#jam being always together pretends to be shocked lol

[hyohaehyuk]

copy&pasting this bc if the account gets deleted or smth the content get lost forever

for the screening, the cast had assigned seats (jacob and delainey in the same row, sam behind jacob, eric behind sam, assad on the other side of the aisle, the same side as rolin, hannah, and mark johnson). sam and jacob were off to the side chatting during intros and never sat in theirs

delainey got applause from the audience upon her first on screen appearance, the only cast member to get one

daniel had a fair few interview beats which got laughs from the audience

afterwards, an actor from the venue came up and gave a little speech as though he was from a sister coven to the TdV in paris. then we were dismissed to the party, which was upstairs

initially post party, assad and luke were in the front larger room of the reception - sam and jacob were, i believe, already gathered in a far back corner in the second room, along with some other people. eric didn’t stay for the party

the venue had a couple little ‘shows’ - at one point the whole cast and some other guests went up several flights of stairs to a room (delainey commented on how many flights there were as we climbed) where a version of the no pain scene from the books was reenacted by venue actors

kalyne coleman was there, i saw her chatting with jacob. i let her cut in front of me for drinks as an excuse to talk to her. there’s a nod to grace in the episode and it sounded like that was a surprise to her (a pleasant one!)

my conversations with the cast were deeply unsubstantive, i was too pleased to be there to come up with anything too clever or probing to say tbh

when i spoke to jacob, i started by saying “sorry” (just reflexively) and he immediately, very warmly, was like what are you apologizing for! when i said how excited i was for the season and he said something like 'i hope it doesn’t disappoint’ (which i did think was surprisingly pessimistic for a premiere party lol but having seen the quote about hoping ppl still like louis by the end, maybe he is actually a tad concerned! i did obviously say i didn’t think it would)

sam was the best at these meetings because he very naturally asks questions back. i told him i loved him in the newsreader as well, and he asked whether i was pirating it (i’m not exactly, i had a vpn). then we all walked off to do that no pain scene experience

after the no pain scene, we exited down some stairs which opened to the second smaller room. assad was behind me so i asked him who did it better (these actors or the show), and we joked about that. he then introduced himself to me, and when i couldn’t help noting that i did in fact know who he was, he said he would never want to assume. sam came up to us and assad introduced him to me, and i got the joy of saying we’d met!

(SKIP this bullet if you don’t want newsreader vibes-based spoilers) sam asked me what i liked better, iwtv or the newsreader. i said iwtv but that newsreader was great and season 2 was so sad! he said season 3 is the last of the series, and told me it’s dark and bleak, worse than season 2, maybe only a second of peace/happiness at the end. so. there’s that to look forward to….

he also told me about the crossover staffing between shows (emma and the DOP). i tried to ask if he was responsible for any of that but dont think i articulated it well but he said 'you want to work with the people you like’

my delainey convo was brief, i turned while we were walking up to the no pain thing and realized she was next to me, so just took the opportunity to let her know i was excited about her in next season

around 10-ish, sam and jacob left to (i believe?) go to levan’s friends bar, along with hannah and others i didn’t recognize. assad and luke were around for another 30-40 minutes after that, then the whole thing ended at 11. i didn’t notice when or with who delainey left

delainey, as far as i noticed, did the least mingling; assad and luke did the most. generally speaking (and as expected) sam and jacob hung around together or in the same spaces. also perhaps as expected, assad and luke were hanging around together for lots of the night. at the end of the night, when it felt less burdensome to ask, i got a pic with those two. they were very cool about it, luke was sweet, we’d spoken earlier, he stuck out his tongue for one of the shots and he found me again later to chat

that photocall video i took (above) was after the 'no pain’ experience.

i was lucky enough to attend the premiere on tuesday (as the +1 of a contest winner); in case this is of interest (and, indulgently, to preserve it for my own memory), here are some tidbits from my night:

for the screening, the cast had assigned seats (jacob and delainey in the same row, sam behind jacob, eric behind sam, assad on the other side of the aisle, the same side as rolin, hannah, and mark johnson). sam and jacob were off to the side chatting during intros and never sat in theirs

delainey got applause from the audience upon her first on screen appearance, the only cast member to get one

daniel had a fair few interview beats which got laughs from the audience

afterwards, an actor from the venue came up and gave a little speech as though he was from a sister coven to the TdV in paris. then we were dismissed to the party, which was upstairs

initially post party, assad and luke were in the front larger room of the reception - sam and jacob were, i believe, already gathered in a far back corner in the second room, along with some other people. eric didn't stay for the party

the venue had a couple little 'shows' - at one point the whole cast and some other guests went up several flights of stairs to a room (delainey commented on how many flights there were as we climbed) where a version of the no pain scene from the books was reenacted by venue actors

kalyne coleman was there, i saw her chatting with jacob. i let her cut in front of me for drinks as an excuse to talk to her. there's a nod to grace in the episode and it sounded like that was a surprise to her (a pleasant one!)

my conversations with the cast were deeply unsubstantive, i was too pleased to be there to come up with anything too clever or probing to say tbh

when i spoke to jacob, i started by saying "sorry" (just reflexively) and he immediately, very warmly, was like what are you apologizing for! when i said how excited i was for the season and he said something like 'i hope it doesn't disappoint' (which i did think was surprisingly pessimistic for a premiere party lol but having seen the quote about hoping ppl still like louis by the end, maybe he is actually a tad concerned! i did obviously say i didn't think it would)

sam was the best at these meetings because he very naturally asks questions back. i told him i loved him in the newsreader as well, and he asked whether i was pirating it (i'm not exactly, i had a vpn). then we all walked off to do that no pain scene experience

after the no pain scene, we exited down some stairs which opened to the second smaller room. assad was behind me so i asked him who did it better (these actors or the show), and we joked about that. he then introduced himself to me, and when i couldn't help noting that i did in fact know who he was, he said he would never want to assume. sam came up to us and assad introduced him to me, and i got the joy of saying we'd met!

(SKIP this bullet if you don't want newsreader vibes-based spoilers) sam asked me what i liked better, iwtv or the newsreader. i said iwtv but that newsreader was great and season 2 was so sad! he said season 3 is the last of the series, and told me it's dark and bleak, worse than season 2, maybe only a second of peace/happiness at the end. so. there's that to look forward to....

he also told me about the crossover staffing between shows (emma and the DOP). i tried to ask if he was responsible for any of that but dont think i articulated it well but he said 'you want to work with the people you like'

my delainey convo was brief, i turned while we were walking up to the no pain thing and realized she was next to me, so just took the opportunity to let her know i was excited about her in next season

around 10-ish, sam and jacob left to (i believe?) go to levan's friends bar, along with hannah and others i didn't recognize. assad and luke were around for another 30-40 minutes after that, then the whole thing ended at 11. i didn't notice when or with who delainey left

delainey, as far as i noticed, did the least mingling; assad and luke did the most. generally speaking (and as expected) sam and jacob hung around together or in the same spaces. also perhaps as expected, assad and luke were hanging around together for lots of the night. at the end of the night, when it felt less burdensome to ask, i got a pic with those two. they were very cool about it, luke was sweet, we'd spoken earlier, he stuck out his tongue for one of the shots and he found me again later to chat

that photocall video i took (above) was after the 'no pain' experience.

[spencers-renaissance]

you know that a boy who likes boys is a dead boy

Summary: Spencer's gay. He joins the BAU and befriends the team, but it is 2003. It's a secret he has to keep. He just didn't expect it to be this hard.

Tags: gay!spencer, coming out, hurt/comfort, insecure!spencer, misunderstandings, angst with a happy ending, dad hotch, protective!hotch, protective!derek, childhood trauma TW: one instance of explicit homophobia, but it is referenced a lot, as is Spencer's internalised homophobia at the start of this fic. A shit ton of heteronormativity but tbh that's just canon lol

Pairing: Spencer Reid/OMC, Spencer Reid & Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid & Aaron Hotchner, The BAU Team & Spencer Reid

Word Count: 6k

Masterlist // Read on AO3

Consider this my contribution to pride month 😌 I've waited so long to post it and I'm so glad I'm finally doing it because it's definitely one of my all time favourites <3 Gideon is here somewhere but just like with all my early season fics he's not really part of the plot I combined my moreid and gen taglists bc it was hard to know the audience for this, but just ignore it if you're not interested!

you know that a boy who likes boys is a dead boy, unless he keeps his mouth shut, which is what you didn’t do, because you are weak and hollow and it doesn’t matter anymore. — richard siken, a primer for the small weird loves

Spencer has only told one person in his whole life.

His mother guessed. For as long as he can remember, she’s used gender neutral pronouns when talking about his future partner, read him all the gay literature she could find, promised him that he’s perfect just the way he is.

The trouble is that Spencer only believes her until the first grade, when Ryan Sampson shoves him over in the playground and calls him gay. His mom had only ever used that term in a sweet, loving way, taking care to associate such words with positivity, as long as his dad wasn’t around to hear. When that word comes out of Ryan Sampson’s mouth, it is not said with sweetness and love; it is said with venom, and Spencer learns quickly that his mom is wrong. He is not perfect just the way he is.

And so, he keeps it a secret. When his mom notices him getting uncomfortable at the mention of future partners, she stops bringing it up, though she refuses to give up the diverse education she provides for him outside of school. His dad tells him that one day he’ll be a strapping young man and marry a nice girl in a church, and Spencer nods along. He ignores the way his stomach turns with anxiety at the thought. Ignores the screaming match his parents have that night. Ignores the fact that it started because Diana chipped in with ‘or boy’.

He’s in high school by the time he’s twelve, and the only part he’s grateful for is the absence of pressure to get a girlfriend. His dad’s out of the picture now, and Spencer tries not to let himself think that maybe if he wasn’t like this he might have stayed. Diana’s so out of it most days that she doesn’t remember what she noticed about him when he was a child, only recalling the last few years of shoving himself so far back in the closet he can hardly see the door anymore.

It feels like he’s lost his last ally.

(He hates that a small part of him feels relieved she doesn’t remember; that he almost feels assured by the fact that the last person to know who he really is has forgotten. There is only this version of Spencer Reid now. No other exists.)

He makes the mistake during his second undergraduate degree. He’s just turned eighteen but he is already a doctor and, fortunately, this alienates him from most of his peers, but someone manages to slide past his defences. Ethan Miller is twenty, in the second year of his (first) undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering, and he’s nice. Spencer doesn’t have a lot of experience with friendship, but they get on well and Ethan makes him laugh. For the first time, he feels comfortable in the presence of anyone other than his mother.

They slip into an easy friendship: waiting for each other after class — Spencer back in the undergraduate buildings now he has his first PhD under his belt — and going out for ice cream and pizza and Thai food. Ethan goes to parties while Spencer studies, and then they reconvene to watch Doctor Who and play cards.

For almost a year, Spencer keeps his secret carefully locked up, hidden behind the mask he’s perfected after so many years. Even though he’s eighteen, nearly nineteen now, he doesn’t try and explore that side of himself. No, that’s far too risky. He doesn’t try and pretend any other way either, he just stays silent and lets people’s assumptions lie for him, but he can’t help the longing that claws up his throat when he locks eyes with a passing guy on campus. One time, he’d seen two men kiss on a bench in the city, and he’d run back to his dorm and had a panic attack. Why couldn’t he have that?

The feelings don’t stop, and he doesn’t know how to make them. He hates that he isn’t normal, but still longs for the touch of a man, the feeling of being wrapped up in strong arms, of being kissed by dry, chapped lips, and falling asleep to a heartbeat approximately 11% slower than that of a woman’s.

It’s a constant battle inside him, emotions raging, and he struggles to control it, suppress it, tame it.

He pays a sorry price.

Ethan makes him feel comfortable, and that turns out to be a detriment. He relaxes around the other boy: he tells him about growing up as a pre-teen in a high school, about how a child feels living 260 miles away from home, even about his mother’s illness.

And one day, it slips out. They’re on the beach, lying on towels as they look up at the blue sky, talking about what their futures will look like: Ethan will be a successful chemical engineer in Berlin, and Spencer will work for the FBI, profiling serial killers.

“You’ll have to marry a German girl,” he tells Ethan. “It’ll be tough to convince an American girl to move all the way to Germany as soon as you graduate.”

“Yeah, and what about you? You’ll be off fighting crime around the country, not much of a life for a family.”

“Oh, I imagine my husband will be the type to—”

“Husband?”

Spencer freezes. It shocks him as much as it shocks Ethan. He doesn’t even pay much attention to Ethan’s disgusted face and his outraged tirade. He hears slurs and insults, hears him say that he can’t believe Spencer tricked him like this, that he was probably waiting to make a move on him, that he was never to look in Ethan’s direction again, but Spencer is frozen in time.

He’s never allowed him to think much about what his personal life might look like in the future, but he’d said ‘husband’ on instinct, without thinking, and it’s clearly something he actually wants. Ethan’s words sting, but the moment brings about a realisation Spencer is thankful for; it instigates a journey of self-discovery and self-expression, of the joy of living as your true self.

He loses his first and only friend, but he gains something much more valuable. He visits gay bars — nervously sipping a non-alcoholic drink in the corner at first, before soon becoming confident enough to respond to the men who sidle up to him and ask for his name. He lets go and dances the night away, sometimes going home with one of the many dance partners he acquires during the night, sometimes heading back to his own dorm happily alone.

Makeup and dresses and skirts and heels make their way into his wardrobe, and he befriends girls and drag queens and other gay men who encourage him to be exactly the way he is. And the best part is, he never has to come out to any of them. All of them know, and that’s good enough for everyone.

The fun comes to a sad sort of slow, however, when he joins the BAU. Everyone knows law enforcement’s relationship with the LGBT community is less than adequate — Spencer’s seen it with his own eyes: butch lesbians and men in dresses getting roughed up by angry police officers for ‘lewd behaviour’ or ‘drunkenness’ when they’re just being themselves. It’s not safe for him to tell anyone, so he doesn’t.

He still goes out with his friends when he’s in town and wears makeup and dresses and crop tops when he’s at home, but presents as rigidly straight Dr Spencer Reid to his team at the BAU.

The hardest part about it is that he loves his team. He’s known Gideon for years — and he wouldn’t be surprised if he suspects something after coming over to his house unannounced one night, only to have a man other than Spencer open the door — but he settles into a comforting dynamic with Hotch. He can’t help but see him as something of a father figure, and he knows Hotch has a soft spot for him, always looking out for him and taking him under his wing without a moment’s hesitation.

Elle, JJ, and Penelope all take a shine to him, too, teasing him without a hint of malice in their tones, only the kind of playful kindness that reminds him of his mother. He forms a special bond with Penelope and they spend hours watching Doctor Who together and geeking out on all the areas their interests overlap, and the comfort he feels with her matches the comfort he’s found with his new group of queer friends.

(She doesn’t hold a candle to Ethan, he decides one night, after he’d cried at a movie she’d made him watch and she felt so bad she made him hot chocolate and jam toast and cuddled him until he felt better.)

Derek becomes a brother to him. He puts him in a headlock at least once a day — which Spencer has been reliably informed by multiple sources is a very brotherly thing to do — and teases him relentlessly, while simultaneously being fiercely protective of him. Enough so, that Spencer sometimes wonders if he even has Hotch beat in that department.

He loves his team and his team loves him. It should be simple. It is still 2003.

He comes in one morning late for a briefing, his shirt buttoned wrong and his hair is a mess, and he’s fairly sure that his attempt to cover the hickey at the base of his neck with concealer has been ultimately unsuccessful. It’s obvious why he’s late. Gideon is too engrossed in the case file to notice, but Hotch raises an eyebrow, an amused look on his face as everyone else immediately takes to teasing him.

“Who’s the lucky lady, pretty boy?”

Elle raises an eyebrow to match Derek’s shit-eating grin, “Someone definitely got some strange last night.”

“When do we get to meet her, Spence?” JJ asks, smirking as he takes a seat.

He’s bright red — as if he needed to look any more debauched — and Spencer tries to ignore the hurt that seizes his chest at the reminder of his need to stay quiet. This team respects him, and he can’t throw that away just because Spencer gets too comfortable.

God, he wishes Penelope was here.

“None of your business,” he mutters, trying to keep his tone light. He fails.

Naturally, Hotch notices and swiftly moves the briefing on, and Spencer keeps his gaze locked on the case file, not missing the absence of a reprimand from his superior. He’s constantly thankful for the older man, but in this moment, he wishes he could hug him.

(A voice that sounds dangerously close to Ethan’s rises up and taunts him in his ear: he wouldn’t want a dirty homo like you anywhere near him—)

Derek doesn’t let up on the case, continuing to bug him about the special lady in his life. He does concede that it could’ve been a one night stand, which is one front he’s right on, but a couple more concessions are necessary before Derek comes close to the truth of last night.

Eventually, Derek stops, and Spencer notes that the cessation of comments comes suspiciously close to the last time Derek and Hotch were alone together. He doesn’t have it in him to feel angry at Hotch for stepping in when he had it handled; doesn’t have the energy to act as though his pride is wounded, because really, neither of those things are true, and he doesn’t need to add another item to ‘Spencer Reid’s List of Things He Pretends to Be.’

The situation is forgotten, and time moves on.

Things change when he finds his first proper boyfriend. He doesn’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the giddying rush of emotions it turns out to be, and Spencer spends his days smiling as he daydreams his time away.

His name is Oscar Wilkins, a History professor at Georgetown University, and Spencer falls quickly in love with him. Ever since their mutual friend had introduced them at a gay bar one evening, they’d spent all their free time together. He’s kind and gentle and understanding of Spencer’s hectic and unpredictable job, and he finally has the chance to experience everything he quietly and shamefully longed for as a teenager.

The only downside is the silent breaking of Spencer’s heart that the most important people in his life can’t meet his boyfriend. He longs to show Oscar off, to hold hands in front of his team, lean up to press a tender kiss to Oscar’s lips. He wants to put a framed picture of the two of them at the Washington Monument on his desk to remind him of why he needs to get through the hard days; he doesn’t want to have to sneak out of the hotel room he shares with Derek to whisper hushed, loving goodnights over the phone.

But he’s too scared. Too cowardly.

It’s different being who he is with his gay group of friends littered with wlws and drag queens and other gay and bisexual guys. They understand.

But Derek and Hotch are two extremely masculine, alpha men: Derek’s a ladies’ man and Hotch is married to a woman he met in college with a baby on the way and both have a strong and dominant energy that still sometimes manages to intimidate Spencer even after all these years. And Elle and JJ are lovely — some of his closest friends, really — but sometimes they remind him a little too much of the mean girls he went to high school with.

The hardest person to keep his secret from, though, is Penelope. She’s his best friend and he desperately wants to give her all of him, but he’s so scared. He’s lost a best friend to this secret before, and even though he’s certain she’d be fine with it, what if she accidentally let it slip to Derek? What if Hotch found out and didn’t see him in the same light anymore? What if the girls started teasing him? What if Gideon didn’t want to mentor him anymore?

The fear paralyses him. And it’s a cycle he doesn’t know how to break.

Fear, though, doesn't stop everyone from noticing his daydreaming, his dopey smile when he checks his messages, his urgency to get home where he would’ve stayed until the small hours of the morning before. As excellent as he is at hiding his sexuality, he’s fucking terrible at hiding the fact that he’s in love: it was easy enough to pretend he was straight, but hiding something this all-consuming is an impossible ask.

Derek comes over to perch on the edge of his desk one afternoon, sighing as he sits down. “Pretty boy, this is getting ridiculous,” he says, snatching Spencer’s attention away from his phone. “You’ve been grinning like an idiot for the last twenty minutes as you’ve texted Future Mrs Reid. When are we going to meet her?”

(He hates the new nickname the team has given his mystery significant other, although Oscar had found it hilarious. “It’s funny because when we get married, we’ll hardly be able to tell,” he’d argued through his laughter. “Neither of us will change our name because of our academic profiles, and we’ll both still be ‘Dr’. Our wedding rings will be the only indicator.”

Spencer hadn’t argued back, because he’d been too tongue-tied and flushed pink at Oscar’s use of ‘when’ in regards to their hypothetical nuptials. It was only made bearable by Oscar kissing him gently and tucking him under his arm, not embarrassing him any further as Spencer had sort of anticipated, warmth settling over his chest at the thought of their future together.)

“You won’t,” he replies, perhaps a little too curtly.

Derek starts at that, clearly not expecting it. He definitely should’ve tried to play it off as a joke. “What— should I be offended, pretty boy?”

You wouldn’t call me that if you knew who I really am.

“That’s up to you, Derek,” he says calmly, although he still can’t meet his eyes, “but you won’t meet the ‘Future Mrs Reid, so I think it would probably be best if you left it alone.”

“Damn,” Derek mutters under his breath, clearly pissed off and probably more hurt than Spencer ever intended. “Suit yourself.”

And with that, he gets up and leaves his desk. Spencer’s only solace is the text message he sees on his phone when he picks it back up: I love you so much. You know that, right?

The light-hearted ridicule comes to an abrupt halt after the incident with Derek, and it’s clear that he had been the biggest contributor to the teasing. He’s thankful that the jokes have stopped, but he wishes desperately that it didn’t come with the growing distance between him and his team. Loneliness takes the place of his previous irritated anxiety, and he isn’t sure what’s worse.

It all comes to a head at the end of a case in Michigan. They’re stuck in the lounge of the small inn they’d stayed in the last few days, a snowstorm having blocked them in and grounded the jet, although Gideon had long since retreated to his room. The fire’s going and they’re the only guests around, so it’s cosy enough, but Spencer can’t help but feel sick at the idea of another night away from home.

It’s only been two weeks since he’d snapped at Derek, but the chasm between him and the team is only widening with each passing day. He knows it’s not a case of ‘pick a side’, but the team’s morale relies on light-hearted banter and teasing, and him not being a part of that anymore has only brewed awkwardness. Everyone’s trying to give him space when space is the last thing he wants.

Oscar’s keeping him company over the phone at least, but it’s not quite enough to quell the loneliness swimming around his stomach, and the 'discrete' sideways looks he gets from the team only make him feel worse.

“At least it’s nice and toasty in here,” JJ sighs as she takes a sip of the hot chocolate the kindly inn owner had made for them all.

Elle hums in agreement. “There are worse places to be grounded.”

“I dunno, man, I just wanna get home,” Derek says, not taking his eyes off the fire. Spencer can’t help but agree.

“Oh, come on,” Hotch muses, considerably more jovial now the case is over, “we’re here, and that’s not going to change any time soon. We should make the most of it.”

“It’s at least nice to be somewhere sort-of Christmassy now it’s December,” Elle points out. “We could be stuck in a dingy police station like we probably will be next week.”

“Ooh, I noticed that Jemimah and Kiran started planning the Christmas party last week,” JJ says, smiling at them. “I offered my help, but they seem to have it covered.”

Hotch raises an eyebrow“That’s probably a good thing. You don’t need more work on your plate.”

“Not gonna argue with that,” she murmurs, smiling as she brings her mug to her lips again.

Spencer doesn’t miss that Derek is still stewing on the opposite side of the room.

“Are you looking forward to the Christmas party, Spencer? Will you come?” Hotch asks, clearly trying to rope him into the conversation, which he appreciates. He’s been making a lot of effort with him the past few weeks, and it’s just about the only thing that’s getting him through each day.

Before he can reply, though, Derek erupts from the other side of the room; an already pissed-off man being pushed over the edge. “He won’t even let us meet his fucking girlfriend, Hotch, he’s not gonna want to come to the Christmas party!” he yells, throwing his hands in the air as he glares at Spencer with a stormy expression raging across his face.

Suddenly, Spencer can’t stay silent anymore, and his retort shocks himself just as much as it does everyone else. “I don’t have a girlfriend!”

It might be the loudest he’s ever shouted in his whole life. He’s always been quiet and restrained, the type to state his feelings as calmly as possible no matter how he’s feeling on the inside. Even in the biggest fight he’s had with Oscar, his voice was barely loud enough to qualify as a shout.

There’s a brief stunned silence, but Derek quickly slices his way through it, voice raising to meet Spencer’s fiery emotion, fierce and loud. “Oh, don’t even go there, Reid, you’re really gonna try and argue that? You’re gonna lie about her as well as not let us meet her? What a boyfriend you are.”

“I don’t! I don’t have a girlfriend!” he repeats, voice catching this time as tears rise unbidden to the backs of his eyes and all the emotions of the journey he’s taken with his sexuality over the years flood him in a wave of intensity he’s not prepared for.

“You’re fucking lying—!”

