#I will never get over how defensive she got for that split second while she was mentioning how he ran out on Dorothy

[eeblouissant]

hiii this post contains huge spoilers for ep 22 of the golden palace, so don’t read / watch under the cut if you’d like to avoid that!!

to the rest of you… hi. I NEEEDDDD to talk about this scene right here (excuse the quality, unfortunately I couldn’t find a better source):

you already know what I’m going to say.

Firstly: this was incredibly satisfying to watch & hear. It’s one thing for Dorothy to berate Stan but BLANCHE? Somehow it’s almost better. Because Dorothy has some empathy for him, being the father of her children and all, but Blanche? All she’s ever known him for is continually hurting and lying to her best friend / the divorce / walking out on her (as she mentions, quite boldly, but I’ll touch on that in a moment) / using her (Dorothy) for money or attention KNOWING that she’ll give him her time when she shouldn’t (when she’s already said goodbye, Stanley.) / cheating !!!more than once!!! / the list goes on.

I get the feeling, as Blanche goes on getting progressively worked up thinking about all the shitty things Stan has done, that she’s been waiting YEARS for this moment. Not for his death, but for a moment where she can finally bask in the knowledge that he can no longer hurt Dorothy, or his children, or their family. He is gone. Gone gone gone, for good.

what really got me was the silence, her tone, and the look in her eyes after “[he] walked out on your daughter.” That silence was loud. And whether it was an attempt to get Sophia (who’s not nearly as numb to Stan’s shenanigans as Dorothy was, but still let him off the hook much more often and for longer than she should have) to finally see him for how awful he was, or if it was coming from a place of genuine anger that she hadn’t had the room to express before; the emphasis on that line was purposeful. It healed something in me 😭

There’s also an emphasis on “finally gone” , which leads me to assume Blanche, although she would never say this out loud, might be a little relieved by the news? And with all that she said being true, I can’t blame her. It’s not like she had any important connection to him anyways, the one time Dorothy thought she might have slept with him ended up not being the case at all - she’s hated him since the beginning and it’s so nice to finally see her getting her moment of “yeah, since no one else wants to say it: this dude fucking sucked and shouldn’t be glorified now because he died.” No redemption for Stan!!!! Blanche gets it!!!!! he was an ass and now he’s dead!!! (Or so they think. 🙃)

[javierpena-inatacvest]

Uh-Oh

Summary: Javi's Girl Dad skills get put to the ultimate test when your oldest daughter gets her period and you're not home to help her

Word Count: 2.9K

Pairing: Dad!Javi x Wife!reader (No use of y/n)

Warnings: Periods/getting a period for the first time, Javi being the ultimate Girl Dad, the Peña girls being the queens of sass, teamwork makes the dream work, just cute, sweet fluff 🥺😭

A/N: We all know that Girl Dad! Javi lives rent free in my brain, and as I was buying more tampons for myself today my brain went "Oh my god... could you imagine if Osita wasn't home when Lucy got her period and Javi, Elliot and Harper had to try and help her until Osita got home?" 😂😩 And of course, our elite girl dad would do anything he needed to in order to step up and make sure that his lil girl was okay 😭 This was also super fun to write because I feel like the girl's spunky personalities really shine through in this one 💀

Series Masterlist Never Too Late Masterlist

“Mom? Mooommm?!” 

“Why do you need Mom?” Elliot responded to her older sister, Lucy, frantically calling out for you from behind the bathroom door. 

“I just- I- Will you please just go get Mom, okay?! I really need her.”  Lucy sighed, panic filling her voice with every passing second it took for her sister to answer her request. Normally Elliot wouldn’t have been so quick to comply without haggling to negotiate a favor on her end, but even the 11 year old could sense the pure terror in her older sister’s voice. 

“Fine, fine.” Elliot huffed, making her way to her other sister’s room down the hall, pushing open Harper’s door to rally her for support. “Harper. Go help me find Mom.” 

“Why?” Harper asked, giving her sister a confused look as she set down the stuffed animals she was playing with on her bed. 

“Because, Lucy sounds like she’s having a mental breakdown in the bathroom and she needs mom’s help.” 

“Do you think she pooped her pants?!” Harper looked at Elliot with a disgusted and confused grimace on her face, the girls pausing for a moment to shake their heads in horror at the potential current state of their sister. 

“She did sound really upset… I don’t know Harps, just go look for Mom, okay?!” 

The girls quickly split, Harper taking the rest of the rooms upstairs while Elliot sped down the stairs to see if you were anywhere on the first floor. 

“Mom?! Mommy are you down here?!” 

After many years of raising 3 girls under the same roof, the two of you had learned how to tell the difference in your girls’ tone to distinguish what they wanted you for- Tattling, excitement, annoyance, you and Javi had pretty much heard it all. But the way that Elliot was calling out for you immediately caught Javi’s attention. 

Someone was in big trouble. 

“What’s up, El?” Javi called out wearily from the living room, lowering the volume on the TV as his daughter came speeding in, fear flooding her face. 

“Where’s mom?!” Elliot demanded, looking around the room for any sight of you. Her worried tone quickly had Javi up and off the couch, scrunching his brow at Elliot in concern at what kind of trouble the girls had gotten themselves into that they were so frantically looking for you. 

“Mom’s at the store. What’s going on?” Javi asked again, trying to keep even keeled, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down at his daughter. 

“I don’t know, I swear! Lucy just kept calling for Mom from the bathroom. She sounded really freaked out, though. Harper and I think she shit her pants.” Elliot replied, holding up her hands in defense to rid herself of any potential blame, trying to keep from giggling at her last sentence. 

“Elliot Marie.” Javi groaned, rolling his eyes at her. “You said she’s in the bathroom?”  

Elliot nodded, giving a little shrug for her lack of clarity around her sister’s current circumstances. Letting out a little sigh, Javi reached over for the remote on the couch, turning off the TV before making his way up the stairs to find out what in the world was going on. 

Javi, Elliot and Harper now found themselves gathered around the outside of the bathroom door in confusion, Javi gently tapping on the door before speaking. “Hey Lucy, it’s me. What’s goin’ on, bud?” 

“Where’s Mom?!” Lucy replied, sounding like she was trying her best to hold back her sobs, muffled from behind the bathroom door. 

“She’s at the store right now, babe. What’s going on?” Javi asked again, looking down at Harper and Elliot who were looking back up at him, the 3 of them perplexed as to why Lucy was so distraught. 

“Did you poop your pants?!” Harper shouted, trying her best to ask seriously, although the two girls on the outside of the bathroom door couldn’t help but snicker to themselves. Javi groaned, rolling his eyes at Elliot and Harper, taking his hand to shoo them away, silently mouthing “Seriously?! Go play.” as the girls scampered away in a fit of giggles to Elliot’s room, leaving just Javi outside the door, waiting for a response. 

“... I really need Mom.” Lucy choked out through her tears as Javi leaned against the door, running his hand over the back of his neck in a mix of bewilderment and frustration until his realization hit him like a ton of bricks, his face going ghost white in terror. 

Lucy got her fucking period and you weren’t home. 

Javi could feel himself physically starting to sweat in panic trying to figure out what the hell to do. Even if he called you to come home, you probably still weren’t going to be back for another 45 minutes, and he wasn’t going to let his daughter sit in the bathroom horrified and alone until you returned. Letting out the deepest sigh he could muster, Javi knew his only option was to do this on his own, and hope he didn’t traumatize his oldest daughter, or die of embarrassment in the process. 

“Uh… Lucy, I’m really sorry but Mom’s not- shit- You… You’re gonna have to trust me to help you though this one, bud.” Javi grimaced, wincing at his own words, wondering to himself how he was going to get himself and his daughter through this. 

A stark silence hug in the air between them, barricaded by the bathroom door as Javi anxiously bounced his leg, waiting for Lucy to say something, anything, back to him. “How do you know what’s going on?” Lucy questioned hesitantly, probably still just as in shock as Javi was that the two of themselves were stuck in this situation together. 

“I uh- I’m just assuming because you wanted Mom- and uh, you’re- you’re in the bathroom and that you’re upset that you got your per-” 

“EW DAD?! Don’t say it!! That’s so weird!!” Lucy snapped from the other side of the door, Javi automatically holding up his hands in defense and taking a step back from the bathroom, taking a moment to carefully choose his next words before speaking again. 

“Sorry, sorry. Uh, kiddo, listen, I can call Mom but she’s not gonna be home for a while and I- I can’t just let you sit in there until she comes back. Can I- will you let me help you?” Javi asked, preemptively wincing, bracing himself for Lucy’s reply. 

“Yeah, I- I guess. Just please don’t be weird, Dad, I’m literally already gonna die of embarrassment and that’s without your help.” Lucy groaned, accepting defeat that she was going to have to let her Dad, of all people, help her through her unfortunate circumstances. Javi let out a sigh of relief that he at least wasn’t going to have to fight with Lucy or leave her stranded in the bathroom, but as he sat and thought about the fact that he was going to put a plan into action… Given the choice between this and chasing down Pablo Escobar or the Cali Cartel? Javi would have been on the first flight back to Colombia. 

“Okay, let me uh… I’ll um- give me one second okay?” 

“Not like I was planning on going anywhere else anytime soon.” Lucy grumbled, just loud enough for Javi to hear as he sped to Elliot’s room, where he found his other two daughters blissfully unaware of what was happening, building some sort of creation out of Legos. 

“Girls, you gotta go do something for me okay?” Javi pleaded, leaning in the doorframe of the bedroom, looking down at his daughters on the floor, pausing their Lego construction, their dad now capturing their attention. 

“Okay.” The girls said in unison, giving their dad a little shrug of compliance. 

“Can you uh-” Javi ran his hand over his red face, trying to find the least mortifying way to ask his daughters to help, “Can you guys go to Lucy’s room and get her a pair of underwear?” 

“EW GROSS DAD.” The girls shrieked, sticking out their tongues in disgust and Elliot pretending to vomit to add to the effect. 

“You guys… Can you just- please?” Javi practically begged, trying his best to keep calm and blow things even more out of proportion than they already felt like they were. Elliot and Harper sat quietly for a moment, the gears in their head visibly turning before Elliot spoke again. 

“...What’s in it for us?” Elliot asked, tilting her head and shrugging at her sister, too smart for her own good to ever pass up on an opportunity to bargain her way into a better deal. 

“Helping your sister.” Javi gruffed, impatient for his daughter’s negotiating antics as his other daughter sat helpless in the bathroom. Elliot and Harper both raised an eyebrow at their dad, sitting on the floor in a determined silence to get something in exchange for Javi’s proposal. “... 5 bucks for each of you, fair?” 

“5? Seems a little low for such a risky task.” 

“Fine, 10, now go so we can help your sister.” 

The girls gave each other a quiet high five before pushing up off the floor and racing past Javi out of the bedroom door towards their sister’s room, Harper’s voice carrying down the hallway. 

“I told you she pooped her pants!” 

Now having figured out one part of his predicament, Javi made his way back to the bathroom door to check on Lucy as he waited for Elliot and Harper to return. “Hey Lucy… You… You doin’ okay?” Javi asked, his hand brushing through the dark ends of his curls at the back of his neck. 

“Yeah… NEVER been better.” Lucy groaned, her voice oozing with sarcasm, a trait she had so lovingly inherited from you, and something Javi couldn’t even come close to being upset with her about, given her current situation. Before Javi could respond, Elliot and Harper were barreling down the hallway, Elliot holding out a hockey stick with a pair of underwear hooked at the end, Javi shaking his in disbelief. 

“Seriously, El?” Javi gestured at the hockey stick Elliot had passed off to Harper, now stretching it even further in front of her to distance herself from her sister’s underwear, using the other hand to plug her nose. 

“What?! Desperate times call for desperate measures, Dad. It was actually Harper’s idea.” The girls nodded proudly at their accomplishment, Harper freeing her hand from her nose to fist bump her sister at the execution of their plan. 

“Jesus Christ…” Javi muttered to himself under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing his temples, “Okay, Lucy? I’m gonna open the door enough so that your sisters can drop a new pair of underwear in there for you, alright?” 

“DAD!” 

“SORRY!” Javi groaned, trying his best to restrain his frustration from how stressed he was, surrounded by all 3 of his daughters trying to manage the biggest crisis he had dealt with to date. Barely opening the door a crack, Javi pointed to Harper to sneak the hockey stick through the empty space, turning it over in hopes that the underwear had fallen to the floor for her sister to grab. 

“Harper that’s my new stick! Are you serious?!” Lucy shouted through the opening in the door, as if she needed another reason to be more enraged than she already was. Harper quickly jerked the stick back, slamming the door behind her, dropping it on the floor out of guilt before shouting back. 

“Sorry! I didn’t wanna touch your underwear, that’s gross dude.” 

“You got me dirty underwear, are you kidding Harper?!” 

“No they’re clean, but like… They’re underwear, it’s nasty. Your butt touches it.” 

“True that.” Elliot chimed in, leaning against the wall behind her dad and Harper, adamantly nodding in agreement at her younger sister’s reasoning. 

“This is literally the worst day in the history of the world.” Lucy groaned in dismay, Javi now recognizing the soft sobs of his daughter return, his heart breaking and his brain fried at how he was going to manage the rest of this shit show until you got home. Javi tried to shoo away Elliot and Harper once again, but not before Elliot could rub the tips of her fingers and thumb together,  silently asking for her promised $10 from her dad. Javi frowned, shaking his head no, Elliot getting the hint enough that now perhaps was not the best time to collect her payment. Tugging at her sister’s sleeve, Harper dragged Elliot back to her room, trying to distance herself from her angry sister as much as possible, once again, leaving Javi and the closed bathroom door with his daughter locked behind it. 

Javi leaned his forehead against the door, his face buried in his palms letting out a few deep inhales and exhales to maintain his composure, given the fact that he hadn’t even gotten to the part of helping Lucy she legitimately needed. 

“You okay, bud?” 

“No. What kind of question is that, Dad?” 

“Touché.” 

“Okay so… so- what- what do I do now?” Lucy asked, her voice quickly shifting from sass to scared, her words meek and timid as she waited for any sort of guidance about what to do. There was nothing that broke Javi’s heart more than seeing any of his girls anything but happy, and to hear the terror in Lucy’s voice made him absolutely crumble, especially when he definitely was not the ideal person to be aiding in this situation. 

“Okay, well, uh- in the cabinet under the sink, there should be a pink box and a purple box in the back corner of the second shelf. Can um- can you uh, check to see if you can find them?” 

A soft rustling came from behind the door as Lucy rummaged through the bathroom cabinet, the sound of several items falling to the floor in her scramble. “Okay, I- um, I found them. Which box do I use? Do I use both?” 

“Purple. Take one out of the purple box.” Javi quickly responded, letting out a panicked gulp, wanting to make sure he was not adding to his already detrimental embarrassment of having to explain tampons to his daughter. “Okay uh- Jesus- okay you, um- you gotta just uh, pull the little paper part off the back…” He paused, trying to give time for Lucy to follow his inadequate directions, taking her silence as his cue to continue, “and then it should be sticky. And then um, then you gotta, uh- take the sticky side and-” 

“Okay, yup, got it, please don’t say anymore.” Javi could practically feel Lucy wincing at his directions, leaving him anxiously drumming his fingers along his forearms as the toilet flushed and sink ran, the bathroom door slowly creaking open to reveal a very sheepish and embarrassed Lucy, eyes pinned to the ground to avoid any direct contact with her dad’s. 

“Hey kiddo,” Javi grimaced, trying his best to casually greet his daughter, trying his best to keep things from getting any less weird than they already were, “How you uh, how ya-” 

“Dad,” Lucy interrupted, holding up her hand to stop her dad, “I love you, and thank you, but I don’t wanna talk about this ever ever again, okay?” 

“Understood.” The two nodded in a silent agreement, eyes still peeled in separate directions as Lucy sped off to her room, promptly closing the door behind her with a loud slam, leaving Javi alone and flabbergasted, sinking down with his back against the wall trying to process the shit storm that had just blown through the Peña household. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent in an uncomfortable silence between Javi and the girls, his only peace offering being to bring back 3 bags worth of McDonald’s nuggets and fries, knowing that if Lucy was anything like you, the only thing that was going to bring her any sort of joy from her period pain was endless amounts of deep fried, crispy, salty potatoes, and that fast food (on top of their 10 dollars) was enough bribery to keep Elliot and Lucy from harassing their sister about the events of this morning. 

When you arrived home, you were surprised to be greeted by nothing but the sound of the TV, setting your bags down at the front door as you made your way to the living room where you found Javi and the girls sitting on the couch, McDonald’s bags placed in between the uncharacteristically hardy distance now dividing your husband and daughters. 

