#i’m really not sure how to articulate all my thoughts but i hope i at least got some of the vibe across

[foreverromanticising]

renegade | ln4

(3) a minor confession has lando rethinking his choices and, again, ends with you back in his bed

lando norris x fem!reader | 2.1k words | a perfect summer with lando norris

masterlist<3

To ask you to play twenty questions with him on the drive over to your hostel would be a total and utter cliche of Lando, so he never phrased it as playing twenty questions. Instead, he suggested the two of you simply get to know one another - a far more mature approach, he thought so.

And so, he soon learned that you had two cats back home, got straight As when you were in school, and that you had never had a boyfriend. Two of those facts made sense to him, however one did not.

“So like, never? Never never?” He tried to keep his eyes on the famously twisting roads of Greece but he couldn’t help looking over at you in pure shock. You had to be lying to him, surely? “Not even for, like, a few weeks in school? Something stupid?”

“Yes, Lando, I’ve like never never had a boyfriend,” It wasn’t that you weren’t used to this reaction from people whenever you revealed this, it was expected of anyone to have hit this minor milestone in life by their early twenties. But you weren’t so sure why Lando seemed so shocked, he had only met you a mere 12 hours ago. “I don’t know how else to say to make you believe it.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, like yeah, you’re telling the truth. I just can’t get why - do you just not, like, want a boyfriend?” Lando was sure that if he had become - only slightly - enthralled by you in such little time then he was certain back in your hometown must have felt the same way. 

“No, I did, for a while,” You shrugged your shoulders and averted his gaze, looking out at the sea front instead. “But, I mean, guys say one thing to you and do the other. Y’know, make you believe what you want to believe instead of what’s actually happening in front you. I just- I don’t want to be stupid again, I’d rather just be myself.”

A beat passed and Lando never said anything, instead he simply pulled into a parking spot across from your hostel.

“Sorry, I dunno why I’m telling you all this - I don’t even know you, really,” You rambled off apologies, embarassment suddenly flushing your face. “You don’t want to hear about my boy troubles.” You quickly jumped out of Lando’s car before he could get a word in as you hoped to escape any further embarassment.

He sat perplexed, to say the least. Truly, Lando hadn’t meant to make you feel embarassed for telling him, for revealing a part of yourself to him, and he realised he should’ve changed his reaction ever so slightly. You didn’t need to be made to feel any worse for this than he was sure other people had already made you feel. 

It was a quick ten minutes before you had your way back to his car, backpack slung over your shoulders as you slumped back into Lando’s passenger seat.

“Look, I’m sorry for making you feel-”

“I shouldn’t have unloaded all of that-”

You both spoke at the same time, not allowing another moment of silence to float throughout Lando’s car before you huffed out a laugh, realisation of how absurd this entire situation was finally hitting you. Then, Lando finally spoke up again.

“I asked you because I wanna get to know you, you don’t need to feel embarassed or whatever,” He was never the most articulate but Lando wanted to make you feel comfortable, he didn’t want you to feel anywhere near humiliated in his car nevermind because of him. “I wanna hear what you have to say, and not because I’m like prying, but ‘cause I think you’re cool. And I think it’s really cool you’ve never had a boyfriend, I’ve had nothing but horrible reviews from old girlfriends so I don’t think you’re missing out on too much.” 

Your time outside of the car had given Lando time to think about your words, about how you had described your experiences with guys in the past. He was sure that how you felt about whoever you were referring to was exactly how girls from his past would describe him, and he wasn’t one to be proud of that. Instead, a pang of guilt rang through his chest.

“If it’s any consolation, in the time I’ve known you, I’d be forced to give you a glowing review.” You weren’t sure you wanted to know about Lando’s exes, whoever they were, because you weren’t sure that it mattered to you.

The Lando you knew had been nothing but considerate and kind, and you wanted to keep it that way. You didn’t know what this was between the two of you, but you knew that you didn’t want to taint it - even if it were to end that night, you wanted to leave with a happy memory of Lando.

“Yeah, I’m sure they all said that the first night too then they changed their mind once they got to know me.” Lando laughed, his words light and he didn’t pay much thought to them as he drove away from the hostel.

However, before you could open your mouth to comment on them, he changed the topic. Sure, you could open up to him but he wasn’t sure he wanted to open up his soul, not just yet. He liked knowing you had a positive perception of him in your mind.

“And a backpack, really? You’ve been travelling for how long and all you’ve got is that tiny bag?” He shook his head as he looked at the regular sized backpack in your lap, it looked no different to a backpack someone would take to school rather than a professional backpackers bag. “There can’t be more than five outfits in there.”

“Seven actually, one for each day of the week and then pyjamas - that’s all I need,” You were quick to correct him, a grin stretching over your lips as you proved him wrong. “You ever heard of a washing machine, Lan?”

“Yeah, ‘course, what’d you take me for?” He scoffed and continued driving, though with no particular destination in mind. “I’m just saying, surely, you’d want some difference in your life.”

“I’m not exactly getting the excitement in my life from my clothes, I dunno about you.”

“And where are you getting that excitement from, hm?” Lando’s hand made its way from the steering wheel to your thigh, pushing up the material of his basketball shorts and giving your skin a subtle squeeze - his eyes flicking over to the faint marks from his nips and bites the night before, a smirk making its way onto his lips.

“Travelling’s nice, y’know, seeing cultures and places really excites me,” You knew exactly what Lando wanted to hear but it was fun to play with him, even the in the smallest ways. “Just really gets me going, Lan.” Your voice dropped slightly, purposefully trying to sound airy and light as you felt Lando’s grip on your thigh tighten as you batted your eyelashes at him.

“Yeah, just the different places, what about what’s in the places?” He wanted to hear you say it, to say he excited you - to say you had had just as much fun as he had the night before.

“You’re not too bad, I suppose,” You shrugged your shoulders and let out a laugh whilst he pinched your bare skin, swatting his hand away. “Travelling is cool, though, it’s exactly what I wanted it to be.”

“And what was that?”

“It’s stupid but I wanted to get out of what I thought I wanted - uni, a boyfriend, a normal job. I didn’t want the same life as all my friends from school, I wanted something else,” You absentmindedly slipped your fingers through Lando’s, still on your thigh, as though it was the most normal thing in the world - and he didn’t think twice about it. “I took a gap year, and then another, and here I am.”

“What’d you do with your gap years?” Lando wanted to hear you keep talking, glad you felt more comfortable that what you first did when you had started opening up.

“Worked, like, a lot - I knew I wanted to travel for a while so I knew I’d need to afford it somehow,” You grimaced at the thought of your time back at work, the gruesome reality that was retail haunting you even across the globe. “Money’s not ran out yet so I did something right.”

“How long do you think you can make it work ‘till you need to head back home?” Lando was in awe of your dedication to travelling, that familiar pang of guilt hitting him once again - you had worked for years for trips he could simply decide on a whim if he wanted to go on. The sudden realisation of how different the worlds you had come from had dawned upon him.

“Depends how I’m living, I could make it stretch for at least another few weeks,” You shrugged and really thought about it, a few less nights out and meals out and you would be able to stay afloat for a few more countries. “Hostels are cheap which is good, it’s just the people you end up living with that make me wonder if it’s really worth it- shit, I need to figure out a hostel for tonight.”

Suddenly, you were reminded of your lack of a place to stay. You were meant to be on a boat as you spoke to Lando, sat in his car, with his ringed hand sitting pretty on your thigh and instead you were left with nowhere to go ‘home’ that night. You hadn’t exactly thought this far ahead but who could blame you? You couldn’t be expected to think properly when you had Lando’s curly head between your thighs as he offered up his bed for the night. Now, that night had passed and you were left stranded, in a sense.

“Don’t be daft, pretty,” Lando laughed at the absurdness of your words, shocked that you would even think you’d have to search for a place to stay that wasn’t his bed. “Stay with me tonight, my bed’s sat patiently waiting for you to come back. Dunno if last night was enough for me, if I’m honest.”

“Lan, I really appreciate the offer but I couldn’t possibly just waltz back into your villa like it’s nothing,” You heart swelled and your cheeks flushed with Lando’s words but you didn’t want to intrude in his villa, never mind on his holiday. “And, like, the whole point of travelling is to travel - you don’t really spend a lot of time in one place, I’m meant to keep moving.”

“I can keep you moving, that’s for sure.” 

“Lando!”

“No, but I’m serious, baby,” He laughed as you dropped his hand and swatted his shoulder, trying to dodge your light hits. “I’m sure you can spare a night or two here, and it’s not waltzing if I invite you into my villa - I want you there.”

“I don’t know, your friends are there too, I wouldn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable by staying there.” You could feel yourself warming up to Lando’s offer, toying with the idea in your mind but you couldn’t help but think of the cons of the situation too.

“They won’t bat an eyelid, don’t worry about it.” Lando knew for certain that his friends wouldn’t question that he had a girl staying over, in fact they would probably expect it, but he knew they would probably think twice about the fact it was the same girl over multiple nights - that was uncommon for him.

“Mhm, that’s just what I want to hear before I agree to stay with you.” You rolled your eyes at what he was implying though you tried not to dwell on it, trying to force yourself to stay present with him.

“Please.” He wasn’t above begging you, he craved to have you back in his arms for a few more nights, if you would want that too.

“I mean, if you’re offering.” You smiled brightly and accepted his offer for a place to stay, to stay with him on his holiday for a few more days - the prospects of what was to come left you utterly cheesing beside him. Lando wasted no time in rolling up to a stop sign and leaning across the console of the car to capture your lips with his, and you could simply feel his smile through his kiss.

[dekusleftsock]

Someone described Katsuki’s thoughts on their future as this “catch and chase” esc game and I can’t stop thinking about catch-a-Kacchan now. The symbolism of that now is so telling with Katsuki’s new admission. Oh my god.

Like of course izuku could never catch Kacchan: that was the game. The hope that their rivalry and therefore their new found relationship could stay this way forever. He would never lose Izuku because they were always trying to catch each other—chase, grab, hold, let go, and chase again.

IT EVEN PUTS A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON KATSUKI’S PHRASING OF CALLING OFA A “CURSED POWER”

Honestly it almost feels like the end to this statement, one he never quite articulated to himself, and especially not to the world. Ofa gives power, ofa gives hope, and ofa ties itself to the people it interacts with. Ofa breathes the life into the game of their lives, catch and release.

Ofa may be a cursed power, but I just thought we’d be competing, and I’d be on your heels, for the rest of our lives…

Because ofa is the beacon that, on a very literal level, allows catch-a-Kacchan to exist. What do I do if I don’t have an excuse to be with you? What if I don’t deserve it?

AND THE NUMBER ONE RULE OF HOW KATSUKI ALWAYS WON CATCH-A-KACCHAN WAS THAT HE HAD TO TAP IZUKU ON THE BACK… HE HAD TO MANEUVER HIMSELF BEHIND IZUKU TO WIN…. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME

And it’s such a small detail of symbolism, and idec if it’s purposeful, it’s just the fact that it exists at all that I love it so god damn much.

As Izuku tries to comfort him in the only way he really knows how (“well I still have the embers! It was a nice dream while it lasted! Please don’t cry you’re just overly sensitive right now, I’m sure you won’t feel this way later..”), and as Katsuki believes that the only way he’s allowed into Izuku’s life is this small glimpse into their rivalry—and, in spite of it all, allmight reminds them that they have changed.

The world, it has changed. The winds still blow high across the country, and we are reminded that the most important part of despair is the connection we have with each other. They are not just heroes, they are the greatest heroes—together.

The world will never be the same—and isn’t that the most beautiful part of it all? That we have changed, together?

[mshalfemptygirl]

Cupid (S.R)

Plot: Our favorite Doutor confess feels to his best friend also co-worker, Y/N.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x BAUFem!Reader

Contents: Really quicky mention to drinks, cases, makeout but fluffy for sure.

A/N: hello readers, I disappeared for a year because of work and college and a serious health problem but I'm better than ever and coming back to writing has brought me back to life. I hope you like her because she's cute, a couple from a romance movie basically, so like and share if you like it.

"Alright, Spence. What are your thoughts on the woman over there in the dark green dress? She looks elegant, charming, and quite attractive. She might even share an interest in the books you enjoy, don’t you think? What’s your take?" I gestured toward the woman who had just taken a seat at the bar, alone. I was on a mission to play matchmaker for Spencer. Although he hadn’t asked for my help, I thought it would be useful to offer a female perspective. Spencer’s inherent shyness meant he needed substantial guidance in social situations, especially when it came to women.

The ambiance was pleasant. We were seated at a table near the main entrance. Given that it was Thursday, the bar was relatively quiet, but it was the only day we both had free to unwind after a grueling series of cases in New York. Honestly, I’m not sure what’s been happening this past month, but I’ve reviewed so much material that when I close my eyes, I still see the words on the pages. And Spence? The poor guy has never analyzed so many maps in his life. I thought this break was well-deserved, and he certainly deserved a chance to spend time with someone special. Well, both of us could use a moment with someone, but I’m on a cupid’s mission and need to stay focused—no distractions, no more than three drinks.

"She’s attractive, but I’m not fond of blondes, and she seems a bit too tall for my taste. I don’t think it would work out," he replied. I frowned and looked at him with disbelief. This was the fifth woman he had dismissed that evening, and his options were rapidly dwindling. I downed my beer in one gulp and stared him down, hoping to make him realize it was now or never. "Spence, you don’t need to be so selective. I understand it’s challenging for you, but you’re only looking for someone to kiss. I’d love to kiss that girl! She’s stunning. Just approach her, buy her a drink, and then kiss her. Go on, now," I urged impatiently. He needed to make the first move.

"I understand, Y/N. She’s attractive, but I don’t want to kiss her, that’s all," he said, turning back to the bar and taking a sip of his whiskey. I knew him well enough to sense he was hiding something. This was a significant step for him, and despite our discussions about taking a break, he seemed reluctant to pursue it. Ugh, he could be so stubborn.

"I know there’s more to it, love. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Am I being too pushy, is that it? I’m sorry if I’m a bad cupid. I’ll stop. Look, I’m waving the white flag—peace," I said, grabbing a napkin and waving it theatrically. I flashed a grin, and he chuckled. It was always like this: he was the serious one, and I was the humorous one. He loved books, and I adored movies. He was the little angel, and I was the little devil. "Very amusing, but I swear, I have nothing to hide from you," he assured me.

