#i gotta thank you bc you kept it funny and grounded in those replies

[drawbauchery]

Colored this one super fast in honor of weird ryoma guy

a BEAUTIFUL tribute.....

[winterscaptain]

still a chance.

Aaron Hotchner x Female Reader

a/n: the yearning in this one…i’ve outdone myself. okay so this one has been rolling around in my head for a long time. you’ll all be able to tell, but i love photos as a vehicle for storytelling. we use a lot of pictures in this story, and i hope you can “see” them - they brought me a lot of joy when i visualized them, and i hope i was able to do them justice. i also decided beth moves to okinawa instead of hong kong bc the museums in okinawa can’t be beat.  thanks to kira (@good-heavens-chris-evans) for encouraging me to post this tonight - you are a treasure and a gift.  words: 4,181 warnings: language, longing. 

AO3 | Masterlist | Requests Closed

+++

You kissed Jack’s temple and threw your backpack over your shoulder, leaning into the backseat. You carded through the honey-blond hair on the side of his head, reveling in the softness of it. “I love you, bud.” 

He sniffled, and it took all you had to keep it together. “I love you, too.” You could hear the effort in his voice. He was trying to be strong for you, for his dad. 

You kissed his forehead, lingering for a moment. You pulled back, your hands fluttering over his little shoulders, fussing for no reason. “You be good okay? You gotta be good for dad, alright?” You leaned in close. “He needs all the help he can get, and you’re his best teammate. You gonna take good care of him?”

He nodded. 

“Atta boy.” You straightened, slipping your arm into the other strap of your backpack. You faced Hotch, who pulled your collar from under the straps and fussed with them for a moment. He was stalling. 

“Aaron, I -”

He shook his head with a small smile. “I know. Call when you can. Your godson will miss you if you don’t.”

You nodded, taking a deep breath. “I’ll call you when I land.” 

“Seattle is great. You’ll love it.” He sounded like he was convincing himself as much as you. 

You threw yourself into his arms, and he wrapped around you as best he could with your backpack. “I love you, Aaron. Take care of yourself.” You pulled back and rested your hands on his shoulders. “Try to get me back home, while you’re at it.” 

“I’ll do my best. Fly safe.” 

And with that, you grabbed your duffle and walked into the terminal. You looked back once, finding two pairs of identical brown eyes watching you from open windows. You blew them a kiss, and they both raised a hand to catch it. 

My boys. 

+++

Emily warned you about Beth before you landed back in Virginia, but you were still nervous. Returning from a long assignment was never easy, especially when you knew coming back meant the real loss of something that never was.

You and Aaron had danced around each other for years, but never did anything about it, claiming team dynamic and stability for Jack after Haley’s death. Even then, neither one of you could deny how miserable it was to be apart. Your assignment to Seattle ended up lasting close to two years. You tried to keep in touch, but it was often too painful to be so out of reach. Your calls got farther and farther apart, but you tried to check in when you could.

Even then, you sent Jack semi-frequent gifts and care packages full of his favorite things. That boy was your favorite person in the whole world, and you his, second only to his father. It had broken your heart to leave him.

It would be a relief to see him again.

You stepped into Dave’s familiar foyer, toeing off your shoes. Everyone was in the backyard, relaxing after another homemade dinner. The whole team knew you were coming – except Beth and the Hotchners. Emily, JJ, and Dave spent an exorbitant amount of time and energy carrying off your surprise arrival.

When you stepped out into the backyard, three pairs of eyes flickered up at you before returning to their conversations. Emily, Penelope, and Derek hid the smiles that ghosted across their faces to avoid suspicion. Hotch and Jack had their backs to you, by design. Jack was watching one of Spencer’s magic tricks, Hotch was off a little ways with Emily, and Beth was at the bar with Dave.

Now was your chance. Approaching quickly and quietly, you put your hands over Jack's eyes and leaned in close to his ear. “Guess who, Jack Hotchner!”

He froze, and his little hands covered yours out of instinct. 

Wordlessly, he whirled around and threw himself into your arms. You landed hard on the ground, suddenly in tears. Jack was crying into your shoulder, his hands scrabbling for purchase on your jacket. You held him as tight as you could, the wave of emotion overwhelming you. You mumbled nothings into Jack’s baby blue button down - how much you loved him, how much you’d missed him, how happy you were to see him. You were sure none of it made sense.

“Are you staying?” Jack asked.

It broke your heart. “Yeah, love. I’m staying. I’m here.”

You weren’t sure how long you sat there, weeping together. It reminded you of those videos where parents or siblings come home from war and their kids just lose it. You never expected to be on the other side of that, but here you were. 

A hand on your shoulder jarred you from your haze. You looked up to find Aaron’s familiar brown eyes. You kissed the side of Jack’s head and stood. He stayed glued to your leg, and you picked him up, letting him hang off your hip as you straightened.

Aaron gathered you into his arms, and you wrapped your free arm around his shoulders.

“Good surprise?” You asked.

He only held you tighter.

You pulled back and swiped at the tears on your cheeks. “Whew. Alright.” You looked down at Jack, whose eyes were cleared of shock and tears, smiling up at you. “What did I miss?”

Aaron shot you a smile and gestured behind him. “Beth, this is Y/N. Y/N, Beth.”

You shook her hand with a warm smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Beth. I’m glad these boys are in good hands.”

+++

Emily offered to drive you home. You were quiet, staring out the window much of the way. Your apartment was still mostly packed, but your bed was ready for you.

“Good to be home?” She asked.

You nodded.

“There’s still a chance, you know.”

Finally looking over at her, a sigh escaped you. “He loves her, Em.”

She snorted. “He loves you more.”

You shook your head.

+++

“Y/N seems so lovely,” Beth said, settling next to Aaron on the couch.

He hummed in assent, distracted in the extreme. 

“Jack was so happy to see her. It really was thoughtful of Emily to put that together for you both.” She kept her voice light, but couldn’t help but search his face for something, anything. She’d heard he closed off sometimes, but she’d never seen it first hand. 

He nodded, still silent. “It’s been a long time.”

Beth pushed down the pang of something achy in her chest and took a sip of her tea. “Ready for bed?”

Aaron nodded, and shot her a small smile. There was so much going on behind those brown eyes. He was quiet. Quiet and distracted. 

Your absence was suddenly the loudest thing in the room.

And Beth knew it. 

+++

Your room was so quiet. It had been quiet in Seattle, too. There, though, nobody you loved was close enough to touch. A fifteen minute drive would take you to your favorite house with your favorite view and your favorite boys. But they didn’t belong to you anymore.

Jack wasn’t yours.

Aaron wasn’t yours.

Beth had them now. Sweet, sweet Beth. She was so open and kind. The immediate liking you took to her was almost infuriating. You didn’t want to like her, and yet there was nothing to dislike about her.

You were gone. You came back. She was there. 

Now what?

You rolled over and checked your phone, finding a text from JJ. 

I’m so proud of you I’m so glad you’re home. If you need anything, I’m here. 

Then, some minutes later. 

If he doesn’t pull his head out of his ass you know who to call. 

You smiled, and replied. Derek?

Fair point. Go to bed!!

+++

Your first case back felt like slipping into a comfy old pair of shoes. Building and delivering the profile was as easy as breathing, the feeling of your weapon in your hand as you cleared room after room, the tight fit of your vest across your chest – everything was something you missed. You yearned for the physical feeling of the BAU while you were chained to a desk in Seattle, and it was a relief to have it back.

You and Aaron were back in-step with each other right away. It was almost like you’d never left.

Almost. 

When a few tears slipped down your cheeks as the jet cruised through the air, headed back to Quantico, Derek reached for your hand. The rush from the past week caught up with you all at once and wrapped around your throat. 

“We missed you,” he said.

You smiled at him. “I missed you, too.”

He watched you for a moment, squinting a little. After a moment, he looked over at Hotch, who was frowning down at his phone. You brushed the tears off your face and squeezed Derek’s hand once - a reassurance. 

He knew, just like you did. Just like Beth did. 

+++

It was the next time you all were over at Dave’s that Beth finally asked. 

“What’s the story there?”

JJ looked over at you as you reclined in one of the rocking chairs on Dave’s back porch, Jack in your lap. He was regaling you with another tale from school - one of the many you missed while you were away. Hotch sat nearby on the step, his elbows on his knees, listening to his son with upturned lips. Occasionally, you and Aaron shared a look over Jack’s head, knowing and steeped in time. 

“Oh, Hotch and L/N?” JJ said, following Beth’s gaze. 

Beth nodded, taking a thoughtful sip of her drink. 

“They’re close,” JJ started, choosing her words carefully. “Y/N was close to the family - close to Haley and Aaron before Jack was born. She’s Jack’s godmother, along with Haley’s sister Jessica. When Haley died...” She shook her head. “He’d never been in worse shape, but she kept him upright. Nothing’s ever happened between them, not like that anyway, but nobody on this team has ever managed to come close to what those two have.” 

Beth hummed thoughtfully. “How did Jack take the news of the Seattle assignment?”

JJ laughed a little, but it wasn’t really funny. “Not well. He was moody and irritable for months, like his dad. Both of them eventually got used to it - being on their own again.”  