“Hey you guys, how’s it going?” You asked hesitantly, shooting Javi a concerned look at your family’s current set up. 

“It’s uh…” Javi paused, looking back over at his girls, all 3 of them burning menacing glares at their dad to keep him from spilling the beans on this morning’s circus, “It’s been an interesting day.” 

You cocked your head to the side, feeling even less reassured by the uncomfortable tension brewing in your living room, Javi and the girls now looking even more awkward and apprehensive than they had a few moments ago. You tried to give each of them the silent stare down to see if any of them would break, but whatever pact they had formed before your arrival was holding strong, no one cracking under your investigative pressure. 

“Okay… Well, if you guys wanna tell me about it then-” 

“NO.” Your daughters shouted in unison, frantically shaking their heads to stop your question. 

“Like I said…” Javi grumbled, “It’s been… a day.” 

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[patrophthia]

do not make him ‘go away’ | tom riddle

pairing: tom riddle x hufflepuff!reader

genre: literally just fluff and comedy (bc i love turning dark morally grey character into soft babies), superrrr self indulgent, not beta read.

word count: 4.6K

originally posted on wattpad: a while back lol

"i got knocked off my feet not amnesia."

the corner of his lips perked up at her comment, such a small motion that she almost didn't notice.

"i'll keep that in mind." and then, with a disappointed look thrown at malfoy, riddle asked her, "is he bothering you?"

"kind of," she answered slowly, not trusting where this conversation would go. "why?"

riddle ignored her question, opting on following up with his own instead, "do you want me to get rid of him for you?"

or the trope simply the trope of grumpy reluctant boyfriend and bubbly/fun girlfriend.

she had always loved defense against the dark arts. don't get her wrong, the classes and lessons were always great. professor thea was good at her job, teaching them both the theoretical and physical studies that is needed from the subject.

but now, as she landed flat on her butt, she hated the subject more than she could ever imagine. malfoy was a terrible dueling partner, taking every possible chance to knock her off her feet.

"do you want me to go easy on you badger?" he asked tauntingly, towering over her.

she looked up at him —half expecting for him to offer a hand but he only smirked at her. "you're a dick."

"i sure am." he only watched her struggle with amusement.

there was a scoff from besides him and within a split second he was being nudged over. replacing him was the head boy, leaning down to look at her with furrowed eyebrows. he offered her a hand; one which she took and lifted herself up.

she muttered a quick thanks, not sparing him a look whilst she busied herself with wiping soot off of her clothes. looking back up, she found him gazing at her.

"what's your name?" he asked after a minute, watching her with skepticism.

"[name]?" she replied, unsure. he knew her name, surely he did, they had partnered up during sixth year for a potions project and he can't have forgotten it in the span of one year could he? "i thought you already knew that."

"i did." riddle pursed his lips, nodding to himself. "i just wanted to make sure you knew your name."

she scoffed, giving him a dirty look. "i got knocked off my feet not amnesia."

the corner of his lips perked up at her comment, such a small motion that she almost didn't notice.

"i'll keep that in mind." and then, with a disappointed look thrown at malfoy, riddle asked her, "is he bothering you?"

"kind of," she answered slowly, not trusting where this conversation would go. "why?"

riddle ignored her question, opting on following up with his own instead, "do you want me to get rid of him for you?"

if it were anyone else she would've laughed it off as a joke but tom riddle has this ominous thing about him, one that put you slightly on edge, making it seem as though he would actually follow through with his threat.

so —as annoying as malfoy was, she told him. "no." and then, slightly terrified that she would wake up tomorrow with the news that abraxas malfoy had mysteriously gone missing, she added as a precaution, "don't kill him."

she wasn't sure if she was joking or genuinely scared that riddle would do it for her sake. no matter how much he would deny it, to her —he seemed like a feminist, never failing to hand detentions out to male students who mistreated girls. so killing his cult follower for a woman wouldn't be far from how she characterized of him.

"not unless i'm dying then you can kill him."

it was barely a month later when the same occurrence happened; malfoy was her dueling partner once more, malfoy shot her a spell at her that had her landing on the floor, malfoy mocking her for apparently being a 'weak' dueler, riddle pushing him over and offering her a helping hand.

asking her, "can i kill him now?"

to which she replied, without fail. "no."

riddle gave her a dissatisfied look but kept his hands off of malfoy nonetheless, respecting her request.

why he listened to what she said, she couldn't answer.

not until he asked her to call him tom (or maybe something else a significant other would use), not until tom asked to be her boyfriend, not until tom reluctantly agreed to trail after her on a trip to hogsmeade with her friends.

it seems as though tom could never say no to her.

"are you ready?" she asked, peeking her head inside of his dormitory's door.

tom whipped his head around from where he stood in front of his mirror, looking less than excited to be going out today. "yes."

"great," she tried to stop herself from squealing, pushing the door open so she could approach his side. "i can't wait for you to meet them, they think i'm lying to them about you."

tom fully turned himself to face her, giving her a once over and taking in how she looked.

pretty.

as always.

he felt something flutter in his chest, pride for having her? excitement in finally going to honey dukes after hearing so much about it? the hope of being able to convince her to let him make malfoy go away? love?

no it can't be. he was conceived after a love potion, he can't love. feeling slightly frustrated with himself, tom grumbled, "stop looking at me like that."

she furrowed her brows, curious by what he meant. "like what?"

"like you have feelings for me."

"tom," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose out of irritation. "i'm literally your girlfriend, i'm supposed to have feelings for you."

tom blinked. her telling him that she was his girlfriend shouldn't have felt as good as he did. what the fuck is wrong with him. defeatedly, he muttered, "i'm breaking up with you."

"yeah sure you are."

•••

"so how long have you been going out?" rae asked, acting oblivious as if [name] hadn't told her every single detail about their relationship.

she smiled, nudging for tom to answer.

tom took a deep breath. a response that rae was silently hoping for after hearing about just how grumpy and moody tom was from her friend. trying to tease him without doing so much as saying anything provoking.

he then smiled, turning on his charms in order to converse. "five months and thirteen days."

trying to get under her boyfriend's skin, [name] frowned, feigning confusion. "five months?"

"yes." tom cleared his throat, glaring at her. "and thirteen days."

"is that right?" rae questioned, trying to irk him. "[name] told me you've only been together for three months."

the slytherin turned to her, his face showing offense. "you did?"

"i love the weather this morning," she said instead, trying to distract him.

yet tom was persistent, he knew they were having a laugh, he wasn't daft, but it certainly didn't feel good to hear rae say what she said. "did you?"

"merlin isn't it crowded today?" she ignored him, looking out the carriage's window as it pulled to halt. she opened the door, landing on solid ground before looking back to where she was sat. with a tilt of her head, she signaled for them to exit as well. "what are you waiting for?"

tom sulked as he got off the carriage, a small pout on his lips. "are you going to answer me?"

she looked down the streets, seeing it packed with people from left to right before turning to him, letting her hand find his and interlocking it. "no."

tom felt a urge to pull his hand away, not used to PDA but it felt so right, so right that he went against his better judgement and mumbled something so stupid he mentally facepalmed himself. "why are you touching me?"

she only giggled in response, noting the confuse tone he had instead of being vexed by his words. "so i wouldn't lose you. you can't expect me to keep track of you with this many people around, can you? i can't lose my boyfriend."

not when he was a dark wizard who was constantly reminded that killing people is a morally wrong thing to do. "what if you start finding people to join your little fan club?"

having to tell him to not use the basilisk for salazar slytherin's quote-unquote unfinished business was hard enough for her to handle, let alone telling forty —maybe even fifty others, that it was a wrong action to take.

maybe it was her 'i can fix him' mentality but in all honesty, tom has been behaving way better ever since they'd gotten together then aragog has all year. and yes, she knew it was wrong to compare a human to an acromantula but when the said human was conceived under a love potion and has no real concept of what love is.

if he was as good as a spider, he was good to go.

"you say that like i'm evil," tom murmured, barely audible due to the loud chatter hogsmeade provided.

"you're not?" she countered incredulously. "didn't you say you wanted horcruxes despite knowing what it takes to make one?"

"yeah but . . ." he trailed off, finding himself at a loss of a word. "i didn't end up making one, idiot."

what an endearing nickname. "that doesn't make it any better, tom. you still thought about it."

"but i didn't make it."

•••

being head boy brought tom gossip. whether he cared for it or not, it always follows him. he had heard every rumors there was, knowing them thoroughly from start to finish. tom never bothered to care about them, not until he found himself becoming friends with a group of girl who would talk their heads of about anything.

with a "come in!" from his girlfriend, tom opened the door to her dorm room. he shut it behind him, eyes roaming around to try and find her. finally his eyes landed on where she sat by her desk, head low, crouching over a long strip of parchment.

"walburga and orion are betrothed." he stated, standing by her side.

"what?" rae screamed before she could, power walking out of the bathroom with her tooth brush in hand. "the blacks?"

"who else," tom said with a roll of his eyes.

that caught her attention, she turned to him, curiosity written all over her face. "aren't they cousins?"

"they're pure-bloods, inbreeding is in their genes," came octavia, [name]'s dormmate and friend who was nicer than rae would ever be. then, with a look of distaste, she added, "how could they force an engagement on orion? he's literally a fifth year while walburga graduated last year. it's disgusting."

"well," rae snickered, "what else would we expect from the black family?"

"i also caught macmillan and weasley are snogging on my rounds today," tom said, sitting down on his girlfriend's bed. "asked me to keep it a secret but there's only so much to be kept in the chamber."

rae chortled, hand covering her mouth. "you know, in my native language they would call you ប្រុសមាត់ក្តួយ (pronounced pros-moit-kdouy)."

[name]'s brow knitted along with tom's, narrowing their eyes at rae. "what does that mean?"

rae only giggled, sitting up on her bed with octavia listening it. "it technically means 'a man who can't keep his mouth shut about drama' in khmer but the literal translation is a guy with a vagina for a mouth."

"what the fuck." tom muttered, eyes wide. the three girls in the room bursted out laughing, that must've been the first time they'd ever hear him curse. "why would you call me that?"

"because you are," rae countered.

"i'm not!" he argued, "you just called me a labia."

"she never called you a labia," came [name] from his side, "you called yourself that."

"i-" tom paused, unable to tell if he himself was angry, annoyed, amused or disgusted by their conversation. "i don't like you guys anymore."

"you're welcome to leave any time you want," rae quipped, gesturing towards the door. "or find new friends."

octavia changed the topic, done with their bantering and told them about a story with a guy she'd met. apparently they'd been going out for a total of three months, keeping it a secret, before he cheated on her.

she was mad at him but he made it seem as if it was her fault; telling her that what she heard was true but he couldn't stop about thinking them. and he knows that she's been there a few time as well, insinuating that octavia could ever do something as wrong as cheating.

there was a look tom shot his girlfriend when octavia finished recalling everything that happened between her and chris marsh.

[name] sighed, knowing why exactly he gave her the look and shook her head. "no."

"but-"

"no buts," she interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose with frustration, "you cannot kill him. we talked about this tom."

"i know but he's hurting her," he pointed out, "and she's your friend so. . ."

"tom please," she pleaded, "no killing is justifiable unless one of us in danger with actual death."

"promise me i won't wake up to find out that marsh is missing."

"i promise that you won't wake up to find out that marsh is missing," said tom defeatedly.

•••

tom looked ridiculously stupid, he knew that. he sighs, feeling rae smearing wet paint on his face. the things he did for his girlfriend.

if you were to go back in time to tell tom riddle that he would be sitting on a chair getting his face painted black and yellow for a quidditch game, he'd think you were having a laugh and cast a killing curse at you.

but now, being told repeatedly to, "stay still you pesky snake" by his girlfriend's friend as she watched the two of them interact without the smallest hint of jealousy, tom —he would never ever in a million years admit this— couldn't be happier.

there was such a soft domestically about it, him getting along with her friend without the urge to kill rae or for rae to kill him, knowing that they were friends who just liked to threatened one another was more than anything tom could ask for.

he felt good, despite the uncomfortableness that came with donning a different set of colors. he (surprisingly) didn't care that he wasn't dressed in green in silver, being more than happy to be supporting her.

after finally being let go by rae; tom stood up, facing his girlfriend. with a tilt to his head, he asked her, "i thought i could be very persuasive until i met you."

"never thought i'd be going to quidditch game, let alone support another house." his eyes then glanced to a mirror that stood besides her, taking in his own appearance. salazar, rae must be taking the piss, he looked like a clown. eyes shifting back to her, he asked tiredly, "are you happy now?"

"i am if you are," she responded, taking a step towards him."i'm not," tom grumbled truthfully, not hiding a single ounce of annoyance. she shrugged, smiling. "that's too bad, i take back what i said. i'm happy now."

the three made their way out of her dorm and into the hufflepuff's common room to meet up with octavia. tom eyes quickly roamed the room, surprised by how many of the students who were spending their time there was from another house.

from his quick scan, tom had managed to count a total of five slytherins. three of which who were visibly miserable, face painted yellow with their friend or significant other beaming besides them. and the other two, being the ones who were forcing face paint onto their ravenclaw and gryffindor friends.

no matter how much time he'd spent welcomed in the hufflepuff common room. tom would never understand how they could be so comfortable with letting anyone enter whenever they pleased. that would not flow well with the slytherins.

up the great hall they went, passing the grand entrance before leaving the castle entirely and making their way to the quidditch pitch.

with a kiss on tom's cheek, an action that had his eyes widening and face flushed red, she bid him, rae, and octavia a goodbye before making her way into the changing room.

rae led the way towards the stands, fighting with tom about where the appropriate seat for him would be.

"no not in the slytherin section," rae argued, trying to find the best place for their group of three. "how could you be the head boy and be so stupid?"

"you're sitting in the hufflepuff row where your girlfriend would be looking for support from," she said with a tone of obviousness, finally settling down at a place she found best suited for the three of them. "honestly."

the match ended quickly, she'd had spotted the snitch within the first thirty minutes of the game before she started her pursuit and caught it in the next four minutes.

gryffindor lost by a hundred and ten points and without consciously knowing it, tom found himself cheering loudly for her, his voice was overpowered by rae but it was the thoughts that count.

there was a flash from his side, he turned, finding octavia giggling with a polaroid in hand. she wordlessly offered it to him. tom took it, curious as what he would find on it.

the picture developed bit by bit, revealing tom in frozen cheerful state, eyes bright as he watched the scene before him, his forehead was yellow, his mouth gaping with its corner tipping upwards. behind him was rae, on her feet with her hands pressed against the railing, frantically screaming at something the picture couldn't fully depict.

"you're not keeping it." octavia told him. "it's for [name]."

octavia then slipped a hand into her pocket, picking out a new picture and handed it to him. "you can have this though."

inspecting it, tom found a picture of himself frowning on his girlfriend's bed. she sat besides him, laughing as if her life depended on it, her head was thrown back, a hand clutching onto her stomach.

tom pocketed the picture, smiling to himself. "when did you take this?"

"when she told you to not make marsh 'go away'."

•••

graduation came and tom was quick to ask her to move in with him. she was skeptical at first, reasoning with him that neither of them had jobs that provided enough for them to have a financially stable home, but that idea was shot down when tom told her that the ministry had already reached out to him.

offering him a job that would let them live a comfortable life. they moved in together shortly after, finding a small cottage that looked perfect for the two.

she was able to turn her hobbies into a job, making her more than just happy. by 1950, tom —with all his slytherin ambitions— found his way to the top, earning the position of minister of magic.

it was late when tom came home, having to run over a last-minute case that malfoy presented him. he shrugged his coat off, trying to be quiet as to not wake his (still) girlfriend up. tom found his way into their bedroom where he found the en-suite door wide opened, he walked forward trying to take peek.

inside was her stood in front of the mirror, taking off her make up with a cotton pad when she spotted him, her eyes shifted to him for a second before turning back to herself. "how was work?"

"it was good," he answered, tugging at his tie. and then he furrowed his brows, lip tugged underneath his teeth. quietly, he muttered, "let's get married."

she blinked rapidly, not believing her own ears, she whipped around with a small noise of confusion, facing him. "what did you say?"

"let's get married," he repeated casually, finally getting his tie off. "are you proposing to me?" she asked him."yes." he nodded. "i thought that was clear."

"so yes or no?"

the wedding took place two years later, with it being repeatedly postponed due to tom's work but it was perfect nonetheless. they had friends and coworkers (that they actually liked) at the ceremony. rae teased tom endlessly, not once giving him a break for taking so long to propose.

in 1959, octavia invited them to dinner at her house, her and husband having an announcement for them all to hear. but before she got to the good part, octavia told her about some of the not-so-good news.

her husband, dawn, was recently bitten by a werewolf. he was having a hard time experiencing the transitions during the full moon so they had a request for them.

now here comes the good news along with her favor: octavia was pregnant, she was four weeks long and since it was only her and dawn.

she will be needing help.

