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#'but her writer actually iS A--' you don't know that! it doesn't matter! and i don't care!
anneapocalypse · 1 year
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So, just curious how many writers and creators will have to be forcibly outed by relentless harassment before we acknowledge that "This queer characters was written by a cishet person and that's why they're bad" is not good criticism.
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lesenbyan · 4 months
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listen. I love fictional romance as much as my irl romo-repulsed aro heart can. however, tropes that rely on confession or, even worse, being told to confess to someone who is already happily in a relationship always piss me off. it's selfish. and never seems to take in account the position you're putting them in. Confess to the married woman you're been in love with her forever bc it makes you feel better but god forbid whatever it does for her (looking at you Love, Actually) or to your crush before she goes on vacation with her current boyfriend she seems happy with and like. You realize you've just put all that weight on them right? Like i get it, it sucks carrying around maybe unrequited feelings and maybe it's the romo-repulsed aro in me but I've always thought that cruel.
like I used to read advice columns just Because and I remember a gay guy writing in and saying he had a friend he knew was straight but he had a crush on him and he thought his friend would appreciate the honesty and instead he's now lost a friend bc the straight guy is pulling away, not bc of homophobia or anything but bc when someone confesses it's putting an onus on you to do something about it, whether they intend it to or not. it is my biggest romance genre pet peeve and i hate how common it is bc unless you know that person is poly and/or in an open relationship then you fucking shut up
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fayevalcntine · 7 months
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Some people put way too much stock in iwtv writers handling everything pristinely well and idk, I think that's gonna blow up in their face sooner or later when season 1 alone proved that they are not trying to tiptoe around certain matters and would sooner be fine with causing a problem and then dismissively refer to it in an interview than even worry about it in the first place
#iwtv#like......aside from the fact that the majority of the writers' room is white#it also doesn't help that some writers/producers like Rolin and Hannah simply don't care for trivial matters#like being 'cancelled on twitter'#Hannah referred to the DV scene in ep5 as a 'fight' and Rolin dismissively waved his hand at the terrible Claudia rape storyline#these writers are already established in their own circles and field; they don't care for online validation from people#who can't write an essay to save their life#like I see so many fans laugh at the thought of 'oh they're gonna make Lestat look not so bad'#they don't even consider the optics of how the writers may make Louis look like if he knows about#Armand being responsible for Claudia's murder#and still living with him for decades? allowing him to butcher her diaries?#therefore again; letting Armand tear apart Claudia in a figurative way#like some of you guys may be all *sickos* yes yes about it#but idk if the general audience; who already doesn't take some of Louis' deliberate misdirections seriously#will just accept and move on#especially when Louis himself apparently tries to make him and Claudia look like sympathetic people in his story#how exactly is that gonna come off to Daniel/the audience if he's not only knowingly lived with his daughter's actual#murderer for decades#but has also allowed him to tear apart the only last remaining evidence of her for the sake of not dealing with his own mistakes#and take it from someone who saw fans go INSANE after a certain tv characters' death#to the point where it made headline news#networks don't care for outrage in some moral manner#that show ended up getting 4 more seasons; so
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It is unfortunately so disappointing to me to find out that people cannot tell stories. I mean, I honestly kind of have this assumption that everyone can tell a story - something that happened to them, at least, if not something they make up or whatever - and it is so unsettling every time for me to discover that there are actually people who cannot tell a story [well].
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sundrop-writes · 1 month
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Careful - Chapter Two
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(Dad)Spencer Reid x (Mom)Fem!Reader
Chapter Two: Liar
Why should I deny what's all at once, so crystal clear?
Summary:
Spencer is eager to talk to you - to find out if your son is actually his. But there are more important matters at hand, like the fact that you might be the next target of a serial killer who is actively stalking single mothers.
The two of you get locked in a battle of wills when you stubbornly refuse his protection and Spencer remains determined to keep you safe.
Dad!Spencer Reid x Mom!Fem!Reader. Exes to Lovers. Angst and Smut.
Word Count: 8,900
Criminal Minds Masterlist | AO3 Link | Series Masterlist
Detailed warnings and author's notes below the cut.
Warnings: again, general warnings for a Criminal Minds episode - mentions of killing/murder, mentions of the reader being a target for a killer; mentions of the reader buying and using a vibrator (does not take place during the fic, more so mentioned as the reality of the ‘sex life’ of a single mom); the reader and Spencer parted on very bad terms (but the details of the situation are not yet revealed); the reader is very angry towards Spencer; the reader and Spencer argue; the reader is in denial that she is the target of a killer; there is some mention of Sebastian having similar hair to Spencer - but I don’t want that to describe or exclude the reader’s race because in the next chapter, there is a mention of Sebastian having the reader’s skin tone; mention of the reader ‘shoving’ Spencer out of anger (not hard enough to cause harm); mention of the reader owning a gun (registered with gun training) as a form of self defense; mention of the reader character celebrating a birthday - but there is no mentions of specific dates or months when the fic is set, so you can easily imagine that this takes place around your birthday (aside from mentions of holidays or seasonal weather); mentions of JJ x Will; JJ talks about her trauma regarding dogs after being attacked in 2x15; this ends in another flashback, this time including flashback sex (smut); Spencer cuts off foreplay to give the reader a birthday present - mentions of heated kissing and some groping; Spencer calls the reader ‘Princess’ (not during sex - in the context of ‘I am here to serve you like royalty’); the smut basically consists of Spencer eating the reader out. And I think that’s it for this chapter. 
A/N: Okay so something I did not intend to happen - a lot of this chapter is from JJ's perspective. It just naturally started happening while I was writing it, and it was really interesting to me to write about Spencer and the reader's relationship through her eyes (especially to keep the conflict between them vague to the audience, because JJ doesn't know the details of what happened), and it's not something I did intentionally, but I really loved how it shaped the chapter, so I kept it in. Also, I really wanted to include a lot of JJ x Spencer friendship and comfort moments in the fic because (as a lot of people in the fandom have discussed) - the writers love to have the characters say that JJ and Spencer are best friends, but they don't often show it. They just show a lot of conflict between them. So I wanted to show the potential of their friendship. And I had a lot of fun exploring that. So - I hope you guys enjoy the second chapter, and definitely hope to see you come back for chapter three!!!
...
When you heard someone knock on your door, you thought it was a delivery. 
You had ordered Sebastian some new educational coloring books, and some new CDs with Mozart concertos to fall asleep to, because he was getting bored of his current ones. You often felt like you couldn’t keep up with him - Sebastian was so damn smart, and you always tried to provide him with the best resources to learn. Even if he was getting to a point where he was asking for high school level chemistry text books and actually seemed to understand the material in them and you were confused about how he could comprehend any of it. 
The package also could have been the new vibrator you had ordered. You weren’t sure if that package was small enough to be left in the mailbox or not. You had to roll your eyes when you thought about how pathetic your sex life had been since having Sebastian. But you couldn’t risk bringing random men through the house just for sex when you had Seb around. So battery power and smut novels, it was.
“Sorry!” 
You called out, hoping the delivery person would wait, as you raced to get to the door. You hoped they wouldn’t just slip one of those ‘failed to deliver’ notes into your door handle and force you to run an extra errand with a kid under your arm. You tripped over a toy truck and cursed yourself for procrastinating cleaning up (again). 
“Sorry, I almost didn’t hear you. I was-” 
‘I was in my office, in the back of the house.’ 
The sentence died off on your tongue when you finally fumbled the door open - your mouth going numb from shock when you saw him. 
Spencer Reid. 
The father of your child, the man you had once loved. 
Your heart raced inside your chest, your body so overwhelmed so quickly that you couldn’t even decide on an emotion. 
Happiness. Joy. Lust. Longing. Sadness. Relief. 
Shock. 
You lingered on shock for a while as you stared at him, your eyes locked on the sight of him - wondering what the hell he was doing standing on your porch. How did he know where you lived? Why was he here? 
Was he here because of Sebastian? Was he angry? He had to be angry that you hadn’t told him about Sebastian for all of these years. He had to be angry that you had given birth to his child and not told him about it. 
You flickered back to lust for a moment as your eyes traced over him. 
He looked good.
Somehow, he had grown up so much in just four years. He had gone from a gangly, boyish man to a full blown man. But he was somehow still so much the same. His hair had grown out a lot since you had last seen him - instead of the neatly combed, short cut you had last seen him with, it was downright wild. The chocolate brown locks were sprawling out into the thick curls that you had come to see sprouting from your own son’s head. It wasn’t a look that you were used to on Spencer, but it looked damn good on him. 
He was wearing his usual leather messenger bag - probably the exact same one from years ago. And he clearly had the same dress sense, but these clothes in particular made you want to jump his bones. A lavender cardigan that complimented his skin tone so well - and his usual button up shirt and tie, along with his usual gray slacks. 
You desperately wanted to blame the sting of attraction that you felt for him on the recent lack of male suitors in your life; the fact that you hadn’t gotten laid in a long time. But you knew it was something else, too. Your previous attraction to him - the fact that because you had slept with Spencer before, you could still feel the ghost of his hands and tongue on your body. 
How did he look so good? 
He made you feel like a slob in your casual ‘work from home on a random Tuesday’ Mom clothes. If it had been your choice, he definitely wouldn’t be seeing you for the first time in years while you were wearing jeans and a sweatshirt that you were sure had raspberry juice stained on it somewhere, and eyeliner that you had slopped in between traffic lights in the car that morning. 
(You hated it.) 
“Y/N,” 
He finally broke the silence, speaking your name in that honey-sweet way. 
Unfortunately, it brought you rocketing back to that night all those years ago. Your stomach dropped, and you felt like you were standing in that apartment all over again, tears in your eyes as you faced down the crashing reality that the best relationship you ever had in your life was over. 
This chased out that tiny splash of lust and brought on a whole new wave of confusing emotions. 
Anger. Rage. Sadness. Bitterness. More longing. Regret. 
Like your brain was a spin wheel, it whirled around for a few hectic moments, and then - you landed somewhere between anger and pure rage. 
And that was when you finally spoke. 
“Spencer Reid.” You hissed out his name like it was pure venom, your neck aching as the blood pumped hard through your aorta. 
Immediately, Spencer’s features fell from looking at you with nostalgic fondness, and fear took over his face. 
“What the hell are you doing here?” You asked fiercely, this question rocketing back to the forefront of your mind. 
Spencer opened his mouth, seemingly to answer this question, and the rage pumped harder in your system. You found that suddenly, you didn’t want to hear whatever it was that he had to say. 
You stepped through the door, easily stepping into his personal space as you came onto the porch. Without even thinking, you gave him a hard shove in the middle of his chest as you spoke your next words - much louder than you intended. 
“What the hell is wrong with you?” You screeched. 
You let your emotions carry your actions before any sense of logic or common decency could kick in. It was resentment and heartache that you had locked away four years ago - and apparently, it had been aging like wine, only becoming more potent with time. 
“You think that you can just magically show up in my life again after I specifically told you not to contact me?” You screamed. “Do you think that order has a fucking expiration date on it?” 
You gave him another hard shove. Perhaps expecting to prompt an answer out of him, or wanting to shove him off the porch entirely and get him out of your life once again. Which of those it was, even you weren’t sure. 
Spencer just looked at you with wide-eyed shock. Clearly, for once in his life, at a loss for words. 
“You better have a good fucking reason for showing up here!” You screeched, your voice becoming so loud that it wore out your throat. 
“Look, Y/N, I-” He stuttered out. 
“Don’t say my name.” You hissed, cutting him off. “Don’t say my name like we’re friends.” 
You glared at him, crossing your arms over your chest, and Spencer shoved his hands into his pockets, now finding himself utterly speechless. 
He definitely was not expecting this kind of reception. 
The two of you became locked in an icy staring contest, neither of you speaking. Spencer found his throat too dry, and for once, his head far too empty. You were simply too angry and too stubborn to speak in those moments. 
This stalemate was only broken up when JJ walked around the corner. 
“Spence, Hotch just told me that the first woman doesn’t even match the-” 
“JJ!” You cried out her name happily, your entire demeanor changing when you saw her. 
She grinned, completely forgetting whatever news she had to report to Reid as you practically flew off the porch and ran to meet her. JJ eagerly opened her arms to hug you, and you squeezed her with all the warmth and kindness of an old friend. 
Spencer felt a pang of jealousy that he wasn’t being greeted with as much affection. He knew that the last argument between the two of you had been bad, but he didn’t know it had left such a distinct impression on you. He didn’t know it had been enough to make you hate him. 
When you pulled away from JJ, you looked between her and Spencer, and then it suddenly struck you. 
If Spencer wasn’t here alone, that meant this wasn’t personal. He wasn’t just here to see you over some lost love, or - maybe he didn’t know about Sebastian at all. You felt a pang of guilt twist your gut because of that. 
“What - what are you guys doing here?” You asked, now entirely confused, directing the question toward JJ. 
JJ looked toward Spencer, and according to his ill-concealed frown, his reunion with you had not gone well. She doubted that you would take the news that you were possibly being hunted by a killer well on top of that. 
“Is it alright if we come inside?” JJ asked, her voice tentative and soft. It was the same voice she usually used with victims and their families. 
“Yeah.” You said, knowing there must be something big that you were missing, and hoping that you would be filled in soon enough. “I’ll put some coffee on.” 
You walked back up the few steps of the porch and breezed right past Reid. You didn’t even spare a glance in his direction as you went back in through the open front door, leaving it open for the two of them with the expectation that they would close it behind themselves. 
“So - I take it things didn’t go well?” JJ whispered to Spencer as she moved up onto the porch. 
“Not quite.” Spencer mumbled in return before moving into the house, waiting for her to follow. 
This made JJ even more curious about what had gone down between you and Spencer all those years ago. 
What could have possibly made you so cold and distant toward him? 
But she couldn’t just come out and ask. They had a job to do. They were there to ensure your safety against a man who had already killed five women and orphaned five children. 
JJ walked into the house and closed the door behind her. She wasn’t surprised that she nearly tripped over a plastic toy truck in the entryway. Even though your son didn’t seem to be here (it was far too quiet for a small boy to be around), this was definitely a house where a child lived. 
The first space that was visible to her eye - the living room, was clearly a space that belonged to a young child. There was a large, colorful play mat underneath the coffee table, and a few toys scattered over across the floor, showing that he clearly liked to have hands on play. In the corner, there was a child-sized desk with a small chair, which seemed to be surrounded by art supplies, and advanced textbooks? Some of them opened and were dotted with bright, colorful stickers. One glance told JJ that the reading material very advanced for his age clearly belonged to him. 
So he very likely was Spencer’s son. 
She wasn’t sure why, but that did bring a cluster of joy through her. Likely because she knew he would be so excited to have a child of his own. 
JJ couldn’t help but to notice that many of the toys were Paw Patrol themed - it was a favorite show of Henry’s, too. In the back of her mind, she wondered if your son and Henry might be friends. 
“Ugh, I’m so sorry.” You huffed, rushing around with your arms half full of toys now - distracted from getting the coffee, as you had mentioned. You were clearly rushing to pick up some of the mess now that you had realized how it appeared in the eyes of your ‘guests’. “All the - stuff.” 
You hesitated to say ‘toys’. Clearly, you didn’t want to bring up the subject of your son, even though the evidence of him was so visible all around. You didn’t want to give Spencer the smallest opening to start asking questions about him. It was something you wanted to avoid speaking about for as long as possible. 
Spencer looked at you with a mournful look on his face as you dodged around him, purposefully avoiding eye contact while you picked up a coloring book and a handful of crayons off the couch. You still refused to look his way at all as you rushed off to stash the items away somewhere. 
Clearly, he wanted to ask you more about your son, and simply ask that penultimate question: was he the father? 
But now wasn’t the right time. 
“It’s alright.” JJ assured you. “You can just come sit down. We really need to talk to you.” 
You heaved out a sigh, defeated in your effort to clean up, and then came back from one of the other rooms. (JJ could only assume you had stashed the toys in a playroom or a closet, because much like her own home, all areas had become a domain for toys and playtime). You motioned for them to sit on the couch, and you scooted over a rocking chair from the other side of the room to sit in front of them, blocking the shut-off TV on the other side. 
“So, what is it?” You asked, clearly eager and curious to know what they were doing in your home - why they had contacted you now after so many years apart. 
JJ and Spencer exchanged a look, and with a gentle nod from him, JJ took the lead. 
“Well, um… there’s no easy way to say this, but we believe that you might be in danger.” She told you, introducing the topic gently, while wanting to be honest and direct. “Perhaps you’ve seen it on the news? But if you haven’t… several single mothers have been killed in the area recently, and we have reason to believe that you might be the killer’s next target.” 
You looked at her, entirely observant, quietly taking in her words. Your face was still and expressionless, and JJ was unsure if you were going to take this calmly and logically - if you were going to panic after you had fully absorbed the news, if you were going to cry. 
After a moment of silence - you burst out laughing. Your laughter was harsh and nervous, a sound that cut through the air like the rip of a chainsaw. Clearly, it was the stark opposite of someone taking the news with tears. 
“Oh my god.” You sighed, taking a breath from the non-humorous laughter. “You know that you didn’t have to make up some excuse just to come and see me, right?” 
Spencer’s face curled into a deep frown. He was upset that you weren’t taking this seriously. JJ found herself in shock. Usually when people found out they were potentially on the radar of a killer, they were paranoid, afraid, questioning why. 
But it was very rare to see denial. 
She did take notice of the fact that you didn’t immediately ask about what kind of evidence or reasoning they had to believe that you were the killer’s next target. Perhaps if your brain let you assess that reasoning for yourself and found it to be valid, then fear would take over. And you couldn’t let that happen. So this laughter, this posturing and not taking things seriously - it was an unconscious way to protect yourself from that fear. 
But JJ could only theorize about that. 
“I did miss you, JJ.” You said, very pointedly looking at her while you said it. “But you could have just sent me an email or something.” 
You continued avoiding Spencer’s harsh gaze as he bored holes into the side of your face with his intense, intrusive eyes. 
“Look, this is serious-” Spencer began, and you cut him off. 
“Okay.” You shrugged. “Let’s say for argument’s sake that there is someone trying to kill me,” 
You spoke of this lightly, the words entirely condescending on your lips, as though Spencer’s theory was entirely wild and imaginative to begin with. 
JJ saw the movement in his jaw as he grinded his teeth out of the corner of her eye, and she was surprised that he let you continue. 
“I have an alarm system that I set every night before I go to bed.” You informed them. “I am a proud gun owner. I have a registered revolver that I keep in a lock box beside my bed and I renew my gun training every single spring.” You told them, not seeming the least bit worried at the idea of a killer hunting you down. “If someone wants to kill me, let them try. I’m sure you guys have much better ways to spend your time than sitting around here, chatting with me when there are people out there, actually in danger. People who probably need your help.” 
You said this, trying to dismiss them. And then you moved to get up from your seat, looking to escape the conversation entirely. But once again, Spencer stopped you. 
“That’s it?” He fired back, entirely indignant, standing from his place on the couch. 
This caused you to roll your eyes and let out a hiss, your lungs deflating like an annoyed balloon as you paused in the middle of the room. 
“Yes, that’s it.” You groaned back. “Look, I know it’s your job to see problems everywhere, but-” 
“It’s my job to protect people.” Spencer replied, cutting you off. “And-” 
“Funny!” You scoffed, your voice escalating in volume. It had turned into a full-blown argument now - you were entirely uncaring that JJ was there to witness it; Spencer was locked in your sight like the crosshairs of a scope, and you were ready to fire. “You give a shit about ‘protecting’ me now, but what the fuck happened four years ago?”
You glared harshly at Spencer, and he locked his jaw, staring right back. It turned into a poisonous silence as neither of you spoke - he didn’t have a good answer for this question. And it made JJ all the more horribly curious about what had happened between the two of you. But she didn’t need to be a psychic to sense that the two of you needed some privacy. 
“Do… do you mind if I go get myself a glass of water?” She asked, tentatively standing up from her place on the couch. 
“I’ll get it.” You huffed out, moving to leave the room. 
“It’s okay.” JJ told you. “I can get it for myself. Just point me in the right direction.” 
You motioned toward the kitchen and JJ left, and she heard Spencer hiss out something about you being stubborn, which turned into another cluster of voices. The argument turned even more personal and sour now that the both of you didn’t have a witness. 
When JJ made her way into the kitchen, she was happy to see that your backyard was full of toys. A pair of sliding glass doors let her peek out to see a colorful swing set and a large playhouse, and a scattering of other toys meant that your son obviously spent a lot of time outside. She smiled to herself, trying to ignore the rising, angered sound of voices from the other room as she found a glass in one of the cabinets. When she moved to the refrigerator’s water dispenser, something along the way caught her eye. 
A vase of fresh flowers was sitting on the counter. 
White carnations. 
It made her stomach churn ominously. It felt too perfect to be a coincidence. 
She abandoned her half-full glass and grabbed the vase, walking back to the living room with it. 
“You just can’t accept help from anybody, can you? How can you not understand that your life is in danger here? This man is not going to stop until-” Spencer ranted on. 
He was still trying to convince you to take the threat seriously - but you were still boiling with rage over the past, blind to anything else. 
“I can’t accept anyone’s help?” You scoffed, crowding into his personal space to hiss the words closer to him. “That is so rich coming from someone who-” 
JJ cleared her throat loudly, cutting you off. 
“Spence.” She got his attention from the intense gaze he was keeping on you - anger hot in his eyes even though he was staring heavily at your lips. 
When Spencer looked over and saw the vase in JJ’s hands, his entire face shifted in a blink. His expression went from tight-knit anger and annoyance to ‘shit-your-pants’ worry. The danger went from being theoretical to being very real in that moment. 
“Where did these flowers come from?” Spencer asked. 
“What?” You gaped, so entirely confused. 
“Where did you get the flowers?” He asked, rephrasing the question, his tone more urgent and demanding now. 
“Why does that matter?” You replied, exasperated. You didn’t see how it was at all relevant. 
“All of the women who were killed received these exact same kind of flowers within days of their death.” JJ told you. “Do you have any idea who sent them?” 
“I thought my mother did.” You shrugged. “There was no name on the card. It just said ‘Happy Birthday’. She didn’t get to see me in person for my birthday, she’s traveling right now. She’s one of the only people who would send me flowers for my birthday.” 
“Yes, but your mother knows that your favorite flowers are lavender and baby’s breath. Why would she send these?” Spencer replied. 
Naturally, he remembered your favorite flowers. 
You couldn’t get stuck on that, though. Instead, you pondered the question he posed. 
Why would your mother send you white carnations without even signing the card? 
It wasn’t something you had thought about. At the time, you had just thought it was considerate, and sweet. When you had called her to thank her for the flowers, you had gotten her voicemail. You had left her a message thanking her. She was away on a singles cruise with shoddy reception and she hadn’t gotten back to you yet. 
“They’re just flowers.” You said, letting out another nervous chuckle - but your voice broke over this one. 
Obviously the reality of things was truly starting to set in with you. 
