#good thing you guys are romancing and...flirting terribly apparently

[jb-nonsense]

Gale realizing what you meant when you asked if he liked his belly rubbed

#Baldur's Gate 3 #BG3 #gale dekarios #Gale of Waterdeep #it's ok Gale you got it quicker than me. The person who selected it #I thought I was just being funny #good thing you guys are romancing and...flirting terribly apparently #dork wizard and inexperienced cleric ftw

[rozcdust]

I don’t speak to whores

Pairing: Bonten x AroAce!GN!Reader, QPP Kazutora Hanemiya x AroAce!GN!Reader

Genre: Crack, fluff

Word count: 1.9k

Warnings: Canon divergent, profanity, ooc, whore behaviour, qpp relatinship, NO ROMANCE, just reader bullying Bonten, vomiting, drinking, taking care of a drunk person, reader has emotional capabilities of a carrot

masterlist

Knuckles rapping on the doors of Mikey’s office, you don’t wait for a ‘come in’ or ‘open’ or ‘fuck off’ or any other response your boss may offer, walking in without a care in the world.

You will, however, soon enough have many, many worries.

“What’s up, boss?”

“We have dinner on Thursday, 9 p.m.” He said from his desk, not raising his gaze from the game he was playing.

“Cool, I’ll schedule that at that one restaurant you like, party of 7?”

“Party of 8.”

“Oh, that spooky-ooky guy I barely see is going too?”

Mikey finally looked up at you.

“No, Mochi isn’t coming, he’s on his honeymoon, but you will.”

You blinked.

“I’ll what?”

“Bonding time.” He merely responded before going back to playing fucking Tetris, as if he didn’t just utter the most horrifying phase in the history of Heaven, Earth and Hell, ensuring your therapy bills quadruple in an instant.

“Boss, is that smart?”

“Bonding with coworkers in a controlled environment is important.”

“You haven’t felt another person’s touch since 2007.”

“Correct, but bonding.”

You stared at him, appalled.

“Boss, I work with feral cats in heat, how the fuck would that be a good idea?”

“Bonding.”

Mikey never looked as kickdroppable as he did at that moment.

Apparently, and according to Takeomi, company dinners are mandatory and you wouldn’t be able to get out of one even if you tried, and tried you have.

Great.

Mikey spreading misery all around, as he does best.

“Have you noticed how all aro ace people dress like whores?” Tora was sitting on your shared bed, his current job of helping you pick an outfit so, oh so tiring, he gave up and chose to just provide random comments from the side.

Which weren’t worth shit, half of his closet was tacky animal print shirts.

“I think that’s exclusively a you thing, but shut it right now, I am angy.”

Kazutora threw up his hands in surrender.

“I have to go to a stupid dinner with stupid coworkers and handle all their stupid flirting and-“ Huffing, you angrily threw the leather jacket off yourself, plopping on the bed and right into Kazutora’s lap.

Kazutora sympathetically patted your head,

“Do you want cuddles?”

“Yes.” Gathering just enough energy to drag yourself up so you were fully seated on him, you buried your face into his neck, his arms immediately wrapping around you. His hair tickled your face, now let out of the bun he usually wore, but it smelled nice, so you allowed it.

“I just want to poison their coffee,” You muttered, pouting when Kazutora chuckled, pressing a kiss to your temple as the only response, “They’re so fucking annoying, I swear. I will stab them.”

“Not recommended, sweetheart.”

“Yes, the fuck it is.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yuh-uh.”

“You’ll be fine, babe.” Forcing you to look at him, he peppered more kisses onto your face, the pout on it growing even more, and he couldn’t help but think you look so cute like that.

He laughed at the expression, earning a smack in retaliation.

“You suck, Tora.”

“Come on,” He grinned, too cocky for your liking, “Ya love me. You asked me out first!”

Sighing dramatically, you allow your head to fall on his chest, closing your eyes as you breathed in his scent.

“Truly, what a terrible curse has befallen me, to live with a dumb bitch like you, you stupid piece of shit.”

Kazutora’s grin widened, and before you could process, he whipped out the camera out of nowhere, snapping a picture to probably develop and bully you about it later.

“Love you too, honey. Love you too.”

“Hello, y/n l/n, I’m here with a party of 8.” You already sounded exhausted, and the dinner hasn’t even started.

The smiling receptionist led you to the room you reserved, on the top floor, a rather luxurious dining suite with a beautiful view of the city, absolutely breathtaking and way too fucking cliche.

To be fair, you did ask the restaurant for the most expensive suite and the most expensive dinner they offered.

You were already adding dents to Bonten’s self-esteem, why not do it to their wallets too?

All of the men were already there, their eyes observing you carefully and hungrily, and if you were any less confident in your clothing choice, you would have felt a little unnerved.

Fortunately for you, and unfortunately for your stupid, horny coworkers, Kazutora stuck you in his ‘Dick slaying outfit’, which meant you were wearing exclusively oversized men’s clothing, courtesy of Kazutora’s lanky form and the muscle mass he seemed to keep no matter the fact the heaviest thing he ever lifted was a cat, with the exception of the sluttiest, smallest crop top the entire city of Tokyo has ever seen.

Also belonging to Kazutora.

Maybe his hypothesis that aroace people dressed like hoes was correct.

Kokonoi tried to comment that the outfit wasn’t quite ‘fine dining’ appropriate, upon which you bit back that their job wasn’t fine dining appropriate, which seemed to quickly shut him up.

Kakucho politely told you that you looked pretty, but he also received a glare, even if he hasn’t quite done anything wrong.

As expected while the night progressed, your coworkers were loud, rude and fully insufferable.

You and Mikey seemed miserable both, desperately trying to pretend you weren’t there when Rindou and Sanzu got into a biting argument about who was taller.

They both got a devastating blow to their self-esteem they realised Kokonoi was, in fact, taller than them both, which got them to start arguing about who’s dick is bigger.

You made a mental note to kill them all if they actually start comparing dicks.

To your relief, they didn’t, instead opting out for a few rounds of a poker drinking game with bullshit rules they made up themselves.

Sanzu was, shockingly, the best, barely having to take a sip all night, and you had to admit you found that at least a little admirable.

You just assumed he fried all his neurons a while ago.

Kokonoi and Kakucho, meanwhile, were failing desperately, and your eyebrows furrowed in worry at the speed the two men were forced to drink.

Fucking idiots, the whole lot of them.

You solemnly vowed to yourself that under no terms would you drive any of them to their house.

You were driving all of them to their house.

God fucking damn it.

Some of them had to be shoved out with a boot and a threat of a stabbing, while some, like Mikey, and shockingly, Ran, left the car quite politely.

You were in mid-pondering when will Ran realise you were in fact, driving his car, and, in fact, left with that same car, when you heard rather unpleasant gagging noises, followed by the sound of car doors opening and vomiting.

Thank God you were at the red light.

And Kakucho was the only one left in that damn back seat-

Fucking lovely.

Kazutora whistled from the balcony as he watched you try and fail to drag Kakucho into the apartment building.

“Damn. That is a nice ride- Does this mean I can quit my job and become the trophy husband you always dreamt of?”

You stopped to look up and glare at him, Kakucho’s arm firmly placed around your shoulder as he still dry heaved, face flushed red and his eyes watering.

“Shut the fuck up and help me take him upstairs!”

Kazutora saluted you as the only response.

You will smother him in his sleep.

Eventually, Tora did come and help you take Kakucho up to your apartment, handling the man more gently than you ever would, perfectly gentle and soft-spoken, borderline cooing, he helped the man take off his coat and shoes, before promptly taking him to the bathroom.

Frowning, you kicked off your shoes as well, following the two and finding Kakucho kneeling on the dark tiled floor in front of the toilet as Tora rubbed his back softly.

Your partner, ever the traitor, left as soon as you stepped in, mentioning how ‘It was your job because it was your coworkers’ and leaving you, the least caring person ever, in charge of this mess of a man.

Sighing, and after forcing one of Kazutora’s tiger-themed headbands with ears on Kakucho to keep his hair at least somewhat clean and out of his face, you sat on the floor next to him, considering your next move.

Maybe you should provide some comfort? You really had little in terms of experience with taking care of drunk people, usually, Tora was the only person you ever had to babysit, and he was usually perfectly content with you just hugging him from the back like a koala and holding his hair.

Hm.

Yeah, you’re not getting that close to Kakucho, no way, he probably had cooties.

Rubbing his back should be okay, though.

“There, there, big guy, get it all out- Yep, good job, like that. Want some water?”

Kakucho merely nodded, his throat dry and scratchy, a stabbing headache and nausea scrambling his brains until he could barely think, but water sounded nice.

Your hand on his back was cold enough to be felt through his shirt, and it felt soothing.

Briefly leaving to return with a bottle of water from the fridge, you uncapped it and offered it to Kakucho, who washed his mouth with the first sip, and downed the immediately, chugging it fast enough that you were genuinely shocked he didn’t choke on any and die on the spot.

He, unfortunately, was not able to keep any of it down, his stomach rejecting to hold any and all liquids, but hey, it was worth a shot.

You opted for wetting a washcloth with cold water and dabbing it on Kakucho’s face, one palm firmly placed on his cheek as you rotated it around knowing Kazutora and Baji liked that when they got sick from drinking, always saying it grounds them.

Maybe talking to Kakucho and reassuring him everything is fine will work too, after all, Chifuyu seemed to like it whenever he joined the other two in their benders and ended up requiring care.

Come to think of it, you only really knew how to take care of people based on Kazutora’s, Baji’s and Chifuyu’s needs.

Huh.

Maybe Kazutora was right in his insistence that you need more friends.

Lightly scratching Kakucho’s scalp, you leaned against the wall, gently telling him to hold on in there and that things will work out just fine, not to worry, this horrible state will pass soon enough, cooing that you’ll let him sleep in your bed, no need to break his back on the shitty couch.

What you did not anticipate, however, was for him to hug your leg firmly enough that you were certain he would break your femur, and start sobbing as he buried his face into your thigh.

Your brain short-circuited just in time for Kakucho to start hiccuping about ‘Missing him so much, he let me sleep on his bed when I was sick too, I miss him so much-‘

Yeah, no.

Not your area anymore, nope.

Nah.

Fuck this.

“KAZUTORA! KAZUTORA HANE-FUCKING-MIYA! HE’S CRYING! KAZUTORA, GET IN HERE! YOU KNOW I CAN’T WITH CRYING HUMANS- WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!”

🔖Taglist (open):

@dilf-city @wakasa-wifey @rinsie @kisekihany @bajifairyy @cryszus @r-xochitl @levistiddies @graythecoffeebean @mukounisuru-gashadokuro @sunahyejin @yamaguccitadashi @minoozi @trashmemebitch @frogtits1 @sup-zfam @whydohumansss @xashiui @bontens-whore @nqctre @lumi-does-some-stuff @hana-patata @hxked @erza-uzumaki @sh4nn @sisnot @nahoyas-nymph @one-green-frog @justrandomlypassing @kio-kookie @haikyuu-simps-assemble @ayhashi @tiredlattes @crown5 @medusalovessnakes @bblyerim @ohnoyouareasimp @sakinotfound @syddisheep @barcelona-sergei @solliver05 @vanillaashakee @gumiwaka @withlovetengen @naorizenin @bontensbabygirl @anahryal @luvjiro (second tag list in the comments!)

a/n: finally reviving this, no idea why i even stop posting it 😭

#tokyorev #tokyo revengers #bonten x reader #bonten x you #kazutora x reader #kazutora x you #bonten #kakucho hitto #ran haitani #rindou haitani #kokonoi hajime #manjiro sano #haruchiyo sanzu #kazutora hanemiya

[gothicbarbie]

BL'S I'm Watching (August 2023)

In order of my enjoyment!

1. Only Friends - Breath of fresh air! It's messy, it's sexy, it's entertaining... it's got a lot of pairings I love seeing together. I like that it's just a more mature BL. Yes, the high heat is great, but it's about these characters feeling comfortable with their sexuality. I want more!

2. My Personal Weatherman - Always enjoy JBL's and high heat ones are even better because imo they always feel more realistic. The plot of this is a bit strange but the chemistry is great and I want to see where it all goes.

3. Hidden Agenda - Joongdunk are just so adorable. Besides the fact that they are just the most attractive pairing to look at, they have clearly gotten even more comfortable around one another. I like that the plot is going in a different direction than I expected. It's not the most amazing BL I've ever seen but I'm enjoying it.

4. Love Class 2 - I was busy last week so I am behind on episodes but I did enjoy the start of the show. A tad confusing on first watch but it made sense in the rewatch. An interesting plot with 3 different pairings to root for, so it's a fun watch. There are a few elements I don't care for but it's not too bad.

5. Dangerous Romance - A bit of a sketchy start and I can't stand bullies, but I am happy that Chimon and Perth get a chance to shine and I wanted more of them. Let's see where it goes.

6. Minato's Laundry 2 - Still a great show. Lots of cute moments. I think season 1 was better and Minato is irritating me quite a bit with his insecurities and pulling away. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me personally but I still like the show and will finish it out.

7. Stay By My Side - Not Taiwan's best, and the main pairing is a bit awkward in their kissing imo but I still the show is very fun and they are cute.

8. Laws of Attraction - Interesting-ish plot. A few pairings to root for. There is def. some boring parts and issues I have with the show but I am still liking it.

9. Be Mine Superstar - I find the plot of this one pretty boring TBH but I freaking love JaFirst. It's not their best series and I find Ja's character pretty awkward. But it's watchable.

10. The Wedding Plan - This plot is weird. Don't get the fake marriage or why the main guy can't be honest. I think the chemistry is alright but not overwhelming. I am not fully invested but its a short series and I wanna see how it goes.

11. Jun and Jun - ehhhh idk about this one guys. I can't get into it. I wanted to, but office romances aren't for me, and I think this one is especially boring. I like the chemistry between the main two but I find a lot of their moments a bit uncomfortable and there is a lack of consent in a lot of areas. Not Korea's best.

12. Stay Still- Not even sure what I am watching but its so short so I'm just kinda skimming.

On Hold:

1. I Feel You Linger in the Air

2. Lost in Translation

Tried the pilots of these and they felt very slow so I had to put them on hold for now and may come back to them later or if I hear good things about them.

Recently Finished:

1. Stay With Me - For anyone with doubts, this is definitely a BL. Some sweet kisses (though not on the lips) and lots of flirting and innuendo. A terrible ending but it'll apparently get a season 2, so I'll hold out. I genuinely loved this series!

2. Sing My Crush - Not big on musical plots and I found the storyline here a bit boring and like I'd seen it before, but it was okay. The main couple was very cute. Didn't love it as much as everyone else, but it was still good and worth the watch

EXTRAS:

Advance Bravely - Not currently airing. It's also I think technically a bromance but there are def. suggestive moments and scenes and I find the chemistry really good an entertaining so I'm enjoying it.

Catch Me Baby - Not currently airing. Only watched 1 ep and had to skim it, I found it very weird. I'm only really watching for Net/James.

#bl series #bl kiss #BL's I'm Watching #only friends #my personal weatherman #hidden agenda #khaofirst #joongdunk #jafirst #perthchimon #forcebook #kbl #jbl #cbl #love class 2 #dangerous romance #stay with me #stay by my side #minato's laundry 2 #laws of attraction #be mine superstar #the wedding plan #jun and jun #stay still #stay my crush #advance bravely #catch me baby

[shittyelfwriter]

ALRIGHTY here we are at weeks three and four for the santa clauses series! I did not rewatch a second time because genuinely, these melted my brain. anyway, lets get into it below the cut!

So apparently according to the tsc tag, episode 3 that I missed last week is a sort of filler episode? OH BROTHER REALLY

Normally I would not complain bc I miss old format, 20-23 episode series but because I know this Isn't That? DREAD. how are you going to plot well and good in 7-8eps if some are filler? that is just SO condensed, my guy

Counterpoint to people who were sad about it but: I thought the teen romance was annoying and I'm GLAD they ended it even JUST for a bit (it will come back to haunt again, trust. It’s a disney series ffs.) Whoever is writing this needs to ask a teen about how they talk nowadays. This is not it.

I also think we're driving the whole "Buddy is terrible at everything" punchline WAY past its breaking point. Which I would argue was last season entirely, but. At the very latest, last episode with how heavy on cringe it was. Yes, EVEN for kids/teens.

Again, they are not antagonizing Magnus Antas enough for me to hate him. waaaaay too funny to be a villain. I can't take him seriously and DON'T want to

The way that Noel keeps sideyeing the Betty cutout as if to say "do you see this shit?" during his brunch with the Clauses SENT me tbh. That's bernelle coded and I love it

I do not know why Disney gets OFF on the Clauses being absolutely inept parents but I wish they would stop

SHOUTOUT JUDY OMG JUDY'S ACTRESS THAT’S JUDY JUDY IS HERE YOU GUYS (SCREAMINGGGG)

LOVING the exterior shots of the workshop and Elfsburg. As someone who has POURED over all available screenshots from the movies of those I am LIVING for new angles (even though I do NOT think bernelle would live that close to the Workshop, but it doesn't seem like Betty and Noel can POOF like Bman and Elle can (and do))

I don't know why there are TWO instances of a "misspoken turn of phrase" in this episode but neither were funny and TWO OF THEM was REALLY bad

CHUBBY BUNNY DID NOT EXIST THAT LONG AGO. NOT IN MAGNUS ANTAS' TIME. THAT WAS AN INTERNET FAD LESS THAN TEN YEARS AGO. WHAT ARE WE DOING DUDE. WHAT ARE THESE WRITERS ON (it's not good, I don't want some)

Crossing guard callback? For what? (okay, shrug I GUESS dot meme)

Why does this specific franchise always have to make EB SO WEIRD. WHY. Nothing about this is funny it's just off-putting. Just like the previous EB flirting with Carol's MARRIED MOM in tsc3

This Carol and La Befana scene was actually very good. LOVE it when they actually just let the characters be HONEST with each other. Women supporting women core. Even if Carol's reason for being mad at her was really shallow and obviously stems form Carol's lack of identity as Mrs. Claus because they just cannot wrap that plot point from last season up.

THE LETTERS DEPARTMENT. It looks dope but HATE the explanation for it. Half assed as hell. WARNING! Rant incoming: like from what I know a LOT of postal services have little lore stories about how they get the letters to Santa. WHY COULDNT WE JUST SAY THERE ARE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN SANTA AND OTHER ADULT PEOPLE WHO KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE FOR OTHERS AS WELL? Why is this series so obsessed with making everything only powered by magic and never by others (yes, humans) who want to keep the spirit alive as well? It feels like magic is being used as an "explain it all away" crutch narratively. Even in season 1, the "solution" to mass consumerism wasn't for people to be kind to each other and do little things to keep the magical parts of Christmas alive, it was to show the world that magic was real. Season 2 so far, the answer to everything is also just magic. I'm hoping that maybe the B plot with Kris will touch on this. Because as it stands right now, it feels like the writers are talking out of both sides of their mouth. Commercial Christmas is bad, but Kris is a loser for having a Santa theme park. Like?? Homogenization of Christmas is the Big Bad at large, but also up at the Pole they are trying to find ways to do the same thing to be "current". CHRISTMAS IS MULTIFACTED. It is both secular and religious! That is OKAY, I don't even think "woke" people are arguing about that. Sheesh.

Can't believe I'm micro rambling IN my ramble post. New achievement unlocked omg

The way Magnus Antas picks up on modern slang so quickly practically puts Scott to shame. Good for him

AGAIN, the misturn of phrase jokes. DEAD. Not funny. STOP

If they are going to make Sandra so op that she can just Wanda Maximoff chaos magic "I just say something when I'm mad and it happens, anything I want with no negative impact on me" I will not find that swag. That is in fact Mary Sue territory, lads

Sandra's little outburst @ La Befana was giving magical nepo baby for a moment there. Oof. "Too bad I'm just naturally more skilled than you even though I'm new and you've been a witch forever" girl SHUT. UP. You are like a little baby. Also that is so mad disrespectful like no WONDER La Befana is wanting you to slow tf down. You fly off the handle WAY to easily and we ALL know you lose control when you do! Okay loose cannon! Werk!

