#this was just a goofy thing i did for this one comic

[thefrogdalorian]

I know there is this widely held perception that Season 3 of The Mandalorian had silly moments and made some comically strange story choices, which I can totally admit myself. I mean the bit in 03x04 where they all scatter to eat, but Bo is allowed to remain sitting by the fire was kind of hilarious and blatantly just because they wanted a helmetless scene in that episode.

And I won't complain too much because more Katee Sackhoff on my screen is never a bad thing.

But come on! The Mandalorian has always had goofy, unserious moments that if you contemplate for more than a second, your head threatens to fly off because of how daft it can be, at times.

For instance, in 1x04 Sanctuary, when Din removes his helmet on Sorgan in froNT OF AN OPEN WINDOW?!!?!

I know they did it for dramatic effect, to demonstrate how long he has worn his helmet, but if one of those kids looked around it would've been CURTAINS FOR HIM. Okay it might have been dark, sure, whatever but I cannot imagine someone as devout as Din would even take that risk! The Creed is everything to him.

Also, this man who we have seen for an entire season being such a competent and capable warrior has apparently never had a jetpack before Chapter 8. The best bounty hunter in the parsec cannot fly?! Then, immediately after getting it from The Armorer, with no training, he conveniently uses it immediately to blow up a TIE fighter and (seemingly) defeat Moff Gideon?!!?!

Not to mention how silly it is Gideon survived that initial skirmish... and probably survives in Season 3 too but we'll deal with that when it comes to it.

It isn't just Season One, either. There are also some parts of Season 2 which leave me scraching my head slightly, like in The Believer when the terminal needs to scan a face. Not a specific face, just any face. It doesn't make much sense. Again, not complaining, more Pedro Pascal on my screen is never a bad thing.

Not to mention how convenient Din getting the beskar spear was right before his duel with Gideon for the Darksaber. A weapon which is coincidentally one of the few which can parry the sacred blade!

Anyway, I don't hate any of these moments at all, I just feel like fans used to be so much more lenient.

Of course season 3 has some hmmmmm moments too, but there have always been questionable decisions right from the start. Star Wars fans are always going to nitpick and it mostly comes from a good place. I just wish there could be a bit more of a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ attitude sometimes.

Nothing is perfect, but this show has had so many enjoyable moments and such compelling characters that I can let some silliness slide. Star Wars should always be a little goofy and silly and for me, long may that continue!

#din djarin #the mandalorian #star wars #bo katan kryze #spud rants #unserious space show with tin can man and weird wizard frog baby my beloved #it can be a little silly sometimes... as a treat.....

[todayisafridaynight]

Fun Fact I just gathered: Before he got popular, Majima conceptually was just gonna be a fun psychotic rival for Kiryu and nothing beyond that, however they still wanted to keep him grounded. Then he became popular, so the writers had him be in almost all the games, even if he was never gonna be at his peak. However for the movie, they went back to that original concept for Majima and just amped up that energy to a cartoonish degree, just had the actor do what he had to do with the character (like move the eyepatch to the right so he can see better) and the end result is Majima's second best appearance in any Yakuza media. Then we get to Kiwami and we basically get the best of both worlds. In short, any adaptation of Yakuza 1 is Majima at his best. Makes me wonder how this kind of rehauling and remastering would've benefited characters like Aoki, Mine, or Ryuji

honestly the best way to summarize this ask is that majima got the vegeta treatment: he was supposed to be a one-off/non-overly-interesting antagonist, yet due to popularity he was essentially brought back/revamped

i feel like rgg tried to do something like that with ryuji and dead souls, but ultimately stopped themselves before they could bring him into any major mainline titles

#snap chats #at least with ryuji they couldve just had him be a regular takoyaki salesmen who shows up every now and then #reminds me of a goofy lil comic i had in mind.... #i dont know what rgg couldve done with mine tho #or like. it wouldnt be anything ASTOUNDING just him operating in the tojo as per usual #mine's whole thing was daigo going missing so now that he's better and mine's grown as a person a bit #he'd prob be fine and would just be like any other secondary assisting character #oh but yeah thank you for this ask anon ive been meaning to make the majima = vegeta joke for a while ☠️ #majima's fun tho i at least like him more than vegeta #majima everywhere do be funny #personally i really like what they did with him in 0 tho thats my favorite iteration of majima #if he was like that id probably talk him bout a lot more lmaoo #but i get why he changed and its sad that he changed- lore wise #rip nishiki tho he was totally wiped from this convo LMAOOOOO #this is such a funnily-timed ask tho i was just talking to my brother about What If X Lived scenarios yesterday #seems like a lot of things i talk about with my bro come to friution one way or another..... #first aoki plush now talkin botu What Ifs... scary.... #maybe i should talk to him about winning a million dollars ☠️

[hollowsart]

I gotta say, glancing into the living room to see the fight with Mysterio going on rn and the Iron Man “jumpscare“

The fight has so much potential to have been really good and lots of fun :( and that’s what sucks most to me.

#Ghostie mumbles #THE POTENTIAL IS THERE. I CAN SEE IT. BUT DANG. #why'd they do that to Beck? to his character? #not every villain needs to be a killer!!! NOT EVERY VILLAIN NEEDS TO KILL. They can be goofy too!!! Mysterio has saturday morning-- #--cartoon energy and I will not stand for 'he's a villain so he's gotta kill and do unspeakable acts. how else will be taken seriously?' #let! my man! be a funny! eccentric!!!! #I still stand by my one post saying Beck does not seem like the type of guy to actually kill. things happen around him. he has-- #--his own traumas from those incidences that occurred outside of his power. he just plays it off and puts up a front of being tougher-- #--than you'd think. he is playing a part and fooling others but also fooling himself. #LISTEN. They did this character so dirty. THEY DID HIM SO DIRTY. #<-- I say as someone who has read like 1 mysterio centric comic and only watched tssm.

[zephyrchama]

"What did Mammon do now?"

The greedy demon was in his underwear, hanging upside down from a rafter in the hallway. He tried to coerce you into letting him down as you walked by, but you knew better than to do so without consulting Lucifer.

"Gambling. The usual." Lucifer had a hand on his forehead, pushing his hair up while jotting something down at his desk.

"Mammon gambles every day," you pointed out. "What'd he really do?"

By the way Lucifer groaned, you knew it was something juicy. "I caught him pilfering one of my rarest records, a gift from Diavolo, to use as collateral in a bet. It's one-of-a-kind. I doubt he even knows what it is, but Mammon always has a knack for finding things of high value."

"His secret sixth sense," you agreed. "What'd you do with his clothes?"

"They make it harder to tie him up tightly. He has a slightly higher chance of wiggling free with clothes on, so I made him strip." Lucifer gestured, Mammon's clothes had been put on some kind of mannequin, tucked away in the space between two bookshelves.

You'd never seen it before. Your jaw dropped into the widest half-smile half-astonished expression possible. It had Mammon's hair and his goofy smile. Even a flashy golden earring. "What is that?"

You practically ran across the room to inspect it. It was dressed properly in Mammon's shirt and tie. There were a lot of seams, more than seemed necessary, perhaps from being repeatedly repaired over years of use. "Lucifer, this is adorable."

"It's a necessary tool for my sanity." He pushed the chair back, standing up to join you.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll give you a demonstration."

Lucifer comically wound up his closed fist. With ballistic force, he struck the figure right in its chest. It flopped back, then sprung back up wildly to receive a fistful of lighter blows from Lucifer.

"You made a Mammon punching bag? Really?" You didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"I didn't make it, Mammon did."

Surprise of the day number two. "Mammon made this? Himself?"

To stop the wobbling, Lucifer grabbed the punching bag's tie, pulling it tight and then smoothing it out. "Cute, right? He thought it might make me go easy on future punishments. It's a very thoughtful gift from my little brother."

"Yeah, I didn't know he could sew. Huh." The two of you stood to admire it before Lucifer returned to his desk. You followed him. "Kind of reminds me of the doll Levi made of me."

Lucifer smiled. "Leviathan made you a doll, did he? How very kind."

"No, he made a doll of me."

Lucifer froze to process this information, frowning.

You continued, "I don't know where he usually keeps it, but I saw it under his desk one time. It's pretty big and detailed. I mentioned it once and offered to lend him a shirt for it, but he got really embarrassed and pushed me out. He's gotta take more pride in his work, it was really impressive."

"I see." Lucifer gritted his teeth. "You know, something I have to do just came up. Let's finish this conversation later." He was quietly seething as he escorted you to the door. Along the way he gave punching-bag Mammon a soft whack to the head.

You realized you forgot to ask if you could untie the real Mammon, but Lucifer had already marched down the hall in the direction of Leviathan's room. Rather than trying to catch up, you decided to go see how the Avatar of Greed was doing.

#i bet satan has a lucifer punching bag #is this punching bag ever mentioned? where is the lore #obey me #obey me! swd #obey me scenarios #omswd #obey me headcanon #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me lucifer #tw punching ? is that a thing? i don't know how to tag this for content warning hm. #obey me! #obey me drabble #obey me fanfic #I started a bunch of mini fics and got like 95% of the way done an Asmo one but I'm not liking it. feels oddly written so I have to fix it. #obey me mc #obey me x mc #does levi making a creepy unexplained doll of mc count as x mc? sure.

[moony-2001]

The real-world impact of Lore Olympus

i.e. do your research Rachel

Trigger warning: racism, fetishization, appropriation, mentions of SA

Long post ahead

A while ago, someone told me that Lore Olympus was just a silly little comic written out of boredom. That it was made to be "funny". They told me that "[I] can't hope [for] an extremely [well-written] story when it was just made with the intention to make something goofy" and that if Rachel actually wanted to make something serious like I had, she would write a book and not a comic.

At the time of this exchange, it was past 1 a.m. and I was exhausted. I did not want to argue with this person and it simply wasn't worth my time or energy in the moment.

But looking back at that (mostly one-sided) interaction, I can't help but think that there is so much wrong with that point of view. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion about Lore Olympus, whether good or bad. But Lore Olympus isn't just some silly little nothing comic about nothing important. It is a comic that actively appropriates and erases Greek Culture. It is a comic that has no respect for the actual stories that have been passed down over thousands of years whether by word of mouth or written text. It is a comic that perpetuates a false narrative and harmful stereotypes about characters or certain groups of people. So, no, it's not just a silly little comic.

Incorrect information

Here’s an example of what I mean:

When I was doing research for my post about the 10 year time skip, I looked up Leuce to reconfirm the little information I knew about her. Wanna guess the first thing that popped up about her?

A Lore Olympus Wiki article.

Okay. How about Minthe? Hundreds of pictures of her from Lore Olympus and a LO Wiki article as one of the top 3 results. Both character are horribly represented in LO and unfortunately there isn’t really any documented stories or records that can refute how LO paints them. Because of this, other characters in Greek Mythology like Leuce and Minthe, whose stories have little to no documentation, stand to suffer the most harm from deliberate misrepresentation on Rachel’s part.

Of course well-known and better documented figures in Greek mythology face slander as well. What about Thetis or Leto? How about Apollo? All of their portrayals in LO are HORRIBLE. I have seen people online absolutely drag them to filth not because they're upset about how the character is portrayed compared to their mythological counterpart, but because they have no knowledge of how they are actually portrayed outside of LO. They just assume that's how the characters are. Similarly, people who have either very little or no prior knowledge of Greek Mythology and Culture would look at the comic and go "Yep, sounds legit. It must be true." and go about thinking that what is portrayed in LO is accurate to what was transcribed thousands of years ago.

Creative interpretations and racism/fetishization within LO

Don’t get me wrong. Creative interpretations and artistic liberties can be great. When they’re done tastefully. I personally think if done correctly, a Greek myth spun in a modern way has the potential be very good. But that's not what we were given.

Characters like Minthe, Leuce, and Thetis (all nymphs btw) are portrayed as trashy tramps who put out and are used as a foil sabotage Persephone and/or her relationship with Hades. Compare that to Greek Mythology where in the Iliad, Thetis is very well-respected by the gods, particularly Hera. Unfortunately, other similar characters like satrys (and basically any character that isn’t a god) are usually portrayed as a low-class POC that can be easily exploited, manipulated, or used as a temporary villain/lover/pawn to “get back” at Persephone, our white-coded protagonist who can do no wrong.

Additionally, there is a clear race/class bias against characters like nymphs in LO. We see many cases scattered throughout the comic of gods like Hera or Aphrodite referring to nymphs as "trash" or "low class" or the idea that nymphs do not belong with gods being heavily implied if not outright said. I cannot tell you how often I've seen Minthe be called some variant of "cheap" by the readers of LO. Even Persephone (who created the flower nymphs) treats them with such disrespect. She frequently calls them some variant of "stupid" or "simple" like saying how they're not the sharpest crayons in the box even though she's the one WHO MADE THEM. However, it's so odd not really to note that nymphs like Echo, Amphitrite, or Psyche (who was previously disguised as a nymph) are not discriminated against. This is because they are liked or trusted by the gods they are around and ergo are often portrayed as the "good ones", which is a disgusting mindset to have.

We also see the fetishization of nymphs in the comic that is disturbingly similar to the fetishization of women who are Black, Asian, or Latina. It is a known fact that Hades has a flower nymph fetish. Not only is this implied in the comic, but Rachel stated it outright in an old Patreon post. Nymphs are also generally treated as sex-symbols, disposable, and as a lesser-than. Zeus frequently displays this behavior by abandoning nymphs he knocked up in the mortal realm.

For example, when Persephone finds out Apollo is dating Daphne, she isn't upset he's dating her friend. She's upset he's dating a flower nymph, beings that are generally considered to be "rare", "dumb", and objects of sexual desire. Ew.

Even on the Lore Olympus website (loreolympians.com) nymphs are regarded as "beautiful", "desirable", and "very exotic". And when they're not described in a sexual manner they're say it with me now regarded as "low class" or "workers" for some kind of god/goddess.

Final thoughts

So not only is the characterization of characters like Minthe or Thetis harmful to Greek culture and the stories that are so ingrained in their society, but it is also perpetuating harmful stereotypes about people of color and women who are confident in their sexuality.

Of course, the characters within Greek Mythology had their own issues. Zeus was a serial rapist, many of the goddesses deemed to be "feminist" by today's standards were actually horribly misogynistic looking at you Athena. But 1. that's just how things were back then (but that does not make it right) and 2. all of the good, the bad, and the ugly is still there in Greek Mythology. They're not denying how fucked up it is, but they're also not changing their history to better fit their own narrative or the narrative of the modern world. It exists, it happened, but now it is studied and called out by historians.

Rachel, on the other hand, is doing exactly that. She is actively changing the Greek's cultural history to better fit her fic's narrative. She is constantly sweeping things under the rug or going "No this is how it ACTUALLY happened". Lore Olympus is marketed as a "feminist retelling" yet somehow, it takes allllll the ugly parts from Greek Mythology (rape, incest, problematic age gaps, dubious consent, etc.), mixes it with a majority of the issues we have in the modern world (white feminism, rape-apologists/rape culture, grooming, fetishization of certain minority groups, etc.) and then amplifies the concoction to 20. Lore Olympus cannot be a "progressive, feminist, retelling" and also have characters that are morally apprehensive/come straight from the ancient myths. It does not work. In fact, IMO it makes all the problems from both eras worse.

News flash: actual cultures that are still thriving today are not your toys. They are not "made up". They matter. Do better.

