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widowshill · 2 months ago

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unhinged character ask game: can I get 1 + 2 for Vicki, and/or 2 +17 for Carolyn, and/or 2 + 7 for Roger? Please and thank you!

UNHINGED CHARACTER ASKS.

this ended up a little long, so posting it under the cut!

1. How do you think this character would fare in a zombie apocalypse? for Vicki.

optimistically ... ok? suffering, but alive? Vicki has a stubborn knack for survival ! she's dealt with almost every other supernatural phenomenon except zombies and emerged 90% of the time with her life (including vampires, ghosts, witches, warlocks, phoenixes, and Frankenstein's monsters, finally losing only to Jeff & the death knell of marriage, and [redacted] and the [redacted]) so I have confidence in her. her strengths are in her puzzle-solving and her general willingness to believe in the supernatural; she'd be one of the first ones to accept what was happening, and to seek the reason behind it / the best way out. she also tends to doggedly stay focused, and to not abandon ship, or abandon hope (even when it's reasonable to do so!). her biggest weakness in an apocalypse type scenario is that she's obviously no action heroine, and she will almost certainly find herself in Unfortunate Circumstances. luckily she has two shotgun-toting boyfriends at her beck and call, plus Joe if she needed him, plus Carolyn and her revolver (plus Liz and her firepoker, if we're really in dire straights). and Josette's help! who would certainly not let her die at the hands of her zombified husband.

which brings me to my next point. Vicki's downfall, or closest to it, would be if she lost a loved one to zombification — which certainly includes romantic partners, but also anyone she cared about. she would all but refuse to let them go, and she'd be unable to admit that's not them anymore; that they can neither be helped nor can she be with them. someone would have to force her to, and Vicki would be extremely resistant, not to mention basically paralyzed by grief. she'd get through it eventually — she's very resilient through her various traumatic situations — it'd be close to impossible without someone dragging her bodily through it.

2. Favorite hc for this character? for Vicki.

there's a broad group of headcanons that fall under the umbrella of "Vicki has never left Manhattan in her entire life, and now lives in the middle of nowhere in Maine" and a lot of those are fun (someone had to teach Vicki how to drive, and to swim; and Vicki's always going to be the one putting the bugs / rats / etc outside and never Roger) but I think my favorite one is thinking about Vicki's relationship to the stars and the night sky in Collinsport? that ... she'd be just knocked over seeing them for the first time — it's one thing to know the constellations academically, it's another to see them. she'd see such immense beauty in an ordinary starlit sky, but, gosh. a meteor shower? the northern lights? she would cry.

and it's not just ... aesthetics? that's one part of it, sure — the beauty-minded part of her, but. Burke, for instance, used to be out on the boats, he would know them like the back of his hand, and he'd be able to point out everything to her — even the ones that are different in this hemisphere at this time of year, as opposed to South America. and she'd have such an affinity with the idea that she's looking at the same stars that people did from that hill 200 years ago — that Jeremiah was guided by the same stars Burke was at sea — that, by the late 60's, they're so close to reaching out and touching them. she's not much of a space nerd (not to the extent that I could see David becoming), but from a scientific perspective ... starlight is the world's longest-traveling love letter, and every time you look out into space you're looking so many millions of years into the past, and Vicki would be besotted with that.

2. Favorite hc for this character? for Carolyn.

everyone already knows my real favorite headcanon (that Carolyn is a girl kisser and hasn't figured that out yet) but I don't know that I have anything to say about it that everyone hasn't already heard.

I think, hm. Carolyn is a little hard to pin down for me in the details, because we really get to know so little about her compared to most of the characters, other than she's got the hots for her relatives. and I really think part of that is how ... changeable -? Carolyn is. she has that quote to Vicki: "That's me! Up and down, in and out. Never the same girl twice." And she tends to act at such a distance from who she actually is, and how she actually feels. Burke has that quote pretty early when he's categorizing everyone by drink type: "Her daughter, Carolyn, well that's strictly soda. Well, she'd like to think it was something stronger, but it's always soda." And I think that sums her up very well: that Carolyn is always pretending, or wishing, that she's more grown up than she is, or more freewheeling, or more sure of who she is.

and for me I think a key part of my understanding of Carolyn is that she exists so much through mimicry — there's acting like Liz, when she's in the hospital and the running of the house and business falls to Carolyn's shoulders; and there's acting like Buzz, dressing like him, forming the image of Rebellious Youth; or Vicki, even, when she dons her little diaphanous nightgowns and huddles close from storms and ghosts.

but the main one for me, especially early on before she starts modelling herself more off of Liz, is Roger? and I guess this is where the actual headcanon comes into play: that for a young Carolyn, who saw the extent of her mother's suffering immured in her own house, suffering for — so she thought — a husband that abandoned her, of course she's going to idolize and model herself off of her young, charming, pretty, and (seemingly) happy uncle. who spends his share of the money with the intent to enjoy it — who goes out drinking, and dancing, fucking off to Boston, or Portland, or Europe — who keeps company with those beneath him, but still every bit the bitchy bourgeoisie. and who wholeheartedly rejected and resented the ties of marriage. Carolyn, as a young girl (and even in the present day as a young woman) doesn't get a glimpse into the intricacies of his personal life, and she mostly sees the performance and the markers of fulfillment, and what she comes to see as representative of a happy, well-lived existence as a Collins — absolutely diametric to her mother's self-imprisonment.

which is not to say that she doesn't love and respect Liz — she does! — but she doesn't want to live the way she does. she likes Roger, she finds him captivating, practically reveres him: that, for her, is the ideal. so particularly as she's growing into an adult, struggling with her own sense of self-definition, she absolutely turns to the image of her uncle, and scorns the domestic fidelity and duty that has gone so unrewarded in her mother.

17. What gives this character the most comfort? for Carolyn.

Carolyn's just like her uncle in that she is So So Clingy and Touchy. not just within their pseudo-incestuous relationship, although she probably touches/kisses/hugs/etc Roger the most, but speaking broadly, and especially once Vicki is there? I can think of so many scenes where she crawls into bed next to her, takes her hand, clings to her arm, puts her arms around her, even for comfort for things to which Carolyn is supposedly accustomed, like big storms, or the house creaking, or the ghosts dancing.

and some of that's attraction (at least, in my eyes, and you don't see her being quite that touchy with Joe, most of the time). but I think in general it's a testament to the pervasive sense of the Collins isolation (near total, at the beginning!). there's a little bit of physical affection between her and her mother, but not nearly to the level that there is between her and Roger: I think you get the sense that the two of them are both just desperate for attention and touch upon his arrival back in Collinsport, and they eagerly meet that need with each other ... and Vicki. there's a sense of more being permissible with Vicki, a woman her own age (such that she can climb into bed with her during a particularly bad storm — which she can't do with Burke, or Joe, or god forbid her uncle, not without severe repercussions). and Vicki (as she is with Roger) is in the position where she's inclined to be complacent with the family that employs her, and will give them attention when they ask.

which is to say — in the absence of a robust social network or circle of close friends, in various versions of unrequited relationships with men most of the time, having spent ten years alone with her mother who loves deeply but dotes and pets sparingly, a governess she can cling to is a godsend.

2. Favorite hc for this character? for Roger.

where do I start.

I think, probably, it's that Burke and Vicki are Roger's type — poor brunettes working for, or that have worked for, his family (really — for his sister, not for him). it's partly that Collins Family Propensity for getting involved with the help — is his interest in Burke any different from Elizabeth's in Ned or Bill, or Carolyn's in Joe? great (great) uncle Quentin's, or grandpa Edward's interest in cute little ingenue governesses?

but also, importantly, that Roger is so alienated from his own class — he's moderately-wealthy, college-educated, charming, cultured! but he doesn't socialize with the upper crust. instead of finding well-to-do cocktail parties in the summer colony, he's out drinking (and driving) with a fisherman on the boats and his captain's daughter fiancée in some shitty tavern — spiriting an orphan governess to the local dive bar, or the hotel coffee shop, or Burke's hotel room at one in the morning. and that's not just slumming it: I mean, that it amuses him and he'll return to the safety of society after the fact. there is no high class social world in which he feels safe; not, anyway, as an adult. just the solitude and static wealth of Collinwood.

and flirting with people like Burke and Vicki is partly, a measure of control, in a world where he has very little of it compared to Liz, especially: he gets to knock people around a little with the Collins name, and charm them with his status, and hopefully entice them to do as he wants. fun. but I think that Roger genuinely feels rejected by his own peers and class as an unworthy younger son (the sardine to the Collins family whales) and someone perceptibly queer and Leyendecker effete. he doesn't stick the landing of postwar American masculinity, he blew his money (and blew his fisherman), and he's dependent on his sister's help: there is no refuge for Roger in classically patriarchal networks of power (such as business, or his fellow alumni).

but that's all structural — and it's doing a disservice to his attachment to Burke and Vicki to not acknowledge the personal, even if, I think, their traits are shaped strongly by their circumstances. their work ethic, devotion, their genuineness, forthrightness, and their sense of independence. which I mean both in the sense of supporting themselves — financially and morally! — and their independence from any ancestors or expectation. Burke had a little more history to contend with than Vicki, but in many ways they were both blanks to be filled in, as opposed to any Collins heir who has their story shoved in as a paragraph between others. and all these things I think Roger both resents and admires in them, and he sees in Burke and Vicki a sense of future as opposed to a decaying past.

7. What’s your favorite thing about this character? for Roger.

unserious answer: his hands

serious answer: I really have to say his allergy to sincerity that has such deep, obvious cracks in it <3 I do love his moments of being a dick and throwing around bon-mots, but the best Roger scenes (to me) are the ones in which the persona fails, and you can see how very shaken he is. for instance: fresh from cartoonishly, Rochester-ly tormenting Vicki in the West Wing, he immediately falters when he sees just how terrified she is, and you can see the realization on his face that oh no. he genuinely cares about her. see also his switch from seemingly idly brushing off concern that she's disappeared, to panic-stricken at finding her tied up in the Old House — or gasping and bolting out of the room when she vanishes during the 1795 séance. same when David's and Liz's life are threatened in the Laura arc: he practically falls to pieces over them.

for all the bickering, and bullying, and emotional distance (and sometimes blatant dislike!) he props up between himself and others, he's full of shit and it's very obvious. this is not to say that Roger is secretly a bleeding heart and he just pretends to be selfish and insufferable (he is; though not to the same exaggerated extent). but rather that there is a certain number of people he finds worth caring about, to paraphrase, and those people he cares extremely deeply for, to the extent that it cuts him like a wound

#tortoisesshells #thanks for the questions; friend!#➤ answered. ┊ Collinsport 4099.#hc tag #➤ meme responses. ┊ boo !

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latoyalestrange · 1 year ago

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THE FOOL

p. pascal x reader

Masterlist | Playlist

Summary: Naela doesn’t know if she can take another five months of this. Mandatory bonding time on the beach helps replenish her sense of hope.

Words: 2.3k

Warnings: fluff, pedro being caring and cute af, not edited, smoking, alcohol, mutual pining

Taglist: @marvel-sw-lover , @lokislittle , @red-red-rogue , @babukat

comment if you want to be added to the taglist!

CHAPTER FOUR — METHOD ACTING

Naela normally wasn’t so excited to go to sleep. Friday night was different, though. Knowing she didn’t need to set an alarm was a weight lifted off of her shoulders. She couldn’t wait to go to sleep so she could wake up refreshed and on her own volition.

Except that’s not what happened.

Around 9:15-ish, the sound of someone knocking on her trailer door stirred her out of her very deep sleep. She was drooling and everything. She thought maybe if she turned over and tried to go back to sleep that it would go away. But when did things ever go her way?

Knock, knock, knock!

With a heavy sigh and a groan, she pulled herself out of bed and groggily walked over to the door. It took a few tries to unlock it, but she eventually swung it open. Oh shit.

Pedro, in a half-open linen button up, swim shorts, and a tote bag stood in front of her, his mouth slightly agape and eyes surely wide behind the Ray Bans he was wearing. His expression immediately made her realize she had forgotten to put pants on. To be fair, she was half-awake, and she was a hot sleeper.

“Um- hi…” she said with a tired voice, breaking the silence.

He looked around to see if anyone was looking. “Um, let me— let me come in so people don’t—“

“Right, right, thank you…” She stepped aside so he could come in.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He was more comfortable now with her alone and his sheepish smile returned.

“You’re okay, I needed to get up anyway, I think,” she replied unsurely, making him laugh. “What time is it?”

He dug his phone out of his pocket to check it. “Nine-seventeen. Did you get the text about Beach Day?” She looked puzzled, so he continued. “Last night they sent out a text, I think it was while we were here. I didn’t see it until I got back to my trailer.”

“Oh, that makes sense. I passed out after you left,” she chuckled.

“Yeah, you could barely keep your eyes open,” he joked.

She looked embarrassed. “You could tell?”

“Yeah. It was cute, though…” Struggling to find that right words, she just chuckled. They were quiet for a moment.

She cleared her throat. “Um, if you wait for like, five minutes I’ll get dressed and meet you outside,” she offered.

“Yeah, of course. No rush.” They just smiled at eachother before he turned to leave.

Naela had never seen herself get ready so fast. Within ten minutes, she had brushed her hair, changed into a bikini and put a tank top and jean shorts on top of it, put sunscreen all over herself, and took a few extra seconds to put her favorite lipgloss on.

Pedro was leaning against her trailer when she stepped out. “Ready?”

“Yup!” She answered cheerfully, sliding her sunglasses down to match his. “Is anyone else coming?”

He started to lead her towards the parking lot on set. “Yeah, Boyd and Joanna are waiting in the car. It’s supposed to be a ‘bonding exercise’ of sorts,” he replied with air quotes and a cheeky smile.