"Spencer..." I gave him my best puppy-dog eyes. He looked uncomfortable, but he started to speak anyway, with a hint of resignation in his voice. "Well, there’s this girl I’ve developed feelings for... she’s incredibly nice and fun. When she talks to me, I can’t think of anything else. I’m not sure how to articulate my feelings, but I don’t want to kiss anyone else. She’s everything to me now." I was overjoyed and exhilarated. I’d never seen Spence so in love before, and now he had someone special in his life. Of course, I felt a twinge of jealousy, but I was also genuinely happy for him. This was a delightful surprise.

"Spencer Walter Reid!! Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?! Did you—" I exclaimed, relieved that the bar was mostly empty. His face flushed red as he tried to cover my mouth with his hand. "Y/N, please don’t shout!!! I didn’t know sooner, I didn’t realize it until now..." he explained. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my excitement. "Alright... you need to go talk to her right now and give her a proper kiss! I’ll handle things here. Just go for it!"

He looked at me wide-eyed, his hands on my shoulders. "You really think so? Are you sure?" I snorted. "Absolutely, go now." And that’s when he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as if steeling himself for what he was about to do. His fingers gently gripped the back of my neck, his touch both tender and urgent. He leaned in, and I could feel the warmth of his breath against my skin before our lips finally met. I was stunned, my body tensed, and my eyes remained open for a moment, but his lips were so soft that I quickly surrendered to the kiss. Our lips moved together in sync, and I felt a profound connection. He wasn’t as shy as I’d thought—he had a way with words and was incredibly sweet. I couldn’t explain it, but he was perfect. Suddenly, I found myself bewitched by the very arrow of Cupid I had sent forth.

As we broke away from the kiss, I gazed at him, utterly bewildered, my heart racing with every beat. "Spence, what was that? You just..." I asked, my voice trembling with genuine confusion. He looked at me with an expression that blended sincerity and vulnerability before responding in a tone that was soft yet deeply meaningful: "Well, the truth is, the woman I’ve been admiring all along is you. I’m sorry if this comes as a shock, but you asked me to act, so I did."

I was momentarily stunned, a whirlwind of emotions overtaking me. How could I have been so blind not to notice this sooner? I opened my mouth for the first time in minutes to speak my heart. "Spence, there's no need to apologize. I'm just... surprised! That was really something," I said, still trying to wrap my head around the moment. I paused, letting it all sink in. "So, does this count as our first date, or would you rather have a more traditional one?" I asked with an amused tone, trying to ease the tension that had built between us, feeling a bit uncertain about what came next.

"Oh, I definitely want another date. How about I take you out for dinner, and you wear that dark blue dress you had on at Rossi’s? I love the way it looks on you," he said, his words making a warm sensation spread through me. "You’re so sweet, Spence. I hadn’t really noticed it before. If I’d known you kissed like that..." I replied with a laugh, hugging him tightly. "And you can bet I’ll wear the dress if it makes you happy." With a gentle caress on my face, I brushed his bangs off his forehead, feeling a bit strange about kissing one of my best friends, but I was glad he had the courage to confess something so significant.

I looked at his face again and could see him a bit embarrassed by the events of the night that had unfolded in a public place. It wasn’t something he had planned, and he likes to plan things. "Y/N, may I kiss you a little longer?" he asked, his eyes searching mine for permission. Instead of answering, I pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss, savoring the moment.

Talk to me

Spencer Reid Masterlist

A/N: let me know if you want me to tag you

[zaunitelabs]

Young Hearts

Vi x Reader

TW: none

Synopsis: I sadly lost the request for this one😭😭 but someone requested a young Vi crushing on reader but realizing it was a crush when she was an adult. Hope y’all like it!!!

not proofread, english isn’t my first language language!

-•-

Growing up in Zaun wasn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be fun, and Vi could attest to that. From running around the streets with Powder, Mylo, Claggor, Ekko and Y/N playing dumb games they don’t even remember creating, to just hanging out near the last drop, Vi was happy with her life. While her life wasn’t a lavish one like the one the topsiders lived, it was hers, and she liked that.

Today was a rather calmed day, they hung out at their place, just pacing the time with each other company.

“Please stop that” Mylo said annoyed at Powder, who was loudly going through her box of trinkets.

“I’m working on something” she dismissed, still going through her gears and bolts. Mylo rolled his eyes and huffed loudly, to what Y/N lightly punched his arm.

“Let the little genius work” Y/N said calmly hoping to avoid another fight between Mylo and Powder. Mylo huffed but got the message and stopped nagging, pleased Y/N walked over to Vi, who was lying on her bed, throwing a ball up in the air and catching it. “you sure do seem entertained”

“And you sure do seem to be bored out of your mind” Vi chuckled, catching the ball one last time as she then focused her attention on Y/N.

“Perhaps” Y/N admitted with a chuckled, as she laid down opposite of Vi on the bed and looking at her “that’s why i came to bother you”

“How thoughtful” Vi smiled, yet she found herself breaking off the moment abruptly as she felt her chest about to explode at the sight.

She wasn’t sure why, or what it was, but for some reason she felt sick every time she looked at Y/N. Not sick in the throw up kind of way, but rather in a my stomach feels weird and suddenly i’m lightheaded kind of way. It’s a weird feeling for sure, not something she’s used to, not something she has ever felt before. She had never talked about it to anyone, what was she even supposed to say? That looking at her friend made her feel weird? It’s stupid really, they’d think she’s crazy. It was something so deeply personal that it was hard to articulate. Vi sat up right in the bed and adjusted her hair, just before she could utter another word Vander entered the room.

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news kiddos, but it’s getting late, you guys need to sleep” he said leaning against the door frame “Say goodbye to Y/N and get ready for bed”

“It’s not even that late c’mon!” Powder protested.

“We don’t want Y/N to go back to Benzo’s too late alright? So wrap it up” Vander argued as he waited for his kids to say goodbye to their friend.

“I’ll see you tomorrow” Vi said with a smile.

“See ya” Y/N chuckled as she went to give Vi a hug, as she slip a small note into one of Vi’s pockets. As if she had done nothing she got up and said goodbye to the other as Vander escorted her back to Benzo’s place.

Vi took the note out of her pocket discreetly, not wanting her siblings to get noisy with it. It simply said ‘meet me outside past dark’. Vi couldn’t help but to feel sick again, but she wasn’t sick, she just felt weird. Her stomach fluttered at the meaning, her ears got warm and her palms felt sweaty all of the sudden. She thought of asking Vander what is was that she was feeling, but got too embarrassed every time she was about to do it. She loved Vander like a dad, maybe that’s what made it so difficult, perhaps she’d have the same difficulty with her actual dad, maybe she was thinking too hard about it and trying to find excuses. Vi waited for her siblings to fall asleep so she could sneak out without being noticed, careful to not make any noise and wake Vander up.

She made her way out without any trouble, her hands fidgeting inside the pockets of her jacket as she looked around for Y/N.

“And I was starting to think that you lost my note” Y/N chuckled as she made her presence known by jumping off a nearby building, not too high to be dangerous, but high enough to appear cool.

“Next time you can just, you know, tell me” Vi smiled, her gaze following Y/N steps.

“But what’s then fun in that, besides, Mylo would’ve totally snitched on you had I told you ‘normally’”

“He’s not that much of an asshole you know”

“I know, but he gets to see you everyday and that feels unfair” Y/N muttered.

“Wouldn’t really call that a privilege” Vi joked.

“Yeah whatever, do you want me to show you something cool or not?” Y/N questioned, her eyes lighting up.

“Sure?” Vi said with a slight laugh, excited to see what Y/N’s excitement was all about.

“Okay then let’s get going” Y/N said excitedly as she grabbed Vi’s hand and dragged her along the dimly lit streets of Zaun. Vi’s heart was racing a marathon, why was it racing a marathon?! Why does this always happen with her? It’d be embarrassing to bring it up, right? Like how could she even explain this to her with a straight face? It was a mortifying thought, that she just shoved deeper and deeper into her chest, hoping it would muffle her unstoppable racing heart.

After running and laughing across Zaun Y/N slows down, apparently reaching their destination: a ravine of sorts that possessed a beautiful view of the undercity.

“How did you even find this?” Vi said amused, she had never seen this side of the city before. Typically she’s the one showing people places, or the history of the city, that’s her job as the older sister- but not with Y/N, she was a life of her own.

“I like to go on walks” she answered nonchalantly, as she sat down, one of her legs hanging down the ravine.

“The city looks so alive from up here, even this late at night” Vi said softly, still processing the view.

Y/N nodded with a smile “I had a feeling you’d like it”

Vi smiled and sat next to her, both of them staring down at the city below them.

“Do you ever think about how life must be up there? Like living up there, I mean” Y/N asked, her gaze examining the undercity.

The pink haired girl paused for a second, as she diverted her attention from the dimly lit city towards Y/N “I try not to” she confessed “I have all I want right here”

“That seems fair” Y/N answered lowly.

Vi looked Y/N, her piercing yet soft eyes staring down at the city, her hair messy from all the runny, she couldn’t help herself, she couldn’t take her eyes off of her. “Do you think about it?”

“Sometimes” Y/N admitted “they’ve probably got it easier up there” she said as she laid her head on Vi’s shoulder.

Vi froze at the contact, but she didn’t let her go “Yeah but what’s the fun in that? We know how to get stuff done, we can fend for ourselves. I bet this little pilties wouldn’t survive a day down here”

Y/N laughed “I guess that’s a point for us then”

Vi carefully laid her free arm around Y/N shoulder, softly caressing her arm “We have stories to tell, we have lived, can’t say the same for them”

“We are a community.” Y/N said softly “We got each other”

“That’s also true, we got each other, we only got each other” but it was more than just words for them, it was the truth.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way” Y/N smiled softly, as they spent the rest of the night talking about nothing really, but it didn’t matter to them, because all they wanted was to be in each others company.

-•-

“She was totally in love with you” Caitlyn chuckled as Vi ended telling one of her childhood stories.

“No she wasn’t” Vi laughed, getting up from the couch “we were just friends”

“You can’t be this oblivious, right? It’s clear as day! She was your first proper crush, and she definitely liked you too”

Vi thought about it for a second. And then another. Oh. Oh Yeah that’s definitely what happened, she wasn’t feeling sick she was crushing on Y/N. Her cheeks go red at the realization. How had she been this clueless until now? Back then she understands, she was young and had bigger problems than to figure out if she liked someone or not- but now? How had she in the ten years that have passed not come to this realization?

Caitlyn laughed “Did you really not know???”

“I-“ Vi was speechless, laughs escaping her “I figure it out with you and that’s what matters”

[slaaverin]

JIMIN CAME HOME!!!!!!!

Hello ARMY, this is Jimin. I enlisted in December two years ago, and now, two years have already passed. I've been serving in the military for about a year and two months now, and honestly… time seems to flow differently here. It’s not always easy, but because there are things I’m learning and experiencing, I’m looking forward to the days when I can talk with you all and share fun stories about everything that’s happened. Hmm… my daily life hasn’t changed much. Since it’s the military, I go through training, work, exercise, and before I know it, the day is over, and it's time to sleep. I’m living through a routine that repeats itself every day. But one thing that has changed since the new year is the conversations Jungkook and I have before going to bed. Since the days until we meet ARMY again are getting closer, we've been talking a lot about what we need to prepare before that moment arrives, what kind of image we want to show, and what kind of lives we will live moving forward. To be honest, there is also a bit of fear. It’s been quite a long time since we last performed together, and it’s been a while since we fully dedicated our time to the stage and music. So yes, there is a little fear, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our determination to give you the best performance when we return. We’ll prepare diligently—really. We’ll work hard and come back in our best form. To our ARMY, whom I miss and am endlessly grateful for, Until the day we meet again, please stay healthy and may every day be filled with happiness. Wishing you lots of luck in the new year, ARMY. I love you. Truly.

GUYS THE WAY I SCREAMED I AM NOT OK I'M ACTUALLY TREMBLING

Ok so when Jimin comes home, it might not be often, but when he does, it's HUGE!

This letter is honestly a lot and I'm not going to be very coherent.

So basically he's going through the day, doing what he must do, like a routine (as expected) but my takeaway is that the one constant is Jimin & Jungkook talking when the day ends.

Oh, boy.

So you're telling me our boys are having deep conversations at night about their future now 😭 omg what do I do with that information.

I don't know about you but Jimin articulated his letter so well I instantly felt the irrevocable WEIGHT of his statements.

Like, what they talk about is serious, it's deliberate, it will probably change how they handle things when they come out. We're talking big life questions, expectations, dreams & desires, public image.

Like how do we go from here? After everything. Who do we want to be? As individuals, & as a couple?

I know I shouldn't be shocked, it was bound to happen, but even then I'm still 😭 not ok he's saying it this plainly.

"What kind of life we want to live moving forward"

This phrase shook me to my fucking core. I let out an inhumane scream. What kind of life? WHAT KIND OF LIFE?

Fucking hell. It's exhilirating and scary just thinking about it.

Anticipation grows through the roof.

He said he's going to tell us things when he comes out so I'm glad.

Because I only need to know, to see, with their words, and their bodies, what is their state of mind. I'm so fucking curious to know what they are thinking about. I'm dying inside, I don't want to wait. This is killing me.

I think I'm waiting for the tiniest sign that they are ok, that they will be, that they feel good, that we don't need to worry. I DON'T KNOW??? The unknown is so very scary and unpredictable. Not knowing is what's worse.

But they are together and they talk together of their future, a future that I'm sure will also include the other in some type or form.

I'm now more than ever positive on a jikook subunit next. Might be small, but I'm sure they thought of something.

& They thought of AYS, too. I know it.

Maybe also about how they will move in together? One can only hope.

This letter fills me with joy.

Jimin is such a wonderful person & his words always hit right.

Having fear is a normal thing. The future is always worst in our head than in reality, and projecting things too much onto it can only create anxiety. But I'm not worried - about that. They will manage to give us amazing performances I have no doubt. I just hope they don't put too many expectations on themselves, because they don't need to. I trust them to do their best and it's already enough.

What kind of image will they be showing moving forward? They were ready to already risk it all before with AYS. How things will change?

What kind of person will they show?

This is all so very exciting guys 😭

So many possibilities.

When they come out I will be clinging to my seat holding my breath with my fingers crossed 😭

Ahhh, we need to be patient. This is hard.

I'm so glad Jimin seems to be well. That they are both well.

I need to let everything sink in. And reflect on it.

I think soon a lot will be happening, and I want to be here for ALL of it. I'll continue to write silly posts about it.

