#I get SO EXCITED anytime I see any of you on my dash

[endearng]

Brave

Pairing: Spencer Reid x single mom!reader Summary: You're left all alone, but now you can think of some you want to share your solitude — and food — with. WC: 5.9k (I am so sorry) Warnings: brief mentions of Penelope's parents arch, grief and depression. A/N: Hello! I struggled so much trying to find time to finish this one. Let me know what you guys think! Feedbacks are highly appreciated! neighbor!au masterlist | main masterlist

Honestly, hearing your name leaving someone's lip usually made Spencer eager to know what was going on, if it involved you — of course, he knew that you shared it with many people, after all, there are 8 billion people existing at the same time, so he could definitely come up with statistics regarding how many of them shared names with you. Furthermore, he worked with humans, dealing constantly with their data, names included, so yours could definitely be pronounced by someone close to him.

He just didn't expect to hear a chant. Something about you and him sitting in a tree as Penelope approached him in the bullpen kitchenette.

"What was that?" He asked, eyes wide, once he heard Penelope's voice. She snickered.

She repeated the chant.

"Garcia!" His voice came out in a squeak, frantically looking around. "Shut up!" It wasn't in his nature to be so rude, but he was desperate for her to be quiet, especially because someone could hear her.

Emily, apparently coming from thin air, creeped up on them. "Spencer and who?"

"G—ah! Nobody!" He jumped from where he was standing, not expecting someone else to join them anytime soon, almost spilling his coffee.

"I caught our boygenius with a friend." Penelope announced, proud of her discovery.

"What?" Emily asked, shocked.

Once Penelope noticed that she revealed something she certainly should not have and she saw the look on his face, she slapped her hand over her mouth, wide eyes looking at Spencer in an apologizing manner. She was just so excited to finally see Spencer in that scenario that she basically ignored his wishes to keep it — whatever it was — a secret. "Thanks a lot, Garcia," he deadpanned.

"What? What friend?" Emily pressed, a smile on her lips. Not teasing, surprised, perhaps, but she didn't have any traces of mockery in her expression or tone. She looked... proud?

Penelope had started feeling bad for running her mouth too easily, but once she saw Spencer's lips turn upwards in a small grin, she gushed, "Yes!!! I went over to her house to give her daughter's gift, I am her godmother, after all... So I was knocking on her door—”

"More like banging." He interrupted.

"And from my spot, I see our boygenius not so subtly trying to disguise something. Do not look at me like that," she squinted her eyes and pointed her finger at him threateningly when he opened his mouth to speak. "You were stuttering and basically left her all by herself because you got too embarrassed."

"Oh, no, Reid..." Emily couldn't help her remark, pursing her lips.

"What? What did I do?"

Truth was, Spencer was replaying the interaction in his head the entire time after Penelope had left. He had stood there, at the sidewalk, dumbfounded and mortified by her remarks in your presence, not really knowing if he should go back to your apartment. He was definitely enjoying getting to know you, but it just felt wrong to go back and act as if nothing had happened because he had just gotten awfully weird. The man had struggled with himself, his thoughts conflicting between going back to yours or keeping to himself in his apartment. He decided on the latter, not willing to put himself through more embarrassment.

What if you didn't like him like that and you thought he was a creep now? What if you just saw him as a friend?

Worse, as a neighbor?

"You should've stayed. I know you probably got nervous, but what if she got the wrong idea once you dashed out the door when you were seen with her?" Emily inquired, but Penelope, despite not being a profiler, understood right away that she was onto something.

Her eyes glimmered.

Spencer's stomach dropped. "Oh, no..." he whispered softly. "I have to go."

And he basically fled the room.

The women exchanged playful glances.

"I knew it!" Penelope stated. She turned her head in the direction he ran to. "For a profiler, for a genius, he sometimes is so dumb."

"And just like that," Emily snapped her fingers, "IQ of 187 slashed down to 60." she snickered. Reaching for the coffee pot and pouring some of the liquid into her mug, she remarked, "There is definitely something," Emily laughed. "Do you think we should help him?"

"Don't worry," she winked at her friend, "I've got a few ideas."

Later that day, you got a call from Garcia. You were in your car, taking deep breaths and willing yourself not to cry out of frustration. The work shift had finished, officially, nearly an hour ago, but your boss held you back to discuss some projects that you were involved in. You had to call your dad to ask him kindly to pick up your daughter at school — you didn't see it coming, so you called him after about an hour of Olivia waiting by herself at school.

The unexpected meeting made you incredibly late and it turned your mood sour, because you always loved the car rides with Olivia after you picked her up, not to mention that she probably thought you had forgotten about her. Never. You had just started the engine when you heard your phone ring. You put her on speaker as you drove to your parents to pick up your daughter, who was now there. "Hi, Pen!" You greeted.

Despite the disaster, a smile crept up on your face when you remembered the last interaction you had with her. With Spencer…

"Hi, sweetcheeks!" She said back. You could hear the faint sounds of computers and keys being pressed in the background. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I guess. I had a surprise meeting so I couldn't get Olivia," you replied, eyes on the road ahead of you. "How are you, Pen?"

"Oooh, I'm sorry that happened. I know you're probably berating yourself for it, but it's okay, it wasn't your fault." She tried to lighten up.

"Yeah..." You muttered, a certain tightness in your chest you couldn't keep at bay.

"She'll understand. You are doing a fantastic job showing her the real world." Penelope comforted you. You blinked away emotional tears, grateful that the roads were calm and you weren't a reckless driver. You couldn't really speak, so she continued, "Actually, she is the main reason I called you." She revealed, making you chuckle wetly. "I really miss Olivia and I'm truly sorry I missed her birthday. I haven't been the best godmother in the world..."

"Don't worry about it." You dismissed it. "I always tell her you're a tech fairy who does magic with computers to save people. A real life hero," you chuckled. "She understands it." You whispered. Trying to keep that feeling in. Not sure if you were speaking to her or to yourself.

"I know, but, still..." She retorted softly.

Penelope frequently complimented you and Olivia. You tried your best to raise her to be a good, kind and smart person. Unbeknownst to Penelope, her comments made you remind you of right after you were left all alone with your daughter. The tech analyst didn't hear a word from you for days, but once she visited you and saw the place without a single trace of Olivia's dad, she understood it all. You kept silent, still trying to adapt to a world where you were lonely again. Despite the odds and unwillingness to open up to her, you kept talking to your daughter, even if she didn't truly understand it all. From her early years, you made sure to provide her everything she needed to speak like she does now.

Your own personal chatterbox.

A titter broke through you, "I sure hope so." You replied, rubbing your eyes at a red light. "I also hope you know I'm driving and I can't cry right now," you joked.

"Ah, right! Sorry, baby!" She exclaimed clumsily, true Penelope style. "All of this to ask if I can spend some time with her on... on Friday! Yes!" She paused and then continued.

"Friday?" You asked, uncertain. "That's usually when we go out together."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for taking it away from you, it's just that I..." second pause on her speech, "I wanna make it up for missing her birthday and I seriously hope that creepy guys give me a break so that I can spend some time with our Oli girl." She finished.

Still uncertain and the tiniest bit jealous, you relented. "Okay, Pen. May I ask you where you are taking her?"

"Well... it's a surpr—we are going to an amusement park!" She paused and then squealed and you could hear clapping.

You snickered, joking along, "It's your funeral."

"I'll die a happy woman. That's all, sweetcheeks! Thank you so much! Gotta go. Prrr."

And just like that, she hung up on you. Little did you know, she and Emily Prentiss high-fived and made ridiculous noises to celebrate the execution of their mastermind plan taking shape.

Penelope Garcia, the singular rollercoaster of emotions that you are.

Back in the bullpen, Spencer focused on his reports — not that it was a difficult task, but he felt cornered by Emily's outlook from earlier. Had he done the wrong thing? If he did, could he fix it? He wasn't the most experienced man in the world when it came to dating and women in general. He was on the brink of insanity, nearly going up to Hotch for advice. He ruled out Morgan immediately because he knew he couldn't get tips from someone who would definitely tease him, in a manner that felt lowkey demeaning.

Spencer had a lot of insecurities, and being socially awkward in his mid-twenties was one of them. Next to Morgan, he felt like a fourteen-year-old who didn't even know how to properly say hi to people. He needed some words from someone who understood him.

But who did?

Wrapping up one of his reports, his phone beeped.

Come to my lair. Treats are on the table :)

Penelope

Cautiously approaching the door, like there was a bomb inside, Spencer opened the door to Penelope's office. "Okay, so I know you were upset and maybe you still are a little because I spilled your... um... moment to Emily but I wanted to say sorry and ask you to please not be mad at me. I was just excited for you and I knew Emily would be, too." She blabbered once he closed the door behind him.

His ears turned pink and he tried playing it cool by reaching for one of the cookies that were in a bowl. "It's okay, Garcia. I was upset for a moment, but I know you didn't mean it."

She smiled. "Glad to hear that! Thank you, Reid."

He leaned his body on the desk adjacent to her, crossing his arms over his chest. He cleared his throat. "So, um, how do you know her?"

"We met in college. She had my back when my parents... you know."

A pause. He hated that he, sometimes, lacked the sensitivity to approach people and that, despite being brightly intelligent, often missed possible outcomes for more personal conversations.

"I'm... I'm sorry I asked. I know it can be a delicate topic." He offered her a sympathetic smile, even though he was berating himself on the inside.

"It's okay. Thank you." Garcia smiled. "She always checked on me, made sure I was eating properly, that I wasn't... harming myself... She even went over to my dorm to tidy everything when I was too depressed to get out of bed." She took a deep breath. "I swear, Spencer. She was there. And we had just met." She finished, softly.

If Spencer admired the person you were before, now he was almost tongue tied, not having the wits to come up with a comment of his own. It truly shocked him, because, one: his experience with college kids had been totally different, of course, but two: what kind of person goes out of their way, even when dealing with their personal burdens, to help someone they just met?

Garcia searched his face. A small smile on her lips starkly contrasted with her crestfallen eyes. "Shortly after her graduation, she got married and, later, pregnant with Olivia. I was still around, on and off. I joined the FBI and had less and less time to hang out, but I always had and always will have a soft spot for her. She was there for me."

He couldn't help but want to know more. He knows it should be better to learn about you from you, but, right now, he was handed an opportunity he couldn't deprive himself from grasping, "Wow. That's-That's a lot of history." He said, in a low voice, a little hesitant.

"Yes. And you will know much, much more." Penelope said, confident tone lacing her words.

"Why do I sense you're onto something?" He inquired, brows furrowing with worry.

"Because I am." She winked at him.

Oh, no.

"What?"

"Trust me on this one, loverboy." She snickered.

Penelope Garcia, the mess you'll make.

Friday rolled around with promises of a certain blonde bringing your daughter home by 9p.m. The feeling almost made you feel like a possessive mother who didn't let their kids have boyfriends. Or girlfriends. You were fine with it, by the way. Either. You just weren't currently fine with the idea of spending time away from her.

You reluctantly let Olivia go. Penelope stood behind her in your living room. You were crouching down to your daughter's height.

"Mommy, I'll be back before you know it," she said. Just like you did when she was first getting adapted to going to school. You scrunched your face, feeling like the most loved person in the whole universe.

You were.

"I'll bring you cotton candy." She promised, raising her pinky in front of you. You crossed your own with hers.

"Now you're just bribing me." You leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Is it working?" Penelope chirped in, an easy smile on her face.

You giggled, looking up at her for a moment. "Maybe..."

"Mommy loves you, okay?" You said. "I promise I can take you somewhere even cooler than aunt Garcia is taking you," you joked.

"Now you're just being mean," the woman frowned playfully.

"Yeah, mom! Don't be mean."

"I can't believe you're turning my own daughter against me. And she's scolding me. In my own house." You feigned offense. Garcia burst out in laughter with Olivia.

Two kids in your living room.

"Okay, mommy," she said, finally, giving you a kiss on each of your cheeks, just like you did with her. "Bye bye. Say bye bye to Aunt Penelope, too."

"Okay," you agreed. "Bye bye, Aunt Penelope." you teased. Olivia was already walking out, ahead of you two.

"Bye bye, mommy." Penelope joked as you walked her out. Olivia pressed the elevator button as you and Garcia stood in front of your apartment, side by side with you, watching your kid wait for the elevator. Then, she looked you up and down, a knowing look on her face.  "You're totally a hot mommy." She winked.

You didn't have an answer to that, the remark catching you off guard. Instead, you shoved her jokingly.

"Get outta here," you quipped, flustered, watching her as she entered the elevator with Olivia, holding her small hand.

You waved as the elevator doors closed. You sighed when they were out of your eyesight.

Coming back to your place, you looked around in hopes to find something to entertain yourself with. Truth was that without your daughter, you felt a little lost. Sometimes, you'd get lost in your own head, too sick with worry about losing yourself in order to be sufficient for Olivia. The remedy for those thoughts were usually doing something on your own for yourself. Tonight, you decided to cook something.

