#i KIND OF want to write this properly but like

[burymagdalene]

Chateau Lobby #4 - S. Reid x Reader

Whilst trying to navigate romantic relationships after prison, Spencer finds himself in love and caught in an all-too-serious non-relationship with reader. Wanting to break this streak, he asks to spend Valentine's Day properly with a real date. Afterward, they find themselves desperate with trying to express their love for each other.

pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader genre: Smut (18+ pls pls), fluff, and maybe a bit of angst at the start tags: switch!Spencer, blowjob, fingering, a bit of munch!Spencer, pinv sex, age gap (not explicit, but I was foaming at the mouth thinking about it while writing), praise, riding, creampie, lots of teasing and love… all that jazz. wc: 6.9k ;-) a/n: Happy Valentine's Day! I had to name this one after essentially the best love song ever. I kiss all of you!

Work is grueling as usual, couples flooded the diner you work at for their pre- Valentine’s Day festivities with flowers in hand and shit eating grins plastered to stay.

Yet, you’re off soon and you can taste your freedom just like the stale coffee you’ve been throwing back all day as the bell to the front door jingles with more fervor than usual,

“I want to take you out. Properly. Friday. It’ll be a good, proper, date. Yeah.”

You blink in bewilderment, apron tied around your waist as Spencer proposes your first actual date at the kitschy restaurant you work at. 

After Spencer got out of prison, his perceptions around a genuine connection in a relationship seemed to be as distant a reality as the person who he was before prison. Upon meeting you, a small radiant glow around you at all times as you poured him his coffee during his lunch breaks beckoned him into this altercation he’s in now with you.

The dull incessant nagging on his shoulder at all times whispering his new inadequacies in relationships has steered him into a solitude state he has never experienced before. You couldn’t possibly stoop so low to fall for an ex-convict? Would he even call himself that? Would you? 

Most importantly, he had no idea how to steer a relationship before this complete 180 in his life, and now he’s even more lost to the tenderness he’s craving so deeply it hurts to even give himself a taste of optimism within the relationship he’s developed with you.

Spencer has somehow held himself back from you in all these months in such a critical way that it has resulted in a bond which the concept of he’s priorly abhorred. You only have sex. 

Well, that’s kind of impossible for him. Only sex. But every time he’s seen you, been with you alone, it has led to sweat mingling and his dry whining. You two can’t help but to talk about your lives, your passions, can’t help but give each other sickening support and kindness that makes him nervously chew the skin of his thumbnail. 

Despite how much he thinks about something genuine between you two, in reality, he just gets scared. Simply put. He has seen and been through unimaginable horrors, it scares him to bare that to another person, to someone who brings aid to him. Pushing you away in any sort is not something he can handle, so instead he’s managed to come up with a only slightly agonizing set up for the both of you.

It’s better than confessing completely and inevitably driving you away with his damages. 

Except, this clearly hasn’t worked out. It’s February, he’s been seeing you every weekend for months and Spencer cannot bear the thought of taking all of your time like this and you getting nothing on Valentine’s Day. It sickens him, it strikes him one night. If you told him that some other guy you were seeing had put you in the exact situation he’s put you in, and you’re not even receiving flowers and an all expenses paid dinner on Valentine’s Day, he’d personally show up to his apartment and kill him.

 So he’s finally stepped up.

A sweep of bravery flooded his senses on his lunch break, and he was up on his feet walking to where he knows you are at this time without even thinking.

Your manager, however, was not as excited about this distracting public confession, and grumbled out a prompt for you to leave early before causing a further hindrance, and now you two are sitting next to each other on the curb outside. 

Spencer is staring holes into the side of your smiling face as you pick a loose string from your jeans.

“I can’t believe you asked me out at work,” you giggle and shift your gaze at him for a split second “didn’t really know if you even liked me.”

“What? Of course I like you, you’re the only person I spend time with.”

“Hm. Yeah, it’s just confusing sometimes. I really like you, but usually when guys like you back they want to take you out, ha.”

You end your sentence with a dry laugh that explains to Spencer how you’ve been feeling throughout the time you’ve been sleeping together. 

“I’m so sorry. I just- I thought it would be easier on you. Than for you to actually be with me. Why didn’t you mention anything?”

You sniff, like knowing that what you’re about to say is probably a bit too mean to say to someone who just asked you to be his valentine.

“Why should it be on me to say something, you don’t tell me anything. Nothing about how you feel about me, apparently. I never said anything because I was going to put up with whatever until you dropped me because I care about seeing you too much.”

That makes Spencer shift his gaze to his own knees in front of him.

“Yeah, I’m unfair. I guess I just assumed that because you’re more confrontational than I am.”

“Am I though?”

Spencer sighs, with how many times you’ve dogged on him for certain things he’s said or done, yes. But you’ve never really mentioned how the relationship was impacting you, it’s easier for you to bring up menial topics to him, he guesses. 

“No, you’re not.” He finalizes.

You huff out a laugh and place a kiss on his blazer-clad shoulder– a peace offering. Grabbing his arm, you pull his jacket sleeve up to check the time. 

“I’m gonna drive home before you have to go back to work. I’m sorry I was mean. I’m really excited to go on a date with you friday. I’ve never had a Valentine’s Day date.” 

Standing up, you brush off your concrete imprinted palms on the back of your jeans before tilting up Spencer’s chin (he’s remains utterly still sitting on the curb) to meet your gaze. He looks away slightly to your shoes and rests his forehead against your stomach, a wordless apology as he nods against you. 

Again, you place your palms to his cheeks to look at you, he’s always had a problem with maintaining eye contact for long periods of time.

“And…you mr. gentleman, are you excited to wine and dine me?”

Spencer’s kicked-puppy look dissipates as his love-struck smile takes its place.

“Yes. I actually think it’s going to be the best night I’ve had since… maybe since I’ve met you.”

Smiling, you’re satisfied.

“That’s right. Okay, Spencer. Thank you. I’ll see you Friday.”

You try to suppress your grin as you spin away on your heels, but Spencer catches it before you turn and it heats his frigid body from sitting outside for so long. How has he been so dumb all this time? Somehow it being easy with you, painfully easy to be treated tenderly by you, since the beginning has slipped his mind. Of course, an actual relationship with you would come as naturally as it has since you started. 

He’s never been so sure of it. 

✵

Spencers looking at himself in the bathroom mirror as the bouquet he picked up for you and the personally annotated book he’s giving you sit on his kitchen table, awaiting his arrival to put their still existence into motion. 

He knows you well, he’s intently stored away every single piece of information you have given him. He knows everything you’ve been through, the best day of your life, what turns you on so much you get embarrassed… so on and so forth. Yet, he’s staring at his pre-date reflection right now seeing how his face has drained of all color. 

The restaurant he picked has been mentioned by Rossi a few times as a favorite. Fancy, Italian, expensive, and Spencer was able to get a reservation by the skin of his teeth for Valentine’s Day because he (regrettably) had to pull a “I know David Rossi, yeah..” on the phone a few days ago. 

So he should be rather prepared, he knows where you’re going, he’s been on a date before, sure. Yet…

Spencer flicks off the light in his bathroom to force himself away from the mirror, agonizing over his face isn’t productive in the least. You already know what he looks like. 

He drives in complete silence to your apartment, he’s already anxious as ever and he has to be behind the wheel, which is not his forte. But the thought of seeing you in the passenger seat glowing after a fancy meal appeals to him so greatly his stomach swirls.

Spencer’s early, of course. He couldn’t not be. He was probably ready for the date 3 hours before the time he said he would pick you up at. With this day off he’s been able to sit and pace and freak out for hours. Great. 

When he knocks with the fist holding the book for you he hears frantic scrambling for thirty seconds or so before you swing the door open– 

“Spencer!” You gasp belatedly when you see the flowers, “oh my god! Come in, I need to put my shoes on and I’m good to go.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, so pretty…” Spencer mumbles against the top of your head when you pull him into a greeting hug.

“Mmm. Happy Valentine’s Day. You smell good.”

You can’t help yourself, wrapping your arms around Spencer’s neck and pulling him into a kiss immediately. All too easy, you’re used to your mouths working furiously together. It's like another language for you.

But Spencer is pulling away slightly, speaking against your lips, “I'm trying to take you on a date first.”

Groaning lightly you start kissing him again, resulting in his hands placed on your waist slowly peeling you off him. Spencer's hands and lips have a mind of their own though, his hands are firmly pushing you off as his lips chase yours as you separate.

Laughing, you tilt your head to one side to inspect him, “So after the date you’ll get me home by 8:00 and give me a chaste kiss goodnight?”

Spencer chuckles and shakes his head at your toying. 

“If you’ll let me, I’ll fuck you after the date. But, sure I’ll also give you a chaste goodnight kiss, though it’s 7:30 so you can rule out being home by 8:00. Sorry.” He pulls in his lips and raises his eyebrows as if to say, that’s that. 

“If I’ll let you?”

“Right.”

“Mmkay.”

“And… if you like it I can do that again and again,” he chuckles and rubs his forehead with his palm, “and then I’ll take you on a second date.”

You avert your eyes to hide the tell tale signs of you flustered, hating whenever he gets the upper hand in flirting because you can not take it as well as Spencer can when you dish it out.

“Whatever-” whipping your head around trying to locate your shoes Spencer giggles under his breath, your presence has totally eased his nerves. He watches you pick up your heeled boots and he kneels slowly in front of you to place them on your feet.

“You’re sweet,” at your words Spencer smiles to himself and zips up the sides of your boots. “I’m so excited for the rest of the night if this is gonna be my treatment.”

“What? Princess treatment? You should be excited, I’m going to be cutting your food and feeding it to you.”

“Ooh. Waving me with a big leaf and feeding me grapes?”

“Something like that. Yeah.” He smiles and stands up, grasping your hands to help you up. “Very pretty. You look beautiful.”

“You look beautiful too,” you poke his side, “I love this maroon tie. I wish you would let me kiss you.”

Spencer sighs at your dramatics and cups your face for a soft kiss. You sigh into it and he kisses your neck once in finality. 

“Better?”

Smiling bashfully, you nod. 

✵

The looks of the restaurant struck you immediately, and there is a nervous prickling at your spine that happens when you’re in fancier places than you think you deserve– a feeling of being a persona non grata. 

To hide your insecurity, you grasp Spencer’s hand as he tells the hostess the reservation name and whistle lowly below your breath at the long draping lace curtains around the room and the barely-there candlelight illuminating the entirety of the restaurant. 

Sitting down, you immediately start the date with a joke that falls flat, “So, do you take all your ladies here on the first date?”

Either Spencer thought the joke was distasteful or he didn’t get it, either way he furrowed his brows and shifted his eyes to the side for a moment like he’s looking around for a translation from a bystander.

“No?”

“I’m just- yeah, I’m kidding. Sorry. I’m nervous.”

“I was really nervous before getting you tonight, my hair… I don’t know.”

“Ha, seriously?” Unbelievable you think, his hair is slightly wind ruffled and his curls look ringlet-y, you never could wrap your head around the tales of the plain mean teasing over his looks he’s lived through. “You’re extremely handsome, I tell you that.”

“You do. I wanted to impress you.”

“You do.” 

The whole dinner fills your stomach with butterflies that mixes extraordinarily well with whatever red wine Spencer ordered for the two of you. It has you leaning forward when you laugh, has you running your foot up and down the inside of his calf, causing his voice to spike up two octaves whenever you trail up slowly.

Spencer halts your movements quickly though, grabbing lightly at your ankle to stop its ministrations, making you hum around your fork and him roll his eyes light heartedly. 

The night was going very well once your romantic jitters melted away into a comfortability you felt you could only possess when around Spencer, something nobody else has given you before. 

It was utterly ridiculous, feeling so lovey dovey, you can see how the holiday has some emotional merit to it and isn’t just a capitalist money grab to drain the pockets of couples and make single women feel unworthy. Though maybe you’re just feeling that because you’re not on the victims end of the money grab, regardless…

On the other side of the booth, Spencer has been spiralling into a clusterfuck of thoughts around how much more deeply invested he is in you than he thought. You’re here though, you didn’t turn down his proposal and you kept mentioning how excited you are.

