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marauderundercover · 3 years

Text

The Strings that Bind Us: Chapter One

AO3

Marinette Dupain Cheng was tired. She’d fought the same villain for fifteen years. She’d been a hero longer than she’d been just Marinette. It was exhausting. And she was ready for a break. Two years after unmasking Hawkmoth, Paris was finally healed enough for her to move on. To leave.

Which was why she was currently putting fairy lights and pumpkins on the balcony of her new apartment in Gotham. It was quiet, and lonely, but at least she didn’t have the weight of a city on her back anymore. She hums as she places the last pumpkin. Perfect. Glancing across the city, she lets out a sigh. Here she was, in an entirely new city, no connections and no one to talk to when she needed to just talk. But it was worth it, the memories of everything in Paris still too fresh. It still hurt too much. Deciding it’s not too early to go to sleep, she walks back inside. She’s just closed the door when a loud crash from outside has her tensing. She peeks behind the curtain, frowning at the figure on her balcony. She opens the door.

“Uh, hello.” She greets the strangely dressed man. If what she’d read had been correct, this was Batman. Gotham’s resident hero, or vigilante as the papers called him. He probably wasn’t here to fight her, but you can never be too careful.

“My apologies.” He says, his voice gruff. Her eyes narrow at the way he favors his left side.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?” She asks suddenly, her face instantly heating up as the words tumble out without her permission.

“I’m not-” He starts, but she shakes her head.

“I insist. You are out trying to protect citizens, are you not? The least I can do is offer you a coffee.” She says, turning and walking back inside. She doesn’t turn to see if he follows, but she does hear footsteps behind her. She figures he could walk silently, if he really wanted to. After all, even though he’d been around for eight or so years, few had ever seen Batman. She hums, moving around the kitchen and starting up her small coffee pot and grabbing a few of the leftover pastries from earlier. Placing the pastries on a plate, she pulls down two cups before turning to the vigilante in her kitchen.

“How do you take your coffee?” She asks, and she swears his lips twitch slightly.

“Just black.” He says, and she grins.

“Thank goodness. One of my friends in Paris refuses to drink coffee unless it’s half cream and sugar.” She says, trying to keep the conversation light. After all, what do you say to a random vigilante? It was different when Chat Noir, or Adrien, visited her back in collège. He didn’t start doing that until after she’d helped with Evillustrator, which helped it to not be awkward. Like it currently was with her and Batman. God, why did she even invite him in? She turns and almost sighs in relief when she sees the coffee is done. Quickly filling up both cups, she passes one to Batman and then pushes the plate of pastries towards him.

“I own the cafe downstairs.” She says as an explanation when she sees his lips purse. He nods and grabs a croissant, taking a hesitant bite out of it.

“Thank you.” He says, and she just smiles. She may not want to be a hero again, but maybe it would be okay to be friends with a hero again.

---

The bell over the door notifying her of another customer makes Marinette stick her head out from the back.

“Hello! Welcome to La Petite Tasse, I’ll be with you in just a minute.” She calls, not catching the response before she’s back in the kitchen, pulling a fresh batch of croissants out of the oven. She slides the tray onto the cooling rack before tugging off the oven mitts and rushing out to the front.

“I am so sorry about that, most of my workers are also students so they have class right now. What can I get you?” She rambles, freezing when she looks up into the most attractive blue eyes she’s ever seen. The man just smiles at her, and she swears her knees go weak.

“That’s fine. Could I have... a large black coffee and a croissant?” The man asks, glancing up at the menu before looking back at her. She nods and smiles, cursing the way her cheeks heat up. Sure, this was quite literally the most attractive man she’d ever seen in person, but she was not going to fall for a pretty face. Nope. Totally not. She turns and grabs a cup, filling it up before rushing to the back to grab one of the fresh croissants. After all, they were better warm.

“That’ll be three dollars and twenty seven cents.” She says, passing the man his order. He grins and passes her a twenty.

“Keep the change.” He says with a grin before he turns and walks out. She blinks, slightly confused, but takes the change and puts it into the tip jar. That was weird, she thinks, but she doesn’t think too much into it. It’s not like she’d ever see him again.

---

She had been wrong, and she was completely okay with it. The man came in almost every day for two weeks before she worked up the courage to introduce herself and ask his name. He’d seemed shocked, but had introduced himself as Bruce. And after two weeks, she was happy to say that Gotham had started to feel a little lighter, that she was a little happier in this dark city. The bell above the door chimes, but she keeps working on filling the macarons since Mack was manning the counter.

“Listen kid, open the register and I won’t shoot your fucking brains out.” A voice says. Oh hell no. She drops the piping back and picks up her rolling pin. Peeking out, she breathes a sigh of relief when she sees it’s only one guy, not an entire group. She tosses her rolling pin lightly before catching it, familiarizing herself with it as a projectile before she actually uses it. She watches as Mack’s hands shake, obviously panicked. Letting out a steadying breath, Marinette aims and manages to hit the man in the head with the rolling pin. He drops instantly, the gun clattering to the floor. She rushes out and grabs a couple zip ties from under the counter, walking over and cuffing the man’s hands behind his back before dragging him towards the handrail and attaching him to it. She glares at the man before she remembers Mack and gasps. She rushes over, frantically checking over the girl to make sure she’s okay.

“Mama M, I’m fine. I promise.” She says, though her voice shakes. Marinette breathes a sigh of relief before crushing the girl in a hug.

“I am so sorry, Mack, so, so sorry.” She apologizes, holding the girl close. She can feel the girl shake slightly, her shirt getting wet as the girl cries. Marinette just coos softly, whispering reassuring words to her. She barely hears the bell signaling a customer ring.

“What the hell happened?” A familiar voice asks. She glances over at Bruce and grimaces.

“Attempted robbery. Would you mind calling the police?” She asks, nodding towards the landline. He blinks, standing frozen as he stares at the tied up man in the corner. “Bruce!” She calls, his attention snapping to her. She nods towards the phone again and he nods, walking over to make the call.

---

After the police take their statements, Marinette sends Mack home with the tips from the day, despite the girl’s protests.

“Sweetheart, you were just held at gunpoint. I’m not gonna let you stay here. Go home, eat some junk food and watch something funny. I’ll see you on Monday.” Marinette says, giving the girl another quick hug before watching her leave. She turns to Bruce, who had been kind enough to stay, and winces. “You’re not gonna get in trouble with your boss, are you?” She asks. He just grins.

“I was actually off today, don’t worry about me.” He says, his smile falling as he looks her over. “Are you okay?” He asks. She lets out a shaky breath before nodding.

“Yeah, yeah. I was more worried about Mack, honestly. I was in the back, but I couldn’t just stay there. Not knowing she was in danger.” She says, her arms wrapped around herself as she tries to stay calm. It was the first time she’d had an actual gun aimed at someone she cares about.

“You were quite the hero today.” He says softly, and she snorts, shaking her head.

“No, Bruce, I wasn’t. I did what anyone else would’ve done.” She says, waving him off dismissively.

“Only you would actually believe that there are still people good enough to act like that.” He says softly. She blushes and clears her throat.

“Well, did you want your regular?” She asks, moving to go back behind the counter. He frowns.

“Mari, you aren’t seriously going to open the cafe back up today, are you?” He asks and she frowns.

“Why wouldn’t I?” She asks.

“Because your store was just attacked!” He exclaims, and she snorts.

“If my parent’s bakery in Paris closed every time there was an attack, they would’ve gone out of business.” She says flippantly. He frowns, and she worries she’s said something wrong, when his face suddenly twists back up into a smile.

“Spend the day with me.” He says and she blinks in surprise.

“What?”

“I had set out to ask you on a date when I came in today, but the whole attempted robbery stopped me. I know you want to just get back to work, but what if you spent the day with me instead?” He offers. She stares at him, wide eyed, before a wide smile forms on her face.

“I thought you’d never ask.” She says. It’d be fine to have the cafe closed for a day.

Event tag list: @maribat-october-rarepairs

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itsallyscorner · 3 years

Text

Play Me A Song

Paring: Tom Holland x fem!reader

Summary: This is based off the video of Tom playing guitar that he posted on Instagram:) Tom facetimes you to help brighten up your day.

Warnings: none

A/n: Not me using fan fiction as a coping mechanism for my stress, yet ONCE AGAIN.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

✧───── ･｡ﾟ★: *. ☽.* :★. ─────✧

“Hellooo, gorgeous girl!” Tom cooed as his face popped up onto your phone screen.

You let out a nasally giggle, the side of your face snuggling deeper into the pillow Tom would use when he was over at your house.

Tom tilts his head at the phone, a hint of a smile on his blush colored lips. The action caused his mop of chocolate brown curls to slightly bounce, catching your attention. You longed for the feeling of running your hands through his soft hair. You missed the way it felt between your fingers and how it would make Tom nuzzle closer to you.

“How was your day? You sounded a bit upset on the phone.” He checked in, voice soft and sweet, yet full of concern. His brows furrowed, causing a wrinkle to form between his brows.

You breath in, smelling the hints of him on your pillow. He was miles away, FaceTime allowed you to see and talk to him, though it wasn’t the same as him being beside you. If you were together right now, he would probably envelop you with his protective arms, pull you into his warm chest, and press kisses all over any bit of your exposed skin. His curls would tickle against your neck while he buried his head into the small space between your neck and shoulders—though you wouldn’t mind the tickle because it would remind you that he was there with you.

You sighed, “Today was a rough day. My professors have been piling work on us and I got called into work on my day off. I haven’t even gotten to start that research paper for class—I’m just so burnt out. I’m tired of trying, Tommy.”

Tom pouted, bringing the camera near his face to feel closer to you. He only felt the heat of his phone screen against his face, but he could still feel the light vibrations of your voice through the phone’s speakers. He placed the speaker of his phone slightly atop his chest, so he could feel the rhythm of your words against him. It reminded him of the days you two would cuddle after the both of you had long days at work. You would tell each other about your days and bask in the feeling of being in each other’s arms. He missed the feeling of being close to you.

“I know you have a lot of work to do, but you need to give yourself breaks, darling. And don’t tell me that you don’t need a break, you’re human (y/n), there’s only so much you can do in a day.” He began. Tom knew how you could get when college got overwhelming. Sometimes there were weeks where you would throw yourself into work, with no sleep, minimal food, and too many cups of coffee. He adored the diligence you had for your education, he wished he could’ve had that when he was still in school, but he wanted to make sure that you were taking care of yourself.

“Listen, you got this, I know you do. You’re the most intelligent and hard working woman I have ever met in my life. There’s nothing you can’t do, because I know, one way or another, you’re gonna find a way to do it. You always do. I just don’t want you to forget to take care of yourself. I know your education is important, but so are you.” He finished, a small smile forming on his lips. You hum in response, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself Tommy.”

What you say seems to reassure him, his shoulders visibly loosened up and the smile on his face grows a bit wider. Your own lips turn up on their own, reciprocating his smile.

“How about you, how was your day?” You ask him. Tom sits up and leans against his headboard.

“Well they’re still renovating the house, so Harry and I decided to rent out a place not too far from mum and dad’s. We actually had lunch with them, I got to see Tessa—gosh, I wish you were here right now. Tess was bouncing all over the place and giving everyone kisses, you would’ve loved it. And Paddy! He’s gotten so much taller since I’ve last seen him, and his voice keeps getting deeper, it’s actually embarrassing for me to be beside him because I’m older and I sound like I’m the one going through puberty.” He rambled, one of his hands making gestures and his face making expressions as he spoke. You loved the way he could just go on about a certain topic, especially when it came to his family. As sad as it was to see him leave for the UK, you were also happy because you knew he’d get to see his family.

He continued to talk about his day until his leg bumped into something, causing a hollow thump to emit from the object.

“What was that?” He leaned forward, the sound of his sheets rustling as he moved to grab the object filling your speakers.

“My guitar.” He grunted, holding the instrument up. “Remember, you got this for me for my birthday!” He proudly reminded you. You had gotten him the Ed Sheeran edition Martin Guitar after he had been going on and on about wanting to learn how to properly play the instrument. At the same time, he had a little obsession with Ed Sheeran and his music, so when you saw the guitar in the shop, you thought why not? You knew he would love it.

You fondly chuckled at him, “Yeah I do! You even promised to write me a song one day after you opened it.”

The last part of your sentence caught his attention, “I will write you a song one day, I’m very serious about that promise, love.” He pointed at you.

“Oh, are you?” You tease him.

“Yes, I am. In fact, ever since I’ve gotten back home, I’ve been practicing again and I’m doing much better.” He confidently told you.

“Can you play me a song?” You softly ask him.

“I can play you ‘Grow as we Go’ by Ben Platt. It’s the song I’ve been practicing.” He placed his phone against a pillow, using it as a stand. He placed the guitar in his lap, positioning his fingers on the frets and strings of the guitar.

“Yeah, play anything. I just wanna hear you play.” You mumble, your voice coming out in a muffle against Tom’s pillow.

“Just a warning, it’s probably not that good.” He mentions, shooting you a playful look.

“I don’t care.” You smile. He starts to softly strum the opening of the Ben Platt song and you couldn’t help but smile. He looked away from the camera, trying to focus on the notes and giving you a good look at the side of his face. The light shines part of his face, leaving the features you can see dark in the shadow, though it didn’t stop you from making out his gorgeous brown eyes. His long fingers move fluidly along the strings, creating a sweet melody on the guitar.

He stumbles a bit, making him whisper “Bollocks.” The little hiccup didn’t stop him from playing and so he continued to strum the guitar. You decided to stay quiet, letting him be in the zone. He messes up again, this time saying “bollocks” louder than the first time. You see him slightly shake his head as he regains his focus and places his fingers on the proper strings again.

You fondly watch him as he play, admiring the man you call your boyfriend. His fingers twitch on the string causing him to pause. He sucks his teeth, a bit of a frustrated grin on his face.

“Mmm.” He looks at you before turning away, “Okay.” He plays again, brows furrowed together in concentration as he tries to play the part of the song his keeps messing up on. You couldn’t contain the giggle that came out of you when he cringed at the sound the guitar made when he tried to play past the note. He pauses looking at the ceiling and tries to figure out the next notes.

“Alright, last time.”

“You’ve got it.” You encourage him. Your words give him some confidence and he shoots you a sweet smile. He readjusts the guitar in his lap, this time keeping his eyes on the strings as he plays. He strums the song again, starting off slow then slowly getting faster. Though his pacing was off by a bit, the song still sounded great nonetheless. You were thoroughly impressed.

He stops playing sitting back against the headboard, “I don’t know why I speed up though. I don’t know why I decide to do it so quickly.” He says into the camera.

You laugh, “It still sounds great though, I really enjoyed it.”

Tom tilts his head at you, teasingly squinting at the camera, “Even with the amount of times I kept stopping?”

“Yes, even with the amount of times you kept stopping.” You laugh, adjusting your phone. Tom puts the guitar aside and grabs his phone. He lays back on his bed, his head resting on his pillow and his curls sprawling out on the cushiony white surface. One of his hands rest behind his head as he stares at you.

