#uhhh only the first five tags show up in the search or something right

[citrusinicake]

just finished round 6 of alien stage and man i have so many thoughts (not just of round 6 but of alien stage in general) but theyre kinda disjointed and may be a bit nonsensical to anyone who isnt me lol but i figured i may as well put them here

huge "idk if the flower symbolism is the same in korea" disclaimer but i do still think it fits regardless

mizi and sua adoration crossing over into idolatry/pedestal worship, love in remembrance, hope blooming from despair

mizi worships sua the way a human does a god but sua worships mizi the way a god does a human, but what does being a god in a godless universe even mean, what does being human in a universe that sees you as nothing more than a pet even mean

the first four lines of round 1 i believe is significant throughout the whole story "Oh my Clematis / hope bloomed from the abyss / Oh my Clematis / always be by my side" sua sings the former two lines and mizi sings the latter two, sua is despair (prominent black in design, often depicted with shineless eyes in art esp when not around mizi, godhood, arbiter of change, she haunts mizi's narrative, the abyss, even so there is the shine of starlight in the void), mizi is hope (very "floral" color pallet, often depicted with the shiniest sparkliest eyes in art esp when light shines on her glasses, the clematis, "bloomed" after sua is killed and loses what is covering her eyes)

i think the fact that we never really get to see from sua's perspective is part of her "mythology", that we never see much aside from her love for mizi, that we wouldnt truly know if shes anything more than a devotee if the supplemental material wasnt a thing

ivan and till reaching out for something impossible, for something that gives them hope in an otherwise stifling circumstance, for something that showed kindness in a cruel world, for something to fight for, for something that keeps them going, idealism, the want to be broken apart by the person that they think can mend them

ivan's pupils are as red as the meteors which may burn bright and are magnificent but are ultimately destined to fall, people often wish

saying that the gods are looking down upon someone is often a way of conveying their misfortune

till & mizi and ivan & sua are often depicted with parallels to each other

till and mizi both have green eyes, have an asociation with flowers (symbolism, the red flowers in the garden), both far more emotional than their counterparts, both dressed in black (like theyre going to a funeral) on the round they sing (not even compete) with their counterpart, on the round their counterpart dies, directly attacked a contestant, get severely depressed after losing their loved ones, have a hallucination of their loved one after someone triggers them, directly attacked the person that triggered them

ivan and sua were both given abundance not in the caring sense but in the showpony sense, have an association with stars, and were wearing white on the round they died (like they were going to a wedding), and (assuming ivan assessed what sua was doing correctly) both sacrificed themselves for their loved ones (sua wanted to be remembered [i wonder if she at the very least felt happy that her lover will always remember her, regardess of how it came about, if she felt happy that it was her that died and not mizi, i wonder if she truly had hope that they could both get out of the round alive or if she just went along with it for mizi's sake], ivan wanted to be seen [i wonder if he at the very least felt happy that his loved one finally saw him just him for once, i wonder if he kissed till not just for tills sake but for his own too, i wonder how he felt that he never really got to leave a mark on till despite seemingly wanting to since that "choke" absolutely did not leave anything])

i dont really have much to say about hyuna and luka for now aside from theyre a perfect representation of the two sides of the culture clashes going on and i love them both for vastly different reasons (hyuna is awesome and very cool while luka. is not.)

[pettyprocrastination]

Introductions Hc for Catfish x CamGirl!Reader

Just some basic hc on how you two met. Also yes the cam girl in this is a goth babe because I love goth women so so much. 

Warnings: uhhh poor descriptions of light smut?? sex work. We support sex workers in this house baby!!! Also sweet sweet frankie who we all need a hug from during these trying times. 

Taglist: @cinewhore​ i honestly can’t remember who’s on my perm tag list im gonna have to do a post for that as well fuck SORRY 

I actually had a lot of fun writing these so if you want to know more about frankie and BB (which will be her nickname for now) please hmu!!!

You and frankie don’t meet in person at first. He meets you through your (side)job, Which is doing online shows using (insert obligatory porn site here or onlyfans idk)

It’s late at night, frankie is home alone and scrolling through a site using the incognito mode on his phone. Nothing is doing it for him that night. Not that he’s particularly desensitized to sex, no. It’s quite the opposite. He’s so sick and tired of seeing the words “stepdaddy” and “unsuspecting” in the same sentence so many times it’s causing him to lose not only his hard-on but also his faith in humanity. 

He sees the option for live shows, thinks about it for a moment before saying fuck it why not and clicking the link that brings him to a page with photos covers of multiple scantily clad (if covered at all) women that were live. 

His own username was something simple, nothing with his name or nickname. Just Pilot368, because lord knows he wasn’t about to be one of the studs who had usernames like Pussydestroyer or CockKing6000.

He’d never watched live shows before, that brought a different element into it all. The sort of...welcomed voyeurism that he wasn’t sure how he felt about. Maybe he was overthinking it all, or maybe it just wasn’t his cup of tea until you showed up just under a girl wearing a pink dog collar. 

You were….not his usual tastes, to put it simply. 

The picture promoting your page was you sitting in a lacy black set up, thin lace frills framing your soft thighs and the slope of your breasts. You sat with your legs spread and tongue slipping past your black-painted lips. Between your legs sat a (he was assuming fake) skull that you held with curled fingers. 

Your Username was 🖤🦇BabyBat🦇🖤and frankie felt like a pervert for the way his cock throbbed. 

But he was alone, and he was horny. So he swallowed that self-loathing if only long enough for him to wrap his hand around his cock while your stream played. 

He thought you were pretty in the picture, but on live video? Watching you move yourself up and down on a toy while throwing your head back with breathless little whimpers and moans? Oh he’s a dead man. 

Comments came in a steady stream, many of which were calling you derogatory terms or telling you to move a certain way and some even suggested you alter certain things about your body. 

The first time he himself commented he over analyzed it for about five minutes. He didn’t want to say anything too lewd, even as you fucked yourself on a toy right before his eyes, he didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or insecure. So, God bless his heart, frankie left a comment on a live video of you literally fucking yourself about how he thought your tattoo was “very cool.”

The moment he pressed enter he immediately wanted to shoot himself. “Very cool”? THAT’S the best he could come up with? He could just hear pope flaming his ass for it.

But he saw your face as you read the comment, and the smile that grew at it. 

You laughed, one that reached your eyes and made frankie feel filthy about stroking his cock to it. “Oh thank you!” You let one hand trail down your stomach until your fingers found your clit and you arched your back, taking your bottom lip between your teeth as you looked at the camera. 

“You're too sweet to me honey.”

Maybe it was the slight shake in your thighs as you rode the toy, or the way you never look away from the camera, and in turn from him, or maybe the way your voice, rich and dark and smooth, would raise into a little whine as you neared your end, but it pushed him over the edge, falling into hot waves of pleasure that ebbed and flowed as he came into his fist and imagined that it was you. 

The moment he sobered up, and realized it wasn’t in fact you, but he was simply alone in his room, late at night, he huffed. 

Boy, he really is a charmer. 

Frankie made haste to clean himself up and exit the browser without a second thought before trudging into bed and letting his eyes shut. When he woke up your moans echoed in his head while he made coffee. The sight of your soft, bare chest flashed in his mind while he had a pleasant conversation with the mailman about how the weather had been sweltering all week. The image of your sweet smile at his words played through his head all day at work like a sick taunt.

That night after dinner he lays in bed, scrolling through page after page of results on his phone in frustration because he can’t remember your goddamn username. 

It’s almost an hour of searching when he almost gives up because now the search is just getting a little sad. 

It shouldn’t matter that much to him. You're just a cam girl. Not somebody he knew personally, not a lover or a girlfriend. He’s about to close out when he sees your username and doesn’t think before he clicks on it. 

Your shirt is pushed up your chest and your hand is sliding under the elastic band of your panties when you see his username pop up and you smile. 

“Happy to see you back flyboy! I was starting to miss you.”

Frankie swears he won’t make a habit of watching you, but he breaks that promise when he clicks the follow button before falling asleep.

[razorblade180]

Shackles pt7: Trap

“Finally, we’re here...” Blake said as she stood in front of Jacquelyn’s house. Nothing suspicious so far, but that could change quickly. Who knows what the clay carved house held inside. At least it beautiful

She was ready to proceed but looked back to see Yang and Jacquelyn on the opposite sides of the oasis. Yang was washing up her pale face while Jacquelyn drunk water from another. Both of them looked better than when they woke up but still not like their normal selves; especially Yang. The closer Blake walked to her the more she thought about the possibility that Yang just might be pregnant. ‘There’s no way she’s actually...well...it’ll explain some things. Still, why wouldn’t sh-’

Her train of thought was cut off suddenly by pressure building around her ankle. Blake looked down to see Yang looking at her with a concerned expression before pointing in front of them to the water. Blake had gotten so wrapped in her own mind that she didn’t realize how far she’d walk.

Yang:Uhhh going for a swim? Hehe I thought cats were supposed to hate water?

Blake:......

Yang:...I know that wasn’t exactly my best material but-

Blake:Are you pregnant?

Yang:*eyes widened* What? W...what would give you that ide-

Blake:Yang you’ve been pale, tired, sweaty, and irritable. This situation is stressful I know but you handle pressure like a diamond so this shouldn’t be getting to you so easily. Also you look like you wanna vomit since you woke up. Please don’t lie to me.

Yang:...Sigh, this isn’t how I expected you to find out.

Blake:Why didn’t you tell me sooner!?

Yang:I tried to but in case you haven’t noticed, shit keeps popping up! I wasn’t expecting to trek across the desert to investigate the disappearance of a supposed to be terr....terr...

Blake:Yang? Hey are you okay?

Yang:Nausea.....also... ugh, haven’t eaten. B-But....*covering mouth*

Blake bends down and holds her partner’s hair back. Yang bent over and felt bile slowly creep up her throat before managing to hold it down. She quickly reached for her bag and pulled out a pill bottle and took a capsule with some water. Her face scrunched up from the taste but it was an improvement from what she was about to experience seconds ago. She put the bottle back and pulled out packs of crackers and granola.

Blake:The duffle bag is for your pregnancy? I thought you had huntress gear in it or something.

Yang:There’s bullets and gear in it. Also everything I needed to have a comfortable trip that my doctor told me to bring....

Blake:How far are you along?

Yang:Almost three months. Believe it or not but I went an entire month not realizing I had a bun in the oven.

Blake:W-Wow you are not showing in the slightest.

Yang:Give it another month or so. Mom said I’ll blow up like a balloon. The point of this whole trip wasn’t only to reconnect but give you the big news. Figured it was the perfect excuse to reach out and all. Not having you in my life during this whole process didn’t feel right ya know?

