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saiqherrr · 3 years

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.could not be tainted (s. getou)

.pairing suguru getou x fem!reader

.content warning gojo’s past arc / jjk vol. 0 manga spoilers, angst, manipulation, mind-break, nsfw, non-con, dub-con, mentions of suicide, mentions of murder, mentions of death, rough sex, choking, break-up, unprotected sex, oral sex (f!receiving), pregnancy

.synopsis "at this moment you accepted that he had done something terrible and his soul had become wretched, but again, cursed yourself for still loving him. your love for him was unconstrained. shamefully, your perception of his disposition could not be tainted. this would remain your first and only love. he was your everything, your entire world."

.a/n i just want to make it very clear that i do not want this fic to be romanticized in any way at all. some aspects of this are written from experiences and about guys i’ve dealt with in my life. (85% is just me writing angst just to cope about suguru lol). this is not the life you want to live or fantasize about. these are very real feelings i want to express and this is the best way i could do it. thank you for understanding.

.wc 4.k

WHY DID IT HAPPEN? why? why? why? when? how? you couldn’t grasp it. you were panicking, you were still in shock. you still couldn’t bring yourself to believe it. even if it were to happen right in front of you, you probably would still deny it. this was a thing that the two of you used to joke about together, yet it seems now that those jokes were simple warnings - no, a divination of the future.

still, you couldn’t fathom that suguru would ever do such a thing. an entire village? you knew you couldn’t deny it when satoru could barely look at you without flinching when his default, pompous grin wasn’t on his face when his voice broke and he looked away so that you couldn’t see him cry. that’s it, you thought to yourself. that’s how fast that lifestyle could break people.

you saw it coming now that you were thinking about it with your face covered in your grasp, sitting on the couch, shuddering with pulverization, outrage, and dread. your hands were damp from the tears that had run along your cheeks. suguru stopped smiling. he was excessively profound into his brain and at whatever point you broke him out of it, he’d bring his absent eyes to you and feign an artificial smile on his face. he stopped eating and the only one who pointed it out was satoru. his face was paler than it already was, he was getting fatigued quicker. he didn’t want to have sex with you, yet, he kept tasting you, feasting on your core some nights, and one night, you swore you heard him whisper “i’m sorry” once, but it slipped your mind seconds later.

why did you ignore it? why didn’t you ask him? why didn’t you talk to satoru? you couldn’t answer your own questions. regardless of his inert, distorted thoughts, he was still showering you with love. he was still tucking you into bed when he came home. he was still kissing you goodbye when he’d leave. he was still saying “i love you”. he was still asking you if you were alright. he was still suguru, the beautiful boy with long black locks that fell into his face whenever he’d laugh too hard. the boy that smiled simply because you were breathing. the boy that’d reach around for you at night, just to make sure you were beside him. the boy that would tell you he loves you each possibility he got simply to ensure that those were his final words in case of anything. your boy, he was your boy. your beautiful boy.

he was your boy yet you couldn’t keep him safe. you couldn’t shield him from the traumatic experiences that he inevitably faced as a sorcerer. you couldn’t reassure him that he was doing the best he could when everyone else expected him to do better. there was nothing you could do to aid him, to guide him, to protect him.

i failed, you thought. i failed to save you, my love.

where do we go from here? you thought. were you supposed to leave? were you supposed to stay with him? join him? end your own life? end his life?

your heart sunk and your body went still as you heard the door handle shaking behind you. you stood up from the love seat and went to approach the front door. the stifled sound of keys outside of the door had your heart dashing almost too fast to measure. finally, the door opened slowly, creaking loudly and he walked in.

“y/n-”

you didn’t know how you managed to move so quickly. suguru couldn’t even process it himself. but you cut him off, wrapping your arms around his body, fastening onto him as if he was trying to run anyway. he didn’t return the embrace, he was breathing quite heavily.

you pull away yet your hand lay on his chest, steadily grasping his shirt in your hands as you looked up at him with glossy eyes. the crying didn’t have to build - you just cried, warm tears liberated from your eyes and rolled down your cheeks.

“suguru, please tell me it’s not true,” you sobbed desperately. you brought a hand up to his cheek, scouring your thumb beneath his eye. “please...”

suguru’s jaw clenched, looking at you with deadpan eyes before he, oddly enough, smiles. it was almost frightening how he beamed at you, yet showed nothing in those dark eyes of his. his calloused hands are placed on your cheeks and he kisses you. it was so soft, yet so intense. he pulls away before you could even situate yourself with the kiss. your crying subsided.

as though the kiss didn't occur, he leaves and goes to the room that you two shared. you followed behind him.

“suguru...”

he didn’t respond to you. he looked into the mirror and rubbed his eyes. he was evidently tired. “suguru,” you called out to him again as you leaned against the door frame. he continued to ignore you and proceeded to remove his clothes from his body in an unusually slow manner.

“it’s true,” he finally speaks as he gets to the last button on his shirt and pulls it off of his arms.

your eyebrows curve upwards and your lips tremble once again and the tears started to stream. “t-then why did you come home...?”

suguru turned around to look at you. “just because i’ve lost my mind, does not mean i do not love you.” he walks closer to you and tilts your head up by pushing his fingers underneath your chin. “you understand that, right?”

“what does that mean?” you asked him in a small voice. he didn’t answer quick enough for you. “what does that mean, suguru?”

rather than giving you a verbal reaction, he snatches your face and kisses you covetously. it was messy and off-kilter and you didn’t enjoy it. this wasn’t a problem that he could kiss you through as he did in other situations. you pried his fingers off of your face and stepped back, shutting your mouth so his tongue just licked your face until he quit, taking a gander at you with a risky desire.

“i don’t want to kiss right now, suguru...” his nostrils flared at your words and his hand snaked up to the back of your neck. you drove his hand away again in which he quickly snatched you by the throat and pushed you into a wall. “su-sugu...” you struggled to speak and felt your face tightening. your fingers scratched at his flexed hand in an attempt to pry his fingers from your throat, however, you didn't succeed.

“i’ve lost my mind, y/n,” he growls, gazing at you with a profound, threatening glare. “i hope that doesn’t mean you don’t love me.” he let go of your throat but pushed you into the wall again, making you hit your head.

you wheezed for air and slid to the ground, urgently attempting to breathe once more. tears settled in the outer corners of your eyes. what happened? your beautiful boy had warped into something evil, something greedy. he had never touched you like this before and it terrified you, it frightened you so awful that you could hurl. he watched you struggle instead of coming to the rescue the way he’d normally do. he was so comfortable seeing you in pain at this moment. his words replayed in your head like a broken record. you pressed your forehead into the middle of your palm as you tried to get it to stop, screwing your eyes shut.

“i still love you...” you uttered in a feeble voice. you couldn’t find the courage to bring your eyes to his. you’d rather die than be glared upon like this by him. “i still love you, suguru,” you repeated. and you meant it.

his ears perked at the sound of your voice. despite the way he had just choked you for the suspicion that you didn’t love him anymore, he didn’t want to hear the words come out of your mouth. he knew he had committed an unforgivable crime, one, not even you would stay with him for. he knew that you were afraid and, with much guilt, he wanted it to stay that way. he didn’t want you to keep loving him for the sake of your safety, your own heart. but he needed to have you one last time before he walked out of that door. he needed to have you one last time before everything fell to shit. one could argue that things already did.

he leans down and picks you up bridal style, bringing you to the bed that the two of you shared. he laid you down, caressing your cheek with a somber expression on his face.

“please stop loving me after tonight, y/n,” he whispers in your ear as he inclined down and began to kiss your earlobe, moving to your cheek and then your neck. your eyes augment at his sudden words. no. he anticipated your guarding hands and once they lifted to push him off, he was already grabbing them, pinning them above your head.

“suguru, please-” you interjected but he cut you off with another one of those messy kisses. You tucked your lips and turned your head left and right, trying to block it.

“stop fighting it,” he tells you in a warning tone. “please, just stop.”

you were tenacious. you tried kicking him, however, you just kneed his abdomen multiple times. “suguru, i don’t want to do this right now...i want to talk!” you started hysterically crying, wishing the entirety of this would stop. the suguru you knew wouldn't try to do this to you. he was a man of his word. he regarded you. he cherished you. this wasn't love. this was an evil longing.

realizing that you weren’t going to give up any time soon, he let go of your wrists and turned your body over. he placed his hand on the back of your head and pushed your face into the bed. your blood-curdling screams were muffled, your tears soaked into the sheets and your body trembled with immense fear.

he yanked your head up, your screams no longer suppressed and they echoed throughout the room. they were soon replaced by wheezing. “p-please-”

“promise me you’re not going to fight it...i don’t want to go any harder on you.” you gulped at the sound of his intimidating voice. you hated that you couldn’t see his face.

“i-i won’t f-fight it,” you stammered.

he finally let your hair go and gravity pulled you down on your stomach, collapsing on the bed. his hands caressed your ass, spreading his fingers over the expanse of each cheek before gripping it as if he was savoring the plushy feeling. for the first time in forever, you felt disgusted by his touch. you killed people with these hands. he pulled down your shorts, revealing your black, cotton underwear that hid underneath it.

he decided that, now, he wanted to see your face. he rolled you over onto your back and paused the subsequent he saw your face. he didn’t know what he was expecting, but you had completely shut down. you looked as if you had died. you figured that this was the solitary way you could go through with this - be numb to it all. you absentmindedly stared at the ceiling. your face was that of a cadaver. in an - almost - real sense, you let your psyche wander somewhere else and forfeited your body to him.

suguru flinched when your eyes had finally moved. they darted to his face, taking a gander at him with an undeniable look. they then shifted to the ceiling. “do what you want, suguru.” your voice was dry and feeble. you had given up. there was nothing you could do to save him or yourself.

despite the fact that you had shut down in front of him, he still wanted to fuck you. the clunking of his buckle made your ears twitch as he unfastened his belt. once he unbuttoned his pants and unzipped the fly, they fell around his ankles and he stepped out of them. your eyes caught a glimpse of his prominent print in his underwear. he took his underwear off as swiftly as he did his pants and he held his veiny cock in his hand, stroking it slowly before rubbing it against your warmth, the only thing separating his length from your core were your panties. you gulped, terrified as you were unnerved of what move he’d make next.

instead of taking off your panties, he slides them aside, your breath hitching once your clit was met with cold air. to suguru’s disappointment, you weren’t aroused, yet he wasn’t surprised. but that didn’t stop him from pushing two, long fingers inside of you. you grimaced at the feeling of the burning sensation as his fingers forcefully and uncomfortably pushed into your walls. realizing he was getting nowhere, he grunts with irritation and rips off your panties. his head makes a plunge between your legs, his tongue frantically flicking at your clit.

no.

your back wildly curved a smidgen and you squeezed your lips tight to cover the moans that needed to be urgently liberated from your lips. your stomach uncontrollably tucked in and out. your body formed a layer of sweat as your body temperature steadily rose higher and higher. he devoured you sporadically, no pattern, no steady pace. he wanted you wet. he wanted you gushing. he just wanted to feel comfortable inside of you.

against your own will, you gave him want he wanted. at the point when your lips at long last abandoned keeping down your groans, they came out stressed and weak. when his tongue had come in contact with your increasing slick, he lifted his head again. you deplorably became lascivious - craving him, needing him, and wanting him. you loathed yourself for it, how quickly he could make you lose yourself. this was most likely the last chance you’d get to touch him...feel him. no matter what, you couldn’t open your eyes. you had to pretend like this was all a dream. the man in front of you wasn’t a murderer, he was the loving guy he had always been. he liked getting his hair brushed before bed. he liked making you breakfast if he ever woke up before you. he liked taking showers with you, washing every last trace of your body while also getting a chance to admire it, to praise it. suguru liked kissing you in public, whispering sweet nothings in your ear. he liked making love to you after a hot bath. he liked asking if you were comfortable between each movement he made. he liked entwining fingers when he was ready to cum inside your tight cunt. he liked kissing you after he was done releasing, falling close to you, and murmuring “i love you.”

that’s the suguru that was touching you, right? right?

“no...” you whispered out loud as a response to your own psyche.

you hadn’t even realized he was scouring your wet warmth with his fingers and you regrettably had to open your eyes, only to be hit with the painful reality of things. you were too lost in this imaginary fantasy that the man in front of you was the same man a couple of days before. he simply was not. this was not the suguru that you fell in love with. but tonight, you had to make the best out of what you had right now.

“kiss me...”

“huh?” a perplexed look spreads across his face.

“kiss me.” you plead louder, hoping that the old suguru inside this man in front of you would hear you. and he did.

suguru brings himself down, crashing his lips into yours with passion, with regret. his tip unintentionally teased your entrance as he was hunched over you, making you squirm. he breaks away from the kiss and positions himself in front of your opening. you swore your soul left your body when you felt his calloused hands hassle with your dank fingers, finally settling in the free space between them. they locked in place and that was the moment you felt his love again, his comfort. you were taking so much time to process that he was holding your hands that it distracted you from the fact that he was entering you, stretching your opening.

you gasped, your eyes flitting rapidly before they eventually closed. you squeezed his hands as he continued to push the entirety of his length inside of you. your body jolted at the sudden feeling of his lips on your neck. contrary to what you expected, his thrusts were slow, steady, and amorous. tender kisses were scattered on your skin, his lips sucked on sweet spots that only he knew. the pretty moans that flew from your lips were out of your control. you were addled, trying to make sense of his actions that completely contradicted his demeanor from before. as he quickened his pace you could hear him inhaling every time he pulled back and exhaling every time his hips went forward to meet your groin. your eyebrows furrowed when you heard those breaths stutter. he was breathing spasmodically - he was silently sobbing.

at this point, he couldn’t hide it anymore. he thrusted into you harder as he got more overwhelmed. when he finally lifted his head, that’s when you saw it, his grief. his eyes were tightly shut, he was biting on his bottom lip, and tears, real tears, had rolled down his gaunt cheeks and met at this chin. your lips part as a look of despair came across your face. the sight was jarring, it was unusual. you wanted to hold him, kiss him, caress him, something. your hands still felt comfortable in the finger embrace, so you squeezed his hand as tight as you could, feeling like your bones would rip out of your skin.

suguru, i’m here.

at this moment you accepted that he had done something terrible and his soul had become wretched, but again, cursed yourself for still loving him. your love for him was unconstrained. shamefully, your perception of his disposition could not be tainted. this would remain your first and only love. he was your everything, your entire world.

and he knew this.

he knew this because he feels the same way about you. every feeling between the two of you is always reciprocated. there was complete equilibrium between this connection. both of you felt blessed by god himself to be able to experience a love like this, a love that many people cannot acquire. a love that everyone else coveted.

he kissed you feverishly, sniffling as he continued to move his hips, the sound of skin slapping echoing throughout the room. you found the strength to wriggle your fingers away from his and place your small hands onto his back to hold him close to you. he would die in your arms if he could right now. still, he hated the way you kept showing him affection at a time like this, but it’s not like he was making it easy for you to despise him.

it just kept bothering him. it was bothering him because he knew couldn’t have you like this anymore after tonight. he didn't lament his contemptible decisions, yet he was enduring inside on the grounds that he had allowed himself to get so attached to you, and he let you get so attached to him. he wished he could tell you how much he loved you, how sorry he was. he wished that he didn’t succumb so deep into his own madness. he wished he could embrace you and tell you everything was okay. he wished he had just left the country instead of coming back here to you. he wanted you to be happy. he wanted you to live your life without him. he wanted you to be safe, yet, he wanted to be there to watch you prosper, to watch you find yourself, to watch you smile, to watch you cry. he couldn’t be here to watch you live out the rest of your long life. he wanted to kiss you. he wanted to hold you. he wanted to sleep with you. he wanted to marry you. he wanted to have kids with you. he wanted to grow old with you. where were these passionate thoughts before he slaughtered those monkeys?

“i’m sorry,” he whispers into your ear before he starts ramming into you rather roughly.

i hate that i want to forgive you.

you whimpered his name graciously, arms still wrapped around his built body as he delivered rhythmic strokes. he was getting closer to his climax, his face strained as he grunted and choked back pleasurable moans. he pushes himself up with his hand pressed firmly into the mattress, gazing down at how your gummy walls didn’t hesitate to take him in every time he pulled out.

