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emberfrostlovesloki · 6 months

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A for Effort [Hotch x Reader]

Photo credits: Left (Google) (Center (@hotch-girl) Right (@archaic-stranger)

Prompt: A meet-cute of how Aaron met the non-BAU reader at Penelope’s theater improv group show. And how Aaron accompanies the reader to host her Halloween extra-credit horror movie watch and discussion for her students.

Pairing: Hotch x fem presenting reader. The reader uses she/her pronouns.

Category: Angst/fluff/comfort

Word Count: 8.2K

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence (unsub drugs and beats teenagers, Hotch takes a beating, awkwardness, mention of being cheated on (reader’s boyfriend cheats on her with a best friend), mention of separation, light drinking, unwanted touch (a guy is handsy with the reader), vomit is mentioned (in the context of the film The Exorcist), religious themes, mention of intimacy (sexual touch over the clothes) If I missed any, please let me know.

A/N: This one is just me having fun. I did give my students extra credit where we watched a horror movie and discussed the elements of the film. I couldn’t help but picture Aaron there with me, so I wrote this. I teach English but I’ve made this story that there could be a plethora of subjects. I really like the meet-cute element of this story. It was fun to write. If you like this story, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated. Below I have included some cultural definitions for my international readers. If you’re from the States, especially the South and you know what dance halls and cotilion are, then feel free to skip this. I just want to make sure my readers feel included. Please know I am not good at line dancing or swing dancing - I do ballet to this is not my personal dance style. Lastly, before I sign off, you can vote for the next Aaron story you want from me at this post (linked). I hope you have a great night - Love Levi

Definitions

Dance Hall: An enclosed space with a dance floor, a stage for live music, and a bar (normally). The space is pretty age-inclusive and most music is country. Couples and singles come and often mix and match partners. Some people go to show off their skills here. The dances are normally line dances or swing dancing which relies a lot on improv. The lighting is normally dimmed, though not as much as at a nightclub.

Cotillion: Essentially manners class. These can be after school or on the weekends. It’s associated with the debutant circle and court.

List with all stories

_y/n_ = your name

_l/n_ = your last name

_y/l/g/s_ = your local grocery store

_y/e/c_ = your eye color.

_y/f/a(s)/s_ = your favorite art (or science) subject - aka English, film, art, psychology, etc.

_y/u_ = your university

_y/s’s/d’s/b_ = your subject’s department’s building

Aaron sat down in the second to last folding chair with a very small grunt. The sound was so quiet that Spencer, who was on his right side, didn’t even notice that he had made it. The last case had seen Hotch tracking down a stalker who was preying on teenage girls, drugging and beating them severely before dumping their bodies on the steps of their parent's houses to be found the next morning. Aaron had experienced the strength of the forty-seven-year-old unsub as they had sprinted down an alleyway. The team had gotten to the fifth victim just in time. With Rossi, Spencer, and Emily taking care of the teen, Aaron and Morgan gave chase on foot. When both met a crossroads, each took a path. Aaron took the sidewalk to the left. Using all of his strength, Hotch had been able to catch up to the unsub. When they reached a dead end, the power balance changed. The unsub, Kevin Leery, realized his only means of escape was fighting his way out. The man quickly turned before Aaron, who was now pretty winded from all the running, could pull his sidearm. Hotch had been victorious, though, by the state of his aching body, he might not say so. Rossi had called the paramedics for him. The medics assured Rossi and the team, more than himself, that he would be fine in a few days. That there were no broken bones, just some bruised ribs, and a pretty battered left hand. Aaron’s attention shifted as there seemed to be movement behind the small curtain that was waiting to be raised. Hotch was glad for this distraction. He needed his mind on other things than his body. When Garcia had taken up improv as a hobby, the whole team was on board. Especially Morgan. Derek, at least twice a week would say, “Now Babygirl, when do we get to see a performance?” Penelope would blush and say, “When we’re ready. You can’t rush talent, and the whole troupe is still getting everyone else's vibe.” Aaron would give a small smile that he tried to hide when he overheard these conversations. Improv felt like the perfect art for his technical analyst. When the first performance was announced, Garcia printed fliers and invited the whole team to come and watch the show and then grab dinner afterward. Everyone had joyfully agreed. Aaron had marked the date on his personal calendar over a month out. He ensured that Jack could be at Hailey’s that day. The anticipation grew as the one-night performance loomed. Garcia had said a few things about breaking the fourth wall and audience participation. Hotch was sure that whoever was picked wouldn’t be him. Garcia knew him too well to let that happen. Part of him wanted whoever was making that choice pick to Derek. He thought it would be fun to see his friend on stage attempting to play an act. And Aaron knew that Morgan was easy-going enough to play along with whatever the group had him do.

Aaron’s thoughts were pulled from the curtain and any movement that may or may not be going on behind it as someone tapped his shoulder and asked, “Sorry is this seat taken?” Hotch’s eyes snapped to the woman who was standing in the small aisle of the tiny theater the improv group had rented out for the evening. Aaron’s gaze looked into the inquisitive face of the stranger, and he said, “Yes, I mean no, No it’s not. Feel free to sit here. Sorry.” Hotch wasn’t sure why he was being stuttery all of a sudden. Most of it was probably because the woman who was now settling into the chair very close to his was incredibly beautiful. However, what Hotch told himself was that this mystery woman was holding flowers and he wasn’t. Hotch stopped himself from face-palming. He had forgotten to bring flowers for Penelope. He would profusely apologize after and then pay whatever amount he needed to get a florist to drop off an arraignment when he got back home. The woman next to him with some trepidation given his recent slip. She made one final shift, as she set her purse and the flowers on the ground in front of her and pulled out the program for the two-act play. While doing this, she inadvertently brushed her thigh up against his. Aaron felt a rush through his body at the contact. Very quietly the woman said, “Sorry.” Hotch looked over, and she was looking at him as if she was making sure he was alright for the unintended contact. Hotch gave a small nod and said, “Don’t worry about it.” After the contact, the person sitting next to him seemed to be the only thing he could focus on. She had pulled her legs and body tight into the chair, to not touch him again. The light scent of her perfume washed over him with her body heat. They were just an inch or two apart, and Hotch couldn’t help but observe her as she flipped through the program with an interest. To not seem weird or be caught staring, Aaron looked to his right at the team. If Spencer had noticed his odd behavior, the boy-wonder wasn’t letting on. But when Hotch’s eyes moved one chair over, Rossi looked at him with eyebrows raised. This time Aaron couldn't stifle the sigh that he let out at seeing Dave’s expression. His best friend on the team was always on to him about lighting up. About living a little. Aaron always rebuffed these comments. He thought he lived plenty -- and nearly died in the field more than that. All of these conversations, stated or unstated, had started a respectful time after Hailey had left him. Hotch was sure Rossi, and the whole team had seen that his marriage had been crumbling as much as he did. Maybe they saw it before he did. If they had, they didn’t say anything about it apart from Dave, and one very kind comment from Emily. Prentiss had asked him one day late in the office, “Are you alright, Aaron?” It was a hypothetical question, and he replied, “I think I am. Thank you for asking, Em.” They had left it at that. Aaron still thought about that comment sometimes. There was a small movement from the companion to his left like they had heard his sigh and stilled their movements because of it. Aaron willed himself to not look back at the woman. Thankfully the lights dimmed and the curtain raised.

The play was about a man who worked at an office and was slowly losing his mind. The program said the idea was loosely based on the short story, “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Melville. Garcia played the perky secretary who was always badgering the lead about this private life. The play was funny. The dynamic between the actors was natural as they riffed off each other and the confines of the small narrative being built between them. As the first act ramped to conflict with the lead, a youthful-looking man with a mustache broke the fourth wall and said, “But Maddison," which was Penelope’s character’s name, "there’s something I haven’t told you. I have a fiance! And they’re in the room with us” The small crowd in the room all took an intake of breath at the revelation. Suddenly everyone in the small assembled crowd looked at each other. Penelope said, “Well get her up here this instant! I’ve got to meet her. She must be mental if she’s in love with you.” There was a second that with bated horror, that Aaron thought the lead was going to point at him. But the man’s pointer finger pointed at the woman sitting next to him. All eyes turned to her. Aaron could see her deflate a tiny bit. As the man on stage said, “Come up here, beloved. Come and meet the source of my madness.” The woman got up and as she moved toward the stage, he guessed that the protagonist hadn’t informed her beforehand that this would be happening. In the back of his mind, Aaron thought, “What a dick move.” The man helped the woman up onto the stage. She was wearing a skirt, and she was more careful that she didn’t flash anyone as she was hoisted up on the stage than the man helping her upward. At seeing this, something small in Aaron twitched up comfortably. When the woman was on stage, Penelope rushed forward and hugged the woman. Aaron could see that Pen had also seen what he had. Hotch could see in Garcia’s embrace both an act and a real gesture of comfort. Garcia pulled back and asked, “So, you’re cooped up with this old bat all hours of the day and night? How are you coping with that?” There was a tense silence while the audience waited for the woman to respond. The lead moved toward the woman, and his right hand found purchase on her lower back. The woman seemed to lean into the touch. Aaron immediately assumed that the two were a couple. It would make sense if the mustache man had picked her. The silence persisted. It lay heavy over the crowd. It became awkward as the woman looked at the man and the audience. Her eyes shone with anxiety. Finally, the man said, “Have nothing to say about me, darling?” At this, finally, the woman said, looking directly, intently at the man, “Oh sweetness, I could go on and on, and on about you. I just don’t think your friend would like what I have to say.” As soon as that line was uttered, the curtain fell, signaling the short intermission.

The crowd cheered and applauded as the cast and the woman were veiled. Aaron could hear Emily and JJ, and Derek and Rossi’s conversations about the show so far. They sounded so happy. As Hotch offered a comment to Spencer about the intricacies of Melville’s writing and how it related to the performance, he couldn’t help but think how the woman, when giving her one line had been acting as well. But some small part of her tone had indicated that it wasn’t all an act. That fact gnawed at Aaron like a dog on a bone. The intermission was short, only about fifteen minutes long. As the minutes ticked by, Hotch waited for the woman to return to her seat. After what felt like an eternally long ten minutes, she reappeared and moved down the row to her seat. Hotch offered her a hand as she steeped with high heels around her purse, program, and flowers to take her seat. Aaron looked at her closely as she sat. It was clear to Aaron that she was less joyful than she had been before the show had started. The woman’s makeup was smudged a bit, and he wondered if she had been crying during the brief break. When she was seated, Hotch removed his hand and the woman, very quietly said, ‘Thank you.” Aaron nodded and replied, “Of course.” The man had mentioned engagement on stage, and he couldn’t help himself from looking for a ring on her left hand. He found none. His wedding ring sat heavy in a box on his bedside table, reminding him of his personal shortcomings. For one tiny moment, his heart ached for his woman. Whatever it was she was going through. Aaron rarely allowed himself to have these extraneous emotions, but in the here and now, he couldn’t seem to stop them. The repetition of the lights dimming and the curtain raising once more stopped any further thoughts on the matter. The second half of the play was as funny as the first as the lead slowly lost his sanity and refused to leave the office, even under the direct order of his boss. Subliminally, Aaron felt called out at that element of the storyline. When the play ended there was thunderous applause and a standing ovation was given to the cast. Everyone slowly filtered out of the room and Hotch noticed as the woman moved to the front of the stage and kissed the lead on the mouth, handing her flowers over to him. Aaron turned his head away at the moment of intimacy between the couple. Something about what had happened during the play didn’t sit right with him, but who was he to comment on relationships?

At the dinner after the show, Pen was showered with the praise she deserved. When things had quieted down, Aaron had over-apologized about not bringing flowers, and Garcia had wholly forgiven him. He asked in a more subdued voice, “So the lead, Richard, he chose who in the audience got called up on stage?” Hotch tried to sound nonchalant but wasn’t sure if he was being convincing. Garcia didn’t seem to notice, and replied, “Yeah. He called his girlfriend, obviously. I’ve had a few conversations with _y/n_ before and after rehearsals. She’s really sweet, and too good for Rich if I’m being honest. I don’t think she appreciated being called out like that.” Aaron nodded as a few more pieces seemed to click into place in his mind. The night wound down, and Hotch managed to get some flowers to Penelope around midnight. It might have cost him $83.75, but it was worth it to get Pen’s text, with a picture attached of the bouquet thanking him profusely. Pen included every flower emoji available in the message. As Aaron got ready to sleep, his thoughts shifted to the woman. He thought back to Garcia’s comments and remembered her name: _y/n_. As he drifted into sleep, he hoped that she was alright. She was happy.

Neither _y/n_or Aaron expected to see the other ever again. But they did a month later. Hotch was doing his weekly grocery shopping at _y/l/g/s_. The person in front of him in line for the check-out had a scant four items on the conveyor belt. The items were a bottle of wine, some strawberries, a bar of 75% dark chocolate, and a dozen pink roses. Hotch sighed softly and thought, ‘At least someone’s having a good time tonight.’ As the woman who looked oddly familiar to him got to the cashier, they rifled through her purse to find their credit card. She softly said, “Shit.” The cashier told her her total of $25.47. The woman said, “I’m sorry I forgot my wallet in my office. Please just put everything back. Sorry for the inconvenience.” At hearing the woman speak, Aaron recognized the voice of the woman who had sat next to him at Penelope’s performance. The woman seemed to be ready to leave, but Aaron stopped her and said, “I’ve got it.” The woman looked over at him and recognized him immediately. _y/n_, “Oh, No. You don’t have to do that.” Hotch gave her a reassuring smile and replied, “Really, it’s no problem.” He added, “You did very good while onstage by the way. You handled it with grace.” The woman flushed. She said a soft, “Thanks.” After a second, she extended her hand and said, “y/n_, _l/n_.” Aaron took her hand and replied, “Aaron, Hotchner.” _y/n_’s palm was warm in his hand. Lost in the moment, and the woman’s eyes. Hotch asked, “Date night?” At hearing this, _y/n_ seemed to cringe a little bit, and he wondered what he had said wrong. From the small assortment of things _y/n_ was attempting to buy, date night seemed to check out. Date night with Rich, as Pen had said last month. Hotch stopped from sighing at the idea. The woman replied a beat later, “It’s a pity party, actually.” Hearing this, Aaron’s eyes furrowed. _y/n_ quickly clarified, “Let me reframe that in a more positive light. I am taking myself on a date.” There was an awkward silence after that statement and a more awkward cough from the cashier. Aaron stepped up and pulled his card from his wallet in the back left pocket of his jeans. Once he had paid for _y/n_’s groceries, the cashier started scanning his items. The young employee had started to put his groceries in the same bag as _y/n_’s items. Aaron thought about saying something, but he stopped himself. The young man working the till seemed flustered, and he didn’t want to add to the man’s distress. It would be okay if he paid for both groceries and their groceries, and then he could separate _y/n_’s items from his own. _y/n_ stood nearby, tentatively. Once Aaron had paid for his things he grabbed another plastic bag. He shifted through his own items to find _y/n_’s. As he put the four products into the new bag, he had to ask, “‘Pity party?’” Hotch missed the large flush and look of shame on _y/n_’s face as she said candidly, “My boyfriend, ex-boyfriend.. Rich. He kinda cheated on me with my best friend. It’s a whole thing.” Hotch couldn’t help himself from cringing at her honesty. At how painful that must have been for _y/n_. All that Aaron’s brain could supply was a soft, “I’m sorry? I didn’t mean to pry into your personal life.” _y/n_ shrugged her shoulders and said, “I mean, all of my friends and colleagues know. I don’t know why it would be much worse with you in the loop too. Plus you bought me my stuff and I appreciate that.” Aaron flushed again saying, “It’s really nothing given the circumstances.” He held his tongue after that. He had already said too much. Hotch couldn’t figure out where his brain went when he was near _y/n_, but it wasn’t his normal calm and composed self, that’s for sure.

Aaron let _y/n_ go to her car to not hold her up from her ‘date night.’ The recesses of Hotch’s brain wished he could get in the car with _y/n_ and join her in whatever activities she had planned for herself that evening. Hotch reprimanded himself for the thought. _y/n_ had just experienced a real pain, a hurt to the soul, and here he was longing after her like a puppy looking for some attention. For a pat on the back. Using more effort than he wished he had to, Aaron let the moment, the feelings for _y/n_ go. He had to for his well-being. He was certain that it was just fate that he and _y/n_ had bumped into each other twice. As Aaron drove back to his place and unloaded his groceries into his fridge, he found the receipt from the store. The four items from _y/n_ stood out at the top of the waxy paper. Again, he let all of those emotions, which he refused to address, go. Aaron fiddled with the buttons on his shirt and then took off his pants, as he moved into his bedroom. He decided to take a shower to clear his thoughts. Maybe to get another kind of relief that he had been missing since Hailey’s departure. Under the cascade of warm water, Aaron let go with his body and, as he began to dry his form with a warm towel, he cleansed his mind of impure thoughts. He wanted to sleep with an empty mind. One that wouldn’t make him feel guilty. As he drifted off, Hotch hoped _y/n_ had also found some kind of release that night.