“I have a boyfriend!” he yells. “Alright? I have a boyfriend. I’m gay.”

The anger and emotion quickly dissipates, and he’s left standing alone in front of the team he’s put so much effort into hiding this from, watching shock spell out across everyone’s expressions. He’s never felt smaller than he does in that moment, and he quickly grabs his phone before running upstairs to his room, locking the door behind him.

“Oh God, Oscar, I fucked up so bad,” he cries over the phone as soon as his boyfriend picks up.

“Hey, hey, breathe, baby,” Oscar says gently, but Spencer can hear the anxious concern in his voice, “it’s gonna be okay, I promise. I’m here. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“I just— Oh God, I just told the team.” A new wave of horror rolls over him as he realises what he’s done. Times might be changing, but it’s still only 2006, and he doesn’t know each and every nuance of his team members’ political positions and, fuck, he hates that his existence is a fucking political position.

Oscar’s been so understanding of his reluctance to not tell the team, even though Spencer’s met pretty much everyone in his life. He isn’t sure what he’s done to earn such a gracious and understanding boyfriend, but he’s not about to question it.

“Baby, I know it’s scary, and I know you’re really worked up right now,” he counsels, voice soft and reassuring, using the nickname he knows Spencer loves the most to make him feel as safe as he can from 700 miles away, “but it’s probably not as bad as you think. From what you’ve told me about the team, they love you so much, and even in the case that in the past they've had some issue with gay people, I can't imagine they’d ever actually think of you any differently when it comes down to it, Spencer.”

He’s crying too hard to reply, and Oscar understands immediately, gently transitioning into a story about his day that slowly starts to calm him down, and by the time he’s wrapping it up, his tears are starting to subside.

“Thank you, Ozzy,” he whispers into the phone, lifting himself up off the floor and making his way to sit on the bed instead.

“You know I’d do anything for you, sweetheart,” he murmurs warmly. “Do you want me to stay on the phone for a bit?”

“Yes please,” he whispers again, holding it as close to himself as possible, drawing all the comfort he can from his boyfriend’s voice.

He lies there listening to Oscar’s voice and trying not to think about the disaster downstairs for a good ten minutes before there’s a tap at the door.

“Oz, there’s someone here,” he says, voice panicked.

“I think you should probably speak to them, baby,” he urges. “I’ll stay on the phone with you while you do, if you like?”

“Please.” He gets up from the bed gingerly, keeping his phone tightly gripped in his right hand as he slowly unlocks the door with his left, revealing Hotch on the other side.

“Hey, Spencer. Do you mind if I come in?”

He’s riddled with nerves, but Hotch is smiling warmly, and he’s never said a harsh word to Spencer, so he steps aside and lets him into his room.

Hotch quickly notices the phone in his hand, visibly still on a call. “Is that your boyfriend?”

Spencer nods.

“Do you mind if I talk to him?”

His brows knit in confusion and his lips part slightly in surprise, but it’s all he can do to hand the phone over, watching Hotch carefully.

“Hi, Spencer tells me this is his boyfriend?” Hotch inquires politely into the phone, his tone still warm. “I’m Hotch, Spencer’s boss.”

He can vaguely hear Oscar speaking on the other end of the line, and he worries slightly that Oscar will somehow give away the familial feelings he holds for Hotch, but the conversation doesn’t last long enough for the anxiety to really take over.

“Everything’s fine here, I just want to have a conversation with Spencer, so is it alright if we hang up and I talk to him alone for a minute? He can call you straight back afterwards.” After a brief pause in which Oscar says something, Hotch looks back up at him. “Are you okay with that, Spencer?”

He nods hesitantly, and Hotch says a quick goodbye to Oscar before surging forwards and wrapping Spencer in a hug. It catches him off guard, but he doesn’t waste any time in burying his face into Hotch’s neck and soaking in the comfort and warmth that always radiates from his father figure.

“Come on,” Hotch says softly as they pull away a good minute or so later, “let’s sit down, shall we?”

“You’re not mad?” Spencer can’t help but ask, the question burning his tongue as anxiety — however quietened from Hotch’s hug — still swims around in his stomach.

“There are many things that could make me mad, Spencer,” he says earnestly, “but this is not one of them. I would never be angry at you for being who you are, okay? I might… I might be overstepping here, and if I am, then tell me and I’ll back off, but I’ve always seen you as a mentee, and over the years that’s developed— well, I see you more as a son these days. And part of that is wanting to protect and support you no matter what you do or say or who you are.”

Spencer wastes no time in diving back in for a hug, clinging onto Hotch for dear life as he hugs back, rubbing his back gently.

“I’m so sorry you didn’t feel like you could tell us sooner, Spencer,” he says in a voice soft with affection and regret. “But I’m so glad you’ve told us now.”

He only presses closer at that, tears springing back to his eyes. “I didn’t want to lose you.” He knows what he’s implying, and even in a roundabout way, he’s glad he’s telling Hotch.

“Oh, Spence,” he sighs sadly, “you couldn’t do a single thing to lose me. I’m in it for the long haul.”

“Really?” he asks, hating how insecure he sounds.

“Really,” Hotch promises, pulling away as Spencer does. “Now, you have a whole team of agents downstairs who are feeling very sorry for themselves and really want to see you.”

Nausea rolls in his stomach and panic springs back up as he looks at Hotch, desperate for some sort of grounding. “Are they angry at me? Do they hate me now?”

“No one hates you, Spencer,” he says firmly. “I promise you that. Everyone just wishes that they’d made you feel more welcome and comfortable. We all hate that you felt you had to lock up something so integral to who you are, and we can’t help but feel we played a part in it.”

“No,” he protests — the last thing he wants is family blaming themselves when it has nothing to do with them, “it’s not your fault, it’s just…”

Hotch nods. “I understand, it’s okay. Now, do you want to go down and see them? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it might help ease your mind to see that they really don’t hate you.”

Spencer pauses, taking a moment to think. “Can I see Derek first?”

“Of course,” Hotch says understandingly, and the comforting smile that crosses his face makes Spencer feel safe and taken care of. “I’ll send him up?”

Spencer nods and Hotch hugs him once more before leaving the room almost reluctantly. He wastes no time in picking up his phone and sending a text to Oscar. You were right. Hotch is fine. He’s just sending Derek up before I go and see the team but he says that no one’s angry and I think I believe him. Thank you, Oscar. I love you.

Not even half a minute goes past before his phone lights up with a text back. I’m so glad, baby. Call me later, okay? I want to make sure you’re okay before I go to bed. I love you more.

Before Spencer can argue that actually, he is the one more in love with the other, a hesitant knock sounds on his door. Nerves suddenly flip his stomach, and he clenches and unclenches his fists a couple of times before forcing himself to cross the room, revealing a very worried and regretful-looking Derek.

“Oh, pretty boy,” he says sadly, before crushing Spencer in a warm and tender hug. Immediately, he relaxes into the arms of one of his best friends, and relief courses through his blood at Derek’s reaction. “I am so sorry that I ever made you feel like you couldn’t tell me that you were gay or had a boyfriend. That’s completely on me. I don’t care who you love, Spencer, I just want you to be happy, okay? And if this guy makes you happy, then that’s fine by me. But if he ever lays a hand on you or—”

“Derek, Derek,” he laughs, “it’s fine I get it. Thank you, though, I’m… I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier and for snapping at you in the bullpen that time…”

“I understand, Spence,” he promises. “It’s in the past, okay? And I’m sorry for pushing so hard. I mean, I’d love to meet him but if you don’t feel comfortable or you don’t want to, that’s fine, too. It’s your life, man.”

“No, I… I think I want you guys to meet him. It’s been so hard to keep him away from the people I consider my family, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. Maybe after Christmas, we can all have dinner or something.”

Spencer smiles shyly. “Well, Oscar’s a great cook, so I reckon we could work something out.”

Derek grins, throwing an arm around his shoulders as he immediately jumps back into teasing him as they make their way to the door to go downstairs and see the rest of the team. “Ooh, lover boy’s got him a chef, hey? What else does this Oscar have going for him?”

Spencer chatters eagerly about his boyfriend to Derek, barely skipping a beat when he joins everyone downstairs, his friends taking his cues and joining in with the conversation seamlessly. He’s had enough fuss for one night, and the warmth and understanding on everyone’s faces tells him everything he needs to know.

“Do you have any pictures of him?” JJ asks, raising an eyebrow with eager expectancy as they all settle back into their seats by the fire, a warm and unbelievably happy feeling settling in Spencer’s stomach.

He blushes, digging out his phone from his pocket and unlocking it. “More than a few, I think.”

He finds the most recent picture of his boyfriend — a candid shot of him cooking in the kitchen, spatula aloft, and a huge grin on his face — and hands the phone around.

“Oh wow, you like them buff, huh, pretty boy?” Derek teases as soon as he gets his hands on it, and Spencer’s stomach twists in a sudden bout of fear, expecting to see some hesitancy or even disgust on his friend’s face. What if he thinks that Spencer has a crush on him? What if he’s uncomfortable around him now?

But if Derek’s having any of those thoughts, they don’t show on his face. He’s smiling widely and openly, all the pent-up anxiety and frustration borne from hurt gone from his body language, and he looks completely comfortable sat next to Spencer, his arm stretched out behind him on the back of the sofa.

They sit happily around the fire for a couple of hours, settling into a happy, intimate familiarity Spencer hadn’t realised was missing when he was hiding something so integral to his being from his family, and he’s still smiling when they finally part ways to head to bed, the clock ticking closer and closer to 1 am.

He gets ready for bed quickly, brushing his teeth and throwing on the top he’d stolen from Oscar the first time he’d stayed at his place; a welcome change from his worn and wrinkled suit. As soon as his teeth are brushed and the lights are all off except for his bedside lamp, he pulls out his phone, knowing there’s one more thing he has to do before he goes to sleep.

“Spencer?” Penelope’s voice sounds down the line, clearly concerned. “It’s almost 2 am here, are you okay?”

“I’m gay,” he says, getting straight to the point. The main reason he ever kept it from her was because of his fear of it accidentally getting out to the team rather than fear over her reaction. After all, multiple of his drag queen friends are also hers.

“Oh my God,” she says in that small voice she uses when she’s not actually talking to you, before finally actually replying to me. “Spencer, I’m so happy you told me!”

He doesn’t miss her choice of words, or the way she says them and he tilts his head suspiciously. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

She sighs. “Yeah. I’m sorry, a couple of months ago I saw a text from Oscar on your phone when you went to the bathroom during one of our Doctor Who marathons, and it wasn’t hard to figure out the relationship.”

“And… wait, you’re not mad at me for not telling you sooner?”

“Spencer! Of course not. I was waiting for you to be comfortable enough to share it with me. I felt awful that I knew without your consent but I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to catch you off guard or make you feel uncomfortable. It’s fine that you waited, baby genius, I’m just so happy you told me now. What finally gave you the courage?”

“Well, it might have slipped out in front of the team this evening,” he admits sheepishly, “and the only reason I never told you was because I was scared that it would slip out somehow — accidentally, of course, I didn’t think you’d tell anyone on purpose — and now everyone knows. It’s been killing me not to tell you, Penelope, it really has because I love you so much and you’re my best friend and I trust you with my life, it’s just…”

“Whoa, slow down, Spence,” she laughs fondly, “you don’t have to explain yourself to me, I understand. But I’m glad you finally told everyone and you can be yourself completely with us, now. We all love you no matter what, you know that right?”

“I do now.”

“Good. You should get some sleep, baby boy, it’s late and you’ve had an emotional evening.”

Spencer smiles. “Yeah, I know. You should, too, Pen. I’ll see you when we can finally make it home, okay? Love you.”

“Love you, too, 187,” she says softly, and Spencer can hear the smile in her voice. “Goodnight.”

As soon as he hangs up, he settles down into the bed, turning off the light and pulling the duvet up over his shoulders before dialling one more number.

“Hey, baby,” Oscar says, voice as gentle and caring as it always is, although thicker with tiredness now. “I take it everything went okay?”

“Yeah,” Spencer murmurs, already feeling tired as the safety he always feels at the sound of Oscar’s voice settles into the fibres of his being. “It went so well. I can’t wait for you to meet everyone.”

“I can’t wait either, sweetheart. Are you in bed now?”

“Yeah,” he sighs. “Can you talk to me as I fall asleep?”

“Anything for you, Spence,” he says softly, before transitioning seamlessly into a story about the professors on campus, and his gentle comfort and the knowledge of the unconditional love his family has for him finally lulls Spencer into the best sleep he’s had in weeks.

taglist : @criminalmindsvibez @moreidstrobed @suburban--gothic @strippersenseii @takeyourleap-of-faith @negativefouriq @makaylajadewrites @iamrenstark @livrere-blue @hotchseyebrows @reidology @i-like-buttons @spencerspecifics @bau-gremlin @hotchedyke @tobias-hankel @goobzoop @marsjareau @garcias-bitch @oliverbrnch @physics-magic @sbeno22 @temily @enbyspencer @im-autistic @anxious-enby @kuolonsyoja @reidreids (add yourself to my taglist via this form!!)

[tsukifanbase]

Obey Me! Brothers Realize They Don’t Want M/C to Leave Devildom

Authors Note: aaaaaa not much to say here except.... enjoy!

Warnings: fluffffyyyy, lil bit angsty but like so is all of my writing hehe, nothin too bad

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Lucifer:

- idk i feel like luci already kinda suspected he had fallen head over heels for you

- i alsoo feel like he probably tried to push you away after he noticed you had stolen his heart

- never fear though, dear (m/c)! because lucifer didn’t quite account for how difficult it would be distance himself, either because you kept popping up at just the right time or because he subconsciously missed you :)

- anywhosie roll the tape lol

- lucifer vaguely wondered where all the time had gone

- just a few moments before, he was grinding through a ton of paperwork for your return to the human realm, and it hit him like a ton of bricks

- you were leaving

- it stunned luci, sure, he had known you were leaving at some point, and he was literally signing papers confirming that very fact, but it hadn’t quite clicked for him yet

- for a moment, he felt no sadness about your leaving, only shock and confusion

- not about how fast the past year had moved, more so, luci found himself hating the thought of not having you by his side

- it stunned him, keep in mind, all this time luci thought he was keeping you at a distance, when in reality, maybe you were so easy to love that he hadn’t even noticed when he let you get closer

- lucifer snapped out of it, and glanced around his office, his eyes landing back on the paperwork that he had abandoned

- the date printed across the paper was the same one he had memorized so long ago, the day you were leaving

- luci pushed himself away from his desk, and practically ran walked quickly to your bedroom

- you didn’t notice when he walked into the room, you were distracted, staring at a framed photo of the brothers and you at some event you went to in the past

- you were smiling, and lucifer felt himself melt when he saw that

- and in that moment, it didn’t matter that luci used to see you as a distraction

- because he realized that he loved you

- and with that new knowledge, his next move came easily

- after all, lucifer would never allow someone he loved so dearly to ever slip through his fingers, ever again

- “lucifer?”, your voice broke his train of thought, he was smirking at you, you weren’t quite sure when he had begun observing you, it wasn’t that you really minded though

-”is something troubling you?”, although he had that flippin gorgeous smile spread across his lips, you always had a knack at knowing when something was wrong

- lucifer didn’t stop smirking, but he made his way over to you

- “may i?”, luci gestured for you to hand him the photo, which you did pretty much immediately 

- luci lifted the photo up closer so he could see you better, and then he chuckled as he handed the item back to you

- he pointed at mammon, “i seem to recall having to pour my drink on him that day”, lucifer chuckled to himself

- you looked surprised for a second, then squinted your eyes at mammon in the photo, his shirt was half drenched in an unknown, red liquid

- “i always wondered how he got soaked!”, luci smiled at you, then crossed his arms knowingly

- “do you want to know why?”, lucifer’s eyes remained glued on you, you were seemingly caught off guard, you then nodded

- “why?”, you asked, tilting your head slightly

- “he planned to ask you to dinner with him that evening”, luci seemed embarrassed for a moment, then his smirk returned 

- “so why did that warrant getting a drink poured on him?”, you questioned, and lucifer took him eyes off you for the first time since he had entered the room, he sighed, then brought his gaze back to yours

- “because i recognized how much i hated sharing someone that was mine”, he chuckled, a light pink spreading across his cheeks, “especially with mammon”

- now i wish i could say you looked shocked, you didn’t, you looked smug as hell lolol

- “i don’t want you to return to the human realm”, lucifer lightly picked up your hand that wasn’t holding the photograph, he figured he would be straightforward

- you grinned at him

- “then i guess i’m not going back to the human realm”

Mammon:

- okay okay so lets be real here we all flippin knew mammon had a crush on you

- that included mammon actually

- he didn’t suppress his feelings like luci, in fact mammon had always been pretty open about the fact that he liked you, a lot

- mammon also realized you were leaving soon

- and that put faze one of his plan into action

- his logic was pretty flawed on this one y’all, but mammon figured, you couldn’t leave if hypothetically your transfer papers weren’t signed, or you were late for school that day, orrrr... i think you can see where i’m going with this

- mammon was determined, he would not let you leave devildom that day

- and that brings us to you, an hour late for school already, because your alarm hadn’t gone off

- you pulled on your uniform, and double checked that all your bags were packed, before making a mad dash out of the house of lamenation 

- you checked your watch as you ran to the school, yes, you had definitely missed most of first period, but as long as you were in the school by the end of the day, you would be returning to the human realm without an issue

- or so you thought, turns out mammon had a million different things planned to keep you by his side indefinitely

- he had bribed your first period teacher to give you detention for being tardy, since he knew the teacher probably would have let you off the hook, seeing as it was your last day

- and yes, mammon spending his money on someone other than himself was usually unheard of, but who can say? desperate times call for desperate measures

- sometime before lunch hour, you wandered into the bathroom, making sure you looked decent, after all, you hadn’t really been able to check your appearance that morning

- in the mirror behind you, you saw three lower class demons wander into the restroom, giving you an evil smile that you just knew meant you would be late to your next period

- it was then that you realized something abnormal was clearly wrong

- the demons that had entered after you hadn’t said anything, nor made any more to hurt you, they simply stood by the door, knowing you weren’t going to take any chances with trying to get past

- they were keeping you in there, so what was their motivation?

- someone must’ve put them up to it 

- eventually you were able to leave, the demons seemingly lost interest, you sighed and made your way to detention- it took place during lunch hour

- you took your seat in detention, and after a bit, you heard your teacher, that was supposed to be monitoring you, leave the room

- the teacher didn’t return, and the bell for your next class rung 

- you walked over to the door, and attempted to open it

- the door was jammed

- because of course it was

- instead of yelling for help, you sighed and pulled out your phone

- you had a pretty good idea of who could’ve been behind all the bad things that had happened to you that day

- your phone barely rang once, before mammon picked up 

- “hey, (m/c), what’s up?”, you could almost feel the nervousness dripping off his voice

- “mammon, why am i locked in a classroom right now?”, you replied, and just as you could hear mammon’s nerves, he could nearly hear the absolutely terrifying, ‘im gonna kill you’, smile that you had on your face

- mammon chuckled nervously, “sorry (m/c)! it’s for your own good!”, then he hung up

- you scowled at your phone, then went to call levi to tell him to come let you out

- it was pretty clear that mammon didn’t expect to see you sitting in your last class of the day, one of the classes the two of you shared

- he walked in with a big, smug smile on his face, which very quickly turned to a look of surprise, then fear

- mammon nearly walked out of the classroom, luckily the teacher was there to drag him back in by his jacket

- he sat down next to you, and attempted to pretend like nothing was wrong

- “hiya (m/c)! how’s my favorite human’s day been?”, you stared at him blankly

- the teacher still hadn’t started the lecture yet, so it gave mammon time to finally admit and explain his master plan to you

- he was sheepishly glancing away from you by the time he was done whisper rambling, he mumbled out a quick and quiet, “’m sorry, okay?”

- the teacher finally started lecturing the class about devildom history of something, when you broke out into a fit of quiet laughter

- mammon completely disregarded the teacher, blushing furiously, he thought you were laughing at him

- “hey it’s not that funny”, he pouted a bit before you seized your laughter, and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm yourself

- “you know you could’ve just asked right?”, you giggled a bit after you whispered that to him

- “huh?”, that caught mammon off guard

- “you could’ve just asked me to stay here with you”, pink dusted your cheeks, “i like you too mammon”

- you just killed him good job

Leviathan:

- ok ok ok levi is bb

- it took a little while for levi to actually trust you

- cos we all know that it takes a while for babe to warm up to people

- but hun when he finally does start wanting to be around you, you can bet that you’re his new bff

- it’s so cute like 

- by the end of your stay in the devildom, you’re hanging out with levi pretty much every day (i say pretty much bc he is an introvert, he likes his alone time, so while you spend most of your time together, expect that he’s gonna want to be by himself sometimes)

- anyways

- you two got to know each other really well through hanging out so much, and levi caught feelings really quickly

- you were the first real person to ever show interest in the things he liked, and the first person to really listen to him 

- you were kind to him, and also assured him that you enjoyed your time spend together, even when levi tried to insist you would never want to hang out with a yucky otaku

- so that brings us to the day you had to leave 

- you had spent the morning in levi’s room, and had noticed that he was being clingier than usual (although ‘clingier than usual’ for levi literally just means that he was sitting like an inch closer to you than usual lol)

- the two of you were just about to beat the final boss in your favorite video game

- you hadn’t really noticed how much levi was staring at you, after all, your focus was completely trained on something else

- but i assure you, levi found himself glancing at you every few seconds, almost like he was trying to make sure you were still there

- it flustered him, and levi found himself blushing at the thought, but he cared for you more then he ever could have imagined

- remember, levi hadn’t ever really had a true friend, other than henry, of course

- he had been lonely for so long, and now that he had someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life beside, who could blame him for not wanting to let you out of his sight?

- and while that could’ve been deemed as possessive, it seemed levi was just acting out of fear

- he was afraid, because he really didn’t want to see you go

- you dealt the final blow to the boss, causing the credits for the game to roll, and you let out a sigh of relief

- you turned to grin at levi, and give him a high five in celebration, you lowered your hand when you noticed that levi was already staring at you

- his expression not quite blank, levi looked sad 

- “levi?”, you tilted your head at him curiously, that seemed to snap him back to reality, and caused a deep red blush to settle on his face

- you smiled briefly before standing up to put the controller on a side table

- “is something wrong, levi?”, you turned back towards him to ask your question, “you’re not exactly as happy as i thought you would be after beating that boss”, you giggled to yourself when levi covered his blush with his hand, he was probably embarrassed that you had noticed 

- “no, nothing’s wrong”, you could barely hear him, he was mumbling 

- you went back over to where levi was sitting, kneeling so you were at his level 

- “you’re sure that nothing is wrong?”, you placed a hand on levi’s knee in a soothing manner, his blush deepened, any physical contact usually did that to him

- levi was covering his face with both his hands now, then he said something, his speech was muffled by his hands, you couldn’t make out what he said

- he huffed, then dropped his hands from his face to cross his arms across his chest

- “could you stay with me?”, levi whispered, “please?”, this time you heard him clearly, and you smiled in a way that made him go fuzzy

- you carefully raised one of your hands up to levi’s cheek, cupping his face, then you pressed a kiss to his other cheek

- “i thought you’d never ask”

Satan:

- okay so pretty much here’s the run down

- satan typically wasn’t one to share his reading time with anyone else

- while it was extremely easy to ignore outside distractions while he was concentrating on a book, satan still preferred to read in isolation

- something about the calming atmosphere, no other care in the world but his book, it was satan’s getaway from the hectic life he lived

- he never was willing to share that getaway until he found you reading in the library about a week into your stay in the devildom

- it was the first time that he wasn’t even remotely annoyed by another person’s presence during his reading session

- of course you weren’t silent, but he found himself comforted by your being there

- ever since that point, it was pretty common to find the two of you reading in the library together

- although satan found himself drawn to you even when neither of you were reading, sometimes he would find himself sitting on the edge of your bed, doing his schoolwork while you played a game on your d.d.d.

