#{ but nothing gets revealed until like at least one of the season finales and it's like a three part one }

[mcltiples]

munday combo

make this picrew take this uquiz

Running From Your Past

You have a past you'd prefer not to think about, but boy oh boy does it like to think about you. A bad parent, an old enemy, a job that ended in disaster. No matter how far your run or how well you hide, it will find you eventually.

TAGGED BY: nobody, i stole it from the dash hehe TAGGING: you, the person reading this, come on, i know you're looking at it, just do it <3

[prael]

An Oral Agreement

QWER Magenta x male reader

Masterlist word count: 3,008 Kofi(donations/commissions)

She's equal parts infuriating and fascinating.

Magenta.

No last name. Or maybe that is her last name. Either way, that's all it said on the rental agreement and her bedroom door when you first moved in: Magenta. The letters were all lowercase like she was too cool for proper grammar. You know Magenta, in the Biblical sense (and it didn’t take long).

She's always in her room streaming or recording or...doing whatever it is social media influencers do when they aren't online. But she likes candles, fried rice and catcore aesthetics. She thinks pumpkin spice season starts September 1st and she loves reality TV. Not exactly the makings of a deep and spiritual connection.

Now, living with Magenta, well, it has its ups and downs.

There are some things that never get done around here without you doing them; she rarely cooks, which wouldn't bother you so much if she at least did dishes once in a while. It doesn't help that she takes long hot showers. In a house with only one bathroom, this can really put a cramp in your morning routine.

Magenta doesn't clean the place very often either. At first, you just let it go because everybody has their own ways of doing things, right? But after a few weeks of living together, you realised that she's just...not going to do it. Like ever. So then there's nothing for it but to either live in a constant state of messiness or bite the bullet yourself.

Sometimes you feel like you're not living with a roommate so much as providing lodging for some kind of freeloading spirit that passes through periodically.

When you first moved in, you were worried about what your roommate might think of you: would they be weirded out by your habits? Would they judge your taste in decorations? Would you get along? Would you have enough space for both of you?

Those fears melted away pretty quickly once you met her. You could tell from the moment she opened the door that day (and didn't even look up from her phone) that she didn’t care.

You soon learned that Magenta is messy but friendly. She stays up all night and sleeps during the day. She's everywhere online: Instagrammer, Tiktokker (is that what they call it?), live streamer or these days she’s even on the radio and TV. She doing something for one of those things right now, with her bedroom door closed and music playing faintly behind it.

You're standing in the kitchen, staring down her latest infringement. Now, these empty take-out boxes were here this morning when you left. They were also here last night, and yesterday afternoon, and...you get where this is going.

"Hey, you awake in there?!" you shout towards her bedroom but get no response.

With a sigh, you walk over to her door and knock. Twice. Then again, louder when you still get no response. Finally, you resort to pounding on it repeatedly until it suddenly swings open to reveal your roommate shouting, "What!?" You step back, slightly taken aback by how loudly she said that single word. Her eyes soften instantly, though when they land on you.

She looks good. Not even just in a 'good for someone who hasn't slept yet today' kind of way. Just straight-up hot. Magenta wears a faded pink crop top emblazoned with an anime character and little cut-off cotton shorts covered in cookie prints. The low waistband of the shorts hangs off her hips, exposing the start of a light purple thong that cuts diagonally across her hip bones.

"I think our apartment might get condemned if you don't clean sometime soon."

Your roommate leans against the door frame. She pushes some dark brown hair behind her ear as she says, "Can't you do it for me? Just this once?"

"Just this once?" you repeat, crossing your arms. Your lips curl into a smile as you ask back to her, "Can't you do it just this once?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm always reminding you to clean, and you never do it. So guess who does it? It's not the magical cleaning fairy—it's me."

Her eyes roll skyward so forcefully you imagine you can hear them squeaking in their sockets.

"Why are you giving me such a hard time about this?" she says. "This seems really petty."

"It's not petty," you protest. "I have stuff to do and I shouldn't have to keep picking up after my adult roommate." You say the word 'adult' laden with implications. She gets your meaning immediately. Her lips twist.

"oh, I get it," she says with a smirk. "I guess it's been a while since I gave you a little thank you. Well, I need to get this video finished, so could you maybe clean it up and come back here after?"

So there's the perks. Two of them actually, as she pulls up her pink crop top and flashes you what's beneath. A pair of purple lace bra cups strain to contain your roommate's ample endowment. Pale skin pours out from beneath them, flesh squeezing together into a deep cleavage that entices you closer even as you shake your head.

"You can't keep pulling tricks like this, Magenta," you say, trying desperately to hold onto your train of thought while also enjoying the view. It helps that you know those breasts intimately. Hell, you've worshipped those breasts. They've spilt around your hands, smothered your face and laid upon your thighs. You know what the soft warmth inside each cup feels like. And, God, they feel really fucking good.

"I really appreciate your help and everything," she says, her bottom lip suddenly pushing out into a cute pout that goes well beyond suggestive. "And I'd like to show you just how much I appreciate it..."

Your resolve lasts right up until Magenta runs a finger down one of her tits to tease along the edge of the lacy purple material. That's when you give up. There's no point in fighting anymore—she has won this battle (just like all others).

"Just go finish your work already," you finally say, letting out a sigh.

Magenta smiles and giggles, lowering her shirt. "Thanks. Love ya!"

With a wink, she slips back into her room. You stand alone for several seconds before shaking your head. Back to cleaning, then.

-

It's not exactly easy to focus on sorting the recycling into the correct bins when your roommate has just reminded you how nice her tits are. They're on your mind a lot, to be honest. More than they should be probably. Sometimes they're on your cock, though not as often as they should be. Probably.

You're counting your blessings that none of the neighbours are doing late-night recycling because then you'd have to explain why your face is red and your pants are bulging.

That doesn't stop the occasional glance towards your neighbour's house, where Mrs Kim likes to smoke on her front porch some nights. You think she smokes more than she should, but that's really none of your business. Her watching you from across the street, however, is very much your business, so you peek over your shoulder once in a while to check if she's spying. Again. Or still. Whatever.

One last box. The light outside is fading rapidly, but you can just barely make out that it comes from...the Greek place you love?

Oh. Oh no. Did she eat gyros and not bring you any? Damn, that girl knows how to be cruel!

When the recycling is finally squared away you dust off your hands. It's a symbolic gesture since all you've done is shove cardboard and glass into the right bins, but it makes you feel accomplished nonetheless.

Back in the apartment and lock the door behind you.

"There you are. Where have you been?"

"The bins, have you ever seen them before?" You mock while still fiddling with the lock chain.

"That was quick," comes her response. Your eyes follow the sound of her voice. Magenta is lying upside-down on the couch. She swings her feet lazily in the air while looking at something on her phone. Her dark hair cascades nearly to the floor. Those short shorts mean you can see most of her long legs. Then there's the curve of her hip, the crease of her thigh... "Get over here."

It's a rare occasion that Magenta voluntarily puts her phone down, yet she does just that as you walk over. The closer you get, the more enticing her position becomes: laying across the couch, head tipped backwards off the cushions to watch you approach her.

"So," she says. Her fingertips brush over the exposed skin of her belly. The fingers trace lines up and across her abdomen, moving between the edge of her shorts and her top. The motion catches your eye—and she knows it. "I owe you, don't I?" Her eyelids flutter innocently. Or rather, far less than innocently.

"For today? Yeah. Definitely." You clear your throat and try again, "For quite a few days, actually."

"Quite a few," she echoes in agreement. Her hand continues to crawl upward until it reaches the peak of her breasts rising beneath her faded pink crop top. The movement presses the supple skin together in a way that has you standing right in front of her before you even realize you've walked over.

She pushes them hard together before letting them settle back to normal. Gravity spreads them apart, flesh pouring across her chest from the tightly gathered fabric keeping them barely contained. She reaches out over her head, to you, and grabs you by the belt buckle. Pulls you forward until you are stood over her. Even though she's upside down, she makes such effortless work of unbuckling the leather strap that you barely notice. One second it's on; the next it's flapping loose.

It takes only two sharp tugs to force your pants and boxers down past your knees. Magenta doesn't waste any time reaching out to touch your cock, gently running her hands over it until she can wrap her entire hand around the warm shaft and pull you until you fall to your knees. Her head hangs right in front your your length, and you see the teasing sparkle in her eye even upside down.

Her hot breath hits the skin of your bare cock. Lips press a series of soft, wet kisses down from your tip towards your balls. Then back up again, trailing even more tiny pecks that leave your skin tingling. You let your cock nudge against her cheek, feeling it slide along the smooth skin.

With both hands wrapped around your cock, Magenta holds your tip right in front of her mouth. Her tongue sticks out from between her lips, slowly, methodically lapping circles around the crown of your cock.

"Oh, God," you mutter, and you need to hold onto something, anything. First, it's the couch, then it's her tits.

Your hand lands heavily atop the nearest swell of flesh and squeezes tight, pushing it further out of her crop top. She hums approvingly at the groping and wraps her lips around your cockhead. Suckles sweetly. Slurps noisily until spit pools at the corner of her stretched lips.

She lets gravity help guide your cock into her waiting mouth. The further you slip inside, the more she relaxes her jaw to accept you. But then she reaches up and pulls on your hips. You glide up against her grateful tongue. Until her nose meets your stomach. She gags. It's so fucking lewd.

The whole thing makes you squeeze her chest harder. So big in your palm and yet somehow always bigger than you remember. You forget sometimes just how incredible these tits are. When they bounce in a video she's recorded, you remember—but never quite how heavy they are when you hold them; the way they give to your grasp in exactly the right amount; or the way her nipple puckers just slightly as it stiffens beneath your kneading grip.

"You're so sexy like this," you say.

The compliment elicits an appreciative groan from Magenta. Her head moves with your hips now, bobbing to meet each thrust, spit dripping down her cheeks. The messiness of the sloppy blowjob matches her other personality traits frighteningly well.

With her head pinned and her arms on you, you're free to pull up her shirt and expose her. The dirty minx has taken off her bra, so the expanse of her milky skin greets you. You cup them in each palm, feeling the heft of them, squeezing them greedily. They push back, moulding into the shape of your desire, and she moans, a low guttural note vibrating right through your length.

Her body writhes beneath your attention. Her thighs spread outwards, feet rolling at the ankle in time with each gently guided thrust into her throat. Fingers squeeze you, scratching lightly at the skin above your ass to encourage you deeper inside her hungry maw. Deeper into her throat until she chokes—

You let up, panting, admiring the sight of her stretched out for your viewing pleasure. Her eyes flutter open, looking up at you from her upside-down position. The intensity in them draws you in again.

"Oh shit," you groan as you drive into her, plunging your cock balls deep until her purple-painted nails dig into the small of your back. You pump faster, lost in the warm embrace of her greedy sucking.

Magenta squirms beneath you, whining and groaning and bucking, begging you for more. Her cunt must be throbbing with anticipation. Poor thing wants your cum. You can tell.

You want her tits.

She gasps when you fully withdraw from her mouth. Her face is a fucking mess of saliva and smudged makeup. Before she can question you, you reposition yourself in front of her, straddling her beautiful face as you lower your rigid length between her breasts.

She's quick to pick up what you're putting down. With both hands pressing the creamy flesh of her boobs inward, she creates a tunnel for you to slide your dick into.

It feels as good as it looks. Soft pressure envelops your slick length, wrapping around the sensitive skin and creating a delightful sleeve for you to hump into. You can't get enough.

As soon as you hit a good pace, fucking your roommate's chest hard and fast, she starts giggling.

"What?" you ask.

"It tickles." Her laugh is breathy but not as loud as it usually is. "Keep going."

So you do. Thrust after thrust you plunge deeper, drawing more and more of yourself into the valley between her perfect tits. The more you use her, the further she parts her legs that run up the back of the sofa. Soft thighs splayed for nothing but display. Then, just as you start to admire them, she clenches them together. Your eyes trace down the pale skin until they arrive at her crotch where the bottoms of her cookie-patterned shorts have ridden up against her wet slit. She's gyrating her hips in all sorts of directions and rubbing herself against the material in some attempt to satiate her growing needs.

The soft flesh of her midriff jiggles between the thrusting into her tits and the twisting of her hips below. You can't stop staring. Fuck. How does this girl have every single curve?

At first, you try holding back—you want this to last longer. But after a few seconds, you realize you can't fight this feeling. Not when you've got such a good view. And certainly not with her nipples so hard under the press of your thumbs. She arches up when you pinch them, and you know you're done for.

And then, as if she can feel it by the way you're thrusting, she begins to coo and beg under you. She knows she's getting you close, and she wants it. Bad.

"Cum on me," she coaxes sweetly, the words barely audible over the slapping sounds. "I've been so bad, baby. You deserve to paint my body."

That's all it takes. That final little plea. Your eyes roll back, your hips snap forward and your cock explodes. Thick ropes over her body, the first reaching her thighs before you adjust your aim and finish across the plane of her belly. Soft curves take your load while she encourages you through soft, little pleasured mewls. You may have got some on her shorts, but you paint her stomach white before pulling up and jerking the final drops onto her chest.

"Mmmm, messy boy," Magenta laughs breathlessly as your cum drips down her curves. She lays there beneath you, her smile wide and wickedly innocent, one hand slowly running circles over the sticky mess on her tummy, smearing it across her skin.

After a few seconds of panting and trying to gather yourself, you climb off of her and sit back against the couch. She turns so her head rests in your lap, facing your spent and dripping length. Magenta teases you still by using her own fingertip to collect your seed and place it across her lips, then licking them clean while making sure you're watching. And fuck are you ever.

"So, about my room," she purrs, eyes twinkling mischievously up at you.

"What about it?"

"Well... It needs cleaning, and I was thinking—"

"No," you feign protest, knowing you've already agreed. "Just clean it yourself." Her negotiation will come next. You can see it on her lips. "I'm not doing it."

Magenta leans up and whispers, "But you might change your mind if you find out what's waiting for you beneath my shorts."

That damn purple thong, still visible at her waistband, calls you toward her like a beacon. "What's beneath your shorts?"

Her laugh is playful. A little shrug as her fingers toy at the hem of the garment in question. "Agree to clean my room and you’ll find out."

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

If you were to write Lila would you keep her being a con artist criminal with multiple identities but hinted at/revealed it earlier than S5 or would you cut that part down of her character entirely ?