Soon enough they were getting into the SUV that was waiting for them and enduring a bumpy ride to a more private section of each in Puerto Escondido, Córdoba.

Surprisingly the sun was more forgiving that usual and the wind kept them cool. Naela could smell the salt even before she got out of the car. The sound of the waves crashing as they approached gave her a sense of relief that only being at the beach could.

As they were laying out belt towels under an umbrella, Boyd pulled out a frisbee.

“Let’s test out the water!”

“Oh, god, I’m terrible at this game,” Joanna groaned.

“Catch?” Pedro teased. She rolled her eyes.

“No, specifically the throw part.” The group laughed.

“Don’t worry, we’ll look stupid together,” Pedro added, placing a hand on her shoulder as he smiled.

“Pedro looking stupid? Never,” Boyd replied sarcastically. Naela laughed especially hard at that.

Pedro turned to her, “What, is it the mustache?” He contoured his puckered lips with his fingers, trying to make a “cool” face.

Naela giggled, then answered, “I won’t lie, it took some getting used to, but it’s grown on me.” She instantly thought of the moment he revealed his new look to her.

It was the first day of shooting, the day after the whole “manager-purposefully-withholding-contract-details” situation. She was in a funk, to say the least, but she hoped her makeover would lift her spirits. She had no idea what was in store for her, but sometimes change feels good, right?

She could feel the butterflies as she stepped up to the trailer door and swung it open. The first thing she saw was the stylists back turned towards her. Once she stepped in and looked into the mirror she barely saw a glimpse of Pedro before he put his script in front of his face.

She gasped, “Oh, let me see, let me see!” She could see his shoulders shaking as he laughed behind the paper.

“No, she’s not done yet!” The stylist straightened her back, then made a few more adjustments.

“Actually, I am.” She corrected him. Naela smiled, staring at the thick stack of papers separating them.

“Okay, fine…one, two, three,” He stammered out quickly before dropping the script into his lap. Her hand instinctively covered her mouth as it hung open. She was silent for a moment, unsure if she was admiring him or just in shock.

“Muy bonita?” He asked, smirking playfully. She nodded slowly.

“No, muy guapo, Pedro…y muy bonita.” They laughed in unison. Maintaining eye contact, he rose to his feet and she suddenly realized how close she was to the chair as he was sitting down.

Standing tall above her, he replied, “Gracias, princesa.” His voice was lower than normal, more gravely. She blushed as she stepped aside to allow him to pass. He lingered for a minute before turning to thank the stylist. With his back turned, she just stared as he left.

Naela…Naela…Naela!

“Sorry, what?” She blinked away her trance and shook her head.

“We’re gonna get in the water. You comin’?” Boyd asked as she noticed everyone shedding their cover-ups.

“Yeah, yeah, ‘course.” She nodded and followed suit, peeling off her fitted top and jean shorts. Feeling the breeze in places she normally didn’t, she felt exposed and a little chilly.

“That swimsuit is so cute!” Joanna chirped, smiling sweetly at her.

She mimicked her, “Aw, thanks.”

“Yeah, I was gonna wear something like that but I didn’t want to outshine you,” Pedro joked. Naela scrunched her nose at him and nudged his shoulder.

The group laughed at she retorted, “You could never!”

After a few minutes of practice, Naela was getting in the groove. She was throwing and catching the frisbee much more than she expected herself to.

“Naela!” Boyd called out, signifying it was her turn. He flicked the frisbee into the air, accidentally using a bit too much force. Naela tried to chase after it, winding up in a deeper spot than beforex and right as a wave was coming for her.

Just like that, it swallowed her whole and she was tumbling under the water. A few scary moments of this passed before she felt herself being pulled out of the current with ease.

“You okay?” Pedro chuckled, smiling down at her as he pulled her to more shallow water. She took a few deep breaths as the others gathered and she planted her feet in the sand.

“Yeah, I’m good,” She confirmed, a little embarrassed, but still smiling. Pedro stood right next to her, his hands still ghosting over her arm. Then, they traveled to the bundle of string on her side, which was coming apart. He retied it without question, making sure it was secure. She blushed and mouthed a “Thank you”, her nervousness keeping her from being more forward than that.

“Sorry, Naela. If it makes you feel better that dive for the frisbee looked cool,” Boyd added as they got closer. She chuckled, feeling a bit better.

“I was getting hungry anyways. I volunteer the boys to go get us food while we sunbathe!” Joanna cheered as she took Naela’s wrist and began walking back toward their umbrella. Pedro and Boyd looked at eachother, then the girls, seeing them smiling at eachother as they walked away. Who were they to say no to them?

“Sooo,” Joanna began expectantly as she plopped down on her own towel next to Naela. She turned, giving her a puzzled look.

“So what?” Naela asked, chuckling.

“So you and Pedro!” Naela instantly rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I can’t believe what Mike did wasn’t technically illegal.”

Joanna shook her head, “No, sweetie, you and Pedro. I see the way he looks at you.”

“Yeah, but we’re just acting then.” She replied, a little quieter now, feeling unsure. “Plus, I have a boyfriend, and Pedro knows that.

Joanna shook her head. “Sure, he knows. I just don’t think he cares,” she teased in a melodic tone. She giggled and let her head fall back, laying flat. “Just my professional opinion.”

“Oh, is it now?” Naela played along, laughing with her.

A while later, the boys returned with two boxes of pizza. (pretend there’s a pizza place here i couldn’t find one in my research) Joanna clapped her hands together as she sat up and made room for Boyd on her towel. Naela did the same for Pedro and they all gathered around the pizza boxes.

“Oh, wait!” Joanna perked up, jumping to her feet to get her bag. The group laughed as she pulled a bottle of white wine out of her bag.

“Perfecto, Joanna!” Pedro smiled and immediately reached out, offering to open it. She oblidged and Naela watched as Pedro put the cork in between his teeth. She noticed the familiar flutter in her stomach as she saw him use the trick she taught him and pulled the coke out with ease. He passed the bottle to her first for a drink. She blushed as she took it in her hands and took a casual swig before passing it on. Boyd had already opened the box and started on his first slice, so Naela followed suit.

Her first bite took her back to being a kid at the pool and being starving after swimming for so long. Then taking the heaviest nap of her life.

After a few moments of silence as they stuffed their faces, Boyd was full and took out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to Pedro, who accepted graciously. Naela watched as he put the stick between his lips and flicked his silver lighter, burning the tip with the flame. His brow furrowed, making for a tempting focused expression. He pulled gently on it as he pocketed his lighter. He exhaled and finally turned to face her, purposefully aiming the smoke away from her. He smirked and took the cigarette in his two fingers, holding it out to her.

She panicked for a second, unsure of what she should do. Before they could notice, she took it in her fingers and brought it up to her plump and soft lips. She inhaled slightly before immediately spitting the smoke out and handing it back to Pedro.

“Yuck,” she admitted. Joanna passed her to bottle as the boys chuckled. She took a generous sip to clear the taste out of her mouth. “I prefer weed,” she added. At this, the other three burst into laughter.

Looking at them, Naela felt special. She felt comfortable, safe. Especially with Pedro.

Ding! Naela felt her phone buzz as it lie next to her on the beach towel. The group’s chatter ceased as she reached for her phone.

Josh: Call me please.

“Oh, I’m gonna make a phone call real quick.” Naela said quietly as she looked down at her phone.

“No worries. Everything okay?” Pedro asked, meeting her eye with a concerned look as she stood up.

“Yeah, it’s fine, I’ll just be a second.” She mustered up a smile as she began stepping away. He nodded, mirroring her expression. Once she was a few feet away, she instantly dialed her boyfriends phone number. It only took two rings for him to answer.

“Hello?” He answered casually. Did you not just tell me to call you?

“Hey, you said to call you…” she trailed off apprehensively.

“Yeah, I just wanted to see what you were doing. You’re off today, right?” She really couldn’t tell if he was angry or not.

“Yeah, we’re doing group bonding stuff today—“

“Group bonding? Like what?”

“Oh, we’re just at the beach right now, we were playing some games but we took a break to eat.” Please don’t be mad about the swimsuits.

“Okay…sounds fun….well, what I really wanted to call and say was I’m sorry. I overreacted. I looked up some stuff about PR relationships and how they filmed intimate scenes and…yeah, I’m sorry. This is just part of your job.” Naela didn’t realize it at the time but getting the smallest ounce of bare minimum from him made her feel incredible. All he had to do was be nice to her and she would be fawning over him in a matter of seconds.

“Oh, it’s okay,” she responded, feeling a huge weight lift off of her shoulders.

“Thank you, baby. Just remember to call me when you can, okay? I love you.”

“Okay. I love you too.”

Maybe everything was turning out exactly as it was supposed to.

reblog if you made it to the end!

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bobcatsquad · 2 years ago

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Wow! My first writing I am sharing with the world! And my first post to tumblr. Heres to hoping someone else likes my little (hopefully not too out of character) headcanons. Minimal fluff! We want all of the villain fuckery around here.

Having a relationship with Albert Wesker

(As a fellow researcher/umbrella employee)

(Possibly morally gray reader)

So you wanna date the evil scientist…

First and foremost, Wesker is married to his job. His work will ALWAYS come first. And for you to be his partner, you would need to be a workaholic yourself and/or accept this fact. He greatly appreciates space.

That being said, you definitely can’t be clingy or constantly demand his attention, he is a very busy and focused man. Else he will begin to see you as more of a burden than a partner and he will retract. Independence is a highly attractive trait to him.

It can by no way effect his career nor divert his focus.

Respect this and he might let you in closer past his stone walls he’s put up to the rest of the world.

Before dating he didn’t pay you much mind and would often give minimal words. But as you proved your competence in the lab, showed interest in his achievements, showed interest in his actual wellbeing, and continued to genuinely try and form a deeper connection with the quiet, reserved evil genius, he started to truly see you. Started to pick you out from the faces he simply worked with to achieve his goals. He’d never had anyone show such care towards him, the companionship intrigues him.

This stoic intimidating man finally began to crack jokes with you and let you in on his dry humor.

Lots of bringing Wesker food on the days he forgets to eat because of project tunnel vision and giving him massages on particularly bad days after work. Sometimes he’ll even return the favor. He has lots of knots and aches from poor posture.

Wesker isn’t a very physically affectionate lover. It’s easy to think of him as cold or distant however he just shows his love in other ways.

This man can easily get along with others and cooperate in teams to get what he needs, however there are very few people he truly likes being around. You actually enjoy each other’s company, even if it’s just working alongside each other in silence sometimes.

The way to Weskers heart is to show genuine interest in his work! Even the scary and darker parts (love us a madman) It makes his tiny lil heart grow when you excitedly ask questions about his work, wanting to know more. And seeing your face light up when he reveals details. And of course all of the compliments to his genius-ness are lovely. He’s very passionate about his work and will never decline an opportunity to talk about it. It’s one of the rare times you see his genuine smile. Not the fake dry one he usually gives when dealing with others, but instead a soft, warm smile on relaxed features.

He likes to tease you a lot.

When he gives you a hard time, it’s because he cares and wants to see you succeed and bring out all your hidden potential he sees stored inside.

Sometimes even after work is wrapped up, you find yourselves just chattering away.

Nobody will ever mess with you, knowing you are close to Wesker. And if they do, they will surely regret messing with the human the blonde had grown quite fond of. We all know Wesker is the master of manipulation and can be very threatening when he wants to be. He is not a force to be reckoned with.

Although he rarely initiates physical affection on his own, one of his favorite things to do sometimes when waiting for a chemical reaction or something else in the lab to finish, he will briefly come up behind you, place his hands on your hips and rest his head in the crook of your neck, pulling you slightly into his chest as he watches over your shoulder whatever you are doing in the lab for a few moments. When nobody else is around of course, as he has appearances to upkeep. It’s kind of a de stressor for him. (And if he’s feeling frisky he might move his hands down to give your cheeks a squeeze before leaving with a dramatic fwoosh of his lab coat)

His love language is definitely gift giving. Actually you both do a lot of gift giving. You may bring him coffees, food from the cafeteria when he is too busy to get it himself and would otherwise miss out on eating, little desk trinkets you think he’d enjoy. One time during a party to celebrate the researching team finishing up a large, challenging project, Wesker presented you with a slim rectangular black box with a golden ribbon tied around it. When you opened it, inside there was a beautiful watch you briefly mentioned liking several months ago. He is very observant, showing that he obviously considers and listens to what you say. His gifts are always thoughtful.

Fancy dinners after hours, you will definitely be spoiled

Not big on pet names but will lovingly call you ‘dearheart’

You are the only one who can remove his glasses to look into those beautiful blue eyes without possibly getting an arm broken.

Just because he may never properly say “I love you” or do PDA or a lot of physical affection in general doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate you nor care.

When he fully trusts you he will let you in a little bit on his frustrations with umbrella, leading to lots of plotting together to take them down. Maybe you even start your own secret project together because what better way to bond than to build bioweapons with your s/o.

He grows to truly care for you and enjoy being around you and I think that’s the best thing you can ask for with this man. It’s not exactly a conventional relationship, but Albert Wesker the crazy scientist isn’t normal either. No fairy tale romance here fellas

If you are like me and love RE men and want to connect with fellow villain simps, I recommend joining the Arklay Mountains discord server where you can make new friends and thirst over murderous men together! ✨(Disclaimer: Server is 18+ only)

#albert wesker #resident evil #headcanon #headcanons #wesker x reader #romance #slashers

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pokemonxhyperfixation · 5 months ago

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Touhou Headcanon 10:

So as said in a previous post, this is going to be one headcanon for each of the characters I voted for in the popularity poll, counting up from my number 1 pick.

