#finally one single good thing happening in my life. the test was awful too apparently i have an 83% chance of getting stomach cancer so :)

[suntails]

⚔️🐍

#13!! jamil was silver's chef event judge and i think he could potentially see some potential in silver and help him out #lil chef chef tutoring sesh!! he wants to do more than salt/pepper and jamil is the king of cooking itd be so good #their interactions in hw2 are so much i want more of them interacting. i actually want more of All the 2nd yrs interacting but i digress #2nd yrs have the least interpersonal shit built/woven into the story imo so i crave it. pls #also life update i managed to lower my medical bill by EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS by calling and saying im unemployed. sobbgin #finally one single good thing happening in my life. the test was awful too apparently i have an 83% chance of getting stomach cancer so :) #c'est la vie its fine its FINE im being so brave #twst #twisted wonderland #twst silver #jamil viper #suntails

[httpsaiki]

Saiki with an s/o who just cups his cheeks and tells him they live him for the first time ever.

Hi! This is adorable, thank you so much for this request!! I did a story, not headcanons and it kind of got off track, but I hope you like it!

—

I went into way too much detail about cupcakes in this, I got carried away, oops. I'm back, though! After months I finally refound my love for this show and along with it my inspiration for writing! I hope this isn't too bad, I wrote it all in one go. I have been writing a personal project, but I doubt I've improved that much in the last couple months. Thank you if you read this! I hope to have more to post soon!

Reader is gender neutral!

WC: 1533

Italics represents Saiki speaking telepatically!

Saiki with a S/O who cups his cheeks and tells him they love him for the first time.

—————————————————–

Your week had been anything but easy. Balancing a school and social life wasn’t supposed to be easy, sure, but this was getting ridiculous. It seemed every assignment was due at some point this past week and every class had some sort of test or exam. On top of everything, your friend group decided it was the perfect time to meet up to study nearly every single day. It was completely and entirely exhausting. You hardly got a free moment to yourself.

To make matters worse, you hadn’t seen Kusuo the entire time. He was part of your friend group, yeah, but by some miracle, he managed to dodge every study session. It was almost like he had superpowers. On most weeks like this, Kusuo was the only thing that could get you through it, being around him was oddly healing - even if he’s a jerk about it sometimes, you miss him dearly. He had some sort of ability to keep you calm and content, just being around him was enough to relieve some of the day's stress. Kusuo was there for you no matter what, whether he was willing to admit that or not. You knew it to be true and he knows you know. That’s enough.

You could feel him rolling his eyes if you were to tell him anything you just thought, that is. That never stopped you, though, you needed to make sure he knows you care for him. No, care is not a strong enough word. You’re sure you love him, there’s no doubt in your mind. How can you go about telling him? He of all people definitely deserves to know he’s loved.

Plotting how you’d tell Kusuo that you love him turned out to be a fantastic stress reliever. Laughing all you want about the cheesy, made-up scenarios you come up with did wonders to calm you down. Anything from a mock proposal on the beach, to screaming it off a cliff. Most of them weren’t realistic, nor to either of your tastes. But they were fun, and that’s all that mattered. You finally decided on telling him the one way you knew he’d like best. Sweets. Content with your idea, you prepared for bed. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

You woke bright and early. So early, in fact, that the sun had hardly even began to rise. There was work to be done. Quietly, you made your way down to the kitchen, careful enough not to wake anyone up. You decided on a quick and easy breakfast, you could never go wrong with toast. While the bread was toasting, you got out cupcake trays and your cake recipe, reading it over and gathering any ingredients you need. You left any ingredients that needed to be refrigerated in the fridge but prepared measuring cups and bowls for them. Anything that didn’t need to be kept cold was put into the appropriate bowl - wet or dry. As you were measuring out the last of your dry ingredients, you heard a faint pop from the toaster and decided it was time to take a break and eat. Your toast was surprisingly good, probably because you felt you worked for it.

Now was for the easier parts, combining the rest of your recipe and then pouring it into the cupcake trays. You went about your day, waiting for them to finish baking and then cool down. Once they were cool, it was around lunchtime. The perfect time to finish them up with icing. Carefully, you took your time to write out “I love u Kusuo!” Putting each character on its own cupcake - unfortunately having to shorten the “you” so that it would fit on the 12 of them. To add a final touch, you added a couple small heart candies onto some of them. They looked great and you were proud of your work.

As soon as the cupcakes were packaged up and ready to go, you headed immediately out the door. Kusuo didn’t usually like when you showed up suddenly or unannounced, but you carried treats and an important message this time. You were sure he wouldn’t mind too much.

The walk to his house was uneventful as always. You were lucky enough not to run into anyone you knew on the way there. You didn’t want to have to explain yourself and a small part of you expected that running into somebody would only strike disaster - similar to the past week. There was a small skip in your step on the way there, happy to finally see Kusuo after that long, painful week. You didn’t let any of your nerves get to you. Kusuo would take your message well. He had to.

Or, that’s what you were telling yourself as you nervously stood at his doorway. Ringing his doorbell had never been so frightening. You braved it, though, and your finger found its way up to his doorbell. The muffled ring could be heard even from the outside and approaching footsteps that sounded awfully familiar came shortly after.

When the door opened you were greeted with the face you craved to see all week. He looked as unbothered as ever, but the second he stepped aside and his arm gestured to let you in you knew he was happy to see you. With a smile on your face, you went to step inside and-

Apparently, your awful week had yet to cease. Right as you walked in the door, towards Kusuo, your foot caught the bottom of the doorframe. You tripped on it, the box of cupcakes falling along with you. "Oh!” It came out choked and as if you hadn’t meant to say it at all, “No!”

You quickly peeked inside of the box. The icing writing you had worked so hard on was smudged, no longer legible. They were still edible, but the message had been erased. Kusuo was staring down at the cupcakes, an almost puzzled expression on his face. He kept the same expression as his eyes met yours.

“Sorry,” you apologized quickly, “they were for you, I didn’t mean to- to make a mess of them.”

Kusuo only nodded, but it was enough to tell you there was no problem and you hadn’t even needed to apologize. He wasn’t mad.

“Listen, Kusuo I,” you cut yourself off, now that the cupcakes weren’t an option how did you want to tell him?

“Screw it.” You muttered under your breath as you stood up from the ground, dusting yourself off. Now back on your feet, you quickly reached up, placing both your hands on Kusuo’s cheeks. Your thumbs found their way right on his cheekbones, running softly along them. The rest of your fingers could reach to his hair and you had to resist completely tangling them in it. His expression was entirely neutral once more, at the very least he wasn’t offended by your actions.

“I really love you, Kusuo.”

He smiled. He actually smiled. It was genuine, it was beautiful, everything you could’ve asked for and more. His hands were in your cheeks too at this point and he had an uncharacteristically intense look in his eyes.

“I really love you, too.”

Such a simple statement and yet you could feel your cheeks burning up from it. Even worse, his hands were on his face so he could feel it too. He was so close, still smiling at you. You’d never imagined his face was capable of making such a dopey, lovesick smile and yet here he is. And then he hugged you. Tight. He’d never held you like that before, it was so loving and warm. It hardly lasted a couple seconds, so short that you were almost sure you imagined it. As soon as you registered it, it was over, and Kusuo’s normal, unbothered expression remained on his face.

“We shouldn’t let your hard work go to waste, should we? Want to come enjoy these with me?” Kusuo moved down to pick up the box, staring down at them in admiration even if they were a mess by now. You didn’t bother to reply to him, still slightly in shock. You chose to simply follow after him into the other room as he placed the box on a table. Kusuo wasted no time in grabbing one of the cupcakes, his signature sweets-eating-face taking over as soon as he took a bite. It was endearing, to say the least. As if he sensed your hesitation, he nudged the box towards you, encouraging you to take one as well. Despite their state, they still tasted amazing, all your hard work really paid off.

The rest of the day was spent comfortably. You refused to leave Kusuo’s side after everything that happened. You took to ranting about your week and how much you missed him while sat comfortably next to him, right where you wanted to be. Maybe the past week was worth it. You finally got to tell Kusuo you love him and got plenty of time together to make up for it. It had been bad, but like all the times before, Kusuo had a way of making you feel better.

#the disasterous life of saiki k #saiki no psi nan #saiki k #saiki k x reader #saiki kusuo x reader #kusuo saiki x reader #saiki kusuo #kusuo saiki #saiki #my writing

[kpop-zone]

Blackpink reaction to their s/o being jealous

Jisoo

Jisoo realized the minute that she came home from work that something was off about you today. Instead of greeting her with one of your wide, contagious smiles and starting to ask her about her day, you only allowed her to leave a quick kiss on your cheek before basically pretending that she wasn’t there. She simply assumed that you had had a bad day today, so she sat down next to you on the couch and tried her best to distract you by telling you funny stories from her day on set. A lot of things had happened today and Jisoo thought she was doing you a favor until a comment from you took her aback.

“...and I complained because he didn’t bring me a coffee, so during the next break Hae-In promptly brought me a large coffee and my favorite snacks.”

She giggled proudly, but you didn’t seem to be as amused as her about this incident.

“Oh yeah, of course perfect Hae-In would bring you a coffee and also knows what your favorite snacks are.”

You praised Hae-In, although your cynical tone made it clear that you weren’t really meaning what you where saying. Perplexed and with narrowed eyes, Jisoo stared at you, beginning to understand why you were acting so strangely.

“Yes, I’m very glad to have him by my side. Filming this drama is a big step for me, and I wouldn’t know what to do without his support.”

She exaggerated to test her theory and like expected, you scoffed in disbelief while rolling your eyes, causing Jisoo to cross her arms defensively.

“You know, I don’t really appreciate you being jealous.”

She stated bluntly and you looked at her with a mixture of embarrassment and anger reflecting on your face.

“I’m not jealous.”

You scoffed, but Jisoo knew that you were lying. You were terrible at hiding your emotions opposing to her. Although right now, Jisoo didn’t feel like hiding hers either.

“Of course you are, but I don’t know why. I’m just doing my job and I’ve never given you a reason to mistrust me.”

She replied calmly yet determined to show you that you had upset her.

“I- it’s not like I mistrust you.”

You stuttered after you had caught up to her mood and Jisoo looked at you expectantly in order to give you a chance to explain yourself.

“I didn’t even want to be jealous, but you spent so much time on set and... I don’t know what Hae-In’s intentions are with you.”

You mumbled sheepishly, causing Jisoo to sigh.

“Y/N...I don’t care what Hae-In’s intentions are. You don’t need to worry about him, our relationship is purely professional. And about the lack of time I have for you...I promise I will make it up to you once the filming is over, ok?”

She had softened her tone again and reached over to take your hand, causing you to smile.

“Ok. I’m sorry for the little tantrum.”

You grinned apologetically and Jisoo giggled in amusement before pulling you into her arms. As long as this would be the exception and not the rule, she could live with your jealousy.

Jennie

Jennie had to try her hardest not to burst out in laughter as she observed out of the corner of her eye how you almost exploded with jealousy. She was talking with some newcomer model who apparently thought that he was a big shot now just because he was invited to the Chanel after party. For almost ten minutes he had already told her about all his successes in order to woo her. Usually, Jennie would have turned him down a long time ago, but seeing you getting so agitated over this was giving her great pleasure. Therefore, she let him boast some more while keeping an eye on you before eventually deciding that she had tortured you enough.

“Excuse me please.”

Jennie smiled at the model who looked at her dumbfounded, apparently never having been interrupted  in his life before. Unbothered by his attempts to stop her from walking away, she turned on her heel and headed straight for you with a smirk playing on her lips.

“I swear to god I would have ripped his head off if he would have touched you one more time.”

You gritted through your teeth as soon as Jennie was within earshot.

“What’s wrong baby?”

She replied sweetly, pretending to be clueless.

“Don’t feign innocence. I know that you did that on purpose.”

You grumbled, causing Jennie to giggle before stepping closer to you in order to loosely wrap her arms around your neck.

“Aw don’t be angry baby. You just look so cute when you’re jealous.”

She cooed and you looked at her grumpily.

“I’m going to make you regret that later.”

You replied while pulling her closer by her waist to make sure that no one else would overstep their boundaries tonight, causing Jennie to smirk. Mission accomplished.

Chaeyoung

Never had you ever thought that you would regret accompanying your girlfriend to work like you did right now. While clenching your jaw tightly, you watched how Chaeyoung cuddled up to Seungjoo and you felt a wave of jealousy washing over you. You knew that it was ridiculous. This was just a music video shoot after all. But somehow the way that Seungjoo pulled your girlfriend close simply drove you insane. Tensed up, you watched one take after the other until the PD was finally satisfied with the results and called it a day. Relieved, you jumped off your chair, ready to finally leave this set, but Chaeyoung took her time to thank every single staff member; especially Seungjoo of course. By the time, she was finally walking up to you with a big smile on her face, you had considered a thousand times already to simply storm off.

“I’m sorry it took so long! But it looks so amazing, doesn’t it?”

Chaeyoung squealed in joy, completely oblivious to the jealousy that was seething within you.

“Yes, amazing. Can we go now?”

You answered brusquely, much to the confusion of your girlfriend who still complied to your wish though. Together you made your way to the dressing room before leaving the filming location after Chaeyoung had changed into her comfortable clothes. Her excitement from before was visibly reduced now and she silently sat beside you in the car until she broke the silence eventually.

“Don’t you like the video?”

She asked insecurely, causing you to sigh. You had to stop making her feel bad for something that wasn’t her fault.

“I do like it.”

You replied while trying to fake a smile to make your words more believable.

“Then why do you seem to be so angry?”

Chaeyoung tilted her head in confusion and you tried your best to avoid her gaze. What was the best way to tell her?

“I just...I didn’t like the way that Seungjoo touched you.”

You blurted out before hanging your head bashfully.

“Oh...I’m sorry I didn’t think about how that would make you feel.”

Chaeyoung mumbled taken aback, instantly making you feel guilty for worrying her.

“No don’t apologize, it’s ridiculous.”

You replied and your girlfriend looked at you pensively.

“I mean it is ridiculous indeed, because I would never cheat on you with Seungjoo. But I also understand where you are coming from.”

She reasoned, causing you to sigh while resting your forehead on her shoulder.

“I don’t even deserve you, Chaeng. You are way too good to me.”

You whined, feeling like you didn’t deserve the amount of understanding that your girlfriend showed you.

“True. I feel like you should start repaying me. I accept various types of payment. Food, cuddles, gifts...”

Chaeyoung said dead serious, causing you to look at her before both of you started bursting out in laughter. Maybe your first way to repay her should be by stopping to be a jealous prick...

Lalisa

Grimly, you scrolled through your Twitter feed while cursing yourself for following several fan accounts for your girlfriend. All of them were talking about the same thing: how cute your girlfriend and Chaeyoung had looked together at their the fansign today. You were happy that your girlfriend had found her soulmates in her members and that they managed to make her life a little less crazy; you really were. But somehow you just couldn’t stop the green monster from overcoming you every once in a while. They spent so much time together and you knew that all of them were superior to you in every way. It was just so hard to watch them being this close. Frustrated, you spotted a clip that showed your girlfriend kissing Chaeyoung on the cheek, causing her to blush sheepishly. All those ‘Chaelisa’ shippers were really getting under your skin, even if you hated yourself for it. You knew that Lisa was the most loyal girlfriend that you could have ever wished for, nevertheless, you couldn’t help but to be jealous when you saw her pampering Chaeyoung like that. Shouldn’t that be you?

“What are you watching?”

Lisa’s voice suddenly appeared right next to your ear, managing to rip you from your brooding session. Panicked, you tried to lock your phone before your girlfriend could see what you were looking at, but Lisa had already managed to take it out of your hands. Curiously, she watched the video before looking at you again with a smirk on her face.

“Is someone jealous?”

She cooed in amusement and you looked away bashfully.

“No.”

You scoffed, but Lisa snickered knowingly.

“I think you are. Don’t you like it when I kiss other people?”

She sat down beside you and poked your cheek to annoy you.

“You can do whatever you want.”

You grumbled while swatting away her hand, causing her to giggle even more.

“Oh really? So Chaeyoung and I can do even more fan service?”

She smirked and you instantly glared at her.

“Don’t you dare.”

You blurted out before you coudl think, causing Lisa to grin triumphantly.

“Why not? I thought you weren’t jealous?”

She put her finger on her lips pensively to mock you and you rolled your eyes.

“Ok fine. Maybe I am, so don’t make it worse.”

You huffed in defeat to save yourself from even more torture. Smugly, your girlfriend giggled before suddenly putting her hand behind your head to hug you against her chest.

“You are so adorable, Y/N. Don’t worry, baby, I only have eyes for you.”

She cooed and you hesitantly gave in to her embrace. Maybe your girlfriend was mocking you right now, but you couldn’t say that her reassurance didn’t feel good...

#blackpink reaction #blackpink #jisoo #jennie #chaeyoung #rose #lalisa #lisa #girl group reaction #girl group #kpop reaction #kpop #girl group imagine #kpop imagine #blackpink imagine #idolxreader

[lesbiansforboromir]

once again you made me deeply emotional over boromir. i don't have the fellowship (much less the english edition) at hand, so i can't even re-read my fav parts with him. any particular boromir-related stuff you may share?

FUCK ok I’ve got a migraine and a passion and I do not know how to use either of them but I’m gonna use this ask to talk about something I’ve been thinking about for months, not kidding on that one. 

Galadriel... was the direct cause of Boromir trying to take the ring- HEAR ME OUT. 

There are some very important things to remember about Boromir when you’re considering his actions and motives.

- He explicitly came on the quest assuming it would lead them all to Minas Tirith, because that’s where he needed to get back too. It’s very clear, he and Aragorn are literally going because Minas Tirith is on the way to Mordor. And every detour and every delay of the Company amps up his frustration and worry. 

- He left Gondor with the certainty that his city would be besieged VERY soon and that they would not be able to break it. His trip to Rivendell is desperation based in it’s entirety, he’s looking for anything that might help. 

- He knows absolutely none of these people from adam and whilst he very much wants to trust them, they have yet to win his loyalty or faith in ANY capacity. I’m sorry! I know everyone wants the Fellowship to be that good good found family foundation but it simply isn’t that for Boromir and never has been.

Okay so when they finally leave Moria and Gandalf’s dead, everyone’s grieving and miserable. They are also worried, Gandalf was their guide and as much as Aragorn’s a tracker he doesn’t have Gandalf’s expertise. Then again, Moria had been entirely Gandalf’s decision in the first place, claiming there wouldn’t be many orcs in there at all in an argument he has with Boromir about how dangerous the mines would be in comparison to the Gap of Rohan. Indeed, if Bilbo hadn’t given Frodo the mithril shirt then Frodo would be straight up dead and it would have been Gandalf’s decisions that caused it. 

So at this point Boromir’s faith in Aragorn’s ability is pretty low. And no one else in the Fellowship has any interest in leading. Boromir deferred to Aragorn’s judgement because Aragorn’s more knowledgeable of Eriador and also just... a dude who needs to be in control, it’s easy to tell. But now Boromir’s not so sure Aragorn’s up to it, since he seemed to rely on Gandalf so much. 

And then Aragorn tells them all they’re going to go through the Golden Wood. Now Boromir knows from the Rohirrim and Gondorian legend that the Golden Wood is Strange And Scary And Dangerous And Men Who Walk in Never Walk Out Again. And he says this, politely. Aragorn tells him he’s foolish for fearing it and essentially that if people got hurt in the Golden Wood then they deserved it. Again, despite the general discourtesy of these comments, Boromir chooses to believe Aragorn’s judgement. 

The next thing that happens is they are accosted by Haldir, treated like possible enemies or spies (despite Haldir admitting that Elrond had already told them they were coming) and a day and a lot of dwarfphobia later Haldir is threatening Gimli with death. No I’m not joking, Haldir says there’s a law dwarves can’t come into Lothlorien without a blindfold. And when Gimli gets justifiably angry about this and wants to go back if he’s being treated this way, Haldir says he WILL be killed if he tries to leave. Weapons are drawn! The only reason this de-escalates is because Aragorn suggests they all go blindfold because ‘it is hard on the dwarf to be so singled out’. I cannot express to you how soon this happens after Aragorn assures everyone that Lothlorien is safe. I also cannot emphasise enough how Gimli does absolutely nothing to deserve this, he’s polite and kind as ever until Haldir instigates it. 

So again!! Another mark against Aragorn’s reliability! And then we come to the CRUX of the matter, the meeting with Galadriel and Celeborn. 

A lot happens here, some of it very funny in terms of Galadriel’s treatment of Celeborn, but the important part is at the end where Galadriel mind-interrogates all the fellowship but Aragorn and Legolas. Again, this isn’t subtext, in-text it says interrogate. And the fellowship discusses it afterwards. Gimli, Sam, Merry and Frodo all agree that ‘Galadriel offered them a choice, to go back home where they would be safe, or to continue on with the quest though there may be far greater perils ahead’. 

But that couldn’t have been the choice she gave Boromir. Because he can’t go home to be safe and sound away from the evil!! He lives there!! This has been Boromir’s fight his whole life, it has never BEEN a choice for him. And from this moment on Boromir’s manner changes dramatically. He questions Frodo about what Galadriel asked him, he expresses concern about Galadriel’s motives, he says he believes she was TEMPTING HIM (remember that for later), concerns which are, once again, sharply and cruelly dismissed by Aragorn. 

