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#professors let me do more projects on things i was passionate about as a kid or now so i can very excitedly explain these things to u
bluebudgie · 1 year
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So... what's up with these two?
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(I love recycling old pictures.png)
You may or may not have seen me draw these rats repeatedly and you may or may not care what's up with them.
Well, in case you do... buckle up, we'll be here for a while.
Just in case: very vague ableism mention. I'm cutting down on pretty much all details, but just so you know the general topic comes up at some point. Don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.
Unrelated disclaimer: words are difficult.
It's probably smart to start with a general character introduction so you get an idea of who you're dealing with.
So, Petthri.
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(Shared most of this stuff about him before, now it's gathered in one place at least.)
The outgoing guy, grew up in a supportive family, always been the popular kid among peers, and later a pretty popular professor with his students (less so with some other colleagues, but hey). Very passionate about animal bioacoustics. Very hands-on when it comes to research and teaching. Infodumps a lot.
He's got his heart in the right place, but he's obviously not flawless. Has his thoughts constantly drifting in twelve different directions at once, can definitely not read the room, and has absolutely said and done things that hurt others just because he didn't think (and probably never realized). Likely to nervously laugh his way through most dangerous situations, but does manage to pull himself together and get things done if things turn really bad.
He got – at some point (precise date TBA, sometime around PoF events) – kidnapped by the Inquest because they wanted some of his research but didn't manage to sort through his mess. So they just took the entire man to the CoE and decided to keep him. Niche knowledge could always be useful after all. They were even kind enough to gift him an additional facial scar during the welcome interrogation! (The other one was a field trip accident). True hospitality.
Not sure if it's incredible optimism or naivety, but he's generally been doing alright during this whole prisoner situation. He's not locked up, they let him work on things he actually cares about (albeit not for the right cause), and overall he's had enough hope to believe he'll get out of there one day. Make the best out of the present, it'll be fine somehow.
I'm sure if you were to dig deep enough he'd find out he's actually less alright than he thinks he is. Oh well.
Let's talk about the other guy. Lahpp.
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Me. I created you. (I've said barely anything about this man on here so far bc while I could fill the 20k essay with him alone, writing about him intimidates me lol. Also in case you're ever asking yourself this, no I did not realize his name sounds like 'lab' until weeks after I created him. Unfortunate coincidence. So, anyway...)
Obedient Inquest scientist, questions but doesn't oppose orders, has been doing the same work for the better part of the last two decades. Day in, day out, getting up early and staying up late. Somewhere in the middle of the pyramid scheme, he's definitely got a bunch of heads above him but he's nowhere near the bottom end of the chain. Got his own little lab space. Enjoys music theory in the little free time he allocates. Assertive, lets people know when not to bother him, but very polite nonetheless. Has mastered the art of superficial small talk. The guy who holds open doors and pulls your chair back for you with an acted but convincing smile. Truly employee of the month material.
He's never known anything but this perfectly ordered working drone life so he's fairly content with his current position.
....
Yeeaah you guessed there's more below the surface.
So this man's life started with being the subject of a failed genetic dragon magic experiment, first one in a handful of infants that actually lived, but ultimately he got nothing out of it but a fair share of various health conditions and disabilities. The initial project was dropped after a few years of surveillance with no results, and instead he got handed over to one of the medical departments so they could "at least make use of him" and test some cutting-edge medical tech. No wasting ressources, am I right? (:
Fastforward some years, a miserable childhood full of abuse and ableism (and by extension just as much of it internalized) essentially left him with the obsession of wanting to fit in with everyone else, wanting to be like everyone else, never having anyone find out anything about his conditions and his past. Worked his ass off in college so it wouldn't be apparent he struggled when others didn't. Created a work environment for himself that he knew would be accommodating to him while not raising any possible questions.
He's been doing fine for some time now; while he definitely hasn't gotten rid of his insecurities he has somewhat accepted that he just... is who he is. Some days are worse and some days are better. His brain has done a very thorough job suppressing pretty much all his early childhood memories. He has also convinced himself that being a perfectly exploitable asset to the corporation that abused him for years is definitely the right way to stick it to the system. They said he'd never be useful for anything and die an early death? Ha, showed 'em! (I am saying this with a lot of sarcasm. He is genuine.)
He's definitely a product of the environment he grew up in, which is a shame because if he hadn't been indoctrinated by the Inquest since birth he would have probably turned out a pretty decent person. He doesn't have the absolute worst inner moral compass. Alas, as it is he has contributed to [some fucked up things] and has [some fucked up views]. And he's not about to change that.
So... at what point do the stories of these two actually connect?
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Petthri and Lahpp first met within a larger group of mostly scientists from mixed divisions that were sent on a trip to Rata Primus.
I won't go into the full details of The Rata Primus Odyssey now because that is a whole different story arc involving a total of six of my characters, but the relevant information is that they arrived in the wrong place at the wrong time (A Bug In The System says hello!), and got trapped in the main complex together (alongside Phlish and my charr engineer Leto) when Awakened shit hit the fan.
In short, the following escape mission lasted way too long, and made for an incredibly exhausting 0/10 experience for everyone involved. Cooperation between our two relevant asura actually went surprisingly smooth for the most part, at least way better than with the rest of the small group.
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(Bringing that old edit back. Two criminals actually getting shit done in the back while the others are about to snap each other's head off.)
I did once offhandedly mention that Lahpp held Petthri at gunpoint exactly one time – that was here. He was not going to risk getting onto HQ's watch list for letting a prisoner slip away while he's even remotely involved.
Ultimately exhaustion and having no access to important medication for a prolonged amount of time got the better end of Lahpp, and while the other two would have probably just left the "dead weight" behind, Petthri made sure he made it out with them. Not a great time for the little Inquest criminal, both physically and mentally given his inclination for secrecy regarding certain topics.
A few days after they returned to the CoE Petthri checked up on Lahpp to make sure he's recovering, but afterwards... radio silence from both sides for the next few years.
Fastforward, it's now Cantha time!
If Lahpp had a piece of gold for everytime HQ sent him away on a "business trip" that'll end up nearly killing him, and likewise Petthri had one for everytime he'd be witness to that, they'd both have... two pieces of gold, which isn't much, but it's still weird it happened twice.
Once again as part of a larger group, our criminals find themselves in New Kaineng City. And because I am a mere human being that is not above resorting to overused tropes, they do of course end up having to share the same room for the time of their stay. I never claimed to be a mastermind storywriter.
At least this time the trip starts out fairly unspectacular, with mostly guided group tours through the city and its labs. Lahpp is not feeling too great (understatement) during all of this for reasons he can't quite grasp, but he's got a really bad gut feeling. Petthri actually notices he's lingering a lot and falling behind, so he suggests they split off from the rest of the group and go back to their room early. Get some rest, the journey to Cantha was long after all.
The next days are pretty calm, the Inquest is snooping around while our two heroes actually have some time to talk and get to know each other a little more. Petthri finally gets to tell someone his whole 'and this is how I was kidnapped!' story. Petthri's questions are getting a little too personal for Lahpp's taste, but overall they get along alright. It's almost like two people that have been way too lonely for several years are actually finding a bit of comfort for a moment. (Side note: Petthri warms up to people very quickly, and he might be (without realizing it) getting a little too comfortable with the idea of having found someone "redeemable".)
Now wouldn't it be great if a nearby reactor blew up and an elder dragon escaped?
The event itself isn't really affecting them (yet) but I do think Lahpp must be questioning the Eternal Alchemy at this point. Thaumanova. Multiple near-meltdowns in the Crucible. Rata Primus. Now this. Seriously, at some point it's just ridiculous.
With each new information surfacing, the "bad gut feeling" is slowly but surely turning into mild but continuous panic. Something is off and it clearly has something to do with dragons. Now, Lahpp never really cared about the whole elder dragon business. Whatever sort of magic experiment he was used for, it's the outcome that affected his life, not the source of it. Still, the thoughts are starting to occupy his mind more than he'd like to admit. Petthri is entirely unaware of any of this.
Oh wait – what's this? A new unknown form of raw magic rapidly spreading and threatening to destroy Tyria? Obviously this is something to be investigated, so the larger group coordinates an excursion to Dragon's End. And obviously they end up getting into the battle for the jade sea.
I guess at this point you see where my art is coming from.
Petthri and Lahpp never get to fight Soo-Won herself (no canon meta participation alas), but they are busy enough fending off Void creatures on ground level anyway. It's unclear (to me) if or how much the Void actually affects Lahpp on a physical level, but regardless he is not having the best time being confronted with something that is so unknown to him and yet so closely connected to his very being.
Some resurfacing traumatic memories combined with a not-so-pretty panic attack (and the physical stress of fighting) later, it's poor Petthri's task to once again take a blacked out criminal to safety. Meanwhile he's got absolutely no idea what is going on, but he's definitely going to demand some explanations.
For some days after this Petthri's playing bedside vigil in a New Kaineng medical facility. The two have a lot of time to talk. Personal topics. Uncomfortable topics. Lahpp does tell Petthri to go back to Rata Sum, he's beyond caring at this point. Quite frankly he thinks HQ won't care either. Petthri refuses to leave just like that. Asks Lahpp to come with him, he'll be better off away from the Inquest. Obviously Lahpp is not having any of it, he's very well aware the Inquest is as corrupt as it gets, but so is Rata Sum. That's just how the world functions. The Inquest has the meds and tech he needs to survive. He's not leaving. And he certainly doesn't need anyone acting self-sacrificial out of pity. It's degrading.
He tells Petthri to sleep on it and make up his mind the next day.
Aaand that is pretty much where the somewhat coherently planned part of my current rat-timeline ends. A glimpse into vague concepts for the future:
Enter a third character to the roster! It's Luqqah, Inquest medic-turned-biochemist. She happened to be in Cantha for a while now, doing her own research. She gets involved treating the injured after the whole Void mess. Naturally she ends up finding Petthri and Lahpp. Lucky for the latter, because she obviously has better knowledge dealing with asura than any of the human medics. And... in fact... she has pretty detailed knowledge about what's up with Lahpp specifically. Dealt with his medical papers in the past. Oh, also... they're exes. Don't worry, parted on good terms. Haven't seen each other since shortly after the Thaumanova meltdown. What a reunion.
So... yeah. It's gonna be trio time from now on. I don't know yet for how long the three of them stay in Cantha, or if they're going to get involved with the whole Gyala Delve storyline (or whatever comes out of it). Lahpp's not doing great, he'll need a while recovering. If he ever fully recovers. Petthri has a few of his own inner demons to fight. Time will tell.
As a conclusion... Petthri's saviour complex sets him on a good path towards a corruption arc while Lahpp's as close to a redemption arc as he'll get. They're both questioning their life and views a lot. Spoiler from the Omniscient Narrator: Both of them will be back in the Crucible. But with more thoughts to think than before. And more time to spend together.
And that's what's currently up with the rats.
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upsetokaiba · 3 years
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hey guys its finals crunch
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zafirosreverie · 3 years
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Must be the eyes (Teacher!Agatha x Fem!Student!Reader)
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Here it is! first part of the TxS au! Let’s get this party started!
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"And who exactly was the villain then, Miss Y/L/N?" You gnashed your teeth when your teacher looked at you behind the frame of her glasses, with her piercing, stupidly beautiful blue eyes and a raised eyebrow.
You flinched a bit from her gaze, but you refused to back down, you never had and you weren't going to start now, no matter how hot your cheeks got or how close this damn woman stood to you.
Agatha Harkness, Westview’s University history professor, terror of the first years and your crush since the first class you had with her. Her blue eyes had captivated you from the first moment, as had her slightly wavy hair and mocking smile. Her sarcastic and dry sense of humor was also something you loved, plus she was incredibly smart and not afraid to show it. Beautiful, smart and taught your favorite subject. Yup, you were completely under her spell.
But you hated it when she argued with you in front of the whole class, especially for things like this. It always made you feel so small and helpless, even if you didn’t show it on the outside.
She had asked your class for an essay on Greek myths, and you had chosen Medusa’s. Miss Harkness had said that you should express your views, with clear and concise arguments, which took you most of the week to investigate. But it seemed that you had not been clear enough.
Either that, or your teacher really hated you and enjoyed challenging you in front of your classmates, expecting you to break up and argue with her, so she could send you to detention. Well, you wouldn't let her win that easy.
You forced a smile and looked up. She was right in front of your chair, looking down at you as she waited for your answer.
"Athena and Poseidon" you said confidently "They are the villains"
"Interesting posture" she smiled, but it was a smile that reminded you of the cheshire cat "Although that doesn't take away the blame for the lives she took, does it?"
"It wasn't her fault either," you said, frowning.
"Oh it wasn’t?" she asked. You suppressed a gasp when she rested her hands on your table and leaned forward. You could feel her minty breath on your face "And whose fault was it, Miss Y/L/N?" she asked.
"Men’s" you gulped "Those who went to look for her"
"Explain" she ordered. Her eyes never once left your face.
"They went looking for her. They tried to kill her, what was she supposed to do? Let herself be killed? Besides, it wasn't her fault that Athena turned her into that, she didn't ask to turn people to stone" you said, crossing your arms and leaning toward back in your seat.
Anyone would think that your gesture was one of challenge, considering that your face was neutral and your eyebrow was raised slightly. But inside you were screaming and having a panic attack.
Agatha smirked in her head at your attitude. She wouldn't tell anyone even if she was under torture, but she loved having these little discussions with you. You were the only student brave enough to argue with her, and you were brilliant in the way you did.
On the other hand, you were also incredibly cute and she would lie if she said that she didn't like to make you blush, your eyes lit up a bit and the red on your cheeks really contrasted beautifully with your skin. She knew it was wrong, that as a teacher she shouldn't find any of her students attractive. But she couldn't help it, there was something about you that just fascinated her.
Most of her fellow teachers had already noticed the strange dynamic she had with you, but they took it as a simple student/teacher rivalry, stemming from the fact that you seemed like a history prodigy, which presented a vast battlefield for Agatha, it was no secret that the woman was competitive, after all.
The only one who seemed a little suspicious of what was really going on was Wanda, the literature teacher. She had been one of the best students in the university and had returned as a teacher 5 years ago and because their subjects shared a field of investigation, she and Agatha ended up spending more and more time together, until they became good friends. 
It was fun having someone to judge and gossip about both the staff and the student body. But that also meant having to endure the teasing of the younger woman every time you walked by Agatha.
Of course, she had scolded Wanda for even suggesting that she was attracted to you, a student, and the redhead had apologized, saying that she was only joking, but she wasn't sure how long it would be before her friend became suspicious again. Not that the history teacher was that subtle with the way she looked at you.
Still, Agatha Harkness had certain principles, and she knew that she couldn't flirt with you as long as you were her student, so she was content to make you blush and nervous when she was around you.
“She broke Athena’s rules” she said, almost growling.
“Poseidon raped her. That wasn't her fault” you growled back. You cursed yourself for being so passionate about this. Your classmates probably thought you were an idiot for fighting a teacher.
"You seem quite determined to defend the monster," she accused, frowning. She pushed herself off your bench and turned to the rest of the class, letting you breathe for a second. "Not many people would pay attention to Medusa, a hideous and dangerous creature. But she seems to have won Miss Y/L/N’s heart" she said, making your classmates laugh and you blushed again.
"It must be the eyes" you mumbled without thinking.
Your teacher looked at you for a moment before smirking. Fortunately, it seemed like she didn't have time to keep arguing with you. Blessed heavens for that. You heard the ring bell and sighed in relief, starting to pack your things.
“Remember that the project is due for next monday” Ms Harkness said and you hear some groans from your classmates. You chuckled as you left the classroom.
“It’s not fair” you heard your friend Nick saying beside you “She didn’t give us enough time!”
“What do you mean?” you asked “I finished it three days ago”
“But you don’t count!” he frowned “you’re good at history! I can’t even remember my sister’s birthday!”
“Nick, you don’t have a sister” you rolled your eyes fondly
“And? I wouldn’t remember her birthday anyway”
You laughed and playfully punched his shoulder. You and Nick have been friends since your first day here and you were thankful for that. He was the only one who knew about your crush on Ms Harkness, which was a blessing but also a nightmare. He loved to embarrass you.
“So, what was that Y/N?” He asked suddenly
“What?” you frowned
“The whole Medusa’s thing”
“Well, she wasn’t a monster and-”
“No no, don’t give me a history lesson, I already had enough of that. I was talking about you and ‘Ms magical eyes’ almost kissing” he smirked as you coughed and almost tripped. 
“What?!” you hissed “The hell you’re talking about?!”
“Oh c’mon Y/N!!” Nick laughed “She was practically lying over you!”
“That’s not true” you crossed your arms
“It is” he crossed his arms too “Y/N,I love you, but you can be so blind sometimes”
“What is that supposed to mean?” you asked, a little offended
“Y/N, we all could feel the sexual tension between you two” he laughed and left you frozen in the hall. 
_____________
“No” Agatha frowned and crossed her arms
“Please” Wanda begged
“No, I’m not going to babysit a bunch of spoiled kids” the older woman said
“Okay, first of all, they’re college students, not from the kindergarden” the redhead frowned “and this could be an amazing opportunity!”
“For what? I already know about the Salem trials, love, I’m more than capable of teach my students about it without having to taking them there”
“But it would be more fun for them” Wanda argued
“I teach history, buttercup, it’s not supposed to be fun for them” the brunette smirked while the other woman rolled her eyes.
“We both know you don’t actually think that. You love your class and want them to love it too” 
When the other woman shrugged and started reading again, totally ignoring her, Wanda knew it was time for plan B. She kneeled in front of Agatha and gave her puppy eyes.
“Pleaaaase” she cried “I need another teacher if I want permission to do the trip”
“Then ask Monica” Agatha said, not looking up from her book
“She has a game next week with the basketball team” Wanda said “Besides, as the history teacher, your class is the most similar to mine, it just makes sense if we both go”
“I’m not going Maximoff, period”
Wanda sighed and stood. “Fine.Thanks for nothing, Harkness” she pouted and left the teacher’s room. 
Agatha rolled her eyes, she knew the other woman would get over it in a few hours.
____________
“I just say that witches are cool” you said as you and Nick walked through the hall
“They are Y/N, but visiting an old town isn’t exactly my idea for a good summer trip” he said and you rolled your eyes “Why don’t you go to Disneyland instead?” he joked
“Because I hate gigantic amusement parks” you said “And I really want to visit Salem, it was my dream since i was 9 and i read about witches from the first time. But you know I don't have enough money to do both trips. So, Salem it is for me”
Nick sighed “Alright, you do you, history girl” he joked “But try not to get cursed while you’re there, i don’t want my best friend to be a frog” 
You laughed and he put an arm around your shoulders. None of you noticed the brunette teacher walking out of the teacher’s room and who totally heard your conversation. 
_____________
Wanda jumped when her office door opened with a slam. She looked at a frowning Agatha, who had her arms crossed and let out a sigh.
“Alright, you win” the brunette said “We’re going to Salem”
The redhead smiled and quickly stood up to run to her friend and hug her tightly.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said.
“But!” Agatha said, gently pushing the younger woman to lock eyes with her “I pick the class we’re taking with us”
“Deal!”
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spideyspeaches · 3 years
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Gold Rush ↬ t.h
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Gif by @parkeraul :)
A/N: I'm in love with that song 🙈 also here's my super late contribution of professor!tom 😋 cause I've been procrastinating on the wandavision au (in my defence though, it's taking a lot of brainstorming 😂) anyway here you go-
Wc: 2.6k+
Warnings: lemme know if you find one :)
Summary: He taught British History and you chastise yourself for not auditing for that subject earlier.
Pairing: Professor!Tom x Student!Reader
Masterlist || Taglist
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Waking up with a start, you groan at the shrill sound of your alarm. With a sigh that was more of a grunt of annoyance, you tried to reach for your phone at the side table, hissing when you felt the corner of your elbow hit the table, pain shooting up to your shoulder. 
Great, you weren't even up yet and your day was already going shitty. You just hoped that your professor won't be grumpy about you being late for the millionth time this semester. 
You hated cultural architecture. You had nothing against the course, but You hated your professor with a passion and wished that you could burn your textbooks for all you cared, right in front of your teacher's eyes, watch him writhe in fear as you banished the very existence of your material. 
You were being dramatic, but in your defence, your professor was an old bastard who never left an opportunity to reprimand you, going as far as letting you know how uneven your margins were on your latest project. 
He wore birkenstocks with a three piece. You wouldn't trust him with your assignments. 
Getting out of your dorm room was work, hard work. But you got out, brushed your teeth and wore what you hoped were presentable clothing. 
"You look hungover." Your roommate, Stacy, commented, spitting in the sink as you scowled at her. 
She was straightforward, outspoken and somehow managed to look like one of those Victoria secrets models that you loathed, even at seven in the morning. You hated her. 
(You didn't.)
"Thanks, I hope I smell too. Want that son of a bitch- what's his name, Wilson, to suffer for giving me that C minus on my thesis." You grumbled, rubbing your hands through your hair to flat them out. 
"You really hate him, don't you." She snickered, popping off her shirt. You tried not to look, not wanting to come off as a pervert, but damn, she was fit. You contemplated her words, frowning at your own reflection. 
You looked disheveled, the dark eye bags under your eyes very apparent as you tried to mask them with foundation, setting your hair for the millionth time. Oh well, you were presentable enough. Sweatpants would have to do for your only class today, you could binge Netflix after this wretched class. 
"I do. I hope his third wife divorces him and he loses his thermos of coffee in the subway." You said, adding your look finally before wearing your shoes. 
"That's cruel, didn't know you had it in you." She snickered, patting your back and following you as you closed the door, "Well I have to go to my boring science lectures now so, see you later hun." 
"Yeah, enjoy your chemistry period with your boyfriend!" You cheered sarcastically, rolling your eyes and hugging her to tell her that you were only joking. Your relationship was this, of jokes and hugs and kisses. You considered her your best friend. 
Rushing towards the gates of your university, you hastily tightened your loosening hair tie, adjusting the straps of your bags. You were pretty sure you had broken your record of being late to your class. You may hate the professor, but you actually enjoyed the subject. 
Wheezing as you ran past the late comers, you nodded at the receptionist, hastily signing yourself in. You would blame your clumsiness for what happened next, because one second you were fixing your sande on the foot of the fountain, and next thing you knew you were crashing into a firm body, your nose hitting the random stranger’s chest.
"I’m so sorry! I’m kinda late to class and I wasn’t looking and- whoa, ow.” You rushed your words, groaning when you felt blood rush from your head to toe, nose throbbing with double vision, a reminder of your clumsiness. 