- if satan was being honest with himself, you were probably the first person he had never gotten angry with

- you never gave him any reason to get upset, and he adored that about you

- you were like a breath of fresh air

- that brings us to the evening before your departure

- you had slipped into satan’s room while he was sitting at his desk doing schoolwork, he noticed you entered, but it was so normal for the two of you to seek each other that he really didn’t feel the need to comment on it

- you settled yourself on his bed, and quickly lost yourself in your book, not noticing when satan would occasionally peer back at you over his shoulder

- it was probably about an hour after you had entered the room that satan finished up the paper he was writing

- he glanced over at the clock, internally sighing at how late it had gotten, then he turned in his chair to look over at you

- you had your head propped up on your hands, but your eyes were closed, and your breathing steady- you were asleep

- satan walked over to where you were lying on his bed, lightly taking your book from you and placing it on the bedside table, before he pulled the covers over you

- satan sat down on the bed beside you, carefully, so he wouldn’t wake you

- he smiled when you mumbled something in your sleep, and moved a strand of your hair from your face

- “i wish you wouldn’t leave me yet, my dear”, satan turned away from you to turn the lamp off, allowing the room to be engulfed in darkness

- “so who do i ask to rip up my transfer papers?”

Asmodeus:

- hmmm well we all know that asmo adored you in every way

- he finally had someone to go shopping with! someone who wouldn’t eat his things or steal everything once he paid

- the two of you were pretty much inseparable, it was cuttteee

- you were a regular on his social media, and all his fans loved you just as much as he did

- asmo insisted on helping you do your makeup and choose your outfit one day early in your stay, and from that day on, it was pretty normal for him to burst into your room each morning to help your fashion game 

- and pretty soon he was taking you to all his favorite shops and treating you to delightful food (he wanted to take pictures of it for his fans)

- the day you were supposed to leave the devildom, asmo woke you early, as if this were just any other day

- he decided to treat you to a special going away shopping trip, and said that anything you desired was as good as yours

- let’s get to the scene!

- asmo was holding up a shirt that was exactly your style, he had always been good at picking things you liked

- needless to say, you weren’t really focused on the shirt, and asmo would’ve been delighted to know that he was clouding your mind

- you didn’t want to leave the devildom, not only because you had come to see the brothers as family, but because you didn’t want to leave asmo

- all the time you had spent together had made you realize just how much you cared for him, and you were pretty much just waiting for asmo to ask you to stay

- “hmm? what’s this? my dear (m/c) you’re not getting distracted by my beauty, are you?”, he teased, glancing over the shirt before placing it back on the clothing rack. 

- pink spread across your cheeks, and you shook your head, before going to look through the accessories 

- you were close enough that you heard what he said next

- asmo let out a deep sigh, “i just can’t seem to focus today, knowing that i won’t be able to shop with my dear anymore”

- you turned to face him quickly, speaking before either of you really recognized what you said, “then why don’t i stay?”, you covered your mouth after those words slipped past your lips

- you looked up at asmo nervously, and found him staring back at you with utter awe, then it turned to joy

- asmo dropped whatever clothing he was holding and ran over to hug you, his grin brightening the room 

- “do you really mean it?”, asmo asked hopefully, to which you nodded, and he squeezed you into another hug, you sunk into his embrace 

- “i’m so glad”

Beelzebub:

- ok other than asmo, i think beel was probably the fastest to warm up to you 

- although that could’ve been because of your talent with cooking (honestly you could just be making box mac and cheese and beel would still love that you were cooking for him XD)

- it was probably a few days into your stay when beel was casually complaining about being hungry, he was usually ignored by his brothers when his stomach rumbled, so needless to say, he was a little bit surprised when you offered to make him something

- he nodded, followed you to the kitchen, and boom you got yourself a lovable, hungry boy as your new bff

- from then beel pretty much came to you ever time he was hungry between meals, because while he could make himself food, he enjoyed your company and honestly just liked it when you cooked for him

- that means we talkin about midnight snacks, brunch like every day, afternoon meal, you and beel were spending a lot of time together

- beel started coming to you not only because he was hungry, but because he wanted to see you

- you would tell him stories about the human world and about your life while you made cooked, and beel started to love the faraway look in your eye as you reminisced

- he found himself drawn to you, your familiarity, something about you felt like home, although he wouldn’t have put it that way

- beel only realized that he liked being around you, and when he found out you would be leaving him soon, he only seeking you out more

- you guys were sitting in the kitchen, it was early in the morning, before breakfast

- you were making pancakes, still rubbing the traces of sleep from your eyes

- little did you know, that was probably the first time ever that beel didn’t really feel like eating, and he zoned out staring at a pancake thinking about that very fact

- if he wasn’t hungry, then why did he ask you to cook for him? why did he seek you out, and wake up early to go ask you to do something that wasn’t necessary?

- “beel?”, you asked, noticing that the pancake you had set in front of him a few minutes prior was still untouched

- you walked over to where beel was sitting and placed a hand on his shoulder gently, he felt himself relax into your touch, “are you okay?”, you asked him quietly, you were just a tad bit concerned that he wasn’t eating, you had never seen a piece of food survive in front of him for more than three seconds before

- and just like that, beel spoke before he even truly realized what plaguing his mind himself

- “can you stay in the devildom?”

- you stared at him in brief surprise before your face broke into a smile

- “sure, if you eat the pancakes i made you”

Belphegor:

- ok ok ok ok so we all know that belphie had some trouble with humans when he first met you

- butttt as soon as you two became friends, he started noticing all the things he used to love about humans, all within you

- you found joy in little things, lived your life taking on every new challenge, one after the other gracefully

- you were empathetic, and it always stunned him, but you never got angry with belphie after he tricked you

- if anything, you treated belphie with more kindness than he deserved, because you recognized that he tricked you, and kinda sorta tried to kill you, because he was in pain

- because he needed to blame someone else for his sister’s demise, so it wouldn’t break him

- anyways, once belphie began trusting you, he wanted to be around you constantly which you were totally okay with haha

- you reminded him of someone who was dear to him once, and it made him want to stay by your side forever

- okkkk so needless to say, belphie was 1000% a bad influence on you haaa

- like he was clever enough to get away with things he shouldn’t have gotten away with

- for example, lazy boyo was lazy, so he would show up to class late pretty much every day

- however, unlike other students, belphie would just kinda appear in his seat at some point during the class

- it made the teacher question if they were going crazy or if belphie had just been there all along and they hadn’t noticed

- like the teacher would literally do a double take, like they’re scanning the room to ask someone a question and their eyes land on belphie, and they just go, ‘hang on’

- you rarely saw belphie doing his school work, yet he would always have perfect grades

- anyways back to the original point

- belphie had curious ways of getting what he wanted, and that was no different the day you were scheduled to leave 

- the two of you were sleeping, it was nearly noon, and you had been contemplating your escape from belphie’s arms for the past hour

- you had to be at RAD by the end of the school day, and at that rate, you would have missed the goodbye ceremony completely

- so it was either risk upsetting diavolo, prince of the devildom, or your sweet, sleepy boy

- you decided to take your chances with the one you knew better, and began the process of removing yourself from belphie’s grasp

- you took a deep breath of relief once you were out of bed

- it wasn’t like you didn’t enjoy cuddling with belphie, deep down you probably wished you could stay curled up with him forever, but you knew that you had to leave 

- you wandered into the bathroom connect to belphie’s room, and started brushing your teeth

- when you finished brushing, you turned back towards the bathroom door, where belphie was leaning, rubbing his eyes and yawning

- you froze, and then you gave belphie a guilty smile, “good morning, bel”

- belphie crossed his arms, “where do you think you’re going?”, he never liked being woken up early, it always put him in a bad mood

- you looked at belphie curiously for a second, had he forgotten you were leaving? now that you thought about it, he really hadn’t ever acknowledged that you would be returning home, not once had you ever talking about it

- “i-”, you started, unable to finish your train of thought, as bel interrupted you

- “you’re leaving?”, he asked, but instead of sounding angry like you expected, his tone with playful, and you finally noticed a folded slip of paper bel was holding between his fingers

- you tilted your head at him, “bel?”, he smirked at you and stepped closer, holding out the paper for you to take

- you took the paper from him carefully and unfolded it, scanning over the printed words

- it was a document, one regarding your residence in the devildom, and at the bottom of the paper, was lucifer’s signature

- “bel? what is this?”, you glanced up at him, he was staring at you in the most loving way you could imagine

- “the paperwork that means you can stay”, belphie said carefully, picking up your hand and playing with your fingers

- you stared at him in disbelief before pulling him into a hug, “thank you, bel”

[sweetestjade]

Okay so I go throughout my everyday listening to music. I have playlists for EVERYTHING! And it got me wondering how would the boys react to an MC who constantly listens to music?

Lucifer

- I imagine Lucifer generally listens to classical music but I love the idea of him listening to jazz.

- Like big band/swing music

- Okay so for this scenario I imagine MC and Lucifer working on paperwork/school work together

- MC is loosing their mind cuz it’s so quiet and they put on a jazz playlist.

- Lucifer is shocked at first because he’s like what does this human know about jazz?! (✨yk just old people tings✨)

- But he starts to softly hum and tap his foot

- MC notices and queues up a few of their favorite songs and eventually starts to sing

- Lucifer loves the way MC sings along to their favorite songs but doesn’t wanna bring attention to it because he doesn’t want them to stop.

- As MC and him get closer he starts looking forward to their work/music sessions together.

- If MC catches him on a good day that doesn’t have a lot of work sometimes he’ll ask MC to dance 🥺❤️

Mammon

- Okay so I imagine Mammon really likes going on drives. The guy has a whole car in his room...you’re gonna tell me I’m wrong?

- ANYWAYS

- On these drives he likes to bring MC any chance he gets because it’s time with just them and no brothers to ruin it.

- MC really does enjoy these car rides because it reminds them of times in the human world when they would drive around with friends or family and just vibe.

- You best believe that because of this MC has a few car playlist full of vibey songs for any occasion.

- MC is the CEO of “can I have the AUX?”

- Mammon and MC feel like being in their feels? MC’s gotta playlist.

- Need a playlist to listen to while speeding down the highway pretending to be in Fast & Furious?

- You know that one song from Tokyo Drift is on that playlist 😌

- Mammon ADORES MC and their car playlists. Theres never a dull moment, even when they’re in their feels haha

- God(or Diavolo rather??) help you both if Lucifer finds out the amount of times you two have out run the police to Fuck Tha Police by N.W.A (listen i don’t know if there’s police in devildom but imagine it for the scenario 😤)

Leviathan

- Okay so if MC knew anything about tiktok they would have a playlist full of tiktok audios

- Especially the ones on anime TikTok - those are really *chef kiss*

- I imagine that Levi wants to ask MC if he can have a manga or CD back and he over hears her jamming to one of his favorite anime openings

- But the song ends before he gets to MC’s room and THE TikTok song comes on and MC starts singing.

- Is that Touch You from Yarichin Bitch Club?! No it couldn’t be...

- MC let’s out THE MOST PASSIONATE 🎤sawarasenai🥰kimi😸wa⛓shoujo👻na💅no?✨böKù🌸Wâ🧚ÿARiçHiñ🤴BįCChī😾ńO😩oSû🚣Dà🎉YO💦

- Levi gets SO red he feels like he’s gonna get a nosebleed or faint or some cliche anime reaction.

- He can’t bring himself to confront MC after hearing them sing. But he would be lying if he said he didn’t wanna join them lolol

- After that Levi will most definitely invite MC to his room for weekly karaoke or to karaoke bars in town

- Bonus points if MC knows the lyrics to his favorite anime openings/closings

Satan

- You can’t tell me that Satan isn’t punk rock as hell

- HAVE YOU HEARD THE MUSIC TRACK THE DEVS PLAY WHEN THE STAGE IS WRATH?!

- I feel like this is where Lucifer and Satan differ, because Satan was most definitely an angsty, rebellious “teen”

- While his attitude isn’t as bad as it used to be his music taste hasn’t left

- MC has the most PERFECT 90s/2000s emo playlist haha

- But if Satan wanted some of the old stuff rest assured they have some classic rock on there too

- I think Satan would invite MC to his room whenever he felt like pissing Lucifer off to blast rock music thats on MC’s playlist

- This honestly sounds SO OOC but I like to imagine when Satan is with MC he would let loose a little and start singing/dancing along

- And the feeling MC would get when they see Satan singing along to one of their favorite bands?!

- HUBBA HUBBA 🥵

- Satan knows this and lives for their flustered reaction

Asmodeus

- Okay I don’t know if y’all know who Spencer is on tiktok, but he does this thing where he will put on music to make him feel sexy and get all dressed up and just walk towards the camera in slo-mo.

- And do I think Asmo would do that??

- Yes absolutely 😂

- I think Asmo would have a shared playlist with MC called “brb doin hot girl shit”

- Ashnikko is DEFINITELY on this playlist

- But it is just songs that MC and him play when the two wanna feel confident, when you’re both getting ready to go clubbing/partying, or whatever hot people do that they might need music for

- But also I think MC would have a winding down playlist

- This one is played when you’re both doing skin care, or getting ready to take a bath, or just general self care

- This maybe a little OOC but I like to think Asmo would love to hear MC sing the calmer playlist because of how peaceful it makes him feel

- Imagine that after a night of partying and you’re both getting your makeup/party clothes off and putting on face masks and just winding down

- And MC is in the bathroom just gracefully signing while doing whatever self care task they’re doing

- Asmo overhears and just loving/longingly stares at MC from his vanity or wherever he is

- I just think Asmo would appreciate the gentle moments MC and him share along with the rowdy ones 🥺

Beelzebub

- Would LOVE IT that MC listens to so much music

- He’s always at the gym or practice and would love to listen to MC’s playlist when he’s apart from them

- I do think that if MC went to the gym with Beel you two would have a shared playlist called “Gainz😩💪😤” or something goofy like that

- It’s full of high energy songs, that match how hard you two go at the gym(at least how hard Beel goes lol)

- Image that he asked MC to make him a special playlist so that he can listen to it right before his games/matches to motivate him 🥺

- It would remind him to do well for not only for himself, his team, or his brothers, but his lovely MC who he doesn’t ever wanna disappoint

- On the other hand when the two of you cook/bake together and there is music playing I think it would be cute if Beel danced with MC in the kitchen

- MC is the only thing that helps with his hunger, right?

- So image you two are cooking dinner listening to la festin from ratatouille or something similar

- And outta no where he grabs MC from behind, spins them and starts dancing with them

- I’m not saying it’s any good, but he’s trying because he knows how much MC enjoys listening to music and wants to show his appreciation

Belphegor

- Last but not least! Sleepy boi 🥺

- MC has lullabies for daysss

- Or those white noise/rain/ambience sounds

- It’s just a playlist that helps the two of you sleep

- Not that belphie would have issue with that

- At first Belphie kinda shrugged it off and was like “whatever thanks I guess..”

- But on the inside was so soft because omg MC thought to do this for me?!🥺

- Like I said he doesn’t really need it but loves that MC thought these sounds or soft tunes will help him sleep better

- After a while I think he grows to actually need it though so MC has to send him the playlist when they aren’t together

- The playlist not only helps Belphie sleep but I think sometimes Beel would ask for it too as he’s so used to hearing it

- I think the twins favorite thing on the playlist is the rain noises and the random soft instrumental tracks of modern songs

[hatsukeii]

hello! could you possibly do a scenario where tsukki has a secret passion for dancing, n one of his favs genres to listen to is like 80's music ?? i prefer it to be like raining n dark, just you two. i want tsukki n the girl to be like rly good friends, but tuskki lowkey likes her jus a bit n the girl is like totes in love with him, but they dont rly know about each other, until they like kiss after the songs stops. wkhsjdbf idk if this is too much but i love your writing sm!! thank you. 🥺❤

Okay that’s super cute so don’t worry lool

80s and indie music are SUPERIOR NO ONE TELL ME OTHERWISE.

I was looking through my playlist bc I have 80s songs but then I realised IT’S ALL ROCK LMFAO SO I HAD TO STEAL SONGS FROM MY FRIENDS JAHAHAH

Like I can’t make them dance to ACDC or like Guns n’ Roses wtf are they gonna do air guitars?

But then I realised I literally have a song called we can get together sooo👀👀👀👀

And I genuinely love it so much SOOOO👀👀

Earphones// Tsukishima Kei x Reader

Word count: 2000+

Warnings: None lol I’m not even gonna warn for swearing anymore if it’s just swearing then none

Summary: You randomly discover Tsukishima’s knack for dancing.

You always saw him as a calm, or sly person. He was witty, mean, sarcastic, an asshole in every way possible. He was that one person that would call everyone out for looking stupid while dancing at a party, or the one that would remind couples on Valentine's day that it was to celebrate the death of a tortured and beheaded saint. He was pretty much the most no-bullshit person you’ve ever met. It was as if he simply didn’t understand the meaning of enjoyment, and thrived to seek out every opportunity to ruin it for others as well. He rarely went to social events, never showed up at parties, and you don’t think you’ve ever seen him smile genuinely. Ever. 

Yet tonight, you witnessed something you never thought would happen.

You see, every night, you would take a good old stroll around your neighbourhood. Tonight was no different, except it was pouring, the constant pitter patter of your umbrella clouding out any other sound that was coherent. Sometimes you might run into street vendors, other times you would get a bowl of ramen to fulfil your midnight hunger.

Walking along the street to your favourite convenience store, instead of an eerily empty park, what you saw was Tsukishima Kei, the one person you were somehow close to, sitting in a park, with no headphones on. What a shocker.

Ever since you gave him those iconic white headphones, he has never gone anywhere without them. It was as if those headphones were a staple of your friendship, or more so, how much he meant to you. Just saying, those things were expensive. Like eighteen thousand yen expensive. You knew how much Tsukishima enjoyed listening to music, especially whilst doing work. You saved up for months, just to scrape together enough money to get him a brand new pair of headphones to replace his broken ones that only worked in one ear and had shitty quality. You would never admit it, but something in your heart clenched at the sight of the absence of those headphones you spent so much on. Many might have thought you were just sensitive, but they didn’t understand. In fact, no one would understand how insanely in love you were with him. 

“Hey, beanstalk.”

The blond looked up from his phone, his legs crossed on the bench.

“Well, would you look who’s here. It’s the infamous shorty.”

You approached his hunched-over figure, taking a seat next to him on the bench. “So, why are you here? It’s pretty late already.” Shoving your earphones into your ear, you hastily scrolled through your playlist, trying to hold off the urge to ask where his headphones were. “Lost my umbrella while going home from practise, it’s raining cats and dogs, I’m not looking to get soaked while going home, so I’m waiting for the rain to stop. Thank God I brought an extra sweater, my uniform is all wet and gross.” Chuckling, you punched him playfully, muttering a quick “Idiot,” before picking a song. You were very low-key about your feelings towards him. God knows how he would react if you ever told him. He would probably ignore you for the rest of your high school lives. Even worse, he might make fun of you for being childish and emotional. Just the thought of it sent shivers up your spine and a dark feeling towards your chest. Shaking your head, you tried your best to drown yourself in the terrifyingly loud music that was blasting through your earphones. From next to you, Tsukishima could hear every single note that was playing from the internal speakers. He scooted closer to you, much to your embarrassment. You grabbed your phone, pretending to scroll through it when in reality, you were just trying to hide the burning blush that was now painted on your cheeks. He paid attention to every little sound that came out of those tiny little earbuds, as if trying to figure out what song you were listening to was a fun game. Noticing the sudden absence of music in your left ear, you heard a tiny, almost breathy chuckle, followed by a pull on the earphone jack. “Pulp, hm? Nice taste you got there.” your eyes widened in surprise, mouth curling up into a wide smile. “Ahhh, never thought the great Tsukishima Kei would know them.” The blond smirked, shoving the rubber tip into his ear. “What do you mean? I have a playlist dedicated to this kind of stuff. 80s music will forever be superior.” You rolled your eyes, not falling for his shit. “Nonono, no way. Hand it over, I need to see for myself. I’m convinced you’re listening to raptor mating calls on a daily basis.” The blond shrugged, dropping his phone onto your lap. “See for yourself.” Opening up his Spotify, you were bombarded with a huge selection of his playlists. “Right there shorty, that’s the one you’re looking for?” Pointing his nimble finger at a specific one that was labeled “Old Stuff,” you scrolled through every single song, not believing what you’re seeing. “Holy shit, and I thought you would be into indie or EDM or something like that. This is some new information that I have to process.” Snatching his phone back, he wiped the screen with his sweater, turning it off. “That’s enough snooping for today. Come back at snooping hours again.”

It was at that moment, did the song decide to change. 

“Yeah, no. We’re skipping this shit.” You acted sad, fake pouting and huffing out. “But Tsukishima! All Star is God’s work, you can’t just skip it! Here, I’ll sing it for you!” The blond tried to look at you in disgust, but the smile he was holding back was clear as day, biting his lip as he tried not to laugh at your silly antics. “Oh God (Y/N) please no-” 

Too late.

“SomeBODY ONCE TOLD ME THE WORRRLD WAS GONNA ROLL ME, I AIN’T THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHEDDDD.”

“Absolutely not.” Laughing softly, Tsukishima managed to heave out.

Grabbing your phone and shoving it in front of your face, he unlocked it with ease, navigating his way through the five pages of otome games to find your Spotify. “Jesus Christ, never knew you were this desperate for a man.” The tips of his ears were red, one thought circling his mind. 

If she really wanted a boyfriend, would she pick him? 

Grabbing his arm, you begged for him to let you continue jamming to All Star. You were shaking him, trying to grab your phone, but nothing worked. “Nooo! Kei! Nooooo lemme listen to the Shrek sex anthem!” 

“No.” 

Scrolling through your usual playlist, his eyes landed on one particular song. “Hm? What’s this? You listen to Icehouse? Nice taste you got there.” Your grip on his arm loosened up as you looked up at him in shock. “You know them too! Yes! They’re very much adequate.” You stared in awe as the blond smiled from ear to ear, picking a song much to your dismay. “Yesss I love this song with my whole heart. My dinosaurs make way for this.” Hearing the similar synth, you instantly knew what he had picked. “Seriously? You like this song? It’s like cheesy as shit! This is so out of character for you oh my God Kei.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes, completely done with you. “It’s a good song, don’t come at me. Plus, if you think it’s so cheesy, then just delete it.” You frowned. You liked that it was cheesy. You always imagined someone singing it to you, most of the time this imaginary person being Tsukishima. “I like this song too, it’s fine.” The two of you sat in comfortable silence, your earphone jack being the only thing connecting you guys. The park felt weird. You felt weird. This whole situation was weirdly unreal. It was as if the two of you were stuck in a parallel universe, where you and Tsukishima were the only people that existed in that timeline. The silence was thick in the starry night sky, the streetlamps occasionally flickering as the song continued to play. Humming along to the addicting tune, you don’t even realise your body that’s starting to rock, arms swaying from side to side to the rhythm of the chorus. 

“We can get together,“

“Get up.”

A hand comes into your sight, willing for you to take it as you feel another tug on your earphones.

“What?”

“You wanna dance, don’t you?”

Never in a million years, would the thought of Tsukishima being able to dance even cross your mind.

 “What? It’s raining, I thought you said you didn’t wanna get soaked-”

“Just take my hand and dance with me.”

Hesitating a bit as you looked up at the blond, you raised a brow, grinning playfully as you let your hand fall into his, pulling yourself up and letting him take your other hand. You felt the cold droplets of water fall onto your skin and rolling off, the fabric of your shirt going damp.

“Just take one step forward,” he instructed, motioning for you to follow along with his dance moves. “Then take another step backwards. Everything else will come into place soon enough.” Lacing your fingers with his, the two of you danced in perfect sync, having the time of your lives. “I am learning so, so much about you right now and I’m all for it. Why’d you never tell me you could dance?” Tsukishima’s cheeks went a light pink, looking away bashfully. “It’s embarrassing.” Chuckling, you twirled yourself around, pulling on his arm as you forced his attention back onto you. “It’s not. I think it’s super cool. Do this with a girl and they’ll be head over heels for you in no time.” You mentally facepalmed yourself for saying that. His blush went from a light pink, to a dark red in no time, saturating his cheeks like paint. “Let’s test that theory out.” Mumbling to himself, he continued to guide you, twirling you around and hoisting you up at times.

“Baby we can get together, we can get together.”

The two of you were just jamming along now, not caring about your wet hair and soaked clothes. Tsukishima’s hair was now a damp mess, sticking to his forehead as he whipped his head from side to side, laughing as water droplets flew off his blond strands. Your hair was no better than his, (H/C) strands reflecting the light from the streetlamps as they hit your face with every sway of your head. The earphones were falling off at this point, but it didn’t matter. The two of you already memorised the entire song beforehand. All you wanted was to enjoy the short moment. Grabbing his wet hand again, you randomly started jumping to the beat, letting the blond follow along.

“Later sometime, you can buckle my shoes, you can pick up my sticks, why don't you open that door.”