Kogasa Tatara: We love umbrella women! Anyways, so the actual headcanon. So, Kogasa is a deeply emotional person who has a MAJOR fear of being abandoned. But, she's also a chronic people pleaser, because she's under the impression that if she doesn't please everyone in her life, she'll just be abandoned, which is her greatest fear.

Sekibanki: So to get one thing across, in my head Banki and Kogasa are dating and live together. Also, Banki does KINDA have a neck. Like, if you pass your hand through where a neck might connect to a floating head that's currently properly still her "main one", you'll feel a ghostly chill. Anyway, so the Headcanon is basically that Banki sometimes wraps her pseudo neck thing around Kogasa to help comfort her. It's a special bonding thing.

Satori Komeji: Satori is somewhere in the Asexual bubble. I know I might be phrasing this is a less than proper way, but you know what I mean (I hope). Satori is one of the flavors of Asexual, specifically one of the more sexually repulsed ones. Related, she can hear thoughts through walls to a limited degree (because I treat her mind reading as a hearing type thing because that's just how shit like that works in my head), and Okuu and Orin REALLY want to make a kid. Work isn't the only reason Satori struggles to sleep most nights...

Hong Meiling: Kinda a hard one to do since I've already posted the MAIN ONES (Meiling and Sakuya are happily maried and Orange from PC 98 is Meiling's daughter), but I'll give another. I subscribe to a weird offshoot version of the Meiling is a dragon idea people seem to like. In my head, Meiling was (and to some extent, still kinda is) a dragon, but at one point, she just kinda... stopped being a dragon. This idea came from a DEFINATELY INTENDED AND NOT AT ALL STRETCHING idea I'd heared some Poketuber say back in the day (2014-2016 I believe) as to why Gyarados wasn't a dragon type, being that some myth stated that if a Dragon is too ferocious or something that it would cease being a dragon and become a sea scerpent. I only really take the idea that Dragons can stop being dragons, and say that Meiling is a former dragon. =)

Koishi Komeji: Koishi has a weirdly high amount of friends. And they are not people you would expect. Like yeah, she's buddy buddy with Flan in my head, and yeah she's also chummy (putting it lightly) with Kokoro, but she has a LOT more friends than that. The two most funny are Wakasagihime and Kogasa. Koishi and Waka became fishing friends, and Kogasa became friends with Koishi through a mixture of their general extrovertedness and Koishi repeatedly breaking into Kogasa's house for literally no reason. (She doesn't believe in using doors.)

Yuuma Totetsu: So, when I read Touhou works, I obviously read them with certain character voices, which I at least kinda try to do in outloud reading. I mention this because Yuuma's has turned into a headcanon. I read Yuuma with... what is basically an up-pitched version of my impression of Heavy tf2, with a bit less funny in the russian accent. And my headcanon is that Yuuma just actually talks like that. Like, she doesn't know a HINT of Russian, and doesn't even know what the fuck a Russia IS, but she does have a Russian accent.

Reisen Udongein Inaba: So, I have a few for Reisen, but I'mma share my favorite, which comes in a few parts. First up, Reisen and Nazrin are friends. Don't ask how or why, they just are. Second off, Reisen has a bit of that Yuuma thing going on where she just inexplicably sounds cowboy-ish. Third, (and this one also relates to Nazrin) Reisen and Nazrin like collecting vintage stuff. This specific headcanon though is about the vintage stuff Reisen collects. To make a long story short, Reisen is an old guns gal. Like, she has a bunch of old as shit earth fire-arms in her room, and she just likes looking at 'em. Even gave one to Nazrin as a gift.

#touhou #touhou project #touhou headcanon #touhou popularity poll #kogasa tatara #sekibanki #satori komeiji #hong meiling #koishi komeiji #yuuma toutetsu #reisen udongein inaba #these are my votes #=)

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admrlthundrbolt · 1 year ago

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How Did You Love (Polnareff x Chubby Reader)

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In the battle against Lord Dio, Polnareff might have met his match. Who is this beautiful yet sullen swordswoman?

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Hi you guys, I'm back at it again. Polnareff has to be one of my favorite characters. So it was exciting to finally write something for him. He's sappy as always, but when isn't this Frenchman a bit of a ham. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

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Peering around another corner, Polnareff was annoyed at their enemies love of lavish things. I mean what kind of evil Over Lord needs this large of a castle! It was a maze of unnecessary twist. Though he and his comrades were infiltrating it, so maybe it was a good idea. He was giving this guy to much credit.

Rubbing his forehead, he gave a silent thanks to Jotaro. If it wasn't for the Joestar heir, then he would still be under the thrall of Dio. Being a dark mage, it was little work for him to persuade people to do his bidding. Such methods of persuasion included mind manipulation. Shuddering at what small amount of memory he had from his time under Dio's control. Those were definitely unpleasant times.

Movement from the courtyard ahead shook him from the past. Searching the area, he was surprised at what he saw. A full figured woman was strolling around the courtyard with an umbrella shading her. She was a radiant beauty, that he had never had the pleasure of gazing upon. Though her eyes were sad and familiar.

He called out to her. “Pardon mademoiselle, I seemed to have lost my way. Could you direct me to the owner of this manor?” He put on, what he believed, was his most charming smile.

You barely acknowledged him. “I do not enjoy conversing with liars, Monsieur.”

A shocked expression crossed his face. Had he really been found out this quickly? “I truly am lost, would you not take pity on a poor traveler?”

The glare you cast his way forced a shiver down his spine. Though he wasn't sure if it was one of fear or want, perhaps a mixture. “I have no doubt that you are lost. The lie comes from you stumbling onto this keep. It is well hidden, by magical and non magical means.” Facing him, you closed your umbrella and placed the point on the ground in front of yourself.

An uneasy feeling forms in the pit of his stomach. Taking a step back, he rest his hand on the sword at his hip. “It seems that i’ve been found out. What will you do with me?”

“Take care of you.” With that you tore you tapered katana from it’s scabbard, from within the umbrella. Crouching a bit, you arched the weapon towards his chest.

He dodged away and brought his own sword up for a rebuttle. Only to find it blocked with the umbrella head. Leaping back he tried to take a moment to gather himself.

You didn't give him the chance though. Rushing to him, you struck at him once more. This time he was expecting it. He perried the sword and brought his other arm up for the blow that followed. The force you put behind the hit shocked him. Looking at you, you would never guess that such a delicate flower had such strength. That was only if you ignored your eyes. They held a ferocity that he had seen in no other being. But the lingering sadness called out to him.

Stepping into him, you brought your face to his own. “Perhaps you need more persuasion.” Your lips were a breath apart at the exclamation.

His breath caught in his throat at the intimacy of the action. His chest heaving in enamor and exertion in equal parts. The moment of distraction was enough for you to get a slice into his bicep. Hissing in pain, he countered your next strike. “Why are you here? What could a man like him provide for a woman like you?”

Striding back, you scowled at him accusingly. While he was the first person in a long time to give you a decent fight. You didn't owe him any explanation. Still there was a part of you that was intrigued to know why he was asking. “For information. My brother is missing and he’s the only one who’s had any answers.”

His shoulders sagged at your response. “He’s lying to you.”

The fire in your eyes blazed anew. Bashing your sword into him, your volume rose to a level that he wasn’t expecting. “How would you know!”

A thick knot of emotion form in his throat, causing his voice to crack. “I worked for Dio once too. He told me he could help find my sister’s murderer. It was only after the Joestars saved me, that I realized how cruel he was.” Tears welled in his eyes as he forced out the next part. “Turns out that the monster who killed sweet little Sherry, was working under the same man who promised to find him.”

Your face had become a blank mask. Doing everything you could to hold your resolve. To hope against hope that this man was lying. But your eyes revealed it all. Blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall and full of a sadness that Jean Pierre knew all to well. “What am I supposed to do? “

It tore at his heart how broken her tone had become. “Join me, join us. The Joestars are just and fair. They will help you with your journey.”

A sudden cry of anguish left you. Lashing out, you disarmed him, and he allowed it to happen. “It can’t be that simple. Changing sides isn’t going to magically solve everything.”

Gazing at you, he saw that a few tears escaped down your face. Even crying your were still one of the most beautiful things he had ever beheld. “Its a better option than not getting results under a madman.” Holding his hand in your direction, he waited with baited breath.

Your body slumped as you sheathed your sword. Heaving a heavy sigh, you placed your hand on his own.

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He made light conversation with you, knowing that you wouldn't be in the mood for much more. Though when the subject swapped to the Joestars you seemed to get interested.

“So these Joestars have been fueding with Dio for over a century?”

“Yes and from what Joseph told me, his grandfather even considered Dio a brother.”

A sullen smile graced your lips. “He told me a story of his brother from the past. Though I'm sure it was just another way to manipulate me.”

He wanted to embrace you. Reassure you that he would do everything he could to reunite your sibling and you. Instead he spotted the rendezvous camp, that his friends were waiting at. Calling out, he waved his arms. “I’ve brought an ally.”

When you both got close enough to easily talk to the group, he turned towards you. As an introduction started to leave his lips, he noticed an odd expression on your face.

Eyes wide and watering, you brought a hand up to your open mouth. “Kakyoin.” You said it in a whisper, but he knew in that moment how much meaning the name held.

“Kakyoin!” You sprinted into your brother’s open arms. Tears of joy streaming down both of your faces as you embraced.

Your cheerful smile was the most beautiful sight he had the privilege of beholding. In that instance, Polnareff vowed that he would spend his life keeping you as happy as you are right now.

#jojo's bizarre adventure #chubby reader #jean pierre polnareff #chubby reader x Polnareff #dio brando #noriaki kakyoin #jotaro kujo #fantasy #alternate universe #magic #sword fighting #despair #love at first sight #happy ending

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cyberpunkaddict · 2 years ago

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Unusual OC Associations

more below

Tagged by @katsigian @imaginarycyberpunk2023 @nightcxty @corpocookie @itzsassha 💕 Tyty!

SEASONING

Villiam is obsessed with spicy food, so jalapeño and anything chili, or anything spicy enough to make Vik break down...

WEATHER

Rain at night. He enjoys sitting in solitude somewhere in the city. Usually on a roof top. He can sit there for hours deep in thought. He forgets to bring an umbrella most of the time, but he doesn't care. Nibbles doesn't care either. It's part of the experience.

COLOR

Blue. He's basic like that.

SKY

Night sky. You can't really see any stars in the city due to pollution and buildings blocking the sky, so Villiam likes to go to random places in the Badlands, by bus or Delamain cabs.

MAGICAL POWER

Awesome leadership skills. (That's a "power" in my book.) People have a tendency to respect and trust him immediately. Villiam just cares too much, honestly... His brain never rests.

HOUSE PLANT

Plastic because Nibbles.

WEAPON

Guns. His favorite is Dying Light. Like mentioned before, he's basic. He doesn't use that at work, obviously...

SUBJECT

History. Villiam loves to learn new stuff. He wants to know how everything started and he can imagine what's going to happen next based on the past, and he's usually right. That's a great skill to have as a leader.

SOCIAL MEDIA & 3 EMOJIS

Just the usual stuff everyone uses. (I broke the rules and decided to add the emojis here...) 🤔😅🫤

MAKEUP PRODUCT

Sometimes. Silver and burgundy eyeshadow.

CANDY

He doesn't really have a sweet tooth, but sometimes he has a soda if he can't get his hands on coffee. Or if he's drunk... But gotta mix it with rum first.

FEAR

Failure. Letting people down. Love... He's so afraid he'll screw up, and that he's not good enough, so he pushes people away. He also has trust issues, which doesn't really help... But he tries at least... (He gets over it eventually, don't worry.)

ICE CUBE SHAPE

All of them! Fill the entire glass!

METHOD OF LONG DISTANCE TRAVELING

Metro. Bus. He cares about the environment. He does own a car, but he uses it for emergencies only. Sometimes he also "borrows" a police car to run "errands". Driving through NC with lights on is very efficient. Other than that, Villiam is all about protocol...

ART STYLE

He doesn't really care or understand art. And especially not interior design. He just puts decorative stuff in random places and hopes for the best.

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE

Just dragons in general. He's not into fantasy, but he thinks they're really cool.

PIECE OF STATIONARY

Random stuff he purchased at flea markets to support the locals. So just...stuff...

CELESTIAL BODY

Villiam refuses to answer this question. He doesn't get it. He doesn't care. Whenever he sees Misty she drills a hole in his brain, in his words...

I've been gone for a few days, so I dunno who's done the tag already, so I'm not gonna tag anyone... But if you wanna do it, then tag, you're it!

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saiilorstars · 8 months ago

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Love, Ours Ch. 9: To Those Left Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC, ft. baby!oc Story Summary: One-Shots/AU collection of Seren and Steve outside of their fics (Darkest Before Dawn, Alignment, etc.).

Story Masterlist ○ Seren’s Masterlist

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @gloryekaterina @averyhotchner @foxesandmagici @kmc1989

[If you’d like to be a part of any OC’s works/edits, let me know!]

He'd always remember the first night they met. It was rainy outside but after a long mission, Steve couldn't see himself getting any kind of rest until he had his favorite pastries. Traffic was hell, it would be a lot longer in the rain if he took the motorcycle so, with an umbrella clutched in his hand, he walked all the way.

He opened the bakery door and shook the umbrella outside before quickly rushing inside. He closed the umbrella and started towards the counter. There was another customer at the front, her baggy green jacket drenched from the rain.

"C'mon, put it on my tab or something!" She was saying to the young cashier.

"Seren, you know well there's no tabs," the cashier smiled apologetically at the woman. "I can't give you your order."