Riley. Girl. "we never see each other" you were just up at the Pole?? Like. OFTEN?? This is so stupid of a breakup but they are teenagers so go off kids, be dysfunctional or what have you. Rah rah, as Jack would say

Episode four now, lord help us. God has cursed me for my (loving this one Christmas movie series) hubris and my work (watching it's hellish series spin off) is never finished

"Reversing a transformation is never a guarantee" what is this La Befana? the Sims? Sounds like transformation ray odds. Magic is not THAT unpredictable, even by in-universe logic

CURTIS-ITIS!??? CURTIS FUCKING EXPLODED??

ARE YOU SO FUCKING FR RN. SO BERNARD IS MARRIED TO A SENIOR CITIZEN AND CURTIS. FUCKIN VAPORIZED?? FROM STRESS? WHAT'S NEXT? Lemme guess, Judy joined the circus. Quintin is a crypto investor or works for Tesla. WHAT ARE WE D O I N G

Not Scott moving the scissors like he's afraid Buddy will shank him or others?? SIR

SANDMAN AHHHHHHHHHH HELLO SIR /POS :D

So they just con him? As though that's a long term solutio-- OH MY GOD NOT SCOTT USING SANDMAN'S SAND ON SANDMAN HIMSELF?? that's ILLEGALE?? According to tsc3 lore: "We legendaries can't use magic on each other?" I am so bewildered by the level of retcon occurring before my very eyes at BREAKNECK speed

Sandra doesn't need magic she needs THERAPY for her ANGER ISSUES bruh. Damn. She doesn't need a rage room (in someone's house too I might add? okayyyy) she needs to learn to process like a normal human being wtf

Scott being able to look like his normal self whenever he wants and they just didn't tell him? For like. 25 years? Like its clear that by the series standards, the elves think he's a total moron. But it pendulums hard and fast between "haha funny joke" and "damn they really think he ain't shit, huh"

Edie being a fashion diva is such a serve she's grown on me this season ngl

"I had to teach him how to do all the Legendaries jobs" Scott I know you're waffling, absolutely FUMBLING but what the FUCKKKKK is that excuse??? What's Cal going to do? Be EVERY Legendary? TERRIBLE AWFUL HATE IT UNINSPIRED. Not to mention, SOME OF THE OTHER LEGENDARIES MIGHT NOT TAKE THAT NEWS WELL. Some might even feel THREATENED

"The man I die for in my sleep every night" UM? Noel? You okay there bud? Holy heck

THE PURPLE JACKET IS SWAG AND SCOTT IS A HATER. HE CANNOT SEE THE VISION

Do you guys think according to this new lore Edie made Jack's suit? because me thinks PERHAPS

Magnus Antas is kind of popping off, damn. Like I think if the gnomes hadn’t given him MAJOR delusions of grandeur and an ego trip, he could have stayed totally a vibe. But stop giving the Santas snow powers and reconning Jack holy SHIT dude. First Scott now him? HATE IT

The way they made Scott and Cal look when "invisible" is Not a Good Look heck. Its like a bad picsart filter

These Scott visions. I get why, its through the Santa magic, right? But dang its corny

So Scott knows Magnus Antas is back now. Okay. They got away from him. Lost visual on Olga, have a bad feeling she somehow sneaked into the sleigh. Weird cliffhanger but EVERY episode has been like that so far

Final thoughts: I feel like they're definitely trying to make this season take itself less seriously, but I feel like the trade off is that the writers are taking too many liberties for diversions from source material and are therefore, losing the plot entirely and retconning movie lore at will and convenience. Tl;dr, it's messy. Concepts are fun until things just become so irreverent they fall apart or lean into entirely unfunny territory. Which is just a hallmark of T*m All*n brand humor, tee em, but you know.

It feels like this series is doing everything and nothing. It wants woke points, but immediately doubles back and makes fun of those same things. It wants us to feel empathy for these characters, and immediately makes them insufferable. I am so confused as to what the takeaway is supposed to be. It all feels so poorly executed--the series retcons itself constantly, not to mention the movies. I want it to be fun, and to take it at surface value, but if you know literally anything about the movies, that becomes a challenge to do. I'm just so confused dude.

I will be shocked if this gets a third season. Truly.

Also, I miss Betty too, Noel. Wish this whole season was about HER shenanigans, instead.

So. See you all next week then?

#coping is our number one skill in this household huh #don't get me wrong! thrilling to have new tsc content to talk about but at WHAT COST #ana liveblogs tscs #I am also nearing a point where I can safely say I hope they don't show more legendaries if this is how they are going to TREAT THEM #tscs spoilers #the santa clauses

[surely-galena]

Finally had the time to start going through ToT personal stories ch 4 and I apparently had some things to say about Marius. Most of them not very serious at all

First of all. Vincent does so much research for Marius. This guy is far more than a PA and should 10/10 be made an honorary NXX member (but only if he wants to, and also if it doesn’t interfere with his schedule),

Also: I can’t believe Vincent is third wheeling with these two on the Chapman Research Expedition. I really thought Marius and MC were just going by themselves; many kudos to Vincent for just tagging along

And even more kudos for Vincent for dealing with these two and their incessant flirting!! Romance is literally in the air and Vincent has the smarts to sit in a different section so he doesn’t have to watch Marius + MC stare lovingly into each others' eyes asdfghjkl

Ah yes. At this point I will never forget that Marius has bought an island before. Limited edition jewelry collections are small potatoes in comparison

Oh Lost Gold and RRG flashbacks? What a pleasant surprise, so there is a timeline after all

Chat with future sister in law (in this route) was lovely! MC doesn’t really have that many female friends with sprites, but I think these two would get along quite nicely.

Also I hope your fiancé comes back, girl!! (Even though part of me thinks that he’s probably dead, but we can always hope) :(

Side tangent out of many tangents, but I like how Jared still barely has a face even in the illustration. You can sort of make out his eye and mouth, but because of his blank sprite it truly is an experience seeing him in Full Technicolor

I love MC’s dress here! As usual, it’s a very pretty gown and purple looks good on her. I wish that I could see it from the front, but at least from this angle we get a glimpse of our girl Ailine :)

Also somewhat related, Austin’s outfit is really good. It takes the traditional suit to another level with the additional designs and Chinese inspired collar and makes him stand out from the other business people.

This image also works for me to briefly mention how much I enjoy Austin teasing Marius. It brings this really casual dynamic to their relationship so we know it isn’t all stiff family drama back home, and that Austin doesn’t necessarily favor one son over the other. Austin might not be the best dad, but it's pretty clear that he does try to be there for his sons and I'm just glad he's not a terrible person :D

#tears of themis #marius von hagen

[lesbianmarrow]

i finished legends of tomorrow 5.06 “mortal khanbat” it was nice :) not my favorite but a fun decent episode. felt a bit like a season 3 episode. i think there was just like a combination of small things that made this episode less enjoyable for me personally. but it wasn’t a bad episode at all. caity lotz’s directing seemed good (from what i can tell - i’m hardly a directing expert) and i especially enjoyed that one fight sequence that occurred early in the episode. 

mostly i was irritated by the charlie/behrad love drama. i do appreciate the opportunity to get to know a little more about charlie and see how she reacts when stressed, but i didn’t like the added romance complications. it’s not that the love drama wasn’t believable, bc it definitely was. i didn’t feel that charlie or behrad was out of character. i just found it kind of cliche and boring. charlie is such a dynamic character with such a unique perspective, and to slot her into this cw romance plot would just kind of do a disservice to the character. plus we already have one lovesick guy pining after a girl who doesn’t want him (nate), i don’t really need another one. at least it seemed by the end of the episode that they were just friends and both okay with that. i do hope it stays that way. behrad seems like a nice friend to have. 

the plot itself was okay. i am always a bit wary when this show uses asian characters or sets the episode in asia because it always feels like it’s going to be racist. this one didn’t feel terribly racist the way arrow often does but it still wasn’t ideal imo. i didn’t like that they killed that lady cop, and so gruesomely. and the accented english is always a choice. but you know it could’ve been a lot worse. i loved the electric scooter and how that became genghis khan’s transportation and weapon. i thought it was so funny and delightful. i loved when charlie stabbed him with the sword and stole his toothpick, definitely an all-time favorite charlie moment. 

i didn’t like the constantine stuff in this episode as much, partly because it’s just yucky to see him so sick but also idk it was kind of boring and predictable. like we know he’s not going to die but we also know he won’t be cured till the end of the episode......idk it just felt like it wasn’t as creative as it could have been. the message at the end was supposed to be that constantine realizes the value of friendship but the episode didn’t really succeed at making that hit as hard as it couldve i think. i guess the other issue is that gary is very one-note throughout the whole thing, like he just is kind of hysterical for the duration, and it gets stale. i do like that we will have constantine and astra working together apparently....i wonder how that will go. 

finally charlie and zari 2 meet :) i like that zari likes charlie’s fashion sense. it’s very different from her own, but it’s still its own bold distinct style and that’s something zari can respect. i might be imagining things but it definitely felt to me like they were both checking each other out. i also enjoyed when zari found out charlie can shapeshift and charlie started flirting with her. i know she was probably doing it in part to annoy behrad and drive him away, and that annoys me, but with that aside i thought it was cute. i couldn’t tell if zari was also flirting or if she just thought shapeshifting was really cool. i got the vibe that zari understood that charlie was flirting with her and she enjoyed that attention, but i’m not sure if she would consider herself attracted to women or if she identifies as straight. i guess maybe we will see. #zarlie for the win. 

so great to finally learn about charlie’s secret past. charlie breaking the loom bc she came to believe that everyone should be free to choose their own destiny is so her and so legends of tomorrow. just like snart! i literally love it so much. i suspect there’s more to the story that charlie isn’t telling, a personal reason why she broke the loom, but maybe we’ll find out later. i wonder what charlie’s sisters will be like. i am actually so psyched for this plotline. 

last thing i wanna mention is i thought it was so cute when ava didn’t understand nate’s euphemisms for sex. feels like this season the writers are pushing how silly they can be with ava and it turns out the answer is: very silly :p ok that’s all i have to say for now

#legends of tomorrow #legends charlie #behrad tarazi #legends constantine #zari tarazi #zarlie #ava sharpe #syl posts

[caspercryptid]

also another one - but again, it’s just a prompt a think? not really a requests bc i’m sure you have a lot of work already but i’d also love to see jayce crushing hard on viktor and slowly recognizing that for what it is bc so far he’s only been romantically involved with women? nothing long-lasting, just short flings or one night stands and he knows how that feels, but with viktor it’s so much different? bc jayce wants to be around him all the time, wants to talk to him and keep his hand on his shoulders, and with the flings he’s had in the past there was always something he expected to get in return? but with viktor he’s fine with just being around him, he doesn’t want anything in return as long as viktor lets him work with him? tldr; jayce attempting to flirt with viktor/show him how much he cares abt him but he’s got no idea how to do that bc he’s never had anyone so important to him? and so he desperately tries to do it the way he’s done it with women in the past, and viktor’s not having it bc he knows jayce’s like that with everyone during those fancy parties (it’s requited of course they’re just idiots), yeah, thanks and have a nice weekend!!!

Alright so NORMALLY I'm not very good with prompts that are lengthier, but! We Are Mutuals, and so I really wanted to knock this one out, plus it's very sweet and it's been living in my head rent-free for a month. On a related note. I am so sorry that this took me a month. Hope you like it!

____

Okay, so, maybe he doesn’t love Viktor like a brother.

Jayce thinks he may be stupid.

Well, that’s not entirely fair. He’s conventionally smart. Intelligent, rather. Caityn’s forced him to play enough of those character building games with the dice that he thinks the operative difference between Int and Wisdom might be relevant to his current problem. Which is that he really likes Viktor. He likes Viktor a lot. He likes Viktor like he’s never liked anyone else, or at least not another guy, but actually, maybe not any other person.

With other people, this had been easy. Jayce hesitates to say with girls because he hadn’t exactly given his sexuality much thought. He hadn’t really given romance much thought. Women sort of threw themselves at him and he occasionally reciprocated enough to go through the motions. He’d had some crushes, even, women were beautiful. Men were beautiful too, but men didn’t look at him as often, and Jayce tended to rule his type as people who were into him and so that narrowed that down. Or at least into him enough to be willing to make it very, very obvious they were into him, because he wasn’t... great at this stuff.

Sex had not been hard to come by, dating had been something he’d done briefly in his first years at the academy. Apparently he was good at it. The fact that girls tended to dump him aside. There was a fairly common refrain: You’re not trying. You’re distant. You’re wonderful when you’re around. You’re never around.

And he wasn’t, in fairness.

He didn’t really want to be.

Science had been the only thing that really interested him: he understood the social script, he could play the game, he was familiar enough with what he was “supposed” to do that it wasn’t terribly hard to just do it. He was a great first date. It went downhill from there.

With Viktor, though... well.

For the first time in his life, Jayce really wanted to be good at this. And for the first time in his life... he wasn’t.

He bought Viktor flowers (Viktor said they were lovely and really livened up the place and put them on a communal table. When Sky asked he’d said Jayce had gotten them for the lab.) Jayce got him chocolate and okay, he should have known that one was going to be a failure, he’d brought Viktor food and sweets enough time that Viktor accepting them with a passive little thank you about tracks. Want to get lunch? What time, oh we do that anyway. Want to get coffee? Why would we get coffee, Jayce, there’s coffee here. Jayce is about to lose his mind.

He’s trying to come up with a line again, in the lab at some ungodly hour of the morning, talking to himself as he cycles through the ones he’s tried and runs an energy test on a hexgem.

“Coffee? Tried that. Flowers? Tried that. Teddy bear? I don’t know if he’d like those stupid ones with the little heart messages. Surely he can’t misunderstand if I actually outright get a heart that says I love you on it, hell, get it monogrammed, just fucking write I love you, Viktor-”

There’s the sound of shattering porcelain.

Shit.

Jayce turns around, slowly. Viktor is standing in the doorway, staring at him. Jayce opens and closes his mouth, and then he looks down at the mug Viktor’s just dropped. It’s the piltover commemorative one with Jayce’s portrait on it. A chunk of his nose is sitting on the toe of Viktor’s shoe.

“—My face.” Jayce says, sounding way more distraught than probably appropriate.

“You love me?” Viktor asks, and then, “Shut up. Wait, don’t shut up. Forget about the mug. What?”

“I— Viktor, I brought you flowers.”

“You bring everybody flowers!” Viktor says, indignant, looking flushed from— Jayce assumes embarrassment. “You brought Mrs. Kiramman flowers last night!”

“They weren’t roses!”

“What the fuck does the breed of flower have to do with anything.”

Jayce looks at him. “Breed?”

“Is that— not the— do I look like I know anything about flowers, Jayce! I only know three kinds in Zaun! Fumewort, Dandelion, and Ghost pipe! And Dandelions are— nevermind. Nevermind! You haven’t answered the question!”

“Of course I love you.” Jayce says, flushing. “I’ve been— I don’t know how I could have made it more obvious! I’ve— practically been courting—”

“And what exactly would I know about Piltover courtship, Jayce!” Viktor says, and Jayce winces, not entirely understanding why Viktor is yelling, and somehow that makes Viktor angrier, and he stalks over. Jayce tenses, half expecting to get smacked.

“Look I can stop if i’m making you unc—”

Viktor’s kissing him.

The whole world grinds to a halt, and for a single shameful second Jayce freezes and forgets to kiss him back, and Viktor pulls back, leaving the taste of coffee on his lips.

“You love me.” Viktor says. “If you mean it, you had better come here.”

Jayce has to take a breath, sees the second of fear and doubt in Viktor’s face before he chases it away, leaning in to wrap his arms around Viktor’s back, almost pulling him off his feet before Viktor winces and pulls back with a little hiss.

“Jayce, Jayce, easy—”

“Oh gods i’m so— I really can’t do anything right.”

Jayce goes to let Viktor go, but Viktor doesn’t let him, throwing an arm around his neck and leaning more into his chest, carefully shifting his own weight to use Jayce as a support.

“You can.” Viktor says, smiling that mischievous little grin Jayce has always loved. “You just haven’t up till now. Let's change that, shall we?”

Jayce leans in to kiss him again, and this time, he does everything right.

#jayvik #jayce x viktor #jayce talis #viktor arcane #casper's haunted fic tag #I really didn't mind how long this request was by the way you were totally fine but sometimes other people send long ones that suck #so I had to note it #you were gucci though I loved this

[patroclusdefencesquad]

I've never asked a question on here; I don't know how it works. I hope I'm doing this right. Feel free to skip this....

Anyway, proceeding as if I am doing this correctly, regarding the gay noble who's supposed to flirt with Jaskier and the confirmation of a character who's supposed to be a prince.

I've been tentatively excited about the idea of a gay noble flirting with Jaskier. Excited because I'd be overjoyed to see a canonical gay romance and because I'd be absolutely delighted to see Jaskier fall in love with someone who loves him back (I do ship Jaskier with Geralt but I doubt the show will make it canon because it'd piss off the book purists, and I think the way the show will make the most audience members happy is to have Geralt end up with Yennefer and then set up Jaskier with another man [all that said, Geralt/Jaskier/Yennefer is my OT3 but that would require Netflix being brave enough to allow polyamory]). Let the bard be happy!

However, I've been nervous that there will be even more bard whump in S3. When Jaskier was talking to Yennefer about people donating to the cause of helping the Elves, it sounded like he thought that they were all, well, donations. Money sent in good will. But then the spymaster dude said he wanted the bard brought in to pay up and.... I'm nervous about how the payment will be collected. My guess is that, most likely, Jaskier will be forced to be a spy but....

And then, because I haven't yet read the books (waiting on my library hold), I went to TV Tropes. I didn't find a Prince Radovid but I did find a King Radovid and he's apparently about as bad as the Emperor. He's apparently just a terrible person. So if the Prince isn't a separate character but is the same character prior to becoming king, I don't see how Jaskier would be interested in this guy.

So, maybe they are separate characters and the Prince is a much better person than his father and he and Jaskier will just be a sweet couple. But I'm nervous. I'm worried the storyline could get pretty dark but maybe I've just read too many hurt/comfort fics.

you're doing wonderfully don't worry lmao!

in terms of jaskier and relationships (and presuming you don't mind book spoilers since you've had a sneaky look yourself, and if you DO mind spoilers ignore all this and send me an angry ask and I'll answer again lmao), I haven't read the books but I'm pretty sure he ends up with a woman in them? and although the writers clearly aren't sticking to the book content (cough season 2 cough) they are definitely going down the yenralt route (terrible a job though they're doing of it) so yeah, geraskefer/geraskier unfortunately is unlikely to be a thing. I am however surprised at just how blatant they've made the unrequited love between jaskier and geralt, even if they haven't actually stated anything there's so much that can be taken that way, so who knows where jaskier is going to end up relationship wise. i would assume, if it's anything at all, that this "relationship" with the prince guy is likely to just be a fling though.

here's where we differ lmao bc I'm a sucker for jaskier whump, I just hate the lack of comfort we get for him 😔 so yeah if they whump him again i need some sort of resolution to it not just "oh hey let's torture the bard and then never mention it again." but anyway, considering the set up of this storyline at the end of s2, and that I think spy!jaskier is a significant plot in the books (?) i'm hopeful that it's going to be a decent story!

with this information given from twn twitter, and what we already know about jaskier in s3, it's probably reasonable to assume that these two characters are going to be connected, and the "until someone gets hurt" makes me🤞in a vaguely evil jaskier stan sort of way.

but again, this info compared with the book character doesn't seem to add up, especially when taken with the actors "character types" lmao and twn propensity to ignore the books.

basically, we know nothing lmao i'm just speculating and hyperfixating on a random line of a script that may or may not even be real. we move✌️

#el asks

[sparks-joy-imagines]

Hi! Could I request some hcs or a one shot (whichever you prefer!) where Gojo finds out reader has never orgasmed with a partner before because her previous partners were kind of asses. Thank you either way! Have a lovely day! :)

hello love~ I figured I might as well turn this into a one shot because there had been just so~ many ideas floating around my head for this (including a few Japan traumata lol) - I hope you're ready to buckle up cause this one comes in at 5k appr. enjoy -mesu. PS: A very special thanks to niob for beta-ing this monster and talking me through it!!!❤

Gojō Satoru x f!reader warnings: vaginal penetration, oral sex (receiving), Gojō being a smug arse

You cursed the day you were born. Actually, no. You cursed the day Gojo Satoru was born to torment your existence.

