#more pastries less bombs

[sick-sad-little-world]

Last time you wanted something you couldn't have?

CC: I didn't want to wake up this morning, but I had to. Otherwise, being a rich and successful rock star, I can have anything I want.  World peace? I can have that, but I have to be a politician first and get everyone to believe my rhetoric. If all the politicians in the world got stoned and mellow, they'd stop bombing each other and start buying pastries and candy. (x)

(via @bearcub81212)

#soundgarden #chris cornell #superunknown era #down on the upside era #everyone needs to get stoned and mellow #more pastries less bombs #🍰🎂🍬🍭 #❤️❤️❤️ #important

[whataperfectwasteoftime]

Common Grounds / Chapter 6

Pairing: Marcus Pike x f!Reader

Rating: T (for now... you know me, this will go up)

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: Food mention, slow burn, yearning, flirting, overly charming Marcus, seriously the man is a menace in this chapter, so much unresolved sexual tension

Summary: ...Is it Friday yet?

A/N: Sorry for the delay! I'm so used to writing behemoth chapters that I panic and worry that anything less than 2k isn't worth posting and that I should make it longer, LOL, but I like where this ends. Next chapter they FINALLY go out to dinner <3

Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter

"Shit!" 

Steaming milk sloshes over the rim of the coffee cup, running down the sides and creating a pool on the counter. Sighing, you grab a replacement cup, pour the overflowing contents into the fresh one, and hand it to the customer.

"That's like the third time you've done that this morning," Sam remarks. "Are you okay?:

"I'm great," you answer quickly. 

"I'm glad," Sam answers, "but you should get out of outer space and back to the coffee shop before we run out of milk. And cups."

"I ran into Derrick yesterday," you say abruptly.

Sam drops the scone they're holding, sending crumbs scattering around your feet. "Excuse me? You're just going to blurt that out?" They whirl to you, grabbing your shoulders and staring into your face. "Are you okay? What did he say? Did you punch him? Can I punch him?"

"No… no punching," you say, trying to squirm out of Sam's hold. "It's fine, he just came to rub some million dollar deal in my face."

"Hey," the customer at the counter says weakly. "Um, can I–can I have my… scone?"

"This is important," Sam announces, barely turning around to acknowledge them. "Babe, you were supposed to call me if he ever showed up."

"It's fine, Sam. Besides…" you say casually, knowing you're about to drop an even larger bomb on them. "...Marcus was there."

You grab a scone from the shelf, put it into a white pastry bag, and hand it to the befuddled customer. 

"Marcus?" Sam shrieks, before schooling their face into the most ridiculous, overexaggerated customer service look you’ve ever seen. “Welcome to Common Grounds! What can I get started for you?” 

"Mmhmm," you hum an affirmative to Sam as you pour the woman’s requested iced coffee.

"Excuse me," Sam begins indignantly, but you interrupt.

"Guess that's what happens when you miss a day!"

"I'll keep that in mind next time and come vomit in the cookie dough."

"Sam," you scold, laughing. 

The next customer is eyeing both of you warily. "They're kidding," you tell him. "It's a bit we do. Can I interest you in a cookie? Chocolate chip."

The man grimaces and shakes his head. "Can I get one of those… lavender lattes?"

You smile and ring the man up. That reminds you–Marcus should be in any minute. You're giddy–even more so than usual. Marcus had asked you on a date, hugged you twice, kissed you on the forehead, and suggested that he'd like to do much more than just that. You're vibrating with excitement at the prospect of going on another date with the man on Friday. 

"Hellooooo," Sam says in a sing-song voice. "Why was Marcus there?"

"He was um," you stammer as you pull the espresso shot, "he came back to the cafe to uh, ask me on a date?"

As Sam's jaw drops, you suddenly remember something. 

"Hey! You owe me two months of opening up shop!" you exclaim, a wide grin on your face. 

"First of all, I fucking told you," Sam says, bumping you with their hip. "Second of all, when is your date?"

"He took me out for ice cream yesterday," you say, "after the whole Derrick debacle and a shit morning at work–Lavender latte!–and we went for a walk and talked for like, an hour."

"Oh. My fucking. God," Sam deadpans. "I'm dead. I've passed away. Who takes someone out for an ice cream and a walk in the year of our lord two thousand twenty-two? That's a date straight out of the fifties."

"I guess Marcus does. And he's taking me to dinner on Friday, too," you tell them, just before taking another order. 

"Did he kiss you?" Sam asks as you pour an americano with room for cream.

You avoid making eye contact. "On–on the forehead. Once."

"No way. I refuse to believe that," Sam says, shaking their head. 

"It's true! He's very…" you trail off, searching for the correct word. Just as you decide on 'chivalrous,' Sam chooses another one for you. 

"...chaste."

You shrug. "He's really sweet. Americano!"

"Oh, I cannot wait to see this," Sam says gleefully. 

You turn to them, confused. "See what?"

"He's here."

Your head whips comically to the front doors, where Marcus is just entering. You're sure that your startled, hopeful expression gives everything away, but for the first time, you don't care. Marcus is looking right back at you with poorly-disguised excitement. As he approaches the counter, his smile grows so wide that his eyes crinkle. 

"We're closed," Sam says.

"Perfect," Marcus replies, not missing a beat, "then you're free to come to breakfast with me."

"Ha! I wish," you say emphatically. "What's for breakfast?"

"Hmm," Marcus scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Chocolate chip pancakes? Or no–how about something savory. Eggs benedict?"

"If you're going to come in here and make me hungry, I'm going to ban you for life," you tease. 

"Fine, fine," Marcus sighs. "Well, if you're open, I'll have my usual–" he winks at you, "–and a pastry of your choice. Surprise me."

"I know just the thing," you say. "Carrot date muffins. There's a whole serving of vegetables in each one, but they're so sweet that you'd never even know."

"You know I have a sweet tooth," Marcus comments, except this time he says it, there's something far more flirtatious in his tone, blatantly so. He says it while looking not at the muffin, but at you, with a little glint in his eye. 

Oh, fuck. You aren't going to make it to Friday.

"Hi."

Both of you jump slightly, the tension not exactly dissipating, just… morphing into a different kind of awkwardness as Sam stands right next to you, looking between the two of you with obvious amusement. 

"Hi Sam!" Marcus exclaims. "Feeling better today?"

"Yeah, guess I missed a lot yesterday," they say pointedly.

"Should I have asked for your permission first?" Marcus asks, smiling. 

"Maybe you should," Sam says, crossing their arms. "I'm very protective of her, you know."

"Sam," you exclaim, embarrassed at both of their antics. 

"I promise I have only the best of intentions," Marcus announces, standing up straight and taking on an overly formal tone. "I have a reservation for two at Osteria Morini on Friday and I plan on treating the lady right.”

You can’t stop giggling at Marcus’s antics. You’re in that wonderful place where everything your crush does is absolutely hilarious, no matter how dorky, and you can’t help but find his playfulness exceedingly funny and charming. 

“Are you going to buy her a dessert?” Sam asks, raising one eyebrow. 

“If the lady wishes,” Marcus says, syrupy sweet, with a little wink in your direction. 

“Okay, I’m out,” Sam says, throwing up their hands.

“Giving up that easily?” Marcus accuses. “I could be anybody!” 

You thrust his cup of coffee into his hands. “Out, you menace.”

Marcus is ready. His fingers wrap around yours as he takes the drink, and your hand is engulfed by his larger one. “Text me tonight,” he says softly. “If you want.”

“I will,” you promise. 

Marcus pulls away, his fingers lingering on yours until the last possible second. Your eyes follow him out of Common Grounds until he disappears from view outside.

“That. Was. Disgusting,” Sam remarks, coming up behind you. 

“Uh huh,” you breathe, not really listening. 

Sam hands you an empty cup. “Hazelnut almond milk latte, one extra shot.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Dude.”

“Okay!” You grab a shot glass and press ‘dispense’ on the machine. 

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

Wow.

– – – –

In the evening, just after eating dinner, you text Marcus.

Beep Boop. Will my texts go to some government database somewhere?

The reply comes almost immediately.

Only if you text my work number. Which you DON’T have. 

Classified?

Nah, just too risky. Don’t want to mix business and… you know ;)

Lord help you, Marcus is using winky faces.

Business and… what?

Don’t make me say it. 

Is the time still not right? 

No, the time is not right. 

Don’t tell me you’re a “only kiss after the 3rd date” kinda guy

I guess you’ll have to find out. ;)

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuck—you scrub your hands down your face and groan loudly into the room. He’s going to kill you. 

Maybe so, but I’d still kind of like a preview, you type out, your heart in your throat.

I’ll tell you this. You are so damn pretty that waiting until the 3rd date just to kiss you is going to be completely out of the question. 

Oh really!?

Yes. Believe me, I’ve been sorely tempted more than once. 

Do tell.

Before it was remotely proper. 

Your eyes widen. How long has Marcus been interested in you? 

Okay, tell me this. When IS the right time?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

I’ll have to think about that. 

You wait. You wait until you’re blue in the face. In reality, it’s probably only a matter of minutes, but you’re nearly vibrating out of your skin before you see the next text from Marcus.

Ideally? It’s after dinner on Friday. I’ll walk you back to your place, of course. When we get there, I’d take your hand in mine and tell you I had a really nice time. You’d agree, looking up at me. Your eyes would be begging me to kiss you. I’d cup your cheek with my other hand, slowly lean in…

You wait. And wait, and wait, and wait. The story doesn’t continue. Eventually, you text back. 

MARCUS!

Yes? ;)

It’s going to be a long couple of days if you’re going to play it like THAT.

Is that a problem?

I’m going to want to skip dinner, at this point.

Another pregnant pause as Marcus apparently deliberates his response.

That’s good to know. Although dinner might be a good idea.

You take the bait.

Why’s that?

…keep your strength up?

Jesus fucking christ. 

Okay, I’ll stop. 

You press your face into the pillows and groan again. When you don’t respond, Marcus texts again. 

I’m sorry if I was out of line there.

You weren’t, I’m just… frustrated?

I know the feeling. I’ll leave you alone after this: I’m VERY much looking forward to Friday. 

Me too.

See you soon, beautiful.

You resist the urge to throw yourself onto your stomach on your bed and kick your feet into the air. You’ve never felt this way about anyone, let alone someone you haven’t even kissed. Marcus has this ability to stir up feelings you didn’t even know you had. A deep seated longing settles in your stomach, an overwhelming need rising in your core. 

You scroll up and read the longest message again. ‘Your eyes would be begging me to kiss you. I’d cup your cheek with my other hand, slowly lean in…’

Your eyes flutter shut as you imagine the scene he’d painted, shuddering as you picture Marcus’s hands on you. You remember the way his fingers had encircled your wrist the day before. They’d overlapped. He had huge hands. If one of them cupped your cheek, you imagine, his fingers could touch the nape of your neck as he pulled you in close. 