“We need to set up protective custody for you.” Spencer said, taking out his phone in order to get this done. 
“No!” You snapped. “I am not having some random cops follow me around because you think I might be in danger.” You hissed angrily. 
Spencer paused and stared you down, debating if he was going to go against your wishes or not, his phone still in hand. 
JJ hated the look in Spencer’s eyes. That deep, bitter fear. Whatever had happened between the two of you, there was still enough care lingering there that he would fight for you no matter what. He was terrified for you. He wasn’t going to let you meet the same fate as the other victims. She knew he wasn’t going to let this go. 
JJ put the vase down on the coffee table, and turned to you. 
“It doesn’t have to be random cops. We can stay with you, in order to-” She started to explain, only to be disrupted by the digital ringtone of your home phone echoing through the house. 
You rushed to grab the phone, and JJ heard some of the quiet conversation from you on one end. 
“Yeah, okay. Yeah, I’ll be there soon. It’s no problem. Thank you so much. Yeah, twenty minutes. Bye.” 
You hung up and then rushed back into the living room - and before either of them could speak further on the matter, you rushed past them. You went to the entryway, taking off your slippers to exchange them for sneakers. 
“Look, guys, I would love to stay and hang out, but I have somewhere important to be.” You huffed out. 
“Seriously?” Spencer replied, entirely frustrated with you. “This isn’t some tea party. We aren’t just hanging around here for fun. Call whoever that was and tell them that you’re gonna be late. Or call and cancel, or-” 
“No!” You yelled back, entirely frustrated with him. “Dammit, Spencer! People have responsibilities, you know! I have responsibilities. I am an adult, I’m not some child you can talk down to. Now get the fuck out of my house so I can lock up, and get to the important things that I have to do. Things that don’t involve wasting my time talking to you.” 
You said the last part so snidely, resenting that Spencer’s unexpected visit had been part of your day. 
He opened his mouth to argue against this, but JJ put a gentle hand on his shoulder, nudging him toward the door. He sighed and flexed to this movement. He angrily stormed past you to leave through the front door, which he left wide open like a toddler having a tantrum. 
You grabbed your keys and your purse from a side table near the door and JJ moved to leave as well. On her way along, she put a gentle hand on your shoulder, capturing your attention. 
“We’ll check back in with you later, okay?” She said, using her most gentle, non-confrontational voice. 
“Sure.” You easily agreed, unable to be angry with her. “But just call, or something. There’s no need to bang down my door over some stupid flowers. It’s nothing.” 
She stepped through the door and you followed. As you used your keys to lock up, you added on: 
“I would give you my number, but I’m sure Penelope can find it for you in five minutes flat.” 
JJ chuckled at this. 
“More like two and a half, I’d say.” She replied - it was a joking tone, but she did truly think this highly of Penelope’s skills. 
You smiled over your shoulder at her and she nodded before she began to walk back to the car, where Spencer was already sitting in the passenger’s seat, stewing in his anger. 
When she got in beside him, they watched you pull out of the driveway and drive off before either of them spoke. 
“What the hell happened between the two of you?” JJ asked, the question finally unleashing from her lips. 
“It’s complicated.” Spencer huffed out in reply, tired. 
In order to distract himself from all of it, he was staring down at some files in his lap - some of the case files of the other murders that he had pulled out of his bag. He needed something to do to keep his mind from churning more on the fact that you seemed to hate him. He wanted to find a way to protect you now, instead of focusing on the past. 
But JJ seemed hellbent on walking backward - getting him to look back on what happened between the two of you. 
“I can do complicated.” She said. “We’ve got plenty of time. We should just sit here and wait for her to come back.” 
“You should go check in with Hotch.” Spencer told her, dodging around the question once again. “I’ll come back after.” 
“After what?” JJ questioned, finding this wording particularly strange. 
JJ started the car and pulled away, hoping that you would be safe during the time they didn’t have eyes on you. The UnSub had a particular routine - he liked to stalk his victims for a few weeks before he broke into their homes and killed them. So she hoped that he wasn’t ready to make contact with you yet. She hoped that if he did, your gun and your alarm system would be enough to deter him. 
“I - I wanted to get her something nice.” He answered, sounding rather shy about this proclamation. “Like she mentioned, her birthday just passed. And, according to the preschool forms, her son’s birthday was a week ago. I want to get something for him too.” 
“They have the same birthday?” JJ asked. 
“Not exactly the same, but their birthdays are only five days apart.” Spencer replied. “I missed his birth.” He added on, a quiet sigh, entirely melancholic. “I missed the whole pregnancy. I - I missed everything.” 
“You still didn’t answer my question.” JJ reminded him. “What happened?” 
Spencer knew she was asking as a friend. He knew that of all people - she was the one to talk to about this. 
“It - it was right after Hankel.” He admitted quietly. “That was when Y/N and I broke up.” 
“Oh.” JJ said quietly. 
The air in the car became thick as the heaviness truly overtook her. 
So, it was complicated. 
But she definitely couldn’t understand your rage toward Spencer. 
“When I came back from Atlanta, she knew I wasn’t the same. And things - we - we fell apart.” He admitted this barely above a whisper, hesitant to even voice the words as a reality. “You knew what kind of person I was back then. I wasn’t good to her. I wasn’t good to anybody.” 
Spencer let out a harsh chuckle - a defense to all the hurt he was feeling about it. 
JJ spotted a sign for a shopping center, and pulled into the parking lot. She knew that Spencer likely had a good idea about buying into your good graces with a late birthday gift. Even if it wouldn’t instantly make up for everything that had happened all those years ago. 
“Yeah, but you’re sober now.” She reminded him. 
“She doesn’t know that.” Spencer replied. 
JJ ruminated in thought for a moment. 
“You know, I met Will afterwards, right?” She said. 
Out of the corner of her eye, Spencer nodded. 
“It was only a few weeks after everything happened, when we were working that case in New Orleans.” She explained. “And he looked at me like I was a hero. Because I helped him finish what his father couldn’t. He didn’t look at me like I was fragile or broken. He didn’t tip-toe around me. He didn’t see me as some ghost. And that is part of the reason why I fell for him. He always saw me as this goddess. Like Superwoman.” 
Spencer smiled at this. 
He wanted to be that person for you. He wanted to be your Superman. (But he feared that he couldn’t live up to that. That he would fail you when the time came.) 
JJ found a parking spot, and parked, but Spencer lingered - sensing there was more to the conversation. 
“You know… Henry wants a puppy.” JJ’s voice shook, her throat clenching up around these words. 
Spencer’s stomach shook. 
He hadn’t been there, but he had seen the scars on JJ’s arms. He had seen the footage of the other poor woman being torn apart by those dogs. 
“And I had to tell Will everything. How I was chased down, how I had to shoot two innocent animals - the stupid fact that I still feel guilty about it, even though they would have killed me if I hadn’t done it.” She said, her throat becoming more closed off with each word. She cleared it before she spoke again. “How I lost you, how it was all my fault.” 
“What happened to me wasn’t your fault.” Spencer felt the need to say this aloud, reaching over and putting a gentle hand on her knee. She nodded at him before she continued. 
“Just - it was all so overwhelming. The idea of having a dog in our house. But… I told him that I wanted to try, at least. For Henry.” JJ explained. “But when we went to the animal shelter - the sound of dogs barking… I couldn’t stop myself from flinching. And next thing I know, I’m sitting on the curb outside with my head between my knees and Will is putting a bottle of water to my lips.” 
“Henry seems more like a cat person anyway.” Spencer replied, hoping this slightly humorous comment would offer some comfort to his friend. 
JJ let out a tired laugh. 
“He’s three and a half, I think we’re still in the stage where a goldfish is more than enough for him.” She added on. 
“I - I never told Y/N.” Spencer said, suddenly shifting the conversation. JJ raised her brow, prompting further explanation of this. “I never told her what happened to me. What happened with Hankel.” 
JJ gave him a sad look. 
“Why not?” 
“I - I didn’t want her to view me as weak. I couldn’t fight him off. I accepted the drugs. At certain points, I…. I even pitied him.” Spencer replied. “I didn’t want things to change between us. Even though they did anyway.” 
“Do you still wanna be with her?” JJ asked. 
“What?” Spencer gaped, not expecting the question. 
“If the kid is yours, obviously you wanna be in his life. But co-parenting as separate, single people is one thing.” JJ explained herself. “Do you still want to be with Y/N? Do you still love her?” 
“Yes.” Spencer replied shyly. 
“Then you have to tell her everything.” JJ said firmly. “Being with someone for the long term isn’t about creating some fantasy. I fell in love with Will because he looked at me like I was Superwoman, but I stayed in love because he takes care of me when I’m powerless. You have to be weak in front of her and let her take care of you, so that you can be strong everywhere else.” 
Spencer sighed - letting this wisdom fully penetrate him. 
He knew that being a genius sometimes meant that he wasn’t the smartest person in the room. Apparently, this was one of those times. 
“You’re right.” 
Then, he reached for the car door’s handle, feeling like JJ had taught him a lot with that conversation and he needed some time to think alone. 
“You want me to come with you?” JJ asked. “You might need a woman’s opinion on what to get,” 
“No thanks, I know Y/N pretty well.” He replied. “At least I hope I still do.” He opened the door fully and stepped out. “And I wanted some alone time, to… think all of this over. To think about what I’m gonna say to Y/N. I’m gonna walk back afterwards, the house is only a few blocks away.” 
JJ nodded. 
“I should check back in with Hotch.” She noted. “See if they found anything with the other women on the list. Otherwise, all we’ve got is the flowers.” 
Just as he moved to close the door again, JJ spoke up one last time. 
“Rubble.” She said suddenly - which sounded very strange with no context. 
“What?” Spencer asked, ducking his head down to see inside the car to potentially hear her words better. 
“Rubble - it’s a character from the kids’ TV show, Paw Patrol.” She explained. “There was about five action figures of him sitting on the living room floor back there. So I would assume that he’s your son’s favorite character.” 
Spencer’s chest jumped at the way she said ‘your son’ - so casually. 
He could really have a child in his life. This could really be his future. 
If he played his cards right, this could be his future with you. 
“Thank you, JJ.” Spencer grinned at her. 
She smiled back and he stood up to his full height and closed the car door, walking off into the shopping center by himself. 
And of course, his thoughts drifted back to you. 
He thought back to the last time he had spent your birthday with you. Before Hankel, before all the madness. Before everything good in his life slipped through his fingers and he was left feeling so alone. 
… 
For someone with basically no serious relationships under his belt before you came along, Spencer was excellent when it came to romance. 
Perhaps it was because he spent his time reading the classics - he could recite Elizabethan poetry off by heart, he could whisper epic romantic ballads in your ear before kissing you with such intense passion that it left your head spinning. He had such a perfect picture of what romance should be, and it meant that he knew how to plan a date that left you feeling like a queen. 
Every single time he took you out, he made you feel like you were the only woman on earth - like he would move the seas and the sky just to show you how much he cared. 
And because he insisted that your birthday should be a day all about you - a day dedicated to celebrating you - then this was certainly no different. 
The night had been a whirlwind of perfection. 
After dinner at a gorgeous fine dining restaurant downtown, Spencer then drove the two of you to an art gallery to stroll around. He cited that he wanted you to have some down time for your food to settle before he gave you your present. From the spark in his eye, you had a feeling that you knew exactly what that present would be. The whole evening was so utterly beautiful and peaceful. And like everything with Spencer - it was a pleasant enrichment of the mind, looking at art while he told you things about the artists or the origins of the paintings. 
Before you got halfway through the gallery, he checked his watch and told you that it was ‘just about time’ for your present, and then he drove you back to his apartment. 
The two of you barely made it through the door before you had him pinned against it, your mouth enveloping his in a hot, desperate kiss. You were so utterly grateful to have such a romantic, thoughtful man in your life. 
The entire evening had been nothing but a reminder of that - the way he looked at you with love so pure in his eyes. Him opening doors for you, keeping his hand on your lower back to usher you gently around, speaking lowly to you as though his words were precious and only meant to be yours. 
You needed him. You needed to show him how much you appreciated all of it. You needed him to know how much of a treasure he was in your life. 
You reached for his belt and Spencer let out a choked off moan into your mouth. 
You were surprised when he reached for your wrist, gently pulling your touch back - stopping you from unfastening the belt as he pulled his now slightly swollen lips away from your kiss. 
“As - as much as I want to,” He huffed out against your mouth. “I - I still have to give you your present.” He noted, flashing you a smile. 
“I thought this was my present.” You replied, reaching down to grope Spencer’s half hard cock through his pants. 
He let out a groan; but then he reached for your wrist again, pulling your touch back. 
“I - I promise - later - afterwards? Later tonight.” He stuttered out, hard pressed to focus as more blood rushed to his cock. 
Spencer puzzled you. You had never known any other man to interrupt foreplay for something other than sex, unless it was life or death. But it made you very curious about what your present was and why he was so desperate to give it to you. 
And sex was still on the table, so that panging need between your legs would be taken care of eventually. 
You hummed in ascent and stepped back, releasing Spencer from where you had him pressed against the door. He gulped in a large breath of air before he moved across the room. 
You were surprised when he didn’t move to turn on any lights in the apartment, leaving the two of you settled in comfortable darkness. The only lights being the light from the bathroom that he had left on before leaving, shining down the hall, and the dim lighting coming in the windows - some street lights and the occasional passing car’s headlights. 
Spencer shrugged off his blazer and tossed it over the back of the couch on his way toward the window. He yanked up the blinds in front of the space where he had set up a very expensive, advanced, gorgeous telescope - one that had been there the last few times you had visited. Astronomy was one of his many hobbies, and he often invited you to view different stars or passing comets. It was just one of the many things you learned from him - knowledge you absorbed from being around him that made you feel infinitely smarter. 
You always indulged in the joy of feeling smarter just from being in his presence. You loved that Spencer was someone so gifted who loved to share his knowledge, rather than gatekeeping it or being snide toward others who weren’t as privileged as him. It was just another thing to love about him - the fact that he was so kind in sharing his big brain with others. 
You watched him with intrigue while you took your wrap off your shoulders and tossed your purse onto the couch. Enjoying the quiet and the peaceful darkness and watching him work, you moved to sit on the arm of the couch to begin unstrapping your heels. 
He checked his watch again, and then looked to a small side table he had near the telescope. He flipped open a notebook that he had there, and you supposed that the minimal light coming in through the window was enough for him to see whatever it was that he had written there. He adjusted the telescope slightly, then looked at the notebook again, then adjusted the telescope again. 
Then he said ‘aha, there you are’ under his breath, grinning widely to himself. 
The entire thing made your insides glow with curiosity. 
Spencer then turned back to you, still grinning widely. When he noticed your shoe half-hanging off your foot, he stepped over to you and softly grabbed your ankle, sliding your shoe off the entire way before gently rubbing the sole of your foot. 
“Let me help you with that, Princess.” He said quietly, before moving to take the shoe off your other foot. 
Again, your insides tingled as he made you feel like you were the most important woman on earth. 
“Thank you.” You replied, almost speechless at the action. 
“If you’ll step right this way, I can show you your present.” He said, motioning toward the telescope with a dramatic flare. 
You let out a giggle as you stepped over your abandoned shoes and moved to look into the telescope. 
You wondered if he had written some poem and taped it onto the other end of the lens or something like that (it was Spencer, it must have been something epically romantic). But as you bent down and closed one eye to get a good look, it was entirely ordinary. 
The telescope was focused on a single, tiny star. 
It was beautiful, but it was very… plain. And more than anything, it was confusing. 
Your present was… a star? 
“Spencer, I don’t really get it?” You sighed, standing up to your full height once again. 
“I got you a star.” He said proudly, grinning even wider now. 
When you stared at him with more intense confusion, Spencer reached over to the notebook and pulled something out. After he handed it to you, you leaned into the light of the window and studied it carefully. 
It was a certificate stating that Spencer had paid to name the star after you.��
He had literally changed the night sky for you. 
“Oh my god.” You gasped quietly. 
You felt so overwhelmed. 
If he had made you feel like the most important woman in the world before, then now - you felt like the most important woman in the galaxy. 
“Spencer, this is - this is too much.” You said, your throat clenching up slightly due to the intensity of the emotions. 
“No, it’s not.” He said firmly, reaching out and putting a hand on your jaw, tilting your face up from looking at the certificate to look at him. 
There it was again, all of it spelled out in his eyes - the adoration, the pure, overwhelming affection that he felt for you. It bloomed nothing but those same feelings in return from you. It was almost so overwhelming that you felt like you could have exploded from how much love you felt for this man, all of it swelling inside of you so quickly that you felt like your body couldn’t contain it. Like it was a sickness that was going to overrun your body if you weren’t careful. 
“Spencer.” 
His name swelled in your throat like that throbbing love, and you couldn’t help yourself from reaching out and grabbing him by the front of his shirt, pulling him into another kiss. Because of course, words weren’t enough. You smothered him with your mouth, trying desperately to communicate every ounce of passion and gratefulness you were feeling with the heat of that kiss. 
Spencer held you, engulfing both your cheeks with his large, warm hands, kissing you back with just as much intensity. 
Both of you lingered there for a few moments, savoring each other’s lips, mingling in each other’s breath. 
You were disappointed when Spencer pulled away. 
“There is something else.” He told you, a bit of glee edging on his voice. 
“What?” You gaped, shocked by this. 
“There’s something else I have to give you. Another part of your present.” He clarified, pulling back completely - likely in order to fetch this thing. 
You let out a breath. You weren’t sure how this magnificent man could possibly do more. 
You placed the certificate for the star down on the table where Spencer had kept it. Later, you would take it home and have it framed, wanting to display it proudly. You could imagine yourself putting it up in the front of your home when you eventually moved in with Spencer. You could put it next to your marriage certificate; eventually, put next to wedding photos when the two of you eventually got married. (And sometime later, it would be hanging alongside photos of you and Spencer with your kids. You tingled, realizing that this was the first time you had ever thought of having kids with him, but it fit so well. It seemed right.) 
The thought made you tingle. 
You could truly imagine yourself having a life with Spencer. Standing proudly because this was just the beginning of it. He truly felt like ‘the one’ you had always been waiting for. 
“Here.” 
Spencer’s voice pulled you from your plethora of dreamy thoughts, and you turned to see him holding a velvet box. Your heart skipped a beat at the passing thought that it might be the box - but no. Now wasn’t the time. The two of you had only been dating for a year and a half. And while you were so deeply in love, you knew that it was a bit haste to assume that he was ready for marriage when you were his first serious girlfriend. You were still both so young. 
He opened the lid and you let out a small gasp when you saw it. 
It was a simple, elegant silver necklace. The pendant was a four pointed star, with a small, dainty stone in the middle. You easily recognized it as your birthstone, meant to represent the fact that he had given it to you on your birthday. And obviously the star pendant as a whole represented that he had also gifted you a literal star in the sky on that same day. 
“Spencer, it’s so beautiful.” You said, utterly breathless. 
“Traditionally, the four pointed star is believed to represent the designation of a goal. It marks one’s great endeavors, because it seems to point to the four cardinal directions. This star is meant to guide someone, like a map - the way that sailors used the stars to guide their path.” 
Spencer explained, knowledgeable as he always was. 
“I - I chose this for you because… well, because when I met you, I felt as though I had accomplished great things in all areas of my life, except for one. Academically, I was satisfied. In my career, I was happy. But when it came to matters of the heart… I was utterly clueless. And when I found you… it felt like you were my guiding star. Like you were the person I had been waiting for to finally show me - show me the meaning of love.” 
“Oh, Spencer.” Your voice cracked around these words, barely able to form them. “Oh, honey. I love you so much. Thank you.” 
It was all your mind could gather at the moment. It wasn’t the first time you had said it to him, but it was certainly one of the most intense. 
“I love you too.” He replied. Through the dimness, you could almost see tears forming in his eyes. “You truly make me so happy.” 
Spencer then cleared his throat harshly, wanting to clear away his intensely emotional tears. 
“Can - can I put it on you?” He asked shyly, motioning with the necklace in its box. 
“Of course.” You grinned. “I’d love that.” 
You turned around and Spencer took it out of the box, fiddling with the dainty clasp for a moment before he put it around your neck and then did it up for you. It felt so right around your neck. It felt like his love was being carried with you. You had a feeling that you wouldn’t want to take it off anytime soon. You could easily imagine yourself feeling so proud to answer whenever random strangers or your co-workers asked where it was from. 
When it was secured around your neck, Spencer leaned in and laid a gentle, open-mouthed kiss against the chain. This simple act reminded you of that needy throb between your thighs; of what you had been wanting so badly the moment you had come in the door. 
“So…” He whispered against your neck. “What else does the birthday girl want?” 
“I can think of a few things.” 
That was how you ended up with your back pressed against the softness of the couch - too impatient to even make it to the bed - with your dress pushed up around your waist, your panties tossed somewhere in the middle of the living room rug. Spencer’s glasses were pressed up onto his forehead while his knees dug into that same rug, his fingers splayed across your thighs, holding you open to makeway for his tongue. 
He ate you out with all of the intensity and passion that he had kissed you with - moaning into your pussy as though he was singing directly to the gods. 
“Fuck, Spence.” You moaned, raking your hands through his hair, holding him close - not that he would want to pull away for even a second. 
He loved your taste more than anything in the world, and he savored every second that he got the privilege of being on his knees for you. He moaned into your pussy, loudly, almost pathetically - hot echoes coming from his lungs as though he was the one being pleasured. He laved his tongue across you with an open jaw, drinking in as much of you as possible while your thighs quaked around his head. Your nails dug into his scalp and he only moaned harder, loving the sound of your needy whines and your gasping breaths as your clit throbbed under his tongue. 
Spencer hummed in delight while he bounced your clit on his tongue, loving the feeling of that sweet little bead throbbing against him; loving your taste, loving your echoing moans. Loving how much he could bring you pleasure. 
“Fuck, Spence, so close!” 
He put his lips around you and sucked then, holding you gently against him by the hips. He couldn’t help but to enjoy the feeling of your body quaking against his face while your orgasm overtook you. It was overwhelming and beautiful and warmed your whole body - just like the love you felt for him. 
He pulled away after a moment, when he was sure that he had seen you through to the satisfying end, and he grinned against the mound of your pussy. 
“Happy birthday, pretty girl.” 
… 
After the break-up, Spencer often looked up to the sky and thought about you. 
On the nights when your star was in place overhead, he felt a particular pang in his chest. He wondered where you were and what you were doing. He wondered if you were safe. He spent many nights staring out his telescope, wondering if you were happy, blanketed under that inky sky. 
You thought about the star sometimes, too. 
You thought it was a lot like your relationship with Spencer. Placing all of your hopes and dreams onto something already dead - something where the light had died out long ago.
...
Continue reading: Chapter Three - Turn It Off
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caseys-breanna · 14 days
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My favourite Parker episode has always been The Inside Job, y'know why? It's not just what Parker does, but rather what the others do FOR Parker.
