#i just feel terrible again. i feel so awful i gave myself a headache from being upset | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

barbiiecams · 3 months

Note

Can you write about Drew with his little family visiting him for his days off from filming? 🩷

Also I love that you write about black oc readers!! It’s rare in this fandom to find that.

vacay

dad!drew starkey x mom!reader, not proof read, & yes more black representation for the obx fandom pls! also this is kinda long soo enjoy 😖

drew had been gone filming for about a month now.

for you, it was easy not to get so hung up over the fact he was gone for such a long time.

when you first started dating, it was definitely a tragedy. and it pained you everytime that you couldn’t just go with him.

and even now, of course you missed him like crazy. but after all these years of being together, you’ve learned how to deal with it and it got easier.

but for his baby aaliyah who’s never been separated from her daddy? oh this was hell.

she couldn’t even stand the sight of him walking out the door for 10 minutes, so now that he’s walked out the door, and hasn’t come back for weeks?

she definitely was not having it.

you knew how she was going to react as well, so for weeks you prepared yourself for the endless tears and tantrums.

“you know she’s going to be a pain when i’m gone, right?” drew reminds you while you guys get ready for bed.

“trust me, i know. im getting myself ready for it as we speak.” you reply as you start to wrap your hair up for bed.

he chuckles. “you guys can always come with, though. that’d be a good idea especially for her.”

“maybe like a visit for a few days, but i don’t think her being out of the country for that long is a good idea.” you said as you laid down in the bed. drew agreed with that statement and you both moved on to the next topic.

that was weeks ago. but now? you were starting to consider whether or not you should’ve just taken drew’s idea.

you tried so many resolutions with liyah, and nothing seemed to work.

the girl never seemed to tire herself out either. she just recently turned one, yet you were already seeing the tunnel to the terrible 2’s somehow.

to be fair, she was an angel. but once she got started, you didn’t know if and when she was going to stop.

currently you were trying to feed her. you had ms rachel on your phone in front of her because that seemed to calm her down in the tiniest bit when she would get upset.

it was going good, until drew had started to call you.

and as soon as she saw the picture of you and him pop on the screen, waterworks flooded all over again.

“i just calmed this baby down and now he wanna call me.” you mutter to yourself, partially annoyed even though he couldn’t control it.

facetimes never seemed to make her feel better and it actually quite made her even more upset, but maybe hearing his voice at the very beginning of a breakdown could ease her, so you went ahead and picked up.

“hello?” you propped the phone up on the table then picked her up and tried shushing her.

he didn’t even need to ask ‘how are my girls?’ because he could clearly tell.

“awe, i miss my baby too.” he pouts.

you picked up the phone and put it in her face so she could see him. “talk to her, your voice might help.”

“hi my love. shh, it’s okay daddy’s right here.” he says through the phone.

she stops wailing, but she’s still making whining and crying noises.

“she’s taking this even worse than i thought,” you say. “i knew it was going to be bad, but not this terrible.”

“she’s just a true daddy’s girl. what can i say?” drew smirks through the phone.

“you might find this funny but i have real life headaches from her, joseph.” he laughs at the use of his real name.

“i bet you do, im sorry baby.” he says, “why don’t you guys come and visit for a little bit?”

this time, you were quick to actually be on board.

“i think that’s a good idea too.” you started bouncing aaliyah up and down and gave her kisses. she wasn’t as loud with her whining, but she was still continuing. “i think it’s time we go see daddy.”

drew smiles, “i can’t wait. i’m gonna take some time off and buy your tickets. when do you wanna come out?”

“shit, tomorrow.” you sigh.

he laughs again at your comments but knows you’re being completely serious at the same time. “get to packing then baby.”

that’s all he had to say for you to pick the phone up and make your way upstairs with liyah.

first you started in liyah’s room. drew was still on the phone with you, talking way more than you were because she seemed to be getting quieter and quieter. it bothered her that she couldn’t feel him, but right now she’s was taking whatever she could take.

you showed him outfits, he decided whatever or not he liked him. you made sure to pack a whole separate bag for all of her baby necessities as well.

because you were connecting with drew in some way, it felt like an easy task you were able to accomplish. you knew for a fact if he wasn’t on the phone it would’ve taken you the rest of the day with her wailing and screaming.

when you were done packing her bag, you tried putting her to sleep. of course it took about an hour, but eventually she was soundly asleep. all you could do was thank heavens.

placing her in her crib, you had to really tiptoe out the door. if she woke up while you were in the middle of trying to walk out and leave, that would be another meltdown waiting to happen.

you and drew stayed on the phone even after she was liyah was put to sleep, but you made sure to keep the volume of the phone down so that his voice didn’t travel to her. now it was time to pack your clothes. he helped you pick out your outfits, and you did a mini fashion show for him with your outfits.

he loved them all, and occasionally gave a ‘do a little spin for me.’

every moment with him, or even just talking to him was great. no matter if you were actually next to him, or through the phone.

but unfortunately, you guys couldn’t stay on the phone forever. it was soon time for him to start filming again.

“i gotta go baby, but i love you so much, and i’ll see you two soon.” he said while walking back to his set. “kiss my baby for me.”

“i will. i love you too.” you smile then hang up the phone. you sighed and rubbed your face, thinking about how quick this was happening, but how ready you were at the same time. if it was going to get her to stop crying so much and was also going to get you to see your man again, a win is a win!

after everything, it was about 5 pm. this was a late nap for liyah and she would be up end up being bouncing up off the walls, but maybe that was good cus then she would sleep on the plane ride tomorrow.

heading back downstairs, you made dinner for yourself & made sure to leave a little for liyah cus she’ll get hungry out of nowhere.

you also made it a chore to clean the entire downstairs of your house, because coming back to a clean house after a few days on vacay is always a nice thing.

surprisingly, liyah didn’t wake up once. you weren’t too loud, but loud enough for her to start yelling, waiting for mommy or daddy to pick her up.

you love that girl to death, but her tantrums are for the birds.

after you were done, you went to check on her. she was still soundly asleep, most likely for once tired herself out with all the noises. soon, you were going to have to wake her up so she could take a bath. but you weren’t worried about that at the moment. you were finally able to pamper yourself for the evening, then deal with her later.

your phone dinged, and knowing what the message was you opened it right away.

2 attachments from drew, and they were your tickets to morocco for 10 days at 6 am.

hearting both of the attachments, you started to get excited.

one month wasn’t too much of a long period of time, but it was always enough for you and your baby to miss him more and more each day.

you could finally see him again, and you’d be reunited as a family.

—

the night went smoothly. she only woke up once, and that was to bathe and eat a bit of what you had made. she was easy to put back to sleep, and that’s what matter the most. you could’ve had more sleep for yourself, but the hours were efficient enough.

sooner than later your alarm rang for 4:30. you weren’t a morning person whatsoever, but you definitely did not have a problem waking up right now since you knew what was to come in only a matter of time.

it was going to be a real long ride of 11 hours, but the outcome would be worth it.

getting up out of bed, you brushed your teeth and washed your face with your products, then put those into your suitcase.

you let liyah sleep for a few more minutes, then woke her up knowing you were just going to put her in her mini uggs and throw a coat over her pajamas.

and as for you, you were keeping your hair the way it was and throwing on a hoodie and sweatpants.

you took this time to order the uber to the airport, and bring both of your suitcases and her baby bag downstairs.

walking back up to her room, you picked her up from the crib and started to pat her back while bouncing her. the movement would keep her asleep and peaceful instead of awake and cranky.

“we’ll see daddy sooner than you know it, mama.” you whispered to her.

not even bothering to make breakfast since it was too early for the both of you to be eating, you turned off everything in the house and waited for the car. it was now 5:15 and the car was going to pull up any minute.

liyah woke up for just two seconds, “mama?”

“yes baby?”

“where dada?”

“we’re gonna see him in a few hours, don’t worry.” you softly laid her head back down so she could close her eyes again. as she was falling asleep, the car pulled up and it was time to go.

stepping outside with a baby and one hand and dragging suitcases in the other, the driver stepped out to help you load up, and you placed aaliyah in the car seat you had requested the driver to have.

he closed the trunk and hopped right back into the car. he pulled out from your driveway and made small talk with you. you tried your best to keep up, but it was just too damn early.

after a 10 minute ride to the airport, he unloaded your things for you and helped you bring them inside while you carried liyah. you thanked him, then did all the stuff you needed to do before waiting to board the plane.

aaliyah was still asleep, clearly all the tantrums finally caught up with her.

you texted drew a few times, even though he was most likely resting.

but about 30 minutes later, it was time to board the plane. you had all your luggage ready, and you guys were finally able to start the real travel.

—

the plane ride was long, but it wasn’t bad.

you kept liyah busy with movies, coloring, and eating a few things.

she didn’t eat everything since plane food isn’t the greatest, but she ate some and so did you.

you had boarded the plane around 6 in the morning, well now it was 4:30 and you had just landed.

aaliyah had a burst of energy, and you knew she was ready to just play and be carefree again.

thankfully, the passengers were nice enough to help you walk off the plane and help with your luggage when they saw you with a baby, so the plane experience overall was definitely a 10/10.

you had called drew on the plane, and he let you know he’d been waiting with open arms. you were overjoyed, practically jumping with excitement on the inside and out.

but if you think you were over the top happy, seeing the look on aaliyah’s face while you walked to find drew waiting at the morocco airport had you all the way beat.

“DADDY!!!” she screamed in your arms once you started to make it towards him.

you giggled at her her volume, and was also just happy enough yourself to laugh at anything knowing you were finally with drew again.

he walked towards the two of you and met you halfway, “is that my baby girl?” he smiled and took her from you. their bond was something so special to you, and you were so grateful for how strong their relationship was.

he gave her many kisses and tickles, which made her laugh. this was the first time you saw her so excited in a while.

“and my other baby girl.” he turned to you, pulling you in and giving you a passionate kiss. you weren’t holding back either, you hadn’t seen your man for far too long now. because of this, you covered liyah’s eyes which made drew laugh.

finally pulling away, he kisses your forehead. “i got our whole week planned out.”

this made you smile. “and what will we be doing?”

“there’s restaurants i want you guys to try, there’s a really nice beach, and i got us a really nice hotel. i promise you these 10 days are gonna make up for the month i left you with this little drama queen,” he started liyah a bit at the last part which made her laugh again. her laughs were always so contagious and it made the two of you laugh as well.

“i know they will, you never disappoint.” you kissed his cheek.

he gets close to your ear and whispers so liyah doesn’t hear, “and i promise once we wrap filming, i’ll make you finish everynight, baby.”

this gets your cheeks hot. you can’t lie at all, you really did miss being tossed and turned by him once she was asleep at night.

“be careful with what you say,” you point a finger at him, “i’ll make you a daddy for the second time.”

he laughs, “please do.”

you roll your eyes at him, then start walking out to where his car is.

drew spent the wholeeee time talking to liyah, even though she mostly still speaks in her baby language.

he was having so much fun too, constantly giving an occasional ‘oh really’ and ‘what happened after that?’

it kept him entertained and so did you. you stayed recording the entire thing and could barely hold in your laughter.

you made finally made it to the hotel (not before stopping for some real food though of course.) and he was definitely not lying when he said it was really nice.

nice wasn’t even a good word, it was gorgeous.

“wow,” the three of you walked in. your hands dealing with the cart of luggage while his carried aaliyah. “this really is beautiful.”

“i know,” he looks like he’s in awe himself while he takes in the hotel. “only the best for my girls.”

you smile at him and he wraps an arm around you, the three of you making your way to the hotel room.

you were very happy you took this vacation.

#drew starkey #barbiiecams #outer banks #drew starkey blurb #drew starkey drabble #drew starkey fic #drew starkey headcannon #drew starkey fluff #drew starkey angst #so long sorry lol

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shadowynn · 2 years

Text

| in love and lore | two |

pairing: ateez x fem reader

genre: fantasy/daemon/soulmate au

warnings: none really for this part, but overarching yandere behavior

summary: the daemon king and his seven black generals. names and faces of these eight had changed over the years as each new king was crowned, but their reputation as the most powerful daemons always remained the same. upon hearing the rumors one of the seven led the charge of the nearby battle, you should have stayed close to the encampment. you should have never wandered out on your own. but you did, and your life would never be the same again. good or bad, you would just have to wait to find out.

“There’s no need to be afraid, angel.” His words were a breath against the side of your neck. “You’ve done so much for us, let your king now return the favor.”

wordcount: 6.2k

a/n: i made very minor changes in the preview to update it, but none of them are significant enough to really warrant rereading, so you're good to just continue on here. thanks to all the love you showed on the preview, it gave me lots of inspiration to keep writing this story as well as give me the courage to put it out there for people other than myself to read. :)

| one | two | three |

You awoke with a start, hands clasping at your throat. The ghost of his fangs sinking into the juncture between your neck and shoulder haunted you, followed by the rush of fire that had flooded your veins as they made impact. The flames had burned their way through your body, so terribly hot that you had thought you were actually burning from the inside out. And as the fire centered around your core, you had thought for sure you were dying, the searing heat threatening to consume you whole.

And then everything had gone dark.

Your eyes snapped open, breath heavy as the events replayed in your now conscious mind. You only managed to keep them open for a brief second, the midmorning sunlight that bathed your body nearly blinding you, and you were forced to close them until you managed to shield them. To your surprise, you found yourself back in the cot you had left the night before, directly inside the encampment’s infirmary. The blanket that had covered you was now tangled around your legs and damp with the sweat that coated your body.

The memory of the night before weighed heavily on your mind, and the familiar setting did little to calm your racing heart. The sharp sting of his fangs piercing your skin was still fresh, but when your fingers prodded against the spot he had bit, no sign of any wound appeared. The skin was smooth and unblemished, which was only unusual only in the fact you held no memory of healing it. In fact, you had little memory of anything that had happened after that moment, let alone how you ended up here. While you had a fairly solid grasp on the events that had occurred, everything had become slightly hazy in your mind, making you wonder if it had really happened or had just been a hyper realistic dream.

“y/n, what are you still doing in bed?”

You were brought back to reality at the voice calling out to you, but in your still groggy haze, you did little more than stare dumbly at the man now frowning at you from above your cot. It took a few seconds for you to recognize him as your superior, Suho. Whether it had all been a dream or not, you found yourself struggling to focus on the current events.

“What the hell happened to you?” Suho’s gaze lightened when he saw the state you were in. “You look awful, n/n.”

“I feel awful,” you replied, rubbing at the headache throbbing at your temples.

It wasn’t just your head. As you slowly became more aware of your surroundings, you began to become more aware of your current state as well. You felt shaky and unstable. Your head was pounding, and there was a strange sort of tightness inside your chest, directly between your breasts. This one wasn’t quite painful, more so just uncomfortable. It left you with a sort of emptiness, as though the fire that had raged through your body the night before had burned a very part of you away, leaving you hollow. You did your best to try and shake it off, but it was like an itch you couldn't scratch and strayed at the forefront of your mind.

“I wish I could say you could sleep it off, but we’re already in over our heads out here. Stock is running low and you’re the only one out here that can replenish it.” Suho’s gaze was sympathetic as he assessed you. “I’ll go see if we have any pep-up potions left while you get ready. Maybe that’ll help.”

You nodded, mumbling your gratitude as you did your best to detangle yourself from your blanket. As much as you wanted to roll over and sleep it off, you knew Suho was right. There wasn’t any time for that.

It took a few seconds for you to steady yourself, head rolling when you clambered to your feet. Once you were steady, you made your way over to the privacy screens to change your clothes and get ready for work. As you went, you did your best to sort out the events that had occurred, once again pondering the idea it had all been a dream. But as much as you wished it was just some crazy, fever dream, fueled by the rumors of the Black General you had heard from the soldiers, you knew that was just wishful thinking. The events may have grown hazy and half-forgotten, but the parts you did remember felt too real and poignant in your mind. You had been certain he was going to kill you, and yet, here you were. Not only still alive, but safely back at the encampment too. What he might have done to you or how you ended up back here was a complete mystery. And while a part of you was curious, you had no major inclination to figuring it out. After your brush with one of the Seven, you had a deep, burning desire to stay as far away from him and the other daemons as possible.

But even if you did want to figure it out, you didn’t have the time or the resources. Suho was right when he said the two of you were in over your heads in work. The pull out of Binna only added to the work you had on your plate already. Stocks needed to be gone through, supplies needed to be replenished, and soldiers still needed attended to. The majority of each of these falling on to you. As terrified and confused as you were at the moment, you simply didn’t have the time or energy to sit and figure it all out. You were at a loss when it came to what had happened to you - because something had definitely happened - but there was nothing you could do about it now. At least nothing that wouldn’t get you in more trouble than you already were. If word about what you had done last night got out, you would be dead without a second thought. The humans were already growing suspicious of your actions, the only thing keeping you safe was their obliviousness to the fact you were no longer partial to whom you saved. The best course of action would be to act like nothing had happened and just pray nothing else would come to you because of it.

And while the situation already left you feeling stressed and anxious, it was nothing compared to the following revelation you made as you changed.

You almost didn’t notice it at first.

In your rush to change your clothes, you hadn’t noticed the trace of gold lining your abdomen until you were fastening the clasp of your pants. Thinking it nothing more than a trace of sunlight peeking through one of the cracks, you paid it little mind as you made to grab your shirt, barely catching the way the gold followed your movements out of the corner of your eye. Confused, you tilted your head to get a closer look, running your fingers against your stomach, finally noticing the way it traced upwards along your chest.

The trace of gold was fashioned into the outline of a sword, the pommel starting at the top of your chest with the tip of the blade resting just above your belly button. The guard was composed of a pair of golden wings, outstretched just below your breasts with a crooked crown hanging around the hilt.

Any sort of peace you might have found that morning left as you quickly pieced the pattern together. The fear that had haunted you the night before returning in full force as you matched the symbol now etched upon your chest to the symbol of the daemon king himself.

You struggled to maintain your footing, having to grab hold of the bench beside you to keep yourself from falling as your brain attempted to process the situation. If you had thought you were in trouble before, it was nothing compared to the state you found yourself in now.

What had they done to you?

Your mind scrambled over the conversation you had with the Black General, trying hard to piece back together what he had said to you in the hopes of figuring out what he had done to you. He had asked what was to be done with you, mentioning something along the lines of wanting to return the favor of saving his life, but what sort of gratitude was a bit to the neck and a mark of the enemy? You had saved their men, saved one of the generals against your better judgment, and in return, they had all but branded you as a traitor to your own people. He had said he wanted to know who you were so they could keep you safe, but how the hell was this mark supposed to keep you safe? If anyone saw the symbol on your chest, you would be hanged in the gallows without a second thought.

It had to have all been a lie. Every promise of showing you no harm and keeping you safe had to have been nothing more than a gentle lie to lull you in and convince you to save him. They hadn’t really intended to do either of those things. They had just wanted to make sure you were someone on the enemy’s side to make sure you wouldn’t talk. The humans would be curious if you started spouting any of the information you had unwillingly obtained in the night, and if the mark didn’t seal your fate for you, the knowledge you had saved one of the Seven would.

“y/n, I laid the potion with the restock lists on your bed. Just go ahead and start brewing when you get out. I’ll take care of the rest for now.”

Once again Suho startled you from your thoughts, giving a slight knock on the screen beside you to notify you of his presence. You were thankful it was him and not any of the other human healers who had been sent out with you. Out of all the ones you had worked with before, Suho was the most lenient with you, and would be less likely to report you for any strange behavior. What he saw as nothing more than the culmination of exhaustion from being overworked, the others might have taken as a sign of suspicious activity.

“Thanks, Suho.” You quickly tugged your shirt on, making sure any and every trace of the mark was tucked and hidden away as you wrapped a belt around your waist. The mere sight of it was making you sick to your stomach, and though hiding it didn’t alleviate the stress if caused, it did help to ease your mind a bit. “I’ll get started on those right away.”

