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#this was about 'are we all just crows to you now?' and 'you didn't put those bones in the ground'
dwyntwo · 2 days
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Okay, so... as a collective fandom, we can agree that bullying Kaz is fun, yeah? There's just something about seeing the guy down at his lowest and then prodding him with a stick and going "Come on, do something."
But I'm going to stand in his corner for a bit in this post.
Something that never really sat right with me is the collective implication that Kaz isn't good enough for Inej (and never will be).
I'm totally with you: he didn't deserve Inej in the first book and maybe not even yet in the second because he didn't give her anything to work with. He didn't even visit her after she was stabbed, or show her how relieved he was when she recovered. And this is just the thing: he didn't deserve her because of his BEHAVIOUR, not because he's inherently less important or less valuable or less of a person than her.
However I've read so many post-CK fanfictions where Kaz has been working on himself, is openly communicating with her, basically kisses the ground she walks on, treats her as his equal and goes above and beyond to make her as comfortable as possible, and still everyone INCLUDING Inej (and Kaz) goes "I/she deserve/s so much better than me/him". And THAT implicates that the reason Kaz wasn't good enough for her was not his behaviour towards her, but the fact that he as a whole human being is just "not enough" and "less valuable" than her, and that viewpoint has always made me super uncomfortable, especially considering his trauma.
Now I know what you're going to say, and I absolutely agree: trauma never excuses abhorrent behaviour. But there's just something icky to me about looking at a traumatized person who has not only been making an EXTREME effort to overcome their issues, but also shown amazing results, and going "They don't deserve X", "They're less than X" etc. just because they haven't fully healed yet or might never fully heal. It gives "Traumatized people are damaged goods"-vibes, which is especially weird considering my next point: INEJ IS TRAUMATIZED TOO AND HER TRAUMA GETS IN THE WAY OF A GOOD AND LOVING RELATIONSHIP JUST AS MUCH AS HIS.
She literally admits to herself that she wears as much armor as Kaz does and was being kind of hypocritical when she told him to remove his. Inej is a flawed character (which somehow seems to be a controversial take in the fandom), and to put her on a pedestal because of how virtuous and "better" she is than Kaz takes all the nuance out of her. There are definitely some parts in the books where I felt like she was in the wrong or toeing the line, but the others never really call out her behaviour the way they do with Kaz, not even in their internal monologue, so we're left with this image of an Inej who can do no wrong and a Kaz who simply got lucky.
The fact that in aforementioned fanfictions (that I still absolutely adore btw) Inej too thinks he isn't good enough for her despite everything he does for her and for himself, and despite how far he's come also turns her acknowledgment of her own self worth into something ugly and vain in my eyes. She loves herself, but she also loves Kaz, so I don't think she, or any good partner, would look at her boyfriend who clearly already thinks very little of himself and go "Yep, this fucker isn't good enough".
So often people will look at a healthy happy couple and go "He/she could do so much better than her/him". Like that's a whole person you're putting in a competition of "Who's more worthy?" as if they were some object that is of better or worse quality.
I don't think I articulated this too well and there's a lot more to be said about this, but I hope you understand the gist of it. Post CK-Kaz who works on himself and openly communicates ABSOLUTELY deserves Inej, and I will ROT on this hill.
Now I've been nice to him for long enough I think *whacks him with a crow bar*
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inkskinned · 6 months
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no, but really, we need to talk about the casual objectification that has become the fallback discourse of the internet: if you're pretty and dressed nicely, you're a slut. and if you're even vaguely outside of their body standard, you're fucking disgusting.
too-frequently, people position sex workers as being "the problem". they sneer you're addicted to pornography, you don't know what a real woman looks like. but real women are in pornography. the real bodies on display are not the issue here: the issue is that other people feel extremely confident when commenting on someone's physique.
2000's super-thin is slowly worming its way back into the public ideal. recently i saw someone get told to "go for a run", despite the fact she was on the thinner side of average. not that it would ever be appropriate to say that: but it's kind of like sticker shock when you see it. people think that is fat? holy shit. do they just have no idea about things?
but what are you going to do about it? that's the problem, right. because chances are - you're a normal person. we can say normalize carrying fat on your body, but we are not the billion-dollar diet industry. we are not the billion-dollar fashion industry. we are just, like. people. who are trying to make content on the internet, without being treated shittily.
as someone who has been on both sides of things: you are treated better when you are thin and pretty. this is statistically correct. i am not saying that you cannot be bullied for being thin; i'm saying there are objective institutional biases against certain bodytypes. there are videos of men and women who lost weight all saying: i now know for a fact exactly how much worse you're treated. in the comments, some asshole inevitably says something akin to you deserved to be dehumanized when you were fat.
which means that ... the easiest thing to do is be pretty and thin. it is the path of least resistance, because of course it is, because any time you post a picture of yourself without a thigh gap, someone immediately comments something like you need to try a diet.
the other half is also dehumanizing though, huh, just in a different way. when i put on makeup and nice clothes, i am told i slept my way to the top as a professional. do you know how many women in STEM have told me they purposefully dress to "unimpress" because they already struggle to be taken seriously and if they're ever considered pretty - it for some reason takes away from their authority.
so they make it seem like it's your fault. you, existing in a body - it's your fault! if you didn't want shitty comments, don't have a body. they position us against each other like chess pieces; vying for male attention we don't even need.
and i can be an authority on this unless you think i'm fat and unattractive. when i am pretty and thin, i'm an activist. when i am just a normal person who makes a good point: i am immediately dismissed. nobody fucking believes you if you're not seen as attractive. you literally lose value. you cease to exist.
but the whole time, it feels like - is anyone actually grounded the fuck in reality? the line of "pretty and thin" keeps shifting. nobody seems to understand what "a normal weight" even looks like, because it's not something that exists - you cannot tell a person's health by looking at their body. even if you think you could tell that, even if you're sure a person is dangerously overweight - people are not your dolls. they do not need to be dressed up or displayed properly to soothe your aesthetics. you aren't concerned for them, you're stealing their agency. you don't get to say if they're "allowed" to take pictures and post them on the internet - you don't get to tell them how to exist.
people hide behind "the obesity epidemic" without any actual qualifications. they crow things about "normalizing unhealthiness".
but it's bullshit. i have visible abs. there is a pair of parallel lines on my body, even when i'm relaxed; where my obliques meet my abdominal wall. i am proud of this because it means i'm strong, because i overcame an eating disorder only to be ripped as fuck. it is genetic and physical luck that i even get any definition, i'm pleased as punch.
but it does mean that my abdominal wall sticks out a little bit. the other day i posted a video of myself dancing, and, for a moment, my shirt slipped. you could see a little bit of my stomach. i was cartwheeling to the floor. moments before this, i'd had my foot over my head.
a guy slid into my DMs. a row of vomiting emojis prefaced: you should really lose some weight before you think about dancing.
i stared at it for a long time. there was a time when i would have been triggered by this, where it would have encouraged me to starve myself. i would have ignored the fact i'm flexible, agile, good at jumping: i would have lost the weight for a stranger's passing comment. i would have found myself and my body fucking disgusting.
and for what? to please what? because why? so that he can exist in this world without an unchallenged eyeball? what would my self-hatred even accomplish? usually i write paragraphs. obviously. on this particular occasion, in this body i've been at war with for ages: i just felt exhausted.
it shouldn't be even worth saying. it shouldn't be hard to explain. all of this emotional turmoil when he cannot even comprehend the most basic truth: i am not an object on display for him.
#spilled ink#writeblr#warm up#like if im getting fatshamed. babe......... wake up#is there fat on my body? yes :)#btw this behavior wouldn't be okay even if I WAS overweight!!! that is my point!!!#it is both that people have no idea what weight is supposed to look like#and even if they DID... they do not seem to understand that PEOPLE ARE NOT DOLLS#YOU DO NOT GET TO TELL THEM HOW TO EXIST#if you respond anything akin to ''but raquel there IS an obesity epidemic''#you're blocked and reported.#go fucking DONATE TO A FOOD BANK THEN. volunteer in a food desert. start a free fitness program#GO GET A DEGREE AS A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL AND PRACTICE IN NUTRITION IN UNDERPRIVILEDGED LOCATIONS#FIGURE OUT HOW TO LOWER FOOD COSTS. FIGURE OUT HOW TO NORMALIZE AND STANDARDIZE#ACCESS TO FARM-FRESH FOOD. PROVIDE ACTUAL FREE ACCESS TO OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES#FIGURE OUT HOW TO TEACH PEOPLE HEALTHY CHOICE MAKING WHILE ALSO LOWERING THE COST OF MEALS.#THE AVERAGE GROCERY BILL OF THE AMERICAN CITIZEN HAS QUADRUPILED IN THE LAST YEAR.#SHUT. THE FUCK. UP!!!!!!!!!#you don't want to help these people!!!!!#you want to bully them but still feel like a good person!#you want to be justified in your hatred of an entire CLASS of people!!!#you don't give a fuck about how it makes them feel!!!!#you care ONLY about whether or not YOU get to VIRTUE SIGNAL that YOURE so thin and pretty!!!!#it is BECAUSE of people like you#and the fact you tolerate fatphobia - BECAUSE of that normalization. that men like the one who called me fat#feel like they can get away with it.#bc there's a line for you where you WOULD be okay with it. where if i WASNT thin you'd be okay with it.#which means the line can always be pushed in a certain direction. and it's always going to appeal to male aesthetics.#''well you didn't deserve it'' maybe fucking NOBODY does babe. maybe we should just all agree not to comment on ppls bodies!!
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shutuperce · 6 months
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your fall 2023 byler reading list 🍂🍂
BIG BYLER FIC REC DUMP cause i haven't been writing a lot but i HAVE been reading and y'all need to read these! hope u enjoy as much as i did <3
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got your spell on me, baby - @astrobei -Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]
Words: 7,919
TW: none
'To be fair, Will’s costume is great, now that Mike knows what it is. And, okay, wait-
“Oh, this is so good. This is so good.” Max points at Mike, wheezing. “Because you’re dressed as-”
Will’s still looking straight up at the sky. The length of his neck is very, very flushed. Mike can feel his entire face going redder than Vader’s lightsaber. He clenches his hands into tiny little fists, and says, around a groan: “I’m not Han Solo, guys.”'
THE halloween byler fic. the party at college, bi lucas sinclair content, halloween party shenanigans.
these nerds, using star wars to flirt 🙄
background lumax & their amazing couples costume, el & will power sibling duo!!!
bowie references to heal the soul
all in all one of my favourite getting-together fics for this time of year :)
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what a match: i'm half-doomed and you're semi-sweet - @perexcri - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]
Words: 28,150
TW: guns, blood, gore (just demodogs though no human gore)
'One month ago, if you had asked Will Byers what he’d do if Mike Wheeler threaded his fingers through his hair, looked him dead in the eyes, and started leaning in for a kiss, he wouldn’t have said this.
He wouldn’t have said he’d be staring right back into those yawning dark eyes, one hand on Mike’s waist, the other against his cheek. There wouldn’t have been any lightning in his veins or blood rushing in his ears.
He wouldn’t have said that Mike Wheeler would be tilting his head in the opposite direction, eyes widening just the slightest as if asking permission, his mouth slightly parted.
He wouldn’t have imagined it at all.'
SO SO GOOD. apocalypse post s4, background jancy and platonic stobin, interruption trope x10000 so it's SO SATISFYING at the end.
WILL WITH A GUN.
jonathan & mike solidarity <3
all in all amazingly well written mike and will being blushing messes. love them. fluff in the apocalypse.
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take my hand, wreck my plans - @parkitaco - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]
Words: 6,297
TW: discussion of past trauma
'"I am not taken," he says out of habit, even though he kind of is. He and Will aren't together - he blushes at the thought - but they do spend an awful lot of time together, and Mike doesn't ever find himself wishing he was anywhere else. "Will and I are-"
"Ooh, I didn't even say anything about Will!" Max crows. "Oh, this is excellent."
Mike hides his face in his hands even though she can't see him. "Oh my God. Can you put Lucas back on, please?"
Max cackles in to the receiver, the sound fading as Lucas presumably wrenches the phone out of her grip. "We gotta go, Mike," he says, laughing a little. "Max has class and I'm driving her."
"Tell her she's the worst," Mike grumbles, fiddling with the phone cord.
"Say hi to Will for me!" Lucas sings, and hangs up before Mike can protest.