“It’s lovely to have such good friends, isn’t it?”

“Our team is a family. We take care of each other.”

+++

A rare day off found almost the entire team headed to the lake for the afternoon. You drove, with Derek riding shotgun beside you. Beth and Aaron sandwiched Jack and his car seat in the back. As always, you made sure Jack was visible in your rearview mirror as you drove. 

JJ drove the other car, with Will, Henry, Dave, and Emily. 

Derek ran the aux cord, of course - he had the best and most varied music taste of the whole bunch. You belted along to whatever he played, dancing in your seat and laughing the whole time.

God, it is good to be home.  

“Are they always like this?” Beth asked quietly, over Jack’s head. She gestured to you and Derek, holding imaginary microphones to each other’s mouths and growing quickly out of pocket, much to Jack’s delight. 

Aaron nodded, making play at a long-suffering kind of exhaustion, but he couldn’t hide the fondness in his gaze as he looked at you. You met his eyes in the rearview mirror and grinned before turning your attention back to the road. 

“Y/N enables bad behavior,” he said, loud enough for you to hear, dropping back into his usual deadpan. 

You swung your arm back and swatted at him. 

+++

“What was she like?” Beth settled beside you, a glass of wine in her hand. It was movie night at the Hotchners, and you’d wandered down the hall to stretch your legs and grab some water. 

You got caught up at the wall of framed photos, stuck on one particularly lovely one of Haley - grainy and candid. Aaron’s handwriting in the top corner informed you it was from January 1993, Bainbridge Island, WA.

You smiled. “Charming, funny.” You huffed a laugh. “Damn near the most impatient woman I’ve ever known. She jumped the gun on everything, for better or worse. She knew how to throw a hell of a dinner party and gave the best Christmas gifts. She was the best mom. Jack was her world.” You reached up, touching the frame lightly with the pads of your fingers. “I was mad at her, during the divorce. We never fought, but I was upset with her and she knew it.” You laughed down your nose. “It was the only time she was more patient than I deserved.” 

Maybe you were revealing too much, but you continued. 

“I sometimes wish I could take it back - my anger. I wish I wasn’t half as mad at her as I was when she died.” You shifted your gaze, settling on a photo of you and Haley in the hospital a few hours after Jack was born. Haley looked exhausted, but happy, her hand reaching up to Jack’s little face as you held him with a fond smile. To this day, you have no idea how Aaron managed to get that picture. You tapped the frame with your finger, your tone brightening. “That was a really good day.” 

Just like before, Aaron’s handwriting in the corner gave away the date and occasion. October 7th, 2005. Haley and Y/N with Jack, 5 hours old.

“I can imagine,” Beth said with a light laugh. Her voice was pensive, thoughtful. “These boys are lucky to have you.”

The corner of your mouth tipped up, and you offered her your arm as you turned back toward the living room. 

You liked her. You did. That’s what made it so damn hard. 

+++

“Aaron, can I talk to you for a minute?” 

Aaron turned around, pulled from his work with the dishes, to face Beth. “Yeah. What’s going on?”

Beth sat at her kitchen island, the pads of her fingers tapping restlessly on the marble counter. Her eyes were downcast, avoiding him. “I got a job offer in Okinawa.” 

His eyebrows raised. “Oh?”

“I think I’m going to take it.” She looked up at him, her lower lip disappearing between her teeth. “What do you think?”

Aaron circled the island and sat beside her, reaching for her hand. She laced her fingers with his. He leaned forward, attentive. “I don’t want you to regret anything.”

She smiled with one side of her mouth. “I don’t think I will.” She looked down at their laced hands. “In the spirit of not regretting anything, I have something else to tell you.”

Aaron was quiet. Waiting. Listening. 

“I think you should tell Y/N how you feel.” 

He startled, sitting up straight. “What?”

Beth smiled a little wider, a gentle, soft thing. It made his heart ache and his head hurt. “She has your heart, Aaron. There’s nobody who knows you better. Nobody better for you.” She squeezed his hand. “You have a second chance. I think you should take it.” 

“Beth, I -”

“Aaron. Please. I’m leaving anyway, and you and I both know we won’t be able to swing the distance.”

He sighed. 

She’s right. 

“I’m sorry.” 

She smiled, and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “Don’t be. It’s hard to see the things in front of us, sometimes. Especially when they’ve been there for a long time.”

The corner of his mouth tipped up. 

“Now’s your chance, Hotchner. Don’t screw it up.” She shoved playfully at his shoulder, drawing a wider smile from him. 

The smile fell from his face as he looked around at the decidedly unpacked house. “When do you leave for Okinawa?”

She took a sip of her tea. “Next week. The movers are coming this weekend to pack up the house.” 

He laughed to himself. She’d already made up her mind, but was sweet enough to make him feel included. He leaned over and kissed her, sweet and chaste. A goodbye. “I love you, Beth.” 

She looked back up at him with a soft smile. “I love you, too.” Then, her face transformed, a mischievous smile on her face. “Need a ride?”

+++

You were laid out flat on the couch watching a movie when there was a knock at your door. With a sigh, you rose and popped the lid on your gun safe with your fingerprint before you unlocked the door. 

I really need a peep hole. 

Aaron Hotchner was on the other side, sheepish, with his hands in his pockets. You looked behind him, Beth’s little Civic idling in front of your building. She waved at you before driving off into the night.

“Hey,” he said. “Can I come in?”

You stepped back and locked your firearm away as he stepped past you into the house. When you turned to face him, he was studying the photographs on your bookshelf. Some were photos from your childhood, faded and well-loved. Others were more recent, and you knew he would see his face staring back at him in many of the frames. He paused at the shelf that held your favorites, always within your sight and reach. 

One was a photo Dave took about two and a half years ago, before you left for Seattle. You all had your backs to the camera, with Aaron holding one of Jack’s hands and you the other. Your head was thrown back in laughter as you helped Jack leap high into the air between you. 

Another was you and Haley, nearly a decade ago. You were cheek-to-cheek, her arms wrapped around you from behind, with both of your hands holding onto her forearm. Your smiles were wide, posed but genuine. A dry, crinkly rose petal from her funeral was tucked into the frame.

There was a collage of jet photos - Emily sleeping nearly-upside-down in one of the seats, Dave and Aaron pouring over a case file, Spencer, JJ, and Elle sleeping in a heap, Emily’s nail-bitten fingers resting on her copy of Slaughterhouse Five, JJ looking out the window during golden hour, the team crowded around the latest photos of Henry on JJ’s phone. They were all photos you’d taken on a whim and printed when the homesickness grew unwieldy. A few post-it notes you found while packing your stuff landed in there too. 

Derek, Penelope, Aaron, and Spencer smiled out of the final photo. It was the FBI vs. ATF baseball game the year Jack was born. JJ had taken it, all of you in your FBI pinstripe jerseys, capturing the moment right after the game-winning pitch was thrown. Derek was the only one who played, but the rest of you rushed the field to claim victory nevertheless. Spencer held the baseball in the air, mid-shout, while you were up on Aaron’s back with a victorious fist raised. Penelope’s feet were off the ground as Derek spun her in a circle and Haley was visible on the other side of the fence, holding a blanket-wrapped Jack to her chest and cheering. 

Those photos were the ones that came to the office with you when you moved to Seattle. More than one person asked if Jack was your son, and you always said no, but with a little smile that prompted more questions. 

“Do you have copies of these?” Aaron asked, his fingers tracing the photo of you and Haley. He was careful not to disturb the delicate petal. 

You stepped up beside him, leaning your head against his shoulder. “Yeah. I have framed copies, if you want them. They’re still packed.” 

You stood in silence together for a little while, letting the nostalgia for the people and places and times past wash over you. 

“So…” you started, “are you going to tell me why Beth dropped you like a lost puppy on my doorstep on a perfectly respectable Saturday night?” 

He sighed. 

Uh oh. 

You took his arm and guided him to the couch, shoving wrappers out off the cushions (it was your day off, alright?) and plopping down in the corner. 

Aaron licked his lips, and you couldn’t help but look down at them. 

What I wouldn’t give…

“Beth is moving to Okinawa.” 

Your brow crumpled, and you immediately reached out, grabbing onto his forearm. “Oh, Aaron I’m so sorry.” 

He shrugged. “It’s for the best. I told her I didn’t want her to have any regrets, and it’s an incredible opportunity.” 

“Of course.” You shuffled closer to him, hoping your presence could be of some comfort. 

He opened his mouth and closed it again, as if he was fighting with himself. 

“Spit it out, Hotchner.” 

That drew a short laugh from him, and he ran a hand through his hair. All the air left his lungs in one huff. “You know how much I love you, right?”

You nodded, watching carefully as he flipped his hands palm-up before you. You gingerly slipped your fingers over his hands, feeling the callouses from years of handling pens and firearms. He closed his fingers around yours, his hands warm and familiar. 

“You know how much Jack loves you, right?”

You nodded. There was a point to this, you could feel it. 

“Beth said something to me tonight, and it...took me by surprise.” He swallowed, staring down at your linked hands. “She said I should tell you how I feel.” 