While the situation you had landed yourself in put you on high alert, you did your best to push away any thoughts on the matter away for now, putting your full body and mind into your work. It was easier done than you imagined it to be; the current status of the war giving you plenty to occupy your mind with. You had attended to the majority of the injured soldiers the night before, leaving you with plenty of brewing to do to restock the supplies. With Binna now a lost cause, all time and effort would be poured into defending the last two cities still standing under human control. The majority of the soldiers still alive at Binna would be moving to Yuchae to help defend it; its location putting it directly in between Binna and the capital. You, on the other hand, would be moving back to Maehwa in the upcoming days. None of the council members or higher officials would outwardly declare it, but your talent for potions and healing made you invaluable to them, and they were not willing to lose you in Yuchae. Instead, they would just run you dry over the next few days making potions to stock the city for as long as possible.

The amount of work they had stacked up for you was nearly impossible to achieve in the time you had, especially at the rate supplies had been coming in, but it did allow you some privacy for the time being. Unable to brew any of the potions on his own, Suho took over the rest of the responsibilities for the time being, allowing you to put all your time and focus into restocking supplies, and only ever bothering you every now and again when there was an injury he needed your help with or for a potion they had run out of..

Even if you had wanted to worry about what had happened to you or what the mark that now branded your chest meant, you didn’t have the time to. Your workload left you with barely any time to eat as it was. You were only able to sneak bites here and there, and you were so exhausted by the time nightfall came, you had fallen asleep almost as quickly as your head had hit the pillow.

It was only once your journey back to Maehwa had begun that you had the time to think once again. You had originally thought the forced break of traveling would help with your exhaustion, but you soon found yourself itching for work after the first few hours on horseback. With Suho and the soldiers riding near you silent, you were left with nothing more than your own thoughts to occupy yourself for the following days. None of which helped to calm you down. Even after two days of thinking it all through and trying to understand what might have happened, you were left just as confused as you were before. No matter which way you looked at the situation, you always came back to the same conclusion. You were in deep trouble, and if you weren’t careful over these next few weeks, you could very well get yourself killed.

When the walls of Maehwa came into view on the dawn of the third day, you were surprised to feel the wave of relief the sight caused. Under normal circumstances, you usually despised the city you had grown up in, its high walls and obstinate people leaving you feeling like a prisoner more often than not. But this time, you found yourself relaxing upon your entrance into the city. Your days in the encampment and on the road had left you feeling exposed more often than not, and you couldn’t shake the feeling you were being watched. By whom or from where, you weren’t sure, but the way your chest thrummed throughout the day was beginning to make you paranoid. You weren’t sure what final scenario would be worse. The humans finding out about the brand on your chest, or the daemons deciding they had changed their minds and they didn’t actually want to let you go.

You were sent to work directly upon your arrival, the work left to you having piled up in your nearly two week absence. But just as before, you didn’t mind the work, needing something else besides daemons to occupy your mind for the time being. You might have felt physically refreshed after the journey back, but the weight in your chest had yet to alleviate, making you wonder if it was somehow tied to the golden mark. The idea had seemed ridiculous at first, chalking up the aching emptiness nothing more than a personification of the stress and anxiety building up inside you, but it had appeared with the mark and the way it had kept coming and going throughout the journey began to convince you otherwise. You might have been a half-daemon yourself, but you knew very little of the true extent of power that half of your lineage held. The daemons held their magic close to them, and little about it was known outside their people.

“y/n!” You were swiftly greeted by your elder sister when you entered the small house you shared with her and your brother. “You’re back!” Her face spread with relief as she smiled at you from the kitchen. Despite your continuous reassurances you were kept far away from the fighting, she still worried about you each time you were called away. Though you both knew this wasn’t what truly worried her, but rather the fact you kept sneaking out at night each time you went away. “How’d the new cloak work out for you?”

“It worked just as you had hoped it would,” you replied, hanging it next to the doorway as you slipped off your shoes. “I just may or may not have accidentally torn it when I was out one night.” You knew she would be frustrated at the news, it was a brand new cloak after all, but figured it would be best to tell her when her relief for having you back home was at its highest. “I know, I know, but it’s not all that bad. Just a few cuts around the neck.” You attempted to defend yourself at the exasperated look she sent in your direction at the news, but quickly realized your mistake when her eyes suddenly narrowed.

“And why, pray tell, did it get torn there?”

“It got caught on some branches…?”

You attempted a shrug and a sheepish smile, but neither one seemed to convince her. Her eyes were sharp and clear as she assessed you standing at the doorway and it was impossible for you to match her gaze for more than a few seconds. Your only saving grace was the sound of the door opening back up behind you as your brother returned home.

“n/n, you’re home!” Hyunwoo’s eyes lit up when he saw your figure before him and he didn’t bother with removing his shoes before pulling you in a tight embrace.

“Hey, Woo,” you replied, burying yourself in the familiar touch of your twin.

You hadn’t been gone but a few weeks this time around, but you were more relieved than ever to be back home. The familiar presence of your family filling you with a warmth you hadn’t felt since that night. It didn’t quite fill the hole that had haunted you since then, but their presence did help alleviate it a bit. For the first time in nearly a week, you found the fears and worries that had plagued you just a bit farther away.

“So, n/n, tell me. Were the rumors true?” Hyunwoo asked once Soomin had finished dinner and the three of you settled down at the table to eat. “Was there really a Black General leading the charge at Binna?”

You couldn’t keep your face from blanching at the question, nearly spitting out the bite you had just taken. For just a brief moment you had been able to forget what had happened that night, wrapped up in the familiar jests and groove of being back home. For just a moment you had forgotten the golden mark still gleaming against your chest. But one mention of the man who had turned your world upside down and it all came tumbling back in full force.

“God, really?” Able to read you like a book, Hyunwoo was easily able to take your reaction as confirmation to his question. “I guess that means the other sightings they’ve been talking about are just as true.” His face fell as the realization of what her confirmation actually meant hit. “I would like to say that means they’re starting to get desperate, but I’d say it’s most likely the opposite. The war has dragged on for so long, they’re probably just eager for it to be over now that Yuchae’s all that’s left between us and them.”

“They’ve already started evacuating the city,” you replied, having only taken a few bites before losing your appetite to the direction the conversation had taken. “We made a short detour there on the way back. Most of the soldiers left from Binna were stationed there in preparation for an attack.”

“Do you think it will hold?”

“Perhaps for a few weeks, but…” you sighed, dropping the chopsticks you had been fiddling with in the meantime. Yuchae was a bit larger and more fortified than Binna had been, but you had seen the destruction of Binna with your own eyes. And they had accomplished that much damage in just a few days with only one of the Seven. “No one will outright say it, but it’s a mess out there. You should have seen Binna. Barely a shadow remains of it now, and that was only in a few days. This new king, he’s… different from his father. We could keep the daemons at bay before, but I fear his death was a blow to us rather than the victory we always thought it to be. In just a few years, he’s managed to obtain twice the land his father ever had. And with the rumors of the Seven becoming more frequent, I’m afraid this war will be ending sooner rather than later. And not in the way we would wish it to.”

“Shit,” Hyunwoo cursed, dropping his own chopsticks as the mood came to sour his own appetite.

Ever since the war had started to swing in the direction of the daemons, the council was strangely quiet when it came to the status of the war, not wanting to admit to their people how badly they had begun to lose. They still clung to the victory they had achieved nearly three years ago, when the former king was killed. If it wasn’t for the fact you often traveled outside Maehwa’s walls, you would have been oblivious to what was actually happening. But you had seen first hand the destruction this new king had obtained, and knew the council could only keep up the facade of a victory for so long. Yuchae was all that was left between you, and those walls would only hold for so long. Sooner or later, they would have to accept the truth.

“What do you think will happen?”

Our deaths.

“I don’t know,” you replied, unable to say the words that had immediately popped into your head at his question, but despite the pessimism the situation brought, your mind still went reeling back to the conversation you had had with the Black General.

He had claimed he wanted to know your identity in order to keep you safe from what was to come, but what exactly had he meant by that? While you had long come to doubt the promises from that night, perhaps their intentions had held some truth to them. Maybe he truly had wanted to return the favor and save your own life in return for saving his and the mark had been put in place to keep them from killing you when the inevitable came and Maehwa was attacked. But even if that was true, which you doubted, he was playing a dangerous game. If any of the humans found out about it or just what you had done before the war was over, well, you would be dead before they could think to return the favor. They weren’t the only ones they had to protect you from. The humans could be just as deadly when it came to your life.

“Well, there’s no use in worrying about something that isn’t set in stone. They haven’t won the war yet,” Soomin spoke up in an attempt to alleviate the dark mood that had overtaken their joyful reunion, but you could see your words had affected her just as much as Hyunwoo. “What concerns me the most at the moment is how y/n knew one of the Seven was in Binna.”

“Soldiers talk, Minnie.” You attempted to dodge the question, hating the way her eyes bore into you once more, especially with the way you struggled to hide the way your body betrayed you each time he was mentioned. And this time, there was no Hyunwoo to come in and distract her, who seemed just as keen to hear your explanation as she did. “Rumors were flying around the infirmary and it was just too many coincidences for me to not think they might be true.”

“And yet, despite this knowledge, you still decided to go out and wander the streets at night?”

“I had to! They were going to just leave them there! I couldn’t just let them abandon their own men, not after they risked their lives trying to take back a city the council was well aware was already lost.” You attempted to defend your actions, but even you knew she was right. You had known how risky it was going out at night, and yet, you had still gone. And if you had known what was going to happen to you, you would have never left your bed, dying soldiers or not. “And does it really matter, anyways? I made it back in one piece, didn’t I?”

“What happened out there?”

“What makes you think something happened, Min?” But it was obvious she had long since seen past the charade you had attempted to keep up, her pushiness to get you to talk was starting to choke you up.

“Out of all the nights you’ve gone out, I’ve never seen you like this upon your return. Not even after that first night, n/n. That means something happened out there, something that has you scared.” Soomin’s eyes lightened as she spoke, reaching across the table to take hold of your hands that had unknowingly started to shake.

“I ran into the Black General.” The words were out of your mouth before you could stop them, the want to bear the truth and release the weight it held on you overcoming you in that moment. You couldn’t keep it bottled up anymore. You needed to get it out. “Or rather, his men took me to him.”

“Holy shit, y/n.” Hyunwoo was the first to respond, eyes wide at the sudden revelation you had just dropped on them. Whatever they had been expecting, it hadn’t been this. “How the hell did you get away?”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly dragged there against my wishes. I may or may not have gone willingly, but I would have never agreed to go with them if I had known the one they wanted me to save was one of the Seven.”

“He was injured?”

“You might be happy to learn your newest creation was indeed a success, Woo. A weapon powerful enough to take down a Black General, himself.” You sighed, now realizing how stupid you had been that night now that you were forced to relive it. Even without knowing it was one of the Seven you had been sought out to heal, you should have never gone with them to their hideout. That was just asking for trouble and you knew it. “Or at least, it would have been if I hadn’t stepped in and saved him from it before it was too late.”

“You healed a Black General?” Soomin’s eyes had also grown large, the shock of the situation and fear for your own wellbeing overtaking any need she might have felt to chastise you for your actions. “My god, y/n, what the hell were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?”

“I know, I know, but what was I supposed to do, Min? Just let him die?” At the resounding yes that followed your question, you couldn’t help but cringe. “Perhaps you’re right. Maybe I should have just let him die, but I just couldn’t do it. I’m not a killer, and I would have had to live with his blood on my hands for the rest of my life if I had just turned my back and left him there. And even if it wasn’t for the guilt I would have felt, who’s to say they would have even let me go if I had refused? They might have just held me prisoner or threatened my own life if I had.”

“She’s got a point, Min. As stupid as it may have been, she probably made the right choice. Who knows what they would have done to her if she had refused to help them.” Hyunwoo replied, sinking back in his chair. “But none of this explains how you got away. There’s no way they would just let you go after that, especially if they knew about your ability. If they were smart, they would have kept you and used you for themselves.”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, Hyunwoo’s question one of the same ones you had been asking yourself for days now. “I’m not quite sure how I got away. I think they may have just let me go, but everything’s become sort of hazy now.” Your fingers rubbed at your temples, another headache beginning to bloom as you forced yourself to try and remember what had happened that night. “The last thing I remember is his fangs on my neck. I thought for sure he was going to kill me, but then I was back at the infirmary the following morning as though nothing had even happened. If it wasn’t for the mark on my chest, I would almost believe it had been nothing more than a bad-”

“Wait,” Soomin interrupted. “Mark? What mark?”

“I don’t know how or why, but somehow I’ve been marked with the daemon king’s sigil and nothing I’ve tried has gotten rid of it.” Your fingers fiddled with the belt around your waist before flipping up the bottom of your shirt and exposing the portion of the mark that resided beneath your breasts.

Hyunwoo cursed once more, brown eyes wandering across the gold shining in the lamp light.

“God, if anyone finds out about this, n/n.”

“You don’t think I know that, Min?” You let go of your shirt, burying your head in your hands as the situation you had landed yourself in hit you full force once again. You had thought telling them would help alleviate some of the weight, but now you realized all you had succeeded in doing was pulling them in it with you. “If anyone finds out about it or what happened that night, I’m dead. They’ll hang me at the gallows with the other prisoners of war.”

Your hands unconsciously went to your neck, wondering what it would feel like. Would your death be merciful and end with a quick snap of your neck or would you be forced to hang there for minutes until you finally choked to death.

“And you don’t know why they did this or what it might mean?”

“I’ve been asking myself those same questions for days now, but I still can’t explain any of it.” You shook your head, forcing your hands back at your side. “The general said they had heard about what I had been doing these past few years and that my kindness towards them would not be forgotten. He mentioned something about wanting to save me from what’s to come, but if that was true, why did he attack me in the end? Why did he brand me with a mark that would only kill me if anyone were to see it.”

You paused, trying your hardest to fight the emotions swirling inside you. You had done your best to push them aside the past week, burying yourself in your work instead, but you had known that would only work for so long. Sooner of later you would have to come to terms with the mess you had gotten yourself into. Sooner or later you had to come to terms with the fact you may or may not have signed your own death sentence that night. For it the humans didn’t hang you as a traitor, the daemons might very well simply kill you for your mere existence when the war was eventually lost.

The reality of your death was beginning to close down around you, nearly as suffocating as the noose they would wrap around your neck.

Was this what the soldiers felt like before you found them? But unlike them, no one would be coming to your rescue.

Don’t worry, angel. We won’t let anything happen to you. Anyone who so much as touches you will face the full wrath of the daemon king.

“Did you hear that?”

You jumped at the voice that rang inside your head, unsure if you had just imagined it or not. It hadn’t been either of your siblings, having sounded like it had originated inside your mind instead. Which was absolutely insane and you knew it, but even if it hadn’t been, the voice was foreign and unfamiliar. It hadn’t been either of your siblings.

“Hear what?” Hyunwoo asked, eyeing you closely.

“I… I thought.”

Your words trailed off, waiting to see if you would hear it again, but everything was silent. Had you just imagined it? You must have, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that you hadn’t. The words rang through your head, repeating themselves. They hadn’t been your own. You hadn’t said them, let alone have thought them, and yet they had run through your head as clearly as though someone had spoken them out loud.

But if it wasn’t you, then who?

And though you knew the answer to your question long before you even asked yourself it, you couldn’t stop the new wave of terror that flew through you. It didn’t matter that the words had seemed to come through with the intention of comforting you, the thought of them doing something else to you once again hitting you full force.

“y/n, are you okay?” Soomin spoke once more, reaching for your hands.

No, you weren’t okay. You were the farthest from okay that you could possibly be. But you couldn’t tell them that. They were worried enough as it was, you couldn’t stand to worry them anymore.

“I- I’m fine. I think it’s just my exhaustion catching up on me. Between the daemons and work, I haven’t really slept much this past week.”

Sure, you were exhausted, but this wasn’t your exhaustion coming through. The voice had been real, and nothing about it had been comforting. Were they spying on you? Was this what the mark had been for? As a way to use you as a vessel for them to spy on the human forces?

The thought left you shivering, more afraid by the thought of them reading your mind or using you as an unwilling spy than the words that had been spoken or the threat that had been placed against anyone who threatened your life.

“Why don’t you go get some rest, then?” Soomin’s eyes were soft when she squeezed your hands. “I know that’s easier said than done, but try not to worry about what happened too much, will you? We’ll figure this out together, okay? I’ll start experimenting in my free time and see if I can’t come up with a rune that’ll hide the mark for the time being. But for now, you are home and you are safe, and that’s what truly matters.”

You nodded, giving her hand a slight squeeze in return before following through with her suggestion and heading to their shared bedroom to sleep.

It took a while, the amount of thoughts going through your mind combined with the hushed whispers your siblings thought you couldn’t hear making it difficult to actually fall asleep. Your ears caught on to each of their words, straining to hear what they were saying in your absence and how they truly felt about the situation you had landed yourself in.

They were scared for you. Not only were they scared for your well-being and safety, but for your mental state as well. Your current state could be brushed aside for exhaustion now, but they knew you and they knew how much it was weighing on you and how badly you would tear yourself up because of it. It all made worse from the fact that there was very little they could do for you.

Their fears weighed on you, adding to your own, and you curled yourself up into a tight ball to try and alleviate some of the shame and disappointment you felt at dragging them into this mess with you. If your mistake ended up killing you, then so be it. You could live with that. But you couldn’t live with it if it hurt either of your siblings. You didn’t know what you would do if your mistakes got either of your siblings killed.

You laid awake for hours into the night, mind still reeling far past the time Soomin joined you in bed. But eventually, your exhaustion finally caught up with you fully, and no matter how much your mind reeled, you found yourself struggling to focus on the thoughts running through your head. And eventually, you found yourself slowly sinking into unconsciousness, the fears that had haunted you for weeks finally slipping away, if only for a brief moment.

taglist: @layzfeelit @calirix

#ateez x reader #ateez #hongjoong x reader #seonghwa x reader #yunho x reader #mingi x reader #jongho x reader #yeosang x reader #san x reader #wooyoung x reader #ateez fanfic #ateez fantasy au

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hearts4golbach · 2 months

Text

The Night Shift.

Johnnie Guilbert x Fem!Reader.

Chapter 22.

my head pounded as i dug through my bag, praying i had some sort of pain killer in that damn thing. unfortunately, i didn't have shit. i leaned against the counter and texted johnnie.

me: johnniee

me: Are you up?

johnnie: yeah babe what's up

me: Are you coming tonight?

johnnie: Of course

me: Would you mind bringing something for my headache? it's starting out to be a terrible night, lol

johnnie: yeah ill head that way soon :)

me: Thank youuu

i turned off my phone. the bell on the door rang, and i greeted the customer. "Welcome in. what can i get for you?" Hearing the same repetitive phrase angered me tonight, way more than any other night. i cleared my throat in an attempt to calm myself down.

"Can i get a latte, please?" the girl requested.

i hummed. i turned around towards the espresso machine. i packed it and slid the container into the slot. i pressed the on button, expecting it to work, but it didn't. "you've got to be fucking kidding me." i said under my breath, hoping the customer didn't hear. i turned back around. "im so sorry, the espresso machine is broken."

"Oh, no worries!" she gave me an awkward smile before looking up at the menu. "Can i get a medium vanilla cream hot coffee?"

"yes ma'am, so sorry for the inconvenience." i picked up the coffee pot, which i had made a fresh batch not long before she had come in.

she finally received her drink. she paid and left, leaving me alone in the cafe once more. i poured myself a cup of cold water and chugged it, hoping it'd dull the pain.

i discovered that the espresso machine had just unplugged, but it was still a bitch to plug back in. i opened the cabinet and moved the extra bags of coffee beans. the plugs were in the very back of the cabinets. i was torso deep into the cabinets, trying to fish the cord out from behind the small opening in the back of it whenever johnnie walked out.

i heard a chuckle slip out of his lips. "You okay over there?"

