#because when i brought up wanting to do this on friday to some co-workers

[edyluewho]

sunday scaries. nothing will ever get better

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

The NY Times

By Sharon LaFraniere and Julie Tate Nov. 29, 2024

The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, wrote him an email in 2018 saying he had routinely mistreated women for years and displayed a lack of character.

“On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” Penelope Hegseth wrote, stating that she still loved him.

She also wrote: “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”

Mrs. Hegseth, in a phone interview with The New York Times on Friday, said that she had sent her son an immediate follow-up email at the time apologizing for what she had written. She said she had fired off the original email “in anger, with emotion” at a time when he and his wife were going through a very difficult divorce.

In the interview, she defended her son and disavowed the sentiments she had expressed in the initial email about his character and treatment of women. “It is not true. It has never been true,” she said. She added: “I know my son. He is a good father, husband.” She said that publishing the contents of the first email was “disgusting.”

Questions about Mr. Hegseth’s treatment of women have emerged in the weeks since Mr. Trump chose him, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, to lead the Pentagon. The issue is expected to be a subject of scrutiny during Senate confirmation hearings.

Reports of his infidelity have focused attention on his character and leadership, particularly for a civilian overseeing the military, where active-duty service members can be subject to prosecution for adultery under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Another issue is how the senators will view a rape complaint against Mr. Hegseth filed to police in October 2017 after an incident at a political conference in Monterey, Calif. No charges were ever brought and the complainant has not come forward publicly.

Mr. Hegseth has said that he was falsely accused by a woman with whom he had a consensual sexual encounter. He secretly paid her a settlement a couple years later — only because, according to his lawyer, he wanted to protect his job as weekend anchor at Fox & Friends.

Mrs. Hegseth emailed her son on April 30, 2018, during a turbulent period in his life. He was in the middle of a contentious divorce from his second wife, Samantha, the mother of three of his children. Samantha Hegseth filed for divorce after her husband impregnated a co-worker, part of a pattern of adultery that dated back to his first marriage.

Mr. Hegseth’s mother wrote in the email that she was upset about his treatment of Samantha, writing: “For you to try to label her as ‘unstable’ for your own advantage is despicable and abusive. Is there any sense of decency left in you?”

“She did not ask for or deserve any of what has come to her by your hand,” she said. “Neither did Meredith,” Mrs. Hegseth added, referring to his first wife.

Mrs. Hegseth forwarded a copy of her email to Samantha the same night she sent it to her son, according to documents reviewed by The Times. The Times obtained a copy of the email from another person with ties to the Hegseth family. The email does not describe in detail the circumstances that prompted Mrs. Hegseth to write it.

Mrs. Hegseth said on Friday that she would consider providing The Times with her apologetic follow-up email to her son but did not immediately do so. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, said in an email that The Times was “despicable” for publishing “an out-of-context snippet” of Mrs. Hegseth’s exchange with her son, adding that Mrs. Hegseth had “expressed regret for her emotional message and apologized.”

Thirteen months after she wrote the accusatory email, Mrs. Hegseth praised her eldest son on Fox News on Mother’s Day,saying he had excelled in high school and college. Above all, she said, he had displayed a love of country in his military service. “I’m grateful for that, Pete, and proud every day to be your mom,” she said, holding hands with him on a couch on the set.

The disclosure of the email comes as Mr. Hegseth and his allies, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, are mounting a concerted effort to help him win approval by the Senate. Mr. Trump will not be able to formally submit his nomination until after taking office on Jan. 20.

Several key Republican senators have said that the sexual assault allegation in Monterey is not an obstacle to Mr. Hegseth’s nomination because it was never proven. But Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican of Iowa who has said she was sexually harassed while in the military, told Politico: “Any time there are allegations, you want to make sure they are properly vetted, so we’ll have that discussion.”

Mr. Hegseth married Meredith Schwarz, his high school sweetheart, in 2004, one year after they both graduated from college. Ms. Schwarz sued for divorce less than five years after their wedding. The 2009 court judgment cited Mr. Hegseth’s infidelity as the reason for the breakdown of the marriage.

The following year, Mr. Hegseth married Samantha. Within five years, they had three boys.

Mr. Hegseth has repeatedly said he is a Christian who adheres to conservative family values. In a short-lived bid for the Republican nomination for a Minnesota seat in the U.S. Senate in 2012, he credited his parents for instilling those values in him, saying, “I didn’t learn conservatism out of a book.”

In an essay that same year, he acknowledged that he had erred by fathering a child “out of wedlock” with Samantha, who had been his co-worker at a nonprofit group called Vets for Freedom, after his first marriage ended.

“Had I been raised in a family where faith, fidelity and fatherhood were not valued, my choices could have led to family breakdown,” he wrote in a publication about fragmented families for the Center of the American Experiment, a nonprofit group.

By late 2016, Mr. Hegseth, a Fox News contributor and aspiring anchor, was having an affair with Jennifer Rauchet, an executive producer at Fox News. He was named as the weekend anchor of Fox & Friends in early 2017 — a post he held until earlier this month, when Mr. Trump announced he wanted him to head the Defense Department.

Ms. Rauchet, who has three other children, delivered a baby girl in August 2017, one month before Samantha Hegseth filed for divorce. Mr. Hegseth married Ms. Rauchet in 2019 at a ceremony at Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck in New Jersey.

The acrimonious divorce from Samantha took 10 months to finalize and led to the appointment of a parenting consultant to help negotiate disputes over dividing time with the children.

Mr. Hegseth’s mother, who is a longtime executive business coach, wrote her email three months before the final divorce decree. It began: “Son, I have tried to keep quiet about your character and behavior, but after listening to the way you made Samantha feel today, I cannot stay silent.”

She said that “Sam is a good mother and a good person,” adding that she knew that her son thought that “we” had taken her side. That was “bunk,” she wrote. “We are on the side of good and that is not you.” The email did not say who “we” referred to, beyond herself.

“It’s time for someone (I wish it was a strong man) to stand up to your abusive behavior and call it out, especially against women,” she wrote. “We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character.” If the email “damages our relationship further,” she added, “so be it.”

She described his abusive behavior over the years as “dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling” women.

She told him not to bother to reply, because “you twist and abuse everything I say anyway.”

In the years that followed, Pete and Samantha Hegseth continued to fight over care of the children, according to documents in their divorce record. In 2020, after Mr. Hegseth sent a text to his ex-wife calling her “pathetic and selfish,” the court-appointed consultant said she wanted to see “an action plan from Pete regarding cessation of hostile and degrading communication to and about Sam.”

In an affidavit filed with the court, Mr. Hegseth said that he had slipped up, regretted the text, and had not always been as respectful as he could have been. He said, “I am committed to learning from my mistakes and communicating with Sam in a positive manner.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/29/us/politics/pete-hegseth-mother-email.html

[ignited-lovers]

So my PC was out of commission until today (had work done in my room and then had to work through the week before I could really piece everything back together...) Anyways, going to post this under a read more...

Friday night at work was very chaotic and stressful for me. They recently brought in a new supervisor who expects these numbers to be reached which are unattainable by the lack of people they have on staff, constantly asking what can be done to speed up the process with less than 2 hours in the shift left. Near the end of the night, everyone was asked for overtime and I was the only one who had said no. The problem is, I had to set up the overtime when I said no, also because what we needed was buried with no room to move anything and I got mentally and emotionally upset that I ended up breaking down and crying in the cooler. Thankfully two guys who were in another job helped me to get some of what we needed and neither of them made fun of me for crying and even managed to make me laugh and feel better with their silly antics with moving what was blocking the product I needed. That aside I had to get this product while doing my other job and it became too much for me that I couldn't stop the breakdown from happening. I'm a person who has and needs routine to ensure I can get things done, I was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, so I am well aware I (as well as many others who also have ADHD) do not handle sudden stress well and Friday kind of showed me (not that I needed additional proof) that we are just people who have no feelings and need to get the job done no matter how much we have to run ourselves stupid. While posting this, I am so emotionally drained... I constantly have to explain the same things over and over again and panic/anxiety instantly clutches around me when I'm asked where certain orders are and what will be done. I basically needed one co-worker to cover me with talking about things because I get overwhelmed and they too have explained things before but this supervisor does not get it.

I have basically figured out that I need to talk to one supervisor who is and has been super chill with everything on Monday to let him know, I can no longer deal with this new supervisor and if I am forced to, I will have to take time off or even worse, terminate my position. I don't easily have the ability in the real world to stand up for myself. And the more in-depth I go, the more I want to cry right now. The position I'm working in right now was not by choice, I was pushed into it by a supervisor that is no longer with the company I work with so I'm stuck and I'm at the point where if there is a position on another shift, I may just take it because I'm just so tired...

Work has drained me of everything... Content creation... A personal life... Learning to love myself... I don't have any of that right now and haven't truly had it for years... I just want a little more freedom and I don't want to be in a position where my workplace stresses me out in ways that I cannot recover...

This is as far as I can go with this vent... I'm drained but hoping getting it out will make me feel better... Cause I'm tired of being in a situation where I don't know what I'm waiting for, where I'm just surviving... For once... I just want to enjoy life...

[jupiter235]

A summary under the cut (it might get long:)

So on the work week thing our week goes from Friday to Thursday. The previous week I had been off Friday, had worked Saturday, then had Sunday off, then worked Monday to Thursday. I ended up catching about two hours of overtime that they honestly can't afford to pay me right now because of budget reasons and hadn't realized it until after I left Thursday.

Cue the current week. I was already tired (I'll get to why in a minute) and then this past Friday I wound up clocking nearly eleven hours in one day. Then I got over nine hours yesterday and nine and a half today. That puts me at twenty nine hours and 38 minutes, officially. I still need to tell my boss, because at this rate I might end up having to leave after a couple of hours on either Wednesday or Thursday--I'm off until then--and won't be able to stay long enough to accomplish anything.

Now, as for why I'm so fucking exhausted I want to scream and then sleep for a week:

SO

MANY

KITTENS

And a shit ton of adult cats and dogs, too, but FUCKS SAKE WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY FINDING ALL THESE FUCKING KITTENS???? The majority of the animals we took in last week alone were kittens.

I need to remember we were fortunate that a lot of people wanted to help us out by fostering some of them. It's good for the kittens because an animal shelter really isn't the place for them- they're too prone to diseases that adult animals can bring in with them.

Then there was the drama on top of it. Now, I do my best to avoid workplace drama in general because I'm there to work, not to pick fights with my co-workers over stupid bullshit. So you can imagine how deeply irritating it gets for me when the drama ends up falling into my purview and directly affecting me.

This came in the form of one specific co-worker--I've mentioned him before, he would rather sit around watching YouTube videos on his phone and it's damn near impossible to get him to help out anywhere other than the main cat building--thinking that in all of the chaos of all the incoming animals we were swamped with that instead of actually doing his job, he could just keep right on sitting around watching YouTube videos on his phone.

And it may very well have gotten him fired already and he doesn't even realize it yet. Wednesday afternoon, he was supposed to be helping me to finish the intake building. I was not only trying to finish cleaning kennels, but also set up new ones for the new arrivals. And he just kept vanishing without a word as to where he was going. Our supervisor finally caught him sitting down in the main building, playing on his phone again. And this woman does not get angry easily, so you know she was serious when she went off on him and warned him for the final time about playing on his phone when there was still work to do.

Then Friday was a flat out crazy day. Even more animals were brought in, and me and the woman I was working with that day kept getting stopped. While we didn't end up finishing until almost seven o'clock that night, three cats were adopted and a pretty good chunk of the kittens went to foster homes. I was also scheduled to work with my above-mentioned co-worker again the next day, and was instructed by the shelter director to make sure he left his phone on her desk and that it did not move from there. And if I saw him with it while he was supposed to be working, to contact her immediately.

Fortunately, we were closed to the public yesterday because of Memorial Day. That alleviated some of the stress. And it seemed on the surface that my co-worker was behaving himself--that is, until another one of my co-workers who works in dogs told me he saw him taking his phone off of our shelter director's desk at several points throughout the day and taking it to the bathroom with him. I had originally pulled him aside to give him a heads-up and ask him to help me keep an eye on him when he told me that. He contacted my supervisor and reported it to her after that. So yeah, there's a good possibility this guy has lost his job.

Then on top of all this someone in dogs called in today, so once cats was done we jumped in to help them. Then just before I left, a dog managed to get away from one of my co-workers and escaped nearly a half-mile away from the shelter. Fortunately we were able to get him back; he came right back when he was called.

So yeah, this was my week. I think I'm gonna spend most of tomorrow playing violent video games in between doing my laundry.

Me right now....

[rosepinks-world]

‘𝐼 𝐿𝐼𝒦𝐸 𝒴𝒪𝒰𝑅 𝒢𝐼𝑅𝐿𝐹𝑅𝐼𝐸𝒩𝒟 𝒮𝐼𝑅’ / Simon Riley x Female! Reader

Summary: After weeks of guessing what Ghost’s girlfriend would do for work they finally find out when they meet you, much to Ghost’s dismay.

Ghost had, had it.

He was dumb enough to answer a call from you in front of Soap and Gaz, not thinking anything of it but he was wrong.

The little shits had been non stop attempting to guess what his girlfriend looked like and what she would do for a work for nearly the whole week now.

Tuesday:

‘A goth maybe!’ Soap shouted out of nowhere

‘Oh you’re right there mate! Goth girls are fit!’

‘Can you pricks stop playing guess who and keep your fucking mouths shut.’

Wednesday:

‘Sir is your girlfriend a therapist?’ Gaz inquired.

‘Oh yeah! Maybe that’s how they met.’

‘Soap keep your fucking mouth shut.’

Thursday:

‘Oh! I know! She’s a teacher!’

‘You’ve cracked it!’ Ghost replied with fake enthusiasm.

‘Really?

‘No. Keep your eyes on the fucking road.’

It was now Friday, the squad had bagged a weekend off and were eager to get their work done so they could fully relax. And of course, Simon stupidly left his files at home.

So when he’d asked you to bring them to him he made sure to tell you to come through the back entrance (to avoid Soap and Gaz) but of course they were the first two you saw when you entered the building.