You conjure up the feeling of his breath ghosting across your lips. Would he linger there for a few seconds? With the two of you mere inches apart, would Marcus stop and savor that moment just before your lips connect? Or would he be impatient, immediately capturing your mouth with his, all of the tension that had built up over the past few weeks making it unbearable to wait another instant? 

Thoughts of kissing Marcus after your date on Friday lead you to another, bigger question:

If you invite him up, will he say yes?

#marcus pike #marcus pike x you #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x f!reader #marcus pike fanfiction #the mentalist #pedro pascal

[riddlerosehearts]

vanillacupcakeshipping (larry/katy) headcanons

- katy likes to listen to music while baking, and often she can't resist humming and singing along and larry absolutely loves listening to her!! sometimes she tries to rope him into singing duets with her and he reluctantly joins even though he hates his singing voice.

- whenever larry has to go out shopping he's always keeping an eye out for things katy would like! things like cute little cookie cutters and other kinds of kitchen items (think a cooking timer that looks like a strawberry or a pair of oven mitts with skitty printed on them for example), plushies of her favorite bug type pokemon or her other faves like teddiursa, bath bombs in her favorite scents, and sometimes flowers. she's grateful for every single gift.

- christmas is katy's favorite holiday and she goes all out baking elaborately decorated holiday-themed treats to gift to her loved ones. larry isn't one to get very enthusiastic about the holidays, because for him having to think about gifts and decorations just adds that much more stress to his workload, but her enthusiasm is a bit infectious and every year he looks forward to eating the delicious pastries she bakes for the two of them. he also takes special care to choose out the perfect gift for her, or at least the most perfect gift he can afford on his salary.

- katy has the absolute cutest plush that larry once got her for valentine's day of a shiny ribombee holding a heart that says "i love you" on it. it was difficult to find and a little pricey--teddiursa-themed valentine's gifts are much more common, so they're usually what he gets her, but that year he wanted to get her something a little more unique and knew it was perfect as soon as he saw it.

- okay, listen, i know it's funny to imagine that larry is so extremely normal and boring that he has unbuttered toast and plain oatmeal for breakfast, but canonically he is a foodie. his gym challenge is literally to order a special dish at the restaurant he frequents and when you first speak to him he gives you cooking advice. he loves good food, he adores katy's baking (and katy herself, obviously), and she loves to give him the first try of any dessert she makes and have him sample potential additions to the soapberry patisserie's menu.

- also, he gets very exhausted from all the work he has to do and likes to spend a lot of time a lot of his free time napping, but he does have hobbies! he likes to cook for katy and himself when he has the time and they both love to read and talk about their favorite books. sometimes they just sit and read together.

- he's not really the best cook--he's decent at it, sure, but in true larry fashion, overall his cooking is pretty average. but katy loves eating whatever he cooks, and letting him know she loves it, because he took the time to make it and because it's a chance for them to just sit down and relax together.

- larry is very touch starved and katy is very physically affectionate and can't wait to shower him with love when he comes home from work each day.

- i think at some point after their relationship gets serious katy would probably let larry know she feels sad that they can't spend as much time together as she'd like due to his work hours, and insist that he doesn't need to work so much since she also works as a gym leader and runs a bakery and it's clearly making him miserable. eventually he'd give in and agree to work less and find that he's much happier for it.

- she teaches him how to do latte art!! like with his cooking, he's not amazing at it, but he does enjoy it a lot and loves showing her new designs he figured out how to do. and she genuinely thinks it's really sweet and will send her friends pictures of the simple little hearts or chocolate syrup spirals he put into her coffee, hyping him up like he's actually the most talented latte artist ever.

#okay i wrote these just now while sick at 2 am so i'm sorry if they seem stupid or ooc #but my brain compelled me write them because i just think this ship would be so cute #pokemon #katy #larry #vanillacupcakeshipping #paldea #pokemon scarlet and violet #katy pokemon #larry pokemon

[porcupine-girl]

Hidden Blade thoughts!

IT WAS SO GOOD

YIBO WAS SO GOOD

I would've followed a bit better if I understood more about the political landscape of WWII China, but it wasn't too bad. Definitely one of those movies where I want to go back and rewatch it immediately now that I know what I know from the end.

I will put the rest under a cut because very definitely spoilers.

The entire first half, I was kind of confused and disappointed because Yibo's role was barely a background character? I was like... how did he get second billing? How did he catch the critics' attention?

Then he has the scene in the bathroom with his ex-fiance, and from there suddenly he's the main character of the second half of the movie. It's like Tony Leung got half and he got half LOL And he's so damn good in his half.

I don't particularly like or care about fight scenes, but his were so good?? That first one with the bitchslap, he's just explosive. In the bathroom scene he becomes a ticking time bomb that's just waiting for an excuse to go off, and when he does it's breathtaking. But then he manages to just bottle that energy back up as soon as he's done with one fight, and spends the rest of the movie like that. Like every single scene he was in from there on I was convinced he was about to go off and kill someone or at least maim them - he only winds up doing it a few more times, but anytime he's not being violent you can just feel the violence he's bottling up inside radiating out of him. I can 100% see why the NYT chose the words "simmering" and "mesmerizing."

I will admit I might not have been as transfixed during Yibo & Tony's big fight scene (which, the bts is just a tiny clip of a very long scene) if it weren't for the fact that I'd seen the clip of the truck scene so I knew they both survived, so I spent the entire time holding my breath like how the fuck do they both survive this. Like, it just doesn't seem like the kind of fight where one is gonna let the other walk away. But speaking of that...

Two bits my husband and I did not understand by the end:

If Ye was actually on He’s side the whole time, why did they have the huge fight?? Like that seemed way more than necessary just to continue pretending to be on opposite sides. Sure, Ye couldn't have just let He go or vice-versa, but like they both nearly killed the other multiple times, and tbh the only reason Ye survived that fall is movie magic (it might not be wuxia but it did inherit just a smidge from that genre in terms of this fight scene I think). Why such a knock-down drag-out fight if they're actually on the same side? Surely they could've made less look like more.

Then the much smaller thing: Early on, He buys pastries to pass a note to… his wife? It happens so early when you don’t know who anyone is, by the time they come back to it I couldn’t quite remember what had happened. I think it turned out to be his wife. Anyhow, then later the Japanese guy asks what took him so long and he says he was buying dim sum but then produces the pastries??? Why did he say it was dim sum? Such a weird lie to tell when you've got the pastries to show him (I assume He bought two boxes). And the Japanese guy doesn't comment on it or anything. Were the subtitles just mistranslated or something? IDK my husband thought he heard them say dim sum but obviously he wasn't paying close attention to that detail as they were saying it, that was just in retrospect after he realized it wasn't dim sum, so maybe they said something else and it got mistranslated.

Edit: Mystery solved! @trickybonmot says she heard them say 点心 (dianxin), and according to purpleculture.net (whose dictionary is top-notch and I trust way more than Google), that can mean dessert/pastry OR dim sum! So it’s not exactly mistranslated, they just chose the translation that makes less sense to English-speaking audiences.

Overall, btw, the translation was great. SO much smoother and less awkward than literally any TV show I've watched. They had both Mandarin and English subs up the whole time, even when the characters were speaking Japanese or Shanghainese.

It was very violent and there were a lot of things that were highly disturbing in a "horrors of war" kind of way. Like yes some bits were gory but I think the disturbing outweighed the explicitly gory by far.

The nonlinear narrative has gotten mixed reviews; I think it's the kind of thing where if you like that type of storytelling (which I do!) you'll like it and if you don't you won't. If you're neutral idk what you'll think. There were definitely a few times when I wasn't totally sure when we were, but usually it didn't make things outright not make sense. There are also a few scenes that I'm still not sure why we went back to them, but I bet if I rewatched it those choices would make more sense.

It was definitely communist propaganda, but I don't think that was heavy-handed. They just showed the communists as definitely The Good Guys of the war. Obviously Japan was The Bad Guy, but they kind of just pushed the non-communist Chinese nationalists to one side and ignored them? IDK, again I might not understand the politics or get the references well enough to know how they actually handled it, but it mostly seemed like that side was more ignored than, like, actively portrayed as bad the way the Japanese were. It doesn't actually, like, make any claims about why communism is good or anything, it's more like “communists” just happens to be the name of the good guys in this war. The ideology itself makes like one brief appearance when Ye's ex-fiance talks about laborers, and even then she says maybe I'll marry a laborer or an intellectual and I was like 😬 and how did communism work out for the intellectuals in 20-30 years? Not sure if that was actually a subtle dig on Cheng Er's part or not.

Anyhow I am very excited to talk about the movie with anyone who's seen it, or I can answer questions for anyone who hasn't!

#wang yibo #hidden blade #wu ming #无名 #王一博

[btsqualityy]

Day 3: we went to the Van Gogh Museum and no sign of Namjoon 😭 we spent over an hour there because I had to read about every single painting and drawing and the info on the walls is in both Dutch and English. All of his original paintings and drawings are there except Starry Night. The Sunflower painting is gorgeous in real life. We decided to get a coffee before going to the Rijkmuseum, and I asked the barista how much this pastry was and when she said the price, I said “oh it’s ok” and she said “you don’t wanna try it even if I give it to you? I know, I wouldn’t too” Then, my mom asked her if it was free and she said yeah. Then, her manager came and she looked a bit hesitant and my mom was starting to think she was messing but she did end up giving it to us once the manager left. Me and my mom gave her a €5 tip when no one was looking and I ran away when she tried to give it back to me. She came up to us and tried to give it back and we insisted she kept it because she was so good to us. So this girl seems to be of African descent (I hate assuming lol) and she said, “I don’t like charging people of colour. I just give it away” and she asked for a handshake so I let her and when we left she asked us did we want anymore but we said no because we felt bad lol my faith in humanity was restored a little bit 😭 and also the vanilla chai latte is bomb af there lol

Now, the Rijkmuseum is a mammoth and also no sign of Namjoon either lol we went after Van Gogh because I knew it would take a little longer because this place is huge and my colleague recommended it. It’s 3 stories of pure Dutch art and each floor represents an era. The first floor is Christian art, second floor is renaissance art, third floor art is 17th century art etc. and the original Night Watch by Rembrandt (from 1642) is there. I kid you not, this thing is huge and a huge amount of research went into restoring it which only started in January this year. It’s actually breathtaking in real life. Also there’s an Asian pavilion which is an exhibition of art from China, Japan, Korea dating back from the 12th century I think off the top of my head. It’s really interesting, each floor is a bit of a maze as in you don’t know whether you’re coming or going 😭 So if anyone does plan to go there, I’d recommended more than hour there even 2-2.5 hours if you’re really interested in art and history and want to soak up everything. We spent less than an hour there because my mom was in a hurry to go back because we’re staying in a town outside Amsterdam but nonetheless we made it through the whole and I really wanted to see Rembrandt so I breezed through the whole third floor 😂 it’s one thing to look at them in a book but seeing them in real life, is something else and gives you an appreciation for art so now I see why Namjoon loves museums and galleries so much

As a heads up, the Van Gogh Museum and Rijkmuseum are only a 5-6 minute walk from each other. You have to pre book your tickets online for both (the official websites for both are best and cheapest way as some third party websites could charge you more). Also, for both places, tickets are non refundable and non transferable. The most they could do is reschedule if there’s availability on the day you want if you call them. I could honestly spend all day going to museums if I could 😂 Also, pictures to come!

