#1619 giggles...

[ratatatastic]

"wdym by especially barky 🤨" "yeah i was—*motions to his beautiful wife who works her ass off improving her defense this whole year*" love how matthew took offence to *especially barky* like all of us are out here getting pucks to the dick we ALL play defense dammit you will not come into our home and spread these lies!

the head thrown back as george richards [fhn] mentions reino as matthew tries to defend himself while sasha looks absolutely smitten with matthew...

sasha acknowledging his wife defensive pursuits and backs her up with "well you wanna answer it?" and matthew immediately going "no!" god forbid he does work god forbid it! heres just here to whine and look pretty really how dare you make the princess think of answers despite how she doth protests!

they cant help but giggle all throughout the answer oh OH MADNESS CONSUMES ME. MADNESS.

"especially defence right?" matthew getting one last dig at george (he was on the mic again for the question he was answering) hes so proud of himself... his little jester bells sing to him he must make the room erupt into giggles lest this presser be a failure! sasha little smile... so slight... so itty bitty... but there...

new york rangers @ florida panthers game 6 postgame interview | 6.1.24 (x)

[peachbibi]

dating spencer reid #7

genre: fluff

warning: none

spencer is lying on the couch with you next to him. it’s been a hectic week for the both of you and you spent your saturday mostly doing little chores around the house and cuddling. as you press a gentle kiss on his neck, he calls your name.

“yeah?” you look up at him.

“did you know that between 40 and 60% of the european population died during the black death? but back then people referred to it as ‘the great mortality’ or ‘the great plague’.”

“is that what you are thinking about when i kiss your neck?” you smile at his unexpected rambling.

“oh, no. i just-“

you chuckle and press another kiss to his cheek now.

“it’s okay”

“i just really want to watch that documentary we talked about. and you promised me we would watch it. and then we never did, so i thought if i just start giving you small facts you might want to watch it with me but it’s okay if you don’t. i can watch it on my own”

his big brown eyes are scanning your face. you feel incredibly guilty for some reason. of course, you want to watch this documentary with him and every other documentary. you will watch anything with spencer not because it’s necessarily interesting but because he doesn’t have to do it on his own anymore. you are the only person in his life to indulge his craving for knowledge and the need to share it with the rest. you know how lonely he has been before he met you and you decided to make it your life mission to never let him feel that way again.

“i will watch it with you if you let me have your grey caltech hoodie”

he grins at you and nods.

“you can have any hoodie. actually, you can have my whole wardrobe if you want”

you look at him lovingly. he leans over and quickly kisses your cheek. not as a thank you, more as an acknowledgement of his excitement.

“can we watch it right now?” he asks, as he eagerly sits up straight, pulling you into a sitting position with him.

“of course, sunshine”

bursting with joy, spencer pushes play on the remote and wraps his arms around your waist. you lean on his chest. you can tell he’s in his learning mode with his eyes glued to the screen.

“you know, the plague doctor costume, often shown when discussing the black death, was invented in 1619, and wasn’t even around during the fourteenth century outbreak.”

you hum surprised. a big part of you thinks that he probably knows everything on the subject but it’s always fun to watch him get so pumped up. especially, when he’s trying to teach you something.

“i do know that the pandemic was called the black death because of the black spots that showed up on the skin.”

he looks down at you with an amazed expression on his face.

“what? i know stuff too”

“i love you so much”

spencer starts pressing kisses on your lips and cheeks and you giggle. you wonder if it was always a dream of his to have a girlfriend that would watch documentaries on deadly diseases with him and share some facts.

[lostfirefly]

I will lay it at your feet, and I won't hold back anything, 'cause what you are is all, what you are is all of me

I dedicate this fic to everyone! But this is also my little gift to my manager @gingernut1314 :) She reblogs every chapter of my story with Buggy and OC and supports my crazy ideas in writing fanfiction! English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :)

Buggy and Fem.Reader (also fits for GN reader) - Masterlist is here.

Description: You haven't seen Buggy for several days, he's throwing you a candlelit dinner. Fluffy fluff!

WC: 1619

Taglist: @gingernut1314, @operationroots

The title is taken from “All of Me” by Ashes Remain.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

You hardly saw Buggy for several days. About the fact that he generally appears in your shared cabin, you understood when in the middle of the night his tired body fell onto the bed, the mattress sagged under his weight, and you instantly rolled into his arms. In the morning, you woke up, but saw only an empty bed and his scattered things. 

“Someday he’ll learn to put his socks away,” you mumbled, standing in your pajamas in the middle of your shared bedroom, looking around the floor. “At least it’s clear that he was here.” You chuckled, picking up your socks and tossing them on the chair.

You went into the kitchen to pour yourself some coffee and sat down at the table. Suddenly, Mohji rushed into the kitchen to get a basket of apples for Richie.

“Hey, Mohji! Stop!” You called out to him. He stopped abruptly, and several apples fell out of the basket.

“Yes, Y/N.” He asked, picking up apples from the floor.

“Have you seen Buggy today? I’ve hardly seen him for four days. I understand he’s busy with his captain’s things, but I don’t even see him in the kitchen. Or hanging upside down somewhere in the mast area.” You giggled, imagining this picture, and took a sip of coffee.

Mohji, finally collected all the apples, tightly clutching the basket, came up to you. “I didn't see him.” He winked.

"What was that?" You asked, narrowing one eye. "You winked. Do you know where he is? Have you seen him?"

“I didn't wink. And I don't know where he is.” He winked again.

“There! You did it again! Do you know where he is? Tell me. I won't tell him it was you. I just.. I don't know. I miss him.” You became sad and began to twirl the cup in your hands.

From the moment you fell in love with Captain Buggy and stayed with him on the ship, you and Mohji became very close friends and sometimes spent time chatting. You told him how to communicate with girls, he helped you make friends with Richie.

“Sorry, Y/N, I don’t know where he is.” He winked again.

“Oh, go to hell! I hope Richie eats you this morning.” You waved your hand at Mohji.

But still? Where's Buggy? Maybe while you're waiting for him, he's hugging one of the girls on his team right now. No, no. He can't do that. You decided to wait for him tonight at all costs.

In the evening, while the team was having dinner, Captain Buggy did not appear again. You were about to open a bottle of wine, but suddenly grabbed it in your hands and walked along the deck.

“Fuck this! I’ll find him and tell him everything.” You muttered under your breath. As you walked past his office cabin, you noticed Buggy's shadow. “Gotcha!” You looked out the small window. You raised your hand to knock, but Mohji stopped you.

“You can't go there!” He said in a half whisper.

“Why?” You asked in surprise. “Does he have someone there? God, does he have someone there?” You felt like your head was spinning

“Don’t talk nonsense, Y/N, since you appeared in his life, he has no one. And you know it very well!” He hissed at you.

“What's all the noise here?” A deep voice was heard next to your ear. You and Mohji slowly turned your heads. Buggy's head was sticking out from behind the slightly open door.

“I.. I’m sorry, Captain! It’s Y/N’s fault!” Mohji lowered his head in shame and pointed his finger at you.

“Bastard!” You muttered through your teeth. 

Buggy left the cabinet and closed the door behind him. “Get out!!” He barked at Mohji and he quickly disappeared.

“Well, Y/N.” Buggy crossed his arms. “What's all the commotion? Is someone attacking us?” He asked rather dryly.

“What? No! I just.. Just. I haven’t seen you for several days. I miss you. See, I even brought wine with me. Let's consider this an apology gift.” You raised the bottle higher and smiled.

“You could have waited another hour and not started a race all over the ship.” Buggy smiled back, cracked the door to the cabin, looked in and closed it again. “Alright, okay. What difference does it make... Everything is ready. Close your eyes.”

You looked at him with round eyes. “What?”

“Oh my God, Y/N, my marshmallow, close your eyes. Is that too much to ask?” He growled. 

“OK.” You shrugged and closed your eyes.

“And so that you don't peep.” Buggy stood up behind you and covered your eyes with his palm.  “Let's go. Carefully. Step one. Step two. Step one. Step two. See, we're almost dancing.”

“Yeah, but where are we dancing? You'll feed me to the sharks for my curiosity, right?” You put your hand on his hand.

“What? Of course not! If I feed you to the sharks, who will I warm at night?” Buggy carefully led you somewhere and removed his hand from your eyes. “Now, my marshmallow, you can open your eyes!”

You opened one eye, then the other. “What is this?”

In the middle of the cabin, in the twilight, there was a round table covered with a red and white striped tablecloth. Candles, wine, snacks and two chairs.

“This? This's the table.” Buggy answered calmly and shrugged, not understanding your question.

“I understand that this is the table, Buggy. But that’s all. What's this?” You pointed your finger at snacks and wine. 

“Oh! I was preparing a surprise for you. For several days in a row, I sent someone from the crew to the nearest island to buy all the ingredients for your favorite dishes, and then made Cabaji cook it all.” Buggy put his hand on your back and gently walked you to the chair. “Sit down.” He pulled out the chair and helped you sit down.

“Really? Did you make Cabaji cook?” You started laughing, placing the bottle of wine on the table.

“I’m the captain of this ship, Y/N. I can force whoever I want to cook. I walk where I want, I order what I want. And now I order you to enjoy the evening.” Buggy took the wine you brought and easily opened the bottle, pouring the drink into your glass. “We drink to you, my marshmallow!”

“To me?” You were surprised, making yourself more comfortable in your chair. “Why?”

He blushed under all his clown makeup. “Well... You came into my life by chance…”

“Yeah, crashing into you with a bike was weird.” You took a sip of wine and crossed your legs.

“Hey! Not only did you crash, you also wanted to steal my money! No one dares steal from Buggy the Clown.”

“I wasn’t trying to steal. My hand just slipped under your coat, Buggy.” You shrugged one shoulder and narrowed your eyes.

“Liar!” He put some snacks for you. “So. I'm glad you came into my life.” Buggy blushed with every word he uttered and was already becoming like a beetroot.

You finished your wine and set the empty glass on the table, Buggy moved it toward you to refill it. “So, Captain. You cooked all this for me? Why didn't you just say so? I was honestly starting to think that you were... Well, uh... Cheated on me with someone.”

He froze and spilled wine on the tablecloth. “What?” He asked in surprise. “What did you think?”

“Buggy, the table! You spilled the wine.” You grabbed the napkins and quickly wiped up the drink residue.

“Fuck the table and fuck the wine. How could you even think that?” He froze with the bottle in his hand.

“I don't know. I'm with your team and on your ship not too long ago. How long? A month? So I was wondering.... I'm sorry.” You started running your finger across the table.

"A month and four days." He muttered quietly.

"What? Are you counting?" You asked in surprise.

“No. My memory's good.” Buggy blushed even more under his makeup and set the bottle on the table. “But Y/N, my marshmallow.” He took your hand and pulled you into his lap. “You have nothing to worry about.”

You immediately wrapped your arms around his neck. Buggy immediately put his arms around your waist. 

“I actually...this whole dinner thing. Well. I did. To say. Well. I love you.” He looked into your eyes. 

You froze for a second, feeling a slight chill run through your entire body. “You what?” You asked, starting to stroke his bandana.

“Damn. It's early, right? I said it too soon. I knew it. That's it, forget it. I don't love you. I was joking. I'm the clown. Clowns always make jokes.” Buggy became nervous. 

“What? No!” You kissed his red nose. “I just didn't expect that I wasn't the only one. You know… Who has feelings.” You said, looking intently into his green eyes.

He looked at you blankly.

“For those who don’t understand, Buggy the Clown. I love you too. Since I saw you for the first time. A fucking pot-bellied naked kid named Cupid hit my heart with a blue arrow.” You giggled and took his bandana off. “Here, it’s much better with your hair down.”

“So, we both love each other, right?” He asked, looking into your eyes and stroking your arm.

“Well, it turns out like this.” You shrugged and slowly brought your lips closer to his.