You squinted at him, more than a little confused. “Aaron, you tell me how you feel all the time. I know you’re not one to express your feelings with words, but you tell me how you feel every time you bring an extra cup of coffee for me, or save my favorite seat on the jet, or text me a picture of Jack.” You laugh through your nose. “You may not say it in so many words, but I know.”

You could tell he wanted to interrupt you, but you were proud of him when he didn’t. “Yes - yeah. That’s not what I meant.” 

He was growing frustrated with himself, and you squeezed his hands. “Hey. It’s just me.” 

“That’s the prevailing issue,” he said. 

What? 

“Aaron, you lost me.” 

He steeled himself, taking a deep breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, and you knew if both of his hands weren’t occupied, one of them would have been pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m in love with you. I’m -” he opened his eyes and faltered, exhaling, “so in love with you.” 

You let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-sob. You tried to speak, but you were thwarted by your own closed throat. The incandescent joy lit you up from the inside. You were hot and cold all at once and you weren’t sure if you were breathing. 

I’m so in love with you I’m so in love you with you I’m so -

Aaron stood abruptly, releasing your hands and grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair.

You swallowed, trying to get your bearings. “Aaron, wait. Stop.”

He turned, and you could see the raw hurt in his eyes. 

Oh. Oh my God he thinks I’m upset. 

Instead of ruining everything by opening your mouth again, you stood and strode toward him, grabbing his face and pulling him to you. Your lips crashed together, and you let out another completely-overwhelmed-wires-crossed noise. The tears fell down your face with abandon, but you ignored them, completely wrapped up in the feeling of his lips against yours.

You felt him freeze before he kissed you right back, his arms winding around your waist, holding you close. His hands ran up and down your back as you fought to get closer and closer to him. 

He pulled back first, chasing his breath. He pressed his forehead to yours, and you dropped your hands to his collar, winding your fingers in his shirt. 

“Aaron…” 

He surprised you by letting out a bark of breathless laughter. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” 

You pulled back, playfully lowering your brows. “How long?”

He looked up and made a great show of thinking. “Oh...I would say conservatively 2002, but that might just be when I noticed.” 

Your head fell gently to the left. You studied his face for a moment - his straight nose, high cheekbones, the bags under his eyes that seemed to get deeper every day, the stern mouth…You knew his face better than yours. It was the face that haunted your dreams. 

“What?” He asked. 

You replied, simply, “I missed you.” 

He kissed you, holding your face between his large hands like it was the most precious thing in the world. “I missed you.” He kissed each one of your cheeks. “I missed you.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I missed you.” The corner of your mouth. “I missed you.” Your lips. “I love you.”

+++

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @wandaswitxh @hurricanejjareau @fics-ilike @octothorpetopus @ange-must-die @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @saintd0lce @good-heavens-chris-evans @angelsbabey @gublergirls @writefasttalkevenfaster @venusbarnes @vintagecaptainspidey 

[yyxgin]

im so glad you had your first day!! how was it? did you get into a groove? make some work friends? i believe in you bestie 🥺💗

over the moon today. i took the jelly desert thingies (remember me telling you about the food runner who shared one w me?) n i told everyone if they want one to take some n i told the barman n he was like hmmm okay n then i said if he didn’t like lychee i had mango n he was like 😋😋 mango yum so i’m taking those tomorrow. me n two of the girls were giggling at his expense (he doesn’t know) bc he said to the girl ‘not to point out that i’m staring at your ass but you’ve got chocolate on your bum’ n i kept making sly comments for the rest of the evening. i carried some plates back to dishwash n i got some food up me on my boobies (🤢) n i went back to the girl n was like ‘okay girl tell me if there’s anything i haven’t got bc ben’ll point it out otherwise’ n we just laughed. i kept saying stuff like maybe you should just bend over n ask if there’s anything on your bum n she screeched 😂😭

my manager gave my friend a job. i was mildly annoyed bc out of all the new starters i genuinely think i was the only one who had a real interview. my friends mum dropped us off n i literally went to get changed n when i came back she was gone. she messaged me n said my manager just gave her the job. like thank goodness! but also sis what how comes?? she said she trusts me n my word so… also the area manager was there today n my manager isn’t supposed to be hiring anyone but the area manager asked her why she was hiring n asked if it was my friend n asked if she could work as good as me bc otherwise why was she hiring 😳 my supervisor told me this and said ‘don’t let her drag you down’ i was like 👍 yes bestie never!! like i love my friend but at the same time i do not want to be responsible for her every step of the way. in the nicest way possible, i did the first part, asking if my manager was hiring to help my friend out bc she hates her current job etc etc but the rest is down to her. like if she messes up, that’s on her. if it had been the other way around i wouldn’t expect anything different, you know? but i’ve always known when and where to draw the line. im good at standing my ground. speak to me like shit and it’ll come right back around, right?

one of the girls today said her table was quite rude/stand-offish to her n she was like ‘i really needed you there bc you would’ve put them in their place’ and i said afterwards ‘do you want me to have a word with them?’ deadly seriously n she panicked n was like no it’s okay!! unless they properly upset her it wasn’t to worry about. i can’t stand people who are rude unnecessarily to 1) cleaners 2) food servers (waiter/ess, dinner ladies, the likes) and 3) people who’s first language isn’t the one spoken widespread in the country they’re in (so if someone was rude to the lovely thai food runner bc there’s a language barrier i would actually fight them bc she’s literally the sweetest). i get so mad at people n now i feel weird. like i have all this energy inside me now waiting to be used bc i was not best pleased with the women who was rude to one of my girls >:( n now i just want to explode but i don’t have a reason? i need to release this energy soon. nobody has massively annoyed me recently though but i was ready to say something if they said anything to my girl.

goodness me!! also not the biggest fan of people who stay when we’re literally getting a delivery 😐 like, go home, fr. respectfully, leave the goddamn premises.

im so sorry i feel like ive mostly ranted today!! but yeah. my motherly instinct is kicking in… except ion have kids. noice. n e way!! ly bar 🥺🦋💗 ~ 🌻

aaah my first day was super weird. there was a lady ive never seen before bossing everyone around,,she had like the classic short haired tattooed smoking 40year old look and i was lowkey scared of her but apparently shes there only until tuesday ?? i think she is like,,the boss of the whole chain or something ?? idk. anyways my manager was nice, i was chipping clothes and then they like uhh forgot i was even there and they all went to leave so that was funny. the other coworkers there offered me a ride home but i declined bc my dad went to get me but that was cute <3 they seem nice but too old to be my work friends djsjks i am going again on monday so we'll see how that goes !!

DJSKSK THE BOY I WAS INTO DID THE SAME TO ME 😭😭 he was like "bar you have something on your butt" and i went "are you staring at my ass?" and he went all 👁👄👁 no.

I totally get why you were "mad" abt your friend getting that job so easily. I would feel like that too, like,,you worked hard to get that job and she just chimes in and gets it just like that ?? i felt like that when we were on our internship that I got for me and my friend (that wasnt even talking to me at that time bc she was annoyed by me lmao) and i was the one getting the hard work while she did nothing all day. like i had to write all the emails and do the paperwork so we could intern there in the first place and then she just chimes in and doesnt even do anything and just walks around the whole day and gets a good grade for nothing. djsjsk or maybe im just too dramatic. that might be the case too.

you are so protective i love that🥺you look like that kind of friend i'd trust with my whole life cjsjsk also i get why you feel like that bc i get that too😔 i even stood up for my classmate multiple times but now my whole class just hates me and i am the bad one so💔💔💔but im done talking abt it i had my fair share of mental breakdowns yesterday when the drama was happening (also the reason why im replying so late,,,sorry about that😔)

IM ALWAYS HERE WHEN U NEED TO RANT !!! I ranted in my reply too so sorry if im being annoying but you just gotta get it out some days. 😩 ily more hope u have a great day !! <3

[marvelmando]

tempest [p.parker x o.c.] - three

notes: it seems like you guys are starting to like the story! i admit, the beginning is pretty slow and the plotline is obviously predictable, but i really enjoy writing this nonetheless. that being said, i’m starting a taglist, so if you’d like to be added, reply or send me a message/ask!

***re-uploading bc i fucked it up

contains: canon-typical violence, some swearing

pairing: peter parker + fem! o.c.

word count: 3.3k

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MARIN WAS STILL UNFAMILIAR WITH CITY LIFE, BUT SHE KNEW ENOUGH TO BE SURPRISED THAT MAY OWNED A CAR. It was a dinky old sedan, with a distinctly boxy shape and a stale smell to the interior, but it had a working engine and four wheels, and got the three teenagers to the party with (little to) no problem.

“A house party in the suburbs!” May said excitedly as they approached the designated address. Marin marveled at the architecture of Liz’s house; very slick and modern looking, with lines of cars parked on either side of the road for at least four doors down on both ends. Bodies swarmed in and out of the house, reminding Marin of a beehive. “Oh, I remember these. I’m kind of jealous!”

“It’ll be a night to remember,” Ned leaned forward in his seat swooning very obviously at May.

The two laughed, and May shifted in her seat to face Ned better. “Ned, some hats wear men, but you wear that hat.”

Marin had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but Ned seemed to appreciate the compliment on his fedora. He smiled widely, “Yeah, it gives me confidence!”