Another month and a half passed before they had their third meeting. It had been the worst team bonding training of all time. The presenter had cheery slides and made high-school-level references to trust and honesty between team members and cohorts. JJ, Rossi, and Morgan had all looked at him with clear disbelief at what they were being subjected to in the hour-long training. When the presenter mentioned something about a trust fall, Aaron almost lost his cool. He could deal with many things, the long hours, the gore he saw weekly, the stress of leading the team, and his eyestrain, but he drew the line at being forced to endure this. He looked over his team with eyebrows drawn taught. When he looked at Garcia she was laughing unabashedly. The presenter was looking at Penelope unsure of himself. Aaron shot Garcia a look that said, “Please, stop now,” even though he wanted to join in on the hilarity of the situation. Once the team had been released from the presenter’s lecture, Hotch gathered the team and said, “Well I promise you all, that…” He gesticulated with his hands, demonstrating, that training, “will never happen again. If you want some real team bonding let's go to that dance hall Emily keeps trying to get us to go to tonight.” Hearing this Prentiss flushed, but she had been saying that it was a really good time and it was. Emily had had a few great evenings at the new dance hall. After a moment of silence, Rossi said, “Here, here. I for one need a stiff drink after whatever that was.” The whole team seemed to relax after this. At eight-thirty, the team arrived at the venue. The space was large and the lot was full for a Tuesday evening. Everyone had changed except Aaron, who had come straight from the office. He had ditched his jacket in the trunk of his car. His suggestion had been an attempt to take Rossi’s advice to lighten up. As soon as he entered the crowded space, he realized that he had miscalculated. Everyone on the floor, those seated at the benches and tables on the sidelines, and those getting drinks at the bar were dressed very casually. His slacks and loafers didn’t belong here. As a way to deflect from making him the odd man out, Aaron offered to get the first round of drinks. As he got the orders from the team, he moved to the bar, and some of the BAU members, Emily, JJ, and Morgan, found partners and moved to the wooden dance floor. With a slew of drinks in tow. Hotch moved back to his friends and colleagues. Rossi, Penelope, and Spencer took a few sips, as they watched the dancers move to the country music. Aaron knew that this was mostly a Southern culture thing, but he understood that dancing was a universal pleasure, even if he wasn’t particularly good at it. His mother had signed him up for cotillion classes in high school and he reluctantly went every week for a month. His mom had wanted him to grow up the perfect gentleman, and even though he maybe hadn’t picked up all the dance moves, he thought he succeeded pretty well at the rest of it.

As the songs changed there seemed to be some excitement at the center of the floor. A couple was dancing with skill and the other dancers gave them room to improvise their steps and tricks. It was showing off for showing off’s sake. As Aaron looked over the pair on the floor he recognized the woman as _y/n_ from the play and the store. His eyes widened and Hotch looked at Penelope who was also watching _y/n_ with rapt wonder. Aaron turned his eyes back to the floor and the woman was pushed, pulled, dipped, and raised in a multitude of ways and speeds. As _y/n_ was raised in the air, supported by strong arms on her hips, a few cheers came from the crowd and fellow dancers. The woman even waved her hand in acknowledgment of the praise. Uplifted and in the spinning lights, she looked so happy, like she didn’t have a care in the world. Unlike her time on stage, she looked like she belonged up there, floating on air. Hotch felt himself flush all over and he looked away for a second. Rossi watched Aaron’s reaction with more than a little interest. After the song was over there was a small bit of applause at the skill put on display for the crowd. The talented man that had been dancing with _y/n_ kissed her on the cheek chastely. From what Aaron could see, the two were just friends or maybe dance partners, but not much more. Of course, he couldn’t hear what _y/n_ said to him, but as she turned toward Hotch’s group, there were no signs of arousal in her face or body, just unabated joy. Aaron hadn’t seen her this happy before, and he flushed again. Aaron internally told himself to ‘get a grip.' _y/n_ walked toward their table, not noticing them yet.

As she got closer Penelope called out for her saying, “Hey _y/n_, what a surprise to see you here!” The woman looked up and spotted Garcia and beamed. _y/n_ quickly moved over to the huddle of FBI agents and said, “Heya, Pen. What are you doing here?” _y/n_ looked over Rossi, Spencer, and then at Hotch. Her eyes grew a bit wider at seeing him and she said, “And you…” It took her a moment to remember Aaron’s name. When it came to her, she continued, “Aaron.” _y/n_ looked between Garcia and Hotch and asked, “Y’all know each other?” Penelope, ever the enthusiastic conversationalist said, “We all work together. This is my team.” Garica pointed to each of them saying their names. Spencer smiled at _y/n_ when his name was mentioned and Rossi shook her hand warmly. As Aaron’s name came up, _y/n_ gave a soft smile and she said, “It’s nice to see you again, Aaron.” He swallowed and said, “It’s nice to see you too.” And it was nice. To see her so radiant made him feel good. _y/n_, Garcia, and Rossi talked a bit about her dancing abilities and she seemed to shy away from her talent. Garcia couldn’t help herself and asked, “Did you ever take Richard here?” Hotch froze for a moment, unsure if Garcia was aware of the breakup. _y/n_’s soft snort made him feel better as she said, “Are you kidding me? He refused to come because I was better than him at dancing and other people wanted to interact with me. All four pairs of eyes were on her as _y/n_ shared some of her personal life with them. For a team of highly skilled profilers, having someone be so open was a bit strange. Penelope helped cut the feeling and said, “Of course he wouldn’t. The man really needs to get over his own ego. He complained about you and whined for a mouth at least during practice. He still talks about it. Honestly, he’s pathetic.” Garcia saying this had _y/n_ laughing and replied, “Tell me about it. I wished I’d seen it sooner, but c’est la vie I guess.” Penelope nodded along, and after a moment _y/n_ said, “Well I’m going to grab a drink at the bar, but I’ll swing by later if you’re still around. It was nice to see some of you again, and to meet you, Dr. Reid and Dave.” The team all said some form of “see you later,” as she moved away from them. As she passed Hotch, he gave her one of his rare smiles, or more like she had drawn the smile from him. Again Rossi noticed.

Three songs later _y/n_ was back on the dance floor with a much less skilled dancer. The man had his hands all over _y/n_ after the first minute of music and _y/n_ was constantly moving his hands up, or stopping them from moving lower. She had said twice and to “cut it out” but the man was not listening to her. Hotch and Rossi watched as it happened. Both men felt uncomfortable with what was happening. After another minute, _y/n_ pulled back and away from the man, telling him off. Her face was set in a more sour look as she moved to the sidelines and away from her temporary partner. The man sought to follow her, but Hotch was out of his seat as he watched the situation unfold before him. Rossi breathed a sigh of relief as his friend did this because he was about to do the same and he felt that _y/n_ might be a bit more comfortable with Aaron than himself. Hotch cut the man off from moving any closer to _y/n_ and said with a clear, firm, and determined voice, “Out. Now.” The man didn’t argue and Aaron wasn’t sure if it was his fancy dress or the look on his face, but either way, the man left. Hotch followed him with a searing glare until he left the establishment. Once the guy was gone, he turned to _y/n_ she looked at him with half awe half admiration. He couldn’t pinpoint the second emotion, but it wasn’t negative and that’s what mattered to him. He took two steps closer, getting close to her. He leaned down a bit and asked, “_y/n_, are you alright?” When he looked at her this closely he could see a warmth in her _y/e/c_ eyes. She nodded and said, “I’ll be fine. Unfortunately, that kind of behavior can be par for the course here. Asking total strangers for a dance means not all of them are fantastic people.” Hotch nodded, saying, “Well it still doesn’t make it right.” _y/n_ felt her breath hitch a bit as he said this. He said it with sincerity like he really meant it. _y/n_ had seen plenty of guys try to defend her honor or other cliches like that just to go and disrespect her themselves. She didn’t sense that at all in the tall man standing in front of her. _y/n_ was also impressed with his commanding presence. It had only taken two words to make the man flee the scene. Two. Words. She wondered what else he could do with his voice alone. _y/n_ flushed and looked to the floor for a second. The fact didn’t pass Aaron by. After a second, _y/n_ looked up at him and said, “Can I pay you back for your help with a drink or a dance? I haven’t seen you out on the floor yet. I’d be happy to partner with you if you like?” Hotch shifted a little, suddenly a bit embarrassed. He didn’t feel like another drink. He normally stuck to one or two, and he’d already had a second beer. He wanted to dance with _y/n_ but his two left feet didn’t seem too convinced that he could cut it with someone as skilled as _y/n_. _y/n_ could see his hesitation and said, “I can lead if you like. We can do just real easy steps.” Aaron looked at her and saw that she wouldn’t be embarrassed with him. She genuinely wanted to be with him like that. Hotch flushed again, more lightly this time, and he said, “Alright, I’ll do my best to not trip over my own feet.” _y/n_ chuckled as they took his hand and led him to a quieter part of the floor. A bit away from the team, which Hotch was grateful for; though he was sure the team was probably watching him. He didn’t blame them, he’d watch too if he could.

The dance went well. _y/n_ turned out to be a skilled instructor for him. He did try very hard to follow the steps and let _y/n_ improv off his lacking moves. At one point _y/n_ even let him do a little spin, which was very awkward given how much taller he was than her. He had to let go of her hand to make the 360-degree rotation. They had both laughed good-naturedly at how silly it was. When he was being treated like this, Aaron didn’t mind not having control. After another song, the music took a sudden change from country and swing to slow sensual music. _y/n_ let his hands go and took a step back. Aaron looked around, not sure why there had been such a dramatic change. People were slow dancing now and he looked to _y/n_ for clarity. _y/n_ gave him a gentle smile and said, “The last hour is always slow music so those who don’t like swing dancing or line dancing get a turn. I think it’s nice. Inclusive in a way. Aaron nodded and said, “Oh.” He stood still for a moment. He looked to the ground for an instant wondering how he was going to ask if she wanted to continue to dance. Because he did want to keep dancing with her. When he looked up, she was looking at him. _y/n_ was biting down lightly on the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t see that her pupils were blown wide with desire. Her fingers were tapping against her leg lightly. _y/n_ wanted Aaron’s hands back in hers. Or behind her back while her arms rested on his shoulders. She wanted to be inexplicably close to him at that moment. Hotch didn’t say anything, didn’t need to say anything as he bridged the gap between them. His hands found purchase on her hips and _y/n_’s hand moved up to his shoulders. His hands glided over his chest softly. Aaron closed his eyes, and they both moved on instinct. With what was comfortable for them. _y/n_ melted into his touch, and his large hands gently landed on her body. They were warm and held her firmly like he was afraid that she might slip away if he let go. _y/n_ would be happy to reassure him that she would likely follow him to the ends of the earth even though she had only met him three times before. Aaron’s cologne smelled of rye and spruce, but it wasn’t the overpowering stuff teens and insecure men used with a heavy hand. This was refined. Elevated. It took a lot of what she had in her to not rest her head on his chest and take a deep breath. After two more songs, Aaron looked down at her and she seemed so at peace with him holding her close. And for the first time in a very long time, he leaped before he looked, as he leaned down further. He was slow, giving _y/n_ time to stop him, but she didn’t. Instead, she tipped her head up to meet his lips. The kiss was soft, respectful of how new and potentially strange this was, but neither could deny that the feeling was blissful. Hotch didn’t even care that JJ, Garcia, and Emily all had their mouths open in pure shock at his actions.

_y/n_ and Aaron’s relationship moved at a normal pace. As much as they had both been drawn to each other the night they had first kissed, both parties wanted to give the other space. To make sure things were comfortable and natural. _y/n_ wasn’t the type to commit to anything without fulling thinking and feeling it out. Aaron was the same for obvious reasons. But they had found a love and care between them, along with a passion that _y/n_ and Hotch had pretty much expected given the events the night at the dance hall. They both learned about each other, their jobs, and the intricacies of their lives. And after all that _y/n_ still wanted him, and Aaron was amazed at how nice it was to have someone steady to lean on. To care for while he wasn’t working. Someone had loved him back as intensely. As it turned out _y/n_ lectured _y/f/a(s)/s_ at _y/u_. And because of this, he was driving toward the university campus in _y/n_’s car with her in the passenger seat. They were chatting about his day in the office. Aaron was recounting some stories of Reid’s and _y/n_ listened with rapt attention. Hotch was being careful with his driving as it was near the college, which meant freshman with cars they hardly needed, and those partying a little too hard on Halloween night. They got onto campus proper and _y/n_ directed him to the parking lot. He had asked her if she wanted to take his car and she had reminded him that she had the faculty sticker on her windshield and he didn’t. She teased, “I don’t even think your FBI ID would persuade parking services. They are relentless in their mission.” Hotch had laughed at this and she warmed at hearing it. Aaron’s laugh sounded like a river running over smooth stones to her. It was gentle and mellow. Once they had parked, the pair moved to the _y/s’s/d’s/b_. The doors were still open given that some grad classes were still being held.

Three weeks ago Aaron had asked her if she was doing anything on Halloween and if she wanted to spend the evening with him. As _y/n_ listened to his question, she sighed and said, “I’m holding an extra credit opportunity for my students. We’re watching The Exorcist and then discussing it, but being with you sounds so nice. You could sit with me while we watch it and then hang out at my place after? That is if you don’t have Jack of course. Let’s not terrorize him so early on.” Hotch let out a breathy laugh and said, “Jack’s going to be with Hailey at some school trunk or treat event and he’s staying at her place to sleep off the sugar high. You’d let me sit in with you? In front of your students?” _y/n_ let out a little breath. She hadn’t expected him to say yes. She replied quickly, happily, “Of course I would! I mean most of my students know I have a partner, they might as well see you. And you can tell off students trying to canoodle while Regan gets possessed as have my eyes tightly shut.” Hotch chuckled and said, “Well I’ll leave the disciplining up to you, but I’m happy to be moral support and to calm your fear.” So they made the plans now they were walking the mostly empty hallways and up to the third floor. _y/n_ beeped into the faculty work room to print out the sign-in sheet and a guide for the most scary parts of the film for those who were like her; a scardey cat. As she moved into the small space and logged in to the computer, Aaron leaned against the door frame, filling the space. As the copies printed, she looked up at him and said, “I wish you’d follow me around all the time when I work. You could be a ghost haunting me.” Aaron smiled and said, “If I followed you around you’d soon learn that I’d fail your class. And we can’t have that, now can we?” The copies finished and _y/n_ grabbed them saying, “I’ve seen your writing, Aaron you are more than competent.” Hotch moved out of the way and his hand found hers as they moved to the lecture hall. _y/n_ had reserved the space because she expected a good turnout, the screen was large, and the audio system was reliable. _y/n_ asked Hotch to prop open the door with a chair. While he did this, she moved to the technology at the front of the room to the left of the lectern. _y/n_ signed into her Amazon and pulled up the film, checking the audio levels and turning on the closed captions for those who might need them. Aaron moved to _y/n_ and offered to take her purse for her. She smiled and nodded and he moved to the back of the room. He sat down near the center of the row. He called out across the space, “This good?” _y/n_ nodded and said back in a clear voice that carried in the space, “Perfect sweetheart.”

_y/n_ continued to stand at the front of the room and after another minute or so some students started to ramble in. _y/n_ instructed them to sign in on the sheet near the door. Many of the students had brought friends, roommates, boyfriends, or girlfriends along for moral support, or to laugh at the scary bits. _y/n_ had some casual conversations with some of the students and Aaron watched on with admiration. It was clear to him that _y/n_ had a connection with these young adults trying to figure life out for the first time. A few of the students noticed Aaron sitting at the back of the room, but none of them said anything to him or sat near him. It finally hit 7:30 p.m., and _y/n_ said, “Alright everyone, thanks for coming out. Let’s get going with the movie so you can all go out to the square or you’re older friends’s parties I’m not going to hear about on Thursday. Remember we’re paying attention so we can answer questions after.” Hearing this, the kids let out some laughs and chuckles. _y/n_ nearly forgot about the guides and said quickly, “Does anyone want a sheet with timestamps for the scares? Any other wimps out there like me?” There was silence and _y/n_ laughed at herself and said, “Alright guys, but don’t blame me when you have bad dreams tonight.” With that, _y/n_ started the film and moved to the door. She removed the chair and switched off the lights so the only light remaining was the two glowing exit signs on either side of the room. _y/n_ moved back to him and took a seat on his left side. It was dark and they were in the back, so she slipped her hand into his He gave it a gentle squeeze. True to her word, _y/n_ did close her eyes during some of the more difficult points of the movie. Now and then there would be some quiet chatter from the students. Some got up and opened the door to use the restroom. One student made it back to them to say they wanted to leave early to “go to their dorm.” _y/n_ smiled at the girl and said, “Okay, just make sure you’re signed in.” The teen nodded and said, “Thanks. See you Thursday.” At the end of the film, as Father Karras passes away, Hotch looks over _y/n_’s face. Her eyes were a bit misty. She had warned him that she got emotional at the end. She had looped him in because she didn’t want him to worry that she was so scared that she was crying, or crying for some other unknown reasons. As the credit started rolling, _y/n_ wiped her eyes and she moved to the front of the room.

She paused the movie and said, “Alright everyone, shield your eyes, the lights are coming back on.” Once the lights were on and everyone could see again, _y/n_ moved to the side of the lectern and leaned against it. She started by saying, “I’m going to make this quick because I’m sure there are places you want to be that aren’t here, and because I’m tired.” Hotch half knew that she wanted to be with him too, and it made him smile. _y/n_ asked, “So, what’s the tone of the film?” There was a brief silence, but then a young man said, “It’s camp.” That got a laugh from everyone and then opened the door for the class to bounce some ideas off each other. They spoke about theme and religion, and whether Regan or Chris acted as the final girl. They talked about Father Karra’s characterization and story arc. _y/n_ helped lead the conversation, but let her students talk and express their views. She asked, “So we’ve read the novel and seen the film and talked about the religious symbolism and overtones. So tell me what in the film is transubstantiated?” At this, there was a lingering silence. One girl offered, “Regan’s vomit?” _y/n_ chuckled and said, “Close, anyone else?” Aaron couldn’t help himself, because he also wanted to know the answer, so he said, “Is it Regan herself?” His comment reverberated to the front and twenty-one pairs of eyes turned to him. Hotch felt called out, but _y/n_ pulled the the student’s attention back to her by saying, “Yes very good. Now I can’t claim anything about authorial intent, but in my opinion, Regan is transubstantiation a literal transformation of her body and blood.”