“Whoa, hey calm down, it’s okay, I wasn’t looking either.” The stranger said, his thick South Western accent snapping you out of your self pity. 
You felt blood rush to your cheeks instead, not anticipating your face in a flush this early in the morning, when you got a good look at the stranger. He was good looking, in his black high turtleneck and brown checkered pants. He had a small leather satchel clutched in his hands, face looking as flushed as you felt when you realised that you had been gawking at him.
He was probably no older than his mid twenties, making you wonder what he was doing in your university. He was too old to be a student, and too young to be a professor. But then again, you wouldn't judge him for joining college late.
Right? 
"S-sorry, you um, you must be really late, you should go." He stuttered, your heart fluttering at his dimpled chin and thick accent. His eyes were gleaming in the morning sun, captivating in a way that left you in awe. 
"Um yeah, I am." You nodded, composing yourself, hoping that you didn't look too sleep deprived or disheveled, "where are you going, if you don't mind me asking."  
"Um, the architecture wing?" He said, unconsciously stepping besides you.
"Oh, I'm going that way. Is it your first time coming here? Haven't seen you around." You asked, trying not to stare at his sharp jawline and the way the morning sun hit him just right, illuminating and accentuating his curly brown hair. 
"Yeah, it's my first lecture, so um, looks like I'm late too." He smiled. It was infectious, you noticed as you mirrored his expression. 
"Oh, you're a student?" 
"Actually, I'm a professor. Just transferred from UCL." 
So you were right, he was a professor. He looks so young though. You thought, nodding at him, your thoughts interrupted by his laugh. Looking at him with confusion, you raised an eyebrow. 
"Yeah, everyone says that. I started right after finishing graduation so, I guess I'm not much older than you." He smiled, kicking the small pebbles littered around the set grassy ground. It had just rained, the smell of wet ground still fresh. 
"I said that out loud didn't I?" You smirked, ducking your head to hide. 
"You did." 
Entering the building, you realised that you hadn't asked which subject he taught, crossing your fingers and hoping that he would replace the old bastard that taught you cultural architecture. 
"I forgot to ask, which lecture do you teach?" You asked, looking for your class in the end. The hallways were empty, it was way past your first lecture and all the students were already in the auditorium. 
"Oh, uh, British History." He answered. You didn't let disappointment show too much on your face, smiling shyly before gesturing towards the class, "that's you." 
"Oh, um thank you." He smiled, pursing his thin lips together as he walked towards the class. You could hear screaming of the students as you both neared the classroom, you still standing by the door, "I didn't get your name." 
His question snapped you out of your disappointed gaze, 
"Oh, it's Y/n. Y/n L/n." You said with a smile. 
"Pleasure to meet you Y/n, I'm Thomas Holland, but you can call me Tom." He said awkwardly, before turning back to his class, who had yet to notice him.
"The pleasure's all mine Professor." 
For the first time in your college life, you didn't feel like tearing your hair off during your lecture, your thoughts wandering around. You wanted to berate yourself for not paying attention, but your thoughts kept going there. 
It was funny, how you met him not long ago and he was already taking up residence in your brain. You could not control your feelings after all. Something akin to nausea or excitement eased into your stomach when you pictured his smile, his black turtleneck that accentuated his biceps and pectorals. The little rebellious eyebrow and the tiny scar above it. 
It made your heart flutter, everything seemingly seemed to stop around you. It scared you a bit, how You had managed to envision the little details of his face in your brain after such a short duration. 
You didn't realise that you were smiling until you felt a nudge on your side, making you nearly jump on your seat. 
"What?!" You hissed, scowling at your classmate. 
"Who're you thinking about?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows as she leaned towards you. You had known her long enough to know her name but never bothered learning, and you were too scared to ask now. 
"It's none of your business." You muttered, glancing up to see your professor scowling at a student as they stood up. 
"Well okay, but did you hear about the hot new professor? Apparently he's teaching British History, I regret not taking that as a subject now." She said, her cheeks flushed with excitement. You furrowed your brows, feeling a pang in your chest at the realisation that you were probably just another girl with a stupid crush on the hot professor, that there were already girls who would die to feel his touch. 
"How do you know about him?" You asked, raising an eyebrow as you try to act nonchalant. You weren't being subtle, apparently, because you could see her snapping her bubblegum with a smirk, leaning forward as if trading secrets. 
"You kidding right? Everyone knows about him, you got a crush on him or something?" She suggested, scooting close enough to make you squirm. 
"I literally just met him, and ew, he's a professor, why would I see him that way?" You whisper, willing your heart to stop palpitating at the thought of said professor, your gut twisting in anticipation. 
"I don't know girl, he's hot and young and so much better than this bastard." She sighed, leaning on her palm with a fake dreamy expression. 
You went back to ignoring her after that, noticing how her notebook said 'Eloise'. At least you didn't have to ask her her name now. 
Your class went surprisingly well, or maybe it was because you weren't paying attention and thinking about him again. You really needed to get a grip on yourself. 
Walking out of your class, you decided to go to the cafeteria, your stomach begging for your attention.
Setting your things on a table, you took out your phone to scroll through Instagram, before switching it off and looking around the cafeteria. You didn't know what you were expecting to see, but your stomach was gurgling with hunger and nothing made sense when you were hungry. 
Walking to grab something to eat, you pick up your bag, hanging it over one of your shoulders before getting in the line. 
Just as you were about to turn with your bun and cup of coffee, you crashed into someone for the second time that day. Cursing your clumsiness, you heard a familiar British accent curse not very colourful words, making you stumble over as you tried to wipe off the hot coffee off his shirt.
"Hey, it's okay." He said, stopping your frantic gestures by holding your wrist with his to cease any movements.
"Professor Holland! I'm so sorry, it's like, I'm just clumsy. I have no excuse." You sighed in resignation, mentally facepalming at spilling your coffee at the hot professor. 
"It's okay darling, I've had much worse spilled on me." He smirked, his hand still holding on to yours. You had started walking away from the location, and yet his hand didn't let go, "You know, I used to babysit during my college days." 
"Oh, babysitting, right of course." You chuckled awkwardly, chest heaving with the sudden close proximity with the professor, dissipating the not quite PG thought that just occurred in your mind at his words.. 
"Sorry for-" You said in unison with him, chuckling. 
"You go first." He said.
"I'm sorry for spilling coffee on You, it must have hurt and I ruined your shirt and now there's a big splotch of coffee right in the middle!" You said, circling your fingers around your palm as you walked with your back to the exit as you walked out of the cafeteria, food forgotten and him following your pace. 
Before you could continue your awkward blabber, you were standing in the garden outside, leaning against a pillar with the garden in your view looking golden in the setting sun. He was standing in your view, the shadows around his jaw making it look sharp enough to cut glass. 
Taking a breath, you looked up at his smiling form with confusion when he didn't answer, instead leant onto the pillar next to you.
"You were... gonna say something?" You reminded, smiling awkwardly as you fiddled with your fingers.
"Oh? Oh! Oh yes yes, You know, I was kind of disappointed that you weren't in my class, Mister Wilson talks very highly of you." He said, folding his arms on his chest, it made his biceps bulge. 
"He does?" You looked at him with surprise, guilt panging in your chest when you remembered yourself bad mouthing the professor not long ago. 
"Yes, says you're a bright student with a bright future." He answered, leaning his head back so that his neck was exposed, Adam's Apple bobbing as he gulped, his hair falling into place perfectly against his forehead. The arch of his neck was beautiful, tracing it with your eyeballs as you imagined which other curves of his were as beautiful, immediately dismissing those thoughts, chastising yourself for thinking such a way of a professor. 
"That's… sweet of him. I've never heard him compliment me once in the two and half years I've been in his class." You chuckle, leaning your elbow on the pillar to get a better look at his side profile. 
"Hmm, he says he's hard on you because he wants you to do your best..." 
You stopped listening past that, your breath growing more erratic the more he talked, his smooth voice washing over you like warm honey with a squeeze of lemon. Swallowing a sudden lump in your throat, your heart leaping, leaving you nauseous and in a dream like trance. 
Tom noticed immediately, noticing your slouched posture as you stared at him with a small smile, the upturn of your lips so inviting that he almost dived in, wanting to know the feeling of them what they felt like against his. 
He wasn't the kind to date his students, in fact, he rarely dated after joining uni and becoming a professor. 
He strictly believed that student/teacher relationships should end in only a professional non romantic set up. That was all up until he crashed into you that morning. 
You had been in his mind all day, stirring him crazy as he imagined your smile, the way your eyes lit up when you talked about your subject of interest, the say your fingers fiddled with the ring you wore on your index finger. 
He wondered if this feeling would last forever or become a vague memory, an attraction of hearts that didn't last but felt good till it did. If he was rushing, or if you even felt the same way. 
He was smart, of course that's how he became a teacher, but he still couldn't place your feelings. 
So when he saw you staring at him, his heart leaping in his throat at your adorable smile, the only logical answer his brain gave was that you liked him too. Temporary attraction or not, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in it's mouth. 
Next thing he knew your lips were crashing onto his, your chest pressed against his firmly as your hands reached up to the base of his neck. 
Your fingers were soft, tongue swishing against his as he opened his mouth to let you enter. His hands automatically reach for your waist, holding onto firmly as he slammed you against the pillar. 
The sun was nearly down, the last of the rays hitting the garden, lighting you both up in a golden glow that left you breathless with a fire raging in your souls. 
"What do you say that I audit for British history? I'd like to learn more lessons from you, Professor Holland." You said, breathless against his chest, hiding your nose against his sternum, blood rushing to your ears as his warm hand burned against the bare skin underneath your shirt. 
"That would be great darling, anything to see your pretty smile every morning." 
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A/N: let me know what you think! :)
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sleepysnk · 3 years
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welcome to team player! this is the prologue for my Eren fic! i hope you all enjoy. i worked really hard on this and i hope you all will tune in for this fic :).
Team Player: Prologue
Pairings: Eren Jaeger x Fem!Reader
Warnings: Eren being an ass
Word Count: 4.1k
Next Chapter | Masterlist
(Y/N) plopped down in a chair in her biology class. It was her first day of college, attending Trost University was one of her biggest accomplishments. She never thought she'd get accepted into such a big school, her parents were very proud of her. 
(Y/N) was a very smart student. In high school she managed to maintain a very high GPA, and a perfect report card. Her parents like to say the girl was a genius. Her passion to become a doctor motivated her to excel, causing her studies to be a number one priority. . 
Her eyes wandered up as she noticed other students arrive into the classroom. Many just sat down and put their heads down, or just went onto their phones. 
(Y/N) looked around the classroom at the Professor who was waiting for students to enter. 
The door opened and a brunette boy with short hair and green eyes, wearing the football jersey with the school’s logo, entered the classroom. He was with another guy who had lighter brown hair, he was a bit taller than the brunette, and his face was a bit long. The two seemed to be chatting with each other about something, as they were laughing as soon as they entered. 
The two boys sat down next to each other and kept talking. Realizing class hadn’t started, (Y/N) looked at her phone in boredom, the room still silent. 
"Good morning. I hope you all are having a great morning so far. I'd like to welcome you all to Biology, I hope we have a great semester together, my name is Professor Klein," he said and smiled at everyone. 
Many students stayed quiet and just stared at the Professor. The two boys in the class kept talking, which somewhat distracted (Y/N) from listening to the Professor. 
"May I ask for you both to be quiet? You're interrupting," Professor Klein said and crossed his arms at the two boys. 
The brunette looked over and nodded. "Sure.. my bad" he said and chuckled a bit. 
(Y/N) rolled her eyes, she always disliked kids like that. Constant interruption, acting like they owned the class, etc. It bothered her a lot. 
"I'm going to start off with introducing something I do every year. You all are going to be doing a project, I know it's just the beginning, but this project will show me what you know. I'm going to pair you with someone in the class, I'd rather have you all get to know each other, and this is a great opportunity for that," he explained, picking up a piece of paper. 
Many groans came from the students, even (Y/N) let out one. She always resented working with people she didn't know, she didn't know anyone in this class either, which made her situation more difficult. 
As the professor began to call names for the project, (Y/N) zoned out as she waited for her name, heart racing in anticipation, wondering who her partner would be. 
"(Y/N) (L/N) and Eren Jaeger, raise your hands please," Professor Klein said and looked up. 
(Y/N) raised her hand and looked over at the brunette boy who sat with his friend. The one who was distracting the whole class. Great, just what she needed. 
She noticed his friend snicker a bit when he saw her, she rolled her eyes and looked back up front listening to the other students whose names were being called. 
"That should be it… anyone who has any questions about the project should ask me. This won't be a grade, but you should do your best. I expect you all to work together, please work equally on this. Presentations will be on Thursday," Professor Klein explained and leaned against his desk. "You may now move and sit with your partners," he added. 
(Y/N) stood up and grabbed her bag. She secretly knew that he wasn't going to move, so she just did it herself. 
She noticed his friend left and left a spot for her to sit next to him. (Y/N) looked at Eren who was on his phone laughing about something. He looked over and noticed her standing there
"You're my partner huh?" he asked.
She sat down next to him. "Yeah.. I am," she replied and avoided his gaze. 
Eren placed his phone down on the table. "So what are we doing? I wasn't paying attention," he asked and looked at her. 
She sighed and looked towards him. "It's just a project on basic Biology. It's on the packet" she said and looked at the pieces of paper. 
He looked down at the paper and rolled his eyes. "Oh.. ew, so uh.. is this done on Google Slides or something?" he asked. 
(Y/N) looked over at him again. "Yeah it is… I'll make it and share it with you," she replied and grabbed her laptop in her bag. 
Eren looked over at Jean who was on the other side of the room talking with his partner. He laughed a bit trying to get his attention. She bit down on her tongue from saying something, annoyed by his childish behavior to grab Jean’s attention. 
"What's your email?" she asked and looked over at Eren. 
He looked back at her. "Oh.. uh, here let me put it in" he replied and grabbed her laptop. 
She sighed and watched as he typed his email into her computer. She noticed how he kept looking over at Jean across the room, she just wanted this class to be over already. 
"Here," Eren said and pushed her laptop back to her. 
(Y/N) shared the slides with Eren and sort of sat there, he wasn't even talking with her, or even making an effort to discuss the project. She knew this was going to be a problem, as much as she wanted to stay back and tell the Professor to switch her partner, she didn't want to come off as 'that' student. 
She looked over at Eren. "Can you give me your number? We should do this outside of class too," she asked and nodded. 
Eren chuckled a bit. "Oh, you want my number? Alright… here," he said and smirked as he motioned for her phone. 
She handed her phone to him and watched as he entered his number into her phone. Within seconds Eren handed it back to her with a cocky smirk on his face. 
"I don't give many girls my number, so consider yourself lucky," he said and shrugged. 
(Y/N) rolled her eyes and felt gross. Who would want to give a guy like that their number? She felt so grossed out by the situation. It made her cringe inside. 
"Where do you wanna meet up?" she asked. 
Eren looked on his phone. "Uh… I don't know. Your dorm or something? I have practice after classes, so we'll have to meet later," he replied. 
She nodded. "Okay.. just text me. I'll send you my dorm number," she said and looked at her laptop. 
He leaned back in his chair. "Alright, bet," he said and looked at Jean. 
"You're all dismissed! Have an amazing rest of your day," Professor Klein said and looked around at the students. 
(Y/N) put her stuff away and stood up. She watched Eren join with his friend, already out of the classroom. A wave of relief washed over her body when class ended, but she dreaded seeing him. She already disliked the brunette, and being his partner made things worse. 
-
Hours went by and (Y/N) was sitting on her bed in her dorm. She was expecting Eren to arrive soon, she silently prayed he didn't forget to meet with her. Considering how he didn't even pay attention to her, it could be a possibility. 
She sat on her laptop just staring at the project in front of her, Biology wasn't something she wanted to take since she already took it her freshman year of high school, but it was recommended. She wasn't sure why someone like Eren would be in a science class, he seemed more interested in sports rather than science crap. 
(Y/N) felt her phone vibrate, she grabbed her phone off the small table next to her bed. Her roommate was gone doing whatever, so she just kind of put her stuff there. She noticed the text from Eren. 
Eren: hey, uhhhh are we still linking? 
(Y/N): yeah? my dorm number is 403.
Eren: betttt, i'm omw rn. see u there ;)
(Y/N) rolled her eyes at the message. She felt a bit of relief that he still remembered to show up, she just wasn't sure how this was going to go. She hadn't hung out with a guy by herself in awhile. 
A knock came from the other side of the door, she sat up and walked over, Eren stood behind the door with his backpack. He was visibly sweating, he just came from practice. 
"Hey," Eren said. 
(Y/N) gave a small smile. "Hey.. come in" she replied and moved so he could enter. 
He looked around her dorm and placed his bag down. "Nice dorm.." he said and walked around. 
She shut the door and went to her side of the room. "Thanks.. um, you can sit here," she said and moved her things off the table near her bed. 
Eren looked on his phone and grabbed his bag, he sat down at her table and looked at her as she leaned back against the wall. 
"So uh.. I was thinking we could do the project a certain way" he said and took out his laptop. 
(Y/N) nodded. He had ideas? "How? What do you wanna do?" she asked and furrowed her brows. 
He leaned back in the chair. "Uh.. just do bullet points, it's much easier. It gets the information out," he replied and looked at her. 
She was displeased by his suggestion. Bullet points seemed too half assed, and she would rather not make a fool of herself in front of the teacher. 
"I don't know if we should do that, but let's just start with research," she said and looked down at her laptop. 
Eren furrowed his brows and just went back on his phone. (Y/N) looked at the packet for what was required for the project, it wasn't too hard. They could probably get it done within a day or two. 
(Y/N) looked up to see Eren just staring at her. Awkwardness rushed through her as she caught his eyes. 
"You're really pretty you know? I never knew pretty girls took Biology," he said and winked at her. 
She rolled her eyes and just looked down at her laptop. "Can we move on? Did you get the project?" she asked. 
Eren leaned back. "Yeah I did… but we have two days to do it. Don't rush princess," he replied and chuckled a bit. 
(Y/N) cringed as she heard that nickname come from his mouth. "Please don't call me that," she said in a serious tone. 
Eren looked at her and looked on his laptop. "Jeez.. I was just messing with you. Anyway, which slides are mine?" he asked and scrolled through the slideshow. 
She looked at him. "The one's with your initials are yours," she replied and ran a hand through her (h/c) hair. 
He nodded. "Oh… okay, shit I'm fucking stupid," he said and started laughing. 
Within the next hour, barely any progress was made. Eren’s antics began to annoy the girl, whether it be him sitting on his phone or calling her nicknames that she hated. His laziness with not working on his slides, began to light an anger in her. 
"That's funny as hell.. did you see this?" Eren asked and showed her a random video she had no care to see. 
(Y/N) looked at him. "Are you gonna do any work? That's why you're here, I don't know why you're just sitting here on your phone doing nothing," she said and crossed her arms. 
He seemed a bit surprised at her words. "Yeah I'll do something.. just relax," he said and grabbed his laptop.
She rolled her eyes. "You said that an hour ago, you realize if you don't do shit you aren't gonna get credit? That's on you, not me" she said.
Eren furrowed his brows. "Are you on your period or something? All you're doing is complaining. It's just a damn project, it isn't even worth a grade either. Judging off your slides too you're adding way too much information, just do it this way and that's it," he said. 
She scoffed. "My period? You sound so stupid right now. I rather work hard on this project to not fuck up my first year, and I'm adding information so it doesn't look half-assed like your idea" she replied. 
He rolled his eyes. "My idea is half-assed? My idea was better than yours! You're making it all extra," he said and started to raise his voice a little. 
(Y/N) had enough and stood up. "Get the fuck out." she said and pointed at the door. 
Eren looked up at her. "What? No, you asked me to help with the project so I'm here doing it," he replied. 
"I said.. get. the. fuck. out." she said. "I'm not gonna ask again! Leave." she added and pointed at the door again. 
He slammed his laptop and grabbed it, shoving it into his bag. "Fine, bye then" he said and walked out giving her the middle finger. 
(Y/N) slammed the door to her dorm, and sat back down on her bed. She rubbed her temples in frustration at what just happened, he really was an asshole. She absolutely hated guys like Eren, they act all cool and better than everyone else, but they're really just idiots who are actually stupid. 
She lied down on her bed and shut her laptop, she was too frustrated to even look at it. She silently prayed that Eren would just do his part, and get it over with. 
-
The next day Eren was in a horrible mood. Everything that happened the night before left him mad at (Y/N). He even ranted to his roommate Armin about it, claiming she was being a total "bitch" for no reason. Of course, his roommate just sat there and listened. Secretly knowing that it was kind of his fault. 
Eren came into Biology the next morning and saw (Y/N) sitting in her seat. She was on her phone, not seeming to be paying attention to anything. 
Jean sat in their usual spot. "Hey! You finally made it" he said and looked at him. 
Eren placed his stuff down and sighed. "I'm fucking tired… I should have just skipped, but Armin makes so much damn noise" he replied and looked on his phone. 
Jean nodded and leaned back in his chair. "How did it go with your partner yesterday? She gave you some of that?" he asked and winked. 
Eren looked over and scoffed. "No.. she was a total bitch though. She got pissed at me for not working.. then she got all mad and told me to leave her dorm," he replied. 
Jean furrowed his brows and looked over at (Y/N), she was still on her phone. "Damn.. you know.. you should get back at her for that," he said and smirked. 
He seemed genuinely confused on what he meant. Eren was always in for messing with people, like the time during summer camp he stole the towels, and Reiner had to walk out butt-naked in the hallway. 
"How?" Eren asked intrigued by what Jean had to say. 
He chuckled. "Fuck up the project, embarrass the fuck out of her. She seems to be a really smart student, plus it wouldn't even fuck up your grade. Just do it, it would be so funny" Jean explained. 
Eren felt a devilish smirk grow onto his face. "Say less… don't say anything though. I'm gonna act like I'm doing shit, then change it later tonight," he said and laughed a bit. 
Jean laughed and tapped his arm. "I'll keep quiet," he said and looked towards the front as the Professor began to speak. 
"I hope you all had an amazing day yesterday. I know being in University is scary, but I believe you all will get comfortable soon. Your projects are due tomorrow, and presentations will begin tomorrow as well, make use of your time! I can't wait to see them, you may move with your partners," Professor Klein said and smiled. 
