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violetrainbow412-blog · 1 month ago

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Day 5: acorn

Masterlist flufftober 🎃

This is kind of flangst if you squint, but the idea came to my mind and I thought it would be really cute. One of my favorites, enjoy, and reblog if you liked it!

You and Spencer walked in silence, with only the sound of the orange leaves crunching under your feet. Autumn had undeniably arrived, and you knew perfectly well that this season was a blessing for many children, providing them with leaves on the ground to play with, warm clothes, and tons of candy. Somehow, it was also your favorite time of the year, as it brought back a few pleasant memories you guarded closely in your heart.

“How did he behave over the weekend?”

“Very well, actually,” he replied, happy that you had finally decided to break the silence. In the distance, you could hear the giggles of a child you both made sure to check on from time to time. “We made pancakes, I took him to the aquarium, we drew a lot, and overall, he didn’t throw any tantrums or anything like that. He even asked me to tuck him in.”

“He always wants that,” you said. “Sometimes he makes me read the books you give him.”

“And he asks me to sing him lullabies you taught him.”

You both fell silent again.

It wasn’t often that your ex-husband’s days off aligned with yours, and the truth was that you both only sought to see each other when strictly necessary. Many times, Jason spent weekends with his father, and when Spencer had the chance, he would take him to school and other activities.

As a father, you couldn’t complain about him. He tried his best after the divorce, as if wanting to make up for something, and you both made sure to keep arguments away from Jason’s ears because the last thing you wanted was for your son to suffer because of it.

It had been somewhat complicated explaining the dynamics of your post-divorce life to Jason, as he didn’t understand why his father, whom he loved so much, had to move to a new apartment. Spencer had tried to be as kind as possible when talking to his son, not wanting him to feel, even for a second, the abandonment Spencer himself had felt from his own father. He called him all the time, bought him an endless number of things, and made sure to have him with him whenever work allowed.

Work, work… that damned work.

“That’s just how he is,” you said simply.

A cold breeze filled the air, and you tucked your hands into your coat pockets, just as your husband did. Once upon a time, you might have held hands to deal with the cold, but now that was unthinkable.

“He also told me he already has a costume for Halloween, right?”

“He wants to be Sherlock Holmes. It was between that and Albert Einstein, but he went with Sherlock because he said his job was similar to his daddy’s.”

Spencer let out a chuckle that was stifled in his throat and looked in the direction of the little boy who was hopping around in the leaves, already too dirty from the nature of the park.

“Do you need money to buy the costume? I could ask JJ where they sell some, or…”

“It’s okay, Reid. I’ll probably make it myself or ask my mom,” you murmured, shrugging. “But he wants you to take him trick-or-treating.”

“I’ll try. But you know with cases… it’s unpredictable.”

“Explain it to him, not me,” you muttered seriously.

Honestly, conversations between the two of you were almost always uncomfortable. Sometimes Spencer tried to find a normal or interesting topic for you, but you rarely carried the conversation forward. Other times, you wished you could ask him about things that really mattered—his mental state, his feelings, or simply what was happening in his life—but you had no idea how to go about it.

That’s why you both preferred to talk only about Jason.

“Look, Mommy!” your son suddenly shouted, throwing a bunch of leaves into the air and laughing when they fell on him.

“How nice, baby,” you responded with feigned excitement, somewhat relieved that your son was having fun.

You both stood there watching the little one, and you could feel your ex-husband’s gaze from the corner of your eye. So many years of knowing him, of loving him, had allowed you to detect when he wanted to say something but didn’t dare. Sometimes, you still felt guilty for being able to read him so easily, and you had no doubt he felt the same, especially with that eidetic memory of his helping him.

“Jason talked to me about Christmas the other day,” he began, seemingly gathering the courage to speak. It had to be something important if he had taken the trouble to bring it up. “Has he mentioned anything to you about the presents he’ll ask Santa for?”

“Not yet, but he’s usually happy with whatever he gets. We can ask him later what he wants or tell him to write a letter for something specific, but I think some of the other gifts could be a chemistry set or art supplies; his teacher says he’s shown a lot of interest in both.”

“I see,” he murmured, nodding slightly. But he didn’t seem satisfied with your answer. “He said something interesting to me the other day. I just wanted to know if he had told you about it already.”

“Maybe if you tell me, I can answer,” you said without looking at him, trying to stay calm.

You had a suspicion of what your son had talked about, but you didn’t want to make a mistake. And Spencer felt exactly the same.

There was silence again for a few minutes, which felt like an eternity, and then he spoke:

“He told me this year he doesn’t want to ask Santa for anything because he wants to save his wish for something special,” he began. He paused for a moment and then continued, “I asked him what it was, and he didn’t want to tell me, so I suggested he could write a letter even though it was still early. He did, and after I put him to bed, I went to read it. There was a drawing and some words written in a messy but legible way. It said his only wish was for his mommy and daddy to be together again.”

By the middle of the conversation, you already knew what it was about. By the end, a few tears had welled up in your eyes.

“I know. He tells me that often,” you confessed, feeling a tightness in your chest. “And I never know what to say.”

“Have you thought about remarrying?” he suddenly asked. It was barely a murmur, but enough for you to turn to him in evident surprise. “I mean… with someone else. Or maybe having a boyfriend?”

“Jason takes up most of my time, and work takes up the rest. I don’t think there’s an opportunity to even consider it,” you said seriously. Since the divorce, neither of you had thought about the possibility of Jason having a stepfather or a stepmother. “What about you?”

“Never. I believe marriage is a pact you make only once in life.”

What was he trying to do? Was he criticizing you? Was he hinting that he saw the possibility of living together again?

“Well, that way Jason won’t be confused. At least until he grows up.”

“Don’t you think he needs a father figure?”

“What do you think you are then?”

“A permanent figure,” he clarified. “And a mother figure at the same time. We worry about ourselves, but we never thought about how this would affect him.”

“Of course I thought about it, Spencer. That’s why I asked for the divorce.”

Low blow. And a painful one.

“Listen, I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I’m not trying to justify myself. But it’s been two years, and I think I’ve changed enough to prove to you that I’m not a bad father.”

“I don’t need proof of that. I know you’re not,” you said firmly. But when you spoke again, your words were harsher. “But I can’t trust that you’ll be a good husband.”

“I was before.”

“Yes, but then you ended up in prison. And you decided your work was worth more than your family.”

“That’s not true,” he exclaimed, clearly offended. “You and Jason have always been my priority, even now. I live only for you, and in return, you abandoned me when I needed you the most.”

“Spencer, stop blaming me. I had to choose between taking care of you or raising my son. Our son. So I sacrificed my marriage to make the best decision for him. We came second.”

“But divorce doesn’t have to be forever,” he insisted, stepping in front of you to make you look at him. “If you want, we don’t even have to sleep in the same bed. I just… I just want us to live together again. For Jason. I think he deserves to have a complete family because I know how hard it is not to have one, and I don’t want him to go through the same thing.”

You were finally talking more than you had in months. But to be honest, you wished it wasn’t happening. He took one of his hands out of his pocket and reached up to touch your cheek. You were freezing, and it became a fervent desire to lean into you and lose himself in your lips.

“Spencer, don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need to think with a clear head. And you’re just clouding my judgment.”

“Why does it have to be a decision you make with a clear head?” he said, sounding hurt. “I’m not a stranger; we once loved each other. I still love you.”

His other hand came up to cup your face, and you placed your hands on his wrists, trying in vain to push him away. You didn’t have the strength, neither physically nor mentally, to do it.

“Spencer, nothing guarantees that getting back together will make us happy.”

“And nothing guarantees that it won’t,” he murmured, pleading. His fingers stroked you gently, and you felt yourself succumbing to temptation.

You were looking into his honey-colored eyes again, and you realized that was one of the things that hadn’t changed despite all the years; they still looked so sweet, so docile toward you. And suddenly, you felt as in love as the first time, and that terrified you. Loving meant the fear of getting hurt again.

You were about to say something when a shout caught your attention, making you think for a second that something had happened to your son. Luckily, it was just him trying to get your attention.

“Come play! Please!” he said politely, with that persuasive little voice he was already learning to use.

“We’re coming, my love.”

The conversation was interrupted by that activity, and although Jason asked why you were crying, you reassured him, blaming the cold in the park. As the minutes passed and you two began to follow your son’s lead, the mood lightened. You even reached a point where you were genuinely having fun, the three of you together, and it was undeniable that your little boy was brimming with happiness.

“A squirrel!” Jason suddenly shouted. He loved animals, so he didn’t hesitate to get closer.

“Careful, honey,” Spencer hurried, always the more fearful of the two of you. “It’s not a good idea to touch squirrels, even if they look cute. They’re wild animals and could bite or scratch you if they get scared. Plus, they can have bugs or diseases.”

“But I want to pet it! Can I, Mommy?”

“When Daddy says no, it’s a no.”

Your son pouted, pretending to be upset, but looking as cute as any 6-year-old. Your ex-husband tried to cheer him up by crouching down to his level.

“Better let’s observe what it’s doing. What do you think it’s looking for?”

“I don’t know.”

“Look, there. In its little hands.”

“An acorn!” he exclaimed happily. The squirrel was picking some off the ground and putting them in its mouth, filling its cheeks. “Why is it doing that?”

“It’s storing food for the winter. It buries them in a safe place, and then when the snow falls, it looks for them to eat.”

“There are more over there!” your son said, pointing with his little finger. “There are three. Do you think those are its mommy and daddy?”

“Maybe, son.”

“They’re like us, right?” he smiled.

You looked away from them because you didn’t want to meet Spencer’s eyes if he turned, and you only heard him laugh.

“Yes, maybe they are.”

Jason watched the animals for a few more minutes, and then he got distracted by a nearby hot chocolate stand. Spencer bought a cup for each of you, which felt wonderful. During the time you all sat on a bench to drink it, with Jason in the middle of both of you, you could sense the furtive glances Spencer gave you, and unwillingly, you did the same toward him.

Jason played for so long that the sky darkened, and he was completely exhausted. By the time you hugged him, ready to head home, he had already fallen fast asleep. And although his presence was evident in theory, you were once again effectively alone with your ex-husband as you approached the car.

He offered to drive to avoid waking your son, and then he opened the passenger door for you, where you settled in, trying to make Jason as comfortable as possible. Halfway through the drive to your apartment, there was an awkward silence that couldn’t even be avoided with music because Spencer had forgotten to fix the stereo.

You struggled to admit it but, to be honest, you hadn’t had such a bad time that afternoon. You were genuinely happy about the family moment you shared, and proof of that was how you clung to who you would always see as your baby, smiling as you watched him sleep so peacefully.

Spencer didn’t expect you to speak during a red light.

“We can meet up to spend Christmas together as a family. Stay in the same apartment, open presents together, and all that,” you said, not looking at him, trying to focus on anything else to avoid him “And it’s too soon to make such a drastic decision, Spencer, like going back to a practically married life. But we can think about it and decide after the new year.”

Despite your indifference, he knew you were being sincere and not just giving him false hope. And he also knew that he would work twice as hard to win back your trust, forgive your mistakes, and, with some luck, recover your love. You hoped you had the strength to forget what had happened and see Spencer for who he was now, not for who he had been.

“I’m glad you said that. And I agree,” was all he replied.

When you got home, you both made sure to leave your son comfortably asleep in bed, and as an extra favor and a show of commitment, you stayed a long time watching him sleep, as if trying to preserve that childish image forever. You didn’t say anything when Spencer wrapped his arms around your shoulders, and he pretended not to notice that you leaned into him, resting your head lightly against his chest.

All you could think was how you hoped time would be kind to you and allow you to eventually rekindle the love you once had and offer it to the beautiful child lying in front of you.

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #dr spencer reid #matthew gray gubler #spencer reid x you #flufftober 2024 #prompt list #writing challenge #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid drabble

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ominis-g · 13 days ago

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You have to move out of your dorm and Henry let's you stay in his guest room for the time being. After a few nights your bed stays empty because you found an even better place to sleep ...

This was a very good prompt. I plan to make a second part that is more... everything, but I feel like this is a good stopping point for the first part.