Blake:That’s really sweet and all but you still should’ve told me this before I let you come along for this.

Yang:Then you would’ve tried to talk me out of tagging along. I tried to stop this adventure before it even started remember? I wasn’t about to guilt trip you with this though.

Blake:It’s not guilt tripping it’s allowing me to see everything that’s at stake; and of course I would try to talk you out of it. Taking a boat to Menagerie had risks in it of itself. I’m surprised Jaune or Ruby let you out of their sight.

Yang:Yeah....well....it might be because they don’t know....since I wanted to break the knews to my best friend first? *shrugs*

Blake says nothing to that. She only registers the statement then says it in her head. No, there’s no way Yang just said. There is no way that she’s currently in the desert with two secretly pregnant women. The hard part about this adventure was supposed to be finding Adam. Not this!

Yang continued to eat as she watched Blake’s facial expression constantly shift at this new information. It was a little hard to watch. Before she could speak more on the matter, Blake took her hand and started walking towards Jacquelyn who was still cleaning up.

The maiden only had the chance to raise her head before she too was pulled to her feet. Blake continued walking until they both were in front of the house.

Jacquelyn:Woah, what’s going on?

Blake:From here on out I’m officially taking point on this. I decide how we’ll proceed, be the first to engage in combat, and anything else serious; we clear.

Yang:That’s a bit extreme.

Jacquelyn:Yeah I can still-

Blake:Am I clear!?

......

The two women looked at each other then back at Blake with a nod. Not realizing both of them were agreeing to this formation for the exact same reason.

Blake:Good, you two can keep resting. I’m going inside the house.

Jacquelyn:I’m coming too. Last thing I need is to be accused of something because you got hurt inside

Yang:Yeah that doesn’t give me confidence. I’m definitely going in too.

Blake:What did I just-sigh, fine. Just stay behind me.

Irritated, Blake ignored the doorknob and simply kicked it open. A piece of her wanted something to be in here. Shooting a thing sounded nice right now. The interior was bigger than it looked outside. A decent sized living room welcomed them that had a hallway in the bag. The door on the left was creaked open while the one further down on the right was shut.

Yang:Not much for decorating huh?

Jacquelyn:It’s hard enough getting fresh produce out here. The market is far and being a maiden doesn’t automatically give you the greenest thumb.

Blake:What’s the two rooms back there?

Jacquelyn:Open door is Adam’s room. Closed door is mine.

Yang:You don’t sleep together?

That question didn’t receive an answer. Not verbally anyways. Just pouting and a red face that screamed “it’s complicated.” Jacquelyn walked over to a wall to the left, applying pressure to a spot near the middle. That section flipped around to reveal a chest with lien and other supplies.

Blake:Of course there’s hidden compartments.

Yang:You’re not selling me on believing this isn’t a trap.

Jacquelyn:This is why I think something is wrong. If Adam abandoned me then why not take all of this? It would have been easy. Yet he only took a third at best. It doesn’t make any sense.

Yang:Neither does he.

Blake:Yang, not helping.

Yang:Just saying. You sure you checked every inch of this place? There’s no hidden tunnel that leads to Atlas or anything crazy like that.

Jacquelyn:We wouldn’t be living in a desert if magic could do all that, and no, I’m not sure. I was....frantic last time I was here.

Blake:Then I guess we’re searching top to bottom. Maybe-

The sound of her scroll vibrating made her jump. Blake opened it up to see a banana icon bouncing up and down. It wasn’t uncommon for Sun to give her a good morning call, or to see if she actually went to bed. Something she wished she had for once. Maybe she should tell him about her current situation, but that might cause a few problems. It did with Yang in more ways then once. Nevertheless, Blake answered.

Blake:Hey Sun, morning. Listen I can’t really talk right n- what do you mean Ilia was almost abducted?

Jacquelyn whipped her around and looked at Yang before looking at Blake.

Yang:Ilia was almost what?

Jacquelyn:Speakerphone, now.

xxxx

Sun sat on a beanbag in his teams little gathering spot, filled with trinkets of various things. It was essentially a thieves den if they were being honest. Ilia sat across from him, lightly resting from her experience.

Sun:Five guys randomly crowded Ilia. Apparently they called her White Fang trash then tried to take her somewhere. These dudes were armed fairly well. Luckily me and Neptune caught them off gaurd. Sage and Scarlet got involved too. One escaped though, a guy named Trigger. The other four are tied up in our den but they aren’t being too chatty.

Blake:Where’s Ilia right now?

Sun:In front of me. Wanna talk to her?

Blake:Are you too the only people in the room right now? If not then I need you both to be.

Ilia:*stretching* We’re alone! I’m fine if that’s what your concern is. You sound more on edge than I do, and that’s saying something.

Blake:Guys...there’s something I need to tell you both. Something I should’ve done for some time now. Adam is....

xxxx

Blake told them everything. Adam, Jacquelyn, where they’ve been, their encounters; everything. That includes what she doing right now. The only thing she didn’t mention was her two partners in this adventure being pregnant. The group had switch from voice call to holographic video, the sight of Ilia leaning against the wall with her hands on top of her head made Blake uneasy. Sun held a neutral expression. Yang could tell he was working through all info he was just given. He seemed to be doing it well.

Sun:So, these things might be connected?

Blake:I’m not really sure.

Jacquelyn:They have to be, I’m sure.

Ilia:Even if they’re not, you should’ve told us, Blake. You should’ve told me!

Blake:Ilia I-

Ilia:Adam was apart of my life too. Longer then yours even. I gave that man a grave on Menagerie out of respect because no one else would. How could you let me do a thing like that when you knew he was alive.

Blake:I didn’t know how you would react.

Ilia:And that makes it okay!?

Her words made Blake flinch. Sun put his hand on Ilia’s shoulder to calm the girl. Ilia looked at him then looked at the guilty expression all over Blake’s frown. Ilia knew the her friend had reasons for not telling the people closest to her about such a secret. That didn’t ease the frustration, it just made Ilia sad and anxious. She knew how to remedy that. She went over to her weapon to take it into the next room.

Sun:What are you doing?

Ilia:If anything is connected then those four we have will know something about it. I’m gonna see if they do.

Blake:Ilia, you can’t just-

Ilia:For all we know we’re on borrowed time and I’m not about to feel sympathy for a bunch of thugs who attacked me. Trust me when I say I’m not gonna lose any over this.

Yang:So that’s it? Torture is okay now?

Ilia:Focus on the things you actually have control of over on your side of the screen.

Yang bit her lip before walking off. Blake knew that she wasn’t gonna fair any better in changing Ilia’s mind. She simply nodded while Jacquelyn looked at the chameleon faunus and gave a quiet thanks. Adam told Jacquelyn much about her, about the girl’s passion and ability to endure. Now she got a glimpse of it before walking away.

Sun:We’ll check in with you in a little bit. Be safe okay?

Blake:Ummm are we okay? You haven’t said much.

Sun:My love for you isn’t fragile. You had your reasons and I respect that.

Blake:Doesn’t mean I made a good choice.

Sun:True, but I’m not counting it as a wrong one. Right now we gotta keep our focus right?

Blake:*nods* Right, see you soon. Love you.

He gives her a dramatic kiss to the screen in an attempt to make her feel better. Yang can’t help but overhear them and wonder how he could be so calm. Sun hung up and gave Ilia a concerned look of displeasure as she stared at the door.

Sun:Need extra hands?

Ilia:I would never ask you or anyone to do what I’m about to do. Just make sure I’m not interrupted okay? I’ll be okay. Things like this, it’s essentially the same as riding a bike. All I gotta do is find my balance and coast.

Sun:Well I will be out here then. Don’t push yourself, and I’m here to talk if you wanna. This Adam news must be a lot to take in.

Ilia:Thanks Sun, I mean that.

With a deep breath, Ilia walked into the other room. The time for emotions had come to a halt. Right now she needed results. Ilia needed her old self.

xxxx

Jacquelyn:You have good friends.

Blake:I have the best friends. Everyone last one of them, including you.

Jacquelyn:Me? Do you not remember our conversation by the fire?

Blake:I do. Admittedly I am a little jealous of you too. Still, I can’t help but also feel a little...inspired by your results.

Jacquelyn:Oh, well, thank you. *red* I’m touched. Maybe I was a little-

“BOMB!!!!” Yang cried out, several feet inside Jacquelyn’s room. Her words barely registered to the others. All they can see was fiery flames of an expanding explosion coming at them in what had to be a fraction of the second. The humble house in the middle of the desert had faded way. Pure destruction, taking its place.

Part 6

[bookscoffeeandracoons]

366 Days Reblog Challenge April 2020

Another month is already over and in these messed up times I’m even more grateful for all the amazing work by these amazingly talented writers! So without much more rambling here are the fics that i’ve read and reblogged for @beccaanne814‘s 366 Days Reblog Challenge. And thanks again to @beccaanne814​ for the wonderful banners!

Happy reading!

01. Patching up by @petals-sunwards

Clint Barton x Reader

Warnings: mentions of blood and injury, a little angst and fluff

Prompt: Can you go a single day without accidentally hurting yourself?

02. A Good Suit by @portals-to-a-new-world

Leonard McCoy x Reader

Warnings: SMUT, 18+ ONLY!!, Some language, Mentions of being tied up, Oral (male receiving), uhhh I think that’s it tho

What? I have to give a massive massive shoutout to @bakerstreethound for the idea: {So have a later night party at the enterprise (can be for Kirk’s birthday, but let’s say you and Kirk are on bad terms so you don’t go to the party) you stay in your room tussling with your body pillow to make up for Bones absence. You wake up to find him sitting on your bed wearing the suit he went to Kirk’s party in.} Love, you’ve absolutely slaughtered me in this process but oml was it worth it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it <3

03. A Bad Boy by @portals-to-a-new-world 

Leonard McCoy x Reader

Warnings: Listen. We all know I’m a slut for suits. So you can bet your ass this is as smutty as all hell. That being said, semi public almost smut, language, being tied up, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it yall), oral (male receiving), mild choking, dom!reader, listen it’s straight filth kay? Kay.

What?: Bones doesn’t want to go to a random 1920s themed party, so Y/n offers him a challenge. Smut ensues. (Sequel to A Good Suit.)

