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leossmoonn · 3 years

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No Weakness [Spencer Reid]

masterlist

pairing - spencer reid x gn!reader

type - fluff, lil angst

request / note - “where the reader is new to BAU and they see dead body first time, and it kinda bothers them. and spencer noticed it, even when the reader tries they best no show it (bc they’re scared it makes the look like they’re weak) so when they’re just two of them spencer tries to make them feel better and tells them its okay and it does not make them weak.” this was so fun to write, ahhh! thank you @avrilstaro for requesting <3 *not edited lol oops*

summary - you’re embarrassed after freaking out from seeing a dead body, but spencer assures you that it’s okay

warnings / includes - descriptions of mutilated body, small description of case (child kidnapper case for this fic), crying, anxiety, nausea, little fighting, food mention. you and spencer are dating in this

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*gif isn’t mine*

“I can’t believe I didn’t get to sleep in,” you mumbled, throwing your purse down on your desk rather roughly.

“Not like you would’ve anyways. Ariel was meowing for you five minutes before we got called in,” Spencer stated.

“So? I would’ve fallen back asleep after,” you shrugged. “You would’ve stayed up all morning playing with her, babe,” Spencer chuckled.

You rolled your eyes. “You don’t know that.”

“I do! You’ve done it every morning since we got her,” Spencer argued.

You scoffed, shaking your head at your boyfriend. You trudged over to the coffee machine, getting out a mug the size of a bowl and filling it to the brim. It was already your third cup of the day, and while it was probably unhealthy drinking that much coffee, you needed it. It was your first week on the job and you still weren’t used to waking up at five in the morning for a surprise case. This was your second case, though, so you weren’t very surprised that you were still tired. You knew you would get used to it as time went on, but you wished that your body and mind would adapt faster.

“You’re coming on the field today.” Emily nudged your arm with a file.

Your eyes widened and you sputtered out coffee, coughing to try and clear your throat. Emily chuckled, patting your back gently to help you. You set your coffee down, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand once you got control of your breathing.

“W-What?” You asked, the words Emily said not processing in your brain.

“I said you’re coming onto the field today,” she repeated.

“B-But…” your trailed off, trying to find a reasonable explanation. “I-I wasn't supposed to be on the field for another week. I’m still technically in training.”

“Well, part of the training is going on the field. You’re an amazing agent in the office, L/n, but you'd be even better on the field. You’re able to sympathise with the unsubs and solve the puzzles faster than most of us can, sometimes faster than your boyfriend. You’ll help us a lot better out there than in here.”

You chuckled nervously, heat crawling up the back of your neck. “Thanks, Emily, but I’m not ready.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “That’s what all the new agents say. You need to just get out there, and there’s no better time to do that then early in the game.”

“I guess,” you muttered, lifting your coffee cup and taking a sip.

“You’ll be fine, Y/n. I have no doubts,” Emily smiled.

“Thanks.” You have her a small smile. “No problem. And hey, don’t tell Spencer I said you’re better at the job than him,” she winked.

You laughed and nodded, “I won’t, I promise.”

She walked away, leaving you to lean against the counter and to drink the rest of your coffee before going to the briefing room.

“So, I heard that Newbie is finally coming along with us today!” Luke exclaimed.

“Newbie is your nickname, Newbie,” Penelope narrowed her eyes at Luke. Luke rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Anyways, you excited?”

You sat down in one of the chairs between to Luke and Matt. “Not really, if I”m being honest.”

“Oh, why? You’ll be great!” Matt smiled. “So everyone says,” you sighed.

“Hey, I heard you’re coming with us today. Can’t wait to have you on the field.” Spencer smiled as he walked past you.

“Yeah, I’m excited to outsmart you, too,” you smirked.

“Oh, Reid, looks like you have some competition!” Luke teased.

Spencer shook his head and looked at you through his lashes. You gave him a challenging look, leaning on the table.

“May the best agent win, Reid,” you dared.

“Alright,” he shrugged. “Better have no weaknesses, L/n.”

“Oh, I have none,” you smirked. Spencer replied to you with a hum, giving you an excited smile before paying attention to the case.

Penelope and Emily delivered the case to you six, then leaving you all to pack up your things as you were going on the jet. You got out the small duffle bag of clothes you had in your car for traveling on cases, also grabbing your phone charger and the case files. You walked up onto the jet, placing your bags up over the overhead storage area. You got seated across from Tara and next to Spencer.

You all talked about your plans to catch the unsub and where you all were assigned to. Tara, you, and Spencer were going to go to the crime scene to scope out the area. Emily and JJ would stay at the police station and work there, while Matt and Luke did witness and suspect interviews.

You were sitting back in your chair, looking out the window and admiring the sky as the jet flew through the clouds. You still had an hour before you landed. Everyone was either sleeping or listening to music. You had thought about going back to sleep, but it seems as though the three cups of coffee you had finally kicked in.

You regretted drinking so much coffee because now, your heart was racing and your hands were shaking. You weren’t sure if it was totally because of the caffeine or that you were nervous about being on the field for the first time, but you assumed it was a little bit of both.

Spencer, who was seated next to you, noticed your jitteriness. He closed his book softly, setting it down on the floor next to his seat, turning to you and taking your hands in his.

Your head snapped to him quickly, your eyes landing on his. He gave you a soft smile, beginning to rub his thumb over your knuckles.

“You’ll do great out there, alright?” He assured.

You sighed, turning away from the window and to him. “What if the lead I find doesn’t work? What if I can’t figure out where the unsub has the kids? O-Or what if I embarrass myself in front of the police chief?”

Spencer chuckled softly at your concerns, making you frown.

“Don’t laugh! Hey, I bet you had all these concerns when you first joined.”

“I did,” he admitted. “But, I learned that I worked with a team. It’s not just me doing the work, just like it’s not just you. You have seven people working with you on this. Try and relax, baby, alright? You do amazing work at the office. This won’t be any different.”

You scoffed, “Please. It’s like, a million times different.”

“Just try and relax,” he instructed, putting your hand up to his lips.

You smiled widely, your heart fluttering as he kissed your hand.

“Plus, even if it was just you working the case, I have no doubt you would figure it out quickly.”

“Thanks, babe,” you smiled and leaned your head against the headrest.

“Of course. I love you,” he said, leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to your lips.

“Oh, gross. You guys know I just became newly single,” Tara scoffed.

You laughed and turned to her. “That was like, nine months ago.”

Tara raised her brows, looking at Matt and Spencer, and back at you. “You weren’t even here back then. How do you know this?”

“I just know things,” you winked. “Yeah, well I’m betting someone blabbed,” Tara grumbled.

“We would never,” Matt disagreed. “Mhm,” Tara hummed, going back onto her phone.

You smiled at you teammates and looked back at Spencer and putting your head on his shoulder. You closed your eyes for a few moments, opening your eyes again. You blinked rapidly, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. You rolled your head around, your eyes settling onto Spencer who was back to reading his book. You turned your head back to the window, furrowing your brows as you noticed you weren’t up in the sky anymore.

“Oh, good. You’re up,” Spencer spoke, putting his book away.

“Are we here already?” You asked, your voice croaky and hoarse.

“Yep,” he nodded. “We landed about ten minutes ago.”

“Oh,” you frowned, sitting up and getting out of your seat. You stretched your limbs, yawning once more as you held your hand up above your head. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” You sighed.

“You’re just so peaceful when you sleep. I couldn’t,” he explained.

You smiled and went to get your luggage. “Thanks, Spence. But everyone is probably waiting for me now.”

“No, it’s alright. We can’t go and see the crime scene yet anyways.”

“How come?” You asked. “Not prepped for us,” Spencer answered.

“Since when does a crime scene need to be prepped for the FBI?” You snorted.

“You’d be surprised,” Spencer let out a breathy chuckle.

You put your duffle bag over your shoulders and handing Spencer his, holding your hand out for Spencer to take. “Join me down the stairs?”

“Of course,” he grinned, standing up and taking your hand into his and his bag.

You two walked off the jet, going over to the SUV. Spencer drove you two to the hotel where you dropped off your things, immediately going to the police station.

“ ‘Bout time!” Matt exclaimed, seeing you two walking through the doors.

You chuckled, “Sorry. Looks like the coffee wore off and I finally crashed.”

“It’s alright. I think the scene is ready for you guys to look at now,” he said.

“Great,” you smiled.

You and Spencer found Tara, going into the SUV once again, driving to the house where the parents were killed and children taken.

“Wow, I’ve never seen this much yellow tape in my life,” you chuckled. “Yeah. It’s definitely not an eye sore,” Tara chortled, stepping over the caution tape.

You and Spencer followed her, going up to the police offers that were talking at the front door.

“Hi, we’re FBI agent with the BAU. I’m Doctor Tara Lewis, this is Doctor Spencer Reid, and Agent Y/n L/n,” Tara introduced you all.

You smiled and shook the two officer’s hand. “Nice to meet you two.”

“Likewise. I’m Officer Santiago and this is Officer Reynolds. The parents were killed in two different places. The father in the bedroom, mother in the oldest child’s room.”

“Lovely. Can’t wait to see,” Tara smiled sarcastically.

“Oh, I bet. Go ahead and go in, let us know if you find anything, please,” Reynolds said.

You nodded and stepped into the house, cringing at the heavy smell of bleach.

“God. It’s like a hospital in here, but twenty times worse!” You held your nose. “I should’ve told Emily I needed to stay back with Penelope.”

“Oh, this is nothing,” Spencer smirked. “Wait until you see where they all got killed.”

“Ew, Spence!” You shrieked. “You’re supposed to protect me from all that.”

He chuckled, “All part of the job, baby.”

You nodded and sighed, knowing that he was right. As always. You three walked up the stairs, looking at where the father was killed. There was an enormous amount of blood of the bedsheets and some on the corner of the right nightstand, some splatters that were below on the floor.

“So,” you started. “We’re looking at a team, right? I mean, there’s no way that the unsub could kill the father without the mom noticing.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking’,” Tara nodded. “Well, I could be possible,” Spencer contradicted.

You and Tara looked at each other, confused.

“Yeah, how?” You asked.

“Well,” Spencer said, walking over to the bed. “The unsub could’ve choked or suffocated the father in his sleep. I mean, there were ligature marks around his neck, right?”

“True. And the mom was saying goodnight to her children, so she obviously didn’t see her husband get killed,” Tara added on.

You furrowed your brows, stepped out of the parents’s bedroom, going to the child’s.

“Yeah, but, what about the kid? I mean, wouldn’t it have screamed and fought and ran out of the house?” You asked.

Tara looked to you, eyes widening in surprise. “Yeah, that is a good thought. So… unsub number one is killing the father while unsub number two is kidnapping the mom slash killing the child…”

“No, that wouldn't work. Maybe it’s a group of three?” Spencer suggested.

“Maybe,” Tara shrugged.

You stepped into the child’s bedroom, scrunching your nose as a foul smell wafted under your nose. You walked around, covering your nose with your sleeve. You saw the blood on the bedsheets and nightstand table.

“Looks like the unsubs all have the same MO’s,” you muttered.

You opened the closet, seeing nothing but toys, clothes, and shoes. You closed the doors, looking around the walls, your heart sinking as you saw all the finger pantings and pictures of family and friends. You walked up to the wall, losing your balance as you tripped on a a long, soft object.

You let out a yelp, falling on your shoulder. You groaned in pain, turning on your back while holding your injured side. You looked around for the object you tripped on, frowning as you couldn’t find it. Something pale caught the corner of your eyes. You raised your brow, getting up on your knees and moving closer.

“What the —” You muttered, your voice getting caught in your throat as you realised it was an arm sticking out under the bed. “Oh, my —” You gasped, peering under the bed, seeing the dead body of one of the children. “Oh, my God!” You shouted, scooting back, your back hitting the wall as you stared at the lifeless body. Tears welled up in your eyes and you put your hand to your mouth, loud and broken sobs escaping your throat.

The boy couldn’t have been more than a few days old, yet it was still lying there. You could see the lifelessness in his eyes, and still the fear. There was a slit across his throat and cheek, his upper chest red with with green and purple bruises. You felt nauseas and cold, your heart sinking all the way down past your stomach. Your body was shaking and you couldn’t tear your eyes off of the body, no matter how hard you tried.

You heard the footsteps of your colleagues, their voices calling your name.

“Y/n, where are — O-Oh, my God.” Spencer’s eyes widened as he saw you crying on the floor. He immediately dropped down to his knees, taking you into his arms. “What happened.”

You were unable to move, your eyes staring wide at the body. Spencer followed your gaze, his own heart dropping down to his chest.

“Oh, man. Um,” Spencer said, looking away from the body and to you. His heart broke as he saw you so horrified. He put his hand on your cheek gently, turning your face so you were no longer looking at the body. “Let’s get you to out of here, alright?”

You nodded slowly, your breaths becoming laboured as you tried to calm yourself down in Spencer’s arms. He got up, taking you with him. He walked you out of the room, coming face-to-face with Tara.

“What happened?” Tara gasped.

“Looks like the unsubs left the older boy. Tell the police officers, I need to get Y/n out of here,” Spencer said.

Tara looked at you, nodding without hesitation. She let you two go, Spencer walking you down the stairs slowly. You exited the house, still taking heavy breathes as the image of the boy haunted your thoughts. Spencer gently got you seated into the car, buckling you in. He went to the driver’s seat, getting in and starting to drive.

You two sat in the silence for thirty minutes while Spencer drove around. You looked at the window the whole time, your eyes glossy and strained from crying and keeping them open. Whenever you closed your eyes, even to just blink, flashes of the dead boy raced through your mind. Spencer waited patiently for you to speak, understanding how shocked and horrified you were.

He parked in a Burger King parking lot, sighing and looking at you. He gingerly put his hand on your shoulder, only for you to shrug him away.

“Y/n,” he sighed.

“No,” you grumbled. “Take me back.”

“I think it would be smart if you took the day off. Seeing a dead body, especially a child’s and one you had no idea exited, can really throw you off. The first time I saw a dead body…. Man, I-I was sick to my stomach. I—”

“Shut up!” You exclaimed, waving your hands in the hair. You looked at him, your chest heaving up and down. Your brows were furrowed and mouth open, your eyes glaring at him. “Just shut up, Spencer!”

His mouth went agape, hurt flashing though his eyes. He didn’t let your outburst dampen his spirits, though. He knew you were embarrassed and still horrified, and that you didn’t like to feel belittled. So he gave you a small, comforting smile, taking your hands into his. You didn’t move away this time, but you avoided any and all eye contact.

“I know how you feel, babe,” he sympathised. “Yeah, I bet,” you muttered, your voice hoarse and dry.

He frowned and unbuckled, leaning closer to you. He put his hand on your chin, turning your head with strength and force. You eventually met his eyes, his smile dropping as he saw tears rolling down your cheeks once again, your lips pulled into a pout.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he assured, cupping your cheek and wiping your tears away with his thumb.

“N-No, it’s not,” you sobbed, shaking your head. “I-I’m so weak. I should’ve been ready. This is what I’ve been tra-trainging for and I suddenly turn into a freaking wuss? I-I… I… It’s so embarrassing!” You shoulders racked with sobs as you hung your head down to cry.

“Oh, baby,” Spencer sighed, taking your head in both of his hands. He held your head up again, bringing his face close to yours. He put his forehead against yours, kissing the tip of your nose lightly. “It’s no embarrassing, alright? Your reaction was a perfectly normal reaction to seeing a dead child’s body. Honestly, if you didn’t cry and freak out, I would be worried,” he chuckled.

You gave him a watery smile, laughing with him. “Y-Yeah, I s-suppose,” you sniffled. “B-But,” you started. “I-It makes me look weak. And I don’t want to look weak, Spence. A-All my life I’ve been told —”

He smiled widely, leaning back so he could look you in the eyes. “You’re not weak, Y/n. You never could be, even if you tried. You’re just human, and that’s fine. It’s amazing, honestly. You know, I am so proud of you, babe.”

You frowned, “Why?”

“Because today was your first day out on the field, and you did fantastic. It can only get better from here.”

“Y-You really think so?” You sniffed, wiping your nose with your sleeve.

“I know so,” he nodded confidently. “And it’s okay to show weakness, Y/n. No weakness is the real weakness.”

“Such wise words,” you laughed. He laughed with you and he shrugged. “I try.”

You laid your head back on the headrest, looking a him through tired eyes. “Thanks, Spencer. It really means a lot.”

He nodded with a smile. “Of course, honey. Now, why don’t you say we get something to eat, then go back to the precinct?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, “Sounds great.”

He nodded and buckled himself back in, putting his hand on the gearshift and looking to you.

“I’m proud of you, you know that?”

You smiled shyly, heat scorching your cheeks. “Yeah, I know. You’ve already told me.”

“Just making sure you know, baby.”

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asexualone · 3 years

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(pls take the time to read)

Signs I should have known I was aro: Disney edition

I think this topic has been stressed a lot already. But here is my take, anyway.

Of course, romantic love had been, is and will always be one of the main themes in kids' movies. Why, I can never fully understand. I'll explain below how I like other themes more.

