#I think I would rate the movie higher cause there were parts I really liked but my entire friend group hated it so I fear my thoughts are

[insertcoolnameherethanks]

My friends complaining about Gemma having "zero emotional capacity" my man, she has emotional capacity she's just neurodivergent stfu

[whoiwanttoday]

So I pre purchased tickets for Love Lies Bleeding for a few reasons. One, it's getting great reviews and has been since it first screened at SXSW. I already liked the idea of it but knowing it works is hugely exciting. If you don't know, Film Noir is one of my favorite genres and every November my friends and I do Noirvember which started a decade ago with them going, "Film Noir seems cool but I don't know anything about it". Well guys, I did know about it and it was about time to put that education to use so that first year I chose 5 movies that I felt would help demonstrate the characteristics of the genre and wrote essays about each one with what to look for and what identifying tropes of the genre were there. Since then I have put in far less effort but every year we try to grab some movies that are significant for various reasons to the genre. My point is, I love Noir and really appreciate French film critics for inventing it after the fact. So Love Lies Bleeding is not a Noir, it is a Neo-Noir but for obvious reasons it's a genre that always interests me for obvious reasons. It's a Neo-Noir because you can't make film Noir anymore, part of what makes it film noir is when it was made and that no one has ever set out to make a Noir, if you are you're making a Neo-Noir. But I love them, too, especially sun soaked ones. Thirdly, Kristen Stewart. First of all, I think she is a tremendous actress who just does great work and her projects just get more and more interesting. They don't always work but man, I want big swings rather than boring. There are so many safe movies I give higher ratings to than interesting failures but those safe, bland mediocre movies all fade into the background, I still think about the interesting failures. So I love that she tries cool projects and the truth is most of her work. She always works in them. But the thing is, when I heard she was doing this I just knew it was perfect. My favorite Noir figure is probably Humphrey Bogart. That's not an out there selection, the guy was undeniably cool. And I was like, yes, let Kristen Stewart be Humphrey Bogart. I think she could 100% pull off that. I mean, I don't think she is in this movie, she's playing a different kind of a mess than the cool character who keeps getting in over his head but when it comes to vibes of someone who can be my favorite sort of Noir protagonist it's her. Which is a long way of saying I have tickets to go see the movie and resisted posting Kristen yesterday cause my brain was like, "We'll post her after we see the movie". Welp, I didn't make it cause she has been all over the place and looking very good. So I caved and made it exactly one day. Today I want to fuck Kristen Stewart.

[world-cinema-research]

Week 3 World Cinema Research Blog - by Natalyn Wakeling

Five Easy Pieces - 1970

The film I chose to watch for week 3 is Five Easy Pieces, by Bob Rafelson. This film caught my eye from the trailer and dossier because I was interested in why main character "Bobby", wanted to abandon his upper class life as a musician to go live a working class life elsewhere. One thing about this film that made it striking to critics and viewers of this time was Jack Nicholson's ability to act, and the way his behavior throughout the film sets the tone.

Rafelson directed this film which was released in 1970, and the budget was 1.6 million dollars. It generated about 18,000,000 in Box Office, making this movie a commercial success. This is a much larger profit than the other films I have researched at this point. I think this film was able to bring in this big of a profit because for one, it wasn't very expensive to produce. There wasn't a lot of action, locations, and scenery in this film, which the budget accounts for. I think they were able to do 18 million on profit because the movie does have a very famous actor, Jack Nicholson.

The only comparable item I really had going into watching this film was Jack Nicholson's acting from another film I had watched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I assumed that the character he portrayed in Five Easy Pieces would somewhat resemble his role in the film I had watched prior. In some ways it did. His ability to lack basic human sympathy and make compulsive decisions was very well displayed in both roles, however, the plot lines were completely different. This film was one of Jack Nicholson's most iconic, career building demonstrations of his ability to act, and people cite Five Easy Pieces as the film that shows his acting to his full potential.

Critically, this film received very good reviews from very well known film critics like Roger Ebert. He described Nicholson this way: "Jack the lad, the outsider, capable of anger, sarcasm, self-pity, also capable of tenderness and grief, ready for violence but not very good at it". Here Ebert is shedding light on Nicholson's ability to demonstrate the range of so many different emotions and demeanors in one character. Ebert overall rated this film 4 stars, which is much higher than the ratings he has given to the other films I have researched. Something else that Ebert said that also resonated with me was the films ability to have a twisted, unexpected ending, that makes the viewer reflect on life after. Ebert said more American films to follow took note of this movies ability to have a "plot free to surprise us about the characters, into an existential ending not required to be happy." A large sum of people who watched this movie at the time of the release would agree with Ebert. They admired the movies raw plot and acting abilities.

Looking at the political, economic, and social climate of the time the film was released is also important when it comes to viewing the film in its entirety. I think one of the most important factors that had an influence on this movie, historically, was the emphasis of the working class in America. "American made" labels were becoming very popular around this time period, and tariffs were being put on imports from foreign countries to encourage more American production. (Link to 1970 timeline) It just so happens that part of this films story line is Bobby retreating from his upper class family of musical geniuses to go from place to place working. “I move around a lot, not because I'm looking for anything really, but 'cause I'm getting away from things that get bad if I stay.” This is something Bobby says to his father at the end of the film, in sort of an apologetic excuse for his leaving the family for 3 years. It also sheds some light on his characters inability to ever be satisfied for long in one place.

Above is an interview with Nicholson many years after the release of this film. It's him along with others involved in the making of the film, and their different takes on what they wanted to do with certain scenes, and how they wanted the character to be ultimately portrayed. This interview plays into the critical reception of this film because a big debate among the creators of the film and viewers was if Nicholson's character should have really broken down and showed emotion at the end. Nicholson himself argued that it was out of character for this scene to take place, but a lot of the viewers and the director both agreed it created more range and depth to see the underbelly of Robby after seeing his stone cold countenance throughout the entire film.

Five Easy Pieces is categorized as a drama film, which I agree there is elements of drama, but I see it more as a film focusing on human behavior. Nicholson's many levels of acting give this film a feeling of many different styles. He has his working class story line, his waitress girlfriend, his many affairs, and family life that all come together to create a sort of chaotic feel in main character Bobby's storyline. You can see some moments of self reflection throughout the film, especially in the ending scene when Bobby is physically looking at himself in the mirror and comes to the decision to abandon his girlfriend Rayette.

A line in the film that stands out to me is when he is when Bobby is confessing his love to Catherine, and she says to him “You're a strange person, Robert. I mean, what will you come to? If a person has no love for himself, no respect for himself, no love of his friends, family, work, something—how can he ask for love in return? I mean, why should he ask for it?” In this scene Kathy was really able to read into the interworking of his mind, and come to the sad realization that if he himself can never be satisfied, how is he ever to satisfy anyone else? I think he comes to an epiphany about his life and character at this point too, which leads to him ultimately abandoning Rayette. I think the main thing that stands out in this film is Jack Nicholson's acting range, and it is what the film is widely accredited for.

I would label this film as conventional. It has two very standout actors of this time, and was marketed to be a commercial success. It did exactly that with its very large profit. Being a drama, it is one of the most profitable genres of film, and definitely received a lot of critical attention after its release. The storyline is not anything outstanding in film, it is the behavior acting and ending of the film that make it standout from anything else during its time. There are some plot lines of the story that feel sort of loose if not looked into too deeply, for example, the ladies that joined their car ride up home. However, it ultimately does not affect the plot enough for it to leave viewers confused or unclear on what to gather from the film. As I said the storyline isn't anything spectacular or new, but the behavioral range throughout the film was never before seen, and is what made this film standout enough to receive so much attention.

All in all, Five Easy Pieces was a remarkable film for its time. Nicholson's acting abilities and the film makers' ability to take a simpler storyline and make it existential in the end was amazing. The movie was a commercial and critical success for a reason, and I hope to see reflections of this film in more films I watch from now on.

[helpistolethesecharacters]

Hot Chocolate and Chill

Peter Parker x Male Reader

Word Count: 1644

This is pure fluff you guys! Thank you so much to the person who requested this, I need more fluff in my life and this is working toward that!

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

Y/n was certain he had never been more excited before. He couldn't stop himself from literally bouncing up and down as he made his way out of his last class of the day and toward his locker.

His friends just rolled their eyes and got out of the way. Y/n thought about feeling bad or trying to calm down, but then he would remember all over again that it was tonight.

He had been counting down all week to the time that he would be able to spend uninterrupted time with his boyfriend.

Peter had invited him for a sleepover after classes Friday, which, when he had suggested it on Monday had seemed like an eternity away.

But it was Friday and he had just been released from his last class. Nothing was going to stop him from being alone with Peter, and Y/n couldn't be happier.

He slammed the things he wouldn't need that weekend into his locker, slung his bag over one shoulder and took off in search of Peter, totally blanking on the need to close and lock his locker.

In the back of his mind he registered the long suffering sighs of his friends, but he was on a mission. There was no time to calm down, he had a boyfriend to track down.

It didn't take long, as he was still standing by his own locker talking to Ned. Y/n didn't stop to think, he just bounced over and launched himself at Peter.

Peter stumbled back a step as Y/n collided with him, but managed to keep them both standing. Y/n silently thanked the spider that had bitten Peter for the results as he none too subtly appreciated the muscles holding him up.

"Hi Y/n," came the resigned sigh from Peter's friend Ned.

"Yes, Tis I, The Amazing Y/n, come to light up your lives."

Okay, so he was feeling a little extra right now, sue him.

"You may now revel."

Peter and Ned lost it, which was the end of holding Y/n up. He pouted from his new spot beside Peter and waited for the two to stop laughing at him.

His pout gave way to the dopey grin that usually crept up on his face whenever he was looking at Peter for longer than a second. There was just something about his adorable dork of a boyfriend that made Y/n feel like he was floating.

Y/n subtly snuck his hand into Peter's while he waited for the other two to say their goodbyes. Luckily Peter was used to Y/n's actions and didn't startle even when he decided to hang over his shoulder.

"That's so gay!"

'Ugh, this guy,' thought Y/n as he turned to face Flash.

"You know, that isn't even an insult. We are in fact gay. Or I am at any rate, Pete's pan, right?"

Peter just nodded from beside Y/n.

Flash looked nonplussed.

"What? So you admit it, you really are gay? Ew!"

"You sure are stupid for someone who's supposed to be smart. That's like me saying, 'Oh, my God! You're such a person!'"

Y/n even affected an over the top pose to add to his effect.

"Ew, you're a person! That's so gross!"

Flash just looked confused at this point, which to be fair, that was a common response to people who weren't used to being near Y/n's particular brand of crazy, but still.

Y/n was going to go ahead and call that one a win. He and Peter turned away and ignored the bully.

Peter just looked at Y/n in shock as he heard Flash sputtering and stomping off behind them.

"That was amazing! I have to remember that for next time!"

Y/n grinned at his boyfriend, eternally grateful to which ever deity it was that had paired him up with someone who wasn't put off by his over the top personality like others had been.

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

May was watching from her place by the table in their kitchenette, bemused as Peter straightened one of the pillows on the couch for the tenth time in the last two minutes. He had been quietly freaking out for the better part of an hour now, and that was only the time he had been out in the main living areas. She was sure he had been freaking out in his room for much longer.

"I'm pretty sure he won't hold it against you if the pillow isn't in the exact right spot when he gets here."

May immediately regretted speaking when Peter's head shot up and he stared at her with the widest eyes possible. Oh, this was more than just normal anxiety. This was much more important than normal to him.

May unfolded herself and made her way over to her nephew.

"It's going to go just fine, you two are so happy together, I can't imagine anything causing a single night together to go wrong."

She held Peter close to her for as long as he would allow. He was growing up more and more every day, and didn't let her comfort him near as much as he used to, so she was going to savor this for as long as possible.

May felt Peter melt into the hug and was glad that at least she could still provide a little support, even if she couldn't fight every dragon for him anymore.

The door bell rang, startling them out of their hug, and Peter managed to trip over twice in his rush to get to the door as fast as possible.

May just shook her head at the thought of ever being so young and clearly in love.

She took her place by the table again after greeting Y/n. She had a cup of tea and a book calling her name.

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

Y/n looked around the living area of Peter's apartment, why he didn't know. It wasn't like it was his first time there after all, he had visited lots of times before. This time felt different for some reason though.

"Did you want something to drink?"

'Poor Peter,' Y/n thought, 'He looks just as nervous as I felt earlier.'

"I brought snacks and the makings for hot chocolate for our movie marathon. I can set up here while you sort out the drinks? Or are we watching in your room?"

Y/n handed over the bag that had the drink things in it and was pointed to the couch.

"Thank goodness you didn't have to patrol tonight. Are you sure it's okay to take the whole night off?"

"Yeah, I got someone to cover for me."

Y/n nodded and set about organising the snacks.

It didn't take them long to get settled with the assortment of snacks on the coffee table in front of them, their drinks close by and a movie playing on the TV.

It was a little awkward with neither of them wanting to step over any boundaries, especially with Peter's aunt sitting up at the table, but some time during the first movie they managed to relax enough to lean against each other.

By the time that the second movie was half finished Y/n was laying with his head on Peter's lap, no longer paying any attention to the movie because Peter was giving him the most amazing head massage and running his hands through Y/n's hair.

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

May made her way into the lounge area on her way out for her shift, but stopped at the sight that met her.

Peter and Y/n were curled up together on the couch fast asleep. She melted and tried not to coo too hard as she fished out her phone.

This called for proof, whether to blackmail or embarrass was still up for grabs.

As she closed the door and locked it from the outside, May was once again thankful that Peter wasn't the type to take advantage of being alone with someone he liked, so she didn't have to worry about them getting up to things they might not be ready for.

-----------

Bonus Scene

-----------

Mrs Rodrigez had been walking back from her daily walk down to the corner shop. She would never let on, but half the reason she made the time to come down each day was to see the sweet young man who always insisted on helping her cross the street.

She was surprised, and a little suspicious of the person who approached her that particular evening at the cross walk. Whoever they were, they were not her 'friendly neighbourhood spiderman' as he always insisted he was.

This man was wearing what appeared to be hardened red leather in an all over suit. He was also a lot older than her normal escort judging by his height and broad shoulders.

He had a very bad homemade cosplay mask of spiderman over what looked like another mask.

The man (she assumed) got close enough for her to read the words scrawled hastily across his chest in a messy hand.

'Spiderman! No really!'

Mrs Rodrigez fixed the man with a steely stare. She was 78, and like all older ladies, carried a large handbag that was filled with mostly useless junk that was just begging to be swung at him if he pulled anything she didn't like.

He had already gotten higher on her 'list' by pretending to be the younger vigilante. He was on thin ice as far as she was concerned.

"Hi! I can't help but notice that you are a helpless little old lady possibly in need of assistance across the street!"

The man offered her an arm, but was met with that steely stare being upped to an outright glare as she pulled him in close enough by that very same arm, to be nose to nose.

"If you've done anything to that sweet young man they will never find your body!"

[sydnee-kom-spacekru]

Cosmically Connected (Spencer Reid x Reader Fluff)

Disclaimer: The first part of this one-shot is a rewrite of @reidsnose one shot, Cosmically Connected. This is in no way meant to steal credit from them, or steal their work. This is merely a rewrite and extension. I have permission to rewrite this.

Summary: Reid doesn't believe in soul mates, and you convince him. After, you go and watch movies and he reads to you, and things are said.

Warnings: FLUFF, slight language, makes me want to scream just starting to write it, etc. Nothing bad.

A/n: Idk if Reid has watched Harry Potter. So let's just say he hasn't. This is set in season 5. F/c stands for favorite color.

Requested: No. Well, by me but that's it.

The BAU was had an unusually slow day. Paperwork and jokes were all that went on.

It was just you, Garcia, and Reid left. Even though it was only six in the evening.

You were coming back from the restroom when you heard a loud bang! You panicked, and rushed to the cubicles, getting ready to pull out your gun.

After you realized that nothing was wrong, you noticed that Garcia was the source of the loud noise. She had slammed her hands down on Reid's desk.

You sighed out of relief, "What the hell?" It was part relief, part anger at them for causing you such grief.

Garcia stood straight up, pointing at Reid, who looked amused. "Him." Was all she said.

"Uhm," You breathed out a laugh. "You'll have to fill me in." You were smiling, you adored the people in front of you.

"He, he doesn't believe in soulmates, Y/n. Soulmates! What kind of person..." She trailed off, sitting down in your chair.

Spencer just shrugged, smiling. "I am a man of science, Garcia! And science says no."

You hummed, and he turned towards you, "What's that supposed to mean?" His voice got higher as he went on.

"Because," you said, leaning against his desk. ""Science Man", science says "yes"."

"Oh! Y/n told me about this last Tuesday!" She turned towards you. "You remember, I said you sounded just like boy genius over here." She giggled and waved you on.

You nodded and stood up, stealing Reid's glasses, putting them on. Reid just smiled at you, laughing making you snort.

"Now tell me!" He said impatiently.

"I am, calm down!" You cleared your throat. "So, you know when the big bang or whatever caused the creation of the universe, there were all sorts of molecules and space dust that was together at one point, broke apart. I'm accurate so far, yes Mr. Science Man?" You smirked.

"It's Doctor. And, yes?" He glanced to the sides.

You snickered, then continued. "The whole universe is made of such particles?"

"You're correct."

"And humans are made of previously mentioned space dust?"

"Yeah, that's right." He said cautiously.

"So two people could be made of the sae space dust that was once whole?" He sputtered, you smiled. You knew you had him.

"Y-yeah, I guess that could happen."

"In such a case, these two space dust beings are cosmically connected. They are bound together from the beginning by the beginning." You watched as he slowly became more impressed. "These two souls are connected. In other words;" You paused, wiggling your fingers and underlining the imaginary word, "soulmates!"

You sat back, satisfied with the effect that the words had on him. You knew his brain was racing, you could tell. You watched him as he worked this in his brain. You loved to just watch him think, to exist, every little thing he did brought a blush to your face. Never in your life had you met a person quite like Doctor Spencer Reid. It was quite embarrassing, actually. To have such a ginormous crush on one of your co-workers.

But, you shook off your euphoria, you were convinced he didn't feel the same way. As long as you could be his friend, you were content enough, for now.

He kept opening and closing his mouth, trying to think of something to say. He felt as if you had electrocuted him, but in a good way. A refreshing way. "I-, I can't believe it, Y/n."

"Ha! You did it, Y/n! You proved our very own resident genius wrong!" She smiled an award winning smile, flashing all of her teeth at you.

"So," You grinned at him. "Wha'd'ya say, Brainiac? Convinced yet?"

"Well, Y/n, science is science. Soulmates are true." He cracked a goofy smile.

But what you didn't know is that it wasn't your lecture that convinced him. It was the fact that he believed that he had found his soulmate, right then and there. It was you.

Spencer realized as you were telling him, the way you looked at him, with complete adoration, he thought he was going to melt. He felt his heart rate speed up as he thought about the last couple of weeks, how you were there for him when he needed someone most. How he loved to be around you, how he longed to be. How he felt warm inside when you were around, how he loved every little thing about you. He was then hit with a sudden realization. He loved you.

"Yes!" You practically screamed, snapping him out of his thoughts. He realized that it had only been two seconds, two seconds of him thinking of everything about you.

You jumped off of his desk, and hugged Garcia, who had stood up. You pulled back, now you were both chanting "Science says soulmates! Science says soulmates!" You sat down, and Garcia pushed you in your chair around the office.

Garcia pushed you down the hallway, the sound of you guys' laughter fading off.

Morgan came into the office, slapping Reid on the back, laughing. "When are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know, probably never. Maybe not even then." Reid shrugged. Then, desperate to change the subject, he quickly said, "By the way, what are you doing here, Morgan?"

"No no no, Man! Don't change the subject. Why not?"

Reid turned red, "She isn't into me like that, Morgan. You've seen the guys she's gone out with." He scoffed.

Morgan sat down, getting serious. "Come on, Reid. You're a profiler, you have to know she's into you." Spencer just shrugged, but enjoyed the idea of you liking him back.

Morgan just hung his head, laughing. He stood up. "I can't wait to tell you I told you so."

"Then you'll be waiting for a long time."