04.  One Night In Vegas by @avengerscompound

Tony Stark x F!Reader

Warning:  Talk of sex, aftermath of drinking and drug use

Summary:  You wake up in a Vegas suite with Tony Stark wearing the biggest diamond ring you’ve seen in your life.  The two of you then try and piece the night together

05. Your Prince, My King by @official-and-unstable-satan

Loki x Reader

Warnings: Dominant Loki. Language. Mentions of insecurities and mental health. Degradation and praise. Bondage? SEX Oral (Male and female receiving) and ACTUAL SEX ETA: Orgasm denial/delay (cause that’s apparently a warning? Didn’t know. Sorry) Odin in general. Loki. Reader being snarky and short tempered. Insecurities. Mentions of trauma. Language, probably. Bad writing? Idk what to put here, really. I’m bad at this. Smut. Mentions of smut. Actual filth. Out of character characters, probably. One day I’ll stop apologizing for my writing. I’m working on it.

06. Surprise by @mermaidxatxheart

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Swearing. If you think I missed anything, please let me know.

Summary: You try to get away with something, but Bucky catches you in the act.

07.  drive-through by @evanstarff

(i must have missed something here beause i can’t get to this fic anymore. @evanstarff seems to be gone. I’ll still leave the fic here, in case anyone knows if @evanstarff maybe has a new blog or something, please let me know!)

08.  Scabulous by @avengerscompound

Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Warnings:  Mentions of past injuries, poor feelings about body image, scars

Synopsis:  Bucky is unwilling to undress in front of you because he hates his scars.  Turn out he isn’t the only one with scars.

09.  Skin Contact by @avengerscompound

Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Series Warnings:  Angst, smut (hand jobs, vaginal sex, fingering), PTSD, mentions of past torture.  Superpowered Reader.

Synopsis: While on the run in Romania you come across a man who has a past very similar to your own.  When the people pursuing him track him down, you assume you will never see him again.

10. Mind Control by @avengerscompound

Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Series Warnings:  Angst, smut (vaginal sex, oral sex), PTSD, mentions of past torture.  Superpowered Reader.

Synopsis: While on the run in Romania you come across a man who has a past very similar to your own.  When the people pursuing him track him down, you assume you will never see him again.

11. CRUSH by @petals-sunwards

Clint Barton x Reader

Warnings: none, pure fluff and kisses

Written for @stuckonjbbarnes‘s 250 Writing challenge. My prompt was ‘You know, I’m really good at telling who has crushes on who‘ and I had a blast writing it.

12. An Exquisite Kind of Pain by @redgillan

Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: read it and you’ll see

Summary: Steve’s in love and that’s the problem.

The five times Bucky saved you…

…and the one time you saved him 

by @buckysknifecollection

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Series warnings: some mild swearing, mention of dangerous situations, death mention, injuries, mentions of men objectifying women; other than that - toothrotting fluff.

Summary: You have a special bond with Bucky. He’s more than your best friend, your partner in missions, the person you care most about. He often saved you from uncomfortable situations, always ready to protect you, but sometimes, you are the one who did the saving. A series of drabbles.

13. Part 1 

14. Part 2 

15. Part 3 

16. Part 4

17. Part 5

18. Part 6

19. Ink on his heart by @bitsandbobsandstuff

Bucky Barnes x TattooArtist!Reader

Warnings: Tattoo experiences, a couple stories about war. Some swearing. Mostly lots of feels and fluff.

Summary: Here’s how Bucky Barnes got a haircut and then decided it was about damn time he controlled his own destiny - starting with a bit of ink.

20. Friends in Training by @until-theend-oftheline

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Sam and Bucky are giant children

A/N: This is a drabble request written for @jewels2876 : How about this with Sam and Bucky? “Are you clinically insane or incredibly annoying?” “I don’t know, probably both?"

21.  Right Where You Are, That’s Where I Am by @corneliabarnes

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Angst, allusions to violence and PTSD, fluffy ending

22.  Looking Up by @avengerscompound​

Clint Barton x Reader (kinda)

Warnings:  action, canon-typical violence, Clint’s naked and a very proud boyfriend.

Synopsis:  Clint’s day was looking up. His girlfriend slept over for the first time. He’s pretty sure she’s a Jedi. He was having a nice bath. So how is it he’s now running down the street naked from gunmen?

23.  Distant Connection by @abovethesmokestacks​

A Bucky x Reader drabble series based on this post

Summary: You happen to be in the office when the email is sent out, you get Trip from IT to help you set up the VPN you need to be able to access company systems from home, you rifle through all of your folders and then just dump all of them in a box. It’s a surreal feeling because you are essentially cleaning out your office. As if you’re losing your job. This will be fine. You send an email to your project collaborator, someone named Barnes, suggesting a first video conference call on Monday before you log off.

This is fine.

Chapter 1: This Is Fine

Chapter 2: Introvert Olympics

Chapter 3: Business As Casual

Chapter 4: Jeremy Bearimy

Chapter 5: Toilet Paper Confessionals

Chapter 6: Netflix And I Have No Chill

Chapter 7: Social Dumbassing

24. Assemble: Bucky Barnes by @official-and-unstable-satan​

Bucky Barnes

Warnings: Language, Bucky struggling a little with the whole idea. I think that’s it.

Summary:  James Barnes remembers. He remembers the words. He remembers their meanings. He remembers what they made him do and he fears them. Even after he was ‘fixed’ by Shuri, he feared them. So, someone suggested he learn to love the words by associating the ways they could help him instead of hurt him.

25. Request for the “Until We Meet Again Series” by @sgtjbuccky​

Bucky Barnes x Enhanced!Reader

Warnings: a little swearing,

Request:  Omggg I have a idea for “until we meet again What if the reader loses her memory and goes to the Avengers because that’s the last place you remember is being, and then like they tell her about herself and they end up finding the prodigies or sum YASSSSS I LOVE YOUR STORIES 😝

26. Audiobook of Love by @nerdy-bookworm-1998​

Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Fluff

Summary: Steve and Bucky are missing their best girl while on a mission, but she has a special surprise  for them.

27. Sore Loser by @squirrel-moose-winchester​

Dean Winchester x Reader

Warning: Fluff, Gambling (is hustling money considered gambling?), Some Crack, Dean being Petty.

Summary: Y/N learns a few new tricks and hustles Dean, the king of pool, out of all his money.

28. Best Laid Plans by @suz-123​

A Falcon and Winter Soldier TV Fic *obviously this is NOT spoiler heavy as the show has not even been filmed yet*

Warnings: None really, just my usual casual cursing and sassy soldiers.

A/N: So, there was a post on here that went around yesterday about a plot theory as to what Zemo was going to be doing to tear these guys apart in their future TV show. Naturally, I was livid with this stupid idea and, naturally, I used the magic of fanfic to fix a problem that may or may not ever actually see the light of day :D

29.  Major Crush by @redgillan​

Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: Explicit Language, Dirty Talk, Groping

Summary: Laser Tag brings out Steve Rogers’ competitive side and Reader loves it.

30. Count on It by @team-iron-wannabe-man​

40’s!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Y/N isn’t too impressed with the Infamous Sergeant James B. Barnes, however Bucky is definitely interested in her.

______________________________________________________________

That was all the fics I’ve read for the Reblog Challenge in April! A big THANK YOU again to all the writers! This time would be so much more difficult without all your work! 

For the readers: if you search my blog for the tag #fic rec you’ll find even more to read!

Stay healthy everyone and lots of love to you all! ❤

Back to main Masterlist 

[azritesx3]

“A Devil’s Love” Chapter 3: It’s Not A Date

Description: Chloe’s best friend is back, and Lucifer’s charm can’t seem to affect her either. Is she also a miracle child? Or something…more? [Story starts during S2 Ep4, Female Reader Insert]

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AN: Updated March 14, 2020 - Grammar, Mention of a new character, Mention of a previous relationship AN: Updated July 15, 2020 - Grammar, Minor story change

Rating: Teen Warning[s]: Swearing

Show Timeline: Season 2 after episode 11

Spotify Playlist /// AO3 Fanfiction Net Wattpad DeviantArt

Tag List: @ayanna-wild, @anushay1998, @emiwrites3reads, @i-am-canada-13, @heart-of-pots-and-pans, @tinyybiceps, @jessicarene99, @lucifersnipnips, @givemebooksorgivemedeath, @sailor-earth-1

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It was so...quiet.

You walked down the steps in LUX. No drinks were being served. No bodies were grinding up against each other on the dance floor. No one made out in the dark corners.

The only music that filled the empty space was a piano, which was being played by the only other soul in the room besides you.

“Lucifer.”

“Hello, K9.” He gave you a small smile and stopped playing, “I was just playing my goodbye tune.”

“Goodbye?” You looked at him, head tilted in puzzlement.

“Yes. It seems no amount of money will please that swine of a woman, and besides,” he lightly traced his fingertips over the keys, then smiles back up at you, “I've come to learn that ‘home’ is more than just a building.”

“Well, that's good,” you gave an over dramatic sigh, “but that totally ruins my thank you.”

Lucifer looked at you confused. You motioned for him to scoot over on the piano bench and sat down next to him, handing him a blue folder.

“What's this?”

“A certificate from the city. Stating that LUX is now a historic building and cannot be torn down under any circumstances.” You smiled.

“K9...” Lucifer was in complete bewilderment as he looked at the paper, “How did you…”

After a beat of him not continuing his question, you answered, “Well, I got the idea when you told me the little history quirks this place had. So, once I finished the case, I went to Chloe because I knew she had connections in that area. And,” you tapped on the paper, “presto!”

“K9...Thank you.” he smiled warmly at you.

“Yeah well, you should thank Chloe too.” You looked away from him slightly to try to stop the rising blush on your face, “Plus, I in no way can help you in getting the deed back from Eleanor. I mean,” you chuckled softly and looked back to him after cooling down, “I'm sure she'll sell it back to you now since she can't build her dumb mega mall, but definitely way above market value.”

“Of that I have no doubt, but K9,” Lucifer placed the folder down on the piano and turned his body towards you, “what did you mean by ‘this ruins my thank you’?”

“Oh, well, um,” you couldn't stop the blush this time, “I just felt like I had to properly thank you for that construction company.” You looked down at your lap in embarrassment, “I know it seems like a silly thing, but those guys really pulled through with my building. Once I hire some staff I can open up within two weeks, at most.”

“My dear K9,” you couldn't help but look back up at him at the sound of amusement in his voice, “if you wanted to find a proper way of thanking me you should have come to me, because I'm afraid this isn't it.”

“Um.” You looked back and forth between the discarded folder and the man next to you with wide eyes, “It isn't?”

“Nope! Afraid not!”, He gave the “p” in “nope” an extra pop. Lucifer was back in full form.

Oh boy.

“Now, I am in no way ungrateful for this gift, I assure you,” he placed a hand on the folder, “buuut,” he sang, “there is only one form of a ‘thank you’ that I will accept.” He smiled devilishly and leaned forward towards you.

“And...that is?”

“You.”

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

“Um...you ok there Ms.?” Alice sits on your bed holding a cup of tea. You don't see it, but she looks more amused than concerned.