After a quick trip to the local supermarket and some embarrassment on the self-checkout cashier, you made it back to your home with everything needed to make pasta from scratch. Maybe you got a little excited by literally having your hands dirty and made enough pasta to feed the entire apartment complex. You cut them in different sizes and shapes and cursed your dad for a moment for having taught you your way around food.

Giving it a better thought, seeing your kitchen with pasta hanging to dry everywhere, maybe it was an opportunity. You turned the thought of feeding the families who surrounded you to simply feeding Spencer.

You smiled at yourself, pleased with the idea.

One, two, three eager knocks on Spencer's doors made him interrupt his Doctor Who's weekly (if no bad guys were forcing him to work) marathon. He looked through the peephole and found you, his neighbor, studying his door, probably to avoid looking directly into the hole, like it was an intricate work of art. A smile crept upon his face. He never thought he'd be so happy to be interrupted. Opening the door, he greeted, "Hi!"

A joyful "Hi!" was your answer.

You took a minute to look at him. He looked more relaxed, of course, but you came to the conclusion that he didn't own many casual clothes, because he was dressed in a dark blue Caltech sweatshirt and slacks. Funny matching, but it worked for you. Differently from what you usually saw him dressed in, he didn't appear so tired. He was glowing.

"Um, do you need anything?" He asked politely, scrunching his brows a little bit in concern as your silence became too long.

A sliver of doubt crossed through your features. "I'm not interrupting you, am I?"

"No, not at all." He lied.

He'd take your interruptions at any time.

"Oh, that's great. It's just... I miscalculated the amount of pasta that I was um... making." You struggled to find the words, a little mesmerized by the simple act of looking at him. "Do you want to, um, do you want to have some? With me? I've been told I'm good at cooking." You finally asked, with a little convincing on top.

Not that he needed any. You had him at hi. Spencer felt disarmed.

"Yes. I-I'd love to."

"Great!" You cheered. "Come on. You can help me cut them once they dry a little bit."

He followed you into your apartment. Today, the atmosphere felt a lot different. You had music playing softly and the highlight was in the kitchen, where strings of pasta hanged from basically everywhere. There was still a small piece of dough on the surface of your kitchen counter, which was surrounded by a big, sharp knife, a pasta maker machine and some other kitchen gadgets that, surprisingly, Spencer didn't know the name of.

"Wow. It's really a lot." He thought out loud.

"Yeah," you chuckled. "I usually make small amounts, but there's no problem in freezing them." You said, glancing briefly at your watch.

"Oh, okay." He replied meekly. "I'm not so sure if I can help, though. I'm not very good at cooking."

"No!" You feigned exaggerated surprise.

"Yes," he quipped, furrowing his brows playfully.

"But you have to work for it." You deadpanned, looking him dead in the eye. "I tricked you. I only called you here so you'd help me with it. If you don't, you won't get pasta."

He raised both hands, joining your banter. Easily. Despite, despite, despite. "No problem. I like learning."

You scrunch your face, giving him the most adorable grin. "Okay, doctor. So, this small ball here," you said, pointing at the dough and rolling up your sleeves, "needs to rest for a few minutes. It needs to dry a little bit to make cutting it easier. I'll tell you how to do it once you have an apron on."

"Oh, sorry, I don't have any at home. I don't really cook." He mentioned it again.

"I thought so." You grinned. "But don't worry about it. I have a collection. My dad's a chef and everything he gives me as a casual gift is related to cooking" you chuckled.

Okay, so the miscalculated amount was definitely an excuse to have him with you. His heart felt like giving out at any minute. You wanted him there. It was almost like you had it all planned out, and Spencer watched as you moved around your kitchen so confidently and calmly, very much unlike his mind that was running miles per second. Spencer usually had a hard time calming down, but this, this was something else. He was alone with you and he didn't even know how to say anything. Simultaneously proud and jealous of your easygoing chatter, he decided that it was better to follow your lead and try not to be awkward around you than doing anything else.

Slowly being pulled out of his self-conscious and overall sad thoughts, he busied himself with watching you, instead. He smiled to himself. Again, despite, despite, despite. You grabbed an apron from one of your drawers and Spencer watched you quietly. You moved so effortlessly that he felt inclined to just sit and watch you in your own scene. In that moment, you were not Olivia's mother, not a character from a novel he imagined, not a publisher, not Garcia's friend from college, just a woman doing something she enjoys doing. And he was delighted to be present to see it.

Moving back to where he stood, you stopped in front of him. You held it out in front of you, almost waiting for his permission to get closer. Spencer nodded eagerly and you smiled. You put the apron over his head and he raised his arms, almost automatically, so you could wrap yours around him to tie it in the back, bodies mere inches away from one another. He somehow had the courage to watch your face the entire time, but you bashfully avoided his gaze, choosing to concentrate on the task at hand. Once you finished, you looked up at him, though. To offer him a smile.

But what caught his attention was the fact that he finally knew, now, what the color of your eyes were. They seemed a lot different than when he first saw you. Different shades swirled around your pupils in such harmony that he decided that, from then on, he'd associate these colors with you and with you only. You aimed your gaze at him with something so distinguished he couldn't quite decipher what it was, suddenly and momentarily losing his profiling abilities. Spencer knew immediately that he could never shake that moment from his memory. Then, he also noticed that you had a smudge of flour on your cheek, but he didn't have the heart to tell you to clean it up, too stuck in the warmth of your gaze. He thought of it as a reminder of what you were doing, the moment you were sharing together.

He smiled back at you.

"Okay, I guess that's it, then," you announced, voice barely above a whisper, finally. He felt both relieved and deprived from the sweet torture you put him in. He wanted to be under your spell for longer, but he worried he would be too entranced and make a fool out of himself. "First, I'm gonna divide it in half. Oh, wait. What do you want to eat? I have shrimp, chicken and minced meat. But I can also try to do something vegetarian if you don't eat meat." You blabbered inconsistently, jumping from one topic to another, our eyebrows flying to your forehead in concern for a moment.

"It's okay," he soothed you, "I'll have anything." He added softly.

You happily nodded at him. "Alright. So I'm gonna be a good teacher and tell you to use the machine to open it first, but a cook must be skilled enough to know how to open and cut pasta without one of these gems," you said.

He grinned. Cooking classes were not in his weekend bingo, but here he was. Not wishing for anything else. "I'm glad you're walking me through it." He said. "I can hardly boil an egg."

"What? I couldn't tell." You said, faking earnestness, while opening a piece of dough with a roller. You had your eyes on it, rolling the dough on the counter to make sure you'd open it completely. He was mesmerized by your focused expression. Looking at your skilled hands. Watching.

"Really?" He asked, lighting up.

"Yeah, I could. Sorry." You said, snickering, folding the dough on itself to start cutting it. The result was thicker strings of pasta, like fettuccine. "You look like the kind of guy who only eats outside."

"I am." He confided, trying to mimic your previous actions. "Maybe you're the profiler."

"Nah, just a real observant neighbor." He laughed. "Hey, you're doing alright." You told him once you saw what he was doing. Your stare was on his hands. Oh. His deft hands, albeit not accustomed to the task, worked dexterously, flexing the veins on his forearm. You shook your head lightly as an attempt to get rid of the thoughts, glad he wasn't paying attention to you.

Being with you, he realized, was easy. He condemned himself for overthinking the advice Penelope had given him earlier about asking you out today, because she planned on taking Olivia out. He had decided not to under the excuse that a case might pop at any second, but the truth was he was too afraid to be rejected. 

"Okay, so you can open the dough, Doctor. Good job!" You teased as you watched him use the machine instead of the rolling pin like you did.

"I'm decent at it, yeah," he quipped.

Spencer Reid being able to take and to crack jokes about himself. He decided then that he liked jokes, he liked your banter, but because you weren't mean to him.

Something in him finally started to heal.

"Alright." You placed yourself beside him. He gulped at the closeness. "See how I'm doing with my hands." Was it appropriate to answer that he hadn't looked away not even for a second? "You wanna fold it over and over. Careful not to stick it, though, so be gentle. You can use a little flour to help you. Wanna give it a try?"

He only nodded and you helped him fold it. He wasn't as skillful as you were — hell, your movements seemed rehearsed from how much ease you had at doing them. He was a little slower, but he moved in an effective way. "Careful not to cut yourself, Spencer." You whispered to him, to which he hummed weakly.

"Is there a right way to hold the knife?" He asked, turning his head to look at you.

Your reply was to touch his right hand, the one holding the knife, and closed his fingers around its base. Grabbing his left hand, you curled his fingers on top of the dough, and, slowly, pushed the knife down to cut it. "See?" You pulled the cut dough, revealing a string.

He wondered hastily if he could have some more time with your hands on top of his. Your delicate hands, even dirty, beat every single texture he had felt on top of his. Spencer couldn't answer anything. "Okay! Now we can set them to dry."

"Where?" He asked, robotically. You grinned.

"We gotta find somewhere." You chuckled. "By the way, it's best if we keep them away from the others." You advised.

"Why is that?" He inquired, intrigued look on his face.

"I, um, made some with eggs, you know, the traditional one." You bit your lip. "I also made a recipe with no eggs in case you had any restrictions."

Usually, he'd be speechless, not used to being treated like this. Not being one people usually thought of so intentionally, so dearly, so full of carefully. He noticed, though, that as he spent time with you in your kitchen, every one of your actions peeled away some of his issues. Then, "Oh, wow." He said, a hint of a cocky expression dancing around his features. If you kept that attitude, he might even become greedy. He remembered about your so-called miscalculation for the second time.

You finished up the meal in an instant, too fast for Spencer's liking. He was observant, of course, and you made sure to tell him about what you were doing and why you were doing every step of the way, like he was a child acquiring language. He was a grown man learning how to be around you, studying your every movement and engraving it to his memory, trying harder than he ever did when learning English (or other languages). Those came to him naturally. You, on the other hand, were full of patterns he didn't quite know yet — not that he wasn't dying to.

"Okay. We're done." You said, softly, plating the meal on two white plates. "Do you want to sit with me on the balcony?"

"Yes."

"Be there in a second. Make yourself at home."

His face lit up. Joy and embarrassment fighting to control him.

As he left with the plates in hand, which was a little funny to you, you cleaned up the mess in the kitchen as much as you could. You glanced at Spencer, meticulously placing the plates on the table to help you out. You couldn't control the sigh that made its way out of you, out of the very depths of your being.

Sitting down with him after you both ate to your heart's content, he complimented you. "It's not very often that I get to eat this well." He chuckled. "And you're a good chef. You make things efficiently and neatly." He said, looking at you. You looked straight ahead, longingly, into the city.

You shrunk your shoulders, a little embarrassed. Was he flirting? His words were completely different from what you used to consider flirting. Too analytical, too technical. "Thanks!" You exclaimed, albeit meekly.

Silence.

Spencer was rummaging through his big brain for something to say. You were, sort of, deflating from basically carrying the interaction all night long. Letting too many thoughts consume you all at once. "I'm not really an interesting person, so I'm not sure what I should say," he chuckled, a little disappointed by having your attention somewhere else.

Your heart probably doubled in size.

You crossed your legs on the chair. "I think you are an interesting person," you said softly, looking at him. "And I think there's no shame in being silent. It's nice. I know you like it."

His heart was making somersaults in his chest.

"Yeah..." he chuckled. “But I’d like to talk to you.”

"Try me! Penny said you can do magic, good ice-breaker. It's so nice, but so baffling!" You gushed. "I can't even do the classic trick, that one that you're supposed to be pretending to pull your thumb off. Olivia says I'm not convincing enough." You laughed, shooking your head and squinting at him. "Can you believe that?"

"She's a very bright kid." He said, amused. "It must be hard tricking her."

"Yeah, it is."

"Where is she, by the way?"

"Penelope asked to take her out. Pasta time was supposed to be time spent with her. But I guess you're a good substitute."

Again, Penelope was onto something. That was when he knew for sure that his theory from earlier was correct.

"Can I tell you something?" He decided to be honest, instead.

"Is everything alright?" You ask, searching his face for something that told you if there was something wrong.

"Yes! Yes! Everything's fine." He blurted. "It's just that, earlier, Penelope was, ahem, encouraging me to ask you out on a... date. I kept thinking about it and maybe I actually overthinked everything and ended up making excuses not to ask you out.”

You were taken aback by his words. You blinked once, not expecting his words, those words, and failing at trying to slow the racing of your heart and at stopping the smile creeping up on your face. “It's… it's no problem. Don't worry.”

Spencer couldn't help but glance over, listening attentively to your reply. Your words struck a softer tone, a side of you that was filled with warmth and genuine affection — he was estranged to it, not being used to being so understood. It caught him off guard. He watched from his seat, his heart still aching from feeling scared, but filled with a new emotion he couldn't quite pinpoint yet. “Would you, um, would you say yes?”