"Ah! But not forever, Pretty Boy. Not forever!" He laughed as he walked out.

Reid laughed, but a small smile tugged at his lips at the idea of a relationship with you.

--

"Damn it." You sighed in resignation at your phone. You were getting ready to leave, to head to a friends house. Have a Harry Potter Marathon, watch all of them consecutively. You baked 200 cookies, literally.

And they just cancelled on you. You spun in your chair, you were disappointed to say the least. You've had this planned for a month.

Reid walked up behind you, peering over your shoulder. "What's the matter?"

You sighed, leaning your head back and looking at him. "It's nothing, my friend just cancelled on me. She's sick." He pursed his lips, "Oh, I'm sorry Y/n." You shrugged.

"Can I do anything for you?" He sat down in his desk, which was in front of yours, facing you. You guys only had laptops, so it was easy to see over them.

You thought as you packed your stuff. You both headed to the door, it was dark even though it was only seven. It was November. "I guess you could come over and help me eat all of the cookies I made. And you could have a Harry Potter marathon with me." You grinned, looking up at him.

"Okay," he paused. "How many movies are there?" You stopped as you came to your car.

"Have you never seen or read Harry Potter?"

"No, it didn't interest me." You raised your eyebrows.

"Okay, then we'll start the books tonight." You stated, and opened the passenger seat for him.

--

The ride to your apartment was quiet, The Arctic Monkeys played softly in the background. It started to sprinkle. You were nearly home, maybe five minutes.

"Hey Spencer?" You started.

"Hmm?" He turned to face away from the window and look at you.

"Do you really believe in soulmates now?" You shifted in the driver seat, glancing over at him.

He didn't hesitate to answer, "Yes." His breathing had sped up. "Uhm, Actually," You came to a stop at the red light, and turned up the heat, it was cold. "I think that I've met mine." He barely blinked as he waited for your reaction.

Your heart sunk, but you recovered. Quickly telling yourself it was never going to happen anyways. "Really?" You voice sounded unnatural, but you didn't know how to fix it. "Who is it?"

He hesitated. "I'm not sure I want to tell anyone just yet."

You swallowed, and resumed driving after a car behind you honked at you.

You waved at them as they passed you by, mouthing "Sorry."

--

You pulled into the parking garage, taking out an umbrella from the trunk. You could hear the rain beating down on the floors above you. Spencer got out of the car, coming up beside you and putting his hand on your shoulder, making you shiver. "I'm sorry, I didn't bring an umbrella." He shouted over the thunder, but at the lat second it ended, and his voice echoed throughout the garage. A mother holding her baby glared at him, and he whispered sorry. After she was gone, you both burst out laughing.

"That's alright," you said as soon as you calmed down. "We can share. But you have to hold it, my arm would get tired." You smiled at him, handing him the umbrella. He unravelled it, and it had a hole in it. Right in the center.

"Oh no." You said, dragging out the 'o', groaning. "It's too big, it wouldn't cover us up anyways. I hope you have extra clothes." You chuckled.

"Wait," He shrugged off the trench coat he was wearing, and held it over both of you. "There we go." He sounded proud of himself. You just giggled at him, and held yours and his things close to you.

You ran across the street, trying to keep up with Reid.

--

You flopped down on your couch, Reid stood there awkwardly with the sopping coat. "Shoot! Sorry, here give it to me." You stood up and reached for it, and went to put it into the washer.

"It should be done pretty quick," you hollered from the laundry room, "my washer and dryer-" You turned around, then yelled. Reid was standing right there.

"Jesus! Spencer you scared the living hell out of me!" You smacked his chest.

"Sorry, I heard you talking and I came back here..." He backed up to let you by.

You sighed, laughing and turning on the heat. It was freezing in your apartment. "Come on, I have literally over two hundred cookies in my kitchen, and I have the first book in my room." You point out the kitchen, and tell him to grab the cookies.

You went to your room, looking through your book shelves for the first book. "Ah-ha!" You whisper shouted to yourself, you had found the Sorcerer's Stone. You grabbed it off the shelf, and went back down the hallway.

"Hey, Spence! I found..." You trailed off as you found Spencer on the floor in your living room, with a large plate piled high of the different kinds of cookies you made. He was watching some random movie that was on. You just set the book down on the table, and sat down next to him, taking a cookie off the plate. He smiled close lipped at you, "These cookies are so good, Y/n." He looked adorable, he was so happy. You couldn't help but look at him for a little while, he kept laughing at random parts in the movie.

About an hour and forty-six (Spencer counted) cookies later, the movie was over. "I need to go shopping, so I don't have very much food in here besides leftovers." You said, opening the fridge. It was nearly empty, day-old Chinese, a small bottle of orange juice, and just a smidge of cookie dough. "Do you wanna order some pizza?"

You heard Spencer get up and enter the kitchen. "Do what? I heard you say that you had leftovers, but not the second part."

You turned around. "I asked," you paused, turning around and closing the fridge. "If you wanted to order pizza. Or I could just drop you off at your apartment." You added the last part quickly, not thinking about it until the last second. You walked back to the living room, sitting down sideways on the loveseat, your feet up on the second cushion. He came and picked up your feet, sat down, and put them back on his lap.

"We can order pizza, what kind do you want?" He asked you. You shrugged.

"How about we just get hot wings." You suggested.

"Okay."

--

"Oh my God, my mouth is on fire." You laughed. "We shouldn't have gotten the ghost pepper flavour."

Spencer was whining, waving his hands in front of his mouth. You burst out laughing, he glared at you but he was smiling. "Hey! This isn't funny."

You groaned, drinking some water. "Shit. That didn't help." You whined, sticking out your tongue. Spencer had gone to your kitchen, you didn't notice.

"I found Orange Juice. Can I have some?" He asked, faking desperation. It was a cheep little bottle, one you get from the dollar store.

"Yeah, just don't drink it all." He took a long drink, and handed it to you. He sighed in relief.

"It's better. Did you know, the reason the orange juice helps is because of the..." You weren't listening. You weren't trying to be rude, but you were just focused on the orange juice. You finished the small bottle and set it down on the table next to the empty container that smelled spicy. You laid down on the loveseat, closing your eyes for a second. It was only ten, but you were unusually sleepy.

"...Neat, right?" You just nodded. You were sleepy, and you still wanted to read with Spencer.

"Y/n? Are you tired?" He sat down in the space between the coffee table and the loveseat, and you felt his put his hand on your cheek, rubbing over your cheekbone with his thumb. You opened your eyes, a sleepy smile on your face.

"I have to take you home." You said, but made no move to get up.

"Hey, shh." He brushed your hair out of your face, causing you to turn red. "I can sleep on the couch here tonight."

You sighed contently, "You should come read Harry Potter to me." You whispered. You were in a daze, half asleep and unsure if this was real or not.

"Okay." Reid whispered, and waited a few seconds. When you didn't move, he reached under your head, and your legs. Then picked you up.

You woke with the sudden movement, "Sorry, you can put me down now." He set you down in the hallway, and you stumbled to your room. You pulled back the f/c blanket, and laid down. You patted the spot next to you, and he climbed in next to you.

You scooted closer to him, snuggling into his side. "Can you read to me please?" He nodded, not that you could see, but started reading.

""Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."" He started playing with your hair mindlessly, lulling you to sleep even faster.

"Spence." You looked up at him, your eyes were droopy. He raised his eyebrows, asking you what was wrong. "Can you sleep in here, please?"

"Yeah, I will." He said gently. You nodded, and laid back down. You barely heard the rest of the first paragraph.

You were running through a hallway. The lights flashing. Someone was chasing you, screaming things at you. But you couldn't hear, it was like the words were blurred. You glanced back, he was right behind you. You tried to run faster, but when you turned back around, there was blood spattered everywhere. It made you stumble. The unsub caught up with you, tackling you to the floor. He grabbed onto your neck, and bashed your head into the ground-

You woke up with a jolt, terrified, in a cold sweat. You grabbed onto Spencer in pure reflex, waking him up. He sat up quickly, reaching over to turn the light on. It let off a soft light, and you saw the book on your bedside table with a bookmark in near the end.

"What's wrong?" He cupped your face in his hands, brushing your hair out of your face.

Your breathing was shallow, and your heart was racing. You were having a minor panic attack. "Spence," You breathed out, it was like you couldn't stop moving, you had to convince yourself you were safe. "I can't- I can't- I can't breathe." You were sweating, horrified that the unsub was going to find you.

He held you close, trying to soothe you. "I need you to breathe with me, Y/n." Your chest was heaving, you struggled to get your breathing under control. You nodded, and tried to breathe with him as he showed you to breathe in and out. You were tugging at the bottom of your shirt, until Spencer grabbed your hands in his and started covering them.

"You'll be alright," he whispered, pulling you close again. You had calmed down, now silent tears were falling down your face. You were just trying to listen to the sound of his heart beating.

"Do you want to talk about it? Talking about your feelings actually have positive effects. Talking leads to Catharsis, which is the feeling of relief." He toys with your hair while you tell him about the nightmare. "I'm so sorry."

He pulled away from you, looking at you. "I just want you to know, I will never let that happen to you." You pulled him back to you, you probably looked like a mess. "What time is it?"

"It's one in the morning."

"Can we go back to sleep, please?" He nodded, and lay back, taking you with him. You sniffed. "Can you read, please?" He reached over to grab the book, and resumed reading.

"I'm on the last page, I hope you don't mind that I read ahead."

"Of course not, I'm surprised you didn't finish the entire series."

He laughed a little, then five minutes later, ""...I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer. . ."" You sighed, you were calm now. Still shook up from the nightmare, but calm.

"Do you have the nightmares often?" He whispered to you, tracing circles on your back.

"Yeah, almost every night." Your eyes were closed, and you were close to sleep. He lifted his head up, hesitated and laid back down.

Another ten minutes went by, you were nearly asleep when you heard Spencer say something. "You're my space dust." He sounded groggy, and you had convinced yourself he was sleep talking. But you still hoped.

--

You woke up to your alarm at seven-thirty. You were laying on top of Spencer, between his legs. "Sorry. Do you want me to drive you home so you can change?"

"How about we call in sick, it's just paperwork today." He sounded tired.

"Okay, I'll text Hotch." Though neither of you made a move to actually text him for another hour. When you did, he just smiled at his phone. The entire team had suspicions about the two of you, although you had never acted on it.

After, you both just laid there together, until you remembered what you thought you heard last night.

"Spencer?" You asked hesitantly.

"What's up, Y/n?" You were laying next to him, head on his chest. His arms were wrapped around you, which is weird. Because he's generally not very touchy.

"I think you said something last night. But I'm not sure that I heard you correctly..." You were timid, and you felt him tense up.

"W-what do you think y-you heard?" He stopped moving completely now, but you were very fidgety.

"I don't want this to ruin our friendship, but I thought I heard you say that I was your space dust. D-did you say that? Do you mean that- that..." You rambled on, just until Spencer interrupted you.

"Y/n." You stopped talking, and you both sat up. "I mean it like that." You sucked in a breath.

"I need to hear it." Your voice was shaky, and your throat was burning. But you didn't want to cry, you couldn't cry in front of him again.

He grabbed your hands in his, took a deep breath, and "Y/n, I-I love you." You couldn't help it, you pulled him to, and pressed your lips to his. It was like fireworks had gone off.

Your stomach was turning, Spencer had one hand on the back of your neck, and the other was holding one of yours. You had never kissed anyone and felt something deep inside you like this.

You pulled away from him, smiling. "You're my space dust too, Spence." And you gave him one last kiss before getting up and going to make breakfast

AHHHH IT'S FINISHED lmk if you like it

[tryingmybestpls]

needy

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Bucky and the reader enjoy a rainy day after a mission.

Word Count: 1.6k

Rating: T

Warnings: tooth rotting sweetness

She wasn't used to the rain.

Y/N had grown up in the middle of the desert, in a place where one day of the year the sky would open up for maybe thirty minutes and that's it-that's all the rain you get. When it did rain in her little dry corner of the planet, it was something to cherish. Rain had excited her then and it surely excited her now.

Being apart of the Avengers meant living in New York State, and living in the state meant more precipitation. Rain, snow, sleet-Y/N now got to experience it all. And while she loved the ability to finally have that white Christmas she always dreamed of, rain will always have her heart.

Bucky, on the other hand, hated the rain.

Rain to him meant leaky roofs and a higher chance of getting sick. It meant thinking about the times he had missions where it rained or during the war when the rain would be pelting down on them, turning the ground into mud that caused you to sink in mid-calf. Bucky have been around all his life, so for him the novelty of it never even existed. It was an inconvenience.

Yet, that didn't stop him from giving into Y/N and her rainy day shenanigans.

For Y/N, rain meant taking naps with the windows open, eating a big bowl of soup, and cuddling for most of the day. Sometimes she found ways to get caught in the rain. Y/N would say that she just had to go to the store for just this one thing when in reality, she just craved those few minutes in between the car and the store. Her hand in Bucky's as they walked through puddles, fat raindrops falling against the umbrella she was holding for the two of them. Or she would claim that she needed to get something from the car and Bucky would catch her just standing out in the rain, getting soaked from head to toe. While he wanted to be mad at her when she would come in shivering, he just couldn’t. Bucky loved seeing her happy.

And today was no different.

The couple had woken up to rain hitting the large window next to their bed. Y/N had been gone on a month long mission and had barely gotten home last night, so waking up on a Saturday morning to it absolutely pouring outside was exactly what they both needed. Bucky just wrapped his vibranium arm around her a little tighter and pressed his lips against her bare shoulder as she spied the dark grey skies peeking through the cracks of the blinds. Y/N had just smiled in response, her hand moving to hold his before she fell back asleep.

On days like this, it was so much easier to pretend that that they were in their own little world. It was so much easier to pretend that they weren't an Avenger and an ex-assassin, weren't two current super spies. They were just a boyfriend and a girlfriend that lived together. The outside world didn't exist, not at all. It was just Y/N Y/L/N and Bucky Barnes.

When they finally made their way into the kitchen, the rain had eased up for a bit. Y/N threw the windows open, letting the petrichor invade the house as her and Bucky ate breakfast. They were taking everything a bit slow, carefully easing into their rainy day. After breakfast, Y/N changed into clothes that she "borrowed" from her boyfriend and Bucky just changed into a different shirt and a different pair of sweatpants.

Netflix was almost immediately on the television, playing some movie that Y/N had been eying for some time now. Bucky sat on the floor in front of the couch so Y/N could carefully braid his hair. He loved it when she did this, when she mindlessly braided parts of his hair. The super soldier was putty in her hands as she worked, her eyes never leaving the screen. He was so relaxed that he found himself dozing off before the plot of the movie really got going. Y/N was more than happy to let him sleep because she knew that her soldier desperately needed it.

When Bucky woke up a couple of hours later , the movie was over and some true crime documentary was playing on the TV instead. He sat up a little straighter, turning his head to see that Y/N was in the kitchen. He can hear her humming softly as she stirs something on the stove-tomato soup, he guesses by the scent. The ex-assassin stands up, stretching as he walks over to her. She smiles at him, especially as he wraps his arms around her from behind, pressing his lips against her cheek. Bucky Barnes was always awfully affectionate with her, almost like he was trying to make up for all of those years he missed while under the control of Hydra.

Bucky didn't ask if she needs help as she starts making grilled cheeses. Last time he helped out in the kitchen on a rainy day, he burnt the grilled cheeses so bad that the whole thing caught on fire. Ever since then, Y/N refuses to let him help on her days, telling that she just wants to take care of him so he can sit back and relax. Bucky knew that was just a nice way to say that he was a shitty ass cool. The super soldier gets the two periwinkle colored bowls and two plates of the same color. They eat in silence, not needing to talk. Her feet were in Bucky's lap, her eyes glued to the screen as hardened detectives go into detail about some grizzly crime.

It was part of her unwinding. Y/N always found a new true crime documentary to watch when she came home. Learning about these different crimes let her turn her mind off, letting her ease away from her mission. It made the stress slip away. Bucky, on the other hand, needed reassurance after a mission. He needed Y/N there, needed to know that that he was still Bucky Barnes and that she still loved him.

It starts raining again as they do the dishes, a chill slipping though the open windows. The sound of the downpour outside is a welcome melody as they clean up from lunch. Of course the windows are shut once more as they decide to move back to the bedroom. If it was Y/N's choice, she'd leave them open all day but Bucky said something about safety and what if the wind swifts and water gets into the house and blah blah blah. Y/N wasn't going to fight him over it when the bed was beckoning her, begging her to come lay in it.

With their stomachs full of grilled cheeses and tomato soup, they walked into the bedroom. It wasn't just because they were tired, it's just that rainy days like this always subconsciously tell the two of them to take a nap (or three in Bucky's case). As soon as her body hit the mattress, Y/N felt like she was melting away, her eyes feeling like they're being weighed down by Mjölnir. Bucky made sure to open the window just a crack, just enough so that she can listen to sound of the storm outside.

Bucky climbed into the bed, pulling her into his arms after pulling the comforter around them. She smiled, pressing her lips against his scruff covered jaw as his hand moved to rest on her hip. The issues of the outside world didn't matter on days like this, the things they've both done disappeared into the ash colored sheets as they sunk further into the bed. The only noise was their mixed breathing and the rain hitting various surfaces outside, cleaning everything it came in contact with.

Y/N rested her forehead a little above his heart, Bucky's head immediately moving to rest on top of it. He kisses the crown of her head, not once but twice, his lips lingering a few seconds longer than usual with the second one. He inhaled deeply, the scent of her citrusy shampoo filling his nose, his lungs. Bucky's arms wrapped around a little tighter, making sure she couldn't slip away and leave him.

Whenever either of them left on a mission, they both felt empty, which then made them desperate for each other as soon as they were reunited. Both Y/N and Bucky hadn't had the easiest of lives. They both needed that constant reassurance that that their partner wasn't going to leave and following an extremely long mission, that was increased ten-fold. So that meant on a day like today, their legs were entangled and they were pressed against each other. Both of them needed to make sure that it was incredibly clear that they had nothing but love for their partner, that they needed each other.

Y/N felt her eyes getting heavier and heavier as her body got tugged towards her awaiting slumber. Bucky wasn't too far behind her, almost unable to keep his eyes open. She let out a yawn, stretching her legs, her toes curling. The mission had drained Y/N more than she was willing to admit and Bucky hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since before she left for the mission. The seemingly endless rain and the chill that had permeated the room gave them the perfect conditions for a much needed nap.

"I love you, doll." Bucky murmurs softly, just loud enough for Y/N to hear as her eyes fluttered shut. Her lips stretched into a small smile.

"I love you too, Bucky."

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Patton and Monty at War: Unbelieving the unbearable rivalry.

Monty is trying to steal the show and with the assistance of Divine Destiny [Eisenhower] he may do so.

- General George S. Patton, on the Sicily Campaign, private diaries 16 July 1943

So every week I play my usual game of chess over a glass of wine with one of my neighbours in my Parisian apartment building. He’s a retired army general but remains active as a military historian and speaker. He’s curmudgeonly but one warms to him quickly as he doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He’s not a fan of women in the military but reluctantly concedes he would make an exception for me (besides who else could he play chess with?). We get on really well now because of the Covid lockdown this past year. We often have long discussions about military history and current politics until the bottle of wine is completely drained.

On one occasion he invited me to watch the 1969 classic war film, Patton, about the life of one of America’s greatest iconic World War Two generals, George S. Patton. It’s been years since I’ve seen it and I almost had forgotten how great the movie is with George C. Scott as Patton and Karl Malden as General Omar Bradley. We watched it in English and then discussed many things that came out of the film.

Hollywood and history usually do not mix. It is quite common for  filmmakers to take a historical subject and to distort it for their purposes and to dumb it down for entertainment purposes. In the case of the movie, Patton, there was no real attempt to distort the story of Patton. It was a fantastic and stirring Hollywood movie. Moreover it was an excellent study in character given Oscar worthy heft by the great George C. Scott as the crusty General George S. Patton. Francis Ford Coppola’s script was severely under-rated.

However there remain glaring inaccuracies such as Patton’s opening speech in the movie - admittedly a an iconic bit of cinema - but even this was based on his statements and captured the character of  the man, something even acknowledged by the Generals’ family.