"that's all?" rae asked, frowning. isn't it already implied that rae, her, and tom would all help her when she'd gotten herself knocked up? "you know you needn't ask right? i will be spoiling that child rotten."

octavia smiled, feeling relief. why did she even feel nervous in the first place? these were her friends, the same ones who collectively bullied every man she's ever broken up with. they will always have her back. "that's all."

and then she added, "i just thought it might be a burden to you guys. it's just- it will be hard since dawn would have to recover from the full moon and i'd have to work, so i need people who i can trust to babysit the kid sometimes."

"you could never be a burden," [name] said, "not when i can be the cool aunt."

"oh please," rae let out a loud cackle, "you would never be the cool aunt. that's me."

octavia gave birth on november, 3rd, 1959 to a lovely girl named clementine calla azure. the same day that the blacks welcomed their first son, sirius orion black. rae (would lie if you ever pointed this out to her) was ecstatic when clementine turned out cuter than the black's son did.

she, liked she had stated months prior, spoiled the child to death. buying it everything it could possibly want, babysitting it every time octavia even looked like she needed help.

octavia —instead of using the time to relax, spent her time creating a wolfsbane potion. making the potion was a tedious process but she had more than enough time from tom changing clementine's diaper because he, despite being forced, had promised that he would also help with her baby.

rae was an author who made enough for herself to live lavishly. apparently, muggles really love the story about a dark wizard trying to kill a little kid for his chance to be immortal.

"so," rae clapped with clementine prompted on her hip. tom, dawn, octavia and [name] were all scattered around the living room, sitting down and listening to rae as she stood. "you're probably wondering why i called you all over."

there were noises of confirmation before rae started up again. "i've been doing some research lately and there's more people who has been involuntary bitten than you would think. basically what i'm saying is that tom —since you're the god of magic or whatever— needs to draw up a new bill where werewolves would be known by the ministry and themselves only so the ministry can provide help."

"werewolves tend to have a hard time finding work and keeping the job since they would have to recover every full moon and miss work days. the potion octavia created is going to be recorded in the history book, we know that, but something else that should be recorded in history is how the lovely tom riddle —who i definitely like and doesn't want to have a one v one with— made a law or whatever, where if a werewolf is legally signed in with the ministry, they get a wolfsbane potion provided by the ministry by owl every month."

"they're extremely costly rae, and they take a ridiculous amount of time to make." dawn was quick to point out the flaw, understanding this topic more than anyone else in the room. "not to mention how there's millions of people like me out there, we won't be able to get them to everybody."

"tom is like the zeus of magic," rae said, slightly irritated that they didn't just agree right of the bat. "if he just created a lab and put twenty of the best witches and wizards in there with large pots and get it brewing, they can make it work. and as for the products needed, there's always herbologists that needs work —not trying to stereotype but most of them are hufflepuffs, they would take the chance to help without even thinking twice."

"it will work, trust me," rae said, almost pleading, "what do you say, riddle?"

the law, or bill, or whatever it was, was put into place shortly after. werewolves were scared and skeptical at first, always having been labeled as monsters until eventually people started piling in for help and they were given what they needed. octavia loved her new job at the ministry for it meant she could be helping out her husband and everyone like him whilst also having the freedom to invent whatever else she wanted.

"tavia brought clementine to work today," tom stated, making his way into their library. "so i've been thinking."

"oh no," she muttered, dropping her book onto her lap, "you never have good thoughts after seeing clementine."

tom tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes. "what do you mean?"

"last time you saw her, you decided that it was a good idea to have your basilisk follow after her when she grows up so she'd never get hurt," she answered, looking up at him as he stood before her.

tom shrugged. "i don't see any flaws in that plan, if anything i think it's the best thing for clementine."

"how can you be the minister of magic and be an absolute dumbass?" she laughed, feeling his hand reach down to rest on her cheek.

"because, i'm not," he said easily, eyes focused on hers, "and believe it or not i actually have a brilliant idea that you might actually like for once."

"alright," she muttered, amusing him, "what is it?"

"i think clementine should have a cousin."

"clementine already has a cousin—"

"that's not what i meant, idiot," tom cut her off, a small smile etching on his lips, "you know exactly what i'm trying to say. don't play dumb, pet."

"i actually don't know what you meant," she said matter-of-factly, feigning innocent, "please explain."

tom sighed. "i want us to try for a baby."

"i thought you hated kids."

"i do," he agreed, "but i also know that i wouldn't hate them if they were ours."

— from bee: this was very OOC but idc,,, fluffy tom or no tom ever (i have the i can fix him mentality)

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Vet Appointment: Librela #3

Today is a bad health day. I had to skip this weeks Methotrexate injection for various reasons and I’m really feeling it. I’m in pain and so exhausted I went to the vet appointment in pajamas and Mandana did a medical alert as soon as I walked in. Shortly after that a reactive yellow lab slipped his collar in the lobby and accosted Mandana. We’ve been through this many times before and nearly 100% of the time I’m able to manage the situation so that I’m dealing with the dog and not Mandana but that wasn’t in the cards today.

I was so exhausted and already shaking before I even went inside. I had been hanging out in the parking lot for a bit so I saw the lab had excitement/reactivity. As soon as I walked in I put Mandana up on a bench for her safety until we could check in and the tech was literally coming to take us to a private room when the dog slipped it’s collar and charged us.

It happened in a split second. I knew the vet tech was right next to me and the owner was immediately aware of the dog getting loose so I focused on controlling Mandana’s head and pivoting myself between them. It wasn’t enough to keep them physically apart in the initial moment and for a few seconds before we pivoted Mandana had her head and paw on the dogs shoulder. I feel bad for making Mandana feel like she had no control/safety over her own body as I physically controlled her head in that moment and turned us away. It’s not usually how I would handle that kind of situation but I had very little energy to utilize and no idea if that lab would escalate things especially if I tried to intervene directly.

In Mandana’s defense she handled it really well. She didn’t growl, have her hackles up or anything like that. The only way it could have been better is if her body language was looser and she didn’t try to assert herself over the other dog but considering he charged her she had every right to create space & safety for herself. She literally recovered in 2 seconds and was immediately responsive to cues with a happy loose wag while the dog was still pulling and barking towards her. As soon as the lab was back on leash we walked to our exam room and I took this video bc I was impressed with her recovery from such an intense situation. (It’s a tight pant but the interaction JUST happened. She’s got a nice tail wag & body movement off camera and this is her expression for “excited but focused and ready to train/work”)

She immediately started to use her chin rest to volunteer for injections even with a new vet tech and in a room she’s never been in before. The vet tech was great and besides following Fear Free protocols it was clear she was also fluent in positive reinforcement training. We used the rest of the appointment to work on Mandana’s leash pulling from separation anxiety and despite the rough start to the visit we made a lot of progress. I stopped by Taco Bell on the way home and got her a cheese roll as a special reward for her awesome behavior. She’s a lot of dog but her personality makes it work 🫶

[libraryofgage]

I know it's not the WIP Wednesday yet, but it is my birthday, so I'm gonna share the complete first chapter of Modern Steve in 80s Hawkins for your reading pleasure lmao:

"Now, Steve, you know we support you. Your father and I didn't bat an eye when you came out, and we look forward to meeting whichever nice young boy or girl you bring home. But, dear, violence is never the answer."

The words go in one ear and right out the other as Steve watches buildings rush by outside the window. He’d slip on the headphones around his neck, but Steve knows he at least owes his parents the courtesy of naked ears after they bailed him out. Really, he just wants to take a shower and change into clean clothes after spending a night in jail surrounded by equally sweaty and beat up parade-goers. Don’t get him wrong; the people were great, but the smell was atrocious. He lets his head fall against the window, eyes shutting as he breathes through a bruised rib, split lip, and swollen eye. 

"Steve, are you listening to your mother?"

"Yeah, violence bad," he mumbles, just loud enough to be heard in the otherwise silent car. At this point, he’d even prefer the stadium country that usually plays when his dad drives. 

He wishes he were back in the jail cell, swapping stories with the others who got arrested for fighting homophobic protestors, who started it, by the way. He knows his parents are disappointed in him for fighting (and, even worse, getting caught and potentially causing An Incident for them), but he felt genuinely happy sitting on the concerningly sticky floor in that cell. Even if he could go back to yesterday, he wouldn't change a damn thing after seeing three poor kids surrounded by people shouting the most vile things. 

They had looked terrified, tears crowding in their eyes as they clutched at each other, and Steve had seen red. It was a fucking pride parade, a place where kids should feel comfortable being themselves and seeing themselves in the smiling, laughing faces of strangers whose mere existence proves they’re not alone and they’ll survive. But they were being harassed by people with nothing better to do than let hate shrivel their hearts.

Steve, thankfully, hadn’t been the only one who’d seen red. He’d locked eyes with someone who had top surgery scars and a sash across their chest that read “Queer” in sparkling, rainbow letters. Next to them was a shorter woman with close-cropped hair and a flannel shirt (how she wasn’t dying in the heat, Steve will never know) with a white t-shirt underneath that had “Resting Butch Face" emblazoned across the front. The three of them had shared a nod and marched over to the kids.

He later learned that the person wearing the sash was named Daze (“They/them pronouns, unless it’s comedically appropriate to use something else,” they’d said in the jail cell, winking playfully at Steve). The butch went by Mar; she’d excitedly told Steve in the jail cell how her girlfriend would bust her out only to laugh her ass off when said girlfriend was shoved in by two cops not a second later.

What had followed the nod was Mar and Steve standing in front of the kids, creating an unmoving shield while Daze quickly gathered them close. They smiled at the three, quietly complimenting one’s rainbow hair ribbon while Steve tried to be the voice of reason (he shouldn’t have bothered, but he’s still got a little optimism inside).

The first punch was thrown by the ringleader of the protestors after Mar not-so-subtly implied that maybe he’d rather be partying with them and getting his tongue down some cute twink’s throat instead of holding signs and shouting. She’d taken the punch like a champ, and Steve’s grin mirrored hers when the wonderful, incredible term “self-defense” suddenly became applicable. 

Daze had gotten the kids out of there, keeping them calm even as more people joined in the fight, turning the little skirmish into an all out brawl. It had lasted five glorious minutes before cops finally broke it up, forcing protestors and pride-goers into cars together in zip ties. They had realized that was a bad idea when a drag queen headbutted a protestor for what he called her.

After a night in jail, bonding with his cellmates and writing down numbers with some femme’s spare lipstick on the back of a flier from an AT&T booth, his parents had arrived to bail him out. Steve had taken one look at them, at their business clothes and designer watches and worried, beyond confused expressions, and almost said he’d rather just stay behind bars for now. 

Instead, he convinced his parents to post bail for a few of his new friends, waved off their gratitude (they’d been through battle together, after all), and followed his parents out to the car after a few hugs and promises to make a group chat so they could hang out later. 

“You’re just lucky no charges were filed,” his father says, pulling Steve from his thoughts. 

He sighs, slumping down in his seat. A few seconds pass before Steve admits, “I’d do it again.” It’s the truth; he wouldn’t fucking hesitate to throw himself into the fray again. He doesn’t even know those kids’ names, but he knows they deserve more than being afraid of who they are and the monsters that masquerade in human skin around them. 

His parents glance at each other, a thousand words spoken in the brief moment of eye contact. “Steve, are you…okay?” his mother asks, her words hesitant. “I mean, you can tell us anything, dear, and we’ll do anything to make you feel better.”

Steve bites his tongue, refusing to ask how they’d manage that when they’re barely fucking home in the first place. They have a whole multi-million dollar company to run, so he gets it. They have to travel a lot, and they used to bring him along until just dropping him in Indianapolis sophomore year of high school (right after coming out to them, which he understood but was still hurt by) to have a “more grounded high school experience." Somehow worst of all, they try to make up for it with extravagant gifts and awkward conversations about whether he’s still gay or if he’s decided to be straight for the day.

They’ve yet to fully understand the concept of bisexuality, but this is far better than being kicked out of his home.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Steve says. Because he is. He’s just…tired. 

He’s tired of feeling alone in Indianapolis despite being surrounded by people. He had tried making friends, but everyone is so fucking awkward in 10th grade anyway, and the best Steve could do was embrace the “new rich kid” persona people created for him. He’d soon gained the nickname King Steve, which had only worked to make him feel like he’d somehow done something wrong in living up to their expectations. The closest he’s gotten to feeling like himself, to feeling accepted and embraced, was in that fucking jail cell.

Even worse, Steve is tired of this ache that tugs at the base of his spine and the pit of his heart like he’d find something that’s missing if only he’d just follow the pull. 

He doesn’t know how to explain any of that, though, so Steve just sighs again and says, “Maybe…maybe I could do with some down time. Like, a gap year before college or something. I think I just need some time to figure myself out a little more and decide what I want to do with my life before jumping right back into school. Does…does that make sense?”

“Yeah, Steve, it makes a lot of sense,” his father says, flashing him a tiny smile through the rearview mirror. “So, where do you want to go? Hawaii? Miami? Venice is nice this time of year.”

Steve can’t help a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “Nah, nothing like that. I think small town vibes are more what I’m going for here.”

His father just hums quietly, sharing another one of those looks with Steve’s mom. He misses this one, but he’d probably be suspicious of them if he hadn’t. He would have known immediately that they were about to do something absolutely ridiculous but well-meaning but so clearly telling of their ignorance when it comes to how people who aren’t wealthy approach problems.

But he doesn’t see, so he doesn’t know.

And when he looks back on this moment a few months later, after the absolute ride of his fucking life, Steve will think it’s a good thing he didn’t notice. If he had, he’d have said something, and then he’d have missed out on all the fun.

[born-to-lose]

Family Dinner

Pairing: Taz Fagerström x reader

Requested by @fedorable-killjoys

Summary: Never bring your best friend to family dinner - unless you want to spend the holidays being asked if you're dating.

Tags: fluff, Christmas

Words: 546

A/N: I love projecting onto fics to distract myself from that fact that I can't be with my boyfriend over the holidays

Tag list: @warriorteam1924 @slashscowboyboots @losers-yurio @lost-in-the-80s @jennyggggrrr @tuffduff @jonesyownsmyheart @rhyetaylor62 @smells-like-perfect-senses

Tip me if you want!

You and Taz had been best friends for years and naturally, your parents had met him on multiple occasions. This meant that it shouldn't be a problem to bring him with you to your family dinner on Christmas.

Of course you had the keys to your own parents' house, so you just unlocked the door with Taz following closely behind you.

Your sister was rearranging the decorations in the hallway and immediately welcomed you with a hug as she hadn't seen you in an even longer time than your parents due to her being busy with work lately.

"(Y/n) brought their boyfriend!" she called.

"It's just Taz, my friend," you quickly corrected her, but then your mother already came down the stairs with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh Taz, I didn't know you were dating!" she said, hugging you first and then him.

"Um… that's because we're not," you explained.

"Aw the denial phase!" she grinned teasingly before beckoning the two of you over into the kitchen. "You can take a few cookies until the others arrive and then we'll have dinner."

After she disappeared into the living room, you looked at Taz with raised eyebrows and he just shrugged with a small smile.

When it was dinner time, the relationship questions didn't stop. "I heard you finally got a boyfriend?" your uncle asked at some point and for a moment, there was silence at the table.

Taz never replied to these questions, most likely because he didn't know what to say and he didn't want to seem rude towards your family, so you always took over.

You closed your eyes for a second when you secretly wanted to roll them. "I didn't. We're just friends, best friends, nothing more," you insisted, perhaps in a too snappish voice.

Your slightly irritated tone every time you were asked about your nonexistent relationship with Taz was probably a dead giveaway that you, in fact, had a crush on him. That's also why you invited him, because there was no other good reason to do so. His family wasn't on vacation or anything, he could have gone home for the holidays, but you wanted to microdose on spending Christmas with him this year - and for some reason he agreed.

When the two of you finally had a moment alone while getting wood for the fireplace, Taz asked, "Do you like me?"

You were caught off guard by this question and blinked before answering, "Of course I do."

"I mean romantically," he clarified.

"Oh… Why do you think that?"

He picked up a few logs, explaining, "Well, you do sound a bit too defensive whenever someone asks if we're together."

You bit your lip, debating with yourself if you should tell him the truth or not. If he had been indifferent and absolutely considered you just friends, he wouldn't have started this conversation, right?

"Maybe… maybe I do, yeah," you murmured, looking into his eyes for a split second before looking away again. Then you cleared your throat and took some logs off his hands. "But let's talk about this later before it gets suspicious how long we've been outside."

