#christmas is about love and celebration and family and community

[sga-owns-my-soul]

hey can we like. can we go back to celebrating things when they actually happen instead of 4 months in advance. i've been seeing halloween shit for a month and a half. halloween hasn't even HAPPENED yet and now im seeing christmas stuff. they got the back to school stuff out the second week of july

im just. im so sick of getting holidays and events shoved down my throat for months and then there's not even any time to enjoy it bc the next fuckin thing is being shoved down your throat. can we just go back to actually celebrating holidays when they happen. pls

[o-sachi]

Blue Lock Filo! AU Headcanons

𖤓 feat. isagi, bachira, chigiri, kunigami, barou, nagi, reo, sae, rin, karasu, otoya, hiori, shidou, oliver, yukimiya 𖤓 tags: college au, filo au, crack (kinda), sfw, written in Taglish because ???, not proofread lel

note: I'm sorry if your uni isn't here. My knowledge of universities in the country is limited to the big 4 and some others that participate in uaap sobbb

note 2: Send me your own hcs too plspls

note 3: filo moots sana magkaron haha what if

Isagi

He goes to UST and will correct you (nicely) about how to pronounce "Thomasian"

Goes to church with his family every Sunday without failure

He's close with his extended family too, especially the grandparents.

Golden child. Siya yung bata na example ng nanay mo na dapat gayahin mo raw.

A fan of indie Pinoy bands and watches indie Pinoy films.

Cup of Joe fan lol

Too shy to ask anyone out for the Christmas event sa UST (sorry limot ko na ano tawag).

Is in UST, but probably not taking up medicine. Parents were supportive of it though.

Mabilis mag-reply. He uses the 👍 and 😊 unironically

Friends with a lot of questionable/cancelable guys, but he's still genuinely the nice one among them

When he visits a friend's house, he's always chatting up their parents and helping around the house without being asked

Generic sinigang enjoyer :shrug:

Pretty much an average guy. Though he is definitely nicer than most. It shocks you.

(Sorry wala na ko maisip pero basta green flag siya).

Bachira

Goes to UP Diliman for fine arts

A manic pixie dream boy that girls gush about when they see him hanging out at the sunken gardens

Knows all the brainrot and even the Pinoy brainrot

Does the "Ha? Halaman" and says "Sinong nagtanong?"

Loves Jollibee because it's cheap and it tastes good

Spaghetti and Jollihotdog enjoyer

Social anxiety fears him. He'll do mostly everything you ask him for 20 pesos (sometimes for free)

Celebrated his 4th birthday at Jollibee and has a picture with the mascot lol

Bardagulan enjoyer

Has been casted in plays before and is genuinely good at acting

See him running in campus because he's always late to class

Puts too many songs in the karaoke but never finishes the songs because he gets bored halfway through

Runs a FB meme page...

Actually dresses nicely. Hindi mukhang pakboi

Not afraid sumabit sa jeep. Either sa tabi siya ni manong or sabit

Chigiri

Went to some fancy all boys like Brent, then is now in Ateneo

Could be studying business ??

Not conyo. Just straight up English with a really good accent

imessage lang daw mode of communication niya

Always wearing a button up, khaki pants, and loafers na Sperry or sandals from Birkenstock

Was featured in a commercial when he was younger

His mom was very active in the PTA. Their family was often the topic of chismis because yk maraming inggit sa paligid.

Does not listen to OPM or watch Filipino movies because 'corny' daw 'yun

Mabagal mag-reply since he's always busy doing something

Calls people 'baduy' or 'jologs' or 'jejemon' because he can

MATARAY SI ATE KO

Will never catch him on a dating app because, again, it's so baduy daw

Kunigami

I dunno but... UP Baguio vibes siya lol

Will always always always post on his story of him running along the campus

May post palagi ng gym progress at Strava stats niya

People think he's thirst trapping, but really, he's not

Also very close with family and they celebrate all holidays together no matter what

Karinderya food enjoyer (same)

Loves anything na lutong bahay tbh. He's not picky with food.

Mabagal din mag-reply pero that's because he's not chronically online

Does not get internet memes or references. Lolo po siya.

A really good kuya! The type to intimidate his sisters' boyfriends if they ever come to visit their house.

Probably also plays basketball too. They used to live near a gym/ring. He played a lot with the neighborhood kids.

Watches NBA and Manny's boxing matches

Shot puno. Red Horse. San Mig.

Pag nalasing nag-dadrama tapos kakanta ng malungkot na song sa karaoke

Laging naka sando LOL

Barou

UP DILIMAN TOO AND STUDYING ARCHITECTURE

Makes insanely good plates

Laging napapagalitan ni lola kasi nakasimangot palagi

Lola's boy by the way

Gets insane road rage because of the god awful traffic

"Putangina traffic na naman." / "Parang gago 'to mag-drive." / "Sige. Singit pa, hayop ka." (sa naka-motor)

Fan siya ng F1

Malutong magmura lmfaooo

Also a gym bro but doesn't care about sharing it on social media

Barely any social media presence

Tutors his younger siblings

Isn't ashamed of taking food from parties, stuffing it in a tupperware, and heading his merry way home

Argues with people on FB because he can

"Anong sinasabi mo. Bobo ka ba?"

Term of endearment niya ay "Tanga"

Nagi

Parents always get mad at him kasi nga tamad.

Also because he was a picky eater as a child. Would rather starve than eat that one ampalaya dish (was always served at his household which pissed him off)

Wanted to go to the same university as Reo but Ateneo is too serious for him. So he went with sports science in NU

They make sure to meet up still

Always misses his stops because he falls asleep or zones out

He's the guy in class who always has his airpods on no matter what

Hoodie, baggy pants, dunks

Mahilig umutang, pa-unti unti, pero madalas nalilimutan

"Ah. May utang ako? Sorry, nalimutan ko siguro."

COD player na palaging may battle pass no matter what. Nainis siya isang beses kasi sinabihan siya ng PC MASTER RACE. Eh cellphone gamer lang siya

Obviously, he had his ML phase

Trashtalker siguro. "Tulog ka na. Bata," type shi

Teachers always forced him to join the events in the sports fest

Reo

Siyempre, Ateneo 'yan. Management Engineering pa. 'Di niyo kinayaaaa

CONYO 'YAN FOR SURE

He's in a bunch of orgs and stuff because he's a social butterfly like that

May nanay na judgmental sa ibang pamilya lmfao

Was in one of those interviews on campus asking students about their daily baon

"Ah. Isn't 1k a day normal? It's kulang pa nga eh since I live sa condo."

Ayun. Nakatira sa condo pala.

Goes golfing with his dad and posts his swing on IG stories

Crypto bro. Shares his crypto stats(?) sa IG stories

Humble bragger kahit saan. Personal or on social media

Same porma with Chigiri pero mas madalas naka-polo shirt siya

Ralph Lauren and Lacoste boy

Laging VIP seats sa concerts. May napila sa SM tickets para sa kanya

Lowkey a D-list or C-list celebrity

Friends with Filo actors and actresses

Sae

Also Ateneo (Sorry ang daming Ateneo. Alam ko. Pero those are the vibes eh.)

Definitely went for medicine and is planning to study even more sa foreign country

The golden boy of their clan. Always receives the most praise and pasalubong from relatives

He hates hearing the "Ang laki mo na!" greeting

Never engaged in the pagmamano and saying of "po" and "opo"

SURPRISINGLY, he enjoys the dirty ice cream they sell on a cone (it's not actually dirty btw, it's what we call ice cream sold by carts on the street. it's edible dw)

Possibly a frat boy

Gets so many message requests on messenger and insta but he ignores them all

Strava enthusiast din

You'll see him running in all of the best gear

Not conyo. He actually speaks mostly Tagalog but there's that slight 'maarte' accent there

Hates being called 'rich kid' kesyo baduy din daw LMAO

They have a driver, so many yayas, a gardener... ay basta kumpleto staff nila

Ayaw nung staff sa kanya kasi suplado

Drives a BMW

Rin

Went to La Salle and got into LeapMed just to spite his older brother and prove to them that he is better

Relatives always compare them

Even though they're rich, he probably got a lot of hand-me-downs from kuya, which pissed him off SO MUCH

Not a fan of Filipino movies, but he likes the horror movies. He says some of them are really well-crafted and gives a good scare sometimes

Unlike Sae, Rin likes homemade food. I see him liking Menudo lol (I mean, who doesn't?)

Refuses to commute. He's driving or he's being driven. No buts.

Mas gusto siya ng staff sa bahay nila lol

He grew up with a specific yaya. They're actually still close now. He's closer to her than his parents.

The conyo one. Mahilig mag-mura pero exclusively English 'yan.

Takes the longest to reply kaya 'yan walang ka-talking stage lol

100% has beef with the younger members of his extended family. He has that annoying cousin that he tripped once because why not

He hates family reunions, of course

Karasu

UPLB. Fo sho.

Chemical engineering definitely.

Halimaw yarnnn (heart eyes heart eyes)

Bro pulls up to class in a shirt, basketball shorts, and flip flops

Not a fan of the nightlife there, but is a certified manginginom LMAO

Can outdrink his dad and titos. Kahit lambanog pa 'yan

Extra respectful to the ladies in his family. Gets ultra pissed off when someone jokes about getting with his mom or older sister

Malutong din magmura

His personal favorite is "gago" HAHAHA

Medyo dry mag-chat, walang emojis (pero 'yun ang gusto ng mga babae apparently)

Not a fan of Manila (smells weird daw there)

Secretly makes fun of conyo people lol

Street food enjoyer. His favorite is probably isaw or squid balls. Matamis and maasim sauce please !

He can cook, but his mom cooks better, so taga-saing na lang siya ng bigas lol

Mahilig siya sa tapsilog siguro.

Lives off of energy drinks to survive the semester

Crush ko siya. Hala headcanon ba yan HAHAHAHA

Otoya (Oh boy oh boy)

Engineering as well, but at Mapua. Probably electrical engineering or industrial

Gwapo na mabango HAHAHA

VAPES. Onti na lang naka-lanyard na vape niya

Listens to Zild and Hev abi...

Araw-araw may IG story ng car niya, ng music na pinapakinggan niya, or panibagong soft launch

Fan siya ng American Psycho at Blade Runner kasi he is him daw (akala niya siya si Ryan Gosling na may pinagdadaanan...)

Nasa Tinder at Bumble. Bio reads: "Let's see where it takes us."

Na-cancel na sa Twitter before pero wala siyang pakialam (unbothered king?!)

Favorite song ang FE!N

Rap fan 'yan eh

Nako... may Telegram 'yan

Valorant e-boy. Kailangan may duo palagi.

Says he's into cute chinitas probably

Laging may note sa IG or sa messenger lol

"Kumain ka na ba?" texts (hala siya)

Of course, good morning at good night texts din

Frat boy siguro (may frat ba sa Mapua? sorry hindi ko knows)

Drinks a lot, but he can't handle his liquor. Gigising na lang siya the next day may video siya sa boy's GC na kung anu-ano ginagawa.

Hiori

Computer Science probably. Also in UPLB. (Ang probinsyano?? HAHAHAHA)

Studying? Why study when he can be at the computer shop? He lives there, pretty much

Dorms because he wants to get away from his family

Can't be bothered with org/frat culture

Tambay sa forums like freedom walls/reddit/etc

Sumasali siya sa e-sports tournaments

LoL and DOTA player, of course

Also plays a bunch of stuff on Steam as well though. Pero babalik at babalik pa rin sa LoL

Also plays Valorant. Smurfs for fun because he likes crushing the hopes and dreams of people. "Sala ka pa. Haha, tanga," type shi.

Always down for the early morning runs to 7-11 or whatever's open at that hour

Puro pancit canton kinakain. Puro Mountain Dew iniinom.

He and his friends always talk about PC specs...

"Hindi, pre. Mas maayos pa rin 'yung ano..."

Shidou

Also from La Salle maybe? Not the Taft branch though. Hindi kasing yaman nung iba siguro.

Fine arts student! May art account siya sa IG

Napalabas siya sa McDo dati kasi masyadong maingay

Would probably vlog a day of his life at La Salle

Posts all the unhinged shit on their freedom wall and fucks with the people from the Taft branch lol

The reason why their group chat cannot be leaked under any circumstance AT ALL

Always has the weirdest nickname in their messenger group chat

Somehow I get the vibe that he enjoys inihaw lol (same)

Napunta rin minsan sa computer shop. But very rarely because he gets too heated and starts making a ruckus there (mapapalabas na naman)

Expert commuter. Baha has nothing on him. Waterproof siya.

Would probably engage in frat culture, but only for fun

A party animal. 10 seconds niya yung Cuervo ez

Oliver

Umm UP Manila Political Science? Maybe?

Always nominated for council positions or other important roles in university organizations lol

Major kuya vibes kasi

ANONG VAPE VAPE? DIRETSO MARLBORO RED NA

Which is giving out first? His liver or his lungs? Abangan.

Unlike Otoya, he doesn't really date girls at the same time, but more so, he moves faster than what you'd expect (may rebound palagi kumbaga)

Posts on his IG story always with the intention of capturing the attention of someone lol (lagi siya humahakot haha)

"It's not you. It's me."

Bro thinks he's the male lead of a Filipino indie romance film

Cannot shut up about I'm Drunk I Love You

Frequents BGC clubs as well. Aspired to be a DJ once

Lahat ng messaging apps meron 'yan. Replies very fast too.

Search up BGC Boy playlists on Spotify. That's what he does, at least.

Yukimiya

Maybe goes to Normal U. because he wants to be a teacher/professor

The typical softboi you see at a cafe reading a book or typing away on his MacBook

So many girls like him, but he's the type to be in a long-term relationship with a high school sweetheart or something

Most of his stories are of him studying (his notes, his coffee with his notes, his laptop screen)

Ben&Ben listener LMAOOO

Possibly also a lifestyle vlogger or podcaster

Keeps getting offers to model for local brands

Possibly religious (his whole family is)

He looks like he would like adobo. 'Yung may toyo, hindi ung tuyo (ANG RANDOM BAHAHAH)

Munimuni listener (he was sad when the vocalist left)

Wants to win a Carlos Palanca award eventually

Looks like the type to advocate for the local culture and is against colonial mentality

My brain ran out of ideas that's why some are shorter than the others lol

[judespoets]

dramatic | jobe bellingham

summary: this req

pairing: jobe bellingham x fem!reader

genre: angst/fluff

warnings: slight arguments and harsh words; not proof read!

Jobe and you were seatet next to each other on the large table, decorated with Christmas decor and filled with delicious food. You were celebrating Christmas together at the Bellingham house this year.

"Can you please give me the potatoes, (Y/N)?" you heard the familiar voice of your boyfriend, Jobe ask you, pulling you out of your daydreams.

"yup" you answered shortly, reaching for the potatoes in front of you and handing them to Jobe without giving him a look in the eyes.

The two of you had a fight earlier but were too late to communicate and solve it so you got to the Bellingham's pretty angry with each other, the harsch words you exchanged still lingering in the back of your mind.

It was a stupid argument about Jobe running late which resulted in you doing all the chores at home alone. You usually didn't mind but you were sad and angry at that moment, turning the conversation into a heated argument.

The tension was unbearable and you really tried to hide that you were mad at each other but you saw how everyone noticed. It wasn't the usual warm, lovely mood in the room and every time you thought about Jobe's words, your eyes started watering just a little bit.

The attention was currently not on you and Jobe right now as you felt a familiar hand placing itself on your thigh, making you shiver.

"(Y/N) please just stop being so dramatic about this right now." was what you heard him whispering inside to you.

And that was it. The room fell silent as they heard your chair scraping across the floor. You stood up as quickly as you could, excusing yourself in a hurry and quickly running up the stairs into Jobe's childhood bedroom.

Maybe you were overreacting but you were hurt, for you, Jobe’s words hurt, and he didn’t seem to understand that.

As you were sat in Jobe’s old room the dining room was silent until the older Bellingham spoke up.

“What happened man? I have never seen (Y/N) so sad and quiet.” he asked his brother.

Jobe sighed, “I came home much later than I told her I would today. We agreed to do the chores together and then just spend the day together. We had like this huge argument and I said some pretty bad things.” he said regretfully, burying his face in his hands.

“I don’t know why it’s such a big deal for her tho. I mean we are together now.” he said, looking at his brother.

“Jobe, she wanted to spend some of Christmas with you, only you. I would’ve been hurt too.” Denise popped in.

“What did you say tho? That she’s so upset?” Jude asked carefully.

Jobe sighed again, looking absolutely regretful. “I said that maybe we shouldn’t spend any time at all together anymore, since she’s so upset about me being late this one time, I don’t even know why I said that.” he added.

“That’s fucked man, even I wouldn’t have said that.” Jude said.

“Jobe, please talk to her. It’s early. Don’t ruin her whole Christmas.” Denise said, slight disappointment evident in her voice.

Jobe immediately stood up, coming towards the bedroom, knocking on the door carefully.

You didn’t say anything, you wanted to talk but at the same time you just wanted him to leave you alone, to not hurt you anymore.

As the door opened slowly, the oh so familiar face greeted you. He looked different tho, guilty almost.

“What do you want?” you snapped.

“(Y/N)-“

“No Jobe, if you just want to argue again, go away.” you admitted, looking down hurt.

“Baby, no. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things.” he answered, sitting down next to you.

“Obviously.” you answered.

“I want to spend time with you. I always do.”

“Didn’t seem like that when you were late today.” you told him, obviously angry now.

“I know. And I’m really sorry. I didn’t know that today was so important to you.” Jobe said, putting his arm around you, holding you as he saw the tears forming in your eyes.

“I just- you know that my family is not here. And I was alone the whole day, I love christmas and I just wanted to spend it with you, I really put a lot of thought into your present and I couldn’t even give it to you in private. Jobe, you really, really hurt me today.” You admitted truthfully, all that anger turning into sadness as the tears kept running down your cheeks.

Jobe’s grip around you tightened with your words, he felt really bad.

“I really fucked up today. I know that. And I was so focused on the fact that I will see my family today that I totally forgot you can’t spend Christmas with yours. I promise I will look after your feelings more. I’m sorry, baby.” He told you, placing kisses on your head.

“I know. And thank you, for apologizing.” You said.

“I love you, (Y/N). And I want to spend every Christmas with you, forever.” He said, kissing your forehead.

You closed your eyes at the feeling, finally feeling comfortable again.

“Do you want to go down again? Get some food in you, you didn’t eat a lot yet.” Jobe asked you, his fingers stroking yours.

“Yeah.” You said, wanting to get up again.

“Hey!” Jobe called out, pulling you down again.

He took his thumbs and wiped away the tears on your cheeks. Kissing both of your eyes carefully.

“I will never make you cry again, my love.” He told you, finally connecting his lips with yours.

[just-a-ghost00]

Winter is coming ❄️

What are the energies awaiting you for the upcoming winter? Which messages and advice does your spirit team wish to convey to you in preparation for this time of the year? To find out, select one of the following groups either based on the number or the picture.

Group 1 Deer

6 of wands, knight of swords, The Lovers, 4 of wands, ace of wands, 6 of cups

Oh dear 😉 group 1 it seems like this Winter season will be a lucky time of the year for you. You may be receiving communication that you were waiting for and that will make you extremely happy. This may be especially true if you were hoping for significant progress within a romantic connection. If that is your case, your person of interest may very well be willing to kiss your under the mistletoe this Christmas. Whether you were in separation or not, the flame will be rekindled and this connection may very well be taking a new turn. If you were mere acquaintances this could progress into a solid crush. If you were casually dating, this person may be asking you to be their lover. If you were in a relationship for a while, they may be proposing to you a form of commitment. I feel like this is something you had been fighting for for a while now, which will feel like a major victory for you. If we’re not talking about a person, this could be about a project that was very dear to you. Possibly something related to your childhood and your home. So for instance, and this may be very specific so take what resonates, if you were hoping to buy your childhood home to keep it in the family and pass it down to your children, you may be able to this Winter. You may also be invited by your parents to spend the Winter with them for those of you that are living away from your loved ones. Overall I pick up on various good news and a very good energy to be celebrating and spending good times with the ones you love. You are encouraged to remain optimistic and cherish the good vibes. Keep working toward your goals, don’t be afraid to express your love and needs around you and enjoy your Winter.

Group 2 Rabbit

Justice, 9 of swords, ace of swords, World, Wheel of fortune, 2 of wands

This Winter you will be gaining clarity about a situation that was troubling you. This could have been a work situation, something about your health, about your family, friends or partner. This could be anything. It could have involved legal procedures but this doesn’t have to be the case for everyone. I feel like though the first part of Winter may be challenging and tiring you will quickly gain momentum and get back on track. Major change is coming into your life. You may be travelling during Winter and making new plans for the future. I feel like for a lot of you this could be work related. Maybe you were jobless and desperate to find a new contract. If that is the case I see you getting a job away from your home. For some of you, you could have applied for a project or a school and were waiting to see if that worked out. You may receive an official reply that you have been accepted provided that you pass a test or an interview. Some of you may have to travel to deal with legal matters. Perhaps these legal issues do not involve you directly but a family member. These will only be temporary. You are asked to trust the process and keep your calm, make sure that you get the rest you need and keep in mind that better days are coming. You are strong enough to overcome this situation and you have what it takes to turn the wheel and create your luck.