#anti lore olympus #lore olympus #anti lo persephone #anti lo #lore olympus criticism #lore olympus critical #lo critic #lo critical #unpopular lo #unpopular lore olympus #appropriation #greek mythology #if anyone who is actually Greek wants to comment on this or share their thoughts please feel free #I'm not Greek but I have a deep love for mythology/Greek culture so this is just my take on things

[hubristicassholefight]

Swordswoman showdown FINALS

Hornet (Hollow Knight) vs Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess)

(Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Hornet

Technically its not a sword but she wields a needle in a setting where swords do not exist and she wields it in an exceedingly swordlike fashion so. She counts; Girlboss demigoddess spider lady. She's been protecting an entire kingdom for longer than many of the other characters have been alive. She systematically kills her siblings for being too weak. She's simply the best.

#im pretty sure hornet can beat like. anyone in a fight.#have you ever fought hornet#its so fucking hard getting past her every time i play hk i go literally insane.

#i remember getting stuck on the first hornet fight on mt first play through and bring likr#''omg the boss fights in this are so hard!!!''#like what. you're not even half way through what are you talking about#you can't even DASH honey. you don't know what's diffcult or not in this game.

So, SPOILERS

but I feel like the "she systematically kills her siblings" part needs a little clarification. See, one of her siblings was used as a living prison for an angry god and that uh. Didn't work out for the sibling in question or anyone else.

This account is itself heavily abbreviated but it's likely that any other sibling Hornet encounters will be trying to take over as the god's new prison. She appears to challenge any sibling she sees to battle, in order to test their resolve against herself and her needle - would they actually have a chance against that god?

We never actually see her kill any siblings, but she does quite pointedly tell one of them that (to paraphrase) "My needle is lethal and I would feel no sadness in a weakling's demise."

Feels like a relevant quote. In any case, if they can't beat Hornet, it seems like her needle would be a far more merciful end than what the god would grant.

Anyway, a bit of additional material for @swordswomanshowdown :

As is the case for any cool swordswoman, it's not just her sword that's lethal, it's her with it. And Hornet's needle was custom made for her - the creators have said that, while other needles exist, hers was made specifically for her to wield, and its construction allows her to use her spider silk better in combat.

And another thing that I think makes her a good swordswoman: she's actually pretty thoughtful about how she uses it. There's a least one instance where she tries to warn someone off before fighting them! At the same time, when she does fight, she seems to enjoy it - during her boss battles, you can hear her laugh sometimes, as if exhiliarated. She's really got it all, as a swordswoman!!!

#HORNET SWEEP CMON PLEEEEEEASE#shes gay. shes the only sibling with a gender. shes a spider named HORNET. look like croissant. whats not to like

Xena

Warrior Princess

She wields a sword and chakram. Just had to submit a biconic swordswoman.

i love her. she made me gay as a kid. Anyway, her weapon of choice is her sword, she is obviously very good with it

#unfortunately i have to choose and i have to choose xena#a) utena had no warcry. b) xena fought gods. c) xena has kickass goofy comic book combat which is my favorite

xena didn’t just fight gods. she fucked up a girl’s life so bad that she (calisto) devoted her entire being to destroying everything that xena loved that ended up with calisto becoming a god in order to destroy xena, which didnt work because xena entombed her in lava. and then when xena and gabrielle encountered calisto in the (christian) afterlife (different from the greek one which they also fought her in), calisto dragged gabrielle to hell so xena became an archangel in order to save gabrielle and then sacrificed herself in order to undo all the harm that she did in calisto’s life and then when not!jesus (played by timothy omundson) revives xena and gabrielle, calisto impregnates xena with the reincarnation of calisto’s soul in order to end the cycle of hate. xena doesnt just fight gods. she creates and destroys them

#this isnt even mentioning her fighting julius ceasar several times#telling brutus that caesar is not his friend#xena and gabrielle’s souls reincarnating across centuries in order to kick ass and fall in love all over again#or the time xena became a god but tbh that ep is kinda ‘uhhhhh…..’ even if they did hire a consultant for it

#I think everyone here knows to vote for Xena. I think a couple people here might have some propaganda for Xena saved already#everyone remember that Xena/Gabrielle is CANON and that's a pretty big deal also#(does anyone have that Xena Loves Trans People interview around because that would also make good propaganda)

I love Xena ❤️ 😍 💖 ❣️

#hornet #hollow knight #xena #xena: warrior princess #swordswoman showdown #poll #official #round 6 #finals

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

It was probably wrong, but Eddie used Steve’s hard of hearing to step into his space and get as close to him as possible. When Steve looks away, Eddie will grab him by his chin so that way Steve can continue to look at lips. He knows how Steve is an excellent lip reader, and since he hasn't learned how to sign, Eddie made sure to keep him focused on his lips. Maybe that was just another excuse to touch him.

God, he was really starting to get used to touching him. Would that stop once his and Wayne's place was ready? Eddie wasn't ready for that. He stumbled into the kitchen where Steve was making breakfast again. Eddie frowned. It was his turn. He glanced at the clock on the wall. Shit, he had overslept. He blinked sleepily. Ugh, he stayed up late thinking about moving out and having to leave Steve in this big empty house. Eddie wrapped the blanket around himself and stumbled in behind Steve. He laid his head on his shoulder like he always did, but this time, he wrapped his arms around his waist. Eddie absent-mindedly rubbed Steve’s stomach.

"It's supposed to be my turn," Eddie said.

"Yeah, I figured you needed to sleep. I woke up at one point, and you were tossing and turning," Steve said.

"Thanks, Stevie," Eddie said and kissed his shoulder.

"So, what was troubling you?" Steve asked.

"The usual nightmares, you know," Eddie replied.

Steve turned off the stove and moved the pan off the burner. He turned around in Eddie's arms and hugged him tightly, running his hand down Eddie's spin.

"You know, you could have crawled into my bed with me last night," Steve said.

"Hey, you could have done the same thing," Eddie said.

"True," Steve said.

"I'm fine, big boy. Is breakfast done?" Eddie asked, and Steve nodded.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Usually, it was filled with Eddie rambling on about anything with Steve sitting there, a goofy smile on his face. What the hell was he always smiling about? It was quiet when they cleaned up together, and when they got done with that, Steve couldn't take the quiet anymore.

"Okay, Eddie, what's wrong?" Steve asked.

"I don't want to move out," Eddie blurted out.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Look, Wayne hasn't said when the house would be ready, but I know it's probably going to be soon. I like living with you, and I don't want to move out," Eddie said.

"Eddie," Steve said softly. "I like living with you, and I don't want you to move out either."

"Cool," Eddie grinned.

"So, now that that's settled, is there anything else that's bothering you?" Steve asked.

"Well, I know you've been putting it off, but I've been learning sign language whenever you're ready to learn, and then I could be there to help you. . .you know, if you want to," Eddie said.

"Well, there's one sign that l know," Steve grinned and signed 'I love you' to Eddie.

Eddie blushed and signed it back to him.

"Plus, I really like the idea of talking with my hands," Eddie grinned.

"You're so sexy," Steve said, and Eddie nearly choked on his tongue.

Steve leaned in and kissed him. Eddie quickly returned the kiss and allowed Steve to pick him to set him on the counter. They made out heatedly against the cabinets until they could barely breathe. When they finally broke apart, their lips were red and swollen. Steve’s hair was sticking up completely from Eddie running his hands through it. It was a comical sight, and Eddie snickered, leaning his forehead against Steve’s. They stayed like that for a moment.

"What are you thinking about?" Steve asked.

"My uncle," Eddie replied.

"Okay," Steve said, pulling back. "This just took a weird turn."

"No," Eddie laughed. "I just need to tell him about my living situation with my. . .boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend," Steve confirmed.

"Okay. I'll call him, you go find us something to watch and then we can cuddle," Eddie said.

"That sounds nice," Steve said and gave him a quick kiss before leaving the room.

Steve was sprawled out on the couch and had just settled on something when Eddie walked back into the room.

"You won't believe this, but the house has been ready for a while now, and Wayne's already moved in. He said that I sounded like I was having too much fun living with 'my boy' that he didn't want to interrupt that," Eddie said.

He crawled onto the couch and burrowed his face into Steve’s chest, throwing his leg over Steve’s.

"Kind of hard to watch the TV like this," Steve laughed.

"Mm, your tits are a much better view, and they make a really good pillow," Eddie said.

Steve laughed again and kissed the top of his head.

"Mmm, perfect."

#stranger things #stranger things s4 #eddie munson #joseph quinn #eddie stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson lives #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie fanfiction #steddie ficlet #hard of hearing steve harrington #hoh steve harrington #everyone in my family including me is hoh but we still haven't learned sign language #eddie learns sign language for steve

[louebel]

— [ 𝐑𝐄𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 .ᐟ ]

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: g5 luffy × gn!reader 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨/𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: 1717 wc, spoilers for wano... kinda? sfw, fluff, all fluff. a lil' goofy, plot is kinda w a c k y, kaido almost kills you but not in the way you think — and i can't he just looks so silly 'n lovely. i wanna hug him so bad 'n swing him around like a whip. look at him, LOOK. and dripping divider by @ benkeibear !! 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: as the fight continues, you can't help but worry for luffy. you decide to reach him... and you realize it was stupid of you to think he'd be in trouble.

"Luffy!"

Specks of dust littered everywhere. Debris replaced what were once massive boulders, crumbling beneath the force of one of the Emperors of the Sea and the man who would one day become the King of Pirates; your captain.

Your eyes widened at just how battered the top of Onigashima was. You shouldn't expect any less from them, but it still baffled you. They were so unbelievably strong. So strong you couldn't help but be worried.

You believed in Luffy, of course, you did. But when fighting such monsters... even he could have a hard time. So you made it your job to reach the top floor and get to him, the same medicine Zoro was infused with resting in your hands (you stole it) — it was no easy task and probably the dumbest thing you could ever think of, but somehow, you managed to do it. Surprise overtook you before as guards were taken out by a surge of haki coming from above; one that managed to shake you too. It was tremendous. You felt a little light-headed from it, but thankfully you handled it well.

As tremendous as it was, you could tell who it was from. It wasn't from Kaido, no. Some of the shockwaves you felt before had violence, brutality, and bloodthirsty intent oozing from them. This one, however, was very different; almost... warm.

Then, you reached the top. And here you are.

Other than the landscape, the air around you was rather chilly. Distinct from inside, another dimension altogether. Too cold, somehow refreshing. A shudder traveled down your spine, goosebumps all over your skin. The moon above was lustrous, the sky limpid and not as bleak as before. You felt at peace.

Which was weird considering...

"OOOOH!"

There was a dragon coming right towards you.

"... H—huh?"

Jaw slackened, eyes widening — your expression morphed from concerned to straight-up comical in less than a second. There was Kaido, in all of his glory, flying in your direction at probably a thousand kilometres per second and you remained still, not even running because whether you did sprint away from him or not the outcome was still the same. Death.

That one time you do something dumb you regret it. How could you possibly dodge that gargantuan lizard? You were an ant compared to him — wait, were you dreaming or he looked as shocked as you? — you were done for.

"AAAAAAAH!!"

Screams tore from both of your lungs in unison. Then, the ground beneath you turned... malleable, making you lose your balance and fall — the long blue dragon right above you crashing in a nearby pillar, pebbles and rocks scattering like fireworks. You, on the other hand, were sent in the air thanks to the elastic pavement.

Boing, boing, boing.

Perhaps luck was on your side... strangely enough. The floor felt oddly comfortable; soft yet stiff, the texture not at all feeling like dirt and rocks. Groaning, you pushed yourself up, shaking your pulsing head, the ache faintly going away.

"Heeeeey!"

Then, a call; one that made you snap your neck with how swiftly you looked up. Not just a sound. It's him.

Your pupils dilated at the sight — he was so... different. And yet, it was still him.

"Oh? Oooh? Is that you? It's you! It's you!"

How sweet his voice,

"It's youu~ it, is, you!"

how warm his presence,

"Look at me, look at me! Heeeey! Look at me!"

how lovely he himself.

"Ah..."

"Shishishi! You're looking!"

Your heart might've stopped at that moment. Did he know? He seemed to know. Grinning, laughing, ah, he's coming closer and closer. Luffy, Luffy...

The little mantra in your head replayed in your mouth, his name slipping out unconsciously — the corners of his lips curving up; broad, glowing, and so so familiar, so comforting. His hair seemed velvetlike to the touch... Perhaps it resembled rubber? No, marshmallows. He was a big marshmallow right now. Was he even real?

"Yeah! That's me! It's me!" twirling, bouncing, flailing around; he did not stop at all. Oh, no, he didn't — not until he saw you laugh. Not until he heard that precious sound. He had to do it now that you were here. You were worried, weren't you? He could tell. That slight inclination of your brows — He had to ease you!

There was nothing to worry about.

... If only he knew you were just analysing him with extreme concentration.

"See? See?"

He spread wider and wider, his arms suddenly changing course and going straight towards you — at the speed of light. He's so, so energetic for no reason. But he always was, wasn't he? And you've always loved it.

"Luffy..."

You wanted to ask what happened to him. How he felt, how he was, what he was, what was going on. But nothing left your lips, other than a breathless, inaudible mumble of his name. It made him laugh, and with that same buoyant tone, he shouted yours. You could not help but melt further.

"Yeah! It's me, it's me!"

It's him. Luffy. The tottery wobble of your knees quickly became a full-on quake, you couldn't move, you just couldn't. He seemed to — no, he knew. Your brief struggle, your sudden hypnosis.

At that moment, something, in the back of his mind, called to him,

"Come to me. Please come to me."

And it oddly resembled your voice. It came from his heart. Instinct, perhaps — plain as that. Who was he to not follow it, he who always did? It was alright. You didn't have to move at all. He'll come to you.

"I'm coming there! I'm right there!"

His hands finally grasped your shoulders after he yelled. So precious, so... silly. Yes, it's him. He hurled himself like a rocket, just to briskly stop right before you, his face now smashed against yours. His appearance was so different... so adorable. He will always, and inevitably, be him,

"Luffy."

"Shishishi! Hey! Hello!"

Not even Heaven could compare to him. Nothing could compare to him.

The biggest grin on the planet — his cheeks, faintly pink and so warm under your palms, were crinkled as he showed all the rows of his teeth. Dazzling, rotund vermilion eyes met yours, twinkling moreso at the sight of you. You looked so pretty right now. Did you know? He always thought you looked pretty. But you had something different now, something he couldn't describe with words. Though his tongue wouldn't collaborate, he could tell it was positive. You... you're—

"You look weird!" ironic how he spurted out those words when he's the one that metamorphosed. Even his clothes... once a vibrant red, now a blinding white.

"Ah... it's just — you're..."

"Me?"

Luffy tilted his head, his grin remaining. "You're wonderful, lovely, ethereal," is what you wanted to say if only your voice hadn't failed you, stuck in your throat, struggling to be liberated. A few moments passed, your mouth agape and your captain happily waiting. Then,

"You're..." something came out, "so, so...  beautiful, Luffy. I can't... you know?"

Ah, there it is.

See, he knew! And so, he laughed. And laughed, and laughed, and laughed; boisterous, contagious laughter that never, ever ends, the one you could hear every time you were down, for he would always bolt there where you sat, no matter what. A constant reminder that you were never alone. He will always be with you.

