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angstymdzsthoughts · 3 years

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I promised that I would share the convo me and @time-flies-by had earlier today regarding the Maleficent AU post, so here it is!

time-flies-by Dude that Maleficent AU-

angstymdzsthoughts I knoooow

angstymdzsthoughts It got a bit dark on me

time-flies-by It did, but goddamn was it good!

angstymdzsthoughts Right? I'm super happy with it

time-flies-by As you should! It actually gave me chills

angstymdzsthoughts WWX goes to sleep in his husbands arms, happy and in love. Wakes up to that husband mutilating him Thank you!!!

time-flies-by The best part, is that LWJ doesn’t even see anything wrong with it. He’s just like, “it has to happen”

angstymdzsthoughts Yep! Just another part of getting married to him

time-flies-by WWX definitely leaves understanding Madam Lan a lot better.

angstymdzsthoughts Oof LWJ grows up around spouses who seem perfectly happy with life after losing their wings And his mother, who still had her wings, was miserable So he thinks hes actually helping to make WWX happier

time-flies-by Double oof WWX really doesn’t understand what he was getting himself into.

angstymdzsthoughts Oh my god other spouses try to warn him (in a quiet subtle way so their husbands don’t get upset)

angstymdzsthoughts All the Lans are taught that this is a special, intimate experience between spouses

angstymdzsthoughts I feel like Su She is jealous that LWJ got to experience that and is vindictively happy when WWX ran away

time-flies-by Oh my god, the Lans all brainwashed into thinking that the tight smiles, and the tears are signs of love, when in reality their spouse is trying so hard to not hate them. Soakxldowkenenw fuxking Su She

angstymdzsthoughts The spouses are all trapped. Oh wait

angstymdzsthoughts The "soulmate" thing only happens once or twice in a generation and Madam Lan had been the most recent before WWX so the spouse around who tries to warn him away is an old woman who has been married and trapped in the CR for life 55 years That makes it so much worse

time-flies-by Oh my god, imagine wwx accidentally runs into the the wing room, and is absolutely horrified to find all the wings there, so he goes to lwj and is all like “Lan Zhan? What’s this?” And LWJ just goes “don’t worry Wei ying, I’ll make sure that never happens to you.” And what he means is “I’ll make sure your grounding isn’t as painful as theirs.” And wwx trusts LWJ 100%, but then their own grounding happens.

angstymdzsthoughts OOF Oh my god just rip my heart out

angstymdzsthoughts All I can picture is WWX crying and calling LWJ a liar before he's silenced Most disturbing part is how gentle and loving LWJ is being while hes Removing His Husbands Limbs Soft little praises and telling WWX that they will be happy together now

angstymdzsthoughts Ohhh WWX is totally gonna blame himself if he saw the wings and didn't immediately run Gets to Yunmeng like 'how could I be so stupid to believe him'

time-flies-by Ooh especially if the spouses before him tried warning him too.

angstymdzsthoughts Yes Exactly

time-flies-by WWX: The signs were all there. . . There was a red flag everywhere!

angstymdzsthoughts The way WWX sees it is like that 'face eating leopard party' meme Everyone else is just plain horrified

time-flies-by Oof 😂

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ is crying in the CR asking what he did wrong Yunmeng Jiang is ready to start a war in order to get WWX his wings back

time-flies-by Omg yesssss The Lans are all clueless and offended because they see NOTHING wrong with their traditions.

angstymdzsthoughts Someone tries to put it in perspective for them. "How would you react if your spouse cut off your hands?" But the Lans dont get it and just dig their hole deeper. "Thats ridiculous! You Need hands! Wings are in no way a necessity."

time-flies-by Aish 😓

time-flies-by Yeah no, the Jiangs are definitely cutting all ties with the Lan after that.

angstymdzsthoughts The Lans argue that wings do nothing but make someone fickle and reckless and arrogant. They Need to be earth bound so they can learn stability and humbleness ... Oh my god... Horrible thought

time-flies-by Do tell

angstymdzsthoughts Some children of grounded spouses end up with wings too But they get them cut off when they are younger Should it be LXC or LWJ who use to have wings?

angstymdzsthoughts Spend their entire adolescence being ashamed of the wings and eagerly waiting for the day they can be removed

time-flies-by Oooh maybe LXC?

angstymdzsthoughts The most recent wings added are a pair of small white ones maybe half the size of WWXs and the sight of them make him run out because he may be sick

time-flies-by Oh god, what if there’s like, a whole room just full of children’s wings.

Angstymdzsthoughts Of course the Lans would keep them Ohhh WWX hears people talking about the grounding ceremony that will follow the honeymoon and has no idea what their all talking about He asks and the Lans explain that it's a sacred ceremony between spouses that truly binds the new spouse to the Lan family WWX is like- oh wow that sounds really great! Like a big 'welcome to the family'!

time-flies-by Oh no that make it worse! WWX is super excited for the ceremony. He’s like hyping himself up nonstop.

angstymdzsthoughts Oh with the Lan members with wings- they normally have a form of the grounding ceremony when they get their courtesy name and become a Real Lan. Lose your wings and get a name Oh my gooood WWX and LWJ go to bed that night talking about how the bonding ceremony will be tomorrow morning and LWJ assures him that he knows WWX will be perfect

time-flies-by Oh god no, I’m just imagining a bunch of children scared but super willing to lose their wings, because they’d been taught that having them made them everything the clan was against

angstymdzsthoughts WWX, cuddling close: What if I mess up and make a fool of myself? No ones really told me what to do yet. LWJ, petting WWXs wings lovingly: Don't worry, I'll take care of everything Exactly

time-flies-by Oooh I just got chills again

angstymdzsthoughts Something about LWJ touching and admiring WWXs wings in this context... 😨

time-flies-by LWJ: once I get rid of these, he’ll be all mine.

angstymdzsthoughts Touching wings isn't a normal thing outside of family (given that touching in general isn't normal in Chinese culture) but WWX was always super ok with friends petting his wings. He totally offered to let LWJ touch his wings when they were teenagers after catching him admiring them

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ hadn't felt a wing since his mother died shortly after her Binding and WWXs are a really beautiful glossy black color that turns a dark, rich purple if the light hits them just right. Of course he wants to touch

time-flies-by 😥😥

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ, cautiously running one finger along the feathers: They are so big... WWX: Of course they are! My wings have to be big and strong to carry me while I fly! LWJ immediately snatching his hand back, suddenly cold at the remainder that WWX can and will fly away far, far away from him

time-flies-by LWJ is really undermining the love WWX has for him by being that concerned that he’ll leave him.

angstymdzsthoughts He got brainwashed by his clan and he saw his mothers constant attempts to escape. Everyone around him said that the only reason she was trying to leave was because of her wings. If his own mother would leave him because of wings, what would stop WWX?

angstymdzsthoughts Madam Lan got way too close to actually escaping and QHJ was pressured into finally doing the ceremony. Madam Lan didn't last long after that

time-flies-by sent a post Source (****)

angstymdzsthoughts Hahaha

angstymdzsthoughts You know what would be worse? Baby A-Yuan with wings

time-flies-by Oh noooooo

angstymdzsthoughts Like au where LWJ didn't do the binding and unbrainwashed himself Then A-Yuan is born with wings and he grows up being told he won’t be a Real Lan if he keeps them So his parents have no plans of removing them but as his naming ceremony gets closer Yuan says he Wants to get rid of them WWX is immediately packing a bag and getting him and his son the hell out of there. LWJ is right behind him with another bag

time-flies-by Oof yes I like that

time-flies-by But like what if, the day before they leave or something, A-yuan runs to the elders and tells them about what his parents plan to do, and he’s so desperate to get rid of his wings that he asks them to just do the ceremony there and then

angstymdzsthoughts AAAAAAAAAA

time-flies-by When LWJ and WWX wake, they’re so stressed cause they can’t find A-yuan, but a few minutes later he comes in all proud and wingless

angstymdzsthoughts I mean since its Maleficent au wings are apparently magic and can be put right back on but Still Horrible WWX cries LWJ is gonna fight to get his sons wings back and then get his family the hell out of there Oh my god..... LWJ walking through a room full of tiny, near identical wings looking for the little pair that he would recognize anywhere

angstymdzsthoughts Let's a few tears out when he finds them. Remembers helping WWX clean and groom them and watching while WWX taught their son to balance and fly using those wings Hates himself for not seeing what his clan was doing to LSZ and not getting them away from all of it sooner

time-flies-by Codnekaoenen perfect

time-flies-by Heartbreaking, but perfect

angstymdzsthoughts Also, if things had gone according to plan and they left before LSZ did the Binding Yuan, struggling and crying: But I won’t be a Real Lan! WWX, throwing Yuan over his shoulder to carry him mid tantrum: Then you're gonna be a Wei. Lan Zhan, would you please carry this bag? LWJ, taking the bag: Mn. Wei Yuan sounds nice.

angstymdzsthoughts Then they go to Yunmeng so LSZ can grow up in a healthier environment

time-flies-by Oh I like your version better.

angstymdzsthoughts You brought the pain, I brought a bandaid

time-flies-by Haha yes yes, thank you

angstymdzsthoughts Oof tho. LWJ finds the wings and brings them home where WWX is guarding Yuan while he sleeps. They Return the wings while Yuan sleeps and return to making plans to go to Yunmeng once Yuan wakes When he wakes up and has his wings back he bursts into tears.

angstymdzsthoughts Could be because he really missed his wings and is glad to have them back or because this means he's gonna have to go through the grounding AGAIN and it really hurt the first time and he doesn't want to go through it again. Maybe both

time-flies-by If both, then WWX and LWJ will do their best to reassure him that he won’t have to go through the grounding ever again.

angstymdzsthoughts Aww little Yuan crying so hard he can hardly breath and bringing his wings around himself so he can pet and groom them because he needs to make sure this is real and their back

angstymdzsthoughts Oof. Imagine LXC seeing this and wishing he could have kept his wings. Goes to visit his wings and knows that they are too small to fit his body now that hes an adult so he's lost his chance

time-flies-by *sigh* we really should give LXC a break.

angstymdzsthoughts Never Ok how about he gets his wings back and even tho there too small because they never got the chance to grow with him and he'll never be able to fly hes so unbelievably happy WWX and Yuan teach him how to groom his wings correctly because the only person who ever did that was his mother and he cant quite remember how to do it

time-flies-by *sniff* family bonding time

angstymdzsthoughts He starts an arrangement with Yunmeng Jiang so he can send any winged Lans to them for half the year so they can learn that having wings Isnt the worse thing in the world

time-flies-by Oooh yes yes That’s good.

#Time-flies-by #Had a great time and the story kinda got away from us to the point that we made an au of an au #Maleficent AU #Wei Wuxian #Lan Wangji #Lan Xichen #Lan Sizhui #mdzs #mo dao zu shi

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send-allmyloving · 4 years

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Could you write some Akutagawa Ryunosuke fluff? Like what being his girlfriend would be like?

Of course!

Akutagawa relationship headcanon

- To be honest, the only way you’d ever be able to truly interact with him is if you were in the mafia, so let’s say you were in the mafia!

- You took on the secretary position in the mafia hierarchy, so you often saw off Akutagawa on missions and met with him for briefings.

- Babie Aku here would never voice it, but he honestly thought you were the prettiest thing he’d ever seen!

- The first time he saw you, he stuttered. That’s right folks, the great Akutagawa Ryunosuke stuttered!!

- Eventually after frequent meetings with you over the span of a few months, Aku mustered up the courage to ask you to go out with him <3

- It went a little something like this:

“Akutagawa-san... why aren’t you saying anything?”

“.......Uh”

“Are you sick? You look really pale right now--”

“IWANTYOUTOGOOUTWITHME”

“...”

“What”

- anyways hes a dumbass but hes gonna be the best boy 4 u owo

- This poor boy literally doesn’t know what he’s doing

- He’s never experienced romantic attraction until now, so as you can expect he’s having an internal battle on who the hell he’s supposed to ask

- Eventually he settles on Chuuya, the master of being suave lmao

- With his help, he at least sort of has a clue on wtf to do when he’s with you

- The first couple months of dating he was struggling really hard to at least display some physical form of affection

- When you saw him nervously shaking while gripping your hand you had to reassure him that he didn’t have to force himself to be so touchy

- And that’s when Aku realized how much you meant to him; you genuinely cared about him and wanted him to feel comfortable when with you, you didn’t force him to do something he didn’t want

- For the time being he just wanted to hold pinkies with you, nothing more

- But let’s be honest, this boy is literally touchstarved, at that point he just wasn’t used to the idea of physical affection

- So eventually he decided that he was okay with you touching him

- It sort of started with him shuffling over to sit next to you while you were on your phone, and he just suddenly put his chin on your shoulder and started pouting at you

“...Aku? What’s up sweetie?”

“Pats. Now.”

- Literally deadpanned that part LMAO

- He loves loves LOVES when you pat his head or pet his hair

- He likes lying on your lap while you play with his hair, it’s really soothing

- Also loves back rubs uwu

- Likes forehead kissies too, his eyes light up when u do that so pls always give him a forehead kissy thank u

- He’s really scared of baths so you have to be understanding with him on that part

- You have to call Chuuya to help him clean himself bc he’s just not ready to be that vulnerable around you

- But maybe 5-6 months into the relationship he starts letting his guard down around you and building up his trust with you (being his gf requires patience, he has a lot of trauma)

- You’ll encourage him to start to relax when he’s in the bath while you clean him

- He especially likes when you’re scrubbing his back or putting shampoo in his hair because it’s like when you’re giving him back rubs or hair pets

- He’s like a puppy tbh

- At this point he’s definitely okay with hand holding

- That’s sort of like his go-to when comforting you

- If you’re feeling sad or crying he’ll just hold both of your hands while his thumbs rub the back of your hands until you feel better <333

- When he’s feeling sad he tends to hide mask his emotions with his tsundere vibe and you have to talk to him about not bottling up his emotions bc that’s his bad habit >:((

- When he cries it’s heartbreaking, but not to worry bc a back rub and a kiss on the head does wonders to make him feel better!!

- You tell him it’s okay to share his insecurities with you bc love requires trust!

- He’ll start warming up to that idea slowly, and he’ll start getting used to venting to you

- Maybe a year or so into your relationship he finally gets used to full on cuddling and kisses

- NO PDA though, he absolutely hates PDA, he doesn’t like looking vulnerable to others.

- When you’re out on a date, the most you’ll get is holding hands, and if you’re lucky a peck on the cheek

- Speaking of dates, he likes going to places with fewer people, such as the theater, private karaoke rooms, and small cafes. By the way, he’s surprisingly good at singing when you go on a karaoke date, and he’s always up for doing some stupid songs if it means it’ll make you smile <3

- When you’re alone together he likes giving you back hugs

- Sleepy babie Aku waking up to you preparing breakfast and giving u a sleepy backhug in his pajamas :(((

- He likes letting you lay on him while you guys are relaxing on the couch, playing with your hair and occasionally giving you a kiss on the head, talking about whatever you want

- Sometimes if he’s in a good mood he’ll cup your cheeks and give you a kiss on the forehead and nose, grin, and walk away and you just smile bc hes the most adorable thing in this fucking universe

- You lead the kisses bc he’s not used to that stuff, and you make sure to be really gentle bc this guy has been hurt way too many times, he’s rlly scared

- The best way to ease him into a kiss is by running your fingers through his hair and massaging his scalp, and he’ll easily lean into your touch

- Pepper his face with some little kisses and slowly, slowly guide his lips to yours

- Kissing and makeout seshes are really soft, those are intimate times where you pour out your love and trust for each other

- Loves having you on his lap while kissing, he gets to hold you close to him and he feels stronger with you in his arms, he feels like he’s protecting you and that way he doesn’t feel so bad when you’re always caring for him

- He also loves laying side by side with you when cuddling; he loves being cradled in your arms while you look lovingly into his eyes and stroke his cheek and hair before pressing a little kiss to his nose followed by a really soft “I love you”

- That’s when he smiles softly and buries his face into your neck bc he’s so so in love with you im actually crying help me pls

- When you sleep, he is the little spoon. No I do not take constructive criticism

- Sing him a lullaby, press a goodnight kiss to his neck and wrap your arms around him and he is off to dreamland

- I’m pretty sure he has nightmares often, so when you wake up to him shaking in a panic the best thing to do is gently touch his hair so you don’t scare him

- If you touch his hair he’ll know it’s you, that’s his comfort spot

- Hugs you so tight when he sees you’re there with him

- Back rubs and soft words of comfort will stop him from trembling and crying so much from his nightmares, he’ll be so familiar with your touch at this point that it’s like you’re his safe haven (you are)

- He’ll fall back asleep with his face buried in your chest and your hands stroking through his hair bc he feels really safe that way

- If anyone tries to hurt you he would literally kill them, no one and i mean no one hurts his lover and gets away with it

- Super protective of you when it comes to Port Mafia things

- He can’t bear to lose you, you mean the world to him

- He might not express it often verbally, but he really loves and cares for you

- Being his girlfriend is a delicate task and you have to really care for him, but boy is it worth it bc his love for you is so strong

thx for reading! i think this was pretty long but aku’s character has a lot of struggles and self-doubt, so it would be hard for him to ease into a romantic relationship so easily. Hope this was to your liking!!

#akutagawa x reader #akutagawa scenarios #akutagawa fluff #akutagawa angst #bsd x reader #bsd fluff #bsd angst #bsd imagines #bsd akutagawa x reader #bsd scenarios #bsd akutagawa scenarios

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love-little-lotte · 4 years

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My Ranking of Outlander Season 5 Episodes

Wow. This has been such a great season! It really felt fresh and well-made. It’s like we’re thrown back to earlier seasons, and I love it so much. The writing is a whole lot better; the direction is creative and new – but never to a point that it got dreary and boring; there is a significant amount of change that I really liked. Overall, a brilliant and amazing season.

I’ve done something like this from the previous season (click here, if you’re interested), and now I guess I’m doing it again! It’s a lot harder, though, because I really liked most of the Season 5 episodes. I even wish it was longer! Twelve episodes seemed so short. I wish we could back to earlier episodes when we have more than fifteen episodes for one season.

So, to start off my Droughtlander (ugh, I cry thinking about Season 6 – it seems so far away), this is my ranking of Outlander Season 5 episodes! Before I begin, let me just say that this is my opinion, so please be polite. No need to tell me that you prefer this over that because obviously, this is my ranking. Also, just so you know, I haven’t read The Fiery Cross. I’ve only read Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, and the first few chapter of Voyager. So, I may make mistakes about what happened in the books and such, since I only watch the TV show.

#12: Episode 3 - Free Will

Technically not a bad episode, but this is the one that I least liked out of all. It was a bit draggy, but definitely not boring. Nothing is boring when Jamie and Claire faces danger together!

So, in this episode, Josiah revealed that he has a twin named Keziah. They both escaped from the Beardsleys, who apparently abused the both of them. But without their right papers, the twins were not really free. So, of course, Jamie and Claire just had to save the day and take it upon themselves to go to the Beardsleys and pay for their indenture. Also, Jamie left Roger in charge while he’s gone. It’s funny to see Roger try to lead the men. It’s not his fault by all means – after all, this was not his time and he has zero knowledge how to lead these soldiers.

At the Beardsleys, Jamie and Claire found out that Mr. Beardsley was incredibly injured and at the brink of death, while Mrs. Beardsley was pregnant and admitted that she’s slowly torturing her husband because he used to physically abuse her. Claire helped Mrs. Beardsley give birth, only to find out that the baby was dark-skinned, which meant it wasn’t Mr. Beardsley’s child. The next morning, the missus was out of the house (wow, that recovery!), leaving her newborn baby in Jamie and Claire’s care. Jamie then faced a tough decision to euthanize Mr. Beardsley, who wanted his pain to end. Something tells me that this is going to be an important thing in the future...

#11: Episode 5 - Perpetual Adoration

Also not a bad episode, to be honest. In this episode, we get another flashback of Claire’s time in the 60s. This time, she’s seen treating a patient by the name of Graham Menzies. Sounds familiar? I’ve read that it’s a nod to Graham McTavish and Tobias Menzies – two of my favorite actors from the earlier seasons. Loved that reference to them; I also miss seeing them in this show! (But maybe Tobias as Frank because I could not, for the life of me, handle another Black Jack Randall shenanigan, even just in a flashback.) Well, this particular patient was actually Claire’s reason to finally go back to Scotland with Bree. It got a bit philosophical in the flashbacks, too! Also, Claire was able to make penicillin out of 18th century materials. Is there anything that this woman couldn’t do?

Jamie, on the other hand, was catching up with Lieutenant Knox, where the lieutenant told him that he’s going to pardon the Regulators, except Murtagh. This left Jamie no choice but to kill Knox – also because he has a list of Ardsmuir prisoners and as you all know, Jamie’s one of them. Pretty sad about Knox, though. He really trusted Jamie and he seemed like an okay guy. But he had to die!

