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acacia-may · 1 year

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First Christmas

Description: This year the Black Bulls are going all out for the holidays because it's their nephew's first Christmas! Charlotte may still be getting used to her chaotic new family, but she and Yami agree that it's very sweet the new "aunts and uncles" are going out of their way to make the holiday season truly special for their son.

Rating: G

Warnings: Mentions pregnancy. Otherwise, just fluff.

Fandom: Black Clover

Genre: Holiday Black Bulls Family Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Christmas Fluff, Babies, and Slice of Life. Totally self-indulgent, but I hope you will like it too.

Relationships: The major emphasis is on the Black Bulls squad as a family and secondarily some YamiChar domestic fluff & babies. Other relationships included are Rill/Charmy, Vanessa/Finral, a little bit of Asta/Noelle and Gauche/Grey are teased also mentioned.

Characters: Charlotte Roselei (POV Character), Yami Sukehiro, Charmy Pappitson, Rill Boismortier, Vanessa Enoteca, Finral Roulacase, Asta, Noelle Silva, Zora Ideale, Magna Swing, and the Black Bulls

Word Count: 3578

Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site.

Happy Holidays everyone! Story below the cut!

The Black Bulls’ hideout was as busy and bustling as Charlotte would have expected, but it was far more festive than she had ever seen it before with colorful holiday decorations in every nook and cranny. Magna had told her that he had gone on an expedition with Luck and Zora to find the biggest tree in the woods behind their base, and now that they had brought it back home, Gordon, Gauche, and Grey were busy hanging tinsel, ornaments, and strings of popcorn on all the branches. Charlotte had always known that the Black Bulls enjoyed celebrating around the holidays, but they had been super insistent on going “all out” this year since it was their nephew’s first Christmas.

The thought brought a warm and gentle smile to Charlotte’s face. Of course, she and her husband wanted the holidays to be special for Katsu, but it was so sweet that all of his Black Bulls uncles and aunts wanted this as well. Uncle Gordon had been showing off some of the shiny ornaments to him earlier before Aunt Charmy and Uncle Rill had whisked him away for a tour of the kitchen, filled with all kinds of delicious holiday treats he wasn’t old enough to eat yet. Uncle Magna had him now and was walking him around to look at all the twinkling lights while Uncle Luck prattled on about having a snowball fight once he was old enough which, he was promptly reminded, would be a long time since Katsu was only a few months old.

Katsu’s big, blue eyes were wide—almost mesmerized by the lights which seemed to please his Uncle Magna who had been responsible for lighting all the candles in the first place. When his Uncle Asta tried to take him, however, he started to fuss and cry, and Magna looked over at her almost helplessly.

“Sorry, Charlotte,” he said as he handed the baby off to her. She shrugged and patted her son’s back until he calmed again, nestling into her shoulder.

“It’s okay. He’s probably just tired.”

“Or he wants his mom,” suggested Asta with a good-natured smile. “He looks pretty happy now.”

Asta was right. Though Katsu still had a tear in the corner of his eye, he looked as content as could be now that she was holding him again. Yami often teased that he was sure their son was a mama’s boy. Maybe he was right about that.

“He’s probably just tired of being passed around all the time,” huffed Noelle, and Charlotte supposed she had a point. Ever since Katsu had been born, it seemed like his Black Bulls aunts and uncles were fighting over who got to hold him. When they were all together like this, he tended to get passed around faster than even his parents could keep up with. “That’s a lot of strange people holding him.”

“We’re not strange people,” said Asta, giving Katsu a gentle pat. “We’re his family.”

“Noelle has a point though,” Secre interjected. “Maybe we should let Charlotte have him for a while. You can hold him afterwards.”

Zora huffed looking up from the string of popcorn he was putting together. “Wait a second—I was next.”

“I thought I was next…” protested Finral. “We need to write this stuff down or something.”

“Calm down. You’re all gonna get a turn to hold him”—Yami shook his head with an almost-affection—“you knuckleheads.” He sighed before he raised his glass. “Now I’m gonna go get some more mulled wine. This is the best year yet, Vanessa.”

Vanessa smiled. “Glad to hear it. Unfortunately, I won’t be having any.” Shrugging her shoulders, she ran her hand across the small bump which had only recently popped out of her abdomen. “You had better be worth it,” she teased, giving her stomach a pat.

“You can always have some next year. I’m sure it’ll be even better then,” Asta reassured her with a bright smile.

“Unless she’s pregnant again,” quipped Charmy without even looking up from the cookies she was currently decorating with Rill.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, but Finral choked out a shaky, “Don’t even joke about that!”

“She’s got a point though,” quipped Yami with a lopsided, teasing grin. “You’re gonna have been married what—9 months when this brat is born? If you keep this up, you’re gonna have a whole hoard of them.”

“You’re terrible, you know that?” huffed Vanessa though there was a playful twitch of a smile in her the corners of her mouth.

“Well I think it’s great,” chimed Rill. “Congratulations!”

“You would,” Charmy teased, playfully wiping frosting on his nose. Rill merely laughed.

“Who knows? Maybe it’ll be you and Charmy having a baby next.” As Vanessa winked at her, Charmy wrinkled her nose.

“We just got married a couple months ago,” she protested crossing her arms as Rill’s cheeks flushed pink. “I don’t expect that to mean anything to you but some of us actually want to wait awhile before having kids.”

Vanessa blinked at her but sighed, rubbing her hand almost absentmindedly across her belly. “This wasn’t exactly planned, Charmy.”

“Yeah we figured,” quipped Zora who had finished his popcorn string and was handing it off to Gordon to put on the tree.

