#there was a period in my life when i was absolutely straight

[florallychaotic]

......

[superiorsturgeon]

out of curiosity, why do you like sturgeons so much?

A chance to info dump about my favorite fish…?!

I grew up in the Great Lakes area of North America, where fishing is pretty popular but everyone knows that fish populations aren’t anything like “the good old days” when people took out huge numbers of fish while messing up their spawning sites. I got pretty into fishing when I found out that I could catch bluegill in the surrounding farm ponds, and once in a while my family took me to an isolated fishing cabin for vacation, but for years I never encountered a wild fish bigger than a kilogram or two.

BUT THEN…

I found out about sturgeon! They were HUGE fish that had once lived in the rivers and lakes all around my home, and better yet, fish almost exactly like modern sturgeon had existed all the way back in the Cretaceous period alongside the dinosaurs, and they STILL EXIST TODAY!!! The fact that small numbers of these huge dinosaur fish still existed made them seem almost like a real-life lake monster/cryptid, except that we had proof of their existence!

Furthermore, there’s just nothing else like them. Sturgeon get big. Like, REALLY big. The record for the largest sturgeon was almost 11 meters/24 feet long, which is colossal for freshwater animals. They have armor plates of bone running down their sides, and at the same time they don’t have bony skeletons. They also have a crazy mouth structure, which allows them to actually pop their jaws out like a tube and suck up food. And on top of all of this, the adults are absolute tanks. I’ve seen skin nearly 8mm thick, and it’s so tough that people make leather out of it, and they occasionally lose fins or even entire gill plates and just keep on swimming! (I found out about that last one when I tried to wrestle a big female out of a river and my hand went straight into her gills. She didn’t seem that bothered by it!)

For a long time I filed sturgeon along with Alligator Gar, Giant Mekong catfish, and Yangtze paddlefish as a semi-legendary fish that may still exist, but I was never going to see except possibly in an aquarium, until I enrolled in graduate school. For those unfamiliar with grad school in the US, it typically involves both high-level classes as well as an independent research project the student designs and carries out with help from an experienced professor. When my mentor asked what kind of thing I wanted to study, I tossed out “sturgeon” as one such possibility, expecting to hear that I would probably have to limit myself to more common/accessible species.

I was blown away when she said “Actually, I think I know a guy…”

For the next several years, I got to ride along collecting wild adult sturgeon, gathering eggs, and raising the baby fish in a lab and in a hatchery. I was holding something that I had thought of as a semi-mythical lake/river monster in my own hands! I got to see a river choked with giants as big as 2 meters long, and I got to hold a 5-centimeters mottled baby whose armored scutes were still sharp and possessed the little arrowhead shape and big black pectoral fins that remind me of Mickey Mouse ears! In the video below you can even see a little heartbeat! (Don’t worry, this little guy was returned to the tank soon after to recover from his anesthesia!)

Sadly, I didn’t find anything super groundbreaking in my research, but my experience DID land me a job working in sturgeon aquaculture! If you’ve ever had caviar that wasn’t poached, it probably came from a sturgeon farm, and if you want to see a lot of big fish up close, this is a good place to do it! I probably personally handled more individual sturgeon than there are wild fish in several sturgeon species. In addition, while the wild broodstock I mentioned above might reach 2 meters and over 50kg, the sturgeon I dealt with at the farm would easily double that, and there were a LOT of them! I got to see sturgeon behavior that had never been recorded in field guides, and even a few crazy one-in-a-million mutations like the infamous “ghost” sturgeon!

I even got the opportunity to cook my own sturgeon meat (Yeah, I basically turned into the Touden siblings from Dungeon Meshi except for sturgeon instead of RPG monsters). I got pretty good at making smoked sturgeon, but the meat is also good on the grill or baked, and people have been cooking them in various ways for centuries.

My favorite part of the job was physically wrestling the big fish! Sturgeon are easier to grab than other fish with the right know-how, but a human-sized fish often has its own plans for the day and won’t always cooperate. I was pretty good at moving the adults by the time I left that job, but it was still a wild rodeo every time!

Even more exciting was how we spawned each new generation of sturgeon. In the wild, they form massive spawning runs in big rivers that in the past would be enough to tip small boats, but in a lab or farm we have to use other means. I’ll spare you the details, but I am one of a small number of people who have surgically extracted eggs from a live sturgeon and sutured them back up to swim another day.

