pipes because of it.” 

“Fair deal. We better get going, or we won’t ever be able to get an Uber downtown.”

******

L.A. Pride was somehow exactly like NYC Pride, and completely different. All the elements of pride were there. The drag queens who were performing up a storm, the baby gays who it was clear this  was their first pride, and those who had been going to prides longer than Buck had been alive. There were definitely more west coast vibes to it. Either way, Buck was thrilled to be at Pride, and happy to have a friend along with him. 

The two wandered through the marketplace, stopping every now and then to buy a couple of items. The two spent a couple of minutes laughing when they found the LAFD calendar, except they were able to get any face photoshopped on all the firefighters. They got one with a photo of Chim sneezing on it for Maddie’s birthday. It was even better because it actually had Chim in it. There were some advantages to Buck not having won that year. Josh saw a lesbian couple from work, and dragged Buck over there to introduce him to them. Buck was known for both being Maddie’s younger brother, but also the firefighter whose name got mentioned more than it probably should have been. His dumbass heroics got him far more recognition than they should have been. 

Buck saw a familiar face in the crowd, and they made eye contact before they turned away.  He let Josh know he was going to talk to them. He knew Josh would be safe with his friends for the moment. 

“Now Athena, I know you’re not just going to ignore me like that.” Buck jokingly called out to her.

“I wish I could say I was ignoring you, but I owe Hen money unfortunately. You just had to get a boyfriend.” Athena sounded almost disappointed,

“What Josh? No we aren’t dating, we’re just here as friends. Actually, you’ve met him before I think. He works with Maddie.” Buck wasn’t offended about the fact she thought he and Josh were dating, he didn’t like the thought of the bet. “Any other important bets going on about my life?”

Athena had the decency to look a little ashamed. “Well there was a bet about whether or not you had a secret boyfriend. Hen said yes, I said no. Mainly because you would have told Maddie, who would have accidentally told Chim, who would have immediately texted Hen, who would have shown up at my house with a bottle of wine to gossip. We all know secrets don’t exist in the family.” 

Buck knew she had a point. Secrets didn’t exist, and because of that betting run rampant. Hell, he had won $50 on the bet of when Micheal was going to announce his new boyfriend. “How much do you have on it, because I’m willing to lie to split the winnings. Hen deserves some payback after how often she keeps winning.” Buck was never above a small lie. He could just say they broke up in a week because it wasn’t working out.

“$200. Go collect your fake boyfriend over there and we’ll go find the 118. They’ve got a tent set up to hand out water.” Athena nodded her head towards Josh. 

Buck didn’t think that they would actually be there. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of being bi, but he had never officially come out to the 118. Hen knew because they ran into each other at a gay bar, and Athena knew because she got called to pick them up when they were too drunk to drive. “Alright yeah, I can drop all my stuff off there too. They’re all going to be too scared to look through the bags.” Even though there was nothing bad in them, the fire fam was going to assume there was. 

Buck walked back to Josh and explained what was going on. Buck owed Josh an expensive bottle of wine for it, but he was totally down to mess with the 118. The wine was to placate him from any of the text Maddie would send him after Chim texted her. On the way over they all chatted. Buck agreed to bring May with him on the second day. Athena wanted her to go with someone who was more responsible, but also not afraid to throw a punch. May was like a little sister to him, and Buck was fully ready to square up for her.  Plus, T.K. and his new boyfriend would defend her too. Actually, based on what he had heard about Carlos, he would get along with Athena. Buck made a note to introduce the two. As they got closer to the tent, Buck put his arm around Josh’s waist. With Buck being such a tactile guy, it wasn’t the first time he had held Josh like this. He allowed himself to be more touchy feely with Josh because he knew the other was okay with it. 

“Hey guys, this is Josh. He’s an operator with Maddie. I’m sure you’ve heard his lovely voice on the phone a few times.” Buck spoke to the 118 with a grin on his face. He could feel the fact that all eyes were on him. Hen scowled at him and then Athena. She pulled out her wallet to pay up.

Buck leaned down to talk to Josh, and softened his voice to talk. “Why don’t you go talk to Chim about Maddie’s surprise stories. I’ll deal with all the questions.” There was zero reason for him to do that, other than to sell the idea. Buck had big plans for that $100. 

Josh walked over to Chim, and pulled him aside as the rest of the 118 descended on Buck. 

“Listen Buck, not that I’m not proud of you for this, but you really had to wear your best outfit the day I’m not with you?” There was no actual malice behind Hen’s voice. She had made teasing Buck into an art form. 

“Hen this is a go big or go home event, and I certainly wasn’t going to go home.” Buck gave her one of his patented golden retriever smiles, before he pulled a small enamel lesbian flag pin out of his  pocket and held it out to her. “I got you a present to make it up to you at least. Figured you could wear it while you work to show support.” 

Hen took the pin, seeming to accept the apology gift. She walked over to Athena, the two already starting to gossip.

Bobby cleared his throat. “So Buck, you know you could have told us before. We would have supported you.” He was clearly into his dad mode, trying to approach the situation delicately. 

“I mean you never came out as straight to the station. I’ve told you about people I’ve gone on dates with. If you assumed Jordan, Addison, and Kennedy were girls, that's on you.” Buck viewed Bobby as a father, but sometimes he was very much a straight cis man. They were working on changing his set views. But he supported them all and that was what mattered the most to them.  