“Say it again.” He whispered against your lips.

You smashed your lips to his the moment he stopped talking. “I.” Kiss. “Love.” Kiss. “You.” You kissed him again.

[lisinfleur]

How love looks like

The request:

Author’s Notes | I hope you like the result, love!

Universe | Vikings

Pairing | Ivar x Reader, Reader’s daughter

Info | Viking Age AU, requested by anon for 5CW Ivar vol. II, posted for HTGI event

Words | 1619

⁑ Warnings: Mentinos to pain, possible incorrect quotes or informations about Ivar’s condition.

She was trembling when she came into my hall for the first time.

"King Ivar."

Even her voice was trembling. I could bet her fingers were cold, although the package in her hands was made of warm blankets. Her dress was ragged here and there, and her hair wasn't properly braided. But her beauty was undeniable.

However, what caught my eyes wasn't her pretty face but the way she approached my throne, bending enough so I could see the little face contorting itself, essaying a cry.

"I beg you... Please help me," she said, eyes teary.

Her hands unfolded the blanket making my eyes large. It was only a second before she folded the blankets around the little girl once again, hiding the twisted bones of her legs from the cold that made the child start cooing, annoyed.

I saw that woman clinging to that package as if her whole life was inside those blankets. And, for a moment, that scene made me remember my mother.

"You lived through it," that woman's voice woke me out of my memories, allowing me to notice the obvious difference between her and my beautiful mother. "I beg you mercy, my lord. Teach me, please. I want her to live. I know she can live! Her father doesn't believe the gods enough, but I saw what they did to you. You've done it. Please, my lord, teach me how to help her."

She didn't want her daughter to survive. No. Mother wanted me to survive. She wanted me to be there for her. That woman wanted her daughter to be like me...

She wanted her daughter to live.

"This Thing is over. I have matters to solve," I said, dismissing the other citizens.

My eyes on her, seeing how strongly she was fighting the tears. Her fear that I wouldn't help stamped on her face.

An expression that vanished completely when I caught my crutch, getting up to walk towards her.

"Bring the girl inside, woman. First lesson you need to learn: it is never warm enough for her."

Her tears broke down, but she nodded. And I could see the determination in her eyes, shining with hope and gratitude over me.

We placed the little girl inside my room, and she slept on my bed while her mother and I sat for a talk.

I discovered her name was Y/N. The little girl she named Eira seeking Eir's mercy over the little one. The bastard she once called a husband expelled them when she refused to leave the little girl to the wolves telling him king Ivar was a great man even being like her.

I was great in her eyes. I was the reason why she had faith her little girl could be someone. Something more than her father's shame...

She asked me for a place to serve in my castle since she had no place to live. I gave her the servant room beside mine and offered to serve me for a payment she could use to sustain herself and her little girl.

She accepted those crumbs as if I was saving her life.

The next day she had her little girl tied to her chest, cleaning and organizing everything I told her to.

During her work, I observed how lovely she was towards that tiny thing tied to her chest, sometimes dancing, sometimes making unnecessary rounds with the broom, everything to keep the little child entertained. The twisted little legs tightly kept against Y/N's chest as she restrained her own movements to avoid hurting her little girl.

That woman was different from anything I'd ever seen. Even from my mother - who would do nothing but care about me, neglecting my brothers, and sometimes herself, to keep me alive. Y/N was doing everything for her daughter, but as soon as the little one was asleep, I saw her brushing her own hair, messing with her clothes to find out the holes and sew them, eating properly from the portions I send to her; ensuring to be healthy and strong to care for the girl she carried around like a little treasure.

It touched my heart one day at a time.

And when the pain came and I saw Y/N in despair, lulling the little Eira trying to make her sleep, I came into her room sitting on the simple bed she would spend her nights on, and extending my arms towards her.

Her eyes were full of faith when she delivered the little Eira in my hands, observing as I gently placed the little one on the basked, moving her legs as little as possible until they were well supported and warmed by the blankets around her. With my fingers, I mashed some of my own herbs letting drops of the bitter juice fall into the little one's mouth, observing as it slowly did its job, relieving the pain and allowing Eira to fall asleep.

It was the first time I saw Y/N crumble in front of me, bitting her lips to cry in silence the anguish of her little girl's pain but also the relief of seeing she was finally tranquil.

I would see that several times. I would help Y/N to immobilize Eira's broken little legs properly to prevent them from healing the wrong way. I would help her to care for the little one's wounds when they came. And when nothing would help Eira's pain, I would help Y/N's to hold on to her faith that the gods had granted her daughter a better fate.

Whenever that little child slept after my touch, I felt a little like Harbard, taking away her pain like he'd done for me when I was younger. But, unlike me, Eira had my knowledge to help her grow better. To help her suffer less.

I didn't see when that little girl and her mother invaded my heart. Y/N learned from me to care for her child, but I saw her using what she'd learned several times to care for me instead.

She was the one providing my teas, helping with my wounds, sewing protections to make my braces more comfortable...

Relieving my pain. My loneliness.

Standing beside me even in my worst days, Y/N became someone I couldn't see myself without. Someone I didn't want to see myself without. And along with her, Eira also became a part of my life, making my heart melt when she started dragging herself around my hall like I used to do, imitating so soon the ways I had fought so hard to learn by myself.

She would come to me full of trust and laugh at me so easy!

Sometimes she wouldn't sleep if I wasn't near. Sometimes I would hear Y/N telling her my story, painting me as some kind of hero Eira was starting to follow.

And it would make me proud.

Y/N made me proud of what was once my worst shame. She made me feel I wasn't incomplete, nor half of a man. She made me feel my whole life had sense, meaning.

I'd come like that, with my twisted legs and pain, cause the gods knew my mind was gifted. The gods knew I would create ways to live.

And now, my ways were making Eira's life possible.

Better.

Easier.

Slowly, I took Y/N more and more from the service of the hall. Soon, she was something like a personal servant to me. She would go anywhere I would go, and I wouldn't want anyone but her around when I was moody or living a bad day.

She became my relief as much as I once was hers.

It was inevitable to fall in love with that woman. To bring her into my life. To want her as my queen.

"I want you, Y/N. I want Eira. And I don't want to ever hear about your ex-husband once again. He's nothing but past. He's nobody. She's my little girl, and this is how I want things to be now."

She didn't argue. But I could see it wasn't the initial fear that prevented her from arguing with me or trying to contradict my arguments. Y/N's fingers touched my face that night and she touched our foreheads with tenderness.

"I wouldn't want any different," I remember she said.

Her nose nuzzling against mine in a caress I would discover it was my favorite sensation in Midgard.

"Eira is my gift from the gods. And they've decided to bless me again with you."

Now my little Eira was twelve years old. Her little braces were reproductions of mine, in a smaller size. She couldn't run around with the other children, but she would spend hours playing hnefatafl with me, making me the best company I could ever want.

She was definitely better than I ever was. Always filling our hearts with joy whenever she would play with her two little brothers the gods had blessed me with.

I'd noticed her blood-father walking around sometimes, looking at her at the market or observing as she would easily walk with her crutch around, sometimes trying to go a little faster than she really could just to show me something she wanted or giggle with her usual playful tone. I could see he regretted his mistake, but I never gave him a chance to approach, always looking at him with blues icy cold. A warning that it was too late for his excuses.

Y/N and Eira were mine now. My little princess, my queen.

They’d become my treasures.

And his time to claim back what he'd left was long gone.

[whisperlullaby]

Just Say It And I’m Yours- Ch. 4

Summary: You and Steve decide to go on an adventure that ends in a new revelation.

Warnings: Trespassing, explicit language, angst, pining

Words: 1619

A/N: Okay so we’re getting into it now. Thanks to @river-soul​ for beta reading this for me and @dreamslikeaheartbeat​ for the BEAUTIFUL banner! Um.....I hope you all like it! If you are under 18 please do not interact with me or this story. This chapter is in Steve’s POV

The credits started rolling on this week's movie. Steve popped the last dumpling in his mouth as you let out a big stretch. After you let out a satisfied groan, you started searching through the take-out containers.

“Are there any more dumplings, Steve?”

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Steve swallowed hard, almost choking.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “You ate the last dumpling didn’t you, asshole?”

Steve laughed as you playfully swatted his chest. He grabbed your hand and held it on his chest for a moment, rubbing soft circles on the back of your hand. You let out a content sigh as you withdrew your hand to find some fortune cookies. Steve looked at the time and noticed it was still a bit early, he was going to suggest another movie when you spoke up. 

“Hey Steve, wanna go on an adventure?” You said through a mouthful of fortune cookie.

Steve cocked an eyebrow at you. “What kind of adventure?”

“The kind that’s a surprise,” you wiggled your eyebrows at him. “So, are you in?”

Steve sighed heavily and gave you a sly smirk. You knew you had him in the palm of your hand, he would follow you anywhere.

“Great! Get your coat, a flashlight, some band-aids, and maybe a granola bar. I’ll meet you in the car.”

You jumped up to grab Steve’s keys and ran out of his apartment as he shouted after you, “Why do we need band-aids?!”

After about an hour-long drive out of the city, you pulled off on an abandoned access road and stopped in the middle of nowhere. Steve watched as you unbuckled yourself, grab the flashlight and your backpack, and hop out of the car.

“Are ya comin’, Cap?” You laughed in excitement.

Letting out a heavy sigh Steve stepped out of the car and followed you. He kept his distance behind you as you led the way, keeping an eye out for any trouble. After about a quarter-mile, you came across a chain-linked fence and an abandoned factory. Steve surveyed the scene as you tossed the backpack and flashlight over the top of the fence and started to climb.

“Y/N I’m not sure we’re supposed to be here,” Steve whispered as you scaled the fence.

When you asked him to go on an adventure he didn’t think you meant trespassing in an old warehouse an hour away. This didn’t seem safe and all he could think about was making sure you didn’t get hurt. Now he was looking around anxiously, hoping you would give up and you both could find a diner somewhere and get some dessert. He knew that would never happen though. Not when you got that determined look in your eye.

“Sure Cap, you’ve never in your life done anything remotely illegal. Never aided and abetted a fugitive, or lied on your draft papers in the ‘40s, or I don’t know, destroyed an entire airport?” You teased.

Steve shook his head. “That was a long time ago, things are different now. I can’t just trespass for fun.”

You landed on the other side of the fence and shrugged your shoulders. “Well, you can either follow me or stay here, alone, in the dark. I’m pretty sure I saw wolves on our way out here, but whatever you want to do. I’m heading inside!”

With that, you bounced backwards towards the abandoned building shooting Steve a gaze full of mischief. Steve huffed and raked a hand over his face. He thought you were absolutely out of your mind but he would follow you straight through fire as long as you kept looking at him like that.

He climbed the fence and jogged over to you. You reached out and grabbed his hand to drag him along, and as your fingers intertwined with his Steve couldn’t help but notice how effortlessly your hand fit in his. 

“What are you smiling at Cap?” You cocked an eyebrow over your shoulder and giggled. 

“Just thinking how completely insane this is, but as long as you’re happy,” Steve responded.

“Damn straight as long as I’m happy, now come up and pick up the pace Rogers! I thought you had super stamina or something,” you joked. 

Leading him further into the building, you expertly dodged the debris and made a show of looking in each room with the flashlight like you were on one of those cop shows. Steve thought you were the most free-spirited person he ever met. The further you led him through the building the further he found himself falling for you.

“You’re out of your mind doll. We should probably get out of here before we get arrested for trespassing.” Steve tugged on your arm causing you to trip and stumble back into him. 

You pressed your free hand to his chest and looked up at him. Steve's heart started racing as you stared up at him with your brilliant eyes that seemed to glow in the low light. His eyes flickered down to your mouth as your lips parted slightly. He started to lean into you and was close enough to feel your warm breath on his lips. Watching your eyes flutter shut in anticipation, he wrapped his other hand around your waist and pulled you flush against his body. Closing his eyes he could hear your heart start to race as your breath caught in your throat.