“one last thing,” he murmurs. “i’ll give you one last thing.”

what does that mean-?

the voice in your head was cut off by the feeling of warm, sticky fluids saturating your hole. he let out a dragged-out groan as he came inside of your pulsating cunt, filling you up to the brim. his eyes screwed shut from the relieving feeling of his climax.

he opens his eyes, looking at your pretty face. he gets on the bed and lays down, pulling up your body and laying you down on his chest, holding you for the last time. the ear that was pressed against his chest could hear his agile heartbeat. your lips quivered before you started to weep in his arms. you were so out of it, still so confused on what he wanted, what he was thinking. you wished he could just tell you, but even you knew he wouldn’t. he couldn’t. he didn’t want you to follow him, to abandon the long, stainless life you had ahead of you. he didn’t want you to keep thinking of him.

it hurt to walk out that door that day without expressing everything to you. it hurt to walk out that door, period. once he finally got off the bed, he did nothing more and said nothing more.

as his back faced the apartment building as he walked on, he cried silently, regretting every step he was taking. if only you knew how much he loved you, how many times you had saved him from becoming this way early on, how he trusted you and relied on you to keep him stable when times were rough, how much he hated to see you in pain. if only you knew, if only you knew.

he fell while you prospered. he took two young girls under his wing while you cried once you saw the positive as clear as day on that pregnancy test. he shamelessly played house with his “shaman” family while you had moved in with satoru with a growing belly. he pleasurably mocked the lives of non-shamans while you gave birth to the very thing he hated in a delivery room. he slowly lost himself while you imbibed every word in those self-care books to better yourself for the sake of your baby girl. he laid awake at night, disturbed, while you slept peacefully on satoru’s couch, your infant child asleep in a rocker beside you. he cried in the shower as he thought of you while you cooed and giggled with your child as you soothingly washed her in the kitchen sink. he talked to himself when he was too out of it while you read bedtime stories to your child. he fell while you prospered. he thanked satoru for taking care of you during these miserable times before he was brought to his death while you gazed at your child and thought of him for the first time in months, murmuring, “you’re just as pretty as your father was.”

a/n: i hope you enjoyed this. i feel very proud that i took my time on this particular fic. just want to remind everyone that if you find yourself in abusive relationships, please talk to someone. if you find yourself having suicidal tendencies, please talk to someone. being an abuse survivor myself, i hope that i reached other survivors with this work. i hope my words touched someone.

#suguru geto #jjk suguru #getou suguru x reader #geto suguru #getou suguru imagines #getou suguru smut #geto x reader #jujutsu kaisen getou #getou x reader #jjk #jjk smut #jjk fanfic #jjk imagines #jjk x reader

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laryna6 · 3 years

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Hmm, Cha Hae-In... if she ran into Sung Jin-Woo at the sword school somehow and is ? that he smells good?

Sugar Mama Cha Hae-In + the Hunters’ Guild going ‘these two are adorable we are going to make this ship sail’

Also he’s adorable and her sword teacher tells her that he keeps getting injured but keeps going on hunts, people think he’s an idiot rich boy in it for the thrill but he doesn’t buy that, no defense and yet he gets wounded protecting their healer too.

Cha Hae-In using her vice guildmaster position to offer him a position on the resource gathering teams, and watching as he goes from shut down and dead inside to smiling and friendly and starting to actually talk to people. They’re like sure, he’s not the fastest/strongest worker, but he’s hard working and does his best and pays attention to instructions.

Meanwhile Sung Jin-Woo is ‘this job comes with medical insurance!’ and Jin-Ah is ‘I don’t have to worry about my brother dying anymore! The Hunter’s Guild would absolutely have like, whole guild social functions where you bring your family and Jin-Ah wanting to talk to Cha Hae-In and explaining the situation and being ‘thank you so much for saving the life of my last family.’

So Cha Hae-In is *manly tears* Such a wonderful big brother! So filial! So cute!

Sung Jin-Woo starts bringing her lunch to thank her and she’s ‘you don’t have to...’ (but it’s really good) ‘I am rich af let me pay you’ and Sung Jin-Woo is ‘sure’ because money.

... to skip ahead, shadow!Choi Jong-In continuing to do paperwork, corresponence and checking over payroll after death leaves him Not Impressed with Ashborn wanting to ditch Jin-Woo (especially after finding out Ashborn made Jin-Woo responsible for his army)

So like, the entire Hunter’s Guild is like, ‘Cha Hae-In has a boyfriend... but we already know him and he is a Good Kid not like, someone who wants to feel dominant over a powerful woman or any of that BS and oh hey this food is really good’ So Choi Jong-In goes ‘we’re going to have a cafeteria now and provide lunches for all the gate teams’ and puts Sung Jin-Woo in charge of it and people are like ‘this is why we call u a genius’

People are like ‘when are you going to ask him out’ and Cha Hae-In is ‘as vice guildmaster I’m his boss! I can’t hit on him!’ so Choi Jong-In is like ‘congratulations you own a restaurant in our guild building now with a lucrative contract with our guild’

Now it’s ‘i can’t hit on him at work! And he feels like he really owes me, I don’t want to make him feel like I was... expecting things’

They are like ah! She is such a good person for an s-rank! Ok, then they need Sung Jin-Woo to make a move! Plan 1: he seems to like watching her train even though he can’t follow a lot of her movements, so we’ll invite him along to watch a fight.

Next up is a double dungeon, but it appeared in a low rank dungeon and the measurements are still weak AF. So like, it’s a mission that the Hunter’s Guild can go on like, just to be sure! But almost certainly safe for an e-rank.

And then you have Choi Jong-In and Sung Jin-Woo scrambling to figure out the rules. Cha Hae-In carrying Sung Jin-Woo over her shoulder, someone else taking Choi Jong-In after he passes out burning up all his MP in the hopes of taking out the statue’s eye beams.

So they’re around the altar with their unconscious boss and the e-rank up on it in the center to be safest, and they’re staring down the statues and debating ‘do we send Cha Hae-In out the door to carry the guildmaster and Sung Jin-Woo to safety, or does that door scream obvious trap because the rule is ‘prove your faith’ and wouldn’t leaving the temple be abandoning your faith?

And Cha Hae-In and Sung Jin-Woo are ‘that would leave you guys without any s-ranks against a very high a boss if not worse.’ and it’s the hunter guild’s duty to close gates first. This gate was counting down when it was reported as a double dungeon, they cannot let this boss gate breach.

The flames count down and, hmm, should the architect react like a thwarted bully or improv some new bullshit to act like everything is within his calculations? So he goes ‘to prove your faith you must now offer a sacrifice’ but instead of obviously giving up the weakling to keep the others alive they’re like yeah, fuck no (’if the porter/guest gets hurt the whole guild has failed’)

So he grabs Jin-Woo and unleashes the statues on the humans with orders to make it hurt but not finish them off, and tells him ‘get on that altar and you’ll be able to leave here with them.’

And Jin-Woo knew he was willing to die for Jin-Ah and Mom, but they’re safe now and he owes that to Cha Hae-In and everyone at the Hunter Guild’s kindness. so he’s ‘ok’ and they are ‘nonono’

He wakes up at the hospital, told he’s the only survivor and he’s been asleep for a month, which... he knew the boss was a lying bastard, monsters don’t spare humans, but he couldn’t just not even TRY/do anything.

...WTF is this? He thought seeing that screen before was some kind of pre-death brain screwery. Jin-Ah and the Hunter’s Guild b-team start coming in and he’s ?? are you guys seeing this? THey are ‘what did that thing do to poor helpless e-rank good boy?!’

Choi Jong-In measures him as an A rank, but instead of being happy Sung Jin-Woo is going through status screens on job class an abilities and...

And then he pales.

And summons the dead.

The boss said ‘he’d go home with them.’ Effing literal words... They can’t speak, but they touch his shoulder to say it’s okay.

...He...

Sung Jin-Woo ends up rejoining the Hunter’s Guild after leveling to S because without any S ranks it would have lost a lot of prestige and ability to take more valuable gates and pay for all the salary, benefits and expensive protective armor.

Doing the JeJu op and since he’s OP, replacing the Draw Sword guild as emergency call-in guild for southeast asia due to like ‘why would we charge you fees A rank gates are where the money’s at if anything we should be paying you for finding them for us’

But if Min Byong-Gyu does die and get turned into a shadow but talks to Baek Yoon-Ho re ‘hey I’m being forced to adore that guy his power is really creepy get me out of here’ and Baek is concerned about Choi Jong-In too...

Sung Jin-Woo’s reaction to the idea his friends are being FORCED to care about him/not be mad he was a useless e-rank and couldn’t save them...

Ashborn seeing Sung Jin-Woo with comrades that ~died with him, like he resurrected his fallen soldiers after did... even more ‘like me’ so earlier decision to not possess.

Ms. Selner going ‘there is great darkness in you’ and he’s ‘can you tell me anything else?’

Hunter’s Guild Shadow Squad wanting to powerlevel for Cartenon temple rematch and then they get sealed instead of getting to attack that bastard? FFFFFFFFFF

instead of ‘get necromancer class’ it’s ‘unlock a prestige class’ so he does get Igris.

He wants to get stronger so he can stop this from happening again, and making sure gates got cleared and people were safe is what they wanted... right?

More examination of using his power on humans/to preserve human souls since like, he can’t get valid consent NOW.

...Chairman Yoo going ‘those lizards killed my son, stole his equips, and made me pay them for being ‘kind’ enough to carry his body out, but I can’t do sh*t because the older brother’s an s-rank,’ and bowing his head.

So Sung Jin-Woo shadowing Jin-Ho, who gets adopted into squad happily. That way he can ask him to confirm ‘those guys did murder you, yes?’

Hunter’s Guild is guild conference rep for Korea OFC, people from guild helping Jin-Woo study up on who everyone is and the contacts they’ve got/are working on. Hwang Dong-Su kidnaps someone else.

During Ashborn meeting Choi Jong-In showing up to SHAME Ashborn for planning to sleep forever (suicide ideation) bc as a leader he should be more responsible than to ditch someone else to take care of the org he’s responsible for. If Choi Jong-In is doing paperwork from behind the grave, this guy isn’t going to get to lie around when humanity desperately needs more combatants at this level/Jin-Woo shouldn’t have to die alone.

#solo leveling #this turned into #Hunter's Guild Sung Jin-Woo Protection Squad #becomes Hunter's Guild Shadow Squad #not shippy because first there's #power imbalance #one way and then the other

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motherjoel · 4 years

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cup of sugar (spencer reid x fem!reader)

summary: after finding out that your cat needs to be put down, the last thing you expect is a visit from your handsome neighbor who just needs a cup of sugar

category: fluff, light angst (about the cat lol)

warnings/includes: death of an animal, needles

wc: 6.6k

a/n: this is my submission for the @veraiconcos writer challenge! hope you guys like it :)

Your eyes were blurred with tears the whole drive home from the vet. You tried your best to refrain from looking back at your sick cat (who you had lovingly named after Fantine from Les Mis), but you stole a few glances at her while trying to concentrate on the road. Eventually, you made it home safely and you grabbed the crate from your backseat to bring it up to your apartment.

The vet had said she was nearing the end of her life, and it was only a matter of time before she passed. You had scheduled to put her down in a few days and your heart wrenched for the poor kitty. She wasn’t anything special on the outside, just a brown short-haired cat you could see on the street, but to you she was everything. She had been sitting right next to your car parking spot for months before you actually took her in- you fed her and gradually began to pet her before you decided to take her inside your home and show her the love she deserved. You’d been through a lot with her and you weren’t ready to say goodbye, but you didn’t want to prolong her suffering, So, you decided to spend every moment with her until your appointment.

You set down the crate and let her out, and she sluggishly made her way to her coveted position on your couch. You had yet to cease crying- every time you looked at her you welled up at the thought of losing her. Right as you were about to take a seat next to her, you heard a tentative knock from your door. With a sigh, you wiped your tears and made your way to open it. Looking in the mirror before opening the door, it was obvious you were crying. You didn’t care, however, as you swung it open to see a lanky man holding a measuring cup with flour in his hair and adorning his sweater. Not just any lanky man- it was the lanky man you had developed a bit of a crush on. You saw him some days when you got back from work collecting his mail, and you couldn’t help but be interested in the mystery guy from apartment 202.

“Hi, I was just baking some cookies and I realized I was out of su- are you okay?” he asked with concern. You almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Uh, yeah, sorry, I just got back from the vet. Looks like I have to put my cat down,” you deadpanned. Your tears had stopped falling at this point.

“Oh gosh, I- I’m so sorry. Um, forget about the sugar I can just go to the store,” he turned on his heel and made his way back to his apartment.

“No, it's fine!” you called after him. He turned around with a grimace. “It’s okay, I have plenty of sugar, please, come in,” you opened the door wider for him to cautiously make his way into your apartment. You didn’t want to admit it, but this tiny bit of human interaction really helped you get your mind off of your current situation- it was normally just you and Fantine, so if you could make a friend in the meantime, you would try your best.

“Thank you,” he said as you made your way into the kitchen, petting Fantine on the way in. He took a glance at her before returning his gaze to you. “Is that, uh, the cat?” he asked, and you could tell he wasn’t great with comforting people in sad situations.

“Yeah, that's my Fantine,” you said, reaching into your cabinet to get the jar of sugar.

“Les Miserables?” he asked, a glint of recognition in his eyes. You smiled.

“Yes! Good to know I'm neighbors with someone of culture,” you laughed, your heart feeling light for the first time that day. “You can pet her if you'd like,” you told him before grabbing the measuring cup from him and turning to fill it with sugar. He smiled in response, keeping his hands to himself. “Allergic?” you asked, wondering if the handsome stranger maybe just wasn’t a cat person.

“Oh no, sorry, I just have a germ… thing,” he said, nervously rubbing his palms on his pants. You simply nodded and shut the jar of sugar, making your way back to him and giving him the measuring cup.

“So, you know my cat's name, but not mine. I’m Y/N, by the way,” you offered, not reaching out your hand when you remember his previous statement about germs.

“Spencer, I live next door,” he said, seeming relieved at your neglect to shake his hand. You didn't have time to say anything else before a colorfully dressed woman in a “kiss the cook” apron barged into your apartment- you noticed that you had left the door open after letting Spencer in.

“What's taking you so long G man? The butter is burning!” she exclaimed, before noticing your cat on the couch. “Oh. My. God. Now who is this sweetie pie?” she asked, running to your couch and lovingly petting her.

“Fantine,” Spencer answered, looking at you with a blush.

“She is the sweetest thing I have ever seen. I am obsessed,” she cooed.

“That's Penelope,” Spencer said, widening his eyes at her when she seemed to get comfortable on your couch.

“Nice to meet you Penelope, I’m Y/N,” you introduced, making your way over to your couch.

“Oh, right, sorry,” she extended her hand and you took it. “I’ve had too much cold brew today and I am feeling a little energetic,” she laughed. You liked her jittery manner- she seemed like someone you’d want to be friends with. “How old is she?” Penelope asked, innocently. You tried to hide the way your face fell at the question, but it was obvious that it saddened you. Spencer noticed.

“Um, I actually took her in off the street so I really don’t know. She’s old, though,” you said, looking down at your tired kitty. “I actually have to… put her down in a few days,” you said, ignoring your voice crack. Without a word, you were pulled into a tight and unexpected hug. Penelope's arms were wrapped around you, leaving little room to breathe. You didn’t mind the human contact. You even let a few tears drop, having held them back for the duration of their visit. A warm hand rested on your shoulder- a warm hand that was tentative and bigger than Penelope's ones that rubbed your back. You looked up to see Spencer awkwardly attempting to comfort you. In a bold move, you rested your cheek on his hand, as if you were thanking him. Penelope pulled away after a minute, wiping her own tears from her eyes.

“Well, what an introduction that was!” she laughed through her tears, you joined her. You heard Spencer clear his throat, like he was preparing to speak.

“What if- what if we finish the baking over here?” he asked, hope in his eyes. Before you could answer, he began to ramble. “Studies show that human contact or even just being in the presence of other people can help with grieving, and-” he was cut off by Penelope.

“And we don't want to leave you alone right now. I mean, we’ve cried together already. We’re basically best friends,” Penelope said, resting a hand on your arm. You didn’t even have to contemplate the offer.

“Yeah, of course! I’d really like that,” you smiled at the two of them, who exchanged a glance.

“Great! Me and Spencer will go get the ingredients from his apartment, you just stay here with Fantine being your cute selves,” she said, dragging Spencer out by his arm and shutting the door gently behind her. You were in for an interesting night.