There is then a MONTH of a time skip, we get descriptions of the how the other fellowship spend their time in Lothlorien. Gimli and Legolas become friends. Everyone else grieves Gandalf and has a lovely time in Lothlorien... apparently. 

But Boromir has never had any real positive feelings toward Gandalf and did not show any real grief at his loss initially. And whereas the rest of the fellowship seems respectful and awed by Galadriel and Celeborn, Boromir replies to their questions at the end of the fellowship’s stay in Lothlorien with what I would call veiled anger. `As for me,' said Boromir, `my way home lies onward and not back.' Which is a callback to the interrogation, the stark difference between the motivations and priorities of the rest of the Fellowship in comparison to Boromir. Which became VERY obvious to him in that moment. So I would posit that! Boromir did not have a good time at all! Boromir was stuck somewhere he felt unsafe and unwelcome and every extra second they spent in Lothlorien was yet another moment he was away from his currently-at-war home!!! 

Anyway just before they leave the fellowship is privately discussing what road they should take when Boromir makes a slip of the tongue, where he’d always been articulate and clear before. 

‘But if you wish to destroy the armed might of the Dark Lord, then it is folly to go without force into his domain; and folly to throw away-’ He paused suddenly, as if he had become aware that he was speaking his thoughts aloud. `It would be folly to throw lives away, I mean.'

It is very obvious to Frodo what he actually meant here, and this is where essentially Frodo’s inner monologue lays it all out!

Frodo caught something new and strange in Boromir's glance, and he looked hard at him. Plainly Boromir's thought was different from his final words. It would be folly to throw away: what? The Ring of Power? He had said something like this at the Council, but then he had accepted the correction of Elrond.

The important points in this section are that 1: Boromir has started thinking about the Ring of Power as something usable. 2: He did not think this before now, he had accepted Elrond’s words. This is ‘new and strange’. Something changed here. 

And of course it did! Boromir doesn’t trust any of these clowns anymore. 

Boromir’s advice, priorities and concerns have been almost entirely ignored and derided throughout the fellowship, even from the very moment he arrived in Rivendell! And after nearly freezing on a mountain, being chased by wargs, dragged through a mine of Orcs, a Balrog, threatened by supposed allies and then mind invaded by some elf he’s told to be in awe of, whatever will he had to trust and stay faithful to Aragorn’s decisions is barely hanging on. 

And Galadriel didn’t just invade Boromir’s mind, she was tempting him! He says so himself! And considering the circumstances and how he speaks about it, the only logical conclusion is that she is tempting him with the ring, because Boromir’s shown no sign of conflict or interest in the ring before now. So Galadriel was the one who put that concept into his mind in the first place. It’s Galadriel who initiates Boromir thinking again on whether this was in Gondor’s best interests. And Boromir recognises she’s trying to manipulate him!! Which is fucking heartbreaking!! 

'To me it seemed exceedingly strange,' said Boromir. `Maybe it was only a test, and she thought to read our thoughts for her own good purpose; but almost I should have said that she was tempting us, and offering what she pretended to have the power to give.’ (--)  `Well, have a care! ' said Boromir. `I do not feel too sure of this Elvish Lady and her purposes.'  `Speak no evil of the Lady Galadriel! ' said Aragorn sternly. 'You know not what you say. There is in her and in this land no evil, unless a man bring it hither himself. Then let him beware!’

Do you see?? Do you all see?? Am I making any sense at all?? Well I make sense to ME so lets continue- Here, you see how Aragorn puts all the blame on Boromir again? The twisted knot Boromir is in at this point is unfathomable and EVEN STILL! Boromir resists! For a very long time! This is what I mean when I say any characterisations of Boromir being overemotional or somehow out of control get at me so much, NEVER has a man had so much self discipline in his wholeass life. Boromir’s entire civilisation could be being bulldozed by Minas Morgul at this very moment and yet he takes everything that’s thrown at him without malice and internally continues to desperately hold onto his integrity. 

But that’s what’s at stake! His integrity! Because now he’s grappling with what seems like a choice to either keep faith with the fellowship, stay with them and go where they go despite how much his country needs him, or potentially do something drastic in order to bring a the powerful weapon Gondor seems to have ALWAYS been looking for home to finally actually save his people. Because that’s what Galadriel offered him! And whilst he doesn’t trust her, it’s also in his head now as a logical thing to want! He doesn’t trust Elrond either at this point, so why should he believe what he said about the ring! It’s obvious everyone has boundless ulterior motives!!

Oh! Here’s a good place to try and explain my theory of how the ring’s temptation actually works. The Ring can control people one of two ways. The first we see with Frodo and with Boromir, it takes FULL control of their actions for a split second when they are vulnerable. For Frodo it made him put it on on Weathertop. For Boromir it made him attack Frodo. However this effect is exceedingly temporary and the person effected immediately comes back into themselves and recognises that what they did was outside of their control. 

The other way is often thought of as this like pervasive constant pull to the ring that effects you even just by being around it, wearing you down etc. But I don’t think that’s what happens. I think, in order for the ring to start exerting real dangerous persistant power over you, you have to know it’s power and logically want it. You have to come to that conception yourself, you have to think about it. 

And I have a lot of reasons for this but where it pertains here-!! Boromir is a fine, reliable and solid member of the fellowship RIGHT up until Galadriel’s mind meld. It’s not gradual, he goes from making jokes, carrying Hobbits and fighting Balrogs to BARELY being able to control his speech and biting his nails and staring at Frodo creepily. There is barely any easing into it and it starts with Galadriel!!

And you know what! There’s an even more sinister layer to this because like... WHY was Galadriel doing this mind stuff in the first place? An immediate obvious answer would be to test the fellowship, to make sure everyone was solid enough to carry on, to ensure the folk who continued were focused. But... If that’s the case... and Boromir’s test was the Ring... like... he obviously failed that test right? She was reading his mind! And she does it again before they leave! If we’re to assume that Galadriel’s mind powers are greater than Boromir’s ability to deflect them then... surely she would have known! That this turmoil was in him! And if she KNEW then why didn’t she say anything to anyone? To Aragorn?? But I don’t think yall are ready for that discussion yet tbh and I have to stop typing or I’ll go blind.

TL;DR Boromir didn’t want the Ring until Galadriel tempted him with it and made the idea of it saving Gondor a possibility to him. 

#galadriel critical #boromir #erran vs tolkien #UGH that was good to get out even though I am CERTAIN it's incomprehensible #tolkien #lotr #gondor #I've got so much boromir meta built up in me cus I've been too out of it to do any real writing #and so many asks I wanna answer right!! #chats #HHHH #Anonymous

[xjoonchildx]

danger | ksj x reader chapter one: good girl

summary: kim seokjin is a rich asshole. you are an ambitious attorney. smut ensues when he just won’t leave you alone.

pairing: seokjin/reader word count: 8.6K (Part 1 of 2)

rating: 18+

genre: smut | pwp | okay fine, porn with a thin plot | but it’s really thin

warnings:  hate sex, language, terrible ethical decisions, blatant misuse of office furniture

Chapter 01 | 02

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

Are you fucking kidding me? What am I to you? Am I easy to you? Are you playing with me? You are in danger now Why are you testing me? Why are you testing me? Don’t get me twisted

-- BTS, "Danger"

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

“Excuse me, Miss?”

You look up from your phone to the bartender who’s just walked up to you. He’s holding a bottle of champagne. 

“Yes?”

“The gentleman sitting just over there sent this for you.”

Your gaze follows the direction of his nod and immediately your blood warms to a boil.

The man who’s just finished wiping the floor with your ass in court has just sent you a bottle of champagne. Champagne is for celebrating, not for self-medicating after a brutal trial with a shitty outcome. But of course, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? 

You’d spotted the hint of a smile on Kim Seokjin’s lips in the quick moment you’d looked his way.  He was seated at a table -- surrounded by his adoring lackeys -- who were no doubt high-fiving themselves into a frenzy after this afternoon’s verdict. You’d been so busy drowning your sorrows in wine and furiously texting with Nari that you hadn’t even noticed his entire group’s arrival.

The absolute nerve of this man.

“I don’t want it,” you say. “Please send it back.”

The bartender looks flustered for a moment, glancing at Seokjin and then back to you.

“But Miss, this is a very expensive bottle of champagne,” he protests kindly.

“I know that,” you reply quickly, which is bullshit because you don’t know anything about champagne but you’ll be damned if you let this server or Kim Seokjin know that. 

“I still don’t want it.”

“Alright then, I’ll take it back,” he says nervously, clearing his throat. No doubt he’s not looking forward to telling the pompous prick you’ve turned away his selfless gift. “If you’re sure, that is.”

You make certain to give the bartender your warmest smile because you know he is looking. 

“Oh, I’m sure.”

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

Kim Seokjin has never had to think about concepts like student loans and overdue rent. He’s never had to lie awake at night praying for an opportunity to get ahead.

Status and success are his birthright.  

If you had to guess, you’d say those broad shoulders come from weekends spent lugging a bag of golf clubs across manicured greens. Those muscular legs are probably the result of hours of vigorous tennis at his family’s estate.  And the face? Word on the street is that his mother was a beauty queen which fits quite nicely into his rich boy trifecta.  

Truly, you can’t stand the sight of him.

But if you’re being honest with yourself, the worst thing about Kim Seokjin -- the thing that really sets your teeth on edge --  is that he’s a damned good attorney. 

Maybe daddy’s money got him into the best schools, but he clearly paid attention. So instead of spending his days playing polo or drinking manhattans or doing whatever it is obscenely rich people do all day, he spends his days in court litigating circles around some unfortunate opponent.

Just your luck that his last two opponents happen to be you. 

Kim Seokjin has single-handedly put an end to your personal hot streak. You should be celebrating a big win right now but instead you’ve run straight into a brick wall. 

A tall, broad, well-dressed brick wall.

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

“Do you think he’s gay?”

“What?”

“Kim Seokjin, dammit. Are you paying attention to me at all?”

You pull a face when Nari mentions he-who-should-not-be-named. 

“Gay? How the hell should I know?” you grumble, stabbing a fork full of salad with more force than is necessary. 

“I’m just saying. Everyone knows everything about everyone at the courthouse, right? But you never hear about Kim Seokjin hooking up with anyone. Anyone. And I mean, he’s -- you know, gorgeous.”

“I guess,” you say flatly. 

Nari tuts at your unenthusiastic response. Gossip is her specialty and you’re usually game to hear what she’s been able to dig up but just the mention of this man’s name is enough to put you in a mood.  

“Listen, I’d be salty too if I’d lost that case, but that doesn’t change the fact that the man is a four-alarm fire.”

“Two cases,” you correct. “And he’s two-alarm. At best.”

“Oh, you’re hilarious,” Nari laughs.  “Anyway, I picked up something super slinky for Judge Park’s party tomorrow so by then I’ll know one way or another which way he’s batting.”

You roll your eyes. 

“Hope that works out for you. Either way, I really don’t want to talk about Kim Seokjin’s sex life.”

“Okay, fine,” she concedes.  “But what about his professional life? Cause word on the street is that his firm is probably going to make him a partner. Like very soon.”

You chew on that for a moment. 

He’ll probably be the youngest partner in his firm’s history or in any firm’s history, for that matter. It would be the only logical next step in the progression of this man’s obnoxiously charmed life. 

“Good for him,” you grind out, silently willing Nari to drop the subject of the infuriating man entirely. 

She smiles with satisfaction at having dropped a very juicy piece of information, but all you can do is frown into your salad.

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

You’ve been staring at this piece of art for a solid five minutes and at this point you are questioning Judge Park’s sanity. It’s objectively hideous. 

“So you do drink champagne.”

The fine hairs at the nape of your neck stand on end at the sound of the deep voice that comes from behind. You’ve just lifted a flute of the aforementioned drink to your lips when he sidles up to you. 

“When I’m in the mood,” you say tightly.

The low chuckle you get in response is very, very annoying. 

You catch a glance of Kim Seokjin out of the corner of your eye because you refuse to acknowledge him with your full attention. As expected, he looks perfectly groomed, impeccably dressed, and irritatingly confident.

“So this is...interesting,” Seokjin says, gesturing at the art piece. 

“Interesting,” you repeat. “Yes, well -- it’s definitely that.”

You know you’re sending him every signal that you’d rather be anywhere but here talking to him but he ignores the hostility pouring off of you in waves.

“I’ve been meaning to catch you,” he says, pausing to take a drink from an ornate highball glass. “I think it’s a shame we haven’t had the chance to speak one-on-one yet.”

Oh, please.

“Yes, what a shame,” you reply sweetly. “So glad you’re finally getting the opportunity to take your victory lap in person.”

“Ouch,” he laughs, tone light despite your obvious irritation. “I came in peace. I’ve had the pleasure of facing you in court but not the pleasure of a formal introduction. So I thought I’d make a point to get acquainted with the woman who’s had me up against the ropes in my last two cases.”

You lift an eyebrow at the thin compliment.  

“I have to say,” he smiles, “I’m impressed.”

A flare of indignation ignites inside you at his casual condescension. As if you give a single solitary shit what Kim Seokjin thinks of your litigation skills. 

“Well now that I know I have your stamp of approval,” you say, body rigid, “I can truly go on.”

You hear his faint huff of laughter as he takes another drink.  A few uncomfortable moments pass before he seems to accept your silence as a sign that this conversation is over.  

“Well it was nice to meet you anyway,” he says, and you hate that you can hear a smile in his voice. “I’m sure we’ll see each other around.”

He leaves you fuming in front of that monstrosity on the wall.

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

“He’s an asshole,” you say when Nari drops a to-go box at your desk.  “I mean, I always knew he would be, but now I know firsthand.  A self-important, super-inflated asshole.”

Nari laughs. “Kim Seokjin, huh? I saw you two talking at the party and wondered what that was all about.”

She drops into the chair on the other side of your desk with her own to-go box.

“For the record, I can’t get a read off of him. And believe me, I tried,” she sighs.  “So what did he say to you?”

“He was so damned patronizing. He told me I ‘had him up against the ropes’ in his last case,” you hiss. “That I’m talented.”

“Oh, that’s awful,” Nari says, and you don’t miss her thick sarcasm. “Acknowledging your skill and whatnot. You’re right -- total jerk.”

You are immediately impatient with her lack of sympathy.

“You weren’t there, Nari.  He wasn’t passing along some heartfelt praise, he was saying ‘close but no cigar.’”

“He’s professionally competitive, girl.  A shark. What did you expect?”

“I don’t know. Manners, maybe?”

“Ugh, you’re such a baby,” she teases. “I think your sudden success has gone to your head. He’s not about to bend the knee just because you’ve got a great record.”

You narrow your eyes at her.  “No one’s asking him to bend the knee, Nari.”

She smiles.

“Okay, princess, I’m gonna let you believe that. But I will admit that you might be right about the goading thing,” she says. “Last night, Sang Yejun told me Seokjin took over that last case from a junior attorney. Stepped in and snatched it right up and no one thought it was even on his radar.”

Well that catches your attention. 

You’d wondered yourself why the great Kim Seokjin had stooped to take such a minor case. 

“See what I’m saying, Nari? It’s like he’s purposely trying to get under my skin.”

She snorts. 

“Girl you know I love you, but you really need to get a grip. Not everything is about you.”

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

Nari was dead wrong. Apparently everything is about you.

Three days after your cringeworthy exchange at Judge Park’s party, you have the displeasure of seeing Kim Seokjin again. This time, he walks right into one of your open hearings and helps himself to a seat.

Your entire body goes rigid when you spot him. He has nothing to do with this case, his firm isn’t involved in any way and yet here he is, taking time out of his precious day to sit in your hearing. You silently simmer over his unwelcome presence and the anxiety that comes with it.

Just what is he playing at?

Your second chair elbows you.

“You ready?” he asks and you nod.  

You take one last look at your notes and will yourself to focus.  The last thing you want to do is screw up this line of questioning and you certainly don’t want to screw it up in front of him.

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

You assume the coast is clear when court adjourns and everyone scatters. You look around for any sign of Seokjin while packing up your files and come up empty. You hate to acknowledge the tiny feeling of relief that blossoms inside at that observation.

That feeling of relief doesn’t last long. 

As soon as you round the corner into the hallway you spot him leaned up against the wall, scrolling through his phone as you walk past. You stride quickly, praying he won’t look up in time to see you but no such luck.

“Hey,” he calls after you.  You grit your teeth.  

There’s certainly no way to avoid speaking to him, not without causing a scene.  The hallway is packed with attorneys and paralegals from firms all over the city. You’d hate to give any of them the impression that this man has rattled you.

You stop and round on him.

“How can I help you today, Mr. Kim?”  

He smiles, refusing to be intimidated by your acid tone.

“I got a chance to sit in on your hearing,” he says, as though you didn’t already know that.  ”Not bad.”

You are in uncharted waters right now. If Kim Seokjin was just another asshole in a bar, you’d throw your drink in his face and leave him sputtering.  But he’s a respected colleague and you can’t make a scene -- not here. You’re still trying to figure out how to respond to that gem when he makes another observation. 

“You did miss an opportunity to pin your witness on that last question, though.”

You catch your jaw before it has a chance to drop.

“I thought you were going to go for the jugular for a minute there,” he says, lips pursing to suppress a smile. “But then you backed off.  It surprised me.”

He’s baiting you. And you know he’s baiting you. And you still can’t stop yourself from reacting.

“So are you billing me for these hours or do I get to enjoy all this unsolicited legal advice for free?”

“For you?” He shrugs casually. “Totally free.”

He slips his hands into his pockets and turns to walk away, but you are the one to stop him this time.

“Why?” you call after him.  

He turns back to face you. 

“Why do you care? Why are you here grading me like this is some kind of performance review?” you ask, unable to keep the astonishment out of your voice.

The slow smile that spreads across his face is downright smackable. 

“It’s my job to keep an eye on talent.  Even if the talent is overly confident, bad at taking direction, and just a little…” he stops for a moment to appreciate the look of absolute outrage on your face, “...bratty.”

“Bratty,” you repeat numbly. 

“Bratty,” he confirms. 

He shoots you a wide smile before sauntering away.

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

“He said you were…” Nari pauses for effect. “Bratty.”

“Yes.”

You wait through a full thirty seconds of Nari’s laughter before you interrupt.

“You --” you say, pointing an accusing finger at her, “are supposed to be my friend.”

“Oh, I am your friend, sweetheart,” she says, chuckling between words. “And as your friend I have to tell you that’s the most accurate take a man has had on you in a minute.”

You ball up a piece of paper on your desk and throw it at her.

“Seriously,” she says, breathless from laughter. “That is the funniest shit I’ve heard in a while.”

“Glad you think so,” you mutter.

Nari finally manages to collect herself after a moment.

“Okay, so Kim Seokjin thinks you’re bratty. And he’s definitely toying with you. And it’s working. So what are you gonna do about it?” she asks.

You say nothing for a moment. This is the internal debate you’ve been having since your embarrassing little encounter the other day.

“I’m gonna tell him to go fuck himself,” you say, finally.  “Whatever little game he’s playing — I’m done.”

Nari’s sly smile around a fork full of noodles indicates she can’t wait for the gossip that will no doubt come out of this showdown.

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

You have to wait for the right opportunity to confront Kim Seokjin.

You’ve crossed paths with one another a few times in the courthouse in the past few days, but the last thing you want to do is have this conversation in front of the prying eyes and sharp ears that always mill about the halls.

So you stew in your anger and wait for the perfect moment to strike.

The moment comes when you spot a box of files in the lobby of your office, with a large note right on top.

ATTN: Kim Seokjin

Lee & Kang Law Firm

“What is this?” you ask the receptionist, pointing at the box.

“That’s a load of files that has to go over to Lee and Kang.  I’m having them delivered,” she replies.

“Don’t worry about it,” you say quickly.  You check your watch.  It’s end of business already, but you’re certain he’s still at his office.  He’s far too ambitious to be the type to pack it in early.

You pull out your phone and shoot a quick text to Nari. Her response is immediate.

you: going to give seokjin a piece of my mind tonight [ 5:49 PM ]

nari: i expect nothing less than a detailed play-by-play [ 5:50 PM ]

The receptionist quirks an eyebrow at you, waiting for you to get off your phone.

“You don’t want me to call for delivery, then?”

“No,” you smile. “I’ll be happy to hand-deliver them myself.”

She shrugs.  “Suit yourself.”

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

The offices of Lee and Kang are opulent. 

Marble and glass and shining fixtures all paid for by hours of top-dollar billing.  It’s one of the best firms in town and they clearly spared no expense in decorating the massive space.

When you walk through the heavy glass doors in the lobby there is no receptionist on duty. The main lights are down, leaving only accent lights and the glow coming from a few open offices. 

You spot one lone woman still working at her desk in the common area. 

“Kim Seokjin?” you ask, as you carry the box past her desk.

For a moment, it looks like she is going to ask you who you are -- because clearly you’re not a deliveryman -- but she sees the note taped to your box and points you in the right direction.

A corner office.  

Of course the pampered asshole would already have a corner office. 

You take a deep breath before knocking and immediately you hear Seokjin’s deep voice responding to invite you in.

The first thing that strikes you when you open his office door is that he does not seem surprised to see you. 

At all.

