#plot twist: it's Sam leaving the notes

[buckys-sam]

I saw a reel just now that was captioned Keep your marriage fresh by leaving each other love notes like:

And I'm not saying sambucky but I'm totally saying sambucky

[wendichester]

Hii could you possibly write something where reader gets arrested during a hunt (for like trespassing or something, I don‘t really care) and the boys have to bail her out and make fun of it (like obviously they‘re worried first but then they find it hilarious)?

Thank you in advance :))

Also, could I be 💿 anon?

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ orange isn't you,

summary. you get arrested and the brothers have to bail you out. thing is... they do it for the banter and the mocking, and not exactly for your safety.

pairing. sam + dean winchester x reader genre. kinda crack

wordcount. 506

notes / warnings. thank you for the request bubs 💿// implied trespassing/criminal mischief (playful, not serious), handcuffs (non-kinky, sorry), protective!dean and exasperated!sam, lots of teasing and banter

There are a few ways you imagined your night ending—splattered in monster guts, maybe. Covered in bruises, probably. But handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser? Not exactly on the bingo card.

The fluorescent lights of the county holding cell buzz like they’re mocking you. Cold metal bench. Scratchy uniform. Your phone’s confiscated and your pride is somewhere buried under the cop’s lecture about “private property” and “breaking and entering.” Whatever. You were this close to nabbing the damn ghoul.

“Real smooth,” you mutter, arms crossed as you stew in your very own sitcom.

The metal door finally creaks open, and in walks your salvation: one tall, grumpy moose and one smirking, pain-in-your-ass Dean Winchester.

Sam’s face says seriously? Dean’s says oh, I’m never letting this go.

“Well, well, well,” Dean drawls, clapping slow like the dramatic little shit he is. “If it ain’t Orange Is the New Dumbass.”

You glare, but it loses some edge with the blush creeping up your cheeks. “Shut up.”

“Oh no, sweetheart. You don’t get to ‘shut up’ your way outta this one.” He steps closer, tilting his head with that smug glint that makes you want to punch him and kiss him in the same breath. “I leave you alone for five minutes, and you manage to get yourself arrested?”

“Technically, it was more like twenty,” Sam cuts in, pinching the bridge of his nose. “She triggered a silent alarm. Cops picked her up trespassing behind a mortuary. Said she was—” he checks his notes, face twitching “—‘chanting something satanic and possibly high.’”

Dean’s already cackling.

“Oh my God—”

“I was banishing a ghoul!” you protest. “And no, I wasn’t high!”

“Yeah, but you look high,” Dean snorts, eyes flicking up and down your ridiculous temporary jumpsuit. “What is this—prison chic? Not your best look, babe.”

“I hate you.”

“Mm, no you don’t.”

Sam coughs. “Can we maybe save the flirting for when she’s not in custody?”

You pout as the guard unlocks your cell. “I’m not flirting. I’m plotting his murder.”

Dean offers a hand like some twisted prince charming. “Aw, come on. Be honest—you missed us.”

You slap his hand away and stride out like you’ve still got dignity left. Spoiler: you don’t. Not when Dean is laughing like it’s Christmas morning and you’re the gift-wrapped disaster.

“I swear,” you grumble, “this never would’ve happened if I was with competent hunters.”

Dean whistles low. “Ouch. That jumpsuit’s got more bite than you do.”

“I hope you step on a Lego.”

“Love you too, jailbird.”

—

Back at the motel, Sam’s typing up the hunt notes while Dean’s raiding the vending machine. You’re finally back in your own clothes, trying to scrub the memory of tonight from your soul—but the minute Dean walks in with a king-size Snickers and a glint in his eye, you know peace is a lie.

He tosses the candy bar at you. “For the brave inmate who fought the law and lost.”

You hit him with a pillow.

He only laughs harder.

ꔛ. navigation 𓂃˖ ࣪ all drabbles ; compatibility readings ; support my work .ᐟ

[holdinggrudges]

oxytocin - sam winchester

pairing: sam winchester x reader

content: EXPLICIT 18+, porn without plot, genuinely there is no plot, fem!reader, established relationship, fingering, unprotected p in v sex, edging, dom/sub dynamics like..a little bit, soft dom sam, size kink but also only a little bit, no use of y/n

word count: 2.3k

summary: Sam has a thing about control. So when the pieces don’t quite fall into place—when a hunt goes a little sideways, for example—Sam can get a little…twitchy. Antsy, irritable. What you’ve learned, though, is that it’s all too easy to give him back that control. To let him take it from you.

notes: i thought this was finished two days ago and then ended up writing, like, a thousand more words. whoops. anyways uhhh...i've never written anything quite like this before (this is my first ever legit pwp lmao) so uhh if it sucks don't tell me i'll cry.

crossposted on ao3

Sam has a thing about control. You can’t fault him, of course; it’s actually sickening to think about how often his autonomy, his freedom of choice, has been wrested from him. Him turning into a bit of a control freak seems, frankly, like the best case scenario. It does mean that when the pieces don’t quite fall into place—when a hunt goes a little sideways, for example—Sam can get a little…twitchy. Antsy, irritable; you love him to death, but he’s a damn terror to be around when a hunt doesn’t go your way. What you’ve learned, though, is that it’s all too easy to give him back that control. To let him take it from you.

Two thick fingers press into your cunt, slow and leisurely, like he’s got all the time in the world, like you’re not falling apart in his lap. Like he doesn’t have you so wet it’s probably dripping down his wrist. He has your legs hooked over his, keeping you spread and open for him as he teases you. His smirk presses to your temple, your cheek, just below your ear as he plasters your face with soft kisses. “You’re doing so good,” he mutters, his lips brushing against your neck with the praise. “So perfect for me, you sound so pretty like this. Tell me when you’re close, okay, baby?” 

God, you’re not sure you’ll ever get there like this. “Sam, please.” You’re not above begging, not in the slightest, especially not right now. You feel like you’ve been here for hours, panting and whining on Sam’s lap. For fuck’s sake, you’ve still got your sweater on.

You feel more than hear the little laugh your whine drags out of Sam, a rumble in his chest where you’re plastered against him, a puff of air against your throat. “You need some help? Hmm?” he asks, dragging his unoccupied hand up your stomach and rucking your sweater up as he does. At the same time, his fingers curl inside you, stealing your breath and sending your head lolling back on his shoulder. 

“God—” Your hands scramble to grab onto something, anything, searching for purchase. In the end, one lands on Sam’s wrist as his hand cups your breast, the other grasping at the sheets below you, twisting them in your grip. 

His thumb brushes over your nipple, drawing a choked whimper from your throat. “Answer me, baby. Can you come like this, or do you need more?” 

How are you even supposed to think like this, let alone speak? “Fuck, Sam—” you manage to babble out, turning your head to hide in the crook of his neck. The smell of him floods your senses, pine and musk and just a little bit of sweat that lets you know he’s not as unaffected as he pretends to be. “More. I need more, please.” 

“There you go,” Sam coos at you. Then he shifts the angle of his hand so the meat of his palm grinds against your clit with every thrust of his fingers, dragging a guttural moan from your throat in the process. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? My good girl.” 

Curses spill from your lips like a chant as everything ramps up tenfold and leaves you struggling to keep up. Sam’s fingers, practised and precise, drag against your g-spot with every thrust and, combined with the pressure against your clit, they have you moaning and babbling incoherent pleas in moments. Your chest heaves with your panting, gasping breaths as the pressure in your gut grows and twists and builds until it threatens to send you careening over the edge. 

Sam’s wrist twists in your grip until you release it, letting that hand fall to white-knuckle the sheets below you with the other one. With his hand newly free, Sam draws his fingertips along your jaw and tilts your head up until he can see your face. “You’re so beautiful,” he says, sweet as candy, as if he’s not taking you apart. “Talk to me, baby. How’re we doin’?” 

Oh, he’s such a dick; he knows how you’re doing. Your pussy is pulsing around his fingers like a heartbeat, he knows damn well. He just wants you to say it. But you know what game you’re playing. “Sam…”

He presses his thumb to your lips, and his turn down on a frown that you know—you know—is performative, but that puppy look still digs its claws into your head. “Come on.” 

“Oh, fuck—” Sam curls his fingers, and your gut pulls so tight you almost forget to breathe. “Okay, I’m close, God, Sam, please—” You know it's coming, but it still comes as a stone cold shock to your system when Sam’s fingers still inside you and the pressure of his palm disappears from your clit. Your cunt flutters as the bliss that had been moments away fades out of reach; your thighs futilely trying to close, press together, but you're stopped by Sam’s legs holding them open. 

Sam carefully unsheathes his fingers from your cunt, and you could damn near sob.

He coos over the sound of your whine. “I know. But you're so pretty like this, sweetheart, so good for me.” His hand leaves your face to catch yours as you reach down to finish the job yourself, bringing it up to press a kiss to your knuckles. “Uh-uh. You trust me, don't you, pretty girl? I’ll take care of you.”

  You narrow your eyes, glaring even as you twist your hand to tangle your fingers with his. “You’re evil.” 

His laugh puffs over your lips as he leans down to press a quick kiss to them. It’s a little uncoordinated, and certainly not the best angle. But it’s a sweet apology. “Maybe I just thought you'd rather come on my cock.” 

Your next inhale is sharp, a response to the way his words make your neglected pussy flutter. You twist a little further, your nose bumping his with how close you are. “Are you gonna let me?” you ask, and your lips brush against his as you speak. 

He hums, and his eyes crinkle with the grin that he presses to your lips. “Say please—” he murmurs, the words washing over you like a wave— “and maybe I will.” Your hand tightens around his.

God, but if the power trip doesn't look good on him. The word comes out on a breath, just barely a whisper of, “Please.” 