‘Why hello there miss! What can I do for you?’

You awkwardly smiled, ‘Um I’ve just brought these in for my boyfriend he forgot them at home.’

Soap took a look at the files and his heart dropped. There were some fucked up things in those files why would your boyfriend just let you have them?

‘Whose the lucky guy? And why would he let you see those?’

You laughed, ‘Simon Riley. And trust me I’ve seen worse.’

‘Oh my fucking god! Gaz!’

The man named Gaz turned around from where he was standing. ‘What.’

The man with the Mohawk repeatedly pointed at you with a big smile on his face. ‘Ghosts girlfriend!’

Gaz immediately ran over to you and started asking you a million questions.

‘You guys are very sweet -in a way but can you just tell me where Simon is and I’ll answer your questions.’

Soap grabbed your hand and dragged you to Ghosts office as quick as he could because he wanted to get answers immediately.

When Ghost looked up he groaned.

Was he happy to see you? Without a doubt

Was he happy to see you with his very inquisitive co workers? No comment.

‘Simon, I have your files.’ you said handing them to him

‘Thanks love.’ He replied pulling out a chair for you to join him at his desk.

You both awkwardly turned to Gaz and Soap as they were just stood there staring at the two of you smirking.

‘You two. Out.’

‘Yes sir.’ Gaz said immediately going to walk out but Soap held the door handle.

‘Sir I will never bother you ever again-‘

‘I find that hard to believe.’ He interrupted and you laughed.

‘Just please let me ask her one question.’

He rolled his eyes

‘That’s fine with me but ask Y/n first.’

Soap looked to you and you nodded. ‘Ask away mate.’

‘What do you do for work?’

Ghost scoffed and you looked at him confused but still answered.

‘I’m a forensic pathologist.’

They gave you a blank expression.

‘I do autopsies, collect evidence from crime scenes to do tests on.’

They finally picked up on it.

‘Oh my god! That’s so cool.’

Gaz was all ears, ‘What’s the most fucked up thing you’ve seen.’

‘One question lad.’ Ghost said gesturing to the door.

You laughed. ‘This won’t be the last you’ll see of me boys, Laswell actually requested my help for this mission so don’t worry you can ask me more questions.’

When Gaz and Soap finally left you turned to your boyfriend.

‘They’re sweet.’

‘Are they?’

‘Oh don’t lie you love them really.’

At the end of the day, Ghost walked you to the exit and waved you goodbye.

‘See you when you get home! Love you.’ You said

‘Love you too.’ He replied and as soon as he turned around his two friends stood eagerly behind him.

The pair were laughing and smiling untill they noticed the look their mate was giving them.Gaz was now shitting himself and didn’t want to dig his grave any further but Soap tried to sweet talk him.

‘I like your girlfriend sir. You did well she’s… wow.’

‘Shut up Soap fucking hell.’

(Mick and Stacy Thomson. Mick reminds me of ghost in a way.)

[mellowsaturns]

do you hear my heart? (don’t forget it)

BUCKY BARNES X READER

wc: 3.4k

warnings: past trauma, self-doubt, mild violence, hurt/comfort, angst, fluff

summary: a fight in the office happens because of a broody super soldier which leads to said soldier coming to your apartment to check up on you

masterlist

___ 

As if life doesn’t throw enough shit in your way, getting into a fight with your co-worker was the last thing you thought your week would end with.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t completely unexpected. One of the data analysts that works in the Tower was going to get their shit rocked one day or another. If not by you, definitely another fellow colleague who actually had enough decency to keep their thoughts to themselves.

As an intelligence analyst yourself, it was unfortunate that you had to share the floor with her. Usually, you don’t pay attention to what she says because it’s irrelevant to you anyways. But today, you coincidentally heard her talking about a fellow Avenger like she knows them.

She doesn’t.

So what gives her the right to say out-loud, in her annoying voice that Steve Rogers shouldn’t have brought Bucky Barnes into the Avengers Tower because it would be a threat to all of the people here and a bunch of other nasty off-hand comments?

God that infuriated you. It really infuriated you because the next thing you knew, her white blouse was soaked in the leftover coffee you had in your mug. Let’s just say she didn’t take it well and it took some time before the two of you were pulled back, nasty snares on both of your faces.

You got an earful from your chief, something about professionalism but you weren’t really paying attention. Your focus was on the stinging of your right cheek and how nice the ice pack felt against it. Yeah. So that’s how your Friday at the office went.

Driving back home to your little apartment in Queens, the traffic gave you time to ponder about what happened and what the fuck were you thinking? Throwing coffee at a co-worker and having a little wrestling match on the floor? What in the world possessed you to do something like that?

Oh right, it was Bucky fucking Barnes.

A few years ago, Natasha asked you to find information on a trained assassin (because she doesn’t trust anyone but you) and you happily did (because you loved her like a sister). Who would’ve thought the infamous Winter Soldier you told her about was actually Steve Rogers’ long lost friend? And as Steve’s friend you obviously helped him as much as possible, finding every piece of obtainable information about Bucky’s potential whereabouts after the Triskelion mess.

And you just happened to develop a stupid crush on him.

Grunting in annoyance, your steps were heavy as you walked up the stairs. Sorry to the neighbours.

“Any harder and you’ll punch a hole straight through the floor,” a low voice called out.

Whipping your head up at the familiar voice, a surprised expression adorned your face as Bucky leaned against the wall beside your front door.

"Heard what happened today, you okay?”

Oh god. He’s here. Did you get smacked so hard that you’re actually in dreamland?

His calling of your name snapped you back from your little trance.

“How do you know where I live?” you blurted out, almost too rushed and loud that you had to shut your lips in embarrassment.

He shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Got it from Steve.”

“Oh… yeah… right.” You shifted nervously, “you want to come in?”

A single hum from him answered your question. You opened the door to your apartment and turned on the lights.

“Do you want anything to drink?” you asked, opening the fridge to gulp down a bottle of cold water to cool your growing body temperature.

“M’ fine.”

You hate how your heartbeat can’t seem to control itself whenever you're around him. Even at the Tower, you had a hard time controlling your nerves around him, but at least there were usually other people around—Steve, Nat, Sam and even Tony when he wasn’t locking himself up building his suits—who made it easier for you to carry on the conversations and the rare times when Bucky would ask you something. The Tower was also big enough to run away whenever you saw him coming into a room you were solely occupying. Where could you hide in your 600 sq. ft apartment?

“S’okay if I sit down?”

You nodded your head, gesturing for the couch. Joining him a minute later, you cleared your throat. “So… What brings you here?”

Bucky looked at you in confusion before pointing to his right cheek. Furrowing your brows, you brought your hand to your face and flinched slightly from the small jolt of pain, bringing you back to reality.

Oh yeah, that’s why he’s here.

Bucky shifted closer to you—although you could tell it was with hesitation—and tilted his head to get a better look, and sighed.

"No big deal," you said, trying to assure him and yourself at the close proximity.

"Does it hurt?"

"No," you said softly, averting your eyes to the carpet.

He frowned and scooted even closer to you. Leaning so he could take a better look, his face was mere centimeters away from yours. He used his hand to brush off the hair that stuck onto your cheek and gently touched the area. You flinched slightly, not because it gravely hurted but because Bucky's fingers were so, so cold against your burning cheek. He mumbled a quiet apology before examining it more. "Doesn’t look too bad. Should get better in a few days," he murmured to you or to himself, you didn’t quite know.

He pulled away. “Be more careful next time, okay? You don’t have to defend me. I learnt to ignore those comments.”

You looked up at him and met his eyes—eyes you could get lost in if you weren’t careful, much like the endless depth of blue waters of the oceans. “But do you believe them?”

You know he’s aware of such comments. Hiding his metal hand with leather gloves, never wearing short sleeves in the summer despite seeing the sweat drip down the sides of his face, always wearing some kind of jacket, the way he would stand or sit at the back during meetings to make his presence as minimal as possible, averting his eyes whenever someone tries to talk to him, wearing caps in public to hide portions of his face, you knew his past still haunted him.

You weren’t a stranger to such comments either. When Steve first brought Bucky to the Tower after clearing his name, all everyone could talk about was the Winter Soldier being in the same building as them. Even a year later, there was still talk, still how they can’t believe the Winter Soldier is in the same building as them with a grimace, but never about how Bucky Barnes managed to stay strong despite all the hell he’s been through with admiration.

Sometimes, the screams from his nightmares still haunt you. As the Avengers most trusted intelligence analyst, Tony had a spare room for you whenever you worked overtime. You would never forget the first time you jolted up from your sleep, frantic at the dreadful, agonizing, and heart-wrenching screams that filled the empty darkness in the Tower. Nat stalked into your room to assure you everything was okay, that it was just Bucky having nightmares again. Again. God, how many times did he get such horrible dreams? It broke your heart. Yet, when you woke up the next day and walked into the shared kitchen, Bucky was there listening to Sam crack some inappropriate joke at eight-o’clock in the morning with a small smile on his face despite his dark circles and sullen complexion. You thought to yourself at that moment that he was the strongest person you have ever met.

That’s why you get so defensive whenever someone talks about him as if they know him. They would never understand what he had gone through, and from reading the intel you had once gathered for Steve, you don’t think just anyone could have survived being under Hydra. But it was Bucky Barnes. He was strong and tough and resilient, enduring for that day someone comes and finds him and saves him from his endless hell. His recovery was brutal too. Steve would tell you about it, but all you could think about was how admirable he was, never giving up on the journey back to a normal life despite the phantom torments and prejudices against him.

You wish he knew that.

“What?” he asked breathlessly.

“Bucky… It's easy to ignore those comments, but believing them is another thing. Do you… do you believe them? What they are saying?”

He didn’t know how to reply. With that much blood on his hands alongside being brainwashed for seventy years in the most inhumane ways, he just can’t help but to believe he became what they forced upon him.

There were times when he would accidentally use too much strength and break his toothbrush. There were times when he knocked Sam over a bit too hard during training. There were times when the fork in his metal hand would bend over like a folded chair without him realizing because his metal arm still had control over him. Then there were the times people side-eyed him and hushed whispers among each other as he walked across the lobby to exit the Tower. And there were the faces of his victims that haunted him in his dreams almost every night.

So, yeah. Bucky guess he does believe what they are saying—a small part of it was the truth anyways.

“I have seventy years of repentance, doll. The soldier doesn’t just go away that easily.”

You didn’t miss the flash of guilt and sadness in his eyes (or the term of endearment from his mouth). “I think you’re being too harsh on yourself. I know you probably get sick of hearing it but that wasn’t you. It was never you. How can you repent for something you didn’t do?”

“I still did it anyway.”

“And you also chose not to. You chose to trust Steve. You chose to trust the Avengers. I know you were still weary and not quite… Bucky yet. But you still took their help. Despite everything the soldier did, you chose to be good, you chose to cut ties with him because deep down, you knew you were still Bucky Barnes. The one who used to beat up Steve’s bullies.”

He smiled slightly at that. Maybe you’re right.

Bucky can admit that he has come a long way since the cold calculated assassin he once was. He would never forget the feeling of accepting Steve’s help, the uncertainty, the unknowns, the vulnerability. But he was so sick of killing, so sick of the blood, so sick of the demands, so sick of the torture, so sick of being on the wrong side. Bucky didn’t want any of it anymore.

Living at the Avengers Tower wasn’t easy. After being alone in a dark cold chamber for almost all his life, the big unfamiliar space was difficult to adjust to. But he had Steve, and everyone else who opened up to him to provide that normalcy he never thought he would have again. And there was also you.

He would never forget the first time he saw you at the Tower, perched up on the kitchen counter, dangling the vine of grapes above your mouth as Natasha tells you about her latest mission.

You were listening attentively until she called out his name out of nowhere, making you turn around and stretch your neck to see him lingering in the hallway corner. He met your eyes and wondered how they possibly could shine so brightly. And the smile you gave him. Bucky wasn’t an artist like Steve was, but at that very moment, all he wanted to do was capture your beauty and frame it in order to preserve the moment forever.

He saw you a few more times afterwards. Twice in the training room, three times in the lobby, six times in the living room, eight times in the meeting room, and ten times in the kitchen.

He should have been more careful around you. Despite being friendly with Steve, you were still a stranger. But after you left during his first encounter with you that day in the kitchen, Nat quietly told him that you were the one who spent hours digging up information to pinpoint his whereabouts, helping them find him and gathering enough intel to help clear his name. He thinks he has trusted you ever since.

He still found it difficult to talk to people like Tony or Bruce or Clint. But with you, it was so easy. It was so easy to talk to you. So easy to be around you. So easy to touch you—like he just did moments ago. Bucky wasn't a man of many words—that was a lifetime ago—but with you, he felt like the old Bucky could come back, the one who effortlessly charmed girls into a dinner and a dance.

But there were times he noticed you exiting rooms whenever he came by. He noticed how your voice sort of shakes whenever you talk to him in the Tower. And he thinks that the Bucky Barnes from the 40s who girls absolutely adored was long gone.

“So… why did you come here? Like really come here?” You asked once again.

Not that you mind, it was always a joy to see him. But there was no way he came because he was worried about you right? You were just some analyst that spent way too much time in the Avengers living quarters who free loaded their kitchen.

But he looked so worried. And he touched your cheek like it was no big deal, and it looked like it was painful for him to see you in such a state that it made your own heart clench.

“Just came to check up on you,” he replied.

During training, Steve came in to tell him that you got in a physical fight with one of your co-workers today. Bucky was confused as to why Steve would tell him this, but he couldn’t stop and began bombarding him with questions: if you were okay, if you needed to go to the hospital bay, if you needed emergency care, if you were at the hospital right now, who was the person who hurted you, what was their name. Sam came in shortly afterwards and told him the whole story—because of course Sam would know the details—and Bucky rushed out of the training room not before Steve gave him your address because somehow he knew Bucky would come here.

He knew he shouldn’t have come here. He knew you would have felt uncomfortable in his presence. Why else would you act the way you do around him? Maybe he should leave before he does anything stupid and scare you off for good.