The tldr of this essay is that sturgeon are a big, crazy-unique fish that have been around a long time, and I’ve spent a lot of my career handling and working with them. There’s just nothing like them for a fish nerd and they’re damn cool!

(Clip art not mine, I think @sturgeonposting drew or shared it!)

[witchthewriter]

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ female, Valyrian blood (dragon rider), and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!

a/n: APPARENTLY THIS IS A GUY NAMED DAVOS BLACKWOOD. But he literally IS Bloody Ben. So he's staying Bloody Ben.

P.s. I'm ageing Benjicot up so he's around 24 or whatever age you want him to be that's over 18 <3

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ | ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ ᴵᴵ

𝑺𝑭𝑾🌿

・It wasn't an arranged marriaged. No, not by any means.

・You had been sent by your Queen to remind the Houses of Westeros their pledge to her. And Rhaenyra had chosen you to go to the Blackwoods.

"I expect you will be welcomed warmly," her Grace said with a warm smile.

You bowed your head and returned the smile.

・You always felt safe around Rhaenyra, she was someone very close to you. Someone who you would fight to the death for.

・The first time Benji saw you, his heart stopped...which was a very fair reaction as you were atop your fearsome dragon, The Cannibal.

・You bonded with the wild dragon when you were 13 - it was the first day of your periods and you were sick and tired of being without a dragon.

・It was in your blood. And you were done waiting.

・Your first flight with Cannibal was difficult - although the blood magic seemed to be strong between the two of you.

・You were the exact person he was waiting for.

・So when your duty came to aid Queen Rhaenyra; she did asked for you to unite with a House through marriage

・That was heavy - a big duty that you did not think would need to happen, since you bonded with Cannibal. Wouldn't you be put on the front lines straight away? Her answer was no.

・But you knew the realities of war and faced your duty head on (you know Cannibal will always defend you)

・Your marriage was a significant one. All the Blackwoods were invited, and Rhaenyra was there to oversee the ceremony.

・However, having all of your family there would have been another Red Wedding, so only a few choice people from your side could be invited.

・Nonetheless, it was absolutely beautiful.

・Dragonfire lit the skies, chasing away the dark. Even Cannibal was having a good time. There were tributes made to him - sheep, cow, goats galore. You swore you saw him smiling.

・What you absolutely weren't expecting was Benji to INTERACT with Cannibal...

・He brought up a bull from the biggest hoard they had. Benji watched as the dragon practically gulped the animal down. However, he wasn't scared - he was impressed. And intrigued.

・You were absolutely moved by Benji's act. Truly. Because it showed his bravery. His daring. And of course his caring. You knew, you could feel the way Cannibal was feeling - and he trusted this Blackwood.

・So you decided to give him a wedding present. A fly.

・By doing so, you broke down every single one of Benji's walls and he knew you were the one for him. His wife. His firt and only one.

・After a tough day, and you both go to your chambers; he'll grab your arm and kiss your wrist. A physical way of saying "I'm so glad you're alive and mine."

・Learns High Valyrian for you. He wanted to surprise you with it. And surprise you he did.

・You call each other: Ñuha jorrāelagon (my love), Ñuha prūmia (my heart),

・ A very particular sentence that Benji says a lot is: Nyke pendagon nūmāzma ao everyday (I think about you everyday)

・Of course he knows you can protect yourself; but that doesn't stop him from defending you. You're his world now. You mean so much to him.

・No body thought this union would work as well as it had.

・So, Bloody Ben & The Rider of Cannibal became a formidabble pair that made men tremble wherever they went.

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

Like Calls To Like

The Gomez & Morticia Adams

"Think they'll try us?" x "Fuck I hope so."

𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆

Unbreakable Bond

Growth through Adversity

Bickering and Banter

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Please Please Please by Sabrina Carpenter

The Politics & The Life by Daniel Pemberton

O Verona by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

𝑁𝑆𝐹𝑊 🔞 No one under the age of 18 past this point, makes me feel weird if you read it.

・Gives you complete and utter respect both in and out of the bedroom.

・Has never and will never push you to do anything you don't want to do

・The first time you were together, it felt like your bodies were on fire. Meant to burn together. The words kept replaying over and over in your head as he touched you. A deep yearning overtook you and suddenly time stopped.