Group 3 Sparrow

Tower, 4 of pentacles, 4 of wands, knight of swords, 2 of swords, Judgement

An unexpected event will lead you to having to re evaluate everything in your life. This is something that you will not see coming and it may be difficult for you to adapt in this situation. Your life will be completely turned upside down and this may feel like a bad thing at first because of the suddenness of this change. This may be related to your finances and/or your home. The event may take the shape of a letter or a mail that you didn’t expect. It could be a legal decision regarding your job, your home, a relationship of any kind. You may feel confused and at a loss of what to do. You may feel insecure and want to cling to your former state. Spirit is asking you to let go and let yourself be guided to whatever next stage follows this upheaval. There will be people and instances that you can rely on and you are encouraged to solicit those. Communication will be extremely important in this situation. Winter may be a very challenging time for you, a period of transition in all areas of your life. You may have to suddenly move out of your home, change your job, change your status from committed to celibate or vice versa, depending on your situation. You aren’t necessarily losing something per se. Rather I feel like you are gaining something but that something is uncertain for now and may vary depending on your case. It’s like your plans are being countered by the Universe’s prerogatives. Though this may be frightening you will later on understand why this was necessary.

[ac3may]

"One of us"

(Lando Norris x Fem!Reader)

F1 Requests = Open

It's a little later than I'd like it but here's a little Christmas something, something to kick off my F1 content.

Also first proper SMAU, how'd I do??

Description: "Reader joins the Norris family for their Christmas celebrations and realises just how much they mean to her through a few short days"

Masterlist

Who I Write For

Words: 1.8k

UrUsername has posted a story

“UNCLE LALA!”

A bright smile spreads across your boyfriend's face as he catches the small bundle of energy catapulting herself toward him. Mila’s legs fly behind her as he spins and she relishes in her uncle's attention. 

Smiling softly at the sight, the Christmas lights decorating his parent's country home glisten in the background. You begin unloading your suitcases from the car as tiny footsteps and little giggles disappear across the sprawling gravel driveway.

Soon enough Lando’s arms sneak around your waist, halting any attempt at movement. “I can do that, Lovey.” His lips pepper kisses to your hairline as he inches you aside gently.

“I can help too,” you insist, stubborn words contrasting your actions as you grin at the roll of eyes and scoff he returns. 

“You know that’s not how this works baby.” 

Smirking a little to yourself you resign yourself to watching happily. The Christmas jumper spread taught across his back, muscles rippling through the knitwear as he works. Catching his eye with a wink when he turns.

When you pull yourself from focusing on the handsome man you begin working in tandem, unloading his packed SUV of presents and suitcases for your week ahead.

UrUsername posted on instagram

UrUsername: Ski trip? Completed it✔️ Bring on Norris family xmas '24

The home that greets you is warm, the air scented with a glorious mix of gingerbread and cinnamon. You manage a single step through the front door before Cisca immediately fusses over you.

Exchanging hugs, collecting coats and ignoring her son entirely. Which has you giggling as he huffs and grumbles behind you. 

Further down the hallway Adam and Oli have gathered, baby Athena resting peacefully in her grandfather's arms. They let out much fuller laughs at your boy as the Belgian woman continues to dot on you.

Your hands emptied and you're ushered towards her daughters (and daughter-in-law), all watching on in amusement, hot drinks in hand.

Lando has lugged both of your large suitcases inside and is midway kicking off his shoes when his mother finally turns to him. A sassy remark falls from his lips as he embraces her tightly, a loving grin on his lips as he catches your gaze over her shoulder. 

'I love you,' your lips form the words silently as you mouth your affections, and he returns the silent words as you're both swept in different directions. The Norris women surround you and drag you further into the open-plan kitchen, pressing a warm mug into your hold, desperate to hear all about the ski trip you had recently returned from. Meanwhile, Mila hurricanes into the entryway gaining the full focus of the Norris men. Cisca stands back, admiring her family finally gathered together under one roof.

lando.jpg posted on instagram

lando.jpg: 🦌☃️❤️

After a big family breakfast and a long thirty-minute attempt at getting the entire family out the door, you were squished in Lando’s backseat between his sisters. You had given up your passenger princess privileges so Adam could sit up front with his son. Who had adamantly refused to give up the control of driving to ride in his parent's backseat. The rest of the Norris clan follows behind you in Savannah’s car. 

In following family tradition you’d all decided to spend Christmas Eve in the local town. You were beyond excited to see the small countryside town your boyfriend had been raised in. 

Festivities were in full swing when you arrived. You were quickly informed that it was the last day of the holiday market, which annually caused the whole community to gather and have a collective celebration. With Lando’s hand wrapped warmly around yours, you gazed around in awe. 

Music was playing from speakers throughout the small village of stands, all set up by local businesses. There was even a small petting zoo and stable where families gathered for a chance to meet donkeys, sheep, goats, chickens, and even reindeer.

What took your breath away though was the big, bushy, towering tree standing in the centre of the town square, draped in lights and baubles, a gold glowing star shining on top.

“Woah.”

You breathe the word almost silently, catching Lando’s attention his head turns to eye you adoringly. “Pretty, huh?” He offers, giving a squeeze to your hand.

You nod in return, childlike glee shining in your eyes as you peer up at him. Giggles escape as he enjoys your joy, tugging lightly to pull you with him into the maze of festive joy in front of you.

savnorris reposted UrUsername's story

The sun begins to dip beyond the horizon as the family gathers together, you among them. Empty hot chocolate cups littering the table in front of you. Mila perches on your lap, both tiny hands wrapped protectively around the carrot she had spent seven minutes meticulously picking. She had spent the whole time excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet, eyes wide, as she anticipated providing the treat for Santa’s reindeer that evening. 

Despite the light tickles you leave up and down the sides of the tiring girl in your hold your focus is towards the curly-haired boy across from you. His attention is captured by the youngest Norris, little giggles escaping her as he pulls faces and blows raspberries against her rosy cheeks.

Moments later collective cheering distracts you and all heads turn towards the stage which has stood empty all day. The town band now stand upon it, jingle bells sounding as they begin to play. Folk around you start to dance and sing away. A bright smile beams across your face and the little girl in your arms perks up as well, jumping to her feet in front of you. 

“Tee! Tee! Dance with me!” With her calling out for her aunts you direct your attention to the stage, but only for several seconds before an insistent hand is tugging at yours. “Tee! Tee! Dance!” 

You look around for Flo or Cisca before your eyes meet back with the small ones honed on you, “… me?” You ask the girl, pointing at yourself, confusion laced in your tone. 

“Duh!” You see your boyfriend in her at her sassy remark, feeling another impatient tug on your fingers. Scrambling over your shock you scramble to your feet, taking both tiny hands in your own as you jump, twirl, giggle and sing with the two-year-old.

Collapsing heavily onto the sofa beside you Lando grumbles, dramatically clutching at his stomach.

“I. Am. Stuffed.” He declares, shuffling around to get comfortable before draping his limbs around you lazily. 

You laugh at the boy as he clutches to you like a child, still wiggling into the perfect position. He continues to groan in frustration before huffing and forcing your hand upon his head. “Scratch.” He demands.

Internally you can’t help but be amused and a little enamoured with his sass, loving his clingy moods and the fact he’s so comfortable with you in front of his family.

But outwardly you quirk an eyebrow, Lando puffs his lips into a pout giving you big puppy eyes as he adds a soft, “please,” to his sentence.

A little laugh escapes you and you concede easily to his wishes, watching the immediate way his face relaxes. 

The TV plays low in the background as the family slowly filters through to join you lounging in the living room. Mila plays with a collection of toy cars on a mat in the middle of the carpet as you speak in soft tones with Flo and Oli as their brother dozes in your lap.

The matriarch of the family is the last to enter through the door of her living room, arms stacked high with gifts.

Adam jumps from the armchair he’d claimed, quick to help his wife with the wobbling pile. She smiles gratefully and leaves again only to reappear moments later with two boxes and a second stack.

Hearing the crinkle of paper your boyfriend's eyes flutter open and his head perks up, swivelling to face his parents as they distribute packages to the occupants around the room.

“Christmas Eve packages,” Lando informs you, “my parents have done them ever since we were kids, usually something matching just to ‘get us in the spirit’,” his explanation finishes with finger quotations, his reaction speed only barely quick enough to catch the present launched towards his face in the process. 

“And this one’s for you darling,” Cisca’s motherly tone reaches you and her warm eyes meet yours. She hands the gift to you a loving smile on her face, one you recognise all too well from the way you saw it mirrored on Lando’s daily. Watching the shy smile that plays on your lips as you flip the parcel over in your hands Lando can’t help but press a kiss to your cheek. 

“You’re one of us now baby,” he grins, noticing the surprise tracing your features. His grin morphs into a smirk as a thought flicks through his head.

Linking your fingers together he raises them up. Lips brushing against your ring finger, “only thing left now is for me to put a ring on it.”

UrUsername posted on instagram

UrUsername: holiday dumps do it better🎄✨

“Hey, bubs?”

Lando hums in response, snuggling his nose further into your neck, as if he could get any closer. His position already left half your body smothered by him. Carding your fingers rhythmically through his dark hair you continue, your voice gentle, unwilling to break the peaceful bubble you’d created within his childhood bedroom. 

“Thank you.”

His head pulls back from you, yours tilting down to meet his eyes. Lando rolls off of you but still manages to create no distance as he props himself on his side. “What for Lovey?”

Your eyes roam down his, now bare, chest to spy his plaid pyjama trousers as you are flooded with the recollection of your evening. Of how only hours before you had watched him stubbornly argue against the matching nightwear until you batted your eyes at him. Of the teasing he’d received for the quick dissolve of his resolve. Of Mila’s excitement as she placed her carefully selected carrot beside the cookies you’d helped her bake. Of Lando’s boyish grin as you dusted the crumbs of said cookies from his chin several hours later. Of the giggles shared over glasses of mulled wine and tipsy twister once the young ones were sound asleep. 

“For everything,” you eventually respond, “for inviting me to spend the holidays with you, for your family accepting me, for you loving me, for everything.” The twinkle of love in your eye shines brightly, and is returned in his as he sees the emotion take hold of you.

“You never need to thank me for loving you, Y/N L/N. It’s an honour in itself for you to allow me the pleasure of loving you. And my family agree.” His palm raises to cup against your cheek, fingers tucking a few rogue strands of hair behind your ear as his lips tenderly meet yours, plushy and perfect.

(All pictures taken from Pinterest and edited for story purposes and fan consumption)

[greensagephase]

Nonviolent Communication - Part Seven

***Beautiful sketches for this chapter were made by two lovely artists and I'm ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE with them!! Please go and show them some love!! They captured Miguel so BEAUTIFULLY!! You can find them here and here. Thank you so much guys, I'm so in love with them and will always cherish them 🥹❤️ @sunsetdoodler @lauraolar14 ***

Miguel O'Hara x SpideyFemReader

Summary: It's Christmas Eve and Mr. and Mrs. Morales ask you to do something for them.

Word Count: 11,729 (I'm just gonna shut up about the word count at this point and just say I'm sorry.)

Warnings: Some readers may not recognize some food items mentioned but it's not too important for the plot, however, a brief description is included at the end if you're interested; mention of reader's family and their Christmas days (good memories); Miguel (I won't elaborate)

Music inspo while writing: (I'm obsessed with the ATSV album so much that Metro Boomin has been my #1 artist on Spotify for months lmao)

"Link Up" - Metro Boomin, Don Toliver, Wizkid, BEAM, Toian

"Self Love" - Metro Boomin, Coi Leray

"Hummingbird" - Metro Boomin, James Blake

"Calling" - Metro Boomin, Swae Lee, NAV, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie

"Nonviolent Communication" - Metro Boomin, James Blake, A$AP Rocky, 21 Savage (you already know)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine |

Part Seven

You returned to your apartment after Miguel showed you his ofrenda. You didn’t sleep. The candy and coffee Miguel gave you kept you up and so you resumed your chores, but your mind was elsewhere. It was occupied. By Miguel, who smiled at you that night. You couldn’t and won’t forget the sight of it. It’s branded into your brain forever. Even when you eventually found yourself in bed under your warm sheets that night, you laid there and stared at the ceiling.

He smiled at you. It was small but it was a smile. He showed you his ofrenda and shared food with you. You tossed and turned that night thinking that maybe… it was safe to assume you’re friends with Miguel. You couldn’t help but wonder if he thought the same about you though. You eventually decided that either way, you’re happy he has shared those moments with you.

There was a shift between the two of you, of course. It was like a door opened. A door that Miguel himself unlocked and opened for you to walk through. And he had in a sense, as that night he wished, for the first time, that you would cross his boundary lines by asking questions and sharing your thoughts with him.

As the days go on, you continue to spend time with him on missions, before meetings, and of course, when you organize his lab. You notice Lyla starts to involve him more in conversations when you’re there. He surprisingly adds to the conversation sometimes. He still doesn’t want to intrude, especially when he knows Lyla loves talking to you. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t pay more attention now though.

You’re also surprised when the following week after Dia de los Muertos, Lyla offers you snacks, mentioning that Miguel keeps candy in a hidden cabinet. He adds that you’re welcome to grab any. You don’t fail to notice that the cabinet contains the candy from that night, specifically the ones you enjoyed the most. What you don’t know is that no one else was informed about this candy cabinet.

The holidays quickly arrive. You spend Thanksgiving Day at Peter’s universe with Mary Jane, Mayday, and the rest of your friend group. For the first time in three years, you celebrate and feel the holiday spirit. With each passing day, you feel lighter. That feeling of moving forward grows each day.

As the days go by, the beautiful colors of autumn begin to fade. The leaves part ways with the trees with the promise that new ones will sprout in the spring. The days and nights are colder. The city is covered in snow. Christmas trees are displayed behind condensed windows. Lively Christmas music fills your ears almost everywhere you go when you go out on errands.

As always, the month of December flies by and suddenly you find yourself on Miles’s rooftop surrounded by his neighbors, friends, and family. It’s Christmas Eve and the building is having its annual party, to which you were invited by the Morales family.

You met Miles’s parents a few months ago, almost immediately after joining the Spider Society. According to Miles, he revealed his secret to them shortly after saving his dad from dying. The Morales not only know about Miles’s Spider-Man identity but also about the multiverse now. Due to that, Miles was able to introduce his friends to his parents, so they know everyone in Miles’s friend group. Once you were adopted by the group, you were no exception. You were introduced right away, and Miles’s parents took a liking to you quickly, which is how you found yourself invited to this party and other events in the past, including simple family dinners.

You’ve been here for over two hours now and have spent much of that time socializing both with your friends and Miles’s neighbors, who all seem curious about you and the rest of the group. You smile as you think of the many times you’ve had to say that you’re Miles’s mentor from school each time someone asks who you are. Of course, attending the party meant that all of you had to come up with excuses to avoid raising suspicions. Gwen is Miles’s girlfriend, but she lives outside of the city. Pav is a friend from school and you’re a school mentor. At least you guys had it simple and didn’t have to be as creative as Noir, who has spent much of his time up in the water tower hiding for obvious reasons with Peter Porker.

You lean over the rooftop’s parapet on your own in a less crowded section, trying to take a little break from so much socializing. You stare out at Miles’s neighborhood, listening to the music the DJ, who you were also introduced to, plays. He’s been playing some Christmas music here and there, mixed with other upbeat songs for the party. You hear the chatter and laughter. Children run in groups, excited about opening gifts soon. The city is covered in snow, and you heard from one of Miles’s aunts that a white Christmas is expected. You snuggle into your coat as you feel a breeze, thinking.

You can’t help but think about Peter. In a few months it’ll be four years since his death. You sigh. Time has really flown by. As your eyes scan the city, landing on other rooftops with people celebrating, you think about the first holidays without him. There were no decorations put out. No food was cooked. No parties or dinners were held or attended. You woke up on Christmas Day like it was any other day as you had already ended your previous friendships. There was no Peter waking you up with a grin telling you breakfast was ready, using that as an excuse to get you to go to the living room so you could start opening his gifts.  

On New Years, you slept through it as the rest of the city celebrated the arrival of another year. For you, it was just the beginning of the first full year without Peter.

With each year, you’ve slowly put some decorations here and there but until this year, you hadn’t put your Christmas tree up. You smile as you think of it now. You managed to do that this year. Yet another sign you’re moving in the right direction. And of course, being here now, that’s a sign of its own.

Even though you need a break from socializing, you look fondly over at your friends. The people that have turned into your little family. Yes, things have changed. Things are changing.

You have them, the Morales family, Jess… Miguel.

Your mind shifts to Miguel. You wonder what he’s doing now. What he did today. You saw him yesterday in passing as you were busy with missions that he wasn’t on. Then, there was an emergency at your universe just as there was an anomaly detected somewhere else, which he and other members handled. You meant to wish him happy holidays as he gave the Spider Society members today and tomorrow off but unfortunately you were unable to.

You feel your fingers graze your wrist, the one with your gizmo. You could send him a message, but you find the thought strange for some reason as you’ve never done that before. Maybe it would be weird, you think, but should you send Miguel a message and wish him a Merry Christmas regardless? You debate it as you look out into the city, your fingers grazing your wrist softly as you think of him.  

“Y/N!”

You turn in surprise, feeling like you were caught doing something wrong. You drop your hand from your wrist and regain your composure as your eyes fall on Mr. and Mrs. Morales, who stand in front of you. They both look pleased to see you. You notice Mrs. Morales is holding two plates wrapped in aluminum foil while Captain Morales holds two cans of soda, but you don’t think much about it.

“Mrs. Morales, Captain Morales, hey,” you say with a smile, still feeling startled.

“Sorry if we scared you, mija,” Mrs. Morales says. That’s another thing. Even though the Morales aren’t that much older than you, Mrs. Morales uses the endearing “mija” and each time she uses it, you can’t help but feel comforted by this.

You smile and shake your head. “It’s okay. I was just – thinking.”

The couple nods, giving you a knowing look. “We know holidays can be difficult with loved ones gone,” Mrs. Morales says in a tender and understanding tone as they both know about Peter and your overall lack of family and friends in your universe.

You nod and keep your smile, knowing very well that you weren’t thinking of Peter just now but of Miguel. You feel a little guilty, but you were thinking about Peter earlier, so it counts, right?

“Yes… the last couple of years haven’t been easy but I’m in a different headspace now,” you say with a pause, meaning it. “Thank you for inviting me again, by the way. I know I’ve already said it, but it means a lot to me,” you tell them.

“No need to thank us again. You know you’re like family. We’re just glad you’re here tonight with all of them,” Captain Morales says, referring to your group of friends.

You smile brightly at the couple now. You tell them you’re thankful to be there and mean it. You had no other plans in your own universe, so that means you would’ve been home alone despite feeling the Christmas spirit this year. The Morales couple pulls you in for a hug after you tell them that and you can’t refuse it, as they’ve been nothing but kind to you over the last months.

“And don’t forget, you’re always welcome to come over for dinner. So, if you ever feel alone – just use your watch and come join us,” Mrs. Morales adds with a smile that brings you comfort. Again, they’re not that much older than you but their parental energy brings you a comfort you haven’t felt in a long time.

You give them a soft smile. “I know, thank you. I appreciate it, truly. It means so much to me,” you say with your tone full of sincerity, hoping that they understand how much it truly means to you.

“No need to thank us. As Jeff said, you’re part of the family now,” Mrs. Morales says, patting your shoulder in a motherly way. “We were also looking for you to ask for a favor.”

Captain Morales nods and you wonder what it could be. You wonder if it has to do with Miles.

“Yeah, of course! How may I help?” you ask, curiously.

Mrs. Morales lifts the plates and Captain Morales lifts the cans of soda. “Well… Miles and Gwen mentioned a little while ago that you and Miguel are close.”

“And we were wondering if you would mind taking him some food to his fancy tech universe,” Captain Morales adds as they both watch you with smiles, hoping you’ll say yes.

You stare at them with a smile as you process their words. Close. You and Miguel are close. And Miles and Gwen said that? Of course, Miguel and you have grown close, but it has been something behind closed doors. You can’t help but wonder how Miles and Gwen reached that conclusion. It’s not like you and Miguel are strolling into the cafeteria together to have lunch. All your interactions have been private so far, minus the meetings of course, but even then, those can’t be enough to show the closeness between you and Miguel. You briefly wonder if the rest of your friend group talk about it if Gwen and Miles found it important enough to mention. Or maybe it’s not that important, who knows with teenagers.