Mike groans and flops back on his mattress. It's going to be a long year.'
part of a series!! byler college au, friends-to-lovers, background party friendship, AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES. OH MY GOD, THEY WERE ROOMMATES??
taylor swift title... do u really need any other persuasion
the whole series is just AMAZING. mike & will getting a break, living together at college and figuring shit out <3
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i might be hoping about this - @astrobei - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]
Words: 15,321
TW: none
'Will lets out a small squawk as Mike’s hand— his very cold, very freezing hand— finds its way around the blankets and under his sweater. “I’m sick, you weirdo,” he says, half-laughing into the side of Mike’s head, “I have a fever.” 
“I don’t care,” Mike mumbles, “you’re warm and I’m cold. This is nice.”
“You’re going to get sick,” Will tries, for the umpteenth time, but it’s pointless. Mike Wheeler is stubborn and hardheaded and he never does anything halfway— not even this.'
established byler at college!! so yeah i have a love of college byler and this is one of my top fics for sure. 2nd astrobi fic on this list because i love their writing <3
will gets sick, mike takes care of him. need i say more?
silly goofy guys living together & doing silly goofy domestic shit
this fic makes me SOFT.
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accidentally on purpose - @itsromeowrites - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]
Words: 5,019
TW: none
'It starts out with a kiss. An accidental kiss. Because Mike is sleepy and Will is pretty, and who can really blame him? And then there's another one, just as accidental. But the third? Well, that may be a little more on purpose.'
literally smiling so hard at this fic. like hello. soft secret boyfriends and loads of party content, all the kids are okay <3
established byler, how the party finds out. all fluff all the time. jonathan attempts the Talk. mike has no idea what's going on. et cetera.
background lumax, lucas & dustin being lil shits together, and el using her powers to cheat at splashing games. all in all a good time!
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and if I get burned, at least we were electrified - anonymous - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]
Words: 14,958
TW: none
'“I’ll leave you be until lunch,” Max starts negotiating, nodding at him as if that’s a good deal. Which—considering it's Max, it is, but Mike doesn’t want to give in just yet. She sighs. “I won’t laugh about the sweater anymore. Or the weak disposition that gives you stupid allergies all the time.”
Mike’s frown deepens, but she wasn’t as mean as she could have been, so he’s gonna take it. He needs to get this out anyways, or he’s going to keep running in circles as if stuck in a hamster wheeler—an accurate representation of his brain when it comes to Will, really. He presses his lips together and tries to figure out a subtle, non-funny way to say it, but he comes up blank.
Fuck, whatever: “I almost kissed Will. Again.”
Max actually has to cover her mouth with her hand, disguising a worryingly loud snort with a cough. The teacher turns their way and stares, then goes back to explaining the exercise on the board. Mike scribbles it down while Max gets herself under control.
Screw his life.'
senior year, post-vecna. the party being friends but also little shits to each other.
madwheeler bandmates!!!
will steals mike's entire closet
they are Dumb Idiots who are mutually pining from afar
and other lovable tropes. takes place in november so good fall vibes :)
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Coming Out
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Emily Prentiss x fem!reader Warnings: some explicit language, mention of an unsub hurting Emily 😱, vague insinuations of homophobia, mostly fluff on fluff, feat. loyal himbo Derek Morgan Word Count: 2k
Summary: Emily gets injured on the job, and all she really wants is you, her girlfriend. But she's not out to the rest of the team yet. Can she be vulnerable enough to share that part of herself with the team? Can she be vulnerable enough to let you take care of her? Takes place at the end of S3.E2.
Emily dabbed at her head and winced, checking her watch to see if it had been long enough to take more pain medication. But despite getting clocked with a plank of wood, she was glad to be on the jet, glad to be back with her team because they really were starting to feel like her team. Who was she kidding? She loved her job.
According to the pilot, the team would be landing at Quantico in a little over an hour. Emily grabbed her phone, discreetly shoving it into her pocket, before heading to the back of the plane. She needed to call you, but the rest of the team didn't know about you yet. Hell, the rest of the team didn't even know she was gay. It felt too personal, and she'd been hurt by people's reactions–people she loved and trusted deeply–too many times. She played her relationships and her sexuality close to the vest.
Reid tapped Emily's arm as she passed by.
"Oh! Are you going all the way to the back?"
Emily tensed. "Yep."
"Could you bring me a Sprite?"
She felt her shoulders relax, and she patted Reid on the arm. "Sure."
After knocking on the bathroom door to make sure that truly no one was around, she called you, her voice hushed as she rifled through tiny airplane soda cans, looking for Reid's Sprite.
"Hey, Em," you said, your voice bright.
"Hey," she said, a goofy smile spreading across her face. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing much. Saw a street rat earlier. I named him Guillermo. I think he's on the prowl for a girlfriend."
Emily laughed, covering her mouth.
"How was Milwaukee?" you asked.
"Good. Really good. We got the guy. We're on the plane now."
She could nearly hear how smug you were through the phone.
"You're glad you went back," you snickered, relishing in being right. She'd sworn that it wasn't a big deal, that it'd be easy to get another good job, but you knew her heart was with the BAU.
Emily sighed. "I am. You were right."
"You're gonna stay?"
"Looks that way."
"I knew it!" you crowed. "I'm glad. You're too good at your job to quit it."
"Thanks, love. Listen, Y/N, can I ask you a favor?"
"Of course! Anything."
Emily winced, touching the swollen bump on her head. "We land in about an hour. Can you pick me up and stay at my place tonight?"
"Wow." You drew out the vowel, milking the fact that Emily needed you for once. "You missed me that much, huh?"
"Well, yes, of course, but... I, uh... I kind of have a concussion?"
Your tone shifted immediately from smug to concerned. "What?! Why?! What happened!?"
"Unsub hit me with a plank of wood," she admitted reluctantly.
"Jesus Christ, Em! Are you okay!?"
"I'm fine, baby, I promise," she reassured you. "I just got a little banged up, that's all. But I'll need you to wake me up every few hours and make sure I'm cognizant."
"I think I have some soup in the freezer," you observed, your voice far away. You'd put her on speakerphone to rifle through the cabinets. "And I have a thermometer. I don't know, do concussions cause fevers? I've never had one."
Emily shook her head, smiling. She loved that your first response, always, was to take care of her. Emily was not used to being taken care of, and she didn't let many people do it. She certainly wouldn't let many people see it either. But she let you.
"No thermometers needed. Just you and your car and more you when we get home."
"You got it. When did you say you land?"
"In about an hour."
"Okay. I'll leave in a few."
"Oh," Emily added quickly. "And you're cleared to drive into Quantico. They know the car you drive and they've got your ID on file. Just show it to them at the gate."
You paused. "Well, that's a little Big Brother of them."
"I gave it to them a few months ago. Just in case you ever needed to come by. Sorry, I should've told you."
"It's okay," you decided, pulling on a jacket and a beanie. "It feels kind of badass to be on Quantico's list."
Emily laughed, almost excited to have a concussion because it meant you'd be snuggled right up to next to her for however long it took to get better. 48 hours at least.
"Alright, baby," she finished, Reid's Sprite in hand. "I'll see you in a bit."
"Bye, love."
Emily wiped the grin off her face before returning to the cabin with Reid's Sprite–it'd look suspicious if she was too happy coming back.
An hour later, the team was going their separate ways in the parking lot, waving goodbyes and slamming car doors under the buzzing lights.
Emily leaned on the wall outside the building entrance, relishing the crisp night air.
"You need a ride, Prentiss?" Morgan asked as he walked out, used go-bag slung over his shoulder. "You shouldn't be driving" He pointed to her head.
"No, that's okay," Emily waved him off. "I've got– uh... someone's... picking me up."
Fuck, she thought. The concussion was not helping her ability to lie well.
Morgan stared at her suspiciously.
"What?" Emily laughed, trying to act normal.
"Why are you acting shifty?"
"I'm not!" she protested.
Morgan smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "Do you have a secret boyfriend?"
"What?" Emily said, laughing a little too forcefully. "No!"
He crossed his arms and waited. "You're seriously not gonna tell me?"
Emily leaned against the brick wall, rubbing her forehead. On the one hand, she was tired of keeping you–and herself–a secret. And if anyone was going to be supportive of someone on the team getting laid, it would be Morgan. But on the other, did she really know that much about him? She didn't know his religious background. Sure, he'd defend a gay victim, but that was his job. This was personal.
Emily sighed before replying. "I have... I have a secret girlfriend."
The silence felt like it lasted hours, stretching between them until Emily was sure the chasm would never close again, and that with just a few words, just by being herself, she'd ruined any chance of a friendship with Derek Morgan. It wouldn't be the first time. It probably wouldn't be the last.
Morgan seemed to think deeply before leaning against the wall next to Emily, turning to look her in the eye.
"Prentiss, why didn't you tell us you were gay?"
Emily was afraid to look at him, but when she did, her heart soared. He looked at her with nothing but love and respect and appreciation, no hint of hatred or disgust. If anything, he looked sad that she'd waited so long to tell him.
"I don't know," she shrugged. "I don't always get a good reaction."
"Well, you know nobody on this team would have a problem with that, right? Hell, Garcia'd probably hang pride flags everywhere."
"I know," Emily nodded. "I just... I don't think I'm ready yet. For everyone to know. Soon, though."
Morgan nodded, then thought for a few minutes before asking, "Is it serious?"
Emily chuckled. "Being gay? Yeah, I'd say so."
Morgan shoved her shoulder gently, mindful of the day's injuries. "No! The girl! How long have you been seeing her?"
"A little over six months."
"So, it's serious."
Emily grinned. She was glad to have someone to talk to about this. She'd held it so close for so long. She wasn't used to having anyone to tell about you. Maybe Morgan could be that person.
"Promise not to tell the others?"
Morgan put his hand over his heart. "Promise."
"I'd marry her tomorrow if she'd let me."
"Wow." Morgan raised his eyebrows, smiling lightly. "Prentiss is in love," he said, teasing her.
Emily fought a wide smile, but lost in the end. "Oh, shut up. And don't tell anyone. Especially her."
"Your secret's safe with me," Morgan reassured her. And she could tell he meant it. Emily trusted him, she realized. She trusted him to be a good friend, to keep her secrets. She trusted him not to out her to the rest of the team. He'd let her go at her own pace when it came to telling the others.
"She better be amazing," Morgan added. "I don't know how anyone could be good enough for you."
Just at that moment, a pair of headlights crept slowly into the parking lot, hesitant and unsure. It had to be you. Emily stepped forward and waved a bit, then turned to Morgan.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow?" she said.
"Not with that head, you won't," Morgan observed.
You put the car in park next to the curb and leapt out of the driver's seat, hurrying over to Emily.
"Oh my god!" you exclaimed, anger and concern washing over you. "I thought you you said you were fine!"
You gingerly touched Emily's face and pulled her head down to examine the butterfly bandage above her eyebrow.
"Look at this," you grumbled, more to yourself than anyone else. "It's already bruising." You glared at the butterfly bandage. "Did a doctor do this or you? If it was you, I think we should clean it with rubbing alcohol at home."
Morgan looked absolutely delighted, both because you seemed like a delightful person and because Emily was beet red at being observed with you.
"Y/N, I'm fine," Emily said firmly, grasping your fingers in hers and removing them from her face. "This is my colleague Derek Morgan. Morgan, my girlfriend, Y/N."
You looked Morgan over and immediately decided you liked him. Mostly because you could tell that he really cared about Emily. But also because he looked mischievous, like he'd tease her. And if there was anything you loved, it was teasing Emily. You shook his hand enthusiastically. "It's really nice to meet you," you said. And you meant it.
But you didn't have time to chat with Morgan tonight. You were too worried about Emily.
"You don't look fine," you argued, looking to Morgan for backup. "Does she look fine to you?"
Morgan grinned at Emily, raising his eyebrows. "She definitely looks like she could use some TLC."
"Oh, and she'll get it alright," you assured him, opening the passenger door for Emily. "Shall we?"
Emily bent gingerly to get into the car, and you were careful to guard her head from the ceiling.
"Derek, it was really nice to meet you," you said, shaking his hand one more time for good measure as Emily rolled down the window, staring bullets at Morgan.
"You too, Y/N," he said, looking over your shoulder at Emily. "I hope you all have a very marry evening."
Emily pointed at him aggressively behind your back, mouthing, "SHUT. UP."
"See you, Prentiss," he called as you pulled away. He laughed and called out, "I hope it's a real honeymoon from work!"
Emily's hand shot out the window, flipping him off.
Later that night, your alarm buzzed and you blinked awake. You forgot for a moment that you were at Emily's, but her strong arms wrapped protectively around your waist were enough to remind you where you were.
You turned slowly to face a sleeping Emily, brushing her hair out of her face.