Marin looked at Peter in the passenger seat in front of her. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the house since they’d pulled up, and she could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he muttered anxiously, “This is a mistake,” his voice high-pitched and slightly panicky. “Hey, let’s just go home.” He told May.

“Oh, Peter,” she tried to comfort him. “I know; I know it’s really hard, trying to fit in with all the changes your body’s going through…” Peter had nodded along until he cringed at the suddenly awkward turn. Marin held back a snicker. “It’s flowering now.”

“Uh-huh,” Peter nodded sarcastically, chuckling out a pressed laugh.

May turned in her seat again to face Marin and Ned. “He’s so stressed out, lately!” She whispered to them, as if Peter couldn’t hear her.

Marin opened her mouth to defend Peter, but Ned interrupted her. “What helps with stress, is going to a party—we should go to the party.”

Probably fed up with his friend and aunt’s antics, Peter relented. “Yeah, let’s do this.” He hurried to unbuckle his seatbelt and scrambled out of the car. “I’m gonna go, I’m gonna go,” he chanted to himself.

“Thanks for the ride, May!” Marin chirped as she shut the door behind her. May smiled back in response.

“Peter!” May called from inside the car before he could close the door. “Have fun, okay? And don’t leave Marin by herself, okay? You and Ned are the only people she knows. Make sure to look after her.”

Peter nodded, looking quickly at Marin, who smiled at May’s concern. “I will.”

“Bye, May!” Ned waved goodbye as she drove away.

The three walked up the path to the house’s main entrance. “Dude, you have the suit, right?” Ned asked. Peter said nothing, only pulling up one of his flannel’s sleeves to reveal the red fabric of his suit. “This is gonna change our lives!”

Marin stayed silent next to Peter. She had no experience in the ways of public high school, but she knew that being an outcast was universal. From what she’d gathered about Peter’s personality and his descriptions on how his classmates treated him, Marin recognized the signs of unpopularity in him fairly easily. What she didn’t understand, was Ned’s desire to change it. Marin also didn’t understand how Peter’s powers and his connection to Spider-Man would prove anything to his peers, but she chalked it up to being a public-school thing. She’d get the hang of it, soon.

Entering the front door of Liz’s house brought an onslaught of new sounds, sights, and especially strong smells, and Marin fought the urge to either gag or cover her ears. The rooms she could see were packed with sweaty, hormone-raging bodies that moved way too close together to be comfortable, yet everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves. Marin gawked at the sight.

Somewhere in the room came a deep voice announcing “DJ Flash!” that caught Marin’s attention. A boy—short and dark-skinned stood behind what Marin assumed to be a DJ booth, working the electronics. Huh, she thought, so that’s Flash. She was expecting someone more… intimidating.

“Okay,” Ned corralled Peter and Marin’s attentions with the beginnings of his action plan. “We’re gonna have Spider-Man swing in, say you guys are tight, and then I get a fist bump or one of those half bro-hugs, and Marin gets—”

“Can’t believe you guys are at this lame party.” Said a new voice; a girl, looking extremely bored while spreading jam on a piece of toast. Ned looked at her funny.

“But you’re here, too.”

The girl narrowed her eyes conspiratorially. “Am I?” She bit into her bread, the toast crunching as she walked away.

Marin looked at Peter, confused. Opening her mouth to ask who the hell that was, Peter was distracted by a feminine voice calling out, “Oh my gosh!”

Marin huffed, watching as Peter’s eyes widened dramatically. “Hey guys,” a girl approached them. “Cool hat, Ned.”

The girl was beautiful—darkened skin like Lucy’s, and with legs for days. Even in casual wear, Marin felt underdressed compared to this goddess of a girl.

“Hi, Liz!” Ned prompted, nudging Peter.

“Hi Liz,” Peter squeaked, causing Marin to glance at him curiously.

Marin remembered Peter telling her earlier that day, after he came home from school, that Liz, the hostess, allegedly had a crush on Spider-Man. And based on the way his eyes softened and his jaw went slack, it would appear that Spider-Man had a crush on her, too. Marin’s eyes narrowed at the new development. Liz suddenly noticed the third party, and addressed her, “I’m sorry, have we met? I’m Liz.”

Taking her outstretched hand to shake, she responded kindly, “I’m Marin. Lovely home!” She winced at the way her voice broke, in an attempt to sound charming.

“Oh, thanks!” Liz smiled. Luckily, to save her from any further embarrassment, the sound of glass breaking caught Liz’s attention. “Oh, I… my parents will kill me if anything’s broken, I gotta—”

“Yeah,” Peter’s voice cracked again.

“It was nice meeting you, Marin!”

“You too,”

“Bye!” Ned waved.

Once alone again, Ned turned to Peter. “Dude, what are you doing? She’s here; Spider it up!”

Peter choked. “No, no, no—I can’t… I cannot do this. Spider-Man is not a party trick, okay? Look, I’m just gonna… be myself.” Peter resolved with a shrug, glancing at Marin for support. She shrugged back.

Ned sighed. “Peter, no one wants that.”

Peter looked offended. “Dude,” he started to walk away and into the crowd, looking hurt.

He stopped in his tracks when an amplified voice called out, “Penis Parker, what’s up?!” Flash played a weird honking sound over the system. “Yo, where’s your pal Spider-Man? Let me guess—in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?” Marin had no idea what Canada had to do with any of this but she kept silent. She glared at the short DJ as he played the strange sounds again and everyone in the crowd laughed along. “That’s not Spider-Man, that’s just Ned in a red shirt!” It seemed as though he didn’t notice Marin standing next to them.

Peter walked off with a newly determined slope to his brow, leaving Marin and Ned to endure the riled-up crowd while he changed out of his civilian clothes.

Ned suddenly hurried off to follow him—probably to be his lookout—leaving Marin lingering behind. She floated to a relatively empty corner of the room, wrapping her arms around herself.

“How do you know those losers?” A voice startled Marin, and she turned to see that it was that weird bread girl from earlier.

“Peter and Ned?” She asked, unsure. When the girl nodded, Marin said, “I work with Peter at the Stark internship.”

“So that’s actually real? The internship?” Marin nodded. “Huh, I thought he was lying. I’m Michelle, by the way. Michelle Jones.”

“Marin Frost,” she returned, looking carefully at Michelle. She seemed nice enough, but like Peter, she seemed like an outcast. Marin decided that she liked her.

The party was growing increasingly stuffy, and several minutes had passed with no sign of Spider-Man, so Marin excused herself to get some air. She found her way to the front door and took a couple steps out. As she breathed in the cool air, a flash of movement caught her eye, and she looked up to see Spider-Man swinging across the street—in the opposite direction.

“Peter!” She whispered-yelled, but he didn’t seem to hear her. He disappeared behind a neighboring house, so Marin dashed off to follow him. Luckily, the space between the houses wasn’t fenced, so Marin made it to the other side easily. Climbing through a tall row of hedges, Marin saw Spider-Man sprinting across the open golf turf.

“Spider-Man!” She tried again but tripped over a golf ball. Peter had gained some distance as she scrambled to her feet when suddenly, the sprinklers went off.

He audibly grouched to himself, but Marin was grateful for the boost the water gave her as it soaked into her exposed skin. She eventually caught up to Peter, just in time to hear an explosion and see a burst of neon blue light in the near distance.

“Peter!” She pounced on his back, causing him to fall, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Peter rolled on top of her, pulling her arms and pinning them above her head.

“What the hell, Marin!” His voice was shrill but hushed. “What are you doing?!”

“What are you doing?” She countered, wrestling against his grip. He released her but instantly moved to jump onto what looked like a concrete bridge. Marin clambered off of the dirt and back on her feet. “You were supposed to—!”

“Shh!” He hissed at her, crawling along the concrete so he could hang upside down and watch what was going down on the other side. Huffing in frustration, Marin sneaked below him, making sure to stay out of sight.

Three men huddled around a parked van—a weapons deal, Marin assumed—one man reached into the back of the opened trunk. Once he pulled back, Marin got a clear shot of the contents: it was piled to the windows with all sorts of different weaponry, looking very similar to the designs of the weapons from the robbery two nights ago.

“Okay, I got, uh, black hole grenades, Chitauri railguns…” Marin could hear one of the dealers list off.

Chitauri? Images of the battle of New York flashed across her mind as she remembered the newscasters narrate the fight scenes.

Above her, Peter whispered, “Oh, this must be where the ATM robbers got their stuff.”

Marin narrowed her eyes. If these kinds of weapons were being integrated with alien technology, their capabilities would be completely unknown, and the capacity for damage unprecedented. If they fell into the wrong hands—even worse than petty thieves and criminals—who knew what this could mean for the country’s safety.

A loud yodeling ringtone pierced the air, yanking Marin out of her ruminations and alerting their presence to the criminals.

One of the dealers accused the buyer of setting them up and aimed a weapon at him. Without hesitation, Peter hopped down from the bridge, and Marin darted out from behind the bridge. “Hey, don’t shoot!” He yelled.

“C’mon, if you’re gonna shoot at someone, shoot at me!” Marin hurried in front of Spider-Man, throwing her arms up in an attempt to look surrendered. As much as she knew that Peter might be able to recover from a gunshot, he should have remembered that Marin could stop a bullet even before it could hit him.

