#okay....then why did you spend a whole trilogy trying to convince the readers about how she's meant to be unique

[aleksanderscult]

Hi! I saw your post answering anon's question about Alina being Zoya-level beauty and I find it interesting that LB pointed out Zoya's beauty multiple times, especially in later books. It's funny how the darkling is extremely attractive and LB claims that fans excuse his actions bc of how he looks, yet Zoya has acted like a literal jerk in later books but LB seem to excuse her actions bc she's beautiful and a girlboss. How ironic.

It does make me kinda sad that Alina has seen herself as being attractive only twice in S&B when she was trying on the queen's dresses with Genya and realized that she looked healthy and really pretty for the first time in her life and for the Winter Fête. From book 2 and onwards, Alina was back to always described as being scrawny and mouse-like. Even Baghra called Alina scrawny, yet Zoya claims Baghra said she had a pretty face. Granted, she also said Zoya had "porridge for brains," but she still got a compliment from Baghra on how she looks. Is this some type of humbling thing for Alina? Or maybe she's trying to make Alina relatable. Idk but the bias and favoritism is def there among these characters

It only proves our point. Mal was described as very good-looking too. Even Zoya liked him. But most of the fandom doesn't like him. No matter how handsome you are, if you're a jackass, annoying and boring then why should the readers side with you?

Zoya was beautiful and among one of the most popular Grisha. But her sour nature makes you wanna punch her.

And then we have Alina. I agree with you that she deserved better. She should be handled better by the author, give her a character development, give her confidence little by little as her strength and power increases instead of feeling shameful about it. Her fate was cruel and she didn't deserve it. She ended up right where she began: weak and depending on Mal. She deserved to shine as long and bright as she wanted.

Whenever the books mentioned that she was beautiful, the readers felt happy about her. It meant that she was healthy and whole. But the author used her to prove a point and, as a result, she crippled her.

But a straight answer to your question: yes. Alina wasn't allowed to have sexual feelings, she wasn't allowed to have feelings for the wrong people, she wasn't allowed to have too much power and pretty much she was allowed nothing. It's like there was a straight red line that she couldn't cross but she couldn't get too weak either.

Basically:

[aquamarinescarlet]

The Psychology of Books

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Word count: ~ 3.4k

Warnings: soft angst? (enemies to lovers, kind of)

Summary: An annoying encounter with a stranger has your mind bubbling with questions.

Author’s note: I’m calling these The Psychology Trilogy (I love that it rhymes hahah), anyways here’s part 1, enjoy!

I dedicate this to @celestialcat44​ since your comments gave me motivation to finish this. 

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

How you and your best friend worked? No one understood. He was the classic nerd: hyper focused on school, read a lot of books, prefered to stay home on friday nights and was very introverted. You, on the other hand, were the classic jock: captain of the women’s football team, always in the gym, couldn’t refuse the offer of a Friday night out and had the easiest time making friends. 

Being complete opposites always got people confused as to what caused that friendship to bloom. Honestly, you didn’t know the answer either. It just happened, and when you noticed, you two were best friends. 

You would always try to convince him to come with you to parties, which he almost never gave in to, but when he did, he was always the charm of all the girls. The guy was hot when he put in some effort. 

He, on the other hand, would always encourage you to read some of his favourite books. You tried a couple of times, but reading just wasn’t your thing. Diego though, was a stubborn ass. 

That’s why you are here right now. In a library. The endless rows of shelves, filled to the brim with books bored you to death. 

“Oh c’mon, don’t make that face.” Diego practically squealed by your side.

You rolled your eyes and groaned dramatically as he pulled you through the corridors. You almost ran into him when he abruptly stopped, reaching his hands and taking a handful of books.

“Here, hold this.” He started to hand out several novels.

“Can we go now?” You whined, offering him your best puppy eyes.

“No.” He didn’t even look at you. “Why would you even want to go? This place is beautiful, so many stories, so much excitement-”

“So much boredom,” you cut him off, “seriously, what’s so special about books? They waste a whole lot of paper, are ridiculously long and make me want to sleep. Why would someone read one when you can get the same experience from a movie, which takes a tenth of the time to finish and have cool visual effects.” You argued.

“But from movies you are bound to the visuals it offers, it gives no space for your imagination to create the scenarios.” A female voice came from the end of the corridor.

You hadn’t noticed the girl there, peacefully sitting with a book open in hands. 

“Imagination seems exhausting, isn’t this supposed to be relaxing?” You retorted.

“Maybe it isn’t relaxing for you because all that time in front of the TV killed all your brain cells.” She mocked with an amused smile while you just had a shocking expression, not expecting her to be so blunt.

“Okay, first of all, how would you even know I spend that much time in front of the TV?”

“Just a hunch.” 

“A wrong hunch.” You said, even though she was right, but that didn’t mean anything. “And second of all, did you just call me dumb?” 

“If the shoe fits.” She shrugged.

“It doesn’t.” You got defensive. “And who do you even think you are going around insulting people you don’t even know?”

“Prove it.”

“What?”

“Pick a color.” The look on your face was a mixture of anger and confusion.

“Why do you want me to pick a color?”

“Just pick.” She ignored you.

“Red. Like my desire to punch you in the face right now.” The statement didn’t seem to faze her at all.

“A person.”

“Can I pick an object? Like a brick?” Sarcasm dripping on your voice. She just stared, waiting for an answer. “Diego.” You gave in, pointing at the boy standing behind you who had fallen silent while watching the interaction.

“Best friend?” 

“Why do you care?” You wanted to leave this conversation, but your curiosity wouldn’t let you, forcing you to stay and figure out where she was getting at with the weird questions.

“A place.” 

“As far away from you as possible.” The smirk that made its way into her face made your blood boil. 

What kind of game was she playing? You didn’t even know her name and still she was here insulting you for no reason at all and asking weird questions. And, of course, your curious brain kept you from leaving.

You watched intently as she turned her gaze towards the sea of books. She studied it for a minute, clearly in deep thought, until she picked out a volume and handed it to you.

“Seriously?” You gestured dramatically, not even giving the object a second glance. “A book? You insult me, then ask me all these weird questions just to give me a book?” You let out a forced laugh, as if she had told you the worst joke ever.

“Prove that you haven’t killed all your brain cells yet.” You shot her an incredulous look.

You threw the book back into the shelf, tired of this ridiculous game.

“Look, I have better things to do with my life,” at that you turned around and left, but not before catching the apologetic look Diego sent towards the girl.

Diego didn’t utter a word as you marched towards the exit of the library, nearly running into you when you abruptly stopped upon reaching the sidewalk. You took a long breath to calm your nerves while you decided where to go now.

“You could’ve been nicer.” He mumbled.

“She could’ve been less of a bitch.” You uttered agrily.

“Yeah, that too.” He agreed, more out of fear of pulling your strings any further. “What was up with the questions though?”

“Who cares,” you shrugged, forcing a smile as an attempt to cheer yourself up, “she’s just a pretentious freak who thinks she’s better than everyone. C’mon,” you hooked your arm with his, “let’s do something fun and get our minds off of it.”