The man’s beautiful, infuriating face stays entirely neutral as he looks up from the papers on his desk. His total lack of a reaction is unnerving.

The second thing you spot are the massive windows. Seokjin certainly gets to enjoy the perks of his high-status, high-rise office because the backdrop to his workspace is stunning.  The sun has already set and the city is lit up behind him, a stark contrast to the night sky.

The last thing that you notice is that his office is a mess. You’d expect someone as anal-retentive as Kim Seokjin to be a neat freak, but there are boxes and papers all over the floors and even his pictures and degrees are leaning against the walls instead of hanging on them.

“Doing some redecorating?” you ask finally, when he does absolutely nothing to end the awkward silence.

“Something like that,” he answers smoothly.  

“We owe you these documents,” you say, motioning to the box.  You drop it unceremoniously on the floor in front of his desk.

He stares at it for a moment before finally deciding to speak.  

“You --” he starts, “ -- hand-delivered a box of documents to my office? Can your firm not afford couriers anymore? You guys going out of business?”

“That’s a lot of questions at once, Mr. Kim,” you fire back. “Have I walked into a deposition? Am I being videotaped?” 

“Would you like to be videotaped?” he counters evenly.

You search his face for any hint of humor -- any indication of teasing --  and come up empty. The look on his face suggests he’s just asked a serious question that deserves a serious answer.

Alarm bells begin to sound in your head.  

“You seem to be at a loss for words tonight,” he says, finally. “Which from what I gather is a bit unlike you.  So I’ll ask you again, what is a gifted attorney doing playing errand girl with a box of files?”

You stand silent, irritated at your sudden inability to string a simple sentence together.  Moments ago you’d walked in here ready for a confrontation, ready to read this man the riot act.  In a matter of seconds your momentum has died. You can almost feel the power shift in the air. 

“I -- “ you start and falter.  

Seokjin raises one perfect eyebrow.

“I am not bratty,” you say finally, lamely, and it’s laughable because it sounds exactly like something a brat would say.

“Not bratty,“ Seokjin repeats dryly. “Noted. Anything else?”

“Don’t do that,” you hiss. “That dismissive thing you’re doing right now.  I don’t know who you think you think you are, or who you think I am -- but you are all wrong about me.”

He stands up from behind his desk, long fingers moving to loosen the tie around his neck and somehow the simple act comes across as painfully intimate.  You very nearly look away.

“All wrong.”

“Yes,” you repeat firmly.

“Oh, I somehow doubt that,” he demurs, moving slowly around his desk to step closer.  Not once does he take his eyes off of you. 

A flutter of panic spreads across your chest.

“Just...leave me out of whatever game you are playing, Mr. Kim,” you say, the words spilling out in one nervous breath as you turn to make for the entrance of his office. You register the sound of his footsteps but don’t realize he’s made up the distance between you until it’s too late.  He reaches past you to push the door closed.

It slams shut with a heavy thud and for a second all you can do is stare at it.

Slowly you turn to face him.  

“What do you want from me?” you say after a moment, breathing a bit harder than you’d like. Your tongue slips out to wet your lips, a nervous gesture that his eyes follow with keen interest.

“You,” he begins slowly, “are in my office. You came to me.”

He’s crowding you with his body, guiding you both so incrementally you barely register movement until the door is nearly flush against your back. 

“So why don’t you tell me what you want?” 

You stare back at him dumbly.

What you want at this moment is to find the choice words that will take him down a peg. You’d love nothing more than to deliver some scathing, elegant takedown but you fail to find the words. You fail to find any words, in fact.

“You are obstinate,” he whispers, so dangerously close you can smell his aftershave. “Haughty. Smug.”

Your mouth falls open in silent protest.

“And clearly in need of a firm hand.”

Heat floods your cheeks. 

It’s embarrassing, being spoken to like this. It’s humiliating to have Kim Seokjin of all people dress you down in this way . But the most mortifying thing about this bizarre exchange is the way your body warms immediately, blood humming in response to his words. 

“Fuck you, Seokjin,” you whisper back, but the words come out thin and weak.

He leans forward, bracing his palms on either side of the door -- on either side of you, dipping his head low to bring his gaze level with yours. 

“That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?” 

He doesn’t wait for you to answer. 

“Ask me for it. Better yet --” he leans close to whisper in your ear, “Beg me for it.”

He hasn’t touched you but that doesn’t stop the pang of arousal set off by his words from hitting you like a slap. The sensation that starts at the apex of your thighs spreads into your legs and across your arms, into your fingers like a current. 

Seokjin continues speaking in that same even, unsettling tone.

“Go ahead.  I’ll wait.”

He is too close, too warm, too aggravating, too tempting.  You have to shut your eyes for a moment to block him out and give your brain a moment to catch up. No one has ever spoken to you this way, and this -- your body’s immediate, damning reaction to it -- is something new.  

Something scary.

You’re certain he can see it all over you, the beads of sweat at your temples, the high color in your cheeks. Nari was right — Seokjin is a shark — and he’s looking at you right now like he smells blood in the water. 

You stare back at him, conflicted and incensed and aroused beyond belief. 

“I’m leaving,” you say finally, voice brittle.

He gives you one long look before reaching behind you for the handle to the door.  He pulls it open and waits for you to walk through, but you just stand there for a moment, dazed.

“Get home safe,” he murmurs.

You nearly scream.  He’s maddening like this, in complete control while you feel ready to fall apart at the slightest provocation.  You look from him to the door and back to him.  

You know you have to make a decision. You can walk out that door on trembling legs with your entire body on fire or you can swallow your pride and submit to the most infuriating man you have ever met.  

He quirks that eyebrow again.

“Wait,” you say after a long, tense moment.

“For what?”

“Do it,” you whisper, barely meeting his gaze.

“Do what?”

You want to slap him for feigning ignorance but instead take a deep breath in and out before speaking again.

“Fuck me,” you say quietly into the narrow space between your bodies.

For the first time tonight you see a tell --  a tiny giveaway that Seokjin is as affected as you are by this charged encounter. The look of heat that flickers in his eyes is hypnotic. He shuts the door again and rubs his fingers across his lips before speaking.

“Fuck me, what?” 

You grit your teeth -- irritated with him, irritated with yourself for being in this position.  For not telling him off and leaving with your head held high. Your feet feel rooted to the floor.

“You are an asshole,” you whisper tersely.

“I am,” he admits in that infuriating placid tone.  “And I’m still waiting to hear you say it.”

You take a deep breath, then swallow the taste of humiliation that makes your tongue feel heavy and thick.

“Fuck me, please.”

It’s damned near painful to choke out those words and the second they escape you expect him to gloat. You expect him to dangle your submission over your head, to weaponize it and use it against you.  What you do not expect is the eerie calm when he reaches behind you again to cut the lights to his office.  

His voice is low when he leans close to your ear.

“Good girl.”

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

#seokjin smut #seokjin x reader #kimseokjinsmut #kimseokjinfic #btssmut #bts fanfic #bts

[itsclydebitches]

ngl voyager gets a whole lot of very disproportional hate from the fandom and i'd hazard a guess that a lot of that is just garden-variety misogyny (and probably racism mixed in, considering how many of the most prominent characters are women, poc, or both). like, is voyager perfect? absolutely not. and no spoilers but there was a lot of executive meddling that wound up leading to the finale/conclusion being lacking and there's a lot of reasonable dissatisfaction with that--but again that was largely thanks to the execs fucking the show over and i recommend looking into that if you can once you've finished the show. but overall? voyager is trek right to its very core--it has heart, it's about family, and it never loses sight of that imo, even if some episodes are weaker or just duds (but, like, would it be a trek series without some episodes that just kinda suck but are still fun to watch???)

anyway, i absolutely love that you're getting into voyager, it is my all-time favorite trek series to this day for a lot of reasons, and i hope that ppl like that anon dont put you off bc i'd love to continue to see your thoughts as you watch the series!

Oh, it would take a whole lot more than some anons being salty that others enjoy things to turn me off :D 

Thus far (I lost internet last night so I’m still only on Episode 7 of Season 2), Voyager is the Trekiest Trek I’ve watched. Which is a weird sentence, but I mean it in the way you said it’s “trek right to its very core.” What is Star Trek, if we strip the intent of the story down to its basics? It’s about exploration, discovery, that “wagon train to the stars,” wrapped up in the argument that life is fundamentally good. We have problems, but we can work past them. We have differences, but they strengthen us. Diversity is the lifeblood of the universe and the future will continue to improve so long as we embrace that. 

Voyager is (again, from what I’ve seen so far!) basically a love song to that premise. I didn’t do too deep a dive because I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but I did look at a couple threads discussing why Voyager is so hated. Again and again I saw the same reason pop up: wasted potential. Now, a lot of fans left it at that (as if the answer to what potential Voyager apparently missed out on is self-evident. It’s not), but those who did expand on the idea consistently claimed that the show needed to be darker than it was, even if they rarely said it like that. Why aren’t the Federation and the Marquis at each other’s throats? Why isn’t the crew going crazy under these circumstances? Why aren’t characters getting killed off left and right in hostile space? “Anything could have happened out there and they played it safe!” but the “anything” here is always... awful. There’s this very pervasive idea that the world is inherently cruel, people are inherently divisive, that when pushed to the brink everything will fall apart... and that (while making for one kind of great story) is very much not Star Trek. 

See, Voyager created an unimaginable scenario--lost in space, 75 years from home, forced to live indefinitely with strangers--and their answer to the question of “What happens?” is “People make it work.” They learn to respect one another, they uphold their ideals, they maintain a love of life and discovery, and they create a family. And that’s fucking fantastic. That’s Star Trek! I’m not going to pretend there aren’t problems with the show, with plenty more to come, I’m sure, but I don’t think this is one of them. Why do so many viewers think that hatred, horror, death, and growing jaded is the only potential here? Why would they expect that in a Star Trek show whose premise is the very antithesis of those things? 

“But they don’t do enough with those things, even if they have happy outcomes.” They do plenty, they just do it in an episodic rather than serialized nature. I can point to multiple episodes where the replicator rations or Maquis differences are driving the characters’ actions. “But without that horror there’s no conflict.” There’s plenty of conflict. Hostile aliens aside, I just watched an episode where Tuvok and Chakotay are pissed as hell at one another because they fundamentally disagree over how to handle problems, but--because they’re adults with a well-tested respect for one another--they apologize and work through it. “But the characters don’t develop at all.” You mean they don’t grow harder. That’s not the same thing as no development. Tuvok is figuring out how to be more flexible, Chakotay is becoming more willing to accept cultures he doesn’t agree with, Harry is growing more confident now that he’s far from home, the Doctor is learning to see himself as a person, Paris is grabbing his second chance with both hands by making strong ties, and Janeway is learning to command and care for her crew simultaneously. I honestly believe that a lot of people think of “character development” as the character becoming a fundamentally different person, unrecognizable from where they started out. But  characters can also grow into the people they wanted to be in the first place. “We’re far from home, in hostile territory, tempted to do horrific things to survive... but no. Right now at least, we’re holding onto who we are. We’re scientists, so we’re going to explore and learn. We’re peaceful, so we’re going to make friends with as many species as we can. We’re members of a society that teaches acceptance, so we’re going to form a family on this spaceship.” That’s incredible!! Did fans miss why Seska was an antagonist in the episode she was unmasked? Because she was trying to convince them to give up everything they believe in in the name of survival, an ends justify the means argument. And the crew said no, we will not give up what we believe in just to make it through. I legit saw a ton of fans saying some version of, “I can’t believe they were that far from home and actually followed Starfleet’s rulebook.” It’s because those rules don’t exist for the hell of it. Overlooking their practical function, they’re a philosophy that the characters believe in, and they’re figuring out how important that part of their identity is to them under these circumstances. Am I willing to steal a specie’s technology if it gets us home? Am I willing to die to help another uphold their own philosophy? (Chakotay in “Imitations”). What regulations should we bend or change to accommodate our new situation? The first two things Janeway does are a) giving the guy who just came out of a penal colony a rank and b) deciding that she needs to be more familiar with her crew than is normally encouraged for a captain because she’s essentially their mom now. Developing doesn’t have to mean characters do a 180 on their initial personality, or characters getting killed off when stuff gets “boring” so that others can do edgy things in response. 

Voyager upholds Trek’s premise and runs it to its logical conclusion: 

Voyager has the most literal trek--a trek back home. 

Voyager has the most diverse crew--a woman Captain, Native American First officer, black Vulcan, Asian-American communications officer, and a White Dude pilot that realizes he wants to be soft and kind towards those who took a chance on him because Toxic Masculinity who? 

Voyager has the most literal family--not just a 5+ year mission, but a crew who expects to raise the next generation. They have no choice but to work together, so they indeed come together rather than pulling apart

Except they do, of course, have a choice. In “The 37′s” the crew is allowed to stay on the Earth-like planet with a city of other humans and Janeway is convinced that a sizable number will choose that. After all, they may never get home and this is a safer, kinder future for them. In fact, the real question is whether so many will stay that they can no longer run the ship... but Janeway would never dictate her crew’s choices in that manner. So she swallows her worry down, opens the door... 

... and finds that not a single person decided to stay behind. And the show has ensured we understand that this is not just because they all have some unshakable belief that they’ll get home (many don’t), but because this is their family now. This is home. 

And fans want to toss that out for a generic, gritty, sci-fi adventure where hope is scarce, the universe is cruel, and people need to be pushed to the limit just to admit that they maybe, sort of, like each other?? Obviously like what you like, but that’s a hard pass for me. I’ll take the bridge crew comforting each other in “Twisted,” thanks. Besides, we already have shows like that. And we already have DS9 which grapples with many of those dark, pessimistic themes. Voyager feels like a breath of fresh air, even within the breath of fresh air that is Star Trek as a franchise. It’s a show that says, “Yes, when everything goes wrong people will come together. They will love each other. They will make it through.” 

What’s more Star Trek than that? 

#star trek #ST #mymetas #Anonymous

[rosaliestark01]

Dusk Till Dawn - Part 2

Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter wants to help you but he doesn’t trust your new friend.

Warnings: Swearing (most likely), angst, jealousy, 

A/N: colab w/ @annies-marvel-imagines. Part 3 will be posted on her account. GIF cred goes to owner. 

The second Peter felt your presence, he knew that something was wrong. He could feel your emotional distress without even having to see you. It was strong and he couldn’t figure out what had caused it. He knew that he wasn’t the only one who was worried about you. 

Your dad had called him last night thinking that the two of you had fought. Apparently, you refused to come out of your room since coming back from the mission and you refused to talk to anybody. In short, the Avengers though you were avoiding them.

That was another thing that pissed you off. They ignore you for six months and then have the nerve to say that you were the one avoiding them? Well, technically you were. The only person you’ve spoken to was Steve, but that was just because he ambushed you on your way to the kitchen in the middle of the night. 

He also assumed that you and Peter had a fight or something. He had told you that if you needed anybody to talk to, he’d be happy to listen. You weren’t sure where any of this was coming from. He had been one of the many people who had ignored you for so long.

Whatever it was that you were feeling, Peter felt it too. All day, Peter couldn’t concentrate on a single thing his teachers were saying. It was like the only thing his senses could focus on was you. At one point, it had gotten a bit embarrassing when he didn’t answer his teacher right away, causing Flash to make some smart-ass comment about something. He needed to talk to you right away.

If only Eloise Day hadn’t beaten him to it.

“Does your dad know that you know?” Ellie asks. You had told her about what you had found out about yourself from the USB that you stole from Hydra.

“No. Not yet at least. I just can’t believe he’d keep something like this from me my whole life.” You sigh as you shove your school books in your locker. Yes, you were pissed. Your dad told you that your mom was a summer fling who died giving birth to you. 

“You had a right to know,” Ellie tells you as she places a comforting hand on your arm. You just wish that people would be honest to you. The only two people who you can really trust were Ellie and-

“You had a right to know what?” Peter unexpectedly asks, causing you to almost drop your Science book. Peter catches it before it hits the ground and places it neatly in your locker.

“It’s nothing,” you say. You trusted Peter, but this wasn’t something you wanted to tell him. You knew that he would try to defend your dad and make up lame excuses. Peter idolized your dad and you also didn’t want to take that away from him.

“Hey, Peter,” Ellie looks at him grudgingly, as though daring him to push the topic further.

“Hi,” he says half-heartedly. Right now, he cared about you a lot more than some random girl who he barely knew. “You should come over today. May says she misses you.”

Peter knew that it was just an excuse to get you alone. Yeah, May really did miss you, but Peter was really starting to worry. You were always open to him, so the fact that there was something you weren’t telling him on top of your awful mood was causing him to freak out a little. Was it something he did?

“I don’t know.” Peter noticed your hesitation. “I’m not feeling that great.”

“It’s okay.” It most definitely wasn’t okay. You lied to him. Peter always knew how you were feeling and he knew that you weren’t sick at all. “Maybe another time?”

“Yeah.” Peter nodded his head as he watched you walk away with Eloise. 

Ellie had insisted on you coming to her house. She said that she wanted help on her Chemistry homework, but you knew that she was actually curious to know more about what you found out. If Ellie really was as smart as you knew she was then there was no way that she needed help with homework.

As usual, her parents were working late. You’ve heard stories of Ellie’s parents, but you’ve never  actually met them. From what you knew, they always worked and Ellie was always alone.

“So if Tony Stark isn’t your real dad, then who is?” Ellie sat with her legs crossed looking at you curiously. 

“I wish I knew. The only information I found about who my real parents are is my mom’s name.” You couldn’t really find any pictures of her, but you really liked her name.

“What was her name?” Ellie was a good friend. It’s not like she was going to go around telling people about this. 

“Christine Y/L/N” 

“What?” She looks at you with an expression that you couldn’t quite read.  “I think I know someone who might have known your mom.”

“Really?” You sat up giving her your undivided attention. Could she really help you find out more about your past?

“Yeah, but I’m not a hundred percent sure.” You followed her to her parent’s room where she dug through one of the suitcases that were under the bed. “Do you mind doing a DNA test?”

“Um... I don’t know.” She finally found what she was looking for You eyed the syringe warily.

Bucky had one told you to never give your blood to anyone unless it was a life or death situation and even then you were supposed to be cautious about it. Steve and Nat were quick to agree but this had to be an exception, right? This was important to you and they would have to understand.

“Come on. It’s just me. You trust me, right?” Ellie prompted.

“Okay, just do it quick.” You hated needles. After a few seconds, she was done but there was another problem.

“There, um...” She looked around for band-aids. You ended up having to use a tissue temporarily until Ellie came back with the box. “These are the only band-aids I have.”

The band-aids were all Avenger themed. You pulled out a band-aid and put it on. It was blue with tiny shields all over it. It was actually kind of cute.

“Thanks.”

“So what’s Parker’s deal?” Ellie asks. You didn’t look like you knew what she was talking about so she continues. “He looked like a lost puppy when you turned him down earlier.”

“Well, we’ve sort of been best friends since we met,” you say remembering the day you met. It was in that airport in Germany. 

“Weren’t you two fighting each other when you met?”

“Sort of.” You got ready to tell her.  “I was fighting him but he wasn’t fighting me.” While you fought Peter, all he did was dodge and defend. Not once did he throw a punch your way. You kind of already knew Peter, but you had never really spoken to him until that day. You figured that Tony had asked him not to hurt you or something like that.

“Did you know that he actually saved my life that day?”

“How?” She scrunched her nose in confusion. You weren't oblivious to the fact that Peter and Ellie did not like each other at all. Either way, Ellie was your friend and you were excited to talk to her about this.

“Well, the whole fight has pretty much escalated out of control and a giant bus flew at me but Pete swung in and grabbed me before the bus hit me.”

“Gwen is a lucky girl,” Ellie stated as she got back to doing her homework. 

“Gwen?” What the hell was she talking about?

“Yeah. They obviously like each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked her to homecoming.” 

You just now realized that Peter and Gwen actually have been spending a bit more time together than usual. She started eating lunch with Peter, Ned, and Harry around the time that you started eating lunch with Ellie so she wouldn’t be alone.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” You didn’t want to think about Peter and Gwen together. “I should probably go home, but it was nice hanging out with you.”

“I like hanging out with you too.” 

Ellie had offered to drive you home, but you figured that you needed a bit of alone time. Unfortunately, you figured you should have taken her up on that offer. On the subway, you ended up siting next to a man and woman who couldn’t control their pet chicken. You finally made it back to the tower a little after ten.

“Y/N, where have you been?” Pepper asks. You couldn’t find it in yourself to hold any grudge against her. She, although often busy with running Stark Industries, had always treated you like her own daughter. You were sure that she would have told you the truth if she hadn’t worked for you dad for so long. 

“I was at a friends house,” You say. Suddenly, your dad walks in and you could feel the anger seeping back into you.

“Oh. There’s pizza in the fridge,” he casually says as though he hadn’t realized you were gone for so long. 

“Thanks,” you say bitterly, although nobody seems to have noticed.

“Nice band-aid,” he says after spotting the Captain America themed band-aid.  “What happened?”

“Nothing. Just an accident.” He hummed as he scrolled through his phone. 

“I think Peter is waiting for you in your room.” Your anger vanished a little after hearing that Peter was in your room.

“Why?”

“Something about studying for a physics test.” You knew that was a lie. You share five classes with Peter, Physics was one of them, and there was no Physics test to study for.