'Seren' let out a groan, shaking her head. The hood of her jacket fell back slightly, revealing brown hair at the top of her head. "C'mon, you know I would never do this. It's the rain — I got caught in the middle of it — literally dropped my stuff — I'm sorry!"

The more she went on, the more it sounded like she went through actual hell so Steve decided to step in.

"I can pay for the order, Mary," he said to the cashier, someone who knew him very well as he was, of course, a regular there.

Seren immediately pulled her hood down and fixed her wide green eyes at Steve. "That's not necessary!" Her long brown hair was wet and strands were sticking to her face so she started pulling them off. "That's really not necessary! I know I look like a mess but trust me I'm usually on my stuff!"

Steve was amused with her alarm; at least she seemed genuine. Besides, he felt bad enough that she was soaking wet. "We all have those days." He looked at Mary again who seemed to be waiting for a final decision between the two. "I'm paying. And could you get my usual too, please?"

"Sure," Mary said and started inputting the order on the cash register. "To go as well?"

"Yeah." Steve said but he took a second glance at Seren and, on a whim, added two cups of warm coffees. "For here." It seemed like Seren's eyes were permanently wide. "If that's alright with you, of course, just while we wait…" Steve decided to say to lessen the pressure. He wouldn't want her to feel like she had to sit with him just because he was paying for her order.

"Y-yeah," Seren said nervously and while Steve went ahead and paid, she quickly combed her fingers through her hair in hopes that she could appear a little more presentable.

Mary chuckled as she saw the woman's panic. She sent Steve to the pick up side of the counter then whispered over to Seren. "You look fine."

Flushed, Seren went to go find a table…which wasn't that hard considering the terrible weather outside. Most people were doing take-out. She took off her coat and draped it on one of the empty chairs beside her. She grabbed a few napkins to pat dry her face then set them on the side as well.

A few minutes later, Steve came by with the coffee. He set her coffee in front of her then sat down across from her. "I didn't add anything," he warned her and reached for the sugar packets.

"It's totally fine, thank you," Seren offered her best grateful smile because it's literally all she had tonight. Not even a sad dollar was in her pocket. "Like I said before, I'm usually a lot more put together than this. It's a fluke, I promise."

Steve chuckled at her. "And like I said too, everyone has those days."

Seren ripped open a sugar packet and dumped the whole thing into her coffee. "It's Seren, by the way, and I'm very thankful for what you did for me."

"Steve," he introduced himself as he too dumped sugar into his coffee, "And you're very welcome."

"I will pay you back," Seren promised, stirring her coffee gently. "I swear."

Steve chuckled again. "It's fine, really. Not richer nor poorer because of a few dollars."

"Except it was a big order so it wasn't a few dollars at all."

"It's still fine. Were you having a get together tonight?" As soon as he asked, he saw a faint flush on her face.

"Not really…" she said quietly, though very embarrassed. How could she say that the whole order was just for her without sounding like…? "But I mean it. I will definitely be paying you back."

Now matter how many times Steve said it wasn't necessary, Seren insisted that she would.

"I just wouldn't feel good about myself," she said, and took a sip of her coffee. She hummed as the warm liquid traveled down her throat. She didn't usually get cold but tonight the rain was a nightmare.

Steve smiled at her again, taking in her pretty features. The rain hadn't done her wrong in any way.

They talked for a while, neither one bothering to check in with Mary about their orders. Steve found that it wasn't that hard forgetting about dessert as he got to know Seren more. She was sweet and funny and for some reason everything just felt comfortable. It turned out it was a small word because once upon a time, Seren had been a SHIELD agent like him. When it went down, she switched gears and entered the CIA.

"Not really as much fighting as before but it's better than a desk job," she gave a nonchalant shrug. She silently noted that she was almost done with her coffee. "Though I guess you really wouldn't know about that, huh?"

Steve knew what she meant and sheepishly looked at her. "So you did recognize me?" Seren nodded. "You didn't mention it in the beginning…" Usually people recognized him on the spot as Captain America and were never quiet about it, nor shy.

"Why would I?" Seren said, confused. "It wasn't pertinent to the moment."

A pleasant smile crossed Steve's face at that. "It wasn't?"

"No." Seren brought her coffee to her lips and flashed him half a smirk.

Mary finally called them about their orders, breaking their moment. Steve took a look at his watch and realized half an hour had gone by. The orders were definitely done long before now. Still, half an hour seemed so short. He looked at Seren as she placed her coffee cup down on the table, empty like his. Something in his stomach twisted. He needed at least another half hour with her...

But that wasn't possible and he knew it.

Seren started getting out of her seat and reached over for her jacket. It wasn't that much dry but it wouldn't matter as she was about to go through the rain again. "Thank you so much, Steve. Seriously. And you know I'm gonna pay you back."

"Yes, I know," Steve said with a playful roll of his eyes. "So if you're that determined, why don't we meet tomorrow then? If you're able to, I meant…"

Seren hummed as she considered the idea. In reality she was just joking because she knew what she wanted. "It's not going to rain tomorrow so…yeah, that sounds nice. Want to go to Central Park?"

"Sure," Steve said when in reality he had been about to blurt 'anywhere' instead.

They settled for lunch time then headed to pick up their orders at the counter. Mary handed them their respective bags and wished them a goodnight.

It was still pouring when they reached the entrance doors. Steve offered to take Seren home but she was adamant that she would be fine.

"I literally live like three blocks down," she said. "And I'm fast. Trust me."

Steve didn't feel right about it but he couldn't force her to let him come with her. He opened the doors and then opened his umbrella. Seren pulled her hood up and stepped out with him.

"Here," Steve moved the umbrella's handle into Seren's free hand before she could refuse.

"Steve, I said I'm fine—!" Seren laughed at his insistence and tried to give it back to him.

Steve's hand wrapped tighter around the handle, and over Seren's hand in the process. Now Seren was laughing nervously. His hand was super warm, not to mention strong, but it was the gentleness in his eyes that captivated her, the charm in them.

"Please, take it," Steve insisted. Seren found herself nodding at him like she was in trance. He was hesitant to let her hand go but he didn't have any other excuse to prolong it. He was still slow about it, letting their fingers brush against each other until finally it was just Seren holding the umbrella.

"Goodnight, Seren…"

"Goodnight, Steve," Seren said with what she would think was nothing but a dorky smile. God, everything about her that night had been such a mess.

But Steve hadn't thought so. To him, the night had been perfect.

Present Day

Steve woke up to the sound of a toddler's cries. Without a second thought, he got up from bed and went into the adjoining room where the cries resembled more like screams. A toddler with a beet-red face was sitting in the middle of his crib, crying his head off.

"Okay, c'mon up, bud," Steve reached inside the crib to pick the toddler up into his arms. He then grabbed the little blue blanket with bright yellow stars; Noel would want it as soon as he calmed down.

He returned to his room and tried soothing Noel with gentle bouncing before getting back into bed. But while Noel stopped screaming, he still continued to cry. And what was worse is that he was crying and calling for his mother. It was the same constant 'mama, mama, mama!' that Noel often cried when he was in-between naps and sleep, because that was of course when he needed his mother the most.

It broke Steve's heart just a little bit more than it already was. He was Noel's father, and he loved the little boy so, so much but even he knew that at the end of the day, every child needed their mother more. There was something that a mother provides that a father just couldn't. And this had been Steve's reality for many months now.

Steve brought Noel to bed with him, wrapping him up in his favorite blanket and setting him to rest on his chest. These days, Noel no longer wanted his pacifier. Every time Steve gave it to him, Noel would spit it out and if it didn't land far from him, he would reach it and then chuck as far as his little arm could throw it. Steve wouldn't put it behind Noel to have given up the pacifier as his form of retribution for not keeping his mother with them.

Noel's cries gradually lessened as he tired himself out and gained some kind of comfort from his father's heartbeats and then finally fell asleep. Instead of putting him back in his crib, Steve kept him with him. Just like the night before, and the one before that.

Past

One innocent meeting at Central Perk turned into another "get together", and then another one and then suddenly they mutually agreed they were going out on dates. There was no denying from either side that they needed to keep seeing each other. So whenever Steve wasn't on some Avengers mission and Seren wasn't on a CIA assignment, they were seeing each other.

It ultimately led to Steve's friends hassling him to make it official. He saw Seren all the time and when they couldn't, they did video calls. Seren was delighted with his old fashioned way of asking her if she wanted to be his girlfriend — his girl. But before she would fully say 'yes', because she wanted to with all her heart, she came clean to Steve about her true self.

"I'm not entirely human," she had whispered to him with heavy fear in her eyes. She explained her lineage to him, how her grandmother was from another planet and had sought refuge on Earth, how her mother was born on Earth to a human father…how she was then born…and that at the end of the day she was still part alien.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," she said, swallowing thickly. "I understand if you're angry with me and don't want anything to do with me."

But of course Steve was not angry. He simply wrapped her up in his arms, bringing her on his lap and kissed her, softly reassuring her that everything was fine.

"I mean, it would be slightly hypocritical of me to say anything when I'm Captain America and I work as an Avenger…" He said as a means to humor her and bring a smile out of her fearful face. It did, even though it was a small one. She nestled closer to him on the couch of her living room. "We're going to be okay," Steve promised her and pressed a soft kiss on her temple. "But I'd still like an answer to my question, you know, whatever it was going to be."

Seren's smile spread at the reminder. "I think you already know…"

"Maybe," Steve kissed her temple again, "But I'd still like to hear it."

Seren playfully rolled her eyes. "Yes — obviously."

After that answer, it was very hard to separate them both. If they weren't working, they were together. Even if it was early or late. In no time, Steve was bringing her to the Avengers' compound to see the place and meet the team.

"This place is so big!" Seren laughed throughout the tour. Steve had brought her into one of their training rooms where two Avengers were currently training. She recognized them immediately, having previously worked with one of them.

"Long time no see, Soul," Natasha said as they greeted her.

"You two know each other?" Tony Stark eyed the two women curiously.

"SHIELD," Seren and Natasha replied.

"It wasn't that small of an organization," Seren said with a shrug.

"Ah, so where were you when it was all going down?" Tony asked, prompting Steve to shush him.

Seren felt his arm wrapping around her waist. "She's here to visit, Stark."

"Well then, what do you think of the place so far?" Tony asked.

Seren hummed as she looked around the training room. "It's okay…" She set eyes on the targets set across them. "Oof, whoever made those shots…yikes."

Steve and Natasha laughed while Tony went into a ramble about his targets. Sure, the blasts were a little off but they were still good.

Seren seemed bemused and chuckled. "I'm happy to help you with target practice."

Tony scoffed. " Really ?"

"I'm good, I swear." And to prove her point, Seren raised a fist towards the target Tony had been practicing on and fired star matter. The entire target went up in dangerous star fire.

Tony deadpanned her for a long, hard minute while both Natasha and Steve did poorly hiding their laughs. "Nice girl, Cap," he muttered and took off. "I'm gonna bill you for that!" He called to Seren just before disappearing.

Seren made a face and looked up at Steve. "I don't think he likes me."

"Funny, because I'm liking you more right now," he remarked and dipped his head to kiss her cheek, earning a giggle from her.

Present Day.

Noel was in a full blown babbling moment and Steve had no idea what on earth the toddler was saying. Every once in a while he heard coherent words — among them mama, dada, no…but then he heard 'mon-mon' and he knew exactly what Noel wanted then.

In about an hour, he'd taken the toddler out with him for a quick pastry trip and returned home. He sat with Noel on the couch, giving him small pieces of his favorite treat: cinnamon rolls. Noel was delighted with each piece his father gave him, squealing for more whenever Steve happened to be too slow for his liking.

"Just like your mother…" He said with a dim smile as he wiped some of the crumbs off Noel's chin.

At the mention of his mother, Noel began to call for his 'mama!', clapping his hands together. "Mama! Mama, mon-mon!"

Steve's smile softened and he gave Noel another piece of a cinnamon roll. "Guess I'll have to finish teaching you how to say that. Noel, cinnamon roll?"

"Mon-mon!" Noel squealed again.

Steve shook his head. "Noel, try again. Cinnamon roll?"

With a giggle, Noel repeated his version of the word.

"Noel—"

The toddler let out a playful shriek and lunged towards Steve, quickly reaching for the rest of the cinnamon roll in his hands. He then attacked it with his new teeth. Steve laughed at the sight and pulled Noel on his lap.

"Yeah, alright, we can take a break…" He kissed the top of Noel's head then smoothed out his blonde hair.

Past

Steve gently pulled Seren's body closer to his. She rested her head on his bare chest, her fingers absent-mindedly making circles over his skin.

"You know, I should be going now…" Seren said for about the fifth time now without actually moving an inch.

"Stay…" Steve kissed her hair.

"I've been here all weekend, lovey. I'm sure your friends are so tired of me by now."

"Thor and Natasha love you."

"Mm, and what about Tony?"

"You know, I don't particularly care about his opinion, especially when they're always wrong."

Seren chuckled. She tilted her head up to see Steve. "I love you, but I do have a home to go to. My stuff is all there."

"I know that, I do, but why?" Steve seemed genuinely confused, which just made him look adorable to Seren.

She laughed again. "What do you mean 'why'? Because I live there?"

"Sure, but, what if you didn't live there?"

"Then I would be homeless, Steve."

Steve rolled his eyes and gave her a soft pinch on her side. Her body jerked and she yelped.

"What if you brought your stuff here so you could live here?" Steve said slowly and clearly. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about going back to our homes. Doesn't that sound appealing?"

Seren nodded without making opposing reasons. "But I mean…what about the others?"

"Seren, c'mon, if you're worried about Stark, he doesn't actually hate you. He just likes messing with you. He always messes with me, trust me."