But I'm positive, the future will be bright, and I think everything will be ok.

They are writing it as we speak, and I believe it is meant to be, as always, together.

Wishing them good luck 💜

[httpvomitello]

Hii! Can I request rise Donnie x reader (rom) who teases him a bunch? Not in a hurt full way. Though they do get under his skin

Hello, hello! Thanks for the request, hope you like it ~ ♡♡♡♡

The Fine Art of Poking the Genius *⁠.⁠✧

It was easy to make Donnie flustered. Maybe too easy. Not that you’d ever use that against him. Well… not too much.

You lounged on one of the swivel chairs in Donnie’s lab, watching as he tinkered with some new gadget. His hands worked with precise efficiency, his brow furrowed in concentration. He hadn’t even noticed you sneak in, and you weren’t about to let this golden opportunity pass you by.

“Hey, Donnie,” you called out, dragging his name just a little too sweetly.

His hand twitched, and he paused, glancing up at you with a suspicious look. “Yes, Y/N? What do you want?”

“Nothing,” you said innocently, spinning lazily in the chair. “Just admiring your work. It's really something to behold. You should charge admission.”

Donnie narrowed his eyes. “You’re mocking me, aren’t you?”

“Me? Mocking you? Never,” you said, holding your hand to your chest like you were offended. “I mean, it’s not my fault that your genius comes with a side of ‘mad scientist aesthetic.’”

He groaned, pushing his goggles up onto his forehead. “It’s not ‘mad scientist.’ It’s visionary engineer.’ There’s a difference.”

“Sure, sure,” you said, grinning. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dr. Frankenstein.”

Donnie pointed a screwdriver at you. “First of all, Dr. Frankenstein was a fictional character. Secondly, if you keep disrupting me, I’ll have no choice but to eject you from my lab.”

“Oh, I’m so scared,” you teased, spinning the chair again. “What are you gonna do, sic one of your inventions on me? Wait—are you finally working on a giant robot butler? Because I’m so ready to see that.”

He muttered something under his breath, but you couldn’t make it out. Probably some witty comeback he was too annoyed to properly articulate.

“You’re fun when you’re grumpy, you know that?” you added.

“I’m not grumpy,” he snapped, clearly grumpy.

You bit your lip to stifle a laugh. “Of course not. You’re the epitome of calm and collected. A true Zen master.”

His tools clattered onto the desk as he turned fully to face you. “Do you enjoy this? Getting under my skin? Is it some kind of hobby for you?”

You tilted your head like you were thinking about it. “Eh, it’s more of a part-time gig. Keeps me entertained.”

Donnie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You are insufferable.”

“And yet, here I am,” you said, smirking.

He didn’t respond immediately, instead turning back to his work and muttering something about “distractions” and “increasing lab security.”

You leaned forward, resting your chin in your hand as you watched him. “You’re cute when you’re mad.”

This time, his hands froze completely, and you caught the faintest tinge of pink creeping up his neck. “I—what?!”

“You heard me,” you said, grinning even wider. “But don’t worry, Donatello, I won’t tell anyone. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Donnie sputtered, his mind clearly short-circuiting. “That is completely irrelevant to—why would you even—ugh, you’re impossible!”

“And yet, you tolerate me.”

“Barely,” he grumbled, but there was no real heat in his voice.

You leaned back in the chair, feeling victorious. “Admit it, Don. You’d miss me if I wasn’t around to keep you on your toes.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, just kept fiddling with his gadget. But then, so quietly you almost didn’t catch it, he said, “Maybe.”

Your grin softened into a genuine smile. “That’s what I thought.”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” he added quickly, though the tips of his ears were definitely red now.

“Too late,” you said, spinning in the chair one last time.

He sighed again but didn’t kick you out of the lab. And you knew he wouldn’t, no matter how much you teased him. Because deep down, he didn’t really mind. And, if you were being honest with yourself, you liked seeing that little spark of flustered frustration in his eyes.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Costume Meta 7x01

Aaaaaaannnnd we're back!!

OMG I cannot tell you how good it feels to be back writing costume meta - I have missed it so very much and this first episode has given me lots and lots to talk about so lets crack on with it shall we!

Where to start?! Firstly - Its amazing to have Alayna Bell-Price back in the driving seat and she is a genius because she knows the characters better than anyone and I have to say from my perspective there is a pretty clear difference between this episodes costumes and the ones from season 6 - not that s6's costumes were bad, just that you could see the shift of having a designer who didn't know the characters to the same level. I’m going to go in order of character appearance in a non uniform capacity for this one I think so we’re going to jump around from character to character a bit. There is no Maddie or Hen this week, as we don't see them out of uniform, but every one else is accounted for and I've included Norman and Lola as they've got a multi episode arc and their costumes are interesting and playing into a colour theme!

putting it below the cut as its a long post and I on't want to overtake everyones dashes! Enjoy!

We start off with Athena in this pale pink high neck ribbed sweater with large bell sleeves. I've spoken a fair amount about pale pink over the last couple of seasons of costume metas and how, in clothes its representative of childish and immature behaviours or thoughts. That holds true here - the pale pink is playing into Athena's childhood - when she developed her fear of cruise ships - its creating a connection between her childhood experiences and the woman sitting in Franks office.

We get a flashback that shows her in yellow and orange - the yellow for communication and the orange for transformation. A literal moment where we see Athena transform from the innocence of youth to her developing anxiety and fear around cruise ships. Its really clever visual storytelling connecting adult with child and shows us her fear is genuine and founded in something that she may not have been able to articualte fully as a child, but she can as an adult, even if she doesn't actually articulate it to Bobby.

Our next non uniform costume is Chimney. The lighting is really low in this scene, so it's kind of hard to be 100% sure of the colouring, but he seems to be wearing either a dark navy or black button up shirt under a dark green and black bomber jacket. The use of really dark green in combination with black, Back is a colour that can be about hiding ones vulnerabilities - concealment and masking, but it is also a colour associated with magic (generally dark magic) as well as pessimism. The green is growth and renewal, and the hope for a better future. to use them in combination i this way is playing on Chimneys insecurites and fears, his desire to keep the 'magic' alive in his relationship with Maddie, but it also speaks to his growth, that he goes home and talks to her about it (even if he does come up with an insane plan to 'date forever').

Eddie in the locker room - aside from being shirtless for much of it and pulling some epically good faces - was a super interesting costume choice. Especially the use of his watch! first though - Denim shirt time! We don't actually see Eddie in a denim shirt all that often and we've seen him in the super washed out one far more than dark denim shirts. I've been laughing a little bit at a few people (on twitter mostly) claiming its the same shirt he was wearing at the hospital during and after Bucks coma and it being a play on bringing Buck back to life. While I like the theory, its actually a very different shirt - the one in the hospital was black with a grey wash out and was made of velveteen - so different colour and fabric.

This shirt, is however one we have actually seen Eddie wear before and its far more telling than if it were the hospital shirt. You need to bear in mind that this scene is about Buck and Eddies respective girlfriends (or lack there of) and the fact that Christopher has a girlfriend now as well. This shirt is the same shirt Edie was wearing when he (re)introduced Ana to Chris in 4x08 (breaking point my beloved! the gift that keeps on giving!) and this puts a conversation about Marisol and things going well with her into the same category as Ana - suggesting she is ultimately destined for the same fate as Ana. the other thing that plays into this narrative is the use of the watch.

Eddie does not put the Christopher watch on until after he has found out that Buck has broken up with Natalia - so during the entire conversation about their respective girlfriends, he is only holding the Christopher watch, rather than wearing it.

In the picture below from 4x08 you can see that Eddie is wearing his black 'work' watch rather than the brown strapped 'Christopher' watch. Remember that the first time we see the Christopher watch is when he goes for his first date with Ana in Jinx, so he already has this watch and in theory should be wearing it in this scene. The fact he isn't is pretty telling and I'll go into that a bit more later when we get to Chris's (and Eddies) date scene.

Then we have Buck in his outfit of many colours! The white trainers, continue to play into my theory of Buck wearing them when he is in key points on his journey to discover his self - her it is about showing his growth - that he ended the relationship with Natalia - this is a massive thing when we saw how long it took for him to end things with Taylor - The man who clings is growing and getting out before it drags him down!

The jacket is similar in style to many of the ones we've seen him wearing in season 5 and 6, but this one is much brighter and more colourful. I know I go on about white meaning bad things for Buck, but that isn't relevant here - the white bad things happen to Buck theory is much more about t-shirts, jumpers and shirts rather than jackets - its an under-layer rather than a top layer that = danger. So i'm not thinking of its relevance here for this scene. What I am going to say is that this (according to my spreadsheet!) is the first time we've seen Buck in a white jacket of any description. To me, it's playing into the idea of purity and rebirth which is what white is often associated with. This plays into the comment Eddie makes welcoming Buck back to 'the land of the living' but also implies that Buck is starting a new chapter and making a fresh start - the check patterning suggests it might not all be plain sailing though.

The check pattern is an interesting one, obviously check pattern theory comes into play here, but whether its only in relation to the reveal that he split with Natalia, or if its also foreshadowing Buck getting himself into danger/trouble down the line, remains to be seen.

I'm going to quote myself again because I did predict that this scene may be about his relationship with Natalia when we got the stills dropped - the costume department never let us down!

The only thing I can do is scream into the void about check theory because check does't bode well for people - they always end up in the middle of the drama (see my check theory posts linked on my pinned post for more) and while they come out the other side (99% of the time) Buck in check for that scene in 6x18 pretty much doomed his relationship with Natalia (its specific to her and not C&K's baby as Buck wasn't wearing it when he delivered it!) and as that shirt in the still is very un Buck like, has not only yellow ochre in it, but also its a white base (and we all know buck in white is a bad sign!!) and its check patterned - my theory is that this scene is connected to Natalia in some way - either Buck is not being true to him self in more than one way - that things are going to/have come to a head for their relationship (my kingdom for a reverse of Buck to Eddie about Ana in 5x03!!!) and lead to a pretty big change in some way (fingers crossed for Buck to end it and then finally break down and deal with his trauma!!!) Some other things about that shirt - the colour combination - the green blue and yellow ochre are giving me call backs to coma Buck (another reason I think it might be connected to Bucks unresolved trauma around his death and Eddies absense in his dream)

In the quote above, I was also referring to the blue and white check pattern shirt he was wearing when he and Natalia got together, but there was also the fact that in the balcony scene at the end of 6x18, we also saw her in one of Bucks white shirts. I wrote in my 6x18 meta about how those two things combined didn't bode well for that relationship going forward, and thats what leaves me unsure about the check pattern on this white jacket being purely about something that has already happened. If I put my Buddie goggles on, I would perhaps suggest that the troubled times ahead may be more connected to Buck and Eddies relationship, and this would fit in with a couple of the things Oliver and Ryan have said. The thing with check theory though, is that generally speaking if it's on one of the mains, they come out the other side of the dram/trauma stronger than before. So if it is connected to Buck and Eddies relationship, then we can expect it to be in an even stronger position on the other side of whatever goes down (and at this point you can't strengthen their relationship any further and keep them as just friends imo!)

Chimneys forever dating proposal to Maddie, connects with his outfit when he's talking to Hen - it's the same jeans and black shirt, so the meanings of black, can be continued on into this scene - the idea of magic and hiding his vulnerabilities. The addition of the jacket with this brickwork pattern in its weave is a fun choice, it's playing into the idea of building something, but also plays into the idea that Chimney has his walls up - again fitting in with the black meaning of hiding his vulnerabilities - because instead of expressing his fears to Maddie ad then them talking it thorough, he comes up with his insane forever dating concept. the fact that much of this scene is a contrasting parallel with the scene from season 1 when he is pretending to be someone else entirely for Tatiana all ties in perfectly with this costume. The fact that he reverts to wearing blue (ran out of picture spaces so I couldn't include one) later on - when he's realised his plan isn't realistic, talks to Maddie and they end up back on the same page is really good to see - the blue being a signature Chimney colour and is indicative of him being true to himself.

Bobbys blue suit and blue check patterned shirt. The brightness of the blue is a really important choice - it's the only time we see him this brightly coloured on the cruise until he ends up in the bright red at the end. This is important because this is the moment when he's still all excited and hopeful for his honeymoon cruise - everything is good in Bobby's world at this moment in time - the check pattern is telling us that it's not going to stay that way for long. From her on out we see the colours of Bobby's costumes slowly beginning to dull and take on a washed out tone, but here in this moment all is good.

Athena's bright yellow dress is all about making her stand out - communicating with the audience, she is the brightest person in the room (in more ways than one!!). The thing with yellow, apart from the communication aspect, is that it can also be a symbol of anxiety and fear, so this dress plays rather nicely into the theme of Athenas fear of being on that ship.

The colour does have other good traits too - its fresh and bright and is a colour of happiness in its more jewel like tones and I think we can see all of these meanings in these scenes - Athena might be anxious about being on the ship, but she is also happy and enjoying herself with Bobby in that moment.

Lola and Norman. Lola is the one we need to focus on in her very bright very check patterned Victoria Beckham dress. Obviously the check pattern plays into check pattern theory, but the red also acts like a neon sign to the audience - highlighting that Lola is in danger - the ga won't pick up on check theory, although they might connect the dots about the fact this check patterning looks very like a cage - foreshadowing her being held captive later on, but also as a nod to the fact she was incarcerated previously.

The red is also a nod towards romance and love - playing into the rekindling of their relationship and romance in the aftermath of the freeway 'see me Norman' incident.

Ok so Christophers date night and by extension Eddies date night! This is where this meta is goingto get a bit messy and I'm goingto jump around a bit becasue I need to talk about the way colour theory is at play in all the scenes in Christophers bedroom, so we're going to talk about Christophers bedroom as one big thing rather than the two separate scenes that it actually is. They are extensions of one another and build on so much of the groundwork we've already seen in previous seasons.

Chris in plaid check yellow and red check plays perfectly into check pattern theory - it’s a signifier that something is about to go down with him - namely that the fact he’s dating multiple girls at the same time. 

He’s also wearing a white shirt which is not a colour we see on him all that often - in fact, the only times we’ve seen him in a completely white shirt is with his suit in 5x01 when suit shopping and again in 6x08 for his school dance. He did wear a white vest when dressed as wolverine for halloween  So as you can see its not a common colour for him, but the times have seen him wear it as a solid colour have been connected to school/girls and dating (i’m including the suit shopping in this because Ana was there and it was kind of a Eddie and Ana date of sorts - in that it was suppose to be for this Christening - meet the family - date type thing).