Bree and Roger also had some problems in this episode. Roger finally found out about what happened with Stephen Bonnet and Bree before they tried to blew up the jail cell the previous season. Roger obviously (but not understandably hmpf) got mad but eventually changed his mind when Claire reassured him that it’s going to be all right. I’m not a big fan of Roger (let’s just get that out of the way), and his reaction in this particular episode. For the sake of drama, I guess.

Also, a new pet is in town! Adso finally made his first appearance at the end of this episode. He’s such a cute wee thing.

#10: Episode 2 - Between Two Fires

One of my favorite things in Outlander is when Claire flaunts her medical knowledge to the 18th century people. I love seeing their expressions, especially when they try to mentally calculate if this woman is a genius or a witch. Sadly, in this episode, there’s one patient Claire couldn’t save because it was too late. This seemed to unravel something in her. It’s devastating to lose a patient, especially when he/she could still be saved. But, even though she’s an expert healer, some people wouldn’t listen to her because she’s not an actual physician. So, Claire decided to make up “Dr. Rawlings.”

Also, I love that Claire picked Marsali as an apprentice! I really loved her character even from Season 3, and I was hoping to get more scenes with her in Season 4. But it was only in this season that her character shined brightly. Marsali was weirded out at first, obviously, but with Claire’s guidance, she’s good to go.

All away from Fraser’s Ridge, Jamie and Lieutenant Knox are fighting off Regulators. While confronting three prisoners, Knox lost his temper and accidentally killed one. At nightfall, Jamie helped the other two to escape. I love Jamie whenever he’s trying to be a hero and all, but sometimes, it just worries too much that he’s always stepping it up. Well, he’s the King of Men, I guess.

The ending of this episode was horrifying and intense because we see Stephen Bonnet, fully alive and plotting evil. I hate him so much, but Ed Speelers is an amazing actor.

#09: Episode 9 - Monsters and Heroes

Despite having this episode in the bottom part of the list, I just want to say that Sam Heughan was amazing in this episode. His acting was top-notch, and I find myself, once again, questioning the awards committee why they haven’t given him an award. Yes, give me more scenes of him writhing in pain!

This episode was highly intense, but it felt almost too draggy. Jamie and company were out hunting when they decided to split up. Jamie and Roger went together, and Jamie was bitten by a venomous snake. Roger tried to look for the others but to no avail. So they decided to camp for the night, in which Jamie told Roger that if he does not survive, it must be him who’s going to kill Stephen Bonnet for him.

Which absolutely no makes sense! Not the killing of Bonnet, but Jamie not surviving. He survived tons of other crap in his life, and I cannot believe he’s dying from a freaking snake. It just does not makes sense. Can you just imagine if he really died? Like a small snake ended Jamie Fraser’s life? It’s just heartbreaking.

The next day, Roger tried dragging Jamie with him while looking for the others. They were eventually found, and they brought him to Claire so she can fix him up. But not even Claire could even save him. The only thing she needs is her syringe, which was destroyed by friggin Lionel Brown (which, let me tell you, is the worst character to ever come out in this season). When Jamie found out his bite was way serious than he ever imagined, he told Claire to kill him instead of amputating his venom-filled leg, which broke Claire. Also, Caitriona Balfe’s acting during her conversation with Bree by the stairs was top-notch!

Jamie almost gave up that night, but with some intense body touching, Claire was able to bring him back to life. It was a touching moment, for sure. Get it? Anyway, it was Young Ian who told him to get a grip of himself – it’s just a leg. His father lost a leg and Fergus lost a hand, but they’re still happy and alive. Which I just want to applause to.

And when all hope seemed lost, it was our little engineer Bree who saved the day! She was able to form a syringe of her own using the tooth of the snake which bit Jamie. Through this, Claire was able to save Jamie’s leg. Yay!

#08: Episode 10 - Mercy Shall Follow Me

I know I’ve said I haven’t read The Fiery Cross yet, but I have read in tons of posts that the killing of Stephen Bonnet was not part of the aforementioned book; he actually met his demise in the next book. But whatever the reasons why they sped up the process, I want to thank the producers and writers for putting it here in this season. The Bonnet storyline was kind of losing touch and was getting draggy. I’d rather have them focus on new things in the next season.

Jamie, Roger, and Young Ian were putting their plot in motion to kill Bonnet through ambushing him when Bonnet himself failed to show up in the said ambush. That’s because he’s at the beach, following Claire and Bree as they were enjoying the ocean breeze. He eventually knocked Claire unconscious and kidnapped Bree.

Bree woke up to find herself in a dingy and shady place, but she was not kept as a prisoner – or so Bonnet tried to tell her. He told her he wanted to change and they even had this strange role play where they eat dinner and Bree told him the story of Moby Dick. We actually get to know Bonnet’s past in this episode. We learn that he’s deathly afraid of water, for one thing.

It seemed to go all right for Bree until Bonnet told her to kiss him, and when she did, he got the sense that she was faking and lo and behold, he was right. This angered him and even started having sex with a prostitute in front of Bree, which was downright disgusting. Anyway, Ed Speelers is a terrific actor!

Jamie and Claire finally find out where Bonnet’s hiding Bree through that prostitute to whom Bonnet was having sex with. Bonnet, fed up with Bree’s ridiculous antics, decided to sell her to a man. But before anything could happen, Jamie, Claire, Roger, and Young Ian were able to save her. Bree was given the choice to end Bonnet’s life, but she decided to give him a fair trial by the government. Bonnet was sentenced to death by drowning, but before he could even die, Bree shot him through the head in a distance. Roger asked her if this was what she wanted or if was to make sure he’s really dead, but Bree was silent, which leaves us to decide what that meant.

I’ve said this before: I wasn’t a fan of Sophie Skelton’s acting, but she definitely improved in this season! She was able to show some emotions and depth in her character. She was unable to convince me before, but she truly made an impact in this season.

#07: Episode 4 - The Company We Keep

Were you ready to see Jamie Fraser dancing in this episode? Because I sure as hell was not! It was such a delight to see him trotting about while he and Claire smile at each other.

But before we got to that scene, we had to watch Roger painfully lead the men to Brownsville (which is totally an insane and ridiculous name for a village – I know this was in the 18th century, but I hope there were poop jokes about them). Not a minute they stepped foot in this place, everything’s gone to chaos. It turns out Isaiah Morton, one of the men, had some problems with one of the guys in Brownsville. Isaiah apparently “disgraced” Lionel Brown’s daughter, Alicia, by sleeping with her, and now she cannot marry this rich guy her father arranged for her.

Jamie and Claire eventually caught up with them, and were able to free Isaiah by letting him escape and to never show his face there again. Claire finally found a new home for Mrs. Beardsley’s newborn baby in Brownsville, Jamie finally got the Brownsville men to join him in his militia to fight the Regulators, and everyone finally had a good time and partied all night long.

One of my favorite moments in the season was in this episode wherein Jamie told Claire that she looked happy while taking care of the newborn baby. He told her that she looked great as a mother, and it saddened me that he never got to see her as one. Jamie told her if she’s sure to give the baby away because maybe it’s their last chance to raise a baby together. Claire was like, “No,” but she appreciated the thought of it. They’re too old to have a baby again, and she already liked their life together. Even so, that was such a sweet moment for the both of them!

Isaiah decided to return to whisk Alicia away, and then she revealed she’s pregnant with his child. While this all seemed great for them, Jamie and Roger were not happy with Isaiah’s return because it might stir up some trouble. But Isaiah was able to convince them that he truly loved Alicia and wouldn’t they do the same thing for their wives. And that’s how it’s done!

#06: Episode 8 - Famous Last Words

A very unique and creative episode. I think I haven’t seen an episode quite like this before, and it’s such a breath of fresh air. I like what the concept of showing the events like a silent film in comparison to what Roger’s facing.

Richard Rankin was amazing in this episode. I think he really delivered well in showing Roger’s trauma and stress after his horrific ordeal. Roger is actually so beaten up in Outlander; it’s really devastating. Last season, he was taken by the Mohawks, and now this. And to think, he wasn’t a warrior or anything – he’s only an Oxford man.

Three months after the Battle of Alamance, Roger was still quiet and could not utter a word. Bree was worried about him, and confided to Claire about her roommate’s boyfriend who was shell-shocked after the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, Roger kept reliving his deathly experience in silence. Usually, I’m not a big fan of Roger (as I said earlier) but I feel bad for what his character has gone through.

Also, Young Ian finally came back in this episode! As someone who haven’t read the books, this took me by surprise. I didn’t know he’s returning, but I am so happy that he is! I really love his character. He’s not the same Young Ian as we’ve seen before, though. He was much more mature and fiercer. There are secrets he’s keeping from his family, which we’ll probably find out more in the next season.

It was actually Young Ian who made Roger speak up again (quite just like the way how he was the one who set Jamie straight when he was bitten by the snake). Ian was asked to help Roger check out some land, and the two of them bonded. Ian told him how lucky he was to have his wife and child with him, even though he was thoroughly beaten from the battle. Roger was alive with a family, and to Ian, that seemed to be everything. Roger, in return, also saved Ian from killing himself. I’d like to see more of this duo in the future, please.

#05: Episode 6 - Better To Marry Than Burn

As soon as the trailer for Season 5 dropped, I’ve heard the words “stable sex” more than once in forums. I didn’t know what it was about – only that involves Jamie and Claire having sex in a stable (obviously). So you could imagine my enthusiasm when I finally see a stable in this episode!

Before that, though, there is a party because Jocasta getting married to some guy who’s not Murtagh. Which is a total loss because I shipped them so hard! We also got to see some flashbacks with Jocasta losing her daughter because of her husband’s cause in the fight against the English long ago.

While mingling with some of the guests, Claire was approached by this ridiculous-looking man called Phillip Wylie, who’s beyond annoying. He flirted with her shamelessly, and she rejected his actions but was immediately interested when she realized he might be the key to capture Stephen Bonnet. But everything got out of hand when he suddenly tried to kiss her. Thankfully, Jamie arrived on time and was able to save her from this man.

But when Claire told him that he might be the answer to the Bonnet problem, Jamie decided to make a gamble with Wylie. Unfortunately, this involved Claire giving up Frank’s ring, which made her unbelievably mad. Later on, when Claire went back to the stables, Jamie drunkenly walked in. Claire’s still angry with him about the rings, but the anger doubled when she found out he was drunk. Jamie told her that he won the bet, and that they should celebrate. There were some fights, then Claire slapped him, and then they kissed and ta-da: stable sex!

Unfortunately, I had high hopes with what the stable sex was going to be and that was not it. I was expecting steamier scenes, but okay, I’ll take this one. It was hilarious, still.

Oh, I almost forgot. Back at Fraser’s Ridge, Bree and Roger fight some some sort of locusts evading the place, just like the ten plagues. But they were able to stop this through some smart science and shit. I couldn’t care less about their plot in this episode; all exciting things happen in River Run at the moment!

But the most heartbreaking thing that ever happened in this episode was Jocasta and Murtagh. The night before the wedding, Murtagh sneaked in Jocasta’s room and begged her not to marry Innes. This broke Jocasta, but still, she couldn’t just run away with Murtagh. She chose a man with a cause before, and she lost her daughter. This woman couldn’t take any heartbreaks anymore, and Murtagh left, heartbroken. And as you know, that would be their last conversation...

#04: Episode 12 - Never My Love

I thought we can go past one season without anyone getting raped, but here we are. I know this was included in the books, but there were so many changes from book to screen in this season – why couldn’t they changed this one? It was too heartbreaking and sad. I don’t know if it’s unnecessary, but I did read one article that said they could’ve just not included that part.

Anyway, this episode was absolutely harrowing and downright terrifying. This show does not shy away from brutal scenes like this, for sure. I am devastated for Claire because she obviously does not deserve that treatment! In her own words, she survived a World War and losing a child. She will not let this one destroy her. But, of course, Claire’s only human and she’s gone through deep trauma in this episode. It’s only fair for her to feel this way.

Lionel Brown (honestly, I hate this guy more than anyone in this season and that includes Stephen Bonnet) kidnapped Claire out of her own home with the help of some other guys, beat her senseless, and even raped her. This really “shookt” me out of my core. It didn’t ruin me like that season finale in Season 1 (which still haunts me to this day) but I am still horrified.

Also, this episode was really creative in showing Claire’s ordeal. It had dream sequences of Claire in 1960s with Jamie and their family celebrating Thanksgiving, with the exception of Bree, Roger, and Jemmy. It included a lot of Easter eggs, such as the vase from the pilot episode and the rabbit from Jamie’s dream in the Battle of Culloden (if I’m not mistaken...?) The production design was also very intricate. The attention to details is brilliant!

Jamie and his men were finally able to save Claire, but she felt ruined. They killed every men in the group, but it seemed like Lionel survived. They took him as a prisoner and brought him to Fraser’s Ridge. Claire was still mending her scars, but she found herself in her clinic with Lionel and Marsali. Yes, she took an oath to do no harm to other people, but do you really expect her to save him from his wounds after what he’s done to her? Hell no! It was too much for her to bear and so she left, crying. It was actually Marsali who ended Lionel’s life with her own hand. Ugh, I love Marsali this season! She was beyond amazing and I love how her character has grown.

This was surely an intense episode, and I love the additional twists of the dream sequence. Caitriona Balfe blew me away in this episode; just give her the Golden Globe and Emmy, please. The final shot of Jamie and Claire is beautiful. One of the best season finales of the show.

#03: Episode 1 - The Fiery Cross

Season 5 really started strong with this first episode. We had a wedding, dancing, sex, singing, burning crosses, kilts, babies! I love it so much!

Finally, Bree’s getting married to Roger, and her parents are here to see it! It’s a wonderful moment for everyone. I am in love with Bree’s dress and the pearls she’s wearing (which her mother wore in her honeymoon sex with her father, let me just add). The wedding was sweet and lighthearted.

But, of course, this is Outlander and we’re not here to have a good time – there’s always something we’re fighting off. In the very first episode, Lord John Grey confided in Jamie that Stephen Bonnet might be alive, which Bree overheard. This was her wedding night, people, give her a rest! Of course, she was visibly shaken, but she kept the information to herself. Also, Tryon was pressuring Jamie to join forces with him and fight for The Crown.

In addition, there were a love-making montage while the L-O-V-E song was being played in the background. Out of place, for sure, but sweet nonetheless. Murtagh and Jocasta managed to sneak in the woods and have some time for themselves. Jamie and Claire were in charge with Jemmy for the night, but that didn’t stop them from getting some action themselves. And, of course, the married couple Bree and Roger finally had a proper honeymoon.

Remember when Tryon was pressuring Jamie to gather some men to fight for The Crown? Well, Jamie faced an impossible decision because obviously he does not want to hunt down his godfather Murtagh. But he can’t also betray Tryon because he doesn’t want to lose his land. And so, he finally gave in and lit the fiery cross, calling the men to fight with him. He included Roger, and even gave him the title of “Captain.” Weird flex, but okay.

This was entirely a good start for a good season. I even watched it twice when it first came out because I was so excited!

#02: Episode 11 - Journeycake

One of the best Outlander episodes, and this one totally made me cry. I hate goodbyes, but Outlander does it best. This episode was also written by the original author herself, Diana Gabaldon. My expectations were high, of course, and she definitely did not disappoint!

Now that Stephen Bonnet is gone and that they have confirmed that Jemmy can travel through the stones, there’s no reason for Bree and Roger to stay any longer. Bree has already delivered the cryptic message to her parents that they will die in the fire. So, she and Roger decided to leave, especially that there’s a Revolutionary War coming on.

Also, Young Ian finally knows about the truth about Claire, Bree, and Roger – they are time travelers from the future. About time, actually! He deserved to know the truth long time ago. But something’s weird: Ian actually wanted to go through the stones himself, too. I have no idea why, but it’s probably going to be about his time with the Mohawks (which I’m totally looking forward to know about in the next season).

Also, there’s a hot sex scene with Claire and Jamie in this episode, which totally makes up for that awkward, rushed stable sex from the other episode. It involved Jamie going down on Claire while she’s sitting by the window pane. It’s daring and steamy! Trust Diana Gabaldon to perfect that scene.

Before Bree and Roger leave, they said their goodbyes to everyone first. Marsali even admitted that she sees Bree as a sister, which breaks my heart, because they totally deserve more screen time together! Lizzie also tearfully said her goodbye to her mistress Bree, and it’s quite heartbreaking because all this time, she thought she’s coming along with them as well. Poor Lizzie.

Claire also made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as her last meal for Bree and Roger. I don’t know how she was able to make peanut butter and jelly with 18th century resources, but I do know that it was painstakingly hard so kudos to Claire for her dedication in making the perfect PB&J sandwich! Jamie’s reaction was totally hilarious, too!

When Bree and Roger finally left (but for some reason, they couldn’t go through the stones – more explanation maybe in the next season), Claire and Jamie were finally left alone in Fraser’s Ridge. While Claire and Marsali were tending on a patient, Jamie and some of his men checked out some commotion. However, this was only a ploy for Lionel Brown and his men to kidnap Claire straight from her home. It’s terrifying, and I didn’t like what happened next.

#01: Episode 7 - The Ballad of Roger Mac

The major highlight of the season! I was ready to get hurt in this episode, but damn, nothing prepared me for what was about to happen.

The whole episode reminded me of the Prestonpans episode from Season 2. Jamie was fighting with his men in the Battle of Alamance, while Claire was tending the patients. Ah, but before that, let’s celebrate Jamie Fraser’s fiftieth birthday! I don’t know how this guy is 50, but he is. He and Claire *cough* did some celebrating of their own before shit went down in the fight.

While all the others were preparing for the fight, Bree was staying with Aunt Jocasta when she finally realized that the fight was going to take place in Alamance Creek. This made her remember an importance piece of history. The militia will win, and the Regulators will lose. Of course, she took it upon herself to warn her parents. Thankfully, Bree has inherited her mother’s memory cells.

Roger eventually volunteered to be the one to tell Murtagh and his men that they were doomed to fail, and Jamie let him. This was going on pretty smoothly, and Roger was able to tell Murtagh what he came for. Unfortunately, he ran into someone he knew (that woman he met in the ship from Season 4) and they were caught in a harmless innocent hug by the woman’s husband. The husband was none other than William Mackenzie, played by Graham McTavish! While it’s good to see him in the series again, I am pissed because they beat up Roger.

Meanwhile, Jamie was forced to wear a redcoat uniform, which was just downright offensive. Jamie’s entire life was dedicated to fighting off redcoats, and now he’s one of them. It truly broke my heart to see him like that. You just know he’s struggling and trying to keep his senses.

In the battle, Jamie was fighting with some Regulator when Murtagh himself showed up and saved him. There were some smiles; however, it was cut short when Murtagh was shot by one of Jamie’s militia men. Jamie tried to save him, and even dragged Murtagh back to Claire so she could save him, but it was all too late. And I am broken. I was crying when I was watching this episode, and it just broke me. Murtagh was one of my favorite characters, and I was so happy they brought him back last season. But now... I’m just broken. When the fight was over, Jamie took off the redcoat and just smashed it down in front of Tryon. This man was just fed up!

But while this was going on, Bree was worrying about Roger, as he still haven’t showed up after going to the Regulators. So, she, Claire, and Jamie tried looking for him. They finally came upon a tree with three men hanging on a tree with sacks over their heads; they were left to die. Jamie recognized Roger to be one of them because of the white handkerchief on his pocket that he had given to him earlier.

This was really a good episode, and hats off to Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe’s acting. They were superb. Oh, as well as Duncan Lacroix, who I really admired as Murtagh! It’s so sad to see him leave the show!

***

Well, there you have it! My ranking of Season 5 episodes. I hope you had as much fun as I did with Outlander this season. It was incredibly fun, and a huge improvement from previous season. Tell me what you think!

#outlander #outlander season 5 #caitriona balfe #sam heughan #sophie skelton #richard rankin #claire #jamie #bree #roger #outlander starz #outlander tv show #season 5

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nathalie-sancoeur-assistant · 5 years

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Loveater

Here’s my analysis on Loveater, spoilers are below- and there may be some Miracle Queen ones as well.

“Experiencing loss is a part of life. Some people lose their first love. Some lose the harmony of their relationship. Some people lose hope. Others lose patience. While others lose their soul. Some lose their certainties...and some have nothing to lose”

Let’s look at this intro sequence, shall we?

I believe each and every one of those lines have meaning and foreshadowing in them for each character they were about.

My evidence:

“Some people lose their first love” it shows Master Fu staring longingly at Marianne. And in the very next episode ( MQ spoilers) even though he’s lost his memories, he’s finally able to be with the woman he loves.

In this very episode, the loss of harmony between Andre and Audrey’s relationship is what starts off the whole plan Hawkmoth has in store for the next 2 episodes.

Some lose hope- Chloe, losing hope in Ladybug that she will ever have her miraculous again. And that loss of hope is what fuels her to (MQ spoilers) follow along with Hawkmoth.

