#tell me about the time you flew to mars

[tojiscrack]

IM BACKKKK

'yeah ykw, tumblr needs to come up with a feature that basically alerts us of when our asks are answered 😐 like why is that not a thing already?'

lowk it alr is but like it gets buried by my notifs 😭😭😭

'i wanna go to canada so bad ☹️ i heard that the british-accent privilege over there is a million times better than the british-accent privilege in america 🤧 i’d be favoured so nicely over there 🥴'

YOU HAVE A BRITISH ACCENT??? YOU'RE BRITISH???????? BRO GIVE ME MY JEWELS BACK!

but ur so right ab the britsh accent privilege thing tho. i was at a coffee shop and this one guy had a british accent and the entire staff was talkin ab it

'such a cutie patootie and does no wrong. i’ll defend my son till i die he’s older than me but idgaf.'

ACTUALLY???????? bro i started watching jjk when yuji was older than me and now im older than him... it makes me so emo

'i have a deep, deep hatred for that four-armed tarantula ‘cause of his random vendetta against my yuji 🌝'

BYE R U TALKING AB SUKUNA??? i was thinking ab this a second ago but yk how like sukuna is canonically yuji's uncle? YOU SHOULD IMPLIMENT THAT LMAOOOO... LIKE YUJI GETTING POSESSED BY HIS DEAD UNCLE OR SOMETHING HAHAHAHA

'omg trade dealllll! i do those with my friend so often but she does me dirty every time. i put her on an awesome sitcom, but she said she refuses to watch it until i watch saltburn.'

oh thats hell. that's so hell. i tried to watch saltburn and had to stop during the vampire scene....

'so i think m*les in the usa and m*les in the uk are different breeds, ‘cause when i tell them to leave me alone or give clipped, straight to the point, honest and dry responses, they go away 🌝'

no yeah here they love that kinda shit... it's how i got 2/3 of my exes i fear...

'whatever girlypop, i just know that from the way you speak, you’re gorgeous'

STOP ILY

'if you ever did go with him, it’d be those couples i see on the street and my first thought is ‘he makes me laugh’ ahh relationship.'

i'm ngl my justification for liking him whenever my friends asked was like 'no i dont find him physically attractive but he's rlly funny... and nice... and we talk a lot...' so...

'honestly, i’m being dramatic 😭 like the angst is bad and the ending MIGHT be bittersweet, but it won’t evoke tears.'

THAT IS STILL HEARTBREAKING. I NEED MERCUPINE TO HAVE A VERY EXTRA HAPPY ENDING...

'just think of malakai (i don’t think you participated on the kai hate train so i’m saying this with a grain of salt lmao)'

LMAOOOO i find malakai so fucking funny. he makes me giggle

'i’ve got the most plainest life ever. the most you’ll get that i can even strain to think of ‘cause that’s how little lore there is to me is that bad grades will put me in a coma 😔'

thats so real actually... except i'm a senior so my grades have been SHIT this semester... my 95 gpa is now barely a 91.... if i'm lucky...

'i was gonna jump a middle-aged man for being rude to my mum at home bargains?'

HELLO?? HOW DOES THIS JUST HAPPEN??

anyways life update! my friends r coming over for secret santa today and i requested literally nothing but instant noodles so i'm rlly hoping i get 25 bucks worth of instant noodles bc i rlly want them.

i got my person a little snoopy figurine THAT WAS 25 DOLLARS??? but it's so cute so i cant even be mad

HELLO AGAIN 😋❤️ (i love how we’re gossiping about ur love life and talking about random nonsense in between through my inbox and not dms LMAOOO)

THAT’S A FEATURE? omg that means everyone i’ve sent asks to is just ignoring me wtf 🤨

☝🏽😲 … 😐

never sending asks to entitled mfs ever again 🫨

‘YOU’RE BRITISH????’ — born and raised… unfortunately 😬 and i’ve literally never stepped off english soil 😟 bUT I’M NOT UNCULTURED I SWEAR 😭

‘i was at a coffee shop and this one guy had a british accent and the entire staff was talking about it’ — i’m literally gonna hijack a plane going to canada, i swear 😕

‘ACTUALLY????’ — omg not now, no it’s the same as you. like when i first started watching it, i was younger, and now i’m older, but i mean irl. like yuji’s birth year (alongside his friends) is around 2002-2003.

i was born a few years after that 🌝

‘it makes me so emo’ — i’m literally gonna go out into society as an emo one day just for the feels 😭

‘BYE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SUKUNA’ — WHAT OTHER ABNORMAL CREATURE IN JJK HAS FOUR ARMS? HE’S SO GREEDY, LIKE WTH DO YOU NEED TWO OF EVERYTHING FOR? 🤨👎🏽

‘i was thinking ab this a second ago but yk how like sukuna is canonically yuji's uncle? YOU SHOULD IMPLIMENT THAT LMAOOOO... LIKE YUJI GETTING POSESSED BY HIS DEAD UNCLE OR SOMETHING HAHAHAHA’ — oh i’ve got smth all right 😭 the second it came out in the manga that they were related, the cogs in my brain started moving so fast 🌝

‘i tried to watch saltburn and had to stop during the vampire scene’ — EW DON’T EVEN REMIND ME AGAIN 🤢 and ykw, you ended it at the perfect time bc it didn’t get any better the more the movie went 😭 i still can’t get this one scene out of my head and i’m not even gonna tell you what it is ‘cause you probably wouldn’t know it (seeing as you were wise enough to drop the movie before it came up).

‘i’m a senior so my grades have been SHIT this semester’ — senior in high school? girlypop, we’re in the same academic year group 😋 (seniors in high school are second year college students in the uk)

wait i’m not aware of how the us gpa system works. isn’t 91 still good???

‘HELLO?? HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN??’ — literally my exact reaction 💀 he kept saying my mum was touching him at the till, like this woman is married, why would she touch a homeless-looking-m*le like you? the standard he had of himself is way too high 😀

felt bad for his kid tho. he was silently watching me yell at his dad :/

‘anyways life update!’ — 😋

‘anyways life update! my friends r coming over for secret santa today and i requested literally nothing but instant noodles so i'm rlly hoping i get 25 bucks worth of instant noodles bc i rily want them’ — STOP I LOVE INSTANT NOODLES 😟 I LITERALLY BOUGHT TWO LARGE PACKS OF THE BULDAK HABANERO LIME RAMEN ONES RIGHT AFTER THE M*N INCIDENT 😭 lmk what you get for ur secret santa tho 😋

‘i got my person a little snoopy figurine THAT WAS 25 DOLLARS??? but it's so cute so i cant even be mad’ — no bc figurines shouldn’t be that expensive 😕 my catoru gojo plushie was like £15, and it’s not even that big so?? 😭

like i get it, it’s gojo, it should be worth a shit ton more, but i’m broke so spare me 🥴

they need to bring all these prices down bc rich ppl don’t even enjoy the same shit broke ppl do 🤨

[phantomrose96]

So my mom's birthday was this week and I flew down with Patches to visit her for a few days. Patches, while a verified hater of the airport, really loves my mom's place because there are so many more closets to explore and birds to watch and cobwebs to dust with her stupid little face.

My mom also goes to bed earlier than anyone I know, so for the evenings it was on me to monitor Patches' activity. And she's very good. She's 99% good. She's 1% "could use improvement" good and the 1%, which I'd forgotten about, is tomatoes.

Patches will leave most things alone. (And by "alone" I mean she'll absolutely bitch slap them onto the floor, but they will leave the ordeal with just as many or few surface punctures as they had before the encounter started.) Not tomatoes. Patches has it the fuck out for tomatoes.

So when I noticed her batting something around on the ground I realized that my mom had left a sole, roma tomato in the fruit basket on the counter and it was now experiencing the life cycle of a pingpong ball between Patches' paws.

I take it away from her, like a fucking evil woman, and now I'm like "okay actually, where do I hide this." See at home I have an anti-Patches cabinet, which is for things that have no business living in a cabinet but which WILL have business dying at Patches' hands if left accessible. And this is WEIRD to have such a cabinet but it's my own home.

I'm scanning my mother's cabinets going "is this weird here? can the tomato go in my mother's dish cabinet?" And I briefly consider sticking it in the fridge, as a normal location, but the audacity of altering this tomato's ripening process is an audacity I do not possess. So I go with cabinet. I go with the first eye-level cabinet, which is the coffee mug cabinet, which is perfect because the tomato will not be lost to cabinet purgatory there, since my mom opens it every morning for her coffee. I will simply tell her in the morning that the tomato is there.

Next morning. Seeing as my mother goes to bed at the butt-crack of dusk she ALSO gets up at the ass-crack of dawn. This means I trail down like 2 hours after her with my work laptop and Patches. This is also now her birthday. I'm sharing the sofa with her for a good 15 minutes when I think to myself I'd like some coffee, and I remember I put a tomato in the cabinet. I tell my mom as much. I put the tomato in her coffee mug cabinet.

And the look I get is one I can't really figure out on spot. But she says "Chrissy this is the best birthday present you could have given me" which is a very weird response to the already weird statement "Oh you probably saw, but I hid the tomato in the coffee mug cabinet because Patches has it out for tomatoes."

So I do not at all know how this makes for a good birthday gift. My mom tells me how a week or two ago, she came home unloading groceries. At the end of putting everything away she could not for the life of her find her phone. Absolutely nowhere. She pinged it from her iPad and it started singing. From the fridge. She opened her fridge. Her phone was in the fridge.

A couple days later she lost Ash's collar. Spent three days looking for it. Couldn't remember where she'd taken it off or what she did with it. Showed up in the grass when she remembered she took it off to let him play fetch in the lake.

And then this morning, her birthday morning, she came into the kitchen, made her pot of coffee, opened the cabinet to fetch her coffee mug, and found... tomato. Singular. Tomato in the cabinet. Tomato she had no memory of placing in a cabinet. Tomato she could not possibly fathom having a reason for being in the cabinet.

She was like Chrissy I cried. She was like this is it, time to send her to pasture. She's a harebrained old lady now and there is no coming back from this. She's the lady who accidentally puts tomatoes in the cabinet. Awake before God, standing in the kitchen, signing her life away over this tiny roma tomato. (Roma tomato with little cat vampire teeth marks in it).

I was like oh. No. I put it there. Because Patches was going to commit war crimes against it. I put it there because I did not stop to consider "Will finding a single tomato in the coffee mug cabinet somehow be the very specific thing that undoes my mother this morning?" I put it there out of careful consideration for the life of this tomato, and with no consideration for the extremely esoteric way that a tomato in the cabinet could be received like a horse head in the bed, Godfather style.

We made a salad with the tomato. Happy birthday Mom.

[deadsetobsessions]

Ghost King Phantom was an odd addition to the League. J’onn was often the last to find others odd but from the get-go, Phantom was the only quiet spot he’d have in his telepathic field. At first, it was off putting as most of the people that slipped beyond the reach of his immediate field tended to be villains and the like. But as Phantom remained in the Justice League, J’onn had come to learn to appreciate the calm spot in the turbulent sea of his friends’ and coworkers’ thoughts.

“You have taken to me faster than the others. Why is that?”

Phantom hummed purringly, another peculiar sound that J’onn had yet to see any of his human or alien heroes recreate with any success. They sat at their usual spot, face facing the cosmos and backs guarded by their friends. Plus, J’onn and Phantom could look directly into the sun without painfully loosing their sight.

“I guess I’ve always been fond of the stars. Of space, and everything in it. What about you? Why did we become friends so fast?”

J’onn shook his head, a human motion he’d learned a long time ago to imitate. “No, we became slower friends than most, as my telepathic abilities allow for easier communication and understanding of one another’s motives. With the exception of Batman but I have found he is often the exception to most expectations.”

“That checks out,” King Phantom laughed. “Well, I’m glad we became friends. It’s very cool to meet a Martian. Space is one of my Obsessions, you see.”

J’onn nodded. “I see. I am sorry that I am the only Martian you will meet.”

“You are?”

J’onn nodded again, slower. Sadder. His facial muscles, in this form, does not imitate human patterns well and he knew that most people could not pick out his emotions without his verbal expression.

Intuition tells J’onn that Phantom knew regardless.

“Would you mind telling me what happened?” His voice is gentle, the emotions that Phantom pushes at him are gentle and questing, but not demanding. It has been a long time since anyone has asked him of memories he clung to. And so, J’onn J’onzz speaks in the way that was natural to him, the way his people communicated.

With his mental voice flowing into Phantom’s head, J’onn tells him of the wonders that used to be his home. He provided images and sounds of how his home shone as the sun rose, how the shadows that fell when the sun dipped beneath the horizon felt as comforting as a Martian’s first telepathic cradle. He tells Phantom of his twin brother, grief and agony entwined in the memories of someone he had loved. He spoke of his wife and their daughter, and their cozy home on the windswept plains of Mars.

King Phantom sat still with him as the Watch-Tower moved along, around a king and his friend who was recounting the stagnant grief of his past.

J’onn tells him of the virus, borne of his twin’s hatred, and how he watched everything around him burn. How he had desperately tried to prevent his wife and daughter from using their telepathic abilities. He spoke of his failures. He wove together a tapestry of insanity and grief, built upon the burning bodies of his wife and their beloved daughter. He tells Phantom how the Mars now was just ashes and dust of his former home. How he could not look upon the planet and not see the shades of his wife and daughter and parents and friends, walking upon a barren planet that no longer held anything familiar to the last Martian.

Phantom had hummed again, a soothing rumble. Sadness dripped from the edges of his consciousness.

“If it was not for the Doctor, I would be dead and shattered.” J’onn spoke for the first time in three hours. “It is… less painful to live. I have purpose.”

“I am glad that you are not either of those things.” Phantom stood. “Come with me. I have to show you something.”

J’onn trusted Phantom, and thus followed the king into the glowing green portal.

They flew past many doors, Phantom often glancing at him before shaking his head and changing directions.

They stopped at a door that felt familiar. J’onn knew it from somewhere.

“Go ahead, open the door. But know that you can’t stay long. You don’t belong to this realm quite yet. Not for quite a while.” Phantom moves, hand gesturing towards the door without a knob.

“How..?”

“How else? You have telekinesis, don’t you?”

J’onn blinked. Right. He opened the door and- oh.

The door warped with the screaming storm of grief and love and oh-how-I’ve-missed-you that J’onn unleashed.

Because there in front of him were M’yri’ah and K’hym, his wife and daughter.

The door was an imitation of his home, back when he had not known true loss.

“Impossible,” he stumbled back.

“You are in the realm of the dead. You didn’t think the title of the Ghost King was for fun, did you, J’onn?” Phantom smiled and- a move J’onn would definitely engage in petty payback for, later after he’d gotten over the shock- pushed him flying right into the room.

M’yri’ah and K’hym cradled him with telepathic swirls of love and husband!-dad!-love-love-love-safe!

And J’onn shuddered and gathered the his world in his arms to say goodbye.

——

[quintinh43]

Fucking Canada | Luke Hughes

Summary: Luke is out with an injury, Y/n is on break from school. Obviously, the only logical thing is for them to head down to Vancouver to visit Quinn.

Pairings: Luke Hughes x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Meantions of Anxiety, Drinking (drink responsibly kids), Some light suggestive content. Use of the name Mariana. Let me know if I missed anything!

Wc: 4.9k

This one's for @toasttt11, stay awesome 🫶🏼

---

Luke had been been out with an injury for a week. And it was driving him insane. He had begged and begged the trainers to at least allow him on the ice with the team. He'd batted his long eyelashes and given them puppy dog eyes and the famous Hughes pout, yet somehow they resisted and firmly told him he was not to touch a pair of skates until after his two-week check up.

And that was only if his check-up came back all ok. So in his boredom, he flew down to Michigan to spend time with you, and then decided that as soon as your break started he was flying both of you down to Vancouver for the week, because fuck he missed his big brother.

He rolled his wrist around in its brace, and you smack him in the chest. "Stop doing that. You're gonna aggravate your wrist and make it worse."

"Baby, I swear its fine," he whined, "The trainers don't know what they're talking about."

You snort, and grab his arm, pinning it beneath your torso, being careful to ensure that the strained part of his wrist was not under you.

"Baby, please," he whined, tugging his arm gently. "Let me up,"

"Only if you promise to stop rolling your wrist." You glare.

"I promise" Luke mumbles shifting towards you to run his lips along your jaw. Your stomach flutters, pink dusts across your cheeks, and you let him go immediately. He leans on his elbows and kisses down your neck.

"Luke" you whisper breathlessly.

"Hmm" he hums, nipping at the sensitive skin along the column of your troat.

You bite your lip, debating telling him off. But kissing Luke is much much better than studying physiology, and you haven't had a break in a while. You slam your textbook shut, and all but kick it off the bed.

"You're such a menace," you huff, he wraps his uninjured arm around you, and drags himself fully on top of you, kissing gently down your neck.

"You know you love me," he grins.

"You're lucky I do, Hughes. Now get back to kissing me,"

"Yes ma'am," he chuckles, lips dancing along your collarbones.

There's a knock on your door and before you can tell whoever it is to fuck off, your roommate and best university friend; Mariana barges in.

"Enough sexy time, kids!" she says, ignoring the murderous glares both you and Luke throw her way, "If you still want a ride to the airport, we are leaving in ten." She walks out, leaving the door open. You sigh, nudging Luke with your shoulder, to get off of you. He pecks one last kiss to your cheek and rolls off you, pulling you to your feet so the two of you can get all your things together.

You slide your laptop into your bag, grab all your chargers, and make sure you have an extra set of headphones. Because God knows the worst thing that could possibly happen is being stuck on an airplane with no muisc. After double and triple checking that you have everything, Mariana ushers you out the door hurriedly.

The ride to the airport is nothing special. You and Mariana sit in the front while Luke is banished to the back. You stretch an arm back to hold his hand, and he leans his head on your seat to be closer to you.

"Have fun in Vancouver Babe," Mariana says giving you a tight parting hug, and kiss on the cheek.

"Better take care of my girl Hughes, or I'm coming for that other wrist" She threatens, giving Luke a hug. Luke laughs, patting Mariana's back.

"You know it, Mari," he grins, winking at you.

"Text me when you land, ok?" She says, squeezing your shoulder.

"I will. Thanks for the ride, Mar." You hive her one last squeeze goodbye and take Luke's hand as you head through the airport.

Everything goes smoothly, thank God, and soon you and Luke are boarded the plane. It's a fight over who takes the window seat. You think Luke should have it cause he has longer legs, and Luke thinks you should have it because you deserve the best seat.

After convincing Luke that as long as you're sitting beside him, you do have the best seat, he reluctantly takes the window seat. And makes sure to tell you that if you want to switch at any time, just tell him.

You nod, knowing that you absolutely won't be doing that, but what Luke doesn't know won't hurt him.  You're set to arrive just before Quinn's game tonight, which means that the two of you won't get to see him until later. After going through your mental checklist, making sure everything is organized, you stick your headphones in and rest your head on Luke's shoulder and promptly pass out.

Luke is shaking you awake gently when it's time to get off the plane. "Wake up, Baby, it's time to get going," he says softly.