"Oh, he better not," Seren said immediately, frowning as such. "I'll kick his ass right now."

"Not precisely right now, please," Steve said, giving her a look for her less than clothed situation. She rolled her eyes at him. "Seren, please? What do you honestly think?"

Seren sighed lightly and started to smile. "What do you think? I would love it. I would love to stay here, be with you, and wake up in the morning with you again and again. You don't seem to understand, I love you."

Steve did understand, but he liked getting reassured every now and then. "So, are you staying tonight?"

Seren nodded at him. "I called into work sick tomorrow. Told them I had a fever."

Steve chuckled. "A fever?"

"Real nasty one. Got the shivers and everything."

"Liar, liar, Miss Soul…"

Seren began to laugh as he gently tugged her off his body and turned on her so that he was hovering over her.

"We don't lie," Steve wagged a finger at her.

"Then I guess I'll have to go back to work tomorrow morning…" Seren warned him.

"The lie has already been said, the day is marked off…"

"Oh well!"

"Yeah, oh well…" Steve flashed her a smirk before diving down for a kiss.

Present Day.

Noel squealed with laughter as someone threatened to catch him down the hall. His running was at best a penguin's waddle and he'd almost fallen several times but his stamina was of course, super, so he ran across the whole compound without missing a beat.

Finally, Steve snuck up on him and swept the toddler off his feet. "Gotcha!"

Noel's laughter echoed through the building. "Mon-mon! Dada, mon-mon!"

"Oh," snorted Steve as he settled Noel on his side, "because you won?"

Noel nodded like he completely understood the question, and maybe he had. To this day, Steve wasn't sure exactly how far developed Noel was with both the serum and Celessian blood running through his body. Before, when Seren was still with them, they would often get curious and talk about it…but now it was the least of Steve's concern. Noel was healthy and developing fine and that was all that mattered. That was all that Seren would care about.

"Dada!" Noel slapped a small hand on Steve's cheek to get his attention. "Mon-mon!"

"You are your mother's son," Steve shook his head playfully, "You'll make up any excuse to get a cinnamon roll."

He started heading towards the kitchen with Noel. There was a box of leftover cinnamon rolls from the previous night and of course Noel recognized it the moment he spotted it on the aisle.

Steve set Noel down on the aisle and grabbed the box. Noel excitedly sucked breaths as he watched his father break a cinnamon roll in pieces. He could hardly wait for one when Steve offered him a piece.

"What, no dinner first?" drawled a voice from the threshold.

As soon as Noel heard her, he looked back and grinned. "Asha! Asha!"

Natasha walked into the kitchen and smiled at the toddler. "Look at you getting dessert before dinner…" She crossed gazes with Steve, her smile becoming a teasing one. "You are and have always been a sucker for Celessians, huh?"

Steve deadpanned her but not as much as he would've liked because soon Noel had started yelling for another cinnamon roll. Natasha smirked, her point proven.

"So, shouldn't the munchkin be asleep by now?" She checked the time on the clock. It was well past nine.

"Yeah, uh, he wanted to play and…like you said…I can't say no…" Steve watched Noel fondly while he chewed on his piece of bread.

"Mm, you know I only kid," Natasha said, "But it wouldn't be bad if you didn't feel guilty all the time."

"I'll stop when you stop," Steve remarked and looked at Natasha with the same smile as the one she wore.

There was a reason why out of the remaining Avengers, they were the only ones who decided to return to the compound and live together. They were the only ones who couldn't move on. They were the only ones who still sought to work and…just try to help…make things a little better.

"You still have this little guy," Natasha said, reaching over to tickle Noel's stomach, earning a giggle from the boy. He tried swiping her hand off and lucky for him, she stopped so he could keep eating.

Steve agreed. Noel was the only thing keeping him from losing it altogether. Every time he woke up, he had a reason to stay awake and not let the darkness swallow him up. For every giggle that Noel let out, Steve felt some comfort. If he could make his baby happy, then he wasn't a complete failure.

Past

Seren was in tears, her face red from both anger and frustration. Steve wasn't listening to her. He was so close to the stupid door, about to open it, all in the name of doing the right thing .

"Screw the right thing and listen to me!" she yelled at him.

"Seren, believe me, I am!" Steve exclaimed. "But you're the one who doesn't want to hear me out!"

"Because you're telling me that you're not coming back! You're telling me that you're going to leave me behind!"

"Because I have to!"

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do! I have to leave you because then otherwise, they'll be coming after you too! And that is the last thing I would ever want for you!" Steve said, doing his very best not to raise his voice. The last image of her should not be of her face after he screamed at her for something that wasn't her fault. This was all on him. He was the one who made the choice to help Bucky, condemning his friends to the life of fugitives.

He'd been very weak and couldn't let go of Seren then. For the past months, he'd been sneaking back to see Seren, having to be extra careful so as to not get caught but most importantly to not to get Seren caught.

"Seren, this is just getting too dangerous," Steve said. "We have to stop, as much as it hurts us. I can't drag you down with me. I love you too much to do that to you. Please. I have to go."

But Seren shook her head fervently, remaining hard on her stance. "You can't leave me. I can't let you. Because if you walk out right now, I don't know when I'll ever see you again…"

"Seren, I'm sorry. I really am, but I gotta do this. I have to go."

"Then take me with you," Seren said determinedly.

Steve started shaking his head at her. "No, you have a life. You have a job, you have a family—"

"None of it matters anymore!"

"What—?"

"It's not just about me anymore," Seren said, visibly gulping as she brought a hand over her stomach. "I understand what you want to do for me but it's not about me right now. I'm pregnant, Steve."

As she expected, there was a long, long , pause in the argument. Steve had practically gaped at her, mouth hanging wide open. He'd expected an argument from her, tears, and maybe even words that they would later regret…but not this . This was the last, very last , thing he ever thought would happen.

"This isn't how I wanted to tell you — God I never pictured telling anyone this kind of news like this," Seren let out a humorless laugh as she wiped some tears off her face. "But it's better than having you run off before knowing the truth. If you walk out that door and don't come back, you'll be walking out on your child too. I would never threaten you and I know I wouldn't ever have to because I know that you love me as much as I love you. That's why this happened." She rubbed her stomach. "Please don't leave us. We need you."

Whether it was the news, or her frail voice, or the tears in her eyes, it was unclear, but Steve left the door and strode back to Seren. He pulled her into a tight hug, to which she basically clung to.

"I'm sorry," he heard her whisper in her arms.

"No, no, you're not apologizing for anything," Steve said, cupping her face and tilting her head up. "You're so beautiful, and I love you. I love you so much." He leaned down and kissed her. "And I love this baby already so, so much."

"You believe me, then?" A few more tears threatened to spill from Seren's eyes. Steve wiped them off with his thumbs.

"I believe that we are about to have one very unique little baby…at a less than prudent time…" And at that, Steve couldn't hide his nerves. The news didn't change his circumstances. He was still on the run. "Seren, if you come with me…you'll lose everything…" He leaned his forehead on hers.

"I have everything I need right here," Seren whispered, closing her eyes with his touch.

There was nothing left to say. That night, Steve did not return to his team alone.

Present Day.

No toddler could have been happier than Noel when he smashed his birthday cake. Steve, Natasha and Chloe all laughed. Once cake bits started flying into Noel's mouth, the decision to smash or eat the cake became more of a struggle.

"Happy birthday, kiddo," Chloe I'd and helped Noel with another piece of cake on his face. "I won't be the one cleaning you up later."

Steve rolled his eyes at her but did take a look at his cake-covered son with some wariness. If there was one thing Noel loved, it was bath time and if there was one thing Steve didn't like, it was bath time. It was chaos, to say the least. But the everlasting giggles coming from Noel each time he smashed his fist against the cake and the wide grin on his face made it all worth it in the end.

Steve smiled at his son.

"What flavor even is that thing?" Natasha wondered as Noel joyfully shoved some of it into his mouth.

"Cinnamon," Steve replied.

"Of course," went Natasha and Chloe together with similar knowing smiles.

A little later, Noel has finally gotten his fill on cake and was now taking real notice of just how sticky he'd gotten in the process. What was fun and giggles had quickly turned into fuss and calls for help. It took a lot of wiping but they got Noel semi-clean enough to be held. Steve was now in charge of feeding him small bits of cake while Natasha and Chloe offered the toddler gifts.

Noel loved his new toys, and Steve truly appreciated the loud ones. It was Chloe who offered Noel a present that Steve took to heart.

"I changed the frame and everything so it can't be smashed," Chloe said as Noel and Steve tore the gift open.

As soon as Noel saw it, he let out a happy squeal. "Mama! Mama!" He recognized his mother in the picture. His not-so-sticky fingers hit the picture frame in his joyful screeches.

Steve was stark quiet as he held the frame and stared at it. For a second Chloe regretted her decision.

"I found it in my, uh, things and I thought you guys might want…" she sighed, "I'm sorry, I just thought—"

"Thank you, Chloe," Steve said, lifting his eyes from the frame to meet her gaze. She visibly relaxed with his words. "We love it. Thank you."

That night, when Noel was bathed and nestled comfortably in his father's arms, the two sat in bed with the frame of Seren's picture in front of them. She was younger than when Steve had met her in that bakery shop, with shorter hair and in a pretty flower dress. She wore her star pendant around her neck, the same one that had disappeared with her. Her star birthmarks were very visible on her neck and shoulder, two things she had always been so reluctant about.

From a glimpse, Steve saw the same birthmark on the side of Noel's neck peeking from his onesie. The toddler was idly rubbing his stuffy under his nose, an old habit from when he used to do it with his pacifier.

"Mama…Mama…" he said every once in a while, less enthusiastic unlike earlier. It was night now, and Steve knew that this is when Noel needed Seren most.

"I know buddy, I miss her too," Steve whispered and kissed the top of Noel's face.

Past.

Exhausted and worn out, Seren held her newborn son in her arms with such love and joy and bewilderment. Steve couldn't figure out what was so confusing in the beginning and chalked it up to the fact the birth of their son had not been the easiest nor the shortest. Seren had done everything and now it was his turn to do everything for her, and now their son. He wanted to.

"Seren, sweetheart, you should get some rest," he said as he gently sat on the edge of the bed. "You can hand him over to me and you sleep."

"I know but I…I don't want to…" Seren said, watching her son yawn in her arms. "He's so small…"

"He is," agreed Steve with a fond smile on the newborn.

"I love you, Steve," Seren looked up at him with matching smiles. But the same bewilderment came back to Seren's face, pushing the smile off her face.

"Seren, what is it?"

"Nothing bad, I just…" Seren gazed at her son again, "I love you, Steve, I do, and so much…I just didn't know that there would ever be someone else that would tip the scales." She adored her son so much, the words failed to describe the intensity of her love. "He's like a little extension of our love…"

"And that's why you're so confused?" Steve smiled, amused. He was sure Seren was still in dire need of sleep.

Seren shrugged lightly. "Call me crazy, I just never thought I'd experience something like this. I would rip the world apart for this little thing in my arms...with absolutely no hesitation."

"I'd never call you crazy for that. Truth is, you're right. I feel the same way."

"I thought of a name for him," Seren said abruptly. With all the mess of the birth, they had yet to make any name official. She motioned Steve to come closer and took his hand with one of hers. "What do you think about Noel?"

"Noel…" Steve tested the name out several times before deciding that he liked the ring of it.

"Yeah?" Seren smiled as Steve came around.

"I like it, yeah. Noel. What do you think, Noel?" Steve peered down at the newborn and swore that Noel had smiled at him.

"Noel Steven Rogers," Seren said and Steve's head snapped up at her. Her lips spread into another smile. He was adorable too. "What do you think?"

"I don't…are you sure?"

They never talked about how they would name their baby; their main priority had always been a full-term pregnancy, no complications, and most of all giving birth to a healthy baby.

Seren chuckled. "If I wasn't so sore, I'd be pulling you over."

Steve laughed and winced when their son made a fuss. "Sorry, bud," he leaned down and pressed a kiss on his forehead.

"So? What do you say?" Seren still waited for his answer.

"I like it," Steve nodded. "But the next one will be named after you."

Seren chuckled. "Let's give it some time, okay?"

"I'm in no rush." Steve took his hand out of hers to cup her face. He leaned over and kissed her. "Now how about that rest?" He murmured against her lips.

"Don't…" Seren pouted. "I don't want to let him go."

Steve laughed lightly then. "Honey, you need to rest. I'll be here with you and Noel."

"I know that…but I still want to hold him…" Seren shifted Noel so that his head rested over her heart. She gently soothed his back and kissed his head. "Now you can come over here—" — she told Steve and nodded at the spot beside them, to which he quickly obeyed and came to sit next to her, "—and everything will be just fine."

Present Day.

Noel was fast asleep on Steve's chest, his small hands gripping his blanket. Steve held the picture frame of Seren in his hand. He glanced at the empty spot beside him on the bed.

'And everything will be just fine…'

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rockinlibrarian · 5 months ago

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Post-Umbrella Academy S4 Reaction Part Four: On How to End a Story (obviously spoilery but under a cut)

Okay! I'm back and have a moment to write again! It's Field Trip Week in my real-life job which means I've been a LITTLE exhaused, and sunnymarbles has been having me dye their hair in sections each night which is taking some time as well (artists, you know). -actually I started typing this paragraph and got called to dye hair again because they're going out in public tomorrow so can't be having half-dyed hair. And I do still have work tomorrow (one last field trip!) so I ought to go to bed but DANGIT I'M SICK OF BEING INTERRUPTED FROM WRITING.