Spencer couldn’t help but blush at the thought of spending the rest of his night in your apartment. With Penelope, of course. He had seen you before- he didn’t know your name until today, but he had a bit of a crush on you. From the moment he first saw you feeding Fantine when she was still a stray, he fell for your gentle aura. He's not stalking you, he swears he isn't, but he subconsciously remembered your schedule. He just so happened to get his mail at 6:17 every day he was home when he knew you’d be coming back from work. And he just drove out of his way to see you feed that cat every once in a while. Not an obsession.

Penelope was the first to find out about his little crush. When she came to Spencer’s apartment to pick him up for some nerd convention, she noticed him staring at you as they drove away. You were sitting on the ground, pushing a bowl of food towards a tentative cat (who he now knew as Fantine) and he couldn’t help but let his gaze linger a moment too long. Penelope immediately gasped and called him out.

“You-you… and her! She's so pretty Reid! And good with animals! Get married, right now,” she had said after watching him long for you.

“I’m not- were not,” he stuttered, Penelope shot him a knowing glare. “She doesn’t even know who I am. I don’t even know her name, I just… I just notice her, sometimes…” Spencer confessed, looking down at his twiddling thumbs. Penelope didn’t tease him too much after that, but she smirked the entire car ride there.

The rest of the team found out about his crush shortly after (thanks Garcia) and the teasing was relentless. Sure, you didn’t even know his name, but he wanted you to. Boy did he want you to. But he didn’t plan on acting on it- at least, not until he had Garcia over to bake cookies for the team. She had insisted that she come over to bake, much to Spencer's chagrin. Little did he know, she was only so insistent because she had a secret plan. A secret love plan.

Her plan had worked so far- hiding the sugar and getting Spencer to ask the pretty neighbor for some, check. Well, she didn’t have much of a plan past that, but she assumed she’d figure it out when it came down to it- and so far so good. Once she had pulled Spencer back into his apartment, he began to pace around in nervousness- Penelope was jumping in excitement.

“Reid and Y/N sitting in a tree!” she sang happily.

“What does that mean?” Spencer asked, slightly irritated.

“You mean, you don't know… Never mind,” she sighed.

“Garcia what the hell were you thinking! I can’t talk to her all night, I’ll find a way of looking like an idiot,” he sighed in exasperation, trying to make his sweaty hands less sweaty by rubbing them on his pants.

“Reid, Reid, Reid,” she repeated like a mantra, following his pacing and trying to calm him down. “It’s going to be okay. Seriously, you have the best wing woman on planet earth and you’re worried about whether or not she’ll like you? Please, you’re a catch baby! And she will see that tonight,” she said, eventually getting him to stop moving by placing her hands on his shoulders.

After she had calmed him down, the two gathered all of the ingredients and made the trip next door, where you were waiting on the couch with Fantine in your lap. You looked lost in thought, but you quickly jumped out of it and gave them a smile when they walked in.

“So, what are we baking?” you asked, standing up and grabbing some ingredients off of Spencer’s hands. He hoped you didn’t notice his flinch when your fingers brushed his (you did) and he hoped you didn’t see the red on his cheeks (you did, but you looked similarly tomato-like).

“We are making my famous brown butter chocolate chip cookies!” Penelope exclaimed, already measuring out some ingredients.

“Ooh yummy! What makes them famous?” you asked.

“Oh, you’ll know once you taste them. Just ask Spencer, he could eat 7 in just one sitting,” she joked. Best wing woman on planet earth my ass, Spencer thought.

“Oh really, Spence? I bet you I can beat that tonight,” you giggled, moving to help measure the brown sugar. Maybe Penelope was doing an okay job after all.

“Did you know that the first chocolate cookies were invented by accident by Ruth Wakefield in 1938?” he asked, and you shook your head.

“No, but tell me more!” you smiled, returning your attention to the measuring cup in front of you. He faltered for a moment, surprised at your eagerness to hear more about his facts, but he continued.

“Ruth and her husband owned the Toll House Inn and she was baking cookies for their guests when she realized that she was out of bakers chocolate. So, when she chopped up a block of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate and added it to the dough, she expected it to disperse evenly throughout, but instead they retained their original form and.. you know. Chocolate chip cookies,” he finished weakly, looking up to see you staring at him in awe. Penelope was unphased, having been around boy genius for far too long, but you were looking at him like he had just found the secret to world peace. “What?” he asked tentatively, suddenly extremely self conscious.

“Sorry, it’s just, that was so cool! I’ve never seen someone recite facts like that. Plus, you’re a great story teller,” you finished, nudging him with your arm. Oh god, you were too cute. He tried his best not to smile like an insane person as he walked between you and Penelope to open the bag of chocolate chips.

“Yup, our boy genius here has an IQ of 187,” Penelope said, patting Spencer on the head. You laughed for a moment, assuming she was joking, but when you saw the dead serious look on their faces you were shocked.

“You mean I was living next door to a superhero all this time and I never knew?” you asked, still in shock from the previous information. Spencer laughed, and it was music to your ears.

“Well, I'm not- I'm not a superhero,” he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly embarrassed by the attention.

“Oh yeah? What do you do for a living?” you asked, expecting he was some sort of mad scientist. Penelope snorted a laugh. “What?” you smiled.

“Well, I work with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, so does Penelope,” he said, and you didn’t seem to know what that was, so he continued. “We… we profile serial killers based off of their actions and eventually we catch them before they can cause any more harm,” he explained, trying to distract himself by eating the chocolate chips in front of him (and having his hand promptly swatted by Garcia). Your mouth opened even wider than before, if possible.

“Spencer. You are a superhero!” you said in shock, grabbing his arm with excitement. He gasped at the contact- he didn’t not like it. He was just surprised. You noticed his reaction, however, and apologized quickly.

“Oh, sorry,” you blushed.

“No it's okay!” he said, slightly too eager. You smiled and nodded, and he felt relieved.

“Penelope, do you tackle the serial killers too?” you asked, wondering if the ball of sunshine had an angry side.

“Oh heavens no. I’m the techie, I basically dig up all the dirt you could ever possibly need. Basically a gardener,” she remarked, and you couldn't help but smile.

“I’m friends with superheroes,” you said, doing a little dance in your spot while pouring some flour into the mixer. Spencer melted.

“Wrong,” said Penelope. “You're best friends with some superheroes.”

You spent the rest of the night laughing and chatting with your new best friends, and eventually feasting on the cookies on your couch next to Fantine, who was sleeping peacefully. You tried to break Spencer's record of 7 cookies, but tapped out after 4. Despite the upsetting news you had received earlier that night, you were extremely happy. As you waved them goodbye, and even hugged Spencer goodnight, your heart was full. You had both of their phone numbers and you planned to text them sometime soon- you didn’t want that to be the last you saw of Penelope and Spencer.

You awoke the next morning with a pit in your stomach. You couldn’t tell exactly why, but you had the feeling that something was going to happen today. Trying not to dwell on it, however, you began to get ready for the day. You worked a 9-5 job as a secretary at a local law office- this wasn’t your end goal career, but something to pay the bills. You went to say goodbye to Fantine when you noticed something was wrong. She was having difficulty breathing, every breath was labored. Your heart dropped when you realized this was the cause of your pit- you were saying goodbye to your kitty today. You hurried to grab her crate, hastily wiping away your tears, and ushered her inside. You didn’t know if you would even be able to see the road in your state, so without thinking, you knocked on the door next to yours and waited for a moment, tears continuously streaming. Spencer swung the door open, his face immediately falling when he saw you.

“Y/N, what’s- what’s wrong?” he asked, seemingly ready to leave for work. You couldn’t find any words as you gently set down her crate and wrapped your arms around Spencer's waist. He was shocked at this, but he comforted you once he got his bearings. His hand rubbed your back as you cried into his sweater vest, not worried about the scene you were causing in the middle of the hallway.

“It’s- its Fantine,” you sobbed into his chest. “I think she needs to be put down today,” you told him, pulling away slightly and wiping your tears.

“Oh Y/N, i'm so sorry,” he said, and he truly meant it. Seeing you upset like this sent a dagger through his heart. He contemplated for a moment before he spoke again. “Why don't I… drive you to the vet? I want to make sure you get there okay,” he said, voice laced with concern.

“Don’t you have to catch the bad guys?” you asked as an attempt at a joke to lighten the mood, but neither of you had the energy to laugh.

“It’s just a paperwork day today, I’ll call Penelope and let her know I won't make it in,” he said, quickly gathering his phone and his car keys. You nodded, not finding your voice in the moment. You followed him down to his car and he opened the backseat door for you to put the crate in. He guided you to the passenger's seat, placing a soft hand on the small of your back as he opened the door for you. As he jogged around to the driver's seat and pulled away, you opened your GPS app to give him the directions. The two of you sat in silence for a few minutes, apart from your occasional directing. You suddenly felt extremely guilty for letting him drive you.

“This is ridiculous, I’m sorry for ruining your day. I’m just super dramatic about things and you probably have better things to do then take your neighbor and her sick cat to the vet,” you apologized, feeling embarrassed by your actions.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Y/N. You’re entitled to your grief, and I just want to be there for you… to, you know, help you with it,” he said, glancing at you occasionally. “I’ve never had a pet before and I don’t normally like animals, but I know how attached we can get to things,” he said, focusing on the road. You nodded and with a bout of confidence, you reached over and grabbed his hand, resting your entwined fingers on the center console. His eyes widened, but he didn’t let go. His knowledge of germs had completely left him- he was being touched by the girl who he’d been pining after for months, and he wasn’t going to let a little germaphobia get in the way. You noticed his reaction, but you blushed as you looked out the window, seeing the animal hospital come into view. You sighed and removed your hand from his and opened your door, grabbing the crate from the back seat and walking towards the entrance. You noticed that Spencer was standing outside his car, unsure of what to do.

“Do you- would you come in with me?” you asked, hoping he’d say yes. “I just… they’ll probably put her down and I don't want to be alone,” you asked with unintentional puppy dog eyes. Spencer thought for a moment- walking into a hospital full of sick animals with many diseases seemed like the absolute last thing he wanted to do. But when he looked at your pleading eyes, he knew that he couldn’t just wait in the car.

“Of course,” he conceded, locking his car and following you inside the clinic.

You met with the vet quickly and your suspicions were correct- poor Fantine was suffering and the best option was to put her down now. Your heart shattered, but you felt Spencer's comforting hand on your back, trying to glue those pieces back together. The vet had given you the option to either stay with her while she was put down or to wait in the other room.

“I think I want to be with her, I don’t want her to be alone,” you said, wiping away a stray tear.

“Will your boyfriend be coming too?” the vet asked, turning his attention to Spencer. Neither of you acknowledged the boyfriend title. He was about to answer when you interrupted him.

“Oh Spence, don’t worry about coming in. I’ve already dragged you here, you can just wait in the other room if you want,” you offered, sincerely. Spencer could see that you wanted him to stay- that you wanted him to comfort you. So, pushing his anti-germ rules aside once again, he made up his mind.

“Of course I’m coming with you Y/N, I told you I wouldn’t leave you alone,” he decided, and you gave him a grateful but sad smile.

So, as you said your tearful goodbyes, the vet took out his needle and began the process. Spencer rubbed your back, eventually wrapping his arms around you as you sobbed. You could swear you felt a kiss on the head, but you were mainly focused on your cat. You decided to get her cremated, and as Spencer guided you out of the clinic, you felt extremely empty. You missed your best friend already.

The drive home was mainly silent, and you wanted to grab his hand again. You decided against it, however- you thought you might have pushed his limits of touch and germs today (you hadn’t. Spencer decided that he would never be tired of your touch). You made your way up to your apartment, empty crate in hand, with Spencer following a few steps behind. He walked you to your door, stopping outside when you unlocked it. He put his anxious hands in his pockets, trying his best not to fidget (and also trying to prevent himself from reaching out to wipe your tears).

“So…” you said, looking at your feet.

“Yeah, so…” he said, doing the same.

“Listen Spencer, I know we’ve just met and-and you're probably tired of me already, but… this is my first night without her, and I don't want to be lonely. I know this is a lot to ask, especially after I dragged you around all day, but… if I asked you to stay, would you?” you said, shyly looking up at him. Spencer could feel his heart stutter, looking at you softly.

“Uh, yeah. Yes, yes I will,” he responded, offering a nervous smile. You gave him one back, unlocking your door and letting him inside your apartment. It already felt different without her, but the presence of Spencer did a little to fill that void. You ushered him to sit down on the couch and you moved to make some tea for the both of you. You didn’t notice Spencer internally freaking out about being in your apartment, this time alone. You made the tea in silence and brought it to the couch, sitting next to him.

“Can I braid your hair?” you asked, surprising even yourself by your bluntness.

“Can you- what?” he asked, face twisting in confusion. He didn’t know if he could handle your hands in his hair, but he wanted to find out. You laughed at his confusion, almost spilling the tea on yourself.

“Come onnn, I’m a grieving cat mother who wants to braid your hair. It would look so pretty,” you told him, and although it wasn’t a direct complement, Spencer couldn’t help the blush that spread across his face.

“Uh, sure I guess,” he said, heart rate picking up.

“Yay! Okay, you’re tall so sit on the ground and I'll stay on the couch,” you said, clapping your hands excitedly as he set his tea down on your coffee table and sat on your carpeted floor. You didn’t waste any time, sectioning his hair into sections for a french braid. You noticed him shiver at your touch. “Sorry, are my hands cold?” you almost whispered, too deep in concentration.

“No, they’re fine,” he said, closing his eyes as you ran your hands through his hair.

“You have good hair, Spence,” you told him as you worked on the short braid. He almost choked on his own tongue.

“Oh, thanks. You do too…” he said, not registering his complement before it came out of his mouth.

“Thank you,” you blushed, focusing on your handiwork. It didn’t take you long to finish, and when you turned him around to observe the braid, you couldn’t help the squeal that escaped your throat. “Oh my gosh, you look so good!” you exclaimed, pulling your phone out of your pocket and taking a selfie of the two of you. He smiled awkwardly for the camera. “Penelope is going to love this,” you said, typing her contact in the phone. Spencer knew that the picture would soon be seen by the entire BAU, but he let it go when he saw you smile genuinely for the first time that day. You held your phone out to him for him to see the picture.

“Don’t we look cute?” you smiled.

“Yes, you- I mean we do,” he said, hoping you didn’t catch his slip. You did.

“Spence?” you asked, contemplating something. He looked up at you.

“Yes?” he asked, wondering what you were thinking about.

“What do you do when you’re sad? Because when I used to get sad, I’d just cuddle with Fantine, but…” you trailed off, your eyes glazing over as you thought about her again.

“You can cuddle with me,” he said. You looked at him, eyes wide- he didn’t think he had said that out loud. “I mean… physical touch increases levels of dopamine and serotonin, so if we were to… you know… uh maybe it would make you feel better?” he said, scratching the back of his neck. You smiled and pulled him back on the couch. He sat there as you put your head on his chest, his arm tentatively reaching around your shoulders. You chose to ignore his increased heartbeat, which he was sure you could hear.

“Do you think… does it get better?” you asked, eyes brimming with tears. “I mean, will I ever miss her less? Will it hurt less eventually?” you finished with a sigh. Spencer thought back to all of the pain he's been through and the ways he’s dealt with it. He’s learned some healthy coping mechanisms, as well as some extremely unhealthy ones. He thought deeply before answering.

“I think… we make room for the hurt. I don’t think it ever goes away, but you learn to cope and deal with it to the point where you feel better. Eventually,” he explained as delicately as possible. You lifted your head from his chest and gazed into his eyes to see he was already looking back at you. He could feel himself leaning in, and you responded by doing the same. You were both inches away from each other when you heard a sharp knock on your door. The both of you jumped at the noise, flustered, as if you had been caught.

“I’ll… go get that,” you said, quickly getting off of the couch and running to the door. Spencer mentally facepalmed himself- you were grieving and he thought the perfect moment to make his move was while he was comforting you. Although, you had seemed to reciprocate the feelings…

“Penelope!” you yelled, opening the door to be immediately greeted with a bear hug.

“Y/N, my sweet sweet Y/N,” she cried into your shoulder. You pat her back, consoling her (this woman was one hell of an empath). You made eye contact with Spencer over her shoulder, giving him a wide eyed stare, both of you amused by Garcia’s antics. She pulled away and looked at you sadly.