You gasped in surprise as you felt a large hand spin you around one last time, before dipping you dangerously close to the floor, rainwater rolling off your face. The song came to an end with its final guitar chord, the reverb still ringing in the background. “So, what’d you think?” Tsukishima leaned down, his face dangerously close to yours. Feeling a Cheshire grin form on your face as your tried to raise your head up, you gave his nose a boop with your own, before falling back onto his hand. “That was amazing.” Giving you a cheeky grin, you could feel his breath on your face as he sighed contentedly. His breath smelled like mints, you couldn’t help but wonder how lips would taste too. “You good now, or do you wanna go home? I think the rain just stopped.

Still in that intimate position, you decided to finally ask him.

“Where are the headphones?”

“I didn’t want to get them wet, they’re too important to me. They’re in my bag.”

And that’s when your body decided to act on its own.

Your mind couldn’t even register what you were doing as you pressed a long, soft kiss on Tsukishima’s lips, feeling the heat radiating off of him.

“Now I’m good. Wanna go home?”

“Did you just-”

“Yes.”

Pushing you back up to a comfortable position, he stared at you for another ten seconds, face burning crimson as his mouth opened and shut repeatedly, trying to process what you just did. Finally snapping out of his thoughts, he awkwardly leaned towards you, before pulling himself back. After doing that a few times over, you were properly confused. Grabbing your shoulders, he pressed a firm kiss to your forehead, before grabbing his bag from the bench he was sitting on, pulling his headphones out and hanging them on his neck, handing you the earphones.

“Wanna do this again tomorrow shorty?”

“11pm sharp, don’t be late, and I expect another kiss.”

“Whatever you say cutie.”

Tags:

@tiger1719 @burnt-tomato @thirstyvolleyballhoe @agentvicinity @izzyphantomgamer @sunshines-and-tatertots @sakusasgarbage @trashcanweeb @kaylacinderella @talks-a-lot-of-stuff @random-fandomlover @bokutokoutarou @for-ests @mariechan123 @justachillgirl @ewfilthymundane @just-another-bored-writer @inlwlevi @tiredgr3mlin @itmekisuu

I’m gonna check over the tags again tmr so feel free to dm or comment if I missed you or if you wanna be in the taglist

Eyyyy this isn’t that great but I hope you like it and feel free to give me feedback both good and bad lol love you guys I’m going to sleep now baiiii

[nny11writes]

Can I get a uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhh, Number 29 Jelous Kiss on a Glitra with extra clingyness?

UGH, I re-wrote this and I’m still not 100% thrilled, but it’s good enough. My overachieving ass needs to stop lol! Any who, Catra is Jealous and does something about it! (technically part of the “Green Isn’t Your Color” au/story)

Sometimes it’s hard to feel like she’s enough for Glimmer. She’s course and short and crass, and you can’t even get a good fuck out of her at the end of the day. Catra’s used to feeling like an outsider and a fool, she’s used to being a second class citizen always forgotten and left behind. The idea that Glimmer, normal, beautiful Glimmer, actually likes her despite all that?

That sounds like bullshit spun by Scorpia or Bow to make her feel better, when she knows they’re just pitying her and tired of dealing with her anxious, depressed ass.

Fair. So is Catra.

But here’s the thing, Glimmer isn’t. After making things crystal clear at Scorpia’s end of summer party, Catra had fully expected a few months of bliss and then a lifetime of regretting whatever behavior was sure to drive her off eventually. That...wasn’t what happened. Glimmer kept asking her out, kept seeing her, calling and texting and sending her stupid memes at 2AM. Rolling into Catra’s job on Valentine’s Day with a small box of chocolates, a flower, and a staunch warning to not make herself sick from eating all the chocolate at once. Their first anniversary came and went, and while Catra was wondering when the other shoe would drop Glimmer asked if they could move in together. 

She knew they’d have to talk about it soon. The way Catra was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. But until then, she was going to be an insecure little bitch about it all.

Catra isn’t opposed to PDA, she enjoys most varieties of it in fact. Especially when it let’s everyone else know to fuck off regarding Glimmer. Her hands are soft and a little pudgy, and they are perfect for holding and squeezing even if they get sweaty against her palms. She needs the little assurance squeezes, and the fingers playing with hers. Cuddling and snuggling? Oh hell yeah. Glimmer had laughed about her girlfriend being a lap cat, but only in private where Catra could pretend to be upset and bite at her gently. Hugging? Fuck yeah. Ideal hug time, several hours! Kissing, actually okay for the most part, as long as there wasn’t tongue.

Her whole body seized up at that. Fucking gross, why did anyone enjoy that? Squirmy wet, weird tasting muscle flesh. Yuck.

But kissing, like, kissing kissing? Catra was a fucking fool for that! A peck to the cheek, nose, forehead, lips, and it turned out she could be both a solid and a liquid. It was wild. Intense. Deeply, hauntingly beautiful. And Glimmer? Glimmer was very free with her kisses in public once Catra okayed it. She rarely if ever initiated it, too paranoid that Glimmer would somehow take it out of context and be hurt if Catra didn’t want to go further.

Which was why Glimmer was shooting her several concerned looks as they walked hand in hand through the mall. Because Catra would not stop flopping all over her, and had been given several quick kisses. She didn’t want to worry her, but if that guy who was clearly following them after hitting on Glimmer at the cinnamon roll stand was going to act entitled, Catra was going to make a point. 

Just...she didn’t want to worry Glimmer. Most women would not take, “Hey that guy is following you.” well and she is not going to ruin their day out being an idiot. She needed a game plan, she needed fucko boy to leave them alone, and if getting a little more clingy with her girlfriend was the cure? Well, what a treat.

So Catra held on tighter, remembering that fateful night at the party she slipped her hand in Glimmer’s back pocket and got front row tickets to watching her purple eyes dilate. Tail around her amazing, fucking kill me now how did I get this lucky hips. Snuggling up hard at the food court to the point that Glimmer had complained that she couldn’t eat. Catra was prepared to do just about anything to get Stupid McStupidFace to stop looking at Glimmer. 

Like she got it, okay? Fuck, she was lucky and had a beautiful and, dare she say it, sexy girlfriend. 

Glimmer could probably bench press her, even if only once. Glimmer had thighs blessed by Thor himself. Glimmer had a cute nose, and kind eyes, and a sparkling laugh, and even the way she growled was adorable. She understood if people were looking, Catra was looking too. But being this creepy? Gross!

“You okay? You’ve been a little…” Glimmer paused, her free hand waving vaguely as Catra did her level best to not hiss at the asshole in a reflection and then have to explain herself.

Her whole defense was to whine like a child and burrow in closer under Glimmer’s chin with a soft chirp. Still, she knew her ears were twisted hard to listen to the competition and her tail was a bastard hell bent on ruining her whole life. She could feel her nails burrow into Glimmer’s shirt a little as she pulled back, the guy was finally walking towards them and Catra was gonna kill him if he came over here and opened his stupid mouth.

“Can I kiss you?” Was not what Catra meant to say, in fact it wasn’t even close to what she’d meant to say.  When Glimmer blinked in shock, Catra rubbed their cheeks together, giving only the smallest little lick on instinct to her girlfriend’s temple. Her whole body was hard wired to betray her apparently. 

“I might die if you don’t,” Glimmer said breathless.

So Catra kissed her, a proper kiss, as if she was some old timey soldier going off to war and unsure if she’d return. They parted only long enough for Catra to switch her hold and kiss Glimmer again, this time with a dip for fucking emphasis because no one was going to win Glimmer’s heart when Catra had finally gotten a glimpse at it.

“No seriously,” Glimmer said in between the next few desperate kisses, “this isn’t really like you? Not to be rude? Not that you can’t?? I’m not complaining!”She didn’t look, SHE DIDN’T, but her stupid fucking ears twitched and one rotated to listen as the douche bag walked away. It was enough for Glimmer to smirk at her. “Oh, didn’t like my not so secret admirer huh?”

She knew?! Of course she knew! For one moment Catra felt like a colossal idiot, heart hammering as a flash of pure rage went through her. Then it was gone leaving that same hollow feeling, the sickly leftovers of jealousy still smoldering in her gut. 

Glimmer leaned up to kiss her, hands carding through her mane, one scratching just behind her ear and holy FUCK. She was purring, it was mortifying, but Glimmer was still kissing and scratching and shaking as she tried to hold her weight more on the leg not jammed between Catra’s in some last valiant effort to be chivalrous. Stupid, sweet Glimmer.

She pulled them upright and grumbled into her neck, still wrapped around Glimmer tight.

“Hey, seriously, are you okay with all this? I, uh, I’m having a blast. Ugh! I’m, this is, that is to say,” Glimmer sighed, kissed her on her nose, and tried again, “I love dicking with assholes too, and I’m enjoying all this attention. But I’m not enjoying that you’re feeling bad.”

Oof.

“ ‘m just being stupid,” Catra mumbled, hoping Glimmer wouldn’t hear her and let it go.

“Hey, no! Talk shit about my girlfriend again and I’ll punch you.” 

Catra clung a little tighter.

“Catra, he’s not even my type. Does he have a dick? Yes. Newsflash dummy, I’ve got a spare at home and if the choice is you or some random dude with too much hair gel and not enough brain to recognize a couple? It’s gonna be you.”

It was sweet. It was too sweet. Catra didn’t deserve that did she? Holy shit, she never failed to be totally gobsmacked when Glimmer chose her and it felt like she was going to float right off the ground. The two stood there for a while, rocking back and forth on occasion as they just held onto their hug.

“Hey,” Glimmer whispered, heart hammering under Catra’s ear, “he just went into laser tag. Wanna kick his ass?”

Catra kissed her, let it linger, and answered, “Let’s destroy him.”

“Fucking sweet!” Glimmer cheered, teleporting them over.

[fixxofvixx]

BLOODRIGHT - VAMPIRE JAEHWAN AU - CHAPTER 7

Yay! I actually finished a chapter lol. I inadvertently went down the manga/manhwa rabbit hole and just now dug myself out haha. I regret nothing~ But I have some cutie/fierce vampire jaehwan for you!

I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

🧛‍♂️🧛‍♂️🧛‍♂️🧛‍♂️🧛‍♂️

"Have you really killed people before?" You asked him quietly, not confident of the outcome. He looked at you, conflicted emotions written on his face. After a while, he answered softly.

"Yes."

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

Your heart thumped hard in your chest. You knew the answer already but to hear him directly admit to you that he'd killed before somehow felt different.

"Y/N," you looked up at him to see a guilty look on his face, "I need you to understand that I don't just roam the streets killing people."

Gathering your courage, you asked another question.

"May I ask what happened?"

"Would you think less of me if I tell you that I'm afraid to say?"

"Afraid? You?" You never thought that fear was any part of Jaehwan's vocabulary.

"You've begun to lose that look of fear when you're around me. It's not completely gone but it's slowly disappearing. But I'm afraid that if I explain, we'll end up back at the beginning."

"I think a part of me knew already. I mean, you've lived for several decades. I would be a fool not to think that something like that happened. But I.....I would l-like to know more. If t-that's okay?"

"I told you before I'm an open book for you. But, you're right, I have lived for a long time. When I was barely 100, there was a war between two royal families. Another family sought to take over our territories and people. I fought along the soldiers we employed. We even had some humans who were allied with us fighting as well. And, of course, the other family had vampires and humans. I will spare you the details of the specifics of war but I admit I have the blood of others on my hands. I'm ashamed to say that I don't even know how many."

You had kept your eyes on his face as he explained and you could see the regret and sorrow there. Without thinking you placed your hand on top of his head, gently running your fingers over his hair. Jaehwan smiled slightly and then you realized what you'd done. You gasped and removed your hand, ready to profusely apologize.

Before you could, though, Jaehwan took your wrist and guided your hand back to his head.

"Don't stop on my account."

"B-But....."

"I like it." You blushed at his words but continued what you were doing. He closed his eyes with a look of contentment. It was easier with his eyes closed now.

"Did I scare you......down there?"

"With Mr. Timms?"

"Mmhmm..." For a vampire who didn't sleep, he sounded awfully sleepy.

"Not really. I was thankful more than anything."

"That's good." You removed your hand from his head and a look of sorrow flashed over his face for a split second.

"What room is this?"

"My room." He stood and stepped back so you could see the entirety of the room.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I.....I have no idea." He smiled and laughed slightly. You couldn't help but think that he had a nice smile. It seemed to be contagious since you ended up smiling in return. It felt strange to smile so easily.

"Your smile is pretty. You should do that more often." A heavy blush darkened your cheeks and you lowered your head in embarrassment. "But it angers me that it's tarnished by this bruise."

His fingers lightly grazed over the still-throbbing bruise on your cheek. It hadn't been the first time you'd received a blow from that detestable cane but you hoped it would be the last.

"It will fade."

"Yes, well, I would still like to apologize for not being there sooner."

"But.....you still came." You gave him a tiny smile and he nodded, accepting your final word on his apology.

ONE WEEK LATER

"A party?"

You were in the kitchen with Penny. One of the kitchen staff had offered to teach you how to make some desserts when she came to find you.

"Well, not technically a party.....it's more of a gathering of elder vampires. They typically get together every few years to see who can brag more about their so-called accomplishments."

"Oh, will they be staying here?"

"Most of them will. They might stay two or three days, especially the ones that travel a longer distance. The location is different each time they meet and now it's Jaehwan's turn. He tried to refuse but they insisted."

"Why did he want to refuse?"

"Jaehwan is very......protective of his people. He doesn't like people on his turf, in his castle. He doesn't trust a lot of them. And....if I were to guess correctly...he wants to protect you."

"Me? Why?"

"The vampires who attend these sort of things are....shall we say...snobbish bastards with no sense of decency."

"Penny!" You'd never heard Penny use that type of language before and you didn't know how to react other than shock.

"Well, it's true! Those old goats think they're royalty and have to answer to no one. They like to throw their weight around and pretend that they are above everyone else. Jaehwan doesn't pander to their games. They try to push him but they know they can't match the strength of a royal vampire."

"Are they.....mean to him?"

"That would be the understatement of the century. Ever since Jaehwan was born, they have tried to bully him around. But, as you well know, Jaehwan isn't a fool. And they hate him for it."

You mind raced with the thoughts of a young Jaehwan being bullied by the older vampires. The thought sent a pang of hurt through your heart, not to mention anger. Penny must have noticed and patted your shoulder gently.

"Don't let it concern you, dear. Jaehwan is very tough and stubborn. He wouldn't want you to be sad for him."

You smiled and nodded. You were grateful for Penny. In the few days that you had been here, Penny felt more like a mother than the one you grew up with.

"Enough of that! You need to finish your desserts! I expect one when your done!"

"You can eat them?"

"Of course, sweetie! We don't need food but we still enjoy it." Penny winked at you and then bustled off into one of the other rooms. You looked back at your desserts and smiled.

A few hours later, you held a tray containing various desserts that you were fairly confident of. You carefully trudged up the steps towards Jaehwan's room. One of the staff members said he was there.

Although it was about midnight, you knew he was awake. He was always awake. Ever since Penny mentioned that vampires could still eat food, you wanted to gift Jaehwan with the desserts you were making. You made sure to save Penny some, though.

Walking down the hall, you heard odd sounds coming from Jaehwan's room. But it didn't sound like Jaehwan. It almost sounded like someone was in pain. Approaching his room slowly, you saw that his door was partially open. Peeking around the door you found a frightening scene.

Jaehwan was facing you but another person was standing in front of him. A woman, with long black hair and elegant dress. Her head was thrown back in pain. Her eyes were shut and she looked as if she was holding back the screams that should be coming from her. Jaehwan had one arm around her waist and another around her wrist. His fangs were embedded in her arm. He was feeding. The realization of what he was doing sent chills throughout your body. You dropped the tray and ran. You heard Jaehwan call your name but it only caused you to run faster. You headed up the stairs towards your room and spotted Penny.

"What is it, dear? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Not in any state to carry on a conversation, you bolted past her. Sprinting up the steps, you made it to your room and locked the door. You slid down to the floor, your legs unable to withstand your weight. You brought your knees up to your chest and cried. You screamed when you heard a knock on your door.

"Y/N?" Your heart seized when you heard Jaehwan's voice. "Y/N, can you let me in? Please?"

You couldn't speak. Your throat contained nothing but sobs. He knocked once more but then it was silent.

••••••••

Jaehwan placed his head on the wall beside your door. He could hear you crying. It tore his heart in two. He knew he shouldn't have asked for a blood donation but he hadn't fed in two weeks and he needed something. He heard movement beside him and looked up to see Penny. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked pissed. She crooked her finger in a gesture to follow him and he obeyed. Maybe Penny would have an idea of what to do....if she let him live, that is.

Once they reached the end of the hall, Penny turned and leveled him with a glare.

"What did you do?"

"I....I asked for a blood donation. She.....she saw..."

"Dammit, Jaehwan! Have you completely lost all sense of reason?! She was doing so good! She was smiling so much! What were you thinking?! Why ask for a blood donation? She signed the contract, didn't she?"

"Penny....I...can't....she's so....fragile. What if it hurts her too much and she doesn't want to be my donor anymore? Or what if she starts to hate me?"

"Well, you've already succeeded in scaring her. You should have just asked her first. You need to talk to her."

"She isn't going to open the door."

"Then you'll kneel in front of her door until she does!!" Penny huffed and walked down the hall. She was right, of course. He should have asked you.

Sighing, he walked slowly back to your room. He silently prayed that you would open the door. He could easily break the lock but that would make matters worse. When he reached your room he listened but couldn't hear you crying anymore. He only heard the occasional sniffle. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and knocked. He heard your startled gasp and he internally kicked himself again.

"Y/N, could you please open the door? I would like to talk to you. I promise I won't come in." He heard you shuffle and hope soared that you might open the door. The door handle jiggled and the door opened but only a sliver. He saw you on the floor, head down, huddled in the corner next to the door jam. He moved slowly and lowered himself to the floor. He sat next to the door but didn't try to open it. He would let you do that.

"Y/N, please don't cry."

••••••••

You looked at Jaehwan, sitting on the floor, very unlike a typical image of a prince. He wore a look of guilt and you were confused. He wasn't mad at you for interrupting?

"I'm......sorry....f-for interrupting...."

"No, y/n, it's me who should be sorry. I have no excuses. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"No, she's one of the members of a blood donation group for vampires."

"Blood donation group? B-But.....I thought...." Did he not want yours? Maybe it didn't suit his tastes?

"I know. You are my donor. I should have come to you but I hadn't fed in almost two weeks and I didn't want to burden you since you had just arrived."

"But I signed the contract."

"I know and I am eternally grateful, I just....."

"Is...does my blood....not suit you? I heard vampires can smell blood. Maybe mine doesn't smell good?"

"Oh, you have that completely wrong. Well, partially. Vampires can smell blood but, believe me, yours smells like the most exquisite banquet you can imagine. I just wanted you to be comfortable here first. I don't want to speak ill of them, but the blood donation group members can't compare to yours."

"Oh....um, she....looked like she was in pain."

"Ah...well, that is part of it. I can't control that."

"Does it hurt a lot?" A sudden new fear grasped your heart. You had obviously considered that someone biting into your skin wouldn't feel good.

"It wouldn't for you. Maybe like a needle prick at first and then I can control what you feel."

"Control what I feel?"

"Yes, whether it be happiness, sadness, or anger. I can control what emotion you feel." You nodded at his explanation. Your heart easing a little at his calm manner.

"Thank you for explaining." You wiped the last traces of your tears from your face and took a deep breath.

"Do you want to try?"

[basket-of-fruits]

aaaand we’re back! season 1 episode 5 sub rewatch 3,2,1, let’s jam!

oh noooo they are all so sad tohru is going back to her grandfathers house, yuki is shocked, kyo can’t stand to make eye contact, and shigure hides it but definitely doesn’t like the idea

i love the transition of seeing what appears to be kyoko in the sohma house but then it switches to a memory of tohru in their old apartment, and it symbolizes that the sohma house is her home now

kyoko’s advice, espeicially for someone like tohru, is so good. it is ok to be selfish sometimes and take care of you or do what you want to do. its not ok to always make yourself uncomfortable to make other people happy.

ugh tohru trying to convince herself that living with her grandpa will be a lovely as it has been living with the sohmas

kyo is so fucking sad omg lol, he literally just like falls over on the porch. yuki is trying to pretend he’s ok by being like ‘oh this has always been the arrangement’ like telling himself he should have expected it

ugh tohru makes me so sad sometimes, honey you aren’t stupid for wanting to be accepted and loved

she’s only been there a short time but she’s already made such an impact on the boys emotionally 

LOL not to talk about shithole america (im gonna talk about shithole america lol) but its funny that even in this japanese anime this shitty guy wants to be a cop like OF COURSE lol why do all shitty guys want to become cops?! not the job for you sweetie (i know the reason why lol)

thank god her grandfather slaps that mf

TOHRU ugh, she’s so sweet and grateful saying she doesn’t deserve anything more because she has everything she needs, but its ok to ask for what you really want too

yuki and kyo arguing when they want the same thing, work together boys and go get your girl back!

shigure loves watching them squirm lol

KYO SCREAMING FOR THE HONDAS TO HEAR THEM AND YUKI COVERING HIS MOUTH IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SCENES LMAO these boys are so ridiculous

also this sends my yukikyo nerves on fire lol, they are such that blue/red combo everyone loves (or blue/orange in this case) (that i also love lol)

i love when yuki gets violent lol like he’s such a sweet boy but he will also kick your ass. also its hilarious that tohru’s cousin calls him a babe and doesn’t know that he’s a boy lol

omg tohru’s says ‘why did you come to that house’ not my house cause that’s not her home wahhh

aw and the riceball finally gets chosen. HER BOYS LOVE HER AND SHE LOVES THEM

shigure hates when kyo and yuki fight but is 80% of the reason they fight lol always startin shit

i love their sweet little dysfunctional family <3

alright that’s it for that one! it’s very long sorry, i like this episode a lot :)

[nicknellie]

Honestly time just doesn’t exist anymore lol. Sadly I didn’t have an hour or so until now so I hope I can ‘ask’ this soon. (Same to you, good whatever time of day it is for you!)

Box stuff: (honestly that’s a bit hilarious because we have shifted so far from box stuff and I think this is where Reggie taking people‘s baby pictures came from)

1. I love how you have classic teenage boy angst starting with caps that’s funny. And very true, Alex will come over as soon as he can and tell Luke how much of an idiot he’s being but affectionately (also in the way that friends can but if parents tried to do the same you wouldn’t listen yk)

Yes, mom and son bonding time. I just love the idea of Alex telling Emily everything that’s happening while they are cleaning or making food is adorable. And Emily spreading gossip is everything (also Luke’s childhood stories because what best friend doesn’t want to lovingly tease their friend)

Wait I love that idea. Personally I don’t feel like Alex or Reggie would go to their parents just because it seems as if they left on bad terms. Although Luke did leave on bad terms with his parents as well, I just feel that checking in on them once is something that he would want to do. Also that last sentence is sad, kind of shows that when something happens to someone there will always be another person who is affected by this. That you can’t always tie up loose ends, for example in the show we see the boys say just before ‘the band is back’ that in those 25 years they don’t know what happened to their friends or their family. So it’s easy to assume that they had friends outside of the band and whomever they are possibly the boys would’ve wanted to say something to them but they never got a chance to. (Also I’ve seen theories where the boys have siblings which if this is true then maybe one of them could go back to that sibling/s)

Yea the song is sad. Also could relate to Julie and how she lost her mom that how in the show. They kind of dance around the fact that the boys are some thing that Rose sent down to her ‘you were an angel in the shape of my mom’.

(Also if you want another sad song, ‘soon you’ll get better’ by Taylor Swift because if Rose did die from cancer like some theories I’ve seen have suggested then this song which is very emotional and kind of talks about this as well could relate to Julie and her mom as well) (I promise you can throw some sad songs my way as well, I know I’m just throwing really sad ones at you lol)

Anyways, going back to the actual conversation. I believe that we did say Emily and Julie are close because they’ve met before and just in general after Julie gave her that song they became closer. But yes they hear it one day and just get so upset, maybe someday Julie plays it for Emily and Mitch 🥺

3. I love that, also adding onto this Willie is basically the same way however his experiments don’t turn out nearly as well also he’s just in love with the fact that Alex can legitimately not use a recipe book but make some thing extraordinary. But yes, Luke and Reggie are horrified especially when Alex throws the recipe book. ‘Bye bye Mr. Recipe Book’ as you said.