The most interesting thing is the plaid hooded shirt though. It was such an interesting choice to go with for a couple of reasons. the colour way is especially loud - we tend to see Chris wearing greens and blues and greys, with the odd other colour thrown in occasionally. So red and yellow are not common colours for him to be wearing.

On the red front we see him in it a couple of times - the adapted skateboarding scene and the scene in 4x10 when he joins Eddie and Ana on the sofa - getting in the way of their date night. We do also see him wear red in Christmas related episodes (so I don’t tend to count them in the same way as the Christmas colour theming will nearly always override any other colour theming intention - the use of stripes or check or other patterning is more important in those episodes!). 

On the yellow front things are even more clear cut - the Tsunami arc, the aftermath of him falling off the skateboard, Mays graduation party and 5x03’s Eddie Ana break up! These (apart from the tsunami shirt) were all bright almost neon yellow.

This new plaid shirt is more into the yellow ochre part of the yellow spectrum, therefore tying much more to the tsunami arc, which is actually really fitting if you think about it in a little more detail - its a connection, not only to Buck, but also to loss and grief. Eddie might have been using his secret weapon (Chris) to get Buck out of his moping (read mourning) over not being able to go back to work, but Christopher is also still grieving the loss of his mother at that point as well, so its not just about cheering Buck up, its also about giving Chris a chance to do something fun and distract him from his own grief. That is why the use of yellow then ties in so nicely with its use on Chris now.

The other thing that really grabbed my attention about this shirt though is the fact that the two times we’ve seen Buck have a conversation with Chris in his bedroom, he has sat in the same spot and has been wearing one of those two colours - post shooting in maroon and this episode in the yellow ochre - if you watch those two scenes side by side, you see that they’ve used almost identical camera angles as well to film Buck.

I've spoken a lot about the use of maroon as a colour connected to parenthood - especially fatherhood , which is how its intended to be read on Buck - connecting to Eddie and his being shot, pushing Buck into a parental role in Eddies absence.

That alone is a pretty loud reference to Christophers connection and relationship to Buck, but then we have the yellow ochre of it all.

I feel a little bit insane about how close my prediction was on what the Buck Christopher scene was going to be about - this is from the meta I wrote when t he stills dropped;

Whatever this scene transpires being about, based on what we've seen with Buck wearing yellow ochre, we can assume its going to continue to play into this idea of Buck not being fully truthful with people and fitting into the role he thinks people want him to pay rather than being true to himself. I do want to add to this theory by looking at Christophers shirt as well. The grey/ yellow combination is a bit reminiscent of Breaking point (the episode that really is the gift that keeps on giving) because we get Chris in grey and Eddie in tan - that is yellowish toned whilst not actually being yellow There isn't a good screenshot of them together, but the placing of Chris and Buck in the new one has echoes of Eddie and Chris in that scene (one that is interestingly enough playing into the idea of changing family dynamics, but also the moment before and the one that happens afterwards at Bucks loft, directly placing Buck into a parental role (as an aside the idea of Buck being a miracle worker plays into the theme of Eddie looking for magic, just saying!))

Indirectly this scene was about Buck not being true to himself with people and fitting into whatever role he thinks people want him to fit into, only this wasn't an active situation - this was a scene where Buck could draw on his experience of having done that in the past to help Christopher - the line from Eddie 'you didn't end up being like you' is such a call to this and actually shows how valuable Bucks own experiences and learnings are in helping Chris (we've all been joking about Eddie choosing Buck to help him with this Chris's issue, but in actual fact he was the perfect person for the job - not just because of his being a 'reformed player', but also because of his relationship with death and the death of a loved one where you are reliant on others for their memories of a person rather than having your own)

The thing with the Yellow ochre (this meta here that i've already quoted from above is the place to go if you'd like more detail on its use on Buck more widely) isn't just its about it's connection to Buck, his place in Christopher's life and more loosely to the will of it all, (the fact that Buck and Eddie are both wearing the same colour ways as in the hospital bed will reveal scene and are both on the same sides of the screen in both scenes is a stroke of genius and is meant to connect these two scenes together) its also its connection to Shannon.

The first time we meet Shannon, she sits on Christophers bed in more or less the same position as we see Buck and Eddie sit, and looks at where Christopher has been positioned in all these conversations, and she is wearing a burnt orange top thats pretty close to the dark yellow ochre we see Buck wearing. Shannon wears a lot of yellow - as in it there are only a couple of times we don't see her wearing something yellow or with yellow in it and those are key scenes (which I will talk about later on).

Shannons appearance in Christophers room to read the letter she wrote him had her in this black top with a floral patterning on it. She was also wearing green trousers (which can be seen in the still below but aren't actually seen during the scene.

I actually really loved the green trousers and black top as a choice because the top is very Shannon - it sits perfectly with the floral patterns we saw her wearing when she was still alive. The green trousers are a bit of a departure for her, but I think its very intentional for two reasons .

The first is that they are very much in the Eddie trousers wheelhouse, especially in combination with black - he wears green khaki trousers a lot. The inference being that the black and green combination is an echo of Eddie.

The second ties to Christopher. Green is also a colour we've seen on Christopher a lot, it's probably the colour we see him in most. It's being used as a reflection of the fact he is growing and transitioning from child to teenager. But having it here in this scene - on Shannon connects a Christopher growing up without his mom.

Both of these combined really connect into Shannon in this scene, tying the three of them together and on Eddies efforts to keep her alive for Christopher - the underlying implication that his growth into who he is so far is as much to do with Shannon as it is to do with Eddie.

Her necklaces were not identical to the ones we saw her in in season 2, but that's most likely because they don't have them any longer, so they've replicated them as best as they can. The other little nod that I enjoyed is the brown bracelets on her right wrist - the same place Eddie wears his brown strapped Christopher watch!

But the top they have her in plays into a couple of other things - the prominent yellow flowers make an obvious connection to Buck from the previous scene, but they also tie into the 'I want a divorce' scene from 2x17 where she is wearing a dark blue dress with bright yellow ochre flowers all over it. the dress is not especially close to the top in the wider sense - blue dress with white squares v black top with florals in a variety of colours, but the yellow flowers are the prominent aspect of both items of clothing and play into the yellow theme connected to Shannon and then to Buck.

This is espeically relevant when you remember that Eddie is in a black suit in that scene and he's wearing black when he gives the letter to Christopher.

The black for this sequence of scenes is such a poignant choice - its Eddie mourning all over again, not for his loss, but for Christophers loss. I did find it telling that again in this scene, we have the absence of the Christopher watch. Eddie has very rarely not been wearing a watch in his scenes, so the times when we don't see him wearing one are very telling.

For me, in this sequence of scenes, it's about the fact that they are not about Eddies relationship with Christopher, but about Shannons relationship with Christopher. The watch is much more about Eddie and Christopher, so to have it absent from this story arc makes total sense and is symbolic of Eddie being a good father

Then we have Christophers grey shirt - I said when we first got the stills from that scene, how it was likely to be connected to complex family relationships - a la when we’ve seen Buck wearing his grey shirt. And what do you know - the scene was about complex family dynamics/ relationships.

It wasn’t perhaps in the manner I was expecting, but that series of scenes played with the full scope of Chris’s complex family relationships - from the relationship he has with Buck -not only as Christophers friend, but also as more or less Eddies co-parent (the way Eddie asked for Bucks help screamed co-parent rather than friend imo - that whole burnt out car scene was two co-parents discussing their child!) to the relationship he has with his dad - which is a pretty great relationship, but it is a complex one.

The relationship he has with his mom - or the fact he feels he doesn’t have a relationship with her despite Eddies best efforts, because as he grows up she feels further and further away. 

Eddies 'date' night with Marisol. Again I ran out of pictures (30 is not enough!) so you're going to have to use your imagination or go back and rewatch the scene for yourselves, but trust me when I say that Eddie is wearing the same shirt he was wearing for this date night as he was in 4x10 - when Christopher interrupts because he can't sleep!

It's also a similar tee to the one Eddie wears when he has his breakdown and trashes his room (that one was more green when this one is much browner). Its slouchy and has cut and stretched raw edges at the sleeves and on the pocket - in the same way his breakdown shirt did. there is an element of being in familiar surroundings and being comfortable at home, but stretched out raw edges and Eddie generally tend to mean not so great things.

Of course there is the element of his parenting skills being tested by Christophers having more than one girlfriend, but if that where the only reason, then it would've made more sense to have him in that shirt when he's listening in to Chris talking to Buck, rather than when he's on a date with a new girlfriend.

This is especially true as the screen time for that tee has more connection with Marisol than it does with Chris. Combined with the fact that once again, like in the locker room scene, he is not wearing his Christopher watch in this scene and that speaks volumes.

If we are to read the scene as being about Christopher soley, he should be wearing his watch because that watch is a physical embodiment of the importance of Christopher in Eddies life - that he puts Christopher first in all things.

Got to say I was a bit shocked to see Marisol in his bright magenta silk spaghetti strap top when you consider the costumes we saw her in last season - mostly dressed down, t-shirts, jumpers and dungarees so this is a complete 180 for her character.

There are a few interesting things connected to her outfit, firstly it low key ties into Natalia - we saw Natalia in a red version of this top for her first proper onscreen date with Buck (when they go to the badge and ladder joint) so there is an interesting low key parallel to draw there. There is also the fact that her bracelet is a chain one - much like we've seen on all of Buck and Eddies previous girlfriends - although those have been necklaces, so I'm undecided if this chain bracelet is paying into the same trope as those.

Then there is the pink of it all.

You see Eddie and Pink on his girlfriends doesn't bode well for Marisol.

Both Shannon and Ana wore pink. Ana wore it a lot - there are two examples below, but generally speaking its her most commonly worn colour - including on her first date with Eddie in Jinx.

The first example below is from the first time we see her in the Diaz house. the shades are different, but the fact that the first time we see both characters in the Diaz house they're both wearing pink, speaks volumes.

The other key use of Pink is when Shannon is at the beach with Eddie and Christopher and she tells Eddie she's pregnant - Eddie takes it as the sign he has been looking for - the chance to effectively start over with their marriage, but this is the beginning of the end for their relationship, even if she hadn't died a short while later. She is wearing pale pink in that scene and it's the only time we see her wear the colour in the show.

The fact we can also contrast the use of pink with when Buck wears it is telling in its own right - we see the relationship between Buck and Eddie strengthening when Buck wears pink - May's graduation party, the tsunami, the Hildy coffee machine - all moments (big and small) that show the development of various aspects of their relationship and its ability to endure.

Essentially all this use of pink on the women he has had previous relationships with, doesn't bode well for Marisol and the longevity of her relationship with Eddie. How quickly it will end I can't say, just that it will end.

I spoke earlier in this post about colour theming for the episode and this is where I talk about it!

Pink - and in particular the very bright pinks we saw scattered across the episode. Marisol above wearing it, isn't just about connecting her to Ana in costume terms (especially as at this point that costume is a departure of her costumes from s6) it also connects her to the other characters we see wearing bright pink in this episode - Lola and Norman.

At this point in time I'm not sure if we're going to see it play out as a theme across the season, but its use in this episode was very loud on characters that are going to be around for more than 1 episode. It suggests that there is some underlying theme that connects them (by this I don't mean that they're gonna meet and hang out I mean that personality traits are going to be similar)

Magenta and bright pink in colour theory means a few different things, and like with all colours, has positive and negative traits. Generally speaking its a loud and brash colour thats designed to stand out and draw attention to it's wearer.

Things that are considered positive traits for this shade of pink are; intensity, acceptance, kindness and it's supportive and uplifting nature. It's connected to naive love (as in lust rather than the passionate and enduring love of red) can also be considered a nurturing colour.

Negative traits are; intensity, volatility, arrogant and impatient, irritability and irritating and frustration. it is also said to be a stress inducing colour and is said to be overly emotional.

Theres a clear and fairly loud connection between Lola and Norman getting into danger - Lola is in magenta trousers when she is kidnaped. Norman also has bright magenta flowers on his shirt at this point as well. My guess at this point is that we're supposed to lean into the stress inducing element, and also the irritating nature of the colour (On Athenas part at the very least!) and we'll see if those are the themes that play out for Marisol as well down the line.

Norman is in bright pink when he's lying and claiming she's unwell from being outside or too long. We also see that he is wearing pink in the ditsy print shirt later on (again I ran out of picture spaces!)

Athena's black top in this scene is much like the use of Chimney in black in his scenes. It's all about power and authority but it's also about her hiding her vulnerabilities. The other thing it does is creates a huge contrast with Bobby and all of the other passengers - she is the only one in black in the scene and it contrasts her with the underlying white of Bobbys shirt - juxtaposing them and visually putting them at odd with one another.

Like I said above about him becoming increasingly pale - here we see Bobby in a sea-foam green shirt - its the palest and washed out colour we've seen him in on this cruise (grey pyjama shirt not being included as its blink and you miss it and a pyjama tee!!!). Sea-foam green doesn't really play into the traditional meanings of green - there is still the element of renewal about it (the sea washes the sand etc)but its mostly a self-conscious and uncertain colour - both things that perfectly sum up how Bobby is feeling in this moment.

The other fun thing about this outfit is the palm tree shorts the patterns Bobby has worn in relation to this cruise, up to this point (and that includes the shirts from season 6) have all been tropical themed but on his shirts, the fact that they've now slipped down onto his shorts is a visual representation of him becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the way his honeymoon is going - that the tropical vacation vibes are slipping away.

Athenas red and white shirt, in my opinion is showing her cross purposes - its the duality of investigating and being on a cruise in a shirt. The bright red ties into the red and blue first responder colour way the show uses (for obvious reasons) while the white and the palm fronds, the lei flowers and the watery theming of the pattern fit into the troipical cruise they're on.

Bobbys red shirt contrasts with the lavender that we see on Athena - its not a colour we see on Bobby all that often and that makes its use all the more important. Especially considering the entire cruise thus far we've seen him in blues and greens - especially pale closer to pastel tones.

This red is bright snd bold and unlike his usual choices. Red is a colour of cross meaning - there is obviously the connection with love and the heart, which is absolutely at play her - his love for Athena is spurring him on and is part of what is pushing him in to investigator Bobby mode - and its representation of love is what is going to be the key player in the up coming episodes on the ship - when he is looking for Athena during the evacuation etc. But the other meaning of red is war, courage and anger and that is very much present here in this episode, and will (i'm assuming) be later on in 7x02 and 3.