You pulled him down the street towards your favourite place to go, the arcade. The place was old and nearly falling apart, but it was where you and him had been coming ever since you were little kids and it never failed you in your moments of stress.

You stayed there until dawn, losing yourself in all kinds of games. And for that time, you completely forgot about the whole ‘library inconvenient’.

Once back home, the images from earlier came flooding back. 

Why did she feel the need to be so rude? Who even was she? Maybe she went to the same college as you, but you never really noticed her? That would explain a few things. And what was up with a person, a color and… a place, was it? What did that mean?

Those questions roaming around your head lulled you to sleep. 

You spent the next day looking around for the girl. Around campus, in your classes, anywhere you walked by, but didn’t get a glimpse of her.

Paying attention to the professors was a challenge, your mind trying to piece together the puzzle of what had happened. 

A color.

A person.

A place. 

What was she getting at? It might have been curiosity, although that wouldn’t explain anything. You distinctly remember the cover of the book she handed you, and it was not red, so that wasn’t much help either. When she asked about a person you said Diego, how was that helpful to her at all. The book couldn’t be about Diego. And the place, you didn’t even give her an actual place. 

Maybe they were disconnected, the questions and the book. That didn’t lead you to any answers either. It would make no sense for her to ask those things and then just hand you a random book. Why would she even suggest a book to a person who clearly doesn’t like to read? 

She must have some loose screws or something.

“Yo, Y/L/N.” A voice caught your attention while you made your way to your last class of the day.

“Angie, haven’t seen you all week,” you greeted the girl, offering her a smile.

“Had to skip practice to help my grandma,” she explained, “but it’s Friday night and she promised to lay me off today.”

“So I assume you’re going to the party tonight?” 

“Who do you peg me as?” She feigned offense. “Of course I’m going, can’t let my boy from University of Westview get too handsy with other girls now can I?” 

“Ah, yes, the one with the silver hair, how could I forget.” You teased her. 

“So… my house, seven?” She asked while walking backwards, facing you.

“Aren’t you even going to ask if I’m going?” Your voice was loud to cover the distance that was growing between you.

“Why would I? You never say no to a party on a Friday night.” She joked and you laughed before losing sight of her.

After class, you were walking back home when you found yourself strolling past the library. It wasn’t on the way to your place, and somehow you were still here. Curiosity, as always, got the best of you as you made your way inside.

Looking for the corridor where you had met the girl, you were pleased to find the book she had offered you still placed messily on one of the shelves, exactly how you had left it.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo could be read in the yellow cover. You noticed it was a long story, although, for you, any book with more than 50 pages could be considered long. The sinopsis talked about a disappearance and an investigation.

How did any of this have to do with the color red, Diego or your desire to go as far away from that girl as possible? You leafed through the pages, the excessive amount of words and total lack of images already boring you to death.

The few sentences that caught your eye didn’t give any clue or explanation as to why the girl had offered you this book in particular. Part of your mind urged you to leave now and forget completely about this girl and anything about her, but the other part insisted that you tried to understand her, maybe even find out who she was, just to clear up your doubts. The latter got the best of you as you checked out the book, cradling it under your arm while you walked home, not taking any detours this time.

You still had a couple of hours before heading to Angelina’s house, and after trying to convince Diego, for several minutes, to go to the party, and failing miserably, you found yourself bored.

The movie playing in the background couldn’t seem to catch your attention, despite being one of your favourites. Were you really letting her words get to you? The words of a stranger nonetheless. Although said stranger had been occupying your thoughts for the past day.

That book was haunting you. The idea of actually reading it wasn’t exciting, doing so would mean she won and you weren’t about to let her win so easily. But your mind wandered towards it every two seconds. That yellow pile of paper sitting on your nightstand.

After some internal fighting you turned the TV off and picked it up. A quick glance wouldn’t hurt. 

The first thing was the prologue. A Friday in November. You wondered if a prologue was something that was part of the story, seeing it wasn’t chapter 1, but decided to read it anyway. 

It happened every year, was almost a ritual.

Sounds creepy, you thought to yourself, but kept going. You read up until it was almost time to leave. Still wondering what a damn prologue was and what it had to do with the story itself.

Begrudgingly you set the book down and packed some stuff, heading out to Angie’s place. You would never admit it, but the story had gotten you hooked.  

You parked your car and made your way into the house like you lived there, greeting her mother and sister, who were chatting in the kitchen, before walking towards Angie’s room. Being used to this, it didn’t take long for you both to be ready and leaving.

Your eyes were quick to adjust to the lack of lights, your ears growing accustomed to the loud music. 

You weren’t a stranger to this scenario. Neither were you a stranger to these people. A few were friends, a fair bunch were acquaintances. Those who you’ve never met before quickly striked conversation. 

This was your natural habitat. A place you knew how to navigate all too well. Your natural talent at charming those around you at full force. 

You finally got to meet “Angie’s boy”, Pietro, the one with the silver hair. You had only seen him through pictures up until now. The two of you got along amazingly well, his extroverted nature complimenting yours. 

Despite all this, your mind still trailed back to that book, to that girl. The story was some kind of investigative novel, and the main investigator was a journalist. It was weird. It was addictive. And that girl was such a bitch, you couldn’t get her off your head.

Angie was completely wasted by the end of it, as per usual, while you were just a little tipsy. You offered Pietro a ride, and he accepted, helping you take your friend to her house first since she could barely stand. 

You two fell into light conversation and you were happy Angie had found a good one. You left him at his place, but not before teasing him relentlessly about your friend, and playing the ‘protective best friend’, throwing around a bunch of warnings and threats.

The weekend was spent with your nose shoved into that book. Taking in the story as if it was oxygen. Diego kept texting you asking to hang out and you did your best to avoid him. Not only did you really want to finish the story, but if he found out you, out of all people, were reading a book… you’d never hear the end of.

Monday rolled around and you had finally finished the book. You had sat a good long minutes reminiscing on the story and, especially, on that intense and nerve racking ending. Now your mind was flooded with yet more questions. 

The story had nothing to do with red, or Diego, or being as far away from that girl as possible. Okay, maybe the last one could be understandable, if you squint really hard, but still…

You quickly shoved the volume into your backpack when you spotted Diego approaching. 

“Why did you avoid me all weekend?” 

“Good morning to you too,” you offered a sheepish smile, “and I wasn’t avoiding you,I texted you saying I was busy,” not a lie entirely.

“Busy doing what? A new girl you met at the party?” He teased.

“I wasn’t doing anyone, why do you have to be so dirty? Although you could use some ‘getting laid’.” You teased back.

“And you say I’m the dirty one.” You let out a loud laugh. “Now really, what were you doing?”

“Studying,” you lied, “I’m falling behind on my grades and the coach will kick my ass if I fail any classes.” That part wasn’t entirely false.

Diego gave you a knowing look, he wasn’t falling for that and you knew he wasn’t, but thankfully he didn’t push.

“Well, we should go to those classes then,” he offered you his arm dramatically, “shall we?” 

You rolled your eyes at his antics, but hooked your arm with his and made your way across campus to the first class of the day.

