#Apologising for how rambly this probably is. It's 4am.

[total-drama-brainrot]

*looks at u w/ my chocolate orbs* opinions on mikesys

Not sure if you're talking about Mike and his alters, or Mickey from RR, but I'll assume it's the former.

I like Mike! I like the concept of his character - that being a "normal guy" who just so happens to have DID (or, given the show's airing period, I suppose he'd call it Multiple Personality Disorder). I'm... not so much a fan of the execution, but it's somewhat understandable that he's a little unrealistic as DID representation given the social standards of the time. If anything, the fact that he wasn't made into an antagonist is revolutionary! (Until, you know, All-stars ruined it.)

Mike as a character is fun. He's just a guy in a world, and nine times out of ten he's so done with whatever bullshit situation he's found himself in - it indicates that Mike's accustomed to finding himself in less than stellar situation thanks to his alters, which tracks given that most of them are definately predisposed to finding trouble. The number of times he's re-fronted in the show itself just to find himself in an awkward or otherwise distasteful situation thanks to whoever was fronting previously attests to this.

When it comes to my opinions on Mike himself, I found him a little too entrenched in the "everyman" personality to really care much for him. His character flaws are fairly generic and reasonable, which is to be expected from the "normal guy" archetype, yet his character strengths don't really have a chance to shine through as Mike.

The Zoke plotline was sweet, if a little painful to watch, but the main personality draw for the ship was Zoey (ironically enough). His alters are by far the most interesting aspect about him despite each only having a fraction of the screentime Mike himself gets, and Mike's own motivations are fairly unclear.

To clarify; Svetlana's motivated by being the best gymnast in the vicinity and showing off her acrobatic prowess, Manitoba's motivated by being the best conservationist/archeologist around (since he's, in all likelyhood, a culmination of an Indiana Jones fictive and Steve Irwin), Chester's motivated by Old Man Spite. Ect ect. Whereas Mike himself is just find of there? He's in the competition because... well, he had nothing better to do, and the prospect of a million dollars is too good to pass up, I guess.

Outside of his will-they-won't-they with Zoey, he forges a friendship with Cameron (though Mike and Cameron's rapport isn't really expanded on outside of Cameron trying his best to cover for Mike's DID) and, in his final episode, a sort-of rivalry with Scott, but otherwise he's fairly self contained in his system.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, more screen time outside of the Zoke plotline would've saved him.

Now, as far as his alters go, I have a pretty distinctive ranking for them:

Chester - He's relatable. I'm personally a big fan of grouchy old man characters when they're played for comedic effect, and Chester's consistantly funny in his brief appearences.

Svetlana - Do I need to clarify? She's Svetlana. She would be my #1 if I wasn't so biased towards Chester.

Vito - He's a fun character to watch, and technically he didn't do anything wrong despite the show itself trying to paint Vito and Anne Maria's relationship(?) as a bad thing, but he loses point for being Italian (/j).

Manitoba Smith - He's alright. Not as entertaining as the other personalities, and he loses even more points for the blatant sexism.

I haven't watched All-stars so I can't in good faith rank Mal.

... I wish Total Drama was good. Mike and his system could've been great.

[pinencurls]

4 am freak out

TW for blood I guess. Not proof read  1.7k  words 

It already all felt so familiar. Eating dinner and fighting to wash the dishes before Harry inevitably wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her away from the sink. Despite her protests that he cooked them his famous curry so she really should wash up, he always fought it. Eventually, they’d stumble their way up the stairs, guided by kisses or hands held tightly towards the bedroom where they’d cascade in a pile of limbs on Harry’s king bed, fit with sheets Y/n didn’t doubt cost twice her rent. 

Y/n and Harry have been dating for five months now but with busy schedules throwing them to opposite sides of the Atlantic, Y/n had only spent the night at Harry's a handful of times. Sure she practically lived with him when he was home to quiet his persistent complaints of not seeing her enough in the short windows he had in London, but she had a cat and plenty of plants to care for so she'd often slink off home after their second rom-com of the evening and be back the next day after work to repeat.

 After Harry briefly serenading Y/n with his toothpaste-y rendition of Sunday Love and Y/n slipping an old tour tee of Harry's over her head, they were both on the cusp of sleep. Both their works demanded busy days and high energy from them so they were relieved to finally melt into the plush mattress and cocoon deeper into each other's holds. Between Y/n's soothing, even breaths and Harry brushing his thumb in circles over her knuckles, they were asleep in seconds. 

Y/n had gotten used to waking up Harry's arms squeezing tightly around her middle and a groggy voice murmuring good morning in her ear, so she was slightly confused when her eyes shot open and all she was met with was pitch black. Trying to get her bearings she glances around; Harry's fast asleep beside her, having rolled away from her slightly but still reaching a hand out to her in his sleep. As her brain wakes up and focuses on the situation, a sharp twisting pain clenches her stomach. Y/n doubles over and reaches down to the mattress to stable herself and instead of the clean sheets she expects, he fingers meet a warm dampness that has her cursing under her breath. 

She'd been so preoccupied the last few days she hasn't even realised she was three days late for her period. Pushing the sheets off her legs to access the damage she almost starts crying right there. She'd bled through the pair of boxers she'd stolen from Harry weeks ago and straight onto the sheets in a dark red circle the blared up at her against the perfect white surrounding. She peels the comforter the rest of the way off her legs to save it from the dreaded area beneath her as she glances back over her shoulder at the sleeping figure, curls covering most of his face and soft snores escaping his lips. 

Harry seems undisturbed by her panicked shuffling and in a moment of instinct, she throws her legs off the bed and rushes for the bathroom. She hardly notices tears streaming down her flushed cheeks as she locks the door behind her and scrambles around desperately for her wash bag. She was sure she'd packed a pad or two in here a while ago when she'd been due and staying with Harry. Her breathing hitched and wavered unsteadily with the influx of sobs working their way out of her. She pushed her toothbrush and face cloths to the side and still, there was nothing, no hopeful crinkle of the purple package insight. Sitting back on her heels she dropped the small bag to the floor and covered a hand over her mouth to try and calm herself down. 

Fuck. Why was this happening? How could she go out there and just wake Harry up crying, he was going to be so mad. She couldn’t help but wonder how much her stupid mistake was gonna cost him.

As her breathing calmed to a point where she could at least plan how she was going to deal with the next few minutes, she rose to her feet again. A quick glance in the mirror has her shaky again at the sight of a glaring stain on her shorts but with little control she slipped the lock to the side and opened the bathroom door again, preparing for the embarrassment she was about to face.

She knows Harry's not the type to find periods gross or to make her feel embarrassed but she couldn't help but dread the whole situation. There was a sweet domesticity to Harry running her baths and calling her to ask which chocolate she prefers but Y/n was struggling to find anything cute in waking her boyfriend up at 4am to tell him she'd bled a small pool beside where he'd been peacefully sleeping.  

She couldn't just leave it be and expect him not to notice in the morning though. As much as she wanted to believe she could just catch a night bus home and never speak of it again, she treads softly towards his side of the bed and rubs his back, gently begging him to wake up quickly so this could all be over.