“Alright,” the dealer shrugged, and as soon as the gun pointed at her, a spark of panic shot through Marin as she realized that she didn’t have her water bottle with her, and therefore had no way to stop the bullet. But Spider-Man was already ahead of her, as he shot out a web and disarmed the dealer before he could pull the trigger. Peter dodged around Marin, charging at the dealers. Suddenly, one of the men reached out of the van with a large weapon in his hand, using it to punch Spider-Man and send him reeling back as electricity crackled around the outline of his body.

“Spider-Man!” Marin shouted, sprinting toward him. The criminals jumped in the van, and as it was pulling away, Peter attached a web to the door of the vehicle, yanking him along. “Oh, come on, man!” She yelled after him, exasperated.

The van sped off, dragging Spider-Man behind. It turned a corner onto a neighboring street and rammed Peter into a trash can. Marin could tell that the boost from the sprinklers was beginning to wear off, and the distance between her and the van grew exponentially. In the distance, Marin noticed a bright magenta light glowing from inside the van, exploding and knocking off one of the doors Peter had a web attached to.

After a minute of chasing them, Marin saw the light grow brighter again, this time hitting Peter and ripping his grip from the web he’d just reattached. Within seconds, the weapon had recharged, and as the van hit a bump in the road, the weapon misfired and blew a hole in the side of the van. The weapon then tumbled out of the dealer’s hands and out of the back of the van, rolling out of sight.

The van dragged Peter into the side of a parked car, a line of trash cans, and a brick mailbox before finally dislodging him from the van. Marin caught up after a couple of seconds, panting.

“Follow my lead; I’m gonna take a shortcut!” Peter shouted to her before quickly taking off to leap over a tall metal gate.

“Oh hell, Parker!” Marin griped, and made to follow once again. This was beginning to become a running theme with them. It should’ve been harder to keep up since she couldn’t see where he was going, but the crashes and shouts from both Peter and the inhabitants of the neighborhood sounded off one-by-one like a trail of audible breadcrumbs.

Marin dodged pedestrians and oncoming cars as she raced through the streets, following mostly by sidewalk and occasionally cutting perpendicularly between houses when it was necessary. She growled in frustration, however, when she realized that Peter was beginning to sound farther and farther away. But then a distant shriek about three blocks down made her pick up her pace again.

As she reached an open road, Marin saw the mutilated van speed down the pavement four blocks ahead of her. Glancing up at the rooftops, Marin watched Spider-Man leap determinedly towards the van, only to be snatched in midair by what looked to be metal talons.

“No!” Marin cried out in horror, as the metal-winged man flew straight upward with Peter’s leg firmly in its grasp.

Marin dashed off, trying to get directly underneath the flying man. Looking up at the darkened night sky, she could only see the bright red of Peter’s suit as he flailed in his captive’s grip and distant pinpoints of a glowing neon green from above him.

Suddenly, a white parachute erupted from the back of Spider-Man’s suit, and Peter was ripped from the man’s grasp. Marin skidded to a stop as she approached the edge of a lake, watching as Peter fell through the air, entangling himself in the parachute as he plummeted towards the earth. Marin threw her arms out, reaching up with the lake water to catch him.

Her arms felt heavy with the force needed to control so much water at once—it flooded her senses, the power much denser than she was normally used to. It seemed to work in at least cushioning the blow, but Marin still flinched as Peter hit the water with a great clap. The sudden impact knocked the water out of Marin’s control, forcing her to her knees.

Not even bothering to stand and instead shutting her eyes to focus her control, Marin raised her trembling arms frantically as she searched the lake for Peter’s body. Just as she’d found him, a splash caught her attention. She automatically sensed a new presence in the water, this one larger and not as warm. Before she could grab onto it, a figure rocketed out of the lake, carrying Peter’s limp body.

As they flew over her head, she recognized the familiar red and gold titanium alloy suit. She dipped her hands into the lake, siphoning off some energy to replace the amount she’d lost, and raced off.

It took her nearly fifteen minutes to track them down to a nearby playground. Peter sat glumly on top of a jungle gym.

“You know, it’s never too early to start thinking about college. I got some pull at MIT.” Iron Man was saying, his suit hovering over the mulch.

“No, I don’t need to go to col—”

“End call.”

“Mr. Stark—!” Peter protested.

“Mr. Stark is no longer connected.” The suit announced in a feminine voice before flying off.

“That’s awesome,” Peter muttered sarcastically, wringing his mask and hopping off of the climbing structure.

“Pete!” Marin called out to him, hurrying over and helping him steady on his feet. Peter grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Oh, thank god you’re okay,” he sounded genuinely concerned, causing Marin’s heart to stutter. “I wasn’t sure if they’d gotten to you too, and—”

“No—I’m all right, Peter.” She flexed her hand on his corded shoulder. “Why are you so hot?” Her eyes widened, a blush crawling up her neck as she hurried to correct herself. “I mean—like, like temperature-wise, not—not hot like—”

Peter breathed out a laugh. “Apparently Mr. Stark added in some suit-warmers.”

“How did he even find us, anyway?”

Peter shrugged. “Trackers.”

Marin raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Though his suit was warming up, it still felt damp under her hand. “Y’know, I could just…” With the hand pressed to the top of his shoulder, Marin reached with her mind and pulled at all of the water still soaking his suit and hair. After a minute of concentration, Marin peeled back her hand, and with it came a stream of lake water. She flicked the water to the ground as Peter patted down his now completely dried suit and hair with an impressed look etched into his features.

“Sick,” he exhaled.

As they were making their way back to Liz’s house, Marin fiddled with Peter’s water-logged phone. Just as she’d finished drawing out all of the water, Peter—now masked again—pointed to something, and jogged over to get a better look.

“Look—this must’ve fallen out of those guys’ van earlier,” he turned the device over with his fingertips.

Marin crouched down next to him, intrigued by the purplish glow emanating from what looked like the device’s energy core. “Whoa,”

Suddenly, Peter’s phone—still in Marin’s hands—buzzed and sounded the yodeling ringtone. It was Ned. Seeing that Peter was still observing the device, Marin accepted the call and held the phone up to her ear.

“Hey, Ned,” she said.

“Marin? Is Peter with you?” Ned shouted over the ruckus in the background. “Where the hell are you guys?!”

“Oh, well I, um…” Marin glanced down at Peter. She didn’t realize that by telling Ned where she was, and what she was doing (chasing bad guys with Spider-Man), she’d now have to tell him about her powers. “It’s hard to explain, but—”

Peter reached for the phone, so Marin handed it to him. “Hey, man. We’re on our way back now, just—”

Marin heard chanting on the other line. She could barely make out the words “penis!” and “Parker!”.

Peter sighed next to her. “We’ll see you tomorrow, then.” He pocketed his phone, and carefully picked up the alien device.

Even with the mask on, Marin could see the stubborn determination set on Peter’s face.

taglist:

@dark-night-sky-99 @pushmeinablackhole

[vardasvapors]

DRUNK LIVEBLOG OF THE AKALLABETH BC I PROMISED @rose-of-the-bright-sea​

Uh unfortunately i’m not too drunk since once again my job was to bounce everyone once the party ended but uhhh it is early morning and i’m still not asleep and i did just spend 5 hours dancing and doing shots so...

ANYWAY: first scene of the Akallabeth, remember how the edain were the only Men who fought against morgoth in the war of wrath etc, and when morgoth was defeated the Evil Men who fought for him ran away and conquered all the Stupid Men who were still living in the middle earth area and these men’s lives sucked and were constantly attacked by orcs and monsters and they were dumb and wild and stuff. this explanation is like 20 kinds of LMAO NARRATIVES but also not like, in a lying way, just in a framing way.

otoh the edain got given a giant island in the middle of the ocean as a reward for fighting against morgoth and stuff, osse and aule and yavanna did it. (valar: ‘have an island way out in the sea’ elros: ‘SOUNDS LEGIT’). meanwhile the elves of ME are long-sufferingly granted permission to come to tol eressea because their lives kinda suck. the difference in the tone of the edain’s gift and the elves’ gift is totally not noticed by the narrator but the fact that avallone was build on the eastern edge of tol eressea where it could be seen from numenor is. lol.

there’s this super gorgeous entrancing description of how earendil burned super bright so that he shone night and day and the edain followed him over the calm enchanted sea until they found the island of numenor -- andor the land of gift, elenna that is starwards. however we all know all this incredible rich storytelling stuff isn’t important compared to the tiny scrap of smugness that can be wrung out of making elros hate earendil and/or elves, bc everyone knows that no character’s narrative matters except the feanorians’.

elves of ME also brought all the edain to numenor and elves of tol eressea gave the edain a ton of tools and gifts and stuff to help build their new nation, but you know it’s fun to headcanon elros as a bitter chest-puffing supercilious self-satisfied little prick who finds these elves embarrassing and blinkered and their existence pitiful and tut-tuttingly Wrong. bc that makes sense and is woke for some reason.

the numenoreans became taller than all the sons of middle earth, not all the men of middle earth, so numenoreans are taller than elves. also they didn’t have a lot of kids, bc i guess population explosions on islands with almost no death outside of like 300 years of old age is a Bad Time.

also “and the light of their eyes was like the bright stars” hahahahahahahahaha lmao! kill me! lies down. does not get up.

