#I’m still in episode 1 is it obvious???

[lokiusly]

I love soft Lokius but sexual tension masked as sarcastic banter Lokius was iconic…

Mobius: *says something outta pocket and walks away*

Loki: I beg your pardon—

Mobius: *smirking and turns around slowly* I thought gods didn’t beg?

Loki: *face drops immediately*

[matt-murdockk]

Nine-Nine!

an extremely self indulgent brooklyn 99 and criminal minds crossover

pairing: spencer reid x reader (with a tiny bit of almost jake peralta x reader for funsies)

words: 3.0k

warnings: none, this is fluff and comedy <3

summary: Spencer Reid’s grip on sanity? Loose. (Y/n)’s patience? Tested. Jake Peralta? Accidentally in the middle of a romcom finale with no snacks. There’s banter, jealousy, a tasered vending machine, and one (1) emergency love confession.

a/n: crossover episode my beloved; this was extremely fun to write lolllllll, hope you like it <3

Spencer was already three tangents deep into the geographic profile, talking fast, hands moving like the words were trying to escape faster than his brain could handle. (Y/n) had learned years ago to just let him go. He’d loop back around eventually. Usually.

“The spacing of the disposal sites suggests he’s sticking to a routine. All within a tight radius— three miles or so. That kind of pattern almost always means it’s familiar territory. Could be work, could be home base. Most likely night shifts, given the dump times— between 2:10 and 3:30 a.m. Which means fewer witnesses, less traffic—”

“Or he just likes moonlight and solitude,” (Y/n) said absently, scribbling something in her notebook. “Creepy guys tend to romanticize the weirdest stuff.”

Spencer didn’t look up. “That’s… statistically consistent with other narcissistic or compulsive offenders, actually.”

She glanced over at him. “You know you could just say ‘you’re right.’ It won’t kill you.”

He did look at her then, quick, with the faintest smirk pulling at his mouth. “I’m not sure I’ve tested that hypothesis thoroughly enough to risk it.”

She snorted. “Tragic. I thought you loved me.”

Spencer didn’t miss a beat. “I do. But not enough to sacrifice academic integrity.”

“Wow.�� She pressed a hand to her chest. “Wounded. Devastated. Utterly betrayed.”

“Noted,” he murmured, turning back to his screen with an annoyingly smug look.

Derek leaned forward from his seat across the aisle. “Are y’all gonna do this the whole flight?”

JJ didn’t even look up from her file. “They’re gonna do this the whole case.”

“I’m sitting right here,” (Y/n) called over.

“And yet, you keep doing this,” Emily muttered, sipping her coffee. “Every case. Without fail.”

Spencer turned his tablet toward (Y/n), pretending not to hear them. “There are five possible buildings inside the comfort zone. Abandoned commercial spaces, all accessible. No cameras.”

She leaned closer, squinting at the screen. “That one. Tucked behind the construction site. No visibility from the road.”

He nodded. “I had that ranked third.”

“I outrank your list.”

“You outrank logic?”

“I outrank you, Reid.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Bold claim for someone who once tripped over their own shoelaces during a takedown.”

“You’re never letting that go, are you.”

“Absolutely not.”

(Y/n) sighed, grabbing her coffee and slumping back in her seat. “You’re lucky I find your chaos charming.”

Spencer, without looking up, murmured, “You’re lucky I find you charming.”

And just like that, she paused.

It wasn’t even the words— it was the way he said it. Like it was obvious. Like it wasn’t meant to land the way it did.

Her fingers stilled on the coffee cup. Just for a second. Then she shook her head, eyes narrowing. “You trying to throw me off before we hit the ground? Because that’s a dirty tactic, Reid.”

He smiled, faint. “If I wanted to throw you off, I’d bring up that time you accidentally used your taser on the vending machine.”

“That was one time.”

“I still have the video.”

Derek threw up his hands. “Okay, I need noise-canceling headphones or a fire alarm. One or the other.”

“Let them have their foreplay,” Rossi grumbled from behind his paper. “Just as long as it doesn’t slow down the case.”

(Y/n) rolled her eyes, but she didn’t stop smiling. Not even a little.

And Spencer? He didn’t say anything else.

But his knee brushed against hers under the table.

And he didn’t move it.

——————————————————————————————————

The precinct was pure, barely-contained chaos. Phones ringing, printers jamming, someone yelling “I said decaf!” from the breakroom. (Y/n) stepped in behind the team, her eyes scanning the flurry with the kind of calm that only came from years of being thrown headfirst into crime scenes that smelled like old pizza and adrenaline.

Then— like he was summoned by the gods of caffeine and chaos— a voice cut through the noise.

“FBI? Oh thank god. Tell me you’re the FBI. If one more lieutenant hands me a case file on raccoon-related vandalism, I’m going to start speaking in riddles.”

The guy had two coffees in one hand, a folder under his arm, and the kind of face that said yes, I’m sleep-deprived, but I’ve made it part of my personality now.

“Detective Jake Peralta,” he added, stepping forward and immediately handing one of the coffees off to a passing officer. “You must be the reinforcements. Welcome to our deeply unfortunate circus.”

(Y/n) stepped forward with a polite smile. “Agent (Y/l/n), BAU.”

Jake looked at her and forgot what vowels were.

“Oh. Cool. Yeah. Wow.” He blinked. “Hi. Sorry. That was… a very professional reaction to a federal agent. I’m super normal.”

(Y/n) raised an eyebrow, amused. “Totally. You look extremely normal.”

Jake pointed at her like he was confirming her existence for himself. “And funny. She’s funny, too. Great. Just awesome.”

Spencer, two steps behind her, tilted his head the tiniest bit. Not enough to be obvious. Just enough that Emily, walking next to him, noticed immediately.

“So,” Jake said, already spinning on his heel and motioning them toward the evidence board, “we’ve got three victims, matching M.O., a dump site triangle, and a ton of questions. I’d love to walk you through it. Bonus: I also know where the best snacks are hidden in this precinct. Critical intel.”

“Let me guess,” (Y/n) said, falling into step beside him, “you keep gummy bears in a murder folder?”

Jake gave her a wide-eyed, deeply serious nod. “Listen, I can’t solve murder with low blood sugar. That’s just biology. Forensics and fruit snacks— two pillars of modern justice.”

She actually laughed, bumping her shoulder lightly into his. “That’s what you’re going with? Fruit snacks and felony charges?”

“Look,” he said, glancing at her with a grin, “some people have badges, some have instincts— I have a snack drawer and a vibe.”

(Y/n) shot him a look. “And a lot of confidence, apparently.”

“It’s the only thing holding me together.”

Spencer, still watching from behind, clenched his jaw and stared very intently at the murder board— as if sheer willpower would make Jake Peralta spontaneously combust.

Derek leaned over slightly. “You good?”

“I’m fine,” Spencer said. Way too quickly.

“Uh-huh.”

(Y/n) looked over her shoulder, smiling. “Spencer, you coming?”

Spencer blinked. “Right behind you.”

Emily raised an eyebrow as he passed, giving him that look— the one that meant I know, and I’m about to say it out loud.

He walked faster.

Behind them, Emily whispered to JJ, “We have now entered full-blown Jealous Spencer territory.”

JJ winced sympathetically. “He doesn’t stand a chance.”

——————————————————————————————————

The dump site was taped off, abandoned and eerie in the late afternoon light. A narrow alley backed by cracked concrete walls, discarded furniture, and silence— except for the occasional buzz of Spencer’s pen clicking in his pocket. Repeatedly.

Jake and (Y/n) were walking ahead of the rest of the group, ducking under the tape, their steps crunching through gravel.

“Okay,” Jake said, scanning the alley. “I know it’s not exactly a five-star view, but I promise this is the cleanest murder site we’ve had all week. That’s a weird sentence.”

(Y/n) laughed. “It’s fine. We spend half our lives in parking lots and basements. Honestly, this is kind of charming.”

Jake pointed at a tipped-over dumpster. “Ah, yes. Classic small-town ambiance.”

She crouched near a drainpipe, tilting her head. “He’s dumping at night. No cameras. But the dumpster’s too obvious— too accessible. He’s not just hiding the bodies, he’s watching them.”

Jake blinked. “Okay. That’s… both creepy and very insightful. You do this a lot?”

She looked up at him, playful. “Solve murders? Yeah. Flirt at them? Not usually.”

He smirked, a little lopsided. “Hey, I haven’t even started flirting yet. That was just me being charming.”

“Oh, just charming?” she teased.

Jake leaned against the wall, watching her. “Let me know when you’re ready for the full Peralta experience. It includes sarcasm, emotional baggage, and an impressive knowledge of Die Hard trivia.”

(Y/n) stood, brushing off her knees. “That’s a lot to take in on a first crime scene.”

He grinned. “So you’re saying there’ll be a second?”

A beat. Just a pause. She didn’t answer right away.

Spencer, across the lot with Derek and Emily, had stopped mid-sentence, his entire expression shifted from mildly focused to openly horrified.

“She’s laughing,” he said flatly.

Emily glanced up from her notes. “Yeah, that tends to happen when people are enjoying themselves.”

“With him.”

“Oh no,” Derek muttered. “We’ve lost him.”

The rest of the team returned to the SUV, but Emily stayed behind, as if she knew this wasn't done yet.

“She’s laughing at his jokes,” Spencer repeated, eyes still locked on the two figures across the alley.

“She laughs at yours,” Emily said.

“That’s different. She knows mine are objectively not funny.”

“Okay, you know what?” Emily snapped her folder shut. “We’re doing this now. Let’s go, Genius.”

Spencer blinked as she grabbed his elbow and dragged him toward the SUV.

“What? No— I’m working.”

“You’re spiraling,” she corrected. “And doing it in a crime scene, which is new.”

Behind them, (Y/n) was still talking to Jake, standing closer now, arms crossed and leaning in like she didn’t even realize she was doing it.

Spencer’s voice dropped. “Emily, I’m fine.”

“You’re jealous,” she said, eyes sharp. “And for a guy who can read microexpressions from thirty feet away, you are shockingly bad at clocking your own.”

“I don’t get jealous,” he said, almost insulted.

She gave him a look.

“…Okay, I am jealous,” he admitted under his breath. “But I don’t know what to do about that.”

Emily leaned against the SUV, watching Spencer like she was trying to figure out whether she needed to slap sense into him or hug him. Maybe both. Probably both.

He was pacing. Not frantically, just… tightly. Hands in his pockets, jaw tense, doing that thing where his eyes tracked the ground like the answers were written there.

“I mean, it’s fine,” he said finally, like he was trying to convince the air. “She’s allowed to laugh at someone else’s jokes. I’m not— entitled to anything.”

Emily stayed quiet.

He glanced back at the alley where (Y/n) was standing with Jake. She was leaning on one foot, comfortable. She looked happy. And it gutted him.

“It’s just— he’s charming,” Spencer muttered. “And funny. And he’s got that whole casual swagger thing going on. I mean, who even has swagger in 2025? Apparently, Jake does. And she’s… she’s smiling.”

“You’re allowed to be upset,” Emily said, her voice soft, even.

Spencer didn’t answer. His hands were twitching in his pockets now.

“I’ve had… crushes,” he said finally, like it was painful to admit even that much. “A few. Not a lot. But some. And usually they’re easy to understand. You think someone’s cute. You like their voice. You want them to notice you.”

He shook his head.

“This isn’t that.”

Emily just watched him.

“I notice everything,” he went on, his voice quieter now. “Not because I’m profiling her. Not because I’m analyzing anything. I just… do. I know when she’s about to make a bad joke because she gets this look— like she’s proud of it already. I know she only pretends to like black coffee when we’re around local PD because she thinks it makes her look tougher.”

A pause. His voice dipped even lower.

“I know the sound of her laugh when it’s real. I know when she’s tired, even if she’s smiling. I know when she’s faking being okay. And I know when she’s actually okay. And I know that right now…” He looked up, eyes fixed on her across the lot, where she and Jake were still talking, still laughing.

“…She’s really okay. With him.”

Emily stepped closer, gentle. “Spence.”

He didn’t look at her.

“I think about her all the time,” he said, like he was just realizing it out loud. “Not in a way I… planned. Just— suddenly I’m at a bookstore and wondering if she’d like the cover of something. Or I hear a song and I can’t tell if I like it until I know if she would. It’s— constant.”

He laughed once, breathy and humorless. “And statistically, I know crushes fade. The brain adjusts. The novelty goes away. But this? This has been over a year. Maybe longer.”

Emily tilted her head. “And?”

Spencer blinked.

“…And I think I’m in love with her.”

A pause. Then—

“Oh,” he breathed. “Shit.”

Emily smiled, just barely. “Took you long enough.”

He ran both hands over his face. “I don’t— what am I supposed to do with that?”

“You tell her,” she said gently.

“What? No, I can’t.”

“You can.”

“Emily, she's quite possibly the closest friend I have. What if it ruins everything?”

Emily didn’t answer for a second. She just looked at him— really looked at him— and said, “Spencer. You're already miserable. At least ruin it with some dignity, damn it.”

He looked back at (Y/n). She was saying goodbye to Jake now, walking back toward the team, tucking her hair behind her ear like she always did when she was distracted. She looked like home.

Spencer exhaled. “Yeah. Okay. I’m completely screwed.”

Emily nodded. “Yeah. You are. Oh, and for the record, I thought I was your closest friend, and honestly, I feel so attacked right now."

"You'll live."

"Hey!" retorted Emily, followed by a smack to his arm.

——————————————————————————————————

The sun had dipped low, casting long shadows across the precinct lot. The case was wrapped, files turned in, media dodged. (Y/n) was leaning against the SUV, arms crossed, sipping from her now-cold coffee like it was still doing something.

Jake jogged up to her, slowing as he approached. Not suave. Just… trying.

“Hey,” he said, offering a lopsided smile. “So, weird question for the end of a triple homicide, but— any chance I could take you to dinner sometime?”

(Y/n) blinked. “Oh.”

She smiled, a little surprised. “Jake, you’re— great. I had fun working with you.”

Jake’s grin faltered just enough to be human. “But…?”

“But—”

“Wait!”

Both of them turned.

Spencer was standing about ten feet away, looking like he had sprinted here but didn’t want to show it. His hair was windswept, his shirt slightly crooked, and his expression somewhere between resolute and deeply alarmed.

(Y/n) blinked. “Spencer?”

Jake glanced between them. “Should I…? I can come back.”

“No, no,” Spencer said quickly, stepping forward. “You’re fine. I mean— not fine, you’re not staying. I mean, yes, you’re staying right now, I just—”

He looked at (Y/n), all the air gone from his lungs.

“I need to say something.”

(Y/n) tilted her head, cautious now. “Okay…”

Spencer glanced at Jake. Then at her. Then back at Jake.

“This is going to be weird with him here,” he muttered.

“I can pretend to be a lamp,” Jake offered, backing up slightly. “I’m excellent at furniture-based camouflage.”

“Jake,” (Y/n) said, half-laughing, “you don’t have to—”

“I really think I do,” he said, hands raised. “There’s a lot of emotion in the air and I don’t want to get hit by it.”

Spencer ignored him. His eyes stayed on her.

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he said softly. “I told myself it wasn’t the right time. That we had too much to lose. That maybe I was just… projecting.”

He swallowed. “But then I watched someone else get to make you laugh. I watched you lean in, and talk like he already belonged in your world. And I realized— I’ve been pretending that I didn’t already live there.”

(Y/n)’s breath caught.

Spencer took another step closer. “I know the way you look when you’re solving a puzzle you don’t know you’ve solved yet. I know how you take your coffee differently when you’re pretending you’re fine. I know that you hum when you’re reading case files, and that you’ll always find a way to make the worst days seem funny, just to keep us all going.”

He paused, voice low. “I notice everything about you. Not because I’m profiling you. Just… because it’s you.”

Jake mouthed oh my god to himself, backing up another step.

(Y/n) stared at Spencer, wide-eyed. “You— you’ve never said any of this.”

“I didn’t know how,” Spencer admitted. “But I’m in love with you. And it took me way too long to say it. So if you’re going to say no— please do it fast, before I combust.”

Silence.

Then—

“Spencer,” she said softly, stepping toward him. “You’re an idiot.”

His face fell— until she reached out and grabbed the front of his jacket and kissed him.

It was fast. Then slow. Then somewhere in between. Like they’d been waiting for years but were still trying to catch up.

Jake, standing off to the side, made a quiet choking sound.

“I am so intruding,” he muttered. “You know what? I’m gonna go. I’m gonna walk into the woods and never come back. I’ll start a new life. Join a wolf pack. Change my name. Just... yeah.”

They didn’t hear him.

(Y/n) pulled back just slightly, forehead still resting against Spencer’s.

“You’re in love with me?”

He nodded, breathless. “Deeply. Disastrously.”

She let out a laugh— half relief, half disbelief— as her forehead rested against his. “Oh, thank God. It was killing me thinking it might just be me.”

Jake was halfway to the sidewalk when Spencer called out— without looking—

“Thank you for not asking her out.”

Jake froze. “I did. You just… intercepted mid-sentence.”

Spencer blinked. “Oh. Sorry.”

Jake clapped once. “Well, that was the best romcom finale I’ve ever witnessed. I’m gonna go cry in my car.”

He turned again, walking toward his car like a man who had just lost a bet to fate.

God, I’m never gonna hear the end of this from Rosa.

[stargirlygirl]

you walk out on him

zayne x fem!reader

⭑.ᐟ part two

summary: it's been one week since you walked out on zayne. both of you have been silent. cue your surprise when you get a knock at the door late at night from your ex-boyfriend.

contains: hurt comfort, angst, suggestive in text messages, zayne apologises and professes his love for you, 2.1k words

pt.1

One week.