And on top of that, you can’t help but feel like Mrs. Morales emphasized the word “close.” It almost makes it sound like you’re close in a different way.

“Yeah, I guess you can say we’re kind of friends,” you say, trying to clear up any misconception they may have. You briefly look at your friends, who are still under the water tower all grouped together, wondering what they’ve seen or heard.

“Right. Friends! That’s great. You know Miguel could really use some friends because Miles says he’s still a little close off even after what happened, you know,” Captain Morales says a little too fast, giving his wife a look she returns. It’s a look you can’t decipher as they quickly mask it, but you know an entire conversation took place with that shared look.

“Well, you know that man is so closed off. Anyone who says they’re friends with him should be considered close. That’s what Miles and Gwen meant,” Mrs. Morales says with a smile, probably trying to reassure you about what they said. “But do you mind? We invited him but he didn’t show up and it’s Christmas Eve,” Mrs. Morales says with a look that you recognize. Miguel is most likely alone on Christmas Eve.

You nod softly, still smiling. “I’ll gladly take the food,” you reply.

Miles’s parents beam at you before they hand you the plates and soda cans.

“Thank you, mija!” Mrs. Morales says. “If you don’t mind… staying with him for a little while. At least while he eats,” she says quieter, and you nod.

“I was planning on it,” you answer, giving her a reassuring smile because you thought about it the moment they explained their request.

“I knew you would. And hey, if he wants more, just travel back with your fancy watch and get more. Oh, before I forget!” she says and turns around.

She heads to a table and from a large box pulls out two goody bags.

“Here. One for you and for him. Take them before the kids take them all,” she says, jokingly. You slip the soda cans into your coat’s pockets to receive the goody bags, which you also slip into your pockets. “Tell him the Morales family wishes him a Merry Christmas for us,” she says just as Captain Morales puts his arm around her, pulling her closer.

You nod and give them both a smile. “I’ll let him know. I’ll head out now, that way the food doesn’t get too cold,” you say as you can feel the food was freshly served out of their containers since the plates feel hot. “If they ask about me, let them know I’ll be back shortly, please,” you say, motioning to your friends.

“We’ll tell them! Thank you again. We’ll see you in a bit,” Captain Morales adds.

You tell them goodbye and thank them again for the invitation. You make your way down the fire escape stairs, careful not to slip on ice until you reach the ground. You walk for a bit, looking for a place to open your portal discreetly. As you look around, you have a sudden thought. Is Miguel at HQ? He gave today and tomorrow off but did he also take the day off? Or is he still there? You click on your gizmo.

“Lyla?” you say, in an empty alleyway.

It takes a few seconds before Lyla’s hologram appears above your gizmo.

“Y/N! Merry Christmas Eve.”

You smile at her. “Merry Christmas Eve, Lyla. Sorry to interrupt you but I was wondering. Is… Miguel at HQ?” you ask, and Lyla raises her eyebrows.

“No. He’s at his penthouse.”

Lyla’s answer makes you feel relieved. You had a picture in your mind of him in his lab alone. The vision alone made your heart ache.

“That’s good! Do you think you can ask him to meet me there? At HQ?” you ask.

Lyla frowns. “I don’t think so. He’s – busy,” she simply says.

“Oh. Well, the Morales family are sending him food and they asked me to take it to him,” you say, not knowing what to do now.

“Just go to his penthouse.”

You stare at Lyla in disbelief at her suggestion that you should go to his penthouse, feeling like that would be an intrusion on his personal space. You know he’s been to your apartment a few times, three to be exact, but you don’t mind. Miguel on the other hand, might not be too thrilled about you visiting his place.

“Can’t you just ask him to meet me there?” you ask softly.

“He’s busy. He can’t leave his penthouse. Look, I’ll just tell him, okay? I’m sure he’ll be fine with you showing up,” Lyla says, shrugging like this is no big deal.

You sigh. “I don’t think that’s - ” you start but get interrupted.

“I’m going to ask him right now. If I send you the coordinates to his penthouse, then you know you’re good to go, okay? Merry Christmas!” Lyla says, cheerfully throwing her arms in the air.

“Lyla!” you manage to say before her hologram disappears. You sigh again and stare at the buildings in front of you. Great.

Not even thirty seconds later, your gizmo shows a new notification. You bring your gizmo closer to your face.

Coordinates.

You stare at the buildings again. The food is going to grow cold if you continue to stand here but you can’t help but feel nervous suddenly. You sigh and try to shake it off. It’s fine. Lyla sent the coordinates, which means he’s okay with it. Right? Or did he feel pressured to let you show up? Your mind starts wandering. What if Lyla made it seem like you wanted to go straight to his penthouse and not meet up somewhere less personal, like HQ? Lyla may have done that, especially because she looked like she was in a rush, which makes you wonder why she was even in a rush. It’s Christmas Eve! You release a shaky breath and try to pull it together. It’s no big deal. You’ll apologize right away and explain that you wanted to meet in HQ instead. You nod, reassuring yourself and try to calm your nerves. You look around, making sure that there’s no one around. You click on your gizmo and follow the procedure to open a portal in a specific location within a dimension.

The portal opens, lighting up the alleyway. You take a deep breath before you enter it, leaving Miles’s universe behind and stepping into Nueva York. Or rather, into a living room.

For the first time, you’re the one that stares into an unknown living room. In the span of a few seconds, you take in the sight before you. Your vision is immediately met with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city and you notice the closest building to Miguel’s building is far away, granting him privacy. Your eyes take in the living room section of his penthouse, or at least what you can see now. It’s all very sleek and modern. Very Nueva York. In front of you there’s a square table with different remotes and tablets floating above it thanks to the portal, far more advanced than those in your universe. There’s also a grey couch facing you and a few feet from it, you spot stairs to its left, leading to the second floor of the penthouse. To your right, you feel heat coming from a fireplace.

For once, Miguel is the one watching a portal fade away in his penthouse. He hears the items fall back into place as he stares at your back.

“Y/N.”

You turn around slowly, feeling Miguel’s gaze. You find him a few feet behind you, behind another grey couch you were unaware was there until now. The kitchen and dining areas of his penthouse are behind him. Everything looks like you’d imagine on Earth-928 with an advanced society. You meet Miguel’s eyes as he stands there. In normal clothes.

Miguel is in normal clothes.

“Miguel, hey,” you finally say, feeling odd. You wonder if this is what Miguel felt when he showed up at your apartment on Peter’s birthday.

“Hey,” Miguel replies looking down at you before his eyes flicker to the plates in your hands.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” you say, giving him a smile. You can’t help but feel awkward.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” Miguel repeats softly, his eyes meeting yours again.

You stand there for a few seconds, staring at each other until you finally speak.

“I’m so sorry for bothering you. I asked Lyla if you could meet me at HQ and she said you were busy,” you explain, wanting to clear the air, still feeling shocked that Miguel is in normal clothes.

Miguel nods, pushing his hands into his pants’ pockets. You continue to hold his gaze as the image of him in normal clothes burns into your mind.

Miguel’s hair looks damp, as if he barely got out of the shower but it’s styled as always with curls framing some of his face. Instead of his suit, Miguel wears a dark grey, chunky cable knit sweater. The sleeves are pushed up his arms slightly, just enough that his wrists are visible. You notice he’s not wearing his gizmo, which is a strange sight on its own. To pair his dark grey sweater, Miguel wears black pants. You can��t help but think he looks so – cozy.

“She told me, but I couldn’t leave,” Miguel says, still watching you. He notices the way you’re trying very hard not to look at his clothes. He can’t blame you. In a few months, it’ll be a year since you joined the Spider Society and you’ve never seen him in anything else. “I was showering and I’m cooking,” he says quietly, and you nod.

“Oh. That’s nice,” you say, feeling happiness that Miguel is at home on Christmas Eve instead of at HQ working, on top of the fact that he’s in cozy clothes and cooking. You nod and then remember the whole reason you are here. You internally scold yourself for getting so distracted with being at his home and the sight of him in normal clothes. “Well, the reason I was trying to reach you was for this. The Morales family sent you food,” you say, lifting the plates higher. You can feel that the plates are still hot, thankfully.

Miguel looks a little surprised, but he nods. “Miles invited me to that, but I couldn’t go,” he admits, and you understand. You know that Peter and Mary Jane have been inviting him to their Friday dinners even before you were recruited into the Spider Society, but Miguel has never attended them.

“They noticed and wanted to send you some food. They wished you a Merry Christmas,” you say softly.

Miguel nods and he’s about to speak when a timer goes off behind him.  

“Mierda, let me check the food. Just – follow me, please,” he says, motioning for you to follow him as he starts walking to the kitchen area of his penthouse.

You stand there for a few seconds before you start following him. You watch as Miguel goes around a long kitchen island, heading straight for a stove and for the first time you notice there’s pots and pans on it. The scent of food suddenly envelops you as Miguel quickly and efficiently checks one of the pots. He grabs the designated spoon for it and stirs its contents with his back to you.

You look around a little bit, thinking how his kitchen island is longer than your kitchen itself. You also notice it’s all very clean and organized, which you expected from Miguel.

Miguel turns off the burner before he puts the spoon away. He turns around to face you, finding you standing on the other side of his kitchen island, still holding the plates.

“Let me take that from you,” Miguel says walking around the island to retrieve the plates.

You hand them to him gently, sharing the feeling of your fingers brushing past each other’s. You offer him a smile as you take a step back.

“Oh,” you say remembering. “They also sent these,” you continue, pulling out the soda cans and one of the goody bags from your coat.

You set them on the island just as he sets the plates down, too. He looks at the cans and grabs one, looking at it.

“Thank you for bringing it to me. You didn’t have to,” he says as he places the can back on the counter.

You shrug. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Morales asked me, and I couldn’t say no to them. Besides…” you start as he looks down at you. “I realized I didn’t wish you happy holidays yesterday.”

Miguel nods, staring down at you. “It was a busy day. It always happens right before Christmas,” he says with an amused tone but he, too, thought about that earlier. About how he hadn’t seen you much yesterday with the two of you being preoccupied with your own things. He also thought about sending you a message earlier, but he thought you might be busy and besides, neither of you have ever sent messages to each other. He thought you might have found it – odd. “But – yes. We didn’t get to wish each other happy holidays,” he says softly, thinking how both of you thought about it.

You give him a small smile as you hear his last statement. You shift in your coat, feeling a little hot suddenly in Miguel’s warm apartment. Your clothes were perfect for the party out on the rooftop but too hot to be inside. Miguel notices.

“Here, I can help you out of your coat. The party is on the rooftop, right?” he asks as he steps closer.

“Yes, it’s on the rooftop,” you reply as you slide out of your coat with his help. You watch as he drapes it, carefully, over one of the kitchen island chairs.

You fix your clothes slightly, feeling less hot now that you have one layer off. “That’s much better,” you comment, chuckling a bit. “I had to bundle up. It was freezing out there.”

Miguel stares at your outfit, noticing you’re in cozy and festive clothes but noting they are definitely too much to be inside. “I can imagine. The chilly breeze feels like it bites the skin,” he says looking out his windows. “It’s supposed to snow, too.”

“I have that forecast, too,” you reply, joining him in staring out the windows from afar. “Anyway, you should try the food. It’s amazing,” you say, remembering the food.

Miguel turns to the plates. “I have no doubt. So… they chose you to bring the food?” he asks as he slowly takes the aluminum foil off one of the plates.

Your conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Morales flashes back to your mind. They asked you because they think you’re close to Miguel.

“Yes,” you answer simply, hoping he won’t ask why you and not someone else, since he must know that Miles invited the rest of the group, meaning another colleague could’ve brought him food.

Miguel nods as he inspects the food, looking pleased, which makes you smile. “I see,” he says, his eyes leaving the plate to meet yours. He gives you a look that makes you feel like he knows you were chosen to do this specifically out of everyone else before he returns his attention to the plate.

You freeze for a few seconds. Did your face reveal something? You clear your throat and rest your hands over a chair.

“It’s – a great party. Everyone is in a good mood,” you comment.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he says softly as he looks down at the food. “I’m glad they’re enjoying their holidays.”

You nod, noticing the sincerity of his words. He looks up suddenly from the plate as an idea pops into his mind.

“Have you eaten yet?” he asks, and you nod.

“I ate a few hours ago,” you say, thankful that your stomach is not embarrassing you once again in front of him. He nods, looking somewhat disappointed. “But I’ll probably eat something else when I get back,” you add before you even realize it.

Miguel meets your eyes. “This food looks and smells amazing. Please give my thanks to the Morales family when you get back,” he says, pausing. “And – I was going to ask. If you don’t have to return right away, would you like to… join me for dinner? I made too much, and I don’t think I’ll finish it all on my own,” he says quickly.

Miguel looks down at you, feeling nervous about asking you but unable to stop himself from hoping you’ll say yes, even if it’s just for a little while.

You meet his eyes feeling a little surprised, though you hide it well before you nod.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” you say with a smile. You remember that Mr. and Mrs. Morales did ask you to stay with him while he ate. However, you don’t bring it up. It might lead him to believe that you’re only staying because they asked you and it would force you to admit that you were planning to regardless of their request.

Miguel’s brief disappointment fades and is replaced with a lighter expression.

“I made a few dishes, so you have options,” he says softly. “Let me show you.”

With that, Miguel motions for you to follow him to the stove. You do so, curious to know what he cooked. You have the brief thought that this will be the second time Miguel gives you homemade food. The two of you stand in front of his stove and before Miguel shows you the food, he pushes his sleeves higher up. It’s still a strange sight and you can’t stop your eyes from gazing at his skin, noticing the veins from years of physical activity and arm hair. You turn away as you feel heat on your face from proximity to the stove and how warm Miguel’s penthouse is. No other reason.

“In this pot, there’s pozole,” Miguel says, lifting the lid to show you. He tells you what it is before he moves on to the other dishes.

It turns out that Miguel did cook quite a bit of food. He mentions pozole, tamales of two kinds, and tinga. He also made atole blanco and ponche navideño, two hot drinks perfect for the Christmas season. “If I’m being honest, I was craving all of these foods,” Miguel says as if he knows you’re thinking about how much food he cooked. You chuckle.

“Everything smells amazing, so I don’t blame you for craving them all,” you reply as you bring the spoon with pozole to your mouth. The warmness of it spreads down your chest as the two of you sit on the kitchen island, side by side.

Neither of you notice how your bodies are facing each other as you eat.

Miguel takes a bite out of the food Mr. and Mrs. Morales sent him and you notice he looks like he’s enjoying it. You eat more of your pozole and think how well of a cook he is. You remember him mentioning his mom taught him to cook when he was a teenager back when he showed up at your apartment for the first time. Conchata definitely taught him well.

You finish eating your small serving of pozole as you want to try the other food he made. He notices and looks at you.

“Do you want more pozole? Or would you like to try the other food?” he asks softly, cleaning his mouth gently with a napkin.

You smile at him and nod. “I’d like to try the other food if you don’t mind,” you say, and he nods before he stands up.

“I can get it myself, don’t worry,” you say and start getting up, but he raises a hand, making you pause.

“You’re my guest. It’s only right,” he says with a determined look. “What would you like to try next?” Miguel asks as he walks to the stove. He grabs a clean plate and turns to face you, ready for you to tell him.

You sit back down slowly as he stares at you.

“May I please try the tinga?” you ask with a soft but embarrassed smile.

“Would you like it with tostadas or as a burrito?” he asks, motioning to the pack of tostadas and flour tortillas on the counter.

“I’ll have it however you prefer it,” you answer honestly.

“What if I make you one of each? That way you can try both,” Miguel suggests.

You nod. “Okay, that sounds… good. Thank you,” you reply, and he nods before he grabs both packs and starts working on your plate.

You look down at your gizmo as he preps your food. It’s almost ten now. You look up again. Miguel is busy warming up flour tortillas. You notice him flipping them with his bare hands, not minding the heat. You look around the penthouse. It really is a large place.

Miguel flips the tortillas and turns back to look at you. He notices you looking around and he can’t help but feel a little self-conscious in that moment. Fragments of your apartment flash in his mind. Yours is well decorated. It feels welcoming and warm. It’s lived in. It’s a home for you. His penthouse, on the other hand, seems the opposite of it. Even when he used to actively live in it, he didn’t focus a lot on decorating and because of that, Gabriel and his mom took the initiative to do something about it.

The fact that Gabriel and his mom helped decorate it was one reason why he hadn’t bothered to change it in the last years. Another reason it remained the same was that it didn’t matter to him as he hardly spent time here after everything that happened with Gabriella and her universe anyway.

Until recently, of course. Ever since Peter’s birthday celebration, ever since that night, Miguel made it a goal to sleep here at least once a week. So far, he has stuck with it. It’s now been several weeks, which he counts as progress. And now, as he sees you take in his home, he can’t help but think about it. However, when your eyes meet his again, he sees no judgment from you. If anything, he sees curiosity, which amuses him on the inside. You offer him a small smile.

“Everything is so sleek and modern,” you say as you take in the kitchen again.

Miguel turns around to check on the tortillas, and seeing that they are done, he puts them on a plate. “Is that… not to your liking?” he asks as he starts fixing the food.

“Oh, it’s not that. It’s great,” you say still looking around.

“But?”

You sigh softly and Miguel turns around, walking the short distance from the stove to the kitchen island.

“You can say it,” he says as he finishes fixing the plates.

“I guess, I like old architecture more,” you finally admit. “But this is really nice though,” you add, and Miguel lets out a low chuckle that makes you pause and wonder what a real laugh from him would sound like.

“I like old architecture, too,” he reveals as he finishes fixing your plate. He slides it over the counter to you gently. “It has more personality.”

“Thank you,” you say as you take the plate. “And really? I thought you’d be more of a fan for your architecture.”

Miguel nods and offers you toppings for the food before he takes his own plate and sits next to you again. As you eat, the two of you talk briefly about the architecture of different universes you’ve been to. Turns out Miguel appreciates architecture like that of your universe. You eventually fall into a comfortable silence.

The two of you sit on Miguel’s kitchen island eating quietly in peace on Christmas Eve. It’s strange how comfortable it feels but then again, this is the second time you’ve eaten together since Dia de los Muertos. Still, this moment is a big deal. It’s the first time either of you have celebrated this holiday in years but it feels right.

As Miguel eats next to you, he can’t help but think about it. He really asked you to stay for dinner. That’s a first but he couldn’t stop himself once he thought about it. And he isn’t going to lie – he’s enjoying your company. He’s enjoying sharing the food he grew up eating during the holidays with you. His mind briefly turns to his family again. To his mother and Gabriel and the last holidays he was able to spend with them.

As he thinks about his own past holidays, Miguel wonders what yours were like. He wonders about your childhood and your parents. He wonders about the holidays you spent with Peter. As he takes a drink from one of the soda cans sent to him, he looks over at you. The two of you have been eating in silence, enjoying each other’s company, or at least he hopes you are like he is. He begins to wonder if he’s kept you here unwillingly. He feels embarrassment, suddenly feeling like an idiot. Maybe you had other plans, and here he is, keeping you from them. Embarrassment runs through his body as he looks at you but then, you look up from your plate and you smile at him in a way that makes his worry and embarrassment melt away.

“This is officially the best food I’ve ever had,” you say as you finish eating. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to ask you for the recipe.”

Miguel gives you a subtle smile, and despite how small it is, it still catches you by surprise, though you are better at hiding it now. “I can give it you, that’s no problem,” he says putting his drink down. “Or I can cook it for you if you prefer,” he adds, making him freeze internally. He hasn’t offered to cook for anyone in a while. Sure, he cooked that day at your apartment when you were unwell because of your period but this is different. Or it feels different for some reason Miguel can’t explain.

You nod and smile. “Either way, I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Of course,” he says softly before standing up.

Miguel begins putting away the dishes and even though you try helping him, he declines your help because he’s the “host.” So, you sit on your chair and watch as he cleans up, wishing he’d allow you to help but you know he’ll decline again. You finish your drink, the other soda can you brought, and watch as Miguel finishes up. Despite knowing that Miguel knows his way around a kitchen, you’re still somewhat in awe at how fast and efficient he is at cleaning up. You can’t help but think of Peter in that moment. He, too, knew his way around the kitchen and helped with the chores around the apartment, which was something you loved and appreciated about him as you often heard female colleagues complain about their partners not helping when you used to work. You’ve always appreciated it when a man knows how to do chores and helps instead of leaving the chores strictly to the woman, and so you can’t help but think about this as you watch Miguel.

You pull your sweater’s neck slightly, feeling a little hot. Miguel’s penthouse is warm and you’re still wearing two layers of clothes. As Miguel finishes up, you slide off the sweater you have, leaving you in a long-sleeved top. You fold it neatly and place it on the next chair from which your coat hangs. If you head back to the party, you’ll just suit up again but for now, you’ll try to cool off.