“HEY! What are you two doing!” 

Both of your eyes snapped open. 

“Run!” You shouted.

As you sprinted through the building with Steve in tow you were laughing like a hyena. Once you both exited the building Steve spotted a piece of fence that seemed to be pulled apart and beelined for the opening. When you made it to the fence Steve let go of your hand and pulled the fence open a bit more for his large frame to fit through. He slid through and reached back to pull you into the opening. As you started making your way back to the car you jumped on Steve’s back. 

“Come on Steve get us out of here!” You hollered.

Steve grabbed your legs under your knees and jogged towards where you parked the car while you rested your head on his shoulder. Steve felt you nuzzle into his shoulder and your breathing evened out by the time he made it back to the car. He gently set you in the passenger's seat realizing you were out cold as he started the engine and began to pull back onto the road. Steve was completely envious of your ability to fall asleep anywhere smiling at the memory of last week in the park when you had just gotten ice cream and the second you sat on the bench to eat it you fell asleep on his shoulder. The ice cream went everywhere and when you woke up you threw puppy dog eyes at him until he bought you a new one.

He watched you while you slept off the adrenaline rush thinking about the almost kiss. He was completely captivated by your spirit. Your ability to help anyone who needed it without a second thought left him feeling nostalgic. Whenever Steve was around you he felt a little more like he did when he knew who he was and what he was fighting for. He knew he needed to talk to you about the almost kiss. 

About 45 minutes into the drive, Steve’s phone started vibrating and he answered it in a whisper.

“Hey Buck, everything okay?” He glanced down to make sure you were still asleep.

“Yeah but we kind of need you to come back. I know you’re supposed to be taking a break, but we have a lead on a new Hydra group and need your help.” Bucky said exasperatedly. 

Steve sighed. He knew this is what it would be like for him, a life resigned to fighting wars. As much as he enjoyed his time away from The Avengers he knew he would always be pulled back. He couldn’t bring you into that, he wouldn’t subject you to even more violence on his behalf. You deserved a normal, stable, happy life. One that was lost to him when he went into the ice all those years ago. If you were with him you would never have that and he knew how desperately he wished for the chance to live his life. He wouldn’t place that same burden on you. 

“Alright Buck, I’ll come to the compound in the morning for the briefing.”

He hung up as he pulled up to your apartment. He gently caressed your cheek, relishing the feeling of your skin on his for a moment before you stirred.

“I’m up!” You snorted.

Steve smiled. “Just in time too, this is your stop.”

You looked out the window unclicking your seatbelt, you were biting your lip when you turned to him. “I think we should talk about what happened back there.”

Steve took in a deep breath. He knew this was the right thing to do, but God it didn’t make it any easier. 

“I think we both just got caught up in the adrenaline. It can mean nothing, we’re still friends.”

Steve didn’t miss the way your breath caught or how tears sprang in your eyes. You cleared your throat and threw him a brilliant smile.

“Whatever you say, Cap,” you ruffled his hair, “best friends it is.”

You pushed open the door and slammed it shut. Steve waited for you to enter the building before he slammed his head on the steering wheel. This was for the best, he needed to protect you, his little spitfire.

[bruh-changbin]

star-gazing + minho

pairing: lee minho + f reader

requested: yes!

genre: fluff + smut minors dni

word count: 1619

warnings: oral (f receiving), semi-public sex

・・・・・・・・・・・

the night sky and the stars have always appealed to you. something about the vastness of the galaxy and twinkling of the moon sparked joy and curiosity into you . minho was quick to catch onto your fascination with the topic shortly after you started dating - noticing how the first thing you did every morning was check your horoscope. he found your infatuation with astrology veery charming and always accompanied you when you wanted to go star-gazing. 

tonight was a supermoon, and although that’s not extremely rare you thought it would be nice to go stargazing to witness it. on top of that, you were dragging your boyfriend minho along with you so you could spend some quality time with him.

after loading a plethora of blankets and pillows into minho’s car, the two of you made your way up to your designated star-gazing spot; a secluded spot in a grassy field at the top of a hill. 

upon arrival, you began unpacking the car and laying various blankets on the ground to form a makeshift nest before situating yourself in it. you start to point out various constellations littered across the sky, as well as informing your curious boyfriend that a supermoon is when the moon is closest to earth in orbit. after that you since in a comfortable silence. 

“min what time were you born at?” you ask seemingly out of the blue as you peer up at minho. “may i ask why you need that information?” he questions, furrowing his brows. “i wanna read your natal chart,” you state in response and minho chuckles at you before giving you the information you desire.

after entering all of his data on co-star, you giggle in excitement before curling into minho and begin explaining what his chart means. 

“ok so your sun is in scorpio which basically means you’re very determined, you’re also not afraid of confrontation and are very intense…” minho listens to you speak as you read his horoscope off of your phone. he can’t help but admire your passion for the subject, he finds it cute. soon he finds himself zoning in on how you move your hands when you talk, how you furrow your brows and pull on your bottom lip with your teeth when you’re trying to find the right thing to say, how-

“are you listening to me?” 

minho blinks a few times, your sudden question pulling him out of his trance. nodding and flashing you a quick smile, he assures you that he was most definitely listening to everything you were saying.

“anyways,” you mutter before continuing on. “so your sun is scorpio but your moon is sagittarius which means..” and you go off on how moon in sagittarius is the best because it means you’re easy going, social and he’s distracted again. although he’s genuinely interested in what you have to say, he can’t stop himself from admiring you 

he can’t help but gaze at your side profile, your soft features illuminated by the pale moonlight and your eyes reflecting the stars. your nose and cheeks are tinted with a light pink as you shiver from the cool night air. his eyes trail down to your neck - if he squints hard enough he can make out the fading marks he made on your skin days prior. 

without thinking, he leans forward to press a kiss underneath your ear, his lips lingering on your neck while he wraps his arm around your waist.

“what are you doing?” you momentarily pause your reading as you feel your boyfriends lips on your neck, his hot breath fanning over your skin making you shiver. “you seem cold,” he says in a lustful demeanor, “i wanna warm you up.”

you feel your heart rate increase as he continues to kiss down your jaw, pausing momentarily to suck at your skin while simultaneously tightening his grip on your waist. your breath hitches in your throat when he bites down particularly harder on the junction between your neck and shoulder. a surprisingly cold gust of wind brings you back to reality, your hand reaching down to grasp at minho’s wrist to alert him. “minho we can’t do this here,” you say to him as he halts his motions to peer up at you with a lust filled gaze, “someone could find us.”

he chuckles at your concern before responding in a hushed tone, “baby it’s the middle of the night, no ones gonna find us.” your boyfriend assures you before placing a soft kiss on your lips. you nod in agreement at his words, telling him that he can continue. he smiles at your flustered state before swinging his leg over his hips to straddle you, catching your lips in a heated kiss.

minho positions himself in between your legs before sensually grinding his bulge against your core, the action causing you to moan into his mouth. one of his hands he uses to give him more leverage over you as the other snakes its way under your sweatshirt to grasp at your breast.

you begin to grind your hips upwards in time with him to create more friction as you feel your arousal soak through your panties. minho continues to fondle your breast under your clothes, his thumb periodically flicking your nipple which sends heat straight to your pussy. 

you pull away from the kiss as you reach between your bodies to pull down minho’s sweatpants, wanting nothing more than his cock to fill you up. your boyfriend gets the hint as he lowers his pants and boxers, slipping a condom out of his pocket while doing so.

you quirk an eyebrow at him and he just smirks, “i had a feeling this is how the night would go, i just wanted to be prepared!” you laugh at his words before taking the small foil package from his hands and opening it. you slide the condom down his shaft and he inhales sharply at the touch, his eyelids briefly fluttering shut. 

he’s quick to slip off your pants and panties as well, running his fingers through your folds to gather your arousal before lining himself up with your entrance. he slides his cock in you slowly at first, allowing you to get adjusted to his size before pulling out of you almost completely just to push himself back in. 

his thrusts are more deep and sensual as opposed to harsh and fast, his lips reconnecting with yours as your tongues tangle in eachother’s mouths. minho’s hand travels down to brush against your clit which causes a fit of butterflies to erupt in your stomach and soon you can feel your release starting to build.

you can tell minho’s close by the breathy moans he’s releasing that slowly increase in pitch, his hips also start to falter as he searches for his own release. you swat his hand away from your clit as you rub yourself in time with his thrusts, wanting to cum with him.

minho tries his best to hold off on his release so he can finish with you but to no avail as he moans loudly and releases inside the condom, his hips coming to a halt before he collapses onto you. you emit a silent sigh of disappointment that you didn’t get to finish but you smile as you gaze at minho’s fucked out form on top of you.  

feeling minho pull out of you, you move to sit up and get dressed before he pushes you back down before licking a long stripe up your folds. his actions cause your eyes to roll back as he laps at your folds like a man starved, bringing his finger up to prod at your entrance while he harshly sucks at your clit. 

“oh my god minho-” your cut off mid-sentence as your boyfriend slips two fingers inside of you, scissoring them apart to stretch your walls, “don’t stop, please.”

it doesn’t take long for your release to build up inside of you and moments later your cumming all over his tongue and fingers, your hands tugging at his hair as you release a pornographic moan. 

you feel minho pull away from your core as he sits up, sucking your juices off of his fingers before sliding your underwear back up your legs. when you’re breathing finally slows to normal, you prop yourself up on your elbows to admire minho, who was busying himself with the tie on his sweatpants before sitting back down beside you.

“well now I understand why your venus sign is scorpio,” you mumble, earning a chuckle from minho. “care to elaborate?” he whispers back in response before tucking a stray piece of hair behind your ear. “well venus is the planet that dictates your love life, and scorpio in venus means you’re very committed to pleasing your partner,” you say matter-of-factly before making eye contact with your boyfriend, a small smirk evident on his lips. “but you would’ve known that if you actually listened to what i was saying!” you exclaim before playfully slapping his chest.

“i’m sorry! i can’t help getting distracted by you, you’re too cute.” his hands come up to pinch your nose before resting on your cheek. your eyelids begin to feel heavy as you revel in your post-orgasm haze. minho’s quick to notice this seeing as he’s quick to pick you up bridal style and walk you back to the car, placing you in the passenger’s seat while he gathers your belongings and drives away.

the gentle rocking of the car and minho’s delicate hold on your hand has you drifting off in minutes, your dreams filled with thoughts of your boyfriend under the stars.

[psychedelic-ink]

A/N: This is a gift for my dearest friend @some-piece​ ! She requested a self insert with Zoro, I hope you enjoy this love, I made it extra spicy to suit your exquisite taste also hope you appreciate the pun I made whilst naming the fic

Wishing you a merry early Christmas!!! 

Summary: Bas gets a bit too excited when she sees snow after a while, she decides to go on her own when Zoro decides it’s too “childish” . 

Genre: Romance/Lemon (aka ns.fw) sin sin sin 

Word Count: 1619 k

Warnings: Oral(receiving) , fingering, teasing 

Prompt: Snow

When Bas excitedly stared out the window, gazing upon the snow like a child, Zoro dismissed it. 

When Bas said that she hadn’t seen snow for so long and that it was beautiful, Zoro ignored it. 

When Bas pouted and said that she wanted to go outside, Zoro shrugged it off as her just being too excited. 

Because there was no way she would want to go out into the freezing cold when they could just cuddle in front of the fireplace, right? 

Right?!

Zoro called out to her from the kitchen maybe once or twice, he had made ramen, which was not as fancy looking as the ones Law made but he digressed. When there was no reply, he went to the living room grumbling that she never listened to him, he readied himself to scold her but that’s when he realized;  

There was no one to scold. 

