#i had a break after finishing s1

[thefrogdalorian]

Star Wars really gave us a mysterious, helmeted bounty hunter with a deep gravelly voice and formidable reputation, who - despite being a great fighter - has a calmness and gentleness about him (and a slutty waist) and then on top of that made him a greAT FATHER??

I mean how could we not fall in love... Din Djarin you are everything!!!

[renegadeontherunn]

guys i’m on spring break you know what that means!

yes i’m starting a new season of dimension 20 KAJDJAJKFKA

[weathertheraine]

Pirate AU!! Thank you @stringofturtles for watching OFMD S1 with me and re-igniting my Pirate Emotions so I had the motivation to finish this. The first sketches have been sitting in my files for months so please forgive the fact that they look different skdfjh.

More fleshed out AU details under the cut !! :D

- The kids are a little older than canon - the third years in their early 20s - but the story still starts with the second and third years as an established crew who then pick up the first years and the coaches.

- Daichi as a Captain is of course very much like he is in canon. He works very hard to take care of his crew and takes on a huge responsibility for providing for them (as well as making sure they don’t die in idiotic ways). Suga is First Mate so it’s his job to make sure DAICHI is okay and not worrying himself to death. He also has a good handle on morale/the emotional state of the crew.

- Asahi is the first line of offence when dealing with other ships. He doesn’t like actually hurting people, but he’s good at breaking ranks and barrelling through defences to get hold of whatever Karasuno needs. He was ‘off the team’ and out of commission for a little while after he lost his hand (not seeing combat while he was in recovery, and needing to build up his courage again). Noya played a huge part in helping him back onto his feet, and has been kind of protective ever since.

- Noya’s job is to make sure the ship isn’t boarded, so he very rarely leaves it.

- Ennoshita and Kiyoko work together as navigators and managing the little money the crew has. Ennoshita is the only crew member in the beginning who can kind-of read (Kiyoko can only read a little), and they work a lot with maps and planning out journeys.

- Tanaka is great at intimidating opponents. His eyepatch is totally for show - he thinks it makes him look cooler and scarier. His parrot doesn’t often co-operate with him.

- Narita and Kinoshita take care of maintenance and supplies and making sure there isn’t gunpowder anywhere there shouldn’t be, as well as things like fraying rigging and rotting boards/canons secure and the like. Of course, things like that are everyone’s responsibility, but these two consider is theirs particularly. It’s thankless work but the boat would definitely have burned down by now if not for them.

- Enter the first years!

- Kageyama is a prodigy swordsman with a huge reputation as a lethal pirate, although most people who spread those rumours don’t realise he’s as young as he is. He was marooned by his previous crew for being a controlling Captain (who should never have been captain in the first place, having only his fighting talent as the real reason).

- Hinata recently ran away from home to “become a pirate” without much of an idea what that actually entailed, and ran into Kageyama without knowing his reputation. All he knew was that this guy was incredible fighter, and he demanded that he teach him to fight! He now won’t leave him alone.

- Tsukishima ran away as a very young child in an attempt to find Akiteru, whose sailing ship was attacked and lost at sea. He fell in with pirates along with Yamaguchi (who was picked up after surviving a shipwreck), and the pair ended up sticking together as they bounced from ship to ship, ready to run whenever it seemed like tensions were getting high. They (read: tsukki) are going to need to break this habit, if they’re going to be a real part of this new crew.

- Tsukishima and Yamaguchi can’t sleep if they’re not in the same hammock. Embarrassing. The reason Yamaguchi was so tiny as a little kid is that he didn’t get enough food. Tsukishima still tries to sneak him extra (and gets in trouble with Daichi).

- Tadashi ends up as a sharpshooter, one of the few kids who’s confident using a pistol

- Hinata and Kageyama spar together all the time. It’s GOING to end in a make-out the first time Hinata successfully beats him.

- Neither of them have noticed that Tanaka’s eyepatch switches sides.

- Yachi is picked up when the crew stop in a bar in her town. She’s a better-off girl, about to be talked into an politically advantageous marriage, and desperately wants to get out of her situation. “Running away with pirates” was admittedly pretty drastic, but anything sounds like a good idea when Hinata suggests it so sincerely!!

- Ukai is a washed up older pirate, without a crew. Takeda is a very unlucky literature teacher who just happened to be on a sea voyage. They both ended up taken as hostages by the same (meaner) pirate crew, who were then stolen by the Karasuno kids. Although, it’s kind of unclear at this point whether they’re actually prisoners… They’re being treated very nicely (especially Sensei) and are in danger of getting attached…

[reiding-writing]

may i request getting stuck in an elevator with early season Spence after hours at the BAU and the lights go out and obviously him being terrified of the dark he starts panicking and reader has to comfort him until he eventually explains his fear of the dark in relation to something happening in his childhood. just some angst and hurt/comfort ig? I live and breathe your content <3

malfunction [ s.r ]

Summary:

You and Spencer end up staying late to finish some paperwork after a case, when you finally vacate into the elevator to leave it breaks down, revealing some secrets harboured by both of you and strengthening your relationship in the process.

WARNINGS: claustrophobia, nyctophobia, arachnophobia, mentions of spencer’s bullying

pairing: s1!spencer x gn!reader

genre: hurt/comfort

wc: 3.2k

masterlist!!

a/n: glad i’ve curated an audience of angst and hurt/comfort enjoyers <33

It was late.

12:06AM to be exact.

Silence riddled the bullpen, making the usually bustling office stand completely still.

You might’ve found it a little disturbing if not for Spencer sat a few desks down from you, his mere presence stopping your mind from running rampant with irrational fears of ghosts or demons that might lurk in the dark corners of the room.

It was a little stupid sure, your lanky book-genius of a coworker held no chance of being able to physically protect you from whatever your brain could conjure up, but the mind works in wonderous ways, and he offered you an unintentional blanket of security nonetheless.

You could hear the loose papers of his files rustle as he closed the manilla folder, rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses with a sigh.

Looks like Spencer was done for the night. And by that logic, so were you.

You mirror Spencer as you shut your file, packing it away in your messenger bag and tucking your chair under your desk as you stand, the two of you silently acknowledging each other’s presence as you reach the elevator.

You could practically feel the fatigue surrounding the both of you as you stepped inside, your tiredness bouncing off each other and making you more desperate to crawl into bed and knock out for the night.

It didn’t last for very long.

A loud clunking sound echoed through the metal walls of the elevator, followed by it jolting to a stop, and you had to grip onto the metal bar lining the wall so you didn’t lose your balance.

Your eyes turn first to the small screen above the door, flickering between the numbers 2 and 3 as if it can’t decide what floor you’re currently on.

Then they turn to Spencer.

Spencer's breathing is uneven and his body tense, eyes darting around the tiny enclosed space with a distinct air of panic.

“Reid? Are you alright?” You raise an eyebrow at him, your expression a mix of curiosity and concern.

"N-No, no! I am not alright! This is my worst nightmare come to life." Spencer presses himself against the far wall, as if plastering himself to it will make him part of the elevator and therefore unable to be injured if something goes wrong.

“You do know how unlikely it is to actually get any sort of injury from an elevator accident right?”

"One out of ten point five million. I know that. But this isn't about logic this is about fear." He turns away as he speaks, taking a few breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. "I'm-I'm claustrophobic. And this is not helping."

“Okay- okay- let’s just calm down for a second,” You hold up a hand in Spencer’s direction. You never took him as somebody to have irrational fears like this. You always figured that he’d just use his knowledge to rationalise what was happening and move on. Apparently not.

Spencer looks back at you and nods, taking in another deep breath.

“I'm trying. It's just-“ The elevator makes a rumbling sound that elicits what you can only classify as a whimper to leave his throat. “I can't do this. I can't be stuck in this tiny space for an unknown amount of time. I can't. I just can't. Please. Please, someone. Someone has to know we're in here. They have to.”

“Reid- Calm down.”

You let go of the bar you were holding onto to walk over to Spencer, placing your hands cautiously on his shoulders.

"I-I'm trying. I'm trying."

But he doesn't actually seem to be any better than he was before. His body is shaking, his breaths shaking and uneven.

He's getting very close to having a full blown panic attack.

“Sit down,” You push gently against his shoulders to encourage him to sit, following after him yourself to sit in front of him with your legs crossed underneath you.

Spencer lets out a trembling breath. "What if we die in here? What if no one comes? What if something goes wrong?"

“We’re going to be fine,”

You hold out a hand palm up in your lap as open invitation for him to take it if he needs to.“just take slow breaths Reid,”

"I-I'm trying." He looks down at your hand and almost reaches out for you, but hesitates before yanking his hand back.

He looks away and forces his breath to slow down again. "What if we're in here for hours?"

“Elevators have failsafes Reid, it’ll sort itself out don’t worry,”

Spencer takes a shuddered breath in through his nose, closing his eyes as he repeats your words in his head.

It’ll sort itself out. He doesn’t need to worry.

He meets your eyes with a small nod and you sigh, giving him a sympathetic smile that reassures him he’s going to be fine.

Unfortunately, all of your efforts to calm him down are quickly reversed as the lights cut out, sending the elevator into complete darkness.

His sudden blindness brings a startled cry from Spencer, his body instinctively trying to protect himself and in that split second of shock he grabs your hand.

He clutches at it tightly, eyes squeezed shut.

“Everything’s fine-“ You return his startled grip with a light squeeze of your own.

The grip around your hand feels firm and shaky but the contact helps to ground him, bringing some of his panic down a notch or two.

“It's not f-fine. It's dark. I don’t like the dark . I hate it.”

“You’re scared of the dark?” You sound more surprised than you mean to, and although you can’t pinpoint all of his features in the shadows, you’re sure you can see his eyebrows knit together.

“11% of the US adult population is afraid of the dark.” His tone carries an air of defensiveness through his fear, although he doesn’t seem offended enough at your comment to sacrifice the physical comfort that your hand is offering in his.

“Oh- no- I didn’t mean it as a bad thing-“ You shake your head despite the fact that he can’t see you, tightening your hold on his hand as an offer of reassurance. “I just- didn’t see you as somebody to have a fear of the dark is all-“

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You can hear the slight waver in his voice as he speaks, clearly trying to distract himself in your questions so he doesn’t have to think about his current situation.

You’d also wager he has his eyes shut, as ironic as it is.

“I just meant- you know- your brain rationalises everything so quickly that I figured you just wouldn’t have fears like this?”

He chuckles nervously, the sound echoing in the darkness. "Well, even the most rational minds have their quirks, I suppose. Fear doesn't always follow logic." The tension in his voice begins to ease, and he opens up a bit more.

“Is there a reason you have a fear of the dark?” You could understand his claustrophobia to a certain level, but nyctophobia wasn’t something very common in adults, especially ones who work as field agents for the FBI.

“I uh- it was just something that happened when I was younger, it’s stupid really-” Spencer skirts your question with a half-truth, not divulging any details of his seemingly irrational fear of the dark.

He shifts slightly, adjusting to find a more comfortable position on the floor, his hand tugging yours and in the process forcing you to change your seating position as well.

You squeeze his hand gently. "Do you wanna talk about it? People usually find it easier to rationalise their fears if they voice them to another person,” You use Spencer’s own intelligence against him in the hope that it’ll get him to open up.

As much as you had learned about him in the past two years, you still knew surprisingly little about Dr. Spencer Reid and his life outside of the office.

You knew all about his academics, how he liked his coffee with as much sugar as humanely possible, how under normal circumstances he would rather lick a toilet seat than shake someone’s hand.

But you didn’t really know him; And you figured this might be a good place to start.

“I… It’s not something I like to dwell on,” He tries to shut down your questioning once more, clearing his throat to try and rid of the lump that forms when he thinks back to the origins of his fears. “It’s not exactly a nice thing to remember,”

“I get that, some of my childhood memories aren’t the best either,” You let out a breath that could almost constitute as a laugh of exasperation. “But it might help, and i’m sure that just getting it off your chest will give you piece of mind nonetheless,”

You can hear Spencer take in a breath through his nose, and through the small adaptation your eyes had made to the darkness you could just barely see his lips purse into a line, debating whether or not to divulge his childhood to you.

It’s not like he didn’t trust you with it. Quite the opposite. He’d come to enjoy your presence over the time you’d spent working together.

You didn’t judge his intelligence, nor did you reduce him to it. You just saw him as another person and it was something that he was incredibly grateful for.

He knew you wouldn’t make fun of him if he told you, but he wasn’t worried about that. He was worried that you’d pity him.

That you’d treat him like some fragile object that would break if you spoke too loudly in its presence.

That’s something that he’d never want.

“I- don’t want you to think of me differently…” His voice was still laced with fear as he spoke, but this time it wasn’t a fear of the dark metal box he was trapped in; It was a fear of how your view of him would change.

“Reid…”

“I don’t want to be pitied or have people walk on eggshells for the sake of hurting my feelings…” You can practically feel his apprehension through the way his hand tenses in yours.

“Reid-“

“I’ve just managed to get people to treat me normally and I don’t want all of that to go down the drain-“

“Spencer.”

You can see his eyes snap upwards towards yours as you raise your voice, and you pull his left hand into your own to hold both of them in your lap, eyes chasing his in the darkness to maintain eye contact. “You’re human. Humans have fears and they have bad memories, and it’s not going to change anything about how I treat you.”

“Tell you what,” You give his hands a squeeze, leaning forwards slightly towards him to try and get a better look at his face. “I’ll tell you one of my childhood tragedies if you tell me yours, deal?”