Board games and jam:

1. Yes, exactly. Reggie just starts laughing when Alex throws that one but quickly stops when Alex throws one at him as well

Exactly, his weapon of choice is his drumsticks, which may not seem threatening but seeing as which Alex is rather tall and weirdly has very good aim they hurt when he throws them.

That is what I was picturing, like Caleb just looks in shock for a second because how dare someone throw drumsticks at him, but at the same time someone threw a drumstick at him.

Among us

Yes, Alex is always annoyed how everyone voted for him with no prove. So he always tries to sabotage Luke, every chance he has.

Alex kind of gives up not talking to Willie after about 10 minutes, his puppy dog eyes convince Willie to never do that again. (Also because Alex has no problems killing Willie if needed)

Honestly everyone just kills Luke first and he gets upset about it but everyone is laughing. Also exactly, if he doesn’t die first then he is usually the imposter.

Accessories- I actually looked at them before I made my comments and I completely forgot about the hat as well but I saw it and I was like oh that’s such a Reggie move. Yes that is exactly why Carlos has the paper bag.

Honestly Flynn being competitive is everything and very true. Also yes, she is totally impatient like I’ve read these rules probably three times and this decision is taking forever so give money.

Alex just sneaking Willie money is very in character and I love that. Alex just being like no is similar to how he says it during the ‘girls am I right’ scene

Honestly monopoly just takes forever and sometimes people just don’t have the patience for that also as you said arguments are a very real thing that happen. (honestly part of the reason why I said Flynn is competitive because depending on the game I can be the same exact way)

Oh yes, Flynn is just like you’re trying to accuse me of cheating and you’re trying to pretend that we haven’t seen you smuggling Willie cash this entire time, Sure Alex.

Oh my goodness, and while Reggie is avoiding Luke. Alex in the background just casually says something like ‘now you know how I feel.’

Numbers:

2. Exactly, and of course Alex is just like Aw Willie is laughing so I may forgive this for now but you’re still replacing this.

Yea I’m hoping that Arthur will grow on me. Also I just haven’t had a lot of time to Address to his character aside from like the two interactions with Merlin who honestly if anything kind of starts the fright.

Exactly. Alex just being done with Luke 24/7, ‘I’ve had to save him 25 times so far, how is that possible’

6. That’s hilarious because Alex is freaking out over this cute hair flip however at the same time he is in the thought processes of ‘oh I have to act cool in front of my best friends because they will definitely tease me more later, so what should I do’

Exactly, honestly I don’t blame you and I totally support that writing decision lol. (On that note best of luck with your other requests, also with school because it seems like it’s been a tiny bit stressful and I don’t mean to over impose but I just hope you’re doing well!)

8. Oo I’m excited for the tangent. I completely agree they are the perfect recipe for a band because their strengths are each other’s weaknesses so they’re able to balance each other out so well. Also in a way where one of them won’t get a big head or anything.

Luke- exactly, and although he does have his insecurities the others are able to balance this and help him out just as much as he helps them. Especially where he is kind of like the leader of the band unofficially with being the lead singer and everything it’s easier for him to possibly get cocky or something but we don’t see that. More often then not, as you mentioned it he tries to be there for his band and make sure that they are doing well before he thinks about himself.

Reggie- precisely, honestly I feel like some people don’t recognize how important an instrument is until you don’t hear it anymore (will bring this up later with Alex). And if they didn’t have the bass line and the one set of back up vocals that Reggie provides (Alex/Bobby as well) then the songs would definitely be lacking some thing. He has such an incredible vocal range, which I feel like is shown rather well in stand tall because although he doesn’t have a lot of solos. It kind of shines very well in the solos he has in that song. (Also the actor in general just released an EP which also not only displays his musical ability with the instruments he can play but his vocal ability as well)

Also, as you mentioned his kind of role as the happy one kind of balances out Luke’s go with the flow, (honestly not sure for Bobby they haven’t shown his character a lot to know but possibly another voice of reason) and Alex who can overthink things and can be mature.

Alex- kind of like what I said earlier. When Alex says get ‘woke these are sensitive times’ due to Luke saying that they didn’t need to have a drummer for that song (later we see that Alex is drumming in that song) if they didn’t have a drummer for that song then the entire tone of the song would’ve been changed because they didn’t have percussion and it possibly could’ve been overwhelmed with string instruments.

Agreed, it’s easier for the drummer to be overlooked but he keeps the rest of the band on track and if the one that the boys fall to if something goes wrong (for example when they appear and Julie starts freaking out, Alex says that he should handle it and the boys let him immediately).

Bobby- Yes, I feel like if season two focuses on the past of Sunset Curve a bit more then it will be easier for us to see what exactly his dynamic is in the band. Exactly, they would be lost without having Bobby in their band. And as you mentioned, he is part of the glue that holds them together from our previous discussions as him being a counselor and who the band would turn to.

I love how you described it because you’re completely right. Without the other three there then it’s easier for Bobby to feel more alone because now he doesn’t have his support system that he’s relied on for who knows how many years. Also as you mentioned he doesn’t have the band reminding him to either let loose a little bit or when to stop so he’s easier to manipulate if that’s the direction that the show wants to take. Honestly I just don’t want to think about Alex or Reggie or Luke being alone that night but exactly, they would be a mess without each other.

11. Honestly Reggie just forgetting to mention that he met celebrities at their concert and stuff is such a in character move.

(Noted, we can just pretend that it happened in like 1994 lol)

17. Oh my goodness, I know we mentioned that Reggie had a Caleb scrapbook. However honestly I forgot about that and it’s hilarious to think about Nick having his own page in that scrapbook due to when Caleb. possessed him.

Oh my goodness, yes. Just like ‘I get that you are trying to take our souls however I want your baby pictures right now’ - Reggie.

Honestly I just want Caleb to be good just because not only is the fashion incredible but Cheyenne Jackson is such a phenomenal singer and it would be sad if due to the character being a villain that eventually they had to get rid of him.

Precisely, he just want to protect them all and he totally would love Julie for the reasons that you said.

I love the idea of Reggie just walking into the White House and basically everyone jumping out of their seats and helping Reggie take over the world.

19. Exactly, they seem to have a very good alliance between them however as the snow fight continues they all just switch sides and eventually it is just Willie and Carlos, Julie and Reggie, and Luke and Alex. (they are really bad at keeping alliances, in the end everyone has had an alliance with everyone) (and or just keep the teams I mentioned but they are definitely chaotic enough for every team possible to happen)

20. Same here, and it’s just so easy to tell that they are close together which makes the their chemistry on screen seem really believable. (Friends, ect)

Exactly, they do you have a few moments however it’s that way for every actor and some of those may just depend on personal preference. Also for quite a few of them as they get more experience than how they act will definitely improve and honestly just seeing how phenomenal they are now, I can’t wait for that to happen

Honestly yes, just jealous Willie I guess. Also just completely ignoring what is happening on screen and what the show is literally trying to show them.

I agree ,because although I feel like it would be interesting if somehow the theory was in the show. At the same time I just feel like it would overwhelm the show and it would be easier for Caleb to turn nice then for him to not be the one at fault. That’s an interesting theory, honestly I didn’t think of him handing over HGC over to Willie and is a new take that may be nice to explore, if the show wishes to.

Honestly, Luke and Flynn‘s friendship does deserve its own post. And legitimately if anyone messes with Julie then they would have to run because not only would Flynn and Luke have problems with them but the rest of the ghost boys alongside Caleb probably would come after them as well.(And the family)

21. Phew, I’m glad you I agree because I legitimately have no reasoning for that except for I just want to see Alex just casually say one day that he got arrested and have Willie just be so startled.

Oh yeah Reggie and Luke would start the fire but Alex would be the reason that it’s continuing to burn while Bobby is just unbothered on the side. Going with the Sunset Curve graffiti, that’s exactly what happened but if any asks they have no clue how it got there.

25. I’m just imagining Carrie accidentally being turned the wrong way for some of the conversation and then she faces Willie and although he was laughing before he all of a sudden gets really serious. (Although it’s Luke’s and Reggie‘s shovel talk that makes him the most afraid)

I love how you’re like it’s not because I want Flynn and Carrie to be together however that’s basically the entire reason. (I embellished a little bit but yeah) But I do agree, I feel like Carrie and Nick could have such a great potential to be friends. I love how you said that it’s Caleb who says yes to going back to Carrie that makes her suspicious not anything else that he does.

26. Oh my goodness, a little list to annoy Alex.

32. Honestly the fact that Alexander‘s Reggie back to the park manager with a batch of cookies is such a mom friend to do and a very in character move for Alex.

37. Legitimately Reggie is just banned from using laundry mostly because Alex and Luke were very horrified that day which they never want to experience again. Yes, and it wasn’t even a colour that made sense but one that theoretically is supposed to be impossible but Reggie managed to do the impossible.

I also love the little detail of candles being banned from the studio because Luke once out his arm in it. Also going off of that Luke and Reggie are also banned from using lighters just because they think arson is fun and would definitely try to set something on fire.

Oh my goodness, Luke being on fire and Alex just being done ‘Luke we are dead it’s not going to hurt’, and Julie is just saying something along the lines of how did this even happen. (Reggie is kind of panicking as well but he is probably the reason why Luke is on fire)

I love the fact that Julie is the first person who believed Reggie about having the Queen‘s baby pictures because that is adorable. Also just because a Reggie and Julie friendship is needed so much.

Good whatever time of day it is for you (honestly love that lmao)! 100%, time hasn’t existed since like March which is why I accidentally slept from four til nine and am now answering this at half midnight because I’m unable to sleep and also it’s brilliant, but anyway!

Box Stuff (oh yeahhh this is where the baby photos came from!)

1. Lmao I love that idea, Alex comes in and sees Luke like sat amongst utter chaos and he just goes “Luke, that was dumb” about whatever he did and Luke just grumbles “I know” obviously doing the angry puppy face. Also I love that detail, like if a parent said it then it’d be unacceptable but it’s a friend so it’s fine, I totally get that. He’s like “this is what I think you should do” and Luke grudgingly listens.

Side note: the way we’ve been talking about Alex is really really strongly reminding me of one of my irl friends and this is literally nothing to do with any of this but I’m now projecting her onto Alex so I wanna headcanon that Alex was really close with teachers. Not in a weird way, like they just got on well with him because he was a good student and he was bright and happy when he wanted to be, and he was mature and well-mannered and everyone he ever met would do anything for him. It’s not like he was a teacher’s pet, it was more like they trusted him and were friendly with him and tended to give him higher grades because he was so nice.

Anyway, idk if that made sense, but back to the actual points! Omggg yes Emily telling Alex all Luke’s stories! (Like places he got stuck as a child bc as we know Luke will get stuck anywhere 😂) Alex starts bringing them up whenever Luke is being particularly annoying - “bold words for someone who cried when they met Mickey Mouse at Disneyworld” and bonus points if Emily happens to be in the room (like they’re at Luke’s house or whatever) smirking to herself because she loves her boys

You put this so beautifully omg 🥺 I think you’re definitely right about all of this, Alex and Reggie would have not wanted to see their parents and given that opportunity to Luke instead. And like yeah exactly!! Alex says they had other friends but we never hear anything about them and it makes me wonder what they did when the band died. Also this got me thinking about tributes the school would have held for them and all the different things going on in their honour, and people being careful with Bobby (like people were with Julie after Rose died) because he’s been so down and them all carefully offering their condolences and saying they’re sorry for his loss and ouch. Oooh yes personally I really like the idea of Alex having a sister who’s quite a lot younger than him like ten years but I think that’s just me projecting, no matter what I definitely think he had a sister. It says in the show that Luke was an only child (and sidenote: that made me headcanon that Mitch and Emily really struggled to have kids, possibly going through infertility treatment and Luke was the only child they didn’t lose during pregnancy but they still ended up losing him anyway), and also I like the idea that Reggie had an older brother who he didn’t see much. I think Alex would have liked to see his sister again but Reggie wouldn’t have minded either way about seeing his brother

I haven’t heard that song but I’ll make sure to listen to it in the morning! And I’m so glad you said I could suggest songs lol because I literally only heard this for the first time about an hour ago but I’m already in love with it - Don’t Stop... by Oasis is literally such a beautiful song and I can definitely imagine it as something Rose wrote to Julie, Ray and Carlos like Wake Up before she died, or alternatively a song sort of similar but not really to Unsaid Emily, more like Luke trying to comfort Emily. It’s less sad and more sort of comforting and emotional, but it’s absolutely gorgeous!

Omggg Julie playing that for Mitch and Emily, I would cryyyy. I feel like the Patterson’s have a piano so Julie would be at their house one day and start playing the chords and humming along and Emily and Mitch would watch as she slowly starts singing and it turns into a proper performance and everyone’s crying by the end omg I love it

3. Lmao that’s great, Willie sees Alex improvise and is like “how hard can it be?” and tries it by himself and almost sets the kitchen on fire. Alex just isn’t even surprised and helps him clean up, then the next time Willie wants to do it Alex helps him - turns out Willie should just be banned from the kitchen at all costs because even with Alex there it still ends up going wrong. And I love that, how Luke and Reggie would just be horrified when Alex throws the book away. Like Luke would go and get it from the trash or wherever Alex chucked it across the room and would nervously say “you need this buddy?” but Alex just waves him away like “NO it’s stupid get it out of my sight”

Board Games and Jam

1. Pfffft this whole thing literally made me laugh out loud. Reggie thinking it’s hilarious but his face immediately falling when Alex is against him, immediately trying to backpedal.

Also I read it wrong bc I thought it said “Alex is weirdly tall” and I was like I’m pretty sure he’s not like much over six foot that’s normal??? Then I read it properly and was like oh ok that makes more sense. And also you’re right, like a drumstick may be a flimsy piece of wood but Alex has perfected his technique and good god it hurts if it hits you

Lmao that’s exactly what I was imagining too! Caleb just looking completely flabbergasted because How Dare someone throw something at him?? And while he’s still looking shocked, another drumstick hits him. He starts to look annoyed more than shocked and another drumstick hits him. Eventually, he carries on with his evil speech, now looking resigned and a little fed up because he’s still being pelted with drumsticks and can’t figure out where Alex is getting them all from

Among Us

Wait yeah I love that, I wanna build on that a little - he gave up on not talking to him because Willie was sat next to him and continuously poking him while saying “I said I’m sorry hotdog please love me” and Alex literally can’t resist, so he’s like “fine on one condition” then whips out the puppy dog eyes and asks Willie never to do it again and Willie agrees instantly. Alex kills him literally the next round.

It gets to the point where if someone finds Luke’s body and there was no one near it at the time then they’ll just ignore it and won’t even call an emergency meeting bc they can’t accuse anyone of being sus because it could literally be any one of them unless someone was running away from the body. Luke gets annoyed so quickly and won’t do his tasks as a ghost because everyone is laughing at him and being mean about his death

Exactly! Flynn has the rules memorised word for word and if someone tries to do something they can’t she will literally be out of her seat like “NO bitch play by the rules, why can none of you play this game properly?!” and everyone is like “... calm down all he did was accidentally move his piece three spaces instead of two. chill.”

YES LOL that’s exactly what the “no” is like absjdldl

I love that so much, also because I feel like they wouldn’t really talk much outside of game nights and stuff - like Willie would be good friends with Flynn so Alex would talk to her whenever they all hang out, but most of the time it’s just them as a group so their interactions are almost always them arguing about the rules of Monopoly. The only time they’re in agreement is if Luke (and only Luke) does something wrong then they will gang up on him, Flynn bc the rules are very important to her and Alex bc he thinks it’s funny

Literally same, tbh I’m usually the one who starts arguments during any board game so it’s good we can both project our competitiveness onto Flynn 😂😂

Pffffft yeah lmao Alex just has no sympathy for Reggie’s struggle

Numbers

2. Omg that’s great lmao, love how you just slightly changed the 25 years quote. I’d like to add “You know what else is rude? Not thanking me for literally saving your life. Get woke, these are sensitive times.”

6. It leads to a disastrous conversation that goes something like Willie saying something and Alex giving a panicked response then Willie replying and Alex attempting to give a chill response bc the guys are watching and the whole thing ends up awkward

Unrelated sort of, but it kinda reminds me of this scene in a show called Miranda (idk if you’ve ever watched it? Again it’s one of my all-time favourite shows. It’s getting an American remake actually called Call Me Kat which Cheyenne Jackson is in!!) where the main character Miranda is talking to the love interest Gary. Basically they’ve not seen each other in years and so Gary asks what’s going on in her life and she tells him she’s an Olympic gymnast. Later he asks if she’s seeing anyone, she says she’s married and has two kids called Orlando and Bloom. Gary says he’s single and she’s like “oh me too” so he asks about the husband and kids and she’s like “we’re divorced now. The kids are... dead” anyway yeah now I wanna write a Miranda AU lmao

8. Luke - exactly!! His selflessness can be dangerous sometimes bc he might just forget to take care of himself but the others balance it out. Also yeah it would be so easy for him to get cocky but he just doesn’t because the band means so much to him!

Reggie - yes to all of that! His solo in Stand Tall is beautiful, and I legit can’t remember if I brought this up before but my favourite Reggie lyric is that “today!!” in Now or Never because it’s just amazinggg. And yes!! Jeremys new music is literally so good, I haven’t listened to all of it but like you said it’s such a great display of his abilities and he’s so so so underrated within the fandom and in general

Alex - yes!! That’s the perfect example because even luke doesn’t realise how important Alex’s part is and like that’s Luke of all people

Wait yeah that’s a great example! Alex keeps them on track by trying to calm Julie - I mean, admittedly he doesn’t do a great job (“wHy ArE yOu In OuR sTuDiO?!”) but they know that he’ll be the best guy for the job

Bobby - exactly I just wish we had more information from the show to go on for him!!

And ok ok ok just this got me thinking - imagine if it had been Luke left alone that night. He finds that his three brothers are dead and he’s just completely lost. It suddenly feels like his dreams have been crushed because he doesn’t want to go on with music without the band. He doesn’t know where to go, but he feels himself longing for home. So he goes to the studio but it doesn’t feel like home anymore. Without the other guys there, making noise, or staying quiet, or laughing and joking or making their music, it doesn’t feel like the home Luke had considered it before - it just feels like a room, a draughty old garage with shattered memories and newfound loneliness. But he’s still aching to go home, he just doesn’t know where that is anymore. He walks, and he keeps walking, trying to find somewhere that feels accepting and welcome but nowhere fits. He doesn’t even really know where his feet are taking him. Eventually he stops walking and he looks at where he is, and he sees that he has stopped outside his house, at the end of the driveway. Through the window he can see Emily knitting and he’s reminded of Bobby, and he sees Mitch doing a crossword in the paper and he’s reminded of Reggie, and he sees a Cake cooling on the counter and he’s reminded of Alex, but also he can just see Mitch and Emily. He walked himself back to his parents. He walked himself home. And he has no idea what he’s going to do or say but he walks up to the door for the first time in months and he knocks and it’s Emily who answers and for a moment they stare at each other and without a word they both move to hug one another. They’re crying, quietly, and Emily whispers into his ear, disbelievingly, “you’re home” and he realises then that yes, he is. He comes in, tells them everything that happened, and from then on they support him and help him pursue a solo career - he dedicates all his songs to his fallen family.

17. That mini Reggie quote literally made me snort with laughter. And Caleb’s response is just like to wave him away like “fine fine you can have them next week”

Exactly!! As brilliant as Cheyenne Jackson is at decadent villain songs, I’d rather get rid of those and have him turn good than defeat him and have him leave the show :(

19. Wait yeah I love that! Eventually every alliance falls apart because they can’t resist attacking each other. It’s Willie who makes his way through everyone the fastest because if he sees a moment to get his partner he will not hesitate

20. Yeah you put that so perfectly!

Ooooh exactly! Seeing as this is a totally new fandom it’s going to be exciting thi at we get to watch it grow and watch them grow with it as they get better and better and hopefully the show gets better with them (if that’s even possible, it’s already pretty perfect). And also I can’t wait to see them in more stuff! Like most of them have already been in other things but for the most part they weren’t well-known but now they are so they should be able to grow as actors because of that too which is exciting

Yeah totally there is definitely such thing as too many villains and I don’t think anyone can top Caleb anyway. And yeah, I’d so love to see Willie take over the HGC because he would make it so fun and also probably turn half of it into a skatepark

Anyone: *messes with Julie*

Luke, Flynn, Alex, Reggie, Willie, Ray, Carlos, Caleb, Nick, Carrie, Trevor, Rose’s spirit: You’d better start running.

21. No I can totally see it happening! Like Willie almost definitely got arrested when he was alive too so one day he mentions it and Alex is just reminiscently like “I remember when I spent the night in jail” and Willie is just ???????

Yeah they’re like “oh the Sunset Curve graffiti? Idk man we’ve got some pretty crazy fans out there. It definitely wasn’t us doing it because Reggie needed cheering up and crime always does the trick.”

25. Lmfao that’s brilliant. Carrie turns around with a face like thunder and Willie is immediately like “oh god I’m already dead but I think she’s gonna kill me again”. Honestly most of her talking would just be her saying “Alex is the sweetest, nicest, funniest, cutest, kindest, most thoughtful, [list of other adjectives for Alex] and I will keep him far out of your reach if you hurt him” and yeah like you said Luke and Reggie are scarier because they’re like “we will literally kill you a second time if you ever make him even a little bit sad” Meanwhile I imagine Julie just off in the corner shaking her head because she knows Willie is a sweetheart and would never hurt Alex so doesn’t need to give him the talk

Ajdbdksk you saw right through that huh 😂😂 it’s not my fault they’re perfect for each other lmaooooo

32. Yes!! I love the idea of Reggie finally getting back to his friends with the ranger. His jacket is all covered in dirt and Alex brushes it off him while saying “never wander off again, Reginald, we were worried sick, anything could have happened to you” and all this. Then the next day Alex hands over the cookies to Reggie and is like “take these to that nice park ranger, it’s the least we can do”

37. Reggie managing to do the impossible is a theme we’re making kinda and I’m loving it! He just has a knack for doing the impossible and most of the time it’s just absolutely terrifying or confusing so that means the guys just don’t trust Reggie with complicated things because he’ll do them but in the weirdest way possible (I hope that made sense but i don’t think it did 😂)

“Because they think arson is fun” lmaooo perfect. If ever Alex or Bobby or Julie finds out they have a lighter on them for any reason they get put in the Time-Out Corner and they literally act like preschoolers about it.

Reggie being the reason Luke is on fire that’s freaking hilarious omg, it’s the one time Alex didn’t realise he had a lighter and of course it ends in disaster. He’s only panicking bc he feels bad and also he’s annoyed because now Alex knows he had a lighter and he’s gonna get put in time-out

YES omg ok I really really really want a Reggie and Julie duet. I made a post about it the other day but honestly I need one right now. It can be called “the Queen’s Baby Photos”

[myforeverforlife]

Chapter 7: Chën

“Did you see that, Chën?” he asked, looking up and towards a corner of the room. A tiny camera was set up there, red light blinking back at Baëkhyun.

“You’re in for a treat.”

Masterlist

Obsession Masterlist

Trigger warning: Mentions of blood

None of your training had prepared you for this — an onslaught of continuous torture at the hands of men who looked painfully identical to your fellow peers, your friends.  You cried out in pain, neck and back extremely stiff as you barely managed to get your eyes open. A man sat across from you, a chessboard topped table separating both of you. He smiled as you made eye contact with him, two lip piercings standing out against his skin.

“Jongdae?” you asked blearily. Your head was still reeling from Baëkhyun’s attack. 

The man raised an eyebrow in question, chuckling wickedly to himself. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten where you are. You put up a good fight against Baëkhyun until he crept up behind you. Knocked you out, to be frank.” He rested his elbows on the table, fingers linking together as he laid his chin on top. “My name is Chën. I assume my other self is called Jongdae in your world?” 

You ignored his cruel attempt at making small talk. You were shivering badly, and you hoped that you hadn’t lost too much blood during the swordfight. You glanced down at your arm, shocked to see it bandaged and cleaned up. “Did you do this?” you asked Chën, gaping in disbelief. 

He shrugged, the movement of his shoulders drawing your eye to something that twinkled beside his ear. A pair of chains connected a ring on his lip to a similar one perched on top of his ear. 

Just like Baëkhyun’s face chain — without it, they were rendered powerless. You weren’t sure what Chën’s power was, but you knew that you didn’t want to find out. 