Miguel turns around then and looks at you, leaning back on the counter as he holds a towel. He dries his hands with it after washing them. He notices your sweater is gone and feels a little amused. You were definitely wearing too many layers to be inside in the warmth.

“I don’t know if you’re still up for it, but I have those two hot drinks,” he says, flinging the towel over his shoulder in a graceful way.

Of course, you notice it. It’s not every day that Miguel O’Hara wears normal clothes or that he looks this relaxed, leaning back on a kitchen counter and swinging a towel over his shoulder gracefully. It’s a sight for you and you alone.

“Well… Miles and Gwen mentioned a little while ago that you and Miguel are close.”

You hear Mrs. Morales’s comment in your head as you nod at Miguel. “I’m up for it,” you reply, and he nods. There’s a pleased look on his face before he turns around to open a cabinet to retrieve mugs.

And he is. Miguel is pleased that you’re open to trying out the hot drinks. That you’ll stay a little longer. As he pours the drinks, he thinks about what this means. Of course, he’s thought about how much he’s shared with you and how much you’ve shared with him. He’s thought about it… about how you’re the closest he has to a friend.

You are his friend.

He thought about it on Dia de los Muertos night when he came to his penthouse to sleep. Anyone could argue that Jess and Peter were friends but his friendship with them has always been different. It wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for work, or at least he feels like that. They’re work friends and he’s never shared as much as he’s shared with you. No matter how much the two of them tried, Miguel never felt comfortable enough to share his life.

And with you, there he was. Showing up at your apartment to show you his ofrenda. His memories poured out of him like they had been waiting for the right person to spill out for. It was easy to talk to you. It was different.

Miguel felt like he had a friend for once in many, many years that night. And he didn’t know that night, or even now, if you feel the same. He knows you have your group of friends, the ones that quickly adopted you into their group when you were recruited. The same ones he was keeping you away from right now, but he hopes that you see him as somewhat of a friend despite being your boss.

Miguel finishes preparing the drinks. He takes two mugs to you, one with atole blanco and the other with ponche navideño. He slides them gently over the counter to avoid spilling any before he turns around to retrieve his own mugs.He walks around the counter and takes a seat next to you as you thank him again, this time for the hot drinks.

Miguel nods at you as he picks up one of the mugs. “I hope you like it. The atole blanco might taste a little strange when you first try it, but I swear it grows on you,” he says reassuringly. He briefly thinks back to when he first tried it. He was about ten when his mom asked him to try it. The first sip made him pause but after the third drink, he loved it. Gabriel, on the other hand, took longer to try it. He was almost twelve when he finally gave in.

You take a drink from the atole blanco while Miguel’s eyes are on you. He can’t help himself from wanting to see your reaction and he’s glad when he sees you react well to it. You smile at him and nod.

“This is great! I see what you mean by strange, but I like it. It’s very… cozy and comforting,” you say as you drink more. “It’s like – it’s perfect for Christmas. I can’t explain it,” you say, and he nods.

“This was a must on Christmas growing up,” he says as he drinks some, too.

The two of you enjoy the hot drink in peace. As you place the cup down again, you’re thankful Mr. and Mrs. Morales gave you an excuse to talk to Miguel tonight despite having felt nervous when you first arrived. Miguel seems comfortable and doesn’t seem to mind that you’re here, though it should be obvious as he did invite you to stay for dinner. Miguel places his cup down and turns to you, his knee brushes past your leg slightly and he moves it discreetly away.

“What were – what were your Christmases like growing up?” he asks suddenly, quietly.

You turn your face to him, though your bodies are facing each other already. You feel a little surprised by his sudden question, but you don’t mind it. You meet his eyes before looking at the mugs before you, thinking.

“To keep it simple, they were amazing,” you say, returning your eyes to him. “I was an only child, but my parents always went all out. They loved the Christmas spirit, so our apartment was always decorated after Thanksgiving,” you say with a bright smile as you remember. Miguel notices the glint in your eyes as you talk. “We always put the Christmas tree together and they’d let me put the star at the top, even when I was a teenager and later an adult. They were always good,” you say, nodding softly as you think of your parents.

Miguel nods with a faint smile though you don’t notice it. He thinks of a younger you, a version he doesn’t know and will never know. He thinks about Peter, unable to stop himself from thinking about how he probably knew that version of you. He lifts his mug and takes a drink, trying to wash away these strange thoughts.

“Sounds like you had a great childhood,” he finally says, and you nod, making you feel a little sad as you remember Miguel telling you about his step and biological fathers. He didn’t say anything, but you felt that his childhood was not always great.

You bring your own cup to your lips and drink, wanting to change the conversation but Miguel doesn’t mind. He has put a lot of it behind him, at least those parts of his life.

“So, when you said they’d let you put the star on the tree as an adult, you mean it?” he asks, sounding a little amused.

You nod and give him a smile. “I was in university, and they still allowed me do it,” you say with a chuckle. “Peter would tease me about it, but it was fun for all of us.”

Miguel nods, thinking. You notice he has that look on his face. The one when he’s thinking about something.

“What is it?” you ask softly.

Miguel turns to you and shakes his head slightly. “Nothing. I was just thinking… Wondering, I guess.”

“About what? You can ask,” you say, your tone sincere since you don’t mind. He has already shared quite a lot about his past. It’s only fair he asks about yours.

Miguel sighs softly, continuing to hold your gaze. “When did you meet Peter?” he asks quietly, as if unsure of asking this question.

You smile, not minding the question at all. “When we were sixteen. He moved schools and we instantly became friends, which then turned into a relationship,” you say fondly before you pick up your mug and drink.

Miguel stares at you as you do this, still thinking. Since sixteen. It was Peter’s twenty-sixth birthday just weeks ago, which means you had known and dated each other for almost a decade by the time he passed away. He looks down at his nearly empty mug. Almost a decade of a relationship and you still try to live life to the fullest. Miguel grips the cup.

“How do you do it?” he asks quietly.

“Do what?” you ask in confusion.

“You knew Peter for so long. Dated him for so long. And you still… you try.”

You stare at Miguel, feeling a little startled by the sudden change of conversation but Miguel looks like he genuinely wants to know. You remember this was something you thought about in the early days. How people could move on. How they could carry day to day even after losing someone.

“Miguel…” you start and look down at your cups. “It isn’t easy. Especially in the beginning,” you add softly, knowing that for Miguel, it has been a little over a year since he lost his wife and Gabriella. For you, it’s almost four years since you lost Peter. You’re on different points of your mourning periods. You sigh softly. “It isn’t easy at all in the beginning,” you repeat as you think of your next words. “I wasn’t the woman you know now, or even the one you were introduced to months ago,” you say lightly, making Miguel turn to you, with curious eyes. “I don’t want to ruin the Christmas spirit, so I’ll try my best not to.”

Miguel shakes his head. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to. I don’t want to – take away the lightness of today,” he says with a regrettable look on his face.

Why did he ask, he wonders. Everything was going so well.

“No, it’s okay. It helps. Talking about it helps,” you say, reassuring him. You stay silent for about a minute, trying to figure out how to approach this. “I lost sight of things for a month or two after Peter’s death,” you start.

You look away, feeling shame course through you as you remember those dark days. You don’t want to see the look on Miguel’s face when you reveal something you’ve never shared with anyone.

“I’m not proud of it… It brings me great shame to say this,” you say as you stare down at the cups. “There was a time after Peter’s death – a month after everything took place to be exact – that I,” you pause. “I looked for him. I tried hunting down the man that did it,” you say quietly.

“I had a regular job back then, so I went to work. I mourned and tried my best to accommodate to my new life but at night… I couldn’t stop thinking how I could’ve done better. How I could’ve saved him. I thought of the man who did it. How he took Peter from me. The love of my life, my last bit of family…” you trail off, though your tone is still light, and you feel proud of yourself for it, for you know months ago, this conversation would’ve had you in tears. “My thoughts were consumed by it. So, I went out to try to find him. I didn’t plan on doing something to him, I swear,” you say pausing, trying to emphasize this. “All I wanted was to know who he was. Bring him to justice.”

Miguel continues to look at you with a pained expression on his face now as he hears you talk. There is a faraway look on your face, as if you were back in that time but you turn back to him and he’s like an anchor, keeping you tethered to this moment.

“One night, when I thought I had a lead – I was on a rooftop, and I finally realized that Peter would’ve never wanted to see me like that. And that I was failing my promise to him,” you say, meeting Miguel’s eyes. “He made me promise to try to move on. To be open to another love. I tried after that. It was slow progress. The last few months since I joined the society have really helped me,” you say with a soft smile as you wrap your fingers around your mug softly.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever really move on, but it feels easier as the days go on,” you tell Miguel. “I guess, it also helped that I eventually found the man. Or rather, he found me. I forgave him,” you say with a quiet sigh and offer Miguel a smile. And as he stares at you, he realizes how much stronger you are than he thought. “He was my own version of Flint Marko, otherwise known as Sandman. He never meant to hurt Peter that day. He was just – trying to rob a bank to get money for his child’s surgery.”

You stare down at the cups and think of Marko. Last you heard from him, he was trying to do better, and his daughter, who was now older, recovered from her illness. You lift the cup to your lips and take a small drink before setting it down.

“I’m not the best example of how to do it,” you say, looking up. “But I try and sometimes, that’s all you can do. For them.”

Miguel continues to stare at you and even though you thought you might’ve found judgment in his eyes, you see none of the sort. Miguel stares at you with even more respect than before. He looks down at his hands for a few seconds before he looks up again.

“I think – Peter must be happy that you are trying to honor his promises,” he says softly, wishing he could say more. Wishing he could reach out to you physically the way his hands were begging him to.

You smile at him. “I think so, too. I think he’s happy with where I’m now. You know, the whole reason I joined the Spider Society was because of him. I declined the invitation from Jess initially until she asked me what he would’ve thought about everything. I know he would’ve loved the idea of it. He would’ve loved learning about the multiverse,” you say with a grin and then shake your head softly as you pick up the mug again. “He loved science, too.”

Miguel stares at you, surprised at hearing this. Jess never mentioned you rejecting her invitation. He looks up at the ceiling a little bit and in that moment, he finds himself internally thanking a man he never met.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” he says after a few seconds of silence. “I’m sorry if it made you…” Miguel trails off.

You turn to him again. “It’s okay. It didn’t. It helps,” you say, and your tone is still lighthearted. “I think I’m ready to try the other drink.”

Miguel continues to stare at you. “I think I am, too… This one is sweeter,” he says as he wraps his fingers around the mug. Miguel watches as you lift the mug to your mouth to try it and once again, there’s that pleased look on your face that makes him forget his worry from earlier about messing with your plans. You don’t seem to mind.

As the two of you sit there and enjoy the second hot drink, Miguel’s thoughts are on you. You’re so strong and not only in a physical way but in a way that Miguel feels he hasn’t been able to. You’re strong by trying to fulfill your promises. For forgiving the man that took Peter from you. For trying to move forward and trying at life. Miguel has never said it, but he respects you.

You’ve accepted his boundaries in a way so many others haven’t. You’ve offered him nothing but kindness. You’ve listened when he shares memories with you. You’re a hard worker and meticulous when it comes to your duties as Spider-Woman. You’re strong. So strong.

And his respect for you grows tenfold, if that’s even possible, considering how much he already respected you before tonight. Miguel thinks about this and the fact that you’re the first person that has been to his penthouse in years.

Friend.

Maybe you do consider him a friend, Miguel thinks to himself as he takes a drink, too.

“This is really good, too,” you say quietly as you drink more, and for some reason, it makes Miguel feel pleased.

“Glad you liked both,” he murmurs as he drinks more. He suddenly wonders what time it is. The two of you have been here for what feels like two hours now. He checks the time discreetly from a nearby clock.

It’s past eleven, which means it’s almost time for the annual AI Christmas holographic show. He stands up, making you turn to see him.

“It’s almost time for something my city does annually. I think you’ll like it,” he says and motions for you to follow him.

You see him take his mug and you do the same before you follow him to the windows that face his kitchen and dining areas directly, giving Miguel another sight of the city. He leans sideways on the windows and looks down, waiting for you to join him. You reach the windows and lean on them, too, mirroring his stance. You look down and see the Christmas decorations on the snow-covered ground despite being on the highest floor of this building. The decorations, which are holographic, make you realize for the first time that there’s no sight of a Christmas tree in Miguel’s penthouse. You don’t say anything about this, of course. You know with everything that’s happened, a Christmas tree is the last thing one can think about in times like these. You’re glad there’s at least a little bit of Christmas spirit in Miguel since he cooked and took the day off though.  

Still watching the decorations, you think of something and wonder. You’ve noticed some of them from HQ when you walk by the windows throughout the month, but it’s been like a second thought with missions and what not. You wonder now if everyone has holographic Christmas trees or if physical trees are still a thing here. You look up at Miguel and he turns, as if feeling your gaze.

“What is it?” he asks softly before he takes a drink.

“Are physical Christmas trees a thing here?”

Miguel gives you a small smile, which still catches you by surprise. “Only the wealthy have physical trees. Everyone else has holographic decorations,” he explains, and you nod. You know Miguel is wealthy, so his lack of a tree is not because of money but because he didn’t want to put one up.

You look back outside, thinking. Miguel continues to stare at you, wanting to know what you’re thinking.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” he asks, though for him it isn’t. He’s used to the technology and to this tradition, but he can imagine how it can be odd for you when you come from a universe where physical Christmas trees are the norm.

You bring the cup to your mouth, enjoying the sweetness of the hot drink. “I was just thinking how putting the Christmas tree together as a family is a big thing. Or well, it was for my family and I.”

Miguel nods, remembering what you said earlier about your family and the holidays. He leans more into the window, crossing one of his legs over the other.

“To make up for that, families sit down and design the ornaments together through their devices. Then, they upload their designs to the tree. There’s a program and everything,” he says thinking about the process. He has an artificial tree, which is stored at HQ, but he also has a holographic one from previous years when he was too busy to put a physical one with his family. “I’ll show you,” he suddenly says, putting his mug on the window stool before he heads to the living room section. As he looks for a tablet on his table, he can’t help but think about this. How he’s comfortable showing you things. How he wants to show you things. Like how the holographic tree program works or the annual AI Christmas holographic show which should start soon.

Friend.

He finds the tablet and starts it up, which only takes about a second to boot up. He walks back to you as he opens the program. He reaches you and stands closer to show you.

“First, you put the tree up,” he says as he shows you the screen. The two of you stand side by side, looking at the screen as he clicks on the tablet. He looks up and points. “It’ll appear right there.”

Sure enough, a large holographic Christmas tree, decorated in classic Christmas colors, appears a few feet away from the two of you, near Miguel’s dining table.

“It’s beautiful,” you murmur as you notice the star at the top of the tree.

“Thank you,” Miguel says as he looks at it, too. He wasn’t expecting to put up a tree this year but here he is. He looks back down at the screen. “Then, you can design your own ornaments using this program,” Miguel continues and shows you. He pulls out a stylus from the tablet, surprising you. The tablet is so thin you wonder how it’s even possible but then remember it’s Nueva York.

You watch as Miguel uses the stylus to design an ornament. He inserts lines as part of the design and changes the color of the ornament to match the theme. It takes him a few seconds to finish before he writes his name on it neatly.

“And it’s done. Now you upload it like this,” he says and shows you. “The program decides where it should go but you can manually change it if you want,” he adds.

The two of you look up just as it appears on an empty spot on the tree. Miguel then offers you the tablet and stylus. You look up at him, confused.

“Try it,” he says, still waiting for you to take the tablet and stylus from his hands.

“Are you sure?” you ask, looking down at it.

He nods. “Give it a go.”

You set your mug next to his on the window stool and take the tablet and stylus from him, your fingers brushing past his bare ones once again. You ignore the sensation and focus on the screen with the new canvas to design yours. Your brows furrow as you think for a second about what you want it to look like. You start working on it, with Miguel watching intently. He notices how quickly you figure out how to use the program and watches as you design your ornament with ease.

As you work on it, you can’t help but notice a scent. Or rather his scent. You’ve caught a bit of it before of course but it has never been this strong to your nose. Not like this when he stands by your side, so close your arms are almost touching, with him dressed in normal clothes. You add small details to your ornament as his scent envelops you, distracting you slightly as the combination of his shower products and shaving cream blended with his natural scent surround you. You can’t suppress the thought that pops into your head at that moment, which is that his scent is delightful.

You clear your throat quietly as you add your name to the ornament. You stare at it for a few seconds.

“Hmm, I like the traditional stuff, but not going to lie, this was fun,” you say and smile at Miguel, still feeling distracted by his scent. “I can see kids enjoying this a lot.”

Miguel nods, his lips curling upward again as you give him the tablet back, completely unaware of your thoughts. “You may not like the architecture, but I think you would settle just fine in this universe,” he comments, as he looks at your ornament, thinking of how quickly you figured it out and the fact that yours turned out better than his. “Now… you just upload it,” he says softly before he does exactly like that. You stare at the tree, feeling a little surprised that he’s adding your ornament, but you shrug it off. The two of you watch as your ornament, which matches the tree’s theme, appears right next to his.

Miguel stares at it, the sight of your ornament appearing next to his makes him pause for a second. It’s the first time in years Miguel has put up a tree in his penthouse. It’s also the first time that a non-family person has added their ornament to his tree.

Miguel now clears his throat quietly. “Not bad at all,” he says and nods. “Oh, the show should start soon,” he says, trying to put his thoughts away about the tree and your ornament.

You nod. “Thank you. That was fun,” you add as you turn your attention back to the decorations outside. You briefly look down at your gizmo. It’s 11:33 P.M. now, meaning Christmas Day is less than thirty minutes away now. You’ve spent a lot more time here than you expected but you don’t mind. You wonder if people back in Miles’s universe have left the party or if they’re still hanging out.

“Glad you enjoyed that,” Miguel says softly, putting the tablet on a nearby surface. You notice he doesn’t put the tree away. It’s still there as he leans on the window sideways again, looking outside towards the decorations as well. He briefly thinks about Gabriella. He only had one Christmas with her. He remembers it vividly as he looks out, recalling Gabriella’s excitement on Christmas morning. He remembers thinking how perfect it was and how, if all his future Christmases could’ve been like that, he would’ve never asked for anything else. His wife wasn’t in the picture then, so it had just been Gabriella and him. Now that he thought of it, he and his wife didn’t have much time together. It was very brief. Miguel clears his throat. He doesn’t want to think of the past like that right now. He doesn’t want to think of how rushed everything was when it came to his relationship and marriage. Not tonight.

His thoughts are thankfully interrupted when he sees the sign that the show is starting. He turns to look at you to make sure you’re watching, and of course, you are. Your eyes are on the sky as you see the announcement before it starts, filled with curiosity and awe. Miguel turns his gaze back to the sky as the show starts. Holographic Christmas trees appear from thin air, all lit up in Christmas colors. Reindeer fly by the windows, galloping here and there. Twinkling lights decorate the background as holographic snowflakes descend before they begin to form into snowmen that start dancing.

You watch in awe, finding this fascinating. Miguel steals a glance to see your reaction. He sees the awe and fascination on your face, clearly enjoying this.

“This isn’t even the best part,” he says quietly as he knows there’s always more to it.

You smile as reindeer fly by the windows again. “This is so – I wish we had this in my universe,” you answer quietly. “The closest we have to this are projections.”

Miguel chuckles lowly. “Well… You’re welcome to come watch it again next year,” he answers as he crosses his arms across his chest.

Neither of you say anything else. Was that an invitation for you to join him again next year? You push your thoughts away and focus on the show just as a holographic Santa Claus and his sled appear out of nowhere, making you smile.

“Santa Claus,” you whisper as the sled approaches Miguel’s windows. The holographic Santa Claus waves as he passes by making you chuckle. The show continues with Santa Claus flying around as the reindeer align themselves to the sled, supposedly to get ready for the flight. At one point the show presents Santa’s workshop and tiny elves working on different toys and preparing the sled. It concludes with Santa flying by the windows again, this time with all his reindeer and magical sack of toys before they fly off, disappearing into the sky. A large holographic “Feliz Navidad” message and red poinsettias conclude the show.

You stare at the message, still in awe with a smile.

“That was amazing. You grew up with this?” you ask softly.

Miguel nods. “Gabriel and I always looked forward to it.”

You smile, once again thinking of a younger Miguel. “It must be amazing, to experience this as a child,” you answer, thinking of kids.

“The kids love it,” he replies as he also stares at the message, knowing it will stay up past midnight.

You nod and the two of you just stare out the window in silence for a few minutes. You watch as you see white, tiny spots in the sky. With each second, more and more appear.

“It’s starting to snow,” you murmur, making Miguel pay more attention and sure enough, it’s snowing.

“A white Christmas,” he whispers, as the snow picks up.