He goes silent as he ponders your offer, ending with a small nod that you can only half see. “Okay…”

“Okay,” You return his nod with your own, running your thumbs over the backs of his hands. “So, i’ll go first,”

“When I was eight, my cousin thought it’d be a good idea to let his pet tarantula crawl all over my face whilst I was sleeping, and I woke up with it half in my mouth,” You practically shudder at the memory. “Needless to say I developed arachnophobia after that,”

You laugh breathily, shaking your head slightly. “It was not very fun,”

“Why would he do that?”

You shrug slightly, arms moving enough that he can feel it where your fingers connect. “He was a bit of a bully if i’m honest, but he’s matured since then thank god,”

“Are you- still afraid of spiders?” Spencer’s eyes practically shine in the darkness, big, round and glistening with curiosity as they scan your face from beneath his glasses.

“Promise not to make fun of me?” Your question is answer enough, but he still nods softly nonetheless. “I think they’re terrifying,”

“Almost 20% of the US population has arachnophobia, it’s a very common fear to have,”

“So is a fear of the dark,” You bring the conversation back to Spencer’s fear once more. “Willing to tell me its origin story yet?”

Spencer sighs, his shoulders slumping and his head leaning back against the wall of the elevator. “It’s-“ He exhales through his nose, his eyes diverting from yours to stare at your interconnected hands.

“When I was in school I was bullied a lot…” He purses his lips and you nod. As sad as it is you’re not exactly surprised.

Someone as insanely intelligent as him was unfortunately bound to be tormented by those who were academically inferior to him, it’s a by-product of jealousy.

“They uh… stripped me down and tied me to a goal post, and- then they just left me there-“ Spencer’s throat catches as he speaks, and you can see through the way his eyes flicker around that he’s replaying the memory in his head.

“I- managed to untie myself after a while, but I spent over an hour searching for all of my clothes and ended up walking home in the dark half dressed…” Spencer’s lip quivers as he reaches the end of his explanation.

“I don’t think i’ve ever been more scared in my life…”

“I’m so sorry they did that to you…” Your eyebrows furrow with sympathy, and you shift your hold on his hands to intertwine your fingers with his. “Nobody should have to experience that…”

Spencer exhales, and you can hear the shake in his breath. “I thought if I just buried it that i’d forget, but I still remember it like it happened yesterday…”

The curse of an eidetic memory you suppose. Destined to remember every detail of the worst experiences you’d ever had.

Although you’re sure that Spencer wouldn’t need an eidetic memory to have what happened to him burned into his brain.

“Spencer…”

“I’m sorry-“ Spencer shakes his head, attempting to pull his hands out of yours. “I told you it was stupid-“

“Hey. No.” You close your hands around his to stop him from pulling away. “That is in no way stupid at all.”

“You went through something awful and developed a fear because of it. That is the furthest thing from stupid Reid,”

“I just-”

You cut off Spencer’s attempt at a rebuttal with a pull of your hands in his, separating them only to wrap your arms around him in a hug. “No excuses.”

Spencer is stiff in your embrace, unsure of what exactly he should be doing. Should he hug you back? Should he pull away to regain his personal space?

He wasn’t exactly sure. He did however, feel like he was going to cry.

He could feel the tears welling up behind his eyelids, squeezing his eyes shut to stop them from falling down his face and hiding his face against the curve of your shoulder so that you wouldn’t be able to see the shadow of his expression.

God he was pathetic.

Sat in his coworkers embrace because he was scared of the goddamn dark.

On the verge of tears because of something that happened twelve years ago.

A twenty four year old man. A fully grown adult.

His shoulders begin to tremble as he thinks about it, and you can feel the way his breath catches in his throat as you bring your hand to the back of his head to hold him closer to you.

“This is pathetic i’m sorry…” He shakes his head against your shoulder, hindered slightly by the way his glasses sit on the bridge of his nose.

“Shhh,” You shake your head in tandem with his, leaning your cheek against the side of his head as you rub your hand over his back. “Don’t be silly,”

"You're not pathetic, Spencer," You reassure him, your voice gentle. "Everyone has their own fears and struggles. It takes strength to open up about them."

He takes a deep, shaky breath, trying to compose himself. "I just never thought I'd be so affected by it for this long."

"Trauma doesn't have a set expiration date," you say softly. "It's okay to still be working through things. And you don't have to face it alone."

Spencer finally relaxes a bit in your embrace, allowing himself to accept the comfort you're offering. "Thank you," he mumbles, his voice barely audible against the fabric of your shirt.

“No problem-“ You don’t finish your sentence before the lights come back on, causing you to squint from the sudden brightness.

The sudden light flooding the elevator exposes the position the two of you had found yourself in, your legs tangled together as Spencer sits in your embrace with your arms around his torso and his hands resting limply by your waist.

“See?” You pull his face away from your shoulder gently, leaning back to finally get a fully clear view of his face. “Nothing to worry about,”

“Yeah…” He nods softly, eyes still a little red from holding back his tears, and he sniffles as he pulls away from you properly when the elevator starts moving downwards again.

“Do you want a ride home?” Your invitation is obvious as you two of you pick yourselves up from the floor, your eyes silently encouraging him to accept your proposal.

“I-“ The elevator came to another halt, this time thankfully opening its doors on the ground for the two of you to leave.

He had his train ticket in his pocket, but he was willing to forget it for now.

“That would be great, thank you…”

“No problem Spencer, let’s get outta here,”

He tries to brush aside the way he feels when you call him by his first name, nodding softly with pursed lips.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here…”

[keerysfreckles]

homesick — steve harrington

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

summary: steve drives to y/n's house after an alley fight with jonathan byers

warnings: s1 steve, some cursing, not proofread!

a/n: this is for aly and aly only if you're not aly pls look away rn ! @keerysbrowneyes (also ignore the date the song came out at the end i just wanted to use it)

masterlist !

⋆ ˚ ｡ ⋆ ୨୧ ˚

to say y/n had a long day would be putting it lightly. her job at radioshack started off smoothly two weeks ago, but now almost every customer has been pissing her off.

she's tried to be a good employee, wanting to empress her boss bob newby. but when every person she's dealt with does nothing but complain to her, and tell her how she should do her job, y/n started thinking about putting in her two weeks notice.

every day this week y/n's gone home to an empty house at 4 pm. her parents were visiting her relatives in california, but y/n said missing two weeks of school and work would be complete hell. which explains why she's been home alone for 5 days.

her daily routine was finishing normally as she pulled into her driveway, throwing her radioshack nametag in her glove compartment, before grabbing her backpack.

she sighed stepping into the quiet house. it was just her, her mother and her father, so it was normal the house was quiet. but knowing no one was there to greet her put a damper in her mood.

after throwing her backpack somewhere in the living room, y/n managed to find two slices of pizza from god knows where.

a car pulling up in her driveway took her focus away from the microwave. her parents weren't supposed to be home till next week, so who could be the mystery driver?

a familiar red bmw was crookedly parked in front of y/n's house.

y/n opened the door just as the driver went to knock, his curled hand frozen in the air.

"steve?"

y/n looks up at her old friend, bruised and beaten. blood dried around his eye, nose and lips, his eyebrows are furrowed in what she could only guess was hurt and anger.

y/n and steve haven't gotten along the best ever since he stopped being her friend. he'd rather hang out with tommy hagan and carol perkins. it was more than a stab in the heart to y/n when he ditched her on the first day of their sophomore year, over a year ago.

"what are- shit are you okay?" y/n leans forward to hold his head in her hands, examining the damage done to his skin.

"i didn't know where else to go," his voice sounds as fragile as a glass bottle. it could break any moment and he was worried no one would be there to pick up the pieces.

y/n noticed the waver in his words, causing the girl to bring him into a tight hug.

her arms wrapped around his neck, embracing him as he held her waist. he shoved his face into her neck, muffling the light cries falling from his eyes.

"you're okay, you're okay steve," y/n mumbles into the air, as she runs her fingers over the hair at the base of his neck.

steve shook softly in her arms. y/n does nothing but hold him closer.

she doesn't care that her front door is open. she doesn't care if people from her neighborhood are staring. she doesn't care if she has to stay like this all night.

all she wanted was for steve to be okay.

after minutes, steve let go of y/n. he wiped he eyes, before remembering one of them was severely injured. he hisses at the pain his touch causes.

y/n lets him inside, shutting the door behind the pair.

"you go ahead and shower. wash some of the blood out of your hair, okay?" y/n's voice is calm as steve nods.

he knows her house like the back of his hand. after being here so many times in the past, he walks down the hall to the last room on the right, immediately turning on the shower.

y/n's quick to grab a towel before walking to her room. she pulls open the all too familiar drawer.

the drawer filled with steve's clothes.

ever since freshman year, whenever steve stayed over he always ended up leaving an article of clothing almost every time he left. so over the span of two years, there were about five and a half different outfits in the bottom drawer of y/n's grey dresser.

she grabbed a pair of sweatpants and old gym tshirt, hoping they'd fit him.

hearing the water still running, she quietly opens the door, placing both the towel and clean clothes onto the counter.

minutes pass before steve turns off the water. his heart warms at the sight of clean clothes on the counter, and he notices his dirty clothes were gone off the floor.

he's extra careful when drying off his hair, and makes sure to be gentle around his face.

a knock makes him jump slightly.

"are you alright?" y/n asks, "i uh- found some medical supplies from my parents room. i think i can help with your cuts."

steve opens the door, and he swears his heart melts again at the sight of y/n. she's holding a small container filled with medical supplies just like she said. she had a certain look in her eyes, one steve couldn't quite recognize.

"do you-" steve let his question trail off as he pointed from the bathroom then towards her room.

"bathroom's fine," she replies, watching as he sits down on the closed toilet.

she starts sifting through the box of supplies, hoping to find at least one thing that could help with steve's injuries.

"so what did you do to get yourself all beat up?" y/n finally asks.

steve doesn't look at her, instead focusing on the tiled floor beneath his feet.

"i said shit that made jonathan pissed," steve doesn't even have to look at y/n to know she's sending him a scolding look. "if i could take back what i said i would."

y/n starts taking a wipe to get off any dried blood steve missed in the shower. she holds his face, making him look up at her.

"would you take it back if he never heard it? or would you just take it back since you told him?"

steve's silence is the only answer y/n needs to prove her point.

she hears small sounds coming from steve as she finishes wiping the blood. she continues apologizing, not wanting to hurt him more fhan he already is.

"why are you being so nice to me?"

his question catches y/n off gaurd. her movements pause as her hand hovers over his face with a bandaid for his nose.

"you came to me when you were hurting. is it so bad i want to help you?"

y/n continues working to patch up steve's face, while his silence gives her the answer she needs once more.

just as she places the last bandaid on his chin, steve speaks up.

"thank you, really. i don't know anyone else who would help me with this."

"of course steve," she sends him a soft smile. she checks one last time over his face, making sure she didn't miss anything.

y/n throws any trash on the counter away, letting steve stand and inspect her work in the mirror.

as y/n walks back to the bathroom, she pokes her head in the doorframe. she studies his face for a moment. watching his fingers trace over the fresh bandaids. she watched as his hair slightly moved with every turn of his head.

steve notices the girl standing behind him, making a switch flip in her head, suddenly reminding her what she was going to ask.

"do you want to stay for a little? i could try and find an ice pack for your eye."

steve nods, making y/n lead him towards the living room. he's quick to sit in the couch, finally feeling the stress and worry leave his shoulders.

he starts picking at his fingernails, looking around the all too familiar living room. there were still pictures up of y/n as a baby. even a few more pictures were added as she went through high school.

"okay i don't have any ice packs, but i found this," steve turns his head, chuckling at the bright red coca cola can in her hands.

steve lets his eyes stay on y/n. he notices her hairs gotten slightly darker in the past year. her freckles are less prominent. her eyes seem more dull.

he looks up at her hoping she can notice he wants to be saved. wants to be saved by her. saved from the assholes he hangs out with now. saved from the stress of high school. saved from it all.

as steve hasn't taken the can, y/n sits beside him on the couch and holds it gently over the bandaid around his eye.

a small blush creeps its way onto steve's cheeks. y/n notices.

the two sit in a comfortable silence, as y/n turns the can from time to time so the coldest part is always on steve's bruised face.

"i think you kind of deserved it."

steve's eyebrows furrow as he turns to look at y/n. her monotone expression only confuses him more.

"what?"

"losing the fight to jonathan."

"i never said i lost–"

y/n simply ignores him, "maybe his punches finally knocked some sense into you."

steve might consider himself an idiot sometimes, but he knew what y/n meant. he curses at himself every day for why he ditched the girl sitting next to him.

"i don't even know why i did it."

y/n's silence made him continue.

"i guess i hated feeling so small in school. so i started talking to the people i thought were cool. it's dumb believe me, i know," steve leans forward to run his hand through his hair.

it's a nervous tick steve picked up over the years. one y/n recognized.

she simply reached her other hand to his own, rubbing her thumb over his palm.

"you're still the same steve i know," y/n's voice is quiet. "you may have a bigger ego and be an asshole sometimes. but you're still the boy who danced with me at the snow ball when no one else would."

"you know," steve's voice seemed brighter as an idea popped into his head. "i still owe you a full dance."

"what do you mean?" y/n laughed, "you already danced with me. at the snow ball."

"not for the whole thing. if i can recall i swooped in to save the day probably halfway through the song."

y/n can only laugh again while watching steve start searching through the limited record selection in the living room.