Much  of the details of his role in the defeat of Germany are true. The only real omission was the lack of focus on Patton’s Lorraine Campaign, where he distinguished himself. There are some exaggerations in the movie and some minor distortions such as in the weather-prayer scene. In general,  the movie managed to produce a great overview portrayal of the  character and career of an extraordinary American leader.

The film does accurately relate the leading role played by Patton in the  liberation of Sicily. His daring use of armour was crucial in the defeat of the German army on the island.

However long after the film had ended I did think about one thing that irked me. And this was how the movie seemed to linger on the belief Patton was motivated by the desire to do better than General Montgomery, the victor  at El Alamein. Indeed the film probably reinforced the accepted conventional wisdom that these two driven and ambitious men hated each other.

There was a great personal rivalry between the two men.  They were both driven and wildly ambitious. The movie suggests that the rivalry between Montgomery and Patton was the main feature of the Sicilian Allied campaign and was perhaps a factor in why it ended so quickly with a  decisive Allied victory.

The rivalry was not as intense as the motion  picture suggests and the two men worked together when needed for the  good of the Allied cause.

Born two years apart, both were commissioned within a year of each other  and both were wounded in France in the First World War. Both men  encompassed very different but very valuable characteristics in combat:  Monty-careful and meticulous, Patton-dashing and diplomatic.   Despite  the differences, both generals demonstrated striking similarities:  commitment to their careers, a ruthless egotism, interesting when you  consider neither held superior command. This did not impede their desire  for the limelight and fame in warfare, arrogance and the manipulation  of colleagues in high places to advance their careers.  Both were  machiavellian in their own affairs and self-interested in their own  personal progression.

The great rivalries amongst the Allies that made a real imact were Marshall and Brooke over war policy, Nimitz and MacArthur over resources, Eisenhower and Montgomery over strategy; and then between Percival and MacArthur for incompetence,  Patton and O'Connor for aggressiveness, MacArthur and Clarke for vainglory,  (and possibly  Clarke and Wavell for the stupidity of letting defeated enemies escape),  were the issues that defined the war for the Western allies.

The idea  that a competition between Patton and Montgomery was more important is cute, but naive. I am not even sure where the idea comes from. 

Much is made of the bet between Patton and Montgomery over reaching Palermo in Sicily first, but in practical terms that was the only time in the war that Patton ever appeared on Montgomery's radar.

For the rest  of the war Monty was so much higher up the food chain than Patton that  he was unaware, or disinterested in Patton's opinions. Montgomery  was, by 1944, an experienced general who very successfully fought extensively in both combat and staff roles for 4 years throughout World  War One. (Patton got a combat command for a few weeks when the Germans  were already collapsing.) Montgomery led a division very successfully  through the Battle of France, and a corps through the crucial Battle of  Britain training and rebuilding years. He led an army in combat for two  years, through many successful battles both on defense and in attack.

By  1944 Patton had led a corps for a few months, and an army for a few weeks. For the very brief period of the Sicily compaign they were  theoretically equals in command, but probably only in Patton's mind. Montgomery saw Patton as an enthusiastic if amateurish old man but respected his aggressive boldness. Montgomery saw his HQ 'betting book' as a bit of fun (and was delighted when bet a  B17 by someone who should have known better).

When he and Patton met  and co-ordinated the Sicilian campaign Alexander seemed not interested in co-ordinating, Monty saw Palermo as a similar bit of fun to pursue, no bigger or smaller than the hundreds of other bets in the book.

Patton saw it, as he saw anything relating to his persona, as the most vitally important challenge of his whole life...up until the next one.  Montgomery lost a bet and moved on to the next challenge. Patton won but  didn't. (Or at least that is what bad writers have tried to suggest. I  think he moved straight on to the next challenge anyway.)

That  was the last time Monty and Patton were in direct competition, no matter what revisionists or romantics would say.

The next time Patton was  allowed in the field he was one of half a dozen army commanders in  Monty's Normandy army group, and, familiarly, he did not arrive until  the Germans in Normandy were already collapsing. Very soon afterwards Eisenhower split off Bradley's army group, and Monty had no control, nor much interest, in what Patton was up to thereafter.

The  romantics like to suggest that thereafter Monty railed against Patton's supplies, and that Patton railed against Montgomery's caution. The truth is less foolish for both of them. In fact Montgomery railed  against Eisenhower's broad front strategy regardless of which of the  other sub-commanders was benifitting (to the point of Montgomery making  an offer to serve under Bradley as long as someone got single control to  pursue a single strategy). He railed against the diversion of resources  anywhere not at the main point where a thrust might have achieved early  victory.

Leaving aside whether that victory could have happened,  Montgomery's beef was with Eisenhower first, his appalling chief of supply Lee second, fellow Army Group Commanders who couldn't control the excesses of their subordinates like Bradley (and to a lesser extent) Devers third, and only then with the several army commanders who each tried to do their own thing.

In practical terms Montgomery seemed more appalled by the negative effects of the incompetence of Hodges (1st US Army,) and  the obnoxiousness of General De Gaulle's orders to 'his' army (French First Army), and perhaps even  the ineffectiveness of his own subordinate Crerar  (Canadian 1st army) , than he did by Patton's enthusiasms. There is  hardly a mention of Patton in his diaries through this period, compared  to several comments on Bradley and De Gualle, and endless ones on  Eisenhower.

Patton too is being maligned by the pretense that his  war was taken up with a vain competition with Montgomery. Patton, like  Montgomery, was totally concerned with the main issue of defeating  Germany. But unlike Montgomery, he did not have Brooke  -  the Chief of Imperial General Staff - to rely on for support against  Eisenhower's broad front strategy.

Patton too was convinced that this was the wrong way to go, but to get his version of a thrust (with him at  the front) happening, he had to be a bit more manipulative than Montgomery.

Every word Patton used to wheedle and manipulate  support, or at least a blind eye to what he was doing, was designed to  get more resources from his superiors. Indeed, if he couldn't get them from Eisenhower, he was willing to steal them wherever he could, and  then get Bradley to pretend to not know what he was doing. In this he was quite willing to encourage Bradley's inferiority complex in relation  to Montgomery, and to happily manipulate Bradley into tantrums to get  what they both wanted, but it seems likely that Patton was more  interested in getting his way by making his superiors compete with  Montgomery, than in competing with Montgomery himself.

Patton is  actually a more complex and clever character than the romantics give him credit for. His 'kill them even if they try to surrender' speeches in  Sicily were part of his stage management of troops, not part of his innate personality. HIs 'us against the world' propaganda was more  manipulative, not so much like Bradley's inferiority complex. He wanted to win, and he would use anything to get what he needed to win, even  ramping up his superiors to distrust their allies. But his genuine competitiveness with Montgomery at this stage was less about him and Montgomery, and more about him and how he could maneouvre others to  support him. He would have shown the same level of competitiveness, and  the same willingness to undermine, any competitor at this point, British, French, Russian or even American.

Montgomery on the  other hand only saw Patton as one more junior general syphoning supplies  from an inadequate source. Montgomery was in competition with  Eisenhower for control, and possibly with Bradley for resources. Minor  army commanders in other people's army groups only registered on his horizon if he could get their armies assigned to his army group.

Just for amusement, it might be fun to consider how Montgomery and Patton might have worked together?

Montgomery was notoriously superb to serve under, no matter what your nationality.  British, Australian, New Zealander, South African, Indian, Canadian, French, Polish, and American troops who served under him  were all very happy to do so. So were their generals. Bradley certainly learned more  about being a field commander from a few months of Montgomery's distant mentoring than from anything Eisenhower ever did for him in their much closer relationship.

There is no doubt that Montgomery preferred effective subordinates to ineffective ones, and it seems possible that Patton would have made a preferable subordinate to Crerar or Bradley in his mind.

As for Patton, he would have served anyone who got him what he wanted. Had Montgomery offered him the chance to spearhead the attack into Germany, there is virtually no doubt that Patton would have  jumped at the chance.

Patton was not the racist that Bradley or Eisenhower were, and was happy to have black troops. He was not the American supremacist that Roosevelt or MacArthur were, and worked well with others (as long as they let him have enough lime light).

Had Montgomery been left as land forces commander, there is little doubt that he would have used Patton's aggression in a way that would have  made Patton much happier than Eisenhower's broad front strategy ever allowed.

It is fun to imagine Montgomery as land forces commander using Patton's 3rd Army in conjunction with British 2nd to leapfrog ahead at top speed into Germany. The best British tactics were never the  broad front strategy that the worst American's like Marshall and Eisenhower fancied. They were always the 'hold the enemy, crumble the  enemy, breakthrough the enemy, and pursue with as much force as fast and  far as possible' skills that had worked since the development of  mechanised warfare in 1918. (As demonstrated by the Germans in Poland  and France and Russia, the British and Germans in North Africa, the  Japanese and British in Asia, and the Russians in Eastern Europe.)

Montgomery would have used his traditional two corps up, one back, one resting deployment, adapted to armies, to keep up the momentum. Patton's preferred tactics were almost exactly the same, and he and his 3rd  Army would have fit it like a glove into Montgomery's thrust strategy.

Personally  I think that the limited reality behind their competitiveness paid trumps in Sicily, and I wish that it had been repeated in France. Patton could not have been a worse Army group commander than Bradley was, and would almost certainly have been better.

It is amusing to think of Patton and Montgomery effectively conspiring to destroy the broad front strategy while they got on with winning the war in the best spirit of competition. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that one of Patton's biographers was right to suggest that by 1945 he had suffered a few too many hits on the head, there is little doubt that he would have been almost as valuable to the Allied cause in Bradley's place against Eisenhower's policies directly, as he would have under Montgomery's army  group. That might have been a useful version of rivalry.

[chipper-smol]

ok so like I was talking with @radical-mudkips and @sweetdreams-hollowknight about this AU and we quickly have realized that an Aliens Universe styled Hollowknight is actually super fucked up

Stuff under Read More because of disturbing concepts cause aliens universe

So while setting things up we came to the conclusion that PK would be an Engineer- you know those DNA gods in the Prometheus movie?- because he was a part of a dead race yet is definitely a higher being.

At first we were thinking that WL would be the Xenomorph queen, but then we realized Shade Lord would fit much better cause the vessels are Xenomorphs in this AU.

Then I got into the 

actual concept of making Xenomorph Vessels.

Because vessels are born out of root, wyrm and void.

PK and WL make kids

to sacrifice to facehuggers

to make the perfect Xenomorph.

whicH IS LIKE STILL NORMAL CANON FOR HOLLOW KNIGHT BUT THE CHEST BURSTER PART MAKES IT SO MUCH MORE FUCKED UP?!?!?

however one way to rectify this is to take advantage of PK’s DNA God engineer status. Instead of WL giving birth to dozens of children to sacrifice, she could just give PK one of her ovaries and he artificially inseminates them and grows them in test-tubes with accelerated growth. PK goes into the DNA code of each one and removes their capabilities to think and experience pain so that they cannot suffer and instead be perfect carriers for the Shade lord Facehuggers.

stiLL REALLY FUCKED UP THOUGH.

However, WL being an Albino Xenomorph Queen and PK shamelessly wooing her is the kind of silly weird wholesome that I want so im calling Xenomorph WL timeline W (for wholesome) while Xenomorph Shade Lord timeline R (for rated R)

[mashedpotittiess]

Arrangements Ch 1

Title: Arrangements. Chapter Title: It’s just a little crush.

Pairing: Lim Sejun x Reader. Mentions of Choi Byungchan and non mentions of Do Hanse, Heo Chan, Kang Seungsik, Han Seungwoo and Jun Subin as well as OC’s.

Summary: He was the aggravating fuckboy roommate of your best friends but maybe that’s what caused you to agree to such an arrangement. But will the arrangement work out? Between mutual friends, his other hookups and a certain romantic interest on your part, this could all be trouble.

Words: 6,500

Rating: PG13 but will eventually become M

Genre for this Chapter: College! au, Angst.

Tags/Warnings: Drinking, Mentions of sexual scenarios, mentions of possible drug use (a roofie), Mentions of someone possibly wanting to take advantage of someone (While Nothing happens I need to put this as a warning as it can trigger some past experiences readers have had)

Fic Series inspired Playlist Link:

Taglist: @a-mess-of-fandoms @dnyad

——————————-

You hated Lim Sejun and his band of one night stands. Before anybody assumes it’s a case of “oh she has it bad for him and she’s just jealous” you were in no way into him like that and in no way jealous of the Grey haired man you dubbed ‘FookBoi’ nor his female companions. He simply cramped your style.

When he moved into your best friends apartment as a third roommate you thought you’d have the same dynamic with your friends that you had had for about a year before his sudden appearance. But you were sorely mistaken.

It was Friday night and you had your body sprawled over the deep grey fabric of the couch with your sock covered feet lying on your best friend Do Hanses blanket covered lap. Byungchan had occupied the black leather like single seat to your right and you all were currently debating on whether or not twins were creepy. The debate brought to you by you all watching The Shining once again.

“How could you even think twins are creepy? It’s clearly just the matching outfits with the head tilting that eludes to the creepy factor” you were thrown into a fit of laughter as Hanse imitated the twin’s expression when Johnny first saw them, his lip ring glinting in the soft shadows of the single lit lamp to his right. Byungchans dimples were on full display as he couldn’t help but laugh as well. You really did try not to blush at his adorable face. You had a thing for one of your best friends and you couldn’t help it, your small crush had existed for around 8 months are you knew it was a matter of time before it was known.

You were admiring his soft contours of his face down to his defined jawline and back up to lip plump lips curled upward around his teeth as his focus was still on Hanses face when the front door slammed open causing you three to jump in surprise. Hanse grabbed your feet as if to use your unicorn print covered appendages to shield himself from the big scary monster he assumed had not only come through his front door but also used a key.

As you tore your gaze away from the man you had been admiring you looked up to see Lim Sejun walking passed the back of the couch with some blonde traipsing her body on his ebony leather jacket covered shoulder. He threw you a smirk as he had undoubtedly witnessed your admiration for his roommate. “Enjoy your movie” was all that left his lips before you heard a woman’s giggle and the closing of his door followed by a hard thump.

Pulling your feet back to your body you crossed your soft cotton short covered legs and snatched a fist full of buttery salty popcorn from the shared bowl in the center of the dark wooden coffee table situated in front of you. Hanse pulled the off white blanket closer to his body and used a black nail polish covered finger to press play on your movie. As you took another bite full of popcorn your munching was cut short by a woman moaning a loud “Unngh yes Daddy” Choking on the salty kernels your face took on a sour expression and you turned to see Hanse grimace and Byungchan blush a bright crimson followed by a shake of his head.

The sounds of what started as a soft mumbling were turning into a shrieking of sorts causing you and your best friends to stand up together and make a beeline to Hanses bedroom. You all knew it would be no use to higher the television to try and drown out the sounds of pleasure the two people in the room next to the living room were feeling. Clutching your beloved popcorn and fizzy coke you settled yourself in the middle of the light blue jersey sheet covered bed. Hanse with the fuzzy blanket from the living room took up the space to your right and Byungchan settled himself on your left, his long legs sprawled out, his green and yellow parakeet printed socks causing you to smile softly.

With a few clicks of the remote the movie had been ready to be continued but before you could immerse yourself into the infamous “Redrum” scene, Hanse decided to look you straight in the eyes and with an obnoxiously loud screech he let out a “ HOOOYAH D A D D Y.” His eyes rolling back into his skull. Fake gagging you shook your head and slapped his tattoo covered shoulder over his thin tank top. “I fucking hate you sometimes.”

Curling yourself into your oversized hoodie you got comfortable with both of your best friends, settling yourselves once again into weekly movie night. As the movie played you were brought back to what had just happened in the living room. While this certainly wasn’t the first time your plans were ruined by Mr ‘Fookboi’ himself, it still irked you. You knew this wasn’t your apartment and you had no say what happened around here but you missed the fun times you three had had without the possibility of hearing ridiculously loud sex take over the three bedroom apartment at any time of the day or night.

Hell, before Sejun moved in, the boys had shared an apartment with a man named Seungsik. He was genuinely nice and even joined in for a couple of your movie nights. It was peaceful and the only loud banging happened in the apartment was when Hanse attempted to make cookies and the clanging of pots and pans that most certainly weren’t used in baking resounded throughout the shared space. But that peace was cut short when Seungsik accepted a study abroad opportunity and Sejun occupied his space.

You spent about 4 days out of the week here and you swore there was a new female face that accompanied Sejun almost every one of those days for the passed six months that he had been living here. You were in no way sex shaming him as you believed everyone can do whatever they wanted with their own bodies but his choice in woman was sometimes infuriating. They held no respect that this was a shared apartment and it showed.

From the Brunette last week who had walked around in nothing but a towel while you helped Hanse study for his Psych midterm to the Blonde the week prior that you caught using YOUR purple toothbrush that you had left in one of the two bathrooms for nights you slept over. Like who the fuck uses a toothbrush that isn’t theirs? As you had taken in her party dress which you assumed she had been wearing earlier in the night when she followed Sejun to his room passing you and Byungchan grimacing over Hanses attempt at baking  muffins, covered frame and her makeup smudged eyes, your eyes narrowed in on your toothbrush between her pink stained lips.

“Excuse me, that’s my toothbrush” you said with a grimace on your face as she leaned down to spit the toothpaste that had been sloshing in her mouth into the sink, the white fluid making its way down the drain. “hmm? oh here” was all she replied before placing the toothbrush in your palm. It still had toothpaste on it and it took everything in you to not throw the toothbrush at her and go full on hulk mode.

Then there was the Red head a few days ago that you knew as Cynthia from your shared Calculus class. You had been making dinner for your best friends that had been having a difficult school week. Walking into the apartment with the the bags full of groceries using your key the boys had given you, you set the canvas bags onto the white counter before organizing them into piles of what needed to be made in order from first to last. Pulling together the pots and pans you needed your thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched whine and the sounds of a bed thumping against a wall. Glancing towards the door you saw what appeared to be a woman’s taupe coat. Shaking your head you let out a disgusted ‘gross’ and pulled up your Spotify playlist hoping it would drown out some of the sounds coming from the occupied bedroom.

Throwing the tomatoes and onions into a pan you let them sauté until they were caramelized and got started on putting together the garlic butter for the fresh baked french bread you scored at the grocery store. Grooving to your music, you went along with your chopping of vegetables for the salad followed by dumping a box of penne into the salted water you had prepared. Spreading the herby garlic spread onto the soft doughy bread you plopped it into the oven and checked your pasta.

‘Buss it Buss it Buss it Buss it’ came through the speaker of your phone and you let your body do a little twerk as you plated the penne a la vodka, salad and finally the warm garlic bread fresh from the oven, turning around you checked to make sure everything was turned off and grabbed your phone to check the time. “They should be home soon” you mused and poured yourself a glass of ice water. ’Is you FUCKIN’ yelling the fuckin part you wiggled your hips as you sipped your water and turned around when the sound of crunching put a halt in your boppin.

Your jaw twitched as you took in the Red head leaning against the island counter with a piece of garlic bread between her smeared lipstick covered lips. The smell of roasted garlic and tomato sauce hung in the air as you stepped towards the female eating the food you had just made.

“That food isn’t for you, you do know it’s rude to just eat what someone else had made without asking right?” you furrowed your brows at her and extended a hand towards the rest of what you had plated up. Leaning her head against her left palm she licked her lips clean of what looked like breadcrumbs and smiled. “Aww, were you making a meal for Sejunnie? if so, I can assure you this won’t get him into your pants, not when he has a lady like me right here. But it’s cute that you tried.” Opening your mouth ready to ask her what the literal fuck she was talking about, Cynthia moved her elbow along the counter followed by a ‘oops’ and a shrug of her shoulder.

Looking down at the tray that had skidded across the wooden floor when her elbow knocked down your garlic bread just milliseconds ago you let out an annoyed “are you fucking kidding me?” Looking unaffected, Cynthia shrug her pale pink covered shoulders at you and licked her index finger of what looked like garlic butter. Leaning down with a bend of your knees you started to pile the bread you now had to throw out onto the faux marble tray that balances itself in your left hand. You grit your teeth stopping yourself from saying much else knowing that it wouldn’t do a thing. Knees knocking against the floor as you reached for a piece that had gone under the counter, before you could grasp it between your deep purple nail polished fingers, a pale hand reached out and placed it down onto your tray.

