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#as MS crops up in my family a lot
my-soupy-brain · 8 months
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Ted Lasso Fan Prompts 1
I ran outta space y'all! Here are my first however many Ted Lasso fan prompts -- the naughty, the nice, the fluffy, and the spice.
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Bad Day & A Comfortable Snuggle - Ted comforts you after a rough, rough day. Fluff.
Anxiety Tummy & Ted Rescue - Ted knows you get tummy aches when you're stressed, so he's here to help. Fluff.
Barbecue Sauce & Lace - You and Ted go shopping for some lingerie and well, he just can't help it. Light smut.
Body Accessory (NSFW) - Ted finds your new belly button piercing and has a field day. A lil' smutty.
Massage Therapy - Your poor back needs help from Ted's loving hands and touch. Mostly fluff.
Tickle Fight - This ticklish man is all about play but ooof, maybe it's time for something more. Mostly fluff.
Sweaty Ted Surprise (NSFW) - Ted comes home from a sweaty workout and it turns you on immediately. SMUTTTTY!
Peanut Butter & BBQ Sauce (NSFW) - Ted's favorite things, but even better on your body. Smutty teasing times.
Home Sick - Ted's got a nasty cold and it's time to play nurse (no, not that way) to make him feel better. Fluff!
Beach Daze - Ted sees you in a bikini on the beach on a Spain trip for the team, and you catch a glimpse of him without a shirt. Light smut, lots of fluff.
Nightmare Comforts - A rough nightmare has you anxious but Ted's the comfort man you need. Fluff & comfort.
Coach Me (NSFW) - Your first time with Ted has you a bit nervous you won't do it right, so he offers to help so you can find your voice and pleasure. SMUTTT OMG SMUT.
Dad Bod Worship (NSFW) - Ted worries he's not attractive enough for you, and you prove him wrong. SMUTVILLE.
Snuggle Fort - Ted has a rough day and so do you, so a snuggle blanket fort for two is in the works. Fluff Central.
Silky Strands - Ted snuggles and you run your fingers through his hair. (Everyone should enjoy this feeling, and definitely Ted!). Fluff.
Baby on the Way - Ted dotes on you while pregnant with another Little Lasso. Fluff + light smut.
Reading Glasses - Ted gets reading glasses and decides to read to you a little. Fluff!
Calming Comfort - Ted helps you after a tough family situation in the way he knows best. Comfort fluff.
Loving Touches - You learned some tips for treating sciatica at home, and for Ted, this level of comfort makes his heart blossom. Fluffville.
Lavender and Honey (NSFW) - Ted is wild for your perfume, he can't get enough. Teasing + smut.
Spa Day - You surprise Ted with a day at the spa. He's curious, not judgmental, and he's glad. It's just what he needed. FLUFF.
Strip Poker (NSFW) - A game night ends with you and Ted playing poker, but oh no, no chips! Ha! Let's get that dad bod outta those clothes. *evil laugh* Teasing + light smut.
Crop Top (NSFW) - You thought it was a normal shirt when you bought it but someone sure likes it. Light smut!
Snuggle Up - It's a rainy London day with nowhere to be, so it's time to cuddle. Good lord FLUFF.
Blood Sugar - Whoops! Not taking care of yourself has dire consequences. Ted to the rescue! FLUFF.
Food Fight! - A food fight with Ted turns cute and naughty. Mostly fluff/fun, a little smut.
Big Sibling - Henry asks for a little Lasso so he can be a big brother. Fluff!
Yoga - You convince Ted to take a yoga class for his bad back, and the whole experience eases his worries.
Nothing to Wear - You're feeling self-conscious and can't find a damn thing to wear. Teddy has some words of encouragement. Fluff.
Mr. Fix It (NSFW?) - Ted offers to fix your leaky sink and has his shirt off to do it. For gods sake, the universe owes us this. Tease + smut.
Good Girl (VERY NSFW) - Don't wake Ms. Shipley! It's a game of quiet sex with Ted. HOLY SMUT.
Surprise Request (VERY NSFW) - One little sentence in Ted's ear and you're ready to blow his mind (and something else). SMUTCITY.
Perfect the Way You Are - You're feeling a little self-conscious about part of your body but Ted shows you why you're perfect. FLUFF.
Love Marks (NSWF) - Ted leaves hickeys on you, and one is a little too visible for Keeley to ignore. Smut!
Headache Comfort - Ted is just the person to play nurse when you are wracked with headaches. Fluff + comfort.
That Feel Good? (NSFW) - Ted always checks in when you're in bed with him, and he doesn't need to. He knows what he's doing. SMUT!
Happy Trail (NSFW) - You catch a few glimpses of Ted without a shirt on and it makes you positively feral. Thank goodness he eventually becomes your boyfriend... Light smut.
Sleepless Comforts - You're struggling to sleep but Ted has calming words and comfort to help you drift off. Fluff + comfort.
Love Handles (NSFW) - Sometimes you notice a new feature on Ted that makes you slightly feral, and this is one of them. Light smut.
Led Tasso Comes Home (NSFW) - Led walks in the door and it works for you. Light smut.
Cramp Comfort - Your cramps take you out for the day and Ted is there to help. FLUFF!
Henry's Favorite Person - Ted sees you and Henry bonding and knows what he wants for his future. FLUFF!
Cute in Khakis - Something about Ted's khakis has you going ga-ga all day, so you show him. CUTE!
Shower Scene (NSFW) - You and Ted get a little messy in the rain and need a shower when you get home. Light smut!
Thigh Meat (NSFW) - Ted's thighs turn you on and you just have to tell him. SMUT!
Ticklish - You're feeling a bit low and Ted cheers you up with carefully placed tickles. Fluff!
Honeymoon - Ted goes all out to make your honeymoon special. He's such a swoon! Fluff, very light smut.
Mouth Worship (NSFW) - Going down on Ted like a champ. Straight. Up. Smut. SMUT.
Tipsy Teddy - Ted comes home after a night at the pub with Beard and Roy and you tend to him. FLUFF!
Club Lasso - You find Ted at an underground dance club, a little high and ready to share some moves with you. Cute + teasing.
Day-off Sleep-in - A short n' sweet story of snuggling with Ted Lasso on a rainy day. Fluff!
Meditation - You and Ted take a moment to meditate together, relax your minds, and see where the night takes you. Fluff + light smut.
Morning Wake-up (NSFW) - Ted wakes up excited so you decide to play along and treat him well. SMUT SMUT!
Curves (NSFW) - You and Ted get to know each other at Nelson Road, and you both develop a crush. Light smut!
Your Neck, Your Back... (NSWF) - You admire Ted's back muscles one day, and get to touch them the next. Light smut!
Foot Massage - Ted helps you heel your very achy feet after a long day in the wrong shoes. All fluff!
A Shoulder to Cry On - Ted rushes to help you through some deep blues and a heavy cry. Comfort!
Tummy Love (NSFW) - A little body worship for Ted's tummy goes a long way. Light smut.
Sweet Spots (NSFW) - You work hard to find Ted's sweet spots that make him putty in your hands. Light smut.
Work Flirt (NSFW) - You decide to push Ted's teasing buttons with some work flirting in your new relationship. Light smut.
New Wardrobe - Ted needs new clothes so you take him shopping and get to see your boyfriend look good in EVERYTHING he puts on. All fluff.
Sunburn - You get a nasty sunburn and Ted helps care for you in the perfect way. Fluff!
Panic - Ted helps calm you during a panic attack. Comfort.
Lap Sitting - Sitting on Ted's lap in a few different scenarios. Fluff + light teasing/smut.
Touch (NSFW) - Ted likes to ask to make sure you like where his hand travel. Light smut ahead!
Tummy Distraction - You're trying to keep up with a big meeting but Ted's belly distracts you. Mostly fluff + lust!
Body Shots (NSFW) - You and Ted play with some whiskey when you get home from the pub. Teasing + light smut!
Gym Date - You and Ted make use of the club's gym after hours and Ted goes shirtless. Teasing + lust.
Reassurance - You and Ted are heading into your first time sleeping together, and your doubts are stifling you a bit. Body image issues + comfort.
Morning Admirations (NSFW) - You wake before Ted after a night of passion, admiring everything about him, from his muscles to his freckles. Light smut and teasing!
Hungry Hungry Lasso - You make Ted a big Kansas BBQ dinner after a stressful week. Mostly fluff + light teasing.
Wrastlin'! (NSFW) - A cuddle session turns into a tickle fight into a wrestling match and oh, Ted is good at pinning you down. Fluff, fun + light smut.
Mustache Burn (NSFW) - Ted wakes up and sees he left some marks behind on your soft skin, so he tries to take care of you. He's such a swoon. Comfort + memories of smut.
Taking Care of You - You're deep in a work project and Ted is your anchor to self-care. All comfort.
Baby Time - You and Ted have been trying for a baby and when you're pregnant, he's over the moon. When you deliver? He could float away on a cloud. All comfort/fluff.
No Shirts Allowed (NSFW) - Ted's scared to take his shirt off around you, but some praise can help do the trick. Comfort + light smut.
Comforting Nap - Ted comforts you after a rough day, and lets you fall asleep against him on the couch. All fluff.
Beat the Heat (NSFW) - The massive heat wave sends Ted home early and time for you two to beat the heat. Fluff + light smut.
Domestic Drabbles (NSFW) - Taking care of Ted in little ways has his heart melting and something else excited. Fluff + light smut.
Pain, Pain Go Away (NSFW) - Ted knows that soft lovemaking at that time of the month is one of the best ways he can help. Gentle smut.
Breathe, Baby, Breathe - Ted helps you through a spiraling panic attack by helping you breathe. All comfort.
Wedding Song - You and Ted's first wedding dance. It's perfect, just like Teddy. All fluff.
Chest (NSFW) - You admire Ted's chest hair and he's a little surprised, but welcomes it all the same. Teasing + smut.
Beach Surprise - You and Ted go on a beach vacation together and he's got something up his sleeve. Lust + fluff.
Good Boy (NSFW) - You and Ted can't keep your hands off each other so a secret closet meeting at a fancy event is the best you can do. SMUT!
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knavewoods · 10 months
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Listen.
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okay this one is going to be long. The short answer is I imagine mammotts to be a distant cousin of Bowgarts, and the four nips are evidence that they both evolved from the same dude.
The long answer starts with me explaining my silly specbio for the Monsterum Sings. The element system is mostly disregarded, being only an aesthetic thing that acts more as a social phenomenon, like star signs. Should it crop up in any given monster’s biology is happenstance that won’t have too much bearing. Prompted by my seeing that certain monsters share similar attributes even without being a breeding combination. It is not a huge leap of logic to think that ‘Oh, furcorns and Shugabushes share a lot of traits, perhaps they have a common ancestor much like the modern human and apes?’ Am I making sense so far? Oh well. They’re creatures. I know ingame they’re made of dimensional slime and good vibes but here I want to be semi-realistic. Entirely for my own enjoyment. Since I've only gotten as far as Fire isle #1 ingame, that is as far as I'll go here.
Heres the hoedown: Mammotts, Bowgarts, Deeges, Pompoms, Hoolas and Werdos all share a common ancestor - which I'll dub the Prefeapole - a furry bipedal mammal with two primary arms, two secondary arms, the beginnings of antlers, and a thick coat of fur. Through a convoluted series of events that likely had something to do with colossal migration, the Prefeapole population scattered around the monsterverse and evolved into the Feapole we know today. Mammotts and Deeges were developed in the colder continents, while Hoolas and Pompoms were developed in dryer continents, And Bowgarts and Werdos were developed in the Mountains.
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Bowgarts specifically are the strain of feapole that best resemble the Prefeapole, still retaining the standout attributes of 'antlers' and 'four arms'. Should these connections not seem too feasible, I encourage you to look at the Rares and Epics, who I posit aren't even Rares or Epics but rather grey matter that fills in the gaps between dominant subspecies. Inspect this handy web I created in ms paint.
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Does this make any sense? Am I talking logic? Do you see my vision? Theyre all the same primate, which is why I all give them roughly the same skull shape and forehead nostril (the latter aspect not being rooted in any reference, but rather just something I thought made them visually distinct).
So Mammott having four nips is not just a funny heehoo joke, it's a biological remnant of the ancestors they evolved from. they used to have four limbs, and thus four pectoral muscles. The bones may have worn away through time, but the nipples persist. A sentence I never thought I would write, but the future is hardly calculable.
Other miscellanious notes that relate to the feapole family web: - Deeges are the most recent mutation. The 'Speaker in forehead' gene only cropped up in the past thousand years or so; As a result, the Deege population is the smallest of all the feapoles. Some Deege have small enough speaker indents that they can be hidden by their fur, and those who do are often misunderstood to be very strange mammotts. - Werdos are an odd bunch. Much less of a subspecies and much more 'four people who got won the genetic lottery'. They have the large size of their Prefeapolean ancestors, but thats where the similarities end. Werdo antlers are more structurally similar to horns than anything, not to mention they've got the hand poofs of a pompom... made of anything *but* fur! Don't even get me started on the magical voices that can reach human ears, they're [SWEAR WORD]ed. - What visually sets Poms & Hoolas aside from their other feapolean cousins is their peculiar bare limbs. This attribute is a direct result of the climate they spawned in. Dry environments like plains and savannahs lend themselves great to ticks, fleas and other parasitic bugs; And the Feapole's thick fur turned out to be the perfect breeding ground. Rather than leave the area they'd grown to live in, Poms & Hoolas started scratching off the infected fur on their limbs, some going as far to pull the fur out as it grew to prevent any bites. This got to the point where the bugs that were routinely attacking them went extinct, so the violent hairdressing was no longer needed. But even to this day, the fur on their limbs grows short and ribbed, a visual reminder of what they once had to tussle with.
Also to completely disregard everything I’ve just said what if they had four nipples because that’s the size of a typical mammott litter. Like pigs, or dogs. I’m so tired - I’ve done away with the element system that means the breeding system is out too. This is calvinball except every time i let go of the ball it ricochets back into my own face and noone notices.
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Hello? Can anyone read this?
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[[Psst, read the OOC intro here]]
Okay, I think this might actually get through. My name is Kaycee, Kaycee Niles. I'm currently trapped in a place called Gregory House, so I might as well tell you how I got there.
I was wandering through the woods, I was out camping to try and get away from the city. That's when a thick fog came and I sorta lost my way. I ended up in the graveyard outside some sorta Hotel/Asylum called Gregory House (Odd name, but eh. Beggars can't be choosers...Can they?). I walked in to find it surprisingly clean. That's when my eyes were draw to there figures.
They looked an awful lot like rats, but they looked human at the same time. One was wearing a pink bathrobe over a black and red shirt, one was wearing a red and yellow tee and the last one was wearing a white crop-top with red and grey stains on it. The bathrobe one spoke up first
Bathrobe Rat: Welcome to Gregory House...So seem to be out late, which is unusual...I thought the guests hated the night.
Smoking Rat: Are you trying to scare guests away? Sorry, he's not very used to guests at this hour. I'm Rosa, he's Gregory and the halfpint's James...We're the Horusho family.
Gregory: And the owners of this lovely place! hee-hee-hee
Rosa: ...It would've been more lovely if everything didn't want your skin...
Well at least I got their names at least.
Gregory: What's your name, dear?
Me:...Kaycee, Kaycee Niles. I was gathering fire wood when I found this place.
Gregory: Well then, you don't mind staying do you, Kaycee? You look awfully tired...
Me: You could say that, yeah a room would be nice.
I was walked to my room, surprisingly cosy. I liked it. I found an old computer outside of my room with a letter:
"To Mr/Ms. who ever finds this sack of crap,
Hope you use this more than I did...Or use it as a paperweight, I don't fucking care at this point
---The guy from Room 207 Wherever the hell I am now"
Abrasive...But a free computers a free computer, I guess! I'm a little weary of the person who left it there, they seem a bit temperamental.
So i guess that's it for my introduction post, I'll update if something happens
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that's all good!!! i haven't mentioned it on there very announcement-like bc i kind of like. did not want certain people to come follow me over here?? anyway volunteering on a farm sounds so fun!!! and yess school prep. i am... Not prepared haha it's going to be so hectic.
and oh!!! i hope u enjoy! i watched it with my family and the plot was immensely confusing but i am glad u've gotten so much cultural rep <3
that is fair and YES!! this is my fifth year on the farm first 3 years i did programs last 2 i volunteered it is so fun i love it there it is my home away from home it is so cool and i love it there. also in a few years i can actually get Paid to work there which. i think i deserve it at this point ive been there longer than everyone in the education department except for Maybe one person.... i digress. but its cool i get to work w bunnies and chickens and goats and pull up Endless Weeds and renovate rabbit hutches and clean up Endless amounts of animal poop and harvest crops and help set up the place where they sell their veggies and work with kids doing summer camps i love the farm so much :DDDD however. school. abhorred. im honestly quite optimistic abt this year but also. i am not Ready to go back and have commitments and be forced to interact with my peers..... shudders..... and have to be a functional member of society again. why must i function is it not enough to smile whenever it rains or is sunny and to stop and smell the flowers
YEAHHHH! i finished it today and i did like it a lot :) also bc of the content of ms marvel i think that when we call my nani tomorrow we will ask her for her partition story bc my mom hasnt heard it and neither have i and. yeah. its quite a Story for everyone who lived through it huh. so that'll be something i think i'm excited it's good to know those family stories right
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dollycas · 1 year
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In Farm's Way: An Organic Cozy Mystery (Farm to Table Mysteries) by Amanda Flower #Review / #Giveaway @aflowerwriter @PPPress
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In Farm's Way: An Organic Cozy Mystery (Farm to Table Mysteries) Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series Setting - Michigan Poisoned Pen Press (February 24, 2023) Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 312 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1492699977 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1492699972 Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09Z7C5S4F
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When the biggest catch at the annual Ice Fishing Derby is the body of brewmaster Wallace, Shiloh must reel in the killer before her farm goes belly-up.  Shiloh Bellamy still expects the last few Winter months to be busy with repairs, spring planning, and networking with local businesses. She might even be able to broker a new partnership with Fields Brewery and its organic brewer's association. Well, she could if the owner, Wallace, wasn't found murdered at the county Ice Fishing Derby. Once again, Shiloh gets tangled up in the investigation when the police ignore an entire crop of suspects to blame one of her friends. She'll have to dig deep to find the truth, reel in a killer, and convince her city-slicker pug to wear his winter boots. But with Bellamy Farm still struggling, can Shiloh spare the time to look into the town's fishy characters? Or will her dream farm be the next thing floating belly up? Dollycas's Thoughts Winter in Cherry Glen means plenty of ice, snow, and slippery roads. It also means the annual Lake Skegemon Ice Fishing Derby. Shi's dad Sully will be out on the ice with Quinn and Hazel. This year it also means a contest at Fields' Brewing Company to name a new brewmaster. Each contestant had to enter a cherry beer. Shiloh has plenty to keep her busy trying to come up with ways to save the family farm but her best friend Kristy's husband Kent is one of the finalists in the contest so she had to go to the party. Kristy thought for sure his cherry stout would win but when owner Wallace Fields announced the winner it wasn't Kent. The next day Shiloh arrives at the derby to drop her father off and work in the Cherry Glen booth with Kristy. She gets waylaid on her way to the booth when her pug Huckleberry drags her over to see something under the ice. It's Wallace Fields and he won't be catching any fish or brewing any more beer.  The police quickly place Kent at the top of the suspect list which means Shiloh is going to have to break a lot of ice to get them to take a look at a bunch of other suspects. She has to be careful too or she could be the next one swimming with the fishes. My heart was just breaking for Shiloh several times during this story. She is working so hard to keep the family farm and make the repairs it needs. Going organic may be the answer but it's a long process.  That is a lot of weight on her shoulders. Then her relationship with her father has not improved much at all. Seeing him have a great relationship with Hazel makes things even harder. She is happy they are friends and have fun together, she just wishes for a similar relationship with him herself. Then there is Quinn, who put Shi firmly in the friend zone when they would be great as a couple raising Hazel together. He is going to be sorry if she moves on with someone else. All of Ms. Flowers's characters are interesting with great real-life connections. I do love Shiloh's pug, Huckleberry. He and my dog have a lot in common when it comes to proper attire for canines in the winter months. Too Funny. Three stories in and I am very invested in these characters. There were several viable suspects when it comes to the brewery owner's death. I really enjoyed the way Shiloh threw herself into her investigation, even if it did put her into some tricky situations. The police warned her several times to butt out of their case. As they predicted her pursuit of the truth took an ugly turn that set up a scary reveal. It gave me chills. The guilty party was not on my radar at all. Readers were introduced to several new characters in this book and my focus was cleverly diverted to a different one by the author. Winter in Michigan is pretty darn similar to that in Wisconsin. So the weather outside my window was the same as it was at the derby and the Bellamy farm.  A nice furry blanket, a Christmas present from my daughter-in-law, and a couple of cups of hot chocolate kept me warm and toasty as I read about the frigid weather in Cherry Glen and the surrounding area. In Farm's Way was full of cherry beer and winter fun, a captivating mystery, and true-to-life characters. I really enjoyed the entire story. There are some more interesting times ahead for Shiloh so I am counting the days until I can return to Cherry Glen and the Bellamy Farm next year.
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Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
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About the Author Amanda Flower, a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over twenty-five cozy mystery novels, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth-grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words. In addition to being an author, Amanda is a former librarian with fifteen years of experience in Northeast Ohio. Author Links: Website  Pen Name Website     Facebook    Twitter    Goodreads    Pinterest
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Also by Amanda Flower
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Coming May 23, 2023
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Coming October 24, 2023
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nightleaf001 · 1 year
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I posted this on my Facebook (only for irl friends and family) but I wanna post it here too, I got really into talking about  how I did the art process on my Neptune piece. This is only how I did one drawing, but I wanna share it because I think it’s so cool.
1. MS PAINT START
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Pretty self explanitory. I get super perfectionist on other program so MS Paint is a good place to start because I lose my perfectionism there for some reason. I do my sketching, first lineart and first coloring there. Lumine’s lines are colored as you can see, and the coloring is sadly a but inconsistient with one spot being more red. Her eye lineart is also colored. 
2. MOVE TO KRITA
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I basically trace over and recolor the ms paint drawin in krita, refining it and putting the coloring and lineart on different layers, I also put the eye’s coloring and lineart on it’s own pair of layers.
I also make adjustments to the expression, anatomy and design where I see fit. I was gonna add the darker color in the flower still but I actually just forgot about it. Her line color for her fur is now consistientm and her eye lineart, while still colored, is much darker, which in my opinion looks much better. I used Krita for the rest of this piece.
3. MAKING THE BACKGROUND PART 1
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Pretty self explanitory, I begin my background. I expanded the canvas size and all of Lumine’s pieces in a group layer and moved it. Just basic blobs, but I ended up detailing the sky a bit. There is a loud brush on Krita, but I like how the watercolor brus looked more, I used a handful of layers to make it. 