“Okay.” Your dad and Pepper walked off (probably to talk about that dude who keeps spreading rumors about SI), and you went to your room. 

“Hey,” you say. Peter was sitting on the edge of your bed and you knew that he was expecting you. He was wearing his Spider-Man suit, except he was holding the mask in his hands. You didn’t like the accusatory look he was giving you one bit. 

“I thought you said you weren’t feeling well,” Peter says. You felt bad about lying to him, but you knew that he would want you to talk about what was bothering you. You weren’t ready to talk to him about it and even if you were you weren’t sure if you should.

“I’m not.” Technically, in an emotional sort of way, you weren’t feeling well. 

“You were at Eloise’s house.” You sigh, knowing you were probably going to be lectured. “Y/N something is bothering you. You know you can talk to me right? About anything.”

“I know. It’s not that important.” Again, you lied. You loved talking to Peter, but you really didn’t want to talk to him about this one specific thing.

“You do know that I know when you’re lying.” Damn spidey-senses. 

“You wouldn’t understand.” Peter stood up and you had a feeling that he would start pacing any second.

“You don’t know that.”  You knew that Peter wouldn’t understand. He knew exactly who he was. You thought you knew yourself, but your whole life has been one big lie. You weren’t who everyone thought you were.

“Pete, can we please talk about something else?” 

“Fine.” Peter was most likely going to want to talk about it again, but he understood that now probably wasn’t the right time for you. “Do you want to go on patrol?”

“You haven’t already?” Peter usually goes on patrol immediately after school gets out. You were surprised that he hadn’t yet.

“No, I was waiting for you.” You nod your head as you feel a sigh blush creep up your cheeks.

“Okay, just let me get changed first.”  Peter remains standing facing you. “You can turn around.”

“Oh- right.” Peter awkwardly coughs as he turns around. 

“So how was school?” You find your suit stuffed in the corner of your closet. It sort of reminded you of Tris Prior from Divergent, except your outfit was more flexible and mostly bullet proof. You really needed to upgrade it against whatever it was that comes from stupid space guns. Your side was still a little bit sore, but it wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle.

“A pain,” Peter scoffs. “Your emotions were really strong today.”

“Sorry.” You hadn’t realized that Peter’s senses would pick up on your emotions. You felt bad that it affected him so much.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he says softly. “I just want to be there for you.”

“I’m done.” You say. 

Going on patrol with Peter was nothing short of refreshing. You missed spending time with him and it was the perfect distraction to everything you’ve been feeling up until this point. 

There wasn’t a lot going on tonight other than one purse thief and a few shoplifters. You and Peter mostly hung out reminiscing about old times. It made you realize how while some things change too fast or too much, some things never do. Peter had the same brown eyes you loved. His laugh was still music to your ears. He was still the same person who saved you all those years ago. 

Peter knew that he should have gone straight home after dropping you back off in your room, but for some reason he found himself wandering around in the park. It was like he needed to be there but he didn’t know what for.

After a while of mindlessly walking around, he sat down on a bench. He quickly stood back up again when he saw an all too familiar face. Eloise Day stood waiting not that far from where Peter was. She didn’t see him, but he definitely saw her. 

A black van pulled up right next to her. It looked more like an old worn down ambulance that was painted black and rusting. Peter was ready to swoop in in case she was in danger but something told him she wasn’t.

A man exited the vehicle and shared a few words with your friend. She handed him something and in return she was given a small folder. Peter could instantly tell that whatever this was wasn’t good. He wanted to tell you, but would you believe him? 

Tag List:

@eridanuswave @drishtisikarwar @spideygirl2003

Anyone who wants to be removed can message me or @annies-marvel-imagines

#peter parker x stark!reader #tom holland x reader #tom holland #peter parker x reader #peter parker #tony stark #peter parker x yn #tony stark x daughter reader #tony stark x daughter!reader #tony stank #peter parker x stark!daughter #peter parker x avenger!reader #spider man x reader #spider man x stark!reader #spider-man

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

So Logan is a fae hunter/researcher currently studying fairy circles, Virgil is a college student whose final is to successfully interact with a fairy circle, Roman is a hopeless romantic who loves the idea of a fairy circle meet-cute, and Patton is just a poor fae prince who just doesn't know what to do with the strange humans who walked into his fairy circle (somehow at the same time). Do with information what you will -pineapple

I wrote this in like two days- y’all proud of me :333

Also gaze upon my amazing title: Three Guys and a Fae Chilling in a Fairy Ring because They’re All Gay (Ao3)Pairings: Implied eventual romantic LAMP, royality (for the sake that Roman is HELLA gay and a huge himbo, the precious idiotic boi, @notveryglittery come look at your son be stupid and gay for Patton)Warnings: Fae universe, fae!Patton being a little creepy at times though they always mean well... they just aren’t super great with humans ajdhcbsdjc, like one line of self-deprecation, a lot of not-very-smart decision making

    Logan had gotten there first.

    Normally, he wouldn’t care about such childish matters. Who got there first, who had proper ‘dibs,’ the like. He wasn’t five, and as such he refused to behave like a toddler. He could make compromises, take turns, play fair. It wasn’t difficult.

    Right now, however, he found himself in the extremely delicate position in which there was really only one shot for things to go right- for things to go at all, really. It was vital that he do what he needed to do, and that he did it before anyone else could interfere.

    Which, in theory, should have been no problem at all. He was in the middle of a woods that was nearly devoid of all human life, the only footpaths in it near the edges of it. Here, deep within the heart of the forest, there was barely a sign that humans even existed, that there was any more world outside of flora and fauna. No one should have been in the woods at the same time as him, much less in the same spot.

    And yet, just as he had finished taking measurements of the circle of bright green sprouts that seemed surprisingly lively given the forest was on the cusp of winter and all around were dead leaves and broken twigs, someone had shown up. Not only had they stumbled right into the same spot as him, they were there on the same business as him.

    Well. Close to the same, anyways.

    “Dude, come on, I need this.”

    “Do not ‘dude’ me. There are plenty of other rings in the forest.”

    “Yeah, but I already found this one. You don’t have to hog it.”

    “I found this one first.”

    “Oh, wow, so special. Now, can I use the damn ring and get this over with? I have a maths final tomorrow I need to study for.”

    Logan huffed, crossing his arms. He was currently standing between the ring and the college student- who had introduced himself as Virgil- who apparently needed to interact with a fae as part of his senior final in ‘myths and magics.’ Logan knew the assignment (he had taken the same class just two years ago, after all), so he wasn’t completely surprised to learn of Virgil’s reason to be out there.

    The problem came in the fact that Virgil refused to find another ring to get his credits in. The fae were notoriously shifty, sly creatures. It was possible that whichever fae came to this ring would be willing to entertain two humans right after each other… but it was also possible the fae would suspect a trick and leave after only talking to one of them.

    Logan had been preparing for this chance to study the fae closer, ask them a few questions, and etc. for a while now, and now that he was here, he didn’t feel particularly inclined to once more reschedule. He didn’t want to go through all his measuring and tests of the ring again, either, which meant he was going to stick with this one, thank you very much.

    “Why don’t you just come back tomorrow? Or later?”

    “Did you not hear me say ‘maths final’?” Virgil asked, annoyed. “I have to study later, and this thing is due tomorrow anyways.”

    “Then why didn’t you handle it sooner?!”

    “I’m lazy. Sue me. Most of the time, fae circles aren’t being claimed by some uptight self-important nerd.”

    Before Logan could respond to that, likely with a snap of his own, there was the sound of rustling and crunching leaves. Both Logan and Virgil looked towards the noise, and after a moment someone walked into their sight, having up until then been hidden by the trees. He was dressed up, wearing pressed black slacks, a white button-up, and a velvet red jacket. He was also carrying a bouquet of roses and a jar of honey.

    The well-dressed man was smiling to himself, looking very self-assured, though the grin dropped when he saw Logan and Virgil. “Who are you?” He asked, glancing between the two of them.

    “Virgil. Stressed and depressed college student just trying to finish my homework.”

    “Logan. I’m a scientist studying the fae, and I got here first.” He glared at Virgil as he stressed the ‘first.’

    “O-kay then.” Roman said, clearly confused by the two’s distaste for each other. “I’m Roman.”

    “Yeah, hi, great to meet you.” Virgil deadpanned, turning from Logan to stare down Roman. “Why are you here? Come to seduce the fae?”

    Roman straightened up at that, tilting his chin up as his grin returned and he said, “Why, yes, actually.”

    Logan turned to look at Roman now, expression quickly shifting into one of disbelief. “You’re not serious.”

    “I’m more serious than Maleficent's curse upon the princess Aurora.” Roman answered, sounding miffed at the thought that he was joking. “Why else would I have come in such glory?”

    “Got lost on your way to the wannabe princes convention?” Virgil suggested, eliciting an offended gasp from Roman.

    “Bold words from a rejected My Chemical Romance member.” Roman snapped back.

    Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Would you two mind taking this elsewhere? I have work to do.”

    “Nice try, pocket protector, but I ain’t letting this ring out of my sight.” Virgil said, once more looking at the researcher. “I need to do my final and I am NOT letting you mess that up just because you got here first or whatever.”

    “If you hadn’t put off your work this long, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” Logan replied. “It’s not my responsibility to let you waste all of my day’s work just because you couldn’t be bothered to come here a week earlier.”

    “Wait- you guys both need this ring, too?” Roman asked, roses and honey jar drooping as he lowered his hands. “Cause I kinda need it to reach my new sweetheart…”

    “You haven’t even met them yet.” Virgil pointed out.

    “I’m too charming to be turned down.” Roman replied defensively before awkwardly looking to the side. “Plus it’s a fae, they tend to like taking random humans away forever, so I feel like my chances here are pretty good.”

    “Uh huh.” Virgil said. “Well, doesn’t matter. You can’t use this ring, because I need it.”

    “So do I!” Logan exclaimed. “And I was here first!”

    “Girls, girls, you’re both pretty.” Roman said, stepping around the circle so that he could stand between Logan and Virgil. “Seriously. If this thing with the fae don’t work, hit me up. One of you. Both of you. I am single and very ready to mingle.”

    “Are you going to find a point any time soon?” Logan questioned.

    “Why can’t we just share the circle?” Roman asked. When he was met with stares of bewilderment and annoyance, he explained, “It’s a decently sized ring, so it can definitely hold all of us, and it’ll give us all a chance to talk with a fae without risking them running off before we all get a turn.”

    “That’s…” Logan paused, thinking before he finished, albeit reluctantly, “not an entirely awful idea.”

    “I mean… I just need to interact with the fae.” Virgil said slowly. “And this would be interacting.”

    “And I could still ask all my questions.” Logan added.

    “And when you two are done, I can seduce and woo them!” Roman enthused. “And then they’ll take me away to fairyland, or we’ll just talk into the night, or something, but whatever happens they’ll be so focused on me you two can make a get-away!”

    Logan frowned. “You really are set on being more or less kidnapped by a close to all-powerful being, huh?”

    “It’s not kidnapping if I let them take me away.” Roman corrected. “Plus, fae are hella pretty, and I am hella in need of a partner as lovely as me.”

    “And yet you said you’d date one of us.” Virgil said, smiling cynically.

    “That’s because you, dearest killjoy, are absolutely exquisite.”

    “I was trying to say you’re ugly.”

    Roman gasped in offense while Logan furrowed his brow. “You know that, by saying that, you have called myself and yourself ugly as well?”

    Virgil finger-gunned at Logan. “Yep.”

    Having gotten over his indignation, Roman glared at Virgil. “Just for that, I’m going to woo you so hard within six months you’ll be too busy thinking about our wedding to insult yourself OR our other fiancé, the nerd.”

    Logan blinked at Roman. “You’ve known us for less than five minutes.”

    “You’re pretty and I’m gay. This was bound to happen sooner or later, so I just decided to make it sooner.” Roman said by way of explanation. “Now, who’s ready to summon a being so powerful they could force us to dance until our feet fell off just by knowing our name?!”

    “When you put it like that, I want to say never.” Virgil responded, taking a step away from Roman before he sighed and continued, “Though I guess if I don’t want four years of college to go to waste…”

    “I am ready as soon as you two are.” Logan said curtly. This wasn’t the best of circumstances, being forced to ‘share’ the fae he’d be talking to, but it was better than having to either fight for the right to go first or go another day.

    “Great!” Roman moved away from the two as he spoke, coming to stand across from them, at the edge of the circle. He gestured at them. “Spread yourselves out a bit, make an even circle here.”

    Begrudgingly, Logan and Virgil did as they were told, shifting so that all three of them were roughly the same distance away from each other, all standing right at the edge of the fairy ring. Once they were positioned, the group looked around at each other.

    “Count of three?” Roman suggested and, being met with no objections, began, “One… two… three!”

    Roman hopped into the circle on the three while Logan and Virgil simply stepped in. They stood in place for a moment, completely silent, waiting for something to happen.

    “Maybe it doesn’t work with more than one?” Logan suggested after the silence had stretched, in his opinion, too long without any sign of unearthly life.

    “Don’t tell me we still have to fight over who…” Virgil trailed off as he looked down, finally noticing that the sprouts were swaying to a nonexistent breeze. “Alright, that’s weird.”

    Logan looked down at Virgil’s comment. “If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that the ring still functions with three people.” Logan commented.

    “I think I second that.” Roman said, though his voice was more awed than it really should be over some strangely moving plants. Logan looked back up, going to ask Roman if he had seen something else, when the question was answered for him.

    Because swirling in the exact middle of the circle was a mini-tornado. It was picking up the leaves directly around it, but it never picked up any of the leaves just outside of the ring. As the three of them watched, the tornado went faster and faster until it was impossible to see into or through it. Then, suddenly, the tornado fell apart, the wind blowing outwards and forcing the three humans to look away.

    When they turned back, their group was one of four.

    Standing where the tornado had been was a being that easily had a foot over all of them, likely more. While they seemed proportionate, all their limbs were slightly too long, making them look simultaneously lanky and terrifying. Their skin was pale to the point it might have been worrying were it not for the fact that it glowed, very slightly, like the first rays of morning sun. Their long hair, which gleamed like gold, was pulled into multiple braids that fell over their shoulders and were littered with forget-me-nots. Complemented by bright blue eyes, a dazzling smile, and pristine, flowing white robes, their overall appearance was ethereal.

    They were facing Logan at the moment, carefully looking him over. “Hello there!” They greeted, their voice high-pitched, making their words sound like they had been spoken by the ringing of silver bells.

    For the briefest moment, Logan suddenly had the urge to forego his entire experiment, his entire reason for being there, to simply tell the fae his name and disappear into their world forever. He had to shake his head to refocus himself, shifting his gaze from the fae’s eyes to their chin.

    “Hello.” He replied mildly, wanting neither to antagonize the fae or to react overly positive to them. 

    They didn’t reply for a moment, still just looking Logan over. When Logan started to shift in place, uncomfortable, they finally spoke with, “Oh, I apologize. All this staring must be weird. I just haven’t had someone so powerful in my ring before. Did you know your presence carries the weight of three people?”

    Logan cleared his throat. “That may be because there are three people in this ring at the moment.”

    “...What?”

    “Just uh… look to your side? Or behind you?”

    The fae frowned, clearly confused, but they still turned around. They quietly gasped as they were met by the faces of both Virgil and Roman, the former waving awkwardly while the latter put on his most charming smile. “Oh. There are… three of you?”

    “We all needed the ring.” Virgil explained, looking down at his foot as he kicked lightly at some leaves. “So we figured we’d just all use it at once.”

    The fae nodded slowly. “Interesting.”

    “Is that a good interesting, or a bad interesting?” Logan asked. The fae turned back to look at him, once more grinning.

    “Good interesting!” They said happily. “I haven’t had any sort of interesting in decades. This is great!”

    “Oh. Good, then.” Logan said.

    The fae nodded before their eyes widened. “Oh! I almost forgot!” They said, quickly looking all around the circle before asking, smile growing, “Can I have your names?”

    “You may call me leaf.” Virgil said.

    “And you may call me branch.” Logan followed. It was, after all, more or less rule number one of interacting with the fae: don’t even give them a nickname to work with. The more random of a name you could give them for yourself, the less power they held over you.

    Likely because following that rule required some basic common sense, however, Roman answered the fae with, “You may call me however you wish, though many know me by Roman.”

    Roman ignored the appalled expressions Logan and Virgil directed at him as the fae turned towards him. They were giggling, their skin seemingly glowing brighter. “Someone’s a charmer.”

    “I think that must be you, my dear, given how your mere appearance already has me charmed.” Roman responded, his words smooth and his tone elegant. “Might I have a name to call such an enchanting beauty by? Or would you prefer I stick to one of your many others- sweetheart, sunshine, thief of my heart?”

    The fae giggled again, clearly enamored with Roman. “You may call me all of those and more.” They said cheerily. “As to my name, you may have it as well… so long as your friends will tell me theirs.”

    “We have already told you what you may call us by.” Logan said, tugging at his sleeve uncomfortably. 

    “Yes, but those clearly aren’t your names.” The fae said, turning from Roman to face Logan and Virgil. “I may know little of human naming conventions, but I am certain they don’t name children ‘leaf’ or ‘branch.’”

    “Yeah… uh, you’ll forgive us, but I don’t think that’s really a good idea.” Virgil spoke up, immediately looking away when the fae’s attention focused on him. “No offense, but there’s kinda a power imbalance here already, and I don’t think giving you our names is going to help even it out much.”

    “But that’s the thing! You don’t have to actually give me your names! Just tell me them!” The fae said excitedly. “I promise not to use them harmfully against you. I just want to be able to call you by them properly.”

    Logan pursed his lips and glanced over at Virgil. On one hand, offering a fae your name, even if you didn’t truly give it to them, was a horrible idea. Even the littlest bit of power traded over was dangerous. On the other hand, name or no, angering a fae never turned out well. Especially when you were in their ring.

    Finally, Logan haltingly said, “You may call me Logan.” It was a stupid thing to do, he knew, but he was trying to pick the best of two evils.

    “And you may call me Virgil.” Virgil followed after Logan, shooting him a look that very clearly said, ‘if this goes horribly, it’s on you.’

    “Roman, Logan, and Virgil.” The fae said, as if they were trying out the words, ignoring the slight grimace the three of them made when their name was spoken. Even if it was weak, there was power in those names. “You all have wonderful names.”

    “Not as wonderful as yours is, I’m sure.” Roman said, once more smiling like he owned the whole world.

    “You flatter me so.” The fae said, clearly very pleased with the flattery. “I fear that none of you could actually say my true name, but you may call me Patton instead.”

    “Patton.” Roman said, testing the name, before once more breaking out in a grin almost big enough to break his face. “I was right. Your name is wonderful- though, I fear, not nearly as wonderful as you yourself are.”

    Patton clapped their hands together, squeezing them together as they smiled even brighter at Roman. “Oh, I really must keep you.”

    “So long as you remain more beautiful than a meadow of freshly bloomed flowers, I shall be more than happy to be kept.” Roman returned smoothly.

    Patton didn’t respond to that, but they did take a step closer to Roman, lowering themself so that they were on eye-level with Roman. Their smile was still wide, and Roman was fairly certain their cheeks hadn’t always been dusted a rosy pink. They did nothing but stare at Roman, but Roman felt the stare was an adoring one, and was more than happy to do little more than smile adoringly back.

    Realizing that the fae was ready to completely write him and Virgil off, Logan lightly cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, ah, Patton, I have a few questions for you?”

    Without altering their position, Patton turned their head to look at Logan, looking confused and slightly suspicious. “Questions?”

    “Just about average fae life and the such.” Logan said, hurriedly adding (for fear the fae would take his questions as a threat), “I’m simply curious as to the inner workings of your species, you see.”

    “Oh.” Patton said in understanding. They didn’t respond immediately, clearly thinking about it, before they smiled once more and said, “I’ve got it!”

    “Got… what?” Logan asked, perplexed. “The answer to a question I haven’t asked yet?”

    “No, silly. I know the easiest way to get what everyone wants!” Patton answered. “You can all come home with me!”

    “Sounds like an absolutely perfect plan to me.” Roman said without missing a beat, once more recalling Patton’s attention to himself. “Though any plan involving you and me is perfect.”

    “Yeah, although maybe not a plan involving us.” Virgil said, glancing at the sides of the fairy circle as if he were just realizing how little space there was with four beings within it. “I’m sure fairyland’s great and all, but I doubt it’s very human-friendly.”

    “Well, it isn’t if you’re not careful.” Patton acknowledged. “But as long as you’ve got someone watching out for you, you’ll be fine! And I’ll be there to look over you! So everything will be fine!”

    “Says a fae.” Logan pointed out. “Respectfully, going to fairyland is dangerous for humans, with or without fae protection. I’d rather just ask my questions here and be on my way.”

    “But think of all the questions you could answer, the things you could learn, the experiences you could have… that has to be worth more than a few flat answers on dry paper?” Patton reasoned, moving away from Roman (who pouted the moment Patton shifted their focus) to stand in front of Logan.

    Logan forced himself to keep his gaze away from Patton’s eyes. “It’s dangerous. And I have studies here.”

    “Studies you can conduct better when you’re right at the source.” Patton said. They gently placed one of their hands against Logan’s cheek, though they didn’t try to force him to look them in the eye, which Logan appreciated. “And the greatest discoveries always come with a bit of danger.”