Still, every exhale out of his lungs is a shudder in fear of a looming rejection of an inquisition he’s not even sure he’s going to ask, or if it’s already set in place. Are you dating? 

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Um, ahh, um, are we dating?’

What an idiot!

You burst out laughing. Jesus, he must’ve been sick mulling over the aftermath of the date going back to your former dynamic of who even knows what. You couldn’t possibly live with the idea either, but are probably more keen on living in the moment than Spencer.

“You wanna date me? Be my boyfriend?” Your laughter is trailing off, but you have a smile as you say it from giddiness rather than mocking.

A gust of air then, “More than anything.”

The chilly air outside that was previously cooling both of your anxieties upon entering the restaurant meets the same warm cheeks for an opposing reason now. Hand in hand, you walk with full bellies back to Spencer’s car.

Filled with the first secure sense of trust and vulnerability in your life, hand in hand you swing your arms together like a lovesick teenager. 

All hesitation around what you could do or say to drive Spencer away flies out into the abrasive February air and off with the wind, so you ask, 

“When, if you know, did you first realize that you.. like-liked me?”

“Like-like huh? Haven’t heard that one in a while.” Spencer opens the passenger side door for you and guides you in with a palm on your lower back. He watches you buckle yourself in and leans his arms against the top of the car, looking down at where you’re seated he contemplates his answer seriously.

“I knew I like-liked you once I first saw you brushing your teeth in my bathroom the first night you stayed over. Hm. Yeah, I was watching from the doorway in awe, and seeing you do something so… banal, and it tearing me open. I wanted to see it every night.” He shuts the door and walks to his side as you sit staring out the window where he once was.

Spencer turns his car key, putting on your seat warmer before his own, and rubs your cheek with his thumb. “I really enjoyed myself tonight.”

“I first knew I loved you when you picked me up from work when it was raining. I’m not even sure what, but seeing your wet hair and maybe that getting your suit wet didn’t matter at all to you… I just felt so… I went home and stared at my hands all wet for like an hour. Then I woke up the next day with a cold, ha. I’m… so, yeah.”

You know what you said, you’re not shocked it came out and you didn’t want to really avoid it anymore with frivolous watered-down terms. 

Spencer laughs and places his forehead against the wheel at a stoplight. “You’re perfect. I can’t believe it, I’m so lucky and you’re so perfect and I realized I love you now in the same way I realized I did when you were in my bathroom. It feels the same.”

✵

Now you’re back at Spencer’s apartment. Head tilted up and pressed against his front door as he’s fumbling with taking off your coat while simultaneously kissing away your lipstick, it rubbing on his chin in a smudged crimson streak.

Your thumbs are looped through the belt hoops in his trousers as you’re pulling his hips against your own.

Spencer always has a way of kissing you that feels all consuming, and you think you cannot possibly kiss anyone else in your life without implementing everything you’ve learned about kissing Spencer. Every kiss in your future would be executed to roll Spencer Reid’s eyes back, you can’t possibly kiss anyone ever again.

Sucking on your top lip, he flings your coat to the ground and wraps his greedy arms around your waist as he pulls you impossibly closer to him. 

It’s almost a grounding exercise within itself to make out with Spencer, you can’t possibly hear, feel, see or taste anything other than him when he’s this way. The universe exists solely between your lips and the way your overactive brains become a fuzzy-soft blend of peace when you’re passing your tongues between mouths is placating.

Still puppeteering Spencer through his belt hoops, you move him towards his worn leather couch you’ve associated his scent with. Spencer is sat with his legs spread open in a lazy manspread as you stand and look down at him.

“Should I sit?” You poke teasingly, knowing by the dick print shining through his trousers that he could beg for it pretty easily. Spencer nods slowly, pulling his hands from his sides to grab onto your hips to pull you down.

You stop him though, arm placed firmly on his shoulder, halting yourself from falling onto him. You would like to hear how badly he wants it. 

“Woah, tiger. I think I asked you something, no?” you’re laughing plainly at the grovelling face he makes that you know he doesn’t realize he’s making. Ever the overreaction. 

“Yes. You should sit.” He grumbles.

“Why?”

“Because I know how much you like to feel yourself against me when you’re needy like this, and…I want to do everything for you. Because if I don’t have you against me soon I’m going to fall apart.”

Sounds good enough.

Humming happily you straddle Spencer’s lap and reattach your lips onto his, welcoming the inevitable swollen look with no complaint. Without hesitation, you wiggle your hips contentedly against his crotch. Spencer's sharp inhale of pleasure never gets old. 

 Cupping your jaw into his warm hands he whispers against your lips, “This a good enough reason, or should I give you one more?”

Gasping lightly against the friction you’re creating you respond, “Sounds like you want to give me another reason anyway.”

“I can always feel the way you tighten your legs around my hips. It happens almost instantly every time… like you have to brace yourself to feel me against you. I can always tell how badly you want it.”

He’s mumbling against your neck as he says it, partly because he can feel your pulse race against his lips and partly to hide how red he gets when he feels brave enough to talk this dirty to you.

Once he starts sucking a mark onto the sensitive part of your neck, every nerve in your body is on high alert to each move he makes and you need to part, if only briefly, to regain your composure, you’re all too frazzled, a live wire.

“Spence, can I suck you off?”

The pained half-groan half-laugh Spencer lets out is exactly what you expected to hear as you crawl down on the floor between his legs, rubbing his thighs up and down with open palms. 

“Y-yeah. Um. Why should you, I mean, why should I let you?”

He’s failing miserably at trying to make a call back to your prior teasing, too impacted by the visual of you between his thighs to make a coherent, taunting remark. 

“Because I’m supposed to be getting the princess treatment.” You unzip his pants slowly while looking into his half-lidded eyes.

Your heart always flutters at this part. Before you find your usual rhythm you always assume that you’re going to forget everything you’ve learned about sucking dick and ruin the atmosphere, the pressure of caring is almost always crushing.

Still, you find yourself eagerly pulling his dick out of his underwear, and shuffling towards him more till your arms are overtop his upper thighs and the top of your head is brushing his lower stomach, which curls inward when you place kisses up his length.

“Woah-” Spencer whispers out as you continue to kiss him lightly. Instead of crudely grabbing your hair or face, his hands find themselves behind his head as he lengthens his body out like a cat sunbathing. 

Running the tip of your tongue across his frenulum, Spencer twists his hips to the side, trying to run away from the pleasure and as a result his cock wipes against your cheek. You grab the base now, keeping it steady so it’s not like you’re working on a moving canvas and take the tip into your mouth.

You place your tongue out, covering your bottom teeth enough so you’re comforted in knowing you’re not going to scrape him, and suck lightly while moving your tongue that's against the bottom of his tip in circles. 

“That’s! That’s enough, okay. Jesus.” Spencer says a bit too loud and jolts your system, which was just falling into a methodological pace.

Pulling back, you lick your lips and pull them into your mouth, tasting him even when he’s not in your mouth anymore and look at him expectantly.

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean that. I was going to cum. You can keep going… only if you want.” He tries to save his little oversensitive outburst from mere seconds ago. 

Wordless, you move back to what you were doing. You want to listen to him a bit though, as a treat, so you take more of him into your mouth instead of focusing all of your energy on the most sensitive part of him. Spencer hums in content and his head falls back against the couch. 

A small trickle of your spit is slipping out and running down his cock, you always feel so embarrassed when it gets messy, you don’t know why, you don’t feel awkward at all when Spencer is going down on you so enthusiastically that you can feel his saliva running down your inner legs. 

Now you’re thinking about how good it feels when he’s going down on you. You whine softly around him and put a hand that was resting on his thigh to rub over your tights and underwear from where you reach under your dress.

Spencer was already close earlier, watching you try to touch yourself as you give him head is simply too much again. 

“Angel, d-done, I’m…okay-”

You pull off of him with a pop and the trail of saliva connecting your bottom lip to his dick stretches and breaks as you talk.

“Can we go to your bedroom please?” it's hoarse and rough but you can’t bring yourself to care. 

“Come ‘ere.” Spencer stretches out his hands to you so he can pull you up from his carpet. Tucking himself back into his underwear for some semblance of modesty, you two walk the short trip to his bedroom as you hold onto his arm.

Like it's your own, you jump and land on your back onto his comforter which all but swallows you whole as you relax against it, excitement thrumming through your veins as if your cells are chanting “my turn, my turn!”

Spencer lithely crawls on top of you, sitting on his knees as his thighs cage yours in. 

“You looked so pretty tonight, I’m almost mourning having to take all this off.”

“Almost, though.”

“Yeah, I know I’ll probably cheer up pretty quickly when I do, huh?”

You laugh and cover your face with your hands, it’s so stupid but he always makes you feel like you're melting all over when he’s being corny. 

Soon enough, Spencer is peeling your tights down with your underwear, and you’re squirming along with him while trying to help and shimmy out of your dress and bra. For a small second, Spencer pulls away to take off his blazer and roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt.

Leaning down on one forearm by your head, he begins kissing you again. Your mouths work together as his other hand trails his fingertips incredibly light against your inner thigh. Biting down softly on his bottom lip, a plea. Spencer uses his middle and ring finger to gather your wetness up to your clit.

The circles he’s rubbing against you leave you moaning and whining against his open mouth as he kisses you through it, maybe throwing in a few “aw’s” or hums in approval as he continues to work his fingers against you.

You both know exactly where this is leading to, and he always has to thoroughly prep you so that you can painlessly take all of him. Those same fingers move against your opening now, Spencer places the middle finger against you and is met with little resistence, so he begins fucking you slowly with it.

Back arching up so your chests brush against each other, Spencer take’s your opportunity of bliss to slip in another finger, scissoring you open as wet sounds emanate between your thighs. 

With two of his fingers in you now, his efforts to kiss your lips have become harder than ever as you become more and more nonverbal and increasingly whiny. 

“Where’d all your teasing go? What happened to calling the shots?” Murmured at your chin as your jaw opens with a whimper. You shake your head, you can’t entertain this, he’s kicking you while you’re down and it’s not right!

Looking down, Spencer see’s your toes curling in and slowly pulls his fingers out of you, a loud suction-y noise following his absence. You blink your eyes open blearily, trying to refocus yourself and reorient yourself into this living plane.

Spencer has stealthily moved down to where your legs are spread open and he’s looking at you exposed with so much adoration in his eyes that even though you’re blinking away tears, you can see it clearly. He’s in love with you.

“Oh, please.” You gasp out, trying to cut to the chase before Spencer asks if he can eat you out. He smiles, and asks anyway to frustrate you good naturedly. 

“Do you want me to return the favor, my valentine?” he swoons.

“Yeah, uhhuh, please.”

“I saw you touching yourself when you were using your mouth on me earlier,” he moves his head between its rightful home in between your thighs, “were you thinking about how good it feels to be in that position?”

“Mm. Yeah.”

“Lucky you then, huh?”

“M-mhm!”

He’s tired of hearing himself talking now, he just wants to be nestled into your pussy and let his tongue work you up in a more productive way than pitiful teasing.

With the palm of his hand flat against your very lower belly, Spencer simultaneously pushes down and up, exposing more of your clit to him and adding pressure to your stomach. He kisses your clit and pokes his tongue out as you lightly circle it as your hips squirm.

Intermittently, Spencer suctions your clit, pulls away completely, and goes back in to repeat the pattern. You’re smeared over his lips and chin and half convinced that he keeps pulling back to see your strings of come stick to his lips.

He changes methods, using his tongue to lick and suck at the source of your slick, nose prodding at your clit. You take it into your own hands to increase the stimulation on your clit as you rock your hips against his nose, Spencer muffles a moan into you.

Recognizing this, Spencer pulls back up to attach his lips back to your needy clit. Through his lips he’s running his tongue against you and the pleasure is unrelenting and intense. The exact stuff that makes you come.

“P-please stay there.” You manage to whimper out, the thought of him changing positions or rhythm is too scary for you to stay silent when you’re this close to finishing. You can feel him smile against you as he stays where you want him to.

Your hands reach for his hair as you thread it between your fingers, the silky stands grounding you to the bed before you prepare to come and fly out to wherever in the space-time-continuum Spencer takes you whenever he goes down on you.

Eventually, the pleasure gets to be too much for you to stifle and savor off much longer, you’re too greedy to ask him to edge you too. You don’t have enough willpower to put this off, you can ask him to eat you out for hours and hours some other day.