“To what?” You faked coyness, but you knew he could see right through you. You weren’t a good actress.

He smirked, encouraged by your playful mannerisms. “If I asked you on a date.”

“Well, yes.”

Oh, so it was bravery. He felt it completely, now.

A deep breath from his end. “Would you like to go out with me?”

“There's nothing I would want more.” You replied, tone full of mischief, but your eyes held all the truth he needed to confirm that he was actually going to spend time with you in a more… romantic, perhaps private setting. “Does that count as a yes?”

Spencer was hyper-aware of himself and his reality. Therefore, used to his own little life and the trauma and suffering that came with it, he had grown accustomed to the thought that romance was far out of his reach—  stories only told by books and didn’t, couldn’t exist in real life, in his life; writers were just too idealistic. Thus, being used to those thoughts, but secretly refusing to take them as the sole truth of his life, romance came to him in the shape of silly scenarios to help him fall asleep. Now, he was suddenly changing his mind, relieved to see that it could be real.

He was immensely glad for your bravery. He wanted some of it. Needed, even.

“It's the prettiest yes someone has ever said to me.”

“Glad to hear that, Spencer.”

“I just feel a little embarrassed by not having the courage to ask you earlier.”

“It’s okay,” you assured him, again, with an adoring look in your eyes, gazing at him, “we can share courage when things get too much.”

“Hey!” Olivia greeted once Spencer opened his door after her persistent, but gentle knocking. He looked around, but you were nowhere to be found. He crouched down to her height. “Here’s a sticker. Mommy said you were very brave last night.” She placed the adhesive on his vest, a star shaped sticker. “Here’s other sticker. Mommy also said you were helpful.” She said, adorning his vest once again.

Oh, my God, he thought, even her daughter knows.

He chuckled, not having it in himself to let the opportunity to joke go. “Oh, so we get rewards for good behavior?”

Olivia nodded. “Yes, we do. When I get five, mommy gets me something I want. Usually cookies.” She replied, sounding satisfied with herself.

“Thank you, Olivia. I'm gonna make sure to keep them so I'll know when it's time to ask for my gift.” He said, ruffling her hair playfully.

At the conference room, Aaron Hotchner couldn't help but frown at the sight of the extra accessories on one of his agents’ vest, almost interrupting his briefing in order to address the topic to quench his curiosity. “Reid, why do you have star stickers on?”

He shrugged, failing at disguising his happiness, the corners of his lips curving up. “These were a gift.”

He was brave.

[silversword7000]

Mutuals is NOT a strong enough word for you guys. YOU ARE MY FRIENDS! MY SILLIES!! MY BROSKIS!!!! I LOVE YOU DEARLY AND FULLY!! MY PARTNERS IN CRIME! MY GANG!! MY BESTIES!!!

[andejoe]

No one wanted to ask. Someone had to. It was terrifying. But it made sense.

Of course humanity finally abandoned its planet. Everyone was surprised they hadn’t abandoned it sooner. Still, the concern was there.

What made humanity abandon their planet in a mass event? What thing was finally found to scare them off their favorite death world?

Of course not every last human abandoned the planet, but enough did that Earth was no longer considered ‘inhabited’. Humans flocked to other worlds, most choosing death worlds with similar biomes to the ones they preferred. (And there was a suspiciously armored ship heading towards Disney planet.)

The concerning thing was the humans kept going back. Never landing. Never breaking the atmosphere. Just driving by.

Finally, a delegate was chosen to ask the human council member. Poor Laeri was nervous, but they had been called friend by council member Daryl before. Surely this question wouldn’t be an offense.

“Daryl, may I speak with you a moment?”

Daryl paused, and nodded, careful not to smile. He was well practiced in the art of not offending. “Of course Laeri. What is the matter?”

“Humanity has recently applied for habitation permits for a dozen planets. As soon as the permits were awarded, humans left very quickly.”

“Well sure. The permits took three earth years to be approved. Most of the planet had been preparing for over five years at that point,” Daryl explained.

“Yes, that is not my question. The question is why?”

“Why were they ready?”

Laeri shook their head. “Why did they leave Earth? Humans have made it a point to ‘stick it out’ despite better options being available. Why leave now?”

“Oh, that. Well.” Daryl paused. He knew he didn’t have to report officially yet, but his friend wanted to know. “Will you keep it a secret from the council?”

Laeri paused. The answer being a secret did not occur to them. What could the humans possibly be hiding? Would they be able to hide it as well?

“I do not think I can keep any dangerous thing a secret,” Laeri finally admitted.

Daryl nodded. “Nor would I ask you to. It’s not dangerous, just a little experiment more like.”

“If it is an experiment, then you should speak with-“

“No Laeri.” Daryl interrupted calmly. “This isn’t something we want help with. That’s why we haven’t mentioned anything to the Viyon Academics. We just need time to see if it works.”

Their curiosity finally got the better of them.

“If what works?”

“A new society. A new civilized species.”

Laeri didn’t speak, but either from awe or concern, they weren’t sure. Daryl continued.

“We believe a species evolves when they start to take care of their injured and impaired. It means they have compassion. Well an intelligent species on earth has been observed showing compassion. We simply want to give them the space they require to evolve.”

Laeri considered the intelligent species that lived on earth. They were suddenly very concerned. Had the humans been duped?

“The dolphi are showing compassion?” Laeri asked.

Daryl almost laughed. “Not even close. No, we wouldn’t break the agreement we made. They’re not escaping earth anytime soon.”

Laeri felt immediate relief. “Then which species is it?”

Daryl smiled. He couldn’t help it. He liked birds. “Corvids.”

“But, but they’re so small.”

“We know. That’s why some humans are still there, zoologist types to help them grow, learn, and show them the way.”

“What if another species wipes them out before they get the chance?”

Daryl shrugged. “Well that’s why we left some warriors behind, to help keep the corvids alive while they grow. And of course to keep the dolphins contained. We do take that assignment very seriously.”

Laeri was excited now. Another avian species may be joining the galaxy soon. They wanted to tell everyone.

“Promise you’ll keep the secret?” Daryl asked.

Laeri felt their excitement dash upon the cruel rocks of reality. “I will.”

“Good. Here.” Daryl held out a small computer drive.

Laeri took the drive. “What is this?”

“The live feed of the experiment. You really think we wouldn’t watch? As soon as they reach civilized status, I have to report them. Until then, they’ve been completing some very complex puzzles and problem solving lately. You’ll want to start at the beginning but they post new information all the time.”

Laeri clutched the drive to their feathered tunic. Suddenly the small drive was priceless. “I, must go now.”

Laeri took off as fast as would be ignored by others. Daryl watched his friend, surprised by how excited they were. His watch gave him an alert.

“Ooh, a group puzzle. Wonder if they managed it this time.”

Daryl walked off to his own private quarters to watch the newest update on the corvids.

[fastboatsmojito]

moon I'm here to bring you cowboy hat rule Tyler Owens after discussing cowboy hat rule carmy with olive

anyways I think that would slay and Tyler would eat up you riding him while wearing his cowboy hat (and maybe his silly shirt)

-🌂

HELLYEAHHHHH COWBOY !!!!!!! 🗣️

IF YOU FEAR IT, RIDE IT - Tyler Owens x reader

| A/n; literally just threw this together as soon as the ask came in bc it’s making me BLUSH so forgive any grammar mistakes </3, cowboy hat and soaking wet white t-shirt combo save me.. everyone say thank you umbrella anon 🫶🏼

| WC; 690

| CW; 18+ smut btc obviously, Petnames; Sweetheart, Darlin’, Baby, and Cowgirl a few times oops. Praise, a little cheesy at times I couldn’t help it </3 only a little plot whoopsie daisy !

Dividers by @strangergraphics <3

If you could stare a hole through him he’d be nothing but his cowboy hat by now, shaking under the heavy clouds of rain above you as your eyes followed him out of his truck. Drops of water quickly seeping into his shirt, practically begging you to drool over him.

He shook his head with a smile when he saw what you were wearing; your favorite ‘this ain’t my first Tornadeo’ shirt with his face right in the middle. A gift he’d given you when you first got together, tears of laughter streaming down your face as you held it up in front of you ‘oh my god this is ridiculous, Ty. I love it.’ Easily one of your favorite memories.

You hugged him as soon as he was close enough, wrapping your arms around his neck as he laughed softly at your excitement. It was clear you weren’t letting go of him anytime soon, letting him pick you up swiftly to bring you inside.

“You weren’t waitin’ for me out there too long, were you?” He asked, kissing the top of your head as he kicked the door closed.

“Don’t want you gettin’ sick.” You moved your head from his shoulder as he sat down, hands planted firmly in the middle of his chest as you got comfortable on top of him.

“Just when I heard you pull up.” Your voice always made him soft, finally feeling at home again after a long work trip.

“Couldn’t wait to see me, huh?” He teased with a grin, adoration clear on his face as you studied his features, it hadn’t even been a week since you’ve seen him but it always felt like longer.

“I missed you!” You remarked through giggles as he grabbed your face and kissed each of your cheeks, his stubble tickling you.

“I bet I missed you more, darlin’.“ He contests, raising his eyebrows as you suddenly grabbed his hat from him, putting it on.

He knew how much you loved it, eyeing it on his dash every time you were driving with him, getting all shy when he told you how good you looked wearing it for him.

“Well if it isn’t my very own cowgirl. I ever tell you how much I love seein’ you in that?”

“Once or twice. Makes me feel hot, and getting to steal it from you is half the fun.”

“You are hot. Drives me crazy when you take it without askin’.” He confessed, pulling you in for a kiss until you were breathless and squirming over him.

“Ty,” You sighed, getting lost in his hands moving to draw little patterns over your upper thigh.

“Can I ride you?” You whispered into his ear, dragging your hand up and down over his chest as he groaned.

“‘Course you can, baby. Keep the hat on, let’s see if this cowgirl can ride.”

——

His Your hat and shirt were still on, your hands bracing yourself on his broad shoulders. Panting out as you moved over him, hips grinding down onto him every time he bottomed out.

“That’s it, sweetheart, just like that. Takin’ me like a fuckin’ dream, baby.” He praised, honeyed accent drawing out the words. His warm, rough hands moving under your shirt.

He looked relaxed under you, drinking in every sweet sound that left your mouth as he reveled in your warmth, groans and sighs of his own dancing between praises in your ears. Like this is exactly where he was supposed to be.

Your movements slowed down as your legs got progressively more tired as you went, sighing his name once again when he cradled the back of your head with one hand and thrusted into you.

“Shit- Ty,” You leaned down to quiet yourself on his lips, moaning into his mouth instead when the hand on your waist gripped you tighter, steadying you as he sped up.

“I know, darlin’.” He punctuated with a kiss to your temple, “Sweetest cowgirl in the world. Can’t believe I get to see you like this.”

He didn’t just see you like this, he made you like this, and that cowboy hat of his was one hell of an accomplice.

——

HEHEHEKF oh this was so sweet i love that flirty cowboy </3

[themissinghand]

Solo Leveling: Tease

Requested by: @666veiniklaas

Summary: In which Jinwoo likes every part of you, and he hates to share what’s his. 

Or, you finally take revenge on Jinwoo for teasing you a little too much. 

Pairing: Sung Jinwoo x M! Reader

Note: For some reason I lost your request in my inbox, but luckily I already started working on it in my drafts.

Anyways, not a bother at all! The cat drawing was so cute! Love how you showed my dark eye circles so accurately XD 

This inspired me to write a....sexier version of Jinwoo. Hope you enjoy it! 

Warnings: Some sexual tension and sensual touching, suggestive themes! Nothing beyond that, unless your imagination takes you there-

���・・・・・・★

Jinwoo is an asshole, and he knows because his boyfriend tells him too many times. 

“Hey (Y/N).” Jinwoo called out, before noticing you hunched over your laptop in his hoodie, that was clearly too big for you. He smirks before walking behind you and tapping you on the shoulder. 

“What? I’m in the middle of a game right now!” He leans down and lets his wet hair touch your skin. He feels you flinch before finally turning your attention to him.  

“Do you know where my boxers-” 

“What the f-it’s in the drawer!” Like a cat, Jinwoo watches his boyfriend malfunction (checking him out) with red cheeks, before screeching and dashing out of their shared bedroom. 

It’s adorable, seeing you throwing random items at him to cover himself up, or when you run away anytime you see him naked. 

But he knows you like what you see. Maybe, you’re just too shy or prideful to admit it. 

(Jinwoo knows it, after all, he remembers you giving ideas to his Shadow Soldiers when building sculptures of him in his Shadow Realm - he’ll never let you live that down)

You’re like a cat. 