“A white Christmas,” you repeat.

The two of you stand ever so closely, leaning on the window sideways, your bodies facing each other as you watch the falling snow. And in that moment, everything feels alright with the world for you and Miguel, despite everything.

You look down at your gizmo. It’s past midnight now.

“Merry Christmas,” you say, quietly.

Miguel smiles softly as the two of you stare out the window. “Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

-

Thirty minutes later, Miguel stands in front of his holographic Christmas tree alone. You returned home a few minutes ago, looking and sounding tired after being out for so long. So, you both said goodnight to each other but not before Miguel asked if you’d want some food or if you’d prefer to join him again in a few hours for the recalentado.

You said yes to the latter.

Miguel continues to stare at the tree, or more specifically at the new ornaments, for a few minutes, thinking.

Friend.

He finally goes to sleep after storing the food away. He leaves the Christmas tree up, which you still find when you return hours later to eat dinner with him on Christmas Day.

__________________________

Translation for italicized words: Mierda - Shit Pozole - A kind of soup/stew made from hominy and meat (can be chicken or beef). Tamales - I think everyone knows these Tinga - Latin dish made out of meat (pork, chicken) in sauce with onions, chiles chipotle and tomatoes. Can be eaten on tostadas or as burritos (my experience) Atole Blanco - white atole, a Latin hot drink made out of corn meal Ponche Navideño - Mexican Christmas fruit punch Tostadas - toasted tortillas; usually used as a base for different culinary dishes Recalentado - word translates to "reheated"; this is the act of inviting your closest friends and family the day after you host a party to eat the reheated leftovers, it's supposed to be a smaller tight-knit situation and less formal because it's with close family/friends (do you see what this means for you, the reader? I'm not okay, right now)

--

May I just -

Miguel in a freaking chunky cable knit sweater. His damp hair. His bare skin. His scent (I KNOW HE SMELLS GOOD and you cannot change my mind). Him knowing that you were asked specifically to go drop him food. Him asking you to stay for dinner. Him serving the food. Him being a great cook. Him being a great host. His respect for you growing. Him wanting to comfort you physically (AHH.) Him showing you the annual Christmas show and how the holographic Christmas tree thing works and adding your ornament and staring at it because it appeared next to his and him leaving the tree up even tho he didn't plan on putting one up and him thanking Peter for influencing you to join the Spider Society even tho he never met him (CRYING, SCREAMING). Him inviting you for dinner again!!!!!!

So a lot of people said yes to the Christmas part but I was also selfish and wanted to write Miguel like this and get some Christmas comfort before the next part because... yeah. So, sorry to anyone who didn't want it. I needed this.

Also, I'm sorry for the late update. I meant to post Sunday but it was that time of the month and it kicked my butt. I hope you enjoy it, and if you've read this far, thank you for the support!! ❤️ I hope to be back Sunday with an update, tho I have a family event Saturday so idk if it'll be possible but I'll try.

I love Miguel so much and it's a problem but it's okay -Alondra

Tag list:

@loverlorn @saturnknows @d1lf-loverrr @eddiestitmiguelsbigdick @freehentai @arithestrawberry @scaleniusrm @haradasaya @spidermanismyfav @bitchykittenconnoisseur @thecraziestcrayon @obi-mom-kenobi @natsury-kazuki @rootin-tootin-morgan @coraline750 @edgycatx @safixiovi @sunnyx07 @nxrdamp @rorel1a @oceanstar19 @happishark @carmilla01 @somebodyelsethanyouthink @adora-but-ginger @angie2274 @vampi-amora @tired-writer04 @plzfeedmebread @shadow-pancake9 @tynakub @faretheeoscar @giulscomix @luvstuffies @coffeeauthorvibing @lauraolar14 @bl0osclues @pinkiemme @lil-cinn @mashiromochi @loveletterfrommwah @mandodinstuff @muzansucker @theleftkittycollection @kikookii @www-interludeshadow-com @holographicang3l @aisyakirmann @bucky-to-my-barnes @geraskier-thots @l3laze

[hiraethwrote]

VENT SESSION LETS GOOOO — you’re allowed to scroll if you don’t care mwah

i spend an ungodly amount of hours on this app, and i look at you as my friends so just want to let you guys know

i am also a very nosy person myself, so seems only fair i share my own situation. but if you don’t care about all this, you can just keep scrolling. i honestly don’t mind lol

anyways… a few weeks ago, i told you guys i was going through something that was kinda heavy — yeah my bf and i were going through some stuff and started seeing someone professionally… we broke up

there was an understanding that this might be outcome when we first opened up this can of worms, and there turned out to be a lot of underlying issues that both of us had refused to acknowledge

it was definitely a mutual decision. though it’s a hard pill to swallow, we came to the conclusion it was the best for the both of us

we want such vastly different things in life, things neither of us should compromise on. to me, life came at me a lot faster than i anticipated and felt like there were things left unexplored — and neither of us want to hold the other person back from what we want

however, this is a person i have been with for six years, a quarter of my life. there’s obviously a lot of shared history which is hard to let go of. it’s also so incredibly painful when we’re not splitting due to lack of affection and love for the other person, but because our desires and wants in life just don’t align

he is still my best friend, and because of how our life situation is, we will continue living together as we have been doing for the past three years (he only lives here half the time due to work), until i move across the country when summer comes. we’re also going to celebrate christmas together because it just feels right lol

i would say i am doing as well as i can… we are obviously on good terms, but this is probably one of the hardest things i’ll go through. it is the biggest heartbreak of my life. but that is really just a sign that the time we’ve shared together haven’t been a waste. we can be proud of the fact that we’ve been honest, faithful, respectful and kind throughout the entirety of our relationship, to the point where this is so hard even though it’s the right decision

obviously, i am very scared of the path that lies ahead. he has been by my side for the better half of a decade, and i have the privilege of exploring things on my own. it’s obviously what i have been missing in my life, so i am excited for what’s to come, but terrified of living a life he’s not going to be such a big part of anymore

but things are going to be fine. idk how long it will take, i am suspecting very long, but i know in my bones this is for the best for us both. so with time, i will be happy

and not to worry, i have a fantastic support system. i have incredible friends who are there for me. i am lucky to have a family who is not guilting me about leaving a long term relationship, despite also being sad. and i’ve learned i have a great community on here who has showed so much kindness, and i am so grateful <3

that being said — i am not planning on taking a break from tumblr lol. if anything, i am starting to get out of my writers block. this past week i have written more than i have the last month so that’s good! i think i might try and be a little more productive than i have been the past few weeks (at least i hope so, work is picking up again hehe)

not putting this out here for sympathy or anything, but just a little update. i am interested in the lives of those i follow, so maybe some of you are interested in mine

wishing everyone a nice weekend 🫶🏻 i got work in the morning (day after the breakup that’s fun)

[writingwithfolklore]

Creating Fictional Holidays

     Happy Holidays everyone!

     Like mythology or folklore, holidays can add an extra bit of realism and magic to your fictional worlds, and provide for an interesting setting to portray characters, culture, or even family dynamic.

      While you can use real world holidays and adapt them to your worlds, you may also want to create your own! Here’s a few things to consider:

1. What does your holiday celebrate?

Typically, holidays come from historical events or events believed to have happened by religious groups. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness, or good’s triumph over evil. Passover celebrates Israelites’ escape from slavery. This would be a great chance to delve into the history of your world, and how it forms and influences communities.

Otherwise (and as well as), holidays can be expressions of important cultural values such as community, hard work, or family. The Day of the Dead (or Dia de los Muertos) is the celebration of honoring passed family members, Labour day is held to honour the struggle for unionization by working people. What does your holiday say about the society or community that created it?

2. How has your holiday adapted?

As much as holiday is entrenched in longstanding tradition, there is no escaping modernization and adaption to contemporary norms. As much as Christmas is a religious holiday at its roots, for many, it’s a celebration of family and gift giving. Rather than being a saint, Santa has become the jolly toy-maker separated from religion entirely.

If your holiday began to celebrate say Harvest season, but in modern times ‘harvest season’ is no longer regularly recognized, how does this society continue to celebrate this holiday? Where does tradition and modern standards intersect?

3. How do people perceive the holiday?

Even joyous, wholesome holidays are going to have haters. Just think of Valentines Day coming around every year—there are people who love it, people who hate it, and people who see it as a superficial excuse to fund capitalism and consumer culture. What do the people of your world believe about the holiday, or what groups/communities are invited or left out?

4. What rituals go into celebrating your holiday?

During Christmas, many families bring in a tree, wrap gifts to put under it, and bake cookies for a secret intruder in the night. A ritual is just a way people honour something—it doesn’t necessarily have to be cultish or ‘evil’. What longstanding rituals go into the celebration of your holiday?

Maybe gifts are exchanged, candles are lit, cards are given out, money is donated, certain foods are given up or certain times limit eating (such as fasting), families gather, parties are held, etc. etc. There are thousands of ways people celebrate what’s important to them. Consider how each family or character in your story might take a slightly different spin on the same rituals.

I hope no matter what or how you celebrate this year, you get time to spend with your loved ones <3

[delululand]

i have so much to do for today but i can’t stop thinking about your childhood friend&first love soobin

like your parents were very close and you spent your entire childhood together. played in the sandbox, made snowmen in the first snow, broke knees learning to ride a bike together, did difficult homework together and experienced teenage rebellion, skipping classes in the backyard where no one would see you. when you were kids, you said you'd get married when you grew up and called each other husband and wife, but as you got older and entered your teenage years, it became a joke, and then those jokes became fell awkward so you stop do it

you wanted to continue studying together, but it so happened that you had to leave to study at universities in different cities. since then it was not possible to see each other often due to studies, but you continued to communicate closely 24/7 texting and facetiming. you dreamed of meeting the entire year, but you were offered by a very prestigious company for a summer internship and soobin persuaded you to agree to it, promising that you would definitely see each other for the christmas holidays

after not seeing him for almost a year and a half, already in early december you were burning with anticipation so when your parents called you and told that soobin and his parents would come to your house to celebrate christmas, you were ready to scream

time flew by and now you were already at home waiting for soobin to arrive. seeing him with his parents at the door of your house felt like something unreal, you ran up almost hanging on his neck shouting «OMG YOU’VE GROWN SO MUCH». he held you close, giggling and trying to put the gift bags out of his hands. perking you on the top of your head, he released you from his embrace and hugged your parents, handing them what he had brought

dinner was in a cozy family atmosphere and you can’t even count how many times your tears flowed from laughter. after clearing the table, your parents stayed to discuss their own stuff and you and soobin went to your room. since soobin came with his parents, they were given a guest bedroom and soobin had to sleep in your bedroom. you used to visit each other a lot and spend time in your room, so there were a lot of memories associated with this place

coming out of the shower, you lay in bed in your pajamas and hugged each other tightly, trying not to go beyond a line of friendship. after talking until the morning, you fell asleep cuddled up to each other and woke up a little earlier than soobin, your heart was beating like crazy, feeling his hands on your body, his sniffing near your face and his bulge lightly touching your stomach. feeling that soobin was also starting to wake up, you didn’t want to embarrass him so you pretended to be asleep, allowing him to wake up and realize the situation, after which he carefully, so as not to wake you up, got up and went to the shower

you spent the next day walking around the places where you spent time before. you talked about a lot of things and remembering that you wanted to get married before, you joked with soobin, saying “that’s it, all of you guys are the same, at first he promises to marry and then changes his mind and leaves you leaving for college”. he got embarrassed and lightly pushed you on the shoulder and said “heeeeey I didn’t leave you and ….” stopping mid-sentence you saw old friends from school waving to you from the other side of the road so you approached them to talk

after walking and talking about the time you spent together, sharing memories, your heart was filled with warmth. having returned home almost at night, you lay on the bed watching a movie. his fingers gently drew circles on your back, you felt his breathing quicken a little and after a few minutes of silence he suddenly awkwardly said “what if I didn’t?” you raised your head from his chest and looked at him with confusion and asked, “hm?”. “what if i didn’t changed my mind? like never did this” he said looking at you with wide eyes. you still didn’t understand what he was talking about, so you asked again “what about you, soobi?”. “about this…. about the fact that my heart melts every time you call me soobi and about the fact that i never changed my mind about marrying you”. you blinked your eyes and although you heard him, the meaning of his words took a long time to process in your head. seeing your silence it seemed like a refusal to him, so he lowered his head to avoid your eyes and said “oh no, no, just forget it, I just...”. without letting him finish, your hands reached out to his face, pulling him towards you. after a couple of seconds of eye contact, your lips gently and carefully pressed against each other, as if what was happening between you now was not obvious and you were both afraid of the other’s reaction, putting your friendship on the line

fully feeling that the kiss was mutual, as were your feelings, just a light touch of lips was not enough for you, the kiss gradually turned from tender to deeper and wetter, hands slid over each other and you didn’t even notice how you ended up sitting on him. your every random movement that touched his bulge make him to moan involuntarily. breaking away from each other for only a second and without breaking eye contact, he took off his t-shirt, pulled off the shirt from your pajamas and at that same second, in one movement, you were under him. “I don’t believe it… feels so unreal” he whispered between kisses on your neck and chest

whining between kisses, he impatiently pulls down your pants along with your underwear and when he takes off his, you see his dick for the first time. you never thought he was small or anything, but seeing it with your own eyes still felt shocking. seeing your rounded eyes, he asked in fear, “is everything okay? we can stop if you want." “no no everything’s fine.. I’m just kind of…surprised… by the size” you answered. soobin smiled shyly and hovering over you he whispered “we can do this slowly, i’ll be careful.” and he tried, he really tried first couple of minutes, but his feelings overwhelmed him too much, he dug his fingers into your waist and hips, periodically saying apologies between declarations of love and attempts to take a breath of air

feeling an overabundance of feelings, you were on the verge, but when soobin lowered his fingers on your bud with the words “baby, I’m sorry, I can’t hold back anymore,” this was the last straw. feeling his chaotic tremors, the pressure of his fingers on your clit and the warmth of his sperm spreading inside drove you into a frenzy. cumming in unison, you squeezed each other like it was the last time and muffled loud moans into each other’s shoulders still remembering that your parents are sleeping at home

it’s 5:40 in the morning, you are lying naked and happy, not letting go of each other’s arms even for a second. soobin looks at you with loving eyes, strokes your cheek and says, “by the way, it wasn’t a joke about marriage. really wanna make you mrs. choi"

[nonsensical-raw-material]

Only goyim seem to try to invalidate my Jewishness.

And it's like they think they're doing me a favor. Like "sure you say you're one of THEM but don't worry we can tell"

I live in a semi-rural part of the south. With my synagogue being well into an hour away and having to cross state lines. There is not a Jewish community in the town I live. Wearing my Magen David I've heard people whispering wondering what an Israli is doing in rural America rather than guess Jewish people exist.

It's not hard to tell I'm a convert from the way I talk. My life is very interfaith because so are the people in it. My kind of adoptive family gifted me a gorgeous mezuzah necklace. And when I don't work Sundays sometimes I'll go to church with them to hear my bonus father figure preach. I still participate in my own family's christmas celebrations because to us it's always been secular. I may have a few more reservations about singing songs that speak of Jesus as divine. In the same direction one of best friends who is Christian and who's father preaches when I can't get to synagogue always makes sure I have someone to share the Purim story with. The same friend celebrated Chanukah with me and learned how to make Latkes.

And with all the issues that come with "looking Jewish" despite the fact there is no real way to look Jewish. My name isn't Jewish enough for goyim. Why is my hair blonde? Why isn't my nose bigger? Why are my eyes light? Why don't I fit the antisemitic character in their head? How can I be ethnically German and Jewish at the same time? Man oh man I must really be confused and hate myself.

"OH so you're just Jew....ISH"

Then when I explain how within our community we don't differentiate the convert. A Jew is a Jew is a Jew is a JEW. I explain the story of all our souls accepting Torah at Sinai. How I love my community and for once in my life I felt at home somewhere. And I get looked at like I'm crazy.

Maybe I'm lucky but I have yet to experience any type of differentiation within my community. I've been taken in lovingly and met with open arms. But it's always so crazy to me how I've never had my fellow Jew try to take away my Jewishness. If anything they constantly reaffirm it. I've never been mocked or ridiculed or less valued.

Goyim on the other hand will ask me questions on Torah. Especially Christians on the topic of mitzvot. Acting with superiority "Oh why would you follow that stupid law? We don't, don't you feel stupid choosing to miss out?" Its like an 'gotcha' moment but only for them.

I just wonder if you claim to love G-d why do you see tasks for them as hardship? I suppose it's a cultural difference. We see our laws as blessings and other see them as obligations. I don't live in a society where the religion and culture I've been adopted into is the default. There is an active decision made in being Jewish every single day of my life. But for them they get to be the default. No question goes into what they practice because that's just 'what you do'

[jaylver]

CINDY LOU WHO — P.SH

synopsis: christmas came early with a heartbreak as your present when you found out your boyfriend had fallen out of love with you. the boy that you loved is now in love with someone else, a new girl who managed to make him believe in love the way cindy-lou made grinch believe in christmas.

pairings: non-idol!sunghoon x afab!reader

genre: lovers to exes, break up au, angst

warning(s): underlying hints of cheating/unfaithfulness

wc: 731

a/n: when i said i was planning a depressive december ... i was not lying. hoping everyone is enjoying the festive season! please leave a feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated! muah xx

masterlist | © jaylver all rights reserved.

Festive season hasn't been feeling the same ever since your boyfriend returned from his trip.

Sunghoon had been off somewhere in the desert with his friends as a getaway before Christmas. At first, you thought it was funny that he was going somewhere with the opposite season compared to where you were now. But the moment you noticed a change in him once he returned home, you figured things weren't about to be the same.

It shouldn’t be this hard to communicate and interact with him, but why was he acting like a stranger to you now? You had to bug him for ages to let him see pictures he took from the trip, that alone was enough to tell you something had shifted in the air. On the couch that night, it was probably only you that was enjoying your time as you swiped through the pictures, many were with his usual guy friends you already knew. 

However, there was one that specifically caught your eyes. There in one of his pictures was a girl laughing.

A girl amongst the group, odd wasn’t it? She was sitting closely next to your boyfriend. Repeat, your boyfriend. You couldn’t recognise who she was, nor could you recall meeting her in the past. Sunghoon must’ve noticed you staring too long and pausing on that specific picture, so he tried to explain despite your heart breaking into pieces, saying it was a girl they met on the trip and there was nothing more. 

To him, he claimed it was just ‘a girl’, but you knew there was more to that, and you weren’t trying to be a paranoid crazy girlfriend. You couldn’t sleep that night, sitting wide awake in your living room couch, the same exact spot where you had seen the pictures earlier. Was she the reason he’s been acting off around you? Had she casted a spell on him while he was there? Why him?

Maybe he met her somewhere in the desert. He was soul searching and found someone better. Did she make him happy like you couldn’t do? Or even worse, would she be the one with his ring on her finger? There’s red and green everywhere, but God, you were so blue.

“Let’s break up.” 

The timing was just perfect. Two weeks before Christmas day, and right before your annual trip back to his family’s house to celebrate Christmas with his family. He was cruel, a little too cruel for breaking your heart at this time. ‘Tis the season, you guess. 

Of course he would fall in love with her, you understood that almost at once when you saw her posts on social media. With her hair so long, lips so red, she was a dream anyone would wish to have. She was also the total opposite of you, that was what you noted as you scrolled five years back in her profile. You felt like a joke. 

Just thinking about the fact that she’d be doing the exact same thing you did the past five years this festive season has you crumbling inside out. You bet she’d wake up in his old bed at his family’s house, ready to celebrate Christmas, while you sat in your home all alone wondering what went wrong. 

The snow’s going to fall and the tree’s going to glisten. Everywhere around you was in a high, happy atmosphere, but you couldn’t seem to feel the same. All you knew was you’d puke at the thought of her kissing the boy who you once loved, the one who was in love with someone else. 

Even after breaking the news to all your friends, they said it couldn’t be true, and you thought it was funny, that they were much more in denial than you were. They tried to console you by putting on How the Grinch Stole Christmas, huddling together under a large blanket with snacks on the side, but you could only think of how she reminded you of Cindy-Lou. 

Cindy-lou showed the Grinch the real meaning of Christmas just as she had shown Sunghoon true love. Maybe all along he had never wanted to commit to you, and he had found something more in her. You should be happy now that your friends were around, but you were feeling the exact opposite. Everything reminded you of him and her both.

Cindy-lou, who?

( © jaylver all rights reserved. do NOT copy, plagiarise or edit my work and repost whatsoever. once discovered will be exposed and blacklisted. )

☆ permanent taglist (open):

@silentkarnival @strvlveera @freshsaladbowl @bejewelledgirl @fakeuwus @yenqa @hsgwrld @ilovegyuvin @enhacatalog @aishigrey @shinrjj @kgneptun @ilovegyuvin @hyunniesvlog

[mangoshorthand]

Prompt from @missjiru that I picked up from this post. She is an incredibly talented artist and I can personally attest that her lewds are 🔥🥵🤤(check her profile for the tiniest hint of the possibilities!). Luckily for all of us thirsty people, she accepts commissions.