So what are we left with that didn’t quite have any resolution in this episode?

Chat Noir, losing patience.

Nathalie, losing her soul.

Gabriel, losing his certainties.

And Luka, having nothing to lose.

Before I go on, I would like to point out that the only time we have heard of someone having “nothing to lose” was in Heroes Day, when Hawkmoth claimed HE had nothing to lose....and yet, if he had nothing to lose, he wouldn’t be losing his certainties. So how does Luka have nothing to lose, pray tell? Moving on- these are the 4 unresolved lines of this episode, and I can’t help but feel as if there’s going to be more at play to them later on.

Chat has been basically waiting for Ladybug to fall in love with him this whole time. If he’s losing patience, that may very well cue his attempt to move on through season 4.

Nathalie, losing her soul- Nathalie Sancoeur. Nathalie “Heartless”.Soulless? And directly after it’s said, she begins coughing, because she’s still sick. This could be implying a couple things.

1.) Nathalie’s body isn’t the only thing being effected by the miraculous. Her lifeforce and very soul are being effected and potentially drained.

2.) By soul, they’re referring to how she’s willing to give up anything for this family. How she’s essentially allowed herself to become their servant, willing to do whatever they ask of her and essentially, giving up her soul for them.

And if it’s the first then we know that Emilie isn’t just comatose or dead. She’s practically soulless.

No matter how you take it, it means that she has been willing to give up her very soul for Gabriel and his family.

Gabriel, losing his certainties- when she says this, we get this scene.

So this I feel kind of obviously implies that Gabriel’s certainty on both what he thinks is right and what he wants is wavering. And if he’s losing his certainty, his determination is going to waver...which means he might start occasionally skipping over potential akumas for Nathalie’s sake.

Now of course (MQ spoilers) by the end the peacock miraculous is already fixed, giving him less reason to doubt his intentions and actions, but what about what he wants? This is the episode after Felix chronologically if I remember correctly, so this is directly after Adrien told Gabriel that Nathalie was practically part of the family. And we see how intimate things get between them throughout these two episodes. He may have no reason to back down anymore, so it would be interesting to see him still doubting himself.

And lastly, Luka...honestly, this is likely a really big stretch...but the only other person who’s been implied to have nothing to lose (despite having a son who needs him, a woman who loves him, and a business that can’t run without him) was Hawkmoth. And now we have Luka, someone with a sister who needs him, a mother who loves him, a girl who needs his support that he cares very much for and a bright future ahead of him, being implied to have nothing to lose. As soon as I heard that, my thoughts went to the new Hawkmoth actually being Luka. Which...I have no clue how they would do that. But...he’s the person no one would suspect. He’d be practically safe from suspicion until some solid evidence came into play and even then folks would doubt. It would be the biggest plot twist MLB could pull, I’ll tell you that.

---

I don’t ship Lukanette, but this is very cute.

And this...oh my gosh, Gabriel in this scene. He just seems so happy to present this love cloak to Audrey and Andre. It’s one of the happiest sounding voices I can recall him using and it’s because he did this on purpose, he know’s exactly what’s going to happen. He’s just waiting for it to unfold. And you have to admit it’s pretty funny. Especially when you realize that...he did it on purpose. (and he made it a cloak because he wanted to akumatize both of them.)

They both know what’s up.

And you know what, I actually like it quite well, but Audrey is right...it doesn’t look good on Andre.

“A symbol of eternal love...”

Sooo if someone were to order that in a dress form for themselves....would it symbolize their self-love too?

---

Adrien: Can we help you? *puts hands together* please?

Pure.

“The secret to a long lasting marriage is-” “Distance!”

Nathalie:

That smirk.

Even if no one dates each other in the Kagami/Adrien/Marinette/Luka square, they have a very wholesome friendship deserving of recognition.

Scooby dooby doo, where are you, we’ve got some work for you now

This was a shout-out to the cliche of all older cartoons when folks are sneaking around, wasn’t it?

She’s still the one out here on the field doing the dirty work.

Pure. Nothing to see here, just two broken rich kids finally having a chance to enjoy themselves with their good friend Marinette. I love their friendship.

My resting face.

She really is quite pretty with her hair down.

Gotta go fast

She pressed one button and spoke to Hawkmoth. She has Hawkmoth on speed dial.

I ship lovesquare but the more we get of Lukanette and Adrigami the more I appreciate it. And the more Luka grows on me. I don’t ship it, but I’m not mad at it at all.

I love the Mari-vision. Its like watching a lightbulb go off in her head.

Also! I love how Heart Hunter/Loveater doesn’t just target romantic love. I mean, sure romantic love is cool and all but they were even able to recognize the love and bond between an owner and their pet. Self-love counts. I’m honestly really disappointed they didn’t get a chance to corner Nathalie, though...not that I want Nathalie in harms way, but I would have loved to hear them say something like “This one is just absolutely filled with love.” “Yes, unrequited...” “Love for a family that can never be her own. What a shame...” and right before she gets devoured, Chat Noir dives down and gives her a chance to get away.

I have nothing to say about this, I just wanted to include it.

They still look like night and day even without ones transformation.

“I dont believe in those kids of myths...but I do believe in ice cream” I agree.

“I wish I didn’t have to involve you in this”

Poor thing- I love this scene though. As soon as we see them together it starts with him reaching for her- seeing them out in public, in the daylight, interacting like that, it’s quite pleasing.

Does he even realize how close her is to her?

And when you zoom further out, he’s got a hand resting on her shoulder...

It’s quite beautiful.

An awkward screenshot, but I love this running sequence. “Bye bye little bird”, love it.

And...she fell right into their trap. They knew they’d never be able to find the guardian if she managed to detransform and be her civilian self- they were rushing and confusing her so she’d forget to detransform.

“My dear guardian” Okay so what does Hawkmoth have a thing for Master Fu now?

“My dear Pigeon”

“My dear Mayura”

“My dear Guardian”

It’s like with me and calling everyone “Hon(ey)”. And I have to admit, the first time seeing this-

It was quite terrifying. Because I couldn’t help but imagine/compare it to looking up and suddenly seeing something like SCP-096 looming over you, or slenderman or you know just...something really chilling. Looking up and seeing someone or something with the capabilities of ruining and uprooting your life, when you’ve been trying so hard to avoid them all this time. It’d be spooky.

---

The conversation they had here was kinda heartbreaking.

“There’s only one person I don’t want to hurt- Marinette. She’s the only other friend I have.” and yet “I can’t give him up, even for the sake of friendship”

Maybe I find it heartbreaking because I value friendship over romantic feelings. If I found out a friend had feelings for a guy I also liked, unless that guy approached me first, it’d be given up for the sake of my friend. And even if the guy approached me first, it’d still be a complicated process for me to be willing to accept. I’m so used to hearing about Friends > everyone else that I forget that there are people who don’t have those same values.

Aw yeah, Master Fu finally out to kick some shell.

And the fact that Hawkmoth assumes that old people have the same time limit that children do, goes to show that hey, he still doesn’t know everything about the miraculous. He still has a lot to learn.

Oh gosh I love going through and pausing this show frame by frame because then I get gems like this

I can’t stop giggling at this omgosh

“You talk a lot but you haven’t achieved much so far” Master Fu’s really out here to roast Hawkmoth.

Maymoth are a power couple.

Okay so....I love this? It’s actually really clever if he’s looking for more allies. I like the way he went about it here. Offering her something she desperately wants and can boost her power...and in return she fight by his side. And targeting her once all her hope is down the drain, when her doubts are at their highest...yes, yes, it’s twisted as heck but I like how you can see the thought he put into this. He’s even willing to go so far as to call her “My queen” just to further erase all doubts she might have and cement the idea that if she follows through and does as he asks she can have everything she wants.

ngl this gave me strong Sebastian Michaelis vibes (a demon off the show Black Butler).

And I like how they were sure to incude the detail of the akuma not only just flying out of the cloak but also lsing the energy it had been infused with.

And Marinette’s emotional breakdown...

Finally, we get to see some of the effect that owning the miraculous and having to constantly hold back her negative emotions has had. It can’t be easy, having to constantly lie to people you love and trust, not being able to show them a side of yourself that really is a part of who you are. Never being allowed to feel overwhelmingly sad, or mad, for fear of destroying your home and family with no one to stop it. And on top of it, feeling as if you have to give up on the person you love because, they love someone else, and someone else loves them more than they love you. Feeling as if Adrien can’t be trusted for fear of spreading her deepest secret, as if Kagami doesn’t care about her as much as she may have hoped, and she ends up rambling about something tht Luka can’t begin to understand unless he knows her secret.

And Luka, “You can tell me everything, or nothing if you prefer” that is so important, Luka has officially gained my utmost respect. His personality, values and mindset are starting to really come out and I respect it. He knows that sometimes people just can’t talk about something right then and there, that sometimes they’re just not ready, and that it’s okay. I like how they used that to showcase part of Luka and it’s really important for kids to learn that too.

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finding-fallen-stars · 4 years

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YGO Questionnaire

Tagged by @howaboutalittlehelpneos (thank you, Zen)

I don’t actually use this platform to talk very often-- I’m more often than not content to be a silent lurker-- but this is a fun opportunity to talk about the Special Interest, so hell yeah! Fair warning, this isn’t exactly spoiler free.

Favorite series: This isn’t really a difficult pick for me-- out of all of them, GX is the one that resonates with me the most! There’s a lot of aspects I look for when it comes to storytelling, and GX just happens to check a lot of boxes; I’m a sucker for a good coming-of-age story, and with devotion, deconstruction of common shounen archetypes, well-written representation of mental illness, and even the rare but important sentiment that reckless altruism is not, in fact, a good thing? It’s pretty much everything I could want out of a story.

I know a lot of people say that season 3 is the one that makes GX worth watching, and while s3 is my favorite, I honestly believe that it’s all worth watching; the filler episodes (in season one especially) are genuinely entertaining and really contribute to the show’s theme of growing up and changing, and I love the earlier episodes just as much as the later ones.

Go watch GX-- it’s just so gooooood

I will say, if I had to pick a close second, it would be 5Ds-- GX just has a special place in my heart.

Favorite Protagonist: Most people who know me know the answer to this one-- it’s Yusei. No contest whatsoever.

I have gone on no shortage of long, rambly essays about why I love this boy too damn much-- part of it is just because I personally connect with him in a lot of ways, part of it is just because he’s so compelling and interesting, from the depth of his guilt over something he had no hand in to the fact that his desperation to save people has almost become his sole aspiration. I could talk for a while about how much and why I love him, but I can just leave it at saying that I think he’s a really wonderful character, protagonist, and he gets the serotonin going. (I have a little Yusei charm on my keys that just brings a smile to my face every time I look at it, lmao)

crab boy is the best boy.

Favorite Rival: Hoo boy this was a hard one for me because my taste in fictional characters ranges from holy and good (see: Yusei and Yugi) to literal garbage, so I adore pretty much every rival in every Yugioh series I’ve watched. (minus Jack-- I’m not exactly a Jack fan lmao) But if I did have to pick (and I do), it would have to be Manjoume.

He’s just... such a good character. I think the anime does him dirty in a lot of ways, but his character arc is just so GOOD. He starts the series out with no genuine friends-- just people who follow him around because of his name and influence, but he forms sincere friendships over the course of the series and manages to grow past his fear of loss, and it’s just... wonderful. I was so genuinely proud of him when he could stand up again and resolve just to try again after losing by the final season; it displayed so much growth in one statement and it made me really happy. Is it strange to feel genuine pride for a fictional character? Maybe. Do I care? No.

Honorable mentions go to both Seto Kaiba and Shark, too! It was a tough choice between these three.

Favorite BFF: This is a hard one-- I’d say Johan no contest if I counted him as a best friend, but I don’t because he always read as a love interest to me lmao so I’m just gonna say Joey

I’m really not all that fond of Duel Monsters, to tell you the truth? I find the story flat and while there are some good concepts, nothing ever really seemed to have an impact, but Joey always stood out to me as one of the few characters that actually actively developed and grew as the story unfolded. He was a genuine delight and I appreciate him both as a well-written character and as an interesting narrative foil to Kaiba. I just wish more current media took him seriously and respected him lmao (looking at you, Duel Links)

Favorite GFF: Aki! Easily Aki, even if I find her lack of relevance later in the story absolutely tragic. I don’t really know what I expected when she was introduced, but she proved to be a lot more interesting and well-written than I anticipated-- her backstory is heartbreaking, the spiral she goes down as the people who are supposed to uplift and take care of her reject her and regard her as a monster is very understandable, and she’s just... such an interesting, well-written, and flawed character. I didn’t agree with all of her actions, of course, but I think that was the point in the end, and I wish there could have been more focus on her recovery from everything that happened with Arcadia and her moving forward from Divine’s manipulation and all. There’s a lot of potential there that just didn’t get tapped.

god I love her

Favorite Villain: VECTORRRR

I’m not fond of any of GX’s villains (minus Saiou and Camula), I do like 5Ds’s villains but just not as much as Vector, and as much as I adore Marik, Bakura, and Pegasus... my only justification is just that he’s Vector

(using the squishy Vector, in honor of Zen)

S tier design, genuinely entertaining villain despite how despicable his actions are, charismatic, and actually legitimately competent-- I didn’t trust his little carrot bitch facade the first time around, but he had me several times after that. He’s just... so well-written, so well-performed, and so good altogether. I think he’s the best villain across all of the series.

Favorite Card:

As much as I love my Aromages... Stardust Dragon and Rainbow Dragon have special places in my heart.

Favorite Episode: I also have to go series-by-series here.

Season 0: Episode 7 - “The Underhanded Digital Pet Rebellion”; this whole episode was just a wild ride in concept and in execution, and I loved it-- genuinely wasn’t expecting that plot twist either!

Duel Monsters: Episodes 96-97 - “Darkness vs. Darkness/One Turn Kill” - Again, I’m not big on DM, but I love these episodes just because of how much of a bitch Bakura is the whole way through. Marik and Bakura bickering like a married couple is also good content.

GX: Episode 152 - “Activate Super-Fusion! Rainbow Neos” - I have rewatched this episode a ridiculous number of times-- I just love seeing Judai’s efforts to save Johan finally pay off, and the moment where he saves him again at the end is just... so so good. Easy favorite.

5Ds: Episodes 86-92 (Crash Town)/106-110 - Okay, I’m cheating here, but I couldn’t deciiiide. I loved seeing Kiryu’s arc wrapped up so neatly and just the aesthetic of Crash Town, and then the entire duel with Placido in the WRGP arc where Shooting Star Dragon gets summoned is SO good. I genuinely couldn’t decide.

Zexal: Episode 143 - “The Aloof Duelist ‘Nasch’: The Destined Final Duel” - Not going to lie, I bawled like a fool at the end of this episode, and I picked it primarily because it impacted me so much emotionally. Shark’s parting words to Yuma did in fact make me weep and @howaboutalittlehelpneos can testify.

Favorite decks to use: I mostly use Aromages, but I try to also use my Magician Girl, Crystal Beast, and Junk Synchro deck too!

Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, XYZ, Pendulum, or Link?: I’m a Synchro lover myself, but fusions entertain me as well~

Years in fandom: I’ve been here since April lol

Who am I tagging: I don’t really interact with many people and I’m kind of shy as is, so... whoever wants to?

#yugioh #ygo tag meme

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yfere · 5 years

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Shipping Calculus! Live Updates from C2E66(6)

A MASSIVE SHIPPING FEAST ON BOTH ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM this episode, hot DAMN. Thank you to @alarnia and @softazelma for helping with data entry. Masterpost here. I just...I don’t even have words, I’m too busy soaring.

-5 to Fjord/Jester unlike Fjord, as these two unfortunately give us a Complete Guide on how to Lose All The Battle Points—Fjord accidentally ditching Jester to get mauled by a winged monster for the third time in a row as he is Contractually Obligated to do, and Jester getting her own back by polymorphing the roc just as Fjord settled on its back, sending our dear warlock plummeting towards an early—and painful—landing. The hemorrhaging to the ship was mostly patched up by both of them being very regretful over the whole situation, Jester saying “sorry” a billion and one times, and so on. Then they dip back into point loss with Fjord Completely Failing To Be On The Wavelength when it comes to disguising as leaves, participating in dance parties, not making people exhausted with a hard ride on the moorbounders through the night, etc etc, but these were largely made up for by Jester’s appreciation for Fjord paying for their inn stay, his continued helpfulness with Sending, and most importantly Jester taking every opportunity to point out how RIPPED and TOUGH and SMART and GOOD AT ACCENTS Fjord is as he flexes for her benefit. Overall, a rollercoaster week, but we at the lab feel it balances to point loss when you factor in the massive physical toll these two took on each other, and not in the fun way. They can do better (the fun way, for instance)

+20 to Jester/Caduceus as these two show us Battle Points Done Right, with Jester casting an insect plague in the most Caduceus of moves, and NOT ONLY THAT, but making them an Oprah BEES gif, recalling the most Iconic of Jester/Cads scenes, and the most Iconic Jester Ship Mascot, comparable only to jellyfish. Caduceus calling Jester a “sugar pea” and making her squeal and hug him, a type of #BodyContact which earns the most possible points without lips being involved. Dancing with Jester and having a grand old time. Them earning Battle Points?????? with their protracted bat-catching session, and Caduceus using literally all of his Banes so that the itty creature never so much as nicks Jester. That’s love.

+10 to Nott/Cat Shaped Creatures Speaking of lip involvement, Frumpkin got a kiss from Nott before being let down!!! Caleb better watch out, or she’ll steal his cat right out from under him!! Massive point loss however for Jannick yeeting Nott off of him for daring to ride alone, because Caleb’s precious pets are nothing if not loyal. (that’s a +15 to Caleb/Cat Shaped Creatures right there!)

+37 to Fjord/Caduceus These two have their strongest week YET, with Fjord—voluntarily! opening up about the Wildmother, and Caduceus giving some amazing advice about meditation which lets Fjord get more peaceful sleep to ASMR ocean sounds! Caduceus talking about a “shining beautiful” destiny (always a point earner!), and opening up about HIS Wildmother dreams and past and quests as well! Caduceus saying he has faith in Fjord—though there’s some point loss as Caduceus seems to have joined Nott’s “There is Evil in the Fjord Club” by implying it’s only his good friendships keeping him on the straight and narrow, smh Caduceus. Cads adorably suggesting that they can ALSO stop in the abyssal temple before they leave town if that’s what Fjord wants, like visiting a gift shop. Caduceus as usual being the first to Fjord’s side for That Good Hjealing and Emotional Sjupport, which Fjord petulantly demands, and Fjord encouragingly saying “C’mon, baby” as Caduceus looks around for the pursuing roc. In the Creepy Tunnels, Caleb gets +2 to Cockblocking as Fjord wanted to be the one to help Caduceus out, but Caleb gets the honor. Later Cads helps Fjord look for magical arms and armor though, that’s pretty sweet.

+42 to Jester/Yasha LOVE??? LOVE WAS SAID????? ANNNND THEY HUGGED?!?!?!?!?! The “we” puts ever so slight a damper on things, but that is a Point Earner right there, with a lovely conversation about being Yasha’s New Family and defending her from anything that would upset her. Yasha getting teary, saying Jessie once more and making a joke about the king’s instrument being a rock harp, like….they are love?? Love?????? AND, annnnnnnd they get the Sexy Points for “Comes more with another person” HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS JESTER I’M LOVsjkajkgakajksakjkasjksajkfukewk;HA;GKJ BKfjkcbdjabkjsdbalkbB SJAK BKJBSAKJK;jkjdasbjksbjkdakasdsfnajdknmbznb

-1 to Beau/Pets While she gets point gains for charming a baby roc with some staff scritches and thrown food, she gets point loss for beaning the poor baby with that same staff, though luckily she doesn’t join Nott in the Baby Killing Club of this campaign. -1 to Caleb/Vulture Culture as despite using all of his spells to Live a Bird-Brained Life, he unfortunately drops his form too quickly to save Fjord, gets bit back to wizard form by the baby roc and told to shut up with the bird screeching by Beau. But Frumpkin gains some points for looking successfully for the pursuing roc.

-20 to Nott/Yasha You get the sense that Nott is trying to mend things with Yasha, but it always falls apart and falls apart horribly. “We’re safe in this smoke” leads to Yasha immediately leaving it, and after Nott has her flask taken she spends the rest of the episode talking about how shady and suspicious Yasha is which even Caleb “Nott is Never Wrong” Widogast can’t agree with. Searching the darling barbarian’s pockets and accusing her until Yasha gets fed up and yells that she didn’t FUCKING take it.