It’s been one week since Zayne laid those sharp, hazel eyes on you, and he’s going insane. At first, he was feeling pretty confident. You were upset and needed some space. Surely, you would message him sometime that day, asking to discuss things.

Wrong.

The second day, Zayne was still feeling confident, albeit less confident than yesterday. Leaving the apartment that morning, he notices you forgot your favourite necklace— the necklace he bought you for your one-year anniversary. Surely, you would be around to pick it up, and he would somehow catch you in the act.

Also wrong.

When he came home around 11pm that night, your necklace was still sitting on the dresser. To Zayne, the diamond looks slightly dull, or maybe that’s his teary foggy eyes. He resolves to have it cleaned tomorrow.

By day three, Zayne’s confidence in you returning is non-existent. Still no word from you, his mind races over all of the mistakes he’s made these past few months leading to this hiccup in your relationship. Looking back, it’s so fucking obvious. Not texting you daily, not taking days off, never telling you when he would be home, and not giving you his full attention even when he was at home. And it wasn’t solely because he was busy or tired. It was because he thought you could bear it.

Being a cardiac surgeon isn’t for the weak. Choosing this profession, he’s had to put much of his personal life on the back burner, especially when his work schedule got even busier than usual. But over the years, he’s learnt to grit his teeth and bear it. He enjoys it even. But why did he expect the same of you?

For the first time in Zayne’s life, he succumbs to temptation and tries his first energy drink. It tastes like medicine, grating and sour to the tongue. But nothing can compare to the flavour of your absence. Unable to sleep for the past several nights, he treks down to his local gas station and buys the canned arsenic.

Once the cardiologist gets home, he pops the tag and takes a sip. Recoiling with disgust, he finds the willpower to finish the 200 mL of poison. And now, he can’t sleep. The caffeine keeps him up well into the early hours of the morning, fuelling his attempts to type out an apology message.

I’m so sorry, darling. I want to make things right between us—

“No,” he groans, pressing ‘backspace’ with his pointer finger so hard he could crack the phone screen.

I’m so sorry, darling. I miss you terr—

My sincerest apolog—

I know that I’ve hurt you very deeply, my love. But if you’d be willing to give me another chance, I’d like to make things right between us.

Huffing, he deletes the message and throws his phone on his bed before heading to the bathroom to get ready for work.

As it hits Friday, one week after you left, Zayne is feeling confident. Confident that he can’t go on without you anymore. The energy drink catches up to him, and he almost falls asleep mid-consult. Finishing off with the patient, he has the rest of his appointments cancelled and dozes off in his office.

When he wakes, night has fallen. Gathering his bag and coat, he books it to his car and clicks ‘Start Route’ on his Audi’s GPS to Tara’s apartment complex. Once parked, he takes the elevator up to her apartment, mentally rehearsing everything he’s been meaning to say to you this past week.

…˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚…

You’re halfway through the new episode of your show when there’s a knock at the front door. It’s just you tonight, seeing as Tara’s out on a mission for the next couple of days. Throwing off your blanket, you stalk to the front door and stand on your tippy-toes to glance through the peephole.

“Go away, Zayne,” you grumble through the door.

He shifts closer, one hand on the wood as he declares, “No. I’m not going anywhere.” Groaning, you flip the lock and swing the door half open. He’s close, towering over you with dopey, wide eyes, which rake over your figure. You’re in his shirt, the sleeves rolled back and v-neck hanging off one shoulder. His gaze darts up to yours.

You sigh, “What is it?” Zayne steps back, putting some distance between you as he clears his throat.

“I’d like to talk,” he says clinically.

“Talk?” You bite back. “About what?”

“About us.”

You scoff, “I’m surprised you have the time. Don’t you have some emergency surgery to attend to?”

He shakes his head, saying firmly, “I took the night off.”

“Wow,” you say sarcastically. “Your first night off in months, and you choose to spend it with me. How thoughtful.” You roll your eyes, the pettiness bubbling up to the surface.

“Y/n.” Looking back at your boyfriend(? ex-boyfriend?), you take note of the knot in his brow. His scent wafts over to you, a mix of sweets, sweat, and… was that a Red Bull?

He sighs, “You have every right to still be angry with me after how I neglected you. But please, will you give me the chance to fix things between us?” You stare at him, thinking over his words. You’re about to respond when you notice the resident gym rat trying to sneak past. Reaching out, you grab Zayne’s forearm and tug him closer to you.

“Sorry,” you call past him.

Your neighbour mutters, “It’s fine,” as they dash off to their apartment. Hearing the click of their door, you release Zayne’s arm.

Gazing up, you huff, “Come in.” You push the door open wider with your back, standing against it and trying to make yourself smaller as the surgeon slips past you. It’s cosy inside: soft halogens, a warm vanilla candle going, and the low hum of your tv show.

“Take a seat,” you instruct, pointing to the couch. Leaving his shoes by the door, Zayne does as he’s told. His sleepy eyes are glued to you as you sit across from him, the too-big shirt sliding further down your shoulder. You must have recently showered, he thinks. Your skin is positively radiant and looks so smooth. The urge to touch you is unbearable, but he bears it. As long as he gets to speak to you, he’ll do anything.

“My eyes are up here,” you snap.

“Right,” he says quietly, heat rising to the tips of his ears. His heart rate accelerates as you two sit in almost silence for a minute.

Finally, Zayne apologises, “I’m sorry for ignoring you, darling.” Ooo, strike one. Your brow raises, and your eyes dart up and down his frame from the pet name. Fuck, no more pet names, he reprimands himself.

“You mean everything to me, and I was— I am— an awful partner for not reminding you of that every day,” he continues. Strike two. Bold of him to assume you’re still together. Not that you aren’t. You didn’t consider the sticky situation you would create for future you by walking out on him. But you appreciate his sentiment.

“I wish that I had taken the initiative to contact you earlier, and reassure you of your importance to me despite my busy schedule.” You nod, starting to like what you’re hearing. But by no means is he off the hook.

He sighs, “I took you for granted. Not because you’re not important. But I thought we could handle it. I thought you could handle my absence.” Strike three.

“What’re you saying?” You ask, your forehead creased and mouth twisted into a pout.

Zayne mumbles beneath his breath, “Fuck.” Pushing up his glasses, he clarifies, “What I mean to say is that I was ignorant of your needs, and my duties as your partner to fulfil those needs. I was unaware that you needed me to be more present in our relationship. And I was unaware of the toll my neglect took on you.” Better.

You prompt, “And so what’re you going to do about it? When it gets really busy, how are you going to make time for us?”

“Well,” he starts. “I’m going to communicate to you around what time I’ll be getting home, and make sure that if that changes, then I let you know. I’ll take a day off once a week, and we can spend it together. When you visit me at the hospital, I’ll be attentive to you. And if I can’t be, then I’ll tell you.” You hum, approving of his answer.

Zayne sighs, “But, I need you to communicate to me when you’re feeling dissatisfied in our relationship. If I’m very busy, then I want you to do whatever it takes to make me listen to you.” You chuckle. It’s short and soft, but it reinvigorates him the way an energy drink can’t.

“Whatever it takes?” You muse, your arms crossed underneath your chest, loosening.

He nods, “Yes. Grab me by the collar and give me an earful if you have to. Whatever you have to say to me, I want to hear it.” You gaze at him for a long moment, weighing up his apology and your pain. Your heart thumps in your chest, and your hands are becoming sweaty.

You pose the final question: “Why didn’t you come after me sooner? It’s been a whole week.”

Zayne avoids your eyes as he murmurs, “I… needed time to collect my thoughts as I’m sure you did.” He pauses before meeting your gaze.

“I love you, Y/n. I will always love you,” he states like it’s a fact and not a feeling. Like the only thing he’s sure of in this lifetime is his love for you.

Sighing, you slowly rise from the sofa opposite him. Stepping around the coffee table, you stand in front of him. He stares up at you, analysing all of the emotions in your eyes. They’re much gentler now.

He breathes out shakily, “Did I pass?” You smirk and run your hands through his hair, scratching at his scalp lightly and eliciting a soft sigh from him.

Zayne raises his hands slowly and reaches out for you tentatively. You give a small nod, urging him to touch you. When his cold fingers caress the back of your thigh, you shiver. They tremble as he palms your warm flesh and presses you into the space between his legs.

You giggle, “You scraped it by only one point.” His eyes almost pop out of his skull, and his jaw slackens— utterly mortified.

“O-one point?” He stutters.

You chuckle, unable to contain yourself, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. By two points at least.” His head dips as he nuzzles your tummy.

He murmurs into his your shirt, “That’s my worst grade yet. Don’t you think you mark too harshly?”

Ruffling his hair, you quip, “No.” Your hands slide down to his shoulders and wrap around the back of his neck. His toned arms encircle your legs as he sighs into your warmth. All of the tension accumulating this past week dissolves beneath your fingertips, and Zayne finds himself rather tired. Yawning, he tenderly kisses your navel through the cotton fabric.

“Where’s Tara?” He asks lazily.

You chirp, “She’s on a mission. Won’t be back until tomorrow night.”

“Mhmm,” he hums. You two remain like that for a few minutes, content to enjoy these tender touches and each other’s presence.

Eventually, Zayne yanks you down onto his lap and cuddles with you. He murmurs sweet apologies in your ear as he strokes your thigh, twirling the hem of your shirt between his fingers. You rest your head against his shoulder and close your eyes, your hand on his heart. It beats steadily beneath your palm, a constant reminder that everything will be okay.

At some point, you doze off because when you open your eyes, you’re in Tara’s guest room. Morning sunlight streams through the curtains, and birds chirp in the distance. You stretch and turn your head to the side, eyes searching for a swathe of black hair and pale skin.

There’s no sign of Zayne. Not as you get out of bed and clean yourself up. Not even as you head to the kitchen and boil the kettle. Not until your phone pings.

You grab it, hoping that it’s him. And you grin as you pour boiling water into a mug with a tea bag in it, clicking on his message.

masterlist

a/n: here's part two as requested! hope all of you liked it. i was gonna make him like beg, but i feel like zayne doesn't grovel. i think if it was raf or caleb, they would be on their knees pleading for a second chance, but not zayne.

(almost) every one who asked for a pt.2 - @notsurewhattocallthisblog8888, @schnittled, @ciaradream8, @mystqyy, @syluslittlecrows, @mcdepressed290, @regalillegal, @crimsonsylus, @slimearchon

[jihyoruri]

❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ 𓍢 LOVE SONG (youtube series)sophia laforteza x reader

💌★ ͘ ⴰ ever since dream academy the general public took notice of the tension between sophia and yn and not the good kind, it was obvious the two weren’t the biggest fans of each other and even more obvious when people watched pop star academy, so it leaves people wondering how they went from not even hiding their dislike for each other to being the most shipped in the group?

a series that shows youtube videos made by the very eyekon that made yn and sophia the ship they are today.

PARING — sophia laforteza x 7th member!reader

★ ͘ ⴰ genre + warnings : smau, various youtube videos, fluff, slight angst

last | masterlist | next

★ ͘ ⴰ VIDEO#1 yn and sophia being the ultimate enemies to lovers 80k views

— BEFORE DEBUT

➩ INTRO… 📼(when almost everyone in dream academy had sophia in their lineup… and then there’s yn)

yn tilted her head in thought, tapping her fingers against her chin as if solving a world shattering puzzle. “okay, definitely lara,” she began confidently, nodding as if solidifying her decision. “then daniela... megan... lexie…” she paused, a sheepish laugh escaping her lips. “wait, am I just naming all the powerhouses right now?” (the audacity bffr yn.)

“nayoung, for sure… uh…” she trailed off, her brow furrowing before she suddenly snapped her fingers, her face lighting up. “oh! and manon. my girl, obviously.”

➩ INTRO… 2 📼(the infamous “maybe you’re just early every time”)

sophia and yn are standing side by side during practice, reviewing choreography. Sophia’s expression is calm but clearly exasperated. “yn, you’re late on the turn every time,” she says, her voice cutting but controlled.

yn nodded her head and turned around to get back in position before muttering “maybe you’re just early every time,” as quietly as possible but camera still picked up on it.

➩ INTRO… 3 📼(yn leaving sophia on read)

[screenshot of a group chat shared during a pop star academy episode ]

lara: hey guys, can we finalize vocals by tonight?

yn: yup!

sophia: sure, I just sent the arrangement notes to yn. yn let me know if it works.

lara: yn?

➩ INTRO… 3 📼(when they both showed up late…)

everyone was warming up when sophia walked in first, looking frazzled. moments later, yn strolled in casually, earning a sharp glare from Sophia.

“you’re late,” sophia pointed out.

“so are you,” yn countered, raising an eyebrow.

— AFTER DEBUT

➩ CLIP #1 PLAYING… 📼 (sophia and yn during rehearsal 🤭)

the camera zooms in as the members are stretching and warming up for their upcoming choreography session.

in the background, yn and sophia are standing close by, both practicing their formations.

yn reaches up to adjust her hair, and in that moment, her hand brushes against sophia’s. at first, sophia pulls back sharply, her gaze flicking towards yn with a flicker of surprise. but yn doesn’t make a big deal of it, instead casually continuing to adjust her position.

sophia hesitates for a moment, then subtly places her hand back on yn’s lower back to guide her into position.

➩ CLIP #2 PLAYING… 📼 (when sophia looked for yn after their first show)

the clip cuts to backstage where the members are all celebrating their first successful performance. Sophia walks past the members of the group, clearly scanning the area.

“has anyone seen yn?” she asks, her tone just a little softer than usual.

lara and daniela exchange a glance before lara shrugs. “she was just with megan, I think. why?”

sophia shrugs before she walks off in the direction they pointed. the camera follows her for a moment, and as she turns the corner, she finds yn sitting quietly, already taking off her stage makeup.

“hey,” Sophia says, her voice softer now. yn looks up, surprised but not annoyed.

“you okay?” Sophia asks again, sitting down beside her.

yn nods slowly, her eyes meeting sophia’s “yeah I’m just tired.” she mumbled before looking at the camera, “I can’t wait to nap in the car.” she says to it.

sophia watches her for a moment, “okay well, hurry up so you can sleep.”

➩ CLIP #3 PLAYING… 📼 (when yn got sophia extremely flustered)

the camera stilled on katseye as the girls stood together at a festival, watching the performance unfolding in front of them. the energy was electric, but yn’s attention shifted slightly to sophia, who was sitting beside her, intently watching the stage.

yn leaned in, her lips dangerously close to sophia ear as she whispered something. sophia barely registered at first, distracted by the booming music around them. she turned her head slightly, her face now directly in line with yn’s, and was startled at how close yn’s face had gotten.

sophia flinched back, her cheeks instantly flushing, and covered her face with her hand, the camera couldn’t pick up on what sophia was saying but they could tell she definitely said something along the lines of “what the hell, yn?” 

yn, laughing softly, leaned her head onto sophia’s shoulder, her cheek brushing against it as she continued to chuckle at the flustered girl beside her.

➩ CLIP #4 PLAYING… 📼 (no words just this moment)

after a performance, the girls were walking out of the venue, chatting and laughing as they made their way to the van. sophia casually draped her arm around yn’s shoulder, she looked at yn and whispered something.

before yn could respond, megan suddenly pulled her away, waving enthusiastically at a fan and dragged her towards the van.

💌★ ͘ ⴰ TAGLIST @jaythegirlkisser @gtfoiydlyj @goofymickeyr @mandumandy @falling-intoo-deep @cassiespoiler @arihiu @fruityg0rl @sunshinez4 @kristalag

[sexy-monster-fucker]

I Don’t Love You, I’m Just Passing the Time

Dr. Gregory House x Doctor!Reader

Story Synopsis: Reader is a Doctor alongside House. They have known each other for years, mostly been dancing around being intimate with one another. Even though it is painfully obvious to their close friend, Wilson. After finally allowing their guards to fall, the Reader receives a letter inviting her for her dream position at her dream hospital. She has to make the hard choice of staying or going. angst/smut/nsfw/new relationships/minor fluff/typical hospital talk/situationship/

Part 1/Summary: Reader is woken in the middle of the night on the pretenses that her patient’s mother is distressed over some tests being run. Little does she know, House was the one behind it all.