You sigh, rubbing the tiredness from your eyes, "Alright lets go,"

You grab all of yours and Lukes belongings from the overhead compartment, much to his dismay. "Baby, let me help,"

"Luke Warren, I swear if you touch any of this luggage with that wrist, I'll chop it off," you say sternly. You hand him his backpack, and he slings it over his shoulder with a pout.

You grab his injured hand gently, lacing your fingers together as best as you can with his brace on, and head off the plane. As you step into the Uber, both your phones buzz with a text from Quinn.

Q: I left a key for you guys with the front desk, Luke just has to show some ID.

Q: You guys are coming to the game right?

Luke: Yep, excited to see you Q

You: Were just heading to your place now, to get settled and then we're on our way. See you soon!

Q: Excited to see you guys too.

You arrive at his apartment, and Luke shows his ID to the front desk, and they hand over the key. Quinn's apartment is nice, but it's so clean. It looks like a place out of a modern decor magazine, except for the photos of his family scattered here and there.

There's a two jerseys folded neatly on the bed with a sticky note that says 'Don't be a little bitch' on top. "Nope" Luke says as he immediately lays eyes on it, "I'm not wearing that, nither are you."

You roll your eyes at him, but don't argue. It makes sense that he wouldn't wear it. Players have a thing about not wearing another franchises merchandise. He unzips his suitcase and pulls out two black hoodies with white stitching that says Hughes 43 on the back. Except if you look carefully, the devils logo is stitched on the sleeve.

You shake your head with a smile and take the hoodie from him. "Let me just change into something better, and we'll head out."

Luke nods, digging around for a pair of jeans for himself.  The two of you make quick work of changing, and then you're on your way to the game. Quinn, smartly left the tickets under your name, lest someone spill the beans that Luke Hughes is in Vancouver to watch his brother play.

Your seats are right by the glass. When Quinn notices you, he skates over, unable to keep the smile off his face. "Bitches" he mouths with a smile, as he takes in the lack of Canuck blue in your outfits.

You grin and flash him a heart with your fingers while Luke flips him off, making sure he can see the devils logo on the sleeve. Quinn shakes his head at Luke and skates off to finish warm-ups.

Thankfully, no one really takes note of the interaction. Luke has a cap pulled low, so unless someone is really looking for Luke Hughes, then he shouldn't be recognized. The atmosphere is electric. Canadian hockey really hits differently.

The game is nerve-wracking, and for most of it, you and Luke are on the edges of your seats, grabbing at eachother hands, and slapping eachothers knees in excitement whenever something particular exciting happens. And when Quinn picks up a goal, the two of you are jumping and screaming.

The game ends with a canuck win, and as you two make your way down to the locker room to greet Quinn, you're chattering excitedly about all the good plays that were made. Especially Quinn's. He picked up a goal and three assists, making him the top point scorer of the game.

As he walks out of the locker room, he can't keep the smile off his face as he lands eyes on you and Luke. As much as he doesn't mind being on his own, seeing his family is always the best. You've been around the Hughes boys since you were growing up. From Toronto to Michigan. Your family's were really close and still are to this day.

He pulls you into a hug first, "Good to see you Y/n" he says, patting you on the back.

He goes to hug Luke, and in true brotherly fashion, he can't help but make a jab at him as does so. "I swear to God, you get taller every time I see you." Rather than standing on his tip toes to throw his arms around Lukes neck, he hooks his ankle around the back of Luke's knee and Luke's knees buckle.

Quinn catches him in a hug before he can hit the floor. You and Quinn are laughing, while Luke grumbles. He snatches Quinns hat off his head, making his hair stick up in every which way and holds it as high as he can. Quinn rolls his eyes, not taking the bait, and starts to walk.

Luke huffs and throws his hat back at him. "How did y'all get here?"

"Uber," you say, throwing an arm around Luke's waist as you walk. He drapes his arm around your shoulder, fingers brushing patters against your shoulder.

"The team is going out to celebrate. Do you guys wanna join, or do you want a ride home first?"

"Well, come with," Luke smiles, "Good game, dude, you made some nasty moves."

Pink dusts Quinn's cheeks, and he changes the conversation. "How's the wrist?"

Luke rolls his eyes, and before he can roll his wrist, you glare at him. "It's completely fucking fine."

"It's not" you say

"The trainers don't know what they are talking about." He mutters.

"They do" You add poking luke in the side.

Quinn scoffs, "Yes, im sure the people whose literal job it is to treat your injures don't know what they are talking about."

Luke pouts, "I can't believe my girl and my brother are ganging up on me like this,"

"Well, maybe if you weren't so stubborn." You and Quinn say simultaneously, looking at each other with a grin.

Luke grumbles unintelligiblly and Quinn throws his bags in this trunk. Luke takes the front seat, and this time, he's the one reaching his arm back to hold your hand. You smile, lacing your fingers together. Quinn rolls the eyes at the two of you with a smile.

The drive to the bar is filled with the light chatter of the three of you catching up about life. Unsurprisingly, Quinn has nothing interesting happening in his love life. The man eats, breathes, sleeps, and lives hockey. Luke teases him about becoming an old spinster while he glances at you lovingly. No doubt envisioning the magnificence that your lives will be together.

The bar is absolutely packed. Not surprisingly. It's a Friday night and the Canucks won. Some of the team is already there, in a roped off Vip area. They wave Quin over urgently. He grabs your hand and you grab Luke's so as not to get separated in the crowd of drunk people.

Quinn greets his teammates with hugs and back slaps and inside jokes. Some of them grin at you and Luke, wiggling their eyebrows at you and dragging Luke into hugs.

"So why are Mr. And Mrs. Huggy Jr. Here?" Brock asks, swirling the liquid in his glass.

Luke smiles at that, tracing his finger over the back of your left ring finger. "Luke is out injured, and I'm on a break from school," you shrug, playing with Luke's hand in yours.

"I'm going to get a refill," Luke hums, kissing the tip of your ear as he detangles himself from you, "want anything?"

"I'm good for now, baby," you say, kissing him on the cheek. When you turn back to the guys, they are all leaning close to you, batting their eyelashes like a group of High-school girls waiting to hear the latest drama about your crush.

Petey is the first to speak, "So when is he proposing?"

Millsy slaps him in the back of the head, "How is she supposed to know when he's proposing dumbass?"

"That man is so fucking whipped for you," Brock smirks, and you can't help the blush that colours your cheeks.

"You guys will have some cute babiess," Garland grins, just the slightest bit tipsy.

"Alright, alright, leave her alone. That's my sister-in-law you're bullying" Quinn says, coming to your rescue. He throws an arm around your shoulders, squeezing gently.

"You ok?" He asks quietly, the guys already forgetting the previous topic of conversation.

"Yeah, thanks Quinn," you smile, squeezing his hand back.

"Well, I'm absolutely beat, so I'm gonna go home. Do y'all wanna stay, or are you ready to head home?"

"We'll stay I think, me and Lukey are having fun, and I have yet to drag him to the dance floor. Are you ok to drive home?"

"Yeah, I haven't been drinking," Quinn says, smiling softly at your concern for him. "Sorry to leave y'all hanging."

"Don't worry about it, Quinn, we'll see you tomorrow. You played a good game, go get lots of rest," you smile, wrapping him in a quick hug.

He hugs you back and turns to address the guys. "I'm heading out if anyone wants a ride," Before the sentence fully leaves his mouth, Petey is practically throwing himself at Quinn. He stumbles into the two of you, and you both reach out to make sure he doesn't eat the floor. "I drank too much," he mumbles.

You laugh, patting his back, as Quinn stabilizes him. "I'm making you do bag skates next practice," Quinn says with entirely too much joy, as he practically half carries Petey out of the bar.

With Quinn gone, you dip out of the Vip section to find Luke, you spot him sitting at the bar, cheeks flushed, empty shot glasses littered suspiciously close to him. He's holding another glass that looks like soda, and there's a girl leaning much to close to him. He's leaning back slowly, looking very unimpressed.

Until he spots you. His megawatt lady killer smile appears as he all but pushes the other girl out of the way, and practically sprints to you, as well as someone can sprint in a crowded bar. Your hands rest on his arms, and you can smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Luke, are you ok?" You ask concerned, eyes flitting across his face, "have you been drinking?"

"Y/n!" He is way too giddy to be sober, "I know we said, we weren't drinking, but then I was sad about my wrist and someone said that the alcohol would make me feel better, so drank a little teeny tiny shot, and then another one cause somone got me another one, and then this group of girls asked me if I wanted to do shots with them, and I was gonna say no, but then they already ordered the shots and then-"

You cut off his drunk rambling, your voice laced with concern. "Luke baby, do you remember how many shots you took?" You ask, the calmness of your voice not giving way to the absolutely disastrous thoughts swimming in your head.

"Four, I think!" He grins, trying to count the glasses that were littered on the bar top in front of where he was sitting. There were five. Your eyes widen almost comically. He was barely gone for half an hour. He took five shots of straight alcohol in less than half an hour. Fuck.

Now it wasn't as if Luke hadn't drank before, undoubtedly he had. But definitely not that amount of alcohol in that span of time. Plus, it wasnt really recommended for professional athletes to drink anyways, so the amount of alcohol he'd consumed since the beginning of the season probably didn't even equate the amount that he'd drank tonight alone. Double Fuck.

And on top of all of that, Quinn had already left. "My wrist feels so much better!" Luke says happily, "I can take off my brace!" As he reaches for straps on his brace, you grab his hand.

"Absolutely not Luke." You lace your fingers with his to keep him from taking off his brace while you try to figure out what to do. Before you know what's happening, there's another full shot glass in front of you, and Luke is knocking it back. Triple Fuck.

"It burns," he pouts, shaking his head like he just ate something sour.

"Luke, how did you even get alcohol? we're underage!" The disbelief is evident in your voice.

The bartender hears your statement and decides that he'd better clear up that misconception before he gets into some kond of trouble. "No ma'am," he says, leaning over the counter. "I checked his ID, says he's twenty, that's legal"

Suddenly, you are very pissed that the bartender is telling you how old your own boyfriend is. Just as you're about to snap at him for clearly not being able to to his job correctly, if he thinks twenty is legal, you remember that you're no longer in the States.

You're in Canada. Fucking Canada. Racking your brain, you try to recall the legal age in British Columbia. You feel so stupid. It's nineteen. Ninteen year olds are legally allowed to drink in B.C. Luke is twenty. Fuck fuck fucking fuckitty fuck.

Before you sprial into a full-on panic, you take a deep breath. Luke is drunk out of his mind, and he needs to get home now, and you panicking will not help the situation. You slap your card down on the bar top and tell the bartender to close Luke's tab.

You don't trust Luke to be left to his own devices, so you sling his arm around your shoulder and half drag him to where you left your phone and purse with Brock. You gently guide Luke to sit on one of the chairs. He does so shakily and wraps one arm around your chest, pulling you flush against his body.

His knees are squeezing your hips, his fingers are tracing over your collarbones, and his face is tucked against your neck.

"Woah! is Huggy Jr. drunk?" Brock asks, grinning madly as he hands you your phone and purse.

"In the span of time that he disappeared, he took six fucking shots" you grumble, as you order an Uber to get home.

Brock almsot chokes on his drink. He stares wide eyes, "oh so he's fucking blackout," he takes his phone and snaps a photo of you and Luke. The glare that you send him is so murderous that if looks could kill he'd be six feet under.

"Sorry," he shrugs with a shit eating grin that says he's not sorry at all, "I need some proof of this for when he wakes up hating his life tomorrow."

"Alright, well, at least send it to me." You grumble, Brock laughs, and your phone buzzes with a notification from him immediately after. "And hey, please don't tell Quinn anything right now. He's probably home and in bed by now, and I don't wanna stress him out unnecessarily."

Brock nods, "Don't worry, kid, my lips are sealed." He sighs like an older brother, "if I was sober, i'd be driving you home."

"Oh Brock, don't worry about it. You guys had great games, and you deserve to celebrate. We'll be fine, I promise," you smile. Your heart melts a little, you've only met the canucks a few times but from the instant that you did they treated you like family.

"Alright, alright, just let me know when you're home safe, I'll feel much better."

"You got it, Brocky," you smile, standing on your tip toes to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek. Brock grins like a school boy who just got a kiss from his crush. Thankfully, drunk Luke doesn't decide to make an appearance. Otherwise, he might have absolutely decked Brock in the face.

Not that he would've succeeded, based on how drunk he is. You're almost sure he's fallen asleep. Until his lips start moving against your neck. Quadruple fuck. You have to bite your lip to keep from moaning out loud as he nips at your throat with so much care you'd think he was fully sober.

His fingers start to make patterns along your collarbones, dipping lower toward the curve of your breasts. You don't want him to stop.

"Luke," you whisper desperately, laying your head atop his gently.

His hum of response reverberates against your skin, and pleasure melts down your spine, stomach fluttering.

"Luke," you try again, voice strained as his teeth screen against the sensitive spot between your neck and shoulder, "not here baby, we're in public."

" 's go home" he murmers into your skin, "wanna fuck my pretty girl."

Your cheeks go red faster than you thought possible. What a time to find out Luke is a horny drunk.

"Luke," his name is a prayer on your lips. The fingers of his injured hand burn as they press into your waist.

" 'm starvin for you baby," he mumbles, the tips of his fingers brushing under the waistband of your jeans.

Heat coils in your stomach, and you bite your lip to keep a whimper from spilling from your lips. As if some Devine power is on your side, you get a notification that your Uber has arrived.

"Our ride is here." Your voice is practically a squeak.

"Want you to ride me." Luke says, and you can feel his lips turn up into a smirk against your skin. You have to cover your mouth with your hand. Luke chuckles darkly. "Pretty girl has to cover her mouth so everyone doesn't know what a dirty girl she is." he hums nosing at your neck. If you're here any longer, you might actually combust. You make sure you have everything because you can quite literally never return to this bar every again.

You help pull Luke out of his chair and drape one of his arms over your shoulder. You wrap your arm around his waist to keep him steady. "Gonna eat you up when we're alone," he mutters, his grin all teeth. He's so fucking beautiful it makes your troat go dry.

You're blushing like a school girl as you help him out of the bar. He's leaning most of his weight on you while he whispers dirty things in your ear. You're surprised that you even manage to get him out of the bar on your own, mainly because his comments are making you weak in the knees. And partially because he's a 6'2, 185-pound man.

You successfully get him into the backseat and give the driver Quinns address. Thank God he lives close. A ten minute drive at most. But unfortunately for you, it feels like hours.  Because Luke had been very perceptive as to how his advances were making you react and continues them with no mercy.

"So pretty f' me" he mumbles, hand trailing up your thigh, lips fluttering over your neck, "gonna let me fuck you pretty girl?"

"Not here, Luke," You whisper, grabbing his hand. You kiss the back of his knuckles and looks at you with such desire in his eyes it takes every ounce of self control not strip and let him fuck you in the back seat of this random car. Your eyes flick to the driver and you swallow the nervous lump in your throat, and say a prayer for forgiveness as your lips trail up his hand.

You close your lips over two of his fingers, and he groans, his head falling against your shoulder. "Gotta be quiet, baby," you murmer, squeezing his knee with one hand before closing your lips back over his fingers.

"m' quiet, m' quiet," he murmers against your neck. Then he's grinding his hips against yours, and there's a whimper caught in your throat. The car comes to a stop in front of Quinns building, and you are hopping out of the car like it's on fire and dragging Luke out behind you.

He stumbles into your back, an arm wrapping around your waist, his lips reattach to your neck, and you can't help the moan that slips out. As soon as the elevator door shuts, Luke pins you to the wall with a knee between your legs, and you drag him down for a desperate kiss.

He tastes like alcohol and cinnamon and home. And you never want to let him go. Then he's hissing with fire, a yearning, pleading fire as he grinds his hips against yours. All you want to do is let him have his way, but he's so so drunk. And no matter how many years the two of you have been dating, and how many times you've slept together, you made your decision way back at the bar that you wouldn't go further than kissing and grinding.

The elevator opens on Quinns floor, and the two of you stumble out. You pat your pockets for the keys to his apartment, and fuck- they aren't there. They must have gotten left in his car on the way to the bar.

You knock on the door nervously. One hand wrapped around Luke's waist, and the other braced against his chest. His uninjured hand is tracing up and down your side and in a way that makes it hard not to squirm as he places tender kisses along your jaw.

Quinn opens the door, looking oh so tired, a toothbrush hanging half out of his mouth. Clearly, he didn't expect you back so soon. His eyes go wide at the sight in front of him, and he resists the urge to gag, lest his toothbrush fall out of his mouth.

"Whad da fack!" He exclaims, spitting into the kitchen sink and closing the apartment door behind you. "Is he drunk?"

"Yes, just let me get him into bed, and I'll explain," you say urgently.

"Only going to bed if you're coming with me," he murmers, squeezing your hip, "need m' pretty girl."

"Do you have advil?" You ask Quinn, ignoring Luke's statement, Quinn wisely chooses not to comment as he grabs advil and a glass of water.

You deposit luke on the bed, huffing from his weight. He pulls you down with a smirk. "Wait, baby, let me get your clothes," you say quickly.

Luke wiggles his eyebrows and lets you undress him. You strip him of his jeans and t-shirt leaving him in his boxers. "Be good and drink this for me," you say, sliding the advil into his mouth.

"I'm good for you, baby," he mutters after he swallows.

"So good for me," you assured as he slipped under the blanket. As soon as his head hits the pillow, his eyes are fluttering. " 'm tir'd."

You stroke his hair back from his forehead softly. "I know, baby, I know,"

"Still want you," he pouted.

"I know, baby, and you'll have me tomorrow. It's sleep time now, ok?"

"Mm'kay," he mumbles, barely audible. You stroke his hair and mutter sweet nothings to him as he falls asleep. You change into a pair of sweats and one of Luke's devils' hoodies before shutting the bedroom door with a quiet click.

Quinn is sitting on the couch, with two mugs of steaming tea. You flop onto the couch, leaning your back against the armrest and tucking your feet under his legs. He hands you a mug of tea, and you take it gratefully, holding it close to your face and letting the steam warm you.

"So what the fuck happened?" Quinn questions.

"After you left, Luke still wasn't back and I went to find him, I don't know what really happened on his end, but he said he was sad about his wrist, and someone convinced him alchool would make it better." You sigh, taking a sip of your tea.

"Anyways, by the time I got him, he had had six shots in the span of a half hour."

Quinns eyes practically bulge out of his head. He looks like he's running calculations in his head, and his jaw drops. "I know," you grimace, "I'm sorry, I should've watched him better, I knew he wasn't happy about his wrist, and I let him -"

"How did he even get drinks?" Quinn asks, "He's not 21."

"Hush, Y/n, it's not your fault. He's a big boy he knows what he's doing." Quinn says softly, drawing you into his arms.

"Quinn, you don't feel bad either, ok?" You say softly knowing Quinn is beating himself up on the inside. He sighs, purses his lips and doesn't say anything for a long minute.

"It's Canada," you mutter like that explains everything. And to Quinn, it does explain it all.

"Fucking Canada" he mutters shaking his head.

---

Hi guys!! I was very excited while writing this, so I hope y'all like it. Comment comment comment! I love comments, I wanna hear all your thoughts! They always make my day a bit brighter.