    “I-” Logan paused, considering what Patton had said, before slowly admitting, “You have a point…”

    “I’m surrounded by human idiots.” Virgil mumbled as Logan looked down from Patton, still pondering.

    Patton turned to Virgil at his words, coming over to him. “I take it you have a great interest in remaining in the mortal world?”

    Virgil shrugged. “Not really. I just know that going to fairyland is, like, one of the stupidest decisions a person can make. No offense.”

    “None taken.” Patton responded. “But don’t tell me you have nothing you’re looking to avoid? Nothing you’d like to escape? To be free of?”

    “I mean, it’d be pretty rad to skip out on my maths final tomorrow because I mysteriously vanished off the face of the earth.” Virgil said. “But I also know that most people who go to fairyland never come back, and as sucky as tests are, they’re better than being dead and/or tortured for eternity.”

    “Maybe so.” Patton conceded. “But there’s something I don’t think you understand.”

    The fae once more bent down so that they could look Virgil directly in his eyes. For the first time since they had appeared, their expression was completely serious, and even the light radiating off of them had dimmed.

    “If you choose to come with me to fairyland, I promise you, no one will dare to so much as look at you funny without facing severe consequences.” Patton pledged, voice deadly serious. “You- all of you- would be my guests. If anyone should bring purposeful harm to you, I swear that they shall never regret anything more.”

    Virgil swallowed after Patton finished speaking, looking slightly paler than he had been a moment ago. “You’re really serious about this, huh?”

    “Of course.” Patton said, tone still solemn. “I do not take infractions against my guests lightly.”

    “And how can you be so sure a fae won’t ignore what you say?” Logan asked skeptically. “Fae are powerful, even against their own. And the majority of them rather enjoy… eh, toying with humans. What if they refuse to listen to you?”

    “Most fae don’t consider it wise to cross their prince.” Patton answered as they stood once more and returned to the center of the circle. “And if they decide to anyways, I assure you, I am plenty powerful enough to take care of them.”

    “Oh my Athena. I’m in love with a prince.” Roman said, voice hushed as in awe. “A strong prince. A beautiful, ethereal, strong, magical fae prince.”

    Patton’s smile returned as they stepped away from Virgil, returning to the middle of the circle and turning back towards Roman. “I suppose it’s a good thing, then, that a beautiful, ethereal, strong, magical fae prince is also in love with you.”

    Roman’s face quickly coloured red at Patton’s words. “Marry me?”

    Patton giggled. “Moving a little fast there, don’t you think, honey?”

    “I’m gay, impatient, and you just called me a petname after saying you loved me too.” Roman pointed out, face even redder. “I’m pretty sure the only next gay-logical step is marriage.”

    “I’m touched.” Patton said, only smiling brighter. “But I think we should still take it at least a little slow, don’t you? Wouldn’t want to miss out on all those- ah, what do you humans call it- young love moments?”

    “You can call them whatever you please as long as you also call me yours.” Roman said, prompting Patton to squeeze their cheeks and let out a small, short squeal. Roman grinned at that before he said, “Oh! I almost forgot!” He raised his hands, pushing the bouquet of roses and honey towards Patton. “I bring you gifts! To celebrate not only our young love, but also your perfect beauty.”

    “Gifts? Aw, sweetheart, you didn’t have to.” Patton said as they looked at Roman’s offerings. “After all, you are the only gift I need.”

    “I swear Patton if you don’t take me home right now I’m just going to collapse on this forest floor.” Roman said, looking like the poster child for ‘dying of gay,’ with how red his face was and adoring his expression was. “I swear, I will die of pure beauty.”

    “Then how did you survive seeing your reflection?”

    Roman wasn’t able to respond to that one, though he did try, mouth moving even as the only sounds that came out were more or less strangled shrieks.

    “You broke him.” Logan commented idly.

    “That I did!” Patton said cheerily. “Guess I really should get him home now, huh.”

    “Probably.”

    Patton nodded. “Well then. Guess you’re out of considering time.” Patton turned to look at Logan and Virgil. “Coming?”

    Neither responded at first. After all, neither of them were idiots. They knew it was dangerous to go ‘home’ with a fae, even one who giggled too much and swore to them no harm would befall them. Fairyland was dangerous. Fae were dangerous. Saying yes was dangerous.

    But at the same time… it was a tempting offer. It offered discovery and excitement and freedom. If Roman continued acting like, well… Roman, it would likely offer something sweeter, something closer too. And as dangerous as it was to trust any word of a fae, Patton had seemed nothing less than deadly serious when they promised to keep them safe if they came with them.

    “Danger for the sake of discovery and the acquiring of new knowledge is acceptable danger.” Logan finally said, slowly nodding. “If you truly don’t mind having me… I’d be glad to come with you to fairyland.”

    “Of course I don’t mind.” Patton reassured him before looking towards Virgil. “And you?”

    “I mean… if the nerd’s going to do it I might as well… or whatever…” Virgil answered, kicking once more at the leaves.

    “So that’s a yes?”

    “...Yeah, it’s a yes.” Virgil said, looking back up. “Gets me out of finals, right?”

    “If that’s how you want to think of it!” Patton said. “Oh, this’ll be so much fun! I can’t wait to get to know you all.”

    “I’m certain the same applies for all of us.”

    “Almost all of us!”

    “All of us minus Virgil.” Logan corrected. “Now, how do we get to fairyland?”

    “I’ll take you.” Patton said before they extended their hands towards each of them. “Just make sure to hold on.”

    “What about me?” Roman whined, face slightly less flushed than it had been earlier, his words now actually coming out as words. “You only have two hands…”

    Patton smiled softly at Roman. “Do you think you’ll mind if you have to hug me all the way to fairyland?”

    Before Patton had even finished their sentence, Roman was wrapped around their chest, his grip tight as he easily nuzzled his head against their shoulder. “Mind hugging you? Darling, don’t be absurd- it’s my pleasure.”

    Patton chuckled. “Perfect.” He looked from Roman to Logan and Virgil. “Ready?”

    Logan took a breath before he nodded, taking the hand Patton had offered him. “Completely.”

    Virgil took a moment longer, and a couple extra breaths as well before he more or less shoved his hand into Patton’s. “Not at all, but I’m never ready for anything so… this is as good as it’s going to get.”

    Patton didn’t say anything else, instead simply smiling as they gripped Logan’s and Virgil’s hands.

    The whirlwind from earlier started up again, this time not simply surrounding Patton but also the three mortals the fae had so quickly bonded with. As it sped up, the world outside of them disappeared, blocked out by the quickly moving winds.

    Preoccupied by holding Patton and being gay, Roman didn’t notice as Logan and Virgil once more exchanged glances, worry about what they had just agreed to sinking in again. There were a lot of pros to what they were doing… but there were also just as many cons, ones with even more severe consequences.

    Despite all the wind, it was easy for Virgil to raise his arm, offering Logan his free hand. He also half-smiled, clearly feeling awkward, but the offered hand remained.

    Logan returned the smile as he took Virgil’s hand.

    Maybe what they were doing was dangerous. Maybe what they were doing was stupid. Maybe they should have more thoroughly thought this whole thing out before they said yes. They were facing a lot of maybes.

    But they did have three things they could know for certain: firstly, they had made their choice, and they were stuck with it now, for better or worse.

Secondly, they were the only ones with any functioning brain cells. And that might not be that much, especially against a powerful fae prince, but it was something.

Thirdly, they weren’t alone in this. They had each other. Even if Patton turned malicious, or Roman refused to ever use common sense, they would still have each other.

And they might not have known it right then, but that was everything.

#LAMP #ts patton #ts roman #ts virgil #ts logan #fae!patton #ts sides #sanders sides #fanfic #fanfiction #the cryptid speaks #the cryptid answers #lia get good at writing endings 2020 #also ignore how late I'm posting this #I already meant to post it yesterdya #I didn't want to put it off tomorrow for silly things like 'rest' #also I hope you know that every time I tried to tone down the himbo!roman #roman offered me another really really fcking smooth af line #so he was allowed to keep his braincell-less gayness in exchange for the good lines hjdsbhcj #pineapple anon

[pinballwitxh]

reach for me - request - spencer reid x oc

@prettyboyspenerrr​

summary: they had done such a good job of hiding what they had, no one on the team had any clue how close they really were.  the team takes on a serious case and spencer is sent into the thick of the fight, along with jj and morgan.  emotions are pushed to the limit and truths are revealed when the lives of the team become threatened.

warnings: violence, cursing, people getting hurt including bby boy Spencer, 

a/n: this request has already been a favorite of mine, I love dramatic and intense scenes!  I hope this doesn’t seem to rushed or anything but I loved writing this and I hope you enjoy!

- - -

Hotch briefed the team gathered behind the S.W.A.T. vehicles, reluctant to say who would be storming the premises.  Strauss had given him strict orders and he knew he needed to follow them, one of the toughest parts of his job.

Her breath hitched in her throat as Spencer’s name was said but instantly she steadied her breathing.  It was almost habit for her to contain these emotions, now.  So far she had gotten so good that none of her teammates expected a thing.  She barely heard Morgan and JJ’s name also being mentioned before they were dismissed to gear up.

Before going into Garcia’s mobile setup she trailed behind Spencer slowly, keeping her head buried in the files in her hands but making sure his figure was in her line of sight.  

She entered the S.W.A.T. vehicle and shut the door behind her quietly, turning to face Spencer after locking it.

“You shouldn’t be in here,”

“I just want to hug you before you go in,” she said quietly.

His gaze on her softened as he turned and shrugged his cardigan off.  She sighed as he shook his head, “We can’t start being risky, now”

She did not head his warning and ran into his unsuspecting arms.  He stumbled back a bit from the force, but eventually he hugged her back just as tight.  For a minute they stood there, tightly pressed against one another and breathing deeply.  It was one of the few spontaneous moments they could enjoy.

“Kick some ass like I know you can, Reid.”

“We’ll be in contact the whole time, I won’t be out of your sight.” he paused, “Not really, anyway.”

She chuckled, “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

- - -

Garcia and Prentiss stared at the many screens in front of them as their teammates followed behind the S.W.A.T. team.  Hotch and Rossi were stationed outside with the rest of the local police force, shielded behind the many vehicles with flashing lights.  Gunshots interrupted the silence and rang out from inside the building.

She contained her worried gasp but gripped her pistol even tighter, “They’re gonna have to go in, now,”

Hotch nodded and gave the order to storm the building.  The S.W.A.T. team and BAU members picked up their pace and headed in different directions around the building.  Morgan lead the way into the front entrance, JJ and Spencer taking opposite sides of the building.

He was out of her sight now.

She crouched lower behind the vehicle as Morgan kicked the door down without so much as even a sweat, not surprisingly.  It was silent as he disappeared into the darkness with the S.W.A.T. team trailing behind him.

“I don’t see anything.  Reid, JJ?”

“Nothing from my side,” Spencer responded in her ear.

There was silence as they waited for JJ’s response, but it didn’t come.

Apparently there was some sort of commotion inside and more gunshots were fired.  They could only see the quick flashes of gunfire behind the windows and more screaming from the hostages inside.  She held her position, fighting back the lunges of fear she was feeling.

“I’ve got eyes on him!” JJ finally spoke.

“Do any of you have a good shot?” Hotch asked.

Before there could be any responses more commotion rung out from inside.  The itching in her chest wouldn’t go away and she had a feeling this was far from over.  Every second that passed with no response from her teammates and with each shot fired made her want to scream.

“Shit-” Morgan’s voice cursed over their comms.

“Is that-?”

“Get out!  Spencer!”

She recognized the frantic voice of JJ and looked around the building wildly, searching for any sign of her teammates.  She took a step out from behind the vehicle but was harshly pulled back by Rossi.

“Do not leave your position!”

“We have to go in!” she all but screamed at Hotch.

He glared at her, “Stand down, agent.”

There were more gunshots inside and she fought against Rossi’s hold, “You heard JJ, we can’t leave Spencer to fend for himself!”

Her heart was absolutely pounding and the fear that had taken hold of her was almost unbearable.  She couldn’t control her emotions much longer and she knew that if she had to wait one more minute, it would all be lost.  They had done so well in the shadows of their teammates, it was going so well.  With his life on the line it was testing every inch of self-control she had.

“He isn’t by himself!” Hotch yelled, “Pull yourself together, now!”

“I am not going to sit around and watch him die!” she screamed with tears in her eyes.  

Rossi pulled her tightly to him and she winced at the hold he had on her arms, “That’s enough, you wait here until you’re told otherwise-”

The ground shook before she could feel the heat from the blast.  Rossi was cut off as a resounding boom echoed throughout the vicinity and before they knew it they were thrown back from their cover behind the police cars.  

Car horns and sirens went off and rolled away from the building, glass flew everywhere and there was no time to think.

When she woke up on her side all she could think about was how grateful she was to Rossi for pulling her back.

Her ears rung something awful and it was all she could focus on.  Her vision was hazy and slowly returning, but the waves of nausea rolling throughout her body made her screw her eyes back shut.  

A few feet from her lay Hotch and Rossi, both equally as dazed from the surprise explosion.  This was not something they had profiled from the beginning, they had no clue this unsub was capable of creating mass trauma, let alone wanting it.

Someone rolled her over and she finally opened her eyes back up, it was a medic that she didn’t recognize.  He repeated her name over and over, waving a hand in front of her eyes until she sat up and blinked away her confusion.

“They’re still in there. . .where did that explosion. . .can’t hear anything. . .”

Bits and pieces of Hotch’s worried voice came to her ears and she couldn’t even piece together what had just happened.  She was even having a hard time remembering what they were doing there.  Rossi lifted her up and held her to his side, steadying her swaying body.  Ambulances and medical staff swarmed the area along with the entire fire department.  

Garcia and Prentiss came running to their sides, asking her so many questions that she was nearly reeling at Rossi’s side.  At the mention of Spencer, everything flooded back completely.  Her eyes widened and she shook her head, “I-I don’t know what happened.  I-It just, e-exploded!  Oh, Jesus. . .”

She turned and broke free from Rossi’s hold, despite their protests.  Prentiss followed closely behind her as she retraced Spencer’s steps down the side of the building.  She ignored every word Prentiss was saying, searching for him.

Frantically she began to call out his name with no sense of direction.  She entered the nearly-collapsed building and was met with a tremendous amount of smoke.  Prentiss tugged on her arm but she fought back, continuing down the hall calling out for him.

It was chaos inside, people were screaming and crying out for help but she couldn’t see anyone, she was blind to where they were.  Along the way she lost Prentiss somewhere but she didn’t care as she made her way down every single disheveled hallway.  The explosion had not happened on the main level, thank god, but coming from the second level sure left a lot of damage and injuries, still.

A portion of the floor had completely bottomed out from the force of the blast and that was where she caught a glimpse of a S.W.A.T. member’s vest.  The floor beneath them was not a far fall down and she saw a glimmer of hope when the debris began to move.

Glass and pieces of the floor covered them, rendering them unable to move for the time being.  She leaned down and began to pull the pieces off of them, thankful to hear groans of pain beneath her.

She called out his name one more time before he answered her, “I’m here,” his raspy and barely-there voice replied.

Quickly she moved over to his side and began to pull away every bit of debris that covered him.  His hair was littered with soot and glass, and his face was nearly unrecognizable from the smoke and dust.  

“Reach for me, Spence!”

His shaky hand met hers and she nearly sobbed at the warmth she felt from it.  She smiled to herself and thanked whatever God above there was before she began to pull.  He cried out in pain at the tugging but she insisted that he just needed to push himself up.

“I can’t, it’s too hard-”

“Damnit, Spencer, I am not letting go until I see your entire body now PUSH!” she screamed at him.

With more grunts and groans she managed to pull him out of the debris pile entirely.  He collapsed into her hold barely held onto her.  She tore a piece of her shirt off and covered his mouth and nose with it, “Keep breathing, Spence, I need you to keep breathing until we’re outside.”

She tried to pick him up but he was too tall and heavy, causing them to fall back to the ground in a painful heap.  She cried out for help desperately, coughing as more smoke filled her chest and throat. By the time Hotch and Prentiss found them her throat felt like it was on fire and her breathing was uneven.  

Spencer had passed out in her lap as she held him.

- - -

They took Spencer to the hospital, along with JJ and Morgan in following ambulances.  Hotch helped her into the front seat of his SUV and unbeknownst to her, told the rest of the team to ride separately.  

She was jittery and unable to focus as he started driving.  The worry was evident on her face but it was worry for only one person.

Spencer.

“You need to tell me what’s really going on,” he said as they trailed behind the flashing ambulance.

She shook her head, “What makes you think something is going on?  Jesus, Hotch, we just nearly lost half our team-”

“How long have you and Spencer been seeing each other?”

She glared at him, “What the hell, Hotch?  Why would you even suggest-”

“How long?” he asked again, sternly and with his famous frown.

She rolled her eyes and slunk lower in her seat.  He knew he had her cornered now and he wasn’t going to stop, “We aren’t leaving the vehicle until you tell me.”

“It’s only been seven months.”

“Only seven months?  Do you know how dangerous it is to pursue a workplace relationship with our jobs?” he looked at her, “Why didn’t either of you tell any of us?”

She scoffed, “Because of this!  We were being smart, no one knew about anything, it was safe.”

Hotch was silent for a few more minutes, the sound of the sirens filling the car.  Tears pooled in her eyes as they neared the hospital and she slunk even lower into her seat.  Once they arrived she left the car with no more words to Hotch, sprinting in after the gurneys that carried her friends.

She stood alone at the end of the emergency ward hallway, silently staring through the windows of the doors they had just wheeled Spencer down.  A friendly hand laid on her shoulder and she turned in fright to see Garcia smiling sadly at her.

“He’s gonna be okay, you know?”

She nodded.

“He’s gonna be so happy to see you when he wakes up,”

She smiled, “He’ll be okay,” she repeated to herself.

“I’m happy for you both,”

The techie squeezed her shoulder before she left to join the others in the waiting room.  Tears streamed down her face because then she knew that everyone knew.  

- - -

“You’re waking up, finally,”

Spencer blinked his eyes open, the light making his head hurt when he opened them completely.  Off to the side he could see a familiar figure sitting on the chair next to his bed.  He turned to face her before completely opening his eyes and the relief flooded his entire being.

“You’re okay,” he whispered as she leaned closer to him.

She sobbed as she held his hand, squeezing it so tightly he never thought she would let go.  Her forehead met his and he cried with her, both from relief and sadness.

She kissed his scabbed knuckles, “We’re both okay,”

He reached towards her and wiped the tears from underneath her eyes, “I don’t care if anyone sees us,” he whispered before leaning forward to capture her lips in his own chapped ones.  A small sob came from her throat as his lips claimed hers; any fear she held was now gone.

They pulled away and he was surprised to see she was chuckling to herself.  He stroked her cheek with his thumb, “What’s so funny?”

She leaned back in her chair but still held his hand, “We don’t have to hide anymore,”

His eyes widened, “Oh god, did you tell them?  How did they find out?  How are we going to-”

She silenced his worries with a second kiss that took him by surprise, but felt good anyway.  He sighed and melted back into his pillows as she kissed him deeply and slowly.  She pulled away and ran her fingers through his messy curls, tucking the strands behind his ears.

“It’s okay, Spence,” she smiled, “They’re all happy for us and it’s all okay.”

He shut his eyes and took it all in, humming to himself in thought, “I guess it’s better than keeping secrets.”

She took his hand and squeezed it once more, “It’s about time we told them, anyway.”

“LOVER BOY IS AWAKE!”

Spencer screwed his eyes shut and groaned, “But now I’ll have to deal with this annoying nickname of his. . .”

“Hey, I mean no harm by it because it is about damn time the two of you got together.”

“I agree with that statement,” Prentiss said as she followed behind Morgan into the room.

“Y’all had no idea, so shut up,” she said as she playfully stuck her tongue out to her friends.  Resounding laughter flooded the room and made Spencer smile.  

#criminal minds #spencer reid #criminal minds imagine #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x oc #fanfic #fanfiction #oc #imagine

[marvella15]

Astaire & Rogers Rewatch Part 7: Shall We Dance

• Something I didn’t consciously realize about this film until reading Hannah Hyam’s book is that Astaire and Rogers don’t dance together until nearly an hour in. That hasn’t happened since Gay Divorcee. What was anyone thinking??

• Shall We Dance suffers from a lot of extra crap that it didn’t need, such as extraneous characters, far too many interruptions in the Astaire and Rogers relationship, and a bunch of weirdness like life-sized dolls, life-like masks, and backbending ballerinas. The film also has a lot of wasted potential, including a great score and songs by George and Ira Gershwin. 

The Gershwins were already well acquainted with Astaire and Rogers. The duo had first met when she was starring in the brothers’ show, Girl Crazy, and Astaire was brought in to help with choreography. Rogers was close friends with George and even dated him. Astaire had known the brothers prior, having starred in a few of their shows with his sister, Adele. 

• Our characters/actors: Peter “Petrov” Peters (Fred Astaire), Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers), Jeffrey Baird (Edward Everett Horton), Arthur Miller (Jerome Cowan)

• Around the time I was first really into classic Hollywood films, including these ones, my family and I adopted a new dog. I annoyed my parents to no end by suggesting we name him Peter P. Peters. Don’t know why I latched onto that name but I did. 