3. MAKING THE BACKGROUND PART 2
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Same thing kinda but more additions. I used a waves brush tool for most of the water, using a handful of layers to get the look I wanted but I thought the water looked too flat so I started adding more waves.  I also detailed the sky a bit more, and added grass.  I want to make an entire post about how I did the grass but I didn’t take screenshots. So stay tuned for that, next time I have a piece where grass is involved.  3. MAKING THE BACKGROUND PART 3
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Not super important but I had this screenshot of more waves.  4. MY FAILED SHADING ATTEMPT
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I struggled with the shading at first and my first idea was not good but I wanted to share it. I used a blue-grey color and used multiply for it, which is what I still do for my good shading.  It’s important to see that sometimes you have an attempt at something that doesn’t go well and you have to start over, this does not mean you’re a bad artist. You’re just human.  I also just cropped it so Lumine’s little bubble self underneath is no longer visible. I probably should have just moved her but that’s alright, we all make mistakes, and even finished pieces have errors. But thankfully this was a minor one and more down to my personal opinion. 
4. MY SECOND SHADING ATTEMPT
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A lot simplier than my first try, this one was instantly better as a starting point. I just slapped the whole character with the blue-grey I used from before and then on a different layer grabbed a lighter shade of blue-grey and put the luminosity fliter over it. I put both layers over my lineart. She’s now starting to look like she belongs in this piece.  5. MORE SHADING AND RAIN
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I added more shading which I think looks good, exact same method from before with the same shade of blue and the multiply tool, just less shaded.  I also added rain. There’s a dots tool on Krita so I used that to put in the rain and added motion blurr to varying degrees.  I didn’t take screenshots sadly but I added a layer underneath the water for the first rain, making the dots super tiny, and i made the motion blur on the very little. The second layer is over the water, slightly bigger with more motion blur, I made sure all drops were still going in the same direction.  And the last layer is in front of the water, bigger dots with more motion blur. I did this to hopefully give the illusion of depth.  6. MORE RAIN
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I added rain in front of Lumine. And made her fur look wet by adding squiggily white lines, using the same shade I used for the rain, and adjusting the opacity. 
I probably could’ve added a few little dots in the wter to look lish splashes from the rain at this stage, but I forgot to.  7. SHADING, RAIN, AND EYES, OH MY
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So I adjusted the opacity of my rain squiggilies (maybe a bit too much if you want my honest opinion) and put in highlighted rain bits.  I added more shading, first just a big gradient over it for a big shadow at low opacity, and then some more refined soft shadows. I also added some purple-red shaddows in some areas to add depth. The eyes are a bit complicated because I barely remeber what I did there, all O reember was using the blur tool and the luminosity filter a lot and using a good  handful of layers for the eyes and the tears. 8. OVERLAY AND BLUR HACKING
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If you take away anything from this, use overlay and blur tools. I used a blue overlay for the whole piece. In fact, I used multiple overlay layers, one for lighting and two for everything else, it ended up being more blue than I intitially intended, but I like how it looks so not a problem.  I worried the background and it’s amount of details would overpower the focus od the peice, so I blurred everything in the background by a low amount. I think it worked but I’m still not entirely sure. 
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moholoholo · 1 year
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Moholoholo Forest Camp
They might have photos of South Africa Northeast and their respective venues and you will also have the power to contact the establishment on to make on-line bookings and enquiries for a place to remain. On 20 February 1998 Ann Cheater was despatched by the NSPCA from Johannesburg to Pretoria to investigate moholoholo forest camp complaints laid by the "Rehabilitation Council" against Wings in Need, a wild chook hospital and rehabilitation centre in Pretoria. She was accompanied by Jacques van der Merwe of the Pretoria SPCA. The complaints were that a dikkop’s leg had been splinted with out an anaesthetic and that there was a fish eagle in a foul condition.
From Graskop you drive by way of the Lowveld to the world-famous animal park where its visitors can expertise the wonders of African nature. From the safety of your car you'll be able to spot many breeds of antelope, lions, monkeys, elephants, rhino, giraffes, hippos, buffalo, wildebeest and in case you are very fortunate you might even catch a glimpse of a leopard or cheetah! Not forgetting the various sorts of birds, insects and crops to determine too. I stayed in a single day at the reserve on my means from Thohoyandou to Lydenburg. The greeting and welcoming was done in a very pleasant and skilled method and made me really feel welcome.
Across the road from Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve, this informal guesthouse is 7 km from Glenashley Beach and 12 km from Beachwood Mangrove Nature Reserve. The route also takes you through the historical town of Pilgrim's Rest. Animal species to count on along the route are klipspringer, dassies, grey rhebok, oribi, kudu, bushbuck, bushpig and monkeys. White water rafting is a well-liked exercise in the close by Sabie River. Rafting typically takes place on the decrease course of the river and members of various age teams are welcome. Come and benefit from the recent and clean waters of Sabie River.
Is thought of to be some of the geographically diverse and unbelievably lovely locations in South Africa. People are drawn to Mpumalanga by the magnificent surroundings, fauna and flora and by the saga of the 1870s gold rush period and a wealth of fascinating tribal legends. Mountains, panoramic passes, valleys, rivers, waterfalls and forests characterise the landscape. Both Councils were formed primarily with the goal of selling the pursuits of the said individuals and to harass certain different people and organisations in the wildlife rehabilitation community. In 2003 I determined to take up the matter once more with Ms Scarth.
Please note that this has had an affect on the value of living, so prices for accommodation, travel and food is not as low cost as it used to be. Consider getting your visa beforehand or in the main capital in Swaziland as it is a lot cheaper than on the border! Alongside the coast are lovely spots to aqua dive, snorkel or swim, where you'll be able to meet with dolphins, manta rays and even turtles.
These facilities are for the exclusive use of our Forest Camp friends. Please see Forest Camp Facilities below for additional information. Our rustic and comfortable moholoholo forest camp lodging aims to supply visitors with a sense of being at one with the forest setting.
We loved the quiet environment, view of mountain and informative guided bush stroll. Chef Ann out did herself in offering gluten free meals, she made our dinners and breakfasts exiting! We left Shikwari feeling like we are leaving family behind and will certainly return to this lovely place. 2 rondavels with a “Bush Bathroom” - outdoor moholoholo forest camp bathe, coated bathroom & basin & 2 rondavels share a separate full toilet and out of doors shower. All beds supply luxurious percale linen & towels are equipped.
In the tip, Moholoholo was sponsored by Rotary Club to construct Stoffel a brick home. Yet, after just a few hours in his new residence, he escaped once more – despite the workers attempting totally different measures to stop his escape. In quick, a human-imprinted honey badger can be a problem in captivity. However, Stoffel the honey badger will stay liked by all at Moholoholo, and for all who come to visit the centre. Moholoholo Wildlife Sanctuary is likely considered one of the few places in South Africa where you probably can get up shut and personal with massive cats, wild canine, rhinos, giraffes and lots of extra. A go to to Moholoholo will permit you to learn about conservation efforts in South Africa whereas getting up shut and private with these wonderful creatures.
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thebibliosphere · 5 years
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I dunno about all y’all but I am absolutely loving living in the future where medical science is finally starting to get to a point where chronic conditions and diseases once thought to be “mental weakness” or, given how MS predominately effects women more than men, “hysterics”, (and then largely for the last 40-80 years “we dunno but this shit is legit”) are finally being picked apart out in the open and hey, actually, it looks like it’s a mixture of genetics, environmental factors and a whacked out immuno-response to various different pathogens setting the body off on a self-destructive spiral. Neat!
Isn’t that neat? Isn’t it nice to think that maybe in the next few decades, armed with this knowledge, there might be a solution for shit like this?
What a time to be alive.
Fuck yeah.
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hoodie-2 · 2 years
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Part 3 of my Encanto au (name is still in the workshop but I am open to suggestions)
Anyway Mirabel's turn!
The first night away from Casita, Mirabel took shelter beneath the bridge from a storm either conjured by Pepa or by nature's perfect timing. The next day is calm and clear and the first breath she took was the smoothest, sweetest breath Mirabel took in her entire life.
She got strange looks for her damp and dirty clothes and whispers suggested frightful rumors about last nights failed proposal. Making a mental note to apologize to Mariano once she has gotten settled, she goes about offering help to whoever needed it.
Her usual tasks involved child tending, which today involved a lot of questions on where her family was, what happened, why haven't they come to town yet, and mama and papa said this or that but my auntie said no and his uncle's friend said something else and Mariano's nose looks like a bruise peach. She tried to answer the questions as vaguely as possible seeing as it was not her business to speak on behalf of her family. She manages to keep them busy and distracted enough until their parents called them home for supper, some offered an empty seat at their tables or an open bed in payment but she declines saying bread and a fruit would be sufficient enough before returning to the bridge.
It goes on like that for several days as the Madrigals stay cooped up in Casita, once in a while someone would be nominated to go check on them then come back being told that they were fine and will be returning to work any day. Afterward Maribel would be pressed if they words had any weight to them to longer her family stayed away.
"If that is what Abuela said, then it will be." She would reply. In the meantime Mirabel was the one called on to help with chores (almost everything short of moving buildings and crying rain down upon the crops). More and more of the villagers begin to worry about her health, seeing as her clothes were becoming rags and it was no secret she lived under the bridge.
They try to be discreet when telling her to take a break, asking her to keep them company with snacks and drinks. Offering to mend her skirts or to make her something new as payment for her hard work. Even the kids take part in helping with her chores, although with less discretion.
A day comes when Maribel runs into the Gúzmans (is that the right spelling??). Ms. Gúzman is easily miffed at the sight of the Madrigal girl that ruined her son's proposal while Mariano looked... concerned. Eying over his was-to-be sister-in-law, how dirty and unkempt she looked despite her awkward smile. He asks if she is okay.
And like the cracks she saw in Casita's tiles, Mirabel cracked too, breaking down into tears and apologies for ruining the proposal and everything else, saying he should talk to Isabela because there are things he should know but she [Mirabel] can't say. It takes some time to calm her down, he kinda of just lets her ramble on incoherently, one hand on her back and continuously nodding like he understood.
Like the softie he is, and with much convincing to his mother, he insists that Mirabel should stay with them. Mirabel tries to refuse but he isn't having it. His argument being that no young woman should sleep without a roof much less the sister of his beloved.
The rest of the townspeople take this opportunity to gift Mirabel with clothes, soaps, perfumes, crafting supplies, anything for all her hardships. Many of them saying that they shouldn't have relied on her family so much, that it wasn't a surprise that they decided to hide away just to get a break. Mirabel could only smile weakly, thinking of her sisters, her aunt and mama, her cousins. Antonio hadn't even gotten to use his Gift for the town yet.
She gets told to take some time to herself and settle in, taking away everything that kept her busy and distracted, and Ms. Gúzman refusing any help with the housework -still a bit miffed. Mirabel turns to her craft work, her old hobby. She's a little rusty but once she gets into it her work table is quickly filled with plush animals and a few dolls with prettily embroidered clothes. The kids would love the toys.
With permission to borrow a basket she takes the toys into town, talking and laughing with her new neighbors along the way. In no time Mirabel is swarmed with children all compliment her new clothes, some of the older ones awing about how pretty she was. When she started passing out the toys she made the crowd of children grew, some adults even looking their way with curiosity, soon enough she had one left over. Watching pleased at how the children ran off with each other starting different games to involve their new toys.
She decided to take a stroll around town, dodging out of the way of kids chasing each other in "hunting" games. Turning one corner she spots a young couple... but one of them Mirabel could have sworn seeing just earlier talking to the baker.
The longer she watched, unnoticed by the pair, she caught on to familiar habits the one made.
"Camilo?" She called out, slowly approaching them.
The startled look she got proved her theory right, as her disguised cousin tried to refuse it. Mirabel eyed over his companion (guy, girl, take your pick) briefly before looking back to Camilo even less convinced than when he started talking.
"Cami, calm down," her expression softened at him as he shifted to his normal form, guilt in his face. Mirabel looks to Camilo's "friend" and back again. "You should be more careful, disguised or not, rumors will spread."
They both look at her startled and embarrassed. Camilo relaxed first, a weakly humored smile on his face. "You... you won't tell right?"
"Who would I tell?" She asked. "And what would I tell them?"
His smile fell with guilt, his eyes falling to the ground. "Right... Casita misses you, we miss you too."
Mirabel pulls her cousin into a tight hug, it takes him a bit to return it, his face pressing into her neck when he does. "I miss you guys too." She whispers to him.
After a minute or so of catching up, Camilo switching to another disguise, Mirabel gives him the last toy, a plush parrot, for Antonio and a letter.
"Ask him to give it to the rats in the walls," she says with a wink, "they will know what to do with it."
He takes the items confused but nods nonetheless.
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A Memory Locked In The Heart - Spencer Reid x fem! Reader
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A/N - Requested by the lovely @overduelibrarybooks I hope this was the kind of thing you were looking for!
Find my masterlist here.
My taglists are open and requests are open.
Requested: Yes l No
Request: "could u ever write a spencer reid x reader where reader def works for the cia but more as a translator who’s kinda forced into doing agenty things in order to gather intel and on a mandated break she finds out the UNSUB before the team does so she uses herself as bait, and shoots the guy all very badass fashion n then gets interrogated bc ms girl just shot him coldblood and halfway thru she recognizes spencer bc her mother and his mom lived in the same care facility??? idk sorry my mom has paranoid too so it just hits different but u don’t have to write this if u don’t want to i love ur writing <3"
CW: disclaimer: I know next to nothing about the CIA and what they investigate so please go easy on me here. This is all made up so hopefully it makes some kind of sense. Mentions of violence and sex work, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, some swears. Mentions of drug use and overdose. Spanish used towards the end is from Google Translate so I apologise if it isn’t completely accurate. Italics indicate flashbacks.
Plot: Eighteen years ago you met a boy named Spencer Reid whilst visiting your mother at Bennington Sanitorium. This time you are meeting under entirely different circumstances; across the table of an interrogation room.
WC: 5.3K
—————————————————————
How did I end up here?
That was a question you kept asking yourself as you rolled into your third hour of sitting in that cold, dimly lit interrogation room at the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.
Well you supposed you’d have to go back to the beginning to truly work that out.
The CIA and FBI joint task force for a country wide sex trafficking ring they believed to be operating out of DC.
When your team at the CIA had started investigating it was estimated that the ring had close to a hundred women who had been abducted and forced into the sex industry.
A lot of women were believed to have been taken trying to cross the border. Your job as a translator had involved spending a lot of time in Mexico, helping interview witnesses and family members who didn’t speak English.
The FBI involvement had come when women believed to have been part of the trafficking ring started turning up dead.
At last count they were up to twenty bodies. The Behavioural Analyst Unit had given their profile of the man they believed to be running the show.
White male in his mid to late forties. Bilingual. Possibly born in Mexico or an area surrounding the border but grew up in DC, they assumed based on his knowledge of the area. He’s attractive, charming and has a good level of education, he’d need to be able to charm the women into trusting him. He doesn’t have a full time job because he wouldn’t have time for one. All his time and focus goes on his girls. He was tech savvy, incredibly so, he’d have to be, to be able to set up the network on the dark web which enabled his customers to pay for his services.
It hadn’t been going well. Bodies kept dropping and the task force was no closer to catching the person responsible.
This went on for six months. Everyone was exhausted. You kept hitting brick wall after brick wall. It was demoralising.
Your boss had called for mandated time off. You’d all argued but she had been absolutely adamant. You’d all been working yourselves to the bone and she didn’t want you burnt out entirely.
You’d argued but your words had fallen on deaf ears.
“Can I get you a glass of water or something?”
The voice startled you out of your thoughts. You looked up to see the lanky, messy haired agent who called himself Doctor Reid, sticking his head through the door.
“Is coffee an option?”
He smiled brightly at you, a smile you swear you’ve seen before.
“Coffee is always an option.” He told you. “How do you take it?”
“Strong and black. Please.”
“I’ll be right back.”
With that the door closed leaving you to your thoughts once more.
There was something so familiar about the Doctor. His dark yet sparkling eyes, his awkward smile and the way he dressed. You couldn’t place it. But there was definitely something about him that stirred some memory buried deep in your brain. You just weren’t sure what it was.
He returned a few minutes later, bringing your coffee into the room and placing it on the table in front of you.
“Hopefully you won’t be stuck here too much longer. It’s just standard procedure.” he spoke sweetly, his voice stirring the hidden memory.
“Yeah I know. I get it.” you sighed as you spoke, wrapping your hands around the coffee. “Thank you for this.”
“You’re welcome.” he smiled before he started backing out of the room. You wished you could ask him to stay because you felt so much more at ease with him around. But you knew you couldn’t.
He turned to you in the doorway.
“You look cold in that.” He smiled a little sadly at you.
You’d forgotten about your outfit choice. No self respecting CIA agent dressed like you were right now.
“I guess I am a little.” You shrugged.
Spencer instantly shrugged his blazer off of his shoulders and laid it in front of you on the table.
“Thank you Doctor Reid.” you spoke again before he disappeared out the door.
“Goodbye Agent Y/L/N.”
The door closed, his voice reverberating in your ears, dragging you into a long forgotten memory.
As you slipped his jacket on, your eyes fluttered closed, his scent wafting up your nose.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Spencer. Spencer Reid.”
“Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N.”
Your eyes shot back open, a frown on your face.
“Spencer?” you muttered under your breath. “Spencer Reid.”
Where had you pulled that name from? And why did it feel oddly connected to Vegas?
You tried to push the thought away, you already had enough on your mind. There were much more pressing things to deal with than a vague memory from your hometown an undetermined amount of time ago.
***
You’d been instructed to switch off. Your time off should be used to recoup, relax and not to think about the case.
Easier said than done you thought.
Before you’d left the office on your mandated leave you’d taken photocopies of some files and slipped them into your bag. You knew you’d be in trouble if you were caught but you couldn’t help yourself. You wouldn’t be able to relax with this case still open.
As far as you were aware the BAU was still working on it but it provided you little comfort. In your time with the CIA you’d never gotten to be involved so heavily in a case. Your skills were mostly utilised in interview capacities and then you were sidelined.
You’d never had the privilege to work on a joint task force or investigate a crime so brutal.
You felt personally invested in this case. You thought if you could just find that one missing puzzle piece you could crack this case wide open.
And then you’d found it. The golden ticket. The smoking gun. The missing piece.
It had taken five days of your leave and copious amounts of coffee but you’d connected the dots no one else had.
You knew how to draw the unsub out. And you were going to do it tonight.
***
“Let’s start again from the beginning shall we?” Agent Rossi linked his fingers together on top of the table as he looked across at you, still slowly sipping your coffee.
“Oh goody.” You sighed. “Could Agent Jareau not fill you in what I’ve already told her?”
“Humour me.” The old man shrugged.
You didn’t have any ill will against him. Far from it. You were actually a big fan of David Rossi. But you were sick and tired of being treated like a criminal.
“Tell me how you managed to work out how to find him.”
You took another long sip of the coffee.
“All the pieces were there, they just hadn’t been put into place.”
“And how did you piece them together?”
“There was a pattern to where the women had been last seen. It was a guess more than anything. A lucky guess.”
“And the pattern was?”
You sighed in frustration.
“As I told agent Jareau,” you sipped your coffee. “The bars they were last seen in all had ties to Mexico. I’m not a native to DC but I know the area like the back of my hand. They were all either Mexican owned, had a Mexican name or were previously establishments such as Mexican restaurants. I made an educated guess that he frequented places such as these looking for his targets. I just got lucky I picked the right one.”
***
You felt incredibly exposed, but you supposed that was the point.
If you were going to get this guy's attention, you had to do this right.
It was a long shot. Just because Western’s bar was known for its famous tacos did not mean it would be the place he chose to pick up girls.
You just had to hope.
You wore a skimpy skirt that barely covered your ass, knee high boots and a crop top that accentuated your assets.
Your firearm was hidden in your left boot.
Your outfit garnered a lot of looks as you headed through Westerns towards the bar.
You felt men’s eyes on you from every angle, making you feel extremely self conscious. But you needed to keep your cool, exude confidence.
If your guy was here he needed to see you shine.
You ordered a soda to keep your head clear and sat at a table over the far side of the bar. From there you had a good view of the entrance and most of the room. And more importantly, the room had a view of you.
Three hours you sat there nursing your soda. It was a huge stab in the dark, you weren’t really surprised.
You finished your drink and headed out onto the cool DC street.
You made it five steps before you felt a presence behind you.
Just as you were about to turn, something covered your mouth.
You struggled against a pair of strong arms.
A smell wafted up your nose seconds before you lost consciousness.
Chloroform.
***
“Why didn’t you tell your unit chief before you went in?”
“Because I thought it was a long shot.” And because she would have been furious I was working the case.
“So you chose to use yourself as bait?”
“Yes.” You shrugged nonchalantly.
“Do you know how dangerous that could have been?” Rossi raised an eyebrow at you.
You had to refrain from rolling your eyes.
“Yes agent Rossi, I’m well aware. But I had a lead and I wasn’t going to ignore it.” You pulled Doctor Reid’s jacket tighter around your scantily clad body.
You caught his scent again. Coffee. Old books. A hint of peppermint.
Another long shut off memory wormed it’s way to the surface.
“So are you here visiting someone?”
“Yeah.” You smiled sadly. “My mom.”
“Oh.” He returned your sad smile. “Me too.”
“Agent Y/L/N?”
You were brought back by Rossi’s concerned voice.
“Hmm?”
“I said, what happened next? You were chloroformed and then what?”
You shook your head, your mind clouded.
“Can we take a break? I could really use some air.”
Rossi sighed with a small nod.
He stood from his chair and motioned you to follow him.
You got some odd looks from his fellow agents as he led you to the elevators. They all recognised what you were wearing as Spencer’s jacket.
You followed Rossi into the elevator and he pressed the button for the ground floor.
“Agent Rossi, can I ask you a strange question?” You asked as the doors closed.
He gave you a curious look.
“I suppose.”
“Doctor Reid. As in Spencer Reid?”
“The one and only.” Rossi frowned unsure what you were getting at.
“Where is he from?”
Rossi’s frown deepened, not sure he should tell you such things about his team. But you were an agent and you didn’t pose a threat to the team.
“Vegas I believe.”
Vegas. Of course.
“Ok.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I don’t know.” You chewed your lip. “I think I might have known him.”
“Oh?”
You wished you hadn’t opened your mouth. This was not the time or place.
“I’m probably wrong. Just forget I said anything.”
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. As you stepped out you pulled Spencer’s collar to your nose and sniffed it.
No you weren’t wrong.
***
Las Vegas, Nevada - 1999
“Hi again.” You smiled at the lanky man, Spencer you’d met a few days ago. “How’s your mom?”
“Still angry at me.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and stubbed the toe of his shoe on the floor.
“She came in recently?”