On that note, I'm going on a bit of a writing break for a week-ish cause schools getting a bit busy with midterms and final papers and whatnot. I'll still be active, tho (unless i feel like it's distracting, then I might fall off the face of the earth for a bit).

Anyways, with that, I hope y'all have a lovely, lovely evening. Love Soph ♡

[herejusttosufferalong]

Now that L has painted a big arrow on the timeline at June 2021, I’m curious about what you think S2 filming was like between the two of them?

L was still with J, they had found out they were going to be leading season 3, they had less screen time and more downtime than S3, and they posted THAT selfie. Thoughts?

Let me just give y'all my thoughts:

I think there was always feelings between the two of them and S2 filming really started to cultivate the blurred lines for them.

They knew early on in S2 production they would be leading S3 and they have both been very vocal about the prep they started to lead S3.

I think they both recognized pretty quickly they had feelings for each other but never discussed it and the used S3 filming and their characters to act on their feelings.

I personally don't think they ever crossed a line physically outside of their characters, pre or post break up with J.

I think a conversation was had between the two of them, sometime between the wrap party and her going to his play. I'm leaning closer to the wrap party.

I do think N was the one to shut things down for multiple reasons like L just getting out of a 4 yr relationship, them being in the BTON bubble and blurring lines, and then her truly thinking that maybe they had gotten whatever it was out of their system during filming.

I also don't think L was honest when they had their conversation. I know a lot of people within the fandom think his confession sort of "scared" N off with him dropping the love bomb. I feel the opposite. I think he downplayed things out of rejection.

Which is why we see him do a 180 last summer, he is running.

I think after she went to his play there was limited contact between them, partly because she had been seeing someone else, until Dec '23 when they met back up for reshoots.

During reshoots they fell right back into the blurred lines because nothing was actually resolved from their previous talk. They may have had another conversation with an understanding regarding the upcoming tour.

Which I believe is part of the reason we get the tension after the NYE kiss and during the early Jan interviews.

I don't believe N was seeing anyone Dec '23/Jan '24 but I do think it may have been rekindled in Feb/Mar done by early April.

We can tell from all of the press junkets and livestream events Feb-Apr that there is something there between L and N, I don't think it was lost on them either.

Australia def solidified things for them exhibiting their feelings outside of their characters and being forced to really examine it. Another conversation was had.

Then we have the InStyle stunt followed by a bunch of articles claiming L to be single.

A week later they are in Italy.

There is tension. Why? I think it is truly due to their lack of clear and honest communication up to that point. Another conversation is had, with their bodies, and all is well for the rest of the Italy stop.

I don't believe L had any intention of taking A to the NY premiere but I also don't think she flew there and surprised him. I don't think he was happy she was there but I also don't believe he yelled at her or got into an argument with her at the after party.

Reasons why I don't believe she was ever invited to NY:

She had bought her own ticket to get into the premiere/after party.

Her seat at the Knicks game seemed to be a last minute get.

And the Chaos dinner.

I'm def in the minority with this one but I don't think L would have accepted the invite if A was planned to go to NY. I could be wrong but the dinner already seemed completely outside of L's scene of ppl to network with. He was going for N and N alone, you can't change my mind.

Then we get Brazil. This is tricky because I don't believe L had ended things with A like some ppl do but I do believe they were just casual.

I am def in the minority here as well, I don't believe L took A to SF during the break between Brazil and Toronto. I think the pic A shared was an old one. Could be wrong tho. I think he was elsewhere and not with her and that was the reasoning behind the liking spree and getting some family/friends to follow her. All so she didn't act out, go figure it would be her mom who caused the drama...

Cut to Toronto. There is perceived tension between L and N but I think the fandom got this one wrong. They both seemed to have been ill in Toronto so I think that and jet lag started to catch up with them. All was fine in the end.

Not much to say about Dublin or Galway. I think lines were drawn by someone as things got a little too real.

And now here we are.

Let's discuss...

[bluee08]

Astro observations 《3》

Disclaimer : Not an astrologer, take it with a grain of salt, only for fun.

🫧 Asteroid Orma in 8th house might be the people to leave an impression of being hella reserved in a mysterious way. Like they might tell you a story and you will always feel like there is something more to it.

🪩 Mars in 3rd house people often say something offending without meaning to and regret the very next second. Trust me it's not their fault, they wanted to say something else and ended up saying something totally unexpected. They also feel guilty about it for days and feel sad that they might have come off rude for no reason.

🫧 Neptune conjuct ascendant, they are the real chameleons. They can mold themselves as per the situation demands. Ngl it comes handy sometimes. Like I remember when I was in 6th grade I was caught into a very serious matter but I pretended as if nothing happened and flew away. When the other guys rattled me out to the teacher, she said It's impossible that I was involved and that she doesn't believe them. She didn't hear a single word against me. Lol no, I wasn't her favorite student or something. It's just that I had maintained a certain reputation among different sect of people as per my own convenience. Call it manipulation if you want, if that doesn't explain the planet itself.

🪩 Pluto trine Lilith, it's not always sexuality that comes to the mind when we hear about these folk. Lilith here is aware that pluto is her benefactor. But it takes time for her to feel comfortable in her own domain. She is powerful here and knows what she wants. Definitely won't take anyone's bullshit. Her transformation can be scary and ruthless if someone tries to pin her down.

🫧 Jupiter sextile Pluto have a deep interest in forbidden things. Learning things that often people consider taboo is their thrill. They may or may not share the knowledge but they are always resourceful about topics relatated to dark themes of life. Feel free to discuss anything with them, they won't judge you infact they will help you inhance your own boundaries. You will be surprised how normal they'll sound while talking about things that might trigger other people even if they have gone through the same.

🪩 The one guy I had a Aphrodite-Eros synastry with made me feel like...idk strange. I was on a constant pedestal. I cared a lot about him. His Eros conjucted my Aphrodite and I looked out for him a lot. There was a thick sexual tension but also comfort. He also made me get a taste of jealousy. Which I don't usually feel. I used to constantly compare myself with the girls he used to interact with. We were not dating but I just couldn't help but feel insecure. Not because of him....idk why I was acting like that when I knew I was pretty enough.

🫧 Mars opposite Venus people get sudden mood swings from doing absolutely nothing to doing everything in next one hour. Oh and they'll do it again if it ain't asthetically pleasing to the eye.

🪩 Sun sextile Saturn, trust me they do know how to control themselves and take things with a grain of salt. Their ego is well maintained and not fragile unlike others. Very understanding and real mature people.

🫧 Sun sextile/trine Moon are the most compassionate and intuned with their selves. They know themselves better than anyone else. Also they always know exactly what they are feeling at any given time. Even if they are depressed at some point they won't give up easily.

🪩 Neptune negatively aspecting Saturn, dreaming big is easy, isn't it? But when you start implanting those dreams in real life your dreams remain dreams only. Don't worry though. It's a lesson. Don't give up, try harder. Dream as big as you want but at the end of the day remember to open your eyes and start afresh with new motivation. And please don't listen to those who tell you to quit it down. Your dreams are not weird or impossible or too much. Those people are just jealous because of how big your ambitions are and how far you are willing to go for it. Don't restrict your imagination for someone else. Believe yourself, you can do it!

🫧 Pluto in 10th house solar return chart can indicate a huge change in academic life or anywhere you are working at. For better or worse you better take precautions before hand. I am having it this year with mars in 3rd house and trust me from an above average student my grades are becoming poor. If I were to describe my graph I can see it coming downhill like a water slide which is creating quite an impression on my parents as well as my teachers. Note the sarcasm.

🪩 Saturn in 7th house could indicate having no interest in relationships at first or people being afraid to ask you out but when you grow up, settle well, you find yourself looking for your better half, resulting in either meeting them late or doing an arrange marriage.

🫧 Saturn opposite ascendant are the people who often get told that they look unapproachable on first glance. Kind of the 'out of league' vibe surrounds them. Which is not always true but I have noticed people do think twice before approaching them. These sweeties are also damn soft on the inside but for only those who do dare to talk to them. They rarely take the initiative themselves. But come ask help from them and they will risk their lives for you.

🪩 Mercury aspecting chiron could indicate healing your wounds by diving into the world of books. You might like to read or write journals when you are feeling down. There might be a small diary or pages that you have written when you were at your lowest. Its also possible that you start writing a novel or something to help you voice out your pain through written words.

🫧 Sun conjuct asteroid Medusa. Damn! You could have curly hair or hairs that are a lot wavy, thick and voluminated. Highly blessed in hair department. Many people might have praised you or complimented on your hair from a very young age. This could also indiacte a lot of body hair. From top to bottom you have body hair and trust me its not a bad thing. Its a blessing of being powerful, embrace it. It's just a hunch but some may have complimented you on that too.

🪩 Mars in 3rd house can't watch porn without audio or no communication during the deed. They always want to hear the sounds, no, they NeeD to hear the sounds raw! Only visuals is boring for them just as adding some weird music to the video. No, its not creating the mood, its ruining my experience, pls stop it.

🫧 You don't wanna hear someone moan who has their personal planets conjucting asteroid Sirene. Trust me you will get addicted. Its insane and I am not bluffing. Their voice may or may not be as addictive in general but in bed? Or when they want to take something from you? You will be trapped even before you blink. It's dangerous.

🪩 What's with Taurus Mars and Laziness? So much potential and still they study few hours before exam, complete assignments few minutes before submission and still have the audacity to say they will easily pass. Like bro if that's how you pass then I can't imagine how you will top....

🫧 Moon in 4th house people are highly invested in family matters. Family comes first to them and then the rest. The kind of people to tolerate an unhappy married life for the sake of their kids because they can't see their family being split apart.

🪩 Mars aspecting Pluto. It doesn't matter if it is positively aspected or negatively aspected, there is a lot of pent up frustration and anger issues underneath this placement. If provoked or underdeveloped could result in a very sudden and violent rage from this person. Better to leave them alone in such situations.

[hotties4gojo]

Hii 😋

Omg suddenly I'm feeling kinda shy like what am I doing here 🧍‍♀️

But I was thinkingg for a while and I swear I have one song in my mind like 25/8 and that's "Our First Time" By Bruno Mars and I swear it's so 😛😝😻🤩😍🙇‍♀️🐶🛐🛐

So I was wondering about maybe like how jjk characters might react to the first time with reader or sum 😌😇

And if you're not feeling this then maybee confession would be cute 🙈🙊 Idk if it would happen if either reader is tipsy or maybe sober or maybe something else, it's up to you 😛

And if you're not feeling this one either it's okay no worries 😍😇

Sorry if you are struggling with understanding something, English is not my first language 😵‍💫😵‍💫 Thank you so much for reading this you seem like a really cool person, bye 🫶🩷

firstly ur english is perfect ml don’t worry about it and no need to feel shy either!! 😙😙 secondly u got me blushingggg and thirdly oh my goddddd I forgot about that song… just flew back in time

JUST GO WITH IT JUST GO WITH IT JUST GO WITH IT AND I WILL GO REAL SLOW WITH IT SLOW WITH IT ITS OUR FIRST TIME 😫

thank you for the headcanon request 🥳🥳 i got a lil carried away cos i was having fun LMAO

characters: satoru gojo, suguru geto, toji fushiguro, choso kamo, shoko ieiri, yuki tsukumo

content: loss of virginity, gn!reader for the boys, fem!reader and wlw for the girls cos they’re sapphics, oral sex, penetration, fingering, humor

18+, MDNI

satoru gojo:

• “you’re a virgin??” “yeah” “and you want your first time to be with your beautiful amazing devastatingly handsome pookadookasnooks meow meow snugglemuffin???” “yeah 😕” “SAY LESS!”

• way too excited about the whole thing because wow. he’s the first person outside of yourself to, well, touch allll up on yourself

• he can tell you’re embarrassed about the noises so his loudmouth self puts on a show as if they’re starring in a porno. exaggerated wet noises bounce around your ear canals like a ping pong ball as he kisses you everywhere with pronounced ‘mwahs’ and he moans LOUD AS FAWK as if he’s the one getting groped and fondled for the first time

• satoru’s sosososo sweet, asking what you want and how. he also keeps going “oooh hold on this’ll feel really good too, watch this” and generally just makes sure you’re feeling comfortable And having a good time; because intimacy is so much better when you can laugh and have fun with it too

• you end up sinking down onto his cock while he reclines on his back, gripping your hips but letting you steer the wheel for the most part. doesn’t stfu and endlessly praises you as you ride him, and he’s cheeeesing because he’s happy that you’re enjoying your first time

• once you cum he flips you over and takes you to pound town, cheesing even harder because your whimpers are sooo cuteeee when you’re overstimulated. but at some point satoru notices it gets to be too much and he doesn’t want his pretty baby to be in pain, nuh uhhhh

• pulls out to cum all over your tummy then drags a finger through the mess and brings his dripping finger up to your lips. “one gojo special, coming right up. and don’t worry about taste— i’ve been eating lots and lots of pineapple juuust for this ;)”

suguru geto:

• you may as well kiss all of your bodily functions goodbye the second he lays you down on the bed

• like its joever man

• suguru’s gonna make you pass out from the head rush you get as he makes you describe exactly how you feel as he’s touching you, petting over you. he doesn’t let you leave out a single detail. chuckles and teases you when your voice cracks or you look at the ceiling instead of him after spewing the raunchy shit that he wants to hear. edges tf outta you when you Don’t

• “aht aht, use your words, sweetheart. i can’t take care of you properly when you aren’t telling me what you need”

• because don’t you worry! chivalry is not in fact dead; not when there’s a gentleman between your legs. suguru’s far from a selfish lover— this is about you and the trust you’ve placed in him to take care of you, which he already does in every other aspect of your relationship. and he’s more than happy to do the same during their time in bed

• has you cumming on his mouth, then his fingers, then his cock that he sinks into you in missionary so that he can watch how your irises visibly tremble as you look up at him and the way the soft pink of your lips shapes his name

• everything you want you get, and more. he leaves you wanting for nothing. suguru pamperssss you and takes you to the moon

• but oh my fucking god are you alive?? are you even on earth anymore???? you’re twitching and shaking and gasping for what feels like hours

• “i think i saw jesus for half a second,” and he’s chuckling again, entangling your fingers after he’s cleaned you up, hand fed you some chocolate, and tipped your head back so he could dribble water into your mouth for you. he guides your fingers to his hair. “think that might’ve been me, angel. i’m the only long-haired man in the room.”

• you smack his chest

toji fushiguro:

• “oh word?” is all this man says when you announce that you’re ready on a random thursday afternoon: he doesn’t look up from his phone (he was really getting into the house restoration tiktok he was watching) until you confirm it

• you’re promptly thrown over his shoulder and he hauls you to bed

• though he’s a straight shooter and goes for what he wants whenever he wants, toji slows himself down for you because he knows ur internally shitting bricks. you don’t even gotta see his cock to know that he’s PACKING and you’re already praying to your ancestors that you survive. his sharp eyes catch the subtle bob of your throat as you swallow and the spiraling staircase spelled out in your eyes

• “jesus, doll, ‘m not gonna fuckin’ tear your ass up and wreck your shit just yet.” he’ll save getting his dick in your stomach for a rainy day. “but a man’s gotta eat.”

• the second he’s between your soft thighs, your fingers laced through his hair while his mouth drops down to where you’re leaking, toji shows you exactly why he’s the best at what he does. and no he does NAWT mean killing sorcerers

• though this is gn!reader, he’d definitely eat fem!reader from the back

• he’s as gentle as a man like him can be as he goes down on you ‘til you cum, then he whips his cock out to take care of himself when you offer to help him out. and who is he to look a gift horse in the mouth?

• toji guides you, shows you exaaactly how to stroke him right, squeezing on the upstroke, screwing your free palm against the tip. you daringly take half of him into your mouth and he pulls you off to cum on your face cos well. he’s toji

• “we’re doin’ this again the second i get myself back up”

• oh fawk

choso kamo:

• “guess that makes two of us” is what he casually says when you tell him that you’re a virgin

• contrary to popular belief, no, he’s not clueless when it comes to sex. he’s got what he’s seen on TV, what he’s personally looked up, and the memories of his host’s body all on his side

• so in theory both of you know how sex works, what goes where and whatnot . in practice? all of that knowledge seems to fly out the fucking window to join the birds

• choso lit some vanilla-scented candles to set the mood, because this moment is super special for both of them, right? everything needs to be perfect. romantic

• you’re gripping the shit out of a bottle of cherry flavored lube, which you bought because gojo and yuki swore to them both that it’d make things more fun, as if someone’s gonna take that shit from you as you clamber onto his lap. and then they both stare at each other. “lovely, how should we…” “let’s just make out and go from there??”

• you both get into a rhythm, hands skirting beneath clothes as you swap spit

• kissing while you straddle him turns into him lying back, their palms glued together with sweat as their hands entangle on either side of his head. which turns into grinding and whiny moans

• both of you nut in your pants like teenagers

• round two starts with breathy laughter and awed gazes as soiled clothes get tossed to the side so that you can explore each other’s bodies and properly pin down the other’s preferences this time. and the lube finally gets put to use

• choso’s more preoccupied with your needs than his; a puppy born and bred to please, and reaaaally fawking eagerly. pawing at your erogenous zones that he discovers after some trial and error, and you do the same to him. it’s all sooooo sweet, so gentle, even though both of you are fumbling and giggling

• “is this okay? faster, slower? whatever you want.”

• he doesn’t last long once he sinks inside of you, but choso manages to make you cum again before he busts a second time too, so hey, win win

shoko ieiri:

• honestly she’s not really surprised that you’re a virgin. she knows damn well you’re not the type to wander off to some bar and pick some rando up for your first time. and there’s not a large roster of sorcerer women to pick from, either

• luckily she’s your girlfriend. and she has enough experience to know what the hell to do

• which is why she busts out the double-ended dildo and tosses it to the side of the bed. you stare at it with big ass eyes and she just chuckles as she guides you to sit between her legs, your back squishing her boobs

• not only is she gonna show you how good it feels to be touched by someone other than yourself, she’s gonna show you exactly how she touches you

• holds your legs open with her own legs, spreading you niiice and wide so that you can see yourself in the mirror while shoko fingers you and narrates every. single. thing. that she’s doing. mostly to watch how flustered you get

• makes you cum on her fingers multiple times until you’re drooling because you deserve nothing but the best. she’s very happily getting off on your pleasure

• then shoko smiles to herself as you, lashes shading your spacey gaze and muscles still erratically twitching beneath your skin, turn around and eat her out to return the favor. that’s when your body really registers that she absolutely destroyed your kitty and wore down your mind and body. you practically fall asleep with your mouth on her while her hand scratches at your scalp as if you’re a kitten

• “tired already, cutie? guess we’ll save the double-ended dildo for next time.”

• YOU’RE UP

yuki tsukumo:

• they’re making out on a flannel-patterned blanket that they laid out on the grass when yuki goes to worm her long fingers down your pants when you tell her that its your first time

• “you’re telling me that people weren’t lining up around the block to get a piece of this ass and a taste of it too before we started dating?? ohhh bunny… that’s criminal.”

• “good thing yuki thee stallion’s happy to take her cute girl for a ride!”