"Em. Hey. You gotta wake up, honey."
She groaned, placing a hand on her head.
"Sorry," you grimaced. "Gotta make sure your brain's alright."
"My brain is fine," she growled.
"Oh, yeah?" you joked, checking the time before shaking a few pills into your hand from the pill bottle on the nightstand. "Who am I, then?"
"The love of my life, Whitney Houston."
You laughed, which made Emily laugh, too. But she quickly doubled over in pain, groaning.
"Here, take these," you said gently, handing her the pills and a glass of water. "It'll help."
She took the pills obediently and lay back down.
"You know," you said, pulling up the blankets to make sure they covered Emily's shoulders. "I may not be Whitney Houston..." You wrapped your arms around her and drew her to you, and she burrowed her head into the space between your neck and your collarbone.
"But I think I'm a close second," you finished, running your fingers rhythmically through Emily's hair.
She sighed contentedly, pressing into you, then moving one of your arms to wrap it more tightly around her.
"Why are you so good to me?" she asked, quiet. You couldn't quite tell if it was a joke or serious, but you'd reply the same either way.
"Because I love you, you nerd."
She leaned up, planting a kiss underneath your chin. "I love you, too."
Within minutes she was conked out again, and you were setting another alarm, ready to do it all over again in a few hours.
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itjazzbicch · 6 months
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Secret Confession
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Pairing:  Monkey D. Luffy x Reader 
First time writing for Luffy, so I hope I did well! 
Summary: Getting up for a late-night snack with Luffy, they get nearly get caught by Sanji, who always yells at fluffy for sneaking in the fridge at night, hiding together, and learning how close they are while enjoying a late-night snack on the Sunny...
Warnings:  Slight Swearing (That's about it!)
Word Count: .8k 
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"Luffy, is that you?" Yawning and rubbing my eyes while making my way to the kitchen, I could hear his stomach rumbling, his eyes still closed as he nodded, walking into the kitchen and mumbling:
"I'm hungryyyy."
"Me too," I yawned, following in behind him, seeing him trying to budge the fridge open, but Sanji had put a lock on it just because of Luffy:
"Why does Sanji have to do this to me?!"
"Shhh," I hushed, stepping up and unlocking the fridge, "Sanji will be pissed if he knows I let you in the fridge, so try to stay quiet."
"Okay," He whispered, giggling and rummaging through the fridge, exclaiming, "You're the best, Y/N! There's so much yummy food in here!"
"Luffy!" I scolded quietly, "I said be qui-"
"LUFFY! IF YOU'RE IN THE KITCHEN EATING ALL THE FOOD, I SWEAR TO GOD!"
Just great, Sanji was awake.
I stared at Luffy with fire in my eyes, "Just great. He's going to flip on us."
"Not if he doesn't know where we are," He laughed, shoving the food into my hands before wrapping up with his rubber arm, "Hold on to that with your life, got it?"
"Huh?" Seized in his arm, Luffy took off and out of the kitchen before Sanji could get there, jumping to the deck, his free arm shooting up to the crow's nest, making me squeal as we flung to the top:
"WOAH!"
"Shhh!" Luffy was one to try and silence me, eyes peeking over the crow's nest to see Sanji searching for him:
"Got damn it, Luffy! Just wait till I find you!"
Slouching back against the floor, Luffy giggled, taking the food from my arms, "He didn't see us. We're in the clear."
"For now," I huffed, staring at the dark sky till he held a piece of meat over my face, mumbling out of his full mouth:
"You said you were hungry, right?"
"Yeah, thanks," I smiled tiredly, taking the meat and chowing it down with him.
"It's good, right?" Luffy smiled at me, sitting up as Sanji was gone now, devouring the food we took.
"Really good," I yawned, relaxing back as just that one piece of meat satisfied my hunger, staring at the full, bright moon as Luffy laid back with me, shivering slightly at the wind passing by, freezing as I felt Luffy's arm around me, sliding closer to me.
I stared at him, a bit confused, and he tilted his head at me, confused himself as he asked:
"What? You were shivering, so I thought you were cold."
"It is a little chilly," I swallowed, looking back up to the sky, "I just want to enjoy the view for a moment."
"Enjoy it," He nodded, looking at me and keeping me close, "And I'll keep you warm till you're done."
Never in a million years did I imagine that someone would make me feel so flustered, let alone that specific someone being my captain! Although, he was warm and oblivious as always when he saw the flustered look on my face:
"The cold getting you sick or something? Why are you making that face?"
"No, Luffy," I sighed, nervous and whispering, "You realize we're practically cuddling, right?"
"Do you not like cuddles?" I only kept on confusing him. It wasn’t that I didn’t like cuddles; I was just so nervous; trying to explain to him:
"I just-I never-"
I had never been in a situation like this, and his goofy but pure ways made me smile as he gasped:
"Oh, you don't know how! It's easy!"
Fixing me against his chest, our legs intertwining, he showed that he had no idea what he was doing by whispering under his breath:
"At least, I think that's how you're supposed to cuddle."
"It's fine," I smiled at him softly, that bright smile of his making me happy like it always did, my heart skipping beats as he placed his hand on my head, keeping it against his chest and playing with my hair, whispering:
"Now, you can enjoy the moon and stay warm."
"Thank you, Luffy," I whispered, curling up against him, staring at the moon, and my brain flooded with thoughts and emotions I never felt before.
Why did I feel happier than ever right now? So peaceful and content? Why did I not want to leave Luffy's arms? I started to realize what I was feeling, and it was a lot to process because Luffy wasn't just anyone; he was my captain.
"Hey, Luffy-" I was going to attempt to maybe talk to him about how I felt, but when I picked up my head, he was fast asleep, snoring, and he looked so adorable.
I didn't want to disrupt his peace, laying back against his chest, whispering even though I knew he couldn't hear me:
"I love you." 
2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome. 
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readbycrow · 20 days
Text
The closure you didn't get.
4-7-2024 - Pick A Card
The images are in order of the cards below. The images just help pick which card is your answer. Pick an image, find the card, receive your answer. Hope to give some senses of reassurance and direction. Life really is just a series of adventures, some more fun than others.
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Down - It came to an end suddenly. It was dramatic, it hurt, and then it was over. You were left with festering wounds but nowhere to direct your anger and hurt. For you it lingers and burns. You feel like you're never going to get better or recover. There's nothing you will get from the person who put you here. Nothing they say can ever make this make sense or make it easier on you. The only person who can help you now is yourself. This is a hard thing to swallow. This is difficult and frustrating. You deserve far better than this, you deserve help, but no one can pull you out of this. It's up to you to keep going when you're ready. Your life is still worth living.
Forward - This reader is proud of you. Genuinely. You get told that far less than you should be told that. You have done so much and are a person worthy of great celebration. So few people in your life seem to acknowledge all you accomplish. Everything down to waking up in the morning is important for us to celebrate. You've lived through days where that has been impossible. You've struggled through the very basics of your own existence and things are slowly getting better. You need to give yourself grace and love and celebrate every step forward. You are amazing. You are wonderful. Be proud of yourself. You deserve to be surrounded with love.
Up - It is okay to let go of things. You carry so many burdens from your past. You're holding onto these things that are weighing you down so much, and you feel like letting them go wouldn't serve you well. There is only so much you can handle, though, and the only way you can grow is by giving yourself room to breathe. Over time these things will get easy. Over time you will grow around them. A step forward always leaves something behind, but you are worth it. There will be more things to pick up and put down throughout life. We can't hold onto everything. You may need to pause and spend some time with these things. Figure out what you need to put them down and work on that. You are not who you were before everything. That's okay. It's time to embrace who you are. You are beautiful.
Hello! Welcome to the bottom of the post. This crow just wants to let you know that it will pull a free card for you if you send an ask to its blog! It does trades of unwanted things for a card. If you don’t specify a question, the card will be about what you’ve given up. Feel free to check the pinned post for more information. The crow also does more professional readings on ko-fi! Apologies for the absence, the Crow changed nests and then got a concussion. It is doing much better now so this blog will be back to regular posting soon.
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I think "Bad Writing on Purpose" is a misnomer.
And people focus too much on it.
First of all, I really don't understand why people were surprised by the cliffhanger. Everyone was talking about how Neil said season 2 was going to be "quiet, gentle, and romantic" but nobody noticed that he also, on multiple occasions, wrote that season 2 was not the sequel he and Terry plotted, but what needed to happen to get the characters to where they needed to be at the start of what they plotted as the book sequel but would now be season 3. He was always completely open that season 2 was a bridge, and after reading it here and there before season 2 came out, I for one knew that season 2 would most likely end with a cliffhanger.
I mean, I surely didn't know we would get OFMD-ed, that was indeed a surprise, but I knew there would be a cliffhanger. Why didn't you?
Now I have read ariaste's famous 15 000 word essay. I find her theory quite brilliant. I don't think she will be (totally) right about it, it's too specific and too reliant on her assumption of how the Book of Life works. I also disagree with some of the details of what she calls "bad writing". Especially Maggie might just be portrayed as a dork neurodivergent. And some of her visual "clues" already turned out to be simple homages. (Not "The Crow Road", though, I think. Yes, Neil and Terry were friends with Ian Banks. But he has written like 40+ books, why choose THAT one, the one that deals in part with people solving a mystery by going through old documents, just after we are shown that Aziraphale keeps diaries and definitely leaves them in the bookshop when he's going to heaven? Even if we ascribe its first appearance to the famous opening line which Gabriel reads aloud, why show the same book a second time, mid-frame?)
Also, yes, I disliked that Aziraphale's & Crowley's new first meeting put them on the wrong foot with each other, when their meeting in Eden had established them as kinda instant co-conspirators from the very beginning. The same with Crowley in the Job episode being the one to introduce Aziraphale to worldly pleasures instead of him discovering them on his own. But that is sometimes what happens when you learn more about characters from new canon, sometimes it doesn't fit your established headcanon. You either roll with it or you choose to ignore that part of canon.
But I do think she is on the right track. And the most important thing that ariaste pointed out is still the missing/unsatisfying payoffs and the unfired Chekov's Guns, which I am pretty sure is the very reason this season felt so "off" for most of us and why ariastes theory found so much resonance. But I wouldn't call that Bad Writing. I would call that at most Weird Writing Choices. Especially if
you view the whole of season 2, the bridge season, the quiet gentle and romantic interlude, as one. giant. setup.
Having Aziraphale use his never-before-mentioned halo as a deus-ex-machina option to defeat the demons in his bookshop is a weird writing choice. Especially when we know we have a literal Chekov's - Derringer - Gun hidden somewhere in there, which is not being used. Mentioning the Book of Life several times and have it be of no consequence, Crowley even doubting that it really exists, is another unfired gun. The Nazi-Zombies, which are somehow left to their own devices and never mentioned again, could be a Chekhov's Gun - and I feel a lot better knowing now that yes, the living dead are apparently part (a sign?) of The Second Coming.
But it isn't bad writing. It is setting up season 3. It has always been about setting up season 3. We got a nice, little, quiet gentle and romantic, fan-fictionesque Ineffable Bureaucracy main plot to go with it, but that was never the raison d'etre for season 2. It's main purpose was always to set. up. season. three.
After all, most paraphrasings of "Chekov's Gun" speak of acts. If a gun is shown in act 1, it has to be fired in act 2. If a gun is shown in one act, it has to be fired the following. If we look at Good Omens as a 3-act-story, with one season being one act, then all the Chekov's Guns were shown to us in act 2, and are not required to go off until act 3 - meaning season 3.
All of you who dismiss this and go "no one ever wrote bad on purpose just to fix it in the next season, why not accept this season was just bad" are missing the point, because you fixate on the "bad writing on purpose" misnomer. It's not bad writing. It's delayed gratification. It's setting up a payoff over more than one season. Which you can absolutely do if you have a plan, if you know where your story is going. It is what everyone still seems to expect from J.J. Abrams, even though we should know better by now. His setups never pay off, because he sets up things he never intends to resolve, never even has an idea about how they could be resolved, and keeps getting away with it. And yet, the overwhelming presence of his shitty writing in media has probably screwed with our expectations from mystery shows, which thanks to him are not very high. But I truly believe that Neil Gaiman (and John Finnemore, a frickin' COMEDY writer, for whom the setup-payoff concept must actually be like breathing) are both simply better than that windbag. There will be a payoff. Only later.