Some time ago, I did a post on the kiss/hug scenes in Rapunzel which depicts how much more I value acts of showing love that don't include kissing.

Not only those two. I have a history of hating Disney on-screen smooches. As a kid, I thought, "Well, maybe, I don't like seeing these characters kiss because it's a grownup thing."

Could you blame me? When my parents were in the room and a kissing scene appeared on the screen, they changed the channel. So my toddler brain concluded that the reason I didn't like watching kisses was because I wasn't of age to like it. Or something.

At the time, I had no idea that I was hand-picking my favorite movies by the level of romance they had in. Or lack thereof. And I was a very judgemental kid. Let's go through my original thoughts on some Disney classics.

Snow White — No. Just no. She's a child, fourteen. Marrying an older guy she doesn't even know. After he kisses her corpse. NO.

Cinderella — The age difference is a little better, I guess. So is the age of consent. But they only talked one (1) night and he relied on that slipper to find her instead of asking to meet all women and see for himself. Fairytale logic I guess. I didn't like how she called it love immediately and kissed the prince at least once that same night. Or how they got married immediately.

The Sleeping Beauty — Must I even explain? Aurora didn't even know Philip that much, had only met him once (if you exclude the "dreams"). And yet, he's her true love, the only one who can revive her corpse. Ridiculous. And yes, kissing a comatose body, ew. Also, the arranged marriage trope pisses me off, royalty or not. Aurora was engaged as a newborn baby, come on.

Mulan — Cinematic gold. I didn't know it back then, but the fact that romantic love is such a pushed-aside aspect in this movie gives me life. The songs give me life. Especially when the trio dresses as concubines and "Be a Man" plays in the background. An absolute gem, lmao. The sequel however ruined the story somewhat for me, too much lovey-dovey stuff. I like Mulan more when she's fighting than when she's acting all sappy towards Shang, sorry not sorry.

Peter Pan — Loved it, still do. But I did dislike the mermaids, the image of fangirls who are petty towards other girls. And Pan's brief "relationship" with Tiger Lily was nauseating to me. I couldn't explain it but when Pan blushed at her nose-nuzzling thing, I always pulled a face.

The Princess and the Frog — In my opinion, (remember, always my opinion): Tiana, this hard-working girl who doesn't belong to anyone, was lost to love. Well, not lost. But falling for Naveen in the course of three days? Unrealistic and kinda unnecessary. Sweet, but still. I adored the "relationship" between Ray and Evangeline more. Either way, it's a movie that I enjoyed when love wasn't that prominent on screen.

Aladdin — I love this movie because of the Genie. The relationship between Jasmine and Aladdin is meh. She forgot his face and didn't recognize him until later. Their coming together is a lot like that trope "first guy who treats her right sets the expectations and wins her heart". Usually that's a thing, not only in Disney movies but media in general. The female lead settles for the first guy that treats her right because the bar is that low. A good movie, all in all. Love how Jasmine stands up for herself at least. Not a lot of princesses fight against the objectification of women.

Pocahontas — I used to hate this movie. I didn't sit right with me: the racism in it, the manipulation, the murders. And the romance, yes. Pocahontas fell for the strange man who tickled her curiosity in the span of two days. I also hated how her father just sold her to marry Kocoum like that. I know it's tradition. Heck, that's a tradition that still goes on in my country. Maybe that's why I didn't like seeing it on screen. And Pocahontas doesn't even end up with John Smith. The second movie definitely ruined the story. So yes, she's the first princess who fell for a man in three days, TWICE. Needless to say, only the songs kept me from blacklisting the movie entirely.

The Little Mermaid — I actually loved this movie for some reason. I can't explain why, maybe it was my obsession with mermaids. Yeah, that was probably it. But I was pissed when Ariel exchanged her tail for legs. Not to mention human periods and overall, all the bad in the world, for a man she'd only seen once. As I grew up I realized just how f*cked up that story was: Ariel giving her entire lifestyle, family and identity up for a guy she hadn't even spoken to. I don't know why I loved that movie, alright? Hell I still do a little. The sequel too. Say what you want.

Brave — (I know this is technically Pixar, shut up) Much like the paradox with Ariel, I didn't like this movie. I can't explain it. Maybe because Merida wasn't the typical Disney princess I had been used to seeing. Now though, I ADORE that story. No, it's not because Merida knows archery... Okay, yes maybe a little. I love the aro-arrow word play, alright? Anyway, the way Merida fights against being shipped to a husband like the "tradition" I aforementioned asks her to, has always had my heart, even when I didn't like the movie. The focus on the mother-daughter relationship is special, I love it. Stellar movie.

Tangled — One of my favorite Disney movies, my favorite princess. But her relationship with Eugene.... Well. Again, three days. That's all it takes to fall in love. Classic of Disney. Not only that, but Eugene is literally the first man person Raps has ever since, besides Gothel. The bar is nonexistent for her, she would have fallen for anyone. He lied to her and she still... Well, I won't stress that any longer. Their relationship in the end is sweet, one of the few cases where we are actually shown that they would risk their lives to save each other. Respect that. Mostly, I love her magical hair and Pascal. And the guys of Snuggly Duckling.

Moana — EPIC MOVIE. The story, the culture, the character growth, the plot twist, everything! Loved it at first sight, at second and forever. Even more when I became aware that there's no romance in it. I don't think I need to say more.

Frozen — My opinions on this movie have always been changing, accompanied by mixed feelings. So the relationship between sisters was cute, but Lilo and Stitch made that more realistic. Anna's relationship with Hans, ugh. I think that for a long time I used the fact that he was the antagonist to justify my absolute hate for the way Anna "fell" for him in one evening. Again, Anna sweetheart. This is the first man you've met. The bar is nonexistent for you too. God bless Elsa for forbidding her to marry Hans. And while it's cute to think Elsa as a lesbian, she has aromantic vibes. Sorry not sorry, but she's also a God by the end of Frozen 2. Gods are beyond attraction, I said what I said.

Raya and the Last Dragon — Loved it, still do. Say what you will about "dragon Elsa". Sisu is her own character, and I adore her. And yes, I love the lack of romance in the movie. Make no mistake, I shipped Raya and Namaari from the first moment they smiled at each other. I swear on my name that I paused the movie and screamed, GAYYYY, at the top of my lungs. Luckily, I was home alone. If only Disney directors would do the right fcking thing and give me a queer main couple!! I swear I wouldn't mind the lovey-dovey romance one bit.

Of course, I've left dozens of movies out. This post is already way longer than I wanted it to be. But I think that was enough to make a point.

While I'm not romance-repulsed, seeing animated kisses (and unnecessary relationships) on screen makes me uncomfortable. As a child and as a grownup. It just doesn't sit right with me. Not to mention all these princesses who identify with their princes and specifically their relationships with said princes when they're perfect on their. Wreck it Ralph 2 made them a favor, I think, by making them work together and showing their strengths. Another movie I love.

Friendship just makes an overall better theme to apply to kids shows, my opinion. Family, work, self-discovery, mental health, happiness. These are all better themes to portray in media dedicated for children. Which is, again, my opinion.

And yes, Disney has been getting better. They've fixed the age difference and the age of consent. The female characters no longer depend on the male ones, at least not as often. They understand the assignment, alright. There are still many questionable things about Disney's reputation though, things we all choose to overlook for the sake of the good movies. But who knows? They might change. Hopefully soon we'll also have an obviously queer couple in a movie. Hope dies last.

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jewels2876 · 3 years

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Sealing the Deal

A/N: So I do this thing where I like to take a Disney thing and stand it on its head - in this case, Ariel and Prince Eric, as well as Ursula got a little Marvel rewrite - I’m also dedicating this to @the-ss-horniest-book-club for the belated Disney Day over at the HBC! Go check them out!

Pairing: Ariel!Bucky x Prince Eric!Reader, Ursula!Loki

Word count: 1006

No Warnings - unbeta’d so all mistakes are mine - thoughts are in italics

Bucky stared at Loki; he had a box full of knives in front of him, each shinier than the last. “Where did you get all of these?” Bucky breathed.

Loki chuckled, knowing how easily this was going to be. Like taking candy from a baby. “Why, from up there,” Loki pointed up. “The human world has ALL KINDS of fascinating things. Do you like them?”

“They make my thingamabobs look like cheap toys. These are...AMAZING,” Bucky reached out his hand to touch one of the shiny knives.

Loki snapped the case shut. “You can go up and get one for yourself. I’d be happy to help you with that, but on one tiny little condition.”

Bucky frowned. “What’s that?”

“Give me your voice.”

“What?! Why my voice?”

Loki paused. “To be honest, it’s become my trademark. See all of these poor unfortunate souls?” Loki gestured behind him. “They gave me their voices and their souls when the deal went sour. But you, you could stay up in the human world and live out the rest of your happy life with all of the knives you wanted. What do you say?”

Bucky slowly blinked his eyes, blinded by the bright sun. Wait, where am I? He looked around and saw the ocean behind him, and the castle to his right. He felt the sand beneath his feet and…

Hold on, when did I get THOSE?! Bucky startled and scrambled back further in the sand. He heard a loud bark and turned towards the sound. A huge creature was running at him; Bucky scrambled onto a nearby rock form to get away from it. The creature barked and stuck out its large pink tongue. EWWWWWHHHH, Bucky cringed.

“Get down!” a voice called. The creature turned and ran towards the other figure. Bucky sighed but made no move to get down; he wasn’t sure who was approaching. When the figure came into view, he sucked in a breath. She was beautiful; the sun caught the gleam in her eye, the modest dress covered her, saving for her bare feet. She saw Bucky and smirked. “Did my dog scare you?”

Bucky opened his mouth but nothing came out. He coughed and tried again. Damnit! Bucky was immediately frustrated that he couldn’t speak. I’m gonna throttle Loki for not telling me how I could communicate now. The girl watched Bucky warily. “Can you talk?”

Bucky shook his head. He slid off the rock formation and stuck his hand out in greeting. You took it; his warm hand was soft in yours and you felt heat creep into your face. “Nice to meet you, sir. I’m y/n,” you offered, along with a friendly smile. Then you noticed your new acquaintance was… nude. “You might want to stay here. The dog is a big baby so he’ll keep you company.” Bucky looked down and froze. Where did THAT come from? You excused yourself, telling the dog to stay. Bucky reached down and rubbed the dog’s head.

A few minutes later you came back with a pair of black pants and a plain white shirt. Bucky quickly clothed himself. He ran a hand through his hair as you gave him a once-over. “For coming out of nowhere you clean up well. You look good,” you said as you offered Bucky another warm smile.

A few days later, Bucky had settled into the room your father, the king, had allowed. You were warned to stay vigilant around Bucky but you dismissed the warnings; Bucky was a complete gentleman with you. Unbeknownst to both of you though, Bucky’s crab friend Sam had found out about the deal between Loki and Bucky; he was determined to make sure Bucky got his voice back and his cute butt in the ocean again. An annoying seagull had told Sam nearly everything, including how Bucky could get his voice back: y/n had to kiss Bucky. Sam had almost killed the seagull with his bare claws with that little tidbit. Instead, he now watched as you and Bucky boarded a small boat. He groaned realizing quickly that without his voice, Bucky wasn’t going to be able to charm his way into kissing you. No, Sam would have to follow you, hide somewhere, and still try to get you to kiss Bucky. The things I do for this boy! Sam shook his head.

Loki watched as Bucky tried over and over to kiss y/n from his magic orb deep within his lair. How the hell did he figure out my loophole so damn fast? At this rate he’s going to get his knives AND ruin my reputation! Loki steeled himself and decided to send his best snakes to try and stop all the kissing.

After you had shown Bucky around the village, and found a knife to Bucky’s liking, you had linked hands and strolled towards the docks. You talked the whole time, while Bucky watched you with a smile on his face. If this is what I get for becoming human, it was totally worth it, voice or not. Bucky didn’t remember getting into the boat with you, only that there was suddenly music and your eyes blinking slowly as you stared at him with your lips parted slightly. Bucky had the sudden urge to lean forward and kiss you. Just as he was about to, something hit the boat hard, sending you and Bucky into the water. Bucky spit out water as you started to wring your dress out; you looked at each other and laughed. Without any thought or preamble, Bucky leaned forward and kissed you.

“Wow,” he murmured. Your eyes widened. “Am I the only one that felt that?”

“You can talk?”

“Well…,” Bucky shook his head side to side in disbelief. “I can talk! Oh my god, y/n! I can talk! I can…” You pressed your lips to his. He grinned as you pulled back sheepishly. “But we can talk later if you’d rather kiss again?” You nodded enthusiastically and Bucky swept you into his arms, kissing you once more.

#hbc disney day #bucky barnes x reader #fairytale au #the ss hbc #bucky barnes #loki #sam wilson #au

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path-of-my-childhood · 3 years

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Aaron Dessner on How His Collaborative Chemistry With Taylor Swift Led to “Evermore”

By: Claire Shaffer for Rolling Stone Date: December 18th 2020

Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner didn’t expect to make another record so soon after Folklore. As they were putting the final touches on Swift’s album this past summer, the two artists had been collaborating remotely on possible songs for Big Red Machine, Dessner’s music project with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (who also dueted with Swift on the Folklore track “Exile”). Dessner recalls:

“I think I’d written around 30 of those instrumentals in total. So when I started sharing them with Taylor over the months that we were working on Folklore, she got really into it, and she wrote two songs to some of that music.”

One was “Closure,” an experimental electronic track in 5/4 time signature that was built over a staccato drum kit. The other song was “Dorothea,” a rollicking, Americana piano tune. The more Dessner listened to them, the more he realized that they were continuations of Folklore‘s characters and stories. But the real turning point came soon after Folklore‘s surprise release in late July, when Dessner wrote a musical sketch and named it “Westerly,” after the town in Rhode Island where Swift owns the house previously occupied by Rebekah Harkness.

“I didn’t really think she would write something to it — sometimes I’ll name songs after my friends’ hometowns or their babies, just because I write a lot of music and you have to call it something, and then I’ll send it to them. But, anyway, I sent it to her, and not long after she wrote ‘Willow’ to that song and sent it back.”

It was a moment not unlike when Swift first sent him the song “Cardigan” back in the spring, where both she and Dessner felt an instant creative spark — and then just kept writing. Before long, they were creating even more songs with Vernon, Jack Antonoff, Dessner’s brother Bryce, and “William Bowery” (the pseudonym of Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn) for what would eventually lead to Folklore‘s wintry sister record, Evermore.

Even more spontaneous than the album that preceded it, Evermore features more eclectic production alongside Swift’s continued project of character-driven songwriting, and includes an even wider group of collaborators, like Haim and Dessner’s own band the National. Dessner spoke to Rolling Stone about the album’s experimentation, how it was recorded during the making of the doc The Long Pond Studio Sessions, and how he sees his collaboration with Swift continuing in the future.

When did you realize this was going to end up being another album?

It was after we’d written several songs, seven or eight or nine. Each one would happen, and we would both be in this sort of disbelief of this weird alchemy that we had unleashed. The ideas were coming fast and furiously and were just as compelling as anything on Folklore, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. At some point, Taylor wrote “Evermore” with William Bowery, and then we sent it to Justin, who wrote the bridge, and all of a sudden, that’s when it started to become clear that there was a sister record. Historically, there are examples of this, of records which came in close succession that I love — certain Dylan records, Kid A and Amnesiac. I secretly fell in love with the idea that this was part of the same current, and that these were two manifestations that were interrelated. And with Taylor, I think it just became clear to her what was happening. It really picked up steam, and at some point, there were 17 songs — because there are two bonus tracks, which I love just as much.

Evermore definitely sounds more experimental than Folklore, and has more variety — you have these electronic songs that sound like Bon Iver or Big Red Machine, but you also have the closest thing Taylor has written to country songs in the last decade. Was there a conscious effort on her part to branch out more with this album?

Sonically, the ideas were coming from me more. But I remember when I wrote the piano track to “Tolerate It,” right before I sent it to her, I thought, This song is intense. It’s in 10/8, which is an odd time signature. And I did think for a second, “Maybe I shouldn’t send it to her, she won’t be into it.” But I sent it to her, and it conjured a scene in her mind, and she wrote this crushingly beautiful song to it and sent it back. I think I cried when I first heard it. But it just felt like the most natural thing, you know? There weren’t limitations to the process. And in these places where we were pushing into more experimental sounds or odd time signatures, that just felt like part of the work.

It was really impressive to me that she could tell these stories as easily in something like “Closure” as she could in a country song like “Cowboy Like Me.” Obviously, “Cowboy Like Me” is much more familiar, musically. But to me, she’s just as sharp and just as masterful in her craft in either of those situations. And also, just in terms of what we were interested in, there is a wintry nostalgia to a lot of the music that was intentional on my part. I was leaning into the idea that this was fall and winter, and she’s talked about that as well, that Folklore feels like spring and summer to her and Evermore is fall and winter. So that’s why you hear sleigh bells on “Ivy,” or why some of the imagery in the songs is wintery.