The whole crew is out for karaoke for whatever reason (wedding, everyone's collective birthday or something) and fem!reader sings this track and Five is mesmerized. They eventually go back home/to the academy. Maybe they are chilling in the bar area. Five asks if she'll sing it again just for him. Burlesque-y, strip tease-y, sexy shenanigans ensue?

The Birthday Boy | Five Hargreeves/ F Reader 3.8k words, Rated E

October 1st: the communal birthday. 

Until recent years, bad memories of being ‘the birthday kids’ meant that Five’s siblings liked to celebrate their birthday apart. Since regaining a new sense of themselves as a family, however, October 1st became a family gathering more strictly observed than Christmas or Thanksgiving. 

The routine was a loose one: the afternoon was spent with the entire family at Griddy’s Doughnuts, laughing and, on Five’s part, complaining about how it wasn’t what it used to be. Every year he had the same complaint, and every year he was told not to be a miserable old bastard. After that it was dinner, drinks and a night of karaoke on the town. 

You’d woken Five that morning with a steaming pot of coffee, a lingering kiss and birthday gifts. He’d recently expressed an interest in learning the guitar, so you’d got him lessons, but you privately didn’t hold out much hope for these: you’d seen him try to learn the basics of violin with Viktor once, and he’d lost patience as soon as it became clear he wasn’t going to be an immediate prodigy. You thought the cufflinks and tie pin you got him, however, might have a longer lasting benefit. These, he sported proudly in the bar.

It was lucky the lights were low, Five thought, because Diego was a total mess. He held a beer loosely in one hand and swayed expressively along with the music. It was refreshing to one of the most sober in the group. 

“-And love dares you to change our way of Caring about ourselves,”

Beside Diego on the stage, taking the part of David Bowie, Five side-eyed him as they sang in unison. He had to admit, despite being this drunk, Diego was really going for it with his Freddie Mercury.

“This is our last dance, This is our last dance,”

Five smirked as Diego stumbled, belched and hit a bum note.

“This is our- Jesus, Diego!” 

Five shook the deluge of spilled beer off his now-soaked jacket 

“Under pressure!” Diego continued, unperturbed, now holding the beer bottle upright again and raising his arm above his head.

“You’re paying for my dry cleaning,” Five said, swiping at his waistcoat before rejoining Diego to sing the last two lines.

“Under pressure, Pressure.”

Five was conscientious in karaoke, as in most things: leaving a song unfinished was bad form in his opinion.

“Idiot,” he grumbled, as the song came to its end.

“It’s my birthday,” slurred Diego, “don’t be an asshat.”

“Don’t remember wishing for a beer-shower when I blew out my candles.” Five grumbled.

He slotted the mic back into its stand, shaking his head and left Diego to his own devices. He stepped off the stage and craned his neck over the other patrons to where he’d left you at the bar. 

“She’s gone to powder her nose,” said Lila, appearing unexpectedly at Five’s side. 

“Right.”

“You look like you’ve pissed yourself,” she said, matter-of-factly.

Five rolled his eyes. Behind him, he sensed Diego’s unsteady gait approaching.

“I’m gonna go clean up. Try to make sure he doesn't end up in a ditch.”

Lila gave a mock salute and Five edged around her, moving in the direction of the men’s room. 

He fixed the spill as best as he could. First dabbing it with folded toilet paper, and then drying the wet patch beneath the hand-drier, earning him stares and the odd smirk from other bathroom users. 

When he at last pushed open the heavy bathroom door, he was greeted by the sound of slightly-distorted piano, drums and electric guitar over the speakers: a tune he vaguely recognized. 

Just as he was about to turn his steps towards the bar, the voice of the singer caught his attention.

“-And they could never tear us apart.”

He smiled, recognising you before his eyes could turn to see you on the stage. When his eyes caught up with his comprehension, they were well rewarded for the effort: he was enthralled immediately. 

You swayed gently from the shoulders, in circular movements back and forth. Effortlessly alluring in that wrap dress he loved on you: the way it skimmed your curves, swelled and dipped in all the right places like a lush range of hills and valleys. It showed just enough smooth skin to make him crazy, and hid just enough to make him anxious to see more. 

He was staring, he knew, but the way your lips moved only an inch before the mic was already giving him ideas. 

You caught his eye, and a glowing smile lit up your face. To be the object of that look was the best gift you’d given him that day. 

In turn, you studied him as you inhaled to sing the next line. There he was, his back and one foot against the wall, leg bent. His arms were folded and his brows raised in interest.

“You, you were standing,”

You maintained eye contact deliberately as you sang it, giving him a cheeky wink for good measure. It let him know that, from your perspective, ‘you’ wasn’t some lyrical archetype, but him.

His expression flickered: one corner of his mouth twitched, and his eyebrows quirked, but it was his eyes that made the greatest impression. They fixed you with a brooding, assessing gaze.

You knew perfectly well what was on his mind. You knew that look: it was the one that removed your every inhibition and left you happy for him to do as he pleased with you. With that look, you knew something of what would be in store for you when he got you home. 

“I was there, Two worlds collided”

Klaus appeared at Five’s shoulder. 

“Heavens, you should be using protection rather than eye-fucking her raw.”

“And they could never-” Ever, ever, tear us apart.”

He and Klaus clapped as the music finished, Klaus watching Five with amusement, Five still watching you.

“I’ve got a viagra guy if you need some little blue pills, grandpa?”

Heading over to rejoin you as you stepped down from the stage, Five flashed Klaus his most dangerous smile.

“I’ll be quite alright, thank you.”

As you made your way through the crowd, he came upon you suddenly, stepping out from behind a rowdy group of women.

“Hello,” he said, simply, his hand coming immediately to your lower back- a reassuring and slightly proprietary presence.

Smut below cut

*** You snuck out early, arriving back at the Academy before everyone else. Five dragged you into the living room for one final drink before turning in. His soaked jacket and waistcoat were thrown on the couch behind him, and he sat on one of the barstools in his shirt and tie. He watched you as you moved busily behind the bar and winced as he took a sip of his newly poured drink.

“Oof. You don’t skip on tequila, do you?”

“Nope,” you said, placing a cocktail umbrella in his drink with a flourish. 

He let out a breath or two of laughter.

“Thank you, dearest.”

He was eyeing you with the same look he’d given you back in the bar. You tried to meet his gaze, but the knowing smirk that appeared there made you flush and look away.

“You have a good voice,” he said, while you studied the polished surface of the bar, “I was sorry to only hear the end of that song.”

“Thanks,” you said, a little embarrassed, stirring the straw around your own cocktail. 

He considered you for a moment, head tilted. 

“Would you please sing it for me?”

“What?”

“I want you to sing it again.”

He jerked his head, indicating the space on the rug in front of the bar- an informal stage for his viewing pleasure. 

“Five-” you said, trying to dissuade him, but he interrupted you with an imperious look. 

“Hey- it’s my birthday, remember.”

And then he grinned. It was a maddening expression. He looked, honest to god, as if he’d just beaten you with an infallible argument. Which, of course, he had.

Slowly, you stepped out from behind the bar and set yourself in the space he’d indicated. He pivoted on the stool, so that he was sitting facing you. Drink in his left hand, he leaned casually backwards against the bar. He looked effortlessly sophisticated; confident; self-assured. 

“There’s no music,” you said, hoping for an excuse to wriggle out of it.

You should have known. He just smirked and produced a remote control from his pants pocket. He pressed play and the sound of the mellow piano issued from unseen speakers. 

“I set it up while you were in the bathroom.”

You shook your head and huffed, half exasperated, half gratified. He inclined his head at you expectantly, as if to say: ‘Well, go on then.’

With no more than a quick roll of your eyes at this, you let the music take you away from the slight self consciousness around performing this way for an audience of one. Despite the feeling of exposure, your hips loosened, the flow of the music taking them into a soft sway. 

After all, you’d been ‘exposed’ in front of Five many times before, and in various different ways. Why should this be any different?

He watched, satisfied: the way your legs went on forever in those heeled shoes, the way the snug fabric around your hip stretched and undulated with the tidal movement of your pelvis. They’d look good moving that way on his lap, he thought, with the skirt hitched up nice and high, of course.

“Don’t ask me, What you know is true,”

Even with your eyes closed, your voice wavered with nerves. You could feel his eyes on you like a breath of wind, raising the hairs on your exposed skin.

“Don’t have to tell you, I love your precious heart,”

“Strip,” came his voice. 

You stopped singing, wrongfooted. 

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.” his voice held a quiet command, “it is my birthday, after all.”

He gave you another imperious raise of his eyebrows, slurping his margarita through his straw. He looked as if you were a mildly-entertaining TV show that he was reserving full judgement on. 

You shook your head, laughing disbelievingly at his cheek.

“Don’t pretend you don’t want to.” he said, silkily, “I know the idea turns you on.”

“Anyone could walk in!” you said, unable to hide your delight at the idea.

“Exactly,” Five said, voice low, “and you like that, don’t you?”

A smile spread slowly across your face. You did like that. He could read you like a book, and this knowledge combined with the situation itself made your pussy give a little twinge. You could feel yourself becoming wet already.

You stepped backwards onto the rug, to give him a better view. His little demand made you miss the whole first chorus, and now the drums were beating stirringly towards the second verse. You made the most of this, looking him in the eye as you rolled your hips more suggestively this time, letting their flow bleed into your waist and torso. You raised your arms above your head slowly, arching your back so that your breasts were thrust into greater prominence.

You grinned as his eyes flicked there, just as you intended. So easy to direct.

Time to up the ante.

“We could live, For a thousand years,”

Your hands skimmed your body on the way down, cupping and rubbing across your breasts and coming to rest on your hips. Five’s lips pursed as he watched, readjusting his seated posture to spread his legs fractionally wider. 

“But if I hurt you,”

Your hands came to the tie at your waist.

“I’d make wine from your tears.”

Slowly, you began to loosen the knot, Five watching hungrily. Seemingly without his knowledge, the hand not holding his drink left the bar and came to rest on his thigh.

“The shoes stay on,” he murmured.

“I told you, That we could fly” The dress undone, you held it around yourself, loose enough to give him a better view of your cleavage, but tight enough to tease. “Cause we all have wings,”

A twitch of the skirt’s hem to reveal your upper thigh. Five put his drink down.

“But some of us don't know why.”

You began to sing the chorus, but your voice petered out. Five’s longest finger was in motion,  stroking softly up and down his inner thigh. In another situation, it might have been an innocent fidget, but not in this one. 

While you hadn’t expected this, exactly, you had anticipated Five wanting to see you in your underwear before his birthday was out, so you’d chosen lingerie: black lace bra and panties and, for good measure, stockings with a suspender belt.

You dropped the dress.

“Mm,” he said, softly.

You gyrated to the music, closing in on him and running your hands down his chest. His hands reached out for your hips, but you moved them away.

“Wait. Don’t touch yet.”

He nodded, both hands moving to his knees. You bent from the waist, fingers continuing their journey: skimming past his waist, stomach and down both his thighs. He ogled your breasts, this angle making them seem extra full, cupped perfectly by the bra. He had to control an almost-overwhelming impulse to rub his thumbs over your nipples, poking prominently behind the delicate lace.

You heard his controlled, huffed out exhale and smirked.

When you straightened back up, his eyes were back on yours. 

“Can I touch myself?”

His voice was low, gravelly. 

“Only because it’s your birthday,” you said, grinning and stirring your hips with honey-smoothness. 

His hand immediately cupped himself through his pants, his thumb stroking lazily up and down his shaft. So far, the fabric had hidden the significant bulge between his legs, but as his palm flattened it around him, you could see it, the manhood swollen and heavy in his hand.

You revolved on the ball of one foot, still moving your hips in that syrupy way. You sat softly on his lap, grinding your ass into him where he was hard. 

“Oh shit, that’s just not fair,” he groaned, both arms returning to the bar, “how am I supposed to not touch you now?”

You chucked as you rubbed yourself sinfully against him, glorying in his tight breaths; his gentle shifting beneath you as he tried to increase the friction. With the song having ended a minute or so ago, the only sound was his sighs and the slight creak of the barstool.

When you noticed his knuckles turning white, gripping the ledge of the bar, you thought he’d had enough.

“You can touch me now,” you said. 

His hands immediately came to your hips and firmly slid you off his lap. 

“Get on your knees,” he growled, with a glimpse of teeth visible beneath the curve of his upper lip, “blow me.”

You moved to obey, but not fast enough, he used his grip on your hips to urge you faster, turning you towards him before grabbing your shoulders and push-pulling you down towards his crotch.

Your knees hit the plush pile of the rug and you looked up at him as he feverishly unfastened his belt, parted his flies and pulled his cock unceremoniously from his underwear. It was thick, stiff and a deep, fierce red at the tip.

“I’m in charge now, okay?” he said, barely moving his lips.

“Yes sir.” you replied, the title half in jest and half not. 

At this confirmation, his right hand laced itself in your hair immediately, reinforcing the message. In his left hand, he held his cock by the base and, angling your face towards it, he let it drop so that it lay obscenely across your face. The soft impact of his weight brought a sting of pleasure to your core, radiating outwards from your pussy. You could feel your own wetness collecting against the lace of the panties.

“Put out your tongue.”

His voice was still deeper than usual. If you didn’t know better, you might have thought he sounded angry. 

You did as you were told. Taking himself back in hand, he slapped himself into your tongue, wetting his tip liberally with saliva and enjoying the view.

He let out a growling breath as he directed himself slowly into your waiting mouth, sliding across a slick tongue until your nose met his neat curls. This was the best part, he thought, the first time he was wholly inside you. The feeling was something like sinking into a perfectly warm bath, cock first.

“That’s it,” he whispered, still in that gruff tone, “that’s it angel. Go nice and slow.”

His grip loosened on your hair, signaling for you to take over. 

He was hard and hot in your mouth, his skin silky against your lips.

You looked up at him, watching as expressions passed across his handsome face, changing and morphing from one to the other as the sensations took over him: smug satisfaction became ecstasy and ecstasy became mild amusement as the movements of your mouth kept him on his toes with unexpected spikes of pleasure.  As you drew your head back, your lipstick stained his skin, leaving a colored smear all the way up his shaft. 

He looked down at this, mouth agape; wide-pupiled eyes shaded by his thick, dark lashes. Amusement was gone now, replaced by nothing short of incredulity.

“My God,” he whispered.

Your lips formed a seal around his head, to hold him in your mouth as you licked eagerly at his tip: something that always made him weak at the knees. Tonight was no exception: his grip on your hair tightened again and he made an abrupt, pained noise, as if he’d just been struck by an enemy rather than pleasured by his lover. 

As his neck arched and he looked straight at the ceiling, he rocked forwards on the barstool, getting his cock as deep as you could take it. 

“Ah shiiit,” he called out, the words almost an inarticulate sound. 

Encouraged by this, you tried to swirl your tongue again, but his shaft pinned your tongue down.  Instead, you bobbed your head, swallowing his cock again and again, letting your lips stroke him as they dragged and plumped with his passage between them. 

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he breathed, as he tried to stop himself thrusting against the barrier of your throat, “just incredible, baby. I’m so…I’m nearly there.”

One of your hands came to his, still rooted in your hair, and gripped it. You guided his hand to push and pull at your head, inviting him to control its movement and take his own pleasure.

He made a low grinding sound in his throat as took you up on your unspoken offer. He held your head more firmly in his hands and stroked himself with your face, slowly pushing you down and bottoming out in you and then, just as slowly withdrawing with hissing breaths. Every time, with intense self-control you could sense in the set of his grip, he stopped just short of your throat.

As he continued to use your face this way, you could feel his fingers tightening and loosening spasmodically. Hiis movements were becoming more erratic, his breathing ever more shrill and gasp-like.

Amd then he moaned, tensed, and froze.

He turned his face back to you and drew your gaze to his. He began to tremble. His eyes were hazy, strung out. 

“You want to swallow it?”

By way of answer, you sucked his cock again, resuming at the same tempo he’d been at before he stopped.

“Oh fuck!” he barked.

Again, his pelvis was thrusting messily into you, incapable of the finesse needed to avoid occasionally butting up against your throat. Your eyes watered, your larynx constricted, but you held out, (it was his birthday, after all). 

Your tolerance wasn’t tested long. With a shout, his pleasure burst its bounds inside your mouth, painting your tongue with the evidence of his orgasm: thick, salty and potent. He held your head to his crotch as if letting go might mean death. His shrill breath hitched as his cock throbbed with pump after desperate pump deep into your throat-

The sound of the door and rowdy voices. 

Five, preoccupied as he was, didn’t immediately register this, so you thumped your fist on the outside of this thigh. This brought him back to the here and now and, instinctively, he blinked, dragging you with him by the hold he had on your head. 

You emerged, dizzily, behind the bar, shielded from the eyes of his siblings, newly arrived home. Still coming, Five let your head go.

“Shit, your dress,” he muttered, distractedly, leaning against the polished wood and wriggling tensely. 

His hands went urgently to his waistband to cover his dick, still shooting out thick but waning splashes of come, but he found your head still resolutely in the way.

“What are you-? Oh shit,” he whispered. 

Unbelievably, you were still sucking him off, still swallowing his seed even as his siblings were saying their goodnights in the atrium. He closed his eyes and shuddered, keeping his moans in with difficulty as you diligently ensured that every last moment of his orgasm was earth-shattering, even at the risk of being caught this way. 

“God, you’re such a freak,” he whispered, as your tongue swiped at the final drops of come beading at the end of his dick.

“Thanks for noticing,” you said, giving him one of his own, self-satisfied little smirks, “Happy birthday.”

You kissed his tip one final time.

Five shook his head, unable to believe his luck, but he couldn’t bask in the afterglow.

Hurriedly, he made himself decent and blinked back around the bar, leaving you to crouch behind it alone.

“Hey Five. You’re still up?” 

Luther’s voice. His footsteps were approaching the living room.

“Just off to bed actually,” you heard Five reply, slightly out of breath. At that moment, your dress landed just in front of you, flung over the top of the bar by Five. You reached for it and scrambled to put it on.

“Oh okay,” came Luther’s voice again, slightly disappointed and closer now,  “I was gonna have one more drink if you-”

“Um, no!” said Five, stepping between Luther and the bar. I got some margarita left. Let me pour you one.”

“Huh,” Luther sounded pleasantly surprised at this obligingness, “thanks Five.”

Fully dressed now, you straightened up, smoothing your tangled hair and holding a bar towel.

“Oh, hey,” Luther said, sounding even more surprised now, “I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s because I’ve been on my knees for so long.” you said.

This made Five’s head whip around to stare at you. If looks could kill…

“I’ve been cleaning up,” you said, looking directly at Five now and smiling sweetly, “I spilled some tequila.”

“Oh, right,” Luther said, unconcerned and totally unsuspicious. 

Five’s lips pursed. Clearly, he intended to deal with you when you got upstairs to bed. 

…And you’d make sure you held him to that. 

Megalist

Request info + rules

NOTE:

I take Five requests, I'm fairly versatile in what I write (fluff, smut, angst, psychological character study- I'll try it all) but I will consider them on a case by case basis. See request info + rules for request status and more.

[figureofdismay]

i keep thinking about the lines from Vince Gilligan's Drive script, the antisemitic conspiracy theorist with the pressurized head demands to know if Mulder is Jewish and if Mulder is a Jewish name, and Mulder says, "Yes, I am, and no it's not," plus there's the fact that he was buried unembalmed, which made his resurrection possible in DeadAlive, plus DD's statement that he'd decided Mulder was Jewish and to play him that way unless told to do otherwise, so despite the messy parts of the Kaddish script and other culturally 'Christian Athist' Mulder moments in the writing (most likely because of how little cultural awareness there is about the difference in Christian vs Jewish theism that it bleeds through everywhere), I do think there was a conscious positioning of the Mulder character as Jewish Adjacent via his mother + complicated by his WASPy father's domination of the family...

But they wrote that without any specific research or much accommodation for the implications of keeping him tied up with alien conspiracy plots and eugenics plot. Yet! Mulder was always on the 'fighting it' side, and the power hoarding conspiracists were all signalled to be rich WASPy conservative men, all but one of whom were White.

Also early the 90s independent internet fringe conspiracy theorists, i.e. the Lone Gunmen, Max and others shown to be allied with Mulder, weren't the radical right wing fasch of the last 10-15 years, and in the context of the show don't carry the same strange implication of 'an ethnically Jewish person surrounding himself with conspiracy theorists' would in the present day. I do get the sense that they were radical left instead -- that doesn't necessarily leave out the antisemitism part, of course so it's not un-complicated, of course. (And though I suppose i should feel grateful that CC made Mulder's son a fish mutant and not a lizard mutant that's also not a particularly reassuring implication... but then again the Revival is a pretty different animal with different, less collaborative creative direction.)