Panic bubbling up inside of him he quickly went to the front door. Sneakers gone. Snow boots untouched. Zoro’s heart was beating so fast that he could practically feel it banging against his ribcage, what was she thinking? It wasn’t like this was just harmless snow, the news has been saying over and over again that there was a huge snow storm coming towards them, this was literally the reason why Law had to stay at the hospital. How on earth could someone be so reckless? 

Quickly Zoro put on his jacket and boots, because who the hell would go into the snow with sneakers?, he quickly left the house. 

He hissed when the cold hit his warm skin but he couldn’t really think about that right now as a million of worse case scenarios flooded his head. Bas would certainly fall, there was no way she wasn’t going to slip. What if she hurt herself? Law would never let him hear the end of it. What if...what if…

What if he couldn’t find her? 

That’s when something hit him in the neck, it was cold, it was hard. It felt almost as big as his fist. Then the thing hit him again, this time in the back. Clenching his teeth he turned to face his attacker but there was no one there. 

This time the thing hit him in the face. 

Now more annoyed than anything, Zoro charged towards the location he assumed the person was. With an unnecessary loud war cry, he jumped and with hands in front, tackled them. They both fell to the ground, grunting, Zoro quickly grabbed the person from the arms and pinned them to the ground. Glaring, he gazed upon their face. 

“...Bas?” he asked, his eyebrows raising. 

“Yes you idiot, who else!?” Bas shouted with a grimace. “Get off of me, you’re on my bad leg!” 

Feeling both relief and worry, Zoro quickly got off of her, Bas groaned as she lifted herself up and placed both hands on her knee, massaging the damaged joint. She glared at Zoro. 

“Just who did you think you were attacking?” 

“You’re the one who ran into a blizzard!” Zoro retaliated, crossing his arms in front of him. “Besides I got worried, who goes off into the snow with sneakers?” 

“They're easier to wear.” Bas said, averting her eyes. 

Zoro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Can you stand?” he asked, Bas could hear the hints of worry in his voice. 

“I mean...I could, but it would hurt. A lot.” 

Knowing that despite what she said, she would try to get up, Zoro acted before her and picked her up in his arms. A faint blush appeared on Bas’s cheeks as she went quiet. Normally Zoro would tease her but knowing that she was in pain, he quickly began to walk home. 

“Our house is in the other direction.” 

Bas wasn't going to lie, being pampered by her guilty boyfriend was just amazing. As soon as they entered the house Zoro had laid her on the bed, put a pillow under her bad knee and brought her tea. It was amazing. 

When Zoro finally took his place next to her, he was still pouting. Bas sighed as a smile spread across her lips, she gently placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it. When Zoro gave her a look filled with guilt, needless to say her heart broke. 

“I’m okay,” she whispered. “It’s not like you broke my leg.” 

“I should’ve been more careful,” he grumbled. “I was trying to save you and I ended up hurting you.” 

“I mean it wouldn’t be the first time.” Bas said, giggling. 

Zoro gave her a dirty look, still chuckling, she raised her hands in a sign of defeat as a plan formed in her head. 

“Fine fine, look if you feel so guilty I do know a way you can make it up to me.” 

Zoro raised an eyebrow to that, he didn’t trust the mischievous glint in her eyes. Bas’s grin grew wider, Law wasn’t here, that was a bummer but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have some fun together and since Zoro felt so guilty there was no reason not to nudge him in the right direction. Slowly she spread her legs open, Zoro’s eyes traveled from her face to her legs, a devilish smirk spread out across his own lips as he started to slowly catch on. 

Without saying a word, Zoro climbed between Bas’s legs, he was careful not to move the injured one as he shimmed her pants down. Before he dipped down into her heat, Zoro rolled up her shirt, revealing her breasts. Bas took in a sharp breath when the cold air of the room hit her bare chest. Zoro raised an eyebrow. 

“You went into the storm without a bra?”

“You know well that I’m against them.” 

His hands traveled up to her breast, kneading the soft mounds. Slowly he began to play with her nipples. As his fingers moved, Bas let out a series of baffled whimpers, her nipples starting to get hard. Giving them a little pinch Bas reacted by letting out a squeal, her cheeks now bright red. After that her nipples got even harder.

“I think I’m against them too.” 

Soft moans escaping her, Bas couldn’t reply to his remark. She could only focus on his calloused hands on her breasts, it made her mind feel hazy. Zoro pinched her nipples again, this time her reaction was louder. He pinched them over and over, rolling them between his fingers, it made Bas yelp. The sensation was making her go crazy, over and over he pinched and pulled her nipples, occasionally pushing them in. 

After that his attention was now directed to her nether regions, Zoro stopped playing with her nips and grabbed her thighs, spreading her further apart, he dipped down into her cunt. 

Bas let out a shriek when his lips touched the folds of her pussy. 

“That was a nice sound.” he hummed. 

Bas could feel his tongue on her soaking cunt. She yelped again at the sudden sensation, this seemed to edge him on further. He pushed in the muscle. Over and over Bas felt his wet warmth sliding against her’s. She could feel herself getting wetter and wetter everytime his tongue grazed her. It made her whole body spasm and burn hot. The bedroom was filled with the sounds of moans, slurps and heavy breathing. 

Bas’s pussy twitched as Zoro’s tongue dove deeper inside of her, his warm wet tongue now inside her. She flinched at the sudden sensation. 

“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked, his voice muffled. 

His teasing was followed by his tongue pushing deeper inside her, Bas could feel him wriggling around in her pussy, it felt so good that it made her hips buck wanting more. 

“Looks like you are.” Zoro answered, smirking against her arousal. 

He slid his tongue in and out of her, making slurping sounds as he licked up her fluids. One hand came up to her clit, starting to rub the bundle of nerves, thrusting his tongue as he did so. Loud, throaty moans left Bas as he pinched and pulled her clit. The sensation was just too much for her. Bas screamed his name when his mouth closed around her clit, sucking it hard and twirling his tongue around it. 

Bas placed her hand on the back of his head, scratching his scalp and pulling at his soft green hair. She was so close, heat built up inside of her as Zoro easily slid two fingers. He continued to suck on the sensitive nub and thrust his fingers in and out of her. Zoro curled up her fingers and pressed the tip on to the spongy spot inside of her, Bas shouted his name between gritted teeth. Knowing her body like the back of his hand, he continued to graze his fingers against the same spot over and over again until she was sent over the edge. 

Bas could swear that she saw stars when she came. Her toes curled up, and her hand pushed his face further into her pussy. Zoro continued to suck and lick her clit as she came all over his face. When Bas managed to come down from her high, her grip on Zoro’s head went soft and he looked up to her. She glanced down, still breathless, seeing that Zoro’s mouth and chin were glistening with Bas’s sticky fluids. 

“Consider yourself forgiven.” Bas breathed out, still panting. 

“And here I thought you two would be heartbroken because I couldn’t make it home.” 

Both Zoro and Bas jumped at the voice, both of their eyes going to the door they saw Law, smirking, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed in front of him. 

“Welcome back?” Bas said nervously smiling. 

“How long have you been there?” Zoro asked, also a tad bit nervous. 

“Long enough to know that I have a problem that needs to be taken care of.” 

Both Bas and Zoro grinned as Law made his way towards the bed. 

[theliterateape]

History is a Puzzle Box of Rashomon

by Don Hall

I’ve often said that the scariest thing to ever come out of my mother’s mouth was the declaration “Let’s go on an adventure!”

For my mother an adventure must include a lack of preparation, potential for danger, and a sense of I can’t believe we just survived that! She once decided she wanted to do a charcoal sketching of a gravestone from the grave of one of our Appalachian Baptist fire-and-brimstone preacher ancestors. My dad drove her up into the mountains and they started seeing patches of purple paint on trees and rocks.

Turned out that was the locals’ way of telling outsiders they'd get shot if they trespassed. My dad clutched his pistol the rest of the way.

Mom got her charcoal sketch. I can’t believe we just survived that!

When I was a kid and we lived in Arizona, mom decided we were going on adventure. My little sister, mom, and I loaded up in her brown Gremlin, a bag of sandwiches, some sodas, and all of our swimming gear and headed out for an afternoon at Lake Pleasant.

All was copacetic until she thought she saw a shortcut to he lake. It was not a shortcut. It was simply desert. It started out as a bit of a dirt path that sort of petered out about an hour into the drive. We were driving in the open desert in the vehicle equivalent to a Pinto.

Of course we blew a tire. Of course we didn't have a spare.

Being a melodramatic kid, I went into a full-blown faux-survivalist panic. After a few minutes of wailing about our imminent demise I set out to figure how to get water out of cactus, the thorny testaments to the heartiness of desert foliage fending off my un-callused hands and delivering exactly no water.

This being decades before smartphones, we were stuck. We had no clue where we were in terms of the comforts of civilization and while mom put on a brave face (and occasionally got the giggles at my histrionics) our fate was sealed. Unless someone miraculously drove into the middle of the desert to save us, we were doomed.

And then the miracle occurred. A beat-up red Ford pickup truck coming from the other direction popped up on the horizon. I shrieked in relief; mom flagged the truck down.

We were about a mile from a highway but we couldn't know that. The driver of the pickup was taking a shortcut from the highway.

Here's where the story gets odd. To this day, my mother's version of this adventure and mine are identical. Word for word the same until we get to the driver of the Ford. On my life, I swear it was an older Native American man who stopped, hitched up the Gremlin to his vehicle, and towed us the mile to the highway and on to a gas station. 

My mother will go to her grave insisting it was a family of four Mormons.

What?!

We’ve had family arguments about this story. Both my mother and I are intractable in our insistence of our specific endings of either Native American man or family of Mormons. We both were there. We both can see ourselves in the tale. The endings are as different as could be.

There is conclusive scientific research that demonstrates how the memory of an event subtly changes the actual memory as it is retold. The more you tell the story, the more it transforms into something similar but wholly different in the margins.

If my mother and I can have such divergent differences within a memory of an event we both shared, how many splinters are there in a collective re-telling of a larger event encompassing many more tellers? How many completely incompatible versions of the attacks on New York on September 11, 2001 are there? How many versions that don’t quite line up with one another are there of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941?

Moving forward and backward in history, if we are to accept (and I do) that our memories are more Silly Putty than Lego Bricks, how much does film, television, books, and social media come into play in the constant morphing of objective truth to the collection of subjective memories and finally commonly accepted reality?

There is conclusive scientific research that demonstrates how the memory of an event subtly changes the actual memory as it is retold.

Back in the olden days when one could watch something horribly incorrect in the political sense without it becoming a ringing endorsement of your personal "brand" or a scathing indictment on who you are as a fellow human, I went to a screening of Griffith's The Birth of a Nation. It was at an esoteric video shop/screening theater on Fullerton Avenue in Chicago called Facets Multimedia and there were six or seven others in attendance. I was the only white person in the room.

Historically, Griffith's opus is significant in several ways. 

First, it was among the earliest epic uses of film. Released in 1915, it was the first blockbuster Hollywood hit. It was the longest and most-profitable film then produced and the most artistically advanced film of its day. It secured both the future of feature-length films and the reception of film as a serious medium.

Second, it was the first modern popular culture example of an artistic achievement attempting to force a certain perspective on the larger culture (the idea that the KKK were the heroes of the Civil War) it was initially released with the title "The Clansmen" and reframed the war, Reconstruction, and white hooded sheets in tandem with lynchings as the preferred story of American history.

Third, while propaganda has been around since men could talk and write, it was the most pervasive use of a medium that communicated on a newfound mass level to promote a horrifying ideology and was embraced by President Woodrow Wilson as a personal favorite.

Following the three-hour screening, there was a sense of discomfort as the lights came back up. My guess at the time it was the other viewers in the room wondering if I, the sole white person in the room, was as offended by the revised perspective the film espoused as the rest in the small cadre. I suppose I wasn't as offended because I wasn't black and I knew what I was getting into when buying my ticket. I can imagine seeing the film without some context would be like a slap in the face.