I can hear that in the guitar on “‘Tis the Damn Season,” too. It almost sounds like the National with that very icy guitar line.

I mean, that is literally like, me in my most natural state. [laughs] If you hand me a guitar, that’s what it sounds like when I start playing it. People associate that sound with the National, but that’s just because I finger-pick an electric guitar like that a lot — if you solo the guitar on “Mr. November,” it’s not unlike that.

That song, to me, has always felt nostalgic or like some sort of longing. And the song that Taylor wrote is so instantly relatable, you know, “There’s an ache in you put there by the ache in me.” I remember when she sang that to me in my kitchen — she had written it overnight during The Long Pond Studio Sessions, actually.

Did she record all her Evermore vocals at Long Pond while you were filming the Studio Sessions documentary?

Not all of them, but most of them. She stayed after we were done filming and then we recorded a lot. It was crazy because we were getting ready to make that film, but at the same time, these songs were accumulating. And so we thought, “Hmm, I guess we should just stay and work.”

On “Closure,” there are parts where Taylor’s vocals are filtered through the Messina, which is this vocal modifier that Justin Vernon uses a lot in his work with Bon Iver. How were you able to modify her vocals with it, if she was never in the same room as Justin?

I went to see Justin at one point — that’s the one trip I’ve made — and we worked together at his place on stuff. He plays the drums on “Cowboy Like Me” and “Closure,” and he plays guitar and banjo and sings on “Ivy,” and sings on “Marjorie” and “Evermore.” And then we processed Taylor’s vocals through his Messina chain together. He was really deeply involved in this record, even more so than the last record. He’s always been such a huge help to me, and not just by getting him to play stuff or sing stuff — I can also send him things and get his feedback. We’ve done a ton of work together, but we have different perspectives and different harmonic brains. He obviously has his own studio set up at home, but it was nice to be able to see him and work on this stuff.

“No Body, No Crime” is also really interesting, just because I don’t think I’ve ever heard you produce a song like that. How did this country murder ballad featuring Haim end up on the record?

Taylor wrote that one alone and sent me a voice memo of her playing guitar — she wrote it on this rubber-bridge guitar that I got for her. It’s the same kind I play on “Invisible String.” So she wrote “No Body, No Crime” and sent me a voice memo of it, and then I started building on that. It’s funny, because the music I’ve listened to the most in my life are things that are more like that — roots music, folk music, country music, old-school rock & roll, the Grateful Dead. It’s not really the sound of the National or other things I’ve done, but it feels like a warm blanket.

That song also had a lot of my friends on it — Josh Kaufman, who played harmonica on “Betty,” also plays harmonica on this one and some guitar. JT Bates plays the drums on that song — he’s an amazing jazz guitarist, but he also has an incredible feel [for rhythm] when it comes to a song like that. He also played the drums on “Dorothea.” And then Taylor had specific ideas from the beginning about references and how she wanted it to feel, and that she wanted the Haim sisters to sing on it. We had them record the song with Ariel Reichshaid, they sent that from L.A., and then we put it together when Taylor was here [at Long Pond]. They’re an incredible band, and it was another situation where we were like, “Well, this happened.” It felt like this weird little rock & roll history anecdote.

You also brought on the National to record “Coney Island.” What was that process like, where you’re recording a song with your band that’s for a different artist?

I had been working on a bunch of music with my brother [Bryce Dessner], some of which we were sending to Taylor also. At that stage, “Coney Island” was all the music except the drums. And as I was writing it, I don’t think I was ever thinking, “This sounds like the National or this sounds like Big Red Machine or this sounds like something totally different.” But Taylor and William Bowery wrote this incredible song, and we first recorded it with just her vocals. It has this really beautiful arc to the story, and I think it’s one of the strongest, lyrically and musically. But listening to the words, we all collectively realized that this does feel like the most related to the National — it almost feels like a story Matt [Berninger] might tell, or I could hear Bryan [Devendorf] playing the drum part.

So we started talking about how it would be cool to get the band, and I called Matt and he was excited for it. We got Bryan to play drums and we got Scott [Devendorf] to play bass and a pocket piano, and Bryce helped produce it. It’s weird, because it does really feel like Taylor, obviously, since she and William Bowery wrote all the words, but it also feels like a National song in a good way. I love how Matt and Taylor sound together. And it was nice because we haven’t played a show in a year, and I don’t know when we will again. You kind of lose track of each other, so in a way, it was nice to reconnect.

When working on Folklore, you had to keep most of your collaborators in the dark about who you were working with. What was the process like this time around, now that everyone knew it was Taylor? How did you keep it a secret?

It was hard. We had to be secretive because of how much people are consuming every shred of information they can find about her, and that’s been an oppressive reality she’s had to deal with. But the fact that no one in the public knew allowed for more freedom of enjoying the process. A lot of the same musicians that played on Folklore played on Evermore. Again, it was a situation where I didn’t tell them what it was, and they couldn’t hear her vocals, but I think a lot of them assumed, especially because of the level of secrecy. [laughs] But as funny as this is, I think everyone who’s been involved has been grateful for these records to play on this year and is proud of them. It kind of just doesn’t happen, to make two great records in such a short period of time. Everyone’s a little bit like, “How did this happen?” and nobody takes it for granted.

Taylor has mentioned that you recorded “Happiness” just a week before the album was released. Was that something you guys wrote, recorded, and produced all at the last minute, or was it something you’d been sitting on for a while before you finally cracked the code?

There were two songs like that. One is a bonus track called “Right Where You Left Me,” and the other one was “Happiness,” which she wrote literally days before we were supposed to master. That’s similar to what happened with Folklore, with “The 1” and “Hoax,” which she wrote days before. We mixed all the tracks here, and it’s a lot to mix 17 songs, it’s like a Herculean task. And it was funny, because I walked into the studio and Jon Low, our engineer here, was mixing and had been working the whole time toward this. And I came in and he’s in the middle of mixing and I was like, “There are two more songs.” And he looked at me like, “…We’re not gonna make it.” Because it does take a lot of time to work out how to finish them.

But she sang those remotely. And the music for “Happiness” is something that I had been working on since last year. I had sang a little bit on it, too — I thought it was a Big Red Machine song, but then she loved the instrumental and ended up writing to it. Same with the other one, “Right Where You Left Me” — it was something I had written right before I went to visit Justin, because I thought, “Maybe we’ll make something when we’re together there.” And Taylor had heard that and wrote this amazing song to it. That is a little bit how she works — she writes a lot of songs, and then at the very end she sometimes writes one or two more, and they often are important ones.

My favorite song on the album is “Marjorie,” and I feel like, for most artists, the instinct would be to present a song like that as a somber piano ballad. But “Marjorie” has this lively electronic beat that runs through it — it literally sounds alive. How did you come up with that?

It’s interesting, because with “Marjorie,” that’s a track that actually existed for a while, and you can hear elements of it behind the song “Peace.” This weird drone that you hear on “Peace,” if you pay attention to the bridge of “Marjorie,” you’ll hear a little bit of that in the distance. Some of what you hear is from my friend Jason Treuting playing percussion, playing these chord sticks, that he actually made for a piece that my brother wrote called “Music for Wooden Strings.” They’re playing these chord sticks, and you can hear those same chord sticks on the National song “Quiet Light.”

I collect a lot of rhythmic elements like that, and all kinds of other sounds, and I give them to my friend Ryan Olson, who’s a producer from Minnesota and has been developing this crazy software called Allovers Hi-Hat Generator. It can take sounds, any sounds, and split them into identifiable sound samples, and then regenerate them in randomized patterns that are weirdly very musical. There’s a lot of new Big Red Machine songs that use those elements. But I’ll go through it and find little parts that I like and loop them. That’s how I made the backing rhythm of “Marjorie.” Then I wrote a song to it, and Taylor wrote to that. In a weird way, it’s one of the most experimental songs on the album — it doesn’t sound that way, but when you pick apart the layers underneath it, it’s pretty interesting.

I do have to ask: How did you come to find out about William Bowery’s real identity as Joe Alwyn? Or did you know all along?

I guess I can say now that I’ve sort of known all along — I was just being careful. Although we never really explicitly talked about it. But I do think it’s been really special to see a number of songs on these albums that they wrote together. William plays the piano on “Evermore,” actually. We recorded that remotely. That was really important to me and to them, to do that, because he also wrote the piano part of “Exile,” but on the record, it’s me playing it because we couldn’t record him easily. But this time, we could. I just think it’s an important and special part of the story.

Do you have a personal favorite song or a moment that you’re proudest of?

“‘Tis the Damn Season” is a really special song to me for a number of reasons. When I wrote the music to it, which was a long time ago, I remember thinking that this is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made, even though it’s an incredibly simple musical sketch. But it has this arc to it, and there’s this simplicity in the minimalism of it and the kind of drum programming in there, and I always loved the tone of that guitar. When Taylor played the track and sang it to me in my kitchen, that was a highlight of this whole time. That track felt like something I have always loved and could have just stayed music, but instead, someone of her incredible storytelling ability and musical ability took it and made something much greater. And it’s something that we can all relate to. It was a really special moment, not unlike how it felt when she wrote “Peace,” but even more so.

Do you see this collaboration with Taylor continuing onward, to more albums or Big Red Machine projects?

It’s kind of the thing where I have so many musicians in my life that I’ve grown close to, and make things with, and are just part of my life. And I’ve rarely had this kind of chemistry with anyone in my life — to be able to write together, to make so many beautiful songs together in such a short period of time. Inevitably, I think we will continue to be in each other’s artistic and personal lives. I don’t know exactly what the next form that will take, but certainly, it will continue.

I do think this story, this era, has concluded, and I think in such a beautiful way with these sister records — it does kind of feel like there’s closure to that. But she’s definitely been very helpful and engaged with Big Red Machine, and just in general. She feels like another incredible musician that I’ve gotten to know and am lucky to have in my life. It’s this whole community that moves forward and takes risks and, hopefully, there will be other records that appear in the future.

#cute #Aaron Dessner #interview #about taylor #taylor swift #Rolling Stone magazine #making of #evermore album #evermore era

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hoodharlow · 3 years

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Como Antes

AN: So I'm gonna include this in the El Novio Quarantine Edition masterpost, so y'all don't confused with original El Cumpleañero on the actual El Novio masterpost. Also to shout out to @findingliam-o and her y/n-esque dreams that brought this baby back to existence.

Requested: by steph i guess lol, ilysm bby

Warnings: smut, brief angst and mentions of shitty boyfriend that gave out baby Claudia shit for not being a virgin

Word Count: 3.6k words

Claudia’s finger followed the words on the computer screen as she wrote down the quote she was going to use for her paper. She hated reading off PDFs because it made her eyes tired. She liked having physical copies of her assigned readings because she paid more attention to what was being said and she could write in the margins little annotations. The book she needed was at Calum’s house and there was no way in hell she was going to go back to his place after what Ashton said.

Calum had called and texted her nonstop, but she ignored him. She was just embarrassed that she acted like a coward. She should have stood her ground and told Ashton he was wrong about her. But she didn’t.

Even Michael and Sierra called her to check in on her after hearing through Luke that something happened between her and Ashton. Claudia ignored her too and the past week she acted like they didn’t exist. She just wanted the ground to swallow her whole and make Calum forget about her existence.

Frustrated with the reading she got up from her desk chair and went to the kitchen to get a snack. She grabbed a juice box and reheated some noodles she ordered the other day.

The house was surprisingly quiet. Her housemates went out to some frat party Ale's brother was throwing. They invited Claudia, but she wasn't in the mood to go. After getting home from Calum's, she cried at how stupid Ashton made her feel. They comforted her, reminding her that Calum knew her and that Ashton is a jerk that doesn’t know her.

She dumped her noodles on a plate and soaked the pan. She took her plate and went back to her room. Claudia knew she wasn't going to get her work done that night, so she pulled up Netflix. She stumbled on a show about three women robbing a grocery store because one of them had a daughter with a bad kidney and another was about to lose her house because her husband was a cheating piece of shit. While the other is just a mess working a minimum wage job.

Claudia was deep in IMDB trying to figure out where she saw the mistress, when she heard the doorbell. She paused the show and made her way to the front door. She peeked through the window sills and saw Ariel red hair.

Ashton.

She rolled her eyes and went to open the door.

"What do you want?" She deadpanned when she opened the door. She reached for a blanket and stepped outside.

"Hello to you too." Ashton sassed.

"What do you want?" Claudia repeated.

"I came to apologize. Calum hasn't talked to me in days and— why are you rolling your eyes?"

"Because you're full of shit. You're only here so you can go back to Cal and tell him you apologized so he can talk to you again. You only care about making yourself feel good after you stuck your nose where it's not supposed to be."

"Claudia,"

"Oh now it's Claudia. I was really starting to think my name was radio girl."

"You're really making it hard to apologize."

"I'm not. I'm just saying that just how you didn't give a fuck about my feelings when you told Cal that I'm only with him to catch some dick, I don't care about yours. If you came to apologize then do it."

Ashton was quiet. Claudia scoffed and turned back to go inside.

"Claudia, I'm sorry," He began. She turned back and leaned against the door frame. "It was shitty of me to say that about you. You're right, it wasn't my place to tell Cal that. In addition I shouldn't assume your sexual history."

"More like a lack of sexual history." Claudia mumbled out loud. Her eyes widened upon realizing she said that out loud.

"Oh you're a…"

"Yeah."

"Well, now I feel like an even bigger asshole." Ashton said. He scratched the back of his neck.

They both stood quietly, looking down at the ground.

"Um Cal didn't want a party for his birthday this year. Apparently, he has plans in the evening. So Sierra and I reserved a room at this restaurant for brunch. It's just gonna be the guys and Sierra. KayKay is still out of town and Crystal is working an event or something. I'm sure Cal would be happy to see you."

"I'll think about it."

***

Calum pulled out his keys from the ignition, yawning. Only Ashton and Sierra would plan to do something in the morning. Granted it was almost eleven, but with the lack of sleep Calum was going through, it was too early for him. Not to mention he didn't want to go. He was still pissed at Ashton for making things awkward with Claudia. Sierra reassured him that that was resolved and that he should go.

He grabbed his leather jacket and stepped out of the car. He shoved his hands in his pockets, surprised at how cold it was even with the bright sun out. When he walked in the place, he heard Ashton's hearty laugh followed by Luke and Michael's giggles, letting him know he went to the right place. He followed the hostess to a room in the back.

"About time you showed up." Sierra said, making Claudia look up from her phone.

She softly smiled at him. Michael pulled Calum into a hug, bringing him back to reality. Luke and Sierra hugged him as well and wished him a happy birthday.

Ashton got up and pulled him away from the table. He ran his hand through his red hair and cleared his throat.

"Claudia and I had a talk a few days ago." Ashton said.

"So I heard." Calum nodded.

"I apologized to her and we're good. But I want to apologize to you too." Ashton looked behind Calum's shoulder watching Claudia pose with Sierra as Luke took pictures of them. "I'm sorry for not trusting your judgment. You were right. Claudia's a good person with even greater intentions."

"Well, I wasn't expecting that." Calum awkwardly chuckled. "Uh, apology accepted I guess."

"One question though."

"What's up?"

"Why haven't you asked her out? It's fucking obvious to the world and their dog that both of you have feelings for each other."

"She broke up with her boyfriend a few months ago. I don't wanna ask her out and potentially fuck up a good friendship."

Ashton thought back to what Claudia accidentally told him so he just nodded and said. "You'll know when the right time is."

They went back to the table. Calum pulled Claudia to a hug when he sat next to her.

"Wasn't expecting to see you here." He said, placing his arm on the back of her chair.

"Ashton convinced men with free food."

"I did what?" Ashton asked, confused.

"Yeah, you offered to pay for my food too." Michael called out while sipping his mimosa.

The brunch went by smoothly. By the end their server came by with a red velvet cake Claudia made. She showed up early and asked the manager if they could hold the cake while they ate.

Calum offered to walk Claudia back to her car since she parked the furthest. She held onto his arm cold from the breeze that blew. She knew she should have worn a jacket over her turtleneck.

"What are you doing later?" Calum asked her.

"Nothing, probably watch some tv." She said, rummaging through her bag for her keys.

"Wanna go to a concert? Management managed to get me some tickets to see Bad Bunny and since you got me into him I want to take you."

"You got tickets? I've been trying to get some for weeks."

"So that's a yes?"

"Oh my god yes!" She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you!"

They talked a bit, mostly planning out the night. Calum was picking her up a bit early so they could eat something beforehand because concessions are always a mess. As they discussed what they wanted to eat, a black Mercedes parked in front of Claudia's car, leaving her no room to get out.

"No mames," she cursed as the driver of the Benz walked past them. She smiled sweetly at Calum. "Can you pull out?"

"Pull out?" He blinked, confused.

"Like can you get my car out of the parking spot." she explained. "It's too snug for me."

"How did you even get your licence?" He asked her while taking her keys.

"I wore some shorts and a halter top." She gestured over her outfit. "You think a turtleneck and some jeans would have done the job?"