“Even if this one was a surprise, babies are awesome,” exclaimed Asta with a bright smile. “And with two of them around we won’t have to fight over who gets to hold Katsu nearly as much.”

Vanessa ruffled his hair affectionately. “Thanks, kiddo.” She turned back to the rest of her squad mates. “I’ve decided Asta gets to hold my baby first.”

“What about me?” asked Finral pressing his hand to his chest in a somewhat playful outrage that made Vanessa shake her head and stifle a laugh.

“Don’t be such a goofball. Of course you’re going to hold our kid first. Then Asta and then the rest of you.” She paused before she winked at Charmy and teased, “Except Charmy, unless she starts being nicer about it.”

Charmy huffed but bantered, “You’re the one who decided to marry Finral—we get to tease you about it.”

“She’s got a point there, little birdie,” quipped Yami twisting his mouth to one side.

“Hey!” protested Finral, but Vanessa just sighed. “You guys are so mean to me. You’re both married and no one ever gives you a hard time about it.”

“That’s because Rill is wonderful”—Charmy beamed at him—“there’s nothing to give me a hard time about, and we were all waited for years for the Captain and Charlotte to get together. When they finally did, we were just so relieved that they had stopped being so dense.”

“Charmy, Rill didn’t even know who you were for how long…” bantered Vanessa. “We actually told him that you were his ‘food goddess,’ and he still didn’t get it. I don’t think you get to tease anyone for being dense.”

“That was a mistake,” said Rill apologetically. “But I know who she is now, and we’re very happy!”

Finral patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. These things happen.”

“He’s still not as dense as Captain Yami,” said Zora dryly.

“Listen, I got married before any of you morons so I don’t think I’m the dense one here.” The room grew suddenly quiet as the entire squad just blinked at him. Yami frowned, as Charlotte’s cheeks flushed. She had learned pretty quickly that the Black Bulls had been waiting for her and Yami to get together for almost as long as she had, but she was still getting used to getting teased about it. “She was sending me a lot of mixed signals, okay? I was just trying to be respectful.”

Vanessa snorted a laugh before she rolled her eyes. “They weren’t mixed signals. She was totally into you—even Magna noticed.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I notice things!”

“We were honestly starting to get worried it was never going to happen,” teased Vanessa with a wink, completely ignoring Magna’s protests. “But you figured it out, and now you have this little one.” She turned to Charlotte with a smile, and as ran her hand across Katsu’s back, he turned to look at her with wide blue eyes that looked far older than his years. “And he’s such a cutie! Do you think he’s ready to be held again?”

Charlotte nodded as she held Katsu out to her and said, “Sure. Go ahead” to the wide-spread protestations of the rest of the squad who were promptly told to wait their turns.

Smiling brightly, Vanessa took the baby and began walking around with him to show off the decorations. “Hi Katsu. Aren’t you just the cutest little man? You look just like your dad—especially with all this messy dark hair. If only we could get him in a Christmas sweater like this.”

Yami frowned. “Don’t even think about it.”

Charlotte laughed, and her husband tilted his head at her. “What? It might suit you,” she said with the slightest twitch in the corners of her mouth.

“We should all wear matching sweaters next year,” suggested Gordon.

Gauche huffed. “We’d look ridiculous.”

“We should have worn them this this year for Katsu’s first Christmas,” Asta interjected.

Noelle bristled. “He’s not even going to remember this, Bakasta…”

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t get him presents.”

“Oh that reminds me. I have a present for you,” cooed Vanessa as she walked with Katsu over towards the tree. As she walked back with the gift, she paused. Laughing, she pointed up above her head. “Ooh, mistletoe. Do you have kisses for your Aunt Vanessa?” She chuckled and kissed Katsu’s forehead causing his little brow to furrow at her as he frowned. “Now you really look like your dad.”

“I’ll trade you,” said Finral playfully, reaching out for Katsu. “A kiss for the baby.”

Vanessa hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not sure that’s a fair trade,” she teased, but she gave him a quick kiss and handed Katsu off to him.

“You guys are gross,” mumbled Gauche with a shake of his head.

“Oh yeah…you sure you don’t want to get caught with Grey under the mistletoe?” As Vanessa winked at them, Gauche’s cheeks flushed a faint pink as Grey turned bright red, buried her face in her hands, and muttered something incoherent but unmistakably mortified.

“Well I for one would love to get caught under the mistletoe,” declared Rill as he grabbed Charmy hand—spinning her until they were both in the perfect spot. Then, he dipped her and kissed with the kind of dramatic flourish they had come to expect from him. This earned him a prompt round of applause and laughter, especially from Charmy who was wiping frosting off her face.

“Alright, Captain, you’re next,” Vanessa teased him.

Charlotte’s cheeks blushed red, but Yami frowned, “Isn’t the whole point of this stupid tradition that it’s supposed to be spontaneous?”

Vanessa shrugged. “No one ever said that dragging someone over there wasn’t allowed.”

“And pushing people together is always an option,” chimed Charmy.

Charlotte’s cheeks flushed. She had been the victim of this rule during her first Christmas with the Black Bulls when she and Yami had only been newly dating. She had never been so mortified as when his squad had teamed up on them and casually corralled them until they were basically cornered under the mistletoe. Though Yami had told off his squad for being “knuckleheads” and had insisted that they wouldn’t need to kiss because of some stupid tradition, Charlotte had said it was fine—albeit she was bright red in the face and barely managed to choke out the words. He had just barely brushed her lips, but it had earned oohs and ahhs from their companions as well as a few whoops and whistles from some of the rowdier members of the bunch. Neither before nor since had Charlotte ever seen such a concerted effort to trap two people under the mistletoe, though they still hung it up every year, if only for tradition’s sake.