With one last suction, stars dance behind your eyelids as Spencer holds your hips down to suck off every last bit of come you have for him, trying his best to lick you clean when you finish all over his face. 

There’s nothing to do but take a slow deep breath in and a long deep breath out as you put the pieces of your brain back together. Once you do, Spencer is up by your face again as he was earlier while fingering you, and he’s palming himself over his underwear.

“Okay?” He asks through pleasure filled furrowed brows.

Nodding, you laugh, you can still feel yourself throbbing for Christ’s sake. Spencer nuzzles his nose against your cheek and kisses your jaw. You let your eyes close again, the feeling of his lips against your skin calming down your racing heart.

It’s a completely silent and peaceful atmosphere of Spencer kissing where he can as you come down until you feel his curious fingers swipe at your clit again. Immediately, your eyes snap open.

“I can’t- I can’t.” You bargain like your life is on the line.

Spencer pulls his fingers away for a moment, looking into your eyes and rubbing it once more as you gasp so hard a strand of hair in Spencer’s face blows to the side, he leaves you alone then.

You cannot fathom how Spencer is almost fully clothed right now. With shaky, malleable limbs, you pull him a bit closer to you and slowly pop each button of his top open. He’s watching your fingers work against his shirt as he continues to rub himself over his underwear gently.

Laying flat beside you know, Spencer lifts his hips up to pull his underwear down finally. Like a moth to a flame, you sit up and take him into your hand again, missing the feel of him hard against you, you note that you want to ride him more than anything. 

“Spencer, darling, can I ride you?”

For a moment he has an unreadable face, but you know that gears are turning in his head at such a rate that he can’t compute them into a response yet.

“Tonight was supposed to be about you.”

You roll your eyes.

“Spencer, darling, can I ride you for a bit?”

“Yes.” 

He responds just as you finish your sentence, eagerly pulling your wrist so you can straddle him again for the second time tonight.

Sitting right below where is cock is hard, you wrap your hands around him and place him up to your stomach, displaying how deep he’s going to be inside of you once you’re fully settled on him, at his dazed face you tease, “deep, huh?”

Spencer shuts his eyes in embarrassment, but his dick twitches and you smile down at it like it’s giving you Spencer’s insider secrets that he can’t say out loud. 

Lifting yourself up, you shakily rub him over your entrance a few times before sitting down slowly on his head. You both whine as you start, Spencer's hand on your hip rubbing circles while his eyes are still closed.

You want him to watch so badly. You sink down further, almost all the way with a small squeal that has Spencer’s eyes opening and his stomach tightening, checking to see if you’re in any pain. 

“M’ okay. Fucking big, can’t get used to it.” You trail off.

A light pink blush appears on his cheeks like your compliment had come from a sweeter, more innocent place in your heart. You place your palms on his chest as you take a deep breath in and sink down all the way. 

“Fuck- perfect. You okay?” Spencer speaks through his teeth at your whining as you accommodate him.

Again you laugh to take the fiery attention completely off of you, “So much dick.”

“Stopp.” Spencer whines. He feels so much like a dude when you compliment him like this, his ego doesn’t even know what to do with these extremely filthy compliments. He assumes you feel the same way when he’s fingering you and won’t shut up about how you feel and sound. 

Starting with small circles, it feels like Spencer is churning you as deliciously as humanly possible. The more small movements you give the deeper the need to actually ride him is, you stop holding back and start picking up your hips against his as your nails dig indents into his chest. 

Spencer’s singing out soft uh’s with each pass of your hips and you’re (unfortunately) not able to match his sweet pleads as you’re holding back full and embodied moans that slip out when you angle him perfectly inside you. 

You want to swindle it so that Spencer forgets about your prior compromise and lets you ride him till he’s coming inside of you, but when your hips stutter briefly with exhaustion, he notices immediately.

“Flip over.”

Pretending to be mad, you roll your eyes and lay flat on your back, the stretch of removing yourself from him making you suck in air between your teeth.

“Felt so good, did so good for me, please let me do that for you.” Spencer whispers into your ear as he positions you onto your side.

One of his arms from behind you is holding up your thigh closest to him, inadvertently spreading you open for him to be inside you once again. With one of his hands on your thigh and the other propping himself up for a good angle, you take matters into your own hands, lining him up with yourself again.

As easy as ever, Spencer pushes his hips slowly as he enters you from the side and your head falls to the pillow, allowing Spencer access to your ear and side of your neck.

When he finds his rhythm, he gets more confident, gaining his voice to mutter praises and filth into your ear as he fucks you.

“What’d I say? Told you I was gonna fuck you, jus’ had to be patient. Jesus, always so patient for me, with me. I’m sorry…”

You can tell he’s not exactly referring to his act of fucking you right now, moreso the push and pull he’s put you through for months. But it feels good to hear, Spencer's emotions are spilling out since he’s put out everything he’s felt for you on the table.

“Mmf. Would wa-wait forever-” You’re trying to be comforting, you’re getting your brains fucked out. The angle on your side has Spencer’s cock dragging along the front of your vagina, every single toe-curling spot is being rubbed relentlessly.

“Perfect. Perfect.”

The open mouthed kisses Spencer’s leaving on your cheek are wet and sloppy, but wholeheartedly welcome. With his face so close to yours his stubble is rubbing against you, making you whine.

Picking up on the way Spencer’s breathing becomes more shallow, you assume he’s pretty close. All night he’s been starving himself of this and you almost get excited for him, you’re too in deep.

Realizing he’s close after you have realized it, Spencer moves his hand from your inner thigh and starts rubbing your tender clit with his fingers again. Moaning loudly through a closed mouth, you let him this time.

You have to trust him to put you back together to your normal self after this though, you’re expecting a hard second orgasm and after how much the first one took you out, you have to brace yourself as you feel it brewing in the bottom of your belly.

Noticing how you’ve buried your face a bit more into the pillow and are trying to work on steadying your breathing, Spencer picks up quickly how you’re feeling. 

“I got you, you’re okay, you’re okay. I know…” He kisses along your cheek and with a squeak that makes Spencer’s own orgasm arrive, you throb around him and twitch in his arms as you come. 

He’s pressing his body into you as though he’s a weighted blanket, soothing the aftershocks that are thrumming through your entire body with his own. Spencer places his hand against your heart to gauge how you’re doing and begins peppering your skin with kisses.

“Do you feel good?” Spencer’s begun massaging your side and back softly, preventing any sore muscles from developing there before tomorrow hits you.

You come to yourself, before you had panicked, not sure how to trust Spencer completely with the vulnerability you were about to experience, but you’re fine. You’re happy. Coming harder than you have before is not scary because that’s exactly what Spencer wanted from you.

“Yes. I could cry.”

“Baby…”

Slowly you flip over to face him, a little teary but nothing streaming down your face as you plant a kiss on his lips. And then again.

There’s still a small lipstick stain on his jaw from when you were sitting above him on the couch earlier. You trace over it with your finger.

“You’re going to be finding hidden lipstick marks all over your body for weeks…” you smile and close your eyes.

“I hope,” he replies softly and earnestly, “I really like them. I really like you.”

✵

You’re both clean now. Showered and fresh as a daisy, you smell like all the products in Spencer’s shower and you’re standing behind him, arms wrapped around his waist as he dries off his hair in front of the mirror.

You can see his skin is tinged pink from the hot water, creating a sweet blush over his back and shoulders where you press your cheek against. With your skin soft and warm now, you think about the small snow flurries falling outside, how they mean nothing to the warmth coming off you and from inside you.

Spencer moves away from the mirror, allowing you your turn to get fully ready for bed. Taking out the “spare” toothbrush he has that’s essentially yours, you begin brushing your teeth. Feeling eyes looking at you from your side you turn to where Spencer is leaning against the wall and watching you.

Suddenly, you remember what he said earlier in the car, how he realized he loved you. You slow your brushing down and meet his gaze, sure that if someone else were in here to describe your looks it would be a cheesy “eyes shaped like hearts” moment. 

Your heart fills, the toothbrush clatters in his sink as you drop it and run over into his arms, placing kisses all over his lips and face, leaving small streaks of toothpaste behind. 

Through similar frantic kisses Spencer speaks in giggles,

“I still want to see this every night. I need to.”

[cripplecharacters]

Is there any list of stuff you wanted to see more in autistic representation? I'm autistic and I'm quite "stereotype material": white savant male good at STEM and who's not aroace but don't want a partner, and it bugs me that it's always like that, so I wanted to know what other people would like to see when I try writing autistic people.

Hi!

Honestly, I just want more autistic characters in general. There are hardly any!

Here are some things that I have never seen represented:

characters with mid-high support needs, both related and unrelated to autism

characters who use AAC [link to post about high/low/no tech aac] and who struggle to communicate

characters with cerebral palsy, tourette's, intellectual disability, or any other common comorbid condition that's not ADHD

characters who don't live with their parents

characters who don't infodump or know a lot of facts about their special interests, just that their interests are the things they engage with

characters whose special interests aren't "useful" to their life

characters with "unusual" sensory needs (for example i always see characters who hate loud noises and bright lights, but i know many autistic people in real life who are not bothered by those or actively seek them out)

characters misdiagnosed in childhood with ODD or another common misdiagnosis, or neglected as a "difficult kid" even if they have higher support needs

characters who use gait trainers, adaptive strollers, or manual tilt in space chairs

characters who have a supportive community or know multiple other autistic people

adult characters in day programs

queer characters, especially ones whose sexuality or gender is difficult to separate from their autism

characters who have harmful stims and not only when they're upset

characters who are not big. (this might seem weird but there are a surprising number of tall/large/imposing autistic characters, especially those with higher support needs; that's not what every autistic person looks like!)

So Many More!! If every autistic writer made a character who was just like them, each one would have at least one autistic trait that has not been represented before.

Mod Rock

Hello!

To be honest, just characters that don't generalize autism. On one hand you have "representation" that's all "all autistics are boys, 12 or under, who like trains and barely speak" and on the other you have "hi, I'm a very low/no support needs autistic who is very socially acceptable and lol like imagine liking trains instead of having Real and Cool special interests like me" (sometimes it's overdone to the point the character quite literally doesn't have any autistic traits). Too much autistic representation made to combat a specific stereotype just ends up shitting on the people who do in fact exist. Some people say that "ahh all autistic rep is those damn boys with they trains!!" but I don't think anyone would say that this kind of representation is actually good or thoughtful - not because of the train or the boy, but because these characters are barely treated as humans most of the time.

We need more complex representation of all parts of the spectrum, from successful savants in STEM to "obviously disabled" autistics who are intellectually disabled, have huge mobility delays, and stim at all times, to "everyday" people who just have their special interest, don't get social cues, and are kinda awkward.

I'll take a "stereotypical" character that's actually explored and developed properly over a cardboard that's there to be a "subversion of autistic stereotypes" any day.

mod Sasza

Hi,

I largely agree with the mods above. Mostly I want autistic characters treated like people and not plot devices.

But I wanted to say specifically: I want autistic characters of color. I am basically begging to see more autistic characters who are not just white people. We exist too, and really I barely see characters who have autism and aren't white.

Also, I want to see autistic characters with romantic and/or sexual partners. I feel like autistic characters are often desexualized or infantilized in a way that has them only rarely having a partner.

And I also want to see autistic characters whose special interest[s] isn't "useful" to their life, it's just there. Just part of their life. Like, it isn't their job. I feel like that's often a default.

Like Sasza said, we really need more complex and thoughtful representation of the spectrum. I don't need 'subversion' of autistic stereotypes, not particularly.

The subversion itself would be an autistic character being more than a plot device and portrayed with thought and care to the things that make their life difficult, the ways their autism affects the way they interact with others and the world, the things that make the person unique and themselves, and not just focusing on one of those aspects and ignoring everything else.

Hope this helps,

mod sparrow

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids, 

This letter is written in memory of Aria, a trans woman who sadly passed away, and in solidarity with her friends and her siblings who are missing her dearly. 

I did not have the honor to meet Aria in person. I do not know her favorite color or what kind of music she liked most - but even if I did, a list with facts can’t summarize a life. No blog post could properly reflect who she was or the depth of the gap her death leaves in the lives of her loved ones and in our community. 