・His lips were warm, his hands cold but when he took off his clothes, you couldn't help but grin.

・There's such desire between you two that even your mount can sense it.

・Your sex life is very active - at least once a day. Maybe you're in your Honeymoon period, but you cannot keep your hands off one another when you're alone

・And when you're at feasts, Benji's hands find their way down your thigh, and slowing inching inbetween them.

"Really, here? Now?" You asked n a hushed tone, trying not to draw any attention to either of you.

"Yes. Here, now. Or we can go into the hallway and I will ravish you there. Upto you, wife."

[w2soneshots]

harry smau or one shot or anyyythiinggg

i don’t know if you’ve written anything similar to this so i’m sorry if you have )’:

you and harry are going through a rough patch while he’s become super busy with filming across europe & you’ve been stuck at home

Miles apart -W2S

words: 0.9k+

warnings: angst, unplanned pregnancy, mentions of loneliness.

summary: while Harry’s away for a sidemen video -once again- you find something out that will change your lives forever, but with how busy he’s been you worry about how much he will be there for you.

notes: hi! Angst is genuinely one of my favourite things to write… there’s just something about it🙈. Also added some spice (a whole ass baby) to add to the angstyness, tehehe. Anyways, enjoy lovely and thank you for requesting!!💝🫶🏼

Liked by wroetoshaw, tobjizzle and others

y/username: home💐🛁✨

-comments-

calfreezy: sandwich looks delish, bog is a lucky man

-> y/username: haha it was unbelievably good

taliamar: obsessed with you💓

-> y/username: I'm flattered T🤭

y/nfanpage21: cutie!!🫶

user: where's Harry?🤨

-> user: he's away for a sidemen Sunday

A few days ago your boyfriend, Harry, left on a trip for a new video that the boys are filming. Lately he's been gone what seems like a lot, for days at a time or on a shoot from early morning to late at night, meaning by the time he gets home you're already fast asleep.

"Hi, how was filming?" You asked Harry on facetime, while he sat in his hotel room. "Pretty shit to be honest. Boring," he replied before yawning. You signed then spoke again after a moment, "you look tired. I'll let you sleep." "Alright, love you," he smiled softly into the camera. "Love you, sweet dreams."

You put the phone down and got comfortable in your bed, since you felt unusually tired you fell straight asleep, completely unaware that the next day your whole world would change forever and Harry wasn't going to be there.

"I'm fucked," you whispered as you stared at the positive pregnancy test in your hands, the obvious pink lines glaring at you. You weren't sure how to react, meaning you just stood there contemplating your life choices.

You and Harry had only been together for two and a half years, which felt like absolutely no time at all. You'd spoken briefly about kids but it definitely wasn't something you were planning in the near future, but now it was happening and honestly, you were concerned he wasn't going to react well.

"What am I going to do?" You asked yourself quietly as you sat down abruptly on the toilet seat. Then the tears started to flow and they didn't stop until your phone rang, breaking the rush of thoughts whirling around your mind.

Quickly, you got up, wiped your tears on your -Harry's- jumper sleeve and reached for your phone. Harry... fuck, act natural.

"Hi," your voice was slightly horse as you answered, thankfully it wasn't a video call. "Hello darling, you okay?" He asked cheerfully. "Mhm, you?" He paused for a moment before speaking again, "sure you're alright? You sound a little... weird."

You took a deep breath and tried to control yourself. "I'm fine, just woke up from a nap," you lied. "Okay... call me if you need anything. I'll be home tomorrow, around eight o'clock," He told you, leading you to feel a mix of relief and worry at telling him about your predicament.

The next day you woke to the same feeling you did the morning prior, nausea. The sickness you felt was what made you go and buy a test in the first place, along with the fact your period was late.

You spent the day going over how on earth you were going to tell Harry that your going to have a whole ass baby, that you'll be fully responsible for and will have to keep healthy and happy for eighteen years... jeez.

You'd felt like shit all day so by the time your boyfriend finally arrived home you were exhausted. You were sat on the couch when he came in. As usual, he immediately dropped his bags and all of his focus turned to you.

"Hey-" "Harry," you stood and interrupted him, you needed to just get it out, "I'm... pregnant." He turned pale and his mouth dropped open. "You're- I- what?" He stumbled on his words, his hand moving up to rub the back of his neck.