“I know you must think my brothers and I to be despicable, but I assure you, we can be perfectly well-behaved.” He nodded towards your bandaged arm. “I don’t like winning when my opponent is badly wounded. I told Baëkhyun not to tire you out before my turn.” He pouted, bottom lip sticking out as he sighed in disappointment. 

A sudden surge of heat interrupted your thoughts, your necklace warming up like it had before, when you had been trying to escape from Baëkhyun. The keys were the warmest they had been since you stepped into this universe, but where was the door? 

“Oh well.” Chën straightened up in his seat, turning to look at the wall beside him. You copied him, at a loss for words when you saw how the space was covered with screens. Each one showed a different area — some of them being the rooms you had been held captive in. Your heart rate quickened when you noticed a door just to the left of the screens, much closer to your side than Chën’s. 

Was that your way out? 

“I’ve been watching you for a while,” Chën mused, breaking your train of thought. You turned back to face him, trying not to raise suspicion. “I didn’t think you would make it out of the last one. But you’re a fighter, aren’t you?” He turned back to you, an eerily haunting smile on his face. “I’ve been waiting for my turn.”

There wasn’t anything holding you down, but fatigue and fear of what Chën could do kept you rooted in your seat, at least until you could formulate a better plan.

“Rather than a game of physical strength, I’d like to offer you a game of strategy — chess.” He gestured to the board in front of you, black pieces on your side and red in front of his. “My rules are the same as Baëkhyun’s. You win, you go home safely. I win, and you sever the bond between you and your keys.” Chën’s eyes darkened. 

“And then my brothers will decide what to do with you, once and for all.” 

You weren’t skilled in chess, hadn’t even played in a while. It was a required class at the Academy, and yet you had barely passed in your early years there. But you had made it this far, and you wouldn’t let a game of chess get the best of you. 

You just needed more time, time to get away to the door unharmed so that you could unlock the door and escape. 

“Alright,” you agreed cautiously, trying to hide your discomfort when Chën grinned, the look on his face much like that of a predator about to devour its prey. 

“Good choice. I hope you don’t mind if I take red. Baëkhyun always makes me take black,” Chën said with a chuckle. “Guests first,” he offered. 

You studied the board, trying to recall any special tactics you had learned in the past. Hesitantly, you picked up a pawn before moving it forward.

Chën was quicker, moving one of his pawns with no hesitation. 

Every move you made was deliberately drawn out. You lacked confidence in your abilities, second-guessing every move before finally pushing a piece forward. But this also meant that your fate was delayed, giving you more time to think of how to either win or incapacitate Chën so that he couldn’t attack you when you fled to the door.

“Don’t strain that pretty head of yours too much,” Chën drawled, one of his knights swooping in to take your rook. “I wouldn’t want your moves to be anything less than perfect.” 

Move after move, and Chën’s pieces were moving closer to your side of the board. It was only a matter of time before they took your king, resulting in imminent loss of both your keys and likely your life as well. 

You eyed the door as Chën moved a pawn, quickly shifting back to the board when he looked up at you. Pretending that you were in deep thought, you finally decided on moving a bishop forward. 

As soon as you saw Chën pick up a piece, you pushed your chair back, running towards the door and readying your keys in your hand. You didn’t make it far before Chën was slamming into you, holding you up against the wall with one hand to your throat. He made sure to avoid touching the chain of your necklace, fingers placed carefully around your windpipe. 

“You fool,” he said, laughing breathily. “You gave yourself away a long time ago.” Chën reached down with his free hand, skimming up your arm before pressing down into the bandage.

You screamed, tears immediately brimming your eyes as jolts of electricity flooded your wound. The keys had fallen out of your grip when he shoved you against the wall, laying piteously against your chest.

Chën merely laughed, the sound more of a wild cackle. “You thought you could outsmart me, outsmart all of us. I’ve grown tired of you.” With a grunt, the current of electricity grew stronger. 

Your screams echoed through the room, voice growing hoarse as you clawed at his hand, legs kicking furiously. One of your feet managed to swipe against his thigh, and before he could move away you swung back, kicking him harder right in between the legs.

Chën groaned, dropping to the floor and letting go. Not wasting a single moment, you ran to the door, eyes barely in focus as you got the key into the lock.

The keys were scalding hot now, but you pushed past the pain. You sobbed out in relief when the knob turned, pulling the door open.

You ran inside, the familiar maze-like hallway of the Realm of Gateways greeting you. Pulling the door closed, you had it almost completely shut before a hand shot through, fingers catching on the doorframe. You screamed as the fingers reached out frantically, Chën spitting out a litany of curses from behind the door. 

He began yelling to the others, and your panic crescendoed. 

Acting quickly, you used your keys to cut across his fingers, wincing as Chën roared out in pain. Black blood seeped from the cuts on his fingers, and his hand slipped out from between the door. 

You pulled the door shut and jammed the key in, turning it in the lock as hands pounded against the door. 

Removing your key, you let the pair drop back to rest against your chest as you stood, arm bleeding, face tear and sweat streaked, and your entire body trembling. 

You had to warn the Council.

A/N: No surprise, Jongdae’s was the first chapter I drafted up. After watching the Obsession MV, I really wanted to include Jongdae as this cocky chess player into the fic! The last time I played chess was when I was like 10, and I literally made up half of the rules with my friends because we didn’t know how to play LOL

Tag list: @thalasoophilia​, @skjdln​, @trishmarieco​, @jongin-be-my-jagi​, @violentcosmicsymphony 

[erineliz]

I spent a lot of time thinking about and writing about my favorite Taylor Swift albums of all time and ranking them. It was a lot of work but I’d love to see other fans rankings and read why. Here’s mine:

1.folklore

2.fearless

3.reputation

4.taylor Swift

5.speak now

6.Red

7.lover

8.1989

So now that folklore has been out awhile, I’ve listened to it, memorized it, loved it. I’ve been reminiscing on old albums now, as you do. My album ranking opinion is probably a super unpopular one in the t-swift fandom that I follow but, I’m a different kind of swiftie I suppose. So I’ll try to further explain my opinions on these albums.

Starting from the bottom,

1989: this is last for me but in no way means it’s a bad album, I mean something has to be last but this one just was not my wildest dream lol. It started off with the release of shake it off before the rest of the album and this was the beginning of Taylor releasing my least favorite song first on quite a few albums (followed by LWYMMD and YNTCD, but we’ll get to those later) I love, love,love blank space and it was a huge bop for a long time after I first heard it. Prob the only thing that made me even want to listen to the rest of the album. Because, as you can see red didn’t fall very high on my list so to follow it up with just shake it off made me kind of feel like, am I over t Swift? 😯 shocking, I know. I was a senior in college when this was released, blank space was played loudly at a few house parties and I loved that everyone loved it too, not just me; a long time lover of swift. It always feels like an I told you so moment when people who aren’t swifties like one of her songs. I never bought this album, and didn’t have Apple Music at the time so I feel like I never really gave it the time and appreciation it deserved. Almost every song on it became a single and I did like a lot of them. The first time I heard New Romantics was when my sister was playing the deluxe cd in her car and I was like, what is this? I loved that song. I think I then looked into the album more and listened to the rest. It was ok, I liked clean because I was going through a breakup. I liked how you get the girl, I thought it was creative and also kind of related to my break up. Out of the woods was too repetitive for me, the rest of the songs were played on the radio so much that they just became overplayed and annoying to me. So yeah, although this was her most successful album by far, I think it was just too mainstream, over played and not for me! But still good overall, you know, because, it’s Taylor Swift.

Lover: it was hard for me to put this this low, because again, not a bad album. It started off by Releasing YNTCD and Me! Before the rest of the album and again I was just like meh... but I knew better in my career as a swiftie that these two singles meant nothing for what the rest of album would be. I really like a lot of the songs on this album, London boy, daylight, false god, cruel summer, the man..all really good! But just nothing that went down as a favorite swift song of all time. I love the aesthetic of this album, probably one of my faves. I love that it’s about love, it came out last year, right when I bought a house with my lover, and I listened to it many hours while painting our walls before we moved in. I feel like Taylor and I have gone through it all together, and lover was the epitome of where my relationship was with my fiancé, just like her and joe 💕 we made it through all the heartbreaks and this was the purple pink sky at the end of the tunnel! But still, she has made way better music IMO.

Red: This is the swift album that everyone thinks got snubbed by the Grammy’s. Most swifties would scoff at this ranking as well. But..again not a bad album, this album has some of her BEST songs/lyrics. But..also it has, and it hurts me to say this, some of her worst as well. Red is good, but if we’re taking albums as a WHOLE, that you can listen too without any skips, this is not that one for me. This album does have some of my favorite of all time songs: all too well(give me the 8 minute version,damnit), red, state of grace, treacherous. But then it also has..stay,stay,stay which I really think is just like, so corny and fake, you can tell it’s not about her life, it’s like a little country twangy but still like bubble gum pop. It just rubs me the wrong way and gets a skip when listening. This album was a huge turning point in her country to pop timeline and it has a good mix of her pop bops along with her pretty little guitar poetry. The pop singles on this album were not my fave. 22 is fun, I was 20-21 when this came out and everyone was jamming 22 on their 22nd b-days. IKYWT got sooo overplayed and annoying. Same with WANEEGBT. I love my t-swift deep cut, sad songs but some of these were just trying too hard at that, like sad beautiful tragic and the moment I knew. They were just tooo dramatic for me. But idk, maybe it’s just because I wasn’t going through heartbreak when this came out, I was about 3 years into a 6 year relationship so heartbreak hadn’t been relatable for awhile and wasn’t going to be for awhile longer. I loved the duets with Ed and Gary, so glad we got that again on folklore! I also think that this album appeals way more to a younger audience. I think I grew up a little by 2012 compared to when I was crying over boys listening to the first albums, not just in a sense of heartbreak but also like just the parts of red that are a little corny to me. I think she was still aiming for the young teeny bopper pop and I was kind of growing out of that stage in music, broadening my horizons if you will. I started listening to swift when I was like 15. I think I just was a little ahead of the target generation that this album was made for: But I still just wasn’t done with her or this album due to the minor cheesy parts. Because then she puts shit on there like the fucking bridge of all too well and I’m like ok she is still the greatest writer of all time. This was a long explanation for red, but I have so many feelings about it. And also, yeah.. it didn’t deserve a Grammy, all things considered. All too well could have had one for song of the year, but whatever.

Speak Now: this was a good album, I think it was very similar to fearless but not quite as iconic. fearless has kept its high rank over the years so because this was so similar, I can’t put it too low. It was exactly what I wanted after fearless, also I think it kind of explains too why red was a bit of a let down..it was a huge change from fearless and speak now. I guess I’m just slow to adapt to change? But anyways speak now has some of the best deep cuts, dear john, last kiss both so beautifully written. Real, raw. We all knew who they were about and the drama of these relationships was exciting because these were the days that’d we’d all hear stuff about who she was dating but never get the full story. then later hear about it in her albums..it was nice to get that kind of honesty from a celebrity, made us feel like we really knew her. Sparks fly is up there as favorite song of all time. Mean was such a clap back to her critics and had the country vibe and twang from her first album. Also, this album had songs about John Mayer, joe Jonas, Taylor lautner..and Kanye west? All huge names at the time. I have to admit, the Kanye west innocent song was a huggeee let down at the time. I know this bitch had worse thing to say than “you’re still an innocent” but..she was very deep into playing her nice girl role at the time. So thank god there was a rep era later on down the road! I was a freshman in college when this came out. Living in dorm rooms, listening to music on my laptop late at night with the lights out.

Taylor Swift: this is up there, because it just has to be. This is where it all started. Listening to country radio, hearing Tim McGraw for the first time. I myself being a huge Tim McGraw fan thinking, I hope someone does think of me when they think of Tim McGraw lol. And then, just on a whim somehow, looking up other songs by her..just to see. Now in 2006, looking up songs by an artist wasn’t as easy a task as it is now. I illegally downloaded music on limewire still at this point. And would then burn it to cds. And would later get my first iPod and transfer everything to that, because who wants to pay a dollar per song on iTunes? I’m sorry Taylor, but Not my mother. So, being 14-15, I had to find my own ways. Stay beautiful, our song, cold as you, picture to burn, should’ve said no..these songs were the words I was looking for in high school, going through teenage love and heart ache. Feeling the exact same way as her and wanting to just write these words on a paper and fucking send it to all these boys who made me sad. Wanting to be a famous singer just so these people could see how I feel and how they ruined everything. Pretending that Mary’s song was the story of my lover and I in an imaginary world. Like, for real. This album did something to me, because of this album no matter what happens in this life, if Taylor puts out music, I’m going to listen to it..just to see.

Reputation: this album was a huge turning point for her. And for me, as her fan. It was after 1989, so I wasn’t like, obsessively waiting to see what would be next. The whole cancel tswift thing happened and I heard about it, but it wasn’t like a huge deal. I was on her side, she didn’t do anything wrong and people were so quick to jump down her throat. but musically after 1989, I was not a hardcore swiftie, I still hadn’t adapted to the all pop era. I needed my Taylor swift on a guitar, pouring her heart out in her lyrics. And then, this happened and it was, for me, way better pop than anything on 1989 or red, by far. I was back to my obsessive swiftie ways, but in a whole new way. Every song on the album was a jam, she was speaking her mind, finally saying wayy more about kanye (and kim, ugh) than what we got on speak now.(ironic, because to me this album is when she really started to speak and didn’t play the nice girl anymore) not only that but, this was a love album and I related to it in so many ways. I was finally out of that 6 year relationship, and had a bit of a “reputation” (not really, but some bridges were burned and people talk a lot about things they no nothing about when you end something that lasted 6 years) and I had met someone new. I related to every love song on this album so much and it meant so much because, like Taylor, after all the bullshit that happened, finding the right person is everything. She had never been more relatable. I feel like her pop music finally grew up enough for me. She was doing pop in a new way and I was here for it.

Fearless: this one has stood the test of time. A classic. No skip album. Country, but her first intro to pop crossover with love story, but unlike a lot of her early pop hits, love story didn’t get old and overplayed for me. It’s not like my favorite song now, but when it blew up, I was about it. Beautiful writing on this whole album. It was the first album I bought. The physical cd. It came out when I was just learning to drive. Driving on my own and blasting this album singing at the top of my lungs along with it with no one to tell me to turn it down or change the song solidified the love story I had with fearless. Blasting you’re not sorry over and over again, (a top 5 song of all time) it made me want to learn to play piano (I didn’t). White horse playing on grays anatomy (my fave show at the time). Listening to fifteen at age 16 for the first time thinking, yes this is so true and I’m so much older and wiser now 🤣 . I was a colbie caillat fan before I knew who Taylor was. Hey Stephen was cute AF. Wished that I had the courage to say things like that to my crushes. Forever and always after my first breakup. It just hit so hard. I can always go back to this album, and have, over the years. My first tswift concert with my only other friend that liked her. It was before any of the drama that came out in the news about her. It’s when She started to blow up in popularity, I’d start to religiously follow things she was doing, interviews, videos on tour, and fell in love with her personality. This girl was talented and hilarious and pretty and smart. I wanted to be her so bad.

Folklore: although it’s still new and fresh, I really think it’s the best yet. For me it’s Taylor swift come full circle. It has the writing, some of her best lyrics yet. It has the age and wisdom that we have watched her gracefully acquire over the years. It’s not pop but it still has the catchy tunes that get stuck in your head, but in a quieter, simpler way. It takes loads more talent to get these songs on the charts than it did with her tried and true formula that she has used in the past for a pop song. She perfected that art, but this is a new level now. It’s not trying too hard, it’s honest. It’s still about love and how far she (and I 😭) have come in that journey. Yet it still has the heartbreak, teenage angst that only she can describe so beautifully. Cardigan might be best of all time. Betty takes me back to something on fearless. Mirror ball and August are light, airy, upbeat and just unique. TLGAD is her storytelling at its finest, yet also a quick fuck you to those who think she’s “ruined” anything. She had a marvelous time. It’s also that personal level, we’ve seen the photos of her and all her friends at this house and it just makes you feel like you’ve been there or something. Exile takes me back to red and I love this duet so much. Invisible string is so.well.written. The concept, so beautiful. The story of her and joe. Details we’ve never heard before. The lakes really ties it all together for me. It’s everything. We’re all isolated right now, but this song speaks to me so much. I’m not a big social media person, I like the simple things in life. I like to read, to write, my circle of friends is dwindling as we all get older and that’s ok because I have the love of my life and that’s all I need. It also speaks to how isolated I feel as a t swift fan, not that there is any shortage of swifties out there, but all the people I am close with are not fans of hers. And that’s fine, we have different tastes in music, whatever. But to me the best thing about Taylor has always been her writing, her poetry. I like the sad sappy songs, I want the auroras and sad prose (I also love the concept of not moving for years) this song has it all, even another subtle fuck you to her critics again. Who are you to tell her what her words are worth? They are better than any other artists’ out there. So many other dumb ass musicians out there that don’t even write any of their music who want to say Taylor isn’t “that great”. To me her words are everything. Folklore is everything. And it’s all hers! That’s huge. I feel like with her owning more of her shit now she can also be free to do whatever the fuck she wants. There’s no pressure for a tour on this album, (fucking covid 🙄) which may have influenced how she wrote it..no fancy dance numbers needed here. Without a big record label down her throat too she may have had more freedom, maybe to not have a hit single (although she still does) there’s no super mainstream straight pop BOP like every other album has had. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her and her music. Oh and you want to talk about Grammys? GIVE IT TO FOLKLORE.

[justsomebucky]

Thankful

Summary: AU. Reader is used to living on her own terms, so when she’s suddenly jammed back in with her family for Thanksgiving, things get a little crazy. Will a stranger she met at the bar be the perfect one to help her through the holiday?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!reader

Word Count: 4,931

Warnings: language, drinking, creeper at a bar being a creeper, the creeper hits on reader so if that makes you uncomfortable avoid, fighting, fake dating, fluff, awkwardness, family arguments, things get steamy, no smut

A/N: This is a re-post of a fic I attempted for a holiday challenge back in 2016. It was posted in three parts on a different blog, but I smushed them together here. Sorry for the bad writing lol.

Thanksgiving Day was a mess.

It was just like last year, and the year before, and the year before…

Every year your parents asked you to come home, and every year you tried to say no (and ended up giving in). That’s why this year you were back in your hometown once again.

Nothing was out of the ordinary so far, but you were tense and waiting for something to go wrong. Your little sister was nagging you about anything and everything she could. Your mother was asking about your work, while your father wanted to know if you were seeing anyone, and if you were, why weren’t they willing to come home and have a nice chat with him?

So, yeah…Thanksgiving Day was a mess.

It’s not that you didn’t love your family. You loved them a lot, but you were so used to doing your own thing, that life in the same house felt too cramped now.

“Mom, Y/N isn’t listening to me!”

“Listen to your sister, dear,” your mom called from the kitchen, where her and your father were cooking. You were in the living room playing cards with your sister and trying your hardest to not punch her.

Your eyes flitted up to hers over your hand of cards. “What?”

“What?” she parroted back gleefully.

“I asked you first.” You could feel the beginning of a headache starting.

“I asked you first.”

Instead of raising your voice to tell your little sister to shut her face like you really wanted to do, you merely smiled at her. “Go fish.”

”You’re a fish!”

“Sweetie, be nice!”

“But she’s stupid!”

“All right.” You put your cards back into the center pile and stood up. “I’m sorry, guys, I tried. I need to get out of here.”

Your sister gasped like you’d just told her the world was ending. “But we weren’t finished with the game!”

“I’m finished. I will be home in a bit.” You threw on a hoodie and grabbed your purse and keys.

“It’ll only be about another hour, sweetie,” your mom told you as you walked through the room.

“You could at least stay and help your mother and me,” your father chided.

That was the last thing you heard before you shut the door behind you.

You knew it was rude and that you should be contributing, but if you didn’t get out of there soon you were gonna lose it, and you really didn’t want to end up in jail on a holiday.

It was the only bar open in at least ten miles, and it was shady as hell.

There was thick cigar smoke billowing through the air. A pool table sat in the corner, where two leather-clad muscle bros were pushing each other back and forth, arguing over who would buy the next round of beer.

The good news? You weren’t the only woman.

The bad news? You might as well have been, the way everyone turned to leer at you when you walked in. You were wearing jeans and a Yankees t-shirt under the zipped hoodie you had on, so it’s not like you were enticing them outright.

You took a deep breath and made your way over to a barstool away from other people.

“What’re you havin’?” A pretty young girl came over to you with a smile, her hands on her hips expectantly.

“Hey Wanda, I was here first!” You couldn’t see who had said it, but he didn’t sound happy.

She whirled around. “Give me a minute, asshole! Fresh blood here!” Wanda turned back to you, her sweet smile back on her face. “Decide yet?”

“I’ll have a Jack and Coke,” you said boldly. That wasn’t your normal drink of choice, but it seemed fitting for the dive bar atmosphere.

“Comin’ right up,” she said, winking at you. “Don’t worry, these boys don’t bite.”

“Yeah,” you muttered, glancing around you. “Hopefully not.”

The other patrons of the bar didn’t really surprise you. There was a middle-aged woman with a low-cut top sitting next to a heavy-set bearded man who was definitely enjoying the view. To their right, two frat boys who probably didn’t go home for break were doing shots.

In the corner opposite of you, there was a man with long brown hair tucked under a baseball cap, which was pulled low over his eyes. He was leaning against the bar top and staring down at the whiskey in front of him.

As if he heard your thoughts, he looked up at you, and you glanced away quickly. His eyes were bright blue with a hint of grey, like a storm approaching the ocean. They were beautiful even in the dim light.

Wanda came back with your drink, and you thanked her with a smile. You took a generous sip, knowing that it couldn’t fix your issues but it might calm you down.

Your family was making you pretty damn anxious, after all.

A hand on your shoulder made your back stiffen. You could smell him before you saw him, a combination of cigar and body odor. When you turned your head to look, you cringed.  

“Hey, darlin’.” One of the big biker dudes from the pool table fight had meandered over to you and was now trying to hit on you. Why, oh why had you come here alone? What were you thinking?

“Not interested,” you replied automatically. Maybe you should invest in a fake engagement ring to make sure people knew you were taken. You weren’t, but they didn’t need to know that.

“You don’t even know me,” he drawled in your ear. “Come on, give me a chance.”

A wave of fear went through you. He was bigger than you, and the exit was behind him. “Please leave me alone, I didn’t come here to hook up.”

“No, but you might come here anyways, catch my drift?” His hand moved down your shoulder and you felt him try to tug on the zipper of your hoodie. “What’s underneath here?”

Now you were really freaked out. You jerked away from him. “Listen-“

“She said she wasn’t interested!” One good punch sent the man flying into the dart board on the wall. It came crashing down right on the guy’s face.

You turned to see the man with the baseball cap as he glared at the fallen creeper. He looked over at Wanda apologetically. “Sorry for the disruption.”

“No worries, Bucky. That guy’s a jackass anyhow.” Wanda frowned. “Better get her out of here before he comes to, though.”

Your eyes volleyed between the two in confusion. “Why?”

“Because he’s gonna try harder next time,” Bucky replied, motioning for you to get up. “I can make sure you get home okay.”

“I have my car here,” you told him. “I can’t leave it.”

He ran a hand down his face. “All right. But I’m following you home.”

Your mouth opened and closed a few times to try to find the right words to protest. This guy? Coming home with you?

“Stranger danger,” was all you could manage to say.

To your surprise, Bucky started chuckling. He had perfect white teeth, and these little crinkles around his eyes that made him even more handsome when he smiled.  

“My name’s Bucky Barnes.”

“I’m Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. See? Now we’re not strangers, and I promise I’ll lose your address,” he said. “So come on, before idiot here decides that he’s going to wake up and knock the both of us out.”

The thought of that guy even looking at you again was enough motivation to trust Bucky.

“Fine.” You stood up, tossing some bills down on the bar for Wanda. “Let’s go.”

When you pulled your car back into the driveway and cut the engine, you saw Bucky park his motorcycle along the curb. You got out and shut the car door quietly, then walked down to where he sat waiting.

“Thank you for punching that creeper,” you told him. “And thank you for making sure I made it home okay.”

“It’s not a problem,” Bucky replied. “My mom taught me to be a gentleman, and that guy was definitely crossing all sorts of lines.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Why, if you live here, were you all the way out there in a dive bar…by yourself…on Thanksgiving?”

You bit your lip. “My family drives me crazy. I normally live in the city by myself, and it’s just hard being back here, all smushed together in one house again.”

His eyes narrow a little. “So you put yourself in danger because you’re sick of spending quality time with your family?”