“Yeah a few months ago. I turned eighteen and I was able to have her put into care.” He blanched, clearly feeling guilty for his decision.
“Do you want to grab a coffee?”
“Uhm sure.” He shrugged.
He followed you through to the day room. It was late and there were only a few patients inside and a few nurses milling around.
You got two cups of coffee from the machine and the two of you sat at a table together.
“Do you mind me asking what’s wrong with your mom?” You dared as you slid him the drink.
He sighed heavily, gnawing on his bottom lip as though his life depended on it.
“She’s a paranoid schizophrenic.” He spoke clinically, words he’d had to say too many times in his life. It was as though he’d distanced himself from it. Like he was giving a patient a diagnosis rather than talking about his own mother.
“Mine too.” You gave him a wry smile. You had something in common, just not something you would like to have in common.
“How long has your mom been here?”
“Three years. She got really bad and my dad couldn’t take care of her anymore. She’s been doing much better since she moved in here.”
“That’s good.” Spencer nodded. “I hope my mom realises I did this for her. For her well being. At the moment she’s just so...angry.”
You reached across the table and placed your hand on top of his. He seemed a little startled by the physical touch but you didn’t move your hand.
“This is the best place for her. I assume from what you said earlier your dad isn’t in the picture?”
He used his free hand to sip his coffee with a sad shake of his head.
“He left when I was ten. He couldn’t handle mom's illness.”
You gave his hand a small squeeze.
“I can’t imagine what it was like for you to have to look after her by yourself. It was hard enough with my dad there. Really makes you grow up fast.”
“It really does.” He agreed. “I’m not sure I ever got to be a kid.”
“I know that feeling.”
After that you spent hours chatting about anything and everything until way into the night. It wasn’t until a nurse came and asked you politely to leave that you realised how late it was.
“I’ll probably see you around?” You spoke as you stepped outside together.
“Maybe. In a few weeks I’m heading out of state. I’m working on a PhD.” He didn’t want to tell you it was actually his second PhD.
“Oh. Ok.” You tried to hide the disappointment from your voice.
Despite the circumstances you’d enjoyed talking to someone like minded, someone who understood. You didn’t have anyone else your own age you could talk to about this kind of thing.
“Maybe we could exchange numbers?” You blushed a little.
“I don’t have a cellphone.” He shrugged.
“Oh.”
“It’s not an excuse.” He sensed you didn’t believe him. “I’m not so into technology. I don’t even have email.”
Normally you would have thought it was just a bad excuse to get out of seeing you again but the look on Spencer’s face told you he was being genuine.
“Ok.” You gave him a shy smile. “Well maybe I’ll see you again before you leave.”
“I hope so.” His eyes sparkled as he looked at you on the dark street.
There was an air between you, some kind of thick tension but you didn’t know what it meant.
“If I don’t see you again,” you spoke trying to ignore whatever it was. “It was really good to meet you and I hope your mom gets used to the facility.”
“You too.” He smiled so genuinely at you, it made your heart skip a beat.
And then you went your separate ways.
***
“Ok, so what happened next?” Rossi wasted no time once you were back in the interrogation room.
“Well I blacked out after I was chloroformed so excuse me if I don’t remember.” You gave him a sarcastic smile.
“What’s the next thing you do remember?” He reworded his question.
“I woke up in a large basement. It was gritty and dingy. And there were other women there too.”
“How many?”
“At least twenty.” You sighed letting your mind travel back to the basement you never wanted to go back to. Not even in your mind.
***
You woke with a start, your head pounding. You gasped for air as though you’d been drowning.
You blinked your eyes trying to adjust to the dark room you found yourself in.
It was cold and damp and you could hear a pipe dripping in the distance.
You tried to roll over but your arm wouldn’t budge. You were met by a loud clanking sound when you tried.
You tugged your arm, hearing the same sound and being met with a sharp pain in your wrist.
“Good luck.” A woman’s voice scoffed. “They don’t come loose.”
You blinked a few more times, looking over to your left arm. There was a heavy metal cuff right around your wrist that was attached to a metal bed frame.
That’s when you realised you were laying on a small cot on top of a ratty, itchy blanket. You were still dressed, thank god.
You suddenly remembered your firearm concealed in your boot. You patted your left calf and sure enough you felt the hard weapon still inside.
That was something at least.
Oversight on their part.
You remembered the voice you’d heard before and turned as much as you could with your arm cuffed to take in the rest of the room.
There were at least forty other cots close together lining the walls, with at least half of them containing the body of other women.
The voice you’d heard belonged to a woman in the cot next to you. She gave you a smile but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Her eyes were broken.
“Hi,” you croaked. “I’m Y/N.”
“Delilah.” Her accent was Spanish. You were sure Delilah wasn’t her real name either.
“How long have you been here?”
She sighed, playing with a strand of curly black hair.
“What month is it?”
“September.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “Not that long then. I’ve been here since July.” She looked confused as though that couldn’t be long enough.
“Delilah?” You narrowed your eyes on her. “What year do you think it is?”
“2018…” she saw your face drop and knew instantly it was no longer 2018.
“Oh gosh.” You felt for her, tears welling in your eyes. “It’s 2020.”
“Oh.” Her face fell. “Wow.”
“It’s ok.” You lowered your voice. “I’m CIA. I’m going to get us out of here. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”
***
“Delilah.” Rossi opened the file in front of him. “Was that Roberta Suez?”
He pulled out a photograph and slid it across the table. You averted your gaze.
“Yes and please I don’t need to see it, I was there.”
“How did she end up in hospital fighting for her life?”
“You know how.” You huffed. “Look I’m starting to get fed up with this now.” You folded your arms. “Carlos Ramirez was a sick son of a bitch. If I hadn’t done what I did he would have killed all those women. I don’t regret what I did.”
“How did she end up in hospital?” He repeated.
“Good lord.” You grumbled. “I’ll talk but I don’t want to talk to you.”
Rossi narrowed his eyes on you.
“No? But I’m so compassionate.” He spoke sarcastically.
“I won’t say another word unless it’s to Reid.” You looked up to the two way mirror. You didn’t know why but you had a feeling he was there.
Sure enough it was barely twenty seconds before the door opened and Doctor Reid himself stepped in the room.
“I got this Rossi.” Spencer told the older man who stood up with a shrug.
Rossi left the room while Spencer took the seat he’d been occupying.
Did he remember you? It had been close to twenty years since you’d last seen each other. Had it not been for the olfactory memory that struck you when you put on his jacket you might never have remembered him.
But you knew the rest of his team was behind the two way glass, or at least some of them were so it didn’t seem an appropriate time to ask such things.
“So agent Y/L/N,” he smiled softly at you. “Can you please tell me how Delilah ended up in hospital?”
“You already know the answer to that Doctor but since you asked so nicely,” you leant your elbows on the table, entwined your fingers and rested your chin the little bridge you’d created. “She had a drug overdose. But you and I both know it wasn’t her who administered the drugs.”
“And who did?”
“I did.”
Your words hung in the air between you and Spencer. He knew the answer, the whole team did. You’d already told Agent Jareau everything.
This was a huge waste of time.
“I administered the drugs because he told me if I didn’t he would kill me. I needed to stay alive so I could save those women.”
“Who said he would kill you?”
“I don’t know his name.”
“It wasn’t Ramirez?”
“No.” You shook your head. “If it was Ramirez I would have shot him. But it must have been one of his right hand men.”
“How would you know that? You’d never met Ramirez correct?” Spencer had a soft tone to his voice which made his line of questioning easier than Agent Jareau’s.
“I’m not a profiler but I’ve been to enough seminars over the years. He didn’t fit the bill. He was young, scatty, he didn’t strike as much fear into the other women as I thought the boss would. I made an educated guess and I was right. If I’d shot at him I would have blown my chance at getting Ramirez.”
***
“Shit shit shit!” You pulled yourself as close to Delilah’s cot as possible with your restraint. “Delilah, keep breathing, try to breath. Fuck I am sorry.”
Tears rolled down your cheeks, the empty needle you’d been made to inject in her vein between your cots on the floor.
He’d held a gun to your head and said he would shoot you if you didn’t do it. You didn’t think he was bluffing.
“It happens a lot.” A woman opposite spoke up. “You’ll soon find out. If she wakes up she’ll have the pleasure of returning the favour.” She gave you an almost manic grin.
If she wakes up. It was the if you were having the issue with.
“Who’s in charge around here?”
She shrugged.
“Don’t know his name. Big guy. Tattoos. Mustache. You can’t miss him.”
“Does he come down here often?”
Again she shrugged.
“Being down here you have a way of losing track of time.” She clicked her tongue. “But he’ll be here for you later. He has to test his new girls.”
Your blood ran cold.
“Test?” You swallowed, pretty sure you knew what she meant.
“He can’t very well expect you to make him money if he doesn’t know how good you are.”
Oh god.
Your heartbeat raced. No, it was not going to come to that. You were a CIA agent and you were armed.
It was not going to come to that.
***
Spencer’s face paled a little at your words. You hadn’t told Agent Jareau that part.
“He was going to...he didn’t…”
“No.” You cut him off, pushing the memory back down. “I had a gun, remember.”
You offered him a wry smile.
“So you know what comes next.”
“I’d like you to tell me.”
The way he said it was more like he was a therapist than an FBI agent. As though he wanted you to tell him so you could get it off your chest, unburden yourself, rather than for interrogation purposes.
“Ok.” You nodded. “He came for me later that night. And that’s when it happened.”
***
“Ahh look at you.”
A deep, Spanish voice woke you.
Your eyes fluttered open and landed on a strong, tattooed man with a mustache standing over your cot.
This must be him.
“Tan hermosa.”
So beautiful.
You tried not to shudder.
You sat up wiggling your legs in your boots to make sure you could still feel your firearm. You could.
“Su nombre es Rosa.”
Your name is Rosa.
Guess again.
“Su nombre es Y/N.”
“Tú hablas español?”
You speak Spanish?
“Si.”
“Eres perfecta.” He grinned menacingly. “My clients will love you.”
He reached in his pocket and fished out a key chain. He reached over you and unlocked your cuff.
You rolled your wrist to try and get your blood circulating again.
“On your feet.”
You complied and stood up. Your legs were shaky.
He grasped your wrist, hard enough so you couldn’t wriggle free but not hard enough to leave a mark. He started dragging you across the room.
With his free hand he undid the four locks on the large steel door and pulled your through it. Once on the other side he took care to lock them all again, keeping a firm grasp on you the whole time.
You were dragged down a long, narrow corridor towards another steel door, this one with just one lock on.
He slid the key in and opened it, pulled you inside and locked it behind him.
The room was much smaller than the one you’d been held in and only housed a single cot.
He licked his lip as he looked at you. His large, thick fingers stroked your cheek and you had to try and hide your disgust.
“En la cama. Ahora.”
On the bed. Now.
You had to pick the opportune moment. You had to plan this just right. You had no doubt he had a gun on him so if you faltered even slightly, he would kill you.
“Qué tal esto.”
How about this.
You made a show of licking your lips and then dropping to your knees in front of him.
“Whoa, feisty. I like it.” He grinned, his meaty hands going to his belt buckle.
Yes. Right where you wanted him.
While he was fumbling with his belt, you reached your hand back into your left boot, drawing your gun in one swift move.
You head butted him in the crotch, sending him stumbling backwards, crying out in pain.
“Mierda!” Shit. “Usted puta!”
You whore!
You were on your feet in a second, your gun trained on him.
“You will never hurt another woman again.” You spat, furious tears suddenly streaming from your eyes.
He looked up at you, his mouth opened to speak.
But the words didn’t come out as your bullet hit him between the eyes.
“Who’s the puta now?”
***
“I would say,” Spencer chewed his lip. “You did what you had to do to survive.”
You breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank god.
“Thank you.” You smiled softly. “And I did. If I hadn’t shot him, who knows how many other women would have died.”
Spencer pushed his chair back and stood up.
“Just so you know, we got word from the hospital a little while ago. Roberta Suez, Delilah, is going to be just fine.”
“Oh thank god.” You felt tears brimming your eyes.
He opened the door and turned back to you.
“Are you coming?”
“I can leave?”
“You were never under arrest.” He smirked at you.
You couldn’t help but laugh.
You got up from the chair and Spencer motioned you out of the room.
“I’ll walk you out.” He showed you across the bullpen towards the elevators. There was an awkward air between the two of you.
Did you say anything? It didn’t seem as though he remembered you, was it worth reminding him?
He motioned you into the elevator first and he followed, pressing the button.
The elevator started its descent.
Time was running out.
“So uhm…” Spencer turned to you and turned too. “How’s your mom?”
A smile broke out on your features.
“I didn’t think you remembered me.”
“Are you kidding?” He laughed. “I recognised you the second you walked in.”
“It’s been twenty years.” You laughed.
“Eighteen years, seven months.” He corrected you. “But I could never forget your face.”
You blushed a little, averting your gaze.
“My moms doing ok. Thanks for asking. How’s your mom?” You looked back at him.
“Recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.” He told you sadly.
“Oh gosh I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok. These things happen.” He shrugged. “Made it to thirty without having a schizophrenic break but now I have to wait until I’m older to find out if I’ll develop Alzheimer’s.”
The doors to the elevator opened and you stepped out, Spencer close behind.
“I really am sorry Spencer.”
“It’s ok.” He shrugged. “Is your mom still at Bennington? I used to see her when I went to visit my mom but I moved her out a little while ago.”
“Yeah she’s still there. She likes being close to my dad.”
You both hovered by the exit, not ready to say goodbye.
“Can I take you for coffee? If you don’t have anywhere else to be.” Spencer blushed as he spoke.
“I’d like that. A lot actually. But I’d really like to shower and change out of this getup.” You laughed. “How about dinner?”
“Dinner sounds perfect.” He grinned at you.
You gave him a smile and turned to leave but before you made it to the door Spencer spoke again.
“Y/N,” he called your name, his voice cracking a little. “You uh...you forgot something.”
You turned to face him curiously.
He walked closer to you and without a second thought, placed his hands on your face and kissed you.
For a second you stood frozen, in shock of what was going on.
But after a few moments you wrapped your arms around his neck and opened your mouth to deepen the kiss.
When the kiss ended you were both smiling at one another.
“What was that for?” You asked softly.
“Oh you know…” he shrugged with a coy smile. “Just something that needed to be done.”
“I’ll meet you back here in a few hours.” You told him, touching his chest briefly.
“Ok.”
“Bye Spencer Reid.”
“Bye Y/N Y/L/N.” He croaked.
And with that you sauntered out the doors but not out of his life.
***
Las Vegas, Nevada - 1999
“Spencer?” You’d only made it a few paces away from Bennington before you stopped in your tracks, calling his name. “You uh...you forgot something.”
He turned to face you curiously.
You walked closer to him and without a second thought, placed your hands on his face and kissed him.
He stood frozen, in shock of what was going on.
It was just a brief kiss, Spencer was too confused to do anything but stand there dumbly.
“Wh-what was that for?” He swallowed.
“Just something that needed to be done.” You smiled. “Bye Spencer Reid.”
“Bye Y/N Y/L/N.”
And with that you sauntered back down the street, hoping that one day, the universe would lead you back into each other’s lives.
—————————————————————
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homoose · 3 years
Text
Teach Me Something I Don’t Know: Part IV
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Summary: The Halloween parade. Will and JJ are adorable. Anita suggests that Spencer become a classroom volunteer. Reader has a rough week.
Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader
Category: fluff, a smidge of angst
Warnings/Includes: none
Word count: 4.4k
a/n: I wish we’d seen more of Will and JJ as parents because I imagine it would be adorable and hilarious. Let’s see if you can guess all of their costumes before the reveal lmao. Your only clue is that Spencer loves keeping with a theme and the brown vest (I literally learned how to make my own shitty gif bc I couldn’t find the right one in the search and I do not understand embedding lmao) makes an appearance.
Series Masterlist
———
“Did you grab the bags?” JJ swept the pleated, platinum braid out of her face as she bent over to zip up her boots.
“No, I thought you did,” Will called, bouncing down the stairs.
“I put them in the car already,” Spencer informed them, popping his head back in the front door. “There was just the one box, right?”
“Yeah, that was it,” Will confirmed. “Shit— where’s Michael’s sword?”
“Should be on the counter,” JJ huffed, standing up and adjusting the bodice of the blue dress.
“Got it.” Will came around the corner of the kitchen, patting his hips where his pockets would be— if he weren’t wearing an adult-sized onesie. “Keys?” Spencer held them up. “All right then, let’s get this show on the road.”
The trio headed to the waiting SUV, Spencer climbing into the backseat as Will and JJ got into the front. Will and JJ chattered on about dinner plans and schedules for the following week, and Spencer smoothed down the brown wool vest layered over his white linen shirt. He’d spent entirely too long putting together the costume over the last week (with a little help from Penelope). He’d scrapped the Spock getup he’d been working on since September— he could always wear that next year. But he’d only get one chance to attend the Room 105 Halloween parade, and once the idea had wormed its way into his brain, he had to make it happen.
“Spence?” JJ’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
“Hmm?”
“Would you be able to pick Michael up on Monday?”
He ran his hands down his thighs over the mint green cropped trousers. “Sure, as long as we don’t have a case.”
Will smirked at him in the rear view mirror. “How’s Ms. Y/L/N?”
“You’re about to see her yourself, so you can ask,” Spencer replied.
Will laughed, and JJ turned in her seat. “Whoa, coming in hot with the snark. You really do like her.”
Spencer fought and failed to keep the blush from rising, irritation at being teased blooming sharp inside his chest. He tried to shrug as nonchalantly as possible. “She’s a great teacher.”
“That’s not a no,” JJ noted, eyebrows raised.
“She’s Michael’s teacher,” Spencer said, like it meant something.
“Yeah, so?” Will shrugged his shoulders. “You’re his godfather. Technically, you’re not related, so it wouldn’t be breakin’ any rules.”
“Well, it’s not like that, so it doesn’t really matter,” Spencer insisted.
Will hummed and JJ turned back around in her seat. Spencer drummed his fingers on his knees and watched DC roll past through the SUV window. It really wasn’t like that. Y/N was just… very nice. A nice, beautiful, sweet, silly kindergarten teacher that he couldn’t stop thinking about no matter how many books he read or coffees he drank or chess games he played.
Monday was the last day of his sabbatical, and he was even more relieved to be headed back than usual— grateful that he’d have something to occupy his mind other than her. Because his mind was, indeed, occupied. The way her smile beamed like the spotlight on a stage, illuminating whoever happened to be on the receiving end. The way her hands moved in unbound, buoyant illustrations of her thoughts. The way her laugh felt like the first warm sip of tea or the wrap of his favorite scarf. It was getting out of hand, to say the least.
Will pulled into the parking lot, and instantly Spencer’s palms began to sweat. He glanced at the headband on the seat beside him and felt the mortification clawing at his insides. The costume was ridiculous; he was ridiculous. He should have just worn the Spock outfit.
Maybe he could just wait in the car and pretend like he hadn’t been able to make it. Or he could just leave the headband in the car. But then he’d just be in mint green capris with a sweater vest and platform sandals, and she’d have absolutely no idea who he was supposed to be. Then he’d have to explain it, and it would be even worse.
Will parked the car, and he and JJ immediately stepped out. Spencer watched them near the hood of the SUV, enjoying a rare moment of co-parenting without work hovering right out of frame. Will pulled the hood of the onesie up and JJ laughed, brushing her hand over the brown fabric twigs sticking out of the top. He supposed that if Will Lamontagne, Jr. could strut his stuff in adult footie pajamas, his handmade costume was probably all right.
With one last resigned sigh, Spencer slid the headband on. He grabbed the box of Halloween treats, opened the door, and hauled himself out of the vehicle. He pushed the door closed and looked in the reflection of the window, adjusting the headband around his curls and blowing out a breath.
“Ready?” JJ called, peering around the side of the SUV.
“Yeah—yeah,” Spencer agreed. He moved around the vehicle to join them, the three of them walking to find a spot in the crowd of parents standing around the carpool loop.
When they found a suitable spot, Will looked up at him and shook his head. The sandals added three extra inches to Spencer’s height, putting him a good six inches taller than Will. “Those shoes make you look like an actual giant,” Will chuckled. “I know that’s the point, but I feel like even more of a shrimp next to ya now.”
Spencer set the box of candy bags on the ground and would have shoved his hands into his pockets if the linen trousers had any. Before he could respond, JJ pointed to the door of the school, cooing, “Oh my god, look. Remember when the boys were that small?”
The PreK classes came out first, and Spencer could acknowledge that they were very cute, barely out of the toddler stage and holding hands with a line buddy. But he was waiting on a very specific cutie.
He’d barely had the thought when the kindergarten classes started to emerge from the door. He almost didn’t recognize her at first— just an orange blob and green shrubbery. But the converse gave her away.
“How is she so cute?” JJ threaded her arm through Will’s. “Even when she’s dressed as a giant orange blob.”
“It’s a gift,” Will agreed. He glanced up at Spencer. “Right, doc?”
Spencer nodded but didn’t take his eyes off Y/N. “I think so, yeah.” Will grinned and bumped JJ’s shoulder, but Spencer barely even registered his own response.
Thankfully they’d picked a spot near the very end of the loop, so he had plenty of time to get himself together before she was in front of him. While Will and JJ waved at all the tiny superheroes and princesses, he watched Y/N. She was all orange fabric from her shoulders to her knees, with bright orange Chucks to match. On her head was a strange variation on a party hat, bright green ferns sprouting from the tip of the cone and falling into her face. She looked absolutely ridiculous and entirely adorable, and he was in so much trouble.
When the class finally approached the final curve of the loop, Will nudged Spencer and gestured to the box of goodie bags. Spencer crouched down and lifted the box, standing back up to see Y/N laughing at Will and JJ. “Very cute, Lamontagne Family.”
Her gaze traveled across, then up, and then her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. Spencer wondered if maybe the earth could just open up and swallow him whole.
“Oh my god, are you—?” She stepped forward and ran her hand lightly over the vest, and he didn’t dare breathe. “Are you the BFG?!” Her hand dropped from his torso, and he didn’t have time to be disappointed before her face split into quite possibly the biggest smile he’d seen from her yet.
A tiny Superman shouted, “Ms. Y/L/N, we’re making a gap!”
Y/N came back to herself, gesturing to all three of them. “Don’t go anywhere.” She accepted the offered box of treats from Spencer and then turned to help her class catch up.
Will gave him a look. “It’s not like that, huh?”
“Oh my god, she likes you.” JJ clapped her hands together. “This is amazing.”
“I’m takin’ credit for this,” Will bragged. “I’m a regular ol’ matchmaker.”
Spencer couldn’t even be bothered to attempt a denial. He was still thinking about the feel of her palm on his chest, how it might feel to hold her hand, the way her eyes practically sparkled when she saw his ridiculous headband. He was in so much trouble.