But you had said all those comforting words to him prior. You understood him, you helped him, you were friendly to him, you reassured him—and he knew it wasn’t out of pity or a paycheck, it was out of the goodness of your own heart. And you sometimes looked at him with such sparkle in your eyes that he wanted to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

“Thank you. But I’m okay, really. You should head back to the Tower, it’s getting late.” Although, what you really wanted to say was: “Thank you for coming here. It means a lot. But really, I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“Why?”

Huh?  

He must’ve noticed your confusion. “Why would you… hurt yourself to… defend me?”

You really said the latter out loud. Oh god… Might as well admit the truth right?

“Because… because I think you’re worth fighting for.” And that was the absolute truth.

Bucky knows you’re not a super soldier with enhanced hearing, but he wonders if you can hear his rapid heartbeat right now.

The Winter Soldier had hurt people and Bucky was hurt by people. But here you were, hurting people and getting hurt because of him—for him. He didn’t know whether to yell at you or hug you.

“I’m serious. You’re so… inspiring. I admire you a lot,” you added, just to make sure he knows.

Bucky released the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “I always thought you were afraid of me. A bit, anyways. You’re so cheerful around others but whenever I come around… I would see you leaving and whenever I ask you for help on my phone, your voice sometimes shakes and I—”

“Bucky!” You called out to stop his rambling. Did you seriously make him feel like that because of your own inability to control your feelings for him? You wanted to smack yourself. “I am not afraid of you. Never. I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I’m… I’m just not very good at hiding my feelings.”

“Hide your feelings?”

You laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? I like you. More than I should. It’s stupid. I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable by telling you this. I understand if you don’t feel the same. You’re healing and you shouldn’t be thinking about things like dating and love. And besides, I’m just some nobody analyst who Tony pays way too much for no reason.”

Bucky was speechless. Did you really think you were a nobody?

“You’re not a nobody… you’re you. The one everyone in the team depends on. You’re so important to the team. I’ve only been around for a year or so but I can tell they love you. Everyone in the Tower. You’re important. You’re family.”

You think you could cry. But then he continues. “You’re important to me. You make me feel… normal. As close to normal I can get anyways. When I look at you, when I’m around you, I feel like I can be… Bucky. I know I still have a long way to go, but everytime I see you, I feel like I have a reason to try harder. And if it's anything, I feel like I don’t deserve someone like you in my life because you’re this beautiful human being and I’m this—”

You were seriously crying now, and Bucky stopped. You were always doubtful about your skills and importance, but Bucky’s sincere words… you wanted to enclose them in a locket and wear it forever to make sure your heart always remembered them.

“What’s wrong? Did I say—”

You shook your head and wiped the tears away. “No, you didn’t say anything wrong.” You laughed, “That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you.” You knew he meant all those words from the bottom of his heart. And that subtle confession… you think you could die.

God, the two of you were absolute idiots.

“You… believe me right?” said Bucky.

You nodded, “if only you believe me.”

Bucky wanted to tell you that your words meant more to him than any kind of counsel and guidance that his therapist had told him. But the silence between the two of you was so comforting that he just wanted to stay like this. He will tell you another time. After tonight, he thinks he has all the time in the world to tell you—tell you everything—without the barrier of unsure feelings and hesitancy.

After a moment of serene silence, you looked up and met his eyes again and smiled. “You know. You just made me like you a hundred times more than I already do.”

“You like me?”

“Did you not hear what I just said earlier?”

He smirked. “Mm’ just wanted to hear you say it again.” There he was, the Bucky from the 40s who charmed girls out of their socks.

You snorted. “I like you. I like you so much that I think I would have exploded if I held it in any longer. Happy?”

He nodded, and cleared his throat once his eyes averted to your cheek again. “You should probably ice your….”

“I have frozen peas in my freezer.”

“I’ll get it,” he said, getting up and stalking towards your refrigerator. As you watched him from behind, you noticed he didn’t wear his gloves. He never forgets his glove before going out. And when he came back with the miserable looking green bag, he used his left hand to hold the bag against your cheek. The fact that Bucky chose to use his metal hand this time instead of his fleshy right one like you remembered him doing when he brushed your hair out of your face—it made your heart swell.

[boldlyvoid]

Million Dollar Man | chapter two

18+

summary: Spencer's therapist recommended he branch out and meet new people who don't want to talk about his work... she didn't expect him to sign up for a Sugar Daddy website.

Content warnings: sugar daddy!spencer, age gaps (14 years), daddy kink, blow jobs, kissing, drinking mention, lowkey perv!Spencer, cum play, praise, oral (female receiving), grinding, love confessions, arrangements, Spencers anxiety, (more to add)

word count: 3.4K

a/n: updates on Wednesdays and saturdays at 2 pm est

Chapter Two | Masterlist

She sat on the subway with an anxious pit in her stomach and her purse held close to her chest. Her laptop in her bag, she didn’t want to lose it on her way to the most important meeting of her whole life.

Her story was becoming a book, she was almost done the final draft, they were making touch-ups to the cover and picking the type of paper today.

Her dreams were coming true within the next month, soon she’d have a physical copy of her book, her pre-sales were showing that she’d be on the bestseller list, and her name was finally going to be on the cover of this one.

She sighed and reached for her necklace, holding it between her fingers as she took a few deep breaths. She was doing so much better today than she was last year and it was all because of Spencer, he was the best thing to happen to her. To think she complimented his sweater vest and now he’s the only person in her life she can count on.

All she can think about is him for the rest of her journey, through 4 more stops she keeps her eyes closed as she thinks of all his little facts and his cute laugh. She smiles to herself and the anxiety slips away, she loves him and she knows that for sure, but she just doesn’t know how she loves him.

She’s never had a sibling, her best friends are all women, her previous boyfriends were all shit and her other sugar daddies were never this wonderful, and her parents are lesbians… she doesn’t know what her feelings really are for Spencer, mainly because she’s never known any other men to compare him to.

But she does know the exact moment she realized she fell for him.

He booked a hotel room in DC after a local case, asking her to meet him in there at 10 pm. She was waiting in the bathtub when he arrived, bubbles galore, her hair up and arms open, “welcome home, honey.”

He laughs, “you want me to get in there with you?”

She just nods, “let me take care of you, daddy?”

He takes off his blazer, pulls his tie off and starts to unbutton his shirt. She watches patiently as he gets undressed, and it’s not sexual to her. He’s her person, her best friend, the only human being she would ever share a moment like this with and that’s when it hits her.

She doesn’t accept it just yet.

It’s not until he’s lying on her chest, between her legs, cheek resting on her boobs as she runs a sponge over his back while he gives her a little run down on his terrible week. His co-worker almost died, his mom is stressing him out, the only good thing he has left is her and she knows that.

“And then I get to my moms facility and she’s had a really good day, she knows me and she knows all of my childhood again and she’s all right there in front of me and yet she��s so far away. I’m never going to get all the time I want with her and it’s really hard to accept.”

He shares things with her that he doesn’t even tell his therapist. Because his therapist doesn’t hold him like a child against her chest and tell him he’s okay when he get’s upset.

Y/N loves him, so she kisses his forehead, “I’m so sorry, I have 2 moms if you’d like to have one?”

“It’s okay, I would love to meet them sometime though,” he wraps his arms around her waist a little tighter under the water. “Thank you for tonight.”

“Did I mention my leg is 44 inches from hip to toe?” She asks in the middle of the silence, quoting pretty woman, knowing he hasn’t seen that far into the movie yet. “So basically we’re talking about 88 inches of therapy for the bargain price of $800 dollars a week.”

Her legs wrap around him and their naked bodies are closer than they’ve ever been and yet it’s completely platonic, “I’d spend a million dollars on you if it always meant feeling this good after.”

She runs her cheek along his wet hair as he snuggles into her neck, “mmm, I like the sound of that,” she teased. “My million dollar man.”

Her stop rolls around and she pulls herself out of her day dreams to get off the train and head to her meeting. She smiles as she walks through the station, up the stairs and onto the busy downtown streets when she gets a text with Spencers special chime. She opens it when she gets to where she’s going, safely inside and in the waiting room.

It makes her laugh in the waiting room. People look at her but she doesn’t care, he’s so special to her she feels butterflies in her stomach even when he’s not around.

“Y/N!” She hears her name being called by her editor, he’s over ecstatic as he comes running out to get her. “Come, come we have so many choices to make!” He jumps up and down as he holds her arm, like a child in a candy store.

“Andy, chill man,” she laughs at him and plays it cool, “It’s just the cover being finalized.”

“It’s our baby!” He teases back, pushing his glasses up and tugging her behind the glass doors of the office.

She’s surrounded by people and paper and huge versions of her book cover. She has a sharpie as she fixed mistakes and jots down final ideas. “And I wan’t Phil to look more human and less like data from Star Trek?”

“But Dorothy looks okay?” The artist asks, nervously and Y/N can tell.

“She looks beautiful! You really brought her justice,” she smiles, “really she looks the same in my head! It’s just Phil and I’m sure it’s tough getting a drawing to look like a robotic human, let alone human.”

“I have some ideas?” She opens up more, taking her iPad out and sliding it across the table, “I wanted to give him more of a Sophia feel? His face is silicone but his joints and everything are more like an Elon Musk crash dummy.”

“That’s perfect!” She’s shocked, “why didn’t that go in the first draft?”

“I was worried it was too much,” she’s a little older than Y/N, and yet her anxiety is that of a teenage girl. “I’m going to get working on the final, do you want some emailed versions tonight?”

“Yes please,” she smiles.

“So we’re done?” Andy asks, “we’ve made all our final calls?”

“I believe we have,” Y/N closes her laptop and takes her phone out, taking a photo of the final rough sketch of her book cover on the table to send to Spencer before he comes to pick her up. She can’t wait to see him now.

—

They’re sitting side by side in matching spa robes, he’s getting a pedicure while she gets her nails done. Leaning back in her chair with a face mask and cucumbers on her eyes, she’s never felt more relaxed in her life. And just in time too, her back was killing her from writing, her knuckles hurt and she just needed a break.

Spencer did too, he was genuinely not having a good time at work anymore, every case made him spiral and he always looked to Y/N on days like that. They met more than once a week now, she got $800 every Friday and she didn’t even really need it anymore. He was coving for so much of her bills and lively hood that her savings account was growing and growing because of him.

For the first time in her life she thought she would be okay if a man left her. As terrible as it was, as much as her moms tried to raise her differently, she fell down the daddy issues rabbit hole and she’s never going to find her way out— however, luckily for her, Spencer is down here too, and he brought a flashlight.

He understands her, more than anyone else on earth. He knows all her secrets, every crush and bad grade and snide remark she’s ever kept to herself. He didn’t judge her, he could actually listen to her issues and tell her why she had them. He gave better advice than a therapist and he was able to get information for her if he didn’t know the answer to what she was going through.

He’s absolutely everything to her and yet he’s 14 years older than her, he’s still traumatized beyond belief, he’s sad and ashamed and recovering… but he’s the best man in the whole world and she wishes he could see that. If he just looked at himself from her eyes, if he felt how she did in her soul when they were together, he’d love himself.

They’re too relaxed to drive home, and Spencer knew that would happen beforehand, bringing her a change of clothes (lingerie) and that robe me mentioned. He books a hotel above the spa and takes her to it. Arms linked as they enter the suite, she’s amazed to find more than one gift bag on the bed.

“How many gifts is this now?”

“We’re at 5 out of 24.”

She laughs as she wraps her arms around him in a thank you hug, “this is what you consider 4 gifts? Spencer there are like 8 things on the bed, let alone the massage and manicure?”

“If you think this is too much I guess you’re going to get really mad next week,” he teases as she looks up at him with a surprised look on her face.

“Spencer, I am so busy next week, I cannot be galavanting around with my sugar daddy,” she tries to act like she doesn’t want to go on an adventure with him again.

The last trip they took was the best week of her life. They went to all the historical sites in the UK that she and Spencer had talked about. Mainly old churches and castles, strange poets graves, random art and most importantly; stone henge. It was a trip of a lifetime and he took it with her.

“I watched the rest of Pretty Woman the other day,” he smiles, “and I thought I’d pull an Edward Lewis and really surprise you because you deserve it.”

“You know how the movie ends, right?” Her heart beats really fast in her chest and she wants him to love her so bad but it’s also terrifying now that she’s this close.

“He lets her choose,” he whispers.

“He rescues her,” she corrects him.

“And she rescues him right back,” he really did watch the end of the movie.

It makes her heart skip a beat as she swallows sharply, “what does this mean for us?”

“I have a whole plan, a whole sequence of events I want to stick to. I wanted to make you fall in love with me this week and ask you on your birthday, can we still do that?” He pleads with her, he’s so serious. He’s clearly put a lot of effort into this.

“Absolutely,” she smiles, “but if you’re going to make me wait that long for you to ask, you still can’t kiss me till then. No matter how much I already love you.”

“Really?” He’s so soft with her, she knows he’s not reacting to the teasing. He’s never had someone tell him they love him and then stay after.

“I would never lie to you about that, spence. I know what love means to you, I know how scared you are and I’m scared too. But I know there is no one else in the whole world I’d rather be scared with than you,” she holds him tighter and rubs her nose against his, “so what’s in the bags, daddy? Finish your surprise.”

She plays along perfectly, stepping back and hauling him towards the bed. “I got you some outfits and things for the next 2 weeks, we have a few things planned. We’re going on a flight soon, I have new luggage being delivered to your apartment this week and we’re going to see your moms for 3 days.”

“No,” she shakes her head, “there’s no way, Spencer, I haven’t seen them in 5 years, I’m going to cry.”

“I know,” he cups her jaw with his hand. “They’re really excited to see you.”

She hugs him tight, kissing his neck as she holds him. “Thank you, daddy, do you want me to put something on for you now?”

“I’m just going to take it off you, plus, what your wearing is sexy enough, he whispers back. “You’re always so beautiful, baby.”

“I thought you were saving the best for last?” She asks as she pulls back, overly eager and he can tell.

“I want to repay the favour from the other night.”

She doesn’t mean to gasp and yet she does, “please?”

He pulls on the tie of her robe, opening it enough to snake a hand behind her back and draw her in with a hand on her bare back. “Please what?”