Parker has 4 safe houses in the city, but Nate and Sophie know her well enough to know where she actually stays when she's away from the team
Parker's security code. Do you understand the level of trust someone like Parker will have to have to use their name as her security code? To the place that's her own personal sanctuary? Sophie EARNED that level of trust.
'The Sterenko can't be cracked-' 'Can you do it?' 'Nate, it can't be-' 'For Parker. Can you do it for Parker?'
This. Just this.
'I made her. I trained her, and I released her into the world.' 'She was broken! She needed you!'
This stood out so loud to me, because it's not Hardison or Sophie (the more emotionally intelligent ones of the team) saying it. Because it's NATE. It's Nate, the man who couldn't say I Love You to Sophie for so long. The man who got so caught up in his son's death that every job involving kids or medical malpractice he nearly went out of line. NATE, who pushes and pushes and is ruthless and so cold at times.
It's Nate protesting for Parker, standing up FOR Parker, and y'know why? Because Parker doesn't know what she got deprived of. Parker doesn't feel that loss because you can't grieve something you aren't even aware you could've had. But Nate does. Nate saw her injustice and loss of childhood and spoke up, KNOWING she'll never know about him defending her.
'Hardison I screwed up.' 'We're already here mama.'
Do you understand the level of trust and vulnerability it requires for her to say those words? She's never gotten anyone's help after a screwup, she's had to take care of herself on her own. And there's Hardison, right there, not upset, not angry, not disappointed. A right straight - I'm here and we'll get you out.
'Let's get our girl home.'
Do I even need to say anything.
'It's not what we do, we don't get involved!' 'No, that's what YOU do!'
Parker is not Archie Leach's protege anymore. She's Parker. She's the greatest thief in the world. She's the one person to get the entire Leverage Inc breathing down your neck to save her. She has a family who got her back. She has a life and friends and people who may not understand her always but will always support her and be there for her, no matter what, without changing any aspect of her or forcing her to change either. And she saves people, because that's what they do.
'It's your play Parker.'
The explicit trust Nate displays in her. For someone like Nate with control issues and need to be the guy calling the shots, this is practically an all out notice saying 'she's my people, she's my family, I trust her with my life, more than that I trust her with my family and our jobs.'
'No.' 'What do you mean no? This isn't time for crazy, Parker! Come on!' 'No! I need to go back. I need to put the vial back.'
Do you understand what it feels to have someone like Parker, who is practically a ghost and the prospect of getting stuck somewhere is unthinkable, to refuse an escape route? And that too because she wants to help people and not be used to hurt them? In the face of someone who brought her up to only steal? Now that's growth.
Now this is a callback, but when Sophie and Nate first enter her safehouse, Sophie says something that foreshadows the ending. She says 'Look at this. It's methodical. This could be one of your plans, Nate.'
This is a personal choice, but god it's so good when authors and writers and creators give you hints and foreshadow and reward your intuition at the end, rather than changing endings for shock value. Because Hardison isn't ruthless, Eliot isn't striving for control, and Sophie is dramatic, not clinical. None of it would have been worth it unless it went to Parker, which it did.
Man, this fucking show I swear.
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sneezypeasy · 2 months
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The Lightning Scene, How Azula Targeted Katara (of All People), and the Doylist Reason Why That Matters
Mention Zuko's sacrifice for Katara in Sozin's Comet Part 3 as part of a pro-Zutara talking point, and invariably you'll get a Pavlovian response of:
"But Zuko would have taken the lightning for anyone."
(Not to be confused with the similar-sounding Pavlovan response, which is "Zuko's sacrifice ain't shit compared to a mouth-watering, strawberry-topped meringue dessert"*, which is actually the only valid counter-argument to how the lightning scene is a bona fide Zutara treasure, but I digress.)
Now, I've talked in depth about how the lightning scene is framed far more romantically than it had any right to be, regardless of how you might interpret the subject on paper; this is an argument which I still stand by 100%. That Zuko would have gotten barbecued for anyone, and that he was at the stage of his arc where his royal kebab-ness represented his final act of redemption, doesn't change the fact that the animators/soundtrack artists decided to pull out all the stops with making this scene hit romantic film tropes bingo by the time it played out on screen.
(I mean, we stan.)
There's also a deeper level to this conundrum, a layer which creeps up on you when you're standing in your kitchen at night, the fridge door open in front of you, your hungry, sleep-deprived brain trying to decide on what to grab for a midnight snack, and quite inexcusably you're struck with the question: Okay, Zuko may indeed have taken the lightning for just anyone, but would Azula have shot the lightning at just anyone?
But there's yet a deeper layer to this question, that I don't recall ever seeing anyone discuss (though if somebody has, mea culpa). And that is: would you have written Zuko taking the lightning for anyone else?
Or in other words, who Zuko would have taken the lightning for is the wrong question to be asking; the question we ought to be asking is who Zuko should have taken the lightning for, instead.
Get your pens out, your Doylist hats on, and turn to page 394. It's time to think like an author for a hot minute.
(If you don't know what I mean by Watsonian vs. Doylist analyses, and/or if you need a refresher course, go have a skim of the first section of this 'ere post and then scoot your ass back to this one.)
So. You're the author. You've written almost the entirety of an animated series (look at you!!) and now you're at the climax, which you've decided is going to be an epic, hero-villain showdown. Classic. Unlike previous battles between these two characters, your hero is going to have a significant advantage in this fight - partly due to his own development as a hero at the height of his strength and moral conviction, and partly because your villain has gone through a bit of a Britney Spears 2007 fiasco, and isn't quite at the top of her game here. If things keep going at this pace, your hero is going to win the fight fairly easily - actually, maybe even too easily. That's okay though, you're a talented writer and you know just what will raise the stakes and give the audience a well-timed "oh shit" moment: you're going to have the villain suddenly switch targets and aim for somebody else. The hero will be thrown off his groove, the villain will gain the upper hand, the turns will have indubitably tabled. Villains playing dirty is the number 1 rule in every villain handbook after all, and each of the last two times your hero's braved this sort of fight he's faced an opponent who ended up fighting dishonourably, so you've got a lovely Rule of Three perfectly lined up for the taking. Impeccable. The warm glow of triumph shines upon you, cherubs sing, your English teachers clap and shed tears of pride. (Except for that one teacher you had in year 8 who hated everybody, but she's a right bitch and we're not talking about her today.)
Now here's the thing: your hero is a hero. Maybe he wasn't always a hero, but he certainly is one now. If the villain goes after an innocent third party, there's basically no-one your hero wouldn't sacrifice himself for. He's a hero! Heroes do be like that, it's kind of their thing. The villain could shoot a bolt of lightning at Bildad the Shuhite, and the only thing that'd stop our boy Redeemed Paladin Bravesoul McGee from shielding his foxy ass is the fact that Bildad the Shuhite has the audacity to exist in a totally different show (disgusten.)
But. You're holding the writer's pen. Minus crossover shenanigans you don't have the licensing or time-travel technology to achieve, you have full control over how this scene plays out. You get to decide which character to target to deliver the greatest emotional impact, the juiciest angst, the most powerful cinematic suspense. You get to decide whose life you'll put at risk, to make this scene the most intense spine-chilling heart-stopper it can possibly be.
This is the climax we're talking about, after all - now is not the time to go easy on the drama.
So.
Do you make the villain target just anyone?
Or do you make the villain target someone the hero cares about?
Perhaps, someone he cares about... a lot?
Maybe even, someone he cares about... more than anybody else?
You are the author. You are the God of this universe. You get to choose.
What would deliver the strongest punch?
If you happen to make the inadvisable decision of browsing through these tropes on TV tropes, aside from wasting the rest of your afternoon (you're welcome), you'll find that the examples listed are littered with threatened and dead love interests, and, well, there's a reason for that. For better or worse, romantic love is often portrayed by authors, and perceived by audiences, as a "true" form of love (often even, "the" true form of love). Which is responsible for the other is a chicken/egg situation, one I'm not going to go into for this post - and while I'm certainly not here to defend this perspective as objectively good, I do think it's worth acknowledging that it not only exists but is culturally rather ubiquitous. (If you're playing the love interest in a story with a hero v. a villain, you might wanna watch your back, is what I'm saying.)
Regardless of whether the vibe you're aiming for is romantic or platonic however, one thing is for certain: if you want maximum oomph, the way to achieve that is by making the villain go after the player whose death would hit the hero the hardest.
And like I said, this doesn't have to be played romantically (although it so often is). There are platonic examples in those trope pages, though it's also important to note that many of the platonic ones do show up in stories where a love interest isn't depicted/available/there's a strong "bromance" element/the hero is low-key ace - and keep in mind too that going that route sometimes runs a related risk of falling into queer-bait territory *coughJohnLockcough*
That said, if there is a canon love-interest available, one who's confessed her love for the hero, one who has since been imprisoned by the villain, one who can easily be written as being at the villain's disposal, and who could quite conveniently be whipped out for a mid-battle surprise round - you might find you have some explaining to do if you choose to wield your authorly powers to have the villain go after... idk, some other sheila instead.
(The fact that this ends up taking the hero out of the fight, and the person he sacrifices himself for subsequently throws herself into the arena risking life and limb to defeat the villain and rescue her saviour, also means the most satisfying way this plays out, narratively speaking, is if both of these characters happen to be the most important person in each other's lives - at least, as of that moment, anyway - but I think this post has gone on long enough, lol)
This is, by and large, a rebuttal post more than anything else, but the tl;dr here is - regardless of whether you want to read the scene as shippy or not, to downplay Zuko's sacrifice for Katara specifically as "not that deep™" because "Zuko would have taken the lightning for anyone anyway", suggests either that a) nobody should be reading into the implications of Katara being chosen as the person nearest and dearest to Zuko, so that putting her life in jeopardy can deliver the most powerful impact possible for an audience you'd bloody well hope are on the edge of their seats during the climax of your story or b) the writers made the inexplicable decision of having the villain threaten the life of... literally who the fuck ever, and ultimately landed on someone who's actually not all that important to the hero in the grand scheme of things - which is a cardinal writing sin if I ever saw one (even disregarding the Choice to then season it with mood lighting and sad violin music, on top of it all), and altogether something I'd be legitimately pissed about if my Zuko-OTP ship paired him with Mai, Sokka, or just about anybody else 😂
Most importantly c) I'm hungry, and I want snacks.
*The Aussies in the fandom will get this one. Everyone else can suffer in united confusion.
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ddejavvu · 5 months
Note
hi mei! i absolutely love your stories! you’re a really great writer 🥰
i was wondering if u’d be interested in doing a hotch drabble about him with a s/o who seems really intimidating but is actually really soft and sweet?
like maybe it’s her appearance that makes the team intimidated by her—edgy clothing and dark makeup and stuff—when she shows up to hang out with hotch on his lunch breaks. and she’s like ‘i feel like your team doesn’t like me :(‘ and he’s like ‘honey, they’re borderline scared of you’ but it’s fluffy.
if you don’t wanna that’s totally okay! i did a bad job explaining but i’m sure you’d do an amazing job :)
love ya!! hope ur having a good day
Aaron loves when you visit him at the office for lunch, but you don't look like you're in high spirits yourself. When you sit down its with a huff and a hiss of the chair accommodating your weight, only adding to your dramatics.
"This might be my career in profiling speaking," Aaron begins, his voice soft in case something is terribly wrong, "But something tells me you're not having a good day, sweetheart."
"You're good," You tease him, and he wishes you could laugh about it together, "Aaron, I think Doctor Reid is afraid of me."
Aaron has to bite his tongue not to laugh. Doctor Reid is afraid of buffets, he thinks, but it's not an abundance of germs that unnerves Spencer about you, it's- well, it's everything he knows about you.
"Honey," Aaron calls upon that sweet tone again, "He doesn't know you very well."
"You didn't deny it!" You groan, falling back into your chair and abandoning your soup on his desk, "I knew it. What did I do?"
Aaron looks into your eyes, black-lined and sharp. He watches you chew on your cheek, your black-stained lips moved by the nervous quirk. Below your tense jaw is a chain that rests against your neck, not a full choker but not loose, either. It nearly disappears into the hem of your jacket, black leather that falls over a rather graphic old band tee.
"It's not what you've done," Aaron explains tentatively, "It's probably- well, how you look."
Your nose scrunches, and Aaron marvels the fact that you seem to have forgotten your appearance, "How do I look?"
"Like a doberman pinscher in human form," Aaron bites off a corner of his sandwich, chewing it in lieu of pressing the matter further.
"I like dobermans." You supply weakly, "Why is he afraid of me?"
"You're just not what he's used to," Aaron sighs, swallowing his mouthful and leaning across the desk, hand outstretched, "He probably thinks you could dismember him with those nails."
You place your palm in Aaron's own, and he flips your hand around to showcase the rather impressively sharp acrylics you're sporting.
"And your boots are heavier than he is, I guarantee it," Aaron nods down at your thick-soled black boots, ones that give away your entrance from a mile away by the sound of their rubber hitting the ground.
"He's just..." Aaron searches for the right word, trying not to disparage you or Reid, "Skittish. You should talk to him, though, honey. He likes science, and literature, and Star Trek. Pick something from one of those categories, and I promise he'll never stop talking to you for the rest of your life."
You're mostly satisfied, but you let your hand rest in Aaron's for a moment longer, and he'd be a fool to drop it.
"Am I scary, Aaron?" You ask earnestly, and his smile is warm as he brings your hand to his mouth to kiss at your knuckles.
"Not to me. And not to anyone who knows you," He promises, "But... it is nice to not have to worry about carrying a gun when we go out together."
"Aaron!" You laugh, "I'm not a weapon!"
"You could be!" Aaron insists, tugging your hand over to his lunch and dragging your fingernail across his sandwich, "Here, honey, cut it for me, would you? They forgot to give us knives."
"Stop!" You insist, but your laughter gives you away as you turn back to your soup with burning cheeks, "Just you wait, Aaron. As soon as Penelope stops running whenever I enter a room, we're gonna talk shit about you for this."
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f1daydreamers · 2 months
Text
𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 [𝐋𝐍𝟒] 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐
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gif credits: @eightyones
Pairing: Lando Norris x Fem!Reader
Summary: To say you weren't the biggest fan of Lando Norris was an understatement, but you also happened to underestimate just how willing the man was to prove to you that he'd changed.
Warnings: just very strong feelings (not good ones lol), Reader’s a little angry in this one so yeah, remember that this is all fiction and not telling of the actual person!
A/N: I hope I can stay consistent with posting but writer’s block is the truest thing ever so pray for me everybody (for your own sakes tbf lmao, ik whoever read the Lance series was defo not happy with my oh so consistent updates)
Here’s Part 1 if you missed it :)
Word Count: 1.9k words (7 mins reading time avg)
"What're you wearing?" Allegra popped her head into your bedroom, to see if you'd gotten changed but you hadn't, still blankly staring at your dresser.
"Uh, don't know." You breathed out, you'd spent a good half an hour trying to rid these damning thoughts about having to go to Woking tonight. Though that wasn't necessarily the problem; he was.
It didn't go unnoticed how your heart would beat a little faster when you remembered he still existed, your hands would instinctively clench into fists, your body simmering with unresolved rage.
A simple and menial task had a shadow cast over it. You hated that.
"You look like you've just seen a ghost," Allegra commented, strolling past you and spreading a variety of outfits on your bed.
"Nope, just buzzing with excitement." You murmured out a feeble response, grabbing whatever seemed the cleanest from your drawer and tossing it onto the desk chair in the corner.
Turning, you found Allegra holding up two mini-dresses and arched an eyebrow at her.
"Ally, it's January." She paused for a moment before casually throwing them behind her onto the bed and picking up a pair of light blue washed-out jeans with a white crop top.
"That's better." You smiled.
"Can't believe we have to wear the ugly-ass Google jacket." She grumbled as she shoved the rest of her clothes back into her bag, and you chuckled.
"Yes, believe it or not, we are going there to work." You reminded yourself more than her; it wasn't a social event, just networking and taking photos for the social media team. Not exactly difficult.
You made a mental note to ask James when he was leaving so you knew when to be ready by.
"I know! Still, I want to look good while I'm working." Allegra countered and you hummed in response, it wasn't the most appealing article of clothing but there was no way around it either.
"I hope we get to meet the drivers. Ugh, I'm totally living out a dream right now!" Allegra chirped.
The prospect crossed your mind, and you froze, envisioning how the encounter might unfold if he recognised you. Would he be surprised? Or would he avert his eyes in shame?
Maybe you'd throw a drink in his face before he could react. You exhaled; no, you couldn't do that. Nick would probably chop my head off, you thought. Throughout the past week, he had incessantly emphasised the importance of making a lasting impression. Smile, be helpful, talk to everybody. The mantra seemed to have etched itself permanently into your brain.
"Doesn't matter," you muttered. You'll have Allegra, James, there'll probably be hundreds of people tonight; you won't see him.
There's no way.
...
"Who are these lovely ladies?" You grinned as you and Allegra neared James, casually leaning against his BMW – our ride there.
"Ladies who kicked your ass at stats last week." His smile faltered into a thin line as he turned to you for help, but you raised your hands in mock surrender.
"30K each, baby!" You chuckled, Allegra facing you, raising her hand for a high-five that you gladly met.
"Alright, alright, don't forget this ride is free." James opened the passenger door as you climbed in first, your friend following suit.
He jogged over to the driver's side, slipping into his seat.
"And we love you for it." You teased, and he only rolled his eyes, tugging on his seatbelt and clicking it into place.
The hour and a half ride to Woking was filled with mindless chatter and jokes, while it served as a sufficient distraction for some time, your mind began shifting elsewhere.
The night ahead brought a mix of anxiety and an underlying sense of dread.
You were replaying your conversations from long ago, you remembered every evening you'd come home and complain to your mother how him and his friends were the most intolerable assholes on the face of this planet.
Growing up, you'd met a lot more of those but learned to handle them better.
Being a teenager meant your parents only waved it off, giving advice that you knew would never work - telling the teacher, standing up to them, ignoring them completely.
No matter how much you defended your friends, their teasing was endless.
Perhaps you inherited your 'forgive but never forget' attitude from a grandparent considering your parents aren't the type to hold a grudge until the end of time.
You shifted in your seat, attempting to shake off the apprehension that settled in your chest. Each passing mile brought you closer to Woking and the event that would unfold there. A lump formed in your throat, and your palms felt a bit clammy.
As you rubbed them on your jeans, James calling your name pulled you out of your trance-like state. "What's with the sour face?"
"Wishing I was in bed right now." That wasn't technically a lie, you'd always in any situation rather be in your bed.
He laughed, taking his eyes off of the rearview mirror to turn right before speaking again, "hopefully this shit doesn't last too long." You were sure it was for different reasons but you agreed wordlessly, Allegra scoffed.
"You guys are boring, this is a Formula 1 team! Come on, where is the energy in here?"
If you looked past the reasons why you thought tonight was a complete recipe for disaster, you understood her excitement, hell, maybe you were even a little excited yourself.
"It's going to be amazing," you smiled, squeezing Allegra's hand.
James nodded, "just as fun as losing to you two loonies at stats."
...
Together, you all passed through the entrance of the MTC after the security personnel checked your passes.
The sleek backdrop was instantly punctuated by the papaya-coloured uniforms that caught your eye. Inside, a crowd of employees, journalists, and photographers were engrossed in their respective responsibilities. The main area buzzed with chatter and laughter. The illuminated Google and McLaren logos adorned the wall side by side. The sheer vastness of the centre initially overwhelmed not only you but also James and Allegra on either side, their silence telling. "Woah," Allegra eventually breathed out, and you subtly nodded in agreement, acknowledging her reaction. Rope barriers enclosed the Formula 1 cars in the central area, creating a grand yet slightly intimidating exhibit. "I'm so ready to work," you chuckled, recognising Allegra's sarcasm as her eyes sparkled with a playful glint. Both of you knew that 'work' was code for mingling. She slipped away swiftly, leaving you briefly alone.
You turned to face James who, ever the social butterfly, beamed with enthusiasm.
You consciously wrapped your hand around his upper arm, a silent cue he readily understood. It's not that you didn't do well in social situations, you just didn't do well alone in social situations.
He knew that.
You allowed him to navigate you both through the crowds of people, engaging in light conversation and making necessary introductions along the way.
However, your nerves bubbled beneath the surface. Constantly glancing around, you couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, your eyes scanning the room constantly.
As the hour passed, both you and James, occasionally bumping into Allegra who was way too excited to stay in one spot for too long, continued navigating the sea of people while keeping a watchful eye for a familiar face you hoped not to encounter.
But eventually, you did. Right there, in the midst of the crowd. You couldn't be entirely sure it was him though the resemblance was nothing short of uncanny.
He looked different, changed somehow. He adorned facial hair now, quite a bit of it too, he was clad in white trainers, black sweatpants, and a McLaren hoodie.
A clear departure from the person you remembered.
As your gaze lingered on him, you became sure when a wide smile grew on his face. It was a smile that you knew all too well, one that sent a jolt of recognition through you.
His figure had grown, perhaps he was an inch or two taller but you couldn't be sure.
You didn't spend any minute with him judging his height, you spent those minutes despising him, hating him, cursing his name and his rich, arrogant ass.
A moment of panic washed over you, and instinctively, you moved away as swiftly as you could, hoping to avoid catching his attention.
A tumultuous wave of emotions crashed through you, each feeling more intense than the last as you swerved through bodies to get to the farthest point away from him.
Torment churned within, a relentless reminder of past wounds that seemed to have resurfaced. Anger flared up, fuelled by memories of his past actions that had left scars on your heart.
A weight of sadness settled in your chest, the realisation that the wounds he caused still had enough power to reopen.
A conflicting turmoil seized your thoughts. On one hand, an impulsive urge to confront and release pent-up frustration surged. Simultaneously, another part of you longed to escape, wishing to erase this night from memory as quickly as possible.
In an attempt to distract yourself, you hastily poured a cup of water, downing it in a single gulp before effortlessly tossing it into the bin.
The thought of texting James or finding Allegra crossed your mind, but the lack of energy left you rooted in place, unable to summon the will to move.
You attempted to swallow, hoping to dispel the lump in your throat, and were startled when you felt a vibration from your phone. Glancing at the screen, you noticed it was a message from Nick.
Check in with me soon. Want to see how you’re getting on
Your thumbs hesitated over the keyboard, your mind devoid of any thoughts except those consumed by the current predicament. The panic in your chest felt like it could explode at any moment.
You locked your phone, shoving it into your pocket, taking several deep breaths but not before you were interrupted.
"You alright, darlin’?” Your breath hitched in its throat. Now there was zero denying if it was or wasn't him. Nobody else has ever called you that.
Anger quickly consumed you.
"Still a prick, I take it?" Your jaw ticked as you responded through gritted teeth. You hated that nickname.
Ignoring your remark, he nonchalantly picks up a cup, pouring its contents without a care. "What brings an old friend here?"
"Is that what we are? Is that what we ever were?" You ask, reminiscent of the unpleasant past. You finally look up to meet him, his eyes narrow as if he’s scrutinising you, but he’s not.
He’s merely staring.