_y/n_ quickly wrapped up the extra credit after that. A few minutes later Hotch and _y/n_ were back outside and headed to her car. They had stopped her her office for her to pick up a stack of papers that needed to be graded. Aaron smiled when he saw a picture of him and Jack pinned to the wall next to her degree. He leaned down and kissed her gently. As they pulled back, he said, “I love you, _y/n_.” _y/n_ hummed happily back at him. In the cold night, they moved across the campus grounds. It was dark and Aaron wrapped an arm around _y/n_’s waist, pulling her close to him. They passed by one of the emergency stations which looked to be broken. He looked down to _y/n_ and asked, “You keep a taser on you when you’re here at night, right?” _y/n_ looked up at him and said, “I carry pepper spray. I haven’t gotten a taser yet, but I will.” Hotch nodded as they walked into the parking garage. Aaron had done loads of research about the safety of the university once _y/n_ had told him where they worked. He had seen too many cases on college campuses to not be concerned for _y/n_’s safety. When they got back to the car, Aaron opened the door for _y/n_. She settled in and he moved to his seat. He turned on the heater and they cruised out onto the street. They talked a bit about the film, and Aaron asked why she cried at the end. What it meant to her. _y/n_ did her best to explain the real love and sacrifice Karras made to save Regan. How seeing Pazuzu restored his faith. _y/n_ made sure to clarify, “Even if a person doesn’t have faith, or that type of faith, I think pretty much anyone can see that he was finally at peace at the end.” Aaron nodded along, listening to her intently. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Hotch asked, “So, how did I do Prof? Was my answer to your question actually right?” _y/n_ chuckled and said “I think you were right. Regan’s transformation was literal and it was the answer I was hoping for.” She looked over Aaron, his face lit by the streetlamps and dashboard. He was so beautiful to her and she added, “I give you an A for effort.” Hotch smiled at her comments, saying, “I’m happy to help. And hey, an A. You’ll make a good student of me yet.”

When they got to her place, they moved to the front door and _y/n_ pulled her keys from her purse and let them in. The bowl she had left out that had been filled with candy was now running low, and even though it was late, there weren’t going to be many more kids. _y/n_ moved to the counter and dumped more candy into the container. With that done, she locked the door behind her. Aaron and _y/n_ moved to her room and kicked off their shoes and socks. They changed into comfy clothes before crawling into bed. Three months into their relationship, they both kept a few pairs of clothes in the other’s space. In the bed, they were next to each other, the back of _y/n_’s head resting on his chest, her body positioned between his opened legs. Hotch’s hands moved over her chest and torso before moving lower slowly. He watched _y/n_ in the soft light of her lamps. Seeing her like this, seeing her care for her students, and for him made him nuzzle his face in her hair. It smelled of vanilla. As Aaron’s hand moved to a more intimate place, _y/n_’s intake of breath told him that she enjoyed what he was doing. She had told him many, many times that he was skilled in that area. The thought of her praise had him excited in his pants. Hotch asked in a low voice, full of desire, “Do you think I can get something more for my insightful comments than a hypothetic A?” _y/n_ squirmed a bit with pleasure before moving out between his legs. She moved to face him and kneeled in front of him. As her hand started moving over him and he let out a groan, she said, “For you Aaron, I’d do anything.”

______________________________________________________________

Taglist: @criminalskies @tgskitten @geminitapestry @sadgirlzluvdilfs

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angelst4re · 10 months

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Hi love! I hope you're doing great. Could I request a Jamie x trans!male where reader is an actor on stranger things with Jamie, except nobody knows that he is trans (because it's not important obviously!) Only Jamie knows, as he is his partner. They attend a comic con and for some reason, a "fan" who maybe happens to know reader pre transition? Basically outs him. Something like "why haven't you told people you are trans?" And reader sort of dissociates. Jamie takes readers hand and pulls him off stage to comfort him and reassure him! Lots of fluff please!!

Something very similar happened to me. I was joining a DnD club and my friend at the time said Infront of them "they know you're trans right?" Which SUCKED because I pass really well! I just wish Jamie could have rescued me 😂

hi my love!!! i really liked writing this it was such a nice idea and i just think that jamie fluff>>> and i'm so sorry that happened to you :( i also wish jamie could've come to the rescue!!!

Comfort- Jamie Campbell Bower x Trans!Male Reader

summary: in the request! :)

warnings: none??

notes: i can't wait to finish college and work placement so i have more time to write <3 i'm hoping to be done by the 10th of july so i may not post much more before then? (it's literally only in 10 days <3)

When you were told you got the role as a ‘friendly orderly’ in stranger things, you knew everything in your life would be a little different. You were invited to premieres and award shows and exclusive parties you never thought you would’ve been let in to before, it really helped your acting career take off. You had a handful of loyal fans and supporters in the beginning, and that has only grown and grown given your role in the new show. And also your boyfriend.

You met Jamie on set, of course, and even filmed a few scenes together and the tension between the two of you was undeniable. You both got along so well, and you couldn’t deny he was insanely attractive, even when the two of you were in character you found yourself forgetting lines and blushing at the eye contact you two had to hold.

It took a while for the two of you to go public, you worried about the reactions from his fans, whether they would like you and accept you or not. But there was nothing to worry about at all. They adored you.

When it was announced that a certain comic con was coming up, and that you and Jamie were both invited and would both be doing photos together, everyone rushed to buy tickets to meet you and him, and although you were obviously excited, you couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Are you okay, love?” Jamie asked, taking your hand in his. You were both sitting in the back of the car that was escorting you to the event.

“I’m not sure.” You frowned, fiddling with one of the rings of Jamie’s fingers. “I’ve never done something quite like this before.”

“It’ll be okay, it can get really stressful when everyone’s being made to rush, but it’s really more fun than anything. I still remember my first comic con, I was scared shitless,” Jamie chuckled as he thought back on the memory, “but it’ll be okay, okay? I’ll be with you for most of the day, and when I’m not there will still be someone with you at all times. Everything will be okay, I promise.” He said before taking your hand and placing a kiss on the back of your palm, “oh look, we’re here.”

Everything will be okay.

Everything started off okay. You weren’t expecting so much love from everyone that came to see you, and you weren’t expecting so many gifts either. Your arms were full of bracelets they had made or bought for you and your neck was decorated with different necklaces. Maybe Jamie was right.

Everything will be okay.

That was until it was time for the q&a at yours and Jamie’s panel.

“So, I have a question for y/n,” you felt a tinge of anxiety, as most of the questions were for Jamie, but you nodded your head and gave the person a smile. “I’ve been a fan of your work for a while now, I’ve basically been there since the beginning, so I was just wondering why haven’t you told people that you’re trans?”

You felt cold rush through your body, as if your veins had turned to ice. You felt your stomach sink and everything around you seemed to be a blur. All you could hear was the continuous thumping of your heart in your chest. Your mind felt… empty, as if you had no thoughts at all. But then you heard Jamie’s voice, you couldn’t work out what he was saying, but you knew it was him.

“Pardon my language,” he began, raising his hand as if to excuse the rest of the crowd from what he was about to say, as he stared the person down as he spoke, “but why the fuck would he need to explain himself? That’s my boyfriend, and he almost didn’t come today because he was worried about cunts like you. If he wanted everyone to know, he would’ve told them, if you’re really a ‘fan’, like you say you are, you should’ve fucking known that.”

Jamie placed the mic down on the floor as he followed you off stage. He felt a bit bad for the fans that had been waiting all day for the panel and had spent money on it, but right now you were his top priority. He guided you out to one of the private designated smoking areas, glad that no one else was around.

“Jamie…” You murmured, your hands shaking by your sides.

“Breathe, okay. Just like me, in… and out… and in…”

He attempted to calm you down, to ground you again, and it was proving to be successful.

“I just wanted the ground to swallow me up,” you confessed, “I just- I don’t understand.”

Jamie kissed your forehead and ran his fingers through your hair. You couldn’t hold it back anymore. The feeling of not wanting to be here, knowing this could have been avoided, the fact that you were overwhelmed, you felt sick, and cold, and tired, and just your overall adoration for Jamie, it had all built up. You wrapped your arms around your boyfriend and buried your face in his chest, beginning to feel tears stain Jamie’s jumper.

Jamie’s hands rubbed your back as he held you close, a small act that comforted you. This is all you need right now, to know he’s got you. He swayed you both side to side a little bit, kissing your forehead before resting his chin atop your head.

“Have I told you how good you look today?” Jamie asked, and the corners of your mouth lifted into a smile.

“You always do, J.”

“And I always mean it,” he said softly.

“I don’t know if I want to go back out there.” You frowned, looking towards the door.

“Then it’s a good job we don’t have to. We were leaving after that anyway.”

“I just can’t believe they said that, though. I knew one day something was bound to come out but I thought I’d- I mean, I feel like- I didn’t think-”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jamie soothed you, his hand gently placed on your cheek as he stopped you from overwhelming yourself again, “you didn’t know this was going to happen, okay? And I swear nothing’s going to change. I’ve always got you, never forget that, love.”

“I know, Jamie, but my phone- I’m going to get flooded by comments and messages and-”

“Hey,” he took you by the shoulders, causing your attention to be back on him, “that doesn’t matter.” He said with a smile, “how about we get away for the weekend, just you and me. No phones, no social media, let’s just give it some time to calm down, okay? I don’t want you to get upset, seeing you like this just tears me apart. I love you so much, don’t forget that, darling.”

You smiled back at him, feeling tears begin to gloss your eyes again. However, these were happy tears.

“How about we just leave, I just want to go home.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jamie smiled as his hand continued to rub your back.

#jamie campbell bower #jamie campbell bower x reader #jamie bower x reader #jamie bower #jcb

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bokutosbiceps · 6 months

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✨How do sis✨ I'd like to request a match up with someone from either one piece or Haiykuu pls

Idk what to start with lol um

I'm an extrovert with long dreadlocks, that loves to draw and crochet. My love languages are gift giving, words of affirmation, and quality time. My favorite colors are greens, especially moss green. I love plants but only have one, it's thriving tho. And um my favorite aesthetic is cottage/fairy core aesthetic, I prefer cutesy kdrama-like dates over any other kind I guess🌱🌱🌱

I hope that's enough to work with୧⁠(⁠＾⁠ ⁠〰⁠ ⁠＾⁠)⁠୨

it’s perfect, coco !! i hope you like your matches 💕😁 here we go !!

one piece

i match you with USOPP 🤎

first of all, usopp is a sucker for partners who can give him words of affirmation. tell him he’s strong, you love him, he’s handsome, he’s your hero, etc + he’ll be putty for your molding. he also really loves to give words of affirmation, but that can only come after he’s gotten comfortable enough with you to show you his soft side. so the love language that he presents to you in the beginning stages of your relationship is gift giving! whenever he comes back to the sunny from little trips around random islands, he will always have a knick knack for you to enjoy. he’ll puff up his chest + tell you about the seven foot, five hundred pound man he had to fight in order to get you that gift! so you better be grateful.

a relationship with usopp would include all of the fun in the world, but also lots of cuddles and sweetness. once he gets to know you + comes to trust you, he wants to do absolutely everything with you! come sit next to him while he fishes, while he tinkers with new gadgets, while he’s relaxing on the deck in the sunshine. sitting next to him during meals is a must, too, because he wants to whisper little jokes about other crew members to you just so he can see you giggle.

usopp really learns to refine his romantic qualities when he’s with you. he had never really thought of himself as a romantic man until he met you, but ever since then, he’s found himself wanting to pick you flowers, make you little gadgets to help you with daily life, and let you lay in his lap while he massages your scalp. for the very first date that he took you on as an o f f i c i a l couple, he took you to a clearing filled with yellow and orange daisies. there wasn’t really much planned out besides that, but from the way you smiled from ear to ear and hugged him tightly, he felt as though he had taken you out to a five star restaurant.

pls crochet him a hat. he w i l l wear it + treasure it like luffy treasure’s his straw hat.

haikyuu

i match you with HINATA SHOYO 🧡

oh god, being with this man would be a whirlwind, wouldn’t it? but it’d be so fun! you can’t find someone more affectionate than shoyo + he wants to shout his love for you from the tops of every rooftop he comes across!

shoyo loves to hold you close or be touching you in some way while you draw. it’s something he thinks is very intimate; he’ll lay his head in your lap, drape himself over your shoulders, cuddle up next to you then peer over your shoulder to watch you work your magic. whether you drawings be on paper or digital, he will ask for a copy so he can look at them whenever he pleases. he absolutely loves your drawings + he thinks its so cool that you can create something just like that!

you want cutesy dates? you got cutesy dates! he takes you to every sweets cafe he comes across. seriously, any time he’s going somewhere new + he comes across a place he thinks you’ll like, he’ll take a photo of it so he can remember to take you there on your next date! he’ll order a bunch of sweets for you both and lay them out on the table so he can take adorably aesthetic photos of you with the food, which he’ll later look at when struggling to decide on which photo he should set as his new background/lock screen.

a/n: are you even surprised @ your one piece match up, coco? you knew it was coming LOL. i hope i did your boy justice !! anyways, i hope you loved it 😁

#match ups #match up #match trade #hinata shoyo #hinata #usopp #one piece #op #haikyuu

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boysplanetrecaps · 2 months

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Build Up, Ep 4 Recap: River vs A Letter

Welcome back to the project everyone loves waiting two weeks for -- my MNET Build Up Recaps! In the previous one, we saw WEi’s Seokhwa and AB6IX’s Woong take on two trainees. In this one, a bunch of my favorites face off -- Kim Minseo, Bain, Lee Gwangsuk, and Kim Sungjung. Oh no! Who will win? Let’s find out!

The guys come out, and as they stand there on stage, everyone notices how nicely dressed most of them are, and how tall.

Bain and Minseo introduce themselves as Blackfire.

The colors in Blackfire refer to their hair colors, they explain. Looks like Minseo has trimmed his hair a bit, and it makes him look a little older. Bain’s is also restyled in a way that’s a bit more flattering to his head shape, which is good. This is all good.

Wait, what is Bain wearing?

Ok, I think he’s wearing a translucent white turtleneck, a white… vest? Cumberbund? … and a white blazer, with white trousers that also appear to be maybe a bit too translucent for me.

Anyway, they explain that Bain even dyed his hair dark red (it had been orange before) as a step in becoming “ferocious” to beat the hyungs in the other team.

Gwangseok and Sungjung introduce themselves as Black Haired.

Ok, obviously something is going on here -- a mysterious hair battle. What’s going on? Baekho reads the file and finds out that Sungjung said something surprising, so much so that VCG is like, “What is this, the Joseon Dynasty?” (That’s like asking, “What’s going on, are we in Renaissance times?”)

We flashback to the rival matching moment, as Bain and Minseo make their way up to the RCPA (Rival Choosing Platform Area). A lot of teams step forward to challenge them, including Geonu’s team, which is extra painful because Geonu and Bain are both on Just B together! Hey man, that’s gotta be a Survival-Show No-Go. An SSNG.

Left to right: Team Geonu x Soomin; Team Lim Junhyeok x Yeo One; Team Lee Gwangsuk, and Kim Sungjung; Team Yoon Inhwan x Ma Jaekyung.

I guess later on I’ll try to reconstruct the order that the matching took place, because obviously this was pretty early on.

Bain takes it in stride. He’s like -- “four teams thought they could beat us. It was fun!” And he gins. I really like Bain, guys. I wish he had a better stylist because he’s really charming in a Joohoney from Monsta X kind of way.

So, Bain and Minseo start to think they’ll probably try to tackle one of the two teams on the left, and Sungjung notices the direction their eyes keeps going. He interviews, “Just by looking at them, I thought they’re someone we could beat with just emotion.” He decides to make a strong provocation to get them to pick his team and he says, “I don’t like men dying their hair red.”

Bain, being iconic, is like, “well, first of all, it’s ORANGE, you dumb dumb!”

At first, everyone is laughing, but then Bain is like, oh no you better don’t, and he picks Sungjung’s team. “They fell for our provocation. I’ve already made a plan. There’s no way we can lose -- I’m riding a wild horse. I have the fastest strongest horse. I’ve brought The Red Hare. I have… Lee Gwangseok.”

Sungjung and Gwangseok meet up some time later to prepare for the challenge. MNET blurs out the brand name on their keyboard, which is important. Also, Gwangseok looks to be wearing a big, thick turtleneck s w e a t e r. Keep that throat warm, Gwangseok-ah!

Sungjung explains that his plan was to pick a really great partner and ride on his coattails, which seems weird given that Sungjung is also pretty highly regarded on this show.

Sungjung explains that he really loved Gwangseok’s voice in both performances, even in Tomboy when Gwangseok was chosen as Low Tier. Sungjung says that he thinks they should do an emotional song, and again says that Gwangseok has a “wild horse” feeling, and every time he says that, the show plays a horse sound effect and it’s just like…

FYI, please don’t be too concerned. This isn’t a real photo, as realistic as it looks. I did this in Microsoft Paint! I know, I know. You didn’t know your BPR-unnie could work magic like this.