"what are you even looking for?"

steve holds out his pointer finger, before running towards y/n's room, not satisfied with any choices from the living room.

seconds pass until steve's back in the living room, with a record in hand.

y/n tries peering over his arm to see which one he grabbed, before he slid the disc out and put it into the record player.

the familiar beginning to our last summer by abba began playing.

"steve, this isn't even a slow dance type of song," y/n tries to argue, but steve only grabs her hands to pull her up off the couch.

"i don't care, i still owe you a dance," he then places both hands on her hips. "plus i know this is one of your favorite songs."

y/n smiles up at him while holding onto his shoulders as the two sway side to side.

"you remember that?"

steve nods, "of course. i could never forget anything about you."

y/n feels the blush brushing her cheeks now as she looks down at her feet, trying to hide her nerves.

as the song progressed, steve and y/n continued swaying slowly. after seconds of internally debating to herself, y/n leans forward to press her head against his chest.

she lets all the anger and hurt for steve seep out of her. each sway the boy creates, a pound of regret leaves y/n's body.

she swears she can hear his heartbeat pick up at their close contact, but she doesn't mention this, only smiling to herself.

steve's breath quickens for a split second as y/n's head rests on him. he reaches his hand up to hold the back of her head, rubbing his thumb slightly. he kisses the top of her head, only making y/n wish it was humanly possible to become closer to steve.

"y/n," steve's voice is low a rough, he worries she didn't hear it.

she removes her head from his chest to look up at him. his hand stays on the back of her head, pushing only slightly, giving her the reason to back up if she pleases.

she doesn't back up. in fact she leans foward whether it be because of steve's touch or not. she doesn't want to back up.

in a matter of seconds steve's lip press against y/n's. the cut on his bottom lip stings slightly, but he couldn't care less about the pain. if kissing y/n made his lip sting, he would still kiss her a thousand times.

y/n's hands grip his shoulders tighter, trying to push him closer as they both deepen the kiss.

y/n begins to pull back, needing a second to regain her lost breath that was stolen by steve. however the brunette doesn't allow it, pulling the girl back in for another kiss.

her hands move to his neck. her fingers begin pulling at the hair, eliciting a small breathy moan from steve.

it caught y/n off gaurd, making her pull away again.

the two silently share eye contact. their panted breaths are mingling with each others.

steve leans forward to kiss her again. his way of telling y/n he wants nothing more than her.

he can only guess she gets the idea, when she giggles at the feeling of steve picking her up off the ground to carry her to her own room.

y/n laugh is cut off by steve slamming her bedroom door behind the two, "you know no one's here right? you didn't have to close the door."

steve simply shrugs as he lays down on the bed above y/n.

their fourth kiss of many for the night begin to become more and more passionate.

y/n would be lying if she said she didn't want to sleep with steve. and steve vice versa with y/n. but they weren't about to admit that tonight.

[mouseymilkovich]

Speechless | Carmy x Reader Fic

masterlist | playlist | pinterest board | next chapter

Fic Summary: You and Sydney have been best friends for years, now you get to watch her start her new adventure at The Beef with a chef she's long revered, Carmen Berzatto. Everything is fine - until you find yourself falling for the mysterious, closed off man. But Syd is your best friend first - hoes before bros, right?

Chapter Summary: It's a new start for your best friend, Sydney Adamu, and evidently for you, as you meet her new boss, Carmen Berzatto. He seems... odd. Yet attractive. You can't quite put your finger on it... | Carmy Berzatto x fem/afab reader (using they/them pronouns)

Important Info: established friendship of reader and Sydney, will generally take place during s1, (for texting) green = sydney, pink = reader

Content Tags: Carmy smokes duh, this is in the timeline of S1 so most of The Beef staff are mean/difficult with Sydney, Richie being Richie generally

Chapter One: Old Friends, New Beginnings

Word Count: 1.7k

Lil A/N: hey shout out to Maggie for the chapter title!! it was a fic title suggestion but I thought it'd be nice as the title for the first chapter!! she also gave it a read before I posted <3 thanks pookie

You were a longtime friend of Sydney Adamu... well, best friends, if you guys were completely honest. So, when you heard she was finished staging for The Beef and that she was actually hired, you decided to come surprise her on her first official day. The main reason you hadn't during her staging week was that you knew she revered chef Carmen Berzatto, you distracting her could've cost her everything.

So, there you were on your way to The Beef with a dish of cookie-brownies you'd made to celebrate Syd. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught the man your friend admired so, outside in the alley, having a cigarette. He didn't seem to notice you, engrossed in whatever he was scrolling on his phone.

The same love Sydney had for The Beef was one you also shared, you remembered at one point when the pair of you came with her father for lunch. It was a good place.

You just carried on your walk towards the door, entering into the restaurant and hearing some bickering amongst the staff. Sydney had gotten permission for you to come in a bit before doors, so you could contribute your dessert to their family meal.

"No hablo Inglés." You heard a woman say as she walked past Sydney, who just sighed.

"I know you speak English, Tina, you spoke English like 10 seconds ago!" She groaned, but then smiled once she saw you. "Thank fuck."

You laughed a little, going over to Syd, then gave her a tight hug after you sat the cookie-brownies on the counter. "Hey, how's the first official day going?"

"Awful. Carmy wants to do a brigade, and it's... well, nobody loves the idea of me being in charge." She muttered with a sigh.

"Hey, you'll do great, I know you will. Besides, chef Carmen must be pretty impressed with you to have you in charge like that, right?" You were trying to cheer her up, but there was absolute truth behind your words. You knew Sydney was incredibly talented.

"You can just call me Carmy, y'know. Only need to be addressed as chef in the kitchen."

The appearance made you and Sydney both turn around, there he was, the chef in question, back from his smoke break.

"Oh, Carm! This is an old friend of mine. We've known each other forever, pretty much." Syd said, introducing you with a smile.

Carmy held his hand out to you politely, and you extend yours, just a light hand shake. You're not about to make a fool of yourself in front of Sydney's new boss, you knew better than that.

"Oh, um, I brought these to contribute to family. Syd said it was okay with you." You told him with a polite smile, grabbing the tray of cookie-brownies.

Carmy rubbed his forehead for a moment. "Right. Forgot about that... you can stay for it this once, if you want."

"Really? Wow, um, thanks, I'd love to." Of course you accepted, you knew Sydney was making it, you'd never turn down an opportunity to eat something she made.

"Yeah, just, uh, hang around, I guess." Carmy nodded, then looked at Sydney, motioning for her to follow him. "Chef."

As they disappeared into the kitchen, you made yourself comfortable at a table. Some yelling from the kitchen startled you, it sounded like Carmy. You couldn't entirely make it out, but whatever it was, he sounded pissed.

A tall man came out from the kitchen, two middle fingers pointed towards the door. "Take a fuckin' chill pill, cousin!"

You laughed a little, not really intending for him to hear you. You assume this must be Richie, who Syd had briefly told you about. Her description of him was a loud, tall, pain in the ass.

"Hey there, sweetheart. You must be Sydney's friend- sorry, I don't mean anything by sweetheart, just how I talk."

"Oh, yeah, no worries." You nodded, understanding why he was apologizing but it didn't bother you much. You'd been called worse things. "Yeah, I'm Syd's friend. I'm gonna take a guess and say you're Richie?"

"Ah shit, kid's been talkin' about me, huh?" He muttered with a small grin.

You laughed a bit at his reaction, but you decided to tell a white lie so it didn't start shit. "Briefly, yeah."

"Well, nice to meet'cha. You stayin' for family?"

You nodded. "Nice to meet you too. Yeah, Syd somewhat invited me but Carmy said it was okay. So, I assume I've been accepted around here."

Richie laughed a bit at that. "Maybe. Carm doesn't even let fuckin' Fak join us for family."

"Fak?" You asked with a little laugh. The name sounded a little familiar, Sydney had brought it up very briefly.

"Right here!" A man approached from the other dining room, where the arcade games sat.

"We didn't call you, jagoff." Richie snorted.

"But you said my name!" You assumed this must be Fak. He looked a bit like a sad teddy bear.

Richie grabbed the bridge of his nose, sighing a bit. "Anyways, Fak, this is Syd's friend."

"Ooh, cookie-brownies!" Fak gasped, reaching for your dessert on the table before Richie smacked his hand away.

"That's for family, dipshit!" He scolded.

"So they can be part of family but not me?" Fak pouted.

"Carmy said just this once, I brought these to celebrate Sydney's first official day." You explained, hoping Fak wasn't too offended.

Finally, came time for the family meal. You'd enjoyed your bit of chatter with Richie and Fak, but listening to them argue got exhausting at some point. When you sat down, Sydney introduced you to the staff you hadn't met yet. Tina seemed uninterested, Sweeps seemed nonchalant, Manny and Angel seemed pretty indifferent to your presence, but Marcus and Ebra both seemed sweet.

As Sydney served her dish, you noticed Carmy was nowhere to be seen. Until he came hustling through the door - when the hell did he leave? Why did he leave, when apparently the staff was supposed to be doing prep? But, in truth, that was really none of your business.

He took a seat across from you, Syd sat next to you, all the while Fak pouted while playing one of the arcade games in the background. It was a little awkward, since despite staging the week prior, not everybody was used to Syd being a part of things yet. You could forgive the awkwardness though, the meal was fantastic, you knew your best friend was ridiculously talented and deserved every opportunity that came her way.

Once the meal was finished, and your tray of cookie-brownies was being passed around, you stood up.

"I just wanted to say how incredibly proud I am of Syd. We've really watched each other go through some shit, and I always love seeing her grow and thrive..." You said, then glanced at Sydney with a smile. "I can't wait to support you through your new journey, man, you deserve the fucking world."

When she got up to hug you, you noticed out of the corner of your eye, Carmy cracking a smile. Something about that smile sent a flutter to your heart, but you ignored that, it must've just been nerves from your little speech... that's all it was.

Your cookie-brownies were a hit, considering you were just a baker as a hobby that made you pretty happy.

"I gotta grab this recipe off you and try it." Marcus commented, looking over at you.

You laughed a little at that. "Oh, it's just some online recipe, it's nothing special."

"They only started baking to try to keep up with me. But we did start a tradition eventually for our get togethers! I make dinner, they make dessert." Syd told her coworkers with a little grin.

"Hey, not too bad for casual." Carmy muttered, and that caught you completely off guard.

Eventually, after cleanup, the restaurant was about to open for lunch and you had to go.

"You got this. I know you do." You reassured Syd gently as she walked you to the door. The two of you shared another hug.

"Thanks. I'll text you when I get home... assuming I don't pass out." She joked.

"Hey, I expect a text at least in the next 24 hours. Reasonable?" You laughed.

"Reasonable. Alright, get outta here before this place goes nuts." She said, laughing as well.

One last hug, and you were out the door. You noticed again, Carmy in the alleyway - but this time, he was pacing and on the phone. You didn't eavesdrop, but you did hear him talking to someone apparently named Sugar. The call seemed to be ending, he hung up then noticed you.

"Hey, uh, thanks. For bringing dessert." He muttered, walking over to you as he smoked his cigarette.

"Oh, it's no problem, really. I wanted to celebrate Syd, yknow? I'm really proud of her." Your voice was so genuine, because you were truly proud of her.

"Yeah, uh, she's a great chef. I'm looking forward to working with her s'more." He nodded, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"She is. She's dedicated, and talented-"

You were cut off by Carmy laughing a bit. "She's already got the job, don't gotta convince me."

"Right... sorry, I just brag about her like a mom sometimes." You muttered with an awkward laugh.

"Well, uh, it was nice meetin' you today. Bet I'll see you around here more since Syd's permanent."

You laughed a little bit. "I promise I'll be a paying customer too, I won't just be there to bug Syd."

He smiled a little, stomping out his cigarette butt. "Right. Well, see ya."

You waved a bit as he headed back inside. Was he basically inviting you back to The Beef, or were you just overthinking it? Probably overthinking, you did that a lot. You decided to shake it off as you headed for home.

By the time The Beef was closed for the night, you heard from Syd, while you laid on your couch as a movie played.

a little hectic but i think it went well!

that's awesome :) i'm so fuckin proud of u

love u bestie!!!

You decided that was probably your cue to go get ready for bed. As you did, you thought again about what Carmy said about you hanging around, about his smile... it clouded your now sleepy brain.

As you settled into bed, you decided that'd be a worry for tomorrow. You'd be okay with it for now.

⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆

click here if you'd like to be tagged in any future updates of my work!

[sugarushwriting]

ot7 vampire — human blood bank (“season” 2)

part one.

“season” one found on the master list here

s2 takes place about 3 years after s1.

off to a strong start of ni-ki making bad choices, once again.

₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ₊˚⊹♡

ni-ki looked at his reflection once more before grabbing his wallet and phone to head down the stairs.

jungwon and sunoo looked up from their textbooks and notes as they sat on the floor in the living room studying.

“where are you going?” sunoo questioned.

“out.” ni-ki replied.

“shouldn’t you be studying for midterms starting next week?”

ni-ki shrugged. “eh, i’ll start tomorrow.” he fixed the hair in front of his forehead. “i’ll see you losers later.”

“and where are you going?” sunghoon asked coming down the steps soon after, you following close behind.

“out.” ni-ki replied to the elder.

“with who?”

ni-ki sighed, “eunchae.”

you, sunoo, and jungwon made an “oh” noise teasing the youngest.

ni-ki frowned then smiled. “stop that! it’s not like that, as i have told you all plenty of times. we’re just friends.”

using your fingers you mocked the “just friends.”

ni-ki looked at you with annoyed expression, you with a smile on your face. you’ve came to really enjoy teasing him.

“do we need to have the birds and bees talk?” you smiled.