+15 to Beau/Yasha/Jester as they have another stellar week. Featuring Classic Threesome Moments, including “Should I give you some private time alone?” with both Beau and Yasha Very Much Wanting Her To Stay, and Jester sharing the Sugar Momma loveliness she’d been having with Beau with Yasha, in the form of a suggestive ring gifting joke and “dressing Yasha up” in the fancy clothing Beau recovered for the both of them. The three of them touching the stone Celestials and listening to their music

+17 to Beau/Yasha *starts singing Beyonce* she liked it, so she put a ring on it! ‘Nuff said. Beau’s terribly awkward but wonderful “We’ll protect you with our lives” also: goooooooooooooooooooooooood. Beau being incredibly worried over using Yasha as bait, more worried over dead Celestials, but forging ahead because they both know it’s the best option they have at the moment *sniffs* it’s Some Angst Here. Beau saying Yasha has “dope wings” and might be a “dope angel in irons” and suggesting that Yasha may have gotten her name by sleeping with a lot of people, the sheer dumbassery of which makes Yasha facepalm herself in the hopes of getting a Lesbian Amnesia concussion.

+20 to Beau/Jester as Dimension Door gets used once more for an incredibly sapphic and beautiful moment. Beau grabs onto Jester to try to throw her to safety, but stays when Jester asks, and Jester getting them both to safety?? Dare I say, Romance? Dancing together, loving shiny loot together, running their hands along the side of the tunnel and detectiving together. Beau saying Jester is pretty awesome, as always!

+4 to Fjord/Cowboy Vibes as for one glorious moment, he was yeehaw riding that roc. Alas.

+11 to Caleb/Fjord. Although a sincere effort was made, these two did not in fact earn any Battle Points as Caleb’s furious handwringing, running around, and smacking faulty cocoons and tossing feathers repeatedly failed to help Fjord out of his situation with the roc—only acting as a feathery transport to a cleric managed to do the poor man any good. Nonetheless, these two continued to Same Hat on planning as usual, going full speed (or not at all) with the moorbounders, Caleb directing Fjord towards Facely duties but admirably performing on some Facely duties himself when they first roll into town and get the side-eye. Fjord as always being Very Attuned to Caleb’s navigational skills, wanting to know what direction they’re going and wanting Caleb to do translation duty. Being excellent detective partners as they have been since the circus in identifying bodies and bones together. Point loss for Fjord apparently thinking that the best way to get Caleb’s attention is to throw an eldritch blast in the vicinity of his cat instead of, say, shaking him or something. Fjord…….when are you going to be nice to other people’s pets? Will you ever?

+1 to Caleb/Essik “But of course you must know of THIS EXTREMELY FAMOUS AND HANDSOME MAN ESSIK THEYLAS who will ABSOLUTELY VOUCH FOR US, IN FACT PLEASE ASK HIM TO I NEED AN EXCUSE TO TALK TO HIM.”

+5 to Jester/Graffiti as she pulls off a difficult prank in changing the sign to the “Ruddy Poon” in full view of the whole community. One of her weaker jokes of the episode, though, so less point gain.

+3 to The Mighty Nein/Oban as he’s apparently super impressed with how quickly and trustworthily they brought Yasha to the area. Compliments Jester on her singing skills. He must be a good guy then, right? Right?

-4 to Nott/Jester for Nott claiming erroneously that rocs eat leaves to Jester, absolutely wanting Jester to “waste” a spell looking for her missing flask (that Jester stole). Point gains for Jester casting lesser restoration on Nott and worrying about her alcoholism and recklessness to a heartbreaking degree….but unfortunately, balancing out to point loss considering the physical and emotional toll her thievery resulted in as Nott panicks and takes out her feelings on the rest of the party. We at the lab live in fear on what will happen once Nott discovers who IS responsible

+14 to Caleb/Jester she…..makes him laugh???? A rare accomplishment for which There Must Surely Be a Medal??? This alone earns All The Points for an Iconic Moment, but Caduceus gets +7 to Cockblocking for being the one Eagle Caleb carts around when the offer was originally extended to Jester. Caleb also catching onto Jessie (thank you Nott for this nickname I despise) and looking soft at everything she does, and dancing, and being the first to adorably compare Jester to a snap pea. Caleb agreeing with Jester that building bridges sounds nice. Point loss for Jester making far too much fun of Caleb for not knowing her demon stories and not seeing the obelisk, prompting him to weakly defend himself that he’s “doing his best.” More point loss for Caleb also pushing to ride the moorbounders to exhaustion, and just ignoring Jester’s “feelings” to talk to Caduceus, showing a lack of trust that is UNACCEPTABLE.

-500 to Nott/Alcohol Which needs no explanation.

+16 to Caleb/Caduceus as these boys get Good Quality Time, with Caleb flying Caduceus around everywhere, Caduceus continuing to think Caleb Magic is the Solution to Everything by suggesting alarms at the cave entrance and seeking out Caleb’s cat-based assistance three billion times. Caleb asking for Caduceus’ opinion and feelings specifically for guidance on what they should do, also thinking Caduceus Magic is the Solution to Everything by asking for a detect magic which Caduceus could not provide. Once more very emphatically forbidding Caduceus from wasting his spell slots on Daylight, because like a #KnightInShiningArmor Caleb wants to chivalrously cast that spell himself with the driftglobe. Caduceus chivalrously picking up the tab and buying incense both for himself and Caleb. Caleb holding onto Caduceus’ wrist for a full minute and proving Caduceus is a favorite for his Special Buffing Spells, because the wizard is too much of a scaredy-cat to just hold his hand, I suppose.

+20 to Everyone/Detective Work for finding gems, bones, maps, emblems, and identifying the precise coagulation of blood to determine when it was spilled! Nothing Conclusive was learned, but boy did it increase the Creepiness Factor of the episode!

-100 to The Mighty Nein/This One Particular Roc who will hold a grudge against them for the rest of time, woe unto them should they ever venture into the Barbed Fields again.

+19 to Jester/Cosplay of the Week for a much-complimented leaf disguise, and for dressing up in the bloody garb of some mauled nobles. Point loss because it was unclear to most of the judges that “leaf” is what she was going for, and not “healthy edible vegetable”

#long post #critical role #fjorester #widofjord #widojest #bashter #beauyasha #beaujester #lavorregard #nottasha #nott the best detective agency #clayvorre #clayleb #jestasha #shipping calculus #cr spoilers #shadowgast #fjorclay

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jaskanetic · 4 years

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Little Tribute To A Good Boi, and Good People (might get kinda sad)

Ever since Waffles passed away, I've started letting my lil brother's dog into my room to chill and sleep.

His name is Zeus, we've had him since I was about... 7 or 8. and I'm gonna be 20 this August. He's a very, very old boi.

He is a mix of Border Collie, and some sort of terrior. Like Irish/Scottish terrior, something like that. And we also think there's a bit Chihuahua in there- he's a mix boi.

He has some scars, bumbs, and all, and is a pretty wild boi.

He has a nice underbite, and always looks grumpy, but is actually a very very sweet boi when he gets to know you.

He got an injury in his right eye about a year or two ago, and so he had surgery to have his eye removed. His left one still works really well, and when you look in it, you can see just how happy he is to see you.

Did you also know he catches birds? He has some pretty strong bird hunting instincts. He can jump SUPER high in the air and catch birds as they fly by. He's really old so he doesn't do it as often anymore, but now and then you can catch a glimpse of him trying to catch a bird that flies by.

Zeus is a very good boi and I love him.

He isn't Waffles.... And I know I won't feel as connected to him as I was with Waffles...

To be honest, I cried the first night I let him into my room to sleep. Some part of my mind tried to believe "it'll be just like if Waffles was here" but it wasn't.

You can't replace a person's life, and you can't replace your companion's life either. A life, is a life, and not a single life, not a single person, is ever replaceable. You can meet someone amazing, whether it be a person or dog or lizard or what have you- but once they are gone, you won't find anyone else like them.

I lost a lot of people in the span of just ... 3 or 4 years. Too many people.

And I'm glad, I was with Waffles in his final moments.

But, watching the process of death... Watching something writhe until it's last breath exists it's body...?

To be honest, I'm quite traumatized.

And it's something I've been mulling over for the past entire month since he's been gone. Not just him, but other people I've lost too.

Not every person I've lost has died; but I would welcome each and every person back into my life, even the ones not quite on earth anymore if I could.

Because each and every life is irreplaceable.

Even I have days where I think no one would notice if I'm gone, or that my existence is pretty meaningless. That no one cares, and I'm not unique in any way.

But it isn't true. You are unique. You are important. You exist for a reason- and I can PROMISE when someone loses you, their life is never the same after that.

A life is a life, and a life cannot be replaced.

What gets me the most is that, I often wonder if I even have much impact on people at all. I constantly wonder how much affect my actions really have.

The long week spent, watching Waffles slowly get worse and worse... He was in terrible condition. Vomiting despite not eating or drinking. Limping everywhere, falling on the floor a lot. Hardly able to move at all, nothing but bones ... It was borderline traumatic, heartbreaking. I cried everyday for that entire week, I cried the week before that too.

The day he died, he went to lay on the complete opposite side of the house, down a single step into another room.

He spent the entire morning walking around, looking for a place to die.

And in his final moments? He got up and ran as best as he could across the house- and into my bedroom.

I got up to check on him. He was sitting in my room in front of my door. And I leaned down to pet him and comfort him, because I thought he was going to puke again.

Instead, when I pulled away, he tried to get up, but fell over on his side behind my fan.

I can't even begin to tell you what the process of dying looks like. The best way I can describe it is: horrifying. Just.... Horrifying.

But what's got me thinking about this is... He, in his final moments, went to the excruciating effort to go to my room. He wanted, to be in my room, in his final moments. He wanted to be near me.

And it's really kinda pathetic that it's taken this much, and so much more on top of it, for me to understand "what I do does matter to people".

That I, matter to people.

Don't get me wrong, I still battle anxiety a lot. I still have bad days.

But in the course of almost 6 months I went from having a breakdown everyday and thinking "I mean nothing at all" to: "I matter to people, and everyone is important to me." And having pretty much no real break downs. Like. At all.

Just like my Papa. My Nana. Like all my old friends. Like Harley, like Waffles.... Zeus matters.

He can never be Waffles, because he is Zeus. He can't replace any old friend because... He just isn't them. He's him.

And you matter. And I matter.

You could drive me up the wall, absolutely insane, and even if you are someone that constantly grinds my gears- you are irreplaceable.

I might get a tortoise tomorrow- will it replace Zeus? Nope.

I make new friends now and then- do they replace my old friends? Nope.

My old friends make new friends- do those new friends replace me? Nope.

Coinciding with this: please don't tell someone "X is going to make you choose over me and them" or "you care more about X than me"

I'm not exempt of feeling this kind of envy, but for someone who isn't even 20 yet, I grew up faster than most older adults I know who have used these lines. In only just 6 months.

It's taken a lot of pain, drama, trauma, death, and struggles... But my brain has finally matured and wrapped over the genuine fact that: each and every living being is unique, unreplaceable, and matters to the world. Including myself. Including you.

So if you ever wonder, if you even matter. If you ask yourself: what's the point anymore? If you consider destroying yourself to try an be someone you're not. Or you get jealous, envious, hung up over "I might be replaced"....

Please remember Waffles.

Please remember Zeus.

Remember each and every person you've met.

You're unique. You're cared for. And you matter.

And to end this, I will show some pictures, of my very bestest boy.

I love you Waffles, you were my bestest boy and I miss you lots. 💜

And to anyone I've ever known, whether we barely talk or don't talk at all, regardless of the reason?

I love you too, and goodluck.

#jaskanetic #jaskatalks #its about time I did a tribute to him on here #ive missed him a lot #i miss a lot of people #its just the way life is #but even so just remember #you matter a lot and nothing can replace you #and to those of you who have lost someone?#maybe theyll come back into your life one day #but if they cant then its ok #you cant replace them but you will never be alone #i know i kinda rambled in this post sorry about that #but anywayz #i hoped it helps in some way

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avengerscompound · 5 years

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The Future Mrs. Barnes

The Future Mrs. Barnes: A Bucky Barnes Fanfic

Series Masterlist

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Word Count: 3540

Series Warnings: Angst, twists, smut (oral and vaginal sex, fingering), Cheating.

Synopsis: During a fight with a HYDRA agent, you and Bucky Barnes are transported to a world where time doesn’t seem to be working properly.

When Bucky returns to the real world, he has to figure out how to rebuild his life after losing everything again.

The Future Mrs. Barnes

“That’s the last of them.”

Sergeant Barnes’ voice barely even registers as you stare out the window. It’s pitch black outside. Nothing like you’ve ever seen before. Normally the world gives off some sort of ambient lighting, doesn’t it? The moon? Stars? The far off glow of cities? There’s nothing. Like you’re deep underground. Only you aren’t. You are remote sure, but that doesn’t explain why it seems like someone has just switched the lights off.

It also doesn’t explain what happened to the others. There was a whole team of people with you. Captain Rogers, Agents Barton, and Romanoff, Sergeant Wilson, Ms. Maximoff. You were fighting your way through a Hydra base. A guy came out and muttered something under his breath, Blue light started radiating out of his body. As you and Sergeant Barnes ran to stop him Maximoff did her hand thing. There was light and then there was no light and you and Bucky were alone in the pitch black.

You’d stumbled around in the dark until you’d bumped into each other. Then you’d remembered you had a flare on your utility belt. You lit it and used the glow in light to get your bearings. You weren’t in the base anymore. You were in a forest. There was a cabin. You’d called for the others until the flare went out and then held hands and slowly crept your way to the cabin. Barnes broke the door in and taken it upon himself to find every candle in the rundown shack.

“I was thinking I might take off my clothes and use the heat from the candles to keep warm. If I lit them all at once that would work right?” Barnes says.

“Yeah, sure.” You agree, not even listening to what he was saying.

He starts laughing and it startles you enough that you jerk your head around to see what’s going on.

“You weren’t even listening to what I said.” He laughs.

“What do you think happened to us? Where the hell are we, Sergeant Barnes?” You ask.

“Call me Bucky.” He says. “Something obviously went weird when Wanda did the thing she does.” He wiggles his fingers near his head. “The others will find us. We both have GPS in our equipment. We’ll be fine.”

You aren’t so convinced. “What about the sky?”

Barnes walks up behind you and looks out the window. He’s standing so close that you can actually feel the heat radiating off his skin. It isn’t until that moment that you realize how cold you are.

“I’m not gonna lie. That’s a little scary. Still, not gonna worry. We can do this can’t we, doll?” He says.

You consider correcting him. You were an agent and he doesn’t know you. Using pet names is inappropriate. Now doesn’t seem the time though. He steps away from you and the cold air seems to clamp down on you and you start to shiver.

“That cold is strange isn’t it?” Barnes says. “If I stand here. I’m cold. But,” he takes two steps toward you. “Here is fine.”

You start wringing your hands. All your years of training and nothing had ever prepared you for this twilight zone episode you seemed to be living through. “Sergeant Barnes?”

“Bucky.”

“I’m really scared.”

He puts his hand on your shoulder and rubs his thumb up and down. “You wanna find food or start a fire?”

“Fire.” You said quickly. He smiles and heads into the kitchen.

By the time he returns the fire is roaring. He has a couple of pots in his hands that are balanced precariously on plates. You remove one and he gestures to the fire. You put the pot onto the coals and he does the same with the other one and disappears into the kitchen again. This time when he returns it’s carrying a dusty wine bottle and two glasses.

“Look what I found.” He says.

You shake your head. “I think we should stay alert, sir. Who knows where we are. Or if there are enemies out there.”

Barnes shrugs and opens the bottle. “Suit yourself. And it’s Bucky.”

You both sit up for a little while, him trying to engage you and get you to relax. You resisting. You must have fallen asleep. You feel like you did, but you can’t remember it happening. You’re just talking and then suddenly the sun is up.

The two of you explore around outside. You won’t relax despite how hard Barnes tries to get you to. Nothing about this feels right. There is no sound outside. No birds, no animals, no cars off in the distance. You can’t see the sun either. It’s light, and the sky is blue and free from clouds, but there is no sun. It makes you uneasy. You feel like you must be being watched.

That night Barnes cooks and brings wine out again. You refuse to drink again.

“Why don’t you ever socialize with the rest of us?” Barnes asks, taking a large swallow of his wine. “You’ve been on the team for six months now.”

“This is my job.” You answer.

“You can’t be friends with work colleagues?”

You shake your head. “If you’re working at Macy’s sure. Getting attached to people in this line of work only leads to heartbreak, which leads to you not doing your job properly.”

Barnes leans back on the moth-eaten couch. “You lost someone.” He says like that answered everything. “Was it a friend? Family member?”

You sigh. “My girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend, huh?” He says, picking his teeth with his prosthetic hand. “That explains so many things.”

You glare at him. “You might be my superior officer, but don’t think I’ll take your shit, Sir.”

Barnes laughs. “I just mean, I’ve been trying to hit on you for months now. If you lost someone, a girl someone, well, of course, you’re not going to be interested in me.”

“You’ve lost someone too?” You ask.

Barnes shakes his head. “I was the lost one. What I’m worried about is how Steve is reacting to me being gone. He kind of get’s a little single-minded when it comes to me.”

“Are you two?” You ask, making a weird hand gesture.

He barks out a laugh. “Steve and me? No. You wouldn’t be the first one to think it though. We’re just family, ya know? We like to take turns worrying about each other.”

You laugh and a smile lights up his face crinkling his eyes at the corners. He touches your leg.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you laugh.” He says.

You start talking about lighter things and once again you must have fallen asleep because you’re both suddenly leaning against each other blinking around in a room drenched in sunlight from a non-existent sun.

You sit up suddenly blinking at him. “Morning.” He says, smiling at you.

“Do you remember falling asleep?” You ask him.

He furrows his brow. “Yes.” He pauses. “Uh, no. Maybe. Shit. That’s weird.”

The two of you decide to go walk for as long as you can while still allowing for time to get back before the lights switch off. By midday, you see a cabin in the distance. You decided to head to that instead of back. The light is fading by the time you reach it.

It’s your cabin. The one you left this morning.

“We must have got turned around,” Barnes says.

“You know we didn’t.” You mutter.

“We must have. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

Tonight you join him drinking. The level of fear you have is too much to deal with. You get very drunk and the sudden wake up happens a lot sooner than on previous nights. However, you wake with no hangover. Just suddenly you are aware of the light.

Days pass. Weeks even. Your fear ramps up and then dials back. No one has attacked you. You must have been forced into some weird other-plane of existence. It’s unlikely you’ll be found, but at least you’re safe. The food appears to be limitless. You’ll just have to get used to it being you and Barnes.

You both sit drinking wine and staring at the fire. “Do you think they’ve had a funeral for us, sir?” You ask.

His face falls. “I think they might have. Steve won’t have given up yet. I hope to hell he does though. He can’t let finding me consume him like it did before.”

“I wonder if anyone came to mine.” You muse.

Barnes touches your leg. “I would have.” He says.

You start to laugh. “Was that supposed to be you flirting again? ‘Hey baby, if I was back in the real world and we thought you were dead, I’d mourn.’ No wonder I never noticed you flirting before.”

Barnes laughs loudly. It takes over his whole body and it isn’t long before you’re both clutching at each other in hysterics. Anytime one of you thinks you have it under control the other one sets it off again.

“I’ll have you know, I never had any trouble getting dates,” Barnes says when he does finally get himself under control.

“Well, that’s because you’re freakishly good looking, sir.” You say.

He looks away from you and blushes, his hand going through his hair. “I am? I thought it was because I was devilishly charming.”

“No. It is definitely not that.”

You wake again pressed against Barnes half aware that you fell asleep but still unsure if you did or not. His arm is wrapped around you this time. The steel is cold against your skin.

He looks down at you smiling. “Why do we never sleep in a bed?” You ask.

“I don’t know. It’s like we just both pass out every night.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s what happens.” You say getting up.

You both spend the day cleaning the cabin. Without formally agreeing to anything you both have seemed to have resigned to the fact you’re stuck here. If you’re stuck here then you may as well be comfortable.

You head to the bedroom thinking maybe tonight you could try and sleep in an actual bed. You open the door and you’re greeted by what might be the most terrifying thing that’s happened so far.

The bedroom is spotless. Not only is it spotless the bed itself looks like it’s been made up with new sheets and comforters. The absolute worst bit is - there are candles lit and rose petals scattered over the floor and bed.

“Sergeant Barnes.” You call.

He appears at the other end of the hall. “Can you please call me Bucky?” He says.

You shake your head and point to the bedroom. He walks up behind you and looks in the room. “Uh, doll. You won’t even call me by my name. I think it’s too soon for that.”

“I didn’t do this. I thought you did this.” You yelp, shoving him.

Barnes shakes his head.

“We have got to get out of here.” You whisper.

Time passes in a way where you know you experienced it, but then you aren’t sure either. You have memories of things that happened. You and Barnes become more comfortable around each other. You start sharing more about yourselves. Your childhood, the things you’d both lost over time. You tell him about your girlfriend. How you were on a mission together and you got lazy and she pushed you out of the way of a sniper and died when you should have been the one that died. He tells you of the day he fell from a train and woke up, but not really. How the people who he used to fight now used him as a weapon.