It would really depend on how much space I had to fill. Gabriel is not the kind of villain that you can draw out forever. His story needs to have a clearly planned ending right from the start. In fact, I think they drew him out at least a season too long. So, if I also had to fill eight seasons, I could see myself going the Lila route. I'd just make a few changes. Off the top off my head, here's how I'd handle serious villain Lila as opposed to what canon wrote, which is petty school bully Lila who is entirely unbelievable as a serious villain.

First of all, Lila wouldn't be introduced at the end of season one. While her and Gabriel probably need to have some overlap, that's way too soon. In my version, she shows up at the start of season four and she'd be heavily toned down. We'd know that something was off about her, we may even keep the liar thing, but it would be a lot more subtle. Lies like, "Ladybug rescued me" and "I got to go backstage at a Jagged Stone concert" instead of "Ladybug is my bff" and "Jagged Stone wrote a song about me." Her goal would no longer be gaining peons, but instead gaining true close friends who like and trust her. The reason for this is that Lila is replacing Optigami as Mayura's last sentimonster.

See, season three ended with all those identity reveals and most of the revealed identities are in the same class. That's curious, so it makes perfect sense for Nathalie and Gabriel to want someone undercover in Adrien's class, but they can't do it. So Nathalie makes a sentikid of her own, gives her the power of manipulation, and sends her off to try to find Ladybug and/or Chat Noir by whatever means necessary.

This would give a clear reason for Gabriel to trust Lila, a clear reason for Lila to know all about the miraculous, and a clear reason for Lila to hate Ladybug. In this version, I wouldn't do Nathalie's lackluster redemption. Instead, Nathalie stays bad right up to her death. Perhaps her last act is getting the butterfly to her daughter and ordering her to get revenge on Ladybug and Chat Noir should Gabriel fail. After all, Gabriel can't wield more than six miraculous at once, so it makes sense for him to send Nathalie off with at least one of them while he enacts his master plan just in case it fails.

That's just one potential path to take. I also like the idea of having Lila be someone who came to Paris in order to find the miraculous, but who has no ties to the Agrestes. That would require some pretty big changes to her character, though, as I can't see that type of character caring about things like dating Adrien or being a model or all the other crap that has nothing to do with gaining a miraculous and everything to do with popularity and social clout. Lila canonically doesn't know that Gabriel even has a miraculous until the final of season four, so she basically just lucked into finding one instead of doing anything logical to find it because this show has no clue how to actually write smart, clever characters.

In summary, I'm totally fine with complex, master-manipulator Lila, it's just hard to figure out the best way to make her work when we don't know anything about her backstory or motivation. The version proposed above is just the best I can do to fit her into the role canon placed her in. A role I could easily see later seasons flat out ignoring.

[gaytommykinard]

i keep saying i'm not going to pay this show any more attention and I keep coming back with more thoughts and i decided to inflict them on all of y'all so here goes

hot take: the brad/hotshots storyline isn't inherently bad. it was entertaining. it was fun and campy, classic 911. i love it when shows get a bit meta. we stay sillay.

however it all falls completely flat, and here's why:

they butchered the main storylines they had set up at the end of s7 — Hen and Karen vs Ortiz (and Gerrard), the 118 vs Gerrard vs Tommy (don't play, they wrote it out with big block letters), Bobby's suicidal ideation, abrupt resignation and relationship conflict with Athena, not to mention NDE. the only storyline they seem to have spent any time on is Eddie and Chris — thank fucking fuck, some good food for Eddie.

they have disregarded previously established side characters in favour of developing Brad Torrence. where the fuck is Ravi? where's Sue, where's Linda? why is Josh only there as a mouthpiece to deliver a cringeworthy self-congratulatory speech praising Ryan Murphy's previous — and still DEEPLY biphobic — work?

the hotshots storyline of 8x07 and 8x08 should have taken place WAY later in the season: only after spending time giving their existing characters and relationships the focus they so sorely need.

Hen and Karen and their struggles with Mara being with Chimney and Maddie — where was the conflict between Hen and Chimney? blink and you miss it in 8x01. why was everything wrapped up so fucking quickly in 8x04? the pacing of that episode was INSANE. they could have drawn it out until the mid-season finale, and ended it on a positive note of Mara coming home.

Maddie and Chimney have had almost nothing all of 8a — what looked like a conversation about family planning, addressing their past issues, deciding to stick together and make it work this time, it was building up to something so good — and it crumbled before my eyes with the accidental pregnancy reveal. because we're dealing with teenagers who don't know how birth control works, not two grown adults in their 40s with a history of PPD. be so for fucking real.

and then: why bring back a homophobic, racist, sexist character, have him act EXACTLY like his old self — including throwing a subtle slur at his old subordinate who's just come out of the closet — and then reduce him to a cartoonish villain — did they perhaps realise that bringing back Gerrard was a big mistake? that no one wants to see this type of villain anymore? that his return undercut the justice of him getting fired by the LAFD for his bigoted behaviour? much to ponder.

Athena and Bobby nearly died, they lost their house in a fire (hello? ptsd flashbacks? no? okay.), then Athena nearly died AGAIN, but we don't need to linger on any of this. back to work, you two. Bobby, you get your firehouse back. Athena, back to doing bad cop shit, i guess. (they had a nice relationship moment with the house hunting and deciding to build etc in 8x04, and that's about it).

Buck had a consistent storyline between 8x01 - 8x04: struggling being under Gerrard, getting to work with Bobby again, and finally getting his captain back on a permanent basis. then we got 8x05 with Tommy — an episode dedicated on the intimacy and depth of their relationship — which they then completely fucked it up in 8x06. yes, the "past connection" reveal was a terribly done messy retcon of the entirety of s1 if you ask me, and a disservice to all three characters: Buck, Tommy, and Abby. the backlash from the GA following the breakup speaks for itself. but they then went to make a big joke of Buck coping with the breakup in 8x07 and 8x08. because we can't be serious about anything, ever. and again — I get it. it's the weewoo show. but don't tell me they haven't previously done well thought-out, touching storytelling. anyway, this got a little derailed because i'm still so fucking salty — the bottom line is, however they butchered Buck's storyline, at least he's had something meaningful.

the only other main that has had a meaningful storyline in 8a is Eddie. they've shown him struggling with being away from Christopher in almost every episode. i can't say i'm a big fan of the way 8x06 went for him (literally. enough with the movie references. tim minear have a fucking original thought for once). but I'm loving where his storyline is headed. that was a good 'cliffhanger' if you will. go back to your roots baby! go reconcile with your son — own up to your mistakes! talk to him about his mother! go to father-son therapy together! -> so much wishful thinking, y'all. we'd be lucky to get 1/10th of this on the show, but whatever.

tldr: no one gives a flying fuck about hotshots or brad because while we love the silly weewoo show, we need something to chew on before you toss us a half-baked dessert. to quote lou ferrigno jr, i am not satisfied.

[worthyprnce]

random merlin episodes I wish we had:

a stuck in the same day over and over episode — where someone, obviously merlin, is somehow magically stuck living the same day again and again but only he knows that. we missed so many opportunities. so many magic reveals and so many different reactions to it, specially from arthur and perhaps the knights too.

a halloween special — with a much darker and scarier mood, with less comic relief and more horror. we have a few dark scenes along the show, a whole episode of it would be so cool

a merlin x doctor who crossover — I have this inside joke with a friend that the diamair (that alien looking creature that helps gwaine in the first two episodes of season five) was BBC's way of pushing doctor who into the show, and it would be so nice if it was true. it didn't even have to be a merlin episode, it could be a doctor who episode where the doctor and the companion (I don't remember exactly which ones would be, I guess the 11th?) get back to save the diamair and they help them find a better place to live. and then we see the doctor hiding away from gwaine and percy, and then merlin and arthur and morgana (and all the guards and all) until they can finally talk to the diamair alone. and along the episode we see the characters going as the episodes in merlin canonically did, but in the doctor's pov.

a breaking the fourth wall episode — fleabag style. maybe merlin is the only one who can break the fourth wall, but I like to imagine everyone can, but no one else knows that's a thing everyone could do it. I don't know how this would be explained in cannon, but it would be fun

a green knight episode — where we follow (merlin follows) gwaine in a cheaper version of the tale of the green knight where the writers would obviously time compress a whole year into a few days, give cheap and lazy explanations and the green knight would probably be some random morgana's ally but I would love it anyway

a knights episode — actually I would have loved a spinoff of the knights with two seasons minimum, but at least one whole episode following their pov would be so much fun. maybe something happens and now we watch each of them along their day in flashbacks or something like that, until said thing happens and they have to collect all the puzzle pieces and try to understand what is going on and what happened and why and how to solve it. bonus points if merlin solves it all off screen and they all think that they did it, so now they are all proud of themselves. merlin obviously lets them take the credit for it, but this time he doesn't feel bad about not getting the credit he's due for saving the day once again. he feels happy to see his friends all happy and proud.

an animated episode — I am a huge lover of animation and just thinking about all the characters in an animated style version of themselves makes my heart warm. I love it so much, it would have been soooooo fun and so cute. it could have been an special, didn't even have to be an actual episode. like a christmas special maybe? I don't celebrate christmas so I don't know what would happen, just that it would be animated.

one or some of the characters turn into children — I think it would so fun and so cute to have merlin, gwen, gaius and maybe leon taking care of baby/child arthur. bonus points if uther is still alive and they have to hide baby arthur from him. or worse, all the knights turn into different aged children, leon is a teenager, gwaine has around 11/12, elyan has 7 and percival has 2, and merlin is going insane trying to keep up with them at the same time he tries to solve this mess as soon as possible. I would love the absolute chaos.

a merlin's birthday episode — nothing bad happens, we just get to watch everyone doing their best to come up with a good gift for merlin. and he is so confused as to why everyone is acting so strange around him (but they think they're being stealth and doing a good job). in the end they get the date all wrong and merlin's birthday is like, in six months or something.

that's all I can think of right now, and I know most of them (maybe all of them) don't even make much sense and wouldn't be possible to make in canon, but hey I can dream.

if I ever think of something else I'll do a part 2

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook

𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 | Wild Love 🔞

A simple taste is not enough.

Tags/Warnings: Alien!Jungkook, Human!Reader, dystopian AU, space/Sci-fi/cyberpunk-esque, Enemies to lovers, Smut, Tentacles, Knotting, ridiculous amounts of cum, very messy ordeal, it starts soft but gets a little rougher at some point, unprotected sex but it's not mating season so no babies, implied breeding kink?, biting, he's a growler oop

Length: 2k words

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You and Jungkook love to sleep close, especially now that it's gotten even colder in this part of the galaxy.

He's not put in a proper heating unit simply because he enjoys you seeking his warmth- it makes him feel needed, and he enjoys having you close, especially at night, when he can find a reason to undress down to nothing but undergarments beneath the heavy blankets, to have more skin-on-skin contact and better share some warmth.

He's seeking something else- but he's not quite sure how to tell if you're ready for that, too. At least he wasn't, until now.

It started with normal kissing- something he really likes, but it developed into something a lot more heated now. You're beneath him, his body having changed his position by now, hands next to your face as he licks after your tongue, soft sighs escaping you. He's growing increasingly aroused from this alone, and he doesn't have to wonder if you feel the same. Your smell already fills his entire room, and it's only worsening his growing need to be even closer to you.

He wants to claim you, ruin you, so that you cannot ever even think about anyone else but him.

He wants you for himself, but not with force. He wants you to want him all on your own.

His slightly moving hips stutter the second your fingers find the distinctive two bumps on his skin, your fingers curiously feeling around, before something appears to be growing from the spots. It clearly catches you off guard for a second, especially when those two unfamiliar appendages travel over your thighs, and begin to map out your physique it feels like. "They're harmless." He tells you, having noticed your attention shifting to them. "They.. simply assist." He offers vaguely, and you nod, accepting it fully.

You've never really looked up any of.. well, that, so you're not really sure what to expect. All you do know is that you love him- and that you want him, all of him. You trust him.

So when he rids you of your flimsy top and underwear to discover what's beneath, you're surprisingly calm. This is him, after all- you're safe with him. And he especially gives you exactly that feeling when he leans down to brush his lips over your collarbone, an odd purr accompanying his breathing as he holds onto your body, finally revealing what you've been hiding underneath all those layers of clothing. He wants to see it all- feel it all.

But not in that simple manner, pure lust and nothing else. He doesn't just want to satisfy some urge- he wants to do much more than that.

One of his appendages strays away, moves over your center, and it's clear that you enjoy the feeling of it. He himself enjoys the sight, your eyes barely opened, body relaxed as leave your physical form purely in his hands.

He's seen it before, and yet, it's entirely different now that it's you he's got positioned like this.

He can't be too rough, can he? You're delicate, fragile, he doesn't want to hurt you and yet, you've also proven to be much more than just what you appear to be. Your body is stronger than one might believe, and your mind has even greater strength.

Full of surprises. But right now, he wants you to be full of him.

With himself technically not in mating season, there's no amount of his translucent white that could ever put a child into your womb- and maybe that's for the best. That doesn't mean that he doesn't find the act of it any less appealing however, the thought alone making his painfully erect length jump in anticipation.

That, and the sight of your bare body squirming, small cunt stretched by one of his appendages that's abandoned its natural instinct to hold you close to his pelvis- instead now pushing inside you as far as it goes, bulging up your lower stomach, moving rhythmically to the beat of your heart pumping. Your back arches, spine curving off the bed, and his hands can't help but trace your sides, always seeking you out.

And he watches, mesmerized, how you writhe around like a higher being not meant to be seen by someone like him, while his palms grab at your soft chest, skin warm and inviting, and it feels forbidden.

But you're his, his bite, his marks, his love prove it to everyone, and he'll renew these things over and over again so no one can ever tell him he's not taking you seriously. You're more than a lover, more than a body, more than just a companion.

His second tentacle unravels from your thigh now as well, leaving a trail of arousal behind, before it runs over your clit, uneven texture of it causing your hips to jump and mouth to open. His mind fills with thoughts and fantasies even more obscene than what's happening right now-

But he's got time for that. Maybe one day he'll feel your mouth wrap around him.

Right now, he's growing impatient, he wants more, wants to see your core stretch open on his cock instead, wants to see your body shake with every thrust he delivers. What are you doing to him? This is a simple act of lust, and yet, it doesn't feel like it.

Nothing about this is simple.

He wants to ruin you, exhaust you, fill you up with his seed and let your skin soak up his scent. You deserve the best moment of euphoria he can give you, because your pleasure is his.

He's not like the rest of his kind, after all.