Notes: Narrator is a female, and it is implied to be before all the events of Richard's arrival. First person POV because it fits the vibes, but I can always change it. No use of narrator's name.

Summary: After some circumstances has Henry offer you his guest room for the interim, there is a snow storm incoming. No warnings, just a lot of fluff for this part.

Word count: 5 542

The main issue that I had with this place was not the frigid winters or the aloofness of some of its residents, but rather that it never seemed to change. The seasons would merge into each other so slowly that it was hard to pinpoint down precisely where and when they shifted, but I would be adjusting my wardrobe and habits along with the temperatures and until the winter break hit, it was the furthest thing from my mind. And upon return, what then? Heavy overcoats that cut off the view of everyone’s figures and forms and instead transformed the majority of the campus into some sort of shapeless blob until we went inside to the warmth. And then the cycle would begin again, slightly different schedules, different exams and essays, but it was the same.

And it was cold today, though the word hardly seemed sufficient. Vermont certainly had a way to cut through every piece of wool and cloth that I had layered on to stave off the biting wind. Classes were not set to begin for us for another couple of days, but here I was, shell-shocked after returning from home and its much warmer clime. My hands were still shaking as I poured myself a cup of coffee in the cafeteria, but there was not anyone around to notice. I went and sat by the window, despite its frost, because it was near enough to the radiator to offer some semblance of heat.

Hands wrapped around the heat, fingers tapping on the porcelain, I stared out of the window. I should have brought a book, or something to work on, but I had forgotten. It was still early, and the rest of the day laid before me. There was not much traffic, but there was enough people walking by to occupy my mind as I drank that cup, and then returned with a second.

The tables were starting to fill, and so was the air with the sounds of the other students. No one greeted me, since I did not know any of them, and I did not care to. Surely my friends would be back today or the next, and we would spend the time out in the country or at the twins’ speaking all about our breaks and our adventures. Our communication had been through mostly calls when one of us had time, but for Henry, who preferred to write. My mother had found our correspondence for those two months endearing, but it was Henry. Most of his letters were filling me in on the entirety of the class’s misadventures, and the rest was complaining or contemplating something obscure.

I delayed returning to my dorm because I had that soft hope that I would see one of them go by the window, even Bunny, but there was no such luck this morn. I wrapped the scarf further and snugger around my neck and face to brave the chill once more. I made it to the stoop without incident, and was stomping the snow off of my boots when I heard a clamour from within. I stoop up on my tiptoes to see through the window, wondering if I should just make myself scarce, and just barely was able to get out of the way in time. Onto the ice, and slipping down into the snowy brush with sharp pains that made me hiss and grit my teeth, not aided by the slamming of the door. The wood wobbled violently on its hinges, and two large men were dragging out a third.

Their congruent yells were bouncing off of each other, but I was focused on disentangling myself from the brush and then wading awkwardly to the other side and back to the path to avoid all three. When I turned to return, I stopped in surprise. Bunny was there, looking disheveled and agitated and cursing at the retreating backs of his exilers.

“Bun?”

He looked over at me, then scoffed. “Did you see that–”

“What happened?”

I closed the space between us, quite a few paces, when I was sure that he was not about to lash out in his anger at me.

“How was I supposed to know it was a girl’s dorm? She started screeching as soon as I turned the key and knob…” He trailed off, though his furied expression didn’t change. “Mixup in the office, or something.” His face only cleared when I began righting his coat, and he bent over obligingly to allow me to fix his hair, too. It was sticking up at odd angles from what was, no doubt, a very physical altercation. “Anyway, where am I supposed to go now?”

“Go back to the office, and tell them what happened,” I advised as he returned upright. “I am sure it was only a clerical error; just explain it coherently.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “You’re the most sensible of us, y’know?”

Hardly.

I just smiled at him and brushed snow off of his shoulders. He gave me a cheeky wink and turned to walk towards the residential office. I watched him for a moment to be sure he was really going, considering following, before deciding against it and just returning to my room.

—----------------------------------------------

I spent the rest of the morning unpacking, since I had done so little the night before. I had gotten in late, and was simply thankful that someone had been in the office to give me back the key to my room. I had emptied it, of course, and now I was arranging my books on the shelves for something to occupy me. I was bent over my trunk for another armful when there was a knock on the door. Heavy-handed, not polite. I had a sinking feeling it was Bunny.

I answered it anyway. He pushed his way in past me, dragging a suitcase along with him. I frowned at this, but closed the door so no one else could see. “Did it not go well–”

“Hell no,” he complained. He dropped the suitcase heavily on the floor and began pacing through the small space, barely avoiding where I was still unpacking. I returned to the books, waiting for more. “They’re trying to sort it all out, all the other rooms are filled–”

“Have you tried Henry?”

He shook his head. “No answer, and his car’s not in the drive. When was he supposed to be back?”

“Last time he wrote, he said it would be about the same time as me, and I got back last night. Maybe he will come today. Francis? The twins?”

“Boston.” He sat heavily on my bed, and just watched me work for a few moments. “But you’ll not kick me out into the cold, right? I can stay here?”

“You know that I am not supposed to…” I trailed off, glancing over at him, and he really looked in that moment like a big, blond puppy. “You just have to be careful. I am sure one night breaking the coed rule will not hurt, and tomorrow everything will be fixed.” He grinned immediately. “But you sleep on the floor.”

The smile faltered, but then he shrugged. He laid down in my bed, boots hanging off the edge, and continued to watch me unpack. “I thought you’re neater.”

“I just started working.”

Bunny found gum from the depths of his pockets and began chewing loudly. I tried to ignore him as I finished the books, and the silence otherwise was not even peaceful. My irritation finally got the best of me after arranging my desk, and decided I needed a break.

I headed downstairs for the phone. I rang Henry first, and immediately. My fingers tapped impatiently on the wall as I listened to the rings, glancing up the stairs to be sure that Bunny was not about to catch me trying so desperately to be rid of him.

Finally, he answered. “Hello?”

“It’s me. When did you get back?”

“I haven’t even unpacked. I heard the phone from the door.” Blissful, perfect timing. “You can come by.”

“I have a different issue,” I answered quietly, glancing up at the stairs again. “Bunny.”

He lit a cigarette, the match’s sound distinctive even over the gravelly phone. “What did he do now?”

“There was some sort of mixup, and his dorm is nonexistent. He is currently squatting in mine.”

“I can’t have him here again.” I let out a sigh, hand from the wall to my forehead, eyes closing in abject horror at the prospect of spending any sort of time alone with Bunny. “What did the office say?”

“They are working on it, but…”

I did not need to continue. Henry caught it all and finished the thought. “I have the guest room. Grab some things, and you can stay there until it’s sorted.”

“Should I tell him?”

“Just say you’re staying elsewhere, to allow him privacy. I will see you in a few.”

We hung up, and I began the walk up to my room again with a sense of dread. It was not like Bunny was going to believe that. Maybe I could say I was going to opt for the hotel, so we would not get in trouble and get us both kicked out. He would believe that.

Bunny tried in a light way to offer to go to a hotel instead, but there was not any real heart behind it. I insisted that he not worry, and he just thanked me with a smile and got more comfortable on my bed. My clothes were still securely in their suitcase, maybe a little rummaged through that I tried to ignore, and placed on top a few books for classwork, and some supplies from my desk. I left Bunny the key, and he promised not to leave it unlocked and let me get burgled. It was something, at least.

The suitcase was heavy, but nothing I could not handle. Why were Classics books so massive? I huffed my way quickly down the stairs, eager to get through the door and away before Bunny could come up with some reason why I should stay in that tiny room with him.

Henry, bless him, was waiting. He was lounged against his car, smoking, still in his travelling clothes, but when he saw me he opened the trunk. I heaved the suitcase in, closed the trunk, and joined him in the warmth of the car. He offered me one of his Lucky Strikes, which I took and lit as he drove off. I recounted the entire morning’s events with our windows rolled down just enough to let out the smoke but not the heat, and though he glanced at me, he did not comment until I was finished.

“I know why he lives in the dorms, but why do you?”

“Convenience, mainly. I suppose I could rent somewhere, but if it is too far I would have to get a car, and that is a lot of extra steps for something so easily solved by living in the dorms.”

“You mentioned in a letter that your mother would prefer if you lived off-campus.” I frowned at him and his damned memory, letting out a steady cloud of smoke. He glanced at me, then shook his head with the hint of a smile. “Something about not wanting you to get mixed up in the party culture.”

“What she does not know will not hurt her.”

“So, you told her about the class.”

“Nothing specific. I spoke of you all as friends, though your letters did spark more inquiries.” He made an amused noise. “What?”

“Did she read any of them?”

“She does not know Latin. Of course, that just made her think of the whole correspondence as romantic. I had to correct her more than once, but after about a dozen times, I gave up.”

He was quiet. He pulled into the drive and shut off the car without a word, and I watched him get out with the air of a statue. I took the last pull from the cigarette and stepped to the snow as well, throwing the butt into the pile that someone had shoveled the snow from the drive into. I retrieved my suitcase from the trunk opened by Henry, but he was already at the door and unlocking it. I hurried to follow, knocking the snow off my boots hastily.

I had offended him. I set down the suitcase, unwinding my scarf and watching him flip through the waiting mail without expression. I hung up my overcoat in the closet, right beside the mail table. “Did you correct her for any particular reason?” He finally wondered.

“My mother is quite the romantic, and insists that I should be as well. She would have been insufferable if I had done any less. I was quite glad to return, to get out of there, actually.”

“There is something of romance in communicating through letters,” he mused, but he was still looking through the mail, and I was facing the closet, trying to get my scarf to hang right with my coat. “I took joy in it. Did you?”

“Yes.” He did not say anything more, so I followed up: “It really was just for my sanity. I did not need her dragging out her wedding albums or something.”

“That’s understandable.”

Henry abandoned the mail back to the table, and was beside me to hang up his coat as well. I could not think of anything else to say, because what was there to say? He did the task in silence and then he showed me to the guest room. When he left to go unpack himself, I checked the folding bed to be sure it was locked so I could make it up with the provided bedclothes in peace. I unpacked my few books and supplies, but left the rest in the suitcase.

I brought my literature book, a notebook, and pen with me when I ventured outwards again. I sat down in the kitchen, and that is where Henry found me. He had changed, and he set down his own work on the opposite side of the table before going to make some tea. It was mainly for me, though he poured himself a cup as well, and for quite a while we worked in silence.

A thick gust of wind broke us from the concentration some time after noon, and I frowned at the sound of the impending storm. He did not look up from his work, though I was considering the way the snow was blowing from its resting places out the window. “You’re safe here. Steady as a rock, this house.” His fountain pen rose from paper, and he joined me in looking at the weather. “We could do with some supplies, though. Would you mind running out?”

I did not mind. I needed the break anyway. He dictated to me a short list of what to be sure to get at the grocery while I did up my snow boots again. It did not take me long, despite all of the other people there at the store, and on the way home I turned on the car’s radio to find the weather report. Well, no wonder the store had been packed and the shelves half-empty. There was a snowstorm set to hit the following day, just in time for everyone to come back to Hampden.

Henry helped me in putting all of the supplies away, mostly food for us to make, and I had made sure to pick up snacks for myself. He inspected the package of cookies instead of putting them on the shelf inside the cabinet, where he had placed my mixed nuts and sugary cereal. “You actually eat these?”

“They are good,” I assured him, working on rearranging the fridge to hold the milk. “And if the power goes out, I will not want to bake.”

“I forgot you bake,” was all he replied, and went back to the task. “I haven’t heard you talk about baking since last year.”

“Since we were speaking about bakeries in Rome–”

“And the differences in the various Greek cities,” he agreed, leaning against the counter to light a cigarette. He placed the pack back onto the table, so I sat down to light one myself. “If you had access to a kitchen, would you bake while here at Hampden? I’m sure Charles would appreciate it.”

“I suppose so.” I watched him check the cabinet where I had put in fresh flour, baking soda, and sugar. Everything he had had from before the break was stale, or empty. “Bread, or sweets?”

“Perhaps a bit of both; we could try to recreate some breads that the ancients would have enjoyed.”

“We would have to go outside Hampden to find the flours and grains.”