“i’m out.” ni-ki quickly stated and left out the door before you four could bother him anymore.

he walked down the path of the driveway, making his short distance walk to the downtown park he and eunchae always met at.

it was getting late, currently about 8 in the evening, but finally the others trusted him.

as he was deep in thought on what eunchae so badly wanted to show him, he hadn’t heard her walk up behind him.

“boo!” she jumped from behind the bench startling him.

“fuck, eunchae! don’t do that!” he huffed out standing up towering over her.

eunchae laughed. “oh please, don’t you have like vampire hearing and stuff?”

“sometimes i tune it out. it’s a habit.” he replied. “so where is this awesome place you wanted to show me?”

“it’s just a bit of a walk if you don’t mind pretty boy.” eunchae said patting his shoulders.

“lead the way.”

after a few minutes in comfortable silence, ni-ki brought up previous conversations with the others. eunchae laughed, loudly.

“well don’t go breaking my ego.” he scoffed pretending to be hurt.

“i’m sorry.” eunchae wiped away a fake tear. “it’s just the birds and bees talk? it’s not like you can reproduce anyway.” eunchae chuckled. “plus,” she began, eyeing the boy up and down, “you’re not my type, riki.” she smirked.

ni-ki stopped in his tracks, letting eunchae walk a bit ahead. “what’s that supposed to mean?” he yelled after her, running to catch up, however, eunchae laughed and began running herself.

not much longer, eunchae led ni-ki to some woods.

“not gonna kill me are you?”

“not in a million years, riki. who else would tease you?”

“i have 7 others for that.”

ni-ki stopped in his tracks when he finally saw what eunchae was bringing him to.

a group of people, probably about 7, around a fire pit. three of the boys had girls on their laps. their heads buried in the girls necks. from afar or a quick glance, it looks like horny people making out and dry humping.

“are they—,” ni-ki couldn’t even finish his sentence as he noticed the 3 boys there were not just kissing the girls necks, no, they were sucking.

sucking their blood.

ni-ki looked down to eunchae, and she seemed to be in a trance as she smiled big at the people in front of her. he waved his hand in her face.

“eunchae are you okay?”

eunchae looked up to ni-ki with a smile that didn’t look like her own. “of course riki.”

just then, one of the boys who had been draining one of the girls, had noticed the two arrive.

“well hello there eunchae.” the boy smiled, wiping his lips. he walked up to the two.

“hi sunwoo!” she waved excitedly. “i brought my friend, who is like you all!”

ni-ki noticed that tone didn’t sound like eunchae at all. what the hell was going on?

ni-ki bowed with caution. “hello.” he held up a hand to wave quickly.

sunwoo smiled. “welcome to the party.” he showed his fangs. “how long you been a vampire?”

“about three years.” ni-ki replied. “you?”

“mhm, about 15.” sunwoo answered, and began walking back towards the group, eunchae immediately following. ni-ki hesitated but ended up following as well.

“eunchae,” ni-ki whispered, “what’s going on?”

eunchae turned, “would you relax riki?”

“yeah, relax riki.” sunwoo mocked.

ni-ki straightened, “it’s ni-ki to you.”

sunwoo just laughed, “ever feed on a human before?”

“yes.” ni-ki replied, placing his hands in his pockets. “why haven’t my elders told me about you and your group? i’m sure they would know other vampires were around.”

sunwoo sat next to one of the guys feeding, eunchae standing behind sunwoo. ni-ki stood in front of the boy.

“have a seat ni-ki, relax!”

“i will when i feel like it.”

sunwoo scoffed, “well, our vampire kind isn’t liked amongst others. so we have to hide our pretty faces.” sunwoo began to explain, “that’s why we have eunchae here to help find us our meals.”

ni-ki looked at eunchae who looked off blankly. “are you sure it’s something she wants to do?”

“of course riki, i can make my own decisions!” eunchae said. “now sit and make some friends.”

“can you go find our guest a fresh meal?” sunwoo smiled up to eunchae who nodded.

“no no, it’s fine. just ate not too long ago.”

“what? haven’t been able to control your hunger on a regular human yet?” sunwoo clicked his tongue from the root of his mouth.

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

“oh don’t you worry you’re pretty head, i’ll explain after you eat.”

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

back at the house, you laid in bed next to jay, wrapped in his sheets. “mhmm, i don’t think i’ll ever be able to handle you alls stamina.” you groaned.

jay laughed, playing with your hair, before giving you a kiss on the forehead. “it’s fine baby. some of us just need to go easier on you.”

you faked coughed, “jungwon—cough—jake.��� you joked and you both laughed. “why are their drives so high?”

jay sighed, “some vampires sexual drives increase once they’ve changed. jake’s increased times 100 because as a human he had a high sex drive. once they adjust more to their strength and being a vampire, it’ll balance out. it’ll take some time though. for some it takes 5 to 10 years. some even longer.”

you sat up, laying on your stomach to face jay who was on his back. you traced patterns on his chest. “why don’t sunoo or ni-ki have high sex drives?”

“believe it or not, not everyone who gets turned ends up having a high sex drive or one at all. it just means something else effects them. for ni-ki i think it’s anger and impulse control. that’s why it’s hard for him to feed on a regular human other than you. with sunoo, his sensitivity hightened. he can feel emotions on a deeper level of those around him.”

you kissed jay’s chest and relaxed into his arms, feeling exhaustion take over your body. “don’t get too tired baby, i think jungwon wants to feed.”

“can he please wait until tomorrow? that boy will absolutely wreck me, and i definitely cannot even stand on my own right now.” you laughed.

“i’ll let him know.”

jungwon opened the door to jays room shortly after with a pout. “i promise i won’t be rough!”

“she’s tired, you can have her tomorrow.” jay said.

you looked to jungwon with a smile, “you can have me all day tomorrow.”

“promise?” jungwon smiled big.

“promise.”

“yoi, okay.” he chuckled and left jays room.

“he’s gonna be extra clingy to you tomorrow, just know that.”

“eh i expect it.”

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

around 1 am, after everyone had turned in for the night, it was sunoo who heard the window to his room being slightly opened further than what he usually leaves it to feel a breeze.

he awoke startled, to see an almost drunk like ni-ki stumbling into his room, falling on the floor.

“ni-ki!” sunoo yelled in a hushed tone. sunoo quickly got up, to help the youngest stand up. sunoo immediately felt a rush of energy, excitement, fear, and regret. “ni-ki, what did you do?”

“i’m tired.” he hiccuped and walked out of the room, stumbling to his own. ni-ki looked disheveled, his jacket he left with, now missing.

sunoo followed ni-ki to his room, watching the youngest plop on his bed, still dressed in outside clothes. sunoo walked up to the boy to shake him. “you at least need to change.”

ni-ki agreed and went to grab clothes. he walked across the hall to the bathroom he shared with sunoo, and turned on the shower.

sunoo sighed, shaking his head, but decided, ni-ki was in no way shape or form to discuss tonight’s events. sunoo went back to his room with hesitation but knew if he kept pressing on the youngest, it could get ugly.

in the shower, ni-ki let tonight’s events run off his body, feeling guilty of all he did. he didn’t even want to remember what happened. he put it in the back of his memory, but the tingling sensation of feeding on a human other than you, excited him. he felt a new burst of energy he didn’t get from you.

he knew he would be seeing sunwoo and those boys again soon.

─── ᯓᡣ𐭩 ─── ─── ᯓᡣ𐭩 ─── ─── ᯓᡣ𐭩

note from the author:

≽^•⩊•^≼

we are so back 🤍

like, reblog, comment!! do not repost or translate pls, tysm ©

feedback is greatly appreciated and welcomed

[avelera]

I’m dying for your thoughts on what is going on in Dubai with the triangulation of Armand and Daniel in Dubai because nothing in 2.05 explain ms what they(beddeath vampires) could want him to tell them as referenced earlier in the season or warrant all the Rashid pageantry. Especially not with how Armand looks at Daniel like he just got home from the wars.

Your takes are exquisite and I’d love to hear them.

Ok, I THINK you're asking what the hell is going on with Daniel and Armand and Louis and the longing looks Armand keeps shooting Daniel and I might be missing some nuance to your question but that is the question I'm gonna answer because I can't stop thinking about it.

Ok. Ok, ok, SO!! The biggest question I think we're facing as of 2.05 is did the Devil's Minion chapter of Queen of the Damned ever happen?

For the uninitiated (LOTS of BOOK SPOILERS but like the books have been out for decades, sorry): Louis/Armand is like... not a thing. At least, it's not one of the big love affairs of the series compared to Louis/Lestat. I mean they've had a situationship but they're definitely not a long devoted love affair going right up to the beginning of the events of Vampire Lestat/Queen of the Damned, which is where the show seems to take place. They traveled together for a bit after the events of Interview with the Vampire but then parted ways because What Happened In Paris changed Louis irrevocably.

The big love of Armand's life in the books is Daniel.

And we learn this in the chapter of Queen of the Damned called the Devil's Minion.

Because Armand stumbles upon "The Interviewer" and falls in love and they have this fucked up whirlwind torrid romance where Daniel teaches Armand about the modern world and basically "how to be fascinating" and Daniel begs over and over to be made into a vampire.

Lots of stuff happens between them but short, TRAGIC version is that Armand does make Daniel into a vampire and it breaks Daniel's mind. He's not a cool powerful vampire once he's turned, he's basically a vegetable, he loses his mind and becomes a hollow husk of himself. (Ironically, insane-new-vampire!Daniel is left in the care of Marius of all people lol)

SO, from the book reader perspective, I shot upright on my couch when I saw old Daniel. Because Old Daniel means we're in... some flavor of happy AU? We're in an AU where Armand did the "responsible" thing and didn't give Daniel the Dark Gift, so Daniel got to grow old and actually be a person instead of being the Devil's Minion where Armand became his whole personality and then he lost his mind.

Thing is, since S1, I've been assuming, like others I think, that we're in an AU where the Devil's Minion didn't happen at all. That Daniel did the interview, he and Louis parted ways, and now he's back to finish it. It seemed neat, clear, if a little confusing for book fans because Daniel/Armand is one of THE great love affairs and it seems like it just got skipped entirely, which kind of makes sense since no other film version has really delved into it, right?

WRONG. OK, so with the longing looks that begin RIGHT when Armand finally reveals himself, the whole mic drop moment of "Armand, the love of my life" while Armand stares at Daniel, almost seeming to plead with his eyes "GET ME AWAY FROM HIM" and looking at Daniel with such longing, going into SEASON 2 where we learn that ok, the 1970s beat was WAY more complicated than it seems, Louis' memory is very faulty, Armand has actively tampered with both of them and we DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH....?

So my current theory is: the Devil's Minion DID happen.

Armand and Daniel had their love affair, but instead of turning Daniel, which by the way he had to be talked into doing because of Daniel's suicide attempt basically, Armand set him free. But CLEARLY he continued to stalk and pine after Daniel, if he was there at Daniel's fucking engagement reading his girlfriend's mind enough to tell Daniel what she was really thinking then. Armand was definitely still OBSESSIVELY IN LOVE. And, IMO, has been the whole time.

Now, what does this mean going forward? What do I think is going on?

Armand wants out of his relationship with Louis but he's chronically, pathologically, incapable of breaking up with anyone. He used Lestat to break up the Children of Darkness, he used Louis to break up the Theatre des Vampires, and now he's using Daniel to end this fucked up marriage he and Louis are in.

Armand is doing this first by consenting to renew the interview, Louis gets a walk down memory lane, remembers how much he loves Lestat. Not to solidify their bond with how good things are now, but to break it up with nostalgia.

Armand is also going to reveal things he's hidden from Louis, I think. Like the fact Armand killed Claudia. I think right now they're both operating under the excuse that Santiago and the coven did it in defiance of Armand but that is simply not true, Armand ordered her death to get Louis all to himself. But (book canon) her death broke Louis so basically Armand destroyed what he wanted in Louis in the gaining of him.

Armand also misses Daniel. He's doing the classic passive lover thing, using the next lover to get rid of the current one. That's why he picked Daniel specifically as the vehicle of his liberation. Boy wants to get white knighted in the most fucked up way possible. Evidence: every single painfully longing, puppy dog look he shoots Daniel's way and how those looks only get more intense the more Louis waxes poetic about how great the Loumand relationship is.

Armand appears as Rashid in order to establish for plausible deniability for Louis that he DIDN'T have a relationship with Daniel OR, if Louis knows about it, that he really did do as promised and wiped Daniel's mind. Look, Daniel doesn't even remember him! When he's standing right there! Pretending to be Rashid! He definitely didn't summon his former lover here to break up Louis and him, obviously this is JUST about Louis' desire to do the interview haha, definitely not trying to bring his old ex to break up his current relationship the guy doesn't even remember who he is.

In conclusion: Armand still wants to fuck that boy old man. And he wants to get rid of Louis by making Louis break up with him because that's how Armand rolls. And that's why this whole ridiculous pantomime is happening, because Armand will never, ever be the active party in the breakup because the boy is way, way too fucked up by his supremely fucked up life up to this point to ever be the initiator. Instead he will always, always manipulate those around him to do what he wants.

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | January 29th-February 4th 2024

Ao3 history still fucked :/

Repeating again: if I've ever reblogged one of your WIP fics, consider this my permission to tag me in them!!

Complete

🔥 Say You Were Made to Be Mine by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Canon Divergent - Different First Meeting, Soulmarks AU | 11K | Teen): It's Valentine's Day 2018, and Eddie saves a man from choking to death in the middle of a restaurant. It's only after the man is rushed away by paramedics that Eddie realizes his hands are green. The man he saved is his soulmate. And he doesn't even know his name let alone how to find him.