The first time you had met Gojo it had been your first year teaching at Kyoto jujutsu high and your first impression had been that no single living being could withstand his gaze of scrutiny. Given, as the wielder of both infinity and the six eyes there wasn’t anyone on his level to begin with, but did he really have to be an arse about it? Who even hired him as a teacher – a person supposed to be of pedagogic value – in the first place?

Luckily, you didn’t have to see him all that often, usually just whenever the time of year came around for the good-will event with the sister school in Tokyo but he had picked up an unhealthy interest in your person and relentlessly teased you for whatever you did and didn’t do alike.

Utahime had once suggested that it was Gojo’s twisted way of flirting with you and you couldn’t help but scoff and reply that you had seen Gojo flirting. And it was nothing alike how he was acting towards you. Afterwards, Utahime had taken pity on you and acted as an intermittence between you and Gojo so he wouldn’t get under your skin anymore, albeit he mostly ended up getting under hers instead.

At least, that was until tonight. With the students being sound asleep in bed, everyone involved in the event unanimously had decided to head for a drink at a fancy bar in Ginza to celebrate the event ending more or less successfully despite the unforeseen interference of some higher ranked curses and you ended up sitting sandwiched between Utahime and Shoko who both had insisted on a girl’s table away from curious colleagues and ears, while the other staff were seated at a slightly larger table just out of earshot.

The back of your head hit your nape when you downed what felt like the 7th shot of nihonshu. The alcohol prior to the shots had already infiltrated your system, leaving your senses foggy and your tongue loose. You weren’t about to spill your secrets just yet, but it was definitely getting harder to suppress the glances you’d love to gift Gojo who seemed entirely unfazed by any of the liquor he had consumed this evening.

That prick has to use his innate techniques to cope with the alcohol!

You narrowed your eyes, glaring at the tall man across the table who hadn’t even bothered to take his blindfold off while sporting a vaguely amused if aloof expression while the headmaster of Kyoto high and Tokyo high appeared to be in a heated discussion. Speaking of rude.

Lost in your thought of how much you longed to wipe that smirk off of Gojo’s face, you didn’t follow the topic of conversation of your friends at the table who definitely had one nihonshu too many.

“I’m telling you, anatomically speaking, it’s just unfair. It’s so much easier for men to achieve an orgasm, alright? It’s as if nature was against us women,” Shoko sighed dramatically, taking the nihonshu bottle to refill the shot glasses only to find it empty. Another, this time desperate, sigh followed.

“What’s even worse is that men usually don’t care about their partner's pleasure at allll,” Utahime responded with a distinct lull in her voice while she was already close to resting her cheek on the table. She’s definitely had enough but that didn’t stop her from going on, “Ever since I started dating, there’s been what? Maybe two decent enough guys that actually cared if I came too or not.”

“Sounds about right,” Shoko agreed, apparently trying to find some universal truth in the emptiness of the bottle she was still holding onto.

You shot a glance to the two unhappy women at your side, deciding that it was time to share your two cents of truth under your breath, “At least you’ve had partners before who took care of your needs, too. I for once have only been with arseholes who could care less if I came or not. And so I never did… so…consider yourselves lucky? I guess.”

As expected, your volume made it impossible for them to catch what you were revealing and Utahime unbeknownst interrupted the aftermath to your soft confession by suddenly straightening her posture in a surge of drunken energy, grabbing one of your and Shoko’s hands respectively to declare something about not letting this circumstance prevent anyone from having a great night.

You could’ve sworn the corner of Gojo’s mouth perked up the second you shot him another glance…

A few drinks, a second bar, and a couple hours later.

Your head was spinning slightly and you leaned your back against the wall of the establishment you’d just stepped out of. Damn your senpai for making you drink. You soaked in the wet, clean night air which could only be achieved during the rainy season in Tokyo.

The moment you pressed your eyes shut you could hear Utahime demanding to move onto a karaoke bar and continue this until morning. Of fucking course, you thought to yourself and opened your eyes, desperate for any excuse to skip what was about to come.

Among general consensus with a few nods and exclamations here and there, you slowly noticed how Gojo was watching you intently. By now he had actually gotten rid of his blindfold and was sporting his dark shades, his soft hair was framing his angular face, slightly damp by the drizzle and you would have gladly punched him for the way the street lights and shop signs reflected in his hair.

Still, right now you had other things to worry about and so you took a deep breath and spoke up, “Thanks for this evening but I’ll have to take my leave now. It’s already late and I don’t think my voice can handle singing right now.” An obvious lie as your voice was just fine, but it’d do the trick of getting you out of corporate pressure.

And that’s exactly what happened. Your excuse was accepted at face value and you were wished a good night’s rest. Umbrellas were opened and the group made of two faculties strolled towards the closet illuminated Karaoke sign.

You waited until everyone was on the move, so you could gather yourself in your time without any scrutinising eyes on you.

“Leaving an intoxicated damsel to her own devices? How could I be the strongest without taking care of her? Allow me to lead you home, (Y/N)~”

Just when you thought you had lived through the worst, Gojo’s voice piped up right next to your ear. You hadn’t seen him stay behind and now he was close, dangerously so, and he didn’t even care to hide the glee in his voice.

You managed to turn your head in his direction and gift him – what was in your imagination – a nasty stare. For Gojo, it rather seemed like you were trying your best to fixate your dizzy gaze on him.

He sighed and for once dropped his excruciating façade, speaking in a normal tone, “Seriously tough, (Y/N), I’d rather lead you home. Tokyo’s far from being safe at night.”

Seeing and actually hearing Gojo apparently genuinely concerned made you weigh your chances enough that you finally sighed in defeat, “Fine. But only up to the doorstep.”

Gojo blinked at you repeatedly, appearing almost insulted that you dared to think him a man who would take advantage of women like that – truth being that he was more insulted that you thought that he was actually in need of such tricks – and made an off-hand remark of how he could never.

You waved your hand dismissively and slowly tried to straighten your posture, “You’re here by car, right? That’s why you used your innate technique to not get drunk. Wish I could’ve done the same, wouldn’t be dying of spinning world syndrome right now.”

That stopped Gojo’s rant about his hurt pride. A sheepish smirk appeared on his lips and he stated flatly, “You noticed.”

You nodded, which turned out to have been a terrible idea. Nausea overcame you and you tried to curl into a ball, but Gojo was next to you in a second, smoothly wrapping his long arm around your waist while his free hand reached for your hand, easily securing your stance like that.

“Let’s get you home, shall we?”

You nodded and simply concentrated on not getting sick while he led you towards the parking lot where his car was parked. He left you shortly to pay for the ticket and you leaned against one of the nearby vending machines, concentrating on your breathing.

A few moments later the relatively quiet night was disturbed by the low roar of what turned out to be a pricey sports car. It didn’t take long for Gojo to stop said car right in front of you. Ever the gentleman he stepped out of the driver’s seat and opened the door to the passenger’s side for you, offering his hand to you for assistance. The entire picture which enfolded in front of you seemed to be taken out of a romance.

Only when you wobbled over to the car and felt the infinity between your hand and Gojo’s you snapped back to reality, pursing your lips as you stated, “You never let anyone actually touch you, do you?”

“If someone’s worth my while, sure I do,” Gojo replied with a sly smile, but something in his eyes appeared resigned, almost lost. But maybe that was just your imagination? Almost promising.

You didn’t even have time to follow-up on his statement as he simply shut the door in your face, cutting any further discussion short. Soon, Gojo settled in the driver’s seat and drove off towards your hotel. You didn’t even question how he knew where he needed to go.

Silence fell upon you and you simply turned your gaze to the flashing street lights, allowing you to marvel at Tokyo’s nocturnal atmosphere for a while. This was so much better than making your way through the confusing public transport in time for the last train. You shot Gojo another gaze and were surprised to find him diligently keeping his eyes on the road.

At once you wondered if you unwittingly had been keeping him from joining the others at karaoke. Singing one’s soul out and getting undressed in the process seemed right up Gojo’s alley.

“…Thank you for taking me back to the hotel. I appreciate it. You… didn’t really have to do this though, I’m sure you wanted to attend karaoke with the others,” you started off your half-apology.

A soft yet deep chuckle escaped Gojo’s throat.

“Oh sure I did, hun. There’s been something on my mind concerning you which is just soooo much more fun than karaoke could ever be after all,” Gojo casually replied, eyes never straying from the road.

You frowned and cocked your head in an inquisitive manner.

“Don’t act confused now, love,” Gojo smirked as he pulled over and parked the car right next to the entrance of the hotel. He unfastened his seatbelt to turn to you completely and casually rested his elbow against his seat, “Now, why don’t you tell me about never having orgasmed with a partner before?”

The question hung in the air for a moment as Gojo watched you curiously while you didn’t believe the meaning behind what your ears had picked up on.

“I…,” you spilled quickly, already feeling the heat rise to your cheeks. This had to be a nightmare. How did he know of that? You never told a soul, too embarrassed by your unfortunate choice of past sexual partners, and now Gojo Satoru – out of all possible people – knew of your secret?!

The panic must have shown on your face as Gojo’s smug expression softened slightly and he leaned closer to you, only stopping when the tip of his nose almost collided with yours, “You should take more care who might be listening in when you’re talking to yourself, (Y/N).”

You nodded once and leaned back, avoiding Gojo’s touch and gaze as best you could, “T-thanks for the ride.” Even if his revelation had thrown you off entirely, you tried your best to hide it.

“My pleasure. I’ll have to insist on taking you to your room though.” Gojo’s tone was unforgiving and made it very clear that you wouldn’t get out of him walking you all the way.

You sighed deeply and submitted to your fate, sinking into your seat until he had rounded the car and opened the passenger’s door so you could accept his hand to disembark in a semi-elegant manner.

Once you had found your balance he let go of your hand, matching your pace as you walked towards your room, acting as if he hadn’t just nonchalantly invaded your privacy. You shot him several glances but Gojo acted very interested in the interior of the hotel. You didn’t buy it though. Obviously he was just relishing in the fact that he got under your skin.

So he didn’t want to push any further? Fine by you. You huffed softly and pushed the button for your floor once you boarded the lift, Gojo strolling on your heels, hands shoved into the pocket of his trousers.

You refrained from looking at anything close to Gojo’s direction, albeit you could feel his piercing gaze on you. You used the time of the short ride to get your room card out of your purse and as soon as the automatic doors opened, you darted out of the lift and unlocked the door to your room with a soft beep.

Barely having shuffled inside you got rid of your purse and turned around to thank Gojo once again, finding him right on your doorstep.

“Thanks, Gojo, I appreciate what you did tonight,” you smiled awkwardly at the close proximity and mustered the courage to look into his eyes, just to be surprised by their intensity.

“Of course,” Gojo hummed, resting his left arm on the doorframe he leaned closer, stopping right before crossing the threshold with his movements. He easily kept your eyes locked in his, making you all but forget about bringing some distance between you.

“Before I leave… y’know I could help you out with your little problem, (Y/N). If you’re up for it, that is.”

Gojo’s voice was low, eyes dark, pupils dilated with a certain hunger as they stared right into your soul.

When his words registered a soft gasp unwittingly left your lips as your eyes grew wide.

Just what was happening? Had Utahime been right all along?

The next moment Gojo was leaning down to you, making all but sure that your senses shut down to a bare minimum. Standing there frozen in place, time seemed to slow down around you as your eyes flickered from Gojo’s luscious lips to his cyan eyes and back to his lips again.

Was this really happening right now?

Your heart pounded against your chest harshly and you pressed your eyes shut to calm your nerves. That is when you felt his soft lips against the skin of your cheek, undoubtedly skin on skin. He‘d really turned his infinity off!

“As I have told you prior, I don’t take advantage of intoxicated women. But as I understand it, you still have a couple hours before your bullet train back to Kyoto tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for you, (Y/N). You won’t regret it. . .~”

You held your breath and nothing. When you finally opened your eyes again Gojo was gone. Simply vanished! He had done exactly what he had promised to do. Taken you home, up to your doorstep and not a millimetre further.

Did this mean that he was going to keep what he offered if you turned up at his doorstep tomorrow? Up until now Gojo had never given you any reason to doubt him. Sure, he was a prick, but he was honest about being a prick. At least that was more than could be said about any of your former affiliations.

It took a couple more moments before you managed to close the door and turn in to a sleepless night contemplating if you might as well take Gojo up on his offer.

The next day. After some empty excuses to Utahime of why you couldn’t spend the last hours in Tokyo together. In front of Gojo’s apartment.

You stared at the kanji at the apartment, contemplating if you should really proceed now. It had been a pain to get Gojo’s address, dodging several inquisitive questions of Utahime, but now that you were finally here you weren’t sure if you should be anymore.

Given Gojo had lived up to every single thing he had proclaimed so far, plus he never had given you any reason not to trust him. Still, did being here meant that you were willing to compromise your integrity for something as trivial as good sex? More so than the actual act, you were afraid of what it might mean for your future relationship with Gojo; which would be anything but professional hereafter.

Before you could spiral further into second guessing yourself, the apartment door in front of you opened smoothly, offering the view to a slightly dishevelled looking Gojo apparently just out of the shower.

The moment you locked eyes with his bare ocean orbs, a smug grin emerged on his face, “Fancy seeing you here, (Y/N). Come in.”

You mumbled a greeting and stepped into his modern apartment, quickly getting rid of your shoes and outer layers while Gojo walked further back into the flat calling out to you, “Can I offer you something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Pineapple juice?~”

You rolled your eyes, very convinced that you just shouldn’t have come here. You followed Gojo’s voice into a broad living room with an open kitchen. The colours and décor were kept simple, black and white, sometimes a splash of colour in the colour of his goddamn eyes.

After having accessed the surroundings to your heart’s content you turned to Gojo, “Do you happen to have pineapple juice – notoriously known for apparently for making the taste of oral sex sweeter – at hand for your guests at all times? Or did you go shopping for me yesterday?”

A soft chuckle, “I happen to like the flavour. Plus, I am quite certain your juices aren’t in need of any enhancement.” A wink followed. What a bastard.

Ignoring the faint blush that emerged on your cheeks, you countered, “And what exactly makes you so sure about that, mh?”

Gojo shortly nibbled on his full lips as he sized you up with hungry eyes. Then, he slowly rounded the kitchen counter until he stood right in front of you. The smell of his surprisingly fruity after-shave intoxicated your senses.

“Wanna find out?”

You managed a nod and Gojo smirked wider, simply lifting you up on the counter so you were closer to eye level with him.

And then he finally let his soft luscious lips collide with yours, involving you in a breathless, inifity-less kiss while your arms wrapped around his neck on their own accord. Gojo smirked against your lips pulling you closer to himself, gladly taking the opportunity to feel up through the fabric of the blouse you were wearing for travel.

How you cursed the school’s clothing protocol at that moment!

Frowning slightly you broke the kiss, quickly trying to get rid of your blouse with your hands, but Gojo had other plans, catching your hands in his he leaned closer and purred on your lips, “Ah-ah (Y/N), there’s still plenty of time till your bullet train. No need to rush~ This is more than a mere quicky to shoot one’s load and carry on, after all. I need you to relax and enjoy the ride.”

You weren’t quite sure what did the trick. The proximity to him or his genuine tone, but you visibly relaxed and started shamelessly feeling Gojo up in return. You weren’t surprised to find defined abs when you pushed the fabric of his shirt out of the way and followed their lines for a bit before you moved on to explore his back.

“Good girl,” Gojo chuckled in your ear and let out a teasing gasp in response to your initiative before he went to nibble on your earlobe, making you cross your legs behind his hips as a soft whimper escaped your lips.

“Sensitive, are we?”

Gojo moved back, capturing your lips in another kiss, this time parting yours with his cheeky tongue so he could explore your mouth to his heart’s content. You happily complied and concentrated on his tongue enough that you didn’t notice how he skilfully unbuttoned your blouse.

Your legs tightened around Gojo’s hips and you moaned when you felt his growing bulge through the fabric. Gojo took this opportunity to kiss down your neck only to ravish it mercilessly while his hands had taken a liking to your boobs, kneading them through your lacey bra.

“Hah~” More and more lewd noises filled the heated air as Gojo pinched your hardened nipples just the right amount to send shivers down your spine and you were glad that you didn’t have to depend on your trembling legs anymore.

Desperate for support you scratched blindly over Gojo’s upper arms which led him to gift you a wolfish smile as he pulled back enough to strip off your blouse and a swift motion later your bra followed.

Pouting slightly you picked on his shirt, making Gojo scoff and get rid of it, too. You sighed content about the equal stages of undress and wiggled slightly on top of the counter, enjoying the friction this provided against both the fabric of your pants and Gojo’s bulge.

“You little minx,” Gojo growled lowly, suddenly pinning you down to the counter by your neck. The cold surface sent a shiver through the entirety of your body. He adjusted his grip to be more gentle, yet still determined enough to hold you in place, actively preventing you from escaping from his touch. You would welcome the sweet torture that was to follow deliberately and Gojo was very aware of that.

Soon enough Gojo began his agonisingly slow treatment of your torso, mouthing his way from your collar bones to your chest where he spent his sweet time circling each nipple with his tongue.

You didn’t know what exactly he was doing with his shameless long tongue but you had never felt your body rise to the touch on its own quite like that and it took a minute to recognise it was your own voice which echoed through the apartment so obscenely.

Desperate for more stimulation which Gojo still withheld from you, you tried to pull him closer with your crossed legs, earning a suppressed moan from him as his erect member brushed against your clothed sex. How much you would’ve given for those layers to finally be gone.

“You really haven’t been getting laid properly at all, huh.”

Completely unnerved by now you groaned and shot Gojo an acid glare, but the elite sorcerer just chuckled to himself as he straightened back up, sizing you up in the process once again. You had never seen his eyes this dark.

In a split second his hands were undoing your pants as if they had never done anything else in his life and a few moments later you were sitting on the counter completely undressed.

When you blinked away your surprise, Gojo brushed another deep kiss on your lips, humming on them, “I’d hold onto something if I were you~”

And then he dove down to your core, hands holding your hips in place well aware that you wouldn’t be able to hold still.

As soon as his lips connected to your nether folds, a lightning impulse flashed through your body and your loudest moan yet left your lips. Your head flew back by itself and you wreathed as best you could on the counter top for either more or less friction, you weren’t quite sure.

All the while Gojo relentlessly continued his pursuit of your sex, tongue swirling expertly over and around your clit, building up a certain intensity before he moved down slightly to lick and mouth at your entrance.

You desperately held onto the edge of the counter for support, spilling his name over and over again, while Gojo cheekily thrust his tongue into you for a taste before he redirected his attention to your clit again.

The coil in your core seemed to harden and become undone at the same time and another flick of Gojo’s tongue made you scream as you jerked up as you finally hit your high. Juices spilled out of your cunt and you buried your flushed face in your hands while your entire body was convulsing in ecstasy.

Gojo made sure to keep his grip on you so you wouldn’t slide down from the counter, licking his soiled lips. Once he was sure that your breathing calmed down a bit he gently stroked away a couple of stray strands of hair and smirked, “Told ya you weren’t in the need of any enhancement, babe. You’re to die for~”

Still concentrating on your oxygen intake you were feeling rather overwhelmed with everything that had played out just now. It took a bit of bargaining with yourself to search for Gojo’s gaze again, but when your eyes met you immediately noticed the mixture of hunger and smug complacency in his. He had gotten you good, but you decided you weren’t going to leave before payback.