“Well with all you knuckleheads pairing off already, you don’t really need to do that this year, do you?”

“It’s for Noelle’s benefit. Since somebody is still dragging their feet…” Vanessa winked at Noelle, and Charlotte could have sworn she glanced over in Asta’s general direction as well—though he was cheerfully oblivious to it.

Noelle’s face flushed a deep red, and she spluttered, “Wha—what? Why? Why would you—? Take it down!” She quickly stood up from her seat and rushed over towards the mistletoe—jumping up and down and grasping at it even though she was, unfortunately, too short to reach.

“Oh, Katsu, please don’t cry,” pleaded Finral, pulling Charlotte’s attention to the baby who was squirming and fussing in his arms. “I think he wants mom—unless he just hates me,” he added with a sheepish chuckle as he handed her son back to her.

“I’m sure he’s just tired,” Charlotte tried to reassure him.

“Or he needs changed,” suggested Yami taking Katsu from her with an “I’ve got it” before grabbing their bag and stepping out.

Gauche shook his head. “You couldn’t pay me to change a baby.”

“What are you going to do when you and Grey have kids?” teased Vanessa.

“What? We’re not… um… what?” stumbled Grey burying her face in her hands. Gauche frowned, but his cheeks flushed pink.

“I’ll do it. I could be the nanny,” said Gordon excitedly.

“I can help too!” interjected Asta.

Huffing, Noelle shook her head. “Bakasta! They’ve barely even been dating. They’re not having kids right now.”

“Th—thank you,” choked a particularly red Grey.

“I’m sure they will someday, and so will you…and Asta…” As Vanessa winked at her, Noelle huffed and crossed her arms despite the beet-red color of her face and her incoherent spluttering.

“That would be great! I love babies!” said Asta with a bright, beaming smile.

“And the most dense man award goes to…” muttered Zora under his breath with a roll of his eyes.

Before Noelle could jump into more protestations, Yami appeared in the doorway with a much happier Katsu in tow. “Who wants him?” he quipped dryly to an exuberant chorus of volunteers. Eventually, Katsu was handed off to his Uncle Henry, probably on the merit of Henry not being nearly as loud or persistent as the others.

“Now that Katsu’s back, here.” Vanessa handed Charlotte a wrapped box with a pretty bow. “This is for him. He’s so little he probably won’t remember it,” she chuckled. “But I still hope he gets a good use out of it.”

“This is so sweet. Thank you, but you really didn’t have to—” Charlotte began, but Asta cut her off.

“Oh is Katsu going to open presents?”

“He’s a baby. He can’t open presents, dumbbell,” Zora quipped, but he still reached for a wrapped gift under a few of the tree branches.

“We’ve got one for him too!” exclaimed Charmy as she and Rill made a dash for the tree. Everyone else, it seemed, followed suit and started grabbing their gifts and excitedly throwing them at Charlotte and Yami to open on Katsu’s behalf.

Yami shook his head. “More presents? You already gave us a ton of sh—” He stopped himself as Charlotte glared pointedly at him. “stuff when he was born. How many presents does he need? He’s not even gonna remember any of this.”

“It’s his first Christmas. We had to get him presents,” Finral insisted.

With a sigh, Yami shook his head again, but the lines of his face softened and Charlotte could tell that he was genuinely moved by the gesture. Charlotte and Yami took turns unwrapping Katsu’s presents as he was passed around by his uncles and aunts. He got two more hand-knitted sweaters from his Aunt Grey, a hand-carved wooden rattle with his name on it from his Uncle Gauche, a cute but somewhat frightening set of plush farm animals his Uncle Gordon had clearly sewn together himself, and a handmade magic knight doll from Uncle Zora. His Uncle Magna and Uncle Luck had teamed up to get him a tiny broom that Magna had decorated himself, and Uncle Asta, Uncle Henry, and Uncle Liebe had jointly purchased multiple sets of wooden blocks: some with numbers painted on the sides, the others with letters or pictures of animals. Aunt Secre had bought him a tiny pair of shiny, leather boots, and Aunt Noelle had purchased several complete outfits including a tiny vest that Charlotte thought was particularly adorable. Uncle Nacht’s gift was an incredibly practical set of bottles and several pairs of tiny socks of varying sizes for Katsu to “grow into.” Rounding out the haul was a wool coat, a painting of him, and several empty jars with a promissory note for homemade baby food as soon as he was old enough to eat it from his Aunt Charmy and Uncle Rill, and a silver ornament in the shape of a bird, a collection of illustrated children’s books and a beautiful, hand-embroidered quilt from his Uncle Finral and Aunt Vanessa, who Charlotte was sure, must have completed all the sewing and embroidery herself.

“Well now my son is officially spoiled,” said Yami with a lopsided grin as he folded the quilt back into its gift box.

“We’re his uncles and aunts. That’s what we do,” Charmy insisted, and Yami chuckled with a certain softness in his eyes.

“Thanks you guys. This was real nice.”

Charlotte nodded in agreement. “Very thoughtful—thank you. Though Katsu seems more excited about the wrapping paper.” Chuckling, she glanced over at her son who was playing with a large piece of shiny paper from one of his presents as his Uncle Asta held him on his hip and swayed back and forth.

“You look like you’re dancing,” laughed Luck.

“Ooh that’s a good idea,” said Rill reaching out and taking Charmy’s hand.

“There’s not even any music,” she chuckled with a shake of her head as he spun her around.