“What are you doing here?” Spencer asked, trying his best to sound like he wanted her there.

“Well, I heard about the sad day you guys were having so I brought some medicine to fix your broken hearts,” she said while pulling out a couple bottles of wine, warm cookies in her other hand.

“You’re a godsend Penelope Garcia,” you smiled, taking the wine and cookies into the kitchen. Garcia took this moment to grill Spencer about their day, quietly enough so you couldn’t hear.

“Soo you’ve been with her all day? Spill, I need to hear if i'm gonna have baby boy geniuses,” she said excitedly. Spencer chuckled.

“Well, the animal clinic wasn’t exactly the most romantic setting but…” he trailed off and she urged him to continue. “But, we were inches away from kissing when you decided to knock on the door,” he said, and Penelope looked distraught.

“Oh my god. I have to leave, you guys have to get back to it!” she said, standing up to go home. Spencer grabbed her arm and stopped her before she could tell you she was leaving.

“No no no! Please don't, if you leave now i'm going to have to face the awkward aftermath of… that, and I don't want to,” he said, almost begging.

“So… what you’re saying is… you need wing woman Garcia again!” she suggested, excitedly. Spencer didn’t have time to disagree before you came back in the room, cookies on a plate and balancing three wine glasses in your hand and a bottle in the crook of your arm. Spencer hopped up to help you carry everything, and Garcia did little to hide her smirk.

The rest of the night was spent cheering you up- from Taylor Swift dance parties to Disney karaoke, Penelope pulled out all the stops to make it a night to remember. After a few glasses, you had even managed to get Spencer to dance with you to a slower song, Penelope slyly recording the entire thing. Spencer didn’t care, however- all he focused on was the buzzing in his chest and your arms around his neck, his entire body tingling with excitement.

As you said your goodbyes to the duo, you pulled Penelope into a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek. You did the same for Spencer, but your kiss had landed closer to the corner of his lips. In your buzzed state, however, you didn’t acknowledge it (or the fact that you had done it on purpose). Spencer left that night with a fire in his heart and his hand rested on his lips. After a bit of teasing, Garcia took an Uber home and Spencer was left alone to contemplate his next move.

The next day, the team was called in for a case across the country- Penelope had made sure you knew this in your group text with her and Spencer that she had so lovingly named “Penny and the Jets” (the three of you had also danced to a few Elton John songs during your night together, which gave Garcia the genius grouchat name idea). It was weird for you to be alone after having spent the past few days with your new friends, and you missed the distraction. You went back to work, only being lightly reprimanded for your absence. You couldn’t help but think about Spencer’s smile most of the day, or the way he always smelled like coffee.

Across the country, Spencer had been doing the same thing, and the team had noticed. He was more spaced out than usual, and it was only a matter of time before he confessed to the team that he’d finally talked to you. Derek proudly patted him on the back when he described what it was like to spend a day with you. The team was incredibly happy for him- although they weren’t shocked. Penelope had already forwarded them the video of you both dancing and the selfie you had taken with his braided hair.

The case had finished relatively quickly, which was a relief to everyone (but especially Spencer, who wanted to make plans to see you as soon as he got back). As the team was walking together to their SUVs, Spencer's eye was drawn to a box on the sidewalk. Not just his eyes were drawn- he had heard a soft “mew” coming from the cardboard box, and he let his curiosity get the best of him as he walked over to it, Emily following him to see what he was doing. He opened the box to see a tiny kitten- he wasn’t normally an animal person, but it seemed like you had gotten to him. His heart wrenched at the sight- the kitten looked like a mini Fantine.

“Oh my gosh, that is so cute,” Emily said, leaning down to get a closer look, snapping a picture for Garcia.

“Yeah, it is,” Spencer said, lost in thought. The rest of the team came to see what the big fuss was about.

“Someone should take her!” said Prentiss, giving the team a look that said help me out. Reid should take her.

“Ah, yes. Hey, pretty boy, why don’t you take it?” Derek asked, leaning down to get a closer look. Spencer shook his head.

“I can’t take care of a cat, Morgan. Prentiss, why don’t you take it? You have Sergio,” he suggested, trying to get the attention off of him.

“Eh, one is enough for me,” she responded, nudging JJ.

“Spence, why don’t you give it to your neighbor? I’m sure Y/N would love her,” JJ suggested. Spencer's heart stuttered at your name.

“Y-you think?” he asked, unsure if it was too forward. The team wouldn’t let him leave without the cat, which he had already named Cosette in his mind (the name of Fantine’s daughter). So, he picked up the box and brought it with him onto the jet. This was the most spontaneous Spencer had ever been, and the team shared glances of shock and pride when he interacted with the kitten on the jet ride back.

Here Spencer waited, outside your door, holding the tiny kitten in his arms. He had taken it to the vet to make sure it had its shots and was able to be kept as a house pet, and he immediately came home to give it to you. It was around 7 PM so he knew you should be home (not that he was being creepy- his eidetic memory couldn’t help but memorize your schedule). After a few minutes of standing, he swallowed his nerves and knocked on your door, quickly bringing his hand back to support the kitten he was holding.

You opened the door in your sweats, your hair dripping wet from the shower you had just taken. You were apparently on the phone before you opened the door- “I gotta go,” you said, hanging up the call and tossing your phone on the couch.

“Spence, what are you doing here? And who's this?” you said with heart eyes, ushering him in and cooing at the small kitten. He had never seen you smile this wide before, and he knew he was making the right choice.

“Uh, her name is Cosette. Well, I gave her that name, you can definitely change if you want, because she's.. yours,” he said. Your mouth hung open in shock as you took the small kitty from him, rubbing your nose on her head.

“Are you serious?” you almost yelled, excitement taking over. Spencer nodded happily, watching you pet the kitten. “Oh my god, you’re the best!” you said, pulling him into a one handed hug, the other arm holding Cosette. He laughed and hugged you back, before the unexpected happened. Maybe you were just extremely grateful, or maybe the adrenaline was taking over, but you stood on your tiptoes and pressed a kiss onto his lips. Just like that. Like it was natural, like you had kissed Spencer a million times over. After you pulled away, he was extremely flustered. He pressed his hand to his lips, as if he was trying to figure out what just happened.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized, thinking that he was upset with you. In all fairness, you didn’t expect to kiss him either- you just couldn’t help yourself. This seemed to wake him from his daze.

“No, don’t apologize! I’ve, uh, I've been wanting to do that for awhile now,” he blushed, shoving his hands into his pockets. You smiled at this, feeling confident that you had made the right choice.

“Penelope is going to be thrilled,” you laughed, sitting on the floor and setting Cosette down to play with one of the cat toys you still had laying around.

“What do you mean?” Spencer asked, sitting next to you with his legs crossed.

“Well… she told me that I should make a move because you never would, and I thought that it was impossible for someone like you to like me, but she seemed pretty adamant that you did,” you said, focusing on the animal in front of you rather than the man. This shocked him- you didn't think he would like you? That seemed insane to him, and he made sure you knew that.

“Are you kidding me Y/N? You’re so cool, you get along with people and you’re not awkward, and you’re so caring, I just… how could I not like you?” he asked, petting the kitten as well. Now it was your turn to blush. You didn’t know how you could be so lucky to have these people come into your life at the perfect time.

You and Spencer spent the rest of the day together, once again. You stole a few more kisses, and Spencer was even bold enough to initiate one or two, and your heart finally felt full. You knew things would be okay now- you had two new friends (and a furry roommate) to prove it.

#vicficwriterchallenge #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid/reader #Criminal Minds #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds reid #criminal minds spencer reid #penelope garcia #derek morgan #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #david rossi #aaron hotchner #hotch

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skin-slave · 3 years

Text

Shit I'm tired of hearing about middle-aged women in fandom, and why they matter:

"You're too old for fandom!" Wait till you hear about who built fandom. And it matters bc the things that women build are always taken away when they hit their expiration date. And we're expected to just accept that we can't keep anything of ourselves. Bc women are nurturing and selfless. Any objection is proof of inadequacy as a woman and, therefore, is justification for anything from rudeness to threats. That martyr narrative just keeps popping up everywhere.

"Go raise your kids!" So much unfettered misogyny there. It matters bc women are not vending machines for babies, and parents are not child-raising androids. It removes both autonomy as a woman and humanity as an adult. It screams that you've absorbed intersectional bigotry and haven't challenged it. [Bonus points if you just rb'd a post on reproductive autonomy or rejecting gender roles.]

"Pretty sus that you're in a sexual fandom/make art of romance or smut." Yep, bc sex and relationships are for kids. It matters bc it plays off the stereotype that women lose their sex drives when they grow up (and, ideally, get married and have kids). After 25 or so, sex is solely performative, to please a partner. So of course it's creepy for a woman to be actually sexual or sensual. [Bonus points if you get up in arms over age discrepancies in Hollywood with zero self-awareness.]

"Quit perving on teens!" Love this one, bc I've never seen it used in a situation where someone was actually approaching a teen. That matters bc it requires the assumption that women who don't become sexless are inherently predatory. Just existing while having a libido or enjoying adult content is dangerous. That's why we're cougars! We're wild animals who attack ppl with our sexuality and are somehow a very serious threat and also a hilarious thing to be exploited.

"What do you know about [fandom/history/current events]?!" Also intersectional. It matters bc it means that middle-aged women are uniquely insulated, exaggerating ageist stereotypes. While a 45-yr-old man is expected to be aware of the past and present, a 26-yr-old woman is already supposed to be ass-deep in kids and work. A woman is too busy in her own tiny world, unaware of anything else. Great way to silence and discredit with no effort!

"What would your spouse/mom/boss/clergy think???" I'm sure this is said to ppl who aren't middle-aged women too, but it has an interesting connotation here. It matters bc it appeals to an assumed sense of humility and chastity, and dependence on others for survival. When it comes to controlling women over time, shame is a bedfellow of violence. The threat of being exposed as a "bad woman" carries so much historical weight. (One of the largest reclaimed slurs in fandom had the intent of shaming women for being "rotten" and unsuitable for marriage.) And, again, it's intersectional, as young women have leeway while older women have staunch social obligations that trump all else. And if a woman doesn't accept that, then the group is justified in sabotaging the relationships that, presumably, keep her fed, housed and safe.

"I'm so tired of 'fandom moms'!!!" This one usually comes with a "go raise your kids" or "stop perving on teens," for good measure. It matters bc it rebrands the same bigoted takes to make them more palatable. It's not about the person, it's about the role. So it can't be misogyny or ageism. Except any middle-aged woman with fandom experience is automatically a fandom mom, whether she likes it or not. Non-consensual no-wins are stale, but some of you just won't let them die.

If you don't buy into the stereotypes and bullshit ideas, none of that makes any sense. So when it comes out of your mouths, I know what you're really saying. It literally doesn't matter if you aren't consciously thinking, "Middle-aged women should earn their enjoyment of anything by suffering, and if they aren't self-flagellating enough, I'll help them feel bad." When you say, "Adult women in fandom are cringe af; if you're grown and you like this, you should get help," I hear it. And so do the other kids listening.

Idk what's in your Respect Women Juice cup, but it's mislabeled.

#sorry long post #4 am scheduled rant #tired of hearing ''it isnt misogyny'' or ''it isnt ageism'' when it 1000% is #misogyny #ageism #pls feel free to add bc this is far from exhaustive and venting is cathartic

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sweetestlamb · 4 years

Text

I Still Get Jealous

Summary: Gang-tae comes to terms with his feelings for Mun-yeong and acknowledges that feeling he tries so hard to suppress, jealousy.

Author's notes: Just a little jealous GT drabble that popped in my head that become something longer, I've been very busy with real life so writing has been difficult. Hope you enjoy, it's not too deep just a cute little story about an adorable jealous boy lol.

Turning in the bed, he pounds at the pillow supporting his head remembering his talk with Mun-yeong, even mentally and privately he couldn't admit that the possessive anger betrayed feeling that churned in his stomach was....jealousy.

Why would he be jealous? He didn't own her and they weren't anything. Just housemates, he was merely someone she knew. But hearing that dismissive title leave her mouth in front of someone that was visibly interested in her made him..uneasy. If a little protective. That was a much better word, he cared for Mun-yeong so it was natural to be protective of her, it had nothing to do with his potential feelings for her. Those didn't exist. At all.

He would act the same way with anyone, if an unknown man was trying to harass Ju-Ri, he would do the same because she was an acquaintance that he cared about.

That's all it was.

With a resolute nod, he turns once more finding a comfortable position before drifting off to sleep.

Meet me at the pizza shop.

He stares at Jae-su's message, as he walks through the hospital doors, hopping into the car and driving off to the pizza shop.

Walking through those doors with a smile, he searches for his best friend only to feel cold chill roll through his body at the sight before him.

She had informed him this morning that she'd be out, demanding that he meet her for lunch but he had declined, brushing her off. It was easier that way, he was still wrestling to get his wayward emotions under control.

But he feels the ropes loosening as he watches her smile that enigmatic smile across the table, glossy hair lightly brushing her creamy collar. She looked beautiful in a short green summer dress, her bare legs peeking out from the table.

Across from her sat a man he's never seen before, tall with thick brown hair dressed in a pressed navy suit. Outlandish in the casual setting of the shop, they both looked too expensive for the space.

The man leaned closer to her, stretching himself across the table although the shop was quiet and it was hardly a struggle to converse easily. His jaw tightened as those hands stopped mere inches away from Mun-yeong's which were folded primly on the table.

She smiled at his words, head tilting slightly showcasing her beautiful neck line. He could only imagine those hungry eyes devouring her and it made him feel.... protective.

Was this another fan that she was forced to entertain because of Sang-in's incompetence? Did she need him to save her? How long had they been sitting there?

"There you are! I thought you weren't coming." Jae-su claps a hand on his shoulder forcing his eyes away from the table. He turns around trying to exude nonchalance, forcing himself not to look over.

"Why are you just standing there with that sour face? Let's get you some pizza!" Pulling him to a table that perfectly aligned with hers, before Jae-su was blocking his view. His friend already has the pizza on the table, warm and delicious and he begins to feed Gang-tae spewing out complaints of how Gang-tae had abandoned him and he should be his number one.

He chews at the pizza thoughtlessly, Jae-su's voice droning away in the background, nothing more than white noise, eyes locked on Mun-yeong and her companion.

They are chatting animatedly, all hands and smiles, before the stranger glances down at his watch and looks back up. He begins to collect their garbage, before offering a hand to her. She lets herself be pulled up and that hand slides into a subtle grasp on her waist. He waits for her to push the hand away.

That moment never arrives, instead they leave the shop as his eyes pierce into the side of her face.

Dashing out of the chair, he hastily chases after them with a loud goodbye to Jae-su who sputters after him, whine in his voice as he actually abandons him the very thing he had been complaining about.

Bursting outside he whips his head around searching for that familiar figure, before finally landing on her. The man chats as he escorts her to his car, racing forward he runs around the lot so he can accidentally run into them, just to make sure Mun-yeong is not being coerced.

Mun-yeong sees him almost immediately and his heart soars as he waits for the blinding smile he'll receive. Waits for her to pull away from that unwanted touch and run over and cling to him as she often does, linking arms despite his protests.

Instead she she looks away as if their eyes never met, as if he's the stranger and not this man invading her personal space. Anger burns his sensibilities away and with a glare he stomps over, blocking their path.

"Mun-yeong, is that you?" He calls out, refusing to let her ignore him although he doesn't know why her doing so makes him so infuriated. It's just rude, that's all he tries to convince himself.

The man answers for her, "Ah you must be a fan. I'm sorry, we're in a bit of a rush right now. She can't take any photos." His blood boils at the gall of this asshole, a fan?

Ignoring him he stares at Mun-yeong, taking in her passive gaze and that hand so boldly settled on her hip.

"Do you need a ride? I drive our car here." He doesn't know what possesses him to say that, our, such a small word but the implications it carries are massive.

Shifting uncomfortably the man turns to look at her, "Mun-yeong ah do you know this man?"

"Yes we live together." He answers, satisfied with the grimace that runs across the man's face.

"He's a housemate, his older brother also lives there. He's my illustrator and he-" she juts a thumb in his direction, "is his caretaker. They were a packaged deal."

His heart thuds at those words that wedge an unimaginable distance between them, limiting their roles in each other's lives. He blisters at her callousness, at times he was her destiny and they were a set but now he was simply a housemate.