And so you cocked your brow up and smirked, “I admit you lived up to your word, Gojo. Mind if we take round two to the bedroom?”

A grin.

“Not at all, princess,” Gojo replied and picked you up bridal style to carry you off into his chamber.

Gojo’s bedroom was dark. Both furniture and bedding were either held in a dark grey or black and the shades were lowered. When Gojo let you down on the bed you took a look around and tended your head slightly at the unexpected interior.

You were torn out of your thoughts when you heard Gojo unbuckle his belt, followed by the sound of his zipper and turned back to see him in his whole glory.

His member was definitely on the larger side, but you were happy to see it came short of what you knew would be painful to insert. It had a nice girth and was slightly tended to the right, the tip glistening with pre-cum meant for your prior endeavors. You licked your lips unconsciously, eager to feel it in you.

“Marveled at my dick enough, have we? ” Gojo smirked knowingly and reached for a condom which just happened to lie on top of his nightstand.

You nodded slightly and watched him routinely put it on, before you pulled him on top of the bed and ravished his mouth with yours. He had deserved your undivided attention after making true of his promise and you were way past the stage of having any second thoughts.

Gojo curled his lips against yours, easily positioning himself on top of you while his hands were suddenly all over your body. It seemed like he wanted to leave his touch on every inch of your being and honestly? At this very moment you didn’t mind if he did.

The energy between the two of you grew hotter by the minute and you gasped for breath when he readjusted your hips so his member was prodding against your entrance.

“Last chance, (Y/N)…hng~”

The strain in his voice did it for you and you brushed a fleeting kiss on his cheek on your way to his ear, “Take me already, Satoru!”

A deep groan reverberated in Gojo’s upper body at the mention of his first name and he penetrated you in a swift, smooth motion, making both of you moan with pleasure.

He gave you a moment before he moved, offering the opportunity to get used to his considerable size before he started moving at a cheeky pace. Something had just clicked between the two of you and you moved against him as if you had never done anything else in your life. It felt liberating. It felt right. . .

A couple many minutes and exchanges of ecstasy later.

You were laying sprawled half-way over Gojo while he lazily played with your slightly damp hair. After your last round he had suggested a shower since you technically still had a train to catch and you thought it a good idea.

If you hadn’t stopped him, you would’ve also stained his bathroom with his name. Who would’ve thought that his infinite also applied to sexual stamina? But then again, it was Gojo who you were talking about.

You weren’t quite sure how this session was going to change your relationship with Gojo in the future, but you definitely didn’t regret going through with it.

You shuffled slightly on the bed and stretched slightly, “Mh, what’s the time?”

“Hn, ten past two,” Gojo replied with a raspy, yet slightly amused voice.

Ten past two. Ten past two. The bullet train back to Kyoto you were supposed to board was leaving at half past two!

You jumped out of the bed, hurriedly reaching for your clothes.

“FUCK!”

“Any time, (Y/N)”

You shot Gojo another glare, painfully aware that he had to have known.

Gojo only gifted you a wink and grinned, “If you are going to be as nice to me as you were just now the next time we meet, I might be willing to help you out, (Y/N)~”

You cursed the day you were born. Actually, no. You cursed the day Gojo Satoru was born to torment your existence.,

#gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #gojo satoru #jjk x reader #one shot #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen one shot #jujutsu kaisen x reader #text #jjk requests are open #not sfw #mesu #5k baby #jjk

[dreamwritesimagines]

Twisted 7 - Enemies with Disregard [Spencer Reid x Reader]

A.N.: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves! Here’s the next chapter, I hope you will like it as well, and please let me know what you think of it! ❤❤ Ily, kisses! ❤❤❤

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Murder, serial killers, violence, manipulation, mentions of sex, smoking, drinking.

Summary: Ice meets fire.

Being heartbroken over a genius whom you weren’t even dating to begin with was not something you saw coming, but here you were.

Lying in bed, eating chocolate and trying your hardest to focus on the show playing on the huge TV.

“That’s a beautiful wedding dress, fuck what your aunt says!” you shouted at the screen, chewing on the caramel chocolate but then looked up when you heard the front door open.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

You groaned and turned your head to see your sister walk into your living room before she leaned on her hip.

“Oh great, you’re still where I left you.”

“I gave one person a key,” you pointed at her, “One. I don’t know if it was mom or you or your wife, but when I remember who it was, that person will be in trouble.”

“It was mom and we had copies made for times like these.”

You made a face and slid a little on the couch, “You should just leave me with my misery.”

“Are you seriously still sulking over that Reid guy?”

“I’m not sulking.”

She heaved a sigh and plopped down next to you, “The guy you liked suspected that you were a killer. So what? It could happen to anyone.”

You shot her a look, “Mina I’m pretty sure it doesn’t just happen to anyone,” you said, “In fact, I’m one hundred percent sure I’m the only person in the entire world who has had this problem.”

“It’s the 21st century,” she reminded you, “There’s some surreal shit happening every day, I’m willing to bet it happened to someone before.”

You popped a piece of chocolate into your mouth “Yeah well. It doesn’t matter.”

“Did he call you?”

“Yeah.” You tossed her the phone and she checked the screen.

“You’re not going to call back?”

You scoffed, “I’m busy.”

“Watching reality TV doesn’t count as being busy,” she said and you shrugged your shoulders.

“The charity ball is tonight, I’ll be busy towards the evening.”

“Oh right, I forgot about that.” Mina mused, “I mean…. At least you can get your mind off him tonight then. There’ll be so many insufferable people in there, you’ll fit right in.”

You were way too bummed out to retort to that.

“Um- about that,” you murmured, “There’s a huge chance that he will show up there.”

Mina blinked a couple of times, “I beg your pardon?”

“Apparently it would be a good place to see if the killer showed up, since they’re obsessed with dad’s life, so Spencer and his team might show up.”

She reached for the chocolate box in your lap and grabbed a piece,

“You must’ve fucked up in your previous life or something to piss off the universe like this,” she commented, “That being said, you’re overreacting.”

“I’m overreacting?” you exclaimed, sitting up straighter, “He implied—”

“There’s a copycat killer out there who looks up to dad, copying his life, dad was raising you to follow his footsteps and he wanted to talk to you after that first kill. You would’ve thought the same, and that’s not even your job.”

“I just wish…” you trailed off, “I just wish someone would actually have a good opinion of me, you know? I know it’s stupid to want that, but I guess I hoped Spencer would think that about me.”

“Hey,” she kicked at your feet, “I have that good opinion of you. Not just me, my wife adores you and my kid thinks you hung the moon. Who the fuck cares what anyone else thinks?”

That somehow made you smile and you nodded slowly, turning your gaze to her.

“Damn right,” you said, “Who the fuck cares what anyone else thinks?”

                                           ***

It took you almost three hours to get ready, but after three hours, you were finally happy with the way you looked. You walked through the entrance of the ballroom, fixing your bracelet, the chatter of people talking to each other, the lovely smell and soothing music greeting you.

Maybe it wouldn’t be as terrible as you thought it would be.

After all, it was for a good cause, so you could definitely bear it for a couple of hours

“Oh here you are!” your mother approached you, a smile warming her face, “You look gorgeous in red! I have to be honest with you, for a moment I thought you wouldn’t show up.”

“The thought did cross my mind,” you grabbed a glass of champagne from the tray one of the waiters was holding, “Thanks.”

“Mina mentioned you were having some romantic problems?”

“What?” you let out a snort as she linked her arm through yours, walking beside you, “I don’t have any problems and there’s no…romance.”

“Yet, but the night is still young.”

“Mom,” you whined, “Please don’t tell me you’re trying to set me up with someone in here.”

“I’m not!” she said, “I just think you could meet some people, that’s all. And if you happen to meet anyone and fall in love, decide to get married and have cute little babies—”

“Mom.”

“Tonight would be a lucky beginning!” she waved her hand, “That’s all.”

“That’s all? Oh good thing it’s not much.” You deadpanned, “Anyone ever told you that you have high expectations?”

“Multiple people on multiple occasions, they turned out to be wrong in the end,” she pointed out but before she could say anything else, a middle aged woman with a very high updo stopped you.

“Y/N honey!” she blew a kiss in the air so as not to ruin your or her makeup, “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you in a place like this.”

“Hi Sarah,” you smiled at her, “I’ve just been so busy. And I know I can’t look as good as this lady over here,” you pointed at your mom with your thumb, making her chuckle, “So I figured I shouldn’t even try.”

“How sweet!” Sarah clasped her hands together, “Now that I got you here, Tracy wanted to hire you for her wedding and I promised her I would ask.”

“Ah unfortunately my client list is full,” you hissed in a breath, “So sorry about that, but I can recommend an amazing colleague of mine, I’ll tell my assistant to mail her.”

“That’s great!” she said, “This whole wedding business is insane, she’s under so much pressure— oh there she is, excuse me.”

“Congratulations for the wedding,” you called out as she walked away and your mother raised her brows.

“Your client list is full?”

“Not really,” you said, “But Tracy said my hair looked terrible and pushed me into the pool when we were ten, I’m not helping that bitch with her wedding.”

“She really is insufferable,” your mother whispered, “Like mother like daughter, and I just think—” she stopped talking when her eyes stopped on someone in the crowd and you turned your head to see what she was looking at.

More like who she was looking at.

The older man had to be around your mother’s age, maybe only a couple of years older, but he could definitely pull off the suit and the grays in his carefully styled hair. He looked like he was having fun, telling something to the people around him who looked like they were hanging onto every word he said, but when he caught your mother’s glances out of the corner of his eye, he smiled at her, raising his glass a little.

You could’ve sworn you heard a small giggle coming from your mother and you tried to look not as amused as you felt.

“Well, go on then,” you said, nudging her and she looked at you, suddenly embarrassed.

“Oh sweetheart, no way.”

“Why not? I don’t see a wedding ring.”

“He was widowed ten years ago,” she said and you pulled your brows together.

“And you know that how?”

“Well you inherited those party planning talents from me darling, I know everything about everyone here.”

You clicked your tongue, “Well, okay then. My condolences, go get him tiger.”

“Y/N!”

“What?” you let out a laugh, “Mom, I work with couples, okay? It’s like Hunger Games out there. Besides, what was it you told me? If you happen to fall in love, get married and have cute little babies—“

“Babies?!”

“Dogs, mom. I mean dogs.” You heaved a sigh, “So I’m going to walk away to give the silver fox over there enough space to make his move.”

“He really does look good, doesn’t he?” your mother mused but then shook her head, “What am I saying?”

You tried to stop yourself from laughing, then stepped back, “Go. It’s about time Mina stopped being the only member of this family who’s lucky in love.”

“But sweetheart, you are lucky.”

A bitter smile pulled at your lips and you scrunched up your nose.

“Nah,” you said, “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

“I’m not letting you go away before you tell me what happened with that agent. Spencer Reid, right?”

You lowered your glances to the champagne glass in your hand. “Yeah.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing really,” you shrugged your shoulders, “It’s just…life. He works in the FBI, even if he did have feelings for me and that’s a big if, there would always be that doubt, you know? About how much influence dad has over me. He’s always going to have that suspicion at the back of his mind.”

“Is he going to have that suspicion or are you?” she asked, making your eyes snap up to hers and she heaved a sigh.

“I’m your mother, and you’re not as secretive as you’d like to think sweetheart,” she said, “There’s not a bone in your body that’s capable of doing what your father has done to all those poor people, Y/N. Trust me.”

You swallowed thickly and cleared your throat.

“We can talk about it after you flirt with that silver fox who’s looking at you as we speak,” you said as you downed your champagne, “You know what they said about the killer potentially being here so stay here in the crowd.”

“I wouldn’t go anywhere with him, people would talk!”

“Oh yeah, scandal,” you wiggled your brows, “Be careful, you crazy kids.”  

With that, you walked away from her, desperate for a cigarette. You had been here before, and there had to be a balcony somewhere-

Bingo.

Maybe Spencer wouldn’t even show up. That wouldn’t be so surprising after all, FBI had a bunch of other agents, so maybe there were already some undercover agents in here and you didn’t know it yet.

Even if he did show up, you were sure you wouldn’t talk to each other since he would be busy trying to find the copycat and you had been avoiding his calls and texts. The small voice at the back of your mind scolded you, and you wondered for a moment whether Mina was right, whether you were overreacting but before you could reach the balcony, you were stopped by someone and you snapped out of your thoughts.

“Hi,” the guy said, “Y/N?”

You blinked up at him, trying to focus. He looked strangely familiar with dark hair and light blue eyes, and his smile reminded you of something you couldn’t put your finger on. His suit was expensive and just by his posture you could tell you were from the same circle.

All of you were taught the same thing after all. Chin up, back straight.

“Oh God, let me guess,” you said with a sigh, “My mom sent you.”

He pulled his brows together in confusion, “Uh, no she didn’t?”

“Listen buddy, no offense because you look really good but I’m going through some really weird shit right now so these are not the droids you’re looking for—”

“I’m Lincoln,” he cut you off, “We used to be neighbors when we were kids?” he tilted his head, “I uh… we used to play house in your treehouse?”

Your eyes widened as soon as it dawned on you.

“Linc?” your jaw dropped, “Oh my God hi!”

“Yeah, hi,” he grinned at you, “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“The last I heard you were in….?”

“Italy,” he said, “I was dealing with my father’s business there but I came back a couple of months ago. How about you? I could swear my mom said you have an event planning business now?”

“Yeah my company deals with events but I specialize in wedding planning,” you said, “Wow. It’s been years huh?”

“Oh yeah,” he nodded, “It’s great to see you. I- I don’t know if it’s appropriate to say but I’m sorry about your dad.”

You forced yourself to smile and grabbed another glass of champagne. “Oh. Thanks.”

“You know, I wanted to reach out but we were both kids, and then afterwards it just felt strange,” he said as you dragged your gaze from him to the room, but as soon as your eyes landed on the figure by the entrance, the rest of Lincoln’s sentence became drowned out in the buzzing in your ears.

God damn it, you were right about the black suit looking good on him.

Spencer looked oblivious to the rest of the crowd just like you were, his gaze focused on you. You saw him swallow thickly, as if the mere sight of you was enough to make him freeze while his teammates spread out in the huge ballroom and you let out a breath, trying your hardest to ignore how fast your heart was beating.

“You okay?” Lincoln’s voice carried through the fog in your mind and your head snapped up.

“Yeah,” you managed to say, “I am. Uh…Linc, it was really nice to see you but I need some fresh air. Let’s catch up sometime, okay?”

Without even waiting for his answer, you made your way to the balcony, pulled open the huge glass door and stepped outside, letting the cool air hit your face. You inhaled deeply, then grabbed your cigarettes from your purse, put one between your lips and lit it. The first drag managed to calm you down just a little as you closed your eyes, exhaling the smoke.

It made no sense that you were this affected by some dude’s presence.

You heard the door open behind you but you didn’t even need to turn your head to see who it was. Your body responded way before you did, your shoulders rolled back and you straightened your back, fixing your eyes in the darkness.

“Did you know that in the United States alone, cigarette smoking causes 80 to 90% of lung cancer deaths?”

You raised your brows, still refusing to turn your head.

“Yeah? Do you have any percentages for killers who smoke as well?” you asked, putting your glass of champagne on the marble railing pillars and you heard footsteps behind you coming closer. You stole a look at him as he leaned back to the pillars, taking out his earpiece.

“Can we talk?”

“It’s a free country Dr. Reid, no one’s stopping you.”

He pulled his brows together, “You never call me that.”

“Well I should,” you said, “I think we can both agree that it’s better to keep it professional.”

“Is that what you want?”

A bitter laugh escaped from your lips, “Fuck what I want,” you murmured to yourself, taking a drag of the cigarette and he cleared his throat.

“I didn’t mean it to sound like that,” he said, “It’s not that I suspect you. It’s just that the profile would fit—” he paused, “It was before we met. It’s not what I think of you now.”

You tried to swallow the lump growing bigger and bigger in your throat.

“What do I care what you think of me?”

This right there, this was the exact reason why every relationship of yours ended. Mina had called it the shock effect, it was either too warm or too cold with you, in terms of affection. Much like the rest of you, your anger either burned everything on its path or froze everything.

You knew it was wrong, and yet, you couldn’t stop yourself once that ice made its way through your veins.

But unlike everyone else who had witnessed it before, Spencer was a profiler and he could see right through that.

“You don’t?”

You shrugged your shoulders, “I can’t worry about what people think of me, really. I wouldn’t be able to pull through what happened if I had.”

“But if what I said hurt you—”

“Hurt me?” you repeated, interrupting him and locked your eyes with him, “You don’t know me, Reid. You couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”

He stayed silent, his hazel eyes looking into your soul but you dragged your gaze away from him and exhaled the smoke into the chilly night.

“You think, what— you think just because we’ve had couple of drinks together along with some flirting you discovered some hidden part of me? Honestly, what you know about me is about the same amount of information that any one night stand with enough skills to use Google would know about me.” You took a sip of the champagne and scoffed a laugh, “But hey, before I forget. Sorry if what I said hurt you.”

“Are you done?”

That was enough to make you turn your head, the question taking you by surprise,

“What?”

“Are you done?” he repeated, for some reason the look in his eyes made you feel like you were falling off a cliff, “If someone’s going to get hurt it’s not going to be you, and you can attack back just fine, are you done proving that? Or should I wait a little longer?”

You clenched your teeth, “You think this is me attacking back?”

“I think this is the only way you know how to protect yourself when you’re hurt.”

A painful smile pulled at your lips and you took a drag of the cigarette,

“You know, after my father was caught and imprisoned,” you said slowly, “After that summer, I had to go back to school. My mom was pretty worried but she let me go anyway but this whole social circle is so small, so every kid’s parent in my school knew about what happened, and they apparently talked about it around my classmates back then. Because on my first day, some of my friends ambushed me in the girls bathroom and in all that chaos, one of them tripped me so I fell and slammed my head to the sink. I had to get stitches, I thought mom would lose it.” You shrugged your shoulders, “I’ve learned that people would blame me for whatever shit dad decided to do when I was a kid, Spencer. You’d have to try a little harder if you wanted to hurt me, because right now you’re just being a cliché.”

You took a step to walk past him but he stopped you, his grip around your arm firm but soft at the same time, as if he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t cause any discomfort even though the light in his eyes was intense enough to wake goosebumps on your arms.

He knew how to keep it under control just like you.

“It’s not—“ he started but both of you snapped out of it when the balcony door opened.

“Reid, where the hell is your earpiece?” Luke asked through his teeth as Spencer pulled his hand back and you tried to ignore the warm tingles spreading under your skin, “We found a body upstairs.”

Your stomach dropped, “What?”

“Same signature, come on,” Luke said and you and Spencer followed him out of the balcony. The crowd was buzzing already and your mother made her way to you.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah I was just smoking outside.” You answered quickly and looked up at Spencer when you heard him saying your name.

“Stay here in the crowd,” he said as he put his earpiece back and you nodded.

“Hey,” you stopped him before he could take a step, “Be- be careful, okay?”

A small smile ghosted over his lips before he made his way out of the crowd with Luke and you massaged your temples before pulling yourself a chair. Your mother pressed a hand over her chest and sat down next to you, watching the people whispering with scared expressions on their faces.

It took her two minutes to pull herself together and she cleared her throat.

“Is that him?”

You gawked at her for a couple of seconds, your mouth agape.

“Mom, there’s a dead body upstairs,” you reminded her, “Read the room.”

She shook her head, “Of course, it’s the shock talking.” she said, stealing a look at you, “Sorry. It’s such a tragedy.”

“It is.”

“….But seriously, is that him?”

You groaned and closed your eyes, throwing your head back and slipping a little in your seat.

