#so yeah fake romance who? never heard of her

[shinynewmemories]

I just realized that katniss has a "wuh HUH why no kisses for me??" moment in every book

1. THG when she first feels the "stirring" is her chest and wants Peeta to continue kissing her

2. CF the morning after the Quell announcement and Peeta is in Drill Sergeant Mode rather than Comforting Fiance Mode

3. MJ when Hijacked! Peeta greets her with violence rather than kissing her senseless like she was expecting

Okay the last one is a bit extreme but still it's soooo funny that she NOT ONLY completely expects kisses from Peeta, but is either disappointed or utterly shocked when she doesn't get them lol

[jezabelle9299]

You're It for me S.R x FEM! reader

Overture- Your walking through a used bookstore when you spot an old magazine with your boyfriends face on the cover-- not for his academic ability

CWs- Comparison to Lila Archer, feeling replaceable, this is diet angst- I don't have the guts or skill for the truly heart wrenching, kissing

A/N- I was kind of picturing an early season 2 Spencer? Like they've been dating for a while, but like-- not more than maybe 2 years, so they're still a little bit nervous. Also this is the first of many things I'm doing this December so hopefully everything goes well and if you want to read any of the other things I'm doing you could do so HERE

Right in your favorite used bookstore, on top of some other old magazines, there it was. It caught your eye at first because of the vibrant photo— but when you stopped to look you saw a beautiful young actress rubbing her face onto your wonderful boyfriend's hand. You felt sick, but you pushed through it to buy the stupid thing so you could read it. 

You barely made it through the checkout line, pale as a ghost and wishing you’d never walked in there. Because why didn’t he tell you? The publishing date was only months before you started dating and he hated touch. Was this a long relationship? An intimate moment no one else was supposed to see?

By the time you got to your car you’d ripped the plastic covering off the magazine opening up the article about Lila Archer. You hadn’t really heard of her before, but she was gorgeous. The more you read about the ‘secret relationship’ between her and Spencer the more upset you got— until in one of the final sentences it said one of their reporters found them in a pool—fully clothed—making out. Spencer. Your germaphobic boyfriend who was nervous about so much as touching you in passing for your first 3 dates jumped into a pool to make out with someone he couldn’t have known for that long.

You sat on the couch in your apartment after a silent ride home. Spencer was supposed to meet you to spend some time together, he’d be landing any minute– but it was all you could do not to cry. It was before you were dating but you just felt– Insecure? Replaceable? You weren’t quite sure, but comparison stole your joy and left you with nothing but a sour mood and a boyfriend on his way to see you– one who was qualified to notice that you were upset nearly immediately upon seeing you. 

“Hey honey— I’m so glad I’m finally home. I’ve missed you so much.” He walked through the door, you’d told him so many times that he could come in without knocking– he even had his own key– and he moved straight to you. He leaned in to kiss you, but your lips were unrelenting, not soft like they usually were. You weren’t in the mood for romance right now and he wanted to figure out why. 

Not that you always had to be in the mood for physical touch, but usually when he got home from longer cases you were on him from the moment he walked through the door. He loved that— he missed that right now. 

“Is something wrong? Are you ok?”

“Yeah Spence, I’m fine.” You plastered on your best fake smile to no avail, only making Spencer more concerned in your efforts. 

“Did something happen while I was gone?”

“Nothing happened.” 

“I know you’re not telling me something. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.” Despite his words, his tone wasn’t accusatory at all. Only concerned. 

“I don’t need help— I just saw something that kind of… freaked me out is all.” You were really trying to downplay the effect that stupid magazine cover had on you.

“Did I leave one of my case files laying around? Oh honey I’m so sorry— I thought I picked them all up before I left.”He was wracked with guilt over something that didn’t even happen. 

“No Spencer it wasn’t that. It was a magazine? You were on the cover.” You thought he knew what you were talking about. I mean he’s been in a few science magazines for his academic ability, but nothing else like this. At least you certainly hoped not. 

“What magazine? From this month?” 

“No— it was a few months before we started dating. It was you and Lila Archer? I know it was before we started dating; and I know I have no right to be upset by it but it just— it just kind of took me by surprise, you know?”

“Oh. I forgot about that.” 

“You forgot about it? It said you were found fully clothed in her pool, and you just forgot?” You weren’t accusatory, just hurt—your voice was breaking by the end and you were still trying to look up at him. 

“It really wasn’t like that, I only knew her for a week— we were in LA because she was being stalked, I was supposed to be guarding her and she pulled me into the pool.” with just that one sentence he made it infinitely worse. He knew her for a week, and he wasn’t worried about her germs? What made her so different?

“You only knew her for a week?”

“Well–yes?” It was clear by the way he looked at you that he thought that would be a comforting notion. It was anything but. 

“On our first date you didn’t even want to touch me. You didn’t kiss me until we’d been dating for almost 2 weeks. I was perfectly fine with those things because I know you don’t really like touch but I need you to be honest with me about something. Do you just not like me as much? Because if you don’t that’s– well that’s ok. I mean I don’t want to be worried that you’re going to get a case in LA and find someone better.”

“Honey let me be perfectly clear– there is no one better. I love you more than anything or anyone on this Earth.” Spencer’s reassurance just wasn’t comforting you like it usually did. 

“Then–why? I mean do you just not think about me physically in that way?”

“I think the way I feel about you physically could easily be described as clingy and/or obsessed. You know this, sweetheart.” He held tightly onto your hands- rubbing the back of hand with his thumb

“Well now sure, but I honestly kind of thought you just weren’t attracted to me when we first started going out.”

“I was– and am for the record– extremely attracted to you. Some of my hesitance towards touching you was germ-based, but honestly I was just so ridiculously, extremely nervous around you that I was afraid to touch you and mess everything up.”

“Oh.” 

“Yeah, honey in case you hadn’t noticed you’re kind of it for me.” That feeling in the pit of your stomach finally subsided— giving way to the same feeling of love you always feel when Spencer wraps you in his arms. 

[nosyrobin]

“Fair Amusement”

Damian Wayne x Roth! Male reader

Summary: The small Roth spending time with the small Wayne, the two boys start to have fun until Damian gets annoyed at seeing a boy acting a little too “friendly” with the raven he finds beautiful.

Note || Y/N is the little brother of Raven, hero name is Corvus. The Latin name for Raven.

“Roth..” Damian says looking at the boy in-front of him walking ahead with excitement. “Huh? Sorry Damian what were you saying?” Y/N says looking at Damian who kept his signature frown on his face. “Why must you be so excited for such…amusement..” he says, Y/N pouted.

“Damian..I’m excited because I’m spending this amusement with you! Plus I never really had fun in a fair.. or is this an amusement park? I never knew the difference.” Y/n admitted with with an awkward chuckle. Damian looked away from the boy, he felt his face getting heated as he gritted his teeth together. “Aye! Niños, don’t go too far okay?” Jaime yells as he sees the two boys being slight further from the rest. Garfield was already loose from the team. Probably doing something reckless or gaining mad tickets.

“On it! Cmon Damian, I heard there’s a game where you can shoot these fake ducks and win a big stuff animal!” Y/N says excitedly, Damian only kept his facial expression. Trying not to show too much emotion but his eyes showed curiosity. Y/N started to get distracted by things like cotton candy and music. Damian knew the boy wants to try the shooting game, so he made you focus on your so called “journey.”

Finally making to the stand, the bright light and colors made your eyes shine with joy. Damian looked at you, time felt slow when you turned to look at him. Was this what those main characters felt when those cheesy romance movies did the slo mo? Yeah this is how he feels. You point to a big penguin. “Look! Look! They got a big stuffed animal like I said!” Damian crosses his arms loosely, “I see Roth.” You immediately nod with excitement grabbing the shotgun that was plastered. You handed the man the money and got to business.

Or at least tried to get into businesses. You seemed to have trouble holding the shotgun, the man behind the counter showed annoyance. Damian gave the man hard glare to “fix” the man’s attitude which worked. The poor small Raven must have attracted attention as a boy that seemed to be your and Damian’s age walked in and started to guide you.

Damian narrows his eyes at the boy beside you who was showing you how to shoot. He didn’t like how the boy was looking at you, Damian crossed his arms. He couldn’t help but glare, but when the boy whispered something in your ear and you chuckled. He had enough, he pushed the boy aside and got behind you. His arms and hands already making sure you were positioned to shoot the ducks. Your eyes widen seeing his eyes trained in front while being behind you. Too close behind you.

“Y/N, focus on the ducks. Shoot.” And you did. You listen to his words perfectly which made him smirk. He backed away when you won the penguin. But what he also did next was pettiness as he also went and did a try at the game. Shooting perfectly without a struggle, getting you another big penguin. Your eyes were wide in admiration, meanwhile Damian glanced at the boy who seemed to scoff and walk off. Damian walked off smugly, wrapping an arm around the boy who seemed so happy hugging the two big penguins!

“Best night ever!” You yelled as you came back into the car with the team. Garfield was already sleep with Jaime almost being the same. Kory was in the driver seat with your sister in the passenger. Raven smiled seeing her little brother happy with two penguins. “Little crow, where do you get them?” She asked softly.

“I got one for myself with the help of Damian. But Damian got me another one.” You say with a soft smile. You then lean against Damian who stiffened at the sudden action. But he soon relaxed with a smile that was covered with his hand. He looked out the window, staring at the boy’s reflection.

“That was nice of you Damian. Thank you.” Raven says. Damian only hummed, still looking at the reflection of the Roth male who seemed happy. And that made Damian happy as well.

[steddielations]

Eddie’s queer awakening Part 2 | Part 1

Steve doesn’t know what else to do to make Eddie realize he likes him. Never in his life has he had to work this hard at winning someone over. Never.

Even with Nancy in high school, there was always a hint that she wanted him to chase her, which made it worthwhile. Sometimes, Eddie will do something that makes Steve sure he feels the same, flirting back. Then Eddie will do something that makes Steve not so sure, laughing it off.

Steve doesn’t like resorting to bullshit queer stereotypes because he doesn’t exactly fit them either, but Eddie looks like those rugged guys on his posters and album covers. Sometimes it feels like a masculinity performance worthy of King Steve, but sometimes it feels genuine.

Eddie’s not dressing like Bowie, but he prances around on cafeteria tables yelling about sodomy and he’s never had a girlfriend that Steve knows of. He could like both, same as Steve, of course. Or it could be nothing, of course. Steve’s just putting all these moves on a straight boy, about to get his heart broken again.

Robin’s given him countless pep talks, assuring him that he’s right about Eddie when he starts to doubt it. “You sniffed Vickie out just from her VHS returns. If anyone has a functional queer detector here, it’s you. Trust it.”

“What if I ask him out and he rejects me?” Steve fully understands Robin’s worries now, it’s not the same as getting shot down by a girl. “I’ve got enough rumors about me already.” They all wanted to say it in high school, calling Steve a pretty boy in tight pants that spent too much time in the mirror.

Tommy used to shoot them all down. Now he’s not by Steve’s side, snarling at anyone who suggests it. Which was mostly just Tommy trying to convince himself that everything they did under the covers at sleepovers was “just guy stuff”, and he convinced Steve too. To the point where Steve hadn’t even considered any different until a few months ago when he told Robin and— yeah, that was an eventful conversation. The first time he stumbled across the word bisexual— from a Bowie interview in one of Robin’s magazines— it felt like something clicked into place.

“I don’t think Eddie’s the type to out anyone, either way.” Robin’s right. She’s not always right, everything would be easier if she was, but she’s right about that.

“I keep having to pretend to like his shitty weed to get him to come over. Not even the yawn and stretch move worked on him. Y’know, this,” Steve demonstrates, stretching an arm above his head and then draping it over Robin’s shoulder. She shrugs him off with a fake gag. “I kept looking at his lips and I thought we were gonna kiss, but he laughed and poked me in the ribs and called me dude.”

Robin listens to all his boy troubles and then they come up with a plan. Steve decides he’s going to come out to Eddie, just put it out there that he likes guys. In a totally platonic way and hopefully that gets the ball rolling the other way, where he tells Eddie he likes one guy in particular and hopes all his Romeo efforts don’t blow up in his face.

So he goes for it. Eddie strolls into Family Video and picks out a movie that Steve’s actually heard of for once. It’s easy for Steve to throw him a smile and invite himself over. “You know this is the closest thing to a romance movie you’ve picked? No way I’m letting you watch this alone, somebody’s gotta hold your hand through the sad ending, looks like it’s gonna be me.”

Several emotions fly across Eddie’s face, landing on overwhelmed disbelief. “I don’t get it, man. How do you not have a girlfriend? You’d be so easy to fall in love with. Hell, I feel like you've made me fall halfway in love with you already. If I was a girl, I’d date the shit out of you.”

It looks like Eddie wants to clap a hand over his mouth as soon as the words leave it.

Steve watches him carefully, trying to think clearly over his heart pounding in his chest because Eddie just said he loves him, kind of. This is it. “Would you still date me as a guy?”

Eddie’s nervous hands jingle with chain bracelets as they tug his hair and hide his face. “You mean, objectively? As a guy would I date another guy? I mean, could I want that? I hadn’t really considered that option until now. Uh. Shit. Wow, this is-”

“Because I would, you know,” Steve jumps to say, as earnestly as he can, needing Eddie to finally know. How could he not know? This is it. Steve didn’t come all this way just to tap out at the finish line. He goes for it. “I’d date you as a guy, Eddie. I’d date the shit out of you, too, just like you are.”

Eddie’s face is flushed now, his eyes wide and swimming with both questions and realizations. Steve snaps out of it for a second, looking around to see the store is thankfully empty, Robin’s still on her break, but this isn’t the place for this conversation.

“Wanna talk about it over the movie tonight?” He offers.

It moors Eddie, he relaxes more and Steve hopes he’s not imagining the faint hint of a smile. “Yeah, that’s— yeah, talk. I can do that.”

“Okay, it’s a date. See you then.” Steve hands over the tape, their fingers brushing and making warmth flutter all through him. He watches Eddie halfway trip out the door, running into it once and pulling on it three times before pushing it open.

Steve can’t stop grinning, thinking about later, determined to tell Eddie he’s already in love with him too.

[nab1wuzhere]

Magnetic

“You wouldn’t look at me.”

“I saw plenty.”

“In my eyes.”

“…Does it matter?”

~

summary:

Bakugo Katsuki, No. 3 Hero in the charts, massive amounts of fan girls, always invited to galas, events, and even award shows along side his peers, but he has never once gotten a dating scandal in his whole career. Has never even looked in a woman’s direction. So you can be certain he won’t change his actions when artist Y/N is invited to sing at a private Christmas Gala hosted for hero’s to celebrate the season and a year well done of duties…right?

Singer, artist, model Y/N, has it all. Looks, wealth, awards, friends, family, and boyfriends.. her music revolves around her relationships and past relationships along with her mental health that she speaks about through her music. She gets asked to gigs almost every day but few are lucky to book her, when her team gets a request for the Christmas Hero Gala which is highly exclusive, she immediately agrees to entertaining the hero’s, excited for the night she doesn’t realize she caught a certain man’s attention in the back of the crowd..

• slow burn - secret pining - romance - bold Y/N, shy Katsuki - vice versa - celebrity!y/n x aged up!katsuki

• following contains, eventual smut, mentions of suicide, alcohol, mental illness, heavy party scenes and probably more !

• 18+ only!! this is your warning

• the rest of the celebrities mentioned in this series i do not take credit for, and the songs mentioned all writing ownership belongs to them! i do not take credit except for this fan fiction!

!! just a friendly reminder this is all fake, simply my imagination placed into writing !!

intro

chapter one

furious knocking is heard on bakugo katsuki’s hotel door, with shouts of “katsuki!! katsuki!!” being heard on the other side of the door.

katsuki groaned furiously as he got up and headed for the door, opening it loudly

“what the hell?!”

katsuki opened it to see his best friend, eijiro kirishima standing before him with a star eyed look on him. katsuki sighed and opened the door wider for his red headed friend to walk in.

“this better be good shitty hair, i was about to eat my fuckin’ breakfast.” katsuki spoke with a grumble

“katsuki! you’ll never believe it, guess who’s the performer for the gala?!” eijiro said practically shouting the walls away, his hands in tight fists, barely holding himself together.

a massive sigh was heard from katsuki, “will you PLEASE, for the love of god stop the fuckin’ shoutin’?!” he practically raised his hands in the air with annoyance

eijiro nodded happily, no sign of embarrassment or fear covered his body, his hands just moved in a “guess” motion

katsuki gave him a blank stare before running a hand through his spiky blonde hair. “who is preform—” before he could finish his sentence eijiro already announced the performer,

“Y/N! THE Y/N! like global sensation Y/N?! SHE of all people will be preforming FOR US katsuki!!! can you believe it?! oh my god!!”

katsuki gave him a look of “who the fuck are you talking about” before realization dawned on him, on his face, “oh, the chick who sings ‘NDA’?”

eijiro nodded excitedly, “and therefore i am, your power, when the party’s over-”

“oh yeah, i like when the party’s over”

“male fantasy, i love you- OH my gosh what if she sings i love you? oh ill sob. oh not to mention, illicit affairs, my tears ricochet—”

“eijiro.” katsuki spoke in a harsh tone “we get it, she sings a lot of songs you know.”

eijiro walked towards him and sat down, “see that’s just the thing katsuki, she doesn’t just sing. she’s- hah! she’s an idol, she- she literally defines music, she’s a poet and composer and creates masterpieces using something that comes naturally to her- she- she creates art out of instruments and makes millions out of it-” eijiro reaches for the tv remote. “i mean look she even-”

“oh i’d rather you not go down this rabbit hole of obsession”

“yeah well i’m going to so shut up and eat your pancakes”

katsuki stared down at his plate of buttermilk pancakes and looked offended as eijiro flipped to ‘youtube’ on the hotels tv, seconds later there’s a video playing of Y/N preforming at coachella a year ago, singing her song, ‘idontwannabeyouanymore’ her voice soft and smooth as she sang the words with ease.

“i mean you see how natural it is for her? there are so and i mean so so many singers out there but jesus.. there’s only one of her.” he pointed to the screen and katsuki’s eyes followed to it, the camera panning on her face, her eyes shut, lashes brushing her under eye, her lips close to the microphone, there had to be a fan right above her, her hair flowing around, but yet somehow it didn’t look messy.. like it did but it was a good messy, her eyes opened and a glint of happiness shined in them, her lips curved up into a smile as she harmonized the end, and the whole crowd screamed and emerged into clapping, she looked down at her feet, the air blowing her hair, she looked up and her eyes shined from the blue spotlight creating a glow over her. she mouthed “thank you” before shouting, “THANK YOU COACHELLA!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO MUCH” and the video ended.