“Buck, can we talk, over there. It cannot wait.” Eddie’s voice was tense, and Buck didn’t like how it had sounded. Buck nodded and followed him, not trusting any words that would come out of his mouth. Buck was fine with Hen, he figured he would be fine with Buck being bisexual. There was a chance Eddie was one of those people who just thought bisexuals were just greedy and needed to make their mind up. He hadn’t been prepared to lose Eddie as a friend, not over something like this. Having Chim and Bobby know made him feel like a weight was lifted off his chest, but Eddie’s reaction made it all come crashing back down. The two walked behind the ambulance, where they were out of view from the public. There was just a couple of photographers hanging out in their event tent. 

“You’re not actually dating Josh, are you?” Eddie crossed his arms, taking a defensive stance.

“Why does it matter to you? If you can’t accept me having a boyfriend then we are going to have bigger problems than who I’m dating.”

“You told me you were single at movie night last week.” Eddie sounded exasperated, and Buck was really confused as to why.

“Fine, Josh and I aren’t dating, but we tried at one point. We’re better friends, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still bi. I’ve dated plenty of guys since we’ve been friends, it just hasn’t worked out.” They were friends, Buck was going to be honest with Eddie. Well, mostly honest. If Eddie asked if Buck had a crush on him, Buck was going to deny it. He didn’t think Eddie would be the kind of straight guy who would get all weird about Buck’s crush, but then again he didn’t think Eddie was biphobic either. 

“Good, because I can’t see you with a boyfriend...” Eddie seemed to have calmed down, and a realization had swept over him. His face looked a lot softer, it was a look Buck had seen many times but was never really sure what it meant. Buck anger was going in the opposite direction. He took a step back.

Buck didn’t bother to let Eddie finish before he cut him off. “Listen, if you’ve got such a problem with me dating another guy, then you should transfer stations. I’m not going to hide a part of me because it’s not something you like.” His words were harsh, but he kept his voice down. He didn’t want any yelling to attract the others. Buck started to walk away when he felt Eddie grab his wrist and pull him back so they were face to face.

“Evan, You didn’t let me finish. I can’t see you with a boyfriend that isn’t me. If I had known you liked guys, I would have done this sooner.” Buck was shocked by the statement, but even more shocked by what came next. 

Eddie leaned up and kissed Buck. 

Buck did not in a million years see Eddie returning his feelings. Buck felt Eddie start to pull back, and he knew the older man was overthinking things the same way he was. Buck brought his hands up to cup Eddie’s cheeks, and pulled him back in. He could overthink this later, for now he was going to enjoy kissing Eddie. Finally it didn’t have to be something of his dreams anymore. He felt Eddie’s hands come to rest on his waist. Buck had every intention of deepening the kiss, but when he moved to get closer, he managed to slip. Thankfully, Eddie managed to catch him before he completely fell on his back. 

They had been pulled apart by the fall, but they rested their foreheads together. 

“We should talk about this…” Buck started to say.

“We’ll have plenty of time to talk later, I got months of kissing to make up for.” Eddie leaned down, kissing Buck with far more passion this time. He wasn’t worried about being rejected. 

Eventually Buck fully got back up to his feet, but not before a photographer had snapped a photo of the two.

******

Buck promised to drop Eddie off at the station the next morning, so he wouldn’t have to ensure the teasing alone. They didn’t have to walk far into the station before the teasing started.

Hanging from the balcony was a blown up photo of the two of them kissing. Buck had seen the photo posted all over last night. Out of context, it looked like Eddie had dipped Buck, not that Buck had just been clumsy first. He knew there were comparisons to the soldier celebrating V-J day, and the navy soldier getting his homecoming kiss. The photo was heralded as one of the defining photos of pride that year. Would Buck have liked their first kiss to be a little more private, sure, but it wouldn’t have been true to the way his life had gone so far. The teasing would be worth it, especially since he got Eddie out of the deal. 

“They’re all just jealous Eds, just remember. I’m yours.”

[smileyoongle]

Idol BTS! Doing a live together

Requested by @twiwwo

I hope you like it.... sorry for the delay. Took me long enough to complete this. Let's get it....

Kim Seokjin:

You pushed the door open with your hip while trying to balance the plates of food in your hand. Your boyfriend, Jin, wasn't feeling very good so you offered to take care of him. You narrowed your eyes when you saw him doing a live. A few minutes ago, he was lying in bed while complaining about how he was probably gonna die. Setting the food down, you sighed and turned to leave without a word when he grabbed your hand to stop you. "So my beloved Y/N is here and like I said she's gonna be joining me in today's EATJIN!" He announced as he pulled you to sit beside him. You gawked at him but you weren't really surprised. This was typical of him to do. And it wasn't like you hadn't joined his live before. You smiled and turned to the screen, greeting all the viewers. "So let's get to it then. Just a little warning though, Y/N's a terrible cook so if I seem a little out of it, please forgive me." He said, picking up the chopsticks, his comment making you gasp. "Excuse me?! You know what, I'm a terrible cook, right? Then maybe you should make your own food." You glared at him and placed your hands on your hips. Jin suppressed a smile from etching itself into his face. He absolutely loved teasing you. It was the most fascinating thing to him. But before he could snap back into reality, he saw you leaving the room with the food. He let out a small whine and grabbed the phone before chasing after you. The half of the live consisted of him convincing you that you made even better food than him and you wrapping up the live due to Jin falling asleep on camera.