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter 8

                                           ***

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#spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagines #mgg #matthew gray gubler #criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds imagines #dr spencer reid #spencer #reid #reid x reader #reid imagine #reid imagines #spencer x reader #twisted

[bleachhaven]

Soutaicho’s Secret Admirer (Shunsui x Reader) — Part 4/6

Author’s Note:

As planned, here is the 4th installment of how the reader romances the Soutaicho...which I have to admit I have so much fun writing and feel so grateful that you guys showed this fic so much love! Thank you!

–

Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 first!

She was quite hungover and tired from Yadomaru Taicho’s Valentine’s Day party. It didn’t seem fair that everyone had to go to work the day after, but it was what it was. She should have known better than to go to a party that was renowned to go on late into the night. 

But then again, there was no way she would have let herself miss it for any reason.

Of all the years Yadomaru Taicho has held the infamous Valentine’s Day party at the 8th Division, Shunsui had never failed to show up. Before he became the Soutaicho, every occasion was an occasion to hold some elaborate event despite Ise-san’s adamant objections. It was a chance for every shinigami to mingle regardless of rank or division. Yadomaru Taicho carried on with most of those traditions holding celebrations and what not, but as the Soutaicho, Shunsui didn’t attend them all. She supposed he couldn’t attend them all. Not with all the responsibilities he got going on. Besides he had a reputation to maintain. The Shunsui she used to know -- from afar of course, but observation combined with longing can reveal much -- didn’t care about inconsequential things like reputation but as the Soutaicho, it was all so different.

Still the Valentine’s Day party at the 8th was an exception. Even Ise-san attended without fail. 

And it was that one opportunity, she would get to see Shunsui outside of his role in the Gotei 13. All she usually gets would be sneak peeks into his office whenever she went to the 1st to pick up and deliver paperwork, or seeing him in passing in the seireitei. It was a treat to see him lighthearted, smiling easier, and simply just enjoying himself. She never would have missed it. Not for anything in the world

Of course, one cup of sake had turned into two, which turned into much more. The 6th Division’s Kuchki Taicho had provided the sake from his manor and it was simply just too good to resist. She had thought she was watching over Kiyone and Sentaro, making sure they didn’t fight over something creating a drunken mess, but she had ended up getting drunk with them instead. And now she was regretting it. The persistent headache was making an appearance this morning.

Still...she remembered the moment he had walked into the room, looking as handsome as ever in his pink haori. She had sighed involuntarily, making Kiyone giggle.

“You’ve got it bad,” she had teased. Pretending not to know what that meant was the easiest way to deal with Kiyone’s teasing remarks. 

Except it was not a secret amongst the higher ranks of the 13th. Apparently everyone knew about her little -- more like massive -- crush on the Soutaicho. She suspected even her Taicho knew, though nothing was explicitly mentioned.

After the customary greetings with the other Taichos present, Shunsui had gone to tease Yadomaru Taicho and Ise fuktaicho who seemed to be in an argument over how the latter was failing to experiment in her dating life. 

The way his throat bobbed with every sip of sake had her mouth going a bit dry. The way he bit into the handmade chocolate made by her for the party made her think of those lips on her...and the chocolate she had snuck into his office to leave behind as a special gift. She hoped he liked them. She longed to feel him smile at her the way he smiled at everyone else, but it also terrified her that if he actually did, she might swoon. 

Saying she got it bad might actually be an understatement, honestly!

All the pining and sighing had her parched, so she sidled up to the refreshment table for some lemonade which had also been provided by the 13th, made carefully under her own watchful eyes. She was just reaching for a glass when a familiar voice called out her name over the din of the music.

“_____-san.”

It was Shunsui himself, and she was shocked to realize he actually remembered her name! Startled, the glass almost slipped from her hands. He probably thought she was the clumsiest shinigami in existence and she bit back a groan.

“Sh...Soutaicho!”

“I’m always startling you aren’t I?” he said chuckling. “Bad habit of being too quiet. I end up unintentionally sneaking up on people.” Then as if they were friends or something, he reached out to take the glass from her shaking hands. “I was going to ask you to pour me a glass as well, but considering how I have frightened you, maybe I should do the pouring for the both of us.”

He was smiling at her, and pouring lemonade for her. She wasn’t going to read too much into it but her heart was beating so fast, she feared she might faint.

“Thank you,” she whispered with a soft smile when he handed her a glass. She couldn’t drink it without fearing she might choke on it so she watched him sip his own lemonade instead.

“Ah…” he said. “As delicious as I remember it. You all at the 13th sure know how to make lemonade!”

“Thank you,” you repeated. He might think those were the only words she knew at the rate this was going. If she continued to be tongue-tied in his presence, however would anything become of this silly infatuation in her head?!

Fortunately, Ise fuktaicho took pity on her. “Taicho! Are you harassing poor _____-san?” she demanded.

The statement had her sputtering. Shunsui had such a wounded look on his face. She hastened to deny. “No! Absolutely not!” she declared, and he offered her a sweet smile of appreciation. “Soutaicho was just telling me how much he liked the lemonade from the 13th, Ise-san.”

“Ah,” Ise-san said, a bit of a twinkle in her eye. “Did you know, Taicho? _____-san makes the lemonade herself. That’s probably why you smell like lemonade all the time too when you deliver paperwork in the evening,” she teased. “She also made these delicious chocolates!” she continued. “Did you try one, Taicho?”

Before Shunsui could reply to any of it, Yadomaru Taicho came to drag them both for a dance, and Ise-san went protesting the entire way. 

She didn’t know whether to be relieved or feel sad that their time together was cut short. It was the most time she had gotten to spend with Shunsui like that. And she couldn’t believe he remembered her name!

It just might have been the best night she’s ever had. Even if walking into the office in the 13th Division this morning with a pounding headache was not ideal, she walked with a spring in her step and a smile on her face that she just couldn’t seem to get rid of.

She collected the approved paperwork sent in from the 1st Division that needed to be filed in the appropriate places, as well as the pile that she had to fill out and send out soon. With the mindset she was in today, doing any serious form filling would be ill-advised, so she left it for the end of the day. She imagined she would feel much better after lunch if she continued to hydrate and take it slow.

 So she started sorting through the paperwork that needed to be filed. She’d done it so often she could do it effortlessly and mindlessly. Which was why she held the lavender paper in her hands for five full minutes trying to decide where it should go in the filing system before she actually thought to read it.

Dear Secret Admirer,

Had I been anyone but who I was, perhaps you might have flirted with me in person, though I do love your letters showing up at the most random places. With your pretty words and ardent gifts you’ve dared to try and seduce me. If I say that maybe you have indeed succeeded, would you stop hiding from me?

Writing this letter feels futile. Who would I even send it to when I have no idea who you are?

But it feels wrong somehow to be romanced so thoroughly and not be given even the opportunity to return the same.

I wonder, sometimes in my darkest moments, if this is nothing but an elaborate prank but I wish

...and the letter ended there abruptly. It remained unfinished. What did he wish for?

She held the piece of lavender paper to her chest, trying to fathom what had just happened. Unless someone else in seireitei was sending secret love letters to  someone in the 1st Division, which seemed highly unlikely, this was clearly written by Shunsui...to her! And somehow it had been “accidentally” left in the pile of paperwork that someone somehow knew would end up in her hands.

Her heart was beating so fast, she feared it might beat right out of her chest.

This could be from Shunsui himself...but the more likely scenario was that someone had found out about what she had done. Someone actually knew she was sending all these salacious and inappropriate love letters to the goddamn Soutaicho of the Gotei 13 himself and...and…

Oh she didn’t know what to do!

She was on the verge of a terrible panic attack, her breathing coming faster and faster. She felt like she couldn’t take enough air in.

But what if it was actually from Shunsui? Could she ignore the words in this scrap of lavender paper?

If I say that maybe you have indeed succeeded, would you stop hiding from me? The words reverberated in her head. What if he actually meant that?

No, no. That couldn’t be true. Shunsui couldn’t know. She had been so freaking careful. And even if he did, he couldn’t know it was her specifically. His letter itself said so. He probably loved the idea of it...the romance of it. It couldn’t be anything more. 

All her internalized insecurities raised their ugly heads. If he knew who exactly she was, he wouldn’t spare two glances her way.

So maybe this was just an accident. Or maybe it was a warning. 

Whatever it was...all she knew was that she had to stop sending these love letters to him. She had to stop before it all exploded in her face causing trouble for everyone involved.

__

Read Part 5 next!

__

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[magnus-the-maqnificent]

Let's Analyze - Alec in CoFA

So, I’ve been seeing plenty of discourse on two of my mutual’s blogs about this topic… so I thought I’d sit down and write another analysis post about my beloved Alec Lightwood cause people are still giving him shit for a book that came out ten years ago 🤦‍♀️

This is gonna be in two parts, and I'm putting both under the cut:

PART 1 - ALEC’S INSECURITIES 

So, the first part - how Alec’s insecurities drove him to saying stupid things in CoFA

A quick disclaimer - I’m NOT blaming Alec alone for his and Magnus’s break up. What happened was pretty complicated, and the blame cannot be put on one person alone. 

That said, let’s start with Magnus and Alec’s early ‘official’ relationship, in trsom.

These scenes are taken from only the first part of the book, but I’m pretty sure they’re more than enough to get a sense of Alec’s insecurities and all the chinks in their relationship. Throughout the entirety of trsom, we see more bits and pieces of Alec’s insecurities about Magnus’s sexuality, and his past and all the people he might have known - and that’s okay! Insecurities happen, cause brains are stupid like that.

But all of Alec’s insecurities could’ve been laid to rest with a simple conversation. But the conversation never happens. Magnus tends to deflect and change the topic every single time his past is brought up. I understand Magnus’s reasons for hiding his past, of course, but it doesn’t help his relationship with Alec. Magnus hiding a good chunk of his past will inevitably lead to Alec questioning himself - why is he so secretive? Why is he not telling me anything? Does he not trust me? ...and so on.

And when Alec is already feeling insecure in this relationship, this happens - (sorry about the terrible cropping btw)

And then later, while Magnus is talking to Camille,

Now… when people are insecure about something, they get irked at the smallest of things. I’m saying this as an insecure person myself. So now, you've got Alec, who's insecure as fuck, and his vacation with the person he loves got cut short by his ex who refuses to talk to anyone but him, and when they get there, his lover and his lover's ex seem to have obvious chemistry, he gets hit with the reality that his lover has dated several, probably even hundreds of people before him; and he has to leave them alone in a room so they can talk, and then he hears the ex basically just list all his shortcomings - i.e, his mortality, his appearance is compared to some random dead guy (sorry, Will) whom your lover had a crush on, which is just weird, and when you've had enough and open the door, it's to see your lover and his ex, standing close as fuck, and he's! touching! her! face! and! looking! into! her! eyes!

*takes a sip of water* yeahhhh... Alec was straight up having a bad day.

And at this point, a) Alec is still in his first relationship. He didn't get to navigate romance when he was younger, and while there's nothing wrong with that, there weren't exactly cutesy presentations titled 'how to keep your relationships healthy' floating around the internet. Heck, he didn’t know the internet. He didn't know that he had to communicate with Magnus, and it doesn't help that boy avoids conversations about feelings like the plague. And b) at this point, Alec would be facing several negative emotions - insecurity, obviously. Hurt. Helplessness, because of his mortality. Fear, that he might not live up to Magnus’s past lovers. Jealousy at seeing Magnus and Camille so close.

Negative emotions like these often tend to show up as anger or sorrow... and in Alec’s case, that would be anger. Which leads us to THIS- (🙈)

*sighs in second-hand embarrassment*

*drinks more water*

*this is gonna be so hard aksjakak*

So. Alec dealt with his insecurities... by being a mean, mean bitch to Magnus :/

Let's break this scene down, slowly, bit by bit.

First, Alec cuts into a conversation between Magnus and Jordan, when Magnus mentions Woolsey Scott, followed the rest of that particular page. To Alec, he's just a figure from Magnus’s past, and a possible lover, though in Alec’s defense Woolsey Scott WAS Magnus’s lover. This is the first instance that we see in which Alec lashes out at Magnus. It seems like he's trying to make a point to Magnus - "I don't know anything about your past, and so I don't know who you've had romances with, but I want to know." Except he makes his point in the worst way possible and ends up slutshaming Magnus.

The "What's true?" line, in response to Jordan saying "so it's true what they say about warlocks, then?" is pretty obvious. Alec is clearly not liking the idea that this random werewolf might know about warlocks, and in particular, his Warlock boyfriend.

Next... ooh boy... Alec basically snaps and in the next few paragraphs accuses Magnus of wanting to flirt with others which... is not a good look on ya honey 😕. These lines are the ones that get him accused of being biphobic... but is he really? I'm gonna talk about that in part 2.

So, in the first paragraph, where Alec makes the comments about Jordan, I find his choice of words pretty... interesting, seeing as 'messy-haired', 'broad-shouldered' and 'chiseled-good-looks' are all used to describe Alec in the series. Not sure if its relevant, but definitely interesting.

And in the next one, where Alec says, "or there are plenty of pretty girls here, since apparently your taste goes both ways. Is there anything you aren't into?" The 'apparently' makes me curious. In rsom, Alec mentions that he's only recently heard of the term bisexual, and there's plenty of time between rsom and cofa, so Alec should be absolutely sure of atleast the basic meaning of bisexuality. But I'm pretty sure it's just inconsistency on cc's part, since if rsom didn't exist, this book would be the first time Alec learns about Magnus’s bisexuality. (Which is obvious when you look at the scene after Magnus reveals that Camille is his girlfriend.) And as for the second sentence, I feel like it's a fallback to earlier in the book when Magnus says (I'm just gonna write the dialogue from memory), "I've dated men, women, warlocks, faeries, vampires, werewolves and even a djinn or two." Here, Alec is angry, and he takes the knowledge that Magnus has dated a variety of people and once again, lashes out.

Looking at all of it together, Alec’s insecurities are definitely a factor in all of this. We know Alec has pretty low self esteem in tmi, and he keeps having irrational thoughts about someone else grabbing Magnus’s attention, like in the trsom scene I've posted above. And he ends up taking out his insecurities on Magnus.

Was it wrong of Alec to say all those things to Magnus? Yes, absolutely. But looking back through all his scenes in cofa, it's easy to see how he could've fallen into the pit trap of emotions.

And before anyone says "but it wasn't addressed in the later books", it was, in CoLS. I’ve hit the image limit, so I'm just gonna type it out -

"[Magnus] said it would be better if he didn’t come. Apparently him and the Seelie Queen have some kind of history."

Isabelle raised her eyebrows.

"Not that kind of history," Alec said irritably. "Some kind of feud. Though," he added, half under his breath, "the way he got around before me, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Alec!" Isabelle dropped back to talk to her brother....

So, there. Alec makes yet another slutshaming comment, Isabelle overhears and is clearly not happy about it, and it's clearly implied that she talks to Alec about it. And Alec doesn't make any more slutshaming comments since then. Boy now knows what he did was wrong, and makes sure not to repeat it again.

Although, I do wish we had more than this. I wish we had more of Magnus and Alec talking about this argument, heck, even about all their arguments and the reasons they broke up, but you can't get everything you want, apparently :(

And now onto the next part...

PART 2 - IS ALEC BIPHOBIC?

The short answer, uh, no, not really.

The long answer.... would be complicated.

So, back in the day, when this discourse was at an all time high, I remember reading a bisexual person's essay about this topic, and they said that this comment from Alec - "or there are plenty of pretty girls here, since apparently your taste goes both ways. Is there anything you aren't into?" - would be a biphobic microagression.

According to Google, a microagression is "a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority".

And in Alec's case, IF his words were biphobic, they were completely unintentional. They were microagressive. Which is... still bad, of course, but it's more complicated than that.

If you look back on Alec's supposedly biphobic statements, they're more about Magnus’s hypersexuality and promiscuity than anything else. Yes, even the line i mentioned like two paragraphs ago. At first glance it may seem like a direct attack on Magnus’s sexuality, but think over the explanation I gave for the line and it will make sense. And a lot of people know that the whole 'bi people fuck around a lot and are cheaters' thing is a stereotype.

Now, it may seem like I'm going off topic here, but bear with me. I couple of days ago, I watched this video by chance. (Tw for the aids crisis and lots of biphobia, not from the narrator, if you wanna watch the video). Basically, back in the 1980s, bisexual men were scapegoated for spreading aids to the straight community and were vilified by popular media as being promiscuous scepters who would cheat on their wives with gay men and then give aids to their wives. (Yikes 😬). And since bisexuality was practically unheard of before all this (several bisexual activists have stated that all this shit, though unfortunate, pulled bisexuality out of the closet), it's safe to assume that this is how those stereotypes came to be - through 1980s propaganda.

But living with this propaganda is... a very limiting experience. The people who leaned and unlearned and fought against this propaganda are mostly US Americans who grew up with it, either the actual propaganda itself or passed down by their parents. But like I said, it's a very limiting experience. US is but one country out of many, and even for those living in the USA there's a chance that they grew up in a very hush-hush environment. People who grew up hearing all these stereotypes will see it as biphobia, while people who didn't - like Alec, and me, and several other people will not. A lot of people grow up with absolutely no knowledge of the queer community, and chances are that they'll be incredibly confused when a stereotype is pointed out to them, and they often get no more explanation than 'this is a harmful stereotype'. Queer experiences aren't the same for everyone, and while I respect the people who see this as biphobia, they should recognize that there are many people who won't see it that way.

I have seen bisexual people say that Alec's words were biphobic, and I've also seen bisexual people say that they weren't. Thus, there is no clear consensus about whether or not Alec was being biphobic. And like I said earlier, Alec grew up far, far away from mundane anti-queer bigotry. He was essentially a clean slate when it came to knowledge of eer microagressions of any kind, because microagressions and stereotypes are often incredibly specific, don't have anything to do with a person's race/sexuality/gender, etc. and will make zero sense unless you know the history behind them. To Magnus, who lived through the anti-bisexual scapegoating, the words would've definitely stung, but Alec didn't even know the implications he would be making with this words! Of course, the impact is greater than intention, and I imagine Magnus would sit Alec down one day and talk about all this history with him.

And idk if I can even blame cc cause the history of bisexual men is RARELY ever talked about, atleast on the internet.

Also, this scene in cofa is the only instance where he can be interpreted to be biphobic. Nowhere else in all of tmi, and even tec, do we see Alec express hatred or disgust or microagression towards bisexual people. If this was seen in a repeating pattern from Alec, one could argue that he's biphobic... but he isn't. Some might point to some of his internal thoughts in trsom to argue otherwise, but I believe that actions are superior than thoughts.

There's also the thing about unlearning prejudices, but in Alec's case there was hardly anything to be unlearned. The only prejudices he did pick up on were against himself, through vague homophobic comments from Robert.

P.S if you've read this far, I am legally entitled to compensation for thinking of cofa Alec for 48 hours. Put your favorite Alec moments in my askbox cause I wanna focus on his good side now. 😎

But yeah, the main thing here is that Alec has grown from his mistakes, apologized, and hasn't repeated this behavior at all.

And lastly, I just wanted to add - I don't think all this was unintentional on the author's part. She's grown up with the us American queer community, and has mentioned that she has bisexual friends, who have no doubt faced prejudices because of these stereotypes. I think she was trying to condemn making such statements, but a lot of people don't read between the lines and end up misinterpreting it and make both the character and her to be biphobic.