• because if anything she’s JUICEDDDD that she’s your first. mentally she’s kicking her feet, carving your initials into a tree, rolling down the slight incline of the hill where they’ve been pointing out constellations and shooting the shit on. little do you know that they’re gonna have a spring wedding and todo’s gonna be her best man

• hauls you up her body so that you can sit on her face out in the open. sure they could just scoot back to their hotel room on her harley but mmmm… semi-public sex with no one else around… its her shit

• she’s already plotting ways to tease you when they’re Really in public

• you’re thinking, ‘wow, how can this possibly get better’ while jerkily riding her tongue when she brings her fingers into the mix and you squirt, just like that. yuki must be floating in the heavens up above them because WOW HOLY SHIT this is the best day of her life. what a treat

• she pulls you back down, all smiles and sunshine as she coos praise. but are y’all done? helllll naw. yuki flips you over, shuffles out of her jeans, and introduces you to the art of scissoring while she mauls your tits like a dog with a new chew toy

[lostbetweenvampiresandmusic]

Would it possible if you can write a Lost boys(poly if your comfy with it) with a Carrie!Reader (2013 ver) who like, is bullied severely at school, crappy parents and discovers they have telekinesis. they run into the lost boys on the boardwalk, hangs out with them and stuff? But they don’t tell them the bullying or anything about their home life because reasons(make some up if you want lol) or their powers until they run into their bullies in a empty part of the beach and they terrorize them and they snap? And the boys watch and fall in love and kick their feet and twirl their hair? David wants them to turn now even more (falling in love aside) because ✨Power✨ Dwayne wants them because ✨Safety✨ Paul wants them to turn because ✨Sexy✨ and Marko because ✨Crazy✨. Basically their dream girl who is as soft as silk but a lil fucked up?🥺🥺🥺

Also how’s your day been? How you living? You drink water today?

Hi! Yes, this would absolutely be possible! First off, I have to say, I am so sorry for the incredibly long wait. I was busy with work (multiple jobs and only 7 days a week aren't an easy thing to combine with free time), and I prioritised finishing Changes. But now that Changes is finished and all the chapters are written, I finally have time for this request because I've read this several times now and I just think it is so much fun! Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for not writing this sooner and that you like what I've written! Have a nice day/night/holidays!💜

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

The alley was silent. Three bodies laid on the ground, blood splattered everywhere from the ground to the walls on both sides. One body, a female no older than twenty, came without a head. Or at least, it used to have a head, but what was left of it was barely recognisable as such. There were two male bodies, one twisted and turned as if it were moulded in clay, the other drained as if all liquid inside the body spontaneously decided to evaporate.

Needless to say, it was a mess.

I stood between those three bodies, not knowing what to do. In all honesty, I was still not entirely sure about what happened. One second, they began to call me names - again, like they always did - and the second I felt my anger flare up and poof - there they were gone. Dead. I shook my head as I stared at the blood, unable to keep a single tear from falling down my face.

I blinked, a small frown on my forehead. I was terrified. Not of what scene laid before me, but because of what had happened. I had done this, and I didn't know how. I had killed them, somehow.

"That's quite a mess."

I jumped, turning around. My heart was beating in my throat as I saw David, Marko, Paul, and Dwayne standing behind me. I frowned slightly. It was the closed off side of the alley, so if they'd walked past me, I would have noticed it, right?

"We flew," was Dwaynes answer to my questioning look. I nodded, remembering how they'd told me what they were a while ago.

I had known the boys for quite some time now, running into them once while they were in the videostore. Marko had just grabbed the tape I wanted, talking - well, there's no other way to put it - shit about it. When I had asked for the tape, he had refused to give it to me, instead opting to give me a better alternative. He had been right. Where I had initially wanted to see a B movie called Zombies from Mars, he had given me Return of the Living Dead. It was awesome. The next night, I searched for them on the boardwalk to thank him for the suggestion, and they invited me to hang out with them. Ever since I did so, every night, whenever I could. I told them everything, I was closer to them than anyone else I knew. Well, everything - i couldn't help but chew the inside of my cheek. I had never told them about being bullied. It felt silly when I hung out with them. It was silly when I could deal with it. It was calling names, being pushed into the showers, locked inside rooms, and losing my lunch sometimes - it could have been worse. Some other kids in school were bullied worse, and they didn't complain, so why would I?

"What happened here?" Paul asked as he looked at the bodies.

"I don't know," I said quietly, my voice weaker than I'd liked, "I got angry and then they were just like that."

"They bothered you?" Marko gave me a pointed look, and I knew that I had no choice but to be truthful now.

"They bullied me."

"Bullied? Why did you never say anything?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, not looking at Marko, "it felt silly, and I could handle it."

"Yeah, that much is obvious," David answered, a sly grin on his face. "Has this ever happened before?"

I shook my head. "It scares me. I just killed three people and didn't even notice it."

"Just a regular night for us, am I right?" Paul chuckled, earning himself some glares. "Sure, it's a shock that it happened, but honestly, Babe," he grinned, "it is kind of hot."

"I killed someone, Paul."

"So? We do too."

"And you're certain you've never done anything like this before?" Marko asked, and once again, I shook my head.

"If you can do this without practice..."

"Practice? This was an accident, I don't even know how it happened or -"

I stopped when I felt myself panic, and slowly but surely, I saw the droplets of blood rising from the ground, floating in the air. I stared at it with wide eyes. "Am I doing this?"

"Yeah," Dwayne appeared behind me, taking my hand in his. "Calm down, alright? You're fine, and you're going to stay fine."

"I don't understand..."

"You're telekinetic," Marko grinned, "you could burn this whole town to the ground if you wanted without lifting a single finger."

"I- I don't think I want that?"

"But you could!"

I couldn't help but smile a watery smile at that. "Why are you four not freaked out?"

"Vampire." Was all David said as he looked at me. "Which you could still become, the offers still up."

"I don't know..."

"As a vampire it would be easier to control your powers."

"And we'd be able to keep you safer if they get out of control."

I sighed, looking between David and Dwayne, not knowing what to do.

"But what if I loose control and hurt you? Any of you?"

"You won't," Marko answered, "besides, I never shied away from a bit of pain."

I blushed, shaking my head. "You're incorrigible."

"You know it," he grinned. "You should go home, well clean this up for you."

"I- i can't really go back home, my parents, they are eh-"

"I meant the cave."

"What?" I frowned, looking at Marko and then at Paul and the others.

"You'll live with us," Paul said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're one of us," David said, his voice holding more kindness than I'd heard before, "so come with us."

I smiled softly, nodding as I let David and Dwayne lead me away from the crime scene. Paul and Marko stayed behind, cleaning up the bodies and the blood, neither of them minding the sight of it.

"Pretty damn cool, this power of theirs," Marko grinned, as he swept some brain matter off the wall.

"Definitely. Makes you wonder what else they could do with this gift," he chuckled with a smirk, causing Marko to roll his eyes.

[hey-august]

It's not always a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake (Buggy x GN!reader)

Gif from monikanarnia

Description: Late one night you find Buggy in the kitchen growing increasingly distressed over dessert.

Word count: ~1.2k

A/N: One shot fluff with an established relationship. Gender neutral reader, no use of Y/N, pronouns, or physical descriptions. Based on OPLA buggy. Not beta read. Hope you like this! Let me know if you see any errors or typos. ♡

Warnings: Some light profanity, but that's about it!

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ✩ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ✩ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ✩ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

Lured by the sounds of activity at a time when most of the ship was asleep, you peered into the kitchen and finally found the person you were looking for. Buggy was hunched over the center island, deeply focused on the cake in front of him. He finished spreading the frosting and stepped back to observe his work. The scowl on his face and annoyed muttering were clear signals that he wasn’t satisfied. Despite being an artist, cake decorating was not his usual medium and it showed. Based on the amount of flour on his vest, pants, bandana, and in his hair, baking was also not his forte. 

Buggy ran a knife along the top of the cake, attempting to smooth out the white frosting. Instead the sweet coating stuck to the knife and lifted up to expose the bare cake underneath, as if he had wounded the confection. Trying to hold in the anger that wanted to burst from his mouth, Buggy’s fists flew to his head and he turned in place, stomping on the floor. Shouting was guaranteed to wake someone up and Buggy did not need anyone to see the absolute failure in front of him.

His glare flitted between the marred cake and the knife still in his hand before he flung the offending utensil towards the other side of the kitchen. The resounding clang caused him to flinch. He hoped it wasn’t loud enough to attract attention. A few heavy moments later, Buggy sighed and leaned over the cake. From where you were, you couldn’t tell if the weight in his rounded shoulders was from anger or disappointment. But you knew Buggy well enough that he wouldn’t give up yet. And you were right. 

With a cautious hand, Buggy began tapping at the lumpy frosting, nudging it into place. His gentle, feather-light touches showed a level of restraint and artistry that could only rival Michaelangelo chipping away marble, intent at bringing out the beauty only his fingertips could find. Finally satisfied with the coverage, Buggy assessed his work again. Despite being slightly worse than it was before the frosting incident, he was afraid of making an irreparable mistake. There wasn’t any more flour or sugar left in the kitchen. This wasn’t the first cake he baked. Or the second. But this was the first one that was fluffy and edible. Maybe if he decorated the cake with other things, the streaky, lumpy, crumby coating wouldn’t stand out as much.

Buggy stalked around the kitchen, rummaging in the cabinets and digging through drawers, looking for ingredients that were worthy of garnishing his confection composition. His frustration grew with each cabinet and drawer he opened and slammed shut. When he finally ripped open the fridge door he was greeted with the perfect gems, signaling the end of his kitchen treasure hunt. His greedy pirate hands pulled out some ruby red cherries. Buggy gave them a quick rinse in the sink and popped one in his mouth, finding satisfaction in the sharp snap and sweet juice from the ripe fruit. 

Moments later, the fruit adorned the top perimeter of the cake, each one nested carefully into the frosting. Buggy stared thoughtfully at the cake as he fiddled with the last cherry, lightly rolling it on the table with his finger. With an air of hesitation, he placed the red orb in the center of the cake. No one else would second guess the placement, but the pirate clown was overly sensitive about anything that could be mocking the one feature he had trouble accepting about himself. A feature that you never shied away from. If anything, you adored it. And while he couldn’t love his own nose, knowing you did filled him with warmth. You always brought brightness and sunshine to his dark and twisted world.

As you watched Buggy stare at the finished product with an expression you couldn’t see clearly, your interest got the better of you. The kitchen door released a tattling creak when you tried to gain a better view of the kitchen show. Thankfully Buggy did not have his knives on hand, but the glare he threw at the entrance was sharp enough to sting. His face softened when he realized it was you, before hardening back into a scowl that was equal parts annoyed at being interrupted and embarrassed that you found him.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” he chided, sending his hands over to push you out and close the door. Anticipating that he would do that, you ducked the flying appendages and slipped inside.

“I could say the same about you.” Buggy knew your comment was true. Despite being the captain, the kitchen was not his usual scene. “What are you up to anyways?”

Despite the innocent tone behind your question, the twinkling in your eyes told Buggy that you already knew the answer. You walked closer and looked at the cake, missing the wince that flashed on Buggy’s face. It looked alright, but it was not at all like he envisioned.

“It looks good. The cherries were a great idea,” you said in earnest.

“Don’t lie,” Buggy snipped. Agitation bristled in his body, feeling scratchy and uncomfortable. Every muscle was fighting the impulse to throw out the cake and act like he hadn’t wasted hours creating something so far below his usual standards. 

“It’s awful! A disgrace! The shitty frosting isn’t smooth and it’s full of crumbs. It’s too sweet and I used all the sugar so I can’t make more.” The tirade increased in pitch as he continued, the tension in his body constricting his throat. The frown on your face slowed his monologue.

“Are you serious? This looks like one of those cakes you buy at a high end patisserie in the fancy part of town. People pay a lot of money for rustic cakes and fresh fruit.” Flattery was always guaranteed to uplift Buggy when he was in a bad mood, but these were genuine compliments that you shared with such conviction and admiration. A flush crept across Buggy’s face and tickled his ears at the intensity and sincerity of your praise.

“O-of course! I knew that, I just wasn’t sure if it was your style.” Yeah, sure, that’s what he actually meant.

“So it’s for me?”

“Who else would I do this for?” He responded quickly, since you already knew the cake was yours.

“I was going to give it to you later, but you ruined the surprise,” Buggy continued, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance. He slid the cake towards you and finished with a surprisingly gentle, “happy birthday.”

Although he was supposed to be showering you with gifts on your birthday, the radiant smile you gave was definitely a gift to him. He couldn’t tell if he wanted to look away from the brightness or continue staring into the sun, in awe of the radiance.

“Thank you, I love it,” you said, the words heavy with appreciation. Buggy watched as you plucked the cherry from the center of the cake and popped it into your mouth with a wink, feeling as though his heart was replaced with a bumbling moth, fluttering everywhere and bumping into everything. It was probably drawn to your brilliance, just as he was.

[bookaddict19]

Sleeping with the Enemy (Part 3) | Fred Weasley x Reader

Rating: Mature…eventually. I don’t know.

No hate, please. But if you like it, let me know and I will continue adding to it. 

Part One Part Two

As Y/N stared at Draco, her mind searched for some plausible excuse for why she was huddled together in a hospital bed still gripping Fred Weasley’s hand. “It’s not what it looks like,” she whispered. To whom, she did not know.  But the words escaped from her lips as if by their own provocation.  Though her gaze never left Draco’s, Y/N felt Fred’s hand slip out of her own as he tensed at her words. Her mind raced and tried to forget the dull ache echoing in her chest at the loss his of touch.

“What does it look like, Y/N?” Draco breathed slowly. A deadly calm had settled over him. Though his hand still cradled his bleeding arm, his features had hardened. The lines on his face seemed to be etched in stone. The muscles in his back and shoulders coiled in torchlight as his injured arm slowly, perhaps unconsciously, made its way to his wand. The playful boy that she had left at the party just hours before was gone and the rigid outline of a Deatheater had taken his place.

Y/N put on her best haughty smile. Fred had left the hospital bed that they shared to make his way to his brother’s bedside. Y/N didn’t dare look at him but felt his gaze burn on her back as she timidly approached Draco.

“Still a little drunk,” she grinned at him mischievously as the lie burned in her throat. “I haven’t really learned my way around the castle yet. I thought the kitchens were around here somewhere. I’m suddenly in the mood for something deep-fried and smothered in chocolate.” She forced her smirk to remain despite the way her stomach twisted when she looked into his hollow gray eyes. She hated lying to Draco and, worse, she was terrible at it.

“What a disappointment,” Draco murmured. His eyes left hers to briefly glare at the Weasley twins. Y/N didn’t dare turn around. “It’s impolite to intrude, Draco dear,” she said sweetly. “Come along,” she took his sleeve and began to pull him out of the room. “I can bandage you up and then we could go find something to eat.” The great mahogany doors closed behind them.

They were only a few paces down the hallway, Draco trailing slowly behind her, when he pulled her into an empty corridor. He pinned her to a wall, his hands blocking her exits. Blood still ran from his injured arm and onto the stone floor but he didn’t seem to notice. Y/N stared into his darkening eyes defiantly in a desperate attempt to keep face.  

“Do you want to tell me what was going on back there or should I let my imagination wander?” he hissed to her, his eyes moved to the bloodied bandages on her arms where her excessive use of magic had marred her skin. Her forced grin had slipped into a tired grimace. She opened her mouth, another lie on her lips, when his hard look softened.

“Magic,” he asked, his eyes softening as they bore into hers. “Or…the other thing.”

“I’m fine,” she said, looking anywhere but in his eyes. “I’m just stressed and, under the circumstances, I think that’s a bit reasonable.” She looked down. Blue sparks flew out her hand. A flame had started to dance in her palm. Though the blaze licked her fingers, she did not feel anything. Not heat, nor cold. Nothing. The irony, she thought miserably.

“And Weasley,” he trailed off, looking at the flames in her palm.

“It’s nothing,” she mumbled, balling her fist and quenching the blaze. “It’s just a little bit of fun. A distraction. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“We can’t afford to be distracted,” Draco scolded, leaning on the wall across from her.

“I know that,” she mumbled, her hand moving down to scratch her Dark Mark. Draco stared at her for a minute and she wandered if he was seeing her or thinking about his own scar-faced distraction. She didn't have much time to process it when Draco turned on his heels and marched down the hall without another word. Y/N looked back at the great doors of the hospital wing; the look on Fred’s face as she dropped his hand burning its way through her mind as she turned to follow Malfoy.

                                                          ***

The halls of the castle overflowed with a river of students as Y/N made her way to Charms. Draco was a few paces ahead of her, his pale head bent in deep quiet conversation with a few 7th year Ravenclaw boys.

Lost in her own melancholy, she found herself in a broom closet. A large freckled hand was pressed against her mouth muffling her protests. She looked up in alarm, into Fred’s dark eyes. Despite the tip of her wand pressing firmly against his throat, Fred was smiling. Y/N was slow to lower to wand. Almost as slow as she was to free herself from Fred’s hold.

“What do you want, Weasley?” she said defeatedly. She moved to the other side of the small space, placing her wand and her hands firmly in the pockets of her robes. Fred’s smile was gone. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he stated.

“You’re flattering yourself,” Y/N spit. “There’s nothing between us to avoid.”

“Y/N…” Fred started towards her.

“No,” she said, backing up so abruptly she crashed into the shelves behind her. Spare buckets and cleaning utensils fell from rafters. “Damn it!” she stumbled forward in an attempt to avoid the falling objects. Fred caught her. “Get off,” she pushed him away, her hands sparking. Thunder clapped in the distance.

He raised up his hands in a surrendering gesture. “Just talk to me,” he whispered. She had rarely seen him like this. The humor and sarcasm that usually lit up his features was replaced with genuine concern. It made the guilt in her stomach twist like a knife.

“Why?” she asked. “We’re not friends. Up until a few weeks ago, we had barely even spoken. Now, just because I’ve saved your ass a few times, suddenly we’re besties? Face it, you don’t even know me.”

“But I’m trying too,” he said, his voice cracking with anger. His face flushed as he gestured between the two of them. “No matter how hard you’re making it.”

“What’s the point?!” she shrieked. Blue sparks flew from her hands; she had started to shake. “What do you get out of this?! Huh?! To prove you’re some rebel for daring to hang out with a Slytherin? Or is it enough that every time he sees me with you, I have to lie to the one person who has ever given a damn about me?”

She slammed her fist against the stone wall. More sparks flew. Pain radiated from her hand but the scorched mark that she left on the wall gave her a brief satisfaction and fed her ravenous rage. “You don’t get it! I break things! Can’t you see that? Can’t you see that I’m not a good person? No matter how hard I try to do the right thing, I always end up fucking everything up.” The Dark Mark pulsed on her forearm. “I wish that I could close my eyes and open a joke shop and pretend that everything going on in the world right now was just part of a bad dream. But I can’t.” The rage was draining out of her. Tears filled her eyes and all of the pent-up emotions from the past few weeks threatened to spill out. “And I hate myself for it sometimes.”