The sound of a phone ringing breaks the uncomfortable silence, with an apologetic glance the man answers his phone. It becomes clear that he's being called away, trying to contain his glee he stares at the ground, smile itching to come out.

"Mun-yeong ah I'm being called on business, so we'll have to cut this date short."

He bristles at the word date, jaw clenched so tight he fears lockjaw.

"But I'll call you and we can keep discussing what you mentioned earlier. It was brilliant seeing you, you're as gorgeous as the day I first met you. I'll drop you of--"

"No. I can drop her off."

The man jolts as if he'd forgotten he was there. Pompous imbecile.

Their eyes narrow as they both stare the other down. Mun-yeong's cough pulls them away from each other before she finally speaks, "As much as I'm enjoying this dick measuring contest, I don't intend to stand here all day."

With a furious blush, he jumps at her words, turning away wholly ashamed of himself.

"Joo-young oppa, thank you for the meal. Thank you for meeting me. Drive safely."

He watches in horror as she's pulled into a hug, her arms remain at her side but his larger frame almost swallows her entirely, gently squeezing her into him before he releases her.

With a smug look and a cheesy smile, he finally leaves and Gang-tae can breathe easily once more.

She walks away, striding to the car not parked too far from where they're standing. He rouses himself from his anger and trails after her.

Once they are safely buckled up and driving he sneaks glances over at her, but her eyes are peering outside the window oblivious to his turmoil.

He coughs loudly but that doesn't garner her attention. He clears his throat, but still nothing. Finally he snaps, "So who was that? He seemed very familiar with you." He can't tamper the bite in his voice, emotions far too close to the surface.

Those piercing eyes land on him, penetrating into his soul, curiously fills them to the brim. With a rye smile she speaks, "An old friend."

He waits to see if she will continue, but that's all she deigns him worthy of knowing.

Protectiveness pushes him on, "Why were you having lunch with him?

"Why do you care? I asked you to meet me, you didn't answer. So I ate with someone else, is that a crime?"

He knows he's behaving irrationally, he has no right to question her or get this riled up because she was dining with someone else but his heart doesn't want to hear reason. He just wants to lash out.

"What about his hand on your hip? How many men are you letting hold you? Are you two meant to be as well?"

He can't stop pushing, so furious with her for being on a date, for making his heart ache this way, for smiling at someone else and allowing them to touch her, was this thing between them just another one of her games?

He pulls up to the castle, parking the car with a deep sigh.

Unbuckling her seat belt she opens the door, pausing for a moment to stare at him, "Are you.... jealous?" Something soft flashes in her eyes, a glint of hope before a familiar smirk slides across her face.

It raises his hackles and defensively he cries, "No! Why would I be jealous? I don't care who you talk to!"

With those vicious words he rips the warmth from her eyes leaving behind cold lifeless pools of darkness. Those eyes that haunted him when they were kids.

"You're such a coward. Get out of my sight before you piss me off more." She opens the car door slamming it close in a thunderous bang. He watches her storm away from him with his heart in his throat.

He yearns to follow her, to finally actualize those feelings that percolate when she's in his presence. However fear renders him motionless.

He drives back to work with a frown etched on his handsome face. Absently nodding in apology when he's reprimanded for his tardiness. Head heavy with thoughts of her.

Nothing comes of their disagreement, Mun-yeong is tight lipped about exactly who that man was and he lets his feelings fester, pushing them down until they are buried deep beneath the surface.

He learns from Sang-in after accosting politely asking him about Joo-young Oppa that they are old friends, business friend and one of Mun-yeong's biggest investors. He'd exploded at the manager when he admitted that he's insisted that Mun-yeong meet with him because he knew the man had a crush on her. She would be able to secure his investment into her newest book.

How dare he use Mun-yeong like that? She wasn't a bargaining chip. Damn incompetent idiot.

Jae-su invites him out for drinks and he agrees after a moment's hesitation. He hasn't seen much of Mun-yeong lately and he'd been planning on talking to her, try to move past this awkwardness that still plagued their interactions. In all actuality, she seemed to be fine and was as assertive and distracting as usual, but he couldn't help picking at her, lashing out when she claimed he was what she wanted. Rejecting her love.

But thoughts of her with that man made his skin crawl and his fist tighten.

What he needed was a night of drunken disregard to firmly push those emotions down.

As if the universe is conspiring against him, he's greeted by a horrifying sight. Jae-su laughing at the table, guffawing as he slams back a shot of soju. Across the table Ju-ri giggles cheeks already flushed red and her eyes glossy. But it's the dark figure beside that renders him speechless, Mun-yeong looks at them at them from the corner of her eye, exasperation rolling off her in waves.

Since when were they all friends, close enough to go drinking together? From his knowledge Mun-yeong didn't particularly like either of them, calling Jae-su an idiot most of time and declaring Ju-ri as a two faced bitch.

Yet, there they were laughing and drinking, Mun-yeong picked up her glass with dainty hands pouring the liquor down her throat in a fluid motion.

"Oh Moon Gang-tae!! What are you doing? Come sit down we started without you." Jae-su waves him over, flailing in his seat as he gestures to the empty chair beside him.

His eyes flutter over to Mun-yeong sidetracking Ju-ri's wide eyes and her welcoming wave, she looked surprised to see him-had this not been planned?- and with a small mysterious grin she turns back to her drink.

Sliding into the empty chair he quietly greets everyone accepting the glass that Jae-su eagerly presses into his hand.

Needing it now more than ever, slamming it back then hissing at the burn that erupts in its wake.

Biting the bullet he turns to his friend, "I didn't know you invited anyone else..." He glances over at the girls, who are both too focused on eating to hear his comment.

Jae-su nods before replying, "I ran into Ju-ri and then Mun-yeong text her saying she was bored so we invited her to come with us. She's...not so bad."

He stares at him blankly, all of the rants and warnings playing back through his head.

"Yeah, yeah. I know what I said. But she's okay when she's not stabbing my best friend. Plus she's paying for everything, so I think she's great!"

Mun-yeong perks up at the last of the sentence watching them suspiciously and Jae-su shoots her a blinding grin and a thumbs up, "Cheers to Mun-yeong for paying!"

Ju-ri surges up drunkenly shouting a little too loudly, "To Mun-yeong ah!"

She glares at them both snidely replying, "I didn't think you'd order so much you damn mooches. Last time I try to do something nice."

But he can read her like a book, she's having fun, the relaxed lines of her body curving into the chair.

He can't help his answering grin.

"Well I better order something too before your graciousness warns out."

"Aish! You little...!"

They are melt into comfortable conversations, discussing their days and swallowing shot after shot until endless bottles litter the table's surface.

When he pours the last drop of soju, he watches Jae-su waving someone over. It has to be the waitress.

A new voice enters the fray, decidedly male voice, the timber low and flirtatious. Despite Jae-su's outstretched hand the waiter makes a clear bee line for Mun-yeong. Focusing all his attention on her, eyes trailing down her neck before settling on her face.

"What can I get for you?" His tone is far too suggestive for such an Innocuous question.

Mun-yeong bites her lip thoughtfully and he watches as the waiter's eyes fixate on her mouth.

He coughs loudly, answering with a frown "We need more soju. And I want noodles."

Without breaking his intense gaze on Mun-yeong he nods at Gang-tae, "If you need anything else, anything at all. Let me know. " He stresses the words before stalking off with a smile.

He glares at the retreating figure, unaware of the Jae-su's knowing gaze at his clenched jaw.

It takes all of his willpower not to shout in frustration when the waiter turns around, making his way back over to their table.

"I don't mean to bother but could I ask your name? I can't keep calling you gorgeous customer in my head." Once again his eyes are unwavering as they latch on Mun-yeong as though she is the only occupant of the table.

His anger flares up, who was this punk and why was he so unprofessional? He didn't need to get a customer's name to serve them and why did he only want Mun-yeong's name? Gorgeous customer? He shouldn't be thinking of her at all! His only job was to get their food not flirt with his.....

His what?

What was she to him? He was the very one who'd been adamant that were nothing. So what was wrong with him? Why did he want to leap across the table and punch the waiter in his smug mouth?

"Gorgeous huh? Do you flatter all your customers like this or am I special?" He bristles at the playfulness in her voice, glaring at the small coy smile on her lips.

"You're special. I've never seen anyone like you."

Gang-tae's knuckles burn from his punishing grip on the chair.

"And you probably never will. What will I get if I give you my name?"

Ju-ri admonishes at her question, lightly shoving at her shoulder as her eyes dart over to him. He grips his chopsticks in his hand, tempted to stab the man in front of him.

Mun-yeong shrugs, staring up from under her dark long lashes.

"Anything you want."

She licks her lips in response and he can't take anymore, his frustration erupts like a dormant volcano, pushing his chair back in a loud screech he ignores Jae-su's calls as he stomps to the bathroom.

Splashing cold water on his hot face and taking deep breaths to combat the rapid beat of his heart.

When he eventually makes his way back, Mun-yeong is the only one at the table. Aimlessly scrolling on her phone, when he sits down she looks up. That same infuriating smirk on her face.

"Are you done with your jealous tantrum?"

"I'm not jealous! I just needed to use the bathro--"

She cuts him off with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Save the lies. Chicken boy left and took the two faced bitch. I already paid the bill so we can go."

He follows after her as she leaves the restaurant the clicks of her heels deafening in his ear drums.

"Good night Mun-yeong ah, please come back very soon." She winks at the waiter before striding out the door.

He makes a mental note to never return to this restaurant. Glaring at the waiter, accidentally knocking his shoulder as he passes him to the door.

The drive home is tense, both quietly staring out the window. Surprisingly he's the first to break the thick silence.

"Why did you flirt with him?" Anxiety fills his heart as he glances at her from the corner of his eye.

Those eyes fill his vision again, "Why wouldn't I?"

He grips the steering wheel tighter, no rebuttal.

She staggers to her room on wobbly legs, waving good night over her shoulder.

Sleep doesn't find him easily.

There are men everywhere, approaching her at all times, while they're on line waiting for their coffee order, as they walk down the street, even at the hospital, there is no escape from the men who want to sweep her off her feet. All looking at her with hunger eyes and beckoning grins.

He doesn't know if this was always the norm, if men were always bombarding her and he simply never noticed but now he's hyper aware of every instance. His teeth hurt from how much he's been clenching his jaw.

And she doesn't do anything to deter them, none of her usual prickliness or abrasiveness, no threats or assaults. Instead she smiles mysteriously, dancing out of their reach but never outright shutting down the flirtations. It's driving him crazy.

She was still adamant that they were destined, sending him teasing smiles when they were alone, constantly asking him, "Are you jealous?"

He denied her at very turn, rejecting that there was anything more to their relationship and loudly denouncing his supposed jealous.

Admitting it would be too real. Too vulnerable.

In a turn of fate that nobody would predict it's Cha-young who wakes him from his willful oblivion.

He's changing in the locker room when he overhears the lazy nurse on his cellphone, he's supposed to be searching the patients beds for dangerous contraband and Gang-tae stalks over to reprimand him. Irritated already, as he'd seen one of the hospitals donors chatting up Mun-yeong.

He'd stormed off and ended up here in his fit.

"You're supposed to be--"

Cha-young's frustrated yell cuts him off, "What do you mean why am I upset? You were flirting right in front of me!"

He stops short, air vacuumed from his lungs as he molds himself into the wall, eavesdropping.

"But you didn't tell him you had a boyfriend. That's all you had to say and he would have stopped."

He watches him pace around the room, arms flailing as he shouts into the phone, "Well you are! We've been going on all these dates, you know I like you! It drove me crazy to see you with him."

"Yes! Okay, I was jealous. How could I not be? I thought you only acted like that with me. I want to make this official."

Then in a much softer tone, almost a whisper, "Do you want to be my girlfriend?..."

The victorious pump and whoop that he lets out makes the answer on the other line more than apparent.

"Good so now we belong to each other. No more smiles, you have a boyfriend. No, it's fine I can talk, I'm just at work I'm not busy."

In a daze, he leaves the room. Leaving him to his phone call, avoiding the nurses in the hallway who are inquiring about Cha-young's whereabouts. He has a lot to think about.

He doesn't get an abundance of time to ponder what he overheard before he turns a corner and sees Mun-yeong and the wealthy donor. The man in question, smiling and pressing into her space.

Instinctively he walks over catching their conversation, "You're even more beautiful in person. When the director told me you'd be here I thought he was bluffing. What would a best-selling author want with a psychiatric hospital but here you are, as selfless as you are gorgeous."

Gang-tae saddles up to Mun-yeong, shoulder to shoulder, internally smirking at the look of confusion that mars the man's face as he unexpectedly joins them.

"Yes?... Can I help you? We're having a private conversation." The donor looks at him in annoyance, reaching out to grab Mun-yeong's arm.

And he doesn't know what comes over him, but he's been suppressing himself for weeks now, swallowing his anger and frustration and...hurt. And it all comes crashing out as he watches yet another man encroach on his... Mun-yeong.

"Actually I do mind, you don't need to have private conversations with hospital staff. " He slaps the land away, prepared to fight now.

He scoffs at Gang-tae rolling his eyes, rubbing his hand, "How is this any of your business, huh? What are you two together?" He says the word like it's impossible, unfathomable that a mere caretaker would get someone like Mun-yeong.

But confidence swells in his chest. She wants him, has been vocal about their destiny despite suitors pouring in from all directions.

We're a set, a bomb and its safety pin.

He finally stops deceiving himself, stops suppressing his emotions and says what he knows to be true. The one thing he's been running from.

"Yes. We're together."

He hears the small gasp fall from her lips, in his peripheral he sees her head whip around to face him.

That smug smile falters minutely on the man's face but he regains his composure spitefully biting out, "You? With her? Why would she want a caretaker? You aren't on her level."

Ugly shame festers in his bone, he knows the picture they make when they're together. She is so far out of his reach it's laughable, he has nothing to offer her. Penniless and barely cognizant of his own emotions with too much baggage for one person.

She steps in front of him, shielding him with her slighter body, her voice cold and chilling, "Watch your tongue before I remove it. He doesn't need to overcompensate for anything. His face alone is worth more than anything you've have to offer."

He blushes at her words, shuffling behind her stupidly smiling at the man stands baffled and sputtering.

"Excuse me!"

"You heard him, we're together. So stop pestering me already." Grabbing his hand Mun-yeong struts off, never taking a second look back, but he does and in a childish move he sticks out his tongue, grinning at the searing glare he receives. The donor’s face angry red as he fumes behind them.

"Gosh took you long enough." Mun-yeong sighs pulling him to a bench outside, dragging him down to sit with her.

He stares wordlessly at her. She's so gorgeous, all smooth skin and plush lips.

"How long did you know?"

"Since the beginning, you hide your emotions very good. But not jealousy, that one was obvious."

He sighs hiding his face, burning scarlet cheeks.

She pries his face away, smiling sweetly at him, "Did you mean it?"

Without a doubt he knows that is hope in her voice, the seeds of hope planting themselves in her skin as she looks steadfast at him, demanding his honesty.

He couldn't fight this if he wanted to.

"Yes. I meant it. You're mine and I'm yours, it's just like you said we're a set."

Her radiant smile eclipses the sun in the sky.

Suddenly she jolts up breaking their hold, starting to race off, but he grabs her wrists holding her in place, "Wait where are you going?"

"To tell everyone, everyone needs to know that you're mine. I saw one of the new nurses looking at you. I need to tell her you're off limits and Ju-ri and I are better but I still see her looking at you, I'll just remind her."

Catching him off guard she slips into his lap, pressing a hard kiss to his lips, short circuiting his brain functions.

Caressing his cheeks she smirks at him, wiping at her lipstick now branding his mouth, "Mine."

Warmth blossoms throughout his body and his arms tighten on her waist.

Mine.

#its okay to not be okay fic #its okay to not be okay #psycho but it's okay #ko mun yeong #moon gang tae #jealous GT #denial is not just a river #supposed to be a drabble #thats why it is not as detailed #I thought i could write a quick 1k drabble #I failed

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halfbloodglader · 4 years

Text

Not Another Five - Sam Yao x Reader

Sam Yao x Reader - 2,358 words

Notes: gender neutral, can be read as platonic or non-platonic, I guess takes place earlier on in the seasons. Hoping to fill the void of little to no ZR written content! ^-^

"Alright, Five. I'm starting to worry now." He spoke sluggishly into the dead air of the comms shack, still holding onto the thin thread of hope that they could hear him. "No runner gone this long is okay.”