Needless to say your focus wasn’t the best throughout the day. Your thoughts wandering back to that girl. To those questions. To that damn book that didn’t help you figure out the puzzle.

How did you let someone so rude get to you so easily? How did you let her win? And why weren’t you remotely mad about it, just annoyed? Something as simple as a book recommendation was prickling into your skin for days now. Something as unimportant as an annoying stranger was keeping your focus away from really important things.

Such as this moment, you should be paying attention, instead you’re lying on the floor after receiving a football directly in your head. The coach examined you, but stated it wasn’t hard enough to give you a concussion or anything. In spite of that he still urged you to see the in-campus nurse, and so you did. 

Diego managed to catch you on your way there.

“Where are you going? Don’t you have practice now?”

“Got hit with a football, coach wants the nurse to check if I don’t have a concussion.” You explained and he seemed to contemplate that information.

He walked in silence for a while, his expression one of someone in deep thought.

“There’s something off with you.” You gave him a puzzled look.

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure,” he paused, carefully choosing his next words, “you just haven’t been… you, y’know?”

“Are you accusing me of being possessed or something?” You joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

He laughed, but didn’t let the topic go that easily.

“That’s not what I mean. For instance, you weren’t as insistent, as you usually are, about me going to that party last friday.”

“Maybe I’m just tired of trying to convince you to do something you don’t want to do.” You retorted.

“You kept avoiding going out with me on the weekend,” he kept going.

“I was studying, I told you.”

This questioning was starting to exhaust you. You hated lying to him, but your pride spoke louder when it came to not admitting that that girl had won this little game she started, or that he was right about books all along.

“And now you got hit during practice? You never get hit during practice, that’s why you’re the captain.”

“Can’t I have one bad day?” You feigned offense.

Thankfully you had reached the nurse’s office, stopping Diego’s questioning for now. Conclusion was you didn’t have a concussion, but you might get headaches for the next couple days, so to be aware of that. You took the piece of paper the woman handed you with the name of the pill she indicated to help with the pain and left, Diego following suit.

“Are you going back to practice?” He asked once he reached you.

“Coach won’t let me even if I want to.” 

“Wanna go out for some coffee then?” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“You don’t even drink coffee.”

“Yes,” he hooked his arm with yours, pulling you towards the changing room, “but they make the best pastries, and I’ve been craving one for hours.” 

You let him drag you back to the field. You quickly changed, not in need of a shower since you didn’t last that long in practice, and met the boy sitting on a bench with - you guessed it - a book in hand.

“C’mon pretty boy, you’ve made me hungry now,” you called as you walked past him.

He quickly got up and followed your lead. The place in question was only a few blocks away, and you both filled the walk with all kinds of conversation, the ones in which you don’t know how you went from a topic to another, it just happens.

Your moment of happiness was cut short when you walked by the library. That library. 

Diego stopped abruptly, turning to you with puppy eyes.

“Can we go in, please?” 

“So I can be insulted by another stranger? No thank you.” You tried to dismiss him, but he was insistent.

“It’ll only be a second, I just need to renew a few books.” When you gave no sign of going in he turned around. “Fine, wait here.”

You leaned against one of the columns, the action calling your attention to the book still in your backpack. There were a few days till you had to return it, but the weight was annoying and it just sat there as a constant reminder of the fact that you let a complete stranger get into your head. 

Since your hopes of getting an explanation had died, you took the book and made your way inside the building.

It felt like a secret mission, you were a spy and you couldn’t get caught by Diego. Thankfully he wasn’t in sight, but someone else was. 

You watched the girl sitting on a table, she looked so calm and peaceful. You happily disrupted that peace by dropping the not-so-small book in front of her, startling her, causing her to practically jump off of her seat. You just looked her dead in the eyes, before going after what you wanted.

“Explain.”

[diavolodigitale]

Dream Sequence. Julian

A-a-and it’s over! Thank god, this one was incredibly hard to finish. I apologize to all Julian fans in advance for writing this but I am not really sorry! Well, maybe only a little bit.

All parts of the trilogy: Lucio - Asra - Julian - All stories in PDF

A part of the "trilogy" about dream encounters dedicated to Julian (because he deserves it). Nothing special, just You (or the Apprentice, or the Reader, however you view it) and Julian spending some time together (if you know what I mean, which you probably don't, so go ahead and read it, it's pretty short, I promise). My character was male, but you are free to imagine whoever you want since there are no references to it in the text.

Genres: Romance, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Dreams, POV First Person, One-shot

Pairing: Julian/Apprentice(or Reader or You or Whatever)

Characters: Julian, Reader/Apprentice/You

Rating: G for Geez this one’s not so good ಠ╭╮ಠ

Size: around 2500 words yet again (what a coincidence, I know)

I open my eyes and see that everything around me is incredibly, terribly dull. It’s swamps as far as the eye can see, with only occasional floating isles of solid land. All of the trees are rotting and old. Their thin branches are reaching up like long eerie claws, with vines hanging everywhere, blocking many paths and obscuring the landscape. I cannot see the sun; the whole sky is covered with heavy clouds ready to burst any minute.

It doesn’t take me long to figure out whose dream this is. Being here alone brings me no satisfaction so I immediately venture to find the owner of this gloomy realm.

After a few minutes of aimless wandering, I finally spot a figure leaning on a broad tree trunk. I would have probably missed it, was it not for its white broad shirt floating in the wind.  

Before I can come close enough to make my presence known, Julian looks in my direction. He doesn’t seem surprised and displays something more akin to mild excitement.

“I have not expected to see you here, but now that I have, I don’t want to imagine what would happen if I didn’t!” he shouts and waves at me.

I give him a smile and approach. My boots are already sodden and I am just glad to stand on the solid ground and not ankle-deep in mud.

“So, what are you doing here?” he asks, leaning back against the tree with arms crossed on his chest.

“Looking for you, of course,” I say, trying to shoo away the annoying insect that seems to have gotten stuck in my hair.

“Oh, how sweet of you,” he says and winks, grinning all the time. “You’re certainly a sight for sore eyes.”

“And why exactly are you here?” I ask. I know that the majority of ordinary people cannot control their dreams the way magicians do, but there still has to be a reason why Julian is in such a place out of all the possible options.

“As far as I can tell, it’s just your regular old meaningless dream, so, probably, no reason. Although now that you are here, I start to doubt that,” he says and squints at me, his gaze full of artfulness.

I roll my eyes and purse my lips.

“No, no, I’m serious!” he says hastily. “I just started to miss you, and now you’re here so I... I’m just glad to see you. And I do want to spend some time with you now since there’s hardly anything better I could be doing here.” The usual grin is back on his face and I cannot help but give him a smile in return.

“You are truly unbearable, you know that?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

“Well, then…” he mutters and I notice how his back arches against the tree he is leaning at.

“Well, then...?” I repeat and raise my eyebrow even higher, waiting for him to elaborate. I can guess what crossed his mind, but with Julian I can never be sure about anything.

“Perhaps, I deserve to be disciplined…” he proceeds intriguingly, starring at me, hardly trying to hide the hunger in his eyes.

I shrug and curve my lips, pretending to have no idea what he is talking about.