CW: mentions of STDs, house being house, makeout, house being handsy, drug mention, situationship final boss

a/n: i just started episode one of house md, so apologies in advance if this is written out of character

title track 🎶🩶

~~~

"Did you seriously go behind my back and run tests on my patient?"

You folded your arms over your chest as you stormed into his office. Being called in from your bed because your patient's mother was distressed that her child had been brought back for testing that you had not informed them up. Still in your t-shirt, only having time to throw on a pair of jeans that you had laying on the floor. Not exactly the image of professionalism you normally showed. Running off pure adrenaline and rage as you tapped your foot on the linoleum floor.

"Well, good morning to you too, sweetheart," Dr. Gregory House, a fellow colleague of yours, snarked with a smirk. You had known him for years. Working alongside him even through all his questionable antics. Finding a close friendship in him and Dr. James Wilson. Somehow still annoyed when he would do something questionably ethical, even though it did not surprise you anymore.

"House," you chastised with tight lips.

"What if I saved your patient's life?"

"Since when did you care about other people's patients?"

"Touché," his eyebrows bounced as blue eyes darted to the side.

Your eyes lasered into him from across his desk. Waiting for some explanation as to why he felt the need to weasel his way into another one of your cases. Anger swirling around your stomach as the seconds ticked by.

"Your tits look good in that shirt," his eyes trailed down to your chest. Earning him an elongated eyeroll from you. His inability to not comment on your body any chance he got shining through. Cocky attitude gleaming behind his eyes.

"You think I don't know that?"

"You're standing here like you do."

"I'm standing here like I am waiting to hear your excuse," you growled. Jaw clinching as your temples flexed. Boiling under the layers of composure you were keeping.

"You left all your paperwork out. The whiteboard still had writing on it. How could I not tickle my fancy and see what you weren't? You should be thanking me. Kid's got chlamydia. Give her some antibiotics and she'll be fine," House shrugged.

"I ran tests for every STD in the book," you grimaced.

"When you hear hooves, assume horses not zebras, Y/L/N," his tone was teasing as he smiled. And you would be lying if you said that it did not make you want to smile back. House was a complete ass. Full of himself, condescending, and just not the most fun guy to be around. But you had grown fond of him. There was no other man alive who you would let talk to you the way he does, let alone flirt with you so much. And you liked him. The way his hair was disheveled, the way his beard ran softly down his neck, and how his eyes were always looking at you deeply. Denying yourself the reality of any sort of relationship, seeing as he was emotionally unavailable.

But you could still have fun with him.

"You're telling me it came back positive this time?"

"Yes. That's what happens when a real doctor runs tests. Instead of making interns do it," hooded eyes looked up at you.

Your tongue came out to glaze over your teeth. Closing the distance between you as you leaned across the table. Teeth grinding together as you stared into his eyes, "You woke me up to gloat?"

"I didn't wake you up. Remember? The mother was worried," he smirked, clearly admitting the false nature of your page.

"You lied to get me here so you could brag in my face," your brows pushed together as you scanned his face. Watching his eyes stare down the v-neck of your shirt as you leaned forward. Clearly fixated on your exposed breasts.

“You sleep without a bra?”

Your face flushes at the realization. In your rush to leave you had not even taken the time to throw on a bra. Understanding why he was so awestruck by your chest. Having a clear view of every detail.

You straightened your back and cleared your throat. Lips parted in embarrassment. Unable to look in his piercing blue eyes. You could see him snickering out of the corner of your eye. Loving how flustered he had you.

“Why did you want me here?”

“I was worried about your patient, of course. Maybe I just like messing with you. Maybe I just wanted to see you,” House bullshitted you. He was the King at it. Fastest way he knew how to get under people’s skin. But you were all too familiar with his game.

You walked around his desk, causing him to straighten his back and wonder what you were about to do to him. You took your place between his spread legs and the desk. Sitting on the edge directly in front of him. Head tilting to the side as you teased, “Did you really miss me that bad?”

House chuckled, rolling his neck as he thought of a response. Scooting his chair closer so that he could be against your legs. Almost close enough to touch you, head leaned above your lap. You caressed his chin with your pointer finger, prickly facial hair danced along your digit. Causing his eyes to fall shut for a moment. Lingering in your soft touch.

“Look, I get we haven’t been working many cases together. And I know it’s so hard for you to be away from me, but you can’t just pull me out of bed in the middle of the night,” you smiled, voice soft with a hint of joking.

“I’d rather be in bed with you,” House grinned. Earning himself another eye roll from you. You flicked his forehead. His brows furrowed together as an over exaggerated ‘OW’ came from him. You laughed as his hand came up to cup where you had hit him. Lines of his forehead thicker than before.

Now this is as the side of your relationship that had your feelings mixed all around. Yes, he was a womanizer to everyone. Of course he made non-stop remarks about your body and your looks and how you were “acting like a woman.” But this? This was something entirely different. A side of him that was genuine and enamored. His smile not riddled with self gratification and narcissism. Instead it was like he was actually enjoying being around you.

“You know I could sue you,” House smugly started, “It’s a hate crime to attack cripples.”

“Not when they deserve it,” you leaned forward as you spoke, closing the gap between your faces. Feeling your stomach flip when his smile softened as he looked in your eyes. Close enough to be breathing the same air. Both of you fighting to not breathe too loudly. Silence loomed over the room. You swallowed the lump forming as you contorted your jaw with thought.

House pushed himself forward, almost connecting his lips to yours. So close you had to hold your breath. Before he could you spoke, “I’m going home since my sleep was interrupted.”

He exhaled with an awkward smile as he leaned back. Looking away from you, out the small gap in his blinds. Piercing his lips together as he nodded. Nostrils flaring as his mind raced. Teeth clicking together, “Teasing little minx, aren’t you?”

Wide eyes looked back at you again. The corner of your mouth upturned when you saw his flushed face. Eyes wandering down to see the outline of his semi-hard in his jeans. Cheeks heating up at the sight as you blew your breath out in a giggle.

“You are just a horny old man,” you led his gaze back to you with your hand on his chin. His pupils were enlarged as they looked between yours.

Neither of you were willing to admit the tension between you. Writing it off as a mutual understanding of how the other behaved. Even when Wilson would point out every obvious sign of something else. Swearing he had never seen two people as smart as you be so stupid.

Knowing the real reason you never acknowledged it was a mutual fear. Fear of things becoming too real and you both growing attached. His dependence on the pills in his coat pocket. Your tendency to run at the first sign of vulnerability. Somethings do not work well together.

Even thought he knew more about you than anyone else. And the fact you had seen the scar that he refuses to acknowledge most of the time. Or even that you both had stayed over at the other’s apartment more than once. Finding comfort in the other’s presence. Watching him play his piano and closing your eyes to the relaxing melody. Allowing him to teach you some minor lessons when he wanted. Finding yourself shopping for food with his tastes in mind. Calling him when you just needed someone to talk to, even if he sounded annoyed the entire time.

“You’re basically dating,” Wilson had once said to you over lunch.

“Oh, God. Can’t a man and a woman just be friends?”

“No!” he had laughed with his exclamation, “Especially not you two.”

You had sneered at him in response, nose scrunched and eyes narrow. Wilson had put his hands up in a defensive position, “Okay— okay! Then explain why you got that.” He motioned to the red sucker on your tray.

“Because I knew House would… want… it..?” You realized what you were admitting as it left your lips. Cheeks igniting when he grinned at you. You brushed him off. Suppressing any and all thoughts and confusion that conversation brought about.

“It’s because I’m cripple, isn’t it?”

You rolled your neck along with your eyes. Sighing heavily with a laugh. Attention back on House when he grabbed his cane and stood between your legs. Resting the cane against the desk so both his hands could splay across your thighs. Figure towering over you now that he was at his full height.

“Not sure how that’ll go over with the P.C. Mob,” he joked as his nose traced your jawline. Heat from his breath trickling down your throat. You could not help but giggle at the sensation. Stubble tickling your skin as he examined your jugular. Feeling when his mouth would morph into a smile. One of your hands meeting his on your thigh, the other tangling in his hair.

“Greg…” your voice dropped to a sultry tone, stopping him in his tracks. Audibly swallowing as he held still. Shoulders rising and falling with each breath he took. Use of his first name was something you normally saved for when you were at home. Still interchanging it with his sir-name from time to time.

“Y/N…” he replied, lips painfully close to your skin. Your heartbeat thumped against your eardrums. Arousal pooling between your legs at the smell of his cologne. And how his fingers dug into your thighs. Stabilizing himself, but also just wanting to feel you.

“I have to go get some sleep,” you drawled, your hand running up his arm and resting on his shoulder. House hummed in response, lips finally resting against your skin with a soft kiss. Chills ran over your body. His lips grew more sloppy as your lip began to quiver. Teeth grazing the flesh as one of his hands ran up your torso. Groping at your chest. Kneading the plump meat of your breast in his large hand.

“Just sleep here,” House groaned into your neck, a hint of a whine in his tone. Lips turning greedy as they made their way to the base of your ear.

“I’m not a booty call you can make when you’re needing to get laid in the middle of the night,” you laughed. Hands coming up and cupping his face. Causing his eyes to meet yours again.

“Really? I thought you were one of the hookers,” House smirked, tilting his head with his words. Leaning back to see your face better. His teeth pulling his lip between them. Swiftly kissing your face to the corner of your mouth. Waiting for some sort of permission before planting them on yours. Big, ocean eyes looked into yours.

You turned to meet him. Lips interlocking. Electricity shot through your nervous system. His tongue split your lips as he lapped into your mouth. Groaning as he pressed his body into yours. Loving the way your legs instinctively welcomed him between them, how they softly wrapped around his waist. Stumbling back against the desk when his weight sunk against you. Arms wrapping around his neck to stabilize yourself. Eyes wide, looking into his. His breath came out shaky, “Fuck.”

His hand cupped the side of your face, lips finding their place on yours again. Open mouth kisses were shared between you for a moment. His hand hooked around the band of your shirt, pushing it up and revealing your bare breasts. Gawking at them before capturing one of your hardened nipples between his lips. You moaned at how perfectly he stimulated your body. Nails digging into his shoulders as you savored his mouth on your skin. Teeth bit marks into the tender flesh, sucking and licking the bruises after.

"I want to fuck you so bad right now," House breathed out, hands roaming your body as his lips placed themself back on yours. You giggled, kissing him back hard.

A sudden yawn escaped your mouth. The lack of sleep catching up with you all at once. You rested your head against his shoulder, eyes growing heavy. Fighting your urge to give into him. House harshly sighed, his hand petting your hair for a moment. Frustrated that your body was throwing a wrench in his plan. "You're seriously that tired?"

You nodded, blinking yourself awake, "I have to be in at six in the morning."

"That's just a few hours away. Can't we have a little fun? I'm sure your blood pumping will wake you up," House suggested. Grimacing when you doed your eyes up at him. Your need for sleep apparent by the way you blinked slowly.

"I can't come to work without a bra," you joked a soft laugh falling from you. House chuckled in response. Lips falling against the top of your head, trying his hardest to not get angry. And trying to ignore how his cock throbbed between his legs.

“I really want to stay, but I won’t be able to work tomorrow if I do,” you whined, sitting up and looking at him with hooded eyes. Sleepily pressing your lips to his again. Matured hand cupping your cheek, thumb rubbing circles into the warm skin.

“Go home, get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow,” House sighed, defeated by how sweetly sleepy you were. Sitting back in his chair once more, giving you the space to get off his desk.

You hopped off, planting one more tender kiss to his lips before heading for the door.

“Your ass looks good in those jeans, too,” House said as soon as you reached the door. Smiling when you gave him an annoyed glance over your shoulder.

~~~

[END//Part 1] -> Part 2 -> Part 3 -> Part 4 -> Part 5/Finale

// Thank you so much for reading!! This is my first time writing for Dr. House, he is my current new obsession. I’ve got most of this story scripted out and I’m excited to continue it. If you are interested in being tagged in the future, or have a request of any kind, let me know! Comments and Reblogs are appreciated //

{tags}

@megangovier ~ @iwmflbb ~ @houseslollipop ~ @ooom4rie ~ @yourgirlcarol ~

[wonwoosthetic]

nana tour new episodes plss🥹

you got it :) at this point I want to give a huge shoutout to all of you who have been waiting so patiently for this and thank you for not giving up on me and still being here, I love you more than you will ever know🩷 I’m currently also writing part 2 of this episode and will probably upload it tomorrow!😊

series masterlist

word count – 7.5k

warnings – brief implication of an ED, one dirty joke ˙ᵕ˙

Go Together NANA TOUR EP4-1. What are you doing? Part 2 🌷 Minnie

[added captions by me :)]

everything in cursive is outside of the camera, unless I mentioned that it was them speaking in English

Still desperately clinging onto her shirt, Minnie rushed up the stairs, leaving a fully drenched Mingyu in the kitchen. On her way, she passed Wonwoo, whose smile quickly faded as soon as he saw her. Before she could even go a step further, he grabbed her by her arm right at the top of the stairs.

"What happened to you?"

[concern runs deep with SEVENTEEN]

His exclamation gained the attention of the group that had gathered in the living room. Dino perked up from his seat, trying to get a better glimpse of the couple ahead.

Minnie chuckled, calming the rapper's nerves immediately. "We had to stop Mingyu from finishing his task."

"We?" He wondered.

"Jeonghan and I."

[the devil and his sidekick]

He nodded along, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

"But I have to get changed now," Minnie explained, removing her arm from his grasp, letting him continue his way downstairs while she headed towards their room.

"Oh, woah," the youngest gasped at the sight of the female member, making her turn around. "You and Jeonghan are actually insane." Only getting a chuckle from her in return.

[insane and evil]

-

The girl managed to semi-dry her hair with a towel, leaving it to air dry since it was still warm both in and outside. She had exchanged the blouse she had been wearing all day for the individual name shirt they had gotten. The jeans she had brought outside, hoping they'd dry until tomorrow and instead she was now wearing the sweatshorts like most members - not stylish but most definitely comfortable.

Minnie decided to join Joshua, Jun, and Vernon in their quiet corner in the house's living room. The '95 Liner was gently pulling the strings of the guitar on his lap, the girl watching him with a soft smile on her lips.

[the guitar is putting everyone into a trance]

While the four enjoyed the calm moment they had created, it was obvious it wouldn't last long. For one, they wouldn't be Seventeen if there wasn't noise all around all the time, and two, ESPECIALLY not if they were competing - for money even.

The loud switch-up in mood came from Dokyeom as he sprinted up the stairs, his high-pitched scream bouncing off the walls of the Italian villa.

[not a quiet moment in the SEVENTEEN house]

Hot on his heels, Wonwoo, to everyone's surprise, as their faces showed.

"Be careful. Be careful," the oldest and seemingly only one with common sense in the room spoke up. Wonwoo stopped, while DK continued his run. The '96 Liner chuckled, turning around again to head back to the kitchen.

Minnie jumped up, joining him. "Is Mingyu still downstairs?"

"Leave him alone," Wonwoo chuckled, his eyes on her as she was directly behind him. "He had to start over."

[the nice roomate]

"Why aren't you trying to sabotage him?" She thought out loud, scrunching her eyebrows, but he just shrugged.

"I'm not as cruel." His comment made her roll her eyes.

[boring]

The kitchen was completely empty, aside from the cameramen and production members, as the two looked around. Metal clanking against each other filled the room, though, letting them know Mingyu was just around the corner. As they got to the kitchen island, Wonwoo's eyes found the younger rapper first, getting a laugh in response. The '97 Liner was crouched on the floor, hiding in the furthest away corner of the house, frantically whisking the egg whites, trying to finally achieve his meringue.

Minnie couldn't hold it together the moment their gazes met. She hunched over as her laughter echoed through the space.

[laughing at the pain of others]

[she was truly raised by JEONGHAN]

The desperation seeping from his eyes was pure entertainment to her. A sharp look was sent her way, but Mingyu was quick to concentrate back to the task literally in his hand.

"I feel so bad for you," Wonwoo admitted as he took a step closer, while the female member was still trying to control herself as she held onto the countertops. "I can't even bother you," he added before leaving again.

With a huff, Mingyu glanced up at the girl, who was wiping away the tears that had sprung into her eyes.

"Don't you have someone else you can bother?" He snarled at her, a slight hint of desperation still laced his voice.

Minnie couldn't help but laugh again. "It's not as funny with the others."

"Get away from me," he whined out.

[maybe begging will help]

-

They didn't get much time alone as Wonwoo was quick to come back, followed by Dokyeom and his pan full of eggs, Vernon right behind him, along with Joshua and Woozi. As soon as Mingyu noticed the crowd forming, he sprang up and headed out towards the other end of the room, where Seungkwan had just come out of the small room with the Sauna.

"Why are you following me?" Dokyeom chuckled, watching the trail of people behind him. Minnie laughed, but her eyes were set on the other '97 Liner who, as she thought, was trying to run away.

[never losing sight of the target]

He stopped right in front of the cameras to show them how stiff he had gotten his egg whites, but the producers denied him his accomplishment, making the members around him giggle. He moved closer to the kitchen counters, getting back to whisking. Minnie was resting her elbows on the island, observing the entire room with her eyes, noticing only a few members missing from them being complete.

"Where's Jeonghan?" Mingyu's shivering voice made her chuckle.

"You're really scared, huh?" She raised her eyebrows at him, straightening her back, noticing him creating a bigger distance between the two.

"I can take you when you're alone. But when Jeonghan-hyung comes, woah...," he shook his head.

[shaking out of fear]

"You guys become evil," Woozi finished the sentence for him. Well... he wasn't wrong. Minnie could only laugh almost proudly.

[taking the compliment well]

While the producer and Joshua seemed to just enjoy the company from the other side of the island, Vernon and Dokyeom on her left were busy trying to finish all the eggs in the pan.

"Minnie," the youngest rapper spoke up, making her turn her head. "Protein."

[caring little brother]

He had a spoon lifted close to her mouth, indicating for her to help them eat, but she shook her head,

"I really can't anymore," and pushed it away from her face.

Everyone seemed confused at DK's mission to finish eating, and why Vernon was helping him, and no one was trying to stop him. They all seemed to have agreed to just let him win this one. Maybe they were also blinded by his ability to entertain everyone around him, oh so easily. Even the nonchalant '98 Liner, who had joined him in dancing and shaking, repeating the tune of the 'Electric Man' game they had made up earlier.

[they know the song by heart now]

-

Back upstairs, Seungkwan had found himself a seat in the living room with the calligraphy set spread out on the coffee table in front of him. Wonwoo had turned to teasing him, taking the one sheet the younger member had just finished and going to hide it, but a conversation with Jeonghan and Mingyu stopped him. Minnie was coming up the stairs, the familiar voices already reaching her ear.