I think Gwangseok starts to get a bit uncomfortable with Sungjung constantly saying he’s like a wild horse, but that’s just my feeling.

Sungjung says he wants to do a song with so much emotion that it smells. “I’d say a song that almost stinks!” Sungjung, are you ok? (This is probably a Korean figure of speech.)

They decide on A Letter by Bumjin. This is the gist of the lyrics:

“As I saw you turning around, I couldn’t say anything, and my short-lived year of being sad came to an end. When the harsh memories that pass by are scattered by the wind, I try to let them go as if nothing happened so that no painful feelings remain. Goodbye, my day is fading away, my stars that failed to shine, the words I have been saving, finally, I will send you my goodbyes.”

At Gwangseok’s suggestion, they decide to just let their rugged vocals and the emotions of the song carry the piece. Sungjung literally says he’ll do whatever Gwangseok wants to do, and Gwangseok again is made a bit uncomfortable, like, “this is too much pressure!” Still, he really loves the song and thinks the performance could be really great.

They gather to rehearse by singing into iced tea bottles in a… department store changing room? IDK, fam. Gwangseok says that neither of them majored in music, so he’s worried. It surprises me to hear that Sungjung didn’t major in music, since he seems to have some training under his belt, but I guess you never know. They practice a lot to make sure they have a good stage with their “unpolished” voices.

And the performance begins!

Full version without reactions

Overall, very nice, if a bit… boring? I think that’s because of the song as much as anything. It’s just so slow and plodding, with a beat that you simply cannot tap your feet to no matter how hard you try.

Both guys have lovely vocal tones, and I really didn’t hear anything “off” or “wrong” about the performance when I just listened to it without watching.

Gwangseok sounds husky, on the verge of him losing his voice, but that’s kind of his thing, isn’t it?

Sungjung’s voice is so clean, almost featureless that it could blend with almost anyone’s, from Jay to Hayoon. I feel like I couldn’t really hear him in this performance, partly because he sang a bit too softly, and partly because Gwangseok sang a bit too loudly.

Something obviously went wrong part way, as Gwangseok seemed to have some sort of problem with his in-ear piece, and I think his inexperience on stage hurt the team a lot. In-ear piece giving you trouble? Subtly take it out and just move on. But he did the opposite -- he made a big deal out of his ear piece not working, shaking his head, getting his partner’s attention to point it out, just basically having no chill.

And then, without the in-ear piece to help him judge volume levels, Gwangseok seems to lose control of his dynamics, and he suddenly and randomly gets really loud and even a bit shouty. It hurts the blend of the harmonies. It’s a shame, because I think that Sungjung’s voice is really interesting and wanted to get to hear him more. I feel like Gwangseok kind of dominated the show. It never sounds bad, but both of them look kind of miserable on stage and the vibe is off.

And that’s the worst thing about it, since the whole point was supposed to be to portray this sad break up song in a way that makes the listener cry. The listener is too busy wondering “what’s wrong with Gwangseok’s earpiece?” to connect emotionally with the song.

I’m not sure what happened here. Maybe they practiced too much and Gwangseok wore his throat a little raw and he just sort of lost confidence. Maybe it was just singing with the in-ear piece. I don’t know. But I think that Sunjung maybe shouldn’t have been so weird about the whole thing, because it put a lot of pressure on Gwangseok.

Also, I think they should have planned what they would do between verses besides stand there and bop. Maybe they could have had the lights dim on them a little, or have something projected on the back screen, something to take the focus off of them while they weren’t actively singing.

In the MNET edit, everything seems to start right. Right when Gwangseok starts singing, everyone seems to love his singing. Sungjung gets a lot of happy nods, too.

Eunkwang is enjoying it. I think. I guess?

But then it starts to go wrong. Gwangseok lets everything show on his face and totally forgets about portraying the emotions of the song, which was supposed to be the whole point. The judges start to look kind of bored, kind of concerned.

(next to Baekho’s face, it says “complicated”)

It's a bummer, because they sound ok, despite the lack of blend in their voices and the problems with Gwangseok’s dynamics.

When the guys are done singing, the judges applaud a little, and VCG is smiling, but it’s a bit muted. Sungjung asks Gwankseok about his in ear monitors, and Gwangseok says they were “unstable.”

Backstage, the guys say they’re not sure what the judges will say. They think it started off well, but was disappointing toward the end. They also aren’t sure the two singers' voices blended well, which I actually think I disagree with. I think they didn’t practice matching their dynamics properly, and if they had, their voices might have sounded really nice together. I think their lack of training ended up biting them in the hinder.

The judges seem to take a long time voting. Finally, we learn that their high is 90 and their low is 75, from -- who else -- Jaehwan.

Jaehwan says that the song suited Gwangseok’s voice well, but it became too strong. Solar chimes in to say that Gwangseok sang a bit too loudly at points and it wasn’t balanced enough. Eunkwang scolds Gwangseok a little, saying that he really has to watch his dynamics because otherwise he won’t be a good member of a team. “You guys are really good,” Eunkwang says, even if they haven’t had training, “but there are parts that are disappointing.” Sungjung lacks energy, Eunkwang says -- and Baekho agrees. I think they’re all pretty correct.

As the guys walk off stage, Baekho and Seungkwan compare Gwangseok’s voice to a gemstone that just needs some polishing.

Next it’s Bain and Minseo’s turn. Backstage, they’re nervous -- scared, even.

We flashback to the rival choosing day. Bain feels bad, partly because so many guys thought they could challenge his team, and partly because he was baited into choosing Sungjung’s team. But no more regrets! He is determined to find a song that fits his voice well.

Minseo is frustrated, because he was low tier. “I expected no one to come my way and no one did,” he says. They were basically the team of leftovers, we see. Minseo says that he feels grateful to Bain and determined to do better.

Some time later, Bain’s hair is now pale orange, and they’re meeting in an office space of some kind. Neither is wearing a sweater! What kind of bullshit is this?

But at least Minseo has a nice coffee. Good, keep that up.

They’ve already decided to sing a pop song. But which one?

We see a pre-production meeting with Different-Hair Bain. I like this look better than the weird helmet cut he has going in episodes 1-2. He says that he thinks he must have been a foreigner in his previous life, because he feels so at home in the United States. Oh, come to visit, Bain! I have a spare bedroom. My fella and I will show you around. We can go do karaoke!

He just really likes pop music, by which I think they mean specifically Western pop music. They decide to do River by Bishop Briggs. I mean, yeah. That’s a great song to sing. Powerful, driving, oddly emotional despite the fact that the lyrics don’t really make sense no matter what language(s) you speak. Yep.

People thought these two would be pushovers, easy to beat. It’s just made them want to try harder.

And then it’s time for their performance. Solar is worried that the song would be too powerful for them, but I know my Bain and I think this will be good.

Full version without reactions

My thoughts:

FUCK YEAH.

THAT’S THE STUFF.

Ok, guys, I would like to point out that I TOLD YOU ABOUT BAIN. I told you! I told you that he’s fucking great and I know that the show has up until now edited him to look like a schmuck but YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT YOUR BPR UNNIE TOLD YOU ABOUT BAIN. I also called Minseo “one to watch.” Listen to your unnie!

One of my favorite parts is when, even in the Youtube version with no reactions, you can actually hear the judges screaming right toward the end. Amazing. Love it.

Their voices are actually really similar, so I can mostly describe them together. Both of them have a fantastically well developed upper mix, meaning they can hit higher notes with a full voice rather than a falsetto. They both have a perfect vibrato that provides texture and interest without making it sound wobbly or fussy.

In terms of performance in general, they seemed confident, striding around the stage like they knew they were hot fucking shit, which they are. Bain’s little grin as he whispers “like a river” toward the end is so good.

Nitpicks? Just three. (1) At once point, Minseo got a tiny tiny bit shrieky as the note got away from him, right toward the end. (2) Bain’s falsetto was a little thin and underdeveloped. (3) Minseo in particular could improve his English pronunciation. But who cares, this rocked. I forgive it all. At this point, I prefer this to the original version by a decent amount. If only they’d worn sweaters it would have been completely perfect.

Ok, for once I’m excited to see the MNET version.

It’s so fun to watch the judging panel go apeshit, even if it was filmed on a potato.

VCG likes it so much he gives his Super Dorky Smile of approval.

There are so many instant replays but I don’t even mind. I suspected Bain’s whispered “like a river” would get replayed and it did, but a bunch of other things too.

The judges are just open mouthed while the guys backstage are like, “this is so dark and sexy! They’re like different people.” Even Minseo’s slightly shrieky high note toward the end gets love.

When they’re almost done the judges are already on their feet screaming, but then the singers have two more notes to sing and the judges hush their mouths to listen.

So. Satisfying.

Backstage, the guys are mostly gobsmacked. Most of them didn’t know that Bain was that good. On stage, VCG is wiping away tears and Jaehwan is comparing Bain to Rihanna.

Bain and Minseo are being so polite and reserved that VCG teases them that they should be more cocky about it after a performance that good.

Solar calls them “perverts,” which again refers to that thing Seunghwan said in the first episode, which is just a little bit beyond my ability to research. I assume it’s Korean slang. “You seemed to know what it means to put on a performance,” she adds, which, yeah.

Seungkwan asks if they’re both actually Korean, which is pretty funny.

“What? Hyung, what? Why are you laughing at me, hyung? I’m going to tell S. Coups on you." - Seungkwan, probably

Seungkwan says that the song River could come off as cheesy if you’re not careful, but Bain was so sexy and Minseo went nuts!

VCG says “Bain, that’s how one should sing -- with all the different tones. That’s the taste I’ve been wanting. That’s how you get the listeners to focus. And Minseo? You’re a trainee but you gave more taste than the pros.”

Eunwkwang says that even though they were powerful, their singing was clean and they never lost control.

Jaehwan says they’re in trouble… because now they have to do even better in the next round. Baekho is like, come on!

Time for the judges to vote! Backstage, poor Gwangseok and Sungjung -- remember them? -- know what’s up. Reveal the votes, but not really! Commercial break! Reveal the votes again! But not really! Ok, finally reveal them this time!

Seungkwan, VCG, and Wendy all give 100s. Baekho and Wendy give 97s, and Solar and Jaehwan must have given 98 or 99.

The continued look of astonishment on Minseo’s face is just about the cutest/dorkiest thing on earth. I love it.

And Bain low-key looks like he might cry:

Dahee calls out the first team, who walk up on stage kind of sadly. Since their high score was 90 and low score was 75, there’s just no way that they could have won, but we get the scores anyway: 690 to 587.

Doing the math, Solar and Jaehwan must both have given Bain and Minseo a 98. As for the Gwangseok and Sungjung, if you subtract out the high and low scores, it turns out the average of the other judges scores was 84.

Backstage, Inhwan and Jaekyung note that Bain and Minseo’s team would have beaten any of the teams who challenged them. As a reminder, they were challenged by: Geonu x Soomin and Junhyeok x Yeo One as well as Gwangsuk x Sungjungand Inhwan x Jaekyung. You might notice that two of those teams haven’t performed yet…. Hmmmm. I wonder if maybe these performances were shown a bit out of order? So now we’re spoilered that Team Geonu x Soomin and Team Junhyeok x Yeo One will both score below 690.

Dahee asks the losing team if they have any remarks, and our leaping lizard Sungjung says, “I just want to say one thing. Red hair suits you well.” Everyone laughs and the good feeling is restored.

Gwangseok says, “But seriously, we just wanted to be cool. We thought a loss would be acceptable if we did well, but the opponents did better.” The implication is that maybe he thinks they *didn’t* do well. The judges reassure him that he did, and Dahee adds her piece: “I don’t know if it’ll comfort you, but from where I stand, you guys still seem cool to me, even though you lost.” Aww, Dahee is pretty great, isn’t she? I was unsure about her in the beginning but she’s just the cutest.

Backstage, Gwangseok and Sungjung say they should just go get some soju. And Bain and Minseo are in a state of delighted disbelief.

Anyway, that was fun! I feel a bit sad for Sungjung and Gwangseok, but it also feels fair. I think Sungjung put all his hopes on Gwangseok instead of just sort of running his own (horse) race, and I think Gwangseok’s inexperience showed. I still think both of them are great singers and I hope they can continue to learn and grow from all this.

Thanks as always for reading! And if you’re enjoying my recaps, feel free to talk about them whenever/wherever/however! See you as always in the next one.

#bain #just b #bpr recaps build up #build up mnet #mnet build up #build up

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gillianthecat · 1 year

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I couldn't decide which moment to use for my header photo, so I just picked Mamoru looking beautiful and relaxed.

Kabe-Koji-Nekoyashiki-Kun Desires To Be Recognized final episode (episode 8)

my extremely scattered thoughts:

if i liked Matsuoka Koudai's face before, he is absolutely devastating when he's relaxed and smiling

i thought this was a good ending to the series. surprisingly, the time skip worked for me. Mamoru had done the growing that he needed to do already, he just needed to marinate in it for a while, and produce his love letter of a manga, before he was quite ready for Issei. And Issei was already almost ready, and he needed to wait for Mamoru to take action before he could take his next steps

i adore Yamada. and she knows Mamoru well. It was heartbreaking to hear that she was almost ready to give up on pushing him, but her yelling worked. And his shift into action felt abrupt, but a) sometimes that's just how change goes, and b) it fit the overall manga vibes of the series.

the depiction of Mamoru's depression felt very sad and all too real.

all of the side characters were wonderful!

I'm so glad that the paparazzi, who's name we now learned is Nikaido, turned out to be helpful in the end! I knew there was a reason I liked him.

also I really liked his face too. Saito Yoichiro is the actor, according to MDL. I think I need to watch more shows with older actors. Writing about how all the Thai office romance dramas feature offices filled only with 22 year-olds has for some reason made me feel more aware that I keep watching shows where everyone looks so young.

and of course Tsubasa comes to the rescue. Structure wise he pretty much had too, and I'm so glad they did it. He was hilarious trying to buy Mamoru's new manga in that disguise.

also high on the list of side characters that I loved was Framboise, and his conversation with Mamoru. I loved that they let him become serious for a moment and act as a mentor to Mamoru, without making him seem out of character either.

I do like seeing Mamoru relaxed and happy, but still keeping his fundamentally grumpy self. He is so beautiful with his new self confidence. He was even able to smile at Takkun and be happy for him in his place in the wall, while he himself was still in the center.

I think it was a good choice to keep Mamoru in the center, and really show us that his perspective had changed.

I do feel like this episode really showed us the courage that it took for Mamoru to embrace what and who and how he loved as a gay man. It could have felt like a trite message, "just be yourself!" but it didn't. It felt like the show overall really acknowledged just how hard, and even dangerous, that can be, especially for queer people in an anti-queer world. It made the story of Mamoru's transformation that much more powerful.

Issei's on stage coming out announcement: part of me felt anxious for him outing Mamoru too, not just outing him as queer, but also exposing him to the media circus as the partner of an idol, without his agreement. But the story is stylized enough that I'm able to ignore that and enjoy it for Issei stepping forward to claim his love and his right to love as a gay man. He did not have nearly as hard a journey as Mamoru in that, as his obstacles were all external (wanting to protect Shiny Smile from homophobia, and running up against Mamochi's insecurities), but I'm glad he still got the chance to make his huge public claim. It felt like a triumph for him to come out that way. And I loved seeing his group mates support, and Tsubasa's little smile as he tells him to go get his man.

I do love Tsubasa. I would like to see his story if we get a sequel. I was considering shipping him and the paparazzi dude, but I think it's just that I like them both individually, not that I think they make sense together.

The final scene of Issei and Momoru together in the plaza overall was lovely. Just now I realized it reminds me a bit of To My Star 2, where the sunshine character has long been making huge romantic statements, but when the grumpy character, the one who's been paralyzed with fear this whole time, finds their courage and whispers "I like you," it feels so powerful.

I didn't actually mind that they didn't kiss there, because it felt true to both the characters and the storytelling style. I did kind want Issei to emphasize more that his love for Mamochi was special, because that was something that had made Mamochi not trust it before, but it seemed like Mamoru had learned to trust Issei's love anyways and didn't need that.

The circling camera made sense and added to the manga/anime stylization, but it did make me a bit dizzy.

We did get our wonderful tropey run-to-him moment. I liked how it worked, and Issei jumping on a confused Mamoru's back, and Mamoru's skeptical reaction.

The domesticity of the post credits scene with Mamoru working and Issei bringing him sweets was lovely, and a balm after all those stressful depressing scenes in Mamoru's apartment.

I often don't like it in shows or books when a character turns their own life story into a novel/play/manga or whatever, but here it felt very right. I think because this story was so much about Mamoru as a storyteller, and because it was needed as a love letter to Issei, and needed for Mamoru to feel free and safe enough to accept and even embrace the part of himself that loved a man, that loved Issei.

I'm still in my weird mood, so I'm not feeling as heart-eyed squee-ing enthusiastic about this episode as I might, but I still really liked it and thought it was a successful end to the series.

#kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #kabe koji ep 8 #kabe koji #final episodes #gillianthecat reacts to bl #to my star 2 #only a brief mention but tagging for a potential spoiler

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self-proclaimed-chaotic-good · 2 years

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Finding Significance in Simple Things | Jancy

Prompt: Future AU/Post-Canon

Words: 2364

Fandom: Stranger Things

A/N: A spin-off set a year after the [Somebody to Love] series. Could be read as a stand-alone, since they’re mostly background in that series. Tentative -verse name is “We Will Always Have Hawkins” or WWAHH-verse lol I think it just sounds neat and I got it from one the series' future chapters. Mentions Steddie and Jopper.