One of the things I learned doing stage combat around the same time was that a slap in the face never hurt as much as you'd think. It wasn't the pain of the blow but the surprise of it that gave it impact. Going in cold to see the KKK presented as the true patriots wouldn't hurt but the surprise might be a shock.

In a very different way but in the same vein, I remember being the only white face in a crowded theater in Fayetteville, Arkansas at the opening night of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. The looks of inquisition for my reaction to the film from the predominantly black faces followed me out into the lobby and into the parking lot.

I read recently that one of the reasons the scars of that Civil War in America have never fully healed is that we’ve never, as a nation, agreed on a single narrative of why we fought the goddamned thing. The subjectivity of truth in the re-telling of that dark period is confounding and subsequent attempts to force one perspective or the other or multiple angles on the causes of the War of the States has only confused the issue. Thus the recent beheadings of statues glorifying Southern generals and the re-naming parties of public schools to eliminate anyone associated with slavery.

I understand and empathize with this impulse to reverse the whitewash of history from our streets and schools. So much of our literature and symbols in real life have been created with, maybe not a D. W. Griffith subjectivity, a revisionist historical perspective that paints over the ugliest parts of our history to re-tell the narrative and erase those most subjugated by it. I expect over-correction (like the New York Times 1619 Project which casts our history as steeped in nothing but racism and slavery without acknowledging the contributions set apart from those stains) and, after reading that San Francisco schools are eliminating Abraham Lincoln's name, I decided to re-watch Spielberg's Lincoln.

I don't know if it was actually Lincoln or screenwriter Tony Kushner who came up with the following analogy but I found it instructive in the push to reframe the story today.

A compass, I learnt when I was surveying, it'll... it'll point you True North from where you're standing, but it's got no advice about the swamps and deserts and chasms that you'll encounter along the way.

If in pursuit of your destination, you plunge ahead, heedless of obstacles, and achieve nothing more than to sink in a swamp... What's the use of knowing True North?

The film paints the fight for the 13th Amendment as a dark political game, cajoling and persuading the legislators of the day to codify in the Constitution a formal revocation and rebuke to the forced enslavement of other human beings. It also portrays Lincoln as a deeply pragmatic leader. The speech is one he gives to Thaddeus Stevens, a zealous abolitionist, who rightly sees true north but, up to that point, would rather be righteous than successful in abolishing slavery.

Both men are long dead so the question of whether both men would tell the same story, in their re-telling of those pivotal moments leading up to the vote, or if their stories would radically diverge, is wholly academic. That’s where the trappings of art collide with authenticity. This is the version Spielberg and Kushner decided upon and it will be the version millions who watch the film and decide to simply accept it as the one true version.

This is not to say there is no objective truth. It is to suggest that our inability to separate fact from our subjective fictions makes us pretty fucking lousy arbiters of that fact.

On the other hand, we have celebrated author Mark Manson, whose book Everything is F•cked: A Book About Hope is being banned in Russia by Putin because it speaks directly to atrocities committed by Stalin. Putin is looking to re-write Stalin's history. 

There is a big difference between revising a history shown to diminish the effects of overt racists in one country and purging a country’s history of established monstrosities but the mechanism remains the same: reframe the story and tell it enough times that the meaning changes over time. Keep pushing the new narrative (right or wrong) until the soft memory of an entire nation bends to the will of the teller.

That’s all history is, after all. A slew of stories we tell over and over to indoctrinate a sense of national pride. It grows more perilous when those revising the stories weren’t present. The source of the tales becomes less reliable and the reframe more suspect. When the source is a film or video of an event, we feel as though we’ve experienced it but our perspective is entirely subverted by what the camera shows us and the narrative promoted when we watch it.

One of the techniques that Griffith practically invented was the camera’s use to tell the story from his view. Frame things in a certain way, in a certain order, and our very eyes are deceived, our minds accept the deception, and we believe.

In 1950, Akira Kurosawa gave the world the reigning example of individualized subjective point of view. Rashomon shows us three different perspectives on one specific event. The film makes the point so clearly that the term used popularly to label the he said/she said/they said dilemma is a rashomon.

This is not to say there is no objective truth. It is to suggest that our inability to separate fact from our subjective fictions makes us pretty fucking lousy arbiters of that fact. Show me someone absolutely 100% certain of the sort of events they've only seen on an iPhone video moderated by Faceborg and spun by both the media and some random stranger and I'll show you someone deluded and quite probably dead wrong.

Even when we're there to witness events in person we get it wrong so the concept of getting it right through the mediation and manipulation of amateur videographers and activist pushing a narrative is nothing short of lunatic fringe.

Bizarrely, we all know this to be true.

We know that social media is almost entirely unreliable. We know that film is a highly manipulative art form. We know that Robert Downey, Jr. never flew in a suit of armor, that Keanu Reeves is not Neo, that as much as he embodies who I hope Abraham Lincoln was like, Daniel Day Lewis is an actor and couldn't possibly know what the man was actually like in person.

We know this to be true but we need to be right. We need to believe and so we take that leap of faith, that gut level adherence to what makes some sort of sense in the story and run with it. More so, if the fiction supports things we already have chosen to believe in, we are adding it to the arsenal of defenses against any other sort of view of our story.

We know there's more to the story of the Antifa takeover of Seattle. We know there's more to the January 6th breach of the Capitol. We know there are more sides to the story of Michael Brown. We know that with everyone filmed in a Walmart screaming about her right to forego a mask there is something else before and after that moment that may demonize her just a bit less.

We know but we don't care. Context and considering the framing takes too much work. Too much time. In an existence flooded with too much information, too many stories, too much video, too many opinions, it's just fucking easier to settle on the story that suits you and roll with that.

That's why—no matter what my mother says—it was definitely not a family of Mormons and I'll go to my grave with that.

[darling-i-read-it]

Window Shards

Billy Hargrove x reader

Word Count:1619

Warnings: fighting, alcohol, cussing, throwing punches idk man a little of a lot

Author’s Note: Thank you for being so kind! I’m gonna be honest when I started writing I wasn’t sure but it easily became one of my favorites I’ve written for Billy so I hope you like it. It’s my last of the seven I’ve written just this week but I think it might be the best? I don’t know I hope you like it.

Requested: by @da-pink-alligator Hi! Could you write something Billy Hargrove x reader. A little angst and fluff? Something like them fighting and breaking up (or almost) over a misunderstanding. And after one of them gets jealous at a christmas party they make up? And obviously decide to spend the christmas night on their own or something like that :P Thanks for the work you put out for us to enjoy! :)

Summary: the request

Genre: angsttttttt and fluffffffff

Song: Hallelujah by Pentatonix

(not my gif)

“What are you getting me for Christmas?” Billy asked on the worst day of your 18 years. At the time you weren’t aware it was going to be so torturous but that's where it started. That was the start of the fights to end all fights.

“I don’t actually know yet,” you told him, which was a lie, you had gotten Billy’s present in late November.

“Good cause I don’t want you to get me anything,” he told you. You turned to him confused.

“Why is that?” you asked, laughing nervously. It was non refundable you were going to give the present to him whether he liked it or not but you were curious to see why he told you not to get him one.

“I just figured you needed to save your money for Jonathan Byers,” he muttered, the toothpick sticking out of his mouth. You were both sitting in the school parking lot, a week before Christmas. You were in the passenger seat of his car and had your feet on the dashboard, which you retreated when you heard his accusation.

“I’m sorry?” you asked, looking over at him. He shrugged, so nonchalantly, as though he really didn’t care about you and Jonathan Byers. But he did. He had seen you and Jonathan talking in the halls which typically wouldn’t have made him mad at you. He trusted you with his heart, every piece of it so he figured you were talking about some science project you were trying to get Jonathan to do for you.

It wasn’t until he saw Jonathan reach for you hand that he stood still in awe. Had it been Steve or someone else he would have gone up and thrown a punch right away but you had expressed how much you liked Jonathan before, how you admired his brain but assured Billy you were in for him alone and not Jonathan. Besides that Jonathan was dating Nancy Wheeler, who was popular enough to make Billy feel totally comfortable with the two of you hanging out.

But Billy had never had the best self confidence. He was constantly worried that you would leave him, that you would find someone with a better GPA or a better foreseeable future then Billy would ever had.

So when he saw Jonathan grab your hand and go for a kiss he ran away. He didn’t run toward the Byers kid, he ran away, which is something he wished he hadn’t done but it was all he thought to do. He went home, he didn’t drive you and he cried for the first time about losing someone who wasn’t himself since his mom had died so long ago.

“You and Jonathan. I saw you getting cozy in the hallway yesterday. When were you gonna tell me?” he asked and you were bewildered. Jonathan was dating Nancy. He hadn't’t even tried to make a pass at you. You truly had zero idea what Billy was even talking about.

“Me and Jonathan? Billy I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you expressed and Billy threw the toothpick out the car window.

“Don’t play dumb Y/N you know what you did don’t try and fucking deny it.” You could feel his temper rising, like he had a thermometer beside him that was slowly reaching for the deadly reds.

“Billy I didn’t do anything with Jonathan I don’t know what you’re fucking talking about,” you told him sternly and he hit the dashboard with his right hand, the closer one to you, making you jump in surprise.

“Did you think you could just cheat on me and I wouldn’t fucking find out?! Do you think you could do that shit to the king of the goddamn school Y/N?!” he yelled, voice reaching a dangerous level. People outside were slowing to watch and you were aware of them there. Tears of fear were staining your eyes.

“Billy I don’t know what you’re fucking talking about!” you screamed.

He didn’t hit you.

But he almost did.

His hand threw itself at your head, just slow enough for you to dodge so that he hit the window instead. It shattered on impact.

You were scared and breathing heavy and crying so you got out of the car the second his bloodied knuckles were out of the window. You ran away from his car fast enough so that he couldn’t follow.

That was a week ago. You hadn’t talked to Billy since. He hadn't called. You didn’t call. You went different routes in the halls to avoid him because you knew he wouldn’t.

A part of you knew he was going to be at Tommy’s Christmas party on Christmas Eve but the other part of you didn’t care. But so much of you did. You longed to see Billy again, to explain but you were worried he wouldn’t care to listen and overall you were scared he might pull a stunt like the window again.

The day came and you got dressed up, looking yourself in the mirror and deciding that you looked good enough to see Billy, to show him what he had missed.

You walked in the door and found arm candy right away. He was short and had short hair and didn’t reek of cigarettes so he was everything Billy wasn’t. He didn’t protest when you asked to kiss him and then you were that chick making out in the back corner with a guy she didn’t know the name of on Christmas Eve.

You didn’t stop until you felt firm hands on your waist that turned you around. You knew those hands. A part of you missed those hands.

“Can we talk?” Billy asked. His breath was absent of alcohol. It surprised you enough to say yes. He lead you outside to the front yard where almost no one was because Tommy’s house had a pool.

“What do you want Billy?” you asked and you were surprised to find red rimmed eyes that looked as though they were going to spill at any second. Out of pure instinct you grabbed his face with your hands and wiped away what years had already fallen.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled and you were taken aback again. He was crying for you.

“Why did you think Jonathan and I were together?” you asked him. He sighed.

“You let Nancy borrow your jacket that day and the hallway was crowded. I thought it was you at glance and it scared me. But that’s not the part I’m really sorry about,” he whispered. You nodded. “I don’t wanna hurt you. I don’t ever want you to think I’m gonna lose my temper and- and-” he paused and took a deep breath but you stopped him there with a light kiss.

“I know you didn’t wanna hurt me. You just scared me for a minute,” you whispered against his lips. He nodded.

“I won’t ever scare you again,” he promised and you felt the truth in his words. He didn’t want to scare you ever.