“Please, daddy?” She looks up with her best begging eyes, perfect pout and all. “I want you to touch me, I promise I’ll be a good girl.”

He steps away from her to swipe all the bags off the bed before picking her up and laying her back against the pillows. He kisses down her body, hand on her lover back as she arches, he drags his bottom lip from her belly button to her cleavage. Nipping and sucking at the exposed skin on her chest, pulling her breasts out of the bra to suck on her nipples, she moans and it’s louder than she expected.

As she plays with his hair, he marks her, bruising small little love bites all the way down as he makes his way between her legs, “take me, please?”

He’s been dreaming of this for so long, he can’t even give you an accurate number of times his mind has drifted to the thought of how wonderful she would taste, how beautiful she’d sound…

“Tell me how badly you want me?” He asks as he spreads her legs and kisses her left thigh.

“I haven’t had sex in 10 months while waiting for you. Daddy, please you’ve owned me for so long, just take what’s yours already for gods sa- OH!”

With a broad lick, his tongue flattens against her core and it shuts her up. She gets what she wants, holding into his hair as she tosses her head back, taking it all in and enjoying it. He’s been on her mind for months, every time her vibrator was where he is now, she thought of him. he’s been the man of her dreams longer than she’s known him, and he was proving it.

“Right there, daddy,” she speaks through shallow breaths, “do you know how much I’ve thought of this?”

“You know I don’t,” the vibrations of his voice against her skin are glorious, he looks up at her through his lashes as his tongue flicks over her clit and she shakes a bit.

“Fuck,” she gasps, gripping his hair tighter, “better than I thought you’d be, fuck, too bad you— Jesus, don’t have the stash anymore…”

He stops and looks up at her, the smirk on his face glistening with her juices, “the stash?”

She nods, “I’ve thought about calling it the pussy tickler,” she teases, running her hand down his cheek and swiping her thumb across his bottom lip before bringing it up to her mouth to taste, “I want more of you.”

He kisses back up her body and she reaches for his robe the second he’s close enough. “Just grind against me? I know you’re waiting but we can still feel good together?”

He kisses the side of her mouth and she takes that as a yes, wrapping her legs around him so his hard cock is pressed right against her core as they move their hips in synchronicity with each other. His breathing is heavy as he kisses her cheek and jaw, her nails scratch down his back, he feels absolutely amazing against her.

She feels so empty, she wants him so bad she’s clenching around nothing as she squirms against his cock and wishes she was full.

“I wish I could move time,” she whispers. “Fuck, why can’t it be my birthday?”

He laughs against her, grazing his teeth over her neck and drawing another moan from her but then he stops moving his hips, “why are you so impatient?”

“Remember I said I stopped enjoying everything? Well, taking a 10 month break from sex and thinking about you every time I got off has made me desperate,” her hand cups his cheek, “I’d wait forever for you, but a girl needs to be fucked hard every once in a while.”

Only she could find a way to make something both profoundly beautiful and whorish at the same time, he loved her for it and she knew that now. He smiles and leaned in to rub his nose against hers and it takes everything in her not to kiss him. The same way it was taking everything in him not to slip into her as he began to grind against her once more.

She’s so close, the accidental edging has added a whole new level of desperation she’s never felt before. She wants to cum for him so bad, but more importantly she wants him to cum for her.

“Take my bra off,” she whispers, Spencer’s hands travel behind her back to unclasp it and he helps her out of it before tossing it to the floor.

“Cum for me daddy,” she whispers in his head with a hand in his hair, gripping him tightly as he bites at her neck, “cover me with your cum like you’re marking your territory.”

“Shit,” his hips sputter against hers.

“Say it, I know you want to,” she teases, so close to the edge but it’s too good of an opportunity. She loves seeing him fall apart like this and she can’t wait to see it again. “Who’s am I?”

“Daddy’s girl.”

He grinds down on her harder and faster and she’s so close, the bubble in her gut is reaching a fever pitch and with a gasp, she’s cumming and then she feels it. His load covers her stomach as he pants against her neck and grips her hips tighter as he comes down.

She wraps her arms around him and holds him as close as humanly possible, her breathing still heavy as he rises and falls on her chest. He’s heavy but she doesn’t care, she just kisses the top of his head and thanks him.

He brushes his nose against her neck, nuzzling her like a cat, “do you really mean it?”

“What, honey?” He remembers so much, this could be a question about something she said 2 months or 2 minutes ago and she has no clue.

“You’re not just playing along with my kinks right, you genuinely want to be mine?”

For being her million dollar man, his heart sure was broke. This is why he wasn’t ready, he still didn’t understand why she would want to stay without anything in return, he’s gotten so used to paying her for her time now that his anxiety has managed to convince him that she’ll leave when he stops being worth it to her.

“What does my necklace say?” She asks, knowing how close he was to it. “Read it to me, I forget.”

“Daddy’s girl,” he smiles again.

She soothes her hands over his back, “I would do anything with you because I love and trust you, but also because everything you do is sexy… you could read me the dictionary and I’d still want you to pump me full of cum after.”

“It sounds so crude after,” he laughs, “speaking of, we really need to have a shower.”

“I’ll wash your back if you wash mine?” She teases as he gets up.

“Only if you let me wash the front too?”

She smacks his bare ass and races him into the bathroom, turning on the water and getting in with him while still laughing and carrying on. He’s her best friend in the whole world, there’s no one else she would rather do this with… there was no one she has done this with. No one has made her feel this good, before during and after sex.

Spencer Reid was an anomaly, but he was hers.

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[aviv-kasyanenko]

ayda--demir​:

When: August 4th, 2023 Where: Gizli Bahçe Who: Open to those invited @mobscene-starters

Closing her bar for the night wasn’t something she had done before, but with all the chaos that was happening within the borough, it was reason to celebrate considering it was Emine’s birthday and the newly engages, a double celebration seemed it order.

With the help of a few co-workers, it didn’t take too long to set up the bar with balloons in a manner that would appeal to Emine. The food was catered, not wanting to put too much pressure on her staff and Mrs. Aksoy brought the desserts and three cakes were made, like the birthday girl wanted.

Everything was set, music playing in the background, when it was time for people to arrive. Ayda steps out of her office after she changes for the night in a black dress, a smile spreading across her features when the door chimes being opened.

“You made it. Did you want something to drink?” She had to remind herself to let her staff do their job and she could enjoy the night.

.

It wasn’t exactly the scene he’d expected to be greeted by.

Aviv had become something of a regular at Ayda’s bar since his return to Haringey. Partly out of guilt; in spite of his best efforts not to give a shit, he did feel bad for leaving her in the dark about whether he’d made it out of the hospital in one piece. Partly because it was no longer considered safe to frequent his usual haunts with people actively seeking him out to punish for what’d happened to Elaina. But he did enjoy the place. It had charm. And so did she.

What he’d anticipated to be a typical Friday night was far from view, though. It seemed to be a party of some sorts. Honestly, he was surprised they’d let him through the doors at all, but maybe that was a testament to how much time he’d spent there lately. Aviv spotted her quickly. Waited for her to deal with the guest in search of a drink, before catching her attention before she could give it to somebody else.

“Well, you said you needed a night out, and I had come intending to surprise you...but it looks like you’ve already got it covered.”

[another-stark-sub]

“Are you in love with him?” - Tony Stark Imagine

Notes: I wrote and editted this in two hours instead of going over my notes. Was gonna be spicy fluffy but it just turned into fluffy, and one of the lines/paragraphs (smth like that i dont remember how long that segment was) is based on/inspired by a fanfic on ao3 I bookmarked. I think it’s debt-free, but I could be wrong.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I’m so sorry im not on here more oftennnnn

- - -

“Of course I am. He’s Tony Stark.” You sighed, a weight finally lifted off your chest. “Who isn’t in love with him?”

Bruce blinked a few times, the confusion evident on his face. “Then, why don’t you tell him?”

You scoffed. These geniuses think they know everything, but they couldn’t see what was glaringly obvious to you. “He’s Tony Stark.”

The perplexed expression didn’t disappear from your friend’s expression. So, you explained further, “It’s already a privilege, beyond that really, to be talking to you, to any Avenger. To work with any of you is an honor, and to be friends with you” -you laughed- “it shouldn’t even be possible for someone like me.”

“Don’t say that. You’re amazing, too.” 

You tried to find any tick, any clue that he was lying. But Bruce seemed to really believe this. “I know I’m amazing.” You shrugged. “I’m great. I love and I care deeply, and I have a stable job. I have a place for myself, and I take care of myself.” You clicked your tongue. “However, you all, all  you Avengers… Forget out of my league, more like off planet.

“And Tony? He said it himself. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Add superhero, figurehead, public figure, ex-CEO, and savior of the universe. Bruce, I have confidence in myself, but Tony is something else entirely. No one is worthy of him or his affections unless they’re a god or another Avenger.”

It was hard to keep up with the statistical analysis you were trying to run. The literal one on your hologram and the one keeping your view of Tony in check. So, defeated, you sighed and leaned back in your chair. 

Bruce closed his own work and stood across the lab bench. “Weirdly enough, I’m sure none of us Avengers think that way.” After a few taps of his pen against his palm, he added, “Aren’t there fans making posts about you, too? Tony showed me the, uh, Instagram videos.”

You laughed. “Fan edits don’t make an Avenger. Saving the world does.”

He shrugged. “You help us save the world.”

“From inside Avengers Tower on a computer.” You took a deep breath. “Look, Bruce, I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But, I’m not telling him.” You shrugged and brought your statistical analysis back up.

You knew your own worth. You were worthy of an amazing partner and person. Tony Stark, though, was easy beyond that. You had accepted it soon after you realized your own feelings, and while they haven’t dwindled, you knew it was for the best. 

~ - ~

Tony had never resorted to this before. It was never a question of his ability to code. In the past, it was because he didn’t need a program or an AI to do it for him. He could always tell if someone was into him. He knew when Pepper was into him. The moment Rhodey gazed at him back in their MIT days. Every single reporter and heiress and model he slept with, he knew when their thoughts turned sexual or romantic. 

You, though. With you, he couldn’t fucking tell, and he knew it was because of his own feelings. Tony felt intensely for people before. Pepper, Rhodey, that one reporter all those years ago. However, with you, it wasn’t just that fluttery feeling in his gut or the immediate smile he can’t seem to stop when he sees you. It was the comfort he felt when he heard your voice or the softness he could feel in his heart when he saw a picture of you. 

It was like his entire life was full of panic, never resting, never stopping. But when you entered his life with a gentle smile and a quick wit, it felt like he could finally breathe. 

It was addicting. 

“Sir, I have the calculations.”

“Hit me.”

“Speech diagnostics of you and of Ms. (Y/l/n) are similar. Whenever you speak of her, 79.4% is positive and 18.8% is neutral. Ms. (Y/l/n) has  78.9% positive and 17.2% neutral dialogue regarding you. When she speaks of you, her heartrate increases by 4.6%, and similarly, yours increases by 4.1%. When speaking to each other, heartrate initially increases by 7%.”

Tony nodded. “How does this compare to other Avengers? I gush about Banner like a teenager.”

“Well, sir, while you and Ms. (Y/l/n) have high positive dialogue about other Avengers, all of them have at least a 10% decrease compared to each other. And heartrate varies depending on the topic of conversation.”

Tony snapped his fingers. “Am I excluding all non-super friends? Include any agents, co-workers. Pep isn’t an Avenger after all.”

Friday took two seconds and responded. “You and Ms. (Y/l/n) have a significant difference in speech diagnostics when talking about or to each other compared to any other Avenger, co-worker, and friend.”

When Tony remained quiet, Friday added, “Do you want me to repeat the results?”

“You don’t need to, Friday.”

“But you’re not doing anything with the new information. Would you like me to save these findings?”

“Friday,” Tony warned. 

There was silence as the love-wrecked scientist pressed his fist between his brows. Data and cold hard facts said yes, but was it right?

“Sir?”

“Yes, Fri?”

“Would you like me to play examples for you?”

He blinked. “Examples?”

“Yes. Of you and her talking about each other positively.”

It was an invasion of privacy. Tony shouldn’t. 

“Play examples.”

Before his rational mind could tell Friday no. 

“Are you in love with him?”

Tony’s eyes widened. This was too private. It might not even be about him.”Friday-”

“Of course I am.”

“-stop playback.”

“He’s Tony Sta-”

“Playback stopped.”

Tony scrambled. “What? No, wait, go back. Play it.” Screw rational. You knew he was a narcissist. You wouldn’t expect him to hear that and stop. 

“He’s Tony Stark. Who isn’t in love with him?”

“Then, why don’t you tell him?”

“... He’s Tony Stark.”

Tony started to fiddle with something on his desk. “What does that mean?”

Friday answered, “Dr. Banner asked her if she loved you, and she said yes. This means that she’s in love with you.”

Why did he program Friday like this? “I know that. I mean, those two lines. Why does me being Tony Stark stop her from saying something?” Was it the attention? Did you want some sort of normal life away from cameras and international gossip? Maybe it was the Avenging. Having a partner who was always out risking death wasn’t ideal. 

Sure, you could be in love with him. But you couldn’t be with him. 

“Maybe you should ask her.”

There were celebrities who were able to live normal lives. Some paid to have prosthetics for going outside of moved to a remote country to get out of the spotlight. He thrived off attention, but he could give that up. Avenging, he couldn’t give that up, but maybe he could cut back. Take a mission a month instead of one a week. Or maybe take more digital missions. He wasn’t just Iron Man after all. He was a genius, could hack into the Pentagon if he really wanted to. 

“Yeah,” he said. “Maybe I could talk to her.”

~ - ~

The moment you put your bag down on your lab table, Tony said, “You’re gonna be mad.”

You narrowed your brows. “What did you do?” You pressed your palm to your chest. “Oh my god, Peter overwrote my data, didn’t he? Ugh, I know he said he’s great at managing holograms, but really, Tone, you should’ve given him a tutorial before giving him access.” You brought up your holograms to check your data and analysis. 

“That’s not it.” Tony stood next to you as you looked through your files. “I did something that invaded your privacy.”