“I’m gonna keep practicing. So the next time I see your beautiful face I can serenade you with a song and my guitar.” He muses, a lazy grin on his features.

“That sounds like something out of a chick flick.” You snort. He shoots you a playful glare, “Shut up, you love it.”

Tom knew you were a sucker for chick flick gestures. Kissing in the rain, watching the sunset, you name it.

You sigh, scrunching up your nose, “Yeah, I do.”

“But only from you.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

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drabbles-mc · 3 years

Text

One of Them Girls

Angel Reyes x Reader

Request by @lakamaa12: I have a request.. if you don't want to do it, no worries (or it's been done by another blog and I missed it).I was wondering if you would consider writing something with Angel based around the song One of Them Girls by Lee Brice?

(Part 2 can be found Here)

Warnings: language, alcohol, Angel being the cutie we know he is

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: To the best of my knowledge, no one else has written an Angel fic for this song yet! If you have and I didn’t see it, my bad! But real talk I’ve been obsessed with this song lately and I wanted to write a fic for it so I’m super glad you sent this my way. Hope you enjoy! xo

Angel Taglist: @mayans-sauce @helli4nthus @angelreyesgirl @starrynite7114 @queenbeered @sincerelyasomebody @sadeyesgf @thesandbeneathmytoes @appropriate-writers-name @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @multiyfandomgirl40 @sillygoose6969 @beardburnsupersoldiers @louisianalady @gemini0410 @paintballkid711 @chibsytelford @yourwonkywriter @sesamepancakes @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @plentyoffandoms @georgiaaintnopeach @twistnet @amandinesblogofstuff @garbinge @bucky-iss-bae @enjoy-the-destruction @encounterthepast @lilacyennefer @everyhowlmarksthedead @rosieposie0624 @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo @mijop @xladymacbethx (If you want to be tagged let me know! xo)

Your roommate had been trying for months to get you to go to one of the MC parties with her. She knew them from working at Vicki’s and she swore that you would have a good time if you just came to the clubhouse with her.

“Just for a couple hours,” she pleaded as she stood in the doorway to your room, “and if you’re really not having a good time, we can leave and I’ll never bother you about it again. Promise.”

You sighed, leaning your head back against your headboard, “Fine. Just so you won’t bother me about it anymore.”

She beamed, “Yes! Oh this is gonna be so fun,” you could practically see the thoughts racing through her head, “Wear those skinny jeans that make your butt look good.”

You groaned, “You’re gonna dress me, too?”

She laughed, “It’s just a friendly suggestion.”

It was a suggestion that you begrudgingly took her up on. She really wasn’t that pushy about what to wear, but she knew that she was able to nudge you out of your comfort zone a little bit sometimes. You’d ended up with a simple, low-cut black tank top, the jeans she had suggested, and a pair of black boots. You weren’t going to risk snapping your ankle in a pair of heels when you didn’t know what you’d be walking into.

Elena may have been persistent, but she was a woman of her word. She stayed by you when you first arrived, knowing the scene was a little overwhelming when you first walk into it. You weren’t quite sure what you had been expecting, but this wasn’t quite what you had pictured in your mind. It was a little tamer, a little less chaotic than your brain had been telling you it would be.

“C’mon,” she tugged you towards the bar, “I’ll get you a beer.”

“Elena, who are all these people?” you asked quietly as you scanned the room.

She started pointing out the members of the MC one by one, telling you their names and a few fun facts about each. Some of the facts were a little more information than you cared to know, but she got you to laugh. Some of the girls you recognized because they’d come over and hang out at your apartment sometimes, and it was nice to know that you knew more than just one person at the party. They said there was power in numbers, right?

“Hey, querida,” a voice piped up from behind the two of you.

Elena turned, a smile instantly spreading across her face as she walked up to the man who had been speaking to her and letting him scoop her up in a hug, “Angel, hey!”

He set her down and his eyes found their way over to you. You felt small under the weight of his gaze but you tried not to let it show. He glanced back to Elena, “You brought a friend?”

She laughed, nodding, “Angel, this is my roommate, and best friend, Y/N. Y/N, this is Angel, the biggest pain in the ass in the MC.”

He placed a hand over his chest, an exaggeratedly pained expression on his face, “Right to my heart.”

The three of you laughed and you shook your head slightly, the nerves beginning to dissipate a little bit. You weren’t expecting him to plop down on the stool next to yours, but he did. You looked over to Elena, as if to ask if you should be worried about anything. She flashed you a smile as she sat down on the other side of you, giving your arm a light, reassuring squeeze as she reached for her drink.

“So what questionable decisions led you here tonight?” he asked with a laugh as he took a swig of his beer.

You laughed, shaking your head, “Just throwing Elena a bone. She’s been wanting me to come here with her for a while.”

“Didn’t want to be hanging out with a bunch of degenerates?” there was a playful smirk on his face.

You smiled, “More like I didn’t want to be hanging out with a bunch of people in general,” you laughed, “I’m a bit of a homebody.”

“I’m working on that,” Elena piped in with a smile.

The three of you sat at the bar and talked for a little while. You could tell that Angel was trying to get a read on you, the new girl. You couldn’t be mad because you were doing the same thing to him. He was smooth, flirtatious, but not overbearingly so. That was a game you’d be willing to play for the night while you pacified your friend. If you were going to be forced to socialize, there were worse people to look at while doing it.

Elena must’ve gotten the vibe from you, because she politely excused herself from the conversation, letting you know that she wouldn’t be far if you decided that you wanted to bail and go home. You saw the smirk tugging at her lips as she walked away though, knowing that you were having a much better time there than you’d ever admit.

“So I gotta know,” Angel asked as he idly toyed with the beer bottle in his hands, “how does a homebody like you end up rooming with Miss “Life of the Party” Elena?”

You laughed, trying not to stare at the way his ringed fingers traced and curled around the neck of his beer bottle, “We actually had a few classes together our first year in college,” you shook your head, “Nothing bonds two people together like suffering through statistics classes together.”

He chuckled, “Fuck that.”

“That was exactly how we felt.”

The longer the two of you talked, the more he tested his boundaries. He wasn’t pushy, or inappropriate, but he was definitely trying to figure out what made you tick. You weren’t going to give him that kind of satisfaction so quickly, though. You bantered back and forth with him, and you couldn’t remember the last time a guy had you laughing so hard.

Angel was in the middle of an incredibly cheesy pickup line that he swore has worked for him before when the song coming through the speakers changed. You couldn’t help but to perk up a little bit at the familiar beat and Angel noticed the shift immediately. He watched you for a moment as he tried to feel out the situation.

“Wanna dance?”

You shook your head no with zero hesitation, “No thank you.”

He laughed, “C’mon, why not? Live a little.”

You smiled but didn’t move to get up from your stool, “I’m sure there are plenty of women here tonight that would love to dance with you, Angel.”

He didn’t push the topic any further. You were smiling but he could see the flash of emotion in your eyes and he knew that there was something there that you weren’t ready to tap into yet with him. So, instead, he got you another beer and delved back into his cheesy pickup line story. When you realized that he was going to move past what you just said and not make it awkward, the tension immediately melted out of your body. You gladly took the beer bottle from him as you listened him ramble into another story.

“Yo, Angel,” Coco called from the pool table, “get over here. Bring your friend, we need two more.”

“You play pool?” Angel asked you, curious to your answer.

You shrugged as you hopped off the stool, “I mean I know how to.”

He laughed as he followed you across the clubhouse, “That’s not a super reassuring answer, querida.”

“Man, fuck him. You can be on my team,” Coco said with a laugh, “He and Gilly can fend for themselves.”

There was something reassuring and welcoming about the way that Coco spoke to you—like he had known you for years. He handed you your pool stick, smile still plastered onto his face. This wasn’t how you had originally pictured your night going, but you weren’t upset about it.

About halfway through the game, Angel was pissed that he didn’t try to team up with you. You and Coco were on a hot-streak and he really didn’t expect that from you. He shook his head as you sank another shot, and you had to laugh at the way that Coco was able to effectively gloat with just a simple look thrown Angel’s way.

“I mean I know how to,” Angel mocked you with a laugh as he shook his head, watching you line up to take another shot, “Can’t believe you fuckin’ hustled me.”

You laughed, “I don’t think you can call it hustling if there’s no money involved. You’re just mad because we’re about to whoop your ass.”

He chuckled and glanced over at Coco, “Don’t look so smug, Coco. She’s fuckin’ carrying you right now.”

The game wrapped up quickly with you and Coco both doing so well. Gilly had been more than content to sit back and watch it all happen, reveling in the fact that someone, and someone new at that, was kicking Angel’s ass at pool. Angel was shaking his head as he set his stick aside, still trying to figure out how all of that just happened. For someone who claimed that they didn’t like going out and doing things, you seemed to be full of surprises.

“Since I am a gracious winner,” you said with a laugh as you let Coco put your stick away, “I’ll buy you all a drink.”

Angel went to protest, not wanting you to be buying anything for any of them, but Gilly slapped his chest to stop him. The look on Gilly’s face made it very evident that no matter how cute the girl was, none of them were about to be turning down free drinks. Angel laughed, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

As the night wore on, slowly but surely people began to trickle out of the clubhouse. You hadn’t really talked to Elena since you got wrapped up playing pool with the guys, but the two of you kept an eye on one another. Every now and then she’d shoot you a look, one that asked if you needed to get out, and you would just shake your head. She’d smile, sometimes throw you a wink, before getting wrapped back up into whatever she was doing. You knew that she was just glad to get you out of the house and socializing with people.

You and Angel were sitting next to each other on the couch talking, keeping your conversation low in the midst of music and noise still filling the clubhouse. You were shaking your head at him as he told you about some of the scrapes he’d gotten into with his brother, someone that you knew you’d also love to sit and have a conversation with eventually.

Elena walked up and gave you a nudge, smiling when you turned to her, “Not trying to rush you, but I think a couple of the girls and I are gonna head out. You want me to bring you home before I go with them?”

Truthfully, you didn’t want to leave. But she was your ride, so it wasn’t like you were going to have much of a choice. Just as you were about to speak up and say you’d get ready to leave, Angel interrupted, “I can take you home if you want.”

You glanced back at him, arching one eyebrow, “Oh?”

“Yea,” he shrugged, smiling, “I don’t mind.”

Elena bit at her bottom lip, trying to fight back a smile, “You good with that, Y/N?”

You nodded, “Yea, I think so,” you laughed, “Worst case scenario I have pepper spray in my bag.”

“Jesus,” Angel laughed.

Elena shook her head with a grin as she leaned down to kiss your cheek, “Text me when you’re home. Love you.”

“Love you too. Text when you get to wherever the hell you guys are all going,” you chuckled.

“Will do,” she turned and hugged Angel, “Get her home safe, or I’ll beat your ass.”

He nodded, trying hard not to laugh because he knew that she was serious, “Yes ma’am.”

When she was gone and it was just the two of you again, things felt a little different. You suddenly became very aware of the way that his arm was draped over the back of the couch, his fingers almost brushing against your shoulder. Despite the number of people that were still in the clubhouse, it felt like it was just you two left. Everything else felt farther away.

“Can I ask where you’re from?” he leaned in a little closer to you and took a sip of his beer, “Because I feel like you’re not from around here.”

You smiled, shaking your head, “I’m not. I’m from the East Coast—came out this way for college,” you laughed, “Very cliché, I know.”

“Ah, you’re one of them girls, huh?”

“Who are them girls?” you chuckled.

“Had to get the hell outta dodge?”

You smiled and nodded, not really wanting to get into the details of your decisions, “Something like that.”

“You musta broke a lot of hearts when you left,” there was a smirk tugging at his lips.

You laughed, “Wouldn’t know—haven’t been back to find out.”

Somewhere along the line of your conversation, the two of you had gotten very comfortable. You had your legs pulled up underneath you as you leaned into him, his hand resting lightly on the nape of your neck. Every now and then when you laughed your hand would come to rest on his thigh for a moment or two before you pulled it back to your own body. He wasn’t bold enough to say it but he wished that you’d leave it there.

There was a brief lull in the conversation and you looked around the clubhouse, seeing that the two of you were some of the last people there. You checked your phone, seeing that you had gotten the safety update from your roommate almost an hour before and hadn’t noticed from being so enthralled with Angel.

“You got that look on your face like you gotta get going,” Angel said knowingly.

You sighed, “Yea, unfortunately I still have to go and do life stuff tomorrow,” there was a hint of laughter to your voice.

His thumb traced idly along the exposed skin at the base of your neck, “We can take the bike, if you want.”

You pressed your lips together for a moment, “I’ve never ridden on one before.”

He chuckled as he rose to his feet, helping you to do the same, “Something tells me you’ll be fine.”

The two of you walked out of the clubhouse, Angel’s hand settling on the small of your back. The chilly night air hit your skin and sent a chill through you. Without a second thought, Angel peeled off his sweatshirt that he’d put on and handed it over to you. You started to shake your head no but he wordlessly pushed the hoodie into your hands. You gave in with a smile, pulling it down over your head. It was warm, and you were practically swimming in the fabric, but you didn’t mind.

He let you use his helmet, and you settled behind him after climbing onto the bike. Your hands were lightly resting on his waist and he pulled your arms tighter around him, causing you to press flush up against his back.

“Don’t be shy, querida,” he chuckled, “For your own safety as much as anything else.”

You laughed, thankful that he couldn’t see the sheepish smile on your face as you let your body rest against his. The bike came to life underneath you and you nervously wrapped your arms a little tighter around him, and you could feel him laughing despite the fact that you couldn’t hear him over the noise of the bike.

Slowly you eased into the ride, your nerves subsiding a little bit. Angel must’ve felt the tension dissipating because he picked up the speed a little bit, causing you to laugh and tighten your hold on him. You knew that Angel knew the way to yours and Elena’s apartment, so you knew that he was taking the long way there. As much as you wanted to call him out on it, you didn’t want him to think that you minded. It was a peaceful, freeing feeling to be riding with him.

He rolled to a stop in front of your apartment building. You hopped off the bike, handing him back his helmet. The two of you stood there and you knew that he could feel the same type of tension in the air that you felt. For a night that you really hadn’t been looking forward to, it was the best time that you’d had in a while.

You went to take his sweatshirt off to give back to him but he shook his head at you, “Nah, keep it.”

“You sure?”

He nodded with a smirk on his face, “Yea. Just give it back next time I see you.”

You smiled, “Next time? Who said I’m coming back to the clubhouse?”

He laughed and shook his head, “Damn, you and Elena are both out to keep my ego in check, huh?”

“It’s good for you,” you shifted your weight from one foot to the other, trying to ignore the fact that you felt nervous, trying to figure out how to say goodnight.

“But really,” he stepped in a little closer to you, forcing you to tilt your head up slightly to look him in the eye, “I’d really like to be able to see you again.”

You managed to keep a straight face for a few seconds, just long enough to make him nervous. You could see him racing to try and come up with a follow-up statement to get himself out of being rejected, and you let yourself smile as you nodded, “I’d like that.”

