#actually ill by the way in case anyone asks
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thou-babbling-brook · 2 months ago
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just found out there was cut scene in the dead kings dlc where Arno was going to tuck Léon in to bed. no one talk to me for 3-5 business days.
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dayurno · 1 year ago
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look at me. kandrews thing is that no matter how much trust kevin could manage to have in him andrew wanted more. he wanted kevin to trust him enough to keep no secrets. he wanted kevin to trust him enough to not worry about the looming threat of riko. he wanted kevin to trust him enough that if he said things would be alright then they would because he promised didnt he? doesnt kevin believe him? and god how he wants kevin to believe him
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uncanny-tranny · 2 years ago
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So I saw this show I used to watch as a kid on a streaming service, Hoarders, and it's about, as you'd assume, people who compulsively hoard.
When I watched that show as a kid, I remember how you were invited to almost... judge these people, "Oh, how could you live like that?! I'm glad that's not my house..." and I remember this shock factor that sunk you into the episode, at least in the early seasons.
I think it's a product of the attitude we have about these sorts of things. When I look at that now, all I see is trauma, people who are suffering, and then essentially being shamed on television, no less. It just feels like watching somebody at their lowest for an hour, recounting trauma, disability, loss and grief, mental illness, and so many things.
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psychological-musings · 8 months ago
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Honestly I think this could have used an extra button for "No; I've helped people cope with suicidal ideation before, but I never felt guilted/coerced into it" based on a lot of responses in the notes. (Obviously the submitter can't think of every possible poll outcome, I'm not trying to say it's bad that the option isn't here— just that it's an interesting conclusion that that's a pretty common thing people are saying)
We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.
#other than that comment though it's an interesting poll. that's a scary amount of yes votes#given the wording of the question anyway.#I've been the suicidal one in this situation but I never expect anyone to talk me out of it. if i want to be talked out of it then it's not#actually the suicide that i want. if my goal is to be convinced to stop then what I really want is to hold my life hostage to force people#to care about me. which is understandable if you think they won't care any other way. but cruel nonetheless.#when i talk about suicidal ideation it's always from a place of wanting to be understood. and empathized with .#though that's coming from someone who's only ever made plans Once ever. most of the time it's just ideation with no intent#anyway. yeah.#people often don't realize that threatening to kill yourself is still a murder threat.#i firmly believe in the human right to die. suicide is a basic human right in my eyes. so if that's what you need to do then you're entitled#to that.#but. if you THREATEN your life then that's not.... the same. that's an act of manipulation and holding someone's life hostage#now that's also VERY DIFFERENT from BEING SUICIDAL and ASKING FOR REASSURANCE. that's not a threat#that's a plea for help. if your goal is to get reassurance and support and you need a shoulder to lean on that is normal shit.#that's like if you get really violently ill and you text your friend like ''hey i am throwing up constantly and i feel like shit... help..''#and i mean they have every right to reply ''oh shit that sucks but i have no advice for you I'm so sorry. i hope you get better though''#in either case.#but the point is that ''hey I'm going through something scary and i want help and reassurance'' is good and normal human stuff#while ''hey you didn't say exactly the way i wanted you to so if you don't rectify your behavior right away I'm going to make it your fault#when i decide to kill myself'' is. i think what the op here was going for. and that is very much not a healthy or ok thing to do to someone#like that's... there's a huge difference between asking for help#versus withholding your own survival from people who care about you unless they do a specific thing for you.#suicide threats are still death threats.#polls#my thoughts#my tags#suicide
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dailymanners · 16 days ago
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Tips and ideas for how to respond when someone is being rude to you
For personal reasons I won't get into, I have a history of just freezing when some is rude / hostile / aggressive / condescending / patronizing / etc. It's obviously not something I'm happy about at all, most people who freeze or fawn aren't happy about it and would change it if they could.
One day I confided in my co-worker, a middle aged woman in her 50's, that this is something I struggle with. Considering how confident and assertive she always struck me as, I was shocked when she told me this is also something she's struggled with.
The advice she gave me is to just memorize and practice a few broad statements or reactions that you can pull out of your pocket so to speak when someone is being rude or disrespectful to you. It's not easy if you're someone who's been conditioned to freeze or fawn, but practice helps. Practice saying these things when you're alone. Put up a sticky note next to your bed or on your bathroom mirror with these phrases and practice them when you see them. Practice saying these with a partner or trusted friend, role-play scenarios where you might need to use these phrases.
Here's a few phrases that have worked for me. The nice thing about them is that they tend to shut down the situation rather than escalating, while still letting the aggressor know that you don't find their behavior acceptable.
"Are you okay?"
This works well in professional settings, because it's not like your work place's residential bully can run to HR about you asking if they're okay (but they might if you try to retaliate and give them a taste of their own medicine). However, it still effectively sends the message "I think there's something wrong with your behavior and don't accept it". It's also not likely the response they're expecting, so it'll likely throw them off and prevent further verbal aggression.
"Could you repeat that for me? I didn't catch what you said."
This one is most effective for people you believe to actually have a conscious and might regret what they said if they actually thought about it a little more. I find that often when I do this one, when people repeat the rude/snippy/patronizing/etc thing they either shamefully stumble over their words and show some remorse, or they change altogether what they say. In the off chance they don't regret what they said and end up repeating exactly what they said, this at least buys you some time to think of a better reaction since you're no longer caught off guard by a sudden rude and snippy remark.
"Can you explain what you mean by that?"
Similar logic to the last one. Often when people are being rude/snippy/patronizing/etc they're caught up in their own emotions in that moment and didn't think it through. This is a polite and civil way of putting their rude behavior in the spotlight and making them reconsider what they said. The other advantage to this one is that in case you did misread their intentions and they meant no harm by what they said or did, this gives them an opportunity to clarify that, instead of you just feeling bad over a statement or actions they actually had no ill intentions with.
If anyone has any further examples of reactions / responses / statements that have worked for them, I'd love to hear about them. I'm new to studying the art of how to civilly yet effectively shut down bad behavior from others, so I'm always open to hearing more suggestions.
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sanguinesmi1e · 1 month ago
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A Round Door Like a Porthole, Lazarus Green Pt. 1 Pt. 2 (you're here) Pt. 3 Pt. 4
Art of LBM
Danny was still lying under the Specter Speeder, mind reeling as the words “they opened this portal with a child sacrifice, and bound his death and all the lost life potential to their bloody machine to create a perpetual gateway to the Infinite Realms” ran in a loop through his head. Could that really be true? Is his death attached to the portal, forever lodged in the doorway, preventing it from closing?
The guy clearly knew what he was talking about. The bit about why his ghost friends and frenemies caused so much chaos as they unleashed their obsessions on Amity Park made so much sense. It would certainly explain a lot of his interactions with ghosts after he died. 
 Danny silently cursed himself for not destroying everything in the lab before they got here. He and Jazz hadn't worried about the portal schematics, because they honestly didn't have any way to open a portal, only cycle energy in a recursive loop that shouldn’t have done anything. No one, not he and Jazz, not their parents, not Tucker or Technus, had been able to figure out why it had worked when Danny was inside. But if the machine was able to sustain a portal that was already opened. . . He wondered idly if he could light a fire that looked accidental and would both destroy the lab and leave the two men enough time to escape. It’d probably be too risky. And who knew what destroying the portal would do to him. Fully kill him? Destroy him completely and shatter his core? It might be worth it to prevent anyone from gaining this knowledge. 
No wonder Lex Luthor was interested in this business. A child was murdered in this basement, and for all Tim knew, the child’s soul could still be trapped here fueling a Lazarus Pit that connected the world of the living to the afterlife. What Luthor could do with an interdimensional portal or even a single sample of Lazarus water. . . Tim shuddered to think.
On the one hand, he was grateful that Wayne Enterprises secured the business before Luthor had the chance. On the other hand, he felt rather ill to think his family had directly enriched mad scientists who performed child sacrifices. At least he had full faith that between him and Oracle, they’d hunt the Fentons down and make sure justice was served.
“What is to be done for the child?” Tim asked Constantine. “Is his soul tied to that machine?”
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure it’s just his death.” 
“You’re gonna have to explain the difference to me, ‘cause I’m not sure I see the distinction.” Tim said wryly. 
“I guess. . . Hm. You could think of it as the moment of transition drawn out endlessly like a plucked string whose note never stops vibrating. Like life is the anchor point of one end of the string, and the afterlife is at the other end, and the child’s death is the note created when his soul crosses from one side to the other. The soul is the bow causing reverberations, but the reverberations are the actual death itself. The effect of the soul’s passage. And in this case, the portal is amplifying the death so it doesn’t end like a normal death ‘note’ would.” Constantine leaned in to examine some of the runes that were part of the array. “Not a perfect metaphor, obviously, since you bow perpendicular rather than parallel to the string, and death and souls are nothing like music, but you get the idea, right?”
Tim was still caught on John Constantine saying the words “death note” together unironically in a sentence. He was going to have to share that with Steph later. Maybe with the whole family group chat, even. “Yeah, the metaphor makes sense, as much as any of this occult stuff does to me.”
“Whatever. As for whether there’s anything we can do for the child, I think we’ll have to try and summon him if we can.” The Brit started pulling items out of his trenchcoat’s inner pockets. “We need to ask what the spirit wants done, before we go messing with things we don’t understand.”
“Alright, need anything from me?”
“Yeah, move this stuff out of the way so I can draw a circle.” Constantine directed Tim to shove aside a few stacks of boxes, something called a Fenton Ghost Weasel, and together they shifted a coffin-shaped iron maiden that for some reason was labeled Fenton Stockades. Then he set to work chalking a circle and runes on the ground.
Finally he sat back and dusted chalk off his hands. “That should do it.”
“Will this be bright too?” Tim asked warily.