Julian sighs impatiently and pulls me by my arm, making me bump right into him. I hear his breath quickening and feel the tight grip on my wrist which signals that he probably does not intend to let go.

“Let’s just say, you have my permission to be a bit more… rough today. I do deserve a punishment after all,” he whispers and gently traces my neck with the tip of his nose.

I sigh quietly. Sometimes I give in to one these moods of his, but it just cannot go on like this forever. Not the way he makes it at least.

“To deserve a punishment, you first have to actually convince me you did something bad, Julian,” I say and carefully pull away from him.

He furrows his brows as he is taken aback by my response. Soon, however, he plasters another toothy smile on his face and lightly tugs at my arm.

“Oh, so you want me to beg for it, I see. Fine by me, I even like this idea a little more…” he says and kisses me behind my ear.

I enjoy his closeness but cannot stop worrying that there is no getting through to him because of how obsessed he is with his feeling of guilt. I decide that there is no other way for me to resolve this other than changing my strategy, so I try to soften the expression on my face and push him against the tree.

“Actually, I thought, maybe I could ask you to be rougher with me,” I whisper, doing my best to sound sincere with my request, and rub my nose on his cheek.

I feel him tremble with his whole body and pray to all gods that my plan works.

“Me?” he asks in disbelief. I look up at him, my eyes full of plea and sincere wish, and he immediately gives in. “Right,” he says and lets out a nervous laugh,” I cannot be the only one who gets all the luxury. It’s only fair if I… If I…”

I nod agreeingly and tilt my head back a little, exposing my neck. I see the uncertainty in his eyes and stroke his face gently to encourage him.

I realise that I myself seem to start shaking, expecting eagerly for him to act, and I can neither understand why nor stop it. There is always a certain tension between us at moments like this, yet this time is feels different.

Julian wraps his arms around me, continuing to stare fixedly at one point on my neck. I feel my heart rate escalating and pray that he does something already because the wait is killing me.

He leans in and lands a few careful kisses on my neck. They seem to be as pleasant and gentle as always so I find myself enjoying them and even am able to relax a bit. Lingering uncertainly for a few seconds, he finally decides to give it a try and quickly bites me at the base of my neck. I yelp as it hurts a little more than I expected, and he immediately jerks back.

“I am so, so sorry!” he yells, his eyes round and full of guilt and fear. “Are you okay? Is there any blood? Let me take a look at it. I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

I reach to the spot where he bit me before he does anything and feel it with my fingers. There obviously is no blood as he hasn’t bitten even remotely violently enough to pierce my skin. I exhale with relief and look at his worried face.

“Oh, please, forgive me, I will never do it again! What was I even thinking?” he says and pulls on his hair, sliding down the tree trunk.

I squat beside him and lift his face by the chin to make him pay attention to what I want to say.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, feeling the waves of guilt for what I made him do starting to wash over me.

“Horrendous,” he says, his eyes already trimmed with red. “And guilty, and sorry, and…”

“That’s also how I feel when I hurt you, Julian. That’s what I wanted you to understand,” I finally muster and feel the heavy burden lifted off my shoulders.

He squeezes his eye shut and bumps his head against the tree behind him.

“How foolish of me… I have never even thought about that before. I don’t know how you can forgive me for this,” he mutters. It looks like he wants to reach out and grab my hand, but decides to jerk back when our fingers nearly touch.

I take his hand into mine and the leather of his glove feels cool against my skin. We’re both exhausted so the sooner I end this conversation the better.

“I don’t want you to feel guilty or sorry, I just want you to respect yourself more. Don’t sell yourself short, you also deserve care and affection, just like everybody else,” I say, stroking his hand. “There is time and place for everything, of course, so if you want me to, I can treat you differently, but I don’t want to see how you look down on yourself all the time.”

Julian’s lips stretch into a wide sincere smile and he looks at me with all the warmth that a single person can hold.

“I am such a fool, even the manifestation of you I have in my mind is much smarter,” he says quietly.

I look at him questioningly, not understanding what he is trying to say.

“This single dream is the best and most useful one I have had in years. Now that you’ve opened my eyes... I will not make the same mistake when I wake up and meet the real you again, my darling,” he says and lovingly strokes the side of my face.

“Julian…” I begin, not even knowing how to approach this, “you do know that this is me, don’t you? I am not something you made up in your sleep, this is actually me.”

I watch his eyes that were so calm moments ago become wide again and slide closer to him. The last thing I want is for him to have a breakdown because of me.

“I am… the worst,” he simply says and sighs.

“That’s not true,” I object and kiss him softly on the lips. He returns my kiss with triple the force, and I feel like I’m melting under his touch.

All of a sudden, a big heavy droplet lands right on my nose and, disappointed, I am forced to open my eyes. Soon, many more of them follow, and before we know it, we are both sitting soaking wet under a tree that has absolutely no means to protect us from the rain.  

I am worried for Julian so I look him up and down to make sure he is alright. I notice his now half-transparent shirt sticking to the skin on his chest and his shoulder and hastily look away, but he has followed my gaze and is already grinning at me again.

“We should seek shelter,” I say, trying to shout above the storm that is starting, and help him up from the ground.

“Agreed, I am not a fan of drenching in the rain, even if this is a dream. Come on,” he says and confidently wraps his hand around my waist, “I know just the place for us to hide.”

Soon the rain turns into a downpour and we have to run for our lives to avoid its stinging heavy droplets almost bruising our skin. The place is magical, after all, and so is the rain, so it’s much more unpleasant than any other rain I’ve ever experienced. I suspect that the place is in such a state of gloom precisely because of how Julian feels but I keep it to myself and follow his lead. Even while running, he holds my hand tight and turns around every minute or so to make sure I am fine and able to continue going.

I trust Julian to choose the path among identically looking withered trees the branches of which are interwoven with different sorts of creeping plants. My trust pays off when we arrive at a cave entranced which is carefully tucked away behind tall dry bushes. I definitely wouldn’t have noticed it if I were to look for shelter on my own.

The cave is rather small, there’s barely enough room for it hold two people and an impromptu campfire, but we manage. Most of the twigs we are able to gather are completely wet, so I have to use a bit of magic for the sparks to finally start the fire. Julian is ecstatic about what my magic can do while I am silently thanking Asra for teaching me this trick right in time for me to be able to use it now.

Being able to catch our breath in the modest sanctuary provided by the cave, we relax a bit and ponder over what we can possibly do here with such limited possibilities.

I sneakily peer at Julian to make sure he is okay (or so I tell myself at least). He’s in a better condition than I expected, breathing deeply and with his cheeks pink from running, but still drenched to the bone. I cannot help but lower my gaze a bit and notice that his shirt is now sticking all over his upper body, contouring every muscle.

It goes without saying that he immediately catches my glance and reveals his teeth in a predatory grin. I must’ve been gawking at him for too long. It makes me feel embarrassed so I shift my gaze to the fire before me.

“Oh, no need to be so shy, after all, my view here is not much worse than yours,” cackles Julian and slides closer to me.

I doubt his words, remembering that I am also wearing a travelling cape given to me by Asra on one of the holidays we celebrated together in our shop.