He let out an audible sigh of relief, “Had me worried for a second,” he chuckled.

You laughed, shaking your head, “Can’t make it too easy for you.”

He smiled, “Can I have your number? Or do I gotta level up for that?”

You rolled your eyes as you held your hand out, “Give me your phone before I change my mind.”

He chuckled as he dug it out of his pocket and pressed it into the palm of your hand. He watched you intently as you plugged your number in, smiling as you handed it back to him, “This your real number? Or one of those rejection hotlines?”

You smirked, “Guess you’ll have to call me and find out. One time I gave some dude the number that would just play the John Cena theme song over and over again. That was…peak rejection.”

“That’s not exactly reassuring for me, you get that, right?” he laughed.

You smiled and shook your head, “It’s my real number, promise,” you stood up on your tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek, “Thanks for bringing me home.”

He couldn’t hide that he was surprised by the gesture. A huge smile spread across his face as he nodded, “Yea, any time.”

“Get home safe.”

He nodded, “I will,” he pressed a kiss to your forehead, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” you crossed your arms over your chest, trapping the heat against your body as you watched him get back on his bike and strap his helmet on. He flashed you another smile and you waved him off.

You let out a small sigh of contentment as you turned around and made your way into your building. The walk up to your apartment seemed much shorter as you replayed the night over in your head. You turned the key in the lock and stepped in, glad to be home but simultaneously wishing that the night wasn’t over yet. You showered and threw your pajamas on, falling into your bed with a happy sigh. After shutting the light off and settling in underneath your blanket, your phone buzzed on your nightstand. You reached over to see who it was, and smiled when you saw a message waiting for you from a new number.

“Home safe. Sweet dreams” after a few seconds a second text came in, “It’s Angel by the way”

You chuckled as you typed out your reply, ‘Thanks for the clarification. Got worried for a second”

“Just tryna be sweet and you can’t let me have it, can you?”

“Nope” you were laughing in the quiet darkness of your room.

“Alright. Sweet nightmares then. Goodnight”

You could picture his face and you couldn’t stop smiling, “Goodnight xo”

You set your phone off to the side again, settling back down underneath your covers. Your body wanted to sleep but your brain was too busy replaying the entire night over again and you couldn’t stop smiling.

#mayans mc #mayansmc #mayans fx #mayans mc imagine #angel reyes #angel reyes x you #angel reyes x reader #angel reyes imagine #angel reyes fanfic #my writing #fanfiction #drabblesmc

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limitlessgojo · 3 years

Text

Blood Bound: Red Strings of Fate (Ch 10)

Warnings: Action, Coarse Language, Fighting, Descriptions of Blood

Previous Chapter: Wait For Me

Next Chapter: Kyoto-Tokyo Goodwill Event

Tags: Soulmates AU, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Fem!Reader

Taglist: @lessie-oxj @rizzo-nero @whoreuc @fkngkumiko @isl3t @gojoussunglasses @onepotatostand-blog @s-t-f-u-b-i-t-c-h @sunaswife

Notes: If you want to be tagged for every update, please mention it in the comments below ty <3

We are halfway through the story~ I never planned for this to be over 40k😅 but I've added some integral scenes in the later chapters. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 10: Invisible Ties

You couldn't sleep at all the few nights that followed. Mai and the others noticed your fatigue. They worriedly asked about you and let you cuddle into them and nap when you had some free time.

Miwa even let's you stay with her in her room at times, and it does help for a bit, but you don't want to bother them. And something was telling you it wasn't just regular fatigue.

You sometimes zone out in class and could barely stay awake during physical training. Eventually, you consulted Utahime about your possible insomnia.

You had a feeling it was tied to your feeling of unrest over your soulmate bond. It didn't help that your soulmark was stinging and all your heart wanted was to be with Noritoshi. There was a strong sense of unease over this bond.

You pulled down your sleeve to reveal the mark on your wrist flashing madly like a broken stoplight. You groaned and shoved your face into your pillow.

You've taken to wrapping a black velvet ribbon on it during the day, to not attract attention. If this light flashing keeps up, you might have to use a thicker fabric.

◇◇◇

Noritoshi was feeling the same uneasiness you did. He tried to shake it off and act as natural as he could around you, but even he was still shook at how quickly your negative emotions transmitted over the bond.

He was in his room and it was past 11. He tried to get to sleep, but found that he couldn’t so he tried studying. He was actually distracted for once, looking over his desk at the soulmate record and diaries of Hotaru and found himself reading them.

◇◇◇

On the other hand, you were restless in your room.

"I shouldn't bother Noritoshi senpai but..." You glanced over at your clock. 12:06am. Just past midnight, he was surely asleep. And yet you found yourself grabbing your pillow and blankets, and quietly making your way to his dorm room.

It was as if your body was moving under the command of your red strings. Pulling you back to the man who was responsible for messing you up like this.

You stood outside for a good 5 minutes, contemplating on whether or not you should knock. You haven't had a proper sleep in nights and it is starting to show in your studies.

Finally, you decided to quietly knock a few times. A beat passed and there was no response. You were about to walk away when the door opened. He was awake to your surprise.

He was in his dark navy Kimono, hair wrappings undone. Some strands of his hair fell over his eyes. At that moment, you thought to yourself that he was the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.

“Can I help you y/n?” He was staring at your pillows and blankets.

Ah right. All of the sudden you feel so small and dumb for coming all the way here for no good reason. “Ah, Noritoshi senpai. Um, good evening.” You scrambled for words.

“I, uhm, I’m sorry I can’t really sleep- Ah what I mean to say is that I haven’t been sleeping well lately and I was wondering if I-” a cold gust of air blew past you and you shivered.

Noritoshi’s eyes widened at this and he pulled you into his room and closed the door behind you. He was so close, your face turned bright red. Way too close for comfort.

He seemed to get the hint and took a step back from you. “So you want to stay the night with me, is that what you’re getting at?”

You stayed still before slowly nodding, then looked up to see his reaction. His face was like stone, nothing was giving anything away. He didn’t look so happy to see you in your opinion.

“I’m sorry to disturb you…. I was gonna…. ask… if I ….. could … sleep …. on … your floor…, “ your voice was getting smaller and softer with each word, heart clenching painfully. Your fists tightly scrunched up in your blankets.

Suddenly he leaned down close to bring his face to yours and raised his hand. You flinched and closed your eyes tightly, expecting a “no.”

He cupped your cheeks gently and touched the bags of your eyes with his fingers. “You’ve been looking so exhausted lately, I was actually going to bring it up to you, but I wasn’t able to catch you earlier today. Just share the bed with me.”

You blinked. What. Did you hear that right?

You looked at him with wide eyes. His face was red too. “Is this okay with you? I really don’t want to overstep my boundaries… Last time….” you opened your mouth then realized you didn’t come here to dump all the shit that’s troubling your mind onto Noritoshi.

‘I’m sure he also has it hard on his end’. “Ah, never mind. Thank you so much senpai.” you smiled up at him.

Noritoshi’s chest hurts to see you fake a smile towards him. Time and time again, he’s loved watching how expressive and honest you are with your emotions.

He’s seen your genuine smiles more often than not. Seeing you like this just felt wrong.

“Tell me.” He said.

“Ah- it’s really nothing, I know you’ve been dealing with so much on your end, you’re also stressed, I’m just thankful that you’re letting me stay here in your room-” you were rambling without realizing it.

“Tell me. Don’t hold back. I can feel your unease through the soulmate bond.” he said sternly.

Noritoshi was starting to understand that you both had to work through the negative emotions each one feels together. That’s the reason for the soulmate bond. Ignoring it would be like dragging yourselves through mud.

You got the gist of his line of thought, having the same realization at the same time. You spoke cautiously so as not to offend him, "This has been bothering me. Last time in your room, it just felt like you were treating me as an outsider and it hurt. Like I thought that we were more than that, but maybe it's just me. Also, you once said I didn't know who you are. So I just…. Wanted to understand you better..."

Noritoshi’s eyes softened, and he just couldn’t resist you anymore. He pulled you towards his bed and set down your blankets and pillows. Then turned back to you, “Can I hug you?”

“Of course.” It was fun to see him blush and awkwardly hold his arms out towards you. You stepped into his space, grabbed one arm to throw around your shoulder, and the other around your waist. As he didn’t seem to know where to hold you.

"I do admit I have my secrets and I’m not ready to tell you about them yet. For that I apologize, you have to wait a bit longer until I’m more comfortable with you. But you're not an outsider to me my dear. You could never be. I also believe that we are more than friends, like I said before. I need you to trust me a little more. And I’ll do the same with you, I’ll trust you a bit more. I want it all and this soulbond, as long as it's you."

Your eyes widened and sparkled upon hearing his words. Your bond finally settled into something of a quiet hum underneath your veins. You hugged him tighter, which he smiled at.

"I'm sorry, I should have explained to you how I felt senpai." You whispered sadly. But he just hushed you and held your hand. "It's okay, next time we can do better. Let’s start anew shall we?"

You spoke out a soft yes in response. It was honestly still a disjointed relationship. Like you’re both just two parts of a whole trying to find their way to each other.

"Let's face the truth. This is really an unconventional relationship. We can't really abide by the normal fall in love then confess situation can we?" You said.

"Why can't we?" Noritoshi asked, looking a bit surprised. "It's unconventional and gives us a fair share of problems, that's true. But we can still fall in love and confess the normal way. With time." He added.

You just hummed and nodded.

You pulled back from him, “Anywayss, Why are you still awake at this hour anyways senpai? It's bedtime.”

“Reading the diary of a man who was my past life.” Your eyes widened at that. “Let’s read a bit of it together, then we can sleep?” You nodded.

He set up the pillows so both of you could lean side by side in bed while reading the diary entries. The story was not a nice one. Hotaru eloping with his lover, on the run from their families, curses and curse users. Constantly taking odd jobs to get money, and hiding in old inns. It sounded so exhausting.

You found yourself looking over at Noritoshi every now and then, wanting to lean closer, your eyelids getting heavier.

He turned to you then looked at the clock. 12:47am.

No classes tomorrow, since it's the weekend but you looked terribly sleepy. So he closed the book, set it aside. Closed the lights before climbing in beside you.

You stretched out like a cat before tucking yourself under the sheets. "Sleep time??"

He smiled at you. "Yeah." He laid down beside you, and you were both lying on your sides, facing each other.

"Good night darling." He whispered. Your face heated up but you thanked the darkness that he couldn't see your blush at the pet name.

"Good night Nori- ah senpai." You whispered back.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Drop the Senpai, just call me Noritoshi."

"Okay…. Noritoshi."

"Mmmm."

2 minutes passed, but you're both still staring at each other.

"Noritoshi."

"What is it?"

"Nothing much… Just saying your name feels nice. Can we hold hands while we sleep?"

He chuckled and reached to clasp both your hands in his. Your mark has long stopped flashing wildly. It's now a warm dark red glow.

You smiled at your marks.

"Can I kiss you? Properly?" He asked hesitantly.

Oh. You would like that very much. Your heart is literally in your throat, beating so furiously Noritoshi could probably feel it.

You could feel some of his stronger emotions through the bond. He really wants to hold you in his arms, you realized. You never felt so bare with another person before. He could probably feel your emotions too, so no point in hiding it.

As you nodded, he slowly crawled over you, caging you in with his arms. Slow, he was too slow.

You grabbed the front of his Kimono and pulled his lips down to yours. His eyes widened, but soon closed shut as he finally finally got to taste you. He was careful not to crush you as he pressed you into the sheets for a deeper kiss.

You both found yourselves running your hands over the other's body. His tongue entered your mouth and played with yours. Dangerous. Your hands tugging at his hair. It was getting dangerous.

Noritoshi quickly pulled back, chest heaving against yours, and tucked you under his chin. His heartbeat was beating furiously before quickly calming down.

"Darling I'm-" how could he tell you that he wants you right now. This wasn’t good, he had to hold himself back. He kissed you on the forehead.

"Shhhh, I'm right here." he whispered sweet nothings into your ears as you whined out at the loss of his lips on yours. "Time for bed as you said. Good night." He kissed you once more on the cheek.

You pouted and looked up to see him cuddle you with such a soft expression. So you relented, "Okay. Good night Noritoshi." And fell into a deep sleep in his arms.

◇◇◇

"Nnnghhh…."

"Mmnghhh…."

…. You opened your eyes to see Noritoshi groaning above you. It's like 3am, in the middle of the night, and you accidentally shoved your knee in his gut.

He was still asleep, but he could feel the pain. You hurriedly retracted your knee, reaching over to pat him on the back. Then moving to stroke him gently on the head.

As he finally settled back into sleep, you subconsciously moved forward to tuck your head under his neck. He is feverishly warm and comfortable. It’s gonna be hard going to bed without him.

And as you fell back into a deep sleep in his arms, Noritoshi, still asleep, wrapped his arms tighter around you and then continued dozing off.

◇◇◇

You felt yourself wake up with the best night’s sleep you’ve had in years. And that was saying something.

Noritoshi was still sleeping. He looked like he was having a rather nice dream. You traced the outline of his features with your fingers until his eyes snapped open.

You jumped back, shrieking and almost falling off the edge of the bed. But Noritoshi had fast reflexes, hand reaching out to grab your waist and pull you close to him. Your face smacked into his chest.

"Morning." His voice was so deep and raspy, you shivered at the sound. His eyes darkened.

"Morning senpai." You whispered, feeling so small.

"Do you make it a habit to play with other people’s faces while they’re asleep?" He whispered.

Goosebumps prickled along your skin as he stroked your arms slowly. "Ahh, I didn’t know you were awake, I’m sorry." You blushed.

Both of your stomachs were kind enough to growl and save your sorry ass. Noritoshi laughed at this.

"My darling needs some breakfast. I'll have the Kamo household prepare and deliver some for us." He said as he reached for his phone.

"Noritoshi, you don't have to, I don't want to be a bother really." You tugged at his sleeves.

“I already said you're never a bother to me haven't I?” He slumped over you as he typed out a text.

You groaned from underneath, "You're heavy Noritoshi."

"That's to stop you from leaving my room without breakfast." He deadpanned.

Blood Bound: Table of Contents

#jjk x reader #jjk scenarios #kamo noritoshi x reader #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #red strings of fate #blood bound

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you-cant-spell-subtext-without · 3 years

Text

I’m back on my bullshit and we have GOT TO TALK about 13x08 The Scorpion and the Frog; which serves as a good example of why you should not ONLY watch spn episodes with Cas (partially because of that scene I shamefully blogged about earlier - no I will not link that cursed post here). The episode title comes from a fable in which the villain is the scorpion. Interpretations of this fable note its uniqueness lies in the concept that “the scorpion is irrationally self destructive and fully aware of it.”

To quote the scorpion, buddies - “it’s in my nature.”

Anyway, this episode is subtextually predicated on exploring Dean Winchester’s nature and specifically - his bisexuality, and I’m not only saying that because it opens with Dean in his Bi Colors Plaid (that also he wore on his burger date with Cas).

Let’s get started, after the cut!