• Even in the massive portrait of Petrov, you can see Astaire has his fingers curled in rather than fully extended.

• Astaire’s ballet attire lets us once again see just how skinny he is. 

• Always loved how Peter does a little tap at the rhythmic sound of his name and birthplace: Pete Peters, Philadelphia PA.

• Rogers’ cardigan with all of its baubles is truly awful looking. It will only be out done by a terrible floral dress she wears later. 

• I do however like that she shoves her handsy stage partner into a fountain. Why are men constantly the worst?

• “And why must there always be a kiss at the second-act curtain?” is YET ANOTHER example of these films trolling us. Not once up until this point has any act of an Astaire/Rogers outing included a kiss between them. 

• Linda’s disinterest in even meeting Petrov is based on the assumption that he’s a “simpering toe dancer.” While that’s incorrect, she’s not wrong that he is indeed another man who has seen a picture of her and wants to tell her he can’t live without her. So she gets partial credit. 

• If Peter wasn’t totally smitten before, Linda’s jab, “It’s just a game little American boys play” gets him. 

• As a mixed race number, “Slap That Bass” is incredibly unusual for the era. Astaire was a great admirer of African-American dancers and was strongly influenced by Bill Robinson and John W. Bubbles. I love the blend of all of the voices in this song. 

• The dance portion of “Slap That Bass” gives Astaire a chance to show off more of his innovative mind and choreography. He dances in time with the sounds of the ship’s engine and compels the camera to follow him across and up the vast set. The dance is also special in that we have behind the scenes footage of Astaire rehearsing, thanks to a home video shot by George Gershwin. 

• Peter making Jeffrey believe the boat is rocking may seem a bit unbelievable but having been on a large ship myself, sometimes you don’t realize it’s rocking until you see other passengers weaving or a giant chandelier swaying. 

• I usually skip most if not all of Jeffrey and Arthur’s scenes together. They slow down this film soooo much.

• Like in all of their films, songs are sometimes heard in the background before the actual musical number they appear in. But because this film is scored by the Gershwins, there’s an array of shorter pieces of music that are all their own, such as the whimsical score heard while Rogers and then Rogers with Astaire are walking her dog.

• The dog Peter borrows to give himself an excuse to talk to Linda hits his bark cue perfectly and looks extremely happy about it. 

• I would love to know what exactly Astaire and Rogers are talking about while walking her dog. Maybe they were given lines that were then not recorded or maybe it’s improv. But it seems very natural. 

Rogers did say that Astaire was a wonderful conversationalist and was adept at talking while dancing, something she noted most men couldn’t manage. 

• Wow do I love it when Rogers gets to be extra sassy

Peter: “Isn’t it wonderful being here tonight like this? Still on the same boat together.”

Linda: “Oh, I seldom change boats in mid-ocean.”

• “Beginner’s Luck” is such a charming, fast song that Astaire delivers wonderfully. He hardly seems to take a breath. 

A jazzed up version of “Beginner’s Luck” is the song Peter tried to dance to in Paris but the record kept getting stuck. 

• Something this movie fails at is letting Linda and Peter’s relationship continue to progress before throwing more obstacles in their way. We know from the gossip of the ship’s staff that they have been spending a lot of time together. When we see them, they are having a relaxing evening that’s incredibly domestic: sitting side by side on the deck while she knits and he smokes. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see more of this part of their relationship? 

• Why on earth did Peter think sending Jeffrey to fix the false baby rumors was the right decision? Jeffrey can’t handle a single thing. 

• Infuriated at the rumors that she’s married to Peter and pregnant with their baby, Linda tries to call him. “Operator! Get me Mr. Petrov. What? Don’t you dare congratulate me!”

• The theme of this movie is supposed to be the blend of dancing and music styles. Peter’s ballet and Linda’s jazz styles are one example, George Gershwin’s varied score, which switches from jazz to waltz to foxtrot to classical, etc, is another. But it’s a fairly weak concept that doesn’t quite land and reportedly, neither Astaire or Ira Gershwin was wild about it. 

• I love the new version of “Slap That Bass” that plays as Peter and Jeffrey enter the rooftop club. 

• When Rogers sings “They All Laughed,” she is singing to an off-screen Cary Grant, her friend and sometimes date who was visiting the set at the time. 

She is also wearing a dress with a horrible pattern. It’s supposed to be floral but it always makes me think of amoebas. Maybe it looked better in color?

• Astaire clearly has fun during the part where Peter hams it up a bit with his ballet next to Linda’s tapping. 

• In some ways, “They All Laughed” is reminiscent of “Isn’t it a Lovely Day.” They’re testing each other, trading glancing as they see whether the other can keep up with the increasingly complex steps. Until now, Linda didn’t know Peter could dance this way so her surprise and amusement unfolds slowly as the routine progresses. But he has been grinning since the start because he’s hoping to win her back through this dance.

• This is another duet where it takes a long time before they touch. The first physical contact is just her executing a series of spins with the help of his fingers. And it’s during this part that Rogers finally breaks into a wide smile.  

• When he spins her up onto the piano the first time, she happily waits for him to retrieve her. And when he spins her into a seated position and upright again a few times don’t miss how he looks at her with a wry, slightly mischievous smile. 

• The Linda doll is so creepy and not lifelike. Who was fooled by this?

Also, Arthur is terrible. Jeffrey is terrible too but he’s an idiot so I’m more willing to let it slide. 

• Peter walking out of Linda’s bedroom in the morning in his robe right in front of her fiancé while she is in her negligee is pretty funny. 

• Peter and Linda’s nice day out is just further proof that this movie should’ve spent more time on the two of them together rather than breaking them up every few minutes. 

• “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” is a fun song, though Astaire gets most of the good words imo. However, Rogers does do an extra affectation to some of her lyrics and that makes them funnier. 

At one point when she’s singing, he turns to her and for just a moment his face goes soft in that way it does sometimes when he looks at her. 

• Some film historians have labeled this dance as not that great when compared to other Astaire and Rogers numbers. But I’ve always found it very enjoyable and innovative. While Gene Kelly probably takes the gold medal for dancing on skates in It’s Always Fair Weather, Astaire and Rogers did it first, did it well, and deserve some extra credit for a duet on skates rather than a solo. 

Rogers also deserves some extra credit since the idea to dance on skates was supposedly hers. And probably deserves even more credit for doing this dance on skates while also in heels. 

• For some reason I really enjoy that they perform this number in their hats and street clothes. It’s so informal and feels like something you do on a fun date. 

• Throughout this dance, Peter continues to be the playful one, as he’s been in their interactions in the film, and Linda is the more serious one who needs to be coaxed into having fun. Maybe this is why Astaire frequently glances at her and even spends long seconds watching her at different parts as they move into the next series of steps. Rogers is more reserved in her expressions but whenever they are face to face, she appears happiest. 

A few times she looks triumphant, leading me to wonder if they or she had finally nailed a section that was giving them or her trouble. 

• Can’t say for certain but I swear she almost falls when they do the backwards steps. She just baaaarely snags his hand in time. 

They had to film this dance something like 150 times so I imagine there was more than one time where at least one of them did indeed fall. 

• The circular dance they do leading up to the end is based on a dance Astaire and his sister made famous in their time on the stage. 

• Apparently the grassy bank they tumble onto wasn’t padded so those fake grimaces of pain aren’t that fake. Their exchange after the tumble feels very much like married banter to me:

Peter: “Yes, it was my idea.”

Linda: “Have you any more of them?”

Peter, exaggerating: “No.”

• They’re such a good match:

Linda: “Peter, you’ve got to marry me.”

Peter: “Why, Linda, this is so sudden.”

• Oh 1930s Hays Code humor. The cop who overhears their conversation thinks she’s pregnant and pressuring the father of the baby into marrying her. Hurr hurr hurr.

• Heh:

Linda: “I beg your pardon but what are grounds for divorce in this state?”

Clerk: “Marriage.”

• It will never make sense to me that a dance was not planned in this film for “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” It’s a truly lovely song. I know Astaire and Rogers will dance to it more than ten years later in The Barkleys of Broadway but it’s just not the same. 

It’s also a good reminder in the film that Peter has legitimate feelings for Linda and she does for him but they’re far more conflicted. Though he must sense he’s hooked her in a bit since he becomes very aloof once they return to the hotel in the stupid hope of making her want him more? Idk, men are dumb. 

• “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” carries special poignancy because it became a form of consolation to Ira Gershwin after his brother suddenly died two months after this film was released. 

• Oh Linda’s face when she walks in to see Peter with the loathsome Lady Tarrington is so sad and crestfallen. Ever thought you and your crush were finally on the same page only to find them canoodling with someone else? 

Although, she could’ve knocked first instead of just walking straight into his room…

• The ballet portion of the finale is weird and unappealing in every way. Harriet Hoctor was known for the backbend dance she does in this film. Maybe it was something spectacular in 1937?? but it doesn’t hold up. 

One thing I’ll say about Astaire’s duet with Hoctor, it’s a great chance to see him in a romantic duet with someone other than Rogers and notice how different he acts. No secret smile, no lingering looks, no whispered words, no soft expressions. 

• “Shall We Dance” is another upbeat song that deserves more than being featured in the remaining few minutes of the film. Their dance is far too short but wonderful all the same. Her delight when he finds her always makes me smile. She also executes some impressive full length lunges that I couldn’t do at this moment much less in a dress and heels in the middle of a dance number. 

For a few seconds, his fingers press into the exposed dip of her spine in yet another example of Victorian hotness. 

• And so we finish film number 7. Shall We Dance underperformed at the box office and wasn’t a critical darling. Everyone, the actors included, started to feel the magic was coming to an end. Coming up next is a film I pretty much never rewatch: Carefree. 

#fred astaire #ginger rogers #shall we dance #classic hollywood #old hollywood #fred and ginger #astaire and rogers rewatch #all astaire/rogers gifs without credit are mine

[freddieslater]

Works In Progress: Stefanie Salvatore Origin | Bamon + Stefanie (The Vampire Diaries)

Requested by anonymous

Time has never felt like it's moved slower, and that's really saying something considering all of it that Damon's had to endure as a vampire. But somehow humanity feels stiller right now than it ever has. Frozen.

It has all day, since he woke up to Bonnie rushing from the bed in their current hotel room and slamming the bathroom door behind her. He's quick to follow at the sound of her throwing up. Food poisoning, they assume.

"I told you something was off about that place," she complains hoarsely, head resting on her arm on the bowl.

Damon just smooths more of her hair from her face and gives his agreement, staying next to her. She had warned him, after all, and the food had definitely tasted wrong in many ways.

The sickness seems to pass shortly after. Having already made plans for the day, Bonnie insists that she's fine now. So, they try and go about the day as they planned, checking out places around the little town in a pocket of the Netherlands.

But they cut things short when Bonnie finally admits that the nausea is back and she's sure she's about two seconds away from collapsing. They head back to their hotel room instead.

Damon will admit to being worried. If it really is food poisoning, he should have all the same symptoms, he reasons, should he not? They ordered the exact same food, and he managed to get down more of it than she did. It doesn't make any sense.

At least, it doesn't until he comes out of the shower and finds Bonnie sitting cross-legged on the bed with a nervous, almost terrified look on her face. There's a thin, rectangular box next to her. Unopened.

It immediately clicks for him and he doesn't know how he didn't consider it before. Maybe deep down they both did.

"I called my mom," she tells him quietly, glancing up at him, but only for a second. "Just to check in, like I usually do. I, uh, I told her about the food poisoning, and she said..."

Her eyes dart to the box and she takes a sharp inhale. Damon moves slowly, approaching the bed with his heart pounding in his chest.

"Do you think...?" He swallows, but follows her suit in taking a deep breath. "Do you think you could be?"

Bonnie doesn't answer right away. The look in her eyes is enough, though. The morning sickness. Feeling light-headed and dizzy. The reason why the so-called food poisoning only seems to be affecting her.

It makes sense, he thinks, and his heart drops. She presses her lips together and he knows she's thinking it, too.

They've been doing this for months--travelling from one country to another without a real plan. Cade was defeated. Mystic Falls was safe. Damon was human and officially single. They were both still grieving over Enzo. It made sense for them to leave together to get a fresh start.

And things just happened after a couple of months, and maybe they weren't always so careful, but they were sure it was fine. Nothing has happened. Until now.

"I don't know."

Damon nods slowly. "Okay. Well... let's just see. Start with the test. If..." If it's postive, if you're pregnant. "Let's just start there."

Bonnie agrees. She disappears into the bathroom with the box. Damon forces himself to pull some clothes on. He then sinks down onto the bed and waits.

The waiting. Bonnie comes back out a moment later, the test in her hand. She comes and sits next to him, and places it on the bed.

"Takes a few minutes," she tells him, still not looking at him. Her eyes are on her hands instead.

"Bonnie," he says softly. When she doesn't respond with more than a little noise, he repeats it.

She turns her head, lifting her eyes to him. It hits him all at once. The storm of emotions flashing through her eyes. Fear, worry, the look of someone who's utterly lost.

He takes her hand, his gaze never wavering as his fingers curl around Bonnie's.

"I'm here. Okay? I know... we've never exactly talked about this kind of situation. But I promise you, no matter what the test says, I'm still gonna be right here."

She stares at him for a moment more, letting his words sink in. He offers a gentle smile, and she returns the pressure of his fingers.

"If it is..." He wets his lips, heart jumping into his throat. "If it is positive... how would you feel? Tell me what you're thinking."

She shakes her head, looking away from him again, as if she can't let herself think right now. But he waits, simply running his thumb over the back of her hand.

And eventually, in a barely audible voice, she says, "Honestly? I'm terrified."

He nods, but stays quiet.

"I've thought about kids, of course I have. Not recently, but I have. And I've never been able to stop asking myself, what if I'm bad at it? I love my mom, and my grams was amazing raising me. But still, with history... you never know."

"Genetics don't determine what you'll be like as a mother," Damon says, shaking his head. "And even if it did, you said it yourself: your grams was amazing. Emily and your mom both did what they could to protect their kids. To protect you."

"I know that," Bonnie says, staring straight ahead. "But neither of them were able to be there. Of course I don't blame my mom for protecting me, but I spent my entire childhood not knowing why she left. Questioning why."

She turns her head to look at him, her eyes big and round and so full of worry as her voice cracks.

"What if the same thing happened with me? What if--because of our lives, I have to leave? Or something bad happens to me? I don't want my child to go through that. It was an awful and horrible feeling."

"I know," Damon says quietly, giving her hand another light squeeze. He looks away, clearing his throat. "With the way my father was with me and Stefan... I never thought I'd have to worry about it after I turned, but now..."

"You're scared that you'll be like him," Bonnie says knowingly. "Just like I'm scared of history repeating and my child ending up without me. Or just completely alone."

Damon swallows again and takes in a deep breath, turning his gaze back to her.

"That wouldn't happen," he says, pushing down his own rising, swirling fears. "You would be an amazing mother. Kind, and supportive, and encouraging. I've seen you with Lizzie and Josie. Risking your life for them. You would find a way around any problem."

Bonnie's eyes are shining and he's sure she isn't even blinking. But she smiles, the barest twitch of her mouth.

"And you're not your father," she says.

He bites down on the inside of his cheek. He isn't as convinced on that part. Something must show on his face, because Bonnie gives his hand a light tug, making him look back up at her.

"You're not," she presses. "You think I haven't seen you with the twins as well? You've offered up your soul to protect them. You would never do anything to hurt your own child. You would be a good dad."

He's never put that much thought into it until now, but he wants to believe her. He just nods, returning her small smile.

Silence falls over them. That feeling of time moving slowly stretches out. He just stares at their suitcases left open in a mess across from them.

"Should we look?" Bonnie asks quietly, at last.

"I don't know," Damon says. "Probably."

He hesitates, and he can feel her doing the same. Then they both look down at the test.

Damon's stomach drops out of him. His heart pulses relentlessly against his ribs and in his throat, loud in his ears. It feels like he can hear Bonnie's, too. And the third heartbeat apparently growing inside of her.

"Okay," Bonnie says quietly, nodding slowly. Her hand is gripping his with a strength to rival a vampire's. "So, I'm pregnant."

Damon's mind is racing. Reality hits at last, finally feeling real and yet not at all in the slightest.

He turns to Bonnie. It's another blow to his chest and his heart when he realizes she's crying.

"Hey, hey."

He quickly pulls her in, wrapping his arms around her. She immediately collapses into him and buries her face in his shirt as he just holds her with a hand on the back of her head.

"It's okay," he says. "It's gonna be okay. The test might not be right. We can see a doctor, get it confirmed. And even if you are, whatever you want to do. I'll be right here no matter what you decide. It's gonna be okay."

They stay like that for a moment. Bonnie then shakes her head, and he feels her pull back slightly. She wipes at her eyes with her wrist.

"It's just the shock, I think," she says.

Damon's hand drops to her leg and he rubs her thigh soothingly, and also to have something to do.

Bonnie breathes out slowly. She glances back down at the test. That terrified, but thoughtful look returns to her face.

Another beat passes, then she nods. "Seeing a doctor is a good idea."

"Okay," Damon agrees. "Do you wanna find the closest one here?"

"Yeah," she breathes out. "The sooner we get an appointment, the better."

Damon nods and moves to get up for his phone, left on the other side of the room. But Bonnie catches his wrist and holds him in place.

"Wait," she quickly says, and he does, pausing. He sinks back down onto the bed as she takes a moment before continuing. "I... If I really am pregnant... I think I want to keep it."

Damon's pulse is loud in his ears once more, reverberating throughout his entire body. Bonnie's staring, searching wide-eyed for even the faintest reaction.

"Okay," he breathes out. He tightens his hold on her hand as surprise flashes through her eyes, and he moves his other hand to clasp hers between the two of them. "I told you that I will be here, no matter what. You wanna keep it, we keep it. I promise you that I am not going anywhere, I will be here for you every step of the way. We're in this together, right?"

Bonnie's eyes are wide and shining again. A couple tears fall when she blinks, but her face breaks into a smile, a short, gentle, breathless laugh. She nods quickly, hair bouncing around her shoulders.

"Yeah," she says, and for the first time, she's smiling so wide he thinks he can actually hear joy in her voice. She swallows, quickly pressing her lips into a line. "We're in this together."

Damon can't help but grin back at her. Something flutters in his chest, and then they're both laughing for no reason. Both crying, too, he realizes when Bonnie reaches a hand up and wipes a tear or two from his cheek.

The thought of all of it is still absolutely terrifying, somehow more so after making an appointment with the nearest doctor in a couple of days. But it's also exciting in a way that he never thought he'd experience. He can see it in Bonnie's expression as well when they're curled up in bed together, the sun setting outside.

She's trailing her fingers along her stomach, as if she can already see the possibility. And she's smiling still, a glint in her eyes. Damon can't do anything but watch her, content in doing so.

"What kind of name would you choose?" Bonnie asks him without looking up, her smile growing.

He hums in thought. "Daffodil."

Bonnie twists her neck to stare up at him, furrowed brow in disbelief. "What?"

Damon laughs, and she rolls her eyes. "I'm obviously kidding. How cruel do you think I am?"

"Well, I don't know, you were born in the nineteenth century to a man named Giuseppe and grew up around people like Honoria," Bonnie says with a scoff. "You probably have terrible taste in names."

"That is absolutely untrue, how dare you."

"Gimme one good example of a name you would choose."

Damon pauses. "There's... Jo-Johnathon. God, no, not Johnathon, I take that back."

Bonnie laughs, twisting a little onto her side, curling into him. "See? You can't think of one. And you can't suggest Giuseppe. Lily I might allow, but Katherine is off-limits."

Damon shudders. "God no. Agreed. Never Katherine."

#tvd #damon salvatore #bonnie bennett #bamon #stefanie salvatore #the vampire diaries #moodboard #aeshthetic #ficlet #snippet #rowing the rarepair rowboat #fanfiction stuff #myedit* #OKAY SO #this is technically not what anon asked for #but I already actually have a whole other fic planned put based on the curse of the gemini coven #so I just gave you part of that instead #because why not #I really do need to actually finish that fic #bring little stefanie into the world #again

[ibijau]

Ah ha ha haa, that would be even more hilarious, since it includes all of the messy shenanigans and none of the illegality. Did not know that about France though, that was interesting to know! I really really love how you write XiSang. If this prompt gives you too much trouble, then never mind! I enjoy anything you come up with!

“He is seventeen for another threemonths,” Nie Mingjue says a touch too casually when Lan Xichen'seyes linger on the door through which Nie Huaisang just exited thekitchen.

To his credit, Lan Xichen has the goodtaste of looking genuinely confused by that comment, as if he cannotfigure out how they went from him tutoring his best friend in Englishto remarking on relatives' upcoming birthdays. He glances at Meng Yaowho innocently tilts his head, as if he doesn't get it either.

“That's nice,” Lan Xichen says,clearly struggling to find something to say. “Is he going to have aparty?”

Nie Mingjue shrugs.

“Probably. What I meant though is,he's not eighteen yet. So if someone who is, say, twenty one,should sleep with him, that would be statutory rape and they could go to prison. Crazy, eh?”

This time, Lan Xichen does catch hismeaning. He goes pale, then blushes as he quickly looks down at NieMingjue's vocabulary list.