Yes parts of this subtext do bother me a lot. The fact that they got 3/4rs of the way there in the writing but never once had Jewish Adjacent Mulder talk about the mental toll of sorting the wheat from the chaff, finding genuine abduction survivor and alien leads in amongst the mountains of antisemetic conspiracy bullshit on message boards or how he doesn't really ever know which contacts are going to meet him and decide he's the enemy because he 'looks Jewish'... it's both a missed opportunity and speaks to a lot of ignorance. It makes me pretty crazy. There are a lot of half gestures towards Mulder's Jewish background and then a lot of ugly coincidences and unfortunate implications because no one really thought about what that would mean in the context of The X-File's genre content and recurring themes. But also some of that uncomfortable feeling comes from the fact that there have been a lot of cultural shifts since the original run was on the air.

Like, i don't think he's culturally exactly anything, caught in the middle and mostly without. It's a story familiar to me and my mother because my grandmother was also a young Jewish woman who made a hasty love match (i.e. she got pregnant) with a WASPy goy from a rich industrialist family, and said family held the purse strings, so keeping his mother happy was everything -- which was true even after my grandparents divorced, because of complicated inheritance reasons. She assimilated and let my mother and her siblings be raised as Christmas and Passover celebrating 'nothing in particular' kids, who went to shul when visiting her parents and kept shabbos sometimes with the neighbors, but still broadly steeped in cultural Christianity and outside the community, because it was the 50s and 60s and she was a divorced mother in an upper middle class white area who had to be careful to keep social doors open to all of them. I figure Teena and Mulder had a pretty similar situation in the 60s and 70s, with the added complication of accidentally marrying into an actual WASPy conspiracy hub who could have you 'disposed of' for speaking out of turn.

I just... Jewish Mulder is deeply important to me as a character, it's the execution in practice that I find extremely frustrating. it's the half way there implications, partly intentional, partly accidental because it's apparent that no one educated themselves on the history some of the bigger themes beyond the surface familiar Scifi-Horror tropes. Actually getting there all the way and digging into it, or trying even 25% more to avoid the pitfalls around Mulder and Teena would have added a lot to the show. And would maybe even have insulated CC against (some of) the plot bungles in the Revival. Very frustrating all around. But at the same time, it is a scifi show, and the aliens and rich White conspirators are very literal in fact on the screen.

And what's more, Mulder's particular blend of faith and hope and contention and interrogation, his willingness to Keep Doing The Work no matter what, because it's worth it and it needs to be done in the hope for a better world... that is very Jewish to me at more than a surface level. For me that makes all the awkward implications worth it.

[bnnywngs]

Shoyo is a famous actor/model, he's currently everywhere from the current popular drama airing prime time, to that big billboard in the city, he's also in some magazines covers and has a million followers on his sns.

He's also pretty infamous for his coming out during a live show earlier in his career, and his refusal to act in stereotypes/prejudiced works, and for calling out homophobic acts, talks and people.

Because of that, he's celebrated between the lgbt community in Japan, and his fans are not only loyal, but fiercely protective and active in protests online or in person, for many things - either lgbt, feminist, or just to get a better access for wheelchairs in the subway.

But recently, after years saying he was single, he came out saying he had a lover who was neither an actor or a model, but wasn't unknown. He didn't want to say who it was because it could be bad for them, as Japan still has a long way to go to accept lgbt couples.

People respected that, but not the paparazzi, as always, so they relentlessly followed Shoyo, who kept going from work to home, and home to work, with a few outings with his friends and colleagues, so the photographers were getting anxious and restless.

It all came down to one letter.

Every Christmas Shoyo sends a custom postcard to his parents and his sister (who's a famous volleyball player now in Turkey) before going back home for new years (if he didn't have anything in his schedule), and this year he decided to get a picture of him and his boyfriend in a Christmas setting as his postcard.

But it was intercepted by one of the paparazzi.

Shoyo's boyfriend was none other than number 1 japanese streamer kodzuken! It was a cute little postcard with a picture of both of them sitting in front of a big and full of ornaments Christmas tree, with matching sweaters and doing a heart with their hands together.

The leak was soon everywhere and Shoyo's radio interview was cancelled that day, together with all his schedule, so they could do a somewhat damage control and to write a handwritten letter to his fans not only explaining everything, but criticizing those who stole his family letter.

The truth was: Shoyo and kodzuken met each other in highschool, when they both played volleyball in their respective schools, and started a relationship early on, that kept going for years and years, both their families knew about it and accepted it, Shoyo's family loved Kenma and treated him as another member of the family, and kodzuken's parents are always inviting Shoyo to have family dinner with them and even going out together without kodzuken.

kodzuken just did a small update stream a week or so later, saying almost the exact same thing as Shoyo's letter, and also criticizing those who make money over these kinds of scandals, and that they wanted to come out some day as a couple but in their own terms and not like this - as kodzuken wasn't even out of the closet for his fans.

As the media was letting go of this and the fans were calming down (Shoyo's fans being more open and receptive of their relationship), a magazine with them at the cover was released, with a long interview where they shared one single picture of their teenage years, where they went a bit more deep into their relationship and why they gave up volleyball after highschool.

[trickphotography2]

D-Day by TrickPhotography | Chapter 9

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x female!reader

Word count: 5.9k

Synopsis: After finding out his girlfriend is pregnant, Jake is ready to move in and get married. The last thing he expected was to be hit with a six-month deployment at sea and missing the birth of his first child.

18+, minors DNI

Chapter 8 | Master List | Ao3

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

Chapter 9

Working on base was a whole different beast. While you still dealt with cocky pilots and big personalities, the transitory nature of working with the military meant no one was entrenched in their positions. Orders came through every few years, so squadrons were rebuilt repeatedly. The GS folks tended to stay in place, but with everyone spread across the different squadrons, a majority of the communication was held over Teams with weekly in-person meetings. Only four of your coworkers were with you in the Bounty Hunter’s hanger - and it was nice that you weren’t the only woman on the team.

The higher-ups didn’t stand for any disrespect to the GS employees. Once, in a standing-room-only meeting, an Admiral had forced a Petty Officer out of his seat for you. You were never called ‘sweetheart’ or asked to get coffee for the meeting. Even though you asked them to call you by your first name, you were often addressed as Ma’am or by your last name. 

It helped that you and Jake had hosted a misfit's Christmas party. 

Your parents had a tradition of inviting any Airmen that didn’t have someone to spend the holidays with to their house. It had started with them as a young married couple away from their families for the first time, and later as Dad climbed the ranks and became an NCO, he wanted to take care of his guys. So when they visited for Christmas and Jake gave them a flight line tour, it just kind of happened. The get-together ballooned from the four of you and Javy to about 30 people at Jake’s place - pilots, WSOs, and a few of your coworkers. There were single folks and married couples. When one of Javy’s coworkers showed up with their newborn, Mom was more than happy to play grandma and ensure the new parents had time to eat and relax. Everyone had contributed a dish, and beer pong and cornhole games were set up in the backyard. You and Javy ruled the beer pong table for four rounds before finally losing to Jake and a WSO called Boondock. 

For all his worry about meeting your parents, Jake had done phenomenally. Mom surprised him with a homemade stocking that matched yours, and he’d had to clear his throat a few times before thanking her. Dad gifted him an Air Force t-shirt and laughed when Jake thanked him for the rag to clean his truck tires. 

December faded into January, and Jake drunkenly declared that he was going to marry you when you kissed in the new year. 

Your first big fight was on January 3rd when your apartment’s 60-day lease renewal notice appeared on your front door. Jake wanted you to end your lease and move in. You wanted to keep your place - moving in 10 months into a relationship wasn’t part of the agreement, and you liked having your own space. He demanded to know what about your relationship made you question moving in. You tried to tell him that it wasn’t about not feeling stable in your relationship. It was about your comfort. He snapped that he wasn’t your ex trying to trap you. When he stormed out of the apartment, you refused to apologize. The stalemate went on for three days until you sent him a picture of your new short-term lease that would end in September - four months after your anniversary. Rent would be more expensive, but it was at least a compromise. 

Your second fight was about communication when he showed up at your apartment the next day. 

Happy Anniversary, darlin’. I wish I was with you, but we’ll celebrate when I get home. Love you so much - Jake

The flowers - the same arrangement that he’d bought you the first time he’d asked you out - had shown up on your desk first thing in the morning, and you’d endured some gentle teasing by the aviators, mechanics, and coworkers. And while you’d looked forward to celebrating one year with your boyfriend, unfortunately, he was deployed across the state with Javy. 

What he didn’t know was that you planned on surprising him. 

The late afternoon flight to Mirimar only took an hour. You left straight from the office, your weekend bag waiting in the trunk. You had a meeting with your old company to discuss a delayed delivery, and it had been so satisfying to see your old coworkers squirm when you asked them to explain the delay of services and the implementation of the penalties that had previously been negotiated. In preparation for the meeting, you’d decided to dress up a bit more than usual, anticipating getting to change before heading to the airport - traveling in a pencil skirt and button-down wasn’t the most comfortable. But the meeting had run long, and you’d had to speed to the airport only to find out your flight was delayed. And delayed again.  

It was almost 6:00 PM when you landed, and you’d missed Jake’s after-work call. Quickly, you texted him that you were stuck at the office and would call him back. He made your life easy by saying he would be at the bar but would make sure to step out to answer. He’d already told you about the regular spot the pilots congregated at, so you had a good idea of where you could find him. If all else failed, you could text Javy. 

Thankfully you were able to pick up your rental car relatively quickly. Since you were planning to spend time by the beach, you'd decided to splurge on a convertible. They gave you a newer Mustang, and you quickly snapped a picture to send to your dad.

The Hard Deck was a cute beachside bar and popular if the parking lot was anything to go by, especially for a Wednesday. After fixing your hair and freshening your lipstick, you hesitated a moment before undoing an extra button on your blouse. Leaning against the back of the car, you quickly swapped out your flats for a pair of stilettos that Jake loved, ignoring the looks of a few other patrons heading inside. With a final check to make sure your shirt was tucked in and your belt was straight, you headed inside.

80s music greeted you as you pushed open the door. Glancing up, you saw beer steins and replica planes hung on the ceiling and patches decorating the walls. Skirting the edge of the room, you kept your eyes peeled for your boyfriend.

After a week and a half, he was a sight for sore eyes, backlit by the setting sun as he lifted a beer bottle to his lips and watched a game of pool, checking his phone. Laughing to yourself, you texted him.

Leaving in five minutes. I’ll call you as soon as I’m off base.

He set his beer down and smiled at his phone. A minute later, yours vibrated in your hand.

Good thing we didn’t have plans tonight. Don’t forget to bring your flowers home.

Have I told you how much I love them? You texted back while making your way to the bar. 

I hope so. Blew my entire flower budget on this cute GS contract admin. Smiling, you leaned against the bar and waited to order, eyes trained on Jake, who kept glancing at his phone. 

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked. 

“Hi - can I get a whiskey and Coke and whatever that gentleman over there is drinking?” She turned to look at where you were pointing. Her smile was slightly more sarcastic when she turned back. 

“I wouldn’t waste your time, sweetie.” 

“Thanks for the advice, but I’ll take my chances. Do you have drink runners?”

“Might as well save yourself the money,” the man beside you said. “Hangman’s not worth the trouble.” You glanced at him - he wore a flight suit, which seemed to be a pretty standard uniform at The Hard Deck. 

“Is that so?” you replied, reading his name patch. Yale. As the bartender got the drinks, you turned to face him, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Yup. So how about we take those drinks and find a place to get to know one another.” His eyes flitted to your cleavage. When his gaze met yours again, you raised an eyebrow. You’d forgotten how cocky pilots were off base, surrounded by civilians. Anytime you were around them at home, the ones you interacted with either knew you from work or saw you with Jake and treated you with respect. The thought of putting him in his place made the corner of your mouth lift into a smirk. 

“How do you feel about a friendly bet?” Yale faced you, arm draped across the bar so his fingers nearly brushed yours. 

“What’s the bet?” 

“Hangman - that’s what you called him? - leaves with me tonight.” 

“And the terms?”

“If I’m right, you pay for our first round. But if you’re right, I'll pick up your tab for the night.” 

“That’s more than two drinks - I’ve already paid for rounds for my friends.” You shrugged. “You pick up my tab and have a drink with me.” 

“One that I would be paying for, presumably, since I’d pick up your tab?”

“A bet’s a bet.” 

You paused, tapping your finger against your lower lip as though debating your response. “Two-for-one terms don’t work for me. If you want me to pick up your tab and have a drink with you, you’ll have to pay for all my drinks for the night. Plus his.” 

“Done.” When he extended his hand, you reached for it but paused before shaking. 

“You have to bring him the beer.” When he shrugged, you shook his hand, forcing yourself not to laugh. When he reached for the bottle in front of you, you stopped him. “Hang on. This too.” Grabbing a clean napkin and a pen from the bar, you quickly scribbled a note before folding the napkin in half and handing it to Yale. 

“Thanks for the beers,” he smirked. 

“We’ll see.” With a chuckle and wink, he walked back towards the pool table. You tracked him, sipping your cocktail before glancing over in time to see Javy spot you. His mouth opened in surprise, and you quickly pressed a finger to your lips, motioning him to be quiet. Yale handed Jake the beer just as Javy reached his side. He scowled at the napkin as Yale said something. Javy glanced over Jake’s shoulder and grinned at you when he unfolded it. 

Jake said something to Yale before looking at the bar, gaze running over the other patrons. Finally, his green eyes landed on you. His frown faded, and your favorite crooked grin appeared. Turning to Yale, he nodded before lifting the beer to his mouth and taking a pull as he started towards you. Unerringly, his eyes found you as he navigated the crowd.

And then he was there, grinning down at you. “Working late, huh?”

“Something like that,” you laughed. Jake lifted the napkin and cocked an eyebrow.

“You’re stealing my moves, darlin’. Now, why exactly am I playing it cool?” 

“Because I’m about to take care of our tab for the night.” Stepping closer, you placed one hand on his chest, feeling his heart pounding under your palm, and arched an eyebrow. “I bet Yale that I could take Hangman home tonight.” Jake’s hand rested on your hip as he stepped closer, looming over you. 

“And what’d he bet?”

“That I couldn’t, and I’d have a drink with him and pick up his tab.” His eyes left yours to dart over to where Yale and Javy stood. Both men watched your exchange, Javy grinning around his beer while Yale looked disappointed. 

“Fuck the bet. I’ve got your drinks for the night,” he growled. His lips crashed into yours, hand sliding from your hip to your lower back and hauling you closer. He took advantage of your startled gasp and slipped his tongue into your mouth. Your hand slid up his chest to cup his jaw, thumb rasping against his stubble. When you finally broke apart, you lightly swept your thumb over his lower lip to wipe away your lipstick. “What are you doing here?” Jake asked softly.  

“Well,” you smiled, “it’s important to hold negotiations face-to-face whenever possible.”

“That right?”

“Yup. So are you ready to discuss the contract, Lieutenant?” Placing his beer beside your glass, he unzipped one of his pockets and pulled out his wallet. Instead of pulling out his credit card, he handed you a folded piece of paper. Tears sprang to your eyes when you opened it. 

It was your original contract.

“Ready whenever you are. Got a whole list of updates that I want.” You swayed closer and tilted your head back. Jake’s kiss was softer this time. “Love you, darlin’.”

“Love you too, babe.” 

“Wanna get out of here?” 

“You don’t want to introduce me to your friends?” 

“Not if they’re gonna hit on you,” he scoffed. You laughed, refolding the paper and handing it back. He slipped it into his wallet.

“I want to say hi to Javy and finish my drink. Then we can go back to my hotel.” Grabbing your glass, you pushed off the bar and walked away. Jake dragged his eyes down your body, lingering on your legs, before following.

Javy met your halfway and pulled you in for a hug. “Couldn’t even go two weeks without his ugly mug. What are you gonna do when he’s on a longer deployment?”

“Well, first, let’s not put that into the universe,” you laughed. “And second, it’s only because it’s a special occasion.”

“Right. Not sure how you put up with him for a year.”

“You’ve put up with him longer than I have.” 

“Alright, alright,” Jake huffed, tossing his arm across your shoulders and tugging you close. 

“I checked on your place yesterday,” you told Javy. “Everything’s good - I brought in a bit of mail that didn’t get stopped.” 

“You’re the best. How long are you here for?”

“I fly out Sunday morning. I have to work from the hotel tomorrow, but other than that I’m - ”

“Plenty of time to talk later, then,” Jake said, gently tugging you away. “Say bye to Coyote.” 

“Pool later?” you asked, pointing at Javy, who chuckled and nodded as you were pulled towards the back door. As you passed Yale, Jake lifted his hand from your shoulder and flipped him off. You couldn’t help but laugh as you stepped onto the deck. He led you to the stairs and paused long enough for you to kick off your heels before walking towards the line of Adirondack chairs facing the ocean. 

“C’mere,” he said as soon as he settled in one of the chairs, patting his thigh. You stood between his knees and dropped your shoes, placing your drink on the chair arm beside his beer. 

“God,” you sighed, curling your toes in the sand, “it’s been forever since I’ve been to the beach.” 

“Can’t believe you’re here,” Jake said, sitting up and wrapping his hands around your thighs, pushing the material further up your legs. His tongue darted out to wet his lips as he guided you closer. “I love and hate this skirt.” 

“Oh?”

“You look sexy as hell in it, but it’s too tight to let me touch you the way I want.” 

“That’s probably a good thing since we’re in public and surrounded by your coworkers.” Leaning down, you rested one hand on his shoulder and ran your fingers through his hair. “Missed you, Seresin. Happy anniversary.” 

“Happy anniversary,” he echoed, tugging you down to straddle his knee. Your skirt was tight across your legs and ass, and the wood was uncomfortable on your knees, but it didn’t matter when Jake’s lips pressed against yours, licking into your mouth as his fingers dug into your waist. When the wind blew your hair into your faces, you laughed against his mouth. He chased your lips when you pulled away and groaned when you stood up. Turning, you settled on the chair between his legs and leaned back against his chest, your bare feet brushing against his boots. 

“So, how was work today, Hangman?” you asked. The setting sun reflected off the ocean as you entwined your fingers together and rested them on your stomach. 

“Good. Spent the day in the air working the training course.” 

“For the mission you can’t tell me about, even though I have a top-secret clearance.”

"Yup.” His nose brushed your throat as you took a sip of your drink.  

“Is it really dangerous?” His hesitation was the only answer you needed.

“They brought in the best. Which for some reason includes those idiots in there,” he said, squeezing your hand. You knew he was trying to lighten the mood. 

“Well, not everyone’s a Seresin,” you shrugged. 

“You could be.” You sputtered, a bit of your drink spilling onto your chest. Chuckling, Jake lifted his hand to wipe it from your breasts and licked his fingers clean. Setting your nearly empty glass on the chair arm, you turned to face him. “What?” he shrugged.

“Is that your opening position in the negotiations? Marriage?”

“It’s on the list.” 

“You have a list?” Jake grinned, poking his tongue in his cheek as he raised an eyebrow.

“Are you tellin’ me that Ms. ‘I Negotiate for a Living’ doesn’t have a list of things ready for our contract negotiations?” 

“I have a mental list. That’s what we’re talking about, right?” 

“Sure, darlin’.” 

“Jake, you don’t have an actual list, do you?”

Jake did have a list. Saved on his phone. 

After giving Javy the keys to their rental car and stopping by the base dorms so he could grab enough clothes for the morning, you went to the hotel. He was reluctant to let you drive, but you reminded him that he wasn’t on the rental agreement and told him to enjoy being a passenger princess. The only time he could drive was when you had to go on base - even though you had your CAC card, you didn’t want to tempt fate with your civilian employee ID being rejected for going onto the wrong installation. 

“I want this as our tradition,” you said from your spot on the corner of the king-sized bed. Jake set his burger on the hotel desk and wiped at his mouth, cocking an eyebrow as you ate another fry. He’d tied the top half of his flight suit around his waist, and his black t-shirt clung to his chest and arms. 

“What? A hotel room?”

“No. I want us to get McDonald's for dinner.” He looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“You want fast food. Not a nice dinner, not a trip - McDonald’s.” 

“This is what we had the first night we were together.”

“We can do this until we get married. Then we’re gonna have a nicer tradition.”

“According to you, we’ll only get to do this once more, then. Twice if we do a long engagement.”

“It’s not going to be a long engagement.” You rolled your eyes. Jake wanted to get married this year, but you’d gotten him to agree to get engaged in exchange for keeping his rental house for another two years before looking to buy your own home. He wasn’t sure when orders would come down for him to move since he’d been with the Vigilantes for two years already. He was pretty confident he could move to another squadron on Lemoore when the time came, but he was hesitant to purchase anything when you might have to move shortly after. 