“Eh, might be? Shouldn’t be too bad.”
Tim grabbed an auto-darkening welding helmet with a green “Fenton” sticker on it off the workbench and slipped it on.
“Alright, here goes.” Constantine began the summoning ritual.
While Danny debated arson, the other two had finished clearing a space and chalked some kind of circle onto the floor. He tuned back into the conversation when he heard the trenchcoat guy begin a traditional incantation for a summoning. Were they trying to summon him? Danny really hoped it wouldn’t work. 
When people tried to summon the Ghost King he could almost always ignore the pull. This pull, however, was very strong and immediate. It seemed proximity made a difference, or this guy was just better at summonings than the average cultist. Before Danny could accept the inevitable, he was pulled bodily — literally! — out from under the vehicle and across the floor, still flat on his back on the Fenton Under Car Creeper, with the Specter Speeder’s ecto-engine hugged tightly to his chest. The wheels of the Fenton Creeper (not to be mistaken with the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick) sped him straight to the summoning circle. Still very much in human form. 
This was his first real look at the guy called Constantine, and he couldn’t help a horrified yelp. “Eugh!! What the fuck is wrong with you, dude!?!!” 
His lapse in attention made him lose the battle with the summoning spell, and it gripped him, pulling him through the convolutions of the spellwork even though he was already lying half across the circle, and forcing him to change into Phantom in the process. It was such a disgusting sensation, like he was one of those squishy water filled tube snake toys that look like a fleshlight, and someone squeezed really hard and abruptly so he turned inside out and went flying to go splat against a wall (or in this case, against the ground inside the circle of chalk). He tried and failed not to retch.
The younger man in the crisp suit whom he’d already identified as Mr. CEO-Timothy-Drake-Wayne looked at him in startled bafflement, while the older blond, still smoking his cigarette, (gross, and was that thing never ending?) was probably looking at him. Maybe. It was really difficult to tell, because he was a frankly vile sight. Danny winced and swallowed down nausea. “What have you done to your soul?”
“I — what?”
“Trypophobia central, man! Ugh that’s gotta be the grossest thing I’ve ever seen. Can’t you cover it up?”
“Who are you?” Timothy Drake-Wayne interjected.
“I’m the dead guy? You literally just summoned me.”
“Constantine said you were a child”
“I mean, I was?” Danny looked down at his obviously twenty-something year-old self and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s been a while since I was fourteen though. These things happen.”
“Not typically, no. The dead tend to be pretty unaging.” Constantine said. 
“Dude I’m not having a conversation with you while your soul looks like Escher’s swiss cheese nightmare. Anyways, some of us do. Heck, I know a guy who constantly shifts from infant to old man and every stage in between. It’s pretty distracting when you’re trying to get him to let you fix the timeline again.” Danny continued to look anywhere but at the blond man. “But if it’s so important to you, I can —” He got an abstracted look, and slowly de-aged himself until the two men stood over a fourteen year old boy with snow white hair and glowing green eyes.
“That does not help. No.” The guy whose soul looked somewhat like a bleeding tooth fungus said. He turned away and started doing something magical. Danny hoped it would mask his soul in some way, but so far all it did was make Danny feel like he needed to pop his ears.
He also felt particularly uncharitable, so he didn’t revert to his natural age, and instead tried to see how young and cute he could make himself appear.
“So are you just haunting this basement? Seems hazardous, given the former proprietors.” Timothy tried to redirect the conversation. He didn’t seem nearly as distressed to see the ghost of a child, but his eyes darted surreptitiously to the Lichtenberg figure Danny used to always hide under gloves.
“Nah, haven’t been back here in years. I mostly live in my Infinite Realms haunt these days.”
“You . . . live? Is that just a figure of speech?”
“It’s rude to ask about a ghost’s nonliving status, you know. Highly taboo to ask how a ghost died or poke into the circumstances of our deaths without permission.” Danny admonished. Making himself younger than fourteen took more effort than he expected.
“Alright, I’m sorry,” Timothy raised his hands placatingly to the boy who now looked younger than Damian. “What brings you back to Amity Park?”
“Uh, you summoned me? Are we still not clear on that?”
Tim looked pointedly at the Fenton Creeper and the engine Danny still held. He’d shrunk down to the size of a four year old, and the engine really should be crushing him given it was bigger than his torso now. He quickly set it aside, and turned his biggest puppy dog eyes on Tim.
“You were in here already, and you looked pretty alive for a moment there.”
“I can look lots of ways!” Danny focused really hard on looking as cute, small, and nonthreatening as possible. He thought it was working when all of a sudden there was a pop! and he was smaller than he’d ever managed before. 
Timothy Drake-Wayne looked like a giant. The other guy, who had thankfully managed to put away his soul somehow, wore scuffed oxfords bigger than Danny. Hell, he could probably fit his entire self into one of Constantine’s shoes if that wasn’t a bizarre thing to do, and they weren’t already full of stinky feet. Holy shit what happened to him!?
Tim blinked down at the cat? Snake? Ghost. . . thing at his feet. What the fuck. A moment ago he was talking to an adult man whom he’s pretty sure was dead and he’s very sure was trolling them. Now his interlocutor had turned into an adorable creature with soft white paws, a long twisting tail, big pointed ears that swiveled like a cats, and a humanoid face that should’ve been creepy but was actually eliciting cute-aggression in him. Tim blinked again. The little baby ghost creature blinked enormous green eyes back at him. Then it yawned, revealing three rows of needle sharp teeth that looked like a cross between what you’d find in the mouth of a shark and a cat. Yikes.
“Does that mean the interview is over?” Tim asked him.
The creature just blinked up at him again, then zeroed in on his shoelaces, pupils expanding until only a narrow band of green ringed them.
Yup. The interview was over. Those paws hid some wicked claws which could apparently slice through leather with ease. Oh, Tim really hoped ghost scratch fever wasn’t a thing. At least the ghost looked sufficiently contrite after he yelped, and it waited while he removed a shoelace to sacrifice as a toy.
If Damian ever met him, there would be a new member of the family. Maybe he should name the creature preemptively so they didn’t have a cat-snake named Bat-Ghost in Wayne manor. 
“Do you have a name, little baby cat-snake ghost? Little baby ghost man?” He cooed as the miniature monster dashed back and forth, intent on shredding his shoelace.
The ghost paused long enough to chirp, “Li’l baby man!” before launching himself at the string. Even shocked, Tim’s reflexes had him whisking the toy out of the way, and the ghost went careening under a cabinet.
He wedged himself in the gap, landing face first in a dust bunny, and quickly wriggled backwards with an indignant squall. His wordless protestations cut off as he fell into a violent sneezing fit that thankfully dislodged him from beneath the cabinet.
Tim suppressed his laugh, and asked, “Little Baby Man? Is that what you want to be called?”
The ghost pawed most of the dust away from his nose, but spider webs covered his face and a big dust bunny perched atop his head like a fascinator with a cobweb lace veil. He looked Tim right in the eyes and nodded, dislodging the dust in his hair and setting off more sneezes.
“Li’l Baby Man” he confirmed. He placed a paw on Tim’s shoe and chirped, “Tim!” Then he pointed his tail at Constantine and said, “Gross!” with narrowed eyes.
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girlgenius1111 · 8 months ago
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not what you think
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barça x reader what are actually symptoms of a migraine and developing illness are mistaken for a hangover, unfortunately for r. alexia is not happy, and r is too out of it to argue with her punishment. fluff + angst ensue :) cw: mentions of illness, throwing up, etc.
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You felt awful. Sicker than you’d ever felt in your entire life. When your alarm went off, you wanted to unplug your phone from the charger and throw it across the room. There was a match this weekend, though. An important one. With a slew of injuries hitting the team, they needed you more than ever. And you were not about to let them down. 
This team meant more to you than you could express. They were the first people in your life to show you love, and care. Barça was the first place you felt like you belonged. And, for the first time in your life, you were really truly happy. You hadn’t realized, before, that you weren’t happy. You thought everyone felt the way you did. And then you arrived in Barcelona, and your entire world was turned upside down simply because, all of a sudden, people cared about you. It was amazing how much that could change in a person’s life. 
So, no. You weren’t going to call out of training because of a little migraine. Even though your migraines always preceded you getting sick, and trying to push through only made them worse.  You weren’t going to let anyone down. 
-----
To anyone looking in on the situation, anyone that didn’t know you very well, it would seem obvious that you were hungover. The team had a big win the other day, and a lot of your teammates had gone out to celebrate last night. You didn’t join them, of course, being only 17. You knew the rules; you weren’t to drink. You were lucky enough they let you live alone, and you weren’t willing to risk that privilege. 
When you walked into the locker room, sunglasses over your eyes, shoulders slumped, face pale, it was almost a deja vu moment. Pina, Cata, Patri, Jana, and a couple others had walked in similarly a few minutes earlier. Your older teammates took one look at you, and instantly came to the conclusion that you were, in fact, hungover. 
There seemed to be some unspoken communication between your captains, who fixed their glares on you instantly. Not that you noticed. You were too busy trying to drink water, hoping the throbbing pain in your head would lessen before you had to start recovery. 
That was the thing. It was supposed to be a chill day, just a quick workout to get the blood flowing, and then a lot of stretching. Alexia and Irene had decided, though, that the girls who had come in obviously hungover were to be punished. They knew what they were risking when they went out, and they did it anyway. So, they were sentenced to the regular laps. The girls were already outside getting started when you’d made it to the locker room, so you weren’t aware at all that it was occurring. 
You were confused, then, when Alexia approached you, a hard look on her face. It wasn’t how Alexia normally regarded you; it was known your captain had quite a soft spot for you, but the thought that you’d been out drinking was infuriating her, and she wasn’t in the mood to be kind. 