Cool lol

#btsqualityy asks

[hauntingthechateau]

Saturday November 4th

High of 13, rainy/cloudy. Overnight low 6.

Breakfast at 9 is going to be a challenge for me 🙃 But Free food is worth a lot. Woke up this morning, tea/showered/makeup/dressed and then got ready to head to the chateau… really feels like I’m doing everything backwards when I do it like this. Not mad about the breakfast pickings though… there were like 9 cheeses. For breakfast. !?!? Plus pastries and sliced salamis and boiled eggs from our chickens and fresh fruit!? I found out today that it’s all locally sourced from villages around the area and the bread and pastries are delivered daily EVERYDAY. EVEN SUNDAY. IN RURAL FRANCE!? A miracle. And as someone who has /opinions/ about croissants, these are REALLY GOOD.

After breakfast we got the tour of the studios. My accommodations email originally said that I would be in the chateau so I lugged my 35lb suitcase up the hill in the rain, but I then learned I would actually be in the stables. I got to see all the other studios and they look great and I can’t wait to go and visit everyone else as I get to know everyone to check up on what they’re working on. It seems like all the chateau studios have old (nonfunctional) fireplaces, which are beautiful marble things, but overall I’m glad to be in the stables. 

After the whole tour, Josh drove my suitcase down to the stables and I started to settle in. Fuck me if my studio wasn’t the very central, most perfect studio, right underneath the old clock, so fucking aesthetically pleasing. The studio is probably about 1.5 or 2x the size of my studio back home, a nice easy rectangle with high vaulted brick ceilings and the front being all beautiful old windows/doors. I started settling in before lunch (leftovers) and then we went off on our shopping trip, which made up a chunk of the day (but was worth it even just for the experience). 

We all loaded into vans, I dibs on the front of Beulah’s van and Jennifer crammed in next to me. It was incredible to see all the beautiful French countryside and small towns in the daylight, since we came in so late last night and with the storms there was no stars so moon so it’s been BLACK. Apparently it was some bomb cyclone blasting through the area that’s caused all these issues with the trains and such, and it’s looking like the whole month is going to be just gusty and cloudy and rainy which is kind of a shame. I don’t mind the general vibe, but it would be nice to have A DAY of sun at least???

Anyway, we headed to some weird garden centre/ small town canadian tire-ass place first that had an art supply section the size of a tiny art supply store. I picked up some spray paint for fun, but really I was just there for the next stop: the le’clerc! Such a weird Walmart + Costco vibe. I picked up tea and crackers and wine and scotch. I’m all good to go (and very glad to have chai for home to drink before heading to breakfast). 

Once back home (after another beautiful drive with great conversation), we unloaded into our studio to further set up/unload/settle in. I moved around furniture, unpacked everything and started to hang all my panels to make the studio feel less empty and sad. I think I need a little big more furniture or shelves to make the studio feel less barren, but I’ll work on that the next few days. So far it’s feeling nice though and I can’t believe my luck getting the exactly studio I wanted (although I know I would have made anywhere work).

At 6:15 headed up the hill for the proper Champagne welcome. Its more of a walk up that hill than I had bargained for, but honestly I’m really glad since Im not gonna be walking 2.5km to work all month (actually about 500 m to the Chateau, 200 to the Stables).  Got a nice introduction about the history of the residency as well as the chateau itself in its two iterations and it’s art collection and how much of it ended up at the Louvre (included pieces I knew well!).

Dinner was next up with a visit to the wine cave. I grabbed a bootle of vote d u rhone but they’re pricy and really next time we go into town I should buy a bunch of wine of my own. Lasagne dinner (with some nice chickpea and cucumber salads as well) and a dessert I yet again didn’t even make it to. Moved to the salon after dinner and then the speakeasy after 10pm (to keep down the noise) and just had a great time! I walked back home, called Craig from the studios and then pretty well crashed by the time I got home (minus all this journaling I just did).

The church bells always seems to be tolling when I’m coming home, which just seems so perfect.  The wind is howling something fierce tonight. My yawns are intense as I try to write all this before falling asleep, (its 1am now). Goodnight!

Xox

[amitapaul]

Day 23

Poem 29

29/23

THE CHAIR

1

The chair, the desk,

the large rooms,

the cubicled sections

the long corridors

the colonnaded porticos

and the lawns

with formal borders

a crooked fir tree

graceful frangipani

bougainvillea and quisqualis

and the bridal creeper

trailing over

the boundary walls

I never really knew

how much the gardens

meant to me

and the vases of flowers

on the tables

2.

Teatime was always the best of times

and of course it was always teatime

Well, after eleven o’clock, definitely

Bearers in white with red cummerbunds

and ornate turbans of red and white

with gold piping seen here and there

between the folds, and a stiff hoopoe’s crest

of starched white mulmul topping the confection

could be seen soundlessly floating up and down

the gleaming corridors of power with polished door of teak and mahogany opening on both sides

amidst the potted palms and aspidistras

bearing silver trays with silver teapots

( later steel ) and milkpots and sugarpots

spoons and strainers and starched damask napkins

with Brittania Marie Wafer Biscuits and trail mixes

of spicy salted vermicelli and roasted gram and pulses

at the very least ; at best piping hot samosas

plump with mashed spiced peas and potatoes

served with a dash of Kissan’s tomato sauce

which is in fact mostly made of pumpkin

and ice- cold rosogullas in their own syrup

or sugar- bombs of soft sticky hot gulabjamuns

served with fresh hot Darjeeling tea

O the tinkling of those spoons in those teacups !

and the tiny clouds of steam rising like mini dragons

from each fine porcelain or bone-china tea-cup when tea was poured from the hot teapot pot

into each translucent cup, table brewed -

a soupçon of milk, and one sugar, please .

3.

The gossip was always hotter and spicier

than the snacks and the tea, especially

in the rooms of the departments of personnel

finance and cabinet coordination, especially

on Tuesday afternoons, when the Cabinet

usually met, and transfers and postings were decided :

you could see hacks from over a dozen newspapers

eager for slivers of news that even a passing peon

could drop, before the big feast of the post- cabinet

Press Conference, with pakoras and pineapple pastries

and ready- mixed tea from aluminium tea kettles

for official spokespersons, assistants, clerks,

and media persons. Four thirty to five o’clock

in the afternoon in the Secretariat Conference Hall

under the pink Clock Tower in the Old Secretariat.

4.

To sit for hours

in colour- blocked

salwar - kameez-

dupatta- jacket

poring over petitions

and yellowed pages

of the law books

and “ reporters “

of High Court

and Supreme Court

Judgements with

titles and years

etched on their

covers and spines

in gold on red black

or brown leather

sparring with lawyers

in their black coats

and gowns and stiff

starched white collars

bow ties and recording

evidence and citing

precedents and dictating

judgements in tones

sonorous to drowsy

stenographers

5.

Upstairs in the record room with the port- hole windows

records from a hundred fifty years ago were slowly

falling apart among the district gazetteers, and the clerks

and record- keepers wheezed and coughed

with asthma and tuberculosis, driving up the costs

of medical reimbursement.

6.

One day the marigold garlands and rose bouquets

came out in cartloads and speeches were delivered

framed and presented to a jolly good “ fellow”

and a farewell ride given on a car pulled by colleagues.

That night, a buffet dinner at a posh hotel.

Then silence, more or less.

7.

Cholai, the principal under- gardner,

brought home a bunch of handpicked flowers

on my birthday .

We had some tea and biscuits

and a pleasant chat in the verandah.

Birds sang to us - I , relaxed on my rattan recliner,

He , very proper, on a polished shisham chair.

( ASA )

23/4/23

#23GloPoWriMo

Poem 29

[culinaryhannah]

Pies and Tarts

INTRODUCTION

This week, I will be learning…

Method: Pate Sucree, Pate Sablee, Pate Brisee, Flaky & mealy pie crust

Menu: Pate Sucree (Fresh Fruit Tart & Pastry Crème and neutral glaze) 1,  Pate Sablee 1/2, Pate Brisee 1/2(Quiche Lorraine 1), Flaky & mealy pie crust 1/2 (lemon meringue pie or Blueberry Pie 1), Pastry Cream 1/4 recipe, Glaze 1/3. apple, strawberry, lemon, frozen blueberry, apricot puree, raspberry, kiwi

Prior Knowledge

I have made apple pie a few times. My aunt makes apple pie for some family gatherings, I really like the spices she uses in hers. She also uses a wide variety of apples and she makes the crust with vodka I believe. I think she said it was a family recipe and the reasoning is that less water and steam makes it flakier or crispier or something. IDK

Learning Objectives

My learning objectives are to prepare a variety of pie and tart crusts, prepare a variety of pie and tart fillings, form and bake a variety of pies and tarts, and store pies and tarts.

RESEARCH

Method of Cooking

Pies are sweet or savory fillings in a baked crust.  They can be made without a top crust or topped with a full crust or a lattice crust. Pies are generally made in a round, slope-sided pan and cut into wedges for service. They are distinguished by their homespun qualities and rustic charm.

Pie fillings are often based on seasonal availability of fruit or on holiday traditions.

Tarts are similar to pies except that tarts are made in shallow, straight-sided pans, often with fluted edges. Tart dough is firmer than pie dough, and a finished tart is often displayed without a pan. Tarts can be almost any shape; round, square, rectangular and petal shapes are common, as are petit or individual serving-size tartlets.

Fillings are generally added to tarts after the crust is fully baked. Tarts are usually open-faced and garnished with an attractive arrangement of fruit brushed with glaze, carefully piped cream or chocolate décor.

“After the fat is cut into the flour, water, buttermilk or milk is added to form the dough. Less water is needed for mealy dough because more flour is in contact with the fat, reducing its ability to absorb liquid. Cold water is normally used for both flaky and mealy doughs. The water should be well chilled to prevent softening the fat. Buttermilk or milk may be used to increase richness and nutritional value. Buttermilk will contribute a slightly tangy flavor to the crust. Milk will produce a darker, less crisp crust than water. If dry milk powder is used, it should be dissolved in water first.”