He nodded and on your way back inside, he said softly, "I can only say the same."

[bonesandthebees]

Next I’d like to look at these lines [“It wasn’t your fault though. It never was.”] - Niki

[It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t-]

[It just looks like… you’re breathing easier now, I suppose.”] -Phil

The guilt is gone. Wilbur spent three years feeling guilty about leaving her. Even when he knows that there was nothing they could have done. That they would have died if they stayed any longer. But now Niki tells him that it’s okay. And she’s okay too. And he can take her with him. Take her home. So the guilt is gone. Or at least significantly lessened.

Another thing that explains why Niki never left on her own is because she thinks Themis and Essempi are still a threat to her. They might be without Wilbur there, but I feel like after three years both of them would have stopped caring. Both of them are still around, but I feel like Essmepi has fallen from grace a bit (though someone else probably took over). While Themis seems to be at least allied with the Empire and otherwise smart enough not to start shit with the people who control the Blaziphane.

I love the split second of dread Wilbur feels when Niki says she can’t come with him only for it to immediately disappear when he hears why. Niki has no way to know how much power Wilbur holds now and the realisation that he’s Phil’s protege has long since been forgotten by the realisation that he found her.

Wilbur beating around the bush as to why exactly Niki is under Antartic protection now is so funny. Part of it is probably because he hasn’t officially asked even if he knows Phil will give it to her. And part of it is because it’s indeed a long story and going [“Emperor Philza is… my dad.”] gets him this reaction [“Excuse me, what?!”] in Niki’s defense that is a bomb shell. Also Wilbur doesn’t specify adoptive father so there’s a possibility Niki thinks that he means biological father since Wilbur never knew his.

(9/10)

-🌲

the guilt is finally gone!! that guilt has been weighing on wilbur for so long, so hearing niki tell him it wasn't his fault and there was nothing he could do is so unbelievably freeing.

yup i wanted to make it clear why niki never left and more than anything that was related to themis and essempi. again, she only gets sparse rumors that far out on the edge of the galaxy. as time goes on she suspects that essempi probably stopped caring, but she knows how protective themis is of female sirens. she's not sure if they're still hunting her, but she assumes they are and doesn't want to risk being dragged back to them. (also, yes, essempi has fallen from grace quite a bit. it's still around, but the loss of dream really destabilized things). themis meanwhile just wants blaziphane, so yeah, they're not exactly allied with the antarctic empire but they're not gonna start shit

lol yeah niki has no idea the power wilbur has now. he never even really confirmed he was the protege, she just thought he might've been until she realized who he was.

yeah uhhhh how do you explain to your childhood best friend that you got adopted by the most powerful man in the galaxy? it's a very long and complicated story to try and explain. also correction, wilbur does specify phil is his adoptive father after niki's initial reaction but he doesn't get a chance to elaborate because they get interrupted

["Excuse me, what?!"

"It's a lot to explain but he's kind of my adoptive father and-"]

so yeah he does clarify phil isn't his biological dad lol

[ikiprian]

“Ew,” the guy next to Tim cringes. He takes a whole step back from the street, even. “Oh, bad vibes. Don’t like.”

Even though the crossing indicator changes from “WAIT” to “WALK,” everyone nods, or groans, but seems to agree. As one they turn, heading back the way they came.

Those across the street see them, then look at the guy. They must see something Tim doesn’t, because they turn right around, too.

The indicator switches from “WALK” to a countdown, and the crossing stays clear.

“Um?” Tim starts.

Tam’s too busy going along with it, grabbing Tim’s arm and pulling him away. “Let’s go, this way.”

“What? Tam, why’re we going? The building’s, like, right there.” He gestures across the street, to emphasize the right there-ness of it. The Gotham in him says, “Don’t ask, just go,” but the detective in him insists he find out why. He needs an explanation.

“Can’t cross that,” she says, which is not an explanation. “We’ll have to go around the block instead. Walk fast, the meeting’s still in five.”

The man, who’s arbitrarily decided for an entire crowd of late Gothamites that foot traffic needed redirection, doesn’t seem to be getting himself outta the way of whatever he called. He stands there, lingering on the curb. His light eyes dart around the air like he’s looking for something. Or maybe like he’s seeing something.

Out of his mouth bleeds a trail of mist.

Tim’s own eyes narrow. “Tam?” he urges, feet planted.

Tam hesitates, then sighs.

“Right. You were out in San Fran the last two weeks. Listen, this dude,” she jerks her head in the direction of Volunteer Traffic Officer, “has been around a while. Maybe a few months, mostly sticks to the Narrows. His rep only started picking up a little ago, though. He’s got some crazy instincts. When he nopes out of a public space, it does everyone well to follow, now will you come on?”

Tim glances back. The guy doesn’t look like much, but Tim knows how looks can be deceiving. How does his power work? What kinds of threats does he pick up? What threat is he picking up now, at a random intersection, at one in the afternoon?

Tam’s voice drops to a pointed hiss. “If you wanna stick around and find out, that’s fine by me. But you should at least change suits first.”

Right. Right, okay. He’ll address the fact that there’s an open secret of a precognitive meta just wandering downtown Gotham later, he’ll address the fact that it’s already so normalized that nobody bothered to tell him when it’s safe. For now, he had to get Tam Fox, civilian, and Tim Drake, Wayne Foundation employee, out of the way.

And Traffic Officer, while he’s at it.

“Hey! You coming?” Tim offers. “You should split, too.”

“Uh,” says the guy. He looks less and less sure of his call every second, a hand coming up to tug at overgrown, black locks. “Yeah, maybe. It’s just… weird. I’ve never seen so many—”

Before he can explain what many he’s seeing, the manhole in the intersection explodes.

Tam shrieks, noise and force and light. Tim culs over her to shield her best he can with his (upsettingly minimal) bulk, shattered bits of asphalt and debris spraying against his back.

When Tim snaps his eyes back open, falling into a defensive stance, Traffic Officer is still there. He stands straight, looking oddly untouched for someone who was decidedly closer to the blast. There’s no dirt on his white shirt. He doesn’t even seem to have flinched.

A familiar, gravelly chuckle echoes through the dust.

“Hello, boy,” says the voice.

“Killer Croc,” says Tim.

“Oh, Jeez, what the hell,” says the guy.

Killer Croc’s hulking form ripples and looms. Fresh sewer water shines his scales. Behind three hundred pounds of lizard skin, from the sewer he’d just crawled out of, emerge the usual cast of goons.

Croc grins. “Ain’tcha know? You’ve got a price on your head. Don’t worry—” odd thing to say, after the literal most worrying sentence ever— “I’ll be eating the competition. All you have to do… is get me everything I want.”

Then Croc lunges, and things start to move very, very fast.

Ghosts Tell Me

~

Ghosts gather near the place where something bad is going to happen,

Danny with his ghost sense tends to notice before anyone else and tends to react outwardly before the danger even happens, gaining a reputation of seeing the future,

Ghosts also tell Danny things, causing Danny to know more about situations and the people around him, it comes of as suspicious.

~

Danny pulling away a snack from his coworker: "Careful your allergic to these ingredients!"

Coworker: "How the hell...I've never mentioned that to anyone."

~

Danny on a phone call with his friends while doing his nightly walks in Gotham: "Yeah so apparently the second Robin who is now Red Hood has very personal beef with the clown here cuz he got killed by him after being sold out by his bio mom, which really sucks for the poor guy."

Oracle who has been keeping an Eye on Danny cuz he's very suspicious from an outsiders pov: "Hey B, I think we have a problem."

~

Danny notices that the ghost in Gotham tends to gather where something bad is going to happen, the more they are the worse the situation will be: *glowing smoke leaves from his mouth* "Yikes! Very bad vibes here, nope!"

Gothamites who at this point recognize him and know the drill and quickly pack up their things to leave:

~

Just an Idea

[moseslikellamas]

Ginny Weasley and the Year of healing

Pairing is a mystery! Its also a mess so.

Summary - following the end of the Second Wizarding War, Ginny Weasley isn't doing well. In fact, she actively losing her mind. Constantly plagued by memories of the war, Ginny is struggling to hold herself together. Adding to her stress is another year at Hogwarts. Unsure of how to continue her life with the devastating effects of the war looming over her, Ginny embarks on the hardest year of her life. Follow along as Ginny remembers what it feels like to feel safe and alive again. -LONG so very long. -love triangle -SLOWEST BURN TO EVER EXIST.

Warnings(general) - depictions of ptsd, trauma, mentions of violence and death, character death, angst, mentions of grief, anxious thoughts, mental health issues.

Word count - 2.9k

The next two weeks passed in a blur much as the previous two weeks had. Harry and Ginny got incredibly good at defensive spells by pestering the aurors. Ginny became so good at casting Protego Totalum that she could cover a group of six for several minutes. For a while she could only hold it if someone was covering her. It took all of her mental strength to focus on holding the shield. But Ginny was dissatisfied with the result, in a battle she might not have anyone available to cover her. So she made them run drills until she could hold the shield up while running. She was always drenched in sweat afterwards but it felt good to stretch her magic. See how far she could push herself.

“On your left!” Harry yelled.

Ginny rolled to the side, jumping up on her feet when the spell missed her. Harry was a fantastic dueling partner. He never lost sight of their surroundings, his focus was iron. They danced through the yard of the burrow, only defending against the bombardment the aurors sent them. Ginny felt the explosive blast of a bombarda reflecting against the shield, right where Harry was. The shield held, only wavering for a second. Ginny cast Depulso, focusing on sending the auror just a few feet away from them. Lopez materialized fifteen feet away, facing backwards and Ginny stifled a laugh watching him confusedly turn back towards the fight.

The second auror, Johnson, sent a flurry of spells each slamming against Ginny’s shield. She’d already been holding it steady for twenty minutes, the longest she ever had. Lopez joined Johnson in sending as many offensive spells as they could, each felt like a pinprick against Ginny’s skin. Since they were focusing only on defense, they had to find creative ways to force the aurors to attack each other.

Ginny cast muffliato and turned to Harry, still running and dodging.

“Harry, I want to try splitting the shield. I think I can do it this time.”

They narrowly evaded a wall of fire Johnson had cast to cut them off.

“What’s your plan then?”

Vaulting over a fallen tree, she explained.

“As we round the Oak tree, split up. We’ll have the advantage due to surprise but it won’t last long. You focus on Johnson, she’s more experienced so I don’t think we can trick her into jinxing Lopez. I’ll run parallel behind you, focusing on distracting Lopez.”

Harry was panting but he caught onto her idea.

“I’m going to drop your portion when there’s an opening, you’ll have to be quick to duck Harry but I’ll get the shield back up immediately.”

They were gaining on the Oak tree and Ginny mentally prepared herself to complete what she hadn’t been able to do in four weeks. It was now or never, if the shield didn’t split after they rounded the tree, then they would lose instantly.

“Prepare for offensive spells if this doesn’t work.” Ginny warned Harry.

She took a deep breath in, steeling herself and then they split the tree. Using all of her mental focus she communicated with her magic. She envisioned the tree slicing through the middle of the shield and splitting it into two bubbles. One for her and one for Harry. She didn’t have time to contemplate if it had worked before they were sprinting towards the aurors.

Harry was in front of her and she felt the first spell reflect back off of him, confirming it had worked. Wasting no time she doubled her pace, passing Harry who had effectively blocked Johnson. She had to goad Lopez into the right position, so she dropped the muffling spell and started taunting him as she ran.

“Lopez, you know where you’re at this time? You seemed a bit confused earlier.”

She laughed as his face morphed into anger. Lopez was new to the force and didn’t appreciate it when they got one over on him. Ginny glanced towards Harry who was dancing around Johnson, she maneuvered herself directly in front of Harry, blocking him from Lopez’s view. Then she goaded Lopez further.

“Sad that a few Hogwarts dropouts can best you Lopez, don’t you think?”

Ginny had a split second to duck and drop the shield, she only hoped Harry’s awareness wouldn’t fail them now. Lopez sent another slurry of spells towards her and she knew it was now or never. She waited one second, two, and on the third she threw the shield back up with all of the force she could muster. For a few more agonizing moments she waited, and then Johnson began to curse loudly.

Spinning back around to dodge Lopez, Ginny ran towards Harry again. The second they were three feet away from each other, the shield reconnected. Harry didn’t slow as he approached Ginny. Knocking into her full force, she was swept off her feet. The world spun wildly around her and it took her a moment to realize Harry was laughing. The two of them hit the ground in a pile.

Ginny’s shield broke apart and she disentangled herself from Harry. Holding a hand out to him, she helped him up.

“Ginny, that was brilliant! You should have seen the look on Johnson’s face when she felt Lopez’s spells!”

Both still laughing, they went to join the aurors. Johnson was still on the ground, her legs locked together and several boils on her skin. Lopez leaned over her, trying to remember the counter spells. As they approached they could hear Johnson cursing Lopez out.

“… that temper of yours is going to get us killed! You think a young girl has infuriating insults, wait til they actually want you dead! You never…”

Ginny turned to Harry to inquire about their success.

“How did you know when to duck? I only had a second to decide.”

Harry grinned, his hair sticking up in every direction.

“I heard what you said to Lopez.”

After Johnson had been effectively fixed, Harry and Ginny brought out some pastries to lessen their loss. As they sat around eating, Johnson spoke up.

“Ginny, how’d you finally manage to split the shield? At this rate you’ll be better than half the auror department.”

Ginny explained the way she had imagined the shield stretching around the tree and snapping into two seperate bubbles. Johnson looked thoughtful.

“That’s an interesting method. If you can, test it with a bigger group. See if that affects the split. If you can work to envision something cutting the shield like that, you might not need a physical barrier to split it.”

Ginny nodded, seeing her logic. Before, Ginny had been trying to mentally force the shield apart. Pulling from both sides to try to split the middle. It was taxing work to split it that way. The field fought her, stretching to stay connected. But when she’d imagined it caught on the tree, it had stretched around it. She didn’t know when the bond in the middle had snapped, only that it had once it reached its limit. She needed to find a way to imagine something slicing through the forcefield. A physical barrier would work but what were the odds she’d find a perfect barrier that could split the shield six different ways? Slim to none, she knew.

The aurors went back to their posts, Ginny and Harry left to find Ron and Hermione. It didn’t take them long to find them in Ron’s room. They were pouring over memory charms. Hermione had spent the entire summer looking into ways to bring her parents' memories back. It was slow going as the wizarding community had never intended obliviate to be reverse engineered. But Ginny was sure if anyone could figure it out, it was Hermione.

“Any luck?”Ginny asked, throwing herself down on Ron’s bed.

Neither of them acknowledged her question or even her and Harry’s sudden appearance. Still engrossed in whatever passage they were reading. Ginny closed her eyes, feeling bone tired. Over the past two weeks she had been pushing herself to stop moping around. It felt good to be active even if she was still drowning inside. Keeping busy kept her distracted.

“How did auror training go?”

Ginny sat up at Ron’s question.

“You guys first. You seemed pretty lost in that book.”

Ron flicked a strand of Hermione’s hair, grabbing her attention. She looked up from the book and turned to face them.

“It’s nothing concrete, of course. Nothing wizards do ever is but there is a passage on rewiring neural pathways. It's ancient magic, one we don’t really focus on anymore. It was used originally to help with genetic diseases passed down but I think if we tweaked it enough, it might work.”

“That’s fantastic ‘Mione.”Harry replied and Hermione blushed before grumbling that it wasn’t foolproof.

Then Ginny told them of their victory over the aurors.

“So you finally mastered it. Wow, Ginny, that's really impressive magic.”

Ginny shrugged her off. It would be impressive when she ensured none of her friends ever died again. When she could use the shield as effortlessly as breathing, then she would celebrate.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it but its progress. Anyway, you should’ve seen Harry’s spacial awareness. I swear he’s got an iron focus.”

Harry glared daggers at her for shifting the focus onto him and she stuck her tongue out at him. Better him than her. He was at least used to it. After updating each other on their own respective progress, they played a couple rounds of exploding snaps before dinner.

“Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione!! Dinners ready!”

Molly’s voice floated up the stairs shrill as ever and they made their way down to the kitchen. As they sat around the table, conversations overlapped each other. Bill was complaining about the way the goblins looked at him now.

“It’s not like they ever welcomed me before but you’d think I was the one who broke the dragon out!”

Ron was laughing hysterically and Fleur spoke up over him.

“‘Zey are just jealous ‘zat you are smarter than they are. My ‘andsome huzband.”

Harry mimed gagging behind her back and Ginny nearly choked on her drink. Victoire began to cry and Ginny left the table to attend to her, assuring Fleur it was fine. Victoire was a year old, having been born on the day the battle at Hogwarts began. Ginny loved her niece with her beautiful blonde hair and big blue eyes, she was a clone of Fleur.