Fred slowly moved towards her, worried she might spook like a frightened animal. His own anger had faded rather quickly when she had begun to break apart. He had watched her tirade with a stunned despondency. Y/N was breathing hard but the sparks in her hands had begun to fizzle out. She flinched when Fred put his arms around her but didn’t pull away. Instead, she leaned into the hug, pulling him closer and resting her tear-soaked face in his chest. They held each other for a while, neither daring to break the trance and return to a reality where they might one day very soon be facing off on a battlefield. His face was buried in her dark curls and her breath caught when he planted a soft kiss on her head. She looked up at him, brushing the hair and tears out her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said and began to take a step back. Y/N stopped him, taking his hand in hers but not looking him in the eyes.

Then she kissed him. Slowly at first; just a soft brush of the lips that caused his stormy eyes to flutter close and the corners of his mouth to perk up into a mischievous Weasley trademark smirk. Sensing his grin, Y/N reached onto the tips of her toes to kiss him again. More passionately this time. Her eyes closed as she pulled herself closer to him. Her hands wrapped around his neck; her fingers inched their way into his flaming red hair, twisting and pulling the amber strands as his lips melted into hers. He tasted so much of cinnamon and spice that she briefly wondered if he had been in the kitchens again.

Fred’s hands moved to rest on her waist, pulling her by the tails of her skirt closer to him. Their bodies molded into one as his arms wrapped around her protectively. The closet was filled with the sounds of their breathing as they briefly came up for air after each embrace. Fred let out a breathy moan that was quickly muffled by their lips connecting again. Y/N tugged lightly on his hair one final time before moving her hands from his hair to his jaw line and down the hard muscles of his chest. Their kisses slowed. His fingertips traced the curve of her waist once more before dragging his hands slowly up her body in order to cup her face. They broke apart; their faces still inches from one another’s.

Y/N kept her eyes closed in an attempt to focus on controlling her breathing. Fred took this time to commit her face to memory. The way her dark curls framed her face. The way she nervously bit her swollen pink lips. He searched for imperfections. Some small scar or blemish that would prove to him that she was indeed real.  He could find none. Every mark, every flaw just added up to her. And in that moment, he couldn’t think of anything more perfect than that.

Fred smiled as Y/N’s eyes fluttered open. The chocolate irises that he had been expecting now blazed a bright gold. Apparently, anger wasn’t the only thing that made her lose a bit of control. He caressed her face, more intrigued than afraid. “Fred,” she started, her eyes flashed warningly. He kissed her again. She responded by pulling him closer by his robes, causing the both of them to crash against the wall.  The temptation to lose herself in Fred, in a broom closet, in the middle of the castle, was becoming more and more appealing. Either way, she was definitely going to be late for Charms.

Their kiss deepened. Coming up for air, she let out a soft whimper when his lips traveled to her neck leaving soft kisses and nibbles on the sensitive skin there. His hands slipped her robe from her shoulders and she smiled as the cool air hit her bare arms. His fingers traced down her forearms, over the spot of her glamoured Dark Mark. The sensation caused her to briefly come to her senses.

“Freddie,” she gently pushed him off. “Let’s slow down a bit.” He smiled at the nickname, his blue eyes glinting in the soft light of room, and backed away.

“Sorry, love,” he whispered dreamingly.

“Fred,” she started again, her face burning. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something that I should’ve told you before we…” she gestured between them, hoping the movement made up for her lack of knowing exactly what had just transpired between them.  Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t find the words. For some reason, she didn’t think “I’m a part of the group of psychopaths who are dead set on killing you and all of your friends…but don’t worry, it’s not as bad as you think” was going to cut it. Her hand moved to cover her left forearm. She was just going to have to show him. Once he knew, she could explain everything…almost everything…well…some stuff. And he would understand, and everything would be okay…

But it wouldn’t. And she couldn’t. The words would not come. She could not risk her mission here or, more importantly, Draco’s life for what? A few stolen moments in a broom closet with a boy she barely knew. Absolutely not. It didn’t matter if his kiss had made her feel more alive in the past few minutes than she had felt in the last few weeks. It didn’t matter…or so she kept telling herself.

Y/N took a deep breath and picked up her wand which had fallen to the ground with her robe. Fred seemed to be too caught up in looking pleased with himself to be paying much attention to what she was doing. She smiled at him sadly one last time before placing a soft kiss on his cheek. “I’m late for Charms,” she breathed into the small space between them. And then, without another word, turned on her heels and walked out the door as quickly and as inconspicuously as possible. Leaving a slightly flustered Weasley in her wake.

[youkaigakkou-tl]

The TRUTH behind the soul pieces

Preamble: I started writing this expecting nothing, but I actually found something??? not clickbait???? gone right???

Warning: the expected reaction of reading this is “damn. I’ve never seen someone grasp harder at straws” and “I dunno about this one chief”

So. "The soul pieces aren't exactly what we're told they are" is an idea I've had for a while now. (I wouldn’t even call it a theory, it’s just a passing thought.) Not that "they're manifestations of Haruaki's traits" is wrong, but I think there's more to them than immediately obvious. I just haven't talked about this much because even I don't fully buy into it and it kinda verges on horoscope-type confirmation bias territory. It’s kind of a, I THINK there’s more to it but I don’t know what exactly is more.

A brief recap

First one shown is his "worldly desires", animal trio vs Seiryuu.

Second is his "freak athleticism", that Kurahashi's team and Ebisu just ran into.

With just these two he runs off to find Sano

Third is his "cowardice", found by Sano's team and Byakko, which gets away and hides in Sano's pocket.

Fourth is his "memory", originally found by Hijita's team and Genbu, which gets picked up by Genbu and then the whole Heian flashback happens.

And last is his "intelligence", which for some reason is also the one that can use his exorcism power.

So immediately a couple details stood out to me.

Why is "memory" here?? I wouldn't call that a trait exactly??

Also, when it first broke apart and flew off in five directions, it's specifically pointed out that it's "like a five pointed star" (even though it's not really if you look at the actual locations on a map lol)

And the sticking point, if it was as clean and simple a split as “Haruaki’s traits”, why do the traits bleed into each other? “Athleticism” is into sailor uniforms too, and “Cowardice” and “Intelligence” are pretty quick by themselves. Also, even without his “Memory” at the time, he remembered that conversation with Seimei in ch87.

The five pointed star detail, considering everything in the arc heavily relates to the Four Gods and Seimei's star, which relates to Wuxing, almost begs to be referencing that too.

What is Wuxing?

Wuxing, five elements, five phases, gogyo, whatever other name for it: I’ve talked about it briefly in my Kyoto arc analysis

(Wait. Is this actually all I mentioned regarding Wuxing in that analysis???? This tells you nothing!!)

(Tbh I think I had a longer explanation about it but I cut it because I thought it was irrelevant)

Wuxing 五行, roughly translated as five elements or phases, is a concept that comes from Taoism. The five elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water and describes the interactions between them. Here’s the wikipedia page if you really want to get into the details.

The “xing” means movements/moving, and the entire concept of Wuxing comes from the five classical planets’ (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) movements affecting… things? In general? (It’s horoscopes)

In fact, the names of those five planets in Chinese and Japanese are tied with the Wuxing:

Mercury = 水星 water star

Venus = 金星 metal/gold star

Mars = 火星 fire star

Jupiter = 木星 wood star

Saturn = 土星 earth star

You’re taught these as a kid but not the reasoning behind it (because it’s hella irrelevant lmao) but I guess it kinda makes instinctual sense? (Venus = yellow, Mars = red, Jupiter = stripes, like tree rings?? Saturn = brown. Mercury = it looks like there’s rivers? idk how much detail they were seeing in the BC times)

And just to sate curiosity, the planets that were discovered after telescopes were invented are just based off the English names

Uranus = 天王星 sky god star

Neptune = 海王星 sea god star

Pluto = 冥王星 underworld god star

By the way, this is also why the days of the week are named after elements in Japanese; it’s not actually the elements, rather it’s referring to the celestial bodies: those 5 planets + the moon and the sun. It’s the classical Chinese system that Japan adopted around the 5th century AD, and they haven’t changed it since then. (Chinese uses stuff like “weekday 1” for monday now.) And China itself adopted the Greco-Roman system of the 7 day week, days named after celestial bodies around the 4th century AD, which is also why the planets and days line up if you look at the English and Japanese names now.

Would be crazy if they independently decided to have 7 days in a week and name days after celestial bodies and assigned the same planets to the days huh.

(Also, TIL from looking at this chart that the sun (taiyang) is indeed called that because it’s the “great yang star”, and the moon is called the “great yin star”, you know, like yin-yang)

I’m remembering why it’s so hard to research and write about this stuff now. Everything is so inextricably connected to everything else its hard to talk about one thing in isolation. Thanks for indulging my astronomy tangent I love astronomy.

(I always got saturn on da mind when I think about Seimei cus of this art…)

The only useful part of this essay

So. Wuxing. Here’s a pretty standard diagram of it so it’s easier to visualise

There are five types of processes Wuxing describes:

Generating: Wood feeds fire

The reverse side of generating: Fire burns wood

Regulating: Wood grasps earth

Excessive regulating (destruction): Wood depletes earth

The reverse side of regulation (exhaustion): Earth rots wood

And here’s a full list of it, from wikipedia

With this in mind, you’ll notice that it pops up all over the place in Kyoto arc!

If we take lightning as aligned with metal (because Byakko = metal = lightning user), this is the regulating interaction of metal -> wood

Metal cuts wood, but wood also dulls metal

Water… nourishing wood….???

Water destabilizes earth

(“This is just pokemon lol” WRONG!! Pokemon types and every other element system in videogames came from Wuxing!! (Or Godai))

Back to the soul pieces

So you see, it’s incredibly tempting to connect the five soul pieces with the five elements of Wuxing. It’s basically begging for it. The Wuxing has been associated with lots of things that come in sets of five, including things like senses, tastes, smells, emotions, mental qualities, periods of one’s life, body parts. It has applications in divination and traditional chinese medicine after all. If there was a clear, 1-to-1 match between the soul pieces and the elements, you bet I would have talked about it more by now. But the connections are tenuous at best, and even I don’t really believe it. They might, probably, just be the traits we’re told they are. So this really is just to humor myself, and maybe someone can glean something more from this.

Let’s lay out the things surrounding the soul pieces:

“Desires” was at Arashiyama (a bamboo forest) and Seiryuu was present, both associated with Wood

“Athleticism” was at Ginkaku-ji (silver pavilion), none of the four gods were present, no obvious element associations here.

“Cowardice” was at Mount Kurama (mountain = earth?), Byakko was present (metal?)

“Memory” was at Kiyomizu-dera (clear water temple), and Genbu was present, water association

“Intelligence” was at Kinkaku-ji (gold pavilion), and none of the four gods were present initially. (gold = metal?)

The other thing I’ve yet to mention is all the soul pieces seem to be of different points in Haruaki’s life. (Well. Four of them at least.)

“Desires” and “Athletics” seem to look and act younger (as much as you can tell with chibis…), both wearing simple t-shirts, and “Athletics” t-shirt and shorts look like what Haruaki wore as a kid in the Miki arc flashback. Adding on to that, we’re constantly told how into sailor uniforms Haruaki was as a little kid (literally whenever his childhood gets brought up: Mamaaki talking about it in ch8, him saying his first cry as a newborn was “sailor uniform” in ch43, the ch51.5 extra) (ok to be fair. his sailor uniform fetish gets brought up at every opportunity. but i feel like it’s Pretty emphasized here) Also I feel like “Desires” especially talks like a kid.

Meanwhile “Cowardice” and “Memory” are dressed the way he currently does, and “Cowardice” seems to parallel the way Haruaki was at the start of the series. It’s Sano’s team that runs into him, he acts like how Haruaki did early on just amped way up, and he ends up hiding on Sano.

IQ-kun… still don’t know what to make of him and how he fits into this lol

Put like this, doesn’t it almost seem like, in the order they appear, they represent points in Haruaki’s life too?

Or, this could all be nothing, because they’re all wearing the same thing in the jacket for Volume 14.

So anyway, from this angle, it seems like Desires and Athletics line up fairly cleanly with Wood and Fire respectively, but Cowardice, Memory and Intelligence are a little murkier. Cowardice only somewhat lines up with Earth, and both Memory and Intelligence could align with Water, while Memory could also be Metal. (I dropped the quotation marks bc they were getting distracting)

Here’s a diagram to illustrate.

(See it’s kinda, pick-and-choosey, horoscope-type shit)

Immediately a couple problems arise. First and most majorly is the horoscopey-ness of it all. And then there’s the matter that, if the four gods represent four out of five of the elements and earth is the outlier, wouldn’t it also make sense if IQ-kun as the outlier would be assigned that?

There’s also the possibility that the first four are a set, and IQ-kun makes up the “yin” to the rest of Haruaki’s “yang” (But then what would the first four correspond to individually? idk….)

We’re getting nowhere with this analogy, so let’s look at some adjacent philosophies in sets of five, just for fun, and see if they line up any better.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

This one is the most related to Wuxing, there are five main “organs” in TCM that have associated Wuxing elements. They might be called the same names as the anatomical organs, but they’re actually more like concepts only roughly correlated with locations on the body. This is stuff codified thousands of years ago before modern knowledge of the human body, mind you.

Heart (fire): stores the “aggregate soul” (the mind)

Spleen (earth): governs transportation of qi and blood, and governs muscles and limbs

Lung (metal): stores the “po 魄” (physical soul)

Kidney (water): responsible for willpower or fear

Liver (wood): governs free flow of qi, blood and emotions. Stores blood, which stores the “hun 魂” (ethereal soul)

(The wikipedia page I linked has more in depth descriptions)

And if we sorta line up the attributes…

Desires = Liver/wood

Athleticism = Spleen/earth

Cowardice = Kidney/water

Memory = Lung/metal

Intelligence = Heart/fire

Something like this? It doesn’t line up particularly nicely either, and certainly doesn’t line up with the first theory…

But reading up on this actually brought something useful to my attention: the concept of “hun” and “po”

See, there’s this Chinese compound word “hun po 魂魄” that generally just means “soul”, but if you get really semantic they’re two different types of souls?

The “hun” is the yang-aligned “ethereal soul” typically understood as the wits/mind of a person, whatever constitutes the personality, and is the part of the soul that leaves the body on death.

The “po” is the yin-aligned “physical soul”, sometimes described as the “baser animal spirit” of a person, and is attached to the body.

This could explain why Haruaki’s soul is also Seimei’s soul, but also Seimei is in the underworld?

This scene I got real hung up about in my Kyoto arc post?

It lining up and being a reasonable explanation is one thing, but whether sensei is deliberately referencing a property of Chinese linguistics that doesn’t have an equivalent in Japanese kanji is another thing. And honestly, I could see Tanaka “I’ll have to read up on Chinese history, but off the top of my head Byakko and Seiryuu are from 4000BC and Suzaku and Genbu are younger” Mai could and would do it. (Good god, what I wouldn’t give to see sensei’s notes. Yohaji fanbook explaining every cultural reference PLEASEEEE IM BEGGINGGG)

Godai

Godai (“the five great (elements)”), while also a thing with five elements that features prominently in Japanese culture, differs from Wuxing in that it originates from the concept of Mahābhūta in Indian Buddhism, and features Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Void. It’s a more inert definition and describes the elements as building blocks, contrasting with Wuxing which is more concerned with the balancing and interaction between the elements and the changes they cause in each other.

Godai also isn’t ever depicted as a star (and Wuxing is only depicted as a star as a byproduct of all the arrows denoting the interactions, sometimes the 5 elements are arranged like the 5 side of a dice with lines connecting everything) and is typically depicted as a Gorinto, a stone structure.

In order from top to bottom, it goes Void, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and represents the structure of the universe in Buddhism.

So. Attributes and if they line up any better.

Earth: unmoving, stability

Water: fluidity, adaptability, motion

Fire: passion, power, energy

Wind: growth, freedom

Void: the spirit? thought? there’s not really a clear description of this one. To begin with, originally in Buddhism, it’s just said that “from void emerged air, from air emerged fire, (etc)”

I could see wind = Memory and void = Intelligence, but the rest… I dunno man

The five aggregates in Buddhism

And now, following the thread back from Godai, to the Buddhist concept of Skandhas, or the “five aggregates of clinging”, described as the five factors that make up a sentient being’s personality. (Hey, this sounds like it could be onto something here!)

The five aggregates are:

Form or matter: the material form of a person

Sensation or feeling: the five senses + intellectual sensation, and the feelings that occur whether pleasant, unpleasant or neutral

Perception: cognition and recognizing what has been previously noted

Mental formations: dispositions, or something that motivates a person to take action (or sometimes described as the influences of a previous life?!)

Consciousness: cognizance, or the base that supports experience, sometimes translated as mind, intelligence or life force

Wait… This kinda… lines up…? No way…?

Form = Athleticism

Sensation = Cowardice

Perception = Memory

Mental formations = Desires

Consciousness = Intelligence

This… kinda works? They all basically line up and it’s not too tenuous, and there’s enough matching details in the descriptions of the five aggregates that it’s kinda scary…?

I’ll be real, prior to writing this section I hadn’t actually read the descriptions of each of them too carefully (I had the tab open and roughly noted the descriptions kinda worked) and I entirely expected to end this essay with a “in conclusion: no conclusion i learned nothing lol” but there’s actually something here????

And Tanaka Mai is known to reference Buddhism a lot, so this could entirely be intentional…??? I’m kinda shaken rn tbh

I mean, I guess I should have looked to Buddhism first considering sensei’s track record, what with how the arc opened with Haruaki getting put under a waterfall to get rid of his worldly desires, and how 3 out of 5 locations were Buddhist temples, but Buddhism concepts usually use their Sanskrit names and I don’t know how to google for that… (making excuses. classic)

Um. Hope you enjoyed reading this and that you learned something? Here’s all the relevant wikipedia pages if you want to go down your own rabbit hole:

Wuxing (Chinese five elements)

Godai (Japanese Buddhism five elements)

Mahābhūta (Indian Buddhism five elements)

Hun and po (two concepts of souls)

Skandha (five aggregates that make up a person)

Twelve Nidanas (didn’t mention this one, but it’s related to skandhas)

If you read all this you should read all my other long rambly things too if you haven’t, they’re all under the #rambles tag 👍

[thecomfywriter]

See, I won't ask you about Von Doro's simps because I get it this time, but what would you say her style of rule is? Is she more conniving, more a fan of shows of force, more willing to delegate or is she apt to do anything important herself?

hi ilia! you've got the first von doro ask for today. let's get straight into it, shall we?

day six of tcw's 12 days of askmas--von doro's ruling style [tov and sai spoilers]:

i'm going to start my answer off with an excerpt from tov, oops. from markum's words himself...