"You didn't come all this way to start on me now, did ya?" The flatness in his voice evident.
"You certainly make it easy." You retort.
He smirked, "you’re certainly just as charming."
You roll your eyes, deciding he wasn't worth the time you were losing when you could instead be working or being around people you actually tolerated.
But before you can, he unexpectedly grabs your hand, his grip a lot stronger than what you remember. You tightened your lips, holding back any remark that might draw unwanted attention.
"Why are you acting like that, darlin’?" His question came in a near-whisper, laced with a hint of.. disappointment?
"Like what?" You murmured, meeting his gaze.
His eyes wander, trying to pinpoint the look in yours, "like you hate me."
Observing his face for a moment, you chuckle bitterly. Your phone was buzzing continuously, it must be Nick, you thought.
"Because I do, asshole." With that, you yanked your hand away, turning to leave as you grabbed your phone out of your jacket pocket to pick up Nick’s call.
...
Part 3
Masterlist
Taglist: @landosgirlxoxo @sltwins @dutifullyannoyingfox @moonayu @mrsmaybank13 @queenofmanydreams @chonkybonky @urmotheris @ananyasr1bughead @alliwantisadonut @daisysnhl @writingworlds @leclercsluv @tylerstacobell @booksandflowrs @kissesandmartinis @starssfall
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msgexymunson · 2 years
Text
Red Handed
Exhibitionist!Fem!reader x soft!dom!Eddie
Description: the Polaroids had started out as just a joke, until you realised how much it turned you on taking them
A/N: this is from an anon ask, hope you don't mind where I went with it. Blended in a bit of exhibitionism and I was liberal with the 'object' Eddie recognises...
Warnings: lotta smut, hella angst, bitta fluff (nice ending we all need love in our lives) reader uses she/her pronouns (minors DNI I will tell your mothers) F! Masturbation, oral M! Receiving, unprotected sex (use some sense y'all) again I'm english so if any americanisms seem odd soz babe. Comments and reblogs are a writers best friend.
Word count: 4.7k
Masterlist
The school hallway was bustling. Teenagers were scooting through, talking loudly, making their way to first period. Some jocks were laughing in a group by the water fountain. A gaggle of nerds were inching cautiously past, sneakers squeaking on the linoleum floor. Stood by your locker, you were taking your time gathering your text books. You were waiting, desire and angst flowing and intermingling in a hot mess in your gut.
Finally, a mop of messy brown locks bursts into view. Eddie's gait is chipper, practically bouncing down the hall. Eddie, your best friend. Who is about to see you nearly naked. Not that he has any idea of course.
"Mornin' princess!" Eddie beams, flashing pearly teeth.
"Well aren't you full of the joys of Spring?" Smiling back at him; it was infectious. Eddie was a ray of sunshine for anyone who actually knew him.
"Just feel good today, have a feeling I might be lucky, you know?" He says, fixing his eyes on his locker, turning the combination.
You wait with bated breath as the door springs open and a small square envelope falls out. Eddie bends lightning fast and grabs it off the floor. Flipping it over, he sees a tiny red heart drawn in the corner. Eddie practically punches the air.
"I fuckin' knew it, today's my day!" He says half to himself, ripping the envelope open. Taking out some Polaroids his jaw drops. You watch as a blush creeps from his neck, up his jaw, and flushes his cheeks. You can feel a mirror of that blush, but the heat was travelling between your legs. God, this is such a turn on. If only he knew. He turns and presses his back against the lockers, hand on his forehead, gawping. He moves the pile to the next one, eyes bulging, then to the final photo.
"Holy shit." His hand compulsively strokes the back of his neck, eyes wide.
"Guessing you got another present then? A good one?" Knowing full well the answer. He nods emphatically, eyes not leaving the Polaroid. The reaction was everything you ever wanted. You don't need to ask what the pictures show, you took them.
The first image was you in your red lace bra and panties, perched on the edge of a desk, legs crossed. The next, your legs are wide open. The final picture was similar to the first, but this time you had removed your bra, your free hand teasing one of your nipples. None of them showed your face of course. Couldn't have Eddie knowing his shy, unassuming best friend was actually a filthy exhibitionist after all.
"You just need to ask her out Eddie, surely you must know who this is?" You try to keep a straight face, but it doesn't matter, Eddie's still looking at the picture. Your words shake him a little out of his daydream state.
"Sweetheart, when I find out who this is I'm gonna fuckin' marry her." You laugh loudly at that.
"Hang on, these are- fuck!" He looks at you. Fuckfuckfuck has he spotted something?
"These are taken at school! That's our English class! Jesus Christ, this is the girl of my dreams" he groans, leaning his head back, bashing it against the lockers. The bell rings.
"Come on lover boy, let's get to class." You bound off with Eddie at your heels, grinning to yourself and hugging your books.
*************************
It had all started as a joke really. Payback. You and the rest of Hellfire, your D & D club, were hanging out, talking shit as per usual. Dustin was gushing about his super hot, super nerdy girlfriend and Eddie was throwing m&ms at him.
"Hey! Just 'cause your jealous! You should go and find a girl instead of giving me shit about mine!" Dustin complains.
"Well, that would be great and all, but I don't even know any girls dingus. Only hang out with you losers." He says, throwing another m&m.
Dustin pointed at you, "y/ns a girl."
Eddie sniggered. "She doesn't count, she's one of us." He playfully punched you on the arm. You pressed your lips together firmly, feeling the tips of your ears go red.
'She doesn't count?' What the fuck. What am I, meatloaf or something? You should have said it out loud, but you just couldn't bring yourself to.
Once the embarrassment had worn off, you were angry. Storming into your room, you had flopped onto your bed, holding your face, biting back hot tears. Eddie was, well, everything. And you didn't count. The words were burning in your head. You'd been nursing this crush on him for a while, and apparently you may as well not exist. Pulling your hands away from your face you glance over at your desk to see your Polaroid camera sitting there. Hmmm. I'll teach him a lesson.
You took your bed sheet and hung it over your wardrobe. Standing in front of it, you whipped off your jeans and t shirt, changing into a tight strappy top, and posed. It was tricky to take a picture on your own and you messed up the first two, but the third was good. You could see your chest, nipples poking at the fabric, braless, and the side of your thigh was on display. Angling the camera to take a photo of your ass, you managed it on the first go. Lacy black panties riding high, showing the shape of your butt, it was actually a flattering image. I'll show you I count Munson.
That was the first time you had snuck Polaroids in his locker.  You had watched him from around the corner, seen his puzzlement on finding the envelope with the heart on it. When he opened it his jaw fell open, looking around, trying to see if it was a joke. You felt smug. Walking over you grinned at Eddie.
"Hey Munson what you got there?"
"I-I think, maybe... erm, someone got the wrong locker? There's these, erm, photos. Fuck." He's not forming proper sentences, looking flushed and bewildered.
Suddenly it's hard to breathe. You can feel your pulse deep inside, heat pouring out of you. What the hell. This was about getting him back, but the thought of him seeing you in that state, showing your body to him, was intoxicating. Especially since he didn't know it was you.
You tried to steady your breathing. "Maybe you have a secret admirer?" You said, voice much calmer than you felt.
"Shit you think so?" He stared at you with big wide eyes; the look nearly broke you. You just couldn't reveal that it was a joke, not now. He looked so hopeful.
For a few days, you had thought maybe that was that. You had proven your point after all, even if it was only to yourself. That all fell apart when you brought the camera to The Hideout, and took a picture of Eddie on stage. He looked ethereal, this glowing God of a man, and you just had to. You made your way to the bathroom and stripped down to your underwear, taking a picture of you spread legged on the toilet seat, then another with your bra off, free arm covering your breasts.
It excited you; all of it. The sneaking around, the thrill that you might get caught, exposing yourself to Eddie. It made you feel alive. It made you feel dirty. Getting braver and more confident with each mini shoot, the locations got more and more risky. There was the toilets at school, then the woods just outside where Eddie did his deals. Now, Mrs O'Donnell's classroom. You had gotten to school at 6am for that one, the rush of potentially being caught red handed burning through your veins.
You knew it couldn't last though. Eventually you would need to stop. Eddie can be a bit dim sometimes, but surely he'd work it out, and then you'd have to admit your crush and potentially ruin your friendship. Plus, how self-conscious were you going to feel, knowing Eddie knew exactly what lay under your clothes?
One last time. You had said it before, but this time that was it, and you knew the perfect place.
*********************
It was 10pm the next day. Sitting in your car you were staking out the school, building up the nerve. The janitor had left some time ago, but you knew a side door that was never locked properly. Taking a deep breath, you grab your backpack, scoot out of your car and hurriedly make your way to the side of the school.
Moving through the hallways, you open up a small door and navigate your way around the drama room, coming to your destination. You grinned to yourself knowing this was going to blow Eddie's mind.
You're standing in front of Eddie's throne. His Hellfire seat, the one no one was allowed to touch, not even if someone else in the party ran a one shot. It was the cardinal rule. This was Eddie's spot.
Stripping off, you get entirely naked, shivering in the chilly air. Clearly the heating is turned off at night. You sit on the throne, arousal flowing through you already at the thought of what you were about to do, toying at your own nipples, getting them camera ready. The first shot you take both your legs are draped over the arm of the throne. The next, you let one leg fall to the floor, legs spread, cunt on full display.
Softly dragging your hand down, you graze your clit, holding your breath in your throat. Another photo. You glide your fingers through your folds, feeling your wetness seeping out, your arousal already pooling around your entrance. Another photo. You slide two fingers in all the way, letting out a stifled whimper, body on fire despite the chilly air. Another photo.
Finally, you reach to the side, to your backpack at your feet and pull out your red dildo. It wasn't very long, but thick, and covered with small ridges to accentuate your pleasure. You took a photo with it in your hand, held against your naked chest, fingers shining with your slick, then teased it through your folds, gathering the collecting slick emanating from your cunt.
You plunge it into your heat and set a deep and unforgiving pace, angling the sex toy so it grazed your g spot. Another photo.
After that the camera becomes a burden; you hastily drop it on the table in front of you and concentrate on chasing your pleasure. A tight feeling gathers in your stomach, limbs warm, pursuing rapture. Your head starts to feel fuzzy, and you feel wrong for doing this here, in this sacred spot, but that just amplifies your arousal.
You think about what Eddie would say if he caught you right now. What would he do? Would he stand in shock? Walk out? Help you chase your release? Or just watch you? The thought of being caught by him pushed you over the precipice. You came over your hand with a broken groan, biting your lip to try and stifle your noises.
Panting, you remove the toy from inside you, gasping for breath. You have a look at the discarded Polaroids. The last one was hot as hell, back arched, tits on display, red toy slightly blurry as it pounded into you. Holy shit. Eddie's going to explode. You giggle, getting your clothes back on and stuff together before sneaking out.
*********************
The next day you were practically buzzing with excitement, running over to your locker, when you see Eddie's already there. Shit.
"Hey sweetheart, where's the fire?" Eddie smirks at you out the side of his mouth, pushing his locker closed.
"You know me, just eager for a day of learning!" He chuckles at that. "You ok, any presents today?"
"Nope" Eddie says, looking slightly deflated. "Thought I'd try and get here early, see if I could catch them but no dice." He frowns.
"Well, can't be every day. Hey, remember we are hanging out tonight. This is a no frown zone!" You lightly push his arm.
"Oh yeah, yours or mine?"
"Mine. My parents arent home and your room stinks Eddie."
Eddie looks aghast and mimes being stabbed in the chest, flinging himself into the lockers, making an almighty racket.
"Oh, sweetheart, you wound me!"
Some students turn to see the commotion, others keep walking, used to his antics.
"Well it does! Learn to clean your sheets doofus. I'll see you later." You muss his hair and walk off, the envelope full of photos burning in your pocket.
*********************
After lunch you and Eddie make your way to your lockers, trying to stop the knowing smirk from crawling over your face. Earlier, you had managed to sneak out of biology, feigning 'women's problems' (your teacher waved their hand at you with a turned up nose, he clearly didn't want any details) in order to jam the photos into Eddie's locker and run.
When the envelope slips to the floor with a thwap Eddie looks seriously confused. He's had never had an afternoon delivery before. He quickly rips the envelope open and you watch as he seems to break down in front of your eyes. No sound leaves his lips, eyes wide, hand held to his mouth in shock, wheeling through image after image.
"You ok Eds?" You say softly. He doesn't answer for a bit, then coughs, shoving the photos into his pocket.
"Yeah. Fine. See you later." He faces the wall for a second, out the corner of your eye you see him attempt to arrange the growing bulge in his jeans. He tries to walk off whilst hunched over, taking long strides. You turn to follow him with your eyes, and see him practically jogging to the bathroom.
Jesus Christ is he gonna rub one out? The thought blazed in your brain, thinking about Eddie frantically fucking his fist with your photo in the other hand, sweaty and desperate. Sighing, you tense your thighs, saving that image for another time, and make your way to class.
*********************
After having takeout for dinner, you were sprawled on the foot of your queen sized bed, flicking through a magazine. Eddie was leaning up against your pillows, getting a baggy out so you two could have an after dinner smoke. Led Zeppelin is softly playing from your tape deck, much to Eddie's annoyance.
"Seriously, this again? Can't we listen to something else?"
"Nu-uh. My bedroom my rules." You say back, as you had a dozen times before.
Eddie grumbles under his breath, but you know there's no spite in it.
You see Eddie fumbling around out the corner of your eye, patting his pockets.
"Lighters on the bedside table." You say without looking.
"Aha, there you are you little sucker" he grabs the lighter and sparks the joint, taking a few hits.
"You want some of this?" He waves the joint, winking at you. You feel a shiver shoot down your spine, wishing he had meant something else besides the smoke.
"Of course I do, why do you think I hang around with you," you wink back, winding him up.
"Well shit you ain't having any now!" He says, holding his hand high in the air.
You huff at him, stretching over, trying to grab it from waving fingers. You lean further into him but he bends right back into the gap in your pillows, hand underneath them. Suddenly his eyes widen, grin threatening to split his face in half.
"You can take it" he says, passing the spliff to you whilst you stare at him confused.
"I've found something better" he says in a sing song voice, and pulls his hand out from its hiding place, holding your dildo in his hand, waving it at you and laughing.
Shit! You'd forgotten you had jammed it there before he came round! You'll never hear the end of this.
Eddie, still chuckling, looks at it, seemingly for the first time. It drops out of his hand as if it had burned him and rolls off the bed, onto the floor. Eddie's staring at you in shock. You felt your stomach drop out from under you, realising a bad situation just got worse. It was the toy you had used in the last batch of photos. It sat on the floor, glaring at you, matt red. It felt like it was burning a whole in your carpet, setting your friendship with Eddie ablaze.
"Sweetheart..."
You look down, and put the joint in the ashtray next to you. Twisting your hands, you  play with your rings, unable to meet his stare.
"Look, it was supposed to be a joke, I was just getting you back, you know, after what you said? And I started enjoying it and I-I like you and I didn't mean it to go so far and..."
"Will you look at me?" Eddie's voice trembles slightly.
You scrunch your eyes shut, hot tears spilling out the creases of your eyes, running down your cheeks, leaving salty embarrassed trails in their wake.
"I think I'd rather die than look at you right now. I'm so fuckin' embarrassed and stupid, you might as well just leave, I'm a creep, I'm so, so sorry-"
Firm lips press against yours. You lean back in shock, not expecting the sudden kiss. When you dare to look Eddie is staring straight at you, eyes soft, hand reaching out to your fidgeting digits, trying to calm you down.
"I had to-to do something..." your words dwindling.
"You said I said something, what did I say?" He holds your hands, massaging your fingers softly.
"You.. said I didn't count."
"When?" He exclaims, word tinged in disbelief.
"Dustin said I was a girl, and you said I didn't count. I just wanted to show you, I do count. I dunno, I just wanted you to pay attention to me." You gaze at him, hurt etched into your brow.
"Oh sweetheart" holding his hand to your cheek, he strokes your jaw "I didn't mean it like that, I was just tryin' to take attention away from you is all. What was I supposed to do, ask you out on the spot?" He chuckles, pulling you in for another kiss.
This time you're ready, kissing him back with urgency. His lips are surprisingly soft; the kiss tastes of weed, cigarettes and gum, and maybe the lingering hint of strawberry chapstick that glosses your mouth. You both open your mouths, tongues clashing, fighting for dominance. It's messy, and passionate, and everything you could have hoped for. Both of his hands snake to the back of your head, pushing you towards him to deepen the kiss. Your breathing becomes laboured, hands grasping at his t shirt, balling it in your fists for something to grab onto. You nibble at his bottom lip, eliciting a breathy sigh from him.
Eddie breaks from the kiss and moves his mouth to your neck, mouthing and biting, hands running down your back.
"Well," he whispers into your skin between sucks to your throat, "who knew you were such a deviant." He bites into your shoulder through your t shirt making you cry out.
"I-I'm not a deviant" you struggle out, nails raking into the bare skin of his arms.
"Oh really? At The Hideout? At school? On my throne? You're a naughty girl" he gives you a self satisfied smirk and runs his tongue up the length of your neck, drawing out a loud cry from your throat.
"It felt good" you admit to him, "I liked the feeling, that I might get caught." You're cheeks redden at the confession. You had barely confessed it to yourself.
"Such a filthy girl. Jesus Christ, the things I've thought about." He pulls at the hem of your top; you comply, pulling it over your head, exposing your breasts since you had forgoed a bra.
Eddie's groan at your bare breasts vibrates through the air in the room and straight to your cunt. His eyes look like they are about to pop right out of his head.
"The photos didn't do you justice darling. Holy shit, look at you."
You steal the moment he's taken to stare and worship.
"So, are you gonna marry me now Munson?' You joke, biting your lip and smiling.
"Eventually. First? First I'm gonna..." he takes your nipple between his teeth, biting softly, and you take a shocked breath, "I'm gonna absolutely rail you" he takes your nipple into his mouth fully and sucks hard, squeezing the other so much it borders on pain. You wail his name in response. It releases from his mouth with a wet sound. "I'm gonna fuck you everywhere you took a picture."
You laugh incredulously, then look at his eyes, and see his solemn stare in response. Oh, he was being serious. Your pussy contracted at the thought, squeezing around an imaginary length. "You'd like that wouldn't you, you dirty girl?"
You can only hum in response, tugging at his t shirt. He whips it off, allowing your fingers to explore his unchartered skin, running fingertips over his unseen tattoos. Hands stroking, caressing his flesh. Eddie groans at your touches and reaches to undo his jeans, belt undone, popping the button.
He licks the flat of his tongue across your nipple, making you whimper. "You think you can help me out?" Gesturing to his crotch.
"Mmm yeah" you breathe, fumbling with the fly, pulling it down and pushing him backwards onto the bed. You see his boxers,  and reach out to pull them down and release his swollen cock. It pops up, rising from the base of brunette curls, curving slightly at the tip, girthy and dribbling. You kneel between his legs and take the tip into your mouth, moaning around his length. Eddie nearly bucks into your mouth at the feeling, trying so hard not to fuck into your throat.
You take more of his length, nose pressed to his curls, gagging slightly. Eddie makes a high pitched moan. God, the feeling of him at your mercy makes your core hum with need. You run your tongue around his member and lick the sensitive tip, hands slightly squeezing the base.
"Fuck princess I, I can't last if you do that!" He pulls you off and stares in your eyes.
"Where did you take the pictures. I know you must have taken some in here."
You point wordlessly to the white fluffy rug in front of your wardrobe.
"Stand up." You can't find it in you to disobey.
Eddie's strong hands stroke down your sides, making their way to your jeans, undoing them and tugging them down to your ankles along with your underwear. There you stood, completely exposed to him. You could feel yourself dripping almost, slick feathering your thighs.
Eddie licks his lips. "Fuck you are so hot. I wanna taste you. But not now. Get on your hands and knees." He roughly handles you into position and you gasp at how dominant he is being. Every word is shooting to your core, making you throb with need.
You do as you are asked, on your hands and knees, waiting to see what was next.
Rough fingertips graze your heat making you cry out.
"Easy baby, gotta get you ready for me." He slips a finger into your pussy and you squeeze around it desperately, back arching. Slowly, he pumps it in and out, watching you squeal and squirm. The lewd wet noise is echoing through the room along with your moans. He adds another finger and you buck into his hand, fucking yourself onto his digits.
"Shit baby you gonna cum already? Fuck." He pumps his fingers into you faster, curling them into you.
"Eddie yes fuck!" You release suddenly, unexpectedly, squealing his name like a prayer. The molten red hotness of your orgasm peels through your every vein. Panting and sweaty you look back at him.
"Fuck me, you're as pretty as a picture." He chuckles darkly, pulling his boxers down.
"You got a condom baby?"
"No, no please just fuck me, I'm on the pill."
"Jesus Christ you are filthy, gonna fuck this pussy good yeah?"
You push back in response, your soaked lips touching the tip of his cock. He pushes into you, the filthiest moan escaping his lips.
This is what you had been craving. The sneaking around, the thrill of being caught, it was nothing compared to feeling his throbbing dick inside of you, stretching out your cunt so much no other dick could possibly compare. It hurt, but it was breathtaking. A pain you wanted to feel over and over. Eddie gave you a moment to get used to him, hands pressing into the fat of your hips, molding into his palms. Then he did as he said he would, railing into you at an unforgiving pace, pounding you from behind so roughly you were practically screaming. It was animalistic and feral and you fucking loved it. Every thrust was fire, the way he grabbed at you was possessiveness personified. He owned you.
You had never known a boy to be so loud before. His moans and cries were stabbing at you as much as his cock was.
"You like that sweetheart? Gonna fuckin' ruin you." Thrusting, stabbing into you, he grabbed you by your throat, pulling you bodily upwards. You could feel the cold of his rings pressed against you. He squeezed and you let out the longest, loudest moan you'd ever known, crushing his cock with how tight you were inside. Your orgasm came quickly, breaking you down into pieces. You became undone, a broken shell, moans and whines flowing from your lips.
You fell to the floor, hips only staying in place due to his strong hands. He'd released your throat, letting your head flop down, driving into you with even more force.
The overstimulation turned you into a screaming hot mess, but Eddie wasn't done with you yet. Pushing your head down into the rug he continued to force into you hard and fast until his movements began to falter and he released into your cunt. You felt his cum hit your gummy walls and the feeling was just too much, you were so sensitive and sore from the way he had used you. Tears streaked your cheeks, hot against your flushed face. Utterly and completely fucked.
You both stopped, frozen in that ridiculous position, until you felt his fingertips grazing your back tenderly, a harsh contrast from the previous moment you had shared together.
"Was that ok?" Barely a whisper, as if he thought you might blow away in the breeze.
"...yeah" you manage to gasp out, trying to lift yourself, suddenly unable to support the weight of your own head.
"Shit sweetheart sorry." Eddie pulled out from you and you whined at the loss. You'd never felt so empty. But then he was there, lifting your upper half up, getting you to lay back so he could pick you up bodily and lay you out on the bedclothes. Your knees were sore and red and your pussy lips were painful and swollen.