“Finral, why don’t you play something for us?” suggested Vanessa, rubbing her hand across his back.

Sighing, Finral sheepishly ran his hand across the nape of his neck. “I…don’t know…” After being begged by his squad mates, however, he took a seat at the piano and began to slowly pick out a familiar carol. Charlotte’s brow furrowed, and she began to wonder if he had forgotten the tune until he slid his hand across the piano keys and began to play at a jaunty, lively tempo that was perfect for dancing, much to the delight of his laughing companions.

“Show off…” muttered Yami with a shake of his head, but the corners of his mouth with turned up into a slight smile which widened when he turned to her and held out his hand. “What do you say, Prickly Queen? If we don’t get out there and dance, they’re just going to make us like Gauche and Grey over there.”

Charlotte chuckled as she watched Gordon and Vanessa practically pushing the two together over by the tree. Meanwhile, it appeared that Charmy and Rill were trying to corner Noelle and Asta under the mistletoe. Noelle let out a squeal that reminded Charlotte a lot of herself back in the day, but Asta gave her a quick kiss on the cheek that stunned her into blushing, sheepish silence as he pulled out into the middle of the room to dance. Charlotte smiled. Maybe they were both a lot like her and her husband after all.

“Alright,” she said taking Yami’s hand with a smile. Her husband had never been much of a dancer, but he tried his best especially when they got their son back after he started fussing for his Aunt Secre. Katsu seemed to like the swaying motion of dancing, and he soon nestled into his father’s shoulder and began to drift off though Charlotte wasn’t sure how he could even think about sleeping with all that music in the background.

“You’re under the mistletoe!” Vanessa’s teasing voice pulled Charlotte out of her thoughts. Her brow furrowed as she looked around the room, wondering who she was talking about. A blush filled her cheeks as Yami twisted his mouth to one side pointing above their heads. He smiled at her; then at their son before he kissed the top of Katsu’s head; then he leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss to the—albeit quiet—applause of their companions…no, their family who had made this a wonderful holiday.

Charlotte was suddenly struck by a warm feeling radiating in her chest at the thought. Somewhere along the way Yami’s chaotic knuckleheads, as he would probably call them, had become her family too and now were an amazing group of aunts and uncles to Katsu. As Yami met her eyes and smiled at her, she knew he must be thinking the same thing. Sure, the Black Bulls were all a little zany and quirky and more than a little chaotic, but looking around at them now, it was so clear that they cared and that was what mattered—to Yami, to her, and to their son who had just been given the best first Christmas thanks to them. A smile tugged at Charlotte’s mouth. She hoped the holidays to come would be just like this one.

#black clover fanfiction #black bulls family fluff #the black bulls make the best aunts and uncles #yami and charlotte would be wonderful parents #yamichar #found family domestic fluff & babies--a great genre combination #yami sukehiro x charlotte roselei #rillmy #rill boismortier x charmy pappitson #greyche #gauche adlai x grey #finral roulacase x vanessa enoteca #finessa #astelle #asta x noelle silva #black clover oc: katsu #happy holidays #thanks for reading!

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thespiralgrimoire · 4 years

Note

Okay so I’ve been thinking about the Leebon and Noelo (idk if I spelled that right) but primarily how canon might have been different if Nozel and Fuego got their elves at 15 like William did. Leebon is the gentle but passive twin to Nozel’s protective but irritable twin and the Silva sibs get the big bro(s) they deserve (especially Noelle I will never shut up about this). Fuego likes to pretend he doesn’t have a voice in his head and in retaliation Noelo goes “GAY” anytime Fuego says “no homo”

Idk if I've made a big enough point that Noelo and Leebon belong to @loafingdragon but

I LOVE THIS

I'm gonna leave her to comment on it thought because while I could prattle on, she's the gay elves in love expert

#elf time #bc oc #shinyshammie #spinda tea

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notyetneedcoffee · 5 years

Text

Not Exactly A Classic Dame (5)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC (platonic friendship between Steve x OFC)

Warnings: Language, otherwise none this Chapter, but later

Bucky Master List / Main Master List

CHAPTER 5

Cassidy slipped her feet into three inch black heels just as a knock came at the door. She checked herself in the mirror one final time before going to answer. The dark red wiggle dress with the neck line that dropped just off her shoulders fit like a glove. Her black hair fell in loose waves. She considered the retro curls, but she would prefer no pins in the way should Bucky want to run his hands in her hair.

She opened the door. He mouth went dry and panties went wet.

Bucky stood, waiting. He wore a black suit, fitting sinfully well. The top two buttons of the pewter tone shirt remained undone. His hair hung loose, but he’d put effort into its styling. His trim beard, too, had been neatly groomed. Cas breathed in the delicious scent of him.

A devilish grin crossed his face. “Damn, woman. I’m not sure I want to take you out in public looking that gorgeous.”

“Oh no, soldier.” Cas ran her hand down the lapel of his jacket. “We have reservations.”

“I may have to break someone’s arm if they get too close. You are just irresistible.” Bucky’s strong hands gripped her hips. His mouth ghosted over her jaw, near her ear.

“I think it’s more likely that I’ll have to beat the women off,” She pitched her head enough to capture his lips. He drank in her kiss, tongues dancing. Finally, he pulled away with a groan and nip of her lower lip.

“You know, cell phones and the internet are cool and all.” Bucky traced his thumb over her red lush lip, a wicked grin on his face. “But being able to kiss these red lips, and not make a mess, that’s best invention I've seen.”

Cas giggled. “I’ll take your word for it. So, I’m all dressed up as requested. Where are we going?”