“I have a question that I can’t quite figure out a way to phrase that won’t make me sound like a complete jerk,” Barnes says.

“Best to say it quickly then, sir.” You reply.

“Why were you on our team?” He asks.

“You don’t think I belonged?” You ask.

“I don’t know. It’s just everyone on the team. We, well…”

“What about Agent Barton?” You say, knowing how that sentence ends.

He raises his eyebrow at you.

“I’m enhanced. But I don’t like showing people. Captain Rogers knows what I can do.” You say. “When I do it, it makes people question reality. Then they get scared.”

“I’m already questioning reality, doll. Why not show me?” Barnes says.

You sigh and go to find your things. You had a note pad and pen in your utility belt. Those were important for your powers to work. You sit down next to him. “Let’s say I gave you a gift right now. It was wrapped and in a box. What would you like to be in that box?” You ask.

“Beer. Damn, I could kill for a beer right now.” He says.

You grin and start drawing a box. It’s simple and you draw a bow on it. You pinch the paper and pull. The box emerges from the paper. It’s lopsided and exactly as it did when it was just a drawing. Lined paper and everything. Only now it’s three dimensional and large enough to hold a six pack of beer.

“Here you go.” You say handing it to him. He looks at you his eyes wide. You knew there was nothing you could do to prepare him for what just happened. “Bucky. It’s fine.”

“You called me, Bucky.” He says.

“Mm-hmm.” You hum, pushing the box into his hand. He unwraps it and pulls the six-pack of Stella out of it.

“What the hell?” He says.

“Yeah, I don’t know why I need to draw a box. Like I just made that out of nothing. Why can’t I just go ‘beer please’ and there be beer. If I draw the beer it works, but it’s off. Because it’s a drawing of beer. But if draw a box just about anything can be in it.” You explain.

“Anything can be in the box?” He says.

“Yeah. I mean. I can’t draw your childhood dog and that be in there. But a dog could be in there.” You say. “Please don’t look at me like that. I told you I hate showing people.”

“That’s really amazing. You’re amazing.” Bucky says. “Hey wait, if you can do this. Did you set up the bedroom?”

You shake your head. “No. I swear. I have no idea how that happened. Although. Are you finding time weird? I feel like time is skipping not traveling forward like normal.”

Bucky shakes his head. “I remember things.”

“I don’t like this place, Bucky.” You say. “I feel like people are messing with us. Do you think Hyrda put us here to see what we did?”

“I spent so many years with Hydra. I don’t think even they have this kind of technology.”

You wake again resting against Bucky’s chest. This time he doesn’t have his shirt on. He leans down and kisses you and for a second you forget that you’ve been doing that for weeks now. Then you remember how after you started calling him Bucky you started to not see him as your superior officer anymore. How he had touched your leg again and you’d taken his hand in yours. How he’d questioned the fact that you had an ex-girlfriend and when you’d said you like men too he’d leaned in and kissed you.

“Morning, doll.” He said.

“Morning, babe.” You say and turn over in his arms so you’re pressed up against him. You run your finger across his lips and stare down at him.

“What’re you doing, dahlin’?”

You bring your lips to his, licking along to top of his mouth. He hums and sucks your bottom lip as he pulls away from you. “I love you, doll. But I cannot start the day with another cold shower.”

Wait, when did he start saying the L word? You shake your head and the memory of you telling him you loved him a month ago fills your head. How he returned it a week later.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, stroking his hand along your jaw.

“That time thing again.” You say. “It feels like things didn’t happen until I focused on them.”

“What did you forget?” He asks.

“I felt like I forgot everything then. That we were way back at the start when I’d just started using your name.” You say.

“You forgot that I was in love with you?” He asks.

You nod. “God, Buck. That was scary. I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

His lips brush over yours. “I’m right here. You’re safe.”

You lean your head against his chest and he runs his fingers through your hair. “Bucky?”

“Mm?”

“I’m ready.” You say.

You’re in the bedroom and it’s how you last saw it. The candles and the rose petals. For a second you forgot how you got here, then you don’t even care because Bucky is kissing a trail down your naked body. His tongue goes between your folds and you moan. Every touch he makes sends jolts through you. It’s like he can’t do anything wrong. He pushes one of his metal fingers into your cunt, and while you think logically there is a high chance of pinching between the plates, it’s nothing but good.

You come apart under his touches, and when your orgasm hits you, you chant his name. He crawls back up your body and while you kiss he enters you. You groan loudly. For a second you try to think about a time that sex has ever felt this good. Has there ever been an encounter where your other partner could do no wrong? You cling to him as he kisses you, thrusting harder and harder into you. You come again and again until finally he spills into you too and you both collapse on the bed side by side panting.

“That felt like how people pretend sex is.” You say.

“It was pretty amazing. Doll, when did you learn to do that thing with your tongue?” He asks.

“What?” You ask.

“When you were …” He gestures to his crotch. “You know.”

You’re confused for a second and then remember how you had sucked his cock too. How did you forget that?

You get up and run to the bathroom, throwing up into the toilet.

Bucky appears behind you. He’s dressed again. How did he dress so fast? “I’m telling you. It’s morning sickness.”

You look up at him in a mixture of nausea and confusion. “What?”

“It’s been going on for weeks now. We haven’t been careful enough. How am I gonna deliver a baby on my own?”

“Right. For weeks.” You say. “I forgot.”

He helps you to your feet. You’re dressed too. These blackouts are just becoming annoying now. “At least you asked me to marry you before this happened.” You say.

Bucky frowns. “I hate that we can’t do all of this properly. Have out life with other people.”

“Yeah me too.”

You’re lying on the couch with Bucky and he’s rubbing his hand over your baby bump before you have time to wonder what happened during this blackout your pushing, and there’s so much pain and you can hear Bucky soothing you telling you, you’re doing a great job. Then you’re outside under the non-existent sun and your son and daughter are playing together.

You look to Bucky and he seems so happy and all you are is confused. “Bucky?” You say.

“What’s wrong, doll?” He says, he looks so happy.

“I love you.” You say and try and fill in the holes yourself.

“You blacked out again, didn’t you? How much time?” He asks.

“We were having sex for the first time.” You say.

“Doll. Are you okay? That was 12 years ago.” He says. He cups your face in his hands and looks into your eyes. “What are our kids' names?”

“Steven and Alice.” You answer.

He smiles. “That’s right. God, you worried me.”

The sun goes out and Bucky grips your shoulder. “Do you smell that?” He asks.

“Smell what?” You ask.

“It’s like ammonia.”

“I don’t smell anything.” You say. The world does seem to be going fuzzy though.

Bucky opens his eyes and blinks up at the faces hovering over him. “Stevie?” He asks.

“Hey pal, you alright? You’ve been out for about an hour.” He answers.

Bucky sits up and his head spins. “What? But I was gone? Where’s Y/N?”

“Who?” Steve asks. “Maybe you should lie down, Buck.”

“We were gone. Where is she? She was an agent.” Bucky says trying to get to his feet. Frantic to find the woman he loves. His children.

Steve puts a hand on his shoulder. “There’s no one by that name, Buck. I think you’ve been dreaming.”

Bucky clutches at his chest. “We were going to get married. I had kids, Steve.”

Steve runs his fingers through Bucky’s hair. “Lie down. You’re safe. It was just a dream.”

“I lived my life, Steve,” Bucky says, struggling to hold tears back. “I was happy.”

“You’re gonna be fine, pal. Just need to clear your head.”

// NEXT

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #the winter soldier #the winter soldier fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #smut #prev: emilyevanston #the future mrs. barnes

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whateverisbeautiful · 5 years

Text

Reveling in Richonne

#151: The Shoulder To Lean On (9x14)

Michonne was horribly betrayed by one of her old friends. And in order to stop that “friend” she has to call on one of her actual friends; Daryl.

After Daryl’s big time friendship-shortcomings with Rick in the first half on s9, it was important that he step all the way up to be there for Michonne. And their friendship does get deeper with the following sequence of events where he’s a genuine shoulder to lean on. Cuz after all...

So first, in the present we get this precious visual of Michonne having dinner with her kids. 🥰 And the empty fourth seat just feels like it’s meant to be Rick’s presence.

RJ asks for, “more tomatoes please” like the polite little prince he is. 😋

Michonne smiles and says, “Of course you can, baby” as she selflessly gives him the food off her plate and smiles. RJ is so cute and the casting was so well done. I can totally believe he’d be Rick and Michonne’s kid.

Can I just take a moment to say, Rick would be really proud of the way Michonne’s raising these kids. Michonne is so balanced in a lot of ways, and it makes sense why something as traumatic as what she went through would make her tip the scale a bit and be a little more strict. But I love that she’s still trying to find that balance and give her kids a good full life.

And it’s cool that as Judith grows up, Michonne’s not trying to make Judith soft or naïve to the world. She’s making her balanced. She wants her to both be a kid and be ready to defend herself in this world.

(Side note: I love that RJ’s always talking about food. Me and nephew RJ have that in common. 😂)

Seeing RJ with his little random lines is so cute and I’m just like; you know not the power you’re destined for because of the people you’re made up of. But just wait, little RJ. He’s pretty much destined for greatness.

And y’all, just look at how Michonne looks at their baby. Preciousness personified.😭

Mama Michonne tells Judith to eat not poke her food and Judith looks so cute and tiny in the chair when she says, “Sorry, mom. I’m not that hungry.” Judith asks if it’d be okay for her to go to her room and Michonne says sure , and before leaving Judith says, “Thanks mom” with an undertone of sass.

I love how much Judith calls Michonne mom. Even if sometimes the tone has me like; watch it little girl you still talking to my big sister. 😂😂

So Michonne lies awake at night, and then she gets up restless cuz she doesn’t want there to be this disconnect between her and her daughter. She’s wrestling with the fact that it may be time to have the conversation she’d been holding off. And when she gets up we again see that huge x scar.

Michonne knocks on Judith’s door and says she’d like to talk cuz she’s ready to tell Judith about their traumatic experience, but when she opens the door Judith isn’t there.

You know Michonne’s willing to try anything to find Judith, even if it means doing the excruciating: having to talk to Negan.

So the next thing we see is Michonne going to Negan’s cell and asking if Judith’s been there today.

Michonne also asks what Judith would even talk to Negan about and she wants specifics.

Cuz Judith and Negan don’t have anything they need to be discussing amongst just the two of them if you ask me.

Negan says the two talk about homework and how much she misses her Uncle Daryl and that she likes hearing stories about her dad and Carl. But I was like uh Negan hardly knew Rick and Carl, and definitely never knew them as friends, so what kind of stories could Negan be telling Judith from his perspective of her dad and brother. 🤔

Like I can only even see Negan being in there telling her, “So Judith, here’s the story about how I hated your dad’s guts and tortured him and his people just cuz I could. Good times.” 🙄

Negan says he lets her know about Carl sneaking in the Sanctuary and “dear old dad” Rick slicing his throat. And how they’re all old stories but they’re new to Judith.

Michonne questions why he does this. She asks if it’s cuz he knows she has yet to tell her daughter the stories, or is it to build some trust with Judith that he can use? And at that second option I was like...

Cuz that sounds like the right answer to me. I’m not saying Negan doesn’t have any semblance of a heart and I do think that he thinks he genuinely cares about Judith, but he still absolutely overstepped his boundaries by telling Judith things he knows is not his place.

Negan, the king of overstepping, says that Judith talks to him cuz he shoots straight with her and then he says, “maybe if you did that you’d be talking to her right now instead of me.” The audacity. 😑

This man is really in this cell trying to tell Michonne how to mother her kid. It’s comically out of pocket. And Michonne seems to think so to cuz then she laughs and calls him out on how he probably has left out the story of what he did to Glenn and Abraham.

But I was like no my good sis, this man crosses every line he can so of course he’s told her that story. And he confirms that when he then says he’s honest with her and answers any question she asks so, “yeah she’s heard those stories too.” Tried. It. 😒

Negan seriously crossed the line on a new level by telling Judith those stories. 😒That’s not for Negan, the causer of these stories, to tell her. That should be entirely up to her mom. Especially cuz no matter how “honest” Negan thinks he is with her, I’m sure he makes himself sound a little better in those stories than he really was.

All I can say about this whole thing from Negan and his trifling big mouth is...

#DirectQuote from Michonne and I’s mind lol. Michonne agrees that Negan’s tried it so she’s about to just walk out and leave, cuz listening to this man constantly attempt to jab and pick at personal stuff is a frustratingly exhausting experience.

And then Negan starts saying, “She hates that you’re not letting new people in. She thinks that things should be like Carl thought they should be in the letter he wrote to her.”

(Side note: TWD, lemme see that letter! And Michonne’s too!🙏🏽)

Michonne then is fed up with the fact that this man has crossed more lines than a to-do list so she slams the door and storms over to him to let him know, “No. You don’t get to talk to me about Carl.” Thank you. 👏🏽👏🏽He can keep the whole Grimes Family out of his mouth.

Like Negan you think you bonded with Carl? You’re talking to the woman who bonded with him since season three and became his mother. So...

Michonne gets more passionate when she says, “And you definitely don’t get to tell me about what she wants or feels. She is my daughter!” Say it loud and proud. 🙌🏽

I’m glad Michonne got to go off on him and remind him that she is the mother who is raising Judith and she is the one who loves and knows her more than anything, so he does not get to impose on that or think he knows better in any way. Mama Michonne was in the building and I’m here for it. 👌🏽💯

Negan stands up and for once in his life starts talking some sense when he says, “That is exactly right. She is your daughter so she has her own idea about how things should be.” Michonne and Judith do have that in common.

Negan realizes Michonne doesn’t know where Judith is so he says maybe she’s out petting a horse or “maybe she’s exactly like her mother.” Which, like Michonne, she would be out there not taking anything lying down. 👌🏽

All my Negan annoyance aside, I admit I like this line. I like that someone acknowledges how Michonne is a determined woman and how that rubbed off on Judith. Michonne’s daughter is like her mother.

Michonne knows he might have a point with this, and similar to her going out in the front half of season seven to try and find a way, she has a hunch that her daughter might have left to try and find a way too. So she quickly leaves the cell.

Michonne then runs directly to Judith’s room and finds the gun gone.She also finds a note from Judith telling her mom she’s sorry but she has to help their friends.

In a beautifully acted scene, we cut back to the past and Daryl and Michonne are out in the woods looking for Judith and the rest of the kidnapped Alexandria kids.

Daryl says lets take a break cuz he sees that Michonne needs it. The woman is super pregnant after all.

Daryl understandingly says, “I know you want to be out here, but you got a baby, you know?” and Michonne looks at him like “Daryl, don’t say another word cuz I could be pregnant with quadruplets and I’d still be out here looking for my daughter”. Direct quote from her mind #YouAlreadyKnow. 😂

And I love that, just from her look alone, Daryl knows to pull back.

They sit on the swings and Daryl’s reassuring that they’ll find Judith. Michonne says, “I can’t believe this. She was a friend, you know? Like a real one. We went through everything together. Figuring out who we were gonna be. Heartbreak. Losing my mom.” And y’all, when Michonne gets emotional, I get emotional so of course this got to me. 😢

Again, I do appreciate getting a bit more insight into Michonne as a person this episode. Especially getting to hear about Michonne’s mom and remember that Michonne’s not just the wife and mother we’ve come to love, she’s also a daughter.

Michonne goes onto say, “I wanted her to be that again.” which also breaks my heart.

And the part that strikes me most is her saying, “I needed it.” Y’all, she needed a friend and she knew that. 😭. She was in such a vulnerable spot at this time when she was pregnant and she just needed someone who felt like they were there for her.

Part of losing the love of your life means losing your best friend. Rick wasn’t just Michonne’s husband, he was her best friend too. Plus Carl. And now they’re both gone. She lost the person she laughs with and confides in. So it makes sense why she’d feel she needed Jocelyn, cuz she needed a friend after having just lost her closest one.

Again, after losing Rick and shortly after learning she’s pregnant with his baby, I’m sure Jocelyn was such a welcomed and comforting sight. Only for her to betray Michonne like this. It’s horrible. 😣

Michonne starts to get really upset with herself for letting her guard down but Daryl reminds her this isn’t on her, not even a little. 100% True.

But it’s hard for Michonne to fully accept that cuz she still feels like she should’ve known and should’ve sensed something. This is probably so hard on her too, cuz Michonne is so often alert and aware.

She picks up on things even before anyone else sees it, like when she was the first to sense the Governor wasn’t all he’s cracked up to be. So she feels upset with herself for not seeing through Jocelyn when she usually has such a knack for sensing something.

But again, it makes sense considering the extremely vulnerable spot she was in at the time.

Daryl is helpful in telling Michonne she didn’t sense something cuz she’s not like Jocelyn. There are people out there that, “got so much evil in their heart and they hide it. Like they’re wearing a mask or something.” (Foreshadowing👌)🏽

I’m glad that Daryl is here for Michonne right now, so that she doesn’t have to wrestle with this alone. I appreciate that he’s so certain that they’ll find the kids and make Jocelyn pay for what she’s done. Michonne needed someone here to lean on and not let her beat herself up.

And while, I have my qualms with Daryl and his many reckless actions, he is the kind of guy you want to call on for stuff like this. Especially when you need to make someone pay.

There are so few people Daryl shows his more human side to and Michonne is definitely one of them which is nice. And a lot of times this show tends to overly cater to Daryl and his emotions, so it was a refreshing change to see Daryl be there to comfort Michonne in her emotion.

This scene was touching, especially cuz Danai has a very similar skill to Andy in that they both can make a scene feel so real and unfiltered that you almost feel like you’re invading their privacy cuz it’s so personal and genuine.

Like when Michonne was talking to Daryl it was so raw and real I was just like dang this is just a conversation between the two of them and I’m intruding lol. But I love it cuz it means they’re able to paint such a vivid reality.

And it’s sweet seeing the two of them connect on a deeper level. The apocalypse led them to a better friend than even the old world did.

And then because Michonne is a true Get Things Done Grimes, she’s done taking breaks and gets up and says, “We should keep moving.”

They find this one location and Michonne follows a kid inside where there are more of Jocelyn’s crazy kids waiting. It’s sweet that Michonne says, “Where are my kids?” cuz she’s being a mom to all of the Alexandria kids today. And she’s being a mom to all of them cuz she has to, cuz as for those other Alexandria parents...

Daryl and Michonne held it down after Rick left (and held it down on behalf of those absent Alexandria parents who have a fully pregnant woman out here saving their kids, ijs). Daryl and Michonne did their thing both within the show context, but also their characters and actors really did some great performances post-Rick.

And I’m glad that, in this moment on the swings, Daryl was a shoulder to lean on for Michonne.

gifs source: @michonnegrimes @hughxjackman

#richonne #s9 #9.14 #we all need somebody to lean on

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msjr0119 · 5 years

Text

Why me?

Part 32- They can’t leave us.

Riley is forced out of Cordonia unknowingly to her friends, and moves back to New York.

She is later faced with her past from Cordonia and is hiding a few new secrets. With the help from her New York friends and friends from Cordonia will she escape her current situation and find her happy ever after?

Tags- @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @butindeed @bbrandy2002 @bascmve01 @captain-kingliamsqueen @drakewalker04 @duchessemersynwalker @ibldw-main @ladyangel70 @kimmiedoo5 @pedudley @insideamirage @drakesensworld @nikkis1983 @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji

This part contains POV’s.... the next two chapters are worth the wait- I promise. Enjoy 😊

********

“You look happier my friend. I assume, Lady Riley has text you back?”

“I need to go Li. I’m not leaving my family alone any second longer.”

“I’ll make sure that Bastien arranges an SUV to take you, because you’ve had a drink.”

“Thanks Li. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me, for us. But it’s time to move on from Cordonia.”

“What?! What do you mean?”

“Me and Riley. I think we are going to move to the US. I don’t know where? Texas, New York or Florida. We need a new start.”

*****

Liam’s POV

I couldn’t believe that my oldest friend had just dropped the bombshell, that he and Riley were considering leaving. I slowly swallowed the brown liquid- I was in shock. They didn’t need to leave- why did they think they had to leave? I would protect my friends- they aren’t in danger anymore. This is my country- their home. They have people who care for them here. My mind was racing with ideas to persuade them to stay- I’m not controlling but I want my friends to be happy here- with us all. I know Riley deep down didn’t want to be a duchess- personally I don’t blame her. Have I pushed them away with my feelings towards her? Why would Drake want to desert us for a woman who abandoned him and Savannah? Am I being selfish? Why would they consider New York? Riley has friends there, but also bad memories. Her gran, in Florida.... If she misses her gran, I would fly the royal jet there so she could visit whenever. Or fly her gran here- she could stay in the palace with us all. That is how much they both mean to me. I needed some support to help our friends stay in Cordonia.

“Max? Can you come to the palace please with Bertrand as soon as possible? Drake is on his way to your estate but I need to speak to you both...”