"Yeah, just trying to plug something in." i mutter as i finally reconnect everything.

i stand up and turn to find johnnie holding a small bouquet of about 5 light pink and white tulips. i purse my lips and try to hold back tears.

"Awe, it's okay, y/n." he smiled softly, coming behind the counter to hug me. i held onto him tightly, feeling as if some of my problems had washed away. he rubbed my lower back and pulled a small container of painkillers out of his back pocket. "Here are those, if you wanna take them real quick."

he kept one arm wrapped around my waist as i did. "Thank you so much," i pecked his lips, "im so glad you're here."

he pulled up a chair behind the counter to sit with me, "What's been going on?"

"It's just that nothing seems to be working. It's just been a weird night. i have a massive headache, and my temper is super short tonight. of course, the thing was unplugged, so i had to fix that. but im only an hour into the shift, and i know the rest of the night is going to be shit." i rambled, dreading the following hours.

"Can i help around the store again? maybe that'll take some shit off of your shoulders." he offered. "What all do you have to do tonight?"

"Well, take orders, obviously. i need to sweep and mop out here and go do the last of the day shift dishes, then i need to wipe down all the counters and tables. we need to take down the valentines decorations, too." i listed off all of the main tasks that came to mind.

"Where's the broom?" he asked with zero hesitation.

"Since you really wanna help, the broom is in the closet right over there." i pointed to my right, "but really, you dont have to help."

"i wanna help, love." he replied before taking out the broom and beginning to sweep the floors.

the next hour worth of orders went smoothly. surprisingly, tonight was a busier night than usual. i decided to stop complaining, as i was getting more money, the more people that came in. johnnie then wiped off all the tables and counters, leaving them spotless.

"youre actually the best." i called from across the cafe. he smiled and gave me a thumbs up before returning to the last few tables.

"You ready to take the decorations down?" he asked, wiping his forehead after tossing the dirty rag in the dirty bin.

"Yeah, let's do it." i climbed up on his shoulders, figuring it'd be best to get the hard shit to take down out of the way first.

"There's a party me and jake were invited to this weekend. Do you wanna come with me? i think tara is going, too." johnnies thumb gently rubbed my thigh.

"Uh, obviously," i stuttered. i tossed the small stack of heart cutouts onto the floor before moving on to the next one. "Why wouldn't i want to go?"

he shrugged. "i dunno."

"My parents are coming to town soon. i told my mother about you, and she wants to meet you." i mentioned. i was anxious for his response. "Do you want to?"

"Uh, yeah? of course i fucking do." he giggled.

i sighed, "i just need to warn you, im not sure if she'll like you. she's very judgemental."

"Then I'll earn it. dont worry, y/n."

"You'll earn her liking you?" i raised my eyebrow even though he couldn't see.

"Yeah, I'll find a way." he patted my upper thigh.

after i picked the last heart off of the wall, i got off of his shoulders. he placed a soft kiss on my lips. i replied, "im sure you will."

#fanfiction #fanfic #johnnie guilbert #jake and johnnie #johnnie guilbert x you #johnnie guilbert x reader #jake webber #the night shift #fluff #café #cafe aesthetic #cafe #tara yummy #hearts4golbach

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electricopolis-net · 5 months

Text

S03E02: Sparker Reborn (Part 2)

2. The Electric Festival

"It'll be great," Bob gushed, his eyes sparkling. "I really appreciate all your help, you guys."

"Aw, it's no problem!" Margie laughed. The three of them--Bob, Margie and Jam--were sitting in Jam's studio, sharing some celebratory drinks. "I'm just glad you don't hate me anymore."

"I never hated you," Bob sighed. "I was just...hating myself, mostly. I just feel terrible for everything I've done..."

"You apologized enough, you don't have to do it again," Jam said, smiling a rare smile. "But I'm with Margie here. It's good to see you back to your old self, Bob."

"In more ways than one." Margie closed her notebook, sighing. "To be honest, I'm glad you're gonna leave the company. It feels more and more like Dad is...I'm not sure. But something seems to be making him really testy, lately. I have the feeling something bad is going to happen."

"I'm just lucky he gave me permission to put on the Electric Festival in the first place. I really thought he wasn't going to." Bob took a sip from a glass he was holding, then placed it back on the nearby coffee table. "He didn't seem all that happy to see me."

"Well, you did kind of...cause a headache for him," Jam said through nervously gritted teeth. "With the whole attempted murder thing."

"Gee, you know, I feel just awful about that," Bob lamented, shaking his head. "That's part of why I wanna do this. Pay my debts, you know. This city's been good to me. Better than it has any right to be. So I wanna give something back, instead of just taking."

Jam tilted his head. "You know, I'm kind of impressed," he remarked. "I didn't think you'd ever be so...introspective about this."

"Well, it's the start of a whole new me!" Bob exclaimed, putting a hand over his heart. "No more exploitation. From now on, I'm going to do the best I can to change Electricopolis!"

"Well, you might have a hard time with that," Margie offered. "The city's been around a long time, and so has Top Tier. I'd be surprised if you were able to make a dent in the television network market share in your first year."

"I know. But it's better than just sitting around feeling sorry for myself. And besides," Bob said, "isn't it better to try than not to try?"

Margie lifted up her drink. "Hear, hear."

Jam nodded. "Well, you know we've got your back. To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't come up with the idea myself," he remarked. "A festival for the arts and crafts scene in Electricopolis is a really cool idea."

"I'd be lying if I said I weren't thinking of you when I came up with it," Bob laughed. "I was like, 'What would Jam do in this kind of situation?'"

"Really?" Jam blinked behind his glasses. "I'm surprised. I guess all my lecturing really did get through your skull."

The three of them laughed, together.

---

"We'll aim for the end of the year, okay?" Bob suggested. "That should give us more than enough time to get the word out about the Festival and the Electric Park."

"Sounds good," Margie said. "I'll fund it and arrange the spaces for the artists' booths."

"I'll liaison with the artists and help spread the word," Jam offered. "I think you're gonna have a hell of a turnout."

"And I'll present!" Bob said. "And manage. And I have a few designs for some of the floats already," he continued, "and I have a few artists I'm reaching out to for the rest..."

"Careful," Jam said gently yet sternly. "You don't want to spread yourself too thin. You gotta learn to moderate yourself, instead of doing an all-or-nothing kind of thing."

Bob sighed. "You're right. I'm just feeling so..." He shook his hands out, as if drying them. "So energized! Honestly, I never imagined I could get this kind of jolt from anything other than frying my brains out!"

The morning news--well, what passed for morning in Electricopolis--interviewed Bob near the end of the year. Wrapped up in a scarf and hat, Bob gestured to some of the artisans' booths as he talked into the microphone.

"We have folks from every corner of the city," he said loudly, talking over the din of the crowd. "Over here are some carpenters from down on 1-2, best work you've ever seen! And of course, we have goldsmiths from right here in the top tier, too. I wanted to arrange it so that it wasn't just folks from their own parts of the town clumped up together. This way, everyone can mingle and maybe learn something new about each other."

"That's very ambitious," said the anchor. "So when can we attend the Electric Festival?"

"It'll be held right before the New Year!" Bob explained. "From December 29th to the 31st. We're going to kick it off with a pop-up light show with all kinds of floats and machines!"

"Wow!" said the other presenter, oohing and aahing. "An Electric Park, is that right?"

"That's right," Bob responded, nodding and grinning. "It'll be a spectacle like nobody in Electricopolis has ever seen!"

---

The Electric Festival was shaping up to be a roaring success. Bob, Margie and Jam worked around the clock to process and set up every artisan and craftsperson who wanted a space, and the sheer breadth and depth of the works provided was stunning, especially to Bob, who, until he met Alice Lang, never met a piece of art he felt he actually understood. Paintings, embroidery, sculptures, even seemingly ordinary pieces like ironwork chairs and tables seemed to contain a startling new form of life. It was as if he had never actually thought about the way the world worked before. In turn, that seemed to ignite some creative part of his brain, something he hadn't truly exercised since he had been a young performer on the streets of the top tier.

He took a meticulous, almost obsessive interest in the design and operation of the Electric Park. And, Bob Sparker still being Bob Sparker, too much was never enough: more bulbs, more neon, more moving joints and multicolored lights began to take shape on the floats, bit by bit by bit.

"I dunno if the dragon is going to work out," Margie said, squinting up at the still-in-progress machine. "That whole ‘breathing sparks' thing might be kind of, you know, a fire hazard?"

"A fire hazard? I guess you're right," Bob sighed. "I guess we could go with something else. Maybe an arrangement of bulbs that change color?"

"We're already using over 500,000 bulbs," Jam pointed out. "How about you go in a different direction? We have a ton of leftover fabric. Why not use some of the reds and yellows, cut ‘em up, put a fan in the head of the dragon."

"Hey, that's great!" Bob exclaimed, looping an arm around Jam's shoulders and giving him an enthusiastic side-hug. "See, this is going to be incredible!"

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Jam stammered, adjusting his glasses. "There's still something we haven't decided on yet."

"What's that?"

"How are we actually going to power all these machines?"

"Oh, Mr. King signed off on all that a while ago," Bob said, waving a hand. "I figured we would just plug ‘em in. I warned him it would be a little heavy on the power bill."

Margie looked over at him. Her brow seemed to furrow for a moment, and then she shrugged. "Well, if Dad says it's okay, I guess it's okay."

Bob looked in the mirror, turning his face this way and that. There were a few new lines there, a few new wrinkles that brought a slightly craggy quality to his face; but more than that, there was a glow, a warmth that bloomed underneath the skin. He smiled.

There was a polite knock at his door. "Hey, Margie just called," Jam said politely. "She's been called away by her dad for some reason or another. She says she'll meet up with us once it's taken care of. You wanna get going?"

"Sure, sure." Bob turned away from the mirror and finished tying his necktie. It was a muted green satin tie, bought for him by his mother when he had first signed on with Zap! Entertainment. He always wore it when he was nervous--he considered it a good luck charm. "I'll be done in just a second."

He smoothed it down against his chest, admiring himself in the mirror. "All right," he whispered to his reflection. "It's showtime."

---

"Ladies and gentlemen," Bob pronounced, "thank you for coming out in this cold weather! Before we start, I just want to say a couple words about the Electric Festival..."

He nodded over to his companion. "It wouldn't have been possible without this guy! Jam arranged contact with almost all the vendors and artisans here at the Festival. A big round of applause, ladies and gents!"

The crowd applauded vigorously. Jam bowed his head down, trying to hide a smile.

"I'd also like to thank Margaret King for funding to put on the Festival in the first place," Bob continued. "She couldn't be here right away, sadly, but I'm sure she'll turn up. And now, without further ado, let's kick this thing off!"

Bob tucked the microphone under his arm and knelt down to grab the two large electrical plugs--one male, one female--that lay on the ground in front of him. "Enjoy the Electric Festival!" he exclaimed, and shoved the plugs together.

The Electric Park lit up in a million different lights, drawing a gasp and astonished applause from the crowd. The floats began to move back and forth, the colored fabric waving. Bob and Jam exchanged relieved grins.

"I guess that's that," Jam sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "A job well done, right?"

"That's right," Bob agreed, clapping him on the shoulder with his free hand. "A job well--"

The lights flickered, and then there was a vmmm sound as the floats powered down and dimmed completely. There was a startled silence among the crowd.

Bob pulled the plugs apart. He pushed them back together. Again. Nothing. He fumbled with the microphone, bringing it back up to his face. "One second, folks," he stammered. "I'm just as confused as you are."

Jam tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned. "My cell phone's got no reception,"he said. "I think the cell towers went dark too."

"The cell towers? Then the whole city must have lost power," Bob replied. Sure enough, in the distance, the bright lights of the storefronts were going black.

There was a loud murmur that rippled through the crowd. "What is this?"asked someone near the front. "Is this part of the festival?"

Bob motioned for them to settle down. "It looks like there's been a power outage," he explained. "It's not just us. I'm sure if we all stay calm--"

He was cut off by the wail of sirens. A crowd of police cars pulled up to the entrance to the park. A megaphone crackled. "Bob Sparker?" announced one of the cops through the megaphone. "We'd like you to come with us."

#electricopolis #bob sparker #margaret king #j. jam #sparker reborn #story update

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sightdoll · 1 year

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Survived my first Chemotherapy infusion session yesterday. We started at 1pm. Things were going good the first part with the Doxorubicin, which legit does look like Fruit Punch Kool-Aid. Happy Valentines Day! But yeah I was talking with my husband and the nurses came by to look at the doll clothes I’d brought to work on. I was like wow this is easy. Chemotherapy? No problem! But then then it was time for the big infusion with the Cytoxan and here I started to feel pretty bad right away. Starting getting a headache and couldn’t concentrate anymore. Eventually my whole body flushed terribly and I literally started stripping off clothes feeling like I was having the worst hot flash of my entire life. Guess this is a reaction so they turned it off and just ran saline for 20 minutes until I felt a bit better then started the Cytoxan up again but at a slower rate with more saline to help dilute it. And it did help but that horrible fever feel was with me ever since. It is poison after all 🤷🏻‍♀️ But yeah got home at 5PM, was able to eat a little bit, but I badly needed to lay down, so went to bed at 6PM. That awful hot fever feeling was constant and kept me from sleeping even though I was exhausted and it’s all I wanted to do. I got up every hour or two to tank up on fluids. Finally about 3am I was able to sleep. This morning I’ve managed to get a little breakfast in me. And drinking all the Gatorade. I have a headache and intestinal cramping but it’s pretty normal that I would anyways so it’s hard to interpret? They told me to just do all the normal things I would do to manage my conditions as I know myself best, but gave me certain thresholds to contact them over. I have two things I need to leave the house to do today including picking up my paycheck from work which is only a five min drive. But the post office has a package and that’s further. Now trying to decide to go now in case I feel worse later or go later because maybe I’ll feel better later? Truthfully I just want to go back to bed. 🛌 (at Deaconess: Cancer Care Northwest Radiation Services) https://www.instagram.com/p/CosbCubPiPr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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lubdubsworld · 3 years

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Take all of my Firsts.

Genre : awkward humans in love. A lot of first times done wrong? Or possibly done just right.

Rating : 21+

Warnings : Its written by me. Thats all the warning you’re gonna get. also Jungkook here is a whole cutie i’m in love.