You both sat down on the couch and remained in complete silence for a good ten minutes, while Harry processed the news. Anxiously, you twiddled your thumbs while you awaited his response.

"When did you find out?" He eventually asked, breaking the silence and slightly startling you. You cleared your throat. "Yesterday. Yesterday morning," you answered, the both of you still looking ahead at the empty, black tv screen.

"So you've had time to think?" "I guess so... I mean, all I've really been thinking about is how you were gonna react and that you've been so busy- I don't want to be alone," you said quietly before finally looking at him, the tears in your waterline threatening to spill.

In an instant he moved closer to you and wrapped his arms around your body. Relief filled your senses as you felt slightly reassured by his actions. "I've always wanted a family with you... maybe not so soon but we'll figure it out. I know you're gonna be an amazing mum y/n and hopefully I'll be half decent, but I'll always be there," he whispered into your hair.

You smiled as you let out a sob. "Soppy twat," you chocked out. He chuckled, the air in the room now considerably lighter. "So, in nine months we'll have a kid then yeah?" You cleared your throat and sat up. "Technically seven months, since I'm already eight weeks." "Even better."

Two months later...

Liked by sidemen, mollymae and others

y/username: We've been keeping a secret...

-comments-

wroetoshaw: b- b- b- buzzin

-> y/username: Harry's new favourite word ladies and gents⬆️

faithlousiak: ahhhhhh!!! Adorable😊

y/nfanpage21: WHAT?! I was not expecting to see this today... sooo happy for you though😭💝

-> y/username: haha thank you hun

user: this is insane omfg yall

[moonstruckme]

Hello there! I was wondering if you would be willing to write a request that I thought up? No pressure of course. I'd love to read your rendition of it but if you don't want to that is absolutely and of course fine.

So I am a pretty emotional person, and especially when I am pmsing or on my period its a very common sight for me to be silently crying over a sad reel or a photo of a puppy or sobbing loudly if I re-read my comfort angsty fic. I really crave physical affection and coddling during my period which sucks cause I live with 2 dormmates who sleep 2 steps away from me and aren't very touchy but are very loving. Like today my friend showed me a photo of her holding a puppy who was nuzzling into her sweatshirt, claws out and hooked in her sleeve and all and ofc I started crying. My other roommate was like don't show it to her she's on her period, she will cry. But then she was like, on second thought do, I enjoy her tears 💀.

On to my actual request now, sorry for rambling 😅

So I was wondering if the reader had a similar tendency with her emotions and hormones around her cycle, how the marauders would deal with it you know? Would they be used to it, asking if its just a leaky faucet to let some emotional pressure out (that happens a lot with me lol) or actual crying. If they would be freaking out no matter how often it happens. Or how they would coddle her.. very curious to see if you pick this up! Thanks for reading nonetheless <3<3

Haha thank you for your request angel <3

cw: reader who menstruates, mention of animals in televion industry, Sirius is not good with tears

poly!marauders x fem!reader ♡ 644 words

You try not to make a spectacle of yourself. You really do. You hide in the corner of the couch, feeling the burn of your sinuses and eventually letting a couple of tears roll down your face without lifting a hand to wipe them. Your throat squeezes. Your temples ache. 

Despite your best efforts, all it takes is one tiny sniffle to get the attention of your boyfriends. 

James’ arm tightens around your shoulders. His cheek squishes into your head, voice heavy with sympathy as you both look at the TV. “I know, angel. It ends alright, though, yeah?” 

“All he does,” you choke out, watching the dog on the screen through blurry vision, “is wait for his owner to come home every day. That’s his whole life.” 

“It’s an advert for dog kibble!” Sirius protests. 

You shrug, weeping, and Sirius gives a short laugh tinged with anxiety. Remus sets a hand on his knee. 

“Sweetheart,” Remus says gently, “I’m sure that in real life, that dog is very well taken care of. He probably gets plenty of attention and time with his owners. He’s famous, right?” 

You nod, though you can’t help a tiny sob as the on-screen dog sits straight up at the sound of a key in the door. “Right.” 

“Right.” Remus gives you a kind look. “You okay? Not upset about anything else?” 

“Yeah.” You sniffle weakly. “M’okay, just. My head hurts.” 

James makes the sort of syrupy pitying sound that has your throat contracting all over again. “Do you think it might be the crying, lovie? It’s not the first time that commercial’s been on today. You could be dehydrated.” 