It suddenly dawns on me that I actually know the spell that can dry our clothes so I think about using it to help out Julian, but then hesitate. He doesn’t seem like he really needs it now and I am somehow amused by the idea of him staying the way he is.

“How are you feeling? Want me to dry your clothes?” I ask to get rid of the pricks of my conscience.

“No, I don’t think so,” predictably says Julian. “I haven’t felt this good in a while, actually. What about you?”

“I am… fine,” I say. I really am fine but feel hesitant about saying it because it seems to me that he wanted to hear something else instead.

Julian pouts and only nods silently to my reply.

Not knowing what to do, I take off my cape and wrap it around his shoulders to make sure at least the exposed areas of his skin are covered with soft cloth. It makes absolutely no sense since we’re still in a dream and I have a dozen other ways to help him if he wanted me to, but it just feels like the right thing to do.

His smile softens somehow and I see the tips of his ears, which are sticking out from his wet auburn hair, growing red.

“Come here,” he says and motions me to come sit on his lap.

I oblige and soon lean my back against his chest with his long legs resting on my sides. He lets his slender fingers slide into my hair, combing it and scratching the delicate skin on the back of my neck. It’s a very calming and pleasant feeling, so I close my eyes and let myself get some rest.

“You know…” I start, feeling that I simply have to say it.

“Mm?” he mutters, preoccupied with my hair.

“That… what you did… wasn’t so bad,” I say shyly, hoping he will still understand even with me sparing him the details.

Julian’s fingers stop moving and he tilts his head to take a cautious look at my face. Before he can come up with any ludicrous remarks on the topic, I hurry to elaborate.

“Well... it’s you, so I know you’ll never hurt me or… And I’ll also never really hurt you, so… You know… You understand, don’t you?” I ask pleadingly. This turns out to be much harder than I expected. “Sometimes I’m just not in the mood and I want to be gentle with you. You deserve it.”

“I do?” he only asks.

“Change my mind,” I reply playfully, thinking that I will most likely regret it later.

I hear him chuckle and a second later feel his teeth carefully nibble at the base of my neck a few times. It tickles more than it hurts so I follow the reflex and tilt my head back to make him stop.

“If I do, will I ever be able to change it back?” he asks curiously, slides his arms in front of me to hug me and begins to trace circles on my stomach.

“With enough effort, everything’s possible,” I say, positioning my body a bit lower to rest my head on his chest.

“That’s good to know.”

[otheenglishsetters]

WIP (AKA, I never published my work on Tumblr before and I am TERRIFIED)

Hello! I finally gave in and splurged on a Xbox this year, which may have also coincided with my rising anxiety and boredom since I’ve decided to take a year off of college (my senior year to be exact). Luckily, my boyfriend and friends, knowing how I tend to throw myself into fictional worlds when I am stressed had recommended to me this sweet little game series. It was filled with space and wonder and characters so wonderful that they will make your heart hurt.

That, dear readers, was Mass Effect. 

I had already played a little of the first game of the original trilogy at the very beginning of 2020 at my boyfriend’s house, long before all of my post-college plans came crashing down (as did the world too!) 

So I finally invested my time (and money) into Mass Effect Andromeda in November of 2020. Let me tell you, after loosing control over everything else in my life [laying panicked in bed, constantly praying that the pandemic would not claim the life of my middle aged father after already losing my mother to lung cancer just two years prior], it was unbelievably refreshing to be able to have some resemblance of control in this fictional world (And yes, I realize that this is a video game and of course I have control). And the fact that what Bioware was doing was...pretty freaking great.

So, I apologize if this is coming off a pity-party, I promise, it isn’t supposed to be. It’s more like I had just finished my first playthrough of my first videogame ever and I am filled with feelings and emotions. I never post original content on Tumblr, and that’s mostly because I got scared off posting my work after receiving mean-spirited reviews when I posted my fanfiction on Fanfiction.com years and years ago (which is fair, because looking back my work wasn’t that great, but holy crap I was 14 guys!) I have not written creatively since my high school creative writing class in senior year, but this game and this winter, I thought I would try? And hopefully get to connect with other fans? Let me know what you guys think; I’m planning to add more chapters/content soon. Okay, I’ll quit rambling...

He notices that she tends to have a lazy eye. He’s not sure when exactly he notices this, but it’s becoming more and more apparent.

Which is not a problem, absolutely not. In fact, he thinks it’s adorable in a way, especially when she’s tucked into a pillow and loudly craving sushi. 

“I wondered if she was mocking me,” Keema notes one day. Out of all the Angara Reyes has had the pleasure to meet, she still seems one of the few who can truly read humans in a non-lateral sense. Her favorite so far was when she discovered the music genres of both EDM and metal in the same day, “it wasn’t until I was approving shipping orders from the docks the other day I realized why. The Pathfinder needs glasses.”

She also loses control of her lazy eye, it seems, mostly at night, usually by 2300 hours standard time. 

“I’ve been reading studies about team bonding.”

He hums as he rubs her back. Sara, despite commenting on the numerous things she’s done throughout her day, seems wired and intent on rambling. He’s okay with that. More than okay, it’s been years practically since either of them has had a free moment to even been able to just relax in bed and daydream. They probably both haven’t been able to enjoy this luxury since they were…teens? Finishing school and about to launch themselves into the military? For him, he figures it was before that, probably when he decided to work for that florist at 12. Sara gives bits and pieces of her life in the Milky Way but he thinks she was definitely a kid who tried to ‘help’ C-Sec with their cases, constantly looking for ways to help people in any way she can. He smiles. It’s probably a never-ending itch for her. 

And now? He’s just content that he convinced her to come down to Kadara to ‘inspect Ditaeon’, or whatever bullshit she told Tann. Luckily, it seems that life is, slower? No, that’s not it, people are more than excited to create themselves anew here. Stores and trading posts are popping up everywhere and another hospital has just been built in Prodromos. There’s practically a whole shopping district in Kadara now, with outdoor venues and a movie theater that plays cinema classics every night. It’s more like they both are finally properly settled into their positions, like when a CEO is situated in a new company. Sure, the CEO may face numerous problems at first, especially if it’s during a recession or the company is about to go bankrupt. The CEO may even have to intimidate secondary managers and fight to gain respect; however, once the dust settles, whilst there may be everyday problems, it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. Usually, these problems are solved by lunchtime, mid-morning if either of them are lucky.

In the old days, when she appeared to be this amped up, Reyes would subtly (or not so subtle, it depends on how you look at it), swoon her until they had sex. It probably didn’t feel that way at the time, but sometimes Reyes cringes when he thinks of how rushed their attempts at romance used to be. Back then, they didn’t know how long she would be in the area and they would race to make the most of the evening. Now he wonders how much he used to unconsciously push aside the thought that either one of them could be dead the next day. 

Errrr. Negative bedtime thoughts. Not good for sleepytime. 

“Darling?”

“Yes?”

“Are you listening?”

“You were just telling me how you were reading various theses on social exchange theory but then you were already anxious about the thing that you have yet to tell me so you decided to read something familiar like one of the works by Dr. Brené Brown,” he pauses to give a quick glance at the data pad in his right hand. “Mi cielo, I have been informed to tell you that your contacts have been delivered as they were just sent in, along with the rest of the Tempest’s supplies, this morning.” 