Fifteen minutes later, the classes filed back out into the parking lot for dismissal. Y/N led the class down the sidewalk, grinning at the excitement coursing through her line. As they approached the end of the loop, Y/N caught sight of them and waved. The kids lined up in their normal spot, chatting excitedly about their costumes and candy bags.
“Lord, Ms. Y/L/N, you’re something else,” Will laughed.
“Is it not the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen?” She laughed and tapped the green shrubbery hanging in her face. “I have the kids do a little persuasive writing thing every year. They draw a picture and write a sentence about what they think Ms. Y/L/N should be for Halloween, and then we take a vote.”
She waved her hands in that way Spencer loved, the way that was so similar to his own. “Usually the options are pretty tame, you know—ghost, witch, bumblebee. This year was a near tie between runner-up Jojo Siwa and well,” she gestured at herself, “carrot.” Y/N cackled, and the leaves on top of her head shook with the action.
They all laughed along with her, and then JJ added, “The details are truly incredible. Is this an actual plant on your head?”
“I really thought about it,” Y/N laughed, “but no, it’s just fake ferns stuffed into a cardstock funnel.” She gestured at Will and JJ. “But also, excuse me— this family costume is ridiculously cute. Mr. Lamontagne, loving this onesie. Mrs. Jareau, I didn’t even know it was possible to look prettier than you usually do, but here you are. And Michael’s Anna costume?” She held her hands up. “Incredible. Show stopping. I wish I had an aunt Penelope to enlist the help of, because that cape is the actual height of fashion.”
“She helped Spence, too,” JJ prompted, stealing a glance in his direction.
“Oh yeah?” Y/N asked, turning to smile at Spencer.
“We um, 3D printed the ears,” he clarified.
“No way!” She took a step closer to him, peering up at the detail on the headband. He leaned down a little for her to get a closer look. “That is so cool. I’ve never actually seen anything 3D printed up close before— did you design them yourself?”
She met his eyes briefly, and he realized how close they were— close enough that he caught the faintest whiff of sandalwood and cardamom. Of course she even smelled like warmth and home. “Well. I, um— I drew a sort of sketch, I guess. And then Penelope did the software coding. I— I’m not very good with technology, honestly.”
She ran her fingers lightly over the plastic, and he decided she was really trying to kill him. “Yeah, I’m not sure I really understand how it works.”
“Well, first you create a blueprint file of the design you want to print, which you can do through modeling software or three-dimensional scanning. Then you convert the file into an STL file— named for Stereolithography which was the first ever 3D printing process. The STL file is made up of triangular mesh polygons, which is the data that describes the surface of a three-dimensional object. After that, you use a software program to complete the process of slicing— essentially dividing or chopping the 3D model into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers that the printer can print one at a time to create the 3D object. And then the printer prints each layer until you have your finished product.”
Y/N was quiet, and he pulled back to see her grinning at him. “I thought you said you weren’t very good with technology?”
“I’m not good with using technology,” he clarified.
She nodded. “Gotcha. So you just know everything about it.”
Her joking tone had a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I read a lot.”
“How much is a lot?”
“I can read at a rate of 20,000 words per minute, so… a lot.”
Her eyebrows shot up into the tangle of ferns on her head, and he was just so overwhelmed by how adorable she was. “Well, if I ever have a question about anything, I know who I’m coming to.”
He was sure he was blushing, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. “I’m happy to answer any and all of your questions.”
She let her gaze travel over the rest of the costume. “Oh my god, the sandals! Man, you really nailed it. I’m very impressed.”
“Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “I thought about being Trunchbull, but I couldn’t find the sweatshirt,” he joked.
She laughed, and he wanted to bottle it up to keep forever. “As much as I would have loved to see your hair in a bun… you’re much too sweet to have been able to pull that off.” She smiled softly at him. “Much more suited to our friend the BFG.”
He rubbed a hand down the back of his neck, and it was only then that he realized Will and JJ had gone to the car. He looked back to Y/N, opening his mouth but unsure of what he was going to say.
“Y/L/N!” He turned his head to see Anita jogging toward them. “Did you—” The giant cardboard box she was wearing knocked into one of the few kindergarteners left in Y/N’s line, nearly sending them to the ground. “Oh my gosh, sorry sweetheart!” She righted the startled child, and Spencer gave her a once over, completely at a loss as to what her costume could be.
“What in the world are you supposed to be?” Y/N asked, choking out a laugh.
Anita looked at her deadpan. “A monopoly piece. Remind me that I’m never participating in team costumes ever again.” She rolled her eyes and gestured at Y/N. “Next year I’m gonna wear an orange t-shirt, call myself a carrot, and be much more comfortable.”
“I’ll have you know this costume was a lot of work,” Y/N remarked, crossing her arms.
“I’m sure it was. You could have put on an orange dress, stuck a green pipe cleaner in your hair, and called it a day, but that’s not the Y/L/N way.” Anita’s eyes slid across to where Spencer stood. “Well, hello, doctor. I have absolutely no idea what you’re supposed to be, but I love everything about it.”
“Spencer’s the BFG,” Y/N said, and Spencer could have sworn she sounded almost proud.
“Ah, Roald Dahl, of course.” Anita smirked. “I see you, Spencer. I see you.” She put her hands on her hips— or rather where her hips would have been if they weren’t covered by a ridiculously large box. “So, when are you going to volunteer?”
“Sorry?” he asked.
“Like, when are you going to volunteer in Y/L/N’s classroom?” She held up her hand, palm down, and made a circular motion between the two of them. “You know, hang out, but professionally.”
“Oh my god, did you need something?” Y/N’s squeaked, eyes wide.
Anita ignored her. “You just have to do a background check, but I’m sure you’ll pass it.”
“Lopez,” Y/N said, staring her down. “Do you need something?”
“Oh, I was just going to ask if you got the email about the PD after school on Tuesday. But this was much more fun.” She winked at Spencer. “Bye, Spencer.”
They both stared after her as she nearly skipped across the grass to the building. Y/N turned to him. “I’m— so sorry.”
He met her eyes and took the leap. “Volunteering could be fun.”
He watched her press her lips together to contain her smile. “It could be.”
He didn’t bother containing his own. “I’ll um— I’ll shoot you an email.”
“I’ll respond to your email.”
When he walked in the door, Spencer made a beeline for his desk. He opened his laptop and pulled up his email account, writing as fast as his one-finger typing would allow.
Spencer Reid Re: Volunteering
Hi!
I’m just following up about volunteering. Anita mentioned a form that I needed to fill out? Now that I’ll be back to work, I’ll just need to plan around the BAU schedule. Could you give me a list of days that would work for you?
Really looking forward to seeing you in action.
Spencer
He checked his two other email messages, and then left the browser up while he thumbed through his most recent reading material.
He sat at his desk for the remainder of the afternoon, distractedly perusing his book and glancing at his empty inbox every minute or so. His gaze flew up to the screen at the ding of a new message at 6:30, only to find a promotional email from one of his favorite indie bookstores.
He closed his laptop with a sigh. It was a Friday night. Y/N probably just didn’t check her email on the weekend. He could wait until Monday. He’d see her on Monday.
He limited himself to checking his laptop twice a day on Saturday and Sunday. When Monday rolled around, he checked it in the morning. He leaned back against the leather of his chair, staring at the empty inbox. He had some errands to run, and for the first time in his life, he wished he had a phone that had email on it.
He ran his last-day-of-sabbatical errands and stopped in at his favorite coffee shop for most likely the last midday, sit-down coffee he’d have for a while. Before he realized, it was 2:30. He brought his empty mug to the counter and waved to the barista. Then he walked to the car and prepped his conversation starters.
“Did you get my email? I sent you an email, just wondering if you saw it? Hey— Hello— Hi, I wasn’t sure if you got my email.” He blew out a breath. “Hi. How are you?” He waved his hand. “I’m great. Did you get my email?” He laughed into the empty car. “Ridiculous, Spencer. You’re ridiculous.”
When he pulled into the parking lot, his heart was racing and his palms were slipping against the steering wheel. He pulled around the loop, looking with a furrowed brow at the area where Y/N should be. In her place was a short woman with cropped grey hair. She held a clipboard and looked generally overwhelmed.
Michael sprinted to the car as soon as he saw it. He pulled open the door and let out a world weary sigh. Spencer turned in his seat. “Everything all right?”
“No, everything is terrible,” he huffed dramatically. “Ms. Y/L/N was sick today. Mrs. Franklin was our substitute, and she smells weird.”
Spencer looked through the window at Mrs. Franklin, struggling to keep a few rowdy boys in the line. “I’m sorry, buddy. I’m sure Ms. Y/L/N will be back soon.” He was secretly relieved that he had a potential explanation for the unanswered email.
“I can’t take another day of Mrs. Franklin,” Michael sighed, buckling his seatbelt. “I hope Ms. Y/L/N’s back tomorrow.”
Spencer let out a breath and pulled away from the curb. “Me, too.”
JJ huffed out a breath, glaring at the stack of paperwork in front of her. Spencer was nose deep in a book, but he glanced up at the sound. “I can take a few of those if you want,” he offered.
“No, it’s fine,” she sighed. “I’ve really only got six left.”
He looked at his watch. “Each report takes you approximately 37 minutes. With eight minute breaks in between, you’re not going to be out of here until almost 6:00.”
JJ laughed. “I can’t believe I missed out on these scathing performance reviews for thirty days.”
“Suit yourself.” Spencer dropped his gaze back to his reading.
His first week back from sabbatical had been uneventful to say the least. The team had just wrapped a local case, and they’d spent the better part of the week going over consultations and potentials. It was finally Friday, and Spencer was finished with his stack of backlogged reports.
He was finishing the last chapter of the book when JJ dropped a string of quiet curses. He continued reading, waiting for her to ask. She was quiet for another minute.
“I forgot I’m on duty to pick Michael up today.” Spencer looked up at her, slight panic coming over him.
“I really don’t mind finishing your reports,” he offered.
JJ raised her eyebrows. “What, no offering to visit Ms. Y/L/N?”
Spencer closed his book. “I, um. I sent her an email a week ago, and she hasn’t responded.”
“So?”
“So…” Spencer ran a hand through his hair. “That’s weird, right?”
JJ laughed. “You don’t really use email, so I’d imagine your inbox is pretty orderly. But if you use it a lot, it can be easy for messages to get lost.” She looked at him pointedly. “I can almost guarantee that she’s not ignoring you, Spence.”
He sighed. “I guess there’s a quick way to find out.”
...
Spencer drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, watching the door of the school. He glanced at the clock, noting the class was later than they’d ever been. Without really understanding why, he pulled out of the loop and swung back around to park in the lot. He exited the car, and as he rounded the hood, he spotted them.
Y/N was at the front of the line, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket and mouth pressed into a thin line. The line behind her was unlike he’d ever seen it. No waving arms, no smiles, no giggles. Twenty small bodies followed behind her with absolute and total solemnity, and he felt uncomfortable just watching them. It would have almost been funny if it wasn’t so dramatically out of character.
The line weaved around the more rambunctious classes, maintaining their grave expressions and quiet pace. They reached their spot on the sidewalk, and Y/N didn’t even have to say anything. Spencer watched as the line took their spots behind her. She held one hand up to acknowledge parents as they pulled up, murmuring stoic goodbyes to students as they headed to their vehicles.
He hung back at the hood of the car until the majority of the class was gone, slowly making his way across the parking lot. Y/N’s line of sight was pointed in his direction, but her eyes were unfocused in the afternoon sun. He could see the moment that she registered his presence, her eyes widening slightly and bottom lip releasing from the place she’d been absentmindedly chewing. She shifted her weight as he closed the final few feet between them.
“Hi.” She held a silent hand up in greeting. He clenched and unclenched his fingers. “Rough day?”
“It’s not always sunshine and rainbows, despite what everyone thinks,” she snapped. She blew out a breath and rolled her eyes up to the perfectly blue sky, mocking her mood. “I’m sorry. Yes, it was a rough day.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“You don’t deserve my wrath.” She gestured vaguely in the direction of the students. “They didn’t either, but— too late for that.”
He watched as she lowered her head back down, rubbing a hand over her face. He desperately wanted to slay whatever dragons had given her normally brilliant eyes such a grey cast. “You have strong relationships with them, and kids are resilient. I’m sure they know you—”
“Please— don’t.” Her voice was thick, and she looked at him with desperate eyes. “I— I appreciate the thought, but I’m— I’m a frustrated crier.” Her shining irises proved her point. “And I’m just— I’m really just trying to keep it together for the last four minutes of my contract time.” Her words were practically a whisper, and she swallowed thickly and glanced down the line, just Michael and one classmate left, eyes downcast.
“I understand.” Spencer shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them from reaching out and touching her. “I’m sorry. I— I hope your weekend is better than today.”
Michael slowly left the line, murmuring a quiet goodbye to Y/N. Spencer put a hand on his shoulder and steered him toward the car, stealing one last glance at a crushed Y/N.
...
Y/N Y/L/N
Re: Re: Volunteering
Hi,
I meant to respond to this email, and then a bunch of things happened, and then I was out all week.
I don’t know if you even still want to volunteer after this afternoon, but it felt rude to not respond at all.
I’ve attached the background check form to this email in case you’re still interested.
Y/N
1 Attachment: Background Check
Hi,
I meant what I said this afternoon. Your students love you, and they know you love them. If my conversation with Michael in the car was any indication, they’re feeling rightfully embarrassed and guilty about their behavior while you were out.
Regardless of what happened today, your relationships with your students are strong enough that they will come to school tomorrow knowing that you still care about them. Children don’t hold onto things nearly as much as adults.
It would be a privilege to volunteer in your classroom, even on the worst day.
Spencer
1 Attachment: Background Check - Spencer Reid
If I wasn’t already crying, I would be now.
Thanks for that.
No sarcasm intended. Really. Thank you.
This might be inappropriate, and if it is, please just pretend like this email doesn’t exist.
I have a favorite cafe in the DuPont circle area, Soho Tea & Coffee. They have an excellent tea drink made with honey and milk that I like to order whenever I’ve had a particularly difficult day.
If you’re up for it, it’s on me.
———
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lubdubsworld · 3 years
Text
Change of Heart
Pairing : Taehyung x OC
[ Summary :
Times are changing.
After years of being oppressed, werewolves are taking a stand against humans , demanding equal rights and fair treatment. Heading the movement is Kim Taehyung, the breathtaking heir to the Kim fortune and one of the few remaining Alpha werewolves in the country. His disdain for the human race is well known and well warranted. They killed his family after all…..
He wants to change the world , to put humans in their place but when his five year old daughter takes a shine to their very human neighbor , maybe he has to start with a change of heart , first.  ]
Pairing : Taehyung x OC
Genre : Romance, Explicit Content.
Warnings : None. ( Some mild violence but mostly off screen )
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3
Chapter 4
The Preserve had originally been an isolated island about 50 miles off the coast of the mainland.  Over the decades, the land had been expanded with man made floats serving to support the extra buildings and complexes that cropped up to cater to the small human population that stuck around to help out. 
The wolves still kept to the interiors, most of them having built huge cottage-villas which could house the entire pack, territories marked out clearly to avoid disputes. A few of the very traditional ones lived on the huge mountains that lined the northern end, opting to stay in their wolf-forms most of the time. 
The island itself was beautiful, rich vegetation , a thriving fauna and a landscape that was lined with beautifully stark cliffs up high and private little coves and beaches scattered below. 
Taehyung and his daughter lived on a beautiful beach side villa, which had its own vegetable garden , a staff of over 8 to take care of everything, a private jetty for trips to the mainland and a helipad/ airstrip. 
True to his word, Taehyung did not stay around most days. He was busy with his campaign and I spent the first week recovering. The doctor visited everyday and by the end of the week, most of the internal injuries were healing well, the pain well managed with meds.
Luna had moved into my room, pretty much and I spent the days with her curled into my side, reading from her favorite books, stopping when she encountered a particularly difficult word, ebony eyes turning to mine for help. We read countless books, and she introduced me to all her best friends : Mr. Ted the bear, Kihyun the bunny and Momo the panda. The stuffed animals had a small baby carrier of their own and she liked carting them all around the house. 
“She was really pretty. Mama....” Luna whispered one night, as we lay curled on the window seat in my room, a fur throw covering us up as we stared out into the rocky beach far below. 
I felt my heart lurch in shared grief. 
“Was she? What else do you remember about her....?” I asked softly.
“Her scent. “ Luna said quickly. “ She smelled just like you. Like home and fresh cookies with sugar sprinkles. And rainy puddles you can jump in.” 
I bit my lips, mindful that Luna was just listing her favorite things. I didn’t know much about how weres scented other weres or humans. But i supposed it made sense that her mother’s scent should remind her of things that offered her comfort and joy. 
But her next words threw me for a loop. 
“Daddy didn’t like her much....” She said suddenly and I felt my throat close up . 
“Oh-Oh?” I was genuinely shocked. Taehyung had looked devastated when he had told me about his wife’s passing.... 
Luna shook her head. 
“My friend from school, Mina? Her mommy’s still alive and her daddy likes her. They kiss and stay in the same room. Mommy and Daddy never kissed. Mommy lived on the east wing.... That’s on the other side. Near the rose gardens.”
I bit my lips, feeling incredibly guilty for some reason. This information felt somehow private and not for stranger’s ears. I didn’t want Luna to get into trouble for saying this to me . 
“I miss her sometimes. I’m glad you’re here.” She sniffled and i felt my heart crack in two. The girl was replacing her mom with me, I thought miserably. I couldn’t in good conscience let this happen. 
But as the days stretched into weeks, with Taehyung out and busy most of the time, i couldn’t bring myself to leave. Luna did appear to be calmer, more grounded and happier with me around. She liked staying close to me, at touching distance and she often buried her nose into my neck, sniffing till I had to gently pry her off. 
Although, absent physically, Taehyung called every day. He facetimed his daughter twice at least and I got a call every night at exactly nine. It was usually curt and formal but he did tell me what he was upto.
“The elections are coming up soon.... I need to work a bit more on the immediate reforms we’re planning to launch...I won’t be available this week, Luna’s keeping well?” 
“Yes, she is. We made a modern recreation of red riding hood and the wolf today with play dough.” 
Silence.
“Interesting choice of fairy tale, Mi Rae ssi...” He drawled. 
I flushed at how my name sounded in that voice.
“It’s a bit different plot wise. In this case, the granny is just a meanie who likes to order Red about and the wolf is the one who rescues her.” I grinned.
He chuckled amicably.
“Bit of a stretch , that. But I’m glad you’re happy. I didn’t want to pressure you too much and i know its asking way too much of you . But Ms. Lee says that Luna is happier than she’s ever been and I do believe you’re the one I have to thank for that. “
I bit my lips. I wanted to tell him that Luna was getting way too attached. That I was afraid of what would happen when it was time for me to leave, but already i could hear voices in the background, people calling for his attention and I remembered that he was doing something important.
 He was trying to build a better world for his little girl. 
In the long run, all of this would be for Luna’s benefit only. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~
it had been nearly a month since I’d last seen Taehyung . A whole three months since I’d moved into his villa. My paycheck as a nanny was three times what I was paid as a lab tech. But I hadn’t stopped working at the research facility either. I spent the days there, when Luna was busy with her school work . The vaccine had been successful but somehow, my father’s company had pulled some sort of nonsense with the patenting and not everyone had got the shorts. 
I stared out into the murky blue waters as they crashed into the jagged black rocks that lined the private beach. The huge bay windows in the living space offered an unfettered view of the rocky beach. 
Next to me, Luna was pretty much bouncing around, trying to find all her beach day toys. I watched her fondly, feeling something squeeze my heart when I thought about not seeing her again. The elections were done, the results were due any day now and Taehyung had already told me that he was looking to end this arrangement soon. 
Luna had a mind like no other. A vibrantly curious child with the most incredible questions, it was clear that she adored her father more than anything else in the world. In the evenings, she liked to play near the small water inlet that fed into the Ocean. The water was shallow, barely an inch or so deep, the terrain covered in small smooth pebbles in every shade of brown of grey.  
Luna and I  spent most of the weekends exploring the small beach around the villa, foraging around in the coves while her caregiver watched me covertly from a distance. She clearly didn’t trust me much, but I tried not to let it get to me.
I wasn’t here to stay. Taehyung had sent me a mail the previous week, letting me know that I was no longer had to babysit, because he was planning to move to Seoul himself. He would be renting out a condominium there and hiring a full time nanny. 
And that was fine. it wasn’t like i hadn’t seen that coming. I had a life of my own and i had to get back to it. My cottage near the research facility was fixed now and I was looking forward to getting back to my life, no matter how much it hurt to leave Luna behind. 
 I was a little upset that he had sent an impersonal mail to me instead of talking to me in person. Or maybe spoken about it over the phone at least. But I knew that he was just trying to make it easier for me to cut all ties. 
Okay, fine, maybe I was a little bit bitter that Taehyung hadn’t even offered to hire me to take care of Luna .  I wasn’t qualified , yes, but so far Luna had been a dream to stay with. She was so inquisitive and bright, so full of sunshine and happiness. 
After three months of her unconditional love for me,  the idea of not coming home to her vibrant laugh and endless giggles, it just felt so painful. 
“Rae Rae, let’s gooooo....” Her voice broke me out of my thoughts . Despite endless protests from Ms. Lee, Luna insisted on calling me Rae Rae and I found it adorable. 
I jumped a little, hastily moving to grab the sunscreen, the hat and gloves. While Luna did heal quickly courtesy her wolf-y genes, she was also incredibly prone to sunburn. The first few times, she had promptly shifted into her wolf form when i tried to put it on her, snipping my fingers angrily. The chemical was supposed to be unscented but her sensitive nose had clearly picked it up anyway. 
It took a lot of bribing with delicious meat patties and steak bites, for the girl to shift back and let me apply it on her.
But now she was comfortable with letting me apply it on her when we went to the beach. 
She picked up her backpack, a baby blue fur lined affair with twin bunny ears near the handle , and the small tote bag full of her collection of seashells and skipped out of the room happily. I finished packing the rest of her beach stuff : towels, napkins, hair pins and a change of clothes just in case. 
We were just climbing down the huge stairwell, when Taehyung’s voice rang through the foyer, startling me badly. i hadn’t seen him in a long time and against my better judgement I almost half ran back to put some make up on at least. I probably looked like an ogre with smeared sunscreen and my hair uncombed and in a bun. 
“Lu - Lu? Baby???” He called out, his deep voice pretty much reverberating off the walls .
“DAAAADAAAAAA” 
I watched her almost tumble headlong the stairs in her rush to get into her father’s arms and I hung back, letting them have their reunion. 
I waited till Taehyung called out for me, before moving to greet him as well. 
The first thing that stuck me was how incredibly handsome he looked, hair now fully black, swept straight back from his forehead. He was dressed in skinny jeans and a loose black shirt, buttons undone to show the lines of his pecs and a pair of dangly earrings caught the light as he turned to stare at me. 