WHITE TREE FRACTALS

the numenoreans are super cool and get to talk and visit with both elves of tol eressea and elves of middle earth, which seems to lead to the completely inescapable conclusion that numenor is a place where the peoples of all lands can pass messages to one another but this is never mentioned. the numenoreans could totally also have prob defeated the evil human kings of middle earth if they tried but they were totes peaceful -- at an undefined point in time. nice vague timeline blurring bruh.

instead they like, instructed the dumb middle earth men on how to grow grain and grind flour and make stuff out of wood bc uh i guess the middle earth men are too dumb to figure it out, for “the ordering of their life, such as it might be in the lands of swift death and little bliss” hahahahahaha this is the most condescending line in the entire silm it’s great.

then the numenoreans start getting dissatisfied with how they still gotta die and stuff. it’s vaguely described as being something to do with how even their long lives are still not as long as elves’ loves, but every time i read this it reminds me how pissed about mortality i’d be if my great-great-great-uncle who was totally allowed to choose to become immortal kept popping in to talk about how he got to see the cool millennia of my country’s history first hand and debate with my revered ancestral founding king. so.

however the numenoreans totally brush over these sorts of super compelling and sympathetic and valid points and instead just whine about how they’re A Bigshot Kewl Superior Race and HDU Say We Can’t Control Everything If We Wanna, 36 Presents? But Last Century I Got 37! because they’re fucking useless dumbasses.

The valar reply that Aman Will Not Make You Immortal, Yo, and also that elves being immortal and men being mortal aren’t rewards or punishments, which are reasonable points. they then go on to go ‘TBH shouldn’t WE be the ones envying YOU bc you get to peace out of this clusterfuck world, huh, huh whaddaya think about that. also btw the whole mortality thing is some Secret Plan To Fight Inflation eru came up with, and none of us will know it until you and a bajillion generations of your descendants are all dead, lol!!!!’ THANKS VALAR. THAT’S REALLY HELPFUL. GREAT JOB OF ACTUALLY ADDRESSING ANYTHING THE NUMENOREANS ARE BOTHERED ABOUT. KUDOS. i love dumb gods.

the numenoreans are super dissatisfied but instead of anything constructive the king decides to hold his breath and throw a tantrum stay king until he’s totally senile and his son is old, bc of spite, then numenor gets divided into the king’s men and the faithful. the faithful are also bleh about death but assume that the valar have some kind of good reason for what they said, because um, reasons, i guess. no one says if the reasons are more mindless dogma or more a grounding and strengthening faith, but since numenoreans sound like RL humans to a tee it’s probably both. the king’s men aren’t skeptics tho -- they just conquer and enslave and colonize and steal from middle earth, bc ‘the west was denied to them.’ some fans find this to be a ‘yes, but--’ where it’s not the best thing to do but sympathetic and better than those un-nietzschean faithful. i’m gonna assume every single person who finds this nod-worthy is as White as sour cream.

later on Ar-Gimilzor bans the Faithful’s language, sends secret police or smth to find out everyone who is Faithful and forcibly remove them from their homes, relocate them to Romenna, and corral and watch them, call them and the elves of tol eressea spies, chase them out of numenor, and force the faithful leader’s sister to marry the king. some fans still somehow think this was a morally grey and understandable thing to do because secular-culturally-christian libs are vile and have never parsed a history book in their lives.

Tar-Palantir becomes king after being secretly taught Faithful stuff by his secretly faithful mom, but nothing he does to fix things helps and he eventually dies young from depression. His daughter Tar-Miriel becomes queen but her cousin Ar-Pharazon forces her to marry him and give him the kingship instead. exactly how this happened remains unexplained! Boo! I want more details. Anyway Pharazon is a Fragile Masculinity poster boy and when sauron starts causing trouble he decides he’s just gotta go capture him and bring him to numenor to show off and stroke his ego, bc he is an Heir Of Eärendil and Respect Meehhh!! God this guy sounds SO UNPLEASANTLY FAMILIAR DOESN’T HE EH. (parenthetically i am delighted beyond words at how absolutely bang-on it is that the King’s Men, both here and earlier with the convo with the Valar, totally Do Not Mention the fact that they’re heirs of Elros, not just Earendil, bc that would be super inconvenient to their vision of themselves and their mortality grievance!! lol!!! i love it!!!! god!!!!!!!! *fingers and thumb in a circle emoji*).

anyway sauron is super smart and an awesomesauce genre-savvy villain and way too good for pharazon and he flatters him and manipulates him into making him his councilor and convinces him that the valar are lying and and to worship morgoth and slaughter the faithful by sacrificing them on.....hm....altars....as rebels and as scapegoats for all numenor’s Problems(TM)....>_>....lmao tolkien can be really fucking dumb and scattered about his mythology and religion patchworking, and yet the wokeness-masturbating section of fandom is infinitely worse in the most predictable ways.

WHITE TREE FRACTALS (this time featuring bonus BAMF and Super Awesome And Lovable 21 Year Old Isildur......have i mentioned recently how much i hate peter jackson......)

anyway when Pharazon has a mid-life crisis about getting old sauron also convinces him he can become immortal by invading aman, which he should totally do bc The Strong Do What They Will And The Weak Bear What They Must (remember this is tragically admirable if flawed, because it’s defying fate!) and a super armament is built to invade aman and ar-Pharazon’s ex-bff Amandil who’s secretly friends with the Faithful freaks and makes secret plans to sail to valinor to beg the valar to do something and has his son elendil prepare to go to middle earth to see the elves who are hunkered down there doing.....uhhhhh???? probably hiding from numenorean conquest????

but anyway when pharazon invades aman and chases the elves out of tol eressea and then tirion, he has a Uh-Oh I Think This Was A Bad Idea feeling but can’t back down now so he lands ashore and camps out around tirion and then manwe prays to eru to bail everyone out and says he will lay down rule of arda for a minute since he doesn’t know what to do, presumably a la ‘omg dad i fucked up and totally crashed your car,’ and eru solves this by getting ar-pharazon & co buried under a mountain until the end of the world (funny how so few fans ever address this thing re: tirion in valinor fanfic eh? oh yeah i forgot silm fans don’t give a shit about humans), opening up a big crack in the ocean, pulling aman and tol eressea out into space, turning the earth from flat to spherical, and letting the island of numenor get buried under the resulting tidal wave and fall down the crack to wherever. because you know overkill is great! also sauron is too busy doing an Evil Villain Laugh to realize he’s about to get drowned and he totally dies and has to make himself a new body out of Anger and he’s now ugly, which sucks for the fanartists.

anyway manwe saves elendil and his fleet (it doesn’t say manwe, but it does say ‘but the great wind took [elendil], wilder than any wind that Men had known, roaring from the west, and it swept his ships far away...’ which, duh) and they wind up washed up on middle earth, but totally grief-stricken over the destruction of numenor.

I can’t liveblog the rest any better than verbatim so I’ll just quote:

Among the Exiles many believed that the summit of the Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven, was not drowned for ever, but rose again above the waves, a lonely island lost in the great waters; for it had been a hallowed place, and even in the days of Sauron none had defiled it And some there were of the seed of Eärendil that afterwards sought for it, because it was said among loremasters that the far-sighted men of old could see from the Meneltarma a glimmer of the Deathless Land. For even after the ruin the hearts of the Dúnedain were still set westwards; and though they knew indeed that the world was changed, they said: 'Avallónë is vanished from the Earth and the Land of Aman is taken away, and in the world of this present darkness they cannot be found. Yet once they were, and therefore they still are, in true being and in the whole shape of the world as at first it was devised.'

For the Dúnedain held that even mortal Men, if so blessed, might look upon other times than those of their bodies' life; and they longed ever to escape from the shadows of their exile and to see in some fashion the light that dies not; for the sorrow of the thought of death had pursued them over the deeps of the sea. Thus it was that great mariners among them would still search the empty seas, hoping to come upon the Isle of Meneltarma, and there to see a vision of things that were. But they found it not. And those that sailed far came only to the new lands, and found them like to the old lands, and subject to death. And those that sailed furthest set but a girdle about the Earth and returned weary at last to the place of their beginning; and they said:

'All roads are now bent.'

Thus in after days, what by the voyages of ships, what by lore and star-craft, the kings of Men knew that the world was indeed made round, and yet the Eldar were permitted still to depart and to come to the Ancient West and to Avallónë, if they would. Therefore the loremasters of Men said that a Straight Road must still be, for those that were permitted to find it. And they taught that, while the new world fell away, the old road and the path of the memory of the West still went on, as it were a mighty bridge invisible that passed through the air of breath and of flight (which were bent now as the world was bent), and traversed Ilmen which flesh unaided cannot endure, until it came to Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle, and maybe even beyond, to Valinor, where the Valar still dwell and watch the unfolding of the story of the world. And tales and rumours arose along the shores of the sea concerning mariners and men forlorn upon the water who, by some fate or grace or favour of the Valar, had entered in upon the Straight Way and seen the face of the world sink below them, and so had come to the lamplit quays of Avallónë, or verily to the last beaches on the margin of Aman, and there had looked upon the White Mountain, dreadful and beautiful, before they died.