Once you looked up at her, she pulled the sunglasses off your face, throwing them into the cubby behind you with a scoff. 
“Up. Outside. Laps. You are already behind.” Alexia demanded, rolling her eyes when you squinted up at her in confusion. 
“Why?” You asked, voice raspy, which didn’t help your case at all. 
“Do not play dumb. Go.” Alexia said roughly. You stood shakily, and walked out the door without another word. 
You thought Alexia was angry that you were sick. You hadn’t thought it would be like this, at Barça, when you got sick, like it had been at your old club. Where you were expected to train through everything, and if you showed any weakness, you were pushed harder and harder. It appeared that Barça was just as you’d feared; too good to be true. 
You still didn’t want to make anyone angry, so you fell into step with your teammates, who all looked to be in varying states of misery, ignoring the confused looks they sent your way. They at least knew that you hadn’t gone out with them the night before. They weren’t sure why you looked so ill, or why you were running laps, but their own feelings of sickness were rather distracting, and they continued on without asking any questions.
You didn’t know how long you ran for. Alexia had said laps, and she hadn’t specified how many, so you supposed you were supposed to run until she said you could stop. The other girls eventually finished their laps, slowly making their way inside to join the rest of the team. You stayed out there, going around and around the field, practically a zombie on your feet. You felt so sick, so bad. You were surprised you hadn’t fainted, or thrown up. 
“Nena, enough. You can come in.” A voice called from the doors. You slowed down, practically falling to your knees, before you forced yourself back up. Your whole body was sticky with sweat, and your vision was weird. There was a blinding pain in your head, now, and you just wanted to lay down. You couldn’t show weakness, though. If anything, the state you were in only reinforced that message. 
You stumbled over to Alexia, accepting the arm she wrapped around your shoulders gratefully. She was still angry, though, still stiff against you. 
“Idiota,” she mumbled. You blinked a few tears away, knowing that crying wouldn’t help you at all. You tried not to be surprised that Alexia was acting in this way. It wouldn’t help to expect to be treated differently. You didn’t deserve it, and you shouldn’t have gotten used to it.
 “Are you going to be sick?” She asked after a minute, her voice still all stern and gruff. 
You took a deep breath. Strong. You had to be strong. “No.” You said firmly. 
“Good. Get in the gym, stretch, and catch up.” 
Alexia handed you a water bottle and gave you a gentle nudge towards the stretching area. You ignored the eyes of the team on you as you headed there, acting much more steady than you felt. Your hands were shaking, and the bright lights were somehow almost worse than the sun beating down on you had been. You were sweating, but freezing, as you began your stretching, the mumbling voices around you not meeting your ears. 
It was Jana that came to your rescue, approaching where Alexia was working on arms with Mapi, Irene, Marta, and Frido. It was brave of Jana, considering how angry her captain was with her for the previous night's activities. 
“Ale?” She asked tentatively, wincing when the icy glares of four of her teammates met her. Mapi was smiling of course, a sympathetic look in her eyes. 
“What?” Alexia asked, crossing her arms and raising an intimidating eyebrow at the younger girl. 
“Why is nena being punished?” 
Alexia looked at Jana like she was crazy. “Because she went out with you all and is hungover. Which we’ll be talking about later. It’s one thing to be idiots yourselves, but to drag a 17 year old down with you? I am disappointed, Jana.” 
Normally, those words would have made the brunette’s stomach drop. Instead, she was just more confused. 
“Nena didn’t go out with us. We’d never do that, she’s practically an infant. She’s not hungover, I think she’s sick or something.” 
It was almost poetic, how quickly you rushed out of the room after that. Realization was dawning across Alexia’s face, quickly followed by guilt, and the little group surrounding her was turning towards you just in time to see you bolt out the gym door. 
“Fuck,” Alexia muttered, moving to follow you out the door. She was stopped, though, by Ingrid pulling her back and shaking her head. 
“Ale, she thinks you're mad at her for being sick. Hang back for a bit, Mario and I will go.” 
The blonde looked like she wanted to do anything but hang back for a sec. Still, she trusted Ingrid, and what she was saying made sense, so she nodded her head and watched as the Norwegian walked out the gym door, quickly followed by Mariona.  
They found you in the bathroom, practically collapsed leaning over the toilet, dry heaving as there was simply nothing in your stomach to come up. 
Ingrid took charge of the situation, turning to Mario. “Get some water, and a couple ice packs. And tell the girls to stay out. 
Mariona saluted dramatically. “Yes ma’am.” Ingrid rolled her eyes, walking over to your crumpled form. 
“Hey, nena,” she said softly, stopping in her tracks when you reached a hand back, gesturing for her to not come any closer. 
“I’m okay, just need a sec,” you mumbled, before you tilted sideways, almost going headfirst into the wall. Ingrid moved fast, though, grabbing your shoulders and sitting down next to you. 
“Easy, honey,” Ingrid soothed, leaning you up against the wall and taking a closer look at your face. “What are your symptoms?” 
“No, I’m okay. Just help me up, I can finish training.” You insisted, although you made no move to stand up. 
Ingrid rolled her eyes. “No, tell me what you’re feeling please.” 
You sniffed pitifully. “Migraine.” 
The Norwegian sighed roughly. “Let’s get you home, yes?”
You pulled away from her, then, stumbling to your feet. “No, I can finish training. Ale is already mad at me for being sick, I don’t want to make it worse, let me finish training please.”
“No-” Ingrid began, before she was cut off by the frantic sound of the door opening. Mario had returned with some water for you, and Alexia had clearly lost her patience waiting, and followed her in. 
“Pequeña, I am not mad that you are sick, I am so sorry. I thought you went out with the girls and were hungover,” 
You were swaying unsteadily on your feet, all three girls watching you very carefully. “You aren’t mad I’m sick?” 
“No, of course not, nena,” Alexia replied, watching as your expression transformed from guarded and determined, to one that was terribly upset and tearful. You leaned, just barely, in Alexia’s direction, and she took her opportunity to wrap you up in a tight hug. It didn’t take long for her to realize you were crying into her shirt and she was sure she’d never felt more guilty in her whole life. 
“I don’t feel good,” you murmured pathetically. 
“I know, nena, I know.” Alexia whispered, frowning at the fever that was very clearly radiating off of you. “Come on, I’m taking you home.” She nodded meaningfully at Mario and Ingrid, who left the bathroom to grab your bag from the locker room. 
Alexia really only realized just how sick you felt when you nodded, resigned, and put up no fight when the older woman picked you up. 
You were practically limp in her arms as she carried you out of the room, eyes falling shut as you rested your head against her chest. You were clearly quite uncomfortable, eyebrows furrowed with pain, and Alexia decided to just take you right to her car; she’d worry about both of your bags later.
------
You were pretty out of it all the way home. So out of it, in fact,that you didn’t realize you weren’t being taken to your home until Alexia was carrying through the front door of her house. 
“Olgui, ven aquí,” she called. The blonde’s girlfriend appeared, the smile on her face disappearing at the sight of you. Alexia very carefully laid you down, allowing you to flop onto the couch. You were a little more aware now, aware enough to squirm uncomfortably when you realized you weren’t at home. 
“Ale,” you complained, the room being much too bright for you. You rolled into the cushions of the couch, hiding your face under a pillow. 
“What did you do to pequeña?” Olga wondered, moving closer when Alexia looked at her rather helplessly. 
“I made her run laps and she’s sick,” Alexia admitted. Olga smacked Alexia’s arm lightly, and the blonde rubbed it even though it hadn’t hurt. “I thought she was hungover!” 
“It’s hot out, Ale,” Olga scolded. “What’s wrong with her?” 
“She said it’s a migraine,” Alexia murmured, avoiding her girlfriend’s eyes as Olga glared at her. It was obvious that Alexia hadn’t really thought through bringing you home. She wasn’t good at taking care of sick people, and she knew it. Her worry had been in overdrive, though, and all she could think about was getting you somewhere safe and comfortable. Thank god for her girlfriend, who took charge right away, crouching down next to you and carefully pulling the pillow away from your face. You groaned in complaint, and Olga smiled sympathetically. 
“Hey, nena, can I feel your forehead?” 
“Okay.” You replied, sighing slightly at the feeling of the brunette’s cool hand on your warm skin. 
Olga’s eyebrows pinched with concern. “You’re really warm, did you take anything this morning?” 
“No.” You mumbled, pulling the pillow back over your face when Olga retracted her hand. At this, the brunette turned to her increasingly panicked girlfriend, listing off a series of instructions and things to bring to you. When she was done talking, Alexia ran off to the medicine cabinet, and Olga pulled you into a sitting position, insistently handing you water. 
You let the two women hover over you, making you take a fever reducer, put a cool washcloth on your head, and drink an obscene amount of water. When they were satisfied with that, and you seemed to be on the verge of smacking the next hand that came towards your face, Alexia decided to bring you into the extra bedroom, and let you rest. 
You flopped right out of her arms onto the bed, and Alexia softly reminded you to shout if you needed anything, before leaving the room. You almost instantly drifted off to sleep, not sure what time it was, but relatively comforted by the knowledge that Alexia would probably come check on you soon. 
------
You slept right through dinner, and though Alexia wanted to wake you up to eat something, Olga advised her to let you sleep the migraine off. So at 10, when you still hadn’t woken, she refilled your water, left a snack on the nightstand, and headed to bed herself. 
The blonde had been sitting in bed, staring off into the distance for at least 45 minutes, before Olga got tired of waiting for her girlfriend to talk about whatever was clearly bothering her.
Olga put her phone down, and turned to Alexia, getting her attention. “Amor, what are you thinking?” Olga asked quietly, bringing a hand up to the nape of her girlfriend’s neck and scratching lightly. Alexia was deep in thought, though she relaxed a bit when Olga spoke. 
“Thank you for helping her.” Alexia murmured. 