Sam swallows the plea with a kiss, draws a gasp out of you as his teeth sink into your bottom lip and tug as he pulls away. “Please…what?” he urges, dragging a line of hot, open kisses along your jaw and down the line of your neck. “Come on. You want it, don’t you? Use your words.” 

You tip your head back, and you’re sure Sam feels you swallow around your need because the next kiss he lands on your throat is biting. “Please,” you say again, “please let me come on your cock.” 

Sam’s smile against your throat is so bright it almost burns, and he releases your hand from his grip. “Anything for you, baby.” He presses one last kiss to the base of your neck before his hands come up under your thighs, lifting you off his lap. “Come on.” 

You help him maneuver you until you’re laying on your back on the bed, and you take the opportunity to stretch your legs out, groaning at the stiffness from having them in that position for so long.

Sam kneels beside you, his hands squeezing at your thighs. “You alright?” he asks. His hands smooth up your legs to your hips before he draws them back down again in a pseudo-massage. 

You nod. “I’m okay,” you tell him, and then you let your thighs fall open to make room for him. You get the pleasure of watching his eyes snap from your face to your cunt, his pupils swallowing his irises whole. “Want you.” 

He lifts his gaze to yours again, and he holds it as he hooks his fingers under the waistband of his boxers and pulls them down and off.  “Whatever you want, beautiful,” he says, climbing over you and settling with his hips between your thighs before he pulls his shirt over his head. He tosses it aside and braces his hand beside your head.

Entirely shameless, you reach out to press a hand to his chest, admiring the solid planes of his stomach flexing as he holds himself up to hover above you. His muscles shift, a body perfectly designed to drag the tip of his cock through your folds. Your breath catches in your chest, your hand smoothing up and over his shoulders to tangle your fingers in his hair. 

He smiles, then his hand settles on your thigh. “C’mere,” he mutters, drawing your leg up over his hip. Your other leg follows suit, your ankles crossing. Keeping him close. “There you go.” With that, he presses inside you. He slides in easy—you weren’t exactly hurting for prep—but the stretch of your cunt around him still has you groaning in tandem with him. 

“Fuck, Sam—” you gasp as he bottoms out, his hips kissing yours. Somehow, you always manage to forget just how big he is until you’re so full you feel like you can feel him in your throat. 

Sam’s hand that’s not currently holding him up drags the hem of your sweater up until it’s bunched around your shoulders, leaving you, essentially, bare for him. He trails his fingers down your torso, watching the goosebumps that bloom on your stomach as he traces your skin. “Good?” he asks, his voice tight with the effort of keeping still inside you. 

“Yeah. So fucking full,” you moan, your eyes fluttering shut as his hand cups your breast. “But yeah, I’m good.” 

“Good.” He draws out, dragging along your walls until only the tip is left inside, and you brace for the punch of the next thrust. But it never comes. He lingers, teasing, until you open your eyes to see him smirking down at you. “You wanna beg for it?” 

“Oh, fuck off,” you groan, pressing your heels into his back in an effort to press him forward. He doesn’t budge. 

“I think you’re gonna,” he says, ducking his head to press his lips to the hinge of your jaw. “You wanna come? All you have to do is say please—” He brushes his thumb over your pebbled nipple, pulling a whimper from your throat— “and then I’ll fuck you so good, you know I will. Just let me hear it.” 

You turn your head to face him, staring him down, breathing in his air as you consider his proposal. You lift your head to brush your lips against his. “Please fuck me.” If you hadn’t been paying attention, you wouldn’t have noticed, but his hand flexes just so where he’s cupping your chest. “Sam. Please.” 

Sam draws you into a proper kiss at the same time he slams home into you. Although, a proper kiss is maybe not the best way to describe it. It’s more Sam licking into your open, panting mouth, swallowing the desperate, airy moans that his thrusts are punching out of you. The pace he sets isn’t fast, but it’s deep, and with his tongue on your mouth and his hand on your tits, it feels like you can feel him everywhere, like there isn’t a single part of your body that isn’t being consumed by him. 

“My beautiful girl,” Sam rasps as he pulls away. He drags kisses down your neck, and then skips right over the bulk of your sweater to scrape his teeth over your nipple at the same time his fingers pinch at the other. Your chest spasms on a sobbing moan, your nails scraping down his back, aching for purchase. The feeling is overwhelming, lighting up every nerve ending you have until the only thing you can think about is Sam—Sam’s mouth on your chest, Sam’s voice soothing heated skin, Sam’s fucking cock taking you apart. “You sound so wrecked, baby, look at you.” 

“Sam—” His name drips from your lips like a mantra, over and over and over like it’s the only thing you can say anymore. You’re so close, teetering so close to the edge that a light breeze could push you over. “God, please—” 

His hand abandons your chest, smoothing down your ribs and over your hip bone. “I got you. I said I’d take care of you, didn’t I?” he says, and then he flattens his tongue over your nipple as he shoves his hand between your bodies to rub at your clit. 

It’s over—your whole body trembles with it, and you cry out as your orgasm crashes over you. Sam’s hips stutter where he’s fucking you through it, and then you feel him spill into you, the spasms of your pleasure having pulled him off the cliff right along with you. 

“Oh, fuck—there you go,” he gasps, his hips slowing to a stop as you both ride out the recovery. “So perfect, so good for me.” 

With the last of your energy, you lift your hands to his face to drag him into a spent, sloppy kiss. “Took such good care of me,” you mutter into his mouth, shivering while he takes the opportunity to carefully slide out of you. “Love you so much.” 

In a few minutes, the two of you will have to stumble out of bed to the bathroom, clean up and truly recover. But right now, Sam’s smile against your lips warms your chest enough to forget about his cum dripping from your cunt. “Love you too.” 

[tortureddarkstar]

✩ IN BLOOM

AND HE LIKES TO SING ALONG / / AND HE LIKES TO SHOOT HIS GUN

DEAN WINCHESTER X F!READER

18+ CONTENT. MINORS DNI.

summary: dean teaches you how to shoot a gun. amongst other things.

inspired by: in bloom- nirvana

this was a very much ‘fine i’ll do it myself’ kinda feat. not enough dean fics out there esp since its spn season. this is also my tumblr debut x

lots of smut, not a lot of plot. hope u like x

“hey, focus.”

your attention snapped back to the ‘x’ dean had etched into a tree.

dean had his arms around you, thick hands encompassing yours which aimed his white colt at dean’s makeshift target.

“hm? oh, sorry.” you blinked your eyes a few times, drawing in on the target.

“no. not ‘sorry’. focus.” he grunted in your ear. “sure thing you can use a knife, sweetheart, but what happens when you’re too far? y’gonna throw your knife at a ghost?”

“well that’s why i have you and sammy.” you shrugged, to which earned you a jab in the back from dean.

“keep your back straight.” dean rumbled, eyes rolling at your overt smartness.

“ow.”

“yeah, you’re gonna feel an ‘ow’ when you’ve got claws down your body. back straight, eyes on the target.” you took note of how his father’s drill training peeked through his orders to you, even after all these years.

you huffed, fixing your posture and lining up dean’s colt.

there was something twisted about such a pure, little thing using dean’s favoured weapon.

not only had he used it on countless demons, ghosts, werewolves- heck people too. but you remembered the first time time he had used it on you.

on a hunt, not too long ago, he caught you staring a little too mindlessly towards him.

well, not towards him. more so the colt.

and when you had told him later that night that you wanted him to use it on you, he seemed, at the time, a little taken aback, hesitant even.

however, you watched, writhing under him, as that hesitance turned into malevolence and instead of giving himself to you that night, he gave you only his gun.

“come on baby, work for it.” dean coaxed, admiring your contorted face and your wanton whimpers.

“you gonna shoot that anytime soon?”

fuck, now you were wet.

“sorry, m’just distracted.” you mumbled, furrowing your brows, determined to actually shoot now. “focusing now.”

dean was still behind you, heavy grip on your elbows, heavy breath in your ears.

yeah we’ll see about focusing.

dean had no intention to distract you by any means, in fact it was his idea for you to learn how to use a gun- “sam and i aren’t always gonna be there. and i don’t plan on you leaving anytime soon either.”

but you were taking way too long trying to shoot a target less than six feet from you, and dean never has any objections to a bit of fun.

he watched as your index finger finally began to apply pressure over the trigger. his mind calculating when exactly to introduce some fun into this little training session.

dean slowly took his hands off yours, letting it snake down to rest on your waist.

“dean, what are you doing?” your voice had already begun to shake, the weight of the colt feeling heavier as your palms started sweating.

“nothin’. focus.” dean dismissed, his hand traversing down, down, until he found the buttons on your jeans, toying with them until he hit the band of your panties.

“dean.” there was no way you were concentrating at all on that tree anymore.

“let’s play a little game, huh? the closer you are to the target, the closer i get to where you really want me.” his fingers slipped under the waistband of your underwear. “that sound fair, sweets?”

instead of answering, you pulled the trigger, the bullet burning a hole in the tree 20 centimetres above from where you wanted it to go.

“that a yes, huh?” he grunted in your ear “but, i said the target, baby.”

“dean.. please.” you huffed out, eyes rolling as your head fell back onto his shoulder, the gun almost slipping out of your hands.

“monsters are more distracting. shoot. right in the middle, i know you can do it baby, come on.” dean’s voice was gruff in your ear, sending an entire wave of shivers down your spine.

you glanced down as his hand crept closer to where you craved him, edging around your clit, but never touching it.

inhaling, you straightened your back, shook away the shivers, and regained your grip on his colt.

“that’s a girl.” dean whispered, nipping your earlobe before granting you a sickly sweet kiss, stark in contrast to the current situation. he felt you whimper into the kiss before pulling away, not yet granting you any such reward.

this time you tried not to think as hard. yes thinking too hard would send you over the edge, resulting in a punishment from dean, but you also tried to rationalise- you wouldn’t be thinking too much if you were being chased by a demon, right?

the second shot was much better and much closer, not smack in the middle like he wanted but close enough for dean to finally reward you with attention to your aching clit.