Kim Namjoon:

You stole a glance at Namjoon, who was busy doing a live about his new studio, while you tried to fix the figurine he had broken. Smiling, you shook your head and continued to join the broken pieces again. It made you really happy to see how content he looked when he talked on his lives. Getting deeply engrossed in putting together the last detached piece, you didn't notice that your boyfriend had now pointed the camera at you. Namjoon let out a low chuckle before mumbling 'cute' when he saw the way you, involuntarily, stuck your tongue out. You let out a squeal as soon as you fixed the figurine, before clamping a hand over your mouth. You looked at Namjoon to see him laughing while the live stream displayed everything you just did. "How long have you been recording me?" You whined and hid your face with your hands. Moving from the chair to the couch where you sat, Namjoon pulled your hands and wrapped an arm around your shoulder. He leaned his cheek against yours. "Everyone, say hi to this saviour beside me. She saves things from the danger of being damaged by me." He said, making you laugh. The comments were filled with how adorable both of you were. In an awful attempt to give you a hug, Namjoon let the phone slip from his hands. You both stared at the cracked screen while the fans wondered what caused the sudden disruption. "Not again..." You mumbled as you shut your eyes before walking out of the studio, leaving Namjoon to figure out how to deal with this.

Min Yoongi:

Yoongi was doing a live while you baked cookies in the kitchen. Music was heard through the speaker placed on top of the counter. You started dancing while gathering all the ingredients in one place. Yoongi stood leaning on the counter while he showed his fans what you were up to. He let out a low laugh making you turn around immediately. You widened your eyes while he walked towards you. "This is what the person you all, so desperately, wanted to see was doing." He said to the live stream. You lightly hit his shoulder and went back to making your cookies. Yoongi placed the phone on the counter so that you both were visible. Soon the kitchen was a mess while both of you baked the cookies together. You mixed the ingredients while Yoongi handed them to you one by one. Finally, you put the cookies in the oven and sat down on the floor. Yoongi grabbed the phone and you both talked to the fans until the cookies finished baking. You took the tray out and tried to cool down one cookie. "Review time!" You grinned at the screen and took a bite. Instantly, you grimaced and stared at the cookie. "What is it?" Yoongi asked, taking the cookie from you and taking a bite. He coughed and made a face similar to yours. "I think I handed you the salt instead of the sugar." He concluded causing the fans to send millions of laughing emojis. Not wanting to waste the cookies, you both packed them nicely and decided to give them to the members. This live was by far the best live that you and Yoongi did. "The next live will be the reaction of the members to these awful cookies so stay tuned!" Yoongi announced, throwing up his signature gang signs, sending you into fits of laughter.

Jung Hoseok:

Hoseok was doing his usual 'Hope on the street' practice. He told you that he needed a partner for this and you agreed to help him. What you didn't know was that he was going to live stream the practice. You suddenly didn't like this idea anymore, his fans had only seen you in photos but today they would see you on live and this made you nervous. "Y/N, I promise they're gonna love you!" Hoseok said while he held your hand. When the live started, you pretended that there was no one watching you. And soon enough, you were laughing hysterically as you danced with Hoseok. He was still teaching you the dance. When you two got tired, you proceeded to take a break. You answered a couple of fan questions before going back to dance. Hoseok was busy showing his adorable dimples when you screamed. The camera almost slipped out of his hands but he caught it on time. "What's wrong?" He asked, moving towards you while the comment section was filled with panic. You squealed and ran back to your boyfriend. "There's a freaking cockroach near the speakers." You said, covering your face with your hands. Trying to be brave in front of you, Hoseok gulped and walked towards the speakers. You watched him carefully, bugs creeped the hell out of you. Your eyes widened when Hoseok gasped and took quick steps back to you, stumbling in the process and falling flat on his face. "You didn't mention that it could fly!" He complained. The camera faced the ceiling before you picked it up while laughing. It was funny, how could you not laugh? The rest of the live, you and Hoseok sat in the corner of the practice room while calling someone to help get rid of the little creature. Everyone had a good laugh whenever they saw this live.

Park Jimin:

"Please stay warm. It's really cold outside." Jimin said, looking at the camera while reading some of the comments. He stepped outside of his house and saw you kneeling on the ground. Making his way towards you, he turned the camera so that everyone watching the live could get a glimpse of what Jimin was so mesmerized with. Suddenly you jumped and let out a 'YAY' which made Jimin flinch a little. Only when he saw the smile on your face, he relaxed. You placed the head of the snowman on its body and stepped away to look at it properly. Not noticing your boyfriend, you scanned around for any rocks that you could use as the eyes. Jimin placed a finger on his lips and looked at the camera, taking slow steps closer to you. He bent down and grabbed a handful of snow, throwing it at you as you squealed on feeling the cool substance on your neck. You turned around to see Jimin laughing, narrowing your eyes at him. "Game on!" You yelled and gathered snow to throw it back at him. For the next hour, Jimin ran around with the phone while you chased him. The live was certainly entertaining as all the people watching were already separated into teams based on who they support. Getting tired, Jimin stopped running and faced you, seeing the huge lump of snow you held. As you swung your arm towards him, he ended up falling before the snow could even hit him. You gasped, not because your boyfriend fell but because he fell on the snowman you made. Rushing towards him, you moved aside the snow and took the phone to avoid any damage to it. "Look what he did!" You complained to watching armys. While you were busy being mad at Jimin, he pulled you to lay beside him on the cold snow. You pushed his hands away as he attempted to tickle you, the giggles falling from your mouth while the viewers got very interesting angles of your face, good enough to make new memes. Finally giving up, Jimin lay on top of you, his cheek next to yours. The fans gave very hearty reactions although there were some hateful comments. The live ended with the two of you going back inside the warmth of your house.