Jean stood up and winked at Eren as he went to sit with his own partner. His eyes wandered to (Y/N) who was still sitting in her spot. He figured she was still mad about yesterday, so he decided to just go sit next to her. 
He came in her spot and plopped his stuff on the ground. "Hey," he said and looked at her. 
(Y/N) didn't respond and just stared at her laptop, she was typing in the slideshow. "Hello?" Eren asked and snapped his fingers in her face.
She tapped her Airpod and removed it. "Huh? What do you want?" she asked and furrowed her brows. 
He sighed. "I'm here to work with you..? At least let me do my part, my bad about yesterday," he said and looked at her. 
(Y/N) shrugged and looked back at her laptop. "Just finish your part and get it over with… I just want this project to be done," she replied and put her Airpod back in. 
Eren looked at the slideshow and tried his best to make his work similar to (Y/N)'s, it would at least put her at ease. He'd wait until midnight to mess it up, he figured he'd put some kind of meme to play, and that would do it. 
The class time seemed to fly by and Professor Klein dismissed everyone for the day. 
"You actually did some good work today," (Y/N) said and looked at Eren as she packed up her things. 
He chuckled. "Thank you… you should have believed in me," he said and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "See you later" he added and exited the classroom. 
(Y/N) felt at ease knowing that the project was going smoothly, maybe something clicked in his brain. She walked out of the class not knowing what was about to go down tomorrow. 
-
Time seemed to fly by all day, Eren had just gotten back from practice all day. His muscles felt tired from the workouts and running he had to do, that's mainly why Eren was at Trost. 
As a wide receiver, he was offered a scholarship in his senior year of highschool. The coaches at his school believed that he was at a level of greatness, and was well liked by his teammates. As a great athlete, he was able to lead his team to playoff victories and a championship title. No one has their doubts, as his number one goal was to play at the professional level. 
"How was practice?" Armin asked as Eren entered the room almost sweaty. 
He sighed. "It was fine… our first game is in a few weeks and I'm excited." he replied and smiled a bit. 
The blonde nodded and looked down at his laptop. "Did things ever work out with that girl from yesterday?" he asked. 
Eren felt a smirk grow onto his face. "Yeah! Yeah it did… things are fine," he replied and laughed a bit. 
Armin shrugged and went back to his own work, not worrying about whatever Eren was going to do. 
Within a few hours, it was midnight. Armin was fast asleep in his own bed, while Eren was up looking at the project. (Y/N) was last active in it about 2 hours ago, so it was perfect timing for him to change things up his way. Eren cracked his knuckles and began working on everything, he changed the long paragraphs to shorter sentences and bullet points. Adding his own pictures and finally the video. 
It was a random meme video he found and pasted the link onto the document. He snickered and laughed as he saved it all, this was going to be quite the surprise for the class and (Y/N) tomorrow. 
-
Morning soon came upon both Eren and (Y/N). Eren dreaded getting out of bed, and so did (Y/N). 
She walked into the Biology classroom yawning, she noticed Eren was actually in class earlier than usual. He usually came in about one or two minutes before class started, she just shrugged it off and went to her spot. 
Eren noticed her enter and felt a smile come to his face thinking about what was about to go down. He planned to volunteer first, and that's when things would go down his way. 
Jean entered the class and came over next to Eren. "Yo," he said and shook up with him. 
Eren nodded. "What's up? Did you finish your project?" he asked. 
Jean leaned back in his chair. "Yup… she got it done. What about you? Did you actually fuck with it?" he asked and looked towards Eren. 
He chuckled. "You bet I did.. she has no idea either," he replied and looked at his phone. 
Jean raised his brows in surprise. "You actually fucking did? Holy shit… you're petty as fuck" he said with a laugh. 
"Yes dude I fucking did," Eren replied and laughed along with him. 
Professor Klein stood up and looked at the two. "Alright quiet down… I hope you all spent time working on your projects, now who would like to go first?" he asked and scanned the room. 
Eren's hand shot up. "Me and (Y/N) will go first" he said and smirked. 
(Y/N)'s head snapped to look back at him. "Uh… sure" she said and stood up. 
The two went to the front of the class while Professor Klein sat down in the back, he was shuffling papers. (Y/N) had her laptop and plugged it in to project the slideshow onto the screen. 
Eren was trying to hold in his laughter as Jean had his phone out recording. 
"Alright.. you both may begin" Professor Klein said and leaned back in his chair. 
(Y/N) clicked the next slide and confusion ran through her. Why was everything suddenly changed? Her sentences seemed shorter and less informational. 
She began speaking and stuttered a bit reading it all. She hadn't memorized any of this, and she didn't even remember putting any of this down. Maybe her computer messed up and didn't save everything right away? She wasn't sure. 
Eren read his slides and crossed his arms. Why were his slides different now too? 
(Y/N) could see Professor Klein in the back narrowing his eyes and writing down different things on the paper, she felt embarrassment rushing through her. 
"We have a video to include if that's fine" Eren said and looked in the back. 
Her brows furrowed. "A video? What? I never put a video in there," she said and tapped Eren's arm. 
"Yes you did… you asked me last night," Eren replied and clicked on the link. 
The video began playing and it showed a random meme playing, the audio blasted in the classroom. Jean bursted out laughing and covered his mouth, Eren started chuckling as (Y/N) stood there totally embarrassed and upset over everything. 
"Shut that off now!" Professor Klein yelled and stood up. 
(Y/N) slammed her laptop closed and stood there absolutely horrified with what just happened. 
"Mr.Jaeger and Ms.(L/N), I expected better from the both of you. This project isn't meant to be funny, or a joke. You both are receiving a zero for this assignment, you're both adults not children! That was absolutely inappropriate and unacceptable," he said and crossed his arms. 
Eren composed himself and looked at (Y/N) who wasn't laughing. She seemed genuinely pissed off. 
"That's funny to you?" she asked and looked up at him. "Fuck you Eren… you're a fucking piece of shit," she said and grabbed her laptop. 
"Sit down Eren," Professor Klein said in a serious tone. 
Immediately when she sat, she lowered her head, feeling the gazes of many students. Embarrassment rushed through her veins when deep down she knew it was Eren who messed with the project. 
She felt a piece of paper slam down onto her table. She looked up and saw the rubric circled with zero on it, she looked at Eren and Jean who were laughing. She put her head back down as her eyes brimmed with tears. 
(Y/N) absolutely hated Eren Jaeger from that day forward.
322 notes · View notes
beware-of-you-98 · 3 years
Text
BAU as College Professors AU
*cracks knuckles*
Penelope
penelope is a graphic design professor
she loves teaching kids about the wonders of photoshop!!
hates illustrator and indesign with a burning passion
(the illustrator pen tool can fucking choke for all she cares)
(AND HOW THE FUCK DO YOU PUT THE FRONT AND COVER TOGETHER IN INDESIGN!?!?)
(she really hates both applications sm 😭)
is always reluctant to teach them but does it begrudgingly
(she’s just glad there’s other professors in the department that teach editorial and graphic illustration)
teaches photography!!
encourages the students to be as expressive as they want to be with their pictures!!!
she’ll be just as enthusiastic to see a close up of a sneaker as she is to see a sunset landscape shot
teaches the graphic design studio classes too!!
she always has music playing!!
half the time, her students come into the class and her glasses are all skewed, her hands are covered in paint or glue and some abstract art piece is sitting on her desk
when the students ask her what it is, she just gives the projects human names
“hey professor... what did you make there?” “oh, this?? her name is... pam.... yeah, pam”
she doesn’t offer up any further explination than that
and the students just accept it
her office light is always off
but she has multiple fairy lights in various colors hung up
her office is v inviting!!!
students come to her to vent or to talk about their problems bc the campus therapist doesn’t help all lmao
she always has on the most unique outfits but she pulls them off so well
a ray of sunshine tbh!!
Spencer
teaches major science and math courses
he teaches chemistry but only chem for majors in chemistry
it’s not that he can’t teach chem for non majors
but he sometimes gets too ahead of himself and forgets he’s teaching a course for non majors
it’s easier for him to teach for majors because the students can follow his ramblings better
he teaches upper level math courses and usually only has like three students in those classes
he’ll sit up on his desk and debate with the students for the entire hour about the riemann hypothesis
he gets excited because the students are just as enthusiastic as he is
he is two extremes
he either shows up to his classroom like a half hour early and writes out all his notes on the board so that when the students come in, he can go right into lecture
or he’ll show up two minutes before class starts with his hair disheveled, his tie undone and his expression glazed over and just be like “listen up i woke up late and just downed an entire pot of coffee i brewed with several cans of monster energy—i don’t exist on this dimension anymore”
on those days, he lets his students work on other projects for other classes because he knows it’s not fair to ask his students to focus if he’s not
he helps them with their homework
penelope brings him lunch sometimes to make sure he’s eating
he appreciates it a lot because between lesson plans and grading, he sometimes forgets to eat
he’s absolutely the youngest prof on campus
sometimes even his students are older than he is
but everyone addresses him correctly and respects him bc he’s really chill
his office is a disorganized mess
there’s files and papers all over his desk
and a sculpture penelope made for him (she named that one “roger”)
JJ
psychology professor
she really has a passion for teaching and learning about human psychology
(she may have started to become interested in psychology bc her sister was in the psch honors course before she died)
she comes across as a little hostile and unapproachable tbh
but she’s young
and she’s attractive
and she’s not conveniently what people think a professor looks like
she’ll respect her students if they respect her
she didn’t graduate the top of her class and work her ass off for the degree to not be respected
if there’s any inappropriate comments aimmed towards her or anyone in the class, she kicks the aggressor out immediately
she stands at the front of the room and lectures for the beginning part of the semester
once she’s built a good rapport with her students (and vise versa), she becomes more chill
she’ll sit on the edge of her desk and encourage discussion rather than following a book or a set plan
(she finds it’s more interesting that way anyway)
sometimes her students will show up ten minutes before class starts just to talk with her once they’re comfortable with her
she always answers her emails students send her (queen shit tbh 👑)
some kids in the psych major course playfully call her “mom” because she always asks them how they’re doing and about their week
(she hasn’t decided how she feels about it, but she also lets it slide)
always wears pants suits but cuffs the sleeves to the jackets
her office always smells like eucalyptus because she has a small mist diffuser plugged in
she also has a small fish tank with a beta fish inside (its the appropriate size too!!)
(she let a student name the fish—it’s name is sir bubbles of argon)
she also has a sculpture from penelope (“her name is maxine”)
her desk is very organized and clean!!
there’s a small couch in her office and her door is always open
sometimes, students will come in if they’re having a hard time and need someone to talk to
they know jj is there to listen and she always seems to understand (she doesn’t judge them either)
Emily
teaches three languages, both for majors and non majors
spanish, french and russian
(she’s also quite fluent in arabic and italian and can hold her own if she’s speaking in german or mandarin, but the students don’t need to know that)
she’s actually very intimidating lmao
students are so scared of her 😭
she’s serious af
(she smiles in class sometimes though!!)
(besides, she’s only serious inside the classroom)
(outside the classroom, she might even be as approachable as penelope)
always dressed in expensive black suits, polished heeled shoes with very dark makeup and a “don’t fuck with me” steely attitude to match
she also wears expensive watches
she always stands at the front of the class and slowly paces the entire hour
one time someone decided to fuck off in her spanish 101 class
she didn’t even yell at him, she glared
rumor has it the kid was never spotted on campus again after that
(BOY SHE SCARED HIM SO BAD HE DROPPED TF OUT)
despite that, her classes are some of the easiest to take
one because emily has a way of teaching that helps all students understand
and two because her voice is naturally very easy to listen to
students taking her french 101 are going to leave the class speaking fluent conversational french
she also doesn’t tolerate people being racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc in her class
if she catches a bigoted comment someone makes in her class, she kicks them immediately
she brings in her cat sometimes
he’s all black and his name is sergio
(he’s her esa that she brings in when she’s feeling really stressed out)
he’s clipped on a harness and sits on her shoulder or on her desk
if he meows, she accepts it as an answer
it’s the only time the students ever see professor emily prentiss as soft
well
other than the days she has the class watch foreign films because the students can tell emily has a fondness for them
her office is pretty organized like jj’s
instead of it being light and inviting, emily decorated her office on a more dark side
she has a few animal skulls, crystals and other gothic memorabilia on her desk or bookshelf
she has a small cat bed on the corner of her desk that sergio sleeps in
on the other corner is a sculpture penelope made her
(it kinda looks like a crow and emily named it kurt)
really, the only colors in her office are dark, deep purples and the small lesbian pride flag sticker on the back of her laptop
Derek
teaches history classes
but like modern history
from like 1940s to present
he refuses to follow most western history books bc they’re not accurate like at all
in his first year of teaching, the dean of his department made him use a book and he hated every second of it
how accurate could the information be if they portray king tut as a white guy???
he graduated under one of the best historians in the country
he also traveled a lot after he graduated and met a lot of people that had first hand experience with major historical events
that’s really what he bases his teachings off of—first hand experiences and encounters
every two weeks or so, he’ll invite in guest speakers to his classes to talk about what they went through (depending on his lesson plans)
that’s how he likes to teach and learn (bc he always loves to learn new things!!)
this is random, but also he is the type of professor to randomly box jump up onto a desk
he also sits in chairs backwards and has a more laid back style to teaching
his exams are based on what the students can learn from history rather than the information itself
he’s always dressed super casual!!
solid color, short sleeve button ups are a favorite!! (no tie)
he gets along with all the students
he’ll talk to the athletes about their games but sound just as enthusiastic and genuine talking with students who are majors in fine arts about their projects
he’s just a v down to earth professor tbh!!
he brings in clooney so much
like... every friday
it’s just another bonus of taking his history classes!!
he and penelope are dating
his office is full of sculptures she makes for him 🥺
he drops by her graphic design studio class with clooney to help out or even to just watch
he’s supportive and encouraging of penelope and her art!!
other than the sculptures penelope makes him, his office is a bit more disorganized than jj’s or emily’s, but cleaner than spencer’s
he has a few papers scattered on his desk but mostly he’s a little more put together
his office door has a small basketball hoop attached that he plays around with if he’s bored (and if penelope is busy)
both he and penelope have a dog bed in their office and water bowls for clooney when he comes in
Hotch
law professor
is the most intimidating professor on campus
like
seriously
if students think professor prentiss is intimidating, they haven’t met professor hotchner
he stands in the front of the room and goes over his lecture without pausing or asking questions
his voice is naturally low and intimidating and he actually never smiles
his attire and appearance is always so professional
suits
ties that are tied so tight, they look like they’re choking him
shoes so polished, he can see his reflection in them
hair always styled neatly
pants and jacket are always wrinkle free
his classes are difficult
not just because of the subject matter, but because he has a very organized, straight forward method to his teaching
students wouldn’t dare act up in his class—they’d be absolute idiots to
he’s quiet and reserved outside the classroom
if the others hear anyone talking shit about hotch behind his back, they’re always quick to come to his defense
they actually know hotch
they know he puts on a hardass exterior, but really he’s just a softie
he always lets them hang in his office with him
he listens to spencer’s ramblings and is extremely patient with him
he has lunch with emily every other day
even if she’s a pain in his ass 99% of the time, he likes that she sticks around and that he can trust her
he shows up to all of penelope’s art shows
and sometimes sits in on derek’s lectures when he has guest speakers
jj brings him pastries from the coffee shop on campus sometimes
he knows that he can come to her if he ever has anything he needs to talk about
(he never opens up to her but he really appreciates the sentiment nonetheless)
penelope has definitely made hotch a few sculptures
(he keeps them at home, but he does have one of her paintings hanging in his office)
speaking of his office it’s hands down the most organized out of all of them
his desk is so clean besides the picture of his son he proudly displays at the corner
he always has his lights off and his door shut
he seems so unapproachable, especially in class
but sometimes his lecture notes have crayon scribbles all over the page
or a small sock will fall out of his briefcase
and maybe, even for a moment, his serious demeanor falls when he spots them
and it almost reassures the students that he is human
Rossi
actually he’s the only one besides maybe reid i can see being a criminology professor
is a retired fbi agent
and successful author
so like that hasn’t changed from canon
but because he doesn’t work for the fbi anymore, he has absolutely no chill and tells all secrets
he’ll be like
talking to his class about a case he worked on in ‘83
and be halfway talking about details of cases that were supposed to be confidential
he’ll pause and go “oops” but keep talking lmaooo
penelope actually never made him a sculpture
instead she made him a coffee mug she made on the wheel and glazed herself!! (she even made her own glaze bc she’s extra like that)
carved on the side is “world’s best italian dad”
(this is because when emily introduced rossi to the group she was like “yeah he’s kinda like my dad” and now everyone calls him “dad”)
(he loves it so much though and proudly accepts his title)
he loves his mug so much and uses it every single day!!!
he’s the only professor besides penelope that let his students refer to him without the title of “professor”
he gives off kind old grandpa vibes
and that he’s only teaching because he really doesn’t have anything better to do during his retirement
but he’s chill and his class is interesting to take
(plus he really does love to teach)
he’ll ramble on and on about his “golden years” as an agent
he will especially talk a student’s ear off if they come up to him and tell him that they read one [or all] of his books
he writes a different quote on his board every single day
his attire is always business casual
he sits on the edge of the desk or on a swivel chair because it’s comfy
he was doing a lecture on jack the ripper and just pushed himself around on the swivel chair, slowly spinning around the front of the room
his voice kept changing in volume every few words because of him facing the wall and then a few moments later facing the classroom
his students refer to him as a “living breathing meme”
he has no idea what the fuck that means
but he take it as a compliment
his office is empty because he goes home after he’s done with classes lmao
he doesn’t do paperwork
or fuck with technology (he never fucking responds to emails smh)
so he has no need for an office
410 notes · View notes
omgjasminesimone · 3 years
Text
The Moments in Between
Dakota x MC
Word Count: ~3,800
A/N: Accompanies my fic Life Goes On, set in the missing ten years.
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High School Graduation
Dakota tears his eyes away from the view outside his hospital window when he hears the distinctive sound of Sage’s favorite high heels approaching his door.
He smiles when he gets his first glimpse of her in her graduation regalia. “Wow Teach, you look great. Congratulations, graduate.” This is also his first time seeing her new hair extensions. Now that his hair is starting to grow back, Sage is back to her usual hairstyle.
Sage smiles, bounding her way over to his bed and tucking herself under his arm. “Congratulations to you too, Dakota. I have your diploma.” She reaches for her bag that she’s dropped on the floor, pulling out his framed diploma and handing it over reverently.
“Can’t believe I’m a high school graduate now.” Dakota reveals, reading the diploma closely. He assumes had he been well enough to attend the graduation ceremony, it would have felt more real.
“There are very few people who could complete all their senior year assignments and exams while fighting cancer. I’m so proud of you Dakota.” Sage praises, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“I’m proud of you. It’s incredible how you managed school and my cancer.” Dakota insists.
Sage shrugs, nuzzling into his neck. “It was no biggie. I had a very cozy seat on the sideline.” She quips.
Dakota frowns, tearing his eyes away from his diploma to look at his girlfriend. “You know I didn’t mean that. I would never have gotten through this without you, Sage.”
Sage smiles, placing a sweet peck to his lips. “I know. I just like to bring that up every so often so you’ll tell me how much you love me.”
Dakota chuckles, shaking his head fondly. “I love you a lot, Sage.”
“I love you too Dakota.” She gives him another kiss, gently taking his diploma from him to place on the side table. “I missed you today. I’m sorry you had to miss your graduation.” Sage laments.
“I was hoping to be out of here by today, but it’s okay. The transplant almost failing really put things in perspective. I’m just grateful to be alive. Universe willing, hopefully I’ll get to attend college graduation.”
“You will. I know it. You’re a fighter Dakota.”
“You give me something to fight for, Teach.”
...
Discharged
Dakota can’t miss the arrival of his friends and girlfriend as they loudly come down the Edenbrook hallway, arguing the whole way.
“I can’t believe you like Alec. God, he’s the absolute worst. I can’t wait for him to get voted off Survivor.” Lennox insists.
“I love Alec! And I don’t think he’s a suck up, he’s just friendly.” Mateo insists.
“No, the friendly thing is totally an act Mateo. But I do respect Alec’s game. The point is to outwit and outplay.” Sage counters as the group enters Dakota’s room.
Sage’s whole face lights up when she spots Dakota, in his normal clothes instead of a hospital gown. She practically flies across the room, launching herself into his arms. “Happy discharge day!” She exclaims.
Dakota laughs, hugging her back tightly and giving her a quick kiss. Even though he purposely kept it chaste, Lennox pretends to gag anyway. “Thanks for coming guys. But Teach, don’t you have midterms?”
“Like we’d miss this! Dakota Winchester, finally getting out of Edenbrook. It’s like my baby bird finally leaving the nest.” Mateo teases.
Sage nods in agreement with Mateo. “Nothing could have kept me from being here today. And my professors were all very understanding. They’re letting me take make up exams this weekend.”
“You guys are the best.” Dakota insists, turning back to the bag he was packing before his friends arrived.
“Where are your parents?” Lennox asks, taking a seat on Dakota’s bed.
“Dropping off gift baskets for all the doctors who kept me alive. They really went all out on the one for your mom, Sage. Almost like it’s a...dowry or something.” Dakota reveals.
“Your parents must know that I’d happily marry their Kody, no dowry needed.” Sage quips.
“Aww.” Mateo says at the same time Lennox gripes “Ugh.”
“Good to know.” Dakota returns, winking at Sage. He zips up his bag, and looks around the room. “I think that’s everything.”
Sage slips her hand into his. “Ready to get out of here?”
Dakota squeezes her hand. “Very ready.”
A group of hospital staff are waiting just outside his room to wish him farewell.
“Do I get to ring the discharge bell?” Dakota asks his oncologist after saying his goodbyes.
“That’s usually just a thing for the kids, Dakota.” The doctor informs him.
“What?! But I was really looking forward to it! Plus, you know I’m a child at heart.” Dakota counters.
“....fine.” The oncologist gives in easily.
Dakota grins widely, squeezing Sage’s hand in excitement.
“I think I’ve got a new nickname for you, man child.” Lennox suggests.
“Nothing you say can ruin this for me, Len.” Dakota retorts as he happily makes his way over to the bell. He hands Sage his phone. “Can you record this for me, beautiful?”
Sage nods, stepping back to get him in frame. “Say, cancer free!” Sage chimes.
“Cancer free!” Dakota parrots, vigorously ringing the discharge bell.
...
College Visits
“And this is the quad! My favorite spot on campus.” Sage informs him, leading him by the hand through the Massachusetts State campus.