“Of course.” Olga said easily. She paused for a moment, studying the blonde next to her that looked, shockingly and inexplicably, close to tears. “What’s bothering you?” 
Alexia just shrugged, but gave in when Olga gave her a familiar look, one that told her to start talking. 
“You… you will be a good mother one day.” Alexia mumbled, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. 
“Thank you?” Olga said, blinking at her girlfriend, rather confused. 
“I do not think that I will be.” The blonde admitted. 
Olga softened, leaning closer into her girlfriend. “Why do you think that, amor?” 
“I was completely useless earlier. I hurt her feelings, and then I didn’t know how to make her feel better. She’s 17, and I couldn’t do it. What would I do with a baby? I’d just mess it all up.” Alexia cried miserably, bringing a hand to her face to wipe harshly at her eyes.
Olga’s hand caught hers, the brunette using her sleeve to wipe the blonde’s face much more gently. “That’s what you’re upset about? That you didn’t know how to help pequeña?” 
“When I used to get sick, Mami always knew what to do and how to help. It came so naturally to her, and it comes s0 naturally to you. It is not like that for me.” 
Before Olga could respond, your voice called out from the extra bedroom. 
“Ale?” you yelled hoarsely, and it was obvious that you were crying. 
Alexia was out of bed like a bullet, sprinting down the hall into the guest room where you were. 
“Nena? What is it?” She asked, hovering over you uncertainty. You were laying on your back, eyes squeezed shut, tears running down your cheeks. 
“It really hurts,” you sobbed.
 Alexia sighed shakily, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Your head?”
 “Yeah.” You replied.
“I am so sorry, pequeña. What can I do?” 
“I don’t know.” You whimpered, in too much pain to really be embarrassed about how pathetic you were acting. You were desperate for something, anything to make it stop hurting. Alexia could tell you were beginning to panic, the pain in your head becoming overwhelming. 
“Nena, look at me.” She instructed. You blinked your eyes open, doing as she asked. “Do you need to go to the hospital?” 
“No, this is how my migraines always feel,” you told her. Alexia nodded, filing this information away for later. 
“Okay. Take a few deep breaths for me, yes?” 
Again, you blindly followed her instructions, breathing in through your nose, and out through your mouth. After a few breaths, you opened your eyes again, and looked to your captain for further guidance. 
“How long do your migraines normally last?” 
You thought for a moment. “Not longer than a day.” 
“I think if you go back to sleep, you’ll feel better when you wake up then, right?” She clarified, trying to look at this logically when she knew you could not. 
“Yeah, probably.” You mumbled back, trying to relax yourself back into the bed. 
“Good. How can I make you more comfortable?” Alexia asked softly, pushing a strand of hair out of your face. 
You were quiet for a moment, looking cautiously at Alexia before you shook your head minutely. “I don’t know.” 
The blonde studied you for a moment. “Yes you do. Tell me.” 
“It’s stupid.” You argued back, refusing to make eye contact with her. 
“Tell. Me.” Alexia insisted, poking you twice in the stomach. You jerked away, giving her a dirty look. 
“Can you stay in here with me until I fall asleep?” You asked finally, because the thought of being alone right now was overwhelmingly horrible. 
Alexia softened. “Of course, nena. That’s not stupid.” She slid into the bed with you, wrapping a comforting arm around your shoulder, encouraging you to snuggle up to her. 
“It is stupid, I’m not a child, I'm an adult.” You grumbled, but you went practically limp against Alexia when she began to rub your back soothingly. 
“You might not be a child, but you’re still a kid. And needing someone to take care of you isn’t stupid.” Alexia insisted. 
“Okay.” You muttered, already half asleep. Alexia smiled to herself, glad that she could do one thing right, at least. It was only a few more minutes before you were properly passed out on top of your captain. Alexia settled in too, her eyes just beginning to slide shut when Olga gently pushed the door open, a completely adoring expression on her face at the sight in front of her. 
“No maternal instincts, huh?” She teased, moving to the other side of the bed to kiss her girlfriend goodnight. 
“Shut up.” Alexia replied gruffly, though it was impossible to miss the protective look on her face when she pulled you in closer, or the shy blush that lit up her cheeks when she looked back at Olga. 
“Goodnight, mi amor.” Olga whispered. Alexia returned the sentiment, watching Olga leave the room, her thoughts completely overrun with images of her and Olga, and their future. 
What was another kid to the one they already apparently had?
-----
soft but confused alexia :,)
haven’t finished flipped (ingrid x mapi x reader) but i did finish this so hope you enjoy ❤️🫶🏻
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hello-eden · 7 months ago
Text
One or two hearts
Danny Damien Felt the Buzzing of the core in their stomach. The tests were positive and everything is stable. When they got back in contact with Phantom they did not expect this to happen.
Dani and Dan were hurt in the same battle that killed them. It had been over 300 years since the battle. Every time they think of the time that passed between the battle and their reincarnation they feel an aching pain in their core. It's been 300 years since dani and Dan were reverted back to their cores. It has also been 300 years since Danny Damian and Phantom were separated.
Since Phantom lost their human half they were not able to revert the cores back to hafas. Now with Danny Damien back they are safely able to bring them back. There may be side effects with them incubating the cores but they are so worth it. getting their family back is worth everything.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim did not expect to find what he did.
When Tim searched through security footage to look at how Stephanie set up her prank. He was expecting to find out that maybe she had an accomplice. Cass had been in town that week. He did not expect to find video of Damien having a meltdown in the hallway of the family wing.
When Tim first saw Damian on the footage he expected him to go to his room. What Actually happened in the footage was that he went from agitated to in tears. Tim rewound the footage back and turned on the audio. Damian turned into the hallway and held up his phone like he was waiting for someone to answer the phone. Damien's shoulders relaxed when it appeared someone had answered the phone but it did not seem to calm them down
“Sam” Damian seemed to start breathing heavily as they talked “Sam, the test was positive” they seemed to wait for a Response on the other line and whatever answer they got made them burst into tears “You're the first one I called. I just got back from frostbites. He said they're stable.”Tim had never seen Damien cry before, maybe on the verge of tears after a bad fear gas attack but never in tears.
“Of course I tried to call him. I think he's in some sort of meeting I couldn't get through” Damien took a few deep breaths as they listened to the other voice on the line reply.”The only symptoms I should be worried about in the beginning are tiredness but I was warned of nausea as well”
Tim was very concerned as they continued to talk about symptoms and making appointments.  Tim assumed frostbite was a doctor but there was no one in any files with a name close to frostbite nor a code name. Tim was checking for anyone named Sam In their system but with no last name or description or even gender they couldn't really find much to narrow down. 
The date of security footage was 2 weeks ago. Tim had just finished the case he was working on when Stephanie did her prank. He thought he would get revenge for the prank not to figure out Damian was ill. now that Tim thought it over Damian's did seem to be tired. He had no idea that he'd been ill but he was a lot less snarky. Tim had a thought that he'd worn himself out with training or was not in a talkative mode. In the footage Damian seemed to lose all of the posh words and Superior tone he usually uses.
“I'm having a kid not a parasite”
Someone could be screaming right in Tim's ear and they wouldn't even flinch. Tim had no idea what to think with that sentence. What does Damien mean they're having a kid. 
Tim thought over the symptoms that they were talking about. All of them did seem like pregnancy symptoms. Tim didn't even know  Damien could get pregnant. They were 17. By the way the conversation continued to go it seemed that the pregnancy would be heavily monitored. 
Tim had so many questions. Who was the other parent? How is it possible for them to be pregnant? So many questions were raised in their head. Tim was happy that they were alone when they were looking at the footage, otherwise someone would ask and they did not want to explain. 
Tim does not want to be the one to explain this to bruce. 
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(If anyone wants to add on to this I would love to see people's add ons.) 
Is based on this post
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msschemmenti · 30 days ago
Text
fun police - 3
bau x reader / eventual emily prentiss x reader
a/n: is anyone interested in reading y/n’s sessions with the other team members? or are we cool with focusing on emily?
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“why are you here?” jj asked as she breezed past emily’s darkened office. she and alves had gotten an early morning break on a case they were working and were just getting back. she glanced at her wrist and caught sight of the abnormally early hour and stepped into the office curiously.
“i’m doing my homework.” emily grumbled but kept her eyes closed and her wrist angled.
“homework? what are you talking about?” jj asked as she allowed her eyes to fully take in emily’s crisscrossed legs and closed eyes.
emily’s peaked an eye open to address jj, “homework from fun police y/ln. didn’t you get homework too?”
“no? i don’t think anyone got homework. this is the first im hearing of any of that.” jj replied, fighting down a laugh as she realized what emily was actually doing. “are you meditating?”
“no one else has homework? what the hell…” emily grumbled uncrossing her legs and leaning against the couch.
“no, what did you say to y/n? we all kinda expected you to talk your way out of any additional sessions. but now i see that’s not what happened. giving you homework and a weekly meeting is kind of extreme. i mean even rossi is on bi-weekly sessions.” jj said leaning on the arm of one of the loungers.
“even rossi? he’s faaaar worse than me. i’m pretty sure he’s still seeing voit in his head.” emily grumbled causing jj to laugh. “i don’t know what it is about her. it’s like as soon as we’re alone she sucks every bit of coherence and sense out of my brain. and then i just end up looking stupid. and mentally ill.”
“yeah i’ll give you that. she has a way of pulling things out for sure. but i don’t think that’s why you seem to be having a far more difficult time articulating yourself…” jj smiled suggestively.
“and what’s that supposed to mean?”
“oh i don’t know, it probably doesn’t help that she’s so attractive.” jj could see the protest on emily’s face so she continued. “i know i was a little surprised. i never really envisioned a wellness agent but it definitely wasn’t her.”