He wants to fuck you stupid until your head is filled with nothing but him, so you'll get a taste of the torture you've put him through. Only if he makes you understand the sheer primal need he's been suffering through these past few days will he finally be able to accept your love to its fullest, only then can he be sure he's really the best fit for you. He's already shown you most of what his love can be-

Can you handle this kind of love as well?

From the sinful dreams you've clearly been having these past few nights right next to him, to the shameless acts of pleasuring yourself underneath the shower, leaving behind only your scent as evidence, never seeking him out until now. Have you wondered how much self control he might have? He's got a lot, but even someone like him has limits.

Your constant affection and confessions of love have made him dizzy, after all.

His hands pull the tentacle out from inside you, leaving you gaping, core aching to be filled again- and of course, he will do just that. When his length enters you, you feel something odd- but you cant question it, as his hips push inside you as far as he goes, growling into your neck as you clench around his cock. "You're truly meant for me, aren't you?" He hums into your skin. "Taking me so well, hm?"

You can't answer. All you can feel is him.

His appendages hold onto your thighs, keeping you connected to him as he thrusts into you. No coherent words exit your mouth any longer, a hand moving from your throat up to have his thumb trace your bottom lip that he's kissed bright red. What he doesn't expect is your lips wrapping around the digit, tongue tracing it in a way that gives him a clear understanding of what you're offering-

and he wonders. Maybe you're not as delicate as he thought you'd be.

Slowly, you move your legs, folding them towards you, his tentacles moving as well to hold them for you, since his body clearly reacts to the new feeling of it all, gaze focused on the slight bulge forming every time he pushes inside you. His palm runs over the spot, eyes burning with desire as he looks down at you. "Tiny cunt can barely take me, hm?" He teases, and it's odd hearing him talk like that for once. "Gonna fill you up till you're full of me." He growls, moving to push his knees into the mattress below, pushing against the backs of your knees to angle himself better, pace picking up in speed.

You don't care anymore about the sounds leaving your lips. Your eyes won't focus on anything, closed in bliss as his ribbed tentacle runs over your core, the other one reaching to circle over one of your bouncing breasts. It's so much at once, and it feels like your entire brain is short-circuiting in the best ways possible.

You're blissfully unaware of your release staining the sheets and his skin, as he becomes erratic, chasing his own release, before he pushes in deep, both of his appendages tightening around your legs to keep you as closely attached to Jungkook's pelvis as comfortably possible.

You feel his cum filling you, so much so that it makes you nervous- because he seems to.. grow inside you?

"You're okay.." He reassures you, leaning over you as he notices your slight distress growing, lips kissing the side of your neck and cheek. "You're doing so good.." He praises, and it makes you relax a bit as you try and even out your breathing, one of his hands between the two of you, toying around with your highly sensitive pearl. He seems to know what he's doing, making you riled up once more as he keeps your mind occupied for the duration that his knot will keep him stuck, cum already seeping out in some spots. He can feel it.

His bites at your skin are more gentle now, not as desperate as he keeps himself inside you, more and more of his release slowly spilling out as he softens, your orgasm leaving you breathless as you become limp beneath him. Like little lovebites, he keeps himself close to you, his extra appendages retracting, his primal urges now satisfied, only thoughts remaining being those of caring for you now that you're so vulnerable.

His arms hold you as he moves around, carrying you towards the bathroom where you're sat in the open shower area, back leaning against the wall. He's careful to clean you up with gentle hands, never letting you out of his sight even way after you're already rolled up in towels like a human burrito, sitting patiently, sleepily, on a chair in his room, watching how he makes the bed once more, new sheets and blankets set out for you both to sleep in comfortably.

He's awfully quiet after the whole ordeal, but you know he's still awake, his hand never stilling as it brushes over the naked skin of your arm, up and down.

"What's wrong?" You wonder quietly, and he sighs, leaning closer to have your head lean against his shoulder, your legs thrown over his underneath the heavy blanket.

"…was that.. okay?" He asks, worries almost. "I got.. a bit lost at some point. I'm sorry for that." He apologizes, fingers tracing the clear bitemarks near your neck.

"It was perfect, don't worry." You giggle, relieved that it's nothing too serious. "I would've told you. Promise." You reassure him, and he nods.

"Please do." He urges softly. "I'd hate hurting you, even just by accident." He confesses, and you lean in to peck his lips.

"Don't worry so much." You tell him. "You'll always keep me safe." You remind him, and he nods, pulling you a little closer before he adjusts the blanket over your body.

"I will." He tells you. "Forever."

[phan3145]

Title: Slippery Slope. Fandom: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Rating: T. ( Cursing, almost drowning) Pairing: Eventual Noa x Human!Reader.

Chapter 1: Seven Months Ago

Noa

It wasn’t very cold this late in the season thankfully, but the constant rain made a chill cling to his body. Anaya and Soona walked next to him, the misting of water clinging to their fur and making it stand on end. It seemed as if it was finally ready to stop for a short period though, he noticed the dark clouds above head dissipating. Soona, seeing the same thing, shook her body to clear it of the remaining water. She sighed happily as Anaya chose to copy her, more obnoxious as he purposely shook to throw water back onto Soona. She hissed playfully before hooting, pointing forward at the younglings in lesson down by the creek with his mother.

He kept his eyes peeled for any potential threat, Eagle Sun visibly gliding overhead. He had a weird feeling about today, one that left him on edge as he continued to scan their surroundings. Anaya attempted to say something amusing to get his attention, but it was ignored in favor of his need to focus.

He heard Soona scoff and hoot behind him, but he truthfully hadn’t heard a word Anaya said. He stopped abruptly when he saw movement across the creek, or at least, he thought he had. It was downwind, so even as he scented the air, he wouldn’t be able to detect anything. Nothing that could threaten his clan outright.

“ You are…distracted.” Soona questioned, “Worried?”

Anaya hooted, “Too serious…now that he is leader…why not go…down and have fun…with younglings…elder?”

“Why?” He questioned, turning to bat at Anaya. “When you are here.”

Soona hooted as Anaya jumped and avoided his swings, “The creek is high…perhaps smart..to be on look out…Dar should have waited…until drier to take…younglings out.”

“Mother knows…what’s best…never would put young ape…in danger.” He reasoned, another flash of movement across the creek once again stilling him. “Besides…who knows when rain…will stop for good.”

He made motion for Soona and Anaya to follow him, making their way down the muddy, uneven embankment to the edge of the water, where his mother and the younglings were. She was teaching them about high waters and how the fish migrate, how rough waters mean fishing that day would be near impossible for Eagle. Instead, learning to build wooden traps for fish, allowing Eagle to rest while they hunted.

The moment the three of them descended the creek bank, all concentration by the younglings was lost. They rushed over to meet the infamous Sunset Trio, chasing after Anaya as he ran around them, and grasping at Soona’s decorations when she crouched to greet them. He made his way towards his mother, a few younglings silently trailing after him. It was a reminder that as the new Master of Birds there was a sort of reverent respect that came with that.

“Hah!” he exclaimed, jumping around to face the younglings. They fell on top of one another and hooted their enjoyment at the scare before running off to join Soona or Anaya.

He hooted lowly to himself with no small amount of pride. Who was the elder now? He didn’t need reverent respect. He didn’t feel as if he had fully earned it. Not like his mother…not like his…

“Son,” his mother called warmly. “Nice to see you bonding…with younglings for once…You seem…concerned…what troubles you?”

His mother, ever observant, as he leaned down to touch heads with her in a brief greeting. He tried to be discreet as his eyes trailed over that same spot across the creek where movement had been. From this vantage point he could see that there was nothing, but still scented the air to be sure.

He caught a whiff of small game, rabbit or a raccoon perhaps. Another whiff made him think again…perhaps skunk. His mother followed his line of sight, returning her gaze to him after a moment as she signed, I’ve noticed all lesson. Subtle movement, but does not leave or reveal itself. I think, no threat.

He huffed, returning her message, If no threat, why sign?

“Better to be safe…Just in case…though the creek…does provide safety…from anything on that side.”

She was right of course, the creek now mirrored a small river, swollen from the rain. It’s height would be more concerning if it wasn’t for the fact the bank’s own height could hold three times the creeks height. He imagined a long time ago more water existed than what does today, making it impossible to trek from one side to the other.

Most animals could swim, but not ape. They didn’t have much of an advantage if something wanted to cross and attack. An elder such as his mother and a group of younglings? It would be too easy. He never had to worry about such matters before, never had anyone truly depend on him making the right decisions. How did Koro do it? How did he make it look so effortless?

His eyes hadn’t strayed from that part of the creek, waiting for any type of movement to alert him of another presence, but his gaze remained distant as his thoughts danced around him. His mother saw that far off look and slowly placed a gentle palm on his forearm, knowing that what her son’s eyes were looking at was not what he was seeing. In that way, he reminded her so much of Koro. His concentration was broken then, finally turning away from the vegetation and to the chimpanzee who raised him. He offered an apologetic look, the gentle motion allowing him to take a breath and relax into her touch.

Of course, the relief didn’t last long. There was a shifting and a rumble in the ground that caused everyone to freeze in place. It ended almost as soon as it started, his instincts telling him something was wrong. Again, he scented the air, only smelling his clan and the wet ground. Then, Soona hooted for his attention, pointing wildly up stream.

He noticed water, much like the salty waves that had been present at Proximus’ kingdom, descending towards them. He remembered then. There was a dam far upstream…and he could only conclude that the deafening noise and shift of ground was from it breaking. The harsh build up of rain that had been relentless, it must have overwhelmed the decaying structure.

Without wasting any time he called out, “Climb!”

He began to help his mother out of the creek bed, making sure she was secure on higher ground before racing to help Anaya and Soona further up stream. They were hoisting younglings up the bank, which had become unstable. A few had reached the top, only to slide back down from the ground giving way beneath them.

He saw the wave gaining momentum in the distance, the creek water already rising at their feet. He screeched for attention, ordering, “Soona…Anaya…go up top. Grab younglings from…safe footing.”

They did as he instructed, sliding a few times themselves before reaching the top. They backed up a step or two as the soil crumbled beneath their feet along the edges. He immediately began handing younglings up to them, whimpering and crying in fear as each one waited for their turn. Once up, they would run to his mother, who waited at the edge of the tree line, keeping track of them all and making sure they stayed back and out of the way.

Soona began to have a panicked look on her face the longer it took to get the younglings up. He ignored it, turning away to grab the last two before he heard her call, “Noa…the water!”

He didn’t waste time looking, holding a youngling by the scruff of their neck in each hand, before practically throwing them up into Soona and Anaya’s outstretched arms. He felt their weight released from his grip just as the wave had struck his side. He thrust his body forward and for a moment, digging his palms and feet into the moist soil of the side, he believed that it would hold him.

It did prevent the initial wave from taking him…but the rushing current was too strong for the loose dirt beneath his grip began to melt and crumble between his fingers.

“No..no…no!” he called as he felt his body be pulled away from safety. He kept trying to grip the soil as Anaya and Soona chased after him, knowing if he could just hold on for a few seconds one of their arms would be there for him to grasp onto.

It was not to be, as a log came charging rapidly towards him. He couldn’t have avoided it, feeling his body be knocked under the water as it slammed into him. Pain exploded in his left arm from the impact, and as the water carried him further under he felt his body roll and tumble against the sediment at the bottom of the creek.

Small rocks ground into his fur and scraped his nose, disorienting him further before he found a way to kick from the ground and burst back to the surface. Taking a large gulp of air, he was brutally reminded of another situation similar to this. Just then, another rush of water forced him under. The scars of Proximus and his Kingdom were more than skin deep, as he felt fear churn his stomach, more so than the water that churned his body. He heard Soona calling his name, somehow managing to breach the surface again. Anaya was screeching in a panic as he attempted to keep pace with his body being carried down stream. Anaya had always had been the fastest amongst the three.

He found himself submerged again, only for a moment as the creek had been shallower here, his feet instantly catching on the bottom before the current catapulted his body forward again. He tried thinking of a way to get out of the water, before his body lost the will to fight the current. Breaking to the surface, he noticed movement up ahead, on the opposite side of the creek from where he had been. That same flurry of movement he had seen before in the corner of his eye. It’s then he noticed the drop off from the creek. It wasn’t high, in comparison to the heights he’s fallen from, but the pool of water beneath it was deep. If he went down he’d never come back up.

Body going under once more in the torrid rapids of the raging water, he found himself thrown towards the middle of the creek, further away from Anaya and Soona on his left. He had a choice to make then and was running out of time to make it. With determination to reach the opposite side and stop himself, he willed his body into a crouch under water, forcing it not to tumble forward. In this position, he used all four limbs to launch himself from the bottom of the creek, angling his body towards the right.

So close still, he heard Anya and Soona relentlessly calling out to him, but further away from them now as he reached for anything in sight. The vegetation towards the edge, the rocks along the sides of the bank covered in slippery moss; he hoped against hope that something would not give way under his weight. In vain, he saw the drop approach, desperation heightening his fear amid the crushing force of the water. Then, he saw an arm suddenly thrusted out for him to grab.

He took it, not hesitating nor having the time to notice what kind of arm he was desperately grasping hold of. He sputtered up water once he stopped moving, taking in a full breath of air that shook his water logged lungs. He heard a whine above him then, head snapping up when he realized he was merely being suspended in the raging water, not being pulled out. He realized then, it wasn’t an ape arm holding him. Tanned, hairless flesh greeted him as he followed the length of the arm up to lock eyes with the straining female Echo above him.

Aghast amazement filled his eyes as she struggled to support him. It was more impressive she was able to stop him at all, surely he thought his weight would overpower her. A coil of rope was around the arm grasping his, and she made a motion to loop it around his other arm and shoulder. Here, he did hesitate, but the crunching sound of her feet sliding against the rock made him realize…it was either trust her, or take her down with him.

He did as she instructed, letting the loop encircle him under his arms and around his shoulders. She glanced behind her before looking back to him. She motioned with her left hand to grip the rope. He did as she wanted, and he felt her grip on him loosen. He panicked, clasping onto her hand tighter. Her face scrunched in pain before she once more gestured for him to grip the rope. That’s when it dawned on him.

She intended to let go.

He couldn’t see if the rope was secure to anything besides himself and the girl. The idea filled him with fear, but feeling debris start to brush against him it was only a matter of time before something bigger came along like that first log. He nodded once at her, bracing himself as he released her hand and gripped the rope. He went back under the water, his heart stopping at the notion that he might not resurface this time, before a harsh lurch returned him to the surface. He tightened his grip, eyes closing briefly before opening them to find his bearings. Looking up, the girl was gone.