Eddie walked off to your bathroom, returning with a warm cloth. The tenderness honestly surprised you. Never had a boy tried to take care of you after. He swept the cloth between your folds, making you hiss at the contact. Eddie shushed you, cleaning you up. Then he laid facing you, hand brushing your side.
"You ok sweetheart?" He look on his face was practically dripping with concern, his hands roaming over you, trying to soothe and console you.
"Yes baby, fuck that was..  that was something else" you giggle at him, fingers drifting over his torso, feeling at the relaxed muscles.
"So, a nap, then a drive yeah?"
"What??"
"What's the next spot? The Hideout? Don't think I'm finished with you yet, I've got a promise to deliver future Mrs Munson."
You laugh out loud, holding him tightly.
7K notes · View notes
megankoumori · 10 months
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In defense of a "Wicked Stepmother":
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Sarah's Stepmother in "Labyrinth", named Irene in tie-in media, only gets about a minute of screen time before Sarah rushes off to her room in a soaked snit. Fanfic writers usually turn her into an evil bitch and even the manga sequel, "Return to Labyrinth", has her cold and abusive to Toby, her biological child. But here's the thing...
I think Sarah's mother gets a bum rap.
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Dressing nicely for an evening out and having mild conflict with a teenager does not a Lady Tremaine make. And as someone who actually lived with a narcissistic, manipulative, emotionally abusive stepfather, I can tell you that Irene doesn't even come close to wicked step parent territory.
Backstory first. It's never spoken of in the film, but clues in Sarah's room tell us that her real mother is a stage actress who abandoned her and her father for another actor. Sarah idolizes her mother and tries to emulate her with play acting. Sarah's father met and married Irene sometime after Linda ran off, and Sarah, who thinks her mom walks on water, resents the hell out of Irene for taking her place. A place that Linda abandoned for another man.
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She couldn't help it. He looked like David Bowie.
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Let's look at her first alledged transgression. She won't let Merlin into the house. Instead she orders him into the garage. Heartless, we assume because we all love dogs and only the most soulless of monsters don't. But slow down. She didn't leave him out in the rain. She put him in the garage. Furthermore, Merlin is an Old English Sheepdog. Is he a nice dog? Sure, but he's also a breed that's notorious for being high maintenance and hard to keep clean and right now he's soaking wet and filthy. Irene isn't being cruel, she's trying to keep him from ruining the carpet.
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So now Sarah and Irene are in the house about to have their confrontation. "Sarah, you're an hour late..."
Sarah lost track of time. Sarah is the one who screwed up. Irene has every right to be frustrated. For all we know, she and Robert were supposed to see a movie or meet someone and Sarah's tardiness wrecks their plans. Note, please, that while she is frustrated, she's not even yelling. My mom would have screamed bloody murder and then held it over my head for weeks.
"Your father and I go out very rarely..."
"You go out every single weekend!"
There is no way to confirm who is right on this. I will say Sarah is the one prone to hysterics and exaggeration, so it's not looking good for her.
"And I ask you to babysit only if it won't interfere with your plans."
I ask. Irene asks. She doesn't demand, and she doesn't expect Sarah to give up her previous plans.
"Well how would you know what my plans are? You don't even ask me anymore!"
Sarah, you were LARPing in a park by yourself. Furthermore, with the storm you would have gone home anyway.
"Well I assume you would tell me if you had a date. I'd like it if you had a date. You should have dates at your age."
Irene doesn't want Sarah to be a Cinderella stuck at home every night. She wants her to go out and have a social life. This is literally the opposite of the bedtime story Sarah tells Toby later.
Also, "I'd assume you tell me..." Irene might not be wording it in the best way here, but she wants Sarah to communicate with her. She wants them to have a relationship.
Then Robert enters the scene. "Sarah, you're home. We were worried about you."
WE were worried. As in both he and Irene. You think that's the reason she was waiting on the porch? Because their sixteen year old daughter is an hour past when she said she'd be home and now it's raining and getting dark?
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It's not like she'd ever talk to a stranger.
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Sarah runs up the stairs in a snit, not even acknowledging her father and leaving Irene dismayed. "She treats me like a wicked stepmother in a fairy story no matter what I say." Her voice isn't angry, it's hurt. She's making an effort to reach Sarah, but nothings working. She can't break through the tantrums and the anger and the hero worship of Linda.
Sarah is a fantasy junkie. It's all over her room. Her books are all fairy tales. Her dog and her teddy bear are named after figures from Arthurian legend. But she's wrapped herself in a different kind of fantasy, a toxic one. One where Irene, well meaning and kind, is one of the evil stepmothers from her fairytale books, while Linda is good and virtuous like one of the dead moms at the beginning. Except Linda isn't dead. She's shtupping a costar.
Part of Sarah's coming of age and maturity is rejecting Jareth, the stand in for her mother's lover and therefore finally rejecting following her mother's selfish path. We see her finally let go of Linda by putting her picture and clippings in the drawer. Hopefully, the next morning, after she picks the confetti out of her hair, she'll finally be able to start over with Irene.
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marvelouslizzie · 1 year
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Trust In What Tomorrow Brings - Co-written with @notafunkiller
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Summary: After your first date with Bucky Barnes, you two spend some time alone in your apartment. That's when you realize you actually want to keep him.
Pairing: 40s Bucky Barnes x Female Reader
Warnings: 18+ NSFW MINORS DNI, second encounter, teasing, pet names, sir and sergeant kink, a tiny bit of mommy kink, mentions of past relationships, mentions of trauma, protected and unprotected sex, praising dirty talking mixture, dry humping, ripped clothing, face riding, blowjob, rough sex, multiple orgasms, light punishment, no mention of y/n
Word Count: 11.9K
A/N: This is technically a second chapter to You’re My Desire but you don't need to read the first chapter to understand what's going on since this is their second date. We actually planned it as a one-shot but somehow 40s Bucky and this universe didn't want us to be done. So here we are with a sequel. We kinda went overboard with it because we just want Bucky to have a little bit of a good time in the middle of the war.
Please give my lovely co-writer @notafunkiller a follow. She's a great writer and a talented creator in general.
All work is ours, please do not repost or translate without our permission.
Every like, comment, and reblog is highly appreciated. Don’t hesitate to message us. Unless it’s hate. That’s never welcome.
Read more tag starts after the fourth paragraph of the story.
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You may wanna read You're My Desire first
"This is absolutely crazy. They are all yours?" Bucky's fascinated smile is so cute that you smile, too.
“Oh yeah, I have been collecting books for a long time.”
"What's this?" He takes a book with a white cover that had no title or author written on it and analyzes it carefully.
“No, no, no.” You immediately try to take it back. “That’s not for your eyes, mister.”
"What?" Bucky snorts. "Is that your diary or what?"
“No, it’s not my diary.” You try to take the book back again, but you're not successful.
"Then why not?" He is even more curious now, turning his back a little to you to open it. "Even a dedication, huh? Is it from an old lover?" 
“No, it’s not. Come on, give it back.”
He sighs, not wanting to push you and hands you the book. "Okay, sorry."
You didn’t expect him to give up this easily. His consideration makes you wanna share a little bit more with him. So you open up a page and show him.
“This is why you aren’t supposed to see this.”
He was careful not to hurt her as he pushed her.
Her skin was so soft under his touch that nothing matters anymore.
"Oh god," Bucky covers his mouth. "Is the whole book like this, doll?"
“Pretty much.” You giggle a little, amused by his cute reaction.
"Wanna read it to me?" He winks.
“You can read it yourself if you wanna learn a thing or two.”
"Excuse you?" Bucky raises his eyebrow. "Are you questioning my skills now?"
You throw your head back, laughing, and Bucky crosses his arms with a frown as he watches you.
“I’m teasing you.”
"Sure." He puffs. He knows you have experience, but what if he doesn't keep up to your expectations?
“I’m really teasing you. Half of the things they do sound unrealistic.”
"Give me an example." His voice is somehow a little vulnerable.
You take a big breath, already regretting this. “Let’s see: having sex underwater like crazy. The girl is… wet for hours. They are going at it all night, and the guy comes several times in a row.”
Bucky snorts, coming closer to you. "Does he have the super super serum? Because that's not biologically possible."
“That’s exactly what I meant.“
"Yet you still read them. Who wrote this?"
“There aren’t many options when it comes to these kinds of books. The author is not written as you can see.” 
"How do you find them though?" He's genuinely curious.
“Mostly we borrow from each other. This one is my favorite so I bought a copy.”
"We? Who's we?"
“Girls. Exchanging books.”
Bucky's eyes glow all of a sudden. "Like a book club?"
“Yeah, like a book club.” You can’t help but smile at how excited he is.
"Oh god. Is it only for girls?" He tries to calm down a little, but this is so interesting he can't control himself. 
Your smile turns into a full laugh. “You wanna read erotic books with girls?”
Bucky groans embarrassed as he covers his face. "No, of course not. I was just wondering. I can read erotic books with my girl."
“Your girl?” You raise your right eyebrow playfully.
"Aren't you?" He drops the hand from his face to grab yours.
“It depends on you.” You really wanna kiss him, but you hold yourself back.
Bucky surprises you by grabbing your ass and pulling you into him. Your book falls on the floor, but neither of you cares as he kisses you gently. "Want to be my girl, doll?"
“Yes, yes.”
"Are you sure? I can't make love to you the whole night," Bucky says amused.
You laugh. “I don’t think I would survive that even if you could.”
He joins you in laughter. "I'd probably die mid-thrust."
“You know what, though?”
"What?"
“I didn’t think having sex against the wall was realistic. You know, carrying the other person the whole time while thrusting. I thought that no more than 2 or 3 minutes could be possible, but you proved me wrong.”
Bucky looks at her surprised. "Really?"
“Yeah, really. I still don’t know how you did that.”
"I just held you. I'm a soldier." He brushes it off. "Maybe your... friends need to exercise more."
“My friends?” You repeat in a joking manner.
"Special friends."
“I don’t have any special friends.”
"Doll," he groans. "You know what I mean."
“I know and I never had any special friends.”
Bucky sighs. "Your previous... partners."
“I just had one partner, and he wasn’t a special friend. He was my fiancé.”
"Oh?" He feels like a total fool for assuming that. The word engagement, though… That burns a hole in his stomach. "Your fiance? What happened?" 
“He got drafted, and then I found out he was cheating on me. So I broke off the engagement.”
Bucky can't believe it. How could he do that? "Wow, I'm sorry. I have no idea what to say. When did it happen?"
“Over a year ago.” You offer a little more information with a bitter smile. You're glad you found out then. It would have been a mess if you had gotten married before that. “It’s okay. You already said more than he ever did.”
"I..." Bucky takes a step back. You're probably still in pain. Maybe even in love or regretting what could have been. He doesn't know how to process this. "I'm sorry once again."
“It’s okay.” You shrug. “And look, I know what kind of impression I gave you on that first date. So if you don’t believe I only had one partner before, I understand it.”
"That's not... I frankly don't care how many partners you had. That is the last thing I'd ever care about. What we did was to follow our needs." He sighs. "But I want to know what you really want us to be. Because I am not sure I would be the right guy to mend your heart only."
He wants a whole lot more.
“I am not expecting you to mend my heart, Bucky.”
"You talked about pain," he says naively.
“Pain that happened in the past. I’m not in pain anymore.”
"Oh." He slaps his forehead. "I'm sorry. I misunderstood, I guess. I was surprised because we have a connection and I felt like you liked me back, so hearing that you suffer..." Bucky's eyes soften. "He's an idiot. He never deserved you. A coward and a horrible man. I am sorry you had to go through this."
You wrap your arms around his neck. “You think we have a connection, huh?” You ignore the rest. You don’t wanna think about the past anymore.
"I hope you feel it, too." He sounds so shy and vulnerable you can't help yourself but smile.
“You are in my apartment all alone. What do you think?”
"I think we should dance."
“Dance?” You are surprised by his sudden suggestion.
"Yes. I mean, I am not a great dancer, but I’m decent enough. Can we?"
“Yeah, of course. We should put some music on first.”
"You have a record player?! He doesn't even try to hide his shock and excitement anymore, so you grab him by his hand and drag him toward your record player. 
You watch him staring at the big pile of records on the table.
“I have my apartment now, so I can spend my money on books, records, and stuff to cook.”
"Can you adopt me?" He jokes, without taking his eyes off your record player. "Wanna be my mommy? You can be my special young mama."
“Oh?” You try really hard not to smile, a little confused. “How does that work?”
"How do you think it works?" He's not even trying to sound seductive, but he still does. You have to take a deep breath, trying to keep your excitement down.
“I really don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
"Hmm, maybe another time. How about we dance?"
“Okay,” you say and you start to go through your records until you find Frank Sinatra. You put the record on and manage to find There Are Such Things really quickly.
"I love this one! You have a treasure here, doll." You extend your hand out and wait for him to take it so you two can start dancing. "Wanna sway with me, ma'am?" He finally takes your hand and brings you closer.
“I would love that.”
You're not surprised he's a good dancer. You expected this to be honest. But his goofiness, his funny faces, the way his voice feels so pleasant as he sings the lyrics… You feel shy to sing along when he's such a good singer, so you only hum against his chest.
He is warm and strong under your touch. It makes you remember the time you were much closer than this. You wondered what got into you that day, why you acted the way you did. He’s just intoxicating, and you would totally do it all over again.
"What are you thinking about?” He looks at you. “You seem distracted. Wanna do something else?"
His voice takes you back to reality. You are ashamed to admit you were thinking about sex, so you snuggle against his chest.
“No. Let’s keep dancing.”
"Only if you tell me what got you so distracted." You feel his lips on your head as he speaks.
“Your touch.” You try to be honest but also not expose yourself completely.
"What about it? Already tired of it?" You know he does it intentionally. He's so easy to read at this point.
“Yeah, so tired of it, that’s why I wanna keep dancing.” You try to surpass the urge to smile.
Bucky snorts, unable to contain himself. "All types of dancing?"
“How many types of dancing do you know, Sergeant?”
"One that you know for sure, too. We practiced it before." The change of tone is so obvious, and his hands fully wrap around your hips, pushing you more against him. He's so hard.
You look up, not moving away from his chest when you realize you aren’t the only one thinking about sex just because you are dancing. It’s a relief.
“I thought we were doing a regular dance,” you say, but the smile on your lips is giving away your actual feelings about this situation.
"Isn't this regular?"
"If you want it to be."
"Sounds good to me."
"Where should we dance, though? Kitchen? Bedroom? Here? Bathroom?" You start to laugh. He’s such an idiot. "Floor?" He joins you and starts to laugh as well.
“Floor?” You frown. “I think we deserve a bed this time.”
"I was teasing you," He lifts your chin to kiss you properly. "Thought you liked it rough."
“It can be rough in bed.”
He groans at the thought of taking you hard in a soft bed. "I might break it, doll."
“I bet you could.”
"Is that a challenge?" You love the subtle tone in his voice.
“No, it’s a prediction.”
And just like that you finally realize the music has stopped, only the sound of the needle-moving breaking the silence.
"Should we, uhm, play another or…?" He asks curiously, letting you go.
“We can, but I am a little hungry. We can listen while eating, and you can choose the time. How does that sound?”
Bucky's eyes widen. "That's perfect."
*
"I love this. Where did you get it from?" He's playing with the bracelet you're wearing as he eats another strawberry, laying on the couch next to you. It feels so natural, like you did this a million times before, yet still exciting.
“Oh, this?” You move your arm a little, but not away from him. “It belonged to my grandmother.”
"It's so beautiful, a perfect fit for you."
“She told me my grandfather gifted this when they got engaged.”
"Rich." He can't help himself but comment. "Sorry, I mean it's really beautiful, but also kind of expensive. He must have loved her very much." Then he places a small kiss on your wrist, right below your bracelet. 
You laugh a little. “How do you think I could afford all this stuff?”
Bucky clears his throat, nervous. "You have a point, I just don't think about money. I don't come from a rich family."
“If you were, you wouldn’t be fighting in this war.” Your tone is suddenly more serious than you intended.
"So you don't mind going out with a nobody?" He sighs, just as serious.
“You are not nobody. Not to me!” You caress his cheek. “You are James Bucky Barnes.”
He melts under your touch immediately. He doesn't remember the last time he felt this type of warmth.
"You're so sweet."
“Wait. Does this mean…” You aren’t sure how to ask, but his comments about being rich remind you of the conversation you had not long ago. “The adopting or mommy thing you said. Does it mean this?”
He laughs so hard you can't believe it. Did you misunderstand? Is it not what it really means?
"I don't know, mama. What do you think that means?"
“Oh, come on! I have no idea and you know it!”
"I think you do."
“Nope. Not at all. Maybe you just want kids. That would make me a mama, right?”
"Hmm." Suddenly he’s distracted by that idea. He's simply too busy imagining his come dripping out of you to give you a proper answer, making you even more curious. 
“You are such a tease,” you grumble.
"What does that mean?"
“What do you think that means?” You mimic his question.
Bucky taps his thigh and smiles. "Come here. You can ask me anything." You look at his thighs and then back into his eyes, biting your lip. That offer is so appealing. "I thought you trusted my strength."
“Oh, I do.” You move a bit closer, but not on his lap. “I am just not trusting myself.”
He gasps, bringing you closer himself. "Fuck, why?"
“You know the answer to this one.” You remark cheekly.
"No, I really don't."
“You are lying, mister. You know what I mean when I say I don’t trust myself.” You move your legs, trying to find a comfortable position.
"I don't know exactly what you mean."
“You might find out later then.”
He groans, moving his hands to your breasts, unsure. "I wanna know now."
“I'll tell you only if you promise me that you'll explain the mom thing.” You like how distracted he looks, so you keep leaning in.
"You're a mommy right now."
“And what does that actually mean?”
He's too focused on your breasts to even hear you. "Fuck, look at those hard little things." He can't help but pinch one of your nipples.
“Bucky!”
"So squishy." He's so fascinated as he squeezes the other breast eagerly. He's like a distracted child.
You move a little bit back, so he can’t touch them. "No!" He immediately complains, reaching out to touch them again. "How dare you!"
“No answer, no touching.”
He lifts his head and gives you the most betrayed look you've ever seen. His eyes are almost glossy. "You can't take them away."
“I can actually.” You move a little bit more. “See? They come wherever I go.”
Bucky gasps, wrapping his arms around your waist and bringing you closer. "Don't you dare!"
“You are so dramatic.” You laugh while hugging him back.
"I am not." He pouts, burying his face into your boobs again. 
“You are.” You move your hips just a little while still hugging him.
"What are you doing?"
“Nothing.”
"Nothing?" He moves his hips, too.
You make a sound you don’t expect but try to act like it didn’t happen. “Yeah, nothing.”
"Fuck me," he whispers to himself before taking your nipple in his mouth through the blouse. He wants to make you moan like that again. He needs to.
“Jesus, Bucky!”
"I'm your Jesus now?" He asks teasingly, switching to the other nipple.
“You can be my God if you keep doing that.” Shit, where did this response come from? He brings out a part of you that you didn’t know it even existed.
"You can't say this." He cries out unexpectedly, still licking you through your blouse. "You can't."
“Why?” It comes out like a whine.
"It's too much."
“You are too much.”
His hands grab the edge of your blouse without warning, but before he can rip it off, you slap his arms. 
“You can just take things off without ripping them, you know?” You take the top off yourself, showing him how it’s done. “See, it’s not that hard.”
He ignores your comment and doesn't even warn you before grabbing your boobs and squeezing them together. "Missed you." Then he brings his head right between them, snuggling. You can’t help but laugh. "What's so funny?"
“You are. Look at you.”
"Can't look at me. I'm looking at something better." He licks the valley between your breasts without letting them go, and you curse under your breath. "Gonna take them away from me again?" He lets his tongue get to your right breast, and you feel his teeth dangerously close to your nipple now, making you moan.
“I think I should shut my mouth. I’m boosting your ego way too much.” You play because he’s boosting your ego, too. 
"You can shut my mouth, baby. Anytime."
“Shut your mouth how?” You bring your hands over his mouth. “Like this?”
He bites your fingers in response. "Nope. Try again."
You move your hand to his neck and put a little pressure. “Maybe like this?”
He lets out the lowest moan you've ever heard from his mouth, closing his eyes. "Oh."
“Am I getting closer?” You ask. His eyes are so dark when he opens them, you're shocked. “Or did you mean something else?” You whisper right into his ear.
"Ihm. I did, can you guess?" He tries to distract himself before he can think about how much he enjoyed your grip on his neck. 
“I’m out of ideas,” you say, making him drop his hand to your skirt. His fingers are playing with the edge of it. You can feel the implication of him wanting to take your skirt off. “You want me to… Shut you up with… Like that?”
"Imagine it." He closes his eyes, palming you over your underwear. "You'd be able to control the movements more." 
“Did you… try this before? I don’t wanna hurt you.”
"You think you can hurt me?" He sounds so offended. "Oh, hell no. We should do this right now and I'll show you."
“Of course, I can hurt you. I could crush you!”
He looks at you amused. "Can't wait. Now come here and don't you dare hold back or you'll get a punishment. Got it?"
“Punishment?” Your eyes widen upon hearing that word. You aren’t sure if it’s scary or exciting. Could be both.
"I don't mean hurting you." He realizes immediately how this sounded. "I mean... spanking lightly."
“Oh, that kind of punishment.” You get a bit more relaxed, but your heart is beating fast. You move yourself where he wants you, but it feels so wrong. “I am afraid I might suffocate you.”
Bucky wants to protest immediately, but he stops himself. He knows you only need reassurance.
"How about we have a sign? If I tap three times on the couch, we stop. How about that?"
“Tap on me. Doesn’t matter where. Just on me, so I can feel it immediately.”
He nods, all melted. "Okay, now please don't hover." He gently orders.
“Tell me if I do anything wrong.” 
You lower yourself on his face while trying to gather your skirt up for him.
"Can I rip it off or not?"
“You can. I knew you were gonna ask that, so I wore something I don’t like much.”
"Skirt too?" 
“No. Not the skirt because I can take it off easily.” You unzip the skirt and take it off your head. “See?”
"Shame..," he says disappointed before finally ripping your underwear off with only one hand. "Finally!"
“You are a savage, Sergeant Barnes.”
"And I think you love that."
“Very much.” You lower yourself on his face, practically shutting him up like he wanted. He doesn't disappoint as he moans against you, making sure you're not hovering before pushing his tongue inside you. “Oh my god!” You yelp when you feel his warm tongue for the first time.
He can't answer as he's too busy eating you, but you feel his hands squeezing your skin harder. You spread your legs even further to feel his tongue better. It feels so good that you have a hard time keeping your voice down.
"Good girl." His praise goes directly to your core, and you curse under your breath, thinking you won’t last long. He can't help himself but bring one of his hands to your clit, hesitating.
“Just your tongue.” You request while moaning, and he agrees wordlessly.