[reactivebangtan]

only fools // part one.

REQUEST: Hello!! I really really love the way you write. It always gives me the feels 💓💓 If you’re not too busy, do you mind writing a scenario where reader & jungkook are the best of friends & reader is really in love with jk & he knows but doesn’t do anything about it until it’s too late & reader starts dating other people & he gets really jealous & upset & tries to win her back?? thank you so much!! & have a good day 😌 REQUESTED BY: anonymous WARNINGS: nothing, really! NOTES: i’ve got so many requests for jungkook. what a popular boy!! also this one is hella fucking long bc my dumb ass got carried away so i’m splitting it into two parts lmao

he should’ve seen this coming — a part of him did, in a way, but shock and astonishment still settle into his bones every time he begins to grasp the situation for what it is. ❝ how long did you think they were going to wait? ❞ it’s the same question he’s gotten from everyone, the same exact question he keeps asking himself as he scrolls over the pictures you’d posted and the things you’d said to him, and the same exact question that he just can’t seem to figure out an answer to. how long did he expect you to wait? he can’t be sure, couldn’t give you an explanation if he tried, but for some godforsaken reason he had expected you to wait. he’d expected you to always be there, waiting for him, eager to get his texts and calls and always smiling on the other end of every skype session. you still replied, still answered, but texts had become less frequent and calls were few and far between and it’d been nearly a month since the last time he’d seen your face and the excuses were always the same ( ‘ sorry, i was out with him, again! ‘ ). you had well and truly moved on, but he hadn’t. that is exactly the reason he found his thumb hovering over your contact name at four in the morning, gaze flickering between the brightly lit screen and the empty room around him — for once, despite knowing every other member was asleep, he wished he shared his room with someone ( maybe they’d stop him from being this stupid, maybe they’d convince him to do it, maybe they’d know what to say, but instead he’s left to his own devices ). his finger trembles as he starts to picture you giggling at someone else’s jokes, you falling asleep on facetime with someone else, you staying up into the early hours of the morning talking to someone else, you loving someone else and — the dial tone keys in your numbers automatically, and it starts ringing before he even has time to think twice about what he’s doing. ❝ hello? ❞ as soon as he hears your voice he remembers that you’re in an entirely different timezone than him, but you sound awake enough that he doesn’t entirely feel bad — your sleeping schedule is always out of whack, anyway. he’d get texts from you at all hours of the day about every little thing, always updating him on things that you found that reminded you of him or something you really loved going on around you; it never mattered if it was in the middle of the night or middle of the day, your presence was a constant. a smile snakes itself onto his lips at just the thought of it and it isn’t until you repeat your greeting that he realizes he hasn’t said anything for over a minute. ❝ oh, uh — hey. hi. it’s me. ❞ ❝ i know, ❞ you start, a bubbly giggle trailing the end of your response in kind. ❝ your name did come up on my screen, after all. ❞ a hushed ‘ right ’ breezes out of jungkook, and he finds himself mussing his hair up nervously, glad that you’re not in the room with him — he can’t hide the way his voice comes out stinted or how his breathing shakes, but you can’t possibly see the way his leg is bouncing in place or the way his lips have pulled down into an anxious frown. why did he do this, again? he had no idea what to say or why, exactly, he even wanted to say it, but he’d always been impulsive and reckless and far too numb to the consequences before he ever had to deal with them. ❝ jungkook, ❞ comes your hum, his name positively singing on your lips. ❝ you know this sort of thing is supposed to be a conversation, right? ❞ ❝ right, yeah, i know — i’m sorry. i just, uh — we haven’t really... spoken the last few days, so i wanted to check in on you. ❞ ❝ at four in the morning? ❞ four in the morning. two in the afternoon. anytime. all the time. yes. yes. ❝ yeah, ❞ jungkook replies, trying so hard to come off as breezy when his words tremble and trip on his tongue and he’s all choked up on a feeling he can’t even express. ❝ is now not a good time? ❞ ❝ if by ‘ good time ’ you mean my boyfriend being over, then yes — now is just fine. he left a few hours ago. of course, it wouldn’t matter, because you know i always make time for you, kookie. ❞ there’s a playful lilt to your tone, and he can practically hear the smile that’s surely shown itself upon your mouth, brightening your face and brushing ever-so gently against your eyes. you sound so happy. involuntarily, he flinches. ❝ right, yeah, ❞ he doesn’t notice the way his voice positively drips with disappointment, or the way he practically sighs his reply out on a wave of self-pity and depression.  ❝ that’s... that’s exactly what i meant. ❞ you, ever the intuitive one when it came to him, caught on to the way he spoke and how he mindlessly trailed off and just how distant he’s been the entire conversation and you need nothing more than that to question him: ❝ is everything alright, gguk? ❞ jimin’s voice is suddenly ringing in his head as he opens his mouth to answer with firm denial, ‘ just be honest with them ’ chiming in his head and echoing over and over, until he can’t think of anything else. ❝ no. ❞ ❝ what’s wrong? ❞ ❝ i think i’m... i think i’m in love with you. ❞ this wasn’t the proper timing, it wasn’t the proper way, but the words come tumbling out of his mouth clumsily and impulsively and he can’t swallow them back up once they’ve gone through the receiver and undoubtedly hit your ears. he doesn’t think, he knows; it’s something he’s known for a while and has only just know realized how much, but he still phrases it as if he’s unsure, as if he’s still questioning himself, because maybe that’ll make your swift denial easier to take ( ‘ hey, it’s okay! i’m probably just tired or something, you know? just forget i even said anything. ’ ). ❝ ...what? ❞ ❝ i’m in love with you. ❞ jungkook is so much more sure this time as he says it, as if nothing else could ever be truer. he could cry — the burn at the back of his eyes becomes so intense that he’s gotta put his hand over his mouth to muffle the way he exhales shakily enough to rattle his whole body, all the way down to his bones. nothing could possibly kill him more than the silence on your end, so quiet that he can’t even make out your breathing, and for a moment he considers checking to see if you’d hung up, before your voice chimes through the phone once more. ❝ ...that’s not funny, gguk. ❞ picking up on the soft way you speak, he notes the way your words shiver and it’s something he’s heard enough to know that you, too, could cry at any moment. if he thinks hard enough he could almost envision the way your smile dropped, the way your brows furrowed together, how you got all tense as if to shield yourself from his words. you’re hurting — he did that. ❝ i wouldn’t joke about this. ❞ he doesn’t know it, but on the other side of the line you’re biting so hard into your lip that you’re sure you’ll pierce the skin at any moment, and your nails are biting into your palm as you squeeze your fingers together — it’s all in an effort to ground yourself, but none of it seems to be working as your heart beats erratically in your chest and tears brim in your eyes and you’re reminded of just how weak you are for this stupid man. it’s incredible how quickly your cheerful facade came crashing down around you at the sound of those five words, as if gravity finally caught up with you and sent you crashing to the ground; it hurts, it’s nearly unbearable, and you’re struggling to speak without it all turning into an incoherent sob. ❝ why are you telling me this? ❞ suddenly, he’s dumbstruck — why is he telling you this? your question doesn’t seem to make any sense, spoken as if he hadn’t just laid it all out plainly, as if he should’ve kept it to himself. ❝ why am i telling you this? why wouldn’t i? ❞ ❝ because, you had all that time to tell me, you had so many opportunities, but you wait until now to do it? ❞ once again, you leave him dumbfounded and smothered in his own silence, leaving him to wallow in it as you mull over the whole situation as it’s been handed to you. despite wanting to hear those words for as long as you’d known him, something about it doesn’t feel right — the words came out of him like water bubbling over the top of a pot, rushed and hurried and frantic, in a way. why, now? why, after all this time, after you’d finally started to move on... then, it hits you — ❝ did you... did you know? ❞ ❝ know what? ❞ ❝ that i had feelings for you, too. ❞ had. that word hurts more than it should. ❝ ...yes. ❞ he hears the way you suck in a breath between your teeth, and he shuts his eyes tight out of sheer anxiety, balling his free hand up into the fabric of his hoodie, clinging to it for dear life — it’s all in an effort to brace himself for whatever you had to say next. ❝ you knew, ❞ your voice is impossibly softer, filled with the cold impact of reality and something so incredibly bittersweet that he can taste it through the phone. ❝ that makes this so much worse. ❞ ❝ i didn’t — ❞ ❝ — don’t. i love you, jungkook, ❞ you say, pulling a shaky exhale from the very center of his chest with your words alone. ❝ but, i’ve done my waiting. i can’t — i won’t drop everything for you. if it took you until someone else confessed to me for you to do the same, then how am i supposed to know that it isn’t just my attention that you want? ❞ ❝ it isn’t — ❞ ❝ then, prove it to me. ❞