Kim Taehyung:

You and Taehyung were the crazy but perfect couple. So here you were, in the middle of the night, ready to blast your favourite songs in a karaoke booth. Taehyung started a live on his phone and placed it in the corner of the room, making sure that both of you were visible. You had been in taehyung's lives before and the fans were very fond of you. You held the mic as Taehyung chose the song. You let out a loud laugh when you heard the beats to "I am the Best" by 2NE1. In a few minutes, the two of you were singing as if your life depended on it. As usual, Taehyung went into his karaoke mode which consisted of him dancing in the most hilarious ways possible. You moved closer to the phone to read some comments. One of the viewers enquired about taehyung's rainbow wig. You held taehyung's hand and pulled him to you while pointing at the comment. He narrowed his eyes and thought for a minute. Suddenly he gave his boxy grin and went away while you shrugged at the camera. Taehyung came back, sporting your green scarf on his head. "Not rainbow but it works!" He grinned, taking your hand and going to choose the next song. The live went on for a pretty long time and two of you didn't look like you were gonna stop anytime soon. After watching Taehyung rap to cypher, you decided it was probably enough for the night. You both gathered your things and left to go home but ended up getting distracted on the way by an arcade. Taehyung held the phone up and placed his other hand on your shoulder, dragging you into the arcade. "It ain't over yet!" He said, striking his signature V pose. The live went on as the viewers watched you both beat each other's scores in the colourful arcade until the sun rose on the horizon.

Jeon Jungkook:

It was April fools day and Jungkook had been thinking of pranks to scare you. It had become a tradition and you had managed to come up with the best prank every single time. Jungkook sighed and started a live, regardless of whether he was gonna prank you or not. It had been a week since you and Jungkook had bought a car and you were currently out buying groceries. The bell rang, your arrival being announced by loud sobs coming from outside. Jungkook ran to the door and saw you crying, holding the steering wheel of the car in your hand. His expression was so hilarious, you really wanted to laugh. You dropped the steering wheel and hugged him, crying into his shirt. The fans were going berserk, they already figured this was a prank. "They sold us a fake car. I was pulling into the driveway when the steering wheel just came out, kook." You mumbled, sniffling to add more effect. Slowly Jungkook wrapped an arm around you, trying to understand how you managed to damage a new car. His eyes fell on the screen of the phone, reading a comment which stated that this was a prank for sure. He smiled evilly and pulled away from you. "If it's already broken then why not do it nicely?" He said, making you confused. He handed you the phone and went inside the house. "What is going on?" You asked the viewers. Before you could read the answers, Jungkook came back with a bat in his hand. He grabbed your hand and smiled at you, dragging you to the car. He raised the bat in his hand, ready to strike the windshield. "No, Jungkook! It was a prank!" You yelled and held his hand. At first, he gave you a serious glance but soon burst out laughing. You rolled your eyes. "You knew." You said, looking at the screen. Jungkook took the phone from you, still laughing. "I love you all!" He winked at the camera. You jumped on his back as he carried you inside the house. "There's always a next time." You shrugged, trying to look unbothered. Jungkook chuckled and set you on the couch, laying down on your stomach. A good half an hour later of conversing with the fans, you suddenly gasped. Pushing Jungkook off of you, you ran outside. Jungkook groaned, rubbing his elbow. "What happened?!" He yelled behind you. He heard the front door open as he stared at the live. "There was ice-cream in the grocery bag!" You answered, continuing your rescue mission while Jungkook shook his head and laughed.

[bangtan-madi]

Hi! Is it okay if I make another request? I think it would be a reaction.. or scenario...? I'm still unsure about the categories. What would be Zen's reaction after finding fanfics his fans have wrote about him? Like, he was checking tripter to see what photos Seven's bot have posted recently and ended up seeing a link to said fanfics... Or something like that. Please?

Sooo, I went a little overboard with this one, but I just had way too much fun xD Hope you enjoy, lovely!!

The camera clicks on, black screen illuminating to life. Though the picture is shaky at first, MC comes into view within the first few seconds. Once her hand steadies enough, she holds the camera up high so the frame focuses properly on her face. 

“Hell, I hope you’re focusing, you piece of s–”

MC’s hand slips, and a curse emanates from her mouth. “Shit! Don’t fall, don’t fall.” Both hands grasp the device, and her wide grin returns once again. “There  we go.”

MC turns to glance behind her, silently listening for the other person wandering somewhere in the house. When she hears his laugh from the other room, she turns back to the camera and giggles.

“Zen is in his bedroom doing some work on his laptop, I think. Or…something like that.” She waves her hand nonchalantly at the end of the sentence. “Point is…I have a really great idea on how to get him back for scaring the living hell out of me the other day. He caught that on camera, and somehow, it ended up on Instagram…and now it’s viral.”

Zen laughs again, and a huge, evil grin spreads across MC’s face. “But this is gonna be sweet revenge. Here I come, babe. Get ready to be scared shitless.”

MC gives a quiet–yet animated–evil laugh as she disappears from the frame. 

She carries the camera in front of her, the door to the next room now visible. Her hand pushes the surface, and she continues to walk down the hallway, towards the bedroom.