You start to move your hips back and forth, trying not to go overboard and Bucky seems to love it, groaning louder against you, moving his tongue. As it gets more delightful, you have a hard time balancing yourself, so you grab onto his hair with one hand.
"Fuck!" He takes his mouth off just to curse. "Pull as hard as you want."
You pull his hair a little bit more before he puts his mouth back on you, just to see his reaction.
"Jesus, I'm..." he's so hard and excited that he's already started to leak. "I'm gonna make a mess on your couch."
“I’m already making a mess on my couch.” You are dripping wet, and he’s worried about making the mess. He’s so cute, especially when he’s laying down to please you like this.
"Keep bouncing, baby," he demands, then in no time, his tongue is flat, ready to be used by you, and you don’t hesitate.
You hold onto his hair with your right hand as you ride his tongue. You don't even realize how hard you pull until you hear his moans, encouraging you to keep going. He's clearly not suffocating, and you don’t realize how fast you are moving your hips, either. Not until you explode on his face, moaning mindlessly while trying to keep your shaking legs moving until you are done coming.
What surprises you the whole time is how he doesn't stop using his tongue until you finish, trying to hold you in place so he can give you more pleasure. You move yourself back a little after you are done, sitting on his chest and trying to catch your breath. You feel like a mess. 
"How was it?" He doesn't move as he asks you that, only wiping his face with the back of his left hand.
“Earth-shattering. Wow.”
He snorts before licking his fingers right under your eyes. "Gonna listen to me next time?"
“Yes, sir,” you jokingly say, feeling boneless but still needing more.
"No." His answer comes more like a groan than an affirmation. "You can't… call me sir."
“Why not, sir?”
"God, it sounds so... great." He doesn't know what else to say, covering his face shily.
“Did I just discover something about you or did you already know this?” You finally move away from his chest, leaning down to kiss him.
"It's something new."
“What about Sargeant? That you must have known.” You move your lips to his cheek, just making them brush his skin.
"Come on. Kiss me." He complains.
“Ask nicely.”
"Please?"
You finally kiss him on the cheek. "You are so pretty when you beg." Then you move your lips to his jaw and neck.
"You are even prettier when you listen." 
"Am I? What if I don't listen?"
He brings his hand to your neck. "You're a bad, bad girl. And bad girls get punished." He smiles.
"I never got punished in bed before."
He smiles. "What would you want to try? Spanking as I suggested before?"
"You are giving the orders, remember? Not me."
Bucky raises his eyebrow. "You mean you pretend I'm giving the orders."
"Maybe I want you to give the orders, not just pretend." He squeezes the sides of the neck.
"You can try whatever you wanna try. You can give orders, just stop whenever I say stop."
"Deal.”
*
It feels strange to have him in your bedroom, truth be told. Especially watching him getting rid of his underwear and socks this close to you. His hair bounces with every move, so you can't help but giggle. And he looks so good. Really good, especially under proper lighting.
It’s not the first time you are seeing him half-naked, but you definitely didn’t get a good look while having a quickie in a dark alley. His body looks toned, strong, and capable. You are dying to feel his touch, but you stand still, waiting for him to come to you.
"How many taps when you want me to stop?"
“Three.”
"Good." He smiles assuringly before slowly spreading your legs further. "You're so cute waiting for me."
“Just cute?”
He shakes his head, finally positioning himself at your entrance. His eyes are stuck on you: your hair, face, neck, chest. "You're sweet too," he teases, pushing inside you.
“Fuck.” You moan silently. It feels so good to feel him inside you again. “Sweet? Anything else?” You voice comes out so breathy.
"Smart. Nerdy." He leans in, putting more of his weight onto his elbows. "Beautiful. Brave. Loud and adorable."
“Brave?” You look confused while biting your bottom lip, trying not to make a loud sound.
"Aren't you?" He smiles, starting to thrust a little faster, but not enough to make it impossible to speak. At least for now. "Brave to move on from a failed engagement. Brave to live with your friend here. Brave to accept our date. Brave to test me." His laugh is so contagious.
You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him closer. “You think I tested you?” Your lips are inches away from his.
"I know you did." He kisses you, not waiting for you to do it as he lifts one of your legs on his shoulder. "At the fair." He sounds out of breath this time, his thrusts hitting a little deeper.
You wanna say you didn’t, that it wasn’t a test. It is something that happened, and you don’t regret it, but instead, a loud moan escapes your mouth. The angle change fills you with a different kind of pleasure. 
"What a responsive doll you are." He smiles against your neck. "So perfect for me." You pull your legs, spreading your legs even further to give him more space to move. It makes his thrusts feel even better somehow. "Jesus, this is..." He's trying to find the perfect words to describe how he feels, but there are none. "Heaven."
“Oh, god!” It’s hard to keep your voice down when he latches onto the closest nipple, Whatever he’s doing with that tongue, it helps you to feel better down there. It’s driving you closer to your release.
"I'm your god now?" He jokes, stopping the sucking for a few seconds just to tease you.
“Yes! Yes, you are. Keep doing that and I will worship you later.”
He doesn't just continue lick and suck on your breast, he also starts thrusting deeper than before. The sound of the bed moving is even more obvious now. There is no way your neighbors don't know what is happening. 
“Shit!” It’s so hard not to curse when he’s pounding like that, hitting all the right spots. “I’m so close,” you whisper, trying to keep your voice down. “Just keep going, don’t change anything.” 
"Just like this?" He asks, keeping the same pace as you asked. "Are you going to be good and enjoy yourself?"
“You have no idea…” You try to collect yourself to form a sentence. “How good I feel right now.”
"I do," he says breathlessly before letting his teeth and tongue mark your neck. The pain you feel somehow enhances the pleasure, and you suddenly find yourself throwing your head back, shutting your eyes, and moaning his name over and over again. You’re coming so hard. "I feel like... Doll, please, say my name again."
“Bucky, Bucky, Bucky.” It’s all you wanna say anyway. “Please, don’t stop. Please!” You have no idea why you’re begging. You know he won’t stop, yet you still wanna do it. You still wanna beg him not to stop. It feels that good, that precious.
"Never." He manages to answer you between moans. "I'd rather die."
“Oh god, I think I…” Pleasure keeps hitting you in waves. “I might be dying myself.” You never had an orgasm this long. Your whole body is tensed up. You can actually hear your ears ringing.
"Gonna come for you, pretty doll." He bites your neck on another spot.
“Please, please.” It’s like you forgot all the other words. You watch him through a haze how he reaches his orgasm, saying your name like a whisper as he suddenly stays still inside you.
After he finishes, you close the distance and give him a big kiss. Sloppy and loving. It feels like you are thanking him for all the pleasure he’s just given you.
"Hi." He smiles. "Are you good?"
“God! I feel like I am still on the clouds.” You caress his face, carefully admiring his features. “What about you?”
He smiles. "I'm in heaven."
“Does it always feel this good?” The words come out of your mouth unintentionally. You really didn’t mean to ask that out loud. It was just a thought. “I mean, I don’t know what you are doing different to make it feel so good. I didn’t experience this before.” You keep rambling, trying to explain yourself. “So I wonder if it is supposed to feel this good all the time. But I’m not trying to question your past or anything. Don’t get me wrong.” You would keep talking if he didn’t cut you off.
"Breathe, baby. No, it doesn't feel like this with everyone else because you don't always have a connection. I am so glad to hear I made you happy." He smiles like a fool.
You cover your face with your hands. “I shouldn’t have asked that, I am sorry. It feels like it’s something you keep to yourself.” 
"What? No. Ask me and I'll answer."
You finally take your hands off your face.
“Okay. I have another question then.” He’s still inside you. and you can feel him getting hard again. “Is it normal that you are already getting hard inside me this quickly?”
He groans. "Told you, you felt amazing."
“That’s not my question, though. Is this normal for you? You always get hard this quickly after coming?” You insist because you wanna know. You have a feeling there’s something different about him, and you wanna prove it to him. 
He has no idea about your intention, though. He’s worried that he’s hurting you, so in a few seconds, he quickly gets out of you. 
"Sorry. I didn't want to hurt you." He raises from the bed, taking off the used condom as he walks to the nightstand. "And yes, I do become hard like this. Why?"
“You didn’t hurt me.” You want to quickly clear that up. “And you know it takes at least half an hour for other men, right? That’s not… how it normally works.”
Bucky laughs. "They haven't met you."
“I’m talking from experience this time. In this case, they met me. This has nothing to do with me.”
He rolls the second condom on as he speaks. "Maybe I'm a lucky man."
“Okay, you are ignoring too many signs. I have to prove it to you. Bring me that small mirror.” 
Bucky starts laughing, but he does what you ask him to, then coming back.. "What are you gonna do, huh?"
You sit on his lap, and just like that he’s back inside you.
“Welcome back.” You joke with a smile. “Now gimme the mirror.” He hands it over, and without explaining anything, you lean down, gently licking and sucking on a certain spot. 
Bucky tries desperately not to thrust his hips. After a while, you start to bite his neckless gently, which makes you feel a little guilty.
He doesn't seem to mind though. Quite the contrary. "You can bite harder.”
“Hmm…” If he doesn’t mind, you don’t mind biting harder either. So you do it again, dragging the skin with your teeth. “God, you’re so delicious.”
His hands find their way to your breasts, making sure not to grab them too hard. You bite the same spot again, fand a red spot is already forming.
"Little artist," he says when you reach for the mirror, turning it to him so he can see his neck. It’s clearly dark red. "See? You gave me a hickey. Congrats, baby." He smiles proudly and kisses your cheek.
“Let’s see how long it will take you to heal.”
Bucky rolls his eyes. "I just have a ticker skin, baby. Now come on, please, do something. Why are you torturing me?"
“I’m a small, adorable girl. I don’t know how I am supposed to move.” You are fully lying, and he knows it. So he decides to play your game.
"Bounce a little. Up and down."
You act like you are trying and failing. “Like this?”
Bucky shakes his head. "Try again. Change the angle a bit."
“Oh, come on, Bucky.” You whine. You love and hate how he quickly catches up to whatever you try to do.
"You should be a good little girl and try it yourself."
“Fine.” You frown and start moving for real this time, and he immediately wraps his arms properly around your waist.
"What's wrong?" 
“I was teasing you, so you would get tired of it and take control.”
He smiles. "I know."
In response, you punch him in his shoulder. “Then why didn’t you?”
"Why would I give you what you want now?" His voice drops lower. "Wanna push your limits."
“My limits?” You repeat as he brushes your nipples. “You wanna torture me? Make me desperate? Is that what it is?”
Bucky smiles, getting his lips close to yours again, but before he can kiss you, he takes you by the back of the head and moves you. You whine when he gets out of you.
“Bucky! What the fuck?”
"I need you to trust me, okay?" He tries to help get on all fours as he speaks. You nod in agreement. "Need your ass a little higher."
“My ass?” You sound a little afraid. You are definitely not ready for that if that’s his intention.
"Yes." He doesn't notice the change in your tone right away. "Promise I don't- oh, I don't plan on doing anything like that I promise. Just trust me."
You take a deep breath of relief. “Okay.”
"Put your weight on your elbows, okay?" You do as he asks. You switch the weight, putting your head down while your ass goes higher. "Do you feel comfortable?" 
“It’s a little weird, but not uncomfortable.”
"Ready?"
“Yes!” You sound impatient, and he quickly pushes inside you. Not too much, afraid he might hurt you in any way.  It must feel way deeper like this, and he doesn't want to risk it.
"God," he finds himself moaning. "You feel so good." You can’t respond to him though. All you can do is just moan. It feels incredible. "All good?"
“Yeah.” Your voice feels a little different. Raspy. “You can move.”
Bucky lets out a deep breath before finally trying out a few slow thrusts. "How does it feel?"
“Good. Really good.” It’s like your vocabulary disappears when you two have sex. It’s hard to form sentences or express yourself.
"How about this?" He asks while moving much faster. It's something about this angle that gives him more room to use his strength.
“Jesus Christ!” You mumble. How can it feel this good?
"I don't think I can last as long as before." He groans as he watches you shiver under him. The way you sound like this, your position, the way you feel... He's on another planet.
“I don’t think you have to.” It’s unbelievable how close you are. It’s normally not that easy for you, but things are different when you are with him.
He keeps the same pace, focusing on your moans and the sound of your skin slapping. His mouth somehow manages to find your shoulder and he licks the same spot for a few seconds, making you shiver. "So sweet for me."
Even though you love how he is licking and talking into you ear, him leaning in changes the angle and the pace. It’s not as rough as it was before, and you find yourself moving your hips back, trying to get more friction.
"Look at that." He smiles against your shoulder, sounding fascinated. "Someone is unhappy with my services."
“Not unhappy.” You definitely aren’t. “It’s just… my hips don’t listen to me anymore.”
"Oh, no," Bucky comments amused before getting back to his initial position. "Your poor hips."
You know he isn’t mocking you for real but something about it irritates you. So you stop moving your hips. “Better?”
He lifts his eyebrow even though he knows you can't see him. "Hmm." You suddenly feel a slap on your ass. You make a sound that can only be described as a half moan half yelp.
"What was that?" Another spank follows. This time you’re moaning when the burning feeling spreads on your ass cheek completely. You feel the urge to move your hips again, but you refrain yourself.
"Look at you, bratty little cat. You're getting wetter because of this." He's so excited as he rubs your cheeks with both of his hands, but you can do this later. He's too close. You are, too. And just like that, he's back to fucking you. He doesn't go back to his gentle rhythm. Surprisingly, his thrusts are deep and fast.
“Oh my god!” The rhytm is finally the way you wanted it again. Instinctively, you lean in a bit more, and your head gets buried in the bed while your ass is a little higher than before.
"Jesus, doll." He cries out, feeling so overwhelmed. "I'm so close. So... so close."
Your hand moves to your clit, touching yourself just the way you like it, even though it feels so hard to do while he’s pounding you. That’s all you need to finally reach the climax. You're not quiet at all despite your failed attempt to muffle your moans with your pillow. And Bucky feels like that's it. He doesn't even manage to warn you that he’s following you and coming hard. He softly moans your name after he finishes, falling onto your back just to feel your skin.
His hands wrap around your body and you let yourself fall with him. The indescribable pleasure you felt is still running through your whole body.
"Wow!"
You laugh a little, trying to turn your head. You wanna see him, kiss him, and maybe tease him a little, but he's already prepping kisses all over your neck, then your back. 
“You are crushing me,” you say jokingly but it’s half true.
"Oh, sorry." He immediately gets off you, throwing himself on the bed completely.
“Don’t go that far away though.” You exaggerate a little, opening your arms. You want him as close as possible.
Bucky doesn't hesitate to use this as an opportunity to bury his head into your boobs. "Hmm, perfect. I’m in heaven with you and these babies." He kisses both of your breasts to emphasize what he means.
You can’t help but snort. “Babies?”
"Yes, my babies. My dolls."
“I thought they were mine.”
Bucky puffs before snuggling even more. "Only mine."
“And I have no say in this?” You joke again, and he shakes his head.  “Does it mean this…” You grab his dick gently. It’s soft and the condom is dangling. “...is mine?”
His whine is so loud, making you giggle. "Of course it's yours."
“Oh, I love this deal.” You use your thumb and index finger to take the condom off.
"Fuck." He closes his eyes.
“Sensitive?”
"A little."
“That’s okay.” You give him a little kiss on the head, then move a little so you can tie the condom up. That makes you see the hickey on his neck again, which is almost gone. You put the condom away and reach for the mirror you used before.
"What?"
“Remember the lovely hickey I gave you?” Bucky nods. “Wanna see it now?” You lift the mirror so he can take a look. He expected to see only a faded pink mark, but instead the skin is intact as if you never bit him. 
"How!?"
“That’s my question exactly.”
"What the fuck is going on?" His hand goes to the place your mark used to be and there's no trace of any teeth. "Holy cow."
“I think you are healing faster than any of us.” You stop for a second. “Like Steve.”
Bucky's eyes immediately find yours. "You don't mean..."
“I don’t know what I mean, to be honest, because I don’t know any details. Like… Did you participate in whatever they did to him? Or maybe it’s something transmittable, I don’t know.”
You see him going pale all of the sudden, and your heart drops. He seems to know what caused this.
"They must have done something to me when I was captured. But I didn't change like he did." He looks so confused, like he’s trying to put the puzzle pieces together. "I'm not like Steve."
“You were captured?!” That’s all you focus on. You have to know.
"I was." He sighs, placing the mirror on the floor before pulling you onto his lap. "By Hydra. Long story short, my unit and I were sent at some point at a weapon facility in Europe. In Austria... We were forced to work on an advanced bomber plane. I have no idea what happened to that, but I was so..." Bucky closes his eyes. "I was starving, losing weight every day. I was so weak I couldn't continue, so they did something else."
“Dear God.” You are completely shocked. “Are you okay?”
"I was basically a test subject for a crazy doctor. I thought they just tested different things for a death serum. But now I am not sure at all." He's so lost in his memories now. He is clearly not like Steve, but it's so weird how his health reports were fine. He shakes his head, not wanting to think about it any longer. "I'm more than well when I'm with you." He finally answers your question.
“I’m glad you are here with me.” You give him a full kiss, thinking about all the possibilities, everything that could’ve happened before you two had the chance to meet. You wouldn’t even know who he is and that somehow hurts more.
"You're so precious." He hugs you so tightly you feel like you're about to cry.
You try not the think about how he could’ve been still a captive. You can’t imagine how horrible that experience must be, but you don’t wanna cry. Not when he’s in your arms like this. 
“Wanna test out how super you are?” You suggests instead. A change of subject can help you both.
"Want me to cook for you? Going to prove to you I am marriage material after all." He smiles.
Your eyes widen with surprise. “Marriage?” That definitely wasn’t what you were expecting him to say.
"Don't mind me, doll. What did you have in mind?"
“No, no, no. You can’t say that and leave it at that.”
Bucky strokes your hair. "What else can I say? I'm embarrassing myself."
“Embarrassing yourself? Nope, you aren’t.” You shake your head. “You are giving me hope but don’t do it if you don’t mean it, okay?”
"Of course I mean it," he immediately says, not letting you doubt even for a second. "But I thought... it is a bit early. I didn't want to be overbearing."
“It’s not. I know we don’t know each other that well yet and we might change our minds later. I’m not taking this as a promise or anything.”
"Well," he raises your hand and brings it to his mouth just to place a soft kiss on it. "I would be lucky if you wanted me after all of this." You give him a confused look, and he clarifies: "This whole weird healing thing and my sad story." He snorts, belittling himself. You are not having any of this though.
“I think it’s…” You try to find the right words. “really hot, and I really wanna test your limits because I think your healing applies to your… recovery, too. Remember how quickly you got hard again?”
Bucky laughs. "So it's all about this, huh?"
“What? Don’t you wanna find out if I am right?”
"I don't have another condom, love." He sighs.
“I mean we did it without a condom before.” It’s the truth, but it feels so weird to ask for more after having great sex. You should be content with it, but no, your body craves more.
Bucky kisses your shoulder again. 
"I know, but we risked it. I don't want to make you take a risk. Even if I don't spill inside you..." You don’t like the fact that he’s right. What you don’t realize is that your face is showing what you are thinking. "I can use my tongue if you want." He smiles, trying to find another solution.
“The point is testing your limits, Sergeant.”
"My limits of my tongue count." He kisses you for a few seconds.
“You are so annoying, rejecting my offer, Sargaent.”
Bucky gasps. "I did not! I just tried to look out for you."
“It’s okay.” You make a move to get up. “Let’s get cleaned up.”
He grabs you by your wrist. "Don't do this to me." 
“I’m just listening to what you are saying.”
He frowns. "Then why do I feel like the bad guy?"
“Because you rejected this…” You show yourself. “A pretty girl’s offer for more sex.
"My pretty girl wants sex even without protection?"
“She does.” You purse your lips, feeling a bit vulnerable and trying to cover it.
"Then…" He pulls you closer and kisses you gently, holding your face with both of his hands.
“You love torturing me,” you say between kisses.
"Not as much as you do." 
"Wanna do the honors or should I?" He grabs his cock with a hand, waiting for you to move or just say something.
“Oh, be my guest. Do whatever you wanna do. Just pull out in time.”
"Promise." He kisses you before getting inside you in one swift motion.
*
There are no words to describe how tired you feel. Exhausted comes close, but it doesn’t cover the pleasure you are still feeling despite your jelly legs. You aren’t sure if you made the best or the worst decision of your life when you suggested testing his limits because you lost the count of the orgasms you had. You are ruined. Simply ruined by him. No man will ever compare.
"Did I pass?" Bucky asks breathlessly, holding you against his chest. “Am I husband material?"
You can’t believe he is still wondering that. This wasn’t meant to be a husband material test, but you gotta admit that he passed with flying colors. 
“You know we weren’t testing that, right?”
"Such a loss." He plays amused. "What did we test then?"
“How quickly your body can recover, and now we can safely say that you are not a regular guy.”
Bucky sighs. "Then what am I?"
“You are the best thing that ever happened to me.” You run your hand on his cheek, gently caressing it before giving him a big kiss. You wonder why he wants to be a regular guy. He’s perfect the way he is.
Bucky immediately melts under you. "That's not nice. You read my thoughts and use them against me," he explains more emotionally than before.
“Maybe we are just sharing the same thoughts and feelings.”
"We are a perfect match."
“It seems so.” You quickly agree. “And you are perfect the way you are. I get that you don’t know what exactly this is but it seems cool so far.” You try to put his mind at ease. “And no one knows about it. You don’t have to be like Steve, you can keep being yourself.”
"You're so sweet." He leaves a soft kiss on your hair.
“I’m not usually sweet. Maybe it’s the afterglow talking.” You joke to lighten the mood.
He snorts. "You're the sweetest person I've ever met."
“Now that’s a lie.” You keep the same tone.
"If that's a lie, I am a normal guy."
“That’s even a bigger lie. You are nowhere close to being a normal guy. Normal guys suck.”
Bucky's fingers travel to your belly. "Is that so?"
“No, no, no.” You try to avoid getting tickled. “Bucky, please.”
"Say you're the sweetest girl in the world, and I might show you some mercy."
“Fine, fine, fine.” You accept the defeat. “I’m the sweetest girl in the world. Okay?”
"I can't hear you." He tickles you harder. 
“BUCKY!” You protest, but he doesn’t stop. “I’M THE SWEETEST GIRL IN THE WORLD.”
"Good." He finally lets go, grabbing your face just to give you the sloppiest kiss you've ever shared. “Now close your eyes. You need to sleep."
You wanna be mad at him for tickling you hard, but you can’t.
“Oh, I gotta clean myself a little first.”
“Let me help you. Where do you keep your towels?" 
You already thought he was perfect, but he’s showing you he’s even better than you thought. How is he real? How did you get this lucky? You don’t know. 
“Just sit down, baby. I can handle those.”
"Let's make a deal: I change the sheets while you clean if you want." You wanna say no and you can handle those. but you are so tired. 
“Sounds like a good plan.” You can’t deny that it’s efficient, and you wanna see if he can do it right. This is the real marriage material test, but he won’t know until you see the results. You hand him the new sheets and leave him to work, so you can clean yourself pretty quickly. 