Origin and History

“Contrary to popular belief, the French did not invent Quiche Lorraine, but they did improve upon it.  Quiche Lorraine originated in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, Germany, which the French took over after World War I, which they renamed Lorraine.  In fact, the word ‘quiche’ is from the German ‘Kuchen’, meaning cake.

Lorraine resides in what is considered the Aslace region of France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland.  It is one of the few areas not bombed during WWII with the most picturesque villages to this day.  I had the privilege of visiting there a few years ago which you can check on my IG highlights under Belgium-France (It appears halfway through, starting with Colmar). Just like I was mesmerized by the charming Alsace region, you will be mesmerized by the deliciousness that is Quiche Lorraine!(5)”

Quiche Lorraine is a type of quiche with very specific ingredients.  To be considered Quiche Lorraine, the quiche must be made with eggs, heavy cream, bacon, and Swiss cheese.

Dish Method Variations

Any quiche that strays from this formula with the omission of bacon or the addition of other ingredients such as ham, sausage, vegetables, etc. is considered quiche, not Quiche Lorraine.

As with many traditional dishes, however, it tends to evolve the farther it gets from home.

Variations

Sources

1)Labensky. On Baking, Fourth Edition 2)https://www.alfajoresbakery.com/blog/2020/2/22/a-brief-history-of-alfajoresnbsp 2)https://youtu.be/48KPMVrHJaA 3)https://ashleemarie.com/four-amazing-pie-crusts/ 4)https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/quiche-lorraine-recipes-origins-famous-open-faced-pie 5) https://carlsbadcravings.com/quiche-lorraine/

RECIPES

(click for better image quality)

Pate Brisee

Basic Pie Dough

Pate Sucree

Pate Sablee

Neutral Glaze

Plan of Work

demo basic pie dough

REFLECTION

Results

Method:

Laminated Dough: The laminated dough method worked decently well. We struggled to roll the dough by hand and create even and sturdy layers.

Chef Michael Schwartz brought us some puff pastry to try. His layers using the sheeter were very consistent and easy to see in the final product. Our layers were less visually distinct. It was easy to count ten layers of his pastries since the layers were separate and outlined with a darker brown from crisping on the edges after separating.

Pastry Cream: Creating pastry cream went smoothly. We allowed the mixture to cool off somewhat, and we also stirred some of the hot liquid into the eggs to temper them before adding them to the hot mixture.

Taste: The pastry was a decent balance of sweet and salty. I would say that the vanilla flavor was strong.

Flavor:

Texture:

Appearance:

Evaluation of results  

Discuss the techniques that did work well.

The pastry cream method worked well and was tasty. I can see why this is a useful item to know how to create.

Discuss the techniques that did not work well.

Laminated dough worked not as well as we would have liked. The dough was stretching and tearing. The layers did not become as distinct as we would have liked.

The filling methods worked fine, however the accidental addition of the raw fillings to the pastries caused some food illness which is very bad.

Conclusions

The learning objectives were somewhat met. We prepared laminated dough, and prepared puff pastry, however, we did not bake the danish dough, so we did not get to see the results.

In the future, I will use the sheeter to laminate dough. This is a skill that I would like to learn. I would also like to try some alternative pastry shapes and fillings as well as a savory pastry. I think pastry is best with fresh fruit, so maybe I will make this again when it is time to pick some!

Thank you for reading!

[yuriboobz]

epic rap battles of history gordon ramsay vs julia child begin and that's how you make a perfect risotto right mrs child welcome to the grown-ups table ive got exactly two minutes and you should be grateful causeim in the fucking weeds with all these shows to pitch ikeep my ovens preheated and my pilots green lit im a seasoned skillet your a pam sprayed pan i got michelin stars youre like the michelin man im rolling in dough like beef wellington from hollering and im shitting on you like im whack-flows intolerant oh isnt that a wonderful thing a grumpy little chef who thinks he can bring enough stuff to justify getting rough with the butter loving queen of the bourguignon boeuf i rock hard as concrete on top of these bomb beats been chopping the pommes frites since you sucked on ur moms teats i served AMERICA🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲 dutifully and i slice lard beautifully i reign supreme from shark repellent to charcuterie go on and cross your arms in that b boy stance when it comes to haute cuisine theres one f word FRANCE🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 heres a nice amuse-bouche take a poor abused youth set a thirty year timer voila huge douche youre a namby pamby candy ass pansy gordon ramsay you couldnt rap your way out of a pastry bag understand me i laugh and create you berate and destroy but fear my dear boy is less scrumptious than joy im glad you got that off your giant flabby chest id call you a donkey but you look more like shrek when the iron man chef busts a rhyme ill open up on you like a fine red wine im a culinary innovator youre no creator regurgitating FRENCH🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 plates like a glorified translator im fresh youre past your expiration date aight fuck it blue team drop the bouillabaisse yes chef ive seen your little show and it sure aint pretty one part big bird two parts miss piggy you cant test me with your fatty recipes call your book mastering the art of heart disease i mean its rubbish yes chef look at page four hundred eight tell me who the fuck wants to learn to cook calf brains you call these rhymes raw theyre stale and soft now here take this jacket now give it back and fuck off oh please your defeats guaranteed concede ive got this in the bag sous vide michelin indeed youve done well for yourself but as a person you couldnt get a star on yelp i could freeze a steak with those frosted tips whats with that bitter taste in every word from your lips you scream at women but the fits that youre pitchin make you the pissiest bitch in the kitchen ill pat you on the head melt you and stick it to ya anythings good with enough butter booya oh im so glad you spent this time with me now eat a dick bon appetit who won whos next you decide epic rap battles of history

[occasionsgiftideas]

5 Delicious Desserts You Must Try for Celebration

Celebrations anywhere are incomplete without delicious, finger-licking food items. From drinks to starters to desserts, there is something for everyone. While the primary reason to attend any celebration is to share love and happiness with everyone, the other important one is food! Well, for people with a sweet tooth, having a dessert is no less than heaven. But what kind of desserts are suitable for which party, and what can you expect to get where? Today, we will talk about 5 delicious cake types that one must try for any celebration, anywhere. 

Cheesecakes

Get over your regular chocolate and vanilla cakes because cheesecake is here to give you a taste of finesse! Cheesecake, as the name suggests, is an extremely creamy delicacy that is made with extra soft cheese, eggs, and sugar. And we all know that anything that is made with cheese is bound to be good! The best part about this cheesecake, apart from its softness, is its crusty base. The base is usually made up of crushed cookies, graham crackers, or even pastry. 

This allows you to have bits of crunchiness every time you take a big bite. There are different variations of a cheesecake, and they are mostly based on the regions in which they originated, like the Japan-style Cotton cheesecake, the New York-style Cheesecake, and more. It can also have chocolate and berries flavors to give you an enriching experience. So this should for sure be on your list of buy cakes online.

Cupcakes 

These tiny bombs of flavors are absolutely deserving to be on your celebration list Cupcakes are comfort foods that you can enjoy at any time of the day. Whenever someone is feeling low, the best thing you can do for them is to send over a box of delicious, beautiful cupcakes. They will glee with joy in an instant. For children’s birthday parties, you can easily choose to have cupcakes as they will be easy to distribute and also be mess-free. 

You can also use cupcakes as party favors for guests to take home later, like at weddings. The best part about cupcakes is the frosting, and the best part for bakers is to be able to decorate that frosting with weird things! So do not miss out on this beautiful delicacy. 

Pastries

Cakes are great, but have you ever tried pastries? Pastries can either be sweet or savory and a fresh break from cakes. Sweet pastries are simply like cakes, but they come in small portions. For people who love having cakes but can not finish one fully, pastries are here for your rescue. 

Savory pastries are basically made with flour dough, water, and some sort of shortening ingredients. They are topped with powdered sugar and served with coffee or simply eaten plain. Ne should definitely try the different types of pastries available. 

Donuts

How many times have you wished as a child to get a box of donuts? These round rings of flavors are absolutely delicious and can be eaten anywhere, anytime! Made in a similar way as savory pastries, donuts are complete comfort food. Dipped in chocolate sauce, they can surpass any dessert. 

Add some pretty colorful sprinkles on top, and you are good to go! Kids love donuts, and they are a great addition to birthday parties as well. Send over a box of donuts to show your love. And always remember to keep a stand of donuts at any celebration you are hosting. 

Macaroons 

This french delicacy may look tiny to you, but once you taste this, you will not feel like eating anything else. One can easily finish a box of macaroons. Macaroons are small cakes or biscuits that have a crunchy filling inside. 

The filling is made from different sorts of nuts like almonds, pistachios, coconut, and more. These ingredients give a rich taste to the macaroon and make it a royal dessert. It is best as a snack at tea parties and high-end celebrations. Their colorful, vibrant exteriors make them an absolute favorite for decor! 

Order cakes online for your next celebration! 

[equipoiser]

Crow

Basics

Species; Human Gender; Male, he/him Age; 19 Nationality; American, Norse heritage Powers; Telekinesis (of small objects), touch-telepathy Archetype; "Robin Hood"-type antihero

Appearance

Height; 5'10" Skin Tone; White Tattoos/Scars; He has a small, simple crow tattoo between his shoulder blades. Underneath it is written his name in Norse runes. He is heavily scarred, but the most prominent are two jagged slashes on either side of his tattoo, down his shoulder blades. Eyes; Blue-grey Hair; Black, and long. Worn back in a bun when he's working. Posture; Shy, always taking up as little space as he can, whether standing or sitting. His shoulders aren't exactly hunched, but they're probably one cruel comment away from being so. He's always standing so he's ready to run. Dress; Anything dark and close-fitting, often in multiple layers. His favorites are black jeans, a dark grey turtleneck, black gloves, and those all-black converse. Often, he has a harness with his tools on overtop of the turtleneck. Weapons/Tools; The pouches attached to the harness carry lots of things. He has no real weapons- strictly non-lethal- but he carries a can of mace and a pocket knife. As far as tools go, there's not much he doesn't have; a grappling hook, a small crowbar, lockpicks, smoke bombs, hobby knife, matches, flashlight, spare mask in case he loses his in a scuffle, pen and paper... anything you could think of for a modern burglar. (More like Garrett than Selina, though.) Quirks; While he can speak, an incident in his childhood means that it's very difficult and sort of painful, so he signs instead. Also, has a phobia of dogs, especially large ones.

Attitude

Personality; Considering he spends his nights thieving and most of his day in classes, he's pretty much always tired. As such, the only version of him people know is 'irritable, standoffish, and rebellious'. In reality, when he's properly rested, he can actually be quite sweet. Likes; Coffee (obviously), sweet pastries like cake or cookies, being alone and having his space, the sound of rain. Dislikes; The smell of lavender, anything bitter or sour, anything involving more people than five, and actually being out in the rain. Strengths; He can multitask like nobody's business, he's very organized, and although he's touch-telepathic only, he has a general low-level ability to sense emotion, so he can get a feeling for a person's mood and adapt his actions accordingly, even without them saying a word. Weaknesses; Anything soft. No, really. He's basically constantly sleep-deprived, so if he lies down on something soft he'll be out like a light in less than 30 seconds. It makes stakeouts uncomfortable and frustrating. In addition, his difficulty vocalizing means that it's hard for him to communicate without having someone's full attention.