“Merry Christmas Billy babe,” you whispered and he smiled, pulling out a tiny box out of his jacket.

“I was scared you weren’t gonna want a present from me,” he mumbled and you found you were crying so after whipping your eyes you reached for the box. It was wrapped in a little bow and that alone. You pulled out a necklace, circular and clear, reflecting. “It’s a piece of my window,” he said and you giggled.

“Aw baby,” you told him and hugged him again.

“It’s promise that I won’t ever hurt you again because I have to pay to fix the window and i want you to know that,” he joked and you laughed. You gave him your present which you hoped you would be able to give him. It was bigger so you ran to your car to give it to him He ripped at it like he was a little kid.

“Y/N..,” he trailed off. You bit your lip.

“You like it?” you asked and he nodded. It was a new stereo for his car, something he had complaining about for months. He nodded smiling. “It doesn’t just play cassettes too. It plays those new CD things,” you told him and he turned to crush you in a hug.

“I love you,” he whispered and you gasped.

“No way,” you giggled and he rolled his eyes. “I love you too Billy.”

“Merry Christmas. Now let's go put this thing in,” he said, picking up the box.

“Are there still glass shards in the passenger seat?” you asked.

“The only shard left is in your necklace princess.”

@swanky-batman

[smoreal]

Burnt Cookies (Peter Parker x Reader)

Summary: “I love you.” “What?” “WHAT? NOTHING!” (Yes, this is for another challenge for one of my favorite writers @bbparker)

A/N: I saw this was due the beginning of January and I usually don’t pick challenges that close, but it’s @bbparker so… Also, I am accepting requests, (’ve gotta fix my bio) and I hope you guys like this!

(Y/n) = Your name (E/c) = Eye Color

Word Count: 1619

Warnings: Fluff, A lot of words, Language, and a bit of a steamy makeout, no smut, and (you guessed it) Burnt Cookies

Tags: @bbparker

You sat on the counter, going through your Tumblr app and searching for some creative recipes to recreate. Taking a sip from your coffee mug, you blow a strand of hair out of your eyes, unable to find a good idea.

You hear a sudden and unexpected crash outside and jump, dropping coffee down your chin and neck. “Shit!” You growl, pouting and thanking the stars it wasn’t boiling hot.

“(Y/n)! Beautiful?” Peter calls after shutting your window and making his way into the kitchen. He sees your state and seethes, rushing over to the napkins and then to your side. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I’m so, so, sorry, beautiful!” He says, dabbing your chin before you huff and take the napkin from him.

“It’s alright,” You sigh, wiping your neck and looking at his suit that’s in better state than usual. “How’d it go?”

He smiles and throws his mask onto the counter before taking your coffee mug and phone out of your hands gently. “Pretty good.” He places the items beside you. “You’ll never believe what happened.”

You chuckle and wrap your arms around his neck, and spread your legs apart slightly to pull him in closer. “Mm?”

He snickers and kisses your neck, before pulling away a bit. “You smell like coffee.” He laughs when you slap his shoulder and brings his arms up to defend himself, “Okay, okay, I stopped a mugging and barely got a mark, see?” He turns his head, showing you a small bruise under his jaw.

You kiss the bruise and take his arms, wrapping them around you. “I’m proud of you and I hope to see you coming back with less marks.”

He hums and buries his face back into your neck, making you giggle. “I’m proud of you too.” He says, smirking.

“Why? I haven’t done anything, except make cookies.” You murmur, running your fingers through his hair.

“Extremely delicious cookies,” He praises before looking around and searching for them. “Where are they?”

Your eyes widen and you pull away from him, quickly moving to get off the counter.

He puts two and two together and slips on the oven mitts that were on the stove top as you hop onto your feet and open the oven. Taking the tray of cookies out, a wave of smoke trailing behind it, Peter slides it onto the stove and steps back, tossing the mitts back where he found them.

You stand beside him, looking at the cookies with a big pout.

He runs a hand through his hair before catching your pout and joining you in empathy, “Aww, beautiful, it’s okay.”

You grumble and hit your head against his chest in shame and dishonor. He grunts and laughs, the vibration lifting your spirits up somewhat. “You’ll save them next time around.”

“No, I won’t, I suck at cooking.” You admit in resent, hugging his torso.

“You don’t suck,” He says, twirling a finger in your hair and hugging back, his other hand rubbing your back soothingly. “You just got a little distracted. It happens.”

He lifts your chin with his fingers gently and grins. “Where’s my smile?”

You bite your lip, fighting back a giggle. “You’re a dork.”

He hums in agreement before twirling you around to face the living room, his breath tickling your ear. “How about I clean up here and you start a movie in the living room so we can binge watch something on Netflix?”

You beam, pulling on the hem of your shirt, “Deal,” You agree, smiling widely before turning around and giving him a quick peck. He gazes at you lovingly and you laugh. “Stop looking at me like that.” You say before nuzzling your nose against his and finally pulling away.

You’re ambling your way to the living room when you hear him dazily whisper, “I love you.”

You stop and turn on your heels, incredulous, your heart beating hard against your chest. “What?” You ask, your face red and your eyes wide.

He looks surprised or afraid (more than likely both) as if he didn’t know he had said it out loud and starts, blushing furiously, “WHAT? NOTHING!”

You flinch at his loud tone and you both stand, staring at each other, watching the others expressions for denial.

“I—I—Um, I know it’s still early in our relationship, and we haven’t been on many dates because of my—” He gestures wildly, and you nod in understanding, crossing your arms, trying to stop blushing, “‘Internship,’” He says, using air quotes. “But, (Y/n),” Peter walks over to you, closing the small space between you once again, his hands on your hips, gently pressing his forehead against yours. “You have—You—You’re probably,” He back tracks, “You are the most talented, funny, extraordinarily inspiring, caring, lovable—”

“Peter,” You laugh, relaxing your hands against his chest.

“Beautiful girl I have ever met.” He finishes.

You were speechless, breathless, how did you get so lucky? For someone to actually reciprocate your feelings, it was too good to be true. You stare at him, taking in those big, brown eyes, skeptical.

“Gosh, Pete,” You whisper, “I… I’m not sure what to say…”

He squeezes your hips reassuringly, “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t feel comfortable.”

You’re completely overwhelmed with all these sudden emotions and his stupid, adorable, face that you wrap your arms around his neck and brush your lips against his, feeling him tense up at the unanticipated move. “I love you too.”

You can feel his heat and he looks up at you, clearly relieved, but still nervous and blushing like mad. “Are you serious? You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to, I don’t wanna try to pressure you into anything, I understand if it’s all a bit…”

He trails off, seeing the look on your face. “I’m not joking, Peter.” You give a kiss under his jaw, “I, wholeheartedly, love you.”

Peter is in a lovesick daze, again. A look you had been given often, lately. You chuckle and it brings him back to Earth.

“I’m going kiss you now.” He states.

You hop onto his torso, Peter barely catching you, his hands gripping under your thighs before giving an uncharacteristic yelp followed by a groan and a weary look. “You’ve gotta stop doing that. One day I might not catch you.”

“Poppycock.” You ruffle his hair and he emits a growl. “I grant thee permission to kiss me.”

His lips meet yours gently and you both move in sync, listing your head slightly to give him more access only to have him let you lead. After a small, eager groan, you do, slipping your tongue in to tangle with his. You’re both taken by surprise. The sensation is new, but spritely and full of passion. All sense of time is lost, leaving only the scent of burnt cookies and the chemistry between two teenagers.

It feels like a few good minutes before a frantic knock interrupts your inexperienced frenching. “Are we going to open that?” Peter asks against your lips, taking the time as a small break before getting right back to it.

You moan slightly in response and Peter, with his newfound confidence, takes you to the closest wall, and pushes you gently against it to get a better grip on you and focus on navigating his tongue.

The door slams open and he nearly drops you until you grip him tighter on reflex.

“Peter?” A very worried, father-like Tony Stark is in the doorway, searching frantically for his Spider-son until he sees the two of you, pressed against each other, hair disheveled, faces red, and a trail of saliva connecting you and Peter.

It takes a whole minute for all of you to realize what was happening and then another for Peter to finally squeak, “M-Mr. Stark.”

You aren’t sure whether it was a question or a statement, and you don’t waste time to think about it as you hastily swipe at your mouth and then your hair to at least look a bit presentable. You unwrap your legs to land on the floor and with your face flushed, you move to make your walk of shame out of the apartment until you realize it’s your apartment.

You avoid all and any eye contact with the Tony Stark, whom you’d only ever seen on T.V.

“Wow.” Is all the famous billionaire superhero says before clearing his throat. “I just came to see if Peter was here since he wasn’t at… his house. Um— Yea, okay, I’m gonna leave you two…Peter—.” You look up at Peter to see him miserably embarrassed as he forces himself to look at Iron Man. “Good job.” He finishes, highly amused, before closing the door.

You and Peter are both alone again and are still deathly close to one another.

You two share a sigh of relief, exchanging glances.

“I can’t believe I just met your Iron-Dad like that.” You whine, covering your face. “You were supposed to introduce me, we were gonna talk and I was totally gonna impress him—”

“He loved you.”

You look up at him. “What?” You practically shout, flabbergasted.

“Well,” He begins, looking down at you to beam, “I mean, he doesn’t love you more than me, of course, but you should’ve seen his face.” He takes your hands in his, “He definitely liked you.”

You stare at the door that Iron Man walked through. “Tony Stark just broke into my apartment.” You breathe, astonished.

“You get used to it.” Peter simpered, sighing.

You smile at each other for a split second.

“Round two?” You offer with a purr.

He shudders, “Please.”

[abadassunicorntale]

Spoilers: Prt 1 Ch 1

Summary: reader meets John Smith, who is just as strange as she is by miracle or something else?

Warnings: language

Parings: 11 doctor/reader, reader/unseen character

Word count: 1619 words

A/N: sorry I drag this out a bit but I promise it’s going somewhere. BTW it’s a little dialogue heavy. P.S. I’m making the reader Pansexual so if you want you can imagine different genders on the people she dates.

 I check the list for the fourteenth time, ‘maybe mum was right I can’t even remember what’s on my grocery list for longer than two seconds, how am I going to handle living alone.’ I have just moved out, I’m 18, and ready to take on the world… ok maybe not the world but at least I can take on the shop, yeah that sounds good some, Mac and Cheese, a little bit of milk, and hand in my resume for a job. Todays gonna be good, as long as I can find a room mate, ‘NOPE! No bringing yourself down today, TODAY IS GONNA BE A GOOD DAY!!’

                                                              -------------------

 Today sucked, I got the groceries, I got the job, but apparently I have to make rent tomorrow and without a roommate I can’t afford it! I just spent over $200 on a weeks worth of groceries, everything is over-priced! I should just curl up into a ball and die. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* ‘What the hell,’ I open up the door to find an overgrown twelve year old wearing a fez, really? “Hi, I’m ummm, John Smith, yeah you seem the type,  I need to use your apartment for a sec, thanks”  

“wha-” He cuts me off mid sentence.

“Oh, wow, you don’t have much, do you? Not even a telly. Please tell me you have food like Jammy Dodgers, you can’t live with out them.” ‘Wow, ok he’s odd, I LOVE IT. Finally someone as weird as me… maybe weirder’ “Uh yeah I make my own bisquits so I don’t need to buy much baked goods.” I say trying to defend my dismal living state.

“Oh you bake goods for you, now do you have a window facing the west?” he asked, looking around.

“Yeah it’s that one.” I point to side window “it’s the one facing West.”

“Hahaha” he burst into laughter ‘wow, he actually laughed, ok granted it was an awesome joke, but nearly no one laughs at my jokes… mainly because I tend to repeat them, but that’s another story.’ He creeps over to the window and looks out of it.