For hope I'd give my everything by dragon_rider/ @evanbdiaz (Post S1, CW: Eating Disorders | 8K | Mature): After the disaster of his first date with Abby, Buck’s relationship with food changes rather dramatically.

where would you rather die by tempestaurora/ @tempestaurora (Pacific Rim AU | 4K | Teen): “Care to explain why you’ve brought a child to a military base?” Bobby asked when they returned. The base was alight with celebration; the day had been saved, the world was safe for a little longer. “Uh.” Buck glanced back at Christopher, currently talking to Karen Wilson from the research division. “He was an unaccompanied minor?” “So we leave him with the social workers, with first responders,” Bobby said, a pointedly raised eyebrow in his direction. “His dad’s a cadet at the PPDC,” Buck replied. “And his grandmother probably died in the attack, so it just felt… I don’t know, morally right?”

i've been dying to catch you dizzy by diazbegins/ @evanbegins (Esablished Buddie, Fluff | 2K | Teen): Eddie and Buck go ice-skating. Oh, and Chris is there too!

🔥 The Aftermath of Liberation and Love Confessions by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S5E9, Getting Together | 17K | Teen): Still, Buck says, “Yeah, Eddie. Why don’t you teach us. What would you say if you were professing your love?” You mean something besides, “In the event of my untimely death, I made you legal guardian of my child”? ~ In which Eddie comes out, sexuality is complicated but coffee is not, Buck makes an excessive salad and is also roasted, everyone has a love confession, and December is the most dramatic time of year.

let the choir bells sing by foxwatson/ @eddiediazes (Madney Wedding, Getting Together | 3K | Teen): All at once, Eddie has an idea. It’s definitely the stupidest idea he’s ever had in his entire life, but he has it all the same, and there’s no time to come up with a better one. He puts his hands on Buck’s elbows, tugs him in closer, and says, “Kiss me.”

When You Broke Her Heart, I'm Watching it Burn by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S5E11, Buck/Taylor Break-Up | 4K | General): When Buck confesses he kissed someone, Taylor makes an assumption about who. Eddie deals with what all of it means for his own future while picking up the pieces for both Buck and Taylor.

🔥Plus or Minus by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (S5 | 10K | General): “Why are you cleaning out the kitchen? Why is my stuff in boxes?” Eddie slows, then stops. “Figured you’d want it back.” It’s quieter. Pained. When he says it. “I haven’t decided anything. So unless you’re kicking me out—” “Buck. Come on.” He’s not angry or snapping. It’s still quiet, and somehow that hurts even more. He’s resigned and defeated, and Buck is a scooped out, gutted, hollow shell. “I know how this ends the same way you do. You want to be loved, you want to be married. You’re going to leave. Might as well…” His voice cracks before he can finish and get it under control. “Shouldn’t drag it out.” ~ Taylor is offered a job across the country and asks Buck to go with her. Buck has to figure out if he wants to start over or if he has a reason to stay right where he is.

Color Him Father, Color Him Love by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S6E12 | 3K | General): “Connor was worried he wouldn’t feel like it’s really his kid. But I put him back in Connor’s arms, and I could see the way his face changed. The way he lit up and teared up and might have cried because that is his son. And all I could think was that I know that feeling. I know what it feels like to hold a kid and care about them and want to protect them. But it’s so different when it feels like they’re yours. It’s so much more. Even if you didn’t— Even if it’s not biological and you’re not. You’re not really the father. Because I hold Chris— I hold him and I feel like he is part of me.” ~ Buck has a revelation about what he is to Chris. And to Eddie.

turns out freedom ain’t nothing but missing you by Daffi_990_ao3/ @daffi-990 (Post-S6, Getting Together | 4K | Not rated): To protect his heart, Eddie pulls away from Buck when he starts dating Natalia. When he decides to move to B-shift, Buck finally confronts him and certain feelings finally come to light.

with blood in my nose by hammersmiths/ @henswilsons (Canon Divergent, S4E14: Survivors | 9K | Teen): The spray of blood hits him, first. And then Buck drops like a fucking stone. or, Buck is the one who gets shot instead of Eddie.

🔥 3 Men 1 Baby by Tizniz/ @tizniz (Canon Divergent, Accidental Baby Acquisition | 21K | General): It’s a good thing the groceries have made it to the table, because the eggs would certainly have cracked from Eddie dropping the bags to the floor. Because Evan Buckley was standing there holding a baby. A baby. OR: Buck, Eddie, and Chim get a baby. Here's what happens.

you can see it with the lights out (you are in love) by wikiangela/ @wikiangela (Post-S6, Love Confessions | 5K | General): Turns out, Natalia does see Buck, though maybe not in the way he expected. In which Natalia realizes Buck's in love with Eddie and help him see it, too.

we could be corny by devirnis/ @devirnis (Established Buddie | 1,6K | General): Or, Chim and Maddie have Buck and Eddie over for their first official couples’ game night.

🔥 Facets of a Diamond by countrygirlsfun/ @acountrygirlsfun (Canon S1-S2 | 35K | Teen): Southern California is where Buck has spent the most time since leaving Pennsylvania. Of all the places he’s lived and worked over the last few years, this place is where he decided to stay. It’s why he picked LAFD: to put down some roots. It’s warm, has the ocean, and it’s the opposite coast of his parents. So if he’s going to be here for a while, he thinks he’ll need to make an effort to let people in.

a little of that human touch by devirnis/ @devirnis (Established Buddie, Secret relationship | 1,5K | General): Buck closes his book and places it on the coffee table, pushing himself up a little more as Eddie trudges over to him. “Couldn’t sleep either?” Buck asks quietly. He wanders over to the far end of the couch and Buck moves his feet out of the way so Eddie can sit down. “Woke up and you were gone,” Eddie murmurs, pulling Buck’s feet into his lap.

you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever by heartbeatdiaz/ @loserdiaz (Getting Together, Valentine's Day | 2K | Teen): The LAFD throws a Valentine's Day charity event, there's a kissing booth and Eddie is definitely not going insane with jealousy.

🔥 Winter Prayer by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Road Trip, Buck&Bobby&May | 18K | General): When a work conflict prevents Athena from accompanying Bobby to Minnesota for the ten year anniversary of his family dying, Buck and May offer to go instead. Over the course of the trip, they all learn more about each other, and Bobby faces his grief.

Fractals from the Lightning Bolt by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (One Shots Collection | 47/54 | 87K | Not Rated): A collection of oneshots, some originally posted on tumblr. Each chapter is individually rated.

47. But What if They Were Secret Dating (S4, Explicit)

You Can't Surprise Evan Buckley by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Established Buddie, Fluff | 5K | Mature): Ten months into their relationship, Eddie has not been able to execute a romantic surprise for Buck. But on Buck's birthday, things are about to change. (Part 2 of Birthday Surprises & Other Shenanigans)

WIP

because we'll all arrive in heaven alive by callmenewbie/ @puppyboybuckley (Post-S6, Disaster Fic | 1/9 | 7K | Explicit): During a search and rescue, Eddie disappears without a trace, leaving Buck to grapple with the sudden possibility of a life without him.

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briar / @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon, S1 through S6 | 111/? | 315K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

🔥 A Minor Delay by rainbow_nerds/ @rainbow-nerdss (Post-S6/S7 Spec | 6/11 | 21K | Mature): Almost a year after the bridge collapse, a lot has changed. The team are scattered—Bobby and Athena on their Honeymoon, Hen on adoptive parent's leave, and Buck and Eddie... They may still work together, still have movie nights with Chris whenever they can, but things have changed. With Maddie and Chimney's wedding around the corner, Buck tries to make it perfect. And maybe, along the way, he might figure out why everything still feels... wrong.

if i need to rearrange my particles — i will for you. by dylaesthetics (Post-S6, Social Media fic | 1/16 | 4K | Teen): OR Buck joins a support app for first responders and matches with a firefighter who has PTSD and a kid who likes giraffes, apparently.

[morganwrites12672]

Tim Bradford x Reader

Warnings/Tags: Spoilers for S1 finale, spoilers for S2E1, officer!reader, female!reader, established relationship

.............................................................................................

"We can ask for a few more days off," you tell Tim as he grabs the keys. After everything that happened you two have finally finished the two weeks of administrative leave.

"Babe, I'm fine," he says. You didn't know if he was telling the truth or not. But you did know you weren't. You had come far to close to losing him.

"You stayed in a room with a man who had a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever for an hour. You were injected with an experimental vaccine and went into anaphylactic shock because of it." You raise your voice. Tim was to stubborn to admit if something was wrong.

"I can see your concern, but I promise you, I will be more careful," he says and gives you a kiss. He felt truly horrible for what had happened. He couldn't imagine what it was like for you.

"I swear to God, if you take any calls you know are going to be very dangerous," you don't have to finish your threat. Tim knows.

You couldn't lose him. Tim Bradford might be a bit of an asshole, but he was your asshole. But being truthful he wasn't near as much of an asshole to you.

Tim hated that two weeks of spending every second of every day with you was over. He also hated that he wouldn't be able to protect you. He knew you could handle yourself, that didn't stop him from worrying.

"I will be careful, but I want you to be careful too," Tim says and begins to move out the door. You follow.

"I will, love you," you say and get in the car. This day was going to be hell. Both of you were so used to being able to see the other whenever. Now it was back to seeing each other during breaks.

"Love you to," Tim says as he pulls out of the driveway.

[gojosbf]

there are a lot of complains about Jjk ending being 'rushed' and some fans are hating on gege, tbh I think the reason Gege wants to end Jjk so soon because he's tired of these "fans", I mean people are saying death threats to him for killing their fav characters (which he created) like Jjk wouldn't exist without him, maybe he didn't get to write what he actually wants to write because of frustration and that's why he "lose" interest of the series, for me I am satisfied with what we currently got, because megs and nobara is alive and they are all back together. I hope gege have a great day after the series ends, I mean he created one of the most interesting Manga series ever. I like him alot

I agree, gege himself has admitted that there were many times he did not utilise characters to their fullest and regrets that and also how he wants to end the manga sooner. I think he's tired of all the hate and just wants to finish his job as mangaka as soon as possible. This is probably because he did not expect jjk to get this level of popularity, attention and pressure, now everyone has a complaint and he knows he'll never satisfy them all so might as well not care about it and just finish however he wants to.

I have already come to terms with the fact that the ending is going to be rushed with many questions left answered but as you said I hope atleast the trio are happy and together. That's the only hope I am holding onto, a bit more happy ending (including saving yuuta). Though I joke about bringing back gojo I think it's better for him to stay dead, atleast that way we'll be able to save rest of the cast. It's not much but I imagine the ending to be one with the students from s1 ++ yuuta, I think I will be fine with that.

Gege should definitely be proud of his series, the characters he's designed, the world he has created that managed to enamour such a big population. Whether the manga is good or bad is a different question but no one can deny the impact jjk had all over the world it's truly insane and regardless of the fact that whether he fumbled many characters I want him to be proud of himself too because this is his creation, he's touched so many people through it, he's done masterful job for the most part. From the interviews I've read I have seen how he's too critical of himself and I just wish he could be proud of his work too. He did a great job, there many mistakes too but that's okay people break under pressure, our complaints don't mean we do not appreciate him and the manga and I really hope he knows that.

[jazziejax]

𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲

𝐌𝐬.𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥

Pairings- Black!OC x Abbott Elementary Cast, later Black!OC x Manny (Can be read as x Reader though!)

Summary- S1E1-Light Bulb with Naoya Lovel

Warnings- Swearing, kids, mixed race reader( those aren't warnings really, just what to expect)

Jazzie'sNotes!- let me know what you guys think!! I've been really obsessed with Abbott Elementary recently and I'm contemplating if I want to write S1&S2 just to get to the Manny season. I want to get there fast but I know what won't be possible with two seasons worth of writing. Let me know what you guys think I should do.

Word Count- 5,680

“Ten seconds!” Jacob yelled over his shoulder at the people in the room. Melissa and Barbra rushed over to the sitting area in front of the television that played the action news. Naoya sitting the opposite of them on the small couch.

“Oh, we love Action News! Get in early just to watch it.” Melissa said to the cameras. “It just really calms you down after wanting to take a wrench to someone's side mirror in traffic.” She beamed as if what she said was totally normal.

“But the Philadelphia region continues to suffer, temperature in the mid-90s with a heat index approaching 100…” The television said as they all sat and watched.

“Now I’m a proud married Christian woman and I love my husband. But there’s something about that Jim Gardner.” Barba gushed to the cameras. “That non-regional diction.” The woman was practically blushing just at the thought of the man.

“It is so important to support and acknowledge local journalism, okay?” Jacob started. “There’s no agenda here. This is—This is one going, in the streets, powerful stuff.” He explained seriously.

“I get in early just to see my aunt Magnolia on the screen. She’s a news anchor and I like telling her what I like and dislike about her outfits every morning.” Naoya nodded nonchalantly.

“Wouldn’t want to see that dog in traffic.” Jim Fardner said as they all laughed while watching a little Pomeranian dog drive a toy car.

“Yes, Jim.” Barbra agreed, not seeing the confused look Noaya gave her from the side.

“I like the news because that’s when I can say whatever I want and nobody asks any questions.” Mr.Johnson told the cameras with a smirk.

“I’m taking a personal day.” The old man said as he entered the room, looking at the backs of everyone’s heads as they continued to watch the morning news. “Going fishing with my friends. Anyways, toilet papers in the closet.” He said before walking out.