And why can't you see her expression? Because you're currently standing, with your back to her, in front of your closet staring at nothing for at least five minutes.

“Yup.” You continue to stare into the dark abyss of clothes, “Super.”

“You say this isn't a date, but you sure are stressing like a woman going on a date.”

“It's not a date, Ali!” You finally move your body to face Alice and give her a stern look.

“Uh-huh.” Alice just smiles up at you as she takes a sip of her tea.

“It's not, Alice. How many times do I have to tell you?” You start to feel a bit frustrated and turn back to your closet.

“Until I start believing it.”

“I only agreed to tonight to make sure he's good for Chloe.” You say to your closet.

Alice sighs and places her tea down on your nightstand, “Earth, stop using Chloe as an excuse. I think Lucifer really does-”

“NO!” You whirl on your sidekick, “He does not. He's a playboy nightclub owner who tries to get under everyone's skin!” Your nostrils flare, “And Chloe is not an excuse!” You point at Alice with one hand while the other balls into a fist, “You didn't hear what those two said about each other at court yesterday. They-” you slowly start to breathe in and out. Alice didn't deserve this, “they have...a connection.”

Good little Alice didn't yell or fight back. She just sat there and listened to your ranting with a serious expression on her face. No judgment. No eye-rolling.

She pats the spot next to her and you sit, “I have to make sure Chloe will be all right with him.” You say to the floor.

“Earth,” Alice wraps an arm around your shoulders, “You deserve to find that kind of connection too.”

“No, Alice. I've been through that before and you know what happened. I'm good with just worrying about you and Damien." You close your eyes and shake your head slightly, “I can't go through something like that again. Not when he still has so much damn power over me."

“But Lucifer might be able to-”

“No.”

Alice sighs. She knows that “no” means to stop talking about it. Against her better judgment, however, she will humor you, “So, what does this ‘connection’ between Chloe and Lucifer look like?”

You heard her, but didn't answer. Alice squeezes your shoulders after some time.

“Earth?” She whispers.

“Soulmates.” You chuckle, not happily, when the word escapes your mouth, “Something I don't even believe in, and there it is.” You visibly swallow, “They're the perfect example.”

“Maybe you're wrong. Maybe it's different.” You just shake your head in response.

Your phone pings on the nightstand. The sound was that of the text message alert you picked for Chloe. You stand up and walk over to your phone. Unlocking it and reading the message, you give Alice more of that pitiful chuckle.

“Still think it's different?” You hold up your phone screen to Alice so she can read Chloe's message:

I kissed him. KISSED him, and I didn't want to stop. How the hell am I going to face him tomorrow? :sweatingemoji:

“So,” you pull the phone away once you see Alice done, “you going to help me pick an outfit now?”

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

“Uhhh,” you stuttered and moved away from him slightly, “excuse me?”

“Well someone has a dirty mind! Don’t worry darling, I don’t mean in that way. Well,” he followed you, making your attempt to escape for not, “unless you're up for that.” He stared deeply into your eyes and licked his lips.

You practically fell off the piano bench.

Lucifer laughed loudly, “Come come, my dear! I’ll stop now, I swear.” He grabbed your arm before you fell and pulled you back up.

“Yeah. Right.” You warily replied.

“I’m a man of my word, K9.” He smiled, then looked at you with interest, “Honestly K9, I had quite a fun time working with you on this case. What with both of us having the same wit,” he started counting off his fingers, “both becoming quite nauseated at the sight between Eric and Christi, and your impeccable knowledge on the correct height for a proper suicide jump.” His eyes sparkled, “Plus you have some fantastic dance moves, dear. Makes me wonder what other talents you have.”

You had no response to give the man. You were too focused on calming your heartbeat.

“So, here’s how I would like my favor repaid:” he continued, "let me take you out. I want to learn more about you, K9. Honest.” You looked at him, and you could see the honesty in his eyes. It made you feel more...comfortable.

“Well,” you swallowed the lump in your throat, “alright. If that’s what you want.”

“Oh it is, very much so.” He smiled so brightly at you, “I will make sure it’s fun for you as well, my dear. I hear from the Detective, and that lovely assistant of yours, that you’ve been all work work work since arriving.”

“Well, you have to ‘work work work’ in order to survive.”

“For you humans yes, but last night I saw a woman who was just begging to let loose.”

“It has been an exhausting couple of months back…”

“Lovely!” Lucifer looked genuinely excited now, “It’s settled then! I’ll text you the details once I’ve made them.” You smiled and nodded.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

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

“This is absolutely 100% bad.”

You can feel the anxiety building up in your stomach as you drive to LUX. As hard as you tried, you could not convince Lucifer to just send you the address to wherever he was taking you. He insisted that you arrive at LUX first, “Let me take you for a ride in my corvette! :winkieface: :devilemoji:”

The thought of spending an entire evening alone with Lucifer is anxiety-ridden enough, but now knowing you were also going to be stuck in a vehicle with him driving made it worse. You’ve heard the horror stories from Chloe.

Trying to calm yourself, you choose one of your favorite songs on your phone to play through the speaker. Focusing on singing to the song made the thoughts of tonight ease away.

Until you pull into the LUX parking garage, of course. You stop your car and hand the keys to the valet. The security guards let you skip ahead of the ever long line.

You stand at the top of the stairs with your hands on the railing. You scan the floor in search of Lucifer, but he was nowhere to be found within his crowd.

I’m here. You text him.

Wonderful! Come on up to my penthouse, dear! I’m almost done getting ready. The elevator is to the left from the entrance.

The first thought to cross your mind is how Lucifer is the first guy you met who takes longer than Damien to get ready. The second is the anxiety vomit that wants to burst its way out of you when he tells you to come up to his penthouse.

You swallow it down, though, and wipe your sweaty palms on your dress as you walk into the elevator and press the button to go up. You expected the ride to be longer, so when the elevator doors seem to open after less than a minute you squeak in surprise.

“Is that you, K9?” You hear Lucifer’s voice off in the distance as you exit the elevator.

“Um, yeah.” You say nervously.

“I’ll be done in just a minute! Make yourself at home!”

“Yeah, sure,” you whisper, mainly to yourself rather than to him. Your eyes widen in awe at the beauty of his penthouse.

The space is entirely sleek black, with pops of color from the furniture and small decor. The light that illuminated the space came from the huge private bar, an upside-down tree that hung from the ceiling, and a fire that was burning brightly in a far corner. To the left, Lucifer has an amazing looking library, and you have to physically imagine that you are superglued to the floor. Otherwise, you would have just ran over there and started reading. The bar is to your right, and under the upside tree stood another piano. In the middle of the space are some orange-colored, expensive-looking, couches with a coffee table and flat-screen tv.

You walk next to the piano and through the wall of windows you can see that Lucifer has a magnificent view of LA. You also see, to your right, Lucifer’s large bed covered in silky looking black sheets. There's no door separating the bedroom from the rest of the space. Instead, it's separated by an antique-looking wall on the left and an intricate colorful stained glass piece to the right.

Becoming braver, you take the step down into the living room. Around the corner of the antique wall, you can see that the balcony wraps around and spot a hot tub.

“Seriously? A hot tub too?”

“It’s my companions’ favorite feature when I bring them up here. Well, besides my bed of course.” You squeak again in surprise and spin on your heels to face Lucifer. He stood in the entryway to his bedroom and was smiling down at you.

“My my, you look positively stunning K9.” He continues to smile as he descends his bedroom steps. Adjusting his cufflinks, he looks you up and down. You're wearing a green, long sleeve, cocktail dress with a hollowed-out design. On your feet, you wear white sandal wedges with the same type of hollowed-out design. You can hear him make a delightful purring sound when he sees how your wedges made your legs look more toned.

“Um, thank you.” You aren't quite sure how to react, or how you are feeling at this moment.

“You’re welcome. Now come along, darling.” Lucifer pushes out his arm to you and you wrap your hand around it, “Let’s get to know each other!”

Lucifer leads you to his black corvette. Opening the passenger door for you he says to “get comfy” for it was an hour ride.

An hour. In a car. With him as the driver.

The seats are indeed comfy, but unfortunately they were doing nothing to calm your racing heart.

There's something else you notice about the car that was not helping your heart rate, “Um, Lucifer. Where are the seatbelts?”

He just smiles devilishly at you as he turns the car on, puts the car in reverse, quickly backs out of the parking space, and zooms out of his parking garage.

Fuck.

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

"I told you that I'd make this fun for you as well, darling."

It has been fifteen minutes into the ride, and you are just now realizing that Lucifer has been following all traffic laws.

"Oh…" you slowly release your hold on the car seat and door, "Sorry…" you feel completely embarrassed.

"No worries, K9. I had a thought that you've heard about my incredible driving from the Detective, and since you are also a cop I figured you would be more comfortable following the silly laws."

"Laws are there for a reason, Lucifer."

"Ah yes, and the reason is to be broken!" Lucifer gives you a wink and a smile. You turn your head away so he can't see your small smile.

"What kind of music do you like, darling?" Lucifer asks you after giving you a moment to calm fully down.

"Hmm," you think for a minute, "honestly? Anything."

"Truly?" Lucifer looks curiously at you, "Even gospel? Rap? Bloody country? The music that's called my music?"

You chuckle, "If I listen to the song enough I usually tend to like it. Unless the lyrics make absolutely no sense."

"Surely you must have a favorite genre though?"

"Hmm," you tap your chin in thought, "guess it'd have to be alternative."

"Lovely!" Lucifer turns his radio on to an alternative/rock station. For the rest of the ride he sings and taps to the songs, and you tap and hum along with him.

You aren't comfortable enough to sing around him.

Not yet, anyway.

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

The car ride ends when Lucifer pulls into some hotel's parking garage, and you give him a warning glare.

"We're not here for the hotel, sadly." Lucifer opens the car door for you and leads you by the small of your back.

"Then why are we here?"

"For the hotel's restaurant!" He leads you through the lobby of the hotel and through two huge glass double doors.

"Wow." You can't stop the amazement forming on your face at how beautiful this place is.

The restaurant's called "Openarie", and it lives up to its name. The structure is basically one giant greenhouse. Pots of various plants are hung on the ceiling and along the walls. Fairy lights light the space and the floor's pure concrete. Outside you see a dance floor with a small band on an elevated stage. There are a few couples out there swaying to the music.

"I take it I've done well?" Lucifer looks down at you with a shit-eating grin.

"Eh. So far." You just shrug and give him a sarcastic smile.

Both of you walk up to the booth and Lucifer gives his last name to the host. The host leads you two to a table seated for two, and thankfully there are no other parties around the table. Lucifer pulls out your chair for you to sit as the host puts the menus on the table.