“Hello little beauty. Are you upset that everyone left you alone in here?”

Victoire rubbed her sleepy eyes and stared up at her aunt, reaching her arms up to her. Ginny picked her up and set her on her hip.

“No need to fret. I snuck you a treat.”

Ginny pulled a small piece of chocolate out of her pocket and Victoire’s eyes lit up.

“Don’t tell your mum, she’ll have my eyes out.”

Her niece giggled and shoved the whole thing in her mouth. Ginny cleaned her face with a wave of her wand and brought them both back into the kitchen.

“Look who's awake.”

The entire Weasley clan cooed at Victoire who smiled showing off her teeth, which were very much covered in chocolate. The look on Fleur’s face made it worth the berating she received after.

“Oh come on. Aunt’s are supposed to spoil their neices. Harry you get it, I see you sneaking Teddy snacks.”

Harry’s face went bright red and Ginny laughed.

“Zat is not ze point!”

In a huff Fleur swept from the table taking Victoire with her. Bill apologized.

“This wasn’t how we meant to tell you, but Fleur’s pregnant again.”

The room exploded.

“Congratulations!”

“Ooh I hope it’s another girl!”

“Oh my precious son! Another beautiful grandbaby!”

Ginny used the announcement as a chance to escape. When she made her way onto the roof, she found George was already there. She sat quietly beside him, admiring the night sky. George pulled something out of his pocket, a pack of cigarettes. He lit one and passed it to Ginny before lighting his own. George smoked on bad days and Ginny joined him, so she might burn with him. It was better to burn together.

“Fleur’s pregnant.”

Ginny said, breaking the silence. George met her gaze and his eyes were dead. She felt her heart painfully constrict.

“I see. Would you like a surprise Georgie?”

Ginny was smirking at him mischievously. She’d gone out with Hermione to a muggle club right after the war ended. Hermione had said something about seizing the moment while they could. Ginny had gone because she wanted some of that muggle herb that made her feel all floaty. She conned a man out a rather large sack after she’d slipped past Hermione.

It was stashed out here on the roof, the one place her mother wouldn’t think to check. It had been ages since Ginny touched it. Unsure of its addictive properties, she had resolved to only use it for special occasions. Pulling a roof tile back she pulled out one she’d pre rolled and gave it to George.

“Cheers. I’m sure you know what it is Georgie. I’m going to have to insist you leave the roof after smoking it though.”

Ginny declined to participate and instead monitored George. She also stayed with him until he finished and took him back to his room. If he fell off the roof their mother would end her. Ginny then made her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. It was occupied, as it usually was in this house, so she stood by to wait.

Ginny loved the burrow at bedtime. When everyone was tucked away in their rooms and the house seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. It was cozy and safe in a way that nothing else was. The door finally opened and Harry stepped out. His hair was still wet from the shower he’d obviously just finished. It was the only time his hair laid flat.

Ginny wasn’t sure how she felt about Harry lately. She still enjoyed spending time with him and they had spent more time together this summer than any other time. But Ginny was still numb inside, still trying to figure out how to deal with grief. She was sure Harry felt the same. He had his own traumas to sort through. Their time together had simply been comfortable.

“Sorry for throwing you under the bus at dinner.”

She wasn’t sorry but she wanted to say something. To not just let him pass her silently by as she often did. The corner of his mouth lifted the slightest bit.

“Well I do sneak Teddy snacks, so you were telling the truth. I don’t care that he’s only two, how do they resist his cute face?”

Teddy had a tendency to morph his hair and eyes to match Harry’s when they were together.

“I dunno. It’s a good thing we aren’t parents. They’d be the world's brattiest kids.”

“Yeah but they’d be wicked fighters.”

Ginny laughed.

“I don’t think that would help our case. Spoiled kids who can beat anyone in a fight is a recipe for disaster.”

“That’s where our fighting prowess would come in handy. Just duel the adults.”

Ginny flushed as it finally caught up with her that they were discussing their future hypothetical children. She could see them so clearly. Shaking her head to clear the image she replied.

“You can’t just curse whoever you want, even if you are the chosen one.”

She made a face mocking him before bowing comically. Harry rolled his eyes and gently pushed her shoulder, knocking her off balance.

“You say that like we both don’t know the ministry would give me an award for it. What do you think the headline would be? ‘Potter Finally Gone Mad with Power, Duels Professor Over Students Honor’?”

Ginny snorted that was pretty close to the mark.

“More like ‘Famed Savior Instills Discipline in Hogwarts Professor: Inside the Intense Duel to Bring Balance.’”

They both burst into laughter.

“Harry?”

Ginny asked, suddenly anxious after their laughing spell.

“Yeah Gin?”

“Are you going back to Hogwarts?”

He paused for a moment considering his answer and Ginny’s anxiety spiked while waiting.

“You know I thought I wasn’t going to. After everything I did, how could I go back to sitting behind a desk and taking orders from people I considered my equal? But Kingsley came to talk to me the other day. He offered me a position with the aurors, no questions asked.”

Ginny listened attentively wondering if that was part of the reason her father had been upset with Kingsley.

“I know what we did was important and dangerous but, If I took his offer people would think I’m using my influence to gain the position. Not that I care what they think. I know I’m qualified but beyond that I think it might be nice to just be normal for a year. So yeah, I do think I’m going to go back.”

Ginny felt light again and the shadow at her side lit up. It was the same golden halo of light. It was a bit embarrassing honestly. Did it have to expose her so brilliantly?

“That’s wonderful Harry. You deserve a year of normal.”

Harry’s eyes crinkled at the corner when he smiled at her.

“Night Gin.”

“Night Harry.”

[ichisama]

933 words | rating: t | pokemon!au, pre-slash

Ichiro dropped by the gym just in time to catch Samatoki's last scheduled battle of the day. He had the rest of the afternoon off too, and had figured he may as well invite Samatoki out for food and drinks. It wasn't exactly in his job description to try to befriend the new local gym leader, and no one was forcing him to do it, but the previous gym leader had mentioned that his grandson who would inherit the gym was a bit prickly and not so great at making friends…

So, Ichiro was making an effort. It just seemed like the neighborly thing to do.

He and Samatoki had already hung out a few times, and although the guy was in fact a bit of an… a bit abrasive, to put it politely, he was also pretty cool, occasionally funny, and kind at heart. And really just astonishingly attractive, too.

Not that that last part mattered. Ichiro was just out to make a new friend. Of course.

Anyway.

When he made his way to the back of the gym to find Samatoki after the last battle, he caught Samatoki swearing up a storm, shoving things into a duffel bag like he was in a rush to get somewhere.

Ichiro gave the doorframe a rap with his knuckles, which got him just a fleeting glance from Samatoki.

"My little sister," Samatoki said before Ichiro could ask. "The one who does contests."

"Nemu-chan." Ichiro nodded. "I remember."

"She's got an award ceremony tonight, I completely fucking forgot. Thought it was tomorrow. Realized this morning, but couldn't cancel on the kids I promised a battle to today. Now I gotta make the next train to get to Kyoto in time."

Ichiro checked the time. If he remembered the train schedule correctly, the next train to Kyoto would be departing in just ten minutes. Samatoki could probably make it if he sprinted, but he would be cutting it close.

"Might be faster to fly," Ichiro said. "You didn't use Charizard in battle today, did you? Maybe he can take you."

Samatoki froze for a split second before roughly zipping up the duffel he'd packed. "He doesn't… like passengers."

"Ah." Ichiro didn't find that too odd. Some pokémon loved flying or ferrying trainers around, while others weren't fond of it at all. Nothing strange about that. "I could take you. I've got Flygon with me."

Samatoki froze once more, before turning around to shoot Ichiro an unexpectedly scowly look.

Ichiro blinked. He didn't know how his offer could have been taken in an offensive way, and he was just about to get a bit defensive when Samatoki let out a rough sigh.

"I don't… fly."

Ichiro blinked a second time, before something clicked.

Was Samatoki scared of flying?

That was almost cute.

But now definitely wasn't the time to comment on it. Samatoki seemed ready to go, and Ichiro wasn't going to stand in his way.

"You can at least take my bike," Ichiro said. "I rode it here, so it's right outside. That'll get you to the station faster."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Samatoki muttered under his breath, leaving Ichiro wondering how that could have been offensive too. "I never… learned to ride a bike."

Ichiro bit back a grin as he followed Samatoki out of the gym. Okay, now that was definitely cute. He hadn't meant to corner Samatoki into admitting these things about himself, but he sort of liked knowing. It felt like they had gotten a little closer.

"I could teach you," Ichiro blurted out, which seemed to be enough of a surprise to make Samatoki stop in front of the gym and turn back to stare at him. Ichiro grinned and shrugged. "To fly, to ride a bike. Not right now, I mean. Right now…"

Ichiro nodded to his own bike, leaning against the wall not too far away. "I'll take you to the station. You can ride on the back."

Samatoki hesitated for just a second, then checked the time on his phone as well. He seemed to realize he would be cutting it way too close if he just ran to the station, and in the end jerked his head down in a sharp nod.

"Thanks," he muttered, as Ichiro hurried to bring over his bike and let Samatoki get settled on the back.

Ichiro threw him a grin over his shoulder. "Don't mention it. Just hold on tight."

Samatoki only had time to bark out another 'thanks' when they got to the station. He sprinted for the platform as soon as Ichiro brought them to a stop, disappearing with barely a wave.

Ichiro got a message later that night. Samatoki thanked him again and promised to treat him to a round the next time they went out for drinks together. He still sounded a little curt and grumpy, probably not entirely happy about having had to reveal why he couldn't fly to Kyoto or bike to the train station. But he still sounded genuine in his gratitude, and even attached a photo of him with his little sister, who was beaming brightly and hoisting a big, colorful ribbon.

Ichiro couldn't help but smile.

Couldn't fly, huh?

Couldn't ride a bike.

Couldn't miss his sister's award ceremony, but at the same time couldn't bring himself to cancel his scheduled battles when he realized they would put him in a serious time crunch.

"Man," Ichiro murmured to himself, staring a bit too long at the way the Samatoki in the photo grinned so proudly. "Too cute. He really is too cute."

[alexsoenomel]

I Like Your Mind (Sam Winchester x Reader fluff, part 1)

Summary: A short story about how you started seeing Sam in a brand new light aka liking him part 1

Pairing: Sam x Reader

Warnings: none

Word count: 1096

Note: Another oldie from me.  Like/ reblog or both if you like it :)

After a week of being trapped in a small town, while working on a case that included killing vampires, you were just excited to be back home where you belong. That old dump of a bunker was your home and you loved every nook and cranny of it.

“I’m showering first.” You said from the back seat while Dean was driving. Sam was of course in the front seat, always taking the shotgun.

“OH HELL NO!” He said. Sammy just laughed.

“Dean, sweetie, do you remember that thing you did when you were drunk last week?”  You smirked. He immediately gripped the wheel of his baby and looked at you for a split second in the rearview mirror. Oh he knew…

“What thing?” Sam asked.

“(Y/N) DON’T YOU DARE!”

“Well…” You started. “He…”   

“YOU CAN SHOWER FIRST!”

You were pleased so you decided to lie.

“He got a little drunk and told me he’d like to see Castiel in his underwear….in his bed.” Well you kind of lied. He actually prayed for him to come over saying all kinds of true things such as “Oh you bootyful blue eyed angel from above.” And things like… “I’d like you to be the answer to all of my sexy prayers.”  Among that was “I’d like Cas to be in my bed, in that sexy underwear…or no underwear its fine by me.” When Castiel showed up, he was confused, as always, and you decided to just laugh it off to avoid any awkward situations. Sam was sleeping at that time and never was a part of your little “drunken party.”

“Really Dean?” Sam looked at his big brother with a huge ass grin on his face. “You got a little crush on an angel.”

“Shut your pie hole Sam.” Dean said while trying to focus on the road. “In my defense I thought Cas was a chick I once dated in high school. She was angel looking and her name was Cassie.”

“ Sure Jan.” You teased.

“Oh shut up.”

The long boring drive turned out to be a going down the memory lane kind of drive. You talked about past, the good past filled with laughter and smiles and hours turned to minutes, minutes to seconds and with a blink of an eye, you were finally home.

GOOD. SHOWER. YES.

That day you took the longest most orgasmic shower in your entire life. You took the time to actually enjoy the shower and in the process you spent all hot water which Dean made slightly angry. But you decided to ignore him and finally get some motherfucking rest… while watching Criminal Minds…and eat popcorn.  You got your pajamas and your favorite blanket and sat on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn.

As you turned on Netflix Sam came to the living room with his messy hair and sleep deprived face. He was wearing the same clothes as before.

 “Hey there moose. ” You said as he sat next to you. Sam just gave you a bitch face and shoved some popcorn into his mouth.

 “You spent all hot water (Y/N).”

 “It’s not my fault all other bathrooms are out of service. Besides suck it up and wait a little bit, will ya?”

 Few days ago the main pipe which was connected to other bathrooms in the bunker had cracked a little. Instead of fixing it, like you should, you guys just turned off the water in that pipe and decided to use the separate one on the other side of the bunker. You were just TOO LAZY.

 “Yeah, yeah, what are you watching?”

 “I’m about to watch Criminal Minds. Where’s Dean? Is he still pissed?”

 “He was until he went into a deep state of coma.”

 You chuckled a little looking at him. The lights were dimmed but you could still see that little sparkle in his eyes, that kindness and love which you adored about him. He looked so tired though.

 “I’m sorry I wasted all hot water Sam.”

 “It’s okay I love hot showers too so you’re forgiven.”

 “Bless you moose.”

 “Don’t call me that.”

 “Okay Sammy.”

 “I’m not 12 (Y/N).”

 “But it’s cute and it suits you perfectly.” You said making a sad puppy dog like face. He just rolled his eyes and looked at the screen.

 “Let’s just watch the show.”

 “Okay Sammy.” You teased.

Ten minutes later your bowl was empty and you were resting your head on his lap while hugging your blanket and watching your favorite genius ,named Spencer, fight the bad guys with his team. Sam actually loved the show as much as you so no one was bored.

 “Sam?”

 “Yeah?”

 “Why do you have a serial killer fetish as Dean calls it?” You turned your eyes away from the TV to look at him only to see his gaze looking right through you. He looked like a tired Jesus who came to answer all of your prayers from above.

 “It reminds me that not all monsters are the things we hunt, and in the end of the day, human beings are capable of doing horrible things as well. Plus I do find minds of sociopaths and psychopaths to be very interesting.”

 “Good point. You could have been an FBI agent just sayin.”

 “Technically I am.” He smiled.

 “You could have been the next Spencer Reid then.”

 “I’m not that smart.”

 “Yeah sure thing. You are the smartest person I have never met.” You started. “You are more than just a pretty face Sam, give yourself some credit. You are a hero and a smart one too.”

 “You think I’m pretty?” He smirked.

 You shyly turned towards the screen hiding the fact that you were blushing. Oh he was so pretty…

 “Who doesn’t?” The episode was still rolling and you still didn’t know what was going on. Your head was in clouds and your heart was pounding like a very loud clock. WHAT IS THIS?? FEELINGS????

 Your nervousness was taking over. “Besides your hair is as majestic and fabulous as Spencer’s.” You tried to get yourself out of it.

“Thank you.” You made him laugh. I MADE HIM LAUGH???

 “Great now I don’t know what’s happening with this episode and it’s 1am. Thank you Sam.”

 “Anytime.”

 That night you went to bed at 4am, Sam didn’t take his shower and you haven’t watched Criminal Minds. Why? Because you were too busy talking to the handsome man with great hair and face aka Sam Winchester. That night you saw Sam in a brand new light which changed everything. That night you realized you wanted more than just friendship with that man….

 In other words you were fucked.

PART 2 IS HERE

[yanderedreaming]

Are we too young for this?

Pairings: Reader x Chrollo

Warnings: Yandere behaviour, tampering with birth control, need to possess, baby trapping, mentions of pregnancy, smut, dark content, mentions of termination. 

Summary: Just how far would Chrollo go to steal a nen ability, and effectively make sure his love would never leave him?

Word Count: 4.6k

MDNI

“Shalnark, did you find out what I asked?” Chrollo asked, stepping back into his apartment where Shalnark had spent the majority of the day conducting his research into Y/n, Chrollo’s girlfriend and the nen that she possessed. 

-------

The two started dating when Chrollo approached her, changing his entire persona to fit the exact person she had hoped to encounter, and sure enough, she was already head over heels by their 3rd date. He needed to gain her trust to start asking about her nen, as she was quite secretive about it and never used it.