Dakota is recording on his phone, like always, so Sage does a little twirl for him under a cherry blossom tree. “Beautiful.” Dakota says, and Sage can’t be sure if he means the campus, or herself.
He’s trying to hide that he’s a little out of breath, but Sage can read him like a book. “I’ve made you walk too much. Here, let’s take a seat. How are you feeling?” Sage asks as she leads Dakota over to a bench.
She looks guilty, so he gives her his most reassuring smile. “I’m fine, Teach. I’ve been feeling good, and all my lab results have been good lately. My doctors think I should be able to start college in the Fall, as planned.” He’s cautiously optimistic that he won’t relapse. He’s still a little tired, and weak, but not like before he got the news his Cancer was back. Once he’s done with his 3-4 times a week outpatient visits to Edenbrook, it will be like he’s a normal young adult again. 
Sage nods, swinging her legs over his lap as she rests her head on his shoulder. “That’s so good to hear, I know how excited you are for film school. Although I’m really going to miss you when you’re further than a car ride away. But, on the bright side, I can come out to visit you in LA when the Boston weather gets completely miserable.”
“Actually Sage, I’ve been thinking about it. And moving all the way across the country from my support system and my doctors might not be the best plan right now.”
Sage frowns, looking up at him. “But your dream school is in LA.”
“You’re my dream Sage. And there are plenty of great film schools in New York. And New York is just a 4 hour bus ride away.”
“And you’re sure that’s what you want?” Sage asks, trying not to give away just how much she would love to have him closer for the next 4 years.
“Cross my heart.” Dakota lets out a little ‘hmph’ when Sage hugs him so tightly he can barely breathe. She immediately loosens her excited hold.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I love you Sage.”
“I love you too.” She seals her words with a passionate kiss, that leaves him more out of breath than all that walking earlier.
But it’s worth it.
...
New York City
Sage enters their small studio apartment, located in one of the seedier parts of Brooklyn since that’s all they can afford on her salary, with a loud sigh. “I hate my boss.” She complains to Dakota.
He turns away from whatever he’s editing to look at her. “Another bad day?”
Sage nods miserably, and Dakota pats his lap. Sage crosses the small room in just a few steps, parking herself sideways on her boyfriend’s lap. She makes herself cozy, loosely wrapping her arms around his waist. She glances at the computer screen as he drops a kiss to the top of her head. “Is this your final project you refuse to show me?”
Still images of Edenbrook flood the editing software. “Yeah. I filmed a lot when I was sick. When Mateo was sick. To keep myself busy. Some of the clips were really compelling. So now, my final project is a documentary about Edenbrook.”
“You’re branching out from ghost movies?” Dakota’s previous school projects have all been horror films.
“In a way, it’s still a ghost movie. Gracie is heavily featured, and other friends I lost.” Dakota reveals.
“Will you play me a Gracie clip?” Sage asks tentatively, not sure she can even handle it.
Dakota drags his mouse back until Gracie’s face fills the screen, pressing play.
Dakota ends up letting her watch the entire 40 minute film. Tears are welling in Sage’s eyes by the end. “That was absolutely beautiful Dakota. Sad, but definitely compelling.”
“Thanks. It felt good to make it. Cathartic.” Dakota reveals.
Sage’s eyes skim through the open ‘Edenbrook’ folder on his computer, stopping on a sub folder labeled ‘goodbyes’. “What are those?” Sage wonders aloud.
Dakota looks where’s she pointing, flushing a little. “Oh, those. After the transplant, when I wasn’t feeling the greatest, I recorded goodbye videos for the people I care about most. To send out, you know, if I was gone.”
Sage turns to face him. “Can I watch mine?”
“Sure, if you want to.” Dakota pulls it up, and then attempts to slide Sage off his lap so he can get up. But she shakes her head.
“I’m only going to be able to watch this right here in your arms.” She insists.
Dakota leans back into the office chair, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “Okay.” He presses play.
Sage starts crying almost immediately. Dakota plants soft kisses across her shoulder as she watches, to remind her that he’s here. That he’s fine, and cancer free for almost 4 years now.
Tears are streaming down her face by the end, and she turns around in his lap to press her face into his chest. “Hey, hey, don’t cry Teach.” Dakota pleads, gripping her chin gently and using his thumb to brush tears away from her lash line.
“I can’t believe I almost lost you. I can’t imagine doing life without you Dakota. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Sage. More than you could ever know.” This wasn’t how he was planning to do this, but as he stares into her beautiful, watery eyes, he feels like now is the perfect time. “Want to watch something happy now?”
Sage laughs, wiping at her eyes as she nods. This time, she allows him to slide her off his lap, and he goes to his backpack to pull out a flash drive that he plugs into the computer. When the folder opens, he clicks the video named ‘For Sage’ and presses play.
Sage smiles as the first image comes up, the clip Dakota filmed of her at their high school when they first met. The video continues with clips from the carnival, from hospital dates, from post hospital dates, in Boston, in LA, in New York. There are many clips of her she was unaware he was even filming, doing mundane things no one else would even think to film. It’s all weaved together so beautifully, it tells a story. Their story.
The soundtrack and clips stop suddenly, and cuts to Dakota on the Brooklyn bridge. “Lennox, you’re filming vertically!” On screen Dakota complains, prompting a chuckle from Sage as she watches.
“Don’t forget I’m doing you a favor, man child.” Lennox retorts, but then she repositions the camera horizontally like Dakota wanted.
“Thank you.” On screen Dakota adds. He clears his throat, looking sincerely into the camera. “Sage Woods, I’ve been hopelessly in love with you from the day we met. You’ve stood by me through lows and highs, mostly lows though because you’re an angel, and everyday I’m reminded how lucky I am to be able to call you my girlfriend. But, I’d be even luckier to be able to call you my wife.”
“That’s so cheesy.” Lennox complains from behind the camera.
“Len, come on. I’m gonna have to edit all this out!” Dakota complains on screen before dropping to one knee.
That’s where the video ends, and when Sage quickly turns her wide eyes to Dakota beside her, he’s on one knee with a diamond ring. “I hadn’t gotten around to editing the Brooklyn Bridge footage yet, but-“
“Yes!” Sage exclaims, dropping to her knees beside him and capturing his lips in a fierce kiss.
“I didn’t.... get to ....finish asking.” Dakota murmurs between greedy kisses.
“The answer is still yes.” Sage beams at him when he places the diamond ring on her finger.
God damn, he’s so lucky. 
...
College Graduation
As Dakota sits at graduation waiting for his name to be called, he’s starting to realize missing high school graduation might have been a blessing in disguise. He’s never been so bored.
But when they finally get to the W’s, and the film school Dean calls out ‘Dakota Winchester!’, his parents, Mateo, Lennox, and his stunning fiancé let out the loudest cheers of the entire afternoon, which makes the ceremony endlessly more entertaining.
...
Wedding
“Kody, if you keep drumming your fingers like that, you’re going to put a dent in my table.” His mother playfully complains.
Dakota stops the incessant drumming. “Sorry, I’m just...missing her more than I thought I would.” He admits.
His dad smiles, shaking his head fondly. “It was your bright idea to spend the night before the wedding apart.” He reminds him.
“It’s bad luck for me to see Sage before the wedding!” Dakota insists, to make himself feel less foolish about sleeping alone in his childhood bed tonight.
“Why don’t you call her?” His mother suggests.
“We said we wouldn’t. Hearing her voice would just make me want to drive over to her mom’s house and see her more.” Dakota reveals.
“Well Kody, it’s just 17 more hours until the wedding. After that full month of no contact in the ICU, I think you guys can do it.” His dad adds.
That reminder of the worst month of his life does make Dakota think he can get through just 17 more hours. He nods resolutely as he stares down at the table, internally giving himself a pep talk to avoid reaching for his phone.
 When he finally looks up again, both of his parents have the goofiest grins on. “What?” Dakota asks warily.
His parents share a look before turning back to him. “We’re just...so happy for you Kody. When the doctors told us you wouldn’t make it past 9, we could only think about all the things you wouldn’t get to do. We thought you’d never go to high school, never graduate from college, never have a job, never get married.....” his mom trails off, tears falling down her face.
“Mom, don’t cry.” Dakota pleads, leaning across the table so he can take her hands in his.
“They’re happy tears, Kody. It’s just been such a privilege to get to watch you grow into such a fine young man.” She concludes, standing from the table so she can hug him. His dad gets in on the action too, engulfing both in a warm group hug.
“The three of us are so proud of you Kody.” His dad adds, ruffling his hair affectionately.
“....thanks guys.” Dakota eventually settles on, unable to truly express how grateful he is.
The hours crawl by until it’s finally his wedding day. He’s more nervous than he expected he’d be as he stands at the altar.
“Psst...man child. You’ve got to calm down before you sweat stain your pits.” Lennox whispers from just behind him.
“And this is why Dakota made me the best man instead of you, Len.” Mateo taunts. He places a reassuring hand on Dakota’s shoulder. “No need to be nervous, Dakota. I’m pretty sure Sage wouldn’t leave you at the altar.”
As if in reaction to Mateo’s words, the wedding march starts.
Sage turns the corner, being walked down the aisle by her mother, and Dakota stops breathing for several moments.
She’s so beautiful, and he can’t believe his luck that in a few short moments, he can call her his wife. She smiles at him through her veil, and he smiles back through watery eyes.
...
Video Message
Dakota fiddles with the self timer on his phone, making sure to get Sage, and the London Bridge behind her, focused and in frame. Once he’s satisfied, he leaves the phone where it’s propped up against a building and makes his way over to Sage, wrapping an arm around her waist.
She grins up at him. “Ready?”
“Very ready.” He assures, giving her a little squeeze.
Sage turns back to the camera. “Hi guys! We really wanted to do this in person, but since there’s 4 months left on my London project, we thought video message was the next best thing.”
She turns to her husband. “You can say it.” She informs him with a warm grin.
“Sage is pregnant.” Dakota says into the camera, his smile so big it kind of hurts his cheeks a little.
“We’re pregnant!” Sage chimes, pressing a quick kiss to the side of Dakota’s upturned lips. “It’s still really early so we probably shouldn’t even be saying anything yet-“
“6 weeks.” Dakota interjects.
“But I just really couldn’t keep this news from the people we love most. We don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, maybe we can do a zoom gender reveal or something, but either way the baby’s name is going to be Dakota.” Sage explains.
Dakota smiles, dropping a kiss to her forehead. “I love you.” He whispers, low enough so the camera can’t pick it up.
“I love you too.” Sage returns, eyes shining with merriment.
Dakota looks back into the camera. “Alright, so that’s our big news. Can’t wait to see everyone when we’re back in the States. We love you guys.” After Dakota concludes, he makes his way over to the camera, turning it off.
“Are you sending it?” Sage asks, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Just editing out some of the dead space at the beginning and the end first. And maybe adding some underlying music.”
Sage shakes her head, albeit fondly. “Do you ever stop working?” She teases.
“Doesn’t feel like work when you love it.” Dakota insists. “And now....done! Sending it off now.”
Dakota wraps his arms around Sage as she leans back into his embrace. They both gaze out at the London landscape.
It can’t be more than three minutes before Sage’s phone rings. She grins at Dakota. “It’s your parents. Oh, and my mom too on the other line. Let me see if I can do a 3 way call....”
While Sage is fiddling with that, Dakota’s phone starts ringing. He glances at the contact info. “And that’s Len and Mateo.” He informs Sage before answering. “Hey guys.”
He smiles as he’s bombarded with congratulations. He looks towards his wife, who’s gesturing excitedly as she talks to their parents. He reaches for her hand, pulling her into his arms.
He can’t believe how lucky he is.
...
Heart to Heart
“Why are you filming this?” Sage complains, trying to cover her makeup less face. She feels like death, and assumes she must look it too.
“In case I ever need footage of a beautiful woman growing another human being.” Dakota quips, continuing to zoom in on her belly.
“This footage would be more appropriate for a horror movie about a woman having her skin stretched grotesquely.” Sage counters.
Dakota frowns, lifting her shirt to expose her belly and the many new stretch marks marring her skin. “There’s nothing grotesque about any of this, Teach. You’re beautiful, and miraculous.” He insists, planting kisses all over her skin.
“And you’re sweet, but also a liar.” Sage replies, running her fingers through his hair as he starts to murmur sweet nothings to their son.
“I’m gonna miss this belly when baby Dakota shows up in the next few days.” Dakota insists.
“Well, that makes one of us.” Sage retorts.
“You say that now, but once you hold him? See his adorable little face? You’re gonna want another one immediately.” Dakota theorizes.
“Doubt it. I think Dakota here is gonna be an only child. I never want to be pregnant again.” Sage insists.
“He has to have siblings.” Dakota counters.
“Why? We’re both only children. We turned out okay.” Sage defends.
“What if he needs a kidney? Or a bone marrow transplant?” Dakota asks softly, gently rubbing Sage’s belly.
Sage rises up on her elbows so she can look down at her husband. “Babe, are you worried about the baby getting sick?”
“Isn’t that something all parents worry about?”
“Not to the point of planning future spare part babies.” Sage argues.
“That’s not fair.” Dakota counters.
“And it’s not fair what you had to go through as a child, Dakota. And it’s obviously something that’s gonna stay with you. But leukemia isn’t hereditary, babe. You don’t need to worry about passing on defective genes to our baby.” Sage attempts to comfort.
“You don’t know that.” Dakota laments. “I could have more defective genes than just leukemia.”
Sage struggles to force herself into a seated position, and noticing her struggle, Dakota helps her get herself upright.
She slips her hand into his, weaving their fingers together. “Dakota, there’s nothing wrong with this baby-“
“You can’t know-“ Dakota starts to interject, but Sage raises a hand to silence him.
“And if there is something wrong with this baby, that’s something we’ll get through, together.” She squeezes his fingers comfortingly. “Okay?”
“Okay.” He reluctantly agrees after a beat. But then he quickly adds. “But I still want more than one child.”
“We can talk about that after I get this baby out of me.” Sage tries to cut off that subject. 
“Hmm...that sounds like a polite no. But I’m not done with this subject. The world needs more Sage Woods-Winchester in it. At least 3 mini yous.” Dakota insists, his smile growing when Sage can’t help but chuckle. 
“That’s easy for you to say, from your comfy seat on the sideline.” Sage teases. 
Dakota raises a hand to his heart, mock wounded. “You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?”
“Probably not.”
“....Guess I should have died of Cancer when I had the chance.”
“.....That’s not funny Dakota.”
“...It’s a little funny.” Dakota insists, and then he leans forward to kiss Sage’s downturned lips until she’s smiling again.
...
..
A/N: Still wasn’t over With Every Heartbeat, so I had to write this out too. Now I feel better. :)
tags: @shewillreadyou @dakotasteach
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amyisherenowitsokay · 3 years
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Zagr for the ship ask 😤😤😤 every single one bitch
I cannot believe you have bombarded me like this. Appalled. Insulted. Astounded.
Please enjoy my entire analysis of my fictional totally canonical ship.
PRE-RELATIONSHIP
1. How did they first meet?
Dib, but also school.
2. What was their first impression of each other?
I think they're both initially incredibly dismissive of one another. Zim thinks the entire fate of the Armada's reputation lying on his shoulders, and Gaz really has too many personal problems even as a kid to deal with; neglectful Dad, overprotective, stupid brother, etc.
3. Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?
Okay so hear me out; I think Skoodge and Professor Membrane would be so obnoxious in the best way. And Gir, whenever his attention span lets him remember long enough to scream about it. But I think Membrane would be chipper about Gaz finding someone, even long before she admits she's even interested, and Skoodge would want Zim to be happy and is unconditionally supportive, especially when Zim is mopey whenever his advances are rebuffed.
4. Who felt romantic feelings first?
Honestly, I love a Zim simp, but I genuinely think it'd be Gaz. Zim is obviously a Defect capable of feeling a larger range of emotions than other Irkens, but he still didn't receive socialization that makes 'romantic rituals' in any way natural to him. So I think Gaz and him would buddy up platonically and casually, initially, until she realizes she likes his company a little too much and freaks out about it.
5. Did either of them try to resist their feelings?
Gaz does, 100%, and she's way more stubborn about it then Zim. I think Zim's denial is just that he doesn't "get" romance (see above) and what's going on with him, but once he understands he's fully down to bombard Gaz with affection, flirtations, and other over-the-top simp behavior until she stops pretending she's not gritting her teeth while fighting a blush.
6. If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?
Zim doesn't know what a soul is, but he does begin to understand the concept that they can be taken from human's in bargains. He becomes distracted by the topic. Bringing it up again later would have him largely dismissive.
Gaz would roll her eyes, and be extremely bitter about the idea that there is anyone 'made' for her. She's very independent, and I think someone with the sort of familial issues she does with no role model for a 'happy' family would be really resistant to being bound to someone in a way that would entitle them to her vulnerabilities. She'd be extremely resentful, dismissive, and irritable.
7. What would their lives be like if they had never met?
Really unfulfilled, listless. Without that companionship, they would never develop into people capable of meaningful relationships. I think both of them are very independent. Zim may claim he likes an audience, but there's an undeniable anxiety that he gets when faced with judgement. If it's anything but unwaveringly positive, he becomes delusional and creates a fantasy world in which everyone loves him, and the situation was just an initial misinterpretation. Gaz would have good friends, I think, but accepting Zim and his oddities and realizing she genuinely relates to someone who knows everything about her (via her brother + proximity + time) and is still here would mean a lot to her development.
GENERAL
1. Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?
Zim, without a doubt. Gaz may like Zim first, but she's completely in denial about it and completely stubborn. Zim is oblivious, and also a big ass simp, so his persistence and patience eventually gets Gaz to let her guard down and accept that she has hormones, she has romantic inclinations, and apparently they've both decided Zim is it. Time to be a big girl and accept it.
2. Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like?
Honestly, I don't think they're the 'date' type of couple. I am probably 100% projecting since my boyfriend and I did not have an official 'date' until like 6 months into our first relationship, where we paused, turned to each other and were like 'wait is this our first date?' because we're homebodies whose idea of fun is projects. I think Zim and Gaz would hang out regularly, but it wouldn't ever be like a formal 'we are going to Bloaty's/the movies/etc as a date,' but rather 'I am going here and you are coming with me so I guess we are going together' thing. Zim doesn't get the point of a date, because if a date is by definition doing an activity together, then aren't they perpetually on a date? And Gaz isn't really a 'let's go to dinner formally' kind of person. They hang out, they go places, but it's never really a 'thing.'
3. What was their first kiss like?
I firmly believes Gaz would have to walk Zim through every aspect of physical affectionate. Zim is really wary about it, but I do think there's an instinct towards good ol' copulation, as well as a longing for positive touch after so long getting his ass whooped in the Academy, that would make him frustrated trying to figure out what this desire is. I think their first kiss is Gaz explaining to Zim, after he asks her outright what else there is after tame stuff like cuddling and hand holding, and Gaz walks him through the concept, implications, and so on until he feels ready to bravely and firmly try it.
While that does sound pretty clinical, I think actually it'd be really emotional for both of them. Zim would be really overwhelmed by how much passion is in a kiss, and Gaz would be similarly overwhelmed since, going into the relationship, she probably never anticipated Zim being interested in anything sexual, so any physical affection he expresses interest in is a surprise to her.
4. Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)?
I think Gaz probably would try out a few brief relationships, but never anything substantial or dramatic. Zim's never been in a relationship, so Gaz is his first everything. I do think they'd be each other's first sexual relationship, but I think Gaz would have most of her more minimal firsts with other people prior to Zim.
5. What’s their height difference? Age difference?
Zim older. I normally write Zim as the same height as Gaz, or only a little taller. Neither of them are tall. I do respect you 'short king' stans though.
6. What’s their relationship with each other’s families?
Dib hates Zim, firmly and completely, at the beginning of their relationship. It takes a lot of self-reflection, meaningful sibling discussions, and probably a few screaming matches that eventually get to the real root of the issue (Dib's ingrained fear that something would happen to Gaz, and that it'd his fault) before he came around. Zim is a big petty bitch and would gleefully antagonize him. They would never stop sniping at each other, but they'd begrudgingly (sort of) behave for Gaz. They would eventually become frenemies and bros, but they'd die and also kill each other before admitting any sort of cordiality.
Professor Membrane adores Zim, and treats him like the son he never had/always wanted, the one who wants to have long discussions about science and can keep up with the theoreticals. Gaz hates it.
The Base and Gaz are cool. They have an understanding borne from two sentient creatures who have found themselves in the position of trying to keep Zim from killing himself, killing other people, or from coming to (too much) harm. Gaz initially hates Gir, but eventually she figures out how to get him to chill out when it's important. Minimoose and her are also cool, but he creeps Gaz out a little.
7. Who takes the lead in social situations?
Zim thinks he does, but it's really just Gaz slapping her hand over his mouth before he can say something stupid, or translating whatever nonsense just came out of his mouth when he's done talking.
8. Who gets jealous easier?
Zim. Not even a question.
9. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear?
Zim. Also not even a question.
LOVE
1. Who said “I love you” first?
Gaz. Zim doesn't know what it means until she explains it. It takes him awhile to internalize it and reciprocate verbally, but Gaz is okay with that. He shows her how much he cares in other ways.
2. What are their primary love languages?
Without a doubt, Zim's is touch. Once he gets used to it, he's really greedy and possessive about proximity. Just having Gaz bump his arm is sometimes enough to set the worst of his nerves at ease.
Gaz's is acts of service. She's fine with Zim being physically clingy, but it means a lot to her how unflinching he is about protecting her, anticipating her needs, and remembering things.
3. Who uses cheesy pick-up lines?
Zim. Gaz hates them, but she tolerates it. Sometimes.
4. How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA?
Cuddling is very frequent. Zim will just sort of shift in behind Gaz if she's playing a game and cling, and she'll just keep doing what she's doing until she's eventually done and reciprocates. Explicit PDA never happens, but Zim is very clingy and physically will plant himself between Gaz and people who he's distrustful towards.
5. Who initiates kisses?
Gaz. I think Zim would cling to her like a barnacle at every opportunity, but Zim would likely usually defer to Gaz for escalating intimacy.
6. Who’s the big and little spoon?
Zim big spoon. PAK too uncomfortable to let him be the little spoon.
7. What are their favorite things to do together?
I think just being around each other while they do projects, game, etc. would be their favorite thing to do. Sharing in hobbies without feeling pressured to be entertaining, but still feeling like their presence is valued and wanted by the other.