This did not seem to bother him. He closed the cabinet and returned to standing as he had been, pondering the end of his cigarette. “True. It would be a worthy endeavour.”

“Are you offering your kitchen for my use?”

He focused instead on taking in a long drag. He had let it out before he said simply, “yes.”

I smiled, but I do not think he noticed. He was too engrossed in how absolutely fascinating his dwindling cigarette was. “What do you want for supper?”

The unspoken tension in the air loosened as we made a very simple meal of roast chicken and vegetables together. Neither of us were skilled cooks, but once he had given his opinion and the bird was in the oven, Henry returned to his work. I pondered the empty counters, the time remaining, and then made us a small batch of biscuits to go along with it. His smile returned when he smelled them; I doubt he even clocked that I was making them before that, or maybe he did and had only been looking when my back was to him.

Henry lit a few candles as the sky darkened, but even as we ate he seemed utterly unbothered; I, on the other hand, was constantly glancing out the window to judge the intensity. It was not terrible to be trapped inside of this apartment with him, but being trapped anywhere did not appeal to me, and especially not the rigid frigidity of snow. Vermont.

We started drinking after supper, and he and I put away our work. We sat on his sofa instead, him swirling his glass of whiskey as he read aloud to me in his flowing Greek any passage that caught his fancy. I played solitaire on the table as I listened, the flicker of the candlelight and the rattle of the radiators offering a very welcome ambiance that almost allowed me to forget the blizzard’s noises outside.

—-------------------------------------------------

Even with the liquor in me, the bed was still uncomfortable. I knew it was far more preferable than listening to Bunny’s snoring and bothering that was sure to have come had I stayed, but in the depths of sleeplessness, I could only think about how much it was uncomfortable. When we had said good night to each other, Henry had offered in a polite way to switch beds, but I had brushed off the gesture as not necessary. Besides, he needed the better bed.

I was up early, but of course Henry was awake before me. He had made coffee, so I poured myself a cup and went to find him. He was sitting in his room with the door open, working– as usual. I paused there at the threshold with the storm’s sounds drowning out everything else, watching him at his desk. His chair was slightly inclined to the door, like he had expected me to find him like that, but he was bent over some large book and did not even look up. I waited, sipping at my coffee, until he finished whatever he was reading before I knocked on the open door softly.

“Come in,” he invited, and so I did. I sat down in his armchair, and my presence seemed to remind him of his coffee cup. He sat back to nurse it, eyes moving over the splay of papers on his desk before his attention turned to me. “How did you sleep?”

“I think the storm kept me up.” He nodded knowingly. “What of you?”

“Well enough. It is good to be back in my own bed.” He paused with the cup raised up as if to take a drink. “Which I’m sure you’ll be soon enough.”

“I will make sure to wash the sheets.” He smiled, and did finally take a sip of his coffee. My fingers tapped at the porcelain softly. “What if they are unable to figure it out?”

“Then you’ll stay here. We can go get the rest of your things.” It was stated matter-of-factly, as if the answer had been obvious.

“I do not wish to impose on you–”

“I don’t mind your company.”

I hid the unease behind my mug. I could not pinpoint it, not exactly– was it the fear of Bunny staying for the term in my dorm, or the fear of him not? Was it rather the prospect of seeing Henry daily– more than I already did– and him maybe growing irritated by my presence? “I have never had a roommate.”

“You only have to be more agreeable than Bunny, and I would like to think I am as well.”

“It was a very pleasant day yesterday.”

“It was; relaxing, even, which is just what we needed before classes begin.”

He was not relenting, or maybe I was just too inexperienced at skirting around difficult questions. “Are you not worried you will tire of me?”

His brow rose, and with his hair slightly mussed from the early hour, it threw his scar into sharp relief. “No.”

“At all?”

“This is all and entirely hypothetical, but if we follow the thought through: no, I do not see myself growing tired of you. Disagreements, annoyances, on both of our parts, but that’s normal. We both have schedules beyond the Greek class, and the only difference would be seeing each other like this, before we retire, and for more meals than usual. That’s hardly an unseemly amount of difference.” He rose to find his cigarettes, and I considered him, his words, and his craving for nicotine. We were both quiet until he was shaking out the match. “The only conflict I could see arising is if you took some beau.”

I blinked slowly at the words, because they were not what I was expecting, especially from him. We had never spoken about it before, whether by design or by happenstance, I was not sure. “Why?”

“Coming home at all hours– or not at all– and I would have to meet the poor fellow, wouldn’t I? Then there’d be another person in the house with us, and when our friends come over, it’s already too many.” He leaned over to knock off some ash in his over-filled ashtray. “Unless you already have one. Back home, perhaps?”

“No; I am sure it would make my mother very happy, but no. You and Julian and everyone have completely monopolised my time. Well– and classes, of course. Family obligations…” I trailed off, because he was smiling. “Well then– you, same question.”

Henry actually laughed, waving away the question along with smoke in the air. “No, no.” I sighed over my coffee. “Who would it be? Surely no one else but our group could keep my interest, or for long. I’m too busy to look elsewhere.” He said it casually, but my eyes narrowed at his wording. He was focused on his cigarette again, though still smiling. “Say, how did it look outside?”

“Are you changing the subject?”

He ignored me, carrying his mug and cigarette with him to go into the main room. I had to force my face to clear before I joined him, draining the last of my coffee. He was standing at the window, looking out at the snow that was moving blurringly fast, almost surreal with the orange glow from the street lamps. “It seems a perfect day for translations.”

“Until the heat goes out.”

“Good thing that you’re here, then.” I wrapped both of my hands around the mug, trying very hard not to think about it. “Why don’t you get your work and we can relax in my room? It’ll be more comfortable than the kitchen.”

I pulled on a sweater as well, and sat there in his armchair eating a bowl of cereal noisily. I wanted to see if he would admit that I would annoy him, but he genuinely did not seem to mind and was utterly focused on his work. I refilled both of our coffees when I was done, and he murmured a thanks as I replaced it back onto his desk. I had my book for a literature class to read, so I lounged in the chair with a candle on the table beside it to slog through.

The power went out some time around noon, which I only discovered when I went to get something for lunch. I made two sandwiches and poured myself a glass of milk, wondering how long the power would be out, and worried it would spoil. I set his plate down onto his desk, and he started as if from a trance. He sat back to rub at his eye under his glasses, and I retreated to my chair.

“Power is out.”

“Inevitable,” he returned, examining the sandwich briefly before taking a bite. He finished the whole thing without speaking; he had not eaten breakfast. “As long as the gas stays on, we should have heat.”

We returned to our silent work. I left and came back to his room a few times, to get different books, to get a notebook, but he did not comment. I stopped at the window each time, but the house besides his room was completely dark; I could no longer see the street lamps, or any semblance of life outside of his walls.

Henry had found I had moved to the floor to spread out and take notes for an essay over his rug when he finally rose. He must have gotten up more than that, simply to relieve himself, but this time was different. His head tilted as he looked over my work. “Comfortable?”

“Your carpet makes a wonderful desk, as big as I need.”

“You’re more than welcome to get your own desk.” I turned over to my back, eyes up his form with a smile for him. “Hypothetically, of course.” It was a very good view. He was still dressed as Henry, but he wore a sweater as we had no where to be or anyone else to see today. His hands slid into the pockets of his trousers, perhaps to shift them so I could see nothing from that angle but for the fold of the cloth.

“Then how would we work together?”

“True,” he conceded, but he still looked thoughtful. His head turned, considering his desk, and I got a new angle for his features, the hair shadowing his eye, everything. “Maybe a large table, or two desks pushed up together, so we could work face-to-face.”

“Or I could continue to lay siege to your carpet.” He smiled. “Batter your desk’s defences–”

“Watch out for the hot wax,” he broke in. “Terrible for your troops, and my men are far from sitting ducks.”

I laughed lightly, and he met my smile. He then offered me his hands, and though I did hesitate, I was always going to take them. I sat up enough so my hands could meet his, slide into the warmth, and he stepped to the side as he helped me up. What could I say? There was a moment with our fingers still on each others’ wrists and palms, and us standing closer than I think we had ever stood before. I could feel his warmth, not just through the touch but through the mite space between us, could smell the ink, the coffee, the smoke and all the different scents from the house that made it so distinctly Henry.

I looked up at him in that brief interlude, and our gaze held together for the duration. My lips parted, raking my brain for something to say– did I even want to say anything? I took in a breath.

“Let’s take a break,” he said, not unkindly. His hands slid back, and so I withdrew mine as well, our fingertips lingering for a further second before he looked away, and then went to find his Lucky Strikes. I felt flush, my sweater suddenly sweltering, so I welcomed the walk out of his warm little room and into the main room. He did not bother to light any candles, using the cherry of his cigarette to guide him if he needed it, and then mine as well.

Henry made a displeased noise when he stopped at the window, hand up to see if he could wipe away the obstruction, but no: that was snow plastered onto the windows and turning to ice. Despite the radiators rattling eerily, it was definitely colder out here than in the room we had been occupying, proof of just how cold and dreary it was outside of those walls.

“We’ve been keeping my room warm,” he noted, cigarette to his lips and squinting through the smoke.

“I might stay the entire night in there,” I returned in a light tone. He looked to me through the smoke, perhaps trying to determine if I was jesting or not. “I would not wish either of us to freeze to death.”

“And who knows if the heat will remain throughout the night,” he agreed in the same kind of tone, so I was the one questioning the meaning. “Just another reason why– hypothetically– you’d be the ideal roommate.”

“Is it still hypothetical?” He smiled around his cigarette, and for a moment we just smoked in silence. “Even if it is, I could not spend the entire term on that foldout bed.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. Still, you should have your own space, even if you shared mine on frigid nights such as this one.” He turned from the dark window for the couch, sitting down upon it and finally lighting a candle. He poured us each a drink, and he handed it to me as I joined him. “Of course, if you wished, you could get a bed of your own choosing, should you not want to share mine nightly.”

“Do you snore?”

“I don’t think so. Do you?”

I shook my head. “Just while ill.”

“I think that’s everyone,” he mused, relaxing beside me with the ashtray between us. “I don’t blame you, by the way. Even if it wasn’t coed, I would not want to be stuck in such a small space with Bunny for an undetermined amount of time, and he does snore.”

“I do not mind him usually,” I replied, snuffing out my cigarette so I could focus on that glass of whiskey. “But the entire thing made me nervous. He is not the quietest person, not to mention how it would look when we were inevitably found out, even with him sleeping on the floor–”

“He would have guilted you into giving up your bed, or sharing–”

“Precisely, hence the anxiety.”

He was quiet as he considered that, and our previous words. “And I don’t make you anxious in that way?”

“No, and if you did, I could simply return to my own bed. I did not have anywhere to go with him there.” He made a curious noise into his glass. “And, you and I, we have a different… relationship.”

“We do.” It was such a short and simple statement that I waited for more. Anything more, really. He had finished his drink before it came. “Mutual respect, and you don’t impose yourself anywhere.”

“I try not to.”

“And if I had denied you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He set down his glass to pour himself another finger, and then two. He offered the bottle to me, so I held out the glass so he could refill mine as well. “Hypothetically or not, I’m not doing that.” The bottle was down, and I still without words. He returned to relax beside me, swirling the whiskey around thoughtfully, perhaps waiting for me to say something.

“Thank you,” I finally managed. It made him smile. “But I also do not want things to be awkward if–”

“We’re both adults here, and we are friends. Quid enim mali accidere potest?”

“Sic transit gloria mundi.” He shook his head, holding back laughter before it was out in a chuckle into his glass. “I meant more that we will endure as friends even if anything romantic does not. No need to imply the end of the world as we know it.”

I shrugged and took a long drink. “I could not bear it.”

“Then let us be sure that we endure.”

A/N: Any glaring errors, please let me know!