The other thing I think its worth pointing out at this point (which is pure conjecture on my part at this moment in time but that I think will become relevant in the next two episodes rather than this one) is the foreshadowed parallel with Buck in season 5 when he broke down Eddies door. The bright red we saw him wearing then was an uncommon colour for him, in the same way it is for Bobby here. It's paralleling the way Buck was prepared to go into battle for Eddie, with the way Bobby is prepared to do so for Athena - going to war for your closest person, your loved one and doing what you need to do to save them.

Putting Athena in lavender the moment she gets to go into cop mode was a choice that had me giggling! Lavender is a colour of relaxation and order so for her to start wearing it the moment she gets to start being a cop again - speaks volumes for her state of being - it shows that her fear of being on the cruise ship and of being alone with bobby, has been overridden by her need to do her job and start investigating things. Its the perfect colour for this moment and for the impeding trouble brewing on the ship - Athena will bring order to things as order has been restored to her inner world.

Hopefully you've enjoyed this little canter through the costumes of 7x01 we're back in business and I can't wait to read your comments in the tags and comments 🥰

Tagging for those who've asked to be tagged - drop me a comment on this post if you'd like to be added to the list for the next meta 😎

@theladyyavilee @mistmarauder @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @mandzuking17 @spotsandsocks @loveyou2thecore @wanderingwomanwondering @oneawkwardcookie @leothil @copyninjabuckley @nathleigh @shammers86 @crazyfangirlallert @missmagooglie @inandoutoffocus @katyobsesses @radiation-run @gayandbifiremenofmine @lemotmo @bi-moonlight @satvojihusana @crazyaboutotps @princesschez75 @mongreloer @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @sherlocking-out-loud

[ozwriterchick]

Back to Us - Chapter 6

Summary: Y/n wakes after an accident to her Avengers team-mates. But something isn't quite right and only Steve and Tony can see it.

Characters/Relationships: Steve Rogers x Reader; Tony Stark; Natasha Romanoff; Other Avengers Characters

Content warnings: Mentions of an accident (no details yet); If I missed any, let me know

A/N: If you want to be tagged, let me know.

Not beta'd so any mistakes are my own. I don't write smut, but there are allusions to smut in my stories.

Back to Us Masterlist

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Word count: 1465 (approx.)

You and Steve settle into a routine over the next couple of weeks, where every other day you get together for some adult fun.  Each day you seem to be unlocking more and more memories.  You still have the feeling however, that some really important things are missing.

The only thing you’re concerned about is the amount of times you go looking for Steve and he’s not around.  Everyone you ask just tells you that he had to go because something came up.  Honestly, it worries you because you still have the girlfriend thing in the back of your mind, but you know he’s an important, busy guy so you just brush it off, certain if he had a girlfriend you would have known by now.

After about a week, you ask Tony to meet you in the lab so you can talk to both him and Bruce.

“What’s up, kiddo?” Tony asked.

“Well, I’ve started to get some memories back, and there seems to be a lot coming through.  Having said that, I feel like what you’re not telling me is that my memory gap is huge.  The amount of memories coming back is so large, that the timeframe has to also be huge, logically” You hope you’re articulating this well enough. “It’s not just days or weeks is it?”

“Well, no it isn’t Y/n” Bruce answered your question sympathetically.  “We didn’t want to tell you how long, the Doc suggested we don’t give you specifics as it might be too much of a shock.  However, now that you’re starting to regain some memories, maybe it’s time to tell you some things.”

“Y/n” Tony began. “The last memory you had in the hospital – the Romanian Hydra mission, that was 4 years ago.”

You sit down on the chair beside you as you let the words he’s just said sink in.  You can’t quite believe that he just said 4 years had passed since that mission to Romania.  “Are you serious?  How did I lose 4 years of memories?”

“Nobody can tell” Bruce started to explain. “The brain is a mysterious thing.  They don’t know why certain portions of time go missing and others don’t”

“Right.  Well, I think I need to take some time and go for a walk to help digest this new information.” You said slowly.  “I’ll be back later with, I’m sure, a gazillion more questions.”

Bruce and Tony nod as they silently watch you leave the building and head out into the garden of the compound and then calmly went back to their work.

About an hour later, Steve strides into the lab.  Looking around he seems to be searching for something.  “Hey, have you guys seen Y/n?”

“Yeah, she went out to the garden.  We just let her know how big the memory gap is.  We know you’re keen for her to remember, but just give her some space for now.  She is, quite justifiably, shocked at how long the memory gap is.” Tony went on to explain the earlier conversation further to Steve.

“I get it.  How was she when you told her?” Steve asked.

“Well, apart from the shock, she seemed to take it alright, considering she thought it was days/weeks, but she’d kind of pieced together that it was longer than that, given the depth of memories, she has already got back.” Bruce told Steve.  “She just said she needed some space and time to sort through it all in her head.”

On your return to the compound, you head towards the lab, intending to ask Tony & Bruce some more questions when you hear raised voices.  You realise it’s Tony, Bruce and Steve in the lab, they don’t sound like they’re arguing but there’s something going on.

You quietly let yourself in through the nearby door, to avoid interrupting them.  The voices become clearer and the only thing you hear sends chills through your body and mind. 

Your brain singles out Steve saying “My fiancé” and the rest of your mind shuts down.  You don’t hear anything else.  You hadn’t realised until that moment that you were falling for him and to hear that he has a fiancé, while he’s been sleeping with you, makes you wonder what kind of guy he really is and how you could have misjudged him.  Now all those times he disappeared because “something came up” made sense.

You turn, stumbling but catch yourself before you actually fall and silently head back to your room to pack a bag.  You need some space from literally everything.

As you’re leaving your room you see Tony who is heading along the corridor towards you.

“Hey kiddo, where are you heading?” Tony asks, eyeing the bag in your hand.

“Oh, hey Tony, I was just coming to find you to let you know.  I’ve been thinking about everything I’ve heard this morning and I think I need a few days away to get my head around all that information.  So, I’m going to stay with a friend.  Someone none of you know so there’s no temptation for ANYONE to follow me” you tell him, you look at him pointedly, hoping he understands what you’re not saying.

“Listen Y/n, I know hearing that the gap is 4 years is hard to take and I get the need for some space.  We’ll all be here when you’ve got your head right and are ready to talk. Just… Don’t take too long ok? We’ll all miss you while you’re gone.”

“Thanks Tony.  Yeah, 4 years is way longer than I thought, but it’s not just that.  Look, I’ve gotta go, I need to go and I don’t want anyone seeing and trying to stop me.  Let everyone know I’ll be back when I’m ready.”

“All good.  The Quinjet is ready and will take you wherever you need to go. FRIDAY will wipe your destination coordinates once you get there so nobody is tempted to look it up in the flight log.” Tony assured you.  “Just stay in touch, even if it’s just with me, so I know you’re ok, ok?”

You hug Tony and say “Thanks old man”

“Hey, enough of the old alright, just call or text me when you’re ready to come back and I’ll send the jet for you.  No matter where you are.”

You race towards the plane before anyone can see you, jump aboard and give FRIDAY your destination info, ready to put everything behind you for at least the next few days.

Steve walks into the lounge just in time to see the Quinjet taking off.  He looks over at Tony who is looking a bit melancholy watching the jet take off and fly away.

“Hey Tony, who’s going where?  Is there a mission I don’t know about?” Steve asks.

“No Cap, Y/n is just heading off for a few days R&R.  She wanted to get going quickly so I told her to take the Quinjet, FRIDAY can pilot it back once it drops her off.”

Steve looks shocked.  “She never said anything. She didn’t even say goodbye to me.”

“She doesn’t remember that she should talk to you about decisions she makes about her life.  As far as she’s concerned, she doesn’t have to run anything by anyone.”

“But we’ve been getting closer, I thought we were starting to get somewhere with her and I.  I really need to talk to her Stark.  I need to make sure she’s ok.  Do you know where she’s going or should I ask FRIDAY?”

“Won’t do you any good Rogers.  I’ve told FRIDAY to wipe her coordinates once she gets where she’s going.  She specifically said she didn’t want to be disturbed by ANYONE!”

“Tony, anything could happen to her out there, she doesn’t remember anything from the last 4 years.  And what about Noah?”

“I can’t do much about that, but I’m not telling her about Noah and you aren’t either.  I’m pretty sure her memories are coming back and she’s just processing the bits as they come through.  She’ll remember you and she’ll remember Noah.  She’ll be back, she gave me no indication that she wouldn’t, she just said she needed to get her head around everything.

She’s gone through a lot in the last couple of weeks Cap and you of all people should understand how she’ll try and deal with it and what she needs.  And I can guarantee if you try and contact her when she’s expressly said she doesn’t want it, things will be worse.”

With that, Tony walked back towards his office, wanting to catch up on some paperwork as his mind wasn’t in the space for experiments or building equipment, leaving Steve to wonder if he would ever see you again.

Tag List: @wolfbeanpotion @vioplay19 @jason-todd-fangirl-14 @crazyunsexycool @zaraomarrogers @bitchy-bi-trash @mrsnikstan @harrysnovia

[jayceofprogress]

Journal entry: 13.0.12.9.10/995AN

Env. Cond. T = 26° RH = 61%

Result # = Nil

Observations: N/A

Note: Want to make sure I write this all down so I don’t forget any of it. Been a few weeks since the last entry, because Sky found my journal on the lab floor (long story), and I’ve been too paranoid to write anything. As a result…a lot’s happened.

Testing’s been on hold. Still have the S sample, but haven’t been able to do anything with it yet—once the upgrades for the Gates are done, hoping to get started in the next few days.

The gala Cassandra hosted went well. Spoke to the investors from Bolbok’s division—nothing much there worth pursuing; they’re only looking for steel and raw mineral for trade, which I’ve told Bolbok about ten times isn’t us. I’m pretty sure he turns off whatever mechanism he uses for listening during half our meetings so he can doze in his seat.

I’d managed to convince V to come. Guilt-tripped him that I didn’t want to go alone, more like, but hell, it worked. Felt bad I had to leave him to go rub shoulders with half of House Andrille. Nobody had anything of substance to ask or say to me, they all just wanted to be close to me, laughing at jokes even I knew weren’t funny, leaning in close to touch my arm, fluttering eyelashes, licking their lips. Would’ve been flattering if I didn’t know it wasn’t for me. Not really. It was for the posters, and the speeches, and that other guy that gets up on the stage to wave and smile and talk about things like Progress and Innovation like they’re brand labels slapped on empty bottles.

Every time I glanced over to check on V, all I wanted to do was go sit down beside him. I wished I could’ve listened to him taking apart all the stupid, self-absorbed diplomats in the room, and brought him something from the canapé trays all the servers were holding out of his reach, and pretended not to be staring at how good he looked in his nice going-out suit.

By the time I did actually make it over to him, it was late and neither of us were in much of a mood to stay any longer. He’d had a lot to drink—way more than me, by the looks of all his empty glasses, though it didn’t make him any less articulate than usual.

Offered to walk him home. Then insisted on it. Pretended it was a manners thing, even though it wasn’t; just me being selfish, wanting to soak up his company for as many minutes as I could. Maybe it was because of the champagne, or how pretty the stars were that night, or just something finally breaking in my head, but I agreed to come inside. Just for a drink. I never imagined anything else would happen. Well, okay, maybe I’d imagined it, but I never thought it’d actually happen.

We talked. About nothing, really, just work, and then V mentioned he’d wanted to invite me over before, and…

I told him how I felt about him. Not completely, not right away, but. Enough, I think, that he understood. Said there was nobody in the world I’d rather spend my time with. And that he was the best part of me. That losing him would be like cutting all the worthwhile parts out of myself. His reaction scared the shit out of me. He looked horrified, or upset, or something. I thought I’d fucked everything up. Felt like the worst kind of idiot, cursing myself for drinking so much and letting my mouth run away from me. Was ready to die of embarrassment, wanted to leave and throw myself off a bridge, but then.

He kissed me.

The rest of the night’s kind of a blur. I took him to bed. Or maybe he took me. Maybe it was fucked up of me to do that when we were both drunk. I don’t know. I can’t stop thinking about it; the way he sank his teeth into my shoulder, tugged his fingers in my hair. The mark he left on my neck is still fading. The way his voice sounded, breaking on my name. I told him I loved him. I didn’t mean to. It just came out, like being inside him made my brain forget there’d be consequences for all of it the next day.

I stayed the night, and woke up with him coughing—it was bad, frankly, there was blood—and it doesn’t seem to be getting better. I’ve been keeping an eye on him ever since, even though he was adamant it was nothing. And now it’s awkward as hell. We’re tiptoeing around each other in the lab; all ‘Please, Viktor’ and ‘Thank-you, Jayce’ and cool professional civility. It’s killing me. I feel like we need to talk, but the thought of that is killing me even more.

How would I try to explain it to him? That for seven years, it’s felt like life began and ended in the hours we spent making impossible things real together, holding magic in our hands, his eyes on mine over the light of it all. I don’t know how to tell him that I’m tired of those in-between hours where everything’s just a shade of what it could be. We could come home together at the end of the day, instead of watching each other moving in opposite directions. I could cook for him, instead of just myself, and let him oversweeten both our teas, and wrap his cold, bony feet up in my hands on the couch while he reads, or talks, or laughs at me so hard his eyes crease closed.

I could take him apart at the end of the day—braces first, letting him breathe again, easing his skin with my mouth and holding him up through however much pain he’s in—and then put him together again in bed. In our bed—a place I could share with him. I could hold him together, in my arms, in his sleep.

Council meeting this afternoon, then I need to do more speech prep. Feels like a huge fucking waste of time when I could be here instead.

I’m tired of being Jayce Talis, whatever that even means now—someone I don’t recognize anymore. I just want…whatever I am, and whatever that’s worth, to be Viktor’s. He can do with it as he wishes.

- J.T.

[frownyalfred]

I realized that I wasn't terribly articulate in my last ask (capslocks screaming about dickbabs lol) and figured I'd rectify that.

So, first I just want to say how cool it was you wrote that. Again, it's way too rare to see disabled babs smut (which I get why but a girl can wish rip). I know you said you were worried about toeing the line between Babs disability being a focus and the smut, but to be frank? You killed it.

Unfortunately, when you're disabled (at least, this has been my experience) your relationship with your own body changes, and that includes pleasure. It was honestly really surprising to see someone write about that, the frustration of wanting something you once could have so easily only for it too to be another thing your body is refusing to do. I really related to babs so much in the fic.