“Well, it would be wrong for someoneto take advantage of him indeed,” he says quietly. “He's still aninnocent.”

Nie Mingjue glares at Meng Yao who istrying to mask his burst of laughter under a cough. He's lived withthem for a few months, since his mother died. He knows exactly howinnocent Nie Huaisang is. Most likely, Lan Xichen also knows that NieHuaisang isn't exactly a virginal little lotus, he hangs out at theirplace too often to never have noticed Nie Mingjue's brother oftenlocks himself in his room with a friend or another, and that whenthey exit again they are somewhat dishevelled and blushing... thoughtit has been happening a little less lately. Besides, if that's whatLan Xichen is telling himself to not make a mistake... Nie Mingjuewon't contradict him.

Still, that's his best friend. It's alittle weird to see him having a crush on his brother of all people,but Nie Mingjue doesn't like seeing him look this guilty. He knows heshould get protective and angry but... if there's anyone to beprotective of in this mess, it's probably Lan Xichen.

“Of course, that's just the legalside of it. Age's just a number and all that stuff. And it'sjust three months anyway.”

Lan Xichen nods thoughtfully.

“I suppose. Still, it would be...wrong for someone to just be waiting for that date. Jumping atsomeone the instant it's no longer illegal to do so, that's... almostpredatory.”

Meng Yao has another coughing fit, andthis time Nie Mingjue too is struggling not to laugh. There are a lotof words he'd use to describe Lan Xichen. Predatory isn't oneof them.

“Bold of you to assume it's notHuaisang who'll be jumping on everyone he couldn't get before,”Meng Yao snickers. Nie Mingjue kicks him in the shin under the table,but that bastard doesn't even wince. “Maybe he too is longinglywaiting for that far away day he can be with the one he likes.”

Another stronger kick to the shin, andthis time Meng Yao's eternal smile does waver for a moment.

Of course that bastard knows that NieHuaisang has views on Lan Xichen. They were both there that day atthe pool last fall, when they all went to the pool for Lan Xichen'sbirthday. A blind man would have noticed the way Nie Huaisang's eyeswent round when he realised that Lan Xichen's perfectly tailoredshirts hid a well toned body. For the rest of the day, Nie Huaisanghadn't left Lan Xichen's side a single second, finding plenty ofexcuses to bump into him and accidentally touch him.

It's been nearly six months. It showsno signs of stopping. If anything, Nie Huaisang's efforts to catchLan Xichen's attention have grown bolder with time. Wasn't he just ina kitchen wearing some tiny shorts and a crop top, begging Lan Xichento come help him with his English homework next? That shamelesslittle...

“You think he likes someone?” LanXichen asks, trying (and failing) to sound like the idea doesn'talarm him.

This time Meng Yao's smile really fallsdown for a moment. He exchanges a glance with Nie Mingjue who rollshis eyes. Everybody in their circle has noticed the way Nie Huaisangis behaving around Lan Xichen. Even Jin Zixuan, notoriously awful atpicking up that sort of things, has asked his half-brother about it.

Everybody, but not Lan Xichen himself.

“This is entirely hypothetical,”Meng Yao quickly corrects. “I am not close enough to Huaisang todiscuss this sort of things. Maybe you should ask him? You seem tohave become closer to him lately.”

Again, Nie Mingjue kicks him. At thispoint, Meng Yao's shin must be nothing but once large bruise, andstill he won't learn to shut up. Meanwhile, Lan Xichen is sputteringsomething about not having reasons to inquire about Nie Huaisang'spersonal life while throwing worried glances at Nie Mingjue.

It'd be adorable if it weren't soannoying.

“Can we please just go back tostudying?” Nie Mingjue all but begs. “I do have a fucking testtomorrow and my teacher already hates me.”

“The one who you accused of faking aBritish accent when he's from California?” Meng Yao snickers. “Iwonder why he might dislike you.”

“Don't like liars,” Nie Mingjuegrunts. “I also don't like failing my semester because of anincompetent liar. Come on you two, quiz me again!”

Only too happy to change the subjectagain, Lan Xichen promptly obeys. They don't get distracted again forthe rest of the afternoon (Nie Huaisang tries to return to thekitchen, but one glare from his brother dissuades him before he evengets to the door) and Nie Mingjue is feeling pretty confident abouthis test, Californian idiot or not. Since Lan Xichen doesn't have acar, Nie Mingjue offers to drive him home, while Meng Yao is leftbehind to take care of dinner.

Meng Yao who waits until these two aregone to finally let his hilarity fully explode.

Someday, at some point, he's going totell his two friends and that little teenage terror that, unlike whatthey seem to believe, they do not live in some stupid Americanseries, and so that their country has its own laws. It's one thingfor Nie Mingjue to never have checked, but Lan Xichen should knowbetter. As for Nie Huaisang, Meng Yao still can't believe that hehasn't ever googled the age of consent since the first time NieMingjue warned him against acting on his crush. He'd have thoughtthat boy was smarter than that, but teenage hormones are apparentlygetting in the way of his brain.

Ah, well. Meng Yao will tell them...eventually.

He just needs to decide if it'll befunnier to mention it before or after Nie Huaisang's birthday.

#xisang #lan xichen #nie mingjue #jin guangyao #nie huaisang #mdzs #fanfic #don't know how good this is oops sorry #it was a good prompt tho so really sorry if I messed it up orz #mystery person #jau answers

[dreamcatcherjiah]

Looking at the face of your daughter made everything so much more real. She had just turned four, a few months ago, and she was already growing up so much. Her hair was let loose and spread over the pillow, and her eyes were half-open the light fluttering between her long lashes, as her little chest moved up and down. The extent to which your feelings had grown for the little girl in a few months was unbelievable. You could say, without the shadow of a doubt, that you would do everything in your power, give up your life so that this little girl could have a happy life. Looking at her, your heartbeat accelerated and your breath caught in your throat. Some days, when she showed you a full-toothed grin or told you how she had made uncle Kookie laugh so much he spat milk out of his nose, some tears came to your eyes. How had you managed, being such a plain human being, to be lucky enough to call this marvel your daughter? Yoongs calling her his daughter continuously had done something to you. That word gained a special meaning for the both of you, something so sacred that made the two of you agree to pause anything that could develop between the two if it could affect her.

But now you knew, yours and Yoongi’s relationship was nothing but something the three of you should treasure. You were a little family. Not perfect, but there were endless amounts of love. And at the end of the day, that is what matters.

Seeing Yoonji peacefully sleeping, you kissed her forehead and walked slowly out of the room. Watching her sleep always made you happy, but today there were things you had to attend to. The letter addressed to you and Yoongi as “Kang Yoonji’s parents” sat at your coffee table since you cleaned the leaving room after dinner. The white paper was a stark contrast against the mahogany table Namjoon bought as a housewarming present. If you were to be honest, you weren’t really looking forward to reading that thing. It was written in the all too familiar handwriting of the real parent of your child, and that alone filled you with such anxiety you couldn’t properly function. But you couldn’t put it off any longer. If things went well tomorrow, like Yoongs predicted, Yoonjinnie would be, to all concerned, your daughter. And you could not in good conscience keep ignoring the last thing her father wrote. Just waiting for Yoongi to arrive was excruciating, looking at that envelop and imagining the multitude of things that could be hidden there.

Finally, the lock emitted the beeping sound you knew to be Yoongi pressing the code and it took you less than a second to snatch the envelope from the table and jump into his arms. His shoes were still on his feet when he circled you with his arms.

“I knew it. You’ve been stressing all day about it, haven’t you?” He asked, with his face hidden in the crook of your neck, and his hot breath sent shivers down your spine. His voice, you noticed, sounded tired and resigned. It was then that you realized he had been stressing just as much as you had been.

Without giving you time to think, he kicked off his shoes and, picking you up, took you both to the sofa, sitting you on his lap. You weren’t about to complain, having him near you would make whatever was inside that letter much more bearable. His presence tended to have that effect on you.

“I think we shouldn’t delay this much longer, Yoongs” you said, your voice diminished with the anticipation.

“Yes, love. That would be a good idea…”

However, neither of you moved to open the letter, looking at it the same way the both of you had looked at the adoption paper that day so many months ago. There was anticipation, of course, but also some fear mixed into that pot that were your feelings that night. What could Mr. Kang have had to say to the both of you that hadn’t been said that day at court when the lawyer read his words? You were still expecting someone to knock on your door and tell you the adoption had been all a joke and that your baby girl wasn’t really yours… But that hadn’t happened and your baby girl was secure in her little bed, dreaming away the night, so that couldn’t be it. Looking at Yoongs, his eyes never leaving the letter in your hand, you understood. This was it, again. This was the adoption all over again.  But that’s okay, the three of you were together and that was alright.

Your fingers opened the envelop before your head knew what was going on. From the package fell two small objects and a letter. One of the objects was a small locket with a picture of Yoonjinnie the day she was born with her mother and father, with the inscription FOREVER OUR ANGEL engraved in the silver surface. You couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and Yoongs cleared your cheeks with his rough but gentle hands.

“We’ll keep it for her,” he said “and when she’s old enough, she’ll know how much we all love her. She was lucky enough to have two sets of parents who love her to death, my love.”

The second little object made you cry even harder, you remembered the day that picture had been taken. Yoongs had been complaining that you were spending too much time with the baby, a 13-month-old Yoonji at the time, and refused to leave your apartment until it was time for Mr. Kang to pick his daughter up. When that time had come, Mr. Kang had found the three of you knocked out cold on the sofa, cuddling. Apparently, he had printed the picture and in the back, in his, all familiar handwriting were the words: Mom and Dad loved you from second one, Yoonjinnie. Love them back as much, my little angel.

Your tears were now impossible to stop, and you really weren’t trying anymore. What was happening? It looked as if Mr. Kang had been planning the adoption from the second Yoongs and you had waltzed into his and his daughter’s life. If that was the case, you didn’t really know how that made you feel. How desperate could a man be to do something like this? “Stop over-thinking stuff, Y/N. Just read the letter, please.” His words, tense and curt, brought your attention back to the letter in your hands. You nested your head in Yoongi’s shoulder, and with his warm breathing gracing the top of your head, you began to read the letter out loud.

Dear Min Yoongi and Y/L/N Y/N:

I am aware of how unsettling this letter must seem to you but bear with me a little. Yoonji’s story is not one of happiness, at least it wasn’t until you met her. I am not writing this letter in hopes of provoking pity in you. I have been around you two for only a couple of months and I can certainly say that I have never seen anyone look at her with as much love as you two do. That is why, at risk of having you reject her, I have decided to appoint you her legal guardians in case something happens to me, and I fully intend to prepare the adoption forms as well.

You see, in our family, we are prone to ill health. Yoonji’s mom couldn’t survive giving birth to her, suffering a heart attack. God, this sounds awful and pitiful. How have things come to this? I am just going to tell you, but, you two, don’t you feel pity. What happened, happened, and we the living can do nothing more than move along with life, living it to the full. 

Nearly two years ago, my little sister arrived in my doorstep drenched and with a pregnancy test in hand. She had just gotten a job in a good company and was well on her way for a promotion. Until some imbecile got her pregnant and left. You must understand how a single mother would have been treated if word got out, so we made preparations. We were going to move to the country and pretend Yoonji’s mom was a widow, living with her brother to raise the child. In the end, we didn’t need those preparations at all, because my sister couldn’t go through delivery. Happily, the child did make it. So instead of my sister, I became the widower and registered Yoonji as my daughter. I repeat I am not writing this with the thought of guilt-tripping you into taking care of my niece, nothing further from the truth. 

I could see, from the moment both of you saw Yoonji that you would be what she would need in case I was no longer there. As I said, ill-health runs in the family. The both of you will take care of her, I know it. And once you realize it, you’ll also take care of each other. 

Hoping this never reaches your hands, Kang Taejun. 

You couldn’t believe what you had just read. If it wasn’t because it had been your voice reading it, you would never have guessed this to be the truth.

“He was a fucking nutcase!” Suddenly yelled Yoongi, which startled you into slapping a hand over his mouth.

“You’ll wake up Yoonji, and I doubt you want to explain it to her any time soon, so shut it.”

“Don’t you see what he did there, Y/N? He was trying to avoid prejudice and scrutiny and instead of putting Yoonji up for adoption, he leaves her with two strangers, unmarried and not related to her in any sense?!” Yoongi was getting angrier by the second, and you could see where he was coming from. But in this case, he was not right.

“Yoonji would have never been put up for adoption and you know it. Neither of us would have allowed it, and we would have fought them tooth and nail for that little girl.” You were putting your foot down tonight. You knew, deep down that Yoongi didn’t mean everything that he was saying, but it was out of the love that you felt for him that you wouldn’t let him go any further and say something he would regret. He loved Yoonji with everything he had, from the first second she had looked at him, and you were not gonna let some blind angry feelings break that for him.

“You are still not seeing the point here, Y/N! Okay, so let’s see what happens in a couple of years when Yoonji has to go to school and we have to deal with a pack of entitled vultures, who will make our daughter’s life hell, just because her situation at home is not the normative one. I am not getting shit from anyone, Y/N. NOT WHEN IT COMES TO MY DAUGHTER!”

You didn’t want to yell back, but you couldn’t for the life of you see the problem. It made sense that the two of you weren’t married. You had just started living together after adopting Yoonji and had accepted your liking of each other only recently. You hadn’t even told each other the three-lettered word, aside from Yoongi’s favourite pet name, the word love hadn’t even been mentioned. So what the hell was his problem now?

“We’ll cross that bridge when we have to, Yoongs. Besides, I don’t want to argue tonight. We know now why Mr. Kang did what he did, and that should be enough for now.” Yoongi however, didn’t seem to hear you, too busy mumbling.

“This is NOT how I wanted to do it, Gods Namjoon is going to kill me when he finds out… well, him and the rest, for not being in the fucking loop…” 

“Yoongs…? Are you okay?” You asked unsure. 

Suddenly, he got up from the couch, taking you with him, and putting you back on it once he was standing. He was now towering over you, with his eyebrows in a frown and his dark eyes looking straight through your soul. His hands were balled in fists, and his pulse was beating like crazy in his neck, so much you could see it from your position below him.

“Yoongi, I don’t know why you are so upset about this, but it is completely unreasonable!” You started, trying to calm his breathing down a bit by reaching for his hands and stroking them calmly. That didn’t seem to do the trick, because his pupils dilated so much they nearly ate the iris completely. 

He freed one of his hands from your grip, and with it, removed some stray hairs from your forehead. The look on his face had somehow changed into such an intense look of affection that you felt your heart aching for him. All the confusion, the rage, the fear that you could have seen before if you looked at him in the eyes, were all gone now. Now he was looking at you with such devotion-filled eyes, with his heart open for you, you were missing words to describe it. His eyes spoke volumes while his hand moved from your forehead to your cheek in a feather-like caress, and then to your neck, where it stayed, moving up and down and sending shivers down your spine. When you realized your eyes had closed on their own accord, you opened them again to see Yoongi kneeling in front of you.

“Have I ever told you how deeply I am in love with you?” He asked, bringing surprised tears to your eyes. “I don’t think I have, haven’t I? Well, I am telling you now. I have only told you bits and pieces, in those quiet moments after sex, where you have me at your mercy and I don’t know what I am saying… you must be a sorceress to have coaxed that out of me so easily…” he chuckled to himself. “Ever since Yoonji was very little, seeing you taking care of her made my heart swell so much I sometimes doubted it would keep beating. Soon I started dreaming that someday, even if not with Yoonji as our daughter, I would win your heart and be able to have a family with you, just like we had been doing for the last four years. Fate is funny, you know? I feel terrible somedays because I can’t help but think that if I hadn’t wished so strongly for a family with you and Yoonji, Mr. Kang would still be here. But in those bad days, I come back home, and Yoonji tackles my legs in a hug and tells me her “I LOVE YOU DADDY”, and you smile at me with that face full of happiness, and I regret nothing. I guess what all of this comes to mean is that I really do love you, with all my heart. You have been the love of my life from the moment you entered it and will continue to be it for as long as I live. You are also the mother of my child, the best mother she could have wished for. What I am trying to say in this roundabout, chaotic speech is that, if you’d have me, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to raise our daughter together in that normative environment, not because we have to, but because we love each other so much that we cannot be apart. I want to have children with you Y/N. Me, Min Yoongi, because I’ve fallen in love with you and nothing more.”

Through the tears, you saw him pulling a small blue box from his jacket and open it. It contained the most simple and beautiful ring you had ever seen in your life, a thin rose-gold band with a small bow in the middle decorated by a solitary stone. It was so beautiful, and it represented your relationship so well, it made you cry harder. You just hugged him so tight, throwing your arms around his neck, whispering a hundred million little yes in his ear, while he unhooked your arms from him, and put the ring in your finger, kissing your knuckle above it. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears, and the emotion in them told you, not as a revelation but more as a little secret, that yes, this was the man you were going to grow old with.

“Can I hear it once more, my love? Will you marry me?” He asked, his voice now cracked.

“I’ll marry you, I’ll raise Yoonji alongside you, I’ll have children with you, I will grow old with you, and I will love you through it all, my love.” You said, finally connecting your lips with his in a kiss that felt new and sacred, as something neither of you had felt before but a kiss that changed things forever.

🎐Bubbles (Yoongi!Producer x Reader!Writer)

Bubbles Masterlist

Part 18

Plot: Yoongi, a famous music producer, and y/n, a writer, had been neighbors for a couple of months when Yoonji and her dad moved to the apartment in between the two. Due to some unbelievable coincidences, these two weird incompatible people were appointed baby Yoonji’s babysitters. What will they do when something happens to Yoonji’s dad and she’s left alone in the world?

A/n: Wow that was intense!! I sincerely hope that you liked it, and was worth the delay!! If you want to tell me what you thought about it, I would really appreciate it!! And because here in Europe is still October 13th, HAPPY JIMIN DAY  🥺 💖I hope all of you are having a great weekend and I love you all UWU💓💘💝💖💗💞💕

Send me an ask if you want to be added to the tag list.

Love 💜🌙

Tag list: @daydreamindollie @live-2-fangirl @mizz-kraziii @rjsmochii @jiminslovly @igotarmyofarohas @desteweirdo @chewymoustachio @lvnakook @sugapaste @salty-for-suga @expensive-grl @threedecadesofawkward @elegantfanshoelover @jisnuq @krystalizando @littlestsweetpea28 @chogiyeol-utopia @delilaahbards @agusttaegid @thebookishnerdsblog @kisskissshutmydoor @httppbaby @girlwith-thecinder-blockgarden @mabel-k3 @thenocturnalreadingotaku @midnightxxxmemories @tirednation @jayhope88 @peachesandviolets @tremendousminyoongi

#yoongi x you #btsfaketext net #btsfaketext-net #yoongi x y/n #bts yoongi #min yoongi #yoongi x reader #bubbles yoongi au #bubbles social media au #soft min yoongi #min yoongi x you #min yoongi x reader #min yoongi x y/n #bts smau #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #suga x reader #suga x y/n #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min suga #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #yoongi social media au #yoongi fanfic #dad yoongi #yoongi dad au

[maren-as-an-adult]

The 2020 Experience, Part 4

December was...rough. Every free moment I had was spent looking for better paying jobs and more apartments. Christmas gifts were planned and purchased under extreme budget. I had an upcoming OB-GYN appointment. And the accumulated stress finally broke me physically and mentally.

I started noticing it when I had my OB-GYN appointment. My appointment wasn’t until 4:30pm, but I wanted to get some Christmas shopping done, so I took an early train into Atlantic Terminal to do some shopping in and around Barclay’s Center. I didn’t have breakfast before I left, so I grabbed a latte and a slice of iced lemon cake from Starbucks. There were some benches outside where I sat down and ate. Afterwards, I hit up Target and Marshall’s. Once I was in line for Marshall’s, I started feeling... off. I could feel my pulse rushing in my face, and my stomach felt simultaneously empty and twisted upside down. I couldn’t tell if I felt like I was going to vomit or poop, or if I was just really gassy and needed to fart. I made it through purchasing and left to sit down somewhere, anywhere. I think I settled down in front of either TJ Maxx or Burlington on the ground. I pulled my knees into my chest, waiting and hoping for this feeling to pass. After about 15 minutes and no change, I knew I needed to find a bathroom. And in COVID times, I had a better chance of finding a four-leaf clover growing out of the concrete than a public toilet I could access.

Target, however, was my savior. Having purchased from them earlier, I happily took advantage of their open and clean bathroom facilities. I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say I spent a long time on that toilet trying to feel better. Eventually I had to move on, and I decided I would go outside and get as much fresh air as I could, hoping that would somehow cure me of this... whatever feeling it was. It helped, or at least that’s what I told myself as I slowly sipped water from my water bottle. I tried to make one last stop at one last shop before heading down to Bay Ridge for my OB-GYN appointment, but after two instances where I was forced to sit down again and wait for the feeling to pass to something barely more manageable, I decided the best course of action would be to arrive exceptionally early to my appointment and hope they had an unoccupied bathroom I could access.