"Harry?" She calls lightly, running her fingers through his hair now - something she always did to wake him up when he was sleeping in on important work days they'd both rather avoid. "Harry, Love you've gotta wake up.."

He begins to stir now, grumbling under his breath and reaching out to grab the hand she'd had in his hair. With a light tug on her arm Y/n's falling into his side and is almost wrapped up in his spare arm when she pushes away from him, still acutely aware of the stain on her shorts she doesn't want to spread onto anymore expensive bedding.

"Y/n?" His face scrunches up in confusion as he reaches out for her again, propping himself up by his elbows when she takes a step back. "Baby..what's wrong?"

Amidst the adrenaline of getting the whole ordeal over with Y/n forgot about her tear stained, no doubt pretty red cheeks. They were clear to Harry as he sat up straight and finally pulled Y/n towards him, holding her in place between his legs as his hands came to cradle her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" An onslaught of new tears simmered up in Y/n's eyes that Harry brushed away instinctively, concern building inside him as more time passed with no answers. "Y/n talk to me okay? What's wrong - what happened?"

"I-I'm so sorry..I was so busy and I, I forgot!" Harry's only more confused by this, tilting Y/n's face to make her looks at him directly for the first time since he woke up. "I swear I'll clean everything or replace it just please don't be mad."

He caught on to her hand hovering over her stomach and how her eyes were flitting back between his face and over his shoulder to her side of the bed. Despite her quick efforts to keep his head facing her, he turned and saw the small red splotch behind him. Instantly reassured he turned back and pulled her again to straddle his waist, guiding her head gently to rest in the crook of his neck.

"I'd never be mad at you Love, never okay?" Her head lulls back to look up at his face, the tiredness creeping back in as he cradled her.

"I'll buy you new sheets I promise - and I'll be more careful next time I-I just forgot and shit-" She scurries back off his lap, looking down at her shorts in a panic again. "I-Fuck I'm sorry I ruined your bed and your boxers and now it's probably on you and I-"

"Woah woah!" Harry hated this, hated that she was so frightened of how he might react and so sure that he'd be angry. "Take a breath okay? You're not gonna buy me anything, we're just gonna put everything in the wash and run you a bath yeah, yeah?"

"Yeah.."  She mumbled, giving into his persistence and laying against his chest again.

"S'just blood Lovie, 's nothing to be mad about." Her head bops slightly as she nods against his neck and Harry can finally take a deep breath again. It definitely wasn't his favourite thing in the world to be woken up by his sobbing girlfriend a 4am with no explanation of who might be hurt.  

"Let's get you your bath yeah," He coos, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"It's half four Har.." She giggles, leaning back to catch another glimpse of his face to find a sleepy smile on his lips.

"I'm gonna make it better though," He glances down at where her palm's still pressed flat against her abdomen. "It hurts?" He mumbles as more of an explanation than a question.

"A little bit..jus' wanna sleep though." Harry nods, leaning forwards to stand with Y/n still in his arms. "Har- Where are you going?"

"Might have to sleep in the guest room tonight, Babe." A quick wave of embarrassment surges through Y/n again as she'd completely forgot the reason they were awake so late for just a moment.

"'m sorry I-" She rambles as they make down the hall to the spare room.

"Stop apologising!" Harry throws her playfully down onto the guest mattress, coming to prop himself up on top of her. "Stay 'ere, gonna get you s'more shorts."

"Wait I-" Y/n grabs his wrist stopping him for a second, "I don't have any pads Har..."

It's her turn to be confused now as he looks back at her with his eye brows scrunched together.

"I got you some.." She shakes her head as he nods back at her. "Yeah, under the sink there's a ton...didn't know which ones you liked."

Y/n almost feels like melting, a smile pulling at the sides of her mouth as she's plunged back into the domestic ease being at Harry's always brought.

"Awww Harry!" She gushes, playing with his fingers and admiring the light blush on his cheeks. "You're so sweet."

"Shud'up" He grumbles, pulling his hand from hers and running off to gather supplies before she catches the tomato splotches now covering his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

                                       Requests are always open !!

Hiii sorry this was kinda short I just really wanted to write something today and this is what came out first !

My masterlist 

[chimtaera]

imagine model namjoon.

ok let’s not kid ourselves

boy’s already a model

he’s got the body.

got the looks.

what can i say, he’s no super model (too clumsy), but he get’s around with the more diverse castings yanno

probably got started on instagram,

with his #kimdaily outfits

which are sometimes just chill, pretty, sporty, casual, cool

and other times completely wacky and just ??? how did you even think to wear those ??? at the same time?? together ???

he always looks good tho

but some looks will give you whiplash. ur warned.

but that’s part of his appeal tbh

hhhh probably gains a lot of popularity when one of those more ‘out there’ outfits circulates on twitter or reddit and people are like “hOW does he make that work??? why does it look good??? is he just that hot??”

the answer is yes.

from there he builds a solid following.

for his great looks, great fashion sense, and his 4am instagram stories that are just a black pic with like a three paragraph text about how rain might feel if it had feelings.

also, solid music recommendations omg 

you probably make ur own spotify playlist with just his recommendations.

ok ok so you best bELIEVE when this boy finally gets cast for a show he’s gonna fall on his ass and go viral

claim to fame baby

probably becomes a meme and rolls with it tbh

like he’ll share the memes in his story, so as not to ruin the ・ﾟ:*aesthetic*:・ﾟand react to them and shit

but then also get on live and talk at length about how faceplanting on the catwalk impacts your self-esteem, how he’s habit he could benefit positively from such an embarrassing moment, and how there’s a lesson for everyone here, and that he hopes all our embarrassing moments may in some way benefit us one day.

he’s such a sweetheart im-

so you might be a stylist?

a hair stylist?

makeup artist?

fellow model?

whatever you’re comfortable with.

you definitely see him on instagram first tho

you came for the memes but are super impressed with his profile and end up staying for the music.

...... and him.

he’s hot, come on.

also 90% of networking is done on instagram these days let us be real.

okay so oNE DAY, or like late evening, who cares

he post a music recommendation and you’re like !!!!!!!!

it’s that low key indie band with like only one EP out that you found on some obscure spotify playlist and you’ve been jamming to since october

and apparently namjoon has too because they’ve released a new single and you didn’t even know ????

and you’re so excited your fingers slip and oopsie you’ve sent a short but rambling message explaining exactly that into his DM’s

instant regret.

then the anxiety bubbles up in you.

and then you calm yourself and convince yourself that he gets a LOT of messages he probably won’t even see yours, so it’s fine it’s fine it’s-

next morning you have a reply

a new follow

and a mcfUCKING LIKE ON A PICTURE OF YOU FROM TWO WEEKS AGO

yikes, you didn’t even have time to give your feed a spring cleaning

you just like his short “ikr!!!!”, too mortified to reply.

alas, the regrets!

but also

the butterflies.

then you see him at an event one time.

it’s fashion week, you’re hecking busy and about to leave because it’s like midnight and you’ve got places to be tomorrow

but it’s always so strange to see people from insta irl like ??? all those dimensions??? you really be lookign like that ??? damn.

once you’ve stared long enough to be certain that’s actually what he looks like (so handome!!! so tall!!!! wtf!!!! who allowed this??) you turn to leave just as he glances up and cetches your eye for like the tiniest fraction of a second

and you hightail it outta there and hope to heaven he doesn’t know you were staring.

but he likes your pic from the party the next morning and you almost choke on your coffee and the lump in your throat stays there all day

and you’re like, am i?? catching feelings ??? for the catwalk faceplant guy??? you’ve never even talked to the man smh

he’s fucking hot tho.

so, fashion week ends and with it comes another party

you can finally relax, celebrate, wind down from the long week.

yA THOUGHT lmao

you’re talking to some designer about their next project and they’re going on about this instagram dude who’s already on board when they start waving someone over like “hey hey, there he is, y/n have you met kim namjoon yet?”

you turn around you’re like !!!!! fuck. he’s so much taller up close.