Zen sits on a floor cushion in front of the tiny coffee table, a place that acts as a desk space when he needs it. His back it turned to MC, and both the camera and it’s owner creep closer. On eerily silent feet, the stagnant space between MC and her boyfriend closes.

As MC closes the distance to less than a foot, she takes a deep breath in, preparing to let out the loudest scream she can muster. 

Just as the sound collects in her vocal cords, Zen throws his hands up excitedly and shouts, at an extraordinarily high volume, “HEY, MC! Come check this out!”

The camera slips from her fingers and falls to the floor with a loud thud, in tandem with the loudest screech Zen has ever heard. 

Both he and MC, still in the frame, jump away from each other in surprise. Zen tumbles over, foot catching on the low coffee table. He hits the ground with a groan of pain. As she screams, MC falls backward into the basket of clean laundry, spilling the contents all over her and the floor. 

A beat of silence follows the screams, groans, and crashes as both people clutch their chests in fear and confusion. MC breathes heavily, and Zen stares at her with wide eyes.

“MC! What the fuck!”

Though MC is still startled and petrified, a small laugh starts to slip from her lips. The look on Zen’s face is priceless. His hair is askew, scarlet eyes are wider than she’s ever seen, and a hand is still clutching tightly to the white t-shirt covering his chest.

Eventually, as the shock passes, MC bursts out into louder laughter, a sound that fills the room and echos down the hall. 

“Oh my gosh, you should see your face!” she cackles, unable to control herself. 

Zen gives her a scowl, though it’s an expression to hide his own amusement. “This isn’t funny! I could’ve broken my ankle again!”

MC falls backward onto the pile of laundry, the garments covering her head and shoulders slipping to the floor. She curls up on herself, laughter shaking her entire body.

Zen stands on shaky feet and snatches the laptop from the table, an object that luckily did not fall with him.

“Fine, keep laughing! I won’t tell you what I found through Seven’s tripter bot.”

Instantly, MC recovers enough to pull herself into a sitting position. “Whaaat, nooo! Show meee.”

Zen shakes his head, and like a spoiled brat, sits on the mattress with his back to her. “Nope. Sorry, babe. You lost your chance.”

MC crawls over to the camera, picks it up, and holds it as she wanders over to the mattress. She places the device on the dresser, still aiming the lens at the bed. Despite Zen’s grumpy attitude towards her scaring him, MC wraps her arms around his shoulders and rests her chin against the curve of his neck.

“I’ll be honest, I totally came in here to scare you.”

Zen scoffs and nods his head towards the camera. “Is that why you brought that thing along?”

“Hey, it was payback for scaring me the other day! And posting it!”

The white-haired male grins at the memory. “Yeah, that was pretty damn funny.”

MC pinches his arm, earning a slight, “Ow!” from him.

“But, if it makes you feel better, I’m still shaking…so we both got scared.”

Zen pushes the laptop aside and turns to glance at MC over his shoulder. The smirk is back, and he turns enough to wrap an arm around her waist. 

“Fine, I’ll show you what I found. Get the camera, though. You’re gonna want to see this up close. It’s freaking hilarious.”

MC jumps up with a giggle, then grabs the camera and returns to her spot behind Zen. “Whatcha got there, Zenny?”

Zen, instantly in I’m-on-camera mode, gestures to the images on the screen. “Seven’s tripter bot has been scouring the internet all day, and I had no idea why. When it finished running the search, this is what it pulled up." 

He gestures to each site and link on the screen. Titles such as "Dating Zen Would Include…” and “Zen Relationship Headcanons” fill the screen. When he scrolls down a bit, more links appear. “Zen Smut,” “Fifty Shades of Zen,” and “Zen’s Kinks” are among the many, many listed.

This sends both MC and Zen into another fit of laughter. “This is great!” he exclaims. “Look at it! It just keeps going, and going, and…oh! There’s stuff with the other members of the RFA!”

Sure enough, MC starts to see things like, “Seven x Zen” and “Jumin x Zen,” along with basically every other pairing with the others in the RFA. Even “Jaehee x Zen” makes an entrance, as well as “Human!Elizabeth the 3rd x Zen.”

MC groans and covers her face with her hand, trying to decide whether to laugh or cry. “Your fans are the worst,” she mutters behind her palm. “The absolute worst!”

Zen chortles at her comment and shows a different page of fan fiction results. “Hey, they’re not all that bad!”

“You’ve read some!”

“What’s your definition of ‘some,’ MC?”

“Zen!”

He points to a result in the queue as a defense. “Look! They’ve written some pretty sweet stuff about us!”

Rolling her eyes, MC takes a closer look. As he scrolls through the synopsis, she finds herself intrigued by the alternative universe setting, interesting plot, and near-perfect grammar. 

“Hmmm, maybe not all of them are that bad.”

Zen grins over his shoulder. “This one’s actually great! We fight human-eating monsters and make out a lot.”

MC plops onto the bed beside him with a scoff. “I thought that was our regular lives?”

The pale-haired man smirks at her and cocks an eyebrow suggestively. “Wanna read it together?”

MC’s smile widens. “Hell yes." 

As MC gets settled on the bed, Zen leaps up and crosses the distance between him and the camera. After his signature wink and wave, he shuts the camera off, and the picture fades to black.