"He put water in my meringue, so I splashed water on him," her fellow '97 Liner explained. The female member came to a halt on the top of the stairs, right next to him, grinning sheepishly at the memory. His head turned towards her. "And she helped him."

[still holding a grudge]

His fingers pinched her side, making her slap his hand and jump to the side slightly.

Minnie grinned, "How's your meringue doing?" She teased Mingyu, getting a roll of his eyes and a salty glare in return while the other two men chuckled.

[a member that enjoys teasing a puppy]

The oldest of the group on this trip was detangling a new microphone he had gotten from the production crew, but he was still just as involved in the chat.

"Wonwoo, did you succeed?" He wondered.

"I didn't do it," he quietly admitted.

The girl's head snapped in his direction. "You haven't even started yet?" Getting a shake of his head back.

[a very calm and cool guy]

"I'll help you," Jeonghan offered.

But Wonwoo continued to explain, "I can't do it. Even if someone helps me, I won't be able to do it."

"Why are you helping Wonwoo and not me?" a sulking Mingyu spoke up. Minnie couldn't hold back her chuckle, hearing the hurt in his voice. She gently rubbed her palm on his bicep, only to be shaken off.

[doesn't want comfort]

"You're no better," he snarled at her, but she just grinned at him, leaning into him to hug his upper arm.

[annoying but very cute]

Jeonghan, now clearly in a different state of mind and over trying to sabotage most missions, turned towards him.

"Do you want me to help you?"

The younger rapper stayed quiet for a split second before answering with a chuckle, "No, just stay still." Begging him to not interrupt him anymore and leave him to his accomplishment.

"That would be helping, " Jeonghan laughed. "But I'm not staying still." Well, there goes the changed mind - at least when it came to Mingyu.

-

Almost the entire group had gathered in the kitchen again, most members sitting at the dining table or standing around it. Minnie found her place between Dino and Dokyeom, with Seungkwan right behind her chair. After he explained that Wonwoo had interrupted his mission, taking away even the rest of his calligraphy set, they started discussing what the rapper's mission could possibly be.

"Bother," Dokyeom came to the conclusion. "It's bothering us."

"It might be to bother us," the maknae agreed, nodding his head.

"Maybe bothering a couple of people to make them fail," Minnie added. "Because he won't manage to make everyone fail. And he let Mingyu finish his meringue," she recalled.

[doesn't understand the idea of teamwork when it comes to MINGYU]

Speaking of the devil, only a moment later, Jeonghan and Wonwoo strutted in, holding onto a wine glass, along with probably the biggest wine bottle they had ever seen.

Wonwoo's voice filled the room as he walked in. "Should we drink wine together?"

Before anyone could answer his question, Seungkwan jumped into action to bother him. "Wonwoo, what are you doing?" Frustadely going after him.

"I think Wonwoo's supposed to drink wine," the oldest explained, showing them the massive bottle. "He was drinking wine by himself."

"That much?!" Minnie exclaimed, her eyes switching between the bottle and the '96 Liner, who just smirked to himself. "You have to drink so much?! Are you insane?"

[a caring member]

Drinking, let alone that amount, was very unlike the rapper, so his cover was blown quickly. The members laughed at the unfortunate.

"I wanted to kind of drink it with a book," he showed them, sitting down while holding onto the piece of literature, only getting another round of laughter in return.

"That's in English!" The female member pointed out with a big smile, Dino's infamous laugh getting louder as he leaned onto her shoulder.

[he has studied English very well apparently]

They were still very much surprised by the size of the bottle, but Wonwoo wasn't backing down, going along with his act.

"Hey, I came back from the wine festival. I find wine very nice now," he defended himself, not caring that no one believed him.

"Sure," Minnie chuckled, her arms crossed in front of her chest as her eyes followed him in amusement.

[doesn't believe anything]

"Should we all have a drink together?" He asked into the round, reaching for the bottle of wine, but Woozi was quicker than him.

"Your father is going to be upset if he sees this!"

"Wonwoo, stop," she laughed at him at the same time.

[no shame to the JEON family]

The producer of the group was holding onto the bottle, settling it down next to him to keep it close. Wonwo didn't have a chance to get it back, so he turned to Joshua, showing him the book he was holding.

"Look, this is my favourite book."

"This is all in English!" The American went along with it, looking at him like a proud parent, gaining the attention of the rest of the table.

"Wonwoo, all English," Woozi couldn't help but chuckle.

The '96 Liner nodded. "This is my favourite book."

"Woah," Dokyeom sighed with a smile, "Minnie taught you so much." Earning him an amused smack to the shoulder from the girl next to him.

[WONWOO has a good teacher]

"Yeah," he agreed, "I can read it right away!" Wonwoo opened it and pointed at a line. "'Say Joshua', '" he read out loud, glancing over at the English-speaking member, who laughed and repeated his words.

-

"Jeonghan-hyung!" Mingyu suddenly came into the kitchen, calling out for the '95 Liner, "Do you want to do laundry?"

"Do you want to?" He asked back.

"Uh," the rapper nodded.

"Can you wash my clothes too?" Minnie turned in her chair, leaning back to meet the eyes of the older member as he passed her. "Pleeeease," batting her eyelashes at Mingyu and smiling brightly.

[if somebody wants something, they become very nice]

Without hesitation, he simply just asked her, "Where are they?"

"I put my jeans outside to let them dry, but the rest is still in the bathroom, in the sink."

"You left your clothes in the sink?" Joshua frowned at her.

"Yeah?" She innocently answered. "The sink was clean, and I didn't know where else to put it."

[more storage]

Then, she turned back to her fellow '97 Liner, "Should I go get them?"

But he was quick to stop her so she could even get up. "No, no, it's okay, I'll get them."

"Okay, thank youuu," she sweetly told him.

[suddenly so nice]

It didn't take long before after the two members left, their voices called out from the floor above.

"Ya, Dokyeom-ah!" Mingyu shouted. "My bowl disappeared!"

"Huh?" The other member called back.

"My bowl disappeared!" He repeated.

Minnie laughed to herself as she still sat by the table.

[laughing at the pain of others]

"Did you do something to it again?" Dino asked her, even though she was sitting next to him the entire time.

She shook her head, "No, but it's funny that he just can't finish his mission." Making the maknae laugh along with her, giggling at the bad luck of the other member.

Dokyeom left to join Mingyu, while other members spread out throughout the house, leaving a smaller group now by the dining table. Most who were sitting were either already done with their mission, had given up, or had failed early on.

Then there was Seungkwan, who came back from the Sauna room. Vernon was the first to notice his slightly off mood.

"Seungkwan-ah," he got his attention. "Do you need to do the calligraphy on rice paper?"

"Thanks for thinking of that," the other '98 Liner said, his voice so dull, you could think he was answering him sarcastically. "I can do it on tissue, right?"

[sarcasm 101]

"Yeah sure, why not?" Minnie turned around to glance at him. Seeing his facial expression made her almost feel bad, but also smile slightly as he was clearly stressed out about the game they were playing.

"Then I will do it right away!" He continued to rant. "I will do it on something else. Find another piece of paper and I will write calligraphy on that!"

"You're so dramatic," the female member called out his act, making the maknae laugh out loud while the main vocalist glared at her.

"You don't get to call me dramatic!" He took a piece of her hair and threw it on the other side of her head to mess it up. She rolled her eyes, and Dino helped her straighten it out again, brushing his hand over the top of her hair as he continued to speak to Seungkwan.

[nice little brother]

"You gave up too early."

"Ya, ya, Mingyu-ah," Jeoghan suddenly spoke up from the side of the room where the production crew was gathered. "You need to make the meringue and do what?"

The rapper had just come out of the kitchen to join the group at the table.

"I need to put it over my head," he instructed, acting it out, "and do it until it doesn't fall. But-," he quickly added, "then I also need to keep that until 11pm."

Minnie was more than thankful that her mission had been much easier than that.

"But my pot and spoon disappeared," he sulked.

The girl couldn't hold back the giggle falling from her lips, making him raise his eyebrows at her. As he was standing right behind her, he leaned over, his hands gripping the back of her chair.

"Did you have something to do with this?"

Minnie jumped slightly, not expecting him to be so close all of a sudden.

[the bickering continues]

She turned around a bit to look up,

"No! Why does everyone think that?" Her continuous chuckling didn't help him believing her.

"Ha, ha, ha," he mocked her, only making her laugh harder.

"Ya, Mingyu, you must be stressed out," Wonwoo commented.

Minnie nodded along with her laughter. "He's SO stressed out!"

"Have a glass of wine," the older rapper offered him, making the girl perk up.

"Stop that!" Leaning over to push his hand away from the bottle. She tried to get a hold of the glass he was holding onto, but Wonwoo was quick to snatch it closer to him, making her shake her head and sit back down with a smile wide on her lips.

"I think, I might," Mingyu agreed, sighing in clear frustration.

"Woah," Dino chuckled. "You're stressed? Have a glass of wine," pointing at the member who apparently wasn't giving up so easily.

-

None of them noticed Joshua suspiciously standing up to walk over to the snack area that the production crew had provided them with. Only when he came back with yet another banana did Minghao notice his behaviour.

"Oh! Joshua, stop eating." He reached out to snatch the piece of fruit out of the older member's grasp, but he pushed his hand away, sitting back down next to Vernon.

"But I want to eat a banana," he defended himself.

But the '97 Liner wasn't letting go. He fought with him and finally got hold of the fruit. "No! Stop eating!" Joshua didn't let go; now the two full-grown men were playing tug of war with a banana. Minnie just looked at them in amusement.

"What if I want to eat bananas-"

"No, stop!"

The older gave up and let go.

"Why do you keep on eating them?" Minghao wondered, even though he most likely already knew the answer. "It's not good if you eat too much."

The girl chuckled at the lame excuse before turning to Joshua.

"You're not very sly about your mission," she told him, mentioning the word in English since she didn't know how to say it in Korean.

[English teacher MINNIE in action]

"Sly," Vernon mocked her tone and pitched his voice higher to imitate her, making her snap at him.

"I don't know how to say it in Korean!"

"Sly," he just repeated, making her jerk her leg up to hit his with a smile on her lips, getting a chuckle out of him.

[a little brother doing little brother duties]

The sound of a can opening made Minnie look at the end of the table, finding Wonwoo with a drink in his hand. She frowned, but before she could say anything, Seungkwan came up next to him and immediately took the can out of his hands.

"What are you doing?" As soon as he had the drink, he smacked Wonwoo's back with his free hand. "Sober up. Please!"

"I'm starting to get worried," the female member commented.

[it must be different at home]

"That isn't even wine. What are you doing?"

"You hear that? Don't make Minnie worry," the '98 Liner warned him. "Don't worry her. She's gonna cry."

[don't make women cry]

"Calm down," she laughed at the ridiculousness of the younger member.

Seungkwan switched the can with a banana, which Wonwoo opened to eat. For some reason, the younger member thought that he needed help, so he broke off a piece and put it in the rapper's mouth, pushing it in with his finger. The camera panned over to the girl, who was looking at the duo with a frown and disgust written all over her face.

[doesn't understand the intimacy of the moment]

Wonwoo blankly stared back at her, making her chuckle.

"Who's the person that stole Jeonghan-hyung's recorder and got rid of it?" Mingyu, who had sat down next to Dino, wanted to know.

"Me," the '96 Liner simply answered, his eyes now on his fellow rapper.

"You?" The girl jumped into the conversation as Seungkwan claimed the banana as his own and walked away.

"Where did you put it?" Dino wondered.

Wonwoo smiled sheepishly. "I don't know. I don't remember."

"You didn't put it in the room, right?"

"I split it up into three, but I don't remember where I put one part," the older member explained, getting chuckles from the others at the table.

"That's why Jeonghannie-hyung suddenly wants to help so many people," Minnie pointed out, gaining the attention of the members. "Because he can't finish his own mission and doesn't have anything to do."

[at least he's helping]

"Mingyu, let's try to make the meringue with me!" The '95 Liner called out, to which the member laughed.

"See," the girl simply stated.

"I don't want to do merignue now," the 26-year-old sulked. He wasn't going to get over him and Minnie ruining his first try at finishing his mission anytime soon, apparently. Unlike Vernon and Dokyeom.

"I- I made up well," the '98 Liner stated, his hand reaching out to shake DK's, which he obviously accepted.

"Oh, yes. Because I really had no intention of doing that."

"Did you fight?" Seungkwan wondered from his place over by the kitchen island.

"Oh, no, no. Not like that," Vernon explained. Not everyone had followed the duo as he helped the older member to win by eating ten fried eggs with him.

"I'll tell you later," the '97 Liner said, since they didn't know if they should reveal their secret missions just yet. "But wow," he continued, "if Mingyu isn't making the meringue, that's awesome." He patted the girl's shoulder. "Then Jeonghan-hyung and you really did a good job."

Minnie laughed at his remark, and only laughed even harder once she glanced over at the man in question, who was definitely less than amused.

[he will not forgive her for a long time]

"But you did really well," Dokyeom continued, sending the rapper a thumbs up.

The female member decided to stand up to get closer to her fellow '97 Liner, who continued to stare ahead with zero emotions on his face.

"I feel really bad," she chuckled as she opened her arm wider the closer she got to him, but he was quick to take a step to the side. "What?" She came to a stop, staring at him. "Let me hug you."

"No," he shook his head.

"What?! Why not?"

[acting surprised]

"Now you feel bad?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She smiled at him. "Stop sulking!"

As she noticed he wasn't moving away anymore, she wrapped her arms around his bigger figure, cuddling her body against his side. Mingyu didn't even try to hug her back.

[MINNIE likes affection, MINGYU doesn't]

"What if I said that to you!" He exclaimed. "You wouldn't speak to me the entire day."

[speaking from experience]

Minnie sheepishly grinned, hugging him even tighter. She knew he was right. They had multiple moments like that in their apartment that others didn't know about.

"Don't be mad like that." She patted his back as she released him again.

"YOU shouldn't be mad," he threw back at her, knowing exactly that if the roles were switched, he'd be talking to a wall right now. "I'll remember this."

[the grudge will continue]

"Okay," she let her hand brush over his shoulder before walking back to her seat with a smile.

Jeonghan's eyes moved around the room, taking in the members that were sitting down, when he noticed one person missing.

"Where did Wonwoo go?"

-

The same few people were still sitting in the middle of the room when Hoshi showed up out of nowhere, surprising the members when he put a stack of peaches on a metal pole on the table.

The group erupted in laughter, Dino's contagious giggles being the loudest.

"What is this?" Vernon wondered.

"Are those peaches?" The maknae threw in as well.

"Is this your mission?" Was Minnie's question.

She and Jun walked over to the other side of the table, trying their best at stacking the 10 pieces of fruit as Hoshi had explained to them that he wasn't allowed to use any kind of help - whether with another object or leaning the peaches against a wall.

"How could you hide that in the freezer?!"

Their attention quickly shifted when Seungkwan, who had just been in the kitchen, walked back out with a familiar silver bowl. Filled with meringue.

"I'm ruined!" Mingyu's voice echoed from the corner.

"He hid it?!" The girl exclaimed, shock lighting up her face.

[bad feelings have vanished]

Dokyeom couldn't help but smile. "The meringue is definite now, wow."

"Wow, Seungkwan, you found it so well!"

"Ya, Seungkwan-ah, you did well!" He and Joshua complimented him.

"Good job," Minnie added with a big grin before getting back to the task in front of her.

"Seungkwan, can you put it on your head to see if it came out well?" The '97 Liner showed up from the kitchen, a new silver bowl in his hand, in which he was trying to whisk a new meringue.

"You cheated!" The girl pointed at him while still trying to focus on the peaches with Hoshi and Vernon. "You were so mad at Jeonghan and me, even though you cheated!"

The main vocalist did as asked, realising that Mingyu would win if nothing happened to the bowl until 11pm. And made it his new mission to keep the silver dishware in his hands.

"Hey," Woozi came downstairs, "we can do a live until 11pm."

Minnie chuckled, looking up at him, "That's very specific."

[seeing right through him]

"Do you want to do a live?" He just asked back, ignoring her remark.

"Wait!" Seungkwan immediately jumped in. "He needs to do it until 11pm."

"It's his mission," the girl nodded with a smile as she noticed the producer starting to shake his head.

"You guys are like Wonwoo."

"The live needs to be until-"

"I can't even do it for more than five minutes because he keeps turning it off." His story made the members laugh. "It's been a while. I turned it on because I can't do it later, but he keeps on turning it off."

"Yeah, because it's your mission," Minnie pointed at him with a chuckle, but he just shook his head. "Stop lying!"

Her, Hoshi, and Vernon were focused on the fruit when Wonwoo came back into the room, holding onto a new book and a new can. God knows where he had gotten it from.

Dokyeom's voice made the girl look up. He commented on the drink in his hands, but the rapper played it off, saying he just wanted to read a book, and sometimes you're craving alcohol.

"Wonwoo... I guess his mission is definitely something with alcohol," he explained, coming back to the table and sitting right across from the trio, still struggling.

"I thought it was drinking the bottle of wine," she thought out loud, realising that it was also possible that Wonwoo had lied to them about it to trick them.

[either way, he wants to drink alcohol apparently]

Her eyes followed the rapper but snapped back when Hoshi spoke up next to her, taking the last peach she was holding onto.

"I really thought I'd be able to stack these."

"They won't?" DK asked them.

"They really don't!"

"I didn't think it would be this hard either," Minnie commented, her gaze trained on Vernon's hands that were trying to keep the stack steady. She reached forward as well, just in case it was going to collapse.