Summary : After getting fired and blacklisted for refusing to sleep with her boss, 26 year old Hana is kind of desperate for a job. So much so, she applies to be the secretary of the painfully awkward, absolutely anti-social Jeon Jungkook, the bumbling CEO of a brand new start up company.

~~~~~~~~~~~

1. First Date. (1/?)

“ This is blue.” Jeon Jungkook's impressively large figure filled the entryway to my tiny cubicle, shoulders brushing the two wooden frames on either side of him and when he carefully stepped into the workspace, the rickety old boards beneath our feet creaked ominously.

Both of us paused, waiting to see if today would be the day the dilapidated warehouse finally gave up on us, plunging us twenty feet down into the basement.

When after a second, Jungkook still stood tall, very much not falling to his untimely demise in an explosion of broken floorboards and rubble, I finally exhaled in relief and looked at what he was showing me.

I blinked, staring at the pen in his hand. It looked pretty ordinary by all standards, nothing remarkable. But the way Jungkook was staring at it, implied that it had done some sort of very personal affront to his person.

“Uh..yes?” I wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with this whole thing.

“There are three blue pens in my draw. I only require two on any day. One that i use and another as a spare in case the first one fails in some way. This is not required.” He intoned gently.

I could feel the urge to scream, slowly build.

“Right... of course. Very carefully analyzed and concluded, sir. I just don’t know...” why on earth are you telling me this?

“My draw is cluttered by this pen. A second spent picking and dropping this around is a second of my time wasted, Hana. And you know how I feel about wasted time and its effect on our productivity.”

And you know how I feel about this moldy ass warehouse office that you insist we use because its free and you don’t have to pay rent, there’s insects here that are probably extinct in the outside world, not to mention there's a very suspicious looking algae growing on the underside of my table and I don’t wanna know if its going to mutate and eat me whole, but you don’t really care about any of that , do you, you murderously oblivious pinhead ??

“ Hana! Are you listening to me?” Jungkook’s voice snapped me out of own head and i smiled weakly, carefully plucking the open out of his hand.

“I’ll get rid of it , sir.” I said dutifully, getting up to drop the pen on a side table and the floor boards creaked again, louder . I froze, staring down at the small cracks in the floor, offering me a glimpse of the dusty basement underneath us.

Please God, don’t let me die in this hellhole.

“Get rid of it?” Jungkook looked very serious, his handsome face scrunched in displeasure and I wondered yet again why I was still here.

And yet i felt the familiar curl of reluctant affection as well. I had only been working for him for a little over two and a half months and i already felt a desperate need to save him from the world and himself.

Mostly himself.

“Uh..no?” I asked confusedly and he sighed deeply.

“That would be an awful waste. The pen should merely be stored away for future use, hopefully somewhere other than my draw. I hate clutter.”

Right. Right of course. I tried to smile soothingly.

“ I understand your sentiments perfectly, Mr. Jeon. i take full responsibility for not ...de-cluttering your draw this morning.” because i was too busy adjusting our budget for the month, setting up seven interviews with potential employees and seventeen other meetings with clients and investors. But who cares about that right? When there’s a whole extra pen that needs to be taken care of.

“ Excellent. Also, the dinner with Kim Sera? Could you tell her that I am not available for coitus?”

I choked on my own saliva, coughing in disbelief.

“Are you dying? Do you wish me to call the ambulance?” He frowned and i spluttered, shaking my head.

“No.. i... No. Just... Sera... You. I... What?” I choked out.

He rolled his eyes.

“I said, Could you tell Ms. Kim that I am not available for coi-”

“I HEARD YOU.” I shouted and he jumped a bit. “ I.. I heard you, sir. But ...just... She merely asked you out to dinner? She’s a potential client and-”

“I only meet potential clients here in my office. I only get asked to dinner, in order to have coi-”

“SEX!!” I shouted in desperation. I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around Jungkook saying coitus. it was warping my insides and making my gut clench, intestines twisting like little snakes.

“Excuse me?” He tilted his head in confusion and I felt my heart ache, completely at odds with the throbbing headache he was giving me, pulse racing at how ridiculously cute he looked, considering he was a grown man of twenty five. A whole three months older than me and yet it felt like i was babysitting him all the damn time.

“Please just say sex. its what every one says... coitus is just-” i felt slightly nauseous.

Jungkook frowned deeply.

“Sex can hold different meanings. Like gender , for example. I merely wish to avoid confusion. when i say coitus I’m talking about the physical act of a penis-”

I brought my palm down on the table with enough force to scatter the papers and send the stationery flying . Jungkook jumped a little.

“I feel-” i shuddered, “ this conversation is getting derailed, a bit Sir.. Lets just talk about why you think, Ms Kim wants to have sex with you.”

Jungkook opened his mouth to argue and i groaned.

“Coitus.” i choked out quickly. “ Why do you think Ms. Kim wants to have coitus with you?”

Jungkook shrugged.

“Its what I get asked out for.”

I blinked.

“You... Dinner is ... It doesn't always have to be for sex, Sir. People go out to dinner to talk to each other all the time.” I protested.

Jungkook frowned.

“Really? People don’t like when I talk.” He stared down at his feet.

I felt that familiar fist around my heart again.

“I... “

“Its alright, Hana. I understand I’m peculiar and i make people comfortable. So they often just want me to eat in silence and take then back to my apartment.” He shrugged. “ It was wrong of me to assume that that is how all humans behave. I still don’t think Ms. Kim would want to have dinner with me. Even if she did, I may ruin our chances. I’m not.. I’m not good with people.”

I stared at him.

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” I blurted out, before I could think it through.” Sir.”

Jungkook looked up, frowning.

“What?”

“A dinner date sir. You and I, tonight. I’ll reschedule your meeting with Ms. Kim to tomorrow night. I’ll show you how dinner dates go. And you can be ... well... you can feel more comfortable when you meet her.”

Jungkook considered.

“That is an excellent idea. You will take me out on a date and teach me what to say and do.”

I smiled, nodding.

“And there will be no coitus.”

That word had definitely grown on me.

“No sir. No coitus.” I fought the urge to grin.

“It would be my first date then. A proper date.” He looked excited.

And then he frowned.

“What must I wear?” He asked confusedly.

“Oh something casual should be fine?”

“Casual....you mean like my beige suit? i admit I haven;’t work it in years because its a bit too frivolous but I can make an exception. You’re a bit ...” He paused,” wild yourself.”

Not sure what he meant by wild, i merely shook my head.

“No suits sir. Just some shirt and slacks should be fine.”

Jungkook frowned again.

“That sounds incredibly scandalous. Are you sure you don’t wish to have coitus?” He asked eyes narrowed in suspicion.

This time the laugh escaped against my will.

“Your virtue is safe with me sir.” I said with a straight face and he sighed.

“Well, then. I shall meet you at the same restaurant where I was to meet her? At 8.00?”

I hesitated.

“Sure. Unless you’d like the full date experience?”

Jungkook leaned forward, clearly intrigued.

“What is that?”

“If you meet me at the subway station near your apartment at six, i’ll show you.” I grinned, “ Sir.”

Jungkook nodded enthusiastically.

“Excellent. I’ll do that Hana.” He smiled and then glanced at the pen , smiling.

“I’ll keep it safe , Sir. Don’t worry about it.”

I watched him walk out of the cubicle, heart racing. i willed myself not to stare at the broad back and narrow waist.

If you develop a crush on him, there is no doubt that you are the weakest link in human history. The reason humanity will die out will be because of your lack of sense, Hana, because even stupidity should have its limits.

( TO BE CONTINUED)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR’S NOTE : So, this is the drabble i was talking about. And i am terrible at fluff so give me ideas for their first date :’(

#jungkook fluff #ungkook fics #jungkook smut #bts fics #ceo jungkook #jungkook fics #bts smut #bts fanfic #jungkook fanfic

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aperrywilliams · 3 years

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Couvade (Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader)

(Not my gif!)

Masterlist

———————

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader

Summary: The team having weeks full of work, traveling across the country. Tiredness is taking its toll on Reader and Spencer.

Word Count: 3747.

Warnings: References to headaches, stomachaches, and another “aches” as well. Couple discussions. Spencer losing his temper. Spencer and Reader clueless. But fluffy in the end.

A/N: Work has drained all my energy these last few weeks. Something from our favorite doctor to get me back.

——————–

In recent months the cases that were coming to the BAU were a true roller coaster in many ways: some simpler, others tremendously difficult and rough. Some local others far across the country.

With all this turmoil, there wasn't much time left for personal life. My advantage, if I had to compare myself to my colleagues, was that my boyfriend worked with me and at least we could see each other a few moments a day and spend some time together on the jet traveling from one place to another.

I think Spencer also saw it as an advantage, even though as the weeks went by following this same rhythm he was much more irritable and angry than usual. Not that Spencer is an irritable man by definition, quite the contrary, but the work’ stress was taking its toll on us and he was no exception.

One of the few mornings we were able to be quiet in the BAU offices, I approached his desk. It caught my attention that he had the palms of his hands covering his mouth.

“Spencer, ¿what’s wrong?”. Looking at him, I saw that he was paler than usual.

“Nothing , I'm fine. I just feel a little nauseous. Apparently the muffin for breakfast made my stomach funny”, he lamented.

“Baby , I'm sorry. I should have asked when it was made when I bought it,” I tried to apologize.

“It's not your fault. It may be that my stomach is more fussy than usual,” he said with a sigh. Sigh that was apparently interrupted by another nausea. In two seconds Spencer was on her feet running towards the bathroom.

Not that Spencer is a tremendously healthy person, but it was rare to see him sick, except for his headaches and his periods of insomnia, which we were both used to living with from time to time. But this was different. Spencer rarely caught a cold or had stomach problems, even given all the coffee and sugar she consumed daily.

In general, when men feel sick they are like children . And in Spencer Reid that was increased by three. Thus, throughout that day I was concerned with checking his condition, preparing herbal tea and doing everything possible to prevent him from drinking coffee. When we got to the apartment that we had shared for more than a year, I made sure to make soup for him and send him to bed early.

In the following days his stomach discomfort began to disappear. A relief, because my genius boyfriend was unbearable during all those days, so much that we argued about almost anything. I also felt irritable and overwhelmed by the amount of work we had, and besides having to take care of Spencer .

Another case, another trip. On the jet on the way to San Francisco, and after reviewing details of the case, I went to sit next to Spencer. I wanted to apologize for our last discussion that morning. When I got closer he was reading a book, but I knew he wasn't really reading since the pages weren't turning. I was sure he was attentive to how I approached his side.

“Spencer... baby...,” I said in the softest and most tender voice I could. I did not get an answer. “Spencer ... can you look at me please?”. The second call was less friendly. He raised his eyes to look at me.

“I'm looking at you (Y/N),” he replied with a bored expression that began to annoy me and even regret wanting to apologize.

“Thank you. Can you close your book too? I need to talk to you”. Not very enthusiastically he shut the book and put it to the side of the seat.

“Done. What do you want to talk about?”. Same look and same voice. I didn't want to be upset with him, but he was making it difficult for me. I took a deep breath and began to speak.

“I want to apologize for our discussion this morning. I know I said not very kind things to you. None of that was truth, you have to believe me. It's just that I also feel overwhelmed by everything and I understand that you are tired, but I am too and you know that I say things without thinking when I am like this…”. His gaze softened when he saw that I was genuine and tears even started to come out of me without my meaning to. He sighed and extended his arms for me to snuggle with him, which I did immediately burying my face into his chest.

“I must also apologize. I didn't react in the best way either. I yelled at you and that's not right. I also feel overwhelmed and tired, more than usual. Being sick last week didn't help me much either… ”. He hugged me tight so I felt his words were sincere.

“I'm sorry. I hope this job’s rhythm drops in the next few days, I don't want to live fighting with you”. I said giving him a soft kiss on his chin and drying my tears.

“I don’t want that either. In fact, I think we should take a few days off, just for us. At this point I am having a hard time separating work’s moments from our private’s moments,” he stated.

Spencer was right. What seemed to be positive also had its bad side: Which was the real boundary between the professional and the personal? We always tried our relationship wasn’t a problem for our job, but it was also important to do the reverse exercise: our job shouldn't be a problem for our relationship either.

All this time that we had been on this beat - more than 10 weeks and counting – we had no enough time to spend together like a real couple. The last time we had sex was before Spencer got sick and it was a quicky in my hotel room during a case in Denver. And before that, I don’t even remember well.

I hadn't felt very good either. Going from place to place around the country had me dizzy most of the time and with headaches for weeks. Of course, none of that managed to incapacitate me at work, so I didn’t take it seriously and didn’t tell anyone about it . I also had a few days with stomach pain and nausea, which I explained by the poor diet we were having between so much travel. After a few weeks I began to feel better from these discomforts, but irritability and tiredness continued.

I was still cuddling with Spencer when I felt him whine shifting for a more comfortable position into the seat.

“Spencer, what’s wrong?,” I asked lifting my head to look at him.

“Since yesterday I have a back pain that is killing me. (Y/N), I still have some years to go to turn 40 and I already feel like an old man!,” he complained.

“We haven't slept well either. Hotel beds are not the best. I have also had back pain some weeks ago. But I think I'm used to that and it doesn't hurt so much anymore.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I’m complaining about my pain and you too haven't felt well lately. I'm failing miserable as a boyfriend”. He gave me a kiss on the forehead, hugging me tight again.

“I didn't want to worry you with those things. I know how you get when something happens to me, surely you would have insisted on me taking a leave. And it's not a big deal. The worst is the tiredness and the bad mood, besides that I feel that my body weighs on me. I gained weight grossly. I look awful,” I said, pouting.

“Of course you’re not. You look beautiful. Tired… but beautiful”. He took my chin and gave me a soft kiss on my lips.

“You say it just to not make me feel bad,” I replied when we pulled away.

“(Y/N), I mean it. You know I like everything about you,” Spencer replied as he stroked my back and rested his chin on my head. How I missed those moments with Spencer, even though I wish they weren't on the jet on their way to a case.

The San Francisco case was terrible. We were in the fifth day and couldn't identify the unsub yet. We were sleeping very little and badly. We couldn't even agree between ourselves on the profile, which triggered a heated discussion with Spencer while we were in the meeting room we had been assigned to work. The worst thing was having this argument in front of the whole team.

“You are not seeing the obvious (Y/N), it’s impossible this can be done by a single person. There aren't any hints of that in the evidence”. Spencer spat as he pointed to the board with the notes and photos we had.

“Are you saying I don't know how to do my job? I am seeing the same evidence as you, but you are so obsessed with your theory that you are not able to think of other possibilities”, I replied back.

“Obsessed? Oh no, no. The only one obsessed with a theory here is you. You have not put any evidence of what you are saying!”

“Don’t say that. Look at this board! What do all these photos tell you? Why couldn't it be a single person with a psychotic break? Can't you see the pattern? I began to despair and inadvertently tears I couldn’t control began to fall. That upset Spencer even more.

“Your crying isn’t going to convince me of this stupid theory (Y/N)!,” he shot almost making my heart shatter. Watching the exchange grow increasingly rough, Prentiss finally intervened.

“Reid! Enough!,” she said seeing how I couldn't control my tears and my hands started to shake. At the wake-up call, Spencer fell silent and realized my state. I started to feel dizzy. He tried to grab my arm and I avoided him.

“Don’t touch me!,” I yelled at him, as I headed straight to leave the room, but the dizziness intensified and I fell to the floor losing consciousness.

***

I managed to grab (Y/N)'s head before it hit the floor. At that moment I realized that I had lost my temper and had pushed (Y/N) to the limit. JJ immediately came over to help me. We checked the pulse and checked for any injuries. Meanwhile, Rossi went in search of the paramedics.

I felt a lump in my throat. Suddenly the nausea returned. I couldn't help myself and ran to the bathroom. I was cursing myself for not being able to control myself. My girlfriend had passed out because of me and I couldn't even be with her because I felt sick again.

When I came out of the bathroom I was intercepted by Emily in the hallway. She told me that (Y/N) had regained consciousness but they would take her to the hospital for a check-up anyway. I just wanted to go with her.

“JJ went with her and the paramedics. I'll let you go with her, but first tell me what's going on between you both. You two have been between fights and reconciliations for weeks. Your mood is a roller coaster, we no longer know what happens to you. I understand that we are all tired of this rhythm, but in you guys it seems like something unbearable! Are you okay? Can you tell me Spencer…”. Emily was right. We had weeks between discussions and mutual apologies. Now, I couldn't find a mildly convincing reason for the situation.

“I honestly don't know. I don't know what happens to us. Until a few weeks ago everything was fine and now… I don't know. I can't control myself. There are days when I feel tired, jaded. Others where everything seems normal. I have felt sick more often. I can't even stand myself sometimes,” I said scratching my head.

“Whatever it’s, I think you need to talk. This kind of outburst can't happen again, Spencer. Now go with her”

“Are you sure?... what about the case?...” I asked.

“Unbelievably, your argument gave us a clue. Rossi, Luke, and Tara are analyzing it now. So don't worry about the case, go. Talk to (Y/N)”. I nodded and ran to the hospital.

***

When I regained consciousness I was still in the meeting room, JJ was holding my head and a paramedic was checking my vitals. I felt embarrassed. I wanted to get up but JJ wouldn't let me. She told me that they would take me to the hospital to check me up even though I had already regained consciousness. I just shrugged. I didn’t know why so much commotion, for me it was just fatigue and the anger of the moment. Anger that still ran through my body, because I didn't even want to ask where Spencer was.

At the hospital a nurse came to my room and asked JJ leave the room for a moment. Then she took blood samples from me, measured my blood pressure, among other things. When she was doing that she asked me what happened. The nurse asked me too about my health in the previous weeks and I told her about my back pain, bloating, headaches, nausea and dizziness. She just nodded and told me that we should wait for the tests to rule out things and conclude if it was only fatigue and stress that triggered my fainting. Then she left the room and JJ came in again.

“What did she tell you?,” JJ asked me.

“Nothing yet. She took samples and said we have to wait,” I replied shrugging.

“What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. I guess it's stress. In the last two months we have not had a truce JJ, I don't know how you are still standing…,” I said with a sigh.

“Yeah, I know. We have had very intense weeks lately. But it looks like it hit you and Spencer a lot harder. Are you two okay?”. There was genuine concern in her voice, but honestly I didn't have an explanation beyond the obvious: stress.

“Yes , I guess. I mean, it's true that we've argued more often, but that doesn't change how I feel about Spencer. In the opposite. It's weird what I'm going to say, but I miss him. I mean, I miss our moments together without having to think about work or argue”. I hadn't realized that tears were already coming from my eyes. “Shit JJ, and now I'm crying and I don't know why… I should be mad! He yelled at me in front of everyone and called me stupid!”

“You need to talk about it, (Y/N). I'm sure he didn't mean it”

“He is an idiot, JJ. He is almost more insufferable than me…”. I crossed my arms over my chest frowning just thinking about what happened. And as if it were fate, at that precise moment Spencer Reid made his appearance in the hospital room.

***

I walked into the hospital room and saw (Y/N) on the bed with her arms crossed over her chest talking to JJ. They both looked at me standing in the doorway. I could see (Y/N)’s anger on her face. She had right, I wasn't going to blame her for that. I steeled myself and approached (Y/N). If I had to receive her anger, I was willing to accept it.

“How do you feel?,” I asked. I wanted to take her hand, but she quickly pushed it away.

“Fine”. She didn't even want to look at me. Her eyes fixed on her feet covered by the hospital bed’s sheets. At that moment JJ got up from her chair heading to the door.

“I’ll be outside calling the team. I let you talk for a while”. On leaving JJ closed the door. (Y/N) still didn't look at me.

“(Y/N)… I’m so sorry. Baby, I'm really sorry. I lost control. I don’t know what happened to me. Nothing I said I meant it. (Y/N), you have to believe me, I don't want you to think I don't value your job. That’s not true, you are invaluable to the team. You are an excellent profiler…,” I was looking at her with pleading eyes.

“You yelled at me. You treated me lousy. I don't know what is wrong with you. If you're as overwhelmed as I am, that doesn't give you the right to do what you did either”. She looked up and I could see that she was hurt. That broke my heart.

“I know. I'm sorry. I don’t know what's happening to me these weeks. I would like to give you a better explanation, but I don't have one. I know it’s wrong and I promise I will do whatever it takes to make up to you. I love you, (Y/N). I can’t stand see you hurt because of me”. This time she reached for my hand and squeezed it hard.

“I should hate you Spencer Reid. But I can't…” (Y/N) said shaking her head and huffing. “I guess I must believe you this time. You are not forgiven yet, though,” she warned me. I kissed her hand nodding in agreement. At that moment the doctor entered the room, still checking a folder with many papers.

“Miss (Y/L/N), good afternoon, I’m Dr. Anna Ragger, how are you feeling?”

“Much better now, thank you doctor,” the doctor nodded looking at me. “He is Spencer Reid, my boyfriend,” (Y/N) hastened to explain.

“Ah. Nice to meet you. Well, I have the results from your blood tests.” I was standing next to (Y/N) without releasing her hand.

“Is there something I should be concerned about doctor?”, (Y/N) asked.