“You’re not afraid of heights are you?”

When he led her to the roof, to the waiting helicopter, Cas bounced on her toes. “Really?”

“Yep.” Bucky opened the door and helped her in.

As he secured her harness, Cassidy looked around. “Where’s the pilot?”

He winked. “Right here, doll.”

Her lips formed a little ‘oh’ shape. And he laughed before jogging around to hop in the pilot’s seat. She watched him handled the controls like a master. As they flew to the city, he stole sideways glances at the smile on her face as he tipped the chopper so she could get a better view of the river. The sun was just beginning dip low in the sky, spreading amazing shadows across the approaching New York City skyline.

Soon they came close to a glass tower. The top few floors shone with lights of soft blues and greens. Cassidy’s hand dug into his thigh in excitement. “Is that where we’re headed?”

“Stark recommended it.” Bucky chuckled. “He’s even letting us use his designated parking space.”

A tall platinum blonde hostess led them to a table for two near the window. She did a fine job of only visually eating up Bucky once. Still, Cas wrapped her arm in his and leaned into him a bit possessively. Holding the chair out for her, Bucky’s fingertips brushed across the tattoo on her shoulder blade. A shiver danced across her skin.

A lithe young man stepped up to the table just as Bucky got comfortable. “Good evening. I’m Ian and I’ll be taking care of you this evening. Would you care to start with a drink, or a bottle of wine?”

Bucky arched a brow towards Cas.

“What do you have in bourbons?”

“We have an Elijah Craig Barrell, special edition, a very unique Old Forester.”

“The 1920?” She grinned.

“Yes.”

“I’ll have that. A double. Neat.”

“Very well.” Ian turned towards Bucky, who’s eyes remained locked on his date, face straight but eyes smiling.

“Same as the lady.”

Cas thanked the waiter, but her eyes never left Bucky’s. When the guy was out of ear shot she whispered, “Is it just me, or do all the people who work here look like they’ve stepped off the set of an underwear commercial, all wane and glamorously svelte?”

A devilish grin spread across his face. “You mean like prettied up tooth picks that I could snap with my right hand?”

“Exactly like that.” Cas giggled.

“I hadn’t noticed.” Bucky said straight faced.

“Liar.”

“Swear it. I can’t keep my eyes off you, Doll.” He shifted a little closer. “Supposed to be the best view in the city, and I could care less.”

Bucky let her pick the dinners, since ‘you did such fine job with the drinks’. As they waited, conversation stayed in the realm of innocent talk of work peppered with fun flirting. He listened to Cassidy joke about chasing down an impossible bit of intel for ‘the boss’ all day.

Cas saw Bucky’s attention shift. His posture changed. She remained the same, consciously. However when she took a sip, she breathed out a question so quietly only his enhanced senses would hear. “What’s wrong?”

His sharp blue eyes darted around the room a moment longer before he sighed. Bucky took her hand in his. “Nothing. Old habits.”

“If you’re sure.” He nodded. Cassidy smiled and pushed back in her chair. “Okay. I’m going to the ladies room before dinner comes.”

A few minutes later, Cas stepped out of the bathroom to see a man in the same suit worn by all the wait staff. He seemed to be leaving the men’s room. Only this guy was thick, like an ex-football player, and it caught her attention. She walked down the short hall to the dining room with a bit more purpose.

Glancing over her shoulder, his right fist bashed into the side of her head.

An involuntary cry escaped her mouth, muffled by a meaty hand. Dazed, pain flaring, Cassidy clawed at the hand and kicked out. Another man grabbed at her legs, she thrashed. One foot made contact. He grunted, his fist driving into her side. Doubled over, they picked her up and moved her to the freight elevator.

Cas felt the bite of zip ties around her wrist as one of the men slapped tape over her mouth, smelling sharp and chemical. She fought to stay calm, not to panic. One of the men grumbled low, “We have the Soldier’s woman.”

Shit. Bucky.

A woman dressed like the hostesses stopped at the table, inquiring about their service. Bucky smiled and said it was great. She prattled on about the view, some award the restaurant received, and about the time she began telling him about the chef’s pedigree Bucky had enough.

His focus drifted. Then he heard it, muffled and distant, but a cry. Sharp eyes darted around, noting the three men watching him. He stood up, brushing past the talkative woman. “Excuse me.”

Quick strides led him to the empty hall to the restrooms. He never paused, pushing open the women’s door. Inside a woman freshened her make up in the small lounge jumped at his entrance. Beyond, he pushed open the doors to all the empty stalls. Fuck.

Back out in the hall Bucky’s senses kicked into overdrive. He noticed a fresh scuff on the wall. Bending down, he picked up a small black tip of a high heel. Fear kicked him in the gut. It was covered in fresh blood. Fuck. Fuck.

Think. He’s had a line of sight to the door. They didn’t go that way. Kitchens. As took the corner at a near run, he practically ran into the hostesses that sat them. He caught her before she fell backwards against a giant table with a big stone sculpture on it. Wait. Bucky looked at the busy kitchen door.

“Is there a freight elevator?”

“What? Why would –“

“For all these art displays. A freight elevator.” Bucky shook her.

“The hall, by the bathrooms, behind the wood panels.” She stammered.

Bucky rushed back, seeing the metal tab handle and nearly ripped the door off the wall. The display showed it was halfway down. He ran to the lobby, where all the elevators showed ground floor. Dammit. He hit the emergency exit door, jumping down the stairs a flight at a time.

Panic pushed him forward, moving impossibly fast. Hitting the bottom floor, Buck crashed through the door marked Load Dock. A black van disappeared around the corner. His feet moved before his brain.