I believe we will come back to the halo. Aziraphale's Derringer Gun will be fired. The Book of Life will have meaning, even if it is different from what we might theorize. The Zombies will at least be mentioned. And I think even the weirdly framed and then forgotten Eccles cakes will make another appearance. We will have an actual, big-stakes gen plot next season. Aziraphale & Crowley will be stopping another apocalypse. It will have to do with Crowley's "all of us against all of them" line from season 1. It will have Anathema & Newt (I remember one Tumblr ask before season 2 where Neil was asked if they would come back for season 2, and he answered no, but they would hopefully be in season 3), and I personally think they're gonna regret burning that second book from Agnes. Crowley & Aziraphale will not have much time to talk about their relationship or to feel sorry for themselves, as a lot of fans seem to expect. This will not be fan-service, this will not be fan-fictionesque. The bigger picture is the second apocalypse and once again saving humanity, and saving earth. Doing that, Crowley & Aziraphale will find common ground again, they will find each other again. They will end up in their shared cottage in the South Downs, openly in love, and everything will be ok. I don't know exactly how, and I don't want to speculate too much, because that almost always ends up with me being disappointed by how canon actually turns out.
But I believe in Neil Gaiman. I believe he cares. I believe he might even care more about "Good Omens" than about any other of his creations. And I believe in the Brilliance of John Finnemore. I don't believe that he would have let Neil get away with these setups without real payoffs if he didn't see the point of them.
(And if Amazon and their greedy CEO/shareholders are the reason we won't get a third season, you'll hear about me in the news, I swear. 😡)
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alexsoenomel · 8 months
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Rise and Shine (Dean Winchester x Reader fluff)
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Requests: May I please request a Dean x reader where he finds out how ticklish she is one morning while snuggled up in bed together. He makes it his mission to find all her ticklish spots and finds her laughter absolutely adorable 🥰
Summary: Dean trying to wake up the reader from a coma.
Pairing: Dean x Reader
Warnings: Just fluff and I guess American Gods spoilers??
Word count: 1k+
Note: Wrote this because I was sad. Enjoy!
Like/ reblog or both if you like it :)  
“What are you reading?” Dean asked as he snuggled against you, placing a kiss on your shoulder. 
“American Gods,” You said, showing him the cover. It had two guys aka the main characters standing next to a black Chevy impala and two crows watching them.
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“Is that…Baby?” He asked, all excited. At heart he was still a kid – one of the many reasons why you loved him. He was sometimes insufferable, with his silly jokes and teasing, but you wouldn’t trade him for the world. 
“Hmmm, good eye.” 
“What is it about?” 
You knew he wasn’t going to leave you alone, so you took your reading glasses off, placed a book marker on the page you were currently reading and put it on your lap. 
“You know how we sometimes kill Gods?” You sometimes didn’t believe your own voice when you would say shit like this. Killing Gods, vamps, demons…you name it. Sometimes it all sounded too far-fetched to be true. “And it all seems too crazy to be true?”
“Yeah, sounds like you took too many happy pills when you say it like that.”
“Yeah, well this is worse. Mythology on crack basically.” 
“It can’t be that bad?”
“In the first chapter you learn about vaginal vore, Dean.” You said, putting the book on your night stand, along with glasses. 
“The what now?” 
“Exactly.” 
It was a Friday, and since being a haunter wasn’t exactly working 9 til 5, you decided to go to bed early. You were planning to catch the sunrise and hit the road the next day. A new case, a new town – same old, same old. 
As you turned the lights, Dean was already snuggled up against you, pulling you closer by your waist. His nose was in your freshly washed hair, as he placed a gentle kiss just under your ear, making you shiver. You rubbed your ass against his boxers and as a result he exhaled deeply.
“Don't!” He whispered. You bit your lower lip, trying to swallow a chuckle. “Sleep, or you’re driving tomorrow!” 
“Not a chance!” You said. Even though Dean was overly protective of his Baby he would still let you drive from time to time. You just hated driving, especially driving in the morning. You hated mornings. 
“Then good night, sweetheart!” He said, pulling you closer like that was even possible. You naturally had lower body temperature than Dean, so his body warmth would always make you sleepy. His scent in your nose, skin to skin – he was home. 
“Good night, handsome.” 
***
Dean woke up before you, like always. After showering and getting dressed he went to the kitchen and saw that Sam was already up, drinking coffee. It was almost 6am. 
“Mornin’.” 
“Mornin’” Sam said. “Are you driving?” 
“Yeah.” Dean said, filling  two mugs with coffee black as the night. “Give me 30 minutes, she is still asleep.” 
“Okay.” 
He tasted the bitterness of the semi-warm coffee, feeling every nerve in his brain activating. Nothing could beat the taste of black coffee in the morning for him. He felt like he was human again. When he went back to his room, you were still in a coma, only your hair was peeking from the covers. He placed the mugs on the nightstand.
“Rise and shine, princess!” He whispered, moving your hair from your face. You didn’t budge. He knew you were a heavy sleeper and the only way he was able to actually wake you up was with physical contact. He went under the covers and snuggled against you. 
"Wake up, beautiful!" 
You were half awake, feeling his warmth against you. You didn't want to wake up, your body was heavy and you could feel how tired you were. You've always said you will get proper sleep once you are dead and it was true. The life you were living wasn't for people who had a normal sleep schedule. A sign left your lips and your eyes refuse to open. 
"Sam, made coffee!" 
Nothing.
His fingers started to draw small circles on your belly as you squirmed. The sensation was strange, enough to pull you back to the Earth, finally. 
"Mmm no!" You mumbled, snuggling your head under his chin. He smelled fresh like pines and you could feel the fabric on his body; he was already dressed. It hit you. It was already time to get up. Dean's hand was resting on your side.
"Mmm yes!" He said and kissed the top of your head. 
"Five minutes!" 
"It's never five minutes with you!"
He started doing the same thing again, brushing his fingers against your skin making you squirm. You mumbled something under your breath and moved his hand from your naked body.
"What is it?"
"That tickles." 
Dean made an "oh" sound when he realized what you were talking about. Maybe that will wake you up?
"You ticklish?" He asked.
Still groggy you mumbled no but he didn't believe you. 
Instead his hand went on your thigh and again he started drawing small circles as lightly as he possibly could. 
"Stop!" You mumbled again, growing annoyed by the second.
"YOU ARE!" He said. 
This time he went in with full force. He wanted to discover your weak spots as his fingers touched any naked surface he could find, and since you slept in only your underwear it was easy. 
"NO, DEAN!" Your eyes were fully open now and you were awake. Your instinct kicked in and you tried to get him off you, kicking your feet, but he was holding you with his other hand. 
"Oh yes!"
Your still sleepy body was now awake and spasming, feeling rather uncomfortable. You hated that feeling. You didn't want to laugh and yet you couldn't stop. 
"STOP IT!" 
He took both of your hands and put them above your head, now on top of you inches away from your face. The smell of coffee in his breath on your face and a silly little smirk watching you as you were finally fully awake and aware of your own existence. 
"Good morning sunshine," his voice was deep as the Pacific and raspy enough to make you shiver. 
His lips met yours in a light kiss.
"From now on I'm waking you up like this." 
"Please don't!" 
"You laugh like a house, it's adorable!" 
You frowned and lightly punched him in the shoulder.
"Eat me,Winchester!"
"I'll when we finish the case!" He winked. 
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sunnysana · 5 months
Text
Park Chan-young x F! Neohuman reader
Summary: Eun-yoo left Chanyoung in the trap.
Warning(s): None
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"Eun-yoo!" Chanyoung yelled for the 10th time knowing he wouldn't be able to get out any time soon with his sprained ankle, and that if he'd wait it to heal he would probably die of starvation.
"Damn it" he muttered under his breath while letting himself slide to the floor. He knew she wasn't gonna come back for him.
He sighed and closed his eyes giving up on doing the impossible.
Hours later he felt a change of scenery, he felt soft plush against his cheek when gained consciousness.
He opened his eyes.
He checked his surroundings first, noticing that he was lying in a makeshift two person bed that was probably a sleeping couch. He faced to a wall with a window shut with a curtain in presumably a camper.
it was getting dark outside. As he tried to sit up, he noticed his ankle bandaged up and taken care of.
He sat up and looked to the front. There was a girl standing at the kitchen counter making some food.
"Hello?" He said, trying to gain her attention. "Ah, I see you're awake." She then grabbed a bowl, showing some type of soup in it. "Drink up," she said. "You need it if you wanna heal anytime soon," he took it. "Oh, thank you," he replied, bowing his head slightly.
"How did I get here?" He asked still in a polite manner like he always did. "Oh right, I found you in a trap made for the infected or so-called 'monsters', I guess I felt bad for you so I decided to help you out." she said. She however left out the part that she saw Eun-yoo leaving him in there.
Then she grabbed a bowl for herself aswel and sat across from him on the side of the bed.
"So what's your name?" She asked him before eating a spoon full of the warm soup. "I'm Park Chanyoung from the Crows platoon. Nice to meet you." he bowed his head slightly again. "That's probably a thing in the army right?, well my name is L/N Y/N nice to meet you too." I bowed my head as well.
"Now drink up so you don't die of starvation, I didn't put anything weird in it if you're wondering" she smiled slightly. "If I wanted to do anything to you I would have done it already".
Chanyoung then put a spoon full of soup in his mouth tasting it. "Hm, it's good".
A little while later, after having a great conversation with him, you finished the food, so you placed the dishes in the sink. You felt something new inside something you hadn't felt before but couldn't quite place your finger on it.
"Thank you for your care, but I probably should go back I don't want to be a bother for you," Chanyoung said preparing to get up "No no no it's fine, you should take some rest I bet you won't come far like that also then my effort would have been for nothing"
Y/N replied back. As much as she doesn't wanna admit it she enjoyed having his company after all she's been alone for a while.... well since she turned. But what he doesn't know doesn't matter right?.
"Go rest now," the tired girl said, settling at the table. "I'm gonna aswel. "Wait, let me sleep at the table at least, I can't just take your bed like this. That would be rude of me".
"No, it's fine. Really, you need it more than I do, I'm not letting you sleep at the table" she said insisting and resting her head against the wood. "I'm not letting you either" he replied back to her not wanting to make her sleep on there, cause what gentleman would make a girl do that?
"I can take it really" she said not wanting him to sleep uncomfortably at the hard table.
But he couldn't let her "Alright then how about this you don't want me sleeping at the table but you don't want me to either so how about we share this bed? It's two person sized so we can have our own side that we stay on so it's hopefully less uncomfortable" he suggested a small blush tinting his cheeks "And no weird stuff ofcourse if you're worried about that" he added.
Her cheeks also got a little pink tint on them "If you insist then fine" she then clomb onto the bed onto the left side and got under the covers.
Both of them were flustered as they lay there together. "...Goodnight," she says softly, trying to look away. "Goodnight" he said back positioning himself confertably as they both drift of into a deep sleep.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A/N:
This is my first fic on here, so I hope you liked it. Also, I will be making a 2nd part soon, so I hope you look forward to that. Thank you for reading!
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floressokaap · 3 months
Text
"What Was I Made For?"
Pairing: John Dory x Reader
Content Warning: none! Enjoy! :)
A/N: Hello! The majority of my fics will be AFAB w/pronouns unless specified/requested! Thank you!<3
Photo credit: etherealfeature on Instagram!
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John Dory. You really didn't know exactly how to describe him. Many people describe him as somebody with narcissistic tendencies, and absolutely selfish. And, they were right. But what a lot of trolls didn't realize was the fact that you are in love with him, and he unfortunately stays trapped inside his mind for so long that he doesn't quite realize how good he has it right now.
After saving Floyd, everyone that parted ways started their recovery process due to their own talents getting slowly sucked out from them by ex superstars Velvet and Veneer. Floyd stayed with Branch in his underground bunker, Clay went back to the mini golf course with Viva to situate her reunion with King Peppy after the last Bergen attack, and Bruce went back to Vacay Island to be with his kids and Brandy. What did that leave you to do? The only thing you ever thought to do; To take care of John Dory and help him recover in Rhonda, wherever the roads took you both.
"JD, what are you doing?" Your ears perked at the sound of blankets rustling against the couch cushions. There was silence before a response was heard.
"I'm not doing anything, I'm resting like you're wanting me to."
You put a magazine down on the table and glanced over at him. He was slowly reaching for his jacket and goggles, and seemed restless. "We need food-" "JD, we already have food here for the both of us." He clenches his jaw slightly. He knew you were going to be hard to get through. "I need to check Rhonda's oil." He quickly sat up, and threw his fur coat on, slapping his goggles into position against his forehead. "You need to rest-" "I don't need to, I can't just NOT do anything, I'm the leader, I HAVE to be productive and do my part to make sure everything's perfect."