“i mean come on!! she’s a fucking legend and in her fucking prime right now, and to even think she’s gonna perform for US?! oh god man i could pass away” ejiro says as he fake swoons and falls onto the hotel couch, his hand on his forehead.

katsuki scoffs as he takes a bite of his pancakes, “yeah, i mean she is good, she’s got a voice that’s for sure-”

ejiro interrupts katsuki immediately, “it’s not just the voice man!! it’s her, she’s from a whole other world! and she’s like the nicest person you’ll ever meet-”

“and have you? have you met her?” katsuki gives him a sarcastic look, ejiro presses his lips met with silence, katsuki sighs as sets his fork down and crosses his arms, “don’t believe everything you see on the internet ejiro.” he said with a serious tone, “not everyone is who they seem to be, i can sniff out who’s a fucking fake from a mile away, i would know” he gives an annoyed look.

ejiro sighs as he gets up and pops a blueberry in his mouth that had been sitting on katsuki’s breakfast plate, “yeah well we will have to wait to meet her so you can “sniff her out” yourself..” ejiro scoffs, “trust me katsuki, she’s the real deal.” he ended with pointing at the tv who had Y/N smiling out into the crowd at coachella, her eyes like glitter.

ejiro said his goodbyes and walked out leaving katsuki by himself and just him staring at the tv screen, his arms still crossed, he mentally slapped himself before pressing the video that would come up next, another performance at coachella from the same year, her hit song, “when the party’s over”. now this one katsuki was familiar with, it was one he found himself listening to a lot in his car, the lyrics were raw he would give her that, and her voice- god if katsuki knew it was something sent out of a dream to become katsuki’s worst nightmare he would have never clicked play.

[ronearoundblindly]

a kiss out of envy + ari 🤭

As promised, love, I give you...

frat boy!Ari Levinson x reader, one of my Valentine's Fics of 2024 (yes, you read that correctly, and no, I don't want to talk about it. 🥲 It's been a rough year lol.)

Summary: You and Ari want each other for all the wrong reasons.

Warnings (regarding both parts of the story) for drinking and partying, language, shitty behavior from...yeah everyone is a bit of a mess in this ngl (it's college), vaguely taboo mutual pining, and not-really cheating/implied cheating (applies to multiple people). This is an angsty weird fluffy sorta romance with an ambiguous ending because no one can communicate to save their f**king lives...BUT HEY! KISSES. MINORS DNI. There's plenty for younger readers on my Light Masterlist, but not here! WC 3.9k

A/N: This is the first half from Reader's perspective.

College is…predictable.

You spent the first weeks of your freshman year faking self-assurance you didn’t actually feel because confidence is sexy—or whatever the saying is,—and if you had to start from scratch, you might as well start from a place you’re proud of.

You made friends. You went out with your roommate. You stayed out late with lots of people you don’t know, and you smiled. Holy shit, did you smile…

The attempt to ‘get out there’ brought constant stress; you wanted to define your social life right off the bat, but good people are hard to find.

You officially decided you were looking in the wrong place for any good people while at the Lawn Party three-quarters of the way through your first semester.

Finally, you’d tried. You pulled out all the stops. You wore the nicer, trendier clothes that you splurged on for events just like this. You put on extra makeup, brought some with you in your little purse to touch it up, and when you smiled in the mirror seconds before running out of the dorm with your roomie, you really were self-assured. You felt sexy.

Though the party was outdoors, you stuck with just the one layer of a light-colored, flowy top, something whimsical and fun, something less useful and more useless, but that’s the idea of fashion, you suppose.

When the breeze caught the fabric, you imagined you were in a movie, one of those scenes where the heroine is about to get noticed by the man of her dreams.

That is exactly the opposite of what happened.

You’d been there all of half an hour, your roommate off to get drinks (after you whined and waited and stalled, hoping to strike up some conversation without partaking in the shared, bad decisions of the swath of 18-22 year olds meandering across a grass field behind the sports complex), when you heard a really loud, shrill laugh behind you and turned.

A red Solo cup crumpled against your boob and beer exploded across your chest, drenching your shirt and dripping grossly down your stomach.

“Wooooah,” the big guy still gripping shredded plastic drawled, eyes glued to your see-through blouse as it clung to your front. “Sorry.”

The girl who laughed with him put her hand up to her mouth. “Oh. My god.” Yet she just laughed more.

That was it. That was the sum total acknowledgment of your destroyed outfit and evaporated dignity.

“Ari,” someone called, startling your assailant to look away with his unresponsive, blown pupils.

You noticed a few drops of beer on his letterman jacket, so, sure, in comparison to your entire front half being soaked, that seemed a fair-and-equal trade for your embarrassment.

Then he was gone, the laughing girl following the asshole, Ari, and his idiot friends as they recapped the football game from…whenever.

You left the party once the waistband of your jeans felt soggy.

You spent longer washing your beer-sponge bra in the dorm sink than you did on the lawn.

Now you know college is a fucking joke. That party became a defining moment in your social life. You realized men—no, boys—like Ari will never care about you as you really are, and finally, you’ve accepted that you don’t want them to.

They don’t deserve to know you.

Sophomore year. Women’s Studies. Of all the fucking classes…

On day one Ari plopped down in the desk next to you.

He plopped because his whole left leg was strapped into a thick brace that kept it straight and jutted out, unable to fit in the tiny seat. He’s so tall his thonged foot tapped at yours beneath your own chair.

In your utter frustration and irritation (since the professor had already started talking), you automatically muttered an apology—to Ari, like some pushover—and moved your legs.

“Not your fault,” the footballer softly chuckled, taking another long moment to settle his crutches on the floor.

Were there no other seats?

You sighed and knew, you just knew down in your bones, that this would be a long damn semester. You also had every faith, however, that this fuck-boy classmate would do just about anything to stay in the course dedicated to his favorite pastime: women.

Though that was an assumption, Ari proved you right, and it sucked.

It took all your innate kindness and compassion not to spit on him. Honestly, the guy is just…dumb. When your eyes wandered every so often, you always found him looking confused, but he wouldn’t ask questions. Several times you caught him sneaking peeks at your notes. You just couldn’t take it.

He fell asleep in one class!

With the course final mere weeks away, the OCD part of your brain kicked in and shoved several sheets of important points you’d written down into his lap before he fully woke up.

His brace was off by then, but Ari still moved slowly.

Again, he looked so confused.

“I expect them back on Wednesday,” you said with a tight jaw, barely restraining the choice names you’d wanted to call him.

You’d been conditioned so heavily to be nice that you smiled at him. A small smile, yeah, but you smiled at the coddled asshole who did not deserve to pass the class. You should have let him fail. You should have let him lean harder on that damn scholarship.

Football held his dead-weight up this long; what’s a few more years?

Nearly the end of your Senior year. Off-campus. You’ve tried.

Socializing is a hit-and-miss game, and you’re learning that sometimes the miss happens slowly, without failed plays, with all the effort you could muster.

“Look, if we’re not doing anything here, then I’m going to the party. You coming? The house is two blocks away.”

Your boyfriend, Billy, stands with his apartment door open and his roommates calling to him from down the hall. He’s frustrated, you know that, but his frustration doesn’t negate the uneasy twist in your gut you get whenever he tries to take things further than making out.

Billy is perfect on paper. He studies hard, has a job already lined up for summer, is driven to achieve…and desperately wants to get laid.

He’s cute, totally adequate in that department, yet still, you can’t force yourself to let him touch you any more than absolutely necessary. You two have excellent conversations, multiple shared interests, and you have no words to describe your lack of…want. It eats you up right along with that twisting aversion to fuck him—because it is specific to him.

You don’t lack for interest in men, even if these are still boys around you. You’re attracted. Kinda. You thought attraction could grow from affection, too, but it hasn’t in months with Billy. It doesn’t make you think he lacks in some way; you feel lacking.

Maybe you lack sympathy. Maybe you lack understanding. Maybe you are just as superficial as those slutty girls you hate, the ones sure to be at this party. Maybe Billy thinks those girls will rub off on you if you’re surrounded.

There’s no one thing, no quantifiable logic; he just doesn’t do it for you. That won’t change.

Your relationship has an expiration date, and you feel it approaching.

Unsurprisingly, you can’t bring yourself to be mean and tell him an outright ‘no.’ It’s rude to say ‘I’m not attracted to you,’ right? You’re a nice person, and it’s not nice to hurt someone who hasn’t done anything wrong.

The heavy pain in your belly grows dense, but still, nothing changes.

The compulsion to be kind and quiet continues as you follow him out, tucking your hands under your arms so Billy won’t try to touch you, but it doesn’t matter. He walks a few feet ahead to keep up with his friends on the walk down the road to the Kappa house.

The two-story, plantation-style home is packed to the gills, making it hard to maneuver past the front door, and of course, the first person you recognize is a brother of the fraternity living there.

Ari Levinson stands halfway up the staircase overlooking the crowd like a king surveying his domain, hair grown long and a beard worthy of his fifth-year undergrad status. He’s wearing a button-up linen shirt as if he just walked in from the beach, perpetually sun-kissed skin glowing, the carefree blue fabric matching his eyes.

Asshole.

He probably showed up to his own damn house, cocked his head, and smirked.

“Y’all having a party?” he probably asked, chill as fuck.

Idiot…probably. You don’t know what happened to him after Women’s Studies, but you can’t imagine he got better. Nothing changes.

His queen-for-the-day leans into his ear, her chest covered only by a red bandana and not much below that hidden by a miniskirt.

What sluts. Both of them. They deserve each other.

He’s so sexy though.

His smile is bright while he doesn’t spill the contents of his red Solo cup on anyone beneath him on the stairs. Seems his drunk coordination has improved at the very least.

“Babe,” you hear yelled close to your ear, “take it!”

Billy shoves one of two cups he’s carrying into your hands and shouts to follow him. He wants to play beer pong in one of back rooms downstairs, a room with no space to stand and watch. There are no chairs, but Billy asks if want to play with him. In no reality would he think you’d answer ‘yes’ in this chaos, but then again, he hasn’t noticed you won’t take a sip of the drink you didn’t see poured either. That’s not even a trusting him problem; for all you someone else made the drinks for Billy, and then you absolutely don’t trust it.

If he can’t manage to notice your reticence, why should Billy care if you’re comfortable?

You yell back that you’re going to find a seat somewhere. Billy gets whisked away for the next partnered game, and relief washes over you.

The only open spot that isn’t a squeeze beside couples going at it in public is a bench underneath the cutout of the staircase. You take a detour to dump your cup in the crowded kitchen’s sink and sit alone for a while, people-watching, wondering vaguely about the king and queen above you on the steps.

Parties…are not all that fun when you don’t feel safe, welcome, or seen. College is predictable this way.

You’re not sure how much time passes before a light blue linen shirt invades your view.

Looking to your right, you don’t see anyone paying attention, and looking to your left you see a sloped wall.

He’s looking directly at you.

“Thirsty?” Ari asks casually, offering the only cup he carries.

You wave it off with a polite ‘no, thank you,’ even though that should be sketchier than your boyfriend getting you a drink.

Ari takes a huge gulp and shuffles his broad body onto the too-short edge of the bench beside you. He seems careful not to touch you or invade your space, the barest graze of a short-sleeve cuff brushing the skin of your upper arm.

Again, Ari tilts the cup toward you. “Jack and Coke,” he shrugs, lifting his eyebrows, “mostly Coke though. I’ve been here a while. You’re basically late.”

You can’t help but blurt, “you live here.”

“That is an astute observation, smartie pants,” he adds with a proud smile. Those, you imagine, might be the biggest words the guy knows.

You also imagine he wouldn’t drug himself with anything,, and worst case, Ari’s already much drunker than you.

You pluck the half-full Solo from his hand, your pinky running the length of his forefinger in the process, knuckles hard beneath callused skin, and take a small sip. He’s right about one thing; you can’t smell or taste any alcohol.

His smile softens. Your pinky tingles even after you return his drink.

“Where’s whats-his-face?” Ari scans the hall. “Probably getting you something better, huh?”

You can’t help but frown and sigh as he takes another swig of soda, pink lips nearly hidden beneath the hair of his beard, but you remember they are quite plump. He only had stubble in class two years ago. You shouldn’t be thinking about what those lips might feel like. Hell, you shouldn’t be sharing a drink with anyone because that’s more intimate than anything you’ve enjoyed doing with Billy recently.

Billy is pushy and inexperienced. Every time he goes to touch you, it reminds you that he’s desperate for it, but…not in a flattering way. It’s difficult to describe.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” you throw out loudly, keeping your guess silent. Perhaps hugging the toilet bowl?

Though a simple question, Ari looks somewhere between giddy and chided while contemplating his answer. He’s so dumb, poor thing. “Flying with the pigs,” he settles on.

“What?”

He repeats himself, and then, seeing your confusion, he leans closer to clarify, “she doesn’t exist. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Ow, rough gig bandana girl. That’s a little harsh: being fobbed off mid-party. Although, you aren’t exactly replacing her. Ari is just talking to you. It doesn’t mean anything. He’s sitting beside you, only a little closer than Women’s Studies, sharing a sip of soda. That’s all.

“So, genius—”Ari elbows you gently, taking advantage to stay arm-to-arm this time “—how you been?”

You notice you’ve been shrinking against the wall and straighten as best you can without looking as if you’re pushing your boobs out.

“Fine. Just…busy with school work.”

Internally, you groan, hating to sound so boring and feeding into this idea you are nothing but a bookworm.

Ari swallows the last of his drink, and you watch as his adam’s apple bobs lewdly—at least, it should be considered lewd with how the motion leads your eye down to the matching dark chest hair peeking behind the shirt collar. He scrunches his nose when the bubbles hit the back of his palate.

“Good. You always seemed happy. Bet you’re top of our class.” He emphasizes the year because he should have graduated already. Originally, he was a year ahead, but then he took a red-shirt year while injured. Ari doesn’t appear to mind that’s something else you share.

You bite your lip and wonder if he’s baiting you. If there’s one thing you’ve heard consistently in your whole young adult life, it’s that you ‘look angry’ and could ‘benefit’ from smiling more.

“I’m…somewhere up there, yeah,” you allow.

He points over his other shoulder and shimmies the empty cup in front of him. “You want one? What’s your favorite?”

For the first time all night, what you want has been considered. Not only if you want a drink, but which one do you want. Such a small thing, and yet the twist in your stomach unfurls a little. The drink itself doesn’t matter; the thought does. That, and being comfortable near him.

“Whatever you’re having.”

Ari flashes that megawatt smile of his and says he’ll be back in a jiffy.

The true value of a beautiful idiot is you don’t have to be on edge. Your basic knowledge of any subject (save sports) would read as genius to a guy like him…which is also why it feels so unbelievable Ari’s choosing to hang in this corner with you. He’s friends with everyone. He could get anything from anybody here. It’s nice to be wanted, not needed.

He returns with two cups, one with a couple shots worth of Jack Daniels, the other full of CocaCola. He looks at you for approval, hesitating in case you want just plain soda, and then makes a huge show of his ‘mixing’ skills.

Absolute moron did not consider the carbonation exploding with every pour back and forth.

It’s a horrible mess of foam and splashing liquid. Both his hands are dripping and sticky, but you laugh freely by the end. You never thought you’d see the day Ari Levinson spilling a drink wouldn’t be triggering.

Not even a fleeting image of that ruined blouse crosses your mind while you weakly clinkthe plastic cups together. It’s the epitome of the college experience in your eyes. For once, you aren’t upset by that fact.

You keep smiling, wrinkling your nose at the fizz bursting on the back of your tongue. You can’t help it.

Ari is a happy drunk, and he starts talking, joking with you, tucked away in your own little bubble.

It’s the most you’ve ever heard him speak.

He’s self-deprecating about the same, drunken party behavior that you have watched him participate in for years, and yet you dismiss that as nothing, normal even, and unconsciously nudge closer to Ari, your side flush with his as you bend to see the person he’s bad-mouthing now.

He seems to like the irony in that and chuckles as he says someone over there is getting sloppy, lifting his Solo to his mouth with a dainty pinky raised in defiance. He’s a goofball. You haven’t been so relaxed with someone in…months.

Both drinks are finished quickly, and Ari offers to grab more.

The warm buzz humming beneath your skin tells you ‘yes,’ but your higher brain function steadfastly puts a foot down.

“I shouldn’t,” you mutter, sounding undecided.

He shrugs. For whatever reason, you appreciate that Ari isn’t pushing for anything from you, but that’s exactly what makes you want more from him. He stacks the empty cups and mentions walking you home. He could use some fresh air, he says.

“I should find Billy…”

Ari rolls his shoulders and thinks, his eyes follow suit, scraping his peripheral vision for an alternative that never presents. He stands up, arms akimbo, dramatically squinting to ‘think’ harder.

“He was wearing that red ball cap, right?”

“What?” You’ve never seen your boyfriend don a hat once but suddenly remember the pong partner who pulled him over. “No, that’s Leo,” you scream over the noise now that Ari is standing a few paces away. “Billy’s in, like, a neutral t-shirt.”

Ari smirks, scanning. “One beige Billy, coming up!”

Off he darts into the crowd, much faster than you’ve ever seen a drunk man move, and you skitter behind, realizing Ari stops at the kitchen only when you slam into his back.

He throws the empty cups into the trash and turns to the sink, washing his hands with dish soap, drying them on his shirt, leaving darker streaks of blue.

“Okay, not sticky,” Ari beams, “so now we go.”

Easily, naturally, his hand scoops up yours, and Ari leads you deftly through the throng.

He’s holding your hand. It’s damp and rough and cool and warm all at once. And you grasp it. You’re holding his hand back.

Though tall enough to see over most heads, Ari takes a good long while to notice everyone because they keep moving about. 

Pointing with your still-joined hands, you shout to check the beer pong room, but no Billy.

You two amble through the entire lower floor, stopped several times by people greeting Ari, and he introduces you automatically. You hope none of these other drunk frat boys remembers seeing you hold his hand while asking where your damn boyfriend is.

Without fail, each friend asks if you two are together, and to his credit, Ari quickly changes to “have you seen a guy…” and describes Billy.