You really made a big mess. Cleaning takes longer than you expected, but when you come back, you find a freshly made bed.
"Ready for bed now?"
“Yeah.” You inspect the sheets. He made the bed perfectly. “Unbelievable.” You didn’t mean to say that out loud, but it came out anyway. “Perfectly made. I think I will have to marry you, Sergeant Barnes.”
He smiles widely. "So I passed my test?"
“Yep.” You move onto the bed. “If you can cook as well, I won’t ever let you go. Say goodbye to your bachelor days.”
Bucky pulls you to him. "Goodbye, bachelor days."
You laugh while kissing him.  
“Let’s sleep.” You snuggle closer while he yawns.
*
You have been awake for a couple of minutes, just trying to fully wake up and freely watch Bucky sleeping. He looks so pretty and innocent.
Long lashes, kissable lips, big arms. God, why does he have to be this pretty?
You lean in, with the intention to give him a kiss like a normal person, but god, those arms look so biteable. Before you can change your mind, you bite his arm and watch him slowly wake up. Then you start giving him small kisses: on his arm, on his cheeks, and finally when he opens his eyes, on his lips.
"Good morning." He gives you an innocent look. 
“Good morning, handsome.” You kiss his cheek again.
"Handsome?" His voice is so raspy in the morning.
“Yeah, handsome. Very very handsome.”
He smiles when you snuggle closer to him. "So sweet. I have a question. Do you have a toothbrush for me?" His eyes are semi-closed as he asks.
“Oh, sure. I can find one.”
"I didn't realize I will stay over. I'm sorry for wasting one of yours."
“Oh, shut up.” You push him a little playfully. “You can waste anything you want.”
You come closer to give him a kiss. You don’t care about the toothbrush or anything else. You are just enjoying being in bed with him.
"My breath smells really bad." He shakes his head, embarrassed. You shrug and give him a kiss anyway. You are sure your breath doesn’t smell good either, but that doesn’t stop you. "Such a stubborn lady."
“I just don’t care, and for your information, it doesn’t smell bad.” You keep kissing him.
"If you continue, doll, we might end up doing something else." 
“Hmm.” You act like you don’t know what that means.
“Hmm?”
“Yeah, hmm.”
"What can it mean?"
“No idea.” You don’t move away, you don’t kiss him. You just look at him.
"Okay then." He gives you an innocent look. "Time for me to go to the bathroom."
You kiss his cheek, giving him space to get up. He pouts a bit disappointed but doesn't say anything.
“What?”
"Nothing. So where do I find a toothbrush?" He finally gets up.
“I will show you.” You follow him to the bathroom.
"Also, do you have any allergies?”
His question catches you off guard. “Not that I know off. Why?”
"Gonna cook something for you."
“You really want that ring, don’t you?” You joke with a big smile on your face.
His laugh fills the bathroom. "You want to give me a ring?"
“How else am I gonna make sure others know you are taken?” 
"You don't need a ring for that. At all."
“Yeah, you are right. I was just joking.” 
He smiles. "Wait for me in the bed. Whatever happens, you stay there, okay?"
“Okay.” You raise your hands in defeat.
"Good girl, go now." He pats your ass before letting you go.
You can’t help but smile on your way back to the bed. If this is how being married to Bucky is gonna be, you are down for it.
*
"Come on, another bite. Please."
“Fine.” You take another bite. It’s delicious but you are full. So full. The breakfast he made was simply amazing. You might really need to find a ring to put on him, because he’s definitely husband material.
"Good girl, and drink more water."
“I’m so full,” you say after taking a sip. “The food was just amazing.”
"You're full, huh?" He snorts.
“I am.” You give him a look, not understanding what he means.
"I think you can take more."
“No more food, please.”
"Oh, sweetheart." Bucky gives you a smirk. "That is not what I meant."
“Oh!” You finally get it and start to giggle wile takes a bite of pancakes from your plate.
"Oh, indeed."
“You wanna?”
"Do you?" He stares back.
“You are so annoying.” 
"Annoying enough to get you to kiss me?"
You give him a short kiss. “Thanks for the breakfast.”
"I didn't have mine, though."
“You can eat this.” You offer your leftovers. You’re sure that they’re more than enough to make him feel full, too.
"But I don't want that.” He whines. "I want you."
“You can have me.”
"Want you on my face."
“Again?” You sound surprised. “I thought you would want something that you would enjoy as well.”
"Excuse you? I enjoy that." His tone shows that he’s totally offended.
“Oh, you do?”
Bucky laughs so loud. "I cannot believe it wasn't clear."
“I mean… I’m not used to that. Maybe that’s why.”
"The question is if you’d like to do that again."
“Oh, yeah.” You nod eagerly. “I would love that.”
"Then…" He places the food carefully on the table next to the bed.
You bite your lip while getting up and taking your underwear off. He watches you excited as he gets on his back completely, waiting. This time you know what to do. So you get back to the bed and straddle his face.
"Use me however you want, okay? Don't stop."
“Tap on my thighs if you want me to stop, okay?” He nods and you lower yourself completely. He doesn’t even wait for a few seconds. “Jesus, Bucky.” You breath out. It’s hard not to make a sound when he works that enthusiastically. He doesn't say anything in return, too focused on spreading your lips with his tongue. You moan loudly and start to ride his face, and you realize shortly he loves it as his hands help you quicken your pace just the way you like it.
“Oh, god…” You try to get support from the headboard. “This feels so good.”
He groans against you, so hard, thrusting his hips in the air because you taste amazing.
You start to move a little faster as you feel like you are getting closer to your release. His nose starts to bump up against your clit from time to time and that adds an another level of pleasure.
"Keep going," he says breathlessly before taking you by surprise and slapping your ass twice.
“Fuuck. I’m- I’m so close.”
"Hmm." He slaps your right ass cheek one more time as his tongue moves to your clit. The sounds you are making don’t sound human anymore. You are aware of it, but it’s so hard to care when you start to come so hard on his tongue. He doesn't let go or stop licking you until he feels you are done, then he gently helps you move.
"Hi."
“Ahh.” You struggle to find your voice. “Hi.”
He giggles while cleaning his mouth with the back of his hand. "Feel good?"
“God, I’m keeping you. That’s it. That was my last drop.”
Bucky moans excited. "Are you proposing to me, love?"
“Well, not like this, and I gotta buy a ring first,” you jokingly answer.
"Hmm." He brings you close to his face so he can kiss you. "Maybe I will accept."
“Maybe? What can I do to guarantee a yes?”
Bucky smiles. "Who knows?"
“Maybe I should return the favor.”
"No need for that."
“Wouldn’t that help though? I wanna increase my chances.” You continue with that same joking tone.
"A little. What is your plan?"
“Give you head and then propose I guess.”
He suddenly blushes. “I didn’t expect you to say it so openly but love to hear what you think."
“Then I will keep speaking like this.” You move your face to give him a kiss on the lips. “So… You want it or not?”
Bucky nods and dutifully stays on his back, opening his legs more. You carefully undress him and settle between his legs. He’s already half hard and he looks so pretty laying like that, waiting for your next move. You start slowly, just moving your hands up and down, letting him enjoy it.
You lean down and start leaving kisses to him all over his skin. "Ahh." You move onto his thighs, placing your hand  on his cock without moving it.
"Gonna torture me?"
“Is this your definition of torture?”
"I'm a man."
“And I am a woman who enjoys what she is doing.” You don’t give him a chance to respond. You run the tip of your tongue from the bottom to the top of his cock.
"Oh, God." He closes his eyes for a couple of minutes.
“Open your eyes if you want me to continue.”
"Sorry..." he groans, opening them.
“Look at me the whole time, okay? Watch what I am doing to you. Think about this moment whenever you feel like giving up.” Then you finally take him inside your mouth.
"Oh, Jesus." His hands immediately get into your hair. "N-no warning?" You shake your head while your mouth is full of him. "I don't think I could forget this even if I wanted to."
You hum around his cock before you start to properly bob your head. You try to look at him, memorizing his reactions and see what he likes the most.
"Use your tongue more around the head, please."
You do what he asks, twirling your tongue around the head and watching him fall apart.
"Baby," he hisses. "Just like that."
You wrap your hand around the base after taking your mouth off it. Your fingers work on him while you take one of his balls inside your mouth, gently sucking to see if he likes it or not. He's so close as he bites his bottom lip. 
"You're a dirty little girl.” You hum in response, your mouth being too full to be able to answer him. "Wanna paint your face." It feels like the words are just spilling from his mouth.
You finally let go of his ball.
“My face, huh?” You ask before taking him back in your mouth, swirling your tongue around the head once again.
"You're a dirty girl, and I have to a make you dirtier. Would you like that?"
You shake your head in agreement, then you start moving your mouth and hand at the same time, going up and down until he quickly pulls out when he feels he's coming. And just like that, your face and hair are getting covered. You close your eyes and for some reason stick your tongue out.
"God, baby. You drive me insane." He finishes coming and stares at the way you lick some of his come. You can only open one of your eyes as his come is dripping on the other one. Then you wipe it off from your eyelid and lick it clean. "And you will make me get hard again."
“We know that doesn’t take much.” You giggle, remembering last night.
"You're so pretty like this. I can't..." He smiles watching you clean yourself more.
“I am not sure about that.” You smile. “I should go and clean myself properly.”
"Should we take a bath?" He excitedly asks
“Oh, that sounds great.”
Bucky helps her get up. "Let's go."
*
"Look at this," he leans in to kiss your forehead, taking the cup from you. "Thank you."
“After last night and this morning, the coffee was needed. At least for me.”
"I am human too, you know? I need coffee."
“You are a super human.” You smile before taking a sip.
"I hope my tongue is a super tongue, too." He winks and takes a few sips from his coffee. "So good. Now, I have something and I forgot to give it to you since we were... busy."
“Oh?”
Bucky nods and brings his hand into his left pocket. "Like I promised." Then he takes out a small wrapped up package.
“What is this?” You take it and quickly open it without destroying the wrapping. “Oh my god, Bucky! You got me new stockings!”
“Wanna try them on?"
“Right now?” You are surprised by his request.
"Yep. If you want, of course."
“You just want me to get undressed in front of you again.” You joke while standing up. You don’t mind trying them at all.
"Don't act as if you don't."
“See you get undressed or get undressed myself?” You take the stockings out of the package while talking.
"Both.” He watches you as you put them on, fascinated. “How do they feel?"
“They feel really nice.” You move your leg a little, inspecting the stockings. “High quality. Where did you even find this?”
"Pulled some strings. Being a soldier has its perks, you know? Being friends with Captain America, too." 
“You did not!”
"What?" He laughs at your tone.
“You used your Captain America advantage to get me stockings?”
"Yep."
“Oh my god!” You have a huge smile on your face when you are walking toward him. And without a word, you sit on his lap, straddling him and wrapping your arms around his neck. “Thank you. These are much better than the ones you ripped off.” You give him a kiss on his right cheek. “So you get a kiss.”
"So generous." He kisses you properly.
“Such a gentleman.” You pause for a few seconds before adding. “With dirty tendencies.”
"Well, I got a dirty girlfriend."
“Please, I’m pretty innocent.” You move away from his lap. “We didn’t even meet up in my apartment because that would be inappropriate.” You finally snort. “At least that’s what my friends think.”
"And you call them friends?"
“Gotta keep my reputation intact.” You shrug. That’s the way it is. “Oh, speaking of friends! I gotta ask you something otherwise Cassie will kill me.”
"What?"
“She wanted me to ask about Steve. Apparently, she hasn’t heard from him.”
"Oh…" It's all that Bucky says.
“Oh?”
"I didn't know."
“She wants to know if he ever mentions her.”
He doesn't know how to answer for a couple of seconds. Steve has never been into romance. "He's very focused on the future plans against Hydra."
“Well, that’s not surprising. If he thought about her, he would find a way to contact her, I guess.”
"He doesn't think about pretty much anyone, I am sorry."
You shrug. “I hope she doesn’t shoot the messenger.”
"I am sorry. Steve is very... particular. About life and work. He wanted to be in the army for so long, he doesn't see anything else."
“That’s… sad.” You reach for the coffee mug. “What about you?”
"Obviously not interested in sex or romantic life." He jokes once again, hoping that it would change the mood.
“I meant about life and work,  but we can talk about that too,” you say with a smile.
"I don't like fighting, you know? It's never ending." Even his voice sounds tired as he talks about it.
“I sensed that you don’t enjoy fighting, but I think you are pretty good at it. At least it seems that way, and I feel like you aren’t focused on the fight, but mostly on what can come after when this is all done.”
Bucky sighs, approving what you said with a nod. There is something scary and confusing about what the future. If he survives. What will change? After so much death and loss, what will happen?
"I hate this so much."
You have this urge to hug him and tell him it’s gonna be fine. Yet you don’t know if that’s the truth and you don’t wanna lie. “I hate it, too. It’s like our lives are completely revolving around the war.“
"Yes, but let's not think about it, baby." He kisses your forehead.
“It’s easier not to think about it when you are around.”
"You help me with that, too."
“Oh, do I?” You smile. “What do you think about instead of war when you are with me?”
"I think only about you."
“Another thing we have in common.”
Bucky smiles. "You're so smooth."
“Smooth? I meant I am thinking about myself, too.” You stick your tongue out a bit cheekily.
"Nice try." He snorts, amused by your comment. "I totally understand why you'd think about yourself, though."
“Why would I think about myself?” You wanna know what he’s thinking.
"You're funny, amazing, beautiful, smart." He kisses your cheeks. "You got everything."
“And what about you?”
"What about me?" He asks confused.
“What do you have?”
"Strings to buy you more stockings."
“Oh!” You both start to laugh. “That’s not all, though.”
"Right, I also got Captain America as my friend."
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
Bucky sighs. "I don't have much to offer unfortunately. I have 4 siblings."
“Jesus, do you really not know?”
"If you mean sexually..."
“Not only that. Stop underestimating yourself, you have a lot to offer. Look at me.” He lifts his head as you asked. “I love spending time with you. It doesn’t matter what we are talking about, it’s always interesting. You are smart, funny, thoughtful and so so pretty.”
Bucky melts under your eyes. "No one called me pretty before."
“You are so pretty, you have no idea. These eyes…” You touch the corner of his eyelid. “These lines,” You caress the smile lines. “These lips…”
He blushes instantly feeling your touch and brings your hand closer to his lips in order to kiss it. "You're so sweet."
*
After spending a little bit more time in your apartment, you and Bucky decide to go for a walk. He’s here for a limited amount of time and he should make the most of it. Maybe you can stop by a book or a record store together, eat something he craves and enjoy this sunny day to the fullest. You don't even realize how close you are until you feel his hand touching yours, subtly trying to hold it.
You feel butterflies in your stomach. You did a lot of stuff together so far, but you haven’t held hands yet. Not publicly. Not like this. You open your hand, just showing you want him to hold it, and he does proudly. 
"Do you want some ice cream, sweetheart?"
You take a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. It’s so hard to fight the urge to smile. This might be the best day of your life. The sun is shining, Bucky is by your side, holding your hand. You don’t think life gets better than this. 
“I would love that.” He smiles before leaning in to kiss your head. Suddenly, you feel the urge to say what you have been thinking. He should know.
“You know that I will wait for you if you want, right?” You can’t help it. All the marriage and proposal jokes aside, you really want him in your life.
Bucky stops walking suddenly. "Doll..." He sighs, still holding your hand. "I don't want to make you go through this."
“You think I won’t go through it if we act like this means nothing, but you are wrong.” 
"I did not say that! This is not nothing, but I can't be engaged to you and leave you behind like this."
“Who said anything about being engaged?”
"We talked about getting married a lot. So I thought..."
“I didn’t say I don’t want to. I just meant that we don’t have to get engaged if that’s your concern.” 
"I don't know. Either way I can't let you go through that." He shakes his head. The last thing he wants is for her to wait for him not knowing if he will survive. "Because if I die..." 
“If you die… I would be devastated regardless. It doesn’t matter even if we decide not to see each other anymore.”
He doesn't say anything else, instead, he pulls you to him in the tightest hug you've ever felt.
"I don't want to lose you."
“Believe me, I don’t wanna lose you, either.” You wrap your hands around his body, burying your face into his chest. “My kidnapping offer still stands.”
You hear him snort. "You're just making up excuses to have me tied up."
“Do I need to?”
"No." He breaks the hug and reaches out for your hand again. "My future wife doesn't need excuses. You're stuck with me."
“And you are stuck with me.”
2K notes · View notes
rosexxi · 8 months
Note
Hi! I love your FANFICTION so much you’re my favorite writer! I was wondering if you could do Mattheo or Theodore x fem! Reader based on the song exile and she has a crush on him but refuses to believe he likes her (he’s so in love with her guys-) but she just feels so alone even though she has friends. Don’t feel pressured at all to write this!
Stargazing 💫🌃
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Mattheo knows just what to say and what to do to cheer you up
a.n // tysm for the kind words angel!! it means so much 🫶 I haven't written in a while, so sorry if this is sucky :/
fluff // m.r x slytherin! reader
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"y/n? y/n?"
Pansy's harsh tones cut through the silence that had previously filled your mind, bringing you back to the conversation that was happening around you. You were sat at your usual table, a snug booth, in the corner of an otherwise very crowded Three Broomsticks, with your best friends Pansy and Daphne. It was a cold night, a chill that nipped at your red nose, indicated that the colder seasons were growing. The autumn chill that crept through the cracks of the closed door, made you shudder, wrapping warm in your thin sweater and wool gloves, tightening your grip on your mug of hot chocolate. You had clocked out of the conversation some time ago, too preoccupied with the clock on the wall to care about your friends' boy troubles. Whatever argument it was that Pansy and Blaise had had again.
"Sorry what were you saying Pansy?" you mumbled.
She squinted her eyes at you, as though studying your face, "That doesn't matter. Are you ok? You're incredibly quiet." she stated as she took a sip of her butterbeer.
You shrugged. To be honest you weren't ok. You felt awful like there was this terrible weight on your shoulders, like you were trapped behind some invisible door. You didn't know if it was due to the weather, or simply because of yourself, but no, you weren't ok.
"I'm fine," you eventually sighed out, "just tired. I think I'm going to head back to my dorm." you weren't lying. You were tired. Tired of the school year, tired of seeing your friends busy in relationships whilst you fell behind. Just tired. So you collected your things and made your way back to the Slytherin dorms, flashing a smile as you did to ensure your friends wouldn't worry.
..
"Hey y/n, is everything alright?" came a familiar voice. You looked up from your feet to see Mattheo Riddle leaning against the stone wall leading up to Hogwarts, a lit cigarette in his hand.
You looked up at him confused until he pointed to the tear that had fallen from your eye.
"Oh." you simply stated as you wiped it away, "I didn't even realise."
"What that you were crying? Must be having a shit day." he stated.
You bit your lip. You hadn't realised how bad you were feeling until Mattheo had said it, and now it was taking everything in you to not cry in front of the schools bad boy. Well, you say bad boy but you always liked Mattheo, he was always nice to you and seemed to notice things a lot more than others did, so it was no surprise he caught you having a bad day. Others may have viewed him as aggressive and brash, but you always seemed to get the side of him that was much softer and gentle. It led to you quickly developing a little fancy to the boy. A harmless crush you had explained to Daphne and Pansy, when they had caught you flirting with him in Charms. Harmless in the sense he spoke that way to any girl and would never actually develop anything more with you.
"Heyy, don't start crying on me pretty girl, what's the matter?"
Pretty girl
it took everything in you not to melt into his arms, instead everything seemed to pour out, the awful feelings of tiredness and sadness that loomed over you, the irritancy you felt towards your friends that just groaned about their boyfriends, the irritancy you felt towards school. He just listened, occasionally taking a smoke of his cigarette, but maintaining eye contact throughout.
"I get it," he simply stated when you had finally finished, "It's hard when complex humans experience complex emotions. I hear you love, that feeling of loneliness when you're not actually alone. That feeling of emptiness whilst you're surrounded by your exhausting friends. I have it too, probably worse, Draco never does stop complaining. It's probably because you're overwhelmed, take a breather, you deserve it. But you don't have to keep it in."
"I don't?" you sniffled.
He shook his head, "I'll listen. Look I have detention now, but I'll find you later yeah?" he said, tilting his head to look you up and down, "You're freezing y/n."
He took off his hoodie and helped you put it on, "Let me see a smile."
You smiled up at him as best as you could, "beautiful" he muttered before he walked into the castle, making sure to smile back at you as he did. If only you knew he continued his smile well into his detention with McGonagall.
.
The Slytherin dorm was barren and quiet, for most students were still in Hogsmeade. Deciding to take advantage of the empty common room, you sat down in front of the fireplace, allowing the heat to warm you up.
Mattheo's hoodie was warm and smelt like him, and you couldn't help but smile as you cuddled into it. It was interactions like these that had you thinking your feelings for Mattheo were mutual. It would never last long, you always knew the truth. Mattheo simply didn't like you back and you were fine with that. Why would he when he could have any girl he wanted, one who preferably didn't cry to him when he simply asked if they were ok. But despite that, your talk with the boy, lead you to feeling in better spirits than before.
It wasn't long before Draco, Mattheo and Theodore came back from detention.
"McGonagall definitely has something against me, detention for the fourth Saturday in a row?" exclaimed Mattheo aggressively, as he threw his tie on the sofa. You turned to see the angered boy pull out a cigarette as he leaned against the fireplace. Upon seeing you, his gaze seemed to soften, as he gently exhaled smoke.
"You shouldn't scrunch your face up in anger so much Mattheo, you'll lose your charming good lucks." smirked Draco from the sofa.
"It's his good lucks that get him in trouble. If he had stopped flirting with Lavender maybe he wouldn't've gotten detention again." Theodore chimed in.
Your heart sank. Of course he was flirting with Lavender, the boy would flirt with anything that had legs, everyone knew this, especially you.
"Shut up I wasn't flirting," he said as he flicked something at the two teasing boys, "Besides Lavender's not my type." he shrugged as he sank to seat himself facing you. He smiled at you before turning his attention back to his two teasing friends.
"Yeah don't worry we know who your type is." they sniggered.
You rolled your eyes. You knew Mattheo would never like you. You knew of his multiple girlfriends and "situationships" that he flaunted around the castle. But still, you had hoped that when he said he would come to find you later, he didn't mean he'd come with his boyish friends to brag about his girl of the day. You got up and made your way to your room.
"You two just can't keep your mouths shut can you?" Mattheo questioned the two boys.
"Hey don't blame us, if you're so in love with her than just man up and say it," complained Draco, "Instead you do our heads in."
"I'm trying ok." Mattheo grunted.
"Try harder, it's been six years already and she still doesn't know."
"She must know a bit. I try to make it obvious, I'm nice to her." he simply stated.
Draco let out an obnoxious laugh, "You're so dense, Mattheo. That's not enough. You think being nice is enough, you can't flirt with loads of girls and expect y/n to think you fancy her."