[concentrated on finishing the mission of another]

"But you needed to not damage them and stack them?" Dino questioned him, seemingly interested in what they had to do.

"But," Vernon answered first. "He damaged them himself."

"Oh okay," the maknae nodded. "But if they fall, they're damaged!"

"Yeah, but Hoshi impaled them," the girl chuckled, showing him the holes in the peaches.

"Impaled," Vernon laughed at her use of words. "You don't know what sly means in Korean, but you know impaled?!"

Minnie joined him, laughing in chorus as she nodded.

[walking dictionary]

"And he took a bite," the rapper lifted one of the peaches to show.

"But I would've done it like that too," she defended the '96 Liner. "I would make them as flat as possible and then try to stack them."

[very dedicated]

They continued to do their best, now with also the help of their youngest, while Mingyu and Joshua presented them with some comedic entertainment. The rapper's whines filled the room as he tried to fight off Joshua, who was following him around, trying to snatch the bowl out of his grip, all while Mingyu continued to whisk desperately. Most likely to have a backup, knowing that his official plan was ruined thanks to Seungkwan, who had found the first silver bowl in the freezer.

Once the '95 Liner managed to get the dishware, he turned around and headed towards the kitchen. Mingyu was frozen in place, the fork sad in his hands as he glanced straight into the camera.

Minnie laughed at his act.

"Joshua is the devil," he called out.

The girl rolled her eyes. "You're so dramatic." Earning a push to her head as he walked behind her. She smacked his arm in return, getting a hiss from him as she hit his naked skin perfectly.

[we promise, SEVENTEEN loves each other]

-

With only five minutes left to finish all remaining missions, or ruin the ones still in progress, more had gathered around the table once again. Mingyu had joined the peach-stacking group, taking matters into his own hands, letting Hoshi, Minnie, and Vernon watch.

"Did you all do your missions?" Wonwoo asked into the group, getting a few nods in return.

"There are people who gave up and some who did it," Jun explained before Jeonghan added,

"It's kind of hard now."

Jun stopped by the four to take a look at how far they had come already. Noticing their continuous struggle, he made a proposal,

"Hoshi-ya," getting the performer to look at him. "If it's okay to damage them, you can put flour on them and do it."

"Flour?" Minnie turned around to look at her fellow dancer, getting a nod from him. She looked impressed.

"You pressed them too much," Vernon pointed out. "That they got soft."

"Yeah, maybe if they were harder, it would be easier. Maybe we should freeze them," Minnie tried to give input, but Mingyu shook his head.

"Why not?" She whined at the man to her left in annoyance, clearly still on edge with him, making him chuckle.

"Calm down!" He called out. "There are only five minutes left. That's why."

"Oh," the girl grinned, "sorry," leaning on his shoulder to rub in her excuse.

[quickly made up]

Hoshi explained all the ways he had already tried to stack the peaches, noticing that no one was going much farther than he had gotten, but Vernon wasn't giving up. He took them away from Mingyu, getting to work, and singing along to a song he had made up on the way.

"This game is a really bad game," the '97 Liner commented, side-eyeing the crew to his left.

Minnie chuckled. Of course, he wouldn't like something he found out he wasn't necessarily good at.

"As expected, I like trivia the most," he added.

"Just because you didn't get to finish your mission, doesn't mean this is a bad game," the girl argued. "The production team still put in a lot of effort."

[bickering, part 100]

"Next time, I'm sabotaging your mission. Let's see how good you find the game then," he arrogantly nudged his head towards her.

"Mingyu," Joshua spoke up from the other end of the table, "with the meringue you made. Should we make some meringue cookies?"

"Macaron?" Minnie wondered, making the older member nod.

"I don't think I'm going to eat macarons ever again." Mingyu's comment made her chuckle.

"We officially traumatised him," she added, taking a turn at trying to stack the peaches.

[triumph]

At this point, it had just become entertainment as they knew, they most likely weren't going to be able to finish this mission for Hoshi.

"Yeah," the older rapper agreed. "Are you proud of yourself?"

"Very," Minnie was quick to answer straightforwardly, getting a scoff in return before he stood up to head to the kitchen.

A short while later, Seungkwan got the attention of the room.

"Members," their heads turned to him, holding the familiar silver bowl again. Mingyu was clinging to his arms. "I think that working hard until the end is playing fair." He showed the bowl. "I added some water so that it doesn't go hard."

The members erupted in laughter, clapping at his actions as he poured the now milky water into a pan.

"Wait," Mingyu said, looking at the cameramen on the other side of the room. "How many minutes are left?" One of the producers held up two fingers. "Two minutes? So, for two minutes, can I try it?" Now, asking the group.

"Yeah, sure."

"Yes."

"Yes, try it!" Some answered him, giving him even just the slightest bit of hope.

"Can you make meringue in two minutes or not?" Woozi asked out loud.

Minnie shook her head. "He won't. Two minutes is way too short."

[very positive mindset]

"No, he might be able to if his hands are really fast," Jeonghan commented.

The girl leaned back in her chair, not speaking loudly enough for the entire table to hear her. "His hands are fast, but not that fast."

Her comment got her a loud laugh along with a shocked facial expression from Vernon.

"What?" She grinned sheepishly. He smacked her shoulders gently, making her laugh as well. The two leaned into each other as they tried to calm down.

[two members that get along well]

"What is with you two?" Dokyeom wondered, but the younger rapper brushed it off, not wanting to explain the dirty joke Minnie had just made.

"You're insane," he commented.

The girl shrugged. "I'm being honest."

"I don't wanna know about that." Getting a giggle from her.

-

Wonwoo had joined her on the side of the table, sitting down in the empty chair where Mingyu had sat not even two minutes ago. Now he was leaning against the wall behind them, with the same bowl and fork, but a new eggwhite and sugar inside it. He had one minute left and was eager to at least try; one had to admire the effort.

Minghao had gone to the kitchen to look for a more useful utensil than a fork, coming back with a whisk and offering it to the fellow '97 Liner. It would definitely help much more if only he had more time left.

"We won't bother you," Wonwoo announced, speaking merely for himself, as he would soon find out.

Vernon glanced at the hard-working member. "But aren't you out if the time runs out before you put it on your head?"

"Yeah," Minnie told him. "He's only doing this for the cameras now."

[calling out]

Her comment made the '96 Liner push her shoulders as he chuckled.

Joshua fired him on, exclaiming supportive words to get him to whisk even faster. You could tell Mingyu was truly putting every last bit of energy he had left.

It was announced he had 10 seconds left, but it didn't make him back down.

"Fighting, fighting!" Seungkwan motivated him, coming a few steps closer to where he was standing by the wall. "A bit more. And more." He took a quick glance down at the ball before eyeing the production crew. "How many seconds are we going to wait?" He wondered, making Dino laugh out loud.

Suddenly, he lifted his hand, holding onto a bottle. "You need to add some water if you want to make more white foam."

Minnie gasped at his words, knowing exactly what was coming next. The group watched as the main vocalist poured more than enough water into the bowl, ruining everything he had worked for within the blink of an eye. Mingyu froze while the members started laughing and clapping.

"Woaaah, you really poured it in," Dokyeom breathed out.

"The devil. He's the devil!" The maknae shouted out.

Vernon, Minnie, and Wonwoo were holding onto each other for dear life as they couldn't contain their laughter, falling back into their chairs, and leaning forward at the same time.

[evil laughter]

Na PD interrupted the moment with a clap and his loud voice. "Okay, that's it! We'll stop here."

-

"It's time to calculate," he announced once the group had settled again. "Please reveal what each of your missions were. We can start from Hoshi and go on."

The production team asked each member to explain their mission, and add if they think they have managed to do it.

Hoshi began to tell them about the stacking and admitted his defeat, describing the ways he had tried but failed to do so.

Minghao reminisced about the very start of the game when he jumped into the pool since the group had been gathered in the kitchen, and no one was following him to see what he was doing.

Wonwoo admitted that he had to finish the entire bottle of wine that was still on the kitchen island, but the rest of the group agreed that it would be insane to drink that much after having just been at a vineyard.

Mingyu's mission was obvious, but he revealed to have had even another backup meringue that he had hidden right next to Na PD, but he spilt it while trying to hide it, and there was nothing left - Youngseok decided that it would not count as accomplished. At least they had been well entertained thanks to Mingyu.

Then it was Minnie's turn.

"Minnie, please explain what your mission was," Na PD asked her.

"I honestly have no idea what it could be," Dokyeom commented, making her grin.

[good at hiding and being sly]

"Yeah, I don't know either," Vernon added.

The girl smiled at the producers before turning to her group. "My mission was to make a bowl of ramyeon and share it with a member."

"Oh, but you couldn't finish it," Hoshi pointed out, remembering the pain he saw in her eyes when he once came downstairs and saw her sitting by the table.

"Yeah," she grinned even wider, "but you finished it for me. So I shared it with you."

The group erupted in gasps and claps.

[proud]

"That's so smart of you!" Jun complimented her.

"Wait," the dancer turned to her, "did you actually not want to finish it?"

She nodded excitedly, "Yeah, it really was hurting my stomach already. So, thank you." Beaming at him.

[two birds, one stone]

Minghao perked up from the other end of the table. "Is that why you offered it to me?"

"YES!" She jumped up. "And you declined! I was honestly a bit annoyed, but I couldn't show it." The members laughed at her.

"Wow," Vernon clapped next to her. "That was sly." Mocking her once again, making her roll her eyes.

[he is adapting to her speech]

"Yes," Na PD agreed. "Very well done, Minnie! You succeeded."

"Thank youuu," she smiled brightly.

Seungkwan, as the others already suspected, had to write something in Calligraphy on rice paper. But since he seemed so triggered by the fact that Wonwoo had hidden the piece of paper he had written on, the members thought he had failed. They were proven wrong when he pulled out another sheet from his sweater, unfolding it and revealing his motto. After a bit of inspection from Na PD himself, they agreed to let him pass.

Jeonghan, like he had already admitted, failed since the '96 Liner had hidden parts of his recorder - and didn't even know where anymore. Therefore, he couldn't play the Titanic soundtrack and failed.

Jun exposed his mastermind by explaining how he took on his mission. Since he knew getting a member to go to sleep wasn't going to be easy, he thought of a way around. His solution was to include S.Coups, who, thanks to the different time zones they were in, would be asleep as of now. This started a heated debate between the singers and the production crew as no one could really tell if their leader was currently asleep.

"Okay," Na PD interrupted, "to be honest, we sent S.Coups a message earlier, and the one hasn't disappeared yet." He referred to the 'sent' and 'read' receipt on Kakao talk - if there's a 1 next to the message, it has been sent, but the person hasn't opened it yet.

"You have to look at his Discord." The group agreed. Later in the evening, if Seungcheol didn't have a schedule planned, he would be playing video games, therefore also be active in their gamer channel on Discord. If his profile was shown to be 'offline', you could think that he'd be sleeping, most likely.

To know for sure, though, Na PD turned to the female member. "Minnie-ya, have you talked to S.Coups recently?"

[the trusted little sister]

All eyes fell on the girl because either she could say the truth or lie, and depending on how much she cared about Jun's mission getting a pass, they would have to believe her.

She shook her head. "I sent him a picture during the wine festival, but I haven't heard from him since then."

The producers accepted their defeat.

Woozi slyly confessed that the lives he was announcing were in fact for his mission, but he added that he had to include five members. It didn't have to go until 11pm, and he managed to succeed a bit earlier and even had every member show up in the multiple lives he had started and ended. The members were already excited to know what Carats were saying about the random videos now showing up on Weverse (RIP Vlive).

Vernon was quick to tell the group that he had lost before the game even started, as well as not even a second into it. Keeping Dokyeom from singing was one of the hardest tasks of the evening. And ever.

Joshua, on the other hand, was proud to announce that his mission was the exact opposite, and therefore, he had achieved it easily.

Dokyeom, as most had already known, was challenged to eat 10 fried eggs. He did get help from Vernon and would therefore share the money with him, but since it hadn't been disclosed whether he had to finish them on his own or not, he was given a pass.

Dino's mission surprised quite a few of the members when he told them that he had to backhug each one of them for three seconds. Some of them questioned whether the maknae had truly hugged them at all during the evening, but they came to the realisation that he had just done a good job at doing it so casually. Minnie had already forgotten that he had hugged her while she was making her Ramen. Being one of the clingy members definitely had its perks.

At the end, Minghao, Minnie, Seungkwan, Jun, Woozi, Joshua, Dokyeom, and Dino were the members to have succeeded in their missions, each now being 150 Euros richer. Besides Dokyeom and Vernon, who had decided to cut it in half and leave them with 75 Euros each.

For any specific events/moments you'd like to see in future NANA Tour episodes and in general, pls never hesitate to let me know! I'm sure others would love to read your ideas as well :)

Taglist: @waosobii @chaebb @lunarxsun @hoe4wonwoo @kimhyejin3108 @soobzao @billboard-singer @cosmicwintr @zwiehe @alixnsuperstxr @angie-x3 @smooore @allthings-fandoms @lllucere @iamawkwardandshy

[themothwhisperer]

Embrace the changes is my advice. A game and a tv show simply aren’t the same. They are not made the same and they do not offer the same advantages.

I feel kinda sad for the people out there that played and loved the game, but hate on the narrative changes they made for the show. Change was inevitable. Otherwise, why doing it? Making a carbon copy of something isn’t that valuable in my opinion.

That’s one of the main reasons why season 2 can arguably turn out to be better than season 1. Because what will come next is unexpected. It comes with a sense of surprise and mystery.

And that’s especially true when it comes to Ellie and Dina.

With episode 4, the reaction seems to be quite divided and it’s honestly super fair, but it’s fundamental to understand how this relationship did a 180 for the televised version. The game was stability, consistency and maturity. The show is all about playfulness, confusion and tension.

The most common comment I see is about the sex scene. I’m sorry, but to have them getting intimate was necessary, especially for the fans of the game. Taking it out would’ve been wrong in many ways. And when you think about it, this was the only good timing for it. The weed scene simply couldn’t happen in the show because the pace of their relationship is drastically different here.

At this point in time in the game, they are official and comfortable. They are getting into this journey as a couple and it’s crystal clear. And because of this closeness they already have with each other, it was hinted that Ellie was immune. She reveals that information very early on. Even if Dina didn’t believe her, there is a little unconscious connection that clicked in her brain. It won’t be as shocking when she will be confronted to it.

In the show, however, they are tiptoeing around each other. Ellie has feelings for Dina and Dina knows about it, but she’s scared to dive in. She feels the same way, but her sexuality is still a bit of a challenge. She’s been told by her mother this wasn’t right. It’s a mess, basically. And if we compare the timelines, it becomes very obvious that the game and the show are not evolving at the same speed when it comes to this.

So here’s the thing tying back to the immunity question: When Ellie takes a bite to save Dina’s life (which is, by the way, such an exciting and romantic change), Dina’s world is crumbling down. The possibility of them being together dies instantly. She feels guilty because she didn’t speak up earlier. Now it’s ruined. She’s desperate and terrified and heartbroken. I’ve read many things about the lack of communication into this scene, but dialogue is not always key to boost the narrative. Actually, it pretty often does the opposite. Dina doesn’t ask questions because she cannot deal with what might be said, by herself and Ellie alike. It will make it so much worse when she actually has to pull the trigger. She can’t stand the idea of having Ellie voicing she’s in love with her. She can’t allow herself to let it all out either, probably thinking it would be unfair to Ellie. So she stays silent. She’s just crying and waiting for the worst to come. And the biggest difference with the game is how there is no prior connection in Dina’s mind to have a glimpse of hope. She absolutely cannot believe in the immunity claim. There is no way. That’s why she’s not asking about it or trying to hear Ellie out. Once again, it would only make it worse.

Release comes, however, in all the ways possible. Ellie suddenly wakes up, water dripping down on her and a few hours actually went by. She’s fine. And Dina staying silent is motivated by the fact that she’s in absolute shock. To her, there was only one way out of this. She was most likely already grieving Ellie. But now it’s different. Ellie is actually okay, the bite didn’t evolve and she’s evidently feeling well. Once again, she’s speechless, shaken to the core. What can we expect? She just walks very slowly towards her, taking it all in. The anxiety, the fear, it’s all washed away. What’s left is her overwhelming feelings for her. There is nothing that can get in her way now. She’s learned her lesson. And the only words she can actually verbalize is the fact that she’s pregnant. It’s the only thing she’s hiding from Ellie. And before surrendering to her emotions, she just says it.

Here again, I’ve seen things about the pregnancy announcement and my question is: How else would you want it? A pregnancy announcement is a pregnancy announcement. In the game, it actually broke my heart. How Dina is invalidated by Ellie like this. Ellie who’s completely blinded by her rage. I’m not saying a softer Ellie is necessarily better for the storyline, but I did enjoy that pure moment of innocence in the show. She’s taken aback, but she’s not judging. They’re 19 after all. They don’t know what it means and how they will deal with it, but they want to figure it out together.

So yeah, the sex scene makes so much sense. Dina is ready for them to be together, she perceives only love in Ellie’s reaction and she wants that closeness with her. She won’t waste another second. Having this scene happen later on would’ve been so odd. Ellie will soon torture an already dying Nora, she will be next level traumatized. Dina will most likely get sicker from her pregnancy. This was the perfect moment, considering the rhythm of this version.

Finally, if we want more Dina, that was the only way to go about it. They need to be extra close for it to make sense. Many people were disappointed (myself included) by the fact that Dina is sort of forgotten after Seattle Day One in the game. They fixed it. Let’s appreciate it.