“Mi Rae ssi....i see you’re all ready for Beach day?” He grinned softly.
There was something radiant about him, a definite lack of anxiety. He looked relaxed almost.
“You won?” i blurted out. “ You won didn’t you?”
Taehyung’s eyes glinted .
“Its not officially announced yet, but yes, the Commission called me today . They think I’ve won by a landslide.
Before I could rethink my impulse, I flung myself into his arms, genuinely thrilled beyond belief.
“RThat’s so incredible, Taehyung ssi...i’m so happy for you and-”
“Tae? Should I get the other suitcase?” 
The female voice made me jolt, and I pulled away, arm still arapped around his neck, intensely aware of his hands on my waist.
Three feet away from us , stood an incredibly beautiful young woman. She was almost as tall as Tae, probably the same age as him and her eyes flashed red when she looked at me. 
I flinched, stepping back like i’d been scalded.
“Just leave it sweetheart, one of my men will get it. Come meet my little girl.” Taehyung said casually, shooting me one brief intense look of.....anger? annoyance? I couldn’t figure it out.
 Sweetheart? did he just call her-
Luna had shuffled to hide behind my legs now, her fingers gripping my waist as she refused to greet the newcomer.
“Luna, this is Ms Jihyun. She’s a very good friend of mine.”
Jihyun dropped to her knees, eyes flashing red again as she smiled a tight lipped smile.
“Hello, Luna. How are you doing?” She said seriously. Luna’s grip on me tightened.
“She’s a little shy.” I choked out, trying to tamp down the rising sense of heartbreak. No. i had actively fought against feeling this way. Every night here, I had told myself that I would not think about Kim Taehyung. Admiring him for what he did , for how hard he worked for his kind....that was one thing ....but this. This was madness. 
Taehyung reached out around me to lift Luna up into her arms. 
“How about we go to the beach with Jihyun and Ms Lee today?” He said casually, holding his hand out to me.
I almost did something stupid, like press my hand into his before realizing that he was asking for the bag i had over my shoulders. Wordlessly, I handed it over. 
“I want to go with Rae Rae....” Luna said sharply, lips jutting out in a petulant little pout.  
“Well, Appa and Ms. Rae need to talk about something and once we’re done, I’ll join you there okay?” He ruffled her hair softly and then gently placed her back down. 
Luna gave me an imploring look.
“Are you leaving me?” Her lips wobbled.
I shook my head instinctively.
“Of course not baby, I’ll be right there. Just a few minutes, okay? Don't forget your sunscreen.” I smiled and Luna pouted again but moved to Ms. Lee’s side hesitantly. 
Taehyung waited till the three of them began leaving before turning to me. 
“Thank you.” He said quietly , gaze moving to me with the same intensity, and this time I knew what he was doing. He was trying to gauge what I was thinking and I remembered, weakly that Alpha wolves could sometimes sense moods, changes in a person’s body temperatures and things like that. It wasn’t like mind reading or anything but a perceptive enough werewolf could definitely guess what kind of mood someone was in.
I fought to keep my face neutral. There wasn’t much I could do about how clammy and cold my entire body had gone after meeting Jihyun. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to guess why I didn’t l;ike Jihyun there.
“It’s not you.” He said gently.
I swallowed.
“Sorry?”
“You’re beautiful. If we were.... the same kind of people.....I wouldn’t be saying this. But because of who we are.... I’m going to say it. It’s not a good idea.” He whispered.
I flushed, feeling like my entire body had been dipped in ice cold water.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said evenly.
He hummed.
“If you leave today, there’s a job waiting for you in the Research Center. It’s a level up from what you’re doing right now. I’ve asked them to put up extra security around your cabin and I’ve talked with the wolves here. No one will come anywhere near you. “ 
I nodded bleakly.
“Thank you.” I said quietly. 
“You’re going to forget me and Luna in a few weeks. And I would rather that things end now, before Luna becomes more attached.”
I nodded.
“Can i talk to her before I leave?” I asked softly.
He hesitated. 
“I don’t.... I mean, I would rather not have Jihyun be present for that. She’s.... well she’s someone I’m getting to know and she may feel -”
I wanted to kick myself in the face for ever having agreed to this whole thing.
“I understand. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to get the rest of my stuff and to say goodbye to Luna.” I said shortly. 
Before he could reply, I brushed past him and ran up to my room. I had to get out of here as soon as I could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luna cried inconsolably and I was eternally grateful that no one else was there when I carefully unpacked the huge carton of snacks and toys , I’d packed for her. Taehyung had made things a little easier, by telling Luna that it wasn’t me who was leaving but it would be them. They were going to a new place so they would be leaving me behind because I had stuff to do here. 
“I’m not going to be gone completely. I’m going to come visit you as often as I can alright and look....” I pulled out the small phone I’d brought her.
She stopped sniffling and held her hand out. I placed the flip phone in her hands.
“Theres just two numbers there. See the picture of the wolf? Thats daddy..... And see the one with the flower.....that’s me. If you want to talk to either of us, all you need to do is press this button.”
Luna hesitated.
“Daddy said, I can’t have any phones.” She said hesitantly. What a wonderful child, i thought fondly.
“Yes, but this isn’t the kind of phone that could hurt your eyes. It’s just a talking phone. Besides, your daddy already knows and he’s okay with it.” I smiled. 
She nodded, turning the little device over and over in her hands.
“Daddy say’s we’re going to the city. Why don’t you want to come?” She said angrily and i sighed.
“Its not that I don’t want to come, baby. It’s just that my home is here. I help take care of the little pups here remember? Some of them get sick and I help make them better....” I smiled, ruffling her hair. 
She nodded.
“Good girl...Now how about we go see the sandcastle you built yesterday...? See if it’s still there?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life went on and I found myself busy enough to not dwell on Taehyung too much. The vaccines were rolling out much faster now and most of the cases were milder . i spent the days in the research center and went home to my cozy cabin. Taehyung had been true to his word an an electric fence ran around the perimeter , twelve feet tall . A security guard stayed near the gate at all times, a beta werewolf named Minjun. 
Two weeks after Taehyung had moved out of the island, a distraction arrived in the form of one Jeon Jungkook . He was a year younger than me and finishing his internship before becoming a radiologist. He was smart , handsome and an alpha wolf with a deceptively cute bunny like smile.
Jungkook liked following me around when we had free time and I found his incessant noona , noona...endearing. But I was also not an idiot. 
Jungkook was looking for a fuck buddy and I was convenient. The only female in the research center. Werewolves didn’t do one night stands with each other, because being intimate always left a scent and it would make things messy. So weres  generally went to humans for no strings attached sex. 
It wasn’t that I minded , but a part of me was terrified i would do something stupid. Like call him Taehyung in the middle of us fucking. 
But of course, stupid decisions were my forte. 
So I did end up sleeping with him. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Well, you look miserable.” Jimin commented mildly, as I stumbled forward to the counter. I hadn’t slept much the previous night and had nearly missed the ferry to the mainland in the morning.
“I’m fine oppa. Just frazzled. Give me something strong but sweet...” I begged, riffling through my bag for my wallet. Outside, the rain poured in torrents. I was still dripping water from my hair and my jacket, although I’d been out of the rain for a whole five minutes. 
“Taehyung’s been asking about you....Why don’t you pick his calls?” Jimin said casually and I flinched. 
“I did pick his calls. a couple of times....” I muttered . 
That had been a whole experience. Taehyung had called me two weeks back, frothing at the mouth about something. 
Apparently, Ji Hyun the lovely girlfriend that Kim Taehyung like flaunting all over town, was also the older sister on one Jeon Jungkook. And because we had had sex the previous night, Jungkook had smelled like me when he visited Taehyung and Ji hyun. Even Luna had picked up on the scent.
How on earth was i supposed to know? 
Taehyung had been so furious that I’d hung up the phone midway through. 
“And, what happened?”
I shrugged.
“And then I got busy. Why? I’ve been talking to Luna... I even met her a couple of times. It’s not like I have any other reason to talk to him.... “ I protested.
Jimin hummed.
“He’s still seeing that model. Jeon Ji hyun? I heard her brother works in the Research center?” Jimin raised an eyebrow, sliding my drink across the counter. I stepped out of the line but stayed near the counter, staring at him. Damn it. Had Taehyung actually told Jimin about it? 
“Jungkook? Yeah. He’s a doctor... He’s doing his MD , radiology and he’s here for exposure , apparently...”
“Alpha?” Jimin continued flitting about, making orders but his tone held a note of sympathy. 
I shrugged.
“Yeah, he is. But we don’t talk much. We went out one night but then he’s been aloof ever since.” I shrugged again hoping that Jimin was buying my nonchalant act. i still didn’t know how much he knew. 
Jungkook was a nice guy and I was a little peeved that he didn’t seem to want anything more than a friends with benefits thing. But that had less to do with him and more to do with the fact that men, in general, never seemed to consider me as a potential girlfriend. 
But then, the poor guy was in probably the most crucial part of his education. Relationships were probably the farthest thing from his mind. 
Jimin stopped when the last customer in the line left. He stared at me. 
“Taehyung told me Luna called you one morning and Jungkook picked the phone.” 
I froze.
“What?!” I hissed, completely thrown. This, I hadn’t known. 
“You went out? With Jungkook?  And he stayed over , I’m guessing....I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you guys did not play Jenga all night?” He glared at me. I flushed.
“Fine. We slept together. We are sleeping together....its just consensual sex between two willing parties,  . It’s no big deal.” I said flippantly.
“You don’t think that’s why Taehyung has been calling you? That’s his potential brother in law right there. It’s too messy. I think you should stop. ” He frowned. 
I rolled my eyes.
“Listen it has nothing to do with me. I’m not going to marry Jungkook okay? I’m not going to be calling Taehyung my brother in law either. Its not going to happen. i just had this...stupid king of crush on him and he knew about it. He turned me down too, did he tell you that. He told me him and I were too different.... meaning I wasn’t a were so he wouldn’t consider being with someone like me. ”
Jimin groaned. 
“you know why he feels that way. Don’t make this about you. It’s not personal.”
“Then why is it spilling into my personal life? I have no obligation to him. I can sleep with who I want.....”
Jimin rolled his eyes.
“Taehyung’s a were. He’s not going to see it that way.” 
“Well, I don’t give a damn how he sees it, I’m having sex with a handsome young man who is attracted to me. That’s a good time, right there and I’m not going to stop having a good time just because it offends Taehyung’s delicate sensibilities.” I snapped. 
Jimin shrugged.
“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I went back to my cabin that evening, I found Minjun missing from his usual place near the gate. The gate was still locked so I didn’t think too much about it, merely slotting the rusty old key into the huge lock and prying it open. 
I made my way to the door, opening it carefully. 
i nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw who was there. 
“what the- Seo Joon?” I said in disbelief, stumbling back when the tall alpha stumbled to his feet from where he was lounging on the couch. 
“Well, look who’s here....if it isn’t the slutty little bitch who wants to sleep her way through every were on the island....First Taehyung and now Jungkook.....you sure know who to pick, huh.....? All powerful, influential wolves..... “ He slurred.
I stared at him. This wasn’t good. I turned on my heel, ready to run back out but he was faster than me. I groaned when he slammed into my back pinning me to the door with so much force that the wood splintered,. 
While my bruised ribs had healed, they still hurt a bit. And the force of his actions left my mind reeling from the pain. 
“Get off me!! “ I screamed, “ MINJUN!!!!! MINJUN HELP!!!” 
“SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU WHORING BITCH!!!”
He slapped me right across the face, the strength of it sending me crashing into the side table. I whimpered as I tried to get on my feet, fingers fumbling for my phone .
“it was you wasn’t it? I was supposed to be the deputy minister.... Taehyung’s supposed to be my fucking friend. instead i got fired like some lowly runt ...... It was you wasn’t it? you convinced him that humans are our fucking friends....” 
I shook my head, frantic.
“No...i swear I’ve not spoken to Taehyung...i didn’t say anything... Seo Joon please don’t...” I screamed when he reached down and grabbed my hair, yanking me to my feet till my scalp felt like it was on fire.
“Maybe I should fuck you too....since that's the thing people seem to be doing these days....Its because of your father isn’t it? That bastard has been all over the news,  talking these past few weeks about how his precious daughter is doing a lot of work for the welfare of wolves....Maybe I should fuck his daughter too....  ” He began, reaching for my blouse. 
I barely registered the nonsense about my father before a loud sound broke through the din. 
The door swung open and the sound of gunfire made me scream.
 I stared at the door only to see the security guard staring at us with wide eyes. 
Minjun , panicked and completely overwhelmed , had blindly opened fire on both of us. 
I felt the touch of the bullet to my shoulder, before the blinding explosion of pain.
 But he seemed to have hit Seo Joon as well, enough times for the were to let go of me and I crashed to floor, clutching my shoulder in agony. 
The sound of gunfire had attracted more people and through the throng I heard Jungkook’s voice.
“Noona.... Mirae noona is that you----???”
“Kookie!!” I croaked out desperately. Jungkook’s eyes went wide when he saw, me, pushing his way past the other wolves before letting out a snarl. The sound seemed to make the others cower and I remembered that he was an alpha too. 
I gripped his arms when he reached me. 
“Don’t tell Taehyung...” I gasped out, still clutching  my shoulder. 
“God, what the fuck.... We need to get you out of here...” He was already dialing for the ambulance. I waited for him to finish, gasping from the pain. Fuck, it hurt like hell. 
“We’re going to get you to the research center first.” Jungkook said frantically.  
I nodded, stumbling to my feet when he tried to lift me up. 
“It’s okay...just...get me something to …” But he was already peeling off his shirt, wadding up to press against the bleeding bullet hole .
“Hyung is going to kill Seo Joon.” He said grimly. 
For once, I didn’t particularly care. 
My mind raced because I hadn’t thought about my father in years. 
What did that tyrant want with me now??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author’s Note : Me trying to finish all my fics and not lose my mind in the process :’( 
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possiamo-andare · 3 years
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Just You (1)
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JJ x Reader x Rafe (love triangle)
MASTERLIST
word count: 3.1k
summary: A new girl moves to OBX and a love triangle ensues. Your usual yearning, fluff writing :)
a/n: gosh, it has been too long. university has me swamped but since it’s the holiday break, i will try and update as much as i can. as of rn my other fic, sweeter, is on hold, while i try to write more and get back into the groove of things :) love y’all <3 
~
Many people do not care to know the difference between new and old money. To the working class, new and old money were relatively the same. To some extent, that was true. People that had either new or old money were rich nonetheless but when you grew up rich like Rafe Cameron did, the difference was all that mattered.
The main difference was how the money was procured. Old money was passed down. No one from old money had to work since they were born rich. Their manners were taught at a young age. New money meant that they had worked for what they had. At some point, they were not rich and now they were. They were not as defined and they had to be taught, at an older age, how to act. Rafe’s mother used to say you could see who was from old and new money from their ties. If it was a man, their ties would be neutral colours, nothing flashy. People from new money usually had something to prove and so they would buy extravagant things. For women, it was their heels. Women from old money had small heels that were polished as well. Women from new money had tall heels and they had never learned that they should polish the heel along with the shoe.
Growing up as someone from old money, Rafe had normalized that there was a divide between the rich people in Figure 8. Of course, there was a divide between the Pogues and the Kooks but that divide was course and palpable. This divide was subdued and rarely ever spoken about. Kooks that came from old money lived on the west side of Figure 8 while the Kooks from new money resided on the east. This unspoken rule proved to be useful since the two groups of rich snobs never liked to speak to each other anyways. This rule had been in place years before Rafe was even born and he had thought it would still be there even after he died. That is, until Y/N moved in down the street.
It was at the beginning of June when she moved in. The first sign that things would end terribly was when her family pulled into the parking lot. Her mother drove a beat up blue Camaro while her father trailed behind in a black motorcycle. Most people that lived on the west side of the island didn’t have flashy cars but they were well maintained and not so loud. Everyone knew they were from new money before they even exited their cars. And when they did, it was confirmed these people had just become wealthy.
Rafe’s family, like most on the street, watched from their windows as a tall, burly man with a long black beard and sunglasses opened the truck of his wife’s car and carried two large bags in the door. His two sons, both similar in size and features, followed after him. They carried two pink suitcases inside as the man’s daughter and wife stayed outside to open their garage.
Rafe’s eyes glanced over their house. It was one of the bigger houses on the block but it looked more like a huge cottage than anything else. His mind went to the thought of hippies invading their neighbourhood. He gulped. If they were some type of laid back, motorcycling hippies, he’d go crazy for sure. He knew Sarah would love them though; she always complained about how boring their neighbourhood was. But boring meant normal and that’s what Rafe wanted.
As his mother gossiped on the phone, Rafe watched the mother and the daughter laugh together. The mother looked like a hippie. Her hair was tied up on the top of her head and it had clearly not been brushed. She wore a light green skirt that reached to her ankles which then led to the flip flops that she wore. A white t-shirt was tucked into her skirt and she had big bracelets of all different colours dangling off her wrists. The daughter’s style was similar to her mother’s. She wore pink bootcut jeans and a white crop top, black chunky platform boots pulling the look together. Her hair was different from her mothers and was let down to blow in the breeze. They all looked like polar opposites from everyone else living in Figure 8.
At first, Rafe could care less about the girl or her family across the street. Granted, he would religiously watch through the window for when she would come outside to ride her bike around the neighbourhood with her brothers, and yes, he would sometimes wait until she was outside for him to take out the trash but he didn’t like her. If anything, it was the opposite. Rafe was too good for her. At least, that’s what he led himself to believe.
The first time he spoke to her was two weeks after she moved in. His mother had told him to stay away from Y/N’s family and Rafe had done an amazing job at doing so. Unfortunately, that all stopped when he had to pick Sarah up from school. She had thrown up in the middle of one of her classes and since both his mother and father were at work, the responsibility was on Rafe to pick Sarah up and make sure she was okay. Although reluctant to go back to his old highschool, Rafe knew he’d be in trouble if he was late in picking up his sister. When he entered the school's administration office, he finally came face to face with the girl he had been watching for two weeks now. Except, her back was turned to him as she argued with the secretary.
“That’s what you call a vegetarian dish?” Y/N raised her voice, not particularly enjoying being ignored by the school administration. When she first had come to this school, she had checked off on her form that she needed vegetarian dishes for lunch. Now, everyday since she had come, they had served her horribly chopped up lettuce with vinegar.
“Miss -” Ms. Buzden said, placing her phone on hold. It was the student’s lunch break so she usually called her sister during this time but Y/N was keeping her from doing so.
“Y/N.” Y/N smiled, finally happy she had caught the woman’s attention.
Ms. Buzden rolled her eyes, sighing deeply. “Y/N, dear, if you have a problem with lunch, please take it up with the lunch ladies.”
Y/N sighed, leaning against the secretary’s desk. “I tried to, Beth, but she told me to come here. I will not be ignored.”
Rafe was almost as surprised as Ms. Buzden was when Y/N used her first name. As he stood behind Y/N, waiting for his turn to ask where Sarah was so he could sign her out, he watched in slight amusement at the fact she was nonchalantly complaining to the secretary.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you dear.” Ms. Buzden forced a smile, finally looking over Y/N’s shoulder to Rafe. “Rafe, sweetie, you’re here to sign out Sarah?”
Rafe hesitated for a moment, knowing Y/N’s eyes were on his. He felt as if an imaginary spotlight had shown on him for a solo and he had forgotten the words. His eyes glanced toward Y/N for a moment but it did not help his stage fright. Her beautiful eyes were squinting in his direction and for a moment he thought he would faint underneath her stare. His eyes quickly returned to the secretary’s and nodded quickly. In an embarrassing turn of events, Y/N spoke before Rafe did.
“Hey, I know you.” Y/N’s bracelets clang together as she lifts her hand up and points at Rafe. “You’re my neighbour. You’re always watching me through your window.”
As the secretary busies herself with printing the paperwork, Rafe busies himself by stuttering and gasping for breath at the accusation she had just posed. In an attempt to save himself from anymore embarrassment, Rafe tries and fails at coming up with a good excuse. Instead, he denies the accusation entirely.
“I do not watch you.” Rafe stubbornly blubbers out. He’s trying not to seem so embarrassed but she’s caught him so off guard that there’s nothing else he can do.
Y/N snickers, watching the poor boy stumble on every word. For someone older than her, he was not very mature. “No, you’re right. Watching would imply a causal aspect to the activity. More like you stalk me.”
This time, Rafe boiled over with anger. How dare this girl accuse him of stalking her? Rafe did not chase after any girl, no matter how attractive she was. “That’s a bit arrogant, isn’t it? To think everyone’s eyes are on you?”
Y/N continued to smile, unbothered by Rafe’s obvious rudeness. She shrugs, looking back to the secretary for a moment and grabbing her terrible vegetarian lunch before looking back to Rafe. “Not everyone’s. Just yours.”
And with that, she leaves the office. And Rafe knows he is screwed, because he just met the love of his life.
~
JJ Maybank shared almost everything with his friends. Emphasis on almost. They had always relied on him to be the funny one. To always goof around and take nothing seriously. So, when his dad first started beating after his mother left, he said nothing. He felt it was an unnecessary burden to put on the people that truly loved him. Eventually, the bruises and scars were too overwhelming to keep a secret anymore and he began to confess all his issues to his friends. But even then, as JJ tried to open up to the people he cared the most about, there was one thing he could never share.
He was scared of love.
Not just any love, but specifically romantic love. Every time he felt himself begin to develop deep feelings for anyone, he soon backpedaled and left them hanging. It was too scary to give himself to anyone. It would be a lie if he said it had nothing to do with his mother leaving. He had always believed that there was no love greater than his parents when he was growing up and when his mother left, it shattered him. Of course, he never blamed her for leaving considering how abusive his dad was but it killed JJ to know she did not want him to come with her. He had begun to believe that she didn’t think he was important to bring along. He believed that if she truly loved him, she wouldn’t leave without him. That’s what scared him the most; the fact that someone can change their mind about love so quickly.
So, JJ ran at the first sign of love. And he never shared this with anyone. Until that day.
In early June, when Y/N had first moved to OBX, there was a Start of Summer Fair. Right after classes ended on the last day of school, people in the community organized a fair for everyone who was excited for the summer to start. It was exactly two weeks after Y/N had moved in. Exactly two hours after she spoke to Rafe. Funny how the world works.
Behind the fair, there was a small lake where rarely anyone ventured. It was usually muddy and no one in their right mind would go swimming there. With that being said, JJ wanted to go swimming there. He had spent a solid hour with his friends at the fair before becoming exhausted. It wasn’t so much that his friends were exhausting him but a girl named Anna was. He had gone out with her once and had never called her back (as per usual) but she had not picked up on the hidden messages JJ had given her. Instead, she followed him around during his entire time at the fair like a little lost puppy dog. Just as she announced she was going to the bathroom, JJ had almost died from boredom. Thankfully, her going to the bathroom let JJ slip away from his friends and sneak away from Anna.