“come on baby, third times the charm.” now dean was moving his right hand from your right elbow, allowing it to slip under your shirt and rest upon your left tit.

“s’too much, dean. please.” he could tell from the whiny tone of your voice that you had begun to tear up.

oh, he’d give you something to cry about.

without warning, he stuck his middle finger into you, letting the heel of his palm push against your core.

“see how nice i am? hmm?” he grunted, digging his finger and palm into you. “now, you make that shot and i’ll give you what you want. if not, all you’ll have tonight is that there colt.”

now that drew a moan out of you.

“we’ve a deal, pretty girl?” dean nosed at the side of your face, grinning slightly at your torment.

nothing but a pathetic hum, bordering a grumble, came out.

a mumble of ‘good girl’ came out of his mouth and into your hair as he resumed his movements inside.

just like the previous two times, you repeated your actions. straight back, tight grip. and just like the last time, you tried your damndest to clear your mind. even though it was harder now with his finger in you, moving with more fervour and more dexterity.

you bit your lip in both concentration and suppression of a throaty moan. your finger, once again, gripped the trigger as you pressed down, your eyes following the bullet as it hit the target.

smack. in. the. middle.

you began smiling but your celebration was cut short by dean finally moving as fast as you wanted, adding another finger, just as you wanted and finally, turning you around so he could kiss you. just as you wanted. finally making you cum, just as you wanted.

“atta girl. knew you could do it. baby just needed a bit of encouragement, huh?” dean goaded. through your concentration and your post-orgasmic haze, you hadn’t noticed that dean had taken himself out of his confines, allowing you to feel just how hard he was.

with as much might your jelly-legs could muster, you jumped onto him, caging him as you pushed him backwards on the hood of his impala parked conveniently behind you.

“you want this, baby? want me to fuck you on my car?” he tugged your head back by your hair to watch your reply- jaw slack with a hastened nod and moan. “dirty girl.”

you let his mouth envelop yours before he spun you both around, setting your back onto the car. from here, you could see just how desperate you were for him, a collection of your juices had darkened his boxers, a little on his open fly, catching the light of the cloudy sun.

you carried on staring, eyes glazing over as he lined himself up with your entrance, that beautiful sting electrifying as he settled deep into you.

“dean.” you whined. your hands had moved from holding his midsection to cradling his face as your nails dug into his neck, bringing him into a kiss that was purely teeth and tongue, encouragement for him to keep moving.

a few, albeit long, minutes pass of dean rocking in and out, in and out of you with the occasional kiss or tug at each others hair, all the while your moans of his name and other incoherencies fill the air of the murky woodland dean had sought out for your ‘lesson’.

oh what a lesson this was.

dean found himself moving faster now, his hands and hips most likely bruising you. he would be lying if he said that’s not what he wanted. swallowing one of your breathy moans once again, his thumb moved to your clit, bringing you to the edge right next to him.

the twittering of crows were now drowned out by mumbles of ‘dean’, ‘so good’ and other mismatched phrases, stark in contrast to your usual eloquence.

“come on baby, cum with me. come on.” dean goaded, his thrusts getting harsher as his words got more strained.

obedient as always, you took the thumb of the hand cradling your head into your mouth, sucking, licking, biting on it as your brow-bone tilted up- both signs of your ever-approaching orgasm.

soon enough, ramblings of heated compliments were overtook by the increasing pitch and tone of moans, the last articulate sentence being dean’s- a simple warning of his seed spilling into you falling from his pout lips, enough to push you over the edge you’d been teetering on for the past ten minutes.

ever eager to please, you let go.

spasm after spasm washed over you as dean watched from above, cheshire cat-smile across his face as he watched yours contort when he pulled out to stand and admire his handiwork.

he waited and watched as you sat up on the impala, leaning on your hands. dean revelled in the way your hair tangled, your tits spilling from the tank you wore, matching the dark-wash jeans that had bunched up around your knees.

you were in bloom. and oh how he basked in it.

[laora-ryn]

fr3-d1, [error noises], and Alice Dyer

So this may have been done before idk, I don't keep up with the online fandom too much! But I went through episode by episode looking for Freddy interactions, and despite what everyone in-show says, there aren't a ton of crashes/errors so far? However, there is a bunch of weird, unexplained instances of Freddy, et al acting independently!

Alice calls this out specifically in episode 21; on five separate occasions (episodes 1, 9, 14, 19, and 21), Chester reads an incident about or mentioning the Magnus Institute to Sam. The only time a TMI statement is read in a different configuration than this Chester-Sam combo, is when Chester reads the doppelganger case to Celia.

On a slightly separate note, as far as I can tell, the error beeps have actually only ever happened in Alice's presence, despite her and Colin's insistence that it's super buggy and crashes often:

2 jmj errors, in episode 3 and episode 17

one example of Freddy reacting to something Alice says out of nowhere in episode 5

Freddy also crashes Alice's computer when Sam asks her about TMI in episode 19, forcing her to suddenly have time to chat

This…feels like a little more than a coincidence, to me?

At this point, I'm less wondering "why is Chester so interested in Sam" - that's either relatively straightforward (look into TMI, save Jon and Martin from a terrible fate), or some plot twist I can't imagine that's way different from that!

Now, after doing all this reading, I'm a little more interested in what Freddy, or Chester, or whatever overlap exists between them, has against Alice!!

Under the cut is a summary of all the autonomous actions as of episode 21, grouped by the apparent source and sorted by date:

Definitively Chester:

Episode 9, 8 March: Chester starts reading the cursed dice statement on his own, without Sam interacting with his computer

Episode 17, 4 Apr: Chester reads a universe-hopping statement to Celia

Episode 21, 12 Apr: Alice intercepts a Magnus Institute incident report on Sam's terminal, being read out by Chester. Freddy makes several disapproving beeps when she deletes it

Definitively Jon:

Episode 7, 12 Feb: Sam receives an email from a "John" with an internal email address, with Gerry's name and address

Freddy, otherwise unspecified:

Episode 3, 22 Jan: Alice receives a jmj error on her computer, which Colin troubleshoots. Freddy sasses back at them both via error beeps

Episode 5, 5 Feb: Alice: "what the hell is wrong with everyone today?" OIAR computer, not having been touched or interacted with: [error noise]

Episode 17, 4 Apr: Alice receives a jmj error on her computer, which Gwen troubleshoots. Freddy emits error beeps often, but not as snarkily as it did in episode 3 imo

Episode 19, 11 Apr: Sam asks Alice to talk with him about the Magnus Institute. Immediately, Alice's computer throws an error, like it wants her to stop working and talk with Sam

"Someone," "the system":

Episode 4, 29 Jan: "the system" sends Alice a notification that Sam searched for "Magnus" and "protocol"

Episode 4, 29 Jan: Gwen receives an email from an unknown source showing Lena trying to kill Klaus. She apparently receives this multiple times before she confronts Lena in episode 7 (approx. 2 weeks)

Episode 20, 12 Apr: Sam has received an email from a garbled email address he can't reply to, with a ton of attachments from 1999 regarding the Magnus institute, Starkwall, and William Price (the Response Dept head)

Colin's extracurricular activities, just for completion's sake:

Episode 1, 9 Jan: Colin sneaks back into the office after shift to find a computer running, which he verbally threatens before shutting off

Episode 7, 12 Feb: Colin attacks Sam for bringing a phone into his office; he is put on mental health leave

Episode 10, 9 Mar: Colin sneaks back into the office to dig into the computers some more. He is disappointed that Alice is out, because he wants her opinion on something

[mzannthropy]

Anne of the Island Book Club Chapter 34

You know what will happen in this chapter from its title. John Douglas Speaks at Last. Let me get something else out of the way first, though: Sam's proposal to Anne. I have always been of the opinion that LMM overdid it here. The previous proposals I understand, there was a point in them, but this? Overkill.

So, now onto the main plot.

Mystery solved, it was the mother all along. Anne's initial hunch was correct.

Common sense tells one that John Douglas didn't need to honour the promise he made to his mother--at least the promise about not telling anyone about it--but then, well, narcissistic abuse is a bitch, isn't it? John may have thought that something horrible would happen if he broke her promise. It occurred to me that he could have just left and got his own place, or even go west to make money, as some did in that time. But he couldn't, of course, bc that would be abandoning his mother, which to him would seem like an irredeemable sin. We didn't get any background details on the family, but she must be a widow, and she must have been one for a long time, before that fatal attack that made the doctor give her 6 months (who is not responsible for Mrs Douglas's appalling conduct, yet shares some blame). So it was only her and John in the house. In fact, I'd argue that Mr Douglas died when John was little. This does NOT excuse her behaviour, I stress, not at all, but it might explain John's attachment to her. Maybe she made a big show of grief when her husband died. It would fit her character. I'd even go as far as speculating that she was not as ill as she pretended to be. Take note of Alec Ward's comments.

I really believe old Mrs. Douglas is going to die at last, after pretending to do it for twenty years.

Other times she’d be screaming and throwing herself all over the place. This time she’s lying still and mum. When Mrs. Douglas is mum she is pretty sick, you bet.

Suggestive, isn't it? (I'll ignore the line about cats, so as not to derail my post.)

John's tortured expression was then a result of abuse. I wonder how Janet never noticed it? I suppose she was too close, Anne would see it more clearly as a pair of fresh eyes.

I could say that he didn't have to string Janet along all those years. But then he couldn't have known how long his mother was going to last, he could have believed she'd die at any moment. And I wouldn't put it past her to feign an attack every time he spent more time with Janet. I still think that he could have found a way to let her know. Mother made him promise not to tell anyone--could he have written it instead and sent as a letter? Start a journal in which he would pour all this out--and then 'accidentally' leave it at Wayside? Give her at least a resemblance of a hint on their way home from prayer meetings?