Looking up your eyes met Sejuns light grey contact covered gaze and you shook your head head towards the woman he had just been fucking. “Some company you keep” you mumbled to him before standing up, lavender slipper covered feet coming into contact with the dark wooden floor. As the door clicked open you were met with an enthusiastic“y/n did you cook? your’e the BEST.” Hanse stepped through the threshold of the open plan kitchen and took in the scene. You with a tray of what looked like garlic bread, a furious gaze in your eyes, Sejun with his hand extended towards you and a red head smacking her lips along a napkin.

“Um what happened?” left Hanses lips as you tossed the food that had been in your hand into the trash and got to work looking for the swiffer they kept in a linen closet close to the kitchen. Your ears picked up on what sounded like Sejun saying out a soft yet firm “I called you an uber, they’re here already” followed by a sickeningly sweet “But Sejunnie we could spend more time together.” Rolling your eyes you entered the kitchen once again and wiped the wet wipe along the grease covered floor. “Domestic, cute” Looking up you stepped towards the red haired female ready to throw hands. You were beyond tired of her shit and weren’t going to take anymore. She fucked with food, precious FOOD.

“I told you to leave already” Sejun grabbed Cynthias elbow and guided her towards the front door. “But, ugh fine. Call me later?” she asked and he just shrugged his shoulder while walking her to the elevator.

Angrily throwing the swiffer pad into the trash you thrust the mop to Hanse to put away and bounded to the sink to wash your hands. “I fucking can’t stand people like her, Sejun needs to filter out the bitches from his list of hookups. I swear to god dealing with someone like her is not worth getting your dick wet.” You shouted and Hanse pat your back.

Byungchan’s soft head of hair leaning on your shoulder brought you back to reality and you sighed shaking the thoughts of Sejuns hookups out of your mind to focus on the movie that was almost finished. Looking to your left you smiled softly at the dimpled boys sleeping face. Hanse shifted on you right to pull his blanket closer to his body.

While Hanse was still awake you knew it would be a few minutes before he completely passed out like the sweetheart to your left had. Sitting up carefully you leaned Byungchans head onto a pillow and brought the comforter up his body while Hanse curled into himself mumbling a “you can sleep here or take Channies bed.” Shaking your head you let him know you’d be taking the couch as you tucked the bowl of kernels under your arm and balanced two glasses between your fingers of your fight hand as you maneuvered your way out of his room and to the kitchen. The soft lighting over the stove illuminated your trek to the kitchen and you spotted Sejun in a pair of joggers and an oversized pale blue t shirt sipping a glass of what looked like water.

Moving passed him you dumped the remnants of the kernels into the trash and carefully plopped the dishes into the sink to his right. To your left his eyes followed your movements as you cleaned up. “I’m sleeping on the couch so if you’re going for round two with whatever her name is, please keep it down.” you grumbled without looking at him and you made your way to the couch you had spent many a nights on. From the open kitchen you heard him shift as he placed the glass he had been drinking out of into the sink. “She left already, goodnight y/n” he responded and walked the few steps to his room, his door softly closing behind him and you shut your eyes, pulling the blue blanket that had been on the end of Hanses bed and you had snatched, closer to your body letting sleep overtake your tired brain.

The smell of sizzling bacon and warm butter invading your nostrils sending your senses in an uproar and your body to slowly open your eyes. Sitting up you still clutched the blanket you had been using tight around your body in a makeshift cocoon. Gaze scanning the kitchen behind the couch you were sitting on you watched as Sejun joked with Hanse while preparing the bacon that was sizzling in the pan below him. Hanse was mixing up more pancake batter and Byungchan was finishing a flip on the duo of cakes bubbling up in the pan he had been working with.

You could almost curse your stomach as an obscenely loud grumbled was heard in the open space causing all three boys to turn around and take in your messy bun that more like a turd flopping atop your head and your mascara slightly smudged under your eyes. Raising your left hand into what looked like a small wave you heard Hanse laugh loudly causing you to smile. “The Princess is awake” with a stern look in your eyes his smiled widened “I forgot y/n hates being called Princess, EHEM my queen.” Standing up you stretched your arms over your head and arched your back hearing the muscles pop from lying in the same position for too long.

Trudging towards the bathroom, you abandoned the blanket on the kitchen island on your way there. As you took in in your appearance in the bathroom mirror while you let the water warm you shrugged. Your best friends had seen you look a lot worse.

As you smoothed the foaming cleanser onto your hands and over your face you let out a soft sigh in content. Reaching into the cabinet under the sink you pulled your small body of makeup remover you had stashed there and massaged it onto your eyes to cleanly remove any remnants of eye makeup. Letting the warm water rinse your face of all impurities you got to work on bushing your teeth with your N E W purple toothbrush.

Letting your hair loose from its turd like confines, you softly ran what you knew as Hanses brush over your locks and shuffled back into the kitchen after your bathroom escapades were done with.

Tucking your hair behind your ears you poured yourself a glass of cold OJ and watched as the men finished with their Gordan Ramsey like cosplay of cooking. Giggling to yourself as the visual of Gordan Ramseys face on your friends bodies overtook you.

When you noticed the boys were just about done preparing the food you pulled plates from the cabinet and paired them with silverware for all four persons. A comfortable silence surrounding the room as you all piled your plates with food and made your way to the dining table to the left of the kitchen.

“Thanks for the food” you smiled out while cutting into your fluffy pancakes earning a wide from Hanse, a smile from Byungchan and a nod of your welcome from Sejun. Plopping a piece into your mouth you almost moaned at the warm syrupy goodness that coated your tongue, you could take the vanilla Hanses flavored the cakes with.

For the most part you all had ate in silence with the exception of Sejun and Byungchan talking about the college Basketball team Byungchan was on.

You had offered to do the dishes in repayment for the delicious breakfast the boys had cooked up and joined in on the conversation that took place in the living room when you had finished. Settling yourself on the cushion next to Hanse you let him ruffle your hair and leaned your head on his shoulder.

Hanse was like the brother you never had, you had known him since your first year of college, you small body nervous as all hell when you walked into your first Literature class of the year. Sitting next to you he had struck up a conversation when he took in the crescent moon earring dangling from your double helix piercing on your right ear.

From then on you all had become great friends, you had liked the same music and enjoyed some of the same aesthetics. A couple of months later you all had stumbled upon Byungchan at a frat party and a conversation about Liquor vs Beer ensued in the comfort of the lit kitchen. Before you knew it you all had drug your asses to waffle house for 4am food to nourish your alcohol filled bodies. You both becoming fast friends with the tall teddybear of a man.

A year later and the two men rented an apartment together inspired by the fact that you had been living in an apartment with your roommate since the middle of your freshman year. They had invited you to be their third roommate but you were on a multi-year lease and to be honest, you didn’t mind your roommate. You loved your friends but you liked being able to come home when you needed alone time or just girl time. Lately you had been spending more time at your best friends house due to your roommate having her boyfriend over a lot more before he graduated later this year and you wanted to give them alone time.

Musing to yourself on how grateful you were for their friendship you took in the effortless conversation between all three men. You knew they had been friends with Sejun for sometimes prior to him moving in but you hadn’t really taken in how friendly they were all with each other. You had to admit it put the moving mattress of a man in a new light.

“Favorite Nirvana song..3..2…1.” Hanse blurted out. All together four answers were heard at once “Lithium” you heard Hanse shout which you had already known. “All Apologies” Byungchan smiled and “Come as you are!” you and to your surprise Sejun yelled at once. “oof we have a tie.” Hanse said followed by a “Okay, okay.. Favorite BEYONCE song 3…2…1”

“Wait wait, Beyonce solo or Destinys Child included cause that’s a whole other convo” you added in before anybody could answer before taking a sip of your ice water and roaming your feet into the blanket you had been using. “Solo Beyonce” Hanse answered before shouting his countdown once again.

“Crazy in love OG version” Hanse shouted, “Formation” was Byungchans answer. “Irreplaceable” Sejun answered while tilting his head onto his palm with his elbow resting on the arm of the couch to your left. “If I were a boy” you smiled at the lyrics invading your thoughts. “But seriously Yonce is a fucking icon and you can’t just pick one song, that’s like ILLEGAL!” you added which earned claps from your best friends and a genuine smile from Sejun causing you to cock an eyebrow at his dimples cheeks.

The familiar ding of your phone signaled a text and you entered your password into the drive while vaguely listening to what the three men were talking about. Sending a message in reply to your friend and classmate Haley you tossed your phone back onto the coffee table in front of you and leaned back onto the comfy cushions behind you. “Oh shit y/n I almost forgot! Heo Chan’s frat is having a party tonight and i’m making you come with” The inky haired man to your right said with a clap of his hands, his rings clanking against each other. “Oddly enough that’s what Haley was texting me about and I already agreed to go with her since i’m obviously the best wingman ever. I also love how you weren’t planning on giving me a choice on going.”

“I wasn’t giving you a choice because I knew you couldn’t say no to this face” with a pucker of his pink lips, Hanse folded his fingers under his chin leaning closer to your face in a mock pout. Rolling your eyes you flick his slightly exposed forehead with a painted index finger. “Yeah yeah yeah.”

“Byungchannies going too and I think Sejun may show up too” Hanse added and you nodded. You knew Byungchan would go, with him being good friends with Chan and Seungwoo from Lambda Tau Nu or VTN for short. Sejun going came as no shock to you either knowing the amount of girls that would be wanting him to go with them and of course leave with them as well.

Checking the time on your apple watch linked onto your wrist with its black leather strap, you stood up throwing the blanket that kept your legs warm onto Hanses lap and grabbed your phone while looking for your slippers you had worn there. It was a little passed two in the afternoon and you knew you need to go home, shower and then later prep for the party. “Imma head out to freshen up, see you later. Hanse you picking me up?” with an of course heaving your best friends mouth you left the comfort of the three mens apartment and heading off to your own.

Smoothing your warm vanilla and rose body oil over your freshly shaven legs you checked your phone noting you had a little over an hour to finish getting ready before Hanse and byungchan would be pounding on your door. You had just finished pulling your black satin bra and panty set when your doorbell sounded off. Wrapping your fluffy white robe close to your body you opened the door to a smiling Haley who was carrying what you presumed to be her “getting ready shit” and a bottle of Svedka.

“Pre game sweets” she said when she caught you glancing down to the bottle clutched between her fingers. With a slight smile and a shake of your head, you both headed towards your room to finish getting ready.

Checking her ass in the mirror, Haley gave a little booty jiggle in her skin tight taupe body con dress that accentuated her deep mocha colored skin. You had just finished styling your straight hair with some silkening gloss when Hanses called signaling them leaving their apartment and heading towards yours. Sliding your feet into your black suede high heeled ankle booties you smacked your medium toned nude lipstick covered lips and followed Haley into the kitchen.

When the boys got there Haley demanded a pre game shot and you all but obliged. With a slam of the clear shot glass onto the faux marble counter you all headed out, following Hanse to his small Silver SUV.

Pulling up to the long street of parked cars in front of the VTN house you shook your head at the seemingly already drunk couples making out in the bushes and a half naked guy running down the lawn with a V painted onto his chest in what looked like red lipstick.

Entering through the oak double doors behind Byungchan you squeezed his shoulder as he maneuvered you all through the crowded entrance. Settling on a quieter side of what you knew from a few parties here as the living room, Byungchan excused himself to bring you all some drinks and you surveyed the area you were in. A couple of kegs were a few feet to your left where some guy you recognized as Subin was performing a keg stand. The two couches and coffee table were pushed closer near a wall where the stairs leading to the second floor bedrooms was to make the makeshift dance floor where bodies were rhythmically shaking the hips. Behind you to your right was the brightly lit kitchen when bottles lined the counters and bags of chips were strewn everywhere.

As you surveyed the kitchen you noticed Byungchan talking to a girl you knew as Emi. Byunchans dimples were on full display as he laughed at whatever she had been saying causing a soft bloom of rose to flush onto her pale cheeks. Leaning down to stir her drink her light brown hair fell slightly over her face to which Byungchan leaned forward and swiped his fingers over her forehead and still blushing cheeks to tuck her shoulder length hair behind her right ear. Noticing your gaze, Hanse chimed in “Oooooooh is Channie finally making a move on Emi? He’s been into her for like a month now” Whipping your hair around towards the tattooed man your deep brown smokey eyeshadow covered eyes widened slightly.

“He what now? How did I not know about this?” Hanse furrowed his eyebrow at your seemingly upset look and Haley cleared her throat. Haley had been the only person who knew about your crush on your friend from a night of one too many Vodka Tonics and Tequila shots. “I only knew about it cause I caught him shooting her google eyes and I asked him what was up until he fessed up.. why do you look? wait..y/n did you?” With a tick of your jaw you shook you head pleading with him not to continue his question.

“Since when?” was all he asked and you softly told him the answer. “But it’s fine, I honestly didn’t think much would come from it. I wasn’t sure how our friendship and the dynamic would work if we ever got together” You ran your thumb along the hem of your black and deep green plaid skirt. “It’s for the best, I’m glad he looks happy.” you were being honest, you wanted your friends to be happy and that’s all that had mattered to you. Yes you were a little heart broken but it was better than him finding out about your crush and you getting rejected then, or you all getting together then later breaking up and you losing one of your best friends and Hanse being stuck in the middle of his two best friends.

With an are you sure? Hanse headed off to the kitchen when you nodded your head and sighed. “God you’re such a good person babe, I would’ve been like ‘HELL NO IM NOT OKAY I AM A HEARTBROKEN WOMAN ON THE VERGE OF A MELTDOWN’” Haley whisper screamed into your ear and you felt yourself smiling at her over dramatic theater kid self.

“Ugh Chan looks so good” biting her deep fuchsia colored lips Haley wiggled her eyebrows and you shook your head. You knew she was staring at his ass in those tight light wash jeans as he talked to Hanse and Byingchan in the kitchen.

“Oh shit he’s coming over here” Fluffing her black shoulder length curled hair Haley pushed her boobs out by straitening her back causing you to giggle and accept the drink Hanse handed you. “Hey Haley hey y/n” Chan smiled causing adorable dimples to grace his cheeks. ‘Do all these men have dimples or what?’ you thought and shook your head slightly.

With a hello and a thank you for invited us you let Haley grab all of Chans attention with a conversation about Musicals. Hanse caught on to what you were doing and stepped further away from the two, taking you with him.

You had been talking to Hanse about Haley and Chan when Byungchan stepped in front of you both with Emi right behind him. “Hey guys, this is Emi” Hanse smiled and gave her a little wave. Suppressing your urge to be jealous and petty you took a deep breath and nodded towards her “Hi” leaving your lips. As Byunghcan talked to you both about how sweet Emi was and how they had been talking but it hadn’t been anything serious, you gripped your glass in your right hand and tilted your head back drinking all of its contents in one go. The familiar warm burn of alcohol siding down your throat and distracting you from Byuns dimples as he spoke so highly of the female clutching onto his right arm.

Taking in the girls pale blue satin liken dress and beige sweater handing off of her arms you had to admit she seemed nice, very demure and soft spoken but nice. “You’re so pretty, Byungchan didn’t do you justice when he told me about his best friends” Emi genuinely smiled at you and you thanked her. Needing a refill of your drink you excused yourself and headed towards the kitchen.

Setting your glass on the counter you got to work mixing Rum and a splash of coke. Taking your first sip you nodded and hummed at the taste. If you were going to deal with your crush and best friend finding a girlfriend you definitely needed something strong. Taking another sip you leaned your hip against the counters and slowly moved your head in a circle to relieve the tension you had been building up. You felt your body starting to heat up from the amount of bodies in the house and the alcohol flowing freely through your veins as you finished your second drink with a long chug.

Shrugging your oversized medium blue denim jacket off of your shoulder you looked for a suitable place to hide it from partygoers. Situating your jacket behind bottles of soap under the sink you made a note on your phone letting you know where you hide it in case you forgot and needed to retrieve it the next day.

Pouring yourself another drink you capped the Rum when you were done and sighed as the breeze from the overhead vent licked against your skin in your black crop top and plaid skirt. “Damn, now that’s a drink” came from your left causing your to look up with an arch of one of your eyebrows. Liam Martinez stood in front of you with a smile of his pearly whites and you couldn’t help but smile back. You recognized the Wide Receiver of your college football as you shared a literary course with him. You actually also shared that class with Sejun as well.

“Want one?” you asked with a smile to which he shifted closer to you and handed you his red cup. “Yes ma’am” you opened the same bottle you had been using and started pouring it into his glass, followed by a splash of the open coke to your right. Scooping a bit of ice from the bag in the sink into his glass you handed it back to him which he accepted gratefully.

“So, what’re you doing here? or better question, why are you drinking alone in a kitchen full of bottles?” Leaning your hip against the counter you quirked you lip slightly over you glass. “Well if anybody was drinking wouldn’t it be better to drink in a room full of bottles?” Chuckling at your retort Liam placed a hand on the counter and sipped his drink waiting for you to continue. “But if you must know, I finished my drink my friend made me and came to make another, plus they were having a convo I didn’t really feel like being a part of” you let the last bit slip out with a shrug of your shoulders.

With a ‘hmm’ in acknowledgment you two started a pretty nice conversation about your shared class and the frat house you were currently in which Liam had been a part of. Feeling the buzz flowing through your body you accepted his offer when he asked you to dance.

With your hand tucked into his you made your way to the dance floor and wrapped your arms around his neck as the music thumped around you. Settling his hands on your hips he pulled you closer to him, swaying your bodies to rhythm of the bass. Under the soft lights in the dark living room Liams light brown hair shined. Liams hands trailed up and down your hips, eventually turning you around pulling your back into his white t shirt and blue plaid covered chest feeling his muscles rippling against your back.

Leaning your head back onto his chest you ground your hips back into his and smirked. The alcohol coursing through your veins lending confidence to your dance moves as your began to grind with him in the middle of the other swaying dance partners crowding the space.

Another song came to a finish and you felt your body heating up tremendously. With a huff of air escaping your parted semi glossy lips, you knew you needed water and as Liams fingers grazed up your left thigh you excused yourself telling him you’d be right back but he had insisted on going with you.

Reaching the kitchen you looked for a clean empty cup to be the vessel that you needed to quench your thirst and hopefully cool your body down. Liam handed you an opaque red cup from the stack of downturned cups and you poured yourself some water from the fridge and took a long sip relishing in the fresh cool liquid cooling your body down and causing a small shiver.

“Hey can you pass me a coke from the fridge?” The taller man in font of you asked as you were closer to the fridge than he was and you nodded thinking nothing of it. Opening the metal fridge you looked around on the middle shelf before your eyes landed on the signature red cans, plucking one from the shelf you turned and stepped your way back to Liam, handing it to him which caused him to smile his pearly whites in return.

“Hold on, did he just drop something in y/ns glass?” Hanse voiced out while putting a black nail polished hand up in a stop motion after his eyes had zeroed in on the man in question drop something that looked like a small white circular pill into your drink. Earlier in the night Sejun had been talking to Hanse when they both noticed you dancing with Liam, he couldn’t quite place where he knew him from but after Hanse voiced what he had just seen, he remembered a girl he had hooked up with a couple of weeks ago said that after she had hooked up with Liam about a week prior. She had been looking for her shorts and found what looked like roofies on the floor in a bag under his bed. Sejun had asked why she didn’t report him to which she just shrugged and said Liam hadn’t done anything to her and she wasn’t sure that’s what they were so she wasn’t going to start trouble.

With a narrow of his eyes he peeled Tashas hand from around his torso and bounded off into the kitchen following Hanses fast steps towards your figure holding a red cup smiling up towards the tall figure in front of you.

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ANNNND chapter 1 is done! I’m going to try to update this pic every week but i can’t make any promises as i’m also writing a Jungkook Magic/au fic series.

I hope you enjoyed the read and pls let me know of any errors you come across as this is partially unedited and i don’t have a Beta reader or anything of the sort. ILY

-C/Potittiess

[prettylightsbigcity]

Day 4 - Date Night

Quick little fic for Day 4 of the COC 2021 :) Simon and Baz go on a date; it does not go to plan. Rated G. Read it below or here on ao3!