                                                            -------------------

I walk over with some tea and Jammy Dodger’s since he seemed to have such a preference to them, I notice he is holding a glowing stick? But decide to say nothing “so as this is my place and you’ve been sitting here doing god knows what,” I check my watch “for two hours and forty five minuets, what are you doing?” He looks at me as if he is considering something. “How do you feel about traveling to faraway places and different worlds?” ‘Oh wow not what I was expecting.’

‘Are you giving me an opportunity to run away?” He started to smile even wider, “Maybe.” He said one word as if he held the world in his hand. An image of my tiny little cutie of a nephew, pops into my head, and my face falls “I really hope you’re not, because if you were, I would do something incredibly stupid. I would actually go and… I can’t. I just moved out and I think my mum would have an aneurism if I ran away now, and I really think that if I left I may never come back.” His smile faded and he went back to looking out the window. “You know if you spend any more time here I might have to start making you pay rent.” I joke hoping that will lighten the mood. “REALLY!” he said, his face lit up. ‘Oh shit I was joking! Well I do need a roommate, and who better than some weirdo who has been looking out my window for almost three hours… This isn’t going to end well.’ “Ok sure, um we can split rent and yeah…” I say wondering if this is seriously happening.

“Great I’ll pay my rent once a month, by the way I may not be here all the time.” He says, running through all of it as if I would change my mind at any moment.

“Ok, wait why?” I question, trying to process this entire conversation and trying to remember where it began.

“Oh well… like I said I travel.” He muttered as if it explained everything. “No that’s not what I mean, if you’re always traveling why stay here?” I ask curiously. “I don’t know, I guess I just need something normal in my life.” He says frowning slightly.

“Pfftt…HAHAHA… and ... you think hahaha you’ll get that here!” I say trying to stop my laughter at the obviously serious situation ‘wow I am immature’

“Well maybe you remind me of someone.” He answers beginning to smile again.

“Who?” I manage to breathe out between laughing.

“I DON’T KNOW SOMEONE! Besides I just lost two people who are… were very special to me and I guess I need something stable in my life.” It was deadly quiet, he had a lot pressed deep, deep down. I hope all that pain doesn’t consume him; maybe we’re even more similar than I had realized. His smile returned as he said “So where do I sign.”

                                                              -------------------

 “Y/N WAKE UP!” An unseen dumbass screams into my ear.

“WHAAAT! WHO! WHERE!” I scream jumping off the couch looking around “YOOOOOOUUUU!!!!!” I yell seeing John, my bow tie wearing idiot of a best friend is back I turn around and see another familiar face“ALICE! How are you!” she seems shocked, weird

“I’m… good, how are you.” She says carefully.

“Great, guess what!” Silence answered me, people have long since given up on trying to get inside my head, John used to try, bless his soul. “I was invited on a date. They are the cutest thing, so sweet but with a bad streak. You know because I always pick the healthy relationships… we’ll probably end up killing each other but they’re just so… so” I repeat trying to find the right word.

“Cool?” Great he’s got that grin again, I hate that grin.

“I was trying to avoid” I fake a shudder “That, word, so I will just go with awesomely amazing.”

“yep this is going to end terribly, remember the last time?” John has gotten used to my dating habits, but he’s never even been in a relationship as far as I know so he can just shut it.

“Yes-” I begin

“And the time before that.” John continues.

“Yes but-” I continue

“And the time before that.” John repeats

“Yes!” I yell trying to get him to stop

“And the time before that.” He begins to wear a smug smile.

“YES OK, I GET IT. I suck at picking the right person, but maybe I don’t want something long term.” I finally get in.

“Oh yes the ‘I’m never getting married and I’m never having kids but I will still coo at every baby and cry at every wedding’” He says using a poor imitation of my voice.

“Ok, first of that sounded nothing like me, and secondly Alice you’ve been really quiet, usually you would have taken one side or another, or made one your self. Are you sure you’re ok?” Alice’s eyes widened, she looked to John as if to ask for help, he just shrugged ”Well I guess it’s ok to not want either of those things but still enjoy them, but a long term relationship doesn’t have to end in marriage and it’s a really nice thing to have someone there who will love you through thick and thin, even if you know it will end, it’s just nice.” She says trying to defuse the tension.

“Mmm, that does sound nice, shame I suck at picking ‘em, see ya.” I say as I walk out the door.

                                                              -------------------

 “Now where have you been?” John says trying and failing to act responsible.

“It’s 9:00pm I was gone an hour and a half! What do you mean where have you been?” I yell completely pissed off at the world.

“I was kidding, wait … what happened?” he asked shocked

“Well…” I began

“ALICE TALK ABOUT GIRL STUFF WITH Y/N!” John screamed with his usual, oh god, get away, attitude.

“What!” Alice and I scream simultaneously, alas he was already out the door before I could kill him.

Alice shuffled awkwardly before asking “So what happened?”

“The usual they treated me like they were better than me, and I made my sense of injustice vocal.” I sigh defeated.

“oh… did you punch them?” She says, smirking.

“I wanted to, but no I kept myself under control thank you very much.” I reply proudly.

“that’s good… wait have you punched someone before!” she laughs shocked.

“Mmaaaayyyybbbeee” I giggle, enjoying the conversation.

“Oh my god, y/n, why.” Alice gasps shocked.

“She was a jerk and she deserved it, you should have heard the things that bitch said.” I respond in defense.

“Was this before or after you punched her?” she asks getting caught up in the drama that is my life.

“Nah, but socking her in the face seemed to shut her up.” I say chuckling at the memory.

“HAHAHA, then what happened?” she asked.

“I stormed out of there and ate ice cream and watched Marred at First Sight.”  I replied.

“Whats that?” she asked confused.

“The greatest show to make fun of, don’t worry, I’ll show you.” I say already going for the wine.

“Now?” She asks excited.

“Sure.” We watched the drama that these poor idiots put themselves into and laughed until John came back looking panicked and he told Alice they needed to leave. You know, Alice was acting real; it gives me an odd sense of Déjà vu.

[vixxscifiwritings]

The Fan Sign

AU - Fanboys!AU Genre - Fluff/Comedy Warnings - None Word Count - 1619

Summary - In which Hakyeon decides to drag along Taekwoon to a fan meeting and his bias definitely notices him.

Find all parts here

"What am I even doing here?" Taekwoon asked as Hakyeon clicked away with his DSLR camera to check the angles and lighting.

"You are being a supportive friend" Hakyeon told him.

"I don't see why I need to attend the fan meet. You're the fansite master. You go scream yourself hoarse over 6Keys" he grumbled.

"You do realize that I have a photo of you from three years ago when they held their first fan meet and only thirty people turned up so you got to stand next to Minah right?" Hakyeon asked with an angelic smile. "So stop lying. I know you wanted to be here."

"Fine. I was the one who introduced you to 6Keys but whatever" Taekwoon grumbled.

"They’re here!" Hakyeon said excitedly as a black van pulled up to the parking lot.

The fans began to scream as Minah stepped out. The intensity had surprised her and she stumbled backwards a little, bumping into Haneul. Taekwoon smiled to himself at her cute behavior. Hakyeon giggled too because the vocalist x rapper otp was famous.

"It's just the two of them?" Taekwoon asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Bora and Haru are in another fansign while Ara and Miya are filming a drama" Hakyeon explained.

"How are you here and not in Bora's fan meeting?" Taekwoon teased.

"I have no idea what you are saying" Hakyeon replied with a blush. For a long time, Haneul had been Hakyeon’s bias with him being noticed by her as a regular attendee as well. But of late, Taekwoon had noticed signs of bias wrecking. Of course Hakyeon would never admit it. Taekwoon grinned smugly because his bias was Minah and he had stayed loyal.

"Do you think we will get picked for the sign event?" Hakyeon asked him. Taekwoon shrugged. The girls were on stage and ready to start.

"Hello everyone, I am 6Keys leader and rapper Haneul!" Haneul started, bowing as the crowd cheered. Taekwoon smirked at how smitten Hakyeon looked.

"Hello everyone, I am 6Keys main vocal Minah!" Minah said, waving to the fans. She did a small bow as well before Haneul pulled her into making a heart. It looked cuter today to Taekwoon who hadn't taken his eyes off Minah.

"Don't die by her charms Taekwoon!" Hakyeon said dramatically.

"Pfft. That's you not me" Taekwoon protested while there was mental screaming going on in his head.

Hakyeon got busy as the girls continued the introduction. Haneul got Minah to rap her parts from their new song and the organizers made them play a game of dumb charades. While Minah managed to guess everything Haneul acted out, Haneul failed to guess two out of six and got a bop from the toy hammer as punishment. She went down dramatically, entertaining the crowd.

"Cha Hakyeon and Jung Taekwoon?" someone called out.

"That's us" Taekwoon said, pulling Hakyeon along.

"Ah Hakyeon! Long time no see. I thought it was you!" the person who had called out to them said.

"Nice to see you too! Taekwoon, this is Song Hwanhee. She organizes the fan meets" Hakyeon said introducing him. Taekwoon bowed in greeting, not surprised that the organizers had recognized Hakyeon too.

"The good news is that you both were chosen for the sign. I need to verify your ids and take you to the line" Hwanhee told them. Hakyeon mini cheered before holding out his driver’s license. Taekwoon used his college id since he hadn't passed his driving test yet. Hwanhee gave them directions, signaling the guards to let them through.

"I'm so excited" Hakyeon said, pulling out two albums from his bag. Taekwoon nodded in agreement as he took a copy.

"Whoa. They look prettier up close. The pastel shades really suit them" Hakyeon thought out loud. The fan in front of him agreed vocally so the two of them got talking while the stage was being set up.

Taekwoon zoned out, choosing to look at Minah who was waving to a baby in the front line. He couldn't help but smile at the interaction. He had always believed that Minah was the best with children. Of course Haneul was the more strict mother type but Minah was the fun mother. The type who would teach her children good behavior along with spoiling them. Why didn't 6Keys have it's own Hello Baby season yet?

And that wasn't the only thing Minah was good at. She was silent but wise and good at problem solving. Her interaction with the maknae Miya were always the funniest. She was a supportive friend and member to the rest. And did he even need to talk about the singing? Her high notes were the highlights of any 6Keys song. The agency should really give her a solo album contract, he added with a frown at the pavement.

He looked up at the stage again only to see Minah and Haneul looking in his direction. He immediately averted his eyes, missing the look Haneul had given and the way Minah had blushed. They took their places at the table which had markers set up along with flower crowns that the girls immediately put on their head, posing for pictures.

"Gaaaah. I wish I was on the front line. I could have taken those photos" Hakyeon lamented.

"You can ask them for a picture in person in ten minutes" Taekwoon pointed out. They were twelfth or so in line and they would be on stage very soon. Taekwoon could feel his ears grow warm. Why was this suddenly so embarrassing?

"Ah, it's Haneul first and then Minah" Hakyeon pointed out. Haneul was sitting to the left and Minah to the right and the fans would enter from the left entrance, meeting Haneul first. Taekwoon thanked the gods for that.

Hakyeon kept moving, obviously excited to meet the two. He had frowned when he had realized that he had been too broke to buy them gifts for the fansign but he had been happy about attending nonetheless. The line moved at a decent stage and pretty soon it was their turn. Hakyeon went up, dragging Taekwoon along.

"Hello!" Haneul greeted them. "Hakyeon right?" she asked Hakyeon who broke into the widest smile Taekwoon had ever seen.

"I recognized you from the earlier events! Thank you for all the nice pictures! You made me look really pretty" she said with a smile. "Oh look. We're matching today!"

"Isn't pink your favorite?" he asked her. Haneul nodded and the manager had to remind her to actually take his CD and sign it.

"I hop you enjoy the fan sign! It was really nice meeting you again!" Haneul said while writing down a message for Hakyeon as well as the sign. Hakyeon beamed radiantly and might have skipped ahead to greet Minah happily though he would later deny it.