8. Who’s better at comforting the other?
Being a people, and having more emotional competency, Gaz is better. Zim does his best though.
9. Who’s more protective?
Zim, if we're talking about quantity. Gaz, however, if we're talking about quality. Zim screams at chihuahuas for looking at Gaz, and also does protect her from genuine threats, but he overreacts frequently. Gaz, however, would know when Zim's out of his depth and would break the spine of anything that's a threat to him.
10. Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?
Physical, for both. Neither of them is really used to verbal affection, whether it be giving or receiving. It's a lot more natural to be demonstrative.
11. What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise?
Me, cackling as I copy and paste this link that I imagine is from their mutual perspectives:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4nlT0Ch4qpqoS8O1RsdzjH?si=d6d8e1e19a7d4dc7
12. What kind of nicknames do they call each other?
There's lots, and I'm sure most of them are inside jokes, but the tops are Zimmothy + Little Gaz.
13. Who remembers the little things?
It's hard to say. Zim would retain an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Gaz, and tries to spoil her and accommodate her at every opportunity, but Gaz never forgets to pack an extra umbrella and a raincoat.
DOMESTIC LIFE
1. If they get married, who proposes?
Zim.
2. What’s the wedding like? Who attends?
No one but their mutual 'families.' A very small, intimate ceremony. The reception though is massive, courtesy of Professor Membrane who has no idea how to separate his personal life with his public one.
3. How many kids do they have, if any? What are they like?
0 kiddos. Cannot product viable, compatible DNA to produce a spawn.
4. Do they have any pets?
Does Gir count?
5. Who’s the stricter parent?
If Gir is the child, Zim. Gaz will let him get away with murder, both because she can't be bothered to control him, and also because she thinks it's funny how mad Zim gets when she lets him go wild.
6. Who worries the most?
Between Gaz "apathetic is my middle name" Membrane and Invader "I have perpetual anxiety" Zim? No idea.
7. Who kills the bugs in the house?
Gir. He eats them long before anyone can find them. But both Gaz and Zim will point out any he misses.
8. How do they celebrate holidays?
Zim fucking hates Christmas, so him and Membrane get down in a bunker for it while Dib and Gaz spend some sibling time somewhere, drinking cocoa and video chatting with the respective morons. Other holidays, they basically go wherever Professor Membrane is in the world with Dib to have a 'family' holiday.
9. Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?
Zim doesn't sleep, but he likes the resting and the peacefulness of getting to curl around Gaz in her sleep without her leaving. So him by default.
10. Who’s the better cook?
Zim has a 'kiss the chef' apron and everything.
11. Who likes to dance?
Neither of them, but Zim does 'victory dances' compulsively.
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aceadmiral · 2 years
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Hi, I just saw your post about asexual academia (in the field of translation), which was a really fascinating read. I’m an aroace person who just recently started my master’s in psychology, and I’m thinking about doing a research project (possibly even my master’s thesis?) on asexuality in psychology, since there’s such a huge knowledge/research gap in this field. However, I’m very closeted, and I’m worried if I do such an “obscure” topic (for lack of a better word) that it would be quite obvious what my identity is, since most allo people wouldn’t think of choosing that topic? Do you have any advice? Do I just need to be brave and try not to worry about it? Would there even be any uni professors who’d be interested in supervising a project like that?
Thanks for your time!
Hi Anon! Thank you for the ask! I think the answer to your question depends on a couple of factors, and so I'm just going to lay them all out so you can see what applies to you you.
To answer your practical question of can you do a thesis on asexuality: yes! If my advisor in translation studies (who honestly didn't like me that much) was supportive of my project in 2012, then yes, absolutely, there are faculty who would support you. There are also prominent scholars who have done asexuality research who either are not ace or have not said either way, so if that's how you wanted to play it, you wouldn't be the first. However, you would know best what the vibe is in your specific department. If you have peers you trust (and I hope you do!), you can ask for their opinions of the professors too. I also think you should seriously consider joining the Ace/Aro Scholars Support Network. They have a lot of good support, including for trying to figure out how to pitch your research project to your advisor. In order to protect people's privacy, there is a professor you have to either DM on Discord or email, and if you would message me again as yourself, I will send you back her contact info privately.
To answer your more circumspect question of how open you want to be: I think that really depends on where you see yourself going after your Master's. If you plan to continue on to a PhD or even stay in academia, then what your thesis project is is going to matter; if your career path is anything else: follow your heart!! I wasn't kidding when I said no one cares about my thesis. It doesn't have to go on your resume, or on your bookshelf, or anything if you don't want it to. If you have a research question you're passionate about, your thesis is going to be that much better for it, and after you finish, you never have to see any of these people again if you don't want to!
The other thing I would say to you is that I think we're a lot more self-conscious about how others are going to react when, in fact, most people literally do not care. Your reviewers are going to be reading your thesis to see if you can research well, not for whether or not they think asexuality is interesting per se. I still have mine next to me, and looking at it, neither of my reviewers mentioned anything of the sort. They were looking for the quality of the translation and the application of translation theory, that's it. (I actually have a classmate who used a technical manual for hers, so like, seriously.)
And then, the last thing I want to say is this: I have been an ace in the workforce for many years now, and I spent most of those years fully or semi-closeted, but my life changed a lot when I stopped accepting homophobic and transphobic environments and instead came to work in a place that lets me be who I am. We spend so much of our lives in our workplaces, and whether that's a university or a company or what have you, you deserve to have a work environment that is not throwing harassment on you on top of all the rest the demands of a job. If you end up in that situation, I beg you not to try and stick it out; make a plan for as swift an exit as you can. Even at the university, if you have a bad advisor, there might be a way to switch, if not on paper then at least practically. I have never thought to myself after leaving a bad job, "I'm glad I stuck it out," but rather, "why didn't I leave sooner?" You asked if you should be brave and just not worry about it, and I would not advise that. Your safety and your ability to support yourself is important, and you're right to worry about it. But be brave and demand an accepting, supportive environment for yourself, even and especially if that means moving on? Yeah, I think you should do that.
I hope that's helpful! Join the Ace/Aro Scholar Support Discord, and join ASPeN too while you're at it! You deserve support!
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vaguely-concerned · 3 years
Text
X-men Evolution; the great 2021 rewatch liveblog
exactly what it says on the tin, about halfway through the show I had TOO MANY FEELINGS and had to start writing some of them out haha (gets quite gambit & rogue/gambit heavy in the latter half, Because of Who I Am as a Person)
- this is my childhood’s x-men, my formative experience with them, and I’m happy to report that still seems like a good thing. the little eleven year old within me gets to geek out and have a good time with the characters and the surprisingly good animation and writing, adult me gets to CACKLE at regular intervals at the fashion/technology/absolute bonkers hot garbage comic book nonsense they use to justify a storyline every now and then, it’s been a good time 
- I was like ‘ah well it is super dated it probably won’t be quite the same now’ and then rogue’s HAIR did the THING in the opening and ‘it’s all coming back to me now’ started playing in the background... the little baby queer in me swooning across time and space
- such a good beast, both his design and the writing, my heart aches for him all the time. he’s just so passionate! about being a teacher! helping young humans learn the stuff they’ll need in life! the most wonderful nerd man, just let good things happen for him
- I’m going to go ahead and assume that rogue’s ‘crush’ on scott is more of a deeply complex psychological process about desiring normalcy and intimacy and trying to figure out if she’s queer and dealing with her emerging sexuality and latching on to the first and best safely unavailable and nonthreatening older boy to project these issues onto rather than actually being a real thing, because I respect her so much as a person and I cannot bring myself to imagine she’s honestly attracted to a man who has POSTERS OF CARS on his bedroom wall. (I’ll give jean a break just because she seems to have a longer deeper history with him that might counteract some of that libido-kill, and also she’s a jock so lol)
like I am very sorry but can u imagine being a teenage girl with any interest in a boy with model cars in his bedroom when gambit’s swanning around being a much, much, much worse choice on almost every possible level but in a teen girl kryptonite kind of way? inconceivable  
(I drag scott quite a few times in this and it’s not because I don’t love him, it’s just his tragedy to be the most draggable man in the world)
to be fair by the time gambit shows up that whole Situation has mostly played itself out I suppose but still  
- toad’s design is so ineffably brilliant, I can’t quite tell you why but that ugly cute charm has really stuck with me, he’s one of the characters I remembered the best to this day just visually
- poor evan... he truly never had a chance, did he, they just saddled him with the most 90s teen bullshit they could come up with like he’s some kind of ‘what adult writers think teens like’ frankenstein’s monster ;______; it’s not your fault honey
- poor poor POOR storm, she gets one focus episode and they were like ‘we’re going to make an episode so racist -- ‘
I’m still STUNNED at how bad it was, but undeniably I laughed hysterically to the point that my neighbours were probably worried when that dude was earnestly like ‘He [stunningly breathlessly racist caricature of a ‘witch doctor’ guy] has stolen her powers, and he’s going to use them to take over Africa!!!’ fhajsdlfhsakjldfh oh really? tell me more, like how the fUCK this could be on television within my life time fasdlfhsdkjfhsad f  just... fahjksdfh
- it’s a testament to gambit’s appeal as a character that his charm can survive what they’ve done with his hair and beard choices in this one fajskfhs regrettable but true I still fuckn LOVE him and in my highly biased yet Correct opinion he should have been around much more. get you a man who manages to stay hot through sheer Vibes even with a bowl cut
- aw scott/jean is kind of sweet in this show even if it’s taking them forEVER to get there, I like it 
- it’s very nice of rogue to not mention magneto’s romantic daydreams and nostalgic memories about charles xavier after touching his face that one time... or maybe her brain did her a service and repressed it, there’s some stuff you shouldn’t have to know about your father figure   
- the danger room is the very definition of ‘why do we even have that lever’ and I wonder what the fuck prof x does to have enough money to replace everything that gets busted all the time
- I’d say that a lot of the writing holds up surprisingly well! (but some of it is also incredibly inexcusably racist in ways that beggar belief, so... not full marks here) the characters have distinct voices and their arcs are set up and delivered on solidly for the most part, and there’s a lot of love showing through in small moments that are just there to have a funny/interesting thing to say about the characters and how their powers work separately and in combination. listen, sometimes I get so thirsty for like. basic goddamn competency in storytelling, let me have this
- ugggggh why is there captain america in my x-men have I not suffered enough... very very funny when prof x goes ‘sounds like you knew rogers personally’ and logan is like ‘I did ;)’ *all the students ganging up on steve rogers* “did you fuck our teacher, captain america?!”
- fskadfhas WHY are you showing me hot young-ified magneto’s ass fksjahfskj charles is not even here to see it, what a tragic waste erik 
- ...I was sort of kidding before but uh I think logan genuinely did fuck captain america (or at least wishes very much that he did lol)
- wanda can have a little watching the world burn. as a treat for the way every single adult in her life has fucking failed her (’aren’t they treating you well here’ professor x she’s in a straightjacket)  
- poor rogue tho can you imagine finding out after your biggest crush on a girl yet that she’s your fucking MOM in disguise... I would break out in cold sweat every time I thought about a boob forever after
- well seems like they really just had all that homoerotic rivalry stuff between quicksilver and spyke in their first ep only to never do anything with that again ever?? I mean even without the gay undertone that seems like a dynamic you spent most of an episode setting up writers what the hell haha
- dslhfkasjlh GAMBIT THERE HE IS MY BOY IS ON THE SCENE THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! I don’t even care about his awful hair situation or the fact that his eyes are wrong here (coloured contact lenses, maybe, for a watsonian explanation? though he’d probably have to get them made special, considering he needs the sclera and the iris covered up in different ways, I’ve seen some comic panels indicating he has been known to?)
(cute little detail: when he shuffles the cards the first time we see him he ends with removing the top card to show the ace of hearts beneath <3 foreshadowing baBEY he’s a... good-ish boy deep down. hey he tries okay shit gets complicated sometimes lol) 
- cracking UP at gambit perched cheerily on the edge of a crate dispensing cards in the middle of the battle... he’s like ‘eh it’s a livin’ sfsajkhf remy stop working for supervillains just because you had nothing to do on a thursday afternoon and they said they’d pay you
- I’m guessing magneto must have imposed a strict order of silence on these guys or something because I cannot imagine any other reason for him to shut up, especially once he notices rogue is a QTE (or, far more likely, they hadn’t settled on any voice actors for the new characters until next season haha. it is kind of odd that they’re all keeping up near monastic silence, though, even sabertooth lol) 
- WHAT an epic first meeting for us rogue/gambit fans here... first his shadow like there’s fireworks going off behind him lighting him up and then he gives her the fuckn king of hearts and she’s so enchanted by his dumb handsome face she doesn’t even notice it’s about to blow up in her hands and it all happens in heavily meaningful silence afjsdfjashjk no wonder this ship ingrained itself in my hindbrain  
yeah look smug while you can remy she’s gonna have you on your knees one day and you’ll be happy about it lol
- god storm is so COOL, everything just fading out of focus when she really gets going... give her more screen time, show!!
- mystique is every person... this person... that person... that bird... that cat... that wolf... I’m not even sure she’s not also me... are you sure she’s not you? 
- holy fuck I respect the hell out of the decision to just... blow up the entire status quo in a season ender, I only vaguely remembered that (actually in general I appreciate how good the continuity is -- buildings and places that get damaged in battles need to be repaired or rebuilt, it makes the consequences feel more real even when no one gets seriously hurt. where they get the money to restore scott’s car and logan’s motorbikes every time they go cablooie is still an open question tho lol is it credit card fraud, professor? is it telepathically acquired blackmail???) 
- I first watched this when I was nine or so, so it’s a real experience to go from my starry eyed intrigued ‘oh my god... they’re teenagers’ to my horrified adult perspective of ‘oh my god... they’re TEENAGERS D:’
that goes double for the brotherhood boys honestly, I’m here with tears in my eyes like ‘I’m sorry the system has failed you so badly you’re all just a bunch of dumb kids whose caretakers clearly fucked up spectacularly’  
like lance is always waiting for mystique to come back because she’s the closest thing he has to a safe parental figure, may we speak about how crushingly depressing that is 
- rogue is so ready to throw hands at literally any moment and for that I love and treasure her immensely (I think getting to see her be so surly and unreasonable and sometimes difficult and jealous, like any teenager, meant a lot to me as a kid who was not really allowed to be any of these things, this version of the character has stayed with me so deeply. she holds on so fiercely to her right to feel what she feels and be what she is even when it’s ‘ugly’ or unreasonable, which I think plays in really interestingly with how her powers involve getting invaded by other people’s thoughts and memories to the point of overwhelming her own sense of self and the fact that she clearly has a lot of self-loathing and self-consciousness and confusion about her identity as well. I love her so much)  
- oooof this is the ‘the gang experience a microaggression’ episode huh (well more like macroagressions really)
hits a bit different with adult eyes and perspective huh
- hearing jean sound almost like a child when she says ‘that’s so unfair!’ somehow has me like ;______; -- she has to be so adult and responsible all the time, and having her be reduced to the kid she still is and should get to be in front of this awful awful man she could squash like a bug with the flick of a thought... ugh I’m Big Sad (it is funny that jean seemingly plays Every Sport tho djfhaskj)
- MY BOY IS BACK!!! this time with the duster coat and his eyes the right colour, im so happy (too bad about the subdued colour scheme tho; I adore his dumb bright pink getup with my whole heart)
it’s kind of adorable that he takes the time to take the bullies aside and go ‘I know these guys can’t wreck you without getting expelled, but I think you’ll find no law set down by god or man would stop me from doing so whenever I wanted to. so piss off and leave them alone’ lol he’s looking out for them, in his own way
- in this episode: remy lebeau wrangles some kids while looking bored yet mildly amused the whole time. what the fuck does magneto have on you for you to agree to this level of babysitting duty buddy
- fun detail I noticed b/c when I get a fave I hyperfixate: he gave rogue the king of hearts before, but he ‘introduces’ himself to the brotherhood here (lol) with the jack of hearts, probably to symbolize he’s here as someone who works for magneto in this setting and not as his own man? it’s a demotion he’s given himself there, anyway, might be he’s not very pleased about his current position huh 
- I like it when rogue and kitty team up, they’re not very effective together but their squabbling is so cute and non-aggressive 
- pietro is what draco malfoy would be if I ever found malfoy interesting to watch for even one moment, every time quicksilver talks I’m like ‘what wonderfully insufferable thing is going to come out of your mouth this time you little shit :’)’
- a) why are scott and logan shirtless for this scene? I am not complaining on the logan side of things at least but why and b) I laughed so hard I almost fell off my couch when scott asked logan if he’d ever been in love and he was like ‘once. she was the most beautiful bike I ever saw’ falsdfhaskjfhsakjlfhasklhjfd THE BEST VERSION OF WOLVERINE EVER, ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES 
- mystique’s sheer dedication to being a petty bitch is kind of inspirational tbh, almost makes me want to go on a completely bonkers and extra crusade of personal revenge myself  
- oooh they’re doing some genuinely cool things with vision/lack of vision in this one (it’s the scott left on his own in the desert without glasses one btw) even visually, dang! I’m so sad this show didn’t get more seasons than it did, honestly, it deserved it
- hell yeah jean wreck her, go get your man with the suspiciously specific clothing damage normally done to female characters 
awww :’) okay yeah they’re super sweet, I love the tiny loving animation details like how he leans his head against her and her stroking his hair away from his eyes
- nooo don’t bully evan leave my t0tally r4dical sk8er boy alone :(
- I love the running joke of people fleeing in blind panic only to reveal that what they’re running from is kitty’s cheerful well meaning little face fskfaskh 
- scott and jean are already peak married after officially being together for one episode and it’s adorable, and they just stone cold threw logan under the bus, rip wolverine we hardly knew ya
fjasdlfasldfhslajdkfhsadkjlfhsdkjalfhsdakfh h jean establishing herself as the alphabitch of this relationship by throwing her man to the wolves right after dsjfhaskjfhaskjhfsakjdhfaskjhfaskdhfskjahfskdajhf get smarter or get volunteered scott 
- ...eyepatch lady is so hot ngl
oh evan went to the place hank used to go to calm down ;________; (honestly he’s kind of won a place in my heart just by being a pretty normal teenage boy haha)
- jesus fucking CHRIST can you imagine being storm having to look her sister in the eye as she tells her ‘I lost your only child, he’s *vague gesture* somewhere in the sewers we think’ this poor woman
- amanda the self admitted monster fucker you are so VALID (I love her and her family’s design so much tho!)
- it’s so cool that even in his human ‘disguise’ kurt’s fingers follow the shape of his actual hand beneath it rather than moving like a five fingered hand, it’s such a lovingly consistent little detail 
- magneto and mystique in a breathless race to see who can be the shittiest parent... tune in next week for yet another parental nadir (also some low-poly gambit appearances in this one, for those at home keeping score (me), he’s in the background looking like someone drew him with their eyes closed fakjldfhasd look how they massacred my boy)
- someone please teach the brotherhood boys about consent huh
- jean ‘soccer mom before her time’ grey and her SUV dfhakjlhds :’)
- im sobbing rogue baby girl i’m so sorryyyyyy, this voice actress is so good, my parental instincts suddenly kicked into overdrive hearing the crack in her voice :( (bb me was right tho rogue centric episodes ARE the best episodes. that tension between ‘do I identify witn this character or am I crushing on her?? both???’ now has the fun new addition of ‘oh god oh no you are a baby I want to shield you with my body from everything trying to hurt you’)
- mystique is like ‘so you see despite you telling me you never wanted to see me again I completely disrespected that and posed as a friend your age, manipulated you by offering you the mirage of direly needed emotional intimacy and belonging and added some sprinkles of homoerotic tension to it just to massively worsen your already existing grievous psychosexual trauma and identity issues... out of love’
god go jump in a black hole you fucking monster 
- there’s some very interesting and quite subtle subtext about the people she’s morphing into and what that says about her mental state/how it shows off some of her emotional baggage with the rest of the team. it’s like she’s switching between people/powers that fit the purpose as if she’s going through cycles of fight/flight (and then bursts of freeze where she’s herself, which is... so sad)
- this whole episode is hurting my heart but rogue at full power is undeniably epic  
 - ‘professor x get your goddamn act together and get this poor girl some fucking tHERAPY’ challenge
- SAFE PAPA LOGAN ;_____;
- EYYYYYY opening straight on My Lad, I cannot stop winning!!!!! 
fasdfhsad disintegrating the window with a smiley face... remy I do love you more than my heart can bear honestly, hello may we speak about the fact that his urge to be a little shit is so deep and strong it survives mind control (that little breathed out ‘hiah!’ as he vaults the fence too dsakfjsd)
hahaha and he does up the coat fhsalfdsaj 
- magneto dismissing other telepaths like ‘puh-lease, your Meaningful Looks have got nothing on my ex-husband’s’ 
- :’) rogue and kurt sibling timeees
- say what you want but this pyro guy’s got job satisfaction in being a creepy arsonist with a weird recurring horse theme (well at least twice but still weird)
- I love how beast is the kindest man to ever walk the earth but also straight up savage, this man drags people so hard their ancestors wince in their graves
- gambit taking the time to complete the guard’s game of solitaire -- this episode is giving me everything I want. u little disgrace mr lebeau
and THEN he takes the spider out in the most hilariously bonkers way my heart is so FULL
(I love that when magneto moves by he looks startled and has to quickly move his head out of the way to avoid getting kicked in the temple too that’s a fun detail)
I’m so INTO how this sequence shows off that his greatest strength isn’t even his powers (which are pretty straightforward, really, he makes go boom, longer time and bigger thing bigger boom) but that he’s clever and creative and always extremely ready to be the most harebrained-bananapants-extra-in-a-deceptively-laidback-sort-of-way person in the room (I actually have some genuinely Deep Thoughts about how his whole character does a really interesting thing with having the straightforwardly destructive nature of his powers yield to what his nature as a person is, and how using the playing cards play (heh) into it, maybe I’ll write it out some day. just the fact that he could use anything, but he deliberately chose something that adds style and playfulness and corny charm to it and that also limits the damage of the explosions compared to if he habitually used something with more mass... I find it fascinating how much he’s made a story around himself with it and how deeply it shows he does have a good heart, at the end of the day, in almost a metatextual way. he doesn’t want to destroy things or people, he’s at worst (and best lol) a thief.)