He liked to think he was a good boyfriend.

“I hate when you do that.”

“What?” Listen? Dearest, it’s part of the job description as your lover. Speaking of, remind me to pick up toilet paper tomorrow.”

“No, multitask.”

He sighs and reaches up into the upper center of her back. Oof, she really is tense there. “You do it too.”

“Not at nighttime!” She scowls and rubs her eyebrow. “Ew, when did I become an old prune as soon as it gets dark?”

He starts tenderizing the hard muscle. Mentally, he makes a note to remind her later when she’s not grumpy to do her prescribed yoga. “We’re all getting older dear. I’m thirty-one and the other day I heard my knees crack.” 

She was silent. Any other fool would think that she was lost in thought while others would be jealous of the close bond she shares with her AI. Honestly, Reyes is just grateful she spends any of her time with him, let alone his bed. And if she occupies a part of it in a mental showdown with SAM, who is he to complain. 

“SAM thinks you should get an appointment. Even if Dr. Nakamoto is busy, there’s plenty of others who are just as qualified. Also, I think Peebee and Jaal are sleeping with each other.” 

  Both he and Sara know the in(s) and the outs of their jobs so well by now, that he can probably predict easily what his men will ask for even before the message is downloaded on his office’ terminal. However right now, as Reyes stops reading a report on corn being grown on Havarl that he already skimmed over this morning over his huevos rancheros, all he can think about before checking to see if he is correct is how her left non-dominant eye is floating far out to the side. 

Hmmm, who knew fraternization would be cutting into his beauty sleep? 

*************************************************

If you made it this far, thanks so much for checking this out! I apologize for any grammar mistakes. If you’re confused, this is set to take place three years after the Hyperion first makes contact with the Nexus in the Andromeda Galaxy. I was just so intrigued by the dialogue between Jaal and Peebee. And then, after the initial curiosity, I was about to forget about it when I came across some interesting dialogue while driving the Nomad...

Jaal: Vetra, I catch Peebee looking at me. Frequently.

Vetra: Peebee likes new shiny things. Uhh… and why not? You’re genuinely interesting.

#

Jaal: Vetra, remember when I told you that Peebee was looking at me? Frequently?

Vetra: Yeah? Is it getting annoying? Want me to say something?

Jaal: No, no, no. It’s… just that… lately, I find myself… looking back. 

Vetra: Huh.

**

So of course I had to dig into that! And what better way to do so than by using my new favorite ship: Reyes and Sara? (Domestic times!)

Anyways friends, hopefully my writing isn’t awful and you enjoyed yourselves. I may wake up in the morning and delete this. Who knows. 

Have a great day guys!

[occasionalfics]

Christmas Cheer (Thor X Reader)

drabble masterlist | main masterlist | taglist

For @warriorsacrifice: “Thor's s/o and him spending Christmas together and they decorate the house and tree as well as eating cookies and watching movies? Then she tells him about Santa and he's all giddy?”

A/N: I actually loved writing this? I know it’s...not at all the right season but I don’t even care? And if you know anything about me, you should know that I’m a hopeless romantic so of course I had to work mistletoe into this! Also, I’m Jewish so...I based most of this off of what I’ve done with friends for Christmas and/or things I’ve seen in movies (legitimately) and read in books. I...think I got things accurate, but I’m not gonna pretend like it’s all perfect.

Oh and yeah Elf is my favorite Christmas movie. Because, “The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” And also because “Smiling’s my favorite!” AND “Bye Buddy! Hope you find your dad!” AND Zooey Deschanel singing “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”

Warnings: Nothing, super cute and fluffy!

Words: 2,524

Normally you went home for the holidays, but this year, your parents had decided to go on a Cruise instead of hosting Christmas at their house. That ended up being for the better, you thought. You wanted to spend Christmas with Thor, but you weren’t sure it was time for him to meet your family yet. You’d only been dating a couple of months, and you knew family could be something of a touchy subject for him. You didn’t want to rush anything, so you decided to decorate your apartment and host a mini-party for just the two of you.

He stayed over the day before Christmas Eve and helped you decorate the living room. You already had your tree up - it was one of the fake ones that fit on top of a table, given how small your space was - but you’d saved a few ornaments for him to place on it. He studied each ornament closely, asking questions about the details like, “This is that Queen from Alderaan, right?”

You nodded. “Princess Leia,” you told him, unwrapping the last ornament from the bubble wrap you kept around the breakable ones.

“Your favorite,” he said, a proud smile on his face as he placed the Leia ornament over one of the small branches.

“That she is,” you said, handing him the final ornament. “Doesn’t hurt that you kinda remind me of her.”

Thor took it as a compliment, like it was meant. He beamed, probably remembering the last time you’d made him watch the original Star Wars trilogy. You weren’t totally unconvinced that Leia wasn’t his favorite, too, although he always said it was Chewbacca.

That night, you watched It’s A Wonderful Life. It was your mom’s favorite movie and a Christmas tradition. Thor paid attention the whole time, waiting until the end to ask, “Is that really a thing Midgardian teachers say? About the angels?”

You laughed and shook your head. “Not anymore, anyway. It’s just...a nice line in the movie, I guess.”

He hummed his response as the end credits rolled. As the DVD menu came up, he said, “I know George Bailey had to go through all of that to learn his lesson, but I must say, I don’t think I agree.”

You turned to him and asked, “How so?”

“Wishing that he’d never been born? How could he ever expect that his friends and family would be better off without him? His wife was so lonely…”

“She wasn’t his wife if he’d never been born,” you said, giving him a somewhat sad smile.

“Yes, but that’s my point! Life happens as it’s meant to. Tempting fate by reversing time is dangerous. And, in George’s case, selfish.”

You nodded. “But you said yourself he had to do it to learn.” You tilted your head and watched his serious face. “Are you telling me you’d never go back and change even just one thing that happened before today?”

He paused, then shrugged. “A life lived without regrets is a life lived without growth. That’s why I love that cartoon about the mouse who cooks,” he said, his smile widening just a bit.

You laughed at that. “He’s a rat. They’re bigger, and they tend to be more highly stigmatized.”

“Right. But I meant that that movie deals with mistakes and failure in a much healthier manner,” he said. “But I assume it’s not meant to be a movie viewed during Christmas?”

“It’s more of an anytime movie,” you said. “But I do have one you might like more. It’s a comedy, and Santa Clause is in it!” You got up off the couch and went to your movie collection to find Elf. You changed the discs in your player, then sat back beside Thor and watched his face change from contemplation to elation. Oh yes. He was going to love Elf.

He spent the next morning going over all of the jokes he’d loved from the previous night. “And Mr. Narwhal?” He nearly bent over laughing. “‘Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad!’” he said in an exaggeratedly light tone before placing his palms on your dining table to hold himself up. “You were right. I quite liked that movie!”