Other

Daytime Occupation; College student, majoring in Communications, specifically journalism, with a minor in photography/visual arts. Sidekicks; None Allies; None. DeShade is occasionally a patron, though. Skills; Because he does parkour tutorial videos in his (incredibly rare) spare time, he's learned how to be a good teacher, as well as how to perform difficult parkour moves without hurting himself. He's also skilled in things like 'doing taxes', 'paying bills', and 'budgeting'- basically, anything money and math related.

[ Crow, as created in Artbreeder ]

#crow #bios

[segapayspot]

Why is Breakfast the Most Important Meal of the Day? Reasons

The very first meal you eat after waking up could be the most important food to include in your day. Starting your day shouldn’t be stuffing your stomach to let go hungry or craving taste and contentment. On the contrary, it has to be a nutritious breakfast that boosts your metabolism and provides energy for your body and brain. Your first break of fasting is followed by 8–9 hours of sleep.

What makes a good breakfast? What does it mean to have a well-balanced breakfast?

The food we consume constitutes digestion; effectively, metabolism is a combination of soluble and insoluble substances. They are vital to keeping regular body activity, and wellness, to extending life without sickness. Also, essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients can only be obtained through food. Even if your body can usually find enough energy to get you to the next meal, you must replenish your vitamin and mineral levels to maintain physical and emotional wellness. It is necessary to master the art of picking a breakfast that will truly satisfy you. For many common breakfast foods, such as cereal, toast, and pastries, truffles are sugar-laden carbohydrate bombs that spike your blood sugar and leave you feeling hungrier after a short period.

You’ve broken a fast

You may believe that you must eat first thing in the morning for your body to have the energy to begin the day, but the truth is that you have leftover fuel stored within you. Over time, it is precisely this excess fuel that becomes hazardous to your health.

Breakfast is an important meal, but it does not have to be consumed as soon as you get out of bed. Breaking your fast with sugary cereal and a muffin is not a good idea. You can break your fast at noon with a healthy salad and a piece of salmon too during certain ideal situations. Have a cup of coffee in the morning, taking a few cups of water, fruit juice would be fine at times.

Suppose you’re not hungry in the morning

If you usually skip breakfast and don’t make bad choices later in the day, you might be fine without it. Take note of how you feel throughout the day. If you don’t eat your first meal until lunchtime and are prone to feeling “feel empty,” craving carbs and sugar throughout the day, overeating at other meals, or notice your weight loss has stalled. In that case, it’s advisable to try eating a small breakfast such as an apple or a boiled egg with a piece of fruit.

Higher risk of diabetes

If eliminating your morning meal seems too difficult at first, try eating something high in natural fats and low in carbohydrates.

Breakfast skippers have a “higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, higher risk of obesity due to insulin resistance and hormone regulation, as well as increased risk for heart attacks and hypertension,” according to doctors, medical researchers

You have a thing for unhealthy cravings

No breakfast means no energy for your body and no nutrients for your brain since dinner the night before, which could be 12 to 14 hours ago. To decline into worse, skipping breakfast can lead to making very unhealthy decisions. You may also experience increased cravings. When your blood sugar starts low, you end up overcompensating and “making up” for calories later in the day, which usually results in raiding the pantry in the afternoon when your body and mind signal that you need to eat right away to bring your blood sugar back up.

Protein in the morning reduces desires late in the day

A high-protein breakfast may help curb your appetite later in the day. This is because it activates the body’s signals that suppress appetite, reducing cravings and overeating. They raise the levels of appetite-regulating hormones in your body, resulting in less hunger and cravings.

Fish, seafood, meat, poultry, and dairy products are excellent sources of protein for breakfast. More

#breakfast #healthy #protein #morningfood #dairy #tiffin recipes

[lazypeachsoul]

I wouldn't want to spend a minute lovin' anybody else.

Warnings: this fic has some sad moments and mentions of the blip. also kind of AU because I'm completely ignoring Natasha's canon end.

Word count: 4,2k (i got very carried away with this fic)

Summary: · Meeting the right person at the wrong time can be life changing when it doesn’t work out the way we desire. But if it's meant to be it will always happen, right?

A/N: This is my fic for the "Women of Marvel xReader Exchange" created by @marvelxreaderfanfictionfest . It was created for @im-holding-ontoyou and I hope you like it! gif by @natasharomanovgifs 🌼 ALSO; i haven't watched Black Widow yet so I'm sorry if something in this fic doesn't fit the new info we got about natasha.

Masterlist.

To be added to my taglist use this forms or write me an ask!

New York, 2015.

When you received the call from one of your bosses that you had a new case you would have never imagined how big that case would turn out to be.

You had been working for one of the most important law firms in New York for a year now, and you were getting kind of used to reading cases that would be narrated in the papers for months. Rich and entitled men, big divorces were they fight over who gets the yacht, one or two murder cases... if it revolved around the powerful people of New York city, your firm would get it.

When you got to the debriefing and were told that Tony Stark, one of the firm's most important clients, asked your team for assistance in the creation of some legislation with the newly created “Advanced Threat Containment Unit” you were more than surprised.

The events that the Avengers had caused (or saved us from, there were different opinions going around) in the small country of Sokovia were known all around the and it was only time before the most powerful officials asked for the regulation of ‘superhero activity’.

You weren’t important enough to actually attend the meetings that took place with the government, seeing as you had only passed your bar exam a little over a year prior, but you were deemed cheerful and nice enough to act as a nexus between the firm and the client.

For months you spent your days talking to Tony Stark and other members of The Avengers trying to explain what was being talked about. The first few meetings were a disaster, seeing as the mood was somber for the lives lost and nobody really understood your legal jargon. But slowly you started to transform your language and really tried to make the meetings as easy as possible for everyone present.

But who were you kidding, they really didn’t care about the meetings or the silly attorney being sent to explain something that was way above their paycheck. Well, at least Stark was gracious enough to set a coffee station with some pastries for the meeting. You were pouring the hot liquid into your to-go cup when your hand jerked and the hot liquid splashed your hand.

You could feel the sting of the burn but avoided further sudden movements trying not to make it worse. Before you could reach for a napkin to clean up the mess you made, a more dexterous and manicured hand reached for them and exchanged the hot cup in your hand for the bunch of papers.

“Careful, Stark always serves boiling coffee. I think it’s to mask that it’s not the best quality.”

You lifted your gaze from your hand and found a pair of deep green eyes gazing back. You would have thought that spending numerous meetings in the company of superheroes would make you less susceptible to their powerful auras, but being this close to Natasha Romanoff made your heart beat a bit faster.

“Yeah, I found out the hard way.” You joked, lifting your hand a bit. “You would guess one of the richest people in the world would actually serve good coffee...”

Seeing her crack a smile made you feel less tense. Sometimes you forget they are still normal people. Normal people who could kill you with their bare hands and had superhuman powers. She placed your cup on the food table, apparently not bothered by how hot it must have been, and pushed her hand in your direction.

“I’m Natasha Romanoff.” You wrapped your hand around hers and shook it, biting your tongue trying not to tell her of course you knew her name. “Sorry I didn’t introduce myself in earlier meetings, we were all trying to come to terms with what had happened.”

“No worries, I can only imagine how hard it must have been for all of you.” You nodded and tried to show her sympathy, trying to avoid thinking about all the lives affected by the fight. “Oh sorry, I’m-”

Natasha quickly cut you off, speaking your name before you could even say it. You could feel your cheeks get warmer at the idea that they actually knew who you were, and she probably could sense your mood change because she quickly explained.

“I know who you are, you send us at least two emails a week about these meetings and FRIDAY always announces you before you arrive.”

“Who announces me?” You asked curiously at the mention of a name you recognized.

“FRIDAY. It’s the name of Stark’s AI technology. It works all around the tower and it’s there to make life easier for everyone.” She explained pointing around at the speakers strategically placed around the room.

“Oh, I get emails from Friday sometimes. Most of them are asking me to translate or explain something about the debriefing because Mr.Stark is not interested in legal terms.” Both you and Natasha laughed at the thought.

But she quickly recomposed and tried to look serious again when she heard her teammates coming in to get ready for the meeting.

“I wanted to ask you about that. Do you think we could schedule a meeting so that you could explain some things about the legislation of the A.T.C.U.?” She spoke lower than she had when the two of you were alone and you wondered why she didn’t want her colleagues to know about the meeting.

“Ye-Yeah, of course I can.” You were confused but thought it would be in your best interest, and the firm’s, to say yes to the proposal. And a meeting with a very attractive and definitely interesting woman was not something that happened constantly for you.

“Great, thank you.” She smiled warmly and squeezed your hand that you hadn’t even realized was still wrapped around hers from the introduction. “I can promise you better coffee.”

You could only hum in response, still trying to piece together what she might want from the meeting. But your thoughts were quickly cut off when Stark entered the room and you moved to start the reunion.

During the entire meeting you could feel the dull pain in your hand from the scorching coffee and the feeling of a pair of green eyes watching your every move.

Vienna, 2016.

The situation had only gone downhill from the Battle of Sokovia. The public’s opinion on the Avengers was at an all-time-low and that made terrorist groups bold. They knew that if they struck and caused enough chaos, the blame would fall on the good guys that tried to stop them.

The only thing that seemed to be a stable thing in your life was Natasha. Well, as stable as dating a superhero might be. She was busy a lot, but you understood the importance of her job and you were quite busy too gaining importance within the law firm.

And even if sometimes terrorists and criminals got in the way you still found a moment to spend together, wrapped around each other without having to think about how messed up life was.

You thought Lagos was the blow that would make everything tumble, the Sokovia accords were unveiled and it broke the Avengers, and your girlfriend. You could feel how torn she was at her decision of some of her friends to oppose the signing and go on the run, and her own decision to subordinate to the United Nations mandate. But you realized how small that had been when king T’Chaka was killed at the UN.

You had been at the UN as part of the USA legal team that participated in the writing and monitoring of the accords. Your participation in the negotiations almost broke your relationship but you were able to recover once you explained your position and Natasha actually came to an understanding of it.

Natasha was also in Vienna when everything went down, you hadn’t managed to properly see her because she was one of the signers and they sat at the assembly while other guests sat at the amphitheater watching the retransmission.

You hadn’t been able to properly see her all day, seeing as she took a detour before flying to Austria. You were only able to communicate through texts where you tried to make the situation more comfortable for her and she promised a peaceful european trip to celebrate the signing.