“Dunno, man. Check upstairs?”

Ari thanks them and glances at you, a look of defeat creasing his forehead.

He drums his free fingers on the banister. He hesitates.

“Wait here?” he offers but drops your hand and doesn’t pause for your reply.

Using a football drill tactic, Ari bolts expertly up the stairs while you get waylaid by some girls holding up a selfie-stick to make a video. They bitch at the angle, ignoring you, and have to reshoot. You can’t get past.

Yelling.

Suddenly, there’s lots of yelling coming from the packed second floor and a door slams. Half the people in the stairway and hall look up.

More crashing and thudding noises ring out.

With everyone frozen, you shove your way through.

“What the fuck,” you hear just as some guy backs away, almost knocking you down. “Who the hell do you think you are, man?”

Your legs take you inside though your heart lodges in your throat.

Ari’s got Billy pinned over a wrecked desk on the other side of the room while the girl with the bandana top stands by a bed, pulling down her mini skirt. She snaps for Ari to mind his own business, and Ari immediately shoots a glare at her over his shoulder, keeping Billy pinned beneath him.

“Beks, for fuck’s sake,” Ari starts, but quickly, the guy who pushed you in the hall cusses her out louder than anyone else.

“Serves you right for getting back with Erin,” Bandana Girl snaps.

“Eat shit, Rebekah. You don’t actually care!”

What…is going on? These people are nuts.

At least four more bodies squeeze through the door, all looking blazing-mad while you get pushed farther into the suffocating room. You’re bewildered and overwhelmed.

Blocker Guy lunges forward and shoves Ari off of Billy.

Your hands are up, claiming space to breathe, but there’s way too much going on. No one—not even you—can hear your voice crying to be let out.

Funny thing is, you aren’t crying for Billy to help you. Only after you yell for Ari does your brain process that your boyfriend’s fly is down, his jeans unbuttoned, too.

A large, rough hand grabs your wrist and yanks you to the door, barreling you both through the crowd to another room down the hall. It’s surreal to see the group descend on the fight like moths to a flame, drawn to watch what horrible thing these students will do next.

Ari man-handles you inside without hitting a light switch. It’s pitch black, but the closed door at your back muffles only a fraction of the commotion.

From the other side, you hear Billy calling your name, but Ari’s soft, panting breath steals your focus as it gusts across your neck.

His lips shift close to your ear.

“Don’t do it, smartie,” he whispers. “Leave him.”

The stale smell of beer wafts forward when you lean farther into that letterman jacket Ari keeps prominently hung. You feel the ribs of the cuffs against your bare arms until, suddenly, it’s the ridges of Ari’s rough fingers ghosting over your skin.

If Billy’s still screaming, you can’t tell. Your heart thunders in your chest as the hot breath rolling over you moves up your neck and over your jaw.

He’s right there.

He’s right there. He’s drunk. He’s stupid. He doesn’t matter. You don’t matter to him. It’ll never work and it doesn’t have to. This could be so simple.

You envy how easy this is for him, always another girl around the corner, in the next room, who will want him, but you can’t bring yourself to feel bad about wanting to use him. He’s right there, willingly, single or not, sober or not, and so you grip the soft linen of his shirt collar and tug him straight to you.

It doesn’t matter how sloppy you are, how shy or how forceful you get, because you live like him in this moment.

Ari doesn’t care about anything. Self-assured. Confident. Sexy. Popular. He doesn’t have to care.

Now, neither do you.

[Next Part]

⬅️ Steve Rogers and a kiss where it hurts

[Main Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

[muzetrigger]

In celebration of Nevermore S2, I feel the need to explain why I’m hoping for more Ada page time/development and why she’s my absolute favorite character, despite the series being absolutely stuffed with quality.

Oh and also why MorellAda is peak. I WILL TAKE NO ARGUMENTS ON THIS POINT.

So yeah, MAJOR SPOILERS Y’ALL

Okay, so when we’re first introduced Ada, she’s a minor antagonist, not just in the sense that she’s not the main villain, but that literally, she’s just kind of an annoyance to both Lenore and Prospero. That being said, shortly after the Labyrinth arc, we see her genuinely impressed with Lenore and trying to make amends.

Now at that point, there’s no real reason for us to believe that Ada is telling the truth. Yeah, she seems like she’s being genuine, but so far, we also know that she’s been playing some social games to get ahead.

That’s where we get this first piece of insight into her character (not actually the first piece but whatever):

Ada chooses caviar as her last meal, despite not liking it, or ever having had it before. She is the only student who doesn’t enjoy her final meal, and that tells us that one, Ada doesn’t know what’s good for her; two, that she probably comes from a lower class background that never would have had access to caviar; and three, that she aspires to that upper class position. She is exactly what Morella would call a “phony” but while her phoniness impacts her social behavior in the ways that Morella criticizes, she’s also lying to herself without even realizing it.

Okay, but that’s a bit of subtle character development, so Red and Flynn hit us with this:

(In case you didn’t hate Montressor already)

This moment is so critical to understanding Ada because it shows that she has absolutely no limits when it comes to proving her worth to other people. Why? Because Ada has no sense of self-worth. She is completely dependent on other people’s thoughts to feel adequate. That’s why she clings so hard to Prospero and Annabel Lee, which makes this preceding exchange even more brutal.

Ada reaches out to Annabel for support, and Annabel ignores her.

Annabel BETRAYS her, and this is going to become something of a running theme for Ada.

Now, of course, Annabel has problems, but this is COLD.

So cold even Prospero is surprised, and this sets up why Ada crumbles so easily, because the one person she thought was her friend at this school, literally her roommate (and we know what happens when you’re not on good terms with your roommate), the person who gave her (fake) love advice, just left her out in the rain.

No one is on her side, not Annabel who’s ignoring her, not Prospero (who is rightly) annoyed with her clinginess, not Will who is supporting Montresor, and certainly not Montresor who is verbally abusing her.

The only person by Ada’s side is Morella, partly because she’s being targeted too, but also because Morella is trying to protect Ada.

(Look at that hug. That is a small puppy trying to cheer up her depressed friend.)

Chapter 39-40 firmly cemented Ada as my favorite character because we get a deconstruction of this preppy, pompous, phony personality into someone with crippling self-worth issues, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I relate HARD to those feelings of inadequacy and needing external validation. Will might be the doppelgänger, but Ada is the one with Imposter Syndrome.

Anyway, now we’re going to have to skip a few chapters, because while the haunted house arc is great, it doesn’t really do much with Ada’s character. We do learn that Ada was almost definitely a servant in her past life because she’s able to navigate the house’s secret passages, and we learn that yes, she’s a romantic who clearly doesn’t understand TPO (time, place, and occasion).

Those details are important to understanding Ada, because they help contextualize why her confidence is so abysmal (servants aren’t to be seen or heard) and why she clings so strongly to ideas of ladyhood and romance (the women she served would certainly have appeared to be more comfortable than her, though I’m sure Lenore and Annabel would disagree).

We also get this feast for the MorellAda shippers:

At this point, it’s implied that Morella has stonewalled dozens of students into Prospero’s death trap, but she makes one exception that she will not stand for, and it’s Ada.

At first, I thought this was a little weird, because why wouldn’t Morella protect Lenore? I mean, she’s the protagonist and clearly treats Morella better, but looking back, it’s telling that Ada is the one who Morella chooses.

Morella’s whole deal is that she wants to protect people, and Lenore isn’t vulnerable, Ada is.

Red and Flynn do a lot of excellent foil work in Nevermore, most prominently with Lenore and Annabel, but the contrast between Ada’s dependence on what other people think of her and Morella’s dependence on what she can do for other people is just another reason why I think MorellAda is so good.

But the real interesting events happen post-house.

Prospero has had it.

Now, was Ada being clingy? Yes.

Was she being totally oblivious to all of Prospero’s signals? Yes.

Did she deserve to be told directly that Prospero was just not that into her? Hell. Yes.

But did she deserve THAT much of a verbal beat down? Probably not, especially keeping in mind that Annabel told her this:

So now that I’ve thrown Annabel under the bus for her hand in this disaster, I want to look at one line from Prospero in particular:

“Nothing you say will make you good enough.”

It’s not the final line of Prospero’s diatribe, but it’s definitely the one that hits the hardest for Ada. She is trying SO hard to play the part of a lady in order to be loved, and she is being told that at a fundamental level, she is inadequate.

And she takes that about as well as someone who’s had this happen to them could:

A hatchet to the stomach’s going to ruin anyone’s day, but we can reasonably infer that the person who axe’d Ada was probably the young master she was serving and was having an affair with, and that he aimed for her stomach to abort any kind of child she might have carried.

Again, we see this theme of betrayal and rejection. Ada might not have been able to be a lady, but in an affair, she might been able to pretend that she genuinely had her master’s affection, even though she was just there at his convenience.

This was foreshadowed all the way back with Ada’s first confrontation with Montressor and it’s a great example of how thoroughly planned Red and Flynn’s writing is (Annabel Lee’s panic attack at Lenore’s death in the Labyrinth and the House Fire is another amazing example).

But, it’s also super traumatic which means we finally get Ada’s Spectre!

First, let me gush about how AMAZING this design is. Just aesthetically, it’s great. But it’s also amazing because of how it showcases so much of Ada’s identity. If you look at the spectre’s skirt, you’ll notice it has two distinct parts, a larger back that mimics a lady’s hoop skirt, and a pleated miniskirt, which wouldn’t be out of place in a skimpy maid costume. In her spectre form, we can clearly see Ada attempting to match a lady’s silhouette but upon closer inspection, we can also see the part of Ada that might have sparked her fatal affair, this symbol of risqué servantile behavior.

It’s also worth mentioning what ISN’T in the Banshee’s design, her abdomen. Obviously, this might be a reference to the fact that she was killed by a hatchet to the gut, but if we get dark with it (and it’s Nevermore, we can’t not get dark with it), what men traditionally (and unfortunately still do if the 2024 US elections are anything to go by…) value in a woman, her reproductive ability, is absent.

Ada, who places so much importance on what others think of her, is literally is worthless to them. (I want to clarify, I DON’T personally believe that, but from a 19th-20th century male perspective, that tracks.)

We could also read her abdomen’s absence as another attempt for Ada to play into feminine expectations. Because she’s missing her stomach, she has a tight hourglass figure. I don’t personally believe Ada has an eating disorder, but as the last dinner scene clearly indicates, she has a complicated relationship with food and what stigmas are attached to specific cuisines, and unfortunately many people do metaphorically throw away their stomachs to pursue beauty goals like Ada’s spectre does literally.

Stepping away from design, I also love how Ada acts immediately after getting the slightest bit of power.

She is PETTY.

She taunts Prospero (and let’s face it, you cheered. Don’t lie to me!), which I find so interesting because suddenly, Ada is the one giving opinions.

Ada is finally allowed to express herself.

Here, she takes it out on Annabel, which makes total sense. Annabel abandoned her and is the embodiment of what Ada craves outwardly. But Ada also recognizes that she herself is a servant who was forced to serve people like Annabel and denied their comforts because of her status. If Ada hadn’t been a maid, if maybe she had been a noble or a “true lady”, maybe should would have been allowed a romance or allowed to keep her child or at least allowed to live.

The Banshee is such a perfect moment, because until this scene, Ada has bottled up her insecurities and played the part of a loyal lackey and been this “phony”. As a servant, her entire livelihood would have revolved around keeping up appearances (or disappearances) around her masters, but as a ghost, Ada is more genuine than she has ever been.

And that’s so wonderfully displayed by how Annabel defuses the situation:

To the very end, we see Ada being vulnerable. Annabel takes advantage of her insecurities, and as the Banshee, Ada doesn’t try to hide the fact that it devastates her.

If the Montressor moment didn’t guarantee a place in my heart for Ada, Episode 71 definitely did. I’m not going to argue that characters in Nevermore haven’t experienced worse, but I will argue that no character in season one ever gets close to how pathetic and distraught Ada is here.

And what’s so heart-wrenching about this for me is that Ada is aware of how pathetic she is. She knows she’s been acting like an idiot and throwing a tantrum like a child, which is a surprising amount of insight and maturity for someone we have been led to believe is quite frankly an idiot. And yeah, I relate to those feelings of self-loathing and not knowing what to do or even where to start triaging a disaster I made myself.

Now, Montressor takes advantage of this like the abuser he is by swooping in and wooing Ada, but before that, I’m going to rewind like the shipper I am to replay this:

Again, we see Morella trying to help Ada! And obviously, that’s not what Ada needs at that moment, but it’s worth keeping in mind that out of everyone in the lecture hall then, Morella is the first and really only one to reach out to Ada. (Montressor is a manipulator. He doesn’t count.)

Last time skip, I promise!

The end of the Wall arc doesn’t quite reach the highs (or is it lows?) of Ada’s character development, but I’m so excited for what it sets up in season two.

So, Lenore and the gang find where Montressor has Cask of Amantillado’d Duke and they dig their favorite French man out while beating the shit out of our cowboy(?). There’s a ton of great moments (hell yeah, Pluto! Get him!) but the battle really swings in the misfits’ favor when Duke hypnotizes Ada to traumatize Montresor.

One, this is just an amazing display of Duke’s spectre, two, it shows that Montressor has reasons (maybe not great reasons but at least they’re reasons) for being such an asshole, and three, it shows us that mental spectre powers are straight up busted.

We already knew from Prospero that Ada’s fear factor could trap a person inside a vision of their own trauma so realistic they can feel the physical effects of it, but she can also send a man with a broken Fibula into a full blown frenzy, AND Duke’s hypnosis is something even he can’t dispel.

(Does this look like the face of a man who has things under control?)

It also sets up this exchange:

Morella is able to break through Duke’s hypnosis, and she does it without attacking Ada’s insecurities like Annabel did. Now, I’m a hopeless MorellAda shipper, so of course I reading into this, but even then, it showcases how important Morella is to Ada. After all, Morella is basically the only person who has stuck by Ada’s side this whole time.

…At least until this happens:

Morella has had enough of Ada’s excuses, and just like Prospero basically tells her to shove off.

But the painfully ironic part about this is, Ada is telling the truth. This ONE time, it really isn’t her fault. It’s Duke’s.

But Morella won’t let her get a word in and I love how Flynn drew Ada’s face. It’s a different kind of fear than when Ada was groveling in front of Montresor or reeling from Prospero’s rejection. Here, she isn’t afraid of being abandoned by Morella; she’s afraid of losing Morella.

I know that difference might sound REALLY contrived to some people, but in this case, Ada has a way to keep Morella in her life that doesn’t involve debasing herself and believes that Morella will listen to her. For the first time ever, Ada thinks she has a little control over the situation together with a friend, not an enemy. They can talk things out, and that really shows how close her connection with Morella is and how that connection can be the catalyst for Ada to start developing some self-respect.

Except Morella totally shuts her down.

Of course, I’m disappointed that there’s this “divorce arc” but it makes sense in context and it’s healthier for Morella to make a clean break from the posh crew (even though Ada clearly needs her wife more than ever, like come on, don’t leave her in Monstresor’s clutches!)

Speaking of which, I’m much more disappointed with how Ada immediately crawls back to Montresor and Annabel after being chastised. If there’s one thing I have on my season two checklist, it’s Ada learning to have some confidence in herself (and maybe tossing Montresor to the Hunt).

And I really want an apology from Morella and Duke to Ada. Now THAT’S delusional, and I might be the only one who thinks Ada deserves those apologies, because let’s face it, Ada is a wreck, but it would be nice, especially if she gives out the several dozen apologies she owes the misfit crew too, so that she can hang with them and spend more time with her wife Morella.

Anyway, yeah.

I really like Nevermore.

And I really like Ada. I think she’s severely underrated.

Of course I love Lenore and Annabel, and Morella is a precious and badass cinnamon roll, and Duke is so SO cool, and Pluto is cute as hell, and Eulalie is basically manga-Orihime (which is amazing), but there’s something so HUMAN about Ada.

I empathize with her in ways that I just can’t with the rest of the cast because… they’re just too awesome. I have difficulty believing Lenore or Annabel will ever feel something as fundamentally devastating as Ada has. At their core, they’re just stronger people. Ada is someone who needs more support and it’s nice to see those weaker characters treated with the same amount of care as a protagonist who we typically see stumble a lot but ultimately succeed. With side characters, there’s a genuine chance that they fail permanently and that adds so much to Ada’s stakes.

And honestly? I’ll say it. I think a lot of the students had alright lives or even good lives, they just happened to be cut short traumatically. Exceptions for Lenore (obviously) and Pluto (baby, you deserved so much better than your deadbeat dad), possibly Eulalie for having to live through WWII, but you’re not going to tell me that Montresor didn’t have a good run being awful, Duke didn’t have a successful performance career, and Prospero wasn’t a wealthy bastard. But who knows? We haven’t delved too much into the others’ backstories, so I could be very wrong.

Anyway, I guess this was just a very long-winded way of me saying I love Ada because I’m a total girl-failure and also I’m super excited for season two.

[lostbookmark]

MDNI 🔞

Main Masterlist here

WHISPERED VOWS MASTERLIST here

Summary: You thought planning your wedding was going to be a magical memory. You didn't realize that it might make you second guess everything.

Pairing: Fiancée Yoongi x Insecure F. Reader

Genre: Romance, Angst, Smut, Hurt-Comfort

Warnings: Explicit Sex, Toxic Family, Arguments, Sex Toys, Self Doubt, Over Thinking, Unprotected Sex, Yoongi Overworking, Reader Needs To Speak Up,

SMUT !

The smell that hit you as soon as you and Lisa walked into the flower shop earlier had hit you like a ton of bricks. It was a mix of sweet floral, citrus, a powdery smell that you couldn't identify, and damp earth that permeated through the main room that caused you to scrunch your nose in distaste. You think that flowers are pretty to look at, of course, but you prefer to do that from far away. You hate the smell of them, and all the different scents coming at you all at once are almost nauseating. You never understood why people always smell them or always give them as a gift. What better way to show someone you love them than buying them something that will eventually die. It just seems sad.

“How much do people usually spend on flowers?” You ask the florist who was walking around with you showing you the large varieties of blooms that she had in the store.

“Well, that's hard to say,” she says, looking at you with kind eyes. “It all depends on how many you want and what exactly you want to use them for. I would say a standard wedding will roughly cost about 3,000 dollars . If you want to add a grounded arch or have flowers that line your aisle. Are you going to have them as centerpieces at the reception? How many bouquets? Boutonnieres? All that will raise the price.”