It just felt very very real, in a way I rarely see anywhere when it comes to being disabled. It's honestly made my week. This, I don't know how, has so far been the most representative piece of media I've ever seen about the struggle of dealing having a body that won't work how you want and trying anyways. I'm not joking, I wish I was. Idk, I don't know how to say how amazing seeing and reading this was.

Anyways, I'm sorry for rambling so long in your inbox, but I just wanted to make sure you knew how amazing your fic is, and how happy you made at least one person.

(I should talk about Dick and how he not only desired babs and treated her as an equal, but also making sure it was accessible to her (and also very hot) and not diminishing her in anyways and ahhhhh. Sorry I could scream about this for ages!! But since I've already written way too much, I'll refrain. )

Thank you again. I really hope you have a fucking amazing day ♡♡♡

Thank you so so much for continuing your thoughts! I really appreciate the feedback. I’m glad it all worked and felt sexy for both Barbara and Dick 💜 that was the goal haha. Other than sneaking into her bedroom late at night, Dick really came through here as a gentleman.

Pinning her to the bed so she didn’t have to think about moving/not moving her legs made a lot of sense to me, so I’m glad that landed well! Being flexible in bed (heh) is a very good quality to have.

[mykoreanlove]

sexy brain wasn’t having it

3.25 am.

Once again Namjoon lay awake at night, anticipating the next disaster. His thoughts were racing, fueling the anxiety that was rooted deep in his heart.

„Joon“, you mumbled sleepily as you twisted in his arms.

You calling him caught him by surprise, a welcomed yet unnecessary surprise.

„Why are you awake, love?“, he whispered in his deep raspy voice.

You chuckled as you patted his buff chest. „Well Sherlock, my precious darling is awake so I can’t sleep either.“

Namjoon smiled widely as he placed a sweet kiss on your forehead.

„Sorry.“

„Is something on your mind?“

He sighed, not really knowing how to articulate his thoughts.

„Do you remember when I told you about my ex? The one that cheated on me?“

You nodded silently.

„Do you also remember the girl that shot daggers at you when I took you out to dinner two days ago?“

„The one with the crazy eyes?“

A sad laugh escaped his lips. „Yeah. Actually, same person.“

„No way“, you gasped, suddenly fully awake. „Why didn’t you tell me?“

„Honestly? She did some crazy things back then so I just wanted to forget her. I don’t want you to be near her. Ever.“

You tightened your grip around your boyfriend, deeply touched by his concern for you.

„You really care about me, huh?“

„Slightly“, he bickered back, making the both of you laugh.

„Are you afraid that she’s gonna do something to us?“

Namjoon closed his eyes and sighed deeply. „I expect her to.“

You drew circles on his chest, hoping this would make him calm down and drift off to sleep. It seemed like it worked, until it didn’t.

Frantic sounds alerted you both, someone was ringing the bell like crazy.

„Namjoon. Namjoon!! Open up, please.“

Her whines were slurred and chaotic. You felt him tense under your touch, unsure what to do.

„Just ignore her, Joonie. I’m sure she’s gonna leave in a minute.“

„Joon!! God damn it, Joon!!! Open the fucking door!“

Namjoon debated if he should get up, but he also feared hurting you. Suddenly, the door flung open revealing a very bad tempered Jungkook.

„Hyung, please. Go talk to her. I can’t sleep and I can’t keep listening to her begging for you. I beg you talk to that lunatic.“

You squeezed Namjoon‘s hand, encouraging him to go.

„I love you“, he whispered in your ear.

„I know“, you stuck out your tongue.

„Namjoon, fucking rap monster open this door no-„

Namjoon‘s ex swallowed her tongue as she actually succeeded with her plan - her ex was standing before her, ready to listen to her tantrum.

„Joon“, she tried hugging him but he pushed her away.

„You know what time it is?“

She nodded her head, slightly ashamed. „Joon, I am sorry but I need to talk to you. Breaking up was the worst idea we ever had.“

He rolled his eyes at her, trying to stay calm.

„Cheating on me was even dumber if you ask me.“

„I never“, she tried to defend herself but bit her tongue as she saw the hurt in his eyes.

„I’m sorry. What I did was wrong. It’s just, I couldn’t handle our love back then. You’re such a grown up and I.. I am a mess.“

Flashbacks of all the tantrums she created flashed his mind. She always argued with him, accusing him of the most disrespectful shit. Looking back he could simply laugh about this, wondering how the hell he kept up with her frantics for so long. He didn’t care about the past, nor her anymore. He only cared about you.

„I call you a cab“, he stated sternly.

„NO!“

Namjoon sighed in annoyance.

„What do you want from me? Why are you here? Do you honestly think I’d take you back? After all you put me through?“

„Why not? Because of that bitch?“, she spat out.

His nostrils flared up instantly. Namjoon would never resolve a conflict with violence, especially not with a female. He’d rather contort to hurting one emotionally.

„I don’t want you to talk about my girlfriend like that. Ever again. Understood?“

„That should be me! I’m supposed to be your girl, Joon. Don’t you remember how great we were?“

„Nah“, he replied dryly.

His ex scoffed, too many blows to her ego. „Oh please, I’ve seen her. Since when do you date someone so basic? She’s half of me anyways.“

Namjoon took out his phone and ordered a cab, making an end to this nonsense.

„What are you doing? Joon, listen to me! She’s not the one for you, can’t you see?“

He raised his left brow, holding back what he truly felt.

„She’s average. Basic. Boring. I think you should dump her. I think you should get back together with me. I think you and I should become Korea‘s hottest couple and live a beautiful life together. I think I am the love of your life!“

A real, heartfelt laugh left his lips. His ex‘ eyes widened in expectation, anticipating her victory over you.

Namjoon however disagreed.

„Thank you for telling me what you think. I however, don’t think about you. At all.“

He turned around and went inside, hoping to never end up in a situation like that ever again.

[deliciouskeys]

Beware the Patient Woman (my foray into Sagelander)

This is set right after season 4. I don’t address anything beyond Sagelander. Ashley disappeared. Ryan is presumed returned to Vought Tower, maybe staying in a different room while they have to renovate Homelander’s apartment top to bottom. This is either a standalone or a chapter 1, idk. Had to get it out of my system. Rated PG cause I'm lazy/ a coward? (for now). AO3 link.

Sage may not have x-ray vision but she can tell who’s behind the door by the sound of the knock before she opens it. She didn’t have time to change out of her pajamas, but at least she was awake.

"May I come in?" he asks, peering down at her before his eyes start roving around the room.

"Of course," she says, even though she was looking forward to lying around in bed before having to put her suit on and trot out to the board meetings.

"Sorry, I know it’s early. I couldn’t really sleep last night." He walks in, almost brushing past her, arms clasped behind his back and hidden by the American flag cape billowing slightly behind him, so close that she has to lean back slightly to avoid getting an eagle beak to the face. But he didn’t mean disrespect by it, just distracted by looking all around the room.

"This was so much emptier when Maeve lived here," he remarks, stepping around various small pieces of furniture, nearly all stacked with books.

"I’m sure she needed the space to practice her combat techniques."

"Yeah or her drinking or her threesomes. I’m not sure she had the attention span to read a book in her life," he mumbles angrily, and Sage doesn’t like where this conversation is going at all. She knew there might be a downside to being given the room where Homelander’s old flame used to live.

"Did you want to discuss something?" she says, trying to keep any impatience out of her voice.

He turns around sharply to face her. "I really wanted to thank you for… everything that happened yesterday. I couldn’t even articulate how grateful I was for what you did for me."

For him, he thinks, despite her telling him point-blank that she did it to see if she could. But she was banking on his gratitude and on the high value he places on loyalty.

"You’re so very welcome. But I only did what you hired me to do," she says, cautiously, hoping this will emphasize that she may not necessarily have any interest in going beyond what she was hired to do. Maintaining boundaries with a man like this was always important.

"No, no." One of his hands emerges from behind his back to wag a finger at her. "Don’t play dumb with me. You know what I’m talking about. You did what I hired you to do, sure, but you did it even after I dismissed you. I’m not stupid, Sage. I know you could have used that brain of yours to fuck me thrice over and get revenge for how badly I treated you. I admit, I underestimated you. I did a dangerous thing, letting you go, when you were my best ally all along. So I… I know you could have made things worse for me, but you chose to side with me anyway. I was absolutely wrong about you, and it won’t happen again. I will listen to you, like I promised."

Sage hesitates. He’s saying all the right things, but these hollow promises aren’t worth much when they’ll fall to the wayside the next time he gets fed up with her. No, he’s leading up to something, and she’s wary of what might come next, so she’s not sure how she should reply to steer the conversation away.

"That’s good to hear. And no hard feelings, trust me."

Homelander nods. "Yeah, trust. I do want to ask you one thing. It’s just… I do trust you, but could I just ask you to keep me in the loop? No more lies?"

"I don’t think I ever outright lied to you," Sage answers, taking a deep breath, trying to keep her breath steady. Was this human powderkeg about to explode again? She thought she had him placated for at least a few weeks, but maybe she’s miscalculating just how paranoid he is. It's hard to feel completely calm when he's standing over her, forcing her to tilt her face upwards to meet his gaze.

"Well I’m including lying by omission," he says, but then his expression changes, softens strangely, and he steps back as if realizing that he's been looming over her. "I’m sorry, you’re misunderstanding, I didn’t come here to threaten you in any way. I just wanted to… maybe just establish best practices, going forward."

Shit, her heart rate must have spiked, finally given away that she was getting nervous. "Oh yeah, I understand. I appreciate that. Let’s discuss that."

Homelander shakes his head, wincing. "Look, I really don’t mean to dictate how you should work. I realize I’m doing it automatically. I’m catching myself telling you what to do again. I respect that you might not want to tell me everything– I do. I’ll be honest, it is a blow to the ego, and I’m not used to it, because… well you’ve seen the caliber of idiots that I've had to deal with. I’m not used to trusting someone else." 

He looks … unsure of himself? Is he genuinely apologetic? Sage is so reluctant to interpret anything he says as benign and without ulterior motives, but it’s tempting to believe him right now. She’s really at a loss for words, content to let him just keep talking and explain himself.

"So… I take back everything I said," Homelander mutters, his mouth folding even thinner as soon as he says it. "I trust you so much that I allow you to lie by omission. But if I ask you something, I’d really like a straight answer. Call it my weakness. I’m not a details guy. I’m not aspiring to look over your shoulder and micromanage your plans. But I just- I just need a little something in return for the trust. I need to be able to check in once in a while and know you won’t lie to my face."

Sage can’t believe she’s getting to watch this man wrestle with himself, threatening to spiral out while trying to define what’s important to him and what’s reasonable to ask of her. He’s debating with himself with only the barest input from her. She needs to nip this in the bud. She’s never felt that comfortable seeing him cry, and she doesn’t want things to get to that point, where she’ll have to comfort him instead of just reassuring him. "Hey listen. I love working with you. You’re giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. I’ll gladly discuss plans with you if you’re really interested in the boring details." Maybe she’s overselling it a bit, but he looks like he recovers his poise at least. 

"Anyway, that’s not even what I came here to ask you." he says, his tone sounding more like his usual self. "I wanted to invite you out for dinner. Just as a small token of appreciation- ah-ah! Nope!" he says, raising his hand as she tries to interrupt him. "Don’t say no before you hear the proposition. I found out you like sushi."

Sage’s blood runs a little cold at hearing him know something about her that she doesn’t think she ever revealed to anybody on staff at Vought.

"I located your mother and asked her a little about you over the phone last night," he says, as if guessing the question in her mind. Of course he did. He probably thinks that gives him leverage over her. Well, joke’s on him, because she hasn’t been in much contact with her mom, they haven’t gotten along since she was a teenager, and she’s not going to be manipulated by him threatening her mom. But her mom is right that she likes sushi.

"Oh yeah?" Sage asks, summoning a genuine looking smile to her face because she’s not sure how well he can tell when her mind starts running at triple speed when she’s feeling pressure. "I do love me some sushi. And I haven’t tried that many places since moving here, because it’s been so busy."

"Great!" he says, and now his smile looks genuine too, the fleeting reference to her family thankfully fading out of their conversation. "I’ve rented out this place called Masa night. You’re gonna love it. Three Michelin stars and all that. Best sushi in New York."

"Yeah, tonight works," Sage says, hoping it’s not too rude to imply that his setting her daily schedule for her is overstepping, his certainty that she’s going to love hanging out with him is overstepping. 

"Usually I wouldn’t put you through the hassle of going out, just have the chefs come to work at the Vought kitchen and host it at my place, but you know… my place is a bit of a disaster zone right now and yours… well I don’t wanna disturb your little setup you’ve got going on here."

Yes, there’s a problem she needs to solve as soon as possible brewing here. She’s very fucking glad she’s not being invited to dinner at his place. "So is there a dress code? Do I have to wear my superhero suit?"

Homelander scoffs. "I’ve rented it out. No paps, no photos. You can come in whatever you damn well please. Wear sweatpants if you want. This is all for you!" He smiles again, and it’s really genuine, and now she’s concerned that her fears are true. In his mind, this is a date.

"Just you and me?" she verifies, and when he nods she takes a deep breath and says something risky, but better now than later. "Just so you know– I don’t really do romantic relationships. I’ve slept with a couple of members of the Seven, but you don’t strike me as the kind of person who would want to get in on that action."

Homelander blinks, clearly taken aback. "It’s just dinner with a colleague," he says, but his tone is halting. "I don’t- that’s none of my business what you do in your free time with-" he licks his lips and Sage tries to guess what bothers him most about this. "Were you sleeping with A-Train? Is that how you knew?"

"No, I don’t mix work and pleasure like that." Sage can’t help but laugh a little. "I can tell you with whom. ‘No more secrets’, right? Noir and the Deep."

Sage can practically hear the wheels in Homelander’s head turning as he tries to picture it. "Huh," he says. "Well that’s uh… your prerogative certainly." Is that hurt in his voice? Maybe disbelief that she’d fuck people he considers far beneath him?

"Exactly. I assumed that someone like you would have no problem with workplace hookups," she says, shrugging. "Being part of the Seven isn’t really a normal gig. It’s so full-time, it’s your entire life. Might as well get some fun out of it."

"Yeah, makes sense," he mutters, trailing off, still thinking.

"So tonight then? What time?" she asks.

He snaps out of his thoughts. "I rented it out for the entire evening. So anytime from five onward. Up to you."