You tilted your head. Closing the holograms, you took a deep breath and slowly asked, “How?”

Tony flashed an embarrassed grin before sighing. “You’re gonna be shocked, too, so prepare yourself.”

You did not know where this was going at all. What horrible thing could Tony have done? Steeling yourself, you took a deep breath and nodded at him to continue. 

Tony cleared his throat. “Usually, I can tell when someone has feelings for me. People are obvious about it, but you? You aren’t. So, I had Friday do some analysis on our speech patterns. Me, being in love with you, was one of my controls. You and your dialogue regarding me was the main variable. 

“Long story short, I accessed some audio of you and Bruce talking, and you said that you loved me but could never tell me.” He glanced at you. “So that’s why I need to apologize.” 

Your expression didn’t change. No, that wasn’t it. You, at first, looked confused. Now, there was just nothing. No expression. No wrinkled brow in anger of flushed cheeks in embarrassment. Nothing. 

Tony blinked. “You can shout at me now. If you were confused about when to shout at me.”

You licked your lips before taking a deep breath. “Ok, that was a lot.” You pursed your lips then opened it. But, you couldn’t really think of anything to say. You didn’t even know how to feel. “So you know that I” -you pointed at yourself and then at him- “and that I didn’t wanna tell you.” You shook your head. “Wait, do you know why I didn’t want to tell you?”

A broken scoff left Tony’s lips. “Yeah. I’m a mess.”

It was your turn to scoff. “Wait, you’re a mess? That’s why you think I don’t want to tell you?”

“Among other reasons?”

Other reasons? 

You crossed your arms. “Ok, what other reasons?”

Tony looked offended. Still, he listed, “I’m surrounded by cameras, and everyone wants some privacy. Can’t get it if you’re with me. Then, there’s the Iron Man of it all. I went into a wormhole with a nuke. That was also all over the news. Then, there’s the whole daddy issues thing. I’m working on it, but it takes a while-”

He rambled on and on, listing reason after reason, and with each one, you felt tears well up in your eyes. It was a weird mix of heartbreaking, confusing, and enraging. The emotions built up slowly with each word that left his mouth, overwhelming you to the point that you couldn’t even say how it happened. 

But, as Tony paced and talked so horribly about himself, you somehow ended up in front of him with your hands on his cheeks. 

You only realized it when Tony stopped talking and when his breath touched your lips. “What?” he asked. 

You didn’t answer. You kissed him instead. 

It was a hard press of  your lips against his. It was short, and it wasn’t much. 

But by the way Tony gripped the back of your neck and pulled you back for another kiss, you’d think it was his first kiss. You knew it wasn’t. Not just because you knew he had kissed all sorts of people before you, but because he somehow knew how to make you gasp and melt into him. 

While one hand kept you steady, the other trailed down your back and pulled you closer to him. His lips moved fluidly against yours, pushing and pulling, and everytime he moved back, you chased his lips to continue the kiss, because the softness, the passion, the fact it was finally happening, was all too good. You didn’t want it to stop.

Your hands started to move. For someone so rich, his t-shirt was rough when you twisted it between your fingers and pulled it to you. Slowly, you trailed your fingers along the side of his neck. You rubbed your thumb along his pulse point, a reminder that this was indeed real. You were kissing Tony Stark, and- He was pulling away again.

Desperate, you leaned forward, reached around to hold onto his shoulder, and kissed the side of his neck. 

He let out a breathy laugh, and before you could suck on his skin, his stubble scratched your cheek. 

You looked up at him and giggled when his nose bumped into yours. When your giggles turned into a smile, he kissed you again, a soft and short kiss, before leaning his forehead against yours. 

His thumbs rubbed circles into your waist as you lightly scratched the back of his neck. He didn’t say anything. In fact, he seemed busy gazing at you.

“Speechless, Stark?” you teased. 

He laughed. For a few seconds, he just gazed at you, seeming to prove your point. Tony’s hand began to wander, from stroking your cheek to pushing back your hair. “More confused.”

Remembering why you interrupted him, you brought your hands to his cheeks again and held him there so he couldn’t look away from you. “You are amazing, Tony. That’s the reason I didn’t want to tell you.” You shrugged. “You’re too good for me.”

His fidgeting stopped. “Well, that’s not true.”

“Tony, you’re an Avenger.”

“Technically, you are also an Avenger.”

“You’re a genius.”

“Who can’t cook scrambled eggs.”

“You literally saved the universe.”

“After producing weapons of mass destruction for decades.”

You glared at him. 

He glared back. Then, he fought back. “I don’t plan on retiring.”

“Wouldn’t want you to.”

“I have severe PTSD, anxiety, maybe ADHD, all mixed with trauma galore.”

“And I will learn to help you.”

“I couldn’t give you a normal life.”

“I’d rather have you anyway.”

He opened his mouth, but you instead told him, “I’d rather have you than anything. As long as, well, for as long as  you’ll have me.”

He raised his eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“Positive.”

Tony shook his head with a smile. “Cause, I’d rather have you for, well, how does til you get tired of me sound?”

You laughed. “Won’t happen. But, sure.” You kissed him again.You would’ve kept going, but there was something to settle first.  “By the way, Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“Is Friday recording right now?”

“Friday records everything. It’s in the contract.”

Friday added, “I record everything that happens in the tower.”

“Ok.” You could work with that. “I’ll forgive you for the invasion of privacy.”

Tony beamed, and you couldn’t help your own smile when he did. Still, you continued, “On one condition.” Your own smile turned devious. “I want evidence that Star Spangled Banner took my ice cream.”

Tony burst out laughing. He kissed you again, a deep kiss, and when he was done, he mumbled, “God, I love you,” against your lips.

[mercy-burning]

A Strange Request

Part of Mercy’s 1k Celebration: A collection of Spencer Reid x Reader requests to celebrate 1,000 followers.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Summary: Reader gets a rather strange request from Derek’s girlfriend Category: FLUFF, with discussion of sex, so still 18+ probably, just to be safe Warnings: discussions/topics of sex, one paragraph of blink and you’ll miss it female-receiving oral sex Word Count: 2k

Full Request: “...a fluff about reader is friend with Derek’s girlfriend, and she ask her if spencer (s/2 - s/3) can teach him where the clitoris is because reader had already told her that spencer is very good in bed... Baby Spencer Teaching Derek How To Make A Woman Cum is so funny to me” —anonymous

MASTERLIST | 1K MASTERLIST

NOTE: Just came here to say, first of all, thank you all so much for reading and enjoying my content, it means the world to me. I love you guys 🥰 Also, this request??? I was dying thinking about it, and I laughed pretty much the whole time I wrote it, so I hope you like it as much as I do!

I will be posting the rest of the requests I get throughout the month of March, so you have until February 28th to send one in if you’d like to! More information on that can be found HERE

It wasn't really normal for Y/N and Kelley to talk about their sex lives. They'd brought it up in conversation a few times, but it was never a regular thing.

So when Kelley came over to Y/N's apartment Friday night after a cryptic text stating that she needed to talk to her about something 'weird but important,' she had no idea that her weekend was about to get very... informative.

"Is everything alright?" she asked Kelley, handing her a glass of wine. The two of them sat on the couch and Kelley shrugged.

"I mean... Yes, everything's fine, but...I have a sort of, uh... weird request."

"Yeah, you mentioned that," Y/N chuckled, bringing the glass of wine to her lips. "What's up?"

"Well, basically... I can't orgasm."

Y/N almost spit the wine out of her mouth. Thankfully she was able to get it down, though not without choking slightly. "Huh?"

"Well, okay, I can orgasm it's just that... I can't when I'm with Derek. And at first I thought maybe it was me, but I tried on my own and I can do it just fine. It's just that when Derek and I are together, he can't... make me cum. "

"Well, I... Okay. I'm not... What do you want me to d—oh!"

"Oh! Y/N, no, I didn't mean that I wanted you to... No, um... Sorry, that's not what I meant. Look, I know you've said before that Spencer is really good in bed, and I was wondering if you could maybe ask him to talk to Derek about it, like... give him some pointers or something."

Y/N really didn't know what to say. But she tried really hard to say something that wasn't an incoherent mumble of surprise. "Wow, uh... I mean, I... Yeah, I can ask him, but why don't you just talk to Derek about it? He's a good guy, I'm sure he'd be more than willing to hear you out if you just communicate with him..."

Kelley sighed, setting her wine down. "I know, but... Well, it's just that every time I try to talk to him about it, I chicken out, and I know you said Spencer knows what he's doing, so I figured I'd ask you..."

She could tell that Kelley was embarrassed, so Y/N reached out to hold her hand. "Hey, Kel, it's okay. You know I'm happy to help. And I'll talk to Spencer about it, but I really think you should try talking to Derek yourself, too, okay?"

She nodded, a small smile adorning her face. "Okay."

***

Repeating this conversation with Spencer was going to be... well, weird, as Kelley had put it. It really was a strange request, but Y/N was more than willing to help out a friend in need, especially if it meant said friend was going to get laid like she deserved.

She just had to figure out how to bring it up. The best way was probably to just sit down and talk about it, but she didn't want to spring it on him at random.

So, she used decided that maybe some... inspiration would be good.

She studied her boyfriend as he went down on her that night, paying attention to how his fingers felt as the pushed and curled themselves into her, how his tongue explored her like a paintbrush exploring a canvas with beautiful precision.

And when it was all over, she laid beside him and stroked his hair, smiling. "You're so good at that," she mused. The praise put a smile on his face, as it always did. But he became suspicious when she took it too far, adding, "Seriously, you should teach men how to properly please a woman."

"Y/N?" Spencer asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You're trying to get at something, what is it?"

"Well, uh... this is probably going to sound really weird, but you have to hear me out, okay?"

"O—kay?"

Y/N sighed, a small shake of her head following. "Well, I talked to Kelley yesterday, because she had something she wanted to talk to me about, and, uh... she said that... Oh, wow, this is so fucking weird—ShewantedtoknowifyoucouldteachDerekhowtomakehercumbecausehe'sreallybadatit."

She blinked, and Spencer blinked back at her, the two of them laying together in silence for a good ten to fifteen seconds.

And then he started to laugh.

"W—What? Is that too weird? Because I told Kelley she should just try talking to him, but she really wanted me to ask you because I'd mentioned how good you are, and she just figured since you two worked together and that we're all friends that you wouldn't have a problem telling him about everything, an—"

Spencer reached out to brush the back of his hand across her cheek. "Hey, slow down, okay? Look. The idea that I have to teach Derek Morgan of all people how to make a woman cum is just... It's funny to me, and surely you understand why... And besides, how would I even bring that up? It's not like I can just walk up to him and be like Hey, Morgan, your girlfriend thinks you suck in bed and she wants me to show you how to do it right."

Y/N blinked up at him again, and he blinked back, the both of them starting to realize how that sounded.

"Yeah, maybe don't lead with that," she said, patting his arm. "Look, you guys talk about your sex lives sometimes, right? I mean, you're both guys in relationships, I'm sure it's come up at some point."

"No, Y/N, not really," he said, clearly exasperated and most decidedly not thrilled about the idea of talking sex with his co-workers.

Still, she sighed. "Spence, please? I told Kelley I'd talk to you about it, and she's really desperate here. Besides, it would be rude to let Derek Morgan of all people go around thinking he's great at sex when he's really not, don't you think?"

Spencer really seemed to think about that for a moment, before huffing a laugh. "Actually that sounds pretty funny to me."

Y/N slapped his arm.  "I'm serious! At least do it for Kelley's sake... The poor girl deserves to feel good, right?"

"If I do it, can we end this conversation?" he gave in, clearly not in the mood to talk about their friends' sex life.

"Wait really? You'll do it?"

Spencer sighed. "Yes, I'll do it. It's most likely going to be more awkward than this conversation, but I'll do it."

With a laugh and a quick kiss to the lips, Y/N pulled him closer and said, "I love you, you know."

***

He hoped he wouldn't have to do much talking at all. Which is why he brought a bag of books on female anatomy and pleasure. He tried for the entire train ride to work to figure out the best way to even bring it all up, but when he actually stepped into the bullpen, he almost froze up with nerves.

He spotted Derek from across the room and in a split second decided that it would be best to just rip the band-aid off.

So, he briskly made his way over to his friend and set the bag of books in front of him on the desk. "I want to preface this by saying it wasn't my idea. Kelley and Y/N were talking about some stuff, and they asked me to talk to you, so I'm just going to give it to you straight. These are for you."

"Whoa, kid, slow down. What did they want you to tell me?"

Spencer looked around nervously before taking a deep breath. "Well, um... Y/N and I were talking last night, and she said that Kelley had this weird request for her, and, um... I guess she wanted Y/N to ask me to talk to you about... um... how to have better sex?"

He said the last part very quietly and immediately looked down at his feet. When he looked back at Morgan, he almost looked like he'd been petrified, actually frozen in time with the blankest expression ever seen.

"What?" he asked just as blankly.

"Please don't make me say it again," Spencer signed.

"Reid, I don't know what you mean."

"Look, I know this is really weird, trust me, I know, but I, uh... I wrote out some detailed notes for you, and there are also some books in that bag, so it should help."

Derek looked down at the bag and then back to Spencer, still puzzled. "I... You're not serious... This is some kinda prank, isn't it?"

"I swear it's not, just... Look, after sex, has Kelley ever stayed in the bathroom for like ten minutes or longer?"

"Excuse me?"

"Just answer my question!" Spencer whispered harshly, still looking around to make sure no one would hear.

"Reid, I'm not— Oh... Oh... No..." The journey that Derek's face took almost Spencer feel kind of bad for him, though he'd be lying if a large part of him didn't find this whole thing absolutely hilarious.

"But like I said, I have things to help you," Spencer rushed out. "It's not... Look, maybe it would be better if you just talked to Kelley about it... In the end it's all really about you two, and if you don't have communication coinciding with your sex life then chances are it's not... very good."

"Kelley wanted you to talk to me... That's what she said?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so. Y/N told me that she said she couldn't... you know, finish when she was with you and she wanted me to talk to you about it."

"Why?" It was obvious that Derek was having a hard time believing all of this, even after having the epiphany.