A cat thief that likes to steal his hoodies, and wear comfy clothes. Jinwoo didn’t mind it, after all, everytime he hugged you, he felt like he was hugging a big marshmallow cat.  

Sometimes, Jinwoo would come by and scoop you up in princess carry, and like a cat, you would fight him and try to get out. But that never works, as Jinwoo was a S-Class hunter for God’s sake! 

“Beru! Help me!” You cried for Beru, who sheepishly looked back and forth between Jinwoo and you. But could only disappear in Jinwoo’s shadow when His Liege gave him a “I dare you” look. 

In the end, his kitty would give up and grumpily cuddle in his arms until Jinwoo decided to let him go. 

It’s fun teasing you and watching you run away from him. It’s also a great way to get your attention. 

For example, Jinwoo found a great way to wake you up. 

“Jinwoo…? What time is it?” Jinwoo watches his little kitty do a little stretch in his arms, clearly not awake yet. 

“It’s time to get up.” He pressed a kiss to your palms, before cheekily bringing your hand to his bare chest. 

“Wha-” In the next second, you broke out of his hold and slammed your back to the wall. 

“Like what you see?” Jinwoo leans on his arm, purposefully showing off his toned body, but by then you were already out of the room and screaming profanities at him. 

“I swear to God Jinwoo! I will get back at you for this!” 

Jinwoo laughed as he saw his marshmallow cat angrily stomp to the bathroom. 

“Oh yea? I like to see you try!” 

Jinwoo regrets challenging you. 

It was like any other day in the Shadow Realm, Jinwoo was training with his Shadow Soldiers until he heard a call from Beru.

“My Liege! His Highness is-” Without another moment of hesitation, Jinwoo teleported back to his house and worriedly rushed to the bedroom where Beru was at. 

“(Y/N)! Are you okay-” Jinwoo froze when he saw your figure. His oversized hoodie no longer to be seen. 

“Oh hey Jinwoo.”

Your quiet seductive voice sent a wave through him and Jinwoo even let Beru quickly slip away despite being part of the whole farce. But Jinwoo couldn’t be angry at you, as he was too smitten with your appearance. 

His shadows' excited clammer was ignored. 

A slim fitted black top with fishnet sleeves and matching black tights. Your collarbone, flat stomach, and even hip bone was exposed, making him unconsciously gulp. 

The fabric was almost transparent, as if teasing Jinwoo and letting his imagination to go wild. 

You looked so good right now, and Jinwoo feels himself slowly losing control-

“I’m going out.” 

“Where? Looking like that?” Jinwoo flinched when he felt that he sounded a little too aggressive, but he really can’t let anyone see you looking so good. 

You had the audacity to look confused. 

“Nightclub, Liu Zhigang invited me out.” A cheeky little smirk rose to your lips before playing with the collar on your neck. 

“How do I look?” 

In the next moment, you were swept off your feet and slammed onto the bed, but this time, you weren’t backing off. 

“(Y/N), is this what you mean by getting back at me?” 

“I don’t know what you mean-” Jinwoo dived for the side of your neck and felt you squirm. 

“‘Cause it working. Your plan.” Inhaling deeply, Jinwoo feels dizzy, did you even put on cologne?

Even though he knows that this was all part of your plan to get back at him for teasing you so often, the fact that you mentioned another man’s name makes him mad. 

What if you actually did it for someone else? 

Just imagining you with Liu Zhigang and other men-

“Hey Jinwoo, calm down-” 

“Do you know what you’re doing to me?”

Jinwoo pressed a couple of kisses to your neck, and then left a trail of marks down to your shoulders. He peaks up, seeing your face bright red, but looking directly at him. 

Even more surprising, Jinwoo felt your fingers in his hair, before cupping his face and kissing him.

“I know.” You licked your lips, and tugged on your top, revealing more skin. 

“So hurry up and take me, My Liege.” 

That was all you had to say to make him lose control, and devour.

Let’s just say that the shadows smartly decided to not interfere and watch the premise far, far away from the bedroom. 

Beru on the other hand was just happy that he wasn’t the one being peppered with kisses this time.

The next morning was a mess. Jinwoo went back to being an asshole, not because he wanted to tease you, but also because he didn’t mind being an asshole for you to dress up like that again.

Also, Jinwoo eventually figured out that it was not just Beru in this, but Bellion and Igris too. Apparently, it was their chance to show off their knowledge of their master’s preferences, and also give you some armour…though Jinwoo doubts you would wear it ever again. 

Not if he had anything to say to that though.

[sandwhitches]

𝗰𝘄: language, making out hehe, suggestive, slight angst

<<< back ✱ menu ✱ next >>>

“That’s just awful.” Suna said it with a laugh, the two of you were already in stitches over the accusations on his laptop. This one, like hundreds of others, was as terrible as it was amusing.

On June 4th, this bitch borrowed earrings that belonged to my dead grandmother and never gave them back.

You stifled a laugh with the palm of your hand as you watched Suna, who did nothing to hide his own thrill, type out the generously provided message, finishing off with the name of the culprit. Uploaded.

You found yourself once more on his shabby apartment carpet, eyes excitedly dashing between each submission. There’d been close to 400 just that week. The list was filled with expected and unexpected names alike: names you’d never read in your life, names of people who sat next to you in class, of someone you went to highschool with, repeat offenders, and your favorite, people who had pristine reputations. No matter how much of a saint these names appeared to be, once they went up on the website, their reputations would be tarnished by their wrongdoings.

It didn’t help their case that the entire school seemed to be waiting on pins and needles for each update. People always take a sick pleasure in watching others’ dirty laundry get aired out, you and Suna were happy to provide. There was only one rule to the whole ordeal: what they did had to be morally wrong. “It’s not gossip,” you’d told Suna, “it’s a warning.” As you saw it, the two of you were righteous benefactors of warnings.

“Are there any left?” You asked, peering over his shoulder at the screen, “Nah.” He clicked his tongue in disappointment. It certainly wasn’t a slow night, but you both knew you’d never get enough of it. Rintaro stretched out his sore shoulders, then leaned back against his palms, lolling his head over to look at you sitting cross-legged beside him. His brows shot up playfully, an unreadable parade of thoughts seemed to be marching through his mind in that moment. 

“I like this.” He stated plainly, to which you hummed in agreement, “Did you see that news article?” You followed, tilting your head curiously as he stood up with a groan and walked over to his nightstand. Suna pulled open the drawer, showing you the tattered clipping he had proudly cut from the newspaper, “I’m thinking of framing it.”

A satisfied grin twisted at the corners of your lips as you hoisted yourself up to get a better look at the paper, though you’d already read it tens, if not hundreds of times. University in Shambles. And it was all your doing. Together. 

Gazing upon the tiny printed words, something marvelous came to mind. It was a fleet of the moment idea until you broke the silence to turn it into something else, something better. “I wanna keep doing this.” 

Suna eyed you questioningly, “We’re not planning on stopping anytime soon, are we?” It’s true, the both of you had agreed not to quit your selfless duties unless you felt like someone was onto you, and so far, nobody had a clue. “I mean,” you started, taking the clipping from his hands to examine it with delight, “I want to keep doing this after college.”

To this, Rintaro finally turned to face you fully, eyes slightly widened, “Oh?” “Imagine it, Rin,” you sighed, slipping the little piece of paper back into his drawer, “not only knowing about the assholes on campus, but, knowing about them everywhere else.” Something akin to excitement flashed in his eyes, he keened on every word you said like it was the best thing he’d ever heard. It was the best thing he’d ever heard.

“It’s risky, but would you wanna do that? Make On Sight open to the public?”

His breaths began to shallow at the thought, how many submissions would there be? Not only would the university be in shambles, but so would the rest of the world. It made his chest bubble with unadulterated pleasure. Perhaps you weren’t great people for this, but neither were the ones whose names went up every night. A crime where the victims were no victims at all, they’re equally as bad as the two of you, if not worse. 

“That’d be terrible,” he licked his lips with fervor, “we should do it.”

You smirked with satisfaction, he was just as desperate for it as you were. Nothing was holding you back from keeping this rotten secret of yours for as long as you possibly could, not time and certainly not a lack of devotion. “Think you can keep a secret for that long?” You murmured coyly, inching closer to him, tantalized by this future you were beginning to picture. A future with him in it long past university.

“You know I can.” Suna’s face lowered to yours, eyes flickering down until he could feel his knees weaken at your grin. In that very moment, adrenaline coursed furiously through your veins, there’s nothing in the world that you could do without him wanting in on it. You two managed to bring out the very worst in each other, but it worked, it was beautiful, perfect, even. 

That was the point of the night in which everything blurred into one splotch of thrill in your mind. One moment the two of you were frozen in this sudden revelation of desire, the next his hand was on your jaw, pulling you into a deep, long-overdue kiss. Suna’s lips danced against yours with passion, need emanating in every touch to your flesh, your head spun as his tongue grazed against yours and you would have been able to taste his aching for you had the flavor of your own hunger not overpowered it. 

A clumsy three-step trip to his squeaky bed was made, he landed on his back, panting for more as you climbed atop him. You didn’t get the chance to see the way in which his eyes glazed over as you slipped off your sweatshirt, he’d already pulled you back down to kiss him in a frenzy. 

The air was filled with heavy breaths as he broke away to lose his own shirt, a scoff leaving his lips once you met heavy, lusted eyes, and you can’t help but laugh at yourselves. Foreheads pressed against each other and the tips of your noses touching, it’s all too wonderful. 

“You’re killing me.” He whispered against your lips, before seizing them, gripping your waist to flip you onto his pillow. 

The bed squeaked too loudly, you’re sure the headboard of which was fucking up the lazy paint job of his apartment, and the two of you couldn’t stop laughing between kisses, but that night would surely be the only perfect one in your life. You cherished it like it was gold. 

Suna was your best friend, but now he was something more, and there’s no doubt in your mind that you both would like to keep it that way for a while.

𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:

✱ now you know their little agreement

✱ RIP sunarin's roommate who probably heard more than he'd like to hear

✱ wow i hope nothing bad happens to this budding romance it would be a shame

✱ mattsun tinder slight reference to HOT TO GO by @nectardaddy go read it right mf NOW

✱ the unanimous vote for marry on the podcast is bokuto

𝗮/𝗻: ugh sorry this is posted kinda late today was wacky. i saw borderlands, don't watch it girlfriend it's bad. i had to watch maxxxine as a palette cleanser afterwards, i fucking love that trilogy omfgggg. thanks for beta reading ree, fly high, i miss you

𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁: @zumicho @nectardaddy @moucheslove @kodzu-ken @phoenix-eclipses @piopioo @lvtilzs @s777athv @localgaytrainwreck @reignsaway @savemebrazilhinata @pop-ghost @naweirdo @sunsribn @staileykout @milesmoralesluvs @chaconadine @aboutkiyoomi @m3gitsune @wizardhore @ineednanami @wakashudou @torkorpse @st4rdusttx @renkitsune @solaqes @sereniteav @eveyams @myromanempiree @saltypuffin1040 @nbcvs @gsyche @miiyas @starkyu @renardiererin @puppenpop @sleepystrwbrryy @yumiecheesecrackers @sp1ng @mfcherry @semieita24srockstargf @nanamis-right-tiddie @strawbrinkofdeath @piapiaweee3 @walllflowerrrsss @gigiiiiislife @grassbutneo @cupidsblonde

taglist status: open! 48/50 (please send an ask to be added)

[thescarletnargacuga]

THIS IS PROBABLY VERY SELFISH OF ME...

BUT I WANNA SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO

ARE YOU ABLE TO WRITE A LITTLE FIC OF MY KINGDOM AU SHOWTIME? MAYBE LIKE A CONFESSION?