Then, he felt the rope pulling him. It was slow, but big lurches at a time had his body steadily rising from the water. He hooted, reaching for the edge of the rock the girl had grabbed him from, attempting to pull himself up. The current was still very strong and he noticed he had suddenly lost his advantage. He was no longer being pulled upwards, freezing midair with only half of his body out of the water. His feet scrambled for purchase under water, his upper body muscles screaming as he tried to move with no real leverage. Just as he thought he wouldn’t be able to lift himself from this vantage, the girl had returned, poking her head over the edge of the rock.

She tugged on his arm, her gaze shifting across the creek for a moment before releasing him as if his fur had burned her. She made as if to back away, then looked down at him once more. He saw her swallow, look behind herself, then further up the river. Her eyes locked with his, steeling herself for he didn’t know what. Suddenly, she was crouched in front of him.

His shock was obvious when her arms went under his, a gasp leaving his mouth as she pressed herself cheek to cheek with him. Time seemed meaningless then, being enveloped this close to her, the newness of her scent flooding his senses. He felt her jaw clench, heard the deep breath she took before she began to pull him up with, what he imagined was, all of her might. Time resumed, he began pushing himself forward as she pulled, trying to assist her as much as possible.

The tips of his fingers were starting to crack open, some already bleeding as he refused to release his grip from the rough surface of the rock below him. Once the majority of his body was over the ledge, he heard the girl grunt, using her weight as a counter balance, leaning back and pulling his weight into her lap. From here, his feet kicked off the side of the rock, gaining momentum to throw himself forward the rest of the way.

He was out of the water, having just enough mind to roll to the side as his body collapsed in relief. He was still partly on top of the girl, her arm and shoulder pinned under him. She didn’t protest though, her body having fallen sideways too. Both of them were panting, more than willing to take a moment to relax now that their excursion had ended. He raised his head to face her fully, grateful beyond words as their eyes locked onto one another. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, given the circumstances of what had just happened, but he only now noticed the intelligence that was held in her exhausted gaze. He blinked once, a thousand questions flooding his mind. He blinked twice and the realization must have shown on his face, for in the next instant he felt her arm frantically wriggling out from beneath his weight.

He was too slow to react as she fell backwards in an attempt to free herself from him. His shock wore off as she scooted away on all fours, springing to her feet. He attempted to do the same, watching her bolt for the tree line in front of them. He thought surely he could catch her before she vanished, gaining ground quickly on all fours. He lunged for the material of her clothing before he was harshly reminded of the rope.

One minute he was on her heels, and the next thing he knew his face was planted into the ground. His pride more wounded than anything, he hissed as he looked up at her retreating form amongst the vegetation. He pulled the offending rope off of him, showing no gratitude even though it had just saved his life. He huffed, ready to charge forward when he was reminded once more of the world around him.

“Noa!” Soona called from across the creek.

He stopped then, turning to see her and Anaya waving with concerned looks on their faces. He grunted, waving his arm in a sign that he was okay, his focus drawn once again to the tree line next to him.

“Noa…no…don’t!” He heard Anaya yell in warning.

Soona was quick to join in, “Just meet back…up river…go home…don’t chase!”

He swallowed, frustrated as his breaths came in quicker bursts. He contemplated letting the Echo go, forgetting any of this had even happened. He wiped excess water from his face, looking up to see Eagle Sun flying above the tree tops… further into the woods. Tracking. He was tracking the Echo. With that, his mind was made up.

“Get everyone…home safe.” He called to Soona and Anya. “I will…return…by nightfall.”

With no time to listen to their cries of protest, he launched himself into the woods in search of the Echo girl who had just saved him. The only thing that ran through his mind as he pursued her tracks, was a single sentence.

Here we go again.

[john-get-the-salt]

Winter Cold (w/spencer reid)

Imagine: A run-of-the-mill winter cold becomes the thing that finally reveals your secret to the team.

Contains: sick reader and sick Spencer taking care of each other, usual bau team shenanigans, a setting where Morgan and Emily are on the team together because that was peak time (imo)

Warnings: None

Snow, thick sweaters, warm drinks-there were countless reasons why you adored the Winter season.

Spending a Sunday morning curled up under a blanket with a hot chocolate in hand while it snowed outside was your love language.

Your body, however, did not thrive under such conditions. You had a terrible immune system so you were extremely susceptible to getting sick. Every winter you had at least one or two boughts of whatever nasty illness was going around that season, be it the flu, strep, etc.

So as winter came around and you got sick like usual, nothing should have been different. Except this year something was different. This winter you had Spencer Reid.

Suddenly you had someone to bring you ginger ale and saltines when your stomach was upset, to make you soup and tea when your throat hurt, to make sure you kept up with your meds and always carried around cough drops for you.

Spencer and yourself had started out as awkward co-workers before slowly becoming friends, which eventually blossomed into something romantic. You told him you loved him about 2 months in after a scare during a case, and he had returned the sentiment when it felt right.

You'd just recently celebrated your 6th month anniversary and everything was going so well except for one teeny tiny minuscule detail....the team didn't know.

You had hoped to gently ease them into the news, but any hope of that got dashed rather quickly on one particular winters day.

•

It was early January and you were fighting off your annual post-Christmas cold. All of the traveling and visiting family had caught up to you and you were suffering the consequences. Your pockets were constantly stuffed full of tissues and you had a permanent stash of cough drops in your desk at the office.

Spencer, the fantastic boyfriend he was, had been taking exceptionally good care of you. You found it slightly annoying that the genius himself hardly ever got sick but you couldn't find yourself mad for long when he was constantly doting on you.

He never fussed about keeping you on track with your antibiotics, never complained when you asked him for a refill of tea, or another box of tissues, etc. But one thing he absolutely loathed was the fact that you wouldn't let him kiss you. On the cheek you allowed, along with the forehead or chin or pretty much anywhere else that wasn't your lips.

You were determined not to pass along the illness to him, so no matter how much he pleaded for just a quick peck you refused. Which, mind you, was no easy feat. 

You stood firm on your ‘no lip to lip contact’ rule for about 3 days which was as long as your self control could hold out before you caved and let your boyfriend give you a firm kiss.

The two of you thought it was fine, no harm done, until 2 days later Spencer woke up with a racketing cough.

As you awoke that morning to a coughing Spencer in bed beside you, you sighed. "Don't tell me I finally you got sick too."

He merely groaned in response, and you pulled yourself out of bed so you could start coffee and fetch medicine for the both of you.

"I knew this was going to happen, I just knew you would get sick," you chided as if you hadn't played a significant role in the passing of said illness.

Spencer took the cold medicine you handed him without a roll of his eyes. "It's really nothing, just a runny nose and a bit of a cough."

"Work is going to be hell today. The team has been giving me grief about coughing, just imagine the ruckus when both of us are hacking our lungs up."

"Well," Spencer leaned down to plant a kiss on your warm cheek. "I consider it an honor to have the ability to kiss you-and then catch your cold. No one else on the team has that, so they can deal. And hey, now that we're both sick we can kiss as much as we want."

You giggled, annoyance vanishing as you leaned down and kissed your boyfriend. He attempted to wrap his arms around you and pull you back into bed but you slapped his hands away.

"As much as I love you and your kisses we do still have to work, Supervisory Special Agent Reid."

He sighed dreamily, a dopey smile on his face, "I love it when you talk FBI to me."

His smile quickly dropped as you whacked him over the head with a pillow.

•

Just as you predicted, the team had groaned as it quickly became apparent that Spencer had caught whatever cold was going around the building.

You and Spence arrived to work together, as you always did, on your very best behavior. After learning you both lived in the same apartment building not long after you joined the team, you started carpooling to work every single day. You had those car rides to thank for your friendship and eventual relationship, though the team did not know that.

But what the team did know, was that you and Spencer could not stop coughing. To make matters worse it was a paperwork day without a case in sight, so the team was stuck listening to the two of you. You apologized profusely, nursing a steaming cup of tea and a bag of cough drops. But it got to the point where everybody-minus you and Spence- voted to seclude you both in the conference room. They insisted it was for your own good, but you were pretty sure they had just gotten tired of listening to the sniffling and coughing.

So you two spent the day sitting in the conference room, talking and attempting to get paperwork done while members of the team popped their head in every so often to check-in and replenish your tea and tissues.

Before you knew it, the day was nearly over. There were still 2 hours left yet to the surprise of no one Spence had finished his paperwork already. Thankfully, he hung around and kept you company while you tried to finish yours.

"I really should have seen this cold coming. You know according to researchers, as many as 80 million bacteria can be exchanged in just one 10 second kiss," Spencer rattled off.

You nodded and hummed, as you always did when your boyfriend rattled off some rare knowledge he likely learned from a book he read once 6 years. You were pretty engrossed in the current paperwork you were filling out, so the insinuation of what Spencer was saying and the environment in which he was saying it didn't really catch up to you until it was too late.

"What are you trying to say pretty boy? You two locking lips?"

Finally remembering where you two currently were, work, you looked up from your papers. Spencer sat frozen in his chair beside you as Morgan and Emily stood in the doorway of the conference room with teasing looks on their faces.

"Uhm...."

All it took was the slight hesitation for Emily's joking smile to drop and her eyebrows to shoot so far up their nearly disappeared into her bangs.

"No way!"

"My man!" Morgan exclaimed, clapping as he walked into the room.

Emily followed, practically skipping towards you. "Wait til we tell the rest of the team. Damn, I owe Rossi $50 though. I thought it'd take til Valentines day."

Your jaw dropped as the shock of your friends knowing began to fade and was replaced with confusion.

"You guys bet on us? On whether or not we were together?"

"Oh no, we knew you two lovebirds were gonna get together. We bet on when you were gonna get together and then tell us." Derek clarified. "I bet Garcia $100 you two would wait until Summer to break the news.

Spencer, despite the situation, laughed. "Well, this isn't quite the way we imagined telling the team, but I guess this is it."

Thinking, you glanced at your two friends, who looked as happy as clams.

"We’ll wait to tell the rest of the team if you cut us into the winnings."

"Deal."

[galvanizedfriend]

Klaroline Fanfiction Masterlist

It's been a minute since I last updated my masterlist so I decided to go ahead and start a new one. Yokan // ▪ Multi-chapters

. The Wolf Series [I, II, III and Outtakes - Incomplete] When Caroline wakes up shackled, powerless and very far away from Mystic Falls, she knows she's in serious trouble. But when a woman named Sophie Deveraux reveals the reason why she's been kidnapped and taken to New Orleans, she realizes things are far worse than she could've ever imagined.

[The Originals rewriting where Caroline is a witch and gets pregnant with Klaus' child. Seasons 1, 2 and 3 complete, season 4 coming.]

. Vice and Virtue [6/6 - Complete] As the second son of a Duke, Klaus Mikaelson has the means and all the time in the world to indulge in every manner of wild activity with very little respect for the regiment of polite society. That is until his brother decides he's had enough of his vulgar ways and gives him an ultimatum. Caroline Forbes is a young debutante in search of true love and adventure. Except her aunt wishes for her to marry a somber Viscount who's already buried three wives. When their paths cross, they realize they might yet strike a deal that could satisfy their relatives and benefit them both.

[AH Regency!AU inspired by Bridgerton and a dozen other period novels I have been reading lately.]

. Pedulum [2/2 - Complete] This is what Klaus Mikaelson knows: death isn't the end for him. From the moment he is brought into the world to his final shuddering breath, Klaus' life is pretty much the same as everyone else's. The difference lies in what happens after he dies: he goes right back to the beginning, a child in London with the memory of dozens of lives lived before. Nothing ever really changes, including the fact that no matter how hard he tries, he can never save Caroline Forbes' life for too long.

[AH/soulmates!AU with a slight magical twist. Technically a one-shot, chapter 2 is just an alternate ending.]

. We'll Always Have New Orleans [3/15 - Incomplete] Caroline wakes up in a world where everything looks exactly the same, only nothing really is. For starters, she's no longer a vampire, and no one else in Mystic Falls has ever heard of witches, vampires or werewolves - no one except for Klaus, who woke up just as human and twice as angry about it. Their search for answers and a way out takes them all the way to New Orleans, and Caroline could never anticipate how much this crazy fake world was about to alter her reality forever.

[Canon-divergence!AU. Set right after TVD 4x18.]

. Speed Dating [4/4 - Complete] Klaus is having a bad month, so Caroline decides it's a great idea to drag him along to a round of Speed Dating. Other men in the room do not approve.

AH/AU fluff that was inspired by an episode of House (yes, it is fluff, I promise).

. Gasoline [2/2 - Complete] "He doesn't apologize, of course he doesn't. He doesn't care. He calls everyone love. It's not meant to mean anything. Except it did, once, and it makes Caroline's stomach churn away inside, as she feels Klaus crawling underneath her skin like he never left at all. I've still got you."

AH/Band!AU. Two years after Klaus walked out on his band - on her -, Caroline finds herself in her least favorite place on earth - New Orleans. She really did try to stay away from him, escaping an event just to keep off his radar. He finds her anyway.

. Like It's Christmas Again [2/2 - Complete] As Christmas approaches, Caroline Forbes, a New York-based event planner, is sent to a quaint small town in Virginia to organize their holiday festival. But her plans are momentarily hindered by the presence of Klaus Mikaelson, the Mayor's brother and a grumpy billionaire lacking in any holiday spirit, who's in town to close the sale of his family's manor - the charming estate she was hoping to use as a venue.

[AKA that time when I committed Christmas fic. AU/AH inspired by a Hallmark movie, I kid you not.]

. Spin [5/5 - Complete] Since she was seven years old, Caroline Forbes has been preparing herself to become President of the United States. But before she gets to the Oval Office, she needs to win the election for senior student president at the prestigious Saint Sebastian High - which would be in the bag if only goddamn Klaus Mikaelson hadn't decided to run against her.

[AH/AU lovers-to rivals-to-lovers The Politician!AU where everyone takes school elections way more seriously than they should.]

. How Far I'd Go [2/2 - Complete for now] Set in TVD S6/TO S2. Unable to control Caroline after she turns her humanity off, Stefan reaches out to the only person he can think of for help.