I wonder why nobody thought something was off. He was seeing Janet for two decades. Malicious gossipers believed she wouldn't marry him bc she didn't want to be a carer to his mother. But it was true, why would he continue seeing her, would he not dump her and look for someone else who would be happy to wait on Mrs Douglas? Valley Road is evidently not a very intelligent place.

So that would be it for John. As for Janet, I don't understand her attitude in this at all. I get the feeling of relief after learning the truth, but I vehemently disagree with the 'don't speak ill of the dead' philosophy. So it's okay to speak ill of the living? In Windy Poplars, a character asks Anne if it is wrong to speak ill of the dead and Anne says it's unfair bc they can't defend themselves. But how many of the living really get a chance to defend themselves? Half of LMM's work is about gossiping. Evil gossip can ruin lives (and LMM experienced some of that, according to Gift of Wings). People will not say it to your face, they will say it behind your back. How do you defend yourself against that? And if you say anything, they will just twist it all and use it against you.

I think I'm the only one here who is over 40, and no doubt you want to know about the forgiveness bit. Look, I say that forgiveness is a personal choice. Nobody is obliged to forgive anyone who did them wrong. I think it is good for one's mental state, so that one can get closure and move on, but I see it as something that takes place in one's own mind. Not, say, a big dramatic "I forgive you" gesture. Also, it is possible to forgive a person and not want to have anything more to do with them. Example: you forgive your abusive parent, but you will cut contact and never see them or talk to them again.

“You’ll feel differently about a good many things when you get to be my age,” said Janet tolerantly.

Sure you will, that's normal. But it doesn't mean that you have to be taken for a clown! I mean, look at the consequences of it all: thanks to his mother's narcissistic behaviour, Janet and John missed out on twenty years of life together and by now Janet is past child-bearing years.

Anyway, none of this has anything to do with Anne or college, but that's not to say it's not a compelling story to tell. It should have been its own story. Anne is not even necessary here, she can be replaced by any temporary teacher, or any boarder at Wayside. This is what I mean when I say that as much as AOTI is a fave, I wish it was written differently. We get more characterisation for Janet, John and Mrs Douglas then we ever get for Fred Wright (Anne's bestie's love interest) or Jonas for that matter (Anne's second bestie's love interest). They get more plot and lines than Stella (Anne's housemate and the person without whom the Patty's Place arrangement wouldn't exist). If LMM wanted to include a theme of forgiveness, she could have done it with existing characters. I mean there's a lot of it already--in the previous book, Miss Lavendar and Mr Irving reunite after many years apart, then there's Anne's own forgiving of Gilbert's carrots insult. And what of the last conversation with poor Ruby Gillis?

[msfbgraves]

Long comment coming your way:What's your opinion of the show's handling of Post-S2 Miguel and Tory's relationship? I feel like we never got a proper interaction or conversation with them outside their break up. Tory literally went insane over that kiss and really loved Miguel. It legit pisses me off the writers didn't lean into their dynamic post-breakup in S3-S6 without obviously leaving out any on-screen dialogue or just "yeah their cool now because Robby and Sam are present." NO! Where's the talks!? Miguel cares so much about Tory but I feel like he never gets to express that directly to her and It would've(since obviously S6P1 spoilers- she regressed and went back to Cobra Kai for plot reasons, lame twist btw) done so much for her but she's also guilty for not acknowledging her S3 craziness was all in Miguel's name similar to Hawk terrorizing Miyagi Do for Miguel after he broke his back. Season 4? No interaction. Season 5? No one on one. Season 6? Not even a glance or whimper between them.

TL;DR: Are you as upset or confused as I am with how the writers butchered the potential of Tory + Miguel's on-screen relationship?

I agree that the lack of communication between the two is really significant. But judged from my own experience with what being disabled and suffering an enormous health crisis does to your relationships, it makes sense.

Because it really shows you who your rocks are, deep down. And it's really no hate on the person who can't step up for you at that time. They're not bad people. They can step up for someone else. But for you two, they can't. It's too big.

And Tory is not Miguel's rock. Not really. Miguel says that he understands that she is really overtaxed. But she went completely silent, not even a note. Hawk was there before her. Sam was Miguel's ex and she was at his bedside.

It's hugely difficult being there for someone in a crisis. Johnny's a good example. No matter the love he feels for Robby, and I don't actually doubt there is love, but he couldn't step up for Robby in Juvie or anytime before. There is love there,but he doesn't have it in him for Robby. He can step up for Miguel. So it's not the gravity of the situation. It's the strength of the bond.

Tory loves Miguel, that's clear. But when put to the fire, that love isn't strong enough for her to be there for him for something this hard. And I mean that being there in a crisis is stupidly tough for a friend.

So Miguel knows she's not his emergency contact. It's good of him to simply keep his distance after that. It's strange that he did not urge anyone else to step up for her in S6. That Robby didn't, Amanda didn't, Sam didn't. But Tory and Miguel already know where they stand with each other.

When I was in and out of hospital for months, some colleagues I barely knew stepped up, some really old friends reached out, some current friends stood by me all the way, and some just... drifted. My relationship didn't last. Some good friends from uni? Not a word. They don't hate you. It's not strong enough to weather the storm between you, and with others it's far stronger than you could have known.

Miguel knows that Tory isn't that person for him. He's really mature about it and they can hang out together and have fun.

But Tory is not an emergency contact of his. Not everyone can be. And Sam - even though I think she'd be far happier romantically with Tory - Sam is. Johnny is. Johnny should never be Robby's emergency contact, but I do think Tory should be.

However, by not stepping up, Robby shouldn't be hers.

But he should be Kenny's.

See how that works differently between different people?

[tealincubusspeckles]

Concept Card

To those in the Seduce Me Community who are uninspired here are some concept ideas that you can chew on.

Overarching Theme: What made you fall in love with your love interest in the first place? Can you put them in a situation where that attribute shines through in a different scenario?

Concept A “Comfort Collaboration” Main Theme: Break the dependency 1. People like comfort characters. 2. Yet, they do not ask themselves “How can I make my partner more comfortable with me”? 3. Possible MC motive: Person who like comfort, but disregards their own boundaries to help others. Or they lack confidence to comfort another. 4. Possible resolution: the brothers or LI help MC to realize she is not as shy as she once was around them.

Concept B “Hold Down The Table” Main Theme: When Dungeons & Dragons gets weird or when players fail successfully? 1. MC, the dungeon master, gathers the brothers to test a new story on the boys. 2. MC wants to see their reactions, but also to make note of possible routes other players may choose in the story. 3. Comedy/surprising twist: Damien often rolls to seduce the most. 4. Whenever Sam attempts to flip the table the other brothers have to hold it down. “It's just a game bro! It's not that serious”. (+5 emotional damage, -3 hp) jk.

Concept C “Language Soup” Main Theme: Knowing or Lack of knowing multiple languages as a mixed raced kid. 1. MC is a mixed raced kid. 2. Often people used to tell them “You should be able to speak [insert language here]". 3. The MC knows how to a small degree. 4. Or sometimes MC forgets the correct phrase or word when stressed so they refuse to speak. Or instead of going silent they swap in another word from another language they know. Example: "Usted es kawaii" 5. The brothers are interested in learning how many languages the MC knows. 6. MC and the boys journey to building confidence in speaking the other languages. 7. Soon it becomes a week day or a weekend challenge to see who can hold the longest conversation in a certain language.

Concept D “Birthday Windows” Main Theme: Is leaving home all for love worth it? 1. Takes place after SM2 in Sam's route. 2. MC never thought she would never see her friends again. 3. Although, she is far from them and they probably forgot her by now. She can still find similar things in the Plains that remind her of home. 4. Sam surprises her with a stone/crystal slab that works like a video call! It helps her get in contact with her friends or Sam's siblings. 5. Before she uses it Sam could explain the basics of how it works. Or He can "call" Matthew up to explain it. The slab can create illusions so Mika or the background looks "human". 6. Of course! This means Mika has to lie about where she is and how she is getting "wifi". But hey! Friends! 7. Mika cannot use the slab often since it requires tons of Sam's magic to do so. 8. It was Matthew who created the idea of this method. Erik who executed the original spell. James designed the "device" and instructions to send to Mika's friends. Damien was the one to deliver said "device" saying it was a sample product Mika wanted them to be the first testers. 9. *Keep in mind dog tags reached the Abyssal Plains and Diana knows the laws of the worlds. Why? Demons know a little about human culture and trinkets.

Concept E "The Boat Is Sinking!" Main Theme: In the game "The Boat Is Sinking" players who fail to group loose (sink). 1. MC gets stuck in an old elevator alone when visiting Thr Anderson Toys Company. 2. The elevator soon drops. MC gets nervous, faints, then hits her head. 3. Mika's starts dreaming (plot hole?) 4. She gets whisked away onto a pirate ship! 5. Here she meets Captain James, Quartermaster (Second Captain) Erik, Boatswain Sam, Pilot (Navigator) Matthew, and Master Gunner Damien. 6. MC also finds out that she is a captured mermaid they kept in a tank to make a deal. 7. Apparently before she passed out she told them she could make them happy. 8. The brothers are seeking a way out from their engagement with a foreign princess. 9. How can MC help all 5 of the brothers out of the engagement. What can a mermaid not related to mermaid royalty do? Maybe some animal friends can help? Or maybe the fact her grandfather was a shapeshifting mage?

If you use any of these concepts here, AO3, fan fiction, or whatever else please tag me or comment. I would like to see them in a story at some point.

[aquaburst3]

Enchanted Rose University

Saw others make posts like this, so here are some of the major OCs at my all girl's fan school and the counterpart to NRC.

Things to Note:

I'm listing student characters from most important to least important to the main plot of my own fic series.