#the secret history #henry winter #henry winter x reader #tsh #tsh donna tartt #fanfiction #the secret history fanfic #fanfic

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redwinedulac · 6 days ago

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after surviving the hell that was the got fandom where people would ask him to his face about his genitalia or not even refer to him by his name, it pains me to know that jacob is once again apart of a show with a disgusting fandom and this time as the LEAD.

the way he feels such genuine comfort and love on set is how he should feel from the fandom as well and the key word here is: genuine. he doesn’t know what these people really think about him. these people have met him at events, WENT TO HIS CONCERT, smiled in his face, and each time it was more to fulfill their lestat fantasies (because he is treated as an extension of sam) without actual care and reverence for him.

during his concert fans on twt were right to call out the audacity of throwing the tvl shirt on stage (which was done by these exact racist plantation fans btw). and whether he smiled about it or not it was HIS concert, a raleigh ritchie concert, and some of his music-only fans didn’t even know the lestat reference in the first place. jacob has separated his music and acting for a reason and he shouldn’t be pigeonholed into a box by fans. people who complained were silenced and written off as being “jealous” and “fandom drama” when it’s like… it literally was not an iwtv event? why is it some inconceivable want regulated to a “woke” notion that people would ask for JACOB’S TIME to be his time? it was his first major concert in about 5 fucking years?

honestly, i really don’t think it’s too much to push for amc to not allow these people around him anymore? these people use him to boost their online clout and engagement and simultaneously dismissed the antiblackness towards him and louis for years and now that it’s finally caught up to them we have the fake notes apologies, “i didn’t know about slavery i’m european” and all the bullshit we’ve seen before.

for season 3 amc really needs to go back to keeping things professional between journalists and the cast, (and vet these journalists btw because some of them are also side-eye worthy) close the sets, and protect the cast. the lack of any type of boundaries during season 2 is how we have gotten to this point. sigh.

#jacob anderson #iwtv #iwtv fandom wank #iwtv fandom racism #this shit bothers me so much #i really do feel so bad for jacob and my black friends here #i wish there was more i could do :/

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glisten-inthedark · 5 months ago

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I love how we're supposed to believe Danny and Steve were just bros in spite of the multitude of evidence to the contrary.

Your honor, the prosecution would like the present the following.

Evidence number 1

Steve looking like his puppy was pupnapped when he saw Rachel with Danny. Unless we're supposed to believe he was harboring intense feelings for a woman he saw twice, it doesn't explain why he'd look so heartbroken and betrayed.

Evidence number 2

Steve is the only one Danny allows to call him Danno besides Grace. We're talking about his child here, the light of his life and his entire universe and the other part of it that happens to be a Navy 🦭 with a complex.

After the third time he stopped bitching about Steve calling him Danno, and when was Danny ever known for shutting up when truly annoyed? That's right, never.

Evidence number 3

Danny gave up his chance ar a normal life for Steve. That man had his entire future offered to him on a silver platter, he spent all of the year complaining about being in Hawaii, being away from his child and about everything really.

But when he finally has the chance to leave he does what? Does he go to the airport and flies back to Jersey like one would assume he would? No! He stays.

He knows Rachel, he knows he might as well be closing that particular door for good, but he doesn't care. He chose Steve over his chance of happiness, over Rachel and hell, he doesn't even blink as he does it.

Evidence number 4

Is canon y'all. Danny doesn't usually threatens people with violence, by the time season 2 rolls around the only person we see him doing that for is Grace. Bare in mind Rachel was in the car when it was stollen, and yet he only threatened douchebag to not get near Grace.

Same can be said about anyone else who has ever been in danger, but Matt I'm pretty sure (don't mind me, I'm rewatching it and I just finished season 1 so it'll be a while before I catch up to that minefield). So he threatens someone because of his daughter which he's said over and over it's his life, over Matt that is his fucking brother and that he loves and sees as the reason he made it through the divorce and... *checks notes* Steve.

Am I sensing a pattern here, Jedi?

And bare in mind he didn't just threatens anyone but a fucking CIA agent. I mean how crazy does one have to be do to that? I'd say very.

Evidence number 5

He follows Steve anywhere. Danny is deeply afraid of leaving Grace without a father, and yet he couldn't not go after Steve in North Korea and then Afghanistan.

Both are very dangerous countries for foreigners, both places he very much was in danger of not coming back from, but he still went.

He didn't have to, he could've left Joe handle it, he could've kept himself safe and not be in any danger but he still went. He went even though he knew he could die, that the odds of that happening were high, but he didn't care.

Evidence number 6

Landing the plane on the beach instead of doing it in the water. Danny knew that doing so could get him killed, would most likely get him killed but at that point he didn't care.

We see Danny once again choosing Steve over anything and anyone else. Choosing to die instead of living without him.

At that point I could argue that he chose him over his own children. Charlie was still a child, Grace still needed a father, but losing Steve would kill him just as much as losing one of his children so he doesn't have a choice.

If he Steve dies there will be only wreckage, so following right behind its the only thing he can do. It's a thousand times better than the alternative.

Evidence number 7

Steve being willing to lie to the FBI for Danny, than to follow Danny and helping with the whole Matt situation.

Evidence number 8

Steve helping Danny with Grace and getting Rachel to drop the visitation bullshit. And then helping in the hearing and even dressing in his blues for it.

Steve showing time and again Danny wasn't alone, that he had him on his corner now for better or for worse.

Evidence number 9

Steve looking like he was sucker punched when he heard Danny begging Rachel to take him back in that freaking voicemail and looking torn when he saw they reuniting later on. Why would anyone look like that to their very platonic, not very love of their life's partner?! I blame Alex for everything

I will continue as I rewatch because I forgot most of everything but for now, I rest my case.

#mcdanno meta #mcdanno #steve mcgarrett #danny williams #hawaii 5 0 #h50 meta

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low-budget-korra · 9 months ago

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Comments on Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender

*spoiler alert*

First of all I'm gonna start by saying it is one of the best adaptations I've seen so far. And that's the key word, adaptation. I've seen a lot of fans and others complain about some things that honestly, doesn't make sense because some things only work in a cartoon(just as much as some things only work in a book or a video game)

And before I start to talk about some topics that I judge important, I also wanna say that the production is fantastic, from the costumes to the CGI. It all looks amazing. (A part from Yue's wig)

1. The Script

It's not easy to pick 20+ episodes and make it fit in only 8 but damn they did a hell of a good job, especially when judging what was important to show and what they could let it go. Some fans commented that since there's no fillers, the Gaang and others miss some development but I think that for the universe of the live action what we got here it worked.

I can express how much I like to see Ozai and Azula's relationship and how it is now clear that he uses the siblings against each other, manipulating them to get what he wants. But I will admit I miss the fear Azula had, since it's implied in the show and some extras that she does fear Ozai, and fears becoming like Zuko.

I hope the 41. Is just fine after the battle in the north. See all of them bowing to Zuko after discovering that Zuko was the one that saved their asses and was heavily punished by that...it was beautiful. I loved the writers did that, give names and faces to Zuko's crew and a beautiful yet sad arc when Ozai banished his son and the men who he saved.

I also loved that they put weight into things that was treated as a joke, like Katara talking about her mother. She was a little kid who saw her mom get murdered in front of her and the live action made sure to let us know that it is not okay to make jokes about something so traumatic. All of the deaths here have tons of weight in it, it's not some random person, is someone we met, someone we liked, someone who helped. The costs of the war, something the cartoon manages to show us but know in live action, with real people, the massage gets stronger.

And they didn't forget Iroh's past like the fandom does, which is great. That actor, the earthbending soldier really let it all out, that's how you use the few screentime you have.

Sokka's isn't sexist and y'all were making a storm outta a cup of water, is not like Sokka sexist didn't go away after like the 4 or 5 episode in the original show. I think the live action was able to bring more depth to him in comparison to the first season of the cartoon. We see how he feels about his father's, the absence of him and his duty as warrior who kinda doesn't want to be a warrior.

I need a Gyatso in my life, I didn't know I needed to see more of him until the live action gave us more of him. Kyoshi was the Thor coming to Wakanda from this season, WHY THE FUCK BRYKE DONT WANNA GIVE US A KYOSHI SERIES? She is absolutely a jewel of a character. Roku and Kuruk, damn poor Kuruk man, so much pain in his words but again that's what it means to be the Avatar, it's not fun and games. Zhao saying to Aang what Korra villains said to Korra😭 that the world doesn't need the Avatar anymore, it hurt.

Guys I'm gonna say it, there's no way in hell for anyone to ship Kataang here. I'm saying this because some shippers complain that the secret tunnel part was different but c'mon, look at Kiawentiio and look at Gordon, it would be so s awkward and weird and just wrong. I know they don't have a big age difference, is only like 3 years but when they filmed Gordon looked so much younger than her, maybe in the next seasons the difference won't be that big.

The pace is good, once you start you don't wanna stop.

2. The Acting

Everyone is really good at capturing the essence of it's characters and somewhat making them their own. The highlights for me were Dallas and Ian, Its like they came straight from the show. Ken Leung's Zhao was also amazing as he was way more threatening here than he was in the show.

Kiawentiio was the Katara we were looking for, she is kind yet strong, brave and caring. And Gordon was Aang, sure, he has to learn a few things since he slipped a few times in his acting but nothing that could ruin the experience, that kid is good and just needs some experience.

Elizabeth Yu was Azula. It was different but yet the same character, is like learning something new of her and I like how cleared she show emotions with her eyes. Maria Zhang had great chemistry with Ian and I can't wait to see more of Suki. Arden Cho and Yvonne Chapman as June and Avatar Kyoshi look like they came out straight from the cartoon. Daniel Dae Kim...man is Ozai, so cold, so sharp, so scary, already way better than the cartoon version. I wanna see more of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh since the character he really starts to shine in book 2.

3. The live action doesn't have the spirit of the OG?

Yes, it does have. The thing is now that we are seeing real people, things get dark one way or another but I don't think it ruined the spirit of the show. Aang is still a kid, Sokka still making sarcastic jokes, Zuko still annoying as hell, Katara still hopeful and strong... There's everything there really.

The thing is stuff like genocide, murder, war, death and suffering are, for some people, better to watch as pixels in a cartoon than real people.

I think it's a great adaptation and I would recommend it to every fan.

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hedghost · 4 months ago

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Hedge’s Official Ranking of the 24/25 WSL Kits That Literally Nobody Asked For - Home Edition

please please tell me your thoughts in the reblogs or tags!!! i love hearing other people’s critiques. this is the one time the woso community can all come together and complain about the same thing!

1.Liverpool

potentially a controversial opinion but this is Nice As Hell! i know a lot of people said the collars are ugly but like idk it’s kinda giving if you ask me. it’s bold, it’s a statement. i love retro. this is just a good kit. it’s doing bits without doing too much. simple, tasteful, plus a little subtle pizzazz with those jaunty ass stripes - werk it ladies!

plus this kit is made from recycled plastic bottles, nice job! save those turtles liverpool!

apparently the pattern spells out ynwa, which i’m totally Not seeing (maybe i misunderstood this). i’m getting a Y, and then like an H in there maybe? and then i’m just lost, so not sure you hit the mark with that one, but love you for trying! it’s a cool pattern regardless, so i’d maybe just ditch the whole symbolism jargon and stick with that. overall nice job guys - 9/10

bonus points for that prematch shirt, love the detailing on it very sexy top marks

2. Arsenal

sorry arsenal fans, this shit is ugly as fuckkkkk - i’m not even being biased or trying to start fights (for once) it’s just like so hideous. i didn’t really like last season’s but compared to this that was a masterpiece. it’s so PLAIN! the weird red splodge is like not flattering at all and the blue? what’s that all about? also i fucking hate the back it looks like a used period pad, so hopefully the numbers fix that.

praying for your sakes you get a nice third kit or something bc this is ass.

also i’m a HATER for minimalist badge designs. this cannon logo makes the shirt look like a uniform for a museum volunteer. don’t get me wrong - arsenal is not the only culprit. what has a good old crest ever done to you? why do we hate maximalism? why do we hate fun? - 4/10

3. Manchester City

now this is fine. it’s just fine. it’s objectively nice, but it’s also objectively boring! as! fuck! the solid blue is clean but a little too flat. something looks off. it’s missing something. idk it’s nice ig, but it also seems identical to last season? if i saw these pics with no context i’d literally think it was from this year, but that’s the case with most top tier clubs it seems. have some fun guys! push the boat out! where’s the whimsy? but yeah anyway it’s alright.