I do not want to tell you „here’s what she would’ve wanted me to tell you“ because I do not know that. What I do know is just that she should still be here. 

I’m thinking about the premise of this blog, that we are - sort of -  family without knowing each other. That I love you, like a family member, even if I never met you. That you are never truly alone because you have all these siblings all over the world, all these people who understand what you feel, who share your experiences, who are willing to fight for you. It’s a silly little writing gimmick for a positivity blog - but it’s also what I truly believe. It’s what our community does for each other. It’s what we have always done for each other. 

We love each other. And we grieve together because a loss like this is never just personal - it ripples through all of us. We should not have to mourn so many of our siblings. We just should not have to. 

So today, in Aria’s memory, I want to remind you of that. Of the love that exists in our community, even when we’ve never met. Of the way we hold each other up, even when the world tries to push us down. Let us keep Aria in our thoughts, and also let me remind you that you are loved, that you belong here, that the world is better with you in it.

We will keep showing up for each other. We will keep remembering those we’ve lost and keep fighting like hell for the living. And we will keep loving each other fiercely. Because that is what makes us family.

With all my love, 

Your Tumblr Dad 

[pinkolve]

🎀 Decided I wanted to write a small fic based on this post!!! Hope it lives up to the expectation! 🎀

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

Summary: See post above ⬆️⬆️⬆️

Genre: Fluff

CW: None!!

Word Count: 480

A/N: This is very short, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!!!

“Hey Spence?!” I yell out from my bathroom. The smell of nail polish remover is heavy in the air, practically suffocating me. 

“Yeah?!” He yells from the living room as he’s getting ready for work. 

“Can you come here?!” I huff. “I’d really like to stop shouting!” I hear the quick patters of his feet on the floorboards. 

“What’s up sweetheart?” He tucks his messy hair behind his ears, looking between me and the large collection of nail polish I’ve laid out. I look at his outfit for a second then back up at his face. 

“Nothing.” I smile. “Just wanted to say ‘goodbye’ properly.” His eyebrows furrow but he accepts my answer. 

“Bye angel, I’ll see you later tonight.” He kisses my cheek. “I love you.” He quickly walks off, probably realizing he’s late. 

“Love you!” I pick up a bottle of nail polish and get ready to spread it across my nails. 

🎀

This same interaction happens at least two more times before Spencer actually starts to realize. 

🎀

He’s staring at me after getting home late, watching my hips sway as I stir our dinner in its pot. I can feel his eyes on me and I laugh. 

“Can I help you with something, Doctor?” I side eye him and he stutters. 

“No! No, sorry! I’m just…” He pauses, trying to find the right answer. He looks down at my hands still stirring the pot. I quirk up an eyebrow, hoping he’s finally about to notice. 

His eyes squint, trying to get a better look from where he is. His eyes widen suddenly and he looks down at the sweater vest he’s wearing. “Are you wearing the same color nail polish as my sweater?” I can’t help but burst out laughing. His eyes light up again. “Oh my god, is that why you’ve been calling me in the bathroom every morning?!” He points at me accusingly and I start crying. 

“Jesus Christ, how did it take you so long?!” I’m clutching my stomach now. “What kind of profiler are you?!” Spencer can’t help but smile and he walks up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I place my own on his shoulders but still don’t stop laughing. 

“Are you done making fun of me now?” He forces out a chuckle. 

“Not even close, pretty boy!” He shakes his head and rolls his eyes playfully. He kisses the side of my neck and reaches around me to continue stirring my pot while I laugh in his face. “It took you like…Three days, Spencer!” I finally start to calm my laughter. 

“Yeah yeah, I know.” He rolls his eyes again. 

“I love you so much.” I giggle and kiss his cheek. 

“I love you too.” He pauses and looks at me. “Even though you’re mean.” I can’t help but laugh again at his little puppy dog eyes.

currently thinking about how I accidentally painted my nails the same shade of green as one of Spencer’s sweater vests (s1 ep5 I think)…and how he’d react to an s/o matching their nail polish to his sweaters/favorite color.

[morgana-larkin]

Alright I was able to quickly finish this before having to get ready for the date! Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I’m almost done a prompt for Melissa which should be out tomorrow or the next day and it’s smutty!

Just Tired - Part 9

Warnings: Manipulative relationship (mentioned)

Words: 2.6k

You feel her lips on you really quickly before you both pull back. You have no idea what to say so you just stare at her wide eyes. Before you know it, she goes for your lips again and kisses you properly. She deepens the kiss and puts one of her hands on your cheek and that’s when you pull back.

“Melissa…” You say breathlessly. She hums and goes to kiss you again but you stop her by putting a finger on her lips. She looks at your finger before looking at your face with a confused expression. “As much as I would love to kiss you, you just broke up with your husband after being with him for 25 years. You’re vulnerable right now and I don’t want to take advantage of that, of you.” You tell her and remove your finger from her mouth.

“But I really want to kiss you.” She says softly and holds your hand.

“I really want to kiss you as well but again, you just broke up with someone you’ve been with for most of your life. I’m not a rebound or someone that you kiss because I’m there in your moment of need.” You tell her sternly and she looks down.

“I’m sorry.” She says and you place your finger under her chin and get her to look up.

“You don’t have to apologise. You haven’t done anything wrong, you’re just trying to get what you need to try and help you through this situation.” You tell her gently. “Maybe we should go to the bar this weekend, get you out there and kiss girls, it seems that’s what you need.” You tell her and she nods.

“That sounds good.” She says and then looks at you. “Can we still cuddle?” She asks and you smile at her.

“Of course.” You say.

“Can we spoon? With me being the little one?” She asks you excitedly and you nod.

“Get comfortable then.” You tell her and she lays down and turns away from you.

You wrap your arm around her before pulling her closer to you, right up against your body. Maybe you should find some women to make out with as well, or even have sex with as you’re incredibly turned on right now.

Morning came sooner than you would like and you wake to your alarm. You turn it off and you go to get up but strong arms pull you back.

“Melissa, you don’t have to work but I do.” You tell her and she gets your arm to wrap around her again. “Ok five minutes and then I’m going, ok?” You tell her and she nods. You set an alarm to go off after five minutes and then you put your phone down and cuddle her while she gets more comfortable against your body.

5 minutes go by and you see Melissa fell asleep so you carefully get up and get dressed. You get your clothes on, apply a tiny amount of makeup before you go downstairs. You pack one of the meals that Melissa made for you and you put it in your backpack before you grab your helmet and leave. You get your bike out and get on it before you take off to work.

30 minutes later and you pull up to the school at the same time that Jacob and Janine arrive.

“Hey Y/n, I didn’t know you biked to work.” Janine says to you as Jacob checks out your bike.

“Well to be honest, Melissa was driving me to work but she’s not coming today.” You admit to them as you lock your bike to the bike rack. “I ran out of gas last week and she’s been nice enough to drive me to work as we live so close to each other.” You add and you all walk into the school.

“Wow, I wasn’t sure if Melissa had a soul, or much less, kindness.” Jacob says and you snort.

An hour later and you’re teaching your students some new words when you feel a vibration in your pocket. You ignore it at first but then you get a couple others and then you get your kids to write down sentences with some of those words.

You sit down at your desk and you get your phone out to read the texts that you got.

Melissa: Where did you go?

Melissa: Oh, you’re at school, never mind

Melissa: Missing your touches

You’re about to reply but then another one pops up.

Melissa: My car is still here, how did you get to school?”

You: I biked all the way, ran out of breath but oh well

Melissa: I could have driven you or you could have used my car. Honestly, your generation is so damn stubborn.

She texts that to you and you can’t help a smile that forms on your face. Just then a student comes up to your desk and you put your phone down before helping them.

Another hour later and you’re marking the sentence work that they were doing as you get them to draw. As you’re doing some marking, Barb knocks on your door.

“Hello my dears, I just have to have a word with your teacher.” Barb tells your class and you smile before you get up and meet her in the hallway.

“What’s up?” You ask her.

“Could you please text Melissa back and tell her that she didn’t ruin anything last night.” She tells you and you look at her confused.

“I think I’m gonna need some context.”

“She’s been texting me all morning, saying that she thinks she screwed up with you because she kissed you.” She clarified and you sigh.

“I already told her last night that I want to kiss her but not after she just broke up with Joe.” You tell her.

“Well she might need it in writing because she’s on the verge of a meltdown. She really does care about you and you’re her safety net right now.” She tells you and you nod.

“I’ll text her.” You tell her and she tilts her head. “As soon as I get back to my desk then I’ll text her and reassure her.” You tell her and she nods her head before going back to her classroom. You get back to your desk and you get your phone out.

You: Just got a visit from Barb, saying that you weren’t sure if you screwed up because of the kiss

You type it out and you send it and it takes a few minutes before you get a reply.

Melissa: I might be wondering that

Melissa: Did I screw up?

You: No, you didn’t

Melissa: Oh thank god. I should probably text Barb an apology.

You: Probably. I don’t have a lot of time to text as I’m teaching the kiddos new lessons today.

Melissa: Ok, btw is it ok if I use your kitchen to cook something?

You: I don’t think that kitchen has ever been used to cook anything but go for it

Melissa: Ya it looks very untouched and sad.

You: I already told you that me and my roommate don’t cook, but go crazy with the cooking

Melissa: Thank you! 😊

You put your phone down and continue grading the paper before you hand them back to everyone and then you go to the next lesson. While the students are doing some work, you pull Gracie out into the hallway.

“I heard that you requested to be transferred to Mrs. Schemmenti’s class, is there a reason?” You ask her and she nods.

“Nancy is in her class and we’re best friends.” Gracie tells you.

“Well what if it’s arranged that Nancy gets transferred to my class? Mrs. Schemmenti already got one of my students and we wouldn’t want to overwhelm her with new students.” You tell her and Gracie nods.

“Ok, that would be ok.” She tells you and you smile before you both walk back into the class.

At lunch you decide to grab your lunch and bring it back to your classroom and video chat Melissa.

“Hey!” She answers it after a couple rings and her face pops into view.

“Hey, wondering how you were doing?” You ask her.

“Oh I’m good so far.” She tells you and you can see her stirring something. “I ran into your roommate, she thinks we’re in a relationship, she called me Y/n’s girlfriend.” She tells you and you snort.

“Well I don’t blame her. You’ve been staying with me in my room, we’ve been cuddling and touching and leaving food at my place.” You say and she smiles.

“Oh she asked if she could take a portion of something as everything I have smells good, so I gave her some food.” She tells you.

“Trying to win people over with your amazing cooking?”

“Amazing cooking and winning personality.” She jokes and then sees what you’re eating. “I see you’re having one of the meals that I made.” She says and you nod.

“Well when you bring over perfect homemade food and say I can have some, then I won’t say no.” You tell her and she giggles.

“By the way, how are my little eagles?” She asks you.

“They’re doing good, I don’t know who the sub is but they did mention that they miss you and asked me when you’re coming back.” You tell her and she hums.

“I’m taking tomorrow off as well but hopefully I'll be back on Monday.” She says to you and you nod. “Oh I’m getting a text from Barb.” She says and looks at it. “She’s asking if we’re talking as you only said a hello to her in the lunch room before booking it out of there.” She tells you and you laugh. “And Y/n, thanks for letting me know that I didn’t ruin anything last night.”

“That’s not a problem, you really didn’t ruin anything. I really do want to kiss you but-”

“I know, I’m not in the right mindset, and you’re right, I’m not.” She tells you.

“What are you making?” You ask her.

“That is for me to know and for you to find out. Since you’re a fan of Italian culture then I want to see if you’ll be able to guess.” She says.

“Well I’m definitely a fan of this one Italian person.” You say and she smiles before shaking her head at you.

“I’m Sicilian but thank you.” She says and you snort.

“Are these meals for the following week for you?”

“They’re actually for you and your roommate, as a thank you. And since you won’t be buying crap meals or food at all, maybe you can use some money and put gas in your car.” She says and you smile.

“I’ll definitely do that and just pay the tow company when I get paid.” You tell her. “I’ll stop by a gas station on the way home and get some.” You say and she nods.