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Baz

Simon trails after me as we make our way out of the cinema, a half empty bag of popcorn crushed in his fist. He stops to toss it in the trash. I’m just trying to get to the street as quickly as possible, but there’s so many people in the way. It’s times like these I really wish I could just cast a quick make way for the king and part the crowds, but I know Simon wouldn’t like it; plus, it’s too crowded and well-lit here for unnoticeable spellwork. I grit my teeth and wait for an elderly woman to decide if she wants to get on the escalator or not, then step on behind her once she finally makes up her mind. I feel the heat of Simon’s body against my back as he takes the step right behind mine. He loops his arms effortlessly over my shoulders, and I feel some of the tension in my body release just from being close to him. He laughs quietly at something, and just as I’m about to twist around and ask him what could possibly be funny in these circumstances, he places a kiss right at the crown of my head.

“I’m taller than you,” he whispers close to my ear.

This time I do turn around, pivoting inside the loose circle of his arms.

“What a novel experience for you,” I drawl. “You’d best enjoy it while you can.”

Simon smiles and leans down to press a shy kiss to my lips. I grip his elbows and keep him close, going back in for a longer kiss, because I’m greedy, and I know he’ll let me. Come to think of it, it is somewhat exciting to have to tilt my chin up to reach Simon’s lips. Perhaps I’ll have to get  a step stool for the apartment. Of course, then Simon would be able to reach the top shelf over the refrigerator, which is currently the only place I can store digestive biscuits if I want to have any before he—

My train of thought is cut off abruptly as we reach the bottom of the escalator and my feet nearly fly out from under me. Just as I’m about to go sprawling across the lobby floor, presumably to be trampled by other wretched movie-goers in due course, Simon swoops in, snaking his arm around my waist and pulling me out of the stream of traffic. He gives me his half-smile that means he’s trying very hard not to laugh at me.

“My hero,” I tell him breathlessly.

I’m going for sarcastic, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t come across very effectively, because I’m still gripping his arms and blushing as much as I’m capable of blushing, and my voice is a good octave higher than normal. Simon does laugh at that, and lets go of me, keeping my hand in his. With a final glare over my shoulder at the accursed escalator, we finally, finally make our way towards the exit.

Simon

When we get outside, it’s raining. Of course it is. Baz is too defeated to even look annoyed about it. We don’t have a brolly, and I wish for one brief, desperate moment that it wouldn't cause a national incident if I brought my wings out on this London street corner. They’re bloody perfect for keeping off the rain; I can stretch one over Baz’s head and keep myself dry with the other. I’ve done it a few times on rainy nights when we drove out of the city so Baz could hunt in the forest.

Tonight was meant to be our date night. Baz has been planning it all week, making sure he has all his uni homework out of the way so he could spend this whole Friday night with me, going to see a film and eat some dinner, like a normal couple. Maybe not Normal, but as close as the two of us are ever going to get. As it turned out, there were hardly any seats left when we got to the theatre (late, because we ran into a horrible snarl of traffic on our way downtown), so my half-formed daydream of making out in the back row was dashed instantly. We ended up sitting way too close to the screen, and I definitely have a crick in my neck from looking up for the past two hours straight. On top of that, the film wasn’t really any good; it was just sad . Baz has been dying to see it because some posh idiot in his literature class has been raving about it. I reckon we would have been better off with a cheesy rom-com or a dumb comedy, but Baz planned this evening so carefully, and I wanted it to be exactly what he had his heart set on. I turn to Baz now, squeezing the hand I’ve still got clasped in mine.

“D’you want to go for dinner now, babe? I’m starving.”

He looks at me like I just kicked a puppy.

“I think I’d like to go home and curl up in a little ball under the covers until I forget about how awful that film was,” he deadpans.

“Aw, come on Baz, it wasn’t that bad.”

He just looks at me.

“Ok fine, it was soul-crushingly depressing,” I concede, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t still save our date night! Didn’t you pick out a restaurant nearby?” I prod gently.

Baz looks at me with the barest hint of a smile, and I pull him towards the car.

Baz

I have to laugh, because if I don’t, there’s a very serious chance that I’ll cry right here on the sidewalk in Soho. It took us ages to find parking, and after an incredibly tight parallel park and an eight block walk, Simon and I are finally standing in front of Il Gatto, the absolutely perfect restaurant I picked out, and it is absolutely, perfectly closed. The sign on the door says that there’s been flooding from a burst pipe. I turn to Simon, who’s looking at me like I might fall to pieces at any moment. I start giggling, and once I start, it’s impossible to stop. Simon looks so bewildered, but I can’t stop laughing long enough to tell him I’m alright. Merlin, my ribs are aching. I give up, sitting down on the stoop outside the restaurant. After a moment, Simon slides down beside me. He puts his arm around my shoulders and waits. Eventually, my mirth wanes, and I wipe my watering eyes with the back of my hand.

“Alright, Baz?” Simon asks quietly.

“Simon, I don’t think I could have planned a worse date if I outed myself as a vampire in front of the entire cinema audience.”

He chuckles hesitantly.

“It couldn’t have been worse even if my wings popped out and knocked over that little old lady’s popcorn in the middle of the film,” he adds.

I snigger.

“The NowNext could have appeared and set the whole place on fire, and even then, it still probably wouldn’t have made the evening any worse. In fact, the excitement might have made it better.”

Simon is chortling now, getting into it.

“The Humdrum himself could have risen from the dead and challenged us to a duel in the middle of the street, and we probably would have thanked him for getting us out of there.”

He pauses.

“Too soon?”

We look at each other for a moment, then we both burst into hysterical laughter, leaning into each other as we howl, tears running down our faces.

“Come on, let’s go home and put on comfy clothes and order pizza,” Simon says, heaving himself up and holding out his hand to me.

“And watch Drag Race?” I ask hopefully.

Simon rolls his eyes.

“Yes, and watch Drag Race.”

I take his hand, and Simon pulls me up and into his chest, surprising me with a heated kiss.

“I’ll go on as many terrible dates as you want, babe,” Simon says softly against my lips, “I still come out on top if I’m with you.”

[novoaa1writes]

comeback kid

pairing(s): f!reader & jennifer jareau (familial), f!reader & emily prentiss (familial), jennifer jareau x emily prentiss, the BAU team & f!reader (familial)

summary: reader is a young girl who escapes captivity at the hands of a very bad man with the BAU’s help. she meets emily and JJ. spencer, too, along with the others. somewhere along the way, she learns a little something about trust and healing.

word count: ~5,500

rating: mature

warnings: kidnapping, rape/non-con, canon-typical violence, non-graphic sexual & physical abuse to a child

notes: i definitely spent too much time on this bitch i’ve got FINALS tf??? anyways. in this ‘verse, jj never met will and therefore didn’t have henry or michael. and yes i’m aware the title is stupid but it’s kinda sticking with me so i might change it later. **PLEASE read the warnings dude i’m begging you the first half of this is pretty brutal before the healing starts*** (also on ao3)

— —

“I’m sorry there is so much pain in this story. I’m sorry it’s in fragments, like a body caught in crossfire or pulled apart by force. But there is nothing I can do to change it.

I’ve tried to put some of the good things in as well. Flowers, for instance, because where would we be without them?”

— Margaret Atwood

Your daddy dies on a Tuesday. The bad man forces him down onto his knees, shoots him in the chest with a real-life, actual gun. BANG. It’s so loud. Way louder than it is in the movies. 

He turns to you next. Tells you to watch as he takes Momma’s clothes off, throws her onto the bed. He starts touching her like Daddy sometimes did, except she doesn’t smile and laugh like she does with Daddy. She screams and cries like it hurts, like the bad man is making it hurt. It goes on for a long time. 

Eventually, he takes out a knife, puts it in Momma’s stomach. Once, twice, three times. She cries a little louder, starts to breathe a little funny. Soon enough, she goes completely quiet.

Then the bad man turns to you with a big, toothy smile. You don’t like to think about what happens after that. 

— —

Time passes, and the bad man gets a name—Sir. You think it’s sorta a funny name (not truly a name at all, really), but you don’t ask him about it. He gives you a name, too—Princess. You don’t ask about that either. Your questions only ever seem to make him mad, and he gets really mean when he’s mad. 

Sir gives you a bedroom down in the basement of his house. He tells you it’s your home now, but it doesn’t feel warm and safe like home should. 

You get used to it, though. Eventually. 

— —

You start to grow. It’s slow, at first, but once it starts it doesn’t stop, and you have no idea how to feel about it. 

Your chest starts to get a little bigger. It isn’t flat like Sir’s anymore, and that makes you worry about what he’ll think. Instead of getting mad, though, he actually seems to approve. You don’t know why or what it means, but it’s a relief all the same. 

One morning, you wake up with a tummy ache and blood staining the bedsheets between your legs. You kind of freak out about it, but Sir just smiles and says that it’s a good thing, that it means you’re a woman now. That same night, he spreads your legs and takes out his thing. It hurts when he forces it inside you, but you know better than to fight. He says it’s called “making love,” that it’s what two people do when they really care about each other. 

You wonder why it’s called “making love” if it hurts so much, but you don’t ask him that. 

After that night, Sir starts letting you stay in his room. You were never allowed before. At nighttime he puts his thing inside you and makes love, but you don’t mind. His bedsheets are so much softer than yours, and his pillows are so fluffy. You sleep a lot better most nights, even if your private parts feel ache-y and sore more often than not. 

Sir isn’t angry with you as often as he used to be, but he’s still super strict and punishes you for almost everything. He says it has to be done, that you’ve gotta learn your place. He says it hurts him just as much as it hurts you to do it. You don’t know if you believe him. His thing always grows in his pants when he hits you, which you’ve learned to mean that he’s excited. Sometimes he’ll stop in the middle of punishing you to drag you upstairs and make love. 

It’s okay, though. You’re kind of used to it now. 

— —

More time passes, and you get a sister. 

She’s smaller than you are, and when you ask her if she’s bled yet, she just looks back up at you all confused. 

Sir says her name is Sissy. Sissy frowns and says, “No, my name is Bella.” Sir slaps Sissy until she screams and cries and her nose starts bleeding. By the end of it, she’s calling herself Sissy, too. 

Eventually, Sissy’s body starts to go through changes, too, just like yours did. Her chest gets a little bigger. One day she falls to her knees, whimpering and clutching her tummy, and when you check her panties, they’re red with blood. 

Sir starts making love to her, too. Sometimes he invites his friends over. They make love with you and Sissy, too. 

Other times, he makes you and Sissy kiss on the mouth and touch each other’s private parts. You don’t understand why, ‘cause you thought sisters weren’t supposed to do things like that, but you know better than to question it. 

You actually like having a sister, you find. She’s warm and soft and you get to hold each other when things are bad. Since Sissy is old enough to do grown-up things now, Sir gives you and Sissy your own room and a bed to share. 

He still makes love to you most nights, and forces the two of you to play grown-up games together in his bed. But you try your best to be good, and teach Sissy how to be good, too. Sometimes, the two of you can manage to go hours on end without making him upset.

When he hugs the two of you against his bare chest late at night, squeezing you tight and saying how much he loves his two beautiful little girls, it doesn’t make your skin crawl like it used to. It actually doesn’t bother you at all. 

— —

The angry-looking people with guns and vests come barging in late at night when you and Sissy are with Sir in his bed playing grown-up games. Sir grabs a knife, stabs it right into Sissy’s tummy. You’ve never heard her scream so loud.  

The pretty man with dark, chocolate-y skin barges into the room, yanks Sir off the bed and pins him down on the floor. Sissy is whimpering and bleeding from her gut, Sir is thrashing and yelling on the floor. A handsome man with dark curly hair yanks you off the bed, drags you outside. You keep hitting your fists against his big, burly chest; wriggling and flailing in his strong arms; begging him to take you back in and get Sissy, too. He doesn’t. 

The next bit is kind of a blur. 

Someone drapes a coat around your shoulders. A lady with a buzzcut sits you up on the back of the ambulance and dabs wet cotton balls all over the cuts on your face. It stings.

She says you’re gonna be okay, so long as you go to a hospital later.  

They take you back to the police station. You’ve never been in one of those before.

Sissy’s blood is drying on your hands when the big, burly man with brown eyes leads you into a room right next to the captain’s office. It’s got a table and cushion-y chairs. He leaves you there with a tight smile and an apology, but not before telling you that there’ll be someone in to talk to you soon. 

You’re wearing a big blue jacket that says FBI on the back, a pair of panties and nothing else. It’s a little cold, but otherwise you don’t mind. 

You clamber up onto one of the chairs, tuck your bruised knees against your chest. 

You don’t have to wait for very long until someone opens the door and comes inside. She’s really pretty—tall and thin with long golden hair and big blue eyes. You think she kind of looks like a Disney princess. 

“Hi, there,” she says. You watch her carefully as she takes a seat at the table right across from you. “My name is Jennifer, but you can call me JJ.”

“Are you a police officer?” you ask. 

“No, I’m with the FBI.” Her voice is soft and gentle, like silk. 

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

She chuckles, like you’ve said something funny. “Kind of.”

You nod, staring down at the tabletop. “Cool.”

“Can you tell me your name, sweetie?”

“Princess.” 

“‘Princess,’” she repeats, eyebrows raised. “That’s a cute name.”

You look up. You can’t figure out if she really means that. “Thanks. Sir gave it to me.”

“Ah.” JJ’s eyebrows creep a little higher.  “And do you like being called ‘Princess’?” 

You frown. “I guess so.” You don’t really understand what she’s asking. “It’s my name.”

“Okay.” JJ nods. “And how old are you, Princess?”

“I… I don’t know,” you admit. 

“That’s alright,” JJ says. “Now, can you tell me how you and ‘Sir’ met?”

You start fidgeting with your hands, concern for Sissy still fresh on your mind. “Is Sissy okay?”

JJ looks confused. “‘Sissy’?”

“My sister,” you tell her. “Is she okay? She was bleeding.”

JJ pauses, a wrinkle forming between her brows. You get a sinking feeling in your gut. “Princess, your sister was hurt very badly,” she explains, looking at you with sad eyes. “The doctors said there was nothing they could do. I’m so, so sorry.”

Your eyes start to burn like they do when you’re about to start crying. “She’s… She’s dead?”

JJ nods slowly. The sad expression doesn’t leave her face. “Yes, Princess. Again, I’m… so, so sorry.”

Your body feels numb. There’s a humming in your ears you can’t quite place. Your sight grows hazy around the edges. 

“Princess?” JJ’s voice sounds far-away, distant. 

A hot tear traces down your cheek. It helps to anchor you in the moment, sort of. “Sir is a bad man, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” JJ says after a moment. “Yes, he is.”

You tuck your knees a little tighter to your chest. Your bad arm aches, but you ignore it. “I don’t wanna be called ‘Princess’ anymore,” you whisper. 

“Alright. What would you like to be called instead?”

You sniffle as another warm tear traces your cheek. “I… I don’t know.”

“Okay. That’s okay. You don’t have to figure it out right now.”

“You’re really nice, Miss JJ.”

“Just ‘JJ’ is fine.” She takes out a notepad and pen, sets it in front of her on the table. “Now, can you tell me how you and ‘Sir’ met?”

You nod. You still feel numb. “He came into my house one night. He was scary.”

“He hurt your parents, didn’t he?”

You gulp down a whimper. “Y-Yea. He had a gun and a knife.”

“What did he do with them?”

“Shot Daddy right here.” You shift in your seat, pointing at your chest with your good arm—right around where you think your heart should be. “Put Mommy on the bed, and… made love.”

JJ frowns. “‘Made love’?”

You nod, looking at her curiously. Weren’t grown-ups supposed to know all about making love? “Yea. The thing that grown-ups do with each other.”

JJ just stares.

“You know, when they take off their clothes and touch each other’s private parts.”

Something in JJ’s eyes shifts. “Honey… ” she begins. She sounds like she’s choosing her words carefully. “Did Sir teach you about that?”

You nod again. “Yea, he showed me how once I became a woman.”

JJ’s eyes widen. “Once you ‘became a woman’?”

Why does she keep repeating everything I’m saying? “When I started bleeding down… there.”

“Your period?”

Huh? “What’s that?”

“It’s something that happens every month to girls like you and me.”

You lean forward a little bit in your seat, peering intently at her over your knees. “It happens to you, too?”

JJ’s lips curve into a little smile, like she’s amused by your question. Her eyes still look kinda sad, though. “Yes, sweetie, they happen to me, too. I have one every month.”

“A period.” It sounds kinda funny coming off your tongue. “Do you get tummy aches when they happen, too?”

“Sometimes. I take painkillers for the first couple days so that it doesn’t hurt as much.”

“Why… Why doesn’t it happen to boys?” 

“Because girl parts and boy parts are different.”

You nod. That makes sense. After all, whenever Sir pulled out his thing, it was so strange-looking. It didn’t look anything like what you had between your legs.  

“Boy parts are weird,” you say eventually, wrinkling your nose. 

JJ laughs. She has a pretty laugh. “Yes, they certainly are.”

— —

JJ leaves eventually, says she’ll bring you food when she comes back. Your stomach growls. You don’t know how you can be hungry at a time like this, but somehow, you are. 

Another woman takes JJ’s place. 

She’s beautiful, too, in a different way. Black hair, bangs, dark eyes. Her smile is white and dazzling. She’s tall and thin like JJ, but the sweater she’s wearing looks soft while JJ’s shirt was crisp and business-y. 

“Hi, there,” she says as she takes JJ’s seat across from you. She places a brown folder on the table in front of her. “I’m Emily.”

“Are you FBI? Like Miss JJ?” When you mention JJ’s name, her smile seems to get wider. You wonder if you’re just imagining things. 

“Yes, in fact, I am,” she replies. 

“Are you gonna put me in jail?”

Emily raises one eyebrow. “No, honey, I’m not going to put you in jail.”

“What about Sir?”

Emily sighs. “He’s in another room right now. One of our agents is talking to him.”

“He’s gonna go to jail, isn’t he?”

Emily nods. “Yes. For a very long time.” Straightforward and honest. You like that about her, you decide. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

You frown, hesitating. “Sir called me ‘Princess.’”

“So, should I call you that as well?”

Instantly, you shake your head. “No, thank you.”

“What about the name you had before Sir took you?”

“I… I can’t remember.”

“That’s okay.” Emily opens the file, flips it around and slides it across the table over to you. “One of our people, Garcia, found you.”

Hesitantly, you reach out to trace the paper on top. There’s a smaller picture paper-clipped to the front of it. It’s… It’s you. “Name: Y/N Y/L/N,” you read off the page. “That’s… That’s me?”

“Yes, honey,” Emily agrees. Her voice is soft like JJ’s, but different. Deeper. You like it, you decide. “That’s you.”

Your head spins. You look up at her, searching her pale features for an answer. “Miss Emily, h-how old am I?”

“You’re 14.”

“And my parents… They’re gone, aren’t they?”

Emily nods. There’s sadness in her eyes, too. It’s different from JJ’s, but not by much. “I’m afraid they are.”

You bite your lower lip nervously. You really don’t want to think about that right now. “Are you and Miss JJ… friends?”

Emily’s lips twitch. “You could say that.”

“What does that mean?”

“We live together.”

“Oh. That’s cool,” you say, tapping your knees. They’re a mottled combination of purple and black and blue. “Miss JJ is really pretty.”

Emily smiles. “Yes, she certainly is.”

“You smile when you talk about Miss JJ,” you observe, watching Emily carefully. You can’t quite figure her out. “You don’t seem like a very smile-y person.”

Emily looks a little taken aback at your remark, but she recovers quickly. “Well, JJ and I are very close.”

You hum, resting your chin on your knees and giving her your full attention. “Sir says I’m a woman now. Is that true?”

Emily huffs out a laugh. “No, sweetie, not quite. You’re a teenager.”

You tilt your head curiously. “But I did the period.”

“What’s that now?”

“The period. Miss JJ says that that’s what it’s called when you bleed from... down there.”