Summary: Freelance photography work had been coming in steadily, but after a while, Jonathan started to look for something more. One night, he heard rumors of sketchy activities that sounded all too familiar in a small town in Long Island.

He didn’t realize that a small place like Montauk would have this many expensive places. It was a small town east of Long Island that thrived in the fishing and tourism industry. Unlike Hawkins that didn’t really have anything noteworthy besides the so-called curse and the rest of the messed up stuff that the government covered up. What was similar, though, was the rumors behind this seemingly unassuming town. There were articles about residents reporting strange activities at the old military base, UFO sightings, random blackouts across town, clocks stopped working properly, and people going missing.

Jonathan placed the Montauk Point tour guide book down and sighed, looking at the array of articles he managed to find. It was overwhelming. While he managed to track down the connections, he still thought that Nancy would have been quicker. Nancy…

When college got busy and adjusting to life in big cities got a bit much, he and Nancy hadn’t had the chance to talk. Last time they spoke, Nancy expressed her frustrations with the school’s newspaper, how picky they were with their stories and how they always published the same people that wrote biased articles. She said that it was almost as worse than working at Hawkins Post, which was saying something.

NYU was a culture shock for Jonathan for sure. A lot of rich kids from the city that made Junior year Steve Harrington look like an innocent country bumpkin. There was also a mixture of art snobs, both elitists and nonconformists. Often, they make the same points but for different reasons. He tried to not lose sight of why he loved photography. People can lie to your face, but a moment in time can reveal many things about them. Freelance work wasn’t so bad and he used it as an opportunity to explore the city and its stories.

It was at a hole-in-a-wall nightclub where a slam poetry group was performing when Jonathan heard about the Montauk project. He snapped a photo of the next performer on stage before sitting down, getting a glass of water from the bar. There was a couple sitting next to him, speaking in hushed tones as they leaned back on the bar, facing the small stage on the other side of the room.

Jonathan took a big gulp of water and turned in his seat, eyes scanning the crowd as the performer’s voice echoed through the old dusty speakers. Many were enraptured by the performer’s voice while those on the outskirts of the tables were either zoning out or whispering amongst themselves.

“No shit!” the man sitting next to Jonathan exclaimed.

His partner hushed him, smacking his arm. “I’m serious!” they hissed, leaning in closer, “My cousin said that even the magnets stopped working. Like, how is that possible?”

The man shrugged. “Could be a coincidence. Could be something. I mean, the whole town of Montauk? There’s not even anything significant about that place.”

“Anything could be significant if something special happens to it. Who would have even given a shit about Roswell until those UFO sightings, huh? Your birthdate wouldn’t hold any significance to me if I didn’t know it was your birthday.”

“Thanks a lot, babe.”

“But, you get my point, right? This time, I know someone who saw it. The blackouts, the broken magnets, even the hallucinations.”

“Hallucinations?”

“Yeah, she said that she was walking along the beach when she thought she saw something hovering over the old air force base. Something big. It was floating in the air, then it dropped so fast that it exploded and the ground shook. Lights were flashing and everything. When she blinked, it was as if the air force was untouched, completely abandoned, and the sky was darker.”

“That’s freaky stuff.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Are you coming over for Christmas?” Will asked hopefully.

Jonathan glanced at his calendar marked with deadlines and events. Christmas was closing in fast, faster than he thought possible now that he was in a big city. Decorations were being put up since the end of October and Christmas parties were being organized. It was a good time to pick up work and as tempting as it was, he was really missing home. His family was everything to him and this was the longest he had gone away from them.

“And miss mom’s burnt gingerbread cookies? Not a chance,” Jonathan said, smiling at the memory of when their mom got distracted by something and forgot to check the oven.

The brothers fell into a comfortable silence, the sound of rustling papers could be heard from Will’s side. He had been working on a new art project when Jonathan had called. It took Will some time to readjust to life back in Hawkins, especially when Jonathan left, but with El and their friends at his side, it almost felt like he never left.

DnD had been temporarily moved to Steve’s new apartment after the school had put a halt to the Hellfire Club for the time being. Eddie was bummed out about it. He worked so hard to get it made and opened its doors to all those who were lost and sought for escapism where one could shape their own narrative in a fantasy game. El was learning how to skateboard from Max when she wasn’t being a Hawkins High undercover superhero, making bullies trip on nothing or their shorts falling down in the middle of the hallway.

“How’s it been? The city sounds crazy from how you described it,” Will said.

Jonathan huffed out a laugh, nodding. “Yeah. It feels like… everything and nothing is happening, you know? Everyone’s got their own thing going on, always on the move. When you’ve got nothing going on… it’s just nothing.”

“Are you saying that you’re bored of living in New York City?” he asked incredulously.

“No. No, it’s not that. It’s just… I don’t know.” Jonathan sat down with his chest leaning against the back of the chair. “I feel like back in Hawkins, if I don’t figure out what I wanna do with my life, then I’m stuck there. In New York, if I don’t figure it out, then I’ll be swept away.”

“So, same thing, different pace,” Will surmised.

Now that they were older, the brothers found that their talks seemed almost at an equal footing. It was always Jonathan comforting and protecting Will, but now, he’s been seeing more and more of that wiseness that Will’s friends were always talking about. Not that he didn’t know about it before, but Will was his baby brother. He was supposed to be the one to give him advice and take care of him. Finding a friend in Argyle who, while near constantly in a stoned state, had advised that he try to lessen the burden he had placed on himself and let people help take care of him.

“Yeah. I’m just looking for something to do. Things have been getting monotonous, relatively speaking. I guess with everything we’ve been through, all these things that people find so… significant seem so trivial now.”

“Maybe you need to find something worth putting value in to make it significant. Things almost feel like nothing matters, right?”

Jonathan sorted through the newspaper clippings he had and stacked them neatly in chronological order. He thought back to the couple at the slam poetry night, about how something wasn’t significant until something special happened to it.

Hawkins was a place that no one even knew about until he and Nancy released the story that got Hawkins Lab shut down and the news that covered the mess at Starcourt Mall. A cursed town in Indiana. But, it was also Jonathan’s home, where everyone that mattered to him was. Well, almost everyone.

He looked down at his palm where the scar, shining slightly under the desk lamp light, served as a reminder of the night where he and Nancy lured out the demogorgon, knowing that they could potentially die. He sometimes wondered if she ever looked at her matching scar or covered it up to forget about it.

Will knew the gears were turning in his head, going by his brother’s silence. “They’re opening up a new mall here,” he said, “Several of the local businesses are planning to relocate there. There’s even going to be a skating rink and a music stage. El’s excited about that. She managed a kickflip the other day!”

“That’s so cool. Tell her I wanna see it when I get there. No evil Russian labs under the mall this time, right?”

“Not that we know of. I’m sure that once me and El sense something, mom and Hop will catch on quickly.”

“Mom should be a detective by now. Those two make quite a duo, don’t they?” Jonathan laughed before trailing off. “How are things with them? Mom’s happy, right? No bad fights?”

“Yeah, yeah, no, she’s really happy. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time,” Will said. “Hopper… He treats her right and… he’s cool, I guess. Hey, did you know that Steve’s debating whether he should join the police force?”

“What? No way. A police officer with a former drug dealer and murder suspect for a partner?” Jonathan tried to picture Steve in that blue uniform looking exasperated at a handcuffed Eddie wearing a wide cheeky grin and snorted. He thinks that they might actually play it up and did not want to think about it any further.

“Stranger things have happened in Hawkins.”

“Oh, don’t remind me.”

“I am the reminder.”

There was no point in getting a car in New York. If he can’t walk to his destination, he’ll take the subway or the bus. If he was desperate, he’d take the cab. Getting to Montauk was going to take almost three hours of sitting in one spot, then getting a cab to one of the cheaper motels. He didn’t know why he decided to go. Maybe it was the familiarity, painful curiosity. He didn’t know what to expect either. Certainly not Nancy Wheeler at the train station.

“Nance?”

She turned, her brown curly hair swishing off her shoulders. There was a thick knitted scarf wrapped around her neck and a long trench coat tied tightly by the waist. Her large luggage was by her feet, her backpack slung over one shoulder as she bounced in her high ankle boots. Her round eyes widened when she saw him and a smile automatically spread across her face.

“Jonathan!”

The wind was knocked out of him and he wasn’t sure whether it was from the sight of her or when she slammed her body into his. His arms felt familiar around her small frame, his face aching from the sudden stretch of his lips as he felt her practically melting into him. He closed his eyes, breathing her in. Her light floral perfume, her fruity scented shampoo, and that hairspray she liked to use when her hair gets out of control.

“Nance, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be heading back home?” Jonathan asked, taking her luggage without question as he adjusted the strap of his backpack and small duffle bag.

“I was,” she said, still smiling, “But then I heard about something. Something big. I had to come and… and… I need to know what it is.”

There was that glint in her eye that he always loved. It was when she got excited, so passionate, and driven. Emerson’s school newspaper must be filled with idiots if they’re not jumping on the chance to use her stories.

“Is it the military base in Montauk?”

She nodded, grabbing his arm and leaned in to whisper, “You, too?”

He smiled. “Yeah. Wanted to take pictures that weren’t art scenes and street views for once. Think there’s an alien spacecraft? Some green people?”

Nancy rolled her eyes, walking with him towards the train. “Yeah, maybe like E.T.”

They hurried to a seat before the surge of people pushed them around and potentially separated them. They leaned back in their chairs with a sigh, taking a moment to relax and wait until everyone in the train settled for departure. Their hands were centimeters apart, but Jonathan didn’t dare to grab hers. They were on a break, a mutual decision to remain friends as they went off on their separate paths.

An hour into the ride, Nancy had dozed off, resting her head on Jonathan’s shoulder. Her left hand was slightly turned up, her matching scar on her palm peeking out. To anyone else, that scar could mean anything. Clumsiness, mostly, or accident prone. It would just be any old scar from their reckless teen years.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Nancy said softly, lifting her head slowly to look at him with a small smile.

He smiled back, bringing his left hand over next to hers. She grabbed his gently, running her smooth fingers over his scar, his own fingers giving a small twitch at the tickling sensation, before comparing them.

“Mine’s bigger,” she said, smirking.

He scoffed playfully. “Okay, it’s not a competition. I…” He trailed off as she entwined their fingers together and squeezed his hand.

“I really missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” He squeezed her hand back.

She reluctantly pulled away to dig through her backpack for her journal. Of course, she already had notes about all the abnormal sightings written in neat handwriting with notes of what they knew about Hawkins Lab and about the signs of anything related to the Upside Down. No matter how many times they helped El close the portals, that wouldn’t stop people like the Russian military from trying to open it again.

His frustration and anger of governments seeking to control something that they do not understand overrode his exhaustion from the constant fighting to keep his friends and family safe. If what’s happening in Montauk is what he and Nancy think it is, they need to stop it.

“Ready to hunt down another government conspiracy?”

“I’ll get the perfect shot if you write the perfect story.”

Nancy nodded firmly with determination in her eyes. “Just like old times.”

#writersmonth2022 #writer's month #jancy #jonathan byers x nancy wheeler #jonathan x nancy #stranger things fic #jancy fic #stranger things imagine #jancy imagine #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #background steddie #hopper byers family #will namedrops the show

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pomegranatemigraine · 4 years

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#absolutely losing my mind over this #my partner staged and took this photo i love them both so much #dog #my dog #chihuahua #probably lol #rescue dog

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finelinevogue · 3 years

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HI I JUST WANTED TO SAY I FOUND UR BLOG LAST NIGHT AND IM ALREADY ADDICTED TO UR WORKS. YOURE SO TALENTED !! could u do a blurb where the reader is harry’s gf and watching him perform on stage and he invites her up on stage to dance ?

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! LOVE YOU ALREADY!!! this one is for you <33 ;

Harry was an absolute beast up on stage.

Night one of Vegas was a complete success so far and you never wanted it to end. From the moment that you woke up in your Vegas hotel room to the moment when he popped up out of the centre stage to start singing Golden, there wasn’t a moment where you didn’t feel an intimate and enormous amount of pride for him. He looked just so happy and that’s all you could ever wish for.

You were stood next to Jeff and Glenne, watching as Harry performed his beautiful heart out on stage. A lot of the fans around you had spotted you and were calling your name to grab your attention and get photos of you, but you were too shy to respond to any of them. So you kept on watching Harry perform.

The funky and even more upbeat version of Canyon Moon started playing and you knew what was coming next. Harry had prompted you that he might incorporate you somehow into this next segment and you were excited at the time, now you were just completely nervous. Shaky hands, goosebumps, the lot.

“Now I know you all loved the dancing for this next one,” The fans started screaming and shouting, because they instantly knew he was on about Treat People With Kindness, “but unfortunately my dance partner Phoebe is not here tonight.” He kept pausing to let the fans scream, prolonging your nerves, “however,” he walked from the main stage down to the B-stage, “there is someone here tonight who knows the dance and how to dance with me specifically.” He smiled, fiddling with his earpiece.

Your heart stopped. You think?

“Oh my fuck.” You muttered, as Jeff nudged your shoulder playfully and people around you started screaming your name even louder.

Then the light shone on you and you were blinded, only to see what was directly behind you and to the sides. You had to squint or cover your eyes if you wanted to see Harry. You shoved your hands inside your blazer pockets, fidgeting with your fingers inside out of nerves. Harry could instantly tell how you felt.

“Now she’s slightly nervous, so please be kind to her. Y/N, my love?” He asked sweetly, making it hard to say no to him. You squinted to see he was wearing a plea full smile and you wanted to wipe it right off his cheeky face. God he was irresistible. “Come on. Please?” He begged.

“Go on!” Glenne pushed you forwards slightly, making you shuffle sing in your cream-white boots that matched Harry’s.

“What am I doing?” You asked yourself, as people began to chant your name and egg you forwards. Seriously, what were you doing?

You started to walk forwards and through the barriers where Harry would run off the stage later. You said hello to a couple of fans on the way, giving them a quick smile and wave. Harry stood at the end of the platform, holding out a hand for you. One of the security guards gave you a leg up and Harry pulled you the rest of the way, embracing you in a tight hug when he got ahold of you.

“Y’okay?” He asked into your ear, even with all the noise throughout the arena you could still hear him as clear as a new day.

“Probably.” You spoke unsure, knowing you were in the direct spotlight now. Harry chuckled and pressed a kiss to your cheek, making the fans go absolutely wild. You both laughed and walked hand in hand back to the main stage.

“Give it up for my beautiful Y/N!” Harry shouted into his mic and you had to bite your lip from grinning like an idiot. He made you feel so safe and loved and you’d have to especially thank him for that later. The fans screamed for you, many of them shouting that they loved you as you walked past them. You blew kisses to a few of them threw your mask and they pretended to catch them.

Harry dropped your hand to go and set up his electrics for TPWK, grabbing a couple of pride flags as he did so. Harry handed you one and he took the other. It was so warm up here and you understood why Harry was so sweaty and hot now, not that you were complaining at all about how he looked because fuck did he look like a God below. You placed the flag between your pink trousered legs that matched your suit jacket, only to start pulling off your jacket, teasingly slow just for Harry, and throwing it off to the side so you were now just in your cream-white bralette and pink trousers. You were excited that you matched Harry.

The fans screamed so loud when it took your jacket off and pointed their cameras towards Harry, either to film his reaction, which was him just shaking his head and looking away from you otherwise he wouldn’t be able to control himself, or to encourage him to whip off his jacket too.

“Off, off, off!” The crowd shouted, you hoped to Harry because you having your tits out fully would probably get you arrested unlike you - double fucking standards just because you were a woman…

“Oh shut up! You can already see everything!” Harry laughed into the microphone, making you and everyone else laugh too. You wrapped the pride flag around you, tying it up so it wouldn’t fall off. Harry just held onto his instead.

The song began and you stood their, kind of awkwardly, waiting for Harry to let you know what you were allowed to do and where to go. Harry came over to you, strutting like he was on a cat walk, and twirled you around with the arm holding the flag. You laughed at how messy and uncoordinated you both were, having never performed this before now. When you were up here with him though, everything else sort of disappeared as if it were just you and him. It allowed you to become more comfortable in yourself and before long you were dancing around like a maniac.

You spiralled the stage, waving to fans and dancing how they were dancing too. You blew kisses and gave air hugs to people, complimenting the fans that you could see with their epic outfits. Harry was always on the same side of the stage as you, wanting to be as near to you as possible in case something went wrong, because then it did.

When the bridge part of the song came, Harry put down his microphone and started doing the dance that he choreographed in the TPWK music video. You quite happily danced along with him, pretending it was just you and him again dancing at home with one another instead of on a stage in an arena in front of thousands. It was going well until you accidentally tripped over a cable, falling over and landing on your bum. Harry was really worried at first, the song still playing in the background, but as soon as he saw you laughing he joined in and pulled you back up to him.

“Y’alright?” He shouted and you nodded, still laughing through the embarrassment and the shock. No doubt that would be trending on twitter tonight. You were just trying to give your best performance though, that’s all.

You and Harry danced through the rest of the song together, twirling around in each others arms and dancing as if nobody else was watching you but each other. It was so fun and you couldn’t believe that you’d actually been nervous at one point. You finished the song the same way the music video ended, Harry leaning over your arms and you holding him to make sure he didn’t fall. It was such a good finish and the atmosphere felt electric. It was charged with so much positivity, you swore you could never not be happy ever again.