"John Dory, we're not doing this again."
He continued standing up and walking towards the side door. He looked down at the door handle, contemplating on your concerns before brushing them off his shoulders and walked out on you. You furrowed your brows and sighed in frustration.
You couldn't count how many times John Dory would have his perfection episodes, and pushed himself over the limits. Every time you call him out on those moments and try to calm him down, he refuses, and shuts himself out. You let him have about ten minutes of alone time outside before you eventually stood up from your seat and walked out Rhonda's side door. You expected him to be near her, but he was nowhere to be found. "C'mon JD.." you shook your head to yourself as you slowly walked around the forest where you were camping at. You started to worry before you found him sitting on a fallen tree log lying against the ground. He had his head lowered, and his forearms against his legs, staring at the earth beneath him.
You smiled in relief, because he didn't go very far as you knew deep down, and you slowly made your way to the seat right next to him. His shoulders fell more when he snapped out from his train of thought, and glanced over to look at you. You could see the pain in his eyes. His eyes were dry, and the crows feet near his eyes were more prominent and defined. "JD, are you.. alright?"
"Yeah, of course I'm alright!" He put on his photogenic leader and big brother smile on his face. Why couldn't he open up to you.
"JD, I know you're not alright, something is really bothering you. Why do you feel like you need to be perfect all the time? Even when your body doesn't even have the strength to begin with?" His jaw slacked a little at your forwardness, but he then clenched his jaw and darted his eyes away from yours. "Please, don't shut me out like this. You do this every time." He squeezed his eyes shut. He hated being confronted like that. He knew you, and he knew you would keep trying for an answer. He didn't have an escape from you. He let out a very shaky and slow sigh. There was no going back for him.
"My brothers, they all said I never changed. I mean, we almost didn't even save Floyd because of it." He shook his head disappointedly to himself and balled his hands into fists. "I'm the oldest brother, the leader, it was predetermined for me to be this way! And everybody has something to say about me! Why! They can't see the work I put into everything I do to be perfect! My brothers can't see that either." He frowned a lot, and his ears drooped downwards in disappointment, vulnerability, and freight. "I have to be this way, for everybody's sake. My own sake. This is what John Dory is. This is what I was made for. I was made to carry the responsibility. What else could I have been possibly brought here for?"
You immediately reached over and put your hand on top of his before he could even mutter another word out from his lips.
"JD, you.. you are so smart, strong, talented, and it kills me that you can't see that in yourself. So what if your brothers are right? There's nothing wrong with that. It's something different when you don't feel like you deserve that kind of commitment from people, even your own brothers, because you're too good for it. They say those things, and bring up a lot of the past because they care for you, and they really do love you. You can't change the choices you made when you were a teenager, but you can decide how that will build your character in this moment." John Dory stared at your hand slowly intertwining with his, you could see the tears in his glistening eyes. You could see the vulnerable, younger, and even current John Dory in his eyes. You could feel the fear, worry, responsibilities, and faults he made; and how much it absolutely eats him up and keeps him hostage in his own mind.
"(Y/N), where is this all coming from? Why?-"
"I've always felt this way, JD. When I got to know you and your brothers while we were journeying to Mount Rageous, I realized that.. nobody really hardly ever gives you enough credit for the things you deal with alone. Your brothers' own experiences with you are valid, but, I see the work you're putting into making sure you're still needed here, as a big brother, and.. as the man I'm in love with." You feel your heart shoot itself into your throat before sinking straight down to your stomach.
John Dory's eyes immediately widened, as his shoulders and back tensed up. You could sense the change of mood in him, and there was no way he was going to run away from his problems now like this. You tightened your grip on his hand and leaned towards him, putting your lips against his tense ones. It felt like time had completely frozen, but the world was still spinning as you felt John Dory's lips move and lean into the kiss more and his calloused gloved hand cup your cheek shakily. He then pulled you as close as he humanly possibly could with his arms wrapped around your waist. You could feel the passion behind his lips, and body language, along with the tears going down his tired cheeks. He pulled away from your lips slowly, and immediately slid his goggles off his face, tossing them aside to the ground and starts pressing his forehead against yours, letting the tears fall down from his cheeks.
"(Y/N).. thank you. Thank you so much."
"You don't need to thank me for that, JD. It's true. Everything that I said was and is true. I will stand behind it every single second of every day. I promise you that." His eyes stared at you lovingly as a soft smile spread across his face showing the slight wrinkles and crows feet that peek from his eyes and mouth.
"Oh, uh, here, you must be cold." He took off his fur coat and wrapped it around your figure. "We've been out here for a while now." You nodded and proceeded to stand up from the log, holding your hand out. "Let's go warm up inside Rhonda." John Dory nodded as he took your delicate hand in his rather large and tough hand. He smiled lovingly at you as he guided you back to Rhonda, who still kept her engine on and the inside very warm for you two.
You adjusted the couch cushions and made room for you and John Dory to spoon together, him being the little spoon tonight while you wrapped your arms around his torso.
"I love you, (Y/N)" You smiled lovingly to yourself as you squeezed him softly. "I've waited a long time to hear those words from you, John Dory." "Oops, sorry." He laughed playfully and nervously as he rubbed and massaged your knuckles with his thumb.
You pressed the side of your head against John Dory's shoulders, listening to the calmness and relaxation of his body. This may have been the only time he's ever been this way, for anybody, even himself.
But who knew that with the cards he was dealt with in life would be the turnaround point of his character, and even your own freshly started relationship with him; And you would be there every step of the way. That meant through the days he is the happiest with himself for being a good leader, and through the days where he would question his entire purpose with trying to maintain the perfect harmony, the perfect family and if that was really all there was in this world.
He knows now that's not true, and he can once in his life relax and be comfortable with himself, regardless of the past life he made.
He can finally start living his new life, with you and his real, true, full family.
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Prompt: "…How’d you know I wanted this?" "Because I heard you talking about it on several occasions." "I didn’t know you paid this much attention to me." "—I don’t. You just happen to talk really loudly.”
Pairing: Idia Shroud x GN!Reader/Prefect/Yuu
Genre: Fluff, and slight crack because it's Idia <3
TW: NA
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"-And so, we shall celebrate this winter with a housewarden Secret Santa exchange!" Crowley smiled, golden eyes crinkling into happy little half-moons behind his mask.
The seven housewardens of NRC, joined by Ramshackle's Prefect for this particular meeting, looked at each other. Some with clear exasperation in their eyes, a few (namely Kalim) showing a little more excitement than the rest of their dour counterparts.
The Prefect sighed, sinking into their chair as if embarrassed beyond words as Crowley clapped his hands and stretched his arms towards them, proudly continuing.
"I must give credit of this splendid idea to our beloved Prefect, who told me about this adorable little custom they had followed back in their own world. Of course, being the kind and generous soul that I am, I wish for our Prefect to feel right at home here in Twisted Wonderland. I believe all of you wish the same, hm?"
Leona grumbled under his breath as he leaned back in his chair, tail swishing irritably. Of course the old crow goes and uses them against us, he thought to himself, watching as the others' faces immediately softened at that. No matter how much the seven housewardens of NRC hated working with each other, with the exception of Kalim who seemed happy to just be there, all of them would bear with it if it was for the sake of the Ramshackle Prefect.
Crowley didn't exaggerate when he called the magicless human a beast tamer.
"Fine by me, as long as I don't have to get somethin' for the lizard," he spoke, jutting his chin at Malleus as he frowned. The dragon fae narrowed his eyes at him, before turning to look at the headmage.
"As much as it pains me to admit it, I agree with Kingscholar," he said, voice low and serious. "That being said, I do hope that you would allow me to partake in this gift exchange with the Child of Man as my partner."
"Now, now, that isn't fair to the rest of us, Malleus. I would very much like to be the Prefect's Secret Santa as well," Vil hummed, raising a perfectly trimmed eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"That's not how Secret Santa works," the Prefect sighed, before Crowley took over for them. "Precisely. And to ensure that everyone has a fair chance of being assigned as our beloved Prefect's Secret Santa, we will have the fairest means of competition possible!"
He took a box from under the table and placed it in front of everyone. "You all shall draw chits, and the person who's name you draw will be for whom you have to get a gift," he drummed his golden claws on the box as he pushed it in Riddle's direction.
"Mr. Rosehearts, if you would."
Riddle nodded, before putting his hand inside and pulling out a chit.
The process continued, with the Prefect being the last to pull out a name. Their eyes had widened on seeing what was written before they shoved the piece of paper in their pocket, refusing to answer Malleus and Kalim's questions of whose name they had pulled.
No one noticed the reclusive housewarden of Ignihyde slinking away in the shadows, the tips of his hair flaming a soft pink.
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"Why did I have to get them, out of everybody?" Idia groaned into his pillow. The one time he decided to attend a housewarden meeting in person, he had to be roped into what was probably going to be the most awkward bonding activity.
"I do not have enough XP to get the Prefect a gift for Christmas," he mumbled to himself, turning to lie on his back. As Idia stared up at the ceiling, he continued airing out his grievances to the techomantic machines in his room.
"If it was any of the others I could have gotten them something. What do I get them...?"
Idia let out another groan, dragging his hands down his face. Maybe avoiding them after his overblot wasn't such a great idea...
But how could he have brought himself to talk to them after the entire fiasco that was his overblot? If there was anyone who knew all about the effects of overblots on victims and the people around them, it was him. Besides, Ortho had become fast friends with them, so he could always keep an eye on their state through him...
"Ortho!"
The young humanoid poked his head in through the door, only to be met with the frantic and helpless eyes of his brother.
"Help me get something for the Prefect!"
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Idia sighed, wishing for not the first time and certainly not the last time to melt into the floor, if only to escape the stifling atmosphere in the room as the housewardens exchanged presents.
Distracted by the sight of ever oblivious Kalim handing a flustered Riddle an extremely expensive-looking tea set, he didn't notice when the Prefect snuck up on him.
"Hey."
"Sevens-!" He spun his head to look at them, eyes wide with shock and fear. "P-Prefect, you shouldn't creep up on me like that! That's t-too much for my poor otaku heart-!"
Idia's cheeks and hair tinted a light pink as they mumbled out an apology for startling him. They allowed him to calm down before speaking.
"So, who's the lucky person?" They asked, their gaze on the wrapped box in his hand. He felt his mouth dry, at a loss for words.
"T-this is, uh, it's for you, a-actually," he mumbled, feeling warm as he looked down at the neatly wrapped present before handing it to them.
The Prefect tilted their head, and Idia had to stop his squeal at how cat-like that action was. "You're my Secret Santa?"
Idia nodded, not trusting his words to be anything but a panicked jumble of how cute they were and how much he liked them and how he hoped they liked what he got for them because if they didn't then he would happily bury himself alive to escape the humiliation and embarassment and-
"What a coincidence! I'm your Secret Santa as well!"
"O-Oh." Idia's train of thought screeched to a stop, before roaring back and running at even higher speeds. Is this some sort of joke from the Seven? That just upped the difficulty level! Abort, abort mission right now!
They smiled, before pressing something into Idia's hands. The warmth of their smaller hands on his was equal parts comforting and panic-inducing. Had Ortho been there, he would have definitely remarked on his increased heartbeat and dilated pupils.
"I got you the merch that Precipice Moirai released recently. It isn't much, but..."
"Isn't much..? Wait, are you talking about those figurines they launched for their fifth anniversary?!" Idia's eyes widened as you nodded. "Even I couldn't get them anywhere because I was a bit late! How did you clear that quest so easily?!"
"Well... I entered the lucky draw they held just for fun, but ended up winning the figurines. And I knew that you wanted them, so-"
"How did you know I wanted this?" Idia asked. It wasn't his intention to be rude, but he was pretty sure that all of his groaning and moaning about losing the chance to own the ultra-rare, SSR tier merch was only heard by Ortho.
He watched as they hesitated before answering. "That's because... I heard you talking about it to Ortho a few times."
Idia's heart thundered in his chest. The Prefect was trying to not make eye contact with him, a clear sign that they weren't telling the entire truth.
"I, uh.. I didn’t know you paid this much attention to me"
"—I don’t. You just happen to talk really loudly and passionately about the things you like," they said, still refusing to make eye contact with him. Before Idia could tell himself that it was because the Prefect wanted to get over with this interaction as soon as they could, he noticed the darkness of their cheeks, and the colour on the tip of their ears.
"Oh. Well, thank you anyways, Prefect. I hope you'll like my gift as well," Idia said, an awkward, yet sincere smile on his face.
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Back to Masterlist...