You swallow thickly at her answer. For a 3,000 plus dollar estimate, they better last until your first anniversary and not be dead within the first week of buying them. The very few times that you have had flowers or plants for that matter, you have always forgotten to water them. They just ended up a brown wilted mess in a vase by a window that you would eventually throw away once you stopped being lazy.

Your stomach twists and turns anxiously as you look at the different bundles of flowers displayed in buckets and vases throughout the room as you contemplate the price that she told you. Walking around, you look at the roses in various colors, white orchids, pink peonies, rare flowers, and flowers flown in from different countries that you have never heard of. Why do they need flowers from different countries? They probably did it so they could charge more, and you also know people are more than willing to pay that price. It seems like such a waste, especially all for one day. All of this for just one day.

The pretty florist is staring at you with a patient smile, and you gently reach out to touch a hyacinth. It makes you tilt your head as you stare at them. Yeah, you don’t know how to pronounce that. You turn your attention back to her and give her an awkward smile. You can't tell her that you hate flowers and you definitely don't want to spend that much money on them. You don't want to offend anyone. She seems really nice.

“Yeah, so, thanks for your time. It was quite educational,” Lisa says cheerfully with a fake smile on her face. She plucks a card from the counter before waving goodbye. “We will be in touch. We have a lot to think about with all these beautiful options. Have a beautiful day!”

Linking your arm into hers, Lisa walks you out of the floral shop. You take a deep breath of the cold, crisp, fresh air that hits your face in hopes of calming the nerves inside of you. You can’t justify spending this much money on flowers. Do they know how many bills you can pay with 3000 dollars? How can people just throw away money like this? You dared not to even tell your mom about this trip. She probably would have wanted the flowers from a different country. She would have wanted them to be in crystal vases sitting at every table at the reception. She would have wanted whatever the ground arch was.

“You know,” Lisa says as she stops walking and stares at you over the hood of her car. “When I get married, I want roses. Hundreds of beautiful, deep red roses on every surface available, including my honeymoon suite, but that's just me…not you. You don't have to have flowers at all if you don't want them. Yoongi doesn't seem like a flower guy anyway.”

“What about the bouquets that we have to hold?” you ask. “Wouldn't it look weird if we weren't holding onto anything?”

“Sweets, we can make them with fake flowers. People probably wouldn't even be able to tell the difference,” Lisa answers. “With Pinterest and a hot glue gun, I can be unstoppable. I won't let you down.”

You start to laugh at her, finally feeling at ease, and she joins in. Thanks to Lisa, you think you can officially cross flowers off your list.

The noodles in the togo container from Yoongi's favorite restaurant are starting to burn your hands as you hurry down the hall to his studio. One of the things that has been worrying you is that Yoongi is not eating when he works like he does. He thinks it's okay to run on two hours of sleep a night, and a cup of coffee is enough fuel to get him through the day. As passive as you are trying to be at the moment, you can not let him do this to himself. You will not let him starve himself for the sake of his work.

Upon entering the familiar studio and kicking off your shoes, you see that he is asleep on his back with his arm thrown over his eyes on the couch as music faintly drifts from the abandoned headphones on his desk. You shut the door as slowly and quietly as you can without waking him up. The room is a bit darker than normal, so you move extra carefully so you don't knock into any equipment that was strewn around the floor. You place the noodles quietly on his small table in front of the couch and wave your burning fingers in the air, trying to soothe the slight burn. Looking around, you quickly find a piece of unused paper on his desk to leave a quick note for him. Your butt barely hits his chair when his voice makes you jump slightly.

“Baby?” his tired voice was deep and raspy.

“Sorry, I tried to be quiet. I brought you some food. It's noodles from your favorite restaurant,” you tell him with a sigh, putting the paper back where you found it. You no longer needed to leave him a note after failing your mission.

Yoongi doesn't answer. Instead, he holds his arms open, an invitation to join him. You climb over his body and onto the couch beside him. He situates himself onto his side, trapping you between his body and the back of the leather couch. Your face is buried in his chest with his arms wrapped around you, holding you close. You can feel the steady rhythmic rise and fall of his chest against your face. You wonder if he fell back to sleep, but you don't want to move to find out. Closing your eyes, you contemplate drifting off with him as you let your body relax.

“Thank you,” he says suddenly, kissing the top of your head. “Any wedding updates? More million dollar venues?” he jokes.

“No. Lisa and I went to a florist on my lunch break. I discovered that I really don't like the way flowers smell, and they are just as expensive as the venues,” you tell him, and you can feel his chest shake with laughter. “It's all just a lot of money to spend on one day.”

“Most people like the way they smell,” he informs you. “I told you not to stress out over the cost.”

“They stink, and I can’t help it,” you complain. “Are you okay if we skip the flowers?”

“That's perfectly fine,” he says as his hand runs through your hair. He opens one eye and looks down at you. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah,” you say quietly. “I…I don't want a lot of guests there either.”

“Me neither,” he admits. “I don't have to invite industry people. Your mom doesn't know what she is talking about.”

“So, maybe a venue that holds like…50?” You ask him hopefully. “I came across a small winery online. It looked really pretty and they have availability for our date.”

“Perfect,” he whispers, looking at you.

“How do you know it's perfect? You haven't even seen it,” you ask with a small smile.

“If you like it, then it's perfect,” he tells you.

Yoongi reaches under your chin, tilting your face up to him. Leaning down, he presses his mouth firmly to yours. You internally sigh at the feeling of his lips against your own. You miss the kisses like these. Those lingering kisses that you never want to end. The ones that are filled with so much emotion that they make you weak in the knees. The ones that make you feel safe. The ones that make you remember how much you love him. How much you miss….him.

Yoongi changes position on his couch. Laying you back, he lays himself on top of you. His body presses you further into the cushions as he balances himself on his forearm. His free hand wanders down your leg that is clad in black tights that you wore under your skirt.

“Of all days that you had to wear these,” he says, pinching the black material and pulling them away from your leg only for them to snap back in place. “Can I take them off?”

“Yes,” you whisper, but your eyes glance to the door nervously. The embarrassment of last time still lingers in your mind. It would be just your luck. Jimin would walk in on you again or worse….Jungkook.

“No one else knows the code,” he chuckles, placing his face into your neck and licking a wet stripe up to your ear, making your breath hitch before lightly biting at your lobe. “We won't be interrupted.”

Sitting up on his knees between your legs, Yoongi's hands travel up under your skirt, grabbing the top of your tights. Lifting your hips, you help him out as he carefully pulls them over your ass and down your legs. He finishes by slipping them over your feet and tossing them on his table by the forgotten food container that you brought in for him. He turns his head back to look at you laid out before him and just drinks you in.

“Yoongi?” you question quietly.

“I'm just looking at my beautiful fiancée,” he whispers. “My future wife.”

He smiles at you and leans down, pressing his mouth against yours again. Your arms go around his shoulders, holding him close to you as his tongue slips into your mouth as it twists and twirls with your own. Pulling away from your mouth, Yoongi rests his head against your forehead. His eyes stare directly into yours.

“Let me just please you and….we will see what happens,” he says softly and looks away from you quickly. You think that he is embarrassed.

“We don't have to do anything,” you say, trying to comfort him. “I know you're tired. Your sleep is more important than this.”

“No, I miss this so much,” he says quietly and kisses you again desperately as his tongue delves in for another taste of your mouth. “I miss the way you feel,” he pulls away to plant a soft kiss on your cheek. “I miss the way you taste,” a kiss to your jaw. “God, I miss the way you sound,” a kiss to your neck. “Please, baby.”

You nod your head yes, and he finally slithers his way down, your body dropping to his knees on the floor with a light thump. Yoongi flips your skirt up and hooks his fingers into your underwear, pulling them down over your now bare legs, exposing you to his gaze. He stuffs the thin material into his back pocket and smirks at you. You don't even want to know what he will do with them if he doesn't give them back. The thought makes you blush a little bit.

“It will have to be quick,” you inform him with a teasing voice as he kisses the inner side of your knee. “My boss won't like me wasting company time.”

“I think he won’t care….at all,” he smirks at you and moves up to nip at your inner thigh. “In fact, I think that he just might even encourage this. Mandatory once a week now.”

Diving between your legs, Yoongi doesn't waste any time. Using his hand to spread you open, his tongue starts licking at your opening hungrily. His hot breath fans over your exposed core, making you squirm around on his couch. Yoongi places your legs over his shoulders and then slowly moves his hands up your body. He reaches up and gently grabs at your covered chest. Palming at your breasts the best he could over your clothes. You arch your chest up into his touch as you grab the back of your knees, bringing them up and closer to your body. Opening yourself up more for him.

“Oh, shit,” you whimper as his tongue finally pays attention to your bundle of nerves flicking it back and forth. “It feels g..go…good.” You stammer.

He moans around you as he sucks it into his mouth. You let go of your right knee to push his dark hair out of his eyes before pulling his head closer to your core despite the fact that he was already as close as he could get. You bite your bottom lip as he stares up at you. The look of undying love and adoration is still there in those lust blown brown orbs. Even though you want to question it at times, it's still there. Yoongi suddenly pulls away with a surprised and slightly dazed look on his face. You follow his line of sight as he looks down at himself. His sweatpants do nothing to hide the hardness that is there.

“Fuck, yeah,” he says with a pump of his fist.

You would have laughed at him, but you are just as excited as he is. Yoongi doesn't even bother to undress, so you stay exactly how you are as well. Instead, he opts to just pull his pants down to his knees and hike up his white t-shirt before positioning himself back on the couch between your spread legs. Taking himself in his hand he slaps his cock against your pussy that's still coated in his saliva a couple of times before he dips the head of his cock into you shallowly before pulling back out.

“Fuck, I have I neglected you that much?” he hisses at the tightness that he pulled away from. You don't bother answering because you both know the answer.

He licks his fingers before letting them gently enter you. Twisting and opening you up as he prepares you for his intrusion that you haven't had in so long. However, you needed him, and you didn't want to wait any longer. You reach for his hardness and gently pull him back to you. You push at his wrist and line him up as he removes his fingers. You stare up at him in anticipation, desperation in your eyes, chest moving up and down rapidly. He raises an eyebrow at you, and you nod your head at his silent question.

“It's okay,” you whisper and run your hand up and down the front of his body.

“Are you sure?” He asks breathlessly.

You bite your lower lip and nod your head. Yoongi groans, taking himself back in his hand, and pushes back into you slowly. Even in his neediest moments, he is gentle with you. You hear him take a deep breath and exhale slowly when he bottoms out in you. His eyes are closed tight, and his body feels quite tense. You experimentally roll your hips against his, and he gasps out. You think you might enjoy seeing him like this. Like he will come undone any single moment.

“Don't move yet,” he whispers brokenly. “I need a moment. I can't ever wait this long again.”

“Yoongi, it's okay,” you say again. Pulling him down, your lips meet his. Your tongue sneaks its way between his lips, making the kiss deeper, needier. You smile at him as you pull away. “Fuck me.” you whisper.

With a sharp inhale, Yoongi finally starts moving his hips against your own. His thrusts were hard and fast, unforgiving, acting on the wants and needs of his body. You grab a hold of his biceps and hold on firmly, trying to anchor yourself to him. The thrusting of his hips makes you slide a little further up the leather couch with each contact his body makes with you, making him have to pull you back down to meet him repeatedly. It was almost too distracting for you. You tap his arms, and he is immediately off you with a look of worry etched in his features.

“Are you okay?” he asks worriedly, thinking he hurt you. Without a word, you turn over to your knees and look back at him over your shoulder. “Fuck.” he whispers and gently pumps himself in his hand as he stares at you waiting for him. You teasingly sway your backside at him and he bites his lip, still watching you. “Fuck,” he whispers again.

“Yoongi,” you whimper.

“Yeah, shit,” he said, finally snapping out of his trance.

Moving your fallen skirt back up, Yoongi whips his shirt off and over his head to get it out of the way. His hands return to you as he places one hand on your hip to hold you steady and inserts himself back into you with the other. Moaning at the angle, you push your hips back against him until your bottom meets his pelvis. You press your own face and chest further into the cushions, making your back arch more, bringing him deeper into your burning core. Yoongi gasps. He grabs the front of your hips and pulls your ass up to meet his every thrust as he begins to move within you again. The tip of his cock kissing your sweet spot with every push of his hips.

“Yoongi,” you cry out in a broken sob as your body jostles around from his handling of you.

“That's it,” he rasps as the sound his hips smack against your ass fills his studio. Tingles start to spread over your body as your muscles start to tense. You feel your body suddenly drop, and Yoongi moves to hover over you further. His breath hits your cheek as his face drops down to yours. “I love you. So, fucking much.”

Reaching behind you with both hands, you grab a hold of the back of his bare thighs. Your nails dig into his pale flesh as you desperately try to hold onto him. Yoongi's lips press against your cheek as his hand dips under your skirt. HIs fingers press on your clit, drawing quick circles along it.

“YOONGI!” You cry out and cover your mouth with your hand. You are scared to be too loud even though you know his studio is soundproof.

“Let me hear you,” he grunts against the side of your face.

Your walls start to contract around as you begin to brokenly sob out his name, causing his own hips to stutter in response. You hear him groan out a couple of “oh fucks” in your ear as he stills as he emptied himself into you. His breathing is hard, warm breath puffing against your cheek as he tries to catch his breath. He turns his head and presses a gentle kiss to your cheek. Slowly, he pulls out of you after a moment and sits back laying his head against the back of the couch trying to calm down his fast beating heart. You close your legs tightly as you turn onto your back and try to catch his attention.

“Umm,” you say, your face starting to turn red. “It's leaking.”

Yoongi looks at you, then between your legs, and starts to laugh at you. Standing up, he pulls up his pants and grabs some tissues by his desk. Cleaning you up, he hands you your underwear and tights before he puts his own shirt back on. You shyly get dressed in front of him as he sits back and watches you with a half lidded expression of pure satisfaction. Straightening your skirt and smoothing it down, he holds his hand out to you once again. You grab a hold of it, and he gently pulls you onto his lap.

“I miss you so much, baby. I'm trying my hardest to finish this damn album so I can help you,” he says, and you nod and rest your head against his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you whisper and hold onto him just a little tighter. You don't ever want to let go.

“Well if that wasn't the longest lunch break in history,” Seungkwan says, giving you a side-eye as soon as you open the door. He knew damn well what you were up to.“

"Very funny,” you say, walking into your office and sitting at your desk across the room.

“Your phone has been going off nonstop,” he tells you.

You groan and throw your head back in exasperation. Picking your phone up, you see that your mom has, in fact, been nonstop calling you and has sent one text. Calling her back, you hold your breath. You have to be prepared for what could end up being a fight.

“Y/N, where have you been? I've been calling you all afternoon,” your mother's voice came from the other end of the phone. “I called the venue with the mountains and gardens. I told them we were interested and I needed a date to tell her.”

“I….I’m going to be booking my own venue. It's at a small winery just out of town on August 1st, a black and white color theme, with no flowers,” you tell her in one breath. You did it. You told her, and there was no going back after this.

“WHAT?” She exclaimed so loudly that you had to pull the phone away from your ear.

“I have to work goodbye,” you say quickly before she can continue and turn your phone immediately off.

“No, flowers?” Seungkwan questioned you with a bewildered look. “You don't want flowers?”

“No, they are way too expensive, and I feel bad for spending that much,” you explain.

“My sister is a florist. Let me talk to her, and I will give her your number,” he said. “I'm sure that she will give you a discount.”

“You don't have to,” you say, shaking your head slightly. “I really don't care if I have flowers or not.”

“I want to, even if it's just your bouquet. That's what friends are for,” he says, giving you a soft smile before turning back to his computer and continuing his work.

You rest your head back against your seat, and your eyes look at the picture of you and Yoongi sitting on your desk by your computer monitor. It was a selfie that you took from the balcony of that beautiful Paris hotel room. You could see the Eiffel Tower lit up in the background as he held you in his arms while you stretched your arm out to take the picture. There’s a small pit in your stomach as you look at it, and you can't figure out what it is as you look at your smiling faces. You just hope that it goes away soon.

A/N: Well, I've finally started chapter 7 of Vows. Updates will still come about every two weeks or so. Also, I wasn't sure about my tagged readers from SECRETS and if I was supposed to tag you in this new story. I guess I don't know the protocol.

Tagged Readers:

@svnbangtansworld, @futuristicenemychaos

[nyuzip]

˚₊‧ 심재윤 ─ puppy love ✧ jake / sim jaeyun

엔하이픈 𓂃 genderneutral ★ fluff ★ not proofread , wc 742 sum: what you thought was a normal day, taking your dog to the local dog park, you meet a cute boy who blends in with the puppies too well

it was your typical friday afternoon. your schedule after work was to take your golden retriever on her daily walk at the dog park and go grocery shopping to buy the food you’ll be eating for the rest of the week, nothing you weren’t used to. something about this specific day felt different, of course it was your co-workers’ karina’s doing. she has recently been dabbling in tarot card reading and asked if you wanted a reading during break. silly as it was, you agreed for the fun of it. karina had told you something unexpected will happen to you this afternoon. before you could worry, she immediately reassured you that it was good. of course, this lurked in your mind the entire walk to the park. will something really happen to me? you tried shaking it off your mind because, in retrospect, it was just a stupid little reading that is usually fake. oh well 

but you were wrong. as soon as you arrived at the dog park, someone held the gate open for you and your dog. you looked up to meet eyes with the cutest boy ever. you took a mental note of his messy brown hair, his eyes that had a hint of a sparkle, and honey skin. not to mention his fashion that matched your type perfectly. you tried to let out a thank you but your mind was already somewhere else. he just simply smiled at you before his dog began to start barking at yours. 

< layla! i’m so sorry. she usually never does this > he lets out an awkward embarrassed laugh 

< oh no it’s all good. she’s cute. > 

by this time, you could see more people going towards the entrance so collectively both of you entered in and kept walking together. your dog seemed to take a liking to layla. they began to play with one another, licking each other’s faces, and their tales wagging relentlessly. 

< wow our dogs really like each other. nini always stay to herself every time we go. > you chuckled watching them roll around in the dirt while you noticed in the corner of your eye, the boy looking at you. it was making you nervous. this never happened before. 

< i guess we didn’t need to bring any toys this time. do you always come here? > he questioned you with genuine curiosity in his tone.