They began dating shortly after, and one day she finally told him the nen that she possessed, not that Chrollo didn’t know, but finally getting her to talk about it meant that he could steal it. 

“My nen’s a little different to the average persons. It can be used as a defensive tool and as an attack tool in a sense.” She said out the the blue one day, as Chrollo listened adamantly, he already knew the gist of it, but never saw it in action so he didn’t know nearly enough.

“So my nen protects me from the nen of others, they can’t use their abilities on me. It also takes it a step further, where I can temporarily disable someone's nen if I touch them.” Ah, so that was it. He heard of a woman who was immune to others nen, but never knew she could temporarily disable the nen of others through a single touch. It was fascinating and incredibly useful, he knew he had to make it his. 

“So, does the touch have to be in a specific place, or do you have to touch the person for a certain amount of time?” he asked.

“No, a touch lasting a split second anywhere is enough to disable the nen of others.” she said with  smile on her face. Oh my love, just how trusting are you? He thought.

“Mind showing it to me?” he asked, wanting to fulfil another one of his requirements to steal her nen. She nodded and asked him to try and use his nen on her. He picked up his book from the bedside and summoned his indoor fish, he saw how they suddenly had been dispersed as soon as they they came in contact with her. 

“My love, do you mind keeping my book on your side of the table? I have a glass of water on mine and don’t want to get it wet.” He asked and she nodded in response, reaching out to grab it from him, he gave it to her in such a way that her hand would be placed over the hand print of the book, and as a result the process would be completed. He smiled when he saw it happen, closing his eyes and relaxing on the bed slowly falling a sleep.

Satisfied now that he could finally steal her nen from her, he knew he’d never have to steal any other person’s nen, with her nen alone, he’d emerge victorious in any battle. The cherry on top was that he could finally let go of the thoughts of her leaving him. She’d be powerless, and wouldn’t ever be able to walk out, his little Y/n, his forever.

The next day, he got up early and crept to her side of the bed to grab his book, he was shocked when he didn’t see her ability appear on one of the blank pages. He was at a loss of words, as he never failed to take anyone’s ability once he had completed the steps. He knew something wasn’t right and called Shalnark for some help.

-----

“The information wasn’t easy to come by.” Shalnark said, holding a piece of paper with all the information he gathered over the course of the past month. 

“Just read it out to me.” Replied Chrollo, taking a seat on the sofa, folding his leg over the other leaning back into the sofa while staring at the ceiling. He was confused, no matter how hard he tried, he could never succeed in stealing her nen. He knew he wanted it, but the fact that it became the one thing he couldn’t steal was driving him insane, he never wanted something more in his life.

“In a nutshell, her nen is only compatible with her blood. Its a inherent ability that cannot be stolen unless you share your blood with the user.” Chrollo remained quiet, lost in thought. Trying to find a way around it, he knew he needed her nen as it would become his greatest asset. Being immune to the nen of others, while disabling the nen of those who prove to be a challenge.

Chrollo took the paper from Shalnark, reading the contents of the page. His eyes fixated on a small paragraph, the story of someone quite similar to him who was able to borrow the nen of his partner, as they had shared a common ancestor. This made him think, and he came to a conclusion, he had finally found the loophole. Trying to confirm his suspicions, he asked, “So, I won’t be able to steal it unless I have the blood of her ancestors?”

“All it says is that to be born with the ability, one must have the blood of her ancestors."

“If I were to share the blood of the user, I could effectively steal the nen of the user, am I right?” Chrollo asked to which Shalnark nodded in confirmation. His lips curved upwards in a smile, he knew what had to be done. 

His plan was not to get attached to her, it was supposed to be just like any other one of his stealing missions, at first he wrote it off as him finding her to be an enjoyable specimen to study, but as time went on, he slowly started to realise he would crave her touch. Slowly but surely, Chrollo had become enamoured by her beautiful self and found her lack of presence would start to annoy him.

Over the course of the next few days, Chrollo had begun his preparation. He replaced her birth control pills with fertility ones and even downloaded her menstrual app on his phone, copying the data off of hers to make sure he was there when she was ovulating.

Finally the day came, the 15th day of her cycle, when the chance to conceive had been the highest he prepared accordingly, sending her a black lacy lingerie set as a gift, telling her to wear it that same night as he had something special planned for the two of them. Poor Y/n didn’t know what was coming her way, and got dressed and waited in anticipation for his return.

The locks to the front door of her apartment made a click sound, along with the jiggling of the keys, she knew he was back. The front door opened to reveal her boyfriend, the man of her dreams. He was dressed in a black suit with a matching tie. He looked dashing as always, his hair was loose falling over his forehead, and he still had that odd bandage wrapped around his forehead.

“My love” he said, his voice was sweet as he walked over to her, embracing her in a hug, his warm palm slid up her back and settled there, a loving kiss placed on her forehead as he said, “you look beautiful as always.” 

He let go of her, his hand holding hers as he made his way to the couch, her following behind him. He took a seat on the couch and placed his hands on either side of her hips holding her in place. His face was levelled at her chest and his eyes scanned her entire body before looking back at her face.

“How did I get so lucky?” he asked pulling her close, making her sit on his lap, burying his face in her breasts, palms sliding down to her ass to give it a gentle squeeze.

Dating her and getting close to her was all part of his plan, but sure enough, he felt happy whenever he was with her, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He was no idiot, he knew she was especially attractive and did catch the eye of many well to do bachelors in town, but that didn’t matter, because he was the one taking her home, fucking her senseless.

He felt his cock harden at the thoughts of their nights together, Chrollo was never an overly sexual man, but something about her just made him want to tie her to the bed and just fuck her all day till he would pass out. He lusted after her, quite a bit actually, but would never admit it to the rest of the troupe. Finding a sense of peace in someone he was meant to steal from, was an embarrassing thing to admit.

Her hands made their way to his hair, running her fingers through his thick locks encouragingly as her head fell back, enjoying the feeling. She started to move her hips back and forth rubbing her wet cunt against his clothed cock, eliciting a low groan from him as a result.

He started planting wet kisses over her breasts making their way up her neck, where he started sucking on her sweet spot, his tongue circling over the same spot as his lips sucked on it gently, teeth grazing it ever so often leaving a small mark before he pulled his head back slightly to admire his work of art, a small ‘mine’ escaped his lips before he went back to work. 

His mouth finally made its way to hers, his lips brushing against her own, eyes fixated on her lips as he took her bottom lip into his mouth, biting down on it slightly, mumbling a few praises as his patience was running thin, all he wanted was to push her back down on the sofa and fuck her raw till she was crying out, but he knew he couldn’t do that, he had to take his time.

His hands guided her hips, helping her grind on him, pushing them down to exert pressure, desperate for more stimulation. As a moan left her lips, he slammed his lips against hers, the kiss was so deep and so passionate that all the breath left her lungs, she couldn’t inhale anything other than him, not that she minded.

“Wanna fuck you so bad.” he grunted against the kiss, the two of them taking a second to catch their breaths. “Wanna paint your walls white with my cum, wanna leave your tiny cunt dripping” Her breath hitched as she pressed down harder on his cock, grinding even more, she was dripping now and was aching for her sweet release.

He went back to trace his lips over the places where he gave her hickey’s, the sight of his markings so visible on her, felt so good. His small kisses stopped just over her perky tits, kissing them over her bra, before one of his hands made their way to cup a tit from under her bra, massaging it while his mouth traced kisses on the sweet valley of her breasts. 

He retrieved his hand from under her bra, and made its way to her back, with one swift motion he had undone the hook of the bra, it slid down, resting on her elbows, the pretty lace bra he had bought for her was now off as she flung it to the side to allow their skin to touch. 

“So perfect.” he says in a low tone, admiring her perky tits, imagining them being full of milk for his kids, it started off as a ploy to steal her nen, but as he thought about it, and planned for it, it made him realise that maybe it was the best thing for the two of them, this way, she won’t ever be able to leave him once she found out his true identity. The child bonding them together, forever.

“His lips brushed over her tits, her slender fingers running through his thick black locks, pulling him in closer encouraging him to continue. He took one of her tits into his mouth, and sucked on it, his tongue swirled around her nipple, her barely audible moans had gotten louder at the sensation.

She arched her back, continuing to grind on his clothed cock, while pulling him in closer to suck her tits. He earned a moan from her when his teeth slightly grazed over her nipple. He groaned against her tit, his thumb and forefinger rolling her other nipple in between them, giving it light squeezes as she whined becoming increasingly needy. 

Chrollo was just as needy as she was, the grinding was enough to make him cum at the moment, but he knew he had to fill her up. He pushed her down on the couch, her laying face up as he got on top of her, before going back down to kiss her body he took a minute to admire it. His hands ran all over her sides, feeling conscious she made an effort to cover her chest.

“My love, let me appreciate your beauty” he said, as one of his hands found its way to her cheek, stroking it lovingly. His loving gaze was enough to get her to feel a little more confident, as she let go of her chest, her hands falling to the side.

“So beautiful.”  he said with a smile, positioning his body to lay directly over hers. Giving her a passionate deep kiss, before his lips trailed lower and lower, stopping directly at the band of her panties. His thumb trailed over her clothed cunt, gaze fixated on it. He admired how it looked covered in the lace panties he bought for her, but he believed it was a sigh to behold when uncovered.

He slowly slid her panties off, placing soft kisses along the way as the covered skin was getting exposed. Her breath hitched as his lips hovered over her core, lips running all over it trying to find the spot he would start from. His fingers traced circles over the side of her thighs and his lips placed wet kisses all over he core, looking for the one spot that would excite her the most.

His free hand palms her cunt as his lips move to kiss around her stomach, he exerts pressure over her clit, eliciting a seductive moan out of her mouth, his cock twitched every time he hears her moan, it was music to his ears. He craved her sweet noises just as much as he craved her body.

“Chrollo, please” she whined as he took his sweet time running his fingers over her clenching hole, aching for some penetration. As much as he wanted to fuck her dumb, he knew he had to make her cum before he could do so, teasing her was just as good as the deed itself, he loved watching her squirm under him, he felt so big, so powerful, so in control when she did.

“Impatient aren’t we, my love?” he asked as he positions his middle and ring finger over her hole, slowly inserting them in, his eyes locked on her face to see the change in expressions, from needy and desperate to somewhat relieved. Fuckkk, baby that’s it he thought as her head pushed back.

He slowly made his way down to her clit, pressing small kisses against it, his lips now sucking her tiny bud massaging it with her tongue as his fingers pumped in and out slowly, he knew where her sweet spot was, hell, he could’ve had her cumming already, but he needed to hear her beg, hear her cry. 

“mhhmmm, please” she said, her hand found its way to the back of his head, pushing it in while her free hand massaged her breasts, trying to find some relief. He chuckled against her core, the vibrations sending her. His fingers now stopped and curled touching her sweet spot with every pump, her moans had gotten louder, her arch more prominent.

She tensed around his fingers, aching for more, aching for his thick cock inside her, the mere thought of it had her biting her lip, getting wetter by the second, her juices started to ooze out coating his fingers with each pump. Her body started trembling, and instinctively she closed her thighs to trap his head inside, she couldn’t take it anymore, she was so close.

He started picking up the pace, his tongue flat on her bud, licking it hard with fast strokes, while his fingers pumped in her relentlessly. He placed one of his hands on her abdomen to push her down and build up the pressure, the action earned a whimper from her, she was so close. 

“Cum for me, my love.” he said while his tongue worked its magic, his eyes darted to her face, not wanting to miss a single second as she came, her nose scrunched, eyes rolling back and mouth open letting out a loud audible moan as she came all over his fingers. 

He licked the juices off them before sliding his pants down to reveal his thick long member, with one prominent vein that ran down the bottom of his member.

He positioned himself at her opening and started to rub around it, putting it in ever so slightly before taking it out, each time he earned a whimper from her, looking at him with pleading eyes as she tried to push down to make him enter. He chuckled and said, “use your big girl words, my love. Tell me what you want.” His rock hard cock teasing her hole.

“I want you to fuck me” 

“Pretty demanding considering the position we’re in” he replied with a teasing voice.

“Please fuck me Chrollo” 

“Much better” he said, as he slowly slid inside her, her body shifted as he did, the initial wave of pleasure over took her. He continued to buck his hips slowly, looking at down the scene in front of him. Watching how his thick member would disappear into her tiny hole. 

“Fuck, how are you still so tight” he groaned, growing impatient wanting to slam into her relentlessly. He leaned down, pressing his chest against hers, her body looked so tiny in front of his, he took both of her hands into his, intertwining his fingers with her own, placing small kisses all over her face pumping in at a slow pace, just as he placed the final kiss on her lips, his pace quickened, he let go of her hands, and placed his own on her waist, holding her close.

Her own hands find their way to his back and grip on tight, wanting him to fuck her silly, not wanting to lose any momentum due to the dipping couch. His grunts got louder as he continued to fuck her fast, her own moans were muffled against his chest, as her face found its way there, nuzzling in.

After one final thrust, he stopped, and slid out of her earing a protest and a pout in return. He sat down on the couch, legs spread and grabbed her by her waist to sit on him. Her legs folded and he positioned her right on his cock. She sat on his cock, taking it all in, a false sense of control came over her, however, it was just an illusion as he was the one who was calling the shots.

Her hands found their way to his shoulders and gripped them tight, using her legs to move herself up and down his cock, he groaned as she picked up the pace. 

“God do I love the view” he said, his eyes trailing over her body and his hands hovered over her ass, feeling the waves that her plump flesh would make as it came into contact with his own. After a few more seconds, he had decided it was time to take over, as he planted his feet firmly on the ground, and grabbed her ass to simultaneously push her down, while his body pushed up.

“Oh my God” she screamed, as the sudden change in pace allowed for deeper and harder penetration. He pushed her in closer, so that her clit would rub against his pelvis each time she moved, the friction paired with the penetration causing another orgasm to slowly built up inside her.

“I’m close” she panted, closing her eyes and pushing her head back. “Faster” she pleaded in between moans. He slowed his pace slightly upon hearing this, and brought his mouth closer to her ears and whispered in between grunts.

“Call me daddy” he said, taking her ear lobe into his mouth, swirling his tongue over it. 

“Faster daddy!” she pleaded, hearing the word from her mouth caused a wave of pleasure over come him. He never knew how much he would enjoy hearing her say it. 

“Whatever you say, princess.” he said, picking up the pace, his grip on her ass tightened, rubbing her clit against his pelvis, each thrust had his cock kissing her cervix. His mouth took her tit into it, sucking hard and swirling his tongue against her nipple. Her body started to shake as he bucked his hips, slamming into her. The sensation from all fronts had her coming undone as her walls clenched against his cock, her juices oozing out. 

Chrollo smiled to himself, knowing the chances of the conception are greater once a woman orgasms. 

Her body gave away and she slumped down over his chest, trying to catch her breath. He stroked her hair and kissed the side of her cheek before she got back up and he placed his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent, it was intoxicating and he couldn’t get enough.

“My love, you take me so well” he said as he continued to thrust into her, reaching his own climax. Coming undone, painting her walls white, pulling her in for a deep kiss just as he did. The final grunt had been emitted from his mouth as he pumped his cock back into her a few times to push the semen in.

He slid out of her, picking her up and walking to the room to place her on the bed. She was exhausted and out of breath, sleep already coming to her. He rushed back out to the living room, picking up his boxers to wear them and coming back with his blazer. Sitting on the side of the bed.

“I bought this for you today” he said, taking out a long black velvet box. She lifted her head from her pillow to look at what he had gotten for her. It was a beautiful necklace, with a diamond encrusted C on it. 

“Its beautiful” she said, a smile on her face. He reached over to kiss her one final time on her forehead, placing the box on the bedside before slipping into bed with her, holding her close as they both slipped into their slumber.

A few weeks later, Y/n was sitting on the floor of her bathroom, a pregnancy test in hand. She had a full two minutes before the results would show up, anxiety building inside of her as she waited.

Her period was 2 weeks late, which wasn’t too uncommon considering the side effects of her birth control pill, but what was uncommon were the side effects she had. The loss of appetite, the nausea, the vomiting, sore breasts and so on. It wasn’t until Chrollo had mentioned that his coworker got his girlfriend pregnant that she come to the realisation that she might have been pregnant herself.

She picked up the pregnancy test to see the two very evident red lines on it. She was pregnant. Her breathing was laboured and she couldn’t believe it, she was religiously taking her birth control, how could she have gotten pregnant? Tears formed in her eyes, unable to register what was happening. She knew she wanted kids somewhere down the lane, but not now. She was too young, at the prime of her life, she was just 22. Just then she heard a knock on the bathroom door, it was Chrollo.