"Seven then?" she says. He nods and walks out stiffly. Sage shuts the door and leans back against it. She has to navigate this right. This overpowered manchild doesn’t have a good track record of keeping work and pleasure separate, but she can’t rebuff him in a way that insults him. She thought she was in the clear– that someone like her would never attract that kind of attention from him. She needed to be smart about this.

[gengor]

Can you tell us more about Austistic Edelgard? I love this hcs to death and wrote about it many time- I'm so sad at how rare it it, especially when it seems so obvious to me! Your post are always well articulated so I'd really love to see your thoughts on it

Oh thank you this is so sweet! ♡ yeah sure I could talk about my interpretation of her neurodivergence more. I’d love to see your writing too if you wanna share anything with me lol

I do want to preface this with the fact that I am not autistic myself. I have a lot of family/friends that are autistic so I *might* be slightly better than the average (maybe) neurotypical person at reading into this. But I am by no means the number one guy to go to abt it, and I probably won’t articulate as well as an actual autistic person could. So feel free to not listen to me about any of this lol but I’ll try my best!

I did read Edelgard as being neurodivergent —possibly autistic. And haven’t seen many other people talk about it. I think the characterization is a little bit more subtle, and possibly on accident. This combined with her being a woman probably contributed to it not being a thing people speculate on.

But all that being said. I think the biggest example to me would be her three hopes Ferdinand supports.

It’s hard to point to any specific line here because the whole support chain is Ferdinand attempting to imply he wants her to console him her not understanding the indirect communication. She *is* attempting to be helpful.

(Even though It would be TOTALLY understandable if she did just tell him she was not comfortable doing that given what his father did to her. But she seems pretty emotionally unphased so I’m going to claim that she’s not intentionally dodging this)

But anyway! What she’s doing here is taking everything Ferdinand says extremely literally. When Ferdinand says he can’t connect his father to the corruption he engaged in she doesn’t take this to mean he is having trouble processing it emotionally. She takes this to mean he doesn’t have the paperwork. When he explains that he does actually have said proof of his corruption she, reangles her approach and attempts to give him the kind of encouragement that *she* would want to hear and well. She goes straight for challenging him— attempting to coax him back into an earlier version of himself that exuded more confidence and drive. (It does not land well)

And I’m not claiming that autistic people are incapable of empathy or of using or understanding subtle communication. It’s just more common to find some of these tendencies among neurodivergent people.

Edelagrd will also frequently be indirect with her attempts for emotional intimacy as well but seems unadept at reading that same communication style from other people. (Ferdinand is the same way)

Also I want to preface this with the fact that I think Edelgard is a selfless person at her core. And I do think she cares about Ferdinand and is actively trying to be helpful. (Even though he is not inherently owed that from her!!) But selflessness doesn’t always translate to being able to read other’s emotions well. She’s very much someone who’s instinctive response to problems is that they need a logical pragmatic solution. (I think it’s a nice foil to how Dimitri is more of a ‘how can I emotionally cope without changing anything’ type person lol)

Anyway feel free to @ me if I fucked up somewhere— again I am not autistic. I’m not even sure that I’m neurodivergent. But I tried…my best!

[anonzentimes]

The SSS trio Is like going to a fantastic buffet because you get the Sonic, The Pure Light Hero who lives in the present and doesn’t see himself through the eyes of others, always putting others first whilst embodying adventure and virtue. Sonic is burdened by nothing and has a fun edge just from how even though he’s bold headed he’s also confidently cocky yet humble, determined, skilled, and experienced enough to always save the day.

Then you have the Dark Reluctant Anti-Hero with questionable methods who is burdened by his past time and time again, Shadow! Shadow is often fighting his own emotions or fighting with his heart impacted by Maria to risk his life to save the day. Shadow is tragic and has depth, being more morally ambiguous compared to Sonic and the rest. While Sonic is Confidently cocky yet humble, Shadow has immense ego and deep down insecurity from being raised with the expectations and belief that he is the Ultimate Lifeform. Sonic is naturally powerful while Shadow is artificially powerful, they respect each other yet butt heads occasionally and are pretty competitive as Shadow could never stand the thought of being Sonic’s Shadow and Sonic likes to have fun fighting with his equal. It’s also evident that Shadow suffers from PTSD. I think a good word for Shadow is Duality.

And last but not least, you have the perfectly Flawed Hero Silver. Silver carries the burden of the future and is perfectly flawed in comparison to the other hedgehogs as he succumbs to the pitfalls of Anxiety, Loneliness, and an Overeagerness to prove himself which allows him to have an internal struggle of self doubt and arcs about overcoming those struggles that making him a good contrast. Silver is unique as he struggles with emotions that the other hedgehogs don’t but these emotions make us root for him. It’s also evident Silver suffers from Imposter Syndrome, which ends up in him trying to prove himself to his peers despite the fact they already value him as a friend and for his heroic selflessness actions. Growing up in a horrible future of ruin, Silver has become somebody who is filled with Hope, Determination, and Optimism giving him the strength to live in harsh conditions, however this also causes him to be Naive. Emphasis on Naive, not dumb, but due to the isolation he’s had growing up he struggles with social cues and knowing who to trust causing occasional conflict from him trusting villains. As a result his closest friends are usually calm and mature people who help and reassure him such as Blaze and Espio. This isolation also causes Silver to be fascinated with the world, even small things like how pretty he finds the desert to be.

I love the SSS trio a lot, I have a hard time choosing a favorite so I refuse to! I love them all!!! I’m sure there’s stuff I missed too but this was my way of articulating them and sharing my passion. Wasn’t really focusing on their physical abilities as fitting in “also by the way Shadow can use Chaos Control to stop time and Silver has Psychokinesis,” seemed silly. Silver is the most relatable, Sonic is the most admirable, and Shadow is the most compelling. That being said they all have overlapping traits such as Silver is admirable too and blah blah blah but that’s how I’m wording it. I love these characters a lot they’re some of my favorites of all time for a reason!

Also I want to see Silver playable in a mainline game again, MAKE IT HAPPEN PEOPLE!

[spaceorphan18]

Three Conversations :: Polin fic

A/N: The next entry of my canon compliant series. This one is set during 3x01, and takes place between the garden party where Colin talks to Penelope and Lady Danbury's ball.

Colin has three conversations -- one with his mother, one with Kate, and one with Francesca.

Available to read on Ao3 if you like.

****

Colin Bridgerton finds himself, as he often has over the past few days since he’s returned home, in front of the window of the drawing room that faces the main square.  It’s not as though he’s looking for anything in particular.  The residents of the ton scurry by, going about their day, without much thought from him.  Something else has drawn his attention.  The Featherington Estate.  

He hasn’t returned to the estate since the night of the Featherington Ball -- the night he called Jack Featherington out on his schemes.  The night he made good on his promise that he would take care of them. Or at least one of them.  The one who mattered to him the most.  The one whom, despite countless letters, despite constantly being on his mind, he has not heard from at all. 

He’s been debating on whether it would be appropriate or not to stop by, to check in, to make sure that they are alright.  He has heard little word of any of them.  He has learned that Jack Featherington is no longer a concern, having fled back to America and he’s heard news that Prudence had found herself a husband.  But no news of Penelope.  No news from Penelope.   It’s worrying.   

And so here he stands, waiting to maybe catch a glimpse of her.  Wanting desperately to know if she is alright.  Wanting to know if her silence has been forced or intentional; though neither option seems a good one.  

He replays that moment in the garden again. He had been so eager to see her again.  To speak with her.  She is the only one he wanted to share his travels with, the only one who would probably care.  He wanted to know of her, how she’s been without him, what she has been up to, what clever observations she has made in his absence.  And yet, she had been distant, uninterested, cutting their reunion short after a few mere minutes of conversation.  After all that silence he is still met with more silence.  It feels cold and confusing in a way he can’t quite articulate.  

What has changed?  

Has her broken friendship with Eloise affected things? Is her family finally forced her to shut the world out? Or, is it…him? 

“Colin? May I have a moment?” His mother’s voice jolts him from his thoughts.  

He spares one last look at the unmoving Featherington Estate door before giving her his attention.  “Yes, always.”  

Her brow is furrowed, her well-known look of mothering concern crossing her face.  “I can’t help but observe, since you’ve been home, that you’ve been a little more outward in your affections towards the young ladies of the ton.”  

Colin lets out a groan.  He knows where this is going and it’s not a conversation he really feels like having.  He turns back towards the window.  “I’m merely playing the part society asks of me.  That is all.”  

Violet purses her lips, digging in.  “That may be, but I can’t help but wonder… You have always been so charming with the young women, Colin, maybe not with the same frivolity you’ve shown as of late, but I feel as though there’s something more intentional going on as well.  Tell me, do you have any plans for this season?” 

“My only plans are the same as they’ve always been,” he replies, with some resignation.  “I intend to continue pursuing my life’s purpose.”  

“Which is what, exactly?” Her eyebrow is arched, skeptical, but still she retains a dash of hopefulness she reserves for all her children.  

He plasters on the grin he’s well known for.  “If what you’re really asking is if I plan on taking a wife this season, the answer remains no.  I’m sure Francesca will keep you busy.  And if that is not, you still have Eloise or…Benedict.” 

“Hmmm,” Violet watches out the window, too, deep in thought.  “While I understand that your brother and sister may seem more difficult in certain ways, neither of them have ever been coy about their pursuits.” 

“And you feel that I am?” 

“Yes, quite.” 

“I have no idea what you mean,” he says, shortly.  “But rest assured, I have no desire to find a wife this season.  I have no desire to find love again any time soon.  If that is plain enough speak for you.”  

A carriage pulls up in front of the Featherington Estate.  Colin watches as Penelope and her maid are helped out of the carriage.  Penelope has a handful of books, her nose squarely in one, as she pays no attention to Lady Featherington, coming out of the carriage next, berating the driver for some unknown issue.  He isn’t sure what it is, but there’s something different in the way Penelope is holding herself, something he hasn’t quite seen before.  She is lost in her own world, relaxed, wistful, amused.  He wants to know what has captured her attention so thoroughly.  

He contemplates leaving.  It would only take a moment to cross the square, ask her about her book, ask her about her thoughts… He does miss her thoughts.  He misses her voice.  He misses her.  

The thought makes him feel both heavier and lighter at the same time.  

“Colin,” Violet says his name slowly, delicately, as if debating on which words she’d like to use.  “You have traveled the world, and I have no doubt that what you have seen has, for better or worse, changed you.  But I do have a hard time believing that someone who has felt love once so deeply is now claiming so easily to forsake it.” 

He isn’t quite sure how to respond to that.  “I am not forsaking anything,” he assures her.  “I’ve just decided that of the many pursuits I would like to have, love is no longer one of them.” 

“Interesting,” Violet hums to herself.  

“What’s that?” 

“The last child of mine to say such things to me was Anthony.” 

****

He finds himself, again, at the window.  The whole Featherington family seems to be gathered around a couple of carriages now - headed out for some kind of outing.  The modiste perhaps? There’s a lot of commotion as they’re sorting out who is going where.  He observes Penelope, off to one side, arms crossed as she waits for her turn.  He notes that she doesn’t look happy or sad, only lost in her own thoughts.  Resigned if anything.  

He still hasn’t made it across the square.  Still hasn’t gone to check up on them.  Still hasn’t figured out how someone who used to be so verbose with every interaction is now suddenly such a mystery to him.  He wants to see her, talk to her, ask her how she has been.  It’s becoming more of a need than a want.  And still he refrains.  He will not impede in places he may not be welcome.

“Colin?” This time it’s Kate who approaches, with a broad grin.  “It is a pleasure to have you back.” 

He nods, with gratitude.  “I must say, it is a pleasure to have you join our household.  I’ve never seen Anthony so…tolerable.”  

She lets out an amused laugh.  “You are too kind.  And also too kind for such gifts.”  She holds up a pair of royal purple, leather riding gloves; a pair he knew she would adore the minute he saw them.  “They are similar to a design I am familiar with back home.  I cherish them.”  

He nods, warmly.  “It’s the least I could do for such an agreeable new sister.  And if I dare say it, you are possibly the most agreeable of the bunch.” 

She lets out another kind laugh.  “Mmm, you say that now, but I assure you if you spoke with Edwina, she would tell you that I would be just as troublesome as your own blood.”  

His attention is once again drawn to the window.  A horse is neighing, being restless.  Something has spooked it.  There is a commotion outside as the drivers are trying to calm it down.  He quickly scans for Penelope, but she has wandered a bit down the road, far from any harm’s way.  He is relieved to see it.  

“Since you are my sister now, perhaps you wouldn’t mind a query,” he asks of Kate, who is also watching the scene unfold across the square.  She nods, open to his question.  “You wouldn’t happen to know what has come between my sister, Eloise, and Penelope Featherington?” 

Her head snaps towards him, surprised.  “How unlike you, Colin, asking for gossip.”  She gives him a playful tap on the arm.  

He shrugs.  “It’s less about gossip and more about feeling as though the world has turned on its head and being unsure as to how it got there.” 

“Ah,” she replies, looking out the window.  She notices what he has, Penelope pacing in a square as she waits, head to the ground, avoiding the scene that is only being exacerbated as Portia yells at the driver about the horse.  “Well, unfortunately, I do not have an answer to such an inquiry.  Admittedly, Anthony and I have heard little of the outside world lately.”  

“And yet, you may have been the only ones, besides my mother, who’ve responded to my letters.” It shouldn’t have bothered him so much to hear back so little.  Yet, it feels as though the world has moved on without him and he’s having to scramble to catch up.  

“So, I am to take it that none of your sisters wrote to you?” 

He shakes his head. “None of them.  Not even Penelope.” 

Kate looks at him curiously.  “Penelope is not your sister.” 

“Yes, but she is my…” He cuts off, unsure as to the end of the sentence.  She is his what? It is true, she is not his sister.  A friend? A confident? The only person in the world he feels comfortable baring his soul to? The only person he truly longed for while he was away? What do you call such a person? 

Maybe, simply, she is just his Penelope.  

His whole body relaxes at the thought.  

“She is a good family friend,” he responds when he notices Kate’s eyes lingering on him.  

She arches an eyebrow, making a good imitation of his mother.  “If I may venture a guess, perhaps Penelope is someone who is more important to you than merely a good family friend?”  

“Perhaps,” He says.  It is uncomfortable how closely Kate is watching him.  “We have known each other since childhood.  And with the Featheringtons no longer having a direct male heir, they should be looked out for.  She should be looked out for.  Despite what you might hear, they are a fine family.”  He adds the last part quickly, as it is clear from the scene outside that Lady Featherington, on her best days, remains more difficult than ever.  