Season 13 on its face gives me absolute whiplash because it starts widow arc-reunion-TOMBSTONE and then Jack yeets himself off to Chuck knows where so Cas can go out Looking For Him Because Otherwise He Will Definitely Kiss Dean there is no other option for the writers at this point. Sigh. Here, have another shot of Dean anxiously cleaning his gun as he always does when Cas has Gone Off For Reasons -

Anyway, this feels like a filler episode at first, but as always they bury the ENTIRE damn world in it and I am here with my dossier to Unearth It.

Lets start with Bart (demon of terrible nicknames and microagressions) meeting the brothers at Smile Diner to talk about some spell or whatever.

(I am not thinking about the Cherry Pie meta I AM NOT)

THEY HAVE THE AUDACITY to start with these lines immediately introducing the theme of duality, a thread throughout this episode.

BARTHAMUS

Everything. I've been following your careers a long time. You're a real pain in the pitchfork. And the halo. Natural disrupters. We have that in common, you and I. DEAN

Mm. Yeah, we're twinsies.

***MORE DUALITY! But as we know, Dean does not like Bart because He Is A Freakin’ Demon

DEAN

Well, see, here's the thing. When a demon tells us to jump, we don't ask how high. We just ice their ass.

UMMM excuse me Barting Bacting Boices? What is that sexual gaze?

Then we find out that Bart has 1/2 of the spell. They need the other 1/2. Oh, a spell with two parts, you say? [ I am going to scream :) ]

***Also, Dean eats the pie Bart ordered. I cannot begin to explain to you the state of unwellness that I am in regarding how important this is. DEAN NEVER GETS TO EAT THE PIE, remember? But in This Filler Episode, Dean eats the pie. While Sam looks at him with a very quizzical expression. Pie -> what Dean wants but never actually gets -> Dean actively eating this pie. Dean is coming to terms that maybe he can have what he wants.

***I am reminding you again that this is post widower-arc, post-reunion, and especially post-Tombstone. Anyway-

Now we get to Smash and Grab. Not literally even though I want to Commit Such Conduct at this point. We are introduced to two one off characters named

Smash (human/female presenting) - can crack any safe built by man

and Grab (demon/male presenting)- expert in bypassing supernatural security.

Reaching or no, you can’t disagree that when spn introduces one off characters - it is almost always a Narrative Parallel or Mirror.

So we have a human and a demon (and Dean Winchester, a human who has been a demon)

who are experts in cracking open/bypassing something that has been secured and guarded (breaking down walls, if you will).

They also use fake names identifying them as Tools to be Used ( Dean Winchester, the Michael Sword/daddys blunt little instrument)

BONUS:

Dean himself is literally used as a tool in this episode.

So yeah. Smash and Grab are physical representations of Dean’s duality. Human/Demon. Femininity/Masculinity. Dare we say something else, too?

Anyway, Dean is paired with Smash and Grab; Sam is off to idk negotiate weird artifact purchases lawboy style with Luther Shrike, a man who cannot die so long as he never leaves his house (I cannot even begin to unpack this shit; please just sit there and think about it. I’m not even going there here. I CANNOT DISCUSS Luther Shrike RN).

Speaking of things I cannot discuss without halgdhsag;lsa - Smash has very Specific boots (a look overall, really).

DEAN

Hey, Winona. The '90s called. They'd like their shoes back. SMASH

Shh.

***That’s right girl - do not take his shit; he actually LOVES them and is therefore Overcompensating for it with this little jab.

***Dean’s pop culture references and particular attention to the details here Should Not Be Overlooked. 90s! Winona! Ryder!

ANYWAY, then Dean and Smash bond over a caffeinated beverage -

[While Dean is doing a spell, Smash opens a can of drink, takes a mouthful and burps loudly. ] SMASH

Ahh. DEAN

You're weird.

***This scene makes me literally insane. (even aside from Dean living on something named NERVE DAMAGE as a KID. They could have called it anything. You’re saying this wasn’t a Choice)

She chugs a swallow of the drink and burps. Something stereotypically associated with masculinity. Not feminine. Dean’s reaction is that she is “weird” - because she is not acting in a way stereotypically, J*hn Winchester brain-rot patriarchy bullshit-tily associated with Being Female. But also, says the stupid show, they like the same soda. They are The Same. She shares the soda with Dean. HIS FACE WHEN SHE DOES -

Other similarities are addressed throughout the episode (they are working for demons because they have no choice; they don’t discuss feelings/emotions, they both sold their soul, they both This Thing -

DEAN

You know, we could help you. SMASH

No, you can't. I gotta take care of me.

etc. etc.) Smash is absolutely dean-coded.

****Also it’s textually established that Smash thinks Dean is attractive -

GRAB

[looking at Smash] Oh. You said he was just a pretty face. SMASH

Shh.

***But Grab flirts with him too.

DEAN

I will kill you. GRAB

I bet you say that to all the girls.

***sorry, Grab - you won’t get far with Dean, but only because as he mentioned in the beginning of this episode -

Drowley rights.

Now Dean has to put his hand in the mouth of this stone lion thing and all of a sudden he is acting....very-not-like-Dean.

[Dean looks again and takes a deep breath.] DEAN

I… how about this? What if I cut myself, put it on, like, a little piece of paper? We'll just wad it up and throw it in the mouth, okay? Okay.

***Dean Winchester, who has been to Literal HELL, who has been torn apart by hellhounds, who has battled the devil and angels and God’s sister - all at the expense of his own life is now - afraid of spiders. Well, technically he has always been afraid of spiders, but why isn’t ‘he being performative about it At This Time??

***Come to think of it, this sends me right back to how Jackles was playing Dean in 12x11 Regarding Dean THE episode dissecting Dean’s performative masculinity [one day I will clean up and post that analysis sitting in my drafts like a sad hamster]. That makes sense actually, because -> -> ->

that episode and this one are both written by Meredith Glynn. Girl get in I want to torture you affectionately with a barrage of questions.

So here we have Dean and he’s not performing for Reasons, and he’s scared he’s genuinely scared of putting his hand in this stone lion-gargoyle-pig-creature’s mouth and then -

Smash gives him a push.

She gives him a push. I cannot stop thinking about how she gives him a push. A push to go do this thing that he is scared of; his fear being something he was hiding under his performative masculinity. Smash - dean coded dean mirror who does not perform femininity and is ‘weird’ - she gives him a p u s h.

***linking here for the jackting joices that follow.

Now, let’s circle back to Smash’s story; why she is working for Bart in the first place -

SMASH

You think I wanna be here? Like I have a choice? SAM

You made a deal. SMASH

Wow! You think? SAM

You sold your soul. SMASH

And if I could take it back, I would.

there is no reason for this picture here other than I needed you to see the jackting again

***How does the story end for Smash?

DEAN

Take care of you. [Dean glances down at the box, and then at Smash. She sees that Dean has put a lighter on top of the bones.] BARTHAMUS

Alice, chop chop!

[Bart indicates she should get his bones]. SMASH

Yeah. [She grabs the lighter and sets Bart's bones alight. Bart screams as he bursts into flames. ]

***She accepts help and breaks free from the narrative, literally burning it down. The female presenting but not female-performing “weird” ooc representing a side of Dean breaks FREE because she makes a choice. The lighter Dean drops? It’s a push. And she goes with it.

Alice reclaims her story.

(Also, Grab gets ganked. The male presenting ooc; the performative masculinity side; the demon; the darkness; the not-humanity - gets ganked).

Guess what Dean says to Alice when they say goodbye?

DEAN

Hey, Alice. Stay weird.

[I know the peace sign is probably just a Charlie throwback but I’d still like to say duality. Two. ]

Dean’s not just talking to Alice. He’s talking to himself; because the walls have been breached and for once Dean isn’t as scared of being different. Maybe, just maybe, he’s going along with the push. That’s exactly how the episode ends - with Dean feeling a little more hopeful, a little more at peace; a little more Considering he is capable of not only loving Cas but also not hating himself for it.

[until the knowledge that Mary is still alive and the guilt of allowing himself ANY happy thoughts instead of looking for her miserably rears its ugly head in 13x09 and round and round we go but for NOW at least -> ]

DEAN

I'll drink to that.

(oh look Dean is just wearing his henley. It’s almost as if a layer has been peeled back).

tagging @im-shaking-like-milk and @deanwasalwaysbi for letting me ramble on to them while writing this; and @lilac-void because you are always so kind about my stuff :)

#my spn meta #spn analysis #spn 13x08 #bi!dean #destiel #deancas #hellerism #spn #supernatural #spn fandom #spn family #spn meta

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willyouhaveme · 3 years

Text

thanks for the tag @talkfine I lveo you 💗

(I get quite rambly)

why did you choose your url?

Betty was the song that got me to listen to folklore on the first night it came out (my friend @lesbianspooner mentioned how xe had heard it was very gay) so i listened through the album and with what I was going through the song was actually very hashtag relatable . It's about making mistakes and being vulnerable and I think "willyouhaveme" just captures that v well

any side blogs? if you have them, name them and why you have them

Yep! Just one tho! (I have 2 urls besides that one saved but don't use them at all it's just prev urls I've had) it's @katvantassel it's just so I can keep my main for music and primarily taylor :) I didn't plan on making a sideblog when I first joined but I love shipwrecked too much

how long have you been on tumblr?

i felt completly confused by it but wanted to be on here but I'm a fool so I stayed off until late January 2021

do you have a queue tag?

Yeah! #queue heard the rumorz from Inez (it keeps with the betty thing) my queue Is usually so small tho it only posts during the night

why did you start your blog in the first place?

To see my wife marya on tumblr (she seems very at home here) and for taylor swift ! The brutal honest truth is rebekah told me how she had a selfie liked from taylor swift and that was the final push but I didn't realise taylor had been off tumblr for nearly 6 months LOLLLLL it's still lovely tho

why did you choose your icon/pfp?

I'm just a sucker for babey taylor rn tbh and the top is v good debut colours

why did you choose your header?

It matched colours ! And once again fool vibes betty triangle

what’s your post with the most notes?

On main? A lyric parallel I did (the one with pages) on my sideblog I think it is either a textposts meme or another meme about how u meet s/o

how many followers do you have?

126 (wild ! Ilyall)

how many people do you follow?

224 (I should go on a follow spree soon tbh)

how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ post?

it might get me to read it but it isn't a garunte that I rb it. Those things just stress me out too much even if it is for good cause and I know others feel similar. When I learned that yknow ! U can just not rb it ! And still help or learn about it it was a lifesaver /hyp

do you like tag games?

Mhm!!! I'm not always the best at returning them because mobile stinks at copying the text sometimes and I must admit I perfer ones like this vs a long chain post but I do love them

do you like ask games?

Yeah!! I haven't really done any (I've done one on my sideblog) bc I usually don't get a response but they are v cute

which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

Oh man idk *tumblr* famous is a lot hm (I also lose track of my mutuals sometimes) (rip tumblr mobile) I think maybe @xcleanx and @reputationn are cool and tumblr famous B)

do you have a crush on a mutual?

Nope! I do think about some mutuals often <3 but I wouldn't say I have a crush on anyone I think I've been able to keep myself from having crushes on online pals

i’m gonna tag @thefuckingstory @silverrosie and @allylovestay (no preassure !/g)

#marya my beloved #tag game

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that-wizard-oki · 3 years

Note

Hello! I've been aware of your blog for years, and made a Tumblr blog very recently. I want to say that your posts are extremely well thought out, and give the storyline of Wizard101 a lot of much needed depth. I think if Wiz had the gameplay and story structure of Pirate101, it would benefit highly especially for worlds like Azteca and Khrysalis. Currently I'm rewriting Wiz and your posts are a huge inspiration. Finally. what are your thoughts on Arc 3? Imo it had potential but failed.

Hey there! Thank you so much for all your kind words, I’m glad you enjoy my thoughts and theories about the game- and I’m flattered to hear they inspire you to create your own fan work :D

Personally, I wouldn’t say that Arc 3 failed in any sense. I think the idea of a children's/family game to tackle the theme of a broken family\divorce is pretty smart- it gives the opportunity to adults who play this game with their kids to find a way to perhaps talk about their own experience with the same themes in their real lives (if it applies to them). Likewise, i also like that the story focuses on that the CHILDREN are the one who have to clean up the PARENTS mess, more or less. Often times the children in families who have a parent/parents that are either split, should split, or are abusive to one another, are the ones who get caught in the cross fire- this is SO evident with Mellori and Bat in Empyrea.

Following that, I think it was also super clever to have Mellori (and the wizard) initially ALSO be fighting against Spider’s children. Another common occurrence in families that experience abuse between their parents/ect, is that one or both of the parents will try to divide their children onto sides- furthering the divide and conflict in the family itself. THIS was exactly what was happening in arc 3- we weren’t technically fighting Raven and Spider, but their children were fighting each other in their names.

One of the most beautiful things to come out of this game was the fact that Mellori and Bat WERE able to see through that, and instead focused on the real threat at hand- their parents. In fact, it is their COMBINED power that allows the wizard to defeat the result of Raven and Spider- the Aethyr Titan. This reflects so well into reality, where when the children of broken families try their damned to support one another, instead of letting their parents continue to control and divide them, it leads to the kids being able to break the domino effect that comes with that kind of family dynamic. They are able to become individuals- instead of being some mini version or “part” of their parents (which is also clever on KI’s part to make Mellori and Bat/Rat/Scorpion LITERAL extensions of Raven/Spider, which makes it seem like they are just kind of mindless bots doing whatever their entrusted parent tells them).

One part i particularly like as well is that towards the end of Empyrea, Mellori talk about how she’s going to go home to her mom- and it’s not Raven, it’s Baba Yaga. I absolutely love this idea that, yea, Mellori (and any kid for that matter) SHOULD be able to choose who their mom/dad/parent is if their birth parent(s) don't provide for you the way a parent should. I think that is a SUPER important lesson for Kids AND parents to hear. You choose your own family if that’s what it comes down to, and there is NO shame in that.

That being said, i do have my issues with some things too- this might seem small, but I never liked how when we’re in the Husk, and Raven and Spider are talking to one another about who’s “really” at fault, and eventually Raven goes “oh what have i done?” and Spider just goes “.... Yea were were BOTH really bad huh?” Like.... listen, sure, Raven probably shouldn’t have locked Cob away for eternity and stole his chaos heart in order to reform the spiral, BUT imma be real with y’all... Spider also did shit to aggravate Raven- specifically, he messed with her kids into a fucking war. I mean this half sarcastically, but tbh, if you mess with a mother’s kids... that's fucking on you man, you know the grave your digging for yourself on that one lmao.

But more seriously- i feel like they REALLY tried to make Raven out to be “worse” than Spider, and having Spider just beguile her with his words at the end in a way were she ended up being like “oh nooo IM the really bad one, oh no oh noo :((” JUST for him to be like “no its ok babe :) we’re BOTH equally as bad, stay here with me and we can be bad and alone together :)”

Actually now that i write that out, it is a little.. weird that Spider kinda got what he wanted- to be with Raven, when imo, they really should have STAYED split. I don’t come from a divorced family, but I’ve many friends who do, and I’ve gathered that more often than not... divorce can be a good thing, as it is likely to stop/lessen the conflict within families. I think that yea, they both did bad things to one another, and need to stay apart, not spend the rest of eternity together.