- I honestly have literally no memory of white nick fury (which seems so weird now isn’t it funny) in this series from when I was a kid, he clearly did not make an impression on me lol
- mr wolverine ‘assigned canadian at birth’ x-men 
- oh man I dig the androgynity of x-23′s outfit (even tho they had to compensate with the long hair, which... kind of doesn’t make sense in-universe but does on a design level because it’s a crucial thing that she’s a female clone of logan so yeah okay fine whatever have your arbitrary gender markers if you must haha)
ooooooh that’s actually really clever, they make her gender gradually more obvious as she unravels through the episode and her outfit changes -- first the mask coming off, and then her jacket opening to show her silhouette more clearly, that’s cool!  
- my god what really sets this show apart is how much it invests in little character and relationship moments, it’s just so fucking GOOD! it gives laura looking in on those moments such depth and weight because it’s new to her but established to us as an audience, this is how you make found family devastating people (storm growing bonsai trees is so charming too haha) 
- ooof this is honestly quite harrowing 
SHE’S SO SMALL COMPARED TO HIM I’M CRYING (at least that part of his genes translated over faslkfsjdh short king, I say this with all the love and support of a fellow short monarch)  
- tabitha seems to just be running around doing precisely whatever the fuck she wants and you know what I support her even if she is an asshole her father left her a bunch of trauma and no fucks left to give 
- still thrilled about professor x explaining the spider key fuckup to magneto after the fact like ‘magnus you dumb bitch this is why we split up’ 
- awww kitty has anime and movie posters on her wall and sleeps with a stuffed toy :’)
-          remy                           rogue
                              🤝
doing completely unnecessary parkour around the brotherhood living room seemingly just for the hell of it... I’m not saying soulmates but fucking soulmates 
- fhsadkjlfhsakjldfhsadjkfhsdajkfh just as gambit’s soul-level need to be a little shit survived his bout of mind control, rogue’s deep and urgent desire to kiss gambit full on the mouth survived hers I can’t breathe
she looks so pleased with herself too GOOD FOR YOU GIRL at least get something out of this other than more trauma 
also not only the fact that he’s smart enough to figure out what’s going on (though he’s only partially right about who’s behind it. I do so enjoy gambit/mystique deep and sincere antipathy as a constant across all universes tho lmao pure wlw/mlm hostility) but also that he keeps fending her off like he’s not trying to hurt her even though she’s in nigh on unstoppable and invulnerable terminator mode... awww 
- gambit having absolutely no patience for wolverine and sabertooth’s bullshit macho-off and consistently being this little biker trio’s one brain cell is adding years to my life with every passing moment
his voice is a little different in these scenes too, a bit softer and less like he’s trying to impress someone, it’s nice
- hank: well I barely recognize any of these (completely made up) ‘ancient egyptian hieroglyphs’ but from what I can make out -- *proceeds to infodump a perfect coherent narrative* fjdhfak  
listen this whole thing is such nonsense on so many levels, I’m just turning my brain off so I won’t have to think about it okay, the compulsion to put ancient aliens in egypt haunts us as a culture 
- I am CACKLING about gambit in the snow after having to listen to these two chucklefucks ooze testosterone at each other for hours
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he started out taking it in good cheer and is now reduced to ‘dieu would both of you just jump off this fUCKING mountain please’
- ah. a little oops-a-daisy there, we seem to have unleashed the apocalypse. please stand by (they really don’t pull their punches with the season cliffhangers in this show haha)
- opening the season on gambit’s merrily grinning face is the easiest way to gain my favour. yes good this season may commence 
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baby u r my
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 ANGELLLLLLLL
(he’s so cute here tho haha I think it shows the design isn’t unsalvagable, just get him better hair and stubble more like logan has and you’ve basically got it) 
love his exasperated eyeroll when the dude gets spooked (by his eyes? or just the general weirdness?) too
he’s just trying to keep this crazy family of evil mutants together and unmurdered by one another until they’ve managed to avert the end of the world, bless him  
- oh NO rogue’s LIP wobbles my hhhhhheart ;____; such a good animation detail to put in
- like... I know kurt is just a sad scared teenager with a lot of shit going on and all the adults are too busy averting the end of the world to help him... but buddy maybe don’t ask your sister to wake her abuser (who forced her to kickstart the end of the world!!!!!) when she feels utterly unsafe even with her statue version around huh
- ...wanda is good and I want only good things for her. and for her dad to be disemboweled for what he did to her both the first time around and when he forced her to forget I mean what 
- magneto throwing an epic satelite-slinging tantrum b/c ‘no I am the biggest sexiest strongest mutant of the pack :(’... erik fucking get over yourself 
- yes boys absolutely go along with a plan suggested by a dude who looks at you like this 
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nothing bad can come of this surely asdfkhsa
- lance’s quarter of a braincell always trying to go ‘hey wait, maybe... not do this???’ and it never helps lol
- in this episode: Logan Has A Bad Day 
...some very specific bondage positions he’s held in here, I am sure this episode awakened something in someone once upon a time lol 
- logan shielding x-23 with his body... im fine it’s okay I’m not crying don’t look at me
- afsdhlsdfjasdlk those sure are some ‘scottish’ accents flsadkjhkdsjahfsd
- scott relieved to finally be able to cede the position of ‘charles xavier’s least favourite son’ to someone else fjsaklfhsajd (poor scott it’s not your fault honey)
supremely cowardly to suggest there is an ex-wife involved rather than charles slutting his way around the british isles back in the day but okay
- kurt with a cold is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. it’s okay kid it’ll get better soon
- ...is there an implication here that professor x is naturally blond. because I am losing my entire little mind about it (i mean he at least has to carry the gene, as does this lady?)
ETA: upon doing some research into this I can indeed confirm that charles xavier does seem to be naturally blond, and after this knowledge I will never be the same 
- “listen, dracula” fskdafghasd oh scott you sweet baby angel I love you
- I know jean’s abilities are a bit ‘as strong or as weak as the plot needs right now’ at this point (so you can have the setup for what’s going to happen with them eventually and she’s basically invincible ;____;), and normally I’m cool with it but god I want her to just squash lucas like a little bug
- ewwwww please don’t ever say ‘daddy’ like that again
- ...what the fuck is even going on this episode’s a mess 
like okay the split personality thing could be something but the way it’s done... what just happened lol
- MY BOY EVAN IS BACK! with a real glowup too (...though kind of weird how he suddenly looks like a grown man)
- augh scott’s eyes are so pretty oh my god ;__________________________;
- that episode in the first season where evan makes the ‘this is my new family!!’ video is so sad now (also, again, his poor poor parents) 
- time for: life affirming road trip with gambit (involuntary) faskljdfhaskjd
stunt therapist remy lebeau 
- I mean the way he goes about it is batshit insane and it’s very much secondary to what he’s actually up to but this is the first time rogue’s sounded genuinely hopeful and confident and like herself in like a season <3 
- he is disconcertingly pleased about her nearly throwing him off the train, and may I just say I agree it’s so nice to see rogue with her old fire back 
- the first time I watched this it was of course dubbed into norwegian, so I had no idea either of these characters were southern lol (though to be fair I probably wouldn’t have had much context for what it meant exactly either, I was like ten at the time and not too interested in america) I seem to dimly remember the norwegian voice actor did a little more of a ‘french’-tinged accent for gambit all over tho haha  
- you know what respect where it’s due, pyro dude knows to live his life for the lols and one has to admire his sociopathic dedication to it
interesting that he, too, seems to have fucking hated magneto -- I wonder if the implication here is that he kept all the acolytes in line with blackmail or by keeping something/one hostage? (except sabertooth maybe he’d just have to say ‘you get to fuck shit up and fight wolverine’ and that’d be enough)
- fsdakfhsd he’s so focused on her he doesn’t notice that guy about to hit him fkafhsa 
- fuck everything else except whatever the hell these two’ve got going on
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- it’s weirdly cathartic to have rogue have a conversation with someone who was not happily adopted as well, I don’t think kurt like. gets it because his parents loved him unconditionally and still do 
birds of a feather motherfucker  
- fun detail: when the x-men team are on the shore and logan is sniffing around scott is stepping in something and trying to wipe it off his boots in the background
- when he wakes up after passing out from the touch he’s smiling even though she’s standing over him looking like the rage of god outlined by the moon fsajfsa well the last time he passed out like that it was from a kiss, maybe he still has some hopes and dreams in that direction lol (also he recovers from the tumble down the hill first and is checking on her before accidentally brushing her cheek with his hand, which I thought was sweet) 
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and it was in that moment he knew he fucked up *passes out*
- ‘I can explain’ can u remy. can u  
- did it ever even occur to you to just. ask her. to help you. I mean I know it didn’t but like rogue’s always one second away from throwing hands with some bully and is stupidly ride or die, if you’d given her the puppydog eyes she would have crumbled immediately (fair enough I guess this entire episode is telling us he’s not from a background where he has much experience with people just helping him without a price haha) 
- his eyes glowing when he’s angry or upset or using a lot of his power is undeniably cool as all hell. I’m just saying it would be Big Sexy if they sort of flickered with light in moments of genuine vulnerability okay  
- his coat... his coat is what makes the Silhouette tm and I could not be happier about it 
- another parent of the year contestant enters the running lol “hey remy have you ever considered that you’re more of a walking bomb factory than a person? that’s certainly how I think of you hahaha c’mon kid let’s go” 
- the running joke of jean luc getting dollar signs in his eyes seeing the other mutant powers and gambit being like ‘nO!!!!’ and pulling him along is amazing haha
- from the way he looks when he touches rogue accidentally and the way he talks to his dad I’m sort of getting the feeling this gambit might actually be a bit younger than he looks?
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here too -- idk why but it’s making the ‘wait is he baby???’ alarms go off in my head haha. very early twenties at most. 
- and we’ve officially seen him with all the face cards in the heart suit folks! (yes this is the sort of thing my brain notices no I don’t know either)
- poor logan running his ass off this whole episode in a panic and then she’s like ‘nah he’s fine (in several meanings of the word ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) please put him down’ hfaskfsda
- rogue without makeup!!! her eyes look so naked like this haha <3
- oooh here’s a really interesting thing that tickles my brain a bit in this specific part of the scene where gambit frees his dad -- the part where he’s leaning against the door frame waiting for jean luc, who’s about to suggest using the opportunity to ruin the rival gang from the inside rather than slipping away while they still can
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from his expression here he knows what’s about to happen, what jean luc is about to say, and it’s clearly a ‘man who thought he’d lost all hope loses last additional bit of hope he didn’t even know he still had’ sort of situation. he KNOWS what jean luc is like, and it still hurts that he really, honestly can’t give him even this, can’t appreciate that remy’s already done all this shit for him when he extremely didn’t have to, without immediately (no really, it took him less than ten seconds to go there? jesus) demanding more.  
remy tells him “I’m just here for you” and jean luc does not understand it. remy seems to be sincere in this motivation -- rogue certainly thinks so, having experienced it second hand and found enough at least emotional merit in it to decide he was worth saving even after all his bullshit (lol a bit of a running theme maybe. I think it’s very telling that after she absorbed mystique she was like ‘what the FUCK you’re a fucking monster’, and after she absorbed gambit she went ‘you did the wrong thing for the right reasons’ after she got over the first wave of outrage) 
there’s also what he says as he stands there: “You don’t need me for that”, with the distinct implication that jean luc would only keep him around because he has a use for him and for no other reason -- and then jean luc shamelessly doubles down on that by specifying that it’s not even him he’s got a use for as such, just his powers. that’s some kicking puppies level of deliberately missing the point, it’s almost impressive in how cheerfully mean it is haha
this idea of using people is really important in this episode because remy’s doing basically exactly the same thing to rogue to begin with; it doesn’t really matter to his plan that it’s her that’s with him through this, just what her powers are. (I think it’s  p r e t t y  solidly implied that he does actually like her a lot outside of that too and maybe there is some comfort in having her around for this, but mostly he’s behind a smokescreen of lies through the whole thing sooo I doubt he’s even aware of it, honestly)     
but then it does matter that it’s her when she comes back for him, even after what he did. and unlike jean luc he understands what that means, that she did that for him, and that she didn’t have to. and instead of asking her for more, in return he gives her the thing it’s been established is what he considers the most valuable thing he has; his ‘last card’, the thing he’s credited with keeping him alive many a time, basically. it’s gone from using to mutuality, a tentative place of friendship, and at the end of the day he is a different man than his adoptive father, with a capacity for selflessness and love he lacks. which is of course some of the same stuff going on with rogue and mystique too, except rogue acted from a more fragile and unstable place and did something she regrets, or at least has a LOT of doubts about now, and she found some catharsis in helping someone make a different choice in a similar situation. man there’s some Stuff going on under the surface here haha
(by the way it’s a weirdly... meaningless yet intensely meaningful thing, the gifting of a symbol? of an idea? but he’s putting something very crucial of himself into her hands, is the subtext, and he expects her to understand, which she also does seem to do. at the beginning of the episode he’s proving that he’s seen something true about her -- “You’re such an unhappy girl”, knowing where she comes from, the way she’s mourning her lost confidence and autonomy with her abilities -- and here she’s proving she’s seen something true about him. :’) I wish this show had gone on long enough for this dynamic to progress, it’s really interesting and touching)   
- gambit dragging himself up onto dry land seeing someone approaching (to help?!): :D
gambit seeing that it’s logan and the look on his face: D: 
- rogue using her powers so confidently and fearlessly in this episode tho!!!! 
- *me crying* and then her FAMBILY comes to take her home and he says he’s looking out for her too and kurt still loves her even though they’re having a conflict thing between them and she’s finally able to use her powers without so much fear again and --
- ...did I just watch some baby lesbian love at first sight shit right now???  
- okay last two episodes let’s go
- HELL YEAH STORM (I love that she’s like ‘don’t give me a dumb order like that and I won’t have to disobey it’ too sdfjsaj) her voice has such command I’m usually very much not the ‘step on me’ type butttt
- y’know I feel like apocalypse’s main fault across all versions I’ve seen of him is that he’s like an immortal superpowered god king and he’s not even sexy. like at least make him hot if he’s going to be insufferable in every other way 
- also callout post for apocalypse: one time he made gambit into the Horseman of Death... and didn’t even make him sexy!!! you were handed remy lebeau, supreme bi disaster slut of the x men universe, and you couldn’t even make his brainwashed superpowered evil side hot?? a beautiful stubbled twunk with glowing red eyes and extremely charming :> face practically delivers himself into your hands and you do that to him???? I mean I’m sure apocalypse did some other bad stuff too but that was the worst one
(comics are so dumb y’all) 
- having to watch jean cry is emotional terrorism!! ;___; she has such older sister/mom energy, whenever she gets sad and helpless it hurts 
- oh, OH so PROFESSOR X you’ll make into a hunk and ~*strategically*~ rip his clothes to show off a nipple and a flawless pec in a way that makes me extremely uncomfortable because he’s like The Dad??? apocalypse you are rotten to the core this is unforgivable 
- so wait wanda never actually gets her real memories back. what the FuCk I hope that was a dropped storyline because they ended the show tragically prematurely rather than like. the plan
- why is spyke calling storm ‘storm’ show that’s his auntie o!! >:(
- as a society we need to acknowledge that apocalypse looks like a fucking clown
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- ooooh yeah I have been thinking that this show’s greatest visual weakness so far has been not having a visual way to show telepathy/battles of the minds, but this is a pretty cool way to do it! better late than never
- I’m so happy rogue gets to end this herself, since she was forced into starting it against her will, it’s just nice and neat storytelling
- YEAH FUCKING TELL HER KURT AND ROGUE I AM SO PROUD OF YOU and she has the temerity to look pissed off oh my god
the only valid thing mystique has done in her entire life is be in love with destiny. literally everything else she gets up to is a travesty. like I know objectively she’s hot but my loathing for her stops me from even appreciating it. I do enjoy loathing her tho so please don’t change her haha
(a bit odd to have kurt’s attitude to her swing so much but I’m just going to assume he and rogue had a good long conversation after ‘cajun spice’ and that he understands what’s going on better now)
- this last part is such a cruel tease faskdfhsdaj ‘here are all the cool-ass things we had planned. sucks you never get to see it huh’ im devastated 
- magneto without his helmet and playing charmingly with children like charles is going ‘well at least I saved my marriage finally’ fsadkhfjsd (honestly tho I would be super interested in seeing how they’d redeem this magneto because he’s been a real bitch the whole time lol) 
there’s an interesting thing here where magneto looks down at wanda as the last thing he does on screen before this epilogue part (yeah I hope it fucking haunts you forever what you did to her erik you absolute piece of hot garbage) and the last thing charles does is look at jean b/c he knows what’s going to happen to her and it breaks his heart... Dramatic Parallells  
- just the hint of jean as the phoenix has me in full D:D:D: mode tho maybe I wouldn’t have survived it
- gambit in the last groupshot with his arm around rogue ;^) I mean I’m sure they’re headed for some turns and roundabouts along the way but what’s that thing she says as her wedding vow, that she’ll always find her way back? anyway that got me in my heart
- man I really wish this show had been given more seasons, we were barely even getting warmed up here :’(
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sankyeom · 4 years
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𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚜 // 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎
𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛’𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍!𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚠𝚘𝚘 𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛
𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚞
𝚜𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚙𝚜𝚒𝚜: 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛’𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚠𝚘𝚘. 𝚘𝚛, 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢: 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚠𝚘𝚘 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚌.
𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 // 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝
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“…and that’s a wrap on monetary policy!” you exclaimed, pleased that you and Sunwoo had made it through all of the requirements on your Economics project. You sighed happily, leaning back onto Eric’s bed in his and Sunwoo’s dorm and letting your eyes close momentarily. “Why did that suck so much?” you wondered, causing Sunwoo to laugh.
“Because you hate Economics,” Sunwoo reminded you.
“Oh yeah,” you laughed, opening your eyes and sitting back up again. “Do you want to submit it, or should I?” Sunwoo shrugged, causing you to pull up the assignment portal your Professor had put up and hand in the project. “All that’s left now is the presentation, which we have in the bag because we actually worked on the project together,” you realised happily.
“Then you’ll be rid of me,” Sunwoo teased you, taking a seat next to you and gently nudging you with Eric’s pillow.
“Ah yes, the main perk of this whole thing,” you teased back, smiling at Sunwoo. Despite the fact that you had complained to Kevin and Jacob about your project almost on a daily basis, now that it was all over, it didn’t seem so bad to be spending that much time with Sunwoo. “Just kidding,” you add, just in case Sunwoo read into your words too much. “You’re actually not so bad.”
Sunwoo rose a brow. “Really?” he asked in an exaggeratedly surprised tone. “I thought you hated me,” he said more seriously.
You frowned. “I mean, I’m not your biggest fan after you stopped being my friend,” you admitted. “But we were so close back then, it’s really difficult for me to hate you.”
“Oh,” Sunwoo replied, seemingly quite speechless at your confession. “I guess you’re more forgiving than I thought you were. Not that you usually aren’t, but I figured that me-” he paused.
“Cutting me out,” you said for him. “It’s fine. You can say it. It’s true, after all.”
“Right,” he mumbled. “I figured that it would end any ounce of respect and care you had for me.”
You studied Sunwoo carefully. Despite usually being quite a loud, confident and humorous person, Sunwoo seemed small in that moment. His hands were fiddling with Eric’s pillow and his eyes darted around the room nervously. The Sunwoo you knew was most often relaxed both in attitude and posture, whereas the Sunwoo in front of you was stiffs a board.
“Why did you do it?” you voiced the question you had been asking yourself for two years. “You said the other day that you didn’t want to stop talking to me, and we seem to get along really well now even after two years. So why did you stop being my friend?”
Sunwoo sighed. “I can’t really get into it,” he denied, shaking his head and pursing his lips. “I just- it’s not something I’m ready to talk about, and there’s other people involved.”
“Other people?” you echoed. “What other people would be involved in our friendship?” you wondered.
“Just other people,” Sunwoo answered vaguely, clearly not wanting to give up any information.
“Sunwoo,” you began. “I know we said not to talk about that night,” you paused, collecting your thoughts. “But it clearly showed that you don’t hate me and that you don’t dislike being around me. I never thought that you and I could-“ you swallowed, not wanting to voice the fact that you and Sunwoo had spent the night together. “-after our friendship ended. But we did.” you finish, trying to prompt Sunwoo to say something.
“We spent the night together because we are attracted to each other,” Sunwoo said bluntly. “Because you’re beautiful ever single day, and how was I supposed to say no to me when you’re dancing and complimenting me, and-“ you leant forward and pressed your lips against his to silence his rant. You could tell the direction it was going in, and the same urge to kiss him – that was so strong the night of the party – had struck you in that moment.
Sunwoo stiffened, unsure of what to do, before he slowly melted into the kiss and pulled you closer to him. Unlike the passion and fire of the kisses you shared previously, this kiss was slow and soft; comforting in the way only words and old friendships could be. His fingers came to caress your face as yours wandered across his shoulders, and before you could deepen the kiss, Sunwoo was already pulling away.
You smiled, trying to lean back in to kiss him, but Sunwoo gently leaned away from you. “Um,” he said dumbly, standing up from Eric’s bed and stepping away. Your head cocked to the side in confusion. “I think you should go,” he told you.
His words were so startling that you could almost feel your heart drop into your stomach. “What?” you managed to stammer.
“I- Eric’s going to be here soon and I just think that we shouldn’t have-“ you understood then that while you had been happy with the progress you and Sunwoo were making, Sunwoo had been dreading it.
Humiliated and confused, you gathered your phone, laptop, and book bag; you nearly ran out of the dorm and past Sunwoo, racing down the stairs of his dorm building. You had nearly made it out when you tripped on the last stair causing your things to go flying and you to fall onto your knees, sobbing. The sharp pain from your knees was welcomed; at least it was starting to override the dull pain in your chest.
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sunwoo is so confusing what’s up with that guy
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kulaykape · 3 years
Text
Ina Kingsley x MC: Baby Kingsley(s)
Summary: Aliyah thinks Ina was born 32 years old or something. Ina proves her wrong with a photo album. 
tags: @sakaily @samanthadalton @citybornchick @domakir @kaitlynliaofanxx @justtryingtofillthevoidxx @thedaft1 @jenxespinoza @astrangeandunusualgirl @nydeiri @thepotatobleh @hellyeah90sbaby @ikingsley @loyalshrimp 
---
Not all the time. Just every now and then.
That was how often Aliyah made "you're old" jokes at Ina's expense. They were funny (to her, at least), but admittedly cheap. And the completely unappreciative look on Ina's face every time urged Aliyah to be a little more nice. 
But sometimes the opportunity was just there, and Aliyah couldn't help herself. 