[Slices of moments of Klaus in Mystic Falls while Caroline has her humanity off.] ▪ One-shots

. The Sound of Settling Klaus hates his job at Mikaelson & Sons. He hates wearing a suit. He also hates his brothers constantly butting into his life. Everything will be better once he gets his much desired transfer to the New York branch. Caroline Forbes is the owner of Mystic Café, and when Klaus accidentally wanders into her coffee shop, his whole perspective changes. [AH/Coffee Shop!AU where Klaus is a lawyer. Fluffity Fluff. Lots of Mikaelsons and some Carenzo friendship.] . The Witch Queen Caroline always knew she was different. She was keyed into her own otherness very early on. Strange things happened around the Forbes women. Her mother never really had to spell it out to her, give it a name. Caroline could always sort of feel it, and then at some point the feeling blossomed into comprehension, and comprehension hardened into fact. And with that came an altogether different kind of certainty: this was not a secret she'd be able to keep forever. One day, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, everyone would find out. And when they did, they would come for her.

. Worst Things Have Happened Klaus Mikaelson is a prince with a very dark secret that threatens to destroy his family's legacy. Caroline Forbes is a sorceress whose job is to make sure his secret remains buried. But would it hurt him to put some clothes on? [Royal!AU, with a magical twist.] . The Unexpected Grace of Falling Apart The whole incident was bound to go down as a funny anecdote to be shared among friends, a Oh, you think you've had the worst hook-up ever? Hold my beer kind of story. Provided, of course, that she never had to see him ever and could just wipe him out of her life and memory for good. Given that they live in different time zones, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

That is precisely why Caroline is livid when she emerges from the arrivals area at Richmond airport to find Douchebag, in the flesh - sunglasses indoors and all, like the proper jerk that he is - holding up a sign that readsClarisse.

[AH/AU. It's Tyler's wedding weekend and Caroline is back in Mystic Falls for the first time after the most traumatic and depressing year of her life. And it's about to get even worse as she's made to share breathing space with Klaus, The Worst Guy Ever. Except they might have to join forces to save the wedding, and to the discovery that things might not be what the seem. As Caroline teeters on the edge of a breakdown she'd been trying very hard to conceal, an unexpected savior appears to help her through the haze.]

. love, the monster's got me now [Canon compliant. Set in TVD S03E09 Homecoming.]

"Don't run," he says calmly, sounding almost bored, but with a clear warning. "I'm in the mood for a chase. Little spoiler: you can't outrun me." His eyebrows twitch up when he finally turns around to face her, lips curling into an amused grin. "Tyler's girl," he states, gesturing towards the now empty yard. "You missed out on the celebrations, I’m afraid."

[Or: the missing Klaroline scene between "There's your pretty little girlfriend, Caroline" and "There's a whole world out there waiting for you." Klaus and Caroline meet after Homecoming.]

. When It's Gone Suddenly, Caroline hates how nice the bed feels. How soft the pillows are. How smooth and cool and expensive those goddamn sheets are against her skin. She hates the giddiness in her belly, like she's a stupid schoolgirl when she's not allowed to be one anymore. She hates how right the space between Klaus' arms felt, how easily she molded against him. His lips were as full and as soft as they looked, but his hands were gentler and more reverent than they had any right to be, and Caroline hates it. Hates it, hates it, hates it. She hates that it suits her, hates that she wants it, hates that none of it is hers to keep.

[Set after TVD S04E19 Pictures of You. Caroline hears about Klaus' impending departure after a mysterious letter and decides to have some words.] . Wishing Each Sigh Might Be the Last The first time she sees him, Caroline thinks he's an angel.

[Set in 1800s New Orleans. As Caroline lies dying, she prays for God to send help or end her torment and save her soul. She thinks an angel has come for her. But he's no angel at all.] . Feel the Madness Closing In Set in TO S3. Caroline is in New Orleans when Lucien and the Ancestors make a move against the Mikaelson family - and they know exactly who to target in order to get to Klaus. Paranoia sets in, sending him to a very dark place, and Caroline finally learns the price of being loved so profoundly by a monster. . Issues When Klaus' Hollywood career takes a down turn after a nasty divorce and a viral mug shot, his manager decides his life is not yet miserable enough, bringing in a PR company famous for its high-profile damage control cases.

[AH!AU where Klaus is a problematic movie star and Caroline is a PR agent with no time for his BS.]

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I've been bingewatching over the garden wall, and in the final episode, something happens that made me think of a twst 'what if' for book 8.

Spoilers for over the garden wall

The Beast offers a deal to Wirt to save his brother. At first, he accepts, but almost immediately, he backs away in realization that it's a trick to keep the Beast alive.

In other posts about the player, you say that to go home is to quit the game. And the player wants to keep going, similar to how Wirt and Greg can't leave the Unknown until they truly believe they can leave. Wirt and Greg also can't remember how they ended up in the Unknown, just like Yuu with Twisted wonderland.

Thinking of this scene again made me think of Crowley giving Yuu a proposition (maybe he asks for them to hand over Grim's overblot crystal). Yuu has a Wirt-like realization that leads to Crowley getting mad and demanding they hand over the crystal.

"I'm being very kind to you! I'm trying to help!"

"You're not trying to help me. You just have this weird obsession with this stone. It's like... you were waiting for this one stone this whole time."

All hell breaks loose. Eventually, it all gets resolved, but this was the final nail in the coffin that makes Yuu become disillusioned with Twst. giving their acquaintances a thankful goodbye before disappearing back to their world.

This is just a silly little thought. Remember to drink water.

I haven’t seen Over the Garden Wall (so you’ll have to excuse my lack of knowledge in that area)! I think I get the gist though.

Crazy how after 4+ years we still have NOTHING on Crowley's motives or why he has high hopes for Yuu... I think a lot of us are expecting him to go villain mode or at least reveal that he's been biding his time and waiting for whatever he wants to appear. It would be cool to see the typically lackadaisical headmaster snap... I wanna see it! 🥺

I'm surprised with how chill Yuu is with everything in the game (if you look at it from a pragmatic or more realistic perspective of course). As I've said in older posts, focusing too much on these negative aspects disrupts the "fun" feeling the game is meant to evoke for irl players. qrhlbqioyvfebliaf There's something really funny to me about Crowley being demanding (as if he hasn't already done this before in the main story, lol) as the final straw to drive Yuu out of Twisted Wonderland. You'd think all the mistreatment from the NRC students and/or the near-death experiences and trauma they've witnessed would do it sooner/j 💀 Might be interesting to see this situation though.

I'm drinking tea instead of water, cuz 'tis the season for warm drinks~ 🍵

[leafsbabe]

Vince Dunn - flu season

cw: discription of reader having a flu... 1.3k words

Waking up sick was never fun but at least you got sick while Vince was away on a road trip with the team far, far away from your germs. The last thing you needed was to get him sick too.

What had started with a sore throat had quickly developed into a full on flu. You felt horribly gross and in pain but at least you didn’t have to worry about work since your doctor gave you a note that excused you for two whole weeks.

The boredom was the worst of it, since everything you could think of to pass the time hurt. No phone because looking at a screen made your headache worse. No TV either since the noises made your headache worse. You couldn’t even blow your stuffy nose or cough without making your headache worse.

So napping it was.

After days of naps you expected to feel at least a little bit rested but no. Everything felt exhausting. There was nothing besides sleep, painkillers, and plain yogurt in your life. 

Your muscles ached as you fought your way out of the blanket pile you slept under. Two days ago you had mustered up the strength to swap your bedding with the guest room set in an attempt to be surrounded by less germs. Today you shuffled to your closet and changed into a different shirt for the same reason.

Just as you were debating if you should try and make your way into the kitchen your bedroom door opened, revealing your boyfriend.

The two of you just looked at each other before you spoke up at the same time.

“You look terrible. Get back into bed.”

“I thought you wouldn’t get home until Tuesdays?”

You immediately regretted speaking, your throat burning now.

“It is Tuesday.” Vince said, dropping his bag with a dull thud. “Bed. Come on.”

You went without protest, letting yourself be tucked in and hiding your face in the blankets when he attempted to feel your forehead.

Vince didn’t stop fussing over you though. “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” 

“Didn’t want you to worry. You needed to focus on the games.” It felt like a silly reason but you didn’t want to distract Vince during a road trip.

“Baby…” He trailed off, one of his hands coming up to brush over your sweaty hair. “Those games aren’t as important as you.”

You wanted to protest but Vince shushed you. “I could have at least asked the boys to send one of their wives over to check in on you and make sure you’re not dying.”

Just as you wanted to reply your body betrayed you, a coughing fit wrecked your body so hard your eyes started to water from the pain.

Vince didn’t comment on it; he just brushed your hair out of your face and tucked the blankets around you tighter. Well.. it looked like you would be staying in bed for a little while longer.

“I’m going to the store real quick.” Vince decided. “I’ll only be gone a few minutes but if anything happens promise you’ll call.”

“Hmmmm.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” You mumbled or maybe slurred. You couldn’t quite tell.

It wouldn’t matter anyways because somewhere between Vince pressing a kiss to your feverish  forehead and him walking towards the door, you fell asleep.

By the time you woke up again twilight had set in. The low light coming through the window didn’t agitate your throbbing headache and you managed to get up and out of bed without the struggle you had earlier in the day.

The apartment was silent as you made your way out of the bedroom. It seemed like several hours had passed since Vince left but you couldn’t tell if he’d come back, which worried you more than the flu. You knew Vince wouldn’t just leave you alone while you were sick, that was the whole reason why you didn’t tell him about it in the first place. 

Finally you spotted light coming from the kitchen but the sight that greeted you when you went to investigate wasn’t something you expected. Vince was standing with his back to you, working on something on the stove you couldn’t see. From what you could smell —and that wasn’t very much— whatever he was cooking smelled amazing. You didn’t know Vince could cook.

“What now?” He spoke, his voice loud over the quiet noises of the boiling water. For a moment you thought he was talking to you before his mom’s voice filled the room.

“Turn the heat to low and let it simmer. It should be done in 15 to 20 minutes.”

Vince nodded and as he moved you could see his iPad propped up, his mother’s face on the screen on a video call.

“And you better set a timer because we both know you’ll just forget about it and let the soup burn.”

“Mom, that’s—”

“Don’t say anything. You know I’m right. Now show me what tea you brought.”

You watched in silence as your boyfriend picked up a bag and placed it on the counter before holding up box after box after box of tea.

“Oh dear. How many different kinds did you get?”

Vince shrugged, the muscles under his shirt moving from where you could see his back. “I dunno. Like ten?” He looked between the bag and his mother’s face on the screen, then held up two more boxes.

“The red box.” His mom decided. “Do you have a kettle?”

Vince didn’t respond for a moment, freezing up at the question. “Uh…”

“Cabinet to your left.” You decided to help him out, alerting him to your presence.

He jumped, dropping the boxes he was holding. “You’re awake.”

“You’re cooking.”

The two of you just looked at each other for a moment before he finally seemed to register that you were standing in the kitchen with him. “Why aren’t you in bed? You're sick and need to rest.”

He walked over to you and felt your forehead again. “You don’t feel as hot as before. That’s good right?”

“Feel a little better too.” Speaking still hurt a little but you’d manage for the moment. “I wanted to look for you.”

Vince smiled. “You found me. Now get back to bed. I’ll bring you some tea and some soup soon.”

You wanted to fight him just on principle but a weird shiver ran through your body. “Okay.” You conceded, turning towards the iPad and addressing his mom for the first time since you stepped into the kitchen. “Hi. Thank you for helping Vince with the cooking.”

“Of course sweetheart. Get well soon. I’m gonna log off but don’t hesitate to call if you need any more help, okay?”

Vince barely managed to get out a “Thanks mom. Love you. Bye.” before the call ended. He then turned back to you, placing his hand on the small of your back and gently steering you towards the hallway. “Come on baby. Let's get you back into bed. A little rest and we’ll get you healthy again in no time.”

You laughed a little at his attentiveness. This side of him wasn’t exactly new but it surprised you time and time again, the amount of attention he paid to every little ailment. Vince cared. A lot. “Whatever you say, Dr. Dunn.”

Vince tucked you in again, this time letting you sit against the headboard as he went back to the kitchen to finish the soup and bring it to you alongside two different mugs of tea and some medicine. Smiling, you carefully tried the hot soup as he watched, a small satisfied moan leaving your mouth at the taste. Not bad at all. When you looked at Vince he smiled down at you with a soft look in his eyes and you couldn’t help but hope for a quick recovery. The last thing you wanted to do was get him sick but you also really wanted to kiss him. Soon, you thought. You’d be back to health in no time, but until then you could be convinced to let Vince play doctor (and private chef) a little longer.

[group-dynamic]

Abbott Season 4 Episodes 7 & 8 Analysis Because I'm Losing It

These past two episodes were masterpieces, and I could talk about them all day, because I was deeply affected by them, but I'll pick one thing:

I love how these past two episodes skewered toxic amatonormativity and promoted the benefits of non-traditional, non-restrictive families and holidays.

Like, yes, there's a hilarious sitcom premise, but Barb making a mission of inclusion by reworking their holiday pageant to be a winter pageant so her student who is Muslim won't be excluded or Janine and Gregory making space for Ava with them, while the show allows Ava to deliberately choose who is family to her. Jacob and his brother becoming family again outside their parents. Melissa choosing not to invite the firefighter to dinner because she is valuable as an individual, unattached woman whether her family sees it or not.

But what I think really drove this home for me was the scene in the kitchen and the parallel set up between Jacob and Melissa. They are two roommates from different generations who have both failed to fulfill the heteronormative, amatonormative ideals their families wanted from them: Jacob--presumably--due to his queerness and Melissa through her divorce. (Though this reading is also very friendly to queer!Melissa interpretations, too.)

The moment this struck me the most is Melissa in that kitchen upset and stressed and occasionally teary while holding it together (because that's who she is and that's how she does this) trying to convince Jacob that they need to keep the uncle dying a secret because she's been working so hard to pull off this dinner for weeks and she needs to impress her family who do nothing but insult and diminish her and her individual value.

Like, keeping up appearances is genuinely more important in that moment than the death of a family member. Even if he is a bigoted prick, Melissa knows they'll be mad she "ruined their holiday" more than the familial death itself, suggesting that the very idea of the family is a sham. A performance.

And Jacob remains obstinate because this is a really Big Deal and stressful and he always dislikes the holidays anyway so he can't understand why they won't just call 911 and get the big deal over with, because that guy is dead on his bed. But then Melissa says, "They're going to blame me" and Jacob is aghast, "What, how?" because of course that's incomprehensible, why would Melissa ever think someone would do something that mean and illogical? Especially to a great person like her? And she answers, "You've seen my family. They'll find a way." And then we hear the insults and petty you're not good enough commentary from the other room. And slowly it sinks in.