A sedan hit him hard. Bucky crashed into the concrete wall, debris flying. Pain flared, feeding the fury. He leapt forward, left fist crashing through the car window. He jerked the driver out, throwing him into the same wall with a sickening crunch.

Moving fast, Bucky chased the van down the street.

In the distance he saw it swerve and hit another car before careening into a building.

He pushed harder.

The back of the van popped open, Cas leaping out. She made it three steps before a pursuing man grabbed her by the hair, throwing her to the ground hard. Bucky saw her shoulders and head bounce off the pavement. The bastard grabbed her hair again. She grasped the guy’s forearms and brought her knee up, bashing it into his face. He fell back. An other man reached for her, but she kicked out catching his knee, bending it sideways.

Wasting no time, Cas scrambled up running – straight towards Buck.

Four more steps and Bucky passed her, grabbing the one with the bloodied nose in his left hand and kicking the one on the ground in the head. He spared a glance for Cassidy, seeing her eyes roll back and body hit the ground. The man’s neck broke.

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#bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x ofc #bucky barnes x original female character

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eldestchild · 4 years

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"Of course your father is strict! It's only because he loves you so much... He and I want you to become the best you can be and then more." He could never become the heir, he took after his mother too much. His natural affinity towards manipulation was her fault. "Come now, Illumi. It's time for your studies. The eldest must be a shining example!" Not the ideal. Not the actual product. He was second. Always second.

His chest was still heaving, he was bleeding from various wounds on his body- a ‘sparring’ session, more like a sanctioned slaughter. He can feel each strained tendon, every torn ligament, and each cracked bone. She prattles on, always feels the need to explain Silva away, but Illumi wasn’t one to complain either way. The butler patching him up regards him with a look- if he was better at reading emotions he may be able to see the sympathy that lays there.

“Of course Mother.” He pushes himself up from the chair, ignores the pain in his legs as he follows her. “If I finish early, may I see Killua tonight?” The heir has become a bargaining chip like everything else in his life, used to motivate or punish him accordingly.

#anonymous #answered correspondence #Kikyo Anon*#v: Teenager #THIS ONE WAS THE WORST THANKS!!!

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ruunkur · 6 years

Text

A story segment, Unedited

“Welcome back to the Temple,” he says, casting his gaze over them. “Everyone looks as if they were just told they were going to die. What did Iris say?”

“A whole bunch of nothing.” Silva said with a roll of her eyes. “Prattling on about guardians and beasts like it didn’t happen thousands of years ago.”

“It was only a thousand years, down to the day.” Tiryal corrected. “I am glad to see that you all have been accepted by the guardians of the crystals.”

“So, what are these things?” Lily asks, holding hers up. “They feel like they’re alive, but they’re rocks. Fancy rocks, I’ll give you that, but rocks.”

“They contain the souls of guardians.” Tiryal says, nodding to Iris. “Take my sister for example. She’s a guardian. The crystal I showed you at the start of this is her home.”

“You’re...a guardian?” Silva said, dragging her gaze to Iris.

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “It’s a little known fact that I am, if you would like to keep that to yourselves.”

“So...when we were passed out, who were we hearing?” Jess piped up.

“Probably the guardian that representing your village.” Tiryal responds. “They would have been assessing as to if you would have been good for their path or not.”

“And if we hadn’t been good for their path?” Marty asked.

“You probably would have died.” Tiryal admits. “Or, at least gone into a coma. It’s hard to say, there have been none that were rejected by the guardians.”

“How many have been chosen by the guardians?” Silva demands.

“The original forging of the guardians and beasts was a thousand years ago, to fight the darkness that was rising up to consume the lands. The beasts sacrificed themselves, leaving myself and Iris as the last of the six to guide the new beasts when they were to rise. You would be the new ones, reborn, or so some claim.” Tiryal explains. “We ourselves are not sure what exactly was meant to happen. If they would be reincarnated fully, or if just enough for their guardian to recognize them would be passed on.”

“So…” Astra frowned, shaking their head. “I don’t understand.”

“What is there to understand?” Tiryal asked, raising an eyebrow. “It is that it simply is, not that you need to understand down to the millisecond the way your life will take. It is a winding path, ever twisting and ever branching.”

“Are you really from the Everlasting Village of Knowledge?” Silva asked.

“I mean, it wasn’t very everlasting, since everyone is dead from it now, was it?” Marty asked, Lily covering her mouth to hide her snort of amusement.

“Well, not everyone.” Iris said, giving them a pointed look.

“It was our choice. The destruction of our village was what led to the revolution of so much more in the other nations. It was a sad fact of life when the village itself passed. But many of the families escaped into other nations, other villages. Not to mention that the Watchers recruited many of their members from the fleeing village of Knowledge. The village may not be there any more, but the people are still here.” Tiryal interrupted, before Iris could offer anything else as a response.

“So these Watchers, who are they exactly?” Astra asked. “I’ve seen them referenced several times in books i’ve been meant to transcribe. But, there is never really information behind them.”

“They are the ones that Watch for the darkness to return.” Iris responded. ‘They were the ones that collected those that would become Guardian and Beast. Beyond that, we were never explained their purpose.”

#Writing tag #long post #Six Saint Beasts(Working title)

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inhumansforever · 6 years

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Secret Warriors #11 Review

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

The Warriors battle with the dreadful Mr. Sinister comes to its climax in this penultimate issue; from the creative team of Mathew Rosenberg, Javier Garrón, Will Robinson and Israel Silva. Recap and review after the jump.