"Hehehe. I do!" chuckles and giggles seeped from his sentences, rending them clipped and broken. So warm, so warm — your chest mimicked his soon enough, sweet laughter bubbling from your throat too, lighting him up. If a fire was in his heart, now there was a whole festival. Your voice was so, so..! You know?

"You, pff, you do?"

"Yeah! Hahaha, I do! I do!"

If anyone were to see you both, they'd probably think you were out of your minds. You could picture it, your friends scolding you both, just to laugh after too. It was, so normal, so simple, yet it made you smile even more, and that caused him to do so too.

And then, then, he couldn't help himself; please forgive him, okay? He really couldn't help it! Those limbs that stretched so far to grab you, were now enveloping you both like a cute little present — hehe, a cute little present! — getting tighter and tighter, but not too much, just perfectly. Torso heaving up and down, his curious, rough yet tender hands coming to rest on your cheeks, his chortles fortissimo as he poked, pressed, squished them; nimble fingers pinching and pulling the skin, making you giggle even more. It did nothing to ease the heat within you, oh no it didn't. There was only more. More, more and more.

Was he greedy? (He was,) Look at you — you were so happy! You're enjoying it! You're laughing! He wanted to see you happy, always. The crew, his friends, you, you...

Maybe he was a little greedy (so greedy.) But for you, he'd gladly be.

"Oh, Lulu... Luffy!"

"Yeah!! Yes! Heheeheh!"

You both managed to pepper each other with some kisses — his giggles so cute and mellow — before the reality of the situation struck you both. The enemy's sluggish roar rang in both of your ears,

"Oi, Strawhat! What the hell are you doing, getting all kissy-kissy with your partner? I thought we were fighting!"

Right. Your captain was supposed to free this country. You both forgot.

"Oh, right! Kaido!" he perked up, untangling himself from you and shifting his attention to the enormous blue reptile, "Sorry, I got distracted. It'll take no time, just watch!" he tenaciously said, though a noticeable pout was on your lover's face.

"Y—yes, Lu... Go kick his ass." you muttered dreamily, a dumb dopey grin on your face, as you watched your boyfriend building a weird-looking cage with the floor to "protect" you before goofily walking up to Kaido, bouncing around in a frenzy like a spring.

All that was left was the show. And boy... did you have fun watching him beat that overgrown reptile up — your cackles fuelling the Warrior of Liberation. Soon, he'll hear the others, too. Soon, everyone's laughter will echo in this land, free from torment. He'll have a big, delicious banquet with you...

And all will certainly rejoice.

#one piece imagine #one piece scenario #one piece x reader #one piece x you #luffy x reader #luffy x y/n #luffy x you #monkey d luffy x reader

[circuscountdowns]

Crude Timeline/Breakdown of my goofy Cult of the Lamb drawings if you’re interested:

The whole premise for this i guess au? Started during my first run, I already knew the game was about kill god become god, but Did Not know you could Marry the god youd betray??? Or indoctrinate him???. Like I didn't even choose the Marriage Doctrine cuz I'm like boo r u kidding me I'm choosing violent Battle Pit always. Which Lambert wouldn't know any of this in the beginning either but the big deciding factor is: 

Lamb is going into it with the mindset of Kill All Gods for what they've done to the sheep (sorry my benefactor, ur included <3) Kratos style lets go, none spared.

That being said, they have a lot of devotion towards Death, I like to think the Sheep folk prayed to The One Below for quick passings knowing they're a huge sacrificial species, and because sheep with their huge herd mentality, the worship flowed heavily which is a threat therefore that plus prophecy equals Slaughter. 

So with TOWW, they play along and genuinely mean they're serving death because they worshiped Death as a concept, a divine entity. They believe when they “kill” TOWW they'll still be “together” because Death is unkillable right (and the lamb would never have to be alone again right). Something new will be written thats the both of us as one.

So in between crusading Lamb and TOWW get closer (i am going to take your throne but that doesn't mean we can't have fun banter or that i don't really really enjoy ur compliments and attention ((because I love kittys…))) and that's when the comic about tanking happens. 

But oh no! Through their journey Lamb discovers that TOWW is actually a Bishop, chained for a petty family squabble??? Has a name and it’s Narinder???? 

The revelation kinda breaks something in their head. it upsettingly humanizes the Bishops, trivializes the death of their people, and takes TOWW off the pedestal they'd placed him on. Uh ohhhh how does this change things i mean I'm still gonna kill all the gods but what does it mean to be a god is it just a crown whats going to happen to Narinder is it actually Narinder I like ?? (And i had a comic for this time planned but idk if ill get to it)

Meanwhile Narinders opinion on the Lamb has so far just been Wow im so proud, I chose good yay I'm gonna be free (why do I feel like I could be free from their devotion alone?) (why are they just like me fr?) 

When Narinder is defeated and they have the choice, the lamb feels they betray both their people for not keeping their promise to kill all gods, but also their Faith and Narinder, v conflicting. 

After indoctrination, Narinder does his typical Isolation, depression, and Lamb mourns what they'd had. In their loneliness, they stop allowing their cultists to die for long. They do all Narinders quests, and when it comes to the resurrection he's like Haha I remember why I liked you. But also he can exploit this. That's the time of the Resurrection comic.

He tries to micromanage from there, if he can't be the god being worshiped rn he's going to control the god. Starts off with whispering insecurities of Your cultists will find a way to leave you, be firmer. Gods should do this, have this, they'll leave if you don't. Lamb knows what he's doing and mostly humors him to keep him around but over time they've just both started to build a proper relationship again. He successfully ironically becomes their right hand.

This goes on for a sec before Mystic Seller knocks on da door like Hello do your joobbbb. And thats a kick enough to get Lamb out of their misery shit to really consider their original plan of killing gods and what exactly they want Death to Mean. (Comes to a conclusion that death is a peace that has to be earned. Through living.)

Bringing Leshy back brings a rift and arguments between Narinder and Lamb. That's when the Narinder Confessional comic happens and he lets out just how hurt he was by Lambs betrayal (cuz that seems to be all anyone ever does to him lol except for his sons)

So as a sort of reconciliation! Lamb brings back Aym and Baal. Yay! That's that comic, where Narinder tries to say it doesn't affect him so Lamb forces them to be together. Aym and Ball stay in the cult for a good while as Lamb works to free Heket, but Narinder is still super giving Lamb the cold shoulder. When Heket is indoctrinated Narinder gets angry again that he has no say on the matter. 

Lamb starts sneaking off to sit in the confessional booth at night and it gets Narinders attention. He follows them in and hears them speak about essentially their motivations and beliefs described earlier. I have a half finished comic of this to partner with Narinder’s confessional, with Lamb’s being more down to earth and kinda just explanatory of the whole timeline but who knows if ill finish it tbh

Narinder reassesses his feelings for Lamb after that.

Right after Lamb's confessional would be when the Baal and AYm comic happens, and Narinder asks for his last request of going on a mission, fully committing to living a life.

Cue big ambiguous gap of time where Lamb gets the other siblings, yada yada healing and dealing. Shamura in the pillory comic happens, the bishops are Not happy about it, but Shamura's only locked up for a night.

Probably takes a hundred or two years for the siblings being comfortable enough around each other and theres a lot less venom being spat out. Idk gods grudges be lasting forever sometimes. Eventually They can start having family game nights, cue that comic. Everyones tired of the shit Lamb and Narinders got going on. 

Lamb still thinks Narinder doesnt have romantic feelings for them. Best friends til the end me and my god, never mind the tense flirting. Lamb does that with everyone. (cursed with flirty asexual disease) For Narinder its that he shouldnt have to say anything everyone should just know that the Lamb is his. Straight up if Lamb asked him, do you love me hed say yes in every sense, but though he is aware of how he feels and would be honest on approach, an immortal relationship/marriage?? It is a lot to ask of the lamb, that has to be a decision they make. Hes content as is.

but No Way could Lamb ask that without a safety net.  So when Lamb realizes Oh its like. romantic jealousy? Interesting lets see how far i can push it, announces they will be choosing a spouse (due to a wager lost they reason, depending on who asks) (the siblings who know of Shamura’s deal, watch in mild amusement at how absolutely wired this gets their brother. No one helps him.) fine for narinder If they get married thats up to them but hes gonna make sure theyre worthy of his vessel first. Marriage is just a title compared to what he and the Lamb have. 

Cue comic i have planned that is Such a funny idea to me but im not liking how its turning out so who knows. But they get married yay! 

Some years later kudaai has offered to make the lamb their own weapon. They go on a little trip to the spot they were sacrificed, now very overgrown and forgotten, and find their chains to make their weapons. 

far future comic

many many many years later Lamb death comic.

that’s it for now. I’ll add more if ideas come but this is context if you’d like. Feel free to ask questions, I’m rotating these fellas in my head

#Here are tags for navigating my blog-> #cotl art #narilamb #remediesdnd #That ones for my party.

[factual-fantasy]

18 Asks! Thank you!! :}} 🎪

@pink088

Guuuuurl does it look like I missed the boops? XDD

(I DID miss the super boops and revenge boops tho. I was trashed on the couch and stuck on mobile all day so I wasn't able to send any back to anyone💔💔)

Uhhhmm... oh jeez lemme try to remember-- I'm assuming you mean the order I got everyone in the game..?? Cuz other than the goofy little comics I've been drawing there isn't much of a story beyond that-

Uhhh so I started with Midori(Sprigatito) obviously, thennn... I think I caught Grim(Gastly).. then I caught Gloria(Ralts). Thenn..... arrhrhhgh I thiiiink I went looking for eevees, but I found Anastasia(Shiny Kricketot) in the process and kept her. Then I picked one of the eevees I caught at random and kept him. Then lastly I found a Mareep(Bonnie) by surprise and kept her.

My memory is very poor but I thiiink that's mostly accurate <XDD If I misunderstood your question don't be afraid to send another ask! 😅

@pbjfox37147878

Sorry, I don't take requests.. But hey! You already got a solid concept going and some artistic talent, you can always make it yourself for free! :0

Not really.. I've had a surprising number of uncomfortable experiences with the fandom recently so I've decided to take a step back from Octonauts for a while..

@psype

:DD Thank you! I'm glad you like them! :}}

And yeah that's how I pictured her XDD its becuase I use her the most out of all my Pokémon-

Now she's not bossy and doesn't have a leader or "I'm better that you guys" complex, none of that! She's just very intelligent and usually very level headed and calm. I can imagine that she's gotten the team safely through a lot of complicated situations and her plans/advice have rarely led the group astray.

Plus since I use her so often, I like to think that she's one of the most powerful Pokémon on the team. If not the most powerful. So whenever the group was met with a great danger, Gloria was probably the one to rescue them <XD

So the whole group kind'a gravitates behind her and lets/wants her to take the lead most of the time. Especially when things get complicated or dangerous!

@nerdyskullcap (User in ask)

I took a peek at their blog, but I couldn't find any original art of the Conductor after quite a while of scrolling through that tag.. I only found reblogs of other peoples Conductor comics.. <:(

XD That description of Gloria is very fitting! I use her the most out of all my Pokémon and she rarely loses! XDD

This was a cool read, and hey! Some of my Pokémon have some of those attacks! :000 Gloria has draining kiss and Bonnie has discharge! :D

@cat7890

I'd like to think they've never fought before.. maybe some little bickering on a bad day, but never anything serious.

They have good communication and just generally get along really well and like a lot of the same things. So there's rarely conflict between them! :0

Thank you! I'm happy to hear that you like my artwork! :}}

As for your question.. I'm afraid I don't understand/cant explain it--

Lets say I wanna draw Mario. I imagine what the drawing might end up looking like in my head, what pose I'll draw him in and what colors I'll use.. And then I just.. draw it. It might not look exactly like what I pictured but its probably close enough.

If that doesn't answer your question, I'm afraid I either don't understand your question or this is just an art thing that I don't know how to explain. <:( Sorry, feel free to send another ask with more specifics if you have them!

@sleep-deprived-fr3ak

If Bill ever became a lawyer? All hope is lost XDD

@raven-bearden-the-interviewer42

I haven't really thought about the details of the crews travels and adventures.. but I'm sure that when Louis got cursed and became a crab monster? That was probably pretty memorable XD

Probably this one honestly <XD I cant think of anything more cursed off the top of my head-

@fawncr33k

I suppose that would be fine, but I wouldn't prefer it. As I've said many times,, just comments guys! Asks, reblogs, tags, how ever you type them. I just want comments.👍

@neo-metalscottic

No problem! Getting asks are usually a pick me up :}}

As for the Dry Bones thing, that's what I meant by "not sure how it fits into the AU yet" 😅 Who'd they fight? Why did they fight? When did this happen? No idea. Its all just a neat concept with no structure yet :// And beyond the awkward living situation with the Dry Bones today, I haven't really thought about how the Koopa culture has been changed by the war. That's just way too much thinking and I'm way too sick to bother trying to figure it out atm- 💀💔 But maybe someday I'll think it through!

Now Luigi, I had this idea that he had a bizarre encounter with a 1-UP and was later bitten by a Goomba. Over the span of say... 5 days or so..? Luigi slowly got weaker and weaker until eventually he became bedridden and actually died- He came back to life moments after but it still completely shook Mario and Luigi's worlds for a sec there-

I had intended to draw a comic about this, and I made a sketch about it in the past.. but around the time I thought of this idea my Mario phase was kind'a passing over so I didn't feel like making it- <XDD

As for a potential sequel, I would like to see Wario, Waluigi and Toadsworth. Not sure why Toadsworth wasn't in the first movie- he absolutely should have been. That deep voiced purple..? council..? toad guy?? Totally should have been Toadsworth :/

And my request for the Wario bros is that they are taken seriously. 😅🤣

@cherrycreamfairy

I'm doing okay so far today, thank you! :}

@littlelightfish

I haven't really figured out the details about how Tuna and Louis lost their limbs- 😅

But I'm considering that Louis lost his arm (I assume you meant his arm-) in some kind of work related accident a long time ago. It must have been a fishing accident somehow..

As for Tuna, either some kind of natural disaster/accident or.. someone "removed" them... O-O

I do not :/ I'm not even sure what homestuck is.. I thiiink its a webcomic-

@nemo-draco

Oooo! :00 It looks cool! :DD

And thank you, I'm hoping I get over this soon too 😅

#my response #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run ocs #my ocs #super mario bros #mario movie #pokemon scarlet and violet

[bippot]

Summary: Obligatory Professor Reid fic but without the weird age gap. When an artist takes one of Spencer's courses for research for her comic book, he's astounded by his lack of self restraint.

Tags: Professor Spencer Reid, Teacher-Student, Relationship, Smut, Fluff, Secret Relationship, Mutual Pining

Criminal Minds, Dr Spencer Reid Masterlist - here

Apparently, the librarian look was all the rage these days. At least, that's what Reid deduced when the most stunning woman he had ever laid eyes on strolled into his lecture hall, looking like she had just stepped out of one of those hilariously cheesy 'sexy nerd librarian' pornos he had stumbled upon during one particularly lonely night on a case.

She was a vision in her sweater vest - an argyle one that happened to be a dead ringer for the one he was currently sporting. The hem of her shirt peeked out from underneath, adding a touch of casualness to the otherwise preppy ensemble. Her blouse, a delicate shade of lilac with dainty white flowers adorning the cuffs, flowed effortlessly over the waistband of her jeans. It was a perfect blend of polished and carefree, and to Reid, who had never considered himself to be a fashion-forward individual, she exuded cool.