Because Caleb, Jacob's younger brother, who last episode revealed he completely understood how toxic their family was for Jacob and how proud he is that he made it out-- this goofy, himbo-esque tiktok personal trainer just stares at his brother, until finally Jacob gets it and looks over. Because they've lived this. And, of course, Jacob couldn't see it in the same way, because to some extent, Jacob's desperation to be liked and accepted has always suggested that he maybe still believes that he deserved to be the least favorite. (He couldn't even imagine his brother looking up to him, or having anything nice to say about him , or wanting to see him just because he values him. His "I lift people's spirits!" is a performance we've seen him carry out for four seasons. (Worthy of note is that Caleb's job is also a performance. He's a personal trainer, but not one with any actual training. He couldn't find a pulse. He just acts as a trainer on tiktok.)

Now, of course, the plot has to roll on, so Jacob continues to secretly object, but he takes part in Melissa's performance, now, despite his objections, because while he doesn't agree with the charade, he gets why she's doing it. (And maybe, in some way, seeing how a great and likable person like Melissa can be targeted and bullied by her family, is some proof that he might not actually be a bad and unlikable person after all. Maybe he's not the problem.)

And then when Barbara shows up to that kitchen and the first words out of her mouth are "How can I help?" Like I'm sobbing!! Her IMMEDIATE concern is Melissa. First and genuinely, and that's even before she hears her uncle "died" and then Barb is instantly ready to support her with whatever she needs and her first instinct is to hug her and when Melissa says she needs something else (the bread) she goes and does what Melissa says she needs because THAT IS FAMILY!! aahhh.

Anyway: while there's defeat in Melissa's face when her firefighter shows up and her family behaves exactly as expected (Ooooh, you're good because a man has made you good. It all makes sense.) It's tempered by Barb and her husband coming up and reassuring and complimenting her, acting CLEARLY as better family to her than blood or her current fling.

I don't know if I have a conclusion to this. I just want to shout out that the show also says that you don't NEED to go full speed into found family, either, to combat the loneliness caused by the nuclear family model. Sometimes you can also go on the party bus or to the strip club and that's valid, too, haha.

[comandersprings]

The Most Dreadful Time of the Year (Yuta & GN!Reader)

Note: Turns out I recently learned that in-universe, Gojo dies on December 24th. Because I find that way too cruel (I hate you, Gege) and I know what it's like to be depressed during the holiday season, I ended up writing this. This is also the first time I post something actually Christmas-related during Christmas, even if this piece is far from being a happy one ^^; Either way, I hope you all like it!

Warnings: Mentions of death

Word Count: 3,239

Summary: Although they say Christmas is the season to be jolly, that's not the case when said season coincides with the anniversary of the death of your significant other. You are deep into your sorrow, but a chance encounter will help you change your perspective.

• • • • • • •

November 14th

Just when you were starting to lift your head and rediscover what it felt like to breathe without the weight that had settled on your chest since that day, it happened.

You were sitting on the couch, watching a TV show. It was nothing to write home about, but at least it kept you entertained. When you least expected it, the show went on a commercial break. You sighed. The ads were all the same as every day and every hour. Although your eyes were still on the screen, you didn’t pay attention to them, but that was until a particular commercial came on. It opened to a bucket of fried chicken. Slowly, the camera zoomed out to reveal a family sitting at the table and in the corner of the dining room, a bushy Christmas tree wrapped in colorful garlands and adorned with shimmering balls.

The weight on your chest returned and suddenly, you were on Shinjuku again with Sukuna’s taunts echoing in your head and Satoru dying in your arms and your throat stuffed with screams and wails you couldn’t let out because you didn’t want him to go with the image of you being a devastated mess. The invisible wound that had finally started to heal gaped open once again somewhere in your heart and with trembling hands, you reached for the remote and turned the TV off although the ad was almost over.

It was like a bad joke. All the progress you had been making seemed to vanish in an instant, but you couldn’t say it was shocking because you knew this would happen. Everyone told you so: anniversaries were hard, especially the first one. 

And just then, you realized his birthday was coming up too. God, Satoru’s birthday. The first one without him. The first one taking the bouquet of blue roses you always got him to his grave instead of giving it to him.

How were you supposed to do this? You desisted on telling people about your grief long ago because you felt you were burdening them. They didn’t say it, but you could see it in their eyes, in the tone of their voice, in how their words of sympathy and encouragement became more and more generic every time, in the way they tried to change the subject when they had the chance…

You lay on the couch and curled up, taking deep breaths to ease the tightness in your chest. The silence of the living room was deafening and you almost turned the TV back on, but what if another Christmas commercial came on and you felt worse? You closed your eyes and let out a harsh exhale. You’ll get through this , you told yourself. You just had to be strong and patient.

December 7th

Like almost every week, you walked into the cemetery. You already knew the area you traversed on your way to Satoru’s grave by heart, from the tombstones to the names engraved in them, to some of the dates of birth and death. It was a familiarity that made your heart shrink, one no one should ever have to fall into and still, despite being used to these visits, today’s felt heavier than all the others. But it was no wonder.

You reached your destination and swallowed hard. Seeing Satoru’s name on that marble headstone still gave you a lump in your throat and a hopeless thought that this was a nightmare you were about to wake up from. That, of course, wasn’t true. However, the sight of new and fresh flowers put a small smile on your face. They were probably from Shoko and his students. It was nice to know that you weren’t the only one thinking of him today. Had that been the case, you would have been crushed.

“Hey, baby,” you said, your eyes fixed on the tombstone, “I’m here again.”

You approached the grave a bit more and crouched in front of it, taking an empty vase with one hand as your other arm cradled the bouquet of blue roses you just picked up from the flower shop. As always, you had ordered it two weeks in advance.

“I’m sure you know what day it is today.” You lowered your head and added, ”Or rather, what day it should be.”

You had put some water from one of the cemetery’s fountains in a bottle so you could fill the vase with it without having to walk away from Satoru’s grave. As stupid as it could sound, you didn’t want to leave him alone even for a second. Especially not today.

You placed the bouquet in the vase, making sure the wrapping didn’t get too messed up. It was something you had done countless times by now, but your hands were shaking and you weren’t doing it as perfectly as you’d like. You shook your head and continued to adjust the flowers until the white cellophane enveloping them was no longer crumpled up.

Sighing, you stood up again and said, “I bought your favorite flowers, like always… But I wish I was giving them to you like I did last year.”

Your eyes stung, but you ignored that. You opened your bag and out of it, you retrieved a small box, a single candle, and a lighter. Inside the box was a simple, chocolate frosted cupcake. You opened that box and took out the cupcake, placing the candle right in the middle. You lit it up and stared at the flame dancing before you for what felt like forever. You were thinking of what to say before blowing it out. There were so many things in your mind you didn’t know where to begin. You bit your lower lip and swallowed once again.

“Things shouldn’t be playing out like this,” you began, “I wish you were blowing out the candles in a big cake, and that I could kiss you like I always did afterward. I wish we were celebrating it with the kids, that you were cracking your usual jokes about being a year closer to becoming an old man…”

You got a bit choked up and a couple of tears escaped your eyes. You wiped them away with your free hand.

“I know I always say it, but you shouldn’t be here and today, I feel it even harder than usual.” Your eyes flickered down to the candle. It had already consumed a little. “I also know you don’t want to see me this sad, but I can’t help it. I need you here.”

You took a deep breath. Getting the words out was harder than you anticipated, but you had to do it. You wet your lips and released another exhale.

“Happy birthday, Satoru. I will always love you.”

Your vision blurred out with tears, but you blew out the candle. The smell of the flame being snuffed out reached your nostrils. You wiped your tears again and gave the tombstone a wistful smile. You were still sad, but now you were proud of yourself… and you were sure Satoru was, too.

December 20th

Christmas had taken over the city like a virus—in your eyes, anyway. You couldn’t escape it, everyone was in a festive mood and everything revolved around Christmas. The lights adorning the streets felt far too bright this year, and the carols blaring from seemingly every shop far too loud. You used to love their lyrics about happiness, unity, love, and family, but now they were a harsh reminder that your sorrow was just a drop in the ocean of the world. Life went on for everyone else, the world didn’t give a damn that you were hurting.

Today, however, you decided to go out for a walk. You had been cooped up in the house for days now, only leaving it to go to the nearest store. Satoru would have told you that staying in for too long was bad in the long run, no doubt.

You took your coat and scarf and headed outside. It snowed yesterday. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough for the temperatures to go down further. The moment you left behind the apartment’s entrance, your breath froze into a small cloud in front of you.

Besides lights and festive music, the street was also crowded with people. Lots of people. They took up a big part of the sidewalk and you found yourself obligated to walk at a snail’s pace behind them. You were already regretting leaving the house and you did even more when your eyes landed on a couple passing you by, laughing and holding hands without a care in the world. You lowered your head and remembered all the times Satoru took you to see the Christmas lights —and how you two would kiss underneath them— or the various markets around Tokyo. Now you were all alone and surrounded by reminders of what you no longer had.

Because your gaze was on the floor, you didn’t notice a woman walking in your same direction. You ended up bumping into her and she didn’t take it kindly.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” the woman chided, shooting you a glare before leaving you behind.

Maybe it’s her who needs to watch where she’s going, you thought. Despite the incident, you refused to look up. You didn’t want to see the shiny happy people around you, you were only there because you needed some fresh air.

The numbing cold on your fingers made you realize you should have put on some gloves too. You shoved your hands in your coat’s pockets and sighed, your freezing breath making itself visible once again. You weren’t going to spend much more time outside, either way. You intended to turn back after crossing the street. The pedestrian crossing was already visible a dozen meters away, so it wouldn’t be long until you’d be back in the comfort of your home. 

You really couldn’t wait for that, and you could wait even less after bumping into someone yet again. Your shoulders tensed and you braced yourself for another scolding from a stranger but instead, you heard your name spoken in a gentle, questioning tone. Then you looked up and found yourself face to face with Yuta.

“H-hey,” you greeted the boy. Your eyes darted on their own to the scar on his forehead. As hard as you tried to think of something, you didn’t know what else to say.

Yuta scratched the back of his neck and gave you a nervous smile. He wasn’t sure of what to say either.

“Hi,” he said finally. After a pause, he added, “It’s hard to walk around here, isn’t it?”

You snorted and gave him a slow nod. “You tell me. You’re the second person I have run into.”

You two remained silent again, but it was clear there was a conversation to be had. The people walking past you receded into the background and then, Yuta posed the question you knew was coming.

“How are you doing?”

That was a question you had heard a like hundred times at this point. It often came from people who didn’t actually want to know if you were okay, they only asked to make themselves look like good people. In Yuta’s case, however, you could tell he was genuine.

You shrugged and shook your head. “Not good. Everything reminds me of that day.”

“I understand,” Yuta said with a nod, “I know how hard it must be.” He looked down for a moment before landing his gaze on yours and added, “His birthday was a few days ago and the anniversary is also coming up.”

“Yeah…” You pursed your lips together. “By the way, were you one of the people who brought flowers to his grave for his birthday?”

“Yes, I was.” He smiled faintly, although he wasn’t sure if doing so was appropriate. “Itadori and Fushiguro brought him flowers, too.”

You found yourself smiling back at Yuta and without realizing, you had taken a hand over your heart. “Thank you. When I saw the flowers, I figured it was you guys who put them there. I thought of Shoko, too.” You took a deep breath and continued, “I’m glad he’s being thought about.”

“Of course,” Yuta said, “Gojo did so much for us all… It’s the least we could do.”

Damn it. You were feeling that warmth in your eyes again. You didn’t want to cry in front of one of your late boyfriend’s students, but you still got a knot in your throat that prevented you from speaking for a few seconds.

“I always thought you were a good kid,” you blurted out, “and Satoru did too. He was really proud of you.”

A pink hue crept on Yuta’s cheeks. “Oh, thank you!” The cold only intensified it.

You smiled again. It wasn’t a big smile, but it was still there. However, it faltered at the boy’s following words.

“Um, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but… Are you doing anything for Christmas?”

You were quick to shake your head. “No. I don’t think it would be right. Satoru still wanted to celebrate Christmas last year despite what happened to Suguru the day before, but he was great at pretending everything was fine. I’m not.”

“That’s fine,” Yuta reassured you, “It’s like how Fushiguro isn’t celebrating his birthday this year. But still…”

“But still?” You furrowed your brows and tilted your head to the side. 

Yuta jumped a little. He must have thought you were mad at him, but the curious look in your eyes comforted him. “I don’t mean to tell you what to do, but I think you should do something to honor Gojo on that day. It’d give you peace of mind.”

You parted your lips to say something, but nothing came out. Yuta is right. You had been so focused on dreading Christmas time and all the painful dates December brought with it that the idea hardly crossed your mind. You already did something for Satoru’s birthday and even if it hurt, you had to acknowledge the anniversary of his death too. You’d probably feel guilty if you didn’t.

“You know what? I will do it.” You took your hands out of your pockets. “I admit I hadn’t contemplated that until now and I think you’re right: it might help me feel better.”

“Good.” Yuta nodded. “You don’t have to do anything big either, just do what you’re the most comfortable with.”

“I already know what I’ll be doing.” You smiled at the boy. “And I don’t mean to cut this conversation short, but I need to go somewhere for that now.”

“Don’t worry about that. It was nice seeing you.”

“The same to you.”

You were about to bid Yuta farewell, but you changed your mind at the last second and took him into a light parting hug. The boy didn’t say anything, he returned your hug without hesitation and patted your back.

When you pulled away, your eyes were glossy. “Take care, alright?”

“I will,” he said, giving you a weak smile. “Take care too.”

You gave Yuta a short nod and then, the two of you parted ways. You were no longer heading back home. As you told him, you had somewhere else to go now.

December 24th

You had just got home from the bakery. Satoru’s favorite bakery, to be exact.

Before going there, you went to the cemetery once again. You brought him a big fat bouquet of roses, except they were red this time. When you reached Satoru’s grave, you saw that other people had brought flowers this time too. There were even more than on the day of his birthday and the sight —although it was one you wished you weren’t seeing— moved you to tears.

In the bakery, you picked up the Christmas cake you ordered after talking to Yuta—although it was just a piece rather than the full thing. An entire cake would have been too much for you alone.

It was the classic sponge cake with strawberries, the same one Satoru bought for the two of you every year. The whole version had various Christmas-themed chocolates and a Santa Claus decoration, but the slice you got only had the strawberries and a chocolate wreath on top. That’d be more than enough.