Calum shamelessly scanned her up and down, keeping his eyes on her ass for an extra second. He looked over to her and smiled. "It does the job for me."

***

"Here," Calum said, handing Claudia a flannel he had in his car. "I have a hoodie if you want."

"I'll take the flannel. You don't wear hoodies to a Bad Bunny concert." She said. She let one of the sleeves fall off her shoulder. "Also you're not getting this back. This is now my flannel."

"Oi! That's my favorite flannel."

"That's too bad." Claudia smiled as she fluffed her hair and tugged down her dress. She noticed Calum checking her out as she fixed her outfit on the car door's reflection.

"Ready?" He asked her. She nodded her response.

The arena parking lot was surprisingly packed despite the doors opening in two more hours. Calum and Claudia walked hand in hand, not wanting to get separated from each other. They went over to the line at the taco truck.

Claudia stood in front of him while they waited. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head. She relaxed a bit. She wasn't used to all the touching, but she didn't mind it. Calum made her feel safe and comfortable. He didn't do anything that made her feel like he wanted more from her.

It was finally their turn to order. Calum ordered a loaded quesadilla and beer. Before Claudia even processed he was ordering her five tacos de carne asada with the toppings on the side and agua de horchata. He paid the cashier and tugged her towards a free table.

"How did you know my order?" Claudia asked, reaching for his beer and taking a sip.

"We've hung out enough times for me to remember." He shrugged. He took back his beer and drank some. "There weren't carne asada fries on the menu, and you usually order tacos when they're not listed. Plus you've said that carne asada tacos are your safest bet at a taco truck."

"Oh." Claudia quietly said, playing with the wrapper of her straw.

She felt her cheeks warm up. Someone remembering the little things about her always got to her. It made her feel seen. Especially if that someone is Calum. He's an international rockstar that knows hundreds of people and he managed to remember her taco order.

The server came by their table and dropped off their basket of food. They pointed at the salsa station that had seven different types of salsas, limes, radishes, and pickled jalapeños with carrots. Claudia got up to get salsa while Calum stayed behind with their food. He watched her look disinterested at whatever the guy that was hogging the station was telling her.

"Hey, love," Calum called out to Claudia. He held up her phone in the air. "Your mum's calling."

She walked over to him and pretended to answer the phone. "Thank you,'' she whispered.

"What salsas do you want?" he asked.

"There's a creamy green one and the one that looks like regular salsa verde." she said, nodding along to her fake phone call.

Calum squeezed her hand and went to the salsa station. The guy that was trying to talk to Claudia was already talking to another girl.

"Excuse me." he said, wedging himself between them to get to the salsas.

He returned to his table. Claudia was on her phone, frowning.

"What's wrong?" He asked, handing her the salsas.

"Danny's here and he didn't even tell me he was coming up."

"Here as in LA or…"

"He's literally here eating Korean tacos on the other side." She sighed. She bit into her taco and chewed. Covering her mouth, she said. "It's fine though. No one is fucking this night up."

***

The concert went by quickly. They ran into some of Calum's fans and he took some pictures with them. He traded the group their tickets for the box tickets management got him. They wanted to enjoy the actual concert and not get distracted with all the other activities that were the private room.

"I had fun tonight, thank you for inviting me." Claudia told Calum when they got in his car.

"There's no one I would have rather spent the night with." He said shyly.

They both let out nervous giggles. Claudia smiled softly at him and took in his scent. It is a bright and woody cologne mixed with beer someone accidentally spilled on him. It was a comforting scent, as if she was at home. She looked up at Calum, and he glanced down to her lips.

He met her eyes and pushed back some of her curls before cupping her face with one hand. He leaned and pulled her for a quick kiss. As he pulled away, Claudia pulled him back and deepened the kiss.

Without breaking their kiss, she climbed to his lap and cupped his face. Her dress rode up to her waist. Claudia sighed into Calum's lips, feeling his hands slide up her thighs to her ass. She moaned out loudly as he squeezed her ass.

She pulled away and kissed down his neck, nipping and sucking. One of her hands wandered down to his belt. In one swift moment she unbuckled his belt and undid the buttons. Before she went further, Calum's hand pushed hers away.

"As much as I want to, I don't want our first time in my car." He groaned.

But Claudia only heard 'first time.'

"Did Ashton say something?" She asked him. The last thing she wanted was for him to find out that she was a virgin through his best friend.

"What does Ash have to do with this?"

"Nothing, I'm just confused why we stopped."

"Trust me I didn't want to. But I don't want a quickie in my car to be your first impression of me."

"Oh," she said, relieved.

"Yeah…"

"Good thing you live twenty minutes away. Maybe you can impress me there." She whispered, kissing his jaw.

"Wait seriously? You want to go back to my place?"

"Yeah." She sat back in her seat and pulled down her dress. Quickly noticing that they'll be stuck in the parking lot for a while, she turned back to him. "Maybe I can impress you with my mouth while we wait to leave?"

"You mean like a—"

"A blowjob? Yes."

“I’m not one to turn down a blowie.”

***

Calum had Claudia pressed against the door. Their tongues battled to see who got the upper hand. He grabbed the back of her thighs and effortlessly picked her up. He carefully carried her up to his bedroom. There once again he backed her up against the door

She pulled away and slipped off her flannel. Claudia helped him unbutton his shirt and helped him out of the ever present black tank top he wore under it. She slid her hands over his chest and up to his face. She couldn’t believe he was in front of her.

More kisses led them to the bed. The last few layers of clothes shed as they got reacquainted with their bodies.

“Can I have a taste?” Calum whispered in her ear. Claudia looked up at him with an unreadable expression. “I don’t have to, of course. Whatever we do is up to you. If you just want to make out then we’ll just make out. But if you want to have sex, fine by me. I want you to know that you’re not obligated to do anything. We can stop and just act like—”

“Go for it.” she said, stopping him from rambling.

“Wait, seriously?” His face lit up.

“Yes.” she softly giggled.

Claudia wrapped her arms around him as she deepened the kiss. She let out a soft whine when Calum pulled away. She watched him kiss her body as he made his way down.

He looked up at her when he reached her dripping core. “Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah…”

Calum placed her legs over his shoulders and gently kissed thighs purposely ignoring where she wanted him the most.

His fingers grazed her entrance, coating them with her arousal. He licked his fingers and continued to tease her. He smirked as her breathing quickened, and her soft pleas filled the room. He finally laid on his stomach and began to kiss the inside of her thighs before placing them over

his shoulders.

"Fuck." He moaned once he tasted her.

His tongue worked its wonders on Claudia. She never felt so desired. She was on edge minutes later. One of her hands

wrapped around his fresh blonde curls while the other tugged one of her breasts.

"Cal, please,” she begged.

“Gonna you use my fingers now okay?” he said.

“Just be gentle.” She said, stopping him from rambling.

“Of course.”

He kissed her thigh reassuringly. He made a show, licking his middle and ring fingers and making Claudia needy for him. Calum slid his fingers in her. He looked up and saw Claudia’s face contorted in pain.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No… a little, but it’s okay. You’re good, honest.” Claudia sait putting his mind at ease.

Calum nodded and buried his face between her thighs. He slipped his fingers inside of her once more. She squirmed at how he was thrusting his fingers in her. Then he added his thumb and slowly rubbed her clit, bringing her to her orgasm. He continued licking and thrusting his fingers into her as she came.

The tight grip on his hair loosened. Claudia sighed as Calum pulled his fingers out of her. He licked them clean and laid next to her. He turned to his side just as she did. He pushed back her curls and laid his hand on her cheek.

“I didn’t hurt you earlier, right?” He asked her softly.

��No, it kinda caught me off guard since no one’s ever done that. Overall A+.” she commented, earning a snort from him.

Calum gently pushed back and reclaimed her lips. They kissed for what seemed like forever. Not wanting her lips off away from him, he awkwardly reached over and patted around the nightstand, looking for the drawer. He pulled it out too hard and the drawer fell along with all of its content.

“Smooth.” Claudia teased.

“Shut up.” he bent down and opened the box of condoms, taking one out.

Claudia watched Calum slide the condom on himself before he got on top of her. He leaned down and captured her lips. They kissed for a while with some touches here and there.

“Calum, please do something.” Claudia whined. She reached for him and slowly pumped him.

“Eager are we, pretty girl.” He teased her. He lined himself up against her.

“Just want to get this over with.” she mumbled out loud. She cursed. “I didn’t mean like that…”

“Then how did you?”Calum got up and grabbed his boxers. “You just don’t tell someone you’re about to hook up with that you wanna get it over with, Claudia.”

“You do when it’s your first time.” She said quietly, wrapping Calum’s bed sheet around her.

Calum stood silent, processing what she said. His mind went over the little comments they said here and there throughout. Then it finally hit him.

“Claudia, are you a virgin?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes it does. It makes a—”

“What, you don’t fuck virgins either?”

“What— Can we just talk about this?”

“What is there to talk about? You’re just like Paco; you want nothing to do with me because I’m a virgin.” Claudia met Calum’s eyes, hurt filled his soft brown eyes. She looked down, embarrassed at herself.

Calum is nothing like Paco.

“I’m sorry. It just all happened so quickly and I freaked out. You’re nothing like Paco, you actually like going down on me.” she added the last bit to lighten up the mood.

Calum sat next to her on the bed. He watched her pull the sheet tighter around her. She sniffled and wiped a few tears away from her cheek.

“Claudia, what really happened between you and your ex?” He asked her gently, not wanting her to feel obligated to share.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she laughed dryly. “He dumped my ass because I never put out.”

“He’s a selfish idiot.” Calum said. He pushed back some of her hair and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry if I pressured you into something you aren’t ready for.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry for not telling you that I was a virgin. I was scared that I was gonna push you away or that I’d make things awkward between us if you knew… wait I just did the latter.”

Calum snorted. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head once more. He scratched her scalp when she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Not to one up your awkwardness but Duke has been in the room the whole time.”

Taglist: @f-mu @another-lonely-heart @sunshinebabycal-deactivated2021 @calumscalm @karajaynetoday @cherryxwildflower @myloverboyash @idontneedanyone @findingliam-o @5-secondsofcolor @spicycal @sexgodashton @fckingpernico @2fangirl4u @calpops

#calum hood smut #calum hood fluff #calum hood angst #calum hood one shot #calum hood imagine #calum hood series #calum hood fanfic #calum hood fanfiction #calum hood oneshot #calum hood one shots #calum hood imagines #el novio series #el novio quarantine edition...kinda

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thoughtfullyrainynightmare · 3 years

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Yeeaaah… so this ended up turning out longer than I intended… but it’s a theory I felt like sharing nonetheless. Hopefully tumblr doesn’t eat this & if this is too long or odd to answer… don’t worry, I understand. I just wanted to share while it was in my head, ya know? So: Long Post Warning!

I am not 100% caught up on every chapter yet, but I do have a brief understanding of all the events up til now. So please forgive me if this has been revealed and I just don’t know about it yet.

Bell 🧚🏻 = wind spirit🌬🌪

Salamander (who honestly looks more like a dragon than a salamander so he’s gettin’ the dragon emoji) 🐲 = fire spirit 🔥

Undine 🌊 = water spirit💧

As far as I know, we don’t yet have an inkling of who the earth spirit will be or to whom he will “choose” to contract with.

Tbh, I have a some of feelings about possibilities surrounding the earth spirit…

Bell and Undine are both obviously women and I’m 96.8% sure that Salamander is a boy… but who knows, I also wouldn’t be the least bit freaking surprised if Tabata threw that back in our face and Salamander ends up being a girl like in Shrek (and on that note, I just need to ask, in Shrek 2 when Shrek and Donkey drank the Happily Ever After Potion, it’s described as “"Happily Ever After Potion maximum strength. For you and your true love. Drink of this potion and bliss will be thine, happiness, comfort, and beauty divine.” This stuff turned both Shrek and Fiona human while it turned Donkey into a pure white stallion… am I the only one that still gets peeved we never got an answer on wtf that stuff did to Dragon??? Or how it would’ve affected their dragon donkey hybrid babies??? That’s the only thing that irks me about Shrek 2… okay, whew, now that I’ve gotten that out, back to Black Clover theorizing)

Going by the assumption that Salamander is most likely a boy, it would stand to reason that the earth spirit has a good chance at being male as well like 2 female spirits, 2 male.

Salamander’s inspiration obviously comes from dragon lore, I can’t find one singularly specific mythology reference Tabata would have based Salamader on so I’m guessing Salamander is based on dragon lore.

Bell has, for the most part, 2 inspirations Tabata based her on. The main one being Sylphs have power over the skies and air. They've been delineated to have control over the wind and the clouds, and even have the ability to purify the air and control the weather itself. Sylphs are not officially from a specific type of mythology, but if they were to be categorized they’d qualify as European folklore, same as Undine and Gnome which will be explained a few bullet points later. The second and most obvious (my fav of the 2) inspiration Tabata drew from for her character is Tinkerbell; from the blond hair, green dress, gets pissed when male partner pays attention to any female that isn’t her, yeah no denying she’s based on tinkerbell; my guess is Tabata combined her with Sylphs wind magic because it was Tinkerbell’s pixie dust that Peter, the lost boys, and the Darling children used to be able to fly. “Faith, trust, & a little bit of pixie dust” (Which is even more perfect because, even if he doesn’t show it, there is no one else in the series that has more faith & trust in Asta than Yuno does… Yuno’s infinite faith/trust in Asta both drives their rivalry forward and, by this logic, is one of the very reasons Yuno can sore so high🥰).

Undine is the only spirit character, for now, that is directly based off of a real water spirit in European folklore (again, even though Sylphs technically qualify to be categorized under European mythology, as far as I know, they are not officially categorized as such which is why I say Undine is the only one) - “Undine, also spelled Ondine, is a mythological figure of European tradition, a water nymph who becomes human when she falls in love with a man but is doomed to die if he is unfaithful to her.” Being that Undine is described as being able to take human form when she falls in love with a man *cough cough* Ariel *cough cough* Black Clover’s Undine’s background states that she made a contract with the first queen of the newly formed Heart Kingdom and has thus stayed loyal and made a contract with every Heart Queen since. Maybe she fell in love with the father/brother/husband/male-figure associated with the first queen and since the queen is the predominant ruler of the heart kingdom - Undine made a contract with her to be close to this man while knowing he could/would never be hers… she wouldn’t die if her love is one sided… if her love is unsaid and unrequited then anything this man does with another woman isn’t considered being unfaithful.. and maybe she’s maintained contracts with every Heart Queen since out of sheer devotion, loyalty, and love to that original man whom she took human form for. Or she was in love with the first queen and has made a contract with every queen since out of sheer devotion, loyalty, and love not on just for that first queen but every one of her descendants. Who knows?

Tabata’s mythological references (demonology excluded because that a whole other thing) for the most part mainly circulate around Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and European folklore.

Going based off of Undine (and Sylphs) , there’s a strong possibility that this yet to be named earth spirit will possibly directly based on, even if only slightly, someone of those three categories above.

Greek mythology, I find somewhat unlikely seeing as there’s no official male god of earth in Greek mythology. There are deities that have roles related to the earth yeah… but no god surround the earth itself or the element itself. The closest thing to a god of earth in Greek mythology is Gaea - goddess of earth. Simplify it to god of dirt and still the only result is Demeter goddess of agriculture (which seems similar to Mimosa in some ways but I don’t think she will obtain an earth spirit because I think the earth spirit will have more to do with mineral earth than plants and agriculture). If there is to be any inspiration drawn from Greek mythology in terms of an earth spirit, but even this seems a little unlikely, my guess would be possibly some characteristics from Satyrs seeing as they are the male equivalent of nymphs - what Undine is technically classified as.

Norse mythology seems a bit more, but not by much at first, plausible in terms of gathering reference for an earth spirit. It probably wouldn’t be the Norse God of Earth Jörd because she is still technically a goddess and mother of earth like Gaea. However, Norse mythology does have a deity of rocks - Hrungnir is a jötunn (a type of entity contrasted with gods and other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves. The entities are themselves ambiguously defined, variously referred to by several other terms, including risi, thurs and troll). There is also one more Norse aspect that goes along these lines - Dvergar or Norse dwarves are entities in Norse mythology associated with rocks, the earth, deathliness, luck, technology, craft, metal work, wisdom, and greed.

Norse mythologies depictions of both jötunn and dvergar tie into the third category of European folklore’s depiction of earth deities/spirits. In European folklore, Gnome, is a dwarfish, subterranean goblin or earth spirit who guards mines of precious treasures hidden in the earth. He is represented in medieval mythologies as a small, physically deformed (usually hunchbacked) creature resembling a dry, gnarled old man. - this description is similar to that of jötunn/dvergar and also ties into Charmy being revealed as part dwarf which will most likely be explored in a later arc.

Tbh, I picture this guy’s personality being somewhere between Grumpy from Snow White, the grumpy but well-meaning and wisecrack Lorax, and Phil from Disney’s rendition of Hercules… (not only does imagining this type of personality have me laughing… imagining the 2 most whom I find most likely to be chosen by this earth spirit… imagining them being partnered up with this personality has me near cackling😂)

As for the 2 whom most likely might be the “chosen one” of this earth spirit?