So... TLDR; was what Alec said biphobic? Maybe. It depends on who you're talking to. Is Alec, as a person, biphobic? Nope. Not at all. 😌

#this took WAYYYYY too long #im gonna go lay down for a while now #peace out #alec lightwood #magnus bane #malec #tmi #tec #tsc #meta #tsc meta #discourse #idk what else to tag hnnnng #i just hope i did this topic justice aksjakaksk #also idk what person needs to hear this #but im a bisexual person talking about bisexual issues #im not the authority on this obviously but if anyone pulls the 'i don't like this post so imma pull the OP is a straight person card' #imma SLAP you #😤😤😤 #laks analyses

[life-rewritten]

The doomed futility of Sisyphus; Sisyphus The Myth Kdrama Analysis

Before we start this analysis, I did have a lot of help getting to understand what's happening in this show especially the logical rules of time travelling, due to this website bitchesoverdrama, we have a great community over there we talk about shows and comment our thoughts and the way packmule sees things in shows is so inspiring. So even though this is my theory it is based of her own theories and opinions on what's going on in the show. 

Sisyphus The Myth Ep 1-4

Let's talk about Sisyphus. The Korean drama that everyone seems to have something to say, mostly negative because they don't understand where the storyline is going, and because of that frustration of lack of understanding, they go to insults, and annoyance, and lack of patience to wait it out, they call the show ridiculous with it's terrible directing and also outlandish action scenes and unreasonable logic. The first mistake these people made is going into this show, thinking it was a logical sci-fi. There is another show where people have mistaken a mystery fantasy plot (as the writers announced it was, in an interview)  for sci-fi because it includes scientific rules sometimes and discusses time travel. Do you the know the show? It's The king's Eternal Monarch. So because logical people have it out for writers using specific sci-fi plotlines to write a romantic mystery show; that doesn't actually base its self on the realism or logic of the science they expected, people call these stories dumb; they say it's ridiculous and should not have been done. And it's hard for people like me who completely gets bored at the idea of a sci-fi show, I'm not logical. Let's first get that out of the way; I won't be calculating mass, and time, and velocity and use maths and science as a base for my analysis.  In fact, I usually run away from anything to do with sci-fi. But there's something funny about this, that with TKEM and now Sisyphus, mystery fantasies that do incorporate a piece of the sci-fi genre, actually make me enjoy them. 

Perhaps it could be argued that it's because I'm not smart and I like ridiculous things, I only want romance with shitty writing, and maybe that's it. However, I disagree, what I see in these stories are a different sort of basis; instead of relying on scientific logic rules, or whatever is seen as appropriate in a sci-fi plotline, they use meta; they use other things to make their world mean something. For TKEM, it was literature and fairytales, and stories, and for Sisyphus actually named after the  Greek myth, it's the same. In order to understand where a show is going when it uses a literature base, you have to first understand the source. What is the source saying? Why have they chosen this source to tell this story? But people clock out and don't want to wait, aren't connected to the characters enough to care, or just plain detest anything that doesn't follow a specific set of logical rules, and that's fine; you're allowed to like or want whatever you want to see on TV, it's your experience, but  for the others who do want a show that is maybe deeper, interesting, laced with a good plot and love story that is sad, futile and also romantic, then I would suggest Sisyphus being for you. This isn't going to have a lot of support, and I already know this. Still, I do want to write about this show and explain why I'm into it because it has everything I like, a mysterious plot, fantasy/sci-fi elements, and a romance that is very angsty but also very deep. The show's director maybe not be as great as the others before him, but I think he's doing an okay job showcasing what he wants from the story. So yes, Sisyphus has so many scientific questions to ponder about, but I want to get rid of all that and focus on the bare bones of the story. How does this myth connect to this story, and why does it foreshadow how good this plot could be? This doesn't mean, this plot will be great because it all depends on the directing and writing skills, I'm not familiar with their work and with the director. I don't particularly care a lot about what he offers. But I know how he makes shows, I know the themes he's into and from this myth analysis, this show is definitely up his alley. So for now, I'll keep enjoying it and analysing, but it doesn't mean I think it's the best thing ever to exist in this genre. Okay, now we have that out of the way; let's learn about Greek Mythology, shall we? 

An Introduction to a Genius

So who or what is Sisyphus? When I hear about Sisyphus, I think about the guy who tried to run away from d*ath but ended up being captured by Zeus for even trying to think he could do that. He ends up basically with this painful task of constantly rolling a boulder uphill. In a way, it's depressing AF, and it really holds this theme of futility and punishment. So it's interesting to see we have a character who is being punished for his brains and his cunningness to evade situations and save people, and it seems unfair that he gets this ending. It also makes me worry about Tae Sul, our main character in Sisyphus the myth, who begins the first episode evading d*ath by saving tons of people on a plane and then also wanting to revert a specific family member's demise that he feels guilty about. Taesul is just as smart and cunning as Sisyphus; he uses his skills, his brain and his talent to help people. So it's a bit disturbing because already from looking at him, it's unfortunate he's destined for a futile, sad ending; he's destined to be punished by powers be, for being an obstacle. And will you have it, the whole plot revolves around him being chased by people who want to get rid of him because it seems he's found a way to prevent d*ath and prolong the lifespan of the people he loves. What a surprise. Honestly, it's that simple; the boulder represents him having to take on weight constantly because of his actions and live with that repeatedly being chased by the thing he tried to avoid. The episodes scream that it's because he tried to bring back his brother from the past, but the thing is, there's more to the myth of Sisyphus than just this outline. So before we can truly understand the big picture and where this plot is, we need to truly go back and understand the real story of Sisyphus, the myth. 

Let's go back. So yes, Sisyphus is cunning, smart, witty, he has many moments since he's apparently a king, royal full of influence and power. He really cares about protecting people, including himself, yet the way people see him is actually harmful. They see him as childish, sneaky, heartless and a player. Surprise. The thing is, this is precisely how we are introduced to Taesul. He's a big flirt, a big child who complains and acts immaturely with his company. He's someone of influence, in fact, significant impact; so much money and prominence, and yet he doesn't seem like he cares about anything. So yes, you can understand why people have a wrong perspective of our Sisyphus. However, he doesn't want to care about anything because he's self-destructive, broken by the guilt of letting pride, money and greed stop him from preventing his brother from being eliminated.

 And it's something that lives with him every day; in fact, he's dependent on self-medication to get rid of the haunting figment of his brother. Now he says he doesn't care about people and others, but we know he's lying; he's clearly someone who's destined to protect, he does care even when he acts nonchalant, for example, saving a whole plane from crashing and hurting people, especially when he has said he is waiting and has been excited to leave the world, if he were selfish he would have let the plane crash, he didn't care as he said, but something in him still went back and provided the solution to help. 

So this is really vital, this idea of Sisyphus being misunderstood by people in a way he's actually with a saviour complex, he protects, and he saves people with what he has yet even his actions are deemed evil or selfish or a natural disaster for them. So again, it's obvious the plot is based on whatever he has done to create this apocalyptic future we see in the show that is being misunderstood. The people who are out to get him are seeing him and hating him when in reality, it's obvious this was meant to better the world/ also himself because as much as Sisyphus has a saviour complex, it doesn't mean he's selfless; in fact, he's a very selfish character, he'll put his own needs above the world at times. This is where Taesul will make a mistake. Because for him, his only goal is to bring back his brother, even when warned he shouldn't, even when there are hints that him unveiling the truth will lead to suffering and the end of the world as we know it, it's still all he wants to do. Is it just that though? I'm getting ahead of my self I still need to break down this myth. 

The Problem with Cunningness

So Sisyphus is someone with cunningness, knowledgeable and powerful, so when the first time he sees an opportunity to get rid of this thing we call mortality for people (not just him), he's punished when the gods aren't happy. Especially the god of war himself, Ares, who is frustrated at Sisyphus for chaining de*ath,  Ares is upset; he is annoyed that Sisyphus is getting in his way, making people lose the meaning of war, what's the fun of war if no one is being removed? Which is interesting because we also find out in Sisyphus that Taesul's actions and mistakes and his own demise will lead to a war that will end everything and some organisation isn't happy they were at the losing end of that war. They hated the result of Taesul being alive to either cause or prevent that war. So they're sending people from the future who look creepy as hell and also like don't have limbs because they're rushing the process of uploading or just using a fake uploader with more errors (not yet sure which), but they are here with one goal; to get rid of Taesul, like Ares. Wow.

 So Sisyphus punishment is actually that he is eliminated and sent to the underworld. Wait, so it wasn't the boulder that was his first punishment; his first punishment was to be chased by De*ath (I'm going to find another name for this we're gonna say D  because of this stupid flagging system in Tumblr) just like Taesul is suffering in the present time in our show. Oh, okay, so where do we get the other punishment, the one Sisyphus is really known for. This is where the plot of this show unfolds, surprisingly. Because there's another character connected in this Sisyphean myth, Seohae, meaning Sisyphus had a wife. So when Sisyphus ends up, you know, getting axed, he still has a few tricks up his sleeves; he asks his wife to do something for him, not to bury him or respect his body wishes appropriately, in fact, to drop him naked in the middle of the city (that's obviously a parallel to how people are being downloaded into the past in the show visually). So because he did this, he's able to trick Hades and Persephone into letting them allow him to run back to the past to his wife to have a go at her, to tell her she didn't respect his wishes. And oh boy, oh boy, does he end up again evading D. Genius, in fact, he ends up going back to his wife and staying a very long time because it was his plan all along; he wasn't back to the underworld; they were all chumps who allowed his escape. So Sisyphus is a funny character, he chooses to go back, and he again avoids D; however, when he finally reaches his old age, he has to face everyone, including the gods; Zeus isn't happy with Sis; he says it's a bit of an insult really for what he has done, so Zeus basically punishes him with that godforsaken boulder. 

Okay, hold, that's a lot to unpack. So what happened here is we're still seeing Taesul as Sisyphus in this second part of the myth, right? So he's going to find a way to avoid Sigma always and survive, but we know he doesn't. His story ends truly when his demise leads to the war if we're following a timeline mentioned by Seohae. So what is this second punishment about a boulder?  Because this is the most crucial plot for every Sisyphus myth. 

Our Surprise Sisyphus

Well, look at it carefully;

 it has themes of running back to the past to criticise a lover,

 it has themes of trying to prevent a lovers demise, 

it has themes of futility and repetitive actions, it has themes of being punished by a powerful source,

 it also has themes of someone who is rebellious and doesn't want to let D win. 

It's Seohae. And that blew my mind. We don't have one Sisyphus in the storyline; we have two. The show's title is Sisyphus the myth because the love of these two is actually the role of Sisyphus; let me explain. 

The first acquaintance with D is Taesul's story he's the one who invents a way to chain D and then is punished by being taken by D. The person who ends up wanting him to save himself is not himself in this show; it's Seohae her whole goal, her whole reason to want to go back is also to evade D for her mother (she mentions this in episode 1 to her father) but also to stop Taesul from being eliminated, to stop the war but more of all because she loves him, she's married to him, they're meant to be lovers. However, she doesn't have all her memories of everything. All she knows is that another version of her self has told her she needs to go back in time to warn Taesul, so he doesn't make this mistake, so they live happily together after marriage, and the war doesn't happen. 

Ohhh, that's what's happening. So who's Zeus, you ask? It's the ICB, the Control Borough, that has to find balance and makes things right with all of the time travellers; they're looking for Seohae because she's illegal; she's not meant to be doing what she is doing. Just like Zeus has to intervene to punish Sis. So alright, we're getting there, we have Taesul, he's going to do something to avoid D, but unfortunately, he is going to be found by D because someone does not want him to succeed. Okay, however, we have Seohae; she is in love with Taesul and is determined to keep him safe. Hence, she finds a way to go back and warn him to prevent D from finding him; she essentially tricks the system to find and save the world, but also selfishly to go live a happy life with the guy she loves. So what's this about this boulder then?

The boulder; A heavy frustrating punishment

 Well, unfortunately for our two characters, it's pretty apparent Taesul always ends up being eliminated #, and it always leads to the war that destroyed earth. But also we know Seohae gets shot; during her wedding, she also is fated to suffer and be eliminated if she goes back to save Taesul. Her father warns her repeatedly about this. She doesn't listen. The clue here is the boulder keeps on being pushed; Sisyphus is in a constant struggle of the futility of his punishment; he can't escape; he is tied to this boulder to keep trying to push it to a destination, but all he does is repeatedly keep pushing the boulder infinitely.

Oh, wait, a show about time travel, a show about the futility of trying to change the past, a show where the future versions can go back with regret and meet their past versions which make the same mistakes over and over again, no matter how much Seohae tries to stop Taesul from opening the stupid suitcase that starts everything, he always opens it, it's useless, they're in a time loop. Each time he always creates the uploader, and each time the war happens, Seohae returns to stop him from being eliminated each time they always fail, and Seohae somehow leaves her diary telling her next self to do the same. It's an eternal loop. She's stuck being punished for carrying that weight, constantly relive that story over and over again, to try and save Taesul; her destination is always the start again. Like Sisyphus with the boulder. 

The only thing is why does she not remember or why is she acting like she doesn't remember, because it's different versions of her, it's a paradox, she always goes to find her next self, and she leaves that diary starting this all over again, her next self has now instructions always telling her to find Taesul, to save him and when she's going to be eliminated. (her wedding probably). Each time she goes back to save Taesul, she falls in love with him, they get closer to the wedding, and she gets shot. For Taesul, we see that the wedding leads to him making an ultimate decision, remember Sisyphus evades D twice. Seohae does this all the time to escape D for her mum and Taesul.

Meanwhile, Taesul only does this to avoid it for Tae san, his brother. Who is the second person? It's Seohae. They're Sisyphus for each other, surprise, Seohae ends up becoming Sisyphus always to try to prevent Taesul's demise and the war, but Taesul has a choice on the wedding day to choose either Seohae's life, or the world, what do you think he chooses? That's why I think he continually invents the uploader because of her, to save her, more than anything else. He always chooses futilely to save her above the results of the war. In doing so, he always ends up being the one who gets eliminated, but she always ends up determined to prevent that situation. 

Her dad was indeed right; she shouldn't meet with him; they both are in this repetitive loop, and the world is always a victim because of it. See how Sisyphus can try to be good and protective but still be seen as evil, a disaster, and a curse. So, in the end, both Seohae and Taesul are Sisyphus; both are punished every time. One by Taesul continually being caught and two by Seohae constantly losing her memories and forcing her self to repeat the journey again, to push that boulder over and over again. But with TKEM, we entered a timeline where change could happen after being stuck in an infinite loop forever, and that's interesting. With this show with how many times it seems Seohae has always written more instructions each time she travels, could we be in the timeline where things may become different? 

Sisyphus; A chance to change the past futilely

It seems like it more things are being revealed to them, that might be new information, Jung apologising and realising his mistake in probably being the one who takes Seohae's life in the wedding because he thinks she's evil (lied to by ICB) might be a new occurrence in this new timeline. There's more information slowly being added each time we do this time loop; the question is, where are we now? As I said, I don't know the science or calculations needed to understand the time travel aspect of the show, but that is important. 

So we have a star crossed romance that is being torn between the claws of D, two people punished continuously for just wanting to be with each other and putting the world at risk. We've seen what the results of Taesul's actions lead to; it leads to an apocalypse, a disaster and more; we've seen his stubbornness and determination not to let that stop him. All he wants is to evade D for his loved ones. But Seohae also becomes like that; she's also stubborn, also determined just like him to protect her loved ones despite both being advised not to do anything more, not to shake fate, not to mess around with time and life. Still, they never listen; they've put themselves in a time loop where they're being punished, and their punishment leads them again to do the same thing because of their desperate need to be together. 

It's heartbreaking; however, there's a slight hope for a happy ending, one because this director does stories of couples torn apart by forces and things they can't control (Master's sun, Dr Strange etc...) being tied to each other's downfall and growth, being pulled away no matter how desperate they want each other. Their need to be with each other puts others at harm, but he always ends it in a happy ending. Sisyphus actually gets his goal a bit, not how he wants it, but he gets to live a long life with the woman he loves. However, it's after he lives that life; he goes back to being punished. So maybe this timeline Seohae may succeed and live the married life she wanted with Taesul (she does not know she loves him, she will fall for him repeatedly each time they do a loop, both of them always do); however, the sad truth is it was not her first version/authentic version that got to live that happy ever after,  it might be this version though who knows? Either way, her original (her first-ever version, always suffered and had to be the one to push that eternal boulder with no end, she didn't get to see her ending) but this one or another future version may do. Taesul also has a chance to have a happy ending because even though his story ends with the first part of Sisyphus, Sisyphus finds a way to get out of the underworld and go back to his wife, so again it's like yeah, his first version did get punished, did get eliminated, failed, but this version or a future version may get a chance to spend that time with this Seohae. 

Do you get me? It's not their original versions that get the happy ending, but it's still them that gets a chance to live old and have a happy life. So I'm hopeful, is what I'm trying to say. Thought that infinite loop of futility and failure to escape mistakes isn't a great sign. Let me know what you think about Sisyphus so far. Are you like me? Are you intrigued by this love story, and what are your theories? Let me know. 

#sisyphus the myth #sisyphus #kdrama #sisyphus the myth kdrama #cwg #march #korean drama #park shin hye #cho seung woo

[jae-daddy]

magic (7)

Draco Malfoy fanfic 

one / two / three / four / five  / six /

pairing: Draco x reader genre: shifting realities, romances  plot: you were shifting realities for the lols, but ended up in harry potter universe with Draco Malfoy as your companion  a/n: long time, but hope y’all enjoy this <333 

____________

The sharp branches cut your skin, the rocks painfully dug into your feet, but you kept ongoing.

The silence of the damp dark forest grew louder in the darkness of the endless shadows. Your heartbeat in your ears, your lungs burned from running too long, your legs beginning cramp.

But you weren’t stopping.

You didn’t stop no matter how much it hurt. Because deep in your heart that shivered with the fear, you knew if you slowed down, or stopped, you would get caught by the thing chasing you. You didn’t know what it was, you couldn’t remember exactly what had frightened you so much that you wouldn’t stop running even when as you throat began bleeding from dryness.

You could feel the coldness closing in around you. It licked your ankles, teasing you as your fear rose.

“No.” You begged in your mind, desperate. The words slowly falling onto you your lips, “No. No. No.

“No, please, not like this.”

You rose in your bed just as Draco entered the dark dorm room. His piercing light eyes met yours in confusion, and then with a flick of a finger, the fireplace lulled to life.

“Naptime, muggle?” Draco scuffed walking in, clearly still displeased with you getting him detention with Granger.

“It’s the only thing I can do apparently,” you shrugged as you got out of the bed. You wondered if you should tell Draco about the dream.

But it was just a dream. A dream you’ve been having for many nights now.

But, nonetheless, it was just a dream.

“What are you doing here?” You clicked your tongue at Draco as he settled on the armchair loosening his tie and throwing his head back.

Images flashed through your mind. Your mouth on his pale skin, your tongue tasting his skin. Your fingers loosening the tie, slowly opening his white shirt and letting him take over your mind.

Draco’s lips curled into a smile, before he snorted, “I can feel you ogling me, muggle.”

“You wish,” you tore your eyes away, as your cheeks flamed red. You kept your eyes cast on the wall as you hid your hands in the holes of the sweater you had borrowed from Draco’s closet, “Shouldn’t you be at detention?”

Draco snorted as slid backwards over the arm of the armchair, his legs hanging over the edge as he sighed, “Taking a rest before I get tortured, thanks to you.”

“Fine,” you frowned looking at him, but he kept his icy blue eyes on the ceiling, “if it’s so terrible, I’ll come along and suffer with you.”

Draco looked back to you, a knowing smile spreading onto his lips, “Be my guest muggle.”

“Enjoying yourself, muggle?” Draco sneered over his shoulders, peeking back to find you struggling on the uneven surface.

You gasped almost tripping over an overgrown root but catching yourself before you fell onto the dirt. “I really thought you guys would have detention like normal people, or I don’t know, at least together.”

“Don’t think, muggle,” Draco replied, as he stepped over a large root, and then watching you as you followed him. Once you were over he continued walking, “Whenever you think of something, it never works out.”

“That’s not true,” you frowned.

“Well, you thought of helping me suffer through this detention, yet all you have offered is your company,” his blue eyes twinkled with humour as he checked back at you with a smile, “which is quite honestly making this whole thing less bearable and more torturous.”