“The man who plays Santa in it is also in Up. you remember that one, right?” you asked, pulling more decorations out of the bin on the table. You had garlands and a wreath, jingle bells and holly all laid out, but you were digging for your mistletoe. You had one little (fake) branch that you wanted to keep out of Thor’s sight so you could hang it up later and surprise him, but you couldn’t remember where you’d put it.

“Of course I remember!” he said, reminding you that you’d asked him a question. “And you know, now that you mention it, I can hear the similarities in their voices.”

“He’s Ed Asner. Super snarky on Twitter. I love him.” You handed him a garland and some tape, then showed him where it should go and how to properly hang it so the tape wouldn’t ruin the shiny material or your paint job.

You opened Spotify on your phone and placed it in your speaker-dock so you could listen to Christmas playlists while you worked. Eventually, you found your mistletoe at the bottom of the bin. You told Thor you were just going to the bathroom, but really you went into the bedroom and hid the mistletoe in your bedside table.

That night, you and Thor made cookies (from scratch, because you found an easy sugar cookie recipe online) for Santa, which, of course, you had to tell him all about. “It’s just a little snack while he leaves presents under the tree. You know, because leaving presents in every house all over the globe is really rough work and everything.”

“This is what you tell the children, right?” he asked. “I may not be from Midgard, but I do know that not everyone here recognizes this Santa Clause, nor does everyone celebrate Christmas.”

You knew he meant well, so you sighed and nodded as you mixed ingredients together. “Yes, Thor.” You flashed him a smile so he’d know you weren’t put off by his question. “Santa’s mostly reserved for kids. It’s still fun to make the cookies and eat them in the middle of the night to make it look like Santa did it instead.”

He placed parchment paper along a baking sheet and nodded in time with the music you still had playing. “I think Santa’s quaint,” he said, seeming genuine as his smile remained. “Although it is a little odd that so many people just accept a jolly round man slipping in and out of their homes for a night.” He pushed the baking sheet over to you before covering a second. “Still, it’s nice to have a unifying figure in whose honor we’ll eat these tonight!”

You laughed as you started to place little lumps of dough on the sheets.

While the cookies baked, you sat and watched more movies together. You put on Nightmare Before Christmas first, telling him that yes, it was both a Halloween and a Christmas movie and it had always meant to be both. Right after Jack made it to Christmas Town, you excused yourself once more to fetch the mistletoe. Then you brought it to the space between your kitchen and bedroom, dragging a chair along your - fortunately - carpet to stand on. You pinned the mistletoe to the ceiling so it hung facing down, then you put the chair back and even took the extra measure of flushing your bedroom toilet to make it sound like you’d been in there the whole time.

Thor didn’t say anything until the end of the movie. You barely missed him checking over his shoulder toward the bedroom, so you panicked, trying to keep the mistletoe a surprise as long as possible. You launched yourself across his lap, drawing his attention back to you.

“Do you need something?” he teased, and when you looked back and up at him, you saw he was smirking.

“I just…” You tried to think of something convincing to say, but all that came out was, “my legs were cramping.” You let your shins fall against the arm of the couch and tried to smile at Thor.

He rose his eyebrows and asked, “You’re sure this doesn’t have anything to do with the mysterious plant you’ve hung from the ceiling over there.” He pointed back at the mistletoe, his smirk widening.

Your head fell forward and hit the couch cushion next to him as you groaned. Of course he’d heard you put the thing up. He’d probably peeked then, and you hadn’t even noticed! You really should’ve gotten your step stool out instead of dragging a chair all the way across the room if you’d even thought about it a little bit.

Thor just laughed, though. He tapped one of your butt cheeks lightly, and you tried to bring your heel up to smack him in the shoulder, but you didn’t bend quite far enough. You ended up just kicking air, which Thor laughed at as well.

“Alright, alright,” you said, pushing yourself up off the couch. You slid from his lap and stood up. “C’mon. I suppose I have to explain the mysterious plant hanging from the ceiling.” You held a hand out to him, knowing he didn’t at all need assistance in standing. Still, he took your hand in his and then followed you around the couch and over to the mistletoe. You took a deep breath as he looked up at the plant, and then you dived in.

“Okay, so this is called mistletoe. It’s actually a parasite in nature, but this one’s fake anyway. It’s a Christmas tradition for two people to stand beneath it and share a kiss.” At that, he looked down at you, but he didn’t say anything. “I think that has something to do with it being used as a sign of fertility in ancient civilizations. Although, closer to you,” you pushed one pointer finger into his chest playfully, “it’s more of a sign of peace among enemies. So, I guess it’s generally just a unifying symbol of...mutual respect or something. Affection, in the case of Christmas.”

You pulled your phone out of your back pocket and checked the time, then smiled. You’d timed this almost too perfectly. “Which, by the way, is happening now.” You shoved your phone back, then put that hand around the back of Thor’s neck. You stood on your tiptoes and brought him down to you at the same time, and then you shared your first Christmas kiss with him.

He kept it short and sweet, pulling his lips back without moving anything else. His blue eye locked on yours as he said, “Merry Christmas, (Y/N).”

You pecked his lips once before returning, “Merry Christmas, Thor.”

You woke up early to put out a handful of presents beneath your tiny tree. Thor had placed some there when he’d first come over, so you had an idea of how many gifts to expect - not that the number mattered, really. It was just that he would wake up and see even more beneath the tree and, just maybe, understand what getting presents from Santa might feel like. All he had to do was suspend disbelief.

You added the final touch to the room quickly: you hung up the stockings you’d made weeks ago. Two red and green stockings went on the wall above your TV; one had your name on it and a few little glittery decorations, and the other said Thor with lightning made of glitter and glue all over. When you were satisfied with their placement, you went back to the bedroom and jumped onto the bed.

“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!” you practically yelled, shoving Thor hard because you knew he slept like a rock. “It’s Christmas morning!”

He groaned, but when you shoved him again, he laughed and said, “Fine, alright! I’m awake!” He turned toward you, his hand going to the back of your neck so he could pull you down for a kiss like you had last night below the mistletoe.

You only let him kiss you for a few minutes before you pulled his hand down and tried to get him out of bed. “C’mon! We have to go see what Santa left you!”

He laughed, and you knew he’d go along with whatever you told him today. You were finally able to get him out of bed, then you dragged him into the living room to show him the tree. He did, indeed, remark that there were more presents beneath it than there had been last night.

“I told you Santa was magic,” you said, squeezing his hand in yours. You picked up the first present you wanted him to open, then gave it to him before going to grab some chairs to bring over to the tree. You opened presents one at a time, leaning over to kiss and thank one another in between.

Thor had gotten you a scar he’d seen you looking at whenever you passed a little boutique uptown, a copy of a movie you always talked about (he conceded and told you Tony had to help him track it down), and an ancient-looking, though in good condition, book of Scandinavian runes. “I know you like having some books for decoration,” he said. “Though, I do love the idea of you knowing more of what I do.”

You fingered the delicate pages tenderly, looking through the descriptions of the runes without taking in too much information at first. With a huge smile and a few tears in your eyes, you pulled the book to your chest and told him, “This is...really wonderful, Babe. I love it.”