"I don't know, I guess Y/N told Kelley at one point that I was good at it? Look, it's not a big deal, just... read the stuff I gave you, and it should help, and then we never have to talk about this ever again, okay?"

Still grappling with everything he'd just learned, Morgan muttered out an, "O—kay?"

"Good talk," Spencer said quickly, turning around and getting out of there as fast as he could.

***

Later that week, Y/N and Spencer were watching a movie on the couch, and things had been... fairly normal considering all that had happened the previous weekend.

A knock sounded at the door, and with neither of them expecting any company, they paused the movie and answered the door together, swinging it open to find Kelley standing in front of them with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine.

Before either of them could say anything, Kelley handed the flowers to Spencer and the wine to Y/N, a smile on her face. "Sorry for stopping by on short notice, but I just, uh... I wanted to thank you guys for helping me out... You know..."

"Oh!" the couple said at the same time, a bit of heat creeping up on both their cheeks.

"Yeah, it wasn't a problem," Y/N said.

"Really," Spencer reassured.

"Yeah, I know it was, uh... a strange request but it really did wonders, and we talked over everything, so, it's, uh... It's all good now. So, thanks again. I just wanted to bring over some gifts to say thank you."

Even though the whole situation had been rather out of their comfort zones, Y/N told Kelley with earnest, "Happy to help."

She left, and Spencer and Y/N set their gifts on the coffee table.

"What did you tell Derek, exactly?" she asked curiously. "You never did tell me what happened."

"Oh, um... I just gave him some books, and I wrote out some notes for him."

With a smirk and a loving gaze, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "They must have been some pretty damn good notes if it warranted presents..."

"What can I say, I'm a good note taker," he said, returning her smile.

"Well, I think I'll have to be the judge of that. Show me what you got, smarty pants..."

Let's just say that by the end of the night, Y/N knew Kelley was in good hands.

[vivilove-jonsa]

for the dialogue prompt, “is that so?” 😏

Anon- this has sat in my inbox for roughly two years along with other dialogue prompts I keep saying I'll get to one day. I don't know if you're still here or will still care but have a little co-workers AU for your prompt and my apologies for the horribly long wait.

**

Two glasses of wine, the second not even quite finished. She’s not drunk. Just starting to relax finally.

He makes her nervous in that ridiculous fluttery way crushes do. He’s completely oblivious to that…she hopes.

She can’t blame her embarrassing admittance on the wine so she’ll blame it on him – please, say he’s the only one who heard it at least - She’ll blame it on his cologne, on the way his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows and his exposed forearms are affecting her - damn him - or the way a slight blush had touched his cheeks when Theon had brought up the very inappropriate, non-work-related topic to those who are still here.

Pub after work on a Friday with the usual suspects. Well…almost. He didn’t work here the last time she joined.

“Look who came tonight!” Myranda had exclaimed, making it that much more awkward.

The table at large had looked up and given her a cheerful greeting though so she’d thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. She’d not joined them like this in nearly a year, not during the months she was seeing Harry and not in the months since that disastrous relationship had ended. Not since he started working here.

Jon Snow. Her colleague. Her sometimes competitor. Her secret crush.

They’re partners in the department but their exchanges at work tend to run adversarial at times. And yet they intrigue her, draw her in, make her want more of him. Why? She’s never cared for confrontations. But with Jon, something just clicks differently when they bicker.

Myranda had seated her right beside him. (Myranda’s on to her.)

Anyway, Sansa’s blaming him and his intoxicating forearms and smoldering dark eyes for her embarrassing admittance.

“Is that so?” The question (along with his devilish smirk) hangs in the air.

She should sip. She gulps down the last of her wine instead. “Just an observation.”

“Guys don’t like doing that.”

Why had she said it aloud?! Why did he have to hear her?!

She prays the low-lighting won’t make it obvious how madly she’s blushing because now she’s thinking of him giving it a go and proving her wrong. Jon likes being right at the office, sometimes at her expense. She’d gladly allow him to prove her wrong in this case.

He raises an eyebrow, gives her a penetrating look. He’s probably heard of Harry from the others. They all used to work with him, too.

She clears her throat and resolves to look him in those piercing grey eyes. “In my experience, they don’t care for it.”

He scoffs…like he’s offended. “Some of us bloody well do.”

“Is that so?” she replies, letting her own smirk appear.

He grins. It’s stupidly adorable.

And she grins back. Like, you can’t see Jon grinning and not want to grin back. Probably because he doesn’t do it that often.

With the grins, she doesn’t expect him to turn so soft on her with his next words. “He must’ve been such a fool.”

Warmth floods her face, her chest. “Yeah, he was.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m well over him.”

“Is that so?”

She laughs and nods. The movement draws them closer together, shoulder to shoulder. Their heads lightly touch. She looks up after they do and…oh.

He licks his lips, his eyes drifting down to her own mouth before remembering where they are and who they’re with. He finishes his drink though with that devilish smirk still lingering.

“Someday, maybe someone will change your opinion on the matter of whether or not guys like doing that, Sansa.”

“Someday, I hope so, Jon.”

[strangeinternetwasteland]

Mating Season- Hawks x Fem! Reader 18+

A/n: thank you to the beautiful and talented @titanialev once again for feeding me ideas check out her art for this piece here

Warnings: Sex, biting

Word count: 2.5k

This day seemed to have dragged on forever. Work couldn’t be over soon enough. How much fun could you have working at a civilian bank. Nothing of note happened here, all you did was count money and do paperwork all day. The few times you got to text your boyfriend he didn’t respond, but that was probably because he was out patrolling, or doing something for the Commission. He was one lucky bastard.

After a few more hours of torturously boring paperwork you sluggishly waved goodbye to your coworkers and walked out of work. You check your phone one last time before walking home. You smiled as you saw the text you received from your boyfriend. Nothing in the world made you more excited.

The parking lot of your work was always empty, but today it seemed even emptier. Those who couldn’t wait to get home left quickly. Not that you could blame them.There was only one place you wanted to be anyway. “Well isn’t there a sight for sore eyes?” You heard a male voice say to you. You huffed at the attention. Any man who used a cheesy pick up line deserved to be punched. You really just wanted to punch that smug voice in the throat. You groaned internally, rolled your eyes and looked toward the voice.   

“Look, here asshole!” You started saying but when your eyes fell on the most handsome man you ever laid eyes on. His golden eyes pierced your soul. All the anger you felt melted looking at him. How could it not when you’re looking at your boyfriend. 

“I was going to punch you, you know.” You told him. As you looked at him, you saw him leaning against his car hood casually. Wearing his black leather jacket, blue jeans, and sunglasses he looked like a model.

“Yeah, I know. I had to come see my dove.” He told you as he walked over to you.

“This is most certainly a surprise, you never pick me up on Fridays, you’re usually out patrolling until late.” You said surprised as you two embraced. The warmth of his body made you shiver, even though the evening was warm for the season. 

“There are few things in life that I like, you are probably my most favorite.” He muttered into your lips as he pressed his lips into yours. Those soft lips the way they seemed to mold with yours so perfectly. He loved making you flustered in public, and especially in front of your co-workers. You broke the kiss, and your face warmed.

“Keigo, please stop, you’re flustering me.” You whined. He laughed at your remark.

“I like you flustered. If everything goes, right you’ll be more than flustered by the end of the night.” He whispered against your ear. You felt the hair on your neck stand at his comment. He took your hand and walked to the passenger side of the car. You slid into the seat, and buckled yourself in. Keigo slid in the driver’s seat and turned the radio on. You normally wouldn’t think twice, since you both listened to the radio, but you heard Keigo belt out in a terribly strangled voice:

“This is the part when I say I don’t wanna, I’m stronger than I’ve been before. This is the part when I break free cause I can’t resist it no more.” You stared at your  boyfriend like he grew two heads. The fact that he was singing wasn’t what made you want to laugh, it was when he started dancing in the seat. When he stopped the car at a red light, and turned up the music, you weren’t even sure if he was actually you boyfriend.

The driver in the next car over just looked at him and started laughing. You were a bit embarrassed but when you realized that he was having fun, who were you to stop him? When he had continued singing, and this time surprisingly well, you couldn’t help but laugh. He was definitely in a good mood, but something seemed a bit off, and you couldn’t explain it. You thought no more of it, as Keigo turned into the parking garage that was attached to your building.

“Here, I thought we were going to take me to dinner.” You mused aloud and gave him a sweet smile.

“My little bird, I’ve decided that I’d make dinner for you tonight.” He gave you his smug smile that make you melt.

“Oh, I didn’t know you could actually cook, Kei. We’ve been together for a while and you’ve cooked only breakfast for me.” You teased him. He visibly tensed up at your comment.

“Oh, no I am sorry, babe. I didn’t mean it.” You tried to calm him down.

“It’s fine, let’s just go inside.” He told you before he got out of the car to open your door. You walked toward the penthouse you shared while Keigo followed behind you. You both stayed silent while making your way.

After unlocking the door, you sighed heavily. You made him upset, and you knew it. It was best to leave it alone for now. Keigo walked in behind you and wrapped you in his wings and placed a kiss on the nape of your neck, causing shivers to run down your body.

“Dove, you go take a bath and relax. I’ll make us some dinner.” He reassured you. You did as he suggested. The warmth of the bath made your muscles relax and you felt your eyes getting heavy. You heard a soft knock at the door just before you fell asleep.

“Hey, dinner is almost ready, but please don’t rush on my account.” Keigo told you and he left the door slightly ajar. You decided that instead of sleeping you should wash your body quickly and join him for dinner.

After stepping out from the bathroom in your bedroom, you heard the sizzling of meat, smelled garlic, and onions. Your mouth started watering and your stomach rumbled. You were hungry. You went to your top drawer where you kept your panties, and found a handwritten note, from Keigo. It was written in his undeniable scrawl, ‘Go look in the closet’. You debated on it for a moment, you really didn’t want to wear anything but pajamas, but also, Keigo didn’t go out of his way for no reason. 

When entering the walk in closet you found a garment bag hanging in the front of your side of the closet. You unzippered the bag, and found yourself staring at the most gorgeous, black silk halter dress. You’d been eyeing this one for a while now, and when you did go buy it, it was sold out. You decided that you could spend your money on something you needed instead of something you wanted. It wasn’t meant to be for you. Here it was, hanging right in front of your eyes. You quickly changed into it, foregoing any underwear, and went to do your hair and makeup quickly.

After ten more minutes, you were assaulted with whatever food was currently cooking. You saw Keigo swaying to the music he put on, his wings slowly rising and falling with the beat. This time, it wasn’t Ariana Grande, but watching him move was mesmerizing. You noticed the whole dining area was covered with candlelight. The curves and flicker of the flames drew shadows on the wall. The sizzling had died down, and plates were placed on the table. 

“Kei, this is so beautiful. What on earth is all this about?” You asked, eyeing the beautiful bouquet on the table. He turned to see you, and gave you the biggest smile.

“Can I not do something for the woman, I love?” He asked as he pulled you into a slow dance. You notice he had changed out of his jeans and tee shirt into a button down shirt and dress pants. Your heart fluttered at his words. Of course, you loved him, and he loved you. You two spent your days off entangled in one another, but this was a different side of Keigo, you’d never seen before. 

After the slow dance was over, Keigo brought you to the table to eat your food, where he was a gentleman, by pulling out your chair and pushing it for you. You smiled at him. His eyes glanced over your body, the lust very evident.

“You look so beautiful, my dove. You truly are a vision.” He spoke as he kissed your hand.

“Thank you, but where did you find this dress? It’s been sold out as long as we’ve been dating. It wasn’t necessary to buy it.” You told him with excitement.

“The thing is, I am a hero. Even in civilian form, everyone knows who I am. You know I am willing to pay for the things you want. People are willing to do things when a hero asks.” He waved his words away.

“Well, thank you, but it wasn’t necessary. This dinner looks amazing and smells just as good.” You replied. He gave you a knowing smile. 

The conversation throughout dinner was light. The two of you discussed the other heros and his agency. You discussed how boring work was, and how nothing ever happened, but you knew the reason nothing happened was because the Heroes did their patrolling properly.

Keigo took the dishes and cleared them from the table and brought out a small four layered chocolate cake topped with strawberries and whipped cream.

“Did you make this yourself too?” You questioned him. “It looks like something from that little bakery I like not too far from the bank.” 

“I admit. I didn’t think about dessert until right before I picked you up from work. So it is from the bakery, yes.” He admitted to you as he sat down in his chair. You didn’t wait, you took your fork and shoved it right into the cake. Not waiting for Keigo at all. You hummed happily and smiled at your boyfriend. You took your finger and swiped a bit of whipped cream from the top of the cake. Pointing the finger at Keigo’s face, he debated for a moment leaned forward and bit your finger.

“Ow! What the hell?” You jerked your hand back. “That really hurt. Why would you ever bite me?” You questioned him, giving him a bit of side eye.

“Sorry, I guess. I am feeling a little off tonight.” He told you slumping his shoulders. He took the rest of the cake, wrapped it back up in it’s packaging and placed it in the refrigerator to keep cool.

You genuinely felt bad for him. He looked so down, when not even moments ago his spirit was so high. 

“I guess, I will just call it a night. I really didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just being playful.” He told you as he walked into the bedroom. You couldn’t be mad at him. The man you loved more than anything, had danced with you, had made you the most delicious dinner, he sang to you, he bought you the dress you wanted since before you two were dating. What more could a girl possibly want? 

“Keigo, look. I-” You started saying as you walked into the bedroom. When you entered you saw Keigo wearing nothing but a bow. He looked up at you sheepishly.

“What-” The next thing you knew his mouth was on yours as he kissed you deeply. His hands running over your curves, feeling nothing but your dress beneath his hands. You snaked one arm around him and pulled him close.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you today Keigo, but you’re acting strange.” He grabbed your hips and pressed you against the wall. 

“I can only think about one thing… being inside of you.” His voice was dark with lust. He pressed his bulge against you, while undoing the ties of your dress. He didn’t care about anything other than unloading himself into you. 

“My dress!” You cried as he tore it off. 

“I will buy you 100 more, I just need you right now.” His warm breath on your neck. Without a care, he thrusted himself deep inside you. He moaned in ecstasy.