“I hear him.” Naoya nodded, giving the people behind the camera a small smile. “I hear everything. Plus he is a hilarious old man and I wanna know all his secrets. I am this close to cracking him.” She said with an evil smirk making its way into her face as she lined her fingers together to indicate a small amount.

“I saw Jim Gardner once. At the Chipotle.” Barbra smiled bashfully, not taking her eyes away from the television. “Ooh, he orders a bowl so handsomely.” She gushed. Naoya gave the older woman another look, this time more concern than confusion.

It was only a moment later that Jacob was going through the break room fridge, poking around for something. “Who’s branzino is this?” He asked, holding the fish dish in his hands. “This is a very powerfully smelling fish to put in a shared fridge.” The boy complained as politely as he could, closing the ice box with a disgusted look on his face.

“Don’t touch it,” Melissa said looking up from her phone. “I’m making it right at my cousin Annette’s.” She made her way over to have a seat in her usual spot next to Barb. “She thinks she’s the best cook in the family. I’m gonna show her in a non-threatening way. Imma look cuter than her too.” She smirked.

“I have a distant cousin named Annette,” Naoya said, finishing up the delicious breakfast sandwich that she had every morning. “She was psychotic though, used to put poison in the condiments at restaurants.” The younger woman stated, looking off in thought as the rest stared at her in disbelief. “I haven’t seen her in ages. Don’t want to either, she was butt ugly.” She then took a sip of her orange juice.

Just as she finished, Janine walked into the room, putting her bag down on the table in front of Melissa and Barbra. “Guys, the lights in the back hallways have been out for weeks.”

“Thank you for the update,” Melissa said as she applied more makeup.

“What are you wearing?” Barbra asked, looking her up and down.

“And we need to do something about it. Okay?” The short woman tried to sound demanding but it didn’t come off that way. “Uh, Melina, from your class.” She started, pointing at Melissa. “Yeah, she was afraid to come to school this morning. Said it looked like “The Shining.” And I don’t even get how she knows that reference.”

“She loves “The Shining,” Melissa stated.

“It’s a classic movie.” Jacob chimed in.

The camera panes Naoya’s way, who looks at them at their movements. ‘Never seen it.’ She mouthed with a shrug of her shoulders.

“This isn’t okay, alright?” Janine stressed. “And I already talked to Mr.Johnson and he said that there isn’t anything he can do.

“What do you want us to do about it?” Barbra asked the girl tiredly.

“I mean, it can’t be hard. It’s just screwing in a few new bulbs.” The small woman stated.

“Janine, just worry about what can be controlled.” Barbra cut her off.

“Exactly.” Melissa agreed. “All we can do on a hot day like this is our own jobs, anyway.”

“I know what’s right,” Ava said as she barged into the room and made her way over to the coffee machine. “Why is it February and hotter than the devil’s booty hole outside?” She asked.

“Climate Change.” Jacob and Naoya said at the same time, causing them to point at one another in recognition while Ava shot both of them a tired look. “We are living in the middle of its disastrous effects. The permafrost in Russia—” He was about to rant before Ava cut him off.

“Nerd.” The woman said between coughs, which sounded more like a laugh. Naoya rolled her eyes while Jacob just turned back to what he was doing.

“Ava.” Janine started, walking up to the woman who was still laughing from her childish joke. “Can someone from the city come and check on the back hallway lights?”

“Girl, no.” The woman answered, her usual judgmental look on her face. “Do I look like the Kool-Aid man?” She asked, halving around the room. Her eyes stopped on Naoya, who raised her eyebrows in question. “Don’t answer that.” She pointed at the woman, who just shrugged it off. “I don’t have enough juice to manipulate the inner workings of city hall.” The principal continued, looking back at Janine and scoffing before making her way out. “They’ll probably come in the summer.” She said as the bell rang.

“I’m the summer?” Janine asked after doing a double take at her words. But the woman was long gone and the others were making their way out of the room to their classes.

“Tough break. Want some egg white bites?” Jacob asked, easing closer to Janine and holding out a plate. The solemn woman looked up at him with a new determination. “No. I don’t have time to eat.” She said before walking out. Jacob was mid-bite when he turned and faced Naoya, who was putting her bag over her shoulder. And before the man could even speak, the woman stopped him. “No, I don’t want your peasant food, Jacob. It’s insulting that you would ask someone as cultured as myself such a question.” She started before strutting out of the break room. Jacob stood there in disbelief.

“It’s just egg white bites, you put them in the microwave.”

▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣

“Janine, what on earth are you doing on that thing?” Naoya asked as she rushed down the hall to the smaller woman who stood on a ladder. She had just come from using the restroom and leaving a class of a bunch of nine to ten-year-olds unattended for even a few seconds could lead to chaos. She didn’t know that chaos would be the grown woman who was the height of a nine to ten-year-old.

“I’m going to fix this broken light.” The woman said determinedly, only a step above the floor in the heightening tool. Naoya made it next to her, seeing the woman wasn’t doing much movement. She placed her hands on her hips, a smug look on her face. “Janine, you are not meant to go to those heights. God gave you your stature for a reason. Plus you’re terrified.”

“I am not terrified.” The woman said, shooting a glance at her. At that, Naoya gave her a knowing look before ushering the woman to go ahead. Janine nodded and looked back at the matter, fear gripping her. She gulped looking back at Naoya. “Okay, I am terrified but I’m gonna do it because I’m on a mission.” She said before carefully making her way up the ladder.

“If this backfires, you buy my dinner,” Naoya asked, after checking in on her classroom through the glass door, seeing them still doing their reading time. At that, Janine gave a confused look to the air, since she was too scared to look down. “Uh, no. This bet is not in my face, at all.”

“Well, at least have some faith in yourself, goodness gracious.”

At that, Janine continued, taking the cover off the lights and continuing to tweak at the wires. “See, look at this. It was just a loose wire.” The woman said, briefly glancing down at the people below her. She then connected the wire with another one, watching as the light stopped flickering. But it didn’t stop for long, the bulbs brightening before bursting in her face.

“Oh!” The woman screamed as she ducked:

“Janine!” Naoya yelled from below her, hosing her arms out in case the woman fell. Instantly, all the rooms were filled with the sounds of confusion and discomfort. The doors opened as the teachers exited.

“Oh, God! Can someone please help me down?” Janine asked, her voice shaking from the fear of the height she was at and the bulb exploding before her.

“And why would we do that since you caused this situation?” Melissa asked as she propped her door open.

“Okay, I didn’t know doing this would cause all the power to go out.” Janie tried to justify, still clutching onto the ladder.

“Well, the power is not all out,” Barbra stated. “It’s on in some places and off in others.”

“It’s off in my room,” Gregory said.

“On in the gym.” The coach said tiredly, slugging up to the group.

“Yeah, it’s off in my room,” Melissa spoke back up. “Thank God we got the A/C or we’d all be meltin’ already.”

“Okay, well before anyone freaks out, the best thing to do in these situations is just stay calm and—” Naoya started as she looked around the group but was silenced by the frantic voice of their terrible and terrified principal.

“Okay! This is it, y'all! The End Times!” The woman said as she rounded the corner in a hurry, a light strapped to her head. “It’s three months early, but it’s happening!” She said, as she closed in on them, giving the closest thing to her a tousle, which happened to be the very thing that was holding Janine up.

“Aah, don’t shake the ladder.” The smaller woman yelled from up top.

“Gregory is the only person that can stay in my bunker, so stop asking.” The crazed principal continued. Naoya’s head jerked back at her words, shocked at the woman’s blatant advancements that were harassment at this point.

“Ava,” Barbra started, holding her arms out in a non-offensive manner to calm the woman. “It is just a partial power outage. Alright, listen up everyone—.”

“Listen to Barbra, y'all!” The doomsday woman yelled, still latched into the latter out of fear.

“Are you kidding me?” Janie asked, clasping at the top of the ladder for support as it shook again.

“This is what we’re gonna do.” Barbra started again. “Everybody without power, please, head to the gym.”

“Head!” Ava chimed in again.

“We will conduct classes there until this is all fixed. It is not ideal—.” She stressed, looking up at the culprit on the ladder. “But it will work.”

“You hear her. Let’s go!” Ava demanded with a nod.

“Guys!” Janie called from the top of the ladder, causing them all to look up at her. “I-I just wanna I-I’m sorry, everybody.” The woman said nervously. “I just thought if I could get up here and get this done then we wouldn’t have to wait and..”

“And look where it landed us, baby girl.” Barbra cut in. “Everybody please head to the gym. We’ve got bigger fish to fry now.”

“Oh, Jesus! My branzino! Everybody out of the way. Out of the way!” Melissa yelled as she sprinted down the hall filled with children.

“Well, if someone can please help me! I feel like I’m one wobble away from death!” Janie begged from where she fluted the top of the ladder. At that, Naoya walked closer, raising her hand to help guide the woman down but was intercepted by Gregory's large arms. The two people glanced at each other, unexpected by the other one's move. Naoya waved her hand, signaling him to help instead. “Thank you,” Jannie said, too spooked to even pay attention to the odd interaction before her. “Okay, give me your hand. Take your time.” Gregory soothed, his large hand latched onto Janine’s. When he was turned away from her, she gave the camera an odd look, scratching the back of her ear. “Whenever you're ready.”

“Okay.” Janine sighed. There was a moment of silence between them all as they waited. “Am I doing it?” Janie asked, just standing there.

“No, honey,” Naoya spoke up, raising an eyebrow at such an odd question.

“Okay, let’s do a count of three.” Janine reiterated, adjusting herself to prepare.

“Okay,” Gregory started. “One, two…three.” He finished and the woman still wasn’t moving. “One more time.” He said.

▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣

“This is all my fault,” Janie said as she looked around the gymnasium at all the students. The shock clock then went off, the constant noise startling Gregory, who paused his class to speak to the woman. “Yeah, you probably shouldn’t have tried to do the job of a newly graduated DeVry student, but this is okay.” The man sassed, with an awkward smile as she gestured around the room. Melissa was teaching her kids the best she should with something in flashcards, while Barbra was teaching her students to tell time.

Naoya was on the other side of the room, all her students sitting in rows with their eyes closed and taking deep breaths, with her in the front as a group meditation process. She chose this alternative instead of their gym scheduled gym activities, so the kids weren’t accidentally hitting four-year-olds in the head with basketballs.

Janine sighed, going to pick up her phone that pinged. She read the messages she got from Tariq, and that pissed her off even more. Well, it wasn’t helping her attitude for today.

“I made this mess, and I need to fix this.” She said again, looking around at the distressed room of teachers.

“Okay, but fix this how? Gregory asked her. “It seems very outside of your skill set. You should probably just wait for somebody to get to it—.” He tried to reiterate what Barbra had been saying all along and Janine was not having it.

“I don’t want to wait for someone to get to it!” Janine hissed. “You know, our children have needs that deserve to be met. And I’m going to fix this. Nothing is going to get in my way.” She said determined.

“What if you have to climb another ladder?” Gregory finally asked. “Those seem very tricky for you.”

“No.” That was all Janie gave him. “Not today.

Sometime later, the bell rang, signaling to everyone that it was much time.

“Aren’t you going to lunch, Janine?” Melissa asked as she, Barbra, Gregory, and Naoya made their way to the gymnasium doors.

“Uh, no, I’m actually gonna stay and help the lunch ladies with lunch.” The shorter woman tried to find a reasonable excuse.

“The lunch ladies don’t like you, Janine. They never say hello back.” Naoya said, crossing her arms as she looked at the woman across from her. “So, is that what you’re really doing?”

“Yes!” She answered. “And maybe trying to get the lights back on.” She rushed out at the end, hoping no one heard. At that, the two older women groaned.

“Would you give that a rest?” Melissa started. What do you want? To make the whole school blow up?”

“No!” The woman said as she folded her arms. “Plus, I can’t. Luckily the school was built as a bomb shelter in WWII, so…”

“Let it go.” Barbra practically begged the girl before her before she and the rest of the teachers started walking away.

“Okay, I will.” The woman told them, watching them exit. She and Gregory held long eye contact, both knowing the truth deep down. After they were gone, Janine looked back down at her phone, not paying attention to her friends next to her.

“You’re not gonna let it go, are you?” Jacob spoke up.

“No, I’m not gonna let it go, Jacob, okay?” She said, giving the two of them a look. “I need to right my wrongs.”

“Okay, we’ll count me out.” He said, waving her off.

“I never counted you in,” Janine said to him, confused about where he got that from.

“Well, then count me in.” He restated. “Because I don’t have any lunch plans.”

“Okay.” She sighed. She then looked at the woman next to him, her purse on her shoulder. “Weren’t you going to lunch?” She asked.

“You owe me lunch, remember? Your plan backfired.” She reminded the woman from earlier with a shrug. Janine sighed, turning away from them and walking, knowing they would follow. “That’s not how bets work, Naoya. Both people have to agree.”

“That’s how my bets work and you owe me food, woman!”

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“This is just like the one in my apartment, this is going to be easy,” Janine stated as the three of them made their way to the breaker box that was in the custodian closet. “Me and Tariq have to go in that thing like three times a month.” She said them behind her, Jacob holding the flashlight above her head.

“Maybe you should move.” The man suggested.

“Yeah. Tariq says he is “practicing” his credit score.” Janine struggled out and she pushed to get the metal box open. “Apparently 380 isn’t a good—.” She continued to struggle, her words getting lost in her. “Let me try,” Naoya said as she softly nudged the smaller woman out of the way. She gave the box a pull and the thing popped open. She turned and smiled at the two. “I loosened it,” Jannie said, trying to save face.