Silence. That was all he'd gotten for the past two nightmarish days. Five went off of the radar a couple days ago completely out of the blue. All Sam knew was that they had been sent to the canyon past the western woods of Abel to see if there was a safe pass through. Because, if there was, it would be Abel’s best route for escape incase of a zom attack that took down camp. After all, a rocky canyon mixed with a river winding below was something the zoms would have a nearly impossible time navigating.

The fact that Janine had sent someone to scout it out confirmed to Sam that it wasn't safe, even with the little information they had. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. Snipers guarding the pass? Probably. A pack of zoms hiding in the woods on the way there? Most likely. The canyon itself being a death trap? Yeah... In all likelihood.

"Five, if you're out there you need to keep running. We just opened up the gates this morning again...and we're waiting for ya! I really hope you weren't out there last night after we closed them. I don't think you were because I never saw you...but who knows at this point. I think I'm starting to hallucinate—“

"Sam," A worried voice filled the room which felt overburdeningly heavy for anyone who entered. "You need to get some sleep. It's been two days.”

Sam slowly looked up to find Janine. Her heart sunk when she scanned over his sunken features and slumped body, seemingly glued to the chair. The boy looked broken beyond measure. It seemed as if Sam here could never catch a break, especially when it came to the people he cared the most about. Especially when it came to his runner Five.

"I can't sleep until I know—" He forced the words out of a dry throat and foggy mind. "Know where they are and if they’re coming home.”

Sadly, Janine walked closer and sat on the edge of the desk. "Sam, we might never know. Two days is a long time.”

"What? You're going to give up on them?" He snapped. Tears suddenly sprung out of his eyes and slid down his cheeks. Surprised, he swiped at his face, unsure of why he was crying. "Why am I crying—“

"It's sleep deprivation. You're past the forty-eight hour mark, Sam. Your emotions are out of whack. Another reason for you to sleep." She reached out and snagged the headset off of his head.

Before she could get it out of his reach, he lunged out of his chair and tore the headset back out of her hands. "What if they come onto the comms! Are you crazy?"

Immediately, he had the headset back on his head, the band on the top sliding perfectly into the groove in his hair that had been there since he starting working the comms. The headset was on him so often, it left him with a nasty form of hat hair. Except here, they called it radio hair.

"I'm just trying to help you." Janine sounded as firmly as possible. Truth was, she really was concerned for Sam. She wasn't sure if he'd ever let up on waiting for Five. For all she knew, Sam would let himself die in here before he could admit they were gone.

Sam leaned forwards to look intensely at the scanners again. He was waiting for anything. "I'm fine, thanks. I can manage.”

There was no breaking him and Janine knew it. "Alright. If you need anything, holler for me."

Slowly, she left the shack with a heavy heart. Sam was so invested in this, not only had he not slept, but he hadn't ate or hardly drank anything. His soul and entire being was imbue in this.

A few of his friends wait outside of the shack when Janine reemerged. She sent them a sad smile and shrugged, obviously defeated. "There's not much we can do right now.”

"He's going to get himself sick." Simon followed Janine across the compound, Sara following close.

"He already has." Janine sighed. "We all need to be hoping Five is still out there right now. Otherwise, we might lose our operator. He can't take anymore heartbreak.”

The day went by as agonizingly slow as the past couple had. Actually, it might have been going by even slower if you asked Sam. Every breath he took stung and his mouth became drier and drier as the hours went by.

As usual, the light in the comms shack was starting to fade. That meant it was nearing evening and another restless night to be spent here in his chair waiting for any kind of signal.

His eyes were strained from staring at the radar for so long, constantly refreshing it. In agony, he rubbed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. After a couple of minutes, deeming it too long to have been looking away, he once again stared at the radar. This time, a flicker. It was as if Five had appeared on the radar for just a second and then disappeared again. In a stupor, Sam smacked his monitor and let his heart try to climb out of his throat.

"Five?!" He shouted into the comms and waited for them to reappear on the screen. He'd seen it, he could swear. They'd been there. No doubt. "Five, if you're there I saw you! If that was you, you're not far from home!"

With a new hope, Sam began scanning around with the cameras. He couldn't see anyone or anything, but he wasn't giving up. For the next fifteen minutes, he switched back and forth between the cameras and scanner, praying for some sign of life. Anything.

The scanner flickered again. This time, the mark had been much, much closer to Abel.

"Five you're almost here! Come on!" He slammed his hand on the desk repeatedly, in both excitement, relief and fear. They might be coming back, but there was no guarantee they'd still be the same runner Five. What if a zom...never mind. He couldn't think about that right now.

"Sam!" Janine once again entered the shack, this time more worried because of the commotion Sam had been causing. "Everything alright?"

"Five!" His voice came loud and clear, face lit up once again. “They're almost here, I swear!"

"Let me see." Janine came in close and leaned over Sam. She hoped he wasn't just seeing things. At this point though, she didn't have her expectations set too high.

"Did you see it?" Sam pointed to the exact spot the radar had flickered. “Right there!"

"Get the cameras up again," Janine demanded.

As they appeared, she scanned the screens hopefully. But, there was no movement. "Is this all the cameras?"

"No, just the gate and west border." He explained.

"Look at the radar, Sam. If that's our Five, they’re coming from the south. No way you'd see them on those! Get up the other two cameras!” She smacked the back of his head, now growing impatient and the adrenaline rushing in her body. Maybe Five was out there still.

"Okay, okay! Geez!" Sam whined as he worked away at trying to switch the cameras. Once he did, he leaned in closer to the screen and his heart slowed to a near stop as he waited for his mind to process what he was seeing.

In disbelief, Janine gripped Sams shoulder so tight he had to smack her hand away. “It’s Five.”

"What?!" Sam whipped around and grabbed the screen.

There was Five. They knew the cameras were on them because they jumped up in the air and waved.

"FIVE! I see you! There's no way you—" Sam tore off his comms with absolutely zero care or thought in the world. He threw down the headset onto the desk and tried to fight his way past Janine and out of his chair. It took a few distressing, messy seconds, but he got out. Then, he struggled with the shack door before throwing it open and quite literally leaping off of the top step of the stairs. He landed roughly and went face first into the dirt, anyone near watching the mess that was Sam unfold.

None of that stopped him, though. He sprinted across the compound and right for the gates which he could now see Five approaching. He ran even faster.

"FIVE!" He screamed, trying to keep himself upright as he ran a little too fast for his legs.

The runner made it into Abel, finally safe. Not thinking or caring, Sam plowed straight into their body and closed them into the most desperate hug he'd ever given in his life. Their arms wrapped around over his shoulders and he held them so tight taking in air was nearly impossible. "Hi, Sam."

After a minute of a nearly rib crushing hug, Sam stepped back to look them over, his hands still on their shoulders. They seemed just fine, other than being a little beat up and soiled in dirt.

"Okay, uhm—" Sam awkwardly let go of Five and turned his gaze to the ground. Not knowing what else to do, he laughed a little to himself and then rubbed his tired eyes. ”I guess I should let you go clean up if you want. Before it gets too cold.”

"Thanks," They laughed lightly. "I'm definitely going to do that. I'll see you later.”

Sam watched as they walked off tiredly to the showers. He had so many emotions running though him right now, he wasn't sure what to do with himself. However, he did know he needed to clean up the mess he'd left in the shack and so he head off to do that.

He opened the door and Janine was still sat on the desk. She looked up to him with a smirk.

"Don't say anything," He pointed a finger at her and sent a warning glare. Of course she had been watching what just happened through the cameras. "But, you should know, they’re fine."

“That was a truly horrific jump you made from the stairs." Janine teased. Then, she got up and head for the door. Before leaving, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for not giving up when the rest of us had.”

"Yeah," He nodded shyly.

Sam smiled to himself and then shook his head, forcing himself to focus on cleaning up the shack.

That plan didn't last long. He sat down for two seconds in his chair and immediately passed out. All of his worry had subsided and left his mind to settle. His sleep, however, didn't last long.

Five made their way into the comms shack, knowing that was where they could always find Sam. Sure enough, there he was, snoring lightly in the dimly lit shack.

"Sam," Five whispered as they shook his shoulder gently. It took a few more shakes, but he jolted awake and nearly knocked Five over. He reached out and grabbed them just incase and then let out a sigh of relief. "I came to wake you up."

"Ah, yeah. Okay." He looked up to one of the small windows and noticed it was dark outside now.

"We need to get you to bed." Five laughed as they slung one of his arms over their shoulder and helped him up. "Janine said you've been awake for two days.”

"Well, I wasn't going to sleep when I knew you were still out there." He admitted.

"Thanks for sticking with me." Five gripped his hand over their shoulder a little tighter. "It's a lot easier to keep yourself running when there's someone there with you.”

"You could hear me? The entire time?" His body stiffened a little.

Five snickered. "Oh yeah. You had quite a few things to say that first night, didn't you?"

Sam bit the inside of his cheek. "Ah man...I'm sorry. I said some dumb stuff. My worry got the better of me."

Five looked up to him. "Don't apologize. It was nice. You going over basically every moment we've spent together since the day I showed up was enough to keep me going."

"What happened anyways?" He asked, curious.

"I got to the canyon and started exploring around. A while in, there was a rockslide. One of the rocks hit me and wrecked part of my headset." They made a booming, crashing sound to imitate the rockslide that made Sam laugh. "The slide was so big, I had to go the long way around and try to find my way back. I got a little lost and then ran into a swarm of zoms. But, then you turned on the beacon last night and I was just close enough to see it. Then, I just ran until I made it back."

The pair made it to Sams tent and Five helped him inside. "I was genuinely starting to freak out a little, y’know? I was really worried.” He admitted.

"So was I. I'm back now, though. No more need to worry.” They laughed lightly. "What would I do without you, huh?”

"Honestly, I'm not sure." He beamed. "You'd get yourself into a whole lot more trouble."

"Well, you're not wrong." They pushed his arm and laughed along with him. "See you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Sam yawned, fighting to keep himself awake. “See you—morning.”

If Five had to guess, Sam was still having a hard time processing if all of this was real or not. He’d probably wake up in the middle of the night in a panic and come looking for them, just to make sure they really had made it back. That’s just who Sam was. He cared for everyone in his life so much it was almost terrifying.

#sam yao #Zombies run!#zombies run #runner5 #runner five #runner 5 #5am #sam yao x reader

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comfy-whumpee · 4 years

Text

The Custodian

Who’s ready for a long-deserved scoop? @avian-american you are my whole tag list and I love and appreciate you.

When the door to her cell opened in the middle of the night, Spencer stirred from their daze, unsurprised that they were being disturbed. It was impossible to sleep in this room anyway. Ever since their outburst over the root operation, the fluorescent strip lights on the ceiling were left on twenty-four seven. The tiny bed had no pillows or blankets to cover their face with, and while they were provided with two alternating sets of laundered clothes each week, they didn’t have anything to cover their eyes that wasn’t busy covering something else. They were damned if one of the scientists was going to see them naked.

So Spencer was awake, if not alert, when the door opened. They reached for their glasses.

Standing in the doorway looking at her was a tall, wiry woman with long dark hair and a patch over her right eye. Her other eye was dark and sharp, her mouth painted deep red, and her clothing looked halfway between wild woman and vintage store. Spencer had never seen her before, and she was definitely not a scientist.

“Spencer Drew,” she said, unsmiling. “Come with me.”

Spencer dragged their body to its feet, head swimming with the effort. The technically-sufficient protein bars they were given to eat had never quite been enough, and that was undoubtedly deliberate, measured out as stringently as everything else in this fucking lab. But they got upright, and then followed as the woman turned back out into the main lab.

It was silent. Spencer looked for the night guard, and didn’t see him. Weird.

They stepped out after her into the spotlighted courtyard, shivering in the chill of the night. The dryad was already waiting, liquid eye fixed on the door. She was fully peeled away from her tree, now, two peg-leg feet standing on the earth independently.

“Spencer Drew,” Silver Birch said, and shit, that was what the woman said too, wasn’t it? Not Subject Two. “To forest, now. No experiment.”

Spencer swallowed. “The forest? Is that who – she is?”

“Yes,” the woman replied for herself. She turned, and extended a hand, that Spencer took. “My name is Jhazel Hollowdine. I’m the custodian of Argenwood – the human representative of the dryads.”

Her hand was cool and her grip was gentle as Spencer shook. They knew about the custodian, the ranger paid to maintain the forest, but didn’t think she’d ever actually catch up to them. Pike had seemed assured that the issue was taken care of through bribes and overlong paper trails and shell companies and whatever else. But she was here, severe, and clearly ready to mess things up.

They turned back to Silver Birch. “You’re getting out, I’m... I’m glad.”

“No. You...” the dryad paused, seeming annoyed.

The custodian was now focused on the earth, which had started rumbling quietly, like a purring engine. But without lifting her head, she said, “Good, bad, yes, no, why, what, where, when, how.”

Silver Birch smiled. She’d grown jagged teeth a while ago, and most of them were still there. “You are good,” she said, giving Spencer that look that seemed to pierce them. “Here is bad. You and forest. Not you and here.”

Spencer closed their eyes with a sigh. “Thank you, but – I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I just – I don’t belong in a forest, Silver Birch.”

“Humans can belong in a forest. Good humans. Intelligent.” Silver Birch looked to the custodian, who smiled without looking up. The earth was moving now in the dark, although Silver Birch seemed unperturbed, her gaze unwavering.

“Where, if no? Where Spencer, if not forest?”

Fuck. The goddamn tree had a point. They were trapped in the lab now, and if they were freed, they would go home – the address to which was on their CV. They could hide out with their parents or at a motel, but Pike had stolen an entire tree from protected land. He’d be able to find them.

Maybe they should see this through, just until they know the threat of the lab was gone. They could probably be chased, or sued, or...recaptured.

“If I did, where would I go?”

“Forest,” Silver Birch repeated, as if it were obvious.

“What would I do for money?”

“Money,” repeated Silver Birch derisively. “Forest has no money.”

“I need food.”

“Forest has food.”

“I – my whole life is here, Silb.”

“What life? I’m experiment. You, experiment too.” Silver Birch’s eyes lowered, in an imitation of sadness, and then rose again to fix them with her stare. “Forest has no experiment.”

“And I can help with the pragmatics,” the custodian offered. “You’ll be the first human to be sheltered in the forest, but by no means the first creature.”

Pike wouldn’t let them leave. Even if – especially if he lost his precious dryad. Without a Subject One, all his experiments would be left to them, and fuck – they couldn’t lose limbs like she could.

“Alright,” they sighed, the breath catching the edge of a sob. “I don’t have a fucking choice, do I?”

“Forest is choice,” Silver Birch retorted. “You make good choice, Spencer Drew.”

No, I really fucking don’t.

“There,” the custodian said suddenly, her deep voice thrumming with something powerful. Spencer looked down, and saw the dark earth rising slowly and then falling away around a spot under her hand. “See you on the other side, ancient one.”

“Thank you,” Silver Birch replied, and all at once, wilted.

Spencer stared in shock as the person they had come to know shrivelled up like autumn was passing a month a minute, until before they could catch their breath, Silver Birch was a collection of falling, desiccated leaves and crumbling bark. She fell away from the tree she had grown around as if she had been an invasive plant rotted from the core, and in moments, there was nothing left of her but her tree.

She turned to the custodian. “What did you do?” they shrieked.

The woman was on one knee, her hand cupping something carefully. Her fingers were stained with soil. She took a pouch from her pocket and put away the – something – glimmering in the light – and pulled the drawstrings tight.

“The soul seed,” she said, getting up and gesturing for Spencer to follow her. “The essence of every dryad. The best way to remove her from the enclosed space we have here. Not taken lightly, but safe. I can’t hurt them, like this. Almost nothing can.”

“So she’s got to regrow? How long does that take?”

“Depends where we go,” she said. She pulled open the door to a battered red car. “I know somewhere that can get her back within the month.”

A month. A month without Silver Birch, when Spencer’s whole life had revolved around the thing for almost half a year.

“What do I do until then?”

The custodian smiled. Her car smelled of cloves, and Spencer could have sworn the bird perched on its bumper was watching them.

“Until then, I think we might be able to teach you a few things.”