at least they tried with the sleeves. allegedly they have the manchester dialling code 0161 on them but i mean - do they? do they really? because it looks like a bus seat to me. city fans decide for yourself i guess, because i for one won’t be getting close enough to a city shirt to look

it’s also made from recycled waste textiles so yay again! probably made from all the city shirts people threw out after they all but fucked the title 🤭 - 7/10

4. Tottenham Hotspur

wow spurs this is nice. it’s just so clean, so crisp. my normal issue with spurs kits is their absolute undying commitment to being plain as fuck. they picked one colour, white - arguably the most boring colour of all, arguably even the total absence of colour - and stuck to it. this however? it’s simplicity done well. it’s still plain and simple, but in a gorgeous sexy way. those navy retro colourblock sleeves? stunning! the crispest white you’ve ever seen? stunning! the tiniest of sleeve embellishments? stunning! simplicity done well. it’s just so crispy. pleases my eye.

also huge respect to them for not jumping of the band wagon with the whole ‘every shirt must have ugly details with symbolic meaning we grasped at straws to come up with in order to do something new and edgy’. spurs said no! they said ‘oh this? yeah this is a football shirt. what does it mean? it means football shirt.’ thanks spurs, good job - 9.5/10

5. Crystal Palace

ummmm. now. hmm. uhh. what? this is, um, what? give me a second to get my thoughts in order. i don’t know what is happening here and i’m at a loss for words.

right. crystal palace. inaugural season in the wsl. making a statement. making a splash. right. here’s the thing. i’m always saying wsl kits are too boring. i’m always saying we want fun patterns and whimsy. i’m looking at this in genuine confusion because i actually do not know what is going on here. do i like it? not sure? do i hate it? also not sure?

i think i kind of like it? but i also kind of hate it? it’s insanely busy, it’s probably the most garish kit i’ve ever seen in my life. i think part of the problem is that the club doesn’t have a great colour palette to work from. it’s very bright. i do love the pattern of the eagle crest in the blue, that’s a huge win from me. it’s just those spray paint red splatters that’s throwing me off. it looks like they spent ages making a lovely blue eagle pattern and then remembered they needed red in there so just used the funky spray tools on microsoft paint to draw over the top. it’s giving shit cgi blood splatter in a low budget zombie film. it’s like the barcelona shirts if they were designed by a gcse art student on an acid trip.

the more i’m looking at it however, i’m kind of loving it? kinda camp i guess. this one could be a grower. i’m still confused. at least they’ll make a splash in the wsl - 6/10

6. Manchester United

you’d think by now that i would have learnt to not get my hopes up with this club. remember the long long list of disappointments from yanited this season that i never shut up about? yeah, add this kit to that list.

listen it’s not awful. it’s not ugly, it’s not an eyesore. at the very least, it’s classic united. but it’s just so! bloody! dull! i’m literally falling asleep looking at it. it’s a t-shirt. its literally just a t-shirt. the problem is they set the bar too high last year, with that beautiful pattern and beautiful shade of red. and now, in proper united style, we’re straight back to mediocrity.

let’s talk details. oh wait, they aren’t ANY. there is nothing to say about this kit because there is nothing going ON with this kit. i like the white stripes. that’s it. theres the ombré red at the bottom, which is like- it’s okay. problem is - there’s like four too many shades of red on this shirt, and none of them are that nice. it needs a pattern or something! a pop! a little pizzazz! not a fan of the curved back panel, but it does look a whole lot better than arsenal’s at least.

this is absolutely nothing groundbreaking but it’s fine. it’s just so fucking plain. i know my girls will still serve in it, but i hoped for more. of course, in true united fashion: it’s the hope that kills you - 6/10

7. Chelsea

the tagline for this release is 'we burn blue', because 'the hottest part of the flame burns blue'. congrats on passing year seven chemistry guys. anyway, with that in mind, this kit is, naturally of course, patterned with a mystery blue LIQUID. im not seeing flames in any part of this kit. literally how is this meant to look like fire. this tagline is pure bollocks. it literally could not look more like water if it tried. aka, the opposite of fire.

the kit itself, i'm honestly struggling to form an opinion. i dont think i hate it, but i dont love it either. it may have been easier to figure out if i could actually SEE the kit in any of the release photos, instead of some stupid fucking slow motion blur effect. this pic makes mayra look like she's undergoing mitosis. poor girl's been through enough. it says a lot that in your official kit release you're actively preventing me from looking at the kit.

its not awful? i'm not a fan of these kind of realistic graphics on kits, just makes it look fake and cheap, but like, idk its kinda cool ig. the more i look the more i'm down with it. the colours are nice. its shiny. i'm glad we've gone for originality at least. patterns are fun. - 7.5/10

8. Brighton

i missed this release bc i saw the pictures and genuinely did not realise it was a different kit oops. i do feel bad for clubs who have committed to a striped kit because honestly there’s not really many ways you can play with that. but also that’s kind of their own fault. there’s really not much you can say about this. the sleeves are white this time… okay… there’s a faint pinstripe down each stripe… okayyy… yep that’s kind of it really.

it’s clean, it’s classic brighton, it’s a decent kit. there’s just genuinely nothing new about this. it’s fine. they just clearly couldn’t be bothered and i respect that. - 6/10

9. West Ham

okay we’re doing turtlenecks now apparently!! interesting choice!! i think it kinda looks fuckass silly but also i kind of like it actually. bit of fun innit. good stripes.

the rest of the kit is pretty mid. plainer than a toast sandwich. except for the sleeves! because this year, not only are they bringing in turtlenecks, west ham have decided to also bring in milkmaid sleeves! why is it like that? like is it just a weird bad fit or have they put a fucking elasticated band on? who’s idea was that? what is going on! also am i having a stroke or has the badge changed colour. because it looks fucking hideous. what did they do that for.

i do love the fact they did this shoot in a pub though. very funny. and the kit isn’t too bad. i like the stripes - 6/10

10. Leicester

this is the plainest most boring kit i have ever seen with my own two eyes. that is literally all i can say about this. boring. much like the city of leicester itself.

however - the women have a different kit sponsor to the men and i respect that so you can have one bonus point - 4/10

11. Everton

i’ll be totally honest - i wasn’t expecting everton to give me like the best kit of the bunch. this is the kit for me. i like this one a lot. castore may be mega shit quality but at least they don’t just copy paste all their kits.

i fucking love the pattern here. it’s subtle but it’s nice! and it’s different! we’re not doing any mad shit like chelsea, we’re not doing absolutely nothing at all like leicester. the perfect middle ground of the blue kits. the sponsor is hideous but i’m ignoring that. this is just lovely to look at. stylish, sleek. it’s giving high quality bus seats. this is no stagecoach, this is private hire only. i just love it. and then to top it all off, just the perfect amount of collar detailing. i would be a happy toffee if i was wearing this. gorgeous. loses half a point because the badge fell off during the game which is hysterical.- 9.5/10

12. Aston Villa

this is just the west ham kit if west ham were normal. it’s nothing to write home about, but i do like it. i like the block sleeves and the stripe colour. i like the subtle stripes down the side. i like the simplicity. i like the collar stripes. i even like the flat badge. also i’m assuming this is a betting sponsor which sucks but i do have to say that the sponsor looks great with this kit. it blends in, which is rare. this is a clean, classic kit, and i’m glad that at least one team could be normal. i don’t like that there’s pretty much nothing i can make fun of here. unfortunate for me, good for villa. good job - 8/10

note - all this was written as soon as each club released their kit, so some of my opinions have changed, and a lot have grown on me (looking at you united), but i’ve left the review untouched so you can get purely my honest first impression.

away, third and goalkeeper ratings are currently in progress so expect them once they've all been released! these posts literally never get any notes but i absolutely love doing them so i'm doing it anyway, but if you did wanna encourage me with some nice comments that wouldn't go amiss ;) xx

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tallulahneale · 2 months ago

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Title: You play too much

Pairing: Vince staples x fem!reader

Summary: Home girl who loves to get ate but doesn’t suckie suckie and wants to prove Vince wrong.

Word count: 1k

a/n: Where are all the Vince Staples lovers at?!?!

Tagline: “I’m not selfish”

Friday night and all the guys on your roster had served their purpose. Eating you out. You enjoyed it more than any other intimate act. So with nothing to do, you hit up your homeboy Vince. You and Vince go back since kindergarten, kinda drifted apart during high school but y’all reconnected during college.

You check the time, 5:18pm. “It’s not that late and chick-fil-a has drive-in perfect!” You thought to yourself. You reach for your phone to call Vince, he’s a homebody so you know he’ll be down to kick it with you.

*Ring ring*

“Hello?” Vince answers.

“Can you pick up some chick-fil-a pleaseeee? I’m peckish and bored.”

“Hello to you too nigga. Get you some manners”

You pause. You know he’s serious and you don’t like that.

“…”, ignoring what he said.

“… y/n, I know you can hear me” he continues, sounding unbothered.

“I want ice tea this time please. Ohh and the new honey pepper sandwiches! Thank youuu”

“Why you always like this bruh? FYI, you need some salad in your diet…”

“Hey! Be Nice!”

“Says the person that can’t even say hello.”

This nigga always doing the most, you thought to yourself.

“You’re coming over anyway so I’ll say hello when you get here. Killing two birds with one stone.” You replied smartly.

“Whatever cuh, I’ll be at yours around 6.”

“Okay; thank youuuu! Byeeee!”

“See you so-“

*Click*

You cleaned up around the flat and went to freshen up. Changing into your nightgown, the one that kept granny pregnant and all her bills paid! It’s extra comfy and you didn’t want to tease Vince. Recently, he’s been calling you out on a lot of your bs and you didn’t want to hear it today. Plus you knew you weren’t going out, once Vince came you’ll probably watch movies till you fall asleep.

The buzzer rings and you press the intercom, already knowing it’s Vince. You look at your outfit one more time to make sure you look presentable.

*Knock knock*

You open the door and see the bag of food on your welcome mat.

“I know damn well he didn’t just drop my food on the mat like I’m a raccoon.”

Vince jumps out the corner, startling you.

“Vince! Don’t do that! You know how I be spazzing out!” You give him a hug, “How have you been?”

Vince picks up the bags and follows you in.

“I’ve been good you know. Just getting ready for the Black in America Tour and the new season of the show, you know the usual.”

“I hear that! I’m hella excited for all of it, you really deserve all and more!”, you beam.

“I really appreciate that and you too cuh. You the homie for real.” He said giving you a hug before settling down on the couch.

“You’re welcome. You can pick what to watch, I’ve just been watching re-runs and I’m bored of them too.”

“Alright, but don’t complain when I pick one of my favourite 80s show.”

You grab a plate and a tray for the food. Just as you set it on the table, you hear your phone ringing. You check to see Peter Peter pumpkin eater calling. Vince sees it too and shakes his head. “Here we go again”, you thought to yourself.

“Why are you shaking your head like that?” You ask, knowing he’s about to say the truth that you’ve been avoiding.

Vince stares straight at you with an unimpressed expression “Why you save his name like that?” He says.

“You know why V, don’t make me say it.”

Sometimes you feel shy talking about intimate things with him, maybe because you know he’s cute but he’s your homeboy and you want to respect that boundary.

“First of all, that’s weird because the story is about a husband whose wife cheats and doesn’t know how to keep her. Secondly, I’ve seen Marcus the muncher, Louis the licker and Simon the sucker all call you before. Y/N you are creative af but you’re still wrong for all that.”

“You bet not be judging me like you don’t have a list of girl names saved worse and anyway, why you be looking at my phone. Mind your business sometimes” you say, feeling heated and a bit embarrassed.

“I know you’re still doing the “get licked and get kicked” out. Selfish ass.”

“I’m not selfish!” You exclaim.

“…”

“… I’m not! Quit tryna get me to feel guilty. You know what, I’mma prove you wrong. Tired of you being all high and mighty.”