“What do you want us to tell her?” Kie asked, watching as her best friend was breaking off from the group.
JJ shrugged, not possibly being able to care less. “I don’t care. For all I care, tell her I died.” A bit harsh, yes, but that’s how JJ operated. Abandon them before they abandon you.
The idea to hide near the lake hit him as soon as he left his friends. No one went back there, not if they wanted an infection. Although slightly disgusting, if that was what he had to do to get away and have a moment of peace, he would make that sacrifice. Unfortunately, he found no peace because the second the lake came into view between two thick trees, JJ saw a girl in the water. At first, he was going to leave, maybe even shout a quick joke her way for getting in the dirty water. But when he saw what she was doing, he became curious and couldn’t help but venture forward and investigate.
Y/N, too invested in what she was currently doing, did not see JJ approaching at first. Daisies had begun to grow around the lake, which was already odd on it’s own, but some of them floated on the surface level of the lake. Y/N thought a bunch of Daisies would be a good surprise for her mother so, in an effort to be thoughtful, she emerged herself, from the waist down, into the water. She was not afraid of the muddy water staining her white dress (she had worse stains on her clothes), even excited to show her mother the lengths she went to to get the Daisies. So, with one hand, she held onto a wicker basket full of Daisies and with the other hand, she grabbed a hold of the daisies in the water.
JJ watched in complete and utter fascination as this girl who he did not recognize, fearlessly went into the lake and plucked some Daisies to put in her basket. She almost didn’t even look real. He blinked quickly to make sure she was even actually there. When he opened his eyes and she was still there, he was glad he hadn’t imagined her.
Finally, Y/N sensed a presence that was not her own. Quickly turning to her right, she made eye contact with JJ and her face softened. He was the least threatening person she’d ever seen and something about him made her heartbeat pick up.
She brushed this feeling off and instead, with a small smile on her lips, spoke confidently. “Hello stalker.”
JJ blushed, shoving his hands into his pockets and taking a few steps closer to the lake. “I’m sorry. Was just wondering what you’re doing here. No one comes here.”
“You’re here, aren’t you?” Y/N quips backs, a playfulness in her voice.
JJ thinks he might faint. “Um, well, I’m hiding.”
Y/N giggled. “Me too actually.” She grabs more daisies and puts them in her basket. She looks back up at JJ and speaks to him again. “Who are you hiding from?”
JJ gulps. He doesn’t want to scare away this girl by telling her why he’s come back here. He knows anyone else would judge him but, as he looks at her, he can see she would never judge him. “I’m hiding from a girl.”
Y/N nods, not expressing any disgust and JJ’s heart jumps for joy. “I see. Ex-lover, I presume?”
JJ shrugs. “We only went on one date.”
“Must’ve been a terrible date.” She jokes, and JJ realizes that she’s completely stopped what she’s been doing to listen to him.
JJ shakes his head, focused on her cute round cheeks. “Not really. She was nice.”
Y/N pouts. “Then why are you hiding from her?”
JJ feels as though it is too complicated to explain. And besides, how would he start? He’s never told anyone why he truly has never had a girlfriend. But something about this girl makes him trust her completely. He knows it’s the arrogance in her eyes. “I’m scared.”
Y/N nods, as if she understands him completely and he feels as though she does. “I see. You know, when I get irrationally anxious over something like this, I play the What If game.”
JJ’s brows pull together in confusion. “What?”
Y/N moves through the water and closer to the edge where JJ stands. When she arrives at the water’s edge, she reaches her hand out for JJ to grasp. He hesitates first and knows it’s because he likes her so much already and this will be the first time they will touch. The first time he’ll feel her skin against his is beside this muddy lake. Eventually, he grabs her hand and helps her out of the water and he knows, the second his hand touches hers, she’s his dream girl. His hands are on fire and he feels a pit in his stomach grow as her hand grips tighter onto him. There’s a spark and he’s sure there has never been anyone else that made him feel this way.
“The What If game,” Y/N starts, placing her basket on the ground. She starts to ring out the water from her dress but continues to keep eye contact with JJ. “is really easy. Here; tell me a fear you have about falling in love but make sure it starts with ‘what if.’”
JJ thinks for a moment. There are so many and he doesn’t know where to start. Finally, he chooses his biggest fear. “What if she leaves?”
Y/N smiles. “What if she doesn’t though? But, what if she does and then you find who you’re actually supposed to be with? The game is to just rationalize every irrational fear.”
JJ nods, a small smirk growing at the corner of his lips. “You’re not one of those girls who believes every breakup brings you closer to your soulmate?”
Y/N laughs. “Yeah, I wish. I’m not your manic pixie dream girl - wait, what's your name?”
JJ extends his hand, ready to feel her skin again. “JJ Maybank. Yours?”
Y/N smiles and shakes JJ’s hand. This should be interesting, she thinks. “It’s Y/N.”
“So, Y/N,” JJ starts, her name feeling good coming from his mouth. “If you’re not my manic pixie dream girl, then what are you?”
Y/N smiles. She was right. This is definitely going to be interesting. “I’m just yours.”
~
tagging; @tovvaa​
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ethanredotter · 3 years
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My ideas for Zootopia 2
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Ah, Zootopia. It broke the record for the biggest opening weekend for an animated film, went on to be Disney Animation’s third most profitable film ever, became the second highest grossing original film of all time, and was nominated for and won innumerable awards including many for best animated picture, and rightfully so. It introduced us to a beautiful, creative, and lovable world populated by amazing characters, and had a poignant message that was conveyed, in my humble opinion, in the best possible way. I liked it a lot when it first came out, but after recently getting into stuff with a similar concept (Beastars), and being subsequently recommended various fan content on YT (Savage Company, Return to Zootopia), I got back into the film again and absolutely fell in love with it to the point that it’s joined my top three films alongside Coco, and The Land Before Time. 
Which is why I am really, really craving a followup of some kind.
Seriously, of all of Disney Animation’s recent films (or heck, films in general), I feel like this one has the greatest potential for a sequel. The setting oozes creativity from its every pore, has so many nooks and crannies that we didn’t manage to explore in the film, its two main leads were perfect and I really feel still have plenty of room to grow, and there are still so many ideas old and new that can be explored. So far we’ve received a few tie-in books, a hidden object game which is no longer available, a few comics, including a series about stories from Nick and Judy’s childhoods, a very large and intricate land expansion under construction in Shanghai Disneyland and a game starring Nick and Judy in Epcot, and a Disney+ original series focusing on various characters from around the city. All of these are fantastic, but four years after the film’s release, we’ve received no official confirmation of a proper continuation to Nick and Judy’s story like a sequel or TV series, just a few rumors here and there.
We’ll get some kind of proper followup eventually, that’s for sure, but what could it do? What kinds of places could they take us to? What ideas could it explore? What could happen to our leads, and what kinds of new characters could they befriend or combat? Well, I’m gonna give my ideas right here; buckle up, because I have a lot.
The City
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Let me start off with the City itself. I mean… It’s marvelous. The architecture, like the Oasis Casino, central station, first precinct, the various neighborhoods. The accommodations like the sprinklers, water tubes, Little Rodentia, and the climate wall! The city of Zootopia is a star in and of itself with just how much care, attention, and creativity was put into its every crevice, and we barely got to see half of what it has to offer, as we only got a proper look at five of its twelve districts. They’ve revealed a few other districts via some maps and books (Meadowlands, Outback Island, Canal District) but there are a bunch of others yet to be revealed, and plenty unexplored.
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Let’s start with what could be done with the ones already revealed. The Canal District could accommodate the city’s highly aquatic residents like hippos, otters, muskrats, beavers and manatees, and also be one of the city’s primary trade hubs. In terms of layout, it could be like Venice meets the Mekong Delta on steroids where the citizens live and make their living either in boats, or in buildings whose entrances are right on the water. There could be some walkways for less aquatic animals, but most of the transportation is through the water; either via swimming, or via motorboats, riverboats, jet skis, and ferries. And indeed, this is possibly what they had in mind judging by the concept art of the canals. I hope to see them implement something like this in the future; this stuff is just insanely cool! In terms of infrastructure, alongside the various docks and warehouses, I’m thinking that it could be a place for aquaculture where all manner of freshwater seafood are raised, as well as plenty of touristy stuff like river cruises. Maybe we could have a boat chase here, or perhaps just a relaxing moment between our leads, or maybe both. 
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The meadowlands would be a place for more temperate grazers like sheep, horses, bison, and various kinds of deer. It could be akin to a massive park district with plenty of recreation and places to enjoy a bit of fresh air, and its buildings could possibly be like hobbit holes and built into the hills. I’m thinking it could also be a place with a lot of mills to process both food and textiles, and its overall atmosphere could be quite agricultural and country while being in the middle of a city and not having much in the way of crops.
Now on to potential districts
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Credit to @florenze​
The one that I and many others have thought of the most is a nocturnal cave district. This would be located beneath the rest of the city, and would, of course, have little to no light in order to accommodate its main inhabitants such as moles, mole rats, and bats. This place could have homes on the ceiling and walls for the bats, with various cranes and elevators for the non-bats to get around both to visit, and do maintenance. I imagine bat homes could be quite atypical compared to other species since they’d likely sleep upside down and crawl on walls a fair bit, and if they need to get anywhere they can just fly, so much like the canals, they might not have much in the way of front yards and instead just have elevators and sheer drops on their front doors. Likewise, the less residential buildings could have entrances at higher floors for the bats as well. Entrances to the district could be drive-in cave mouths, as well as big openings for the bats to just fly straight out of to see the other districts at night.
As an opposite to that, I was thinking that a central mountain district would also be cool to see. This would accommodate mountain sheep and goats, takins, pikas, llamas, as well as snow leopards, brown bears, and other mammals who like high and rocky locales. This place could be even more vertical than the cave district, and require either elevators, stairways, or surefootedness to get around, as well as perhaps some oxygen tanks depending on how high it goes. Therefore, cars would be nowhere to be seen, and if anyone wants to get in, they’ll need to park outside, or better yet just take public transportation to allow room for residents’ vehicles. Buildings could possibly be carved out from the stone, and the overall atmosphere could be a mix of the Himalayas and the Andes, and also a bit of the Rockies and Urals.
Regardless of what districts they show us, I would like to see a few more angles to the city than just a bright and clean middle class. Show off its dirty underbelly too, and I don’t just mean more of the street hustlers and thieves like Nick, Finnick, and Weaselton. The first film did an excellent job of showing us that Zootopia wasn’t some perfect society with its discrimination and criminals, and while we did get a nice glimpse of its dirtier side, I want to see more of the run down neighborhoods and their residents. Heck, maybe make poverty an aspect of the plot and a motivator for the villain. Although, they also could also easily cover it with Nick due to the fact that his family was struggling back in the day. Alongside that, I’d like to see high society too, especially the oasis casino that they really wanted to show off, but couldn't find a way to. Show us just how both lavish and run down this city can be.
New Characters
Of all the things I love the film for, its characters and their arcs are probably the biggest things, especially those of the leads. This film has a very diverse cast from a big old cape buffalo to a tiny little fennec fox, and they’re all quite memorable and fun. Now I know what some of you are thinking, “why are you covering new characters before the old ones”? Mostly because I have fewer ideas, but also because the ideas I have for some of the old characters are quite big.
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Firstly, I’d like to talk about Nick’s family, starting with his mother. Yes, Mrs. Wilde is already an established character, but I’m still putting her in here since I want to talk about Nick’s family in the same section, and she’s gotten very little characterization; heck, we don't even know her name. She seems like a very nice and supportive vixen from what we saw from the flashback, there was a tweet from Rich Moore that we can infer a fair bit from, and the end of a comic that showed her being a very nice mother and a massive fan of a rock band made of rabbits. Nick is seemingly an only child since no siblings are mentioned anywhere, and they certainly seemed to be financially struggling at some point since he said that his mom “scraped up” the money for the scout uniform, and in the comics he was always extremely short on money and didn’t even have an allowance. Rich referring to her as “Mrs. Wilde” as opposed to “Ms. Wilde” shows that she was/is married and that the husband was probably Nick’s father. The last line of the tweet highly indicates that she and Nick are in contact and on speaking terms (although it really begs the question of where she was during his graduation as there’s not a fox in sight (although there were plenty of seats out of sight and obscured)), and also potentially hints at, uh… Things we’ll get to later. Unfortunately, we don’t know anything more about her. Did she know about Nick’s bad behavior? Did Nick even tell her about the incident with the scouts? Was she ever estranged from him? I’d like for it to be talked about, preferably with her present. I don’t want her to just show up in a call or something, I want her to actually have a scene with her son, and I’d love for her to meet Judy as well.
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At least we know a thing or two about her, but we don’t know a thing about Nick’s father that has been confirmed. In one of the original cuts of the film, Mr. Wilde was a tailor who wanted to start up a company with his son called Wilde and Son’s Suitopia and give his kit the best future he could possibly have. Unfortunately, after many attempts at getting a loan to start it up, Nick tried to stop some lemming bankers from denying their loan by trying to grab the stamp from them, was spotted by a guard, and was forcibly and permanently separated from his dad because the city in that cut was was a horrible place full of horrible prey who thought that predators were nothing but horrible monsters ready to blow at any time to the point that they were forced to wear shock collars that would zap them whenever they got even remotely excited. Seriously, screw this setting, it made Beastars look like a freaking paradise. Anyway, back on track. Nick only mentions his mom, so where is his dad? Again, a fair bit can be inferred from the sources on his mother. The simple fact that he wasn’t mentioned in the flashback or the comics seems to indicate that he was out of their lives at that point in Nick’s childhood. Go figure, fans have gone nuts with the possibilities. I’ve seen depictions of him ranging from dead, to estranged, to a genuinely good dad who’s back in their lives now, and a psychotic criminal mastermind who wants Nick to be his heir… Yeah. Out of all those depictions, the loving father one is my favorite. Sure, Rich didn’t mention him in the tweet, but that could have been a simple omission since the question was about Mrs. Wilde. I’ll be honest, my perfect version of this idea is from the fan comic It Should Have Been Me, in which which his backstory and character is almost exactly what it was in the original cut: he was a fabric worker who moved to Zootopia with his wife and son in order to make it big on a tailor business, as he strongly believed in the ideals of the city and wanted to show Nick what a fox could become. He was repeatedly denied a loan, and eventually his obsession with making the business made his wife leave with Nick. After some time, he finally realized that being a role model was not the same as being a father and returned to them. I adore this interpretation for how it shows a family that struggled to stay together for reasons mostly within their control, but still managed to, and are now seemingly happier than ever, something I can’t recall seeing at all in any of Disney Animation’s films (if you know any examples, please list them), and also the fact that Mr. Wilde is a great, likable, and kind of complex character here who is a good man who just messed up as opposed to a simple deadbeat dad I've often seen him depicted as. I want to see something like this out of his father in an official follow-up, but even if he is still separated from his wife, I’d like to see him, and if he’s dead, still give us something; I want to know who this guy is and where he is now, and if there’s anyone else in the Wilde family, I’d love to meet them too, and I want to know how they feel about Nick turning his life around and bucking expectations and stereotypes. His mother is probably exceedingly proud of him, and his dad probably is too if my preferred version is used. Either way, give us a lovely father, mother and son scene (or just mother and son scene, because you know, she’s the only one confirmed to still be around).
On to the villain! The villain should be as opposite to Bellwether as possible; big, male, predator, and not trying to fool anyone into believing that he’s not the mastermind behind anything. We’ll know, at least partially, who this guy is from the moment he’s introduced and what his motivations are early on. Unlike Bellwether, we’ll dive into his character more and more as the film goes on and see what makes him tick. So, what could he want? The idea I’ve conjured up was that he could be a segregationist extremist who sees the founding principles of Zootopia as foolish, believes that this all mammal society is unsustainable, and that all species should completely separate from each other. Perhaps he just wants to get back at the city that he believes wronged him and/or his kind, or perhaps he wants to go back to the wild square one where it’s every species for themselves, and perhaps he thinks that will genuinely be better for everyone. Regardless, I think that this idea would be an interesting continuation of the first film’s ideas of prejudice and living in peace with your neighbor, where this villain would want to bring down the city because he hates prejudice, wants to bring down what he sees as a hypocritical city, and wants mammals to be better off by being separate and under harm. Also, unlike Bellwether who was a power hungry sociopath, this guy will be far more genuine in his pursuit and see himself as a liberator. But as I said, he could very well just be using it all as an excuse for petty vengeance and lashing out at the world in a spiteful rage.
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Despite what I said before, I do think that there should be an air of mystery around him. Since he’ll see himself as a demagogue for all animal’s “liberation”, he could conceal himself in shadows during his broadcasts, and also cover himself from head to toe in feature hiding clothes such as a helmet/mask, and specially designed gloves and shoes that hide what his hands and feet look like in order to not show off what species he is. Basically, he could be a twist on the twist villain; he’ll be all mysterious and some could think that he may be a character that we’ve met, but in reality he’s the same character we’ve known all along. As for what species he could be, I was thinking that he could be a less looked at member of a well known family of animals. My best bet would be a smaller and less predatory species of bear like an American black bear, sloth bear, or a sun bear since we saw so many brown and polar bears in the film, and while he’d be small by bear standards, he’d still be quite large, and heck, maybe they could make him particularly large and scary for his species of bear. Also, since he would be a kind of bear whose protein historically consisted entirely of insects (especially in the case of the latter two), he could have extra reason to be angry with society since his kind never wronged prey (although again not quite the case with American black bears since they will sometimes eat fawns and even fully grown deer), but yet he was lumped in with the brown and polar bears. Of the three species I listed, I think the sloth bear would work the best since their protein entirely consists of insects, but, despite their small size and goofy appearance, they’re one of the most aggressive species of bear and have been known to charge at elephants and rhinos at the drop of a hat, and this could play into his characterization as bear Kratos. I think there could be some hints to his species throughout the story, despite how well he may try to hide it. For instance, American black bears when scared tend to do things such as pulsing and clapping their jaws together, while the south Asian bears tend to rear up and stretch their chests out to expose their white stripe. Perhaps he could unconsciously do things like that when particularly agitated or under pressure.
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What exactly could make him want all of this? I was thinking that much like our favorite fox cop, he could have experienced much discrimination throughout his life, only far worse, and been downright spiteful instead of rolling with the punches like Nick did. And again, it could have been more pronounced on him since the discrimination was due to “Sins of the cousins” and his kind had nothing to do with any of what they accused him of. A tipping point could have been the Night Howler Crisis, which could have either personally affected him, or just confirmed his beliefs and made him want to go through with his plans to try and tear Zootopia down, and now, about a year or so after that Crisis, his plans can finally go into motion. As for how he’ll go about things, well, he’d go for the hearts, minds and the infrastructure of the city. Perhaps he could broadcast all over to spread his propaganda and instill doubts in in the population (notably in his fellow preds by reminding them what happened not long ago), and also strike fear in those who oppose him. Other than that, he’ll of course go straight for the city’s infrastructure via sabotage and kidnappings. One victim could be the mayor, who this time could actually be a good person and politician, or, as one official comic showed, Lionheart again… Was this an error, or was he seriously canonically reinstated after the shady crap he got up to!?
Anyway, expanding on the idea of the concealing outfit, I’m thinking that his followers (who I’ll just call The Cell for now) could do the same thing with tail hiders, stilts, and padding which would be especially effective for bigger animals to possibly lean over and look like something shorter and fatter in order to make themselves appear roughly the same as to make themselves not see each other as another species for the duration of this insane operation (it also has the added effect of making them harder to differentiate and track). This will eventually be their downfall for reasons you may have surmised, but I’ll explain that later.
Speaking of more villainous characters, I'd like to see a bit more of the criminal syndicates and mobs throughout the city. I'd like to learn who rules what parts of the city, how far their reach goes, and how they operate. Although, we’ll probably only get a glimpse in the film, but we could see the criminal organizations focused on more in a TV series or official comic book, because I think a film would be about a much larger and complex threat that could change the city and characters as we know them.
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What about more heroic characters? Well, perhaps we could see the return of concepts from the original pitch of the film like secret agents. Considering that the villain’s plot could be citywide and insidious, I think it would make sense. It could be cool to see conceptual characters such as Skye developed and implemented, and have them helping our leads with the case (or perhaps they could just be a cameo in a movie theater, I dunno, they had a billion other ideas when conceptualizing). I’d like to see her come back because she seemed like quite an interesting concept of a mechanic and badass secret agent (Also, look at that concept art; she's flipping adorable). Perhaps she could be undercover in The Cell, and Nick and Judy could meet her after being ambushed by them. As they’re driving away, Nick gets shot in the shoulder with a dart, but when they reach safety, he realizes that he’s fine. He pulls the dart out and finds that it’s hollow and clear and has a note inside it. They read the note and it includes an apology and directions to a garage in the meadowlands. Later they go to the address and find a light tan fox working on a car. She introduces herself, apologizes further to Nick for shooting him, and then brings them into a safehouse where she gives them vital info on The Cell, and gives them a number to call her at and a few special signals and monikers to help out.
If I were to describe the character I imagine her having, it would be extremely enthusiastic, friendly, and possibly coming off as a little childish, but also intelligent, savvy, and consummately professional and well trained. Basically, a quintessential bunny ears lawyer.
Some people have wanted her to have some kind of past affiliation with Nick, but I’m not sure. I mean, it would be interesting and a good callback to the cut where she was his sidekick, but in this version him knowing someone who just so happens to also be a secret agent would seem a little odd. Then again, he knows everybody. Maybe she’s that mysterious Lady Friend mentioned by Finnick…? (she is a mechanic after all, and he loves his van).
Other than that, I’d love to see the ZPD itself expanded and characterized a heck of a lot more. Maybe we could actually get to know Nick and Judy’s fellow officers like McHorn, Pennington, and Wolfard, and finally see some actual detectives as opposed to just patrolmen, and also get to see the city’s other precincts. I’d love to see the folks at first precinct all working with and respecting our leads, and for all of their strengths to be shown to the max. As in, I want to see them in full SWAT gear conducting a raid; Bogo and the big boys breaching doors, the wolves and cats on marksman duty, and Nick and Judy doing infiltration.