When the bomb went off and all hell broke loose the first thing you tried to do was look for her, she was at the epicenter of the explosion and you just wanted to see if she was okay. You saw her from afar when you were being pushed to the outside of the building while they swiped the perimeter.

She sat with T’Challa before he jumped from the bench and stomped away. Natasha looked around and your gazes crossed, immediately melting away some of the worry. You tried to push your way through the crowd to get to her, but police and security didn’t budge.

You never took your eyes off of her, scared that if you did she would disappear. But she did move her gaze to her phone and the look that crossed her face when she heard the voice at the other side told you it was a very important call.

Once the call was over and she looked at you again you knew that would probably be the last time you would see her in some time. You hadn’t known Natasha as long as some of her colleagues had, but you could proudly say you could understand what she wanted to say with just a look. And the look on her face in that moment read close to a goodbye.

New York, 2018.

It had been two years since the fall of Helmut Zemo and part of the Avengers was still on the run. And it maybe wouldn’t have had that big of an impact on you if it wasn’t because Natasha had also been on the run for that long.

You had heard about what happened at the Leipzig airport and how Natasha had changed alliances to join Captain America’s fight. You had been heartbroken at the news knowing that any resemblance of normality that you still hope for was destroyed.

You had spent months wondering what had made her change her mind. Had she thought about your conversations about the accords? Had she even remembered you, waiting for her back in New York, when she decided to go on the run?

A part of you tried to convince you of how selfish thinking about that was, why would she think about you when the future of her team and friends was at stake? But also you were her girlfriend, she should have thought about the implications that might have had for you.

In those years you had mourned your relationship and after the grieving period you tried to rebuild your life. New friends, a new position and new chances to take. And it went okay...at least until someone opened their mouth to talk about superheroes or The Avengers. Years down the line and it was still on people’s minds.

On special occasions you would receive anonymous gifts at your office or your apartment. The first birthday after the war you sobbed for fifteen minutes when you saw the bunch of flowers. There was no name or indicative of who might have sent them, that was until you looked better at the card and saw the small red hourglass painted in the corner.

The gifts continued. Every case you won, promotion, birthday or holiday a bunch of flowers would be delivered to you with the same note.

In a way it gave you a sense of peace knowing she was okay and still thought of you. But the more you thought about it the angrier you got at how she had left you.

You didn’t expect a message from your boss to run to the Avengers compound and assess some situation between Coronel Rhodes and Thaddeus Ross. Although the team had crumbled, your company was still hired to legally represent the remaining members and moderate situations that might arise with the government.

You entered the compound expecting another bureaucratic complaint about their activity but you found a trickier situation. The meeting room was filled with people you thought you would never see again.

Captain Rogers was sitting on one of the chairs sporting a new look that made you almost not recognize him and a tense demeanor. Next to him was Sam Wilson, looking around at the smallest of movements and trying to assess the situation. Wanda Maximoff was standing on the furthest corner of the room playing with her rings, meanwhile Vision was apparently being checked out for a wound. What kind of wounds a synthezoid could get was beyond your understanding.

“Thank you for coming so quickly, I might have angered Secretary Ross during a meeting.” Rhodey came up to you with a nervous smile.

You had gotten closer to him thanks to your job seeing as he was the one doing the dirty superhero work.

“Yeah, I got that much from the text. Nothing new then.” You tried to joke to diffuse the tension in the room. “It would have been nice to know you had guests though.”

“We are not guests. Last time I checked this was our home too.”

That voice made your blood freeze. You should have expected her there, all her friends had returned and the chance of her being back too was almost 100%. But hearing her voice again after two years was not something you expected.

You bit your tongue before you could talk about how it’s not a home if you abandon it, but decided against it. This was a fight between them, not Natasha and you.

“I need you to work with the government to avoid this situation becoming a disaster.” Rhodey explained and you scoffed.

“Rhodey, I’m a lawyer not a politician. I have as much power in this as you might have.” You tried to lay your point across but it was difficult with all eyes on the interaction. “Hell, I have even less power than you do.”

“Then I need you to distract them enough to get them off our shoulders.” He pressed. “Something big is coming and we need all the strength we can get.”

You thought about it for a moment. If it was true that something big was coming, the Avengers were the best option to fight it.

“I’m in.” You scoffed at his smile and sat down in one of the chairs of the meeting room. “I’m not ready for the world to end yet.”

The meeting went on for a while. You called bosses, government officials and everyone that would listen to your distractions. You sent emails that would flood their inboxes for days so that they couldn’t read any news that might reach them about what the superheroes had in mind.

It was late at night when a cup of steaming liquid was placed next to you. You looked at it and saw that it was some kind of herbal tea, probably made to relax the drinker. You followed the hand that was still holding the mug until you reached Natasha’s face.

You had done your best to ignore her looming presence in the room but now there was no distraction. Looking at her you could see tiredness in her face. She was platinum blonde now, a look that weirdly suited her, but her face still looked as welcoming to you as it always did.

You tried to stop the flashbacks to the last time you saw it in person in Vienna, but they kept replaying in your head until her voice broke you out of the loop.

“I thought you might need it, I remember how nervous calls used to make you.”

She was smiling but you could tell it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Yeah, I guess I got over it since I got my promotion. Now I spend a long portion of my day making calls.”

She hummed and sat down next two you, but leaving a chair in between you as a safe space.

“I read about it in an article, I sent you flowers to celebrate.”

“I got them. And the Christmas ones. On my birthday too.” You enumerated the times you had gotten the plants in the past two years. “You must have spent an awful amount of money buying me so many flowers.”

“You deserved it, you still do.” She shrugged and that’s when you noticed she had her own mug of warm tea in her other hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to celebrate with you.”

You laughed into your mug sarcastically. Out of everything you expected her to say this wasn’t one of them.

“Did you really? Because you didn’t seem to consider me much when you went on the run for two years.”

Natasha paled when she heard your tone. She probably wasn’t used to situations like these but you weren’t going to let her go without an apology at least.

“I was trying to do the best for-”

“-for the world. I get it, Natasha, I do.” You tried to contain your emotions but it was getting harder with every word. “Relationships are supposed to be teamwork. I know you are always too busy playing heroes and I never judged you for that, I just wish you would have trusted me enough to tell me before you disappeared.”

She was silent and knowing Natasha it’s because she was probably overwhelmed with the display of feelings. But she needed to hear how bad you had felt.

After minutes of waiting for an answer from her and getting nothing but sighs you shook your head and looked back at the computer screen.

“I guess it was a case of the right person, wrong time.” You shrugged trying to find distraction in the flurry of letters in your email inbox. “Or at least it was for me.”

She got up from her seat without a word and you grew exasperated. Why had she even approached you if then she wasn’t willing to have an adult, two sided conversation? She was almost at the door when you heard her voice again.

“Please never doubt how much I love you. I made some bad choices but dating you was not one of them.”

New York, 2024.

Time apparently flies by when you are erased from the face of the earth. One day you are in your office working late and the next you appear five years in the future with no recollection of what might have happened.

You were taken by authorities to impromptu camps and one by one examined to check your identities. The entire thing seemed to be something out of one of the dystopian novels you used to read as a teenager.

When it was your turn you gave them all the information you had on what had happened. You had given them your name and personal information and apparently had been a very searched person because the computer started beeping as soon as your name was introduced in the database.

You were moved to a secluded part of the camp and kept in an isolated room for god knows how long. Your stomach was in knots during the entire situation and you could feel the cold sweat on you. That mixed with the metallic taste on your tongue you knew this time your anxiety was justified. You were almost dizzy because of how hard you were thinking about the entire situation and trying to make sense of it.

When you heard the door of the room open you jumped up, discarding on the floor a makeshift blanket that had been placed on your shoulders when you got there. Your legs almost gave out at the movement and your heart felt like it was going to burst out.

The door opened enough for you to see who had been searching for you. Natasha stepped through the door still dressed in her tactic gear and with tiredness written all over her face. But that feeling seemed to almost disappear when she finally saw you.

With quick movements she stepped into the room and wrapped her arms around you tightly. For some reason that action was the trigger that you needed to let all your emotions consume you.

You started sobbing uncontrollably at the unknown. You didn’t understand what happened or how you are here, but feeling her embrace helped you feel safe in a way. It had been years since you last hugged her but it still felt as good as back in 2015.

You could hear Natasha’s soothing shushes in between your sobs and you moved to hold her tighter.

“You are here. I can’t believe I found you again.” She spoke softly and you didn’t know if she was speaking to you or herself. “It’s okay darling. I’m here and I’m not letting you go again. I promise.”

And with that promise a ray of hope made way between all the fear you felt.

Missouri, 2025.

Soft music could be heard all around the ground floor of the house. The soft beat was upbeat enough to get the morning started but not enough to be overwhelming if you had just woken up. You were sitting on the kitchen island looking at the news on your phone and having breakfast.

Mornings were usually very calm around the homestead and you couldn’ be more thankful for that. It allowed you to silently prepare your breakfast and coffee and get a headstart on Natasha’s breakfast too.

Since she had retired, Natasha had discovered a newfound love for sleeping in and you didn’t dare to take that away from her. She deserved it from all the work she had done in her life.

You, meanwhile, tried to get up early to scroll through the cases that you got in your new and smaller job and schedule meetings or emails.

It was a Saturday so work wasn’t a thing and you could actually enjoy your toast and coffee in peace. Or at least until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around your middle and pulled you back against Natasha.

“Good morning baby, how did you sleep?”

“Like a baby.” You could feel her smile when she kissed your cheek from behind. “You weren’t there when I woke up though.”

You shrugged before moving to get a bite out of your toast. Natasha tried to do the same but you quickly moved it away from her with a smile. She tried again and you moved as fast as your reflexes allowed you.

“C’mon baby, give me a bite” “No, it’s my toast. You can make your own.” “But it tastes better when you make it.” “No it doesn’t, don’t be lazy.”

The playful fight continued for a few moments until she got close enough to get a small bit but you moved it again.

“Don’t make me bite you, darling.”

You chuckled at her threat and plopped the remaining toast on the plate in front of you. Breakfast didn’t matter much anymore. You threw yourself into her arms and pressed your lips against hers. It wasn’t a slow and sensual kiss, it was closer to how small kids smooch their parents. But you knew it would convey your love more deeply.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Nat.” You spoke against her lips and squaked when you felt her playfully nip at your bottom lip.

“Is now a good time?”

That question had become recurring in your household, a nod to the phrase you said when you found eachother again after being separated the first time.

“I couldn’t think of a more perfect time.”

And you couldn’t. The rest of your life spent in a homestead with your girlfriend and whatever life might bring? It sounded absolutely delightful.