But it was her smile that truly captured his heart - wide, radiant, and undeniably goofy. And the best part? It was directed right at him. Reid couldn't believe his luck. He quickly scanned behind him, half-expecting to find someone else who might be the recipient of that captivating smile, only to find empty space. Odd, considering he was quite certain there was no one else in the room. He would have noticed. His brain struggled to comprehend that such a smile could be directed at him, of all people.

In an instant, Reid was on his feet, his body reacting before his mind could fully process what was happening. He took a step forward, greeting her at the door frame. It was a good thing she was the first to arrive; otherwise, his hasty reaction might have seemed rather incriminating. He had never been particularly subtle when interacting with someone he found attractive, so this was just another addition to his ever-growing collection of awkward encounters.

But, man oh man, he wasn't the only one feeling the heat in that moment; she was just as flustered as he was. He couldn't help but notice her fidgeting, those nervous twitches that gave away her own jumbled emotions. And in that split second, he found himself wanting to reach out to brush away a few stray strands of hair that had fallen over her face. He didn't. But he so desperately wanted to.

"Hi," he squeaked, cringing at the high-pitched sound that escaped his lips. In a desperate attempt to save face, he coughed loudly, hoping to drown out the embarrassing squeak.

Was it just his imagination or did she blush? If so, he had to admit, he kind of liked her face a little rosier.

"Is this Profiling 101?" she asked, a glimmer in her eyes that instantly put him at ease. Her easygoing expression made him feel less ridiculous for losing control over his own reactions.

"I was gonna call it 'Noticing the Minutiae of Deviant Behaviour for the Development of a Baseline Hypothesis'," Reid responded automatically, his words tumbling out in his characteristic rambling style. He realised that he had answered her question, but perhaps not directly enough for her to pick up on it, so he quickly added, "Yes, this is. This is Profiling 101. Yeah, uh, welcome... You're the first one here."

Sweater Vest's eyes widened as she took in Reid's appearance, giving him a casual once-over. "Oh! You're Doctor Reid?" she exclaimed, surprise evident in her voice. He nodded in confirmation, feeling a twinge of self-consciousness at her reaction. "I was expecting some wizard-looking man with a big bushy beard for some reason. And you're not like that... at all. I should've done more research."

Reid couldn't suppress a chuckle, a delightful blend of amusement and embarrassment sweeping over him. It wasn't uncommon for people to underestimate him and mistake him for someone older - that had been the story of his professional life. But, in this moment, he found himself not minding one bit as she saw him as an equal, not a mentor.

"I was actually considering growing a beard," he playfully pondered aloud, his hand instinctively reaching up to stroke his chin as if taming a wild thicket of facial hair. Her quiet laughter filled the air, a deep and melodious sound that was like sweet music to his ears.

Surprisingly enough, he felt a tiny flicker of his awkwardness fade away as he conversed with her. It wasn't a complete transformation, mind you, just a small chip off the iceberg. Perhaps it was all in his head, a figment of his imagination. After all, it would be pretty bizarre to feel more at ease with a stranger he'd just met than with the people he'd known for years and considered close friends.

"I think you'd pull it off."

As the words left her lips, a cascade of students flooded into the room, effectively putting an end to their conversation. Reid's heart skipped a beat at the unexpected compliment, but he quickly regained his composure, not wanting to draw any suspicion from his class. He couldn't afford to let anyone know that he was smiling like a love-struck fool at the mere mention of one of his students.

The sudden influx of people served as a timely reminder that she was, in fact, his student. The boundaries between them were crystal clear, and Reid's thoughts had ventured far beyond what was appropriate for their relationship. He knew he had to rein in his wayward feelings, but it felt like trying to stop a freight train with a pebble. It was an uphill battle, but it was a battle that had to be fought.

So, he made a conscious effort to suppress the butterflies that fluttered in his stomach every time he stole a glance in her direction. He couldn't let his attraction get the better of him.

Instead, Spencer shifted his attention to the eclectic group of people filling the room, hoping to shake off the distraction. Approximately twenty-five students occupied the space, a lively bunch with most of them with very obvious aspirations of becoming top-notch agents. Their wide-eyed enthusiasm and incessant questioning about the practicality of profiling in the real world gave them away as the eager rookies they were. However, amidst the crowd, Spencer noticed a handful of outliers, mysterious individuals whose motives and ambitions were yet to be deciphered.

One of those was the woman in the sweater vest. She was hanging onto his every word as if it were the most captivating story ever told. Her eyes were wide with curiosity, and her pen danced across the page, effortlessly capturing every detail. But what caught his attention, much to his chagrin, was the elegant script adorning the front of her notepad. It read, "Noticing the Minutiae of Deviant Behaviour for the Development of a Baseline Hypothesis." He couldn't help but smile to himself, appreciating it. It was a brief moment of amusement before he cleared his throat and continued with his presentation.

From what he could gather, she was like a breath of fresh air in the classroom filled with wannabe agents. She didn't fit the mould of those typical heroes, strutting around with an obnoxious sense of pride. No, she was different. She had a kindness that radiated from within, the kind that made you believe she would rescue a stranded kitten without a second thought. But she wasn't the type to go charging into danger, kicking down doors with reckless abandon. Oh no, she had a whole other vibe about her.

Seated beside her was one of those wide-eyed spooks, his eyes fixed on her notes so he could copy them. It was crystal clear that she would become the ultimate nerd that everyone would try to copy from as the term went on. Ah, the passing of the torch. Once upon a time, Spencer had held that title, but now, he had ascended to the rank of the master. Thank goodness he no longer had to worry about pleasing his peers by sharing his hard-earned work.

Sweater vest didn't seem to mind one bit, though. In fact, she went above and beyond, tilting her book towards him so that he could read it with ease. Now, that's what you call considerate! And boy, was he starting to notice all the little things about her that he found so endearing. He hadn't even known her for that long, but she was already capturing his admiration. There was just something about her that made him want to learn more, to unravel the mystery of who she truly was.

As the lecture carried on, Reid's enthusiasm for the course seemed to bubble over. He couldn't contain his excitement as he delved into every detail of what the rest of the course had in store. The subjects he planned to cover were as diverse as the colours in a rainbow, as were the case examples he would be using to illustrate each topic. He even made sure to add trigger warnings, because hey, who wants to be startled by a decapitated head or a crushed femur at nine in the morning?

Reid was also on a mission to secure some impressive guest speakers for the course. His top choice? None other than the charismatic Derek Morgan. But as Hank began to grow and talk and do all the exciting milestones that children do, Derek was a busy man who wanted to spend as much of his free time with his son. He wanted to be present for every precious moment and soak up every bit of knowledge and opportunity he could at what being a parent was like. And to give his son the experience of having his good ol' pa around was definitely a priority.

"My old mentor - his name was Gideon, uh, Jason Gideon - he used to offer his students time after class if they wanted to hear about any of his old cases and, yeah, if any of you are interested I can start doing that. Is that -" Going off their faces, he felt the need to cut himself off. "Oh, most of you look interested in that."

Giddily, he stole a quick glance towards Sweater Vest. She caught his eye, offering a nod of encouragement before redirecting her attention to her own notes. Oh, Spencer, you sly dog. The adorable girl (who, yes, happens to be your student and the boundaries must be respected) just practically declared her desire to be in your company more often. Talk about a major breakthrough!

"Yes, okay. I can do that. That's something to consider for next week."

He found himself babbling away, but truth be told, he was mostly entertaining himself at this point. The lesson was drawing to a close, and boy, was Spencer feeling the exhaustion creeping in. He had covered all the essential points, and now he was just left with the remnants of his scattered thoughts. And we all know, when Spencer's mind starts to wander, it becomes a barrage of information.

Some of it was useful. Most of it was not.

As the professor glanced across the room, he couldn't help but notice some of his students' attention beginning to wander. He knew it was time to wrap up the session. With a warm smile, he announced, "Alright, folks, I think we've covered enough for today. Time to call it a day. But fear not, my dear scholars, for we shall reconvene next week, at the exact same time, in this hallowed hall of knowledge."

The words hung in the air, eliciting a chorus of enthusiastic nods and affirmatives from the students. With a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement, they began to gather their notebooks, pens, and bags, their excitement palpable. As the lecture hall slowly emptied, Sweater Vest found herself among the last of the stragglers. Of course, being the diligent student she was, she had chosen a seat all the way at the end of the first row, farthest from the exit. It seemed she was destined to be the last one out.

Before she'd made it through the doorframe, Spencer called out, "I like your outfit, by the way," and tugged at his vest with a hooked thumb when she turned to look at him. A soft chuckle escaped her lips, causing her nose to twitch with amusement. Her face lit up like a thousand fireworks, her smile stretching from ear to ear, as if the whole world suddenly became a stage for her joy.

"I like yours, too, Doctor Reid."

She glanced down at her shoes, her brows furrowing in deep thought. It was as if a little debate was playing out in her head, her expression a mix of uncertainty and determination. But then, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she shook off whatever reservations she had. With a playful wave, she breezed out of the room, leaving him standing there, his eyes fixed on her retreating figure.

"Oh boy, we've got a situation," Reid muttered to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. With a heavy sigh, he plopped down onto his chair, his forehead finding solace on the cool surface of his desk.

And boy, oh boy, did he have a problem. A real whopper of a problem, in fact. Every single lesson, like clockwork, he couldn't help but find himself lingering and pacing near her seat. She was always early, snatching up that prime spot in the front row like it was her own personal throne. Can you believe it? The nerve! But hey, who could blame him? It's like a magnetic force pulling him in, making it impossible for him to resist.

After class, Reid would play tour guide, leading his eager students from the bustling lecture hall to his cosy office. Directly after his class, the lecture hall had been hijacked by an astronomy class for the next time slot, leaving Reid with no choice but to retreat to his own little sanctuary. His office was far from extravagant and was filled with remnants of its previous occupant still lingering. He'd added a few things, which mostly consisted of framed photographs of the BAU hanging prominently on the wall behind his desk.

As for seating, well, Reid had managed to squeeze in a total of six options. There was a comfy little sofa, two chairs on one side of his desk, and a snazzy armchair reserved just for him. Sure, it wasn't the most spacious or luxurious setup, but it was enough to get the job done. After all, it's not the size that matters, but the quality of the discussions and the connections made.

Two weeks passed and it seemed like a magic trick had been performed - poof! The number of students that attended the after class sessions had suddenly been cut in half. It was as if they had all disappeared into thin air. And if that wasn't enough, by the end of the third week, only a grand total of four brave souls dared to venture into his office on a regular basis.

Sweater Vest - or as he'd come to know her as, Y/N - was one of those students. He'd been correct in his first assessment of her: she wasn't a FBI wannabe. She was a comic book artist that had somehow swindled her way into getting the date of her new graphic novel pushed back because she was busy with her research, a.k.a. his course.

Spencer had only found out when he caught her sketching a crime scene photo as he was talking through it. He had waited until they were walking out to the parking lot to get in their respective cars to actually ask her about her talents.

"Yeah, I doodle for a living," she laughed, her words indicative of someone who'd explained their job more than they'd like to and had gotten really tired of the (sometimes belittling) questions people would ask about it. "I've been pushing out comic books one after another after another for I don't know how long, so when I told my publisher I needed some time to do some research for my new story, they decided that I deserved a break. Not that I'll complain about that, it's a nice gesture."

"You're doing an FBI course for 'research'?"

"When you put it like that, it sounds kind of silly. I tend to write a lot of crime stories so why not have them be a tad more realistic? That's what I think anyway."

"No, no, it's not ridiculous at all." Spencer replied sincerely. "It's actually pretty impressive, honestly. That's admirable."

His compliment seemed to fluster her and he was surprised at how quickly it seemed to turn her red. When she opened her mouth to respond, though, it was interrupted by a loud buzzing coming from somewhere in his satchel.

"Sorry, it's probably my work - other work. My boss. Yeah, I should - I mean, I should get this," Spencer said awkwardly as he pulled out his phone to answer the call. He looked to her apologetically before excusing himself to go take care of his business.

Y/N stood there for a moment, wondering whether or not he spoke to everyone with the same amount of enthusiasm. In the few one on one interactions they'd had, he was sweet. Very sweet, really. His smiles were genuine, and yet the awkwardness surrounding him only seemed to amplify whenever she was around. Was that normal? Or was he just shy?

Whatever his reason, Y/N found it hard to keep herself from grinning like a schoolgirl over him. The thought sent her cheeks flushing an ever deeper shade and, as soon as she got into her car, she turned the AC on just to cool them down before driving off. She found herself humming, but who knows why?

Professor Reid thought about cancelling his class since he was on a case. And despite how much he disliked the digital world, Garcia had managed to convince him to try out doing his lesson over the Internet. And, well, if he went through with it, maybe he could see his students' faces (faces plural and not one face in particular - no, no, definitely not) without flying halfway across the country to have to return to do his job.

Just as he'd expected, he wasn't very good at the whole technology thing and had to get Penelope to help him out on a couple of technicalities, but once everything was going, the professor figured he might as well give it a shot.

He was more bumbling than usual. It was the cutest thing Y/N had ever seen. He was like a technophobe grandpa - a super hot grandpa - stumbling over every step he took. To top it off, it didn't help that the professor kept running his hands through his hair, messing it up even more than usual. His clothes were wrinkled and creased and his tie was missing, but, still, he appeared completely and utterly adorable.

In the comfort of the front row of the lecture room, the only people who got to see Y/N's expression were the people to her left and the good doctor himself. Thanks to everyone's cameras being on, anyone on the call could see the literal hearts in her eyes as she watched their lecturer fail to pull up PowerPoint without asking, "Can everyone see this or is it just on my screen?"

Obviously, there were other students that were hot for teacher. How could they not be? Y/N was a little older than the FBI wannabes and she knew what it was like to be young and have a crush every now and again, but whatever she felt towards Reid felt more mature than that. More grown up, almost.

Her smile grew wider and broader at his clumsy attempts as he attempted to carry on with his lesson, his glasses crooked on his nose as he tried to figure out which button to press because he'd accidentally muted himself.

"Press the picture that looks like a pill capsule in a fancy holder," she informed him. Reid blinked at her before his eyebrows shot up, a hint of surprise in his eyes as he clicked on the microphone icon.

"Y/N?" he asked tentatively, trying not to sound too hopeful and failing miserably. She shook her head in amusement, leaning forward on the edge of her chair.

"That's me."

The professor smiled softly, his gaze darting briefly between hers and the screen in front of him. "Wow, uh, thank you for that information. As you all can tell, I'm not quite used to this technology thing...but I'm making a real effort here!"

Throughout his lecture, he tried. He really did try to seem competent on the computer, but when it came right down to the core, he was clueless. The poor guy never really used anything technological - books were his whole thing. But, luckily for him, the audience seemed to find his clumsy attempt amusing rather than insulting. He was just glad he managed to survive until the end of the class.

"Thank you for your attention," Reid stated simply. "I'm sorry that I haven't been able to deliver a more, uh, seamless presentation. And I further apologise that there won't be an after class discussion today, but I guarantee that everything will be back to normal next week."

Before he logged off, Spencer managed to write a little message and he'd worked out how to send it to only one person. It simply said, 'Thanks for the help today, Y/N. I'll see you next week?"

'See you next week, Doc. ;)'

A winky face? How could she be so bold?