SO, when last I left you with my TUA S4 reactions, we discussed my favorite part of the season, so now it's time to discuss my least favorite part. As I said in my FIRST reaction post, I ENJOYED Season 4, right up until the very last moment.

The literal very last. Because until that moment, there was still time to turn it around.

Discussion about exactly why the ending didn't work for me, and me making shameless comparisons to Legion again, below the cut.

But see, the comparison is important this time, because both shows ended with the same cop-out twist: "Our characters have messed up SO BADLY that the only option is to completely erase the events of the show from existence!" The biggest difference, though, was that I finished Legion feeling peaceful, and thinking that if it wasn't a completely happy ending it was at least bittersweet. It was only later that I looked at the last episode and noticed the plot holes, the deus ex machina, the deliberate ignoring of earlier canon just to fit what they were trying to make happen-- it was actually a pretty messy ending.

But here's the thing-- the characters were ready. They'd all grown and learned lessons and forgiven trespasses and so forth. So I felt happy for them.

And the events of the show had been erased from existence, but time was happening over again, with the promise that THIS time things MIGHT go better. Not guaranteed. The fix-it I wrote for the end of Legion was merely putting the pieces in place to assure that.

But although the end of the Umbrella Academy was less messy plot-wise than Legion's ending, the CHARACTERS were still a mess, and that erased any feel-good feelings I could have had.

I suspect one reason I enjoyed all the rest of the season better than a lot of people was that my blorbo, Viktor, was the only one who hadn't backslid in his growth-- the only one doing relatively well, and, to be frank, the only one that really seemed to be doing anything useful to the plot in the course of the season. Everyone else was falling back on bad habits both tangibly and emotionally, getting into subplots that never reconnected to the main plot, and honestly most of them were back at the lowest points of their lives at the moment the Cleanse erased them. As I said in his essay, it would have worked if Viktor had made the ultimate sacrifice while saving everyone else, and that's because he would have been going out a hero. For everyone else it felt much more like simply giving up-- a hopeless suicide.

But again, I held out until the very end, the post-credits, hoping that they would at least, like on Legion, get a fresh start. Or if we could see them in the Afterlife working out their issues in a space that they couldn't destroy-- and it's not like this show DOESN'T canonically have an Afterlife where characters can hang out coming to peace with what their lives had been. The characters were not in the right place emotionally to end in a way that would leave the audience feeling good about it.

I feel kind of lucky that I'd already started noodling with a crossover where those characters really COULD work out their issues in...well, another universe, if not the Afterlife. Now it became all the more obvious-- the Hargreeves desperately need to end up at Summerland. They need therapy from people who specialize in people with superpowers. They need a peaceful place to chill together and reconnect into the family they kept threatening to be but somehow failed to be when the series ended. So I've got my little fix-it to work on.

But let that be a lesson for other creators. You can do an everybody-dies ending, you can reset the entire universe, but you've got to do it in a way that really involves all the characters and leaves us with a sense of hope. Otherwise, what was the point of the story you were telling? You have to end your story, not just let it fall apart. You have to convince the audience that this is inevitable.

Speaking of terrible endings, I shall now abruptly end this essay, because it's midnight and I have work tomorrow and I'm falling asleep at my computer. I will write more soon!

#the umbrella academy #on how to tell or not tell a story

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ilikereadingactually · 6 months ago

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The City in the Middle of the Night

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

it's been quite a while since i actually carried a physical book around with me so much that it got this banged up! but once i started this one i didn't want to stop, so it went to the beach with me, got banged around in my bag and my hands across several modes of public transit (it's HARD to get to LBI without a car!!), and then got rained on when the sky opened up and we had not brought a beach umbrella. but! i finally finished it, once it was dry and i had time again after reading workshop manuscripts. and what a world to come back to, after flexing my brain muscles very hard for a week!

such WORLDBUILDING in this book!! it's truly astonishing, and probably my favorite aspect. every location on this alien post-generation-ship planet where humans have settled feels entirely lived in, whether it's ancient or it's only been a few generations. humans are hanging on by a thread, straddling the thin line of habitable space between eternal, searing daylight and eternal frozen dark, in ways that just feel so accurate to us as a species. they're erasing their own cultures in favor of assimilation, or they're reclaiming those cultures again, or they're partying all night, or they're living under an unbreakable tight schedule. students and pirates, scavengers and poverty and extreme wealth, melting pots and salad bowls of Earth cultures arranged in drastically new ways of life. it's so fascinating, and then there are also WICKED COOL ALIENS. aliens who communicate with psychic tentacles and share every memory! who build underground cities and don't have any need for individual names!! (this is a thing i have loved since being obsessed with Gargoyles as a child, i have a feeling it's come up in a review before.)

and leading us through this intensely wild and deep world are alternating POV protagonists Sophie—a shy scholarship student whose life changes forever when she takes the blame for something her crush Bianca did—and Mouth, a scrappy smuggler who's lost everything and keeps trying to find her way. i loved them both and was infuriated by them simultaneously, sucked in by all their lovely human flaws and foibles, Sophie's tenderness and her inability to see through Bianca over and over again, Mouth's stubbornness and singlemindedness even when she came around to better paths. there was so much going on here, and so much more i would love to know about how this world has progressed after the end of the book!! (but i do love a story that doesn't tie everything up neatly, and leaves the world and the reader with hope for the work yet to be done.)

the deets

how i read it: as i said above, a physical copy this time! it's been sitting on my tbr shelf for a while, i'm glad i finally got to it.

try this if you: dig really thought-out alien worlds and cultures and politics, love when people who feel like outsiders find their communities and callings, or like to yell out loud about intrigue and people frequently behaving foolishly for good reasons.

some bits i really liked: Sophie being extremely relatable

Every so often, Bianca puts on a dress made of iridescent petals, or violet satin, and disappears, along with a few others from our dorm. There's always some party, or banquet, that she needs to go to, to nurture her status among the city's elite. She stands in the doorway, the silhouette of an upward-pointing knife, and smiles back at me. "I'll be back before you know."

___

Every time I think I know what's wrong with me, I find something else.

___

Bianca asked if I trusted her, and I said yes, and I meant it. This thing with Dash is just part of whatever she's planning, and she's in control of the whole situation. I look at the taut line of her pale neck and exposed back, as she leans toward Dash, and I choose to see a harpoon gun, aimed and cocked.

#books and reading #booklr #bookblr #book recs #book reviews #queer sff #the city in the middle of the night #charlie jane anders

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justmywritingstuff · 1 year ago

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Speechless Changes Number 6 (Sneak peek)

Hey everyone! I know you were probably expecting the next and final chapter to Speechless Changes, but it's not done yet. It's the longest of all the chapters and is the kind of the ending--possibly not, I have an idea for a sequel, but haven't decided if I want to write it yet--so I want to make sure it turns out the way I'd like it too. It's just taking longer than I hoped it would to get everything written with life and all the fun stuff. So, sorry, no Chapter 6 for this update.

However, since people seem to like my work, I figured I'd give everyone a sneak peak to sate them until the final chapter is finished. So, here's a short sneak peek of the beginning part of the next chapter if anyone's interested.

(I promise I'll finish Number 6 as soon as I can guys)

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It’s a good day for Marinette, one of the best she’s had in awhile.

She had aced a test in school, watched Chloe fall face first into a muddy puddle, Alya called her her best friend, and she’s currently beating the hell out of some girl in a magic ox costume with her lucky charm—it’s an umbrella—while Claw is trying to get the miraculous. It’s a weird life, but sometimes it’s a damn good one.

The ox girl finally seems to fall back from the numerous hits, much to Shady’s displeasure—she was just starting to get into it.

Shady and Claw stand by her to make sure she stays down, Claw groans in annoyance and pulls out his staff to call someone.

She can’t help but ogle him as he does so, she loves this guy more than anything and he’s much more than a pretty face—but damn, she’s the first to admit he’s definitely a hot piece of ass, especially in the leather. She’s having a good day, but what would make it a fucking great day is the opportunity to drool over her attractive partner and get her daily dose of affection from those sinful lips of his.

The ox girl tries to get up, breaking Shady from her daydreaming. Shady sighs and hits her with the umbrella again, dazing her. Frankly, she’s amazed at how many hits to the head this girl can take and also the fact that the umbrella hasn’t broken yet.

“Hello?” She hears Betterfly’s voice coming from Claw’s staff.

“Where the hell is this lady’s miraculous?” Claw asks, exasperated.

“What lady? Oh no, are you two fighting another holder?”

“Yeah, ox girl.”

“Ox? That’s one of the Supreme’s favorites! Are you two alright? I’ll send reinforcements right—”

“Hell no, we’ve already got it handled. Where’s the miraculous? This girl’s covered in fucking jewelry.”

“Oh um nose ring, I believe?”

“Great. Hang on, you’ll get it in a sec.”

Claw leans down to the semi-unconscious ox girl and grabs the nose ring, handing it over to Shady as the girl returns to normal. Shady puts it into her yo-yo to send it to Betterfly.

The girl groans loudly.

“What was that?” Betterfly asks accusingly from Claw’s staff.

“That’s the ox.” Claw says. “I told you, we got it.”

“…Shadybug used her Lucky Charm as a weapon again, didn’t she?”

Claw sends Shady a look. “Uh no?”

Betterfly sighs, and she can practically hear him rubbing his forehead tiredly. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Claw hangs up his staff and Shady sighs, knowing that tomorrow probably held another long lecture about violence from Betterfly.

“Did you have to beat her with the fucking umbrella?” Claw says.

Shady shrugs and sends him a smirk. “She slapped your ass and made you uncomfortable. You would have done the same fucking thing if it was me instead.”

“…Fair point.”

She tosses her umbrella up in the air and does her miraculous cure. After all the usual things, damage is fixed, the girl thanks them for curing her disease but has a terrible headache, etc., Shady grabs Claw and leads him into a nearby tight alleyway to get them both away from any prying eyes as her miraculous beeps.

The alley is small, small enough that standing in it with backs to the walls would leave two people only a few feet apart. With how close the two of them choose to stand where they can feel the other’s breath on their face, though, it almost looks like the alley way is wide, but they just don’t understand personal space.

“You know Mothra’s gonna give you shit for today, cockroach.” Claw says with a smile as he plays with a loose strand of her hair.

“Yeah,” She answers, “but that’s tomorrow me’s problem.”

And she really believes that, she’s having a really good day today, so lectures and worrying about if solving problems with violence is becoming of a hero can be dealt with on another day.

“You’re in a good mood, Bug-a-babe.” Claw says teasingly. “I almost don’t recognize you without that pouty scowl on your face.”

She playfully punches him as her miraculous beeps again, signaling it’s final warning.

He grins and blinks like he’s realizing something.

“Something’s…different.” He says.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, fleabag.” She answers.

“Your suit.” He slowly brings his fingers down the side of her body and her breath catches. “I don’t know, it just looks…different somehow.”

“Oh? How?”

“Can’t put my finger on it, but it’s fucking distracting.”

She hums and leans in close, pressing her body against his as his gloved claws find their way to her hips.

“Distracting, huh?” She says. “Maybe I should just get the hell out of here then. Wouldn’t want to distract you from all your pretty boy shit.”

She starts to pull away, but his grip tightens on her hips before she can get far. It’s a dance they know, it’s usually done with a lot more punches and violence, but it’s a good day and she knows that he must be having a good day too to be so calm. On good days for both of them, neither of them feels the need to argue, it’s more playful and teasing.

“Oh no,” he says, “your spotted ass is stuck with me, cockroach.”

She blinks, taken aback at the familiar words she’s only heard him say once before.

~Flashback~

Swinging through the Parisian skyline wearing nothing but a bodysuit is not something she pictured herself doing, but feeling the rush of the wind in her face for the first time makes everything shitty about her life seem so trivial and forgetful…even the things that make her life hell seem so small in comparison.

Maybe that’s why the Supreme gave Marinette this Miraculous thing in the first place, he knew that once she got a taste of freedom from her shitty life she’d do anything to keep pushing—maybe that’s why he did a lot of things.

Marinette scowls to herself as she lands on a rooftop, what does she care what the Supreme does? He gave her power to do with as she pleases against some dumb butterfly guy, who is she to complain about such a great opportunity?

She flings her yo-yo at a weird pole to fling herself again. Why should she question any of this? So far, she hasn’t found any downsides to this superpowers thing.

Crash!

She crashes into something hard, getting dazed, and her yo-yo wraps itself around her and whatever it is. She groans and slowly opens her eyes to see a black mask attached to a not-unattractive face. She opens her mouth to scream at this guy in the mask as he groans and slowly opens his eyes, her mouth shuts as she’s meant with the most beautiful purple she’s ever seen.

He pulls his head back as soon as he sees her face, but she’s too mesmerized to really notice.

“What the…” The guy says. “Hey! Get me out of this fucking thing!”

The guy starts wiggling and Marinette realizes that their bodies are pressed together like something from a sex scene in a movie. She screeches as her cheeks heat up and quickly untangles them, her yo-yo bonking the masked guy in the head as they go onto a rooftop to have their feet on the ground.

As he rubs where the yo-yo hit him, Marinette finally gets a good look at him.

His hair is a weird green color, his eyes are a beautiful over-the-top purple, he’s covered in tasteful spikes and studs, there’s a bell around his neck for some reason, he’s wearing black lipstick, wearing perfectly form-fitting leather from head to toe, and has two cat ears on top of his somehow working-for-him mess of hair.

Hot damn are the only words that come to Marinette’s mind.

She chastises herself, she’s supposed to be wreaking chaos in the name of the Supreme, not ogling some eye candy who’s probably a huge asshole.

“That fucking hurt!” The attractive masked guy says. “What the hell is wrong with you, you psycho watermelon?”