(Can we also acknowledge the breathtaking performance Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced delivered?)

[fairy-writes]

WITH THE DELICACY OF A FLOWER

Reblogs and Comments are greatly appreciated!!

__________________________________________________________________________

Fandom(s): Demon Slayer

Pairing(s): Shinazugawa Sanemi x Reader

Word Count: 0.7k

Genre(s)/Tag(s): Gender Neutral!Reader, Reader is kind of implied to be shorter than Sanemi (He leans his head on theirs)

Notes: I’m writing this instead of my requests, but the last episode of Demon Slayer has me in a CHOKEHOLD

This takes place immediately after Sanemi v. Tanjiro in season 1!

__________________________________________________________________________

You could tell the moment Sanemi walked through the doors that he was mad. This in and of itself wasn’t unusual. In fact, if he came home in a good mood, you had cause to worry.

But he seemed extra prickly today, so you washed your hands after making ohagi, dried them on your apron, and headed out to the front living area, where he was slipping off his shoes.

“How did the Hashira meeting go?” You ask as you approach him, and he scowls, baring his teeth in frustration. You notice he has some tissue stuffed up both nostrils and slight bruising around his eyes.

Did he get in a fight? Was his nose broken?

He notices you staring and sucks in a breath through his teeth,

“Some punk-ass kid headbutted me.” He finally grumbled, and you cocked your head, raising an eyebrow and studying his hunched shoulders. 

“Well, did you deserve it?” You ask, and his eyes dart to bore into yours. 

“When have I ever deserved it?!” He snapped, and you roll your eyes good-naturedly. 

“Love, I can think of several times when you deserved it. I guess I should be asking if you are okay?” You say, and he just grumbles, pushing past you gently and stalking off to your shared room in a huff. 

You watch him go. Guess he was in a worse mood than you thought. But you weren’t worried. He’d come to talk to you when he was ready. 

At least you weren’t concerned until it was time for bed, and he still had yet to speak with you. 

So, you gathered some of the fresh ohagi you had prepared onto a plate and knocked quietly on the bedroom door. 

“What.” Came his curt answer. You ease the door open and see him staring out the window, watching the moonlight illuminate everything in a stark white glow. 

“You didn’t eat dinner.” You say gently, but he doesn’t turn to look at you.

“I’m not hungry.” Another curt answer. But it doesn’t deter you. In fact, you are almost emboldened. Had he screamed and shouted, maybe you would’ve reconsidered. But he wasn’t angry at you. No… It seemed he was furious at something else. The Master, maybe? Maybe whoever this “punk-ass kid” was?

“Sanemi,” You eventually say, and he finally turns to look at you. His expression changes as soon as he spots you, a plate of food in hand and a soft expression. Any anger melts away, and he holds out a hand for you to take. You set the plate down by his side of the futon and step into his side. His hands are calloused as they wrap around your shoulders, and he leans his head on yours. 

“I’m guessing you’ve heard the whole situation?” He mumbles, and you hum, nodding slightly and relishing in his affection. It wasn’t often he allowed himself to hold you like this.

“Your crow told me the Master is allowing the Kamado siblings to stay in the Demon Slayer Corps.” You reply, and he grunts, pecking your forehead as he mulls over the decision. 

It was difficult for him. That much was obvious. He hadn’t told you everything, but you had gathered from his nightmares and the odd snippet of conversation why he was so hesitant to allow this to happen. 

Which was completely understandable, considering his backstory. 

After a few moments of silence, you take your head off his shoulder and lean your chin on it, studying your partner as he listens to the crickets outside your window. It wasn’t often he was home overnight with you like this. But the meeting had supposedly ended early, so he had the rest of the night to spend with you. 

You eventually lead Sanemi to bed but stop him before he lies down to close his eyes. You stop him by leaning down and pressing a kiss to his lips. He readily accepts the kiss, tangling his fingers in your hair to keep you there even a moment longer. You can feel the heated emotions under his skin and his heart thrumming in his chest. But he remained gentle. 

Always so gentle. 

He was always so gentle with you. No matter what he was doing, he treated you with the same delicacy as a flower. 

[blacktabbygames]

Hello! I absolutely love Slay The Princess! I was wondering, were there any major inspirations that helped you create this game that you wouldn’t mind sharing? I’m always fascinated by the art that inspires the art I love so I’d be very curious and happy to hear what vibes helped you all piece together this wonderful game!

It's always tough to pin down inspirations. I think there's kind of three types: 1. Hard inspirations — things that you know are sources of inspiration at the start of a project. Or things that become known sources of inspiration partway through a project. These are sometimes, but not always technical.

2. Soft inspirations — these are more vibes based. Kind of like "what's going through my head on loop while working on a specific chapter." Almost never technical, and for me, this tends to be music more than anything else. (But maybe it's music *from* something specifically)

3. Loose inspirations — these are more along the lines of formative pieces of media. Stuff that seeps into your soul and directs your development as an artist or person, but not in a way where you can specifically tell what its impact is. Sometimes overlaps with #2 Anyways, some examples for each. Hard Inspirations:

• Disco Elysium — IMO hands down the best piece of interactive media ever made, and probably one of the most obvious influences on Slay the Princess. The concept of using internal voices to represent the player's thoughts helped us get around one of the biggest writing challenges in Slay the Princess — if the Princess changes based on your perspective, how do we codify what the player's thinking? The voices were a solution to interpret those choices in sensible ways and inform our players of how the game was reading their choices. Much better than breaking immersion and outright asking players what they tought. • Soma — we didn't play Soma until we were about half of the way through our work on Slay the Princess, but it was one of those games that felt so thematically on-point. I still think about this game most weeks. • The Stanley Parable — I like when narrators get frustrated at players for doing silly things. It helps when your narrator is British, too.

• Madoka — it's like 12 episodes long. Just watch it.

• Evangelion — Similar bucket to Soma. Didn't watch it until we were most of the way done, but boy does it have some similar vibes. Soft Inspirations/Music I've Kept On Loop While Working On the Game I won't tell you what music was looped for what routes. • Ceremonials (Florence + the Machine) — one of my all time favorite artists, and just a phenomenal album.

• Presumably Dead Arm (Sidney Gish) — super underrated. No Dogs Allowed is a great album.

• Haunted (Poe) — another banger album.

• Black Holes and Revelations (Muse)

I'll leave that third bucket unanswered lest this post become 50 pages long.

[grimaussiewitch]

Going off that Grian’s supposed teaser will make the gimmick obvious, I’m making my gimmick prediction.

He’ll probably make it way more complicated than I would hope but whatever:

Day/night time shift. Day becomes shorter over the season or it’s always night plus the boogie man.

Elytra flying and maybe amplified terrain as a bonus. A lot of elytra hopping and dirt towers.

Hunters. 1-3 players have a target on them and if you kill them you gain a life. If a hunted kills another hunted, they don’t gain a life. Instead, if they’re killed by a hunter that Hunter gains two lives. Yellow and reds can’t be hunted and only hunters. However, once all of the greens are gone, yellows take their role.

Something something cold or tropical biomes. Not a gimmick, I just want a tundra as the main biome, or maybe a jungle.

It’s third life all over again.

Body swap or angels. According to a reddit post about Scar’s stream, there won’t be new players just the 18 (RIP False truthers) but I know how to get more povs. Grian’s Angel task from secret life had Jimmy uploading his own perspective, so image it’s third life mechanics but Jimmy now has Oli on his shoulder. The job of the Angel is to encourage players to do certain actions that will either help or hender them.

Undead life. You gotta revive yourself to play the game.

Evo life. The first episode starts in the earliest version of minecraft. The next episode is the next version or skips a few versions. Players who did not play the early days of Minecraft are in hell.

Nether life. You start out in the nether and play in it or have to escape to the other world. You want the baby Ghast to be a happy Ghast? Get out of the nether.

Same as above but it’s a new dimension. Too modded so that won’t happen.

Origins mod. The most obvious gimmick via looking at a teaser. Probably won’t happen because that balancing for that would be HELL. They couldn’t do that for the superhero wildcard, so I doubt that Grian’s team could fix it for a whole season. However, I would still love to see these players use the origins mod outside of the life series.

As a reminder, this is just dumb predictions. I won’t get any of these right lmao.

[greenfiend]

Will already has powers…

And I think I figured out exactly what they are.

This is a long theory post. Get some popcorn, get comfortable and be prepared to have some common fandom perspectives get flipped upside down. Nothing is as it seems.

(Trigger warning for some serious subject matters such as: homophobia, SI, m*rder, and CSA.)

Before we begin, let me remind you of what’s seen behind our boy in the photo above.

This post will, indeed, open that curtain. As Murray states, revealing what’s behind the curtain will cause some to feel unease. The unease may be caused by distaste of the theory overall or discomfort of the serious subject matters. So proceed with caution…

To begin, who is Will Byers?

A young boy who doesn’t fit in with the 1980s norms. A boy who escapes through fantasy.

In fantasy he’s a wizard… a cleric…

Outside of fantasy he’s an artist… a creator…

He’s a boy who’s different. He stands out from the rest, yet he manages to remain hidden for the most part. He’s “good at hiding”.

He is a part of a small loving family of three. His mother Joyce and his older brother Jonathan. His biological dad is estranged (more on him later).

Will has a few friends when we begin the show: Lucas, Dustin, and Mike. Mike and Will have a bond that’s different from the others (more on them later).

Will is a young boy who has experienced a lot of trauma, from bullying peers and an abusive parent to being victimized by supernatural forces. There’s a lot going on for him both internally and externally. These also happen to correlate with each other quite frequently. Suspiciously frequently in fact. Which leads me to this conclusion:

Will’s powers involve shaping the world around him based on his warped views of himself, his sexuality, and his mental health. He’s literally “reshaping the [external] world” to match his internal world; “remake it however [he] sees fit.”

Wow okay slow down there, you may be thinking. You’re really saying he has God like abilities? Well, sort of- but he lacks the insight or control over his own abilities at this point. Just bare with me here and keep an open mind as things will get stranger…

Moving away from the deeper aspects of his character, let’s look at something superficial: his name.

William “Will” Byers

The name William means “Determined” or “Resolute Protector” or “Strong Helmet”. Okay.

Byers means someone who lives by a cattle-shed. Hm. Okay.

But wait… let’s go back. What does the name “Will” mean?

Well… there’s multiple meanings but let’s focus on the highlighted one.

“Mental powers” you say? A name that literally means the ability to make others do things or make things occur? To bend things to one’s will…

When did he get these powers?

I’m not confident in the answer to this but I think he may have always had the powers. Just like his sexuality, he was born this way.

It’s very likely that he was specifically targeted back in the first episode because of this, then was possessed afterwards for the same reason.

I mean… for a villain who wants to “reshape the world”- why wouldn’t he want the powers of a boy with this ability?

As I believe his powers are intertwined with his sexuality, they began manifesting much more once puberty hit. Will likely has used his powers in seasons 1 and 2 but very subtly. In season 3, they become more obvious but still in the shadows (and unbeknownst to him…he suppresses it). They emerge in correlation with his blooming sexuality.

Season 3 is associated with possession, and the concept of free will is a frequent theme. The characters discuss how to look out for people acting out of the ordinary, out of character if you will. Any characters that come to mind?

Hopper was noticeably different this season. Coincidentally, the same season Will desperately held onto his childhood innocence, Hopper acted suspiciously immature.

Will wants El and Mike to break up. Hopper wants El and Mike to break up.

Mike explains to Lucas that Hopper “threatened” him while we immediately cut to Will. What’s Will doing here? He is moving DnD characters on a board. He is manipulating the characters here… playing dollhouse… being a puppet master. This little guy was so jealous of Mike and El that he influenced Hopper to try and break them up!

We are shown other little incidences of Hopper acting Will-like too. He suddenly buys a shirt that’s different than his usual wardrobe- “that’s a lot of color chef”. Will is known for wearing colourful clothes, that’s highlighted as a reason he is seen as “different” and is bullied for it. Hopper has trouble pronouncing an alcoholic beverage, saying “cheeanti” when he is well acquainted with alcohol. While Will is dressed up as Will the Wise, Lucas asks Will for permission to shower- then we cut to Hopper showering. Hopper acts very immature in his jealousy, just as Will does. Both Hopper and Will have big fights with Joyce and Mike in episode 3 of season 3. When El asks “how do we know when someone’s a host?” the scene immediately ends and we are shown Hopper. Will is using Hopper as a host! There’s even more evidence than this but we shall move on from here.

So wait, Will possessed Hopper? Well, not exactly. Hopper was under the influence of Will. Remember what Will said about the mindflayer: “He likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me.”

There was another character acting out of the ordinary this season…

That’s right! Mike.

I’ll come back to him more later but in the meantime, let me offer you this theory:

The rain scene. Now what if I said that Will was the one projecting onto Mike? What I mean is: Will’s internal thoughts “it’s not his fault I don’t like girls!” becoming a reality. Mike never meant to say this- it was all Will’s doing. His internalized homophobia became externalized. It’s oddly fitting too that in the episode with Will’s emotional breakdown, it’s raining.

The devastating depth of Will’s trauma

Within the show, we know our boy has experienced a lot of suffering, but subtext tells us it’s much worse than we see on the surface.

Will’s father is a homophobic and abusive asshole yes, but he’s more than that.

There’s an alarming amount of evidence that this man was not only emotionally and physically abusive but also sexually abusive to both Will and his older brother.

He likely was especially homophobic towards Will because he projected his actual perverse sexuality unto him. He likely dealt with his shame by blaming his innocent young son.

This leads us to: November 6th, 1983. Originally, I do believe that Will died by the hands of his own cruel father. His father likely picked him up from his bike ride home (his bike left behind), ended his life by strangulation, put him in the back of his trunk, and dumped him into Sattlers Quarry (where his fake body was found).

I believe somehow someone was able to reverse this (more on this later). The clock turned back and a new timeline was created. Will was then abducted and brought to the upside down. Instead of heaven or hell, he was in purgatory. Time came to an abrupt halt in the upside down… the exact same time his life ended in the original timeline. This is where timelines diverge.

Now Will’s purgatory is also his internal world, his own mind. The upside down manifests itself as this. It’s dark, cold, scary, lonely, and unsettling. He’s trapped in his own head, where he relives some of his most traumatic memories. We see him being victimized by the Demogorgon (an alternate title for Demogorgon is “The Deep Father” x ) and we also see him being assaulted (in a sexual manner) by vines.

By the time Will is rescued, he is struggling with suicidal thoughts (the song “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die” tells us this). Poor boy has been in a deep dark depressive state. In season 2, his possession is a real manifestation of his PTSD.

The monsters represent how he views himself- he’s a monster. I’d argue his internalized homophobia is a lot worse than we actually think. It’s not just the homophobic environment around him, it’s also the ongoing rhetoric that the victim will inevitably become a perpetrator. As we see the common occurrence of toxic cycles continuing: he fears he has no agency and will become his own father.

Jonathan can relate, but because he’s solely attracted to women and thus more “normal”, it’s not as bad for him. But Steve really pushed his buttons when he implied that Jonathan is a creep like his father.

So yes, Will sees himself as a monster because of his attraction to men. Thus, he manifests the monsters in the monster show.

Speaking of his attraction to men…

Mike

Will loves Mike, he’s hopelessly devoted to him. Mike feels the exact same way. In the original timeline, Mike ultimately decides to jump into Sattlers Quarry to reunite with his love in death.

Will “jumps”, Mike jumps too. Luckily, a new timeline was created, giving both of them a second chance at life and love.

In the alternate timeline (the show), season 1 sees Mike leave no stones unturned in his search for his best friend. In season 2, we see how Mike normally is with Will. He’s so devoted! He’s always by Will’s side throughout everything. It’s beautiful! This is the authentic Mike.

So. What happened in season 3? Mike’s internalized homophobia?

Well partially I’m sure, but in this post I’m offering an alternate theory: Mike’s behavior is explained by Will’s internalized homophobia.

What do I mean by this?

Well as I said, Will reshapes the external world in the image of his internal world. He doesn’t believe he deserves Mike’s love. He’s scared. He’s been “inventing things” so he can push Mike away.

He obviously wants nothing more than to be with Mike, but due to his insecure attachment style and his internalized homophobia, he’s been the one pushing him away this entire time with his powers.

How has he been pushing Mike away exactly?

He’s been pushing Mike towards El.

Wait, didn’t he help break them up through Hopper?

Well, yes, but the sweet sensitive boy that he is likely felt bad, he regretted his actions after their rain fight fallout and wanted to give his “olive branch” and make amends.

Will believes the best way to do so is to push Mike and El back together. Like Lucas, Will gives Mike guidance by, essentially, being the master to his puppet.

(Above is actually Will’s apology to Mike.)

In Will’s mind, Mike is straight. He would never reciprocate Will’s feelings. So, Will believes that Mike should be happy with El then.

Will literally is putting words in Mike’s mouth here. Look how focused Will is in this scene, and how often Mike turns to him. It’s as though Will is mouthing to Mike exactly what words he (thinks) he should say.

Here Will is at it again! But Mike is resisting. The words aren’t able to come out. Will’s signal is poor, Mike couldn’t fully understand him.

So Will, as misguided but well intended as he is, attempts to bring Mike and El back together.

No wonder Mike couldn’t exactly remember his words…

He’s genuinely confused here!

This leads me to…

This foreshadowing shot tells us that Will is the director here. He fed Mike the script he had to read. So yes, I’m saying that Will did not just push Mike to say those words to El, he forced him to. Mike did not have any agency here.