Even though he is technically described as being Arcane in terms of his magical attribute, Mercury is by definition “a naturally-occurring chemical element found in rock in the earth's crust, including in deposits of coal.” So mercury is naturally occurring, derived from earth, and the fact that it can come from deposits of coal ties in perfectly to the hypothesis of this earth spirit/deity being along the lines of dwarves which (not JUST in Snow White) are heavily associated with miners in various mythologies and folklores. So even though technically classified as being arcane, I do think Nozel has a strong possibility of being chosen by the spirit of earth (+ it would make for an EVEN MORE epic rivalry between Nozel and Fuegoleon if they both have an elemental spirit) (++ based off of how dwarves are depicted in mythology and based on how I decribed how I think this guy’s personality will be, I can see this guy as wise/rational but also getting grumpy/irritated easily with a short fuse and just imagine him getting irritated and kicking Nozel in the shins when when he doesn’t communicate his feelings properly & almost always kicks Solid/Nebra/Augustus in the shins when he says something he shouldn’t have - omg this guy’ll be a hoot!!🤣)

The second possible “chosen one” of this earth spirit could be Sol. Not only is she 100% raw earth magic but I also feel like it would balance her out a bit having a male spirit attached to her and that’s where the wisdom side of the Lorax/Phil could kick in and help her not only improve as a mage but also as a person helping her not see things so one sided. You notice, even though the Blue Rose Knights are an all girl squad… Sol is the only one that goes to that much of a degree in despising men; everyone else on the squad detests men on the surface but for the most part not truly. Charlotte keeps up the façade of detesting men to both appear strong for her squad ladies but also to mask her own insecurities. Sol, while she has gotten a little better since her initial introduction, is the only one who barely tolerates men… the only one who’s depicted as not having a façade and genuinely detests all men with a few exceptions. Having a male spirit like character who does not take her BS (*shin kick💥*) but also offers her wisdom and guidance that helps her grow as a person would be phenomenal for her character overall.

I find Nozel to be the more interesting outcome (NO! not just because I’m a Nozel simp… who told you that? They lie) but either of these characters would be interesting and could improve drastically in character development and as a mage having someone like this joined at the hip.

What are your thoughts?

– Grimoire_Girl📚

OKay, okay *takes a moment* (Also: did I just stop what I was doing, just to read and reply to this? .... Maybe)

I'd like to platonically kiss you on the mouth (with your consent ofc, because consent is a big thing on this blog), because I love this. Okay the Fue simp in me was hoping to have more of him, but in the end I didn't even mind. And can I just say that I love, lovelovelove the idea of Nozel getting the Elemental Spirit of Earth.

The theory is made *so* *much* *better* by the mental image of him (supposedly 'him') being a Lorax/Phil (from now on, let's call him Phorax). Because can you just imagine this duo?! Nozel, our lovely tsun-tsun who is in need of a big, warm hug and therapy. (Like Nozel, sweetie, I know that there aren't many therapists around, but you need to talk to someone.)

I'm also thinking that since it's probable that there'll be the 2-2 divide between boy/girl spirits, because I kinda agree with you on Sal being a boy (I'm aware of Shrek 2, but unfortunately I have no answers, but I laughed *so hard* while reading that), if there'll be a divide between the Spirit forms that have wings. Because I can't see the Earth Spirit giving a flying Spirit Dive form.

I mean, what, everyone else, aka the rest 3 spirit owners can rise to the skies and then Nozel is left behind like a plucked chicken? (I'm so, so sorry for that comparison, but ain't no one leaving him behind! Nozel. Needs. To. Be. Included.) I don't think that's fair. So, it could very well be that the two else give a "grounded" Spirit form, and Bell and Undine give a flying form.

Aaaanyways... I do like your theory/thoughts on how Undine came to be. And I could very well see that to be canon.

I, honestly, have nothing further to add at this point. Because this is brilliant. I love this.

But Tabata please, give us a tiny bit more lore. Please? A pretty please

#grimoire girl #black clover theories #lovely people #this is gold #I'll be thinking about this all day

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guinevere-beck-fanboy · 3 years

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Listing all of Regina Mills’s bad deeds - Attempt 2

So once I tried to list every single one of Regina’s villainous acts throughout the show. However it was pointed out to me that I missed a few. So I’m now going to have another attempt, and I will keep attempting until I have made a complete list without any failure.

So here we go in order of what happened chronologically first, not what was shown earlier in the show:

1. Murdered Rumple’s student who he pretended to replace her with

2. Tried to kill Snow

3. Tried to kill Emma and Marian when Emma came to the past

4. Tried to kill Snow via FIRE (that’s just sadistic, death by fire is hands down one of the worst ways to go!)

5. Incriminated Snow of many horrific crimes and made her a notorious outlaw across the land

6. Killed everyone in a village for liking Snow

7. Prevented Ariel and Eric being together and took Ariel’s voice

8. Sent multiple children to the Blind Witch and got them killed and eaten

9. Separated Hansel and Gretel from their father

10. Abducted, imprisoned, enslaved and controlled Graham by taking his heart and raped him seemingly multiple times

11. Imprisoned Belle in a single room for 28 years (ooo this one is bad *shivers*)

12. Abducted, imprisoned and tormented Charming by revealing her plans for Snow to eat the poisoned apple

13. Tried to put Snow under a lifelong nightmare (not a metaphorical nightmare, a literal life lasting bad dream, listen to what she says before trying to get Snow to eat the apple, that’s what it does, and I think this is a fate worse than death, and overall her second most evil act on the show because of that)

14. Choked a woman in a crowd Snow was talking to

15. Choked Grumpy in the second crowd Snow was talking to

16. Trapped her father in a box

17. Killed her horse

18. Turned a man to stone for laughing at her failed attempt to cast the Dark Curse

19. Killed her father

20. Cast the Dark Curse

21. Tried to kill Emma when she was a baby

22. Scared the Storybrooke residents into never running against her in elections (this is explained by Mary Margaret in a very early episode. Storybrooke is practically a dictatorship)

23. Endangered Archie and Pongo’s lives to test if Snow was awake or not in Storybrooke

24. Spied on Storybrooke residents (yeah this is some utopia man)

25. Tried to incriminate Owen’s father of drunk driving

26. Manipulated Sydney’s feelings for her to get him to do her dirty work

27. Tried to separate Owen and his father

28. Murdered Owen’s father

29. Tried to prevent Emma and Henry, a birth mother and son having a relationship

30. Gaslighted Henry and tried to make him think he was insane for knowing the truth going as far as getting him therapy appointments

31. Kept Snowing apart in Storybrooke, and presumably Kathryn and her husband too

32. Threatened Emma to leave Storybrooke

33. Forced the Storybrooke hotel to not accept Emma as a guest

34. Got Sydney to dig up dirt on Emma

35. Incriminated Emma of stealing Henry’s files from Archie

36. Murdered Graham

37. Tried to install a puppet as the sheriff of Storybrooke’s police department, breaking protocol to install the deputy in case of the sheriff’s passing

38. Tried to send Hansel and Gretel across the town line

39. Used her authority to shorten Mr Gold’s sentence for assault and battery, and assisted him in what she thought was an attempt on Kathryn’s life

40. Tried to incriminate Mary Margaret of Kathryn Nolan’s apparent murder

41. Set up Sydney to take the fall for Kathryn’s abduction

42. Tried to seduce David

43. Tried to make Emma eat the poisoned apple and put her under a lifelong literal nightmare (hands down the worst thing she did, a fate worse than death inflicted on the biological mother of her adoptive son...... no words for this evil)

44. Turned a man who wanted to kill Charming into a giant to help him do so

45. Helped Cora try and become the Dark One and kill Emma, Snow, Charming and Neal so she could have Henry to herself

46. Tried to kill Snow for daring to desperately prevent Cora taking her and her family’s lives by killing her in self defence

47. Tried to kill everyone in Storybrooke and take Henry to the Enchanted Forest to have him to herself

48. Tried to kill Marian again

49. Trapped Sydney in the mirror

50. Blamed Emma for saving Marian’s life (how dare you rescue the person I was trying to kill >:()

What I have chosen not to include and why:

1. Killing Leopold

I’m pretty torn on this one. She was trapped by Leopold in a life she didn’t want, trapped as his wife, as a queen. Leopold didn’t ask for her consent in marriage, he just accepted Cora’s approval as a yes. He also proposed to her upon first sight, always a red flag.

Then again in medieval times it could be argued that this is how society worked. Leopold wasn’t being malicious, just that’s what society had led him to believe is proper behavior. And maybe everyone else is doing it too. So is killing someone for doing something that anyone else would also do really acceptable?

2. Trapping Jefferson in Wonderland

While it was her own fault, her father was imprisoned in a box and that was the only way to free him. So I think having one person be freed at the cost of another person’s imprisonment is a kind of lose something and gain something of equal value kind of thing.

#once upon a time #ouat #anti regina mills #anti regina

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6knotty6thotty6 · 3 years

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So a couple of months ago, I saw a YouTube video that was an audio recording of season 5, episode 6 of Bojack Horseman, “Free Churro.” In the episode, the main character, Bojack Horseman, spends 20 minutes giving a eulogy at his mother’s funeral. There’s one big problem though, his mother was an abusive bitch. His eulogy is him trying to contemplate what she meant by her drying words, “I see you,” and whether or not she loved him. As someone who has a dead parent who was abusive, this is probably my favorite episode of any show ever for how much it helped me understand my feelings. The comments section is filled with people sharing their pain with their abusive families, but one comment stood out to me above all the others by how raw and relatable it was. This comment was by a YouTuber named Moonstruck. At the bottom of this post is a link to her channel. Please support her. After reading this, she deserves a million subscribers. Also please watch Bojack Horseman. (I corrected some of the grammatical errors to make it easier to read)

Disclaimer: Child abuse, bullying, trauma, and mental health:

Moonstruck:

This is a great monologue, but one part of it, in particular, really caught my attention was the 'grand gesture' bit.

When I was a kid, I read this book called "Chicken Soup for the Soul." There's a shitload of them. I don't remember which particular one it was. I hated the whole series because it's just someone profiting off a bunch of other people's stories rather than trying to write their own, in my opinion.

Anyway.

This one story that I remember, the ONLY one I remembered, was sent in by a little girl. She wrote about how her father never told her that he loved her. He never once, in her whole life, said the words "I love you." I don't remember her mom being mentioned, maybe she was dead; it doesn't matter. The point is her dad was basically an emotionless asshole. Well, one day, this girl gets sick. Really sick. Possibly on her deathbed sick. She wrote that one day she woke up to find a necklace sitting on her nightstand that had a pendant that looked like her dog. She said she held it to her heart and cried because that necklace said all the things her father never had.

I thought, "What a load of bullshit."

A cheap trinket doesn't make up for years and years of emotional neglect. Anyone can buy a thing and toss it your way. Hell, he didn't even hand it to her himself, just left it there for her to find if/when she woke up, then left her alone again to possibly die.

A lot of people say that actions speak louder than words, in cases like political protests and shit. While that's true, scenarios that this that girl are different. Gifts can never replace the words, "I love you."

When I was a kid, my father never told me he loved me. My mother didn't either, but she's a whole other kettle of fish. I would say 'my biological mother or father,' but I never got adopted ones, so who gives a shit. Anyway. My father was rarely around, and when he was, he just spent the entire time fighting with my mother and leaving again. He would do and say anything that could get him to spend less time in the house with her. With us. I can't blame him. If I could've left during those times, I would have. I tried more than once. I even earned the nickname 'runaway' from a family friend because of it.

I was told that I was worthless as early as I could understand words. I don't know what it is about me that set my mother off, but she HATED me. I was always told how expensive I was to keep alive and how I wasn't worth it. If I dared ask for anything, she would remind me how much she spent just to keep me from starving to death and that it was too much already. On the rare occasion I was given something, it was so she could use it as a threat. She was like, "Sure, you can have that toy horse since we got your sister a real one, but you better behave or we'll give it to her and let her break it." Or "Oh, fine, we can keep this dog as a FAMILY pet (NOT YOURS), but if you do something we don't like, we'll take it away and kill it."

Oh, yeah. I have a sister. She’s cut from the same cloth as our mother. I don't consider any of them family anymore. She was two years older than me. She was the "we should have stopped while we were ahead" kid. Anything she wanted, she got.

"Mom, can I have an award-winning horse and expensive dressage lessons?"

"Sure!"

"Mom, can I have a car?"

"No problem!"

"Mom, can you pay for my ballet lessons?"

"Absolutely!"

She was the golden child. The one that could do no wrong and wasn't a mistake. Even after she totaled her car, got arrested for an underage DUI, and got pregnant three times in high school, she was still the good one. I never even asked to go to school dances, parties, or go out with the one friend I had. My sister liked to see me in pain. She'd tell our mom that I did things just to get me in trouble. Whether it involved blaming me for things she did or fabricating stuff, she'd say whatever it took to get my mother to beat me while she watched and laughed. Oh, yeah, our mom was BIG on physical punishment. I've been whipped with everything from a riding crop, a wooden paddle, spoons, and especially belts. Anything that was close at hand when my mother got irritated, I've been hit with it.

At one point, my sister had three tall, beautiful show-worthy horses. I was allowed to keep a sickly old pony for all of a week before she was taken away, then I'd get called ungrateful for asking why we had to get rid of HER instead of one of the horses. Even though my mother said it cost too much to keep them all. With horses being obviously too rich for my blood, I asked for something cheaper, and for once, I got it. I was given a baby goat that one of our neighbors' goats had abandoned for being too weak, and they didn't have time to raise. I loved that goat. I bottle raised him, and named him Ben. He was my best friend for a while. When he grew up, he got so big that I was able to stand on his back to grab tree branches and pull them down so he could eat the leaves. I walked him on a leash like a dog every day. I loved him so much. My mother had me enter him in a show, and we won ninth place! I was thrilled to have something to show against my sister's collection of dressage show ribbons. I finally had proof that I could do something right! Sure, the prize money was taken away from me, but I still had Ben.

But Ben didn't come home with me after the show. It turns out he was sold to a slaughterhouse because that show was for meat goats. I didn't know until he was already gone. Of course, my mother punished me for being upset and even forced me to write a thank-you card to the people who bought his meat.

My mother was always like that. Anything I loved was used as a threat. I eventually accepted that loving anything was a waste of time. I learned to detach myself from my feelings, and I got really good at it. I can completely turn off my emotional reaction to anything. One time I had to put down one of the egg-laying hens at work that got too sick to save, and I felt nothing while bringing down the ax. When I lost out on a job that could have changed my life, I told myself how stupid it was to hope for anything good. Any positive emotion I felt got me punished, so I learned to feel nothing at all. To this day, I still have trouble feeling things, even when I want to. I'm taking pills now, and they help, sometimes.

I've had several suicide attempts. I keep a box of razor blades in my desk just to have them close. I got a tattoo of a heart with rainbows on my wrist. Partially for LGBT solidarity, but mostly to remind myself that there is still beauty in the world. I still struggle with wonder if I actually believe it or not.

I've tried so hard to be a good kid. I never partied, never drank, never smoked even when the chances were there, and I would have greatly loved anything to make the pain stop or even just dull it a little bit. I was in the gifted and talented program at school and was able to graduate at fifteen. For a while, I was sent to a children's home where I was passed around to many people I didn't know, including a clown who I may or may not have actually been related to, until I eventually wound up out here where I am now. It's all pretty hazy, and the details get scrambled.

It's been 10 years since I've had contact with my mother and sister. I can't even keep in touch with the one friend I had, even after I lived with her. She's tried to reach out to me, but I just… can't. I try, but I can't. Sometimes, I can almost pretend that my past wasn't real. It's just a hazy fog that isn't really there. I want to believe that if I don't allow something, or someone, who was part of that past, someone tangible and real, into my life again, then the fog will go away. This is why I can't do it. I know I'm a terrible friend. Ariel, if you're reading this, I'm sorry. You're better off without me in your life anyway.

I typed all of this out because sometimes, about fifty dollars or so shows up in my PayPal from my father's email address. I don't know if it's from him or from her using his email, but it doesn't matter either way. The point is I know my mother is the one sending the money.

I know my mother likes to think she's a good person. She went to church every Sunday, and probably still does. She organized a lot of church events and participated in every church function. I had to be an altar server for several years until I aged out of it and was in the choir. She kept going to that church even after the priest got drunk, called me many horrible names in front of everyone, and was revealed to be a pedophile that raped a little boy at gunpoint. She probably still goes to that same church and organizes things. She likes being in charge. She likes having people look at her and say, "That there is a good person."

But are you, though, Mom? Are you really a good person? Were you a good person when you hit me? When you lied to me? When you laughed with my sister about how much I got hurt for things I didn't do? Were you a good person every time you told me you'd kill my cat or leave my dog at the pound? Were you a good person when you sold Ben to be eaten, knowing that I loved him? Were you a good person when you made me read "A child called It" and told me that you'd start doing the things in that book to me if I didn't behave? Were you a good person every time you told my father I was a liar whenever I tried to tell him what you were doing to me? Were you a good person when you told me I wasn't worth the cost of being alive? Were you?