“Sure, Jan,” Naoya said, going back to looking in the box. “Oh..” she said, looking at the jumbled mess of wires and switches.

“Oh, no,” Janie said, looking at the same thing. “Don’t touch. Not even a little bit.” She read out loud, giving the camera a certain look. “Uh, okay. What’s that say?”

“End of the Road? It’s so hard to say goodbye?” Naoya read out loud, looking at the labels next to some of the switches. “What? Motownphil—These are Boyz II Men songs.” She deadpanned, turning to the rest of them.

“Why?” Jannie asked, moving to stand in front of the box herself.

Jacob chuckled. “It’s ironic ‘cause I’m on Bended Knee.” He joked, giving the camera a brief look. Naoya genuinely snickered while Janie just laughed awkwardly. “Heh. Okay.” She said before going back to the wires. “Oh God, why is that one hot?” Offering them a glance of concern. “Let me try this one.” She said and just a flip of a switch caused a giant spark to erupt, the trio screamed and jumped back to dodge the sparks as best as they could.

“What in the world.”

“What going on?”

Melissa and Barba exclaimed as she entered the hot and dark school building with children running around. “It’s so hot I’m gonna frizz.” Just then, Janie and Jacob came out of the appliance closet, their hair a mess from the static they endured. The three teachers who left for lunch automatically knew who the culprit for everything was.

“Janine! What did you do?!” Barbra asked, quite fed up with the younger woman. “Looking like ‘who shot John.’”

“Barbra, look, I know you told me to let it go, but I couldn’t. Jacob and Naoya—.” At that, she looked back to see where the woman was but she was nowhere to be found. “Jacob helped me open the breaker.” She was quick to accuse.

“I ran away as soon as the sparks started flying. I was looking out for myself.” The woman shrugged as she leaned against the wall next to her. “Plus, I wasn’t about to get yelled at by Barb for this whole mess.”

“It was a chance to support a strong Black woman.” The man next to her breathed out, in a state of shock, quite literally.

“The breaker?!” Melissa asked. “Janine! You can’t do this stuff! What had you come to work today and lose your mind?”

“Look, I—.” She tried to find something to say. “I just have—she gulped—I feel lightheaded.” She said as she swayed.

“Ohh, okay,” Barbra said worriedly as they all closed in on the smaller girl.

“Did you eat today, because I know you didn’t have lunch,” Melissa asked the girl worriedly.

“And you didn’t have any breakfast,” Jacob stated, his tone showing his concern for the woman’s wellbeing. Janine couldn’t even say anything, her balance was off and her mind was delirious.

“Okay, we’re losing her,” Melissa yelled, easing up on the girl. “Do I have your consent to slap you?” At that, Janine fell backward into Gregory’s arms just as Ava and Naoya rounded the corner. “There she goes,” Melissa said over the shocked screams of her colleagues. “She’s out.”

“Yall feel this heat?” Ava asked, just now seeing the sight of the woman on the floor before her. “Oh my God! She’s pale like a zombie! You know, they eat the hottest people first, let me back my tasty ass up.” Ava said, going back to where she came from down the hall. At her stupid words, Naoya was tempted to follow her but snapped out of it when she saw Janine on the floor.

“Uh, okay! I’m gonna go see if I can get some water out of the fridge. Hopefully, it’s still cold.” Naoya said before running off.

“Oh my God, my branzino!” Melissa yelled, moving to push Barb back.” “Excuse me, Barb. She’ll be okay!” She yelled as she pushed the older woman out of her way and jumped over the unconscious woman.

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Once Janine woke up from her little coma, the coach told her that all the kids and teachers were outside. She walked out to see all of them playing in the water that was sprouting from the fire hydrants while the teachers lunged in chairs. “Oh, look who’s back in the land of the living,” Melissa said once she saw the small woman exit the school.

“Who opens the fire hydrant?” Janine asked

“Well, as Melissa would say, snitches get stitches,” Barbra said.

“It was Naoya,” Jacob whispered to his shorter friend, pointing over at said woman who was playing in the water with the children. She had her bat at her side, leaning her weight on it as she splashed the kids who came near her to throw water her way.

“That is correct.” Melissa started again. “But I am not talking to you on account of you killing my branzino.” She said, before leaning back in her seat. Barbra gave her a look and cleared her throat. Melissa looked at the woman from under her shades and sighed a little before sitting back up. Barbra then got up from her seat, allowing Janine to take it.

“So that’s it, huh?” Janine asked, looking around at the kids. “I , uh, gave it my all, passed out, and ruined the school day?”

“Oh, you tanked,” Melissa told her. “You tanked Janine. You took the whole school down with you. It was impressive.” She pressed, knowing she was pushing the woman’s buttons.

“Look, I know. I should’ve stopped. I’m sorry.” Janine sighed. “I just felt so bad when I saw that look on Melina’s face this morning.”

“You don’t think it kills us to see those faces in the morning?” Melissa asked her. “What, are we made of stone? You’re not the first person to feel things, kid. We care.”

It was silent for a moment as Janine thought over the woman’s words. “How do you and Barbra stop yourselves from caring too much if that’s a thing.”

“Because it’s the opposite.” Melissa smiled at the girl as she took off her shades. “We care so much we refuse to burn out. If we burn out, who’s here for these kids? That’s who you gotta take care of yourself.”

“Yeah, what’s with you today Nini?” Both women jumped at the sound of Naoya’s voice, while the woman just stood behind them with her bat. “You’re normally bananas, but…” She trailed off, waving at the girl's aura.

“Uh, I don’t know. Just some stuff at home, I think.” Janine shrugged with an answer.

“Oh, okay,” Melissa said with a nod. “See, that’s the other thing me and Barbra learned. All that at-home stuff—you gotta leave it at the door. Otherwise, you open up a whole nother Panera’s box of problems.”

“I think you mean Pandora’s box,” Naoya told the woman sitting in front of her.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure it’s Panera’s box.” She nodded, while Janine and Naoya both gave the camera a look.

Later on that day, Naoya was in her room in the process of changing the clothes she had on into some that she kept in her closet. She enjoyed playing in the water with the kids but she was not going to go home wet. As she was in the process of changing, she got a phone call. Looking down at her phone, she saw the contact and quickly answered the phone.

“Hello, Adona.” The girl sighed into the phone as she pulled a new shirt over her head.

“Oh, well don’t sound so pleased.” The feminine voice over the phone said to her. Naoya rolled her eyes, as she opened the drawer of her desk and pulled out a plastic store bag. She offered the camera a glance, knowing they were probably thinking as to why she kept so many plastic bags in her drawer. But all she could offer them now was a shrug as the voice over the phone continued.

“Anyways, how are you?”

“What do you want, Adona?” Naoya spat, stuffing her semi-wet clothes into the plastic bag.

“What? I can’t see how my own sister is doing?” The woman said over the phone, the hurt in their voice obviously sarcastic.

“No, but I know you. And I know that you only call when you need money. Money for something other than your child.” The younger girl snapped over the phone. All she got in response was a sigh and some shuffling from the other end.

“You know, you don't have to rub it in.” Adona started, and Naoya rolled her eyes at the woman’s words, knowing this conversation was about to go to the argument they always had. “This all would have been so much easier if the rest of us weren’t left out of her will.”

“That’s not my fucking fault, Adona. I tell you that every time you call. Do you think I want the burden of you and the others calling me every month for some fucking bill for me to pay? Not to ask how I’m doing?” Naoya spat at her sister over the phone. She could feel her eyes start to sting, she was never the best at arguing when it came to her family. She’d been called sensitive all her life and it rang true every time she talked to her siblings.

“ “The others”? That’s what you call us? You’re family?” That was all Adona could say back. Naoya rolled her eyes and let out a scoff, pulling the phone away from her face as she sniffed and held her head back, trying to stop her tear flow. After only a few quick seconds, she brought the phone back to her face. “Uh, I can already see where this is going, so I’m gonna end it here. Just send the amount and I’ll talk to you some other time. Take care.” She said before pressing the red button on her screen to end the call.

She placed her phone in her back pocket and moved around her room to gather her things, trying her best to occupy her mind from what just ensued. She was so in her head that she forgot the cameras were there. And she didn’t hear the voice of Gregory at her door.

“Naoya?” He called out to her.

She looked up at the sound of his voice as she placed her things into her bag. “Oh, Hello Gregory.” She smiled, her face showing none of the emotions she was feeling.

“You’ve eaten?” He asked, just standing in the doorway of her classroom.

“Uh, no, actually. Janine was supposed to buy me lunch because I bet that her plan would backfire.” The woman said as she placed her things in her arms. At that, Gregory gave her a questioning look. Naoya raised her hands in surrender. “I know, I sound like a terrible friend. But it’s not that I don’t believe in Janine, I just know how to black a bet. Get it from my father.” The girl shrugged. She and Gregory both laughed lightly. And when it died down, they just started at one another, the air between them oddly peaceful.

“But, uh, are you offering?” She asked, looking at the man before her.

“Uh, yeah. I was going to ask Janine too.” He said, pointing his thumb in the direction of the said woman’s room.

“Cool! Let’s go.” She said with a genuine smile, causing the man to smile at her as well. They walked out and over to Janine’s room, where it looked like the woman was doing something on her phone. Gregory knocked on her door to get her attention. “Hey.” He said.

“Hey,” Jaimie said, looking at the two.

“Have you eaten?” He asked.

“Oh. No. The um, lunch lady gave me that can of peaches but no can opener, so, no.” She chuckled, pointing at the can on her desk.

“What? No fair! You’re so lucky. Well, besides the whole can opener situation. ” Naoya said jokingly.

“Alright, we’ll, you wanna go get something to eat? With me?” Gregory said before Naoya lightly cleared her throat. “With us?” Gregory was quick to reiterate. Naoya nodded, offering the slightly flustered older man a brief look.

“Oh,” Janine said, looking between the two. “I was gonna wait for my boyfriend to finish his show to eat…” She said. Naoya nodded at her words, understanding where she was coming from. Well, understanding as best as she could because she’d never wait to eat for a man. But maybe that was love. She caught the way Gregory’s posture changed at Janin’s words out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t say anything but she did give me a crazy side-eye, hoping he noticed.

“But…no.” The shorter woman started back up with a laugh. “I’m hungry now, so I should eat now, right?”

“That’s typically how hunger works, yeah.” Gregory played along.

“Right! Normal people eat at normal times, like…4:00.” She said, pointing over at the clock on her wall.

“Yeah. All true.” Gregory said with a nod before smiling. “So, let’s go eat.”

“Let’s. Okay.” Janine said with an equally large smile before moving to grab her things. At that, Naoya turned around to head out the door, not wanting to be in the middle of an obvious love fest. She gave the cameras outside a knowing look, a large smirk on her face.

Seconds later, the two of them walked out of the room, Naoya joining them to go down the hall. On their way, they ended up meeting Jacob.

“Oh, hey guys, what up?” The man said.

“We’re just headed to get something to eat,” Gregory answered.

“Oh, great, I’ll join.” The man just inserted himself, not catching the looks thrown his way by the three. “After school crew.” He continued.

“Ooh, “After School Crew.” I like that.” Janine smiled. They all ended up stopping at the lights coming on within the school. They looked over to see Mr.Johnson in the supply closet, standing next to the breaker machine in his fishing gear.

“You touch the lights, didn’t you, Janine?” He asked, shooting an accusatory look the woman’s way.

“Yes,” Janine answered with a defeated look.

“Good thing I got me a system.” The man told her, flicking the breaker box closed. “I’ll make love to you. Like you want me to.” He continued to sing. This caused them to all sigh and continue walking. Naoya stayed behind, a fond smile on her lips as she watched the old man. When he caught the sight of the woman still there, he paused and looked at her.

“You have a good fishing trip?” She asked the man, crossing her arms over another. The man looked at the girl kind of shocked that she asked and that she knew.

“Yeah. Yeah, I actually did.” He said, offering her a smile of his own. Naoya nodded at his words before walking away, following the crew that left her. Mr.Johnson looked at the spot she left, a fond smile on his face as she continued to sing the song.

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Ahahaha..haha...ha I just binge read the entirety of your comic...

What the heck dude! You're ridiculously good at drawing and writing this comic. And by god, you started out posting DAILY???? how!? I may have misunderstood, but it sure as shit sounded like you were posting daily in s1. Like bro, even if you were posting weekly, I'm impressed. And especially with the quality!

You truly deserve a pat on the head. And pull yourself a little more slack. You've been updating this comic for 6 YEARS! Like, the dedication! Like, I would have got bored and quite after 1 year! (If I got that far at all.)

This is truly some of the best fan content I've consumed in a while.

Hey, thanks for your kind words!

To be fair, when I was posting daily, the drawings I put out were a lot more rudimentary and the content was minimal - just enough to answer an ask. 3-4 panels. If someone had 3-4 post-it notes and a piece of paper, that's totally doable for most people. :)

These days, my posting schedule reflects the amount of time it takes me to put out a comic. I definitely work much harder on it at this point in time.

And don't worry - the slack is coming. I am keeping up my posting for now, but I'll likely be taking a break after episode 10 finishes up.

But hey, I appreciate you (and everyone else) who reads and leaves me kind words!

[lordandladywhistledown]

The way this little clip of Colin running after Penelope is giving me the will to live until I find someone like that...