“well i won’t judge you for that.” emily mumbled, looking at her nails dismissively. “i don’t think that’s my problem though. her questions are just built to cause confusion.”
jj looked at emily skeptically, “well what did she ask you?”
“to define relaxation. what do i look like webster’s dictionary? oh and she asked me what tasks i enjoy. how unprofessional.” emily grumbled, unintentionally calling forth the very inappropriate image of y/n she’d created in her head during their first session.
“unprofessional? how was that unprofessional?”
“well what i like to do is unprofessional…” emily shrugged, and jj’s face lit up in amusement.
“emily elizabeth prentiss, did you tell our wellness agent the only thing you enjoy doing is sex? unprovoked?” jj was almost giddy.
“i wasn’t unprovoked! she’d been questioning me for the past hour— and i was just being honest. also i didn’t say out outright.”
“but you heavily alluded to it. to someone you are denying being attracted to. and what did she say?”
“i never denied anything. you’re making me sound guilty or guiltier than i should be! after that she asked how often i participate in that activity… and then i may have said something along the lines of ‘far more than she could think of’ or something like that.”
“oh my god!” jj grinned.
“no no oh my god-ing. she gave me homework after that.” emily shrugged, skipping the part where she conjured and image that had been living with her for the last week.
“uh huh sure. you can skip the part where she gave some witty remark that probably sent your brain into overdrive. it’s written on your face. and the more you deny it— the more i know.” jj shrugged. “anyways what is your homework, anyway?”
ignoring jj’s words emily shrugged, “i had to do four relaxing things that were not basic needs to survive.”
“and what have you done besides meditate?”
“i googled relaxing things to do and did the first four easiest things. light a candle,” she gestured to the candle burning on her desk. “check. drink some tea,” mug on the coffee table. “check. i took a walk from my car in the parking garage to my office. check. and finally my meditation. check.”
“right.” jj held the word with a nod. “seems you’ve got this under control. i look forward to hearing how this turns out.”
“hardy har har, of course you do.” emily huffed, pulling herself from the floor and sitting on the couch. “despite what you seem to think— im going to ace this session.”
jj chuckled and nodded, “whatever you say. regardless i’ll be waiting to hear about it tomorrow.”
-
when their session time came— emily made sure to be stretched across her couch, empty mug on display with the tes bag hanging on the side, and the candle burning some sort of vanilla lavender scent.
“wow, look at you! feeling relaxed?” y/n asked as she appeared in emily’s open doorway.
“i’m as zen as zen can be.” emily boasted with a shrug as she made an effort to lean further in the couch.
“uh huh,” y/n nodded coming in the office fully and taking the seat across from the couch. “how was that homework?”
emily preened at the opportunity to show off her ‘honest’ efforts at relaxation. “great! i meditated this morning. took a walk before work. i’ve been on tea today and i’ve even got a nice candle going. so very relaxing.”
y/n nodded along with a smile and as soon as emily finished she leaned forward on her knees, “so that sugary to-go coffee cup with your name scribbled on it in the trash can isn’t yours? and the walk you took wasn’t from the parking garage to the door, was it? surely not! and if i took at look at your candle, it wouldn’t be brand new— only lit for what an hour before i arrived? surely not! and that meditation-“
emily groaned, loudly and extended. “how the hell do you know all of that? i’m starting to think you’ve got cameras on me. full surveillance.”
y/n chuckled, “no none of that. you’re just really predictable. to me at least.”
“predictable? i’ll have you know, im very spontaneous. just a few months ago i told a gang of armed men to shoot me!” emily said indignantly.
“and that’s why we’re sitting here in the first place. if your one instance of spontaneity is telling a gang of armed men to shoot you—“
“well in the context of the situation—“ emily tried to explain but stopped at y/n’s deadpan. “oh alright, just give me another homework assignment.”
y/n shook her head, “no homework considering you don’t do it very well. i’ve got a better idea. next week we’re going on a field trip for our session. share your calendar with me and i’ll pop an official invite with details on there so everyone will know you’re out of office for an hour.”
“a field trip? i hardly see how that’ll work, im in meetings all day and my phone is always ringing off the hook. i’m a very busy woman.” emily protested.
“yeah yeah yeah, busy smisy. excuses excuses. it’s happening whether you like it or not. go ahead and blow out your candle and stop hiding your coffee. next week you’re all mine.” y/n waved dismissively before heading toward the door.
“wait that’s it? i don’t even get a chance to redeem myself today? no questions?” emily groaned.
“nope, that’s it for today. make sure you get rossi to sign your permission slip.” y/n winked over her shoulder and exited the office with a grin.
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listofwhyyouloveher · 1 month ago
Note
Hi!! Could you write the gang(separately) with a reader who's “weird” or just odd? Like socially awkward and quiet. She's very into like finding strange looking rocks or something that'll remind her of anyone and gift it to them. Maybe the reader's also a crybaby?
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Summary: The gang with an 'odd' reader Warnings: slight mentions of bullying Author's note: once i was standing next to my crush to do a presentation and i was stuttering and stammering so hard i wanted to pass away. ill never forget that day. PONYBOY hasn't ever really noticed you until you had to do a presentation. It wasn't bad, but he could tell you were stressed out because of it. He thinks you're very beautiful though, and tries to hang out with you after that. He's sometimes discouraged when you don't get that he wants to actually be your friend instead of make fun of you, but he eventually gets past your barriers. He keeps every rock and crystal you get him in a little box next to his bed. JOHNNY is also a little socially awkward too, he hates talking in front of people he's not comfortable with, and he'll just down right refuse to do a presentation or speech. He finds your prescense comforting, because you don't always talk so he can zone out for a little. He trades rocks with you whenever he finds some that you'd like. He tries to keep the ones you give him, but his mom throws them out when she finds them, so he asks you to get him more. SODAPOP actually thinks that you're adorable. He likes your uniqueness, it's a breath of fresh air for him so he loves spending time with you even if you guys don't talk that much. He's always been little curious about your rock collection, and he likes to admire them, so you ended up just givng him his favorite. From then on, he gives you little rocks that match your eye color, or hair color etc. He doesn't mind the fact that he has to talk for you when others are around, it makes him feel important to you. STEVE is so extroverted that he gernerally doesn't understand 'social awkwardness'. He's always talking to you, and in a way, you both grow on each other. He likes how he can talk to you without being interrupted, which is a stark contrast to the gang, and you like how you don't have to respond back. There's been some times that he's touched a nerve and accidentally made you cry, but he's very apologetic and buys you ice cream. TWO BIT is similar to Steve, he loves to just talk your ear off. However, he expects a bit more back and forth conversation, so he always pausesin case you want to speak up. He's secretly very excited when you respond, and tries to steer the conversation more in that direction to hear you talk more. He's very careful about your likes and dislikes, you wont catch him dead saying something that would make you cry. DARRY can be a little brash, especially because of his short childhood. He tries his hardest to be a lot gentler when it comes to you, never talking about touchy subjects or things that would force you to talk to him. In the back of his mind, he's always watching out for things that could potentially make you upset. He really enjoys your company, sometimes he just needs a cup of coffee with out the rest of the gangs chatter in his ear. DALLAS is always going to be a bit of a jerk to you. He likes to tease you for picking up rocks off the side of the road, but immedietly stops when you give it to him. He'll pocket the rock and put it in a drawer later on for safe keeping. He's made you cry a lot of times, at first he'll just brush it off by rolling his eyes, but then after a while, he'll start up Buck's car and drive you around to where ever you want as his secret way of saying 'sorry'.
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simplyjake · 10 months ago
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Enha hyungs w / idol!reader !!
summary: tbh its pretty self explanitory, fem!reader
a/n guys maybe at one point ill write for maknae line but also idk so dont hold me to it, not proof-read
Heeseung
Let’s say ur in aespa
So rmbr the drama challenge they did
Instead of winter it was you and karina right
OUUUU ik he was giggling when you asked him to do the challenge with you
At the end of the challenge he puts his arm around u 
He looks at u like you hung the stars one by one
Heeseung pls this is gonna be posted later
ITS WORSE AT AWARD SHOWS
When you are on screen performing 
He has the biggest heart eyes and a slight smile pls
Its like he dgaf if yall get caught
Definitely interacts with you in public when he can
He wants to see all those ship edits
Invites you to his concerts and you invite him to yours
Once bought like 500 albums so he can get all of ur pcs and inclusions
Ur honor he was being silly!
And in luv w you!!!
Jay
Okay stayc member i see u
He learns how to play ur songs on guitar
Such a cute supportive bf
You guys have sm matching things tgt
Phone cases, hats, jewelry and more
Surprisingly no one has caught on yet.
He lurks on stayc twt for updates when hes away on tour
Even tho he can just text u himself
You accidentally left your jay signed album in the open on live
EVERYONE WAS FREAKING OUT
“Omfg yall since when did y/n and jay know each other”
” Wait but the signed album? Do yall rmbr when we caught them w matching hats but no one batted an eye WHAT ABT THIS”
Call jake for the dating rumor damage control selfie
Anyways he has all ur albums and you have all his
He found out you voted for him during Iland days and sobbed
Staycs number 1 fan, will fight ANYONE for that title
JAKE
Worse than heeseung when it comes to hiding things
Oh lord here we go
“My girl- i mean my friend” its rover.
On live streams he uses this to promote your group without looking suspicious 
“Have you guys heard le sserafims comeback? It’s so good”
“Oh Y/n? Yeah her part was amazing as well”
When he sings your part of the song it has u blushing on the other end of the phone
Once you were on a live, you forgot to let jake know
You were showing some photos that youre gonna post on instagram and all of a sudden
Is this love by Bob Marley aka the ringtone you have for jake
And his contact name “yunie<3” pops up
Quickly you decline the call and look sheepishly to the camera
Hoons time to do the selca damage control.