IF YOU DON'T WANNA THAT'S OK 🩷

A/N: I like writing the characters in different universes and environments. It keeps things fresh :3

THE ROYAL GALA

A KINGDOM AU ONESHOT

AU credit: @allisonraeyt @tadk-ask-blog

WARNING: none

~~~

The Royal Gala is a formal annual event hosted by the different royal families around the world. This year was Prince Caine's turn to host. The castle was cleaned extra spotless and decorated to the nines to impress the visiting royals.

The Gala would be a night of music, dancing and live entertainment. All Royals were expected to attend and dance. This was a gesture of good faith and communion between the kingdoms.

The grand ballroom was vibrantly polished. The marble floor reflected the painted ceiling. Banners displayed the royal seals of every kingdom, but the main color scheme was that of Caine's royal colors. Thousands of mystical lights softly lit the room.

As evening fell over the castle, dozens of carriages filed through the castle gates. Prince Caine was ready to welcome his guests, dressed in his full formal Prince attire. He was rather dashing, if he said so himself. As each guest was announced and welcomed, he couldn't help but look to the grand staircase. Princess Pomni should be down any moment. He couldn't miss her arrival.

~

Pomni was still in her room getting ready with the help of her handmaidens, Gangle and Ragatha. Pomni fussed with her dress as Gangle secured a tiara to Pomni's hair. Ragatha finished Pomni's makeup, "There! You look amazing." Ragatha smiled at Pomni in the mirror.

Pomni smiled back. "Thanks. You did such a good job." Pomni moved her head side to side to inspect how well the makeup was done.

Gangle sis her best to move with Pomni but was having a hard time finishing securing the tiara. "Um...Princess-"

Pomni stood, excited to get downstairs. "Thank you so much! I can't wait to show Caine!" She picked up the front of her dress and quickly went out the door.

Gangle frowned. "...I couldn't finish putting the tiara in place."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Royal ballroom dancing isn't that strenuous." Ragatha reassured.

~

"Announcing Kinger and Queenie of the Chess Kingdom!" The Royal barker proclaimed, standing at attention.

Kinger and Queenie followed the red carpet to Prince Caine, who welcomed them with a respectful bow. "Good to see you, Kinger. Lovely as always, Queenie." Prince Caine kissed Queenie's hand.

"Charmed, my liege." Queenie graciously accepted Caine's gesture. "You've outdone yourself. The castle looks stunning."

"The staff worked tirelessly to bring out it's beauty. I'm glad it paid off to impress you." Caine chuckled.

"Announcing Princess Pomni of the Digital Kingdom!"

Caine almost cracked his neck turning so fast. His heart skipped a beat. His eyes dilated to the size of dinner plates. There at the top of the stairs in a beautiful pastel pink dress was Pomni. He didn't take his eyes off of her as he walked towards the stairs, shouldering several people that didn't get out of his way.

He met her half way on the stairs, offering her his arm. All eyes were on them, so he kept his voice low. "You're so beautiful."

Pomni took his arm and went the rest of the way down the stairs with him. She blushes lightly from his comment. "Thank you, you look amazing too."

The dancefloor was alive with music and patrons waltzing around the room. Caine escorted Pomni through the crowd to the very center. To prevent dancing from being an awkward experience due to their significant height difference, Caine used his magic to make Pomni float. Pink sparkles fluttered under her feet and dress as she flew at eye height.

Pomni hadn't been expecting it and held tight to Caine's hand. "Woah!" She giggled. "This is cool! I'm not going to get tired anytime soon if I don't actually have to dance."

"And I won't have to break my back bending over." Caine held Pomni's waist and pulled her close, but kept a socially acceptable distance between them. He smiled, his heart overflowing with soft feelings for her. "Guess that means we can dance the night away."

Pomni held his shoulder, so tempted to touch his face. "Yeah....we could." Caine was incredibly handsome on any given day, but under the mood lighting and music, he was striking. She was transfixed as Caine led her in a waltz in time with the other dancers.

Caine moved a bit stiffly at first, finding it hard to focus on getting the timing right as he was distracted by the gorgeous woman in his arms, but relaxed as the song went on. Soon, he didn't pay any mind to the others. He swung and twirled Pomni around just to make her smile and laugh. It didn't matter to him if it matched the music at all.

At the end of a song, Caine leaned Pomni back in a shallow dip. His heart raced, not just from the exercise, but how close he had to hold her. His throat felt dry when he tried to speak. "Princess-" His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "Pomni, would you....uh, that is....could I-"

He couldn't get his sentence out fast enough. A new song started and they were separated by new dance partners. He watched Pomni get swept away in the crowd of dancers. While he danced politely with his new partner, he kept his head on a swivel for Pomni.

The spell Caine cast on Pomni kept her afloat as she moved with her new partner. He was some Duke from somewhere she didn't care about. She made eyes with Caine from across the room. She knew she had to do this, but she desperately wanted to get back to Caine.

Caine strategically moved his partner so they wouldn't notice him moving his finger, pointing it at Pomni's partner. The man's shoe came undone and he tripped. Unfortunately, before Caine could dance his way to her, she was taken by a new partner. He huffed with frustration.

Pomni's second partner was less cordial. He danced way too close, making eyes at her that made her uncomfortable. They danced along the outer edge of the dancefloor, and she saw Bubble floating by. "Pixie stick!" She said out loud and Bubble went berserk.

"WHERE!?"

Pomni nodded her head to her dance partner and Bubble swooped in for a bite. The man ran off with Bubble chasing him for a taste. Pomni tries to move on her own, swimming awkwardly through the air in her poofy dress. She got another new partner, but this one she recognized.

Kinger took Pomni's hand with an amused look in his eyes. "Now isn't this convenient. It's not everyday I see you at eye level."

Pomni's small 4'8 stature compared to Kinger's towering 6'10 often made it hard for them to even have a conversation. "Heh, yeah. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Absolutely. Prince Caine knows how to host a proper gala." Kinger danced with Pomni through the remainder of the song. He bowed to her when it was over. "Thank you for the dance, Princess."

Pomni curtsied. "Thank you, your highness." She looked around, but didn't see Caine in the crowd. She didn't want to be taken away by another partner. "Would you help me get a drink? I'm rather parched and it turns out moving around while under a hover spell is rather challenging." She laughed awkwardly.

Kinger held Pomni's hand and guided her to the refreshment table, happy to help. He stayed to have a drink with her and keep anyone from taking her away.

Caine frantically searched for Pomni from the dancefloor, all but ignoring his current dance partner. He spun around quickly, his partner getting terribly dizzy but too polite to say anything. He stopped when he saw Pomni having a drink and smiling with Kinger. It was bad enough that Pomni kept getting taken away by other dance partners but now she's off with KINGER!?

Another dancing couple crashed into Caine and his partner, toppling them to the floor. The other dancing couples went around, trying to ignore the fiasco but many people saw.

Embarrassed, Caine stood quickly and straightened his uniform. The other couple that crashed into him was helping his partner off the floor so he walked away from the situation as quickly as possible. Reputation be damned, he was tired of sharing Pomni all evening.

Pomni laughed at one of Kinger's stories and was about to sip her drink when the magic holding her alot shifted her backwards. "Woah!" She hit Caine back first with a thump. She felt his arm hold around her waist. "Caine??" Her tiara fell forward and she tried to hold it in place.

Caine held eyes with Kinger. "So sorry to interrupt, but Pomni and I have business elsewhere. Good evening." He turned sharply, swinging Pomni around with him and briskly making for a door out on to the veranda.

The outside air was cool and crisp. The veranda overlooked a large lake that reflected the pale moonlight. Cricket and frogs filled the night air with song. Fireflies and moths danced around the mystic lights. No one was outside but Caine and Pomni.

Caine took a deep breath of fresh air. "It's nice to escape the hustle and bustle of society. No drama. No judgement. Just quiet." He didn't let go of Pomni but his grip on her waist relaxed.

"And you dragged me with you because...?" She looked at him with a shy smirk. She could guess, but she wanted to hear him say it.

Caine cleared his voice, knowing he'd been caught. "I apologize for assuming, Princess. I only wished to share the same peace with you. These events can be overwhelming."

"Indeed." Pomni paused for a moment to listen to the night and tried to replace her tiara again. Darn thing kept sliding.

"Allow me." Caine gently took her tiara and placed it on her head, sliding the ends into her hair where it would hold. His hands lingered, brushing down her hair and caressing her cheeks as he slowly pulled away. "There..."

Pomni was flustered by the Prince's attention. "Th-thank...you." she said quietly.

"A princess shouldn't be without her tiara." He stumbled through his sentence, entranced by Pomni's eyes.

"...or her Prince." She said without thinking. "EEP!" She squeaked and tried to hide behind her hands. "I'm SO sorry, I don't know what came over me! I- uh! Um!"

Caine blushed but smiled. He took her hands from her face. "I agree." He said lowly. "Would you honor me with another dance, Princess Pomni?"

Pomni's heart was going mad. She could feel her heartbeat in her ears. "Yes..."

They held close, chests touching as they placed their hands in position to dance Caine led her in a slow and steady waltz across the veranda. Fireflies flew around them as their movements disturbed the insects. They moved to their own music, smiling and giggling as the dance gradually crescendoed.

The dance ended with Caine twirling Pomni out away from him and pulling her back in the closest she's ever been. Both of his arms around her middle, her arms around his neck. Their faces were inches apart, both breathing heavily and flushed from their fun.

The hearts in Caine's eyes told all. He couldn't keep it a secret from her anymore. "Princess-....Pomni. There is something I must confess..."

Pomni's heart leapt. "Yes, Caine?"

"Your beauty and grace has captured my heart and refuses to let it go. I find myself drawn to your presence like a moth to a flame, and you are a blaze I could never control. The day you fell from the sky was the first day of the rest of my life. You are truly a gift from the heavens." Caine poured out his heart and bared his soul. Once it was all out in the open, he subtly held his breath awaiting her response.

Pomni's eyes grew wide and teared a little finally hearing the confession she had hoped for for so long. "Caine, you have no idea how happy you've made me. I've been charmed by you since day one. I could only ever hope to one day have your attention the way you've taken mine."

Caine brushed a loose strand of hair out of Pomni's face and tucked it behind her ear. "You have my full and rapt attention. I wish to court you, Pomni. That perhaps one day...we can rule together."

Pomni smile widened. "I would be honored, but I'm afraid you're already ahead of the curve."

Caine arched a brow. "Oh? How so?"

"I'm already compelled to kiss you. No courting necessary."

Caine's heart skipped a beat. His eyes drifted to her lips, but came back to meet her gaze. He smirked. "Far be it from me to deny a Princess what she desires."

They pulled in together, closing eyes and locking lips to teeth. A sliver of pink magic came from Caine's chest, swirled around the two of them and flew off over the lake to explode into a finale of fireworks.

[moodymelanist]

🎄 All I Want For Christmas Is Snow 🎄

Surprise, @emeriethevalkyriegirl! I’m your Secret Santa! had a lot of fun writing this so I hope you enjoy ❤️ thanks for putting together an amazing event as usual @acotargiftexchange and happy holidays to all who celebrate !!

Summary: Nesta and Cassian’s daughter has never seen snow, so they conspire to give their baby girl her first white Christmas.

Word Count: 4,875

❅❅❅❅❅ Cassian

“Daddy?”

Cassian turned from where he was picking out a book for bedtime to look at his daughter. Seraphina – Sera for short, as she’d been insisting for a while now – looked absolutely adorable in a pair of purple pajamas. She’d just turned five not too long ago and he was so, so thankful she still enjoyed getting a bedtime story and a kiss on the forehead.

“Yes, mijita?” Cassian answered, grabbing one of the My Little Pony books off Sera’s shelf before coming to settle next to her on her tiny bed. “What’s going on in that cute little head?”

“Is snow real?” she asked abruptly. Her hazel eyes had taken on that determined look that meant she wasn’t going to bed anytime soon until she got her question answered.

“Of course it is,” he answered. It struck him sometimes how little she knew about the world, and just how much he and Nesta had left to show her before she grew up. “It just hasn’t snowed here in a long, long time. Not since before you were born.”

“Why not?” she followed up immediately. “I wanna see some.”

“One day, baby,” Cassian promised vaguely. He couldn’t predict the weather any more than the average guy, but he didn’t want to completely dash all her hopes. “The weather hasn’t been good for it yet.”

“When’s it gonna get good, Daddy?” Sera asked with a sigh she’d definitely gotten from her mother. He’d never get tired of seeing a quintessential Nesta expression on their daughter’s face, so he just reached out and smoothed some of her dark hair back to do something with the warmth of affection that spread through him.

“I don’t know,” he told her honestly. They hadn’t gotten good snow in DC for years – certainly not enough for Sera to enjoy it like a child deserved, anyway – and although the weather prediction said they were in for some real snow this year, who knew if that would actually be true. “But the weather people say maybe we’ll get some snow this year. Isn’t that exciting?”

“If you say so, Daddy,” she replied, clearly not believing him but deciding to go along with it anyway. “Can you read my story now?”

Keep reading on AO3 here!

tag list: @perseusannabeth | @bookstantrash | @charming-butt-insane | @oversizedbats | @melphss | @sv0430 | @podemechamardek | @autumnbabylon | @live-the-fangirl-life | @julemmaes | @that-little-red-head | @jmoonjones | @sayosdreams | @thewayshedreamed | @hiimheresworld | @brieq | @pearlfortears | @swankii-art-teacher | @nerdperson524 | @snickerdoodlechittybangbang | @imsointobooks | @nesquik-arccheron | @sweet-pea1 | @champanheandluxxury | @dustjacketmusings | @mrs-shadowsinger04 | @unlikelypersonalknight1 | @goddess-aelin | @arinbelle | @talkfantasytome | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @duskandstarlight | @letstakethedawn | @vidalinav | @c-e-d-dreamer | @dealfea | @katekatpattywack | @burningsnowleopard | @thatsowlmazing | @avidromancereader | @a-little-disguised | @kale-theteaqueen