Harry stood back up, giving you a kiss to your lips without second thought that everyone could see. You didn’t mind though because he tasted so good and felt even better. He made you so happy and you could just feel him giving off the same energy as you. You laughed as he let you go and took your hand for a bow.

“Y/N, everyone!” Harry shouted through his microphone and everyone cheered for you. You bowed once more to the other side of the stage, before collecting your jacket and running back off stage so Harry could continue the show without you.

He didn’t let you go without telling you he loved you so much, though.

#harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #finelinevogue #harry styles fanfiction #finelinevogue harry styles #harry blurb #harry oneshot #harry styles concept #harry styles las vegas #hslot #hslot series finelinevogue #hslot concept night #finelinevogue masterlist #love on tour fanfic #love on tour blurbs #love on tour series #love on tour

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lillywillow · 3 years

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Birthday Wishes

Summary: Bucky wants to plan the best party ever for his young daughter

Word Count: 2430

Square Filled: Free Space

Pairings: Singledad!Bucky x Female Reader/ Steve x Peggy

Warnings: None really

Written for @star-spangled-bingo

Ever since the mother to Bucky’s daughter passed away when she was a baby, he had been totally devoted to her and every year on her birthday, he went all out trying to make it the best one ever.

About a month ago, Tony’s daughter Morgan had a mermaid themed party; complete with a woman dressed as a mermaid. Bucky’s daughter Rebecca had totally raved about it and with her own birthday coming up, he made a note to take one of the business cards with him.

...

The moment Bucky walked into the building, he was in awe. The front of the store was full of costumes, dolls, plushies, pirate treasure chests, fairy wings and wands... every kind of fantasy item a child could possibly want and a lot of it looked handmade. Out the back, he could hear squealing and laughter. A party in progress, perhaps?

“Good afternoon, welcome to Childhood Dreams. How may I help you?” the receptionist asked.

“Hi. I’m looking to book a party? It’s for my daughter...”

“I see. Well, before booking a party, you’ll need to make an appointment with Y/N. She likes to customise her parties to the client. She’s currently doing a performance but if you’re happy to wait, she’ll be done soon...”

“I can wait...”

“Great. Follow me please...”

Bucky followed the receptionist into the back. There was a pirate party taking place with all the children dressed up as pirates. There were props and decorations keeping in tone with the theme and an incredible cake. On the stage up the front was the same woman who had played the part of the mermaid at Morgan’s party, this time she was a pirate, enacting a mighty swordfight with another actor. She really put her all into the performance.

Bucky watched her for a moment before the receptionist pulled him along and guided him to an office along the side. The inside of the office was just as cheerful and childlike as the rest of the place. The desk was lined with small trinkets. Along the walls were various photographs of the woman in different costumes. A princess, a fairy, a friendly witch... there was a costume for every occasion. Bucky was in the middle of admiring them when the door opened and the subject from the photos stepped in.

“You must be the gentleman wanting a party,” she smiled, taking off her hat and eye patch before sitting at her desk and encouraging him to take a seat. “I’m Y/N.”

“Yes, that’s right. My name is Bucky and I’m looking to do a birthday party for my daughter Rebecca,” he said, getting his phone out to show her a picture.

Y/N smiled at the photo of the little girl who was dressed as a princess.

“Tell me about Rebecca. I take it she’s a princess fan?”

Bucky’s face lit up as he spoke about his little girl. Everything that she loved about princesses and fairytales, down to her favourite colours, animals and mythical creatures.

“I’m probably rambling now...”

“No, no, I think it’s sweet to see a father so dedicated to his daughter. Let me show you a few of our packages,” she smiled.

Y/N logged into her tablet to show him a few of the princess themed parties they offered. Bucky looked through the options before deciding on a fantasy type one with princesses, wizards and all things in that vein.

“Will you be having the party here or elsewhere?”

“I think home would be best... unless... here would be better? I don’t know...”

“Some children feel more comfortable on home base and some like going out. It’s really up to you. My job is to give your child the best possible experience...”

Bucky nodded slowly and thought.

“She might like a party in her own backyard...”

“That’s totally fine. I’ll need to visit ahead of time just so I can work on a setup. Now, will you be providing your own cake? If not, I can recommend an excellent bakery.”

“A family friend agreed to make the cake,” Bucky replied.

Y/N nodded and jotted down a few notes.

“What about food?”

“Yes, we’ll be making our own food too.”

Y/N nodded again and wrote down a few more notes. After agreeing on a price, a date and time to meet, his address and the date of the party, Bucky started heading out the door.

“One more thing...”

Bucky turned to look at her.

“I like to ask our clients how they found out about our business...”

“A while ago, you threw a mermaid party for a friend of mine’s daughter. Rebecca couldn’t stop talking about it for days after that...”

Y/N smiled fondly.

“I see... well, I guess I’ll see you when I come to do my inspection. Goodbye, Bucky.”

“Bye.”

As Bucky left the office, he could feel his heart fluttering like it hadn’t done in a long time. Ever since his wife’s passing, Bucky hadn’t even looked at another woman. Well, he had looked but he had always been so busy taking care of Rebecca, he didn’t really have time to be pursuing women. Sure on occasion, he would go on a blind date now and then and Steve would babysit but that would be the extent of it. Bucky thought for sure his dating life was over but talking to Y/N just now... it gave him a lot of hope.

...

Time went by and eventually the day arrived when you went to meet Bucky at his place. Bucky greeted you at the door with a smile and ushered you inside. Smiling, you looked around the place. Pictures of Bucky’s life lined the walls and shelves. Photos of him with friends but most of them were of his little girl. One thing you noticed was the lack of pictures of the girl’s mother. There were a few of her before having the child but not many after.

“So, um... what do you need to see?”

“You mentioned a backyard?” you said, referring back to the interview you had a few days ago.

Bucky nodded and showed you the way. First, you scoped out the best place to conduct your performance then took out your measuring tape to size up the props you might need. As you worked, Bucky could see the gears turning in your head.

“Do you go out to different locations a lot?” Bucky asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

“Not a lot but it’s always fun when we do.”

“How long have you been in business?”

“It’s taken me about ten years to get it off the ground. It’s only been gaining popularity in the last year or so...”

“Wait, so you own Childhood Dreams?”

“Sure do. You see, I always believed childhood should be about fun and games before going onto the drudgery of adulthood. And I help out local business in the process. Most of the items available for purchase were made by local artists. I’m always willing to lend a hand when they need it. That’s why I ask about food. There’s a small bakery a few blocks from the building we’re located who does the most beautiful cakes...”

You suddenly were interrupted by something brushing up against your leg. Looking down, you saw the most adorable white cat.

“Why, hello there. Aren’t you a cutie?” you cooed, bending down to pat the snowy feline.

“This is Alpine. Rebecca is just crazy about her. She’s been a really big help ever since...” Bucky paused, feeling a lump in his throat and tears well up in his eyes.

Alpine trotted over to him and purred as he picked her up.

“Sorry. It’s just... ever since my wife passed when Rebecca was a baby; I’ve wanted to give her the best life possible. I try to give equal amounts of time between her so she can look up to me and work so she has the best things in life...”

You went over and gave him a hug.

“You’re a good man, Bucky. I’ve been in this business long enough to tell the devoted parents from the off-standers. Just by spending a few minutes with you, I already know that you love your daughter and think the world of her. Just make sure you spend a few moments taking care of yourself, okay? It doesn’t have to be much, just enough so you feel good too.”

Bucky gave you a soft smile, knowing that you were right. Everyone had told him as such but sometimes, it’s harder to take advice from the people closest to you.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” he offered.

“Actually, I should get going. I’ve got a children’s charity event I need to get ready for. It’s been really nice seeing you again, Bucky. I guess the next time I see you will be for your daughter’s party.”

“See you then,” Bucky smiled.

He couldn’t wait for the party.

...

Finally, the day of Rebecca’s birthday arrived. Bucky had spent the night before busily transforming his humble home into a castle fit for a princess. He wanted everything to be perfect for his little girl’s special day, buying the most glittery, ruffled princess dress for her to wear, complete with a sparkly tiara. Bucky himself hired a prince costume and even managed to obtain a kitty sized dragon costume for Alpine.

Bucky spent the morning cooking, starting with a plate of pancakes for breakfast before moving onto the finishing touches on the food for the party. He had most of it prepared already but some of it needed heating.

The first to arrive was Wanda with her twin boys who were both in costume. The boys instantly ran over to play with Rebecca while Wanda was left holding the cake she had made along with her purse and the present she had bought. Bucky rushed over to help her with the items and after exchanging greetings and pleasantries, she showed his the cake.

It was everything Bucky could have ever hoped for and more. The cake was purple with ice cream cones decorated like castle turrets, topped with little princess and unicorn figurines and the words ‘Happy Birthday, Rebecca’ written in icing along with the age she was turning. Little pink flowers were piped along the sides.

“Thank you so much, Wanda. Becca’s just going to love it.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled, giving him a hug.

Soon after Wanda’s arrival was Steve and Peggy with their child followed by Tony, Pepper and Morgan, Sam with his kid and it wasn’t long before all the party guests had arrived. The adults all mingled while the children played together happily. Right on time, Y/N arrived with her scene partner in full costume. She was wearing a knight costume while her partner (whom she introduced as Phil) was dressed as an ‘evil’ wizard. Bucky settled the kids in front of the makeshift stage and let the performance begin.

Y/N started by introducing herself as a knight dedicated to Princess Rebecca.

“That’s me!” Rebecca squealed in delight, jumping to her feet and clapping.

Y/N knelt down to be level with her, crossing her right arm over her chest in a salute.

“I vow to protect you from the evils of the kingdom.”

Suddenly, Phil jumped out of his hiding place.

“Mwa-ha-ha! I am an evil wizard and I am here to change all the cakes into broccoli!”

Bucky thought he was laying it on a little thick but there was a wave of horrified gasps from the kids.

“Not so fast, evil wizard! We will defeat you! Kids, if I’m going to beat him, I’m going to need your help...”

Y/N and Phil made an amazing pair. While Y/N encouraged the children and even a few of the parents to join in, Phil played off their reactions until he was ‘defeated’.

“You win! I will change my evil ways and use my powers for good!” he dramatically cried.

The children all cheered and clapped. The two actors took a bow and started to pack up as Bucky announced it was time for cake. The kids all raced over to where the cake was being brought out.

“Would you two like to stay for cake?” Bucky offered.

Phil looked at Y/N for permission, a hopeful glint in his eye.

“Sure. We have some time before our next appointment,” she smiled. Phil gave a big, childlike grin.

Once everyone had sung Happy Birthday to Rebecca and she had blown out the candles, the cake was served out. Steve approached Bucky.

“Hey, man. How are you doing?”

“A bit tired but seeing the smile on that little girl’s face makes it all worth it,” he softly sighed.

Steve followed Bucky’s gaze to where Rebecca was talking animatedly to Y/N. He could tell the smile on her face was genuine and not just for show. This was a person who loved their job and loved children.

“Is that the same Y/N you’ve been going on about all week?”

“I haven’t been talking about her that much...”

Steve gave him an incredulous look.

“You know, it’s okay to like her. Why don’t you ask her out?”

“What about Rebecca?”

“Peggy and I can look after her while you go out on date. You deserve to be happy too...”

Bucky thought about it for a while and headed over to Y/N and Rebecca.

“Daddy, daddy! Y/N was the mermaid at Morgan’s party! She’s magical...” Rebecca was absolutely smitten with the woman.

“I see... Can I talk Y/N alone for a minute? Then you can open presents,” he smiled.

Rebecca giggled and hugged his leg before running off to play with her friends.

“She’s a darling,” Y/N warmly smiled.

“She is... Listen, Y/N... I was wondering... if you’re not busy tomorrow night... if maybe you’d like to have dinner with me...”

“Like a date?”

Bucky’s face flushed.

“I mean, if you want it to be...”

Y/N kissed his cheek.

“I’d like that. How about 7:00 at the restaurant around the from the Childhood Dreams building. They do an amazing meal...”

“Sounds perfect,” he smiled.

This was one the best days of Bucky’s life. Not only did he pull off the perfect party for his daughter but he took a step back into the dating world with an incredible woman who somehow stole his heart.

#ssb2021 #Free Space #Birthday Wishes #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #single dad!bucky #Rebecca #Children's birthday party #Acting #phil coulson #Steve Rogers #Friends #Fluff #Alpine

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jjheejz · 3 years

Text

What is Fate?

[Part 5/5] WOH concert and after

WOH Concert (3-4 May 2021)

- The fact that they even have a grand scale wedding ceremony drama concert

- GJ did not attend ZZH's first solo concert, but both of them have their own concert together for the first time

- Chinese have a traditional tradition of calculating auspicious dates (metaphysics). It can be calculated commonly for when to move in to a new house, bury a deceased, open a business, hold a wedding etc. 3 - 4 May were auspicious dates for Wedding and marriage registration.

- The concert was held at a stadium in Su Zhou, but the entire city was blatantly supporting everything and anything about WenZhou like it's New Year's Eve. Eg. Building, helicopter banners, bus advertising, drone show, lantern display, subway endorsement, city's official account using WOH quotes applying to safety regulations, curated photo booths, life sized figurine of WenZhou (YouKu kept it as prideful display at their office entrance after the concert), crowds of fan support and cheers etc.

Drone show snippet:

- Both of them were given the center of attention for the entire 2 days of WOH concert. It was WenZhou/JunZhe concert in disguise as WOH concert.

= This gave them both the opportunity to show what they feel for each other openly (whether as WenZhou themselves or as JunZhe)

- To have a stage to be what they are* and have fun, while being accepted and greatly supported by a sea of Mountain people (山人), no matter how one sees it, it's an extremely touching form of support for them

*Disclaimer: obviously they weren't 100% themselves, mindful of the fact that this stage was monitored by important media bodies (not exactly sure what kind, but somewhat government-ish regulators I presume), but their gaze and body language is just as natural as what they are.

= The fact that the country in general is not open to this kind of relationship, yet they were in a place where most of the people were supportive.

- Yes, there were some important bodies (or eyes) during the 2 days concert. Which was why all the actors and actresses were warned. For whatever reason they chose to continue in their own way, it's daring consensus of support. And for whatever reason the regulators didn't do anything (there weren't any big news at all from them), is also a miracle.

- They had the opportunity to sing a duet on stage, live. For the audience, GJ's singing skills started from November 2020, ZZH likes GJ's singing, and 5 months later, they have a duet on stage.

- Official acknowledgement of cpfans

= First in history where the recognition was officially verbally mentioned in-person. You can say this fate belong to the fans.

- ZZH had the opportunity to vow a promise to GJ witnessed by X million of people in the stadium and those watching livestream, that he will always be there for GJ. He did not only vow as a companion to GJ, in ZZH terms, he actually vowed "I will love you forever" [ZZH on 'love' saga]

- The in-ear mic had the voices of the backstage crew's coordination. ZZH took it off early, but GJ was still wearing them during the exchange. That itself is a stressor as the backstage coordinator must have warned extremely sternly and loudly and GJ was shakingly nervous. When ZZH was giving this vow (which in the concert BTS release, we see him say "Don't I have a segment to speak to WKX?" Note, it's WKX, not GJ), the backstage crew was cursing and swearing when ZZH went with "I have things to say to Jun Jun." (as WenZhou, they have a disguise/a shield, with direct GJ, it's just...danger danger red light) Try imagine being the backstage crew and going all mad and crazy over what ZZH said that moment.

= ZZH's daring courage to say things like these was probably built up from his sportsmanship, hot-blooded passion from his past. It's beyond my peasant mortal's comprehension.

- Supporting Cast shenanigans and warnings for them, link here

After

- After the concert was over, solo fans expect the main leads to break up even as co-workers or say, being even in the same frame. This expectation is extremely strong in the industry for years. The same goes for JunZhe despite this time many are cpfans but they do know this prevalent expectation. So imagine crying over the vow and the next moment, just hours after the concert, JunZhe is happily sticking to each other singing in the same frame as if they did nothing big a few hours ago. They sang a phrase together with this lyrics: 30% arranged by fate/god, 70% arranged by hard work. A love for perseverance will lead to success/winning.

= Debunking expectations, breaking many years of industry's common consensus successfully. They invented after after-sales CP service.

- Stage, endorsements, film scripts, major public events, variety shows, top brands etc. Poured in, and although it's all solo events, we see traces of the other half.

- Aside from that, we now see social media exchanges (almost always for the other half), brand endorsement captions (almost always about the other half), official brands partnering with each other because of them (despite being legit competitors) etc.

- The word 'support' or at least 'love seeing them together', is the general reason CPfans are fans of them. But to both GJ and ZZH, it really goes beyond the word itself. Acknowledging is just the beginning. ZZH does take LLD to heart and GJ is very interactive with LLDs in his own quirky way.

*From the [Star X Moon Saga], to the developed feelings because of this drama and actually accepting their feelings, to the fact that the pitiful budgeted amount for WOH was not well received at all before it was broadcasted but boomed records in the end, to the open shipping support by the production crew/casts/general media/fans/brands/cities, to the climbing successes and mountainous opportunities opened for GJ and ZZH overnight, everything was unprecedented and unexpected, but they all dramatically happened to the two of them in a span of one year.