“hey, no, yeah, no, but i’ve seen you on, uh, on instagram. i think.” smooth, y/n.

after introductions, the designer gets pulled along into some other conversation and you and namjoon are kinda awkward for a minute.

you just sip your drink like ‘fuck fuck fuckfuck fuck aaaaaaa’

but then he asks you easy questions about what you do and what you’ve been working on this week and it’s the same thing you’ve been talking about with everyone you’ve met this week so it goes pretty smoothly

he makes it easy for you, like he’s very attentive, nods along enthusiastically asking follow-up questions and seems genuinely interested in your work it’s so nice! he’s so nice!

and you ask him the same things you’ve asked everyone else this week like you haven’t seen everything on his instagram already.

actually you’ve missed a few things since you’ve been so busy and your interest is genuine, before you know it the two of you are at a table and getting along like a house on fire, showing each other pics from the week.

he asks you send him a pic from one of the shows he didn’t get to see and when he do he’s sees your old messages and is like ?? oh !!

i mean, he totally knew it was you, but he had forgotten the part about that obscure indie band and the new single, so he shows you!

you’ve been following them even closer since then so you know they’re playing a gig in like two weeks and you tell him.

turns out he’s missed this info because of fashion week and he’s super excited!! you guys have to go together!!!¨

“i mean, we don’t have to- it’s just, i don’t know anyone else who listens to them, i could probably go alone, but, you know, it would be cool-”

and of course you’ll go with him, so you two exchange numbers and end up texting the next two weeks.

at first you’re just making tentative plans to meet and go to to the gig, but then there’s a gallery opening the same day, and you know this realy good thrift shop nearby that he should check out, and you guys should get dinner before because namjoon knows this really cool place and-

and it’s a date.

namjoon has every intention to kiss you that night after the gig, but he wants to ask you first and he’s not sure exactly how so he’s just like “um ??? can i ??? uhhh ?? do you ??? uh”

and ur like, “hey, namjoon, i really want u to kiss me, please?”

the rest is history.

you two are too cute, with your instagram aesthetic and lowkey couple outfits, and highkey couple pics, i’d follow.

you two would be gOALS, and it does wonders for both your careers tbh

omg imagine all the cool collaborations you two could do.

and eventually namjoon would go viral again when the paparazzi captures him spilling his coffee and your cute reaction.

but the best thing about dating model namjoon is he makes you your very own playlist.

and you get your very own story highlight with all the aesthetic pics he snaps of you just like buying milk and stealing his fries, and exploring the city on sundays afternoons, going vintage shopping and reading in the park, titled: “bae.” with every colour heart.

hyping each other in the comments always.

and the thirst omg

anyway, nsfw under the cut.

so you take it kinda slow at first because turns out namjoon has a huge crush on you and he lowkey can’t keep his hands off you but also wants to “date you properly”, whatever that means.

props to you if you get impatient with him and tease him a little, a thirst trap here, a netflix and chill there, sending a sexy song his way, or even better post it on your story for him to see.

if it doesn’t provoke him to action it’ll at least get him hard flustered, which is cute.

in the end joon is a soft boy and you can sit up all night talking, so you end up talking about sex long before having it.

and that just makes it all the more special tbh

and when it does happen, it’s like everything else the two of you do, a little awkward at first, a little clumsy, fumbly, but a lot of fun, and it’s namjoon, and you love namjoon. so, so much.

like it doesn’t matter if he accidentally bumps your nose, because he’ll apologise and the two of you will just giggle and continue. 

and he might pull your hair on accident, but that way you can admit to him that it’s.. kinda hot.

and when your teeth collide when you kiss it’s only because any amount of distance between you quickly becomes unbearable, and you both need each other so, so much.

imagine slow, lazy sunday morning snuggle fuck with namjoon.

and then later when you’re on a blanket in the park reading both your books he’ll get distracted, thinking about it, lean in close and tell you something ridiculous like he wishes you would wake him up by sitting on his face.

and imagine backstage heavy petting after a show, leaving the afterparty early, because you’re both buzzing with unrelieved tension and namjoon is very hard in his pants, pressing himself against you as you try to have a polite conversation with some influencer.

love, love, loooooves, watching you ride.

and he’ll go down on you for hours if you let him, honestly.

anytime, anywhere tbh

how did you get so lucky?

[panevanbuckley]

these prompts are really cute 🥺 could i request 27 + webgott please?

okay i have never written for either of these guys, let alone as a couple, so i apologise in advance for the fact that they're probably ooc 😭 however, i do kinda like this still? hopefully it's fluffy enough that you don't hate it haha 💜 tysm for sending this!

things you said on the phone at 4am

“-and then fucking Mike goes and crashes the cab, right? So I'm left running ‘round the damn city picking up his slack. Like I don't have enough shit going on!” Joe stresses, fully aware that it's gone 4am and both he and David should be asleep. It's not his fault, though; David rang him. And David was the one who asked how his day went. “I listened to your tape, though.” he laughs, “Seriously, babe, who still makes mixtapes now?”

“I thought it would be romantic!” David whines. “You're always complaining about the radio stations.”

“I liked it.” he interrupts before David can get too upset. And he really did. David had clearly spent a lot of time on it; he'd put all of Joe's favourite songs on it, in the right order too (“You can't listen to Eminem after AC/DC, for fuck's sake, there's gotta be some sort of transition!”). “It's perfect.”

“Are you sure?” David asks. “Because I can make another one, there were loads more songs I didn't even get to add and I'm pretty sure you said you prefer.” Joe starts to tune his rambling out, David tends to speak before he thinks when it gets late. He yawns into his arm, careful not to be loud so David wouldn't force him to sleep yet. They weren't living together yet and, between his job and David's studying, they rarely got time to speak to one another.

Their late night calls have become a pleasant routine that Joe looks forward to all day.

“I love you.” he says suddenly, stopping David in his tracks, not entirely sure where the unexpected affection had come from. “And yes, I'm positive that I like the tape.”

David’s silent for all but a minute before he says something that takes them both by complete surprise.