He accidentally liked a y/njake post on twt on the main acc tho
Ruh roh 
Sunghoon
Definition of nonchalant 
Nonchalant king if u will
Well besides that one time when he was mcing
And your group purple kiss was with him and wony
He was definitely getting side eyed by the fandom after sending you quick glances and a smile!!
Other than that baby hes an illusion
He dont know you
Well at least to the cameras, he doesnt know you
Otherwise hes the sweetest bf to ever bf
Sends you flowers to your dressing room after performances
Always claps whenever you guys win an award
Once a camera was pointed on him at an award show during your song
But he pointed to ur group telling them to focus on yall instead
UGH i love supportive bf hoon!!
Ofc your one of enhas biggest supporters as well
No one knows this but you have a secret sunghoon fan acc
He thinks its cute, a way to publicly say u love him
Without it actually being public yk
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ari-archives · 1 month ago
Text
Habits
The Pogues were sitting down on the porch of the chateau, laughing and talking about their day. They finally got a moment of peace after the crazy day they just had. So, what better way to spend it than with each other? They were laughing at Pope’s recount of the day as he was standing and waving his hands around exasperatedly when he winced a little bit, lifting his arms.
“Woah, you good?” John B asked, worry laced in his tone. Everyone is a bit more alert in case Pope was injured and hadn’t told anyone.
“Oh yeah, yeah.” Pope dismissed with a wave of his hands. He went and sat down with the rest of the crew, who were watching him closely, asking for an explanation. “I just made y/n laugh too many times today, I think.”
Everyone understood. Well, almost everyone. Each and everyone started laughing to themselves as they have been a victim of this habit of yours.
“Yeah, you need to be careful around that girl when she thinks something is funny,” Kie added, now holding her shoulder, remembering the last time she and y/n had a laugh. “I think I still have the bruise she gave me last time because we were laughing so hard when JJ ate shit trying to jump over a fence.”
“Okay, there was no need to bring that up,” JJ grumbled, with everyone chuckling at the memory.
“That girl is small but has so much force in her. It’s unnatural.” John B added.
You see, after being friends with you for so many years, the Pogues have noticed quite a few of your habits. Your most infamous one is that you tend to hit or shove the person closest to you whenever you laugh. Most of the time, there’s no real damage. But occasionally, a Pogue might find themselves on the floor after getting pushed too far out or with a small bruise after someone almost made you pee your pants from making a good joke. No one has a problem with it. They know there’s no ill intent to your actions and find it cute, actually.
“I think everyone here can relate to Pope right now, " Sarah said, shaking her head with a smile. Everyone else nodded, agreeing with her—all except one.
Throughout this conversation, JJ tried to think if he had ever been on the opposite end of your habit. Nothing was coming up. He doesn’t know why, but he didn’t like it.
Okay, that was a lie.
JJ has been trying to hide it for a while now, but for the past few weeks, he has found himself looking at you longer than a friend should, being more protective of you than a friend should be if someone else comes too close, and even searching for you first whenever he walks into a room. For the past few weeks, he has been feeling something in the pit of his stomach whenever he hears you laugh or sees you smile, and he doesn’t know what to do about it. So, when his friends are discussing a collective experience with you that doesn’t involve him, he doesn’t like it. He even hates it.
JJ looks around before spotting you sitting at the end of the dock, leaning your back against a pillar, writing in your journal. That’s also another habit of yours that’s becoming more frequent. You write in your journal every time you can.
JJ excused himself from his friends and started to make his way to you. Everyone looked at each other in an unspoken conversation. What JJ doesn’t know is that as much as he has noticed his growing feelings for you, the others have noticed as well. Now and then, they’ll catch a stray glance here and a lingering touch there. Sarah and Kie played the idea of JJ having feelings for you once before just to see how you would react, but it was dismissed as soon as it was brought up. You had dismissed it fast. Too fast, Kie had thought. John B and Kie caught each other’s eye and couldn’t help but smile at one another. Both the best friends were happy that JJ was finally allowing himself to feel the love he deserved. JJ has always gotten the short end of the stick when it came to life, and both of them knew it. It was about damn time happiness came knocking at his door. All he has to do now is open it.
Immersed in your writing, you couldn’t help but be a little startled when you heard footsteps behind you. You smiled as JJ appeared in front of the blinding sun.
“Is that my pretty boy JJ Maybank?” You gasped, feigning a surprise, your nickname for him falling out of your lips. The sight made JJ’s heart almost leap out of his chest. He tried not to dwell on the fact that you called him your pretty boy, even though he liked that thought. He liked it a lot.
“When is that nickname gonna get discontinued?” JJ asked, pretending to hate it. Truth is, he doesn’t think he can hate anything you call him. He sat down across from you, leaning against the other pillar, stretching out his legs in front of him.
“You’re just way too pretty not to be reminded.” You pouted, earning a laugh from JJ.
“yeah... yeah.” JJ dismissed. “What are you doing out here being a loner?” He changes the subject quickly, hoping you don’t notice how more and more nervous he’s getting.
“Journaling.” You answered, holding up your journal to him.
“You’re always on that thing,” JJ said pointedly.
“Gotta keep the memories alive," you shrugged, answering him. JJ knew you would say that. That was your answer every time someone mentioned your journal. He loves it. It just shows that you love your time with everyone else as much as he does.
“Can I read it?” JJ asked, already knowing the answer. It’s always a no, but he asks it every time in case you suddenly give him a yes.
“Absolutely not.” You quickly answered, playfully squinting at him.
Yup. Called it. JJ had thought to himself.
“I don’t even know why you ask when you know what the answer is going to be.” You pointedly told JJ.
If you ask JJ, he’ll just say that he wanted to get to know your innermost thoughts. But if you ask him on a deeper level, he’ll say he wants to know you like no one has ever known you. He wants to see the world you never let anyone see. He selfishly wants something from you for himself. Reserved only for him and him only. But that’s only if you ask him.      
“You gotta say yes at some point.” JJ found himself saying. You gave a short laugh in response.
“Not a chance.” You poked your tongue at him and went back to your writing. JJ can’t help but keep his eyes locked on you. The sight seems like it’s from a movie. The sun hits your skin just right, creating this unbelievable glow around you, and the wind shifts your hair perfectly around your face, highlighting your features in the best way possible. He takes you in, studying you so you’ll be forever engraved in his mind, never to forget you. He couldn’t if he tried if he was being honest with himself.
“It’s becoming a habit now,” JJ said, still looking at you.
“I guess so.” You mindlessly said, not fully paying attention to him.
“Speaking of habits,” JJ started, remembering what he went here for in the first place.   “We were just talking about a violent habit of yours.” He finished with a teasing tone laced in his voice.
You stopped writing and looked up at JJ, confused, cocking your head to the side. “Violent habit?”
“You tend to hit or shove the person next to you if someone makes you laugh.” He barely had time to finish his explanation before you started to defend yourself.
“Oh my god, you guys are dramatic!” you exclaimed, rolling your eyes while making JJ laugh at the same time. “It’s a love tap at best. If you guys are weak, just say that. But don’t go blaming the innocent.” You finished, pointing at yourself. That made JJ laugh even more.
“The innocent?!” JJ cackled. “Everyone else back there would have to disagree with you.” He said, doubling over with laughter.
“Whatever. You guys suck.” You mumbled to yourself. “I never heard you complain.” You said towards him.
“Can’t complain about something that never happened to me,” JJ answered, shrugging.
“What do you mean?” You asked, confusion laced in your voice.
“I’ve never been a victim of that habit of yours.” He said truthfully. “Whenever you laugh around me, you always hit the closest thing that’s to you, but never me.” JJ sees you burrow your eyebrows. The gears in your mind turning to see if what JJ said was true.
“No way.” You concluded, shaking your head in the process. “I do it to everyone.”
“False,” JJ pointed. “Think about it.” He said this as a challenge to the girl in front of him.
You did. You thought back to the many times you had laughed with JJ and had laughed with the others. You remembered receiving playful complaints from the four other Pogues but never from JJ.
Well, shit. You thought. JJ was right.
“Huh.” You realized. “I guess I don’t.”
“See, I told you,” JJ said, scrunching his face at you playfully.
“I… guess I just make it a point not to.” You told him, although it seemed like you were telling yourself as well. JJ nodded to himself, looking down. He paused for a moment. He feels like he knows where this is going, but he doesn’t know if he’s ready for it.
“Why?” He finally asks, looking up at you. He’s scared. He’s scared of what your answer is going to be. He takes a shaky breath, waiting.
“I don’t know...” You started to think. “Because...” You stopped yourself, slowly realizing why you have been alienating JJ from your habit. You hadn’t meant to do it. You kind of just… did it subconsciously.
You slowly looked at JJ in the eyes, scared of how he’s going to react to the truth. The truth you just found out yourself. You know he hates it when people treat him differently because of it. Hates it when people look at him with pity when they find out about him. It wasn’t you treating him differently, though. And it definitely wasn’t pity. You just don’t know how to explain that to him correctly.
“Because of my dad?” He finished for you. The look he’s giving you breaks your heart.
“Yes.” You said, getting in front of the truth. JJ gave you a small smile, appreciating your honesty. You had always been honest with him. Always. Even when the truth would hurt him. That’s one of the things he loves about you. JJ stopped in thought.
Love. Holy shit. JJ realized. He loves you.
JJ focused back on you and saw a hint of panic in your eyes. You were looking down at your hands now, fidgeting with them. He needed to say something so you don’t start freaking out.
“I wouldn’t…” JJ started, trying to find his words. “I wouldn’t think anything of it if you did. I don’t think about it that way with the others, and I wouldn’t think about it that way with you. Especially you.”
You looked up at him. You didn’t want to read too much into the last thing he said, even though your heart jumped when he said it.