Karnak and Mr. Sinister have been desperately trying to out maneuver and out manipulate one another, moving about the Inhuman peoples like so many chess pieces. The endgame is afoot and Dante has chosen to offer Sinister the crucial ingredient in exchange for the safety of his niece, Ariella.

The installment begins with the Warriors flanked by Iso and the New Attilan Guard, demanding to know why Inferno had destroyed the throne and absconded with one of their aircraft. The Warriors are able to put the pieces together quickly, realizing what it is that Dante has done. Unwilling to waste time explaining the matter to Iso’s forces, Quake orders a quick retreat… a command that Magik accidentally interprets as a call to attack. After a brief and violent moment of confusion, Quake clarifies the matter and Magik teleports the Warriors away.

Elsewhere, Inferno has sought out Mr. Sinister, offering himself and a Terrigen Crystal in exchange for his niece’s freedom. Utilizing her pirated access to the national security and surveillance apparatus, Moon Girl is able to pinpoint the location and The Warriors arrive to confront Sinister. Which leads to this wonderful exchange between Lunella and Sinister…

A brief fight ensues, but ends quickly as Sinister and Inferno disappear, leaving baby Ariella safely behind. Quake and the others bring Ariella back to Moon Girl’s lab where she is looked after by Leer and Devil Dinosaur. They then get ice cream which Lunella insists is needed in order to fuel her devising a new course of action to foil Sinister’s schemes and save Dante.

Karnak arrives, claiming that he had located the Warriors by way of the vast network of resources under his disposal now that he has seized control of the Ennilux Corporation… though, in truth he just scoured the local ice cream parlors knowing it to be Lunella’s favorite ‘brain-food.’

At first, Karnak is unconcerned with Mr. Sinister’s having Dante. He knows that Sinister’s research will remain stymied as long as he doesn’t have a sample of true Terrigen to work with…

Of course this all changes once it’s revealed Sinister has indeed obtained a crystal…

Karnak knows exactly where to find Sinister and the scene switches to the Tower of Wisdom somewhere off in an undisclosed desert. Sinister walks out wearing bloodied scrubs as though he’d just performed some terrible surgery. He’s confronted by Karnak and the Warriors and the reader is offered up a rather exposition-heavy info-dump on what it is that Karnak and Sinister have been hoping to achieve.

Both have been working toward the recreation of the Terrigen Mists, though for their own purposes. Karnak is looking to offer up a future for his peoples, a means through which the Inhuman race can continue on and subsequent generations of Inhumans can go through the transformative process of Terrigenesis. Sinister merely wants this technology in order to mutate subjects and make super-powered minions to do his bidding.

Indeed it’s then revealed that the monsters that he and The Dark Beast have used as enforcers are actually latent Inhumans whom Sinister has transformed into ‘Unhumans’ by way of an imperfect variation of Terrigenesis.

Sinister realizes that Karnak has gotten him monologuing… that surely he must be stalling for some reason. And this reason is made evident when Magik teleports in the calvary in the form of Iso’s security force. We’re treated to a neat splash image of the various Inhumans Magik has brought to the battle, including a number of familiar faces we haven’t seen in quite a while (such as Reader, Naja, Flagman, Kacy, Mosaic, Grid, Panacea and Auran).

Sinister flees as his Unhumans engage the Inhumans in battle. Karnak and Moon Girl chase after Sinister, following him into the Tower. Sinister knows he is outmatched in terms of a physical fight so he resorts to grabbing Moon Girl and forcing Karnak to stand down by threatening to kill her.

Karnak and Sinister continue to banter at one another, prattling on over methodology and credit. Sinister brandishes a glass beaker of the proto-terrigen mist he has created. The two are distracted in their argument and Moon Girl seized on the opportunity to kick up her foot, breaking the beaker Sinister had been holding.

Although the substance is not a true synthesis of the Terrigen Mists, the compound is nonetheless quite poisonous to Mutants. Sinister breaths in the fumes and appears to perish from its poisonous effects. Moon Girl is horrified at the prospect that she had accidentally killed him; though Karnak assures her that she did what she had to.

Sinister’s Unhumans have been routed by The Inhumans. Karnak and Moon Girl emerge from the Tower, bringing a recovering Inferno with them. Iso and others demand answers and Karnak states that everything he had put in motion was for the benefit of The Inhuman peoples. He claims that the follies and hardships the Inhumans have endured have been the result of inadequate leadership. The Royals have fled and Iso has failed to keep New Attilan safe.

And Karnak knows how to make things right. He is confident that Sinister’s work can be completed and a new source of Terrigen can be obtained. Furthermore, he has seized control of The Enillux Corporation and it’s bountiful assets can be utilized to reinvigorate Attilan. All it needs is proper leadership; and the leader Karnak feels The Inhumans need is Moon Girl.

Lunella is stunned by this turn of events. She has no wish to lead the Inhumans, she doesn’t even like the Inhumans… she doesn’t really like people in general. Karnak attempts to convince her that it is a responsibility she must shoulder. Faith and tradition have led to the Inhumans’ downfall and it requires intellect to make things right. He hands Lunella to deed to Enillux, a symbolic stand-in for a royal scepter…

Lunella is unswayed. Karnak’s logic might be sound, but it is a cold logic, one in which the ends justify the means, where the needs of the many outweigh the sacrifices of the few. Logic aside, it is an ideology that Lunella refuses to embrace, that she does not want to be a part of. She makes her choice quickly and hands over the deed for Enillux to its previous owner, Ahura.

Reader returns from checking out the tower, reporting that Mr. Sinister has vanished. Moon Girl is relived in that it means she is not a murderer.