Fuck you, Mom! Keep your fucking money! A necklace on the nightstand isn't enough. A trinket can't heal years and years and years of abuse and hurt. You can't hide these scars under dollar bills. I hope you die alone. I know I probably will, but I don't even care anymore. I lost the ability to care thanks to you. You can't make up for the things you did and the things you didn't say now. Too little, too late!

#child abuse #abuse #domestic abuse #family #survivor #YouTube #bojack horseman #forgive #mom #mother #friend #friends #story #personal #chicken soup for the soul #free churro #monolouge #father #dad

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kitkat99 · 3 years

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Disney legacy challenge Post Hey everyone I decided to go ahead and upload another challenge that I plan on doing in the future rules today and right now I am doing back stories pictures for snow white's family and her dating relationship stories but I plan on up loading photos of all the house holds involved in this future challenge but I also plan on uploading the actual challenge gameplays videos to my personal youtube channel in the near future. I also will be adding a video of their backstories on my you tube channel as well.

Disney Legacy Challenge rules

All rules apply, except it is okay to pick an aspiration for all sims, as well as a secondary aspirations. Also, if needed, you can add sims that you create to the household. your sims may go on vacation at any time and go to University, unless noted otherwise. Generations are listed below.

Generation 1: Snow White

She was the first princess, so of course she has to be the founder! If you choose, you can create her as a teen and make her evil stepmother, but that’s not necessary. To start, create Snow as an Adult (or Young Adult if you wanted to go to University, but that is not recommended for this generation).

.Find love with someone of high authority and/or wealth

.Must have 7 children (dwarves) with the same baby daddy

.May not marry until the 7th child is a toddler, has learned to walk, talk and use the potty, and has maxed out 1 toddler skill at least, or until that child is a child

.Don’t open the door to strangers or talk to elderly women (this includes the matchmaker from Nightlife and Freetime!)

Generation 2: Cinderella

Although you grew up with six brothers and sisters, you somehow always ended up doing the cooking and cleaning. Your mother says you’re a natural, but is that really what you want to do with your life? This generation starts when Cinderella becomes a teenager.

.Must be a neat sim

.Must clean something every day and cook every meal

.Must reach at least level 8 of the cooking and cleaning skill before you become an adult

.May not marry until your mother dies

.May stop cooking all the meals and cleaning after your mother dies

.Marry, have children

Generation 3: Tiana

What has your family accomplished? Nothing! But you’re here to do something about it. You want to work, and work hard. This generation starts when Tiana becomes a teenager.

.Must be an active sim

.Must have the fortune aspiration

.Must get a teen job

.Must go to University (if you have the expansion pack)

.Father must die before she goes to University or becomes an adult

.Must own a pet (if you have Pets, otherwise just get a fish)

.Must marry a sim with green (hair, eyes, skin, etc.)

.Have children

.Reach the top of career choice and may never retire

Generation 4: Aurora

Because of your mother’s hard work, everything just came to you, except for love. Your father rarely let you in the outside world for fear of something happening to you. This generation starts when Aurora becomes an Adult (may not go to University this generation)

.Must be a lazy sim

.Can only know three people outside her family

.Mother must die before Adulthood

.Must meet future spouse at night while her parents are sleeping

.Have a private wedding

.Only have 2 children (having 3 children by having accidental twins is fine)

Generation 5: Elsa (Requires Apartment Life, if not, see generation 5.5)

Where exactly did your powers come from? How exactly did you get it? Well, let’s just say, a certain friend gave you a curse… but that doesn’t matter. You spent all your time thinking about it, so much time, you became secluded from your entire family. You even missed your own parents’ funeral because you were too scared to show yourself! This generation starts when Elsa is a teenager.

.Must become a witch by the end of her teenage years (can not be cheated, can be good or bad)

.Have parents die as a teenager (can be cheated)

.Never marry, have one child (it was an accident)

Generation 5.5: Anna (If you have Apartment Life, you can do Anna and Elsa together)

After your sister was a child, she secluded herself from you, leaving you lonely and depressed. What did you do to deserve this? And after your parents’ death, she didn’t even show up to the funeral! What exactly is going on? When Anna is a teenager, this generation begins

.Don’t talk to sister until adulthood

.Have parents die as a teenager

.Find love with someone in the criminal career and/or a grouchy sim

.Have lover cheat on her, get engaged with loved

.Find someone new after breaking up with lover

.Marry, have one child

Generation 6: Rapunzel

You were never allowed outside your little house. So, to pass the time, you chose to do a lot of painting. But, why exactly did your mother never trust you out there? This generation begins when Rapunzel becomes a teenager.

.Must be a shy sim

.Must reach at least level 8 of the creativity skill before adulthood

.Must paint for an hour each day

.May only leave the house for school

.If you go to University, you may only talk to boys (if you don’t have University, just move in a handsome adult sim)

.Lover must be in the criminal career

.Lover must quit job before getting married (can get another one if they want)

.Marry, have kids

Generation 7: Belle

You have always found a love for books. It has transported you away to another universe. They taught you not to judge by appearance, but by character and personality. But, your father had different ideas. He set you up with the most handsome men, but none of them fit your standards. This generation begins when Belle becomes an adult.

.Must have Pleasure or Romance aspiration

.Date at least 5 men

.Find the man of your dreams- a werewolf (this may be cheated if necessary). If you don’t have Pets, just make an ugly sim

.Marry, have kids

.Werewolf is cured after marriage (if you don’t have Pets just try to make him less ugly or use hacks and cheats to change his appearance)

Generation 8: Ariel

You loved the water and everything about it. It just transported you away to another dimension, with mermaids and fish that talk to you. You always dreamed about being a mermaid, and you hope to one day make this dream a reality. This generation begins when Ariel becomes a teenager.

.Must be an active sim

.Must own a pool and swim in it for an hour or more each day

.Must marry a beautiful sim with at least two attraction bolts (if you have Nightlife)

.Have kids (no limit)

Generation 9: Jasmine

Living the rich life has its ups and downs. To you, it seems like mostly downs. The only thing you find comfort in is Raja. All your father wants from you is to marry rich, but you’re willing to give it all up just to be normal. This generation starts when Jasmine is a teenager.

.May only leave the house for school

.Must meet future spouse on a community lot dressed as a “poor person”

.Must marry a poor sim

.Lover must have a pet (if you have Pets)

.Go on vacation to all three vacation areas at least once

.Make use of the genie! (May not be cheated, can wish for anything besides hidden Give Me Youth)

.Have 4 children

Generation 10: Merida

You always wanted to know why your mother gave up her riches for a poor boy. Who in their right mind would do that?! Trying to learn more about this and your other “adventures” has landed you in lots of trouble over the years. When Merida becomes an adult, this story beings.

.Must be an active sim

.Lose siblings and mother in an “accident” (may be cheated)

.Resurrect them as zombies (use the resurrect-o-nomitron)

.Never marry or have kids

Generation 10.5: Mulan (for those who want a happier ending)

After your mother married her lover, she realized she wanted her children to live the life she did. She wanted all her children to marry rich, and succeed at life. But you wanted nothing but glory. When Mulan becomes an adult, this generation begins.

.Must be an active sim

.Must be in the military career

.Fall in love with a co-worker once you reach the top of the career

.Marry if you wish, but never have children

.Never retire

#disney #disney legacy challenge #sims 2 challenges #kitkat #Life of Kitkat #legacy challenge

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searchingforbucky · 4 years

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FIC REC (Part 13) :)

Okay! So, this one has been requested at least 13 times lol, I hear you guys, and its finally here! I now present the Single Dad!/Single Mom! AU. I hope you guys love these fics as much as I do!

Astrophile by @all1e23

Surprise surprise, there was absolutely no way this wasn’t going to be on the list. There is not a single fic that I have been invested more than this one. Like don’t get me wrong, I have favorites, but I am literally invested in this family. This a story about the sweetest (also firefighter? yes) Bucky (December) and his baby girl Orion and a newcomer “Beck”, cue the road to the purest relationship I’ve ever seen, with love that lasts a lifetime, and a universe that is so expertly crafted.. I read this fic at least once a month, and wait on baited breath for the “Astrophile files”. If you haven’t read this, I personally guarantee that you will love it. I know I cant imagine anyone who wouldn’t. My heart was in a constant state of mush during the whole thing.

Ready of Not by @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan

One of my favorite types of stories are the ones where its like a modern AU with Bucky coming back from war, and this is the story that started that love for me. Bucky is out of war, missing an arm, but gaining the cutest therapy dog. Who loves dogs? The readers baby girl. This was just so phenomenally cute, and also like, raw in a way. You see the traumatic effects the war had on bucky so its really realistic, but its also beautifully melded with the sweet moments between Bucky and Gracie, and the reader and Bucky. It may be lame f me to call it “deep” but I really do feel that way, it was a fantastic read. Also, check out her story Bittersweet Symphony, which is another fantastic and honestly kinda sad, albeit unfinished story.

Sweetest love @propertyofpoeandbucky

Do you want to know Keira? Jesus, this is it. This is a story about a single mom reader, starting a relationship with Bucky, deciding to introduce him to her daughter, and from that we just see the purest real Laois and ship for me. It is so absolutely adorable to see how lovely Bucky is with this baby girl. The title is absolutely encompassing of the fact that it really is just such a sweet pure love between these two people. This family deserves all of the love it can’t get, because my heart absolutely just melted for them. Also check out her stories Bed and bath & From left field which are also so cute.

The lucky one by @avengerofyourheart

Alright, so Anika Has a fantastic gift for being able to take canon story lines, and interweave these AUS inside of them and oh man did it create a wonderful story. Like I genuinely could believe this is what happened. Bucky is on the run, and single mom reader needs some help on the farm. What can go wrong? This story was just so investing, I feel like I’m still invested in it like I wanna know everything that happened to them. It was such a good story, and that sounds so basic but I really mean it. They were twists and turns and I read it all in one go, and then I just had to go back and read it again because I felt like I needed to take it in again because it was just so good. Also check out her other incredibly cute story Of snowstorms and men

Bookmark my heart by @moonbeambucky

OK, so I’m not gonna spoil anything, but those of you who know this or will read this will understand why am a little iffy about putting this on this specific list, but also it’s really good so I decided to put it on just because it’s a really good story lol. There are so many feelings that come with this, the reader works at a library and Bucky is there with a little girl and he catches the readers I, and I can’t blame her boy is fine as heck. There are some definite plot twists that come with this, but it is so cute, and Bucky is so baby, and their relationship is so adorable. I need me a bucky.

Sweet as can be by @yallneedtrek

What’s one trope you guys know I love? Detective Bucky, and what can make it better other than Dad Bucky! Oh my God, this one was literally so cute. Bucky is just a single dad, who has a lot on his mind. He loves his daughter so much, but he doesn’t have the best memory. He needs help with his daughter’s birthday planning that’s coming up within the next day or two, and who better to help other than Baker reader. This couple is absolutely adorable, I think really just the dynamic between all of the characters, like just the love you can see between Bucky and his daughter, and just a kind of mutual pining between the reader and Bucky really just is recipe for a wonderful story. They really are sweet as can be lol

Because I met you by @captain-ariel-barnes

this one is a single!mom reader, and holy hell its cute. Okay so Bucky meets the readers daughter who has a prosthetic arm, amazing concept right? And its just about as cute as you would think it would be. Its such pure interactions between these three, and it really just made my heart absolutely melt. Like, and im not gonna spoil it but holy hell the ending really made me cry, everyone is just way too pure.

The art teacher by @irndad

God this one is soso cute. 1) its written so well, like poetry the way he describes the reader, its so lovely, and 2) the whole forbidden lovers aspect of dad x teacher thing is so good haha, I love those kinda things. This is short, but so sweet, and the line “the two loves of his life” oof, my heart

Bewitched by @buckyofthemyscira

oh man, OK, so this one is another Halloween time related story, and it’s so cute. It’s a single dad Bucky story where he takes his baby girl out on Halloween, and absolute utter adorability ensues. He’s dressed up as Indiana Jones, his baby is Winnie the Pooh, I was dressed up as a mess of heart mush and tears because oh my god it was so cute. Bucky really is just the best father, he’s so sweet and caring and this family made me just want to give them all a group hug.

Stranger danger by @highkey-holland

Okay so with this one its another sort of “Bucky finds the readers lost kid” story and ohhh man its cute. I always wondered like if the avengers would always get a lot of kids coming to them, and I think this answered my question, she didn’t talk to him until she knew who he was, but I feel like they just give off a safe vibe. The interactions between Bucky and the readers daughter is so pure, no one can convince me that Bucky wouldn’t be the best with kids, he’s so patient and sweet and :)) my heart

Groceries by @ballyhoobarnes

Hell yeah, now this one is cute as heck. Bucky has a little boy, and oh man is he just the suavest little wing man. This little boy is just about the cutest thing, he’s just throwing out those date invites haha, and the shyness between the two is so cute. The reader is his sons teacher, so you have some of that trope (which I love) all in all its just really cute, shorter, but so sweet.

Drabble by @bbbarneswrites

Okay I LOVE this one, something about Bucky just adopting an abandoned baby no questions asked makes my heart just want to explode. And seeing the way the avengers like all come together to help raise this girl, is like peak writing to me haha. And then we have mutual pining for his kinder teacher? Soft soft soft, I’m in love. Its just really so incredibly cute!

Lost and Found by @mybearyarmy

Oh man, okay, so this one is Single Dad!Bucky AND Single Mom!Bucky. Its a super cute story of the two of them coming together with their daughters after both losing their SOs (and their daughters at the zoo place haha) its really just a super, super fluffy story. I love the idea of their two girls being friends, and I love that their relationship after their past partners weren’t rushed. There are also some twists in there that I was surprised by haha, you never really can tell who is what in New York .

Life is Gourd by @redhairedfeistynerd

This one is super cute, it’s the start of a series I think, or at least a compilation of one shots. It’s about Bucky and his two baby girls coming together for some family time around Halloween, and meeting the reader, and it’s really cute. not gonna lie, I felt really bad for Becky because it must be so hard for him with two girls, and piper with a little bit of a butt haha. I’m really excited to see where this one goes. Hopefully the reader can help out with those handfuls.

Best Ever by @suz-123

OK, so this is one of the two on here that aren’t single parent stories, but they were just too good not to include. Alright, let’s talk about something that absolutely melted my heart. that is, Bucky being so excited about his baby’s birthday. Oh my God, I about died I think one of the things I loved a lot about this one was the fact that it was just so in character for everybody mentioned, and the whole family feel it gave for the avengers and what not,was just so cute. I love the domesticity.

Coming home by @hootyhoobuckaroo

OK so this is the second one that’s not really a single dad Bucky story. But I’m including it anyway because it’s really good, OK so this one is just like fantastic in terms of story writing, you really feel like you’re right there, right in the action, experiencing everything as they’re experiencing it themselves. It’s just really good, and the protective part of Bucky as a dad is absolutely wonderful to see.

Baby blues by @papi-chulo-bucky

Eleven months after a one night stand, Bucky is faced with raising his daughter and things are getting tough. That is, until he meets you, his extremely introverted neighbor. OHHH the neighbor AU, I love it, this one was so detailed and wonderful and just really well written and so cute. I highly recommend.

I hope you guys like these! :)

#bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky fic #bucky barnes #bucky #ficrecs #bucky barns imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes feels #bucky barnes fanfiction #single dad!bucky #single!mom reader

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meg91596 · 3 years

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Life, and Love is Not Simple

Chapter 1: Scared and Proud.

Being a single mother to my nine year old son and one year old son was never a thought of mine. I was just scared I didn’t want to hurt him but I guess I did. I’m worried that Scout might not love us if we have another child right away because he’s still a baby. I haven’t told Atticus this but I probably should. I want to have another in the future but right now isn’t good timing. I love Scout and I love Link. I just don’t think my heart is ready for marriage or even another baby just yet after all we already have a 9 year old and a 1 year old to worry about. I don’t even know how to talk to him about this just yet.

“You have reached Dr. Atticus Lincoln, please leave me a message and I will get back to you.” “Link I know you are scanning your phone to see who is calling but I know you're mad and probably leaving me with Scout or want a custody battle but if we could just talk I think you would understand or maybe I would anyways give me a call back.” I said. “Amelia?” Link said from behind her. “I tried calling you a second ago.” I said. “Yes you did, I’m never going to do a custody battle with our son. He needs both of us and Christopher needs us too and if both of us are not on the same page then we can’t make things work out.” Link said. “Link, are you sure you want marriage and another baby?” I asked. “All I want is you I love you. It doesn't matter if Scout is the only child we have, I want you.” Link said. “Okay where are the rings?” I asked. “REALLY?” Link asked. “Yes I want the middle ring.” Amelia said.