She looked up as Ina stood from her desk and stretched, as she'd been sitting there for quite a while. Ina let out a groan as she stretched her back, and then rubbed it with a small grimace. 
Aliyah looked up over the edge of the book she was sifting through, and bit her lip. Don't do it Diaz, she's tired, she thought. 
…But she just couldn't help herself. 
"Pull your back, Professor?" She asked. 
Ina glared at her. Age was one thing that was a definite button for Ina. "I was just stretching," she said. 
Aliyah hummed as she flipped through the book. "Remind me to bring female Viagra next time I go to your place," she said off-handedly. 
"Ali!"
Aliyah broke down into laughter. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she held her hands up, "I don't know why, but sometimes I feel like you were born 32 years old."
Ina pouted. "What is that even supposed to mean?" She asked. She had no idea, but it sounded like an insult. 
"I don't know, it's just-" Aliyah had to pause to giggle a little bit. "I can't imagine you any younger." Before Ina's face could detonate, Aliyah quickly added, "O-or older! I don't know why." 
Ina paused to think for a moment, rapping the desk with her pen. After a moment's thought, she moved to the mammoth bookshelf behind her desk and reached up to pull something off of the higher shelves. Even in high heels though, it was just out of her reach. 
It was honestly a little adorable to see Ina standing on her tip-toes, stretching one struggling arm while flailing her fingers hopelessly. Aliyah knew Ina was not going to ask for help, so she sat back and watched her struggle for a very amusing moment. 
"You alright there, Professor Fun-Size?"
"Stop with your jabbing quips!" Ina exclaimed, shooting Aliyah a very upset pout. 
"Ask for help, babe."
"No," Ina said stubbornly, turning back to the shelf to try and reach the unreachable. Aliyah only intercepted when Ina started to reach for her chair, which was on wheels, as if she were going to stand on it. 
"Okay, okay, that's enough," Aliyah stood up and put a hand on Ina's shoulder, "You're gonna hurt yourself. Which one?" She looked up at the shelf. 
Ina seemed to struggle just getting the words out, each syllable an attack on her own pride. "The leather book in the middle…"
Aliyah stood on her toes and swiped the book off the shelf with a smile. Ina avoided her eyes as she took the book from her. "You know, women can shrink up to two inches as they age-"
"Aliyah Diaz, you are asking to be bent over my desk and spanked." 
Aliyah scoffed. It was getting harder and harder to fluster her, Ina realized. "Don't threaten me with something I'd thoroughly enjoy," she replied. 
Dammit, Ina thought. 
"That book looks old," Aliyah commented, looking over Ina's shoulder, "What's it about?"
"Actually, it's my way of proving a point to you," Ina replied as she opened it. 
Immediately, Aliyah's entire demeanor changed. "Awwww!" She exclaimed, "Baby Ina!" And Aliyah was one hundred percent sure it was indeed baby Ina because the words 'Little Ina, 9/12/90' were written in chicken scratch under it. 
"See? I was young once," Ina said with a small smile. 
"And absolutely adorable too, what happened to you?" Aliyah took the not-book out of Ina's hands to get a better look at her face. She had shorter, more curly hair than now, and was wearing a little sheep-printed onesie. "Oh my god, your baby cheeks are so cute, I wanna pinch them!" If Aliyah was any less prideful, she would've squealed. 
Ina chuckled, shaking her head. "What, you don't like the way I turned out?"
Aliyah looked back up at Ina and was quickly reminded that yes, the woman that baby had grown into was quite beautiful. She gave Ina a small smirk. "Now don't put words in my mouth." She turned back to the book, "Now let's see about the rest of this." She flipped through the next several pages of baby pictures with dramatic aww's and a look of tenderness in her eyes. 
"Why did you shove a lego up your nose?" She asked. There was a very unflattering picture of four year-old Ina in the infirmary thrown in there. 
Ina grumbled, hiding her bashfulness behind a whiskey glass (how fitting). "I wasn't the brightest toddler, okay?" She muttered. 
"Not hard for me to believe."
"Hey-"
Aliyah continued flipping until got to a school picture of middle school Ina, about thirteen years old. "Oh my god, you are adorable." And she was. 
Ina laughed in embarrassment, covering her face as Aliyah committed this little pubescent version of Ina to memory. Everything, from the bright grin and bulky braces, to the messy ponytail and acne just screamed 'I'm a little nerd who will one day grow into a bigger nerd'. 
"God, your teeth were ruined to hell."
"Well again, I think that face turned out just fine," Ina retorted, sharing a smile with Aliyah. 
Aliyah chuckled as she continued to turn the pages. There were pictures of pre-teen Ina performing in the school play, winning the spelling bee, and standing with a huge volcanic science project that had a blue ribbon on it. 
"Okay, yeah, you were an adorable little nerd," Aliyah said, "And I totally would've bullied you."
A look somewhat like discouragement crossed over Ina's face. "Really?" Aliyah grinned. 
"No, not at all," she laughed, "We would've been friends. I would have offered you cigarettes and you'd say no." She grinned. Ina's eyes widened for a second, then she threw her head back and laughed. 
"You… and cigarettes…"
"I was a bad girl," Aliyah grinned devilishly. 
Ina's smile seemed to widen. "Oh, you still are," and she pounced. 
Aliyah yelped as Ina trapped her against her desk, and started peppering kisses down her neck. She sighed as Ina ran her nails lightly down her back, then her ass. Her hands came to clasp around the back of Ina's neck-
Clatter! 
Aliyah cursed as the journal fell to the floor, open to one of the back pages. She looked at Ina apologetically before bending down to pick it up (Ina's hand still on her butt, of course, where else would it be?). She paused to look at the page it'd opened to. 
…And she couldn't help but frown a little bit as she studied the picture. 
Ina was smiling, make no mistake. Widely. And the graduation cap she wore might've had something to do with that. Aliyah read the note beneath it: 'Columbia Grad School Graduation 5/13/15'. But something was off. 
Aliyah knew Ina's real smile. It was as wide as in the picture. But the corners didn't crinkle, and her subtle dimples didn't indent her face. And that mischievous little canine wasn't even peeking out from beneath her lip. 
Aliyah frowned as she looked at Ina, who had been watching as if holding her breath. 
"Why aren't you happy in this picture?" Aliyah asked softly. 
Ina opened her mouth, denial on her tongue, but then she sighed. "Let's just say… the timing of graduation wasn't particularly good," she said. 
Aliyah's look intensified. 
"…My girlfriend at the time had just broken up with me," Ina spat the words out quickly, as if they didn't come out quick enough, she'd choke on them. She chuckled a bit. "Rest assured, she's nothing compared to you-"
But Aliyah shook her head. "That's not the point," she put down the book and pulled Ina into her arms. For a moment, Ina was slack in her embrace before remembering herself. "Was it her?" Aliyah asked, voice tickling Ina's ear. 
After a beat, Ina nodded. The one. The one Ina had talked about in fragments. 
Catching her cheating here. Trying to fix it with a proposal there. A mess all-around that made Ina, in her formative years, look like more of a fool than she would've liked Ali to perceive her to be. 
This train of thought wasn't lost on Aliyah, though. She caressed Ina's hand gently, raising it to her lips to coax her out of her thoughts. 
Ina looked up, and was met with a smile. 
Aliyah's eyes, burning and heated at the moment, stared into hers. "I'd never do that to you," she said softly. 
Ina bit her lip as she searched Aliyah's eyes for the lie. Then she tilted her head in a nod, eyes shining with a smile. "I know you wouldn't."
"I'll love you better than that, I promise."
Ina grinned slightly, eyes crinkling and dimples showing. "I know you will." 
Before either of them could explode from the heart eyes they were making at each other, Aliyah cleared her throat and looked away, fiddling with the photo album again. 
"You were really cute as a kid, you know," she said, an edge of shyness to her voice that made Ina smile. Aliyah chuckled, "I hope our kids look like you then, 'cause I was an ugly baby-" 
…Shit. 
Aliyah's eyes widened, like she expected Ina to drop kick her in the face for saying that. She ducked her head, fidgeting with the photo album as Ina smiled affectionately at her. 
"I-I mean, they probably won't since I'll be carrying them- w-wait, I didn't mean it like that, that came out wrong- mmf!" 
Aliyah let out a muffled yelp as Ina grabbed her by the hips and pulled her into a breathless kiss. Ina's hands tangled in her hair, and her lips devoured her own passionately. Aliyah groaned slightly as Ina lifted her up onto her desk, and pressed even closer to her. 
The kiss broke off with a gasp, Aliyah panting slightly while Ina stroked her cheek. 
"Wha…" Aliyah struggled with the words, "What did I… do to deserve that…?"
Ina smiled, and pressed Aliyah's forehead against her own. "You just made me a very, very happy woman."
~end~
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anothertimdrakestan · 4 years
Text
Familiar Green
Damian Wayne x Reader Soulmate AU
In an AU where when your soulmate and you touch you feel sparks and intense warmth! Damian is around 16-18 ish in my head!
  Being a sucker for a good love story you couldn’t help but always feel jealous watching your classmates, friends, and even strangers on the street find their soulmate. You watched as kids bumped into each other only to see their eyes meet at the feeling of sparks. What did the “sparks” even feel like? As a child you were about ready to touch an electric fence to understand the feeling. 
  As you grew up your focus eventually left your soulmate and you spent far to much time focussing on school work. You got into Gotham Academy on a merit scholarship from the Wayne Foundation and you were determined to put it to good use. Money was a sore subject and your family had been scraping by since you could remember. Your parents were soulmates and always said that their love would conquer all or some sappy shit like that. The only thing you were in love with was knowledge and that was just fine. In classes you were attentive and quiet, learning quickly no one liked a smart ass. Teachers often slipped you materials for projects knowing you probably didn’t have them at home and you sat in the back minding your own business.
  You never ran with the popular crowd. You had friends you walked to class with and studied with, especially friends who were as driven as you but you never had a BEST friend. The person you tell everything to and a confidant who shares your passions and jokes with like no other. You would wait for the sparks to show you who that would be. 
  Currently, you were planning a speech for the annual Wayne Family Gala where all their merit scholars would show what they were doing with their scholarship. The speech was somewhere in between intense bragging about your grades, achievements, and experiments while also thanking the Wayne family every two words. You had it planned perfectly: big purse to get snacks for the endless speeches, the same dress you’ve worn the last two years, and one gratitude dance then home. Easy. 
  When the bell released you from the last class you began pushing towards freedom. Students grumbled and shoved through the tight halls and you rolled your eyes at the stupidity of those walking against the crowd or those stopped to chat about nothing. With the door in sight you sped up, pushing hard when you felt a zap. Your heart stopped, turning around to the sea of people pushing past you. The feeling was comforting yet alarming, the friction of just tapping shoulders was enough to stop you dead in your tracks. What seemed like endless hoards of people pushed past you while you stood begging for the person who felt it too to run back to you.
“Look at the genius who forgot how to walk”
  Words shook you from a daze as you looked up to see a football star with a 2.1 GPA staring you down. Rolling your eyes you headed out for fresh air and a walk home to prep for the gala, but you couldn't shake the feeling resonating in your shoulder.
-- agressive time skippppp -- 
  As you watched your classmate wrap up his speech on his first place win at the Math Olympics you realized it was time for yours. The two of you did a quick high five before you found yourself alone, shaking hands clutching note cards with bright white lights blinding you from seeing Gotham’s most powerful staring expectantly up at you. With a deep breath, you began recounting the highlights of your year. Finding Mr. Wayne’s face up near the front you saw him nodding as you detailed your research with collegiate professors, perfect test scores, and passion. Thanking the board members one last time you looked to the cameras and gave a big smile before heading back behind the stage.
  Once away from the prodding lights you let out the breath held in for the entire speech. Until next year Gothamites. Detailing your plans to chat up the rich folk, dance in front of the cameras photographing merit scholars then leaving and probably getting fast food on the way home, you smiled to yourself knowing it was almost over. Heading out to the main floor you listened politely to the rest of the speeches before scouting out the person with the biggest net worth in the room. 
  Making your way around the room, you accidentally locked eyes with none other than Mr. Wayne who gestured you over. Estimating that the money held between Mr. Wayne and the men he was talking to stood around a couple trillion dollars you gladly complied, hoping to find a sponsor for more research, maybe even college scholarships.
  “Hello Miss. It’s y/n right?” you politely greeted Mr. Wayne trying not to gawk at his suit that probably cost more than your family’s rent. Finding your inner confidence you took the opportunity to explain your passions and ask questions of the people in the semi-circle formed around you. While talking, a young man came to stand next to his father, clearly impressed with your credentials. After a couple glances you recognized the light smirk and emerald green eyes as Damian Wayne. You saw him as the opposite of you, he floated through Gotham Academy on Daddy’s wallet, barely showing up to school and often wearing dark sunglasses to hide what you assumed to be a hangover from partying the night before. Giving him a curt smile you continued, mostly focused on David Shield, a man about 55 who ran a series of fancy hotels, he shared passions with you and looked very interested. 
  The more you spoke the more Shield focused on you. Eventually, he offered to bring you to get a drink (non-alcoholic you assumed) and talk about a possible partnership. Quickly you began thanking the men around you will either a nod or a quick handshake. You couldn’t pass up the opportunity to shake Bruce Wayne’s hand and you almost fainted when you realized you were shaking hands with THE Bruce Wayne. Lastly you turned to Damian and saw Mr. Wayne pat his back, forcing him to hold out a hand, rolling his bright green eyes lazily. As you went to shake it Mr. Shield tapped your shoulder hurrying you saying “let’s go princess I’m in a hurry here” as he started walking off. This was the opportunity of your lifetime, you tried to walk past Damian, hurriedly trying to follow Mr Shield. When your shoulder brushed Damian’s and you felt the familiar sparks again your heart ripped in half. You could swear you heard them crack and pop in the air as you locked eyes with his green ones. Ready to forget about Mr. Shield you turned to Damian only for him to put two hand on your shoulders and mouth “Go I’ll find you” as he tried to direct you towards Mr. Shield. Where his hands made contact with your collarbone warmth erupted you could feel each finger radiating and sizzling against your bare skin. 
  In a daze, you felt Damian let go and you stumbled towards the bar. Mind racing you couldn’t stop turning back to Damian, who was in deep conversation with his father, both of them stealing glances at you. Trying to focus on the room and not the cold feeling from missing your soulmate’s touch you felt a hand snake around your waist and pull you towards the bar. Looking up at Mr. Shield who held your waiste for far too long you tried to shake off all thoughts of Damian and secure your future. Mr. Shield told you to call him David and he tried to order a fancy alcoholic drink for both of you. Asking for a club soda he paid and the two of you spoke about shared interests and a possible collaboration. Trying to focus on the conversation and not the feeling of your heart beating out of your chest was extremely difficult. 
  After sipping bubbly water with Mr. Shield David and him deciding to grant you the money you needed you felt ecstatic. Trying to wrap up the conversation and look for Damian Mr. Shield wouldn’t end the conversation with you. Your heart sunk as you saw the paparazzi follow Mr. Wayne, Damian, and his three brothers out of the ballroom. The only breath of hope you felt was seeing familiar green eyes frantically scanning the ballroom for who you hoped was you, but his eyescouldn’t find yours.
  Defeated you returned to speaking with David but decided it was late and you were feeling more lightheaded than normal. He offered a ride home and you couldn’t pass it up, not feeling too well, probably because of the loud atmosphere and heavy air. Getting up you felt him place his hand in the small of your back and though you tried to twist or politely shake it off he kept it there. As you stumbled towards the door you felt worse and worse. Knowing something was seriously wrong you decided it was better to wait outside for your parents to come get you. You tried to explain the situation but Mr. Shield adamantly said you had to come with him. Beginning to get woozy and frustrated you started pushing him away.
“Y/n sweetie let me take you home” he purred
“You don’t even know where I live let me go” you stopped dead in your tracks.
“C’mon just right here let’s get in” he gripped your arm and immediately fight or flight kicked in and momma didn’t raise no bitch. You began to hit his chest, yell, and try to slither out of his grip. Your fist connected with his chin and he stumbled back, visibly angered he advanced toward you and you realized this was not going to end well. Closing your eyes you braced for pain but felt a smaller, latex covered hand wrap around your waist with a woosh. 
  With your eyes still closed you couldn’t tell if you really were floating in a stranger's arms or if you were just heavily drugged. Opening an eye you saw the gala building grow smaller and you decided it was definitely the former, but probably also the latter. Sucking in a breath you looked up to see a domino-masked, red and yellow-clad vigilante holding you with one arm and a grapple with the other. Realizing you were literally hundreds of feet above solid ground you wrapped your arms around Gotham’s own Robin squeezing his neck and feeling a familiar spark. Unable to connect the dots due to a heavily drugged brain you clung to the hero praying for your life until you heard 
“y/n we’re safe now” from a familiar, and very concerned voice. 
  Peeking up you realized he was still holding you as you clung to him though he stood comfortably stable on the roof of a building. Gingerly you put your feet on the ground, not releasing him from your grasp feeling the sparks fly between your fingertips and his neck. Looking up at Robin you moved a hand to his cheek, sparks sizzling and jumping more so than ever. And in what was probably not your smoothest moment you mumble
“hey Damian” at the masked figure. Your fingers instinctively tug at the domino mask and as you expected, the same piercing green eyes looked down at you. 
“hello y/n” he nodded. His eyes began to scan you for any signs of pain and you assured him you were fine.
“disgusting of David Shield to try to drug a teenager especially my own soulmate TT” your heart fluttered at the acknowledgment of the bond. You reached up to touch his face again just to check the sparks were still there. Like clockwork electricity danced between the two of you. Content with the feeling you decided to share some personal information. Whatever Shield gave you made you bold if nothing else.
“You know I’ve wanted a soulmate my whole life. I’d let Shield go after me again if it meant I’d get to meet you. Especially if it meant my soulmate was this hot holy hot damn” Damian’s eyes softened looking down at you and his lips pulled into a smirk but you could tell no amount of comfort would stop his anger. 
“Trust me beloved no one will go after you ever again” he pulled you against him and you instinctively wrapped your arms around his torso, fitting together like a puzzle. Even with a cool breeze blowing around the top of the building the warmth from holding your soulmate was enough to have you melting into his arms. In that peaceful moment every cliche made sense. This was feeling you wanted to feel forever. You heard a light buzz from his earpiece with a voice asking about his location and status. With a curt reply Damian told you it was time for him to take you home. Holding onto Damian as he swung down he whispered in your ear
“I could get used to having you in my arms beloved” and with a giddy smile you replied
“I’d hope so lover boy you’re kinda stuck with me forever” at this he squeezed you tighter, his eyes shining with an emotion he’d never felt before and you looked up filled with excitement for the emerald green eyes you’d spend the rest of your life looking at.
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hello-hajime · 3 years
Text
Tall
Iwaizumi Hajime x Tall Female Reader
Summary: Fluff, a little angst, more fluff.  Falling for the university’s ace volleyball player was a mistake. After all, how could he feel the same for a girl who’s comically tall? 
Word Count: 1500
Tall. Since you were a kid, that was the first thing anyone noticed about you. You hadn’t gone a day in your life without some stranger asking if you played basketball. And although you didn’t play basketball, you were fairly proud of your height. You could reach high shelves. Your speed-walking was unrivaled. And when you wore heels, you were a force to be reckoned with. For those reasons and more, you loved your height.
 Until you didn’t. 
 It was your junior year of college when your height turned into an insecurity--because of him. Iwaizumi Hajime, the ace of the college volleyball team. 
You had, of course, seen Iwaizumi on the court. He had been larger than life out there, scoring points right and left with his killer spikes, glistening under the bright lights of the gym. 
You always wanted to congratulate him after his wins, but you were intimidated by the group of fangirls who constantly crowded around him and the team’s setter, Oikawa. 
Instead, you’d always sprint over to high-five your cousin, Tsubasa, who played on the team as a middle blocker. Then you’d head out, trying to make your way to the exit before getting too caught up in the crowd of spectators. 
And it could have gone on this way for quite some time--the spheres of your worlds almost touching, but never colliding. But then, a professor paired you together for a group project.
……………………………………………………………………
Iwaizumi was more than the stranger you observed at your cousin’s volleyball games. You learned things about him that you couldn’t have inferred from his ferocity on the court. That is to say that now you knew-- Iwaizumi was cool, he was smart, and he stood at 5’10”, approximately four inches shorter than you.
You sat in the library, having become study partners after completing such a successful project. You would sit across from each other, for the most part, working silently, but occasionally cracking a joke or having a quiet conversation.
“You know, y/n,” he commented, looking up from his laptop, “I’ve seen that you always come to our games. You usually stop to talk to Tsubasa after, but then, you’re out the door pretty fast.”
“Yeah,” you murmured, bookmarking a source before meeting his piercing gaze. “Tsubasa is my cousin, actually. My parents wanted him to look after me, so he and I share an apartment. And I try to support him by coming to his games.” 
“I see. The height must be genetic, then,” he chuckled, thinking of Tsubasa, who stood at 6’5”, and could block practically any ball that came his way.
“Yeah, both my dad and my uncle are quite tall. I’m 6′2″ myself,” you smiled awkwardly, pushing a strand of hair behind your right ear. 
“But in any case, if you were always at our games, why did you never come meet the rest of the team? Or even say hi to a few of us?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t have missed out on anything, really!” You waved a hand nonchalantly. “You and Oikawa are constantly surrounded by pretty girls anyways. They show up to cheer you on, wearing those adorable dresses, and looking up at you with giant heart eyes!” You laughed.
Iwaizumi sighed. “I’d say they’re more interested in Stupidkawa, if anything.”
“Clearly you haven’t seen the way you glisten under those gym lights, Iwa-chan.” 
His cheeks reddened at your teasing words, and he looked back down at his computer, trying his best to get back to work, or at least, to look like it. 
……………………………………………………………………
It didn’t take much to make you fall for him. 
Maybe it was his crooked smile, or the way he cracked jokes and then scratched nervously at the back of his neck. Maybe it was his green eyes, or the way he’d guide you through an equation by leaning over your shoulder and lightly marking the page with his pencil. Whatever it was, you felt at ease with him. And it was starting to hurt. 
It hurt every time a petite, beautiful girl touched him on the arm and looked up at him.
It hurt seeing him laugh and smile with the fangirls who adored him so much. 
It hurt seeing other eyes watching him, mentally undressing him as he studied next to you.
So you decided--you needed some distance from him. Maybe a lot of distance. Whatever it took for you to get over this crush that was eating you up inside. 