"I take it since it's pretty busy in here and there's no one seated at the tables around us, you rented those out too?" You ask him, eyebrow raised, as you take a sip of water that your waitress puts down.

"Correct!" Lucifer gives you his devilish smile, "I wanted to make sure we weren't interrupted."

"More like overhead." You scuff, "Are you expecting me to tell you all my secrets?"

"Just the ones you're willing to share, darling."

You hum in response and look down at the menu while Lucifer orders some wine.

You look quizzically at the menu, "This looks like-"

"Shareable meals, yes." Lucifer smiles at your expression and takes a sip of the wine, "It's the theme of this place. People getting to know each other through shared food. Most of the time it goes well, hence the attachment to the hotel." His smile turns flirtatious.

"You actually did research for this?"

"That surprises you?"

"Well...yeah." Lucifer's smile turns small as he looks to his own menu.

Within a few minutes, the two of you manage to decide on an appetizer, meal, and dessert. Both of you engage in idle chatter while eating the appetizer, but once the main course arrives Lucifer wants to start asking those questions.

"So, my dear," Lucifer leans forward a bit and stares at you with interest, "tell me something about you."

"Before I do that I would like to talk to you about something." You place your napkin on your lap and have a bite of the food.

"Oooh, a twist! Alright then, K9." Lucifer does the same as you.

"What's your relationship with Chloe?"

Lucifer has to cover his mouth with a napkin to keep the food in from his laughter, "Well, aren't we the little overprotective friend?"

"Yes." You look at him seriously enough for his laughter to die, "I am."

"Alright. I'll answer your question, but first answer me this," Lucifer leans forward again, "Why?"

You pause, "Why?" When he nods you take a breath and look him in the eyes, "Because she's...my friend. Best friend."

"Yes, but you don't show this possessiveness with Ms. Green."

You sigh, "Because," you have to take another breath, "she's the first person to not fake anything with me. The first person not to lie to me. The first person…" you pause, "...who made me feel comfortable." You look at him now, "The first one to make me feel like it's ok to be myself."

Lucifer gives you a genuine smile, and his eyes are filled with no judgment. Just approval.

"Well then, we have another thing in common, K9."

You smile back at him. "Good. So how about an answer to my question?"

"It's quite simple, my dear." Lucifer takes a sip of wine, "She's my partner."

"But in what sense?" It's your turn to lean forward, pressing on, "How do you feel about her?"

"You sound like my therapist." Lucifer evades your question by taking a large sip of his drink.

"Look Lucifer," you intertwine your hands and place them on the table, "Chloe told me about the kiss." He's looking at you now, "I just want to make sure that she'll be ok. That she won't end up with another 'detective douche'."

Lucifer chuckles at the mention of his nickname for Dan, "What makes you think I'd be douche number two?"

"Well," you shrug and look up at the imaginary list in your head, "you're a player. You have a man, woman, both, or even multiple genders in your bed every night. You flirt with everyone. Oh and," you look back at him, "Chloe isn't someone who would appreciate getting dagger glares from another female while on a date."

"What makes you think she'd be getting glares from someone else while with me?"

"Because there's a tall blond woman who's been giving me daggers since we got here." You move your head in the direction behind him and drink your water. He turns a full 180 in his chair and says surprisingly:

"Mum?!"

You almost spit out your drink.

Did he just say mom?!

The woman smiles, finally being noticed, and saunters over to your table. She stops next to Lucifer's seat, "Hello, my son." She says with a fake surprise to her voice, "It truly is a small world my husband has created after all." She looks at you and sneers, "I'm Charlotte Richards, Lucifer's mother."

"Mother." Lucifer stands up and turns his body to her, blocking your view of his face, "Why are you here?" His question comes out as a hiss.

"I'm here for a company dinner."

"By yourself?" You speak up, and slightly regret it at the look she gives you.

"Most have left while others went to the dance floor." She says matter of factly.

Uh-huh. Your police senses start tingling.

"Well, if your companions have left then you should too." Lucifer says, "It's terribly embarrassing to be the only one at a table."

"I'm sorry, son!" She feigns ignorance, "Am I ruining your date?"

"This isn't a date." You say without thinking. She looks at you curiously with a raised brow, "I'm just...returning a favor."

"Yes," Lucifer says quietly. You think you see his shoulders slump slightly, but just mistake it.

The Goddess, however, sees the quick emotion of confusion slip past her son's eyes.

That's all she needs.

"I see. Well, I'm sorry to have interrupted." She smiles at you, "Goodbye." She gives Lucifer one final look before strutting out of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry about her." Lucifer sits back down.

"No worries. Protective mother, I presume?"

Lucifer scoffs and takes a sip of wine, "Hardly."

The trouble you see inside Lucifer is hurting you, for some reason. So to try and get rid of that cloud on him, you decide to start talking more about you instead of Chloe.

You aren't too worried about her with him anymore.

"Well, how about I actually start this favor." That perks him up, "What would you like to know?"

"Do you want to trade mothers?" You burst out into genuine laughter, and you can see it pleases Lucifer considerably. He's back.

"Unfortunately, for you, I don't have one."

"What?"

"I grew up in an orphanage. From there to various foster homes."

"You wouldn't consider any of those foster parents as parents?"

"Nope." You pop the "p" and drink your water.

Lucifer starts to continue his questioning, but pauses as the waitress gathers our eaten meal and places down our desert. Once she's out of earshot he continues:

"You have no knowledge of your real parents?"

You're quiet for a second, using the excuse to take a bite out of the chocolate cake, "Nope." No pop to the "p" this time.

Lucifer hums and takes a bite of the cake himself, "Why did you come back to LA?"

"Well," you give it a considerate thought, "I did miss Chloe a lot. Plus, even though I'm not too fond of children, I feel a bit guilty for not being here to help her out with Trixie."

"You despise children too?" Lucifer looks ecstatic, "I'm enjoying you more and more, K9."

You laugh, "Yes I don't like children and have no wish to birth any, but that doesn't mean I might not want to adopt or foster." You take another bite, "Since I know what it's like to have that kind of life and all. Plus," you point your fork at him, "I may 'despise' children, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't risk my life to save one. No one should die so young and innocent."

"Of course, and I agree." You just give him that "uh-huh I don't believe you" look while you chew on another bite.

"My next question is," he takes another bite, "why did you leave?"

Your fork pauses mid-air to your mouth. The memories whizzing by in front of your eyes.

"K9?" You're brought back to the present by Lucifer’s hand on yours. He looks fairly concerned.

"I'm sorry." You put the fork down and remove your hand from his, "That's too-"

"Private. It's quite alright dear." Lucifer gives you a warm smile, "I told you I only want to know what you're willing to give."

"Thank you." You smile back at him and you two finish the desert with Lucifer now asking "typical" get to know me questions.

What's your favorite color? Green. What's your favorite book and movie genre? Mystery, fiction, and fantasy for books. Musicals for movies. Don't like horror or thrillers? No, I don't like the feeling of my heart during those. Do you have any hobbies? I enjoy gardening and volunteering at animal shelters. Sounds boring. For you, yeah. Pet peeves? A man named Lucifer Morningstar. Haha, very funny. Thanks.

Dessert is now finished. Lucifer pays and tips the blushing waitress. You hear the band outside start to play a more upbeat tune, and can't help but stare.

"Would you like to dance, darling?" Lucifer smiles down at you and holds out his hand.

"Yes." You smile back and take his hand, "I would."

You two dance together until the band leaves for the night and head back to the corvette.

"Hey, Lucifer?" You look at him while he pulls out onto the road.

"Yes, my dear?"

"Drive." Lucifer smiles so brightly at you. He turns the radio full blast and drives without a care in the world.

This time you sing along with him.

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

While Lucifer parks in his parking garage he manages to convince you to come up to the penthouse. There he gives you a glass of water, after failing to hand you whiskey instead, and you both sit on the Italian leather sofa. This time you're the one asking the typical get to know me questions.

What's your favorite color? Black. Yeah I really should have guessed that one. Quite. What's your favorite book and movie genre? Erratic books and porn. Uh-huh, do you have any hobbies--No, wait I think I know this one: watching porn, having sex, doing drugs, and drinking? You know me so well already K9, but you forgot about me helping the Detective on cases. That’s a job Lucifer, not a hobby. Is it? Hm. Any pet peeves? Humans blaming me for all their wrongdoing. What? Oh, that’s right. Your whole “devil” shtick. It’s not a shtick.

Once 2 am rolls around you decide it’s time to head home. You bid Lucifer farewell, and you might be going crazy from tiredness, but it looked like he wanted to say something to you. He says nothing, however, and bids you farewell as well.

As the elevator goes down to the garage you check your phone for the first time that night and see a bunch of text messages from Alice.

“It’s about time!” You decide to call her.

“Hello to you too, Ali.” The elevator doors open and you start the track to your car.

“Sooo, how’d your not-date go?”

“Honestly? Not bad.”

“You enjoyed yourself?”

“Yeah,” you smile to yourself, “Yeah. I did.”

“When’s the next not-date date?”

“There is no next time, Ali. This was just returning a favor.”

“Did it look like Lucifer enjoyed it?”

“Well-”

“Earth!” You're surprised to hear your name being called. You look over your shoulder and see Lucifer. He wasn’t running, but he was taking large strides towards you, and he was...smiling?

“Lucifer-” The heat behind you cut you off.

It’s like everything went into slow motion. You turn towards your car and see a bright white light and feel heat.

Very, very, hot heat.

You feel the fabric on your arms burn away as you cover your face. You drop your phone as you're pushed back into the air with huge force. You brace yourself to fall on concrete, but instead you hit a body. A toned body that holds you like wall support.

You chance a peek to the outside world, and all you can see before shutting them again is an arm in dark sleeves around you. The hand attached to the arm wore a familiar onyx ring.

Lucifer.

How did he...

But you couldn’t speak. Your throat's shut tight, and the only thing your brain can focus on right now is the pain happening over your entire body.

You can faintly hear Lucifer call out to you over the ringing of your ears.

You can feel Lucifer pick you up in his arms and run outside. You remember seeing more blinding lights, but this time of familiar colors, arrive around the nightclub.

Someone forced you out of Lucifer’s arms, and you can hear his panicked yelling as someone else pushed him back from you.

Then your world went dark.

[tonystarkficrecs]

Hey, i hate to bother you again, but have you seen endgame yet? Also do you have any really happy fics?

I have!! I’ll be doing my best to avoid spoiling anything for anyone and I’ll make another post about it, but if/when I rec any fics containing Endgame spoilers, I’ll be using the tags #endgame and #endgame spoilers. 