The two of you spend the rest of your lunch talking until the bell rings and you say goodbye to her before going to pick your kids up. You don’t end up having time to text her as the kids need help with the next lesson after story time. You go outside and get ready to go on your bike when you run into Barb.

“Y/n, Melissa told me that you’re taking her to some lesbian bar or something like that.” She tells you and you nod.

“Yes, a gay bar on the weekend. I figured she could use some food and explore herself more.” You tell her.

“Well she seems excited for it and I’m happy you’re helping her be herself again and I know she greatly appreciates it.” She tells you and you nod before she goes home. You get on your bike and bike to the gas station to pick up some gas before going home.

“Melissa, I’m home.” You shout out and she comes down the stairs with her suitcase a couple minutes later.

“You’re going to Barb’s place?” You ask her and she nods. “That’s a shame, I was enjoying having a girl to cuddle at night.” You tell her with a smile and she smiles back at you.

“I was enjoying it too but we both knew it was only temporary.” She says and you nod. “I left the meals in the fridge, you can text me the answer of what you think each one is.” She says and you nod. “I want to thank you for helping me out and I can’t wait to go to the bar with you on Saturday. Which reminds me that I should stop by the house tomorrow when Joe is at work, and pick up some more clothes and makeup for Saturday and for the week.” She says and you nod.

“I’ll see you Saturday.” You tell her and you both hug each other before she leaves.

You end up having dinner and get the answer right when you text her your guess. After you eat you scroll through Disney+ for something to watch until bedtime. You end up having a shower at night as you were starting a routine and then you go to bed. You awake a few hours later to the sound of your phone as you’re getting a call. You answer it and put it to your ear.

“Hello?” You say groggily, forgetting to see who it was.

“Hey Y/n.” You hear Melissa’s voice on the other end.

“Melissa? What’s up?” You ask her through a yawn.

“Well, I woke up from a nightmare and can’t fall back asleep. And I was wondering if you can come over here or if I can go over to your place?” She asks you.

“What’s Barb’s address? And you’ll have to let me in.” You tell her and she gives you the address. “Alright be there in about 15 minutes.” You tell her before hanging up. “This woman has me wrapped around her finger. Why else would I drive at 2am just because she had a nightmare?” You ask yourself as you drive to Barb’s place. It’s a good thing you decided to fill the tank before you went to bed.

You get to Barb’s place and Melissa lets you in before she leads you to the guest bedroom that she’s staying in.

“And you decided to spend an extra night at my place instead of here?” You ask her as you see the guest bedroom is much nicer than your room.

“Your place isn’t as nice but it had one thing that this place doesn’t.” She says and you look at her. “It doesn’t have you.” She says and you smile at her.

“Well now I’m here.” You tell her and she nods.

“Thank you for coming over.” She tells you before she goes up to you and gives you a hug. “Do you mind staying over so we can cuddle?” She asks you and you nod before you both climb into bed.

“I honestly just need some sleep as I know the kids will be excited that it’s Friday.” You tell her and she nods.

“Can I be the big spoon this time? I really want to hold you.” She says and you nod.

“Of course. I’m pretty much open to any sort of cuddling.” You tell her and then lie down. She wraps an arm around you and pulls you closer to her.

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta

@imaginesmultifandoms

@idonothingalldays-blog

@sexysapphicshopowner

@dvrkhcld

@lilfartbox1

@ricejucie

@unicorniusfallapatorius

@a-queen-and-her-throne

@sleep-deprived-athlete

@og-kxsh-420

@sasheemo

@midnight-lestrange

@dashbag-art

@morgananyx

@schmentisgf

@cblanchetts

@that-october-night

@schemmentigfs

@italianaidiota

@ambessas-doll

@ankhsta

@olderwomenenthusiast

@ackleybloodybridge

@angelcorner

@creaturesaphique

@cupldscntrl

Let me know if you want to be added!

[noahthesatanist]

demonolatry intro

Step One: Get Your Reading Straight

If you want to take this seriously, you must get your hands on some solid books. Not just the surface level crap that everyone regurgitates, but actual texts that present demons as what they are: ancient divine spirits, not edgy, misunderstood villains. Two books you NEED:

The Goetia Devils by Rev. Cain – Forget the old grimoires that call demons “liars” and “deceivers.” This book gives you real insight into their nature their personalities likes and interest and background It’s absolutely required reading. The Goetia Hymns by Rev. Cain – You want to actually call upon demons? Use these. 200 prayers and hymns for everything to all 72 goetic demons it is one of a kind

If you can’t get them, I wouldn’t mind sending info from them because this knowledge deserves to be shared with those who are serious about it. But do not just rely on basic "Google" tier knowledge.

Step Two: Stop Thinking Like a Christian

One of the biggest things that screws people up when they get into demonolatry is that they still carry Christian baggage. I dont mean that in the laveyan way of erm no war happened rather they didnt lose anything they fought and secured freedom, hell is not a prison yahweh and his slaves have no power over hell

Demons are not waiting around for "redemption," they already found salvation they are smart noble beings with their own wants and needs likes and dislikes they are not playing the game of Yahweh’s petty universe. They are the opposition, the divine rebels, the rulers of the Infernal Empire that will ensure hells ultimate victory You are not "selling your soul" (seriously, kill that thought), you are joining a side and that side is about power, knowledge, and liberation from the shackles of the false god.

Step Three: Pick a Few Demons to Start With

You do not need to call all 72 Goetic spirits at once like some overexcited fool. Work with a few to start, and get to know them personally. I can recommend good beginner demons

Step Four: Create a Sacred Space

No, you don’t need a massive ritual room, but at least set up something to dedicate to your work. Even if it’s a small altar in a private place, it helps to create a focal point for your devotion and rituals.

What you can include: A black or dark cloth (symbol of the unknown, the abyss, the infernal realm). Candles (color depends on the demon you are working with). Sigils (drawn or printed out, charged with your intent). Incense (sandalwood, myrrh, or frankincense work well). Offerings (wine, blood, poetry, personal dedication).

And before someone asks no, blood offerings are NOT required, but they are powerful .If you’re not ready for that, stick with incense and dedication first.

Step Five: Start With Meditation, Not Begging

This is where most people fuck up they start demanding favors from demons before even knowing what they’re doing. No. Stop.

Start simple: Sit in front of a sigil. Focus on it until it "moves" or shifts.

Chant the demon’s enn quietly. See what sensations arise.

Write down thoughts, visions, or dreams you experience.

Most people expect some loud, booming voice or shadow figure in their room. No. Demons communicate through impressions, emotions, synchronicities, and deep intuitive knowledge. If you’re not developing those senses, you’ll miss 90% of what they are trying to show you.

Step Six: First Invocation

Once you feel a connection, you can start formal invocations. The best approach is a polite, but firm invitation NOT "commanding" like some delusional Christian grimoires suggest.

Light your candles, incense, and set up your altar space. Draw or place the sigil of the demon. Chant their enn while focusing on their sigil. State your intention clearly and respectfully. Be patient and observe. Demons may communicate through thoughts, emotions, or later dreams and signs. Close the ritual properly. Thank the demon, extinguish candles, and ground yourself.

Step Seven: Keep a Grimoire

If you aren’t writing things down, you’re wasting your time. Period.

Log your meditations. Write down any dreams, symbols, or feelings. Keep track of what works and what doesn’t. Note what offerings and rituals seem to get the strongest results.

Demonolatry is a living practice, not a fixed set of rules. The more you explore, the deeper your understanding will be.

Final Notes: What NOT to Do

🚫 DO NOT command demons. You are here to learn, not to act like some arrogant king. 🚫 DO NOT expect quick results. Demons test your patience, intelligence, and dedication before revealing deeper wisdom. 🚫 DO NOT treat this like a trend. If you’re just here for aesthetics, they will ignore you at best, punish you at worst.

Demonolatry is a lifelong path of study, experience, and revelation. If you’re serious, then welcome aboard. But if you’re just looking for some quick magic trick or spooky aesthetic, you might as well quit now.

[killfortune]

𝑩𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒆 🌸

Enhypen X Reader

Short and sweet. OT7 (ofc) asking you to be their Valentine.

Heeseung

Heeseung wants to be confident about it, but when the time comes, he gets a little shy. He spends days thinking about the perfect way to ask you, even considering writing a song, but ultimately, he keeps it classic. On Valentine’s Day, he casually hands you a small box with a silver bracelet inside. “It reminded me of you,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. Before you can react, he smirks and adds, “Oh, and by the way… be my Valentine?” He plays it cool, but his ears are bright red.

Jay

Jay believes in doing things properly. He shows up at your place with a bouquet of roses and a box of handmade chocolates (yes, he made them himself). “I wasn’t sure what kind of chocolate you like, so I tried a few different ones,” he says, watching for your reaction. Once he’s sure you like them, he clears his throat and formally asks, “So… will you be my Valentine?” The way he says it, like he’s been waiting forever, makes your heart skip a beat.

Jake

Jake is excited but also a little nervous. He spends the whole day hyping himself up and finally decides to make it fun. He gets a heart-shaped balloon, ties it to a small stuffed puppy (because, of course, it reminds him of Layla), and writes a note: "You make my heart race. Be my Valentine?" He finds you and hands it over with the biggest, brightest smile. “I figured I’d go all out,” he laughs. “Did it work?”

Sunghoon

Sunghoon acts nonchalant, but in reality, he spent forever figuring out what to do. In the end, he settles on a subtle but effective approach. He casually hands you a cup of coffee with "Be my Valentine?" written on the sleeve. When you look up at him in surprise, he shrugs. “It’s not a big deal or anything,” he says, but he refuses to meet your eyes. If you tease him about blushing, he’ll deny it, but his ears say otherwise.

Sunoo

Sunoo goes all out because why not? He sets up a mini scavenger hunt for you with little notes leading to a final gift—a heart-shaped cake he made himself. When you reach the last clue, he’s standing there with a bright grin and a sign that says "Say yes?" in pink sparkly letters. “I had to make it cute,” he says, giggling. “So… do I get to be your Valentine?” He acts playful, but he’s holding his breath, waiting for your answer.

Jungwon

Jungwon doesn’t want to make things too obvious, but he also wants it to be meaningful. He handwrites a note and carefully places it in a small envelope along with a keychain of something you love. When he finally gathers the courage to give it to you, he watches your expression nervously. “I, um… I wanted to do something simple,” he admits. “But… will you be my Valentine?” His eyes are full of hope, and you can tell how much thought he put into it.

Ni-Ki

Ni-Ki pretends it’s not a big deal but is secretly stressing over it. He ends up doing something bold—challenging you to a game. “If I win, you have to be my Valentine,” he declares confidently. But when he loses on purpose (very obviously), he groans and hands you a small, folded note anyway. "Even if I lost… would you still say yes?" He tries to play it cool, but when you smile at him, he can't hide the excitement on his face.

Happy Valentine's Day 🌸

Thought I'd try writing about them because I am an engene, but not involved with the community at all 💀. So this is my attempt to become involved.

[girlnadian]

hello five.... its me..... as for the kiss prompts thing, if you could write kenifies drunk/sloppy kissing i would be Very happy. i need to see those two inebriated

kiss prompts — 3. drunk/sloppy kiss

hello keni.... welcome to my inbox..... it is an honor to write kenifies for you as always. here you go. i still feel like getting wifies drunk is like an hours long complicated process but ken can figure it out

594 words // divider

Ken is a solid, rumbling weight in his lap, claws at his throat and lips pressing against every part of his face except his mouth. It's not purposeful; they just keep missing. Wifies doesn't bother trying to help them, partially because his limbs feel too heavy to and partially because the longer he can delay any actual kissing, the longer Ken will have to sit on his thighs trying. The idea of Ken getting up kind of makes him feel like he'll cry.

Wifies digs his fingers into Ken's waist without meaning to, like he can hold them there, and Ken jolts. Oops. Fuck.

"Sorry," Wifies mumbles. He doesn't loosen his hold, though. He's not used to the feeling—getting drunk is something they only figured out he could do recently, and only because Ken had workshopped some kind of concoction especially for him. Wifies doesn't get why they care so much about getting him drunk, but he also does, kind of. Wifies certainly likes Ken when they're drunk, so he reasons that Ken will like Wifies drunk in the same way.