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dokifluffs · 5 months
Note
Can we get Kageyama x Reader Domestic when he's in charge of taking care of his bb girl while Reader is on business trip 🥺🥺🥺💝
HEHEHEHEHE HEY LEXI HEHE i like this one.
note after writing: this is not a crumb. I repeat, this is not a crumb.
The house was in tatters
The sink was almost starting to overflow
in your and his daughter's room, the floor could barely be seen through all the clothes and toys littered all over the place
Kageyama slept peacefully, sprawled out from a mix of exhaustion but also bliss from getting to sleep in on his day off with no practice or games coming up
but it wasn't an entirely free day off
"dada." The little girl with raven hair like her father crawled onto the bed, pulling at the sheets, his legs, his pants, everything her two-year old little body could muster up to pull herself up
she of course gained success
but that was when kags half asleep, half awake, probably not even knowing what was happening, rose from his sleep and instinctively lifted her up and into his arms
She giggled going up all of a sudden and then was laid beside him as he hugged her in his long arms
she laid there for a bit, playing with the hem of his shirt sleeve, his arms before turning and playing with his face, pressing her little hands to his cheeks and his face
this went on for about 2 minutes before kags couldnt sleep anymore plus it was time to start his little girl's day
He yawned and sat himself up, sitting his little girl up too and grabbing the first thing he saw on the bed and handed it to her to keep her occupied while he quickly got himself ready for the day
"play with mama's volleyball plushie, D/N~" he nuzzled the back of his finger knuckle into her small, plump cheeks, a soft smile spreading on his lips just watching her for a moment
She played with it, grabbing the little limbs with her hands in her little crow pattern pajama, even losing balance sitting and rolling to her back with it, her hands still holding onto your plush
He was quick on his feet and now that he was a dad, knowing the mornings were a rush
he wasted no movements and got himself ready within 5 minutes and now it was time for his little girl's
"D/N~" he called as he went back to the bed, seeing his little girl rise to her feet on the bed, wobbly on the squishy surface. "Upsy daisy," he hoisted her up, her hands still holding onto your plush
He took his time, carefully washing her little face, moisturizing it but of course accidentally using a little too much lotion, which he then put onto his own face
Then took her back to her room to choose an outfit for today
Okay kags as a dad
The morning routine you had to teach him to do it in the correct steps and you made sure to watch him before leaving on your trip
Plus his fashion sense wasn't... the best..
the pictures you had been receiving recently had you worried about what others thought when he took her out on errands or just to play 🧎‍♀️ you didn't want people to think that you guys didn't care for your daughter
But today he chose simple black overalls with a red onesie to wear
At least, he learned from hinata, that the overalls should be put on over the sweater
But he was surprisingly good doing her hair
He put them into two little pigtails at her sides
his cooking skills were okay.. not the best but he was getting there with more experience
He occasionally stirred the miso soup while cooking the salmon and luckily
The rice had finished while everything else was just about done too
He took occasional glances to the living room to check on D/N, still seeing her coloring, somehow holding onto your plush still
He placed the dishes down on the kotatsu she was at on the side away from her coloring book and crayons spread out all over the place
He pulled out her little seat and placed it right beside him
he had a small bowl for her and a bigger bowl for himself
He took a bite, testing the temperature in his mouth before he grabbed the little spoon, puttling a little bite of rice onto it and blowing on it
"careful, it's hot," he continued blowing and leaned close as he pushed the bite into her wide open mouth
she chewed carefully and slowly on her food as kags fed her, occasionally taking 2 bites for himself as he fed her the rice and other dishes
After eating, he finally tackled the dishes swiftly and all the toys and put the laundry into the basket, making a note to wash them sometime later instead
Usually his day's were busy and packed, mostly at the long practices for a couple of hours and then back home, spending time with you two but you were away for a few weeks for work
This wasn't the first time but it definitely reminded kags of how hard you worked for work and also for the family
He thought if this wasn't something he could handle while you were away, how could he deserve to be with you?
on these days with no particular plans or anything, all his attention was devoted to his little girl
he sat beside her, drew and colored with her
read her books
which eventually would lead to maybe a short nap time
if she wanted to watch cartoons, the tv would be turned on, but only in moderation
if she wanted to go out, it would be time to get ready for a trip to the park
He took her on walks through the neighborhood
to Hinata's house to play with his kids
to the park
he loved his daughter so much
but he loved the three of you all together the most
it felt like there was a puzzle piece missing while you were away
you two did talk and call as much as possible, but with the time zone differences, it was hard to stay on call with you as long as he would like
"just one more week," he breathed to himself as he walked, his arms holding D/N who looked happily at him at eye-level, pressing her hands to his face again
"one more week until mama comes home," he leaned close, pressing a kiss to her cheek, making her giggle
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fandomscompilation · 3 months
Text
Black roses (Kaz Brekker x Reader)
Fandom: Six of Crows
Pairing: slight Kaz Brekker x Reader
Warnings: mentions of cheating (?)
A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for not posting for so long and not continuing on the two series I had going on. I lost inspiration for both works, seeing them as a copy of the show and not my own work. But no worries, I'm back to writing and plan on letting new parts out soon! But in the meantime enjoy a little one shot and maybe there'll be more to come during the wait! Let me know what you think and remember my requests are open 🫶🏻
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Gif is not mine!
Once a month pigeons flocked to the Crow Club, even Ketterdams citizens went to play The Pure Luck. The game was led by a young woman. Her shuffling didn't allow anyone to count the cards, for she had her own chaotic ways. Some believed even she didn't know what would be dealt. Others believed she was so deciving that nobody suspected anything. But no matter the rumors and theories people still crowded her table.
The thing was not everyone was allowed to play at her table. She chose those that could sit down and have a chance at luck. She lured people in with her charm. Her easygoing nature allowing players to relax and enjoy their night. The table was always full of jokes, banter and laughter. It was a sight to see.
"It seems you're out of money, Sir." The girl smiled at the man across from her. There were only three players left. It was their last chance at winning and this man was desperate to have his money back at least.
"Two cards." He said throwing them to her for a change. She looked to the table before meeting his gaze again.
"Two secrets. Are you willing to pay the prize?" Her innocent voice reached his ears and after a small huff the man nodded to the cards thrown. She shuffled her cards quickly and put down the first one.
Nothing escaped her eyes. He was sweating, his lips twitched almost unnoticeably. But she trained herself to notice those minimalistic changes. After all he was playing her game now.
"Still a chance to back down, sir." He met her eyes only to nod again.
"The second one." He said looking at her hands. She shuffled the deck again and put down another card. The man frowned before showing his cards. He lost.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. Congratulations Mrs. Frederick, you can collect your special prize at the bar." They all shook hands before she led the man to the back room.
It was just a small storage converted into lookalike office. One desk, two chairs. "Two secrets sir."
The night life at the club continued while the two talked. For anyone from the outside it was a regular occurrence, but for those that knew it was crucial. For the girl was not a normal dealer of cards. Each month she would collect secrets and unbeknownst to others she'd then meet with Dirtyhands himself.
When he entered his office she was already in front of his desk, shuffling her black deck of cards. He circled the desk and took his sit while she kept her eyes on the cards.
"He's been having an affair, three years." Her soft voice filled the silence. He only hummed starting at his own work. "It started after him and his wife couldn't start a family. So he found someone else. A man."
"And why is it important?" He asked making her put down the cards.
"Because he works at the Ravkan embassy and he got the job thanks to his father." She put down her deck and leaned back in her chair. "If one would learn of his meetings and accidentally send one of Ravkan's aristocracy to see, then his father would learn the truth and take away his position."
"Why would one open a seat at their embassy?" Kaz asked meeting her eyes. She smiled lightly with a plan already made.
"He had an ultimatum. If he marries then the job is his. But-" She leaned in closer to him. "he has a younger brother. One that enjoys life and could be easily manipulated. He would fit in just well in our city."
"And what about Mrs. Frederick?" Brekker asked going back to his work. She shrugged going back to her shuffling.
"Her son is getting divorced due to him falling in love with another woman. One that works at one of the clubs." She said lightly but still risked a glance at him. And she was right to do so, cause his jaw twitched.
"Really?" Kaz drawled scribbling even harder now.
"Well, he's head over heels for her. Mrs. Frederick said he plans on bringing her flowers tomorrow for it's the day he'll be legally divorced." She wasn't ignorant enough to not realise it was her, who the man loved. But she also knew his nature. The man was known to have affairs and to think with his manhood more than his brain.
"Not an important secret." Brekker said before sending her off. She went straight to her room, just one floor lower and sleep soon caught up to her.
The next day she spend on the Crow Club's floor. She didn't deal that night, but she still played few games and talked with frequent visitors. People loved her company for she gave them a sense of calm and security in a twisted place.
It was noon when Mrs. Frederick son, Joseph, entered the Club. He was in a formal attire with a bouquet of red roses in his hand. The Crows watched how he scanned the floors and his face broke out into a wide smile upon noticing Y/N. She was enjoying her drink with Inej and Jesper during one of the rare quiet moments.
"I hope I'm not interrupting." The man said stopping only a step away from her. She twisted her body to face him and gave a light smile.
"Of course not. Are you looking for someone?" She questioned softly and as innocent as she could. After her talk with his mother she hoped he would not approach her in the open, but she was wrong yet again.
"I'm actually here for you." He said still smiling oblivious to her discomfort. "And those are for you too." Joseph handed her the bouquet.
She looked from his face to the flowers. The bouquet looked quiet expensive for a city like Ketterdam. But no matter the prize she didn't want to give the man false hope if she accepted the gift. She was aware of his affection but for her he was only a player at her table, a man with secrets she could use.
"That's really kind of you, Joseph." She started lightly and breathed deeply. But before she could decline a cane met his elbow making Joseph retract his arm.
"Red roses, really?" Kaz drowled glaring at the flowers like they had pricked him already.
"I'm sorry?" The man frowned straightening up. The three Crows looked between the both of them in shock and confusion. Kaz Brekker was acting possessive and it was not a daily occurrence.
"You talk about your affection openly and yet you don't know that Y/N prefers black flowers." He said already sporting a look of a winner. He was confident in his knowledge about the girl and her likes.
"Why would the colour matter? It's about the gesture." Joseph argued looking back to Y/N in hopes of continuing their conversation. But yet again Brekker spoke up.
"I was trying to be nice. If you won't stop harassing one of my workers I will remove you from my Club." His words were now spoke in the harsh tone that was associated with one and only Dirtyhands.
"You have no right to do that." The man huffed going back to smile at Y/N. "She wants me here." The silence that followed was full of tension. Both man turned to look at her in expectation. Either she'd make Joseph be removed or accept his gift and let whatever this was continue. Her eyes went from the roses to Kaz who calmly met her gaze.
"I'm not a fan of red." Her soft voice broke the silence. Joseph tightened his jaw in anger, while Kaz gave a slight smirk. In moments few Dregs had the man removed while the Crows watched.
"Enjoy the rest of your evening, we've got a job tomorrow." Brekker said heading back to his office. They sat confused before Y/N sprang to her feet and ran after him.
She barged into his office just to have him waiting with two glasses of wine. He was not a fan of wine. Neither did he like flowers in his office, but there, on the side of his desk was a bouquet of black roses. They eyes met only for a moment. But it was enough to make her sit down in front of him and enjoy the drink in silence, while he worked and she smelled the flowers.
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slayfics · 11 months
Text
Why him?
Muichiro x Reader short series
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Mitsuri invites Muichiro to eat with you so you can get to know him better.
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Part 2
"I know!" Mitsuri exclaimed enthusiastically. "I'll invite Tokito to eat with us! That way you can get to know him better and spend time with him! I'm the best big sister ever!" Mitsuri sang in her own praise.
"N-n-no no no! I really d-don't want to do that. I w-w-would rather just keep my distance." You pleaded.
"Oh don't worry I'll be there too so there's no reason to be nervous ok?" Mitsuri said bringing out a paper and pen. "I'll write to him now about meeting us for breakfast before we all head out our separate ways!" Mitsuri swiftly wrote a letter then handed it to her crow. You desperately tried to get the letter out of her hand but you were no match for your older sister's strength.
"Get some sleep and don't worry. It's just food ok? We will have fun tomorrow morning!" Mitsuri said, putting her hand on your back to comfort you.
The next morning you dreadfully came out to the common room where you saw Mitsuri and Tokito sitting. You debated on turning around and running back to your room but just then Mitsuri had caught sight of you.
"Goooooood morrrningggg little sister!" She said with the biggest grin you had seen her have since the last time Iguro came over.