You go to sit down on the couch right beside him, staring shyly into his eyes. He looks back at you with an intense smouldering expression. You’re not sure what he’s thinking so you ignore it. You gently run your fingertips across his bare arms, tracing his veins which draw your attention more than usual. You wink at him again before looking away. You bend over, arching your back closer to his zip, slowly pulling down, you realise that his little big friend is awake. Just as you’re about to pull it out, you look up and whisper to him…

“I told you I’m not selfish.”

You smirk and sip your ice tea.

——The End——

#erik killmonger smut #vince staples #fem!reader #black reader #poc reader #smut #musician #seduction #Vince staples x reader #original character #tnblog #marvel #fanfic #oneshot #complete #fanfiction #lemon #x yn

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saltygilmores · 3 months ago

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Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls-Season 3, Episode 12. "Lorelai Out Of Water" Part 1

Ladies, we have more filler. I can't complain. This episode was so easy that I watched it twice.

Lorelai has offered her garage as rehearsal space to Hep Alien. But first! They have to clean out said garage, which they haven't attempted to enter in years. Then they debate whether or not Lorelai ever remembered to call the Garage Cleaner Uppers that one time a few years ago. Thrilling stuff! It's been a while since we've last had a sexually tense Luke vs Taylor showdown.

Meow!

Gilmore Girls is bought to you by our sponsors, Office Depot, Circuit City, and Blockbuster Video. Hold on. I'm getting word that Office Depot still exists. Really?

Nothing to see here folks, just Rory comparing her mother to a woman famous for having sex with rockstars...then insinuating that she should sleep with Zach. I'm sorry Rory, this MILF only has eyes for one teenage boy. One who is a lot less talented than Zach.

This is weird, but hoo boy, it's about to get weirder.

Well well well. Who would have ever thunk that the deeply repressed Christian girl has a submssion kink? Soggy Rygalski is her Daddy ordering her around and reminding her that her drumming is inadequate. Lane personally requested that Dave verbally berate her in front of the other band members in order to...distract them? The plan is that if they see Dave treating Lane like a kicked dog, they won't realize they're crushing on each other? That's kinda messed up? This presumes that Dave and Lane are both confident that Brian and Zach will see Dave treating her like crap and have no thoughts about it except "I guess they're not smooching." Although we've yet to see if this plan, once put in motion, actually works. Anyway. Sure Lane's Dom Daddy is a lispy geek in a patterned sweater, but SaltyGilmores does not judge. It’s always the quiet ones am I right?

Seems like they’ve found a creative way to get off while staying in God's good graces. Have fun you kids.

"Rory, this is all I have" Thanks to Rory I can cross off the "cockblocking" square from my End of Episode Bingo Card.

Rory tries to come to Lane’s defense, but since it was all just part of Lane and Soggy’s sex games it wasn’t actually necessary.

Oh, we know why.

From the messed up mind of AmyShermanPalladino.

"Yes Daddy"

SAME. Oh. She's talking about the place. The place with all the coffee. Alex's kids are named Hilary and Jeff, 6 and 9.

Once again, Lorelai is no Miss Cleo.

Of course she said yes. Alex is totally worth waking up at 5 am for. Back in The Hollow, Lane is chipping away at Mama to obtain permission to go to the prom and hatching another harebrained scheme to bring Soggy Rygalski into Mama's good graces, it involves a Korean wedding and Rory is invited apparently. Whatever.

Well well well. Look who took the place of Stars Hollow Beauty Supply's worst (dead) employee. No respect for the dead, huh. Not even a little shrine or memorial plaque or photocopy of her obituary displayed on the counter. Tragic. #Honk

Where did Lane get 40 bucks? At the Inn, Lorelai is speaking to Sookie regarding her Fishing Date Regrets.

He sounds dreamy. Tell me more.

And the Mid Season Temporary Love Interests just keep on comin! Now we just have to wait for Lindsay. Oh dear God. I just remembered Max comes back in this season too. And maybe even soon. Help. While Lorelai seems to have terrific chemistry with her new temporary Luke substitute (Alex), Luke's Lorelai substitutes (Rachel, Nicole) have always fallen flat and seemed dreadfully boring to me. That's probably on purpose. We're stuck with her for a while. Whatever.

Hey look everyone. There's the baby. Where have you been, young man? I've hit my 30 screenshot maximum. Stay tuned for part 2. (As always, your comments, feedback, reblogs and tags make my day)

#jess mariano #gilmore girls #denise rewatches gilmore girls #gilmore girls season 3 #lorelai out of water #loow #lane kim #dave rygalski #soggy rygalski #luke danes #3x12 #nicole #lorelai gilmore #alex

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official-magnus-institute · 4 months ago

Note

hey Jon can we have that book recommendation I’m curious

STATEMENT OF DONNA RHETTE, REGARDING 'THIS FUCKING BOOK'- VERBATIM FROM TEXT. STATEMENT TAKEN FROM REVIEW LEFT ON www.lionstreetbooks.com/i-spy-housewarming/K-6482749278.html

(tw: stalking, scopophobia, loss of child, arson)

STATEMENT BEGINS.

@_Donnarhette

★☆☆☆☆

do not purchase this book do not buy anything off this website theyre stealing your information. this website is unreliable and customer service does not respond they do not pick up their phones.

i bought this book for my 5 year old daughter. she kept waking me up in the middle of the night for weeks beforehand. it was normal, kids do that, kids are scared of monsters. but i would always read her i spy. we have every other edition, down to the miniature versions and the seasonal ones. eventually, she learned where everything was, though, and the books got boring, so i looked up 'i spy books' for the 80th time this month. it brought me here, and i purchased the book for shipping.

the very next day it was brought here, and i was astonished at first, but once i saw the condition of how it was packed, i figured why it came so fast. it was a wreck, the corners all beat, a handful of packing peanuts and some thin paper tossed cattywompus inside. the shippers mustve played hacky-sack with it before tossing it up to the house

even so, my girl was excited. she had completely forgotten about the supposed monsters, she just wanted the book. it's a unique edition for sure, instead of looking for small items on a small scale, it just looks like pictures of parks or buildings, along with riddles like 'i spy a tricycle, i spy ten cards, i spy a crack in concrete that's hard'. it was a change of pace for me, even- a challenge. but my daughter was doing phenomenally.

the photographer must be local to my area, because i recognized the photos soon. hell, i think i saw the back of my head in the bank one. but it got strange when it came to a picture of a street.

my street of my home.

now im thinking, 'maybe it's personalized, it's google maps, and they look up the address for the buyer before they send it out?' but that was... impossible. after i ordered the book it came the very next day, there was no way theyd be able to just cram this page in last second. not only that, but there was the riddle.

i spy a sewer grate, a baseball, a torch,

i spy a busted-up box on the porch.

i shut the book on that page and told my daughter to go to bed. there was fuss, but something was wrong. i tuck her in and she complains again about monsters in the window. all through the night, theres monsters in the window, and i snap at her when she wakes me up the 3rd time.

at that point she was crying, and i was.. yelling. i dont feel good about it, god, especially not now, but i was tired and scared. thats no excuse. so was she.

after telling her it would be ok, she slept in my bed with me. i held her tight the whole night through, and i would do my research in the morning, i assured myself.

but i didnt het a chance. by sunrise she was gone. not in her bed, in her pillow fort, not in the kitchen, the den, nowhere. i phone the police, and i end up running down the street screaming her name.

as i get back home, though, i felt compelled to that damn book. god, why did i go back to that damn book??

it was a picture of us through the window.

'i spy ten earrings, 2 rings, and a comb

i spy a mom and daughter at home.'

it was like my tears froze from shock. i steeled myself and flipped to the next page.

'i spy a woman, big tears and brown curls

i spy a book, but i see no girl.'

as i said, the police are investigating this store. burn in hell you freak. ill see you there.

Well. It took some digging, but there's your recommendation. We were able to get I Spy: Housewarming from the crime scene - or, more so, the wreckange. Donna was griefstruck, this adding onto the loss of her husband shortly before this, leading to a burst of arson. The book was recovered just fine, seemingly one of the Leitners that can withstand some flames.

J. Sims, The Archivist

#tma rp #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #statement recieved #the eye #the dark #the desolation

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bigasswritingmagnet · 5 months ago

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Relatively Speaking, This Will Probably be Fine (Ch 5)

Fandom: Girl Genius Rating: T Summary: Everyone knows Agatha Sannikova can't be a Heterodyne, even if she did arrive mysteriously one night to live with Lady Teodora and Lord Saturnus. She's got those headaches, and she's not too bright - she's not even a Spark! She does get along quite well with Lord Saturnus, which is a bit odd, but she's had a very good affect on his health. Lady Teodora doesn't like the kind of, er, "life lessons" he's tried to teach her, but Agatha hasn't set anyone on fire or unleashed any terrifying monstrosities on the town.

...what do you mean, tempting fate?

<Last Chapter | Chapter One | Next Chapter > AO3 Link

It took Agatha twenty minutes to walk to and from school, and she was always on time. If Teodora began to prepare Agatha’s after school snack at three o’clock exactly, she could always have it ready just as she came through the door.

Thus she was startled when she was only halfway through warming the milk for the hot chocolate and the front door slammed.

“Agatha? You’re home earl—”

Saturnus’ door opened and slammed shut. Alarmed, Teodora turned off the stove and hurried out of the kitchen, into Saturnus’ room, and her heart shattered.

Agatha was kneeling by the bed, face pressed against the blankets as she sobbed, her whole body shaking. Saturnus had one hand on her head, stroking her hair with great effort. His eyes met Teodora’s, and she was shocked to see such pain and grief in them. Saturnus flicked his gaze between Teodora and Agatha, pleadingly.

“Agatha, darling,” Teodora said, putting her hands on Agatha’s shoulders. “What happened?”

“Everyone is always so awful,” Agatha sobbed. “We had a group project and no one wanted to work with me and the teacher had to make them, and they complained about it right in front of me! And then they wouldn’t let me do anything because they said I’d ruin it because I’m too stupid!”

She once more dissolved into tears.

“Oh, you’re not stupid, Agatha—”

“I am! I am stupid! I’m stupid and useless and broken!”

“Oh, Agatha...” Teodora knelt down, pulled the girl into her arms and held her tightly. “They’re wrong, and you know it. You’re a very smart girl! You’re not useless, and you are certainly not broken.”

And then Saturnus and Agatha shared a look. It was commiserating, rueful and slightly weary, and Teodora tamped down the indignence that rose up at the sight of it. Indignence, and panic.

“Come on, dear,” she said, rising to her feet. “Change out of your uniform, and you and I will go work in the garden for a bit.”

Agatha hesitated, looking at her grandfather, but Saturnus tipped his head in a brief nod and flicked his fingers in a shooing motion.

Agatha allowed herself to be led out of the room, but she was quiet as she changed and joined Teodora outside.

It had taken weeks of arguing before Saturnus agreed to let her live outside the castle, but when he had finally presented the house to her, Teodora had had to admit it was a lovely place. She had not asked for a backyard or a garden, but Saturnus had provided it anyway. Half of it was taken up by the shed, which had originally been a stable for the family’s horses.

The rest was flowerbeds, filled with plants that would bloom in all seasons and times of day. Alone in such a terrible place, Teodora had wanted to be sure she could always escape to something beautiful.

Teodora gave Agatha a trowel and bucket and set her to weeding, then let her be. She wouldn’t push the girl to speak--let Agatha be alone with her thoughts, until she was ready to speak on her own.

While she clipped dead leaves from a rosebush, Teodora thought again about the look shared between Agatha and Saturnus. It had been a look that suggested more familiarity than should have been possible with a man who could barely move, let alone speak.

Teodora had allowed her to spend time with him only because she assumed he was in no position to influence her. What if he had found a way?

“I hate them,” Agatha said, abruptly.

“Who?”

“The other kids. The teachers. I hate all of them. They’re all so awful for no reason.”

“People can be cruel,” Teodora admitted. “The world can be unkind to people who are different. The important thing is not to let it make you unkind.”

“Why shouldn’t I be unkind?” Agatha demanded. She began to stab at the dirt sullenly with the trowel. “If everyone is going to be mean to me, why shouldn’t I be mean back? They started it.”

An almost familiar conversation.

“Do you want other people to feel the way you feel?”

Agatha was quiet for a moment, tugging at weeds .