Ken has abandoned his face to press kisses down the column of his neck. "You can do whatever you want," they tell him. The to me goes unsaid. Wifies knows it's there, though—Ken says it all the time. He slides a hand up their back to grip the nape of their neck, the almost-scruff startling another noise out of them and making something warm bubble in Wifies' stomach like lava.

He tilts their head back until they can kiss properly. Actually, saying it's "proper" is generous; Ken kisses him open-mouthed and warm and panting, their tongue sandpaper-rough when they lick into his mouth. Trying to ground himself is useless, so Wifies lets himself get swept up in it, pressing up hard until Ken tilts. They wind up crammed against the couch cushions under him—it would be a pretty sight if Wifies could detach himself from them long enough to look.

They're alone—thank God—so Wifies doesn't worry too much about the noises they're making. Ken writhes, twisting with excess energy even as Wifies tries to hold them in place, and it's making kissing them very difficult, which doesn't seem fair because they started this. Wifies bears down on them harder, letting out a frustrated growl unbidden.

Ken makes a new noise, which Wifies registers as pained on a delay. He rears back like he's been slapped, eyes wide. (He doesn't miss the string of saliva that connects them when he does, which he will be thinking about for approximately the rest of forever.)

"Ow, ow, ow," Ken whines. Wifies hovers and mildly panics until Ken says, "my tail."

Ken sits up, turning their back to him while their palm tries to smooth over the base of their tail. Oh. Wifies probably crushed them—he's usually more careful about that. Wifies moves their hand out of the way with his own, petting down Ken's spine apologetically.

"Sorry," he says, again, bumping his forehead into their shoulder when he tries to kiss a shoulder blade. This is so hard. He misses being coordinated.

"Happens," says Ken. Their ears are upright again where they had been pinned a moment ago, so he didn't hurt them too bad. "It's fun though, right? Drunk making out."

Wifies hums an agreement. Difficult, but fun—Wifies likes challenges, anyway, and he likes Ken even more. His lips find a sensitive spot under their jaw. Ken's skin trembles against him when they purr.

"We can do more?" He asks.

"Of course. Obviously. Come here."

[zephyrusswinds]

A bit of a very rambly, MK-analysis supplement to this original, absolutely delightful post;

This entire episode is has an entirely new layer of messed up added to it when you realize that Macaque emphasizes that MK is a "good kid".

I believe the line is, "[...] You're a good kid, and super nice. [...]" And in a situation where someone is getting groomed or manipulated, making them feel good or in this situation, validating them is one of the biggest indicators of grooming. Your original point of MK getting isolated feels so, so much worse when Macaque is literally giving him the validation that Wukong (at this point) didn't give him.

Before this moment, MK wasn't properly validated. My memory is a bit off so excuse me if this is wrong, however, I don't recall any moment within MK's relationships where somebody directly complimented his skills or how "nice" he is. But Macaque does.

And it makes MK feel good. It makes him want to try harder and push himself to the max.

Wukong was quite dismissive of teaching MK before this episode. Despite how much MK idolized him. Macaque stood in as that idol that MK could look up to and not have to question himself. And so, when MK is in that position where he can both worship an idol and not have to constantly struggle with his own self worth- he becomes a different type of nice.

Not nice in the way he treats Mei or his other friends. MK is not necessary simpatico with Macaque, he's just very, very obsequious. Well, early on, that is.

The further and further Macaque isolated him, the more questioning of himself he is. It turns an earlier point of mine on its ass, but that's the thing. The way Macaque treats MK entirely changes; he starts off isolating him and telling him that he can do better if he lets Macaque train him. And then, unexpectedly, he's good enough! He can fight the demon, all thanks to Macaque!

But then, all that validation goes away. And there's no more of it to chase. There's just... a deep and primal need to be better.

Side note, Macaque is incredibly handsy with MK- which is a common tactic by groomers to build repor with a victim. But also, Wukong doesn't do that to him, I mean, not before this episode. Interperate that how you wish.

Macaque's physical contact with MK grows from these very gentle but obviously sinister moments where he puts his hand on his shoulder or holds him close. To becoming very rough and violent pushes or the like.

MK also doesn't even mention it either, I suspect he's been groomed into becoming numb to it. But regardless;

Our beloved manipulative, conniving dictator of a monkey falls into manipulative and grooming behaviors SO MANY TIMES it has begun to stress me out.

There are many scenes wherein Macaque continues to call MK a "good kid", knowing exactly what it reminds him of or isolates him.

The best example of this is that one scene in season 3 where some of the gang gets trapped into the shadow van and Macaque gets MK alone. This scene gets me to my core because he's doing it again.

MK offers up another chance for redemption. When Macaque is literally to kill him. Once more, this is another example of Macaque's effects on him. MK becomes nice when Macaque is aggressive, because he has grown used to the way Macaque treats him.

MK is unreasonably kind = Being groomed by Macaque.

Macaque nose dives directly into his emotionally abusive behaviors when he's alone with MK, because MK still has that idolization of him, because MK still wants validation, because of him.

You've made some of the most beautiful points I've scene in regards to their relationship. Barring the later writers way of writing their relationship, I would have loved to see a more nuanced bond for these too.

An abuser with terrible coping mechanisms, and his recovering victim.

But unfortunately, LMK is a show for young children. I don't expect such heavy themes to ever be accurately represented no matter how much we holler.

There is so much potential here for a long, complicated, and compelling healing arc between these too. Macaque is deeply traumatized and wants to be in power, so, so fiercely. But trauma doesn't excuse his behaviors. MK's hurt is deeply intertwined with Macaque and their brief mentorship. There could've been some recognition of MK's pain and a potential reflection from Macaque.

But it never happened.

There is an LMK rewrite project (potentially written by yours truly, but who knows) that hopefully is going to tackle the issues with the relationships in this show.

For now, I verily hope that this state of grooming isn't justified or romanticized by members of the fandom.

Anyways, I'll state again that you are a beautifully compelling analyzer and have given me much to work with in regards to this more iffy relationship in this show. I haven't seen many people who view their bond in a similar fashion, so I sincerely thank you for shedding light on the matter and appreciate how little you held back on explaining Macaque's exact dangerous behaviors (that even I looked over)!

Macaque Episode Analysis ramble

So I was talking with a friend about the possible psychological and therapeutic take aways from each episode of Lego Monkie Kid, since I love Psychology as a whole, and came to a conclusion. Macaque's episode has a fuck ton of things to analyze. Such as - Not every role model you meet will be a good person Trust your teachers Don't push yourself too hard otherwise you'll get hurt, manipulated and possibly die (let's be real, Macaque would've killed MK if Wukong didn't step in) And, grooming They will all be covered as I explain the episode in depth. When MK first meets Macaque he thought he was Wukong but even after Macaque declines, MK still had stars in his eyes of pure admiration. He clearly looks up to Macaque since he was just as cool if not cooler than Monkey King. Within the very next second Macaque started the process of grooming, after a tiny test to see how strong MK's admiration was. "[...] I thought uh Monkey King was training you. [...] but you can never have too many teachers, I'm sure Monkey King would agree. [...]"

Then Macaque starts to train MK. This shows the duality of Wukong's more MK's current strength and capabilities training versus Macaque's more destructive and dehumanizing training. With Wukong's "Patience and focus, step into the strike", clashing with Macaque's far more brash "You don't use a weapon, you ARE the weapon." This is effective at isolating MK from Wukong and his teachings because MK feels like he is actually powerful now.

As Wukong says, MK's body isn't strong enough to handle the power. This applies to real life too. If someone tries to weight lift something too heavy for their skills, they could get seriously hurt. This is the just magical equivalent of weight lifting. But because of Macaque's influence, MK fights back and isolates himself from Wukong, his trust worthy mentor. This leads Macaque to his final part of his plan, lure MK into a trap with his full hearted trust in him.

Then Macaque finishes his plan by stealing MK's powers. Let's be honest, with how things were going and by our impression of Macaque in this episode, Macaque would have likely killed MK if it weren't for Wukong. OR left MK to die with the staff pressing him against the moutain. What can we gather from this? Well, first and foremost, MK's admiration made him an easy target for manipulation, and what resulted was MK nearly dying from the ordeal. Check for "not ever role model will be a good person", since Wukong is ALSO a role model, but a good one because he doesn't literally groom MK. (More on that in a minute.) Wukong was right and MK does what he taught him then admits his wrongs by the end and opens up on why, which Wukong responds with "Hey, your heart is in the right place, kid. We can work on the rest." MK learned to trust Wukong when he was teaching him something because ultimately that's what saved his life. I'm not saying trust EVERY authority figure, but one that is teaching you something that you trust and know will not hurt you. Get yourself a Wukong for your MK. Macaque's training has lasting impact on MK, making him feel like he needs to give himself up for others. Before this episode, MK never had the need to sacrifice himself or really seemingly blamed himself for anything. Macaque's dehumanizing training left MK with lasting damage to his mental health and also led to MK not being able to pick up the staff, granted that was after Macaque gut-punched the power out of him.

Ouch...

So, I hear you ask, "Ok, you made your point about various things, here but what about grooming? That's a bold word." Yes, it IS a bold word, especially considering the fandom space being primarily for children. However, I will clarify that grooming does not only apply to sexual circumstances.

This is from the official Canada public safety about child grooming. Notice the none sexual tactics.

"Make promises of a better life" - Promises to make MK stronger/a better fighter/hero

"Cause divsion saying "your parents are too strict" or "your parents don't understand you"." - Macaque says "Other people are going to tell you to be patient. They are slowing you down." to directly conflict with Wukong's training, further dividing MK and Wukong.

"May threaten or pressure your child to do what they ask, which could lead to sextortion." - Might not be explicit but it is implied MK had some minor doubts by the end of the training and was literally pushed into battle. Also he threw MK into the weapons rack on their first session, showing that MK was "weak" and prompted him to take up his implicit challenge, his trick. It's unclear if Macaque ever threatened MK while training, but I doubt it and he just pressured him and manipulated his drive and determination.

One that people might argue is "Approach your child online by pretending to be someone they're not - may falsely identify themselves as a person from school, or someone their age, to build a connection." but I believe it applies. - Macaque comes in creating a show with his own kaiju form, either to make himself popular or to attract MK or Wukong. Regardless, he seemed uncomfortable at first but once he prompts up "But you can never have too many teachers", that's when he starts creating a false identity, a trustworthy teacher who knows better than Wukong. That's also neglecting the fact Macaque pretended to not be that smoke demon.

If that's not "pretending to be someone they're not", then I'm not sure what is. Also for specifically adult grooming,

More signs I feel apply are;

"The person becomes withdrawn, or they may seem troubled by something but unwilling to talk about it. Alternatively their emotions might become volatile." - When Wukong points out MK has been running around other mentors, MK sounds calm and cold, like he was withdrawn. Then when Wukong presses on, MK yells at him and doesn't talk about exactly what was bothering him other than "You just don't like that there's someone who actually teaching me what I need to know."

"You notice them using or wearing something new, that you didn't buy [or teach] for them." - I added teach because Wukong points out he never taught MK how to break a wall like that, and was concerned and upset that MK learned that too quickly. Within that same scene, after MK yells at him, that's when Wukong notices the new symbol on MK's jacket and frowns. That's when he knows MK is being groomed, and by who.

"Groomers often aim to isolate their targets from their family or friends." - Well, we never see Mei, Pigsy, Tang, or Sandy in this episode, after the first meeting and they act like MK was gone for a month or more (could easily be a week lol). On top of that, Macaque was causing a divide between MK and Wukong. MK was very clearly pretty isolated already, and so Macaque just had to remove MK for MK's full reliance.

"The person might be spending more time on the phone, or online, than usual. But they won’t say what sites they’re visiting, or who they’re talking to." - This speaks for itself, but it's likely MK was training more and more with Macaque than being around his own friends, especially considering by previous point.

This video goes into great detail on how it happens, why the victim is manipulated easily, and what it does to someone. Granted this video is about a long-time grooming, but I believe the point and the awareness stands. If Macaque had been grooming MK for about a year or more, I feel MK would be closer to these signs than he is in the cannon LMK. Anyways! I hope you had fun with my analysis, and let me know if you'd like more! I love to just ramble about the psychology of certain characters or the takeaways of LMK episodes! I'd love to do Wukong, Macaque as a whole (not just the episode), MK, Xiangliu/Nine mayhaps?? Or even the Focus episode or something else- I have a minor analysis on the focus episode already in my head lol

[mayasaura]

Going into Alecto, I think it's important to expect that the series won't conclude with a clear lesson. Either about morality—what makes a good person, evil getting their just desserts, ect—or a thesis on decolonization. It's not that kind of story.