"Good m-morning..." You said grumpily sitting down.
Muichiro did not say a word but ate silently.
"Soooooooo how is everyone feeling today?" Mitsuri said, trying to make conversation.
"Fine..." You said.
"Healthy." Muichiro said looking as uninterested as ever. "Did you want to eat together for a reason?" He asked.
"Oh, I just thought it would be fun since we are both Hashira and here at the same time you know? Plus you know my sister is here too."
"Ok." Mucihro said, and turned back to his food. You shot Mitsuri a glance that was supposed to convey how bad of an idea this was and how awful it was going.
"Sooooooo you ran into my sister the other day?" Mitsuri said attempting a conversation again.
"No, she ran into me. You should train her better." He said.
"M-m-mitsuri! I told you this was a m-mistake! H-he is a-aw-awful!" You shouted letting your embarrassment about yesterday's events get the better of you. Muichiro looked between the two sisters in curiosity then went back to his food, deciding he wasn't interested.
"I've finished my meal and have some business to attend to. Goodbye." He said getting up to leave.
"WAIT!" Mitsuri yelled. "OH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I ASKED YOU HERE BECAUSE MY LITTLE SISTER HAS A CRUSH ON YOU!"
You felt all the blood drain from your face. How could she say that to him?? You didn't know what to do. You felt such an overwhelming amount of emotions. Embarrassment, anger, sadness. It was all too much for you to take and you felt like you might explode. You ran out of the room and hurried back to your designated room, closing the door just in time before tears began to fall.
Why was Muichiro so mean? Why him? Why did you have a crush on such a dreadful person? How could Mitsuri out your feelings like that? You put your face in your hands and continued to weep. When you heard a faint knock on your door.
"G-g-go away Mitsuri. I can't b-be-believe you." You spoke with venom in your voice.
"I'm not Mitsuri and I'm coming in." You heard Muichrio respond and your door opened. Why would he come here? To insult you further perhaps. It's not like he ever had anything nice to say.
"You're crying" He said as he sat down next to you.
"Great o-observation." You replied.
"Are you crying because of what Miss Kanroji said?"
"J-j-just forget what she said, it's not true. I think you're a-awful, cruel, and m-mean." You spat.
"I am?" He asked and seemed to daze off.
"Yes! You insult e-everyone even when they are trying to h-help you and you don't seem to care for a-anything."
Muichiro came back from his daze and looked down at his hands... "Hmm... I think I used to know someone just like that..."
"You must have looked in a m-mi-irror recently." You retorted. Muichiro took no notice of your harsh words.
"Hmm... It's too bad you actually despise me... I was quite flattered to hear you had a crush on me."
You froze... he was flattered?? You couldn't wrap your mind around what he was saying. He was so indifferent to everything could he actually be flattered you had a crush on him?
"I n-never said I despise you..." You softened.
"I am too busy as a Hashira to date or even explore those types of human interactions, but you can write me letters if you wish. I will respond as promptly as I can." He said watching you intently now.
Joining the demon slayer corps so young Muichiro never had interactions with someone that liked him, and he never had chances to explore those types of feelings of his own either. As indifferent as he was on the outside, something sparked a deep memory in him of feeling warm, feelings that must have been from a long time ago. He wondered if this meant something.
"O-ok... I'll write you letters Tokito." You said taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor.
Just then Mitsuri burst into the room.
"OH! I'm so dumb I let a boy in my sister's room alone! Tokito you have to get out right now!" She said red in the face.
"W-W-WHAT DID YOU THINK W-WE WERE DOING??" You said mortified. Muichiro stood up and went to exit the room.
"I'll be looking forward to your letter." He said then vanished.
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I’m accustomed to writing the reader as Muichiro’s Tsuguko so this was a bit of a challenge for me. However, I hope you all enjoyed this little series! I did my best~
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427 notes · View notes
Text
The Crow Road by Iain Banks
I finished The Crow Road and had a little time to think about it. I'll put my thoughts under a Keep Reading in case anyone is trying to avoid spoilers.
As I speculated before, I think it's likely that The Crow Road is more related to Good Omens in philosophy than in plot. I mean, it's not that the plots necessarily have nothing in common, and we could be very surprised in the end of course, but now that I've read the whole book, its philosophical commonalities with GO are both apparent and kind of inspiring. Also, if I were a writer, I'd be more interested in dropping hints about what themes are important than telegraphing my whole plot ahead of time.
So here, I will describe the book and point out themes that I believe may reappear in Good Omens 3.
This is a long post. If you read it, make a cup of [beverage of choice].
Update on 4/20/2024: I made a second post: The Crow Road and Good Omens: Further-Out Thoughts
Below are mentions of suicide, death/murder, and sexual acts.
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The Crow Road centers around a character named Prentice McHoan, a university student in Scotland who starts to sort out his complicated relationship with his complicated family as he explores the mystery of his uncle Rory's disappearance. Although the book is mostly from Prentice's perspective, the narration jumps around in time with the McHoan family. There are quite a lot of important characters to keep track of; the bare-bones summary I put below doesn't even include some of the important ones. I wanted to make the summary even shorter and simpler than this, but the truth is that this book is not short or simple, and if I made the summary any simpler, it might be downright misleading.
There are at least three major cultural aspects of The Crow Road that I am inexperienced with: the overall culture in the 1950s-1980s (I was born in 1988, so of course wasn't here for the relevant decades), the international experience of the Gulf War (again, born in 1988), and the history and culture of Scotland itself (I'm USAmerican with only reading as a source). As a result, I'm sure there are important dimensions to the book that I've missed. If someone has a different perspective taking some of these things into account, I'd love to know about it.
Also, keep in mind, there is a great deal of descriptive writing in this book. There are a lot of pages about the geography of Scotland, and about Prentice as a kid, and about Prentice's father and uncles hanging out together in their youth, and about various family incidents, and about Prentice spending time with his brothers and friends. At first, these passages seem to just make things more confusing, and in my head, I accused them of being "filler." But they definitely serve a purpose. They're a way of showing and not telling the characters' attitudes and relationships to each other. More importantly, because we get to actually live these experiences with the characters, they are what give all the plot points below their deeper emotional impacts. In other words, the everyday experiences give the plot its deeper meaning. They resonate with one of the core themes in the novel: that our experiences in life, rather than any supposed existence after death, are what matters.
The Crow Road's story is like this:
Prentice is rather directionless in life, and he seems to have trouble investing any energy in his own future as he moons over his unrequited feelings for an idealized young woman named Verity. Soon, Verity ends up in a romance with Prentice's brother, Lewis, and Prentice feels that Lewis "stole" her from him. Prentice has also become estranged from his father, Kenneth, over spirituality. Prentice believes there has to be something more after death because he feels it would be incredibly unfair if people didn't get anything other than this one life; Kenneth is not only a passionate atheist, but is offended by the notion of an afterlife.
Prentice's uncle Hamish, Kenneth's brother, has always been religious, although his religion involves a number of bizarre and offbeat ideas of his own, with inspiration from more traditional Christian notions. Prentice is not really sure about this ideology, but he's willing to talk to Hamish about it and even participates during Hamish's prayers, whereas Kenneth is openly scornful of Hamish's beliefs. Hamish interprets this as Prentice being on "his side."
Prentice has a few opportunities to go back and talk to his father, and is begged to do so by his mom, Mary, with whom his relationship is still good. Mary doesn't want either of the men to give up their inner ideas about the universe; she just wants them to agree to disagree and move on as a family. Prentice says he will visit, but he just keeps putting it off and off and off.
Prentice acquires a folder containing some of his missing uncle Rory's notes in the process of hooking up with Rory's former girlfriend, Janice Rae, who seems to have taken a shine to Prentice because he reminds her of Rory. Using the contents of the folder, Prentice wants to piece together the great literary work that Rory left unfinished, which Rory titled Crow Road; however, it becomes apparent that Rory didn't turn his concepts into anything substantial and only had a bunch of disconnected notes and ideas. He hadn't even decided whether Crow Road would be a novel, a play, or something else. The few bits of Rory's poetry for Crow Road read are bleak and depressing.
Prentice also spends a lot of time with a young woman named Ash. They've been good friends since childhood and seem to have a somewhat flirtatious dynamic now, but they aren't in a romantic relationship; mostly, they drink and hang out together. Ash tells Prentice bluntly to get his life back on track when she finds out he's failing at school, avoiding his family, and engaging in shoplifting. She is a voice of reason, and when Prentice insists to her that he's just a failure, she reminds him that actually, he's just a kid.
Prentice's efforts to figure out Rory's story or location stagnate, and he continues to fail at school and avoid his father. He then receives word that Kenneth was killed while debating faith with Hamish. In fact, Kenneth dies after a fall from a church lightning rod, which he was climbing in an act of defiance against Hamish's philosophy when it was struck by lightning; Hamish is convinced that Kenneth had incurred God's wrath. Ash is there for support when Prentice finds out about the death.
With Ash's help, Prentice returns to his hometown again to help manage Kenneth's affairs. Prentice speaks with a very shaken Hamish, who is handling Kenneth's death with extreme drama and making it all about his own feelings. Hamish tells Prentice that Kenneth was jealous that Prentice shared more in common with Hamish's faith than with Kenneth's lack of faith. However, this isn't really true, and as he contemplates his father's death, Prentice begins to internalize one of the last things Hamish reported that Kenneth had argued: "All the gods are false. Faith itself is idolatry."
As the chapters go on, Prentice is compelled by some of the meaningful items related to Rory that he discovers in his father's belongings. He gains a renewed sense of purpose trying to solve the mystery of where Rory went and what happened to him. Among the interesting items are an ancient computer disk of Rory's that Prentice can't access with any equipment he can find; Ash uses her connections in the US and Canada to find a computer expert who can finally open the files on it. This takes quite a while, since the disk has to be mailed and Ash's connection is investigating the disk only in his free time.
Prentice also discovers that his feelings for Verity have changed. He no longer feels angry with Lewis for "stealing her." At first, Prentice's narration describes this as his feelings "cooling" as a result of the trauma of losing his father, but interestingly, this soon means Prentice gets to know Verity as a sister-in-law without getting caught up in jealous romantic feelings. Verity gets along well with the family, and Prentice is actually happy to discover that she and Lewis have a baby on the way. Prentice's relationship with Lewis improves greatly as well, partly because he is no longer jealous and partly because he realizes he does not want to lose Lewis, too.
Ash's connection who was looking at Rory's computer disk comes through and sends the printed contents of the files to Prentice. The files reveal to him that Rory likely knew Prentice's uncle, Fergus, murdered his wife by unbuckling her seat belt and crashing their car. Rory had written out a fictional version of events and considered using it in Crow Road. I'm not clear on exactly how certain Rory was about Fergus's crime, or whether Rory would have intentionally reported Ferg, or whether Rory even had enough proof to publicly accuse Ferg of murder, but people would likely have connected the dots in Rory's work and become suspicious of Ferg. For this reason, Prentice believes Ferg murdered Rory as well.
Prentice confronts Ferg. He doesn't get a confession and leaves Ferg's home with no concrete proof of anything; Ferg denies it all. But Prentice is soon physically assaulted in the night, and it seems Ferg was almost certainly the culprit, because he hadn't been home that same night, and he had injuries (probably from being fought off) the next day. A day or two later, Ferg's body is found unconscious in the cockpit of a plane, which crashes into the ocean. It's uncertain whether this was a suicide, but Prentice suspects it was. Rory's body is then soon recovered from the bottom of a waterway near Prentice's home, where Ferg had sunk it years ago.
As the mysteries are solved, Prentice realizes his feelings for Ash are romantic love. However, it's too late, he thinks, because Ash is about to take a job in Canada, where she may or may not stay. Prentice also hesitates to approach her because he's embarrassed about his previous behavior, venting all his angst about Verity and his father. He isn't sure she would even want to be in a relationship with him after that. But the very night before Ash leaves, she kisses Prentice on the cheek, which leads to a deeper kiss. They finally connect, have sex, and confess their mutual feelings. Ash still goes to her job in Canada, but says she'll come back when Prentice is done with his studies that summer.
The relationship's future is somewhat uncertain because something could come up while Ash is in Canada, but Prentice is hopeful. The book ends with Prentice getting ready to graduate with his grades on track as a history scholar, fully renouncing his belief in an afterlife while he acknowledges the inherent importance of our experiences in our lives now, and enjoying his time with Lewis and Verity and his other family members.
What's the point of all these hundreds of pages?
Well, look at all of the above; there's definitely more than one point. But the main point I took away is that we get this one life, with our loved ones in this world here and now, and this is where we make our meanings. There is no other meaning, but that doesn't mean there's no meaning at all. It means the meaning is here.