“Marry me?” he blurts out. A fumbling echoes down the line, followed by a thump that can only be his dumb boyfriend falling off of his bed.

Joe pauses, teeth digging into his lip, as the words spin in his mind. “Did you...” he blinks up at his ceiling, watching the faint flash of passing headlights reflect off of the white paint and light up the dark surrounding him. “Did you seriously just propose to me over the phone?!”

“Shit!” David's scrabbling can be heard, muffled curses aimed no doubt at the ridiculous amount of blankets that probably fell down with him. Joe can't help but smile to himself. “Sorry, I just- you said... and I just...” he groans into his phone. Joe can picture the look of panic on his face. He almost feels bad for him.

Almost.

“It slipped out. I didn't mean it-”

“You fucking better have meant it.”

“I swear- wait, what? Are you saying yes?”

Is he? Maybe it's the oddly peaceful atmosphere of his room that night, maybe it's the sound of traffic outside his crappy apartment or the way the neon red clock flicks to 04:02 next to him just to remind him that he only has three hours left until he's supposed to be up again for work. Maybe it's how his brain is screaming at him that nothing good happens after 2am but his heart is flooded with memories of late nights spent with David and swelling with the unmistakable love he holds for the man.

His smile softens.

“Not until you get your ass over here and ask me properly.” he teases, knowing full well that David can hear the happiness in his voice and, for once, not giving a fuck. The things this man does to him.

David doesn't even say goodbye, he just hangs up the phone.

Not even half an hour later, there's a knock on his door.

also on ao3 prompt list

[witchmd13]

Sorry you’re not feeling great about things. Sending love and hugs and all those cute and magical stuff that Luke tells Lorelai to think about, when they’re at the hospital in 1x10. Is it bad I knew the episode number by heart? Probably, but oh wells. I’ve got more knowledge on gg then I do about any of the books I’m currently studying at uni. No regrets tho. Hmm.. what to ask, what to ask? 🤔 I haven’t watched Merlin other than an episode here and there when it was on tv but if you want you could ramble to me about it. Or try convince me to watch it, if it’ll help. Or we can chat about anything gilmore related. At this point you know I could talk endlessly about Luke and Lorelai. My bestie once, when sleeping over started talking about the show just so I would start talking endlessly about it and therefore we wouldn’t sleep yet, instead just talk. It was already late. I think 4am or something and she was going to work the next day. No idea why she still wanted to stay up even later but she got me ranting about Chris, I think. Or it might have been about a fanfic I was reading at the time. Don’t remember at this point. All I know is that she said Gigi’s name wrong and we spent a good hour just laughing about that with our sleep deprived brains. So basically my brain 90% of the time. Lol, I love how this turned into me just rambling off a story you probably have zero interest in. 😂 oops, apologise for that. Anyway, I’ll stop now before I rattle out another random story for no particular reason other then that’s just how my weird brain works. Weird story time aside, I hope all is well, and if you ever want to talk about anything, I’m here 💕Lots of love, L

I have the entire series memorized (well, maybe not so much s7. I think I only watched it fully 2 or 3 times) and I now got to the point where I mouth the lines with the characters 😂 if it’s bad that you know episodes numbers by heart, I’m the worst haha I even keep a few episodes downloaded on my laptop for when I’m at work or studying somewhere and don’t have the internet for some reason. 

I could talk endlessly about it too, trust me. I watched the revival with my sister, who only watched the show once a long time ago, and I think I scared her with all the things I was pointing out. She was actually the reason that made me give the revival a second chance, because I realized that to someone who wasn’t a frantic fan, the revival was actually kind of sweet and served its purpose. It tackled the main questions we got left with with s7′s final and gave us the ending we were originally going to get. Everything else is secondary. 

I love that story 😂 you make me wanna rant about Chris. I think the show did him so dirty. I get that ASP wanted Rory to have all these daddy issues and to emphasize Lorelai’s role as a single mom/wonder woman, but they never gave him a chance. Also he ends up working for his parents?! After putting his life together and raising Gigi alone, he still fails to do the one thing he ever wanted? And I know he wasn’t a very good dad or partner to Lorelai. Even Emily calls him “a weak, but a charming boy” but come on, even he deserved something better. He did lose Lorelai and didn’t get to be close to Rory ever.  

You should watch Merlin. It has beautiful characters and brilliant actors that keep you watching even when the plot isn’t great. You don’t realize it at first but they grow on you. Personally, I don’t like fantasy, and at first didn’t want to watch the show because of that, but Merlin has a human story at the heart of it, which was what made me love it. It’s a lot like GG like that, for me at least. 

thank you for making me rant about my two favorite shows 😂💖💖

[sungchan-luvr]

𝑹𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏 - 𝑳𝒆𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏

"'𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒚 ♡"

-

If it wasn't for the flickering light in the distance, I would have sworn that I had been attacked with a sudden rush of insomnia. My bed sheets were twisted around my body from my tossing and turning so often. All I really wanted was to get some rest. But with that light, it seemed almost impossible. I sighed. This was hopeless. I opened my eyes and saw the light once again flickering outside my window. The light was too distracting, making me unable to close my eyes and drift off to a dream-filled sleep. On, off, on, off. It was starting to get really annoying.

I turn towards my side table to look at my phone. The light of my phone slightly hurts my eye due to the sudden brightness. It was 2 am and I still couldn't sleep. While looking through my phone my stomach starts rumbling. "Ramen won't hurt right now" I thought to myself. I get out of bed, struggling cause of the blankets being wrapped around me. I throw on an oversized hoodie and walk out of my shared apartment. I was passed the flickering light silently cursing at it, hoping someone would fix it soon. I walk into the convenience store greeting the tired looking cashier, I grab a few chip packets for me and my roommate knowing that if i didn't get anything for her she would probably kill me. I walked to the ramen section, my favourite ramen caught my eye and there was only one left.

I was about to get the last pack of ramen when someone grabbed it at the same time. I didn't notice that there was another person in the store. I look beside me to see a boy with beautiful tan skin. He reminded me of the sun, golden and just beautiful. "Hey, I was going to take it...." I stuttered for some unknown reason. "I took it first" he said bluntly while walking away. I sigh, could this night get any worse. I walk up to the counter with just the packet of chips and a drink, I was about to leave the store when i heard someone call me. "Hey, you" said the same voice before but this time more friendly. "Im sorry bout how I acted before, you wanna share?". I was shocked by the sudden question, well was i going to say yes and eat my favourite ramen with a complete stranger who i didn't even know, or go back home wishing i could have had some ramen. "Uh..sure" i say hesitantly. "Its fine im not going to poison you, im good at making ramen." he said chuckling.  

I sat down across from him, it was kinda awkward at first. "Are you new around here, i haven't seen u around before" he lied. "Uh...nah me and my friend have been living here for 5 months now" i replied. "Oh thats a bummer, i could have showed u around" he mumbled softly not loud enough for me to hear. "Sorry what was that" i asked. "Oh nothing.. I'm Dong-hyuck but my friends call me Haechan, Full sun or God of Visuals (I mean that aint wrong bahah)" he replied joking bout the last part. "Hahah, that's nice, Im y/n y/l , just y/n l/n".  