You glared at his back, not being able to find a good comeback. However, the answer dissipated as a small smile started on your lips. Your eyes followed his robe elegantly falling over his shoulders as he walked through the enchanted forests. The buckets in his hands wobbled overwhelmingly at tricky steps making some of the bile brown water to splash onto his black material.

Draco hissed as another splattered wet his robe before he turned around to face you, “This could all have been avoided if you had just listened.”

“Listened?” You chortled, as you stopped in your tracks and stared at him glaring at you. The smile gone from your lips, “I should have listened? No, this wouldn’t be happening if you had just agreed, or at least tried to talk to me about it. You really left me with no choice.”

“No choice?” He snorted darkly, his tongue poking the corner of his rosy lips in frustration. His piercing blue eyes turned back to you, the intensity causing butterflies in your tummy.

You held onto every bit of self-control you had to stop yourself from looking away from his gaze.

“If I’m not mistaken it was you who made me blurt out in class to Professor Hambridge that cost us this bloody detention in the first place. I was given no stupid choice; it was you who made the decision.”

“Right, blame the muggle.”

You strutted past him, bumping your shoulder against him. You smiled wickedly as you heard him grumble as a new wave of the potent liquid fell onto his robe.

You heard him sigh after a moment, and began following you. Draco caught up next to you, taking the lead once again. Once he arrived at the pond, he placed the buckets down, lifting one up to empty it.

You grabbed the other splashing the water out of the bucket and into the pond following Draco who was doing the same. A smile sprung on your lips as you took in his light blonde hair flopping against his forehead freely, and a foul frown etched onto his lips.

“Disgusting,” he grunted as he jerked his hand, trying to rid whatever imaginary droplets had remained onto his long elegant hands. His gaze flickered towards you before it settled on you with a confused frown on his lips.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“Like what?” You shrugged, looking away from him and onto the pond swarming with brown unknowns, your face void of any emotions.

“The way that you were,” his blue eyes narrowed, as he took a dangerous step towards you. You couldn’t help but look back up meeting his questioning stare. “What are you thinking of, muggle?”

You swallowed nervously as you looked away from him and his icy blue eyes that pulled you in closer.

“Your hair,” you kept your eyes averted, but you could feel your cheeks flame under his gaze as it remained on you. “It looks nice like that.”

Draco stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening before he quickly looked away too. Your eyes flickered between him and the gloomy forest that was suddenly filled with sunshine.

You bit your lip to stop yourself from smiling like an idiot when you noticed the rosy blush on Draco’s cheeks.

“Whatever,” you muttered, turning on your heels. The empty bucket swung around with you as you marched into the tree line. You kept walking speedily, trying to outrun your racing heart.

You were an absolute idiot flirting with Draco Malfoy.

It was different when you were trying to shift realities and meet Draco. That Draco Malfoy would be whoever you wanted him to be. He would’ve been spicy, but he wouldn’t be the muggle-hating Draco Malfoy who stood by the murky pond right now.

He wouldn’t have hated your existence, and your survival wouldn’t have depended on him either.

This was not okay, you can’t flirt with Draco Malfoy. It didn’t matter how insanely beautiful he was, or how much he made your heart skip a beat, you will not. You could not risk it.

Not unless he tried something, but that was near impossible.

You were so lost in your thought that you didn’t realise where you were walking.

“You stupid muggle!” Draco caught up next to you, his hand on your shoulder stopping you in your tracks. Your skin burnt even through the thick layers of Draco’s autumn clothes you had piled on. Draco’s face pulled into a sneer as he gritted through his teeth, “You are going the wrong way.”

“Oh, sorry,” was all you could mutter, as you looked away from his eyes.

Draco didn’t say anything, taken aback by how easily you gave in.

“This way,” he looked at you sceptically, leading you towards another direction.

You followed Draco through the dark and gloomy forest. Your eyes flickering between the uneven ground, and his soft light hair that remained perfect even through the trek.

“What is the future like, muggle?” Draco asked, after a while, his eyes looking straight ahead.

You bit your lip thinking about it for a moment, before saying, “Muggles have magic.”

Draco’s wide eyes turned to you in shock, making you laugh.

You threw your head back, the laughter bubbling out of your chest as your voice loudly echoed through the dense forest.

Laughter flowed out of you so easily, that it made your heart sink. You realised how long it had been since you had last laughed so freely. You wiped away the tears from the laughter and hint of sadness and pushed down the feeling that was trying to creep out from where you had hidden it.

Right now wasn’t the time.

Draco watched you for a few moments, his lips in a tight line but his eyes soft. He cleared his throat and looked forward once again, continuing down the path. He spat out the question, “Magic and muggles?”

“Well, it’s technically not magic magic,” you followed him, your eyes wandering through the thick trees. “It’s magic achieved through technology.”

“Technology?” Draco sneered, peering back at you, annoyed. “That already exists.”

“Yes, but there is a lot of advancements,” you replied. “We have moving pictures too! But you need a laptop or a phone or something digital to see it in.”

“A laptop or phone?” Draco murmured, confused. Before offering, “A telephone?”

“Yes, a portable telephone,” you caught yourself, almost tripping over a fallen branch. “Do computers exist right now?”

“You are meant to be the muggle,” Draco sighed, but nodded nonetheless.

“I have bad memory,” you pouted slightly, before continuing, “A laptop is a portable computer that fits onto your lap-”

“Hence the name,” Draco nodded. “Makes sense.”

You chuckled, nodding, “And a phone is a telephone and a computer in one, and fits into your palm.”

Draco looks back over his shoulder, staring at you blankly. He slowly blinked and looked away, nodding, “That is quite impressive... for muggles.”

“I mean, there are really bad things going on too,” you softly continued. “While the good is good, the bad is really bad, and there’s too much bad in the world.”

“Bad?”

“The people, the society,” you sighed. When Draco didn’t say anything you continued, carefully. “You know, how the magic world has purebloods and mudbloods and muggles, and all that bad, stupid and senseless stuff, we have that too. But it’s race instead.”

“Race?”

“Depending on the skin colour, the ethnic features of a person defines how they are treated,” you explained shrugging.  

“We’ve learnt about this in muggle studies,” Draco turned and looked at you. After a moment he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

You felt the breath kick out of you, as you looked away from him.

“It is all senseless stupidity,” Draco said, still looking at you. You nodded, keeping your eyes low.

And then you finally lifted them to meet his icy eyes, glowing with the warmth. You bit your nails into your palm to stop yourself, but you couldn’t help yourself, “Then why do you do it?”

The softness in Draco’s eyes instantly vanished as darkness swirled in them. His jaw locked and fists clenched by his side.

“The divide between Purebloods and Mudbloods is nothing but labels. It literally means nothing, it’s nothing but hate and pointless childish tantrums. It’s exactly what muggles are doing, it’s no better.”

Draco didn’t say anything for a long moment. His throat bobbing, as he swallowed nervously, before meeting your eyes, “You have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Whatever it is, Draco,” you took a step towards him, your voice desperate. “It can’t be --”

“That is enough for today,” Draco turned, his voice cold again. There was no curiosity or lightness in his voice. You sighed and followed him down the forest that looked the same to you no matter which way you turned.

Your eyes travelled up towards the sky as you took a deep breath to calm yourself. You reminded yourself that maybe not now, but you need to have this conversation with Draco.

However, your thoughts changed into confusion when you saw something move along the treetops. Your eyes narrowed to watch more carefully; your heart and feet stopping once you realise what it was.

“Draco,” you rasped, not looking away from the branches that were slithering. “Is this the right way?”

“I am certain I know this forest better than you, muggle,” Draco spat, his tongue sharp, but the easiness slowly returning. When you didn’t reply, he looked over his shoulder to you.

He turned around as he let out a tired sigh, “What’s the hold-up? Spot a good place for a little tea, princess?”

You kept looking above noticing the slithering of the branches increase. You felt your tummy drop as you croaked out through a whispered cry, “Draco, look up.”

Draco groaned, muttering something under his breath, but whatever it was, it died immediately.

“Do not move,” he whispered under his breath, “Do not speak or breath. Do not make the slightest noise.”

You just nodded, your sweaty palms holding onto the empty bucket tightly.

“Now, walk over to me, carefully,” Draco told you. Your frightened eyes finally moving away from the creatures above to his alarmed cold eyes.

You tried moving but your knees felt made out of rubber and your feet cemented to the floor. Your heart shook in your chest and lips bit with fear.

Draco’s sharp eyes softened as he slowly lifted a hand towards you, “It’s okay, there is no need to be afraid. They won’t hurt you.”

You held his gaze, as golden swirled in your chest.

You wouldn’t get hurt, not because those slithering creatures won’t hurt you. No, you won’t get hurt because Draco Malfoy won’t let them hurt you.

There was no need to be scared. It’ll be okay.

You took a deep breath in, holding it as you took silent steps towards him and his outreached hands. You lifted your shaking hand, your eyes not leaving his piercing blue ones, watching you, waiting for you as you walked towards him.

You placed your shivering hand in his cold ones. The breath you were holding in slipping out of you, as you took a step closer towards him. His cold fingers wrapped around yours, his eyes watching yours for a moment longer, before he turned away slowly.

His hands tightened as he led you out of the forest.

You followed him in a daze. You no longer noticed the branches that slithered as you walked past them. Even when glowing eyes blinked open and followed you, you weren’t scared.

Electricity danced through your veins, as his cold hands gave you the warmth of a summer afternoon. You watched his broad shoulders, the robe that elegantly draped across them. The paleness of his neck, and the snow-kissed strands of his hair that tickled the nape of his neck.

You let him take you away.

You trusted him.

__________

You observed from Draco’s side as you walked towards Hermione Granger. You watched as she physically tensed up, spotting the boy who looked like winter walk towards her. Her big eyes concentrated on Draco as he strolled closer to her.

She wasn’t paying attention to whatever the student standing in front of her was saying; all her attention was on Draco.

Your eyes flickered to Draco, his face cold and sneering as always. But he didn’t have that cocky smirk or smile that he normally adorned before he began relishing the torture of his peers.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Hermione spat before Draco even reached her.

Draco snorted, reaching back into his robe and pulling out an old-looking book. He held it out to her, a mocking smile on his face but his words kind, “Here. The library said you wanted to have a read. You have three days before I want it back.”

Hermione stared at him, her brown eyes round with shock before narrowing with suspicion, “Whatever prank you are trying to pull, it won’t work, Draco.”

Draco rolled his eyes, a corner of his lips lifting with darkened humour before he threw the book at her. Hermione caught it before the hardcover could collide against her nose. She gasped in surprise and anger as she glared at Draco who stared at her with a cold smile, “Three days, mudblood.”

Before she could say anything, Draco already began walking away. His hands tucked into his black trousers under his robes. You followed hot on his trails, his eyes meeting yours for a moment as he rose his eyebrows, excited.

“I don’t think calling her mudblood has the desired effect that we want to achieve, Draco,” you clicked your tongue at him as he led you through the shortcuts to the Slytherin dorms.

“I don’t think there’s anything else I could call her,” Draco spat back, his tongue dripping with distaste. “What would I even call her if not that?”

“Hermione? Granger? Bro?” You offered.

“Bro?” Draco frowned, confused, “That sounds crass.”

“Right, cause mudblood is honourable,” you retorted, entering Draco’s room. You made a beeline towards the bed, collapsing onto it letting out a guttural sigh. “I am so exhausted.”

“And who’s fault is it that we got detention?” Draco asked as he discarded his robe.

“Well, technically it was you who got detention.” You called out as you stared at the ceiling your arms and leg spread open.

Draco just snorted in reply, before disappearing into the bathroom. When he came back out, you turned to lay on your tummy watching him as he dried his hair with a white towel.

Your cheeks heated as you gulped nervously.

Draco Malfoy was a sight to behold in his everyday polished black suits and black robes, hair done to perfection. But nothing could compare to the white-blonde haired devil standing in front of you at the foot of the bed, looking down at you. A hand rubbing his white strands with his long fingers, the first few buttons of his black pyjama set opened revealing his pale skin.

You wanted to reach up and unbutton it more.

Your cheeks flushed more as you thought of the things you wanted to do to Draco Malfoy. While being friends with Draco was one the main object of trying to shift realities, you had realised that getting railed by him would not be a such a bad added benefit.

Indecent images raced through your mind. His long fingers tangled in your hand, pushing your head down as he groaned. His cold rings digging into your neck, cutting out your breath as he chocked you and spat in your mouth.

Oh lord.

“I’m going shower,” you rose up at once. You didn’t look back at Draco as you walked into the bathroom, discarding your clothes instantly and walking into the cold shower, yanking it to the heat from hell.

You walked out calmer. Your hair rolled up in the towel on the top of your head, and you straightened Draco’s plain black shirt as you walked out.

“Don’t you have any t-shirts?” You groaned, fidgeting with a button, as you groaned into the armchair opposite Draco. When he didn't reply, you lifted your gaze to find him with a book in his hands.

A different book, but same subject, “Do you have a paper on consciousness?”

Draco didn’t say anything, he just sighed and put the book down. He lifted up the basket bringing out tonight’s dinner.

You shot him a sweet smile grabbing your plate from him.

Draco only sneered at disgust, but didn’t comment and settled into his chair and began eating.

You watched him for a moment. It was quite surreal seeing Draco Malfoy; the Slytherin Prince, sitting in an armchair, eating dinner awkwardly from his lap. You felt your heart swell as he took a gruff bite of his bread, frowning as he struggled to balance the plate.

Draco could easily eat in the dining hall with everyone else, like a normal person on a table. But instead, since the first day you had arrived, Draco would always eat with you in his room. You couldn’t deny, even though he struggled, he had improved a lot at eating so unmanneredly.

“This is uncivilised,” he sneered as he took a sip of his wine. You bit your tongue to stop yourself from saying something that might ruin this moment.

“I think the food is delicious,” you gave him a cheeky smile, making him roll his eyes at you.

“So what,” Draco rose a perfect eyebrow as he placed his plate onto the table. “All we can do is wait for that mudblood to join us?”

The fireplace crackled, the shadows of the flame falling over you both as you snuggled into your armchair with your dinner plate.

“Us?” You rose your eyebrows mockingly, making him roll his eyes as he slumped into his seat. “There are other things we need. For instance, Luna and Neville.”

“Are any of your required things not students I loathe?” Draco sighed, rubbing his forehead in annoyance.

“Oh, and Fred and George too.”

“Merlin, muggle,” Draco groaned. “Not the Weasleys.”

“They’re the only ones!” You defended, putting the plate down. Draco flicked his finger with a ring, and it disappeared instantly. “You like Fred and George.”

“Yes, far away from me,” he replied instantly.

“Okay, fine,” you folded your arms, as gave him a smug look. “You name a group of people who you know you can trust completely and would help us.”

“Well, Pansy and Blaze, for starters.” He stammered, his eyes widened in a slight panic as he tried to come up with more names. Once he couldn’t think of any more, he groaned once again, sighing a frustrated, “Fine.”

“Fine,” you shrugged, “they can join us too, but are you sure you can trust them?”

You wished instantly you could take those words back, as soon as they left you. You watched Draco flinch, as the looseness in his body from the afternoon, tightened instantly as he straightened up.

His piercing eyes met yours, burning you with its coldness.

“Can’t trust us, muggle?” Draco spat, his voice low with distaste. “Scared we’ll go running off to our Death Eater parents and ruin your little plan?”

“Draco,” you whispered, your voice barely above a breath. Your hands wanted to reach for him, to hold his hand and take him away from the darkness that began to shadow him. “I didn’t mean it like that-”

“It doesn’t matter,” he cut you off, your gaze following him as he got up from his seat. He leaned in closer to you, his warm breath kissing your forehead, as the smell of green overcame your senses. His eyes burned so darkly, your heart sunk low, “It will never matter what you think.

“Never forget what you are, y/n,” your heart stopped as he said your name. He didn't ever say it after the first night you showed up in his room. But now that he did, he said it with so much bitterness and hatred it pierced through your heart painfully, “You are a muggle.

“You are nothing.”

His fingers curled around the edges of the armchair, as he leaned over you. His face a few inches away from yours. His rosy lips curled into a cruel sneer, his tongue sharp and dripping with venom.

Your eyes burned with tears as you stared into his sharp eyes shining with the bitter victory. His lips turning into a sinister smile, as he took into your frowning lips. He enjoyed seeing you hurt, he enjoyed seeing you affected by his poisonous words.

You tore your gaze away from him, looking at the fireplace instead.

Draco remained for a beat more, before chuckling darkly and moving away.

He walked away from you and into his closet, returning with a coat on. He didn't have to say it, you could tell he was not returning back to the dorm tonight.

“I trust you,” you spoke softly. Draco halted in his steps, not moving. He didn’t look back at you. He didn’t say anything, he just remained still. You studied his back, as it got rigid with every passing second. “I trust you, Draco Malfoy, with my life.”

Draco didn’t say anything. He remained still for a few more moments, and then his blonde hair disappeared behind the heavy dark wood doors.

And then a few moments later, a piece of chocolate cake and hot chocolate appeared.

You bit your back, trying to hold back the tears, but you couldn’t stop them. You curled into your seat, crying as you watched the hot chocolatey beverage and the delicious piece of chocolate cake.

Prick, you thought, as you took a bite of the cake.

And you could swear you heard the faintest chuckle in your head, but you brushed it off as imagination.

not edited

#draco fanfic #Draco angst #Draco malfoy #Draco x y/n #Draco x reader #harry potter #shifting realities #angst #fluff #Slytherin #magic #jaedaddy

[felismiscellaneous]

Casonverse Expo

ok so after you see this you Cannot save it. the whole thing about the casonverse is that its solely “oral” and memory based. i cannot write down “rules” to it or anything. this post Will be lost to time and youll just have to deal with that

ok so. we begin. our story. w/ an explanation on how ectobiology has been going on earth c. basically, every once in a while to increase genetic diversity, a babeh between two of the original founders is created randomly, and said founders get to decide if they want to adopt that babeh or not.

now its been a very very long time on earth c and all of these bitches are immortal. yep. every single one. even the non godtiers, they get an immortality boon for winning the game. you know whats also a boon? all of the players getting revived. yep. every single one. because this is my au and i can do what i want.

anyways as i was saying basically at some point a babeh between john and karkat is made and this time theyre like “yeah ok well adopt this one” SO. they be goin there. and the ONE TIME they decide this is the right time the baby is fuckin BROKE. the internal organs of trolls and humans dont mesh very well when the genes are combined in the ectomachine, and this baby is basically just dying very slowly. this baby isssss Casey! well, shes not named that by her parents, but well just call her Casey for now.

john and karkat do their fuckin best to keep this thing alive but her tiny baby body is completely dysfunctional. and doesnt last very long. This is Traumatizing for Everyone Involved. anyways!! a pretty long time after that we have Cason and Jones. they were spawned at the same time. Jones is rose and kanayas horrible ectospawn, and Cason happens to be another equally horrible spawn between john and karkat! they decide to adopt this one, and fortunately it lives. This was Their First Mistake.

but before we get into Cason, lets get into Jones. Jones is,,,, very socially awkward. in fact, she often comes off as creepy to everyone else. this makes her very clingy towards her mothers, who arent That terrible at parenting. theyve got quirks, but theyre good for her. Jones doesnt really have any friends, except this Totally Cool and Not at All Dangerous cult she gets dragged into! this is the second secret shes ever kept from her mothers. the first is that shes the one who keeps bringing snails into the house. Jones likes snails, but shes not good at taking care of them. she just keeps bringing them into the house and feeding them her snack. her snack is rat poison. snails like and digest rat poison safely. snails! she likes them.

ALSO APPARENTLY SHE CAN SEE GHOSTS???? yeah lets get into that. see, Casey becomes a Regular Ghost after she dies. not a dream ghost, just a plain ol ghost. and anyways, shes around the same age as everyone else if not a year older due to Ghost Rules now, and Cason is the only one that seems to be able to see her. and then theres Jones. Jones is absolutely stunning to Casey and yes she falls so hard in dokis. but Jones is trying to ignore the fact that she can see ghosts. it makes her feel like even more of an outcast. ooooo drama! anyways those two have their own background plot going on about fighting eldritch gods or something idk.