Bonus

A fan went to a temple to check out JunZhe's fate. You can only check for one person and she checked for GJ. She passed her result to a Master and he immediately tell her to give up because that person is taken and turned away. The fan quickly corrected and say she's actually checking for someone else, the master turned back and checked her read again and said, everything is aligned to their favour, it's blessed by the Gods. (If I can find the full article again, will add on more but that's the gist, surfing in China made me love Google's search engine algorithm so much more).

A few other fans who 抽签 (Chinese praying tradition - simply put: draw a stick of varying luck). They all got the bestest of luck for JunZhe. (Reading the readings, I'm just...in awe...I...)

= Borrowing the meaning of another famous novel title, to me, this is a true "Heaven's official blessing" pair.

-------End of series-------

🌻To returning readers: Updated info are in purple for your easy references!

🌸Part 1 - Before filming here

🌸Part 2 - During filming here

🌸Part 3 - After filming, before broadcast here

🌸Part 4 - Broadcast/Promotion period here

🌻Upcoming: JunZhe Saga series

🌻[Ongoing updates] Will add if I remember or found new ones - last updated 220721

🌻For long posts like this, I tend to look back for grammar and phrasing mistakes (sometimes info updates), so when you reblog for future references, do keep in mind that there may be updates in the original post! :)

#shl #woh #langlangding #junzhe #lld #zzh #张哲瀚 #zhang zhehan #龚俊 #gj #gong jun

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dilucids · 3 years

Text

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤLove in cameras ━━ Genshin idol! au

newbie! idol!reader collaborating on a photoshoot together with idol! genshin characters

includes beidou, rosaria, childe, zhongli, diluc and xiao

( back on that idol au grind. also, the sheer amount of 'male reader' shit on this app that involves incest makes me genuinely tear up and take a shot everytime i say 'shot', you'd be drunk enough to hook up with zhongli dragon form. )

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 BEIDOU ━━ UNCROWNED QUEEN OF THE OCEAN 〕

━━ one of the most nerve-wrecking things ever because she's simply so intimidating and good at what she does.

━━ you're literally shaking in your seat as she takes her solo shots, watching her lean on one leg, placing the other by her side, stretching her arms all the whilst making eye contact with the camera.

━━ she just looks so professional and you're afraid you won't be able to live up to her and ruin the entire shoot since even though you're both idols, she's been in more magazines as a senior group compared to you.

━━ when you switch for your solo shots, she seems to sense how nervous you were ( although you weren't really hiding it much with your shaky knees and annoying tapping your foot. )

━━ she places a hand on your shoulder and gives you a smile and a thumbs up, telling you you'll be okay.

━━ you realise she wasn't as menacing and stoic as she was in magazines and slightly relax.

━━ helps you relax by offering support behind the camera!!!

You lean sideways a little, allowing the thin material to fall off your shoulder a little as you glance back at the camera, lips slightly apart. Your stoic facade is broken almost immediately when you hear Beidou hollering and clapping in the background. You begin to laugh in suprised shock as the staff around the set follow her example, the shuttering of cameras now longer heard as it is replaced with clapping and whooping.

You grow a little embarrassed, glancing over at Beidou for help but she seems proud, stood there with hands on her hips and a satisfied grin. You realise she isn't going to help you out so you attempt to calm the set down with thanks and bows until you're continuing with the shoot.

━━ beidou has a very large presence, so it's very hard to have magnetism next to her but you somehow make it work.

━━ compared to your solo shots, your duo shots have a pirate/knight theme.

━━ with beidou in a pirate getup and you in a knight getup, it was obvious to see that this was some type of old ancient rivalry between the two groups and you two were meant to potray that anger and tension.

━━ due to you being new to this type of scene, she'll take the lead, making sure that her pose allowed you to fit in perfectly, whether it be far away, close, a sword to her throat, you splayed on the floor and her leaning in with her sword next to your head. ( thank god that shot was meant to focus on beidou cause with her that close to you, you couldn't keep a straight face. )

━━ of course even with such a theme, fan service is everything! so some of the poses are a little more touchy touchy and if she can tell you're nervous, will immediately lighten the mood and assure you you're doing well.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 ROSARIA ━━ THORNING BENEVOLENCE 〕

━━ like beidou, will naturally exude professionalism and skill.

━━ unlike beidou though, she'll probably ignore your nervousness or bluntly tell you to toughen up if you want to make it, it sounds harsh but you know it's her own way of advice giving.

━━ her poses are less showy than beidou, more elegant and graceful as she rests her hands on her waist or cross her legs over each other over the arm of the chair and look back at the camera.

━━ will watch you, probably assessing your style, as you take your solo shots and if she notices your embarrassment ( she definitely does ), well she doesn't stop.

━━ will somehow converse with the photographer about poses she thinks will bring out your potential and it works, she has an eye for these things apparently and a lot of photographers like her style of modelling.

As you step back, allowing the staff to move props around, you glance back at the director of the shoot and Rosaria stood before the screen, showing off the photos. They seem to be deep in conversation, the only giveaway about the tense conversation however was the director's furrowed eyebrows and lips pressed into a tight line, Rosaria had no expression on her face.

The director seems to give up after Rosaria says something, pointing at the screen with her arms crossed, walking away with a shake of his head albeit the smile of being challenged. You immediately look away when she peers up at you, catching your eyes for a split second; you knew she had been shamelessly staring at you but it was quite embarrassing to be caught yourself.

"Here we go," snaps you out of your embarrassment and you're back to sitting on a black throne lined with gold, posing for the shoot.

━━ it's awkward before the camera is on you two as you stand on the set but once the camera is on? you two flow so perfectly together.

━━ rosaria would allow you to take the reins, allowing you to do what you felt was natural and would simply follow. ( another one of her ways of easing newbies into the modelling scene. )

━━ if your pose is a little awkward though, she'd quietly tell you to move certain ways and try not to overpower you ( but if you were overpowered, that'd be your own fault and you should try harder. that's her motto. )

━━ it actually surprises you how good she looked with a spear in hand and how well it suited her.

━━ it was kinda nerve-wracking to be working with rosaria but you absolutely loved it and would kill to work with her and have her guidance again ( deffo should ask for her number for future guidance!! )

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 CHILDE ━━ 11TH FATUI HARBINGER 〕

━━ looks professional on camera but is surprisingly childlike off camera.

━━ why is his little brother on the set wearing a pj mask costume again? right, he had to pick him up from school earlier than usual cause teucer said he was sick and wanted childe to come so he got use his older brother's reputation to get closer to that female teacher he liked. as for the pj mask costume, he wanted to fit in with the shoot theme so the poor stylists had to pull out some slightly too large, dusty halloween costume they found somewhere for him. great.

━━ other than that, childe is great at what he does, amazing at facial expressions like *whistles*, terrifyingly good at making the expressions asked of him. ( can cry on command actually (( learnt to entertain his younger siblings. )) ).

━━ you're intimidated by him at first but when you guys are taking a small break between his shoot and yours, you get to see him play around with his teucer and oh my god.

━━ he's literally carrying teucer above his head, teucer posed as superman with one arm sticking out and the other on his hip as he carefully runs throughout the set.

━━ when it's actually your turn, he will secretly hype you up with teucer.

"Pretty," Teucer mutters under his breath as prop flower petals are being thrown up as you pose under them. Childe smiles a little as he ruffles his younger brother's hair, "isn't my partner the prettiest?"

You're oblivious to these comments, focusing on the camera that was following your every move but your eyes glance over to the two brothers ever so often, finding their closeness rather endearing.

"They're prettier and nicer than your last partner," Teucer huffs, thinking of the previous collaboration he had attended with another celebrity, although she was a little too flirty with Childe for Teucer's liking. "Momma said you have to find a good person, big bro" Teucer reminds aa Childe smiles amused. "Are they a good person?" Childe thrusts his thumb over in your direction.

Teucer hums, thinking carefully with his chin in hand before nodding, beaming at Childe. "I'm sure they'll fit in nicely with everyone!" Your future had just been planned and you had no say in it at all.

━━ as for duo shots, it's another enemies theme but it's more of an assassination theme with childe holding a bow, perched on a higher stage than you.

━━ took ten minutes for childe to figure out how to look good with a bow in hand, with an eye scrunched up like he was actually aiming at you. ( of course he wouldn't have succeeded if not for teucer shouting advice at him off set with his hands on his hips. )

━━ he swears he almost feels the adrenaline of the scene as if his life was actually on the line when you shoot him a glare like directed.

━━ you two get on pretty well off set as well! you joke around as props are being moved around or make up is being fixed for either of you.

━━ you feel bad when you actually stab him with the fake sword, but he plays through with it, acting like he was dying.

━━ play fighting with teucer as an evil overlord ( still wearing his pj mask costume ) mind controlling childe's lover ( you ) into thinking he was the enemy ( teucer came up with the plot ).

━━ slipped his number into your pocket as you two were posing.

━━ teucer also got to keep his pj mask costume!!

━━ posts a picture of you messing around with teucer on his instagram.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 ZHONGLI ━━ VAGO MUNDO 〕

━━ probably the most professional out of them all.

━━ his poses are quite simplistic as he models the suit, hand in his pocket, fixing a cuff link, checking the time, simply casting his gaze to the side but he still holds a very large presence on set.

━━ would calmly converse with you as if you two had been friends for a long time, with a small smile on his face.

━━ if he can tell you're nervous, he'll tell you small anecdotes about anything and everything. when it's your turn, he give your shoulder a small squeeze and nod at you.

━━ talks to the director about poses as well, has a keen eye about what prop should be used and the positioning of them; you're suprised he isn't the director of the shoot.

━━ when you thank him for his help on the sidelines, he'll shake his head and tell you it was due to your talent and that he was only creating opportunities for them to naturally shine.

━━ was literally made for the camera, just the way he poses, the way he holds himself; god, it would've been a crime if this man had never been placed front page of a magazine.

You're entraced by the way he moves━━ subtle ways, like placing one foot ahead of the other, a hand in his pocket, looking down at the watch on his wrist. He's amazing. You could watch him for ages; he was like a sculpture made by the Gods, their most prized possession. What else could explain his sharp jawline, the bangs framing his face, his long hair pulled back into a low ponytail?

"You're staring," a staff member nudges you with a small smile, you snap out of it right away, slightly embarrassed at being caught. She laughs however, waving you off, "it's okay, we were all like that at first." You nod awkwardly, her words not helping at easing the embarrassment filling you.

You're talking with a staff member when he comes striding towards you, appearing behind you and scaring off the makeup artist with a mere smile and gracing you with a hand on your shoulder. "You're up next, good luck."

━━ mentally prepare yourself to be within a five metre radius of this man for the next hour or so.

━━ whether you're weak to pretty faces or not, i assure you, this man will honestly be the death of you if your guard is down even the littlest bit.

━━ the theme of this shoot? ceo/secretary and it does make sense━━ no it would make sense, if you were the secretary, not the ceo. but apparently fans like this type of power dynamic ( assuming you're shorter than him ) and so for the future of your careers you persevere.

━━ zhongli stood clad in a suit, next to you with his hands behind his back and you sat down at a desk, eyebrows furrowed like you're examining paper work or zhongli pouring you a cup of tea. you're pretty sure this is some odd dream at this point.

━━ you only persevere until zhongli has to pose as if he was fixing your tie.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 DILUC RAGNVINDR ━━ DARKNIGHT HERO 〕

━━ intimidating. intimidating. intimidating.

━━ did you wrong god in some type of way in your past life because being watched so openly as you pose for the camera for such a man, naturally exerting power, with eyebrows furrowed was one of the most terrifying things ever.

━━ his poses are similar to zhongli's but he puts a little more back into it, dignified aura as he crosses his leg, or one hand holding his hair up into a high pony as the other is near his mouth, using his teeth to pull the bobble off his wrist.

━━ also more open to differing hairstyles! unlike zhongli who only keeps his hair in a low ponytail, diluc can comprise with a low pony, high pony or even a messy bun.

━━ good balance of praise and constructive criticism; will tell you if you're doing good but will also tell you if you could improve in certain areas or even help with poses.

━━ diluc has amazing chemistry with everyone, he fits naturally into other people's style of modelling and can alter himself or his partner to fit if necessary, he also has a large presence on camera and sometimes accidentally overtakes when he gets too into the shoot.

"Calm down," you step back in reflex when you hear Diluc's voice just behind you, "your nervousness is plastered all over your face." You make a sound of acknowledgement and bow your head, "just take a few breaths and imagine you're at home in your mirror bathroom." It scared you that he knew infront of your mirror bathroom, you were the most confident but thanks to his help, you were able to ease yourself into modelling.

"You did well," he smiles at you when you come off the set, patting you on the shoulder. You smile back, "thanks to your advice," you redirect the compliment back at him. The short interaction ends when you two have to change into your couple costume.

━━ unintended sexual tension 👫

━━ was supposed to be casual poses, really easy ones with you two sat on steps with a respective cigarette in hand as friends but somehow,,,,, you two looked like y'all had fucked a second before hopping onto the set.

━━ so, the director took the inherent sexual tension and put it into use; changing just seeming like you were smoke buddies into poses where you two leaning into the same flame to light up your cigarettes. ( close ups of you two staring into each other's eyes over the flame! )

━━ kept lesser tension packed photos though and the one above^^ just as a small treat for the fans.

━━ he definitely posted a picture of you ( tagged ) behind the scenes on his instagram with no caption though.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 XIAO ━━ CONQUEROR OF DEMONS 〕

━━ more reserved, if he has a problem with the way you do things, doesn't say anything and just makes a certain expression with his face.

━━ his poses vary, he's able to adapt to each and every theme that's given to him and usually plays it safe with poses. he's usually modelling for makeup brands so he's very good with close ups, or hand and face poses; also is very used to working with many people but often never attempts to befriend.

━━ if you initiate conversation, he'll use dry replies or even attempt to leg it out of the conversation, only because he's a little shy or doesn't really understand social rules after a while, he'll given into your conversations and try to reply normally.

━━ i feel like he has mints with him no matter where he goes so expect a "do you want a mint?" halfway into your conversation.

━━ definitely is trusted with the music that plays in the background as you guys work. xiao is literally globally known for having one of the best music tastes and often makes songs hit the 'top 100' even if it's been out for years.

━━ it takes him a little while to get used to a new partner so give him a few test shots to get your vibe checked and he'll adapt!

You try hard to ignore the song in the background, but it's stuck in your head. Watching Xiao placing his fingers gingerly on his face as he peers to the side, the camera zooming into his face, you tap your foot along to the beat━━ you've never heard this song before but it really suited your tastes.

"Excuse me," you call out to a staff member who was walking past, he stops and nods at you, pulling down his headphones, "do you know what song this is?" He shakes his head however, leaving you with disappointment but not before he tells you that this was Xiao's Spotify playlist. You nod and thank you, immediately finding Xiao on Spotify to see all his different playlists for different moods.

You never understood why fans chose to listen to their idol's playlist because some of their music tastes was just trash but Xiao had genuinely good taste and it kinda suprised you.

━━ close proximity poses since you two are modelling for a makeup brand; some shots are just headshots with you two practically sat ontop of each other.

━━ some poses are torso shots, where you're both holding the product. there was a pose where you got to act as if you were applying eyeliner onto xiao's eyes and there was definitely a period of time when xiao couldn't stop blushing.

━━ he absentmindedly hums the song in the background as you two wait on set for the director to finish their conversation with the photographer.

━━ posts a picture of himself that you took whilst he was asleep and tagged you before the photoshoot was released so fans started speculating the weirdest shit and he never bothered to clear it up, just waited until the photos were released and hoped someone in his fandom was smart enough to connect dots.

#genshin headcanons #genshin impact #genshin scenarios #genshin x gender neutral reader #genshin x reader #genshin beidou #genshin diluc #genshin childe #genshin zhongli #genshin rosaria #genshin xiao

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imlikebubbles · 3 years

Text

“This is a photo of Melissa Cargill that my mother took in May of 1969. Melissa Cargill was Owsley Stanley's partner in manufacturing the very high-quality LSD that fueled the Merry Pranksters and the hippie movement in the mid to late 60s.

There are no other quality photos of her from that time in the public domain.

My mother would want this one to be in the public domain. Feel free to share it as much as you care to. I discovered it among the items I inherited from her, and for the longest time I did not know what I had. I only found out it was Melissa Cargill when I started writing up the stories that I have published in this group of growing up hippie and meeting some of the more famous people of that era as a teen. This photo was on the same page in the same photo album, and from the same camara, as the four close-up photos of the Grateful Dead that my mother took at the May 5, 1969, outdoor Dead concert held at Sierra College in Rocklin, CA.

If you google it, you will find the only other photo of Melissa is a faded one that is mostly all shades of brown. I will post that one in the first comment here so you can compare this one to what was previously available.

This photo is a high-resolution photo of a low-resolution Polaroid photo. I cropped it to show all the margins because the month and year are on one of them. I only touched it up a tiny bit.

I would love to know if anybody in this group has any photos of her or any stories about her that they could share. Owsley Stanly (aka Bear) was a good friend of my mothers for a long time. I don't have any memories of her talking about Melissa, but I'm sure they knew each other some. I do not recall ever meeting her.

I do have a handful of clear memories of my own personal interactions with Bear. Of being in the room when he visited with my mother and a few other times that I got to see him. He always smelled strongly of patchouli. In the late 60s, my sister and I were driving back from Seattle to Los Angeles, where we lived in Santa Monica. Somehow we knew where to drop in to see Bear in San Francisco. He was working on setting up a stage. For the Dead to play. He didn't have much time to chat with us. But he went backstage and came out with a big jar of pills and poured a bunch into both of our hands and said “take these to your mother.” They were small and white and barrel shaped. They were STP pills.”