Thankfully, they did. I somehow managed a thirty minute train ride, a ten minute wait for the bus, a ten minute bus ride, and a ten minute walk to the doctor’s office, where after filling out a few forms I retreated to their very clean single occupancy bathroom. I felt awful and wanted something done about it, so I open mouth breathed while kneeling in front of the toilet bowl for a while. It’s a technique I use when I feel like I may throw up and want to encourage my stomach to expel whatever’s clearly upsetting it. [I also wish to take this moment to make this very clear: I am not, nor have I ever been, bulimic. I don’t endorse or condone bulimia. I’m sure it’s very easy to read what I just wrote as inducing vomiting to purposefully purge, but it is not. I was not trying to make myself vomit, but I was prepared for that to happen should my body have decided that’s what it needed to do.] What ended up happening was about five minutes of dry heaving before my body apparently decided that because there was nothing there, that nothing was wrong anymore.

What was wrong with me? I hadn’t interacted with anyone who was sick, had I? I had recently started babysitting, could I have gotten something from one of the kids? Was I not as diligent as I thought I’d been with maintaining social distance and wearing a mask and sanitizing and washing my hands? Or was it something else? All I’d had to eat that day was some processed cake and a sugary latte, could I possibly have developed celiac disease overnight? Was my body finally shutting down it’s lactose-digesting functions? Was I just really overcaffeinated because I forgot to specify “half-caf” in my Starbucks order?

I posited these queries to my doctor while she poked around my vagina. She said it was possible I could be lactose intolerant or I could be crashing from the caffeine. When the staff had taken my temperature I wasn’t running a fever, so it wasn’t likely I’d caught anything off of someone. With a final fingering to gauge the position of my uterus (I learned it has a slight anterior tilt), my appointment was done and I was free to go home. Though I felt better, I decided against calling on my old roommates and to instead just head back to Graham’s. I made one last gift purchase before hopping on the LIRR, and my Christmas shopping was essentially done.

The feeling didn’t disappear though, and on some days it became unmanageable. My GI system was clearly in distress, and not a lot was helping. I found a few packs of ginger turmeric tea at Graham’s house and made myself a cup, firmly placing my faith in the healing properties of what some (uncultured) people call “hot leaf juice”. I think it helped, but I can’t be sure. I’d told Graham about what was going on and what I thought it could be, and he could sympathize and to a degree empathize. It wasn’t until one night when I was again dry heaving into a toilet bowl that Graham fully saw what an awful state I was in. I told him at this point I thought it was a manifestation of the stress we’d been under for the past eight weeks. For eight weeks we’d been searching for apartments, passing on nice ones just out of our budget, trying to come to terms with the infinite number of mediocre same-floor plan, same-color, same-appliances, same-building looking ones, and getting discouraged with the shitty, falling apart ones. I had spent my first Thanksgiving away from my family and had resigned myself to spending Christmas apart from my family for the first time as well. I’d had three separate COVID tests in the past two months. I hadn’t spoken to my therapist since before Thanksgiving. And I had spent the entire month at Graham’s family’s house, which was not something I had wanted.

I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. Truly, I’m indebted to Graham’s mom for letting me not only stay with them rent-free (but agreeing to walk their dogs) but also keep my stuff there while she is also getting ready to move out. But I have never felt comfortable calling someone else’s place my home. I cannot help but feel like an outsider, and no matter how many times people tell me to “make [myself] comfortable” and “help [myself] to whatever food there is” I will feel like an imposition and a burden. It’s only my anxiety coming through, but it comes through LOUD.

I finally scheduled an appointment with my therapist again, and poured all this out to him. I told him exactly how bad things had gotten, and not for the first time I considered asking to be prescribed anti-anxiety medication and possibly antidepressants. I decided to keep going without them...for now.

Christmas Eve came and Graham, his family, and I all celebrated together. We were gifted some lovely items to start our life living together, like a knife set, a set of glasses, new bedding, and a casserole dish. It was a lovely respite from the stress.

On Christmas Day, Graham and I went to see another apartment. This apartment was in the same building as the apartment we almost signed for, and the only differences were that this apartment was on a lower floor and didn’t have a balcony. It was also almost $100/month less than what we had almost agreed to. The owner said he would send over the application and answers to our questions on Monday. We both felt good about this apartment.

When Monday came with no e-mail from the guy, I reached out to him to ask when we could expect it. His response was that he had just been diagnosed with COVID-19 and now wanted to sell instead of rent. This became all too much for me, and when I got back into Graham’s car as we were out running errands, I started screaming. I hadn’t screamed like this since a particularly bad day of work I had back when I worked at Target. It was cathartic, but I felt cold and disconnected from Graham for the rest of the day. Something had broken inside me, and I wasn’t sure if it was my heart, my soul, my mind, or all three. It took a while for me to recover, and honestly I’m still hurt and feel betrayed by this guy. I understand I cannot speak for what’s best for him or what he felt he should have done, but Graham and I felt that we were given the runaround by this guy. We scheduled another COVID test for ourselves, and tried to move forward.

We made it to New Year’s Eve, and stayed up to watch 2020 end. New Year’s felt somber this year, and it felt hard to celebrate the start of a new year when the one we just went through was so damaging.

But we made it. We’re here, and it’s the first week of January in 2021. Currently there are radical conservatives storming the Capitol protesting the electoral college results, but in less than 20 days, Trump will be out of office. I’ve given myself goals that are manageable for the new year, and Graham and I have three applications out for three different apartments, and there’s a chance we may be able to get the apartment we saw on Christmas Day. We keep moving forward, because the alternative is to not move at all.

And I refuse to allow that for myself.

#part 4

[bucks-little-hop]

i see my future in your eyes (1k)

Day 1 of Maddie Week - “I want to marry you.” + love

read on ao3 here

Pregnancy cravings were a bitch. That was Maddie’s definitive opinion on them. Sometimes they were foods she loved, sometimes it was foods that sounded awful together, and sometimes it was just desperately wanting food at 2am for no good reason. It was even worse when it was something she couldn’t have. Pregnancy diets seemed to be designed to take all of the best foods out of her life. She would kill a man for a single sip of a latte. 

She was eternally grateful for Chimney. Not only had he offered to go on the pregnancy diet with her, which she declined because she knew it would be hard on him with work and only one of them should have to suffer, but because he put up with all of her cravings. He didn’t judge her for eating peanut butter on pizza or when she broke down crying because she couldn’t figure out what she wanted. 

They were having a quiet lazy morning, both of them somehow having the day off. It wasn’t unusual  for their off days to overlap, but they usually had plans either with each other or one of their friends. They didn’t have any plans until later in the evening. It was nice to sometimes just sit and enjoy each other’s company in silence, occasionally sending each other cute photos they saw. Their work days were hectic enough, some peace that they knew wouldn’t be interrupted was always appreciated. 

Maddie had been staring a little too longingly at Chim’s coffee apparently. Her own cup of hot chocolate just wasn’t the same. Chim shot her a look before searching something up on his phone. It was clear he was up to something, but Maddie wasn’t sure what. He got up, grabbed his wallet and keys, and dropped a kiss on Maddie’s forehead.

“I’ll be right back. I’ve got an idea.”  Chim headed quickly out of the door, leaving no time for arguments. Maddie wouldn’t have tried to stop him anyways. She knew that whatever he was doing was likely to benefit her. She couldn’t lie and say it wasn’t relieving to see Chim get so involved in her pregnancy. It should have been a red flag to her how worried she was with Doug about what could happen if she became pregnant. With Chim, she was never worried. She was surprised when she found out, a little shocked, but happy to tell Chim. It wasn’t something either of them were expecting to happen so quickly, but it was something both of them wanted. 

It wasn’t long before Chim walked back in, a bag in his hand. “So I found a coffee ice cream that doesn’t have any caffeine in it. It’s not the same as regular coffee but people said it helped with cravings.” He set the bag on the table, heading to the kitchen to grab two spoons. He didn’t expect to turn around to find Maddie crying. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No no, I’m just so excited to actually taste coffee again. These are happy tears.” Maddie really was so thrilled, but her emotions felt like they bubbled over too fast these days. Crying just seemed to happen no matter the emotion. She would power through it though. She could take the random crying for 5 more months if it meant she got to see the twins at the end. “We should probably eat this before it melts.” 

They wasted no time digging into the ice cream. Maddie was thrilled after the first bite. There had been so many of her favourite foods that she could no longer eat. The fact that there was a way for her to still enjoy coffee, and have ice cream was perfect. She didn’t bother to stop the words from coming out of her mouth. “After this idea I want to marry you.”

Chim froze. A drop of ice cream fell on the table. Maddie kept eating like she hadn’t just dropped a bomb that shook his entire world. It wasn’t like Chimney had never thought about marriage before. Hell, he had considered proposing when she came out of the bathroom with the positive pregnancy test. But it was something he figured they should at least discuss before it happened. They had conversations about wanting kids before, they knew they were on the same page about that. But marriage, that was a completely separate thing. It wasn’t ever discussed. With everything that happened with Doug, Chim didn’t know if she would even want to get married. However, this seemed like somewhat of a confirmation that it was at least on the table. “You want to marry me?”

Maddie couldn’t help but feel a little soft. She reached across the table and gave Chim’s free hand a gentle squeeze. “Yes I want to marry you. I know we haven’t talked about it much, but it’s something that I want. Maybe not right now, we have enough stress with two kids on the way, but after. When things calm down a little bit we can make that final step official.” Maddie felt new tears running down her cheeks. She loved Chimney. Marriage wasn’t the end all be all of things, but having a wedding where her family could actually come and enjoy was something she wanted. Or even just a party afterwards to celebrate. She wanted their family with them. She wiped her tears away, smiling over at Chim. “We aren’t considering this an official proposal thought, you deserve better than me crying over some ice cream.” 

Chim couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “I’d take any proposal from you, but we can redo this at a different time. Just no public proposals still, and definitely no almost ones at revolving restaurants.” The two ended up fully laughing, reminiscing over that date. It was an important step in their relationship. All of their important moments somehow revolved around food, but that was okay. They knew where they stood in their relationship. It was full of love, they were on the same page about their future, and their small family was going to grow soon. 

#ty writes #maddiebuckleyweek2020 #madney

[1a-imagines]

Their first time cuddling with you.

Request: love what you've done so far. may I request the fluffy feel scenarios of first cuddles for our top boys Izuku, Todo, and Kat. first try at cuddling can be so awkward and just precious despite being a weird new experience

characters: Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki.

Midoriya:

Ok something was definately wrong here.

You and Midoriya had been relaxing and watching some old hero videos online after a hard day of training. You both wanted to relax for the night but everytime you got too close to him he would completely shy away from you.

For example, when you had shuffled closer to him to see the screen better he had ended up shuffling away. You noticed his behaviour but figured it was probably nothing and when you shuffled closer again. It wasn't until he shuffled away yet again that you got suspicious. This same thing repeated until he ended up falling off the couch.

"I think I'll just stay down here." He chuckled nervously, which only made you more confused. He would rather sit on the floor than next to you?

The second incident happened after you convinced him to get up off the floor and sit beside you again. You had went to hold his hand but he moved it to grab his drink of the coffee table and instead of putting it back down once he was finished, he just kept it in both his hands. You suddenly felt as though he was doing this on purpose and it was worrying you.

It was getting old and making you really self conscious. You had asked if he was ok but he just froze up and denied that anything was wrong.

You knew him better than that though. Something was definately on his mind. You didn't question it further, not wanting to make things even more uncomfortable than they already were.

An hour later you two had decided to finish the videos some other time. It was really late. You hadn't noticed the time flying by, your mind was too preoccupied with worrying for your boyfriend.

You felt too tired to move off the couch and go to your room, you contemplated just sleeping here for the night. You tried to fight against your eyes, in hopes they would stay open but you weren't winning. You let out a small yawn and went to rest your head onto Midoriya's shoulder when he noticed you getting closer again, He shot up to dodge it but he only ended up hitting the side of your face with his shoulder and you hissed out in pain.

"Ow!"

"Oh my goodness! (Y/n)! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" He knelt down in front of you, his face full of worry. He had completely forgotten about everything else and now only felt guilty for hurting you. He couldn't see your face properly because your hair was been covering your eyes but the sight only made him worry more.

You rubbed your now sore cheek with your free hand, a frown etched onto your lips. Had you done something wrong? Did he already not want to be with you anymore? Was being near you that awful to him?

Midoriya almost jumped back when he heard you sniffle. Had he made you cry? Did he hurt you that bad? His heart was beating so fast it made him feel sick. He reached forward and shakily grabbed your hand, causing you to finally look up at him. You eyes were glossy from the tears building up in them. "I'm so so sorry (y/n) I-if it hurts too much we can get you some ice-"

"That's not why I'm upset..." You muttered, drying your eyes with you sleeve, none of the tears had spilled, luckily, so you wouldn't end up with tear stained cheeks at least.

"You've been avoiding me all day. Did I do something wrong? Do you not like being near me anymore?" The question had completely caught the boy off guard. Sure it was obvious he had been avoiding your touches lately but he didn't think you'd assume it was because of anything you did and especially not because he didn't want to be near you. He took a deep breath and sat back down next to you.

"Of course you didn't do anything wrong, and it's not that I don't want to- c-c-cuddle you. O-or h-hold your hand. I do want to! I just... this is all really new to me and I don't want to mess it up."

You blinked a few times at his confession, feeling completely dumbfounded. "Th-thats why?" You chuckled softly, feeling a little better that it wasn't for the reasons you had thought. "H-hey! Don't laugh at me.." Midoriya tensed up a little as his cheeks flushed red.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. It's just- how on earth could you mess up cuddling with someone?"

"I-i-i- well- what if I'm not comfortable, or what if I'm not warm enough? What if you dont like it? What if-" he got cut off when you rested your head onto his shoulder. This time without getting an injury. He sat there, still tensed up but shyly placed a hand around your waist. Trying his best to sink into it. You both leaned back to get more comfortable, and after a few minutes, the awkwardness eventually passed and you both started to find each others warmth had a soothing affect. You were so comfortable curled up into his side, your arms wrapped around his torso, he had one hand around your waist and the was playing with your hair. It didn't take long before you both began to fall asleep cuddled up to each other.

"This is nice. Let's do it more often." Midoriya muttered in a sleepy daze. You grinned when he tightened his hold on you.

"Definately."

Bakugou:

"I can't believe those jerks! I mean- I try so hard to become a better hero and yet all my family can say is. "You could do better." As if I'm not even trying! I know I have a lot to live up to but it's not fair! No matter how hard I try They always find something I'm doing wrong-!"

The blond let out an irritated sigh as he sank further into his bed. You two had been hanging out in his dorm room when he noticed something wasn't right with you. You had been silent for the most part and so that caused him ask you what was wrong.

But now he slightly regretted it because you had been pacing back and forth, ranting, for a good hour now. At first it started with you yelling about not doing so good on a test despite all your hard studying and then it went to your family life and how they don't appreaciate a single thing you do. Don't get him wrong, at first he was upset and pissed for you when he heard what your family had been saying. He felt bad you had been working so hard and not getting anywhere. Hell, he had even tried to comfort you but he couldn't get a word in edge wise. You didn't even take a moment to breath and it was starting to piss him off.

He was almost certain if he got up and left the room You wouldn't even notice. You were too busy letting off all that steam you had apparently been holding in.

His crimson eyes followed you around his room and he felt a small tug on his heart when he realised just how much you had been keeping to yourself. You looked about ready to have a mental breakdown. Tears threatening to spill, your cheeks red with anger and fists clenched up tightly. He didn't realise how bad you had it, you had always acted so happy. Like nothing was wrong with you. He never would've guessed you had been carrying all this stress with you this whole time.

He knew you weren't going to let him get a word in so instead he opted for grabbing you by your wrist and pulling you on to the bed. You let out a squeak of suprise, your ranting finally coming to an end, as you fell into his arms.

Bakugou wrapped both his arms and legs around you and pulled your back to his chest. Holding you there in a tight embrace. "What are you doing?" You almost stuttered from the feeling of him pressed right up against you.

"You wouldn't shut up..." He muttered into your shoulder. His hold on you was strong, it made you feel safe, he was so warm too it helped you calm down and you felt much better being in his arms. Although you couldn't deny how shy you were about it. You two hadn't been dating long and he wasn't exactly the most affectionate guy. So this really did come as a shock to you. It was the first time he had ever held you like this.

You relaxed into his hold after awhile, feeling a lot less shy about it than when he had first pulled you down. His grip didnt loosen at all, no matter how many minutes went by. You both sat in silence whilst you held onto each other. You felt yourself leaning back into him and placing your arms over his, your tears drying and your muscles relaxing.

"Listen you dumbass." He broke the silence. "It's obvious you've been keeping too much to yourself. Next time you have a problem talk to me about it. Don't just fucking pent it up until you burst. It's not healthy. I shouldn't even have to tell you this!" He grumbled against your shirt. You couldn't help but smile, these moments were rare but they really did show he cared about you

"Ok. Yeah, you're right. Sorry "

"You better be! I had to listen to you running your mouth for a whole god Damn hour." He finally lifted his face from your shoulder and you turned your head to meet his eyes.

"And as for your family. They don't see you at school, Or in training. They don't see all the effort you put in, but even so- their opinions don't matter. The only opinion that should matter to you is your own."

You hummed in appreaciation and closed your eyes, your cheek was now pressed to his as you traced small shapes into his arms.

"You're right. Thanks katsu."

"Of course I am, idiot. Where would you be without me?" He smirked and you almost wanted to roll your eyes but you knew he had a point. He did make you a much stronger person, both mentally and physically, so you really didn't know where you would be without him.

"You know, this is weird. You being the one to calm me down? Usually it's the other way around." You teased him and he grumbled under his breath in annoyance. "Don't push it or I won't ever cuddle you again, brat." You knew that was a lie. He seemed just as happy as you were right now, Being in each other's arms was so nice.

"You're so warm..." You rubbed your nose into his neck before pulling a face. "Kind of sweaty, but warm." You didn't even have to open your eyes to know he was glaring at you. You felt him pinch your side and you let out a shriek.

"What kind of shitty compliment is that!?"

"A truthful one?"

"You're a fucking nightmare."

"Aw~ I love you too."

Todoroki:

Your eyes sparkled with excitement as you carefully read through the pages of the newest manga you had bought. It was becoming so intense, so deep, there was so much left to uncover about the main character. Would they finally win this battle? Get the love interest? Well, more than likely but you wanted to know how they did so. You were so intrigued by the plot line reality was becoming distant. Like you were being completely sucked into another world. It wasn't until you felt a pressure on your shoulder that you lifted your head from the manga. You turned to see your boyfriend had sat beside you on your bed and placed his head onto your shoulder. He was staring at you with a slightly mischevious look.

"Is something wrong shouto?"

"Well, I've been calling your name for the last 5 minutes, but it seems you were in a different world to this one." You felt you cheeks heating up and you used the book to try and shield him from seeing the embarrassment on your face.

"O-oh? I'm sorry. I didn't realize. Did you need something?"

"Not really. I just wanted your attention for a bit." His bluntness only made you blush even more. He was always so forward with you, there was no beating around the Bush with him. He didn't speak a whole lot but when he did it was usually just what was on his mind.

"It's nice to see you so happy when you're reading that manga, but I think I'd prefer to be the reason you smile."

You felt slightly amused by he confession, he really did want your attention that bad? Just how long has you been ignoring him for? Not that you had meant too in the first place. You both were almost always in each other's company but that doesn't mean you both talk every minute of the day either. Sometimes you both would just do you own thing whilst the other was around. Like today, you had both been reading. You could've done it alone, sure, but it was just nicer doing things beside the person you cared about most. You personally loved the fact you both could have fun together and not need to always be talking. It took away a lot of pressure. Just being beside each other was more than enough for you two.

Of course you couldn't deny him the attention he wanted and so you put the manga down and shuffled closer to him, lifting up a hand to run it through his soft hair. You were a little nervous about it honestly, You two hadnt been this close before. However Todoroki didn't seem bother by it at all. In fact he was really enjoying the affection. When your fingers came into contact with his scalp however, he shivered and reached up for your hand. "Your freezing." He muttered softly, holding onto your hands tightly and using his quirk to heat them up a little. You sighed in contentment. "That's so nice."

You sank closer towards his warm body and rubbed your face into his hair. His head was still firmly planted on your shoulder and it was safe to say you were both so comfortable you never wanted to move away from this position ever again. Of course that wasn't possible, but you could dream.

After a good while of comfortable silence you looked over to your desk to see your phone had lit up. Someone must've been messaging you and you wanted to know who it was. It was probably your family asking about how school was going. You hadn t gotten to see them as much because you lived in the school dorms now, but you still tried to message them every day.

"Hey, Shouto? I need to get my phone." You spoke softly through the silence, You didn't want him to let go but you didn't want to ignore your family either. If you ignore them for too long they'll get worried and spam you until you reply. You didnt want that kind of guilt hanging off you. However, when you didn't get a reply you shifted your head so that you could see his face. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady. You giggled quietly to yourself.

"You fell asleep?" You heart fluttered with joy, he was so comfortable he had fallen asleep on your shoulder? It was so incredibly adorable you almost squealed in delight but you didn't want to disturb him so you had to swallow it down. This was the most peaceful you had ever seen him and you weren't about to destroy that.

You closed your eyes and placed your head on top of his own. Your family could wait.

"Sweet dreams, my Prince."

#bnha scenarios #bnha x reader #bnha imagines #bnha headcanons #todoroki x reader #midoriya x reader #bakugou x reader #mha headcanons #mha imagines #mha scenarios #bnha