The video call ended with Spencer letting a quick breath escape through his lips, feeling a light tingle travel down his spine at the sight of that emoticon. He stared at the empty screen blankly for a moment before closing his laptop, taking off his glasses, and smiling to himself.

"Why does your face look like that?"

Penelope had been sitting at the desk across from him, and, judging by the look of astonishment in her features, she had noticed his blush before he had even realised he was doing it.

"Look like what?"

"Smitten."

"I'm not-"

"You so are. I saw you smiling at your screen. So please, don't play innocent with me." The smirk on her lips was obvious as she leaned forward to loom over him intimidatingly - well, as intimidating as the bright and bubbly Penelope Garcia could be. "So, who is it?"

The genius man groaned loudly, burying his face in both his hands as he mumbled into them, "My student."

"Ew, Reid."

"Exactly!" he exclaimed, looking back up at her and shrugging his shoulders helplessly. "Nothing can happen. That would be a serious breach of the university's rules, and the power dynamic would be a nightmare to deal with."

There was another question on the tip of Pen's tongue. She didn't want to assume anything bad about her friend, but the typical age of people in college implied certain things. They'd heard and witnessed countless stories or age-gap relationships that were less than healthy, so she had to ask, "How old is she?" curiously, her worry barely hidden. Reid gave her a flat stare.

"Late twenties."

"Oh thank God. I thought I was going to have to discourage a middle-aged man from making advances on a barely legal teenager."

"Hey! I find your lack of faith disturbing."

"Sorry," she apologised sheepishly. "You just have to be careful with these kinds of situations, okay? Don't push your luck, Spencer Reid. I mean it."

"Fine." He huffed. "I promise I will behave myself."

Pen rolled her eyes with a chuckle, shaking her head as she got up from her chair. "You better wait it out, big boy. Otherwise, you'll pay the consequences." Then she turned and left, leaving her friend alone at the desk. The genius chuckled to himself as he stared at his hands, his heart still beating rapidly.

'Wait it out' That was the sentiment that swirled around his head constantly, and it had become such a mantra lately. It became his new motto - the hope that pushed him onward every day. Even though he couldn't do anything about it yet, there would be a time when he could.

In his mind, there were three ways it could go.

Option 1 seemed the most unlikely. Eventually, his affection for her would fade away, his feelings would dissipate, and he'd move past his initial attraction to perhaps even become friends with her someday - even though, in his opinion, it would be impossible to forget how pretty she was (mostly because it was impossible for him to forget anything).

2 would be the best-case scenario. He'd wait until the end of her course, then be very suave and have planned an incredibly charming speech that would have her swooning and agreeing to a date with him. The romantic side of him believed that would be the magnum opus of his entire dating life, and that part of him was sure of it.

Or 3 - he'd wait to ask her out, and she'd reject him, and they'd be strangers from that point on, forever, which would suck. In fact, he'd rather not think about it at all - especially since, despite all the possibilities, that was also the one scenario that contained them never interacting again afterwards. Not that he wouldn't still enjoy seeing her in passing every now and then, but he didn't know how much he wanted to risk the possibility of getting his hopes up.

So, he planned to continue on without changing his behaviour all that much, he decided. No matter what happened or how things went, Spencer kept all his interactions with Y/N friendly but not too friendly, helpful but not giving in to his favouritism, and supportive but not overeager or pushy. He figured that it was enough.

It certainly seemed to be.

For a while.

Then, one lecture, she was a little late. That had never happened before. She tried to creep in silently, hoping he hadn't noticed, but of course he noticed. Spencer Reid noticed the second she walked in his peripheral. How could he not? Especially since she was far more dressed up than usual.

As Y/N entered the lecture hall, she couldn't help noticing how many heads were turning towards her direction as everyone stared at her. It was embarrassing, but she did her best to ignore it. Instead, she looked around for a place where she could sit down and pretend she wasn't completely and utterly mortified. Her eyes landed on Spencer's first, and she smiled shyly at him. He waved a little as a greeting, which she responded to with a small wave of her own hand.

Finally finding a seat at the end of a row, Y/N shook the coat from off her shoulders and let Spencer get a good look at her outfit. For whatever reason, she was wearing a tight fitted Morticia Addams-esque gown that accentuated and hugged every curve in a perfect manner. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, with strands falling down either side of her face gracefully. Spencer gulped when his eyes fell upon her cleavage, and he quickly averted his eyes before Y/N or anyone else could notice him staring.

For the next hour and fifty three minutes, he avoided looking in her direction altogether. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid eye contact, no, no...but he knew if he glanced over at her, he wouldn't be able to keep it together for even a minute longer. His cheeks would flush and he'd stop breathing and he had this fear of having a complete cardiac arrest. This had to stop, because he was becoming pathetic - and he hated to admit that.

That problem only increases tenfold during the after class session because there were significantly less students to divert his focus to. Obviously, Tina and Oliver would notice if he completely blocked Y/N out. Well, he hoped they would - he'd been lecturing them about the importance of eye contact and if they missed such a thing, either they didn't listen or he was a shitty teacher.

Fingers crossed they didn't listen.

The three students and their lecturer retreated back to the dingy old office that Spencer called his own, taking up residence on the beat up sofa opposite his table whilst he sat on top of the desk criss-cross applesauce. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air between all three of the students as they waited for Spencer to start talking. He took a deep breath and blurted out, "Y/N, what's with the dress?"

"My friend's a photographer and I was helping him out with a Halloween shoot. I'm lucky I had time to wipe off all that makeup and get my wig off or there would've been a bunch of sleepy college kids wondering why the hell Elvira was walking around campus at nine in the morning," she said nonchalantly. Yet, she was fiddling with one of her earrings, twirling it round and around, like some kind of nervous habit.

Maybe wearing a gothic floor length gown when the people around you tend to wear sweatpants and jeans was causing her more anxiety than she was letting on. Or maybe it was something else - maybe it was because she felt so overwhelmed by the attention he was paying her and it caused this repetitive motor movement.

"Well, you look very nice."

Shit. Too direct. Way too direct.

What the hell had he done? Oh my god. He couldn't believe he said that! What the hell, Spencer? What are you doing?

He cleared his throat nervously, looking away for a moment to hide his embarrassed expression. He felt like a fucking idiot when the words escaped his mouth, but thankfully Y/N didn't say anything other than a soft, "Oh, thank you," and they moved right along like it had never happened. The tension eased considerably once they got into casual conversation about an enucleator that Reid helped catch back in 2009 named Earl Bulford, or as the media called him, 'The Eye Snatcher'. It was an interesting topic, to say the least, and they spent the next twenty minutes discussing and dissecting the nitty gritty details of the case.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your opinion, the moment of peace ended rather abruptly when Tina glanced down at her watch, clutched at Oliver's forearm and interrupted, "We've got to get to our next lecture. Sorry, Doctor Reid."

"Oh, I had no idea I'd been talking for that long." Spencer said with an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry."

Both Tina and Oliver pulled their bags over their shoulders and said their goodbyes to him, before making their way to the door with an eager pace. Spencer watched them leave until the door clicked closed behind them, sighing softly as his fingers drummed against the wooden surface of the desk. Because Y/N hadn't gone with them. She stayed put. She remained seated, her bag still laying beside her foot, and was eying him eagerly.

"Do you mind telling me the rest of the story? My curiosity has been peaked." The girl asked as she leaned forward slightly. "I wanna know the whole thing."

Spencer hesitated, glancing at his door momentarily, before agreeing. In all honesty, he didn't trust himself. They were in a private room in one of the more secluded parts of campus, and she was acting all interested in what he was saying, and was wearing a dress with a cut out in the leg, and those legs were just the sort of temptation that he found himself unable to resist.

Other than that, he had promised to share, hadn't he?

Fiddling with a pen that he'd plucked from a mug on his desk helped keep him somewhat on track as he launched into his story with great enthusiasm. So much. Too much, some would say. Especially since the biro launched itself out of his fingers at one point, flew straight at Y/N's ankle then dropped to the ground with a soft 'thunk'.

"Whoops. Sorry."

And since the distance between the sofa and the desk was more than an arm's length, once Y/N bent down and retrieved it, she got up and moved closer to the doctor, who was frozen in position, watching intently as she examined the clumsy mug he kept all his stationary in. It was a simple white hunk of clay that had wonky words along the side.

"Pretty Boy Swag," she read, barely able to say the words out loud without breaking out in laughter.

"My friend, Derek, his wife got him to go to a pottery class with her and, uh, he made that mug for me."

"Your friend thinks you have Pretty Boy Swag?" she teased, chuckling as she placed the mug carefully back on the desk.

".....Yes?"

Almost to herself, Y/N mumbled, "Yeah, he's got a point, " and that was the breaking point. It was a simple little comment that set Reid on a path he couldn't come back from.

All pretence of professionalism was shattered, leaving behind an adorable, flustered mess in its wake. But, despite his sudden change in hue, something- something bold and daring and uncharacteristically brash - suddenly took control of him and, before he really quite knew what he was doing, he was shooting to his feet and capturing her lips on his own. Her surprised gasp was almost instantly replaced with a hum of contentment and she pressed herself up closer to him, one hand pulling him even closer by the waist and tangling her hands further into his curls.

When they finally broke apart, he felt dazed as he tried desperately to understand what exactly had just transpired.

"I probably should not have done that."

"Probably not, no."

"Right."

"But you did anyway."

"Yup."

"Okay then."

For a second he believed he'd totally fucked it - this interaction, the romance, his god damned job - as she made her way to the door, but she didn't leave him hanging. No. The lock on the door that he'd never really had the need to use before clicked into place, and within seconds, she was standing directly in front of him and draping her arms around his shoulders, coquetting, "We shouldn't do it again, then?"

"Probably not, no."

"Good. Good."

With a slight grin, he pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face, his eyes glinting mischievously as his fingertips trailed lightly down her jaw line and rested gently at her chin, tilting her head ever so slightly and closing the gap between their faces once again. He kissed her - sweetly, tenderly, reverently - as though his life depended on it. As though her lips could heal his soul, mend his heart and take everything away from him - his worries, his anxieties, his loneliness - if she let them linger on hers.

He pulled her close, savouring the warmth radiating from her. It was a strange moment of physical intimacy, yet neither of them backed down - neither of them wanted to back down, and they certainly didn't want the other to back down either. It was intoxicating. It was wonderful. It was all so different to him. hadn't kissed anyone in so long, and he couldn't seem to stop. Couldn't seem to pull away, couldn't seem to make himself stop kissing her. The longer the kiss went on, the more desperate and needy the both of them became, hands roaming everywhere except where it really mattered, where they needed it the most. Where they wanted it the most. Where it burned.

A part of him hoped that she'd push him away and he wouldn't be able to touch her anymore. They'd quit while they're ahead, and then maybe it'd be easier to forget about her. Maybe it'd be easier for him to move on. For her to forget about him. It was better to end things sooner rather than later, right?

But, unfortunately, their emotions seemed to have other plans, and he held on as tight as possible, refusing to budge when small moans began to slip out of her mouth, sounding like begging, pleas that he barely heard above the roaring of blood in his ears.

"I don't want to get you in trouble, are you sure about this?" Y/N breathed out shakily through parted lips, pulling back only enough to speak. Her breath tickled his cheeks, sending a wave of dizziness through his body.

"If you don't want to then-" he started but she cut him off quickly, grabbing his hand and moving it to rest on her breast. "Oh. Yeah. Okay... my hand is, yeah, definitely on.... you." He murmured against her mouth, trying and failing miserably to suppress the goofy grin threatening to split his face.

He couldn't hold back any longer. He'd been bottling it all up inside of him for far too long now, and it was becoming impossible to resist anymore. It was as though the dam had broken, because all of a sudden there was no holding back any longer, and Spencer lost his shit, kissing her, pushing her against the desk and gripping at her hips possessively.

"I thought my head was going to explode when you walked in wearing this." He pinched at the fabric of her dress at her hip. "And each one of those thoughts have been improper," he added, his tone darkening with a hint of playful irritation. “So, so inappropriate."

Y/N didn't know what to say. There was no response left inside of her, because she was completely taken by surprise when he nudged her to sit on his desk and got to his knees on the floor in front of her. His gaze fell upon her, full of desire and hunger, and she felt her throat tightening with emotion. How she'd loved being here, alone in his company and under his watchful eye. He looked at her like she was the world, and every word he spoke brought an inexplicable thrill to her veins. A rush, a surge, a spark. The world melted away as she focused solely on him and on his lips.

"I want you to know that I've never done this, uh, this dynamic before - student/teacher thing. I'm not one of those professors. Oh no, maybe I am now. What I'm trying to say, is that you, uh, you... there's this pull to you, that pulls towards me, and... jesus," he muttered, bumping his forehead against her shin as he struggled to find the right words, "Y/N. Help me out here.”

"I get it. I understand what you're trying to say."

"Thank God."

The doctor relaxed visibly when he heard those words, releasing a relieved sigh as he leaned forward and kissed at the side of her knee, letting the hand he'd been resting there trail slowly upwards to her thigh. "Can I...? Please?" he murmured against her, lifting his head to look at her again with wide, hopeful eyes. She nodded.

Carefully, gingerly, almost as though he was afraid to break whatever fragile bubble they were floating in, he lifted her leg onto his shoulder to position himself firmly between her legs. He brushed his nose against her skin, his hand sliding to find the waistband of her underwear and slowly, teasingly, he began to pull them down over her hips until they pooled at her left ankle. He looked up, meeting her gaze and smiling shyly.

"You still want this, huh?" he whispered. "I don't want to do anything that -"

"Spencer."

His eyes lingered, taking her in, absorbing every single detail of her features, committing them to impressive memory. Her rosy lips, bitten red with the remnants of his kisses. Her eyes, hooded with lust, watching him hungrily. The beautiful, soft skin of her thighs, parted and invited him to touch.

"Okay, okay... Do you have anything else on your schedule this morning or can I, how do I say this, take my time? Obviously, we can't be too long as that would be highly suspicious, but -"

"I'm all yours. For as long as you want."

That stopped his rambling short. It was all he needed to hear.

So touch, he did. He began tracing his forefinger across the crease at the top of her thigh, drawing shapes against her in an upwards trajectory until he brushed the tip of his index finger against her clit, delighting in the way her breathing picked up. His fingers began rubbing and stroking and swirling slowly, steadily, rhythmically, and she squirmed underneath him, biting down on her lower lip in order to stop herself from making any noise.

After all, they were in an office surrounded by other offices. Offices, in which, might have other people in and those other people would surely have seen them walk in through the door together, and if someone happened to hear her moans and remember who was inside, well, that was a sure fire way to get Spencer in a lot of trouble. And she would never forgive herself if something like that happened to him - he was a really good teacher. So, for his own good, she would have to keep quiet, and try to control her breathing.

It wasn't easy, however, especially when he decided to add his mouth into the mix, nipping lightly at the inner part of her thigh with his teeth and licking at the sensitive flesh there, causing her to arch her back instinctively. He smiled against her skin because, damn, he was having a great fucking time and if she decided that they'd never do this again (which would suck but he'd go along with it), he would have this moment forever in his mind. Because she was just too fucking hot and too damn responsive and she tasted so fucking good, and he wanted more. Needed more. More of her.

He trailed his tongue up and down, lapping up the juices of her sex until he reached her clit, sucking on the nub gently and swirling his tongue around it to cause her to arch her back and whimper. He sucked harder and faster, wanting nothing more than to feel her come apart beneath him. To see the pleasure, the bliss on her face.