“Oh, I see what you mean now,” Emily says. “But you don’t ‘do’ periods. You have them.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“And, either way, having a period doesn’t automatically make you a woman, Y/N.”

You squint over at her. Now you’re even more confused. “It doesn’t?”

“Nope. I had my first period when I was around 12 years old, but I didn’t grow up until much, much later.”

You nod at that, like you understand. (You don’t really.) “How much later?”

“According to the law, everyone’s an adult at 18. But honestly, I don’t think I really became a grown-up until I was 25, at least.”

“Woah,” you murmur. “That’s a lot of years.”

Emily chuckles again. You find that you’re beginning to like the sound of it. “I used to think that, too.”

It’s quiet for a little bit. “Miss Emily?” you ask eventually. “Why am I still here?”

“We’re not quite finished with Sir yet,” she tells you. 

“But you caught him.”

“That’s true,” Emily agrees. “But we need him to tell us where to find some other people, too.”

“Why? Did Sir do something to them?”

“Yes. He did.”

“Sir gets angry sometimes,” you say. You don’t quite know what point you’re trying to make, but you feel like you should say it all the same. “He loses control.”

“Everyone gets angry sometimes. Everyone loses control.” Emily leans back in her seat. Her eyes don’t leave you. “That still doesn’t make it okay to hurt people.”

You agree with Emily on that, you think. Even if Sir doesn’t. “Miss Emily?”

“You can just call me ‘Emily.’”

“Emily,” you correct yourself. It feels wrong coming off your tongue. You don’t think you’ll be doing that again any time soon. “You know about making love, right? The thing that grown-ups do in bed?”

Emily opens her mouth but nothing comes out, like she doesn’t quite know what to say. You think she looks kind of silly like that. After a long moment, she says, “I… Well, yes, I suppose I do.”

“Why does it hurt so much? Sir says… that it’s supposed to hurt when you make love. He says that sometimes we have to hurt the people we care about. Is that true?”

Emily’s face falls. All of a sudden, her eyes are sad again, and the way she’s looking at you… like she’s sad for you. 

When she finally answers, her voice is small—smaller than you’ve heard it be since she came in and started talking to you. “He’s wrong, Y/N,” she says.

“But then why is his thing so big?” you ask, completely bewildered. “How could anyone ever fit it in without getting hurt?”

If anything, Emily’s face gets even sadder at that. “He’s a grown-up. He’s much bigger than you are.”

“But I can do grown-up things. I had a period,” you point out. 

“Sweetie, that’s not how it works.” Emily’s hands clasp tightly together on the tabletop until her knuckles turn white. “You’re still a kid. You shouldn’t be doing things like that with grown-ups, and it isn’t fair that he forced you to.” 

You frown. That doesn’t sound totally right, but you don’t know enough to say one way or the other. “Do I belong to him now? ‘Cause we did grown-up things together?” you ask. As soon as the words leave your lips, you realize how badly you’ve been wanting to know the answer.

You can see Emily’s jaw get tight. “Is that what he told you?”

“Yea,” you admit. Your tummy churns as you watch Emily’s clenched hands start to shake. “Um… Are you angry with me, Miss Emily?”

Emily blinks, looking down at her hands and then back to you. “No, honey. No, of course not.” She takes her hands back, puts them in her lap. “I’m sorry. I’m angry with him for doing these things to you.”

“Oh.” Your frown deepens at the defeated look on Emily’s face. “It’s okay,” you assure her. You don’t want her to be sad. “It wasn’t too bad. I learned what he liked pretty quick, and that made it easier.”

Emily begins to look a little sick. 

“Miss Emily, are you alright?” you ask. 

Emily clears her throat. The green complexion fades, but she still looks wary. “Yes, sweetie, I’m fine.”

She’s lying. You don’t know why, but she is. Still, you won’t ask about it. You’re smarter than that. “Is Miss JJ coming back soon?” 

Emily glances down at her watch. She wears it on the inside of her wrist, you remember. “Yeah, I think—”

A sudden knock at the door interrupts Emily mid-sentence, making you flinch. 

“Ah.” Emily’s eyes shift to look at something over your shoulder. She smiles. “Ask and ye shall receive.”

You chance a look behind you. 

There Miss JJ is, holding a brown paper bag and a Sprite. When you meet her eye, she gives you a warm smile and a wink. You immediately turn back around, your cheeks feeling hot. 

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a handful of things for you to choose from,” JJ explains. She drops the paper bag and soda right next to the open file in front of you, then circles around to the other side of the table. It smells like grease and fast food and ketchup. Your tummy rumbles again. “There’s a cheeseburger, some chicken nuggets, and a grilled chicken sandwich. I got you some fries, too.”

JJ gently touches Emily’s shoulder, and the two of them share some sort of silent communication. Then she sits down, too. 

“Thank you, Miss JJ,” you murmur. You don’t make a move to touch the food. 

“You’re welcome, honey.”

The room goes quiet. You steal glances at the food, then over at JJ and Emily. They’re watching you with identical frowns. Occasionally, they turn to exchange concerned looks with each other. In the meantime, you continue your staring match with the purple skin of your kneecaps. 

“Not hungry?” Emily asks after a little while. 

You glance up at her. “Is this a test?”

JJ and Emily exchange another look. “‘A test’?” JJ repeats. Her voice is just as soft and silky as you remember it. “What do you mean by that, honey?”

If it is a test, it’s already way more elaborate than anything Sir ever did. Still, you can’t help falling back on old habits. 

“Food is earned, not given,” you recite. The words come out easy—like second nature. At this point, they kind of are. 

It’s quiet again, until—

“Y/N… Did Sir tell you that?” Emily’s dark eyes on you are steady, like if she looks at you for long enough, she’ll figure out all your secrets. You pray that that isn’t true. 

Reluctantly, you nod. You look back and forth between them, searching. “What do you want for this?”

“Nothing,” Emily says simply. 

You just raise your eyebrows. You’ve played this game before. “A favor, then?”

Emily shakes her head. “No favors necessary.”

“I brought you food because you’re hungry and you need to eat,” JJ adds. She’s looking at you with a pained expression. “That’s all.”

Slowly, you reach for the Sprite. You don’t take your eyes off JJ and Emily. The can is cold and wet, dripping down the sides. 

“Oh!” Emily abruptly stands, leaning forward over the table and reaching out. “Here, I’ll open it for y—”

She stops herself short when she sees you flinch. 

“Y/N, hey,” she prompts. She raises both her hands, palms facing you. “I’m sorry; I should have asked first.” She nods down toward the soda can. “Would it be alright if I opened that Sprite for you?”

Your heartbeat hammers in your chest. Slowly, you reach around your knees to slide the can forward a couple inches. Your eyes don’t leave Emily’s face. 

“Okay, I’m gonna open it for you now,” she tells you. Her hands fall to the soda can, and she does just that. Chk-chk! Her nails are all ragged and torn, you note. One of them has dried blood around it. It looks painful. The soda hisses as she slides it back over to you. 

You don’t relax until she retreats back into her seat. 

“Thank you, Miss Emily.” You take the soda can into your hands, down a little sip. It’s fizzy and strange and way too sweet. You like it. 

“No problem, hon.”

— —

After endless tests, and doctors poking you, and a whole bunch of confusing questions, you’re finally left alone. Well, mostly. 

It’s just you, a hospital bed, and a thin pale man who says his name is Spencer. He’s FBI, too, evidently. He doesn’t look like he’d be FBI, but the gun on his hip says otherwise. 

He’s got big brown eyes, short brown hair, and he won’t stop fidgeting with his hands. He seems nervous. It’s making you nervous. 

Eventually, you can’t take it any longer. “Mister Spencer?” you ask. 

Immediately, his eyes shift to you. “Yes?”  He leans forward in his seat, rests his elbows on his knees. 

“They said I have to have surgery.”

He nods. “You’ve had some broken bones that didn’t heal correctly,” he explains patiently. His voice is soft, so soft it’s almost a whisper. “Most of them won’t require surgery, but from what I understand, the one in your left forearm is still hurting.”

Instinctively, you cradle your bad arm to your chest. “It’s not so bad.”

“That may be true, but the doctors here can fix it. They’re very good at what they do. And once you heal from the surgery, it won’t ever hurt like that again.”

A song plays in your head—one of Sir’s favorite songs. He’d play it all the time. “Ain’t nothin’ in this world for free,” you murmur. 

“Sorry?”

“Nothing in this world is free,” you say. “They can’t just take the pain away, Mister Spencer. Not unless the price is really, really high.” 

“The price has been taken care of.”

“By who?” Owing someone is dangerous. You know that. 

Spencer hesitates. “Well—”

“By me.” A familiar voice makes you whirl your head around. You really don’t like surprises. 

Emily’s standing there in the doorway. She looks at you with an expression you can’t quite figure out. 

“Miss Emily, I—I can’t pay you back—”

“You don’t have to.” She pushes off of the doorframe, comes in and sits in an empty chair next to Spencer. “I just want you to get better, sweetie.”

You eye her suspiciously up and down. “That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

“I don’t believe you,” you whisper out eventually. 

You don’t expect her to hear you, much less answer, so it’s a surprise when she does. 

“I know,” she says. 

— —

The next couple days are a blur. You get the surgery, though you don’t really remember it. All you know is you wake up with the room spinning and your bad arm feeling numb. There’s a bandage on it, and white gauze wrapped from your wrist all the way up to your elbow. 

The doctors smile and tell you that things went well, that you’re gonna be okay. Their smiles are too big and the room is too bright and you really don’t want to be there anymore. 

Someone carries you out of the hospital to a big, black car. They smell like cinnamon, and their shirt is really soft. Their long black hair tickles your nose. Emily.

She stays with you in the backseat when the car starts to move.  

There’s a woman with golden hair driving the car. You think you might know her. JJ, a distant voice in your head supplies. 

Things go black for a while after that.

When you wake up, it’s bleary. You’re warm and comfy, which strikes you as unusual. The bed you’re on feels like a cloud. It’s a million times softer and more cloud-like than Sir’s bed ever was. That’s unusual, too. 

Turns out, it’s a guest room in an apartment that’s too fancy to be called an apartment. A “loft.” 

There’s a black cat with green eyes that jumps up on the bed and starts nuzzling you as soon as you’re up. Its fur is really, really soft. You like the way it purrs when you scratch it behind the ears. 

Turns out, the “it” is a “he.” His name is Sergio, and he belongs to Emily and JJ. 

This is their loft, where they’ve offered to let you stay for the foreseeable future. 

You have no idea what their angle is, and that terrifies you. But they’re warm and they smell nice and they let you order takeout from wherever you want for dinner. They’re gentle and they smile a lot and as far as you can tell, they don’t come into your room to touch you at night. 

Still, there’s only one way to be sure. One day, you sneak a strip of Scotch tape from Emily’s desk before dinner. That same night, you stick it horizontally on the inside of the door—from the metal frame across to the wood of the door itself. 

This way, it won’t come undone unless someone opens the door. And if they do, it’ll be impossible to stick the tape back exactly how it was unless you’re on the inside. You’re not sure where you learned that, ‘cause it definitely wasn’t from Sir, but you figure it doesn’t really matter either way. What matters is that it’s smart, and it works.  

Three nights go by. The tape doesn’t move. 

Three nights becomes a week. You keep sneaking bits of Scotch tape to replace the old ones when they start to lose their stick. 

The tape still doesn’t move. 

JJ and Emily are still as kind as ever. They still give you food, change your bandages, let you watch as much TV as you want. They don’t make you play grown-up games. They don’t yell at you. They don’t hit you, either. 

It’s new, and confusing, and strange. 

You think that maybe you could use a little of that. 

— —

A geriatric, balding judge with bifocals and a lisp signs the adoption papers on a Tuesday afternoon. And just like that, Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jareau are finally declared the official legal guardians of Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N. 

You’re sixteen, now, after a quiet but memorable birthday spent at home with your moms three weeks prior.

Thanks to Uncle Spencer’s influence, you’re reading books like a fiend and doing weekly crossword puzzles with him on Sunday mornings. Social media remains something of a mystery to you, still. Hell, even Mama Emily’s better at it than you are. Auntie Penelope says it’s better that way ‘cause “the Internet is a beautiful but terrible place, my sweet sugarplum,” but at the very least, you think you should get a Facebook before you graduate.

Plus, Uncle Kevin says he’ll teach you some hacker tricks on the sly so long as you don’t tell Auntie Pen. You’re really, really looking forward to that. 

Uncle Hotch goes on weekly runs with you around the park. You pretty much spend the whole time teasing him for being so old and having to stretch so much before the two of you can actually get going, but he still very nearly beats you every time. 

Uncle Rossi spoils you with gifts and home-made Italian recipes. Sometimes, he’ll come over just to cook you dinner. 

Uncle Morgan’s teaching you how to pick up girls. Ever since you told him about that cute girl Emiko in your Spanish class, he’s been drilling you with lessons on “how to woo a lady.” You groan and blush and act like it’s the worst thing that ever happened to you, but secretly, you don’t really mind it. At all. Sometimes, you even take his advice. (Though admittedly, that’s rather rare.)

Luke, Matt, Tara, Alex and Stephen are all new, but your moms seem to trust them, and that’s good enough for you. Plus, Luke lets you play with his dog Roxy sometimes, so he’s already pretty cool in your book.

Friday nights are special. They’re the nights you always, always spend at home with your moms. You play board games, watch movies, binge trashy Netflix shows. Currently, you’re 11 seasons into Grey’s Anatomy. 

Most of the time, you pass out snuggled between them on the couch. They shake you gently when it’s time to go to bed, and you trudge back to your room in a zombie-like trance. You don’t stick tape anywhere. You don’t even close the door. You just fall face-first into bed and drift off to sleep. 

In the mornings, you always wake up all tucked in with a smudge of JJ’s strawberry-scented lip gloss drying on your forehead. 

And… you’re happy. Happier than you’ve ever been. 

‘Course, you still get sad sometimes. You still think about Sir and miss him even when you know you shouldn’t. You still visit Sissy every year, lay pretty pink flowers at the foot of her grave. (Sissy always loved pink.) But, things are different—you’re not alone. Your moms are always, always, always at your side. 

You think Sissy would’ve liked them. Loved them, in fact. 

After all, you certainly do. 

— — 

end notes: the song is “ain’t no rest for the wicked” by cage the elephant and uhhhh that’s it? i think? i Love using fanfic as a means of self-projection <3

[dannyphantom-rewrite]

Character redesign references: Danny, Sam and Tucker .

(Art by the wonderful @gally-hin-phantom / @gally-hin ) click/tap image for higher resolution.

This is way overdue!! Sorry for the delay!

Danny

Full name: Daniel A.Jax Fenton

-Yes his middle name is A.jax and it's entirely bc of this post and this post .

-Danny is Trans, (note the cute bracelet!) having officially transitioned over the summer between middle school and his freshman year.

-Danny is still fourteen, and is the youngest, as well as the shortest out of the trio.

-12 ounces of whoop ass, snark and anxiety. Also puns. Dear God, the puns....

-hobbies include: Astronomy, astrology, D.O.O.M and horror movies.

-Astronmy is more of a hyperfixation tbh.

-Proficient in gymnastics, having taken classes from ages 6-12, and participated in jr. cheer-leading throughout some of middle school as a flyer. Actually used to be friends with dash and paulina.

-Favorite classes involve Science and Mathematics, he’s good at understanding difficult concepts when he can pay attention. Absolutely awful at reading comprehension.

-His style hasn't changed all that much; he absolutely lives in graphic tees, jeans and sneakers. He usually wears the hoodie to cover up the litchenburg figure scars he received from the accident.

-The Accident occurred roughly a week or so before the start of his freshman year at Casper High. 

-Much of how Danny got ghost powers remains in line with the established canon, with Sam urging him to investigate the ghost zone portal, and his getting caught and electrocuted within the frame after accidentally turning it on. 

-Sam didn't have to do very much convincing though, Danny's definitely a lot more interested in his parents work that in cannon, even if they can be super embarrassing about it a lot of the time.

-And this is the point where I break off from that canon: but I'm going to make a seperate post for detailing Danny's ghost half / Phantom.

Sam

Full name: Samantha Nicole Manson

-Sam isn't an Amity park native, she moves into town over the summer after getting expelled from a fancy private school and finishing the year out online/ at home.

-At 15 years old, She's the oldest out of the three of them- having gotten held back a school year at some point for "behavioral issues"

-Sam's personality is still very much in line with her cannon counter part, although while she may still be stubborn to a fault, she knows when to admit she's wrong.

-Her revised style is really more punk, than goth.

-Sam's family is still pretty well off, as her father is the Owner of "Manson refrigerators" which has had a long-standing partnership with Dairy-King Co.

-She doesn't have a great relationship with either of her parents- they view her as out of control while she feels that they're too controling. Her grandmother is a constant mediator between the three of them.

-she's a vegetarian, she won't eat meat, but ethically sourced eggs and dairy is fair game.

-Pan-romantic Asexual.

-hobbies include: Cooking, Gardening, urban exploration, social activism, Anime, horror films and novels, and D.O.OM.

-She meets Danny over the summer at the movie theater during a horror flick marathon. After talking with him for a while, she's intrigued when Danny explains what it is his parents do. Being equally shocked that she doesn't immediately dismiss their work and call him a freak, he invites her over to see the portal...

Tucker

Full name: Tucker Foley

-Meet Danny in kindergarten, and the two of them have been pretty much inseparable ever since. He's only older than Danny by about a month.

-Was the first person that Danny came out to.

-Bisexual

-Dated Danny VERY briefly (like, a week) in middle school, which, unfortunately leads to a lot of people assuming they're still a "thing" (it's annoying but I has absolutely gotten them out of a few sticky situations *cough* fake out make out *cough*

-Not really a fan of sam at first. Tuck Actually feels somewhat threatened by her in the beginning beacuse for the longest time it's been JUST him and Danny, the dynamic duo. He gets worried that Danny'll stop hanging out with him because Sam is just SO much cooler. (These worries are completely unfounded, of course.)

-Still a tech wiz, same as in cannon. Even though I've decided I'm going to set the rewrite in the early 2000's, there's gonna be more "modern" technology. (bc I love the fact that Jack, Vlad and Maddie were in college in the 80's and also don't feel like doing math to adjust the timeline) Tucker probably still has at least one PDA somewhere cause hey, vintage shits kinda cool! But it's definitely not gonna be his go to device anymore.

-Tucker has an issue with iron deficiency...hence, an increase of red meat in his diet. The "meat vs veggies" debate is absolutely a heated issue between him and sam, although after a while it settles into friendly banter rather than lengthy arguments that have Danny pulling out his hair at the lunch table.

-Tucker hates the horror genre, cause he's a freaking wuss, lmao. But he lets Sam and Danny drag him out to see movies anyway.

-Tucker's hobbies include tinkering, computer games, (including but not limited to D.O.O.M) coding and yarn crafts.

-His grandmother taught him to crochet when he would visit her in the hospital, Tucker Actually made his beanie himself.

-Danny's the only one who knows about that though because he doesn't want to be teased for liking something "girly"

-He still has a phobia of hospitals. Watching has grandma slowly deteriorating in one is what caused it.

I think I've covered everything, but odds are I'll be adding onto this at some point.

Next post will probably cover Danny's ghost half in depth!

(on a final side note, if anyone is interested in drawing character refs for this project, dm me! I can compensate with a fic based on prompt of your choice, or if you have set commission rates, $$$)

[petri808]

@thenaluarchive movie night. Just a quicky ficlet 🙃

Being stuck in her apartment for Christmas had to be the worst part of this whole year, and Lucy couldn’t help but log onto Zoom with a sense of longing. For the last 3 years, they’d spent the evening in a Friendsmas Eve together with good food, drinks, and a movie to celebrate the holidays. Thanks to the pandemic, it was agreed they should hold off till things were safer. So that’s when her best friend Levy suggested a zoom party where they’d all log in and could still stream a movie together.

“Lucy!!” Levy screamed. “I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Yeah, me too!” Lucy smiled back at all the familiar faces already logged on. “Hey everyone!” Ten others were already joined in, and most of them were friends from their college days. But there were a couple of faces she didn’t recognize. So she texts Levy on the side asking who they were.

‘Oh sorry lol. I’ll introduce you.’ Levy texted back.