“Of course your majesty, what’s up?”

If anyone could talk some sense into them it would be the Beaumont’s and Savannah. I will miss them terribly if they were to flee the country. I can accept that friendships drift apart but I will miss my closest childhood friend, Drake Walker.

*****

Maxwell’s POV

My sister means the world to me, it was heartbreaking overhearing her conversation with her gran. If I’d have known, we could have visited her together- I love rides! And fun! I’m sure I’d have loved Disneyworld too. I’m disappointed she didn’t invite me. We could have made her gran an honorary Beaumont too? That wonderful woman provided us with our Riley. We’d be lost without her. We all would be. It was fate that night that Drake suggested going to the dive bar- now they are engaged and are having twins, my nephews/nieces- I can’t wait to meet them. They will grow up with Bartie- we’d be one big happy family. I was knocked out of my trance when I saw Walker arrive- knowing full well that he had come for his girl. About time, I thought.

“Oh hi Drake, she’s in her room. We will see you later.”

Myself and Bertrand got in the car and drove up to the palace. Entering King Liam’s study- the strong aroma of whiskey and scotch entered our lungs.

****

“Great you’re both here! They... they are leaving... leaving Cordonia!”

Liam gasping for breath, explained to the Beaumont’s. He had been drinking scotch ever since Drake left, to try and cover the hurt of him losing the two special people in his life.

“What do you mean, your majesty?”

Bertrand looked at the King puzzled. He thought Liam was too drunk and had misunderstood the conversation he had just had with Drake.

“Drake... Riley... the twins... they are moving back to the USA. We can’t lose them...”

“Nah, she wouldn’t leave again Li! By the sounds of it, she speaks to her gran all the time. I overheard the last conversation. She does miss her, but her gran is thrilled for her and her future here.”

“Why would Drake mention moving to one of the three places that have a meaning to them? Texas- for Bianca. New York- Riley’s city where Daniel, Leo, Lola and Beth are.. Florida for her gran... “

“Your majesty, they may just be visiting? Whilst Lady Riley can fly? Before the twins are born?”

“No! He said they were moving there. Do you really want to miss out on seeing your nephews/nieces grow up? Miss your sister? Hana and Olivia missing their only friend they gained during my disastrous social season. Savannah losing her brother.. we will all be affected.”

The brothers shared the same expression as they stared at each other- the scrunched up eyebrows and pet lips. They knew they had to do something- anything to keep their family together.

“So what do you propose we do your Majesty?They are adults, they can chose what they want to do with their lives. We can’t prevent them from making their own decisions.”

“I know I’m classed as the dopey not ‘giving a shit’ noble. But, how about one of us wed them before they leave. But invite Bi and Mrs Smith? Riley is loaded by the way! Her gran asked if Drake had started building the cabin with her parents inheritance? If we can find land- we could persuade him to build it and they would have there to live?”

Maxwell Beaumont- you absolute legend if I do say myself. Maybe I do have a brain- maybe people underestimate me.

“Valtoria has land. Lots of it, even if they don’t want to own the duchy, I can give them the opportunity to purchase part of the land.”

The three men looked at each other grinning. They were going to keep their friends all together one way or another.

****

Bastien’s POV

It has been years since I have spoken to Bianca Jackson. I could hate her for what she did to her children. But she made me feel welcome when I was training under her husband- offering me to join them for dinner and for days out when myself and Jackson was off duty. I truly felt like part of the Walker family. I miss Jackson and Bianca. Those ‘family’ moments were some of the best memories I have in my life. Drake reminds me so much of Jackson- I know he will protect Lady Riley over and over again, like his father did with his family. I suppose that’s why I felt it was my responsibility to look out for Drake and Savannah. Now under my King’s orders, I have to communicate with this woman again- after all these years, this is going to be awkward conversation.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Bianca.”

“BAST! Oh my god! Are you okay? Is everything okay? Are Drake and Savannah okay?”

“Yes. Everything is fine. It hasn’t been though. But it is now. I promise, don’t worry. Have you spoken to Drake recently?”

“No, why? Is he okay? Please tell me he’s alright Bast?”

“He’s better than he has been Bi. King Liam has requested that you to return to Cordonia to attend Drake’s upcoming nuptials.”

“Nuptials? He’s getting married? What the hell have I missed?”

Oh Bianca. If you only knew all the heartache your children have been through. I wish I could have helped her when Jackson had passed away- helping her support her children.

“Mrs Walker don’t take this the wrong way, but you have missed a lot of moments in those kids lives.”

“And that’s why he didn’t want to tell me.... Thank you for telling me Bast- I appreciate it. I’m sorry. I’ll be there as soon possible.”

I felt awful saying that, but she needed to know. I think deep down she regrets leaving her children- maybe now she is due to be a Nana to three beautiful grandchildren, she may stay?

“Bi, there’s some other news. You’re going to be a Nana again. Drake and his fiancée Riley are expecting twins.”

“I’m hanging up Bastien! I’m going to the airport now!”

I am pleased that Bianca Walker will be coming back. She was a dear friend to me, but I sure hoped she wouldn’t ditch her children so abruptly again- especially now her family was increasing in size. She would be proud of the man Drake has become, as I am. I went to inform King Liam that she was returning. I hope Drake and Savannah aren’t furious with us all for interfering.

*****

Maxwell’s POV

Myself and my brother returned to our estate. We needed to find information regarding on how we would contact Riley’s gran. I was good with making distractions. It was my time to shine! Drake, Riley, Savannah and Bartie were sat in our lounge. Riley was sat on Drake’s lap with her arms around him- her face looked like she was on cloud nine, Drake’s arms were wrapped around her protectively. I couldn’t believe, that we tried to push her onto Liam during the social season. What I was witnessing was true love- even with all their petty arguments, they both were drawn back to each other immediately. I performed a dance with our nephew Bartie, the three of them laughing at my antics- Bartie wasn’t laughing though. He was looking at me gone out- I’m the fun uncle- he and the twins will understand that one day. I kept thinking how this atmosphere would feel without them all here- my family. I saw Bertrand wink towards me- that was the signal. I excused myself from my family- hiding upstairs to make that important phone call.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is that Mrs Smith?”

“Yes dear, who are you?”

“I’m Maxwell, you won’t know who I am but Riley...”

“I know you, Maxwell! Even if it is only by name. How are you dear?”

“I’m very good thank you ma’am. I hope you are well too. So Riley’s mentioned me to you?”

“Yes dear, all of you. Thank you for looking after my baby girl.”

“She is like a sister to me Mrs Smith. We all love her as our own. We was wondering if you would like to visit our country- the King will come and collect you personally in his royal jet.”

“HELL YES!”

Well that was easy! Oh gosh she sounds just like Riley. This gran is going to be a super fun gran.

“So that’s a yes then? I’ll inform his majesty and we will be in touch. Don’t tell Riley. We want your visit to be a surprise.”

“I won’t darling. I’m looking forward to meeting you all...”

“Mrs Smith.... You are welcome to stay at our house. I don’t mean for a visit. I mean for life. To be close to Riley. We have plenty of room. That is if you want to.”

****

Bertrand’s POV

I’ve never really liked Drake, I was utterly horrified when I realised a member of my house was in love him. He’s my soon to be brother- in- law, so I suppose I must make the effort with him at some point. I never thought I’d see the day that Drake Walker would be this content. He truly did love our sister.

“Drake, Riley. King Liam has informed us that you are thinking about leaving Cordonia. Is this true?”

I saw them both look into each other’s eyes, before gazing-with sorrow staring right back at me. I knew then, that they was considering moving. I felt hurt. I felt like reality had hit- we are all losing them. Liam was unfortunately correct.

“Bertrand, we are thinking about it. Drake suggested going in five days after the king father’s funeral. We haven’t really spoken about it further than that.”

“You are both welcome to stay here. This is your home. We are all family.”

“Bertrand thank you, but I think me and Brooks need to stand on our own two feet and start a fresh.”

I’m not good with persuading people, I know I’m going to be losing this battle. I gazed over to Savannah, I could tell her heart was breaking as much as everybody else’s. Maxwell had returned downstairs, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

“Hey, you could get your own place. And stay? Why don’t you build a cabin somewhere?”

Yes. That’s my brother. Can’t do anything discreetly- we wasn’t supposed to know about that. Oh Maxwell!

“Max, I assume you overheard my conversation with my gran and that’s why you’ve brought that up? Yes I now have my inheritance- and I offered it to my fiancé. But right now, that isn’t the issue. Liam offered me a duchy right before telling me he loved me still. We never said we was definitely going forever.”

“Riley please, we love you both and those babies. Please reconsider.” Savannah wept.

Now my darling Savannah had tried to talk sense into them- It was three people against two. And that was before they heard what Liam and the others would think. We all love them, but I will be happy for them whatever they decide.

“Well if you are going for sure... can we do a little ceremony for you both? Like a pre- wedding? Where all your friends will be able to celebrate with you. And it can be a goodbye to the best friends ever!”

“If it will shut you all up, Max. Then yes.”

At that moment, I saw Drake thinking. I hoped he wasn’t going to be stubborn and reject the idea, now we had all gone to the effort to invite Bianca Jackson and Riley’s gran.

“Why does it have to be a pre- wedding? If this is our last time in Cordonia, why not make it our real wedding Ri? Leo can officiate it?”

“You want that? Are we really going to do this?”

“Yes, Brooks! Let’s leave Cordonia on a high, as Mr and Mrs Walker.”

“Then.. why not?”

I have to admit it, my brother has no filter. But he has the ‘balls’ to get the point of what we needed to say and do. This little ceremony and it’s surprise guests could change the future of Riley Brooks and Drake Walker.

#theroyalromance #choices trr #drake x riley #drake x mc #liam x drake #riley brooks #drake walker #trr bastien #bianca jackson #liam rhys #maxwell beaumont #bertrand beaumont

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matrixaffiliate · 5 years

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Descry

New Story! FFN and AO3

Lily Luna is two years out of Hogwarts and still trying to figure out what's next in her life. Thankfully, an old friend happens to have an idea, and she's going to run into him at a pet shop of all places.

From this post by @prsephonies, for @thisismegz, who wanted a Lily Luna story. One-shot. Lily/Lysander fulff story.

Descry

It started because Lily had been in a second-hand store and found an old copy of one of the thousands of versions of Romeo and Juliet. She thought it would be a good laugh as she spent another night, alone, by herself, in solitude.

But for half a quid she'd have a thirty-year-old take on a 400-year-old play so she went with it.

Lily had finished Hogwarts two years ago and had no idea what she wanted to do. She'd interned with her mum for a few months, but she just didn't love writing enough to do it for a living. Then, at her mother's insistence, her dad let her tag along a bit, to see if maybe being an Auror like her brother Teddy would catch her fancy. It hadn't - both her dad and Teddy were relieved at that. James had stepped in at that point, took her to work where he designed brooms, and while it was cool to see the process, Lily was bored after a few hours. Finally, Al had taken her on a couple of Muggle university tours, but Lily is pretty sure that Al finding his girlfriend, Ellie, while in university has a lot to do with his enthusiasm for continuing education.

She'd shadowed just about everyone in the family, and come back feeling more lost than she had when she'd walked off the Hogwarts Express for the last time.

And so today, with the old DVD of Romeo and Juliet in hand, Lily went back to her parent's home. Her parents had gone on a week-long holiday and Lily realized two nights into it that it wasn't quite as much fun as she thought it would be to have the big house to herself. It probably would have been more fun if she'd had friends to have over, but all of Lily's friends from school had long since moved on in their lives, leaving Lily to fend for herself.

Lily had seen other productions of Romeo and Juliet, and this one had only taken liberties with the setting, putting it in a slightly more modern scene, but that had led to the one scene that really stuck out to her. The scene where Romeo and Juliet find each other on the other side of the aquarium at the Capulet party just felt so...

So natural, organic, the way it should be.

Lily had dated at Hogwarts, had even thought she was in love for a while, but since leaving Hogwarts she'd more or less fallen off the train. She'd looked into some of the Muggle dating apps, but she felt like such a baby on there. She wanted to meet someone on the other side of a fish tank and let something special grow. She envied how Teddy and Vic, and Jamie and Allie, had found each other in Hogwarts, had known it was right, and now were living their happily ever after.

Lily just felt so alone.

So after turning everything off in the house's Muggle room, the room where the TV and smartphones and laptops worked and we're protected from magic, Lily went to bed, trying to figure out what she'd do tomorrow. Lily usually watched Dom's little girls, but Dominique and her husband had taken the family to France and so Lily was out of a job for the remainder of the week. As she slipped into sleep, Lily decided she was going to get an aquarium, just like the one in the movie.

The next morning, Lily rolled back the crazy a bit and settled on simply getting a fish. Nothing too exotic, and nothing magical, she just wanted something that would help her feel a little less alone, remind her of the scene she liked so much from the movie, and she wasn't sure her parents would go for a surprise cat or dog when they got home from their holiday. But a fish, that would stay in her room and wouldn't randomly start talking to them and would stay contained in its bowl seemed like something she could pass off alright.

It didn't take too long to locate a local pet store and Lily set out with a bit of a spring in her step.

The store was decently large and Lily happily wandered around the whole building looking at the different supplies they had for dogs and cats, hamsters and guinea pigs, reptiles and amphibians, and of course, fish.

It was when she made it to the rows of fish tanks full of different species of fish that she felt like she was being watched. But she didn't notice anyone paying attention to her when she looked around. Lily tried to brush it off, she'd grown up with the wizarding world's most suspicious member after all - and for how many people had tried to kill her dad, she didn't blame him. So she went back to focusing on finding a fish.

Lily stopped in front of several smaller tanks all labeled 'Betta Fish' and grinned. This was exactly what she wanted! The beautiful long fins looked like the skirts she'd seen in pictures of Spanish dancers. She was caught up reading the description when a face appeared on the other side of the water.

Lily blinked and looked closer at the smiling man standing opposite of her, he looked familiar, but it couldn't be...

"Lysander?"

"I thought it was you!" Lysander grinned and then proceeded to crawl under the aquariums to be on the same side of the aisle as her.

He then pulled Lily into a hug. "How have you been, Lils?"

"I, alright," Lily didn't remember Lysander being one to hug much and the contact shocked her, "but what about you?"

"I've been great!" He released the hug but kept his arm around her shoulders. "Are you busy? I'd love to catch up and I know a place just over the next street we could grab a cuppa and something to eat."

"That sounds great," Lily felt the eagerness bubbling up in her chest. She hadn't hung out with someone her own age in months.

Lily found out Lysander had been working in the family business of Magical Creatures the past two years. Lily envied him, as she did the majority of their old friends. They were living life while she was still trying to figure out where her life was going. But Lysander was living her original dream, and that made her a bit greener than she felt with the rest of her old friends.

"I'm so glad I ran into you," Lysander grinned at her again. "But enough about me, what have you been up to?"

Lily looked down at her tea. "Er, well, I help Dom out by watching her girls during the workday."

"Really?" Lysander's voice was full of surprise and Lily cringed.

She knew what he was thinking. When they'd been taking their NEWTS she had dreams of grandeur. But those dreams had fallen through before they'd even stepped on the train home.

"It's helping her out, and I really love her girls," Lily continued to stare down at her tea and now empty plate.

"Lily," he reached out and covered her hand with his and Lily almost turned her hand around to hold it, "I know it's not much, but Lorcan felt absolutely awful when it all fell apart."

Lily sighed, "I don't blame him anymore Lys. We had childhood sweethearts all around us growing up and I can see how he felt a lot of pressure to live that narrative. Not to mention that your mum is my godmother, and our relationship meant a lot to her and my mum. I just wish he would have been willing to say something sooner."

"You and me both," Lysander muttered.

She and Lorcan had dated their whole seventh year. They'd made plans to find a place together after they finished school. They were going to go on expeditions for Rolf and Luna together and see the world. Lily had taken to the field of magiczoolology with a passion, just like the Scamander twins and she'd wanted nothing more than to spend her life researching and learning and helping these creatures.

Until Lorcan admitted he didn't love her.

Lily had never been more grateful to be in different houses than him in her whole life. But in her heartbreak, she'd sworn off anything to do with magiczoology. It felt too painful and reminded her of everything she thought she and Lorcan had and what it had cost to have him admit that he'd never meant it when he said he loved her.

"It's alright Lys." She smiled, "I'm over it now and I don't hate him. I sent him an owl about a year ago when I finally gained some peace about the whole thing."

Lysander nodded as he moved his hand from hers to sip his tea, "He showed me, I'm glad you've moved on."

Lily chuckled and tried to ignore how cold her hands felt by grabbing her cup as well, "I've moved on in the sense that I'm over your twin, but dating is a pain in the arse."

Lysander perked up considerably before seeming to mellow in the same instant. "Yeah, you can't really meet someone taking care of a couple of toddlers."

"Or living at home," Lily admitted, a bit embarrassed to say it out loud but she'd always been able to talk to Lys about anything, even the relationship with his brother. That had been one of the hardest parts of the break up with Lorcan, she'd lost Lysander in the mess as well.

She'd never been able to get over that.

"We should hang out more," Lysander bumped her knee with his.

"I'd like that," Lily felt her chest warm.

"How about tonight?"

Lily thought his voice shook with the question, but his face didn't betray any nervousness.

"Sure," Lily felt the desire to reach out and take his hand but ignored it.

He didn't think about her that way, and she needed to not let herself start to think about him that way. She'd lost Lys once, she wasn't going to risk losing him again.

"Brilliant," Lysander's smile managed to grow wider. "I've got a few more shops to check in on for Dad and then Mum needs me to look over a paper for the Quibbler she's working on but after that I'm free."

"Do you just want to swing by my parents' place when you're done?" Lily stood and drained her cup.

"Perfect, I'll bring some takeaway," he walked with her to the pavement before pulling her into a hug again. "Merlin, Lils, I'm so happy I ran into you."

Lily let herself lean into him and wondered what changed to make Lys a hugger, he gave amazing hugs now.

"Me too," she smiled up at him, "I'll see you in a few hours?"

"You can count on it." And he rested his head on hers for a moment.

Lily was taken back by how different it felt to be wrapped in Lysander's arms to Lorcan's. The twins had always seemed so different to her, she never understood how people got them confused. And especially now, everything felt different between the two. When she'd been with Lorcan, his hugs always felt sweet, like a sugar quill. But Lysander's hug felt deeper somehow, almost possessive, and it made Lily's heart beat faster.

She tried to push that sensation away for the rest of the day. And after deciding that she'd pick herself up a fish another day, Lily busied herself by making biscuits the Muggle way and then cleaning it all up the Muggle way. But even with the distraction, Lily found herself wondering about the way Lysander had hugged her, had held her hand for a moment, had bumped her knee.

They'd been friends for their whole lives, but he'd never been one to touch her much.

Lily had to work hard to ignore the way his touch had made her breathless and to not keep replaying it in her head.

After what felt like another year Lysander stepped through the grate in the sitting room.

"Lils," he grinned when she walked in. He dusted the soot from the bag he was carrying. "I hope you still like falafel."

"You, you remembered?"

"Of course I remember," he pushed passed her toward the kitchen.

Lily followed feeling almost bemused.

"Here," he handed her her paper-wrapped falafel pita. "I had them put extra spicy sauce on it."

"Thanks," Lily took her dinner gladly, hoping eating would keep her from doing anything stupid. "How did it go at the other stores?"

"Good, I didn't find any magical creatures hiding, and Mum's article should be great." He bumped her knee with his. "But how was the rest of your day?"

"It, it was good," Lily grabbed a napkin, "I made biscuits."

Lysander perked up, "Really?"

Lily flicked her wand and brought the container over, "Grandma Weasley's ginger snaps."

"Merlin, Lils, these are amazing," Lysander grinned as he ate the biscuit in two quick bites.

Lily wasn't sure why she blushed and tried to hide behind her dinner.

They chatted easily after that as they finished dinner and snacked on the batch of ginger snaps.

"I've missed you," Lysander said quietly after the conversation had lulled for a moment.

Lily felt her heart rate pick up again. "I missed you too. Honestly," she looked down at the dwindling batch of biscuits, "after I'd gotten over everything with Lorcan, I was still sad that it had lost me you too."

Lysander was quiet for a moment before grabbing her hand. "Let's go sit on the sofa."

Lily felt his touch like a steaming mug of tea, warm, comforting, secure, and she followed willingly as Lysander pulled her into the sitting room.

"Lily," he sighed as she sat next to him, "I'm not lying when I say that I'm happy I ran into you, I'm so happy, but Lils, I don't want to go back to where we were before."

"Lys..."

"Hold on, let me explain, I'm going to lose my nerve if I don't do this all at once."

Lily nodded him on, trying to keep from smiling at one of their old arguments. He always argued that as a Ravenclaw he wasn't as inclined to jump headfirst into unknown territory. Lily always brought up his mum to shut down his excuses.