“I want to do this for our dating anniversary. We’ll discuss the wedding anniversary when we get to that point.”

“So you want two anniversaries?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Well, future Mrs. Seresin, since you want one that’s cheap, I guess I’m fine with it.” 

“Sentimental, not cheap,” you corrected. Your face flushed when he stood and walked closer, plucking the fry container from your hands and placing it on the desk. Leaning over you, he tilted your head back. 

“Sentimental it is, Mrs. Seresin.” You flushed under his heated gaze. Jake brushed his lips against your forehead and cheeks as you untied the sleeves of his flight suit and pushed it down his legs. “Love you, darlin’.” 

“Love you, too.” Planting one hand on the bed, he slowly lowered you onto the mattress while kicking off his suit. He quickly stripped off his shirt before licking into your mouth. His dog tags rested in the hollow of your throat, and you wrapped your hand around them, using them to pull him closer. 

“Wearin’ too many clothes,” he mumbled while working on the buttons of your blouse. Jake grumbled when you pushed against his shoulders until he stood up. 

“Sit against the headboard.” He took the initiative to strip off his boxers, his cock flushed and resting on his stomach. Smiling coyly, you finished undoing your buttons and slid the shirt from your shoulders. Your belt and bra hit the floor, and you shimmied off your skirt and panties. 

“Put the heels back on,” he said, voice rough with lust. “And get over here.” You did as you were told and crawled across the bed towards him, smiling as Jake’s fingers dug into your waist when you straddled him. “Fuckin’ missed you, darlin’.”

“Is that so, Lieutenant Seresin?” You ran your fingers through his hair and kissed the corner of his mouth. When he turned to chase your lips, you pulled away. Dragging your hand down his chest, you lifted his dog tags and traced his name. “You’re really ready to share your last name again?” 

“I’d take you to the courthouse today if you’d let me.” 

“I guess Javy can’t be too disappointed in you, since you waited longer than three months this time.”

“Darlin’, don’t talk about other men when you’re naked in my bed.” Smirking, you slid the ball chain over his head. His heated gaze watched as you put on the dog tags, the metal warmed from his skin, falling between your breasts.    

“Technically, this is my bed since I rented the room.” 

“Pretty sure the vows go ‘what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours’.” 

“You’re jumping a few steps,” you scolded. “No agreements are binding until we sign the papers and you actually ask me to marry you, so you better behave, Hangman, or we’ll terminate the contract.”

“I’d like to see you try,” he chuckled, running his fingers along your core and smirking to find you already wet. Easing his middle and ring fingers into you, he pulled you down to whisper against your mouth, “Did you miss me?” At your hummed response, he nipped your lower lip. “Words, darlin’.” 

“Yes.” 

“Couldn’t wait for me to come home and take care of you the way you like, could you?” 

“No.” He added a third finger, holding tightly to your hip when you moaned at the stretch. Jake crooked his fingers, using his thumb to circle your clit as you panted against his neck. When you’d adjusted to his thick fingers, you ran your tongue down his throat and nipped his shoulder before closing your lips around the hurt, flattening your tongue against it. He groaned when you dug your nails into his back. Calloused fingers trailed up your spine and wrapped around your hair, drawing you away.

“Careful, darlin’. Can’t have you damaging government property, now.” Your sarcastic retort was lost in a loud ah when he thrust his fingers hard while tugging your hair. Hips moving of their own accord, you leaned back to brace your hands on his thighs as you rode his fingers. He grinned and pulled your breast into his mouth, sucking hard. His tongue flicked over your nipple before his teeth dragged along your skin and tugged. Your fingers carded through his hair, holding him against you as you shuddered and came with a gasp. 

Jake fucked you through your orgasm and slowly withdrew his fingers, the wet sound mingling with your heavy breaths, bringing them to your mouth. You opened for him and licked them clean, gagging slightly when he inched them toward the back of your throat, his Academy ring pressed against your stretched lips. “One. Now hold onto the headboard, baby.” Your stomach clenched when he wrapped his hand around your waist and encouraged you onto your knees, thighs shaking with the effort of holding yourself up. Grinning, he shifted down the mattress, his shoulders forcing your legs wider until your knees were beside his head. He’d wanted you to ride his face for a while, but you’d always hesitated. “Please, darlin’,” he said softly, arms wrapping around the back of your thighs. 

“You’re sure?”

“So fuckin’ sure.” Biting your lower lip, you nodded. He grinned while pulling you closer, brushing lips to your inner thighs. When you hovered over him, he pulled you down onto his mouth, placing soft kisses against your core. The first pass of his tongue was light and teasing, trying to get you comfortable. His nose bumped your clit, and you inhaled sharply, shying away from his touch. The motion dragged your slit across Jake’s mouth, and he groaned. The vibration made you moan, and your hips rocked. “That’s it, baby,” he encouraged before dipping his tongue into you and sucking kisses up to your clit to run his tongue around it. Your knees slid along the sheets as your thighs struggled to hold you up. 

Your grip on the headboard tightened, and you lowered your head, forcing your eyes open. Jake’s eyes were closed, clearly savoring the moment. Turning, you groaned at the sight of his cock, pink and dripping against his stomach, your black stilettos a stark contrast against his sunkissed skin. Reaching back, you dragged your finger through the precum pooling on his skin. His muscles jumped under your touch, and his pupils were blown wide when you turned to face him, sucking on your finger. “I want you in my mouth later.” Jake moaned against your pussy, and you yelped when he dragged you down to his mouth. All softness was gone as he attacked you, using every trick he knew to get you off. When you started to grind against him, he flattened his tongue and let you use him. 

Collapsing backward onto the bed, you tried to catch your breath. Jake chuckled, dragging his knuckle along the leg still draped over his chest. When you lifted your head to meet his gaze, he winked, chin glistening with your wetness. “Two. We’re doin’ that again, darlin’.” Rolling your eyes, you moved your leg, lightly tapping his temple with the toe of your stiletto. His gaze followed you as you moved to lie on your stomach, cheek resting on his thigh and feet in the air, ankles crossed. 

“That may be an anniversary treat.”

“Nope. Regular rotation.” Shaking your head, you lifted your hand to run your finger along the thick vein on his cock. “Put it in the contract.”

“Nope.”

“C’mon. You enjoyed it.”

“Not saying I didn’t,” you agreed, wrapping your hand around him and squeezing lightly. He grunted, eyes glued to yours as you shifted onto your elbow. “We’re not putting sex in the contract.” When he opened his mouth to reply, you dragged your fist up his length, stopping just under his flared head. “You were saying?” you teased. 

“I - ” You closed your mouth over his tip, tongue darting into his slit. “Fuck.” You hummed, twirling your tongue around his head before swallowing him down, fist covering what you couldn’t fit in your mouth. Tilting your head, you looked up at him so he could see the bulge of his dick in your cheek. His hips lifted, hitting the back of your throat. You gagged, tears springing to your eyes. Breathing through your nose, you swallowed around him. 

Jake’s moans were so pretty.

With each pass, you took more of him, his hand on your head encouraging you. “So good, baby. Love your mouth. Feel so good,” he babbled. Your hand slipped between his legs to cup his balls, tugging gently. Your whined name and his hand pressing you down was the only warning he gave before his salty taste flooded your mouth. After swallowing and kitten licking his cock clean, you rolled onto your back and pulled off your heels, tossing them onto the floor. “Aw, darlin’, I wanted to fuck you with those on,” Jake whined. 

“We’ve got all weekend,” you sighed. 

You worked from the hotel on Thursday, periodically interrupted by Jake sending pictures. He’d clearly taken one while flying, and you reminded him exactly how much his plane cost and told him that he needed to be more careful. Later that night, he demonstrated just how careful and detail-oriented he was as he made you come four times. 

The next morning, you presented him with the updated contract for his signature. After he signed, he’d written one more clause under your signatures. You reminded him that adding anything after signing wasn’t binding. He initialed both copies and made sure to show you just how little he cared when your cheek was pressed against the cold shower tiles as he fucked you from behind before leaving for work. 

When you’d mentioned wanting to visit the USS Midway on your day off and offered to wait for him, Jake just shook his head and told you to enjoy - he saw enough of carriers during his deployments. So you spent the morning exploring the ship and surrounding statues, and sending him and your parents pictures. After grabbing a late lunch, you browsed the art galleries and stores in Seaport Village before heading back to the hotel for a nap. 

On Saturday, you let Jake and Javy sleep in before dragging them to the zoo. As the day wore on, you saw the tension ease from their shoulders. By the time you left and they agreed to take advantage of the convertible to cruise down to the beach, both were singing along to Taylor Swift with you.

That night at The Hard Deck, you and Jake won a game of pool against Javy and another pilot named Payback. You met some of the other pilots on the special detachment - Jake made sure that you stayed away from Yale - including the infamous Bradshaw. As much as you wanted to give the pilot who cause Jake’s hangup with his callsign a piece of your mind, you held back. After all, that mustache and call sign - Rooster - were punishment enough.

Around midnight, you and Jake left the bar and went down to the beach. Walking along the shore, you held hands and enjoyed the lap of the waves washing over your feet. You didn’t go too far, knowing that you needed to leave soon so you could get some rest before going to the airport. But as you walked back up towards the bar to say goodnight to everyone, Jake pulled you to a stop when he heard the song playing. Tugging you into his arms, he slid his hands into the back pockets of your jeans and swayed with you as the Beach Boys crooned ‘Don’t Worry Baby’. 

That night, Jake took his time to kiss every inch of your skin as you undressed. His fingers drifted over your curves as though to memorize them. And when he finally slid into you, he made sure you knew exactly how much he loved you. 

You were reminded just how dangerous Jake’s job was on Tuesday. You were in a meeting when your phone chimed with his text. 

Everyone’s okay. Will tell you more tonight.

He didn’t answer your call or text asking for clarification, and neither did Javy, but an hour later, there was a news blast saying there was a training accident and an F-18 had crashed into the desert. It was well after 8:00PM when Jake called. You could hear the fear in his voice when he told you about how three people almost burned in - how he’d almost lost his best friend and could do nothing but stand by the radio in the Ready Room and listen, praying that he snapped out of the G-LOC in time. 

You stayed with him on the phone until he said he needed to shower. You whispered your love, promising to see one another soon.

As soon as you disconnected, you called Javy to check on him. He assured you he was okay, just had a headache. You made him promise to be careful and go get checked out if it got worse.

When you pulled out your laptop to check your email Wednesday morning, there was a notice for a requisition of a new F-18 for the Black Aces squadron. 

Being underway meant had limited contact with Jake. He had access to his official military email address, so he sent you periodic messages, but calls were limited. He managed a video call once to let you know that he was on his way back. As happy as you were to see his face, a new weariness in his eyes made you wonder what had happened. He tried to assure you it was just because of how shitty he slept on the carrier. 

When the six F-18s landed back on Lemoore, you ensured you were on the flight line to greet Jake and Javy. Both men looked tired but happy and quickly did their post-flight checks. You were able to drive them home but had to go back into the office after. 

After work, you stopped to pick up dinner before heading to Jake’s house. When you walked inside, he was asleep in bed. Once you’d changed into your pajamas, you slid between the sheets. 

Jake opened one eye and gave you a sleepy smile before moving closer, curling up on your chest. You ran your fingers through his hair until he fell back asleep, reveling in his weight pressing you into the mattress and knowing he was safe in your arms. 

Dating Contract - One-Year Update

Following the annual “Dating” contract review, the two parties identified below agree that all clauses and conditions have been met. It is recommended that parties continue with the contract, maintaining an exclusive and monogamous relationship. 

Recommend the following updates to the contract:

Strike three weeknight sleep-over policy. Parties agree not to set restrictions on the number of nights spent together.

Writer will move into the Contracting partner’s house following the termination of her lease in September. The Contracting partner will add the Writer to his lease.

Contracting partner agrees to allow the Writer to drink coffee in bed, and eat in bed on an ad hoc basis.

Parties agree not to walk out on arguments. Parties agree to request a ‘pause’ if necessary and will finish the discussion when cooler heads prevail.

Parties agree to acknowledge annual dating anniversary with dinner from McDonald’s

Parties agree to become engaged prior to the next annual review

Following the engagement, Parties agree to strike boyfriend/girlfriend and replace with fiancé/fiancée as appropriate

Parties will agree to a yearly review of the contract, with ad hoc meetings to discuss clauses and conditions as they arise. 

More Sex - J.S.

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

Author's Note: I decided to give Harvard a break and make Yale the one who hit on Darlin'. I didn't want to spend too much time with them at TOPGUN since Jake would be focused on the mission, but they couldn't spend their anniversary apart! The contract had to be renegotiated!

Thanks for the patience with this chapter. I ended up scrapping what I'd written and restarting. Hopefully you liked the abbreviated holidays and meet the parents.

To the anon who asked if I'll be posting this to Ao3, I've decided that I will. Not sure if I'll get to it this weekend, but it'll be posted under my new pseud - TrickPhotography2

ALSO - @mayhemmanaged made these gorgeous Instagram posts of Darlin' and Jake that you should look at and love as much as I do.

Thank you for reading ❤️

Read Chapter 10

Tag list: @memeorydotcom; @alldaysdreamers; @kmc1989; @djs8891; @caitsymichelle13; @dempy; @midnightmagpiemama; @lovelyladymayyyy; @caidi-paris; @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby; @bellaireland1981; @lethargicluv; @mayhemmanaged; @tenderclio; @lucypaulette; @abaker74; @trhett21; @misshoneypaper; @schreksdoubledeckerhomechecker; @eternallyvenus; @mavrellover91; @chloeforde; @thatbitcily

[imagining-in-the-margins]

CM Comfort Fic Masterlist

Hey everyone! I want to start by saying thank you so much to everyone who participated in this monthly challenge - it was so much fun to write alongside you all, and I can’t wait to share everyone’s hard work.

So without further ado, here are the entries for the Comfort and Cuddles Challenge!

P.S. If you have a late entry, feel free send it to me!

SFW Character/GN!Reader Fics

Spencer Reid

Stardust by me: Reader lost someone very important to them. Spencer helps them through a particularly dark moment of grief.

A Desert Bloom by me: Reader has never liked cacti. Spencer finally finds out why.

Piece of Paper by me: Spencer and Reader discuss Autism evaluations.

Rotten by me: Reader struggles to feel at home in their body following a trauma.

Home by @aperrywilliams: Reader gets a call from JJ saying that the last case hit Spencer hard.

Plushie Talk by @specialagentsergio: Spencer has trouble communicating his emotions sometimes. Luckily, his partner has taken it in stride.

Lean on Me by @milla984: Spencer is feeling under the weather.

Tara Lewis

Never Let Me Go by @foxy-eva: Reader has anxiety and gets overwhelmed during a case so Tara comforts them.

Check below for more entries + the Challenge Co-Creator's Bonus List!

SFW Character/Fem!Reader Fics

Spencer Reid

Waltz With Me by @foxy-eva: When Reader is sad that she won’t be getting a New Year’s kiss, Spencer is there to save the night.

In the Dark by me: Spencer comforts Reader following an assault and the nightmares it provoked.

Hard Time by @c-m-stuff: When Gideon left, Reader and Spencer struggled with the loss.

Here (In Your Arms) by @fortheloveofwonderland: Drunk confessions lead to realisations and understandings that result in Reader and Spencer finding comfort in each other’s arms.

Christmas Like No Other by @beelmons: After a blizzard messes up plane schedules, Reader and Spencer are stuck at the airport on Christmas Eve.

Matilda by @leahblackk: Spencer finally knows all Reader's past.

It's Okay if You're Not Okay by @babymetaldoll: Reader feels ugly and a very bad mom after having their first baby, and Spencer comforts her.

Emily Prentiss

Brownies & Conversations by @railingsofsorrow: [Platonic] Reader has been doing a great job putting up a mask, until Emily notices and calls her out for it.

Other Pairings

Patience & Hope by @foxy-eva: [Ralvez] Spencer and Luke learn what being a family really means.

In the Event of My Demise by @fortheloveofwonderland: [Ralvez] Months after his release from prison, Spencer Reid still hasn’t allowed himself to deal with the residual trauma of what happened to him.

Stand as One by @masterwords: [Hotchgan] Derek and Hotch are invited to a BAU family reunion. No one knows about them, and Derek is feeling a little self-conscious about his scars. (AO3)

The Graves Beneath My Heart by HappyJemilyinParis (AO3): [Hotch/Haley] Hotch is forced to go back to his hometown to spend a day with Haley's family as they celebrate the one year anniversary of her death.

Untitled by @ph0ebe111 : [Spencelle] Elle helps with Spencer’s withdrawal.

Care, Would You? by cherubcurls (AO3): [Platonic, Spencer & Penelope] The team gets injured on the case, and Penelope has the habit of worrying herself to death.

Snuggle Hours by cherubcurls (AO3): [Platonic, Derek & Spencer] It was easy to forget everything as he shuffled into Derek's arm in the middle of the night.

Scars to Your Beautiful by @lcvingprentjss: [Emily/TransMaleOC] Emily struggles with her self-identity after having to fake one for so long.

Co-Creators' Bonus Lists!

If you're still looking for more recs on this topic, feel free to peruse the following fics from myself and the co-sponsor of the challenges, the lovely @foxy-eva!

Foxy Eva (SFW)

Gender Neutral Reader

Darkness of the Night: Spencer comforts Reader, who's having a rough night.

Heavy Heart: Reader finally feels at ease when Spencer holds them.

Pretty Peduncles: Spencer finds beauty and strength where you only see weakness in your scars.

Comfort Kisses: Spencer was struggling after a tough case until he finds comfort in Reader's arms.

Embrace: Spencer finds the best way to comfort Reader when they need him most.

Breathe Easy: Asthmatic!Reader. Whenever life takes Reader's breath away, Spencer makes sure they can find it again.

Female Reader

(In)visible: There were a lot of obstacles Reader had to face as a queer woman but she never thought falling in love with a man was one of them.

Unexpected Visit: After his girlfriend was surprised by an unexpected period, Spencer makes it his mission to comfort her.

Offering Options: When Spencer finds out about his girlfriend’s pregnancy, he makes sure she knows he will stay by her side no matter which choice she makes.

Handle With Care: Spencer tries to be there for his wife after a traumatic experience.

Myself (NSFW)

Female Reader

(Don’t) Hurt Me (Part 1, Part 2): After being saved from the clutches of death at the hands of two serial killers, Reader leans on Spencer to heal.

Lily of the Valley (Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3): Unsub!Reid. Spencer was found guilty but mentally ill after the torture and murder of several men. He finds solace in his psychiatrist at the institution.

Cupid & Psyche: Reader and Spencer get kidnapped by a rather romantic matchmaking unsub who demands they perform for him.

Stork Song: Spencer and Reader try to find intimacy again following a terrible loss.

Relief in Regrets❣️: Spencer turns to his ex-girlfriend in a time of need.

Post Coital Dysphoria: Spencer comforts Reader after sex.

Body of a Goddess: Soft Dom!Spencer reminds plus sized-Reader just how much he loves her body.

Handle With Care: Reader gets hurt during sex.

Myself (SFW)

Gender Neutral Reader

Homemade: Stuck in quarantine, Reader decides to make some skincare masks with their boyfriend. They talk about some heavy stuff with green faces.

Melancholia: Reader has been acting weird lately, so Spencer makes a much needed wellness check.

Pair of Aces: This Pride month, Reader decides to share something with the team.

Diamonds: Spencer comforts Reader when they have a bad pain day.

All Mixed Up: Dyslexic!Reader struggles to order at the restaurant, so Spencer helps them through it.

Favorite Person: Reader just needs a little extra reassurance sometimes.

Pyrotechnics: Reader has a hard time on Fourth of July, and Spencer makes them fall in love with fireworks again.

Lavender: Spencer is no stranger to headaches, and he tries to help however he can.

Storm: Reader has a panic attack.

Haunted: Spencer’s never told anyone what happened in prison.

Like Father, Like You: GN!Child. Platonic. In which Spencer’s child comes out as not-straight.

Female Reader

Astraphobia: SSA Reader and Spencer share their most embarrassing fears.

Sharks & Symbiosis: Spencer helps Reader through her time of the month, and ends up talking way too much about fish.

Honeysuckle Hair: Spencer has some words to say about Reader’s curly hair.

Prickly Pear: Reader tries to hide her body hair from Spencer. It doesn’t end well.

Porcelain: Autistic!Reader has a meltdown in the cafe. Luckily, there is a Dr. Reid nearby.

Baggage Claim: Autistic!Reader is having a hard time at the airport.

Act Your Age: Platonic. Reader was recently released from being held hostage for several years, and for whatever reason, she’s taken a liking to Spencer.