Returning Characters
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Let’s start with everyone’s favorite tiny fox, shall we? Finnick wasn’t in the film all that much and only said a total of 37 words (yes I counted), but despite this, he still left a shockingly large impact on audiences for his in your face attitude and vocal dissonance of being a little fennec fox played by a giant former pro wrestler, Tommy Lister Jr (may he rest in peace). And honestly, I flipping adored him too. The creators also liked him a lot and have featured him extensively in newer material such as Zootopia Crime Files, which had him heavily involved in a case and really managed to flesh out his character and specify what his relationship with Nick was like (which is to say, they are genuinely friends), and he even appears as a playable character in Disney Heroes: Battle Mode, and they have said that they wanted to feature him more in a sequel. So what could he do in a follow up? I’m thinking that he could become a major supporting character. I’d like to see him having some genuine friendly times and conversations with Nick and Judy such as going out to eat with them, and also get them out of some scrapes; perhaps by going nuts on a perp that’s threatening them and/or driving them out of a sticky situation. Perhaps he could also help the investigation by acting like an informant or mole (but as I said, in this cut that could already be taken by someone else). Or perhaps he’s gone or will go relatively straight and operate a totally legitimate ice cream shop instead of running a complex hustle. Perhaps he could also act as a shippe- again something we’ll get to later. I’d also like to learn more about him as a person; did he get into the hustling life because of some kind of discrimination like Nick, or is he just a roughhouser who genuinely likes what he does and wouldn’t have it any other way? Who’s this lady friend he mentions? Does he harbor any resentment for Nick for getting off the street and into the force? Obviously it’s not too strong if he’s still giving him Pawpcicles and interacting with him in a cordial way, but is there any there? I’d really like to see. Also, what's his real name? The directors said that Finnick isn't his real name, so what is it? Maybe tell us, maybe don't. As for who could replace Zeus, I’m thinking Kevin Michael Richardson. Whoever they get, I hope he does him justice.
Leave Bellwether out of this; she's served her purpose.
I wouldn’t be mad at seeing Mr. Big return, but I don’t really have any ideas for him. That said, I think that Fru-Fru could be a nice inclusion as a good friend of Judy. Perhaps Judy could hang out with her and do a few things like a little bit of Godmothering for the little shrew bearing her name.
Flash… If he shows up at all, make it a minor appearance, maybe even a cameo.
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Bogo was technically the tritagonist of the last film, and I’d like him to remain in a prominent role. I loved his character and evolution in the last film; he starts off barely giving Judy the time of day and repeatedly gets really pissed off at her antics, and also blows off Nick on the simple basis of him being a fox. But he’s an extremely principled and just fellow, and in my opinion, an example of what a good police chief should be, especially since he gets over his prejudices and comes to respect our leads as much as his other officers (which is to say, a LOT). And it’s that respect that I really want to see in a follow up. I want him to send Nick and Judy out on important missions, I want him to trust them with their conduct and intel, and most of all, I want him to protect them and treat them like valuable members of the force. For instance we could see him chew out another officer for talking badly of them, and also risk his life to keep them alive. Speaking of, I also want to see him in action, not just in his office playing with apps (although I certainly wouldn’t complain if we saw him messing around) or showing up after the fact to arrest a perp; I want to see this big bull kicking tail and taking names. Again that prospective swat raid. Other than that, I’d like to learn a bit more about him as a person outside his job, and maybe get a full name.
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Benjamin Clawhauser… I don’t have much in the way of new ideas for him other than seeing him interact with Nick. I and many others think that the two of them would be great friends with some awesome banter (and in the Tame Collar cut he was supposed to be one of Nick’s employees at Wilde Times, so they’ve got some of their dynamic figured out already). If I were to imagine Nick's nickname (or I guess we could say Nick Name) for him, it may be Chomps. Other than that, for the third time, flesh him and his backstory out a bit more; he’s a likable guy and I’d like to know more about him. I also absolutely think that he’d be yet another shi- Oh yeah, the main characters!
Nick and Judy
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And finally, the part that I’ve wanted to talk about the most; Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. These two are incredible. I know I’ve already gushed about every last little thing this film has done even remotely right, but these two are genuinely just plain perfection. They’re my favorite cinematic duo ever, and some of my favorite fictional characters ever. Their dynamic, their chemistry, their dedication and adoration of each other, the way they grow because of each other, it’s all just wonderful. If you want more details as to why they’re so wonderful (especially together), check out @beastars-takes​ post on their relationship and why it’s so darn awesome; there is not an off word in there, offers a lot of insight into the hidden depths that you may not have noticed, and helped me understand these two and the film all the better and gave me the intense love I have for it. Buckle up, these two are the longest part of the essay, because they were the best and biggest part of the movie, and thus I’ve got the most to say.
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Honestly, my favorite parts with them were in the last 20 minutes of the film where they are just a perfect buddy cop duo (and ironically enough, weren’t even cops at this point) who clearly had an unbelievable amount of love for each other and even faith in each other while kicking serious butt, and seeing Nick give off that extremely genuine smile upon finally being able to live up to the oath he made as a kid at his graduation was absolutely heartwarming. I want to see more of THIS duo in the next film; a duo of true companions absolutely brimming with charm and endearment who you want to be on screen as much as possible. These two had such good chemistry by the end of the film that many people wondered whether there was something more between them than mere friendship. Were they… Romantically involved? If not, should they be in the future? Many people have been against this idea because they either don’t interpret their relationship that way, and/or they feel that a romance would be cliched and/or forced. What’s my opinion on this whole thing? We’ll get to that soon, for now, let's talk about character focus and development!
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I think that Nick should be in the protagonist seat this time, and Judy should be switched to deuteragonist, although she’ll be more in focus than Nick was last time. I want to see how Nick feels about his new life as an officer, his past and connections, his home (does he live in a leaky pipe ridden apartment and sleep in a drawer like in this concept art, or does he live in a better place?), him kicking but with his new training, and as said previously, his family. I want to see him being truly happy and fulfilled for the first time in his adult life, and how it affects him. I want to see the full weight of everything that he’s gained and will continue to have at the forefront of his story arc, and likewise with Judy. I want to see him open up to people more, and I want to see him continue to prove to the world that a fox can be more than a shyster, and heck, maybe he and Judy are becoming something of celebrities from their adventures and maybe the two of them are using their status to help their communities in ways other than police work. Maybe the two of them will visit schools, more run down neighborhoods and communities of stereotyped animals to tell their story and show them what they can become if they believe in themselves and in others. I also want a big emotional scene from him, or at least an adult big emotional scene. While we did see plenty of big emotional scenes from him and certainly saw the depths of what he’s been through, it was Judy who really brought out the most emotion. This time around, I want to see Nick carry the most emotional scene, tears and all. My choice would be him realizing the weight of what he has gained and how much he doesn’t want to lose it. For instance, perhaps they could have a party at the station in honor of their promotions (I'd guess detective given their skill sets) with him, his fellow officers, his parents, and even his and her civilian friends such as Finnick. He’ll sit down next to Judy and his folks with a plate and a cup, and they’ll start conversing. Suddenly, officer McHorn comes up and commends him and Judy for their great work in their short time on the force, and how they deserve to be detectives after all the cases big and small that they've solved. Nick will look at him with a smile as he’s talking, and then notice something: all of the most important people in his world are right there in that room, and each and every one loves, respects, and appreciates him. His parents, his friends, and most importantly his brothers in arms, and especially the one who brought him into the fold and changed his life forever. The realization that he’s achieved the camaraderie he wanted and fulfilled the promise he made in his youth, how he's made people see him for who he is and not what he is, and how whole his life has become from this job and how it will get even better from this promotion hit him like a train and he starts shedding tears. His parents, Judy and McHorn notice. He tries to play it off initially, but he realizes that he has nothing to hide anymore and explains everything. McHorn says he really meant what he said and that he’s an integral part of the PD, and Judy and his folks begin comforting him and eventually Judy says “Oh you foxes, you're so emotional”. Nick gets a big smile on his face and gives her a tight hug, and then chooses to get up on a table and say a big speech of thanks and cheers to his family, friends, his fellow officers, and especially to the greatest gal he’s ever known.
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Speaking of the sly bunny, I want to see how the events of the last film have affected her and have shaped her into a wiser person and more effective officer. Much like with Nick, I want to see her continue to buck other’s expectations of her and prove that rabbits can be far more than just meek farmers. I want to see her grow even more street smart, wise, and a better problem solver from seeing all that Zootopia has to offer and from her proximity with Nick. I want her to see more of the world’s complicated problems and for her to start to understand the bad parts of it even more, but at the same time continuing to see plenty of good as well (sometimes, a bit of both). Also, there’s a lot of Zootopia as a city that she still hasn’t seen; species, districts, holidays, you name it. I want a big part of her story to also be her experiencing everything the city has to offer, preferably with Nick at her side, and the wonder on her face. That said, I want the wonder to be shared. I want to see Nick enjoying this city like never before since he can look at it in a whole new light, and do so with the one who made it all possible. And likewise, Judy would feel the same in regards to being able to explore it with the one who changed her for the better, helped her keep her career, learn more about herself, and has continued to be there for her. And again like Nick, I want her to really feel what she’s gained: a great career, comrades who respect her, the ability to help others, and fulfillment of the dream she’s wanted since childhood, and an amazing partner who helped her achieve it all and got all the same things because of her.
And all that of course brings us to the big question. How should their relationship evolve? Well, uh…  I think… You see, I… I uh… Well...
This is on the bookshelf in my room
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And this is one of my most viewed images on furaffinity (credit to RelaxableFur)
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Of important note; I’m not someone who casually ships characters. I may consider the idea of them being a couple when they’re together on screen and have good chemistry, but I’m never like “Oh my god, they need to get together!” (in fact, I was neutral about the idea of WildeHopps until last year when I dived back into the movie), and I’m especially not one of those people who ships characters who obviously have no chance in hell of being romantically involved. I only really get on a ship if I think there’s a strong precedent for it in terms of character plausibility and storytelling potential (and it also helps if they’re absolutely adorable on screen). And in the case of these two, I absolutely think that they hit all three categories.
Now, let’s get into details. Do I think they’re just friends at the end of the film? Not necessarily. Do I think they’re romantically involved? Again, not necessarily. I think their relationship is complicated. As I said, they trust, respect, and care for each other to such an incredible degree that they were willing to do THIS all for the sake of milking the scene and keeping up appearances to keep the bad guy talking (and as you may or may not have noticed, Judy’s nose didn’t move even a bit during the entire act until Nick was right on top of her, whereas before at even the slightest sign of distress it would twitch like crazy), and then just casually laugh about the whole thing while holding each other. Speaking of which, they are clearly very comfortable with physical contact; Judy comforts Nick with some arm caresses
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Nick let Judy cry into him and wrapped his tail around her when making up (how else would she step on it)
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The two of them share the aforementioned very nice embrace when gloating to Bellwether (yes, Judy had a wounded leg, but the way they’re holding each other and how comfortable they are indicates way more than just physical support)
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And there was also this part in the concert… 
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Y’all thought that was just a hip check, didn’t you!? 
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There’s also the fact that, while it’s obviously a rather playful exchange,  they just casually threw the big, big L out there in their last conversation, and not only that, but the whole thing is delivered in a kind of longing fashion, and depending on the translation the wording gets either more or less explicitly romantic.
As myself and Beastars Takes have stated, they are perfect kindred spirits who have irrevocably changed each other’s lives for the better, and they believed in each other when no one else would. For those reasons they have grown closer to each other than anyone else and can’t get enough of each other. They made each other’s dreams come true, they’re the greatest things that have happened to each other, and they will continue to be so, especially now that they’re together nearly every day of the year since they’re now on the job together. To me, that’s not a will they get together, that’s a when will they get together, and I’d find it more forced if they didn’t become an item (unless their sexualities don’t match, but I doubt that, because again all of their dialogue and physical closeness) 
And this officially licensed merch…
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And these park character interactions.
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And honestly, I think that many mammals will probably think the same way. As I almost said throughout, I think plenty of folks like Clawhauser and Finnick will see the spark between them and be Shippers on Deck. I could imagine Finnick teasing their obvious affection for each other, and Clawhauser could just be his usual self and just make little squees and mental notes whenever he sees them interacting, and there could be a few rumors about them floating around the PD.
So how should their romance develop, and how should their couple dynamic be? Subtly, and not too much of a change from how they already are, respectively. As I said, these two already think the world of and can’t get enough of each other, and I really think that there’s already a romantic spark between them that they just need to think through and expose. I give them half a year on the force before they’re all over each other, a year at most. I don’t think that they’ll even have to make any real confession of love to each other, I think they’ll just have to have the right moment to properly figure out that their relationship already is romantic and/or that it really would be able to work out between them, and actually cement it right there and then. That said, don’t drag the hookup out. Don’t have their entire arc be about them getting together. Don’t have them magically be together at the start of the story, but certainly don’t drag for the whole time. Give us time for them to be the slightly better than best friends we saw at the end of the last film while building up some extra tension, and then have them properly hook up in the second act. But as I said, their dynamic shouldn’t change too much. Again, it’d be more of a realization than a decision since they already have an unbelievably high opinion of and affection towards each other (and they seemingly already know that there’s something between them), and it’d be an enhancement of what they already have as opposed to a change; they’ll continue to be the best friends that they’ve been, just with an extra openly romantic component. Have them be even more willing to show affection both physical (hand holding, cuddling, and kissing) and verbal (more flirtation, and some I love yous). I want this romance to be sweet and unique with a lot more friendly banter, discussion and enjoying more platonic fun stuff (like playing games and joking together), and way less lubby dubby crap. I want their trust and love and respect for each other to be extremely apparent; continue to have it be clear that they think the world of each other and show the reasons for it, and don’t have them be too doting, or at least not that often. That said, absolutely feature some powerful romantic moments like a little dance, or the hookup stated before.
As I said before, I also really get on to a ship if I believe that it can add to the story, and in this case, I really do think it can. I think that their relationship could bring up and/or amplify a lot of strong themes that would complement the first film’s message perfectly. For instance, friendship, love and family not knowing the boundaries of species.
Now, it’s clear that interspecies relationships and marriages are a thing in this city: the directors talked a bit about how society could see their relationship and how Zootopia is probably open to the idea; the first couple that Judy meets in Zootopia are her neighbors Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson, who are a greater kudu and a gemsbok (they’re also same sex, so that indicates even more societal openness)
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There was also an official comic about Flash trying to ask Priscilla out on a date to a movie, but he was too slow and lost out to a Hyena, so that indicates that even predator-prey relationships aren’t widely looked down upon. 
However, as the first film showed, Zootopia’s not a perfect society, so they absolutely could receive some nasty stares and insults in the city, and Bunnyburrow Seems to be less open on the whole. Yes, I’m bringing up the ever so popular “Nick meets Judy’s parents after their hookup” idea that hundreds of people have written stories about, but I genuinely think it’s a fun idea, and I’d like to see their reaction to Nick if he’s romantically involved with their daughter, and Nick trying to get used to country life and bonding with a new family. We saw in the last film that Bonnie and Stu are opening up to foxes, and I would imagine that they met Nick around the time of the concert in the credits, but how could they feel about their daughter being with a non-bunny? That could be a fantastic storyline to cover, and it could be a fantastic way to explore that theme of interspecies bonds, and also of families being built on love. That being said, them visiting Bunnyburrow (AKA my hometown in upstate NY: we seem to have an infestation of rabbits here), would be best for a TV series arc or a comic as opposed to a theatrical release, but they could still have the Hopps family visit Zootopia in the film and have many similar things go down. Another scenario could be from Nick’s family. Remember what Rich said about his mother waiting for a grandkit? Does this mean that she actually wants him to continue the family line, or does it mean that she just wants another little tyke to help raise? Either way, she could be an interesting addition to this idea since the creators have specified that they normally fall back on what is scientifically plausible for the film, meaning that Nick and Judy probably wouldn't be able to conceive a child, so they could introduce some hesitance or vice versa into the story through her.
With my previous villain idea, the theme of bonds beyond species could come up quite often. Nick and Judy could become targets of The Cell from the beginning for their friendship, but they could perhaps become more of targets once it becomes clearer to The Cell that they may be more (and because they’re likely foiling their plans). If the villain actually saw proof up close that they were together, he could absolutely lose it and just try to tear them limb from limb. But of course, their bond could also be used to their advantage alongside the villains’ hypocrisy and foolishness. For instance, in a final confrontation. Here’s my prospective scene: Nick, Judy and possibly other characters are surrounded by Cell members who are armed to the teeth and pointing all they have right at them. Everyone in the room is weary from all that’s happened over the course of the film, and are hesitant to start fighting again. Then, Nick speaks up and asks The Cell why they’re still fighting. He brings up the fact that they’re all fighting for the downfall of Zootopia and the separation of all species since they believe that animals only see each other for what they are and are cruel because of it, and that they’re going as far as to hide their species from their comrades to not see each other as separate, but only until the job is done, and then they'll go their separate ways. Of course, why should they see each other as one only for now? They’ve all bonded and seen each other as comrades all this time while not knowing each other’s species; why should knowing what they are be any different? This would result in some taking the plunge and removing their helmets, which would then result in the others seeing what they are. Our leads would tell them that they have not known each other's species this long and yet they’ve bonded together as brothers in arms; why would they want to break that because of stupid differences, and why would they want to use those differences to separate themselves? Some folks can tear and digest meat, some can clip and digest grass; what difference should that make? If they want things to be better, then they must be better, and show those who hate them that things can be better (and for extra effect, Nick and Judy could show off the bond that they’ve gained despite being not just two different species, but predator and prey). One member throws his mask out, then another, and another. More and more continue to throw away their masks and even suits, either because they were convinced or because they see the cause as hopeless, and within a minute the floor is littered with masks and discarded body suits, and the members of the once mighty Cell walk out of the room, many with their arms around one another, and some holding hands, and soon it’s just the leader and the officers alone.
Conclusion
So those were my ideas for a Zootopia sequel. To recap, I want to see even more of the city’s districts and more of its socio-economic angles. I want to see new characters both brand new and from old drafts, and I want an interesting and fresh villain who we can gain a bit of sympathy for. I want to see all of our favorite supporting characters from the first film continue to be great and have expanded roles. And above all, I want our leads to continue to grow themselves and their bond into something even more wonderful. I want to see Nick grow as a person and officer, and I want to see Judy grow alongside him. I want to see Nick’s family and connections, I want how his new life is affecting him, and I want to see him open up emotionally with himself and with those he loves, and I want Judy to continue to grow wiser about the world and everything ugly and beautiful about it, and how being on the force, and with the one she cares about most no less, shapes her into an even more effective problem solver.
So when could we see a sequel? Well, we may have to wait a while longer. While it’s very clear that the franchise isn’t dead, we’ve heard absolutely nothing official on a sequel, and current events at Disney Animation Studios are making it seem like we may have to wait more for one to come. The director and mastermind behind the film, Byron Howard, and the co-director and screenwriter, Jared Bush, are currently working on a musical film currently called Encanto which is set to release in November. Why did they do this instead of going straight for Zootopia 2? Rich Moore, the other head director, had to scramble back to work on Ralph Breaks The Internet after leaving it for a year and a half, and that pretty much left the team in pieces. Considering how much he seemed to want to be a part of the development of a sequel and how they said that they didn’t want to rush it, the other guys seem to have started Encanto to do something new while Rich was busy, and of course shake up their creative juices. However, Rich left the studio in 2019 to join Sony Animation, although he said he left the studio in good hands, and I certainly hope that’s true. Considering that Disney tends to announce films around two years before release, and also tends to have directors work on films released two years apart, 2023 seems like a likely release year, but 2024 would work better for getting a bit more development time into it, get some test screening done and to iron out any possible issues. 
That said, the extra year may not be totally necessary. Considering how well developed the first film’s world and characters were, and how much they conceptualized during its production, I don’t think they’ll have to conceptualize quite as hard, and most of what they’ll have to create from scratch will be storylines, themes, character development, and brand new characters, as well as possibly a few districts and species designs. But again, there was so much that they have already made that they just need to show us, as well as so many concepts to fall back on with developing brand new content that even in the conceptual stage that it may have be in they’ll have a relatively easy time coming up with incredible new content; unlike Frozen II & Ralph Breaks the Internet where they had to make up totally new locations, concepts, and everything in between. I’m of the opinion that with all the time that it’s likely been in partial production that the relatively little new stuff that they've had to come up with has probably already been quite refined, and by the time Encanto is done, they may well have something extremely robust and just need to refine it, and then make models and animate it, and give us Disney Animation's best sequel ever. But then again, that extra year may be good for it. But then again, I'm not a filmmaker, so I don't know crap.
And after that, we could end up getting a TV series with further adventures of Nick and Judy, and also flesh out the world even more by showing us districts, criminal groups, precincts, and all manner of other things. Perhaps it could be a police procedural with our leads taking on whatever the city has to offer as well as de  showing off more about them and other characters than the films could, and also potentially be a bit of a Segway into the next film (why yes, I think a Zootopia trilogy could be amazing). Thankfully the majority of the cast is made up of accomplished TV actors, so they’ll probably be able to get almost everyone back (but I am hoping for Jason Bateman the most since he IS Nick Wilde and no one can replace him (the same applies to Ginnifer Goodwin with Judy to a very slightly lesser extent)). My hope is that it'll be a D+ original, and thus have an extra good budget that'll hopefully bring in a great cast, and excellent animation and writing.
But anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed my ideas. Was there anything you'd like to add, or anything you didn't quite agree with (or any mistakes I didn't notice while proofreading)? Well then please do discuss them. Until next time, may your battles be won and your day be blessed, and may you be excellent to all those you meet! 
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thebookwormfairy · 4 years
Text
Maribat Winx Club AU Part 1
It was a beautiful day on the planet of Miracul
The planet Miracul was a beautiful planet full of magic and energy
The planet was home to the most powerful magical artifacts in all of magix (the magic dimension)
These artifacts were call the miraculous each held the ability to call powerful spirits to help the one who possess their artifact
The miraculous were guarded by the royal family generation after generation, it was their duty to make sure that the miraculous never fell into the wrong hands
It was to this family that Princess Marinette was born into with King Roland, Queen Clarisse, and the 5 year old Prince Jason
All loved the newest member of the family especially the young prince Jason
Jason: Is she going to be a fairy like you are mommy?
Clarisse: Yes dear, she most likely will. She'll be the fairy of energy like me
Roland: And if she's not a fairy you and I will teach her everything we know about fighting, right son?
Jason: Right dad! But until then I promise I'll protect her! Together we're going to be the best guardians of the miraculous yet! Right Marinette?
Marinette let out a giggle in response which Jason took as a yes
In the next months Jason was practically glued to his sister if not in lessons
He could always get her to stop crying and was always able to calm her down
The people also loved their prince and princess they knew that the future of Miracul was in good hands with those two
The kingdom was at peace for 6 months after Marinette was born, but then the Dark Ones attacked
The Dark Ones was a group of evil witches and wizards who want to take the powers of the miraculous for themselves and use that power to take over the magix dimension
Roland and Clarisse fought bravely with their allies, friends, and people of Miracul, but it was not enough
So with a heavy heart they sent their two children away
The hallway of the castle was in chaos as Queen Clarisse lead her son through the castle trying to get him to the magic portal
The palace shook as another attack hit their home
They were almost to the portal when Clarisse heard screams from down the hall
She knew what that meant. It meant that the Dark Ones had gotten into the palace and that she needed to protect her children at all cost
Queen Clarisse bent down so she was eye level with her son
Clarisse: Jason I need you to take Marinette to the portal room. You two need to go through the portal to somewhere safe. Do you understand?