Despite how little noise Y/N was making, moans could be heard. Spencer couldn't seem to keep quiet, though, even as he slid two fingers in her. She was warm and perfect and he couldn't stop all the groans and praise that was being murmured against her.

When she came, it was with a silent cry, her walls contracting and her nails digging deeply into his shoulders. His fingers continued to pump and swirl inside of her until finally, after what felt like ages, he pulled them out slowly and placed a harsh, slow kiss on her inner thigh, marking her as his.

As soon as he withdrew and got back to his feet, her hands were fiddling with his belt buckle, tugging at it in need. Once he nodded at her to undo it, she obeyed and unzipped his trousers.

"Do you have a condom?" she asked, although she already guessed what his answer would be.

"No. I don't make a habit of bringing contraception to work with me."

"Okay, I'm on the pill... but if you'd be more comfortable for me to blow you instead, that'd be totally understandable."

Spencer's big ol' brain took a while to comprehend what she was saying, but as soon as it did, though, he was pushing his boxers down and pulling her hips closer to his. His cock hit the warm entrance of her pussy, and he buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent, taking in the comfort and safety it gave him, before slowly pushing inside of her. He paused once he was fully seated, his gaze locked onto hers.

"Is this okay?" he asked quietly, his voice rough with the effort to contain himself.

"Yeah," she managed to mutter weakly, feeling him fill her so perfectly. He began moving slowly in and out of her, stretching her body to accommodate his, loving the way she arched herself further into his clutches.

"Oh, god, Y/N. You're so tight."

He bit down on his bottom lip, and she swore she saw a glint of desperation flash in his eyes. But he kept moving slowly, deliberately, taking everything he could and giving back as much as he could. The tension built within her body, coiling tighter and tighter until he could feel the beginnings of her orgasm beginning to build.

If it was hard for him to not make a sound when he wasn't even the one being given head, actually getting some stimulation was impossible. Every move he made was accompanied by a groan and another whimper, and she didn't need him to tell her how much he enjoyed each one of those sounds, but they were getting a little too audible.

Tapping on his shoulder so he'd remove his mouth from her collarbone, Y/N took the opportunity of his momentary pause to swipe her underwear from her ankle and push it into his mouth.

"Sorry, handsome, you were making far too much noise. We don't want to get caught."

The fabric muffled most of his groans, but she could tell he still liked what she had done. His hands found her hips again and began caressing them softly while he worked his way inside of her, his movements picking up the pace as the sensations intensified. Y/N's hands, meanwhile, moved to grab handfuls of his hair as she pressed her lips against his throat, mouthing at his jawline and nipping playfully, trying to drive him insane with the need to make her come, to feel her body tighten around him, to taste her, to fuck her and watch as she came undone around him, to love and be loved by her.

And as the tension had built up, she let out a high, breathy sigh and exploded around him, her hips bucking involuntarily against him as a wave of pleasure washed over her. He followed closely behind her, his own release crashing violently through his body as he held her tightly to his chest, both of them panting heavily, their foreheads resting against one another. He closed his eyes as he allowed his arms to relax around her, feeling completely drained but satisfied.

When he opened his eyes again, he found her gazing at him, her fingers smoothing his hair away from his forehead. A wide smile stretched across her face, and he grinned in response as he leaned forward to press a light kiss to her lips.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Oh god, just awful," she teased, her smile giving it away that it was, in fact, just a joke. Her hand left his hair and moved to cup his cheek, running circles on the stubble there. "We can't do this here again, okay?"

"But, we can do this again?"

"Maybe we should wait until the end of the course? It's four weeks, which isn't all that long when you think about it. After that? Whatever this is between us won't get you fired or anything. Just give us some time?"

That made the most sense to Spencer, and it would mean less risk and no questions from anyone else if they started seeing each other outside of classes. That way they wouldn't have to worry about being caught and could just push their eventual relationship back a few weeks.

No biggie.

"The second you're not my student anymore, I'm taking you out on a date," Spencer said, smiling widely at her and leaning his forehead against hers.

"I'll hold you to that, Doctor Reid."

They parted with a kiss, then that agreement kicked into gear. They exited the building from separate exits and got in their separate cars to drive to their separate homes with the promise that they'd see each other again at the next lecture.

Lecture 1 of four went well and without a hitch. It was only when Y/N was about to leave his office with Oliver and Tina did a bump in the road emerge. Not a big bump, not one that was obvious, but one that made the following weeks more difficult to get through.

"Y/N, would you mind staying for five more minutes? I need to go over something with you."

Well, that didn't sound suspicious at all.

"Sure. You two go on without me," she responded casually, not looking at either of them as she closed the door after them. "What can I help you with, sir?"

"Come on, don't call me sir. That's not going to help my withering restraint," Spencer whined, a high pitched, pitiful sound coming out of him as he leant his hand back against the wood of his desk and gestured for her to get closer. She looked from the door to his direction for a short moment, before walking towards him.

"Withering restraint, huh?" she smiled mischievously, her hands finding the end of his tie and fiddling with it, rolling it between her fingers and watching his Adam's apple bob with each gulp of air he pushed down.

"Don't start something we'll have to finish," he warned playfully, his hand trailing down her side and squeezing her hip softly before releasing her to sit down on his sofa. "How was your week? Did your friend send you those Halloween photos like he said he would?"

Y/N eyed him curiously.

"What? I want to know what your life is like. I want to know you outside this campus. I just... I just want to know you. That's all," he rushed to say, the words tumbling hurriedly out of his mouth and sounding desperate even to his own ears. She seemed to understand what was happening because she sighed and moved to sit next to him on the couch.

"He did send the photos. Do you want to see?"

For the next hour or so, the pair sat side by side as they examined the photos, each adding a bit of commentary and going off on so many tangents that within the first ten minutes, they were talking about something completely different than their previous discussion. About halfway through the conversation, Y/N's elbow had drifted to rest against the back of the sofa and her fingers were gently twiddling one of his curls that always fell over the corner of his eyes, while she was listening intently to whatever Spencer was explaining to her.

It was the most natural conversation either of them had ever experienced, and it continued and deepened and grew closer to a point where neither wanted the conversation to stop, it became harder and harder for them to break free from each other. Having physical attraction was one thing, yet they seemed to mesh so well together in almost every way that it scared them a little.

Unlike their first romantic encounter, this one was calm and peaceful, full of soft laughter and teasing remarks. They didn't need sex, nor did they crave it at this point in time, but rather they craved each other.

By the end of it, both Y/N and Spencer knew they could never get enough of one another. It was something they felt, even though they couldn't put into words exactly what it was.

"This is crazy, isn't it?" she whispered, a shy look on her face as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear.

"A little," Spencer replied, his voice equally hushed. "But I'm okay with crazy."

"So am I, actually."

Her fingers trailed for his hand, wrapping her small fingers around his and interlocking them. He placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles, letting out a contented sigh as he squeezed her hand slightly.

"I'm getting kind of hungry... Do you think I could buy you lunch?"

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

Spencer thought for a brief moment before shrugging. "No. But I want to do it anyway. I really, truly do."

"Then yeah, I could eat."

With that, Y/N got up from the couch and offered him her hands to pull him to his feet, tugging him towards her as she gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Okay," she said with a grin. "Let's get going then."

Lecture 2 was torture, it seemed, as Y/N tried her hardest not to stare at Spencer during it, but he wasn't doing much better. He kept glancing in her direction, a small smile forming on his face whenever their eyes met, and she swore he winked at her once or twice, which was wildly irresponsible of him.

At one point during the lecture where he got the students to discuss among themselves, he was oh so bold and leaned on Y/N's desk, mouthing, "You look really pretty," to her and attempted to hide it behind a bunch of papers.

And once she'd glanced around to check that nobody was watching, she replied, "You look so sexy in your glasses," and he dropped his gaze instantly to his shoes, biting his lip in an attempt not to smile like a loon.

Luckily, the pair managed to get through the lecture and the after session without a slip up. But, as Y/N was walking away from his office with her peers, she patted her pockets and realised she'd 'forgotten' her phone back in Dr Reid's office.

"Left my phone. See you guys next week," she called to her friends as she turned round and headed in the opposite direction.

As soon as she reentered his door, she bumped straight into his chest since he was on his way to give her lost item back to her. "Oof! Sorry," she said quickly, attempting to step backwards but was quickly pressed against the door. She blinked up at him from underneath her lashes and let his hands travel up to rest against her hips.

"I forgot my phone."

"Did you now?" he asked, a smirk slowly stretching across his lips. He brought his hand to cup her cheek before pulling her forward for a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to deepen their kiss, trying her best not to moan into his mouth. She didn't quite succeed, but neither did he.

When they finally broke apart, he chuckled breathlessly before dropping a soft kiss on her nose. That sweet, innocent action was all it took for Y/N to cave in. She reached down and clicked the lock into place before pushing Spencer until he was firmly seated on the sofa. She allowed herself to be tugged onto his lap and they, once again, engaged in debauchery on school grounds.

Then lecture 3 of four was tense. The class was silent as the students took their final test. Spencer couldn't show his favourite student any type of affection or extra help in this moment as not only would it be glaringly obvious what was going on between them, but that was seriously against every academic bone in his body.

So, he decided to do some of his own research instead. He hadn't been on that many dates in his life and had no clue what was a good venue close by. There was a good coffee shop on campus but that would be unsuitable considering the nature of how their relationship had begun. That was a little too close to home for Reid's liking.

It was a lot to think about. He needed it to be absolutely perfect because what if the moment the taboo part of their relationship disappeared, she was no longer attracted to him and he'd ruined everything before he even got a chance to make progress?

Eventually, he was brought out of his self induced reverie when someone placed their test on his desk, causing his head to shoot up immediately. He gave the student an enthusiastic thumbs up and flashed a bright smile at him. Soon, student after student after student was coming up to his desk to put their finals down.

Y/N had finished. She finished a while ago but was still sitting in her seat, one hand holding up her head, the other drawing on a scrap bit of paper. Not wanting to be the first person to get up, she'd prolonged her time by sketching a certain professor and got carried away, completely missing the multiple people who'd finished and exited the hall after her.

By the time she noticed, Dr Reid was calling out, "5 more minutes." She snapped out of her trance and looked up to see him grinning at her, his finger pointing to the portrait of him with such a teasing flourish that she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

With an inaudible giggle, she packed her stuff and stood up, taking slow careful steps towards the man waiting for her near his desk. Spencer's expression softened as she placed her test down, then slid her drawing right in front of him. Just below his portrait, she'd written, 'You’re sweeter than π' and a chuckle slipped past his lips and fell into the mostly empty room as he picked up the picture and gazed at her talent fully drawn artwork.

All he could do for now was mouth, "Office?" and hope she understood what he meant by it. Officially, his office drop ins had concluded the week before, but he'd make an exception in this instance. After all, he wanted to keep her with him for a little bit longer.

Understand, she did. Spencer opened his office door and was greeted with the sight of Y/N reading one of the books from his shelf, the scent of freshly brewed coffee wafting from the machine next to his desk, and two fresh mug fulls on his desk.

"The Disappearing Spoon is for total nerds," she remarked jokingly, placing her book back on the shelf and turning towards him, leaning against the edge of his desk as she looked up at him expectantly.

"Well, you were the one reading it. Nerd."

"It was in your library. Nerd."

After giving her a little shrug, Spencer walked over to where she was standing and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head. "How'd you find the test?" he asked, kissing the side of her head lightly.

"Oh, it was easy as pie." Her smile widened and she wrapped her arms around his waist to return the hug. "I had plenty of time to waste doodling."

"Is that so?" he murmured against her hair. "Oh, by the way, not that it will change much because I'm sure you'll do great regardless, I was planning on sending your test to one of my professor friends because I'm very very biassed."

"Damn, I did this to get my grades up and it was all for nothing," she jested, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes.

"What a shame."

Spencer smirked, cupping the back of her neck and planting a gentle peck on her lips. He hummed contently, smiling into the kiss as he nipped on her bottom lip softly before pulling back with a sheepish expression.

"You are joking, right?"

"Yes, Spencer. I am."

"That's good."

He smiled softly at her before pressing another quick peck on the corner of her mouth and pulling away, letting her go as he walked towards the coffee, which he so desperately needed right now, and added so much sugar to it that it might actually melt his teeth. With his mug of coffee in hand, he made his way to his seat where Y/N was already sitting cross legged in his chair, her hands resting on her lap and a big grin on her face.

Okay, he was no stranger to sitting on his desk so he hopped right up there, placing his mug on her table, before reaching for a piece of paper and pen. He'd look at her for a moment then begin scribbling then look at her, repeating this process a few times before she caught on.

"Do you want me to pose?"

"No, just make sure you're looking at me," he mumbled, barely able to keep eye contact with her as he stared intently at his masterpiece. His lines were both wibbly and wobbly, he'd made her teeth absolutely huge, her head was the size and shape of a television screen, and her hair, oh, it was like a literal bird's nest. She loved it.

"Very surreal, Dr. Reid," she whispered, leaning her chin on her hand as she moved in for a closer look at what he'd produced. She knew his style wasn't for everyone and possibly could come across as rude to those who didn't know him well, but she honestly found it adorable. "I love the crazed look in my eyes, looks like I just killed a man."

"Hope not. I'd have to catch you if you did that."

"If you could catch me."

"I've faced tougher foes than you. I could catch you." He clicked his fingers together. "Catch you like that."

"Hmmm...I don't think you could."

She watched as he turned back to her, a small crease forming between his brows as he braced his hands against the desk, holding himself up as he dipped down to catch her lips in a loving kiss. Once he drew back from it, he mumbled, "Caught you."

The drawings of each other soon turned into self portraits, which turned into their favourite animal, that turned into just random objects around his office that they could see. They were constantly making comments to each other on their works, giggling, arguing and generally enjoying themselves immensely. It was like a new routine, it was a game; it was something special and unique for just the two of them, especially since she was in need of some fun after the test she'd been through.

But all good things have to come to an end. Disrupting Spencer halfway through a fact he was gushing about, his phone rang. He jumped slightly and cursed silently as he tried to hide his disappointment in seeing who was calling at this hour. A slight frown settled onto his face as he picked up the call, glancing apologetically at Y/N as he listened to Garcia give him the details.

His other job was in need of doing.

"FBI business?"

"Yeah... I have to go."

"Knock em' dead, Sir," Y/N cheered, standing up from her desk and stretching lazily. She hadn't even taken five steps when she felt strong, firm hands wrap around her waist, tugging her against Spencer's chest. She tilted her head backwards slightly to look at him, unable to help the smile that broke out across her face as he planted a long kiss on her forehead.

"I gotta go," he murmured, more to remind himself than anything else, against her temple before pulling back to gather all the stuff he needed, which included her self portrait.

After giving her what was supposed to be one last kiss, he pulled back from her once again, straightening out his tie and jacket as he made his way to the door. But instead of leaving right away, he turned around to face her again and gave her the last last kiss before saying goodbye. He waited until she shut the office door before them making his way down the stairs.

Lecture 4 didn't exactly go to plan. It was another online one, which would've been fine since he wasn't going over anything new and it was more of a way for Reid to say goodbye to his students, but he wasn't there in person to do the extra curricular activities that he'd planned. The case was all the way up in Alaska, so he was on the other side of the country and had missed his chance to finally take Y/N out on the date she deserved.