[mysticalsoot]

miscommunications and mistakes

another fic of my self-indulgent boarding school au

A/N; this was fully based off a dream I had like under a week ago and in all honesty- also reader now has a sister in this au and said sister is dating Tom (don't ask questions okay-)

summary; reader harbours strong feelings for Wil but is too afraid to admit them due to the fear he won't see them for who they are. after they make a slip up after an evening out with him, Wilbur hatches a plan with reader's sister.

tw// swearing, use of bunny as a nickname (reader bounces when excited lol), uses of boy regarding the reader, kissing, lowkey a makeout, dude IDK-- it's like fluff central with dashes of angst..and I wrote Wil as gay in this fic- not making assumptions Abt irl wil- this is just fiction and like super super niche

words; 4.2k

pairings; cc!wilbur x transmale!reader (could be read as nb/non fem presenting, just avoid the uses of boy!)

pronouns; none really! but uses of boy, and uses of y/n!

masterlist

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Normally on weekends, you'd be back in the dorms, stay on campus and revel in what little alone time you had. The peace of silence draped over the halls. Only broken by a few dorm doors slamming from other levels. 

But nothing was normal with Wilbur. He came prancing into the dorm, practically skipping when he dipped his head into your bunk and gave you the cheekiest grin he could.

"Heyyy, bunny-" You lifted your head immediately at the sound, lifting your attention from your book to his face and your annoyance at the interruption immediately fizzled out when you saw him. He took away all of your worries and anxieties when he looked at you, and you so desperately wanted him more than a friend--

"Hello to you too, bee," You smiled softly at him as you pulled up your legs to give him room to sit at the end of your bunk, "What's got you all giddy this fine Saturday afternoon, hm?" You knew you were smiling so wide that anyone who wasn't as oblivious as Wilbur would've clocked immediately. But Wil doesn't notice the romantic feelings that seep into your gracious smile or the way your eyes sparkle at the idea of getting more time around him.

"Sooo…" He trailed off, leaning to rest his cheek on your knees as he spoke, "I asked your dad if I could take you with me and go out for the day. Like around mid-city? Go to a couple of different craft shops maybe...You know, do what kids usually do these days-" He lifts his head and cuts himself off, a playful smirk replacing his grin.

"Wilbur, I adore you, but I don't think you have the best idea of what 'kids do these days'," You chuckle softly as you meet his eyes and they crinkle at the corners as he leans his head back against the wall, shaking his head and chuckling with you.

"Fine- but would you still like to go?" He asks, his voice soft, only meant for you despite how the question was one that wouldn't hurt if it graced another's ears. It was for you nonetheless but he made sure it was said just for you and god-- if you didn't know better, you'd say there was a reason.

He's straight, Y/N. Get a grip. You thought, like you always did. At this point the phrase was a mantra, said mentally anytime he did something that could even just barely come off as more than platonic. It was a reminder to you that he couldn't feel the same unless he didn't see you as you were. And he made sure you knew he saw you as nothing but a boy. Just as you are.

"Yes, I'd love to," Your smile was soft, warm and you set aside your book and pulled off your covers just to snake out of your bunk. If you'd look in his direction, you would've noticed Wilbur's sweet and soft smile and his eyes big and wide. But you didn't, and so you lived in ignorance any time he gazed at you for longer than a few seconds--which was every time.

"Wonderful.." The word was mumbled under his breath as you put on your shoes, tying them and hopping up afterwards to grab your wallet.

You walked over to the door and waved with your hand, giggling, "Well come on then! We have craft stores to venture into!" 

Your words brought a bright smile to his face as he slunk out of your bunk and followed you, the reminder of his towering height now a thought on the tip of your minds.

"Yes, sir!" He giggles as he follows you, and you feel his hand ghost over your waist from behind, as if he was trying to guide you. Your breath hitches in your throat and stays stuck until his hand is moved back to his side and you let out a small breath, not of relief but you can't entirely tell what feeling lies underneath it.

It wasn't long until you were both outside of Hab 1, exiting into the parking lot and you started walking over to the bus stop. Wilbur grabbed you gently by your wrist and smiled. You turned back to face him, tilting your head to the side as you give him a quizzical look.

He lifted his other hand and dangled your dad's car keys in his palm and your eyes went wide, his hand letting go of your wrist.

"Wil- How?!" Your tone was more surprised as you stepped forward, grasping at the keys almost as if to assure yourself they were real.

"Apparently you're not the only one he favors-" He smiles mischievously and giggles as you grab the keys, before handing them back.

"He trusts you to drive his car? With his child as the passenger?" Your jaw might as well be on the ground with how you gape at Wilbur, at the idea your father trusts him this much. He won't even let Grace drive his car, but then again, she is fifteen and just got her permit so in reality, trusting a sixteen almost seventeen year old with a driver's license a year old actually isn't the worst.

"Yep, he does. I didn't even ask, he just offered. I tried to say no but- Your dad can be scary when he's determined. It also seemed like he wanted to get back to talking to Andy and I'd rather take the offer and let him…talk, than be at the receiving end of his annoyance," He giggles softly as he leads you along across the parking lot to your father's car.

"You mean flirting?" You chuckle softly at the mental image of your dad trying to flirt and falling short repeatedly, even though all he has to do is look Andy's way--

"Okay, that is what I mean-" Wilbur smiles as he scoffs, opening the passenger door and letting you step in before walking to the driver's side and getting in his seat.

The car ride is uneventful after that, music playing in the background as you both hum along to it. Wilbur's eyes intently focused on the road in front of him, more cautious than you've ever seen him before. He was so careful with every move he made, clearly he knew how scary your dad could be when his child is hurt. He could care less about his car getting a scratch or a dent, it's replaceable, expensive, but replaceable. You and your two siblings were not and if you asked any person he passed by through life, he thought the world of you three. You guys are his world and have been since the moment he adopted you. Who knew a mid 20s grad student could find such joy in raising three pre teens into adulthood? The three of you are not pre teens by any means now, and the thought in itself was daunting to him but he found great pride in his kids. Sometimes impulsive decisions you make when you're freshly an adult, pay off.

When Wilbur pulled the car gently into a parking spot, putting it in park and putting the emergency break on--just in case--he sighed and rested his head against the headrest, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. You smiled softly and chuckled along with it as you dipped your head to meet his eyes.

"You okay there, Wil?" He shook his head, as he smiled worriedly.

"Uhh, besides the fact I just drove one of my closest friends in his dad's car, ten minutes away from campus, I'm fine-" He took a few deep breaths as he took the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car. You started to follow suit, unlocking your side when he shook his head, "Nope, wait for me."

The words made a dusting of pink crawl up your cheeks as you looked down, smiling to yourself. Wilbur practically ran around the car to your side and he opened the door, "Such a gentleman," You giggled as you stepped out of the car, his hand held out for you and you take it. He closes the door behind you and holds onto your hand for a few seconds longer than what is platonically acceptable--

He's straight, stop it. Another thought, another mantra and you take a deep breath, walking with him onto the sidewalk. You smiled over at him as he smiled back, his eyes on you for a split second before refocusing on the concrete of the walkway and you felt his arm ghost around your waist again, hovering ever so slightly. It's there, but it isn't and you two walked into the first shop, a small bookstore combined with a bakery.

Your eyes lit up at the scents that wafted up your nose immediately, assaulting your senses with warm pastries and the smell of old books despite most of the books being sold are brand new. Wilbur noticed your glowing expression and giggled, the two of you finding a spot out of the way to look at the menu. He leaned down closer to you and spoke by your ear, "Get anything you want, okay? I'm paying, so don't even try to pull out your wallet." He smiled as he pulled back, readjusting his attention to the large menu board on the wall, his arm going back to his side.

You knew not to argue, you wouldn't win anyways, and he'd go as far as taking your wallet and hiding it from you if you even dared to pay. So you shrugged and tried to find a pastry that piqued your interest and it wasn't hard to--it was still before noon and while you ate breakfast with your sister in the cafeteria, you still had a hankering for something breakfast-y. 

You told Wilbur your order and he guided you with him to the counter, him taking control of ordering and getting you what you ordered a long with a crossiant for himself. He was smiling politely during the interaction and you watched him the whole time, how he nodded at the cashier, bounced his head a slight bit as his card got rung up. The slight frustration in his eyes when the card wouldn't read the first time--every bit. It wasn't unusual for you to notice all of the small things about him, but to watch him do something like this, somehow felt domestic and just made the happy feelings erupt and flutter in your stomach.

He's straight, why can't you see that? Another thought and you're looking away, trying to hide the small frown that crawls onto your lips.

His arm ghosts again, your lower back now, and then his hand is on your side. You were zoned out, didn't notice the small smile on his lips as he nodded to something the cashier said and then he smiled over at you before guiding you to a table by a window.

He pulls out the chair to the left, smiling and waving for you to take a seat, you do with a soft smile on your lips and he takes his seat across from you. This feels so…nice. But misleading. It almost feels wrong to even imagine the possibility of this being more than a close platonic friendship. Anything more than the obvious.

He breaks the silence with a soft smile, resting his chin on his palm while his other hand rests on the table. You catch his fingers twitching, almost like he was going to reach out to you, but restrained himself, "So after this, craft store?"

"I need yarn anyways, it's dad's birthday soon-" You chuckle softly and Wilbur shakes his head with a smile, scoffing playfully.

"When do you not need yarn?" A small and teasing smirk crawls up on his lips as he folds his arms on the table, leaning forward just a hair.

"When I'm dead," Despite the monotone aura of your delivery, you're smiling widely, a playfulness held in your eyes.

Wilbur laughs softly at you, his eyes crinkling like they always do and his nose scrunching up while he smiles warmly, "Let's hope that isn't soon, alright?" His tone has a genuine warmth to it, like a part of him means what he says and you swear the way he says 'alright?' will be the death of you.

"Well, if I do die soon, Andy is going to have a handful with my father," You scoff slightly, shaking your head at the thought, the conversation topic is dark but your smiles and your playful tone makes it softer.

The moment you finished speaking, your order was called and when you went to stand and get it--Wilbur stopped you by placing his hand on yours for a brief moment, his eyes glancing at yours with a gentle warning in them. So he stood up and walked over, grabbing the two drinks and pastries he ordered for you both, and found his spot back across from you. He rested an arm on the table as he ate his pastry, watching as you eat yours with a happy sway.

"You like it?" Wilbur giggled as he watched you, putting down his pastry so he could rest his chin on his palm, and admire you with a soft smile.

You nodded your head excitedly, smiling wide as you chew. Wilbur smiles as he shakes his head in awe before he finishes his own pastry, you following suit.

The both of you had gotten up afterward, taking your drinks and wandering around the bookshop, picking out books or trinkets for one another. You found a space pen for your dad, Wilbur smiling at your thoughtfulness when you saw it, immediately going on about how much your dad would love it-- how he needed one after Evan stole all of his favorite ones. Wilbur found the moment endearing, seeing you so excited about getting something so small but meaningful for your father. You weren't even there for him, but you managed to think of him anyways.

The rest of your afternoon was spent together, walking around mid-city, going to different shops and making jokes, and sharing glances that should be a tell of mutual feelings but you both were much too oblivious. And afraid.

You feared he was straight or rather, you knew he was straight, whilst Wilbur feared that if you knew he liked you, you'd think he thought that way because he saw you as a girl. Which was not true by any means but he knew you too well, he knew how your mind worked, how those negative thoughts would seep in and infest anything positive.

It was inching closer and closer to dinner time for that evening, and you both promised that you'd be back beforehand, even if it was the weekend, neither of you liked being late for things. Regardless of if lunch times were flexible and merely a suggestion, it still bothered you both to be there past time.

"So, did you enjoy your day?" Wilbur asked softly as he looked down at you, a sweet smile on his lips as he admired you. You didn't notice the glint in his eyes or the way he bit his lip gently when he looked at you. How would you notice?

"I loved it, Wil," Your own smile matched his and as you went to open the passenger side door, Wilbur tsked and immediately opened it for you. You groan at him, in playful annoyance as you roll your eyes, "Seriously, Wilbur?" 

"Yes, seriously. I am a gentleman, am I not?" The boy smiles softly, eyes crinkling and glowing with…appreciation and platonic love--which is what you decided to call it and you hoped it was something more.