That’s probably my biggest qualm with the entirety of Arc 3, beyond the various obvious one, which is that Morganthe played like, absolutely no part in it lmao. I’ve talked endlessly about it, so i won’t repeat myself too much lol.

Just to briefly reiterate- i think that Morganthe, the one who re-discovered shadow magic, was groomed by the Shadow Magi, and very blatantly infused with something akin to the conversion tables we see in Khrysalis, I think she would have been an invaluable source of information and help for the Wizard. Not only does she probably know the most about Shadow Magic outside of Spider, but it’s insanely alluded to that she was under his control- perhaps even had contact or conversation with him somehow in her time as Shadow queen.

The biggest frustration of her lack of presence though, comes from the way Khrysalis built up this INSANELY interesting Foil between the Wizard and her. The way that they both weirdly fit the prophecy, the way their lead into The Hive was so eerily mirrored, the fact that we were both called the Children of Light and Shadow by Spider, and not to even mention how the shared feelings of loneliness and fear of failure as students of Ambrose... like I could go on about these two and how amazing it would have been for them both to work together in arc 3, but also help heal and grow as The Children of Light and Shadow... but that’s not what we got unfortunately.

Anywho, i don’t wanna ramble on about that too much because i touched on it in another ask post and you can look at that if ya want in my tag, but yea! Those are my general thoughts on Arc 3. Again, i love this arc, i think it truly has some of the most nuanced writing and characters thus far in the game.

Besides, i always think they could easily write in Morganthe’s return for a redemption with the wizard, especially now with the Wizard seemingly trying to fight their own shadows.

Hope that satisfied your question though, and good luck with your writings :D

#wizard101 #oki answers a thing #marvelousmagicalaura

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mlm-writer · 4 years

Text

Ko Ko Bop (Chanyeol x M!Reader)

Pairing: Park Chanyeol x Male!Reader (trans-friendly) Rating: General Audiences Words: 1294 Summary: Your bastard cat likes Chanyeol more than he likes you and keeps escaping. Luckily, Chanyeol does not mind returning your cat every morning. Note: This is a repost. It was originally posted on @lgbt-kpopimagines, but that blog died. Reposting to get everything properly in my masterlist. Also this is my fav work of mine. Tags: fluff, domestic fluff, bastard cat and neighbours AU

I was starting to seriously panic. “Ko Ko!” I yelled for my cat for the so manyth time. The grumpy beast usually did not go anywhere. He was very much an indoors cat. I took him out from time to time, but the fat thing had lost all lust for the outside world long ago. I heard a knock on my door. I was so hoping it was one of my neighbours. Miss Lee had been scratched by Ko Ko multiple times, while he tried to steal one of her pastries. I wished my cat was nicer to her, because her cooking always smelled nice. Honestly, I wished Ko Ko was nicer to anybody, including me.

I opened the door, but it was not Miss Lee with a box full of angry cat. Instead I was shocked on multiple fronts. “Hey is this your cat?” Park Chanyeol of EXO - yes, that Park Chanyeol - stood in front of my door with a cat that looked like Ko Ko, but was not behaving like Ko Ko at all. The fat brown cat was purring and cuddling up to the other man like the sweet cat I had always wanted.

“Uh, I think it is… What does the name on the collar say?” He gently moved the animal around until he could show me the oval charm that said ‘Ko Ko Bop’. I nodded slowly. “Yes, I think this is my cat.”

He laughed. I joined in. It was just so easy to laugh, when he was laughing too. “You don’t recognise your cat?” He handed me Ko Ko, but almost as soon as I held him, he wrestled himself free and ran inside. I looked over my shoulder to see him jumping onto the hair patch on the couch and settle in his favourite place.

“Well he is usually very mean towards almost everyone, so what did you drug him with?” I tried to stay calm. Of course he knew by the name of my cat that I was a fan. I was not going to make a fool out of myself by acting like a crazy one. He laughed again and I followed again.

“I was having coffee when he jumped through my window. I gave him some milk, but that’s it. He has been very friendly.” I frown at him, clearly not believing him. Ko Ko really made a wild turn over the course of a couple of hours. He threw his arms up. “I promise that’s all!” This time it was my turn to laugh first.

“All right, all right. I gotta get ready for work, but you know where to find me… I mean Ko Ko, if you ever wanna cuddle me… him again.”

Chanyeol stopped by every morning. Apparently the first morning he had met all his neighbours on his and my floor. We never found out how, but Ko Ko kept meeting Chanyeol for coffee and then Chanyeol met up with me to return my cat, before his allergies would start to really act up. Ko Ko had made a complete change of personality. Gradually he went from world’s meanest cat to the most cuddly creature.

I had the door unlocked in the morning by now. Chanyeol entered my apartment, Ko Ko in his arms. “We going Ko Ko Bop!” He sang as he put Ko Ko on his favourite spot on my couch. His eyes landed on me sitting at the coffee table. There were papers everywhere. “What are you up to?”

I smiled tiredly at him. “I have an important meeting next Monday. If I manage to woo the fancy men in suits, there might be a promotion in it for me.” I let out a sigh and drop my head on top of my proposal. “I have been trying to get this presentation together for days and I just… can’t.” I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see my crush crouching next to me with a huge smile.

“When you are stuck, you need to go out. New places help with getting new insights.” I shook my head and told him I really could not waste time, but he pulled me up by my arm and caught me, when I clumsily tripped on my numb legs. Maybe I had been sitting down there for too long.

Eventually I gave in. I put on something that made me look presentable and left Ko Ko in my apartment. At first it was hard to be near Chanyeol without nearly hyperventilating, but now he felt like an important part of home. I saw him daily and when he was out of town, he lend me the key to his apartment, so I could get Ko Ko back myself. Those were the days Ko Ko seemed more like his old self.

We laughed, walking very close to each other. My heart was racing and I wanted to grab his hand with mine, but he didn’t know about my sexuality and I was pretty sure he was straight. Either straight or already dating Baekhyun and I was definitely not a match for that.

Eventually he took me by my arm again and dragged me into a shop. Until now I had no idea we were headed for a shop. When we were inside, I frowned at all the expensive suits lying around. “Pick whatever you want. If you’re dressed well, you will definitely do good at your meeting.” I wanted to protest, but Chanyeol was already running off to a store clerk. I saw him talking to the dapperly dressed woman and then pointing towards me. The woman approached me. She wore a suit that accentuated her curves just right. Clearly her suit was tailored for a woman.

After measuring me and giving me my exact size, she left us alone to explore on our own. I was quick to put the expensive clothing back as soon as I saw the price, but then Chanyeol would take it and hold it in front of me. It took a while, before we agreed on something and he sent me into the fitting room. “This one is really too expensive,” I called from the fitting room. I looked at myself from the side, liking the cut a lot actually.

“I told you, it is a present from me. Does it look good?”

“It is too expen…” I didn’t get to finish. Chanyeol pushed the curtain aside and joined me in the tiny room. He looked at me with wide eyes. It was almost scary.

“Wow… You look… wow!” I felt hot like this, in the cramped space, with Chanyeol so close to me. I muttered a thanks. He seemed to realise how much he was in my personal space. I tensed a little, when I felt his hands unexpectedly on my shoulders. He caressed the fabric there, before his hands glided down my arms. I looked away, my breath unnaturally deep. He took my hands in his and I looked up at him in shock. He let go of my hands, as if they burned him. “Sorry! I… I thought…” He clasped his hands together, fumbling with his own fingers.

“Oh… I mean… Well, I thought…” I didn’t know what I thought. We were both rambling like idiots now, our chests barely touching. Eventually our hands found each other again and I leaned in to peck his cheek. It shut him up. “Want to have coffee with me some time, instead of with my cat?” A wide smile reappeared on his face and he nodded, his hair bouncing on his happy head. Glad to know there was at least one person who liked me more than my cat.

#Park Chanyeol #chanyeol #chanyeol x male reader #chanyeol x reader #male reader #x male reader #exo x male reader #exo #exok #kpop #kpop scenario #gay kpop #kpop scenarios #kpop imagine #exo x reader

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milk-carton-whump · 3 years

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I started writing this during my time in the void (aka when my blog went poof) and finally decided to finish it this morning.

Tagging: @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @sideblogformindtrash @tears-and-lilies @unicornscotty @abitefullofeverything @getyourwhumphere @whumpasaurus101 @twistedcaretaker @skunkandgrenade @heathenville @freefallingup13 @sunnysunfire @alliecat5594 @whatwasmyprevioususername @redstainedsocks @justabitofwhump

CW: fluff, awkward first meeting, nervous character, first date, Ritz is not cool under romantic pressure, flirting, modern au

The Waiter

Ritz was exhausted, he had Witt planning some stupid photoshoot later in the week and he was sure that his body would ache for a week. He had just left work and had provided Alex with their bi-weekly supplies of food and necessities. Now he was just aching for a good meal and didn't want to have to cook.

Luckily a new restaurant had just opened down the road, it had opened sometime last week and Ritz had heard great reviews from his teammates. It was a nice enough day that he could walk there, and by nice, it was pouring rain. He finally got there and shook his raincoat and body off before he entered.

He was seated in a small booth and looked over the menu lazily, he loved the food that the UK offered but sometimes he felt homesick when he thought about the meals back in the states. The waiter came up to take his drink order, by the sound of it he was an American as well so Ritz looked up fully to order his drink.

The boy in front of him was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, his whole body radiated kindness and warmth that Ritz could only compare to the sun. He had the warmest brown eyes that reminded the cowboy of a summer campfire. Ritz could only manage a stutter he attempted to order lemonade from the young man.

"I'll get that lemonade for ya, and my names Percy if ya need anything else, darling."

Percy laughed softly at the stammering blonde, it was cute how flustered he got over ordering a drink. There was something else about him though that he found charming. Maybe it was the thick cowboy accent he had, or maybe is was like the young man had stepped right out of an old western and into the modern day.

Meanwhile, Ritz was mentally kicking himself to shut up and just stop making it awkward, with his luck the waiter wouldn't swing that way and he would've gotten flustered for nothing. He was prone to that kind of bad luck, developing silly crushes on boys who would never be able to return the gesture.

He couldn't help but watch as the waiter walked away, he was absolutely stunning in every way. From his warm toothy smile that had a small gap between the two front teeth, to the plethora of freckles that covered his cheeks and reminded Ritz of the sandy prairies back home. He knew his heart was already in love.

The waiter came back, a genuine smile on his face and a lemonade in his hand.

"So, what can I get started for ya, buttercup?" The waiter asked sweetly.

"Wh-what uh… what do you like…?" Ritz could stop the blush that had crept onto his cheeks when the waiter called him buttercup.

Percy thought of his answer, a small laugh like a church bell at noon, coming from his throat as he spoke.

"Well, I don't think you're on the menu so I'd have to say anything with chicken oooor I like the fish and chips, a traditional kinda classic choice." He said and dropped down into a squat, folding his arms on the table and resting his head in them.

The blonde could barely keep his composure as he looked into the waiter's big brown doe eyes. Ritz buried his face in his hands to cover how deep red his face had become from blushing. He was glad he was sitting otherwise his legs would've given out judging by how weak they felt right now.

"Ah hope y'know yer flatterin' is awful sweet…. An' Ah dunno how ta even talk ta ya." Ritz managed to mumble.

"Well how bout I get ya some fish and chips and we call it a date?" Percy said as he turned his head, resting it on his elbow and smiling.

Ritz managed to regain some form of composure and nodded, honestly anything the waiter suggested sounded good. As Percy got up and left it finally hit the other boy, had he said date?

After finally regaining some kind of focus back, Ritz started to think through what had just happened along with his next plans. Firstly, the waiter was flirting with him, he knew that. Second, he was also the most beautiful person he had ever seen, the sky at sunset personified. Essentially, Percy was miles out of his league and he was surprised he might even get a chance to spend quality time with him.

Percy came back with a plate of food and an apple, he set the plate down and was happy it was such a slow day in terms of work. He sat down in the seat across from Ritz with a grin. He took a bite of his apple and smiled.

"Perc-Percy…. Ah… mm, ah dunno how ta tell ya this…." Ritz started off shakily.

"Shoot, cowboy." Percy said with a grin, though he was a bit worried that Ritz would reject his flirting.

"Mm, ok. Ah can't even begin ta describe how ah think you manage to embody all good things in the world. You're polite, an' sweet an' ah dunno how ya tell ya that ah don't think ah've ever seen a prettier person…" Ritz began to ramble, oh this was bad and embarrassing yet Percy seemed to smile more at it.

"I'm gonna stop ya right there buttercup. Maybe you can tell me all those kind things and I'll return the favor at our next date, hmm?" Percy said as he scribbled out his number and name onto a napkin.

Ritz hesitated, next date, he not only had a chance of a lifetime but he also had the waiter's phone number. He hesitated a moment and reached into his pocket for an old fuel receipt that someone had left, he took his own pen and wrote out his name and number before handing it to Percy.

"Uh, sorry it's on a fuel receipt, ah work at the gas station up the road. But uh, ah'm Ritz by the way, it's uh…. A nickname for Rich." Ritz said with a shaky smile.

"Well I look forward to our date, Ritz. But, I must get back to work now. I hope to see you again soon, cowboy?" Percy asked hopefully.

"Yeah, absolutely. Ah'll see ya again." The blonde said with a smile.

Ritz had just met the boy of his dreams, warn like a summer night and sweet as rock candy, he didn't want to admit to himself that he was in love. But his heart knew, if soul mates or that silly red string did exist then Ritz felt sure he had just found his other half.

#fluff #first date #flirting #modern au #awkward first meeting #romantic pressure #ritz #percy #alex (unicornscotty)#mentioned #witt (mentioned)

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enixamyram · 3 years

Text

Blog Tag

Tagged by @priscilla9993! Thank you!

1. Why did you choose your URL? It's literally just my first and second name backwards. Not much else to it than that. I had a good feeling no one else would have the same URL and it was a dumb thing me and my friends did and laughed about when we were in school.

2. Any side blogs? I have two but I don't really want to name them for shyness reasons, haha! I will say one is a life-type blog that I am sorely neglecting and the others a roleplay blog.

3. How long have you been on Tumblr? I think since 2012, so about nine years. I'm not entirely sure so I went on my blog and searched for what I know is one of my first ever posts (I know it's my first because my hashtags are so messed up on it, haha).

4. Do you have a queue tag? Nope.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place? I genuinely have no idea. I can't even remember creating this account, let alone why I did. The only thing I can say is that I know some of the original things I posted/reblogged on it were posts about Vampire Knight and Adam Lambert, but I don't think either of them were actual reasons for my starting it.