“Are you alright, my love?” he asked, feigned concern in his voice. He casually lied about his co-worker getting his girlfriend pregnant, he just wanted her to take a test, which she did, discreetly according to her.

“I’m fine” she said sniffling, it was a lie. She just didn’t want to face him.

“Are you crying? I’m coming in” he said, pushing the door open and making his way to her. She was sitting in the corner of the bathroom, her legs brought up against her chest as she held back her tears.

“My love, what happened?” he asked, his eyes scanning for the test he knew she took. Her crying form was confirmation for him that she indeed was pregnant, he was beyond ecstatic, he just didn’t want to show it, yet.

His eyes caught the test and he picked it up brining it closer to his face to see the two lines that confirmed it to him.

“Are you.. pregnant?” 

“Y-Yes” she said stuttering, her head bowed down in shame.

“My love!” his voice filled with excitement as he pulled her close for a hug, kissing the top of her head. His hands rubbing soothing circles on her back.

She expected a different reaction, she expected him to cause a ruckus, to walk out, but never expected this. The temporary shock of his reaction caused her temporarily to forget what it was all about.

“This is good news! We’re going to be parents” he said pulling away to look at her face.

Her wet eyes found their way to his, his soft accepting eyes caused her to smile.

“Aren’t we too young for this?” she asked, unsure whether his reaction was a momentary one.

“I don’t care about anything, as long as its with you.”

She bit her lip, her initials thoughts were of terminating the pregnancy if he chose to walk out, she knew she could never handle a child on her own, nor could she provide for the child as she was a fresh graduate and balancing motherhood with a job would be too hard to handle.

“Our baby. A mixture of the two of us. Half me, half you.” He said, placing his hand on her belly.

Who was she kidding, his reaction alone proved to her that Chrollo would be such a good dad to the baby. She suddenly started feeling more accepting of the situation.

He picked her up and brought her to the room, placing her on the bed, kissing her belly. 

“Let’s move in together.” 

“What? Chrollo I don’t want to impo-” he cut her off, clearly offended by what she had just said.

“My love, you’re not a burden. I want to provide for you and our child. Move in with me, quit your job. Let me take care of the two of you.” he said with an earnest look on his face.

“Chrollo, I don’t want you to think that you have to take care of me”

“I want to take care of you. Its the least I can do for God’s sake, you’re carrying my child! All you have to do from now on is just rest. Please, I don’t want you to exert yourself. I love you.”

She nodded smiling, the way he said all that just made her think she was stupid for thinking she would be a burden, he was such a gentleman. He would never have her work to provide for herself in her condition.

Chrollo couldn't stop smiling the thoughts of her belly swollen with his child was something he couldn’t wait to see. He had killed two birds with one stone, he could get the nen ability from the child, and he managed to make sure she would never get away, all in one sweep. She was his, forever.

[ryloriee678999]

a TW (SH) for this request (you do not need to write it!!)

If you could write about Wanda finding out Reader is self-harming or seeing scars from it and helping reader? And pretty angsty!! Like, reader being defensive and in denial of the problem

it would be like a comfort fic for me, thank you <3

Breathe Me Out (Wanda Maximoff x F!Reader)

A/N: Hope you're doing okay Anon! I wrote 2 more chapters of this, let me know if I should post them. <3 please request more :)

Summary: Wanda Finds out. (1500 words)

Warnings: Self-harm, angst, nightmares.

-

Hours ago both you and Wanda were getting ready for bed like normal. Wanda was quick to fall asleep after a busy day while you stayed awake. You were overthinking again and scared of the nightmares to come, But Wanda's arm around your waist and her presence in bed with you reminded you that everything was okay. This was enough for you to close your eyes and drift off a few minutes later.

The sleep didn't last long though. Four hours later and you opened your eyes, another nightmare left you heaving and silently crying. You tried your best to control the quick breaths coming out but nothing was working, you wanted to draw yourself closer to Wanda but didn't want to wake her. Normally when this happened, you were alone. On days like this, you’d suffer until eventually you would pass out or stay up until your alarm went off. Now that Wanda was next to you, you had to keep yourself quiet. Covering your mouth or burying your face in the pillow wasn't enough. So silently, you stood up despite your entire body aching and walked to the bathroom.

This had happened before so you knew what to do. Although it hadn't gotten this far in a while, it was the only thing you could think of. The whole situation made you laugh, just before the two of you went to sleep, you were having a good day. After work, Wanda took you on a date around town and when they got home, the night got even better. But now you’re crying on the floor in the bathroom, hunched in front of the bathtub with a razor in your hand and your mouth being covered by the other. 

You knew you shouldn't do this, Wanda would find out no matter what. The only reason she didn't know already was that every time Wanda asked you about the faded linear lines on your thigh, you blamed it on other people. 'Yeah I got those in a fight... ' it was so obvious.

A part of you did want Wanda to know though. You already knew that your girlfriend wouldn't take it badly unlike others in the past. Wanda would probably tell you it was going to be alright or hold you until the thought of hurting yourself was far away. But right now your mind was clouded and the only thing that could ground you was in your hand.

Your pants were pulled down and the blade hovered over your thigh. You reminded yourself that you shouldn't do this, but there was no going back now. This will be the last time, just one quick cut to calm down. That's all you needed and then you would get back into bed and pretend that this never happened. 

It was quick. A straight line on your thigh split open instantly, spilling blood as it poured out off the side of your thigh onto the bathroom tiles. This was a new depth, it's been so long that you had forgotten how sharp a new razor could be. For a second you felt calm, but then it was quickly followed by a wave of pain and panic. The hurt is what you were looking for, but this was too much, it made you wince. The panic came right after from not knowing what to do next and the auditable noise coming from the other room. At this point, you could keep control of your breath and your eyes stopped watering, the only thing you could care about now was not getting caught.

While you panicked in the bathroom, Wanda moved around on the bed reaching out for you only to find you missing and a light shining from the other side of the room. She rubbed her eyes and slowly stood up. "Love?" She called out loud enough for you to hear. When there was no answer, she walked towards the door and gave a light knock. You stayed silent, not sure what to say, you were trapped.

Wanda rubbed her eyes and knocked again, "Are you okay?" Wanda asked through the door, her voice filled with concern. "I'm just using the bathroom, go back to bed," you responded, trying to sound as normal as possible, but after an hour of crying your voice was audibly hoarse no matter how hard you tried to hide it. 

"Are you sure?" She questioned, there was a lingering feeling that there was something happening behind the door, it made her shiver. "Can I come in?" Wanda reached for the handle but it was locked.

You finally fought the pain and stood up to grab a towel to wrap around your leg. You held pressure on it, wishing it would just stop. "Could you open the door for me?" She wiggled the handle, trying to get in. With you occupied with stopping the bleeding, there was no response. The silence was filled with quiet quick breaths and a sigh from Wanda.

"I'm coming in," Wanda shouted before using her powers to unlock the door from the other side. 

Wanda's eyes slid down her girlfriend's body. You knew what she saw right away when her eyes were fixated on it. You sat on the edge of the bathtub with your pants beside you and a crimson dyed towel held against your leg, it was quite hard to miss.

"Did you get hurt?" Wanda asked, right away she came to your side. It was so obvious but of course, Wanda's mind went to that instead of this being self-inflicted. You stayed silent, waiting for the other girl to realize what happened. Finally, Wanda’s eyes landed on a bloodied razor discarded on the floor.

"Get out," you mumbled. You could feel your eyes start burning again, tears threatening to spill. You shifted away from Wanda's side as she stared. "Please leave," you cried and pressed the towel harder onto your leg which had already stopped bleeding at this point. Wanda was quick to put her hand softly on top of yours to prevent it from pressing down even more, "Don't do that, don't hurt yourself more, please." 

You looked away, you didn't want Wanda to see you like this. You hated it, you hated how hurt Wanda’s face looked, you hated that now you had to give an explanation, you hated that you were back to where you started. There was just so much overwhelming you right now that you could barely even focus on what Wanda was saying.

"What did you do?" Wanda carefully asked as she moved her hand to rest on your back. Your response was simply removing the towel and exposing the laceration on your thigh. Wanda tried her best to keep her reaction in check, she didn't want to react badly, she wanted to show you that she could be trusted with this side of you; the side that Wanda only saw glimpses of. But truthfully, the cut made her nauseous and scared that you were capable of this. You finally looked up at Wanda, your face red and puffy. 

"I don't know, I have no idea," you say.

"Okay," Wanda whispered, more to herself. She looked around, taking in her surroundings in greater detail this time. There's a trail of blood on the floor she had to clean up, then a razor she had to throw out, but most importantly a wound that needed care. Wanda stood up and grabbed the first aid kit from the medicine cupboard. 

She would’ve gotten you a doctor but Wanda didnt want to leave you alone even for a second. You could disagree though, you wanted to be left alone so badly. You wanted to forget this entire night even existed, but knowing Wanda, she wouldn't let you do that. This would have to be brought up tomorrow and changes would have to be made. You hated what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Wanda got back to your side and opened the kit up. She unwrapped alcohol wipes and bandages while you watched. Wanda held your hand just in case you needed something to squeeze on, she knew this would hurt. She carefully cleaned the dried-up blood around it before the actual cut. 

Soon everything was clean and bandaged, Wanda turned around to clean everything up while you sat there until she was done. "Don't tell anyone," you said, your voice now back to normal.

 Who knows what everyone would do if they found out, they're already dealing with a lot and you didn't want to add to that. There was also the feeling the other Avengers would react badly and get you kicked off the team. 

"I won't," she assured and helped you stand up. You walked back into the room feeling exhausted. Thankfully it was the weekend so you both could get a few more hours of sleep. 

You carefully laid back down, avoiding your leg from touching anything. Wanda lays next to you, not sure if she should touch you or speak. "I love you," she said half-consciously while closing her eyes. 

As much as you loved her back, you couldn't help but want to be alone right now. Without responding, you close your eyes, finally being able to sleep.

[writer-k-pop]

Secret Weapon

와, 고잉 스태프들은 정말 세게칠 줄 알아. Woah, the Going staff really know how to hit hard.

Description: In a moment of great genius, the producers of Going Seventeen tell the members that Insomnia Zero is happening for the third time (much to Woozi’s dismay). Same rules as the second season except this time, the production team has a secret weapon: you. Warnings: Second hand embarrassment?  Genre: FLUFF! Idol!Jeonghan X Fem!Reader Word Count: 1.4k Note: I know they did a smaller third segment already but this idea began before the collab with MMTG. Anywho enjoy!

Seventeen Masterlist | Masterlists

“Season three?” Woozi stands in between the bed and the mats with his hands on his hips and his head hung low. “I swore it wouldn’t happen.”

“And yet, here it is.” Hoshi smiled and clapped him on the shoulder as the others made their way on set. 

As they all get seated and comfortable, you watch them from behind the line of cameras with sunglasses and a beanie covering your identity. You easily find the one you were specifically here for. 

Jeonghan waits for the PD’s to tell them the rules of the episode that has become many Carat’s and Cubic’s favorite episode. His eyes pause on you for a split second and you fear that he’ll call you out and the plan will be ruined. But there’s no recognition on his face and he turns his attention to the members around him.

The rules are very similar as last time. PD’s against Seventeen. Three lowest heart beat ranges get to go home. If the production crew’s representative gets first place, that department gets to go home. 

Some members have fear in their eyes while others have pure mischief in theirs, specifically Jeonghan. 

The filming goes as planned. The boys rip into Seungcheol about the things he does behind the scenes. 

As Jeonghan prepares to attempt to sleep, the PD announces a slight change.

He sits, waiting for the PD to explain the change.

“We have a secret weapon.” The PD says, “Since you have twelve people to try and make our crew member laugh, we needed someone on our side. So, we’ve brought in someone special to help with it.”

You walk into the view of the camera and smile and wave. “Hi boys.” 

Jeonghan sits stunned on the mattress before a nervous laugh erupts from his throat. 

“Isn’t this going overboard?” He asks but you shake your head and make your way over to where the rest of the boys are sitting. 

“Jeonghan hyung is nervous!” Dino points out and laughs happily.

“I’m not nervous!” Jeonghan says defensively and readjusts the blankets. “Everyone should be nervous. Who knows what kind of stories she’s got on you.”

“Thank goodness, I already went.” Seungcheol breathes out a sigh of relief with a hand over his heart. The comment earns him a smack from Jun. 

“Jeonghan, your heartbeat’s too fast.” The PD says and everyone cracks up.

Jeonghan hangs his head low before asking, “How can you expect my heartbeat to slow down when my girlfriend is about to embarrass me?”

“I would never embarrass you!” You tell him but he immediately gives you a look. “I would never majorly embarrass you.” You correct yourself with a sheepish smile.

“Jeonghan, deep breaths.” Seungcheol says and acts out deep breathing.

Eventually, Jeonghan gets his heartbeat down to a good enough level for the crew and his time starts. He lays back and a bright spotlight shines on the bed while all the other lighting dims.

“Do we have any stories about Jeonghan hyung?” Hoshi asks to the group. 

“Well, there’s the underwear incident.” Dino mentions and Dokyeom bursts into laughter.

“Tell it, tell it, tell it.” Dokyeom says between breaths.

"For his birthday, I gave him a silly pair of underwear.” Dino says, “It had like cherries all over it. He said he really liked them and that he’d wear them often. But then, a few months later, I was raiding through his closet for a sweater and I found the underwear, still in the package, shoved under a pile of old clothes, in the corner of the closet!” He finishes with frustration. “You said you would wear them! And the excuse you gave was not even good!”

“What did he say? What did he say?” Hoshi looks at Dino.

“He said he was saving it for a special occasion.” Dino stares at Jeonghan, “But in those few months there were SO many special occasions!” 

Jeonghan presses his lips together to keep from laughing while everyone laughs at the story.

“(y/n), you got any stories?” Mingyu asks when they’ve quieted down. 

“Of course, I do.” You reply and launch into the story you’ve been dying to tell since it happened. “So, I had been having a stressful week and I guess Jeonghan wanted to help me out. He decided to clean the house for me while I was out at work.”

“Hyung? Cleaning?” Seungkwan repeats, “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m being serious!” You retort, “He had slept over and I needed to go to work so I left him in bed and went to work. Spent the day stressed and was looking forward to coming home and relaxing with my boyfriend and a movie.” With gestures to accompany the story, you mimic opening a door, “I opened the door and I nearly had a heart attack.”

“Why, why?” Dokyeom asked, gripping your arm.

Seungcheol chuckles and covers his mouth. “Oh, I know this story. Jeonghan told me.”

“Woah, this must’ve been seriously embarrassing.” Seungkwan comments. 

“Keep going.” Wonwoo encourages you. 

“I get home, and I swear to god, there’s laundry drying on every possible surface. The drying rack, the chairs, the back of the couch.” You continue, replaying the scene in my mind. “The dishes were cleaned, the floor was swept, and Jeonghan was in a different room vacuuming away so he didn’t hear me enter. But I was looking over the laundry and I noticed a pink shirt that I had never seen before.” 

Jeonghan’s eyes squeeze tighter to keep from responding. 

“I picked it up and it was wayyyy too big to be mine so I figured it was Jeonghan’s. But then I realized it was his favorite sweater that I bought him for Christmas. The only problem? When I bought it, it was white. Like white white.” You keep telling the story with giggles and laughter erupting from all around you. “I looked around further and saw my collection of red clothes that I always wash separately and a lot of those clothes were brand new.”

“Oh no! Hyung!” Mingyu exclaims, “You never mix those kinds of clothes!”

“Not the red clothing!” Vernon reacts in his own over the top way, hands in the air and face contorted into despair. 

“But the biggest turn of events?” You continue over the laughter, “Jeonghan didn’t even notice the staining. I asked him about it and he didn’t even realize it was his sweater that he had put into the wash with my clothes!” You finish while laughing, toppling into Dokyeom who is probably laughing harder than anyone in the room.

Jeonghan is laying on the mattress, struggling to keep calm. His face is turning red and his lips curl in laughter that is kept absolutely silent. 

“So did you buy him a new sweater?” The8 wonders, tapping your shoulder. 

“Of course I did!” You exclaim, holding up your hands for added emphasis, “With his credit card.”

With the last comment, the whole group loses any and all composure. Even Jeonghan’s chest is now shaking with his laughter but yet, not a sound has escaped his mouth. As per the rules if he doesn’t want to get eliminated. 

“Look at Jeonghan hyung.” Seungkwan says through immense laughter. “His face is so red.”

“Woah, the Going staff really know how to hit hard.” Woozi comments, pointing a finger at the staffs. 

The bell rings and the lights turn back on, signaling the end of Jeonghan’s turn. 