Deep down, this series is two drunk girls bearing their souls in a dark corner of the bar. An hours-long conversation that wheels wildly through pop culture, past trauma, theoretical physics, dreams and aspirations, global warming, hairstyling, friends, family, gender, personal insecurities, world history, favorite foods. It has a lot to say, and a lot of it profound, but it's not trying to teach anything. At the end of the night, the point was how fucking cool that girl was, and the potent electric potential for something lgbt to happen

[ganondoodle]

so ... that stupid totk masterworks book has been out for a while hasnt it?

does anyone know if its possible to find a version somewhere you dont have to pay for? (especially the german version) so i can avoid that at all costs of course, i definitely totally plan to spend money on it

[cafulur]

Modern / College AU Labru Snippets:

- Laios and Kabru meet as classmates who get paired together for a project, and although they initially clash at first, through the assignment they find themselves clicking in the most unexpected ways.

- After the project is finished, they still keep texting each other. Laios sends Kabru a photo of an opossum that was lurking right outside his bedroom window late one night. Kabru later texts him a picture of a fluffy stray cat that won’t leave him alone every time he walks up to his apartment. He initially acts as if he doesn’t like the cat and that it’s bothering him by always following him home, but Laios constantly enthuses over text about how he would love to meet this cat someday. Suddenly Kabru is sneaking this cat little pets and treats in hopes it’ll stick around for when Laios may eventually (hopefully) come over. Before he knows it, Kabru has formed a soft spot for the stray.

- Both of their friend groups mesh and the two find themselves wondering each day when they’ll get to see each other next. They instantly attach in group settings without a second thought, and everyone notices the spark they have going on but them. Laios is excited in a ‘wow this is the coolest, nicest, most interesting friend I’ve ever had!’ type of way, while Kabru recognizes & reconciles with the fact that he’s crushing pretty early on.

- Toward the end of the semester, Marcille hosts a house party, and there’s actually a moment where Kabru sits with Chilchuck on the rooftop ?? It’s an extremely rare occasion and odd for them to ever be alone together, but Kabru had wondered out onto the second floor balcony for some fresh air + a moment to think, and spotted Chilchuck smoking a joint by himself atop the roof shackles to the right of him, just beyond the balcony.

- They watch Laios and a few others down below do something stupid and party related, like chug a drink or eat something fast in one go. It’s mostly quiet between the two up top, save for the few awkward hellos in acknowledgment when Kabru first shows up. Until Chilchuck, of all people, decides to finally break the silence between them. 

“I’d just be straight up with him at this point, if I were you.”

Kabru jumps a little at the unexpected suggestion, glancing toward him with wary eyes. He does his absolute best in every interaction to present himself in a very particular way. Had he been that easy to read all this time?

“Straight with who?” Kabru questions as innocently as he could pretend with a smile, brushing a curl behind his ear.

Chilchuck takes a drag and blows smoke up toward the sky, slightly annoyed but not trying to bite this time around. “Laios. It looks like you want something so bad, but you’re holding back or something. He’s not going to pick up on anything unless you spell it out for him, y’know.”

Kabru covers one of his ears as he feels them burn, looking down into the plastic cup barely filled with beer in his hands. “It’s not— I don’t…” he starts, but feels dumb finishing any semblance of denial. Surprising himself, he caves in, swirling the drink. “It’s just… I don’t want to lose this. His friendship has become pretty important to me.”

“Does Laios come across as someone who would make things awkward?” Chilchuck asks, snuffing out the nub of his joint into the roof and turning to Kabru. Kabru furrows his brow at him.

“Not typically, but I somehow can never figure him out when it comes to things I’ve never tried with him before. Risks with him are truly unpredictable.”

He hums in disagreement, watching the last of the smoke escape the joint before it completely fizzles out. “Eh, I don’t know. Think about it like this. If he doesn’t reciprocate the feelings, do you think he’d have trouble still being friends with you? Laios, being the way that he is, I mean.”

Kabru thinks about it for a minute. Laios really was different from other friends he’d made throughout his life. He didn’t waste time putting up fronts just to save face, and he can’t really pick up on things being awkward for either party. If Kabru confessed and got denied, it would hurt himself mostly, but it wouldn’t rapidly change the air between them. Laios probably wouldn’t want to stop being friends or need time apart just out of awkwardness, which is what one would normally expect after rejection. “I think I get what you mean. I suppose not.”

Chilchuck put the burnt out nub into his pocket to save for a final short smoke later. “I don’t know exactly what all goes on in that guy’s head, but being an observer, I’d think you’d notice by now when he’s actually looking back. I guess it’s easier as a third party.”

Kabru takes a sip of his beer as he carefully considers Chilchuck’s words and watches Laios down below. In that moment, Laios happens to look up and catch Kabru’s gaze, immediately smiling and giving him a friendly wave. It feels like it’s just between them, save for the audience member right next to Kabru witnessing the whole thing. Chilchuck sighs and stands up, dusting his pants off.

“You guys do you. I barely understand my own feelings and how to go about them these days, but if you already know yours so confidently, then there shouldn’t be much stopping you from sharing them. Bottling up seems a lot more painful. It’s hard to watch, anyway.” He stretches before crawling down from the roof shackles onto the balcony. He offers a small wave as he passes by to head inside. Kabru turns to watch him go, saying a soft “Thanks Chilchuck,” as he disappears into a hallway, presumably toward the stairs.

When Kabru turns back around and glances down, Laios is in fact still looking up at him. His face heats up a bit, unsure what to say or do in response, and then Laios is grinning brightly and motioning for him to come and join them. Kabru nods, downs the last of his drink, and then hurries inside, heart pounding in his chest.

[serpentface]

Hibrides and Brakul having the world’s saddest booze-fueled girl’s night, probably a few months before the start of the story.

Anyway here's an extensive rundown of their shared history.

Hibrides Uryashta was the eldest daughter of a chancellor of the imperial city-state of Erubinnos (his lordship Erub Uryashta). She was brought up with great privilege and security, but (like most daughters of noblemen) was destined to be used as a bargaining chip in a political marriage arrangement. She was taken from her friends and family and moved to the city of Wardin at the age of 16 to complete her pledged marriage with Janeys Haidamane, the failson of the trade magnate Haidamane family. Janeys spent about a week poorly attempting to behave like a husband, and then took the first excuse to flee and engage in a petty military campaign against raiders on the Yellowtail trade route. She found herself left alone in his villa for three years with only hired servants for company. She made a few attempts to break into the city's elite social scene, but was quite shy and failed to make any headway.

Brakul had just spent a year and a half in a bit of a whirlwind. He was brought into a skirmish at the behest of an allied clan, who had been raiding the Yellowtail route and now was under attack by combined forces of an enemy clan and Imperial Wardi mercenaries. He killed one of the mercenary commanders and was captured as a prisoner of war, but was spared at Janeys' behest (who fucking hated that guy thought it was awesome that he got killed with a rock) and was ultimately recruited into the group. He had a chance to go back home, but actively chose to deadbeat dad out on his wife and child to be with his newfound lovequest, Janeys. He spent a year and a half as a mercenary, bonded closely with Janeys and swore brotherhood with him, and was eventually brought home to the city of Wardin with him. He found himself in the odd position of being simultaneously scorned as a foreigner and 'heathen', and the legal kin of one of the richest families in the city (and effectively the secret male concubine of their only male heir).

It was in this context that the two of them met, with Hibrides now being 19 and Brakul turning 27.

The two were initially wary of each other (Hibrides was particularly put off by his 'heathen' status) but bonded very quickly, partly due to their mutual states of being unmoored from their old lives, but in large part being just a natural chemistry. They had a lot of common interests and enjoyed learning from each other. Hibrides introduced him to traditional verse poetry (of which she was very fond). Brakul taught her how to ride khait, and even gave her a gelding from his own collection as a gift. They became very close friends over the next couple of years and spent much of their free time together.

A big part of the dynamic was that both of them are gay in a cultural context where there is no concept of Being gay, marriages are usually arranged and always between a man and a woman, and having children is a societal expectation. Each of them began to see the other as an ideal husband/wife, ie "if I had to marry why couldn't it have been him/her?". For Hibrides' part, Brakul had all the traits she would want in a husband: he was a pretty good friend and easy to get along with, he seemed like he'd do an excellent job of fulfilling expected roles as a husband and father (she didn't know about the wife and kid for a while), he treated her as an equal, and, most of all, had no interest whatsoever in fucking her. They were both in a sort of platonic emotional affair, and grew to love each other deeply.

Hibrides was pretty quick to catch on that something was going on between Brakul and Janeys, and found it strange and offputting but ultimately none of her concern. Her husband only being interested in his sworn brother and leaving her to her own devices suited Hibrides just fine, and Brakul always just kinda being There meant she was living with what had become her closest friend.

The stable state of this Feelings Triangle began to change in the wake of the brilliant plan to get Janeys (gay) (probably infertile) children he could pass off as legitimate via a Brakul/Hibrides pregnancy. It was something all three agreed to as a necessity; it was already drawing scrutiny that Janeys and Hibrides had been married for several years without a pregnancy, and producing heirs is a societal expectation and a central point of an arranged marriage between wealthy elites.

It was especially critical in this case, given Janeys was his family's only male child and only hope of continuing the family line, given both his golden-child sister Faiza and black sheep half sister Couya were Odonii, and thus sworn virgins and would never marry. (There's also a level to this that Janeys was regarded as a complete disappointment by his parents, and his mother made damn sure he knew that his only value at this point was to produce a better male heir to inherit the business. So this was a big fucking deal to him, and to Brakul by extension).

This was also not a route any of them wanted to take on any personal level, least of all Hibrides. She consented to the pregnancy and everything it entailed, but it was inevitably a painful and distressing experience all around. She had never wanted to be a mother to begin with (though had long accepted it as an inevitability), and now found herself with an infant daughter, which only meant it would have to happen again (they needed a male heir after all). And it would be utter social suicide and a profound shame upon her if the child's illegitimacy was discovered, which only added to the stress.

To make things worse, her first pregnancy shifted the entire dynamic with her husband and brother-in-law/best friend. Janeys changed from completely indifferent to actively spiteful and hostile towards her, and things had become extremely uncomfortable between Hibrides and Brakul. It only got worse with Brakul (the only one of them who actually WANTS kids) (kind of haunted by skipping out on his first child) finding it unbearable to be so close to HIS daughter and having to keep up an act that she was not his own, having no direct role in the kids life. He desperately wanted to be a father.

Hibrides, who was going through a fucking lot, started to become vindictive towards him for his role in things. She resented him more than Janeys, because Brakul insisted he cared about her and would desperately try to pretend things were normal, while consistently siding with Janeys against her wishes, including in preventing her from getting a divorce. (His excuse is that the children's legitimacy would be interrogated in a legal setting, which Is likely and Would be absolute social suicide with very real consequences. But the real reason on his part is that if she got out of the marriage, he might never see her or the children again). Hibrides began to do everything in her power to prevent him from having any relationship with his bastard children, even in secret or under the guise of a relative. Sort of an “if I have to suffer to keep up this facade so should you” thing.

They had two children in a span of three years, two girls (ruh roh!) named Erubi and Livya. By this point, Hibrides and Brakul were both experiencing what we would now call Clinical Depression and Alcohol Use Disorder (especially in the latter's case). Hibrides started to have affairs with both men and women, which she was sure to be very obvious about to insult Janeys and Brakul, but was mostly out of loneliness. Brakul turned his complete focus to Janeys and started avoiding Hibrides entirely, in hopes that she would become desperate enough to be willing to make amends (shockingly, this did not happen, and the rift only deepened).

In the present, their relationship status is: fucked. Both of them do still love each other on some level, but this is probably beyond repair. What little time they've spent with each other in the past year is sitting around being miserable and getting plastered. And now Hibrides, Janeys, and Brakul are all forced into the public eye on the pilgrimage together, and with a third child on the way. So that's probably going to be everyone's problem.