“Sometimes,” she muttered.

“Not the children at school. Other people. Strangers.”

“Of course not.”

“Then you must stay kind. If you aren’t careful, you can end up like them—hurting people because it makes you feel stronger.”

Agatha considered this with an expression that made Teodora warily. Sure enough:

“So...I should only be mean to people who are mean to me first.”

Oh dear.

“Not...exactly what I meant.”

“Are you going to tell me I have to be the bigger person?” Agatha asked, her nose wrinkling. “Because I hate when people tell me that.”

“There’s nothing wrong with standing up for yourself. But you have to be careful about things like ‘being mean back’. It’s very easy to justify doing terrible things. How mean does someone have to be, and how mean do you get to be in return?”

She put her hand on Agatha’s shoulder.

“The world can be unkind,” she said again. “It does not need us to make it worse.”

“But it’s hard,” Agatha whined. “I don’t want to be nice.”

“You do,” Teodora said. “You want other people to stop being mean. It’s hard to be nice when people aren’t nice back.” She smiled sadly. “One day, things will be easier. I promise you.”

“You can’t promise that,” Agatha said.

“But I will anyway,” Teodora insisted. “The other children will grow up and realize that they were wrong to tease you, and feel sorry for what they’ve done.”

Because they will learn they were teasing their Heterodyne, and what will that do to those minions in training?

“And then you will be glad you were kind to them, because then you get to be morally superior.”

Agatha burst out laughing. Teodora smiled and stroked her cheek.

“So will you try to be kind? For me?”

“Okay,” Agatha said. “I’ll try.”

#girl genius #agatha heterodyne #teodora vodenicharova #saturnus heterodyne #grandfather saturnus au

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paintingwhiteceilings · 1 year ago

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❃Seventeen and buying concert tickets❃

a/n: Sooooo apparently, my first post has been doing really well. I came home from visiting my friends over the weekend, only to find out that it has over an 100 notes???? Thank you to everyone who has been liking and reblogging it. I genuinely didn't expect so many people to enjoy, or even see, it, and I feel so incredibly grateful :')

Anyway, I stumbled upon Scoups trying to buy their own concert tickets and thought it would make for a fun prompt. Enjoy!

Scoups/Seungcheol: 7/10

❀ What deity has he disrespected to be suffering this much? When he promised some of his friends to get them tickets as well, he did so out of the assumption that good karma would aid him in increasing his odds of getting good seats. Isn’t that how karma is supposed to work; you do a good deed and get rewarded?

❀ For some reason, the entire website seems to be working against him. He has an abysmal position in the queue, giving him a false sense of hope in obtaining tickets. After he finally is let in, the website seems to continuously glitch. The only reason that he ultimately gets to pick out decent seats is because he spends an absurd amount of money on them.

❀ No, it truly can’t be a higher power toying with him… Instead, he blames himself for picking the wrong location, date and zone. Somehow, he even manages to misplace his credit card, resulting in him having to turn his room upside down. He is about to completely lose it before discovering that he accidentally placed his keyboard on top of it.

❀ After struggling a ton, he finally manages to get decent tickets, ageing at least ten years in the process. Give him some time and space; he needs to properly process the entire experience. Maybe it is time to pay for an exorcist.

Jeonghan 1000000/10

❀ God has favourites, and it shows. Jeonghan decides to get concert tickets on a whim, pulling out his phone to check whether they are still available. Somehow, precisely at that moment, the tickets go on sale, making him first in the queue.

❀ He doesn’t really understand what Coups is complaining about. He has the seats he wants with a perfect view of the stage. The site runs smoothly, and he is able to buy the tickets without it buffering even once. He doesn’t even have to remind his friends to transfer him the money, either. They did it beforehand.

❀ Even worse, after he successfully purchased the tickets, he decides to never buy tickets for himself ever again. Why would he do it himself when he could ask his friends to do it for him instead? It gives him an additional ten minutes to nap. His ticket buying luck will become a memory, a legend that all those buying tickets tell each other.

❀ Is that Coups crying in the corner?

Joshua 8/10

❀ You have heard of chick-magnets, and now I present to you, Mr Hong, a ticket-magnet. Joshua has no interest in ticket buying. Rather than spending those hours sitting behind a computer, he could be enjoying one of his thousand hobbies instead. Joshua could’ve made at least four bracelets and watched a full season of anime in the same time span. Why worry over Maroon 5 tickets when he can sing Sunday Morning himself.

❀ Instead, his friends end up giving him their spare tickets whenever someone cancels. Over the years, he has gone to a wide arrange of concerts. It is kind of impressive. One time he went to both a classical and a heavy metal concert on the same day. It gave him whiplash; he almost started a mosh pit as the third movement played.

❀ Considering that Joshua never checks his phone, he wouldn’t even be aware of what concerts are happening. Not that it really matters. Somehow, he will end up going anyway. All concert tickets lead to Hong Jisoo.

Jun 2/10

❀ Have you ever tried buying tickets in a language that is not your native tongue? No? Well, let me tell you, it is hard. Jun has been staring at the screen for the past five minutes, trying to figure out the fine print. He is having a hard time deciphering the very legal and formal Korean.

❀ He is pretty sure that he is misinterpreting half of it; it seems rather odd for a concert ticket site to be talking about saving the cows when he is looking at insurance options. It truly is weird. Still, Jun cannot help but be a bit concerned about the cows.

❀ Before he is able to buy the tickets, he runs out of time. He had tried to call his members, but he should’ve figured that him reading the confusing Korean out loud would result in a weird narrative telephone game where the members have to guess the word from his shaky pronunciation. At least it made for a fun new game for GoSe.

❀ Fortunately, he is favourite child number 1, and the other members have zero faith in him being able to buy his own ticket. They made sure to get him one whilst he was calling with them. Of course, they gasslight him into thinking that, by some miracle, he had managed to buy the ticket himself. They don’t want to hurt his feelings.

Hoshi/Soonyoung: -100000000000/10

❀ I should probably add more zeros, but that would ruin the aesthetics. Hoshi's problems already start upon him trying to turn on the computer. No matter how often he smashes the power button, it does not respond. He thinks he broke it, but in reality, Hoshi doesn't understand the concept of a charger. Nobody told him that computers need energy to function.

❀ When Wonwoo told him that the computer needed to be fed, trying to explain the concept of charging and electricity, Hoshi tried giving it a piece of his fried chicken. He left it there for a full hour, but it didn’t eat it. Hoshi thinks the laptop might be mad at him for letting it starve for so long. Someone, please help this man; he is crying.

❀ Maybe instead of using his computer, he can use his phone to buy tickets. Oh, wait, no. He tried showering with his phone because he thought it was waterproof. Why did he think it was waterproof? Nobody knows. He has put it in rice to see whether it will turn on again. The others haven’t told him yet that it is hopelessly fried; they don’t want him to get another phone only to ruin it within seconds.

Wonwoo 100000000/10

❀ With his gaming set-up and ridiculously fast internet, Wonwoo makes ticket buying look like a sci-fi film. To the untrained eye, watching Wonwoo buying tickets might seem rather boring. To those more experienced, his skills at clicking on the right things at the exact right time are insane. Internally, he has an entire dramatic inner monologue when he does, recounting his months of research on how to optimize ticket buying.

❀ It has become a game for him; he has an insane track record for buying the best seats, and at this point, he does it more so for the thrill. He resells them to the members, increasing the price a bit as he does. He doesn’t tell them, of course; it makes them feel indebted to him, owing him a favour he can cash in during GoSe, whilst he, unbeknownst to them, is making a decent profit. Truly, he is hitting two birds with one stone.

❀ It is only after Wonwoo uses his hard-earned money to buy five extra computers to further optimize the buying of tickets that the other members begin getting concerned. They ultimately decide to hold an intervention for him, explaining that his obsession with ticket buying is borderline unhealthy. So far, he is doing well. He hasn't bought a single concert ticket since the intervention.

Woozi/Jihoon: 9/10

❀ Concert tickets seem to magically appear on his doorstep, paired with letters full of admiration. Woozi has no idea how they got there. Whenever an artist is going on tour, the tickets seem to materialize out of thin air without fail. He fails to realize that by being the legendary producer Woozi, THE Lee Jihoon, everyone wants him at their concert. He truly is a humble king.

❀ To be honest, he doesn’t really want to go. Unless it happens to be Bruno Mars, he would rather stay indoors, focusing on his own music. He decides to give all the free tickets to Joshua, figuring that it would be a waste to throw the tickets out. However, he stopped giving Joshua the free tickets after he discovered that Joshua was pretending to be him. Not that anyone believed him, but still, Woozi no longer wanted to be associated with the guy who was shamelessly dancing around, executing the cringiest of dance moves.

❀ On the one hand, it did somewhat work. The artists have stopped inviting Woozi to every single concert that they hold, afraid to get his insane friend instead. Joshua, to this day, claims that it was all part of his plan.

DK/Seokmin: 1/10 but 1000/10 for the vibes

❀ DK is truly trying his best to get tickets for the concert he wants to go to. He has invited all his friends over to buy the tickets together. Everyone brings their own laptop to increase their chances of getting good seats. However, by the end of the night, it has kind of turned into a bit of a party.

❀ Initially, DK put on a playlist to decrease the tension and stress that everyone was feeling. That being said, as time passed, the tickets were kind of forgotten as it turned more and more into a karaoke session. Suddenly more and more people seemed to appear, somehow hearing of this dope party that was being held at DK’s. DK surely didn’t invite them, but the more, the merrier, right? He can’t help but feel like he is forgetting something as the night progresses, but it must probably not be that important.

❀ It hits him only the morning after. It is not completely hopeless, though. When DK goes online to share his funny anecdote with other fellow fans, he inevitably ends up charming someone who has a spare ticket. They end up inviting him along because, well, we all could use some little DK in our life.

Mingyu: 7.5/10

❀ He thinks he is really good at finding resell tickets for cheap. What he doesn’t know, however, is that everyone takes one good look at his profile pic and decides to risk it all. Unknowingly, Mingyu has broken up a lot of friendships with his posts innocently asking whether anyone has a ticket to spare.

❀ He has no idea that concerts are essentially all dates. The other person always treats him so nicely. They get him food, flowers and give him so many compliments. Honestly, he doesn’t understand how people can be so pessimistic about the world. Look at how many wonderful people are in it, treating him so kindly.

❀ Unfortunately for those who intend the concert to be a date and the start of a new relationship, he is too oblivious to see it as such. At the end of the concert, he will simply shake their hand and thank them for the fun night, never to contact them ever again. Still, nobody gets truly upset about the outcome. His obliviousness is kind of charming.

The8/Minghao: 5/10

❀ It is all up to faith. Does he understand the Korean on the website? No. As a result, Minghao has decided to make peace with whatever comes out of the ticket buying experience. He has meditated quite a bit before the tickets go on sale, trying to tell himself that it won’t bother him if he doesn’t get the tickets. He is cool, calm and collected.

❀ He makes all his decisions based on a coin flip. Is he struggling to choose between two zones? Coin flip. Should he click the first or second option for insurance? Coin flip. He has a very pretty dice that he can roll for the choices with multiple options. In other words, Minghao puts his trust completely in the universe so that he doesn’t have to admit that he has no idea what he is doing. Honestly, the method allows him to, at the very least, make quick decisions regardless of the outcome. Consequentially, he outspeeds everyone else on the website.

❀ Does it work? Half of the time. Sometimes the universe seems to be favouring him, giving him incredible seats. Other times he is sitting in the nosebleeds, squinting at the stage as he is trying to make out the artist. He comforts himself with the thought that he is there for the music, not the visual experience.

Seungkwan: 9/10

❀ Welcome to Seungkwan’s military mission to get concert tickets. Drill Sergeant Boo has decided that he will be assembling the best team to get the concert tickets he desires, and there will be nothing stopping him. Not only did he insist on everyone meeting up at the place with the best Wi-Fi, but he also made an entire overview of the best zones and seats, including information on which seats tend to sell out the fastest.

❀ He has set five alarms for when the tickets go on sale, and if anyone dares to goof off, they will meet an early grave. This is a life-or-death situation! Sergeant Boo has no time for those that slack off or test his patience. If you are not taking this seriously, you do not deserve to see Adele in concert.