This post will reference my own worldbuilding where NRC and RSA are universities. So if you are wondering how the hell a girl can work at Mostro Lounge and why I'm spouting out random country names, that's why.

Everyone mentioned in this post is 18+.

I might make a part 2 of this if there are enough OCs from this school. Either way, I'll make another general OC post sometime, because there are a lot more than what you'd think.

(Warning: This post will contain spoilers for upcoming characters in my TWST fics. You have been warned.)

Enchanted Rose is respected and prestigious all-girls university in the Land of Pyroxene. It honours King Adam and his princess consort Belle. The school is even in their former estate. Students come from all walks of life, and many go on to excel in their careers.

Staff

Ava Smith

Twisted from Captain Amelia from Treasure Planet

She's a cat beastwoman and a former ship captain with an interest in science, especially astronomy and astrology. After she retired from the military, she got her doctorate and became vice-chancellor at Enchanted Rose. She has a sharp wit, enjoying to tease people and have fun with her friends, including Divus Crewel, during her off time.

Ruth Warwick

Twisted from Prudence from Cinderella 2

She's the headmistress' secretary. She's a very prim and proper woman, being rather uptight about her job and a stickler for the rules. Despite her being...a lot, Ava places a lot of trust in her.

Students

Alyssa “Lyssa” Étienne

Twisted from Princess Tiana

She is a hardworking and resourceful young woman from Port of Jubilee. She originally wanted to attend a uni closer to home. One day her best friend, Carlotta, suggested they should both attend Enchanted Rose to be closer to Royal Sword and Night Raven to meet rich hot guys. At first, Alyssa dismissed the mere prospect, especially if it was such shallow reasoning behind it. But after her mom urged her to go, she decided to take Carlotta up on it, wanting to have a bit of an adventure and to bond more with her cousin, Sam, who she hadn't seen in years.

Alyssa now attends Enchanted Rose while working part time at the Mostro Lounge, visiting her cousin at his shop and swimming in her little spare time. She often works herself to the bone, taking on more than what she can chew. But she thinks it's all worth it in the end, so she can earn enough money to open up her own restaurant and help out others in her community.

Love Interest: Azul Ashengrotto

Mahina Kapule

Twisted from Lilo from Lilo & Stitch

One of her teammates for SDC, who takes Rook's spot and goes to Enchanted Rose. She's a bold, spirited and compassionate oddball, who will do anything for her close family and friends. She's also rather rambunctious, emotional, doesn't always think things through, has a thing for getting into trouble and has a hard time seeing other's perspectives. She is also close friends with Makoa, her adoptive brother, along with Jade, Floyd and Reille.

Aurelia Cadwaladr

Twisted from Princess Eilonwy from The Black Cauldron

She is princess of Prydain, one of "rose leaves" next to Rose Queendom, and heir to the throne. She takes her duties seriously, wanting to learn how to become a good future queen, sharpen her magical skills and fiercely protective over those she loves. Her stubborn, brash and hardheaded nature sometimes gets in the way of this goal. She is also quite sporty, enjoying to do magift, archery and fencing in her spare time, which are things she bonds over with Maisie and Leona over.

Love Interest: Leona Kingscholar

Astrid Benum

Twisted from Elsa from Frozen

She's a famous actress from the Wynderlands, who starred in plenty of queen bee roles, including some alongside Vil. Like the infamous Vil Schönheit, she has a reputation for being an icy bitch, but in reality she's loving, protective and fiercely loyal to those dear to her. However, she's also incredibly moody, secretive and insecure. Despite being Vil's ex, she is still on good terms with him and are still friends.

Aziza Hamed Faisal bint al-Asim

Twisted from Princess Jasmine

She's the crown princess of the Scalding Sands, and is forced to marry her cousin, Kalim, despite wanting to make that choice for herself. She is compassionate, outspoken, feisty and sharp-tongued, having a strong sense of adventure and longing for freedom. However, she's also rather sheltered and naive, reckless, stubborn, proud and has a hard time seeing other's perspectives.

Carlotta "Carly" Patin

Twisted from Lottie

A spoiled rich girl from Port of Jubilee and life long friend to Alyssa. She wanted her and Alyssa to attend Enchanted Rose in order to get rich hot boyfriends from RSA and NRC. After some convincing, Alyssa comes along for the ride. While can be ditzy, careless and selfish, she cares a lot about Alyssa and will do anything to help her out.

(As a side note, I wanted to make her a tanned-skinned blonde girl, but I couldn't find a model like that, so I went with that. Just imagine her as a blonde.)

Sana Al Siaf

Twisted from The Genie and Dalia

Sana is Aziza's retainer and trusted friend. She's a descendant of the same cursed Genie who was set free by Sultana Yasamina and Sultan Jafar. Despite this, she's fairly down to earth, gives good advice and is able to help a friend in need. That doesn't stop her from rubbing people the wrong way sometimes due her mischievous and tricky nature and her tendency to get herself into trouble.

Noémie Boumount

Twisted from Marie from The Aristocats

Noémie is a noble cat beastwoman from the Land of Pyroxene. She lives with her mother, stepfather and two brothers. Noémie is very girly, often opting for pink and bows wherever possible, and a huge romantic. Her upper class upbringing made her know proper etiquette. She even wants to get into theatre and has plenty of piano training to boot. She likes to believe she is as regal as her mother, however, she more often than not acts in a way that is rather unladylike. She never starts anything, but she most certainly has no problems joining in the trouble once it begins. She also has a tendency to stick her nose into other people's business and is a huge gossip, especially if there's romance involved.

Maisie Macanroy

Twisted from Merida

She's bold and fearless princess. She loves archery. Despite being brash, hot-headed and hating everything she deems as "girly", she is close friends with with Noémie and Aurelia along with Rook.

[e17omm]

Interesting. Welp, lots of thoughts about HSR 2.2 below.

Lots of thoughts so Ill start with a checklist.

Firefly: good so far. It doesnt seem like she hates her life being trapped in the SAM suit, and thats good. I was worried they were going to make her despise having to be Sam. Seems that she can survive for a while without the suit, which I find fine.

Now as long as they make her fight AS Sam and they wont really have screwed up anything with her. Not everyone needs to have superpowers. Let Firefly's powers come through Sam. She'll be a really unique character that way. Seriously, who else fights using a mechanical body armor like an anime Iron Man in a Hoyoverse game? I'd have no issues with Firefly then.

Well, except one thing, but I'll get to that later.

Now, the fucking plot twist? Holy shit. This really went from "that was kinda anticlimactic. We really went from "we do the cool thing" to "someone else does the cool thing" to "we pass out before we see the cool thing" like, really? Everythings solved and we're already ready to leave? We get on the train, have a chat with everyone, vote on where to go. And (presses hands together in front of my mouth) holy fucking shit.

My one issue is that I wish they actually ended the 2.2 story after the plot twist reveal. Of all the "cliffhangers" and "plot twists" they have tried to do, THIS WAS THE SPOT TO DO IT. THIS WAS IT. This was HUGE. Its in the third Penacony mission, so it would have avoided that thing with "oh yeah you totally wiped out the Herrscher of Dominance halfway through the second chapter" thing. Like, this is the end. We're done. We won and are leaving. In the 3rd story mission. This was THE moment to reveal the plot twist, just barely start it to not leave everyone confused, and then end it and save it for a 4th story mission in 2.3

But it was way too short. It was way too easy to just, get all the crucial pieces and solve the puzzle. We started Act 3 of the story and it only lasted like 20 minutes. It really could have done with SOME difficulty in getting all the important pieces to solve everything.

But we just learn about the plot twist, everyone important groups up, and we fight the final boss. Just like that.

Next on the list, Acheron! Or should I say, Raiden Mei? When that shadow asked for her name, I was PRAYING that Hoyo knew what they were doing, and they did! They didnt skimp out on it! Didnt go the whole "I have lost my memory of it" which would have been such a cop-out. But nope! They did it!

And the Honkai music? Fuck I had chills. And this is pure nostalgia of the best parts of HI3. Those parts were so good that you remember the music and the feelings you had with those notes.

I cant remember much of the music at the later stages of HI3. The story just hasnt grabbed me like chapters 5 to 25 did. (Hoyo should take notes of their own work, ngl)

Now... onto "Death"

"Death" might be the WORST character design I have ever seen. Not from the looks, but from their role in the story and how Hoyo uses it.

A shady character shows up, pulls out a gun, and shoots another character in the head. And later you tell me that that wasnt actually a murder? Bullshit. Get that garbage out of here.

And you know the worst part? ONE SCENE is what ruined "Death" for me.

Firefly's "Death" scene. Delete it. It ruins so much. She is the only one we see "Death" "killing". Why. She's not dead. Why did you show that "Death" "kills" like that? Who sat down and wrote that part? Literally just make us not see this scene and heavily imply that it killed her like they implied that "Death" killed everyone else and this would've been fine!

I can buy that Robin and Sunday are alive because we see neither of them dying. Robin is off-screen and Sunday is hidden from the camera.

But we saw a death when it killed Firefly.

Next time someone is shot in the head on screen I will be expecting it to be an imposter, a stunt actor, an illision, or WHATEVER ELSE. BECAUSE EVEN WHEN THEY SHOW DEATH THEY CHICKEN OUT. AND ALL THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF FIREFLY'S TRACES DISAPPEARED RIGHT BEFORE WE COULD SEE HER. WE COULD EVEN SEE "DEATH" SNEAKING AWAY AS WE ENTER THE ROOM. BUT DONT SHOW THE DEED BEING DONE.

...

Onto the final boss. ... Its... I mean, the boss fight is neat. Um, not sure if Hoyo now thinks that "big thing is intimidating" but this boss was just kinda, eh.

We've already defeated two big things with Cocolia's (now our) mecha, and then Phantylia. And now this sympthony thing.

Uh, Hoyo does know that big doesnt immediately equal "intimidating" or "scary" or "impressive", right? I just wanna be sure. Because this boss is none of that.