Now, like me, you may be concerned about this. Will is bending Mike to his will? Won’t the audience then assume Will forced Mike to be gay with him? Pushing that toxic homophobic narrative?

Well that’s the thing- Will is not forcing a straight man to be gay. Will is trying to make a gay man straight! Ahhh trope subversion.

El

So I’m not going to delve too much into El in this post, because El and Will deserve their own post. But I do strongly believe they are much more connected than we think.

Vecna

Where does Vecna fit into this theory? Well for starters, I don’t believe Vecna himself is Will, he is definitely a separate entity. The major difference between Will and Vecna is that Will will no longer be restrained by his shadow, he will be able to differentiate himself from his shadow. Vecna has chosen to become one with the shadow.

Also, like Mike, Vecna is heavily associated with time. Vecna takes time away from others but Mike gives time. I do agree with the Wheeler and Creel being connected theories.

Time

Time is a major theme within the show. As I mentioned previously, Will possesses powers where he can manipulate his environment, his space. Will is space, but he is lacking the 4th dimension.

The upside down is frozen in time, essentially lacking time. It needs time, and it always will! That’s right- Mike is time.

That boy is frequently associated with it. Running late at the beginning of each season, mentions of “turning back the clock”, etc.

Mike “turned back the clock” and saved Will from his original fate. Similar to the scene where Mike jumps off the cliff and is saved by El, Mike reverses his fall by rewinding time. He went all the way back to the night of November 6th, 1983. Preventing the original timeline from occurring.

Mike gave Will the greatest gift of all- time.

Remember time heals all wounds. Wounds being the gates.

Together, Mike and Will are spacetime. Which is beautiful because not only does this mean they are equals in every way but they can literally create their own fantasy world together.

Conclusion

This show has a lot of layers. I tried to really dig deep but still I feel like I just scratched the surface. I will say this though: I am utterly confident that everything leads back to Will. He is the center of the entire show, like it or not. Without Will, there is no Stranger Things. Now of course this is not “the Byler show” but their relationship is incredibly important. Mike’s unconditional love and devotion to Will is a key aspect of the solution to the conflict. He makes Will “feel better for being different”. His love, along with his other friends and family, will inevitably lead to the upside down (Will’s mind) becoming a beautiful place. Instead of rot and decay, there will be blooming flowers and sunlight.

If you’d like to discuss any aspect of these theories with me, feel free! Like I said, I’m only scratching the surface here. Let me know your thoughts.

[mystisophia]

I love how Starker were obsessed with each other before they even met in person.

So, hear me out:

Let’s start with Peter. It’s already been confirmed that he’s the kid Tony saved in Iron Man 2 (this is further reinforced in Deadpool & Wolverine, where, in the scene with Happy and Deadpool in Happy’s office, we see the same photo of Peter and Tony that Tony had in Endgame but Peter’s face is covered by the helmet that the kid in Iron Man 2 was wearing, the helmet hides that part of the photo, so it's even more obvious this fact-)

So, knowing that Peter is the kid from Iron Man 2, we can say he admired Tony from a very young age, an Iron Man fanboy through and through. His admiration is evident throughout the movies.

And if we consider something outside the movies, in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, Season 1, Episode 5 ("Flight of the Iron Spider"), it's implicitly stated that Peter has a "man crush" on Tony. This episode showcases even more of Peter’s admiration and knowledge of Tony <3

So, for Peter, Iron Man isn’t just a hero or a role model- he’s his damn celebrity crush.

Now, let’s move on to Tony.

Tony didn’t just randomly show up at Peter’s apartment in Civil War. No, he had already planned to do so (maybe not at that moment but the moment required it). He had a suit ready for him. And (important detail) the moment he talked to Natasha about needing backup, Peter was immediately on his mind. It was his time to meet him, the perfect recruit.

So, I can only imagine Tony one day randomly discovering Spider-Man’s videos and his heroic feats and becoming completely fascinated.

His powers. His abilities.

"Wow! Nice catch. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour—it's not easy."

His moves. Everything about him, his persona.

I mean, yes, Tony had a damn Norse god, Hulk, a super-spy, a 100-year-old supersoldier, an insanely skilled archer, and a literal chaos witch on his team. But no. No. Peter was something else, Spiderman was something else.

Tony Freaking Stark spent hours and hours designing a suit for a person he had never met and didn’t even know would want to be on the team.

But come on. He’s Tony Stark. He gets what he wants.

And, honestly, who wouldn’t want to be an Avenger?

They’re the Avengers, man!

Tony spent hours in his workshop designing and perfecting the Spider-Man suit, nearly putting it on par with the Iron Man armor. Obsessed.

(Also, he hated that "onesie" Peter wore. Hehe.)

And if we want to go dirtier with this… Considering Tony’s resources and how easily he could dig up information on someone, it wouldn’t be surprised if he found out Peter was a fanboy. Maybe from some old internet post, a search history, or something like that. And you know that would only boost his ego and make him even more confident that Peter would say yes.

And back to talking about the devil… Natasha, The knowing glances that Tony and Natasha exchanged when in "Civil War" they were considering their options... In my "delulu mind" by the glaces they gave each other, Natasha knew, she definitely knew about Peter since before

So Tony and Natasha were definitely close, not as much as Natasha and Steve, but still. So I can totally imagine Tony finding out about Peter and telling Natasha about him, all excited, explaining how he’d be a great addition to the team.

And then… they meet.

And Tony’s obsession with keeping Peter safe begins.

To Tony, Peter was fragile, someone he couldn’t afford to lose (cof cof Infinity War cof cof 😭😭😭).

And Peter? He became obsessed with proving himself, proving that he was "good enough", that he belonged in this world, in this job, in his life. That Tony didn’t need to treat him like he was made of glass.

God, they make me sick.

Now imagine their mutual obsession once they realize they’re in love. And eventually start a relationship.

Oh god- that makes me even sicker

Anyway, I had to share this. I’m absolutely and definitely NOT NORMAL about them, you can tell.

~ mystisophia 🍒

(sorry for my bad english/google translator ugh-)

[umbramoons]

TECH MOMENTS PT. 22

The Bad Batch S2 E4: Faster

THE Tech Episode ❤

- TECH IN CIVVIES TECH IN CIVVIES! Timeline-wise, this is the first time we’ve seen him wearing something that isn’t GAR-issued. I like how he still kept a lot of white to his look, and the vest he’s wearing probably feels the most comfortable to him after being so used to wearing armor over his chest. ❤

- Even though Tech isn’t sitting with Omega and Wrecker, he’s still clearly tuned in to their conversation, glancing over when Omega laughs and such.

- He wants their skills to be put to proper use. 

- His sigh when Cid gives them a job. He’s just sick of being treated like a common errand boy when he knows he’s meant for more than that.

- “I am beginning to understand the need for added security in a place like this.”

- His eyes get so big when he sees the racers go by. ❤

- “It appears anything goes out there.”

- “Your ringer is a droid?” He sounds more surprised than disapproving. He’s probably kind of impressed that a droid can be that skilled (since he’s pretty much spent his entire life destroying droids).

- “I do not have enough information about this sport to determine that at this time.” Note, he didn’t say he couldn’t make the calculations, but he’s being humble about it.

- Spectacled spectator :)

- I’ll always be obsessed with the little glances he exchanges with Omega.

- Nerding out about the speeder (DIRECTLY TO CID) and being curious about it. ❤

- He immediately steps up to protect Omega. The look in his eyes is just “Try it, I dare you.” (I love the way he tilts his head at them. It’s so subtly challenging.) ❤

- He’s also the only one to kind of take a step forward with Cid when she says that they will win the next race. Subtle forshadowing, perhaps?

- Wrecker: “What’s he saying?”

Tech: “You do not want to know.” ❤

- He’s able to recognize that there’s history here with Cid, but he doesn’t push for more information when she dismisses his observation.

- The way he shakes his head a little as he looks down at the wreckage of TAY-0’s speeder. He’s not impressed.

- “This speeder is in bad shape, but some of it is salvageable.” Positivity!

- He turns around so quickly when Wrecker says he found TAY-0. 

- That shot of him reaching for his blaster just does something to us Tech girlies. ❤

- That startled look he gives Wrecker when Omega makes the deal for Cid.

- “I’m inclined to agree with him, Omega.” He says in the cutest whisper. ❤

- HE LEANS DOWN TO BE CLOSER TO OMEGA WHEN HE’S TALKING TO HER. ❤

- I love the way he kind of twirls tools in his fingers whenever he uses them. (We saw it in Season 1, too)

- That LOOK he gives TAY-0 when he says he’s doing it wrong and needs to be taught how to do it properly. It always makes me grin whenever I rewatch this episode. ❤

- Being smart and advising against breaking Cid out with force.

- “It is a… problematic pattern.”

- The way he gives the tiniest flinch when TAY-0 pretty much tells him to shut up and keep working.

- The way he's actively studying the races. He's taking this seriously. ❤

- “I am analyzing the course and patterns of the racers. It is fascinating.” I love him, he’s such a sweet nerd. ❤

- He gives TAY-0 advice even though he’s clearly annoyed with him. ❤

- HIS FACE WHEN TAY-0 GETS BULLDOZED IS PRICELESS. ❤

- “I will be the racer.” He’s willing to put his life on the line to protect Cid (and keep himself out of debt). Also, I love his expression here. ❤

- Wrecker looks over at Tech and immediately knows that he’s being serious. Which means he normally has a fairly obvious tell whenever he’s making a joke. And I need to know what it is.

- That death stare he gives Millegi when he volunteers to race. His face is so determined and I’m sorry, this man is just stunning. ❤

- He just pauses and looks around when he hears the announcer say his name like he’s not sure how to react.

- HIS FOCUSED EXPRESSION THE ENTIRE TIME HE’S RACING. ❤

- “I know what I’m doing. It’s called strategy.”

- “I can do both.” I love him. ❤

- Casually dropping his weapons with a simple, “They were slowing me down.”

- This man is a legend, he’s unstoppable, and he’s amazing. ❤

- “It will if I’m going fast enough.” ❤

- Going into uncharted territory with absolutely NO fear. (Cid looks away when he does this. SHE DOESN’T WANT TO WATCH HIM DIE BECAUSE OF HER.)

- That final maneuver to avoid getting sawed into was really clever.

- Omega: “You did it!”

Tech: “You sound surprised.” This tiny smile! He’s a gem. ❤

- EVERYONE CHEERING HIS NAME AND HE’S JUST STUNNED. ❤

- That shy little wave and smile he gives the crowd is SO sincere and sweet. He’s so cute. ❤

- “Yes. I would agree.” So he is a little put out that he had to risk his life for her, but he doesn’t regret his decision at all. (Also, his voice is so soft here.)

- Omega looks to HIM when Cid’s loyalty is warned about.

- HE HAS HIS HAND ON OMEGA’S SHOULDER AND HE’S LOOKING DOWN AT HER WITH SO MUCH AFFECTION AND HE ONLY ROLLS HIS EYES AFTER SHE SMIRKS UP AT HIM! ❤

- He smiles back so big at Wrecker when he nudges him this time. He’s so proud of himself.

- And it wasn’t just a quick touch, either. He’s walking with his hand on Omega’s shoulder for no reason. She didn’t do anything to prompt it. He’s just in an affectionate mood! ❤

[farfromstrange]

I wrote down my thoughts while watching this time, so you’ll get the full picture toward the end of this post. Before I get into it, I just want to add that you could tell this was episode part of the rewrite and, in my opinion, it felt so much better paced. I have no doubts that episode 9 is gonna make Season 1 go out with a bang next week.

Spoilers for episode 8 of Daredevil: Born Again under the cut.

The ‘this is all going to implode in his face’ moment I’ve been talking about is finally upon us. Hallelujah.

We can see Matt and Heather’s relationship falling apart, and I think what happened with Muse was the catalyst. Not only does he seem cold and detached from the woman he said he loved (She was tied up, cut open, and bled, and if that had been Karen or God forbid, Elektra, he would have been more doting)

If I think back to those domestic scenes they showed between Matt and Elektra in the Defenders, or how soft he was with Karen, this is so fucking far from that and it’s fucking intentional and I love that they really leaned into it this episode.

Also, I can’t get over what she said about Muse and Daredevil. She put them both in the same drawer, which I completely disagree with, but it shows that their views are already so fundamentally different.

Daredevil wasn’t there for himself. Matt came because he figured out it was her, which yes, she doesn’t know, but one of them saved her and one of them tried to kill her. I’m with Matt on this one. She spoke about both of them in rather derogatory ways because she doesn’t understand Daredevil the way the people in Matt’s life do/did, or the way we do. And I don’t think that would be any different if she knew it was Matt. She’d still think that way, I believe.

Adding this after watching: his rash and manic behavior toward the end was met with concern from her, which I get, but my gut is telling me she will not deal well with finding out the truth.

Sure, she’s a therapist, and she views it from a different angle, but even from a psychological angle I don’t really understand the things she said. I’m not a psychologist, but even with what little I know about psychology I can easily differentiate between the different vigilantes and their possible motivations. It might have been her trauma speaking, but I was a little mad at her, and I could tell so was Matt.

Also, he was worried when British Wesley came, and I don’t think it was wrong of him to express that because Fisk, even if you don’t know him, has a reputation, and Heather just shot him down. There is so much tension between them, and none of that is good. It’s just further proof of their dysfunctional relationship, and I honestly thank Marvel for finally making it so obvious.

Matt’s speech about his life feeling fake was a Freudian slip, and we’re seeing it more and more now this episode, and Heather is a part of that, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. He loves her in a way one might love a friend or a situationship, but he’s not in love with her. Definitely not.

Heather doesn’t know both sides of him, and as I said, after what she said I don’t think she’d accept both sides of him without seeing him as a basket case. I don’t think their relationship would survive the implications of Matt being both himself and Daredevil, openly. But to love Matt Murdock is to love all sides of him, as damaged as they are, and he needs the pull between Matt and Daredevil to even exist.

We’ve seen it work before Foggy died, and you can’t take Daredevil from him without it feeling fake, so you have to accept both sides. That’s not something you can compromise on, I fear. Not when those two parts are so intertwined inside him. But that’s what makes him such a complex character, and honestly, as self-centered he can be, and he is, he still cares so deeply. And Daredevil? Definitely not just for his own gain.

Fisk taking Vanessa to see Adam was unexpected but I absolutely loved how she had the choice to set him free but shot him instead. I don’t know if this is part of some elaborate play at power or if we really have the power couple back.

‘We’re babysitting chaos’ Matt who decided to put his faith in the system because he was struggling with his faith in God and he decided, for Foggy, not to put the suit in again is finally admitting that it feels useless. Not enough.

The Matt we see is broken. He’s not the same Matt as in the original show or other Marvel cameos. He couldn’t be. He’s darker now. Even with the suit on, he still feels useless, and now that he’s pulled in all these different directions he is so close to falling apart, and that’s what we’re seeing. He’s desperate.

He’s not himself without Foggy or Karen, and now he’s flailing because he has no one in his life who accepts Daredevil or at least tries to understand. Everyone only really knows that fake version he’s put on, except for Cherry (and Fisk), and he feels trapped.

Matt misses his old life because that was the one that made him even remotely happy, when he could have everything, but then everything was taken from him and now Dex wants to see him (I wrote this before the scene came up), and it’s all just continuing to crash down. He’s everything but okay, but he refuses to deal with it because he’s got his mind set on figuring shit out and fixing it, and that is so Matt Murdock it’s almost painful. I just want to hug him.

‘You’re blowing up your life’ I think, Cherry, he’s blowing up his fake life because he can’t keep doing this and pretend everything’s fine. He always does that. The people who stuck by him are gone now, so he already feels alone. There’s not much more Matt feels he can lose, and Heather obviously doesn’t seem to count for him. Of course, he’s blowing that fake life up now because there’s so much left unsaid and unknown, and he just wants back what he’s lost, but he can’t.

I love how he went back to Hell’s Kitchen and Josie’s, and that she offered him a drink.

We finally FINALLY get some kind of additional information on what happened the night Foggy died. And Matt actually allowing himself to go after that and engage with it?? He allowed himself to think about Foggy, to say his name, and make sense of it. The timer on the bomb that was his Fake Life was running out, and then it exploded. And you know what? The fandom is fucking cheering.

Let’s talk about the whole Dex scene because HELLO? I mean, it’s one thing that he’s finally asking questions, but the way he was berating him? The ‘sweetheart’? Honesty, what did Dex think was gonna happen? Did he think Matt was going to help him out? But fuck, that was so hot. Help.

The way he grabbed his hair? Smashing his face into the table? The ‘fuck you’???

He said fuck you. Oh my God. He said the f-word again. I’m crashing out, help. (This was my live reaction)

“You’re not the only one wearing Chanel no. 5” and his little cackle LMAO

On another note, I understand that Heather’s upset because Matt really is everywhere but present and I’d be pissed too if my boyfriend wasn’t listening to me.

That being said, I’d climb that man like a Christmas tree in that suit. I mean it.

“You’re starting to worry me on a professional level” this shouldn’t be as funny as it is. I mean, if I didn’t know why he’s acting that way I’d probably worry about his sanity too, but that’s who he is, and now that Heather is seeing that version of him she doesn’t know how to deal with it. I called it.

Anyway. The way he grabbed her and pulled her in to dance?? I’m screaming without the s.

Was it Vanessa? Was it Fisk? Was it someone else? I love how we have all these theories who ordered Foggy to get killed but no answers. I NEED TO KNOW! And the fact she told him to calm down has made me a member of the WitPro Theory Club.