A distraught Karnak is seeing all of his plans crumbling before him. He again tries to convince the others to see his logic. Ms. Marvel counters that it would simply facilitate exchanging one monarchy for another… that a ruling system strictly adhering to pure intellect would be no better, no less constrictive than a ruling system strictly adhering to culture and tradition. A mere exchange of one folly for another.

Inferno takes particularly umbrage with Karnak’s notion of sacrificing the few for the benefit of the many, especially considering that he had been offered up as just such a sacrifice. Karnak cuts back at Inferno, saying that at least he would finally be of use - that it could at last make him the hero he wishes to be.

Still the leader of The Inhumans, Iso remains unsure as to what to do. The research that Karnak and Sinister had attained is pivotal to the future of The Inhuman people. Yet were they to accept it, follow this path it would be a future written in blood. Iso and Ahura seem to arrive at the same conclusion and turn to Moon Girl to confer. She is on the same page and knows what needs to be done. She asks Quake to use her powers to destroy the Tower of Wisdom, burying Karnak and Sinister’s work under its rubble.

Quake agrees and she brings down the tower and Karnak can only watch in despair.

The mission accomplished, the Warriors disband. Iso offers them a place in New Attilan, but they decline. Ms. Marvel and Moon Girl both prefers to live at home and Quake still has own things to attend to. With Sinister’s scheme’s foiled, Magik sees her work as done and will return to the X-Men. Dante, however, does wish to return to New Attilan but Iso states that he is unwelcome. He had attacked guards, destroyed the throne and absconded with the last of the Terrigen. He is a criminal in the eyes of New Attilan and both he and Karnak are now banished.

And it is with this harsh proclamation that the issue comes to an end with a note that the story and the series as a whole will be concluded in the next installment.

It’s hard to know where to begin… Despite the jokes and funny bits regarding ice-cream headaches, the central thematic of this arc was actually rather heady. It is basically an analysis of consequentialism and the impossible decisions one is forced to make when trying to control a people’s destiny. Karnak and Sinister are two sides of the same coin. They both want to shape the futures of their respective peoples… and neither are willing to be stopped by the terrible sacrifices needed to achieve their goals.

We now know what it was that Karnak saw in Lunella that so enthralled him. He saw her as the pinnacle of intellect and a mind unencumbered by the obstacles of sentimentality... the kind of leader he feels the Inhumans need, one that will not be snared by the flaws of emotion and guilt.

Clearly Karnak disagreed with Medusa’s decision to save the Mutants by destroying the Terrigen Cloud. Medusa destroyed the cloud because it would kill all of The Mutants and she did not want a future for The Inhumans that was predicated on the genocide of entire race. In Karnak’s mind this was foolish. In the grand scheme the progress of any life will always come at the expense of another. Evolution is genocide, it merely happens so gradually that it is beyond conscious notice.

Karnak believes in consequentialism, he believes that the ends do indeed justify the means… that one must simply sidestep and ignore the feelings of guilt that enacting those means will bring about. Yet Karnak is mistaken in believing that Lunella would share in this ideology. She is super intelligent and super logical, but that does not mean that she is also super cold and unemotional. To Karnak, emotion is the opposite of logic and Lunella, as the most logical, should also be the most resistant to emotion… the most able to make the correct choices in leading even if those choices are callous and harsh.

Yet Karnak is mistaken. Intellect and emotion are not opposites but rather qualities that can exist alongside one another.

Not all matters can be quantified, there are some things that are simply beyond understanding… and emotion acts to fill in those gaps. The ends cannot justify the means because there are aspects of the ‘ends’ that cannot be fully understood.

Perhaps the Inhumans would have flourished with The Mutants demise… yet letting The Mutants die would have fundamentally changed who the Inhumans are. The true essence of who they are as a people would have died as well, leaving behind some new creation that wouldn’t truly be Inhuman.

Karnak cannot see this. Faith and emotion exist in the blur of our perception, it lies in those areas beyond what we can see. Karnak’s perception has become so precise and clear that this blur is omitted, the synergy is deconstructed and gray is separated into discrete components of black and white.

And who knows… perhaps he’s right. Maybe the constructs of emotion and soul are just myths and illusions that people foolishly accept. In the end it doesn’t matter in that Lunella, and The Warriors, as well as Iso and the rest of The Inhumans do not want this future of prosperity if it requires a fundamental change in their morals... in the immeasurable quality of their collective sense of soul.

Karnak’s flaw wasn’t that he was wrong, but rather than he was mistaken in believing others could be coerced to see things the way he does. His logic is sound, but fails to make allowances for the fact that who a person is, who a people are, is just as anchored in illusions as it is in fact… and teasing the two apart is impossible and ultimately futile.

I love this pedantic sort of nuttiness, but imagine it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and Secret Warriors #11 may strike some as overly wordy and a too-fast conclusion that rested too heavily on exposition. Which is fair, because it does… It could have used a little more action, a bit more focus on the big battle between The Inhuman and Unhuman forces. And the wrap up was rather quick and overly tidy. Ahura just showing up out of left field and stating that everything has been cleared up in terms of The Inhumans being viewed as terrorists was a touch lazy. But what can you do? Ends justifying means and all that… this way the 12th and final issue can attend solely to the Warriors themselves without having to tie-up loose plot threads.

Another great showing from the art team of Garrón, Robbison and Silva. A quick but not unsatisfying resolution to the tale and definitely a recommended read. Three out of five Lockjaws.

#Secret Warriors #spoilers #Mathew Rosenberg #Javier Garrón #Wil Robinson #Israel Silva #review #inhumans

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