Now that he said it like that, you felt like an asshole. “Look, I know it must sound stupid to you, but they are always asking about my life and-”

Your voice trailed off when a brilliant idea struck. There was one surefire way to get your parents off your back.

“And?” Bucky stared at you in confusion. “You were saying?”

“How old are you?”

“Why?”

“Just curious.”

When he told you his age, you could hardly believe your luck. “And you’re single?”

“Yup. Why?”

“Why were you alone in a bar like that on Thanksgiving?”

He shrugged, looking down the road then back to you. His gaze wandered over your features for a moment before meeting your eyes again. “No family. I don’t usually go to seedy bars, but it was the only one open.”

You could understand that. It’s basically why you ended up there.

“No friends?”

Bucky smiled ruefully. “My best friend, Steve, invited me over, but…he’s got a wife, a couple kids, and some in-laws to worry about. I didn’t want to add to the list.”

Alone, single, considerate…this could work.

“Want to come in and give my family a little shock?”

“Uh…” He paused, scratching his head under the ball cap. “What?”

Your mouth quirked up. “You’ll get free food if you come in here and pretend to be my boyfriend for one night. What do you say?”

“You want to use me to make your family crazy? Didn’t you say they were already crazy?” Bucky eyed you incredulously. “They won’t have me arrested, right? Your dad isn’t gonna punch me?”

You burst out laughing. “Bucky, you knocked out a guy who was at least 250 pounds. I think you’ll be fine.”

His eyes looked past you to the door. “Looks like we’re busted anyways.”

“Y/N? What’s going on?” your mother’s worried voice carried over the yard to your ears.

“Nothing, Mom,” you replied quickly. “It’s just-“

Time to go for it. You motioned for Bucky to get off the motorcycle and he did, moving to stand beside you. He gave a little grunt when your fingers laced with his.

“My boyfriend’s finally here!”

If you could have captured your mother’s expression in a photo when you introduced Bucky as your boyfriend, you’d have sent it as your Christmas card.

Her shock and your father’s reaction were going to get you through this Thanksgiving.

You led Bucky by the hand straight up the front walk to where your mother stood. Your little sister was peeking around her, trying to get a good look at this stranger you’d just brought home.

“Mom, this is-”

“James Barnes, ma’am, but everyone calls me Bucky,” he interrupted. Suddenly your fake boyfriend was a smooth gentleman, taking your mother’s hand in his and giving it a peck. “And who is that princess behind you?”

Your sister giggled, hiding her face. “I’m not a princess!”

“You are to me,” he said with a smile. “Ma’am, if it’s all right with you, Y/N here has invited me to dinner because I had no plans of my own. I don’t mean to intrude.”

“No, please come in,” your mother said, forcing a smile. “You’re welcome to join us, it’s just that Y/N never told us about you.”

“Well I hope I can rectify that.” Bucky looked at you and you shrugged. You had no idea how far this was going to go, you just wanted someone to save you from your family.

“Who is that, dear?” your father’s voice boomed from the dining room.

“It’s Y/N, and she’s brought her boyfriend this time!”

“Boyfriend?”

This time Bucky turned to you with what could only be considered true fear in his eyes. You gave him a wink to let him know it was okay.

The two of you followed your mom and sister into the dining room, where a Thanksgiving feast was now laid out for the taking.

“Here, Bucky dear, sit here, and I’ll set another place.”

His face was calm, you had to give him credit for that. Your mom had put him right beside your father, who was sitting at the head of the table with a large carving knife as he prepared to slice the turkey. You took your place next to Bucky and sat down.

“So, son, tell me about yourself and why you’re putting your hands all over my daughter,” your dad said, tapping the knife against the turkey.

Bucky’s mouth opened and closed twice before you decided to step in.  

You were sure that was a scare tactic, which was interesting because he’d never done that to guys you brought home before.

“Dad! Can we please not embarrass him on his first time here?”

Bucky finally reacted, offering you a small smile. “It’s fine, Doll.” He turned back to your father. “Well, sir, I can honestly say that Y/N is one of the most…intriguing people I’ve ever met. She’s pretty no-nonsense about life, which is refreshing.”

“And what about you?” he asked Bucky, scrutinizing him.

“Bucky is smart and capable,” you blurted out. You weren’t even sure where that came from, but all the sudden you really wanted your dad to like him.

Both men turned their eyes to you.

You took that as a sign to continue. “He’s strong, and he’s got a great sense of right and wrong. He’d stand up for me and protect me if it came down to it.” You weren’t lying, since that had actually already happened back at the bar.

Your father studied your face for a second before a big grin broke out. “Well, then, Borky, I guess you’re all right for my little girl.”

“It’s, uh, Bucky, sir.”

“That’s what I said!”

Dinner was a crazy success. It was crazy because you and Bucky had actually pulled off this ruse fairly easily. You found him to be utterly charming. About halfway through the dinner, he started smiling at you for no reason, and each time he did, your heart would flutter a little.

It’s all pretend, you had to remind yourself, as you helped your mom with the dishes. Bucky had wandered into the family room to watch some football game on TV with your father. Your little sister was sitting next to him, giggling at him and grinning a lot.

It seemed your whole family was already smitten with Bucky Barnes.

It’s too bad that come tomorrow, he’ll be gone, you thought mournfully.

“Something got you down, Y/N?”

You looked up at your mom with a sad smile. “No, just tired.”

“Ah, well, why don’t you go up and get ready for bed. We’re almost done here anyways.”

“Thank you.” You gave her a grateful look, turning to go up the stairs.

“Oh and Y/N, since you and Bucky aren’t engaged, he has to sleep on the couch!”

You stopped halfway up the stairs. “Uh, we didn’t talk about him staying here tonight, Mom.”

“Nonsense,” she said, waving her hands in the air. “Bucky, come here a moment!”

“Yes, Mrs. Y/L/N?” Bucky appeared at the bottom of the stairs, glancing up at you in question before turning back to your mother.

“Y/N is going to go to bed, and she seems to be under the impression that you aren’t staying tonight. It’s so late, I can’t imagine you heading out on your own now, especially on a motorcycle. I’ll make the couch up for you.”

“Oh no, ma’am, that really won’t be necessary, I-“

“Good then, that’s settled.” She ended the conversation with a sharp clap.

Bucky looked back at you helplessly, and you mouthed I’m sorry.

It was well after one in the morning and your whole family was asleep by now, so you tiptoed downstairs to tell Bucky he didn’t really have to stay if he didn’t want to.

After your shower earlier, you had changed into comfy pajamas (ones that had tiny cats all over them) and wandered back downstairs to find Bucky playing cards with the rest of your family. They were teaching your little sister how to play Texas Hold ‘Em, and she had apparently done really well.

You had sat beside Bucky with a smirk, watching as he and your father faced off for the final hand. His cards were decent; he had three of a kind. But like the gentleman he is, when your father laid down his hand with two pairs, Bucky folded, and your father gleefully took the pot.

He told you after that he didn’t want your father to dislike him, which struck you as kind of strange since he barely knew you, but you’d been too tired to question it.

Just when you really wanted to get some rest, your brain decided to work overtime, throwing ideas at you that you’d never considered before. Maybe he liked you and that’s why he wanted to stick around. Maybe he wanted to impress your father so he can come back. Maybe…

So there you were, treading as lightly as possible downstairs to the couch, where Bucky was laying under a quilt with his arm thrown over his eyes.

“Bucky,” you called out. “Are you sleeping?”

You saw his mouth curl into a grin. “If I was, your loud mouth would surely have woken me up anyways.”

“Ha-ha.”

He brought his arm down and opened his eyes to look at you. “What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?”

“Not really,” you admitted. “I’m a little anxious, so I came to check on you. You don’t really have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“Won’t that look a little weird come morning?” The corner of his mouth quirked up again. “I’m fine here. I appreciate the company, to be honest. I’d have just been home by myself tonight.”

“Okay.”

After a few beats of comfortable silence, he sat up and lifted his blanket, silently inviting you to sit beside him.

Your stomach did the fluttery thing this time instead of your heart. Nerves around a stranger, you decided, as you moved to sit beside him, tucking the blanket over your legs.

“Thanks for inviting me, even if it was all to trick your family,” Bucky murmured, his eyes roaming your face.

“You’re welcome,” you replied quietly. “It’s been…interesting.”

“Yes, it has,” he agreed. He ran a hand through his long hair, smoothing it back from his face, and you couldn’t help but stare at his strong jawline.

There was that damn flutter again.

Bucky’s brow lifted a little. “What’s on your mind, Doll?”

Now, this could go one of two ways.

You could lie and say stress from work or whatever. Or, you could let him know the truth.

“You,” you whispered, choosing the latter.

His eyes widened in surprise. “Me?”

You nodded, your gaze dropping to his lips for a moment. You wondered if they’d be soft, and you needed to find out.

This was crazy, but you were always game for a little unconventionality.

You leaned over and pressed your lips to his gently.

Bucky didn’t react at first. In fact, it took so long you’d almost pulled away out of sheer mortification, before you felt his gentle touch on your neck as he began to kiss you back.

Yes, his lips were definitely soft.

You shifted closer until you were straddling his lap, never letting the kiss break. His hands moved down to your hips to hold you steady.  

The kisses between you became needier, more desperate, and your hands touched his hair, his neck, his chest, anything you could grab a hold of. His hands slipped down to your backside and gave a gentle squeeze, causing you to whimper into his mouth.

“Ah,” he panted, pulling back to rest his forehead against yours. “We can’t- what if someone catches us, your parents-“

You sat there on his lap for a moment, trying to catch your breath and come up with a plan. You were good at plans, right? Surely you could handle this.

When you moved off his lap, he protested with a groan. “Y/N, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the mood.”

“Don’t just sit there,” you said over your shoulder as you made your way back up the stairs. “Come on, already!”

Bucky’s eyes widened as he got your meaning. He moved fast and suddenly he was behind you, urging you to go faster while you tried not to giggle too loud.

The second your bedroom door closed, Bucky pinned you against it and placed searing open-mouthed kisses along your neck.

“I don’t usually do this,” he murmured against your skin.

“Could have fooled me,” you replied, arching your body against his to feel more – more him, more friction, anything. He nipped at your skin in response. “You seem to have all the right moves down.”

“We don’t even know each other.” This time he pulled back to look at you, his blue-grey eyes stormy with hesitation. “I don’t think I can do this with your parents down the hall.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “What are you, an inexperienced teenager?”

He ran a hand down his face. “No, I just…”

“Is it me?” you asked softly, looking away. “I know I’m probably not as hot as you’re used to-“

“Stop,” he said sharply, his hand lifting your chin gently so you’d look at him. “You’re beautiful. You’re sexy and gorgeous, and god, I want you, I just-“

“Just what?” you whispered, afraid of the answer.

This was the part where the men realized you had feelings and bailed on you. It had happened time and time again; that’s why your family had been so surprised to see you with a boyfriend. You’d sworn them off over the summer after you discovered your last boyfriend, Drew, had not one, but two side chicks.

Yeah, you were used to this rejection.

Bucky’s eyes softened. The way he was looking at you…it kind of gave you some hope.

“I don’t want to ruin this,” he said finally. “It’s been so long since I felt anything for a woman, and I know we just met…but I just…” He paused, then shook his head. “This is fast. I don’t want to rush things and ruin it.”

Your eyes searched his for any hint of lie. “Bucky, if you need an out, you can just tell me, you know that right? I don’t want you to think I brought you here for this.”

He shook his head. “It’s not an out. For fuck’s sake, why can’t I just…” He moved away from you, running a frustrated hand through his long hair. “It’s been so long, I don’t even know how to talk to a woman anymore.”

You reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, frowning when he flinched. “It’s okay, Bucky, I promise.”

“No,” he disagreed, looking up at you then, eyes intense. “It isn’t. I’m so out of touch that I made a beautiful woman think herself undesirable. God, Y/N, if you could feel what you do to me, how you made me feel after one evening, you’d never question yourself again.”

“We don’t even know each other,” you echoed his words from earlier.

“I want to change that.” He grabbed your hand from his shoulder and grasped tightly. “I’m not a one night stand kind of guy. I want you – want this – but I need to do it the right way. Is that okay?”

You nearly laughed out loud, but didn’t want to make him think you were laughing at him. “You certainly have a way with words, Bucky Barnes.”

His mouth quirked up a little, his eyes showing a new tiredness. “So, does that mean you are willing to give us a real shot? Let me take you on a date, maybe woo you a little?”

You reached out a hand and gently caressed his cheekbone before brushing the hair back from his face. “I think I’d like that, actually. I’d like that a lot.”

Bucky breathed a sigh of relief. “I should go back down to the couch before anyone gets suspicious.”

The parting kiss he gave you was one for the record books, in your opinion. Your toes literally curled against the carpeted floor as he pressed his mouth to yours tenderly. He held you as if you were something precious.

For a man you’d just met, he was already treating you like you were something worth holding on to.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he breathed against your lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Bucky. See you tomorrow.”

The next morning, you made sure that you were showered and dressed early, with your hair and makeup done. You felt a little silly since Bucky had seen you without all of it already (hell, he’d seen you in your cat pajamas), but you didn’t want to risk him changing his mind in the morning light.

You practically ran down the stairs, only to find the quilt neatly folded, not a trace of Bucky to be found. A quick peek out the window told you his motorcycle was gone, too.

Your heart sank. Had he really gone, even after all his sweet words last night?

None of this made any sense. This wasn’t normal…who gets this attached to someone overnight? It was just meant to be a one-time thing. He was just a means to survive Thanksgiving with your family.

You were naïve if you thought that somehow this man would turn into anything more than that. You didn’t even know him. He had no reason to stick around, and you had no right to expect anything from him…

Why were you always such a goddamn romantic?

You wiped furiously at the traitorous tears that stung your eyes. If he could see you now, he’d probably laugh. Your ex-boyfriend Drew would probably have given him a high-five for this.

That’s it, you were swearing off rom-coms for good. No more romantic movies, no more unobtainable goals, no more longing for love. You were done.

Screw it.

With a deep breath, you turned and marched into the hallway, grabbing your jacket, bag and keys. It was time to go back home; you couldn’t stand another second around this house.

“Mom, Dad, I’m going back to the city now,” you yelled, hoping that they would hear you and just yell back so you wouldn’t have to say goodbye again.

You hated goodbyes.

Then again, no one responded to you. There wasn’t a sound in the house.

You frowned, turning to glance around. “Mom? Dad?”

“You were going to leave without saying goodbye? I thought we had something going here.”

You whirled around and came face-to-face with Bucky. “I- I thought you left already? Your motorcycle…?”

The corner of his mouth lifted in amusement. “Your dad made me park it in the garage. He said the neighbors were eyeing it. Frankly, I think he just wanted to have a look at it himself.” Bucky took a few steps closer to you. “You really thought that I would ever leave without telling you?”

“I’m used to being left,” you admitted softly, glancing away. You didn’t want him to see any trace of how upset you’d gotten.

“Doll, I know we don’t know each other very well, but I’m a man of my word.”

When you met his gaze again, he took a few steps closer until he was standing right in front of you.

He shook his head once. “I’m not running…are you?”

“No,” you whispered, completely captivated by the tender look in his eyes.

“Good.”

His smile was so bright, so genuine, that you grabbed him into a tight hug, burying your face in his neck.

“I’m sorry,” you said in a muffled voice. “I’m not usually like this.”

Bucky laughed, his arms encircling you. “That makes two of us, Doll.”

You lifted your face up to look at him, and were rewarded with a chaste kiss.

“There you two are, we’ve been waiting out front for you! Let’s go, before your father eats his steering wheel! Never get between him and his breakfast.” Your mom stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips expectantly.

Almost sheepishly, you unwound yourself from his arms. “What are you talking about?”

Bucky kissed your temple. “Your mom invited me to come to breakfast with your family. Apparently there’s a diner they want to show me in town.”

“Best breakfast in the area,” your mom declared, clapping her hands. “Now let’s move. I don’t want to explain to the Honda repair shop why there are chunks missing from the car.”

You smiled warmly at Bucky. “Having breakfast with my family now, eh?”

He grinned back at you. “Gotta make a good impression somehow, Doll.” He reached for your hand and intertwined your fingers, then pulled you along to follow your mom to the car.

“I don’t wanna seem anything less than thankful for you, after all.”

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! May you survive the holidays with your sanity in tact and your bellies full.

[terriblesportsimagines]

HEY you know that cliche crap that's like Okay Let's Pretend to Date Because Reasons! Which leads to Oh No I Actually Like Them!! I love that. I eat that right up. Could I get a Hiruma x FemReader scenario, please?

I love cliched crap!  It’s my jam lol Anyway, thanks for waiting!  This got kind of long, so it’s under the cut!

Hiruma Yoichi

It started as a favor, or something like a favoranyway, since Hiruma didn’t really ask for favors.  He voluntoldyou what you were going to do and you did it, or faced the consequences. You were long used to his brand of tyranny, so barely blinked when he told you.

Still, pretending to be on a date for the purposes of makinghis spying seem innocuous was a little much.  You knew he was perfectlycapable of being sneaky and could probably tail his target just fine withoutyour presence.

But you agreed, because what else could you do?  Thiswas your demon commander, after all, and you were practically morally obligatedas a manager of the Devil Bats team to do as the captain/coach/commander toldyou to do.  So, you put on an adorable dress, some jewelry that made yourneck look long and your eyes stand out and met him at the train station.

He, of course, didn’t look any different than normal, savehe was wearing his usual casual outfit of tight black t-shirt and slacks, likehe didn’t get the message that this was supposed to be a date.  Not thatthis outfit was bad though, you’d always silently admired the way hisshirt clung to his developed muscles.  In a purely scientific way, ofcourse. 

Things were silent the whole way to the amusement park he’dbriefly mentioned his target was going to be that day.  He refused to tellyou who he was trying to blackmail, but you figured it out pretty quickly onceyou got there.  It was one of the teachers from Deimon, one that youcouldn’t imagine wanting to blackmail, because the man was nice and kind. You shot Hiruma an annoyed glance and asked him why this poor teacher had tosuffer. 

He snapped his gum at you and narrowed his eyes. “That’s none of your concern, is it, fucking manager?”

You rolled your eyes at him, but didn’t fight, then spentthe rest of the day wandering around the amusement park after his target. The teacher was there with his family, and honestly, you couldn’t see anythingthat even remotely constituted blackmail material.

It was also pretty clear that Hiruma had never been on aproper date, because he didn’t do any of the things he should.  He didn’tlook at you shyly (not that he was capable of shy, mind you), nor did he holdyour hand.  He didn’t even buy you anything or take you on anyrides.  You just stood around together, bodies a little close, probably incase someone looked in your direction, which they, of course, didn’t.

You let Hiruma have his way for a while, but then decided ifyou were going to spend you whole Sunday following himaround, then you were going to get something out of it.  Plus, your targethad caught sight of you a few times and was starting to frown.  “Yourdating game is terrible,” you told Hiruma, rolling your eyes.  “If yourgoal was to use me to allay suspicion, you’re failing miserably.  Learn topretend better.”

Hiruma paused, turning his head to look down at you, darkeyebrow rising.  “What was that, fucking manager?”

The best way to deal with Hiruma was to be upfront, becausewhile he was the master of subtle, he lacked the morals necessary for gentlecommunication.  Thus, you felt absolutely no qualms about reaching out andsliding your hand into his and squeezing.  His palm was warm, and roughfrom the hours and hours he spent playing football, but you refused toacknowledge the girly squiggle in your belly at his touch.  “I’m hungry,buy me some food.”

“Tche,” Hiruma answered, but he moved, pulling you towards afood stand, in the direction his target had moved.

He was still pretty hopeless with the whole datingthing, but he bought you food, and even splurged for candy you didn’t ask forbut were definitely eyeing.  It was up to you to nudge him towards couplythings, but even with nudges he was bad.  He paid very little attention tosmall details like that.

All considering, you had fun.  He talked to you morethan he ever had before and you learned more than he probably would have likedyou to.  He was pretty funny, in a dry, menacing sort of way.  Andthe look on his face when he shoved a stuffed animal he’d been forced to win(to avoid suspicion) into your arms, the expression on his face was almost adorable.

Thus, you weren’t terribly surprised when he demanded yourpresence the next weekend.  Different target, but same game.  Heremained garbage at being a date, but you picked up the slack enough that hegot away with doing some pretty crazy things to gain dirt for this threatbook.

By the fourth or fifth not-date, you were used to him anddidn’t even blink at his dragging you to a zoo.  It was a little lessridiculous than others, because his target was the assistant principal, a womanyou really didn’t like.  You clung to his arm this time, since the targetwas shrewder than the others and knew Hiruma on sight.  Thankfully, bythat point he was used to you in his space and didn’t blink, and even seemed toturn into you as well.  But you fully expected him to leave that sort ofthing to you.

Which was why when he caught you by the waist suddenly andpulled you against him, you were surprised.  Surprise turned to uttershock when he tipped you back and kissed you.  You hadn’t reallyconsidered it might be necessary to kiss him for the sake of cover and so werecompletely unprepared.  Plus, it seemed to you that there wasn’t reallyanything pretend about his kiss.  His thin lips moved over yoursand you felt his teeth graze your bottom lip, which had you squeaking in bothalarm and, to your dismay, arousal.

When he lifted his head and turned to check the progress ofhis target, you were left changed.  Your heart hammered against your ribsand a flood of warmth passed through you. Oh god damn it… you thought indespair, realizing that with one careless kiss, he’d destroyed the wallsholding your feelings at bay.

“Kekeke,” you heard faintly through your buzzing ears, thenopened your eyes and realized that Hiruma had come back and was leaning overyou again, fingers catching your chin as he grinned a malicious, but somehowabsurdly attractive grin.  “That’s an interesting expression~”

Oh hell.

[marrishzone]

Series: Cross My Heart

Chapter: Intro

Words: 1576

Tag notifications: @machinasolidaria and @buttheadjakeperalta - the other 2 finished installments will be automatically posting later. (sorry if this series sucks lol I’m so out of practice and couldn’t figure out if it needed to be fixed)

Natalie Martin didn’t make a habit of dropping by unannounced, so when Lydia found her mother waiting for her arrival she knew it must have been important. Lydia didn’t say a word. She just sat on the couch parallel to the one her mother sat on. Lydia didn’t want to be the one to speak first. She’d rather have context to rely on.

“What are you doing?” Natalie finally sighed. “I can’t even begin to understand what’s going on with you.”

“Thanks mom,” Lydia crossed her arms. “Look, I think I know why you’re here. You don’t see me enough.”

“No, honey.” Natalie’s lips curved up into a small smile. “I mean yes, but no. That’s not why I’m here.” She hoped Lydia would chime in, but she never did. “Do you remember that trip we took a couple years back? Your father had business in Hawaii, so we turned it into a family vacation.”

“Of course,” Lydia grinned thinking of the perfect weather and countless hours on the beach. “That was my favorite trip. I mean, it was just the two of us most of the time but it was fun.”

“And do you remember the deal you made with your father while we were there?”

“Oh, I… Um…” Lydia cleared her throat. “Mom, what are you getting at?”

Lydia knew what was happening, but she had to hear the words herself.

“Your dad wanted you to go to law school and join the family firm. You refused, so you promised if you weren’t successful in whatever career you chose for yourself in the next five years, you’d settle down. Get married. Have a family of your own in order to gain access to your trust.”

“Mom?” Her eyes widened. Suddenly she wasn’t so sure the words would help her come to terms with what was going on.

“Sweetie,” Natalie sighed. “Your dad says that your time is up. How’s your relationship with Tommy going?”

Lydia didn’t respond. They both knew the answer to that. Tommy and Lydia never planned on having a serious relationship. They were just having fun until they got tired of being together. As of two weeks prior, Lydia was tired of Tommy.

“I’m sorry, Lydia. I tried to change his mind, but he won’t budge.” Natalie glanced down at her hands for a couple of seconds before sitting next to her daughter. 

“Your dad wants you to set the date of your wedding. But seeing as how you don’t have a boyfriend and are therefore nowhere close to being engaged, I think his next idea is going to be an arranged marriage.”

“Mom…” The shock still hadn’t settled. Lydia’s mind was racing. The few times she imagined herself getting married, she never imagined an arranged marriage. If she was going to sacrifice her life as she knew it, she wanted it to be out of love, not duty.

“Oh, sweetie. I know this is hard.” Natalie gently rested her hand atop her daughter’s. “But you’re 25 years old now. It’s time to think about settling down like you promised. You know your father. He doesn’t want to be your financial crutch for the rest of his life.”