[sauveur-de-lenfer]

I'm So Glad You’re Back - Chapter 5

Chapter 1.  Chapter 2.  Chapter 3.  Chapter 4.  Chapter 6.  Chapter 7.  Chapter 8.  Chapter 9.  Chapter 10.  Chapter 11.  Chapter 12.  Chapter 13.  Chapter 14.  Chapter 15.  Epilogue

See you in a minute

After Tony had refused to help them with their plan, Scott and Natasha made their way to find Bruce. Or professor hulk as he was called now. It was still a little strange to see Bruce as the hulk but she'd gotten used to it by now. However, Scott was mesmerised. She even had to elbow him a few times since he lost concentration because he was staring at Bruce so much. She supposes to be fair on his part he hadn't actually met Bruce before so seeing him like this would have been a lot to process.

They had met in the diner for lunch and told Bruce about their plans, Bruce had been more than happy to help them. He understood how his friends must have been feeling and he too would do anything to get their lost friends back.

….

Now back at the compound the next day, Bruce, Scott and Natasha had set up some equipment that attached to Scott's ugly brown van and Bruce had set up his station to control where Scott's presence in the quantum realm so that he didn't get lost.

But once they started up the machine and sent Scott into the quantum realm. It went a little wrong. Okay, maybe a lot wrong. Somehow they managed to turn Scott into a teenager, old man and baby before they had to cut the power and bring the normal Scott back.

As Bruce and Scott argued about how to fix the technical equipment to make it work, Natasha left the room. Opening the doors to the outside hangar, the Russian walked over to one of the pillars, leaned against it and let out a deep sigh. She felt defeated.

How were they supposed to get everyone back if they couldn't even help Scott travel safely through the quantum realm?

Maybe all this was a lost cause. She thought.

Deep in her unhopeful thoughts, Natasha didn't notice the car pulling down the driveway until it was a few yards away. Whipping her head up at the sound of the engine, the redhead instantly recognised the sleek Audi as Tony's.

Pulling up alongside her, Tony parked the car, got out and walked over to her.

“So let me guess. You turned Scott into a baby?” the genius sniggered at her with a smirk on his face.

Jutting her chin to the side in annoyance since she knew Tony was right, the first female avenger nodded and rolled her eyes at him.

Tony’s smirk getting even bigger he also laughed a little louder which in turn, made Natasha give in to laughing too.

“Yeah, and an old man. I don't think its gonna work tony.” Still smiling at the events from a few minutes ago, Natasha voiced her worries to tony, her smile faulting slightly.

“Well that's a shame, I guess I'll just head home them and not share my super awesome time travel plans with you, you know since I figured it out.”

As tony turned to walk back to his car, Natasha's eyes widened. Only realising what her friend had said.

"What did you just say?” Almost running the short distance between her and Tony, she looked up at him with hopeful eyes, but she was also in disbelief.

"I figured it out nat. I know how to time travel, and it's completely safe.” his brown eyes beamed at her when he told Natasha. He still couldn't believe it himself, to be honest.

If it wasn't for that picture of Peter he had saved in his kitchen, he doesn't think he ever would have tried to figure it out.

When he saw that picture it stirred some feelings inside of him. He loved that kid. Tony knew he never said it but he did. Yeah, he was annoying at times and was a pain in the ass but he loved the kid. It hurt to even think about him. Of course after he got back from space he had asked about his aunt may and friends, but unfortunately, they hadn't made it. Tony still felt guilty to this day. And he was sure if it was any other time he saw that picture of the two of them he would have just thought about Peter and put it back down. But Scott and Natasha's words had stuck with him all day. That photo. That photo was his reason to at least try and he did.

"Oh my god. You did it? wait. I thought you said you didn't want any part in this?” Natasha hopeful face transformed into a confused one.

“I know, but then I realised you were right. As much as I hate to admit that to your stupid face. We have a chance again. After 5 years and we should take it. But Tasha, if we're gonna do this, we need to make sure that we don't change anything. I don't want to risk losing the life I have now. And I'm sure you don't want to either.” Tony really hated admitting she was right, and naturally, she was loving it, listening to his words with a smirk of her face.

"Of course, I don't. I don't want to lose anything either. All I want is to bring everyone back.” Natasha's face softened as she watched tony.

"Okay then. Let's get started.”

As tony shuffled backwards to go to the boot of his car, Natasha stopped in her place, only just realising that something was missing. Or rather someone.

“Wait. Wheres James?”

“Oh yeah I forgot to tell you, I figured since we were gonna build a time machine it would be best to not have a 5-year-old running around near it just in case we lost him in the 1700s by accident.” Tony joked at her. Laughing at him, Natasha just agreed with him. He was right. She didn't want James near any of it just in case something went wrong.

Then after she had laughed at him, Tony pulled something out of his boot. Natashas breath caught in her throat as she instantly recognised the rounded surface.

Steve shield.

“I figured if we're gonna do this, you should have this. I don't know why I didn't give it back to you before but I guess better late than never.

You don't have to use it of course, but I just thought to have this on you, it would almost feel like he's there with you.”

Taking the large shield of him, Natasha felt her eyes brimming. She tried to sniff her nose to keep them from falling and she flashes the genius a smile. She remembered the last she saw it, back in Germany. Nearly 7 years ago now. Even though she wanted to take it with her on their mission, she knew she couldn't. It was steves shield, if something happened to her she didn't want to take it.

“Thank you, Tony.” She told him, in the sincerest voice she could. She really was thankful.