“If I argue, I'm not going to get anywhere, am I?” You tilt your head to the side slightly, a teasing and playful smirk on your lips as you fold your arms over your chest. You lean against the side of the car door, chin up to meet his eyes. He looked away for a moment, smiling as a blush crawled onto his cheeks, and when he looked back at you, his lips curled into a coy smile.

“You’ll never win, darling,” He smirked softly as he dipped his head close to yours, not so far as to insinuate anything more than teasing, platonic banter, but enough to toe the line just a hair.

“Okay- Fine.”

You tried to ignore the way your voice cracked at the end, how your blush showed on your face, and how your voice entirely deceived you. Wilbur won't notice, you thought, he’s too oblivious.

He did, but he simply smiled to himself as he shut the passenger side door and walked around the car to the driver’s side. The drive was decently silent, a comment here and there but the drive back to campus was short anyhow so there wasn’t much you could say anyhow. Once he pulled into a parking space, he leaned against the headrest, turning his head to face you, a small smile on his lips.

You smiled back and as you looked at him, he felt too distracting. Everything about him, his stupid fuzzy curls, those puppy eyes--the way his dimples and smile lines showed ever so slightly. How his lips were so pink, curled into such a small and sweet smile--his cheeks softly dusted with pink- You wanted to kiss him right then and there, it was stupid but you weren’t sure how much longer you could let yourself hold back. And it wasn’t like you were the one to make impulsive decisions by any means. You weren't someone to let your feelings overtake your logical thinking but god…he looked too pretty to think about it. So you kissed him. You leaned over the central console and you kissed him, it was just a simple peck but it was enough to spark fireworks in your stomach. It felt like an eternity that you had your lips on his when it was mere moments before you pulled back and reality rushed in. How stupid you felt and now how embarrassed you were.

"God-- Wil, I'm sorry just-- Sorry." You mutter out, turning a deep shade of red and feeling that burning feeling of guilt build in your gut. You reached over and opened the car door just moments later and Wilbur did the same on his side, not saying anything in response. You wished he would just yell at you, it's better than painful silence like this.

He stopped at the gate, stumbling over his words, “Uh, I promised Tech I would hang out with him- like over in the Davidson Center so I- I’ll see you later, yeah?”

You nodded, trying to give a soft smile but ultimately failing and walking the other way.

You are an idiot, or at least that’s the conclusion you’re coming to. It isn’t greatly beneficial but neither is impulsively kissing your probably straight best friend, now is it?

You tried to shrug off every negative and intrusive thought, walking up the stairs to your dorm so you could vent and complain to your sister, and that plan couldn’t be spoiled at this point. A few more steps and you were swinging open the dorm door, sighing from relief when you find Grace entirely alone in the dorm.

“Jesus- knock next time!” She jumped in her place, nearly screaming as she got spooked from reading peacefully in her bunk. Her face was written in a slight scowl but her expression softened the moment you met her eyes, “What’s wrong?”

“I fucked up,” You run your hands down your face as you find a seat on the bench, leaning against the desk.

“How..so?” Grace’s voice was unsure as she climbed down the ladder of her bunk, walking over to you, and sitting next to you.

“I kissed him-”

“Wait really? Finally!” She was beaming with excitement and you shoot a glare at her, her demeanor changes immediately, “How bad?”

“Okay well for starters- after he didn't even say anything until we got to the gate and then he told me he was going to see Tech- and that’s fine honestly it could’ve gone worse but I really think I messed up big time now- I mean, he’s straight for fucksake!” You speak all in one breath, taking a deep breath afterward and leaning your head on your sister's shoulder.

She holds back a laugh as she whispers, “Did he kiss back?”

“Yeah-” She was about to cut you off when you spoke again, “But it doesn’t mean anything. It could’ve just been instinct,” You screw your eyes shut, the guilt building up into your throat, burning your insides.

“You’re not going to listen to what I have to say so I’ll say this; give him time to process and you won’t feel like such shit anymore, okay? Now, I think you should go lay under the Saturn V and decompress, yeah? It’s your spot,” Grace smiles softly as she ushers you up to stand, nearly pushing you out of the dorm.

“Fine- Fine- I get it, Tom is coming over isn't he?” You throw a playful smirk as you chuckle softly at the way your sister is acting. She scowls softly and a slight pink tint crawls up her cheeks.

“No- absolutely n- okay maybe. Now, go!” You roll your eyes playfully as you walk away.

A bit of fresh air wouldn’t hurt.

The thing is, the Davidson Center, which is where the decoy Saturn V sits outside, is on the other side of campus. So while it was mid-October and decently chilly, you still managed to break a sweat and be a bit out of breath. The hilly paths and the heat leftover from the day radiating from the asphalt also did not help. A few minutes passed and you were through the gate and under the large rocket.

You sighed a breath of relief at how cool it was underneath, not a single drop of sunlight as the sun began to set behind the hills and trees. So you found a seat underneath, closing your eyes and letting the wind rake through your hair and fan over your face, silence draping your being in a meditative comfort.

And then it was broken, “Hey, bunny,” Your eyes shot open at the sound of the familiar voice, the nickname processing only afterward, and the voice was quickly identified as Wilbur.

“I thought you had plans with your brother?” You ask softly, moving to stand from your spot on the concrete. You didn’t take any steps forward, but he took them towards you.

“I did, he had a meeting with his crew trainer that got in the way,” He shrugs, smiling soft and sweet as he took a few more steps towards you, the space between both of you, now gone.

You smile back, memories of fear and guilt so far gone that all you feel is that usual hoard of butterflies in your gut. He puts his hands gently on your upper arms, his thumbs rubbing softly as he looks down, shuffling his feet. Part of you wants to freeze at his touch, but you instead melt, letting out a soft and satisfied sigh.

“I need to tell you something,” Wilbur starts, his feet stopping their shuffles as he moves his eyes to meet yours.

“Yeah?” Your voice is soft and small, eyes widened only slightly as you search his face for any inkling of what he may need to say--and you come up with nothing.

“I think…” He trails off as his eyes dart from yours down to your lips and back to your eyes, “I think it would be better if I speak with action,” And so, he drops his hands to your sides, letting himself wear a small smirk on his lips before he leans down and captures you in a deep and passionate kiss. One that if it goes on too long, lips will be left pink and swollen from how much love gets poured into it. Wilbur then moves a hand up to cup your cheek, and then his other on your other cheek, thumbs rubbing the soft skin gently as you reach your arms up and drape them over his neck. You pull him down slightly, opening your mouth just a hair more to somehow deepen the kiss even more than it already is. His body presses on yours as you press yours upwards onto his. Soft sighs and sounds of excitement slip out, swallowed by one another as sweet smiles curl up on both of your lips. It’s only when you’re both desperate for air that he pulls back, running his thumb over your lips, admiring how pink they are. And he smirks, “Oh, I’m gay by the way,” He chuckles softly as you swat at his arm, smiling wide from euphoria.

“No fucking shit, Sherlock!” You both giggle and he drops his head down onto your shoulder, pulling you close into a hug.

“I’m sorry about earlier- I was… kind of shocked and I didn’t know how to react. I just- I hope this makes up for it,” He sighs against your shoulder before turning his face against your neck, rubbing your back as he smiles, “I like you, like, a lot. And in the gay way.”

You giggle in response, “You know, I like you too,”

taglist; @sleepyburs @lillylvjy @ella-fella-bo-bella

[itsnotgray]

Gray! Do you have any favorite blogs/Blog recs?

do i ever;

@starry-hughes - one of the first hockey blogs i followers actually, i love star dearly

@slafkovskys - live laugh and love jess, plain and simple

@toasttt11 - i love all of her au ideas, the ideas/concepts always draw me in

@lukevangelista / @noah-dobson - laney is one of my favorites on this app actually. there aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe just how thankful i am that she shares her writing on this app.

@jimmyssnuggs - quinn!! talking to quinn never ceases to brighten my day, and her au’s/ideas are very near and dear to me

@writingonleaves - one of the greatest gifts tumblr has brought me is to k’s writing. god i’d love to spend even just 10 minutes in her brain.

@dmercer91 - E OH MY GOODNESS!! all of her au’s, ideas, etc. bring a smile to my face. her blog is in an odd way, kind of a safe space (sorry to get sappy)

@jackhues - naqia is an absolute sweetheart and seeing her on my dash always brightens my day

@nhlclover - was sitting here thinking of blog recs and realized i somehow didn’t follow her??? i always get so excited anytime i come across one of their fics, they’re all such fun reads

there are so many more i could sit here and list, but these are the first few to come to mind<3

[foldingfittedsheets]

I wish I could follow you more than once~ I get excited to read a queer story anytime I see your art on my dash!

I was wondering if you've ever made a comic that centers the size of a body before? I feel like you would do a uniquely great job of making something meaningful and touching.

I took a look around but didn't find anything myself. I really like how many body types I saw though. It means a lot how inclusive you are of all kinds of people, for me especially i appreciate your inclusion of disabilities.

As someone who struggles with an invisible disability I was always really drawn to conveying that in a story, the feeling that you should just push through how you're feeling especially. The fact that I got to make it a callback to the original Little Mermaid was a huge bonus.

As to a comic that centers around someone's body- it's something I'm extremely unlikely to tackle. Any story about body size acceptance would have to grow from a world in which that person was shamed and traumatized for their body. The world I've made is not perfect, however I have no interest in porting over phobias. No one in my world is homophobic, and no one is fatphobic. People can cast illusions and use magic, I feel like that would dramatically affect social norms and self worth that people develop as a result.

I haven't made some crazy utopia, people are still shitty in other ways, Sabine had an abusive ex, Charles cursing Fen was objectively a dick move even with good intentions, Rivka and Layla are still antagonistic (and also thieves so like, crime). There's still conflict in this space but I want the conflict to be centered around peoples personalities rather than prejudices or insecurities.

I do hope you find media that portrays you better, and I'm sorry it probably won't spring up in my world, but I will continue to have a variety of body types in my comics!

[killerandhealerqueen]

for the soft asks - all of the even numbers that you haven't answered yet :D

Took, I love you, god damn

4. what flower would you like to be given?

Oh, sunflowers! I love sunflowers, they're my favorite

6. say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical).

Alright, alright...hmm

Physical

I have nice hair

I have a nice voice

I have pretty eyes

Non-Physical

I'm compassionate

I'm smarter than I give myself credit for

I'm kind

8. tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. 

@mishathewtf @ahhhnorealnamesallowed @kpopfantasywriter @seonghwacore @nineninepetals @zennialemo @missjudge-me @zzzhoonie @hyperbolicgrinch @fourth-quartet (obvs) @clawbehavior and there are so many others...I just love y'all

10. what’s something you’re excited for?

I'm excited to finish my current wip that I'm working on and post it after doing some edits to it. I'm really happy with how it's going so far (I can't write a short fic for Killer and Healer to save my fucking life)

12. how are you?

Tired. A little stressed. And nervous cuz I have a job interview coming up on Wednesday...

14. favorite feel-good show?

Now, Killer and Healer is my go to answer for every show, but it's not really a feel-good show, if you know what I mean. So I'm gonna go with White Cat Legend because there are some episodes, ep. 18 in particular, where I just screech with laughter because it's so god damn funny. But my other feel-good show is any show that talks about Ancient Egypt. I love Egyptology and wanted to be an Egyptologist when I was younger (mainly to study mummies, is anyone surprised that I ended up in forensics? No, you shouldn't be). But yeah, any nature documentary or documentary on Ancient Egypt is my go-to feel good show

16. compliment the person who sent you this number.

You're an absolute delight and I love seeing you on my dash and getting asks from you and I thank God every day we became friends because of The Devil Judge

18. do you still love stuffed animals?

You fucking kidding me, of course I do. Love my stuffies

20. what do you want most in the world right now?

To get a fucking job and stop feeling like I'm behind all of my friends, even though I know I'm not. It's just that my timeline has not exactly worked out the way I wanted it to, so...yeah. Getting my job in my field would be the cherry on top

22. what would you say to your future self?

Keep being badass

24. what’s something you do to de-stress?

Work on/read fanfiction or watch youtube videos

26. what movie would you want to live in?

Uh...Princess and the Frog. Good music, bombass food...sign me the fuck up

28. hugs or hand-holding?

Hugs. I've been told I give good hugs

30. what reminds you of home (doesn’t have to mean house… just things that remind you of the feeling of home)?

Going into any asian grocery story. See, I lived in Hawaii and spent a lot of time in Chinatown because my great-grandmother used to go there a lot. And Lunar New Year and other stuff like that. So anytime I go into an asian grocery store and smell all the spices and what not, I feel like I'm home

soft asks to get to know people | send me asks

[quilteddreamz]

Trick or treat! Sorry if I do this wrong. I'd love a Fluffy Cotton Paper Pals if that's okay. Would a Pinocchio x FNAF story be okay? Roxanne would have a Pinocchio theme for Halloween, and Chica the Fairy. Roxanne gets a new feature that makes her nose longer; not from lies, but anytime Chica boops Roxanne. Chica boops Roxanne so much she could use her nose as a table for pizza and decorations 🎃 👻