Taglist: @tagehaya @flyforeverfree @rooskaya-yelena @evalynanne @insanitybyanothername @princessayveke @yelenabelovasgf @kyli314

#natasha romanov x reader #natasha x reader #natasha x you #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x you #black widow imagine #marvel imagine #marvel fic #marvel x reader

[holewithinahole]

Chaotic | Jinx x he/him reader

Summary: You try to take Jinx on a date but everything goes wrong.

Warnings: fluff, non-native writer, unchecked grammar

A lovely request I got by @its-a-game-i-lost. The idea is just so funny to me. I wish I could have expanded more on the characters... I hope I did good!

You’re a pretty standard young man. You grew up in the Lanes, committed petty theft and rose middle fingers at enforcers like any other healthy child. Now, you work your ass off in the factories and bring back bits of broken equipment for Jinx to play with.

You have a relationship with Jinx. A friendly relationship you’d say. Everything is relative when it concerns Jinx. But she often comes to spend time with you to talk about this and that so you take it as a win.

You want to take her on a date. A real one, a sweet one, a conventional one.

But nothing is ever conventional with Jinx. You discovered this the hard way.

The first time, she’s laying on your couch, munching candies she stole during her last Piltover heist when you ask: “Wanna come with me to topside, real quick?”

She looks up at you then smiles knowingly. She has the time to grab her trusty Pow-Pow before you stop her: “Uh, I don’t think you’ll need it.”

She pauses then laughs: “Ya’ right! Better to travel light hehe.”

Nothing went as planned. Obviously. The small hidden cafe you wanted to take her to call the enforcers and you ended up running all the way down to the Lanes. Everything would have probably gone better if Jinx had restrained herself from tagging buildings on your way there but more importantly if she had restrained from shooting random bullets at the enforcers while laughing maniacally.

You realised later, when laying on your bed at 2 am, that the romantic vision of a date near the docks, eating pastries and laughing carefreely would never come true. You wanted it real bad but it will never be possible. Not with Jinx.

And somehow you didn’t care all that much. For Jinx, you could do less conventional.

The second time, you’re sitting on a chair in Jinx’s lair.

“Wanna go have a drink at the Last Drop?”

Jinx is currently working on her little bombs, goggles on her face and humming to rock music. You have already popped the question four times before she finally answers you: “Maybe this time you’ll take something other than beer.”

You scoff: “You never take something other than cavernberry juice!”

She slumps on her own chair, arms dangling down as she sighs dramatically: “Ugh now I crave it!” She throws her goggles on the floor then flashes you a smirk. Your heart skips a beat. “Come on, you paying!”

You’re so enamoured, you’d pay for all Piltover.

The pub is pretty crowded that day. Jinx pushes past people without a care in the world to reach the bar where she asks for her regular juice. You come to stand behind her swiftly, not feeling comfortable all of a sudden. You should have thought twice before suggesting to come here. Even if the Last Drop remains neutral territory, after Silco’s death, Jinx hasn’t been really welcomed.

Not everyone is fond of the reinforced scrutiny of enforcers in the wake of her recent 'explosive' raids.

Jinx, not aware at all of the tension, laughs with the barman, asking for a straw. Suddenly, a man twice your size walks towards you. Oh, this doesn’t smell good at all... “‘got a problem?”

The thug answers by pushing you back against the counter, roughly colliding with Jinx who spits her drink.

“'the fuck you want, dickhead!” She yells, wiping her mouth.

She may be the first to get her gun out, a manic light in her eye, but you’re the last to duck when he swings his fist right in your face.

You surprisingly both end up getting out of there alive, with a few more bruises and a broken nose, your arms over each other’s shoulders for support. Thankfully no one died but you sure as hell won’t be going back to the Last Drop anytime soon.

“That was fucking fun!”

At least one is happy.

You kinda accepted the fact you’ll never have a conventional - or even unconventional at this point - date with Jinx. You even accepted you might never have a date at all. That’s what you ponder while eating - read: mope while staring at - your bowl of Jericho Special.

“Another!” Jinx exclaims, slamming her plate down. Jericho flinches but complies. “What’s going on, boo-boo? You look so gloomy!”

I want to grab your stupid tiny hand while we walk and kiss you when we go our separate ways, you think bitterly.

“Nothing.”

She stops eating halfway to stare at you. Her being so silent only means she’s thinking very hard about something. She leans towards you, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow. You stare at her, blushing slightly at your proximity.

"What?"

“I have exactly what you need!” She tugs you out of your chair by your arm. You only have a couple seconds to throw some money to Jericho.

Back to her lair, she blasts music to an indecent level before coming close to you, moving - dancing? - in ridiculous fashion.

“Come on! Let it go, man!”

She grabs your hands and twirl. You let out a cry that only makes her laugh more. She moves her hips and pumps her fists up in the air gleefully.

You can only watch her in disbelief, chuckling at her antics. She’s the craziest, most insane person you’ve ever met, she’s overflowing chaotic energy in a skinny body and you’re drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

So you do what you should have done ages ago, you grab her face with two hands and lean in to kiss her.

You except kicking or screaming, maybe a big exclamation of disgust but she presses against you forcefully, still shaking her hips to the music. She giggles against your lips, pulls on your top hard enough to tear and it’s perfect.

“Not so gloomy anymore, uh?” She licks her lips before leaning in one more time.

Third time is a charm.

#jinx x reader #jinx imagine #arcane imagine #arcane #jinx arcane #jinx league of legends

[fandom-monium]

For the Holidays

Summary: In which Spencer does not want to go to his high school reunion, but you tagging along changes things. “You doubting my skills, Dr. Reid?”

WC: 2.1k

Tags/Warnings: Spencer Reid x GN!Reader, fake-dating trope, pining (so much pining), Morgan trying to be a good big bro (and wingman)

Spencer Reid does not hate Christmas.

“Reid, come on⎼”

“No.”

“Just listen to me.”

“I did, and it’s a stupid idea.”

No, really. Because hating Christmas would imply he didn’t care. Which he does.

Like when Garcia never fails to drag him into decorating the bullpen every year. Obnoxious Christmas music plays in the background as they bomb Hotch’s office, and it’s worth the smile on his face when he walks in the next morning.

It would mean hating Rossi and his extravagant dinner parties. And yeah, he always hosts but these are just as special if not more so. His mansion is decked in fairy lights and streamers, the food are traditional holiday recipes, and the whole place seems a little less massive.

And he doesn’t hate his breaks. He nearly spits out his coffee when Morgan grumbles about how he almost tripped and fell over from the ice. He has to scramble away as the older man bats at him.

Or when Prentiss drops off holiday-themed pastries? Mhm, just thinking of the ribbon-tied box makes him salivate.

Hating the Christmas card is completely out of the question. Henry and Michael make them every year for the entire team, and JJ makes an effort to shake them out carefully for. It has a boyish charm Spencer never had at their age, a mess of glitter and construction paper. He displays it on his desk anyway.

And you. It would mean hating all the various hot chocolate beverages you’ve made since December started.

Apparently, it’s serious business⎼the art of hot chocolate making. You’ve leaned against his desk, hands waving about as you try to articulate to him the relevance, going over anything and everything you can remember of its history and significance. Of course, he knows all of this already, but he likes you too much to stop you. He almost releases a loving sigh. Instead, he settles for nodding and grinning at you, and he doesn’t really get it but he loves it: the hot chocolate, your pensive expression as you await his critique, even though by now he’s sure you know he has no other comments except ‘delicious’.

He loves it all. He loves you⎼all of you guys. Obviously.

So, no. He does not hate Christmas.

But that doesn’t mean he loves it either.

Which is why, when Morgan leans against his desk, he greets him as normal, a smile forming on his lips as he sets his book down. There is no danger here, except Morgan’s guns. And the heinous green and red envelope between his fingers⎼

Where the hell did he get that.

Spencer’s blood froze. His collection of trauma was nothing compared to this.

Now here he is, packing away his things so he can go home to his warm, cozy apartment and order takeout like he does every year. He's not one for change. No need to break tradition.

But Morgan is acting like a child. Wait, no, even children are better behaved than this. Children at least give up faster.

“I’m telling you, it’s a good idea.”

“As a certified genius, I can say with all honesty, it is not.”

“I promise you it’ll be fine,” Morgan reassures him, voice soothing. The letter, colorful and bright and an eye sore, mocks Spencer. He wishes his reflexes were faster, so he can snatch the abhorrent cluster of sparkles and poorly printed holiday cartoons. And shred it.

Maybe if he glares hard enough, it’ll burst into flames.

“Morgan, my class hated me. The whole school hated me,” Spencer shoves another book into his satchel. It's harder than he means to, and he sends a silent apology to Stephen King; he usually handles his books with care. But not right now. Now, he's tired and exasperated and he just wants to curl up on his couch with The Doctor. "I'm sure I won't be missed."

"But you’re the life of the party!"

Spencer looks up.

Morgan winces, "Yeah, even I wouldn't believe me.” Spencer snorts, continuing to stuff his belongings into his satchel. Morgan’s relentless however. “But you deserve to show them up. You’ve got degrees⎼plural⎼and you're a hotshot FBI agent.”

“Are you not aware of the tragedy that is my high school social experience?”

“Oh, I'm very aware, and thank you for being vulnerable with me. But it's because I care that I’m telling you.”

Morgan’s hand falls heavy on his shoulder, making Spencer pause. He meets his gaze, the man’s expression solemn.

“You deserve to rub it in their faces until the only thing they can smell is your success.”

Morgan grins when that draws out a laugh from him.

Spencer huffs, “Shouldn't we be the bigger person here by not going?”

The older man grimaces, retracting his hand as if the idea offends him. “Fuck that. Be a show off! They deserve to be knocked down a peg after what they did to you in high school.”

Spencer bites his lip. Yes, he’s accomplished, and yeah, as Morgan said, he’s a ‘hot shot FBI agent’. But the memories surge in like a broken dam, cruel laughter and harsh words crashing into him as if he’s twelve years old again. He’s an adult now, so he doesn’t topple over from the impact like before, but the pain is a phantom limb, old and familiar, and leaves a pit in his stomach.

He was a child prodigy then. How would going back as he is now be any different?

Morgan's heart clenches when an unspoken pain flits across Spencer’s face, glossing over his eyes. He can't imagine how deep the emotional scars go, but he knows Spencer needs some form of closure from his past. So when he found the invite, he knew they had to seize the chance. If he wants to continue to move forward, Spencer has to learn to let go. And right now, this is his first class ticket. It’s why he’s pushing this so hard.

This is for Spencer.

But the doctor shakes his head, a strained smile tugging his lips. “Morgan, I had no friends. Even if I go, what am I supposed to do once I arrive? It'd be awkward enough as is.”

“True,” The older man contemplates, a light bulb going off as he snaps his fingers. “You know what you should do? Ask (Your Name) to go with you.”