“She was… magnificent. Glorious could not describe those days adequately. Von Doro is much older than all of us, with centuries of experience on her roster, and she showed for all it in her geniality and remarkable leadership. She was made to be a Queen. Soilaila deserved nothing less than her and could receive nothing better. [...] Politics were her mother tongue, and she was fluent in the languages of peace and stability. The image you know of Von Doro is a democratic campaign to mar the great reign she truly inspired. Because if Soilaila remembers its golden age in under her rule, this democracy will seem pathetic. [...] Life was in balance when she was our Queen. They say she spoke for the Elements and that they spoke to her through the volcano. Nature was in harmony and Soilaila thrived in agriculture and magic alike with her reign. Dragons still flew above, with wingspans that combatted the clouds, and they roamed our streets like free beings. [...] Do you see the width of all our streets, boy? Makes no sense for the Bazaar to be so wide and large in now’s age, but then, both our population was robust, and the dragons were our friendly siblings. [...] What more can I tell you? The economy thrived in her wake, as the Bazaar acted as a trading hub between the dragons and the Families. With magic still very well alive and active, the Day of Gold still occurred every decade to bolster our queendom’s wealth, and the decennial volcanic explosions fertilized the lands so our resources were never lacking. [...] See our lovely abode, my boy? This was the architecture in her reign. These tall ceilings, these elmwood doors, these arches and curves—high beams and branches running along the entire spine. Its entire design was meticulous, crafty, and entirely aesthetic. The Artists of her era were inspired by her visions and conscripted by her Council for a remarkable city planning, not like the insultingly cramped slums the Jervees’ new architectural design inspires. [...] Do you see now, my boy? The glory of her era? The honesty of her character? You have not had the privilege to witness one of her courts, or you would never the mind to ever accuse Her Majesty of any wrongdoing. She was so noble and true in character, there was not a single claim she made without taking a blood oath in commitment. That is the nobility, the loyalty, the honesty of her character.” - Throne of Vengeance: Volume One, Chapter 18: ALAN and the monarchists

note: this quote is not all one paragraph in the book LOL. i just did it to condense the scene for you. the highlighted portions are to emphasize the most important parts. but now, let me actually expand on it.

von doro's monarchy was built on the principles of her indefinite authority, which was sponsored by the gods themselves. in exchange for providing soilaila with wealth, protection, and magic from the gods, she expected unshakeable loyalty to her rule and command. any deviations from this assumption, and she would rather call one of her limiouses to take care of the problem, or one of her counsellors. she rarely got involved herself, because von doro never left the volcano.

most of the common politics of the monarchy were discussed amongst her counsellors and advisors (the original purpose of the jervees), but the final decision was made by her authority alone. her counsellors couldn't overturn her rule, even if their objection carried the majority over her, simply because she was considered the voice of the gods. HOWEVER, once jer'vazir had entered von doro's courts, she considered his opinion worthy enough to challenge her own. therefore, if he opposed her, she would actually heed his counsel.

the blood oath part is a huge principle of von doro's monarchy, and why people to this day (in modern soilaila) retained their loyalties to her. a queen who was willing to sign every promise she made in blood was essentially her telling her subjects: "if i fail you, nature itself will take my life." the very fact that she still breathed was proof that she made no empty promises, which is why she was trusted.

THAT BEING SAID...

there's a reason why hilbert's debut in society as a limious started to shake the foundations of von doro's reign, and that's because he was the antithesis to her reign's weakest link: its opacity.

this isn't explored until markum and iyzela's memories in sai, where you watch the rise and fall of the monarchy first hand. i LOVE these chapters (i've said this so many times before lol oops) but MWAH MWAH. there's a line in iyzela's memories specifically where she basically tells markum "the reason why the pendulum swings his way is because he answers the questions about von doro she refuses to share. her mystery will be her downfall."

anyhow... i'm yambling at this point.

thanks for the ask, ilia!

-- the holiday limited-edition tag list --

@wyked-ao3 @an-indecisive-nerd @drchenquill

@paeliae-occasionally @theink-stainedfolk @inseasofgreen

@thelovelymachinery @the-letterbox-archives @illarian-rambling

@bunnymermaidwrites @the-golden-comet @sm-writes-chaos

@leahnardo-da-veggie @corinneglass

[please tell me if you don't wanna be tagged i promise i will stop 🥺]

[mystic-bookshelf]

Mistletoes are stupid, Ch.2

AO3

Now that I think about it it wasn‘t necessary to split this in two parts but oh well😂 Second part of my Secret Santa fic for @omnoramayday !!

Summary: An incident with a mistletoe makes Marinette leave the Christmas party at Adrien's house. She can find better ways to spend her night, for example delivering pizzas with her favorite pizza delivery person...

Sneaking back inside without being spotted by anyone had been easier than Marinette had anticipated. Adrien was enthralled by some story Nino was telling him and when Mylene had seen her, she did her best to distract Alya by dragging her to the buffet table. Marinette made a mental note to thank her for her service later.

Minutes later Ladybug flew over the rooftops of Paris, unphased by the cold due to the magic of her suit keeping her warm enough, looking out for akumas as she had promised. The city appeared to be safe for now, but even after she spotted Luka riding on his bike, several pizza boxes strapped onto the luggage rack, she suppressed the urge to immediately get to him and instead finished her patrol first.

That didn’t take her much longer and when she decided she was done, she returned to the area where Luka had been before. It sure had its perks that he was one of the few people who knew about her secret identity, because she could easily skip the usual detransforming in a nearby alley part and instead just land right next to his bike.

“Surprise!” Ladybug yelled.

“Wha—” Luka hit the brakes so hard that for a second she was afraid he’d fall over, but somehow he managed to keep his balance. Ladybug his her head between her shoulders. Maybe this wasn’t the best entrance she could’ve made. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Mar— Ladybug?” He turned around. “What in the world are you doing here?”

“I told you I had a surprise for you.” She grinned at him and threw her hands in the air. “You couldn’t bail on your job, so I bailed on the party to keep you company!”

Luka blinked at her several times, looking visibly confused. “You… left a party just to hang out with me? While I’m on the job?”

Ladybug shrugged and stepped closer to him. “I just thought you might appreciate some company. Delivering pizzas is probably more fun with a friend, right?”

Luka still seemed very perplexed by the situation, but something in his eyes shifted. They became softer, like he was genuinely touched. “You… god, Marinette, you didn’t have to…” He let out a chuckle, sounding a little overwhelmed.

This was probably the first time Ladybug saw Luka caught off guard like this, but she couldn’t help but smile at how cute he was. She stepped even closer to rub up and down his arm.

“Hey,” she gave him a warm smile. “I just want to be a good friend and look out for you. And also make you an offer you can’t possibly refuse.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” Luka raised an eyebrow.

“How about you forget about your bike and switch to a much more efficient means of travel? For example”—she pointed to herself—”a superhero escort?”

Luka’s smile turned into a wide grin and then laughter. “You really came all the way here to make me finish my job quicker? Oh, Mari— ah, Ladybug, you’re too sweet.”

“So that’s a yes?” She lifted her eyebrows and seconds later, the bike was leaning against a nearby wall, the pizzas in Luka’s left hand while he put his right arm around the superheroine.

“Ready for take-off!” She chimed as they were pulled up in the air by Ladybug’s magical yoyo.

Their tactic was simple: Luka told her the address, she’d land somewhere near the house to put him down and let him walk over to the door without her being seen. After the delivery, she’d grab him again and leap off to the next house.

“I gotta say,” Luka said in between the 6th and 7th pizza, “on top of this being way faster than my bike, we can huddle for warmth and keep each other from freezing!”

Lucky for Ladybug he didn't look at her face to notice her hot cheeks, which must’ve matched the red from her suit.

After all the pizzas have been delivered, Ladybug landed in the same spot where they had left Luka’s bike earlier and sat him down before saying her detransformation phrase and feeling the pink light washing over her as she turned back to Marinette.

“We’ve finished all the deliveries in under five minutes!” Luka exclaimed as he checked the time on his phone. “You can’t lend me Sass for my next shift by any chance?” he joked.

“That’s enough using miraculouses for reasons other than fighting akumatized villains!” Tikki puffed her cheeks while Marinette and Luka both laughed and poked the kwami.

“Don’t worry, nobody will use miraculouses for delivery jobs anymore,” Marinette reassured her little friend, whom she handed a macaron in order to recharge. Tikki immediately let go of her worries and made herself comfortable in Marinette’s bad munching on the cookie.

“So,” Marinette looked up at Luka and grinned. “How does it feel being a man free of responsibilities?”

Luka laughed again. “Honestly, I can’t complain. Seriously, thank you so much for helping me with this. You didn’t have to do this at all and I appreciate that a ton that you did anyway.”

He promptly pulled her into a tight embrace and tucked her head below his. Which Marinette appreciated, because other than her enjoying being so close to him, he wouldn’t be able to see her blush.

“It was nothing.”

“You’re being too generous,” Luka whispered. “You have no idea how grateful I am for you showing up.” He let go of her and took a step back in order to look at her face. “How can I make this up to you?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, you don’t have—”

“But I want to!” Luka interrupted and put a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “You completely went out of your way to find me and help me deliver pizzas in the cold even though you could’ve spent all night at the Agreste mansion where it’s warm and there’s food and good music. You always were the most selfless person and still, you outdo yourself every time and I find that so amazing about you. You’re truly amazing.”

Marinette’s smile turned into a grin so wide her face hurt and on instinct, she pressed her face against his shoulder. “You’re being too nice to me, Luka…”

“You’re one to talk,” he chuckled and laid a hand on top of her head to gently stroke her hair. If she were Lady Noire, she’d start purring right now. Without thinking too much about it she carefully raised her arms and wrapped them around his torso and huddled closer to him. They must’ve looked like a couple if anyone saw them, but she didn’t mind one bit. And judging by how Luka didn’t move away but instead rested his other arm on her shoulder, he maybe didn’t mind it either.

Her heart thundered in her chest, but despite that she felt at ease. Luka was the only one who hit that balance between the anxiety of having a crush and the comfort of a loved one.

“So… how can I repay the favor? Do you have something in mind?”

We could just stay like this.

“I can bike us to Adrien’s house and I’d still get to be at the party.”

Marinette froze. She had completely forgotten about the party, but at the mention of it she was reminded of the anxiety she had felt after the mistletoe incident. Oh no, she absolutely didn’t want to go back.

But on the other hand, she couldn't keep Luka from going if he wanted. That wouldn’t be fair to him.

She slightly pushed herself away from Luka. “I guess we can go back to the party. But…. uhm… okay, I thought of something. What if we make a stop at the Christmas market and you buy me hot chocolate?”

That seemed like a fair compromise. They could still hang out for a little while, just the two of them, kind of like a date, before they’d go back.

Luka tilted his head slightly and for a second she was afraid he’d ask any further questions, but then he just gave her a kind smile.

“Sure, let’s get some hot chocolate to warm us up.”

The bike ride to the Christmas market was rather quiet. Neither spoke much, Marinette just pressed herself against his back and enjoyed how close they were once again. The market was less full than Marinette had anticipated, which was honestly nice, because they didn’t have to wait long for their hot chocolates.

They walked around a little and enjoyed the decorations before sitting down on a bench sipping their drinks.

“It was a nice idea coming here.” Luka commented after a while. “I haven’t had time this December to go to the Christmas market at all.”

“Guess I made a good call then,” Marinette replied. They fell into conversation easily, talking about everything and nothing for a while.

At some point, little snowflakes were starting to descend to the ground.

“Oh, it’s snowing!” Marinette chimed. She looked around as the world around them slowly turned white. But when she looked back at Luka, who had little snowflakes hanging in his bangs making him look even prettier than he already was, he didn’t seem to listen to her. His gaze was fixated on something above them and when she followed his gaze her blood ran cold.

Just above their heads, a small mistletoe was proudly hanging from the tree.

Oh for fucks sake, how did she not notice this stupid thing earlier? Couldn’t they have sat on literally any other bench?

She looked back at Luka, who was staring back at her and even though Marinette’s heart made several excited jumps at the idea of kissing Luka, she didn’t want this. Not like this.

After a silence that started to stretch out for way too long, Marinette was the first to open her mouth. “Uhm… so—”

“We don’t have to,” Luka suddenly blurted out, then turned away and pressed his lips against his fist as if he regretted what he had just said.

Marinette felt a weird mix of hurt and relief. “Oh…”

“Sorry, that came out weird.” Luka shook his head. “Just… you looked a little horrified just now, so—”

“It’s not what you think, it’s just…I lied to you, something did happen at the party.”

Luka blinked at her and she couldn’t stop the words from coming out.

“I didn’t just come to you to help you out, primarily I just wanted to desperately leave the party because of that stupid mistletoe that Alya placed there and then I was suddenly standing below it with Adrien of all people. It was most likely a scheme to get us back together, and it was so awkward—not that it would’ve been any less awkward with anyone else but still—and I panicked and pushed him and ran out into the garden and then I called you but I didn’t tell you because I felt stupid and—”

“Hey, hey, hey” he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “Slow down and breathe, will you?”

He slowly moved his hand up and down, breathing together with her. It helped her calm down.

“So if I get this right, you left the party because you were trying to avoid Alya or Adrien again after this mistletoe situation?”

Marinette sighed. “I stood around outside for an eternity—without a jacket I might add. Please don’t scold me for that, Mylene and Tikki already did.”

Luka shook his head. “Okay, I won’t.”

“And then I thought I’d feel better if I called you and it worked. I didn’t plan to leave the party early, I thought maybe I’d calm down and then confront Alya and solve the issue by communicating with her, but… I left. Like a coward.”

“You’re not a coward,” Luka argued. “It’s completely understandable you’d want space from her afterwards. If she ruined the party for you like that, you have no obligation to stay. Or go back there for that matter.”

Marinette sighed. “But don’t you want to go?”

Luka shrugged. “I mean, I would’ve loved to be there, but… I don’t think I’d have a good time knowing that you’re uncomfortable there. Besides, it's only a matter of time before Adrien invites us over again, missing one party isn’t the end of the world.”

“Ugh, I’m frustrated with him as well.” Marinette crossed her arms before her chest. “I saw he wasn’t into it either, but he still didn’t protest. He just told me that we should get this done with.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Luka commented. “Looks like he still has a hard time standing up for himself.”

“Yeah, and that just added pressure for me.”

"I had a feeling something was up when you called me earlier. You could’ve told me about it, you could never bother me with your problems. I’m a good listener and I’d do anything to cheer you up.”

“I know,” Marinette gave him a smile and poked his side. “I appreciate that you’re always there for me. And I’m sorry I didn’t say anything."

“Don’t apologize.” He stroked her hair again. Marinette could get used to this.

“It’s just… so stupid, you know? The whole tradition with the mistletoe in general. It’s just forcing two people to do something sort of intimate and special with each other, even if they might not want to. I don’t want to kiss Adrien because some stupid twigs said so. And it’s the same thing with you, I’d hate a forced kiss like that. I want you to kiss me because you want to kiss me and not because some ridiculous Christmas tradition told you to!”

Luka stared at her for a few seconds. The christmas lights reflected in his eyes and it looked like his cheeks were dusted with a subtle blush, which might’ve been because of the cold, but Marinette was pretty sure it wasn’t there before.

“So just so I get this right”—Luka scratched the back of his head—“You… want me to kiss you?”

Now it was Marinette’s turn to stare. She hadn’t… wait, she had said that . She had literally admitted that she wants Luka to kiss her!

Despite the cold, her cheeks were burning. “Oh, uh… I did say that, didn’t I?” she let out an awkward laugh and scratched her neck. “W-well, I… would you want to… kiss me?”

When she slowly looked up at him again, she was met with his beautiful eyes staring at her with so much adoration and maybe even longing. “Marinette, you’re the song in my head that plays on repeat, the clearest musical note, the sincerest melody. You have been that since day one, and you still are.” He carefully took her hands in his. “Those feelings never went away, and I don’t think they ever will. So yes, I would love to kiss you. If that’s truly what you want?”

Marinette held her breath and closed her eyes shut. “I want that.”

His lips tasted like hot chocolate when they carefully brushed against each other, and hers probably did as well. His breath felt hot against her face and despite the cold, her entire body felt like it was on fire. Careful hands cradled her cheeks and she grabbed his scarf to keep him close to her.

The kiss was sweet, full of feeling and when she pulled away he chased her lips for a fleeing second before his eyes fluttered open again. They held each other’s gazes for a few seconds before chuckling awkwardly.

“So… you said something about repaying me earlier? I have another idea how you can do that.”

“And what would that be?”

Instead of answering, she leaned in a second time, now with more confidence. Luka gently kissed her back with just as much confidence. They embraced each other tighter and when they pulled away again, Marinette saw the Christmas lights reflecting in Luka’s eyes like stars. His cheeks were red, whether due to the cold or the kiss she wasn’t sure, but the way he looked at her with so much adoration made her whole body feel weak. Her lips curled into a smile so big her face hurt.

“You have some more repaying to do.”

“You can just say you like kissing me.” Luka playfully rolled his eyes. “But I’ll admit, the feeling is mutual.”

Marinette leaned in a few more times, holding Luka's face with both her hands to keep him there. Kissing him was like heaven and she never wanted to stop doing it.

“You like kissing me that much?” Luka asked in between kisses, sounding a little cocky. Marinette grinned.

“No, it’s just your face is really warm,” she said sarcastically, causing them both to laugh.

“That’s mean,” he replied. “But… let’s say we moved somewhere warmer, like the house boat for example, and then we’ll have warm faces outside of kissing. Would you still want more kisses in that case?”

Marinette shrugged. “Guess you’ll have to find out.”

As soon as they reached the empty house boat, neither wasted any time. They made themselves comfortable on the couch and soon found themselves in a lazy make out session, forgetting the world around them.

[saiilorstars]

Ch. 37: Chasing Hope

[Story Masterlist] // [Aitana’s Masterlist]

Fandom: Criminal Minds // Pairing: Spencer Reid x OFC

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​ ​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​ @averyhotchner​ @foxesandmagic​ @kmc1989​​​​ @midmourn @caplanbuckybarnes​​​​​​

If you’d like to be a part of Aitana’s taglist, please let me know!

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Aitana hurried to sit down at the table where her best friend was waiting. They were due for a lunch date.

Elia merely smiled as Aitana scrambled to get comfortable in her chair. "It's alright." Almost a year into Aitana's new BAU schedule, Elia was more than used to waiting and rescheduling. "I know you're super busy."

"Yeah." Aitana lost breath as she fixed all her belongings on the ground and her bag on the table. "We had a case — I just got back — oh!" Her bag almost spilled her entire contents had Aitana not managed to grab it off the table.

Elia laughed and bent down to pick up what had fallen. "You're a klutz."

"More like I'm tired!" Aitana exclaimed, bending down to pick up what was nearest to her. "I just flew back from Texas!"

"Busy gal." Elia picked up a mascara, lipstick, two pens and a slip of paper. She put it all down on the table but not before plating with the makeup. "You need lipstick to find corpses?" She uncapped a bright red shade of lipstick. "Red is to impress."

"No it's not!" Aitana made a face.

"You know damn well it is. Red is to impress and to seduce. Plus, red is your color," Elia winked at Aitana. "Makes you look sexy."

Aitana rolled her eyes. "Can you please give me my stuff?"

Elia handed the lipstick over, then the mascara and pens. She would've done the same with the slip of paper if she hadn't started reading it instead.

"Nosy," huffed Aitana. She dumped everything back inside her purse.

"What are these?" Elia tapped a finger on the paper.

"Pet stores," Aitana said, reaching to take the paper but Elia drew it back.

"You're buying a pet? Oh, are you finally buying a kitty!?" Elia exclaimed. Before WPP, Aitana always talked about buying a kitten for a pet.

"No, at least not right now," Aitana shrugged. "Those are locations where I might be able to find my Venus and Mars."