Reid apologised profusely to his class that he'd gotten held up on a family annihilator's case that, in the grand scheme of things, was vastly more important to solve than to say his adieu's to college kids. There were lives to save. He still hoped he'd get another chance to make up for it later.

Still, he privately messaged her as soon as he had the chance to. It read, 'I'll make it up to you as soon as I get back.' and was quickly followed by his phone number. 'Later tonight?'

Watching her camera feed, he saw the moment she typed in his number on her cell, her thumbs concocting a text that he was sure was so witty and entertaining. Another student was talking at the moment - Spencer knew he should listen - and that gave them perfect cover to start texting.

Unknown: Hi <3

His cheeks flushed. It was simple, but so very effective.

Pretty Boy Swag: Hi :) I miss you.

Her heart swelled and she couldn't stop the giddy smile that spread across her face. He took note of it, of course. She was so expressive, so easy to read, so easy to know.

Mistress of the Dark: I miss you too. How's Alaska? How many fingers have you lost to frostbite?

Pretty Boy Swag: Too many. Far too many. I'm wearing two shirts, two cardigans and a sweater and I'm still shivering.

Throughout the zoom, they continued to use any bit of free time they saw to start messaging back and forth. If anyone thought that Dr Reid was distracted, they'd be correct. He had to ask people to repeat what they'd said more times than he should've, and then blamed it on the weak WiFi signal he was getting out in the cold. The WiFi was atrocious, but there was a more distracting factor in play.

Eventually, the case was solved. It had taken a week and a half or so to be solved, but it was solved nonetheless, and Spencer couldn't wait for it to be finished. Obviously, he didn't want more people to die, he wanted to avoid that at all costs, but his reasons for staying up for the past 72 hours to get the job done were for less than honourable means.

Pretty Boy Swag: My flight should arrive at 12 tonight. Thank God! I'm so tired. I promise to see you tomorrow.

Mistress of the Dark: I can come and pick you up if you'd like me to?

Pretty Boy Swag: No, I'm okay. You don't have to do that.

Mistress of the Dark: What if I want to do that? I don't mind helping.

Despite the fact he was surrounded by his very good friends who were all masters at reading his every move, he still smiled to himself like he was in his own little dream world. Ring the alarm bells, technophobe Spencer Reid was caught giggling at his smartphone.

Pretty Boy Swag: Only if you're sure you want to.

Mistress of the Dark: Trust me. I want to <3

Pretty Boy Swag: <3

And he was using emoticons? Who had he become?

Hotch eventually had to tell everyone on the plane to stop teasing the resident genius, though a few comments by Garcia did slip through the cracks in Aaron's usually stoic expression. By the time they got off the plane, however, they were all too focused on getting home to notice that Spencer had already slipped away without joining in on the group complaint session about how late it was.

It took no time at all to find Y/N's vehicle. It was the only one in the entire parking lot that had a light on the driver's side. Spencer didn't mean to creep up to the window, but he could be rather light footed without realising it, and scared the living shit out of her when his knuckles lightly tapped against the glass by her head.

Y/N yelped, startled enough to jump out of her skin, before turning in her seat to look at him. When her gaze met his, her shock was replaced by a wide, goofy grin, her eyes sparkling. As he smiled right back, she rolled down the window to lean over and kiss him quickly, before sliding the passenger side door open and motioning him to come inside.

"Do you always let strange men into your car?"

"Only if they're cute." She gave him a once over. "Your place or mine?"

"I'll give you directions to mine."

The moment Spencer stepped into his house, he was making a beeline for his coffee machine. Y/N slapped his hand away as soon as she realised he'd turned the device on.

"Coffee? At this time? Really?"

"I want to spend time with you."

His eyes were big and brown and pleading, his brow furrowed, and his lips pursed like he was trying not to pout. She stared at him for a second, just admiring the sight before her, before chuckling, rolling her eyes, and taking ahold of his hand.

"We can spend time together tomorrow morning. Now, where do you slumber?" she asked, her words definitive but playful.

Spencer couldn't believe his luck. He practically skipped along the hallway to his bedroom, pulling her with him so enthusiastically that he surely used up the final remainder of his energy just on that movement.

"Strip," she demanded.

Who was he to deny her? He was down to his underwear in one sluggish minute, and although he'd typically be self conscious having a lack of clothes on in front of a pretty girl, but thanks to his exhaustion, he didn't have enough energy to care.

"Do you wear pyjamas to bed, Doctor Reid?" He pointed in the general direction of his dresser, towards one specific drawer, where his pyjamas lay neatly folded. She took some off the stack and began pulling them onto his body. "Aw, you've got Tardis pyjamas. You're such a nerd. Do you mind if I borrow a pair?"

"Go ahead."

He shrugged while he watched her pull on her pjs, completely unbothered by the fact that he was very obviously entranced by every move she made. Every single movement, every curve or dip, even the slight imperfections in her skin that he loved so much. They were all so fascinating. So utterly captivating.

"Do you sleep on the left or right side of the bed?"

"Middle."

"Middle, it is."

She crawled under the covers on her side, pulling him in after her, before snuggling her body close to his. She laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling him breath in and out deeply beneath her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

"Are we together now? Properly?" he murmured into the quiet of his room. He felt his cheeks turn slightly pink as he asked, unsure why he was asking such a question when he could be sleeping and not worrying about such a thing.

"You still need to take me out on a date first," she chuckled, rearing back to catch his eye. After a quick peck on his lips, she returned to her previous position to hum, "But, yeah, I'd say we are."

A contented sigh escaped from his lips and, after a moment, he relaxed into the embrace, relaxing into the gentle touches of her hands stroking his bicep until his breathing slowed and he fell asleep. For that night, he was perfectly content just being around her, knowing that they would both wake up and be one hundred percent ready to face the day - their first - as a duo.

#spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #criminal minds

[gritsandbrits]

In light of recent news over the passing of voice actress Arleen Sorkin, I wish to reflect on the impact of Harley Quinn on my life.

When I was a kid I grew with Harley. From getting fired from a tv show for giving questionable advice, as her backstory in the 2004 cartoon The Batman, to falling in mad love with her own patient as is the origin story in the 92 animated and subsequent media, Harley has such a big role in Batman lore I don't remember a single time where she wasn't involved. Sometimes I wonder what batman mythos was like before her inclusion.

The first thing that drew me to Harley was her design. Red and black the colors of danger which she was. But there was an added playfulness, that she genuinely enjoyed being herself. She was also VERY hilarious and at times out of pocket. Child Me was amazed. Did I want to be her? Not necessarily. But she did look like someone I'd hang out with.

The meta origin of Harley is just as fascinating. The creators of BTAS saw a performance of Arleen in a clown costume. From there inspiration leapt off the pages onto the big screen. Unlike most of the cast Harley didn't originate from the comics. She was created exclusively for the show, an OC if you will. OCs tend to have a mixed reputation. But Harley's concept and execution was so perfect, she almost feels like she could've been a real character in the comics.

And real she became!

Introduced as a psychiatrist, after receiving Joker as a patient, Dr. Harleen Quinzel begins to fall in love with him; and down a path to iconoclastic doom. Her love for Joker is obsessive, hilarious shallow, horrible but also downright entertaining to watch. I enjoyed every moment she was on screen: I still quote "rev up your Harley" to this day! I see her despair, her goofy outlook and morbid ruthlessness. I wanted her to get comeuppance but at the same time I can't help but feel sorry for her.

Joker abuses her, ignores her, and only complements her when she does something good for him. While the makes how awful their relationship clear, there are a good amount of fans who sees the pair as a glamorous whirlwind romance a la Sonny and Brenda or Jane and Mr Rochester. While such fantasies may seem morbid I don't blame them. No matter how horrible Harley is there is a tiny unavoidable spot that aches for her to win. Or at least see Joker for the monster he really is. While Harley is often held accountable for her actions her arc shows that no one deserves to be abused.

Arleen's performance played a major role in brining Harley to life. She nailed her weaknesses and strengths with such a sincere note that elicits pity, humor and shock at the same time. And of course that ear candy of the New Jersey accent that set the standard for future VAs. Whenever I look at a picture of Harley I hear Arleen. Not to say the other VAs aren't bad, but Arleen's performance is that iconic I can't help but think of her!

Over the years Harley grew apart from Clown Prince of Crime. She got her own spinoff comics, made appearances in other DC media. She even gotten her own tv show which sees the DC universe through her eyes. Harley has marginally healthier romances, primarily Poison Ivy (this isn't to say that pairing doesn't have it's share of toxic moments). The Harlivy ship is a fan favorite but even without shipping and the wars, Harley still shines bright as the Bat Signal.

In a way Harley's descent and eventual rise back to normalcy reminds me of my own struggles. I wasn't a happy child growing up, I've made a lot of mistakes and bad choices. To see a person like Harley work to take back control of her life, makes me feel a bit better for my own prospects. Of course I wouldn't torture a kid to near insanity or blow up a whole city but I can at least put my energy towards something constructive. Harley shows people like me thay we can be more than just screwups if we try.

Of course I can't forget Harley's design. The red&black suit is an icon by itself and inspires similar designs in and outside comics. I could talk all day about how cool her design is from a show and historical perspective but that would take me all day. While I prefer her classic palette, her recent blue and pinks aren't bad either and show just how far she's come out of Joker's shadow. It's even to the point where when, I see something black and red and white I have to point it out and say "Harley would love that outfit!"

Nowadays I complain about the oversaturation of Harley quinn (seriously what was DC thinking taking a team started by a disabled character to reclaim her agency) and overshadowing other cool DC villains. But I would be lying of I say she didn't leave an impact. And it's all thanks to Arleen Sorkin for breathing life into a character that proves you don't need to be be from "the comics" to be considered cool.

Thank you Arleen! May her memory be a blessing - Grits.

#arleen sorkin #harley quinn #essay #dc comics #btas #voice actors #batman the animated series #birds of prey #harley quinn show #characters #may her memory be a blessing

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

Ok here’s my two cents that no one asked for on the current (sort of?) debate going on in the Creepypasta fandom on here rn.

For starters, I grew up with Creepypasta. I also grew up mentally ill. I am also autistic. So I know my way around good and bad mental health rep at this point. And to be honest? A lot of the original stories DID suck balls at representation or just horror writing in general.

However, nowadays I see other people on here, often mentally ill or any other social outcast, taking these characters and reshaping them as their own to fit their own feelings and experiences, and I don’t think anyone has the authority to criticize things like that. Cringe culture is supposed to be dead anyways, nevermind the fact it’s inherently ableist at its core.

We also need to take into account kids still exist in the fandom. Pre teens who got tired of shit like scooby doo and wanted something more “mature” or “edgy” to get into without fully going off the deep end into full blown horror movies. At least that’s how it was for me. Not everyone, especially someone who’s younger, is gonna be comfortable with the grit and gore a lot of Creepypasta “purists” are pushing for these days, and that’s okay! When a fandom gets popular it’s always inevitable and unavoidable to have the popular characters get two dimensionalized.

There’s also the whole mascot horror thing that I don’t wanna get into, but I’m 90% sure that also plays a part in the old favorites like Jeff and slenderman being brought up again. They were and still are recognizable characters. Recognizable characters aren’t a bad thing. Making horror more approachable for younger audiences isn’t a bad thing. People having their own interpretations based out of their own experiences isn’t a bad thing.

Some of us grew up and wanted the more edgy and reality based content, and that’s also not a bad thing! But neither side should be dictating or policing how the other enjoys content in this fandom. If you personally don’t like the way something is written, characterized, depicted, or drawn, no one’s forcing you to look at it. No one’s claiming it as canon. No one’s asking for you to accept it as the end all be all.

At the end of the day this fandom was built on OCs and personal depictions of stuff. I can’t name a single character or story in this community that was created by some outside party like a movie or TV studio FIRST (because I know some got so popular they breached the fandom and got their own shows/movies/comics/etc). Everything here was created by someone who wanted an outlet for their creativity, or their pain, or their coping, or whatever else.

Realism and dark headcanons aren’t bad, and neither are any of the headcanons out there who just wanna make a goofy found family of social rejects as a form of escapism.

A 13 year old drawing a fictional layout of a fictional mansion where these fictional characters live isn’t going to suddenly invalidate the horror, I promise, it’s not that deep and it never was.

A 22 year old making a dark comic on the realistic origins of Jeff who is a fictional character in a fictional world isn’t going to suddenly invalidate the more softhearted side of the fandom.

Sure, there can still be a split if people are so adamant about that, but as someone who personally enjoys both the brutal horror side and the “haha Jeff is 15 and gay” sides equally, y’all need to at least learn to be civil to anyone who has a different headcanon than you. And if that seems like too much still, the block button exists for a reason.

TL:DR this fandom is based entirely off OCs and headcanons and people can do whatever the fuck they want because none of it is real and horror comes in many shapes and sizes and intensities and no one should be bashing anyone on their headcanons or views or rewrites or whatever else.

EDIT:

Actually wait I think I have more to say-

Horror, like any genre, has NO AGE LIMIT. And by that I mean, if someone younger wants to delve into scary stuff, they should be allowed to do so without criticism. I personally grew up on “child friendly” horror media like Scooby-Doo, and the older I got the more horror I wanted to experience.

There’s no right or wrong way to “understand” horror, and I frankly think it’s ignorant and stupid to say if you don’t fully “understand” something, then you shouldn’t be involved in it at all. Horror isn’t always about gore and unspeakable violence and the eldritch entity that wants everyone’s skin inside out. That’s why horror has sub genres for fucks sake. Gut wrenching brutality against innocent people isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay!

However, bashing anyone’s tamer headcanons, or calling anything anyone interprets differently than you “stupid”, that’s not okay. God, I feel like an exhausted parent giving this lecture to fellow adults, but this really needs to be said and stressed.

I am an adult. I like when stuff in the fandom takes a dark turn. But for nostalgia’s sake, I also love the fanon so much, because that’s what I was exposed to.

And for fucks sake if it comes down to picking sides, I would rather stick with the part of this fandom that gives zero shits how you see a character as long as you’re having fun.

You can have your serial killer 30 year old Jeff and your canon-accurate-to-that-one-image eyeless Jack, but don’t shit on other people if they don’t want the same thing. Your interpretation isn’t canon, and neither is anyone else’s for that matter.

Realistic, dark, gritty Creepypasta isn’t a new concept, and neither is “adult” Creepypasta. And by the way, Creepypasta was never stated to be for adults. That’s like saying kids and only kids can eat trix cereal. It sounds that stupid on paper.

Let people interpret things the way they wanna interpret. No one is infringing on YOUR character ideas. Creepypasta has no age limit, nor a set way the horror has to be presented. Those who do continue to claim that just sound like pretentious assholes.

Very small side note, I personally think it’s inappropriate and rude to keep using Toby as a “bad example” of mental health rep when the creator has stated multiple times the character is old, not researched, and not even in the fandom anymore. Leave the poor guy alone.

#creepypasta #creepypasta fandom #jeff the killer #rant #I’m not a professional in anything don’t @ me #I’ve just been here for years #so I at the very least partially know what I’m talking about #I personally think this purist mindset and behavior is bs if you go and attack other creators #just be nice to people Ohmygod #update #eyeless Jack #slenderman

[bailey-dreamfoot]

‼️‼️THE GRAMPA SQUAD COMIC IS DONE‼️‼️

Ok so, wee explanation + headcannons under the cut.