4 Months Later:

“Dr. Shepherd you come in.” Dr. Jo said. “Hi Jo, is Link around?” I asked. “Yes he was just here then got a page.” Jo said. “Well I can’t get this scan done without him.” I said before reading a 911 page. “I guess I got to go when I come back we can do this.” I said.

When I got to the emergency room there was Scout crying with his babysitter in handcuffs. I thought it was strange until I found out that 19 year old Vanessa, who we trusted to take care of our 9 year old and 16 month old, hurt Scout and neglected him while we were at work. Scout had a bloody nose, black eye, and what looked like a broken arm. Link and I were concerned for our baby boy that we forgot about the appointment that we were just about to go in which is for Chris, and Scout’s sibling.

“What do we do? Scout is our baby and he is hurt. He needs his parents with him.” I said to Hayes. “Yes but you have other issues going on.” Hayes said. “What do you mean?” I asked, then it dawned on me. “CHRIS where is Chris?” I said. “Christopher is missing where he could be. He was home with Vanessa and Scout.” Link said. “Auntie Amelia, is little Scout okay?” asked Bailey, Ellis, and Zola. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked. “Sis I thought you would want your brave 9 year old who came running for help when Scout got hurt because Vanessa told Chris if he called 911 she would hurt him as well so he snuck out of the back door and ran to our house to get help.” Derek said. “I'm sorry mommy I was scared for baby Scout, and I didn’t want to get hurt in the process.” Christopher said.

Chris was our brave boy who would do anything to protect his brother. I’m glad Link fell in love with my boy who had his struggles as a baby and still does as he has some developmental delays that cause him to have problems at school. I know this has to do with Ryan and I doing whatever crazy stuff we were doing. When Hayes returned he said he was surprised with Scout’s results. Scout has a broken wrist but his arm isn’t completely broken which Link and I were afraid would be the case and we would have to call New York to get Callie to come. Our boy was going to be just fine.

“Mommy I’m sorry if Scout got hurt.” Chris said. “Why are you sorry baby?” I asked. “Because I was playing with Scout and Vanessa said it was naptime when he had just woken up I took him out of his crib to play with him and she got mad at me.” Chris said. “Chris you saved your baby brother from a bad situation Mommy and Daddy are proud of you.” I said. “Daddy you mean Link?” Chris asked. “Yes honey Link is going to be your daddy soon.” I said. “Thats good hey did you find out the gender of the baby?” Chris asked. “No we were worried about you and Scout so we didn’t get the ultrasound done.” Link and I said. “Well I hope you find out soon and that we can go back into the daycare at the hospital and not with mean people like Vanessa i’m so scared that I think I might have to go to therapy again.” Chris said.

Link and I knew that this was not going to be a choice except Chris is too old for Daycare so he will have to hangout in either my office or Link’s office after school or he can spend time with Zola, Bailey, and Ellis who also come after school to see both Meredith and Derek. I’m so glad that we live not far from them that Chris was able to escape and help his brother. Later that night Link and I decided that we would finally get Chris that puppy he fell in love with a few weeks ago for taking good care of his brother when his brother couldn’t vouch for himself. “Mommy, where are we going?” Chris asked. “It’s a surprise.” I said. “Why am I getting rewarded? I didn’t get a report card, or anything, I just saved Scout’s life like a good big brother should.” Chris said. “That’s why you are getting rewards Chris because you saved your brother's life and I know you will do that with your brother or sister.” Link said. “Exactly, Now we just got to find out what we are having.” I said. “I hope its a sister but I wouldn’t mind another brother.” Chris said. “We don’t really care as long as the baby is healthy.” Both Link and I said. “Babba I ungry.” Scout said. “Well I guess Scout is hungry Chris can you get your brother his goldfish in the diaper bag?” I said as I continued to drive.

We finally got to the mall where the puppy was. However the one puppy that Chris wanted was sold but there was a beautiful Chocolate Lab puppy that he could get. She was so beautiful I loved that puppy right away it didn’t matter if Chris didn’t like her or not she was going to come home. Chris and Scout fell in love with a golden retriever puppy, I was disappointed because I loved that little Chocolate Lab. Link thought we should get both and with that the dogs were ours. I was happy for the kids and for Link and I as we expanded our family not by just a baby but with pets as well. The cat won’t be happy with the puppies but we will make it work.

“So Chris, what are you going to name the puppy.” I asked. “I don’t know yet I’m thinking.” Chris said. “Nuggie.” Scout said. “NUGGIE?” Chris asked. “Nuggie silly.” Scout said. “How about Nugget?” Chris said. “Yes Nuggie.” Scout kept saying. “Well is Nugget the Golden or the Chocolate lab because I’m thinking of calling her Stella.” I said. “Stella and Nuggie it is.” Chris said.

Sharing these moments were the best especially with a son who has no friends but his 16 month old brother. He is going to be a great helper when the new baby comes as well. Link and I have some names for the new baby unlike when Scout was born. For a girl we like Charlotte Elizabeth or Ariel Grace. For a boy we like Cooper James, Austin Jacob, and Parker David. My boys are everything in this world and I’m glad I get to share them with my family including my brother who was given the odds of death when Bailey was 1 he is now 8 years old and Chris is 9 almost 10 years old.

#amelia shepherd #atticus lincoln #scout lincoln #derek shepherd #zola shepherd #ellis shepherd #bailey shepherd #meredith grey #christopher shepherd #greys anatomy #fanfiction

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let-it-raines · 4 years

Text

another kind of green (5/10)

Emma Swan spends her days in pretty white dresses and heavy layers of makeup. Day after day and dress after dress, she poses for pictures and acts like she’s in love and having the happiest day of her life with the man standing next to her.

It’s not. This is all a gig, and at the end of the day, she’s no longer the girl in the pretty dress who’s faking getting married for a magazine cover or a wedding convention. Instead, she’s the girl who probably never wants to get married.

Little does she know, she already is.

Rating: Mature

a/n: I hope everyone is having a good weekend! 💚

AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: 1 | 2| 3 | 4 | 5 |

-/-

Emma filed for an annulment of her accidental drunken marriage yesterday.

She also took a pregnancy test.

Neither of those things were exactly in her life plan. Or whatever hypothetical life plan she’s supposed to have.

Luckily, that test (and the three she took after it because she does not trust those things) all came back negative because if getting accidentally hitched isn’t bad enough, getting accidentally knocked up would be even worse. That’s significantly more permanent and time consuming than marrying someone she doesn’t have to see every day, and she’d pass out from stress if she was actually pregnant.

And the extra-large margarita she had two days ago would have been a pretty big mistake.

(It was already a pretty big mistake when it made her a sloppy kind of intoxicated that had her telling Killian Jones that she liked the smell of his hair.)

(Ruby and Mulan have not stopped making fun of her for that.)

(Killian Jones, Emma Swan, and alcohol are obviously not a good combination.)

But she’s not pregnant, started her period today actually, and after going downtown to the family clerk’s office and having the nicest clerk in existence help Emma fill out the request for annulment papers, she’s officially got that off of her to-do list, which had quite possibly been the biggest weight off of her shoulder in years. Walking inside of the courthouse hadn’t been the best time, giving her flashbacks to being seventeen and having to go to trial (and jail) over those damn stolen watches that Neal set her up for, but at least she didn’t have to have a lawyer.

She stressed over that way too much, but it’s all in the past now. She’s got to keep that stress there.

Fucking Neal. He’s the scum of the earth, and that doesn’t even describe him. She wants to – no, she can’t. she can’t go there.

Positives. She has to focus on the positives, and not all of the memories she’s been tormented with over the past few days. There have been flashbacks of spending her days in a small cell and marking down the days until she could get out, her eighteenth birthday passing by her without her truly realizing it because she’d missed a few days on her chart. The flashbacks of the pregnancy test are the worst, however. The test she’d taken in jail was cheap, something not entirely reliable, and for a brief moment, Emma thought she was pregnant.

For an even briefer moment, she was happy about it because it meant she still had a connection with Neal. How messed up was she that she still wanted to be connected to the man that betrayed her trust and her heart? Why would anyone sane want that?

Why would anyone want to be connected to the man who ruined their life?

Because she loved him, let him tell her that things in her life were going to turn out right, and listening to him was her first mistake.

Emma wasn’t pregnant then and isn’t pregnant now, and she’s thankful for both negative tests even if things would have been different this time. It wouldn’t have been great, but at least she wouldn’t be a teenager in jail scared shitless over how the hell she’s going to do anything with her life because no one she cares about seems to stay. She’s got people now. It’s not a lot, but it’s something. That’s all that matters to her.

She’s got to stop focusing on those awful memories that make her stomach churn and nausea bubble up, and she needs to focus on something productive.

Like serving Killian Jones with his annulment papers.

The clerk has given her options to do that, including paying a courier to do it, but that had cost money and she figured it would be just as easy to give it over to them himself and ask for his half of the two hundred bucks she had to shell out for this. She meant to text him yesterday morning to arrange a time, but the whole pregnancy test thing threw her off. There was no way in hell she was going to talk to him after all of that. Today, however, she’s going to get her shit done and get this whole thing over with.

Emma Swan: Can you meet today?

The little bubbles pop up two seconds later.

Killian Jones: I’m booked all day today. Tomorrow?

Emma Swan: I’m booked all day tomorrow.

Killian Jones: Saturday then?

Emma Swan: I can do Saturday. What time?

Killian Jones: My place? Around noon?

Emma Swan: Send me your address.

She realizes that she never tells him why she wants to meet, but he probably knows. Despite them spending the entire evening together Monday night, they’re not casual friends who meet up to get something to eat or go to a concert together. They’re…acquaintances. She’s got no clue, isn’t really interested in defining it, and she’ll leave it at that. Their “whatever” is short term and will be ending soon anyways. There’s no need to get any kind of attached.

Her phone starts ringing, a picture of she and David from last year’s Christmas popping up, and she slides the bar across the screen to answer the phone.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” David sighs, “this is your daily reminder that you have to file your annulment papers.”

“It’s really a shame that you and Marg haven’t procreated yet because you’re such a dad.”

“How could I have a baby when I’m too worried about you? So I think we’ll keep using condoms for now.”

“Oh my God,” Emma grumbles, getting up from her bed and walking the few feet to her kitchen, which is really more of a kitchenette that can barely fit food than anything. She needs to get a bigger place, but she doesn’t mind living here. Having a savings account to fall back on is far more important than an apartment with actual walls around her bedroom. “I don’t need to know about your sex life.”

“I know for a fact Mary Margaret talks to you about it.” “That’s different.” “How?”

“So, I filed the papers,” she blurts out, changing the subject.

“Did you really?”

“Mhm, yesterday, and I’ve already texted Killian so I can give him the papers in case he wants to contest it or anything.”

“Do you think he will?” “What? No. Neither of us want to be married. It was literally a drunken mistake. Nothing about it was sane. We both want it behind us.”

“Is that Emma?” Mary Margaret says.

“Yes.”

“Can I talk to her?”

“Wait,” Emma starts, “aren’t you at work? How is Marg there?”

“I’m home on my lunch break. I – ”

“Emma,” Mary Margaret gasps, her voice coming in clear in the phone. “I had no idea Killian was one of Ariel’s clients. I don’t know how I didn’t realize that when we did the convention. I called Ariel yesterday, and I just had to talk to her about how funny the whole thing was with the two of you getting married. We – ”

“Wait,” Emma gasps, dropping her package of Pop-Tarts to the counter, “you talked to Ariel about it? Did she know or did you tell her?”

“Well, I told her.”

Shit, Marg. “Marg, Killian hadn’t told anyone about it! I don’t think he wanted to! What happened to not telling anyone?”

“I assumed she knew.” “Did you having to tell her about it not clue you in that maybe you shouldn’t have told her?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t thinking. That’s been happening so much lately. God, Emma, these pregnancy hormones will make you insane. It’s, like, shit, my brain isn’t even my brain even more. I’ve been all over the place. I promise I didn’t mean to screw that up. It didn’t even cross my mind. Will you apologize to Killian for me?”

“Mary Margaret Nolan,” Emma whispers, “did you just say that you’re pregnant?”

“Fuck, I did, didn’t I?”

Emma barks out a laugh, leaning forward to rest her arms and her forehead against the countertop. She was just teasing David about this, and then…they’re having a baby. For all the screwed-up thoughts Emma has over her own experiences in this area, she knows this is a good, wonderful thing that David and Mary Margaret deserve.

Damn.

They’re going to be great parents.

“Congratulations, lady! I’m so happy for you guys, and I forgive you for being even more scatterbrained than normal.”

“Says the most unorganized person I know.”

“I get shit done.”

“That you do…most of the time.” Mary Margaret sighs. “I’m so happy, Emma.”

“As you should be. You guys are going to be the best parents.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Tell David congrats on knocking you up.”

“What a graceful way to put that my wife is pregnant,” David grumbles, his voice muffled. “Real classy.” “That’s me. Marg, are you going to be at any of my shoots tomorrow? I think I need to hug you.”

“I will be at your two o’clock appointment because I need to go over some of the paperwork for you.”

“Perfect. Expect the biggest hug of your life.”

-/-

“How the hell does Ariel know that I got married?”

“Well, hello to you too, Jones.”

Emma side steps around Killian and lets herself into his apartment, her eyes scanning over the place. It’s clean a lot cleaner than her place, and she wonders if it’s always like this or if he cleaned specifically because she was coming over. But that would be ridiculous, and she doubts Killian would have straightened up his bookshelves and dusted his TV off just because she was here.

“Hi, Swan,” he sighs, closing the door behind her before walking back to the kitchen where something that smells ridiculously good is cooking on the stove. “It’s nice to see you. You’re looking as beautiful as ever. How the hell does Ariel know that I got married?”

Emma sighs and pulls out a barstool to sit down, dropping the envelope of papers on the countertop. “Mary Margaret can’t keep a secret, and she told Ariel. I’m really sorry about that.”

“I mean, it’s fine. Honestly. Ariel and Eric have always been like older siblings to me, but they can get a little…”

“Overbearing, protective, annoying as hell?”

“Yeah,” Killian laughs, turning around and crossing his arms so that the muscles in his arms flex underneath his t-shirt. “You know the type?”

“My friends are the exact same way, which makes sense that they’re friends with Ariel and Eric.”

“Small worlds and all that.” “That seems to be happening lately.” Emma sighs and pushes the papers over the countertop. “So, we are officially a pair of fools whose annulment papers are somewhere bustling around in the family council office of Boston.”

His brow arches. “Yeah?”

“Mhm. I didn’t get an attorney. I filed the papers out myself I didn’t ask the split any assets or anything…since we don’t actually share any. I don’t think you have to do anything unless you see something ghastly wrong in these papers, but we have to wait at least twenty-one days before it’ll get looked at. That’s how long you have if you dispute anything.”

“I’m not going to dispute anything, love.” Emma opens her mouth to dispute his little name, but she stops herself. It’s just how he is, and there’s no reason for her to be rude to him no matter how fun that could be. He’s never actually done anything wrong to her. “The only reason I’d dispute the disappearance of our marriage is the fact that I know how you kiss, and it’d be such a shame to not get to do that again.”

She takes back every nice thought about him she’s ever had. She gained a few new ones Monday night, but they’re all about to fly out the window.

“If I had something to throw at you, I would.”

“Such a violent lass.”

“I am what I am.”

Killian chuckles and turns back around to the pot he has on the stove. “I’ve got some spinach and ricotta tortellini if you want to stay for lunch.”

“Oh, I, um, I really shouldn’t.”

“Have you eaten lunch?”

“No.”

“Do you have plans to eat lunch?” He turns around to look at her, and all she can do is shrug. “Exactly what I thought. C’mon, darling. We’ll call it a celebratory lunch that we’re soon to be free of what was quite frankly a nasty marriage. I mean, my wife kept trying to throw things at me.”

“Shut up, Jones, or I’ll actually throw something at you.”

“You think that’s a threat, but really, I see it as a promise.”

The bastard winks. He’s got to stop doing that.

Killian keeps talking, asking her about her shoot yesterday and how it went. He apparently hasn’t been working as much lately but does do the occasional job like the other day to keep paying the bills until he can officially start at the Academy and get a paycheck like normal people do. Emma’s never liked talking about her job because it always seems to lead into conversations about if this is what she really wanted to do with her life. It’s not, never has been, but considering everything, this is so much better than she should have it. Maybe one day she’ll branch out into something more normal and a little calmer, but googling jobs that hire ex-convicts with a GED has never been something she particularly enjoys.

“So, how’d you get into this whole thing?” Killian asks her when he slides her a plate and hands her a bottle of water. “Someone saw you and thought they just had to have your face in an ad in a magazine?”

Emma hums, cutting a tortellini in half. “There was an ad in the paper, which makes me sound so old, for a local dress designer who wanted someone to do a shoot for some of her dresses. There was no experience required. I just needed to be the right size, and I was. I think I maybe got paid two hundred bucks for that shoot, but it opened me up to the whole industry. You?”

If she’s got to answer these questions, he does as well. Tit for tat and all that.

He hesitates. He tries to cover it up, but she can tell. He’s trying to be a cop, so obviously this whole modeling thing isn’t what he’s always wanted to do. Emma may not be some kind of genius, but she knows people pretty damn well.