And he’s got an attitude…hmm…maybe Marinette could spend a few minutes beating up the guy in skin-tight leather before she fucks up the butterfly guy. Not like she’s ever gonna see him again, how often would she get the chance to yell at a cat guy?

“I’m a fucking ladybug, asshole.” Marinette snaps back.

The guy rolls his pretty purple eyes. “You look more like a cockroach to me.”

“Yeah? Well, you look like a bag of fleas!”

“Hey!”

He grits his teeth and gets in her face.

“Cockroach!” He growls, pushing her.

“Fleabag!” She growls back, pushing him.

“Bug breath!”

“Fuzz face!”

They snarl at each other, and she grabs him by the collar, preparing to threaten or punch him. His snarl falls as he sees a large purple butterfly coming towards them.

“What the fuck is that?” He says.

“That’s an akuma, you dumbass.” She says, still holding him by the collar. “It’s attracted to our anger.”

“Then stop being angry, dammit! We don’t need that fucking thing over here!”

Huh, so he’s not a complete dumbass.

They both take a deep breath to calm down and the akuma flies away.

Marinette is suddenly all too aware that she’s still holding him by his jacket and that their faces are close enough that she can feel his breath on her face. She tries really hard not to think about how good his cologne smells or look at his attention-grabbing lips as she quickly pushes his (totally not attractive) face away from her.

He clears his throat and picks her yo-yo off the roof, holding it out to her. “Here, your yo-yo thing.”

Wait, why would he do that? He didn’t need to do that, no one had ever helped her for no reason before…he’s got something more to him under all that attitude, it seems, something that is grabbing her attention.

Her heartbeat picks up a bit as her hand brushes his when she grabs her yo-yo.

Oh no, that needs to stop right there. It’s fine, probably nothing, it’s not like Marinette has to worry about seeing him again, she can completely forget about it and—

“You must be that partner the Supreme is forcing me to work with.” He says. “I’m the cat holder, name’s Claw Noir.”

Fuck. Great, attractive asshole is her stupid partner.

She crosses her arms then eyes him up and down, trying to figure out the kind of person he is. Everyone she’s ever met had always either been afraid of her or wanted her to be afraid of them. Her guess is the latter, if his attitude is any indication, which is going to be a huge fucking inconvenience.

“Damn, do you ever pay attention, cockroach?” Claw Noir says, breaking her from her thoughts. “I asked what I’m supposed to call you?”

“I’m…” She pauses, remembering the Supreme mentioned secret identities, and tries to think of a name for her new super powered persona. “Shady. Yeah, Shadybug.”

“Shadybug? I think cockroach suits you better.”

He eyes her for a moment and something familiar flashes in his eyes, something she recognizes.

She blinks, suddenly overly aware of the guy in front of her. She can see all of it in his eyes, he’s broken and fucked up just like she is (which isn’t surprising since the Supreme obviously went after a specific kind of person)…anger and violence are how people like them communicate. But, that’s not what’s holding her attention. No, what’s holding her attention is the fact that alongside all that anger and pain she can see in his eyes is also that he isn’t afraid of her and he doesn’t want her to be afraid of him. She had never met someone who didn’t interact with her using some kind of fear, it’s…intriguing.

Her heart beats a bit faster at the thought, but surely, it’s just from the adrenaline.

…Right?

Well, maybe it isn’t, but if it isn’t then there’s a problem, she can’t let herself fall for an asshole like him, especially if she’s stuck with him. Not when she finally has some power.

Claw Noir looks her up and down again then sighs tiredly. “Great, the Supreme stuck me with a bitchy partner, just great.”

Does he already hate her? What the fuck is his problem? He doesn’t even know her!

So, falling for him won’t be the problem, not killing him however…well, that might be difficult.

She scowls and sends him a deadly glare. She swings her yo-yo and hits him in the stomach with it.

“If I’m so bitchy,” She says, “then give me your Miraculous so I can get a partner that isn’t such a jackass.”

He glares back, not intimidated in the slightest but still not caring if she’s afraid of him. The nerve on him. He growls and extends his staff swinging it at her but she dodges before he manages to hit.

“Oh no,” He says, “your spotted ass is stuck with me, cockroach.”

As they start throwing punches at each other between yells and spreading chaos through the city, she decides that if she’s stuck with him and he hates her for no reason, then she swears she’ll always hate him harder than anyone else.

~End Flashback~

…That was the day they first met forever ago. The day she fell for the guy under all that pain and buried all her want under endless hate. They’ve come so far from that day, so many things had changed, but some things would always be the same. That was the day she fell for the heart under his pain, the day that under all the hate and anger her heart had become his and has always been since.

#miraculous ladybug #fanfic #speechless changes #claw noir #shadybug #sneak peek

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lovelywooz · 2 years ago

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Boo Seungkwan - Night Walk

This is kind of a short open letter to him if I’m honest? I see so much of myself in Seungkwan. He’s a wonderful soul. One of my favorite people to have been born on this Earth. I’ve had something in my drafts about him for a while, but I wanted to wait to post it. Here it is now<3

Word Count: 743

Warnings: None, could be a little bit angsty? It’s short which I know takes some people out of the zone.

As you’ve gotten to know him, you and Seungkwan both see so much of yourselves in the other. You started going on nighttime walks about a month ago to let go of your deeply set stress together.

*******************************************************

Everything about Seungkwan is so tranquil. The way he holds your hand gently, but with a loving firmness. The way your pairs of feet make a tiny splash with each watery step on the park sidewalk. The way raindrops pitter-patter so effortlessly perfect you could be fooled into thinking its a studio recording.

You’ve each got one earbud in. The wired kind since Boo says that it’s ‘more intimate’ that way. Your left ear and his right ear both tune into the audiobook you’ve chosen for the night: Alice in Wonderland. It’s actually quite a long book and each chapter is about 45 minutes of blissfully calm narration. Both of you enjoy a little light ASMR here and there. You figured it’s good to start with the classics, since Boo said he’d never read most of them before and frankly it’s been a long time since you had either.

This little habit of yours, walking at night hand-in-hand while listening to an audiobook, has become an essential part of your relationship with Seungkwan. Though it’s only been a few months since you started dating, you’re not sure you ever truly lived without him.

He can see you’re stressed. You can see he’s stressed. And so the earbuds and umbrella come out and you’re out the door. This routine works to serve both of you. Sincerely you hope that you can bring him even half as much comfort as he gives you just being in his presence. His aura is like that of a blanket thats been warmed next to a roaring hearth. Even in the nighttime rain, you can still feel his burning heart through your connected palms. He’s the guy you wished- no, prayed was out there waiting for you.

Suddenly, he comes to a stop next to a large tree. He always looks around in peaceful silence, but he’s never outright stopped during one of your walks before. He speaks in a calm tone, still audible enough to be heard over both the rain and the narrator’s voice in your ear. “I used to walk here by myself a lot when I had thoughts to sort out”, he releases your hand and reaches his fingers out to trace them over the bark, “It makes me so happy that you like coming here too”.

“Any place with you next to me makes me happy” you chirp. A smile blooms across his features as he turns his head to look at you.

“I’m sorry that,” he hesitates, “that I don’t tell you enough. That I can never seem to show you or put into words how I’m feeling”. Knowing that you’re going to deny his words right away, he puts a finger to your lips. “Don’t go saying that it’s not true, because I know it is”. Despite what it seems like, Seungkwan doesn’t sound sad at all. His tone indicates more of a reflective mood than anything else, like he’s somehow collected all his thoughts and is ready to lay them out one-by-one. This is a rarity for him.

He continues, “Part of why I feel so drawn to you is that we are so similar. In some ways I love that we can instantly figure each other out, we know what the other needs without saying anything. It also makes me feel so bad for you at times, because I know how complicated you feel when you’re hurt. It’s hard when we choke up each time we’re asked how we’re doing. Because we honestly don’t know”.

His index finger reaches up from your lips to brush a strand of hair from your face. “When I look in your eyes, I see all the fondness I once begged for, the assurance that I need, a reflection of what I have always wished and hoped would come to me. It amazes me all the time that there is someone who just- gets it. That understands me. As if we’re bound by some cosmic force that I can’t see. Or cut from the same cloth”. He laces your fingers together once again. “I just have to say it, while I’m feeling brave, and I have you here in front of my eyes, I have to tell you what I’ve been feeling”.

The audiobook chapter ends, just in time for you to hear him clearly between the patter of the rain on your umbrella.

“I love you”.

#boo seungkwan #seungkwan #seungkwan fluff #seungkwan angst #seungkwan imagine #seungkwan drabble #seventeen #seventeen imagines #seventeen fluff #booseoksoon #seventeen drabbles

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carousellights · 2 years ago

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The Boy With The Heatset | Part 6

Synopsis: The world was always so loud. Moving so fast without any care for the people who might get left behind.

All the commotion of college seems to put Y/n’s life on autopilot. Her only safe haven being the almost absolute quiet of her dorm room.

Jisung can’t seem to handle the constant sounds of life preferring to drown himself in music instead.

The boy with the headphones who sits next to Y/n seems to blend their noises into a perfect melody.

Word count: 4.2K

Pairing: music major! han x student! reader

Genre: friends to lovers, fluff, angst, slow burn, mutual pining

Masterlist

Previous / Next

As they pass the building Jisung looks over to Y/n making sure that she’s still ok. Her eyes are fixed on the shirt in her hands. Seeing her pull slightly on the fabric she looks up and seems taken back. Tilting his head to the side she looks back to the fabric without a word. With each step, she takes he feels her arm shift down slightly moving his shirt. With each small pull to his shirt, it feels like a tug on his heart. As the building comes into sight he feels a cold spot land on him. Looking down to the ground small wet specks start to litter the floor. Looking in his bag he realizes that he forgot his umbrella. A harsher tug on his shirt confirms the fact that Y/n is uncomfortable. “Come on, let's walk faster.” He says as he wraps his arm around her shoulders and starts to slowly pick up speed.

Standing in front of the door Y/n lets go of his shirt. Putting his hands above her head to protect her from some rain as she unlocks the door. Even if it doesn’t work he still feels better knowing that he’s doing all he can for her. When the door opens he can’t help but stare at her. The yellowish glow from the door framing her features. She walks into the light and he feels she belongs there. Placing his hand over his headphones he hears her voice, “are you going to stand in the rain all night?” Walking through her door she closes it behind him. While she’s locking it he turns back to her and says, “did you just invite me to stay the night?” She scoffs and as she turns around her eyes fill with worry, “your headphones Jisung they’re wet.” Rushing over she takes his hand off of the ear muff and starts whipping it off with her sleeve. Her eyes will with more panic as she rushes to the bathroom returning with a towel, “I hope they don’t break. I’m so sorry.” As her whipping stops he continues to look at her, “why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything so don’t worry.” She sniffles as she gives a weak reply, “this sounds a lot like when we first met.” Smiling he motions over to the sofa. They both sit down as he speaks up again “it feels like it’s been so long since we first met. The weather was warmer then.” He rests his arm against the sofa, propping his hand on his headphones. Sniffing Y/n’s eyes meet his again, “your hair is cute again.” Jisung grabs the towel and ruffles the hair he can without messing up his headphones.

Silence floods the room. Filling the gaps that his words could never express. “I’m glad you liked my music.” She doesn’t look away this time while smiling. It felt like the world stopped turning. Oh, how he wished the world stopped so he could stay like this with her for eternity. His haven. All their words seem quiet like the water is muffling them. It’s peaceful. Her voice breaks through the barrier and it completes his peace, “The way you made so many amazing tracks from their bad descriptions is so cool.” With every word, she says his smile grows. He hopes she can’t hear the smile in his voice “I try my best but what was your favorite track?” He follows as her eyes switch between his before her eyes still as she begins talking, “The one that had that smooth rhythm to it” He gives a questioning look and speaks up as Y/n starts to backtrack “you’re in music theory and that’s how you describe a song?” She breaks eye contact for the first time while saying, “hey you’re the music major here.”

He shifts on the sofa so his arm is no longer resting on the back of it. The silence is comfortable. His eyes watch as she moves to face him again “Jisung'' he puts his hand back on his headphones as she continues, “I have a question” his heart stops wondering what she could be asking “what is it?” She pauses, and sighs before finally asking, “is my voice too loud?” His heart sinks deeper. Her voice is the only one he can bear to listen to. He yearns and aches just to hear her sigh. How could she ever come to that conclusion? His voice comes out in a panic, “What no why are you asking?” Looking past him she takes a second, thinking of how to explain “Every time I talk you push your headphones on more. I can lower my voice if it breaks through too much.” His heart sinks with every breath. How could he explain? His mouth moves before he can think, “No no your voice is perfect. No need to change it.” Her voice gets weaker, “Then why do you do that?” He racks his brain on how he could explain but nothing makes sense. Would she understand him? “Can I show you?” He takes off his headset and sets it on his lap. He takes her face in his hands and pushes away the hair from her eyes and cheeks. Trying to remember the feel of her skin in case this was his only chance. Grabbing his headphones from the table he places them on her head. Scanning her face she looks more confused than ever. Moving his hand from her cheek up to cup the right muff of the headset, suddenly her world was filled with all the small noises. The sound of the rain hitting the outside. Even Jisung’s ragged breathing is able to be heard. He takes it off of her and fixes her hair, his touch soft and careful not wanting to overstep. Hoping she understood, he puts the headphones on himself again.

Finally, her eyes meet his. They stare at each other. The water that had just dried on his face seemed to be on the verge of returning. She understood. She won’t waste any bad emotions on him anymore. Her eyes flicker with a new emotion that he’s never seen in her before. The uncharted territory becomes something he wants to know. He needs to understand this spark like he knows all her others. The room feels smaller. Like no matter where they turned the other was there. He wouldn’t want it any other way. The closer they get the further their eyes drift. Neither knew who was moving. All they knew was that their eyes were being pulled to each other's lips. He puts his hand on his headphone as her lips start to move. “We should study right?”