I’m putting the recs under a cut because this list grew really huge really fast (19 fics!!). They’re the happiest, fluffiest ones I can remember reading (and if that’s not enough, check out the fluff tag for more!). 

The (Not So) Great Pretender by RayShippouUchiha

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 19,585

Pairing: James “Bucky” Barnes/Tony Stark

Completed: Yes

“What,” Tony says softly but with a great depth of feeling, “the actual fuck just happened?”

“I believe, Sir,” JARVIS pipes up from the phone in his pocket, an unnecessary amount of what sounds like glee in his voice, “that you’ve once again managed to maintain your closely guarded secret identity. Truly your subterfuge skills know no bounds.“

“You’re an asshole J,” Tony mutters back as he reaches up to rub at his temple. He either has a headache coming on or a blood clot. At this point he’s honestly not sure which he’d prefer.

“I did learn from the best, Sir,” JARVIS tells him sunnily.

i babysat god and he stabbed me with a fork by surveycorpsjean

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 11,395

Pairing: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange

Completed: Yes

If these two idiots don’t sort out their shit real soon, Loki is going to stab everyone in this room and then himself.

What I Need I Just Don’t Have by gyzym

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 2,199

Pairing: James Rhodes/Tony Stark

Complete: Yes

If you want this choice position, have a cheery disposition. (Or: Tony needs an assistant. Rhodey needs a break.)

Phil Coulson’s Case Files of the Toasterverse by scifigrl47

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 287,890 (series)

Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark (+various other pairings)

Completed: No (most works in series completed) 

Short stories from the Toasterverse, because the author gets panicky writing long form stories built around plot and has to finish something in order to function.

Phil has problems with these people. So does the Author.

Late Nights and Bare Bottoms by Shi_Toyu

★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 1,947

Pairing: James “Bucky” Barnes/Tony Stark

Completed: Yes

Tony stared down at the gingerbread cookies that’d been placed on the edge of the work station. It’d been the smell that’d drawn him out of his tunnel vision. He didn’t normally smell gingerbread in the middle of August. He blinked hazily, but the plate of cookies didn’t disappear. They were still warm, too, when he picked one up and bit into it.

God, and delicious. He moaned and stuffed the rest of the cookie into his mouth, already reaching for another one.

“You like them.”

Tony nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Bucky’s voice, but in a flat tone. The super soldier loomed behind his chair, hair a tangled mess and face completely blank. He was dressed in Clint’s ‘I love to rub my meat’ apron and what appeared to be nothing else.

“Uhhh… yes?”

don’t know why it took me so long to see by goodmorningbeloved

★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 11,209

Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Completed: Yes

“Oh, watch this,” Natasha says, propping her chin against her knuckles and turning a sweet gaze on him. “Tony, what’s it like dating a superhero?”

Tony bristles in irritation. “We’re not dating,” he snaps. “Captain America probably thinks he can get into anyone’s pants just ‘cause he’s got a mask, costume, and reputation, but not me, buddy. That shield? Gotta be overcompensating for something.” He adds, a bit petulantly, “Oh, and all that blue? Definitely more Steve’s color than his.”

-In which Tony is a genius in all matters except recognizing his boyfriend past a mask.

No, He’s Your Son by orphan_account

★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 1,420

Pairing: Gen (pre Tony Stark/Stephen Strange)

Completed: Yes

peter, on the phone: dad i forgot my homework can you drop it off in the seminar hall it’s empty don’t worry

strange: ok

strange, walking out of a portal into a hall filled with students:

peter, loudly: EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM OWES ME FIVE DOLLARS I TOLD YOU MY DAD WAS A WIZA-

may the fourth by irnan

★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 1,762

Pairing: Gen

Completed: Yes

So there’s this project Tony has been working on since he was ten years old which is only marginally less awesome than the specs for the TARDIS he totally could have built if Fury would’ve just let him had the Tesseract for a couple hours longer.

Peter Parker’s Step-By-Step Guide to Get These Two Dumbasses to Kiss Already by everythingsace

★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 3,781

Pairing: James Rhodes/Tony Stark

Complete: Yes

Rhodes was on the floor, his legs pulled up beside him, and Mr. Stark was kneeling down beside him, asking questions and checking if he was okay.With the biggest heart-eyes he’d ever seen.Peter’s jaw dropped as he stared, his eyes turning to Rhodes, only to realize that he had the doe eyes, too. Not quite as bad and obvious, but holy shit.Holy shit.

Tony Stark is the Alyssa Milano by Akira_of_the_Twilight

★ ★ ★

Words: 1,388

Pairing: Peter Quill/Tony Stark

Complete: Yes

Prompt: Starkquill where somehow Drax was the first one to notice that Tony and Peter were into each other, but he’s been around humans for a while now and he understands that if you tell them things directly they’ll just do the opposite and ruin everything for everyone, so he’s going to get them together using… metaphors

“Kidnapped, enjoys space, likes your music, and can dance,” Drax listed off.

Peter grinned. “Yeah, pretty cool dude. I might actually miss him by the time we get him back to Earth.”

For a man who had been in search of a partner for as long as Drax had known him, Drax was surprised that Peter was unable to see his perfect match right before him.

Earthlings could be quite stupid sometimes.

Rocket Science by marsmaywander and orbingarrow

★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 12,094

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark

Completed: Yes

Sleep-deprived and under-caffeinated, grad student Tony falls asleep in a conveniently empty classroom and wakes up in the middle of Bruce’s Physics 101 course. After seeing a groggy Tony fumble a simple question, actual-student Bucky offers to tutor him. In a moment of “oh no; he’s cute” panic, Tony takes him up on it. Now, in addition to his already complicated life, Tony has to figure out the answer to the incredibly messy question: “How do you look like you’re failing the class, when you literally wrote the book?”

i stole the keys to this guy by kellifer_fic

★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 6,007

Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Completed: Yes

Where it was Nick Fury’s idea, but he didn’t mean it like that.

The Tongues of Men and Angels by copperbadge

★ ★ ★ ★

Words: 2,369

Pairing: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark

Completed: Yes

Extremis has a few unexpected benefits.

Pint-Sized Parker by flyingonfeatherlesswings

★ ★ ★

Words: 3,636

Pairing: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange

Completed: Yes

Tony is called away from a meeting to deal with a now toddler-aged Peter Parker, who went snooping around in Stephen Strange’s spells.

carpool introductions by sapphirestark

★ ★ ★

Words: 2,401

Pairing: Gen

Completed: Yes

“It’s - it’s nice to meet you too, Colonel Rhodes, sir. I’m Peter. Uh, Parker.”

“I heard.” Rhodey smiled. Well, teenage Tony had certainly never been this polite. “Just call me Rhodey, kid.”

“O-okay, Rhodey.” Peter’s timid smile transformed into a grin. Rhodey decided he would definitely rub that in Clint’s face the next time he claimed Rhodey wasn’t good with kids.

“Are you kidding me?” Tony interrupted from the driver’s seat. “He’s Rhodey after two minutes and you’re still calling me ’Mr Stark’?”

Angry Genius White Noise by copperbadge

★ ★ ★

Words: 520

Pairing: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts

Complete: Yes

One of Pepper’s favorite activities after a long day is putting on sci-fi movies and watching Tony dissect their bad science. He’ll happily spend two hours curled up against her and ranting about the flawed central plan in Armageddon and how REALLY, HE HOPES AN ASTEROID HEADS FOR EARTH, HE’LL SHOW HOLLYWOOD HOW TO REALISTICALLY AVOID AN EXTINCTION-LEVEL EVENT, DAMMIT. Pepper finds it oddly relaxing, like angry genius white noise. Add in Bruce, and she could sell tickets.

The More You Know by Nokomis

★ ★ ★

Words: 2,457

Pairing: Gen

Completed: Yes

Peter’s first post-mission Avengers hang out goes about as well as one would expect.

home is where the science is by IntrovertedOwl

★ ★ ★

Words: 2,566

Pairing: Gen

Completed: Yes

Tony wasn’t jealous.

The very idea was ridiculous. Laughable. Absurd.

In fact, he was pleased.

Yes, that’s what he was. Pleased. And a little smug.

But the Best of Men by lusilly

★ ★ ★

Words: 2,113

Pairing: Gen

Completed: Yes

In which Tony introduces a fifteen-year-old boy to Steve, and Steve is touched that Tony would introduce him to his son.

(Except he’s not Tony’s son, he’s the newest Avenger, and Tony’s just completely oblivious to how parental he’s become.)

[novantinuum]

Crack the Paragon, Chapter 7

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 3.4K~

Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops.

Steven falls apart.

Chapter summary: In which actions are louder than words.

First | Last chapter

You can find the AO3 link in the reblogs! (I have to omit it from the original post these days to ensure this will show up in the tags.) If you enjoyed this, I’d greatly appreciate your support over there as well. 

Chapter 7: Silenced

“Are you out of your mind??”

"Pearl, please understand, I’ve been wanting this for so long,” you explain softly, the sunset illuminating the face of the pale Gem before you in shades of pink and orange as the waves crash onto shore behind her. “Human life is simply incredible! Never stagnating, always living, and loving, and learning. I want to pass on my gem, to create something new with Greg, someone who can grow! Someone… who can finally be free.”

“But- but Gems can’t have babies!” she sputters, throwing her arms out. “We don’t have the organs for it, or genetic material, o-or—“

You shake your head, enthusiastically cutting her off.

“That’s no problem, I used shapeshifting like Amethyst always does! And believe me,” you say with a conspiratorial chuckle, “you know better than anyone that I’m fully capable of holding this for the next nine months.”

“That’s not my point!”

“Then… what is?”

“My point—! You always do this, Rose!” she shouts, her pale blue eyes growing damp. “You know I try to support you, but I can’t do that if you never talk with me before leaping headfirst into whatever fanciful desire you please, and- and deciding everyone’s future for them!”

“But isn’t that… what I’m doing now?”

“No! You never even asked me how I’d feel,” she says, voice thick. “And that’s your problem.” Tears stream in rivulets down her cheeks, her lithe body quivering. Roughly, she wipes them away, and turns to escape your presence. “You never do!”

“Where did it go??”

The sound of shrill panic abruptly wakes Steven, the precise details of his peculiar dream already beginning to blur into obscurity as his eyes flutter open. A line of half-dried drool, slimy and still warm, extends from the corner of his mouth. His dad is softly snoring next to him, swaddled in his stolen covers like the very image of a sushi roll.

“No, no, no!” Pearl shouts from the kitchen. There’s a dull clap as her hand swipes across the counter. Something light (cloth?) falls to the floor. “This can’t be happening, not now, not again!!”

Yawning, he presses his fingers against the slight ache at his temple and sits up, blinking in confusion at his surroundings. “Wha—?”