Cause it's what Luke said in the interview: in S1 and 2, Colin would usually leave Penelope after they finished their conversation, perhaps because he had other "more important" people to talk to but in S3, my boy is not only getting away from said people to rather go to Penelope, but he's fucking RUNNING TO HER. RUSHING. SPRINTING, even. He's so in love his first instinct is to go after her when he sees she's upset, not caring about what others would think (when have Polin ever cared about them breaking the social norms, anyway?)

If S1 Pen would witness that, I'm sure she would die on the spot. Colin Bridgerton, the guy who legit friendzoned her and almost married her own cousin, running after her when she left the ball upset??? She wouldn't dream of that in her wildest fantasies (😛😏)

Anyway, I cannot wait for the super angsty, slowed down edits with sad songs in the background of that scene cause it's just pure romance 🤌

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Nichya, your post about the way Zutarians view Katara struck a huge chord in me. 1 month ago, I was a naive multishipper who had just finished ATLA and was looking for good fics to read. Went on A03 and saw there were a lot of Zutara fics, sorted them out by kudos to see what the 10 most top-rated fics were. Katara is my favourite character, so I was really excited to see her post-canon life.

And. Oh, man. The experience was so fucking weird. I expected a lot of happy Katara fics, because canonically she IS really happy -the war is over, her family is reunited, her best friends Aang and Toph are alive, she can go home now to rebuild her tribe. That's NOT what I got.

The top-rated one was about how invisible and marginalised she felt being Aang's gf, and how she escaped it to be a world changing politician...in the fire nation??? When canonically Aang supported every one of her ambitions and all she wanted to do is restore her tribe?? Don't get me started on how the fic had Sokka, Toph, even Gran Gran all villanised Aang and blamed him for Katara's oppression.

Another one was a typical forced-marriage with Zuko because of duty?? And she and Zuko had children and her kids found 12 year old Aang??? Not even going to touch that one.

The 3rd was that Zuko pointed out to Katara how she fussed and looked after Aang as a mom or older sister, and Katara agreed she "coddled him". (did they miss the part when Miss Katara was a trouble-maker and Aang had to save her everytime?? And she canonically thought of Aang as the leader in the group???)

Another one was how Kataang had broken up, but Aang was still waiting for her and "hoped to marry her one day" and she was so indignant she fell into Zuko's sexy arms. (I literally laughed out loud at this, because canonically Katara was incredibly jealous of Aang's fangirls from S1 and Aang never gave af about Jet)

One incredibly gross one when Katara marries Aang out of duty because "she cannot break his heart" but always loved Zuko. KATARA. The girl who was ready to abandon her tribe to learn waterbending in ep.1!

And 2 more forced marriages, one where Katara is Zuko's captive and pawn of war, and they have sex literally when she's still a prisoner of HIM.

Like. I cannot tell you how shocked I was. It really disgusted me. I promise I did not know anything about Zutara before that.

It was obviously my mistake, clearly Zutara isn't meant for me. People can write whatever they want, I'm not here to police anyone's fandom.

But I was just struck by how much Katara was unhappy and so cut off from her canon best friends (Aang, Toph) and loving family (her tribe, Sokka, Hakoda).

Either she was cut off through force (forced marriage, captivity). Or because she personally felt secretly resentful and jealous of Aang, "parentified" and burdened by Sokka, disgusyed by her misogynistic tribe...

And how no one understood her except for Zuko. No one could give her the tools to empower herself except for Zuko. Only in the Fire Nation can she be independent and free.

It just felt so wrong!!!! I gave up. I couldn't stand to see Katara so resentful, bitter, and sad with her canon life unless she marries Zuko.

Anyway. Thanks for the blog. And for writing such insightful posts. It really articulated my discomfort.

Once again: for people who claim to be "the TRUE Katara fans", Zutairans hate everything about her character and arc, especially how happy she ended up being. Half the misery they put her through almost feels like trying punish her for not jumping straight into Zuko's arms.

[jae-bummer]

The Intervention

Prompt: Hi ✨ I just found your blog and I'm reading through My Idol s2 after finishing s1. It's so much fun! Can I request prompt #16 with Monsta X?

16) Going out to dinner with your bias group and it is growing increasingly obvious that someone at the table has a crush.

Pairing: Monsta X SURPRISE x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Song rec as you read: Got My Number - Monsta X

.

"Y/N," Hyungwon said solemnly, guiding you toward a seat. "I didn't want to be the one to say this, but-"

"I'll say it," Changkyun gasped. "We hate your boyfriend. This is an intervention."

"I-" you paused, your mouth falling open as you actually took in Changkyun's words. "You what?"

Hyungwon pushed you into the chair and patted you lightly on the shoulder. "Let's get you a drink."

"Hold on," you said furrowing your brows. "What do you mean you hate Jun? You said you liked Jun!"

"We lied," Kihyun said shortly, shoving a complimentary chip covered in salsa into his mouth. "Next question."

"So...you brought me...to a restaurant...to tell me you hate my boyfriend?" you hissed, trying to tap down your annoyance.

"We thought it was best to pick a public place," Jooheon nodded. "So there wouldn't be a scene."

"This isn't real," you grumbled. "You ambushed me."

"They'll have a strawberry margarita," Minhyuk confirmed from your left as the waiter reappeared. "Sugar instead of salt, probably best if you make it a double."

"And a water," Kihyun piped in. "You should stay hydrated."

"Thanks," you managed, teeth barred. "So considerate of you."

"I thought so," Kihyun hummed with an award winning smile. "Salsa?"

Shaking your head, you heaved a sigh. "What exactly do you not like?"

"Oh, ripping the band-aid right off then, okay," Changkyun said, straightening. "Well, first off, he's fucking weird."

"Oh, if that's not the pot calling the kettle black," you muttered.

"No, I'm weird in a quirky, artistic way," Changkyun insisted. "He's weird in a, I wonder if there's a woman being held captive in his basement, type of way."

Your eyes widened. "What is that even supposed to mean?"

"I thought it was fairly clear," Changkyun huffed.

"Shownu," Minhyuk said, poking the leader of their small gang of bullies. "Are you going to contribute anything?"

Shownu looked up from the menu, a bit lost. "Have you noticed that he smells mildly like kimchi? But like...not in a good way?"

"Okay, I'm leaving," you snapped, slowly sliding your chair away from the table, only for Hyungwon to catch the back and hold you in place.

"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "You're not allowed to leave until you hear our solution."

"Before there is any type of solution," you hissed. "I'm going to need some valid reasons for why I should not be dating him."

The silence around you grew heavy. It seemed like none of them wanted to break the news to you.

Taking a deep breath, Minhyuk took your hands into his. "Y/N, love, you don't even like him."

You opened your mouth only to close it again. He wasn't entirely wrong. Jun was not the easiest person to be with and he was a bit odd. In general, you had fun with him, but there wasn't a whole lot past that surface level.

"I'm happy!" you found yourself arguing nonetheless. "I'm totally happy!"

Minhyuk quirked a brow.

"It's fine," you grimaced. "Totally could get better in time."

"I know you've only been dating for like five minutes," Kihyun sighed, crossing his arms. "But it may be best to cut your losses."

"Why do you guys care?" you groaned. "You haven't interfered before!"

"That you know of," Hyungwon muttered. Spinning around in the opposite direction, you eyed him.

"Don't look at me!" he gasped, shooting a look toward Changkyun.

You directed your gaze toward the youngest man.

Making a point to look away, he cleared his throat. "There may have been that one time."

"Changkyun," you whispered, using his name as a warning.

"It was for the greater good!" he gasped. "I promise."

"And what exactly is this greater good? And who was it?!"

"Well, if you insist on getting the truth today," he muttered, crossing his arms. "One of us-"

"We just want to see you happy," Jooheon cut in, giving his fellow rapper an elbow to the side.

You furrowed your brows. "But-"

"Which brings us to our solution!" Hyungwon chirped happily. "Minhyuk, if you will?"

"So our solution," Minhyuk said, radiating excitement about their master plan.

"You date one of us," Changkyun interrupted, nodded proudly.

"What?" you croaked.

Looking to each boy in turn, they all wore proud expressions, as if this was the best possible idea you could be presented with.

"I'm sorry," you groaned. "I think I just hallucinated."

"Kihyun was the first to volunteer," Minhyuk nodded. "But honestly, a few of us are willing to step up."

Your focus switched over to the boy in question, the tips of his ears a bright red.

"Not in any kind of permanent sense," Jooheon rushed out. "Just enough to create the ruse of a love triangle and give you reason to break up with the guy."

"I dunno," Shownu managed around a mouth full of food. "I think Kihyun thought it was in a permanent sense."

"No," Kihyun chirped. "I mean - If it were - I mean - I"

"I also volunteered," Changkyun nodded. "But so did Hyungwon and if you want to really make a guy feel bad about himself, you should leave him for Hyungwon."

"He is the ideal physical specimen," Minhyuk nodded solemnly.

"And I'm not?!" Kihyun gasped, a hand on his chest. "I think I'm incredibly easy on the eyes."

"Obviously you're good looking and approachable enough to become an idol, but -"

"End the sentence there please," Kihyun snapped.

You sat in stunned silence.

"Y/N?" Kihyun asked, unfurrowing his brows as he looked to you. His eyes softened. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not fake dating one of you," you snapped. "That's-"

"Then real date one of us," Jooheon said simply.

Maybe you were slow on the uptake. "Huh?"

"Real date one of us," Minhyuk repeated. His eyes swept from Hyungwon to Kihyun and then finally landed on Changkyun.

"You say that like it's the easiest thing in the world," you exhaled.

"Isn't it?" Changkyun said quietly, avoiding eye contact. "I know...one of us..."

The room suddenly felt much too small and the air much too thick. You could tell that the guys were speaking to you, but you couldn't hear a word.

Okay, so maybe you were on board with breaking up with Jun. You recognized that if it took this small of an argument for you to consider it, it likely wasn't meant to be in the first place, but...

Date one of them? One of your best friends? Changkyun alluded to someone in the group having a crush on you for some time, so how did you not see it? Did you just ignore the signs all of these years?

How could you date one of the monstas without the fear of something going wrong and messing up the whole group dynamic? No, it was much safer being totally platonic.

"I can't," you broke through your thoughts. "I'm...I'm sorry guys."

Before anyone could stop you, you pushed away from the table and slid around Hyungwon. His narrow frame attempted to block your exit, but you managed to sidestep away. While heading toward the door, you couldn't ignore the sound of breaking glass behind you.

The waiter had finally returned with your drink...just when the boys had surged forward to follow you.

Well, shit.

Unsure if you were going to laugh or cry, you made the safe choice to continue outside in case it was the latter. Turning the corner, you nestled yourself in an alley between the restaurant and the shop next door. Heaving in deep breaths as if you had been drowning, you leaned against the cool brick building. The cold cut through the thin fabric of your top, causing you to shiver.

"Y/N!" you heard several voices call. "Y/N?"

Closing your eyes, you tried to focus on your breathing. They would find you and then what?

"Y/N," a familiar voice huffed, relief evident in its tone.

Peeking out of one eye, then the other, you slowly tilted your face up to address a margarita-red and dripping Kihyun.

"Hey," you said softly, feeling a smirk tug at the corner of your lips. He looked ridiculous.

"You can laugh," he grinned. "Our waiter has exquisite timing."

"Apparently," you chuckled, shaking your head. This whole thing was insanity.

"Y/N," he sighed, the grin on his face replaced with a stern expression. "None of us wanted to pressure you. Usually when we bring up an idea you don't like, you shut us down, tell us we're idiots, and we all go about our day. Why was this any different?"

"Because this wasn't a plan to skydive in our underwear," you muttered. "This was me DATING one of you."

Kihyun winced. "Well, when you put it like that."

"Yeah," you grumbled. "See where I'm coming from?"

After a few moments of silence, Kihyun pursed his lips. "You could've said you don't have feelings for me. It would have sucked, but I would've been able to take it."

Your attention shot back to his face. "I'm sorry, did I miss a chapter?"

"I...I thought," he trailed, tilting his head as his brow furrowed. "I thought Changkyun and Shownu's comments made it pretty obvious-"

"No!" you gasped. "At no time during that lunch did I assume it was you, Ki."

"Oh," he chirped, his face turning a nice shade of pink. "Well...uh...in that case...um...disregard all of that?"

It was Kihyun. Kihyun had a crush on you, and you had never seen it...

You tried to go into your brain's way back machine and think back to any intimate moments the two of you had shared. Sure, you had cuddled a time or two on a movie night, but which of them hadn't you cuddled at this point? He teased you, he made sure you were taken care of, and he cooked for you constantly. You thought he was just being nice.

Glancing toward Kihyun, you considered him - like, really, considered him. He was absolutely adorable, you had always known that. It was the way the tips of his ears turned red when he was embarrassed. Or the way when he smiled, his cheeks dented a little bit with unique laugh lines you had never seen before. Or maybe it was his smile itself that was so refreshing. Earning a smile from him was better than any compliment you could receive.

It was more than possible to fall in love with him and the fact that it had snuck up on you like this...was terrifying.

"Okay," you said quietly, nodding more to yourself than to him.

"Okay?" he asked. "We're good?"

"Yes," you hummed, still trying to parse out your thoughts. "I mean no, I mean...yes we are good, but no, not in that way."

He crossed his arms. "Explain."

"Okay," you said simply. "Let's do this."

"Do what...exactly?"

"Date," you nodded. "But if you mess this up Yoo Kihyun, you do not get our friends in the breakup."

"Guess we just won't break up then." he said, a smile now fighting to overtake his lips. "But Y/N...just one thing?"

"Hm?"

"You should probably break up with your boyfriend first."