Back on the video now, Levy spoke up, calling on the two unknown people to listen up. “Guys, I wanna introduce you to my bestie Lucy.”

“Lucy, so the guy with pink hair is Natsu, he’s Gajeels cousin. And the other one is Gray, he’s Natsus roommate and works with Gajeel at the shop. Say hi guys!”

“Nice to meet you Lucy!” They both respond.

“Nice to meet you as well!”

As the director or the nights event, Levy put a link in the chat for a survey of movies for the group to choose from and the top two choices would be streamed. The friends talk amongst each other and catch up. Some were drinking or eating, others played a holiday trivia game. It was difficult at times to keep up or figure out who was saying what, but despite the trepidation Lucy had in the beginning, it was nice to see this forum wasn’t keeping anyone down on Christmas Eve.

Lucy enjoyed seeing her friends again, especially since she hadn’t seen any of them in the flesh since March. But it was the newer addition that had her interests most peaked. She never knew Gajeel had a cousin, and why hadn’t Levy introduced them sooner?! She texts the woman to keep their messages private.

‘Omg Gajeels cousin is so cute!’

‘Really? 😂 I guess I never looked at him that way.’

‘Is he single?! 😶’

‘��� yes. You should talk to him.’

‘But idk nothin bout him.’

‘Lemme help u with that 😛’

‘?!’

Suddenly, Lucy sees that Levy had stuck her into a break away room on Zoom.

‘Levy?!’

“Hello? How’d I get in here?” Natsu questioned.

‘😳 LEVY!’

“Hi, Natsu,” Lucy answered, “um Levy thought we might like a chance to talk... y-you know without being interrupted.”

‘😙 enjoy your chat!’ Levy teased. ‘Dw he also said he’s gonna kill me later 🙃😘 y’all will thank me someday.’

‘OMG LEVY!!!’

“Oh,” Natsu laughed nervously. “How nice of her.”

She could see the slight blush on his cheeks and that instantly alighted one on hers. Oh, boy! Awkward! “I um,” Lucy tucked her hair behind her ears, the movement caught immediately by Natsu’s eyes from what she noticed. “So, you’re Gajeel’s cousin?”

“Yeah. When I moved to this town, I stayed with them a couple months till Gray and I found an apartment.”

“What brought you to Crocus?”

“A job offer. What about you? Are you from here Lucy?”

“Actually no, I came here for college. That’s how I met Levy. Then I stayed for a job.”

“What kind of job?”

“I work for the magazine Sorcerer Weekly.”

“That’s pretty cool!”

“Your turn Natsu, what do you do for a living?”

“Firefighter. But I’m taking EMT classes too, cause that’ll give me a higher certification rating...”

The longer they talked, the easier it was for Lucy to relax. It seemed once those first-time jitters wore away, Natsu’s true personality shone through. He was quite talkative, she mused, but sweet and very passionate about his job. The man also had a silly side that was endearing. Course, the bonus from all she could see through this video, Natsu was a total hunk!

Twenty minutes into the conversation, Lucy received another message from Levy letting her know they’ll be starting the movie. But before she could reply—

“Levy said they’re starting the movie.”

“Oh, yeah, I just got the message too, I’m—.”

Natsu looked sheepishly away from the screen, “I kinda rather keep talking to you instead.”

Lucy’s cheeks flushed again. “Me too. You’re really easy to talk to.”

“Would it be too forward to say... you’re really pretty Lucy.”

“No,” her voice softened with a hint of embarrassment, and you’re not so bad yourself Natsu.”

‘Maybe we’ll catch the second one,’ Lucy replied to Levy. To which she received a wink emote in reply.

The conversation continued where it had left off before Levy’s interruption with a game of 20 Questions. They learned simple stuff about each other’s likes and dislikes, siblings or none, to bucket list dreams. It also turned out that Natsu and Grays apartment was less than three blocks away from hers.

“Being stuck on a video chat kind of sucks,” Lucy blurts out. “It would be so much nicer if this was face to face.”

“Well...” Natsu leaned in. “I could just come over. I mean, you live close by so it would only take me about 10 minutes.”

“You’d... do that?”

Natsu tapped his chin and grinned, “lemme think. Be stuck with my roommate or a cute girl on Christmas Eve? It’s a really tough choice to make.”

“Pfft,” Lucy laughed. “You’re such a weirdo.”

“Well? Do you want me to come over or not?”

“Hmm, lemme think,” she mocked and tapped her chin, “be alone or stuck with a cute guy on Christmas Eve? That’s a really tough choice to make.”

“Now who’s the weirdo?!” Natsu laughed too. “Will you just give me your address?!”

Once she gave him the information, she logged out of the break out room, and he completely out of the party. When she joined the rest of the group, they asked what happened to Natsu. “You’ll see,” Lucy smiled and turned the video off until he arrived. They could still hear her and she could still hear them.

But Gray cut in and ruined the surprise, “that dork is heading to her place.”

“What?!” Everyone immediately ignored the movie and bogged out the audio to flood Lucy with questions. But she wasn’t responding.

“Come on guys!” Levy cut them off. “Give the woman time to breathe!”

A few minutes later, Natsu arrived at her apartment with a gift of wine.

“Aww, thanks, but you didn’t have to bring anything.”

“It would be rude not to,” he smiled back.

Lucy’s heart skipped a beat. The man was even cuter in person! And such manners! Oh, yeah, she was done for. “They um,” she gestured to the living room where her laptop was still sitting, “they’re waiting for us. Gray spilled the beans.”

“Don’t worry I’ll get him back,” Natsu grinned and winked.

They sit on the couch and turn the video back on, instantly gaining a roar of whoa’s and light teasing from mostly the guys.

“Smooth move man,” Gray teased his roommate. “Couldn’t even wait till morning.”

“No need to hate on me.” Natsu quipped back and put his arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “You’re just jealous cause your girl is out of town.”

That set off laughter from all around the virtual room. Even Lucy giggled despite her body heating up from the close contact. “Omg you’re so bad,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry, we do this all the time to each other.”

Things settle back down in the group once this Christmas twist had run its course. Everyone in the group was simply elated to see two of their friends happy on this Covid Christmas Eve. After the first movie, Levy streamed the second one. It was the classic Scrooged. You simply couldn’t have a Christmas without watching it at least once.

But by the time the movie was ending, Lucy had started to doze off on Natsu’s shoulder.

“If you’re tired, I can head home.”

“Stay,” she mumbled, “nice and warm.”

Natsu blushed. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

They bid their friends goodnight and merry Christmas before shutting off Zoom and closing the laptop. Natsu turned back to Lucy, but she’d fallen asleep again. He hadn’t planned on staying the night, but she seemed so content to stay cuddled up against him, that he just didn’t have the heart to leave. So, he turned off the lamp and shifted their bodies to both fit on the couch, tucking her close, and kissing her forehead before settling in too.

Lucy breathed out a soft sigh as her face burrowed against his chest. She was only pretending to be asleep to see how Natsu would react, but his response told her everything she needed to know. Covid really made their lives miserable this year, but at least it hadn’t ruined her Christmas after all.

[nevermindirah]

Ok it's Jewish Booker o'clock, I can no longer stop myself, let's do this!

Why Jewish Booker? Dude was born in Marseilles in 1770, which happens to be a FASCINATING time and place in Jewish history, and it adds ridiculous layers to his character (without excusing a damn thing). Alternately just because I think he’s neat :)

Jewish Booker headcanons that make me happy:

not to be all "real Jews do X" but Jews fuck with candles hard. Book of Nile thrives on old/modern analog/digital giggles. Booker lighting Shabbat candles, lighting yarzeit (memorial) candles for his wife and sons (sob), lighting a menorah, lighting candles just because he's feeling emotional even though it's not chag (a holiday) or a yarzeit and Nile thinks he's trying to be sexy but he's really just in his feelings. just like. so many candles.

maybe Booker was the person who punched Richard Spencer at Trump's inauguration, just bringing back that time somebody punched a famous neonazi in the street and said neonazi has all but stopped appearing in public after a few rounds of public punching

were the Old Guard in Charlottesville in 2017? how many times has Booker the Blond Jew infiltrated North American white nationalist / Klan type activities and then stolen their weapons and/or killed them? likewise there's plenty of horrifying white nationalist shit happening across Europe this century, how many Pim Fortuyn types has he been involved in taking down? (I Am Of Course Not Endorsing Violence TM ;) ;) )

SINGING. Mattias Schoenaerts sings in Away From the Madding Crowd but it's church shit, sigh, anyway he has a nice voice. a lot of Jewish prayer is sung/chanted (depending on when/where you are and the gender rules of the community you're in) and there’s been a lot of innovation to Jewish singing in Booker’s lifetime, and I just want Nile to overhear him singing to himself on Friday afternoons

Nile Freeman was four years old when The Prince of Egypt came out, she grew up on that shit, she would want to introduce her new family to that shit. Please join me in picturing Booker, Nicky, Joe, and Andy all shouting "that's not how it happened!!" throughout this beautiful nightmare of a movie with lovely animation and songs but where white people voice most of the Egyptian and Jewish characters, because Booker Nicky and Joe's religious texts all frame the Exodus story a little differently and Andy was probably there when it happened (except for how it didn't actually happen it's an important story but it's just a story pls just let me giggle about Andy being super old)

Read below the cut for sad Jewish Booker headcanons, French Jewish history (mostly sad), context on antisemitism (enraging/sad), and all the way to the very end for a himbo joke.

Jewish Booker headcanons, I made myself sad edition:

he is a forger. who was alive. in 1939. visas. VISAS. V I S A S. how many of us did he save? how many more could he have saved if he didn't sleep that night? how heavily does that weigh?

how do we think he BECAME a forger? most likely he was doing what he needed to do to support his family, which gets extra poignant if he was also trying to help his people, forging documents as well as money even during his mortal life

Booker raised Catholic by crypto-Jews adds ANOTHER layer to the forgery thing, no shit he'd get good at falsifying paperwork and coming up with plausible cover stories

do we know how Booker made it back home after his first death in 1812? his route between the Russian Empire and Provence in 1812 would've been a patchwork of laws about Jews, in case starvation and frostbite weren't enough for him to have to deal with, he's blond and could maybe get away with pretending not to be Jewish if he had to, alternately maybe synagogues and yeshivot took him in on his way home

the structural and sometimes-interpersonal dynamics of antisemitism cause many individual Jews to experience feelings of teetering on the fence between a valued member of a not-exclusively-Jewish community and a scapegoat/outcast/problem. HOLY SHIT BOOKER. "what do you know of all these years alone" is the most Jewish loneliness-in-a-crowd shit I've ever heard. fear that we're not wanted, or only wanted so long as we're useful — that's something that basically all people struggle with under capitalism, but it's especially poignant for many Jews because of the particular way antisemitism operates. (NOTE this can tip from a legit Jewish Booker reading to woobification of the sad white man who couldn't possibly be held responsible for his own actions because he's so sad, which, NOPE. it's very understandable for him to feel left out and misunderstood and not as wanted, as the youngest and not part of an immortal couple and maybe Jewish, but NONE OF THIS excuses his betrayal.)

Crusaders murdered a lot of Jews on their way to the ~holy land~. how many of Booker's people did Nicky kill on his way to kill Joe's people? has Booker ever actually talked to either of them about it?

I read this really beautiful fic about Joe needing to circumcise himself after getting run over by a cart (ouch) — this is a hell of a thing for Joe and Booker to have in common

just generally Jewish Booker adds more layers to him and Joe so clearly being such close friends, ugh that look Joe gives him when they're leaving the bar at the end of the movie, and I very much do not mean this in a gross Arab-Israeli-conflict way because Joe is Amazigh not Arab and Booker is Jewish not Israeli (and also a lot of Jews are Arabs) (but most importantly there's no ~eternal conflict~ between Muslims and Jews) (more about OP Is Not A Zionist below)

like, the UK and France (and to a certain extent Italy) carved up the former Ottoman Empire after WWI; among other things, the UK took Palestine, and they could've worked on eradicating European antisemitism so Jews wouldn't have to leave but instead they used their control of Palestine to encourage Zionist emigration of Jews out of Europe, and France took what is now Iraq, which has some pretty direct implications for US military involvement in that country in Nile's lifetime; France colonized Tunisia in the late 19th century and still held it during the Vichy era which means Tunisian Jews were subject to Nazi anti-Jewish laws which is just layers upon layers of colonial racist Islamophobic and antisemitic nightmares for Joe and Booker to live through

to be crystal clear before anybody gets ooh Muslim-Jewish conflict up in here, antisemitism is an invention of European Christians that they imported to the places they colonized, the European colonial powers encouraged Zionism because it was easier for them to encourage Jews to leave Europe and set us up as middle agents between the colonial powers and the ~scary brown people~, the Ottoman Empire and other Muslim governments historically have had a second-class citizenship category for non-Muslims that rankles my American first amendment freedom of religion sensibility but was very much not targeting Jews specifically, and these two men who've lived for a long-ass time through many varieties of geopolitical awfulness (and alongside a certain unwashed Crusader who has since learned his lesson) would have Things To Say about how our current mainstream discourses frame these things

getting off my soapbox and back to this action movie I'm trying to talk about, the ANGST of Booker's exile, which is simultaneously a very valid decision for Andy Joe and Nicky to make, an extremely long time for Nile who is only 26 years old to be separated from the one person on the planet in a position to really understand the crisis she's going through, and holy shit expelling a Jew from your group when he's already been expelled from mortality and his family and being expelled from places and continually having to start over somewhere new is THE curse of surviving through antisemitism, OUCH MY FEELINGS

Some French Jewish history:

France, like basically all of Europe, periodically expelled its Jews, but Provence (where Marseilles is) wasn't legally part of France during the expulsions up through 1398 so Provence had a continuous active Jewish community; about 3,000 Iberian Jewish refugees ended up in Provence after the expulsions from Spain and Portugal in the 1490s

the 1498 expulsion of French Jews DID apply to Provence but many "converted" to Christianity and reestablished a Jewish community when enforcement of the expulsion chilled out (which was in the government's interest because they were really into taxing Jews at higher rates, so much so that they taxed "new Christians" at higher rates once they realized expelling Jews meant they wouldn't be around to overtax, ffs) — by the mid-18th century Provence had notable communities of Jews and crypto-Jews (forced converts and their descendants who still kept some Jewish practices in secret)

Booker would've been 21 when revolutionary France granted equal legal rights to Jews in 1791 — his mortal life and first century of immortality happens to line up almost perfectly with the timeline of legal emancipation of Jews across Europe

the American and French Revolutions happened pretty much concurrently and took different approaches to religious freedom that make Book of Nile with Jewish Booker and canon Christian Nile extra interesting — French emancipation, at least from my American sensibility, is about secularism and religion not "interfering" (hence French Islamophobic shittiness about banning hijabs), whereas American religious freedom is more of "the government can't stop me from trying to evangelize / religiously harass people at my school/workplace/etc" — to be clear I think both countries' approaches to religious "freedom" are hegemonic as shit and have devastating flaws, but they're different models that emerged at the same time in Booker's youth and Christianity is clearly a source of emotional support for Nile and there's so much to explore here

Napoleon tried to ~liberate~ the Jews of places he conquered for his dumbass French Empire, but liberation from ghettos came with strings attached (like banning us from some of the only jobs we'd been legally allowed to have for centuries, and liberating us for the stated purpose of getting us to assimilate and stop being Jews) and many places that were briefly part of the French Empire reinstated their antisemitic laws after Napoleon was gone, can you imagine being a French Jew forced to fight and die in Russian winter for that jackass and then have to trudge back through a dozen countries whose antisemitism was all riled up by French interference?

Some facts about antisemitism:

antisemitism operates differently than many other oppressions, it doesn't economically oppress the target group in the same way as antiblackness or misogyny or ableism etc — the purpose of antisemitism is to create a scapegoat to blame when European peasants are mad at the king / the church / the people actually in charge, and structural antisemitism encourages a system where some Jews become visibly successful so that those individuals and our whole community are easier to make into scapegoats

one of the historical roots of antisemitism is stuff in the Christian Bible about moneylending as sinful — Jews in medieval Europe were often barred from owning land and Christians barred from moneylending, so some Jews found work in finance and some of us became very visibly successful for working with money — a few individual Jews running a particular bank or finding success as jewelry dealers turns into "Jews control global financial systems" scapegoating — a more recent example of this is the participation of nonblack Jews in white flight and the role of Jewish landlords doing the visible dirty work of non-Jewish institutions in American antiblack housing discrimination, Nile grew up on the South Side of Chicago and would have seen some shit along these lines and might repeat hurtful ideas out of a lack of knowledge, here's Ta Nahesi Coates on some of these dynamics

Booker canonically being a forger (specifically of coins in the comics?) needs a little extra care to avoid antisemitic tropes about Jews and money, I will happily answer good-faith asks about this if you want to check on something for a fic/etc

antisemitism in the United States where I live in October 2020 isn't institutional in the sense of targeting Jews for police violence or anything like that. it IS systemic, however, for example in all the antisemitic conspiracy theories the Trump administration and several other Republicans peddle (ie QAnon), and in how the Trump administration points to support for Israel as if that means support for Jews (it doesn't, it's evangelical Christians who push the US government to support the Israeli government because they think Jews need to be in the ~holy land~ for Jesus to come back that's literally why the United States funds Israel at the level it does). antisemitism also gets weaponized to encourage white Jews (those of us of European descent, who in the United States are definitely white because the foundation of US racism is slavery and antiblackness as well as anti-indigenous genocide, maybe European Jews aren't included in whiteness everywhere but we definitely are where I live) to side with white supremacy instead of building solidarity with other marginalized people (ie a lot of mainstream Jewish groups shit on the Movement for Black Lives because of its solidarity with Palestinians)

the Nation of Islam has a major presence in Chicago and its leader Louis Farrakhan who lives in Chicago has long spread a variety of antisemitic as well as homophobic bullshit but there are genuine good reasons many Black people find meaning/support in the Nation of Islam and Nile would've grown up with that mess in the air around her, this is a good take from a Black Jew about the nuance of all that

the way the Old Guard comics draw Yusuf al Kaysani is HOLY SHIT ANTISEMITISM BATMAN I hate it please summarize the comics for me because I DO NOT WANT to look at that unnecessarily caricatured nose why the fuck did they do that human noses are beautiful there is absolutely no need to draw Joe like a Nazi would

Jews for Racial and Economic Justice is a local NYC group that recently developed a fantastic resource for understanding and fighting antisemitism (pdf) 11/10 strongly recommend

Zionism disclaimer: A lot of Jews feel strongly that we need a Jewish-majority country in order to be safe from antisemitism. I strongly disagree with this idea on its merits (Jews disagree about who is a Jew and making Jewish status a government/immigration matter means some of us are going to get left out; also non-Jews aren't fundamentally dangerous and separatism isn't going to end antisemitism) but I have a lot of empathy for the very valid fear that leads a lot of my people to Zionism. Whether I want a Jewish-majority country or not, what Israel has done and continues to do to Palestinians is a deal breaker. Emotions run very high on this subject — I spend a lot of my not-Tumblr life talking to other Jews about Zionism and I'd rather not have this Jewish Booker headcanons post become yet another place where fellow Jews yell at me in bad faith. Block me if you need to, you're not going to change my mind. Call me self-hating if you want, I know I love us.

Racism in fandom disclaimer: I feel weird about increasing the volume of meta about Booker in this fandom. Nile Freeman is the main character and deserves lots of attention and adoration from the fandom — and she deserves emotional support from as many friends and orgasms from as many partners as she wants. I think Jewish Booker makes her friendship and potential romantic relationship with him even more interesting, hence this post. Ship what you ship, but be aware of the racist impact of focusing your fandom activity on, for example, shipping two white men while ignoring awesome characters of color especially the canon man of color one of those white dudes has already been with for a millennium. Please and thanks don't use my post for shenanigans like sidelining Joe so you can ship Booker with Nicky.