Matt took a bullet for Fisk. He did that. This isn’t some alternate universe, and he didn’t take that bullet for Heather, either. But he took that bullet for a man he not even a mere minute ago called a monster. And part of me thinks he did it because one, he didn’t want to give Dex the satisfaction of killing someone else, and two, he has too many unanswered questions. Or he did it for some entirely different reason, but the fact he did it absolutely baffles me in the best way possible.

Matt Murdock jumped in front of Wilson Fisk and took a bullet in the same place Foggy did the night he died, fired from the same man, and he lay there the exact same fucking way, with his heartbeat fading in the background. What the hell are these parallels? Someone sedate me oh my God. What the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK.

Thank God we don’t have to worry about Daredevil dying because it’s literally his show, but my heart did drop into my stomach for a split second because I didn’t anticipate it.

The blue lights for Dex? The red for Matt? Fisk holding a bleeding Matt against his white suit and then Heather proceeding to kneel over him? What the actual fuck. The cinematography this episode was amazing, if I may say so.

Overall, I thank Marvel for making this episode happen because some strings felt a little loose to me ever since the first episode, but they’re tying them up, and they’re building up the storyline for season 2, and they did an incredible job.

They did the best they could with the scraps they were given, and the actors are really knocking it out of the park to make sure every scene feels authentic, especially Vincent and Charlie. I just thought I had to say that again.

WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK! And this time, I really fucking mean it.

Just a reminder that this is just how I interpret the characters, their actions and the storyline overall. Everyone has their own interpretations and I love reading every single one of them. So, if you want to chat (or scream) about the show, I’m here, and I’m ready!

[bonkybuchananbarnes]

There She Goes (1)

Next Chapter

Bucky Barnes x AFAB!Reader

You're a bright superhero popstar, and he's a quiet, brooding ex-assassin who seeks redemption. The two of you are like sun and moon. When Bucky suddenly moves in with the Avengers, you stop at nothing, trying to become closer with him. What could possibly go wrong?

Au!Post Civil War where all the Avengers are alive. This story is a slow-burn romcom!

Title and story inspired by the song There She Goes by The La's

Series tags: sunshine x grumpy trope, strangers to friends to lovers, 2000s romcom vibes, crackfic, reader is a bold outgoing flirt and Bucky is a self reserved shy?man, fluff & crack fic, some angst, bucky is trying to heal and you try to help him, maybe future smut?

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

chapter warnings: swearing. thats all!

A/N: suddenly im trusted back to my 2018 marvel phase with an unhealthy obsession with bucky barnes! i wanted to give bucky barnes a 2000s romcom trope and so here it is. hope yall like it! lmk what you guys think, this is like a pilot episode tbh.

btw, you guys have a nickname. i'll alternate between that and (Y/N).

Word count: 2k

'(Y/n), no.'

‘(Y/n), yes.’

‘(Y/n), you can’t just ditch your world tour just because Star Spangled Spandex and I are having a pissing contest!’ Tony yelled.

‘Come onnnnn Tony! I want in on this tea! And besides, what's got you and Cap’s panties in a twist?’ you questioned. 

The two of you were sitting in front of each other, with the Avengers common table between your bodies. On the far side of the room was Peter, sitting on the couch and drinking orange juice from a straw while he watched you and Tony argue. 

Spiderboy finished the drink a minute ago, but he was still sucking on the straw, which made an unbearably annoying noise. 

‘Can you fucking stop that!?’ you screeched as you hurled a ball of photokinesis towards him. Peter yelped as he rolled to his left and dodged your attack, which resulted in the incineration of the couch. 

‘You asshole! Are you trying to kill me!?’ he exclaimed, as he clutched onto his chest. 

‘Stop clutching your pearls Penis Parker.’ you snarked. 

Tony stared at you incredulously. ‘You are so getting me a new couch Sunshine.’

You hated it when he called you that. You had photokinetic power, which in Layman's terms was being able to manipulate light at will and shoot power blasts. But Tony always insisted on calling you Sunshine because you were literally a ball of light. 

‘As I was saying Tony, why are you and Cap fighting again?’ you questioned.

The man in front of you sighed. ‘He wants to bring Barnes into our Tower. And for obvious reasons I don't want him here.’

‘Tony you gotta stop restricting hot men from living here. I want my daily fix!’ you pouted. 

The older man scoffed. ‘And that's the other thing! Even though you're a superstar and an Avenger you act like you don't have paparazzi in your closet! Keep your shit together Sunshine, I don't want another PR incident!’

‘Listen! Thor is so kissable. It just so happened that he turned his head while I was trying to kiss his cheek. And it was also a coincidence that the paparazzi were also there. Don't you want to kiss him too?’ you argued. 

‘She's right you know, Thor is a very kissable guy.’ Peter muttered with his mouth full of popcorn as he watched the two of you like a tennis match.

Tony’s eyes zeroed in on the brunette boy. ‘You’re in hot water kid.’

‘I’ve been in hot water for the past month.’ Peter muttered. 

‘Anyways… I’m still staying to see this lovers quarrel between you two. It's like watching a divorce and it's sooooo juicy.’ you said with a toothy grin.

‘Listen Sunshine, this isn't worth missing your show on. Besides, why would you miss the chance to shake some ass with Megan Thee Stallion? I clearly remember you complaining to me how she was impossible to get a hold of for your tour.’ Tony pleaded. 

‘Hm.. how about we compromise? You come down to Texas with me tonight, and Cap too. I want to see you guys argue after my show.’ you proposed. 

‘Girl please, you think Sir Chasity can handle all of that seeing you and Meg shake some ass on stage? He's clearly a Victorian child and it's going to kill him.’ He scoffed. 

In the corner of your eye, you see Peter ferociously shake his head in agreement.

You rolled your eyes and got up. ‘Whatever. At least I tried. It's been so boring lately here at the Tower. Would it kill for a girl to find some juicy entertainment? It seems to only happen when I'm gone on tour.’ you mumbled. 

Peter got up and shuffled towards you and grinned at you with a mouthful of food. ‘Don’t worry (Y/N), if there's a earth shattering danger, we’ll give you a call.’ 

‘We? Kid we speaking French now?’ Tony exasperated towards the boy. 

‘Boringgggg. Just give me a call when you finally let Mr. Armed and Dangerous live here, and I might just move back here for good.’ you announced while you walked your way out,

‘Stop going after abnormally tall and muscular men Sunshine!’ Tony called out behind you.

‘In your dreams Stark!’ you hollered back.

Skipping a step as you strutted to the elevators, you smiled to yourself. Growing up, you were the complete opposite of who you are now. Orphaned and alone because you were a freak of nature, you turned to music and singing to soothe the pain in your heart. Music saved your life, and it raised you to fame. The Avengers side gig was only an accident; you were discovered by Tony when you shot one of his satellites down from space. But now, you were quite fond of the man you now considered to be your uncle, and the whole team. And you couldn’t ask for anything else.

Humming your way down as you patiently rose the elevator, your tune was cut short when you arrived at the ground floor. The elevator opened, and you came face to face with Sam Wilson.

‘Well look who it is! It’s the superstar Sunshine!’ He greeted you with a wide smile.

‘Sammy! I missed you cutie!’ you squealed as you engulfed him into a hug.

‘Woah! Didn’t know I was being missed baby! Hold on, aren’t you supposed to be in Texas right now?’ he questioned.

The two of you walked towards the lobby of the Avengers Tower and stood near the entrance. ‘Yeah, I was about to head out actually. Talked with Tony a bit since I heard what was going on with him and Cap.’

Sam scratched the back of his neck. ‘Yeah, it’s been rough. Steve’s visiting Bucky at his place right now, and I just left. Is Tony still against him moving in here and being a part of the team?’

‘To be honest Sammy? I think I made it worse.’ you laughed.

The Falcon left out an airless laugh. ‘Of course you did. Now, get out of here! Your fans are waiting for you.’ he said as he lightly shoved you towards the door.

‘Now hold on! Come with me!’ you invited him, grabbing his arm.

‘And why would I?’

‘I’m performing with Megan Thee Stallion tonight. I thought you would know since I'm performing in Texas tonight.’

Sam’s eyes opened a fraction of an inch before he yanked you out with him. ‘Well, what are we waiting for!?’ he excitedly said while you let out a hearty laugh.

—----------------

While you loved performing at concerts, you hated the extreme exhaustion that came with it after it was all done. 

You sprawled out on the back of the Quinjet, breathing deeply as you tried to cool down. Your belongings were scattered on the floor of the jet, and they gently swayed as Sam flew you back to the tower. 

‘Man oh man, that was an awesome show! And when you brought out Meg? I thought I was about to lose it when she gave me a shoutout.’ Sam sighed dreamily.

‘You’re welcome Sammy! Now, I think you owe me something in return.’ you declared softly. You didn’t have the energy anymore. Once you reached back to the Tower you were going to crash. 

‘And what would that be, Sunshine?’ he teased.

Before you could answer, your phone rang. It was Tony.

‘What’s up, Tony Stank?’

All you got back was a sigh.

‘So… you’re not going to ask about how my night was?’ you snarked.

‘I’m sure your night was one hundred percent better than mine. Listen Sunshine, you got what you wanted.’

‘Tony, oh my god. You did not.’ you said as you suddenly sprang up.

‘Wait what’s happening?’ Sam questioned as he looked back at you.

‘Eyes on the sky Birdy! I’m not trying to die tonight!’ you exclaimed at him.

‘Tony if you’re not lying, I could kiss you over the phone right now!’

A retching noise came out of your phone. ‘Save that for Manchurian Candidate, (Y/n). Just get here safely and you’ll see him.’ Then he hung up.

‘Sam if you don’t hurry up I will jump out of this jet and go back to the Tower myself. A new man has entered my roster!’ you declared.

‘You got it baby.’ Sam laughed as he accelerated the Quinjet to get the both of you home faster.

—----------

“Steve, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Bucky muttered softly as he looked around the empty common room. He nervously played with the string of his worn down backpack, which held his entire life.

“Buck, listen. You can’t just isolate everyone. You need this.” Steve gently reprimanded him.

The former Winter Soldier’s eyes warily scanned the area and sighed deeply. “Listen, Tony doesn’t even want me here.”

The Captain placed a firm hand on his best friend’s metal shoulder. “Hey, if T’challa was able to make it up with you, hell, the government pardoned you! I’m sure Tony will eventually come around too.’ he conveyed. 

‘Hey, you said a bad language word Cap.’ you called out.

The two super soldiers turned around to see you and Sam standing. 

Steve sighed. ‘Come on (Y/n). It’s been years.’

‘You already know I’m never going to let you live this down Stevie.’ you sassed back.

‘Stevie?’ Bucky questioned the nickname under his breath.

You cocked your head and smiled brightly when you set your eyes on the gorgeous brooding man. Hastily making your way in front of him, Bucky tensed up at your foregoing attitude as you stuck out your hand.

‘I believe this is the first time we ever met! My name is (Y/n) (L/n). It’s so nice to see a new face here everyday, I was starting to get bored of everyone here.’ you introduced yourself.

Bucky simply stared at you. He swore that you were slightly glowing, and not because you were so chirpy.

‘Aw, you don’t mean that Sunshine! You’re telling me that you’re bored of me?’ Sam playfully whined behind you.

You shot a playful glare at your friend.

‘Sunshine?’ Bucky questioned. ‘What’s with these awfully affectionate nicknames?’ he thought.

A tense smile broke out on your face as you turned around to face Bucky. ‘An unfortunate nickname that I’m stuck with due to my unique abilities. And no, I’m not showing it right now.’

Staring back at the man, you suddenly became very self aware. ‘He’s got the same gorgeous eyes as Thor’ you thought.

‘Also, that nickname is not the only thing you’ll be stuck with.’ Tony suddenly called out, breaking your train of thought.

Whipping your head to the open kitchen, Tony is standing with his arms folded. He shot you a deadly smile.

‘Alright, Stonks. I can smell your plan from here. What do you have to say to all of us here?’ you shot at him.

The suave man took striding steps towards you and the three men beside you. Stopping in front of you, he gripped both of your shoulders as he smirked at you. 

‘You got what you wanted Sunshine. Since you wanted Mr. Armed and Dangerous to say here so bad, he’s going to be yours and Steve’s responsibility!’ he declared.

‘What?’ Bucky blurted.

‘I beg your pardon?’ Steve exclaimed.

Sam stifled a laugh.

‘Oh god.’ you muttered as you brought your hands to your face. ‘This is going to ruin the tour.’

Tony let out a hearty chuckle, but was cut short when you gasped.

‘Wait! Oh my god are you serious Tony? I get to be with him? Like a lot?’ you asked excitedly.

Bucky, who was clearly bigger and stronger than you in any way, shape or form, stepped back from your sudden outburst. Sam eyed him weirdly.

‘Uh, yeah? Also, you’re awfully excited for someone who just said their tour was ruined.’ Tony nervously said.

Steve shot Tony a wary look. The man simply shrugged.

A small light started to flicker out of your head. Bucky’s eyes widened at the sight. You made your way towards the super soldier as you grabbed onto his flesh arms and gave a side hug.

The ex-assassin froze at the sudden physical contact as you started to flicker more out of excitement.

‘Oh we’re going to be such good friends!’ you squealed.

James Buchanan Barnes, a man who was once greatly feared, was now scared for his life. He gave Steve a deadly stare. His best friend simply shrugged and returned a smile.

Oh God, what did he get himself into?

[sylusonychinus]

Episode 1: A Date Written in the Stars

Series Masterlist Next Episode

The night sky stretched endlessly above, a vast ocean of deep blue scattered with stars that twinkled like distant dreams. [Reader] leaned against the cool metal railing of her apartment balcony, phone cradled between her shoulder and ear, as the city hummed softly below.

"Mom, seriously? Another blind date?" she groaned, rubbing her temples.

"Oh, come on, sweetheart. You’re always so busy with work. I just want you to meet someone nice!" her mother chirped, completely unfazed by her obvious reluctance. "He’s a pilot. Handsome. Smart. You’ll love him!"

Her stomach twisted at the word pilot.

If only her mother knew. If only she knew that her heart had been tethered to one particular pilot since their academy days. Caleb, The name alone sent her thoughts spiraling back in time—to late-night study sessions, stolen glances across the simulator room, the quiet ache of an unspoken crush.

And now? He was out there, somewhere, soaring through the skies while she remained grounded. Just like always.

"Fine," she relented, dragging a hand down her face. "But I’m not dressing up for this."

—

Miles away, Caleb Love slumped against his luggage in the airport’s crew lounge, rolling the stiffness from his shoulders after a long-haul flight. His phone vibrated in his palm, his mother’s name flashing across the screen.

He sighed before answering. "Mom, I literally just landed."

"Perfect timing then!" she announced, far too cheerfully. "You have a blind date tonight!"

He groaned. "Mom, not this again—"

"Caleb, you’re thirty-one. You spend more time in the sky than on the ground. When am I getting grandkids?" she huffed.

"Maybe when I have time to date like a normal person?" he countered, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, that’s why I’m helping you! She’s smart, hardworking—a ground controller, actually!"

Caleb hesitated. A ground controller?

That was… interesting.

His mother took his silence as surrender. "Just go. You might actually like her."

He exhaled sharply, knowing better than to argue. "Fine. I’ll go. But if she’s weird, you owe me."

—

The Bluebell Café was a cozy little spot downtown, warm candlelight flickering against the brick walls, soft murmurs of conversation filling the air. Caleb arrived early, dressed in dark jeans and a crisp button-down—casual but put-together. He drummed his fingers against the table, already predicting an awkward evening ahead.

Then the door chimed open.

And in walked her.

[Reader] hadn’t bothered dressing up. Loose shorts, an oversized t-shirt, sneakers—like she had just rolled out of bed and decided to humor this whole thing at the last second. Her hair was slightly messy, and she wore the unmistakable look of someone who had better things to do.

She scanned the room, her eyes landing on Caleb.

Her heart lurched.

He didn’t recognize her.

His gaze flicked over her with mild curiosity, no hint of familiarity in his expression.

"Are you… waiting for someone?" she asked, sliding into the chair across from him.

He arched a brow. "That depends. Are you my blind date?"

She smirked, stirring the straw in her drink. "Looks like it."

"You don’t look too excited about it," he noted, leaning forward, intrigued.

"I was kind of forced into it," she admitted, propping her chin on her hand. "What about you?"

"Same." He exhaled a laugh. "Guess our parents are really determined."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "They must think we’re a lost cause."

"Well," he said, smirking, "maybe we are."

For a moment, it felt easy.

The conversation drifted into casual banter—talk about work, flights gone wrong, ridiculous passenger stories. She almost forgot that he still had no clue who she was.

And every time she glanced at him, a pang of disappointment hit her.

They had studied together. Trained together. She had spent years secretly admiring him, and now she sat across from him, closer than she had been in years, yet still completely invisible.

Just as she was about to drop a hint, his phone buzzed on the table.

He glanced at the screen, his expression shifting.

"Emergency flight," he muttered. "I have to go."

Of course.

She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Figures. Duty calls."

He hesitated for a beat, then offered a small smile. "Let’s meet again. I’d like to talk more."

And just like that, he was gone, leaving her staring after him, the past and present colliding in ways she never expected.

Taglist: @jinwoosbabyboo @kithyyy @mcdepressed290 @nezuswritingdesk @elegantdeerlady @yuuuumii @duhgurl @lumieresdreams @bidisasterforevermore @i-messed-up-big-time

@that-one-scoundrel @justpassingdontworry @ansbobcar @nagireos @auriuswolve @bookworm1999 @sickleddreamer @heeknow