You placed the box containing the slice of cake down on the dining room table. Before eating it, you lit up some incense and prayed inward. When you were done, you went back to the table and opened the box. The clerk had included a plastic fork inside the box, so that’d save you having to go fetch one from the kitchen. You took the fork but before finally eating, you still had something else to do.

You lifted your head and looked straight ahead, at the empty seat in front of you.

“This is just like on your birthday,” you said, “you should be here with me, and yet…”

You took a deep breath before continuing, your eyes still on the same spot.

“To most people, today is Christmas Eve but to me, it’s the first anniversary of the day you were taken away from me. From me and from all those who cared about you.”

You lowered your gaze towards the cake. You were getting choked up again. It took you a moment before being able to lift your eyes and continue talking.

“I’m sure you have seen that I don’t intend on celebrating Christmas. I haven’t even put up the tree or anything, but I still got some Christmas cake because I know how much you loved it.

“I didn’t want to let this day pass without doing something to show you that you’re always in my mind, although you already know that. You also know how I’d prefer for this one to be like any other Christmas Eve.”

You thought of how last year, at this same hour, Satoru was still alive. He gave everyone words of encouragement although he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. You did too, but you ignored it. You wanted to believe that everything would go well because it’s what you all deserved. Of course, life had other plans because life often doesn’t care about what people deserve or not.

Finally, you took a small piece out of the cake using the fork. You lifted it to your lips and before eating it, you murmured, “Here’s to you, baby. I love you.”

And you took the forkful of cake into your mouth. It tasted just as always, although nothing was the same anymore.

However, after the second forkful, it was almost like you could see Satoru sitting across from you, on that empty chair. Although you were home alone, you didn’t feel like it. You felt like he was there with you although you couldn’t see him.

You continued eating. The corners of your lips twitched before finally rising into a smile. Your chest felt the warmest it had in a long time and at that moment, you couldn’t be happier you followed Yuta’s advice. You also decided this would be your new Christmas tradition. It’s a season supposed to revolve around our loved ones, so why not include in it the ones who are no longer with us?

[conflictofthemind]

I don’t know how to break this to you guys, but Byler as an official couple is not going to be happening in the first half of the season and it probably won’t even officially be a thing until the finale. Because of Mike’s issues. And it being the 80s.

Will has actually… been a fairly easy character to figure out. And for as much as he does still absolutely repress his sexuality, he is way further on the path to living authentically than Mike is. We all agree on this, right? Will is used to being labelled as a freak regardless of what he does or doesn’t do. He never really tried to feign interest in girls. Most of the town already suspects he might be gay, and while it would get worse for him if the rumours were known to be truthful, he knows he has the support of Jonathan. And I think he knows deep down that he has the support of Mike (and Joyce). Otherwise, why tell him that he makes him feel better for being ‘different’ (gay)?

But Mike? ‘Just trying to be normal’ Michael Wheeler? We know he didn’t mean that as in school; he prides himself as a nerd. Michael Wheeler who seemed like he could have been on the precipice of finally breaking it off with El, and then tried to go back even harder after Will’s push? And for the general audience to make sense of what they will perceive as a sudden shift in Mike’s character when they reveal his feelings for Will, they’ll have to hammer it in that Mike is afraid to his core of being out for them to make sense of his previous actions.

Mike has a different personal life than Will. Reagan supporter conservative parents who don’t like to speak about emotions. He doesn’t have as strong of a relationship with Nancy. We know Hellfire and Eddie’s death will have big consequences on the narrative, and that the town will continue the witch hunt against all of the members of Hellfire. They list sodomy as one of its demonic influences. Will is also going back to high-school, and it’s possible he has a bruise on his face in that Episode 4 farm scene. He’s been bullied before, and I don’t see how they don’t bring that up again, and worse.

If Mike is out, or gets outed, he will fall from a much higher place into a much deeper pit than Will. I honestly foresee them both realizing eachothers’ feelings by the middle of the season, maybe acting on them in private, but Mike suddenly pushes him away in public when Will tries to initiate any contact or closeness - even nothing overtly romantic.

Will is ready to start being more open about their relationship to family and friends as he’s sick of hiding himself and has probably, at this point, come out to Joyce at the least and met Robin. Mike is not so ready. This creates a conflict leading up to the finale where Mike truly has to choose between living in the closet for the rest of his life, and losing Will, versus the bravery to be open (to friends/ family) at the risk of being rejected or further outed and kicked out / assaulted / etc.

[character-fan19]

Love Square Screen Time Records

Hey, everyone! As some of you may know, I've recently completed calculating the exact screen time for all the love square ships for all the episodes we have up until now, including the Miraculous World Specials. Now I've decided to list all the noteworthy moments in love square screen time based on the data I've collected.

We're going to start with doing some general overall records, then we're going to see the noteworthy moments of love square screen time for all the love square ships individually. so let's begin, shall we?

General Records

First episode to include all of the love square ships: Cat Blanc

Of course it's "Cat Blanc' of all episodes to not only be the first episode to have screen time for all the love square ships, but also the only episode by far to have screen time for all the love square ships. It's already one of the greatest episodes of all time, so why not add some screen time for all the love square ships with it too?

We have the Adrienette dating montage, the battle between Ladybug and Cat Blanc, Adrien saving Marinette from akumatization as Cat Noir and revealing his identity along with it too, and finally Ladybug starting this mess by coming in to deliver her gift to Adrien, allowing him to catch her and piece together her identity.

2. First episode to include none of the love square ships: Representation

Closely followed by "Conformation" as the second. Who does this episode have to thank for to having this record? Gabriel, of course. Since Gabriel sent his his son to London specifically so that he can't spend time with his girlfriend anymore, this was the result. Adrien and Marinette weren't able to get together again until the end of "Re-Creation".

3. Love square ship with the most screen time in an episode: Adrienette in "Oblivio"

Not that surprising since a lot of the episode was spent in Adrien and Marinette running from the titular villain and re-learning who they are. It was only towards the end that they were able to figure out how to activate their powers again, thanks to Master Fu, giving Adrienette a total of 9 min 3 sec of screen time in this episode.

Adrienette Records

Episode with the most Adrienette screen time: Oblivio

Since this episode already has the title for ship with most screen time in an episode, it will obviously also have the the title for episode with with the most Adrienette screen time. No need to repeat what I said earlier.

2. Season with most Adrienette screen time: season 5

No surprise here. We don't need to know the exact screen time to know that this season was full of Adrienette. First third of the season had a few patches of Adrienette here and there but from "Transmission" onwards we had a continuous stream of Adrienette content up until "Revolution" where Gabriel separated them by sending Adrien to London, after which the only got back together at the end of "Re-Creation".

Even though Adrienette didn't dominate this season like Ladynoir does every season, it still had over a third of the love square screen time and had 45 min 57 sec of screen time this season which a lot more than it usually has.

3. Season with least Adrienette screen time: season 4

Just like the other love square ships this season, Adrienette took a significant hit, having been reduced to having 12 min 38 sec of screen time as opposed to its usual half hour of screen time per season (roughly). It makes sense though considering that this season is more focused on the plot than past seasons have been and this is supposedly the season of Ladynoir.

4. Miraculous World Special with most Adrienette: New York Special

Makes sense for this to be the special with the most Adrienette as this special had the plotline of Marinette trying to be nothing more than a friend to Adrien, giving us a total of 7 min 40 sec of Adrienette in this 1-hour special, even surpassing Ladynoir in screen time.

5. First episode Adrienette surpasses Ladynoir in screen time: Gamer

Yes, this is an actual category since it's usually the norm for Ladynoir to have the most screen time in an episode. Not only was this the first episode where Adrienette surpasses Ladynoir in screen time, it's the first episode where any ship surpasses Ladynoir in screen time, and also the sole episode in season 1 where an episode surpasses Ladynoir in screen time. Adrien and Marinette being partners in the Mecha Strike tournament really did well to increase the Adrienette screen time.

Ladynoir Records

Episode with most Ladynoir screen time: Mayura (Heroes' Day- part 2)

Kind of an interesting episode to have as the one with the most Ladynoir but OK. This part had the secondary heroes up until now put out of commission by scarlet akumatization in the first few minutes of the episode, leaving Ladynoir to fend for themselves, them against the world just as always.

2. Season with most Ladynoir screen time: season 1

Of course it's season 1 with the most Ladynoir screen time, with this being the show being at its most formulaic at this time, leading the focus to be more on the usual battle with the akumatized villains than with progressing the plot, gives us a total of 1 hr 53 min 26 sec of screen time that season which is nearly 2 hours.

3. Season with the least Ladynoir screen time: season 4

Ironically, the supposed Ladynoir season had the least Ladynoir screen time out of all the seasons. Despite it having the most screen time in terms of percentage, it still had the least screen time in terms of actual value, having a total of 59 min 24 sec of screen time this season, which isn't even an entire hour, although it's pretty close. But since this season focused more on the plot progression than any season we had before, it makes sense.

4. Miraculous World Special with most Ladynoir screen time: New York

Similar to Adrienette, Ladynoir also gets the most screen time it's ever gotten in the New York Special, and just like Adrienette it makes sense given that this special had a lot of focus on their relationship and how Cat Noir broke Ladybug's trust by coming to New York, giving us a total of 6 min 29 sec of screen time.

Maricat Records

Episode with most Maricat screen time: Glaciator 2

Out of all the designated Maricat episodes, this was the one that got the most screen time for Maricat having a total of 8 min 14 sec of screen time. Makes sense, given that the whole episode was them practicing Marinette being able to confess her love to Adrien and going on a "date". "Elation" would be a worthy contender but as it turns out it didn't have nearly as much screen time as we thought though it was still a fair five and a half minutes.

2. Season with most Maricat screen time: Season 4

While season 4 had the least amount of screen time for Adrienette and Ladynoir, it had the most amount of screen time for Maricat, although it was only featured in 3 episodes of season 4 and most of the screen time was concentrated in "Sentibubbler" and "Glaciator 2". This gives it a total of 9 min 44 sec.

3. Season with least Maricat screen time: Season 2

Season 2 had Maricat take a huge hit due to which it became the ship with least screen time in a season for the first time. It only really got to shine a little bit in the designated Maricat episode of the season "Glaciator" and other than that had small moments in "Befana" and "Anansi", leaving it with 4 min 7 sec of screen time in the entire season.

4. First episode Maricat surpasses Ladynoir in screen time: Weredad

After 2 seasons of Ladynoir taking away their designated episode of the season, Maricat was finally able to surpass Ladynoir in screen time with 3 min 57 sec of screen time. Considering that the episode revolves around Marinette getting herself into the mess of Cat Noir thinking she has feelings for him and the awkward date between them set up by Tom and Ladynoir was only present at the beginning and towards the end of the episode, you can see why.

Ladrien Records

Episode with most Ladrien screen time: Desparada

The episode where Ladybug entrusts Adrien with the Snake Miraculous gets the title of the episode with the most Ladrien screen time. It's obvious why since a good portion of the episode is Adrien as Aspik trying to woo Ladybug and failing terribly because he's focused more on that rather than defeating the titular villain.

2. Season with most Ladrien screen time: Season 2

After only having most of its screen time concentrated towards the end of the season aside from "The Bubbler" and "The Mime" in season 1, Ladrien was finally able to get its moment to shine in season 2 with there being several episodes focuses extensively on Ladrien, some even surpassing Ladynoir in screen time, giving it a total of 8 min 46 sec in the entire season which is the most it will ever get as from here on out it, its screen time decreases with ever season.

3. Season with least Ladrien screen time: season 5

Ladrien already usually gets the short end of the stick in Miraculous due to it's lack of a requirement for any development, so naturally, season 5 ends up being the season with the least Ladrien screen time, with us only getting Ladrien in "Passion" with detransformed Adrien holding a Venomed Ladybug and the small scene in "Deflagration" of Adrien handing Ladybug's Miraculous to her. Hopefully, future seasons will give us more Ladrien, but I doubt it.

4. First episode Ladrien surpasses Ladynoir in screen time: Riposte

Since season 2 was the first time Ladrien ever got to shine, it also contains the episode where Ladrien surpasses Ladynoir in screen time, that being the first Ladrien-focused episode of the season, "Riposte" involving the titular villain going after Adrien, hence Ladybug having to protect him and Adrien being unable to go off somewhere to transform.

Conclusion

Well, that's it for all the love square screen time records. Let me know what you think about them and feel free to find any other notable records in love square screen time history by checking my work here. Until next time!

[portaltothevoid]

you're losing me part ii -- copia x reader

a/n: i was giggling and kicking my feet at the interest in part one so i hope you all enjoy part two of this lovely little angsty break-up scenario. many many thanks to everyone who read part one!

song inspiration: you're losing me & it's time to go by taylor swift

warnings: some angst, some fluff, a breakdown, hurt with comfort, inferred cheating, flashback

word count: 3.8k

read part one here

There was something about the spotlight you used to love. Maybe it was sharing it with your equal, your partner. The changing of the seasons meant lavish parties at your Ministry. You used to be filled with excitement to plan, to see the decorations change, to set intentions, even to socialize. Now, these celebrations filled you with nothing but dread and misery. 

The Mabon Ball was arguably one of your favorites and you vowed you would at least try to get back to your old self. Maybe you used it as an excuse to distract yourself from everything going wrong in your relationship. Maybe you were using it as a way to help its smoldering embers reignite. 

There were moments leading up to the ball that were reminiscent of the beginning, when you knew Terzo was so smitten with you. And only you. It was enough to fool yourself into thinking things could work and everything would be okay again, as it once was. When Mabon finally came, as you both were getting ready, he even commented on your shift in demeanor, how you had softened. You only glared at him because of loving annoyance at his antics and teasing. He liked this side of you. Of course, this all happened in the privacy of your living space. Your attitude blazed like hellfire every time you saw his touchy flirting with another. The storms in your eyes returned as you glared at him.

No matter what happened tonight, you braced yourself. You wanted to talk to him. You wanted to bare your feelings. Every instinct told you to wait until after Mabon. Your offering would be to reveal why you would had been lashing out and then distancing yourself. There was nothing you hated more than confrontation, no matter how civil it was. Well, maybe except for being lied to.

The feast had your hopes up high. You both talked to those around you as a unit. You were included in the conversations. There was laughter, there were shared looks and smiles between the two of you. 

The butterflies in your stomach whispered to you that there was hope. You wanted to believe the glisten in his distinctive eyes was for you. It wasn’t just from the wine or because of the stolen glances he took of certain others near him… repetitively. No. Things had been going so well. This old, familiar ache in your body was left over from unaddressed past wounds. It wasn’t from when you had felt your heart and soul break before. They couldn’t be calling out to you now, warning you, whispering to you the pulse had faded. No. This was to be a wonderful night, a joyous celebration.