-Storm King

#love his posts #❤️❤️#storm king #melissa cargill #merry pranksters #lsd #1960s #hippie #owsley stanley

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one-sad-human · 3 years

Text

•Sweet Confessions• Izzy Stradlin

Pairing: Izzy Stradlin x Reader

Requested? Nope! But they are open so send them in!

Theme: Fluff

Warnings: Language, alcohol references, and sexual references

Word Count: 1.5k

A/N: It’s Izzy birthday!! This fic isn’t birthday related, I finished it last week and decided to post it for his birthday. Enjoy!

The band dragged you out for a night at the bar. Just for a couple drinks to celebrate their successful debut album. But with Guns m Roses, it was never just a few drinks, it had already been two hours.

The band had been your friends since they all got together. You grew up in Indiana with Axl and Izzy, and when they left for LA you weren't too far behind. You had been there for everything. Every lineup change, every argument, and every borrowed— stolen— instrument.

You were their best friend, someone that was valuable to all of them. However, you and Izzy always had a special bond. You and him always clicked, one was never far from the other. Like partners in crime.

Like now, Izzy sat next to you in the booth. His lanky arm was resting around your shoulders, an action that wasn't at all rare. Axl is next to him, watching some blond that's barely dressed near the bar.

You and Izzy are the only somewhat sober ones here. Izzy just wasn't in the mood to get wasted, and you had work in the morning and didn't feel like having a huge hangover. However, that doesn't mean you can't have a few drinks.

"I'm going to go grab another drink," you say after tapping Izzy's arm to gain his attention. He nods and lifts his arm off of your shoulders.

Axl takes his eyes off of the busty blonde he had been gawking at to look at his friend. Axl notices how Izzy's eyes follow your every movement.

"You're being a creep," he tells him. Izzy spares a glance at him and shakes his head.

"I'm just makin' sure she's alright." Axl grabs his beer bottle, his rings clinking on the glass.

"You're watching her like a goddamn hawk." He takes a sip of his drink. "She's a tough girl, she'll be ok if someone hits on her."

"Well maybe I don't want anyone hitting on her," Izzy says. He finally takes his eyes from you to glare at his red headed friend. Axl takes a moment to stare at Izzy.

"You need to just tell her you're in fucking love with her. Seriously, it's getting hard to watch." Izzy rolls his eyes again and takes a sip of his drink. He hates how Axl can always see right through him.

"I'm not in love with her," Izzy says. Axl just stares at him, giving him a very unconvinced look. Izzy pretends to not see him, staring at the bottom of his glass.

"I don't believe you. You love her, and she's obviously in love with you, too, so just fucking tell her." Izzy continues to stare at the bottom of his glass, but he questions if you really could feel the same about him.

"What are you two talking about?" You ask as you take your spot next to Izzy, now nursing another drink.

"Nothing, Axl's just being a dick."

"What else is new?" You ask teasingly. Axl flips you the bird and you shrug in response.

"I was just telling Izzy that he should just man up and tell this chick that he likes her," Axl says, sending Izzy a discreet pointed look. You cover up the hurt you felt in your chest and put on a fake smile.

"You like a girl? Who?" You ask Izzy.

"It's nothing, Y/N. Drop it," Izzy says with irritation. You narrow your eyes at the sudden aggression, but don't push.

"Fine, damn." Axl shakes his head. How he got stuck with such an idiot friend he doesn't know. Steven groans and lifts his head from the table.

"Have a nice nap, popcorn?" Axl asks Steven with a smirk. Steven groans again and places his head back down on the wooden table.

Duff and Slash both walk out of the women's bathroom, a woman following closely behind. She looks disheveled, her hair is messy and her dress strap is hanging off her shoulder but she has a satisfied smirk on her face.

"I'm beat, I'm going home," Duff says while still trying to put his belt on properly. Slash grabs his leather jacket and follows Duff out of the bar, throwing a wave and smile over to you before he leaves.

"So that's where they've been," you say. The images of Slash and Duff going at the same girl was enough to make you shiver in disgust.

"Lucky bastards," Axl says with jealousy. "I'm done sitting around, catch you later." Axl pushes through you and Izzy and makes his way to the girl he's been eyeing all night.

"I'm tired, too," you say and finish off your drink. "You want to walk me home?"

Izzy nods and you both stand. Izzy follows you out the door without a word. After a few minutes of walking in silence, you finally look over at him.

"Are you ok?" Izzy glances at you for a split second.

"I'm fine." You aren't convinced. You knew Izzy for practically all his life, you know when something is on his mind.

"You know you can't lie to me, what's wrong?" Izzy sighs and shakes his head.

"Nothing, I promise. I'm just thinking," he says without sparing a glance at you.

"About what? That girl you like?" It hurt to just spit out the words.

Izzy wants to just tell you 'yes,' he is thinking about the girl but that it's you, and how he doesn't like her he loves her. But he has no clue how you'd react, so he just stays quiet.

"Well, whatever you want to say I'm here to listen," you say and send him a smile. Izzy grabs your hand and gives it a small squeeze.

"I know you are. I'm fine though, really." You sigh and nod your head. He doesn't let go of your hand until you reach the door to your house.

"You want to stay over tonight? It's pretty late and your house is kind of far," you ask. Izzy nods and you both walk into your small home.

Izzy makes himself comfortable in your living room while you make yourself a cup of tea. He takes a moment to look at the pictures of you and him on the walls.

Some were old, the picture frames barely concealing the rips and tears in the corners. Those were from back in Indiana, riding dirt bikes and getting high near the train tracks. But some were new, with the whole band out drinking or photos you took while they were on stage.

"Day dreaming?" You ask as you sit next to him on your old, worn out couch, now with a cup of tea.

"I was looking at all the pictures." Izzy points to one of the newer ones, It was of you and him after one of his first shows with Guns. You were hanging onto him and giving him a huge grin, one he matched. "I don't remember that one."

"Axl took that one, he gave it to me because he said he's never seen you so happy." You say, smiling at the memory. "It's my favorite of you."

Axl's earlier words replay in Izzy's head. Friends don't look at each other like that, do they? You most certainly don't look at Axl or Duff like that, he would know.

"Speaking of Axl," Izzy starts, clearing his throat awkwardly. "He mentioned something to me earlier..." Izzy stops short, nervous to mention it.

"Well, what did he say?" You ask, nodding so he continues.

"He said you're in love with me, is it true?" Izzy asks, but it sounds much more interrogatory than he meant.

You stay silent for a while, your mouth parting before snapping shut again. You look like a gaping fish of some sort.

"He blabbed?" Is all you could muster out. "I'm sorry, I know you probably don't feel the same and that's fine, that's why I never said anything and—"

"Hey, hey, relax, I'm asking because I do feel the same." Your jaw snaps shut, your face feels hot and your hands are sweaty.

"Seriously? I’m the girl you like?” You mumble.

"Yes, you are," Izzy replies, feeling relief that Axl was right flood through his veins. You and Izzy both sit and silence for a moment longer.

"So are you going to kiss me or what?" You say teasingly, although it's accompanied by a nervous waver in your voice. Izzy doesn't acknowledge it, instead leaning in to smash his lips to yours.

The kiss is full of passion and built up emotions. You can't help but think about how long you've dreamed of this moment.

Izzy pulls away moments later, his brown staring deeply into yours. His eyes silently asking if this was ok. You answer with a small smile and lean in to peck his cheek softly. Izzy smiles back, bringing up his hand to gently caress your face.

"I love you," you say quietly.

"I love you, too." You pull him in for another kiss, and Izzy begins to think about how he loves the thought of waking up next to you and how every other sappy domestic thing he used to roll he eyes at seem much nicer.

More time passes and you and Izzy have both laid down on the couch, cuddling into earth other lovingly. Your cup of tea is abandoned as you fall asleep to the feeling of Izzy's chest rising and falling under your head and his soft caresses.

#happy birthday izzy!#also! send in requests!#guns n’ roses #guns n’ roses x reader #guns n’ roses imagine #classic rock imagine #izzy stradlin x reader #izzy stradlin fic #Izzy Stradlin #Izzy Stradlin fluff

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queenshelby · 3 years

Text

The Last Semester – Part 26

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Words: 1,991

Warning: Smut, Pregnancy Mentioned

Four months had passed and you had finally moved in with Cillian and Charlie who had become too much for his mother to handle.

After several letters to and from Nadine’s lawyer, it was decided that Charlie should have the choice. He was old enough and, unsurprisingly, he chose to be living with his father full time.

But full time didn’t mean that he didn’t see his mother. Whenever he wanted, he organised to see her and stay over at her place, probably around once or twice per week and all he had to do was to inform Cillian.

For Hendrix on the other hand, not much had changed and Nadine and Cillian were sharing custody which, for once, had started to work now that Nadine had finally met someone else.

The irony in it all was that it was your father who had introduced them at school pick up. He was a single father whose son attended the same school and, just like your father, he worked in theatre.

‘How nice, an invitation from your ex’ you said as you opened the mail over breakfast.

‘To what?’ Cillian asked almost surprised.

‘Her partner’s new play’ you said somewhat perplexed, causing Cillian to laugh.

‘Who would have thought that this would ever happen, eh?’ Cillian chuckled and you nodded in agreement as, suddenly, the doorbell rang.

You remembered that Cillian had invited Enda and your father over to discuss the premier of their own new play the following, but your father had been sick so only Enda could make it.

‘Look at you two with matching slippers’ Enda laughed as he walked in to the kitchen and noticed that you both started to look like an old married couple who was shopping at Primark.

‘You know what it’s like man. First, they move in, then they take over all of the cabinet space and then they start buying you clothes like this’ Cillian chuckled as he looked down at his fluffy Easter Bunny slippers, causing you to give him a nudge of disapproval.

After you offered Enda a coffee and Cillian had gotten the initial small talk out of the way, Enda started to discuss the play and then his birthday weekend in two months.

It was his 50th birthday and he had booked a large cottage in Kerry for a long weekend. Amongst two other couples, Cillian, you, your father and your stepmother were going to join him and, whilst you thought that this might become awkward, you were also really excited about it.

‘I just wanted to talk with you guys about something in advance’ Enda then said as he brought up the getaway.

‘Lorraine is pregnant’ Cillian then said with a smile, referring to Enda’s wife who, herself, was only in her early thirties.

‘How did you know?’ Enda then asked.

‘Her boobs have gotten bigger’ Cillian said with a serious voice, causing Enda’s chin to drop and Cillian to break out in laughter.

‘I am just fucking with you man. She didn’t drink at the pub the other night’ Cillian then explained before you both congratulated him.

‘I thought I should tell you in advance, because this might be a bit of a sore point for you guys and I can understand if this bothers you, being around not one, but two pregnant couples for my birthday’ Enda explained, referring to your miscarriage and the fact that, to the best of his knowledge, you hadn’t fallen pregnant again yet.

‘We appreciate that Enda, really’ you said before giving him a hug and telling him how excited you were for Lorraine before asking him a bunch of questions. You knew that Cillian’s brother’s wife was also pregnant and it was indeed going to be a weekend full of baby talk for Enda’s 50th.

After you talked about pregnancies and babies for a while, you decided to leave Cillian and Enda to it as they had more to discuss about the play and Enda had warned you on numerous occasions that Cillian would get quite exhausted during times of on-stage performance.

***

Just as you walked out of the room, you could hear Enda ask Cillian in private about your plans to have children.

‘I know the pregnancy was an accident but, are you guys trying again?’ he then said quietly and carefully.

‘No man, we are not trying. We’ve been together for less than a year, there is no rush’ Cillian said, causing your mood to sadden slightly.

Whilst you didn’t want Cillian to know, the news Enda had broken to you that morning was difficult for you to digest.

You weren’t trying, yet you knew that you would be excited if you were to fall pregnant again.

Cillian was an amazing father to his boys and, just last night, you found several pictures of him with them when they were babies.

He looked so happy and so content and you wanted to experience this for yourself and with your own children. The photos made your heart melt and fill with an unfamiliar warmth. He was outright beautiful in them, holding his boys, caring for them and loving them the way he did.

***

Later that evening, Cillian received a text from Charlie telling him that he would be staying with his mother for the night.

‘No kids tonight, do you want to go out for dinner?’ Cillian asked as he looked up from his phone just as you came walking out of the bathroom.

‘No’ you said, biting your lip as you approached Cillian.

‘I have a different idea, common’ you said as you took Cillian by the hand and began leading him upstairs, forgetting your robe on the floor.

‘I think I might like whatever idea you have’ Cillian chuckled as he followed you into the bedroom, where you turned around and pressed yourself again him, kissing him deeply and passionately.

‘Oh, I most defiantly like your idea’ Cillian said eagerly before taking off his t-shirt and pulling your body even closer to him, enthralled by the feel of your skin against his.

As you kissed, you began to pull Cillian’s shorts down over his hips until they dropped to the floor. His rapidly-swelling cock pressed against your smooth pussy now while you wrapped your arms around another and kissed hungrily, tongues slithering into one another's mouths.

‘God, I love you so much, Cillian’ you moaned through your kiss. ‘I'm so in love with you’ you added, showing your affection.

‘I love you too, Y/N’ was his reply and your hands wandered freely around one another's bodies now, exploring and groping eagerly.

‘I want to taste you’ he then exclaimed and he didn't wait for an answer but simply pushed you backwards until your knees touched the edge of the bed and you buckled with a gasp at his directness, falling onto the bed.

You had barely bounced on the mattress before you spread your legs wantonly, inviting Cillian to lick your already wet pussy. As he leaned in, you reached down and used your fingers to spread your netherlips wide, exposing yourself to him. Your coral-coloured inner pink glistened, begging for Cillian’s tongue.

You moaned loudly and shuddered as he finally pressed his mouth to your pussy, snaking his tongue inside you. You tasted sweet and Cillian felt your legs wrap around his shoulders while your hands tangled in his hair, rocking his head. Cillian’s hands clamped down on your thighs, pinning you to him while he began to lash your slit mercilessly. There was no foreplay involved, he just wanted you as wet as possible for when he fucked you.

‘Oh God, Cillian’ you gasped, almost doubling over as he tortured you. ‘Fuck, you're going to make me cum’ you groaned.

You pushed up with your hips suddenly, crushing your pussy to his face and gripping his head tightly. Your groan of pleasure was guttural and shameless as you came and Cillian couldn’t believe how quickly you had cum.

‘Three fucking minutes, I am good’ Cillian smirked as he looked at his watch but, before he had time to think about anything else, you pulled him up to your face and kissed him, hard. Your tongue plunged into his mouth, tangling with his as you tasted yourself greedily. Your hips ground against his, your sopping pussy hungry for Cillian’s swollen, throbbing cock.

‘Fuck me, Cillian…I need you inside me’ you groaned after you pulled back from the kiss, your eyes flashing with lust.

‘Fuck me and make me scream as you cum inside me’ you then said eagerly and desperately.

‘You want me to cum inside you?’ Cillian asked somewhat surprised by your request and you nodded before pulling him close for another kiss.

‘Yes, please…’ you then huffed out and Cillian nodded and pinned you down, your loud moan all he could hear as he pressed his cock head between your slippery lips and sank deep inside you.

You pressed back up against Cillian, taking him in to the hilt. Your hands grabbed his ass cheeks and you began bucking voraciously.

Cillian looked down into your eyes and you stared back into his intently, lost in one another. He slid his cock in and out of your pussy, which flexed and gripped him tightly as you established a heated rhythm between you. Your legs wrapped around Cillian’s waist and you rocked against him.

You made no attempt to prolong your lovemaking, you just wanted to cum together. You could feel the sweat on your bodies as you fucked, panting as you stared into one another's eyes. The sticky, wet sucking sounds of Cillian’s member pushing back and forth inside you made you both wild with desire. His balls slapped against you as he pushed harder and harder, propping himself on top of you with his hands.

‘Oh god Cillian, yes’ you gasped, your eyes wide, your whole body shaking as your orgasm washed over you. Cillian pressed desperately, trying to reach as deep inside you as he could, knowing very well why you wanted him to cum inside you.

He arched his back as that tingling, boiling fire welled up in him and he clenched his teeth as he strained, calling out your name.

You crushed yourself on to Cillian, crying out loudly, your pussy devouring his seed as he filled you with rope after rope of his warm cum.

As the warm sticky fluids covered your cervix, your nails raked along his back. You almost wailed as you came, eyes squeezed shut while you worked your pussy around his cock. You pulled Cillian down to you and you kissed deeply and lovingly, expressing your deepest emotions for one another and you never wanted this moment to end.

‘I love you’ Cillian then said as he finally sagged down on top of you and you hugged him gently, almost purring as you whispered in his ear about how much you loved him too.

Your lips planted soft kisses along his neck and shoulder while your fingers caressed his back. He still moved slowly in and out of you and you squeezed the last drops of cum from him with your pussy until, eventually he pulled out and slowly rolled onto his back, bringing you with him to lean against his chest.

‘So, I assume that you want to fall pregnant again?’ Cillian asked, his heart still beating fast.

‘Yes…uhm…do you?’ you asked knowing that your question came a bit late as you looked up at him with pleading eyes.

‘I think I answered this question when I came inside you’ Cillian chuckled before he grabbed a pillow from the floor and propped it beneath you.

You looked at him somewhat confused and he grinned.

‘Just making sure it stays in, eh?’ Cillian laughed before giving you another kiss.

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