"So why are u here eating ramen in the middle of night with a random stranger you dont know?", he questioned. "Well technically we aren't strangers anymore we are acquaintances", I replied back smartly as a joke. " Haha true,but really why, is everything okay?". "Yeh yeh its just im kinda stressed out lately, i recently just moved out with my friend, and we both are looking for part time jobs". "And not to mention that fucking light that wont stop blinking outside my window" I said answering his question. ".... haha whoops that might be my fault, me and my friends were walking down the street drunk on my birthday and I might have accidentally thrown something at the light" he replied laughing nervously.  I gave him a death glare. "Jk im not mad, anyway what bout u"? " Oh well i usually sleep late, my sleep cycle (whatever u call it) is kinda messed up when I don't have any sched- i mean when i dont have Uni. Plus Doyoung was being annoying as usual, he refused to make me something to eat and we ran out of ramen, so here i am. "D-doyoung?" I repeated slightly confused . "Ohhh....one of my roommates". I nodded slowly listening to the rest of what he was saying. But that name started lingering in my head. I swear to god the name Doyoung and Haechan sound so familiar. But where have i heard it before?

We continued talking for a long time, laughing and getting to know each other. We had plenty of things in common, he was really chill and was pretty nice. Unlike what I first thought when we "first met". Our conversation about how annoying our roommates were got interrupted when i got plenty of texts from my roommate herself. "y/n where tf r u. I got up to get a glass of water and you were gone. It fucking 4 in the morning" it read. Holy shit 4am already, i look at the top of my phone to see 4:09 displayed. "Omg im sooo sorry i have to go, i didn't realise the time, you should go to, im soo sorry" i apologised once again. "Hey its fine, again my sleep scheduled is pretty messed up im used to sleeping at this time". "Im not really that tired, do u mind if i walk u home, I dont wanna head back just yet" he replied kinda nervous. "Oh sure" i said smiling. I was glad I had company walking back.

We laughed along the way back to my apartment. I scolded him for being too loud, afraid we might disturb the people around at this time. "Shhh" i laughed while playfully hitting him . We arrived at my apartment and as i was about to head in...."Well then I hope to see u around, and hopefully next time I don't have to break the light to get your attention" he said quickly while quickly running away. And entering the apartment diagonally across the street. That's when it clicked.  

<<<<Flashback>>>

"Hey Haechan dude, look the girl you like just moved in across the street ", doyoung yelled loudly at Haechan as a joke trying to embarrass him. "Omg Doyoung you so fuckin annoying". "Im sorry bout him, he is joking, welcome to the neighbourhood btw" he yelled to me before pushing doyoung back inside. " Taeyong hyung Doyoung's being a little bitch again" haechan yelled inside the house. I just started laughing confused about what had just happened. Something inside  told me that moving here was one of the best decisions of my life but i dont know.

<<< Reality>>>

I laughed to myself quietly realising that i was right about how i had felt that day.I walked into my apartment, welcomed by my VERY confused roommate."Hey" i simply said. "Dont HEY me, Yah where were u, i thought u got kidnapped or something..." she kept rambling on. I started walking into my room. "Bro are u even listening to me, whats gotten into u" she asked while shaking her head going into her room. I laid in bed hugging my pillow while smiling like an idiot. I can finally fall asleep now, cause maybe I could "run into him" the next day.

- 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝑮

[malecsecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @shipnotised!

Read on AO3

*****

My Telltale Heart

“Wow. You look like crap.”

Alec did indeed look like crap, and he knew that; 11am was too early to start a Saturday shift in general, let alone when he’d been up until 4am writing feverishly. He still gave Duncan an incredibly unimpressed glare, though.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t do my make-up on lunch break, but I was too busy trying not to throw myself out of the window,” he said, voice as flat as his patience was thin. He ignored Lindsay in the corner, proclaiming that a “mood”.

“Well if you need make-up tips, you can always ask Magnus,” he snickered.

“Stop being a dick to him,” Lindsay said from the depths of her locker.

“Who the fuck is Magnus?” Alec asked.

“One of the new temps lol,” Duncan answered, literally saying “lol” with his mouth and

annoying Alec even more – which he didn’t think possible. “Linds thinks he’s handsome.”

“He IS handsome.”

Duncan snorted. “And obviously gay. He wears makeup. Everyone knows him already Alec, I can’t believe you don’t.”

Alec had already shut his locker – a little too forcefully after Duncan’s comment – and had started making his way out of the room, but turned to address him anyway.

“Like Lindsay said, quit being a dick.” She nodded sagely in the background, validated. “He probably looks better in makeup than you do without. Besides, I never usually learn people’s names unless they’re obviously going to stay and be important to me. But maybe I’ll make an effort for this Magnus – what do you think, Dennis?” He smirked and shrugged lightly before leaving the room and getting back to work. He distinctly heard Lindsay’s laughter behind him.

It was a Saturday though, and he was entirely too busy to give this mysterious Magnus much thought in amongst mentally ranting at every asshole who thought it was okay to leave half empty coffee cups all over his shop. He ran the whole mens floor more often than not, which was fine, he could handle that. What wasn’t fine was the absolute clowns he had been saddled with that day. Surely, it wasn’t that hard to read a label and work out where, roughly, an item belonged? It was fortunate that all the tills were staffed so he wasn’t needed there. He fucking hated the tills.

Obviously, the two new kids with him that day just had to leave dead on time, leaving him to effectively close up the entire floor on his own. By the time 10pm rolled around, he was cursing under his breath. Was it so hard for people to put things back where they’d gotten them from?

“As wonderfully colourful as you’re painting the air, can I offer any assistance?” came a voice from behind him, making Alec realise that his muttering hadn’t been quite as under his breath as he’d thought. He turned, either to justify himself or apologise – he hadn’t quite decided – but the words caught in his throat once he’d saw the owner of the voice. It was quite a voice, and this man was quite the owner. He made the simple all black uniform requirement look haute couture, with a brocade waistcoat over the plain button up shirt, and rings that looked far nicer than anything on display in the jewellery counter on the floor below.

“I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced,” said the beautiful man, offering a hand out to Alec. “I’m Magnus.”

“Alec,” he offered as freely as his smile. He fumbled with the multipack of socks he was still holding before taking Magnus’s hand, holding it perhaps a little longer than strictly necessary. It didn’t seem like Magnus minded.

“We should- are you sure? It’s late,” Alec stumbled out eventually.

“I’m positive. If it’s late for me, then it’s late for you too, Alec.”

“Thank you,” he conceded. “It’s just the rest of this-“ he gestured vaguely to the area around him – “to do.”

There was truthfully only about another half hours work in it for him, but with Magnus assisting him in comfortable silence, they were done in under fifteen. Alec took a moment to slyly check whether he’d have to stay a little longer just to make sure the sections he hadn’t done himself were acceptable – Magnus was new, and Alec had high standards – but it was with relief that Alec noted Magnus clearly knew what he was doing.

“Do you have to get someone to check before we leave?” Magnus asked.