Digging your nails into this delusion, you savored every moment of the first dance of the evening. The one he always saved for you. The first dance, arguably the most important one, was customary for Papa and his beloved. Just the two of you on the dance floor. His contrasting eyes never strayed from you, never faltered. You saw how they shined with love and affection. At least, that was the first half of the dance. During the second part higher members of The Clergy were invited to dance with you both. Even then, he never took his eyes off you. 

He wasn’t putting on a show. That smoldering gaze wasn’t just for the tradition of the evening’s starting dance. He would make his way back to you. Now that you both were to go off and mingle amongst your Brothers and Sisters, he would make his way back home to you. He would find you. Wouldn’t he? 

As he bowed to you and moved throughout the crowd, you watched him for as long as you could. You felt yourself start to slip off the precipice of this delusion. 

You mingled. You smiled. You laughed. Almost every person in attendance could never have guessed that your soul, your heart, was breaking as you looked to the outskirts of the room. Time slowed when you caught sight of him. You saw his telltale smirk, his hand wandering down a fellow Sister’s back. You knew exactly what that meant. As you turned back to your conversation you ignored the snaps from the breaks, from the wounds, that were calling out to you. No. It wasn’t time to go, not yet. The pulse grew even quieter, but it was still there.

But even so, it happened again. You saw that same smirk from across the room. This time, a gloved finger traveled sensually across another Sister’s shoulders then trailed down her arm, until he grabbed her hand to pull her through a different side door. That smirk turned into a devilish grin. One you knew all too well. 

You felt the breaking of your soul. The snaps, so much louder this time. Your face faltered. Whoever you were listening to drone on about something frivolous, missed it. They didn’t know you, not the real you. Unbeknownst to you, there was someone who saw, who also heard the snapping sound. The only other person in the room who you had let in, who truly knew you.

Excusing yourself, you left. You went to catch your breath in the restroom, which praise be to Satan, was empty. The person you saw staring back at you, this current version of yourself, was so unfamiliar. It was as if you could see the breaks, the wounds that had been torn open. They covered you. They were beyond repair. You shook your head, trying to rid the thoughts from your mind. 

No. It wasn’t time to go. Not yet. You held your head high as you went to return to the party. You dug your nails so deep as you clung to the edge of your delusion, you could have sworn they were bleeding.  

You scanned the crowd, in search of him. A light tap on your shoulder stopped you. You never found him. 

“May I have this dance, Sorella?” Your face softened when you saw who vied for your attention. 

“Certo, Cardinale,” you nodded, smiling tenderly as you took the hand he held out to you. You would never know how storms erupted in Terzo’s eyes when he stopped in his tracks on his way back to you. You would never know how he knew exactly what it meant as your face relaxed into a wistful bliss as you looked in the eyes of someone else. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen that look on your face. It made his heart ache.

As the Cardinal held you as you danced, you were barely hanging on to the edge of your delusion. You fought not to let go being this close to him, intensely aware of every centimeter of his touch. Letting go, falling into the arms of the Cardinal, felt like the right thing to do, but no. You couldn’t. It wasn’t time yet. There was a chance after tonight, you could save what you once had with Terzo. The pulse may be faint, but it was still there. Wasn’t it?

“Is everything alright, tesoro?” he asked softly.

You smiled, but it didn’t reach your eyes. “Why wouldn’t it be?” you laughed. You didn’t mean for it to come out as cold as it did. 

He sighed. “Must you always hide the truth under lock and key?” This was the one person you couldn’t lie to. Hiding your emotions here was nothing but a fruitless endeavor. 

“I have to…” you told him, letting the pain flash on your face for just a moment before you stuffed it away as you averted your eyes from his and turned in time with the music.

His only response was to pull you closer to him. You knew exactly what he was telling you. It’s okay. I’m here, I’ve got you. A sad smile perched on your lips. You held him tighter to let him know that you heard his actions, loud and clear. 

You turned once more. A good amount of guests had left the party, so it was even easier for movement along the perimeter of the banquet hall to catch your eye. A door opened and of course you just had to look as you saw him. He was pulling a ghoul by their belt loops into this room of secrets. You had a sudden, sharp intake of breath. You swore you saw his white eye lock with yours. A challenging look dawned on his face, but he slyly directed it up at the ghoul in front of him. 

The Cardinal turned you away from the scene as soon as he saw the look on your face. His face darkened when his similarly mismatched eyes saw what you had. That was the moment that you let go. You couldn’t hear the pulse anymore; it was gone. That final blow crushed any glimmer of hope, any chance you thought you had at saving your relationship with Terzo. That was when you knew. Yes. It was time to go.

~~~~~

Furiously you wiped the tears away from your face. You had to stay strong for just a little bit longer. If you started crying now, you feared you wouldn’t stop and the last thing you needed was to crumple in the middle of the hallway where the seniors members of the church lived. 

The Cardinal only lived one floor down from you, but the walk to the elevator alone felt excruciatingly drawn out. The whole time, a part of you hoped you’d hear someone running behind you shouting your name. This had been a long time coming. You had been searching for a pulse for far too long in that relationship. Your heart had been torn out and shredded too many times to count. You gave him everything you had, while he gave you nothing.

Still fighting back tears, you bit your lip as you raised your hand to knock on the door. You paused to hear the commotion coming from inside.

“Ow! Questo è il mio dito, non un giocattolo di masticare!” he yelped. “Basta! Torna nella tua gabbia. Ow! Cannoli! Brutto topo!” (That’s my finger, not a chew toy! That’s it! Back in your cage… bad rat!)

You shook your head as you lightly chuckled. Somehow he could always make you laugh. Finally you knocked on the door. 

“Sei fortunato ad essere carino, eh?” you heard him mumble as he made his way to the door. (You’re lucky you’re cute.)

When he opened the door to find you standing there, his eyes lit up. As he took the sight of you, your eyes brimming with tears, your lip quivering from trying to hold back sobs, the bag over your shoulder, concern flooded his features. Without a moment’s hesitation he ushered you into his room. 

Gently, he grabbed you by the wrist to pull you inside, guiding you with a strong hand on your shoulder. Just as the door clicked shut, you let your bag slide off your shoulder, hitting the ground with a thud. He placed both hands on your shoulders now, looking for a sign of what exactly happened, if there was any physical damage. You could only look up at him through your watery eyes. “I-it’s over. It’s o-over,” you managed to get out before sobs wracked your entire body. This… this was the moment when the floodgates truly opened. 

Months and months worth of tears you had held back started to pour down your face. All you could do was reach your arms around his waist and hold on to him tightly, like he was your only lifeline, the only thing left tethering you to this world. Burying your face in his chest, you finally, finally allowed yourself to drown in the waves that had been threatening to take you down. 

Guilt. Betrayal. Remorse. Regret. Fear. Pain. Loss. One after the other, crashing down on you like you were in the eyewall of a hurricane. 

“How could he do this to me? Why did I ever love him? Why didn’t he ever just choose me? Why did I let it go on for so long?” you lamented brokenly through your breakdown.

He gave you time to feel, to let out as much as you could. He knew how much you bottled up everything inside. The only thing he could do for you at that moment was hold you tightly and tenderly stroke your hair while choking back tears of his own. 

You would never, ever let anyone see you cry. Displaying this level of emotion in front of anyone was unknown to you. The only time you ever did it was when you were alone. Terzo had never seen you cry like this and you had been with him for a few years at this point. Granted, the only times you ever cried this much recently was because of him. 

Even when you had first found him with someone else, you managed to pull yourself together when the Cardinal… when Copia had offered you a safe haven for the first time. In front of him you immediately transmuted your sorrow into rage. But here? Now? Sorrow took center stage.

You couldn’t do this alone anymore. You couldn’t fight your battles without anyone by your side. You couldn’t fight for anyone else. You needed someone to fight for you. You just needed someone to hold you, someone that loved you, truly loved you.

After every fight, after everything you had gone through, you rose from the ashes. You were exhausted. All you wanted was to lay here in the ruin of what once was so you could process what happened, so you could mourn. You were finally ready to let someone else in, to let someone else take care of you.

Eventually, he stepped in when you were sobbing so much you couldn’t catch your breath. He adjusted you so you were looking at him. His hands moved to cup your face. “Breathe, cara. You need to breathe. Breathe with me,” he instructed as he over exaggerated his breathing in order for you to mimic it. Soon enough, you had calmed down. Wiping your tears away with his thumbs, he nodded. “There, that’s better. We sit now, si?”

Sniffling, you brought your hand up to cover his, leaned into his touch, and nodded. He led you to the couch. You took a seat on one end, your back up against its arm as you hugged your knees up to your chest. He motioned he would be right back while your eyes drifted around his small apartment. They landed on Cannoli’s cage. You swore the little rat was staring at you, it’s little paw holding the bars as if he also wanted to make sure you were okay. You couldn’t help but crack the slightest smile.

Copia rushed back into the room, juggling a bottle of wine in one arm, a box of tissues in the other, a glass of water in one hand, and two wine glasses in the other. You let out a breathy laugh through your nose at the sight of him. Reaching up, you took the glasses from his hands, placing them on the coffee table in front of you, keeping the glass of water as you chugged half of it. Then you grabbed a tissue, not realizing how badly you needed to blow your nose. 

After pouring the wine, he placed himself right next to you. You sighed as he handed you your glass. Once you downed half of it, you set it in front of you. Already, it had felt like a massive weight had been lifted off your shoulders. You curled up into his side, swinging your legs into his lap and nuzzled your head into him. He wrapped his arm around you. The two of you stayed like that for a few moments just listening to the sounds of each other's breathing and the chirping crickets coming through the open window behind you. 

“Do you, uh, want to talk about what happened?” he asked quietly, breaking the silence. 

You hesitated for a second. “I… I’m sorry for what I said when I was, um, wailing. I didn’t mean to–”

He shifted to look at you. “Sorry? Sorry for what?! There is nothing you have to be sorry for,” he scolded. He sounded more taken aback that you even felt it was a necessary thing to say. 

“I just… didn’t know if that put you in an awkward position… You know, me sobbing over my now ex to you even though we have this thing…”

“Dolcezza, we’ve had this talk before. You’re allowed to feel what you feel. I… I’ve been here the whole time. Waiting for you, yes. But… you had to reach this point on your own. You knew I’d be here waiting for you when you did, hm?” he said adoringly as he brushed stray hairs away from your eyes. You nodded as you wrapped your arms around him as you nestled your head against him. “So now will you tell me what happened after the party?” he whispered affectionately as he traced the tattoos covering your forearm.

“He acted like nothing had happened. He asked about how great the party was. Completely casual. Just the sight of him alone, never mind him trying to hold my waist, was just… revolting. So. I was a sarcastic bitch to him,” you paused and let out a dry chuckle. “And then he had the nerve to ask me why I was being like that. So I snapped. I told him everything. How the spotlight changed him,” Copia couldn’t help but scoff at that, “how I went on the backburner… How I just wanted him to see me...”

“Does he know about… about us?” he questioned cautiously.

“He threw it in my face that he knew why I didn’t go home some nights. I told him I went where I actually felt wanted and loved. And I made sure to point out how you’ve kept everyone’s secrets.”

“So you… told him it was me you were with?” His question sounded more like a statement.

You held back a wince as you felt his body tense. You nodded. “When we were dancing… and we saw him go– I know he saw me… saw us… He already had his suspicions.”

“And now he has confirmation. You know more than anyone else that he can't be trusted!” he spoke harshly.

You moved so you could look at him. You placed your hand on his cheek as you made him look at you. “And we have the upper hand. We know he knows. There’s no way he can bring us down without bringing himself down too.”

He knitted his eyebrows with worry as he took your hand away from his face, but he never let go of it. Silence fell between you both once more. You couldn’t stop replaying the memories in your head. The flash of jealousy in his face when he saw you dancing with Copia. The broken look on his face as you confessed everything. Tears started to pool in your eyes again. He did love you. He still did. He was just incapable of showing it. Then you remembered how you looked in the mirror of the bathroom during the party. When you saw yourself in the closet mirror before you left. A shell of your former self. He turned you into something you didn’t even recognize. There was no use holding back the tears.

Your sniffles got Copia’s attention. “Cara? Oh, non, non, I’m not upset with you! We will figure–”

“I just miss who I used to be. I miss being… happy,” you said, your voice cracking. “How could I have l-loved someone who– who turned me into… into a monster?” you asked, your voice dropping into a whisper of disbelief.

“A monster?! Cara mia, how can you think that?” Copia was appalled that you would even dare think something like that of yourself. If he didn’t see red before, he was now.

“Because I’m just like him! I cheated on him too! Not even Lucifer would pardon–”

Copia shot up and turned you to him. Your tear stained face broke his heart. “Listen to me. Lucifer would celebrate what you did. You didn’t do it out of malice. You didn’t do it because you couldn’t help yourself. Your relationship had ended long before we were together. And you accepted that tonight. You stood up for yourself. You even said it yourself, you needed what he stopped giving you. You are no monster. He’s the monster for making you think these things about yourself. And I will do whatever it takes to make sure that… that dickhead knows it.”

You looked up at him as he defended you. As he spoke the truth you needed to hear. This was the love you not only needed, but deserved. 

You reached your arms up around his neck and pulled yourself into his lap. You held his head between your hands and you leaned down to kiss him with nothing but passion and love. As the kiss deepened, you realized this was exactly where you meant to be. Everything that had happened led to this point. Every moment with Copia was one you would cherish. You would do anything for him as he would do anything for you. 

When you parted to catch your breath, you leaned your forehead on his. You stared into his two-toned eyes. “I love you,” you said softly. For a brief second, Copia looked shocked at your sudden confession, but he knew you meant it with every fiber of your being. “Sei la miglior cosa che mi sia capitata,” you added breathlessly. (You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.) And without another word, he whisked you away to his bed.

It wasn’t long after you arguably had the best sex of your life, that you had drifted off into a blissful and peaceful slumber. Copia’s mind, on the other hand, was reeling. He reached for his phone on the nightstand beside him, careful not to wake you. He went to his messages and found Sister Imperator. 

It is time we take care of the Terzo problem. Immediatamente. He typed and hit send.

He put his phone back and watched you sleep, softly stroking your hair. You stirred, but only to snuggle closer to him. He was going to give you the world. And he was going to stop at nothing to avenge you.

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part i | part iii