"Hello! What's your name?" Haneul asked as she leaned forward to talk to Taekwoon.

"Jung Taekwoon. I've been a fan since the beginning" he added shyly.

"Thank you for supporting 6Keys! Taekwoon can I ask you a question?" Haneul asked mischievously.

"Yes?" he asked, unsure of what she wanted to say.

"You're Minah biased aren't you? You're totally her fan!" she pointed out. Taekwoon blinked, caught in the act and unsure of what to say. How had Haneul known?

"Hakyeon! Please back me up here! Taekwoon totally likes Minah right?" Haneul asked, leaning towards Minah and interrupting their conversation about Minah’s pet dog Kero.

"How did you know?" Hakyeon asked surprised while Minah blinked as well.

"I like all of 6Keys" Taekwoon answered weakly.

"Too late. You hesitated!" Haneul sang as she signed his album. "Minah when he comes over, please give him a heart and draw loads of cute things in the album!"

Minah protested indignantly while Taekwoon just wanted the stage to split open so he could fall through and die of shame. Haneul just high fived Hakyeon making the fans wonder what was happening on stage. The manager had to remind them not to take too long as other fans were waiting so Haneul just shot Taekwoon an angel look and he frowned before moving to Minah.

"I am so sorry about Haneul" Minah apologized.

"That's okay" Taekwoon said. He was blushing as he handed over the album to Minah who looked shy as well.

"I think its because she saw you looking when I was talking to the baby in the front row. She just likes teasing people" Minah laughed.

"I thought it was kind of cute" Taekwoon said before he could stop himself. Minah smiled in reply and he felt extremely warm and happy seeing it.

"Thank you for coming to the fansign" she said. Minah attempted to make a heart with her hands, managing an awkward shape. The fans cheered when they saw it and Taekwoon covered his face, pulling his cap further down to cover his face.

"Taekwoon si, please keep supporting us!" Minah said with a small smile. He nodded taking the album and rushing off stage before he could be escorted off.

"Is your heart still beating?" Hakyeon asked receiving a glare from Taekwoon. He groaned, jumping up and down to work off his embarrassment. He ultimately gave in and Hakyeon hugged him out of pity, smiling for his friend.

"I was going to drag you to the Hi Touch event next week but I don't think you will survive it now" Hakyeon said cheekily.

From the stage, Haneul looked over to the side to see Hakyeon pat Taekwoon’s back as he regained his composure. She nudged Minah to make her look. Minah did so and caught Taekwoon’s eye again making him groan and look away again, making Hakyeon and Haneul laugh.

[jestbee]

June 17: Come Back, Be Here (Chapter Six) (Final)

[yeskraim]

Sleeping senators, snacks, shaking heads: What you can’t see on TV at Trump’s impeachment trial

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The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump received a dose of defense in an attempt to invalidate the charges against him.

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – If you’ve turned on your television and caught any of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, you’ve probably gotten a chance to see arguments from House managers and the president’s defense team. 

The official camera in the Senate has stayed locked on those speaking, leaving everything else happening in the chamber – and outside it – unseen by TV viewers. 

Throughout the trial, senators have dozed off, passed notes, munched on snacks and sometimes laughed or shaken their heads in disapproval. Here’s some of what else you couldn’t see if you’ve watched the trial on TV.  

Trading notes, whispers  

A wide smile spread across South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s face last Tuesday as he read the note passed to him by his deskmate, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. The two shared a quiet giggle as they passed messages back and forth, something that has become common at the all-day proceedings.  

Trump’s legal team: Patrick Cipollone, Jay Sekulow, Alan Dershowitz, Ken Starr, Pam Bondi fill out president’s counsel

At the start of each day of the trial, senators are told they must remain quiet on “pain of imprisonment.” That hasn’t stopped many of them from communicating with one another over the hours sitting at their desks listening to presentations from House managers and the president’s lawyers.

Like Scott and Sasse, who enjoy the luxury of being far from the dais where Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts presides over the trial, other senators have passed notes and whispered back and forth. 

Monday evening, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., passed notes as Alan Dershowitz, a member of Trump’s counsel, laid out his interpretation of what the Founding Fathers identified as an impeachable offense. Klobuchar leaned over to Casey’s desk and the two smiled before looking back up at Dershowitz, who was still presenting. 

The House managers also wrote notes and used legal pads to cover their mouths as they whispered to one another. Trump’s legal team did the same.

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Crosswords, fidget spinners

Many of the 100 senators found it hard to sit in one place and refrain from talking or using electronics.

They fidgeted with their eyeglasses or rings. They even had fidget spinners, yes, those. Senators, including Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., were spotted with the spinners during the trial. 

As House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler started presenting and played video from the House inquiry about the constitutional basis for impeachment, Burr picked up his blue fidget spinner and started twirling it. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who sits next to Burr, looked over and smiled.

Most senators took notes or read through documents handed out by pages, but Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., found other materials to keep himself occupied. 

On Wednesday evening, Paul was filling out a crossword puzzle, surreptitiously putting it under a piece of paper on his desk. The next day, Paul sketched a doodle of the Capitol building, drawing it in his lap before putting it under a box of tissues on his desk.

Monday proceedings: Attention turns to the Bidens, and other highlights from the Senate Trump impeachment trial

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In their final day of opening arguments, Democrats lay out the Obstruction of Congress charge which is the second Article of Impeachment against President Trump.

USA TODAY

Snoozing senators

Last week, as Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., outlined the evidence leading House Democrats to charge the president with two articles of impeachment, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, slouched further back in his chair.

He cradled his head in hand as Demings argued that the chamber should subpoena the State Department for documents on Ukraine. A little more than four hours into the presentations, Risch shut his eyes and was the first spotted by USA TODAY to fall asleep. 

As the trial moved forward, he was joined by colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. 

Many senators were spotted yawning or roaming around the Senate floor to stretch. 

During last week’s presentations, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., fiddled with his watch, which he had taken off his wrist. Shortly after hour No. 7 last Tuesday, he looked at the time, then started dragging the dark band across his face, using it to create a mustache. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., got up and walked to the back of the chamber, taking off her black heels and taking a deep sigh. When she went back to her desk, she wrapped herself in a red shawl.

Senate impeachment trial: Fact-checking opening arguments of Trump’s defense team

Snacking and the notorious candy desk 

Senate rules allow for senators to drink water and milk on the floor. They aren’t supposed to eat or talk. 

But some members bent, or even broke, the rules. 

Throughout the long days of presentations, many Republicans would discreetly make their way over to desk of Sen. Toomey, R-Pa., as it contained the only food in the chamber: a drawer full of candy.

His Republican colleagues could be seen moseying over to his desk and eventually walking away, chewing on something. Toomey was spotted enjoying a chocolate bar or two as the proceedings went on. 

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The drawer was so popular that more chocolate was needed – a lot more. Outside Toomey’s office on Friday sat a pallet of hundreds of Hersey chocolate bars – a Pennsylvania staple. 

If they didn’t have a sweet tooth, senators told reporters that in each of their respective cloakrooms was an assortment of snacks. The snacks frequently lured senators from the floor, but occasionally someone would take one back to the floor and stealthily take bites, as though it was contraband.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., snacked on a bag of Cheetos in the back row of the chamber one evening last week, quietly crunching as proceedings resumed after a dinner break. He was joined by Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., who was having some cookies. 

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Discover the similar charges and differing reactions to the impeachment trials of President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump.

USA TODAY

Pages, thirsty senators 

The Senate floor is organized similar to a classroom. Each senator sits at a desk that has an indentation for pencils, facing toward the front of the room in rows. 

Pages, high school students who serve as helpers on the Senate floor, worked to pass out copies of presentations, handing a pile to one end of the row and telling senators to pass them down. 

The pages also served as senators’ primary way to stay hydrated. In the absence of soda and coffee, senators took advantage of the beverages available, asking pages to fetch them glasses of milk, the only option besides water. 

Live impeachment updates Tuesday: Trump’s defense team makes last day of arguments

Cotton and Burr were spotted with tall glasses of milk on their desks along with the glass of water given to every senator. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., went through two glasses as she jotted down notes while the managers discussed the timeline for the Trump administration withholding military aid from Ukraine. 

When senators ran out of milk and water, a Senate page could be spotted scurrying over to senators’ desks and coming back with full glasses. The pages could be spotted going to and from the Senate floor. 

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Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office due to impeachment. Confusing? Here’s how.

USA TODAY

Shaking heads and laughing

Body language can say a lot, including senators’ reactions to pivotal moments. 

Schiff stirred Republican criticism on Friday when he brought up a CBS report that a Trump confidante had told senators not to vote against him or “your head would be on a pike.”

That rankled key senators, including Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, both of whom have signaled they are on the fence about whether to join Democrats in calling for witnesses in the trial. 

“That’s not true,” Collins could be heard responding from the Senate floor. She shook her head in disapproval. Cotton laughed, pulled out a fidget spinner and started twirling it.

Republicans were not alone in using their body language to show their disagreement with points made by the other side.

On Monday, as Patrick Philbin, a deputy counsel to the president, defended the Trump administration’s withholding of documents and witnesses from House investigators on the basis of “absolute immunity,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., appeared to sigh, roll her eyes and look up at the ceiling. Throughout the day, Democrats appeared frustrated with the president’s defense. 

Many Democrats took issue with Trump’s counsel using about two hours on Monday to lay out a case against the Bidens. 

When Trump attorney Eric Herschmann hypothesized what the reaction would have been like “if Trump’s children were on an oligarch’s payroll?” reactions of disbelief rumbled through the Democratic side of the chamber. Many shook their heads, some raised their hands, others laughed or rolled their eyes. 

A few senators were quick to start whispering to one another, including Mark Warner, D-Va., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo. 

Later, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., threw his hands up in a giant shrug after Robert Ray, a member of the president’s counsel, criticized a project by The New York Times about the year 1619, marking 400 years since slaves first came to America.

Alan Dershowitz: Alan Dershowitz tells Senate Trump’s impeachment is unconstitutional – updates

After Ray said some have called it “inaccurate,” Kaine leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling as he smiled and shook his head. He looked back at Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who sits just behind him, and Kaine again shook his head.

Last Tuesday, when Schiff discussed a purported phone conversation between Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, and Trump in a restaurant in Ukraine, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chuckled to himself, seeming perplexed and exasperated with the retelling of the call, which included Sondland saying in colorful language that Ukraine loves Trump.

Graham was one of the more animated senators, often laughing at the House managers’ arguments and nodding along as Trump’s counsel decried the impeachment as a fraud.

Quiet in Senate chamber

Thursday’s presentation included a moment of gravity as Schiff delivered a closing speech that left the chamber quiet and appeared to leave one member of the public in tears. 

“Whether we can say it publicly, we all know what we’re dealing with here with this president. Donald Trump chose Rudy Giuliani over his own intelligence agencies. … That makes him dangerous. … Why would anyone in their right mind believe Giuliani over Christopher Wray?” Schiff asked the senators, mentioning the president’s attorney and the FBI director. 

In response, McConnell stared straight ahead while Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer peeked at his GOP colleagues. Many sat motionless, watching Schiff. 

A member of the public sitting in a balcony overlooking the chamber wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. The rest of the gallery appeared intrigued, leaning into Schiff’s testimony as he became more impassioned.

“Because right matters. And the truth matters. Otherwise, we are lost,” Schiff concluded to a silent chamber.

As he walked out of the room after the Senate adjourned, many of his Democratic colleagues expressed to him that he had done his job well. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., shouted “Adam!” and gave him a thumbs up.

Want to talk politics? Join our Facebook group ‘Across the Aisle, Across the Nation’

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Two key Republican senators criticized the slow pace of how the Democratic impeachment managers have been presenting their case, and they said they trusted American voters to decide President Donald Trump’s fate over the U.S. Senate. (Jan. 24)

AP Domestic

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