“Hey, (y/n).” He rises, pointing a finger at you. “Why would you tell that story?” He squeezes to sit next to you, “There were so many other less embarrassing stories, why did you choose that one?” He leans in closer before tackling you to the floor with tickles that prevent you from responding.

“Sua hyung, your turn.” Jun pushes the older over towards the sleeping mattress. 

Jeonghan finally lets up and helps you sit up but keeps an arm wrapped around your waist securely.

As Joshua settles under the blanket, Jeonghan leans down and whispers in your ear. “You did bring stories about the others, right? I’m not the only one you’re targeting.”

You giggle, “Oh, I’m getting all of you back for the countless times you’ve let something about me slip on VLives.” 

“Good lord, save us all.” Jeonghan jokes and the lights dim down.

“I want to know what story (y/n) has first.” Wonwoo says, nudging your shoulder.

“Oh, I have plenty of stories about all of you.” You smirk. “But Joshua first.”

Joshua raises his hands in a prayer gesture but it’s a fickle attempt to get mercy.

With their attention on you, you begin the story you have about Joshua. 

“It was a random Wednesday…”

[reidingmelodies]

Finders Keepers

A/N:  It’s been ages since I’ve written anything, so I figured it was about time I got back into it!  Hope you enjoy, any feedback is appreciated :) Warnings: None Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader Word Count: 2.7K

“What’s wrong with you, Pretty Boy?” Morgan questioned as Spencer rushed into the BAU Tuesday morning, fingers threading through his curls and a look of pure agitation gracing his features.  As if he didn’t hear the question directed towards him, Spencer continued to storm through the room, nearly stumbling into Morgan in his quest to reach his desk.

Pupils dilating, Morgan looked towards JJ who had taken stock of the scene from her chair, brows already furrowed and legs moving to stand and head towards her fellow colleague.

Taking the lead, JJ swiftly headed to Spencer’s side, moving to place a hand on his shoulder before thinking better of it and placing both hands on the edge of his desk instead, Mama Bear instincts dialed all the way up.  “Everything okay, Spence?  You seem annoyed.”  

Morgan scoffed before thinking better of it, “I’d say he’s a bit more than annoyed, JJ”.  No sooner than the words had left his mouth he was given a swift elbow in his side from JJ and an eye roll from Spencer and all that was left for Morgan to do was raise his hands in defeat.

Sighing, Spencer turned back to his desk before mumbling a response back to them, “I’m fine, guys.  I think I lost my copy of War and Peace on the Metro this morning.  It was in my bag when I left my place, it must have fallen out when I was trying to grab my umbrella.  I thought maybe I just forgot and left it here, but apparently not”.

“You and I both know you don’t forget anything, Pretty Boy,” Morgan chimed in, visibly less tense now that he knew there wasn’t any immediate danger.

“Actually Morgan that’s not entirely true.  I have an eidetic memory which means-”

“There’s the Reid we all know and love,” JJ chuckled, heading back to her desk to get ready for the day ahead of them.  Morgan followed, leaving the bullpen in search of Garcia and Spencer sighed, trying to move past the fact that one of his favorite books was no longer in his possession.  Logically, he knew he could buy a replacement copy after work, but deep down he knew it wasn’t the same.

The words dancing across the page would be the same ones that brought him entertainment and the comfort found in familiarity throughout his life, but the book within his hands wouldn’t hold the same nostalgic memories.  He wouldn’t look down at the tattered cover and reminisce on his first jet ride with the BAU, thinking back on how he brushed his fingers against the book’s familiar spine while trying to calm his stomach filled with nervous jitters at the prospect of working with unfamiliar people.  He wouldn’t look at the dog-eared pages and remember how the words on those exact pages brought him comfort on nights he would escape to his bedroom and try to leave memories of aggressive classmates and whispering peers behind.  

Any thought of potentially buying a new copy of the book after the workday was dispelled though as Garcia called everyone into the conference room to discuss a pending case in Phoenix, no sooner followed by a “wheels up in thirty” announcement from Hotch.  Grabbing his go-bag and leaving the bullpen, Spencer filled his head with thoughts of the case, half of his brain racing ahead to connect victimology and significant locations while the other half was stuck repeating a never-ending mantra of “it’s just a book” in the back of his mind.

***

As Spencer was boarding a jet to head 468 miles north, Y/N was playing with a loose thread on her sweater, thinking about the long day of work ahead of her.  Breaking her trance, she looked up and instead glanced up at the now empty row of seats in front of her.  Her brows furrowed as she saw a book stuck in the crack between the far left seat cushion and the back of the chair, and before she knew it her curiosity overtook her.  Y/N found herself standing from the seat, travel mug and bag in tow, before reaching for the dictionary-like book that was calling to her.  The title War and Peace glared back at her, and a quick turn of the cover revealed faded words written in blue ink proclaiming that the book was the “Property of Spencer Reid”.   With the announcement of her stop blaring over the loudspeaker and the weight of someone else’s book in their hand, Y/N made a split second decision to stuff the book into her bag, leaving the Metro with not only thoughts of the upcoming workday but visions of whom the mysterious Spencer Reid could be.

The workday passed by slowly, each passing second filled with the overwhelming desire to search for Spencer Reid on Google.  By the time Y/N was on the Metro ride home, any and all motivation to search for the book’s rightful owner went out the door as her irritation grew with the rising heat of the increasingly packed subway car.  Needing a distraction, her hand reached into her bag, initially moving for her cell phone but making a last second switch as her hand brushed the spine of the book.  May as well spend my time doing something productive, she thought as she gently pulled the book out of it’s temporary home.  With a final sigh, she turned to the first page and began to read.

As Y/N was tearing through the pages of War and Peace at an alarmingly quicker rate than she anticipated that night, Spencer was filling out a WMTA lost and found form in the hopes that someone had the decency to return his book.  Knowing his luck, he assumed it was long gone and in the trash somewhere, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to make one last ditch effort at finding it.  Groaning, Spencer called it a night and went to bed, silently vowing to find his book the second he stepped foot off the BAU jet again.        

***

Six days later the BAU team landed in Quantico, making plans to head to a bar for a drink before a well deserved day off.  As designated drivers were assigned and phone calls home were made Spencer gathered his things, making a beeline to the door in the hopes of reaching the WMTA’s designated lost and found area before it closed for the night.  He was a foot away from the door before a soft hand grasped his wrist, immediately stopping him in his tracks.

���Skipping out on the bar tonight, Reid?” Emily questioned, head tilted as she noticed how frazzled her friend was.

“I’m just gonna go home and watch a bit of Dr.Who” Spencer began, desperately trying to think of something that would let him out the door without further questions.  “Speaking of Dr. Who, did you know that it was originally created to be an educational show for kids?  It’s actually really interesting-”

“Say no more, Dr. Reid,” Emily laughed, letting go of his wrist and heading back towards the others, “enjoy your night”.  Spencer tightly smiled, leaving the bullpen and making his way to downtown DC in search of his book.  An hour later and he wasn’t any closer to finding his book, ultimately giving up and heading to the bookstore to buy himself another copy.

It was at that same time JJ and Derek found themselves hysterically laughing at a corner booth in the bar, thinking about how Spencer probably missed out on meeting the love of his life that night- a woman sitting in the booth directly across from them, War and Peace open on the table in front of her and a pen and highlighter busy at work marking up post its that were being meticulously placed on the book’s pages.

***

A month and a half went by and Spencer had officially given up hope on finding his lost book.  In the six weeks since he had last seen it he refrained from reading his new copy, not willing to give up the small amount of hope he had that he would be reunited with his original book.  That evening though, as the Metro had yet another delay and the subway car continued to get hotter and hotter, he figured there was no better time than the present and pulled out his new copy of War and Peace.  A few pages in, a sudden jolt of the car made him glance up and almost immediately he locked eyes with the woman across from him.  In the span of ten seconds, his thoughts ranged from she’s beautiful to hold on- she’s holding my book and before his legs fully alerted his brain what was happening he found himself on his feet and sitting in the empty seat directly next to her.

As Spencer’s brain began to register just how bad of an idea it was to sit next to a stranger as abruptly as he just did, the woman next to him gripped her bag slightly tighter, tilting her head to the side as she peaked a look at the man next to her.

Her mouth opened to speak, but before she could do so Spencer interrupted her, desperately trying to save himself from any embarrassment her words could bring.

“That’s my book,” he bluntly stated, mentally hitting himself as he watched her adorably confused features morph into a look of defense.

“No.. that’s your book,” she pointed down to his lap, where his new copy of War and Peace was resting between his palms.

“No it’s not- well, it is but it isn’t really?” Spencer tried to explain, his face growing more and more red with each word that left his mouth.

“So it’s your book, but not your book?” She questioned, lips curling up into a slight smile as she witnessed the sweet agitation of the man in front of her.

“Yes!  I lost my book on the metro almost two months ago.  This is just my replacement copy, and I don’t know how I know, but I’m positive the book in your hands right now is the one that I lost.”  Spencer finished his spiel, watching as the woman’s eyes widened in realization and her mouth formed an “o” shape.

“You’re Spencer Reid?” she asked, and now it was his turn to play the part of the confused companion.

“I- yes? But, how do you know my name?” As soon as the question left his mouth the image of the title page of his book filled his head and all too soon he was practically yelling with joy in the poor woman’s face.  “Wait, that is my book then!  Does it say Property of Spencer Reid on the cover page?”

The woman laughed, and Spencer watched as any traces of tension left her body.  “I’m so sorry!  I found it on the Metro on my way to work, and I meant to look you up- not in a creepy way,” she continued, growing more flustered with each passing second.  “I was gonna try and find you to return it but then I started reading it and I liked it more than I thought I would and I just,” She stooped, taking a breath and giving him the most adorable set of puppy dog eyes he’s ever seen.  “I’m just really sorry, I shouldn’t have held onto it as long as I did”.  She finished, and held the book up, holding it out towards Spencer’s hands.  “I think this belongs to you”.

“It’s not a problem at all, I promise,” Spencer reassured her with a warm smile on his face, “thanks for keeping it safe”.  Something about her filled his stomach with joy, and as he looked at her he saw a similar smile mirrored back at him.  It was at that moment he knew he would do anything to keep that look of happiness on her face, stranger or not.  “You know what,” he continued, “you should keep it- finders keepers and all that”.

Y/N laughed in disbelief, immediately shaking her head and pushing the book closer to its rightful owner.  “It’s bad enough I’ve had it this long,” she admitted.  “It belongs with you”.

“At least take this one then?”  Spencer’s brain continued to be a few steps ahead of him, and before he knew it he was taking the book in the stranger’s outstretched hands and placing his new copy in her grasp.  “It looks like you still have a hundred pages or so left and I wouldn’t want to keep you from finishing it.  Besides, I definitely don’t need two copies”.

The woman smiled and gave him an enthusiastic nod, and Spencer couldn’t help but think he just made the best decision of his life.  The speaker above them announced the next stop, and with a sudden jump she left her seat, discarding the new book into her bag and turning towards Spencer on her way to the door.  “Thanks, Spencer!” she exclaimed, “maybe I’ll see you around sometime”.  Another smile was sent his way, and before he earned up the nerve to ask for her name she was gone, disappearing into a growing crowd of commuters desperate to get back to the comfort of their homes and begin the weekend ahead.

***

The following morning, Spencer found himself in his living room with a mug of coffee in his hand, completely lost in his thoughts.  He was trying to calculate the chances of seeing the mystery woman again, considering it took six weeks after losing his book to see her for the first time at all.  

He groaned, inwardly cursing himself for his lack of courage the day before and wishing he at least had a name to match to the face that wouldn’t leave his mind.  As the coffee cooled, he found his gaze wandering to the coffee table where he had laid the book and his satchel the previous night.  With a sigh, Spencer picked up the book only to notice a bright orange post-it sticking out of one of the pages.

“The strongest of all warriors are these two- time and patience” was written in loopy writing, highlighted in yellow with exactly twelve exclamation points in red ink under it.  He was a man of science, but he couldn’t help but feel as though finding one of his favorite quotes from the novel staring up at him was a sign.

As he continued to skim the pages, he found note after note filled with quotes, reactions, and doodles and he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of admiration for the stranger who put them all there.  It was a book that held countless memories for Spencer, but already he could tell that this was going to be his ultimate favorite.  

Backtracking to the front page, Spencer saw his familiar scrawl had been slightly covered by a light blue post it note.  “If this book gets lost a second time I don’t want to make the same mistake as the first guy… please call Y/N at-” Spencer laughed, immediately grabbing his phone to dial the number before he has time to talk himself out of it.

As the phone began to ring, he thought about how he couldn’t picture her name being anything else.  It was as beautiful as she was, and he longed to properly meet the woman who managed to get his heart racing with just a few post-it notes.

“Hello?” the voice on the other end of his phone answered, and Spencer could immediately tell it was the same woman from the subway.

“Hi, is this Y/N?” he began, fingers nervously twiddling together.  At her hum of acknowledgement he continues, “This is Spencer, the guy who’s book you had?  I was just looking through the post-its you left behind and I love the perspective you have on the book.  Plus, it was so nice of you to even hold onto it in the first place so I was wondering if you’d wanna get coffee, maybe?  So I can say thank you for everything and talk about the book with you?”

The opposite end of the phone was silent and Spencer’s face grew red, his hands moving to his hair because how could he possibly think she wanted to meet him, she didn’t even know him and-

“I was hoping you’d find that post-it note,” she giggled, and with the sound all of Spencer’s worries completely washed away.  “Absolutely”.

***

Link to join my taglist ♡

[analviel]

I saw a trans!Piri headcanon and wanna jump on these headcanons:

So Piri is female physically. But just like precolonial filipinos, is genderfluid, as gender isn't static or binary for them.

They're fine with any kinds of pronouns because they don't have gendered pronouns in the first place and doesn't have attachments to any in particular.

He has amnesia because Spain had been determined and desperate enough to cut off everything that can prove rebellious and successfully suppressed it. For the most part. So Piri has a split personality, one being the adaptable, friendly, easy-going persona that picked up the sword and fought for his country. The other is a cruel, rigid warrior, defensive against foreigners, and fights for order and what he thinks should be, the incomplete, bastardized, extreme parts of the warrior he once was left to fester and corrupt itself. Yuuuup, its Martial Law.

(admittedly, it doesn't help when he has a habit of pushing extremely negative emotions over that border that seperates him.)

His element is the sea.

The archipelagos were close and traded with each other and other nearby countries, China being a familiar face. Though they had their moments and skirmishes like any Country family, they'd refferred to each other as sisters/brothers, and China mightve even been a mentor or father in some cases to others.

Piri was isolated and sheltered by Spain and the other archipelago doesn't see him for 300+ years. When he resurface, they are horrified to realize he has changed from the Piri they knew, having been 'tamed'. And when he'd cut off his hair- barely anyone had been able to look them in the eye, as they remember how it used to be important to them. They also couldn't look him in the eye because it was like a glimpse of a twisted reflection.

Piri initially had a hard time getting along with his neighbours. But they are family. They eventually get to it and they're not exactly going to leave him alone after 300+ years of seperation. But there are just. So many things he feels unable to connect with -the religion wasn't the problem, a relatively large percentage of his country share that- its the personal ones. They talk about times that used to be that had never been for him.

When Martial Law first resurfaced and then named as such for the first time, it had been horrifying. But personally, quietly, also a relief to realize that they no longer have to grieve for a lost part of Piri as it stays within him. Just waiting to be pieced together and balanced.

(Or not. It's still a relief. They are not new to change, but such drastic change that happened out of their sight was nauseous.)

Piri takes pictures a lot -and prints them and goes to lengths to preserve them- because he's already lost and forgotten so much he's almost obsessive with making more recorded memories in fear that he might forget again.

While more than happy to enjoy foreign culture, he sometimes feels envy for his more conservative neighbours who has much more stable identity than him.

He recalls, very vaguely, that he used to be married. He, or she as the westerners refferred to Piri before with a name they cannot recall, had been young still, younger than when Spain took him, and there was a constant presence beside him, a pair of child gods humans worshipped and decorated in matching clothing, and they played in the sea and the mountains hand in hand and talked and sang about the future of their nation.

The original KKK flag had been made of his pre-colonial skirt and the symbols had been sewn on it by the muse of the organization while Piri had sat and watched beside her every afternoon and night that it took to finish it. The one in the museum was actually a second copy when the first one almost got destroyed, only the middle embroidered flag remaining. He sometimes wears it as a bandana around his neck, symbol hidden.

He wears an agimat on his person at all times.

He has a sari-sari store.

Whenever there are rescue operations especially in flooded areas, he's always there personally as no one can swim as well as he does. He mightve forgotten everything else, but not the sea, never the sea.