Tony and Natasha let themselves back inside where Tony explained he had figured out how to time travel. After a few hours. The 4 had the beginning of a plan. First, get everyone back on earth, then build the machine inside the hangar. They didn't have a solid plan on what to do exactly once they had built the time machine but a vague plan was formed to get the stones first before Thanos could get them.

As the boys got on with building the time machine, Natasha made video calls to all of their fellow Avengers and Guardians. She didn't explain in detail but Natasha had told them that they had a new plan on how to get everyone back and she would explain when they got here. Unfortunately, she couldn't reach carol but once Carol saw her video calls she was sure her son’s aunt would come as soon as possible.

Rocket and Nebula where the first ones to come back home as well as Rhodey.

Herself, Scott, Tony and Bruce explained to them all their plan. Most of them are sceptical at first but once Tony had explained that the details and that he was confident it would work, they accepted it. It also helped that rocket was on board with the plan and was also confident that it would work.

That left only Clint and Thor. Once Rhodey had returned to the compound he had informed Natasha that he thinks he knows where Clint is. This is the closest they have gotten to finding him. It was either now or never.

Natasha took the opportunity immediately. If anyone was going to get him it was going to be her. She hadn't seen him in 5 years. She had missed him so much. He was her oldest friend in this world and Natasha was determined to bring him back, and hopefully telling him about their new plan would convince him.

Since it had been nighttime where Thor was when they had been building the machine, she couldn't call him until it was the day for him, but since she was on her way to Tokyo she had Bruce make the call instead. Bruce had informed her that Thor would be at the compound by the end of the day. Natasha was relieved to hear it. She knew Thor had been depressed since the snap and she tried her best to make him feel better. She'd been there before so if there was anything she could do to help one of her closest friends she would.

…..

Arriving in Tokyo Natasha turned on the Quinjet's stealth mode, to make sure Clint wouldn't hear or see her and run.

As she walked through the alleyway littered with bodies Natasha approached the former archer. Now known as Ronin to his victims and enemies.

His back was turned to her as she stepped closer, then when she stopped, her oldest friend removed his hood. She couldn't help but think he looked different. His hair. His face. His eyes. They were the eyes of a distraught man. A man who had lost his entire family. But no matter what he had done, no matter what happened Clint would always be her friend and she would never judge him on his actions. He never judged her, instead, he saved her all those years ago. And she was just about to return that favour.

Natasha knew she maybe treading on eggshells when she moved closer to him but she needed him to know she still loved him. After all this time, She was finally speaking to him again.

“Clint. Killing all these people isn't going to bring your family back. We found something. A chance maybe…” her voice was soft, the same voice she used to speak to James when he was sad.

"Don't” Clint's voice was harsh as he spoke. The first words she had hear him say in 5 years.

"Don't what?”

“Give me hope” his voice broke. Throughout the years he had held onto hope that one day his wife and children would come back, but as time and time went on, he lost that hope. Clint didn't know if he could handle having that hope ripped away from him again.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you sooner” she took another step closer. Just an arm's length away. The colourful neon signs were their only source of light as the former spy looked at her friend. Slowly raising her arm, she took Clint's hand in her own. Trying her best to comfort him right now.

It took a few minutes for Clint to agree to leave with her, but once he did they both made their way to the quinjet and set course to the compound in New York.

The ride home wasn't too long since they had taken the quinjet, but Clint had been near enough quiet the entire time. She had spoken to him and he had just listened. Natasha told him about their friends, who had survived and who didn't. The guardians and Carol who were their space team. But she neglected to mention James and morgan. Natasha didn't think telling him about her son and Tony's daughter would be the best idea, especially since he had lost his own kids and was still mourning for them.

Once the two former assassins arrived back at the compound they were greeted by their team and thor who had arrived just a few hours before them.

Thor had looked quite sad when Clint laid eyes on him, he still kinda looked the same since the last time he saw him, but his long hair was slightly scruffier like he hadn't brushed it in a while and he looked smaller if that was even possible. It was almost like he’d lost some of the bulk of his muscle. But once the god's eyes landed on nat, they lit up, with a smile on his face to accompany them. He almost considered it strange at first until he realised that they probably kept in contact for the past few years. Natasha had told him about what happened to Thor before Thanos came. It didn't surprise him after that, that the god and Natasha would be close.

After greeting Thor with a smile and a big bear hug, Natasha made it a point to notice how far their time travel machine was coming on and impressively they had almost finished thanks to Rockets help. Natasha figured him and Tony would get this done quick, not that Bruce wasn't a big help but he was a bit too big to get into the smaller details although he did do most of the heavy lifting and Scott helped with the engineering, when he volunteered to do it everyone had given him a quizzical look, until he reminded everyone about his degrees.

This was it, they were almost there. Not long now.

It had been so long since Clint had been at this stupid compound. Now that he thinks about it, it has been almost 7 years. He remembered setting of the alarms off base so he could get wanda out. Wanda. It hurt to know she had gone too. He felt responsible for her after her brother sacrificed himself for him, she was so young too. He almost thought of her as a daughter.

As he followed Natasha through the compound to the common room, Clint got lost in his thoughts, thinking about all of his friends. It wasn't until his foot kicked something on the floor that he was broken out of his trance.

Looking down, Clint noticed that the thing he had kicked was a toy? Furrowing his eyebrows he stared at the child's toy in confusion.

Natasha had walked further on than him into the kitchen, not noticing his frozen posture.

As clint stared at the toy at his feet, the father of 3 started to notice more toys. They almost littered the floor if It wasn't for a box in the corner that had been placed there to keep them tidied away.