< basically yeah! oh wait! i never asked your name. i’m y/n > 

< oh pretty name. i’m jake. nice to meet you y/n > 

he caught you off guard. hearing your name roll off his tongue melted your heart. his australian accent was strong but gorgeous. not even comprehending the fact he said your name was pretty as you were distracted being down bad. 

< it was nice to meet you too jake > you were able to let out with a beaming smile after you recollected yourself and your thoughts

for a good 30 minutes, you and jake continued a small conversation, mostly yapping about fun facts about each other’s dog. the sun was beginning to come down and that was usually when you would head to the store. 

< it was fun talking to you jake! the dog park has never been this fun before. i’ll definitely see you more often, right? > you questioned him, crossing your fingers in your mind because there is no way you could let him go like this. 

< definitely! it was fun for me too. > 

< okay! nice meeting you again. oh and layla too > you chuckled before proceeding to wave bye. this was enough for you and maybe in the future, it could lead to some sort of romance. it was exciting. 

suddenly, you felt nini’s leash coming loose from your hand. she had practically ran towards layla when you finally realized what she was doing. < nini! > 

< i guess they weren’t done playing. > jake let out a hearty laugh. it was the most attractive thing you had heard. < how about having dog playdates? > nothing could have prepared you for that question. oh it was an immediate yes in your head but you made sure to control yourself, so instead, a “nervous” sure came out of your mouth. god i’m such a mess. but you calmed down as jake gave you a warm smile.

it looks like your “typical friday” will be different moving forward with an australian boy who looks like a cute puppy himself. you made sure to thank karina the next day. 

had this idea for awhile and i'm so happy that i was able to write and execute it just like my vision. i hope this little meet-cute with jake will make you squeal like i did ! also if anyone has any requests please send them my way ᵔᴗᵔ also i apologize in advance if there are any errors, i rarely proofread LMAO also happy new year mwah

NYUZIP 2023 ─ do not use/steal my work

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

"Wow, Lily!" Remus exclaimed as soon as he saw her "You look lovely..." she smiled "I didn't know this was formal, otherwise I would have worn something else" he added, looking at himself.

Lily Evans looked beautiful today. She was a pretty girl on daily basis. But today she was radiant. She had made the effort of picking up a nice dress and she had put on makeup with bit of glitter on her eyes, and she had straightened her hair. Instead of lose curls, her locks were perfectly combed.

"Thanks" Lily blushed.

That made Remus even more nervous. He had been trying to convince himself that this was just a hang out between friends. But everything just indicated otherwise.

"Look, I'm wearing the necklace you gave me"

Remus had to admit it suited her.

"Oh! Nice!"

Bloody James Potter. Ever since the incident with the necklace on Lily's birthday, the girl had been acting odd. Remus had lied and said that the necklace he gave her was his mum's when it was James who bought it for her.

"Moony," James had begged with puppy eyes "Lily is not accepting it coming from me. But she's gonna love it coming from you! She hates me but she likes you well enough"

If James wanted to conquer Lily, he was doing a terrible job by giving Remus all the credit.

"Are you sure you don't want it back?" Lily asked unsure. "It was your mum's after all"

Remus regretted this so badly. But he had promised James that he wasn't going to say anything.

"Noo! Noo!" he exclaimed "Keep it, honestly! It looks better on you"

Remus wished Lily wouldn't be looking at him like that when she should be looking at James. He purchased the expensive jewel after all.

"You look nice as well, Remus"

Were Lily's eyes sparkling?

"With this old sweater?" he pointed to himself.

"It suits you. It is nice" Lily smiled, putting a lock of hair behind her ear.

Remus liked Lily Evans because she was cool, funny and different than any girl that had made his life impossible in the past. It was easy between them. They didn't have awkward moments. They were genuine around each other.

So, why was Lily acting weird? God no, please no. Remus had only accepted this as friends. Lily couldn't fancy him. James would kill him.

"So..." Remus cleared his throat, as if he could break the awkwardness between them "What's the plan?"

"I was thinking we can go to the cinema in the castle!" Lily exclaimed "Sometimes they play good movies"

Watch a movie in silence. Good. Remus could do that.

"Sounds great"

Lily giggled "Cool"

"Lead the way..."

Friends watched movies together, right? Lily probably wanted to hang out with Remus because she didn't have anything better to do. Right?

The walk to the cinema room was painfully weird. There was silence between them. Remus was used to Lily speaking bollocks that made him laugh. Now, she was eyeing him every two seconds and smiling to herself.

"Never been to the Hogwarts cinema before"

"Oh, me neither" Lily confessed "Severus didn't like it..." she swallowed as if mentioning him hurt her. Remus knew that twat had been her only friend but they didn't speak to each other anymore. Remus didn't know why.

"And I didn't want to go by myself..." Lily continued "I heard they only play old movies anyway but some are good..." she looked at him "Good thing I have you now to go"

Remus faked a giggle "It is odd to go to a school that has its own cinema" he said "It would be a nice experience"

"Yeah I guess" Lily let out a soft chuckle.

"What are you in the mood to watch?" Remus asked.

"Ha?" Lily blinked in surprise.

"What kind of movie?" Remus clarified.

"Oh" Lily sighed "Maybe a romance"

Oh fuck...

This wasn't a date. This wasn't a date. This wasn't a date.

Although it looked like a date when they arrived to the place. The movie for today was good: Ten things I hate about you. But nobody inside cared about the movie per se. There were only couples snogging.

Not only Remus got uncomfortable but Lily as well, as they looked at each other and blushed.

They already bought the tickets. Too late to ran away.

"Do you... Want to sit over there?" Lily pointed to an empty corner.

"Sure"

Lily led him to one of the front rows to the right side. The movie hadn't started yet. So they heard the kissing noises, sighs and giggles around them. Remus was too disgusted and nervous to eat but he stuffed popcorn to his mouth to have something to do.

"Have you watched this movie?" Lily asked to break the silence.

"Yeah it is really good" he answered "Have you watched it?"

"It is one of my favorites" Lily smiled.

And when she scooped closer, Remus moved away.

This was a bad idea. A terrible one.

"Shame nobody is paying attention" Lily looked around. Then she moved closer to Remus.

"Stupid people" Remus chuckled, moving further and further away from Lily "What's the point of coming to a theatre to snog? They can do that anywhere"

Lily looked at him curiously. "True" she nodded, then sighed "It must be nice, though, to snog someone..."

Shit, shit, shit....

"I mean obviously, not here!" Lily clarified going red as a tomato "Or now! But like... Like snog someone that you really really fancy... You know like after the movie and when the bloke walks you to your house, or your dorm in this case...."

As Lily spoke, Remus imagined the scene in his mind. It used to be amusing to hear her talk before but Remus didn't know what to do when Lily was flirting with him... Potentially!

"And then you and him are both so happy and at ease that everything seems perfect... And the bloke just kisses you right before you say goodbye... And he thinks about you all night long and you think about him as well..."

Bam! Remus felt the pain on his butt as he fell to the floor. He had been unconsciously moving away from Lily so quickly that he fell from the seat.

"Oh! Are you okay, Remus?" Lily asked.

Remus groaned in pain, maybe he could pretend to be so hurt that he could cancel the whole thing.

"Yeah... Yeah" he said as he stood up and got back into his seat "I'm delightful"

Remus wished he didn't feel sorry for leaving Lily alone. She was laughing now.

"You are different than other boys I know, you know?" she smiled as she ate some popcorn "Sweet and adorable"

Why couldn't Remus be a prick so Lily could stop imagining nonsense?

Before Remus could respond, the movie began and Remus was thankful. Maybe he could ignore her until the movie was over and by that time he would have figured a gentle way to reject her. Or maybe tell her the truth about the necklace and let bloody James deal with the consequences.

Although everyone was distracted by an annoying and loud feminine laughter that entered the room. Remus heard a few "Sh sh". And when he turned to see who this annoying girl was, Remus was surprised to see Alecto Carrow. This was the girl Sirius had been snogging for the last couple of weeks. Remus knew this because watching them provoked an indescribable pain on his chest and a horrible rage that made him want to pull that girl's long black hair.

And fuck his luck because today she was entering the bloody cinema with none other that Sirius Black himself.

Remus sunk on his chair and he noticed Lily getting very very pale, trying to cover her face as well.

Remus hadn't told Sirius or any of the Marauders about his plans with Lily this evening. He had heard James saying the team was going to have an extra practice. And Remus assumed Sirius would follow him.

Remus couldn't say no when Lily asked him to "hang" early this week. But the counting days to the present, Remus had been divided in between canceling Lily and disappointing her or convincing himself Lily just wanted to do something as friends and only that.

Now Sirius was the last person that should find him in this predicament.

And thanks to Remus's shitty luck, he and his stupid girl sat in the row in front of them.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" Remus heard Sirius asking her in a low voice.

Thank God he hadn't noticed them. Maybe it was the fact that Remus and Lily were both very sunk on their chairs and practically covering their faces with the popcorn bag and soda respectively.

"No, darling" Alecto shook her head "I don't eat that garbage"

"Good thing" Sirius smirked "You're sweet and tasteful enough"

His comment provoked a loud laugh from his companion that made everyone shush her again. Although Remus saw Sirius rolling his eyes when she didn't notice. Was he getting bored of her already?

"Remus..." Lily leaned to whisper, he face covered by her large soda "Did you tell... him... about..."

"No!" Remus whispered back before Lily said 'our date'.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else" Lily whispered and Remus saw her very red and worried "Black is gonna ruin everything"

Remus couldn't agree more. Even though he wanted this date or whatever it was ruined. He didn't want Sirius to see him.

"I've seen this movie plenty of times already" he commented.

"Me too" she whispered back.

They nodded in agreement. They had to get out of here. It was sickening anyway the way Sirius was trying to put his arm around the girl, how they were smiling at each other and possibly leaning in to snog...

But as Remus was moving, he tripped (his stupid luck again), and all the popcorn fell on top of Alecto's head. She screamed, making everyone look their way.

Sirius turned furiously "Hey, wanker! Watch..." he stopped when he recognized him, his eyes widened "Moony?"

Remus was frozen. Then Sirius’s eyes moved towards Lily who was trying her best to cover her face.

"Evans?" Sirius asked. Then looked suspiciously between the two.

Alecto was watching them curiously.

Lily faked a smile but her face was as red as her hair or even more.

"What a coincidence, ha?"

It was Lily who was shushed this time.

*****

“What I do in my free time is none of your business, Black! And I shouldn’t give you explanations of what I do or don’t do!”

It was after the incident that they had been kicked out of the room. The four of them. They didn’t seem to care much, expect for Alecto maybe. But Sirius had bombarded Remus and Lily with questions. And Lily was the one who had the courage to answer.

“Is it wrong to go out with Remus?” Lily continued “He is not only your friend, you know? You don’t own him! And he is free to do whatever he wants!”

In the meantime, Sirius couldn’t move his eyes away from Remus. And Remus had his eyes fixed on the floor.

“It’s okay, sweety!” Alecto exclaimed “Nobody cares that you’re on a date with him”

“We’re not in a date!” Remus and Lily protested at the same time. He looked at her in surprise, and she looked away as she blushed.

“I think you make a pretty good couple” Alecto continued, ignoring them.

“We’re not a couple” Lily got even more red “And if we were, I wouldn’t tell you, It is none of your business”

It was then that Sirius started laughing. Remus knew this was more of a Sirius’s reaction. Everything was amusing to him. He wanted the world to entertain him. The bastard.

“What’s so funny, Sirius?”

“Prongs is gonna love this!” Oh shit “Did you bring Evans here to snog her behind his back?”

For a second Remus wished that Sirius was jealous of the whole thing, but he was just taking the piss.

“Oh, that’s right” Alecto nodded amused “Potter used to have a crush on you, right Lily?”

Why did Sirius had to go out with the most stupid girls?

“We came here as friends!” Remus said. He side glanced at Lily. She was looking down with embarrassment.

“You know that bringing someone to the Hogwarts Cinema is for a good snog, right?” Sirius smirked, looking between the two.

That explained all the couples from before.

Alecto gasped “Is that why you brought me here?”

“Well, I did want to snog you” Sirius confessed, just like that. Remus rolled his eyes.

Lily, on the other hand, was red as a tomato and looked very embarrassed.

“I didn’t know, Sirius” Remus sighed with exasperation “I’ve never been”

Remus didn’t know that with that comment, Sirius and Alecto’s eyes would turn to Lily.

“Wow, Evans” Sirius spat “Trying to get advantage of my Moony?”

“Lily!” Alecto exclaimed, with that annoying laughter of hers “I admire your courage. Asking a boy out and insinuating a snog must be challenging…”

God, there were making her look like a…like a… Remus couldn’t say it.

“You’re gonna break Prongs’s heart” Sirius added “I hope you don’t do the same with Moony”

“Going for all the friend group, ha?” Alecto teased, then grabbed Sirius’s arm “Well Sirius is out of the market, darling”

Remus couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He turned to look at Lily who had her eyes filled with tears. When she noticed Remus was looking at her, she looked so embarrassed that she ran away as fast as she could.

“Lily!” Remus called for her, but she ran fast.

“Oops” Alecto said “Did we say something wrong?”

Remus was furious. He might’ve not like Lily that way, but he cared for her.

“You can be a complete, arsehole sometimes, Sirius!” Remus snapped. Only to Sirius. He didn’t care about the fake of Alecto. “I don’t recognize you when you behave like this”

Sirius seemed uncomfortable “Moony, it was a joke…”

“Fuck off!”

“You are the one having a date with Evans!” Sirius snapped, but Remus ignored him.

Remus got out of there before Sirius could say anything else. Sometimes he couldn’t believe how much Sirius had grown. Sometimes he was far from what that sweet ten-year-old boy used to be. Sometimes Remus couldn’t believe he fancied him still.

Sirius wasn’t like this. Not really. He just liked to behave like an idiot sometimes.

Remus found Lily crying in the main patio. His heart broke when he saw her vulnerable like that. People used to make fun of him a lot back at his old school. Lily reminded him of his own self. Pre transition Remus lost and scared because he didn’t want to be different.

Remus took a seat in the bench next to her without saying a word. Lily stopped crying but sniffed a few times.

“I swear I didn’t know that the cinema was a place to snog, Remus!” Lily said with a desperate voice “Like I said, I’ve never been! Now I never want to go back” she shook her head “What? People just don’t fancy watching a movie these days? Bloody hell!!”

Remus found himself smiling.

“It’s okay” he said “It is not your fault. People are just stupid to prefer a snog than a good movie or worse a good book”

“Right?” Lily snorted “What do they have in their brains? Mud?”

Remus shrugged.

“A good book doesn’t break your heart” Lily said, sounding more like the girl he knew.

“Or give you herpes”

“Or make your lips swollen”

“Or pass you their saliva”

“Eeew!”

Remus giggled and Lily followed. Suddenly things were going back to normal.

“Remus, can I ask you something?”

Remus looked at her. “Of course, Lils”

“And can you be honest?”

Remus nodded, and placed a hand on his heart “I solemnly swear”

“Do you…” Lily swallowed “Do you like me?”

"Of course!” There was no doubt.

“No but, like like me…”

“Oh” God, not this again. Remus didn’t want to break her heart or lose her. She was a golden friend. One of the few people that understood what it felt to feel like an alien in this school.

“You’re a lovely girl, Lily…” he started “But…”

Lily let out a breath of relief.

“It’s okay if you don’t” Lily explained “It’s just that after my birthday…” she unconsciously grabbed the necklace on her neck “Mary and Marlene had been filling my head about how you must fancy me, because a boy doesn’t give necklaces like this to a friend, besides, it is your mum’s…”

Well, the necklace was from the boy that fancied her, but it wasn’t Remus.

“Oh Lils,,,” Remus was finding the right words to say.

“I just wanted to believe that idea…” Lily said, blushing again “I thought how we got along so well, and I just felt comfortable around you… And I filled my head with this story of a nice romance between us… That’s why I asked you on this date…”

So, it was a date!

“But it was so uncomfortable, wasn’t it?”

“It’s because we are not meant to be more than really good friends, Lily” Remus said with a smile “I’m not the bloke for you”

That was James. She didn’t know that yet.

Lily let out a soft chuckle.

“It was an awful date, anyway” Remus added.

Lily gasped “Remus!”

They both laughed now, more comfortable than all had been clear.

“I gave you the necklace because I like you” Remus thought he ought to cover for James still “Maybe not like that. But I do like you” he added “I swear that I’ve never gotten along with a girl before. And it feels pretty great….”

Lily nodded “Hence my confusion”

“It is easy with you. We can talk about anything. And we like the same books. And we like to complain about my dumb friends…”

“Your friends are really really dumb” Lily giggled.

Remus thought about James. He thought about Sirius’s comments, did he have to be an idiot?

“Sorry about Sirius” he said “I know you think he is a twat but sometimes he says mean things because he feels attacked or doesn’t like something”

Lily shook her head “So, he was jealous of us?”

“Ha?” Remus wished his cheeks weren’t on fire.

“Potentially if we were dating” Lily concluded “He wouldn’t like it, I bet”

“Why?”

“Because Potter would feel like I am a lost game and Black wouldn’t like that, right?”

For a second Remus had hope that Sirius was jealous because he fancied him back. But Lily was right.

“And maybe Potter would finally leave me alone” Lily bit her lip “Remus, would you date me?”

Remus grinned “As much as I would like to help you…” he said “I appreciate my integrity, and James would kill me if I were to date you”

Lily scoffed “He doesn’t own me!” then grabbed his arm “I can date any boy I fancy”

“But you don’t fancy me, yeah?”

Lily shook her head carefully “Bloody hell, no. Don’t get angry, Remus"

Remus faked a gasp “You just broke my heart, Lily Evans”

Lily smiled “You rejected me first!”

She hit his arm gently and then she giggled which made Remus smile. He was so glad Lily and him were okay. That nothing had changed between them.

“Bloody Mary and Marlene” Lily tutted “I’m glad we sorted this inquiry”

Remus was glad as well “Yeah me too”

Lily was still grabbing his arm, but Remus didn’t care. This was how it was supposed to be. Just good friends. Comfortable around each other.

Then he added “Hungry?” he asked “Want to go grab something to eat?”

“Yeah, please!” Lily exclaimed “It’s a date”

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"But not like that!"

Remus laughed.

[verxsyon]

·:*¨༺ ❝ 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 ❞

it’s summer: the season of thrills and bittersweetness.