Oh and a non-disclaimer fun fact, Matthias Schoenaerts was born in Antwerp which apparently has one of the largest Jewish communities still remaining in Europe?? ~Jewish Booker headcanons intensify~

In conclusion: Jewish Booker! Just because it's fun! It exponentially increases the angst of his mortal lifetime and it puts his first century of immortality smack in the middle of the most intense changes to Jewish life since the fall of the Second Temple (aforementioned emancipation, also founding of Reform Judaism, the Haskalah, Zionism, and then of course the Holocaust). It makes his relationships with Nile, Joe, and Nicky more interesting and potentially angstier and with more intense commonalities and tenderness about their differences. It's very common for Jews to not believe in God (this confuses the shit out of a lot of Christians) and this would probably have further endeared him to Andy.

One more thing: Booker as golem. (A golem is basically an earthenware robot of Jewish folklore.) He's tall and blond and the most Steve Rogers-looking of all of them and from the Himbeaux region of France. THE trope of Book of Nile is he will do WHATEVER Nile wants or needs him to do. I was today years old when I learned that Modern Hebrew speakers use golem figuratively to mean "mindless lunk" and I'm choosing to squint and read that as "hot kind and dumb as rocks" because it amuses me.

[youarejesting]

Herb.2 The Date

Pairing: Dealer!Jimin x Reader Beta: N/A Genre: Romance, implied sexual activity, Fluff, Rating: recommended 18+ (or whatever the legal age is in your country) Words: 866 Warnings: Blow Job Summary: Jimin was the mary poppins of drug dealing. What ever you wanted he had and he NEVER disappoints his customer. That is until he met you. He finally decides to take matters into his own hands to fulfil your order.

[Masterlist] [Herb.1]

You didn’t know why you were nervous, you had seen him naked for christ sake but, there was something about him all dressed up and not his typical dealer getting up for house parties, no this was really dressed up. He had a blouse on which you had a sneaking suspicion was for women but he made it look so much better, and his pants were black trousers high waisted accentuating his long legs the fabric around his thighs straining to contain his thick muscular legs.

He turned up his hair combed, flowers in one hand and his phone in the other texting you his arrival. You answered the door as soon as his text came through wearing your best dress that was semi formal as you didn’t know where the two of you were heading. “You look truly amazing, are you ready to go, or should I wait inside?”

“No, I am ready” There was something odd about him and you couldn’t figure out what it was.

He led you out the front of your apartment and you followed him as he lead you to his car, ah a sensible hatchback beside a beautiful, luxury car the logo was Two R’s now you knew nothing about cars but you would die if that was his car. He pressed the Key FOB and the luxury car lights flashed as the doors unlocked.

Freezing in place his hand slipped free of yours and he paused turning looking back, “Is something wrong baby?”

“This is your car?” You asked and he looked at his car curiously, he looked it over and turned back. He didn’t see anything wrong with this picture, clearly used to the vehicle in question.

“Yes, do you not like Rolls Royce?”

“I honestly had no clue what the brand was and don’t you think, I am a little underdressed, this is a nice car?” You stammered “What if my shoes are dirty?”

“If it makes you feel any better I gave Tae a lift home in it the other day after a party and he vomited all over the dash and I was frantically cleaning it all week to get the smell out for our date.”

“Really?” You said, in a way it did make you feel better, you couldn’t do anything worse than vomit. He opened the door for you and you climbed in inspecting as you went. It didn’t smell like vomit and it was really clean. He climbed in promptly to the other side and looked at you with a soft smile. “What is something wrong?”

“No you are just so beautiful today?” He smiled before rubbing his hands together, “Do you need anything before we go, if I can't provide it the next item is free” 

“How much is it for a Kiss?” Was it too forward of you to ask, you were just so excited tonight was already so thrilling and all you did was sit in his car.

“One kiss will cost you, two questions?” he stated seriously.

“Questions?” This intrigued you, what type of questions was he going to ask.

“Question number one” He said softly, taking your hand, “Movie or dinner first?” “Dinner” you smiled leaning in, impatient with how long it took him to ask you these questions, you wanted to kiss him, heart racing in anticipation.

“Question number two” He whispered you were closing in and it seemed he was losing focus as well, “Do you like sushi?”

Your lips collided and his hand swept under your hair to cradle the back of your neck. You missed him and it had only been a week, his taste, his cologne, the way his lips felt, the way he made you feel loved. “Baby, we have reservations and a movie, let me take you on a date and give you presents” he begged against your lips only parting for a few seconds to speak before capturing them again.

You pulled away and thanked that you had used a lip stain instead of a lipstick so there was no transfer, even though Jimin with red lips would be a delectable sight indeed.

Your date was filled with jokes and laughter and Jimin confessing to all the times he tried to inadvertently help you at parties. He was a gentleman and he even told you about his dream job stating that dealing was only a hobby and he truly loved helping others and that’s why he was in University studying medicine.

Dinner was spectacular and Jimin asked a few times if you needed anything and you half expected him to pull his mary poppins bag out from under the table and list off all the things he could offer you. That was it, he looked odd because he wasn’t accompanied by his huge compartment jacket and duffle bag.

“Can I get you anything more, some soy sauce, another drink, some more of the delicious ikura?” he grinned, it was nice but you feel like Jimin was working and you were a customer and you decided for once he should be the one to be waited on. 

“I don’t need anything at the moment thank you?” You raised your hand sagely in an attempt to sooth his questions. “What about you, what can I get you, napkin, some wasabi?”

“Oh could you grab one of the tiny seaweed salads as they come past,” He grinned, the two of you talked and ate before heading to the movies. Taking the boardwalk along the beach you held hands swinging them gently and talking about your favourite things. He said he liked the colours blue and black. He enjoyed listening to music and dancing though he didn’t know if he was any good at it. 

You assured him from what you had seen at parties he was pretty good. He didn’t realise but you were categorizing all his answers and noticed when he started talking about himself he started opening up. It became less about trying to make you have a good time, to mutually having a wonderful date.

Deciding that you would make sure to give him more days where he gets what he wants amongst those where he tries to fulfill everyone else's wishes.

Choosing a hilarious action movie the two of you found your seats and held hands. Half way through the movie you laid your head on his shoulder and it stayed there until the credits. Once the movie was done, Jimin dutifully drove you home and prolonged walking you to your door.

“Is it bad I don’t want you to go?” He breathed

“Well don’t go, come upstairs and we can have some coffee or something?” 

You woke up beside him, you didn’t know it yet but you would never be able to get him to leave after the first night. You made breakfast which was a series of fresh fruit and you woke up wearing a beautiful blue sundress, you were dancing in the kitchen making some coffee. Planning to wake him you softly padded back to the room and leaned over him. “Jimin, wake up, it’s time for breakfast” you said gently kissing him and he stretched looking up at you with a lopsided smile.

“Mmm… breakfast you say?” In a flash he had rolled you onto your back on the bed and trapped you in his arms and legs. “I could go for breakfast”

You tried to ignore his wiggling eyebrows and insinuations and pouted. “But I cut up lots of fruit cause you said they were your favourites”

His eyes showed hesitation and he grinned, “Don’t move!” He said seriously and ran to the kitchen his boxer briefs were tight around his behind showing his cute butt as he left.

He came back with the platter and placed it on the bed munching on freshly cut apples and grinned.

“Now I have a buffet” He grinned cheekily kissing you, his lips tasting extra sweet. Before he could even tried you decided today really was about him. He was in the middle of eating some grapes when you let your hand ghost along his muscular thighs.

He thought nothing of it until your fingertips grazed a little high against him through his underwear, you continued eating pretending like you hadn’t noticed when your hand moved higher palming him gently.

“What are you doing?” He asked side eyeing you while reaching for another strawberry. And you looked at him coyly. “I am eating breakfast what are you doing?” You challenged him and he gestured to the fruit 

“I am eating breakfast as well” He said and you moved to lay down across the bed, and it didn’t take long before you had released him from his boxer briefs he looked down at you and hummed all your playful teasing had stirred him.

“Okay Baby,” You said looking up at him with a sly smile “You can ask for anything you want and I will give it to you for half the price.  If I don’t have it I will give you the next best thing for free.” you repeated the words he had said in Namjoon’s bedroom a week ago”

“I want you.” He smiled

“You have me baby” You loved using the pet name against him. “What do you want me to do, you bought me baby I am all yours”

“Suck me,” He had abandoned the fruit platter opting instead to watch you trace your fingers along his hips with a heavy breath of anticipation.

“With pleasure” You took him by the base and gently licked the head tracing your tongue around the top before taking him in your mouth and sucking him lightly, you didn’t want to give him everything just yet. He moaned softly and you moved so slow trying to get him to beg for more.

When he did, you showed him no mercy, his breathing was coming out as quick pants and you were trying your best to keep your hands and mouth busy. Soon he was unable to stop himself from audibly responding, his lips falling apart and the sweetest sounds escaping him. 

Taking him deeper into his mouth you tried so hard to calm your gag reflex, breathing slowly you felt his hands move to clutch the back of your head desperately and the sweet sound was gone his voice was now guttural and heavy and within a minute or two he stammered for you to stop which you didn’t greedily taking him faster and swallowing down your reward. 

You removed him from your mouth with an audible pop and he gasped from the overstimulation it gave him. You laid your head on his thigh and at a grape slowly. 

Rumours started that Jimin had been busted or had even died but a select few new the truth he was tangled up in your sheets and you wouldn’t ever let him leave.

[aboutkoshi]

Three.

ft. Sugawara Koshi wc: 2500+  a/n: the idea’s been floating around my head and i just had to write it out... fluffy and domestic suga ahead!  

─

Everything is warm. The colors of the sky, as the sun begins to set. The kitchen, from the smoke the cooking pan births as you brew his favorite dish. The smile on your face, as you let the wooden spoon rest and turn your head to check the time. Your eyes land on a framed picture you had taken with him years ago; your arm clinging around his waist tightly, and his encompassing your shoulder even more tightly, both of you not letting the other have an easy win at who could smile the biggest. And finally, the feeling in your chest, accompanied with a hand that itches to reach for the phone to tell him right then and there, but you figure your patience will be rewarded when you get to tell him in person. 

Any minute now. You think to yourself, the corners of your lips having turned upwards to form the smallest of smiles at the mere thought. When you sent him off to work this morning, you had no idea you would be able to welcome him back home with such life-changing news. The smile, and the nervousness, only grows as your ears register the familiar sound of the door clicking open and close, with his voice chirping in between, and you swear you’ve never loved hearing your name as much as now. 

“In the kitchen, Koshi,” you hum as you begin to complete the final steps of your dish, but the overwhelming scent of chili and oil proves to be more useful in leading him to where you stand. One second you are stirring the pan and making sure everything is lathered evenly, and the next you find yourself jolting out of surprise as two dependable arms wrap themselves around your waist from the back. 

“Mapo tofu today? My birthday isn’t until a few more months, sweetheart,” he teases, chin comfortably lazing on your shoulder. You shake your head, eliciting a reserved chuckle. He allows himself an exaggerated whiff of the dish and exhales softly with a sigh. His hold around your figure is as gentle as it is firm, and he turns his head to press a kiss onto the side of yours, mumbling a muffled “I’ve missed you.” 

The house is warm, but the home is warmer.

“It hasn’t even been twelve hours since we last met, Koshi,” you reason playfully, unable to hold back another chuckle. You turn the heat of the stove down to low to grant yourself the ability to completely look the love of your life in the eye, and the little pout that greets you as you turn around is just as lovable as you had imagined. Your features soften, and as much as you’d like the pout to stick around just a little longer, you admit that the desire to see him smile is even bigger. “I’ve missed you more,” you mumble, arms looping around his neck, and you watch as he relaxes in your hold. He leans forth, just enough to let your foreheads meet. His eyelids are fluttered shut and the tip of his nose lightly nudges yours, and the giggle you let out is his favorite melody.

“Go shower. The tofu will be done just in time,” you urge, and he stays silent, wanting to be this close to you for just another prolonged second, eventually responding with a tilt of his head as he plants a tender kiss on your forehead. 

“That, I will do,” he grins as he pulls away, and you mirror it with one of your smiles. 

“Mm, take your time.” 

“That, I will not,” he cheekily responds. 

-

You set the bowls of tofu on the table, garnishing it with a last sprinkle of chili powder, nodding in content to yourself over how good they look, smell, and based on a few sneaky tests straight from the pan, taste. 

With the ring hugging your finger comes a few exclusive privileges. For instance, at least two kisses daily (one before every meal I get to eat with you, he says), the biggest embraces of pride and comfort, a hand to hold wherever and whenever, dates ranging from movies and pillow forts in the living room all the way to planned fancy dinners, a sweater or two to steal, and helping him pick a tie or cardigan that matches his clothing every morning. 

But your personal favorite has to be the sight that greets you as you look up; him walking out of your shared bedroom with his hair still half wet (just like every other promise he’s ever made, he’s lived up to his words of not taking his time), an almost reflexive grin growing on his face when your eyes meet, and a worn-out shirt that’s too big for him, one that he has an odd affinity towards and claims has brought him luck (I wore it for our first stay-at-home date, look where we are today, he had defended). 

He sits himself across from you on the dining table, rubbing his hands together in excitement and humming in delight. His reaction alone is enough to make you want to run out to the market to grab some ingredients to make another batch tomorrow. 

“Take your time and blow first, it’s fresh from the stove,” you remind with a firm nod, and are met with a response as sheepish as the simper on his face. 

“No promises.” and he takes a spoonful of a little of everything in his bowl, muttering a brief prayer of gratitude for both the food and you, followed by a quick “I’ll eat really well!” under his breath, and you hold yours as he takes his first bite. He makes sure to look at you as he chews, slowly at first, and the visible hint of his smirk tells you he’s only doing it because he knows you’re nervous. Ultimately, he reaches out to ruffle your hair, fully smiling as he finally swallows and nods in approval. “Any day now you decide to open a store of your own, babe, I call dibs on being your taste tester and forever favorite customer, alright?” With this, you beam, and take a first bite of your own. 

“How was work today, hm?” you ask, one hand using the spoon to mix everything in the bowl while the other hand is tucked snugly in his. His fingers are curled over yours, thumb caressing the back of your hand every so often. His eyes light up, and you are convinced that his enthusiasm has made him forget the fact he has actual steaming food in his mouth. 

“So you remember Akio─” he chokes on his half-chewed tofu, the violent coughing causing you to widen your eyes and hurriedly offer a glass of water. The panic is fleeting, as he finds himself laughing in his own embarrassment, and you chuckle, despite shaking your head in disapproval. 

“As I was saying,” he continues after a few gulps of water, clearing his throat to get rid of any remnants of discomfort, “you know Akio, baby? He finally gathered enough courage to confess to his little crush today!” It feels foolish to be this excited over a school grader’s love life, but in your defense, it’s been a story that both you and he have followed since a few months ago. “Really?!” you reply, “How’d he do it?” you question, at the same time using a napkin to wipe the corner of his lips where a light splatter of sauce has landed. “Bouquet of flowers, a shy and nervous confession, very traditional, very genuine,” he describes, and you nod, mouthing an ‘oooh’. “She said yes.” and you coo loudly at this, putting down the spoon momentarily to clutch onto your chest. “I’m beginning to believe it has a 100% success rate,” he smiles smugly, and you only shake your head in mock disbelief, having another spoonful of food. 

“I’m serious!” he laughs, “I mean. . . that’s how I scored you, too, wasn’t it?” The last bit is barely audible, and the tint on his cheeks is easy to miss when you’re too busy trying to cool the heat on your own cheeks down. He’s the first to recover from the shyness, and he titters as he brings your hand close to his lips so he can lovingly peck each of your knuckles. 

“On other news, Ume managed to score higher than her last test! I always knew she was capable, she just needed someone to believe in her until she could believe in herself,” he explains, and amongst everything there is to love about your husband, his passion towards his job and his love for children is definitely up there. 

“You did a great job today, as always, Sugawara-sensei,” you compliment, and though he brushes it off with a bashful chuckle, you catch the way his cheeks are splashed with your favorite shade of pink. “They’re adorable, baby. They make time away from you a lot more bearable,” he acknowledges. You smile, and you continue having your meal, but he does not. 

“It would be lovely to have one of our own.” 

You pause, and he only realizes afterwards that the words have been said out loud, as opposed to merely thinking them, and he rushes to add, “I-I mean─ of course I’d love to build a family with you, and just the thought of coming home to you and a mini you, or a mini me, is a dream come true, and─ but─” 

You squeeze his hand, silently telling him to calm and slow down, flashing him a reassuring smile that he hasn’t said or done anything wrong. 

He sighs in relief. 

“And I also know that that would require at least ten folds of effort for me, and even with that it would be so much more difficult on you than it would be for me, but all I wanted to say is. . is that as ready as I am to care for you and another human being, I am also just as patient to wait for you until you’re ready, no matter how soon or how late, so we can take our time, okay?” 

You let out a breath you weren’t even aware you were holding, and he is momentarily alerted by how you don’t respond with anything else, not even a nod. And so his lips part to say something, anything at all, to put any and all of your worries to sleep, and an extra apology because maybe he should have been more careful.

“How. . how soon would it be too soon?” 

It isn’t among any of the answers his mind had expected, and it’s evidently displayed across his face, but it isn’t one he isn’t willing to entertain. “Well─”

“I’m pregnant.”

Silence. Only the sound of your own heart pounding in your chest and his eyes boring into your soul, cautious enough to look and gauge any of your reactions, maybe a telltale sign that you were also trying to test his waters, but with thousands of thoughts running through and seemingly clouding his mind, he finds none. 

“You’re pregnant. .” he echoes in a barely audible whisper, eyes darting elsewhere for a moment, and then back at you. 

“You’re. . pregnant?” he whispers, and you nod slowly, the emotions coming in waves. The relief is calm and serene, the realization is causing an unfamiliar but welcomed tightness in your chest, and the exhilaration is begging to crawl out of your throat as you finally break into a hearty laugh, this time able to nod more confidently. It is only after you have gotten over your own emotions that you notice he’s in it even deeper. His brows are furrowed, a habit that makes its entrance every time he gets confused ─ in this case, probably about which emotion he should tackle first ─ his eyes are sparkling from how hard he is trying to prevent his tears from escaping, and his mouth is twitching as he barely manages a smile, one that is proud and elated. 

“Oh my goodness, you’re pregnant! Can I─ can I hug you?” and he is already on his feet before you even get to answer. The final peak of your emotions comes in the form of a strong ripple of happiness quite literally sweeping you off of your feet.  You squeal as he lifts you up and gives you a little twirl, putting you back down urgently only to cup your cheeks, thumbs smoothing out the corners of your eyes. 

“Am I hurting the baby while doing that, oh no─ oh, you are so beautiful, my darling!” he exclaims, and the stream of tears that decorates his face as he does so is a lot more than enough to make you cry along, as well as laugh at the silliness of it all, accompanied by spurts of giggles as he proceeds to pepper your entire face with kisses, all at the same time. He halts himself, your face still snug on his palms. 

“I’m going to be a father. .” he trails off, and another laugh escapes your lips at how there are visible stages to how he reacts to the news. You’d be the last person to make fun of him, however, as you’d pretty much gone through the same stages just this afternoon. 

“You’re going to be an amazing one,” you reassure in a murmur, kissing each of his palms and cupping the back of his hands. 

“Only because I get to raise our baby with the most wonderful person,” he replies, “it’s going to be so lovely, my love! We’ll get you signed up for one of those breathing exercises classes─ don’t worry, I’ll go with you to each and every one! I’ve heard enough from the mothers at school. What are you craving for right now? Was the tofu too spicy?! What color do you think we should be decorating our baby’s room with? And─” 

“And how about you. . accompany me for my first doctor’s appointment tomorrow, before anything else?” you kindly interrupt, because as endearing as it is to watch him be equally excited, if not more, the last thing you want is for him to overwhelm himself. And just for good measure, “We’ll attend. . all of the classes you want us to attend, and decorate our baby’s room together, and do so much more together, all when the time comes, yes?” and he nods in both excitement and understanding. 

“There’s no one else I’d rather be doing all of this. . and all of that with, my love,” he breathes out, “thank you, so very much, for making me the happiest man, every day,” and he brings you closer to kiss your forehead. As he pulls away, his gaze falls south to your tummy, and he looks at you as if for permission, and you wordlessly take his hand and place it onto your stomach. 

“We can’t wait to meet you, little one.”

─