Lys took a deep breath, "I suppose I should start at the beginning. In fifth year I started to fancy you. But I told myself that our friendship was more important and so I ignored it. I didn't let myself do anything to encourage those feelings, and I didn't tell anyone."

"Not even Lorcan?" Lily frowned.

"Contrary to popular belief, twins don't always share every single detail of their lives with each other." Lysander smiled at her. "But that backfired on me in seventh year when Lorcan came over to my table during lunch one day and told me he fancied you and was going to ask you to Hogsmeade. I couldn't very well tell him to bugger off and let me have a go, so I kept quiet. I kicked myself royally when you two went official and started making plans to spend your lives together, but when Lorcan called it all off, I felt responsible, like if I had been willing to tell him I fancied you back in fifth year, maybe he wouldn't have asked you to Hogsmeade in seventh."

Lysander's tone had shifted dramatically to a seriousness she'd never heard before.

"I hated thinking that you were in pain because I'd been a coward."

"Lys..."

"I'm almost done," he cut her off. "I've determined I won't be a coward when it comes to you anymore though. I'm glad I ran into you because I want to ask you for a chance at what I've wanted for four years. I know it could be weird since Lorcan and I are identical but as much as I loved our friendship, I can't be only your friend anymore. I want to build us into something more."

"You're not identical."

Lily heard the words before registering that they had come from her mouth. Her mind was racing so fast her brain had allowed words to happen without preview. But the statement was true so she ran with it.

"I've always been able to tell the two of you apart, you aren't identical to me."

Lysander nodded slowly but remained silent.

Lily felt like her whole body was on overdrive. Her mind raced with questions and her heartbeat felt erratic as she tried to get control of her breathing.

"You never touched me because you fancied me." Was what she finally managed to blurt out.

Lysander frowned, "I suppose I didn't touch you, did I? You're probably right, but I don't know if my fifteen-year-old brain knew that's what was going on."

"I like you touching me," Lily internally cringed. She was waxing stupid as opposed to eloquent in all this. "I mean..."

"So, this would be alright?" Lysander cut her off and took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers.

The sensation of their hands intertwined left Lily breathless and she nodded at Lysander to keep from embarrassing herself further.

"And this?" Lysander brought his other hand to her face and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Lily swallowed as her face burned at the brush of his fingertips.

"I spent all afternoon trying to convince myself this wouldn't be how you felt." Lily whispered, "I told myself I was imagining it and would ruin everything if I let myself dwell on it."

Lysander leant closer to her, his breath mingling with hers, "I've never been as close to hating my brother as I was when he kissed you in front of me, but I hated myself more because I wasn't brave enough to act before he did."

Lily felt her breath lock in her chest as Lysander brought his hand back to her face.

"Lys," she managed to whisper but nothing else came out as the last of her breath left her.

Lysander moved slowly, his fingers brushing her cheek, down to her chin, before tilting her face up and dropping his lips to hers.

And like magic Lily could breathe again.

Lysander's kiss had started soft, but the moment she'd responded positively he'd taken control, and Lily felt herself melting into him. He kissed nothing like his twin. Where Lorcan had been more willing and interested in Lily having control, Lysander took the driver's seat with confidence, and Lily felt her whole body surrender to him.

He pulled back just a fraction, "When do your parents get home?"

Lily's head was barely functional as she parted her eyes to look up at him, "Sunday."

Lysander grinned, "Always did like Sundays," and then he brought his lips back to hers and Lily gave full control to him. It was a liberating feeling to give someone the reins and simply enjoy the sensations, and the more she enjoyed, the more he seemed to respond.

"Lily," he pulled back again after some time, panting slightly, "is this a yes?"

Lily cursed her brain's inability to function as she blinked. "What?"

"Do you want to give us a chance?" Lysander's smile went just a touch smug.

Lily gave his shoulder a gentle shove, "I'm only saying yes if you can wipe that smug look off your face."

Lysander's face immediately went neutral, "Better?"

"I don't want to think about how you can do that," Lily laughed before linking her arms back around his neck, "but yes, I want to do this."

Lysander crashed his lips into hers as Lily fell back against the arm of the sofa. She wasn't sure how long they snogged on her parents' sofa but at some point, the old clock chimed that it was midnight and Lily was certain her hair was a rat's nest from Lysander's hands playing in it.

"Do you watch the girls this week?" Lysander asked as he rested his head against her chest.

Lily smiled, "They're in France for a few days."

"Want to come with me on a little expedition? It's just three days in the Highlands and I was going to go alone, but if you wanted to go..."

"Yes," Lily felt the excitement build in her, "When?"

Lysander moved his head to kiss her chest before looking up at her. "I'm supposed to leave in six hours."

Lily laughed, "Was your plan to go hide in the Highlands if I shut you down?"

Lysander blushed, "Well the exhibition has been set for a few months, but I definitely had decided it was a good way to escape if you told me no."

Lily ran her fingers into his hair and along his neck, "And now it's an excuse to have me all to yourself?"

Lysander pushed up and kissed her, "I've waited four years to have you to myself, Lils, I'm going to take every opportunity you're willing to give me now that you're mine."

"Well, then I guess we should get my stuff packed," Lily murmured back as she arched up into him.

"In a moment, I'm researching right now," Lysander smiled against her. "I want to learn every sound that you make when I kiss you."

"I'm not one of our creatures, Lys," Lily chuckled.

"You're right," Lysander pulled back and locked her gaze with his, "you're the only creature that actually matters."

This time Lily took control long enough to pull him back down to her lips before melting into him as he continued his research.

And when Harry and Ginny came back from their holiday, Lily had a new boyfriend to introduce and a new job to tell them about, as one of Rolf Scamander's newest researchers.

#Descry #lily luna x lysander #lily luna potter x lysander scamander #lily luna potter #lysander scamander #next gen fanfic #next generation #not cursed child compliant!#harry potter fanfiction #fluffy #romance #old friends finding a flame and letting it burn

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spamela-hamderson · 5 years

Text

Another kiss, and you’ll be mine

For @matan4il <3

Tags: Fluff, Smut, The smallest hint of angst

(AO3)

He remembers the first time they’d spent a night together. Remembers watching the pale blue tint of Robert’s skin against the hotel sheets, remembers the breathy little snores that puffed out of Robert’s sleep slack mouth. It’d taken him a long time to fall asleep that night, even though he was exhausted from the drive and from the reason they were there in the first place. He’d been too excited for the chance to soak up every inch of this new Robert; his face relaxed and honest, freshly washed hair drying flat against his head. His fingers had twitched with the sudden need to smooth Robert’s fringe away from his eyes, but he couldn’t risk him waking up to that. So he’d stayed as still as he could and stared like a creep instead, losing himself in the fantasy of another life in a way he was too careful to do when Robert was awake. Taken in every dark freckle, every shift behind his lids. Just in case he never got to have that again.

It’d been a lot easier to convince himself that this was just sex when all they had was a sneaky hour at a time of kissing-fucking-fighting-laughing against the nearest—hidden—uncomfortable surface. Two hours if they were lucky, before Robert had to run back home to keep his already broken promises to Chrissie. But under that duvet? With Robert’s clammy toes seeking his out and Aaron’s heart annoyingly melty with the newly gained knowledge that he mumbled in his sleep?

He’d known then, hadn’t he? For sure. This was something else. Something much more. This was it.

The blood had rushed to his ears and he’d felt the heavy thump thump thump thump of his heart right between his eyes. It was meant to be easy, this. Just a bit of fun with the poncey git; a distraction from the dead-end his life had come to. Only, he’d gone and fucked it all up, as usual. Feeling way too much, all at once. And now he was fantasising about stroking the man’s hair, for god’s sake. Acting like he had any right to a normal life when he was just another messed up, self-destructive thug who pushed people away and felt sorry for himself. He had nothing real to offer. Wasn’t sure he was real sometimes.

But maybe that didn’t matter. In this in-between place, where he was Robert’s and Robert wasn’t his, he could play pretend to his heart’s content and get to share in this insane life for a little while. What was a little heartbreak, anyway? Nothing he couldn’t handle. It was a small price to pay for feeling like he was exactly where he belonged when they were alone together.

~~~

“‘ron? Wait,”

He’d been close to sleep when he heard it. Felt his cheeks heat up, bit his lip against the smile that threatened to spill over. It could be anything, really. Robert could’ve just been waking up.

But maybe… did he dream about him too?

You see, sometimes he thought Robert might feel the same. When he was feeling brave, when he’d just had a whole hour of Robert smiling at him like he was something good, or–

You’ll make me think I fell for a quitter.

He’d said that. Like it was nothing. Like he hadn’t blown Aaron away, out of nowhere.

So yeah.

Sometimes he thought he might get to keep whatever this was. Maybe this wasn’t just sex for Robert either. Maybe the best he’ll ever get won’t be one night in a hotel room. Robert wasn’t married yet. Anything could happen. Maybe - just maybe - this time he’d be enough.

~~~

It’s late.

He’s dipping in and out of consciousness, stroking the slick softness of Robert’s inner thigh and toying with the coarse hair there that kept getting caught under his ring. He could feel Robert’s sweat drying fast, a wave of goosebumps coming up in its wake. Robert insisted on turning any room they slept in into an icebox. Not that Aaron could complain too much when he made up for it by laying his post-sex warm body on top of him, knee curled up around his hip and shoulders pressing Aaron back into the mattress; His very own human blanket against the biting cold.

Aaron’s usually very aware of the years that have passed since those early months of confusion and chaos. Grateful that they’d moved away from all of that and grown closer. He still thinks back fondly of all their firsts, sure he does, but he wouldn’t give up what they have now for anything.

Something about tonight shrinks those years into nothing, though, and Aaron misses him. Suddenly. Desperately. Even when he’s right here, pressed so close his scent is almost suffocating and Aaron can really only see about 6 inches of blue-lit skin in front of him. His heart stutters in his chest, and for a quick second, he can’t quite figure out how to get his breath back.

It’s why he thinks the gasp comes from him. Until he feels Robert push his head insistently against his cheek, that is.

“Wha’s that for?” he whines, eyes shut and deeply annoyed frown in place.

Is he talking in his sleep again? But then he gets out of his head enough to register the tight grip he has on Robert’s inner thigh. Shit. He must’ve pulled at his hair by accident or something.

“Shh, sorry. Go back to sleep,” he says, smoothing over him with his voice and his palm.

He hopes he doesn’t, though. In fact, he’s quite glad he isn’t up on his own anymore, and he’s not ready for Robert to leave him alone again. Aaron’s well aware of how needy he’s being but he can’t handle tonight, doesn’t want to remember feeling so lost and unsure about Robert’s feelings for him. He just has to give Robert a reason to stay up with him.

Aaron slides his hand down under Robert’s arse with more purpose this time, “Or we could…” leaves the suggestion unspoken with his fingers casually cupping Robert’s balls.

“Wha–, again? Ha! Can’t get enough of me, I see.” He’s moved off of Aaron a little so he can wiggle his eyebrows at him like the absolute embarrassment that he is, eyes still barely open. Aaron’s definitely not charmed by it, no. Nor does he want to dwell on why that just makes his dick fill up faster.

“You talk too much for someone who’s just woken up.”

“And you are insatiable,” Robert purrs into Aaron’s neck, sounding pleased and beyond proud of the effect he has on him after all these years.

“Don’t think you’re actually complaining, mate.” Aaron suspects he might not be paying attention anymore, with the way he’s starting to pant hot and wet into his shoulder. That’s probably Aaron’s fault, though. He’s been rubbing his fingers between those cheeks, dipping them into his fucked out hole every few passes and enjoying the helpless little sounds coming from Robert as he pushes back into his hand in vain. Except the movement is dragging Robert’s heavy cock along Aaron’s and now he’s the one frantically pressing him closer and grinding up against him.

“Fuck.” Four years and he still feels thoroughly shaken up by him, rock hard from seconds of this. Robert tries to line them up better, gets a fist ‘round their cocks, rubs over the top and down the shaft, causing an obscene amount of pre-come to drip. He moves on instinct, chasing that feeling; the high of touching, pushing, stroking, breathing each other in. His erratic rhythm briefly slips when Aaron pulls his leg up higher and shoves his own greedy fingers in, firm, unrelenting. “S’good, Aaron, feels– Aaron, I–” Aaron catches his lips with his own. He knows he’s probably still feeling sore from earlier, knows how wild Robert gets at that little extra bit of hurt as Aaron rubs his wide fingers up into him and tugs at his rim, and he wants to give him something else to focus on. Wants this moment to last as long as it can.

Robert’s too exhausted to kiss. Instead, he tongues at his mouth, licking in and breathing hot all over. There’s not a hint of finesse. It’s sloppy and too wet and everything Aaron needs now, god, it makes his cock pulse so hard he’s feeling it in his toes.

He feels Robert start to rut against him, his strokes turning more insistent, little ah ah ahs pushed out against his cheek, and knows he’s nearing the edge. Aaron’s not ready though, and he doesn’t want to be left behind. It’s stupid, yeah, but he really can’t bear the thought of Robert getting off and falling asleep again, leaving him alone with the thoughts he’s been trying to ignore. It’s too late, though. Robert spills himself over his knuckles. Biting down on Aaron’s lip on reflex before licking over it in distracted apology while Aaron slips his fingers out of him and pets his bum with regret. He moves to look down at Aaron, giddy, satisfied smile in place, right up until it freezes and turns confused instead. Something of Aaron’s quiet dread must’ve bled through on his face and in the way he holds on tighter because Robert suddenly looks more awake than he’s been this entire time.

“Hey. Hey, come on, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing, just stay with me.” It rushes out of him, urgent, and that’s just great, isn’t it? He sounds like a right nutter. Robert seems to agree as well, going by the look on his face.

“Yeah, ’course. Where else would I be, you idiot?” He’s laughing at him but he’s doing it in that soft way of his, so Aaron doesn’t feel too embarrassed. He’s trying not to, at least.

“Right. Where were we?” Robert barely gets the words out before he’s got Aaron thrusting up into the fist wrapped around his cock. He pins him down by sitting on his knees and sets a maddeningly steady pace, stubbornly not giving in to Aaron’s pleas for him to go faster, slower, and all Aaron can do is hold on for the ride as he’s shoved quite rudely over the edge.

He blinks his eyes open and all he sees is Robert, looking straight at him as he licks their come off his fingers. He’s spent, it shouldn’t be so mind-numbingly hot. But he lets out a tortured little groan anyway, as he feels himself give a final twitch.

He might have gotten a little carried away with watching pink mouth slide against wet skin, his own falling open in helpless echo, so he doesn’t really register it getting closer until he feels hot breath on his lips. And then Robert’s kissing him, feeding come into his mouth, dominating him with that bitter saltiness. All Aaron knows to do then is pull him down the whole way and take.

~~~

It takes him a while to gather his wits after that. He’s probably staring up at Robert with a come-stupid smile, but he can’t quite muster the energy to rearrange his face into something half decent. Robert smiles at him, thumbs fondly at his kiss-sore lips, before bending down for one more kiss, two more, a nibble, like he can’t keep away.

“There,” Robert pats him on the cheek, condescending pout on in full force. God, what now? “Stop thinking so much. No need to stress your brain out for no reason.”

What a twat. “Ugh, get lost.” He pushes him off, still somewhat shaky from the orgasm, and turns onto his side before Robert can catch his scowl slipping. He really doesn’t need the encouragement.

“No, Aaron, I can’t, or you’ll be sad again,” Robert declares, overly dramatic, overly irritating, as he pulls Aaron backwards onto their bed, and dives in to plant damp kisses all over his face. “Robert, nonono, stop!” He’s in tears because Robert’s jammed his fingers into his sides and he’s relentless. There’s no way he’s going down without a fight now. They tussle in bed for a minute more, until Robert accidentally slaps him hard in the nose with an errant, flailing arm and nearly ends up on the floor trying to escape Aaron’s vengeful kick.

He pulls him towards the middle of the bed, keeps pulling until Robert gets the hint and lays over him again (honestly, fuck this icebox room), and rolls his eyes at Robert’s grumblings about how he could have really hurt his back, Aaron. “Yes, alright, time for bed, grandad.”

12:30 am, the bedside alarm reads. Yeah, it’s time for bed.

“Happy Valentine’s, Mr Dingle.”

Robert snores in response.

~~~

“Y’know, this would’ve been a lot more romantic if you’d just stayed in bed like you were supposed to.” Robert’s trying to make them some ricotta pancakes, except he’d forgotten to make the strawberry glaze last night, and now he’s going to have to do that while making sure the pancakes don’t burn. And Aaron’s been no help whatsoever, sitting on the countertop with his foot wandering up Robert’s leg every ten seconds. He’s thisclose to turning the heat off and dragging him back upstairs, except he knows that’s been Aaron’s plan all along and he’s not giving in to it, damn it. He’s waited long enough for this.

“Tch. You were takin’ too long.” His voice is all sleep rough, eyes still slowly blinking away the night, as the beginnings of a pout take form on his lips. God, he’s so–

No. Focus, Sugden.

He moves a couple more steps to the left and continues mashing the strawberries. Let’s see him try his seduction tactics from all the way over there. He sneaks a glance at Aaron then, sees him sulk at the new distance between them. But at least he isn’t moving to rectify it. Good. Now he can concentrate on making this the best Valentine’s day breakfast Aaron has ever had.

~~~

“Ey, could you pass me the cheese? It’s behind…” Robert realises his mistake too late, as Aaron slowly slides off the countertop in a way that pulls his T-shirt taut over his chest, grabs the packet of ricotta behind him, and makes his way over to where Robert’s been innocently mixing the wet ingredients. All the while maintaining intense eye contact.

“Here you go.”

“Uh, thanks.” He sounds like he’s had sand with his morning coffee.

Aaron hops back on again, this time, much closer to Robert. He leans back on his arms a little, dropping his eyes down to Robert’s mouth before skimming them back up. “Don’t mention it.”

Ok, that’s it. He’s spent too much time and money having David order this particular brand of ricotta that’s supposed to be out-of-this-world, creamy according to suzy_bakes:)_52. He’s not having Aaron sabotage his plans with his face. “If you’re trying to distract me from my pancakes, it won’t work. They’re going to be perfect, so help me!” Aaron looks… alarmed. Which is fair, considering how shrill his voice got at the end there. “I’m not trying to keep you from your pancakes, you muppet.”

Oh. Then why was he… oh.

“What?” Aaron wants to know, smile already stretching in response to Robert’s.

He remembers how Aaron was last Valentine’s day, of course he does. It had been the best night in a long while.

It’s just. He’d been too nervous to appreciate the looks, then. So he’d shied away from every heated stare instead. Made desperate excuses to himself for every flirty grin he got. Timid in a way he’d never been before, even as his heart stubbornly lit up with new hope. He wasn’t going to overstep.

His friendship with Aaron hadn’t been new, no, but it’d been confusing. It had grown out of everything else they felt for each other, and he hadn’t known how to be one without being all of it. He’d tried though, had to, to stay in Aaron’s life. And Aaron—as usual—had refused to be helpful in any way, giving away soft words and softer smiles like he was done holding them in. Like he was allowed to.

He doesn’t want to think about that anymore. Not when he gets to bask in this now. He sets his bowl down and moves to stand between Aaron’s legs. The pancakes can wait. “Do you like seeing me in the kitchen, is that it? Maybe I should nick a chef’s hat from the pub next time. Work it into our bedroom repertoire.”

“Alright,” Aaron squints up at him in disgust, even as his hands slide under his shirt to pull him in closer, “you don’t have to get all weird about it.”

“Right, I’m the weird one here.”

“Always.” But then he breaks into a smile so unbearably tender, Robert’s finding it hard to take offence. He’d be more embarrassed if he wasn’t so selfish. No one’s ever been this for him, before. Known every part of him. Fought with every part of him, and still looked at him like he was something amazing. The way he feels when Aaron looks at him like that—He never wants to lose it again. He won’t.

“Don’t worry so much about today, Rob. We’ll make it perfect for us. Just like we did last year.”

Except better. Because this time, Robert gets to trade aimless kisses with Aaron, and think about maybe bringing this over to the couch to turn into a proper make-out session since Liv’s still out with Jacob. Only, he’s interrupted by a cheeky slap on the bum and Aaron pulling back with a self-satisfied smirk. “You can get back to work now. Wouldn’t want to come between you and your precious pancakes.”

“Our precious pancakes,” Robert corrects, just to see him snort.

Then he turns back to the bowl because these eggs aren’t going to beat themselves. And if he flexes his arms a little, folding the ricotta in, well. Aaron’s not going to complain, is he?

#robron secret valentine 19 #robron #robron fic #'twas meee #this was really stressfull hahaha #😭#*mine: fic

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robronsecretvalentine · 5 years

Text

Another kiss, and you’ll be mine

@matan4il , Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you have a wonderful day –S.V.💘

Another kiss, and you’ll be mine

Tags: Fluff, Smut

He’d known then, hadn’t he? For sure. This was something else. Something much more. This was it.