Uh the music also get a bit too pop-star-y? Its not bad, I just feel like it goes against the tone of what the story wanted this moment to feel like.

I also wish that Acheron actually did something to help in the end. She kinda just "eh well you can fight now. Me? Byeeeee~" I know that she had a glory moment in 2.1, but like, come on. Sunday just gives up fighting because we told him that people dream in order to wake up. Which doesnt sound philosophical enough to me to make Sunday have a freaking reality check and fall from the platform in shock and defeat.

Hoyo has really been trying to make so much of their stories in the Honkaiverse have a higher meaning and be a matter on philosophy, and then they keep asking why birds fly and I am so fucking tired of it.

Like, this is all they got and its not even a joke.

So, yeah. I kinda really wanted IX to show up and just, consume Penacony. That would've been cool and been decently foreshadowed. Could have had everyone go numb or like, whatever happens to us when we get close to IX in the Simulated Universe, and then have most people try to scramble to the ships to gtfo, and then have IX appear and consume the place.

But as long as we head to the Edo Star next, I'll be happy.

A place under attack by the Antimatter Legion and their distress signal recently went out? Send me there. Right now. Not even a question. I want to see the Antimatter Legion actually live up to what everyone has said about them. Dont fucking bait me on this Hoyo.

Oh yeah, another thing before I finish this!

Where are our ability to hear Stellarons? Did Hoyo forget that we can hear the voice of Stellarons? That is like, one of the most interesting parts about the Trailblazer!

Imagine a world where we get to Penacony in 2.0, and everything's fine and the same as it was. Except... we can hear the voice of a Stellaron. But, there's no signs of it. There's no Fragmentums. There's no sign of it at all. But we keep hearing its voice.

It could have slowly told us the story of Penacony over the course of these three patches so that we didn't have to get a history lesson before the climax of the story.

It would have easily added some mystery and questions while basically requiring no changes to the current story. Is there a Stellaron on Penacony, or are WE the only Stellaron on Penacony?

Speaking of the Stellaron inside of us... It has barely mattered after Belobog...

Hoyo... This should be a big deal throughout the story. Herta is shocked that a human body can host a Stellaron. We can hear the voices of other Stellarons. We could go nuclear if it goes out of control. Why has it not really mattered after Belobog? Hoyo, this isnt something you should just wave off like you have been doing with the Traveler's ability to wield 5 of the 7 elements. Dont make the same mistake twice.

This is dragging out, but I just keep remembering more things!

Hoyo, please dont tell me that you are unable to make long-term stories anymore. Everything has been self-contained recently. And sure, you've TRIED to make it feel like it has a larger impact, but in the end it always hasnt.

HI3 Part 1.5? It MIGHT be important later. I dunno if Vita has any importance at all to part 2 so far. All the regions in GI are basically self contained. You could take Mondstadt Traveler and toss them straight into Fontaine and you would basically not have to change them at all. All of HSR has also been rather self-contained. Happy that Dan didnt actually call the Luofu, that would have just made this all seem even more miniscule and also extremely convenient.

But... Remember when Himeko fucking died and the next 16 chapters was the fallout of that? Remember when we could have big story moments that still mattered for more than 3 months of real time?

Penacony's story is over, and I dont think that anything that happened here will have any impact on the next destination. Did we even actually pick up any new crewmembers?! Please tell me that the cowboy and Black Swan actually joins us for a while. You Chekhov's Gun'd it all the way back in Belobog!

So in short. I liked Penacony act 2 and 3 a lot. Not close to anything in HI3 chapters 5 to 25, but it was good. Could have been a lot better with (imo) rather small changes.

Also wtf is up with Hoyo's budget allocations? They put so much budget into the filler generic battle part of act 3. That was so much effort put into just filler. What's up with that?

[bidonica]

I am enjoying playing the metal gears on their own merit but also Death Stranding is always on my mind and I have a couple of side notes (that will be updated as I go forward as I'm just at the beginning of Snake Eater):

At the end of MGS2, Snake's voiceover basically enunciates the themes of Death Stranding:

Life isn't just about passing on your genes. We can leave behind much more than just DNA. Through speech, music, literature and movies... what we've seen, heard, felt... anger, joy and sorrow... these are the things I will pass on. That's what I live for. We need to pass the torch, and let our children read our messy and sad history by its light. We have all the magic of the digital age to do that with. The human race will probably come to an end some time, and new species may rule over this planet. Earth may not be forever, but we still have the responsibility to leave what traces of life we can. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one and the same thing.

MGS3's gimmick for the save screen is to have your liaison Para Medic talk to you about famous and lesser known genre movies from the first half of the 20th century. Let me tell you I jumped on the chair when she brought up a 1959 movie featuring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner called On The Beach:

In 1964, World War III has devastated the Northern Hemisphere, killing all humans there. Air currents are slowly carrying the fallout to the Southern Hemisphere, where Melbourne, Australia will be the last major city on Earth to perish. The American nuclear submarine USS Sawfish, commanded by Capt. Dwight Towers, arrives in Melbourne and is placed under Royal Australian Navy command. Peter Holmes, a young Australian Naval officer with a wife and infant child, is assigned to be Towers' liaison. Holmes invites Towers to his home for a party, where Towers meets Julian Osborn, a depressive nuclear scientist who helped build the bombs, and Moira Davidson, a lonely alcoholic with whom Towers develops a tentative attraction. Although Davidson falls in love with Towers, he finds himself unable to return her feelings, because he can't bring himself to admit his wife and children in the US are dead. (full summary on wikipedia)

The plot is... overall pretty bleak, which might align with what Kojima said about having rewritten a lot of part 2 as he reconsidered what it meant to "connect" after the pandemic. There are also interesting connections to the presence of the George Miller character in DS2, what with the overall importance of Australia and the presence of a lethal car race. Another things that's Classic Kojima is a mid-story twist about the initial mission being actually for nothing (one LOSTheads are probably familiar with), but we've already been told by the DS2 trailer in pretty clear terms that Sam has been deceived, possibly more than once.

Idk, these might be all pretty obvious parallels and callbacks but I'm also under the impression that few people played the metal gears with Death Stranding in mind rather than the opposite so maybe it's worth jotting down.

[effyoukeyhouse]

I didn't read the Locke & Key "...Only Bad" edition YET, but I read the summary on the wikia, since it snatched my interest as soon as I read the description: "an all-new ending… only bad." Ever since I finished the comics I've been hungry for more content about the Locke family after the canon series, so how could I wait to get a copy?

Spoilers under the cut.

Trigger warnings for: death, depression, suicide, mentions of sexual assault, alcoholism below

HOLY MCFUCKING SHIT

And of course, since I'm a slut for canon divergences and AUs, my mind tried to speculate on how the series would diverge from there, how the plot would proceed. I wondered about how Tyler and Kinsey would find the keys and stop Dodge without Bode, but I came to one conclusion in the end:

The plot wouldn't proceed at all. Because when you think about it, Bode is the reason his family survives the first arc of the series. And his death would spell that of his family's.

Tyler

In Issue #4 of "Welcome to Lovecraft", there's a scene where Tyler is stewing in his own guilt and self-loathing over what he believes is his part in his father's death. In the comic, it is strongly implied he's contemplating suicide, and in the audible it's confirmed.

But Bode comes and interrupts him, asking about a knock-knock joke. After Bode leaves, Tyler puts any thoughts of suicide out of his mind, fearing how it would affect Bode.

But now? After seeing his little brother get literally sliced in two by a freak accident? So soon, after his father's death, the death Tyler believes he's responsible for? Not to mention the likelihood of Tyler's guilt-warped mind twisting Bode's death into his own fault too? Not only would there be nothing to stop Tyler from committing suicide, it’d be likely he’d do it much sooner.

Kinsey

In Issue #3 of the first arc, Kinsey was constantly reliving the moment she was hiding with Bode on the roof while Sam was looking for Tyler. Not just while she was breaking down in her room by herself, but she took this everywhere she went. Kinsey responded to her trauma by keeping her head down and staying hidden in social settings. She seems to find a healthy way to deal with it at the end of the issue, but we see that wound reopened after the news of Joe Ridgeway's death comes out in Issue #2 of the "Head Games" arc.

Kinsey is ultimately afraid of losing people, a fear set off by her father dying and reinforced by both Joe Ridgeway dying.

If Kinsey saw her little brother die from simply a freak accident that could happen to anyone at any moment? Literally the same day Kinsey herself said she couldn't stop crying over what happened? She only spiral further and further into her own fears and grief, taking an even heavier toll on her than what we saw in canon. Kinsey wouldn't be able to get to a better state like she did in canon, probably not heeding Ellie's advice or taking Jackie's offer of friendship.

Nina

Through most of the main series of Locke & Key, we see Nina's alcoholism and her mental state get progressively worse, until it escalates to her hitting Kinsey in Issue #6 of "Crown of Shadows". The grief over her husband's death and the trauma of her sexual assault makes an unhealthy combination with the fact that she doesn't talk about her problems with anyone. So, she lets herself stew in her grief and drown her sorrows.

If Bode died when and how he did in "...Only Bad"? With her previous trauma still fresh in her mind? Nina's alcoholism would get a whole lot worse and a lot faster, and even more so after Tyler commits suicide. The resentment and anger between her and Kinsey would very likely get worse and come quicker too, considering they’re both in terrible places mentally and emotionally.

Duncan

Something to note about Duncan is that we never see him properly grieve his brother. He says in Issue #2 of "Welcome to Lovecraft" that keeping himself busy helps. A personal headcanon of mine is that Duncan has this "I don't wanna burden others with my problems" mentality, so he just shuts it in and keeps quiet, which seems consistent with his canon personality.