“Ariel got me into it. I’d known her forever, needed some money, and it just kind of happened. I’d been piddling around in construction and bartending before that.”

“Ariel’s a good friend.”

“Yeah, she’s one of the good ones, always keeping me on track.”

Killian smiles, something soft that makes the crinkles around his eyes show up where they normally wouldn’t, and Emma’s stomach flips. It’s probably because this food is really good. That has to be it.

“So, did you make these from scratch? They’re really good.”

“I bought them from Whole Foods. It’s simple, Swan. I think anyone can make it.”

“That’s because you don’t know how unfortunate of a cook I am.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, I’m the worst. I won’t admit that to anyone who has seen me cook, but I’m definitely the worst. I could mess up boiling water.”

“That’s pathetic.”

“Hey,” Emma scoffs, flicking a piece of the bread off her plate at him. “I can say it. You can’t say it.”

“Are these in the unwritten rules of Emma?”

“Oh, absolutely. And they constantly change, so you’ll never really know.”

“Bloody hell,” he mumbles, leaning forward to press his forehead to the counter and hiding his face in his hands. She can see his smile peeking through. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Well, I assume at some point we did say ‘til death do us part.’”

“Does that mean you’re going to murder me before our papers are processed?” he laughs, those crinkles showing up again as she feels her own lips curling up to the sides.

“Obviously that’s exactly what I meant. Gonna finally put all of my police connections into use.”

“What the hell is going on out here?” someone groans, and Emma nearly falls off of her stool as someone walks down the hallway in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that’s got to be fifteen years old from all of the holes and faded letters. “Who the hell are you?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“You’re in my apartment.”

“You have a roommate?” Emma asks Killian, turning to look at him as he’s still got this shit-eating grin on his face. “You never mentioned that.”

“You never asked. Emma, this is Will Scarlet, my roommate. Will, this is – ”

“Holy shit,” Will gasps, “you’re the girl he married. I couldn’t believe it when Ariel told me. Sorry about that, lass. He’s a real piece of work, and I’m sure he didn’t get you satisfied on your wedding night.”

He did, but that was technically before the wedding, and she’s not saying any of that out loud.

“Oh, I think I’m going to like you,” Emma laughs, shoveling some more food in her mouth. “Can you tell me every weird thing Killian does?”

“How long do you have?”

“All day.”

“Bloody hell,” Killian grumbles, pushing his hair back, “I don’t need to be here for this.”

“You do if you don’t want me to tell her about the time you went blonde.”

“Oh, I definitely have to hear that,” Emma sighs. “Tell me everything. I hope you have pictures.”

“Digital and print versions.”

“Perfect.”

-/-

Tag list: @xemmaloveskillianx @stahlop @shardminds @carpedzem @captainsjedi @galaxyzxstark @thejollyroger-writer @kmomof4 @tiganasummertree @xellewoods @idristardis @karenfrommisthaven @shireness-says @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @a-faekindagirl @ultimiflos @jamif @dreameronarooftop15 @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @teamhook @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @superchocovian @ultraluckycatnd @cs-forlife @andiirivera @qualitycoffeethings @jonirobinson64 @mariakov81 @spartanguard @snowbellewells @therealstartraveller776 @onepunintendid @bluewildcatfanatic

#another kind of green #cs fic #cs ff #cs fanfic #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #captain swan fanfic #captain swan

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searchingwardrobes · 4 years

Text

The Convenient Groom: 1/?

Okay, I know what ya’ll are all thinking, and I agree: I don’t need another WIP! However, I woke up this morning with this idea, and I just had to write it. What’s more, I was looking for the perfect gift for @spartanguard. You see, I missed her birthday last year. I got on tumblr, saw all these birthday wishes for her, and my heart sank. For some reason, I didn’t have her birthday on my list! I hated it because not only is she one of my favorite writers, but she is also an incredibly kind person who I have come to know as a wonderful fandom friend. So, @spartanguard, I know it isn’t your birthday, but this fic is for you!

This fic has two inspirations: one, the Barenaked Ladies song “Alternative Girlfriend,” but mostly it’s a book I read called The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter. I normally avoid book aus because it feels way too close to plagiarism, but a Hallmark movie was made from the book and it was a HUGE disappointment. They made it an engagement of convenience instead of a marriage and basically got rid of all the steamy moments. It’s been forever since I read it, anyway, and this first chapter that came to me this morning has vast differences already. Anyhoo, I hope you like it @spartanguard !

Summary: (Is one even necessary? Haha!) Killian Jones just happens to be there when Emma Swan gets the phone call that changes everything: her fiance is leaving her at the altar. The thing is, it also could mean the end of her career. Convenient that Killian has nothing better to do that day. Convenient that he’s secretly in love with her. Not that Emma has to know that.

Rating: M

Words: 2,000 and some change in this chapter

Also on Ao3

Tagging the usuals: @snowbellewells @kmomof4 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @distant-rose @welllpthisishappening @optomisticgirl @ohmakemeahercules @teamhook @bethacaciakay @xhookswenchx @winterbaby89 @delirious-latenight-laughs @resident-of-storybrooke @vvbooklady1256 @thislassishooked @hollyethecurious @nikkiemms @jennjenn615 @stahlop @snidgetsafan @scientificapricot @shireness-says @spartanguard @wellhellotragic @tiganasummertree @branlovestowrite @let-it-raines @carpedzem @profdanglaisstuff

Killian Jones would never forget the first day he met Emma Swan. He’d been focused intently on the rocking chair that the Nolans had ordered for their new baby, and AC/DC’s “Back in Black” was booming throughout his workshop. He always worked to classic rock; it put him in the best creative zone.

Suddenly, the shop was plunged into silence, and he straightened in surprise. Standing there, with the cord to his portable speakers dangling from her hand, was a veritable goddess with anger sparking from her light green eyes. She was dressed in a simple pair of dark wash jeans topped with a cream blouse, yet her trim figure still drew his eyes. He’d never had a thing for blondes, but her golden hair had him re-thinking that. She had caught him so completely off guard, he stood there gaping like a mere boy.

“I’ve got a client upstairs trying to pour her damn heart out, but I can barely hear myself think with this noise rattling the walls.”

Ah, so this was the new tenant in the office upstairs. Killian smirked and sauntered into her personal space. “Well, love, I’ve been told I’m rather good at rattling the walls.”

He hardly knew what had possessed him to say such a thing. Before Milah, he was well known for his charms, but that had been years ago.

The blonde narrowed her eyes at his innuendo, though the blush upon her cheeks sent a far different message. “Not your love, buddy.” She tossed the cords at his chest, and one of them slapped him in the jaw. “Get yourself some damn earbuds.”

She strode towards the door, her high heeled boots tapping loudly on the concrete floor. “It’s Killian Jones, by the way,” he called out after her, “Ms . . . “

“Emma Swan,” she tossed over her shoulder, “and it’s doctor.”

He saw her often after that. It was difficult not to. Storybrooke was a small town, and they shared office space, after all. Their building on Main was also right across the street from Granny’s diner, the only place for a decent cup of coffee and a cheeseburger. Or grilled cheese and onion rings in Swan’s case. They’d crossed paths during their lunch break often enough for him to know her regular order. Yet to say Emma Swan had walls was an understatement, and just casual conversation was a challenge. One he had a rather enjoyable time tackling, honestly.

Yet she never came into his wood shop again. Until one day six months ago, to put in an order. She had stood there in his lobby where he met with clients and rough sketched their custom orders looking uncharacteristically nervous, her hands twisting at her waist. He had noticed the diamond sparkling on her left ring finger early on, and she fiddled with it now. He had never met the man who had given it to her, which he had always thought was odd. Especially considering how passionate Emma was about her career. Even stranger, Mary Margaret had never met him either, and Emma rented the loft from her and David. No one even knew the man’s name. Something was off about that, if you asked Killian. Not that anyone would.

“Can you make a wedding chuppa?” she blurted out.

“Aye,” he said as he leaned against the front counter, “I made one for Marco and Granny when they wed last fall.”

“Good,” Emma breathed out, but then her forehead creased with worry. “Marco’s Jewish, isn’t he? Is it okay to use a chuppa if you aren’t Jewish?”

“Hmmm,” Killian contemplated, rubbing at his chin, “is your fiance Jewish?”

“No,” Emma said with a shake of her head, “but we’re getting married outside, and I wanted some sort of focal point, you know?”

“Well, then,” he told her honestly, “I do think a chuppa has religious significance, so maybe an arbor or archway would be more appropriate? I’ve done those as well . . . “

He had come around the counter then and led her to the sitting area where he brainstormed with clients. He had shown her photos of an arbor he had made for his friends Eric and Ariel’s beach wedding, and several other options online. He found out many things that day: the location of the wedding (the gardens behind the old mansion on the outskirts of town), the flowers (middlemist roses), the color scheme (pale pink and wine red), and the date of the nuptials (late June). Yet he still didn’t know who this mysterious fiance was. Odd.

“He doesn’t like the attention from my career,” Emma had attempted to explain, twisting her engagement ring around her finger, “and I get it. There would be a lot of scrutiny on him and our relationship.”

Killian nodded. Everyone knew about Dr. Swan’s bestseller Seriously, Ladies? which supposedly guided any woman on how to avoid disastrous relationships. Women swore by it, and Emma also had a blog and a podcast. The media was salivating over her upcoming marriage, including the identity of Mr. Right himself.

“And I need your discretion on this,” Emma continued. “The media doesn’t know the wedding date yet, and I -”

Killian placed his hand on hers. “You can trust me, Emma. I won’t tell a soul about this order, much less when or where it will be delivered.”

He had worried that his word wouldn’t be enough, yet Emma had deflated with relief. “Thank you. I know this is a weird situation.”

“You deserve happiness, Swan.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “How do you know that? You know nothing about me.”

Killian had shrugged. “You’re somewhat of an open book, love.”

It was true. Despite her confidence, he could recognize another wounded heart when he saw one. Whoever this fiance was, he wasn’t doing a very good job of healing it, either, at least in Killian’s opinion. Otherwise her eyes wouldn’t still hold that haunted look.

The order meant, for both good and bad, that Killian saw Emma Swan more often. It was good in that he got to know her better, saw her smile, heard her laugh. It was bad for one horrible, terrible reason. For him, at least. Six months was long enough for him to fall in love with her - the woman he was making a wedding arbor for.

Killian sighed, his heart twisting painfully, as he covered the gorgeous arbor of carved mahogany with a moving blanket. Today was the day. For him, it felt more like the day of a funeral than a wedding. This man, whoever he was, better love her the way she deserved. It was all he could hope for now.

“Killian, what the hell do you think you’re doing!” He whirled from the arbor to see Emma marching angrily across his workshop. The scowl on her face was identical to the one almost a year ago when he first met her. “Why did you send the moving crew away empty handed? Please tell me you finished it.”

“Of course I finished it, Swan,” he retorted, unable to keep the bite out of his voice. Wasn’t she supposed to be giddy, flushed with eagerness, floating on air? Instead, she looked so stressed he feared she might give herself a heart attack.

“Then why didn’t you send it to the mansion? Are you being difficult on purpose?”

Killian tilted his head and grinned saucily at her. He couldn’t help it, teasing her was just too much fun. “Though getting you riled up is rather fun, I wouldn’t do that to you on your special day. I just didn’t trust anyone but myself to deliver it.”

“Oh,” she said lamely, biting on her lower lip.

“I was just about to load it up, actually. Want to see it?”

“If it’s not too much trouble . . .”

“Of course not.”

He pulled the moving blanket off, revealing the dark wood with intricate carvings of flowers, vines, and swans. Though the occasion it celebrated tore at his heart, he had never put so much work into a piece. He poured the beauty of the woman it represented into every detail. Emma’s eyes lit up as she ran her hands over the woodwork. The caramel stain brought out the natural beauty of the wood, but it would also make the delicate blush of the roses pop once the florist draped the arbor with them.

“It’s beautiful, Killian,” she told him softly, “exactly what I told you I wanted. More, actually.”

“Thank you,” he managed to tell her around the sudden lump in his throat.

The moment was broken by the ringing of Emma’s phone. She fished it out of her jeans pocket and pressed it to her ear. Killian busied himself covering the arbor and preparing it for transport while Emma paced across his workshop.

“Walsh, are you insane?” he heard her snap, “Our wedding is only six hours away!”

Killian tried not to eavesdrop, but as he glanced Emma’s way, he saw her face grow pale.

“Seriously? You’re doing this to me now?” Though her voice was harsh, her body trembled as she sank to an empty crate next to the table saw.

Killian frowned. He didn’t like how this sounded.

“These are all things you could have told me yesterday!” Emma’s voice rose. “Or better yet, last week, last month.”

She glanced over at Killian, and her face turned bright red. She shifted so that her back was to him. She lowered her voice as she spoke into her phone, but Killian still heard her.

“Is there someone else?”

Killian’s jaw clenched as he saw her shoulders fall and then begin to shake. The bastard.

Her voice was broken as she choked out her next words. “Well I hope you’re very happy together.”

She hung up and dropped her cell phone. Killian winced as it hit the cement floor. She covered her face with both hands and wept silently. He crossed the room and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry.”

“What am I going to do?” she wept. “Oh, God! What am I going to do?” She turned to Killian, her eyes wide and frantic as she clutched at the front of his shirt. “We invited the media to the wedding! It was the only way to keep them from hounding us during our engagement. Now they’ll get an even better story - relationship guru Dr. Emma Swan gets jilted at the altar. I’m ruined! My career is over!”

She was on her feet, pacing the floor, tugging at the ends of her hair. He wanted to tell her she was overreacting, but he couldn’t lie. In this day and age of cancel culture and internet trolls, she would be ruined.

“You’re going to think I’m an opportunist,” she continued, “but my wedding day was also going to be the kick off for my next book. Tomorrow they’re announcing it’s release.��

“I’m not judging you, Swan,” he assured her. “What’s the new book?”

“Ladies, It’s More Than a Wedding,” Emma said sheepishly, “about how to plan for your marriage and not just the wedding.”

Emma groaned and dropped her head against the nearest wall. Killian was silent for a long moment, rolling an idea around in his head. She might shoot him down, call him crazy, but it was worth a shot.

“No one knows who your fiance is, right?”

She looked at him curiously. “No.”

“So . . . couldn’t anyone stand in for him?”

Emma’s mouth dropped open. “Are you crazy? Once the media knew it was a farce, things would be even worse. I have interviews lined up already. A promotion tour for the book. It’s about more than just the wedding.” She barked out a laugh. “Isn’t that ironic?”

Killian leveled her with a steady gaze. “What if it wasn’t a farce?”

She blinked. “You mean . . . like, actually marry someone else? Today?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

Emma let out another sarcastic chuckle. “Who the hell would agree to that?”

Killian wet his lips nervously. “I would.”

Emma shook her head in surprise. “You?”

He shrugged. “Well, I’m here, and I have nothing better to do today.”

“We’re talking about getting married, Killian. You know, commitment? Till death do us part?”

“Well,” Killian said slowly, shoving his hands in his jean pockets, “you need to stay married to promote your book, right? What are we talking? Six months? A year, at most?”

Emma’s brow furrowed as if she were contemplating it. But then she shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this! It would never work! How would it look if I got divorced in a year?”

“Or an annulment. You could blame it on me. I cheated on you or something. Make me out to be the bad guy.” He chuckled sardonically. “You might even get another best seller out of it. Dump His Cheating Ass, Ladies.”

He managed to get a real laugh out of her at that, and he smiled. Her mirth was short-lived, however. “But why would you do that? Tie yourself to me for a year, let your own reputation be damaged? What’s in it for you?”

I’m in love with you.

“I could use your help. With my family. Professional help.”

Emma narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Okaaay. How so?”

“My brother and his wife. Their marriage is a little rocky.” LIe. Liam and Elsa were relationship goals if he ever saw it. “I think it’s because her sister Anna and her husband Kristoff had to move in with them.” Another lie. They had moved in, but no two sisters were closer than Anna and Elsa.

“So why don’t they just make an appointment?”

“They, uh, have this thing about therapy. They think it’s a sign of weakness. Or an embarrassment. Anyway, but if you were around, you could casually help them out. I think you and Elsa would hit it off.”

“So you want to marry me in exchange for free counseling for your brother and his wife?”

She sounded skeptical, and naturally so. He tried to play it off. “My brother means everything to me. He’s all the family I have left. Plus, my niece and nephew deserve a steady home life, unlike what we had as kids.”

Emma and Killian just stood there looking intently at one another. He held his breath, fully expecting her to call him crazy and walk out the door. Her gaze darted to the arbor, now ready to be loaded onto the trunk.

“It would be a shame not to use that beautiful piece you made.”

Killian tried to hold back his smile and failed. “Consider it my wedding gift to my bride.”

“Okay, groom,” she told him with her hand outstretched for him to shake, “it’s a deal.”

#cs ff #cs modern au #cs marriage of convenience #the convenient groom #for spartanguard #on her birthday

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