For whatever reason, the beach house has devolved into absolute chaos between the time he fell asleep and now. The couch cushions are all askew, one of them flung halfway across the room. Two of the kitchen stools are overturned, and the bath towel they nestled his gem in last night lays in an abandoned heap between them. Dishes from the open cabinets are strewn everywhere on the counters. Meanwhile, the contents of the game shelf by the window— which Pearl normally keeps meticulously organized in alphabetical order— have exploded across the floor with little to no regard to the walking hazard they pose. If her intent was to blow through the place like a one person wrecking ball, then she’s clearly succeeded. No corner of the house is left untouched by her mania. The Gem roughly swings open the fridge, rattling the condiment bottles in the door. After a brief pause to scan through its contents she huffs, and slams it shut again.

Her arms shaking, she grips tufts of wispy peach hair from either side of her head. “Where is it???” she cries, her voice edging towards borderline hysteria.

“Uh, Pearl?” he asks, uneasiness churning in his gut at the sight of his guardian under so much stress. He swings his feet over the edge of his bed. “Pearl! What’s going on? What’s wrong??”

She freezes momentarily upon noticing he’s awake, her cheeks flushing blue.

“O-oh! Thank goodness you’re finally up,” she says, bounding across the room and up the stairs to him in no more than five steps. Her hands grasp his shoulders, a frantic gleam in her pale eyes. “Steven, where’s your gem?! Have you seen it??”

“My… gem?” he mutters, scrunching his nose as he peers up at her. In the fog of his exhausted, sleep deprived mind, for a second he has no idea what on Earth she’s talking about. Where’s his gem? His gem’s at his navel, inlaid flush with his skin like it’s always been, so what is she—

In a flash, snippets of recent memory eclipse everything else that’s at the forefront of his attention, reasserting their place in his psyche.

“Go ahead!” Bismuth snarls, jamming the tip of the breaking point rough against her concave gemstone. “Just do it!”

A sharp cry, his world standing still as a searing pain tears through him from the gem at his core to the very tip of his extremities.

Too damaged to sustain himself, his hard light form poofs into a cloud of smoke. He remembers this from both perspectives, now. And with the memory of the searing pain his other half was in… he wishes he doesn’t. The cracked gemstone hangs in the air for just a moment, morning sunlight glinting off its facets, before plummeting lifeless to the ground.

“—it’s Pink Diamond,” Garnet whispers in horror.

He swallows hard as the burden of the last few hours quickly rears its ugly head, weighing down once more on his shoulders. Oh, right, he thinks, resting his hand atop his stomach, over the unfamiliar facets of his newly flipped gem. Almost dying. That was a thing.

“Yes, your gem, I’ve been looking everywhere for it!” Pearl says, throwing her arms up. She leaps to the ground floor from the lofted level, and with a skip and a flourish so unbefitting of her current state of panic, jabs her pointer finger towards the kitchen counter. “I clearly remember setting it right here when we put you to bed, but now it’s nowhere to be found!”

Her words degrade to incomprehensible mumbling as she continues her fruitless search, this time localized to the space around the fireplace and the bathroom door. Finally understanding what has her in such a tizzy, Steven leaps to his feet and follows her down the stairs. Of course she’s freaking out, she thinks his gemstone disappeared entirely, or walked off, or got stolen! She has no way of knowing what happened on the beach early this morning. No one does. Someone’s gotta tell her, and that someone can only be him. Rushing to his guardian, he gently tugs at her arm.

“Pearl!”

She forces a laugh, the sound of it neurotic and unhinged, as her fumbling fingers remove a small photo of the four of them off its hook on the wall. “Well at least we can say for certain it’s not hiding behind this framed photograph!” she announces, smile stretched just a bit too wide. “Just one less infinite possibility to check…”

“Pearl, listen, you—“

“And it’s not like it could simply roll off the table without a trace, right? Am I right??”

“Please, you don’t have to freak out, ‘cause I—“

“But it’s okay Steven, there’s no need to panic! I know we’ll find it eventually, yes we will, of course we will, how could we—“

“I have it!” he blurts out, grabbing both of her shaking hands. “I have it.”

Held securely in his, her hands fall silent. The panic drains from her in but a breath as she stops to contextualize what he’s just said and what it means, her mouth slipping slightly ajar. Sensing that he’s firmly caught her attention now, he continues, heart hammering in his chest.

“Last night, the gem reformed as me, a-and… we fused back together.”

“You— you’re back to normal,” she says with glassy eyes, voice softer now.

He tugs at the collar of his pajamas. “Well, more or less. There’s a bit of a catch, and I’m pretty sure none of you are gonna like it.”

Her expression is blank with confusion. “Uhhh— a catch?”

“Y’know, it’s probably easier if I just show you,” he reasons with a nervous chuckle, and— sweat beading on his forehead— lifts his nightshirt to reveal his gem.  

Pearl kneels down to peer at it straight on, hand balled into a fist at her chin. “Oh!” she says first, brows shooting up on her face. Then, her features narrowing the more and more she looks at the newly exposed facets of his diamond: ”Ohhhh...”

“This is what her gem looked like, isn’t it?” he asks. “Pink’s?”

Her eyes shoot wide open at his query. “I—“

Immediately, her palm clamps tight over her mouth, strangling whatever words she had planned to share.

Steven cringes as he watches her struggle against her orders, a seed of guilt churning deep within. “Oh, right. You can’t… sorry, I forgot. We can talk about something else, if you want!”

She’s thankfully able to pull her hand away before too long. A distant part of him wonders how this gag order works, how it knows in advance what Pearl plans to say, if there’s any loopholes they could possibly find to skirt around it...

“I— I’d appreciate that,” she admits, suddenly looking very tired.

A lopsided smile brightening her face despite her exhaustion, she reaches up to affectionately ruffle his hair. He flashes her a boyish grin as her touch flattens some of his wild curls against his head.

“You know,” she says quietly, glancing at him with such a softness reflected in her pale irises that it almost makes him forget all the stress he’s endured, almost makes him believe nothing’s changed since yesterday, “there may be a lot I can’t talk about, but what I can say is that I’m so glad to see your beautiful smile again.”

“Pearl,” he responds, blushing with half-hearted embarrassment.

“Now let’s clean up this mess before your father wakes up, shall we?” the pale Gem chuckles nervously as she rubs her hands together, glancing between the trashed ground floor of the beach house and the middle aged man miraculously still snoozing away in the loft above.

“Nose-goes on kitchen!” he says hurriedly, tapping his finger against the tip of his nose.

She feeds him a mock gasp, already crossing behind the counter to start returning the plates and glasses to their rightful homes in the cabinet. “Oh, you rascal! How ever will I organize all this by myself?”

Steven gives a soft laugh at this, and then promptly sets himself on tidying duty. First priority is the board games strewn across the floorboards in the corner. He kneels and begins arranging the boxes into piles. From there, he stacks each pile nice and near on the shelf by the window. After straightening the stacks so the box corners line up, he moves to pull open the blinds to let more sunlight in the house. A blissful smile stretches across his face as he pauses his work to bask in the morning glow.

Already feeling a good deal more content about everything in the reminder of daybreak, he turns to Pearl. “Not gonna lie, I’m kinda surprised Dad was able to stay asleep through all our racket.”

“Greg?” she scoffs and rolls her eyes, piling a stack of plates on one of the shelves. “That man sleeps like a rock. Which,” she continues, resting her freed hand against her chin in contemplation, “as an idiom, is actually rather ironic considering that ‘rock’ is common slang for ‘Gem,’ and Gemkind as a whole doesn’t have a biological need for sleep.”

“Well, I think you can blame humans for that one,” he laughs, picking the missing couch cushion off the floor and returning it to its home. “For anyone outside Beach City, rocks don’t actually move!”

Ever so slightly, the edge of her lips turn up. “I suppose that’s true, yes…”

They fall into a fairly comfortable silence for a while after that, as they put the finishing touches on the last nooks and crannies of the beach house that needed attention. Steven makes sure the floor is spotless, every stray pillow, toy, or decorative item returned to its rightful place. Pearl finishes tidying the kitchen, re-organizing the cups on the shelves by color and type. By the end of it he can proudly say the place looks leagues cleaner than it did yesterday. For good measure, Pearl pulls a broom out of her gemstone and sweeps up any debris littering the floor. He helps out by holding the dustpan steady as she brushes the sand and dust bunnies in.

“There!” she proclaims once they’re finished, proudly surveying her roost as she solidly holds the broom with the same level of decorum with which one might hold a rebellion era rampart. “That’s much better, don’t you think?”

The ground nearly shimmers in its cleanliness. Heartily, he gives her a thumbs-up.

“Yeah, looks great!”

With a big yawn, he glances up at his father’s slumbering figure in the loft above, for a moment jealous that he’s not still snoozing away too. Four or five hours (or however long it’s been since he crawled back into bed, he hasn’t checked the clock yet) simply isn’t enough rest for a growing boy. He always tries to aim for eight or nine. Maybe he can bridge that gap now, though? Would it help, he wonders, if he falls back asleep a good twenty minutes after he woke? As he ponders this mystery, he ambles past Pearl, heading directly to the couch.

“Steven,” she says with poorly disguised concern, as she watches him abruptly flop over onto the cushions in his sheer exhaustion. “If you need to talk about what happened, then I—“

“I’m just a little tired, don’t worry about me,” he says, eyes drooping shut as he curls up tighter.

“Don’t wor—“ Pearl cuts herself off suddenly, choked up. She’s at his side in a flash, and he feels the cushion adjust for her weight as she sits herself adjacent. “How can I not worry about you? You went through something no child… no Gem should ever have to experience!”

“But I’m alive,” he points out, eyes cracking open a smidge. “I’m alive, and you guys dealt with Bismuth, a-and we fixed it like we always do, so- so there’s no point in fixating on what could’ve happened, right?”

She rests her hand on his shoulder, her fingers hesitantly shifting over the seam of his pajamas as if she’s suddenly a complete stranger to the art of comforting. Normally he lives for her shows of affection— her occasional head pats, loose side hugs, a hand clasped tight on his arm as she gently leads him through hazardous terrain on missions— but in his mounting desire to be left alone in peace to rest, he bristles under her touch. She doesn’t seem to catch onto the hint, though. Still hidden behind his neutral expression, he grits his teeth.

“I-it’s not a matter of fixation,” she continues, “it’s a matter of unpacking difficult emotions. You have to understand, the state of being cracked, it’s not one that most full Gems are easily able to bounce back from, and I just want to ensure that you’re not—“

“I’m fine, really, I am!” he snaps. “You don’t have to keep fussing about it! And anyways, it’s all over now, isn’t it? So can’t we at least try to move on from this and let things be halfway normal again?!”