You’d gotten him, among other things, an intricately carved charm of Mjölnir and a silver chain to hang it on. He studied the details in the charm silently for a few minutes, then he looked up at you and beamed. Just like you had with the book, he had tears in his eyes as he held tight to the charm. “Did you make this?” he asked.

You felt a little guilty, but only because you hadn’t made it. You’d found it on Etsy, actually, but you made sure to buy from a Scandinavian shop. You shook your head sheepishly and explained where you’d gotten it, and you noticed that his face never changed. He still looked proud and elated, and it made your heart melt.

“I love it,” he said. He unclasped the chain, then placed it around his neck and clasped it again. The charm hung around his neck when he asked, “How does it look?”

“Perfect, if I do say so myself,” you responded.

He sighed contentedly, then waved for you to come to him. You did, sitting on his lap as his arms wrapped around you. “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” He kissed you quick, then said, “Thank you, (Y/N).”

Tags!

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Drabbles: @athorable-and-deanlicous @esoltis280 @pensysto 

[ba3kkie]

The Final Crescendo (1)

“Baekhyun-ah” You whispered as the tears rolled down your pale cheek.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you managed to say “ I love you”.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Final

(A/N) : This is Baekhyun x reader. Enjoy ! 

.: I don’t own any of the characters nor companies mentioned and it is purely fictional and should not be taken seriously. I only own the plot.

10 years ago

“Daddy ! Take me with you.” you said extending your arms towards him wanting to be carried. 

“(Y/n) not today honey, I have an important meeting.” He saw the frown on my face “ How about next week? and we’ll even get ice cream.” He put his fingers on the corner of your lips and pushed them up turning the frown upside down. 

 You gave him the large toothy grin you had been holding in.  

7 years ago 

“Dad, why are we moving ? I like our house” you pouted 

“Baby girl, I’m a boss now and I need to be as close to the office as possible in case of an emergency. Don’t worry ! it means you can come visit daddy more often.” He flashed the same tired smile, he’s been giving you for the past few months. 

After he became CEO of SMtown. 

3 years ago

You heard the faint sounds of someone singing echo through the empty hallway, while you were taking your usual stroll waiting for father to finish his meeting. Unintentionally you followed the trail, your heart beating louder as you got closer to the source, you placed your hand on the doorknob, however the singing stopped and so did your heart for a second there, the door flung opened. Standing before you was a boy no older than yourself in a hoodie that reached his mid thighs, fluffy black hair and crescent eyes as he gave you a smile. 

“I’m Baekhyun, nice to meet you. “ He said reaching his hand out for a handshake “I’m new here” he added. 

“I’m (y/n).” you felt butterflies in your stomach. 

2 years ago 

“(y/n) I’m going to debut next year !! Can you believ-” he started coughing “believe it?” 

“Yea…that’s great Baek!” Trying to sound as genuinely happy as I possible could for the sake of not hurting your best friend’s feelings. “Are you alright ?” concerned of the seriousness of the cough. 

“I’m fine (y/n), why aren’t you excited ? it’s only been a year and I’m going to debut that’s like insane! ” He could read you like an open book and you hated it. 

“I am excited!” You tried convincing yourself, but you knew this just meant less time to spend with Baekhyun who’ll be so busy and broken from the amount of work and pressure there is, you saw this with many idols during your time in SM (basically your whole pre-adult years) 

He pursed his lips into a thin line, then continued by running his fingers through his now champaign pink hair. You couldn’t take your eyes off him, well you never were able to, honestly. He looked drained already and it hurt you that you had to see him that way, maybe you should have a word to your father about Baekhyun, maybe not. 

“Let’s go for some food (y/n).” He fingers wrapped around your wrist, you could see the small mole on his thumb, it made your heart flutter, goosebumps forming on your forearm. He was your kryptonite, his touch drove you crazy, your name rolling off his tongue made your knees weak, you didn’t want to admit it, you suppressed your feelings since the first day he opened that door. 

You had already fallen in love with Byun Baekhyun. 

“(y/n)?” Baekhyun snapped his finger infront of your face until you came back to reality. “Ah sorry let’s go Baek!” you apologised for your sudden trance, but like a broken record the word ‘love’ repeated in your head and you sighed as you realised there were no brakes on this ‘feelings train’ . 

1.5 years ago

You two had decided to have a Hunger Games marathon at Baekhyun’s house, because the boy had apparently never heard of the trilogy before, outrageous! 

You sat at one end of the couch while he sat at the other, the bowl of popcorn acting as a barrier between you two. You were grateful at how distracted he was, allowing you to steal glances of his through the corner of your eye, and how he was unphased when your hands had bumped when reaching for the popcorn, while you felt the blush creep up your cheeks. 

They had managed to watch the first part of the movie in silence since you didn’t want to spoil anything for baekhyun, however it reached the scene were ‘Katniss had kissed Peeta in the cave, while they were both hiding and treating Peeta’s wounds’ and somewhere deep within you, without even thinking, your conscious deciding to momentarily abandon you, 

“I like you.” you blurted out softly. 

You shut your eyes so hard, that your face was so scrunched up, praying that Baekhyun had not heard your unplanned confession. There was no sound from the other side of the couch, therefore you gather every ounce of courage you had left and decided to peak at Baekhyun.

Wrong move. 

His dark orbs were staring at you in disbelief, his mouth slightly hung open. “You like me ?” He asked still in shock and you nodded sheepishly avoiding eye contact with him. You were met with another silence. 

“Do you like me in a friend way-” Baekhyun had spoke again. 

“Please just forget about it Baek, pretend I didn’t say anything okay? Your my best friend and that’s enough for-” Before you could finish your sentence, you felt a pair of soft lips pressing against yours, “or like this?” Baekhyun finishing the question you had previously interrupted. 

Your brain was shutting off, it couldn’t quite comprehend what had happened, until it happened again. Those lips somehow ended up against yours again, releasing those feelings you had tried so hard to keep deep within yourself. 

Screw it, it’s now or never. You thought to yourself.

You kissed back, tilting your head to find a better angle, deepening the kiss as your right hand snaked around his nape while your left hand gripping onto his sleeves. There was a loud crash, you pulled away frightened by the sound, eyeing the bowl of popcorn now spilled on the floor. 

The room was filled with the sounds of short breaths and soft panting, his lips were now plump and pink, while his shirt was almost pulled off his shoulder (your fault by the way).

“When?W-When did you feel like this towards me?” You managed to stutter the question. 

“Since the day you shook my hand.” The corners of his lips were pulled up slightly. 

“Why didn’t you say anything about it?!” Baffled by his confession. 

“I was waiting for you to say it, I didn’t want you thinking I liked you because of your connections (her father) .” He admitted, his hand scratching the back of his head. 

You felt so happy, he was the first one who had not liked you in order to abuse your connections, it’d happened so many times over the years that you’ve learned to tread lightly around love. 

You got up from your seat and stepped over the bowl, standing between Baekhyun’s stretched out legs. 

Throwing away every last drop of dignity, you sat yourself on his lap, wrapping your arm around his broad shoulder before leaning in, forehead touching his, for the long, passionate kiss you imagined and longed for every night before you slept, but this time you had the hardness of Baekhyun’s chest under your palm instead of your soft pillow. 

To be continued…