recounting everything down to your glum ‘ goodbye, jungkook ’, he watches how each and every other face in the room reacts to the entirety of what he’d caused the night before. jungkook can tell that they were all on your side from the very beginning before they even open their mouths, but he can’t blame them — he was on your side, too. ❝ you thought that was a good idea? ❞ yoongi is the first to speak, leaning forward onto his elbows as he regards the youngest member with a quirked brow and downturned lips. ❝ no — yes? — i don’t know. i wasn’t thinking, i just did it. ❞ ❝ clearly. ❞ ❝ alright, give him a break, ❞ jin starts, cutting off any other smartass comment yoongi might’ve had to add.  ❝ have you decided what you’re going to do? ❞ ❝ well, that’s my problem — i don’t know what to do. ❞ ❝ do what they said, ❞ jimin pipes up, just as he begins to push himself towards the table, eyes deadset on jungkook.  ❝ prove it to them. ❞ ❝ how? ❞ looks are thrown throughout the room, every member meeting each other’s gaze at least once, until namjoon finally interjects:  ❝ i think you should go to them. ❞ ❝ what? ❞ jungkook’s own inquiry is mirrored in most everyone’s expression as they turn to their leader, each pair of eyes trying to read into his expression before he ever even opens his mouth. ❝ we’ve got some time to ourselves this week, ❞ namjoon begins, settling against the table and regarding the brunette with a small, albeit encouraging, smile.  ❝ go to them. ❞ ❝ you mean like just... get on a plane, and go? ❞ ❝ i think that’s a good idea! ❞ hoseok claps him on the shoulder, a bright, beaming grin working its way onto his features. ❝ we can all chip in and help you out. ❞ ❝ it’ll be a little rushed, but you could still make it, ❞ their leader continues, nodding to the other as if to agree with himself.  ❝ it would be better than just sitting here, anyway. and, you want them, don’t you? ❞ ❝ yes. more than anything. ❞ ❝ alright, then — it’s settled. ❞ when he casts a look over the table, he doesn’t even need to ask — every single one of them is already nodding along, each giving their own version of encouragement in their own little ways from a squeeze to his shoulder to a toothy smile, and once again he feels as if he could cry at any given moment. what would he do without them? ❝ come on, kid, let’s look up those plane tickets. ❞

[ultraspideysense-blog]

Surprises (Tom Holland Imagine)

request: “Do you think you can write a tom holland x reader where they are dating and she surprises him on set in his trailer...” (requested by anon)

short summary: ^^^with a funny lil twist lmao

length: 1.4k words

warnings: i didnt label this as smut bc it’s not inherently smutty and i didn’t rlly  write any legit smut in here, this is mostly fluffy shits.

A/N: i didn’t put the whole request above bc i didn’t wanna spoil the whole thing but the anon knows who they are hope u like it bud kinda short but eh also sorry i suck at titles

“Thanks Harrison,” you smiled gratefully as he led you into Tom’s trailer on set.

“Of course, Tom’s been whining about how much he’s been missing you so I’m sure he’ll be pretty excited for this surprise,” Harrison replied shaking his head. His phone buzzed with a notification. “I’ve gotta go, but Tom should have a break in around 20 minutes if I remember correctly.”

“Cool, I’ll just chill in here I guess,” you said, taking a seat on the couch in the corner. He then bid you goodbye, leaving you on your own. Your curiosity got the better of you as you started to inspect his trailer. And it was loaded with a ton of cool shit.

Damn, you thought to yourself as you opened up the fully stocked mini fridge in the corner and took out some Fiji water. You know they aren’t playing around when they’ve got a mini fridge full of Fiji water.

After poking and prodding with a few more items in Tom’s trailer, you settled yourself back the couch. Checking your watch, it was just about time for his break. Instead of just staying seated and acting nonchalant for when he came in, you decided to hide behind the couch and freak him out a bit.

Just as you’d put yourself in a position where you’d be able to pounce, the door to the trailer opened. Taking a risky peek above the head of the couch, you see your boyfriend all decked out in his Spider-Man suit from head to toe, minus the mask. You’d never actually seen him in the full outfit in person and it took everything in you not to geek out at how real and amazing it looked, especially on him.

Ducking back down before he noticed you looking, you waited. You heard him take a seat on the couch, tapping away on his phone. Slowly rising up from behind the couch, you rested your head on the top next to his. After waiting a few seconds, he still hadn’t taken note of another presence.

“Whatcha doing there pal?” you asked coolly with a teasing smile on your face.

Tom’s head immediately whipped to the side, knocking your head in the process, as he let out a surprised yelp. You groaned a bit, rubbing the side of your head.

“Y/N? Holy shit, what are you doing here?” Tom exclaimed excitedly, jumping out of his seat.

“Apparently trying to get a concussion,” you grumbled as you stood up. Tom reached out his arms to steady you a bit as you got up from the ground.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized, scratching the back of his neck. You took a few more moments to adjust yourself and you felt fine, so you just gave him a smile in return.

“Harrison kept complaining that you were complaining about how much you missed me, so I decided to come out here for a few days,” you explained. “That, and I kind of really missed you too.”

Your boyfriend pulled you into a hug. “I’m really glad you’re here,” he mumbled into your hair. You hummed against his chest in response, trying to memorize every aspect of his body. His strong grip, his slight scent of the woods.

“Remind me to never go this long without seeing you again,” you said quietly as you held him a bit tighter. Between Tom’s shooting for Spider-Man: Homecoming and your commitments to university, you two hadn’t been together in almost a month.

He pulled away from the embrace, his hands sliding down to hold you by your hips. “Deal, darling,” he replied with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Okay, I have actually never seen you in the suit in person, and this is actually pretty badass,” you said as he released you to playfully do a pirouette. “Now I kind of want to get myself one of these.”

“Trust me you, don’t,” Tom laughed. You cocked your head quizzically.

“I mean it’s really cool, don’t get me wrong, but it takes a village and about 45 minutes to get this thing on completely. And it is tight in places where it should not be tight,” he said, shuddering a little bit.

“I still want my own suit,” you replied stubbornly. “It can’t be that bad.”

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed your face by the cheeks and pulled your face to his for a proper kiss. You relished in the warmth of Tom’s lips, and the careful yet forceful way he responded to yours.

Tom began backing you up, without breaking the kiss, until the two of you fell into an ungraceful heap on the couch. He was situated on top of you, but pulled back for a minute to study your features. You did the same to him.

You were in love with this boy. You loved way the light never seemed to leave his deep brown eyes and the way there always seemed to be a strand of hair out of place, sweeping across his forehead. You reached out a hand to adjust it, and ended up softly caressing his cheek. He grinned.

“I love you,” you said quietly.

“I love you more,” he said, booping your nose with his finger. You giggled quietly at his antics.

“When do you have to be back out there?” you inquired as your laughter died down. He got off of you to grab his phone to check the time.

“3 minutes,” he groaned with a frown. A wicked smile overtook your face as you thought of a way to spend those next few minutes.

“Don’t frown, I’m here for a couple days. Just shut up and kiss me before you go,” you said grabbing him by the hand and pulling him back on the couch, this time climbing on top of him.

Initiating the kiss this time, it got heated faster, the added pressure of time making the two of you antsy. After sharing a few gentle, careful pecks, you went all in, losing yourself in the moment as Tom’s arm wrapped around your waist.

Your hands seemed to have a mind of your own as they ached to feel Tom everywhere. They spent a few moments mussing up his hair, another few around the back of his neck, then down to his abs.

He moaned into your mouth as your fingers started to draw small patterns on his abs. a few inches above where he probably needed you most. You made a move to unzip his pants, but realized he was in this goddamn Spider-Man suit.

Despite your inability to go any further, you could feel him growing hard against your thigh. You didn’t have the heart to stop, so you just continued making out with him, slyly introducing your tongue to his mouth to further things.

“Tom, are you in there?” you heard Harrison outside the trailer. You scrambled off of your boyfriend in case the door was to be opened. Tom looked a bit mortified as he realized his unfortunate predicament.

There was no way he could hide his hard on in the skin tight material of his suit, nor was there any way he could get rid of it before he had to go back to shooting in the next few moments. You burst out laughing as Harrison opened the door.

“Come on, we’re on a tight schedule today, Jon’s not gonna be happy--” he stopped mid-sentence as Tom tried to grab a something to cover the evident bulge in his suit. You were in hysterics, mentally patting yourself on the back for your handiwork. Harrison joined you in your laughter.

“Now that is rich,” Harrison got out as he tried to subdue his chuckles and gave you a high five.

“Shut up and help me!” Tom whined, desperately looking between the two of you. His face was flushed and contorted in a grimace.

“No way that’s not my job,” Harrison said with his hands up in defense.

“Sorry, babe, if you’ve gotta be on set then I don’t have any time to help,” you replied teasingly, giving him a brief kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later,” you called out as you ran out of the trailer.

“Y/N, god, I’m so getting you back for this!” he yelled after you.

Tom jumped up to chase after you, but as soon as he opened the door he remembered his little problem and jumped back inside, where Harrison was doubled over in laughter yet again.

You were definitely in for it the second he was done for the day, that’s for sure.

please give me feedback what did y’all think? didn’t rlly know where to end it lolz sorry. requests are always open tbh (it might take me a minute to get to ur request though so be patient bubs) <3

also the full request was this lol: “Do you think you can write a tom holland x reader where they are dating and she surprises him on set in his trailer they kiss and things get heated *wink* but they realize that they can't do anything cause he's in his spider man suit”