“(Your Name)?” Spencer jolts, fumbling to catch his phone. Despite being a man of science, his eyes dart around, like you’re a demon summoned at the mention of your name. “Wha-what? Why?”

“They could act as your buffer. And you did say you wanted to be closer with them. This is the perfect opportunity,” Morgan shrugs. Like his suggestion is common sense, logical. Maybe it is.

But this is you they’re talking about. You would never. You’re too cool for a silly high school reunion.

At least, that’s what he’s convinced himself as Spencer’s face pinches. He catches his lip with his teeth. “Morgan, I appreciate the… thought, but I could never ask (Your Name).”

“Ask me what?”

… Oh no. You are a demon.

Spencer whirls around in time to see the glass door shut behind you. You stand there in all your poise and beauty, the fluorescent lights softening your expression. You're bundled up in a matching coat and scarf, the knitted beanie snug on your crown and clashing with your outfit (Garcia told you it’s not your Christmas present, but you’ve worn it everyday since). There’s sprinkles of snow all over you.

You’re not a demon, Spencer decides, even as you brush a clump off your shoulder, nose scrunched in annoyance. More like a snow angel.

You tilt your head curiously when Spencer doesn’t answer immediately. There’s a knowing look on his face as Morgan, realizing the poor guy probably won’t respond any time soon, steps up.

“(Your Name), I thought you went home already.”

You cross the bullpen. “I was. Garcia walked me down and I got to the courtyard. Then I realized she had me so distracted that I left my phone charger,” You rummage around your desk and without looking up, you reiterate, “So ask me what?”

Spencer blinks. “What?”

“You had something to ask me, right?”

Right. That. He runs his fingers through his hair awkwardly. “Actually, I don’t⎼oof.”

Morgan jabs his side, “Yes, there is something Reid needs to ask you.” He sends him a meaningful look.

“Shoot.” You nod to them before rifling through your desk drawers. Nope, not there. You card through files and office supplies, oblivious to the conversation Spencer and Morgan have with their eyes, shooting looks and mouthing at each other.

You bend over your desk as Morgan gestures, Ask them!

Spencer shakes his head vigorously, No!

Do it, or I'll do it for you, he mouths.

Spencer squints at him. You wouldn't.

Morgan smirks and Spencer's heart drops to his stomach. Before he can run, shout for help, literally anything, the man slings a buff arm around his shoulders, forcing Spencer to slightly bend down to his level, hugging him to his side.

He's trapped. Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Fuck.

“Reid is going to his high school reunion,” Morgan starts, biting back a grin when the nerd squirms against him. Both men boys watch, one excited and the other petrified as you disappear behind your desk.

“That’s nice.”

"Yeah. But all his classmates are older than him and married…“

“Uh-huh…” You scan the dark floors, half-listening as Spencer frowns at the unnecessary detail. He never told Morgan such a thing. He didn’t even know, so how would Morgan-?

“So, can you guys pretend to be a couple or something?”

Thud.

“What!?”

Luckily, neither of you notice the other’s surprise as Spencer chokes on air at the same time you let out a pained hiss.

Morgan lets him pull away, withholding a snicker. “You good, (Your Name)?”

“I’m okay!” Your head pops up from under your desk as you rub the top of your head. You blink owlishly. “I’m sorry, did you just ask me to pretend to be your partner?”

“Yes! But Reid’s partner,” Morgan emphasizes, slapping the doctor’s back hard enough he nudges forward.

You stand and Spencer straightens up, trying not to fidget as your gaze burns into his. You’ve known each other for quite some time now, and while Spencer likes to think he knows you pretty well, it bothers him when your expression becomes unreadable. He knows it shouldn't but it does. He’s a profiler, yet your thoughts are completely obscured by a mask. It only makes him more nervous than he already is.

His skin feels hot when your eyes trail over him, and he prays his scarf is enough to cover the flush spreading from his neck.

He's about to disintegrate when you finally answer.

"Okay."

His brow shoots up and his heart flips. You move away from your desk as he sputters, "Really? Are⎼are you sure? I don’t want to put you out of your way.”

“I wouldn’t have agreed otherwise. Why?” You step closer, and he can’t breathe, not without it hitting your face. You stare him down the bridge of your nose, eyes narrowed. “You doubting my skills, Dr. Reid?”

“What? No, of course not!”

You raise an eyebrow expectantly. “Then it’s settled? We’ll pretend to be a couple for your reunion thing?"

A beat of silence. Spencer realizes you're waiting for his confirmation. But panic rises like bile in his throat and he hesitates.

Maybe he should back out now, retract the entire conversation and take the embarrassment like a man. Tell you he was never planning to attend the stupid reunion because his classmates were (and probably still are) assholes. Honesty is key to any relationship after all.

Especially between coworkers. Ahem.

A flicker of movement and Spencer glances over your shoulder. Morgan nods frantically at him, teeth flashing as he grins wider than before. He gives him two thumbs up.

Maybe, for once, he should pull a Morgan and just vibe it.

Yeah. Yeah!

Swallowing, he nods to you, giving you his signature white-person smile because he's sure if he speaks he might blurt out something completely inappropriate. Like statistics on workplace relationships (they’re great reading material, okay).

Your lips quirk up. "Cool. Text me the details when you get the chance.”

You brush past him before he manages a reply, your footsteps fading. Morgan waggles his eyebrows at Spencer. Spencer blankly stares after you.

“What just happened?”

“You just got a date to your reunion. A fake date, mind you, but you’re welcome nonetheless,” Morgan smirks at him. “So, you got a plan, Pretty Boy?”

His face falls, and the hearts in his eyes⎼shit, had they always been there?⎼chip slightly.

He does not have a plan.

Deleted scene:

“Did you do it?”

“It went all according to plan, Mama.”

AN: I fucked myself over and wrote 7k+ and still counting. Now it’s an unplanned holiday mini series. This kind of stems from Bonding as this uses Mysterious!Reader. Also, I seem to be into pining (fuck established relationships, suffer in silenceee). Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope you still enjoy this one shot!! 

One of the biggest disappointments of CM: Spencer doesn’t confront his high school bullies. I read several fics of him doing so, but a lot of them have the bullies be just as much of an asshole as they were to him in the past, but he deserves more closure. 

This will be my take on it. It’ll be a lot of pining but I hope to focus on the his hardships in a less angsty, dramatic way.

Hope you enjoy it!! There will be at least 3 parts?

Also, spread the usage of the term ‘partner’, which can be used for same-sex and opposite-sex relationships.

#spencer reid x reader #matthew gray gubler x reader #mgg x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x oc #mgg fanfiction #mgg imagine #mgg fic #my writing #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x oc #criminal minds x y/n #criminal minds

[animeyanderelover]

Can you do dabi with a really sweet and shy quirkless s/o who runs their own bakery? please and thank you💕

More Dabi☺️.

Tw: Yandere themes, possessiveness, stalking, threatening, blackmailing, getting burned, killing, kidnapping, mentions of Stockholm Syndrome

Quirkless, sweet and shy s/o who runs their own bakery

🔹It is straightforward ridiculous for Dabi, to fall in love with such a shy and innocent creature like you. It’s almost a beauty and beast situation for him, he as the hideous monster who’s ready to murder for you and you as the gorgeous human who just happened to catch his eye.

🔹The fact that you’re quirkless will increase the man’s overprotective tendencies enormously, knowing that you would make a too easy target for anyone with a quirk, not to mention that your sweet and shy behavior has this man going crazy. Dabi as a stalker watches you as often as possible, always wanting to make sure that you’re safe. And whenever he sees you being all lovely and nice to your costumers, flashing them those short and sincere smiles or twirl your fingers nervously around he feels his knees growing weak. Fuck, how can someone be that endearing?

🔹Dabi admits that he was never that much into sweets or food in general in the first place. He never really enjoyed it that much like other people, he just ate it because his body needed it and that was it. Nothing more to it and nothing less to it. But after finding out that you owned a bakery, he found himself enjoying food more, most likely because you were the one who baked it. Not only that, but he even discovered a new passion, inspired by you. He knew that you were often searching for new recipes to always please your costumers and often searched for ingredients which were harder to get. And it happened at least once every week that someone knocked late at night on your door. But whenever you opened it, no one was there, the only thing you found was a huge basket filled with some exotic ingredients and new recipes.

🔹Dabi absolutely loved it when he could watch you baking, the concentrated expressions you always made when frosting and decorating all the cakes, cookies and cupcakes you made, the proud look you always had on your face when looking at what you had created, your blissed expression when trying what you had baked and the look of annoyance when finally realizing what a mess you had made in the kitchen. It looked like a bomb had exploded in it.

🔹Dabi felt pride whenever seeing how much people seemed to enjoy what you made and he also felt always happy when seeing that you used what he had brought you, new recipes and the ingredients. You liked experimenting a lot with all the pastries you made, always creating something new.

🔹But of course not always everything was fine, Dabi witnessing more than once that people teased and mocked you for being quirkless, for being one of the 20% who had no special powers despite baking. And those kind of people were always the ones who did the very same day later on, Dabi feeling quite literally his inner beast coming out whenever this look of hurt crossed your eyes and you tried to overplay how affected you always were by those words.

🔹Dabi never had the courage to confront you or reveal himself. He didn’t know how he should even do it. He had never cared about his looks before, he had never. But now...Now he suddenly seemed to care, finding himself often staring into his reflection and feeling disgusted by all of his scorched skin. How could someone like you ever be able to look at him without the same disgust he felt when seeing him?

🔹But you seemed to acknowledge him, something Dabi felt very grateful for. You weren’t that disrespectful to forget about your mysterious helper who always gifted you with new recipes and ingredients. Because at one point you prepared something for him as well, always leaving after taking his presents a small and pretty wrapped up box on the door swell, filled with some of your newest creations which hadn’t even been introduced to your costumers yet plus a small note where you thanked him and also always invited him over, wanting to get to know him. And these small things never failed to make Dabi smile.

🔹At one point Dabi will kidnap you, his possessiveness and also overprotectiveness getting the better of him. He actually fears this day, knowing that you, because you don’t know him yet, like him, seeing him as a friend despite never having met him personally. He fears that you’ll just hate him even though he does understand why you would do that.

🔹I can see baking becoming a hobby of his with time because you enjoy it so much. Dabi counts a lot on quality time and it would become most likely a thing for you two, especially after Stockholm Syndrome has kicked in. I don’t think Dabi would be very talented at first, but you might get surprised by how determined he is to learn how to do it. Would be pretty nervous the first time he manages to bake something that looks decent and you try it.

🔹Is also up getting about anything you need. Just give him a list and he’ll get you everything you need. Feeding each other would most likely also become a thing under the both of you.

#yandere my hero academia #yandere mha #yandere boku no hero academia #yandere bnha #yandere dabi #yandere touya #yandere touya todoroki