"Venus and Mars?" Elia repeated, unimpressed.

"My missing fish for my tank, remember? Spencer jotted down a couple spots he saw. I was going to go tomorrow."

"That's nice of him," Elia plucked the paper from Aitana. She reread the places. "These are far. How'd he know about them?"

"He passed by them," shrugged Aitana.

Elia snorted. "He just happened to walk by? Well, now I see why you keep red lipstick in your bag." Her smirk was more than unappreciated.

Aitana shifted in her seat, brushing a hand over her hair. "He just happened to see these stores and wrote them down for me. Unlike everyone else, Spencer actually understands my project."

Elia playfully rolled her eyes. "Mhm. Isn't he also the one who convinced you to keep dancing for the competition?"

Aitana regretted her habit of telling Elia everything. "He's very good at talking, alright?"

"Yeah, that's not exactly the vibe I got from him the first time we met," Elia said, thinking back to when Spencer and Emily had shown up at her door with Aitana's journal.

"You just have to get to know him some more," Aitana said plainly. "I've known him for almost a year now. Things change."

Elia was smiling strangely at Aitana. "Yeah, they do."

Aitana snatched the paper out of Elia's hand and stuffed it inside her bag.

"Since we're on the topic of your FBI friends, have you invited them to the competition?" Elia posed a good question that Aitana had not really considered until then.

"No. They don't even know that I'm doing it. Well, Spencer does but I haven't gotten around to the others."

Elia hummed. "Interesting."

Aitana pointed a warning finger at her best friend. "Don't even start."

"For now," Elia winked. Aitana groaned. Elia couldn't help but laugh a bit. "You do have to invite them. They're your friends aren't they?"

"Well, yeah, I just...it's very nerve wrecking knowing that my abuela is coming to see me."

"Then this is exactly why you should invite them — moral support," Elia nodded. She made perfect sense. "Plus, I want to meet these famous profilers of yours. I want to see what they say about me."

"Yeah…" Aitana chewed on her bottom lip, "Is it crazy to say that being in big groups is still nerve wracking sometimes?"

"No, not at all," Elia shook her head. "You're entitled to take it slow, Aitana."

Aitana sighed. "I know, but sometimes it just feels like I should be better already."

"You are," Elia said. "Last year, you wouldn't even talk to me. Progress has been made, I swear."

Aitana half smiled. She could agree with that. "I'll talk to them about it," she resolved. She could already hear Penelope's excited jabbering about the competition.

"Good." Elia picked up the menu in front of her. "Let's order before they call you away again."

Even though she was only half joking, Aitana still made a hasty order. One could never be sure when you worked in the BAU.

~0~

Two weeks later, Aitana was coming out of her dance practice when she got an urgent text from Penelope. They had a case. She didn't think that she had time to go home and change so she made a direct trip to Quantico instead. On her way into the building, she met Spencer.

"Do you know what the case is about?" Aitana asked him on their way to the elevator.

"No, I thought you and Penelope were working on it," Spencer said, pulling his phone out just to double check the text. It had come only from Penelope.

"No, I was at dance practice," Aitana gestured to her current athletic outfit as proof. "I was literally just coming out when I got the text."

"Pretty late for a practice," remarked Spencer. He pressed the elevator button to open its doors.

"They make exceptions for me and my schedule," Aitana hummed. "Our lovely schedule…"

Spencer smiled. "Yeah, I get that."

The two went up to the BAU and exited together. On their way out, they spotted Morgan and JJ in the bullpen.

"Hey, do we know what's going on?" Aitana asked the two.

"Garcia's got a personal case," Morgan said, eyeing Aitana strangely.

Aitana sighed, knowing her appearance wasn't at all professional. "I know, I know. I will get changed as soon as we finish the meeting. I didn't have time."

"Were you out running at this hour?" asked JJ with a spark of bemusement in her eyes.

"God no!" The way Aitana answered so fast had the trio laughing at her. "I do enough running for this job. You really think I'm going to go home and keep running? Yeah right!" The laughing increased. "I was coming out of a dance practice. Something I need to tell you guys about, actually."

"You dance?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at her.

"Traditional Mexican Folklore. I have a competition coming up next month and I was wondering if you guys wanted to come and watch," Aitana said, smiling very awkwardly now that she was exposing a big part of her life.

"Oh right, you said it was on a Saturday?" Spencer knew she had told him the day but not the actual date as the competition was still being finalized.

"You knew about this, Pretty Boy?" Morgan's eyebrows rose even more.

"Yeah, he found me once, a while back," Aitana shrugged, "I think right outside, actually."

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. I needed to talk to her anyway."

"Really? Talking? That's it?" Morgan made no attempt to hide his teasing smirk.

"I-I don't know what's going on anymore…" Aitana said slowly, glancing at Spencer for some help. The latter was glaring at Morgan.

JJ snickered. "I do but it's best not to get into it. We should start heading in – Garcia's pretty upset." She reached for Aitana's hand and pulled her for the steps.

"Not funny," Spencer muttered to Morgan as they followed the women. Morgan thought it was pretty funny.

All jokes ended when the group gathered together in the conference room to discuss the case. One of the people who attended Penelope's support group had gone missing. It was also the anniversary of the woman's daughter's kidnapping.

"So we can safely assume we're dealing with the same unsub," Aitana said right off the bat. It was the only logical conclusion they could draw until evidence showed otherwise.

Penelope didn't want to outright agree but when she mentioned the fact the victim, Monica, had been left a letter allegedly from her daughter, it made more sense.

"The anniversary could have been the trigger," Rossi agreed.

"We can't rule out the possibility that Monica committed suicide," Hotch offered the other possibility even though Penelope refused.

"No. No, Monica would — would never hurt herself," she assured the group, "She—she still thought Hope was alive."

"Is the father in the picture?" asked Emily.

"No, he died in a car accident right before Hope was born."

Spencer had taken the only evidence they had from the abduction – Hope's letter – to scan it. "There's no postmark, which means this letter was obviously hand-delivered."

"You do a full linguistic analysis," Hotch said, "We need to determine authenticity."

JJ leaned closer to Spencer's seat to get a glimpse of the letter. "There's a butterfly drawn next to Hope's name. That has to mean something."

"There was no sign of struggle at the scene," Morgan told the others since he had been the first one Penelope had called. He did a scan of the scene himself.

"Her going willingly wouldn't be such a stretch," Aitana shrugged, "If it was the same unsub, all it would take is for him to tell Monica a couple details of Hope and she'd be more than compliant."

"Still, it's pretty high-risk to abduct in such a high-traffic area," Hotch said, drawing from what Morgan had told him earlier of the scene. "The parking lot was right next to a strip mall."

"Any witnesses?" asked Emily.

"I was the last person that saw her," Penelope said with a sigh.

"Unless we have reason to believe otherwise, we should assume that the same unsub is responsible for both abductions," said Hotch, "So let's get started."

The others agreed and started getting up.

Aitana took that as her chance to hurry to her office for a change of clothes. She already couldn't stand the fact she didn't get to go home for a shower first but at least a change of clothes would help her out a bit, along with some perfume. She pulled on a white button-down shirt and black pants, slipped on a pair of flats, fixed her hair as much as she could and returned to the team ready to work. By the time she rejoined, Emily and Rossi had gone to Monica's home to do another examination while the rest of the team remained back to go over Hope's case.

"So this letter Monica allegedly received from her daughter contains no indication of female authorship," Spencer was telling the others. He had Hope's letter on the screen behind him. "It lacks expression of emotional attachment."

"The unsub wrote it?" Hotch presumed.

"I believe so. The language used is inconsistent with that of a 15-year-old held in captivity for 7 years."

"No way that he forced her to write it then?" Aitana said as she came up behind Penelope's chair.

"I don't think so," Spencer shook his head. "By this point in time, Hope would have Stockholm syndrome and she'd be more than compliant to write a letter. The language doesn't fit."

"Uh, I just got a hit on someone who matches Monica's description at a gas station 17 miles outside of Manassas," Penelope said with an urgent urgent in her tone. She pulled up the security camera she talked about and sure enough they saw Monica conversing with a man in the gas station store.

"Hope's not with him," noted JJ.

"It looks like they're having a conversation," Spencer said a couple seconds later. Monica seemed totally at ease and not at all frightened.

"She's cooperating," JJ realized. "Garcia, can you get any closer?"

Penelope tried with all her might. "No. No, I can't get a good look at him."

"Don't fret, he's doing it on purpose," Aitana said as she moved around Penelope's chair. "Look at the unsub's body language. He's shielding himself from the cameras. He knows where they are and he knows exactly what he's doing."

A couple seconds later in the video, Monica made a hasty retreat out the store.

"She leaves, but the unsub stays?" Even as Spencer asked, the others were still trying to wrap their heads around the phenomenon.

"Because the unsub knows she won't actually go," Aitana said, watching as the unsub left the store a couple minutes later. "He's in control."

Hotch agreed. "He's not worried about her contacting the authorities. Garcia, run the pump receipts against the timeline. Maybe he used a credit card."

Penelope was quick to go through the information. "Pumps one...through 9. Nothing. Who goes to a gas station and doesn't buy anything?"

Spencer moved to the map he'd brought in and checked a couple of the sites between the support group and the station they were in. "There are plenty of service stations between the community center and here, but he drove her clear across town. This place must mean something to the both of them."

"This could be where it all started," theorized Hotch.

When Emily, Morgan and Rossi returned, the group had already gotten a report from the person who lived in Monica's old home. She'd been there with the unsub, in the latter's car, completely fine.

"The old man didn't get much of a description on the unsub or the truck," said JJ as she went over the notes, "He did say Monica had been by a lot recently. Apparently somebody dropped a letter for her a week ago. The owner called her to come pick it up, and ever since then she's been parked outside the house."

"What's this guy doing with her?" Penelope asked with all the indignance of the world. She didn't understand the game here!

"If he's had Hope captive for 7 years, she's completely compliant by now," Spencer said, "He might have abducted Monica as a reward for good behavior."

"Or he could be getting off on the fact that he successfully abducted a mother and a daughter," Rossi suggested, not that it was a better reason.

"Okay," Aitana returned to the group with a file in her hand, "So I went back through the original Hope case and Monica's statement the day of Hope's abduction confirmed that she made a purchase at the same gas station hours before Hope went missing. Coincidence that they happened to go there tonight? I think not."

"He's taking her through all the steps of Hope's abduction," Hotch concluded, "Having both of them could have been his plan all along."

JJ made a face; that wasn't sitting right with her. "So are we saying he's sexually diverse, attracted to children and adults?"

"The unsub stalked Monica, so he knew about the spare key under the mat," said Morgan, "He had complete access. So why wait 7 years to circle back if that's the case?"

"The butterfly could symbolically represent not just transformation but maturation of his erotic ideal," Spencer offered another reason.

"Well, he started with easy targets. Children are much easier to abduct, manipulate, and control," Emily listed the unfortunate many reasons, "Or he could be a preferential offender and a situational child molester, meaning adult women have always been his preference, but given the right circumstances he'd offend against a child."

"Monica's not a preference. She's a specific target," Rossi pointed out. This was the whole reason of the case, after all. "He didn't go after just any woman, he went after Hope's mother."

"Which means that Hope is probably dead and he's taken Monica because she reminds him of Hope," Hotch reached the conclusion first.

Penelope couldn't help the distraught face she made upon hearing that. That was all Monica put her faith in and now it turned out her daughter was actually dead.

~ 0 ~

"So, what's the word, genius?" Morgan approached Spencer near the map board. The latter had been working alone and hard for the past hour or so.

"I may have been able to narrow down the unsub's comfort zone," Spencer proudly said as he turned back to meet Morgan. "The gas station was the third point I needed to complete the geographical profile. Factoring in Monica's abduction site and her apartment, I would assume the unsub lives somewhere within this area." He gestured to the circle he drew on the board.

"That would make it easier for him to learn her routines," said Morgan as he eyed the known streets in the area.

"That zone can't be more than 20 miles," Rossi said as he did the same as Morgan. It was a sliver of hope.

JJ finished up with a call and when she hung up, she informed the group that they had yet to find a witness to their case.

Emily and Aitana joined them a couple minutes later with their own findings.

"You know, it looks like there are 5 different reported incidents that we might be able to attribute to this unsub," Emily announced.

"When was the first case reported?" asked Rossi.

"Six months before Hope's abduction," Aitana raised a finger. "And you'll see why we think it's the same guy."

"A 12-year-old girl in the area reported a man taking pictures of her on her way home from school, and 3 weeks after that, she thought he was peeping into her window," Emily started going over the first case from their file. "And then her house was burglarized, and the only thing that was missing were her clothes."

"Well, if that's him, then there was a clear escalation in his M. O. He was building his confidence to abduct Hope and then 7 years later, Monica," Spencer said.

"Except there's a little blip between that and Hope's case," Aitana said, gesturing for Emily to show them something.

Emily revealed an evidence bag with a small butterfly necklace inside. "It was found on Heather Wilson's bike 2 weeks after Hope disappeared."

Penelope's face jerked up from her laptop she brought over to the bullpen. "That's the girl that Hope was playing with when she was abducted." She jumped from her seat and hurried over to Emily.

"There's a message," Aitana said regretfully. She knew Penelope wouldn't like it.

Penelope took the necklace into her hand and read the engraving on it. "'Without you, she wouldn't have been set free. This is a token of my appreciation'?" She looked up, horrified. "He sent a thank-you card to the girl he didn't abduct?"

~ 0 ~

The only logical step afterwards was to once again speak with Heather Wilson, now a high schooler and very different from her childhood photos. High school Heather was brunette now, not blonde, with dark pink streaks in her hair and heavy black eyeliner. As Aitana and JJ approached the girl just outside the school bus, both agents knew that Heather had never outlived the trauma of losing Hope.

"Heather?" JJ called to the teenager. The brunette looked at the two approaching women. "I'm Agent Jareau. This is Agent Serrano. We're with the FBI. We have some questions about Hope Kingston. Do you remember her?"

Heather almost rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"

Fair point. Aitana decided to skip to the crucial part about their visit. "Heather, we have reason to believe that the same man who took Hope abducted her mother last night."

Heather was already a pale shade but when Aitana mentioned the abduction, she went a deep pale shade. "This can't be happening again."

"Did you and Hope play together often?" asked JJ.

"Every day. She was like a sister."

"You told the police that you saw a man watching you guys play that day—"

"Look, I've been through this a thousand times. I wish I could help you more, I really do, but I gotta get to class now." It was clear Heather was making a run for it and as such, Aitana pulled a card she didn't exactly feel proud of but felt was necessary for the greater good.

"You put streaks in your hair because it's a constant reminder of how much you two looked alike!"

Heather froze in her spot. The two agents could see the girl's shoulders beginning to shake. "You don't know anything about me."

"I'm sorry, I…I noticed that in your pictures," Aitana said. She had to apologize for playing that dirty card. "And I also know that you struggle to let people in because you're afraid of losing them. And that you are constantly asking yourself why he took Hope instead of you?"

Heather was in tears, making Aitana feel not much better about herself. "Are you done?"

"Listen, if there's something that you know, please tell us," JJ spoke up out of sympathy for both Heather and Aitana. Neither seemed very much okay.

The good thing is that Heather turned around again, deciding to answer their questions. "It wasn't the first time I had seen him," she admitted. "It was a week earlier when Hope and I were at the park."

"Did he say anything to you?"

"No."

"Can you tell us about the day Hope was abducted?" Aitana regretted asking, knowing how hard it would be for Heather to do it. She was grateful that Heather still tried.

"Um...we were playing hide-and-go-seek in front of her house. I had just finished counting. And I turned around, and there he was...just standing there smiling at me. He was holding a jar of butterflies. He knew that would get my attention. And that's when he asked if he could play. And I told him he could. I'll never forget that voice."

Aitana didn't have a perfect memory like others but she was sure that what Heather had just told them wasn't in the case file. It meant Heather kept it to herself and had only now admitted to it. "Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

Heather rubbed an eye to dry it. "Because it was my fault. I'm the one who told him that he could play with us. I overheard my dad saying that someone put a butterfly necklace on my bike. Then he asked if I knew who had put it there. It was my chance to come clean...but I just kept my mouth shut!"

"It's not your fault, Heather," JJ said, reaching a comforting hand on Heather's shoulder. "It was that guy's fault, not yours."

Heather nodded to herself but she was a distraught mess with the resurfaced memories.

~ 0 ~

Before returning to the BAU, Aitana very sheepishly asked JJ if she was willing to make a quick detour to her house.

"Thank you!" Aitana practically ran inside her house to have a five minute shower upstairs.

JJ laughed as she stepped inside afterwards. "Don't worry. I won't touch anything!"

"Feel free to grab food!" Aitana hollered from upstairs.

JJ waited patiently in the living room, distracting herself with the large fish tank Aitana had against a wall. It was always a sight to see the various kinds of fishes swimming inside, especially when she knew each fish represented some ungodly fantasy in Aitana's mind. Her personal favorite was the fish representing Mercury. It was simply beautiful.

Aitana came back downstairs wearing a long sleeve blue shirt, black pants and with wet curly hair dangling over her shoulders. "I really needed that," she said as soon as she spotted JJ. The blonde was looking at the portraits on the fireplace.

JJ smiled at the brunette. "Glad you're better now."

"Yes. I'm not really keen on smelling like sweat," Aitana shuddered. "I like my perfume better. Plus smelling like soap over sweat is good on any day."

JJ laughed. She had to agree there. "I'm sure it'll be worth it when you have your competition. When is it again?"

"Right, it's next month on the 23rd. Eleven a.m. at the park."

"I will jot it down on the calendar," JJ promised, "I'm sure Henry will love the dances."

"It'll be all vibrant colors and full of food," Aitana said, shaking her head to get rid of some droplets. "It's like a mini-festival. Fun for the whole family!"

"Sounds like the perfect place, then. I can't remember the last time Will, Henry and I got to do something as a family. This job doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for planning."

"I know," Aitana sighed. "That's why I was so reluctant to accept the dance proposal in the first place. Elia convinced me; I used to do this way before Witness Protection. But I'm still super nervous about it."

"I bet," JJ said, "I used to do volleyball in high school and no matter how many times I played a game, seeing the crowd always made me nervous."

"My grandmother's flying in from Mexico to come see me dance," Aitana crossed the living room to stand beside JJ. "She used to dance folklore professionally in her day and she was always so happy that one of her granddaughters followed in her footsteps." JJ chuckled. "She was so upset that I stopped dancing — she has no idea about Witness Protection — so now that I started dancing again, she wants to come see me."

"And let me guess, you're even more nervous about that?" JJ only bothered to ask out of sheer politeness. The answer was clear as day on Aitana's face.

"Yes," Aitana let out a heavy breath. "I haven't danced in years. What if I'm terrible?"

"I don't think so," JJ said, "I bet you're a wonderful dancer."

"Spencer said something like that too. He thinks I shouldn't worry too much; that my grandmother just wants to see me."

"Ah," JJ's eyebrows raised significantly as she fought back a smile. "So he knew that too?"

Aitana nodded her head. Her eyes had fallen on a portrait on the mantle to notice the look on JJ's face. "Yeah. I mean, he's probably right but it doesn't take all the nerves away."