“It depends on what you consider to be a concern, but I would say no,” doctor replied with a shy smile on her face. I looked at (Y/N) who had the same confused face as me. Before the doctor could say anything else, I felt my stomach twist again. Dr. Ragger looked at me strangely.

“Is something wrong sir?,” she asked. When my nausea subsided, I was only able to speak.

“I'm fine. I've only been with some stomachaches for a few weeks…,” I mumbled.

“What else did you feel? Fatigue? Headaches? Body aches? Mood changes?,” Dr. Ragger asked. I looked at her in amazement. She had perfectly described my symptoms of the past weeks. (Y/N) was frowning trying to understand what was happening.

“Yeah… ehm… all of them. Well, we've had very difficult weeks at work,” I replied. The doctor tried to hide a smile.

“Have you heard of Couvade syndrome?,” I thought for a few seconds and yes, I knew what it was.

“Yeah. Couvade syndrome is something that happens to men when their partners are pregnant. It emulates the symptoms that women experience during the first trimester of pregnancy,” I explained. The doctor nodded, smiling. (Y/N) dropped her jaw. Dr. Ragger, seeing I had not thought enough about my own words, intervened again.

“That likely explains your symptoms...”

“You mean I have that syndrome? I don't think so, because for that to happen (Y/N) would have to be... oh!”. The realization hit me like a freight train. “Oh!”, I exclaimed and looked at (Y/N) and then turned my eyes again to the doctor. “(Y/N) is...?”

“That's right, Miss (Y/L/N) is pregnant. Congratulations!”.

“Oh my God, are you sure Dr. Ragger?,” (Y/N) asked almost jumping out of bed. I started to feel dizzy. Dr. Ragger noticed my reaction and helped me to sit in the chair where JJ was before leaving the room.

“Yes miss (Y/L/N), your symptoms are consistent with pregnancy, and the blood tests confirmed it. My guess is that you must be in your 10th week of pregnancy, which would explain why your boyfriend would be experiencing similar symptoms. It doesn't happen to all men, of course, but there is always a possibility,” she explained. A little less dizzy I got up from the chair and stand beside (Y/N) holding her hand, still paralyzed. She was astonished yet.

“Well. Now that we are clear about the reasons for your symptoms, you are ready to go home miss (Y/L/N). Talk to your obstetrician about the next steps. Congratulations again,” Dr. Ragger stated before leaving the room.

Once we stayed alone in the room, (Y/N) shook her head in disbelieve. Maybe my face still didn't reflect it, but inside I was burning with happiness. Admittedly, it wasn't something we would have planned, but I was ecstatic at the news. I noticed tears began to roll down (Y/N)'s cheeks. I panicked. Maybe she was not happy with the news.

“Baby, what is it?”

“Spencer... we hadn't planned this. We hadn't even talked about the possibility of having children. And now it's happening... I’m happy, but I don't know if you want this. I can't force you to be with me for that. If you're not comfortable with this, it’s okay, I'll understand... really,” (Y / N) began to cry. I took her cheeks with my hands.

“Hey, look at me. Everything is gonna be okay. We will be okay. I love you so much (Y/N), and that's reason enough for me wanting everything with you. I want to be with you, I want to have children with you. I want you to be my wife. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You make me the happiest man in the world, and that is why it hurts when I see you suffer for something I did. Please forgive me for these days that I have put you through...,” I said kissing her forehead. I could feel her body relaxed at my words. She took a deep breath.

“Only if you're willing to forgive me for what I'm going to put you through in the next few months... and the rest of your life, Dr. Reid,” (Y/N) said now with a small smile on her face.

“Fair is fair. I'll face it happily,” I replied laughing. I was so pleased seeing the woman who made me so happy every day smiling again.

“I love you Spencer,” she said in a whisper into my lips before kissing me.

“I love you… both,” I replied when we parted. Both smiling and happy for what the future held for us.

——————–

#spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x fem!reader #criminal minds #dr. spencer reid #couvade

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youwontlikethisblog · 3 years

Text

I'm not a woman of my word lol

LMBO SCREW IT I'LL TALK ABOUT MORE THAN ONCE SCENE JUST DON'T EXPECT IT TO BE GOOD(honestly I want to binge watch the entire show but then see one thing and I'm like this deserves an entire post!)

Betty brings him his caldo and he gets in the way and takes it from her hands and thanks her. The phone rings and she rushes to her office and Mario mocks him by saying "Oh but she spoils you" Armando then turns to look at Betty's office like he realized that she is like that with him.

However the moment is ruined, remember again how when Mario told Armando that Nicolas was after their money even then Armando didn't want to continue with the plan but now that he hears Betty's conversation with Nicolas all of a sudden 'it's for the good for the company I must make her fall in love'. This clashes stupidly with the actions before.

"Ay Betty, I don't know if I woke up with my liver or brain because everything is still party, praty, point is I woke up with a pretty bad hangover."

Betty not once has gotten mad, showed annoyance or really indicated to Armando that she personally cares about him and his hangover as she tells him that the caldo is only because he needs to be on his best for the sake of the company's benefit.

Now Armando hears Betty upset with Nicolas over his drinking as she says:

"Ay no, Nicolas. Don't tell me you started to drink with him."

Nicolas goes on to say he is an easy prey to peer pressure and that the word no is not in his vocab that if she sees it floating around there to send it his way.

"I just don't like for you to go into those kinds of places where you spend it drinking." now Armando seems annoyed and Mario looks at him shocked at what he's hearing.

Armando and Mario have now first hand witnessed the dynamic of Nicolas and Betty in the work world. Nicolas informs Betty of the situation Eco Moda/Terra Moda is facing and Betty calls the shots. Just like Betty had told them two days before.

So it shouldn't be a cause of concern as now Betty proceeds to tell them exactly what went down, again showing that they are trustworthy.

I don't have to explain once more who is concerned and worry about who and what. *See the Betty, My Betty posts 1-3

Mario then tells Armando(After he[Mario] sent off a guilty Betty to get some paperwork from Marcela) that he doesn't like that Nicolas is becoming friends with the lawyers and he needs to prepare for a sober night with Betty.

Armando doesn't say anything.

Again, it could not be more clear who is actually distrusting in this situation.

Betty walks into Marcela's office and after she sees she's busy she goes off on a daydream, more like a day-nightmare as we see the penance of her guilty conscious accuse her in the form of Marcela.

As Betty returns to their offices Patty stops her and asks when she's getting her paycheck, to which Betty replies that she doesn't know but sometime that weekend and goes to Armando's office.

In there she gently shuts the door and in a low tone tells him that Marcela didn't have the papers. Armando now turns away from her and gives her his back, again this could show guilt but also anger(that she showed more concern over Nic being hungover than him) as he doesn't want to see her. Betty then proceeds to ask him if he's alright to which he replies that he has a hellish headache.

Betty tells him she'll get him some pain relief and picks up the tray of dishes to take with her. In this moment as Betty nears the door Patty opens the doors loudly and starts to yell.

Betty looks mad at Patty as she is yelling at Armando.

Why does she?

Betty has been very, extremely, attentive to Armando, more than the usual. She's taken notice of his demeanor, respected his evasiveness, spoken in a more hushed voice, gotten him food to get him to feel better, hasn't made much noise knowing that he's hungover and trying to keep his office peaceful and calm as well as instantly telling him she'd get him some relief for his headache but in an instant all of her efforts to keep him well are brought down by Patty who goes to at yell at him for her paycheck.

One: well she legit threw away all her work to keep Armando at peace

Two: she doesn't like that Patty is yelling at him and accusing her.

"[...] Betty when will it be possible to pay this...bleach blonde?"

Betty clears her throat and gently speaks "until this weekend. I had already talked to her about it, Sir."

More talking, Armando asks Betty to bring him what she promised and she tells him "right away" and leaves, Patty then pushes her away and Betty gently shuts his office doors.

She returns with the alka-seltzer and a glass of water for him and sets it in front of him. He once again keeps his eyes low.

Betty jokingly tells him that she warn him not too drink too much and now he's got a bad hangover and she laughs lightly. She then tells him she'll go get the paperwork from Marcela once more and asks if Mario has his too.

As she leaves the office Armando looks in pain because of his headache and again, guilty.

Betty stands outside Marcela's office door as she hear her and Patty talk bad about how she's dressed and how embarrassing it must've been for Armando to be seen with her the night before. They start to insult her and downplay Betty and she visibly looks upset but not in a sad way but angry.

This pushes Betty to not feel guilty over the entire situation(affair to be) with Armando.

This is her first mistake.

Her second being she is permitting herself to be involved and a willing participant in an affair with an engaged man. Armando isn't the only one to blame about this. They are both responsible and at fault for the dissolving of a (toxic) relationship and engagement. Did he make the first advances? Yes but at the end when the ball was in her court she willinging decided to throw her shot. This was her biggest sin, up to this point.

Betty is now talking about the sales report that Marcela gave her and the money they have to pay the banks. She then tells him that she'd like to talk to Mario regarding his reports. Armando has his shades, covering with his hand around his eyes, again he isn't able to make eye contact with Betty and doesn't want her to see him.

He then removes his shades and while explaining that Mario might be busy he tries to make eye contact but again looks away from her.

They both agree to wait for Mario and FINALLY after everything that has happened they make eye contact.

The previous times that Armando and Betty have had to wait for someone to call, or show up to the office Betty stared at Armando who would then catch her and tell her to get going or basically kicked her out of his office however this time it plays out differently.

They make eye contact for a minute or so.

While Armando is tense but staring at Betty she starts to get fidgety in her seat and says "I'll go wait in my office, Sir."

This time Betty is the one that removes herself and not Armando basically kicking her out or sending her away from him.

(I just realized I finished my cheese crackers and this makes me sad)

Armando then calls Mario to please get to his office that he can't be by himself with Betty anymore.

Now something happened with Sofia bla bla bla.

Mario shows up at Armando's office and asks if anything has happened, if she has exceeded herself with bla bla bla and Armando tells him that nothings happened.

"She talks about the banks, the payroll, about the loans, she talks about everything minus what we need to talk about." Armando (WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THE KISS WITH BETTY HE WANTS TO BE VULNERABLE WITH HER. Okay now that my irrational side has let lose let's get to the objective writer side.) displays a classic behavior of confusion and sadness.

"Which is?" Mario shrugs.

"Well what happened last night. Calderon, I don't know if this is right or wrong but I'm starting to feel really awful. I feel really uncomfortable when I'm by myself with her. The only thing she's scolded me for is this hellish hangover I've got."

Armando isn't scared that Betty is going to take advantage of him or cross lines. He feels uncomfortable because Betty won't talk about it, like it's not a big deal or important to her. He feels uncomfortable with the silence of it all and he's having to fill in the blanks.

Now Marcela and Sofia are talking about about Jasmine and Sofia getting fired.

The other day I was writing a draft for Armando's toxic behavior(I said I'd write a post dedicated to just his toxic/abusive tendencies) and hit this wall of realization. While to some degree I connect with Marcela being a victim of gaslighting, to another it's really hard to understand why she is in the relationship even though she shows no sign of insecurity or bad self-image/worth or threaten to stay. See when I was in this terrible toxic friendship I was gaslit to the point that their perception of me became mine I still remember the exact day I looked at myself in the mirror and broke down in tears calling myself ugly(I'm fine now lol) and I still remember the feelings I felt every time I was given the cold-shoulder and silent treatments as a form of punishment for calling the out on their lies while having witnesses(Now I wasn't a saint sometimes my anger would blind me and I'd say pretty mean stuff. This is why I call it a toxic friendship). To this day I feel shame for that and find ways to blame myself for it all. Gaslighting isn't just manipulation it is the warping of someone's reality and their understanding of the world surrounding them. It really messes you up.

So as much as I want to be understanding of Marcela and find excuses as to why she stays that don't have to do with her ego, I can't.

The thing is that when you are a victim of abuse you don't have an ego. You don't stay with the person because you believe they're the only person you'll ever love, no, you stay because you believe they are the only person who will ever love you and these are two very different mindsets.

In this episode you can see that. Marcela doesn't have bad self-image or self-worth. She thinks she's above the women that Armando sleeps with. She believes she's above Betty. She has a pretty big ego. She often places herself before anyone. She takes Armando's decisions as personal attacks which means she believes to be the center of his universe. All of these are characteristics of someone with a big ego. She doesn't compare herself to Armando's conquest but rather blames them for his affairs. They're the bad ones because they decided to sleep with him(yes they are to blame because they are aware of his relationship statues but so is Armando and she needs to hold that fool accountable as well) because Armando is just a fool who likes to shove it where he can, as long as they've got statues. She knows Armando has a strict palate for women and the fact the he is marrying her means she's the best of the best, even with affairs being involved.

I can go on and on about this which is why I'm dedicating a post to Marcela just about this(It's in my drafts. I need to watch the rest of the show to really understand her character. I don't just want to be like "Marcela is the only abuser" because she's not. ) Anyway this scene just reminded me of that because here she displays that boastful attitude as she tells Sofia to behave and have dignity regarding Jasmine working there and that she'll talk to Guti Guti regarding the cuartel being fired for standing with Sofia but that she'll accept Betty's resignation letter.

(Honestly watching Bertha eat Ruffles makes me crave them rn)

The ending of this episode is Marcela kissing Armando good-bye and telling him she'll wait for him at her apartment.

This wasn't a heavily emotional episode so there isn't much to breakdown however the small bits we do get move the plot forward and are details that are important to the coming episodes.

The one scene I am really looking forward to breaking down, that totally highlights this whole "Armando is in denial" plot is the one where he fights Roman and his friends.

But until then I'll see y'all next time!

#armando mendoza #don armando #armando ysblf #analysis of ysblf #betty #beatriz pinzon solano #betty pinzón solano #betty ysblf #betty la fea #yo soy betty la fea #marcela valencia #mario calderon #nicolas mora #i need to go to sleep

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having-a-hyperfixate · 3 years

Text

The Final Day’‘

This is absolutely going to be long and rambley af so I’mma just put a cut here. This is just one massive post for the entire rest of the game.

Rindo is back in the RG somehow. Which makes less than no sense. What was that crazy beam. Shibuya is GONE there isn’t an RG to send him back to, even if someone did want to send him back?

That beam reminded me of the Jesus beams not gonna lie.

But… Fret. Presumably Nagi and Beat too. They’re. Gone. Poor Rindo… That’s the worst kind of gaslighting. Reality itself is gaslighting this poor kid. ‘Your best friend in the world is gone, so gone that no one remembers him. You don’t even get to mourn properly because there is no one TO mourn.’ I am also not okay.

I assume this random talking to us at Hachiko is the dude I saw a brief glimpse of in a screenshot from the final trailer. Hazuki Mikagi, okay. Everything about this is supremely weird.

Leading this weirdo around and he asked how we feel about emotions? Um, what?

Was he responsible for that beam of light?

This whole thing is extremely unsettling, I don’t think I like it. The music is all… serene, this guy keeps asking existential questions, who even comes up to some kid clearly having a bad day and demands a tour of the city.

He knows Rindo’s name even though we never told him. Not sure if that was a slip or an intentional nudge that Something is going on but there we go.

‘I should take this chance to apologize for Kubo. He’s a real piece of work.’ WHAT. YOU SEND HIM TO SHINJUKU?!?! IS THIS KID GOD!? WHAT!??!

‘Exorcised’. Like a demon. Which is a psychic rank you can get in the first game, and probably this game, ergo, a thing that exists in this universe.

Okay. So this Hazuki guy is Something Else. I dunno if he’s an Angel or higher or WHAT. He’s something. And he “exorcised” what Fuckwad had Fallen to when he decided not to stop at Shinjuku and continue on to Shibuya. But he only did this after Rindo faught so hard to stop it. And then he gave Rindo what he thought Rindo wanted. And now he’s here trying to understand why Rindo is miserable. Which to us, as humans, is obvious: the people he loved, the connections and family he had made through the game are all gone and worse, no one remembers they ever existed.

And now he’s being offered the chance to try again. This feels like a double edged sword. And I don’t care.

Okay I actually kind of appreciate the thing Hazuki is pulling here. He knows what it is that Rindo wants, I’m pretty sure he’s listening to his thoughts, actually, and in order to make Rindo own up to it he’s arguing the ‘no’ position. Giving Rindo someone to argue against so he can convince himself.

WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAPPEN AT UDAGAWA.

Bruh some of these clips were in the announcement trailer.

(I can’t wait to read the secret reports. That’s gonna be a wild ride.)

Oooooh that’s what ‘exorcised’ means. That is hardcore. He definitely deserved it but that is uh. Slightly inconvenient.

Can we actually contact Rhyme this time PLEASE. Oooh Rindo worked out Kaie is waiting for Rhyme. :O I’M FINALLY GONNA GET MY MASSIVE COUNTER OFFENSIVE FUCK YES. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I’M PUMPED LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOO!!!!

Who’s gonna protect them. Beat. Really. Just give them the damn pins at this point. They both know their ways around a fight and Kaie might need the backup. If we lose, we’re all toast regardless, and if we win everyone gets put back where they belong.

AAAAAAAAAAAH SHE’S HERE!!! RHYME!!!! Aw… She can’t see Neku and Shoka cuz they’re actually dead. That’s really depressing. Makes sense but like. Oof. Especially for Neku.

I love that Rhyme still has a saying for everything.

This timeline is going to be a mess by the time I get everything positioned correctly lmao

Beat’s ‘How do you know about my sister?! Right, future.’ is never going to NOT be funny. It’s very refreshing to have a time travel plot where people just listen when he tells them shit needs to happen.

Is it acutaly Shiki time ohh my god. I might cry. Please tell me she has a face now. If her face is still illegal I will actually scream.

I’m offended. We didn’t get to go see Shiki. The betrayal. OH but now we might be? Stop playing with me, game. GIVE. ME. SHIKI.

Rindo was freaking out that we weren’t gonna be able to get rid of all the Noise around the café and I definitely threw my hands up and yelled when I saw the word ‘zeptogram’. And I read it before he said it, cuz I read v. fast. Nice to see you again, idiot. Please don’t go berserk again.

I am. Very impressed that Minamimoto managed to work out where the Dissonance Noise are coming from, down to the exact energy source that creates them. He nailed it. Well done sir.

I think… he’s proposing we awaken the city and use the energy generated by the thoughts and emotions of the living people to neutralize some of the Dissonance Noise that are waiting in the pin. Erode some of its power.

“How about this: I’ll talk, you type.” Lmao.

I got denied Shiki again. Part of me is annoyed. The other part of me is like ‘are they saving her entrance for when she can see Neku again properly because I can live with that’.

OH the Hishima cutscene is voiced now OKAY. Guess that means this is the one. Rhyme is voiced too. This is gonna be it.

And she speaks Minamioto. Coo.

Huh. Neku’s power is to sync with people. Which he learned to do in the first game. From Mr H, with the harmonizer pin. (Twister is playing and I have Emotions help) And now he’s gonna do it on an absolutely MASSIVE scale. This is insane. I am 1,000% here for it. Sync, Dive, Remind. And if I had to guess, we’re doing this atop 104.

Alright Shiba. ‘Mere. Tsugumi’s eyes aren’t all freaky anymore yay. Oh snap. He’s gonna unleash the Plague Noise against the Dissonance ones. Nice. Turnabout is fair play. I’m kinda sad Fuckwad isn’t here to witness that.

Alright. Change. Our. Fate.

SHIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I gave myself a headache ow.

“07734.” “Ew. Hey! Don’t just spout off numbers and walk away, you jerk!” That was amazing.

FUCK ME SIDEWAYS. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. NO. NO WAY. I DIDN’T THINK THERE WAS ANY WAY. OH. MY. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. This is the first time Neku’s seen him since Joshua failed to stop Coco from killing him. I’m. A puddle. Help. Neku looked so happy. My cat is slightly concerned haha.

Neku still holds his hands like he’s got the headphones. The same pose as in the first game when you scan. This gives me all the feels.

“They’re just mindless thoughts” Okay so I’m mentally exhausted at this point and I processed that as ‘thots’ and it was hilarious. BEGONE THOTS.

Okay this thing right here? This is a final boss. And it is cool as fuck. Too bad it’s trying to END ME. So cool. SO. COOL. Here comes phase 2 lol. I died and had to redo it. FML.

That. Was awesome. A worthy successor to the epic final strike of the first game. 999% eh?

I continue to not like Shinjuku rules. Once you’re a Reaper, leaving means you get erased once the game ends? Disrespectfully, fuck that. Oh don’t you dare, Shoka. Don’t. You. Dare.

Oh, Joshua is here. PLEASE. Lmao Shoka’s reaction. I’m sure he appreciates that, the drama queen.

*facepalms* Joshua strikes again. I’ve missed you, you little shit. You are terrible, but I missed you. Rindo, I’m pretty sure she’s fine. I think captain helpful over here reincarnated her for you. Since you saved him and his city. I guess I’ll see though.

Uzuki and Kariya continue to be adorable. I love them. And yeah, good luck calling in that debt from Minamimoto, Coco. Gooooood luck.

I’m having a lot of Joshua centered emotions right now there is too much Joshua all at once help. “I should have known I could trust you.” You are killing me dude. You really, really should have. I’m going to turn that line over in my head for way too long, I just know it, but let’s try to get through this before my brain turns off completely. “Let’s not keep her waiting.” OKAY THANKS I’M GONNA CRY AGAIN.

What Hazuki was saying about ‘purifying’ as opposed to ‘destroying’ Shinjuku makes me think that restarting it in some form was always part of the plan, so hopefully they’ll have luck with that. It’s still profoundly fucked up that any of that happened, and even more so that it was sanctioned. I’m. Going to be hung up on that for a while once it sinks in.