6. Why did you chose your icon/pfp? I recently got back into anime and my favourite anime of all time is D.Gray-Man. It's fantastically written and the relationship between the characters is genuinely well developed, including the two characters in my icon. They're somehow enemies who still care for each other at the same time and they have some sweet moments together.

7. Why did you choose your header? It was a beautiful piece of artwork from a friend of mine for Curious Archer (Alice and Robin from Once Upon A Time) along with my OC characters as their children. I was so honoured when she did this drawing based off of one of my fanfics and I still look at it so fondly every time.

8. What's your post with the most notes? Pretty sure it's my Avengers Endgame post where I talk about how much I love the way Tony treats his daughter and how well the films made him a dad without changing his entire character. It's also a post I still firmly stand behind 100%.

9. How many mutuals do you have? I have 8, though admittedly we don't talk much anymore. Especially lately which is entirely on me. I've been struggling to stay in contact with people but I'm hoping to change that and start reaching out more.

10. How many followers do you have? According to Tumblr; 1,387 but I wonder how many of them are abandoned blogs because I do not believe that many people care about my ramblings, haha!

11. How many people do you follow? As of right now; 28.

12. How often do you use Tumblr a day? A lot. I tend to be one of those who clicks on it every half hour just to see there have been no changes, come off, and then check again in half an hour.

13. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Oh boy yes! I've had many fights with other blogs but the worse one I remember being when I was in the Teen Wolf fandom. There with this girl who, quite honestly, was a vile and nasty bully who harassed me even after I had her blocked simply because I didn't drool over a celebrity she obsessed over. We went back and forth a lot back in the day but thankfully enough time has passed that I don't even remember her blog name and I doubt she remembers mine.

14. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts? I think they range from a little annoying to disgusting (talking about the ones saying to reblog or someone you care will get hurt). And honestly, no matter what the cause, topic or reason, the minute I see someone telling me to reblog something I will purposely ignore it. Even if I agree with the whole message it has, I am that petty, I will skip past if completely it tells me to reblog it.

15. Do you like tag games? Yes! They're a lot of fun to do and interesting to see everyone else's answers!

16. Do you like ask games? Again, yes! For some reason I've always loved answering questions.

17. Which of your mutual do you think is Tumblr famous? To be honest I don't know about that. I think a lot of my mutuals are casual bloggers, or mostly on twitter or have gotten fairly quiet over the years. Unless I've got my head in the sand and it turns out I have a mutual others gush over without me knowing, which is entirely possible.

18. Do you have a crush on a mutual? No, not really. I love them as great friends I will treasure but that's about it.

I'm gonna tag: @rollyjogerjones, @lariskapargitay, @iescapedmayday, @superdupermary, @dimplesandcutesmiles, @of-monsters-and-werewolves and @onceuponanovel

#Blog Game #Tag Game #Random fun #Thanks again for the tag!

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thestarsaroundyourscars · 4 years

Note

hello darling💖i would like to formally request reddie at the other's place + first date for the kissing prompts pretty please! love youuuu :')

Yes, of course. Anything for you, Di.

Read on AO3

"I swear Stan, the universe is conspiring against me!" Richie cried into the phone, throwing his head back against his pillow.

Stan let out a snort. "Did the universe force you to climb a tree while you were drunk?"

"No, Bev did!" Richie argued, rolling his eyes. "The universe made me fall down and fracture my fucking ankle." He was glaring at it, where it was propped up on a bunch of pillows.

"Does it hurt?"

"Physically? No. They gave me some good drugs at the hospital." He said and it was true, he hadn't felt any pain since it happened⎯ when he had landed on it, heard a crack and felt like flames were spreading from his ankle all the way up to his knee. "Emotionally? Yes. I am in pain, I had to cancel my first date with Eddie."

Stan's tone softened. "I'm sure he doesn't mind. He's been waiting for you to make a move for years, he can wait until you're out of bed rest in⎯ what, three days?"

"Five."

"You can always make it up to him."

"Yeah, I guess." Richie said but he was still pouting, feeling sorry for himself⎯ not because of his ankle, he kind of sought that out when he didn't back out from Bev's dare, he felt bad that he had to miss his date with Eddie, just as he finally gathered up the courage to ask him out a few days ago, while the two of them were studying in the library.

They agreed to go out today, on a Saturday and Richie had spent the past week wishing the day would come sooner. On Friday, Bev had invited him to a party where both of them got drunk and stupid and then the night had ended with a trip to the ER, his ankle on a brace and his ass restricted to his bed for the next five days, which ruined his plans to woo Eddie with a movie and a romantic dinner.

Richie called him today and after Eddie yelled at him for not telling him about what happened sooner and drilled him with questions (Did you need surgery? Are you taking your meds? Is your leg elevated? Is someone taking care of you?), he told Richie not to worry about their date and focus on getting better.

As soon as Eddie hung up, Richie had called Stan to complain.

"Do you think this is a sign from the universe?"

"A sign that you're an idiot?"

"Fuck you, Staniel." Richie said with a laugh. Just then, there was a knock on his apartment door and Richie covered his phone with his hand to yell, "Bill! The door!"

"Get it yourself!" Bill, his roommate yelled back, followed by a, "Oh shit, you can't. Don't worry, I got it!

Richie snorted, turning his attention back to the phone. Whoever it was at the door, was probably here for Bill anyways. "I meant, a sign that Eddie and I shouldn't go on this date. That this is a mistake and it could totally ruin our friendship and then⎯"

"Richie, it's Eddie!" Bill yelled, cutting off his rambling.

Richie perked up at the mention of Eddie's name before his eyebrows creased, wondering what he could be doing here.

Maybe he also thought that this was a mistake and he was here to tell Richie that he regretted saying yes to the date, that he didn't want to go out with him anymore⎯

"Richie, I can hear you overthinking through the phone. Stop being an idiot." Stan said, voice softer than his words. Richie sighed, he was right. Stan was always right. Not that he would ever tell him that. "Now, stop talking to me and talk to Eddie instead."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Stan the man."

"Anytime, Rich."

And with that he hung up, just as there was a knock on his bedroom door. "Come in."

Eddie's face popped in and Richie's heart fluttered, mouth immediately twisting into a smile.

"Hey Rich." Eddie said, returning the smile.

"Eds, what are you doing here?"

"Well, after you called earlier I started thinking⎯"

Richie's eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat. He could hear Stan's voice in his head, telling him to calm the fuck down but it was hard to listen to it. "Oh fuck, you don't want to do it anymore, do you? You're here to tell me that you don't want us to go on a date, ever."

Eddie's face scrunched up. He closed the door and moved closer to the bed. "What are you talking about? I figured that since you couldn’t go to the date, I'd bring the date to you." He held up his backpack.

Richie blinked up at him, eyes darting between the bag and Eddie's face. "What?"

"Yeah, I made some sandwiches and I brought juice and I raided Mike's candy stash for some chocolates⎯ you know, the ones you like, with the caramel filling." Eddie said as he started pulling out the items from the bag and dumping them on the bed. Richie was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, having a hard time believing Eddie would go through all the trouble for him. "And I figured we could watch something on your laptop or something."

"Why?"

"Why?" Eddie echoed with a frown. "Why what?"

"Why would you do all that?"

This time it was Eddie giving him a dumbfounded expression. "Are you being this obtuse on purpose?" Richie shrugged, shaking his head. "I wanted us to have our date. I wanted to see you." He said, blushing slightly.

"I wanted to see you too. I always want to see you, Eds." Richie said, smiling at him like a lovestruck idiot.

"So,” Eddie said, smiling back. “Is that a yes on the sandwiches and the movie?"

"Fuck yes."

"Then scoot over, asshole." Eddie said, fondly. Richie moved to make space for him, careful not to jostle his ankle much.

Eddie sat down next to him, his back against the headboard and their shoulders touching. He handed him a sandwich, tucked in a little Ziploc bag with a napkin inside, as well as a bottle of juice, which⎯ cute.

Richie took a bite, sighing happily at how good it was. Eddie rolled his eyes with a snort. "Don't make a big deal, it's just a sandwich."

"It's delicious, Eds." Richie said with a wink. "Just like you."

"Shut up." Eddie shot back but his words lacked heat and he was smiling.

"I gotta say Eds, this isn't exactly how I envisioned our perfect first date." Richie said after taking another bite.

Eddie snorted, nudging Richie. "Are you kidding?" He smirked at him. "Do you know how hard I've had to work to get a cute boy in bed before?"

Richie gave a startled gasp, twisting his head as best as he could to give Eddie a lopsided grin. "Aww Eds, you think I'm cute?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, but Richie couldn't help but notice the way the tips of his ears turned red. "Shut up and drink your juice."

Richie nodded, taking a sip. "For the record, I also think you're cute."

"I know, you say it all the time."

"Well, it's the truth."

Eddie bit down on his lip to keep his smile from growing and Richie couldn’t drag his eyes away from his mouth. He also couldn’t help but lean in and kiss Eddie.

He could tell that he had taken him by surprise and just as Richie was about to pull back and apologize for rushing things, Eddie grabbed his chin and kissed him back.

"I'm really glad you came over, Eds." Richie said when they broke apart after a while.

"Yeah, me too." Eddie said, grabbing Richie's arm and throwing it over his shoulders, tucking himself against his side. "Now, let's pick a movie."

Tag list: @daddyphantomtbh @yes-dillman-yes @richietoaster @beepbeeprichiellc @its-stranger-than-you-think @lemonaayyee @losers-gotta-stick-together @tinyarmedtrex @richiefuckfacetozier @sam-i-am2468 @stylesmelon @s-s-georgie @reddie-for-anything @eddiefuckinkaspbrak @constantreaderfool @hammockrichie @jesuschristsupruvestar @mirandonsky @reddie4diaster @alargedepresso @purplepoisonedgem @pan-ini @reddie-to-cry @reddieforlove @trashmouthnick @multi-fandom-wby @wheezyeds @nancynwheeler @reddieslashgeneralhorror @madi-personal @reddie-tozibrak @lover-mouth @atownofeggs @that-weird-girls-blog @appojoos @castielwinovak @a-gay-treee @twoidiotsinl0ve @fcngirltrxsh @spirited-marvel @typewrxter @rebecca-the-queen @juhavs @thegoshdiddlydangdoor @soooobr @purebloodqueen (if you want to be added, let me know!)

#reddie #they don't need a fancy first date they just need each other :P #monse writes #di tag

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nazariolahela · 4 years

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Something Domestic: Chapter 14

A/N: Hey y'all! This story is told in first-person narrative, from Riley’s (MC) POV. There will likely be smidges of canon in this, but not too much. Thanks for reading, and please leave feedback, and/or if you would like to be tagged.

This week’s chapter is a bonus from Liam’s POV. I was really excited to write his side of the story. I hope you enjoy it too.

Catch up here

Series Tags: @burnsoslow @aworldoffandoms @dcbbw @ladyangel70 @texaskitten30 @sunandlemons @jlynn12273 @indiacater @jared2612 @rainbowsinthestorm @drakesensworld @badchoicesposts @msjr0119 @katurrade @blackcoffee85 @cynicalworlds-blog @hopefulmoonobject @beardedoafdonutwagon @cmestrella @sugarandspice-milkandhoney @superharrietsuper @custaroonie @lady-calypso @ritachacha @olympianpantsuit @desiree-0816 @the-soot-sprite @kate-mckenzie @narrytheworld @octobereighth @lynne1993 @queen-anastasia-universe

Synopsis: When Riley Brooks takes a new job as a nanny for the affluent Rhys family in New York’s Upper East Side, she assumes she’s just going to care for the children of the couple who hired her. But instead of just school pick-ups and afternoon snacks, she also finds herself spending time with Liam, the handsome divorced dad. Can Riley control her feelings for Liam while still performing the job she was hired for?

All characters are the property of Pixelberry Studios. Thanks for allowing me to borrow them.

Chapter Summary: Liam and Leo try to get to the bottom of the tabloid scandal and Liam tries to win Riley back.

Almost a month had passed since the tabloid incident. In that time, the press found plenty of other scandals to latch on to. Not hard to do in this city. Lucky for me, my divorce has all but been forgotten about. I still get the occasional paparazzo bombarding me with questions of if I’m “banging the new nanny,” but for the most part, they’ve moved on.

The last month has been hard on the kids as well. After Madeleine fired Riley, she replaced her almost immediately. Seems kind of suspicious to me, but whatever. The new nanny — a woman named Belinda — is a lovely woman, but the kids haven’t quite warmed up to her like they did Riley. They keep asking me when she’s coming back. I don’t have the heart to tell them that she probably won’t. They were visibly upset when I told them she would no longer be their nanny. Charlotte cried. Philip asked me if she didn’t like us anymore. They still talk about how much they miss her. To be honest, I do too.

If we’re being honest here, I never once thought she did it. And not because we were involved. I saw how she was with my kids and I could tell she genuinely cared for them. She treated them like they were her own. Many nights I would come home from work and hear Philip talk about all the fun things he and Riley did, or hear Charlotte gush about how pretty and nice Riley was to her and how she let her wear whatever she wanted to school. I also remember all the times she told me that she didn’t care about my money, so there’s no way she would sell us out for a payday.

It’s Monday morning and I’m sitting in my office at Cordonia Enterprises looking over the numbers for this quarter when my brother Leo strolls in, looking like he had just woken up from a week-long sex and booze bender. He moves over to the bar cart, pours himself three fingers of scotch, and plops down in the seat across from me.

“You look like shit, little bro,” he smiles behind the rim of his glass.

“You would know. You smell like a brothel.”

He laughs loudly and takes a sip of his scotch, then sets it on the desk. “Well, you’re ex-nanny needed someone to comfort her after you tossed her out on the street, so I offered her my services. Did you know she makes the cutest noises when she cums?” He makes a show of adjusting himself. “My balls are getting tight just thinking about it.”

I clench the pen in my hand with enough force that my knuckles turn white. I know he’s trying to fuck with me, so I take a deep breath, controlling my rage. “What the fuck do you want, Leo?”

He chuckles and kicks his feet up on my desk. I love my brother, but he can be a real dickhead at times. When Madeleine and I started dating, he gave me shit for months about me picking up his ‘sloppy seconds.’ Once, he asked me if she ever called out his name in bed. Fucker. After we were married, he warned me that she was just using me to get back at him. I probably should have listened to him. When I announced to my family that she and I were splitting up, he revealed that she had tried to seduce him on more than one occasion. Thankfully, he had no interest in getting involved with her again. My brother may be a total asshole, but he wouldn’t deliberately hurt me.

“So, I think I know how to help you with your little predicament.”

“My predicament?”

“The tabloid leak. I think I know who was behind it. Or at least had something to do with it.”

“It’s been a month, man. Everyone's forgotten about it,” I say, setting my pen down.

“Really? Because your ex-wife called me last week.”

I raise my brows and give him my full attention. This should be good.

“Yeah, she called me crying, telling me how much she misses me. Not like I haven’t heard that over and over the last seven years. I warned you about her, Li. That chick is crazy. I’m pretty sure she was drunk. So anyway, she asks me if I knew about you and your nanny. Told her I had heard some things. Then she gives me some pathetic sob story about how you made her do what she did. ‘I had to do it, Leo. Who knows how long this has been going on?’” I nod and wait for him to continue.