“Normally, yeah, but they trust me to get it right. Thank you, Magnus, I really appreciate it,” Alec said, with a sincerity his colleagues rarely got to hear.

“Well, you definitely don’t look a damsel, but I can’t resist aiding someone in distress,” Magnus said succinctly, with a twinkle in his eye that intrigued Alec. He didn’t make friends that easily, but there was something about Magnus that he really couldn’t quantify. He felt like they could be very good friends, and he found that, unlike himself, he wasn’t averse to trying.

“I’m this way,” Alec indicated, once they’d signed out and left the store. The early November air was biting at this time of night, his ears an unfortunate victim.

“Ah, I’m the opposite. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“No, I got lucky and get Sundays off. Monday?”

Magnus grimaced. “I’m a student, I can only work weekends unfortunately. I guess I’ll see you next week then, Alexander.”

The use of his full name startled him, though not as much as the realisation that he didn’t mind it when it came from Magnus. “Yeah, Um, how did you-“

“Lucky guess,” Magnus smiled. “Do you mind it?”

“I think I’ll let you call me that,” Alec smiled back. “Good night, Magnus.”

“Good night, Alexander.”

And so it was that they spent every Saturday lunch break together. Alec was always scheduled for the long shift, and while Magnus’s shifts only ever started as soon as Alec’s breaks would finish, he was always around an hour early. Alec asked him about it, and Magnus shrugged.

“My lunch options are more varied around here,” he said.

Alec asked Magnus a lot of things, and answered just as many. He took Magnus to Taki’s, a little nearby diner that did amazing spanakopita and other Greek pastries. Thalia, the old lady running the place, had long taken a shine to Alec and insisted on giving him free treats – he accepted, purely on the basis that he’d sneak a good tip in when she wasn’t looking. She knew, and he knew she knew, but they didn’t speak about it. What was important was that she took a great liking to Magnus too, especially when he spoke to her in broken Greek.

“You speak Greek?” he asked, on their first visit there.

“Only a little,” Magnus conceded. “I speak a few other languages somewhat fluently, and figured since I’m good at them, I may as well learn them.”

It turned out that Magnus knew Spanish, French, and Italian (“once you’ve got one romance language down you’ve basically got the others”), a little Greek, a little Dutch, and was fluent in Indonesian. Alec found out that Magnus was actually from Indonesia, though moved as a young teen to America to live with his father. He eventually moved to New York when he refused to join the “family business” – whatever that was, Magnus never specified – and was a grad student studying particle physics now.

Alec, in turn, told Magnus about his family, about sharing an apartment with his siblings and he and Jace working so Izzy could focus on med school. He told Magnus about his mother and Max, trying to help how they could even though they were left with very little after Robert left them. He even told Magnus about Robert, about him being that cold kind of homophobic that tolerated him, but did not accept him.

They spent one memorable Saturday at the very start of December discussing books. Alec didn’t usually allow himself to get carried away in conversation, sweeping hand gestures punctuating his words, but he was talking about something he loved and – well. He trusted Magnus enough to be himself with him, to live a little more freely – similar, but even more so, to how he was with Izzy and Jace.

“I just- stories are such an inherently human art, you know? The best stories echo through time in their original forms simply because humans don’t change all that much, despite era or culture. That’s the goal,” he rambled. Magnus frowned a little, head tilting, and Alec thought that it might have been the cutest thing he’d ever seen a person do – and Max was a cute child.

“Do you write, Alexander?” he asked. Alec froze.

“I-“ he licked his lips, and leaned in. Magnus did the same, and Alec lowered his voice. “Don’t tell anyone, but… yeah. I do. Not even Jace and Izzy know. I don’t know why I don’t tell them, it’s not like I’ll ever get published, but…”

“It’s nice to have something for yourself,” Magnus finished.

“Yeah,” Alec smiled. “You read my mind. Maybe one day, I’ll put it out there, but for now,” he simply shrugged.

“If you ever decide to put your writing out there, I’ll be first in line. Knowing you, I have no doubt it’ll be incredible.”

The sheer belief that Magnus had in him, the trust after only four weeks, broke something down in Alec that he had no idea he’d even built. Suddenly, he wanted Magnus to know him like no one else – or maybe, it wasn’t sudden at all.

He leant down, rummaging around in the small bag he brought with him and pulling out his tattered cheap notebook, flicking it to the most recent page. He carried it with him to work, favoured green pen tucked into the spiral binding, in case inspiration struck him while commuting or on break (he would always leave the store on lunch, even Before Magnus – and wasn’t it something, that Alec was separating his life into Before Magnus and After Magnus?). Alec mostly wrote fiction, short stories, poured out his frustrations and lived his wildest dreams in them, and yet, on that morning’s train, he’d found himself hit with a three-quarter formed idea and rushed to scribble it down.

It was a sonnet, structured like Shakespeare’s ones, and its underlying tone was… hopeful. New beginnings, new bonds, change that was welcome. He consciously made another change now, in sliding the notebook over to Magnus.

“This came to me on the train this morning, so uh – I don’t know if it’s any good. But I trust you to be honest with me if it sucks,” he laughed nervously, hands starting to rub themselves nervously without a conscious thought.

Magnus was silent as he read, and though he read quickly, it seemed to Alec like a whole hour passed, rather than a minute. He watched Magnus read, watched his eyes widen, until Magnus looked up at him with a look on his face of… awe?

“Alexander,” he said, voice hushed. “This is incredible.”

“You… think so?” he replied, blush beginning to rise. Magnus nodded.

“You have a real skill for words, darling. None of the languages I speak could be as beautiful as your own.”

Alec smiled, a soft shy thing, as he gently took the notebook back from Magnus and closed it. He felt impossibly light, a burden he hadn’t realised was weighing on him as much as it had relieved.

“We have to go back now, but – it’d be nice to talk about writing with someone. Can I text it to you, sometime?”

“Absolutely,” grinned Magnus, exchanging numbers with Alec as they walked back to work.

Alec realised, two Sundays after he’d first gotten Magnus’s number, that he had no idea if Magnus was coming to that night’s work Christmas party. He certainly had never made his intentions of going clear, and now Magnus was already at work, so he couldn’t just ask.

Parties weren’t often Alec’s thing, but he did enjoy them now and then, and it wasn’t as if he hated his colleagues or anything. He just felt… out of place. To be perfectly honest, he felt that way most of the time, except around his family, while writing, or with Magnus.

Perhaps it should scare him, that Magnus felt a little like belonging. It didn’t.

He dressed reasonably appropriately for the night, tan wool overcoat and beanie part of his outfit, not just accessories, and charcoal shirt with the top few buttons undone despite the cold. He’d been something of a boring dresser once, before he’d come out, all large sweaters and baggy jeans – but now, while fashion still didn’t speak to him as such, he knew what he liked and how to dress and wore sharp, clean, well-fitting clothes. It wasn’t even a conscious decision, really, but the internet always said you dressed better after coming out and he supposed that had happened to him as well.