“I’m sorry to cancel, but something’s come up,” you messaged him. 
“No worries,” he replied. “Study next time?”
“I’ll let you know.” 
You didn’t. 
……………………………………………………………………
You had stopped studying with him. You had stopped coming to his games. You had even stopped replying to his messages. Iwaizumi was pissed.
What had he done wrong? Had he done something, said something, that made you uncomfortable? It was like you fell off the face of the planet, right when he thought things were falling into place! 
He hit a ball so hard that his teammate yelped, narrowly dodging it. 
He was glad practice was wrapping up for the day. He was hoping that the steam of the shower would melt away some of these bad feelings. 
Then he saw Tsubasa, toweling off and throwing on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. 
He couldn’t stop himself from asking. He strode up, trying his best to soften the frustration on his face. 
“Tsubasa,” he began, looking at the taller man with sharp eyes, “is y/n okay? I feel like she’s just...fallen off the face of the earth. She won’t reply to my messages, and I just want to know, you know, if I did something wrong.” 
Tsubasa looked down at his shoes, considering his words. “Yeah, y/n is...hurting, I guess. I asked her why she stopped coming to games, and she just said...that when she sees you on the court, it makes her want to cry.” He frowned a little, tying his shoes.
“We were spending a lot of time together, but suddenly, she was blowing me off.”
“Um, Iwaizumi, how do I say this? I don’t think she wanted to. She has a lot of insecurities,” he stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “In any case, I’m going out with some friends tonight. So maybe you should stop by our place. Clear this up in person, you know? I’ll text you the address.”
……………………………………………………………………
You weren’t expecting to see him when you opened the door, and the shock showed on your face. “Uhh...Iwaizumi. What are you doing here?”
“Your cousin sent me the address.” He lifted his phone, showing you the message from Tsubasa. “I know you’ve been avoiding me, y/n. I don’t know what I did, but I want to make it right. Can I come in?”
You sighed, but stepped aside, and he walked past you, carefully slipping his shoes off then continuing towards your living room. 
“Look, Iwaizumi. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s...it’s me.” You focused your eyes on the floor, unable to meet his gaze.  “I started to get these feelings, feelings I knew you couldn’t return. So I was trying to put some distance between us.”
His eyes widened, but you didn’t look up to see it. 
“I’m...sure you’re uncomfortable now. I’m sorry. You can go if you want.”
“Y/n...what the hell are you going on about?”
Tears streamed down your face, and you wiped at them uselessly. “That’s...pretty harsh, Iwa.”
“No, I mean--no, don’t cry, y/n! I didn’t mean--fuck!” He pulled you into his arms, feeling you sob. “How could you think that lowly of yourself? Y/n, you...”
You sobbed even more at his words, taking them as a piss-poor attempt at comforting you. “I know that the other girls--your fangirls, the girls in class--want you. I see how they look at you. They want you, too.  And they look so good next to you. I’m so comically tall. I’m stupid looking. It would be an embarrassment to be with someone like me.”
You pushed against him, and he released you, staring wide-eyed at your shaking form. 
“Y/n...did you just tell me that...you think I could never like you, because you’re taller than me?”
You didn’t say anything, instead just nodding.
“Y/n,” he laughed, combing his fingers through his messy, dark hair, “I’ve literally had feelings for you all this time. You thought I didn’t like you back because you’re tall? What kind of guy would I be if I couldn’t handle my girlfriend being four inches taller than me?” 
You finally looked at him, utter shock on your face. Insert surprised pikachu meme
“You want to be with me?” 
“You know, you’re kind of a dumbass, y/n. Yeah, I want to kiss you. And hug you. And,” he whispered, “make you scream my name. So let me show you how badly I want you.” 
He pulled you into a passionate kiss. Then another, then another.
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ikingsley · 3 years
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Ina x MC: That Day
Ina x MC: That Day
Loosely based on chapter 6 of QB. Read the other parts of the series here: The Dance, A Small Detour, One Chance.
Summary: Ina and Luna discuss their past.
Warnings: Sadness, I guess. Warning for coming out stories?
Tag: @samanthadalton @domakir @kulaykape @hellyeah90sbaby @dopeyouth @kwaj05 @thedaft1​ @swimmingshoebakerydreamer (Let me know if you’d like to be added or removed)​
Author’s Notes: Sorry, I’ve been real busy, but here’s another installment of my series.
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Luna strolled into Ina’s office at a quarter past seven. It’d been a long day for both of them. Ina had a full day of lectures and quizzes while Luna had midterms approaching. 
“Professor,” Luna said, putting down her bags.
“Good evening, Luna. How are you?”
The two made small talk while Ina pulled the stack of quizzes she needed graded. But as well as Ina could hide her emotions, Luna felt there was something off about Ina.
“Here’s the answer key,” Ina began. “It’s all multiple choice so it shouldn’t take too long.” 
Ina handed Luna a red pen. But Luna wasn’t paying attention to Ina. Instead, she scoured through the stack of papers, pulling one out and comparing the answers.
“Whose is that?” Ina peered over Luna’s shoulder. “Oh, that’s right. You took this quiz today.”
Luna hummed in reply. “Aww man. I got one wrong.”
This time, it was Ina’s turn to tease Luna. “Nerd,” she scoffed.
“Shut up.”
The two worked in silence, except for Ina going ham on her keyboard. That research paper wasn’t going to write itself.
“Why are you typing so vigorously?” Luna commented absent-mindedly.
“Hmm...I don’t know, maybe because this paper’s due at midnight,” Ina said quite uncharacteristically. Ina, the polite and beloved anthropology professor, was not one to be so brash.
Rude! For no reason! Luna thought. While Luna was pondering the true reason for Ina’s disrespect, Ina stood up and began pacing back and forth. Finally, she stopped, slumping onto the couch that sat at the corner of the room.
“Ina?” Luna questioned, getting off of her chair. Like usual, her initial intuition was spot-on, something was, in fact, off. 
Ina laid on the couch, her head resting on the couch’s arm. When Luna finally approached it, she took a look at Ina. Her face was slightly glossy, tear-stained.
“Scoot over,” Luna said firmly.
Ina huffed a little, but she moved further into the couch. Luna faced Ina, acting as a handkerchief, wiping away Ina’s tears.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Luna finally broke the silence.
“No.” 
“Okay. We can just lie here together. It’s okay.” Luna wrapped her arms around Ina. Ina subsequently buried her face in her shoulder, her tears falling slowly, wetting Luna’s shirt.
The two stayed like this for a few more moments, until Ina sat up, wiping the lasts of her tears. “I apologize, Luna. I owe you an explanation.”
“You don’t need to-”
“Please, I want to. I feel like you should know.”
“Only if you’re sure.”
“I am.” Ina had gained her confidence back. “I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I trust you. Maybe it’s naive or too early, but well...I feel like I could tell you anything, and you wouldn’t judge me. So here goes.” 
And boy, did Ina open up. It was unlike anything Luna had ever witnessed from the mysterious professor. But she wasn’t complaining. This was arguably what she loved most about Ina. 
“It was my freshman year of high school and I was sitting in my US history class. I was such a little nerd,” Ina recalled fondly. “Anyway, this girl walked into my class and god, I was smitten. What she made me feel...I’d never felt before. I mean, I hadn’t been with any guy, but this was different. Sure I’d thought some guys were attractive, but every time I looked at her, I got butterflies.”
“Aww! I’m imagining a little nerdy Ina staring at a pretty high schooler now.”
“Mhm. Well, we got assigned each other for a project. And we hit it off. She was brilliant, passionate, caring...I really liked her, but I thought it was just as friends. One afternoon, we went to the library together to prepare for the presentation of the project. She asked me if I liked girls, and I hadn’t really considered it. Some sort of internalized homophobia, I guess. I went home that day just deep in thought. But God, she made me feel so alive. It was something I’d never experienced before. And then I just started thinking of kissing her and I never wanted to stop. I think I knew then and there that I liked women.”
“Well? What happened after?” Luna asked, invested in Ina’s anecdote.
“A few days later, some teacher was berating her for not knowing an answer to something rather trivial and I found myself defending her. I guess my protective side came out.”
“Not the only thing that came out then...” Luna smirked.
Ina scoffed but had a huge grin on her face. But just as quickly as it appeared, her smile faded.
“When we left school that day, she uh thanked me with a kiss. And that’s how I knew for sure that I liked her. A lot. I asked her out a few weeks later and we were together for a little over a year. At the time, she meant the world to me. We’d do everything together and she was my first for a lot of things, my first kiss, my first love...”
“A year? That is...surprisingly long for a relationship at that time. Why’d it end?”
“Her parents were incredibly supportive. They knew about us since the beginning of the relationship. Mine...did not know. I had told Lilian, and she listened and supported me a lot. We were always pretty close. Well, after a year together, Emma asked to meet my conservative parents. I was both giddy and nervous, but I thought I was ready. I truly thought love was unconditional. Maybe I was naive to think acceptance was guaranteed. And well, I told my parents that I had someone special for them to meet. In retrospect, I should’ve told them more details. Maybe they were expecting a dashing young man that could escort me to Prom in the following year or whatnot. And well, Emma came over for dinner and I told my parents about us. They...were shocked. Their perfect little nerdy daughter was gay. They didn’t handle themselves well that night. They said some unforgivable things to Emma. We tried to work through it, but we were young and broke up a few weeks after that.”
“Ina, I’m so sorry.”
 “I...it’s okay. It’s been a while now. They didn’t throw me out of the house, but they didn’t talk about my sexuality at all. Emma was always my ‘friend.’ No one in the extended family knew. It was like they were ashamed of me. Lilian was the wild child and I was the apple of my parents’ eyes, but they never looked at me the same after that dinner. It was a tough time. Lilian and my friends at school supported me. If it weren’t for them...I don’t know where I’d be now.”
Luna caressed Ina’s check, wiping away the flowing tears.
“I just existed in their house for a while. I had a brief period of dating guys who were’t too good for me, probably out of my parents lack of support. Trying to be straight. But there was never any feelings between the two of us. They just...weren’t Emma. The last guy I dated was sweet, but I felt nothing for him romantically. And then Lilian was pregnant. And that was the last straw for my parents. They kicked out Lilian and I left with her. After all those years of her supporting me, I needed to support her. They said some inexcusable things to her and I’m glad we left. But it was incredibly difficult. Lilian and I struggled a lot. We had to work odd jobs just to pay rent whilst still going to school. Today’s the anniversary of them kicking us out. Today I have to be strong for Lilian’s sake, but I lost my parents that day too. I guess it all just hit me now.”
“You don’t need to apologize. Come here.”
Luna wrapped Ina in her arms once more. Then, she held Ina’s face, staring intensely into her eyes.
“You are the strongest woman I know. Strongest person I know. But it’s okay to not be strong too. You don’t need to pretend to be strong 24/7. Strength and weakness...that’s what makes us human.”
Ina smiled at Luna, tears falling freely. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Ina then leaned in, closing the gap between them. She captured Luna’s lips slowly, but as the kiss prolonged, the passion increased. When they finally pulled away, both women were out of breath.
Ina cleared her throat, standing up and beckoning Luna to get on her feet.
“Dance with me.”
Luna took a second to play a song on her phone, but she then gratefully accepted, leaning into Ina’s arms as they moved slowly.
Tu cabeza en mi hombro 
Quiero yo tener siempre
Acaríciame, cielo
Si me quieres tú
Ina smiled again at Luna, a hand rising from Luna’s waist to cup her cheek.
“I hope your coming out story is better than mine,” she jested.
“Well, yeah I guess. When my family moved to the States from Venezuela, my mom always emphasized the importance of getting a good education, being prudent, all of that. I was very involved in high school, and I was a part of a lot of science extracurriculars. My freshman year of high school, my mom forced me to join mock trial to improve my public speaking. I thought it was useless since I knew I wanted to do neuroscience. She drove me to every practice, every conference...I fell in love with it. The more I did research for trials, the more passionate I became about public policy, law, and civil rights. And of course, gay rights. I guess that’s how I knew. Mind you, I was one of those kids who cuffed their jeans and got called out for not sitting in chairs properly.”
“It makes so much sense now. And you are...extremely well-spoken. Anyway, how’d you tell your parents?”
“We were at a mock trial competition. I had just used Obergefell v. Hodges as legal precedent to win the trial. My parents picked me up and I told them all about the case. My dad kinda stopped me mid-sentence and asked me if I had anything to tell them.”
“And?”
“I told them, but they said they already knew. They didn’t care who I’d be with, as long as they’re someone decent, kind, protective...the whole nine yards. The only problem is that they’re just very nosy about my love life. If I texted someone and smiled they’d look to see who it is. They also acted as if each person I’d bring home to meet them was the love of my life.”
Unreasonable jealousy flashed through Ina’s eyes, but her voice remained steady. “Did you bring a lot of people home to meet your parents?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Luna smiled smugly.
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Worthy (pt5)
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A/N: I thought I would try to get on top of things and cue a chapter. @rampant-salamander​ @bolontiku​
Markus, as it turned out, was the goofiest guy I was likely to ever meet. His passion for clean energy was matched only by his passion for collecting vintage pop cans. He was the only person on the team who had an office, and it was cluttered with partially finished projects, and mountains of proposals. And his bookshelf had not a single book on it, but instead was lined with pop cans, right back to the dawn of canned carbonated beverages. It was impressive. He pulled his chair around to sit beside me instead of across the table. And in a move that proved the clutter to be a highly efficient filing system, he pulled my proposals from the middle of one of the stacks of papers.
“Your three proposals have all been greenlit by Pepper and Tony, but I won the coin toss, so I get you first. I suspect that your green washer was your back-up proposal, but I love it. I think it’s important to make clean energy available to every household. Your washing machine is economical to build, and that will make it accessible to all income levels. But it also takes into consideration some pretty fantastic advancements in water reclamation. I was impressed by the various disciplines you worked with to put the proposal together, some clearly not your areas.” His speech was relaxed. He flipped through my proposal, certain areas highlighted.
“I’ve lived in university residences for the last nine years. I assure you, access to space and energy efficient washing machines at an affordable price was something I got quite passionate about as more and more of my clothing was destroyed by or stolen from the communal machines,” I laughed.
“I was particularly impressed with the water reclamation technology you managed to build into the machine. That’s usually a very cumbersome apparatus.” He flipped to the schematics I’d included in the proposal.
“I took inspiration from Mr. Stark’s arc reactor miniaturization, and consulted with one of the senior engineering professors to ensure my calculations wouldn’t decrease the output capacity,” I explained.
“You were the only applicant who not only admitted to consulting, but credited the colleagues you consulted with. My department is a well-oiled machine, and every person has a role to play. Your dedication to teamwork is why I pushed for you to work on this project first. Well, and that it’s really cool.” His compliments were making me feel overwhelmed again. I shook my head and looked away. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried about the fall-out when you all discover I’m not as amazing as you think I am.” My laugh was stilted. He clapped me on the back.
“By the time that happens, we’ll have the washer on the market and you’ll have secured your place at Stark,” he laughed. His comment made me smile, but it was seriously terrifying to have so many really amazing people telling me that I was awesome. I was untested, fresh from school and so inexperienced. The only reason I hadn’t hidden in academia longer and gone on to my PhD was because I wasn’t exactly sure what I would do with a PhD in engineering that I couldn’t do with a Master’s. 
“What are the other interns like? I didn’t get a chance to meet them last night,” I asked. Markus’s forehead wrinkled in thought.
“Well, one of them no-showed. So we’re down to just two of you. And the other seems okay. Arrogant. Maybe a little too arrogant. I looked over his proposal and passed on it. It seemed way too easy to weaponize,” he explained.
“Which one is he?” I had a hard time believing someone would give up the opportunity of this internship, but I understood the feelings of inadequacy that came with the pressure of accepting on a visceral level. I probably feel somewhere between the guy who showed and the guy who didn’t on the confidence scale. So I was desperately curious about the one who showed up. Know the competition, and all.
“The kid who proposed the mag-lev technology for automobiles. His proposal discusses crumbling infrastructure, and suggests that a mag-lev device in the shocks of vehicles would help protect the structural integrity of vehicles. He completely neglected to mention that it would also be helpful to the military in hostile situations where IEDs and mines can compromise troop safety. I wouldn’t have been suspicious about the proposal at all if he’d included that application and some research on it, but it was really conspicuous in its absence. I think the first thing Tony has asked him to do is flesh out the proposal with the appropriate defense department research. Like we’ve all said, you’re a stand out.” It was in that moment that I finally clued into why I was feeling so out of sorts. I wasn’t used to being recognized and lauded for my work. I was used to producing and working hard. I was used to long hours of research, long hours of application, long hours of revision. But I wasn’t used to even five minutes of praise like I’d been receiving since I showed up at Stark Industries. And as a result, I felt uncomfortable.
“Can I get you to do me a favour?” I asked, suddenly changing the subject.
“Is it legal?” Markus countered.
“Can you dial back the compliments? I appreciate that you are impressed with me and excited about my work. But I’m not used to anyone being thrilled with me like everyone here seems to be. I feel like an imposter. It’s a lot of pressure.” It felt good to say the words aloud. Markus leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms, and just looked at me. Assessed me. Then he nodded.
“Sure, kid. No more endorsements, praise or approval until you prove yourself,” he agreed. “I give that about a week.” I think he thought he’d mumbled the last part quietly enough that I didn’t hear him. I let out a huff of resignation and shook my head.
“I appreciate it, Markus.” I pushed myself out of my chair. As frustrating as I found the golden child treatment to be, I could step back and appreciate it more knowing Markus was going to let me find my feet. I shook his hand again and headed back out, astonished to see how much time had passed while I was meeting him. Angela was back at my desk, and was holding a paper bag.
“I intercepted the distribution delivery to your room. Check out the towels you ordered.” She handed me the bag. I pulled a towel out and snapped it open. It was even smaller than the towels I already had.
“This said it was a bath sheet in the order book,” I protested. Angela laughed.
“Well, now you have hand towels for eternity. Let’s go get you some decent sized towels. Can’t have Thor seeing you in the altogether again, can we?” She linked arms with me, and started to lead me away from my desk. I barely had a chance to grab my purse and the bag of towels before she dragged me off. “I just need to drop this file off for Pepper, so we’re on our way up before we go down.”
We were intercepted in the elevator by a woman who was obviously fed up with the guy who was with her. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her mouth was set in a thin line. Every time she breathed it was like she was counting in her head. Slowly in, slowly out. I guessed it was my fellow intern, and I wasn’t wrong.
“Ladies.” He winked at Angela and smirked at me. I bit my lip and tried to hold back a snort of amusement. What a dork. Angela smiled at the woman with him.
“Marie! How is day two going? Are you settling Matt in?”
“You could say that. We’re just headed up for a little chat with Ms. Potts about policy and procedure,” she nodded. I looked at Angela in alarm. We hadn’t done that. Angela met my panicked look with a serene one, and just barely shook her head. 
“Ella, this is Marie. She works in the same capacity as I do, and has been assigned to orient the other intern to Stark Industries. Matthew Emerson is from MIT. Ella came from CalTech,” Angela offered. Matthew offered his hand and gave me a once over that was overtly unprofessional. I rolled my eyes.
“A pleasure, Ella. I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of one another over the summer.” The way he said it made me want to bathe in bleach. I forced a smile and withdrew my hand from his sweaty grip. I turned back to the front of the elevator without saying anything in return.
The elevator stopped on the 77th floor and the doors opened. Thor stepped on, munching on what appeared to be a pop-tart, and nodded at us. He pushed the button for the top floor. Apparently we were all headed up to see Tony and Pepper. He was holding the hammer loosely in his grip, and the way the light caught on the surface, I could see the writing on it again. My mind flashed back to the moment I’d lifted it, and the shock that had coursed through my body.
“So, Ella. You don’t look like a CalTech girl,” Matt started. I gave him a questioning look. “I would expect you to be beach ready, with a perfect California tan. Tan lines optional.” He winked. I turned and faced him.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, come on. We all know you only got the internship because you’re the closest thing to attractive out of the women applicants. Pepper needed a sort of pretty chick for the face of her Women in STEM campaign. I just figured you’d be more summer girl than science girl.” His laugh was a derisive snort. Before I could respond, he slapped my ass. I saw red. The rage bubbled up so quickly, I wasn’t even sure where it came from. But I’d been dealing with asshats like him since I’d started university and I was not going to let his type win this round. I set my jaw and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back and pushing him into the wall. He made another disgusting comment. I’m not entirely sure what happened next, but when I came back to myself, I was standing over him, panting, and holding Mjolnir in my left hand. 
“Ella!” Angela reached for me. Thor put a hand up and prevented her from getting close. The elevator doors opened and Pepper and Tony were greeted with what was probably the strangest tableau they’d ever seen. The god of thunder looking on hopelessly as a raging intern held his hammer over the other intern. I could feel the lightning from the handle coursing through me again, but this time it wasn’t as painful or startling. It snapped me back to the present. I looked down at my hand in surprise and back up to Thor, meeting his gaze. I held out my hand without breaking eye contact. He took the hammer from me, and held out his other hand to stop the elevator door from closing on us.
“I don’t recall seeing anger management issues in your background,” Tony had come over to investigate.
“It was a warranted response, Tony. The boy spoke vulgarly.” Thor was in my corner, even if he was irritated that I kept stealing his hammer. Tony looked at Angela, who nodded.
“We were just on our way up to drop off this file,” Angela held the folder out to Pepper, who accepted it. She stepped back onto the elevator, and pulled me to the back with her. I think she was hoping we’d get away with leaving.
“And you?” Tony looked at Marie. Marie stepped off the elevator and gestured for Matt to follow her. He scuttled past me and pulled himself to his feet.
“Matt needs a policy and procedure orientation,” she replied. “From Pepper.” Tony raised an eyebrow, and in that moment, I realized that was code for something else completely. He stepped aside and let Marie and Matt pass him. Angela leaned over to punch the button to return us to the ground floor. 
“Not so fast,” Tony intercepted the attempted escape. “Ella is going to have to explain exactly how it was she came to be holding the hammer. Again. You don’t need to stick around though, Angela.” I sighed and stepped off the elevator, anticipating the worst. Tony led me over to the far side of the room, to the bar. Thor had followed, wordlessly. He dropped a couple of ice cubes into a pair of glasses and poured two drinks. He handed one to Thor and the other to me.
“Vodka, rocks, right?” He confirmed. I nodded. He nodded at a chair and I sat, smoothing my skirt over my knees. “Elizabeth Carmichael. Who exactly are you?”
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