Pearl reacts like she’s been physically struck. She yanks her hand back, resting her palms on her knees as she turns her head away. A cautious glance at her face (or at least the half she hasn’t intentionally obscured from his sight) shows one muddled with a blend of melancholy and that sort of silent displeasure he’s long since grown to associate with disappointed parents. He swallows hard, shame settling heavy like the diamond at the pit of his stomach. He went too far.

“Sorry,” he mumbles as he sits upright, cheeks heating up. He stares at his fingers, rhythmically flexing them.

She doesn’t vocally respond to his apology, but her form does grow visibly less tense. It’s a start.

Fully audible through the walls of the house, the tides crash onto shore, gently pulsing in and out. It doesn’t take long before the pace of his heart matches the ocean’s unwavering drumbeat. His naive young mind twitchy under the throes of the unnatural silence, he yearns for some concrete image to latch onto, anything to spirit him away from the present. Not before long, distant threads of memory from the strange dream he woke up from this morning rise to meet his pleas.

Most of the details are fuzzy, indistinct and abstract as one might expect from a dream, but nevertheless just enough specificity remains that he can’t help but wonder if this was more than your run-of-the-mill moonlight fantasy. Frowning pensively, he balls his hand against his chin. The sky was streaked with lines of pink and orange, he remembers. The tides swelled with the same unwavering prowess as they do this morning. He knows he was standing somewhere near the temple, because he clearly saw one of the stone hands half-buried on the sandy shore. A familiar ivory and peach figure stood defiant and distraught before him— no, not him!— before his…

“You always do this, Rose!”

His hands. They were wide, pale, free of the familiar calluses built up from years of plucking strings on his ukulele, they… they weren’t his. This body wasn’t his.

Mom. He was dreaming about his mom. But why, and how? He’s had dreams with her in them before, but they were always different, they were always from his perspective. They were always fluid and nonsensical. This, however… this one felt different, somehow. More tangible.

Almost… real.

“You never even asked me how I’d feel,” Pearl said, voice thick. “And that’s your problem. You never do!”

Realization dawns over him like the glow of the morning sun rising above the horizon. A sudden sickness churns in his stomach. He’s almost horrified, disgusted with his past actions in rudely brushing Pearl off like that.

She just… wants to know how I feel about all this, he thinks, throat constricting as he swallows hard. She wanted to know if I’m okay! But- is she even okay??

Is there more to this dream of his than meets the eye? Is his subconscious trying to tell him something, trying to lead him to take some sort of action? Have they really not asked her that enough?

His fingers drum against his leg as he gathers the nerve to speak again.

“Hey...”

“Yes?” Pearl says quietly, tone clipped. She’s still glancing out the window, turned away from him.

“How are you handling all this? Everything’s suddenly so different, and…” He grips the fabric of his pajama bottoms, his eyes burning hot. “I know you can’t say much about it, but I just wanna make sure you’re doin’ okay too.”

She finally meets his glance, her gaze glassy and wet. Her bottom lip quivers, so subtle he almost doesn’t pick up on it. In all the time he’s lived with her, he's not sure he’s ever seen her so vulnerable, and the sight of it drives a razor sharp point right through his heart. He takes a deep, grounding breath, and continues.

“And I want you to know I don’t blame you for this,” he reassures. “Even if you couldn’t tell us anything, that’s not your fault.”

“Thank you,” she says, her voice breaking.

“If there’s stuff I can do to make things easier, let me know?”

Her ice blue irises skate upwards as she deliberates, desperately grasping for an answer to his open ended question. Steven clasps his hands together in his lap, and simply waits in silent patience. His legs dangle back and forth over the edge of the couch.

Pearl sighs, her long suffering exhaustion evident. “If, in the future, you could avoid asking probing questions about your mother or abo- about my past on Homeworld, that would be a great help.” She presses her thumb and forefinger firm against her forehead, right under her gem. “It’s… painful, suffice it to say, when programming kicks in. And to answer your first question, I’m honestly trying not to think about any of it too much. Like you, it would seem,” she adds with a bit of a mirthful chuckle. “I can’t claim it’s good advice, but that’s where I’m at.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeats with a sniffle, leaning into her shoulder.

Tenderly, she wraps her arms around him and nestles her cheek against his mop of curly hair. It’s a blissful comfort, a wordless promise that more than anything else makes him feel safe. Secure.

“So am I,” she whispers, a tear slipping down her cheek.

__

Notes: 

I have a headcanon that Rose took ages to reform after Pearl staged her "shattering," and in the midst of that Pearl had to go into hiding with her gem so the Crystal Gems didn't learn their secret. During that, I imagine she probably lost Rose's gem at least once, and almost had the Gem equivalent of a heart attack. Which is why she's flipping out so much about it happening again, with Steven.

I also hc that Steven doesn't actually upset Pearl too often, out of the three main CGs. When she does get especially upset though, she's the type to give the icy silent treatment.

[worldsentwined]

So @avolitorial tagged me to find these words in my works in progress - let’s see what shows up! (Trying to pull from the most recent/most active - all but one of these are original works).

blue // from Meeting of the DKP Squad (ch 2)

“Mama,” she said, “who is our guest?”

“Oh, don’t play coy, you’ve guessed already,” said a voice from the adjoining sitting room. Magnolia turned, willing her face to stay as serene as her mother’s. It was no good; the woman at the door knew her too well. She took one look at Magnolia’s face, and her smirk softened a fraction. “Hello, Magnolia,” she said. 

Magnolia breathed in the scent of mountain pine and cardamom, letting it wash over her as she took in her visitor’s appearance. A dress of slate-blue wool, minimally embroidered but trimmed with fur. Flax-pale hair woven into a thick braid around the crown of her head. Piercing grey eyes, the promise of a storm. Pink lips curled in a smile that promised something else.

regret // from Before Waking

Tag’s fist connected with Ancho’s chin, hard. Tag watched his eyes roll back just before he dropped to the ground. Then they turned to grab the kid who’d shoved them. 

“Leggo!” The kid spit in Tag’s face. Tag grimaced, but didn’t let go. In a matter of seconds Spitter was on the ground too, spouting obscenities into the dirt.

“What’d you do to them?” Gabby was still up, leaning heavily on their tall friend. “You’re gonna regret messing with us!”

Tag stepped back. The others had all run off; maybe seeing their leader go down had scared them, or maybe they decided Tag was too much work. These last two didn’t seem like a threat, but it was better to be sure. “Think you’re gonna regret it more.” Tag wiped a trickle of blood away from their nose. It was so red, bright against the dirt on their skin.

sun // from Piecing Together an Imperfect Archive (ch 2)

Day 45. Another batch of suitors gone. The whole court seems to wilt when they go—except for the Fourth Heir, who just seems relieved. Cinna has been surprisingly cheerful, considering how the head archivist has her running these days. 

“Ugh.” I push the papers aside and lean back, rubbing my eyes. The Scriptorium has gone golden in the late afternoon light, dust motes hovering in the sunbeams. I’m in no mood to enjoy it, though. “What am I supposed to do with these? They don’t tell me anything.” I’d thought—hoped—that my own writing would provide some clarity. But for every useful piece of information, I have to dig through a pile of obscure references. They must have made sense when I wrote them—and would have made sense to me now, if I could remember writing them. As it is, they’re mostly useless. It’s like I’m piecing together some long-distant past, instead of last year.

“Ah, Quillian. I thought I’d find you here.”

Speaking of mostly useless. “What do you want, Reed?”

repeat // from Meeting of the DKP Squad (ch 2)

And so the cycle went, uninterrupted for five hundred years. Some said the first dragon had cursed the kingdom with its last breath, dooming them to repeat its reign of terror. Others said it was a protective spell by a benevolent witch, ensuring that a hero would always rise when the kingdom needed one. A few select scholars argued that perhaps the dragons had some ulterior motive for appearing, such as migration patterns or territory expansion, and only stole the princesses by coincidence--but most people dismissed their ideas as flights of fancy.

Even as a little girl, Princess Magnolia had thought the “fanciful” scholars had a point. Curses and spells were tricky things, easier to imagine than to set in motion. But she could appreciate a finely-woven story. In many ways, a well-crafted tale could serve just as well as magic.

follow // from Operation: Wingpeople

Second pressed a button--all of their monitors went dark--and tossed a set of keys to Greg. “You’re driving. We need to stop by my place first, though.”

Greg caught the keys. They were his keys; they had been in his pocket, last he checked. He sighed. “Sure. What are you thinking, bugs so we can keep an eye on the place? I wonder what their security system is like.” That was Second’s area of expertise, but they’d worked together long enough for Greg to pick up some basics.

“No, I already have my surveillance kit,” Second said, extracting themself from the bean bag and tying their hair up in a loose bun. “I need to get my ball and shoes.”

“Your...what?”

Second opened the door and waited for Greg to follow. “My ball? My shoes? We’re going bowling, Greg.”

gaze // from A Stitch in Time

“Sorry.” I go back to looking, but I can’t stop talking. “It’s just, if you would tell me what’s going on, I wouldn’t have to ask questions. I still don’t understand why you’re helping me.”

Now Rigel sounds completely exasperated. “Because I’m your friend!” 

“Then why were you spying on me in the first place? Why did you have bait to lure me here? Is that what friends do?”

“We don’t have time for this now! I swear I’ll explain everything as soon as we find the key and get out of—”

In the hole left where Rigel’s next word would have been, I hear the sound of a latch clicking closed. I follow Rigel’s gaze to the door, and the man leaning against it.

“Going so soon, Ellis? Such a shame, you’ve only just arrived.”

difference // from Great was their loaf and greatly did it sustain them (cheated a bit for this one)

Kamet nodded. “He made it sound like you...left work in a hurry to come get me,” he said, careful to keep his voice neutral.

Costis shifted in his seat, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. “I did, yeah. It sounded like you needed help. And Aris has no right to complain, I’ve picked up so many shifts so he could spend time with his boyfriend.” He paused, glancing over his shoulder to merge onto the highway. “Not that...I mean, this is different, obviously.”

Kamet made a noise of agreement, but he couldn’t help noticing a slight blush on Costis’s cheeks. Searching for something else to say, he settled on, “So how did you start working there? At the bakery.”

“Oh, well.” Costis was definitely blushing now. “I sort of...punched a guy in the face, and he ended up being my boss and my landlord?”

And uhhh I have sort of lost track of which of my friends are actively writing and which are suffering from brain gremlins/incredibly busy, so if you see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged! (I will tag @toushindai and @notapaladin because I know I see you both writing a lot). Your words (do as many as you want) are: heart / glance / bright / red / soft / air / need