He wasn’t out out, but he wasn’t hiding anything either. It was no one’s prerogative to know everything about him unless he wanted them to.

Ten to eight, Alec found himself sat with a bunch of his colleagues waiting for those who had just finished work to join them. Magnus wasn’t already there, and he hoped that he would be showing up with the others, else Alec would probably just head home after the meal and text Magnus all night instead.

That was what they usually did, anyway.

He needn’t have considered alternate plans, though – as Magnus strolled in with the latecomers looking like an untouchable god.

He’d shaved, for a start, and put dark pink highlights in his hair – he’d not had them yesterday at lunch – and he wore a stunning crushed red velvet blazer. Red was certainly Magnus’s colour, Alec thought. He didn’t think about the fact that he noticed how tight Magnus’s pants were, or the fact that Alec couldn’t take his eyes off his friend.

Magnus seemed to be looking for something, and Alec began to stand to greet him, which led Magnus to look his way. He smiled at the sight of Alec, and Alec smiled back, heart leaping, as Magnus made his way over.

“Got you a drink,” Alec said, indicating the two on the table in front of him.

“After that day, I certainly need one. Thank you, Alexander,” said Magnus, resting his hand on Alec’s shoulder as he leant to pick up the drink. “Dark and Stormy?” Alec shrugged.

“It sounded nice, so I thought I’d try it.”

“Good choice, darling. Shall we go be seated?”

They managed to sit next to each other throughout the whole meal, and while Magnus entertained those in the vicinity – like a king holding court, Alec thought, all his subjects enthralled and enamoured – most of their attention was on them alone.

The food was decent, surprisingly good for the place they were in, and the free drinks meant the empty glasses began accumulating steadily. The air buzzed with merriment, and even Alec was laughing freely.

“Hey, everyone’s heading down to Pandemonium now,” Magnus whispered into Alec’s ear.

“Mmm? Are you going with?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to stop by a store, get some cheap wine, and come back to mine.”

Alec grinned. He wanted nothing more.

Magnus’s place was huge. A penthouse full of oddities and books and incredible art, for a grad student? Even Tipsy Alec was confused by it all, and Tipsy Alec was so much more of a dumbass than Sober Alec. As Magnus closed the door behind them, coming forward to take the bag from Alec’s hands, he noticed the expression on Alec’s face and seemed to read his mind.

“This place is the one gift I accepted from my father. I had… a sizeable trust fund, all legally in my name, nothing he could do about it, and I used it to buy this place after I’d left. I didn’t want to touch his money, but he never wanted me to come here, so - it seemed like a perfectly good ‘fuck you’.”

“It’s a pretty good fuck you, as fuck yous go. You know, I’m surprised you don’t like parties,” Alec said.

Magnus waved his hand nonchalantly. “Oh, I love parties. I’d just much rather hang out with you.”

And fuck, if that weren’t something right there.

Magnus and Alec found themselves sharing just one bottle of wine, far too busy talking to drink, simply enjoying each other’s company when not talking, enough that alcohol simply wasn’t necessary. As a fire crackled in the grate in front of the seating area, Magnus showed Alec his books, told wild travel stories for each trinket, regaled Alec with stories that while they could be those he told when winning friends and captivating hearts, Alec just knew that these were for him and him alone. Magnus had just told a story from his youth where he pretended to be his own father to get out of detention, and that it had somehow worked despite it being a face-to-face conversation, and Alec couldn’t stop giggling, which seemed to set Magnus off laughing too.

“Gods, I was such a little brat when I was with him. Still would be, probably, had I not met Cat and Ragnor and left.”

“Was it hard to leave? With your dad doing… whatever it is he does.”

Magnus’s eyes narrowed quizzically, but warmly. “My father owns a pharmaceutical company that jacks up the prices of literally everything. What did you think he might do, Alexander?”

“Honestly, thought he might be a mob boss, but that’d probably be better,” Alec said. “I see why you want to distance yourself from him.”

“Mmm. You’re one of three people who know about him, here.”

“I’m- Cat, Ragnor, and… me?” Magnus nodded at Alec’s incredulous tone.

“I trust you,” he said, warm brown eyes unwavering from Alec’s own.

“Thank you. For what it’s worth, and this may be selfish, but I’m kinda glad it led you here.”

“Yeah?” asked Magnus, twisting his body round so that he was sat cross legged on the couch, back resting against the arm and facing Alec, who was sprawled out so that his torso lay on the couch, head on the arm rest, and longs legs bent resting on the floor. “Be selfish for a second for me. Why?”

“If you hadn’t realised what a jerk he was, you wouldn’t be in New York. And if you hadn’t cut yourself off… you wouldn’t have needed a job to support you. And I wouldn’t have met you. I’m sorry, if that’s rude, but… I’m really glad I met you,” Alec steamrollered, knowing that if he didn’t get it out now he might never do it again out of stubbornness.

“I’m really glad I met you too, Alexander. Makes being yelled at for not returning things from last year worth it.” Magnus laughed softly then, and so did Alec, a shared experience joining them. Magnus heaved a sigh then, and Alec furrowed his brow.

“Alexander… how drunk would you say you are? I’m completely sober, unfortunately.”

Alec took a second to ponder it, but he needn’t have – they’d been sat there for a few hours, and were only halfway through their shared bottle of wine. The only thing he was intoxicated by was Magnus’s presence, the warmth radiating from him that had little to do with actual temperature and everything to do with the comfort and serenity that Magnus brought him.

“If it makes you feel better about it, I’m completely sober too,” Alec said. “But that’s okay. Being here at 2am is way more fun than any club could be.”

“Good, I’m glad you – that’s good. Alexander, tell me if this is too forward, but…” Magnus trailed off, eyes closed and breathing deeply, as if to steady himself.

“But what?”

Magnus shook his head, and swallowed, before he leant down and forward and pressed his lips to Alec’s.

It was relatively chaste, all things considered, but Alec felt his world turn on its head. Magnus tasted of wine, and chocolate, and home, and Alec closed his eyes and let himself feel. His lips were soft, and as Alec chased them, it hit him that he was halfway to falling in love with the man, and he hadn’t even noticed that that was what it was.

They separated, yet Magnus didn’t go far; Alec opened his eyes to see Magnus still hovering a few inches over him, his own eyes gazing into Alec’s own. Alec’s lips quirked into a smile.

“That was-“

“Yeah,” Magnus breathed out, and returned Alec’s soft, shy smile with one of his own, to which Alec, surprising himself with his boldness, rose up and kissed again.

The difference this time, as they sat up together, was that they could barely stop smiling to really kiss, but neither cared. Their laughter mingled between them in the firelit room, Alec’s admission that he’d never been kissed before at 24 simply encouraging Magnus to kiss him more, barely noticing when the embers started to settle, tangled up in each other on the couch with this new thing between them, that had somehow always been present.

“Stay the night, Alexander? It’s late, we don’t have to do anything, just… stay?”

“Magnus, there’s- there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

No one commented on the spring in Alec’s step the next morning, and he was grateful; he didn’t exactly want to tell them he’d been woken up with a kiss from a man who made his heart sing, after falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms. That was his alone to rejoice in.