“Fuck, you feel so good.” He thrusted into you again as he hardened even more. “Dove, I don’t know what is wrong with me. I’ve been on edge all day.” 

While you normally didnt mind the sex, there was an edge of anger and desperation to it today. Thinking back on it, you two had been together for a little less than a year. It was Rumi who had told you on a drunken girls night out that once a year, when it was rutting or mating season, she’d act more aggressive than normal. She told you that normally she’d find whatever poor soul she could to take care of it. When you had asked her if Keigo went through the same things, she told you probably, but wasn’t sure how he went about it. It was after that night you’d done some research on the subject.

“God, you look so beautiful, my little bird.” His gold eyes bore into your soft (eye color) ones. His thrusting sped up faster. He nipped at the tender spots of your neck, groaning into you.

“Keigo.” His lips crashed onto yours again, tangling his tongue with yours. He was too far gone in his haze to respond to you. He spread his wings behind him as wide as he could, you remembered seeing this once before when studying biology. Keigo didn’t seem to have noticed that he was showing off his feathers. 

Suddenly, he picked you up and threw you onto the bed. His wings at thier full span.

“I am going to fuck you straight through this bed.” He hissed in your ear and he closed the gap between the two of you. He thrusted himself in you again with more force than before. Harder and faster he crashed into you again and again. His wings opening and closing with his pace. You felt him as he came closer to his limit. His breathing severely labored. His mind no longer concerned with his normal traditions with you. Mating was the only thing on his mind. Releasing this angry beast that overtook him. A final few thrusts, and he released every drop of his seed into you. 

You felt his racing heart slow a bit, and he got his breathing back to normal. You laid underneath him as he had wrapped his wings around you, as he normally did after love making. The haze of lust that filled his eyes was gone. His golden eyes looked at you with love again. He peppered your face with kisses, as you stroked his wings. As he laid his head on your chest for a brief moment, you heard the faintest whisper from him.

“I love you so much, Y/N. Be mine forever. Marry me.” Those were the last words you heard before you both fell asleep.

[estudos-sociais]

How to Make Friends

A few weeks ago, I got a note from a reader named Amanda Schockling. She wrote, “I’ve been out of college for 3 years now and my question is this: How do you make meaningful friendships and connections as an adult?”

It’s a good question, but I didn’t know how to answer it. After I graduated, I moved to D.C. for a new job. It was a really tough year that turned into three tough years. I met friends through work, but never felt like I found my people. I discovered that I loved yoga, but never found a community there, probably because you don’t talk during yoga. Maybe if I’d read this, things would have turned out differently.

There’s no one way to make a friend, but there are definitely things you can do to try. I asked The Edit contributors and some co-workers from around The Times if they’d ever had trouble making friends and if they had any advice. Here’s what they said:

If you’re looking for a cheat sheet Jazmine Hughes, associate editor for The New York Times Magazine Making friends is actually quite simple; most people are flattered that someone cool (that would be you, taking my advice) wants to befriend them. If there is a person in your workplace, church group or running club that sets off Potential Friend sirens in your head, here’s what you do:

1) Become a person who is comfortable spouting non-sequiturs. Friendship starts by talking, which means that someone has to start talking! Comment on the weather, or the smell of the room, or something on TV last night … regularly. It’s pleasant to make conversation about something light. Just talk about Beyoncé!

2) Then, once you have built up a rapport with your Potential Friend, you have to DTT: Divulge To Them. Share a very tiny secret, like you have cramps or you’re hung over or you accidentally voted for Bush. This is step one to building trust.

3) The next step is crucial! After you DTT, wait a period of time, and then refer back to the thing you divulged to them! You are creating an inside joke. THE FOUNDATION OF FRIENDSHIP.

4) And finally, you have to ask them to hang out with you one on one. And then again, 2-6 weeks later. Then they should get the hint and ask you to hang out, too. Now you are friends. Congrats!

If you’re in college Kevin Liao, contributor to The Edit When I first got to college, I immediately felt an unshakable isolation. “I must be doing something wrong,” I thought. But I soon found comfort in my dorm’s RAs, who assured me this was a normal part of being at a new school. And while they didn’t magically cure my loneliness, they definitely helped me live with the feeling.

Lauretta Charlton, Race/Related editor I went the University of San Francisco, but my best friends from college went to other schools in the Bay Area. What brought us together was music. I went to shows every week — Bottom of the Hill, the Fillmore, Great American Music Hall — and that’s were I found my crew. There were times when I went to shows alone, and that was hard. But once the band started playing, I forgot about how embarrassed I was to show up solo. Music brings people together.

Hallie Reed, contributor to The Edit In high school I had a hard time making friends, so I tried to make it easier on myself in college. I chose a college with small classes. I pledged a sorority so I would have built-in social activities. I joined the crew team so that exercising would be social, too. It’s gone a lot better than high school so far, but there’s still moments of loneliness even in my sophomore year.

Claire Haug, contributor to The Edit What they don’t tell you when you’re filling out your college applications is that college is an inherently lonely experience. So much of your college life is spent alone, whether it’s studying or doing errands or just watching a movie by yourself on a Friday night because none of your friends’ schedules line up. One of the most valuable things I’ve learned in college so far is how to be alone without being lonely.

If you’re starting a new job Caity Weaver, writer for The New York Times Magazine and Styles The best way to make friends is to be curious about people. This doesn’t mean you should say “Tell me about yourself!” to everyone you meet — that’s disgusting. When you start a new job, transmit the message that you are friendly by peppering co-workers with bite-sized questions about their lives and jobs. Most people will think you have demonstrated good taste by being interested in them. If they give you one word answers, or avoid eye contact, they aren’t looking to make a friend right now. Move on.

John-Michael Murphy, software engineer I worked my first job in a small college town in North Carolina. While there were a lot of young college students around, there weren’t many young professionals in my same stage of life. Being gay in a conservative state added another wrinkle. I never found a group of friends like I had in college. Instead, I wove a fabric of unconventional friendships, many which I still maintain. I made friends with local musicians and scheduled coffee with professors on campus. I found these friends when I stopped looking for people who shared my age and interests and when I stopped letting fear of embarrassment or awkwardness get in the way. Scheduling phone calls with my long-distance friends helped. So did widening the radius on dating apps.

If you just moved Sopan Deb, culture reporter Shortly after I graduated from Boston University in 2010, I moved to New York and started working as an assistant producer at NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams.” I wasn’t the happiest person in the world at the job, namely because the show’s low ratings meant it could get canceled at any second, which is, uh, what happened.

But leading up to the unceremonious axing, it was a stressful experience. Add in a painful break up with my college girlfriend, my head wasn’t in a good place. I needed to find something to help take the edge off.

I took an improv class.

There are two things I recommend to every 20-something year old. Take an improv class and see a therapist. Even if you feel like you’re very mentally in touch with yourself, it’s helpful to talk through things with someone.

And improv is an incredible experience. You get to create new worlds out of nothing. It’s such a social experience that you can’t help but make friends. And even if you don’t, you’re laughing the whole time. And when you are a recently-graduated young professional, experiencing being on your own in a brutal city like New York, you can’t ask for too much more.

Stine Dahlberg, managing director of brand marketing I have a habit of relocating, having done so nine times in 15 years. When I moved to New York a year ago I decided to see it as a catalyst for doing things I’ve never tried before. Continuing Education classes were a great way to meet new people and I got to try new things like graphic design or drawing. Many companies have HR budgets to fund that, use them! And if you can, find a co-working or community space with events and talks. I’ve met so many amazing women at The Wing.

Tim Hatton, contributor to The Edit After four years of living with roommates, I came into this summer terrified to have an apartment to myself and an internship in a cubicle. That’s not to say I don’t like being alone. I do, but I also know that means I’m always at risk of isolating myself. It’s been important to plan ahead and actively make time to spend with other people.

If you’re just getting older Robbie Harms, contributor to The Edit I teach fifth grade, and I often envy how easily friendships form among 10 year olds. Four square, Fortnite, food — all of these can spark conversation. Heck, the mere act of sitting next to the same person for five-plus hours a day is bound to produce at least a few friendships.

In the post-college years, I’ve learned that there is no secret formula, no three-step process that results in an impressive social circle. Instead, I’ve found it’s best to keep it simple: Be kind and approachable. At least, that’s what I’ve learned from my fifth graders.

Claire O’Neill, art director for NYT Climate In some ways, the older you get the harder it seems — when you’re way less physically capable of all-nighters and way too busy for the hours-on-end hangs like you had in college. Over the years, though, I’ve found that all it really takes is one good friend. Someone who you can be totally yourself around, riff and grow with. The click is fast and natural with a person who just gets you, and who you get in return. It’s also way more comforting and rewarding than a big circle of acquaintances who keep you busy, but maybe a little less grounded.

Ian Caveny, contributor to The Edit My wife and I have started a practice we call The Friendship Meal. What happens is something like this: we take a person or a couple and invite them to come have dinner with us. It’s almost always a disorienting thing to begin with — we don’t know them, they don’t know us, and everyone’s pretty shy. And sometimes the meals stay there: shyness and lack of connection, we eat and go separate ways. But sometimes that special spark happens, and, all-of-a-sudden, the conversations last for hours. And that makes the risk worth it!

Have you ever struggled to make friends? Do you have any advice for how to get through it? We want to hear from you. Email us at theedit@NYTimes.com with the subject line “Friends” and we’ll share some of your answers in the future. Please include your full name and location.

[1234-angelika]

Teacher, Teacher

an: this is the final post of the week and the first installment in the Happily Ever After series for Matt. I'm excited to share with y'all, this has been in the works for a while. Hope you enjoy!

words:1.2 k warnings:Divorce, custody battle,

summary: "The best things in life are unexpected-because there were no expectations." -Eli Khamarov

masterpost|taglist|have an idea

At 18, you thought that you wanted to practice law. So, you went ahead and started on that journey.

You got your bachelor's degree in English with a minor in psychology. After that, you went on to write the LSAT and scored 170. With that impressive score, you applied to multiple programs and decided on the path of getting your J.D. at Columbia Law School in New York with a focus on family law. It took you three years, and then you moved to Virginia. You applied to a prep class before taking the bar, and that's where you met Kristy. Although you were taking different paths, you became fast friends, keeping in contact throughout the years. You passed the bar on your first try. It was a lot of work, but to you, it was worth it.

After a few years of working in family law, you saw a really rough case. It was a custody dispute. The case had started off pretty straightforward and then spiralled at an impeccable speed. After that case, you decided to take a break. You resigned and went back to school instead of getting your Certified Childcare Professional credential. And then you opened up a day-care in your neighbourhood where childcare was scarce. It didn't take long for business to pick up and for you to be busy all the time. You had two co-workers who were a tremendous help with the workload and genuinely good people.

Being a day-care teacher was such a rewarding job, shaping your minds to wonder and question everything, but man, was it exhausting.

To start your day, you slept in past your alarm. Way past, like 40 minutes, your busy week must have caught up to you. You had called your co-workers as soon as you woke up to apologize for being late and to tell them that they would have to start the day without you. You hopped in the shower and got ready for the day, not even grabbing a snack before rushing out the door. You headed to the nearest drive-through for a hot coffee and something to eat. The drive-through line was long, which didn't help your stress about the fact you were late. The only thing that made the lousy morning a little bit better was the fact it was Friday.

The sunshine provided the opportunity for a lot of outdoor exploration and independent play. We spent the morning doing math and science—which was really nature exploration—before going back in for a snack. After snack time, we went back outside for art which was drawing with chalk and water-colour painting. After lunch, we focused primarily on the idea of independent play.

For having such an abrupt start to your day, the rest of your workday seemed to pass quite slowly. By 4, almost all children had been picked up, your co-workers had left—all the children except the Simmons kids. From what you understood—from the small amount Kristy had told you—reminding you of your previous career. She and her husband were going through a divorce with an ugly custody battle happening. To add to that, apparently, their dad worked an insane job with unpredictable hours.

Today was the first day he was supposed to pick them up since the split. Kristy had warned you that he probably wouldn't be on time. So, you had prepared. You had snacks and drinks and a movie playing on the screen. You were working away at the paperwork, and the boys were playing on the carpet while Beauty and the Beast was streaming on the screen. By the time that movie had finished, you finished all the paperwork you had to do, and the boys became tired of playing on the floor, deciding to just focus on the movie instead.

Standing up, you said, "Alright, before we watch another movie, let's clean up our toys."

They were pretty quick in getting up and cleaning up their toys. When all the toys were put away, markers were cleaned up, and paper neatly stacked where it was supposed to be, you got ready for the next movie. Bean bag chairs were brought to the carpet while the boys grabbed some snacks and juice boxes.

"Get comfy!" You said with a smile as the boys ran to the bean bags. Each picking their favourite colour. "Now, what movie are we watching now?"

"Up!" David said, and you looked at Jake before putting it on. He nodded so, you went ahead with the movie.

About halfway into the movie, you heard a multitude of footsteps coming down the hallway, accompanied by voices. As quiet as possible so as not to disturb the boys, you got up from your bean bag and walked to the door to see what the noise was. If it was an intruder, you wanted to at least try and protect the kids. When you got to the door, you swung it open. There stood a tall, model-like man with his hand raised, ready to knock on the door. Beside him, two darling little girls who were absolutely adorable and very obviously twins.

"Hello, can I help you sir?" You asked the man, using your body to block the doorway as best you could.

"I'm Matthew Simmons—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the two boys ran into his legs shouting;

"Daddy!"

You nodded to yourself in understanding. Once each of the boys latched onto a leg, he continued, "—and I'm here to pick up my sons."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Y/N Y/L/N, their school teacher."

You lead him into the room.

"So Y/N, is there anything I need to do before I can take the boys home?"

"Matthew—"

"Please call me Matt,"

"—Matt, I need you to sign the sheet on my desk and the book by the door and then you can go."

Matt went over to your desk, signed the paper and, walked back over to the door and signed the book. Then he walked into the cubby area, kids trailing behind. You walked over and helped him pack his sons' things, he packed Jake's bag, and you packed David's. After the boys had put on their coats and outside shoes, you handed David his backpack. He swung it on, and Jake did the same.