“I ask her to elaborate. She sputters out some lame-ass excuse about how you fucking the nanny behind her back pushed her into the arms of another man. The timing clearly didn’t line up since we all know you filed before you hired Riley, but I didn’t tell her that. I just let her dig her hole. She goes on about how she took matters into her own hands. Now that Riley’s out of the picture, things can go back to normal.” He laughs and finishes off his drink.

“What does Riley have to do with all this?” I ask.

“I asked her the same thing. She said that she knew Riley was no good from the beginning, but that you had convinced her to hire her because of her background. She suspected something was up after the paparazzi incident at the park, but that you had talked her out of doing something rash. That’s when she convinced you to hire Mara to keep tabs on Riley. I guess Mara had been giving her updates. She also rambled on about how Mara always bought Riley those tabloid magazines. That’s when she said she knew Riley had something to do with it. She didn’t come outright and say it, but the signs are all there.”

I struggle to process the info that was just dumped in my lap. Would Madeleine really stoop that low? I know she wasn’t happy about me filing for divorce, but would she be vindictive enough to put our children in harm’s way just to get back at me? Why was the nanny collateral damage? And why would she wait a month to say anything? Guilt, perhaps? None of this makes sense.

“Do you have proof of this, Leo?”

“Dude. Why the fuck would I lie about it? You know damn well she still wants me. Even with her new man in the picture. Seven years she’s tried to get me to take her back. I wish I would have recorded it so you could listen to how desperate she sounded.”

“Not that, you dick. About the leak.”

“Oh yeah, that. No, I don’t have proof. But I have a hunch. And I’m usually 90% right about these things.”

I drop my head in my hands. Yep, the signs are all there. Now, I just have to find a way to prove what I’ve suspected all along. I pull out my phone and shoot a group text to Max, Drake, and Liv, asking them to meet up tonight. If I’m going to nail my ex-wife to the wall, I need my most trusted friends to help me.

***

Drake, Maxwell, Olivia, my brother, and I meet at The Double Tappe after work. The place is empty — not unusual for a Monday — giving us the whole bar to ourselves. We all congregate in one of the booths in the back and Leo repeats what he told me this morning. Drake and Max are completely shocked by the revelation. Olivia, however, sits there stone-faced.

“I knew there was a reason I didn’t like her,” she says.

“You don’t like anyone,” Maxwell retorts, then flinches when Olivia punches him in the arm. He rubs the spot where she made contact and turns to me. “Whatcha gonna do about this, Li?”

“I don’t know. It’s been a month, so it’s going to be hard to prove at this point. I need solid evidence that Madeleine was involved because she’ll never admit to it. The first person I need to talk to is Mara. Hopefully, she can give us some answers.”

“What about a wire-tap? I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy,” Drake shrugs in between sips of whiskey.

“Pretty sure that’s illegal in this state,” Olivia says.

Leo snaps his fingers. “That’s true, but New York is a one-party consent state. So, if one of us gets Madeleine to confess and records it, we technically wouldn’t be breaking the law.”

“Okay, so who could we get to coerce that kind of information out of her?” I ask.

Leo leans back and grins, crossing his arms behind his head. We all look at each other, knowing exactly who will handle this task. If anyone can persuade Madeleine to spill the beans, it’s definitely him.

“How are we going to do this?” Max asks.

“Well, I say loverboy here tries to seduce her. She’ll tell you anything you want to hear if she thinks she can get you back,” Olivia says.

“Well then, it’s settled. Work your magic, Leo,” Drake replies. The five of us clink our glasses in celebration, although it feels premature since we don’t have actual evidence against her yet. We spend the rest of the evening sharing drinks, memories, and laughter. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time. No kids, no work, no responsibilities. I haven’t done anything like this since college. As we gather up our things to leave, Drake pulls me aside.

“Hey man, have you talked to Riley, lately?”

“I’ve been trying to call and text her for weeks, but it’s been radio silence since Madeleine fired her. I even dropped by her apartment a few times, but no one was home. She must think I blame her for all this.”

He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. “She does. We tried to tell her that you don’t, but it’s understandable why she would think that. I guess she and Hana had a falling out as well. Last I heard, Hana moved out, so she’s living there by herself. I don’t know where she's working now. She doesn’t come around much anymore. You should try to talk to her again. Maybe explain your side of the story.”

“Yeah. It’s just… I fucked up, Drake. I don’t blame her for anything. I should have told her that.” I rub the back of my neck. “Truth is, I think I’m in love with her.”

“You need to tell her, man.”

I nod, clapping him on the shoulder, then head for my car. The drive back to my penthouse is long, but it gives me time to think. I think back to what Drake told me. About her and Hana’s falling out. I know they’ve been best friends for a long time. Now, she’s alone. To think that if she never met me, none of this would have happened. It’s hard not to blame myself for all of this.

I think back on how different things are with Riley then they were with Madeleine. When I met Madeleine, I was more in love with the idea of her. I married her to please my father, and although I’ll always care for her as the mother of my children, the love was never really there. When I found out she cheated, I was almost relieved.

The night Riley left, I sat in my study and went over everything that had happened over those few weeks. I feel my chest start to tighten. What is this? Emotion? I had learned to turn them off after Madeleine, but somehow, Riley made them come back. And suddenly, I want to fight for what we have. I never fought for Madeleine, but I feel the urge to for her. She’s the only woman I’ve ever felt that desire for. Making a decision, I take the next U-Turn and make the trip to her apartment.

I arrive outside her building a few minutes later. Her bedroom window faces the street, and when I peer up at it, I notice the light is on. That’s a good sign. It means she’s home. I exit the car and make my way up to her floor. I pause outside her door, unsure of what to say to her. Come on, Li. Quit stalling and tell her how you feel. I knock on her door a few times and wait patiently for her to answer. I hear shuffling on the other side of the door, and when it swings open, the face on the other side is not the one I’m expecting.

“Can I help you?” A young man answers the door, wearing only a pair of low-hanging joggers. He eyes me confusingly.

“Uh…” I stumble, double-checking to see if I have the right apartment. “Is Riley here?”

“Maybe. Who’s asking?”

Must resist the urge not to knock this kid on his ass. “Tell her Liam needs to see her.”

He rolls his eyes and holds a finger up, signaling me to wait, before closing the door in my face. I hear him call out to her on the other side, “Hey, Riley. There’s some suit here to see you. Says his name is Liam.” More shuffling and muffled voices, then the door swings open, and there stands my girl. Her brown locks are piled atop her head in a messy bun. She’s wearing a pair of short shorts, showing off her long legs, and a Steinhardt t-shirt. She stares at me for a few seconds before snapping out of her daze.

“What are you doing here?”

“You haven’t been returning my calls.”

She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. “There’s a reason for that.”

I sigh, dragging my hand down my face. “Riley, please. Just listen to me.”

“Why should I? You wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to explain myself.”

Her words feel like a slap to my face. She’s absolutely right and I can’t argue otherwise. “I know I messed up, but if you give me a chance to explain myself, I’ll be on my way.”

She turns and looks to the guy in her apartment, then back to me, then again at him. “Give me a sec, Josh,” she says, before stepping out into the hallway and pulling the door closed behind her. “You have two minutes.”

I exhale. “I’m sorry. I want you to know I’m so sorry. For what I did. Or rather, what I didn’t do. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I never meant to hurt you, Riley. I get why you’re hurt. And if I was in your shoes, I’d feel the same way. When I saw the magazine, I didn’t believe you had anything to do with it, but in that moment, all I could think about was my kids.”

She nods. “I know. Drake told me. But you could have said something to Madeleine instead of just letting her berate me. I would never do that to Philip and Charlotte. I love them like they were my own.” She looks down at her feet and her voice trembles. “I can’t believe you didn’t trust me when I’ve never given you a reason not to.” A tear rolls down her cheek. “All I’ve ever done is try to make you and those kids happy. Just because your ex-wife hurt you, doesn’t mean I would. You know that. I waited for you, Liam. I knew your circumstances with the divorce, and I still waited. And at the first sign of trouble, you jumped to conclusions. You didn’t give us a chance.”

I reach out and tip her chin up to look at me. I gently rub her cheek with the pad of my thumb, brushing the tear away. “You’re right. I’m a fucking idiot. I know that now. I owe you so much more than a simple apology. You deserve better than that. I’m hoping it’s not too late to try and fix what I broke. I’ll do whatever it takes to earn your trust back.”

She fidgets with the hem of her t-shirt. “I don’t know, Liam. I want to believe you. I really do. But I’m still hurt. I wish things had been different with us. I wish we had met under different circumstances. But, you have your children to think about. And I know they are your priority.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Of course they are. But I want to make you my priority too. Tell me what I can do.”

“Did you figure out who leaked the story?”

I shake my head.

She sighs. “I need time.”

“Not too much time, I hope.” She doesn’t say anything for a long time. The silence between us saying more than our words do. I reach out and grab her hand, squeezing it. “I don’t know what else to say, Riley. Just think about it. I’ll be here, waiting.” I pull her hand up to my lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. Then, I turn and head down the hall. The ache in my chest, deep. Knowing that I hurt her is almost too much to bear. The issue with the story is awful, but not taking her side was worse.

The only thing I can do now is try to make it up to her.

#something domestic #nanny au #trr au #trr fanfic #choices fanfic #riley brooks #liam rhys #leo rhys #nazariolahela fanfic

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pengychan · 5 years

Text

[Good Omens] Winging It - James 2:14

Summary: Shockingly, attempting to destroy an angel without consulting God first comes with consequences. There is more than one way to fall, and a thousand more ways to inconvenience an angel and a demon who just wanted to be left in peace. Characters: Gabriel, Crowley, Aziraphale, Beelzebub, Michael. Rating: T

Prologue and all chapters are tagged as ‘winging it’ on my blog.

A/N: *insert joke about an archangel loose in London here*

***

“So what’s your plan? Making me drive around at random just in case he happens to walk by?”

“Do you have a better idea? One single-”

“Say ‘one single better idea’, angel, and I’m kicking you out of the car.”

“No, you won’t.”

The certainty in Aziraphale’s voice was honestly infuriating. Crowley made a face, taking a rather daring turn while overtaking a lorry. “How come you always assume I won’t follow up on my threats?”

“Because you never do.”

“Well, it might be all part of my plan to deceive you.”

“Oh?”

“Like crying wolf, but the smart way. And when you least expect it, I will follow through.”

“That would be diabolical,” Aziraphale conceded, trying and failing to hold back an amused smile. “You wily old serp-- the bus! Watch out! This would be-- oh, the most inconvenient time to get discorporated!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve been driving since before driving licences were invented.”

“You’d have never passed the test.”

“You only say that because you tried and failed.” A swerve to the left, then a sigh. “This is hopeless. I have no better ideas but I can tell you, you do not find a missing guy in London by just driving around and hoping to bump into him. Not literally bump into him. But I’d like to.”

“He can’t have gone that far.”

“He might have if he hopped on the Tube. Maybe he did. Went all the way to Heathrow, got on a plane, fucked off to… don’t know, Tenerife or something. A nice place, except when planes crash on each other at Los Rodeos. I got a commendation for that, but had nothing to do with it.”

Aziraphale groaned, rubbing his face. “I don’t know how I’d explain that to Michael.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to Michael,” Crowley reminded him, and glanced over as Aziraphale pulled out his phone and tried to make a call. “Still nothing?”

“Nothing. He must have turned it off, or maybe it ran out of… no, it’s supposed to never run out of battery. He just turned it off.”

“Or some guy on a moped snatched it right out of his hand. Happens a lot.”

“Let’s… assume that did not happen. For my sanity,” Aziraphale muttered. “He’ll… turn it back on, sooner or later.”

“That would be ideal. We could get in and pop out on his side, and then proceed to stick the phone up his--”

“Crowley.”

“What? He just ran off on us - and we’ve been trying to help, and to great personal cost in my case. Why would he do that?”

Aziraphale shrugged. “Maybe he needed some time alone. Maybe he felt upset, or humiliated.” A pause. “... Maybe he’s just an idiot.”

“Now you’re making sense,” Crowley muttered, turning to glance at the street around them, then sighed. “This is hopeless. Our best bet is waiting for him to turn on that phone or call,” he said. Aziraphale could only nod.

As the car pulled away from the curb to return to the bookshop, a fly buzzed out of the rolled-down window.

***

Later on, once he would be able to think straight again and that awful sickness - hangover, it was called - was gone, Gabriel would be rather grateful for the fact nearly everything he'd said had been dismissed as the ramblings of a drunken man.

Because he was drunk and he did ramble. A lot.

"So. You were cast out of Heaven just last night, huh?"

"Yeeeeeessir. Just-- off with the wings-- and I got a penis at some point-- boom, a bolt of lighting-- and I landed in the middle of Soho."

A raised eyebrow. "Oh, of course. As you do. Aliens land in Manhattan every single time, seems only fair we get angels in Soho. And how may I call you?" the man asked with a laugh, leaning back against the tree and taking another swig himself. He'd drunk easily three times Gabriel's amount, and wasn't even tipsy.

Gabriel took another swig himself. He found it pleasant, how it went down his throat and how warm he felt. Like nothing was wrong, or at least nothing he couldn't fix. "Archangel Fucking Gabriel," he informed him, leaning forward with a grin. "Going by Gabriel F Archer now, but-- wait. Waaait-- Hah! I just got what the F stands for!"

Another laugh. "Hah! Nice to meet you, Archangel Fucking Gabriel. My name's Daniel Brown."

Oooh, now that was a familiar one. Gabriel grinned widely, leaning forward. "Daniel! I knew someone named Daniel! My favorite prophet!"

"Oh? So you met him?"

"Yes! He had visions, I was sent to explain them to him, and-- hah!" Gabriel threw back his head and burst into laughter to the point his sides almost hurt. He wheezed out the rest of the story, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "I'm there all 'fear not, fear not', but he got so scared, he fell flat on his face right there and then! It was hilarious, I tell you - I had to pick him up from the ground. He was ill for days. Frail stuff, mortals,” Gabriel added, blissfully forgetful of how he’d stopped a car with his face earlier that day, and needed to be miracled back to health before his mortal life could be snuffed out. “Delicate."

“Hu-uh. You know, I think I might have to pick you up from the ground if you have any more to drink. You really can’t hold alcohol, can you?”

Gabriel entirely ignored him. He took another swig and then sniggered before raising his hands and repeating what he’d thundered to the other Daniel, so long ago. “Behold! I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end-- hey! Hey!”

“No more for tonight,” Daniel said, holding the bottle well out of Gabriel’s reach. His arms flailed uselessly, and he almost tumbled forward; a hand braced against his shoulder was the only thing that spared his face a meeting with the ground. Which was soft, really, the way grassy soil is. Come to think of it, his eyelids were beginning to feel heavy. Maybe he should sleep, wasn’t that what humans did when their head spun and eyelids got heavy? Take a nap?