This poor idiot hitting on Rhyme is about to get got oh no XD

Shiki is breaking my heart. Aaaaaaaah!!! Reunioooooon.

Ooof it’s been a month since Rindo saw Shoka. Big oof. Joshuaaaaaa.

And then they almost got hit by a car lmao. OMG HE MISSED HER FRIEND REQUESTS AHAHAHAHAH YOU GOOBER. Neku really should have warned them that Joshua is Like That lol. Even when he’s being helpful it’s in the must backhanded way possible.

I would very much like to know why on earth Shinjuku needed to be obliterated though. Like. Does that… Happen often? Maybe the secret reports say.

Speaking of, time to get those, along with the rest of the trophies.

!!!! The title screen updated, NICE. Can’t let anyone who hasn’t beaten it see that but NICE.

There’s another Another Day. Oh boy. I am not ready for that madness yet.

Random thought as I was moving this from word, where I typed it: I’m really, really fucking glad they didn’t decide to deal with Mr H the way they dealt with sleezy mcfuckwad. That would have been… I don’t have a word.

#let's liveblog: neo twewy #w3d7''#neo twewy spoilers

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tinderboxofsillyideas · 4 years

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ARTISTS! COMIC DUBBERS! ATTENTION, PLEASE!

I have a story for y'all and this story is not so bright and beautiful. I thought I would not talk about it in public, but I can't leave the situation like this, because it's important. I just have to do that, because I don't want people get in the same situation.

I will talk about you @undertalecomictv. No offence.

One year ago I get a message from David - owner of "Undertale Comic TV” and "Sans Comic TV" on YouTube. He asked me about promotion and using my videos (animations and memes) on his channels. I had a terrible headache at that day and this offer was a little bit strange to me. I asked to clarify how it supposed to work and for some reasons I said "yes" at the end. That was a dumb decision, because I didn't realize what I'll get and why I even said yes. But I don't have any regrets, because I can say a lot of things now. This how our first dialogue looked like:

I have to mention – we DID NOT talk about comic dubs as well, I just made a suggestion like "It will be cool to see comic dubs from you in the future, but that's just a thoughts". We did not talk about any agreement, I just said it and that's all. After half of the year, I got a message with dub of one of my Kustard comics. I was happy to see it, because this dub was very cool and this was the first time when somebody made a dub for me. I was too happy and did not see what I missed. I just… enjoyed. They leaved a links on me in the description and in the video too, so that was totally fine and I shared this dub with my followers in both communities – foreign and Russian.

All was good, I got a couple of more dubs, and I loved them really much, but in one day I saw something what made me feel like "???". I saw a video on SCTV with a frame from my animation (Bloom meme). It was used as a thumbnail, with erased reply from echo flowers. This video contained comic of my friend @nsfwgarbagedump

The most important – there was a several pages what me and @hakkids has colored. In this video was no credits in description. Only nicknames of Crude and me (Hakki was not even included but we worked together on coloring and we're still making colors for the rest of the pages). I was confused, because frame from animation was cropped out of my video (I did not post this pic anywhere, I remember that). When I gave a permission to use my videos I did not think they will be used in this way. That's just not nice.

I saw a part two and there was my art again, but none of my content in the video. There was rest of b&w pages and I can't understand why my art was used for the thumbnail if there's none of my stuff in the video. They could use one of the pages or frames from comic for a thumbnail, but they used my stuff because it looks good? That's a clickbait, you know?

Crude had a conversation with them and after that they deleted their comic, both of the parts. I was sad about the fact they did not leave the credits on us like LINKS, because some of the people having a problems with searching artists, and that would be better to leave the links, not only nicknames:

I was too disappointed and had a thought about ask them to stop making dubs on my stuff. I messaged them with this offer, even if I loved their dubs before – there was no way out. I got an answer like this:

After that, I was confused a bit more. They made a dub of our modified Kustard before in one of the compilations. I was happy to see that at first, but Hakki told me one thing, which turned all the tables. They messed up with voices and some specific details, includes the fact they DID NOT asked about permission from Hakki about using Ras (modified Red) in the dubs. Yes, those comics was made by me, but Ras belongs to Hakki and I got a permission to use him in my stories, because hell – we are friends, so we allowed to use our boys in our comics.

If somebody giving you a permission to make comic dubs (but they did not get a permission from me on this either if we look at the situation a bit closer) you have to ask again before using Fan-Characters/Original Characters in dubs. They can have some specific differences and it's always better to ask. Much better to send SAMPLES too, because some people can be picky. If you don't want to make all those "difficult" stuff – just do not touch FC's and OC's. And ask ALL the artists if you want to make dubs with two (or more) characters which belongs to different people. The first one can say "yes, sure!" and the second one can be against it. Respect people! Ask them about their characters!

I asked to delete all the videos with our modified Kustard (or at least cut out the fragments with them), and when I told this was not only my desire, I got a message which made me super confused and angry at the same time. I got an excuse like "we worked so hard, give our permission to keep your videos". I was triggered about it, because I'm already told about the reasons why I asked to delete those videos.

I told about that again and said about I worked hard too, because that's true. Artists spend a lot of time when they working on one picture, so that's no need to talk about making comics or animations. So I had to ask to delete the modified Kustard, OR I'll ask to delete ALL my stuff from the channels. If they'll refuse – I'll strike them down. You can see my full answer below:

And who knows what I will get on my simple ask to delete only modifications…

I don't know, maybe I'm cruel piece of garbage or what, but I HATE when people use excuses like family and stuff. That's super lame and I can explain why I think in that way. You know, all of us have families, somebody has children too but people didn't use this fact as an excuse to make shit and break the rules. If you have a sweetheart and babies – how can you use them like this? It looks like you're only worrying about yourself, and did not want to pay attention to feeling of the artists which works you're using in dubs. I can understand all those things, because I have a family too, just like other artists do. I even have some ill people in my family and we have to pay big amounts to help them, plus bills, buying food, etc. BUT! I DID NOT use all this stuff for this kind of situations! I just continue to work and that's all!

That's the same situation like ask the artist to make you an art for free because you're poor little creature and you have no money to pay for your bills, clothes, etc. NOBODY have to work for free and nobody have to break the low to get something what they want! That's an awful shit, don't do that!

About monetization, huh? You know I don't like liars, I disrespect them, but I disrespect the greedy ones liars even more. My videos was monetized on those channels and NOBODY WARNED ME ABOUT THAT. I just got an excuse like "I asked some artists in the past and they was okay with monetization". Well duh? If one person said "yes" that doesn't mean you can just being a sly shit and don't ask people about monetization their content ever again. You HAVE TO ask artists about that! Somebody can be against it! This content is NOT YOURS, so that's terrible to make moneys on works of artists who probably get NOTHING for their works. Nothing but love and appreciation, and sometimes they even doesn't have this too. And that's sad.

I can understand you have to pay dubbers for their voices and work, David, but you had to ask about monetization anyway. That's just not cool. I don't know about people in your crew and I don't know are they even know about that, but I'm really disappointed. I can say thanks to Jordan Woollen for his voice. Btw – he's good in voice acting and I can be grateful to him for those minutes of happiness. I don’t think that is his fault.

If keeping of these channels is too hard for you – maybe you should find something what will fits you more? Something where you will not need to lie to people or making something like this. I dunno, maybe you can be a better person? Or you just like to make people feel bad or thinks about they're cruel with you… Who knows? You told my stuff has been deleted from your channels, but you didn't. Some of the videos are hidden, and I can see that because I have links. So why are you lying to me again? Just delete them, I'll not allow to bring them back. Because I can't trust you now.

Limited is not the same thing as deleted, my friend.

That was heartbreaking. I LOVED those dubs with all my soul and I couldn't even imagine all will end like this. I just disappointed and this story was broke me on a couple of days. But after I recovered myself, I decided to make this post. I just can't hold it in my soul anymore…

If I got a true apology with something like "yes, I understand how hard to be an artist and how much strength you spent to make arts and comics, so I'm sorry. It was my mistake that I did not tell you" maybe I could allow you to continue to make dubs. But you started to feed me with excuses about how hard that was for you. You totally forgot about my feelings. I don't have any hate to you, David. And I don't call people to hate you for what you've done. I just told them my story. Maybe you lied some of them as you done with me, and now they will decide what to do by themselves. But think about it and stop acting like this to people. Please.

Dear voice actors, I begging you – please, ask permissions before making dubs, talk with artists about all the issues. Ask them about monetization, about their characters, credits, etc. Please, respect their feelings and make a good things! I love dubs and I'm always want to support good dubbers, so don't play with feelings of people. We're doing are best to make a cool stories which you could dub. And some of us ready to pay you for this. Because you’re bring some good vibes with your dubs when you making them with love and desire.

Dear artists – be careful with some kind of offers. Talk with dubbers and ask them about everything. Do not be shy to make it, and if you don't like something – tell them about it before it's too late. Don't be such a softie like I was.

Guys, do not be a dicks, respect each other and try to become better on the next year. Artists, comic dubbers – y'all great while you respect the work of each other. We all have hard work, so be good people and don't lie to anybody. Thank you for your attention, Marry Chrysler and happy holidays!

#long post #signal boost #text post

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call-me-captain-gally · 3 years

Text

Chapter One: Welcome to the Glade

I awoke to pitch-black nothingness, a siren wailing in my ears. My head pounding and my palms sweaty. I was feeling nauseous; like I had to throw up but, for some reason, I couldn't, as if I hadn't eaten in days or something. My mouth was dry and my ears were ringing with the sound of the siren. That God-awful siren. Gosh, did I wish it would just stop! Where in the world was it coming from? I tried to move my head to look around, but the pain was too much to bear. There wasn't enough light to see anything anyway, it seemed.

I lay there on the cold surface of whatever this thing was that I was stuck in until I couldn't lie still anymore. I had no track of time; it could have been hours, or it could have been minutes. Seconds, even. Knowing myself, it was most likely the latter. Knowing myself... Who am I? I tried my hardest to think, to remember something—anything. This just made my already terrible headache seem worse—if that was even possible. I tried to shut my mind off and stop thinking, but it wasn't working.

I finally got the strength to lift my head. I looked around but it was useless; all I could see was darkness. Where am I? I thought. I lifted myself to my hands and knees, wincing at the pain. I closed my eyes and felt around, crawling on the floor, until I hit a wall. I then stayed against the wall and felt my way around the area, bumping into some hard and seemingly cube-shaped objects along the way. I seemed to be in some cage-like containment filled with nothing but crates and myself. How did I get here? I tried my best to remember how and when I fell asleep; maybe that would give me some insight as to why I was currently in a cage. Nothing came.

My headache still hadn't gone away and neither had the siren. The loud noise was not doing anything to help my stupid memory. Suddenly, though, a word popped into my head. Not just any word, either, but a name. Marie. That must be my name, I thought, Marie. I tried hard to remember something else, but I couldn't for some reason. I kept feeling like I almost remember something but then the thought would vanish before I knew what it was, as if every time I got close to remembering something, something, or someone, stole it away and put it just out of my reach. Close enough to torment and frustrate me, but not close enough to remember.

Suddenly, the cage jerked upward with a metallic sound, slamming my body against the cold, hard floor of the cage once again. I tried to steady myself but the cage was still moving upward, the siren somehow getting even louder the further up I went. Giving in to the pain, I lay there limp and whimpering until the cage jerked again, this time stopping. The siren was louder than ever now but wasn't the only sound. I could also hear a group of people mumbling and whispering among themselves. It was still dark, but I felt my way to the nearest crate and turned with my head away from it. Then I laid on my back and kicked it as hard as I could. After a few more kicks, it finally gave way, just as a bright light suddenly filled the area. My eyes had finally somewhat adjusted to the darkness, making the light painful and blinding.

I shielded my eyes and blinked hard a few times, trying to get my vision back to normal. Now that my cage was open, the murmurs had gotten louder, and I could hear conversations and remarks.

"Wow." Someone said. Most definitely a boy.

"What is it?" Someone else replied. Another boy.

"What do you mean, 'what is it', it's obviously a bloody girl, you Slinthead." Said another. This one closer and with an odd accent. Slinthead?

There were remarks of, "A girl?" and "Is she hot?" and "How old is she?" and "What's she look like?" and "Why a Girl?" as well as other things of the sort. Followed by lots of laughter and chuckling. And then a deep laugh; one that stood out from the rest. It seemed closer, like the boy with the interesting accent.

Are there any girls here? I thought. It didn't seem like it.

"And how would you know, Newt? It's not like you've seen one." The boy with a deep voice laughed again.

"Just slim it and shut up. All of you!" Said another deep voice, this one raspy. "I'm going down there."

Then a thump as a tall, young-looking boy with short black hair jumped down, staring at me. He headed in my direction and so I reached into the crate I had broken, looking for the heaviest or sharpest object I could find. Anything I could use to defend myself, should it come to that. I saw the light reflecting off of something shiny and looked over, seeing a dagger. Perfect! I reached over and gripped my hand around the handle just as the boy crouched over me, close enough for me to take in every feature of his face. He had blue-green eyes that just seemed all too familiar, even though I was quite certain I had never seen this boy in my life. His lips were pink and chapped and his face was sweaty and dirty and slightly freckled and burnt from all of the time he seemingly spent in the sun. He had a scratch on his cheek and a small scab on his big nose. But all of that was nothing compared to his eyebrows. It was slightly humorous; they were arched more than anyone I had ever seen before—not that I really remembered any people I had met before now. There were no real memories, just glimpses of faces that meant nothing to me, and I was hit once again with the feeling of those memories being stolen and put just out of my reach.

I was taken aback and hesitated to lift the blade. When I did, though, he grabbed it with one hand and put his other up to show he meant no harm. Or, at least, that he wanted me to believe that he meant no harm.

"Whoa there, Greenie. No need to try 'n kill me, just tryna help." He said. His deep voice was slightly harsh and scratchy yet somehow calming at the same time, even in the situation I was in. But I still didn't know if I could trust him. I took my hand out of his, along with the dagger, and threw the dagger to the other side of my cage. There was no way I was letting him have it. He looked in the direction I threw the blade then back at me, smirking.

"Got ourselves a feisty one, don't we shank?" I heard from above. Again with the weird words!

The boy's smile faded, "I said shut it!" he yelled up to the group of people. He started to stand, reaching out his hand for me to take. I sat there, unmoving, refusing to take the hand of a stranger that I still wasn't sure was a friend or a foe.

He sighed. "Look, Girl. You don't have to come with me, but would you at least get out of the box?"

"I have a name, you know." I glared at him as I stood and started to climb out of the box.

"You remember it already?" He replied, climbing faster than me because of his tall build.

"Yeah, it's—it's the only thing that I can seem to remember," I answered.

He got to the top and climbed out, then stopped and nodded. I stopped too, not quite out of the box yet.

"What's with that?" I questioned at the same time that he asked "What is it?"

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"Your name. What is it?" He asked again.

"Oh, um, Marie," I answered. "I think..."

"Well then, Marie," he said, reaching out his hand again. This time I took it; I still may not be able to trust him, but, if I had to come out of the box and see all those other people, I would probably feel better with someone else by my side anyway, regardless of who he is or the fact that I met him just seconds ago.

He half-smiled when I took his hand and helped me get to my feet; it was the only kind of smile I had seen on his face, and I found myself wondering if he ever smiled full-on. Then I realized I was staring and quickly looked away from him and out to the crowd of people. I had guessed correctly, there wasn't another girl in sight. They were all boys varying in age and size.

"Welcome to the Glade." he finished.

#maze runner #the maze runner #maze runner fanfiction #the maze runner fanfiction #maze runner fandom #the maze runner fandom #the glade #welcome to the glade

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wroammin · 4 years

Text

chicken noodle soup

pairings: logicality

word count: 1816

warnings: none that i’m aware of

summary: based on a headcanon that logan has more trouble conjuring up items than the others because it requires imagination. patton finds logan recovering after his latest experiment and decides some soup & company couldn’t hurt.

This wasn’t the first time Patton had ever dealt with a conjured-out side.

Roman had a tendency to get a little overexcited whenever he was struck by a particularly grand idea, so it wasn’t entirely uncommon to find the fanciful side asleep on the couch, surrounded by a varying assortment of conjured-up props, costumes, or scenery, and a blanket (or the occasional purple hoodie) draped over him lazily.

And since Patton could never just leave him there, Roman would more often than not wake up to a cold bowl of soup and a Disney movie paused right at the start, ready to play. Not to mention, a certain moral side would always be taking a little nap nearby, inevitably having dozed off after waiting for Roman to wake up.

Still, Patton got the feeling that Logan wouldn’t appreciate rewatching Pinocchio as much as the princely side would, so that was out.

It was a pretty strange sight to behold, the logical side passed out on the couch. His glasses were ever-so-slightly askew on his face, and his normally neat hair was falling over his eyes. Patton knew that Logan would undoubtedly fix his frames and bangs with a single, swift motion if he was awake, but he wasn’t. Patton had the sudden urge to do it for him.

Instead, Patton just shook his head softly and looked over at the microwave that was heating up Logan’s chicken noodle soup, which the moral side had had to dig farther back in the pantry to find than he would have liked. The yellow light emitting from inside the metal box was the only thing illuminating their small kitchen space, so when it flickered off as soon as the microwave’s timer finally ended, Patton was left in complete darkness. Walking over, Patton dragged the bowl he’d pulled out of a cupboard earlier to the microwave and poured the soup into it, hastily fishing a spoon out of the silverware cabinet with his other hand.

He plopped the spoon into the soup with a small splash, turned on a light for the living room, then set about creating a makeshift table for Logan at the sofa with the sturdiest pillows he could find and stack on top of each other. Patton had just about managed a total table altitude of five pillows, when he noticed Logan quietly beginning to stir.

The logical side let out a little groan, which Patton took as his cue to go fetch the soup that had been cooling off in the kitchen for the past couple of minutes. When he got back, bowl cradled in his hands, Logan was sitting upright, his glasses and bangs already pushed back into their precise positions.

“I heated you up some chicken noodle soup.” Patton started, smiling and holding up the bowl.

“I’m not sick.” Logan replied brusquely, reaching a hand up to his temple as if he had a headache. His hand slowly trailed down to his shirt collar, then began patting the couch around him in search of his missing tie.

“Oh, yep! Almost forgot,” Patton conjured up Logan’s tie with a wave of his hand, hooking a thumb over the rim of the soup bowl to keep it steady. “I untied it for you since you looked uncomfortable.”

Logan took the tie from Patton’s outstretched hand silently and swung it around his neck. Patton just looked on with a grin.

The logical side glanced up and faltered in the middle of his tying motion. That was… a very bright smile.

Clearing his throat, he tried summoning up his manners. “I… uh, thank you, Patton.”

Logan cast his gaze downward, flipping his collar the same direction as he finished up tying his tie. Patton beamed, offering the logical side the soup bowl still held in his hands and nearly sloshing half of its contents into said side’s lap.

“It’s no problem, Logan! Soup!”

Logan quirked a brow up at the moral side, but he seemed to be questioning more if his ears were working properly and Patton did, in fact, just say the word “soup” at the end of his phrase.

“I mean, I made you some! Soup, that is. Chicken noodle.”

“Oh,” Logan said, “Thank you, I suppose?”

“Youuuu’re welcome! I know you must be tired, so I can just leave it here if you want.”

“Tired?” He frowned, “Why would I be…”

As Logan trailed off, Patton cocked his head slightly to the side like a puppy.

“Was I– Did I conjure myself out?” Logan inquired, looking aghast.

“I think so,” Patton told him, “You were already out like a light when I rose up, but you had a bunch of papers all around you! Took me a while to clean ‘em all up. Anyway, soup!”

Logan suddenly tried standing up, but as soon as his back left the couch, gravity knocked him right back down in a dizzy whirl.

“Whoa, there, Lo.” Patton finally set down the soup on the makeshift pillow-table, gently laying his hand on Logan’s shoulder to keep him from trying to get up again.

The logical side blinked and reached up a hand to the side of his own head again. Patton briefly wondered if he’d never had a headache before.

Cautiously, Patton tried to soften his voice as he spoke, “Why don’t you just try to relax and have some nice, warm-ish, chicken noodle soup?”

“Patton, is… is this the same can of chicken noodle soup that is supposed to expire tomorrow?” Logan was now eyeing the bowl warily.