~~~

“‘ron? Wait,”

He’d been close to sleep when he heard it. Felt his cheeks heat up, bit his lip against the smile that threatened to spill over. It could be anything, really. Robert could’ve just been waking up.

But maybe… did he dream about him too?

You see, sometimes he thought Robert might feel the same. When he was feeling brave, when he’d just had a whole hour of Robert smiling at him like he was something good, or–

You’ll make me think I fell for a quitter.

He’d said that. Like it was nothing. Like he hadn’t blown Aaron away, out of nowhere.

So yeah.

~~~

It’s late.

It’s why he thinks the gasp comes from him. Until he feels Robert push his head insistently against his cheek, that is.

“Wha’s that for?” he whines, eyes shut and deeply annoyed frown in place.

Is he talking in his sleep again? But then he gets out of his head enough to register the tight grip he has on Robert’s inner thigh. Shit. He must’ve pulled at his hair by accident or something.

“Shh, sorry. Go back to sleep,” he says, smoothing over him with his voice and his palm.

Aaron slides his hand down under Robert’s arse with more purpose this time, “Or we could…” leaves the suggestion unspoken with his fingers casually cupping Robert’s balls.

“You talk too much for someone who’s just woken up.”

“And you are insatiable,” Robert purrs into Aaron’s neck, sounding pleased and beyond proud of the effect he has on him after all these years.

“Hey. Hey, come on, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing, just stay with me.” It rushes out of him, urgent, and that’s just great, isn’t it? He sounds like a right nutter. Robert seems to agree as well, going by the look on his face.

“Yeah, ’course. Where else would I be, you idiot?” He’s laughing at him but he’s doing it in that soft way of his, so Aaron doesn’t feel too embarrassed. He’s trying not to, at least.

~~~

“There,” Robert pats him on the cheek, condescending pout on in full force. God, what now? “Stop thinking so much. No need to stress your brain out for no reason.”

12:30 am, the bedside alarm reads. Yeah, it’s time for bed.

“Happy Valentine’s, Mr Dingle.”

Robert snores in response.

~~~

“Y’know, this would’ve been a lot more romantic if you’d just stayed in bed like you were supposed to.” Robert’s trying to make them some ricotta pancakes, except he’d forgotten to make the strawberry glaze last night, and now he’s going to have to do that while making sure the pancakes don’t burn. And Aaron’s been no help whatsoever, sitting on the countertop with his foot wandering up Robert’s leg every ten seconds. He’s this close to turning the heat off and dragging him back upstairs, except he knows that’s been Aaron’s plan all along and he’s not giving in to it, damn it. He’s waited long enough for this.

“Tch. You were takin’ too long.” His voice is all sleep rough, eyes still slowly blinking away the night, as the beginnings of a pout take form on his lips. God, he’s so–

No. Focus, Sugden.

~~~

“Here you go.”

“Uh, thanks.” He sounds like he’s had sand with his morning coffee.

Aaron hops back on again, this time, much closer to Robert. He leans back on his arms a little, dropping his eyes down to Robert’s mouth before skimming them back up. “Don’t mention it.”

Ok, that’s it. He’s spent too much time and money having David order this particular brand of ricotta that’s supposed to be out-of-this-world, creamyaccording to suzy_bakes:)_52. He’s not having Aaron sabotage his plans with his– his face. “If you’re trying to distract me from my pancakes, it won’t work. They’re going to be perfect, so help me!” Aaron looks… alarmed. Which is fair, considering how shrill his voice got at the end there. “I’m not trying to keep you from your pancakes, you muppet.”

Oh. Then why was he… oh.

“What?” Aaron wants to know, smile already stretching in response to Robert’s.

He remembers how Aaron was last Valentine’s day, of course he does. It had been the best night in a long while.

“Alright,” Aaron squints up at him in disgust, even as his hands slide under his shirt to pull him in closer, “you don’t have to get all weird about it.”

“Right, I’m the weird one here.”

“Don’t worry so much about today, Rob. We’ll make it perfect for us. Just like we did last year.”

“Our precious pancakes,” Robert corrects, just to see him snort.

Then he turns back to the bowl because these eggs aren’t going to beat themselves. And if he flexes his arms a little, folding the ricotta in, well. Aaron’s not going to complain, is he?

#matan4il #robron #robron secret valentine #robronsecretvalentine #fanfiction #robron fanfiction

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harostar · 5 years

Text

Random Internet Person: POLICE DOGS ARE ABUSED AND FORCED TO WORK. THEY ARE TOOLS TO BE RUTHLESSLY USED AND MISTREATED AND ABANDONED. COPS USE THEM BECAUSE THEY’RE COWARDS.

Me, who actually works for a department with a K9 unit:

ETA:

Sure thing!

Disclaimer: These are primarily based on our department, and word of mouth from others familiar with K9 units. Mileage may vary in individual cases, because I cannot speak for every single person or unit.

There have been a lot of changes with K9 units over the decades, moving away from the “Aggressive Dog that lives in a cage” kind of deal.

The typical situation now is a team that lives together, with the dog a normal family pet during off-hours. Many retired K9s simply settle down at home, and live out their golden years with their handler. There are some cases where this might not be practical or workable, and in those cases the dog is usually adopted by someone within that work/social circle.

They usually work for about 6 - 8 years, depending on their individual health and ability. Health issues always mean an early retirement, whether the department has a replacement lined up or not.

The one unfortunate deal is that, yes, teams may be separated in cases where the handler leaves while the dog is still young. The reason is, unfortunately, down to the enormous investment that every single dog represents. The dogs are usually very expensive to begin with, even before factoring in the time and money invested into their training. They have to maintain their training on a regular basis, so a lapse means losing their certification. Because replacing the dog is no easy feat, Handlers understand in advance that quitting their job may mean the dog being assigned to a new partner.

Not ideal, but difficult to avoid when there’s genuine community need for that dog’s skills.

Dogs may or may not receive Schutzhund training. Some dogs have a wide range of training, while many others are trained for one specific specialty. This is usually Detection work, focusing on a particular type of scents (Drugs, Ordinances, Human, Cadaver). The primary factor for these decisions is the personality of the dog, based on what interests THEM. Being SUPER CURIOUS and focused is a good trait for Detection work, so they look for puppies that are always searching-searching-searching until they find whatever thing they are looking for.

Believe me, these are SMART dogs. What that means is that they aren’t just well-trained and obedient, they are also have all the issues High-Energy Smart Doggos have. They absolutely will look for trouble, when not given something to do. (Our previous Good Boi famously destroyed the interior of a patrol vehicle when Mom was taking too long grabbing paperwork. He got bored, so he slipped out of his kennel and proceeded to get into mischief. He was very pleased with himself, Mom not so much when she had to report the damage.)

As I mentioned earlier, these dogs are an enormous investment for most departments. That means being spoiled rotten, both in terms of their routine care and how people around the department treat them. Man, I wish the department paid for me to have a Mani-pedi and a massage every week. They also tend to be absolutely adored by everyone that works with them. They aren’t simply Cute Doggo OMG, they are a trusted member of the team that people depend on. Trusting that dog with your life is a major aspect of having a K9 team in your department.

Of course, we have to touch on the issue of Apprehension and dogs being hurt in the line of duty. In general, the theory is that a K9 on scene is an incredible method of PREVENTING further violence. Not always the case, but many-many-many times this is how things play out. Most people either don’t want to hurt a dog, or don’t want to risk facing one. I know it sounds weird, but that is the general line of thinking.

But yeah, most of the time a K9 unit becomes involved when tracking is needed. A person simply cannot locate a person the way a dog can, whether finding a missing person or figuring out where a suspect is hiding. Depending on how many dogs are available, a K9 unit may only be called out when there’s an immediate situation. For example, around here the local dogs are brought out when there’s a major concern for community safety or a person in danger. (Missing kids, suicidal subjects, suspects believed to be armed and loose in a community)

Dogs being hurt is a worst-case scenario, honestly. Some departments have the resources to purchase protective gear for their dogs. Others barely have enough funds to provide ANY gear for anyone. That is one issue that bothers a lot of people, because K9 gear is usually very expensive and not readily available as standard equipment for a department.

Like I said early on, these dogs aren’t just a handler’s partner that they trust with their life. These are family dogs that live with them, and that comes with all the attachment. A K9 being hurt or even getting sick tends to be a heartbreaking situation for a department, because they’re part of the team. (Everyone was pretty upset when we found out the reason our last Officer Good Boi was retiring months earlier than planned because a routine check-up had found cancer. He’s gotten surgery and doing great, with a good prognosis for his golden years. But man, hearing about the diagnosis was a kick in the gut.)

Uh.....I guess I have rambled out most of what was in my head. Questions are absolutely welcome, so please don’t hesitate to ask.

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marvel--for--life · 5 years

Text

Stucky + Pregnancy

A Stucky addition of Starker + Pregnancy

~ After Peter and Tony announce that they’re expecting, Bucky starts getting jealous. Don’t get him wrong, he’s very happy for them both, elated to see them both practically glowing at each other, but the announcement causes old thoughts to rise up again.

~ Bucky remembers most of his old life. There are parts that are still a bit fuzzy, and some memories he probably will never get back, but after HYDRA is out of his head for good, memories start flooding into him. One memory that had stayed hidden until the announcement was a time when Steve was still small. They were curled up in their bed in Brooklyn, fully dressed with every blanket they owned on the bed surrounding them to try and keep warm (and keep Steve from getting pneumonia again). They had passed the time by thinking up their future lives, plans of getting married and having kids. They knew it wouldn’t happen, given the laws of their time, but it had put them both in a good mood and left them warm and fuzzy. Now, living in the twenty-first century though, Bucky wants the old memories to become reality.

~ Admittedly, Bucky hadn’t been thinking. He was oddly nervous to talk to Steve about the possibility of a child, and he could never think of any way of even approaching the topic besides just saying “let’s have a kid”, and truthfully, that didn’t seem like it’d go over well.

~ Bucky’s brilliant (read: idiotic) plan had been to throw out the box of condoms in their bedroom and lie about it, but of course, sitting there with a pair of scissors and the box was how Steve had found him when he came back early from his run with Sam. Being caught in this peculiar position hadn’t been his plan for alerting Steve of his desire, but life didn’t really go Bucky’s way.

~ Steve, while he was confused and a tad hurt that Bucky hadn’t just told him, was more than happy to help Bucky get what he wanted.

~ It takes a few months before Bucky finally begins to feel different. He’s got the stomach pains and nausea that he’s seen Peter suffer from, and truthfully, he’s been eating more than he and Steve together, so he gets the tiny spider to help him out.

~ Steve nearly breaks down the wall to the bathroom when he hears the heavy thump of a body fall. He’s shocked to see Bucky lying on the floor passed out with a tiny little white stick in his hand.

~ When Bucky comes to, Steve is playing with his hair and smirking at him. A blush runs all the way up to his hairline, and he purposefully ignores the other as he begins to push himself up. “So?” Steve asks, leaning forward to press a kiss behind Bucky’s ear.

The blush across his cheeks darkens, and Bucky mumbles, “Shut up, punk.” Steve laughs softly and nuzzles the other, smiling when a shy but happy smile spreads across his mate’s face. “We’re gonna have a baby.”

~ Peter screams when Bucky tells him the news, and Bucky, while shocked at the outburst, can’t help but be happy and smile and celebrate the news with the youth. He and Steve are going to have a baby.

~ It’s when Peter’s twins are two months old that Bucky suddenly feels strange again. There’s a pain, sharp and throbbing, in his lower gut. When he goes to the bathroom - because that’s what a sensible person does when they’re feeling stomach pains - it’s not what he was expecting. The pain increases, and when Bucky eventually finds it in himself to stand, there’s blood.

Suddenly, Bucky can’t breathe. It feels like the world is collapsing, and everything is growing dark. A sob bubbles up from his throat, and he can’t stop the rush of absolute terror and hatred that comes with it.

He slips out of their bathroom, using his stealth training to hide from everyone in the tower until he gets to the hospital bay. Sneaking into the room, he finds Dr. Cho in the back of the lab, looking at some test results. She nearly screams when he sneaks up on her, but she jumps into action when she sees his distress.

The news is exactly what Bucky knew and feared it would be: he lost the baby.

~ Bucky has absolutely no idea how to tell Steve. He stays curled up in their bed for the rest of the day, the pain in his abdomen still not subsiding. Helen had warned him that the pain and aches would last a few days, but the emotional pain is a lot heavier and harder to take.

~ Steve comes home from a mission, covered in sweat and grime three days later, and immediately makes a plan to shower before he goes looking for Bucky. Only… the brunette is curled up in bed at seven-thirty at night, and it looks like he hasn’t moved in a while. “Buck?” he calls, moving towards his side of the bed.

Bucky sniffles softly, and Steve suddenly feels a cold dread covering his body. Bucky hasn’t had a bad day in quite some time, but this seems like it did back in the beginning, back when the Soldier was still getting used to not being the forefront of Bucky’s mind. “Darlin’?” he calls, reaching out and petting back the brunette’s hair, only to suck in a breath at the tears staining Bucky’s face.

“I’m sorry,” Bucky whispers, voice cracking. “I’m so sorry, Stevie.” Steve is confused and aching as he watches his mate fall apart, sobs wracking his frame and causing him to shake. He quickly pulls Bucky into his arms, nuzzling his hair and kissing his skin. Bucky continues to cry and whisper apologizes over and over, and Steve whispers sweet nothings, trying to comfort his mate even as his confusion continues to mount. It isn’t until Bucky whispers the words that he realizes what has upset his mate so much, and he feels his own heart shatter. “I’m sorry, Stevie. I’m sorry I lost the baby.”

~ It takes a long time for them both to move, but Steve carries his mate into the bathtub, holding him and allowing them both to settle in the warm water. When the tears stop and the water has grown cold, Steve carries them both back to bed, lying his mate down and curling around him. The next few days are quite on the Rogers’ floor.

~ Telling the Avengers is heartbreaking. Everyone is crying. Nat and Peter curl up with Bucky on the couch, and the three of them stay together for two days straight, their respective mates bringing them food and adding to the cuddles.

~ Bucky spends a lot of time with the Stark twins. He and Steve are the two most hands-on babysitters of the Avengers, and Peter and Tony are happy to be of any help at all when it comes to their healing. They spoil the twins just as badly as their parents do, and that’s probably why they're the favorites.

~ When the twins turn nineteen-months old, Bucky finds out that he’s pregnant again. There are a lot more tears associated with this one.

~ Sadly, this one lasts even less time. About a month after finding out, Bucky loses the baby. This time though, he loses hope with it.

~ For a while, Steve and Bucky focus solely on the twins. Peter and Tony are pregnant again with their little girls, and the massive growth of their family leaves them in need of the extra hands, so the twins get to spend a good amount of time with their favorite uncles.

~ It doesn’t happen for quite some time. The twins are five now, and the triplets (who are absolutely adorable) are three when Bucky goes to visit Helen for a routine check-up only to learn that he’s pregnant again.

~ Bucky is absolutely terrified of the news, but when Helen calls him and Steve down again to talk about a plan, he feels a bit more relieved. Helen thinks that Bucky might not have had enough nutrients with his previous pregnancies, and his serum had caused the babies to grow quicker and the lack of nutrients had been lethal, so she starts him on an extremely strict diet that includes a lot of supplements.

~ This time, Steve and Bucky are very prepared. Bucky spends a lot of time relaxing and keeping himself busy with anything that doesn’t require much energy (which he absolutely hates). As much as Bucky hates it, Steve adores being able to spoil his mate and take care of him while he carries their child.

~ When they reach the sixth-month mark, Bucky grows nervous. It was around this time that he lost their first baby, and the pain and fear have never fully gone away. He’s terrified about losing another one, but he visits Helen often to check on the baby’s well-being.

~ Steve and Bucky honestly try to not get too excited about the baby for a very long time. It isn’t until he begins to show that they honestly allow themselves to celebrate the fact that they’re once again pregnant.

~ At eight-months, Peter and Tony as well as the rest of the Avengers throw Steve and Bucky a baby shower. Bucky is terrified at the same time he’s overjoyed, but at the end of the day, he’s surrounded by the people that are his family with a rounded belly and a baby that is happily pressing against his rounded his and Steve’s linked hands.

~ It’s only two weeks later that Bucky goes into early labor, and with it, the fear intensifies extremely. Steve is there though, holding his hand and gently petting back the brunette’s hair. He whispers sweet words of encouragement as the operation takes place, kisses along the brunette’s hairline, anything to help soothe Bucky.

“I promise, Buck, whatever happens,” he whispers, listening to Helen talk softly to Bruce on the other side of the sheet, “Til the end of the line, darlin’, til the end of the line.”

Bucky sniffles, trying to keep all of the emotions in as they start to bubble up again. “Til the end of the line,” he agrees softly with a small nod.

“Not to interrupt a sweet moment,” Helen’s voice suddenly becomes clear as she peeks over the edge. “I think you want to see someone.” And suddenly, there he is. A tiny little thing that’s absolutely furious; their baby screams and flails his small arms, but Bucky and Steve swear neither of them has ever seen something so beautiful.

~ Once they’re out of the operating room and resting in their own bed, Bucky can’t look away from the small boy in his arms. Steve is resting on his other side, arm tightly around his mate’s waist and one hand gently petting their little boy’s hair. “He’s beautiful,” Bucky whispers, unable to look away from the sleeping child’s face.

“He is,” Steve agrees softly. “Gets it from you,” he adds with a sappy smile. Bucky gives him a half-hearted glare before immediately returning his attention back to the boy in his arms.

“He needs a name,” he says softly, resting his head against his mate’s neck. “We never picked one…”

“You’re right,” Steve agrees softly, burying his nose in the other’s hair. “Do you have any ideas?”

He hums softly, letting his eyes slip closed for a minute as the exhaustion from the day begins to take control. “Grant,” he finally says.

“Grant?” Steve asks skeptically. “You want to give him my middle name?”

Bucky nods slightly, opening his eyes and looking back down at the small boy. “Yeah… He looks like you after all,” he points out. Steve tries to hide the smile fighting its way across his face.

“Grant James Rogers?” he offers.

Steve can feel Bucky’s smile against his neck, and he smiles wider because of it. “Perfect.”

~ Grant James Rogers is the cutest baby Bucky has ever seen. He’s got little waves in his blonde hair, and when he finally cracks his little eyes open, they’re the most beautiful shade of blue he’s ever seen. He smiles like a ray of sunshine, and he doesn’t fail to make everyone around him smile either. He is also a wonderfully easy baby. Bucky has heard from Peter about the nightmare babies can be during the night: about how they tend to wake up often and fuss and keep him and Tony each awake for several hours several times a night. Grant, however, sleeps like a log every night. Bucky has actually had to wake him up before to feed the little fella in the middle of the night, but he always goes right back to sleep as peaceful as he was earlier.

~ Steve likes to take Grant out on runs on nice weather days. Grant loves the bouncing movement of his father’s steps. He screams and giggles like mad, clapping his little tiny hands with almost every step Steve takes. Steve never minds stopping to take pictures of them together.

~ Steve has always had several sketchbooks of Bucky, but now he’s got at least ten full ones from Bucky’s pregnancy and Grant’s birth, and the little thing is only six months old.

~ His favorite drawing is of a sleeping Bucky lying on the floor, a baby bib over his chest and a sleeping Grant on top of it. Anthony and Benjamin are sleeping at Bucky’s side, and the girls are asleep on his mechanical arm. Steve can’t even deny the fact that that picture (because he’s not stupid and he knew he had to snap a picture before the opportunity disappeared) is his background and will probably always be.

~ Happy with their only child, it comes as a massive surprise when Bucky ends up pregnant again.

~ This time they have a little girl, and thankfully, it’s the smoothest of Bucky’s pregnancies thanks to Helen. Sarah Winifred Rogers is the opposite of her brother and almost exactly like Steve in personality. She’s feisty and loud, and she absolutely hates falling asleep alone.

~ On a lot of Sunday mornings, Bucky will wake up before anyone else in his family. Sarah will join him in the kitchen as he makes breakfast. She’s usually drooling all over his shoulder now that she’s sleeping in her favorite spot, and he’s got a towel there to protect himself (it doesn’t do much truthfully). Every time before breakfast is finished, little Grant is crawling out of his bed and joining him.

Grant comes in and clings to his mother’s leg, and Bucky always showers him with some kisses before telling him to take his sister to the master bedroom. Bucky follows behind with a massive tray of food. After setting the tray on the bedside table, he takes Sarah from Grant, who happily climbs on the bed and jumps on Steve until he wakes up.

They spend the morning curled up in bed together, eating and laughing and merely enjoying their family time. Sunday quickly becomes Steve’s favorite day of the week.

#stucky #steve x bucky #bucky x steve #bucky barnes x steve rogers #steve rogers x bucky barnes #implied starker #referenced starker #stucky pregnancy #pregnancy #angst with a happy ending #babies #maybe i'll actually write the story i wanted to for this one day #if i write the starker one

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