"Well," JJ folded her arms over her chest, "Spence does tend to be right most of the time."

Aitana cracked a smile. "I've noticed." She picked up a portrait and turned it over to JJ. "That's my grandmother."

JJ took the portrait into her hands and studied the picture. It was an elderly woman with soft brown eyes, reminiscent of her granddaughter's. She stood beside a slightly younger Aitana and Mateo Serrano. They seemed to be on a ranch judging by the natural scenery behind them.

"I haven't seen her since before Witness," Aitana said, "Safe to say I am nervous from all angles."

"Don't be," JJ said, handing Aitana the portrait back, "Because I can tell from that picture that she loves you so much. She'll be proud of you no matter what."

Aitana shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so." She carefully put the portrait back on its place. "We should get back. I'm sure Penelope's going crazy."

JJ nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's go."

Aitana moved ahead first and swiped her keys off the foyer table.

"Hey Aitana, I really think you should ease up about your grandmother," JJ said as they headed for the car. "I know it's easier said than done but you're going to be great. And I'm sure that Spencer probably already told you that too."

"You guys are in sync or something," Aitana sarcastically said, even feigning a surprised gap.

"We've known each for more than years now," JJ reminded her. They climbed into the car and grabbed their seatbelts. "Which is why I know that you should listen to him."

"Mm, it's easier said than done, remember?" Aitana's face fell grim for a second. "Lately I've been thinking more about how I act thanks to Witness Protection. Sometimes, I feel like I'm still not all that great. This is actually the first big event I go to after that. It's scary."

JJ could figure as much considering the big event that Aitana had to go through. "It's a normal part of PTSD." She started driving into the road.

"But it's not like the cases that we see or talk about. There's just moments where I have to stop…" Aitana felt like she should just get over it and leave the label for people who actually suffer enormously from it. She had blips, moments — could that be considered PTSD?

"It's part of it," JJ told her, "And big or small, you have every right to process it. It's not something to be ashamed of."

Aitana shrugged meekly. "That's why I kept quiet about the dance too. Sorry about that."

"Don't even worry about it," JJ smiled, "Just know that we're all going to be there, cheering you on."

Aitana had no doubt about that. She would focus on that instead, or at least try to before the competition.

~0~

Aitana and JJ returned to the BAU after the profile had been delivered. The two agents joined their team to continue discussing their next steps. Somehow, Hotch and Rossi came up with the conclusion that maybe their unsub was actually part of Penelope's support group.

"That would just be horrendous," Aitana whispered to Morgan and Emily as they watched JJ take Penelope away to conduct a cognitive session.

"Among everything else about this case?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at her. She deadpanned him but of course he was right.

Half an hour later, JJ and Penelope re-emerged with a clear idea of who the unsub was. Penelope vividly remembered a man in her support group who went after Monica towards the end of the group session.

"So William Rogers joined the support group 2 months ago," JJ told the rest of the group in the conference room. "Garcia's still looking for an address."

"Any priors?" asked Hotch.

JJ nodded. "Yeah. An attempted kidnapping of a 14-year-old. He lured her to a studio with promises of becoming a model. When she got there, he made sexual advances. She got away."

"You know, rethinking the type of offender he was 7 years ago, it's possible the unsub didn't sexually assault Hope initially but waited until she was older," Spencer said after a moment's thought. His theory had the others thinking as well.

"That would explain why he held on to her all this time," Emily said, he'd head bobbing from one side to the other, "In his fantasy, he might envision Hope at a more desirable age."

"What story did he use to get into the support group?" Hotch asked JJ.

"Well, he told them his pregnant wife committed suicide. Apparently they were trying to conceive for over a year."

"And that wasn't just a story," sighed Aitana. No chance of that. "Hope couldn't bear the thought of bringing his child into this world, so she took what little control she did have and ended her life."

"And that was never part of his plan," Rossi said with a shake of his head. "It turned his world upside down. He's not ready to let go of the bond he had with Hope. And now he's trying to get back what was taken from him."

"Wouldn't it just be easier for him to start over again?" JJ said, exasperated with the constant loops.

"Unless Monica could give him what he lost," Morgan said slowly like he was still coming to the conclusion. "...another didn't take Monica to remind him of Hope, he took her to recreate her."

The conclusion also brought the team to another dark matter that meant Monica was in even more danger than they previously thought.

~0~

"Where is Penelope going?" Emily asked Morgan when she and Aitana spotted Penelope heading straight for the elevator. They had just gotten the home addresses of William from Penelope herself.

Morgan seemed tired and it wasn't from the lack of sleep. "I tried telling her 'no'. Either of you want to take a go?"

Emily and Aitana exchanged glances, both silently asking each other who wanted to take a turn.

"I...will go get her a vest," Aitana declared.

Morgan smiled tightly. "Yeah."

The team split into two groups to take each address. Hotch, Emily, Rossi and Aitana's location turned out to be the old address William still used, no doubt for illegal reasons. It all looked perfectly normal for it not to be a hideout. One call to JJ and they found out that the second address was the real home, the one with all of Hope's things, including her own corpse.

Poor Penelope was so out of it when they were able to close the case, and with good reason. Monica had taken the only control she had in the situation and killed Bill with his own gun. It was deemed self control and emotional in the moment, but it didn't take away the fact that Monica would probably not be coming back to the support group.

"She'll just need some time," JJ told Morgan who'd come from a failed attempt of talking to Penelope. The blonde had locked herself in her office.

"I know," Morgan nodded. In truth, it was always what one of them needed after a particularly hard case.

"Why don't we go out for a drink or something?" Emily said on her way up to them. It was like she had been part of the conversation the whole time, reading minds.

"I'm all for it," JJ said, letting out a big breath.

"Me too," Morgan nodded. "Who's going to tell the local hush-hushers over there?"

Both JJ and Emily laughed as Morgan gestured up ahead of them to Aitana and Spencer. It seemed like Aitana was looking at something Spencer held in his hands.

"Yeah, I already went to the first three," Aitana pointed at the three store names Spencer wrote down for her weeks ago. "They didn't have the right one. I'm going to go to the last store tomorrow."

"I have a couple other ideas where you might be able to find them," Spencer said, grabbing his knapsack off his desk. "We can go later this week if you want?"

"Sure!" Aitana exclaimed. They started walking towards the elevator, giving brief waves at the others on their way past them.

"Who's going to tell them?" Morgan made the question as if he was dead serious on the matter, and maybe he was.

JJ half snorted, almost laughing.

"C'mon," Emily patted Morgan's arm, "First round's on me."

That time, JJ did laugh.

[romatique]

˚₊‧ ꒰ choi san's ideal type ꒱ ‧₊˚

gif by @bblsan

updated september 2023.

hello! i'm lina, your new ateez tarot reader. i decided to make my first post about san since i connect with him easily, so i hope you enjoy it and give me some feedback too <3

(this is tarot based and for entertainment purposes only. all alleged and shouldn't be taken as 100% truth).

am i allowed to share this? the fool; "sure, go ahead."

01┆physical appearance (the hanged man rx, the chariot, the emperor rx, king of wands rx)

when i tell you my cards literally FLEW. he's pretty much into anything and everything, just like he's said in the past. still, since this is the idealization of a person, here's what i got:

i'm getting a lot of mysterious vibes. like watery traits. san's very open minded and he likes people that dress differently. someone who stands out in the crowd. maybe an alternative style? could be even a person who dresses like they're from another decade. a LOT of presence. athletic slim shape but body positive towards everyone. uses strong and dark colors. red lipstick. deep eyes. he said "androgynous", so i believe someone who balances out what we, as a society, call "feminine" and "masculine" fashion. or maybe it's just the fact he doesn't mind what that person looks like at all. also very out there but still deep.

star signs energy: aquarius or capricorn venus and scorpio mars/moon.

02┆emotional traits (the moon, the empress, death, knight of pentacles rx)

you see, san's been going through a private time, so this is definitely an introverted person. it is important to understand how his energy also affects the type of person he's into.

emotional. mess. but this person is such a control freak, so as much intense as they can be, they won't let it show easily. they've had a pretty intense past and has a hard time letting go of it, even if they don't know it yet ("i can't let go of what happened"). worried about social status. money is an important subject here. mother-like nature: kind, giving and caring. but still demands so much respect. like they wanna be seen as someone bigger. as fragile as this person is, they wanna have a good and strong reputation.

also, we're definitely talking about an artist.

song i heard: butterfly - bts.

star signs energy: cancer sun/saturn, capricorn mars, scorpio mercury.

03┆career (king of wands, lovers, page of cups, page of wands rx)

proactive. "makes a lot of money". leader position. really controlling. could be a lead role actress/actor or a film director. artist. passionate about their job. "do what you love, love what you do". flies around a lot so probably someone with a big influence. busy life but definitely creative. i can also picture drawing as a hobby here.

is this person an idol? (page of cups rx).

no. "i don't wanna cause drama in the industry."

star signs energy: capricorn or pisces midheaven.

[callsignspark]

Mar[r]y Me | part one

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

summary: A love story told through friendship, laughter, and food.

series warnings: 18+ minors DNI, discussion of insecurities, difficult family relationships, discussions of food and alcohol use, eventual smut, warnings to be added as needed

word count: 2.0k

main masterlist

note: happy Friday! I'm so excited to share the first part of Bradley and Mary's story! a very special thanks to @gretagerwigsmuse for yelling in the DMs with me over this. Jordan without you the Bradley brain rot would not have taken over, and we wouldn't be here. after you read this, everyone go read about her version of Bradley and Smart Aleck; they are everything.

part one - indecision cookies

“C’mon, M&M! You’re not deciding on purpose! Just to be annoying!”

She knows he’s teasing; they’ve been friends for over a decade. That doesn’t stop the hurt from bubbling in her stomach or keep her from snapping at him. “Yeah, Reuben! That’s exactly what I’m doing! I’m purposefully going down to the wire on a decision that will change everything in my life just so I can piss you off!”

Guilt settles in her chest the second she finishes. It’s not his fault she can’t make a choice. “I’m sor-”

“No. Don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have made the joke. I know this is stressing you out.” She can hear him pacing through his house. As long as she’d known him, he had walked at the same volume as an elephant. “I know it’s a big change, and there’s a lot of things to consider, but what’s going on?”

“Nothing. I made indecision cookies. So you know… I’m basically there.”

“Wow, okay, never once have you been close to making a choice and made those. So, that literally does nothing except give you delicious cookies to eat. Which is great, but it’s already been a month, and I can’t even tell which way you’re leaning.”

It’s only been twenty-one days. Her brain interjects, but she doesn’t voice the thought, knowing her best friend won’t appreciate the correction.

It’s been twenty-five days since she flew from Pensacola to San Diego. Twenty-four days since she spent the evening with Danielle, Reuben, and his teammates. Twenty-three days since she interviewed for a new position. Twenty-two since she was offered the job, one that came with a big salary increase, better benefits, a higher security clearance requirement, and a thirty-day decision deadline. Twenty-one days since she returned home, a serious case of imposter syndrome setting in, mixing with her anxiety.

“I haven’t decided because I can’t figure out the right answer. It’s a great opportunity, and I know I’d enjoy the work, but it’s such a huge change, and frankly, I don’t know if it’s worth moving across the country. I like what I do now, I’m settled here, and I’m finally starting to make real friends instead of just having acquaintances from work. It’s taken-” A crash interrupts her. “Reuben! What was that?! Are you okay?”

“I tripped over Boo-Boo and almost took out the side table. Stupid ass cat.” She can hear him fighting with the fat, orange tabby under his breath. “I’m fine. Keep going; we’re listening.”

“You were probably in his way!”

“Stop defending the cat! He can’t hear you, and he was in the wrong! And stop deflecting. You were saying it’s taken…”

“It’s taken me four years to get comfortable, to this point where I’m not spending all my free time alone in my apartment. I move, and I have to start all over again. With everything. The search for where to live. Getting comfortable with the job. Making friends.”

“You have plenty of friends out here already!”

“You and Danielle don’t count; we’ve known each other since freshman year.” Her voice is flat, already knowing where his argument is going.

“Okay, fine! You’re friends with Mickey. And you liked Natasha and Bob! Plus, there’s Rooster and the rest of the Dagger Squad!”

“Reuben, knowing your team’s callsigns and spending a few hours drinking with them when I was out there doesn’t mean I actually know them or that we’re friends.”

“Yeah, true, but they’re good people, and you’ll get along with all of them. And you’ll make friends of your own! What I’m saying is that you’re not starting over with friends; you’ve got a foundation to build on, so that’s one less thing to worry about.”

“Okay, well, I’m also thirty-three and not getting any younger. I’d like to have a family one day; I want a husband, a few kids, and maybe a dog. That dream gets harder to achieve if I have to start over again.”

“Is this because of your parents?” Danielle’s voice is a surprise.

“Damn it, Fitch! Have you had me on speakerphone this whole time?!”

“I told you we were listening!”

“I thought you meant the damn cat!”

“Why would I mean the cat?”

“Because you’re an idiot-”

“As fun as it is to listen to the two of you argue.” Danielle’s scolding cuts them off before it can devolve into a repeat of The Incident of 2013. “Let’s get back to my question. Is this indecision because of your parents?”

“No! Why would you even think that?”

“For starters, you’ve never mentioned kids before!”

Danielle smooths over her husband’s indignant statement. “We know it’s something your parents harp on you about.”

The understatement of the decade. 

Mary’s family is a large group of stereotypical Italian immigrant Catholics from New York. Thirty-one people on her father’s side came from Sicily through Ellis Island in the late nineteenth century and settled in East Harlem. The men worked municipal projects, performing back-breaking labor to build bridges and dig subway tunnels, while the women suffered through the dangerous working conditions of the Manhattan garment factories. The family worked hard, the entire brood saving money to open a bakery just like they had back home. Vertucci’s Bakery – named for the family – opened in 1925 and was an instant success; people waited in lines that went out the door to get a taste of the old country. As the family grew, so did the bakery; everyone working to churn out bread, cakes, and pastries as fast as possible. Eventually, they outgrew the first shop, moving to a bigger location in Brooklyn the same year Mary’s father was born.

The other side of her family, the Romanos, immigrated just before World War II. Settling in Carroll Gardens, Mary’s great-grandfather was a dock worker at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, while her great-grandmother took care of the children and worked as a seamstress out of their apartment. Through the generations and the gentrification, the family stayed in Brooklyn, enjoying the strong Italian community.

Carlo and Lisa met on a busy Saturday morning when he was working Vertucci’s front counter. They fell in love quickly and were married just over a year later. Four boys in the four years after they were married, with Mariella “Mary” Vertucci following several years after the twins. She was a happy mistake. Wording that never failed to make her feel like she was two inches tall.

Despite being the youngest by ten years, as the only daughter Mary was subject to the most guilt trips and punishments growing up, her brothers seemingly unable to do no wrong in the eyes of the rest of the family.

When she was little, she didn’t eat enough food, and the women of her family criticized her for being too skinny. Then with puberty, she gained weight, and suddenly she was eating too much food. The yelling she had to endure when she went away to school - the first one in her family to do so - practically shattered the windows in her parent’s living room. Her mother was exceptionally upset because she had found a nice Italian boy for Mary to date, one who didn’t care that she was chubby. Constant complaints about distance when she moved to Missouri after graduation to work for Boeing, where she learned the ins and outs of all the mechanical systems of the Navy’s top fighter jets and worked on maintenance procedures to keep them running. The knock-down-drag-out screaming matches when she announced that she was being transferred to Florida to act as a senior engineering liaison between the company and the Navy, not once receiving any congratulations for her impressively quick advancement.

Not to mention all the subtle implications that she was a bad daughter for not producing grandchildren yet. Despite all of her brothers being married and having provided numerous grandchildren.

“I love kids, I’ve always wanted them, but given my luck with relationships, they’ve always kinda been a pipe dream. And I barely talk to my family anymore, my parents, least of all, no one knows I’m up for a new job. Only a few people here even know I went to California, and they all think I just went for a long weekend to visit some old friends.”

“If you take the job, when are you gonna tell them you’re moving to California?”

She snorts, “I’ll just call Danny’s wife as I’m about to get on the plane, and she’ll do all the work. By the time I touch down in San Diego, the entire Vertucci network will be informed of the address change.”

“You’d do that to your favorite brother?”

Danny is her favorite by default. Being the oldest meant he usually could be counted on to stop the other three from being too brutal in their taunts, but he also joined the teasing as much as he stopped it.

“He left my name off the Mother’s Day bouquet last year; this’ll make us even.”

“You didn’t chip in for flowers?” Reuben sounds shocked, knowing the importance of Mother’s Day flowers in the Vertucci family.

“No, I did. I covered Michael’s portion, too; that’s when Mia was going through treatment. He forgot to put my name on the card.”

“Wow…”

“Yeah, surprised me too. Especially when I got a call at the ass crack of dawn the next day, asking why I was ignoring the woman who gave me life on the most important day of the year.”

“Not to interrupt this venting session, but we still haven’t gotten to why you’re holding back on making a decision.” Danielle interrupts.

Mary hesitates, embarrassed to tell her closest friends about the problem. “I just keep thinking about the worst things that could happen. Which I know is stupid, and it’s just making my anxiety act up even more, but I can’t stop thinking about what could go wrong.”

“Well, that’s obviously not working, so what about the best things that could happen? I can kick Reuben out if you want. He doesn’t need to know everything.”

“Hey! She’s my best friend, too! And I’ve known her longer than you!”

“Only by six months! And you wouldn’t have become friends if she hadn’t taken pity on you and forced you to be her lab partner.”

“Let's see, good things… good things.” She interrupts the argument over who is her bestest friend. “Well, I could live near both my best friends for the first time since college. I could live in the same town as my goddaughter for the first time in her life. I could end up loving the job - not just tolerating it - and work there until I retire. The time difference could be good. I might be able to have a better relationship with my family if there’s extra distance between us. I could…”

She trails off, simultaneously feeling silly about what her next sentence would be and also afraid saying it out loud would jinx it.

“You could?” Danielle gently prods.

I could fall in love. I could be happy.

Her answer is just above a whisper, “I could be happy.”

Reuben gently breaks the silence that follows her vulnerable wish. “Are you not happy now?”

“I’m content. Which is good, but it’s not the same as being happy.”

“What do you think it would take for you to be happy?”

“I really don’t know… Force myself to make some changes? Shake things up?”

“Shit, I hear Annabeth waking up from her nap, but - and I’m sure you’ve already had this thought - but if you think shaking things up could help, I think you have the answer about the job.” Crying crackles over the baby monitor. “Okay, I’m gone. Love you - text me later!”

“Love you too, Dani!”

“So… what are you thinking?”

“How would you feel about turning the office into an official guest room while I find a place to live?”

“As long as you join the diaper-changing rotation, I think we could swing that.”

“Deal.”

tagging: @gretagerwigsmuse | @bobfloyds | @bussyslayer333 | @hangmanbrainrot | @mothdruid | @notroosterbradshaw | @princessphilly | @rhettabbotts | @roleycoleyreccenter | @roosterbruiser | @seresinsweetie | @thesewordsareallihavetogive | @waklman | @withahappyrefrain | @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby | @genius2050 | @ohtobeleah

fic tag | credit for dividers here