There were crayons scattered across the table, drawings covering the walls. Toy cars on the floor placed to look like they were racing each other. As clint looked around the room his eyes started to well. Seeing all these toys, it reminded him of home. His kids. Cooper, Lila and Nate.

Natasha hadn't noticed clint had stopped to stare at the toys in the room until she turned around to hand him a cup of coffee. Stopping instantly in her tracks she grimaced at the look on her friends face. She didn't even think about James's toys when they had come back.

“Nat. who’s toys are these?”

Moving her feet so she could walk closer to clint, Natasha stopped in front of him. Placing the two cups onto the table, Natasha took a breath and looked him in the eye with a small smile on her face.

“They're my son’s.”

“What?” she had a son? That didn't make any sense. He thought she couldn't- Clint's eyebrows knitted themselves together even further, obviously curious about her answer.

“About a month after the snap, I found out I was 2 months pregnant.”

“2 months? But that means you got pregnant when you were- oh.” Clint's sudden realisation made him lose his voice. If she was pregnant when the snap happened, it meant she conceived the baby before. And before the snap, her sam and Steve were on the run together.

He knew that nat and Sam had just been friends and that's all. But Steve, nat and Steve were possibly even closer than him and her. They had been partners during shield. They had run the Avengers as co loaders after Ultron. And she had betrayed tony for him during the battle in Germany. He had no doubt, that Natasha's child was Steves. No doubt at all.

“Yeah” Natasha nodded at his silent conclusion. She leaned over to a cabinet at the side of the room and pulled a picture frame from it. The redhead passed it over to her friend for him to see.

It was a picture of her and James. She was pretty sure it had been pepper that took it one Christmas, James had a smile as big as a Cheshire cat on his face as she held him in her arms, both wearing garish red and green sweaters that lit up. A gift from tony of course.

“His name is James. James Samuel Clinton Rogers.” clients breath caught in his throat as he heard his name. She gave her son his name?

“Congratulations nat. Really. I know you would never admit it but I know you always wanted this. Even when you believed you could never have it. I'm really happy for you, and Steve. I know he isn't here but I know he’d to be so happy for you too.” as he finishes his sentence, Clint actually smiles at her. This was the first time she had seen him smile since she got him back. And she's guessing its probably the first time he's smiled in a long time. Leaning in she wraps her arms around her oldest friend embracing him into a hug. Clint was hesitant at first to receive the gentle contact. He hadn't been hugged in years. But once he felt the familiar feeling of safety with his friend, he instantly returned the gesture with the picture frame still in his hand..

“We're gonna do this Clint. We are. We're gonna get them back.” After pulling back from their hug Natasha reassured him of their goal. He nodded at her words to make her feel better but honestly, he was still trying to not give too much hope to the idea. Truthfully he was terrified that if he focused all his efforts and hope into bringing his family back and he failed, that he would completely lose himself and the man he was would never return. No matter who came to save him.

…..

It didn't take the Avengers long to work out a solid plan. With the help of everyone in the room, they figured out exactly where the stones had been before Thanos had taken them and even narrowed it down so that they didn't have to make multiple jumps

The plan was clear.

Jump back to the past. Get the stones. Do not let anything that already happened change. Jump back to the present. Use the stones with the new gauntlet. Bring everyone back. Return the stones to exactly where they got them from.

Sounds easy enough right? That's what they thought.

As Tony and nebula finished making the last of the bracelets for the team. The rest of the gang were planning on who would go to which destination to collect the stones.

Tony, Scott and Bruce would travel to 2012, during Loki's attack on New York to get the time, mind, and space stone.

Thor and rocket would go to Asgard in 2014. The same time Jane had been possessed by the reality stone.

Then Rhodey, Nebula, Natasha and Clint would jump to 2014 too. But rhodey and nebula would go after the power stone on Morag and Natasha and clint would fly the Benetar to Vormir, collecting the soul stone.

“Sounds good. Anyone wanna back out before its too late?” Clint questioned. Suddenly 9 pairs of eyes started to shift around the room, interested to see if anyone would do as Clint said.

But no one did. This was it. They finally had a chance, after 5 excruciating years of giving up hope. they were finally going to bring everyone they loved back.

…..

9 bodies stood on the platform around the time machine. 9 nervous people who wanted to bring their family back, and would do whatever it takes to do it.

They had all been silent with worry as they stood on the time machine. Natasha noticed the looks on her friend's faces and spoke up.

“5 years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends. We lost family and we lost a part of ourselves. Today we get a chance to take it all back. Remember your missions. Stick with your teams. Don't let anything mess this up. If you can, try to avoid changing anything that could affect us. We don't get do-overs. Be careful. Look out for each other.  This is the fight our lives. And we're going to win, whatever it takes. Does everyone understand.”

As she looked around at her team she saw each one nod at her. Following their orders from their captain. It was strange to be in charge of a team again, considering the last time she was it was with Steve, and with different teammates. But she fell right back into her old position.

“Shes really good at that huh?” Rocket piped up, making Natasha smirk at the little racoon.

Looking down from his height, Scott smiled at Rocket and agreed. He really was a big fan of the Avengers. Kiss ass.

“Okay, let's do this.” Tony said as they all punched in their coordinates and bruce activates the timer on the control panel. Then they waited for Friday to count down from ten, Natasha gave a final look to her team before they jumped and smiled as she said.

“See you in a minute.”