The next two weeks were much the same as their last five; a whirlwind of texts and soft smiles when their eyes met at work, among the many “no, we’re all sold out of those now” to people who left their Christmas shopping until a week before the date and were surprised everything had gone – like it didn’t happen every year. The only difference was that now they held hands over the table at Taki’s as they spoke, Thalia beaming at them whenever they stole kisses while sharing pastries. They didn’t notice that, though.

They spoke more about dating, than before; previously, Alec had always carried a small burden of shame that he’d never been in a relationship, but Magnus, with all his experience in good and bad relationships, never treated it as a set back in any way. He had a knack for making Alec feel comfortable in his own skin.

“I’m covering a shift tomorrow, by the way,” Alec said, after a few minutes of silent contemplation. Magnus quirked an eyebrow.

“My last day,” he said. “Can’t say I’m sad, but the place did bring me you, so…”

Alec snorted. “Run while you still can. I’ll just miss seeing you at lunch every Saturday.”

“Well, I still have Saturdays free. I see no reason why I can’t still meet you every so often – it might do me good to get out of the house and work on my paper.”

“Yeah?” Alec grinned, indescribably happy. Neither of them had defined what was between them yet, and that was okay; it was like they were still the best of friends, with the added bonus of kissing, and yet Alec was still surprised that Magnus, beautiful, kind, intelligent Magnus, wanted to spend time with him, read his writing and told him it was masterful, urged Alec to be a better version of himself simply by being there.

“Yeah,” Magnus grinned back. “Also we should go back.” He laughed at Alec’s groan.

“Ah ah ah!” they heard Thalia shout as they left the café. Alec turned, curious; it’s not as if they’d forgotten to pay – had they left anything? “Look above, just for you two loves,” she yelled happily.

Magnus chuckled. “Mistletoe, Alexander. Shall we?”

Alec laughed, and leant in, and made a note to ring Thalia later and leave his number, so she could send him the photo she very obviously took.

Sunday was like every Sunday, but times ten; he’d agreed to cover someone in the ladies department for a change of pace, and was kinda wishing he hadn’t. He had, at least, made plans with Magnus to get dinner and spend the night, which powered him through the chaotic day.

Before they could escape however, Jia, the store manager, gathered everyone around the doors. Alec groaned inwardly. He’d forgotten that she did this every year, giving them all a speech about how high the quality of seasonal staff was, and how it being the 23rd it was most of their last days anyway, and blah blah blah. Alec mostly tuned it out in favour of his favourite activity – looking at Magnus.

“Gonna miss your lunch date, Lightwood?” Duncan called out once Jia had apparently finished, laughing, though nobody laughed with him. Alec smiled, knowing exactly what he had to, and wanted to, do. He lifted his arm to embrace Magnus shoulders as he moved to his side, not needing words to know what Alec planned, arm snaking around Alec’s waist and hand settling comfortably on his hip.

“Well, now we’re no longer co-workers – I guess Magnus’ll just have to settle for being my boyfriend instead, huh?” Alec raised an eyebrow, daring Duncan to say anything. By the look of his reddening face, he had nothing, suitably ashamed by the smiles on every other associates faces – even Jia cracked a smile, and Alec thought he heard Simon whooping as Magnus pulled his face in for a quick, yet tender, kiss.

“We’ll just have to go on more actual dates, I suppose… boyfriend,” Magnus said to him as they left, Magnus for the last time as a staff member.

They’d agreed not to get each other gifts, Alec thought; and had ended up giving each other the best gift they could possibly have gotten. Alec had a boyfriend for Christmas for the first time ever, and as he held him close, Alec resolved that he’d never let him go.

[youmustbestrongernow]

just saw you posted the ask your friend at 4 am ask set and I LOVE that ask set. The best. It has very deep questions. I tried to narrow down. Would have asked alll 2 Do you mourn for a place or person you’ve never known? 7 vAre you in love? Do you want to be? 18 Are you religious? Do you think your religion is ‘correct’? 61 Do we live in tumultuous times, or do they just seem so strange because we’re living in them? 87 What’s your toxic trait? Are you trying to improve yourself?

I did, I reblogged it a few days back I think, I saw it and loved the questions, although I didn't think anyone would actually ask any, figured I was probably being annoying with all the ask lists, but I find them fun. but I also just liked the concept, 4am conversations are so deep sometimes, and I love that, I've had so many wonderful conversations in the quiet hours while the world seems to be sleeping. but enough rambling, I'll try and give some answers, although it's not four am anymore

2. Do you mourn for a place or person you’ve never known?

This is such a good question, a good feeling, or a good way of describing a feeling I mean. I feel like I’ve answered this before, for a different ask game, but it’s so good I’ll answer again, just don’t judge if I say something different this time. So I think yes in a way, I don’t know if mourn is the right word. but I often have a feeling of longing for things that never were, a need to find a feeling of home somewhere, whether that be in a place or a person. I feel like i’m constantly searching for that and the contentment it will bring when I find it.

7. Are you in love? Do you want to be?

I am not, and I’m not sure if I do want to be, it feels like a lot of trouble! no that’s not true, it is a good feeling and worth it, but I think what I long for is all the things that come with it. understanding and companionship and all those wonderful things, I don’t think you necessarily need to be in love for that, but I guess I do kind of want to, I guess it ties into the previous answer. what I want is to be loved, understood and known, and to find somewhere and someone I feel at home. so that’s what I want, one day I hope to find that

18. Are you religious? Do you think your religion is ‘correct’?

I'm not religious, never have been really, like I haven’t really had much exposure to it at all, so I can’t really answer the second question because I don’t have one

61. Do we live in tumultuous times, or do they just seem so strange because we’re living in them?

I mean we definitely do, like obviously with everything going on in the world, but I think it seems particularly strange because we are in it, i’m sure at other times in history it has felt particularly tumultuous and we look back and just see the facts, we don’t get the feelings. but these are strange times and I look around at everything going on and it’s no wonder I feel so lost sometimes.

87. What’s your toxic trait? Are you trying to improve yourself?

i guess avoidance maybe? not dealing with stuff and just hoping it goes away. I am I trying to improve my avoidance tactics, so yes I guess, there’s only so much I can do, i’m not confrontational and i’m way too scared of upsetting people to tell them how I feel or if they’ve upset me, but I do understand avoiding it isn’t the answer either. it’s tough, I don’t know if I can ever be better at that, but I do try, and I try not to be too disheartened when I have been brave enough to express my discomfort and it’s gone about as badly as it possibly could. I think i’ve gone from avoiding forever, to putting it off for a while then dealing with it, that’s kind of an improvement right?

i’m also pretty stubborn too, I try not to be, i’m like stubborn in the moment and then when it passes i’m like you dummy, and then I apologise. also I worry too much about what people think about me, to the point where it hinders my own progress in life. i’m getting better at that though, slowly i’m starting to allow myself to live how I want you know? but it’s hard. I know you asked for one, and I have more but I’ll stop now or else I’ll just start listing all my insecurities!

4am asks