✧ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. bronya, dan heng, gepard, jing yuan, sampo, seele, & serval x gn!reader

✧ 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭. headcanon (written) ; 0.6k

✧ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞. modern au, summer romance au ; angst, fluff, hurt/comfort

✧ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. one night stand (sampo), unrequited love (gepard)

✧ 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚. omg vera comeback! i’m finally free from classes and i’m off from work for three weeks so yay proper summer break! oh yeah, i finally got bronya! my seele’s no longer gf-less. so this is supposed to be bittersweet with ambiguous endings throughout but uh, my mind went elsewhere with most of them lmao. hopefully this makes sense; my writing’s pretty rusty. special thanks to pigeon from the teahouse server who came up with the title!

𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐚. a sheltered heiress who is secretly a thrill seeker. at night, she sneaks into an underground club where she hangs out with the only person who doesn’t treat her any differently despite her status. on very last visit, she reveals she’ll be married soon and her mother discovered her escapades, forbidding her from such activities. that doesn’t stop you from crashing the wedding and presenting a (fake) ring to object to the marriage, having you as her spouse instead.

𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐠. a tenant under your grandparents as well as an assistant of their small business. his aloof personality is intimidating at first, not saying much as he accompanies you around your grandparents’ residence, but there’s more to him in his eyes. his nightmares catch up with him the moment he falls for you, and now he has to repress it to keep you safe. the more he pushes away, the more he wants to yell for help, and you hate to come home with a guilty conscience.

𝐠𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝. an estranged friend who has been serving the military, and is spending his off-duty at home. you haven’t seen him in years, so it is expected to start off awkwardly, but the two of you are glad to see each other again. besides reconnecting with friends and family, he wishes to resolve his biggest regret, being unable to confess his love for you. but maybe it should stay that way when he meets your fiancé, and all he can say is congratulations.

𝐣𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐮𝐚𝐧. a playful businessman who visits the bar just for his new favorite bartender. your coworker is gone for the entire summer, so you become the target of his flirting. at this point you’ve known the guy for a while, except he has a son who you’ve met at the bar, both terrible in acting and flirting. soon his infamous father arrives, not surprised that his son is there and is happy that he finally met you, his “partner”. perhaps you’ll await an explanation on your date.

𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐨. a notorious thief who stole your precious belongings along with your dignity one fateful night. within this season, you’re set to finish your bucket list, however, thanks to a certain someone, there aren’t enough funds. speaking of which, he sees the nearest person and pulls you into an alleyway to hide from the police. recognizing each other, he offers to help you with your bucket list as a deal. not only did he steal your things, he stole your heart as well.

𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞. a free spirit with a rebellious streak. she’s invited to the road trip, viewing it as an opportunity to assess her strength and explore more of the world. the beginning starts off rocky, her clashing with you about meticulous things and the others are trying their best to diffuse the situation. if the arguments teach you one thing, the girl is honest. the one thing she isn’t is when it has to do with her crush on you, hoping the arguments will come in handy.

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐥. a fairly popular musician whose name you’ve never heard of until your friend drags you to attend her concert. forced to listen to her setlist before the big day, you slowly become a fan and are able to memorize some of the lyrics. while outside one day, you’re so in the moment that a stylish woman excitedly says she recognizes the music. the brief friendship results in her contact info and gratitude for your support. then you realize, you know who she is now.

✧ ���𝐚𝐠𝐬. if your url is in bold, it means i can’t tag you!

@kamiyatos​​

[shadowqueenjude]

Ok man, I'm getting extremely tired of the Elriel's stagnant arguments. So let me debunk them. Forbidden romance! No, for God's sake, it is NOT forbidden. Feyre and Rhysand would support them both if Elain and Azriel truly loved each other. Not like Lucien would try to get in between them anyway. ElAiN dEsErVeS a ChOiCe! Choice implies multiple options! That means Lucien is a choice too! Elain has chosen Azriel for now! That doesn't mean she can't change her mind! Besides, haven't you EVER heard of the reluctant lovers trope? Be creative please. BuT wHaT iF tHe CaUlDrOn WaS wRoNg? Yeah, the Cauldron could be wrong about Eris and Mor, or it could be wrong about the Lady of Autumn and Helion. Why does this one line HAVE to be referring to elriel? SJM often uses lines like these to foreshadow plotlines yes, but she is never THAT obvious about it. Rhysand was being a hypocrite stopping the Azriel kiss! You could argue that he was, sure, but he was also trying to prevent a major political scandal. SJM isn't going to write Rhysand being wrong in any situation, lmao. Love or hate the character, it doesn't matter. That's just the way she has written him. Elain is an introvert! No. She's just traumatized. Nesta, her sister, says it. Lucien is a fake mate! Azriel showed mating behavior? Uhhhh no. Azriel went after MOR in the King of Hybern scene. Lucien went after guess who? Yeah, ELAIN. It was Nesta who realized Elain was gone and began to worry. Azriel only volunteered after Cassian couldn't go because he was wounded and he was the easy option aside from Feyre because he could hide in the shadows. And guess what? He saved Gwyn too! Maybe he just has a savior complex! Lucien is the one who was concerned about Elain's mental and physical health. Azriel seemed pretty chill when she wasn't eating. And he did NOT want to look after Elain. He made fun of Cassian for having to do it. ElAiN hAs TwO mAtEs! SJM is not going to write that. It would fuck everything up. She wants both characters to be happy. Gwyn is a lightsinger? Probably not, but so fucking what if she ends up being one? You think that's gonna deter Mr. Torturer Azriel? If anything that'll only bring them closer. Nice try. BuT luCiEn Is InTo VaSsA! NO. STOP IT. HE WAS CANONICALLY SEEN TO BE LOOKING AT ELAIN WITH LONGING IN ACOSF. DON'T SPREAD LIES. Vassa is definitely more into Jurian, which is a pairing that makes sense. Lucien is a side character. Um...no? Lucien has been around since book 1. He was a very significant character in that book as well. And in books 2 and 3, he might not have had as much screentime, but almost every moment he had was monumental. We see him survive the Night Court. We hear his story of fulfilling Calanmai, implying he is also chosen by the Spring Court. We have him helping Feyre kill off the twins of Hybern, bring back the army with Vassa, balance 3 roles and still dress immaculately, dominate Cassian with one word. He is also connected to almost every potential plotline in existence. Ok, this one isn't Elriel but some people say TaMlAiN! Because of the spring court foreshadowing. Guess who lived in the Spring Court for decades? Lucien! Guess who is the current Spring Court ruler but isn't doing much of ruling? Tamlin! Guess who also was able to do Spring Court Calanmai? Lucien! Wow, it almost looks like Lucien is going to replace Tamlin! SJM is not going to put one sister with another sister's ex anyway, that's weird. Elain has her chosen family in the Night Court in Nuala and Cerridwen! She belongs there! No. Just stop it. SJM could not be more clear with that line about the black dress sucking the life out of her and Elain being bothered by the cruelty in the Hewn City. Guess who is also pretty averse to violence? Oh yeah, Lucien! As for chosen family... Feyre had Tamlin and Lucien. They didn't end up being her chosen family, the IC did. Nesta didn't find her chosen family until her book. Lucien's band of exiles are not his chosen family either. Lucien and Elain are just really good at making friends.

[sleepytwilight]

An actual date

Pairing: Lilith x Sirius (I'm not good with romance)

"you good man? You've been pretty moody this entire morning." Pollux noticed Sirius change in demeanor.

"You noticed? Hah.. nothing particularly special—"

"I heard from Vega, you got rejected when you asked Lilith on a date. He was mocking you."

"..ouch." Sirius sighed. "I'm not in the mood, don't let others see my like this. I'll just know they'll make fun of me."

"Well I'm trying to help you." Said Pollux as he grabbed Sirius arm. "Come on, I set a playdate for you with Lilith."

"What? Why would she accepted—"

"Alright listen here you smarty-pants. She misunderstood your intention, she thought you were talking about dates, the fruit. Since she just learn that term of date and dates but the thing is she can't tell between them... And she don't like dates like me so-" Pollux faked a cough.

"Ah." A bulb lighten up as Sirius understands what's going on. "Oh... ... Well...."

"Yeah yeah I know. You guys need to communicate better I swear to God..." Sighed Pollux.

A little while later, Sirius is wearing his casual outfit. Pollux gave him a basket full of food for the picnic and a fresh bouquet of white lilies.

He saw Lilith waiting patiently at a picnic blanket.

'Pollux really prepared everything...-' Sirius is impressed by Pollux managed to do everything in such short time.

Lilith wears a yellow ruffle and white shorts. He never seen her wear that kind of clothing, to be honest he always seen her wearing the uniform or her only clothes that she have.

"Summoner." Sirius greet her with a smile. "For you, my lady." He handed Lilith the bouquet.

"Lilies..!" Lilith happily took it and smiles. "How did you know this is my favorite?"

"That... I noticed your scent match with lilies." Sirius quickly thought a lie, he can't just tell her that it was Pollux who chose it.

"You noticed?" She chuckles. "Thank you! I use that kind of perfume that use lilies."

"You mean I use a lily-scented perfume?" Sirius corrected Lilith. "But good job, you improved a lot at your accent." Sirius faked a cough. "May I?"

"Oh- ah right, you may take a seat." Lilith invited him to sit down next to her.

The silent was louder than Sirius thought it would be. Sirius is supposed to good at this but he feels nervous around her.

A minute had passed, they still haven't talk about anything-

"So-"

"So.."

Both stop when they synced.

"You go first." Sirius offers.

"Ahaha... Uhm... Sorry for rejecting you yesterday. I thought you were talking about the fruit."

"Oh, it's not a big deal. Everyone made mistake." Sirius laughed, he is not fine actually. Last night, he thought he made a horrible mistake that he could not sleep. The fact he wears concealer to hide his dark circles. "Anyway I brought lunch."

Sirius checked the basket, there are bottle of wine, two glasses, sandwiches and pancakes...

'yep, definitely Pollux and Arcturus who made this.' Sirius can recognized Arcturus homemade sandwich signature. He just hope Lilith won't notice a thing.

"Oh! Did you asked Arcturus and Pollux for help?" Asked Lilith as she look over the basket.

Sirius lost his chance to impress her again- Ahem..

"Not at all! They're the one who planned all of this. I just follows the flow." He said.

"Oh... So you didn't want this date?"

"No no, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that I was planning to take you on a expensive restaurant but they insisted I should take you out on a picnic! So I agreed because I realized you maybe like.. nature more?"

"Oh!" Lilith nodded in understanding. "Indeed you're correct! I don't enjoy being served in expensive restaurant, it overwhelm me a lot."

"I am always correct haha..!" Sirius is thankful that Lilith rejected him yesterday because that expensive restaurant was his idea in first place. "I thought since you're a princess, you'll like being treated like a princess but I just thought maybe you prefered something else."

"I mean you could've ask me but you worked so hard and even noticed the smallest thing about me, I'm happy." She smiles. "And you even brought my favorite wine!"

"Oh, of course. Since I only got my eye on you." Behind his smiles, he is in fact feels guilty for not knowing anything that Lilith likes or dislikes, he's going to give Pollux tips for this later.

Lilith chuckles, "I'll pour the wine, you can help by taking out the food." Said Lilith as she took the two glasses and the wine.

"Wait, Summoner. We have magic, why don't we just use it?" Sirius snapped his finger as the bottle of wine float and pour it into the two glasses by it self. "Impressive, right?"

"Very!" She beamed. "Magic is truly fascinating."

Sirius chuckles at her reaction, he couldn't get enough everytime she is impressed by something simple.

He took out a sandwich, try to feed her.

"Summoner, open your mouth."

"Oh-!" Lilith took a bite without hesitation, just like he expected, she will never hesitate when it come food. "Delicious! Feed me more, please!"

"Gladly." Sirius wipe the bread crumb from her lips with his fingers. He know has realized how soft is her lips is. "Right, Summoner... ... Uh—"

"You know, Phera also feed me like this and he called me good girl. At least he didn't call me good dog anymore but it's pretty weird. I'm pretty sure I am a woman now." Said Lilith. "Since Spica taught me the different because girl and woman in term-"

"That's enough Summoner, I understand...-" Sirius cracked a smile. "So you say you went to a date with Alpheratz hmm?"

"A date? Oh no, he just took me in a room and feed me cookies." Smiles Lilith, she in fact did not realized it was a date.

"... Well, my lady. I'll have a talk with Alpheratz, I'm pretty sure that bastard is stupid for calling you a good girl..."

"Shouldn't he call me good woman then?" Asked Lilith. "Should I ask Spica—"

"No, no. Don't ask Spica." Replied Sirius. "Just everytime Alpheratz try to invite you to somewhere, can you reject it? Nothing serious of course but don't you think you might waste him time since he's a very busy sorcerer..."

"Oh... If you say so then alright." She nodded.

The date went successful, they both had a good time. Sirius managed to get what he want, same with Lilith.

Pollux and Arcturus celebrated as they were watching them just to make sure everything went well.

[downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le]

The Way Back Home (Spencer Reid x Reader) - Chapter Two

The Way Back Home (Spencer Reid x Reader) - Chapter Two Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 4514 Warnings: major angst, major fluff, mentions of murder, graphic descriptions of dead bodies, crime scenes, near-death experiences, slow-burnish romance, death, canon violence, rape, swearing, guns, knives, prostitution, canon cuteness of the team. Spoilers: Maeve's death, mentions of previous cases or canon events from seasons 1-10.

Spencer and you have an unspoken connection with one another. Nothing has ever happened between you two, especially since everything went down with Maeve, but your love has grown and overcome and is now clear as day to everyone. However, just when Spencer builds up enough courage to ask you out officially, you're requested on an undercover mission that halts your budding relationship in its tracks.

Months go by without a word from you until bodies of prostitutes start showing up in New York and the BAU is brought in to help. Spencer and you finally reunite as both your cases collide, but your lives and your love are both on the line now.

Will you and Spencer be able to find the way back home this time?

Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Epilogue

~~~

Eleven months.

Eleven months you had been Serena Vanguff: Brooklyn born and raised, with a dream to live life to the fullest. You'd built and sold your sob story of growing up with your single-parent mother and her single job income to six different clubs and brothels in those eleven months. You'd built up trust, inserted yourself into the upper ranks of each establishment. It had taken patience, precision, and a lot of self-discipline.

And Dr. Spencer Reid of all people was about to ruin all of that.

You hadn't registered the voice until it was too late. From the door of the loading bay, you could only make out your fake name being called, not who was calling. You'd been in the bay by yourself for most of the morning, the voice startled you so much you hit your toe on one of the boxes of spirits. But even bent over, eyes focused on your injury, you'd heard him as he rounded the corner, heard his voice, and there was no mistaking it.

'Are you okay,' he said, and you heard him rush over to help, but you held up a hand in the hopes to create some distance between you two.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, doll,' you replied hastily, shakily. 'Just hit my toe, is all.'

'Well, here, let me get you some ice-'

'That's not necessary, hun. Really.' God, he was persistent as usual.

'Well, at least let me have a look at it. You might've gotten a splinter in it or-'

'Stop.'

You couldn't help it, your voice just slipped out. The voice you worked so hard to hide everyday. The voice you only let out in whispers or in the shower of your apartment to remind yourself you were still you. With him, it came out naturally, like it had never been hidden away.

He listened, but you knew it wasn't out of politeness. Spencer Reid had an IQ of 187 with an eidetic memory - he knew straight away. And when he slowly raised his head to look at you, you saw what he saw: a ghost.

'Y/N?'

You hadn't heard that name - your name - in months. The higher ups you reported to once a week didn't even use your name in case someone was listening in. You weren't prepared for the first person to call you by your true name after all this time to be the person you held most dear.

And the person you'd left behind without a word.

His voice was so soft; you'd always loved how he said your name. Like you were something to be revered and cared for. But realisation slapped you hard, and so you grabbed his head and pushed it down to make it look like he was looking at your injured toe. You also did it to avoid his shocked, pained gaze.

'Oh! You know, it actually does hurt a little, yeah. You're such a gentleman,' you said obnoxiously loud, holding his head steady as you bent slightly over, hair brushing his cheeks. Then, in a low voice you said, 'My name is Serena. I don't know you, and you don't know me. Make sure the cameras see that, okay?'

He nodded ever so slightly and you took his hand off his head. He slowly stood up, those amber eyes immediately locking onto yours. You followed him as he did, until you were craning your neck slightly upwards in a manner that pained you where it once was second nature. His gaze burned with so many unspoken things, but now that the shock had subsided, all you saw was hurt.

To his credit, he didn't express it verbally. Instead, he smiled a tight-lipped smile, slipping easily into his polite, greeting mode. 'Hi, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit,' he said, introducing himself like he would to any other person.

Even though you hadn't been expecting him or the rest of the team to be called in, it didn't take you long to realise what he would be doing here. 'Madame Lacroix said the feds would be coming around sometime,' you said, making sure you sounded both indifferent and concerned at the same time. 'Poor Roxy. She didn't deserve that.'

You held Spencer's gaze for what felt like an eternity, silently pleading with him to go along with what you were offering. You willed for him to see that you had many unspoken things to talk about with him, too. But now was not the place nor the time.

He watched you for a moment longer, his inner turmoil visible in his clenching jaw, his fidgety fingers. It warmed your heart when he tucked a loose curl behind his ear. His hair was longer. You'd always liked it that way. The last time you saw him, it was close-cropped.

Had it really been that long already?

Spencer seemed to silently agree with your logic, coughing to clear his throat before diving in with the questioning you both were more familiar with than your home addresses. 'How long have you been working at the Chateau, Miss...'

You plastered on a big smile, waving a hand dismissively at him. 'Vanderguff, but you can just call me Serena, doll. No titles except for Madame Lacroix 'round here. And about three months now.'

'Okay, Serena. Were you two close?' he asked. 'You and Roxy?'

You shrugged nonchalantly. 'Sure, we all are here. But I guess you could say there was a small group of us in particular that looked out for each other. You know, like sisters of sorts.'

'We spoke with Madame Lacroix just before,' Spencer said. 'She said Roxy and her group didn't usually let people in until they'd earned their keep. But you just... slipped right into the group?'

You didn't like how pointed his question was. It was passive aggressive, like he was having a dig at you personally and not your alter ego. You crossed your arms over your barely covered chest, your face pinching in an offended manner. 'What can I say? I'm a charmer.'

'Were you popular at your old establishment, too? The Guilty Pleasure?'

'Look here, doctor,' you said, daring to take a step forward, appearing to get up in his face out of annoyance. When really, you just needed to look him in the eye when you said, 'Instead of asking about me, maybe you should be asking about Roxy and what she was into that might've gotten her killed.' You surprised yourself when tears sprung to your eyes, the memory of finding that poor girl all bloodied and mutilated flashing forward.

You redirected your gaze to the bay doors, giving a subtle nod in their direction. 'Found her just lying outside in a pool of her own blood. I had the midnight shift so I finished at around two in the morning, but I'd forgotten my phone in my dressing room so I circled back around to collect it. But when I did... there was Roxy.'

Spencer followed your gaze, his expression softening as he took in the scene. CSU had finished up just before Spencer got there, leaving behind nothing but a dark stain where Roxy had bled out. You tried not to think about her cold, lifeless body now laying under a sheet on the M.E.'s slab in the morgue.

You were broken from that thought when Spencer turned back to face you. 'Did you see anything or anyone when you found her? Anything out of the ordinary?' he asked outwardly. But you heard his silent request: profile the unsub.

You shook your head, face falling serious as you fell back into old habits. 'I didn't see anyone, but her body was still warm when I checked for a pulse so the sicko who killed her must've just fled before I got there.'

'Or could've been waiting somewhere nearby to make sure the job was done,' Spencer added, concern morphing his handsome features. Concern, you realised, for you. 'What did you do after that?'

You'd wanted to notify your superiors straight away on your secret phone you only used to receive texts from your unit, never to. But you'd come to the same conclusion as Spencer and decided you'd have to wait for a safer time to contact them.

'I waited for a bit,' you answered, putting on a frightened front as you pouted and hugged yourself a little. 'Mainly because I was so shocked to see her just lying there. I mean, I hadn't seen her in like a day, but I just assumed she took a rest day to go shopping or something. Then I pulled it together and ran inside to notify Madame Lacroix. She was in the middle of a business meeting when I told her. She called it in immediately.'

'You did the smart thing, Serena,' Spencer said gently, offering a small smile out of comfort.

You nodded your gratitude. 'You know, people don't think much about prostitution. That those who sell their bodies don't love or respect themselves enough to get a corporate job like everybody else. But it takes a different kind of smarts to do what we do. Especially if its something we had no choice but to do.'

'Was that the case with Roxy?' he asked carefully, his words soft-spoken but full of double meaning. His eyes locked with your eyes now, amber upon (E/C). 'Is that your case, Serena?'

You nodded, too afraid to speak in case you cracked. Eleven months of hard work would not go down the drain because of your silly little feelings for the wonderful Dr. Spencer Reid.

You swallowed the lump in your throat because, you reminded yourself, you didn't know this man. 'You don't get to choose the cards you're dealt, doctor. Not in my line of work, anyways.'

'Had Roxy been acting off lately?' Spencer asked. 'Was she more anxious, more jumpy than usual? Did she think someone was following her?'

'I couldn't really tell ya. Like I said, didn't see her from the night before last until early this morning when I found her,' you answered. 'But that wasn't really unusual for her.'

Spencer raised an eyebrow. 'How so?'

'She took days off every second or third week - she was more a workaholic than the rest of us so she didn't have a designated rest day.'

'Do you know what she did on these days off?'

You shook your head. 'Could've been anything really. Shopping, spa day. Even figured she might've been visiting a secret boyfriend or something because she once came home with dark hickeys on her neck. But we're quite close as it is thanks to our line of work. It don't seem wrong to want a little privacy, so I never asked her about it.'

'Reid? You in here?'

The lump in your throat returned at the sound of Derek's voice, mainly at how close it sounded. You couldn't run away, so you steeled yourself as Serena Vanderguff ready to face the glorious figure that was SSA Derek Morgan as he rounded the stacks.

'There you are,' he said, walking up behind Spencer. 'I just finished with Madame Lacroix. How is Serena-'

That's when his eyes fell on you, and he pulled that same shocked expression Spencer had before. His mouth gaped as he looked over you. You couldn't tell if he was surprised by your appearance, or that he could hardly recognise you. Some days even you found it hard to find the true you underneath all the makeup and big hair.

Derek's gaze finally landed on your face, shaking his head in slight disbelief. 'Holy-'

'Thank you so much for your time, Serena,' Spencer intervened thankfully, flashing you a smile that resembled more of a grimace, and grabbed Derek's shirt to pull him back. 'You've been really helpful. We'll be in touch.'

Just for the cameras, you plastered on a Cheshire smile and gave them both a flirty wave goodbye. 'I'm looking forward to your call, doctor. But may I suggest that you keep asking the people upstairs, if you get my drift. They're the ones with answers.'

Derek was still too stunned to respond let alone speak, but Spencer held your gaze with an understanding that told you he knew what you really meant. So he just nodded and said. 'We'll keep that in mind... Serena.'

And just like that, they were gone. Spencer was gone. Again. You sucked in deep breaths the moment you heard the door open and they left, using the stacks to steady your exhausted body. You had not anticipated all that happening today, that was for sure.

The door opened again. You pushed yourself upright and steadied your breathing back to normal just as Madame Lacroix came to stand in front of you. Her billowy, silk sleeves slid down to her elbows as she crossed her arms over her chest, her frown giving away her displeasure.

'Did you speak with the agents?' she asked in a low voice. You nodded, prompting her to say, 'What did you tell them?'

'Exactly what you told me to say,' you said calmly, almost robotically.

Her frown lifted at your words, and she stepped closer to cup your cheeks gently with her hands. 'That's my girl,' she said, tapping your cheeks lightly before stepping away and walking back over to the door to the Pit. She paused at the door, green eyes piercing you even from so far away. 'Don't take too much longer, Serena. We've got real business to attend to, still.'

You nodded and she left, and you were once again left alone to ponder your situation. You were getting so close, but now your old team was involved. If you didn't expose these guys soon, your team would expose you.

And then you'd all end up dead.

~~~

'...may I suggest that you keep asking the people upstairs, if you get my drift. They're the ones with answers.'

'Reid... Reid... Hey, wait!'

Spencer stormed from the elevator, through the New York FBI office and into the conference room that had been set up as the BAU's personal office temporarily. There he found Hotch talking with Rossi and another man Spencer didn't recognise. But he didn't care who the heck he was, not as walked right up to them and said, 'Y/N L/N.'

The three men looked up at him, halting whatever they'd been discussing to give him incredulous looks. All except for the mystery new man.

'I'm sorry?' Hotch asked.

'You said she got a new job,' Spencer said lowly, almost growled out. 'That it was an offer she couldn't refuse. Now I understand what you meant by that.'

'What's going on?' JJ asked, walking through the door with Kate in tow. Derek closed the door behind them and went to close the blinds to the bullpen outside.

'I don't know,' Rossi answered, sitting up in his seat further. 'Reid, what are you talking about?'

'Y/N!' Spencer cried, curling his fists by his side so he didn't slam the table or break something, namely his hand. 'You made it out like she was happy, but she was forced to leave!'

Hotch's confusion quickly faded as guilt replaced it. 'That is classified information, Reid,' he said in a quiet voice very unlike the stoic and stern SSA Aaron Hotchner. 'How do you know that?'

'Because she told me herself,' Spencer said, leaning over the table that separated him and his boss. 'Does the name Serena Vanderguff ring a bell?'

It was the most emotions Spencer had ever seen his boss take on in such a small time, because his guilt turned into shock realisation as he turned to the mystery man on the other side of Rossi. 'Why didn't you tell me this was your case already, Steve?'

Steve. Spencer mentally ran through all the unit chiefs in the FBI and only one man came up with that name.

'Steven Holt, Unit Chief of Organised Crime,' Spencer said, eyes flicking to him as recognition dawned on him. 'You were Y/N's old unit chief before she transferred to us.'

Holt let out a sigh that said he knew he'd been caught. 'That's right. Y/N went on a lot of undercover missions for me back before she joined the BAU. She was the best of the best. I came down to inform you of the situation, Hotch...' Holt's gaze flickered to Spencer briefly before returning to hi boss, '...but seems as though you've beaten me to it.'

'I hate to admit that maybe my age is showing,' Rossi started, 'but I'm not following. What has Y/N got to do with any of this?'

'And this isn't old age,' Kate added, 'but I also am not following. Who is Y/N?'

Spencer's gaze flickered to Hotch, who seemed to be having an inner battle about what to do. He looked up at Holt for moment, and Holt nodded.

Hotch nodded back and stood from his seat to address the room properly. 'Eleven months ago, I was contacted by Unit Chief Holt about a potential underground trafficking network that dealt in young girls and women in the prostitute industry. Holt needed a profiler on the team to go undercover and find out who was in charge, then gain their trust, become part of their gang, and report back to the unit.' Hotch turned his attention solely on Holt. 'It wasn't my decision, but the Head Chief specifically requested L/N join the task force for this mission, as she has plenty of experience and success in undercover scenarios. I haven't been privy to anymore details than that, I'm sorry to say, since L/N is technically no longer part of the BAU. I trusted Holt would update us if anything had happened to her.'

'So she didn't leave us?' came Penelope's soft, hopeful voice. Spencer wasn't sure when she'd been phoned in - just now, or maybe before he'd even entered the room - but that meant everyone was there. Everyone was about to hear the truth.

'Not by choice, no,' Hotch said regrettably. Spencer saw and heard his shame, but he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for his boss right now. Not when he'd lied to for eleven months about the one person Spencer thought would always be there with him.

'I can take it from here, Hotch,' Holt said, also standing to address the room. 'L/N was the best of the best when we first worked together, and these past eleven months have only proven that she still is. She has found proof that girls from each of the establishments she's infiltrated never existed before they were hired at their respective establishments, which for some of them dates back into their mid-to-late teens.'

'Let me guess,' Derek said, 'all four of our victims are some of those girls.'

Holt nodded grimly. 'We believe these girls were just the beginning of an intricate trafficking system where young girls are picked out from low risk communities when they're impressionable, then groomed in the formative years of their lives by their owners before they're given new identities and hired at their owner's establishment. Agent L/N has been hopping from one establishment to the next trying to get a better idea of who these people are that are running it. The managers of each establishment are buyers, but there is a big seller that they're paying that is still unknown. Agent L/N's mission, now that we have a better idea of the linkage between each manager, is to work her way through the upper ranks of the Chateau to find out who that seller is so we can shut down the operation for good.'

He spared a quick glance at Hotch. 'In fact, we think these killings are being caused by the same person. That's why we brought you and your team in, Aaron. The pressure of Federal involvement could cause them to slip up, and we'll be ready to catch them in handcuffs when they do.'

'But we've profiled the unsub as a sadistic, calculative narcissist,' Spencer argued, anger rising in him once more. 'Have you seen what he does to his victims? What if they find out about Y/N? Will she be the next dead body we examine? You have to pull her out of there now!'

'Spence, calm down,' JJ said, but Spencer just brushed her off.

'No, I won't!' he said, voice cracking with annoyance and frustration. 'Because it seems to me like I'm the only one who actually cares about her still. Like you all just forgot about her as if she never existed.'

'Trust me, Reid,' Hotch said gently. 'No one has forgotten about her. But right now she is still our best chance at bringing this whole operation down and bringing these girls' killer to justice. She knew the risks involved, and she's lasted this long. Have some faith in her, Reid.'

'Aren't you forgetting that she was forced into this damn operation?' Spencer spat back. 'She's risking her life because some higher ups were too coward to do the job themselves.'

'Reid, walk with me,' Rossi said, not giving Spencer a chance to reject the instruction as he walked around the table and grabbed his arm so forcefully it almost popped right out of its socket.

They walked to the break room, but Spencer barely registered any of it. His anger was a buzzing white noise in his brain, stopping rational and logical thoughts from computing with his mouth. His heart had a stronger hold on that, it seemed.

'Sit,' Rossi instructed Spencer, pulling out a seat for him to do so. Spencer silently complied while Rossi started to make two coffees at the kitchenette bench.

'...it takes a different kind of smarts to do what we do. Especially if its something we had no choice but to do.'

For eleven months he'd thought you'd left them, left him. Eleven months, anger and grief for the loss of his closest confidant had festered into an ugly, mad creature that's only reason for living was to be angry at you. But you and Spencer had always been good at reading each other, even when your words told a different story entirely. You were someone else now, almost to the point he almost hadn't recognised you underneath all the glitz and glam. But he'd looked into your eyes and he had seen you, your fear, your guilt, your apology.

You hadn't wanted to leave him. And it was that one thought that fuelled his anger at Hotch, at Unit Chief Steven Holt of Organised Crime for all the lies and deceit.

'One cup of sugar with a dash of coffee,' Rossi announced as he placed Spencer's drink on the table he sat at, then pulled up a chair for himself, his own coffee in hand. 'Just how you like it.'

It was then Spencer realised how exhausted he was. Between the early flight, the long car rides, and then seeing you, his body was screaming for a reprieve. However, he couldn't even bring himself to pick up the sweet concoction no matter how much he craved it.

'Eleven months,' Spencer eventually said, his voice meek and quiet compared to the rage it spat out minutes before.

'I know,' Rossi said glumly. 'I can't quite believe it myself. All this time... and she's just been here?'

'I just-' Spencer caught himself, feeling his voice crack at the threat of hot, frustrated tears burning at the back of his eyes. 'Surely they could've let her say goodbye. Or let her contact us from time to time. This isn't like when Emily faked her death and we all believed her gone.'

'You know they couldn't risk it,' Rossi countered. 'This is how undercover operations work, Reid. If she tried contacting us at any point, it could've been her on the M.E.'s slab alongside those girls.'

'Maybe they should've faked her death like Emily,' Spencer muttered, but more to himself than to Rossi. 'Maybe it would've been easier to think she wasn't out there somewhere and just choosing to ignore us.'

'You don't mean that, kid.' Rossi paused for a moment to think about what he would say next. Spencer appreciated that about Rossi, how he always spoke with thought and meaning behind his words. 'Look, I don't like being lied to either, but you and I both know the team couldn't have gone through another cover up like Emily's. Use that logical brain of yours and tell me I'm wrong.'

Spencer tried reaching for an argument, but even he couldn't grasp onto anything even remotely logical to argue with. So he remained silent, prompting Rossi to continue his lecture.

'I understand you and Y/N have something special,' he said gently. 'And I get why you're so upset. But Y/N is an incredible agent who has survived this long before we came into the picture, both before joining the BAU and now. We pull her out now, they will kill her; or we alert them that they have a mole in their network and they go underground and we never catch them. The best we can do to help Y/N right now is to keep playing along. We treat this like any other case, and the quicker we do that, the quicker we can get Y/N back. All right?'

Spencer remained silent for a moment, running Rossi's words over and over again in his head on a loop. Somewhere in there was an image of Maeve, and a sudden wave of sadness hit him. He couldn't go through that again, never again.

He clenched his hands into fists in his lap. It won't. I won't let it.

He forced his gaze to match Rossi's and he silently nodded. Rossi nodded in return, lips upturning slightly. 'All right then,' he said, and pushed Spencer's coffee closer to him. 'Now, drink. We're going to need you at your best if we want to solve this case and bring Y/N home.'

Home.

Amidst his dark thoughts, he found a sliver of warmth in that one word, and what it insinuated. That you belonged with them, you always had.

He took a sip of his drink and was pleasantly surprised at how it tasted exactly how he liked it. The surprise must've extended to his face, as Rossi chuckled and clinked his coffee with his. 'Don't act so surprised. I'm a profiler after all - it's my job to observe behaviours and habits. And you, my nerdy friend, have an exceptionally unhealthy dependency on sugar.'

'Actually, pasta has a higher percentage of causing heart problems in middle-aged to elderly men than sugar because of the amount of carbs on top of sugar is in it,' Spencer stated, taking a sip of his coffee without breaking eye contact with Rossi.

Rossi narrowed his eyes on Spencer. 'Comment on my age and love for pasta again and see what happens.'

And for the first time that day, Spencer smiled.

[camels-pen]

oh to dream a dream

summary: Careless words can lead to indulgent sleep.

based on @seaglass-skies' prompt "Jazz has never had a sibling. So who is this other teenager in the old photo album she found? And why is the bedroom across from hers so empty?"

Ao3 Link | Phight ‘24 series

The atmosphere was quiet, homey. Chirping birds could be heard through the cracked window off to the side and there was a low level chatter throughout the whole place.

Jazz took a deep breath in, smelling the scent of dark roast and vanilla bean that had permeated itself into the walls and floor, that drifted up to greet her like a tired lover.

Usually, she'd chide herself on such cheesy thoughts—maybe make a mental note to stop reading so many romance novels and crack open more psych textbooks—but she was feeling good today. Good and content.

So much so, in fact, that she didn't even feel the sting of embarrassment as someone nudged past her where she was standing, blocking the open door to the coffee shop.

She gave a short apology, tapped each pocket on her shoulder bag just in case, and then walked to the front register.

“Jazzy-babe!” Edward said, grinning wide at her. “Girl, I haven't seen you in ages!”

Jazz smiled back, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “Ugh, I know right? Sorry—” She paused to wipe her face, sniffling a little. “I've really missed this place.”

“Oh honey.” Ed came around the counter to scoop her into a hug. He patted her back as he said, “There's no need to cry, you're here now, aren't you?”

Jazz laughed. She must really be a mess for Ed to come all the way around for a hug rather than just lean over the counter. “Yeah—yeah I'm here now. These are more happy tears than anything else, to be honest.”

Ed gave her a few more pats before returning to the register. “Good. Happy tears are the best kind of tears. We don't need anything else.” Actually, tears of sadness and frustration were also rather important to keeping a healthy emotional balance, but Jazz understood and appreciated the sentiment. “What can I get for you, hon?”

“Just a latte, I've got to—” Jazz paused. “Oh, sorry, I just started talking on autopilot. I don't have any chores or homework today, so I'm staying for the long haul.”

“From open to close!” Ed laughed. “Just like when you first started coming here.”

Jazz smiled. ”Yup, back to my old ways.“

”So we're going with a large latte and three chocolate and almond croissants?“

”Make it four, please.“

The shop was rather slow—an odd sight for a coffee shop at 9 in the morning—so while Ed and his new coworker worked, Jazz propped herself against the counter and chatted with him. Turned out he'd gotten himself a new boyfriend—long distance this time, all the way up north in Ontario, Canada in some place called 'Barrie'—and he's planning to renew his passport and go visit him some time this summer.