#silver birch #spencer #rescue #inhuman whumpee #magic #my fic #escape #resisting rescue #earthcursed #jhazel

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rhyslucia · 4 years

Text

If you're pro-military, you shouldn't vote for trump

"Some 489 national security experts — including 22 four-star officers — have endorsed Joe Biden for president.

'I believe the current administration is a real threat to the republic,' says Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who served as the Army's No. 2 officer before retiring in 2012. 'I had to stand up and be counted.'"

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If you're Christian, you shouldn't vote for trump

"While the president has delivered on some issues of concern to us, such as economic reforms and trade deals, his immigration policies are cruel, undermining his pledges to life and religious freedom. For instance, while we cherish unborn lives, we also value the lives of thousands of children who were separated from their mothers or fathers by the "zero tolerance" policies of the administration at the Mexican border in 2018.

Our commitment to life also compels us to do everything that we can to end human trafficking. The administration has decided to suspend the life saving elements of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the passage of which evangelical Christians proudly championed under George Bush and the flouting of which evangelical ministries like World Vision and International Justice Mission have decried.

Our convictions on life also are why we strongly believe the United States should continue to be, in the famous words of George Washington, "a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong." Rather than continue the life saving tradition of asylum and resettlement of refugees, the administration has shut out persecuted refugees with its immigration policies."

*************************************************

If you value American lives, you shouldn't vote for trump

“You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed,” he said in a Feb. 7 call with journalist Bob Woodward. “And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.”

“This is deadly stuff,” he said.

At the time, Trump was telling Americans that the U.S. was in little danger and that the outbreak would soon go away on its own.

Asked about those statements in March, Trump said he wanted to downplay the threat. "I wanted to always play it down," Trump told Woodward. "I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic."

In the same interview, he went on to acknowledge the gravity of the threat facing even young adults. "Just today and yesterday, some startling facts came out. It's not just old, older. Young people too, plenty of young people," Trump said.

************************************************

Are you, or have you ever met a woman? If so, you shouldn't vote for trump

Donald Trump, current president of the United States, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s.[1][2] The accusations have resulted in three much reported instances of litigation: his then-wife Ivana made a rape claim during their 1989 divorce litigation but later recanted that claim;[3] businesswoman Jill Harth sued Trump in 1997 alleging breach of contract while also suing for nonviolent sexual harassment but withdrew the latter suit as part of a settlement for relating to the former suit; and, in 2017, former The Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos filed a defamation lawsuit after Trump called her a liar.[4]

Trump in 2017

Two of the allegations (by Ivana Trump and Jill Harth) became public before Trump's candidacy for president, but the rest arose after a 2005 audio recording was leaked during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump was recorded bragging that a celebrity like himself "can do anything" to women, including "just start kissing them ... I don't even wait" and "grab 'em by the pussy". Trump subsequently characterized those comments as "locker room talk" and denied actually behaving that way toward women, and he also apologized for the crude language. Many of his accusers stated that Trump's denials provoked them into going public with their allegations.

Another type of accusation was made, primarily after the audio recording surfaced, by several former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA contestants, who accused Trump of entering the dressing rooms of beauty pageant contestants. Trump, who owned the Miss Universe franchise, which includes both pageants, was accused of going into dressing rooms in 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2006, while contestants were in various stages of undress. Trump had already referred to this practice during a 2005 interview on The Howard Stern Show, saying he could "get away with things like that" because he owned the beauty pageants the women and girls were competing in.

***********************************************

Do you support racism? If not, you shouldn't vote for trump

In unguarded moments with senior aides, President Trump has maintained that Black Americans have mainly themselves to blame in their struggle for equality, hindered more by lack of initiative than societal impediments, according to current and former U.S. officials.

After phone calls with Jewish lawmakers, Trump has muttered that Jews “are only in it for themselves” and “stick together” in an ethnic allegiance that exceeds other loyalties, officials said.

Trump’s private musings about Hispanics match the vitriol he has displayed in public, and his antipathy to Africa is so ingrained that when first lady Melania Trump planned a 2018 trip to that continent he railed that he “could never understand why she would want to go there.”

When challenged on these views by subordinates, Trump has invariably responded with indignation. “He would say, ‘No one loves Black people more than me,’ ” a former senior White House official said. The protests rang hollow because if the president were truly guided by such sentiments he “wouldn’t need to say it,” the official said. “You let your actions speak.”

In Trump’s case, there is now a substantial record of his actions as president that have compounded the perceptions of racism created by his words

************************************************

Do you enjoy advances made by science? If so, you shouldn't vote for trump

The Trump administration and 115th Congress have been actively dismantling science-based health and safety protections, sidelining scientific evidence, and undoing recent progress on scientific integrity.

Below is a running list of attacks on science—disappearing data, silenced scientists, and other assaults on scientific integrity and science-based policy. The list provides a representative sample of threats to the federal scientific enterprise.

FDA Now Lacks Authority to Halt Use of Inaccurate Coronavirus Tests

In a move strongly opposed by FDA officials, the agency will no longer use science-based checks to regulate a broad swathe of laboratory tests, including coronavirus tests.

CDC Coronavirus Testing Guidelines Were Modified by Political Officials to be Less Scientific

The White House’s Coronavirus Task Force and HHS changed the novel coronavirus testing guidelines on the CDC website to fall out of line with the best available science.

EPA Refuses to Regulate Rocket Fuel Chemical in Drinking Water

The EPA has officially announced that it will not regulate perchlorate, a common ingredient of explosives and rocket fuel, in the nation’s drinking water supplies.

Fetal Tissue Research Blocked by a Biased Advisory Committee

13 out of 14 NIH grants submitted since September 2019 that involve fetal tissue are likely to be rejected based solely on the recommendations of the Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

White House Demands Rewriting of CDC’s COVID-19 Guidelines for Schools

Vice President Mike Pence ordered the CDC to rewrite their school opening guidelines for reasons that appeared to be primarily political.

Trump Administration Takes Away Hospitalization Data From the CDC

The Administration mandated that hospitals bypass the CDC and send data on COVID-19 hospitalizations, to a private third party.

Trump Administration Endangered People Evacuating From Coronavirus-Infected Cruise Ship

State Department officials overrode science-based concerns of CDC officials and allowed 14 infected people to board an airplane with over 300 non-infected people

White House Hides Economic Analysis Showing COVID-19 Downturns

The White House will forego the publication of an economic analysis on budget projections in the summer of 2020.

NOAA Fisheries is Restricting the Use of the Words “COVID-19” and “Pandemic”

An official memo, issued by NOAA, stated that the agency’s “preferred approach” is making “no reference to anything COVID related” in public-facing documents.

Trump Administration Buries COVID-19 Information For Religious Communities

White House officials instructed the CDC to delete certain sections of a COVID-19 guidance measure for communities of faith

*****************************************************

Sorry I forgot to copy over my sources, but it's very easy to Google and find, just, all the reasons to not vote for trump. If you're feeling apathetic or like your vote doesn't matter, it does. If nothing else your vote will stick it to the egotistical, thin skinned, racist, misogynistic, hateful, lying, fascist ass-hat. If not for love of the country or hope for the future, get out and vote out of hate of who trump is and what he stands for. #VoteHimOut

#votehimout #vote him the fuck out #2020 election #votevotevote #trump2020 #president trump #biden2020

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shinneth · 4 years

Note

Do you think Steven and Connie are similar to the Bojack Horseman and Diane Nguyen situation?

Sorry it took a while to get to this. Mostly, it’s because I never watched Bojack Horseman.

However, I did hear a lot about its ending. Like, critical acclaim levels of how it ended. I distinctly remember reading a lengthy multi-parter tweet from Linkara about it.

So I did some research (still haven’t seen the show outside of some Youtube clips), and... well...

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I honestly think Steven and Connie are only similar to these two in that this is how they should have ended up.

In more straightforward terms, I’d say Steven and Connie are Bojack and Diane done wrong in every possible way.

I managed to find a Youtube comment that can articulate this far better than I can (given my limited knowledge on the show itself):

I kinda feel there's more than that; basically Bojack and Diane do love each other BUT for Diane to have been trauma bonded almost with too many years of "Fixing" Bojack and finally getting out of that type of cycle (although in a stable relationship) - she still feels kinda flat. It's ironic as Bojack and Diane probably understand each other's darker side better than anyone else. Both of them ARE defined by their darkest tendencies. That's what makes it especially sad as neither will ever have that level of understanding from anyone else. AND sadly it's not possible for anyone to have a 'Safe" relationship with Bojack. (At least not for a super long time perhaps ???). - At least for me that's why the end is truly heart breaking (final scene on the roof) prefect song and animated very tender / awkward moment. The length of time in awkward refrain is a nearly direct measure of "Love" that can never be (after so much destruction in spite of growth learning and accountability .). - Some things can never be really fixed.

Considering the show took time to establish Connie having a life outside of Steven - friends, interests, goals, etc. - I figured there would be literally no excuse for any of that to be brought up unless they weren’t going to have Connie happily living her own life without having to be weighed down by Steven’s baggage.

Instead, much like In Dreams as a whole, elements that should have been meaningful and logical story progressions for the characters instead ended up being a bunch of red herrings that meant sweet fuck-all by the end.

Also.

Some things can never be really fixed.

This is a message I often push in my writing that I really think Steven Universe (and Future especially) should have done more with. Maybe that clashes heavily with the show’s overall message... but at the same time, I think it’s more damaging to send across a naive sentiment like “anything/anyone can be fixed if you just keep pushing for it enough!” than it is to be cynical and to acknowledge a lost cause when you see one.

Because realistically, I do not see the Diamond Authority as fixable. Really, the closest SU ever came to touching this message was through Kevin (which is HEAVILY TRIVIALIZED when you realize Steven won’t forgive some random asshole young adult, but be will forgive a group of space dictators who are responsible for multiple counts of planet-wide genocide, countless millennia of enslaving gemkind, and of course the attempted destruction of Earth on multiple counts) and Aquamarine+Eyeball.

The latter of which is undermined when you realize they’re honestly not real threats anymore and are Discount Team Rocket at best.

And coming from personal experience, as a kid who spent years in denial thinking that my parents would eventually rekindle their marriage and get back together, because surely Daddy loved me enough to really make the effort to change and better himself for his family...

... Yeah, that never happened. And over the years, I learned I really should have never hoped for that in the first place, because my parents never really should have stayed together to begin with. Everything about that relationship from my dad’s perspective was incredibly fucking unhealthy and very creepy in hindsight.

Sometimes, you don’t always know what’s best for you. Not through any fault of your own: it’s just a matter of there are certain truths out there that would have been cruel to make a kid face and accept.

I hoped for SUF, there would have been some acknowledgement that what Steven wants isn’t necessarily what he really needs. He thinks he wants to marry Connie, but Steven has no way to know for sure that will be what’s best for him. And honestly, their friendship at the start of the first season is just a hollow shell of that by SUF; Connie is only 14 in that series, mind you. That’s a turbulent phase for any kid, and she’s very likely to change in ways that won’t jive with Steven the way he thinks he will. In many ways, she already has.

And realistically, by the end of SUF, the most he can have with Connie is a long-distance relationship throughout her college years. Anyone with half a brain knows how low the success rate of long-distance relationships are.

I honest-to-god would hope Connie either finds someone in college she better relates with or just have her forego relationships altogether so she can reach her dreams.

But Rebecca Sugar’s “oh, they’ve always been in love!” despite that directly contradicting a big message the show itself has preached (anyone remember when Garnet told us how love takes time?).... yeah, that tells me it was pointless to have any hope the show would do anything even remotely mature or realistic with Steven and Connie’s dynamic.

Pretty ironic that for such a “progressive” show, it has a very goddamned dated model for the lead and his love interest.

So yeah.

If they did Steven and Connie like Bojack and Diane, that would have been fantastic. But sadly, I can only say they’re similar in that they had very similar problems. Only one relationship was masterfully resolved, and the other was handled in the most shallow, lazy way possible that sends across a very screwy message when you try to read that whole story from beginning to end.

(hell, Lapis and Peridot got resolved more similarly to Bojack and Diane - but only in that they pretty much had next to no interaction even after Lapis came back from abandoning Peridot and stealing her home and belongings. Of course we got zero follow-up from that, and while they’re still clearly friends and teammates, one can easily infer that they went their own separate ways considering they have nothing to do with each other unless Bismuth is also there)

#answered asks #nice anons #bojack horseman #steven universe #connie maheswaran #connverse #diane nguyen #comparison #unhealthy relationships #rant #headcanon

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lostinyourfacade · 3 years

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Let me just rant about petal cause I love her. Here is many headcanons but it’s mostly a character study on petal. This gets long so read under the cut.

A lot of petal’s existence has been fixed. A lot of her life she loved. When she was with pink diamond she loved to dance and pick flowers. Loved to help her diamond sneak to have some fun. She was rebellious and for a servant she didn’t have a care in the world. Then suddenly she was abandoned or atleast thought she had been. Then suddenly she was no longer free.

Stuck with an owner who wanted her to be perfect and when she didn’t measure up she was heavily abused. Every mistake earned her a new scar. She learned to only speak once spoken to. So when she finally snapped out of frustration and anger she vowed she would be as vocal as she wanted. She would always speak her mind because that’s what she was deprived for thousands of years.

Once she was on the run she felt free. She felt alive but she was also full of fear and anger for what happened and what was continuing to happen to her. She had to learn how to fight and she could never feel safe for long. She could never stay in one place for long. That’s what her panicked traumatized state told her. Yes she became an amazing fighter. She was able to steal her owner’s cape wearing it as a trophy. She was also able to discover her love for knives and build that skill once she stole the weapon from a solider.

These are great things that gave her confidence and made her feel fulfilled but she had little time to enjoy things. Due to her trauma and c-ptsd that formed because of that trauma. She always feels like she has to either fight or run. She can’t do anything else or she feels like she’s going to die. The reason she doesn’t want to die is out of spite. Pink wanted to get rid of her, her agate wanted to tear her down. Make her feel worthless and all of homeworld wants her to shatter because of her crimes. She holds onto her anger and her grudges because that’s the only thing keeping her going. If they want her gone she’ll refuse to leave.

Finally she stops running. When she arrives on earth she assumes that she’ll rest here for maybe a week and go back to running away and fighting her enemies. But then she meets steven. He teaches her things. How to slow down. How to discover and enjoy things again. She finds a sense of happiness and belonging. She discovers she likes punk fashion and the lifestyle. It’s how she expresses who she is. She tastes food and loves it.

Often overeating to the point of gluttony. Raw meat and spicy foods being her favorite. She listens to rock and metal because it describes how she’s been feeling all these years. She can feel the music in her soul and works to perform said music to express her emotions. She rediscovers her love for flowers. They’re something beautiful and soft. Something that reminds her of her old self but she learns to like that part of herself even a little bit because of this love for it she has again.

Since despite everything she’s been feel she finds it impossible to open up. Maybe a little here and there with steven but that’s only because she trusts him. Opening up and expressing any emotion besides anger like sadness. Something that makes her feel vulnerable is so painful for her. That pain makes her feel weak. Like the victim she once was and she never wants to be that victim again so that’s why she puts on this cold bitchy front. In order to heal from her trauma and become a more happy fulfilled person she needs to let go of her anger. Not completely but atleast somewhat or halfway. Holding onto it stops her from enjoying life fully. She has terrible coping mechanisms such as drinking and casual emotionless sex but that only makes her feel good in the moment. It helps distract and ignore her trauma but it won’t make it go away. Really nothing will.

It’s only after the events of the su movie and su future where she’s on a path to truly bettering herself. She relies and opens up more to her loved ones and finally listening to their advice deciding to attend therapy. It’s a long and hard process especially since she’s definitely attacked a therapist or two. But through therapy she’s slowly healing. Figuring out her issues and how to find happiness and fulfillment in her life despite everything she’s gone through. As well as using the skills she’s learned through survival to help other gems and humans protect themselves by teaching a self defense class. She’s a very flawed person with a lot of issues to unpack but slowly she learning and growing to become truly content.