“I refuse to marry some guy I don’t know!”

“I know. Find a loophole, sweetheart. Or make a new deal.”

With that, Natalie hugged Lydia and let herself out. Lydia knew her father well enough to know that he wouldn’t agree to a new deal. She had to find a way out of her predicament. There was no way she would pass up her trust fund. Her only option was to trick her father into thinking she was in a serious relationship. Surely they didn’t actually have to go through with the wedding. It would be easy to get out of it. Lydia finally breathed. It was a solid plan, but she still needed someone to agree to play along with her. Luckily, she knew just the guy she should ask.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Kyle! Sorry I’m late.” Lydia’s hair swayed as she took her seat in the booth he’d reserved for them at their favorite pizzeria. She was only five minutes late, but Lydia was always the type of person who valued punctuality. She sipped her strawberry soda already on the table.

“It’s alright.” Kyle grinned. “What’s up? Your message sounded urgent.”

“It is!” Lydia paused, considering the typical definition of ‘urgent’ and realized this might not qualify. “Kind of. It’s my dad.”

“Ah, now I see.” Kyle buried his head in his hands. Lydia’s relationship with her father was rather strained. They had never quite seen eye to eye. “What did he do now?”

“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend!” She forced the words out before she could even think about alternative methods to asking this favor.

“What?” He crossed his arms tightly. His smile was fading. “Why?”

“My inheritance. Long story.”

“Lydia…” Kyle didn’t know what to say, but he knew he couldn’t help her. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Kyle?”

“You know how I feel about you!” Kyle whisper-shouted, careful not to be too loud in the middle of the restaurant. He cleared his throat, quickly glancing around at the tables surrounding theirs. “I can’t do it. I’ve finally accepted that we’re never going to be anything more than friends. But now you want me to pretend that’s not the case? I won’t.”

Without another word, Kyle got up and left. Lydia didn’t try to stop him, though she wanted to. She would have apologized, promised not to ask another favor like this one again. The reality of it, however, was that she knew it wouldn’t do any good. He wouldn’t believe Lydia meant it. She never realized his feelings for her could run so deep. The one thing she regretted was letting it get so far out of control. She felt horrible, especially having forgotten about his crush on her in the first place.

“Excuse me?” An unfamiliar voice called from next to her. Lydia looked up at him. He wore a blue t-shirt, black jeans, and a black leather jacket. His green eyes fixed onto Lydia’s. “May I?” His hand gestured to the seat Kyle had just been sitting in.

“Uh, sure.” Lydia nodded, uncertain of what to expect. “Go for it.”

“Thanks.” The man smiled as he sat right across from Lydia. “I’m Jordan. Jordan Parrish.”

“Lydia.” She paused. She was suspicious of him, but he seemed harmless enough. What could possibly go wrong? “Martin.”

“Listen, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation.”

He stopped talking as Lydia’s usual server placed a large pizza on their table. Half cheese, half pepperoni. Lydia never had to place her order anymore. She and Kyle always got the same thing whenever they visited Donatello’s.

“Thanks Maria,” Lydia beamed.

“Yeah,” Maria nodded, looking between Lydia and Jordan with an eyebrow raised. She was positive she saw a spark between the two. “Enjoy.”

She winked before slipping away. Jordan didn’t seem to notice, but Lydia did.

“Please, continue.” Lydia prompted, attempting not to laugh at Maria’s assumption.

“Okay um…” Jordan hesitated. Suddenly it felt like a terrible idea. He was regretting ever having decided to go through with approaching Lydia. “I think um… I think I can help you out. Pretend to be your boyfriend. Whatever you wanted your friend to do, I’m your guy.”

“What do you want, Jordan?” Lydia narrowed her eyes. “A cut of the money, perhaps?”

“What? No.” He absentmindedly began brushing his hand along the length of his arm.

“You don’t know me. I don’t know you either, but I’m pretty sure you’re not doing this solely out of the goodness of your heart.” Lydia examined his perfect face, crossing her arms. “What’s in it for you?”

“Honestly?” Jordan waited for Lydia’s nod. “I just got out of a relationship that ended badly. It’s been a few weeks and I could use a change of pace. If helping you out of a jam can also help me out of mine, why not give it a shot?”

“So we help each other? A mutually beneficial arrangement.” Lydia bit her lip. This seemed like one of those things they would warn you about in the movies, but Lydia had never turned her back on a crazy adventure. She wasn’t about to start now. “Okay. If we’re going to do this, we’ll need to have our stories straight.”

Lydia pulled a cheese slice from the pie and waited for Jordan to do the same. He chose pepperoni. They ate in silence. For the first time all night, Lydia finally felt like her scheme was under control. All she needed was a fake boyfriend, right? Nothing could possibly go wrong.

“Tomorrow.” Lydia expected him to know what she was referring to. He didn’t. “Tomorrow I prep you.”

She could only hope that nothing would go wrong, because next week would have to be the best performance of their lives if Lydia would have any chance at keeping her inheritance.

“Oh, and Jordan?” She hesitated. “Promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Just…” She bit down on her bottom lip. Lydia knew it would sound kind of silly, but she needed his assurance that this scheme wouldn’t get out of control. “Swear to me right now that you won’t fall in love with me.”

He was confused, but nodded in agreement anyway.

“Promise me.”

“Yeah, of course.” Jordan grinned. “Cross my heart.”

[nicknellie]

I’m just trying to reply to this through out the day so it’s all times lol (and then of course when I was going to send this it’s sadly didnt)

Thanks for linking the post, I think you brought up quite a few good points!!!

Honestly I thought you meant that both Julie and Flynn had matching jumpers however this works so much better. (Also yes Luke and Reggie would get this just because they can)

Just in case you don’t know what among us is when I go on my tangent here is the basics but basically there are 10 players in total and either 1, 2 or three are imposter (I’m choosing two here) whoever isn’t imposter just tries to complete tasks and figure out who the imposter is without dying

Box stuff

1. Yes, honestly the only time Luke’s room is clean is due to Alex because he is the mom friend. (And or Reggie because it could be that when Reggie is stressed he cleans but that also works for Alex)

Also that’s what I was thinking, Emily and Mitch just gave up. Definitely when he passed they just couldn’t change anything in his room because it was the one comfort that they had. That even though Luke isn’t here anymore, his room that he lived in was still there and sometimes they could pretend that he’s still there

3. They always bring him recipes to try out because Alex has magic with cooking and even if he has no clue what is going on it usually always taste good. (May not look good but it does taste good) Also love the detail of Reggie just forgetting about the recipes, he just has so much that he forgets some.

Board games and Jam stuff

1. Yes, they all have that one game that they can’t do. Monopoly is banned just because they are way too competitive and Alex has thrown drumsticks at Luke before.

I love the detail of the boys just guessing wrong just to annoy Bobby, they totally would too. In Cluedo, Reggie always thinks that it’s Alex, every single time.

(Among us tangent, really wish I can blame this on chaotic energy but no.

So Alex is pink, because

Luke is the colour white

Reggie is lime

Julie is red

Willie is cyan

And Flynn is purple

Alex and Willie are on the same team immediately (they just follow each other and keep each other safe) and Alex is a good imposter however Luke will only call him out for no reason at all when he is an imposter one time that they play together.

To give more reasoning they probably play together two times in total with 10 games each I don’t know, but the second time around Luke is salty and somehow knows when Alex is imposter even when he doesn’t seem suspicious at all.

Julie and Willie are the best imposter duo, alongside Alex and Luke. Reggie is not a good imposter and the first to die in the game is usually Julie (or Luke).

Wait yes, Alex can’t do life.

Oh Julie gets so mad at him however secretly she’s amused (Alex and Reggie are just having the time of their lives because they can tease both Luke and Julie also Flynn will definitely tease Julie as well)

Alex being the bank dealer is everything, and Reggie just forcing Luke to pay him is everything. (Not sure if this is a game rule but I’ve played a few times were you can give someone a building that has the cost/whatever you owe, so maybe they do that)

Honestly monopoly was banned before hand with Bobby but one day Julie brought it up and they just couldn’t tell her (Luke flipped a table... a table)

Also randomly Flynn and Willie are there just for chaos reasoning.

2. Yes lol

Number stuff

2. Alex and Willie just chilling and then Reggie ruining everything is perfect. (Also Willie is crying laughing during this whole thing, even more so when the hoodie rips and Alex just looks hurt and shocked at the same time towards Reggie)

So I watched the first episode, and I was mistaken. Maybe Arther changes as the show goes on but this is not how I thought the story went 😂

I was like, they changed the story but it still had to have the idea of Merlin helping Arther out with getting the sword out of the stone and in the shows there is a witch. I can’t tell if it’s because they are adding details to the story or if I just don’t know it. But yes just like with Merlin calling Arthur an idiot, my lord is total Alex energy. Definitely could see him doing that is real life at some point. Yes, Luke does still die from the hotdog

5. Same here!! Also the ones that you’ve mentioned I think I have read as well, have to love that for us (also the fact that everyone agree not to ship Alex with Julie and just have them be supportive wingpeople)

6. I love that for us. Also I love the sign idea, (Bobby somehow makes a sign to tell Willie that Alex is okay) it mostly comes because Alex is so distracted by Willie and the hair flip to notice that Willie is asking if he is alright or not. Wait I was still thinking about waterparks, moving to what you were actually talking about. I’m just keeping that in because

But yes, Bobby gets a sign from the boys and everything is better. (The sign is, don’t steal the songs, big no). Also I love how you say that they still go back to Julie but they make a quick pit stop

8. Yes, also their strengths complimented each other’s so without them there Bobby feels lost. So many props towards Reggie, I have no clue what is happening with that game at all times.

10. Aww happy Reggie with technology (also the fact that he doesn’t have to develop photos anymore makes him want to cry happy tears) ‘you don’t understand Julie, green photos. I’m not joking green photos, you don’t know my pain’

I know exactly what you are talking about, can’t remember the name at all though.

Reggie is just upset, but Alex and Bobby are rolling they find it that funny. Also Luke says something along the lines of, ‘it looked fine, I don’t see you blaming Alex and Bobby. This is not fair 🥺’

Wait yes, they always get recipes from bakeries. Also if a food is expensive/they don’t have enough for it but they want to try it sometime they (Reggie) will try to get a recipe just for Alex to make it.

Aw, Alex giving Bobby his own little box so that he always has something to eat.

11. And little did they know that Reggie actually met the Queen

13. Same here lol, but I’m not very good at sketching. However you should definitely do them if you want to! I’m in full support.

14. Yes exactly

16. Precisely, if it was anyone else Alex could say no however sue to the fact that it’s Luke and Reggie, he can’t

17. Oh my goodness you made my idea better. (Honestly I can’t type so I have no clue how I worded it) however I had meant that Reggie asks Caleb for baby pictures of Willie but your idea works so much better. (Also Willie isn’t really that creeped by the fact that Reggie has his baby pictures just accepts it)

Wait, I love that you said Caleb doesn’t question it. As if people ask Caleb for baby pictures all the time, or at least it’s normal (maybe normal Reggie behavior 🤷‍♀️)

But a Caleb scrapbook I love that idea. Also yes, Reggie just has baby pictures of everyone. Some random stranger that he saw once, yes, his great aunts ex husbands son’s daughter yes (oh my goodness what is that sentence). But basically everyone, even the queen

Yes, just them as babies in hot dog suits. Reggie also has a hat on for I don’t know why reasons. (Imagine if there’s a baby Willie with some kind of hot dog themed thing though)

19. Yes, Luke also smashes snow on peoples heads as well. And Alex is usually the one who stuffs it down the persons back (it is what Willie does as well, and they always have an alliance)

20. Exactly, Owen is such a great actor (also mentioning Booboo Stewart for same reasons)

And Owen does play Alex so perfectly, like Kenny could not have chosen a better actor for Alex even if he tried.

Honestly if the boys had hated Willie I would cry, A because no Willie and Alex and B that’s exactly what they are like and although it’s everything if no point A then sad. I mean, Caleb played Willie just as much as he played the boys. (I just want Caleb to be the good guy because but he does stuff like this whyyy)

Luke isn’t happy that Julie is mad at him however he’s happy that he was able to connect with Flynn

Anything that gets us Unsaid Emily is worth it in my books

21. Honestly I have no clue it’s just been something that I’ve been thinking about. Honestly both of those theories works so well and I feel like it will be so hilarious if Alex freaks over breaking in entering however he’s legitimately done something worse. Also yes, Emily and Mitch talking to Alex to make sure they are both alright is adorable

That would be hilarious, just send this to him one day 😂 😂

24. Yes, also just it either means Flynn and Carrie moments or Flynn singing which are both needed.

Yes only for one song, she can only manage one band and she doesn’t want to be a part of it (in that way). Yes it is a sad song with just them.

25. Imagine Alex and Carrie having a conversation and their banter just being everything

Yes and Luke is like the cool uncle who you go too when you want someone casual but I’m not going to call you out just yet to your father kind of person

26. Wait, yes that’s how all arguments used to get settled in the 90s and if Luke was in the wrong then he would usually write music (I’m basic apparently I can’t think of something else)

Same, especially if we get another hair flip from Willie.

28. This works perfectly! That’s exactly what happened and then ‘now or never’ came to be

32. I didn’t even think of the shop assistant giving him stickers I was just thinking of some random fan discovering Alex at 3 AM however I love that so much more.

Yes, he definitely would take extreme care of it and keep it in its pristine condition

35. Legitimately Ray just has so many kids, imagine if he tried to adopt Reggie, Luke, and Alex though that would be funny. And emotional at the same time

For the purpose of them looking amazing we are just going to disregard the fact that they can’t be seen on photo (maybe it’s a special camera that Willie has from the club i don’t know) (hmm or maybe if a ghost takes the picture then other ghosts can be seen?)

Yes I love that as well, the orb does look good for some reason lol

37. Who doesn’t live for heart eyes Alex (& Willie in my opinion). Yes, and these are not casual rules that you can break there’s legitimately a list and everything. Also Reggie isn’t allowed to wash it after shrinking it and changing the colour one time

39. Yes the dream father daughter team. They are so close (also just want to mention Ray in general not only with Julie but with Carlos as well, because you can tell that’s he trying so hard and is doing so well)

The categories are so funny also I love how we just have this so organized now

I’m sorry this took me so long to answer! I kept telling myself I would then getting sidetracked and now I’ve decided one o’clock in the morning is the best time to start writing this. Bare with me, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a lot of mistakes here 😂😭

BOX STUFF

1. Wait I didn’t think about that but I love it so much! Whenever the guys hang out at Luke’s before he runs away, Alex will walk into his room, tut at him or mutter something under his breath, and tidy while still managing to have a conversation with the guys - occasionally he’ll interrupt his own sentence to tell Luke off for the state of his room, like, “Oh yeah, I heard about that, it was — Luke, I swear if you don’t start picking up your dirty socks I’m going to shove them down your throat while you sleep — really cool actually, did you hear about...”. Also he has been known to just drag the vacuum cleaner in because he knows where Emily keeps it and he’ll hoover over the guys’ conversation.

And I can totally see Reggie stress cleaning? Bc usually he’s stressed or upset because of his parents fighting, right? So it must seem to him that everything is very disorderly and out of place, so to make himself feel better he spends hours putting things in the right place so everything is nice and tidy. It’s just an added bonus that the place gets cleaner. Also if the studio was messy the day before and suddenly clean when the band arrives in the morning then they know Reggie had a tough night.

Oh god that hurts. That hurts so freaking much. Just particularly the “pretending he is still there” part - I’m now imagining Emily or Mitch going up to Luke’s room alone, slowly sitting down on the bed or at the desk because they don’t even want to disturb the dust that has settled there. And they’ll look around the room and they’ll remember their son and all the things he used to do - write music, play games, hang out with his friends (who they remember and miss as well), and yes, argue with his parents. And they talk to him, sometimes in the way Ray and Julie do to Rose, as if Luke can hear them and is listening, but sometimes it’s as if he’s stood right in front of them. Tears in her eyes, Emily will whisper “How did your band rehearsal go?” because although it’s too late to start caring and to be okay with it, it comforts her to pretend it means something. She’ll imagine Luke’s reply, hear his voice tell her they made a killer new song, and she’ll smile as she replies, “That’s lovely. Well done, Luke. I’m so proud of you.”

3. Omg hang on I love that, like Alex being amazing at cooking but also completely clueless. He mutters to himself, “What the fuck does ‘fold in the flour’ mean?” then take a wild guess and somehow it tastes great. But like you said, it doesn’t exactly look very appetising.

BOARD GAMES AND JAM

1. Abwjskdlw Alex throwing drumsticks at Luke like a javelin or a dart or something, and Luke is frantically trying to dodge them but Alex has a seemingly endless supply of drumsticks, he just keeps pulling them out of nowhere and they’ve been there for half an hour of non-stop drumstick throwing and avoiding before he finally runs out.

YES and Reggie is totally serious about it too. Alex sneezes and Reggie is immediately like “that’s a tell!!! You sneezed last round too!!! I’m onto you, Mercer, I know it was you.” And Alex almost readies his drumsticks to throw at Reggie as well.

AMONG US

Oh this. This is glorious. I love this entire thing omg.

The detail of Luke saying Alex was imposter when he wasn’t sus just because he was annoyed is brilliant and would 100% happen. Also Julie-and-Willie and Alex-and-Luke being the best imposter duos is everything. Willie won’t kill Alex no matter what, but Julie is ruthless and Luke is usually first on her list.

Also I want to add what accessories they like because that’s fun! Although I haven’t played in months and can’t remember all of them, but this is what immediately springs to mind.

Luke - toilet paper hat

Julie - flower pot hat

Willie - top hat

Alex - the adorable little leaf thing

Reggie - pumpkin head hat thing

Flynn - no accessory, but she does have a tiny version of her character trailing behind her, you know the ones I mean right? She has a tiny child Among Us player with her at all times idk

Oh god, Monopoly is so much more hectic when Willie and Flynn join in. Willie somehow manages to collect so much money that he may as well just be the banker (definitely nothing to do with Alex being biased and “accidentally” slipping him a little extra cash). Flynn gets the best cards (that’s a thing in monopoly right? There’s a stack of cards in the middle you can choose from? Idk) and they basically win her the game. Luke gets angry, that’s when he flips the table again and Julie locks monopoly away forever

Same with Uno. Reggie doesn’t speak to Luke for a week after the first and only time they play Uno.

NUMBERS

2. I love that, like Willie trying to be a supportive boyfriend as Alex watches his hoodie get torn to pieces but just not being able to contain his laughter, practically lying in Alex’s lap because he’s laughing so much. It only gets worse as Alex cradles his ripped hoodie in his hands like it’s a dead animal or something. Like Willie is trying to be nice but the whole situation is freaking ridiculous and it doesn’t work.

Ahahaha I’m so glad you watched it! It does change a bit as the story goes on, I’m sure you’ll like it (I’d always be willing to hear your thoughts on it if you keep watching as well, if you want!!)

And like right??? Alex has complete and utter Merlin energy like “No, there must be another Arthur because this one’s an idiot” may as well be Alex saying “No, there must be another Sunset Curve because these ones are idiots”

6. Lmfao Alex just totally stops functioning after the hair flip and Bobby has to step in, love that. He very calmly takes over the situation, or has a sign, or just like freaking slaps the back of Alex’s head to bring him back to reality.

Right??? They just very quickly say “hey Bobby it’s us don’t steal our music” and then appear in the garage. Kinda tempted to write it now actually

8. Okay, seeing as it’s half one, I don’t want to go off on a whole tangent about “their strengths compliment each other” but I will definitely do this when I’m more awake because it’s a goddamn goldmine

10. Yesss 🥺🥺 like at first he would be a little sad that he didn’t get the experience of getting them developed but then when he remembered how annoying it was he’d be so happy. And omg can you imagine he reaction to how instant it is?? And how high definition?? My boy would stay there staring at these photos for hours on end, wide-eyed, mouth open, awestruck

Oh I love that! Reggie claims it’s so that Alex can enjoy himself and cook something new, which it partly is, but mainly it’s because Reggie just wants more food

11. I now wanna say that Reggie has met a ton of celebrities but nobody believes him because it’s Reggie (and he literally said how adults never believed him as a kid). He’s met the queen, the band Queen, Billy Joel (just because I watched a Billy Joel concert tonight - side note, Luke absolutely adores Billy Joel and listens to him constantly), whoever the president was when the guys were alive, and plenty more

17. Omg lmfao that makes sense 😂😂😂 but yeah like now I love the idea of him having Caleb’s baby photos too, I’m not going back on it. Caleb just has them ready to hand over the next time they all see each other (idk if I already mentioned that?) and he does a big evil speech but hands Reggie the photos halfway through, still talking, and Reggie just smiles and tucks them away into his pocket

“Or at least normal Reggie behaviour” I love how that implies that even though they’ve only really met twice Caleb already knows exactly what Reggie’s like and not only accepts it but is willing to encourage it, showing that he probably thinks it quite sweet (because let’s face it, we all think Reggie is sweet, and Caleb may be evil but he’s not stupid)

Reggie having the queen’s baby photos omg I’m dead 😂😂 that time they met he asked her and like Caleb she didn’t question it, just handed over these probably priceless photos and they end up in some ghost’s scrapbook

Omg yes all of them in hotdog suits plus baby Willie with hotdog socks! Or eating a hotdog! Or with a hotdog stuffed toy! The possibilities are endless

19. YES definitely. Also, Willie and Alex’s alliance only lasts until one of them has the perfect opportunity to shove snow down the other’s back just to watch them squirm, then it’s every ghost for himself

20. You are SO right, Owen and Booboo are literally amazing, we really won with this whole cast.

And thank you so much for saying Caleb played Willie as much as he did the guys!!!! I’ve seen so much stuff recently about Willie hate and like no?? You’re right, Willie was as much a victim as the others. Also I am so in love with the idea of Good Caleb! I just want him to adopt Alex, that’s literally it. Maybe instead of Caleb being defeated by the end of the show, he has seen the error of his ways and has turned nice, now only using evil against people who upset Alex and Willie, pretty please, Kenny make this happen???

Wait yeah that’s a really good point. Again, it’s a looooong tangent and it’s ten to two so I won’t write it now, but Luke and Flynn being friends (and competing over who loves Julie more) is something I desperately need

21. Yes lmao like Alex when he was alive would sometimes graffiti with the boys or set fire to stuff for fun (because they’re teenage boys and that’s what teenage boys do right? Idk that’s what the ones I know do) but as a ghost when he’s invisible he’s just very unsure about going into a closed museum

24. Yesss I need this so muchhh you’re so right

25. Alex and Carrie friendship is god tier.

Small tangent but y’know what else is great? Carrie and Nick being best friends instead of dating. They would get on so well without the pressure of a relationship (once Carrie becomes a little nicer and Nick stops being possessed)

Exactly that’s totally what Luke is

26. Another Willie hair flip PLEASE I would die. Just, Alex short-circuiting around Willie is the best thing ever. And it’s got me wondering what other little things Willie does that basically break Alex: stretching when he’s wearing a crop top so Alex can see his stomach and the smallest bit of his chest; okay but swimmer Willie?? Willie was on his school’s swim team and still swims sometimes and for whatever reason Alex’s loses it; twirling his hair around his finger (bonus points: twirling Alex’s hair around his finger while they’re cuddling)

32. I just love the idea of literally anyone giving them stickers. Reggie’s just out and about in a forest in the middle of nowhere one day (even he doesn’t really know what he’s doing there) and somehow someone finds him and hands him their fanart

35. Omg I didn’t think about how emotional it would be but then you had to go and say this and now all I can think about is each of the boys getting the family they deserve after so long and being loved and cared for unconditionally even though they’re dead and Ray would call them his angels (because he kinda did in ep 7) and oh god it’s too much I love it

Ooooh yes I like that, it’s a good way around the issue 😂 ghost takes photo, ghost can be seen. Perfect

37. Pffffft lmao YES. Reggie just wasn’t really certain on how the washing machine worked because it was at Luke’s house not his and they had a different model and he forgot not to mix colours and it all went badly wrong. Also Luke is banned from wearing them without supervision because once he accidentally set fire to one and now it’s elbow has a burnt patch on it

39. Now you’ve mentioned that I want Ray and Trevor to be friends again! They were probably buddies until Julie and Carrie fell out, I’d love to see them reconnect

Personally my favourite thing of this whole experience is how “Alex and jigsaws” turned into “Reggie has the queen’s baby photos”