This isn’t about you. You thought. This is about JJ.
“I know you wouldn’t.” You responded, not being able to look at him in the eyes. “It’s just that…” You stopped yourself again, carefully trying to find the right words.
“I get enough hits from my dad, and you don’t want to add anymore?” JJ asked. You snapped your head at him. You found that he was smiling, trying to make a joke out of it. Your eyes started to sting.
“That’s not funny.” You told him softly but seriously. You could feel the tears pooling in your eyes, and JJ could see it, too. His smile quickly dropped from his face. He didn’t want to make you cry. That was the last thing he wanted from this conversation.
“Hey,” JJ scooted closer to you, taking your hands in his. “It’s okay. It was a joke.” He tried to comfort you, rubbing his thumb across your knuckles, never breaking eye contact with you.
“No, JJ, it’s not.” A stray tear falls down your cheek. JJ’s hand came up, patting the tear away with his fingers, careful not to ruin your makeup. The action makes you smile on the inside. Your heart is growing more and more bigger for him than you care to admit. Even when you’re talking about JJ’s pain, he still makes it a priority to comfort you. Because that’s JJ. That’s your pretty boy. You take his hand from your face and hold it before you continue to speak.
“I, more than anything, want to fix your situation.” You say, taking a deep breath. “But I can’t.” You closed your eyes for a moment before continuing. “So, when there’s a way for me to provide you comfort or even a safe place for you so you don’t have to feel what you feel when you’re with your dad, even if it’s temporary, I will do that for you. Because that’s the only way I can protect you.”
JJ blinked. Barely recognizing the words that just came out of your mouth. No one has ever thought that far to protect JJ before. I mean, yeah, the Pogues know about his situation, and they take care of him. He’s grateful for them. But it’s always been after the fact. It’s always been after he’s had a run-in with his dad that they take care of him. And there’s no problem with that; it’s just the reality of it. But you, you’re actively trying to protect him. You made it a point to be careful with your habit around him because you don’t want to unintentionally cause him more pain.
“-and I know it’s not enough. I know that.” You continued, returning him from his thoughts. Realizing what you just said, he was quick to interrupt you.
“Hey…” He said, grabbing your face with both of his hands, forcing you to look at him so there was no room for interpretation. “It’s enough. It’s more than enough.” You both just sat there, looking at each other. An unspoken understanding between you two.
JJ started to rub his thumb across your cheekbones, soothing your never-ending nerves. His eyes flicked towards your lips, causing you to take a slight short breath. You don’t know who leaned in first. But it didn’t matter once you felt his lips on yours. It was like a ray of light bursting through a cover of dark clouds. Never has anything felt more right to you than this. How could you not have realized this sooner? How could you have missed all the things JJ made you feel? He made you feel safe and protected. He made you feel seen and understood. He made you feel like you were on top of the world. JJ made you feel electric. And you’re mad at yourself for wasting so much time when everything you’ve ever wanted and needed had been right in front of you the whole time.
You’re an idiot. You thought to yourself.
Risks have always been a part of JJ’s life. It was second nature to him to take risks. He wasn’t scared of them. If anything, it fueled him. But he has never been more scared to take a risk in his life than right now, at this moment. He realized as soon as he put his lips on yours, everything was going to change. Was he ready for the aftermath? Were you? What if you didn’t feel the same? What if he made a mistake and ruined your friendship? What if he loses you? Oh god, he doesn’t even want to think about that. He can’t lose you. He won’t survive it.
Still occupied with his thoughts, he barely realizes that you started to kiss him back. And just like that, all the anxiety that was building around his heart washed away. Relief flooded all over his body, and that gave him the confidence to pull you closer and kiss you deeper, savoring the moment.
The new couple pulled away as they heard their best friends all cheering for them in the background. They’ve been feeling the tension for weeks and have grown impatient as to when either one of you would finally make a move. You and JJ started laughing, leaning your foreheads against one another, not entirely ready to let go of each other just yet.
“Safe to say our friends are okay with us breaking the no Pogue-on-Pogue mackin’ rule,” JJ says, smiling down at his new girlfriend.
Girlfriend. He thought. Y/n is my girlfriend. His smile grew bigger at the realization.
“You were never one for the rules anyway.” You say, rolling your eyes, laughing at him.
“I am who I am, baby.” He couldn’t help himself and went in for another kiss. It was short-lived, though, as he got interrupted again by John B. There had been many, many times when he wanted to punch John B in the throat, but this one takes the cake.
“Come on, you two! Quit mackin’ and eat dinner with us!” John B yelled from his porch.
“Can’t even do that because you keep interrupting!” JJ yelled back. All he got back was two middle fingers from John B, causing you to laugh.
Although JJ wanted to continue what they started, he relented and stood up, holding his hand out to help you do the same. You grabbed his hand, but not before remembering to grab your journal as he pulled you up. JJ leads you up the dock towards the chateau, holding your hand tightly in his. But right before you two were about to enter, he stopped you and made you face him.
“What is it?” You asked him.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” JJ stated. You cocked your head to the side, confused. “I didn’t get a chance to earlier.”
“For what?”
“For thinking of me enough to be mindful of your habit around me. Even though it wasn’t necessary, and I wouldn’t have thought any different if you didn’t.” JJ smiled at you. “No one has ever been that considerate of me before.”
You took your hand and pulled JJ down from the back of his neck to your lips. It was deep and short but just enough to get the message through. You have me, and you will always have me.
The two pulled back and headed inside towards their friends, who they call family, excited to start their new adventure with each other.
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kafus · 1 year ago
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i wont feel offended if you ignore this ask btw, i get that its asking something kind of personal! but can i ask what you mean by the internet treating DID as magical?
hi i actually enjoy DID questions don't worry LOL and i'm in the mood rn
when most people think about DID they are usually thinking about very overt cases with very distinct alters with vastly different personalities, different names, gender identities, etc. while this is a popular angle to imagine DID, overt cases like that are actually a pretty small percentage of what DID tends to look like. (of course, social media can push people's presentation to become more overt, which isn't fake/bad or anything, humans are social animals and the way we interact with each other can affect even our mental illnesses. additionally some people will become more overt after receiving therapy while they start communicating with alters for the first time. but my point is DID is not usually that strikingly obvious)
this popular perception also leaves out a lot of the rest of DID which falls in line with what people consider more "typical" disorders, PTSD symptoms galore, dissociation/dissociative amnesia, somatic pains and illness, comorbid conditions and physical disabilities. i think if people had more of an understanding of the non-alter parts of DID, it would ground the disorder a lot more and make it a lot less "magical" seeming.
but overall it all comes back to like... people not understanding that DID is just an extension of PTSD and other parts-based disorders. the same psychological process that makes PTSD/C-PTSD happen, BPD, etc, is what causes DID, it's just pushed to a far extreme due to when the trauma is experienced (very early childhood) and other factors surrounding that trauma, such as the length of time the trauma occurred over, or whether or not the child had stable caregivers and/or relief from traumatic events. DID is not some sort of completely separate category of mental illness - alters (the DID definition of them) may be unique to DID, but they come from the same place a ton of other mental illnesses do and there's a ton of overlapping symptoms between DID and pretty much every disorder caused by trauma.
i often see people act like DID is some far off life experience they couldn't even fathom or imagine living with, but if anyone just actually explained this shit properly i'm pretty sure most people, especially traumatized people, would go "oh that makes sense" and not feel so estranged from it lol. it's really frustrating because people continuing to see DID as this sort of magical, far-off experience, takes the disability/disorder out of it in conversation about it (people can only ever seem to talk about alters) and it also usually ends up spreading misinformation at the same time. there's sooo much bullshit about DID out there. good grief. it even hurts other people with trauma-based conditions that aren't DID
edit: wait also btw OSDD-1 is included in this conversation, i'm just using DID as shorthand instead of typing DID/OSDD every time and i am personally diagnosed with DID so lol
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pookietv · 8 months ago
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clingy | arthurtv
another little illness drabble because i liked doing the george one!
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when you got a call from arthur late at night, it was usually him calling to chat when he was bored, or to tell you some new fact that he had found wildly interesting.
so when you heard a slightly raspy, tired sounding arthur, you were a little taken aback.
"y/n?" was the first thing that came down the phone.
"hi, arthur, whats up?" you said sweetly, before a cough came down the phone.
"this might sound a little silly, but would you mind coming round?"
"uh huh, sure, i don't mind at all," you confirmed straight away, "are you okay? you sound a little raspy," you asked.
"think 'm ill.. know it sounds silly but was just laying in bed and i haven't felt great all day, and then i was just missing you and wanted to see you," he rambles out, and you have to admit it did melt your heart a little.
and thats how you had ended up at his door at 11:23, not all that late but a little strange nonetheless, and you pushed the key into the door, the spare you had been given to the flat, slipping your shoes off and heading to arthur's room, trying to be quiet in case anyone was asleep.
you gently pushed open arthur's door to be greeted by him in his boxers, hands tucked under his pillow and laying on his stomach in a freefall position.
"hi, arthur," you said softly as you made your way into his room, putting down your bag which had very little in it, you rarely brought pajamas round to arthurs, knowing you would end up in one of his jumpers, so the bag always felt hollow filled with only your clothes for the next day.
his head lifted from the pillow and a dopey grin plastered itself on his slightly red face.
"how are you feeling?" you asked gently, and he turned himself onto his side so he could see you properly.
"better now you're here, lovie," he babbled back, and you smiled at him.
"you need any water or anything?" you questioned, before looking at his bedside table, which he had clearly prepared for his illness contingencies, tissues, water bottles, snacks and paracetamol.
"'m good, just couldn't sleep very well and i didn't know if it was cause i was ill and i always sleep better with you so i figured," he trailed off, looking a slight bit sheepish as you giggled, "sorry for asking you to come here so late," he finished, but you shrugged.