“Maybe.” The moral side admitted. Logan frowned, then sighed.

“I… Oh, alright. But only because I seem to have a terrible headache at the moment and– is that a table made out of pillows?”

Patton turned to look at the pillow-table, then aimed a small, sheepish grin over at Logan.

“Mayyyyybe.”

“Actually, maybe I should go to my room–”

“No, no, wait, I can conjure up a better table, just gimme a sec!” Patton pleaded, despite knowing that Logan couldn’t stand up in order to sink down into his room even if he tried.

The moral side scooped up the bowl of soup in one hand and patted the air next to him with the other, a much sturdier table poofing into existence. Patton placed the bowl on its surface, then put his hands on his hips, satisfied with his work.

Logan looked a little nauseous watching Patton conjure things up so easily.

“How do you do that?” He mumbled. Patton laughed good-naturedly.

“Well, I know you can do it, too, judging from all those papers I found around you.”

“Ah, do you happen to still have those?”

“Of course I do! Anything worth conjuring yourself out over must be important.” Patton waved a hand over the table, and a neat stack of papers appeared by the bowl.

Logan leaned forward carefully and rifled through the sheaf. Apparently content, he dropped them back down on the table.

“What was so important about those papers that they were worth passing out over, anyway?” Patton asked, sliding the soup bowl closer to Logan, who looked less than eager to consume its nearly-expired contents.

Nevertheless, the logical side picked up the spoon and carefully tested the heat of the soup with a small sip. It was lukewarm, but the broth was at the very least soothing to his throat.

“Oh, they’re just some… tests.”

Patton’s eyes widened as he glanced at the tall stack of sheets. “Gee, Teach, what’s the subject?”

“Experiments, Patton. They’re experiments.”

Patton’s mouth formed an “O” shape.

Logan sighed, “I wanted to test my conjuring abilities. So far, I can conjure up about a ream of paper before I…”

“Pass out?” Patton supplied.

His brows furrowed. “Yes.”

The moral side watched Logan quietly for a moment. Then, he hopped over the now-abandoned pillow table and sat on the couch.

“Virgil has trouble conjuring up the right things sometimes,” Patton stared down at the floor as if remembering a fond memory, “He’s so used to imagining the worst outcomes and scenarios possible, so whenever the kiddo tries to conjure up something nice it can get a little… distorted.”

“I thought Roman was helping him with that.” Logan mentioned.

“He is!” Patton responded, “And, actually, I was going to mention that he could help you, too.”

“I don’t need help. I only wanted to find my limit, and I did.”

“...Did you have to exhaust yourself finding it?” Patton commented, his voice laced with an emotion Logan couldn’t recognize. Whatever it was, Logan immediately decided he didn’t like it.

He turned his upper body to face the moral side. Patton’s brows were knit together and his eyes were still pointed at the floor.

“Perhaps… Perhaps asking Roman for some assistance isn’t such a bad idea. I should probably put the data I gathered to some kind of use, anyway.”

Patton met his eyes and gave him a small but hopefully genuine smile. Logan decided he liked it.

The moral side stood up and hopped back over the pillow table once again. “Alrighty, well, I guess I’ll leave you to your soup-er duper awesome soup now!”

Logan groaned. “Suddenly, my headache is worsening.”

“Aw, Logan, I didn’t mean to broth-er you with my soup pun!”

The logical side must have been truly delirious, because he found himself smothering a smile by shoving a spoonful of soup in his mouth.

Patton laughed, and Logan was definitely delirious, because he could have sworn it was the best sound he’d ever heard.

“Okay, okay, I’ll actually leave you be. Do you think you can summon me if you need me?”

“I don’t usually summon anyone.” Logan responded automatically, but something about the falter in Patton’s smile made him add, “But I can probably summon you. If I need to.”

“If you need to!” Patton responded jubilantly, “Enjoy your soup, Lo!” He waved as he sunk down.

“Wait,” Logan spoke up. Patton shot back up, his hand frozen mid-wave.

“Uh, yeah?”

Logan hadn’t thought he’d get this far. Well, he hadn’t thought he’d be in this situation in the first place, but that was another train of thought altogether.

“You can... stay. Maybe. If you’d like.” A stray hair slipped down to Logan’s forehead, but, strangely, the logical side was too busy looking at Patton to push it back in place.

Meanwhile, said moral side was discovering that his heart was apparently very good at gymnastics.

“Stay...” Patton mumbled dreamily, then shook his head with an almost cartoonish fervor. “I mean, yes! I’ll stay! I can put on a nature documentary if you want or we can just talk or maybe not since you have to eat your soup– eat your soup? Drink it? Slurp it? Anyway–”

“Patton,” Logan didn’t bother hiding the small smile that graced his features this time. “A nature documentary will do.”

#sanders sides #patton sanders #logan sanders #logicality #long post #roman sanders #oneshot #sanders sides fanfiction #fanfic #emma's stuff #oh my god i am so glad that i am DONE with this #i’m going to be honest i lowkey do not like how this ended up at all #but now that it’s posted it’s DONE and i never have to think about it again #but yeah fair warning i did fairly little editing on this bc i was literally so eager to get it over with #full permission to roast any typos or cliché lines i left in

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greenninjagal-blog · 4 years

Text

The Rumor Mill Game (pt2)

You guys asked, and I have no self control at all. Have some more Intrulogical, now with Plot(tm). If you missed part one you can find it [here!]

Summary: If he thought himself a king of the office, then Logan was honored to be the guillotine. [aka When his coworker, Remus, decides to play a game, Logan is going to make sure he regrets it. Even if its the last thing he does.]

Words: 3506

Quick taglist: @chelsvans @faithfulcat111 @felicianoromano @holliberries @jemthebookworm @killerfangirl3 @silverflame-wc @stricken-with-clairvoyancy @thenaiads @treasureofpriam @midnightmagi @shadowjag @residentanchor

Read on Ao3 || My General Writing Masterlist

When Logan had first put on the ring, he hadn’t expected it to end like this.

But that was mostly his own folly: Logan should have realized that based on his (lack of) knowledge concerning the behaviors of Remus Prince, his imagined plan of action would be....upended. After all, he had barely known the man beyond the occasional sight of him in the break room where he teetered on the edge of the counter sitting much like a king as his subjects bowed before him.

Logan was of the sound impression that absolutely everyone who had been hired for his company was of the particularly stupid brand. Often times he had imagined his boss had sat down in the interviews and hired the first person who walked in and smiled, because clearly Beatrice from Accounting did not know what she was doing and her inability to use Excel spreadsheets had led him to far too many late nights correcting her work.

It was one such night that had lead to this...this ludicrous situation: Logan had been in his office all day practically tearing his hair out over his coworkers inability to count (what did you do with the decimal point, Kyle? Where did this five come from? Why are you all so inept?) and his coffee had gone cold, and he should have been leaving an hour ago, but these pages had been due two weeks ago and Logan hated leaving things unfinished.

He had a headache brewing from staring at his screen for so long. He peeled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes until they watered before glancing at the clock in the bottom of his screen. After a quick and efficiently ruthless curse towards Janet for being so late to turn in any of her sheets, he scooted back in his chair and had left to refill in coffee mug.

The office floor had been deserted for the most part. Logan should have been grateful, because that meant less possible nonsense to distract him from his work.

But unfortunately, he was quite familiar with Jen’s hair in a loose-but-still-formal bun and Quin’s scarf that they wore like a talisman to ward off bad omens. They clutched it the second they noticed Logan approaching the two of them, as if he had been coming to deliver an upsetting diagnosis and not to use the coffee machine they were standing in front of.

And because Logan was absolutely not in the mood to talk to either of them, Jen had caught sight of him and puffed her cheeks in anger, like some sort of puffer fish. She tuned to face him fully with her arms on her hips and gave him some equivalent to a “death glare”, as Logan assumed people would call it.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“I work here,” Logan said, perhaps a little snappish, “Now, might I get to the coffee machine?”

She had huffed, tapped her foot thrice, and then shuffled to the side just enough that Logan could get to the coffee machine.

Thankfully, just enough was still technically enough. He placed his mug beside the coffee maker and checked the cartridge for leftover used grinds because-- once again-- all of his coworkers were extremely disappointing when it came to using their brains.

Jen huffed again and she was close enough that absolutely all of Logan’s internal alarms started ringing. He snapped the cartridge --thankfully clean, Logan ideally wondered if maybe it was possible they were learning. Oh wouldn’t that be a miracle?-- closed and debated giving up on the coffee all together. But he could still see grid patterns when he closed his eyes, so he dug out his preferred coffee brand and set up the maker.

Quin opened their mouth and closed it again several times. It was clear from the way they shifted on their feet and and looked anywhere but at Jen or him that they were uncomfortable. Logan found himself praying to gods that he didn’t believe in that they would hold off until he had his coffee and was safely back in his office.

“I see Remus cleaned your mug.” Quin mumbled softly because the gods that Logan didn’t believe in don’t exist and he was on this planet purely to suffer.

But they had made a semi-valid point. Remus had cleaned his cup just as Logan had requested--just as was basic human politeness when using something of someone else’s possession, regardless of the fact that Remus Prince had not asked permission to use it in the first place. Logan felt his nose twitch in irritation at the memory of the other day.

“Yes,” Logan said between his gritted teeth. Had the coffee machine always been this slow? Or perhaps it was showing its age by taking longer to make his miserable coffee. He was sure that he could move some funds around to get them a new machine by Thursday if he could just make it back to his office--

“That’s all you have to say?” Jen sniped, “Just “Yes”? Unbelievable!”

“If you have an issue,” Logan said to her, “Please keep it to yourself.”

She slammed a hand on the counter, “I cannot believe you! Perfect Logan Ackroyd! You’re just like all the rest of them!”

“Curious how this sounds very much like you are not keeping your issue to yourself,” Logan commented.

“Jen--” Quin said, but she acted much like puddle of gasoline after a match dropped on it.

She got red in the face and her neat eyebrows smashed together as she stared down him with a snarl that most certainly did not belong in the workplace. She stamped her foot like some sort of child-- honestly? Logan shouldn’t have been surprised seeing how he had been able to hear the meltdown that happened after her messy breakup with Kyle. It had been so loud that Remus had even had the gall to look moderately shocked when everything had gone down.

“Where do you guys get off on taking advantage of your significant other’s trust in you?” Jen growled, “Is it fun for you? Do you not care about our feelings? Maybe we weren’t so far off when we said you were a robot, Mr. Ackroyd! You’re cold and cruel and I hope that when your affair comes to light--”

“Jennifer,” Logan hissed, “choose your next words extremely carefully, because I have spent eleven hours going over spreadsheets that have been done wrong and am not in the mood to listen to you prattle about lost love. In case you have forgotten, I very much have control over your sector and it will only take three emails to have you demoted and-or removed from this company.”

Jen’s mouth snapped shut.

Logan thought that was the first merciful thing that had happened all day. He picked up his coffee, holding it tightly in his hand despite the heat radiating off it and headed out of the breakroom.

He stopped at the door, as the dregs of the conversation spun through his brain. “Did you imply that I was having an affair?”

Quin was wringing their hands and Jen was clawing her nails into the counter. Still, they nodded.

“Who told you that?”

And really, Logan should have expected the answer. Of course it was Remus Prince, the advertising privateer who had turned the entire company into some sort of drama circus with his half truths and his lack of a mouth filter.

The Robot Extravaganza had stolen the peace and quiet of Logan’s work atmosphere and driven him up the figurative walls. That week alone had eight times more people rapping on his door frame than he had had in the entire year previously. And of course that ridiculous white board they had put up in the far wall as if Logan was incapable of reading and comprehending words. It was unprofessional and childish and Logan had barely gotten any work done when he had been constantly interrupted with mundane questions of “Logan do you need to eat?”, “Logan how do you shower without rusting?”, “Logan do you have batteries or do you plug yourself in at night?”, “Logan!”, “Logan!”, “Logan!”.

Not to mention the way that Remus had laughed the entire time as if he found the idea of Logan being harassed particularly amusing. And Logan hated that laugh. It was terrible and awful and grating, and it made Logan want to tear out his hair because it sounded so much like---

“Is that so,” Logan said absently to Jen and Quin. “Remus Prince told you I was having an affair.”

He shifted to hold his mug with both hands, his eyes slipping over to that counter where Remus had been sitting before, with that same mug between his legs daring suggestive thoughts. How many times had Logan seen him sitting there looking like he could control the whole world with a few crass comments?

It was a game to him, wasn’t it? A game that Remus loved to play because he always won.

And who better to fix that than Logan who had been craving for revenge like it was a figurative itch under his very skin?

“Ah, well then,” Logan said and then because he was very much not the type to let people misinterpret him, he added, “I hadn’t realized my husband’s antics would upset you so much, Jen. I apologize on his behalf.”

That got their attentions real quick. Quin’s neck cracked with the force of which they turned their head to look him in the eye. Jen blinked several times as if she was having trouble processing things.

“Husband?” Jen repeats, as if she hadn’t heard the term before.

Logan straightened his back, “I’ll repeat myself slower since this seems to be overwhelming for your small brain. Remus Prince and I are married.”

“You’re a real asshole!” She covered her mouth and then fluttered her hands in a bootless waste of motions. “You’re serious? Wait of course you are! How could I forget, necktie! Oh my god, you’re serious. You and Remus?”

Logan took a sip of his coffee. “I have spreadsheets to amend.”

“Wait wait wait! I want details! Logan get back, here!” Jen screeched after him.

Logan wondered vaguely if this was the reason why Remus spread these rumors so often: the short zappy thrill that had ignited his neurons was much more effective than his coffee could ever hope to be. And Jen had believed him without a hesitance-- which truly was revealing of her hot headed nature. It was, dare he say, exciting. He hadn’t felt this way since his college lab days when he had tackled the creation of experiments with unbridled vigour.

Just how much was she willing to accept just because Logan had been the one to tell her? Just how wild of an accusation could Logan offer up before she wisened up? How quickly would this get back to Remus?

Logan itched to set up an experiment to test it all out. After all he would only get one chance to do this: most certainly when Remus gathered wind of how Logan had turned his false information back on him, Remus would come clean and admit that they had never even seen each other.

It would ruin both of their reputations. Remus as someone who spread truths, and Logan as someone who could be believed in every instance.

But Remus would still choose it over allowing anyone in the work area to think they were married. Logan knew this easily, obviously, irrefutably. They were strangers, not even acquaintances.

“Janet! Janet!” Jen screeched surprisingly loud for someone of her stature. “Janet did you know that Remus and Logan are married?”

Logan hadn’t realized Janet was still there at all, but at the accusation she flung backwards from her cubical in her rolling office chair and nearly crashed into Logan on just feet from his private office door.

“Run that by me again!” She demanded, “Remus and Logan?”

Logan opened his door and let himself in but before he could close it, Janet wedged her foot in the way.

“No way! Remus doesn’t wear a ring!”

“Allergic to metals,” Logan listed off the top of his head.

“You don’t wear a ring, either!” Janet said grabbing at his hand and nearly causing him to spill his coffee.

And well….

Quin, Jen, and Janet were all standing at his door, ready to believe whatever he said. He could have just said he was also allergic to metals too, but there was dubious gleam in Janet’s eyes, because yes, this is the sole thing she seemed to be knowledgeable about.

If Janet didn’t believe him now, then Jen would get even more upset at him than before and that would ruin the surprise for Remus tomorrow. A half baked revenge wouldn’t be nearly as good as the one he was expecting.

So he needed a ring.

His eyes slipped over his shoulder to the dinner jacket slumped on the chair in the corner of the room, crumpled and abandoned and gathering dust with the filing cabinet and the box of records that Logan had arranged his first week on the job.

He needed a ring.

And really it was just for one night.

He could pretend.

So Logan swallowed the sudden unexpected lump in his throat and tracked the three steps to the chair to dig the silver band from the pocket. He tried to remember how long it had been there, how long he had tried shoving it from his mind, and pretending like it and the jacket and that night had never existed.

It had been a reminder for so long now: like a flashing sign in the night had warned him that a relationship would never be worth that again, that romantic pursuits were frivolous and fleeting and meaningless.

Regardless, it felt like putting on one of his favorite ties, like slipping into his shoes that were broken in perfectly, like it was made for him.

(It hadn’t been and wasn’t that the most ridiculous part of the story?)

It was only for one night, so he let Jen and Janet and Quin ogle over it and answered their questions efficiently. He tore into Remus’s reputation as subtly as he could, making Quin flee the room and Janet fan her face and Jen cackle. He made up a story about a summer wedding, about a honeymoon he thought was just ridiculous, about late night activities he could never imagine doing with anyone.

And when they left, Logan had stared at the band engraved so delicately for another ten minutes.

“A robot,” Logan said to himself.

Is that what he had thought, too?

Logan shook his head to clear his mind. He tossed the ring in his pencil cup and gathered his bag and car keys.

If he allowed himself to ignore the lapse in reality, he could even pretend like using the ring in this fashion was the same as saying “Fuck you” to the man he had almost married a year ago.

It was just one night, and an hour or so tomorrow morning after all.

Logan arrived the next day earlier than normal, which was an unexpected surprise. He got to flick on the lights and watch the floor illuminate itself. His shoes made a lovely type of clack on the tiling.

It used to feel lonely, being this early to work, but Logan found himself distracted by the anticipation of the days promised events.

He finished correcting Janet's spreadsheets and sent them off for proper filing, reorganized his desk, slipped on his ring, and managed to get his coffee brewed before most of the office had come alive.

"Holy shit," he heard Kyle whisper to Max, "Is Logan smiling?"

Curious. It seemed that he was. Logan settled himself against the wall of the break room, Remus’s preferred cup in hand, where he had an excellent view of the cubical where Remus came up with his schemes. Jen, Janet, and Beatrice were already huddling around the entrance, much like a committee of domesticated vultures preparing for a feast.

By the time that Remus showed up to the office, running three minutes late, Logan was nearly giddy. Perhaps he could understand why Remus did what he did, if this was the sort of feeling that he experienced every time he opened his mouth.

Logan had seen many beautiful things in his lifetime; one of his hobbies was visiting art museums, art galleries, movie premieres and the likes while on his mandatory three weeks of time off from work. Still nothing could quite capture the glee that was invoked directly into Logan when Remus’s eyes had widened and his jaw dropped and his face flushed with embarrassment when Quinn squeaked at the sight of him.

Remus Prince looked like a work of art when the world dumped him on the floor and left him too shocked to speak.

If he thought himself a king of the office, then Logan was honored to be the guillotine.

Except.

“Logie!” Remus whined, throwing his arms up, “I thought we agreed to keep it a secret!”

Logan’s smile vaporized, almost instantly, “Wait--”

“You Mischievous Mathematician, You!” Remus giggled crossing the area far quicker than a person should be able to cross that distance. Logan blinked and suddenly Remus was right in front of him, a foot, half a foot, a handful of inches. And his voice only seemed to get louder, bolder, more excited with every step. Logan had a hypothesis that all twenty eight of the workers on the floor were watching them with baited breath.

“Well I’m happy!” Remus said loudly for Kyle and Jen and Janet and Beatrice and, and, and-- “I’ve missed getting lunch together! Let’s go to the sandwich shop down the street!”

“Absolutely not--”

“Or we could do that Thai restaurant that’s your favorite!” Remus said, which tripped Logan up because Remus had noticed he preferred Thai? Logan couldn’t even remember the last time he had Thai! How could Remus have possibly known he liked Thai?

“I’ll pay!” Remus said when Logan hadn’t responded quick enough to turn down the lunch proposal. “Oh this is going to be so much fun, Lolo!”

And Remus came in far too close, closer than anyone has been to him in a year. His eyes were brown with flecks of green dark enough to seem like a swamp at Twilight. They gleamed as he fluttered his lashes at Logan and his mouth curls into a pointed smile.

“Let’s play,” Remus said so softly that Logan himself could barely hear it. And then he pulled back, and stepped away with Logan’s coffee in his hands. He took a long sip and licked his lip afterwards. “Mmm! Just how I like it Lo! You’re so good to me!”

Logan knew for a fact that Remus did not like black coffee. He’d seen the numbers that went into buying creamer for the break room.

Just what did Remus think he was doing? Playing along with Logan’s rumor reversal? Encouraging it?

Remus smiled at him. “Lunch it is!” He said and waved Logan goodbye with his fingers.

Of course Logan could out him right there, right then. All he had to say was that it was a lie and that he and Remus were in no way married and he had no intentions of having lunch together. But for some reason the words seemed to be figuratively jammed in his throat, leaving him with nothing more than splutterings to vocalize his frustration.

Fine. Logan inhaled through his nose, curled his lip, and twisted his watch on his left hand to center his thoughts. Remus would like to play a game?

Fine. Logan could play a game with him.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, dearest?” Logan said before Remus could get too far away.

He could see the way Remus’s eyes light up at the nickname, the twitch of his mustache where he was struggling not to laugh too boldly. “Am I?”

“I did make you coffee. Do you not tip your barista?”

“Ah,” Remus swirled the mug, “And how does my “barista” like his tips then?”

When Logan had put on the ring, he had not expected to end up with Remus’s lips on his.

And yet.

Remus kissed like he was dying and wanted to make every second last, like he was living for the moment, like he had nothing left too lose. Logan thought it was ridiculous that he tasted like pickles this early in the morning.