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three--rings · 4 years

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(no worries, I get pretty rambly myself XD) I agree XD And again, I don’t even disagree that Meng Yao is a villain nor do I hate the other characters, I’ve just noticed that their shitty behavior gets a pass and they’re still considered good while Meng Yao is just treated as inherently evil. And I feel like this would bug me less if the woobification happened consistently across the board? But the only one condemned is also the only one raised in poverty. The sect leaders/heirs all get a pass

for their murders and get framed as noble. I do think the novel illustrated through Meng Yao, Wei Ying, and Xue Yang that the cultivational world created its own villains and drove them to those lengths. I also think that the novel is told through unreliable narrators, and can’t really forget that if the main character had been someone else, the definite, unquestionable villain could just as easily be one of the “good” guys. To me Meng Yao is “after being treated like shit by everyone for my

entire life, I have decided to become evil.” I completely agree XD I could, arm twisted, come up with a defense for Xue Yang but I’m still lowkey mad at him for what he did to Xiao Xingchen. I have no interest in Su She. And just to expand on Nie Huaisang, this was partially based on them having similar methods, but that thought is based mostly on the storytelling. Like you said, a lot of characters mirror each other, and also events repeat themselves. Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen & their father.

The two sieges of the burial mounds. Wen Ruohan/the Wen sect & Jin Guangshan/the Jin sect. Wei Ying’s fall from grace & Meng Yao’s fall from grace. And then, Meng Yao, an underestimated person who pretended to be harmless to hide the pursuit of his goals and his disregard for human life, ascended to Chief Cultivator only to be replaced by Nie Huaisang an underestimated person who pretended to be harmless to hide the pursuit of his goals and his disregard for human life. When MXTX announced he

would be Chief Cultivator my first thought that was he’ll also have a very public, wide reaching fall from grace, possibly as the result of a revenge quest.

One thing that cracks me up in the drama is that Wen Chao says they were all brought in for indoctrination so they don't turn against the Wen clan, and then proceeded to piss everyone off so much they turned against the Wen clan. (Also Wen Ruohan is kind of a dumbass for choosing to use Wen Ning as leverage. If anything happens to Wen Ning, he loses any and all leverage on Wen Qing, and it doesn't look like he's taking any measures to keep him safe or the rest of Wen Qing's family)

Nods about Meng Yao and all the parallels. I think Nie Huaisang definitely has the potential to go that way, but it’s up to him. I also think that WWX and LWJ will be keeping a close eye on him so he’s unlikely to get away with things in the way that Jin Guangyao did.

Yeah the Wens aren’t exactly subtle about anything, which is due to their arrogance and overconfidence. Wen Chao is obviously an idiot, but the point of having all the children of the sects was as hostages for their parents good behavior. Wen Chao then put them in danger, which was dumb as fuck because that was the best way to trigger a war, especially after they all escaped.

I do think WRH was keeping the entire branch of Wen Qing’s family hostage, not just Wen Ning.

#replies #mdzs #bifca

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xstick-noodlesx · 4 years

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My sister and I talked about weird things in the wizarding world (1/?)

@akira-vargas

-the castle is way too big

-the stairs keep moving and I bet every student was late because of that at least once

-candles everywhere are a fire hazard, especially floating ones

-all the dangerous things that Dumbledore keeps should NOT be kept in a school for children or the surrounding woods (eg. trolls, three-headed dogs, giant fuck-off snakes, giant spiders, the stone, …)

-Dumbledore is an irresponsible principal

-he just hires teachers that he likes without any background checks

-he hires Remus and doesn’t check whether or not he goes somewhere safe or takes his potion during full moons

-kids can participate in deadly tournaments

-the “treasures” are literally other children that were basically taken and put on the bottom of a lake

-one of the teachers bullies children to the point that one child’s biggest fear is literally that teacher

-instead of sending kids to normal detention, he has them walk around the dangerous, beast filled forest in the middle of the night

-someone is petrifying students and Dumbledore doesn’t think of sending the students home

-kids could literally fall from the moving staircases if they move while the kids are on them

-talking pictures are creepy and you can’t convince me not at least one of the pictures creeps on the kids

-when Hogwarts presumes Sirius is looking for Harry, they just go along with their day and don’t try to give him extra protection at all

-no phones, sending important messages through owls would take way too long

-the whole Sirius situation proves how incompetent the ministry is and no one – not even Dumbledore – thought twice of locking someone up without proper trial

-they have literal house elve slaves

-the Black family is literally abusing their kids and no one thinks twice about it and why? because they're an old wizard family

-travelling through toilets

-Dumbledore's first instinct after finding little Harry with his parents dead is to give him to his aunt and uncle who he knows hate wizards

-why can’t Harry just bring a gun or a knife or smth to a fight

-why do they have to use feathers and not pens – just the thought of writing my A-Levels with a feather instead of a pen physically pains me

-they don’t use ANY muggle technology like lamps, telephones, etc.

-the only muggle technology they use are like toilets and before that, they literally shat on the floor

-the only prison we ever hear of is Azkaban but imagine going to Azkaban and being in the cell next door to a murderer for stealing an owl

-also, the fact that Azkaban is supposed to be high security and literally every other person breaks out

-are there any people working at Azkaban or do the Dementors cook the meals for the prisoners??

-the only thing the Dementors really do is inconvenience and nearly kill children

-why isn’t time travel used more like if you’re careful it should be fine

-care for magical creatures is way too dangerous for children, it’s like us interacting with wild bears

-the fact that Dobby could block the entrance to the platform 9 ¾ without any problems so that two students couldn’t get to school is “dumb as shit” (quote, my sister); it’s like some random dude coming up to your school, locking the door and keeping you out and no one does anything about it

-why send first years across a lake at night in little boats with only the groundskeeper to supervise them; safety hazard

-they have not enough teachers I feel

-are there only like ten beds for each year for each house? what if there’s one student more?

-the fact that they have to use a password to get into their house

-the fact that the Ravenclaws have to solve a riddle to get into their house so what if someone else just happens to solve the riddle???

-they use the same old hat to sort every student and what if one of the students have lice then every first year after that student will have lice

-how much food gets thrown away every day at Hogwarts???

-are there more wizarding schools than the four we know of? like is there one in Germany? Or Poland? Or Iceland? Or South America? Imagine being an eleven-year-old German child and being sent to Hogwarts and knowing little to no English because, well, you’re an eleven-year-old child

-is there sex ed in Hogwarts??

-Gryffindor wins everything; you can tell they are Dumbledore’s favourites

-the wizarding world basically has the death penalty or the soul-sucking penalty which is just as bad

-prisoners are basically abused and/or neglected when in Azkaban

-they had one detention where a student has to sign autographs late at night with his teacher

-the only competent defence against dark arts teacher gets fired because he transformed into a werewolf on school grounds which is something that Dumbledore should have been able to prevent

-Snape isn’t only bullying children, he also bullies his colleagues and NO ONE gives a frick

-the fact that a little girl died on the school grounds and another student was framed and convicted; none of the teachers faced repercussions because of the negligence

-the fact that that little girl is now a ghost and peeping on other students on the toilets

-the fact that there are no safety measures taken during quidditch?? what if a student falls from their broom??? What if someone gets a bludger to the face???

-why is there a restricted section in the school library??? If the books are dangerous why are they in a school library???

-why does harry get to keep the invisibility cloak??

-don’t they have PE for like the students that don’t want to play a dangerous broom flying sport??

-why is there a literal roller coaster with a dragon down in the bank basement??? Why is it such an inconvenience to get some money from the bank???

-the houses themselves make no sense?? Like personalities can change??

-some student died during the tournament and there are no repercussions?? No one is sued??? No one is angry at Dumbledore or the other headmasters???

-what if you need to talk to Dumbledore but don’t know his stupid office password??

-why do they have one book that just screams at you when you open it???

-or a book that tries to eat you as soon as you open it??? And you need to like pet it to open it

-why is everyone angry that one of the teachers is a werewolf but no one cares about giant squids, murderous mermaids in the lake, giant spiders, giant snakes, etc??

-if I was a parent and my child would be bullied by Snape you can bet your butt that I’d have him fired

-Dumbledore is constantly encouraging Harry’s reckless behaviour

-the fact that you have to get parental permission to go to Hogsmeade

-how is a cat or a toad supposed to bring you your mail??

-why can every student bring a pet?? That seems like such a mess to me. What if I’m allergic to cat hair and my roommate has a cat?? What if his cat murders my owl??

-why are the Weasleys allowed to bring a rat?

-why is no one talking about how Peter Pettigrew was literally sleeping in the same bed as an eleven-year-old boy as a rat??

-the owls are in little cages??

-the fact that students get to turn their animals into objects should count as animal abuse

-why are there so many cats but not a single litter box?

-did the other cats try to get with McGonaggal??

-why did the school allow the Ministry to literally slaughter Buckbeak on school property?

-there was a cell at the ready for Sirius at Hogwarts and they talk about dungeons under the school? Why? it’s a school for children

-has a student ever walked in on McGonaggal while she was licking her own butthole?

-did she take part in the cats movie? And was she part of the butthole cut??

-am I allowed to bring Mr Mistoffelees, a magical cat, to school with me?

-the fact that Madame Hooch left all the kids alone with their brooms to take care of Neville

-how can a giant squid survive in a literal lake?

-were they planning on basically executing Sirius on school grounds?

-do they have a police force that takes care of minor crimes like shoplifting?

-do they have wheelchair ramps at Hogwarts? Do people get to bring their seeing-eye dog

-the long staircases to the towers

-why is the Slytherin house literally underground? Like no sunlight?

-Having houses only encourages bullying

-can I get a normal job or university place with my Hogwarts degree?

#i know some of therse may be explained on pottermore but i don't care #long post #original post #rant #harry potter #harry potter and the philosophers stone #harry potter and the chamber of secrets #harry potter and the order of the phoenix #harry potter and the goblet of fire #harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban #Albus Dumbledore #ron weasley #sirius black #remus lupin

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mobius-prime · 4 years

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285. Sonic Universe #12

Knuckles: The Return (Part 4 of 4): Echoes of the Past (Part Four)

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

Things are certainly dire, as both teams of heroes (minus Julie-Su and Ray, still up on Angel Island) have been captured by Finitevus and the local Dark Egg Legion chapter. Finitevus gloats about how well his plan has gone, that he found the Legion when he was investigating the very same ruins that had Knuckles so confused, and from there orchestrated an alliance between himself and them, so they could capture Angel Island for Eggman/the Iron Queen's regime and Finitevus could study the Master Emerald at his leisure. After monologuing a bit at the furious Knuckles, he takes his leave to go oversee Angel Island being reeled back into the Great Crater, something which… really should be more stunning to everyone involved, if you ask me. I mean, literally the past several centuries of echidna history have been irrevocably shaped by exactly this concept, returning the island to the planet's surface. Dimitri did his whole godhood insanity thing entirely because people didn't agree with his plan to set this in motion, and perhaps even more importantly, his plan was shown to have failed in an alternate timeline, causing the island to crash into the earth and kill everyone on it. Apparently, this entire time they shoulda just been using regular ol' chains to do the job! Imagine after so many hundreds of years of this being an issue, Finitevus really did just accomplish the task with some random chains. But anyway, Finitevus leaves the prisoners to the overwatch of Bill, who so far hasn't said a word during Finitevus' speech despite his former friends being among the imprisoned.

Oh no! Whatever horrible tortures are about to befall our heroes? The torture of having their shackles fall off harmlessly, as it turns out. Yeah, of course Bill didn't just turn evil for no reason! Though he does appear to have some beef with Vector, remarking angrily that he'd have preferred if Vector stayed chained up. Man, what in the world did Vector do in the past that pissed off so many people? Barby demands an explanation, with her dialogue vaguely hinting that she and Bill were possibly involved romantically, so Bill explains that several months ago when Eggman began pushing in this region, the other platypuses decided they wanted a little taste of that power and began demanding to join up. Bill couldn't talk them down, so instead, he went to Eggman and voluntarily joined his cause, becoming outfitted with cybernetics along with the other platypuses, hoping to manage the situation from within. Apparently he never found a chance to tell his former teammates that he wasn't actually evil after all, but he's been doing his best to mismanage the campaign in Downunda without seeming too suspicious. Everyone is pleased and relieved, and he urges them to quickly make their escape so he can play it off as having been overpowered while separated from his backup. Thrash happily obliges, and reveals his own special power - yelling so loudly that it can break down doors. The fight against the Legion in the crater quickly commences, but Walt encourages Knuckles to head back to his island while they carry on the fight here on the ground. Vector can't see a way to get back up without their warp ring, but Mighty apparently has an idea of his own.

I just need everyone here to remember that according to canon measurements, this island floats forty-three miles (69 km) in the sky. Yes, I realize that's only the case because Penders didn't create his units of measurements with sanity in mind. No, that does not mean I'm ever letting this fact go. It's also worth noting that this entire arc portrays the crater as not looking much bigger than like, a mile across at the most, but the island is forty-seven miles (75 km) across at its narrowest. I mean, we already knew that no one pays attention to matters of scale in these comics, but still, I notice, and it bugs me to no end. Consistency, people!

Anyway, Mighty tosses Knuckles alllll the way up to the island, as the fight continues to rage on the ground, and he hops up over the edge just as Finitevus is about to put his grubby hands on the Master Emerald. No sign of Julie-Su or Ray anywhere, huh? Knuckles is immediately ready for a fight, but Finitevus tries to talk him down, actually apologizing for forcing him into the role of Enerjak before. Knuckles still isn't buying it, but then Finitevus hits him with the bug guns - Dimitri actually wasn't the first Enerjak. Finitevus claims to know everything about the echidnas' history, the fact that Enerjak goes back much further in their history, the true history of Albion, the origins of the mysterious ruins in the desert, even some secret about Aurora and how she may not even be a real goddess. Knuckles is clearly torn for a split second, because damn are those some juicy-sounding secrets, but he's shaken back to reality when Finitevus tries to pull the "We're two of a kind, you and I" trick and promises, if he joins him, to give him "anything he wants." And what does Knuckles want?

Finitevus is not amused by Knuckles' defiance, and turns the fight around on him while mocking his childish desires. Hilariously, he actually does the cool-guy thing of catching Knuckles' punch in his own hand, which seems badass until you realize we're talking about the guy with spikes on his fists. I can only assume Ian forgot this little detail, or else the rest of this issue would just be Finitevus yelling in agony at the two brand-new holes that had been punched into the palm of his hand. Knuckles powers up with the energy of the nearby Master Emerald, while Finitevus summons his… I dunno, dark black evil-guy energy or whatever, and they go head to head, Knuckles reciting Tikal's prayer for strength, while Finitevus puts a new twist on the same chant.

I actually don't get Ian's fascination with Tikal's prayer at all. It's always recited verbatim from the version of it in Sonic Adventure, but personally, I always felt like it was strangely translated in that game, not really making a ton of grammatical sense, or any real sense at all, really. I mean, the chant was originally just supposed to describe the relationship between the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds, but that's not relevant at all in this universe given the vastly different origins of both - the Master Emerald in the comics isn't a direct counter to the Chaos Emeralds like in the games, but one giant Chaos Emerald itself. I dunno, maybe this is just a nitpick, but it still confuses me.

Finitevus is impressed by Knuckles' display of raw power, but decides to end the fight quickly, and pulls out one of his warp rings, encircling it around Knuckles midsection and happily threatening to close it while Knuckles is still only halfway through. However, at that moment Julie-Su finally makes her entrance and shoots Finitevus in the shoulder, distracting him long enough for Knuckles to grab him and make good on his promise to throw him off his island. That doesn't seem like a proper solution to this threat at all, but eh, whatever, Knux is happy with it I guess. He, Julie-Su, and Ray all head back down to the crater, where the Downunda Freedom Fighters have finished running the Legion off for now, and say their goodbyes. Barby makes a remark that her father would have been proud of Vector, hinting at yet more unexplored history between him and the others, but he still refuses to explain further when Ray tries to pry. Thrash leaves through a warp ring of his own, making some odd comments about how it would be such a shame if the rest of the echidnas were to be wiped out - this guy really doesn't like echidnas for whatever reason - and with the threat settled, Knuckles and his friends finally head back onto Angel Island for some peaceful rest.

Yeah, gee Vector, I wonder why no one found a body? I mean, it's not like Finitevus has demonstrated that he can warp himself to safety mid-fall during literally the previous big battle against him or anything. Of course, he's safe and sound, and heads back to the crater once it's clear to watch the island's departure and muse to himself how his plans aren't through yet and he's ready to kill Knuckles when he next gets the chance - anything to put him closer to the Master Emerald. Let us know how your quest to off one of the comic's most popular characters goes, buddy!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #su 12 #writer: ian flynn #pencils: tracy yardley #colors: jason jensen

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