"no, don't worry about it, you know i'd always come if it'd make you feel better," you reassured, and he just gently put his head back on the pillow.
"i'll get dressed and then come lay down, okay?" you said gently, and arthur murmured out, "that shirt that you like to sleep in, washed it the other day so it'll be in my cupboard rather then my drawer," he explained, and you nodded slightly, opening the cupboard door and grabbing it, quickly pulling your shirt from over your head and replacing it with his, and discarding your trousers, staying in just your underwear, since arthur's room was often hot.
you slid underneath the covers, adjusting them so they lay comfortably on arthur before you felt his forearm resting lazily against your waist, your head tucked next to his collarbone and his face practically buried in your hair.
"sorry if i'm being a little clingy, think i'm just bad at being poorly alone," he joked a little, but you just laughed back gently.
"i don't mind at all, it's actually quite nice," you said, before explaining, "not that you're ill, just that, y'know, you're clingy," i laughed a little more as you tried to explain myself, "although, i don't hate the voice," you teased.
"my voice?" he mumbled out.
"uh huh, kinda raspy," you joked a little more.
"so you find my pain hot?" he said, half teasing back.
"well, i didn't say that," you laughed.
"i mean, i can try get ill more often if it puts you in that kind of mood," he grinned into the top of your head, and you rolled your eyes.
"oh, shut up and go to sleep,"
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to-thelakes · 9 months ago
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Reader and Luke not being together yet (even tho theyre both stupidly in love with the other (duh)) and reader falls asleep on Luke in the jet after a rough case!!
statistical anomaly
pairing; luke alvez x fem!reader
summary; after a case drags you to the jet late at night, you fall asleep on luke's shoulder but not before overhearing him talk about you
warnings; fluff, tired reader, team being absolute chaotic little gremlins, spencer reid (my beloved <3)
notes; i saw this and despite how ill i feel (nothing is new there, literally been dying for six months straight(not actually, just feels that way)), i was kicking my feet and giggling because STOP, i need this and want this in my life. so, i may have written a little drabble hehe, is it edited? no. is there mistakes? probably, i'm tired. but the thoughts of luke alvez never stop so enjoy
(also i made this before a case instead of after bc i just honestly, idk, i just did, so whoops but same vibes)
masterlist
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It was late when you were called in for a case. You had just got home, texting Luke that you were home safe (like you always did) when Garcia called. She profusely apologised for calling you in so late but then asked you to come back. You did, without question. It wasn’t Garcia’s fault and there were lives to save; even if you were exhausted. 
A soft sigh escaped your lips as you settled into the jet. You were sat around the table. Luke was next to you and Emily and Reid were sat across from you. You all had the case files out, the laptop with Garcia on it was on the table too. Emily began to run you all through the case, preliminary discussions passing quickly without much of a word from you.
You were exhausted and your brain was lagging behind so you knew it was better to stay quiet for now. Once you were done, everyone slipped away into their own little group. Reid and Emily were discussing the case while you simply closed the case file. Luke glanced down at you.
“Everything okay?” He asked softly. You ran your hand across your face before you nodded your head but you weren’t convincing him or anyone. He gently took a hold of your wrist, resting it against the table, “Do you want a coffee?” He added after a moment. You shook your head.
“I’m fine, really,” You attempted to convince him but he wasn’t. He glanced around before his gaze returned to you, “Talk me through the background,” You requested. Luke looked at you for a moment and he eventually gave in to you. You were giving him the eyes and he couldn’t ever resist that. So, he began to read through the background that Garcia had managed to compile.
You really tried to listen but listening to Luke’s voice was calming you down. You felt the exhaustion seeping back in and you let your head rest against Luke’s arm. He - obviously - didn’t have a problem with it. Any excuse to have you close was good enough for him. He loved holding you, touching you, keeping you close.
“Did you get any of that?” He teased softly, noticing how your eyes had fallen closed. You mumbled something but he didn’t catch any of it. You were clearly exhausted and so he shuffled so that you could rest more comfortably against his shoulder, “I’ll wake you when the flight lands,” He whispered softly into your ear. You hummed happily in response before you let sleep take you.
It was hard for Emily and Reid not to notice. Reid was the first to suspect that there was something going on between the two of you but whenever he brought it up, he was shut down. But the rest of the team were catching on now.
“You know, a friendship, on average, takes 21.9 months to turn romantic,” Reid stated and Luke lifted his gaze up, cocking an eyebrow, “But you’ve been friends for nearly three years, so you’re both a statistical anomaly,” He added. Luke tried his best not to shift but it was clear that he was baffled by Reid’s sudden statistics.
“Reid,” Emily warned. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Reid to talk because she did enjoy hearing him but she didn’t want to make a situation out of this right now. They had other things to worry about.
“Nothing is going on between us,” Luke responded. A scoff escaped Emily’s lips involuntarily and Luke’s head snapped towards her, “I’m letting her sleep,” He defended. Emily tried to distract herself from this conversation by looking at the case file but she was still gonna be nosy.
“You let her touch you more than anyone else on the team. You also regularly watch her while she’s working and you’re much more engaged when she speaks and you’re more likely to defend her when one of us fights against her theories. You might not have something going on but you clearly love her and she loves you,” Reid stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Luke’s eyes widened and he glanced down at you before he looked back at Reid.
“How do you know that?” Luke asked, the emotions warring in his chest as he tilted his head to the side slightly.
“Oh, she told me,” A smile appeared on his face and you bit your lip as you still rested against Luke’s shoulder. You had been asleep for a little bit but Reid and Luke speaking had roused you from the brink. You had been silently listening but Reid noticed you begin to smirk slightly.
“Stop talking about me, please,” You mumbled, your tone thick was exhaustion. Luke’s eyes widened and Reid chuckled softly, “I’m trying to get some sleep.” Luke looked down at you and then back at Reid and he seemed completely dumb-founded. He was at a loss for words. It was cute and that is why you just let yourself settle back down and go back to sleep. You needed it.
<3
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zvtara-was-never-canon · 9 months ago
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Have you noted that no one from Azula's family was shown to express love and affection towards her?
That is mostly true. Ozai's affection is clearly conditional (and full on manipulation at worse, like we see in the finale), Ursa canonically favors Zuko to the point that we never see her spending any alone time with Azula like she did with Zuko, and while Iroh gave her a toy like he did to Zuko the toy in question was so OBVIOUSLY wrong for a kid like Azula that it's comical AND show's he did not really know his niece at all.
But there is a constant exception.
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Zuko's relationship with Azula is complicated. He clearly admires her strength and power, but he hates how she uses it. She lied to him many times, was seen apparently cheering Ozai on during the Agni Kai, tried to have him imprisoned and even said she'd celebrate being an only child - and then allows him to come home as a hero after Ba Sing Se, even though SHE had the control of the Dai Li and was not yet aware Aang could have survived, meaning she had nothing to gain from it.
And when she lets him know that if he's caught talking to Iroh people might think he is a traitor too, and explicitly says "Believe it or not, I'm actually looking out for you" Zuko drops his innitial suspicion that she wanted something and that's why she was helping him.
On The Beach, he just follows her when she say their old family home is depressing and they shouldn't waste their time there. When she's asking him who she is angry at, she mentions herself and Zuko explicitly says that is not the case.
He doesn't trust her and know she has a tendency to mock or full on lie to him... yet when he wants to know about Fire Lord Sozin he asks her about it, and lets it slide when she mocks him by saying he should make sure the royal painter got his good side - for a character as quick to anger as Zuko, that is a big deal. In Nightmares and Daydreams he also goes to her to find out if he'll be allowed at the war meeting.
More importantly:
1 - Iroh's infamous "She's crazy and needs to go down" line was only said because ZUKO, without anyone putting that idea in his head before, suddenly went "I know what you're going to say. She's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her"
2 - Zuko only jumped into the fight in Ba Sing Se when Azula was being cornered by Aang and Katara.
3 - Zuko looked genuinely shocked and even distressed when she was falling off that cliff. He just sounded so shaken saying "She's... not gonna make it..."
4 - In the writer's own words, Zuko felt no hate but only pity when seeing her breakdown. Katara tried to comfort him because, canonically, even though Zuko and Azula are enemies, this was never what he wanted because he still sees her as family. That's why the Last Agni Kai's music is not the epic you'd expect from a battle, but a tragic one.
5 - Aaron Ehasz, the lead writter for the show, probably the person with the most influence after Bryke, has REPEATEDLY said that he always felt Azula should have gotten a redemption arc, Zuko being an Iroh figure to give her advice and be the only one still by her side when all else was seemingly lost to her forever.
Even the comics (most of which I HATE, mainly because Azula's storyline checks nearly every box for "the mentally ill are inherently evil/less human, so it's fine if literally every other person on the planet mistreats them") didn't fully abandon their complex dynamic.
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Zuko is not a perfect sibling, and for a long chunk of the story he seemed too focused on his own issues for Azula to ever be a factor in his mind (aside from the moments in which she was a potential/explict threat), but he DOES still feel a sense of obligation towards her, to the point that it made him do something no one else in their family had done before or since - actually look at Azula. Not the prodigious daughter/perfect weapon, or the problem child that is difficult to handle, or the pontentially deadly enemy that was in the way, but Azula.
His 14-year-old sister that got on his nerves a lot, was far from the kindest person alive, and that he had a ton of issues with, but that he could never fully hate or even be indifferent to. Because she's family. Because he remembers a happier time in which the gap between them didn't seem so big. Because if things had been slightly different he could have been her. Because he went from wanting to be her to seeing just how miserable her life ended up being - especially compared to the one he now had - and feeling deeply sorry for her.
Now if you guys excuse me, I'm gonna go cry in the corner. Have some wholesome/bittersweet fanart if you wanna cry too.
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