Jazz shared her own news—the hazards of 12th grade English classes with a substitute teacher for half the semester, all of her friends managing to catch the flu at the same time a few months ago, and her overbearing parents insisting she apply for some fake program called 'ecto-biology' at the University of Madison Wisconsin.

Ed laughed along and, traitor that he was, said she should give it a shot anyway and that it might be fun. Jazz wasn't so sure.

Soon, her drink and pastries were done and she said her goodbyes before ensconcing herself to the little corner in the back of the shop, far from the door and mostly covered by a massive bird of paradise plant.

She set down her things, took out a hefty book titled 'Psychology and You: A Look into the Self' and cracked open the front cover.

—

“...azz!“

“...ease, don't wan... urt y...!”

“...rry!”

—

Jazz felt a tap at her shoulder and she blinked. She groaned and rubbed at her eyes. “Geez, I haven’t done that since middle school.” And damn, that was satisfying.

Ed chuckled as she stretched out her arms. “Sounds like you needed it.”

Jazz packed up her stuff and gave Ed a goodbye hug before heading out. If there's one thing Jazz Fenton knew, it was when she'd overstayed her welcome.

She blinked, then furrowed her brows. Where did that come from? It was closing time so she needed to leave, it wasn't like she'd stayed too long at a friend's house.

“Maybe I conflated it with the feeling of being in someone else's home?” she mumbled to herself. “The place does feel like it's Ed's pride and joy even though he's not the owner.”

The owner himself was a crabby man who had hated Jazz since the first moment he spotted her walking in, all of 12 years old and looking for a safe and quiet place to do her math homework. She didn't have any money then, thinking the shop was similar enough to a library what with all the people she saw reading quietly through the windows. The man was ready to kick her out, citing that only paying customers were allowed to sit in his shop and that all children were rabble and ruffians regardless of age.

It was Edward then, all of 16 and newly hired, who had bought her a hot cocoa and claimed her dad had already bought a drink for her earlier in the day and Ed had been waiting for her. Ed was chewed out for it since apparently that wasn't a thing they allowed at the shop, but Jazz was allowed to stay. She learned for future visits to bring along her allowance and when the owner wasn't here, Ed would let her sit in the shop without buying anything.

Now if only a certain someone else would be so kind—

Jazz stumbled. “Dumb rock,” she grumbled, shaking out her foot. “What was I thinking about again?”

—

“You’re always in my business! It’s annoying!”

“I’m in your business because I care about you!”

“You sound like mom and dad! And didn’t you always say privacy was important to growing kids?!”

“It is! It is, but this is different; Danny, I’m afraid you’re doing something dangerous. Something that could get you hurt. If there’s some big bad ghost villain you should come to me—”

“Of course.” He scoffed. “You can’t fucking trust me to take care of myself, as per usual. I’m just your idiot little brother who would die a horrible death the moment you take your eyes off me, aren’t I?”

She gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

“W-Wait, I didn’t mean it like that—”

—

“Oh Jazzypants!” Dad called. “You think you could come down and help your old man with something?”

“Sorry Dad! I’m doing something important!” Jazz called back, laid on her stomach on her bed, a chewed up pencil in hand as she hovered over a ‘Who will be your boyfriend? (NSYNC edition)’ quiz. “I’m doing this for Kendra, but man I hope I get Justin.” 

She continued to circle the letters on the quiz and eventually finished and flipped to the back of the magazine. “Ugh, Lance? Maybe I should just burn this.” As she shifted her hand, she noticed neat cursive handwriting under the answer key that read: ‘Jazz, I don’t care if you got Lance, DO NOT BURN THIS.’

She was tempted to burn it anyway.

A gust of wind blew through her room, ruffling the pages of the magazine and throwing her hair all around. Jazz had to slap a hand on the book to keep it from flying away. The wind died down after a moment and she huffed, a bit of hair fluttering up with the action before falling back down. “Perfect, amazing, exactly what I needed.”

Jazz pushed herself up and slammed the window down. Her dad yelled if she was alright, but she didn’t answer. Flopping herself down on her bed, she flipped back to the quiz and erased her answers. “I’m gonna get Justin this time,” she grumbled, starting the quiz over.

Just as she had gotten to the second question, another gust of wind blew through her room. This time the magazine wasn’t safe and tumbled to the carpet. She pushed her hair back from her face and left her room to investigate. 

Mom and Dad’s room was fine. The bathroom too. The storage closet didn’t have a window and the hallway one has been busted shut for years. 

Jazz stood in front of the door across from her room. She slowly put a hand on the doorknob. Twisted it. Then pushed.

Peeking into the room, she looked around. It was empty and collecting dust, just as it always was. She always felt uneasy just looking into the room so hopefully the window was—

Ah, it was open. Of course.

Jazz gulped. She willed herself forward. Fear was just fear and there was nothing of any real harm in the room. She repeated that to herself over and over as she tiptoed inside, heading for the window.

There were no furniture, no decorations, no new paint on the walls. It was just a plain blue—

Jazz shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Beige, the original house’s wall colours were beige with a white trim.

She continued her journey and eventually made it, sliding the window closed as gently as she could, lest she disturb the stifling atmosphere she found herself in.

Jazz was about ready to tiptoe her way out—or maybe just run for it to make it quicker—when her eyes caught on a photo album on the floor. It was 4th of July themed and was laid spine up, as if it had falled off of something and landed on its pages. 

And, well, Jazz was never one to leave a book like that, no matter the circumstances.

With hesitant hands, she picked up the book, her thumb automatically marking the open pages. She marvelled at the peeling silver stars on the front and back cover and the almost sparkling blue colour. 4th of July themed seemed like a stretch, now that she had a closer look; it had more of a space theme or a starry night sky, than anything else.

She flipped over the book, only to find it was a photo album. The papers where starting to become yellow with age and the photos curling at the corners, as if ready to fall off at any moment. It looked so old and well loved, yet Jazz had never recalled seeing such an album around the house before.

The photos all included pictures of herself when she was far younger, her mom and dad, and some of Jazz’s friends from elementary school. Sometimes it was just one of them, sometimes all of them, and sometimes even none of them.

But with each picture there was one consistent theme: some part of the picture was complete static. Like someone had taken a TV without signal and used that to colour in nonsensical shapes and silhouettes in each and every picture.

It was strange. Odd, even. Jazz wasn’t one to vandalize anything as important as a photo album, even as a child. Her parents were always quite adamant that she’d been a rather mature child since she was small. And she doubted her mom or dad would’ve done that. 

Maybe one of her friends from the photos? Jazz could’ve invited them over one time and they could’ve scribbled all over the photos when she wasn’t looking. It wouldn’t be the first time.

She squinted at the pages. No, that didn’t seem quite right. The static colouring stopped right at the edge of each polaroid, not a single bit of it leaking into the white border edges of them. She doubted elementary schoolers would care so much about that, or be that precise. 

Page after page she found different pictures, with her and her parents at different ages and different clothes, with new friends and old. And yet that same static colouring persisted. In fact, it seemed to be growing over time, getting consistently bigger and bigger, at times looking like the outline of a person just a handful of inches shorter than herself. She started to get irritated as the static got closer to her height, but by the time she got to the end of the album—with whiter pages and more firmly glued pictures—it never overtook her. She felt satisfied about that fact, for some reason.

Back to the original problem, she still didn’t know what the purpose was of this odd destruction of her family’s photo album. She didn’t even know where this album had come from, the pictures in it unfamiliar and foreign.

She squinted at the last picture in the album, using her nail to scratch at the static colour. Not that she was expecting anything from it—

The static started to flake off.

“What is this, crayon?” she mumbled. Though it felt simultaneously thicker and thinner than crayon wax. Smoother, yet rougher. It was easy to pick at it, but hard to peel off anything larger than a toothpick, the colours coming off in long thin stripes as they did. 

She scratched and scratched and scratched at it. Jazz had just about had enough when no more pieces came off, but then—

The entire thing peeled off like an old sticker.

Staring back at her was a boy with messy black hair, annoyed blue eyes, and a contrasting grin with Jazz’s own arm wrapped around his shoulders.

“An… old friend, maybe? But this picture was taken recently and—” She paused to pick at another photo higher up the page. It revealed another picture of the same  boy, mouth open like he was talking animatedly about something while staring into a small telescope. Another picture, a few pages earlier, showed the whole family in their hazmat suits, and the boy himself standing with them in his own white and black suit.

“I’ve never had any siblings,” she whispered to herself. It didn’t feel right, almost like someone else coaxed the words through her mouth.

She stared around at the empty room. Thought of how it really should be blue, since that’s the colour it’s always been. The house was originally beige, but this room was always always blue. A specific shade of lighter blue, with glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and burn marks on the carpet. A scuffed up desk plastered with enough free Nasa stickers you could hand them out at a convention. Not to mention a bed that had never been made since it was bought.

She thought of that room. And she thought of this one, the real one all around her. The one full of life and the one that had never seen it. There was only so much she could do to try and remember it. Imagine it? Think of it, and yet it stuck out so clearly in her mind. 

She could hear the high pitched whiny voice calling her a nag. Could smell the dirty laundry ‘hidden’ under the desk. Could feel the ratty old cotton Star Wars blanket between her fingers. But none of it was here. 

Something ached fiercely in her chest. 

She gripped her shirt tight over her heart, tears welling up in her eyes.

She’d forgotten him. She looked out for him—cared for him—for so so long, but she’d forgotten him. Like some trashy teen magazine article. 

And—and she needed to find him. He was always being reckless out with his friends hunting—hunting ghosts of all things (oh god, ghosts exist and she forgot and he had been fighting them without her help—). 

She went for the door, yanking it open and trying not to hyperventilate. 

Jazz needed to find him, she needed to help him, she needed to—

Jazz blinked. She stared at the open door to her own room with a frown. “Why did I leave my room?” 

She jumped as she heard something swing shut behind her. When she turned she noticed the door to the empty room, shut and covered with cobwebs. She shuddered and inched away from it.

“Jazz, sweetie, would you mind closing the window?” Mom called. 

The window?

A gust of air blew against her side, sending her hair every which way. Right, the window.

She pulled the hallway window shut, an air of finality settling in her bones.

—

“Nocturn!” The shout echoed down the long, stretching corridor along with the bang of the door slamming open. Within moments, a blur of black and white sped into the room.

“You know you could’ve just knocked,” Nocturn said. “I would’ve considered letting you in my second favourite dreamer if you were polite about it.”

“What’d you do with—” Danny paused. “Wait. Second?”

Nocturn swept open his cloak, revealing a figure just a tad taller than Danny himself floating close to his chest, her head bowed.

A swirling mess of dark purple, blue, and black speckled with shining white stars were painted on her skin. Her hair was a dark shade of orange and flowed freely around her, as if underwater.

“Well, my dear? Shall we entertain our guest?”

She lifted her head and Danny gasped. Her face was free of paint, but blank, bereft of all features save a waterfall of neverending black tears down her cheeks. But even without a face, Danny could recognize her. Could never not recognize the very reason he came here in the first place. 

That—that was—

“Yes, Lord Nocturn,” Jazz said.

[posebean]

Summer Rain: Epilogue

Writer: Beanosei

Season: Spring

Characters: Kohaku, Himeru, Niki, Rinne

Kohaku: I hope we never have to see those two together again. They’re going to make me sick with how sappy they are.

The next day, Cafe Cinnamon

Kohaku: Anzu-han, over here. We have a spot for you.

Kohaku: You’re fine with standing? It’s fine, Niki-han and Rinne-han won’t be joining us so we have empty space at our table.

Kohaku: Where’s Niki-han and Rinne-han? Well- Himeru: It’s a long story, Anzu-san. It’ll be better if you hear the whole thing.

Himeru: First, Himeru is sure you’ve heard the news? The filming went off without any more issues.

Himeru: Himeru doesn’t know what you did to get Shiina to open his eyes, but Director-san and the crew extend their thanks.

Himeru: The Legendary Producer sure lives up to her, name, hmm~

Kohaku: Anzu-han, I’m sure you’ve heard a bit, but do you know the exact plot of the movie we were filming?

Kohaku: A cheesy summer romance film? Yeah, but do you know the exact plot, or did Director-san not tell you? Kohaku: Ah, so you don’t know besides that. Well…

Kohaku: It’s about two strangers that meet during the rainy season. One of them is cynical and thinks there’s nothing worth loving, about others and especially about themselves.

Kohaku: The other is a free spirit and doesn’t care about anything, only that life is short and they should live the most of it.

Kohaku: They by chance end up taking shelter under the same bus stop, and the free-spirited one is intrigued by the cynical one.

Kohaku: That character keeps returning to that bus stop in hope to see the other, which they succeed in.

Kohaku: The cynical one remains wary for a while, but they do become somewhat friends. They keep pushing the free-spirited one away though, not letting them get close.

Kohaku: Not thinking that they’re worth loving.

Himeru: (nods) It’s a whole film’s worth of a game of cat and mouse, that free-spirited one always trying to catch the other, who only keeps running away through the rain.

Himeru: Eventually, the cynical one does open up and realizes that love isn’t bad. That they’ve fallen for the free-spirited one. 

Himeru: In panic, they do the only thing they know how to do: They keep running.

Himeru: It leads up to that cynical one trying to take initiative, but then immediately attempting to flee, only to finally be caught.

Himeru: Isn’t it a little funny? How much these two characters remind us of Shiina and Amagi? Kohaku: Kohkohkoh, you’re saying it’s like these parts were made for them?

Kohaku: Ya know, that might be true. That director did really want Rinne-han to star, after all.

Kohaku: And that they listened to all of Rinne-han’s conditions…they must’ve really seen the bond between those two from the start~

Kohaku: I’m sure that this movie has turned out to become something better than what they originally planned, Rinne-han inadvertently helping people as he always does~

Kohaku: What’s that? Oh yeah, we haven’t answered your question.

Kohaku: Well…after filming that final scene, which I’m pretty sure you heard about seeing as you’re smiling…

Himeru: Neither the staff nor Shiina and Amagi moved for…a good while.

Kohaku: Yep, and well…Rinne-han and Niki-han just stood there in the fake rain kissing (he makes a gagging face)

Himeru: Himeru recalls that Oukawa dragged him away from that scene in disgust, despite the fact that we were supposed to turn the rain off.

Kohaku: Himeru-han don’t act like you didn’t come willingly. Anyways, they’re probably holed up in Niki-han’s old apartment, burning up with fevers.

Kohaku: I hope we never have to see those two together again. They’re going to make me sick with how sappy they are.

Himeru: Anzu-san finds that a little mean? Himeru disagrees, Shiina and Amagi deserved it completely.

Himeru: At least they’re actually sick and not lovesick anymore. 

Himeru: Anzu-san would agree if she had to witness it all.

Meanwhile at the same time, Shiina apartment

Niki: (Sneezes loudly)

Niki: ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Niki: UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Niki: UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Rinne: Shut up Niki~kyun~ I’m makin’ us some soup

Niki: UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Niki: (Rinne-kun’s fault! It’s all Rinne-kun’s fault that I’m here stuck in bed sneezing all over the place!)

Niki: (We- We kissed for so long in that damn fake rain that we both got sick! Actually sick!!!)

Niki: UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Rinne: Niki~ Soup’s ready~ Niki: Ew no. Gross, you probably coughed in it or something. Get that away from me-

Rinne: Eat your damn soup or I’ll feed it to you myself.

Niki: No, knowing you there’s a huge chance you over seasoned it and-

Rinne: ♪ (shoves a spoonful of soup into his mouth)

Niki: (Oh it’s good soup…)

Niki: Have I told you how much I love you yet?

Rinne: Nope~ ♡ You should tell your Rinne-kun as much as you want to~ Just so he knows exactly how much that is!

Rinne: The more the better!

Niki:♡ (Ignores him to finish the soup)

Rinne: You- (grabs the bowl of soup and holds it high in the air)

Niki: My soup! Give it back!

Rinne: Listen to people when they’re talking to you, bastard.

Niki: Okay, I love you sooooooo much. Can I have my soup back now?

Niki: MPHGHG- Not like that! Why can’t you just hand me back my bowl instead of kissing me!? We’re literally both sick!

Rinne: ♪ It’s as much my soup as it is Niki~Kyun’s. This way both of us can have it.

Niki: Intolerable! Inconceivable! The absolute worst!

Rinne: Yeah ~ yeah. You don’t mean any of that, cos you love me.

Niki: …(Pouts with his arms crossed, unable to deny.)

Rinne: I’ve been meaning to ask though, why the sudden change of heart? Not that I’m not happy, because my Niki~kyun finally accepts my love ♡

Rinne: What did Anzu Nee-san say to you~

Niki:...

Rinne:...

Rinne: (hands the bowl of soup back)

Niki: (Gets back to eating soup) ♪

Niki: Not much~ Just that Rinne-kun is useless without me and also she let me listen to…the song.

Niki: A rehash of our song. Our debut song. And then I figured things out myself.

Rinne: Niki’s finally seeing how much I love him~

Niki: Stop looking at me with that sappy look you’re going to make me sicker than I already am!

Rinne: (Gets close and nuzzles him) But we’re already both sick~ Let’s get sicker together~

Niki: Hgghhh.

Rinne: It serves to show Niki how far we’ve gone. That from that very song, we’ve gone from just us and a crowd of children, just me and an empty hall…

Rinne: We’ve gone from both of those to being in a film. Being on stage with Merumeru and Kohaku-chan. Shining like stars that we only dreamed we could be.

Rinne: But even after all that, we’re still us. We’re still the same duo, despite how much has changed~

Rinne: And of course, my love for Niki is also constant in that~

Rinne: Now shut up and let’s cuddle, Niki~kyun. We’ll get through these fevers together and be back to enact our revenge on the two that betrayed us and left the rain on~

Niki: (Rinne-kun’s being so earnest I could melt under his gaze…)

Niki: (He’s right though…We’ve really come so far.)

Niki: (And I do love him, I guess.)

Niki: (I’m sorry Rinne-kun, for making you wait all these years. I’m sorry for making you chase me in the rain.) [Back] [Masterlist]

WOOO ITS DONE. THANK U ALL FOR BEING HERE for me and sana's insanity <3 hope u liked it. happy pride month! rinky 4ever

-beanosei (cuz kinosei WISHES he was me)

p.s. lil bonus if you finished everything!! here