LETS GET BACK TO CASON. see. Cason. is The Worst. like, genuinely. ever since he was a kiddo, he was a completely spoiled brat from day one, and spent his childhood Looking Down on People for multiple reasons. for one, hes the son of TWO FUCKING FOUNDERS AND RAISED BY THEM, two he got away with EVERYTHING, and three i think its just in his nature. Cason prides himself in being knowledgeable and better than everyone else, but he is not like Other Egomaniacs((tm.))

Cason doesnt necessarily care about being liked, even if he WAS a great manipulator, or being the best at Everything. he couldnt care less about sports or popularity. all he wants, is Control. just like hes had since day one. This is Terrible for Everyone Involved.

but most terrible for anyone, is Tippie Piyjon. Tippie is terezi and nepetas ectospawn, which, really started it all. now, terezi and nepeta are not horrible people, or even necessarily horrible parents, but theyre just not suited for it. Tippie raised herself on romance novels and the like, especially after being sortve taken in as a goddaughter by karkat almost immediately after she was born. and, because of this, she got to meet Cason very early on. there was hardly ever a day where the two werent around eachother, whether they liked it or not. in school, at their own house, wherever. now, being around Cason of all people all the time, meant you knew exactly how he operated.

and well, Tippie figured that, maybe, if she was just good enough, she could change him. and Cason used that to his full advantage. the two became moirails, which was Fucked Up for Everyone Involved, and grew ever closer. now Cason, being Cason, was Extremely Emotionally Abusive to Tippie. she had to do what he asked, whatever it was, even if it wasnt morally right, she had to stay by his side, she couldnt cry in front of his parents, she had to get good grades so he wouldnt look bad, so many damn things she had to do. even if he never once laid a finger on her, her mental health was, slowly but surely, chiseled down.

every attempt at defying him was met with such coldness, or hed act more warm towards her, so surely she was doing something right and had to keep going. just had to be good enough. hell get better eventually. Cason earns the title of #1 Gaslighter Extraordinare. the only place she found any solace away from him was grubscouts, which she joined on her own terms when she was very young, and at the time was a camp counselor even! this lasted. for so many years.

Cason is nineteen whenever i depict him, and Tippie is seventeen, but very nearly eighteen. eventually, she cant take it anymore, and snaps at him. usually this doesnt last, and he would manage to calm her down eventually, but shes fucking Tired of it. he hasnt changed. not even a bit. well. Cason cant have that, now can he? the first time he lays a hand on her, he slaps her across the face. Big Mistake. though terrified, Tippie lashes out, and claws Casons left eye out, making a terribly deep gash that would leave him permanently blind in that eye whether or not he got treatment.

this scares the SHIT out of her, and Tippie runs off, for the first time, to her mothers. as she cries, she recounts how terrible everythings been and how she didnt mean it and shes sorry and- theres nothing to apologize for. its very clear, that they shouldve stepped in sooner, shouldve noticed something was wrong. meanwhile, Cason crawls home to his own dads, who are rightfully spooked seeing their son with a horrifically bloody face and a gouged eyeball. they only had a second to try and comfort him, before he snapped at them, showing a bit of his true nature to them for the first time, and also, terezi showing up behind him. after a thorough explanation which was mostly just a few stern, if a little tearful words, Casons parents are completely mortified. karkat quickly kicks him out in an act of raw emotion. no chance to grab clothes, or for john to interject, Cason is left outside, alone, and with absolutely no power left. what will he do?

theres also other characters but theyre like babies so they dont have much characterization and also arent very important to the story. but here they are ig:

owen, jade and daves child. hes like, 3. he likes sticks and playing in mud. hes 3 what more do you want from him

siyren, aradia and feferis kiddo. shes like, 6. she likes ballet, arts and crafts, and being snooty

damien, eridan and solluxs kid. hes 10, likes calling people slurs over xbox, and overcompensating since his parents waited so damn long to adopt him after his slimebirth

killer, who named himself, aradia and sollux kid. hes like 11 or something. he likes being edgy and has the same issue as damien. in fact, all but siyren have this issue

toga bitch, who i have currently yet to name, aradia and eridans kid. shes 12. she likes earth rome and chilling in public fountains. a burgundy whose violetkin

wemon wemon, who is also currently unnamed, feferi and eridans kid. hes 13, the oldest. he likes earth lemon demon and horror special effects

carrie, feferi and solluxs kid. shes like 11, likes dance dance revolution and earth 9s

rosie, calliope and roxys bab, whos a baby. jane is also her mom

ben, tippies far future carapacian bf, who likes boring shit like birdwatching and scrapbooking. malewife supreme. a very soft dude, and just wants to help his gf w/ her trauma and join her grubscout troop on earning badges. just a great, if boring guy

notkonyyl, just as unnamed, a notcanadian oliveblood who enjoys going to the gym, frequenting bars, being cool, flirty, and defending her moirail to the death

notkuprum, haha unnamed, is a human, and the moirail to notkonyyl. he likes things like being annoying, flirting with everyone taller than him ((most people)), the nintendo switch, and defending his moirail to the death

#casonverse #long post #very long post #homestuck #tw abuse #tw eye trauma

[westallenfun]

A Most Unexpected Love, Chapter 3

WestAllen secret santa gift  

From: @jade4813

For: @sophisticatedloserchick

Author Notes: For the lovely @sophisticatedloserchick from @jade4813! Merry Christmas, and I hope you like my first fic after a long hiatus!

Title: A Most Unexpected Love

Rating: PG

Synopsis: Iris has loved Eddie Thawne Allen her entire life. When she returns home just before Christmas, it looks like she might finally have a chance to catch his eye…unless an accident puts his older brother, Barry, directly in her path. Story inspired by Sabrina (with some quotes lifted more or less directly from the source material).

Chapters: 3/7

Chapter Three

“You can’t do this.” Barry’s voice over his shoulder caused Eddie to freeze and prompted a groan of frustration.

“Don’t start—”

“You’re engaged! Did you forget that? What is Patty going to think if she finds out that you’re spending your evening trying to seduce another woman in mom’s solarium?”

“It’s a dance!” he huffed irritably. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little? It’s just a dance!”

Barry wasn’t ready to let it go. “It’s never just a dance with you. Or did you forget I’ve seen you do this a hundred times.”

“Not a hundred—“ he began.

“Eddie,” Barry growled.

“Have you forgotten you’re my brother? You’re not mom, and you’re certainly not dad. I don’t know what makes you think you have any say in my love life—”

“Okay, I’m not mom or dad, but she’s also not like all the other girls you’ve flirted with. She’s Iris. Joe’s daughter. Remember? You can’t just flirt with her and then send her away with a pair of diamond earrings when you get bored with her and want to move on.”

Eddie’s expression darkened. “How dare you talk about Iris like that!”

“I’m not talking about her. I’m talking about you. Iris is amazing. She always has been. You are fickle.”

His eyes growing wide, Eddie tried to turn the tables on him. “Wait, I know what’s going on here! You have a crush on her, don’t you?”

Barry sighed in exasperation. Rolling his eyes, he said firmly, “No. I don’t have a crush on her. This isn’t about that.”

“I was going to say. She deserves someone…”

“What, better?” he prompted when his brother’s voice trailed off.

Eddie shook his head. “No. You’re a great guy – that isn’t your problem. But she deserves someone more exciting.”

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But she also deserves someone who isn’t engaged, don’t you think?”

Sliding two champagne flutes into the back pockets of his pants, Eddie grabbed a bottle of Dom Perignon from a passing waiter and pointed out, “That wasn’t my choice, you know. You were the one who pushed me into it. Was it really worth selling your own brother out for the sake of a merger?”

“Selling you out?” he spluttered in indignation. “You’re acting like I twisted your arm! Do I need to remind you that all I did was introduce the two of you and encourage you to ask her out on a date. One date.” Eddie seemed eager to wave away this statement of fact, so he pressed, “You were the one who continued to see her. You were the one who decided to propose.”

“Actually, she asked me,” Eddie interjected.

“And you said yes,” Barry shot back. “So don’t blame me for seeing good business sense in a decision you made.”

He grunted, pushing past Barry to head towards the solarium. “Either way, having Iris back has made me realize that I may have made a terrible mistake. I mean, Patty’s great, but Iris…” His voice trailed off with a wistful smile. “She’s amazing. She’s exciting and funny and beautiful…”

“And you didn’t even realize that we basically grew up with her,” Barry pointed out in a dry tone.

“Look, I know you’re skeptical, but you don’t understand!” Eddie protested, striding purposefully toward the solarium. “There’s just…there’s something about her. She’s amazing.”

“So you’ve said,” he pointed out, rolling his eyes all the while, only to be ignored.

“I’m think…no, I know I’m falling in love with her!”

“Oh my god,” Barry muttered, running a hand down his face as he followed in Eddie’s wake. Grabbing his brother by the arm, he all but forcefully dragged him into the first open door they came across, bringing them both into the library. “Can you just…can we be reasonable about this? You can’t be falling in love with her. You don’t even know her!”

“You’re the one who pointed out we basically grew up together,” Eddie pointed out as he paced back and forth across the library carpet.

Barry fixed him with a sardonic look. “A fact which clearly made an impression, since you needed me to tell you about it. I mean, can you even tell me what you find so amazing about her?” When a shadow passed over his brother’s face and the younger man opened his mouth to argue, he clarified, “Again, this is about you. Not her. I mean, I know why I think she’s amazing, but you didn’t even remember her until five minutes ago!”

Eddie threw him an obstinate look, his jaw set in a mulish line. “I can’t explain it. She’s just different,” he grumbled angrily.

Realizing he was approaching this entirely the wrong way, Barry took a deep breath held up his hands in a placating gesture until the two of them had calmed down a little. When he tried again, he even tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “Okay, so Iris is different. She makes you feel things you’ve never felt before. You can’t picture a future without her. But.”

Eddie crossed his arms across his chest, but he didn’t interject, allowing Barry to continue. “Remember who we’re talking about. This is Iris. She grew up watching you. She’s seen every trick in your playbook. She knows it’ll start with dancing in the solarium. Then you’ll sweep her off her feet to a romantic weekend in a cottage on Martha’s Vineyard. You’ll get tickets to some sold-out show on Broadway and romance her with a carriage ride in the park. Dinner and drinks and a kiss under the stars on some rooftop overlooking the city. And then – and then – you’ll get bored with her as you always do, and it’ll be diamond earrings hand-delivered to her doorstep. Maybe an accompanying bracelet if you’re feeling particularly sentimental. And that’ll be it. That’s goodbye. You may think she deserves better than me, and you’re probably right. But don’t you think she also deserves better than that?”

“That isn’t fair! Okay, maybe that’s what I’ve done before, but this is different! She’s different! I lo-aaargh!” Eddie’s protestations broke off with a shriek of pain as he threw himself dramatically onto the sofa nearby, forgetting about the champagne flutes in his back pockets. They shattered with an audible crunch, the broken glass tearing through the fine fabric of his slacks and embedding itself into his skin.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Barry asked in concern, rushing to his brother’s side.

“The glasses! I forgot the glasses!” his brother yelped, trying to rise to his feet but stopping when his movement only caused the glass to ground deeper into his flesh.

He held up a hand in a halting gesture, backing toward the door. “It’s going to be okay. Just…stay there. Dr. Harrison is at the party. I’ll find him and send him in.”

Eddie’s voice was desperate when he cried, “Wait! Iris…she’s waiting for me. I can’t just leave her like this! It’ll break her heart!”

Barry sighed. “I’ll take care of it. Just…don’t move.”

It took a few minutes to locate the doctor and discretely direct him to the library, following behind in case anything else was needed. Unsurprisingly, Eddie’s injuries would require several stitches, so he was dispatched to the emergency room with quiet efficiency, leaving Barry to break the news to Iris.

He was going to head to the solarium straight away when, on second thought, he decided to swing by the caterer to get a bottle of champagne and two glasses. She would be heartbroken enough to see him and not his brother. No reason not to try to soften the blow.

As he approached the solarium, he saw Iris through the thick glass windows. Her head was thrown back as she gazed up at the twinkling lights, a smile bright enough to rival the heavens themselves upon her face. She looked so happy, he almost hated to walk through the door and ruin it. But the alternative was for her to be stood up, returning home confused and brokenhearted Eddie failed to ever show.

So, mustering a smile, he let himself into the solarium and felt his heart twist in his chest when her beaming smile fell at the sight of him. “Sorry. Just me,” he murmured apologetically as he walked toward her. “Eddie…he isn’t going to be able to make it.”

“Oh. I see,” she murmured, looking crestfallen.

Unable to bear her disappointment, he rushed to explain, “He wanted to be here. It’s just…on the way here, he had a little accident. He – ah – he sat on a champagne flute.”

Her eyes went wide with alarm. “On a champagne flute?” she repeated, as though she wasn’t entirely certain whether to believe him. “How does that even happen?”

“Ah…it’s apparently an occupational hazard?” he offered, not really sure himself why his brother had thought carrying glass flutes in his back pocket was a good idea.

Clearly still trying to process the nature of the injury, she offered tentatively, “Okay, well…where is he? Should I go see him?”

“He’s in the ER, but the doctor assured me he’ll be fine. He’s just getting a few stitches,” Barry reassured her, focusing on uncorking the champagne and pouring two glasses. “But he did want me to send his apologies. You can see him tomorrow, if you want.”

Iris’s mouth twisted and her gaze fell as she accepted the flute he held out to her. “Well…thank you for telling me. I suppose it’s getting late, anyway. I should probably turn in…”

“I’m a poor replacement, I know,” he acknowledged with a wry smile, causing her to gasp.

“Oh, it isn’t that! It’s…” She broke off, scraping her lower lip with her teeth. “Okay, it isn’t that precisely,” she acknowledged, her voice slightly apologetic. “He’s just so…so…perfect. You know?”

“Yup,” he agreed flatly. “That’s my brother. Mister Perfect.” He threw back the champagne in one gulp and then set his glass aside, holding his arms out to her. “Anyway, it sems a shame for you to cut your evening short. How about a dance?” She hesitated, so he said encouragingly, “Come on; we’re here anyway. We might as well.”

Iris’s smile grew sheepish. “Oh, all right,” she capitulated, not entirely with good grace.

It reminded him so much of the time a younger, injured Iris grudgingly agreed to let him carry her home, he almost laughed and pointed out the similarity in response. In the end, he held his tongue, afraid that doing so would cause her to end the evening early. Or, worse, hurt her feelings. Instead, he waited as she took his hand. She stepped into the frame created by his arms as they began to dance to the music filtering through the glass windows.

He didn’t want to remind her of the last time she’d compared him to his brother and found him wanting, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t tease her just a little. Just enough to hopefully make her smile. “Careful, Miss West. You’re in danger of sweeping me straight off my feet,” he joked lightly, noting her answering blush.

“I don’t mean to be rude.”

“I know,” he reassured her in a soft voice. And suddenly, he didn’t want to talk about Eddie anymore. He didn’t want to think about the inevitable future she would face if she continued down this path. He didn’t want to imagine how brokenhearted she would be, after loving his brother for so long. So instead, he spun with her in his arms, tightening his hold on her hand and spinning her away from him, giving her an extra twirl. The music faded outside the windows as the song came to an end, but he pretended not to notice, twirling her again.

Her laughter filled the room and warmed his soul, bouncing off the windows that surrounded them. In her joy, she threw back her head to look at the lights twinkling overhead. Following her gaze, he noted that they shone like stars. He twirled her over and over until she collapsed against him, struggling to breathe through her ragged gasps of laughter.

Sliding one arm around her waist, he pulled her close, smiling when he felt her head fall against his chest. Drawing her hand in, he trapped their hands between their bodies, slowing the dance until they were swaying gently back and forth. As Iris’s mirth subsided, music from the party drifted through the windows once more.

“Maybe it’s much too early in the game. Ah, but I thought I’d ask you just the same. What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?” Iris lifted her head off his chest, her eyes meeting his. Their faces were inches apart, and her laughter died in her throat. “Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight, when it’s exactly twelve o'clock that night. Welcoming in the New Year, New Year’s Eve.”

“Bartholomew,” she breathed.

“Barry. Please,” he corrected her.

Nodding slightly, she whispered, “Barry,” and he realized in that moment that they had stopped dancing entirely. Flushing, she cleared her throat and tried more forcefully, “We – maybe we shouldn’t be doing this. I should – I should turn in.”

“But we haven’t finished our dance,” he murmured, beginning to sway once more.

“Maybe I’m crazy to suppose I’d ever be the one you chose. Out of the thousand invitations you received.”

He liked having her in his arms, he realized. More than he’d anticipated. He should be thinking solely of nipping this problem with his brother in the bud. He should be thinking of sparing Iris her future heartache. But he realized now that he hadn’t asked her to dance because he wanted to distract her from thoughts of Eddie or to delay the inevitable. He’d asked her to dance because, simply speaking, he wanted to. He wanted to hold her in his arms, to twirl her around and dance with her under lights that shone like twinkling stars.

“Ah, but in case I stand one little chance, here comes the jackpot question in advance. What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve? Oh, what are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?”

“The song’s over,” she pointed out in an undertone.

“I know,” he agreed, though he didn’t let her go, and she didn’t move away.

Their bodies were so close that he could feel the rise and fall of her chest when she sucked in a deep breath. “Eddie’s…I’ve loved him for as long as I can remember. I thought I was over it. Over him. But…”

“But you’re not,” he finished for her, his words a statement and not a question.

“Are you,” she hesitated and swallowed heavily before continuing, “are you here to deal with me?” At his confused look, she disentangled herself from his arms, walking away and keeping her back to him as she explained, “I know how it works. I’ve seen it before. I grew up in this world, remember?” Throwing a look at him over her shoulder, she continued, “On the outskirts of it, at least. Eddie attaches himself to a deeply unsuitable girl – like the daughter of an employee – and she gets offered a generous cash settlement if she only agrees to bow out quietly.”

“You think I’m fooling myself that you could be bought? How much were you thinking I planned to offer? A million? Two?”

Lifting her chin, she said firmly, “I’d never accept it, you know.”

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug, looking around for the bottle to refill the champagne. “I’d never offer it.”

“Even though I’m deeply unsuitable?” she prodded dubiously.

He laughed, offering her a flute once more. “You? Unsuitable? Look at you. You’re incredible.”

Sipping champagne, she swallowed heavily and admitted, “I wanted it to be me, you know? Just once.” Though he didn’t need her to explain, she did anyway. “I know he brings all the girls here, to drink champagne and dance in his arms. I just – I wanted it to be me.”

“I know,” he said in a voice almost too soft to be heard.

With forced lightness, she held out her flute for him to refill once more, saying, “You know, in all the years I’ve lived here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dance. I’ve certainly never seen you come out here with champagne to ask a girl to dance with you.”

He smiled slightly, acknowledging the point. “That’s because I’ve never done it,” he explained.

“You’ve never had to, you mean,” alluding once again to her suspicion his actions were a ploy.

“Is it so hard to believe I’d want to share a drink and a dance with the most beautiful woman at the party?”

She laughed derisively, the sound echoing off the solarium windows and breaking his heart. “I’m sorry, but yes. That is hard to believe.”

Barry put his champagne flute aside. “Then I guess you don’t really know me at all. Anyway, I shouldn’t take up any more of your time. You can see Eddie tomorrow.”

Whatever she saw in his face or heard in his voice seemed to make her second-guess herself, because her forced broke off as he started to leave, and she reached out to grab his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Pulling his mouth into a tight smile, he reassured her, “You didn’t. Good night, Iris.”

“Good night, Barry,” she whispered as he strode through the solarium door and into the cold night air.

#westallen #westallen secret santa #submission