"I know, I know," he grumbled as he got up, painfully aware of his behaviour the past few years, "I'll take to her see soon."
Mattheo left the common room, deciding a walk around the castle was good for his thoughts. He knew he probably flirted too much with other girls even though it meant nothing, but that was simply because it was all he knew. See, Mattheo knew his reputation was right. He was brash and awkward with his emotions, so feeling love towards you was an obstacle he didn't know how to overcome.
.
You hadn't spoken to Mattheo much over the rest of the weekend, and decidedly so, for you knew that seeing him would probably put you in a worse mood. But come Monday you started feeling in higher spirits, even engaging in boy talk with your best friends.
"But Mattheo likes you y/n, he called you pretty girl and love." Daphne had said when you told her of your interaction on the way to Transfiguration. You shook your head, "He says that to everyone Daph. He doesn't like me, why would he. He probably felt bad that I was moping around Hogsmeade, it was undeniably out of pity."
She shook her head and tried to come up with a million reasons as to why Mattheo must be in love with you. Even evidencing small interactions and late night conversations that had occurred over the years at Hogwarts.
"Look Daph, I like Mattheo and I am ok with liking him from a distance, he doesn't like me back, he can't, and that's fine." you finally said as you reached the classroom.
The lesson began, and at around 15 minutes, Mattheo strolled in. You rolled your eyes at his lack of respect and watched as he took a seat next to you.
"You look like you're feeling better." he whispered.
"I am better than before." You simply replied, turning to smile at him. He returned the smile and shifted his attention to the lesson.
Half away into the lesson, Lavender slipped Mattheo a note. You rolled your eyes at the boy again. Were them two a thing now. You liked Lavender. You didn't, however, like her that much for Mattheo.
"Are you two together now?" you voiced your thoughts.
"What? Who? Me and Lavender?" Mattheo whisper shouted, clearly taken aback, "No," he simply stated, "couldn't be further from the truth."
The lesson seemed to last longer as you stared at the clock. Eventually five minutes remained and as you packed away, Mattheo slid you a note.
'Astronomy tower at 9'
Before you could question him, he had left the classroom, leaving you highly confused.
.
"You came." Mattheo said softly, when you eventually arrived at the astronomy tower slightly after 9. You contemplated if you should come, but after encouragement from Daphne, who seemed more excited about the invitation than you, how could you not show up.
"You asked me to."
He was sat on the balcony, and as you neared towards him, you saw that he was sat on top of a plaid blanket, amongst pillows and a few lit candles.
"What's this for?" you asked, barely above a whisper. He didn't reply, instead he simply patted at the space beside him. You did. You both sat in silence for some time until he finally spoke.
"You're wearing my hoodie."
You nodded, "It's cold."
"It is," he agreed. The silence fell again and you saw Mattheo akwardly rub at the back of his neck, "When I was younger, I had insomnia, and whenever I was awake, I'd always go our tower, you could always see all the stars." he paused to take a hit of his cigarette, exhaling slowly as he gathered his thoughts, "You were sad. I thought if the stars brought me peace they'd do the same for you."
You admired the boy in the moonlight. The boy who everyone described as brash and reckless, seemed vulnerable and innocent as you stared at him, admiring how the moons reflection traced his features, making them appear softer. His brown, heavy eyes were fixated on his fingers as he fiddled with them, and above his eyebrow was a cut, no doubtly from a fight.
"You did all this? It's beautiful, the sky, the stars." you replied. You didn't know how to reply, to be entirely honest, you had never seen Mattheo this way.
He nodded, "It is beautiful." he agreed as he finally turned to meet his brown eyes to yours. Though you would describe his eyes as dead and tired, they looked full of life as he looked at you.
You couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at his intense gaze, "What is the sky or me?"
"You of course." he smiled.
You raised your eyebrows at him, "yeah? bet you say that to all your girls. You bring them here too?"
He shook his head aggressively, "never brought any girl here other than you and I'd like to keep it that way."
You nodded your head at him, though part of you still didn't believe him. He seemed to notice this as he continued speaking,
"And, I don't have multiple girls despite what the other boys say."
"You were literally just flirting with Lavender, and I've seen you with other girls."
"Lavender was helping me with this. She comes up with her boyfriend, and was telling me when was the best time."
"Oh." was all you could say.
"Yeah oh. And I might flirt with other girls but it means nothing, it's never meant anything." he took his gaze off of you and back to the sky.
"Why not?"
"Because," another exhale of smoke, "They're not you." he simply stated. As though it was something so incredibly obvious.
"Me? What do you mean?"
"God y/n, you're not always the brightest. You couldn't tell I like you, a lot."
You raised your eyebrows in shock. Was Mattheo Riddle confessing to you. Under the stars aswell you might add, how romantic.
"Me? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I tried," he shrugged "I was nicer to you, tried to pay more attention to you, but when you didn't say anything I just figured you didn't like me back."
"Mattheo. How was I supposed to know? You act like that with most girls."
He shifted in his seat to properly face you, discarding of his cigarette as he did.
"Now you know," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss you. But you stopped him, holding your hands up to prevent him.
"And you're being serious, Mattheo? Because if I'm just another girl to you, then I don't want it."
"You're not y/n, god how could you be, you're perfect. I've been wanting you since I first laid eyes on you in first year. You're everything I need and everything I want. I love you y/n, I genuinely thought I couldn't have made it more obvious. And when you didn't say anything, i got embarrassed like a stupid boy and turned to other girls but they mean nothing, now please can I kiss you."
But you didn't let him. Instead, you threw yourself at him, pressing your soft lips to his, taking his hair into your hands, doing what you've always wanted to.
You could feel him smile into the kiss, deepening it, and bringing up his hands to rub circles into your waist.
When the two of you finally pulled apart, he pulled you into his lap and turned his attention back to the sky.
"The sky really is beautiful. Thank you for bringing me." you whispered as you played with his hands.
"It is, and you're welcome. Wanted to bring you for a while, when I saw you the other day looking all down knew I had to finally do it. Can't have my pretty girl feeling down."
There it was again, pretty girl. You had to stop yourself from melting into him again.
"I like it when you call me pretty girl," you smiled, "Do you still suffer from insomnia?"
He nodded nonchalantly, facing you as he flashed an out of character toothy grin, "Kind of. I think I'll sleep just fine tonight, though."
.
.
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disniq · 9 months
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heyyy it's the tropes jason anon again back at it with a new question! what quotes from the comic books would you say describe jason & his philosophy well? thank you so, so much for helping me out ❤
Hi again Anon!
Full disclosure here; I don't think Jason has been written consistently enough over the years to necessarily have one set, inarguable philosophy. But I do think there are certain themes that carry through.
So;
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Red Hood: Lost Days #3
This is, notably, the first time Jason kills. (I'm not including Garzonas, which is debatable, or the Cheer incident, which is a retcon) He finds out his hand-to-hand teacher has a barn full of drugged children about to be sex trafficked. The cops and politicians are in on it, making lawful justice extremely unlikely, but taking out one man takes out the system. Jason crosses that line for the first time because nobody else is there to stop it, and this is the most practical route.
He does not see it as "murder" because he feels it was deserved.
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Red Hood: Lost Days #4
After that line has been crossed - as Talia points out here - a pattern emerges. It's notable that Jason does not kill all his dubiously skilled teachers, only the ones he deems the worst of the worst - people deliberately and repeatedly harming everyday people, especially children.
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Jason reiterates this in his famous utrh speech. He's not talking about killing every rogue, every criminal. He's talking about killing the worst of the worst, the people who can finagle their way out of the system, the people the system fails to catch.
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Under the Red Hood
It would be remiss of me not to include that one time Jason killed a nazi. Good for her dot gif.
To Jason, these people are beyond the regular means of justice, so he provides his own. He stops them from hurting anybody else.
This is not an exclusively post-resurrection opinion of his, either. Jason expressed similar thoughts during his Robin run.
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Batman #422 (thank you @benbamboozled 😘)
This woman, Judy, baited her sister's murderer into attacking her too and then slits his throat. She's unrepentant, and Jason agrees with her decision. (Bruce, for the record, gives a speech on how "nobody is above the law" which is. An interesting stance for an illegally operating vigilante to take lmao)
It makes sense to me that Jason, as someone who has seen the system fail repeatedly (both as a civilian and as a hero), would have those kinds of doubts. The system doesn't always work. The system often fails the most vulnerable people.
When Bruce was failed by the Gotham justice system, he became his own extra-judicial system. When Jason is failed by both the justice system *and* Bruce's own vigilante system? Why wouldn't he do the same.
Unfortunately, this thread is mostly dropped for a while with the wave of writers who either actively hate Jason and try to make him capital E Evil or who are playing shameless self insert with him, but there are two more recent panels that I want to include too;
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Task Force Z #12
So, in TFZ, Jason pushes who he thinks is Bane off a roof for killing Alfred. It... is not actually Bane, but instead the brainwashed former corpse of Gotham re-reanimated via comicbook science and. You know what, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that Jason regrets killing Gotham because he didn't deserve it, but reiterates that he will kill the real Bane if he gets a chance.
Jason sees killing as something he can do that others can't, that others maybe *shouldn't* have to do.
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The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #8
And finally, I adore this little beat in JTMWSL. This is something Jason thinks about. He's not just some brute that doesn't understand that "killing is bad". He thinks about it, reads theory about it. He sees that between the black and white, there are many, many shades of gray.
He understands that people who don't kill with their own hands aren't necessarily good people - like these cops here, gleefully waiting for him to be killed in prison. And that the people who *do* get their hands dirty aren't necessarily the bad guys - like poor Judy.
And I think he probably varies where he places himself on that scale at any given moment.
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rthko · 2 months
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Hi :) I read The Tragedy of Heterosexuality and loved it — do you have any other books you’d recommend about gender/sexuality? Thanks <3 I love reading your long posts, you have really insightful ideas and I think we view the world very similarly
Glad to hear that! Here's some context for anyone not in the loop: The Tragedy of Heterosexuality is a book about Heteropessimism, or rather, finding a way out of it. The notion is that heterosexual love is doomed because men and women are just different by nature, and it manifests through relationship self-help books, incels and pickup artists, and the memes and ramblings of countless straight women who they wish they could just be lesbians. Jane Ward think heterosexuality as we know it self sabotages through what she calls the misogyny paradox: straight men love women, except they don't love women. But she doesn't think heterosexuality is doomed or prop up political lesbianism as a solution. She calls for mutual respect and actually leaning into the heterosexuality of, well, actually liking each other, rather than try to "queer" it. This is part of a really interesting turn in queer theory where heterosexuality has emerged as a subject of study--another good example is Hanne Blank's Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality.
So I want to start out by disclaiming I'm not actually that well read. This is something I've been trying to work on more recently. That said, here are some gender and sexuality recs:
Two essays by Gayle Rubin: The Traffic in Women and Thinking Sex. I don't completely cosign everything she says, but these are monumental texts. Thinking Sex is topical especially as the "sex wars" keep playing out.
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler. Everyone's heard of this, so my specific recommendation is to skip to part three and the conclusion, where the text is at its most concise. Butler's theory of gender performativity has exploded beyond their initial reach, so they've since had a lot of interviews and given talks that address a wider audience. People who have read both Gender Trouble and Bodies that Matter tend to recommend the latter text, but I still need to.
The Trouble with Normal by Michael Warner, or if you want a shorter version, his essay "Normaler and Normaler." Even if you're not against marriage in its entirety, his criticisms are so incisive and helpful, especially now in countries where gay marriage was passed but proved to be a dead end. It also really gets into gayness as identity versus behavior, which seems to have exploded into a huge conflict recently. This is how you get people who are on board with queerness in the abstract but appalled by its real-life specifics. I also still need to read Fear of a Queer Planet.
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, is a collection of speeches and essays by one of the most influential Black feminist writers. "Uses of the Erotic" especially stuck with me, where the erotic is taken not so literally but as a sort of creative synergy with political implications. If you've ever heard "the master's tools will not dismantle the masters house," that's included in this collection.
Close to the Knives by David Wojnarowicz, also a collection of speeches and essays, is one of my favorite books on AIDS. The rage is palpable and crucial, and the essay "Do Not Doubt the Dangerousness of the 12-inch Politician" is eerily resonant today as politicians still stoke violence on TV (and now social media).
Lately I've been getting more into trans writing, with Transgender History by Susan Stryker and Whipping Girl by Julia Serano. The former alarmed me with how much I didn't know, and the latter blew my mind. It was written at a time when trans people, for better and for worse, weren't really in the public eye except for in niche circles, and academia about trans people was about or at the expense of them but not by and for them. Her mark is so tangible today. My next read will be Reverse Cowgirl by McKenzie Wark after hearing rave reviews. I think I'm going to like it.
I am also accepting recs!
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oldmemoria · 5 months
Text
okay heres the fucking thing about this script controversy that some people don't seem to get.
just gonna say it blatently:
strap in babes this is gonna be a long one!
The way Miguel O'Hara is written in the leaked transcripts is blatantly racist, here's why from a Latino himself!
all wrapped up in a sweet little bow for everyone who doesn't know how to comprehend what they're reading, cheers!
er. i mean.
¡Salud!
Miguel fans are not mad that they depicted him in a bad light and that they made it clear that he is in the wrong
WE FUCKING KNOW. WE'RE NOT STUPID.
Miguel has been depicted as a morally grey asshole since the early 1990s, which is when Spider-Man 2099 was initially debuted. And while yes, the movies are.... inaccurate, to say the least, it still stands.
The issue here is how he is depicted. They directly call Miguel O'Hara, a Latino man, an ANIMAL (he is directly called an animal TWICE. FUCKING TWICE.)
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[1st image id: Miguel leaps onto Vulture, Clawing his way in past the renaissance armor. he is an ANIMAL. (keep in mind ANIMAL is literally in all caps.) /end id]
[2nd image id: Miguel SLASHES at the walls of light that surround Miles. Clawing the energy field apart, an animal in the throes of bloodlust -- /end id]
I need you to really soak in the fact that he is called "AN ANIMAL" twice. I'm awful at alts and ids but I feel I must so you can read it in plain text. sorry if they suck.
Our issue is not that the writers seem to have a bias against the character. a lot of writers write characters they dont particularly like and in turn tend to write them from a foggy lense of their own perception. An example would be Kate Cary and how she didn't like Crowfeather, a character she had to write about. I'm sure some of her bias seeped through. but this is different.
writing a Latino man as a bloodthirsty animal, implied to be called a predator because they call one of the people he fights (im not sure if its miles or the vulture, im leaning towards believing the former.) his "prey", THOSE ARE ALL RACIAL STEREOTYPES. ALL OF THEM.
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[3rd image id: But Miguel can only see his prey: /end id]
There is no context to be needed here, the context is that this is miguel we're talking about and that they call him an animal. it does not matter if he is a villain or not (which he isnt, factually he fucking isnt im tired of having this conversation, fuck you). it matters that he's depicted in a racially insensitive way.
and this person brought this up pretty well actually, I didn't even think of it:
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[4th image id: Tumblr user @/404-505 saying:
i want to be so mean to them
they couldn't write miguel crossing the border and stealing a job so they wrote him crossing into another universe and stealing his own identity
they couldnt write miguel as a drug addict so they gave him spider steroids instead /end id.]
They bring up a really good point about these clear stereotypes being seemingly. . . disguised behind points that are narratively relevant? This could literally just be pure coincidence, but noting how the writers wrote him before... it isn't looking too good for them. Sorry. Not sorry.
It is clear that there is some kind of bias against miguel that led to really disgusting, racist retoric. Whether or not it was intentional or if it was a first draft or whatever, the writers, which may i remind you were white, still wrote this at some point.
it makes me question whether or not they hated him because of his "bullshit utopia", their words not mine, or because of their own racial biases.
We cannot know because miguel is the only mexican character on the cast. I know Miles is Puerto Rican, but there are differences between how they were portrayed. also Puerto Ricans and Mexicans come from competely different cultural backgrounds that share simularities but are still different dont even try i will destroy you.
Using another users words again, but:
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[5th image id: Tumblr user @/transmiguelohara says:
Don't talk to me about the Miguel parts in the script. I'm so disappointed in how the writers view him.
The difference between the way Miguel is written (antagonist, not the villain) vs Spot (the villain, whats to kill Miles' dad and everyone he knows) is soooo.....I don't know man it just screams racism in sorry. Describing Miguel as a bloodthirsty animal? Repeatedly? Treating him like he's mindless and has no motivation beyond having a hair trigger temper? It sucks man. /end id]
It also strikes me that now that we finally have a brown-skinned miguel, they write him like, well. this.
I don't really know if this is petty or not, but I want to wrap this back to the way the fandom also sees Movie Miguel.
Because TRUST ME it is not good either.
Miguel O'Hara Vs. FANDOM: Spoilers, it's been troubling since the beginning.
From the beginning (and by beginning in this case I mean since he was announced to be a character in this movie) Miguel has been continuously sexualized, beyond belief. He is repeatedly called "papi cholo" which NEED I REMIND YOU "Cholo" is a derogatory term used to call someone, usually a mexican person, a criminal or a delinquent.
FUCK YOU if you are not Latino OR hispanic and use this to describe people. from the bottom of my heart.
I'm pretty sure the majority of the people who called/ still currently call him "papi cholo" are mixing it up with "papi chulo" (white people moment.) which means something completely different but is still troubling as hell.
"papi chulo", which is slightly different in the way, just directly translates to "big daddy". Which again, Latino men being overly sexual "Latin Lovers" is ALSO A RACIAL STEREOTYPE. also its just blatant fetishization. Point blank fucking period.
Not only that but I notice a lot of art and fanfiction depicts him doing a lot of violence, or being very overbearing and demeaning, or in short terms.
a lot of people write him as physically and sexually aggressive.
fuck do you mean he growls during sex i can and will send you to space with no return.
which
for the millionth time
racial stereotype
halleluiah or however you spell it.
Having him say random spanish phrases you don't know the meaning or connotations of in your fanfiction is icing on the cake at this point.
fucking end me.
it isn't even only sexual depictions, since he's been shown in the movie, a lot of people seem to just see him as this guy who goes off and tries to kill children at a hairs trigger. which uh. fun fact no he fucking doesnt.
you clearly didn't watch the movie as well as you thought you did. hes just sarcastic and generally pretty level headed through the majority of his runtime, whether its implied by how characters around him act, or its just what we see on screen.
He doesn't necessarily have anger issues, the moment we see at the climax of the film is quite literally a mental break. he is not acting in a way that he usually would because he was cracking under the stress of holding the multiverse together with some scotch tape and orange glitter glue.
Also side tangent but he also has a mental break in the comics that's a little more... droopy and sad as compared to the movie, but it still happens. he has shitty mental health is what im saying. he only really lashes out angrily when hes at his wits end because that's how he grew up. he was taught to suppress his feelings and seem smaller when he was upset.
he is the result of abuse and neglect. of course he wouldn't be amazing at emotional regulation.
Which before anyone says it no, this is not an excuse for his actions. just an explaination that isn't "hes an angry animal that has it out for miles UwU" that everyone seems to have in their brain. I'm tired of you all. truly.
the sentiment that hes agressive and angry and his only emotion is anger and upsetness unless he's horny which is when he experiences all these emotions tenfold is. racist. idk how clear i have to be for people to get it through their damn skulls that the way the fandom depicts him is harmful. do i need to slap you in the face with a fish until you understand. do i need to burn your fanfiction. will you get it now that a 15 year old latino boy has to scream it in your face.
and dont even get me STARED on how inaccurately he is written
this is a more light hearted section because idk. feels like i should have it because this part is just comical, pun intended. How can you fuck up this hard guys.
I was gonna give them the benefit of the doubt because "Miguel has fresh trauma!" "He only shows up for like 10 minutes!" "insert 3rd reason!" for his drastic change in demeanor and personality, which, without context, are valid reasons for him to be a little different. trauma fucks you up man. we only see 10 minutes of him. but at this point im chalking it up to complete incompetence
it doesnt take that long to read a comic book guys. you could have done a little research, I know you can do it.
first off:
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[6th image id: Miguel's SPIDER-SENSE goes off! He races to the edge if the building and peers into an empty alley -- /end id]
LMFAO WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN "SPIDER-SENSE"
Unless you didn't get the total of TWO jokes that they made in ONE scene (the vulture fight scene), Miguel doesn't have a spider sense. at all. He has elevated senses, but he doesnt have a spider sense.
guys
guys.
you made TWO jokes IN A ROW about it. YOU WHACKED HIM IN THE HEAD TWICE WITH IT. HOW DID YOU FORGET
I cant help but laugh! this is a rookie mistake! these are seasoned writers! They could have done at least a little research, or at least remembered that he doesnt have one, no? is it that hard? or does his lack of a spider sense only matter when you're making fun of your least favorite character? thats what I thought.
this one is less funny. not to sound like a stereotypical comic nerd but this infuriated me a little bit I'm not gonna lie.
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[8th image id: tumblr user @/darksidecorner reblogged tumblr user @/spiderxpawz with:
They definitely didn't
a screenshot of the script reads:
AN INDUSTRIAL TANGLE OF HUGE PISTONS -- the literal DARK UNDERBELLY that undergrids Miguel's bullshit Utopia.
Miles doesn't know where to go... but he doesn't need to: SOMEONE YANKS him up into the safety of an alcove.
the user then continues:
This in particular made me PISSED because they quietly canonized that Miguel is CEO of Alchemax while conveniently ignoring that he did everything in his fucking power to BETTER Neuva York. Downtown wasn't built by him. It was built by people WAY before him.
I can excuse and defend some comic deviation, but THIS? Holy FUCK /end id]
I honestly cant tell if I find this part funny or pathetic because seriously. he did not do this. why are you blaming him for something he had nothing to do with. i dont think he decided "hey i should build a city for rich people over poor people because reasons" when he was like... not even alive. Alchemax did this before he was even sentient. it had always been this way since he was born. he also actively hated this decision. because he actively hates alchemax.
but right MIGUELS bullshit Utopia yeah HE did this that EVIL LITTLE BABY i cant believe him
kill me.
In conclusion:
I. . . Don't really know, to be honest. I'm still processing all this. I am genuinely disappointed and upset because this isn't okay. It never will be, and if it takes yet another blunt essay with absolutely no filter for people to understand it then so be it. I don't care if this comes off as mean. This is something I feel qualified to talk about and I will express my disappointment and anger if I want to.
All of the posts I reference I have reblogged within the last 24 hours of making this post, they shouldn't be that hard to find, but if you want the links to them here they are:
https://www.tumblr.com/spiderxpawz/735344322114977792/live-mexican-reaction?source=share
https://www.tumblr.com/404-505/735289664739606528/they-couldnt-write-miguel-as-a-drug-addict-so?source=share
https://www.tumblr.com/transmiguelohara/735289238625648640/cant-believe-the-writers-have-the-same-reading?source=share
if you want your image to be removed or for your link to be removed just ask and I'll do it. but currently im kinda bummed out and tired.
goodbye.
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