Neither of them move away. He doesn’t even know how it happened but he does know that suddenly their show was playing on the tv. He forces his eyes to look away from her. Why did it feel like he was drowning? That the water that made him calm just minutes ago was now filling his lungs and bubbling in his mouth. As his mouth closed the water found its way to his eyes. He couldn’t escape the feeling of suffocating. Why wasn’t she saying anything, he knows she understood. He knows her eyes flashed with happiness but what was the other flash? Why did he want to know so badly? He wanted to know her heart, wanted to explore her soul. The water leaks over to his lower eyelashes and he stands without saying a word. Looking back he sees Y/n staring at him with that unknown look in her eyes again. No matter how badly he wanted to sit back down he couldn’t. The air is weighing him down. Trying to flush him out of the room. “If I wanna start getting to class on time then I better get to my dorm.” All he wants is for her to pull him back down. Make him feel like he’s floating again. When she speaks this time he fully takes off his headset pushing it to his shoulders “I’ll get you an umbrella.” As she leaves the room all he can do is replay her words in his mind. Her words flood his ears. He’s sinking.

Y/n comes from her room and hands him an umbrella. He picks it up and stands at the exit of the door. Even when she opens it he just stands in the doorway. With every second he looks at her it feels like he’s sinking faster and faster. Why can’t he look away? “Sweet dreams, Y/n” dream of me he wants to say but he knows the water would rush out. “Sweet dreams, Jisung”

As the door clicked shut Y/n focused all her attention on listening for his footsteps. All she hears is the umbrella opening. Slowly walking over to the window by the door she grabs the curtain. While pulling it back she shows herself to him. She looks at him standing underneath her umbrella and looking at his feet in front of the door. As he turns his shoulders slump. Looking over he takes a step back looking at her. Raising her hand she waves him off. He smiles and waves back, finally stepping away. She doesn’t what to leave the window. She doesn’t want to accept the fact that her house feels so empty without him. Laying down in bed she hopes she dreams of him. When she closes her eyes the image of Jisung without his headphones on is stuck in her mind. What would have happened if she leaned in? She wanted to lean in. Lean into his hand, lean into his touch, lean into him.

Walking into her class hopefully, she looks over to his seat. Nothing. Glancing down at the time she sees there are still 10 minutes before class starts. Pulling out her chair she sits and looks around for a little while. With every insistent tick of the clock, her eyes find the door. Sighing she pulls out her computer and notes. Looking through the pages she finds where she had written Jisung’s password. Smiling, she hides the page and starts to randomly draw on the other. The professor stands up and clears his throat. Looking down at the clock there are still a few minutes before he should be here. Maybe he’ll be late. It would make sense because he’s never been to class so early. As the professor starts talking she zones herself out. Pulling up a site she starts transferring some notes from paper to computer.

Click

The sound pulls her out of her daze as her eyes snap to the door. Placing her notes on the other side of her to give him room she looks up. “We were told you were having computer issues?” The familiar IT uniform comes into view and the professor speaks up again, “class will start in 20 minutes.” As the professor turns to talk to the guys Y/n glances at the time again. 11:20 AM twenty minutes past the beginning of class. Should she text him? Looking at her phone a blue light catches her attention making her remember last night. She’s felt uneasy even since he left like something was missing. Like a part of her soul left with him. Sitting on a small bench outside of the room she waits. Feeling the empty space beside her makes her feel alone even if the rest of the students were also waiting in the hallway.

Y/n: Jisung you’re late hurry up!

While seeing the text go through she sees people filing back into the room. Following them, she waits for something to happen. Waiting for Jisung. The waiting only seemed to stretch on nothing to keep her alert. How did she focus before talking to him? Every word became muffled and the ticking sounded duller. Every small click of a pen had her eyes snapping to the door only to drift back to her screen. As the others start to leave the class she checks the time. 12:20 PM How did time move so fast?

Rushing out of the door she immediately starts looking for Jisung’s number. Where was it? Where was he? Why can’t she find his contact? Walking outside she shivers in the cold air still looking for the contact. Standing in front of a bakery she finally finds his number. The ringing seems to be too loud and hurts her ears. “Hey Y/n what’s up?” His voice calms her shaking and makes the cold biting her skin a little more bearable. Letting out a breath she closes her eyes trying to imagine that he’s there with her. “Jisung are you ok?” The words seem to fall flat in the air. The more the silence drags the more worried she gets. “Yeah I’m fine I’m just feeling sick.” Trying to blink the tears away from her waterline she waits for him to explain, “the rain must have made me sick. I’ll be ok.” A sniffle is the only sound she makes before his words come out slightly rushed, “you’re ok though right? I was in the rain longer than you.” Walking into the bakery she finally gathers the strength to give a response “yeah I’m ok.” She pauses before continuing, “get better soon please class isn’t the same without you.” I’m not the same without you. The call quickly ends. Pieces of her seem to spread in the breeze as their goodbyes linger in the air.

Standing in line she orders a dozen doughnuts and heads out of the store. The wrath of the box helps to make the walk to the music studio bearable. She keeps wishing for Jisung to be sitting in the studio. Even if he is sick, just seeing him would help her understand why she feels this way. Now standing at the entrance she rethinks her decisions. Is she overstepping? Will they be weirded out that she’s here without Jisung? Taking a step back she gathers the courage to knock.

“Oh, Y/n you’re here.” She hands Changbin the doughnuts and goes to walk away, “wait come inside for a little bit you look cold.” Stepping inside the studio she sees that Jisung isn’t there. The awkward air fills the room as they all look at each other before Chan speaks up, “sorry he’s not here.” They knew. “I know I just wanted you guys to make sure he got some doughnuts so he gets better sooner.” The boys look at each other. Feeling like she said something wrong she adds, “You guys can have some too.” After a few beats of burning embarrassment Chan finally says something “what do you mean to get better?” Y/n looks down at her phone and stands up. It's later than she thought and she still had to try to study, “Jisung said he was sick. But I have to get going now. Thank you, guys, for letting me warm up here.” They nod as she walks away.

Chan sighs as the door shuts. “Do you think he’s doing it again?” Changbin says while looking over at the older boy. He nods and grads the doughnuts getting ready to go to their dorm, “you’ll have to talk to him, Bin.” The other boy looks at Chan like he’s crazy as he continues, “You’re better at not trying to fill the silence and he needs that right now.” Changbin nods reluctantly and shouts “you’re lucky this is for Jisung” chan pats him on the back as they get into the car.

While unlocking the door changbin tries to be as quiet as possible. He knows that Jisung is aware that they’re home. The faint music leaking out of his room becomes slightly louder. A silent plea for the boys not to come in. Changbin walks up to the younger boy's door and knocks quietly. He listens for any sign that he can come in and takes the sound of shuffling and the opening of a drawer as his sign to open the door. He’s met with Jisung putting in earplugs and leaning back against his bed frame.

Taking soft steps he takes a seat on the boy's bed. The room is completely dark except for a small blue light softly framing the objects close to him. Looking over at Jisung he notices that his eyes are trained on the shirt he wore the day before now eating on his desk chair.

Changbin makes sure to lower his tone so it doesn’t break through his earplugs too much, “Why did you lock yourself away bud?” Jisung tenses and his voice sounds like it hasn’t been used all day when it comes out, “I haven’t locked myself away.” trying to think of a way to break through to him, Changbin finally says, “You know Y/n came by the studio and dropped off doughnuts for us.” Jisung looks out from under the covers when he hears her name. His eyes were now focused on the man in front of him. Changbin continues, “I can tell she’s really worried about you .” These words linger in the air. Looking at Jisung he sees that he’s not going to respond. Patting Jisung’s leg he starts to stand. “try not to block her out?” He makes his way out of the room and sees that Jisung’s eyes are back on the shirt.

Closing the door he makes his way over to Chan who was sitting in silence on the sofa. “Why’d it go? Is he sick or you know?” Changbin sits down not knowing what to do to help his friend, “he’s locking himself in.” The boys sit quietly for a while feeling helpless. They know Jisung will be fine soon but they know they can’t help him.

The sound of her alarm hurt her ears. Every sound seemed too loud recently, everything was getting on her nerves. After getting ready she opens her computer and stares at the assignment that’s halfway through. Normally she would have been able to focus enough to finish it but every buzz from her phone last night filled her with hope that it was him. It never turned out to be the guy she wanted to hear from. She goes to the kitchen and looks for a snack to help keep her awake. The small bottles and packaging seem to pull her eyes in. Jisung’s snacks.

Grabbing a basket at the front of the store she finds her way to the snack aisle. Shoving a bit of everything in the basket she makes her way to the cashier, “are you a student here?” Y/n nods her head and shows her ID. The discount gets taken off and Y/n makes her way to the music studio. Will it be obvious she’s there to ask about Jisung? The last time she showed up there Chan seemed to read her like a book.

Knocking on the door Changbin answers again and welcomes her in. Passing out the snacks both of the boy's eyes light up and they say their thanks and start to open the packaging. “Seriously, thank you for bringing us snacks. That one forgets to eat sometimes and gets so grumpy.” Chan glares at changbin and fires back, “I get grumpy because you refuse to do more than one take.” The three continue to make small conversations. Until a buzz on Y/n’s phone gets her attention. Just a random notification. Sighing, she opens his chat room.

Y/n: get well soon! I miss you… don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.

While looking back up again the mood in the room seems to have shifted into a slightly dense one. Chan glances down at her phone and speaks up “He’s not really sick. I know he’ll probably be mad I’m telling you but,” he takes a pause and composes himself more before continuing, “The word is just too much for him right now.”

The other boy looks at her hurt expression before trying to explain, “it’s nothing against you. He just gets like this sometimes.” She nods but now has even more questions than before. Changbin speaks up again frantically, “he’ll bounce back soon so don’t worry too much about him, yeah?” She nods and checks her phone but still nothing. “Thank you guys for telling me.” While Y/n stands up chan looks outside the blinds of the window next to him, “stay here for a bit it’s nice getting to know someone else Jisung talks to.” Sitting back down she takes one of the snacks and starts eating a little bit to ease her nerves.

While stepping through her door she shakes off her jacket and yawns. It’s only 5 PM but the two boys had taken her out for dinner and helped her home. She felt tired even after doing minimal tasks. A second yawn begins but is quickly cut short by the buzz of her phone. Pulling it out she sees a flash of his name. Quickly pressing accept she brings the phone to her ear. After a beat of silence, she tries to talk in a soft voice to not add to the stress he was feeling, “hi Jisung.” She hears his small breath of relief come across the speaker. After the silence for a while Y/n begins again “can I see you?” Shuffling cones from the other end this time. Maybe he needs to be alone but Y/n can’t stand the fact that he’s alone and she’s right there but not there with him. “I can just sit next to you, we don't have to talk or do anything. I just want to see you.” This time nothing comes across the speaker. The silence makes her check if he's still there. Just as she was about to admit defeat a small voice comes across, “come over.”

His voice rings in her ears. He sounds so small like his voice would break. Like he would break. She rushes out of her apartment. Her jacket was long forgotten. The cold wind seems to push against her as she runs to his dorm. While running she feels like her soul is being torn in the wind. Why is his dorm so far away? Why is the weather pushing her away? As the dim street light starts coming to life she rushes into the dorm building. As the stillness of the lobby sets in, her heart sinks. What dorm is he in? What floor is he on? Looking down at her phone she sees he’s still on call. Panting she asks, “where is your dorm?” She holds her breath to hear him, “305.” rushing up the stairs she finally reaches floor 3. Looking over at the signs she looks to her left and looks at each door. 311, 309, 307, 305. Standing in front of the door she doesn’t hesitate to knock she needs to see him. The door opens to Changbin, “I’m here for Jisung.” He points to his door as he says, “I’m not sure if he wants to see anyone right now but he’s in there.” Her steps feel heavy as she reaches his door. She knocks and hears a sound from her phone. Opening the door the blue light shines in her eyes.

Jisung looks up as the creak of the door sets in the room. She becomes lit up by the soft blue light. Suddenly he feels at peace. No big waves suffocating him. No voids that seem to fill up his space. It’s just her. She moves slowly and closes the door. Looking at her phone she hangs up finally. While she walks over to the bed he can tell she doesn’t know what to do. He moves to the left side of the bed and placed some of the blankets in between them hoping that she would feel comfortable. He pays the right side and she lays down. The sound of her erratic breathing makes him worry. Placing his hand he moves the blanket in between their faces down. Looking into her eyes as if to ask if she’s ok. She nods and Jisung grabs her hand. Squeezing and releasing with a steady breathing tempo. They both look at their hands and her breathing starts calming slowly. As their eyes meet again their breathing is synced. Her eyes flash with that emotion again. Something about it isn’t so scary this time. His eyes seem to hold the same sparks. Reaching over he lets go of her hand and fixes her hair. She closes her eyes for a moment then looks back at him. Before his hand can return to her’s she reaches over to run her hand through his hair. He closes his eyes out of embarrassment when it gets to the tangled part that she carefully undoes. Her hand rests on the side of his face trying to let him know that she doesn’t mind. He scoots closer to her and she moves the blanket slightly under herself giving herself more room to look at him. Now they’re only a breath away from each other. Han reaches up to the side of his face and holds her hand there. He feels complete. Like his soul had finally found its missing parts.

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#skz angst #skz fluff #skz series #skz x reader #han jisung #han jisung fics #han jisung x reader #han x reader #stray kids angst #stray kids fluff #stray kids x reader

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