❀ Let’s just hope that he gets his tickets through regular ticket sales because if not, he will set up an intelligence mission in order to find out as much tea as he can on someone to blackmail them into handing over their tickets. Is it legal? Not really, no, but all is fair in love and war or when Beyoncé tickets are on the line.

Vernon 8/10

❀ Getting tickets is really no problem for Vernon. All he has to do is connect himself to the internet. He is an AI/NPC, after all. It is incredibly easy; all he has to do is hack into the system and get the tickets before they even go on sale.

❀ Okay, okay, all jokes aside, Vernon, with his refined music taste, mostly attends obscure bands. He is not even snobby about it; he genuinely enjoys their experimental music. Most of the time, the band's tickets do not sell out because the band is, well, questionable at best. Wait, you have not heard of Order of the Metaphysical Rat? They are really good! What about the Tree Rioting Bishops? No? Well, he had a blast at their last concert; you should totally join next time.

❀ Occasionally, he stumbles onto real gems, bands that are on the up-and-coming and about to blow up. He somehow manages to attend their concert at the right time, and when he checks the tickets the next year, they've tripled in price.

❀ However, more often than not, the concerts he attends are an… experience. Dancing Politics truly was something special with their remixing of political speeches, and his ears are still ringing from the Screaming Orchestra. He doesn't understand why none of the other members want to join him.

Dino/Chan: -1000/10

❀ He is incredibly determined to get the tickets, but Dino has a massive problem: he is a boomer at heart. He is not hip and happening and has no idea how this whole process of buying tickets works. What do you mean that they do not physically mail concert tickets any more?

❀ To be honest, he was kind of hoping one of the other members would take him instead. This whole concept of the internet is truly beyond him. He literally just figured out how the landline works; he blinked twice, and suddenly there is something called the internet.

❀ Somehow, in his attempt to get tickets, he clicks on the wrong thing, and now his computer has crashed. He has no idea how he managed it, but it is refusing to respond. So now he's paying for a hefty bill to get his computer fixed instead of the tickets.

❀ It gets even worse when he trusts a Nigerian Prince emailing him that he has some tickets to resell. Yeah… Dino gets scammed out of a lot of money. It is safe to say that the other members have decided that he no longer gets to shop online.

masterlist

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trutrustories · 1 year ago

Text

STUDY IN LOKI ROMANCE

Part 6: Conclusion

Since we're only a few days away from the last episode, I decided to COUNT DOWN everything we´ve got so far ( that can be interpreted very easily as romantic ) and discuss what the actual fuck is going on with second season. Because even though I shipped lokius practically from S1E2, I absolutely did NOT expect this kind of development. (Not that I´m complaining)

Warning: This is gonna be LONG post, lots of screenshots, lots of SPOILERS, lot of "oh-my-god-they-so-cute" language, and little bit of meta.

I originally thought that this post would be everything at once, but since I have just too many screenshots this time around, I´ll have to split it. so every post will be one episode. Color coding means:

IIIIIIIIII = anything, that coud potentialy be just acting choice.

IIIIIIIIII = everything else (tzn.: whatever was written, and/or carefully prepared by filmmakers. )

side note: I already wrote, about how amazing it is, that Mobius is unable to fight but fights anyway and how beautifuly, and ridiculously brave he is HERE. But this is about Loki/Mobius interactions, so I´ll try my best not to talk about THAT. (Even when I´m really happy, that s2 continues with this formula and Mobius is still his completely defenseless while aggressively brave self. I love him, btw.) Here is count down for every episode:

EPISODE 1 HERE

EPISODE 2 HERE

EPISODE 3 HERE

EPISODE 4 HERE

EPISODE 5 HERE

Sooooo 51 lokius moments, that were completely and utterly unexpected, but yet here they are. Why? Let´s start with over look at what we´ve actualy got: Things that could technically be just acting choices and Tom´s and Owen´s chemistry together:

unexpected exhibition of touches

Distressed God and his Happy Face (at O. B. office)

Loki finding Mobius´s joke amusing

Loki´s head tilt and smile at Mobius (in pie scene)

"They say opposites attract. NO."

Another exhibition of touches (ep 3)

"let´s be as close as we physically can" challange (at Timley´s spech)

Loki glow up (Loki fixing himself for Mobius/Don)

Loki being very nervous and stuttering while talking to Mobius/Don.

Loki gently helping Mobius/Don through the time door. Things that are deffinitely NOT just acting choices:

"Mobius It´s me!"

"Tell me, you recognize me!"

scene in in an elevator

Mobius and Loki talking to OB.

bickering, like married couple, part 1

"Mobius if I don´t make it back" and "You´ll make it back".

Mobius risking his life SKIN for loki and refusing to give up on him.

Loki saves Mobius in an epic fashion and they end up in a hug:

matching suits part 1

Loki defending /saving Mobius from Brad (with magic!)

Mobius and Loki struggling to assemble IKEA furniture- sorry Tapmad together

" And he knows..."

Loki being very concerned for Mobius after his outburst, saying that It´s okay, and then suggests having pie

Bickering like married couple (part 2)

The whole freaking pie scene!

Loki and Mobius: mischievous duo (Breaking Brad)

Loki, not following Sylvie (at the end of episode 2)

matching suits part 2

"And they lived happily ever after..." circle transition

Loki and Mobius enjoying popcorn:

Also... Bickering like married couple (part 3)

"You know sometimes I forget, that you are one of them... Blows my mind!"

Mobius supporting Loki in using magic...

Victor/Ravonna - the most transparent mirror ever:

THE TANDEM BIKE

Loki going with Mobius, not even thinking about it anymore.

changing clothes together

Bickering like married couple (part 4)

The "misunderstanding trope"

Pie scene number two

Shot with only two of them, right before the end of ep4

Loki looking for Mobius in PIE ROOM

Loki Time slipping to the theater room

Mobius/Don casually informing Loki, he´s a SINGLE dad and telling him his entire work schedule

Loki time slipping to Mobius again (right when he started to be hopefull and Happy, that O. B. will be able to help him.

Mobius/Don dropping everything and forgeting about his two mischievous sons so he can give Loki full attention

Wanna buy my wife´s jetski?

"A beautiful union of form and function"

"You saved my life, when I first arrived. You saw something in me, that I hadn´t seen in myself."

"I want my friends back. I don´t want to be alone."

"It was more about what I wanted."

"It´s not about where, when or why. It´s about WHO."

So... let´s scrap the theory, that romantic tention is created only by chemistry between actors (though it IS amazing and also key ingredient) and their acting choices. Because so far, screenplay, and cinematography was supporting their story as well. I feel, like I should clarify, that I do not expect Lokius kiss, or blatant confirmation to happen. I was here during Johnlock debacle. And I was here, when Destiel ended... the way it ended. And I refuse to put in creators (especially when it comes to marvel/disney) any hope, that I know can be crushed so very easily. I´m not doing this shit again. If it happens? WOW! I´m gonna be surprised. very pleasantly surprised. I will litteraly never shut up about it

But I do not expect it. Not even now, when I saw, what are creators of Loki able to put out in the world. Like this for example:

Or this, very brutal death scene:

And yeah, I am avare, Loki officialy CAN have male love interest, because it was confirmed in a text, that he´s a bi.

Also there was this (very misleading) article few years ago:

Still. I can´t bring myself to hope for anything explicit. But I absolutely understand anyone, who have that hope. And I know, how great feeling it is, while it lasts. Anyway. I´m gonna look at all possible options, I can think of. Even some, I feel, are more possible then others. And maybe answer is not just one. It could be more things at once.

Explanation number one: Creators took notes on how season 1 was received. And they saw, that Mobius is very popular, well-liked character, his interactions with Loki were favorite moments according to majority of an audience, and decided to lean more into that, for viewer´s sake.

Same with sylvie. Once they saw her romantic relationship with Loki isn´t that popular, they decided to give her her own agency, own story instead.

Explanation number two: They genuinely think, they are showing deep friendship between two bros and nothing more. I mean... Loki getting close circle of friends and wanting to stay with them is a one of the bigest themes this season. They are trying to make a point about Loki changing bacause of them (and probably making sacrifice for them) But there is still very intentional difference between his relationship with Mobius and everybody else. Mobius is obviously the most important one of the bunch.

Explanation number three:

Creators want romantic scene with Sylvie and Loki to be big surprise at the end, so they tried to show as much problems and conflicts between them, as they could and limited their screentime together.

But I personaly think, this would be stupid for many reasons:

Making Mobius and Loki focus this season caused people to rooth for them, and be invested in their relationship more.

They showed multiple times, that Sylvie wants from life very different things, then Loki and their philosophical views differ greatly.

It doesn´t look like creators put enough effort into building up this kind of ending to be satisfying. It would just feel like they´re trying to surprise / shock audience. Explanation number four: They think that what they are doing with Mobius and Loki is father/son dynamic. (I´m sorry, but this would be just hilarious. If this is the case, I would love to know, what they were thinking, when they decided to leave Owen´s line: "You´re just a little pussycat" in there. Or when they look at all those acting choices and said YES, THANK YOU. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED.)

Explanation number five: They´re queerbaiting the hell out of us. And their master plan is to make us all watch and having hope and then they will throw in the finale some last minute no homo explanation and wil laugh in our faces.

(I suppose I don't have to say how much I like this option *sarcasm*)

Explanation number six:

Creators would like to make Lokius canon, but they are restricted / they´re not allowed to. So they decided to go as far, as they can. To give us little (big) nods, to give us those beutiful scenes. To double down on everything lokius related. And they know what they can get away with before casual viewers notice that there is something gay happening. (I mean... it looks like they can get away with anything but kiss at this point :D Like seriously. I saw people talking about how beautiful Dean and Castiel´s friendship was EVEN after finale, so...)

Explanation number seven:

They are doing Love triangle thing, where they will try ultimitely "please everyone" by giving us some scene that could be potentialy seen as romantic between Loki and Sylvie AND between Loki and Mobius (while leaving it for interpretation) In Czech republic, we call it: "when the wolf ate well, but goat is still alive."

Explanation number eight: They ARE able to make Lokius canon, but they actually like podtext more, then posibility to make it transparent, and that is just the way, they want to tell this story.

Explanation number nine: They were planning to make Lokius a thing (if not from the start, then after season one) and they made whole season this way, so more people would rooth for them. And it will end with some form of confirmation of their love story. ( as I mentioned above, I can´t see this happening, but that is my bad experience talking. If it happens, I deffinitely won´t be mad about being wrong here, I can promise you that :D )

_______

I gues we will know more about their intent after episode 6. Right now, I´m actually just hoping, that story will stay consistent as much as it can. And characters won´t die. On the contrary I hope, they will end up happy, because they did earn it. I have to say, that I enjoyed this season even more then the first. And I really do hope, that finale wont make me change my mind. Regardles of intention, this show is high quality and it is obvious how much care was poured into every aspect of this season from effects, cinematography, costums, sets, music, acting... I think, that this show is a best thing marvel did in a long, LONG time.

Also please, pleaseeee let this season end at the place, where it will be possible to see Loki and Mobius in other MCU project (I would honestly watch anything, where they appear together)

And lastly: If it doesn´t end the way you wanted, please please don´t let anger to rule your actions. Do criticize as much as you want, but please don´t harrass anybody. At the end of the day, creators of this show are also just people. Don´t say anything, you wouldn´t say into their faces. If it will end badly, watch your favourite, comfort gay show, celebrate how much Lokius fix-it fanfiction we´ll have! And how much art already exists because of those first five episodes.

Or take that frustration and turn it to motivation: maybe you can create something better!

I was there in 2017.

Please just don´t let TV show ruin your whole year and your creativity.

for people who got here and read it all: I really appreciate it! Thank you! 💚

PS: Sorry for my english and all the grammer mistakes I´m aware it´s not ideal 😅

#loki spoiler #loki #lokius #loki season 2 #loki series #loki laufeyson #loki and mobius #donki #tom hiddleston #owen wilson #mobius #mobius m mobius #mcu #marvel #loki spoilers

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