As they walked out, Matt stopped in the doorway. Turning to look at you, he said;

"Bye Miss Y/L/N. See you Monday." And with a wink, he turned and walked away.

You stared after him, and then, you understood why Kristy never introduced you to her soon-to-be ex-husband. That dazzling smile and flirtatious demeanour were heart-stopping.

[kingstylesdaily]

What the 2021 Grammy Awards Will Look Like

Artists including Billie Eilish, BTS, and Taylor Swift will perform in a circle of five stages with masked crew at the center — in a ceremony that first-time showrunner Ben Winston calls “part Grammys, part Abbey Road studio session”

Ben Winston is exhausted. The television producer, who moved from the U.K. to Los Angeles six years ago to start The Late Late Show With James Corden, is a week away from executive-producing his first Grammys telecast. “I literally had two hours of sleep last night,” he tells Rolling Stone via Zoom.

On Sunday, March 7th, the Recording Academy revealed a slate of performing artists for March 14th’s 63rd Annual Grammy Awards that includes Billie Eilish, BTS, Taylor Swift, Cardi B, and Harry Styles. But while those names are on the lineup, Winston knows nothing about live TV is ever set in stone — especially in the time of a pandemic —so he’s been spending his days double- and triple-checking plans, waking up at 4:30 a.m. dry-eyed and restless. He’s worked to make a show “with heart,” he says — one that “doesn’t feel isolated, quiet, or alone.” He also had to take extra steps to ensure the three-and-a-half hour show, which will not take place at the Grammys’ usual home of the Staples Center, is Covid-safe for performers and attendees. Despite all that, he appears remarkably enthusiastic and alert.

Here’s what viewers next Sunday can expect from music’s biggest night, according to Winston: a multi-stage, audience-free show that highlights the year’s creative triumphs, social justice movements, as well as Covid-19’s impact on the arts. Winston hints at several “unbelievably powerful” performances on the slate, adding that the Grammys “absolutely are acknowledging what’s happened” in the country in the last year.

Winston, who in 2018 co-produced Bruno Mars’ well-received live show at the Apollo for CBS, also wanted to highlight independent venues, which are the “lifeblood of this industry” and a launchpad for emerging musicians — so the Grammys will feature guest spots from owners and workers of iconic American venues, including L.A.’s Troubadour and Hotel Café, N.Y.’s Apollo, and Nashville’s Station Inn. “I drive past the Troubadour on my way home from work every night,” Winston says. “It’s a significant thing for me when I look at it all boarded up. I always think, ‘When those boards come down, this will be over.’ That will be the sign. That will be the day where it’s like, ‘We got through this.'” Winston realized from his conversations with venues that many of them put on their last shows on March 14th, 2020, meaning the Grammys will mark the one-year anniversary of the shutdown.

Employees will come on camera to “tell us a little bit about their venue” and present some of the awards. “So, you’ve got, like, a bartender at a beautiful, independent venue — and she’s giving out Album of the Year to these megastars,” he explains. His goal is to acknowledge the people who work tirelessly to keep these stomping grounds afloat and have recently lost their jobs. “Those venues are made up by the bartender and the security guard, the manager, the box office person, and the cleaner at the end of the night.” He hopes to remind people of the importance of supporting local venues again when it’s safe to do so.

Originally, the Grammys were scheduled for January 31st, but organizers announced a move to March right after the new year. Winston says he felt American morale was at a low point in January — between political insurrection, an impeachment trial, and Covid-19 running rampant in Los Angeles — and it “didn’t feel right” to put the show on in the middle of that. The Recording Academy and CBS, which exclusively airs the annual show, both supported his decision to postpone. “I can now do everything that I wanted to do in my best-case scenario for this year,” he says of Sunday’s show.

Sunday’s location is an undisclosed building in Los Angeles, but Winston teases that the new venue is “massive,” “magical,” and “the biggest building I’ve ever been in indoors.” “I don’t want it to look like I’m criticizing Staples, because it’s the most amazing venue,” he emphasizes, sharing that he’s open to bringing the Grammys back to the arena in the future if they ask him to. While he does believe that Staples is a safe place, he says he wanted to go above and beyond to make even the most-skeptical participants feel undoubtedly safe.

A team of Covid safety officers oversaw the production set-up, and artists will enter the stage from different directions to minimize contact. Each artist also has their own backstage area. The space “allowed us to build an entire world,” he says.

The show will involve five stages of the same size and shape, four of which are for performances and one of which is for presenters. Stages are organized in a circle, facing one another, and crew members will work from the middle of the set. “People will perform while the other three or four artists on their stages watch, applaud, and enjoy. As soon as that one finishes, the next one goes, the next one goes, and the next one goes. Every 45 minutes, you change out those stages, and you bring another four megastars into the room,” says Winston, who was partly inspired for the “part-Grammys, part-Abbey Road studio session” setup by British shows he watched as a child, including Jools Holland and TFI Friday.

It’s going to be a “bespoke night of music that I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to repeat,” Winston says. “It’s about taking a camera into a room, and making an amazing musical moment by filming it quite simply and elegantly.” Performances, which started being planned in April 2020, will be a mix of live and pre-recorded — a fully live show would involve too many crew members moving sets and risking close contact — but the whole thing is intended to feel completely live. (Winston challenges viewers to try and guess which sets are pre-recorded; he designed them to be difficult to tell.)

To help plan the sprawling, immersive show, Winston brought in a suite of collaborators including co-executive producer Jesse Collins, who produced The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show; co-executive producer Raj Kapoor, who handled creative direction for various artists on the last seven Grammys and produced Vegas residencies for the likes of the Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey; producer Fatima Robinson, whose expansive background in creative direction and choreography landed her the Black Eyed Peas’ 2011 halftime show and Kendrick Lamar’s 2016 Grammy performance; producer Misty Buckley, who handled production design for Kacey Musgraves’ 2020 Christmas show; talent executive Patrick Menton from Dick Clark Productions; Corden collaborator Josie Cliff; and Super Bowl halftime, Olympic ceremony, Oscars, and Emmys director Hamish Hamilton, who Winston describes as a “legend” he’s admired since he was 14 years old. (David Wild, who has written for the Grammys since 2001 and became a producer in 2016, is the only person returning to his role.) Winston also points out that artists were heavily involved in designing their own performances.

Rather than have cameras pan over empty seats and an awkwardly small stage, the production team decided to reinvent the visual format with the five-stage setup. The pandemic’s limitations, coupled with the advantages of new faces coming in with fresh perspectives, helped them refrain from thinking in terms of what the Grammys had done before, he said.

For the most part, Covid-19 didn’t force too many changes. It did give Winston a lot of anxiety.

“There’s been so much uncertainty with what you’re allowed to do,” he says. Changing international quarantine rules made him question whether certain performers could fly in, while health guidance keeps fluctuating: “Every time my computer or phone dings, my first instinct is, ‘Oh, God, what’s gone wrong?’ I don’t know if that’s ever been my mentality before.”

While all the performers are confirmed and currently Covid-free, “you never know, one of their girlfriends could have Covid and have to quarantine, it’s all just bonkers,” Winston says. “There’s one artist that may, in the end, not be able to make it here due to rules of the country they’re currently in. There’s one immigration issue that we’ve got left.”

The show does not have replacements on hand if anyone pulls out — it’ll just cut that performance out.

Above all, Winston wants the 2021 Grammys to focus attention off of dire times. “I want people to be able to watch the 2021 Grammys in 2040 and go, ‘Wow, what an amazing show that was,’ and not go, ‘Oh, that was the Covid year, that’s why they had to do that,'” he says. “I think that’s what we could achieve if we get it right on Sunday.”

via RollingStone.com

[mio-parasite]

Lovely - M!Robot (Zach) X GN!Human Render

Warning: mention of physical and emotional abuse.

I'm sorry for the bad spelling and bad English

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The great technological breakthrough had brought great things to make people's lives simpler, including a robot known as l1f3 that would allow you to be a beloved of the house flawless. Trouble finding a good babysitter? No problem, l1f3 can take care of your children without worry. Is your husband or wife cheating on you with the housekeeper? Say no more, l1f3 is the perfect machine for making household things. Don't worry about your partner, l1f3 just obeying a single word that you, our great buyer, will have the privilege to program before turning it on. Take it now!! It will change your life forever.

More than 10 years have passed since the day this announcement was published; L1f3 was already in its latest version. It was the most sought-after robot since it went on the market, its main characteristics had evolved to make it a total slave of the human being. On the other hand, you didn't have an l1f3 in your possession, not precisely because you didn't have enough money to buy one, but because you preferred to do things at home the traditional way, with your own hands. Many of your co-workers knew about this and on more than one occasion they came to offer you their l1f3 at a very low price, since several of them were going to buy the new version that would come out.

Come on friends is the best offer nor will black Friday give you an offer as it is. - said his co-worker.

Tom I already told you I like to do things on my own, when I'm an old man of 89 years I'll think about getting one - you answered although deep down it was just a lie - maybe you'll only get some old people's home - well, until tomorrow Tom.

Until tomorrow. - I answer his companion almost reluctantly.

You left your work building to go to the corner parking lot. It was kind of sad that your work building didn't have a parking lot of its own but you couldn't ask much of a building that's more than 70 years old.

When you got to the parking lot you passed by the guard who as always was sleeping, you took a slight sigh to go under the fence and finally get to your car but something caught your attention a young man who was lying on the driver's door of your car.

Hey, are you okay? - you approached quickly, he seemed to be sleeping maybe he jumped glasses and was going to get into his car that was next to yours but his body can't stand the amount of alcohol was a good theory not the first time you run into a drunk in the parking lot - friend wake up I must go home.

When you put your hand on his shoulder, a strange sensation of something wet made you jump out of fright. When you turned on the light you realized that that liquid in your hand was blue but the sensation was not like paint much less it had smell it was strange that thing that was blue in your hand didn't seem you had seen it before.

You pointed your flashlight at the young man who was sitting with his back against the door of your car. Poor robot maybe they assaulted him or he was also one of those extremist groups that are finding that robots are living with humans. Well whatever the case you could not leave it thrown there is also so far do not think that there is a mechanic available also its owner may be looking for it would be good to look for the owner, but one of your friends explained that if you enter the official site of the company l1f3 and put the first four digits of the barcode that is in the back of the neck of the robot you can find its owner with his contact number in case you lost the robot.

That was quite timely but that time with your friend they put Numbers up out of sheer boredom finding the large number of people who owned one in their home even if it was low resources is surprising that much of society is dependent on these robots but there is no more time to digress you have to act the robot is in a bad situation. You approached her slowly to move her neck very carefully but when you gave her a little push to separate her head from the door your wrist was grabbed very tightly.

What do you think you're doing!? - said the robot with anger in his eyes.

"I just want to help," you answer somewhat scared. "it was all so sudden."

Lie - exclaimed the robot- you just want to disarm me and sell my parts as scrap.

It's not true - you answered somewhat altered it seemed that his grip was stronger, it was hurting you. - my pity, let me go. please

The robot gave you a last look at Stan before releasing you definitely, you weighed your wrist and then turned your gaze to the robot that was still sitting seemed so upset but also hurt not only in appearance but also emotionally.

You can really believe me or not but I won't hurt you, I just want to help you - you told the robot as you raised your hands in a signal that you had nothing planned to attack it.

Why? - answered the robot.

What? - you looked at him confused.

Because you want to help me, not since I am just an old-fashioned tin because not selling my parts or sending me to the nearest dump is not easier that I say - I bitterly laugh - there are thousands as I am easy to replace get a new one.

Hey don't say that - the robot looks at you mockingly - I know it sounds stupid but I don't think it's replaceable - sure your owner misses you.

So my owner - he laughed again with bitterness - he was the one who did this to me you know - he said pointing to his wound on his face - he already has two other new models I was only adorning for the bizarre wishes of his eldest daughter where I was his feet, a parparry table and... And... - the robot made a big pause while he clenched his fist - then I got tired of that deal and wanted to run away but my owner wouldn't let me shoot myself so I wouldn't run away but didn't let me not this time so despite that I just ran, ran and ran without looking back until I couldn't stand it anymore I came to hide here after you appeared.

Oh wow - you were really surprised poor robot deserves to be free - thank you for sharing this with me.

Yes - a little laugh of tiredness came out of the lips of that robot - honestly it was rare for me to think that only the information came out. - the robot replied.

Let me take you to my house tomorrow we'll go with a mechanic and you'll go do whatever you want outside - you tell the robot you think it really deserves something better.

Wait what!? - the robot was really surprised by your proposal - because you would do that for me we hardly know each other.

"That's true," you replied, "but it's not good to leave you here either."

I smiled at him, the robot didn't have many options to go with you even if it's quite a lie what you say doesn't matter anymore after all the robot already knows that its fate will be destruction so shit matters.

"Okay, I'll go with you," says the robot as he gets out of the ground.

You couldn't help but give that machine a slight smile.

By the way, what's your name? - you ask him while driving your vehicle.

There was no immediate response just when you left the parking lot to reach a traffic light.

"I have no name," he says as he looks out the window, "it's not something we're made to carry names.

But what do you say!? - surprised - well if you're thinking of leaving your life behind it would be good to give yourself a name.

The robot takes his eyes out of the window to stare with confused faces.

You deserve a name - not just calling yourself for who you are - you are entitled to a name - you answer.

Right you say - the robot seems to look away again at the sale - you're ridiculous you knew.

What about William or jack? , alex is also a good name, there's also brendon, Cody, tayler, josh - you say random name hoping your companion will say something.

Are you serious? - I ask the robot in confusion.

Oh you prefer more foreign names you could be Francisco, akira, Bruno - you keep suggesting names the rest of the way.

Enough is enough... Zacharie - I answer zacharie while you smile.

Zacharie if it suits you I could also tell you zach for short - you answer him with joy.

At last they reach their destination their beautiful home, look at zach a little worried about his condition.

Zach I hope to help you and that you can be free, maybe can not promise me that everything will go well 100% but I will. - zach will just seem more confused but deep down his metallic self wants to have some confidence in you.