It's not death that gives life its meaning. It's the things we do while alive that give life its deeper meaning.
The Crow Road is described (on Wikipedia) as a Bildungsroman, a story focusing on the moral and philosophical growth and change of its main character as they transition from childhood to adulthood ("coming-of-age novel" is a similar term that is interchangeable, but more vague and not necessarily focused on morality/philosophy). And, indeed, all of the plots ultimately tie into Prentice's changed philosophy.
After his argument with Kenneth, Prentice feels childish and humiliated, and as a result, he refuses to go back home, which leads to a spiral of shame and depression. Kenneth dies and Prentice realizes it's too late to repair the relationship, which also leads him to realize it's what we do in life that matters, and that therefore, his father's argument was correct after all.
At the end of the novel, Prentice outright describes his new philosophy. However, I can't recall one specific passage where Prentice describes the process of how he changed his mind (if anyone else can remember something I missed, do let me know). There is, however, a moment when his narration indicates that Hamish seems less disturbed by his own part in the incident that led to Kenneth's death and more disturbed by the notion that his beliefs might actually be true: there might actually be an angry, vengeful God. In other words, Hamish's philosophy is selfish at its core.
My interpretation is that when his father died, Prentice realized three things: how utterly self-serving Hamish's devout faith is, how Kenneth's untimely death proves the importance of working things out now rather than in an imaginary afterlife, and how much profound meaning Kenneth had left behind despite having no faith at all. After these realizations, a determined belief in an afterlife no longer makes our lives here more profound like Prentice once thought it did.
Also, it's worth noting that this incident changes Prentice's idea of partnership, too. He loses interest in this distant, idealized woman he's been after. In love as in the rest of life, Prentice lets go of his ideals, and in doing so, he makes room for true meaning, both in a sincere familial, platonic connection with Verity and a sincere intimate, romantic connection with Ash.
But what about the sex scene?!
Yes, indeed, at the tail end of the story, Prentice and Ash have sex and admit they want to be in a relationship together. Prentice's narration describes them sleeping together and having intercourse not just once, but many times, including some slow and relaxed couplings during which they flex the muscles in their private parts to spell out "I.L.Y." and "I.L.Y.T." to each other in Morse code. This is relevant because earlier, they had been surprised and delighted to discover that they both knew Morse code; it isn't a detail that came from nowhere.
I didn't get the impression that this scene was trying to be especially titillating to the reader. It was mostly just a list of stuff the characters did together. I felt the point was that they were still anxious about being emotionally honest, a little desperate to convey their feelings without having to speak them out loud, and awkward in a way that made it obvious that their primary concern was the feelings, not the sexual performance. They cared about each other, but they weren't trying to be impressive or put on a show; contrast this with previous scenes where Prentice would act like a clown in front of Ash to diffuse his own anxiety. I've always thought that being able to have awkward sex and still enjoy it is a good sign.
Okay, so what does this all have to do with Good Omens?
Here's where I have to get especially interpretive. I'm doing my best, but of course, not everyone reading this will have the same perspective on Good Omens, the Final Fifteen especially. I believe similar themes are going to resonate between The Crow Road and Good Omens regardless of our particular interpretations of the characters' behavior and motivations, but I suppose it could hit differently for some people.
The TL;DR: I see similar themes between The Crow Road and Good Omens in:
The importance of mortal life on Earth
Meaning (or purpose) as something that we create as we live, not something that is handed to us by a supreme being
Sincere connection and love/passion (for people, causes, arts, life's work, etc) as a type of meaning/purpose
Relationships as reflections of philosophy
The dual nature of humanity
Life on Earth as the important part of existence is a core theme in Good Omens, and has been since the very beginning. We all already know Adam chose to preserve the world as it already is because he figured this out, and we all already know Aziraphale and Crowley have been shaped for the better by their experiences on Earth. But Good Omens isn't done with this theme by a long shot. I think this is the most important thematic commonality Good Omens will have with The Crow Road. Closely related is the notion that we create our meanings as we live, rather than having them handed to us. Isn't this, in a way, what Aziraphale struggles with in A Companion to Owls? He's been given this meaning, this identity, that doesn't fit him. But does he have anything else to be? Not yet.
Partnerships as a parallel to the characters' philosophical development also resonates as a commonality that The Crow Road may have with Good Omens. Prentice's obsession with Verity goes away when he starts to embrace the importance of life on Earth and makes room for his sincere relationship with Ash. Note their names: "Verity" is truth, an ideal Prentice's father instills in him; "Ashley" means "dweller in the ash tree meadow" in Anglo-Saxon, according to Wikipedia, and "ash" is one of the things people return to after death. Prentice literally trades his high ideals for life on Earth. We see in Aziraphale a similar tug-o'-war between Heaven's distant ideals and Crowley's Earthly pleasures, so I can see a similar process potentially playing out for him.
I don't particularly recall a ton of thematic exploration of free will in The Crow Road. However, there is a glimmer of something there: Prentice feels excessively controlled by Kenneth's desire to pass down his beliefs, and part of the reason Prentice is so resistant to change is simply his frustration with feeling censored and not being taken seriously. As the reader, I do get the feeling that while Prentice is immature, Kenneth made major mistakes in handling their conflict, too. And Kenneth's mistakes come from trying to dictate Prentice's thoughts. There is likely some crossover with Good Omens in the sense that I'm pretty sure both stories are going to take the position that people need to be allowed to make mistakes, and to do things that one perceives as mistakes, without getting written off as "stupid" or "bad" or otherwise "unworthy."
Suffice it to say that the human characters in Good Omens will also certainly play into these themes, but it's hard to write about them when we don't know much about them except that one of them is almost certainly the reincarnation of Jesus. This also makes me suspect perhaps the human cast will be 100% entirely all-new, or mostly new, symbolic of how Aziraphale and Crowley have immersed themselves in the ever-evolving, ever-changing world of life on Earth. Alternatively, if we encounter human characters again from Season 1 or 2, perhaps the ways they've grown and changed will be highlighted. For example, even in real-world time, Adam and Warlock have already, as of the time I'm writing this, gone through at least one entire life stage (from 11 in 2019 to 16 in 2024). They'll be legal adults in a couple of years, and if there's a significant time skip, they could be much older. If characters from Season 1 do reappear and themes from The Crow Road are prominent, I would expect either some key scenes highlighting contrasts and changes from their younger selves or for stagnation and growth to be a central part of their plot.
The more I write, the more I just interpret everything in circles. Hopefully this post has at least given you a decent idea of what The Crow Road is like and how it may relate to Good Omens.
I'll end this post with a quotation that feels relevant:
Telling us straight or through his stories, my father taught us that there was, generally, a fire at the core of things, and that change was the only constant, and that we – like everybody else – were both the most important people in the universe, and utterly without significance, depending, and that individuals mattered before their institutions, and that people were people, much the same everywhere, and when they appeared to do things that were stupid or evil, often you hadn’t been told the whole story, but that sometimes people did behave badly, usually because some idea had taken hold of them and given them an excuse to regard other people as expendable (or bad), and that was part of who we were too, as a species, and it wasn’t always possible to know that you were right and they were wrong, but the important thing was to keep trying to find out, and always to face the truth. Because truth mattered. Iain Banks, The Crow Road
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erynaster · 1 year
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The Death of Me
Summary: You and Wednesday share a moment of brief vulnerability around each other one dreary afternoon at Nevermore's courtyard.
Word Count: 983
Warnings: None
Pairing(s): Wednesday Addams x Male!Reader
A/N: Here you go, my attempt at a lighthearted interaction between you and Wednesday Addams. Enjoy. :>
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"Why so glum?"
You turn around. Wednesday Addams steps out from behind a pillar, eyeing you with a deadpan stare.
"Oh, it's you." You sigh. "It's nothing, Wends. Don't worry about me."
"I beg to differ." She raises an eyebrow at you, her footsteps echoing throughout the empty courtyard as she approaches you. "You've been quiet all day. Quite unlike your usual talkative self."
"Didn't think you'd notice." You gaze absentmindedly at a crow gliding overhead, before landing on a branch of a nearby tree.
"It was very obvious. Something is clearly bothering you. And... I wish to know why." She says in an almost completely monotone voice. Sincerity wasn't something that Wednesday Addams was the greatest at conveying, but in the duration of your time being in a relationship together, you had learned to read her more... subtle undertones. And from what you could tell, she really was concerned about your well-being at the moment, even if it didn't show.
"I'm... I dunno, Wends. I was just... thinking about us." You sigh, gazing off into the distance.
"What about us?" She asks, her tone as flat as ever. "Care to elaborate?"
You take a moment to ponder your next words.
"Do you... think we work, Wednesday?" You ask tentatively, fearing the answer.
Wednesday stays silent. The silence drags on for a few more nerve-wracking seconds, before she opens her mouth to speak.
"... Yes, Y/N."
You turn around to face her, hardly daring to believe it.
"What?"
"I said, yes, Y/N. We do." She repeats in the same lifeless tone. "Do not ask me how, but we just...do. For some reason even I cannot explain, this relationship remains to be, to put it simply, functional."
"Oh." A wave of relief washes over you. "I guess I was just worried, that's all."
"Your fears are not at all unwarranted." She follows your gaze, staring off into the distance as she speaks. "You had every reason to doubt."
Wednesday shifts in place.
"... I haven't exactly been the most expressive partner, have I not?"
You turn to face your girlfriend, who was now pointedly avoiding eye contact with you. It still surprised you how honest Wednesday could be sometimes, even to the point of letting down her guard a little to show you a side of her that did, indeed, care for you. However often she chose to omit that fact from your daily interactions.
"What about you?" You ask.
"Pardon?" She raises an eyebrow.
"Do you ever think about us?" You fidget nervously as you await her response.
Silence.
"I suppose I do." She says simply. "In retrospect, I would not have foreseen us becoming this... close with each other." She states, an odd look forming on her face as she does.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." You chuckle.
"It isn't." She looks away from you. And for a brief moment, you swore you could see a faint blush creeping up her pale cheeks.
The two of you stand in silence. A crow caws in the distance, the sound seemingly magnified over ten times in volume due to the barren surroundings, completely devoid of any students whatsoever.
"Hey, Wednesday?"
She turns to look at you expectantly.
"Yes?"
"Do you want to... you know..." You extend your arms invitingly.
A repulsed look forms on her face.
"No, absolutely not." She says, recoiling slightly, clearly uneasy about the entire prospect of embracing you in a public space.
"Awww, come on, Wends. Please?" You tease, approaching her cautiously. "Just for a few seconds?"
"My answer remains the same, Y/N." She repeats in the same deadpan tone. But to her immense horror (though it barely shows), you throw both arms around her anyway, pulling her close in an affectionate, one-sided hug.
"Mmm..." You hum, holding her close in your unapologetic embrace.
She doesn't look pleased.
"Let. Me. Go. Y/N." She enunciates each word with clarity, each syllable dripping with a threatening aura. This you overlook, continuing to hold her fast in your arms.
"Come on, Wends. Is a hug really going to kill you?" You tease.
She stays silent. Miraculously, you can feel her leaning into your touch, however slightly.
"... You are lucky I find your boldness to be endearing."
You smirk. "I knew you'd come around."
"One word to anyone and I will end you."
"Deal." You grin, daring to nuzzle into the crook of her neck. She doesn't pull back, though both her arms remain plastered stubbornly against her sides. She's still very clearly unwilling to return the hug.
"Ah, mi amour. You are going to be the death of me, you know that?" You sigh.
"That can be arranged." She deadpans, still standing stock-still in the face of your affection. "What would you prefer?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe something quick and painless, you decide." You jest, humouring your girlfriend's dark sense of humor. Assuming that she was joking, of course.
The embrace lasts for a few more seconds. Part of you wishes to end it right then and there, but Wednesday still shows no visible signs of wanting to pull away, which was rare for her. So you continue to hold her in your arms, taking care not to squeeze her so much so as not to provoke her into ending your life right where you stood.
"Wednesday?"
She's silent.
"This... this was great." You begin to pull away, slowly. "This was—"
To your immense shock, Wednesday suddenly grips your forearm, holding it fast in its current position.
You gaze at her questioningly.
"... This isn't too bad, I suppose." She mumbles.
You beam at your girlfriend lovingly.
"I love you, Wednesday." You sigh.
"And I tolerate you, Y/N."
Though her words are as bland and unfeeling as ever, Wednesday slips both arms around your waist, returning your hug just as a faint smirk creeps up her cheeks.
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