Kate tilts her head to consider.  “I am not sure what it is I might hear.  Do not forget that I, too, have come from a less than reputable family as well.” 

“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Colin assures her.  

“You know that, and I know that, but others may not,” Kate points out.  “Hence, I will trust your judgment when it comes to the Featheringtons.”  

“Good.” 

“And?” What more she is waiting for, he is unsure.  

“And…?” 

She clicks her tongue.  “I suspect there is more that you do not wish to divulge at present.  I understand.”  

“I’m not sure I get what you mean?” 

Kate shakes her head at him.  “Never you mind.” 

The scene outside has reached a solution.  The horse is now calm, the driver annoyed yet settled, Lady Featherington has finally stopped her screaming and has entered the carriage.  Penelope finally makes her way back towards the carriage, joining her family.  Colin notices that none of them seem to pay her any attention.  She is just there, taking up space.  A terrible oversight if he has ever seen one.  

How does one not notice her?  She is the most radiant person in any room.  

“Oh, Colin…” Kate rubs his arm, affectionately. 

“What?” 

“Nothing.  It’s just that -- as unalike the two of you are, sometimes you remind me of your brother.”  She grins, giving him a wink as she starts to leave.  “Thank you again for the gloves.” 

****

It’s evening time.  Colin glances out the window to see if their carriage, the one taking them to Lady Danbury’s ball, has come around.  It hasn’t yet, but across the square, a carriage waits at the Featherington estate.  He pauses, watching, but all is still.  They have to be going.  Everyone is going.  Hopefully, then, he will see her there.  Maybe, then, they can steal a moment to talk.  

He is joined at the window by his sister, Francesca.  She is ready as he is for the ball, dressed in a lovely shade of pale blue.  She doesn’t say a word as she approaches, only stands by his side, idly, as they both wait.  He squirms a moment, fixing his jacket, adjusting his collar, dusting off a lapel.  Nothing moves outside.  He feels restless.  

“If you’re wanting to inquire about what is on my mind, there is no need, for it is nothing,” he says, after a moment.  

She gives him an odd look.  “I had not the intention to ask about anything.  Though it does not sound like nothing.” She clasps and unclasps her hands in front of her, fidgeting.  

“Are you nervous for your first ball?” he asks.  

“Maybe a little,” she admits.  Francesca has always been so calm, so serene.  It’s strange to see her in such an agitated state.  

He takes one of her hands and gives it a squeeze. “There is no need to be.  You look lovely, sister.  And rest assured, we will all be here for you.” 

She smiles, but it does not quite meet her eyes.  “I find comfort in that.”  

They continue to stare out the window, silently.  

Eventually, across the way, the door opens.  Lady Featherington leaves the house, followed only by Penelope.   She’s bundled tightly in a cloak but he notices her hair is styled differently, the red waves shining brilliantly in the orange glow of the lamplight as it cascades over her shoulder.  Colin’s breath hitches a little at the sight of her. 

“I do miss her,” Francesca says, solemnly.  

“Penelope?” 

“Yes,” a faint smile spreads on Francesca’s lips.  “She’s always been so lively and kind to me. Always complimenting how I play the pianoforte.  It seems as though something has been missing not having her around.”  

“Yes, Penelope is…” his words die as there isn’t an adequate way to complete the sentence.  He remains fixed on Penelope across the way.  He hadn’t been looking forward to the ball.  He isn’t often fond of any of them.  But he’ll be seeing her soon, and a sense of giddiness arises in him.  

“It’s a shame whatever argument that she and Eloise have had,” Francesca continues.  “We did not see her at all while in the country.” 

“And you do not know their argument?” 

Francesca shakes her head.  He supposes that’s one mystery that will have to remain for now.  

Across the way, Penelope moves towards the carriage.  For a moment, she turns to look behind her.  Her eyes flash up, and Colin thinks she sees him looking back.  A frown falls over her face, and she turns away again, entering the carriage.  Colin feels a heaviness in his heart.  

“I find myself…missing her as well,” he admits.  It feels good to say it out loud.  

“That does not surprise me,” Francesca says, unexpectedly.  

“It doesn’t?” 

“You are dear to her.”

“You mean, she is dear to me?” 

“Of course, she would be.”  Francesca gives him an incredulous look.  “I only meant that I’m sure her attention towards you had not gone unnoticed.  To not have it now must feel…strange.”  

“Eloise is dear to her,” he deflects.  “Any affection for me, as well as the rest of the family, is merely an extension of that.”  

A flicker of a grin twitches on Francesca’s lips.  “Yes, I’m sure she feels towards you the same as she does for Hyacinth.” 

“I’m sure she does.”  

“And yet, her eyes do not light up nearly as bright when any of the rest of us walk in a room.” 

“Do they?” 

“Surely, brother, you jest.  Have you truly never noticed how…”  Francesca is cut off by the rest of the family entering the room.  

The bustle to leave begins as they shuffle out of the house.  Francesca is scooped up by their mother, ushering them out first as she gives Francesca tips on how to act and whom to seek when they arrive at the ball.  Benedict and Eloise head out next, the two of them huddled together as they giggle and laugh and joke about the various ways they could make what should be a very dull evening more lively.  Anthony and Kate are next, arms linked together, as they look at each other, very deeply in love.  

Colin brings up the rear, feeling somewhat like an afterthought.  

“Why are you being melancholy?” Anthony throws him a look as they wait to enter the carriage.

“I am not melancholy,” Colin states.  “I’m just being… pensive.” 

“You’re being sour,” Anthony says.  “And you’re reminding me of me. I don’t like it.” 

Kate lets out a laugh, as she puts a hand on Anthony’s shoulder.  “Let your brother be.  I’m sure his mood will improve once we get to the ball.”  She gives Colin a wink as they enter the carriage.  

He isn’t sure why everyone has been insisting he’s acting like Anthony.  Anthony had been miserable last year.  And he doesn’t feel anything of the sort.  He’s fine.  Good, actually.  Never in his life better.  A far cry from the tortured soul his brother had been the previous year.  

He throws one last look over to the Featherington estate; Francesca’s words lingering on his mind.  Would Penelope’s eyes brighten when they meet tonight? The thought has him feeling hopeful for the evening.  

[xayneimagines]

Buggy Baby: Improper use of ChopChop

Fandom:One piece

Pairing: Buggy(Sub) x Reader(Dom. She/They. MC)

Genre: Filthy smut and fluffy aftercare

Content tags: Smut, pegging, dom/sub, use of ‘baby boy’ ‘pretty boy’. Praise kink. God did not make the Devil fruit for such sins. After care like a proper dom should. He’s a crier. Reader got a cunt but uh…it’s not really used much here. Just kind of mentioned for description purposes.

I use “~” too much. No, I won't change.

TW: None? I think? If I’m wrong, tell me.

Apology:Sorry it took longer than I wanted it to. There has been some shit going on lol. There might be some mistakes cause I couldn’t get someone to look it over and I’m dyslexic and a them-bo

~~~~~~~~~~~

All that MC could hear was the sounds of flesh against flesh and Buggy’s whimpers as they fucked into him. The grip she had on his hips was damn near turning her knuckles white as she continued to bring his ass back to meet each thrust, plunging his own cock further into him.

“Fuck~ You’re so pretty, Buggy~.”

“Mmm…mmm…fuck, fuck, fuck, please MC~” He was barely able to pant out each word, voice trembling along with each push of her hips into his. They always thought he looked so beautiful like this, drenched in sweat and begging her. She just wished he could see his cute flushed face, but they hadn’t had the foresight to ask him to pop his head off. Maybe they should invest in a mirror…

“Please what, Buggy baby. How do you want me to fuck my sweet captain tonight?” She panted out, a sheen of sweat on her forhead just from the actions of fucking him alone. The only real stimulation being given to her was the feeling of Buggy’s balls sometimes slapping against her, but fuck, watching him like this was more than enough to satisfy her.

While he could move his dick however he wished typically, being fucked out of his mind already made him falter too much. Thankfully, the harness MC purchased kept his dick sitting nice and pretty right where they needed it, pressed against her cunt.

“F…fast, flashy, fast.” They loved when he got like this. All he could do was whimper and repeat a few key words that his mind latched onto. They let out a playful giggle, one hand moving to push on the middle of his back while she propped up one of her legs all to make sure she could reach him nice and deep.

With one hand still on his hip, they started thrusting faster, using the leverage of her legs to help drive her further and deeper than before.

“F-f-f-FUCk~” Buggy’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as one of his hands detached, flying to grip the back of MC’s head in hopes that clinging to the strands there could keep him grounded. He always seemed to lose himself to her, mind only able to focus on how good they fucked him. Even before they switch to using his cock instead of a toy he found it too easy to just melt into her. Now there was no chance with the amount of stimulation he was getting. Feeling how he stretched around himself, cock pulling in and out fast enough so that he never felt empty. It was just so good.

And then he heard MC moan as his fingers buried into her hair and pride shot through him like a damn cannon. He loved being good for them. Being her good boy.

As if MC sensed his thoughts…

“Fuck, you’re such a pretty boy for me, Buggy~ Look at you taking your dick so god damn well~ How can you not love this perfect body of yours.” Praises fell from her mouth just as his tongue lolled out of his, knowing how much he needed the praise. Sometimes he thought he could cum from her pretty words alone, but it was hard to articulate that to them right now.

“P..perfect?” He barely managed to whimper out the words, breath leaving him each time his cock would bottom out.

“Mmm, yeah baby. Could watch you bounce all day like this~ Fuck, you know how you make me feel~ I gotta show you how much I appreacite you, yeah? Show you how much of a good slut you can be for me?” She asked, panting between each word as she continued to fuck into him. She might not have been able to feel him clench at her words, but god did she love to see it.

“Good slut. Good slut for you~ Fuck, there!” He shouted as his cock brushed against his prostate, keeping to their agreement to always tell her when she finds the perfect angle. MC drilled into his head to call it out every time they did this, saying she wanted to make sure his sweet spot never got neglected just cause she couldn’t feel it through his cock.

When “there” left his lips she made sure to angle her hips to hit it everytime, the bed under them rocking violently and headboard hitting the wall. There wasn’t any point to being quiet. The crew knew well enough. She could tell he was getting closer as the ramblings turned into just sounds and shouts, his dick sputtering against its harness but unable to move or flail.

“Gonna cum for me? My good boy wants me to make sure his ass is nice and filled up?”

“Y..yes! Yes, fuck! Fuck I’m gonna cum!”

“Where you want your cum baby?~ Better be a good boy and tell me what you want before you’re done~” She quickened the pace, almost hoping he’d forget to tell her just so that she could find a fun way to punish him for it.

“In!! Want it in! Fuck, please!”

She grinned at his words, leaning over his body and biting down onto his neck playfully as her brutal pace continued, not even bothering to try and pull all the way out before plunging back in. No, if he wanted it in, she’d make sure it would stay deep inside and not one drop would risk getting spilled out.

He cried out, cum shooting from his dick and coating his own insides, the grip on her hair tightening briefly just before his hand seemed to fall off of her head. As he came she slowed her pace, wanting to make sure to ease him down from his high, his flaccid dick slowly rubbing against his insides before he fully collapsed onto the bed.

MC started to pepper sweet kisses over his shoulder and back, waiting for him to tell her he was ready for her to pull himself out. Each soft kiss came with a gentle praise about how well he did and how good he always made her feel.

“You did so good, buggy. The best performance I’ve ever seen. So flashy and beautiful.” Of course she was still horny, but this hasn’t been about her anyway. She wanted to make sure he felt as good as he deserved to feel, and she didn’t mind going without cumming if it’s for him.

“You…you can…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but she knew what he meant. Slowly she pulled out, separating their body just enough once she did so that her hand could undo the clasp keeping his cock in place. She giggled when it seemed to just fall, moving to grab it slowly and put it back on its owner. Buggy hissed a little at the touch, but didn’t protest it. She always made sure to put him back together again after tearing him apart like this.

“You’re so good for me, Buggy.” They whispered, wanting to make sure as he came to the first thing he’d register was the praises. “You cry so pretty every time. I swear, there’s nothing better than you coming undone, my love.” She whispered it into his ear before her teeth slightly pulled at the lobe, checking to see if he was even awake.

A chuckle answered her before he slowly moved to lay onto his back, hand finally reattaching. MC let him get comfortable before she laid her head on his chest and arms around his midsection. He never cared about being a big or a little spoon. He always just needed to touch her afterwards.

“Course I do! I’m the best!” His words were enthusiastic despite the fact they were laced with exhaustion. He always felt like king of the world after she fucked his mind blank. All he could do was say yes mam and agree with whatever she said. That and, of course, whisper love repeatedly.

“Don’t sleep yet. I gotta clean you up now.” MC said with a grin as they looked up at their sleepy clown who frowned a little.

“I’m the captain and captains orders is for you to stay right here and sleep with me.” He declared, barely able to keep his eyes open. She giggled and moved up to kiss his cheek.

“Fine, captain. You can nap. But I do need to clean up all this mess before it fully dries. So be a good boy, and let me.” Their words turned sultry as she kissed his lips. He hummed in annoyance, but let go of her waist to allow it.

She moved quickly to grab the bucket of water and rag she had placed in their room ahead of time. Of course soap would be better, but there was no way she was gonna be able to convince him to bathe fully right now. She dipped the rag into the water, rung it out, and sat on the bed. She started with his stomach, gently running the rag over his body with love and careful affection. She tried to be even more gentle with his sensitive cock, a small whimper coming from him every time she lightly wiped at the tip. When she got to where she would need his ass, she gently tapped his thighs.

“Come on, pretty. You gotta roll over or lift your hips for this part. Unless you got the energy to detach.”

“If I detach I’m not getting back together again.” He barely managed to whimper, eyes fully closed now as he let her clean him. He groaned a little when she taped his thigh again, but slowly lifted a leg so that it would rest on her shoulder. She quickly grabbed a nearby pillow and placed it under his hips so that he didn’t have to strain to stay hoisted, and she gently ran the rag along his ass.

“There we go. We’ll take a full shower in the morning. Thirsty?” She asked, tossing the rag into the bucket while she placed a kiss to the inside of his calf. She was a little shocked to see his eyes opened again, staring at her. A moment of silence passed between them before he held his arms open a little.

“Just love me.”

“Don’t be silly, Buggy. I already do.”