Jason: Yes mommy
Clarisse: Good, take your sister and keep her safe
Clarisse hand Marinette, wrapped in her baby blanket that had her name stitched on it, over the Jason
Clarisse: I love you my children, I will always love you
Jason: I love you too mommy
The mother and son took off in opposite directions, Clarisse going to defend her home and Jason going to save his sister
As Jason made it to the portal room he ran to the portal
Jason *whispering*: Please send us somewhere safe
As Jason was about to step into the portal one of the Dark Ones blasted their way into the room. The shock wave sent Jason flying to the side of the room
Dark One: Well well lucky me I can take care of both royal brats with one blow
Jason shakily stood up: I will never let you hurt my sister
Dark One: We'll see about that
The Dark one shot a blast at the twin children but Jason dodge desperate to get back to the portal and get his sister to safety
Jason was just about the jump through the portal when he felt something wrap around his waist. Jason looked down to see and energy rop wrapped around him
At that moment Jason knew what he had to do
Jason looking down at Marinette: I love you Marinette
With that Jason gently put Marinette into the portal
Dark One: NO!! WHERE IS SHE?!? WHERE DID YOU SEND HER?!?
Jason turning around: Some where you'll never find her!
The Dark One let out a scream in frustration letting the energy rope disperse and sent a energy blast at Jason that hit him in the head and sent him flying through the portal
Dark One: NO!!!
It was then that the damage to the castle was too much and the portal was crushed by the falling ceiling making it so the Dark Ones would not be able to follow the young siblings
That day the kingdom of Miracul fell its people and royal family seemed to disappear in a single day
Only a small group of the King and Queen closest allies were able to escape, but none were able to say how
The kingdom of Miracul and the Miraculous themselves were lost, but the Dark Ones were also destroyed in the attack
It was a rainy day in Gotham, one of the biggest cities in the Magix dimension and a major hub of travel with all the major schools located around or near the city when Bruce Wayne, a teacher for Red Fountain a school for hero's, and his 8 year old adopted son Dick Grayson, found Jason in and ally way with a new white streak in his hair
Jason was taken into the family after an extensive search for his family
Made harder because Jason couldn't remember anything except for his own name
The Wayne's could only find out one thing about Jason that he was from the planet Miracul and as far as anyone knew the only survivor from that dark day
On a planet far from the others of the magix dimension named Earth in the city of Paris Marinette was found on a pile of flour sacks by a pair of bakers named Tom and Sabine Dupen-Cheng
The two bakers fell instantly in love with the young baby girl and her big blue eyes
They did everything they could to find the girl's family but it seemed they just didn't exist
So they took in Marinette, keeping her name the same
As Marinette grew older she developed a love for fashion and design
Marinette was always so energetic and whenever her parents' machines would die all Marinette had to do was touch them and it was like a new life would be put in them
Everything seemed perfectly normal until one night when Marinette was 16 she found a dark skinned girl fight what could only be described as a ogre and a group of nasty looking bugs in the park across from her home
Marinette could tell that the girl was in trouble so she grabbed a near by branch and ran into the battle
Marinette: How about you pick on somebody your own size
Marinette ran up to the ogre and smashed the branch over his head
The branch broke in two on impact
Ogre turning to face Marinette: Hey that hurt!
The girl: Well this is going to hurt a lot more
The girl shot what looked to be a orange energy beam at the ogre
The big bug like creatures started to surround Marinette
Marinette: Hey get away from me!
Suddenly a pink, electricity like, energy shot from Marinette hands zapping the monsters away
Ogre: Oh no not another fairy I got to get out of here!
The ogre opened what looked like a portal and he and the remaining bug like creatures ran through it
The girl: Wow girl you have some major winx
Marinette: What are you talking about what were those things
The girl introduced herself as Alya daughter to a noble family on a planet called Zenith
Marinette invited the girl to stay with her family so she could rest up a bit
Marinette explains to her parents that her friend just needed a place to stay for the night
Of course they agreed not having the heart to turn away the girl
Alya told Marinette everything she new about magic and the magix dimension
She even told Marinette about the school she was going to called Alfea, one of the best schools for fairies
As the girl's talked Alya convinced Marinette to come with her and train her powers
Marinette felt like she was in a dream
But there was only one problem
How was they going to convince her parents to let her attend a school on another planet, or at least the magic actually exists
It took a lot of effort but once Alya actually took them to Alfea they had no choice but to believe the girls
They didn't want to hold their daughter back from her full potential
They tried to go in to talk to the headmistress, Ms. Faragonda, to get Marinette registered but because they were not magical beings they couldn't enter the campus
Marinette promise her parents she would talk to the headmistress and be out as soon as possible with her
Ms. Faragonda did not know what to think of this small girl who claim to be from Earth and a fairy
There hadn't been fairies on Earth for hundreds of years, so how could Marinette be one
Faragonda could sense the magic radiating off Marinette
She hadn't felt this much energy since Clar-
No it was better not to go there, even the thought was impossible
But Faragonda couldn't get the thought out of her head especially after meeting Marinette's "birth parents" and sensing absolutely no magical energy in either of them
But either way Marinette was accepted into the school with all the other first year fairies
Marinette was in the same dorm room as Alya along with three other girls
Alix a Fairy of the Wind, Rose a Fairy of Nature, and Julika a Fairy of Music
The girls soon became close friends
Marinette made another close friend with one of the teacher's, Ms. Graham de Vanily, nephews Adrien
Adrien was studying at Red Fountain, but really wanted to be a sorcerer, but his father would never let him transfer to a different school
Marinette believed that people should be able to follow their dreams so she offer to teach him everything she learned about magic
Adrien agreed immediately and soon the two became closer than ever
Alya and Rose loved to tease Marinette that her and Adrien would end up together but Marinette didn't have those types of feeling for Adrien
Marinette took her studies very seriously
She was determined to show everybody that she belonged at the school
One the hardest tasks was getting her wings
It like it came second nature to her friends
Alya would transform into an orange and white crop top and skirt combo with oval shaped white wings
Alix would transform into a blue and white romper with sharp looking blue wings
Julika transformed into a lavender dress with darker shade of purple wings that were cresent shape
And Rose would transform into a pink dress with white capti leggings with a lighter shade of pink wings that were shaped like leaves
Marinette wasn't able to transform until she and Adrien ran into a pushy witch who wouldn't leave Adrien alone until Marinette stepped in
That seemed to anger the witch who turned all her negative attention onto Marinette
With the incentive of staying alive and Marinette was able to transform into red dress with little black sparkles with pale blue wings
A couple of good energy blast from Marinette scared the witch away in no time
Marinette did meet somebody she was very much interested in when Adrien introduced her and her friends to his friends at Red Fountain
They were all able to meet up on a school holiday called Founders Day
Adrien waving his arms to get the girls' attention: Hey over here you guys
Marinette seeing Adrien: Look guys there's Adrien
Marinette ran over to Adrien wrapping him up in a hug
Adrien: I'm glad I can finally introduce you girls to my friends.
Alya: And we can't wait to meet your friends
Adrien: Guys I would like to introduce Nino, my best friend besides Marinette, Jon, and Damian they are go to Red Fountain with
Rose: It's very nice to meet you guys!
Marinette: Adrien has told me so much about you all
Jon jumping in to shake Marinette's hand: And Adrien has told us so much about you!
Damian stepping in: Jon leave the poor girl alone. Hello I'm Damian Wayne it's a pleasure to meet you
Damian grabbed Marinette's hand and place a kiss on her knuckles
Marinette could fell heat rush to her cheeks
Marinette could hear Rose squeal about how romantic the gesture was
Alya: So are y'all going to be participating in the big race
Nino: Jon and Damian are I'm actually going to be the DJ of the event
Alya: Oh really? Can I interview for my blog? I'm doing a big piece about the event
Nino: Sure dudette! How about you come with me while I set up, you can ask all the questions you want and still be able to watch the race
Alya: Sounds great! I'll see y'all later!
Adrien: So are any of you going to be participating in the race?
Marinette: Alix is, she's on the practice track right now
Jon: Oh really should we be worried
Rose: Well she is a Fairy of the Wind so I'd say yes
Julika: Speed is literally part of her powers
Rose spotting some flowers: Oh look at this flowers! Let's go check it out Julika!
Rose grabbed Julika's arm and dragged her away
Marinette laughing: Rose in a nature fairy so she is very into plants
Adrien: I hope she doesn't get too distracted Alix would hate if they missed the race
Marinette: Julika wouldn't let her miss it! We all know how much this means to Alix
Damian with a faux look of hurt on his face: Oh does that mean you won't be cheering for us
Jason popping up beside Damian: and why would she cheer for you Demon Spawn when she could be cheering me on
Damian: Oh no
Marinette giggling: Demon Spawn?
Damain: That is my idiot brothers' awful attempt at as a joke
Dick popping up on the other side of Damian: Aww that hurts Baby Bird
Damian: Will you stop with the nicknames
Tim popping up behind Marinette and putting his hands on her shoulders: Yeah guys your embarrassing him in front of this lovely lady.
Damian: Don't you have a wall to crash into or something
Jason: Well that's not very nice. How about you introduce us to your lovely lady friend
Damian just glared at his intruding brothers
Adrien stepping in: Actually this is Marinette, she's the fairy that's been teaching me magic
Adrien: Marinette, these are the Wayne boys they're all adopted by are hand to hand combat teacher, Bruce Wayne, well all except Damian. He's Bruce's birth son. That's Dick Grayson he's the oldest and right now he's a student teacher at Red Fountain. Jason Todd and Tim Drake, they're both juniors.
Jason: The best Juniors!
A horn was blown over the speaker system
Jon: That's the signal for the racers to get ready we better go
Jason grabbing Damian in a headlock: Come on Demon Spawn let's go
Damian: Release me Todd!!!
Jon blushing: I guess I better be going
Adrien also blushing: I'll be rooting for you Jon
As the boys walked away Marinette looked and Adrien with a smug smile on her face
Marinette: So does the little sorcerer in training have a crush on a hero?
Adrien: Oh shut up! Don't think I didn't see you blushing at Damian back there
The race was one of the most exciting things Marinette had ever seen
Alix won the race which she promptly rubbed into the Wayne boys' faces
They took it in good stride and demanded a rematch
After the race there was a dance
Damain and Marinette spent the whole dance together, dancing and talking about anything and everything
As the school year went on the girls got closer to the Red Fountain boys
Soon they were spending every weekend in Gotham hanging out together as one big group
Marinette never missed and opportunity to tease Adrien about Jon
And Adrien made sure to return the favor by teasing Marinette about Damian
It was nearing the end of the school year and that meant finals were coming up
The Red Fountain boys had to do an obstacle course with different teams depending on which grade the boys were in
The girls were able to watch the boys finales and they all did very well
Damian was determined to impress Marinette with his skills
He wanted to make a lasting impression on her and maybe ask her out when he and the rest of their friends go to Earth to visit
Sadly Alfea did not allow the boys to watch their friends' finals
For the girls they had to enter a virtual reality chamber and bring and a "dead" planet back to life
The planet was chosen randomly by the chamber itself
Marinette was the last one to go and much to Faragonda's surprise planet chosen for Marinette was Miracul
Miracul was never chosen by the chamber before
Marinette didn't know what to think of the planet that was chosen for her
It was cold and dark frozen waste land
Marinette started by spreading seeds around that only needed magic to grow
With the plants growing Marinette started to try and warm the planet by parting the clouds and letting sunshine in
It was a lot of work, but Marinette was able to do it
She was almost complete when she started to hear a voice calling her name
The Voice: Marinette, Marinette. Come to me Marinette!
Marinette followed the strange voice as it beckoned her into a cave
The Voice: Marinette come fulfill your duty. Protect the Miraculous
Marinette: What's a Miraculous?
The Voice: Come Marinette
As Marinette drew closer to the voice she found was a black ring with a green paw on it.
The Voice: Take this and keep it safe. Don't let anybody know you have this.
Marinette couldn't explain it but she followed the voice's comands
She hid the ring in her pocket and complete her exam
Which she passed with flying colors
As Marinette said goodbye to her friends the ring still sat in her pocket safe from any prying eyes
As Marinette stepped through the portal back to Earth she couldn't help but feel like something big was about to begin
In a dark cave somewhere in the Magix universe the spirits of the Dark Ones gathered
Dark One: Do you feel that?
Dark One: It's a Miraculous!
Dark One: the Miraculous were lost along with Miracul!
Dark One: They must have only been hidden!
Dark Ones: Only somebody from Miracul's royal line could bring a Miraculous out of hiding!
Dark One: We must find this person and get them to bring us all the Miraculous!
Dark One: And we'll do that with some help from our coven
As the Dark One said that a light is shined silhouetting the still alive members of the Dark Ones coven
Lila: Dont worry ancient ones we'll get the Miraculous and destroy whoever the remaining member of the Miracul royal line is!
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Please don't hate me for the cliff Hanger but it was the Perfect place to end part 1. I hope you like it!
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starlost-andfound · 3 years
Text
undercover // z.d.h
Requested by a wonderful anon
Request : Ok hear me out. Zach and his girlfriend go to the movies then the boys crash their date going undercover. And Corbyn accidentally spills the drink all over Zach's girlfriend.
Summary: Y/n is an influential leader on the dark side, known as Cobra. Zach is a secret agent working to eliminate the dark side. His mission? Y/n.
W/C: 1.86 K
A/N: Made my own little twist to the request ;)
A/n+ : @angelmarais​ I gave Jonah an angel necklace in his lil special appearance, it does nothing to the story line, I just put it there for you in this Zach fic, to lure you back into Zach’s lane no reason.
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Zach closed the button on his suit and adjusted the sleeve of his blazer as he entered the hall. The large room was buzzing with chatter and glittering with the tall chandeliers and expensive accessories adorned by the guests. He scanned the crowd, his eyes meeting the bartender’s who kept the stare a second longer than normal.
He slipped through the groups of people, making his way to the bar.
The bartender glanced at him as he wiped a glass with a cloth. Zach noted his built form and the fading blonde strands of hair into brunette. The bartender placed the glass down, “Drink?”, he asked, propping his hands onto the table.
Zach glimpsed down at his arm where the permanent sketch of an anchor peeked out from his rolled up sleeve. He took a seat on the stool, “One Lotus Flower on the rocks.”
The bartender looked Zach up and down, “We don’t serve that here. I can offer you some whiskey.”
He turned around reaching for a bottle of whiskey when Zach spoke again.
“They served it at the Inn once, in 1706.”
The bartender hesitated a moment before pouring a bit of whiskey into a glass, topping it with some ice cubes and water. He passed the drink across the counter with a napkin. Zach took a sip of his drink before picking the napkin and lifting up the fold.
The target known formally as y/n, is dressed in ivy green. Her connections know her as Cobra. Distract the target and we will steal the hard drive.
Just as Zach finished reading, the bartender swiped the table with a cloth, cleaning the counter and taking back the napkin. Zach turned around in the stool, observing the guests, searching for a splash of green.
“Whiskey, I’ll have it straight.”
Zach cast a side glance to his right, matching the voice to the other person at the bar. A woman dressed in a suit. Green.
He took a sip of his drink, holding back the grimace as the liquid burned down his throat.
“You don’t look like you’re from around here,” Zach glanced to the woman who spoke. She stirred her drink, the spoon clinking against the glass.
Zach turned to her, “I came for the show,” he said casually. He waited a few moments before talking again, “Dean, Michael Dean.” He held out his hand.
His new acquaintance reached out hers, “Y/l/n, Y/full/n.” She turned to shake his hand and Zach noticed the curve of a snake tattoo on the side of her neck. A cobra.
“Pleasure to meet you,” he smirked.
She lifted up her glass, “Pleasure’s all mine. Cheers.” They clinked their glasses before drinking the liquid inside.
“So Michael, tell me about yourself,” y/n finished the drink in her glass, seemingly unphased by the alcohol, “Entertain me.”
Zach grinned, “There’s nothing much to entertain.”
Y/n smirked, “I highly doubt that.”
Zach smiled, “Well, I was born in Texas, and studied business. I started my own company, which turned out to be a success, earned a lot of money and, here I am.” He twisted the ring on his finger, “What about you?”
Y/n chuckled, leaning back in her stool, revealing the cropped top she wore inside her suit and another tattoo which danced along her ribs. “What do you think, Michael?”
Y/n looked at Zach in the eyes, “Who am I?”
Zach smirked, leaning towards y/n, “I think you’re a gorgeous woman,” he began.
Y/n mirrored Zach’s expression, “Is that all I am?”
Zach shook his head, shifting slightly closer to her, “No, there’s more, so much more to you.” His eyes traced the curves of her face, “Your eyes remind me of the stars at night when they spark.”
Y/n hummed, “And?”
“You have this sense of power and confidence, it’s attractive,” Zach gently brushed his hand against her arm.
Y/n smiled teasingly, welcoming his touch, “Go on.”
“You have such a powerful aura yet reveal so little, it’s mysterious,” Zach continued, his voice getting lower..
Y/n looked up, intrigued.
Zach looked her in the eye, “It’s like you’re hiding something and I love it. I want to figure it all out. Get to know you, every part of you.”
A small tap on y/n’s shoulder pulled her away from Zach, almost reluctantly as she excused herself. Zach watched as she talked to the man who pulled her away, a tall brunette with soft curls on his head. The man wore a black suit, adorning silver chains. The glimmer of the word angel on one of the chains caught Zach’s eye before the man pulled y/n away to the side to talk to her.
Zach brushed his hair behind his ear, pressing the button of a small hidden device attached to the back, making y/n’s conversation clearer.
“What is it Jonah?”, Y/n spoke lowly
“Harold hasn’t stuck to his end of the deal, boss.”
Zach looked away as y/n continued to talk to Jonah. He spotted one of his co-workers on the other side of the bar, a glass of wine in hand, Corbyn. Corbyn nodded at him knowingly, before taking a sip of his wine. Zach took a sip of his own drink, looking around the gala, discreetly listening to the conversation.
“What did he do, now?”
“As negotiated, we sent three of ours to the checkpoint with the cash. I just received note that they were ambushed.”
“How many injured?”
“Two injured and one killed.”
Y/n sighed, “And the cash?”
“All gone. I came here to inform you and receive orders on how to move forward.”
There was a moment of silence before y/n spoke, “Send the best of our team, terminate him and get the cash.”
“But m-”
“It’s non-negotiable. That’s an order.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And one more thing,” y/n said, whispering now.
“Find out everything you can about him, his family, background, business, where he keeps the stash. Is that clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, thank you for informing me Jonah. It’s time we teach him a lesson.”
Zach switched off the device with a click and focused on his drink as y/n walked back with a smile on her face. Jonah walked off, disappearing into the crowd.
“Sorry about that,” she sat on the stool next to Zach, “Had to handle some business.”
Zach grinned, “No worries, is everything alright?”
Y/n leaned towards him, brushing her hands over his shoulder, “Just perfect.”
The two continued their conversation, occasionally throwing a flirt, gentle brushes of their hands against each other. Zach pushed a strand of y/n’s hair behind her ear, listening to her as she talked. He felt a small push against his shoulder as he felt Corbyn brush past him, accidentally stumbling into y/n and spilling his wine over her.
Corbyn cursed, copying a drunk tone in his words,  “I am so sorry, did not see where I was going.” He backed away, pretending to wobble in his steps.
Y/n scowled, picking up a few napkins, “I-It’s fine, just watch it next time.”
Zach asked the bartender for more napkins, helping y/n clear the spill. He glanced over to Corbyn who was headed for the exit. Corbyn discretely flashed his hand out, giving Zach a glimpse of a hard drive before he walked out, putting it into his pocket.
Y/n cursed under her breath, “That is some really cold wine.”
Zach laughed, passing her another tissue as she tried to clear up the wet drops, leaving behind a stain on her suit.
Y/n checked her watch, before looking at Zach, “It’s getting late”
She sighed, “I should head out before someone spills wine on me again.”
Zach chuckled, “Would you like me to walk you out?”
Y/n shook her head, “I can walk myself out, it’s been a pleasure, Michael Dean.” She kissed Zach on the cheek, just a few centimetres away from his lips and turned away.
“Will I ever get to see you again, Ms. Y/l/n?”
Y/n looked back with a smirk on her face, “Time will only tell, Mr. Dean. Goodnight.”
Zach waited a few moments for her to leave before exiting through the back door behind the bar, leading him down a hallway at the back of the building and to the parking in the basement. He fiddled with the ring on his finger, as he approached the van at the end of the parking.
He knocked on the back door and it opened, Corbyn standing on the other side, “Did she suspect anything?”
Zach shook his head and entered the van, “No, not a thing.”
“Good.”
He took off his suit jacket, placing it to the side and unbuttoned his collar. “How are we with the drive, Jack?” he turned to his partner in crime who sat at a laptop, hard drive plugged in.
“Give me another minute or two.”
Zach nodded, rolling up his sleeves. A sudden buzz from his suit jacket alerted him and the boys as they stared at each other.
“I thought we were told to go without phones, so we don’t get tracked?”, Jack looked up at Zach.
Zach frowned at his suit jacket where the device buzzed, “That’s not mine.” Corbyn and Jack waited in a tense silence as Zach pulled out the device from the jacket, an old flip phone.
He flipped it open, the screen lighting up with the caller, Anonymous.
“Who is it?” Corbyn asked.
“It’s anonymous.“”
They looked at each other with a knowing look, “You think it’s her?”, Jack asked.
“I guess we’ll have to find out,” Zach answered the call, putting in on speaker.
“Michael Dean, or should I say Zachary Dean Herron? Age, 21. Member of the secret agency.” Zach recognized the voice immediately.
“Y/n,” he spoke.
Y/n chuckled on the other side of the phone, “I must say, I was correct in saying there is no doubt that you would entertain me tonight. Mr. Dean was quite a charmer.”
Zach clenched his jaw as she continued.
“I expected you would want to get tangled up in my business. You have already eliminated 2 leaders from the dark side. I’ll admit, that’s quite impressive for an agent of your age.”
Zach snarked, “And, you? An international underground business worth millions. Quite impressive for someone of the same age.”
Zach could hear the smirk on y/n’s face as she responded, “It seems you’ve already figured me out Mr. Herron, but the game is yet to begin.”
“It’s over for you,” Zach gritted his teeth.
On the other side of the line, y/n grinned, pulling out a replica of the drive Corbyn stole from her pocket, “It’s only just started. Have you decoded the drive yet?”
Zach looked up at Jack who returned the glance with an anxious expression. He turned his laptop around, displaying the contents of the drive to Corbyn and Zach.
All that was there, was a message.
Let the games begin. - Cobra
76 notes · View notes