[bestworstcase]

Anything from Volumes 1-3 that is setup that you don't think is given enough attention or respect for good setup?

Sidenote to this:

Open seat with no person in it + Salem having someone looking for the Choice Relic was hinting at Summer Rose. Did we have anything hinting at her pre Beacon's Fall or just things that she fits given additional context?

regarding summer specifically, while i wouldn’t call them hints per se, there are a handful of beats in v1-3 that smell like foreshadowing to me:

the first is “she was right about you; such arrogance.” – cinder might well be referring to salem here, of course. however. what strikes me about this remark is that arrogance is not a characteristic that salem seems to perceive in ozma; rather she describes him, in her soliloquies and songs, as a self-destructive, deceitful, manipulative fool blinded and trapped by his faith in the old gods. cowardly. fallen from grace. think of what she says to oz in 8.9—look how you’ve diminished, how you’ve lessened yourself—she sees him groveling at the feet of tyrannical monsters and sees debasement.

does it follow for salem to characterize ozpin to cinder as, primarily, arrogant? i’m not convinced it does. but summer rose? well… hm. consider, also, that the full line is “this whole time, right beneath our feet… she was right about you; such arrogance…” <- i think it is more likely than not that “she” is someone inside the brackets of “our,” and in context “our” is either [cinder + ozpin] or [cinder + her associates physically present at beacon].

in the event that “she” is not part of “our” the more naturalistic phrasing is “beneath our feet… salem was right about you” – because “she” otherwise has no antecedent. of course, some allowance here for this to be a narrative choice not to name salem yet, but we’re one (1) episode off from revealing her face and by this point we’ve known for a while that cinder works for someone else, so the choice to drop the name here or in the volume credits is of fairly trivial importance. unless of course cinder isn’t talking about salem.

second: “Oh! We've also stopped some bad guys, too! I guess it's like they say: "like mother, like daughter"! I still wonder why Ozpin let me into the school early…” [laugh track] – obv this part of ruby’s address to summer’s memorial headstone foreshadows ozpin’s conspiracy and team strq’s involvement therein. but it also foreshadows this exchange:

RUBY: We don’t have to kill you to stop you, and we will stop you. SALEM: Your mother said those words to me… she was wrong, too.

and i think it bears pointing out that ruby is wrong here, and later in the volume qrow specifically calls attention to this and lays out why she’s wrong. team rwby didn’t stop the bad guys; they cut off one avenue of attack and cinder circled around from a new direction that took advantage of torchwick’s imprisonment, and this also resulted in the public break between ozpin and ironwood which eroded the cohesion of the inner circle. ergo, ruby thinks she stopped the bad guys but in the long run the consequences of the breach all benefited salem.

looks into the camera like im on the office.

like mother, like daughter!!!

further, that sequence of events ultimately leads to the final confrontation between her and torchwick – wherein he declares “if you can’t beat them, join ’em,” and shortly gets eaten by a grimm right after making it clear that he intends to kill her. torchwick’s death is thematically motivated – a narrative rejection of his cynical every-man-for-himself, dog-eats-dog outlook – but consider that:

summer rose, if she is indeed salem’s willing agent, is certainly at beacon tonight – because she’d be the one who stayed behind to hold the fort.

summer is thus the one salem instructs to “reinforce our numbers at beacon,” meaning the grimm; that instruction only makes sense if the person receiving it can communicate with or command grimm. ergo, summer must have some degree of control over grimm.

ruby is disarmed and on the ground getting beaten by a man who fully intends to kill her, and a grimm swoops down out of nowhere to eliminate him faster than he can blinks. and then… the grimm rears up, roaring at her, and comes down with a sweep of its wings that creates a blast of air that pushes her away. that isn’t aggression!! that’s a defensive threat display!! (the feilong in v4 does the exact same thing – trying to push the boat away). it’s ruby who charges the gryphon, and while it lunges forward in reaction to her charge, all that happens is she gets her feet on its head and pushes off to leap over it, and the grimm goes fucking flying so hard it crashes into the ship’s interior and never emerges. the point being,

math.

it’s plausible that the grimm was drawn to torchwick’s murderous rage. but the way it behaves immediately after it swallows him – that very clear “get away from me please” body language, and ruby -apparently- kicking a grimm the size of a goddamned clydesdale dozens of feet and then through the hull of a literal warship? ruby is strong, but she’s not… that strong. but if the grimm didn’t want to engage her and propelled itself under and past her at the same time as she vaulted off its head? that would explain what happens perfectly – ruby’s kick altered its launch trajectory just enough that it crashed.

minutes later, someone loyal to salem scraped a very badly injured cinder off the top of beacon tower and left ruby alive where qrow would find her. salem’s vested interest in keeping ruby alive is VISIBLE throughout the battle for beacon, and notably include a perfect opportunity to capture her while she’s in a coma atop beacon tower that isn’t taken – suggesting that salem makes her singular attempt to capture ruby solely to reassure cinder that Something is being Done.

and if summer rose has command over grimm and was at beacon that night… the gryphon’s behavior is exactly what i’d expect if all the grimm had marching orders to insure this one girl in particular – the spitting image of their commander – doesn’t come to serious harm. there’s a nonzero chance that gryphon did in fact save ruby On Purpose!

…and that happens in the context of a fight between ruby and the bad guy she thought she stopped (but she was wrong), who joined salem because “if you can’t beat em, join em.” (salem voice) she was wrong, too…

also

<- like mother like daughter. summer had a nevermore’s eye view of the battle for beacon, in this essay i will –

third: this one is something i didn’t really Think About until v9 and specifically the v9 ost dropping, but some of the things cinder says in v2-3 strike me as like – she got that from summer im sure of it. for example, in midnight, cinder’s view of huntsmen is that they’re free, they have power, they can go anywhere and do whatever they want, and rhodes never contradicts this. where did she get “huntsmen and huntresses should conduct themselves with honor and mercy”? who taught her the aspirational moral ideal?

summer rose, maybe.

but in the deeper sense,

where did cinder get the ‘destiny’ conceit? her underlying beliefs about how the world is are a product of her childhood, but the overt framing of fate/destiny isn’t present in midnight; nor has salem ever spoken of destiny and her philosophical views are in many ways a rejection of destiny – salem does not believe in fate, she is the woman who dedicated her life to toppling the gods.

and on close examination this looks like yet another suspiciously summer rose shaped hole!! “you’re special, ruby […] special the way your mom was special […] it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior.” – in after the fall, ozpin gives coco an entire pep talk whose central conceit is embracing and submitting to the turns of fate – sacrifice “show them gods and deities/blind and keep the people on their knees” & guide my way “you were born to hypnotize them all/they all said their prayers/can you hear me up there?”

cinder, of pyrrha: “people assume she’s fated for victory, when she's really taking fate into her own hands. interesting. add her to the list.” & “it’s not about overpowering the enemy; it’s about taking away what power they have.”

<- that second statement is salem’s strategic doctrine, through and through. but the ‘power’ cinder is talking about here is derived through manipulating the perception of destiny; the self-fulfilling prophecy. the invincible girl cannot be touched because she makes subtle adjustments to insure that no one is able to try. it is pyrrha’s belief in destiny that destroys her, as it destroys ozma. ozpin invokes fate to justify and explain his choices. those born with silver eyes are destined to lead the lives of warriors.

summer rose was destined to live and die fighting the grimm – so the world promised her. maybe she believed, maybe she felt like she had no choice but to accept her prescribed fate. until she met salem, and took fate into her own hands. made a choice. broke the chains. it’s about taking away what power they have, like salem did when she tore the scales from summer’s eyes, like summer did when she refused her destiny and joined hands with the grimm instead.

what does summer rose look like through cinder’s eyes? she was a huntress. she was literally destined to be one of the greatest huntresses in history, a hero, the shining pillar upholding the world order that chose the enslavement of children as a fair price for peace. fate dictated that she be the icon, the idol, the embodiment of the system that brutalized and subjugated cinder – she had every privilege cinder could ever dream of, freedom and security and a home, a loving family – and she chose to walk away.

and if they talked about that like, ever, and specifically if summer talked about that warrior’s destiny as a cage, a curse she had to escape – is it any wonder that cinder would adopt that framing to make sense of what happened to her? if summer rose was fated to stand at the pinnacle, then does it not follow that cinder fall was fated to be ground into the foundations? and likewise, if summer rose can shatter her pedestal and fall from grace, then cinder fall can shatter her chains and rise. summer proves that the idea of destiny is powerful but not inviolate. and it is hollow, it is a lie, a fiction, and that means it can be taken away. revealed as a deception. destroyed.

anyway

to the broader question

i think people really, really do not give the jaundice arc enough credit for the long-term set up it’s doing.

(or the very overt textual statement from THE HISTORY PROFESSOR! placing the blame for the violent radicalization of the white fang squarely on human bigotry and persecution of faunus in general; the white fang arc is clunky and hamstrung by the inadequacy of its vocabulary, but the fandom talking point that the narrative perspective on this subject has “evolved” or “improved” is just. not true. v1 is very emphatically clear that 1. terroristic violence is not activism, 2. ascribing the terroristic violence of a few to an entire minority group to rationalize bigotry is bigoted in and of itself and completely unacceptable, and 3. violent radicalization is created through relentless discrimination and hate, which creates a self-reinforcing circle wherein the justifiable outrage of the persecuted outgroup and the extreme violent reactions provoked by the persecution are distorted into a justification for further persecution by those of the in-group who materially benefit from perpetuating this cycle!!! all of this is explained in an almost afterschool special manner by the main character faunus rights activist and the history professor!!! in volume one!!! what changed is that the writers developed the skill and vocabulary necessary to weave these ideas into their storytelling in a more effective and more cogent way!!! literally begging the rwby fandom to start listening to the actual words the characters say)

ahem. the jaundice arc lays so much of the groundwork for jaune’s and ruby’s character arcs reaching all the way to v9 and undoubtedly beyond; it sets up the first pieces of the ozlem fractal; it foreshadows the white fang arc and sets up blake’s character arc of self-reclamation and figuring out how she wants to use her voice as an activist; it draws attention to the misogynistic cultural norms that define and are defined by the history between ozma and salem; it lays the foundation for the scene in v2 where ozpin questions blake, which hits the way it does because we have the context of anti-faunus harassment occurring openly at ozpin’s school and nobody doing anything about it, and by extension is the first stroke of the salem-faunus connection that is almost certainly the keystone holding the entire narrative together because it is her relation to the faunus that provides the key to decipher the lost fable.

the jaundice arc is a crucial load-bearing pillar that supports the entire narrative and people revile it because nobody in this fandom can be fucking normal about jaune. lmao

[southern--downpour]

okay first thoughts. i dont HATE the ending i just feel like it needed more time in the season to reach the conclusion it did

[celestialrealms]

Honestly I think the saddest thing about the Nightbringer timeline to me is just how alone Diavolo is. Tbh, the only person he really has at this point is Barbatos (and I would never devalue their relationship. It’s my favorite in the franchise. An elderich monstrosity swearing undying loyalty and being a friend and parental figure to an abused and othered child will ALWAYS get me)

even Mephisto, there’s a distance there because of their upbringing and the current political situation in the Devildom.

Yes, Diavolo says he helped the brothers for selfish reasons… and that’s true to an extent! But the fact that people who think he’s taking advantage of them for the sake of using them for the Devildom have been vehemently proven wrong. He’s literally just lonely, and is in fact going against the grain of how the nobility wants him to treat them as much as he can.

Is it healthy to keep people in his life by having them swear loyalty to him? No. But imo, it I do think it is a purposeful parallel to how controlling of his brothers Lucifer is. They are both pride demons with similar daddy issues, after all. Diavolo just didn't have a family surrounding him to look after

Except he’s on the outside of that. He doesn't want to be, but he is. At least in the current timeline we had those arcs where Diavolo was able to form more genuine connections to the brothers. I loved that!! But now in the Nightbringer timeline… he’s having to deal with so much and at the same time has none of those connections to the brothers any more.

Idk. It just makes me a hundred times more sad than anything else. Sorry not sorry.

Especially since Solmare refuses to let Diavolo romancers prioritize and care about him in any way.