Ok so assuming you've stuck around for my insane ramblings, heres the gist:

This comic is very much inspired by Factual Fantasy's Comics about Marsh, Natquick, and Calico Jack. And while my personal head cannon does share in the idea of the group working together- I thought it would be hilariously fun to include Inkling, and tbh it focuses more on him than the others anyway.

In the show, inkling doesn't really get out much. There are really only a few episodes where he has a significant role, and even less when he actually participates in missions outside of *insert knowledgeable insight*.

I believe this is for 2 reasons:

He just prefers the comfortable vibe of his library. The book-worm role fits his personality well - enjoying studying or cataloging species alongside Shellington - and he likes spending time with the Vegimals.

His Mobility issues. While he can very easily traverse the watery environments in the base show- in a&b, he doesn't really show much interest in exploring the land until he's told an old friend was the one in need of help. He has the ability, its just difficult- and he knows his limitations.

Inkling has his hover chair, that allows him to move around the octopod relatively easily. However - in the Min episode - they make it a point that he cant take it with him on land, or use it over rough terrain.

My version of Inkling uses an actual wheelchair, so I thought it'd be a neat idea that after that adventure- he'd want to try joining missions more often. And to deal with said mobility issues and limitations- say they got specialized tires for his wheelchair- so he could go join up on land missions more often.

After going on a few more missions with the other Octonauts, he hears about Octoagents Calico Jack, and Professor Natquick joining up with Ranger Marsh to help out in the Everglades- you best bet he jumped at the opportunity to tag along. Think of all the species he could ad to his personal catalogue. They might even discover a few new ones! Leaving the Octopod for so long after being basically the one constant to the place was a bit scary sure - and the other Octonauts were certainly emotional ab him leaving (especially Barnacles) - but maybe a change of scenery would do him good.

Sooo He does that! Professor Inkling meets up with the others on a dock near Marsh's Ranger station and get to work! One of the coolest things they did was collecting egg samples and catching an adult specimen of a newly discovered trapdoor spider! the Pine Rockland Trapdoor. Marsh Has a nursery where he cares for tons of snakes, lizards, insects and birds to make sure they have the best chance for survival. Thats where these eggs are going- to hatch in safety and then be released back into the ecosystem. On top of that, they take samples of the adults venom for study, and inkling is sure to make a detailed report of the arachnid in his many journals brought along with him!

As you may expect, Kwazzi takes after his grandad in his fear of spiders. Jack has seen worse, but It doesnt make it any easier to be close to them. Natquick on the other hand- In all his time in the arctic hes never seen anything as freaky as a spider bigger than a quarter.

Aaand that's it! I'm hoping to do some more comics with the lads in the future, although probably not as detailed as this one. It took more than 2 weeks- please.

Also, I find it kinda goofy that the panels get more detailed as you go along. Thats what happens when the first and last panel were made almost a month apart from each other. 💚

Also also- yes I did do actual research for the animals in the last comic. It was going to be a funnel web spider they're researching, but then I looked it up and found out Funnelwebs don't live in the Everglades. :']

#bailey’s art #octonauts #octonauts fanart #octonauts grampa squad #arachnaphobia tw #arachnophobia

[neonscandal]

What are your satosugu fav moments? And what are your fav personal headcanons about them?

Those sweet, egotistical, baby angels. 🤍🖤

For an insane retelling of their whole deal, I kinda talk incessantly about it. I also kinda did a little head canon exercise with a template before? but wasn't sure what you might be in the market for. In any case, roll the tape!

HEAD CANONS

Gojo has been spouting nonsense all his life but Geto was the first person to try to understand it, even when he couldn't. I'm not going to fault Geto for not being able to catch up on all that Digimon lore. But for the most part, he'd make it a point to ask clarifying questions or brush up on topics Gojo mentions in passing just to keep up with conversation.

In fact, they hated each other when they first met but bonded over one off the cuff comment Gojo made about a band, book or something and, suddenly, they found common ground. After that, they bonded over making Yaga and, later, Nanami's lives interesting ✨

Gojo is the prankster, Geto is the watchman/getaway driver. No one suspects Geto's role in Gojo's tomfoolery. Stealing Maki and Nobara's uniforms with Inumaki and Panda was a rewash of a stunt he pulled when he was in high school (with Geto's help). He fashions a lot of the pranks he pulls as a teacher off the hijinks he and Geto used to get away with. He wears a mirthful smile for his students but the modern times don't hold a candle to the good old days.

They were only children and both of their parents sucked. Actually, maybe Geto had a sibling who was either significantly older or younger (hence how he learned to be so considerate) who passed. Subsequently, Geto's parents were emotionally distant/neglectful starting when they got creeped out by the inexplicable things he could see that they couldn't. It's why he jumped at the chance when he was scouted for Jujutsu High, why he was triggered when he saw the twins, and why he always sought family elsewhere. Gojo's parents seemed to dote on him but didn't bother to get to know or nurture him, just placate him.

They make it a point to tease and call Ieri the little sister they've always wanted... though she is the oldest in the trio. Even so, they spoil her (to the best of Gojo's ability obviously). Example: if her feet hurt on a mission, Geto is giving her a piggyback ride but Gojo's goofy ass is trading shoes. Never mind the comical disparity in shoe sizes. They'd just be clopping around together much to Shoko's faux chagrin.

The three of them would absolutely bed rot together. It may have started with Gojo slinking into Geto's room for attention but they wouldn't leave Ieri out, even if it was a twin size bed. Just listless days between missions and classes where they would languidly ignore the weight of their responsibilities. Some days all contorting to fit on the bed, other days strewn about the room. It was always in Geto's room, Ieri almost always brought face masks (at Gojo's insistence).

Gojo, quite literally, did not understand the concept of personal space when it came to Geto (or Ieri, really). But, most specifically, with the way he'd casually and absently be all over Geto. Arms over his shoulders, tilting his head inward when addressing him, leaning on him during respites in the day, elbowing him in the side to punctuate a joke.. he just never became conscious of it. That is, until he was no longer around. Geto was always like second skin until he wasn't. In addition to the absence of his company, Gojo felt that physical absence so painfully that he used Limitless more and more to distance himself from the idea that anyone had ever been so close.

When Haibara and Nanami come along, Geto takes his role as a senpai really seriously because the stakes are high at the school. Gojo? Does not ✨ but he does force Nanami to use proper honorifics because he knows it drives him up a wall. He makes it a point to tell Haibara to call him whatever, right in front of Nanami. For the record, Haibara does not obey him but still.

Gojo has a name for all of Geto's favorite or most commonly used curses. The same way girls will refer to their crushes with silly little code names, almost. Like Geto knows that the Rainbow Dragon curse is "Rainbow Dash" or "My Little Pony" whereas other curses might have silly names like "Garfunkle" or "Steve" for no other reason than Gojo felt like it, but he's consistent. So once a name is bestowed, Geto refers to them accordingly. He, of course, never approaches them with fear and he's just as endeared to them as he is to Geto.

Before Gojo got the hang of how to optimize his cursed energy, overuse would leave him... not weak but just not agreeable. Clearly cranky and suffering the drawback, Suguru clocked the difference and that's actually when he started to pamper Gojo. It's also the only reason Gojo ever articulated the downsides of his CT to anyone. I don't know if Geto ever told Gojo the extent of his discomfort with his technique. He either felt like he was being burdensome/ungrateful in sharing or he was embarrassed about what it would say about him (re: regularly ingesting things that tasted like vomit). It's one of the only things he remained furtive about when it came to Gojo though he always wondered if Gojo already just knew.

Supported by canon, but, Suguru absolutely carried candy for Satoru (and a lighter for Shoko) because he's just that considerate. Mans was swallowing vomit rags and still concerned about appeasing Satoru's sweet tooth.

Without realizing it, this gesture inspired a Pavlovian effect and made Gojo super clingy. He associates sweetness with Geto and, in his absence, always overdoes it. Especially after he left the school for good. Nothing fills the void.

We know Gojo became a teacher because of Geto but... Geto would have been an excellent teacher.

You see it in the way they raise kids, Gojo makes sure Megumi and Tsumiki don't simply die. They have lavish accommodations but he has no idea how to parent. I love the Papa-Gojo agenda but know he was out of his depth. He was more like a "cool" but irresponsible (read: unstructured) older cousin if anything, not a father figure per se until maybe his late 20's which was a little too late. I think Geto specifically raised Nanako and Himiko like "normal" kids (ironically, humans) instead of the in the misogynistic, classist way of traditional jujutsu society because they deserved a lifetime of young revelry after everything they suffered. It cost them their lives so maybe everything Geto touched was meant to crumble.

As a fandom, I think people like to think they met up in those ten years of separation and I do too? But, realistically, I think Gojo just kept a forlorn bead on Geto and his whereabouts, too uncertain to go to him. 10 years of absence didn't change how he felt about him though.

FAVE MOMENTS

I'm sorry but every single time Geto's Japanese voice actor purrs "Satoru"? Does that count? Allow me to do a cartwheel on a bed of nails because OH MY GOSH they nailed that. You feel the teasing, the intimacy.

Gojo acting a fool on the beach with Riko in Okinawa and Geto looking on affectionately. Geto really allowed space for Gojo to be a kid and gave him some of his youth back.

Every time Geto's facade of calm relaxed or broke entirely because something was going on with Gojo. Like checking in in Okinawa, when Toji initially got the drop on him, when Toji announced he'd killed Satoru Gojo. Every time you see what writhes beneath the surface.

Geto, in a sea of despair and perhaps a sprinkle of bitterness, still thinks to ask Haibara to bring back something sweet to share with Gojo. Attentive to a fault and crazy how Gojo still manages to occupy his thoughts in that way, even then.

Every tantrum Gojo threw for Geto. Gojo was literally stabbed and didn't break character. Gutted and killed but showed nothing until he comes back an overconfident mess. But just hearing about Geto's crimes, confronting him on the streets of Shinjuku and he's shaking with rage and disbelief. Not so confident then.

Realizing that Gojo saw the day he confronted Geto as a dark and mournful day when, in actuality, it was a perfectly normal, sunshine-y day.

The moment after Geto's dramatic ass is like "I could never smile from the bottom of my heart in this world!" and Gojo says something to immediately recant that by making him smile so genuinely. Just going to do The Worm across a busy highway.

Geto defying all reason to strangle Kenjaku despite hundreds of years without a fight from a host. Just as Gojo never forgot Geto's scent, Geto's body never forgot it's inclination to protect Gojo. Even if only for a moment.

⚠️ Spoiler warning through JJK chapter 236.

Geto's face being the last face Gojo saw before he was sealed and the first face he saw upon being freed. Then agreeing to fight Sukuna on the anniversary of Geto's death because he was sentimental right until the very end.

At the close of Gojo's life, imagining an afterlife where he sees Geto and all of the people he cares about during the point when he was the happiest. After all that time, more than a decade later and he still reflects so happily back on that era despite how grisly part of it was. Not only that but, in a perfect outcome, he imagines full blown cult leader Geto congratulating him because he would take Geto in any form over not having him around at all.

#neon asks #anon asks #satosugu #we are the strongest #head canon #anime #manga #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #geto suguru #suguru geto #stsg #jjk gojo #jjk geto #satosugu brainrot #satosugu headcanon #headcanon #jjk headcanons

[stryshttu]

the scriddler nation doesn't appreciate Riddler 2022 as I do so I'm here to make you love him

He's one of the best interpretations of Riddler and here is WHY.

“he's a desyassified version,” “he doesn't wear expensive suits full of question marks,” “that suit was boring” NO!!!!! IT WAS THE PERFECT SUIT FOR HIM TO START!!! He literally comes from the lowest point, and he talks about how the men in power and corruption keep the low income/poor people at the bottom. Ofc he can't afford those shiny beautiful suits because he doesn't have money for it. Also the military suit was GREAT. He paint it and designed his own symbol which is amazing, a gun sight with a "?" in the center.

Also, he fights againts corruption and classism? 😭 Why would ppl hate that? He fights for the people that were forgotten like him.

“it's not the same story of his father and blah blah blah” ok, they changed his origin story A LOT, and I can get why you get mad at it. I also get mad when I am used to the southern granny Scarecrow story and ppl change it to the story of his father experimenting of him- BUT regarding the Riddler's origin story, it is so so great. Eddie HATES LIES AS WELL, HATES CHEATING, because ppl used to tell him that he could have a better future, and gave him fake hopes. He just wanted an opportunity to be better and when that promise of renewal broke, he broke, too.

He grew wanting to please everyone, be a good boy for the nuns and the other children at the orphanage, even if he didnt agree in somethings or if it was difficult for him to act "normal" (masking his autism- we will talk about that soon), but NOBODY thanked or pleased him. As he got older, he still followed orders from his corrupt boss and the goverment. But what did they do for him? NOTHING. And when he does something for himself ppl tag him as self-centered.

He became the Riddler for the others that also needed help, not only because of him, and ppl still think he's selfish.

He's implied to be autistic (you can notice this more in the comics of Riddler: Year One by Paul Dano), he is non-verbal since kid (canon), as an adult ppl say he doesn't talk and call him weird. He doesn't know how to interact with people in a "normal" way. He also seems to vocally stim with riddles and weird silly noises that you can hear in the movie.

The catholic guilt content? PLEASEEEE. We need to take advantage of that. He even did a catholic reference riddle!!! (That one of the sins of the father)

We can also see that topic of him dont knowing if he's insane or not, (or denying being it). He knows his situation is not good, and HE TRIES to be better, listening to podcast about mindfulness and stay positive- but at the end, everything gets worse to him. He's very smart and is afraid that his biggest and greatest thing about himself (his mind) is also the worst thing and can turn againts himself because of a mental illness. We saw it in the movie when Batman calls him "sick and twisted, etc etc," and he has a mental breakdown. Yes, that scene is DEEPER than you think. His mother died in Arkham when he was in the orphanage as a kid, now imagine that the guy you always admired says to you, “you're gonna die alone at Arkham” just like his mother did and no one cared. He doesn't want that, he wants to be remembered. He doesn't want to end up like his mother- alone and mentally ill.

He makes funny jokes in the movie! He's so goofy!!!!

AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIM BEING A BIG BOY?!!!! CHUBBY RIDDLER SUPREMACY!!!!!

And please he has the same bad habits as Arkhamverse Riddler, you cannot hate this version of him if you love Arkham Knight Riddler. He doesn't sleep well because he plays the DETECTIVE role (YES! HE ALSO GOES THERE AND INVESTIGATES- or else how tf would he have evidence of all the corruption and know all that information?) and claims that Einstein only took naps. He doesnt eat well. His lastname is Nashton (a reminder that is canon that Arkhamverse Riddler had the same lastname before changing it to Nygma). And in this page called "nigma. org" is well known and ppl call him a genius, which suggests that we will soon see how he calls himself E. Nygma.

And yes, he is also a little bastard insufferable, and if you dont think so, then I guess we didnt watch the same movie.

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE OF HIM BEING ONE OF THE BEST ONES!!! but i'll end it up here, thank you for your attention.

#sorry if theres bad English i wrote this at night #anyways Riddler 2022 my beloved #no one understands him as i do #riddler #edward nygma #paul dano riddler #riddler 2022 #Reevesverse #scriddler #PLEASE SCRIDDLER NATION OPEN YOUR EYEEEEEEESSSSSSS #steph talks :)