“Ah, look at you. Drunk as a skunk after half a bottle, and you’re not that small!”

A laugh, and a pair of hands grasped him under the shoulders, brushing where his wings had been. The memory of what had happened almost made it back to his mind, but the laughing voice above him was reassuring enough and it did not. Gabriel looked up to see the moon winking at him through the tree branches, and thought that it didn’t look so pretty from Heaven.

Then he shut his eyes, and for a time he didn’t think about anything at all.

***

“... They lost an archangel.”

The incredulity in Dagon’s tone would have been slightly insulting, if Beelzebub had allowed themselves to think that, technically, they had lost him as well. A few minutes without watching him, and he’d taken off. Figuratively, of course, because he still didn’t have wings.

While listening to the conversation between the Traitor Crowley and That Other Traitor From Upstairs had given them no clue as to where That Insufferable Archangel may be, it had at least reassured them that the Heavenly forces had no idea either. They didn’t even know he was missing, which gave Beelzebub an advantage they had no intention to squander.

“Yes, they lost him. I haven’t called you here to repeat what I said. I have called you here to find him. I want all demons available on the ground in London, immediately.”

Dagon nodded, efficient as always. At least something, Beelzebub thought, still worked the way it was supposed to. “Of course. What should they do once they find him? Contain him, or--”

“No,” Beelzebub cut her off, waving their hand, which also served to scare a few flies away, if only for a moment. “Once he’s found, they’ll report to me. I already told you, this is personal.”

A nod. “Right. I’ll get all our demons searching.”

“Good. It is imperative that they find him before… those two do it. Or the ones upstairs. The pathetic little lie they were fed won’t buy us much time.”

“Of course,” Dagon nodded and turned to leave, only to pause when Beelzebub called her back.

“Remind them to avoid any confrontation with the traitors. It’s not that we fear them, of course,” they added, just a little too quickly. “But we truly don’t need the hassle.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“And the archangel is not to be harmed. I still believe we can win him over for our cause. Any demon who harms him will have to face my wrath - makes sure we’re clear on that.”

Dagon - who was the Master of Torments for a reason and also just so happened to have a drill on her - smiled, showing off two rows of sharp teeth. “I’ll drill it in their minds,” she said.

Beelzebub’s gaze fell on her coat. “Tell me you don’t have a drill in your pocket.”

Dagon’s smile widened as they held it out. “About my application for the title of Master of Puns-”

“I am not hearing this,” Beelzebub droned. Truth be told, they didn’t even remember where the application had ended up. It was entirely possible someone had used it to clean after the Hellhound before it was sent out to find the Antichrist and proceed to do absolutely nothing of any use. “You are the Master of Torments and Lord of the Files. Two titles are enough.”

And I’ll throw myself into a giant fly trap before I let you have one more title than I do.

Dagon looked disappointed, but didn’t argue. No one with even an inkling of common sense would start arguing with the Prince of Hell.

Gabriel had, of course. It had been annoying, when he’d been an Archangel; being challenged by him while he was an infinitely weaker mortal whose life could be snuffed out like a candle thrown in the ocean from the deck of the Titanic had been… more on the amusing side.

Gabriel did not, in fact, possess an inkling of common sense. Back before the Fall… back before the Fall--

Beelzebub let out a buzzing noise at the sudden pain in their head, the flies around them dancing wildly, and immediately dropped that thought. It was pointless; Satan himself aside, they remembered very little of who they were and what they did before the Fall. And it was fine.

If something hurt to remember, it wasn’t worth the trouble of remembering at all.

***

Gabriel’s head hurt.

He could have complained, but at the moment he couldn’t find it in himself to. As far as his extremely limited experience in awakenings went, this one - waking up with a headache inside a blue tent he didn’t remember entering - was, by far, the least traumatic yet.

Of course there was some confusion, especially when he poked his head out to see the man he’d met the previous evening stirring inside a sleeping bag on the ground. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and blinked as he put him into focus.

“Oh, here’s the Archangel. How are you feeling?’

“My head aches-- wait, what--??” Gabriel panicked inwardly, blood turning into ice. How could that mortal know - wasn’t he mortal? Had he been fooled by a demon, or an angel, or--

Daniel threw back his head and laughed. “Hah! So you don’t remember? You got so drunk last night, you kept muttering nonsense about being the Archangel Gabriel.”

… Oh. Oh.

“Ah. Yes. I… don’t remember that,” Gabriel muttered, finally crawling out of the tend and standing upright. His back was sore, too; he stretched, getting a faint pop out of his spine. It didn’t feel too bad.

“I had never seen anybody get that shitfaced with half a bottle of beer,” Daniel was muttering, wriggling out of the sleeping bag. Gabriel had a feeling he was supposed to be offended, but he frowned at something else. His gaze went from the sleeping bag on the grass to the tent, and then back to Daniel. Had he-- left the tent to him?

“You didn’t have to sleep outside on my account,” he said, embarrassed. The man shrugged and stretched. The crack coming from his spine was much louder.

“Ah, not a problem. It’s still mild this time of the year, I don’t mind sleeping outside from time to time. Will be different in a few weeks, but by then you’ll hopefully be back on your feet.”

“... You, too.”

“Heh. My situation is pretty complicated.”

“So is mine.”

A sigh. “Ah, well. Nothing will be solved if we stand here and mope. Let’s head out - there is a McDonald’s nearby. Nice staff, a toilet, cheap breakfast, and wifi for job hunting.”

Oh, Gabriel thought, of course. Jobs. Human’s livelihood almost entirely depended on their ability to produce something of value; of course he’d be expected to have a job.

Well, I did lose my job, didn’t I?

“... Of course. So, you-- said you lost your job?”

“Ah, that was a link in the chain that got me here. First my health, then my job, then my wife, then my home,” Daniel said, and scratched his cheek. “Still luckier than a friend of mine was. ‘Fit for work’, they said, because he could walk unaided for fifty feet or something. Benefits cut. He went under a train the next month, wheelchair and all. Turns out he wasn’t fit for work.” A sigh. “Would like to think he’s in a better place. My wife, too.”

I could make enquiries, Gabriel almost said, but he did not. It would require getting in touch with Heaven, and he… he couldn’t do that; the thought alone made his stomach clench. Another idea entered his mind - he could try asking Beelzebub, if they could be found, whether they were in Hell. Certainly, if not there, they’d be in Heaven. Still, he didn’t want to do that either.

Gabriel could think of no nice way to tell a mortal that his loved ones are in Hell.

***

Michael was rather certain paperwork was the closest to a taste of Hell you could get in Heaven.

Of course she wasn’t entirely new to it; a certain amount of paperwork would always be part of life, be it mortal or… well, not. Heaven didn’t run itself, after all. As its population grew with mortal souls who had gained themselves entry - only angels dwelled on the upper floors, of course, and aside for a few rather extraordinary souls getting a promotion their number had stayed more or less steady at ten million since the Schism - Gabriel had taken it upon himself to organize things in a rational manner, to hand out tasks and ensure they were carried out.

“Heaven won’t run itself,” was precisely what he’d said, and God had approved of his ideas - or at least, they had never sent Metatron to say otherwise, which counted as approval. It had to, didn’t it? It was the most logical way to ensure they followed the Great Plan and got to the final war organized and prepared. If God were displeased, they would make it very clear. So their silence, stretching out for millennia, had to mean they approved.

Everyone had done their share, including herself, Sandalphon and Uriel - Gabriel’s closest aides. None of them below him, but all of them more than willing to leave most of the bureaucracy to him; it was his element, after all, and he’d enjoyed the task in ways they never would have. But now he was gone, and they had to pick up where he’d left off.

And to be completely honest, Sandalphon’s expression spelled out, it absolutely sucked.

“There is… a lot more backlog than I thought there would be.”

“Well, we were expecting the world to end,” Uriel reasoned, going through some notes that had piled up on Gabriel’s desk. A perfectly white and perfectly pristine computer took over the other half of it, everything in it filed away meticulously, but Gabriel had clearly never gotten the time to go through that pile. There was the army to rally, after all, the entire order of existence to change, which would make that work rather useless in the even of either victory or defeat.

Nothing had changed, and yet everything had. No war had come but oh, did Michael feel they had been defeated, in some way she couldn’t quite grasp. Not the whole of the Heavenly forces, of course, but them personally. They had lost a valuable asset, after all. A friend who had been stripped of his angelic nature and now wanted nothing to do with them for something they had not chosen or wanted. And at the moment, it felt they had lost their sense of purpose as well.

For so long they’d prepared for a day that did not come; now they had no instructions. They should have paid more attention on the observation files; no one really really looked at them until Michael had realized something about Aziraphale was off. Gabriel hadn’t thought of it either, but why would he? Who’d have ever thought an angel would turn against the Great Plan - and turn out, in some ineffable way, to be the one in the right?

Had it truly been part of the Ineffable plan, or was it a failure from their part? Surely, if it was part of the Ineffable plan, they had been meant to fail. It should have made the sense of failure burn a bit less, but it did not. It seemed unfair. And with what had befallen Gabriel… it seemed cruel.

God doesn’t play games with the universe, Gabriel used to say.

Ah, but did God play games with us? Is this what we get for serving the Almighty?

Michael shook her head, trying to get rid of that thought, and looked up… only to see that same thought mirrored in the faces of Uriel and Sandalphon, plain as day. Wondering. Questioning.

“Let’s get to work. When-- if Gabriel returns, he should find everything in order,” Michael said.

No one really believed that might happen, but there was that tiny sliver of hope to cling to.

Against all odds they had been wrong before, after all.

***

“... Is something wrong?”

“Hmm?”

“I get a feeling I’m being stared at,” Gabriel muttered, glancing around as discreetly as possible. There were a few glances towards their table, which he couldn’t make any sense of. He was eating like everybody else in there, in hopes it wouldn’t make him sick again.

Daniel shrugged, eyes still fixed on the screen of his phone, scrolling down what Gabriel assumed was a job listing. He had a half-eaten egg and bacon sandwich in his other hand. “Ah, they’re looking at me. I do get looks like that.”

“Why?”

“Homeless guy sitting at a table. I always get some looks. They’re probably wondering why I’m here with a smartphone in my hand. People act funny when homeless folks have phones. I wonder how else they think we can apply for jobs.”

“What’s wrong with having a phone?”

“Ah, nothing. But it ruins the idea they have of poor folks dressed in rags, holding up an empty bowl and going Oliver Twist at them. Please, sir, may I have some more?”

Gabriel frowned in confusion, and glanced down at his own sandwich, still untouched as he ate the hash brown. “... You want my sandwich?”

“Wha-- no, no, it was the quote. Oliver Twist?” he tried. Gabriel blinked, mind drawing a blank.

“... Ah, nevermind. By the way, there is an app you need to get. It tells you if any places are giving away free samples of food in your area. Bakeries do that a lot.

“Oh.”

“Also, there is a gym open all day and all night not far from here. Invest some money in a membership card.”

“Huh? Why?” Gabriel asked, confused. Not that he did not see the point of physical exercise, but why pay when jogging is free?

Daniel grinned. “Showers accessible all the time, and a locker to keep any valuables you really are not safe having with you in the streets. Plus, it’s someplace warm to be if it gets really cold.”

“I see.”

“You really want to keep yourself as clean as possible, to keep looking the way you do now. You don’t seem homeless. I would have never guessed when we met.”

Gabriel glanced down at himself. He was still wearing the track suit, but the coat he had on was rather nice and, while he had some stubble on his cheeks, it was a far cry from the untamed beard on Daniel’s face. That was probably going to change, he thought; his body hair would grow, too. He mentally added ‘shaving’ to the growing list of human skills he’d need to master.

“That’s a good thing, by the way,” Daniel was saying through a mouthful. “It’s easier if you look like someone with an office job and someplace to be at night. I know I should try to look less like the part, but ah, it gets so tiring after a time.” One last bite of his sandwich, and he stood. “I’m getting another coffee. Want more? My treat.”

Gabriel shook his head. He may not know exactly how much the money he had left in the wallet was worth, but he could tell he had more than Daniel; making him pay for his coffee did not sit well with him. Plus, he probably should moderate in his intake of food and liquids.

“No. No, I’m good,” he said. As Daniel went to get more of that oddly bitter beverage, Gabriel went on to start his sandwich, and took out his phone.

***

Aziraphale almost missed the call.

In his defense, the phone decided to ring just as he was preparing a good cup of tea for himself as well as black coffee for Crowley, who’d then add sugar while hoping Aziraphale would not notice that he did not, in fact, ‘like his coffee black and bitter like the deepest pits of Hell’. Not a problem, that: he’d pretended not to notice for four centuries, he could keep up the act.

Or at least he would have, but he’d dropped both mugs as he rushed to answer the phone, leaving Crowley to miracle the pieces back together. He snatched the receiver up mid-ring.

“Hello? This is--”

“Aziraphale,” Gabriel’s voice rang out. Oh, thank God, there he was, safe and sound. Or, well, at least alive. He didn’t sound like he’d been hit by another car, at least.

“Gabriel.” Aziraphale let out a sigh of relief. “Where are you?”

“Why the Heaven did you run off like that, you arsehole?” Crowley called out from the back.

If Gabriel heard him, he entirely ignored him. “I’ve met- there are people sleeping in the streets.”

Aziraphale frowned. “Yes,” he said. “Homelessness is a terrible problem in London.”

“I thought that was sorted out in… I don’t know. Industrial revolution?”

Ah, he really knew little to nothing about the world. “It was never quite sorted.”

“You could sort that out,” Gabriel pointed out, an accusing note to his voice that made Aziraphale frown again. Did he really think he could find homes for everybody who needed one with a snap of his fingers? Did he really think it would be that easy?”

“There are limits to what we can do to help humans. We can’t just take charge of their fates.”

“Why not? We know better,” Gabriel said, like he hadn’t been about to let the entire world burn without thinking twice about it so that he could have his war.

“... I’ll pretend I haven’t heard that. I help when I can, if I do happen to meet--”

“It’s not enough!”

“Oh, if only someone hadn’t reprimanded me several times for frivolous miracles whenever I did helped too many people! What have you ever done?”

Aziraphale sort of regretted saying that a few moments after the words left his mouth, but also sort of… not. He was trying to help, and Gabriel wasn’t making it easy. There was a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the line, and he expected protests, but there was only silence. He took a long breath himself. “Tell me where you are, and--”

Click.

Ah. Of course. Of-bloody-course.

“... I suppose this is the wrong moment to remind you we could have teleported ourselves to him through the phone line instead of politely asking where he is,” Crowley muttered, raising an eyebrow. Aziraphale groaned, and tried to call back, to no avail.

“He turned off the phone. Again.”

“Well, we did our best. Here’s your mug, like new.”

“Crowley.”

“What? We don’t know where to find him anyway. He made it through the night and wasn’t dragged to Hell, so not a bad going. Let him figure out a few things by himself and talk about important stuff.”

Aziraphale found himself smiling. “South Downs?” he asked, and Crowley grinned back.

“Yes. South Downs."

***

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?" James 2:14

***

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