But it would wear down on him so much harder if Bode died so soon after his brother did, with Tyler following not long after. And Duncan would try to be there for his last two living relatives, trying to be the peacekeeper or the shoulder to cry on, not just for them but in an attempt to ignore his own grief, and that would very much put a lot of strain on him too. I can even picture him starting to resent Kinsey and Nina, wanting to leave but unable to leave them like this and feeling trapped as a result.

Dodge

Bode was Dodge’s ticket out of the Wellhouse in canon. He was young and naive enough to trust a mysterious voice in a well, and could be convinced to get them the Anywhere Key after Sam arrived. Neither Tyler (if he were alive at that point) nor Kinsey would be as receptive to a mysterious voice in a well as Bode would be. So, Dodge had to trust Sam to get them out.

Which would probably go as well as it did when Sam tried to get the Omega and Anywhere Keys from Rendell.

Sam

Sam would come to Keyhouse similar to how he did in canon. He’d demand the Anywhere Key and the Omega Key, and neither Nina, Duncan, nor Kinsey would know what he was talking about. Even if Kinsey, the last living Locke child, found a magic key, she probably wouldn't think much of it. Why would she? It's just some old key. And as in canon, Sam wouldn’t notice the Anywhere Key in Kinsey’s bracelet. None of the Lockes would be able to give Sam what they don't know about, and he would almost certainly kill them all.

In Conclusion:

Tyler would commit suicide over the combined grief and guilt of his father's and brother's deaths. Kinsey's fear and grief would multiply to a debilitating degree with no hope of things getting better. Nina's drinking problem would worsen at a quicker pace. Duncan's grief and stress would wear him down and make him a mess alongside his last surviving family. Sam would kill off the rest of the Locke family and go back to jail or get shot to death. Finally, Dodge would stay trapped in the Wellhouse, and with no living Locke children to come to the house and find keys for them, probably forever.

It really is an “Only Bad” ending.

For everyone.

[findroleplay]

Hi hi!

Looking for a Stranger Things plot based around Mamma Mia 2. Silly, I know.

I’m looking to play Steve Harrington (there will be mpreg) and I am searching for a partner who is willing to join me in creating the story. I’d love to find someone who is down to play as all three of the possible Dad’s but who will pick their one main and that is who we will spend the most time with.

My thoughts were this. Jonathan = Harry, Billy = Bill, Eddie = Sam. Depending on your main muse, we can choose them to be Steve’s long-term partner as with Donna and Sam.

I’d love to follow a similar pattern with Steve sleeping with all three and something occurring that splits them up, where Steve then finds out he is pregnant. I understand playing multiple characters (even if two are briefly) is annoying and so I am willing to equally contribute to playing characters for whoever your main muse will be so we can have interactions with them.

I do enjoy a general sharing out of side characters though. I could see Robin and Nancy fulfilling the Dynamos, for example.

As we don’t want to just follow along with the movie plot word for word, I am open to all kinds of twists. We can leave the paradise island when Steve learns he is pregnancy and find ourselves in Hawkins, even. We can keep the supernatural element. We can add any other AU concepts you like. Is Eddie a famous rockstar? I’m open to anything and everything. Let’s just go crazy. All those tropes you adore but can’t really fit in? We’ll find a way to slow them into our story.

I want angst and dark themes and anything and everything in between, as well as all the good stuff too - fluff, smut, romance, comfort etc etc. I’m up for anything! No limits.

Things to note about me

- I am 21+ and only looking to write with the same.

- I don’t want to currently write with anyone who isn’t available fairly regularly. Real life comes first and I’m not asking for constant rapid fire, but I don’t feel in a place to write in a one reply every two days kind of vibe. Thank you!

- Equal exchange of ideas is important to me so please keep that in mind when approaching. I want to hear your thoughts!

- When I reach out to you, please let me know a bit about yourself and your writing style as well as the above request for any ideas you might have had. I like to know someone has read the whole advert :)

Like this and I will DM you. Thanks ❤️✌🏾

-

[deadcityhq]

CHARACTER NAME: lestat de lioncourt CHARACTER FACECLAIM: sam reid CHARACTER AGE/DOB (if relevant/they're not old af): november 7th, 1760. changed in 1781 at almost 21 years old. 263 years old now technically. CHARACTER PRONOUNS/GENDER IDENTITY/SEXUALITY ETC: he/they, genderfluid, bisexual/biromantic/polyam CHARACTER FANDOM (if relevant): the vampire chronicles, admittedly with a few twists and inspo based on the new show too OC OR CANON: canon CHARACTER TYPE (for example: werewolf, shadowhunter, warlock, demon etc): vampire brat HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN IN NEW YORK/WHY ARE THEY THERE ETC: about three months IMPORTANT CHARACTER INFORMATION TO NOTE AND SHARE (this could be important headcanons for initial plotting, mini bios etc, supporting docs): born in france, lestat was the youngest of three sons-- five other children having not survived childhood. as the youngest child, lestat stood to inherit no lands or fortunes. as such, lestat set about forging his own path in life. from 12, he began education in a monastery and decided he would enter the order as a brother when the time came. however, this was opposed to his father and brother's ideas, and they proceeded to pull him from his education.

another attempt at building his own life came around the age of 16, when lestat disappeared with a travelling group of italian actors. he fell in love with performing. however, it didn't last long. as days later he woke up to the actors gone and his brothers to take him home.

it isn't until his twentieth year that lestat finally finds true freedom. he meets and befriends and violinist named nicholas, and upon his mother's insistence that lestat know freedom, he travels to paris with nicolas.

here, he gains a job as a backstage assistant in a theatre, while later being offered a shot at going on stage and becoming a professional actor. however, it is not long into this that something drastic happens. a change lestat was wholly unprepared for, when a man named magnus enters his life.

magnus kidnaps lestat and very soon after, he is made into a vampire. however, his maker quickly commits suicide and lestat is left to grapple with eternity on his own, adapting to his new life. however, as magnus' only fledgling, he inherits all his wealth. and so, lestat buys the theatre he used to perform at, but tends to avoid contact with the human world he was once a part of, including nicholas.

it isn't until a while later that lestat's mother, gabrielle, arrives in paris, dying, that a further change occurs in lestat: he forges his own first fledgling, changing his mother into a vampire to save her.

for months, they travel and live together, eventually taking in nicki and changing him too. many different events occur over this time, including lestat meeting and coming to know of armand and then by extension, marius. inevitably, this leads to lestat being fed some of marius' ancient blood to regain his strength after burying himself in the ground for a time after his mother leaves him.

shortly after meeting marius, he takes him to see those who must be kept -- akasha and enkil, the first vampires and rulers of their kind who appear as living statues. marius explains then how vampires came to being, and the next night, when lestat is alone, he visits akasha and enkil to try and wake them inspite of marius' warnings against this.

his plan actually works, and akasha allows lestat to drink her blood as she drinks his. that is until enkil awakens in a jealous rage and attacks lestat. thankfully, lestat is saved by marius. marius then tells lestat to leave the island and although reluctant, lestat agrees. and this… is where he comes to new orleans. and meets louis de pointe de lac.

from here, the events unfold as is known: lestat, louis and later claudia spend some 60 years together, before going their separate ways. their time together is beautiful, but clouded with tragedy and pain. it ends rather messily, with lestat thinking louis dead for some time. but then, then--

lestat comes back to the world. a longing to reconnect, and, well, he's heard all the talk. the stories floating around of so many different disasters occurring over the years. maybe he wants to take a look, maybe he wants to even contribute to the chaos. so in the end, he decides what better way to dip into the world, than with theatrics. and so, in mid/late 2023, his band is formed. and now, lestat resides in new york city, the place that seems to be becoming quite the centre for shenanigans right now. hopefully, he'll be able to make his own waves too.

THREE AESTHETICS THAT REMIND YOU OF YOUR CHARACTER:

the feel of vibrant red rose petals against skin

sounds of a lively party, with music coming from a few doors down

the fear of never being able to keep a hold of what you love most

admin andy app.

[agentnico]

Leave the World Behind (2023) Review

Guess that's one way to make me dislike Friends more.

Plot: A family vacation on Long Island is interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a blackout. As the threat grows, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.

So much wasted potential. A long drawn-out slow shuffle to Nowheresville. A movie that offers so many ideas, plot points, and thread lines that are never answered or go anywhere:

Why is there the random static noise throughout the film and where is it coming from?

The deers and flamingos congregating at the property are simply explained as "the animals know something we don't" and then there's no further explanation or follow-up about that.

Is Mahershala Ali's character's wife dead? Probably, but who cares?? Instead, let's have him and Julia Roberts have an awkward drunk dance scene where the two come close to cheating on their respective spouses because that makes sense! Oh, and Ethan Hawke's character may be a nonce!

Why are the son's teeth suddenly falling out? There's a reference to an insect biting him, so does that mean there's a mysterious plague spreading? Possibly, but we don't deserve to know apparently.

A random shot of the US flag on the moon overlooking Earth as it covers the sun to cause an eclipse is a lovely visual trick, but what's the point of it? Are they suggesting an alien invasion??

Why are Teslas without drivers crashing into one another? Actually no - that doesn't surprise me. Just so you know, that checks out.

I could go on. I'm all for a movie being mysterious and not giving us all the answers. Just look at any David Lynch project - the man's an enigma! But even with Twin Peaks and such Lynch at least provides enough depth and reason to the worlds he creates that all the weird stuff fits in well. In Leave the World Behind things are truly happening under the motto "just because" and "why the hell not" and it makes the viewing experience immensely frustrating. Especially when the movie is nearly 2 and a half hours long and the anticlimactic abrupt ending is a slap to your face for wasting your time.