I'm sorry if I requested wrong.

You did it pretty much right! I was more looking for a vague idea of plot so I can experiment.

I loved the idea of Chica and Roxanne dressing up as the disney fairytale! I had fun and I hope you enjoy! (It's also posted on my Ao3)

================

Bubbling laughter filled the evening air. Small children dressed as ghouls and royalty dashed along the road.

Roxanne watched from the porch, sat on a bench. She growled, readjusting her fake nose for the seventh time that evening.

The wooden nose wouldn’t stay overtop her own. It looked more like a stick was balanced on top.

Pinocchio hadn’t been her first pick. The ideal costume would have been herself or one of the beetles. She had agreed to this to appease Chica — who chose the pretty fairy. Chica had been firm about them matching.

The wolf’s ears perked towards the gathered group at the porch steps.

“What adorable costumes! I could just eat you both up!” Chica squeals. Crouched down with her hands on her knees, her sparkling blue dress splayed on the porch wood. 

Chica grasped a handful of candy from the bowl, adding to the children’s haul. She giggled, waving to the parents as the kids ran off.

Roxanne rolled her eyes as the chicken walked back.

“We’re not going to have any candy in an hour,” Roxanne grumbled.

Chica plopped down next to her on the bench, smoothing out her dress. Her face scrunched at the comment.

“Kids deserve to have sweets.” She chirped, “Stop souring the mood.”

“I’m just being honest.”

“That’s ironic,” Chica blurted, reaching out and booping her nose. “Then why’s your nose so long?”

Roxanne’s ears flattened. “It’s always been that long. I’m a wolf.”

“Hmmm. No. It’s definitely longer.” Chica couldn’t stop her teasing grin. She booped the wolf again.

Roxanne’s low growl filled the air. “Stop.”

Chica feigned a gasp, “It grew again! You must love this.”

She reached out once more— Roxanne snatched her hand. She jerked the chicken forward, wrapping her arms around her. Roxanne’s false nose fell off in the wrestle.

“You’re going to mess up my dress!” She squawked, a laugh bursting from her beak.

“Should have thought about that before attacking me,” Roxanne’s lip twitched into a playful smile. She held her still in her arms, stopping her squirms.

Roxanne brought her claw forward, booping Chica’s beak. Chica blinked before bursting out into laughter.

“Trick r’ treat!” Excited voices called from the porch steps.

Roxanne released Chica, watching her race off to deliver more sweets. She sighed, seeing more handfuls being dumped in children’s pails. 

There wouldn’t be any candy left by the night’s end.

[dauntlessdiva]

i wish my stranger things Huge hyperfix was still around :( i miss having brainrot over steddie and such yk? but it’s still lovely to see it on my dash depsite not participating as much anymore. and the fic idea is so good??? i think i’ll go and add some of your fics on ao3 to my read later list! :]

i have tried to watch d20 and specifically fantasy high… i think i got to, like, episode 2 or 3 of season 1. my brain can’t comprehend all of the talking and trying to keep up with story. i love dnd so much and i’d love to delve into d20 more and also critical roll. feel free to talk to me about it anytime! who’s your favorite fantasy high characters??

i also have never watched bridgerton! i’ve seen posts on here about it but i really have no clue what it’s about! i’m guessing it’s british but i’m not even sure about that lol. it’s lovely to watch something with your family like that, it’s really sweet

OH SAME!! i love minecraft and i love baking and i love watching crochet stuff but i don’t participate in the hobby. tell me some of your favorite things about minecraft, your favorite things to bake, your favorite crochet project possibly?

i love music so much AHHH!!! who’s your top 3 artists? or what are some of your favorite songs right now? personally, there’s a new album coming out soon that i’m really excited for! and new music actually released tonight for me as well, just has been a great music month for me ^w^

(hope this is okay, i mean, to send multiple asks as conversation!)

I love this, it's like getting letters but online.

(This is what email wishes it could be)

I also have a hard time concentrating on the words with d20, but also woth podcasts and audiobooks too, so I typically find another task to do to keep my ears engaged. Like I'll listen to Dimension 20 while I bake! Or I'll draw in my sketchbook while listening to an audiobook.

In terms of my favourite character from Fantasy High, it's a tie between Fig and Gorgug. My angry little sweethearts.

Bridgerton IS British! And if you like regency era romance vibes but don't care so much about the historical accuracy, then you'd probably like it. There's a lot of sex scenes though so do with that what you will.

My favourite Bridgerton character is Anthony Bridgerton. He's the eldest and he's so stubborn that I wanna box his ears sometimes, but he is also a sweetheart.

My dad likes to hog the tv for the majority of the week, and we have family movie nights all together on Saturday nights. But on Friday nights, my dad invites his buddies/our neighbours over to hang out in the garage for some beers and good conversation, and me, my mom, and my sister will all go watch something on Netflix together.

We've been doing it since Stranger Things season 4 part 2 came out, and we will just sit and binge entire shows a few episodes at a time.

I may be aging myself with this one, (and that feels so odd to say as someone who just turned 25 last month) but my favourite minceracft youtuber has got to be Vintagebeef. I started watching him when he was in his second season playing on the Mindcrack server (it was their 3rd season I believe), back when I was 12.

I love watching him on the Hermitcraft server these days, and it's nice to see him interacting and having fun with minecraft legends of old and new. I also love any Team Canada (Vintagebeef, Ethoslab, and PauseUnpause) videos. It's as fun as it is chaotic, and it's always very chaotic.

I found a recipe online to turn cake mix into cookies by modifying the wet ingredients, and I have been having so much fun getting creative with those on my days off work since I discovered it sometime last fall.

(My favourite ones so far would have to be the marbled cookies. They are to die for)

My favourite crochet projects, to date, are the baby blanket I made for my best friend's little boy, and the dice bags I recently made for my friend and I (she invited me to join my first ever dnd campaign with her)

My top three music artists right now would be Noah Kahan, Chappell Roan, and Hozier (with a shout out to Benson Boone)

But my all time faves? Marianas Trench, Fall Out Boy, and AC/DC

[mayahawkins]

no one asked me to list my fav blogs but i’m just gonna make my own end of year follow forever bc i wanna rant abt my talented friends, beloved mutuals, and just people i follow that i have never spoken to but who are such a joy to see on my dash. so, without further ado, maddy’s 2022 follow forever:

@strangeswift abby strangeswift, my beloved. you were the first person i talked to in this fandom and i’m so glad u were bc u are the sweetest most kind person ever. you are so supportive of all your friends and mutuals and u make me wanna be a more outwardly loving and supportive person fr. i remember when u wrote that lil ficlet based on my text post and i’m p sure i almost cried bc i felt so special that someone had been inspired by something i had said to write smth so wonderful. you’re an incredible writer and i am always so excited anytime you post any of your writing. i can’t wait to read more of your fics and am so patiently waiting for MilevenVision (as much as i may bug u for crumbs). i’m so glad to call you a friend <3

@elekinetic ella ella, bonded in shared discord trauma so ur never getting rid of me. i feel so honoured to call you a friend bc you are one of the best people i know. you are so smart and level-headed and loyal as hell to your friends. you are also so kind and you're so deliberate with what you say and how you say it. you defs intimidated me the first few times we talked but now im like oh ya ella, my amazing talented friend ella. your scripts give me so much life. and not just your st ones but your original ones as well. can't wait to one day see "ella elekinetic hexagirl" in movie credits (bc obviously ur last name is ur url). and your OCs?? i have never once become obsessed with someone's OCs the way i can't stop thinking abt yours. that's what you've done to me. you are so incredibly talented and ily <3

@andiwriteordie ANNDDIIIIII ILY FR <3 u are so insanely talented and kind and wonderful. i’m so happy we started talking recently bc u have truly brightened the last few weeks of the year. u got me back into watching merlin so thank u for the pain u will surely cause me as i rewatch this show i haven’t seen in almost a decade. ur fics were some of the first that i read in the byler fandom and that means u will always hold a special place in my heart. i remember the first time i read your let's hear it for the boys series and i was just like omg i'm obsessed with this. i have absolutely adored every single one i’ve read (even though i’m a lil behind on them rn oops but i will catch up) and can’t wait to see what else you write. your atla!au (and the newly brainstormed merlin!au) live in my head rent free and i can’t wait to read them if you write them.

@nnilkyway my fellow emo will truther <3 yvie i love you dearly. you are so incredibly talented i could scream abt ur artwork literally for days. your fanworks and your original art and your doodles are all beautiful and stunning. the day we started talking and you sent me the lil doodle you did of emo will byers i think i actually cried at how much i loved it and that it had come from our conversation about it. i saved it onto my camera roll so i can come back to it easier that's how much i love it. you are also one of the funniest people on here, your tags almost always have me rolling. i can't wait to see what beautiful art you draw in the new year.

@finalgirlbyers sierra lovqbrl madcleradin finalgirlbyers!!!! i know we haven’t talked much but i love seeing u on my dash and u always have the best takes and theories and just posts in general. i know i've said that literally multiple times to you but it cannot be overstated how correct you always are. one of my fav people to follow on here.

people i don't talk to but whose presence is a joy to have on my dash:

@astrobei an absolutely incredible writer that wrote some of my fav fics. one of the best will fics, not all the prayers, that truly is just so unbelievably amazing. like the care that you can just tell went into that fic is just incredible. Some absolutely incredible lines that will punch you right in the gut in the best way possible.

@blueeandyellowmakesgreen jade! one of the coolest people, has some of the most amazing art over on @azuries, like it's actually so amazing and people need to go look at it and reblog it now immediately

@mlchaelwheeler an absolute joy to follow. so many good posts and im fr rooting for mike with a sword in s5 just for her

@elmaxed their fics were some of the first i read in the byler fandom and i absolutely fell in love with them. they hold such a dear place in my heart. also one of the sweetest people fr, one of the first to compliment my gifs and so they are forever in my mind for that <3

@smoosnoom omg their fics!!! are!!!! incredible!!!! so many wonderful fics, i was just looking through my bookmarks and i swear half of them are theirs. the one about mike's will voice has my whole heart.

@wiseatom another lovely fic writer, and one who titles her fics with taylor swift lyrics bc she Gets It!!! also one of the sweetest people in the fandom, always seems to be supporting other people.

@kidovna one of the most talented artists in this fandom oh my GOD. i cannot praise her and her art enough idk how what else to even say besides amazing incredible talented showstopping

@byeler wrote one of my all time fav fics, Heavy Hopes, with my beloved trope, oblivious jealous mike, which is truly *chef's kiss*. such a good writer like it cannot be overstated

@ice-sculptures a truly amazing gifmaker. gifs so many little byler moments that are so precious that i've definitely missed when watching the show.

@william-byers an absolutely incredible gif maker. taylor swift and stranger things together on one blog, what more could you want?

@padme-amidala makes some of the most beautiful gifs ever oh my goodness, her gifs are part of what inspired me to start making gifs and to challenge my gifmaking. i hope to one day be as good as she is.

@robiinbuckley also makes some of the most beautiful gifs, literally in awe of her gifs. also inspired my gifmaking journey and has inspired me to challenge myself when it comes to gifmaking.

[rxvenhairedprincesss]

pinkxperfectionisms

leagueofdccm

perfectioncursed

inkedmuses

👀

Send me a URL and I’ll share some positivity about them || Always accepting

.・゜-: ✧ :- @pinkxperfectionisms : Josie is the kindest person i've ever met and you'd be lucky to write with her! She gives Betty an incredible back story and I love to see her on my dash. And in my DM's on discord. We have so many wonderful ships and friendships that we write together, and i'm glad I get to do it with her. Forever one of my B to my V.

.・゜-: ✧ :-@leagueofdccm : I don't know how anyone would not know about Della. Cause she a real one and has been my best bitch since day one. Always there for anything and to talk shit and to write the best fucking ships. I've followed her on millions of blogs, and don't intend on stopping anytime soon. If you ever have a chance to write with her, you can see how the passion for her characters come out through her writing. The storylines and backstories she makes up can rival any shows plot line. A wonderful friend and writer and you should totally get to know her.

.・゜-: ✧ :-@perfectioncursed : Beth is my OG Betty, who I adore and love so much. She is who you think of when you think of Betty. She embodies her so well and writes her flawlessly, and even better than the show. She is the sweetest and kindest friend that anyone could ever ask for. And I will always adore getting to talk to her and get to know her more and more each day.

.・゜-: ✧ :-@inkedmuses / @goldenboybarracuda : Vivi is my favorite girl to talk all things Taylor swift. We just be clowning on Clownelia Street always. She also has a million characters that have such a depth to them and our characters will forever be in a feud over people they like. That is just the dynamics we have and I adore everything about it. I'll also happily skip hand in hand with you to the therapy we both clearly need. *wink wink*

BONUS:

.・゜-: ✧ :- @serpentsprince : If ya'll don't follow pressy, what are you even doing with your life? She is an amazing person, friend and writer. I love every character she brings to life and her witty commentary. We've been friends for awhile now, and I always get excited to write with her. getting to write ships against pressy is actually an honor. One that hurts, cause she always has so much damn angst...but I love it and keep coming back for it.