“I think you’ll find I won’t fold that easily, Specs,” Remus breathed when he pulled back.

Logan replied, “May the best man win.”

And then he took his coffee back out of Remus’s hands and headed back to his office with that ring firmly on his hand. It appeared that he would need it for just a bit longer.

Part Three

#intrulogical #sanders sides #logan sanders #remus sanders #Far too many OCs gross #Rumor Mill Au #Revenge getting #rumors #well fake marriage #sympathetic remus

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beyondconfessor · 3 years

Text

Principal Decisions [13/24]

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Lilith/Zelda Spellman

Summary: “Not even a thank you?” Lilith asked before tutting. “Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

N.B.: Also posted on AO3. This is pure fantasy, please suspend your disbelief.

Zelda glared at the nurse. It was in the small hours of the morning, and the young girl, barely out of training, was shivering under her stare, voice shaking as she advised, once again, “a doctor needs to sign you off before we can discharge you.”

“Ridiculous, go and get one then.”

“He’ll be around later,” she said.

Zelda huffed, and the girl, apparently seeing that as an opportune moment, decided to exit the room. Apparently considering her ops for the shift completed.

Honestly, after a bad night’s sleep, the last thing she wanted was to be dealing with the fact that she would need to cancel today’s class––and if things continued in such a way, she might have to cancel tomorrows as well, because apparently, she was entirely reliant on some fucking doctor who hadn’t bothered to check on her since yesterday, to provide permission for her to leave.

There’d also been the whispers of a repeat MRI and CT scan, which was the very last thing she needed. It’d been a very small bleed with a minimal fracture and was likely to be absolutely fine. There was no reason to make such a fuss. After all, she was a grown, fucking woman. She should leave. Get up and leave.

It wasn’t like Lilith had any real power over her. She could just put her shoes on (given that she was dressed in a new set of clothes provided by Hilda) call a cab and take her back home where she’d find her emergency credit card and pay it that way.

And yet she didn’t. She sat on the chair next to the hospital bed, dressed, hair combed, make-up done and waited.

There was a knock on the doorframe then, and then Lilith was entering the room, her handbag in tow.

Zelda stood up, smoothing down her skirt and reached out to take the bag.

“Not even a thank you?” Lilith asked before tutting. “Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

“Thank you,” Zelda said tightly and reached for the bag, only for it to be pulled out of reach. Well, she was hardly going to chase for it.

Crossing her arms, Zelda glared at her, waiting for Lilith’s grin to falter. It didn’t, and instead, Zelda was left to step back and look away, hating how the very sight of Lilith was making her heart beat fast in her chest.

“What do you want, Lilith?”

“Oh, a great many things,” she said, before stepping forward. “How about a proper thank you for finding your bag and bringing it to you.”

“If you had brought it with you in the first place, we wouldn’t be here.”

“I’m going to ignore your bad attitude because you’ve suffered a concussion, but I would be more thankful if I were you. I didn’t have to bring it, I could have waited for you to come out of the hospital and claim it yourself.”

Zelda scoffed. “You are insufferable.”

“And you adore it. Now…” she paused and her bright blue eyes looked at Zelda with wide-eyed innocent, patiently waiting for her.

“Thank you, Lilith. I most appreciate the effort you went to,” she advised flatly, seething at the woman.

“Not at all, happy to do it for my favourite client,” she said, handing the bag over to her.

Zelda snatched it with a roll of her eyes, trying to ignore the growing flutter in her chest as she opened it up. Her phone was there, thankfully. There were a few missed calls but nothing to worry about.

Lilith hovered and Zelda’s eyes flicked up to hers. The woman’s face was no longer mischievous, only curious as she seemed to study the cut on Zelda’s forehead.

Earlier, she’d looked at in the mirror and had been horrified to note how terrible the bruising was. Her face looked positively gaunt, and even the make-up Hilda had brought wasn’t enough to cover how unwell she felt, but it was certainly a mark-up from how she’d been.

“Did the doctors say if you can leave?” Lilith asked.

“No,” she sighed. “And the nurses are saying I might have to get another CT or MRI scan completed, which I don’t see the point in.”

“You were unconscious for the entire hospital ride. And were barely coming in and out when you arrived. I would say there’s significant reason to warrant another test.” She frowned, stepping forward then and Zelda bit back the urge to shrink away.

“I’m fine. I’ll speak to the doctor and get…” she felt woozy all of a sudden and then Lilith’s hands were on her shoulders, pushing her back onto the chair to sit down, concern awash as she looked over Zelda. “I’m fine,” she assured.

“Have you asked for the day off from work?”

“Today only,” she said. “Faustus insisted.”

“Blackwood?” Lilith enquired. “Is he your boss?”

Zelda felt nausea roll in her stomach as she looked at Lilith, and wasn’t sure if it was because Lilith knew Faustus or because she had a concussion. “Please don’t tell me he was a client of yours.”

“He was not, but he was…” Lilith sighed, “We used to run in the same circles a few years back. It’s a long story, but no, he and I were adversaries, nothing more.”

Zelda smiled, feeling the relief rush through her. It was an interesting piece of information nonetheless, but if she were to advise of knowing Lilith, it would likely say more about herself than anything else. It’d be difficult to feign only a professional relationship for Sabrina’s wellbeing if she knew such tantalising secrets about Faustus.

“I’m going to get a nurse.”

“I’m fine,” Zelda said, pushing Lilith’s hand away as she looked away. “It’s just a minor blood pressure problem. Nothing a glass of water won’t fix.”

Lilith gave a disapproving look but reached over to where the jug of water sat and poured her a glass despite her disbelief. Zelda took it, took one sip and then held it in her hands, feeling the embarrassment wash over. She wasn’t a child that needed to be taken care of. She was a grown woman who had a hundred things she needed to do before tomorrow and was already behind on the every growing list of things.

“I’m not going to spurt medical advice, because you clearly won’t listen.”

Zelda huffed. “I know myself.”

“Quite. Well, what I will say is that sometimes taking a break will allow you the ability to get ahead in the work you’re falling behind on. You’ll only break yourself if you keep pushing.”

“I’m not a child,” she said lifting her eyes to glare at the woman. She didn’t care how dark Lilith stared back, she was pushing well over the lines of their relationship. “And you’re not my mother.”

“Stop acting like a child then.”

Zelda stared at the woman, feeling an anger burn but Lilith stepped forward and suddenly Zelda felt very small under the woman’s eyes, and she didn’t like it one bit. Never had anyone’s presence so much as made her tremble since she was a little girl.

She met the stare and glared back. “You’re not my partner,” she advised sharply. “You’re someone’s services I request at the best of times, and my niece’s principal, otherwise. Do not overstep that.”

Lilith’s expression fractured then, and she stepped back. All at once, Zelda realised the mistake she made in her words, and yet she couldn’t find the ability to take it back.

“As you prefer,” Lilith said with a nod of her head. “Well, since you’re all fine here, I suppose I’ll head off to comply with my…principal duties.” And then Lilith had turned on her heel and left, and Zelda was left sitting in the room, feeling the words churn in her stomach.

She hadn’t meant to snap, but Lilith had been pushing further than she should. Honestly, she was not mentally unwell. She was exhausted, yes, overworked, of course, but she was hardly depressed and in need of some shoulder to cry on––despite what the dominatrix may think.

No. What she needed was something else. Perhaps this would be a good break from Lilith. A time to self0reflect and draw away before her feelings became any more tangled.

As it was, the doctor requested another MRI, and then, when that had come back showing that the bleed had stopped, she was permitted to go home, only if someone were to pick her up.

At least now she had her phone and was able to have Hilda arrange to pick her up as discharge papers were supplied to her, with a request to obtain another MRI and CT scan within a week and follow-up with her GP. As well as some standard lines about avoiding cigarettes and alcohol for a while.

“Though perhaps this is an opportunity for you to quit smoking,” the nurse advised. “If you were a non-smoker then you would have been less prone to bleeding from the hit.”

Zelda scoffed, snatching the papers from the nurse and leaving with Hilda. Her sister took to acting like a mother hen, helping her into the car and out of it and despite her snapping that she was hardly an invalid, her sister continued to help her all the way to the parlour where she sat her on the couch with a blanket and went off to make her tea, having apparently already made her soup.

If there was one thing she couldn’t resist, it was her sister’s cooking. It gave her time to contemplate Lilith and her relationship quietly and realised that she’d indulged too long in the service. No matter what…relief she may find from it, it was clear that their emotions were becoming too blurred.

It was time to cease seeing her. She didn’t need to see the woman again, and hardly needed to advise as such. She would avoid booking in anything further.

It seemed simple enough as she managed a headache, increased with light sensitivity. Even still when she returned to her position in the school the following day and managed whispered conversations in the halls as she slowly walked from her office to her lecture hall and then back.

The headaches were awful, and daylight, her computer’s screen and the stress of her work agitated it, but she preferred it to the insistent ache that previously drew under her skin.

At least while she was recovering, it seemed that her sex drive had all but disappeared entirely, leaving her at peace during the night.

And it seemed as she focused on her work, weeks passed and Shirley returned, resuming her class without so much as a thank you. All she received was a brief email requesting the most recent assignments to be sent back to her––Zelda had already marked them, but complied, relieved to wash her hands from the stress of that particular workload.

But even as she returned to how things were, she was as reliant on Prudence as she’d been beforehand. It seemed that her newfound headaches were some post-concussive effect, even though there was nothing medically wrong with her brain, Zelda’s doctor suggested that perhaps it was a good opportunity to take a break.

Christmas was coming up, the session was ending, she could extend her leave instead of taking on the winter subjects.

At the very least it would give her an opportunity to spend with her family. Zelda complied, placing in her leave to Faustus who complied with a grimace, knowing that he had no say in it otherwise, and Zelda found herself in December watching as Ambrose and Sabrina decorated the Christmas tree.

Hilda and Sabrina had picked it from the Putnam’s, and Harvey had dropped it off, providing a much-needed brightness to the room, especially with the fire.

Although Zelda continued to take it easy––at the instance of Hilda who continued to mother her despite Zelda’s attempts to ward her off––it was nice to sit on the couch, hot cocoa in hand and watch at Sabrina tossed tinsel at Ambrose.

It reminded her of when both of them had been young, and they would decorate the tree together. It’d been far too many years since she’d born witness to the crafting of the Christmas tree, usually working late in the office, so to sit here and watch it brought both nostalgia and the awareness that she’d missed out on a lot.

“Cuz!” Ambrose said, carefully holding an ornament from years long forgotten. “I remember when you made this.”

Sabrina paused, looking at the ceramic ornament. Zelda recalled it too, Sabrina had been barely three years old and had squished the pattern into what she’d assured Zelda was an angel but turned into more of a blob with arms than anything else.

Sabrina frowned at it, turning it around in her hands. “We don’t need to keep this any more,” she said.

“We certainly do,” Zelda said, standing up and taking it from her hands before Sabrina could whisk it away. “This was the first decoration you made. We’re keeping it.”

“Do you have any of Ambrose’s?”

Zelda hummed, looking through the Christmas box, “I don’t think so. Hilda used to do all sorts of crafts with him, but a lot of that was left in England when they came over,” she said, glancing up at her nephew, “and I suspect that the things that were brought had been disappeared away.”

Ambrose flushed, giving a short laugh before shrugging. “Things change,” he said.

Zelda’s eyes narrowed, but she smiled, not pushing it. “So they say,” she said. Taking the decoration gently in grip, she set it up high on the tree, looping it so it was unlikely to fall. “Now, what are we choosing for the top of the tree this year?”

“Last year was the star,” Ambrose said. “And that ended up falling off half a dozen times.”

“We could go with the angel,” Sabrina said, digging it out from the box. The angel was still in its glory, carefully looked after, blowing on a trumpet. It was an old heirloom, but one Zelda wouldn’t mind if it were to disappear. She took it from Sabrina’s hand and turned it around, feeling memories of her childhood fade as she placed it up on the top of the tree.

So be it, new memories. She stood back, admiring the tree. Neither Ambrose nor Sabrina were particularly gifted in decorating anyway, but Zelda was not so needy to require the tree to look like it came out of some hallmark movie.

“Well, with that in order, shall we pack up the boxes and help your Aunt Hilda finish baking for your teachers?”

Sabrina’s school term still had another two weeks remaining until they broke for Christmas, of which there was to be a final football event that she’d agreed to attend. Zelda wasn't sure if it was an important match or not, and had trouble enough trying to keep up with how sports were ranked in any regards, but Sabrina was attending and she would follow.

She hadn’t heard about Theo in some time, however, and as much as she wished to assume that it was due to him settling in the football position, Zelda suspected that he ended up quitting in the end.

It was frustrating, and it burned Zelda more than she wished it did, but in the end, the boys would only torment him further and it would be unfair to put Theo through that.

The day was enjoyable, however. Zelda’s headaches had begun to ease without the stress of work, and she and Sabrina had thankfully ceased arguing for once. Seeing how Sabrina had taken to earning her own income, using the money to go out on dates with Harvey and her friends, Zelda relinquished her ban and agreed to continue paying her her pocket money.

She had expected that it might leave Sabrina to depart from the bookstore, but instead, her niece took to it, seeming to enjoy the work, and given that Hilda had nothing bad to say, Zelda found herself…oddly relieved.

Perhaps she’d made the right decision, and in turn, perhaps she wasn’t a failing guardian to Sabrina.

In the kitchen, they baked gingerbread cookies. Then Ambrose and Sabrina iced them all as Hilda began the preparations for dinner, leaving Zelda to sip at her whiskey and feel a sense of contentment with her family.

She’d missed them. Truly missed them. The past week especially had made her all the more aware of what she’d missed.

“Oh,” Sabrina said, “Um, Aunt Zee? Roz’s family invited me to go skiing with them for the holidays.”

“How soon?” Zelda asked.

“Christmas Eve until January Third?”

Zelda bit back an ache. “So you won’t be here for Christmas or New Years?”

“Well, no, but that’s fine. You’ll have Ambrose and Aunt Hilda.”

Ambrose gave a small noise. “Actually, Luke and I…are planning to celebrate New Years with a couple of friends.”

“Doctor Cee’s hosting a New Years party, you could come and share that with me, Zelds.”

“I’ll pass,” she said, feeling the ache grow in her chest. The last thing she wanted was an overcrowded party with teenagers trying to sneak alcohol. She had enough of that at the University. No, she would stay home, watching the fireworks on the television if need-be and then go to bed. It was hardly a big deal.

“I can cancel,” Sabrina advised softly.

“Do not even think of doing such a thing. Skiing sounds wonderful for you. As I understand it’s a yearly trip for the Walkers.”

Sabrina nodded, a small smile on her lips and Zelda couldn’t help but remember when she’d been so little and had seen the snow for the first time. Zelda remembered making snowmen with Hilda and showing Sabrina how to punt snowballs at Ambrose.

And now her niece was off adventuring with her friends. It’s what she wanted for her.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured.

__________

#zelda spellman #lilith #madam spellman #zelith #caos fanfic

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verifiefangirl · 4 years

Note

Elriel headcanon where they get into a big fight but of course they love each other more than any argument?

The angst queen is back y’all, buckle up

Azriel and Elain fighting isn’t something that happens often

Mainly cause the two both work very hard to make sure the other is happy and the relationship is always progressing

But one of their biggest arguments and reoccurring one is that Azriel doesn’t take care of himself enough

He will run himself dry for his high lord and bend himself backwards for his family

She loves all that he does to keep his court sake and his family but it’s to an unhealthy Point

Like hes almost afraid that if he doesn’t take on 50000 tasks for them he won’t be wanted anymore

Elain knows it stems from his childhood but it doesn’t hurt any less and make her want to cry.

She loves him so much but she can’t keep watching him hurt himself like this over and over again. He’s always putting himself in danger because he thinks he’s expandable.

Elain had enough. So that night when Azriel got home, it was close to two in the morning and he’d been up since 6am. He looked exhausted and that only made her more fired up.

“What was it this time?” She sniped, arms folded and lips pursed. She hated being angry at him because it was such an unnatural feeling. Azriel was her home, her happy place. She loved him with every ounce of her fae made body

“Elain, please, love. Not tonight. I’ve missed you.” And she almost gave in had it not been for the big gash across his abdomen as he started undressing.

She became somewhat frantic and hysterical. Hurling obscenities at him, her voice getting progressively louder and louder.

This was alarming for several reasons, firstly because Elain is always soft spoken, even when Az and her fight but don’t mistake that as her being a pushover.

Azriel usually is one the to disengage first and try smooth things over, ever the peacemaker but he wasn’t in the right frame of mind and things got more heated between them than they ever had.

He had never once made Elain cry from their fight but tears were streaming from those beautiful eyes of hers right now.

She started dumping stuff in a bag, she couldn’t even look at him.

Panic was welling inside of Azriel’s chest but he just remained silent because he was at a loss for words.

“Elain, where are you going? It’s late.” He would finally utter out, so softly and brokenly.

His insecurity of everyone leaving him when they saw how ugly and jagged he was inside, resurfacing.

She turned those wild eyes back on him, so filled with anger and hurt, tears blurring her vision.

“I can’t do this right now….I just can’t.” A sob getting caught in her throat. “I’ll be at my sisters house.”

Elain hoisting her bag on her shoulder, was almost at the door when Azriel entwined their fingers and held them to his chest.

“Please don’t leave me, Lain.” He whispered, sounding so much like a little boy.

Elain’s heart felt battered and bruised looking at him with so much doubt and fear in his eyes, the self loathing creeping into the edges. Her fingers wanted to smooth out the tensions between his brows so bad but she knew neither would be productive for both of them.

“I have to Az.” She pleaded, as she detangled their hands and this time he just let her go.

When she reached Feyre’s place, it wasn’t her that ended up consoling her as she cried for hours on end but Rhys.

He cocooned her in the softest blanket he could find, placed a steaming cup of hot chocolate in her hands with a splash of alcohol.

Her feet were in Feyre’s lap as she gently massaged them, trying to get her to relax. She was sobbing so much that she worked herself a headache.

With Rhys’ strong arms around her and his wings rustling behind him, it reminded her so much of her Illyrian that it hurt even more.

It didn’t help that he was Az’s brother and probably was worried about his well-being too.

Guessing to where her thoughts at he reassured her that Cassian was with Azriel right now. That made her feel worse because now the whole family was dragged into their mess and she had made Cassian leave Nesta.

At some point her thoughts must have quieted because she feel asleep with her head in Rhys’ lap.

It only got worse the next couple of days. She realised her and Az needed some time apart to sort themselves out.

It was the worst couple of weeks of her life. She felt awful all the time. It felt like she was missing a limb without Azriel.

Cassian made sure she never felt lonely though. He spent every waking hour with her. Gardening with her, baking, trying to pull laughter from her dark void.

His brother made sure they never ran into each other while they were taking this time apart.

She would constantly thinking about him though, worried about how he was doing and if he missed her as much as she missed him.

A month had passed and she had caught sight of him leaving the townhouse in the dead night.

Rhys had his arm around Azriel shoulders and it was then she got a glimpse of his face. He had dark circles under his eyes, his skin having lost that golden glow. He had also lost a lot of weight. His cheeks were sunken. Haunted was the best way to describe how he looked.

It was then she noticed the package of food he held in his hands as Rhys pulled him into a hug and sent him off on his way.

Elain didn’t know how he could look so terrible when his family was trying to take care of him. It felt like he’d taken her heart with him all over again as he headed towards his place. He hadn’t noticed that she had seen him leaving.

She couldn’t do this anymore. Being apart of each other wasn’t doing them any good, in fact it seemed to only be hurting them more.

She ran all the way back to their apartment. Her throat constricting with emotions.

She was about to raise her hand to knock when the door swung open all of the sudden. She was just as startled as he was to see her standing there.

“I love you.” She blurted. He hadn’t let her speak another word as he slammed the door in her face his mouth onto hers in a searing kiss which she felt all the way down to her toes.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He uttered between every kiss. He practically hoisted her up against him and she wrapped her legs around his hips.

“I promise to take better care of myself.” He pleaded into the crook of her neck and she felt something damp slide down her shoulder and realised he was crying. “Just don’t leave me. I can’t take anymore.”

She started crying too because he was hurting so much. She ran her fingers through his consoling him, gripping him so tightly like she was trying to glue his broken pieces back together.

“I won’t, Az. I promise. We’ll do everything as a team. I can’t live without you in my life. I love you so much that you hurting, hurts me.” She told him, cupping his face.

“I’m right here.” She repeated over and over until he believed he hadn’t just made her coming back to him up.

“You’re mine Lain?” He questioned.

“Always.”

permanent taglist

@julesherondalex @jemma-nessian-and-elriel @maastrash @empress-ofbloodshed @wolffrising @azrielismycinnamonrollprimary @sezkins79 @poisonous00 @humanexile @sleeping-and-books @highladyofidris @theshadowsinger-and-thefawn @rhysanoodle @b00kworm

#azriel #acowar #acotar #acomaf #elriel #sjm #sarah j maas #verified tag #elain archeron #acofas #verified hc #verified fanfic

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