The performances are alright. You have a trio of 1980s icon stars - Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon - and naturally, they play their parts as you'd expect them to even if Bacon is heavily under-used and Roberts' line delivery in certain dramatic moments was over-the-top and borderline hysterical. Mahershala Ali lives and breathes Academy Award-worthy performances. He delivers every note of his dialogue with such a methodic approach that the guy could appear in any true stinker and still stand tall and proud. So of course he's great and probably carries most of the heavyweight acting here. Myha'la Herrold is given one characteristic of being constantly pissed off, so that works out as she does a solid resting b**ch face.

Visually director Sam Esmail does some funky camera work, with a particularly well-executed sequence when Roberts first walks into their holiday house, and as she's exploring and going up the staircase the camera twists and pans over her very smoothly. Another moment involves a drone chasing Hawke's character as he's driving away while it spills red leaflets everywhere, reminiscent of the alien from Jordan Peele's Nope. Again, the production design and aesthetic of the film are done well, even if it is at times amateur. Netlfix evidently did not chicken run from the budget. However, narratively the movie tries to portray so many different messages that it ends up failing to explore even one. Neither fitting in as a black comedy nor a clever social thriller, this truly may be the most irritating film of the year. Leave this movie behind.

Overall score: 3/10

[onceuponastory]

little favours - biker!bucky x reader

Plot: Since Bucky saved her from her shitty boss, Y/N hasn’t seen him again. For a while, she gets closer and closer to giving up hope. Until he comes back. And this time, he’s asking for her help. Pairing: Biker!Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader Warnings: Mentions of sick kids/kids in hospital in case that’s a trigger. Again, Biker!Bucky likes using doll as his pet name (yes, he’s a warning, hahaha). As always if I miss any triggers, let me know. Notes: This is part two to my first Biker!Bucky fic, Knights in Leather Jackets which you can read here if you haven’t already. I hope you like it. Not beta’d, so any mistakes are my own.

Almost two weeks since she first met Bucky, Y/N is in the ice cream parlour again. Thankfully, it seems like her boss listened to Bucky’s warning, and he hasn’t bothered her since. So, ever since he left, Y/N has essentially been running the parlour herself. And for once, she’s started loving her job again. Shockingly, it turns out that not having her overbearing boss constantly breathing down her neck makes her happier and work better. As she cleans the counter, her eyes flicker to the note Bucky left her, his number still scrawled onto it. Despite how much happier she is now that her boss is gone, she is disappointed that she doesn’t have an excuse to call Bucky and have him down at the coffee shop at a moment’s notice.

“I could just call him, regardless of if I need help or not. I mean, he was obviously flirting.” The grin on Bucky’s face as he spoke to her replays in her mind once more, and already Y/N is grinning like a lovesick idiot.

Although, to be honest, that’s exactly what she is. Ever since he left her store, Bucky has constantly been in her mind. But somehow, even after everything they’ve been through, she just can’t bring herself to call him. Even though he saved her, she’s not sure where, if anywhere, that leaves them now. Of course, she’s under Bucky’s protection now, but whether it’s just his or his entire gang’s (if he has one, that is) is left to be seen. And besides, how long does it last? Is it lifelong or just until everything with her boss blows over? Or maybe her boss has tried to squeal, so Bucky and the others are lying low and not wanting to drag her into this.

“But I am a part of this.” Y/N glances back over at the note again. Bucky’s laughter fills her mind. “Fuck it.” Pulling out her phone, Y/N dials Bucky’s number.

Ring.

Ring.

The longer it goes without an answer, the more Y/N’s stomach twists and her heart sinks. And what little hope she has of seeing Bucky again slowly slips away.

When it hits voicemail, Y/N isn’t even surprised. Maybe she’s right. Maybe he doesn’t want to see her again. Or at least, not anytime soon. “Hey Bucky, it’s me, Y/N. Don’t worry, I’m okay. I was just wondering if I could see you again? …To thank you, I mean. Just come back to the shop. I’ll be here. Bye.” Sighing, she puts the phone down. Hopefully, she does see him again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Do you wanna get that, Buck?” Steve raises a brow, gesturing to Bucky’s ringing phone.

“No, I’ll get it later. It’s alright.” Yet, the phone keeps ringing. 

“Buck….”

“Steve, just finish the meeting. I promise I’ll get it later.” Before Steve can say anything else, Bucky grabs his phone, switching it off and silencing the call. 

“Well, okay. As I was saying, the charity ride and fundraiser for the local hospital went really well, but I think there are still some things we can do.”

“What about a visit?” Sam pipes up. “We’ve done that a few times already, and the kids seem to love it.” Steve nods. Immediately, Y/N enters Bucky’s mind. Although he’s been thinking about her a lot recently. Actually, he’s been thinking about her since he left her. Her smile, her gorgeous face…god. He’d love to go back and see her again, but he’s been so busy recently that he hasn’t had the chance to. But now, he has the perfect excuse.

“Buck? You okay?” Steve frowns, curious about his friends’ silence.

“I have an idea.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, Y/N is back in the shop, sorting things through the back. Suddenly, the chimes above the door sound, signifying a customer. A familiar figure leans against the wall, sunglasses perched on his head. As soon as she sees him, she recognises him right away, and her heart begins to pound. “Bucky?”

“Hey doll.”

“You’re back.” Y/N breathes, still a little in shock. Like if someone pinched her, she’d wake up again. If this is a dream, she hopes nobody pinches her. “Do you...want some more raspberry ripple?” She asks, immediately regretting it. Yes, ask the hot biker about ice cream instead of on a date with you. Good idea.

“I’d love some, but not yet. Actually, I have a favour to ask you.” As she nods in agreement, Y/N can’t help but feel a little disappointed. Honestly, she thought Bucky was coming back just to see her, and maybe ask her out. But at least this still gives her a chance to see him, which is better than nothing. And he looks even better than she remembers. He’s sending her heart into a flutter all over again. 

“Sure, what’s up?”

“We’re doing some more fundraising for the kids’ hospital, and planning a visit too.” So the favour is for sick kids. Whilst she was more worried about her and Bucky’s relationship. Great. Now she feels like an asshole. “We were thinking of bringing them a treat, so I thought I’d call up the sweetest woman I know to see if she can lend a hand.” Y/N smiles, already feeling the heat rising in her cheeks. “So.” Bucky trails off. “Can you help?” 

Like she’d ever say no.

“Of course I will.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Thank you for the ice cream.” The young boy smiles up at her, and Y/N has to stop herself from crying. Although she’s enjoying spending this time with Bucky and his friends, it’s been amazing to see the kids and provide them with a little happiness during their hospital stay. Despite everything they’ve been through, both they and their families are all so kind and cheerful. Giving them some ice cream to help them feel better is the least she can do.

“Thanks for doing this, by the way. I was right. You really are an angel.” Bucky tells her as they head towards the next room. Smiling, Y/N shrugs.

“Of course I would. And besides, I’m the angel? This coming from the guy who beat up my asshole boss and is giving ice cream to sick kids. Sounds like you deserve that title more than I do.”

“I told you, doll. It’s what we do. And besides, I only came up with the idea, you’re the one giving it out.” 

“Acting like a regular Prince Charming is a daily occurrence for you? Sure.” Bucky blushes at her words, grinning like the same lovesick fool she knows she is around him.

“Bucky!” A little girl grins from her bed when they enter the next room, waving excitedly.

“Melody! Hey kiddo! Good to see you again.” He perches on the end of her bed, listening to her excited chatter about what she’s been doing since he last saw her. The sight makes Y/N’s heart swell. Despite how big and scary Bucky looks to other people, he’s so kind and loving to everyone. And Y/N’s hopelessly in love with him.

“He does this a lot, you know? They all do. Means the world to her.” Melody’s mother smiles, coming to stand by Y/N. “Melody adores him.” She’s not the only one.

“I have a surprise for you. I asked your mommy and your doctor, and they said you can have some ice cream. And it’s your favourite, strawberry.” Melody’s face lights up as Y/N passes over some for her. 

“Thanks Bucky!” Melody squeals, wrapping her tiny arms around him.

“Hey it’s not just me. My friend Miss Y/N is the one who brought you the ice cream.”

“Thank you, Miss Y/N!” She calls across the room. The sweetness and innocence in her voice makes Y/N smile.

“You’re very welcome Melody. But you can just call me Y/N, alright?”

“She’s pretty.” Melody whispers to Bucky, yet is still just loud enough for Y/N to hear. “She looks like a princess.”

“Yeah.” Bucky chuckles, gazing over at Y/N like she hung the moon. “I know.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later, after Y/N and Bucky have finished visiting the kids, he offers to take her home on his bike. Of course, Y/N accepted right away. “Remember your helmet. Couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.” Y/N puts it on, hoping she’s quick enough to mask how smitten with him she is. This man is going to be the death of her one day. “Hold on tight, okay?” Tentatively, Y/N reaches out, wrapping her arms around Bucky’s waist and scooting closer to him. The scent of patchouli oil, Bucky’s scent, fills her senses again, and she inhales deeply.

“How is it he already smells like home?”

As Bucky drives down the streets and roads of New York, Y/N leans back a little, enjoying the ride. This is what she used to dream about. Sitting on a bike and feeling free. If only she knew it’d come true. And that it’s even better than she dreamt. Although...that’s mainly because of Bucky.

But soon, Bucky pulls up outside her apartment, the ride and her dream over. “Thanks Bucky.”

“Not at all. Thank you for coming today.”

“I told you, I’m glad to help. I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Y/N, wait.” Bucky orders, stopping her. “Can I….” She raises a brow, waiting for his explanation. It’s strange, seeing the intimidating, yet flirty and confident Bucky, now a blushing mess around her. Although, it’s kind of endearing. “Can I take you out? On a date?”

“Yeah.” she gasps, already nodding with excitement. “Of course.” Bucky grins.

“How about I pick you up this Saturday, then? Say…about seven?”

“Okay. See you then.” Suddenly, Bucky leans in, pecking her on the cheek. His beard grazes her cheek, which tingles under its touch. 

“See you then, doll.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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