“I don’t know,” you say, quietly. “I don’t think so.” 

“I’ll fetch you a paracetamol and some water to be sure.” Remus stands, patting Sirius’ thigh consolingly when the other boy shifts off his lap with the movement. He touches the top of your head as he walks behind the couch, and James kisses the spot as though to second it. 

“Baby.” Sirius turns to you with a stern look. “First the Lorax last night, and now this? The ad’s not even on anymore; it’s finished.” 

“It’s just…” You swallow, fighting to keep your voice solid. “Do you think all pets feel like that? When their people leave to go to work?” 

“No, honey,” James consoles you. “I think they’re happy to amuse themselves while we’re gone.” 

“They’re perfectly fine,” says Sirius, not unkindly. “Stop crying.” 

“Don’t be mean.” James gathers you closer. “She’s on her period, she’s entitled to some crying.”

“It’s like the hiccups, James. You’ve got to scare it off.” 

“That’s barbaric.” 

“What’s barbaric is the television industry that keeps making our girlfriend burst into tears at random points in the day!” 

“You guys.” You’re nearly laughing now. With tears still wet on your cheeks, Sirius hardly looks comforted. “Don’t fight.” 

“We’re not fighting.” James is quick to mollify you. 

“Oh, dovey.” Remus returns with your painkillers, bending to wipe your face with a put upon frown. “Are they upsetting you?” 

“God, no.” Sirius reclines back against the cushions, blowing a breath up towards the ceiling. “What chance have we of doing that, when there’s wealthy dog actors to do it for us?” 

You take the water Remus has brought you, downing the painkiller. “Do you really think the dog gets decent money from the advert?” you ask as he pets your hair dotingly. 

James ponders this. “Even if it’s not very much, I’d bet his owners put as much of it back into him as they can. He probably sleeps on a memory foam dog bed.” 

Sirius is watching your face distressedly. “Baby,” he nearly pleads. “It’s okay.” 

“No, that’s good,” you manage, voice a quiet squeak as your eyes fill again. “I just think that’s a really nice life for him. He deserves it.” 

[onlydylanobrien]

Dylan O’Brien Used Director James Sweeney’s ‘Gay Scale’ to Play Brothers in ‘Twinless’: He’d Say ‘You Were Too Straight on That’

“I’m egregiously picky,” insists Dylan O’Brien, reflecting on a burst of productivity that, in the last 12 months, includes the films “Ponyboi,” “Saturday Night,” “Caddo Lake,” the Max comedy series “Fantasmas” and James Sweeney’s “Twinless,” which screens at Sundance. “I’m going to get skewered for this type of quote being out there … but I would have a much different career, I think, if I was a ‘yes to everything’ person.”

After launching his career more than a decade ago as a heartthrob on MTV’s “Teen Wolf” and in the “Maze Runner” films, each of those recent projects earned the actor praise for his versatility; no two roles are the same. But according to O’Brien, his recent slate reflects not just one year of work but more than five — a period that also encompasses guest spots (as “himself”) on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Other Two,” four more features and “All Too Well,” a short film directed by Taylor Swift.

His run of projects actually started back in 2019 after reading “Twinless.” In the film, which earned Sweeney a spot on Variety’s 2025 Directors to Watch, he plays twin brothers Roman and Rocky, with the former bonding with a fellow support group member (played by Sweeney) after the latter dies unexpectedly. Even facing the challenge of dual parts — one is straight, one is gay — the actor says that Sweeney’s writing gave him exactly the kind of charge that tells him to get on board a project.

“When I read something, it’s like I can hear the guy’s voice or I can’t,” O’Brien says. “And from the second I picked up the script, I was just like, ‘Roman is in me.’ I know this guy. And then when I get to Rocky, I had an instinct for him too.”

He remembers that it was his transformation into the introspective Roman, who, like O’Brien, is straight, that most surprised Sweeney. “My Roman voice, I got self-conscious about it immediately because he pointed it out,” he says. “But that’s how I was processing the weight of the very sheltered life he had experienced until that point, and then the tragedy that he experienced — and that’s what the fuck came out. [James] was like, ‘I love it.’”

Meanwhile, in order to play Rocky — authentically, but never stereotypically — O’Brien says the pair implemented a “gay scale” on set that Sweeney (who is gay) would dial up or down. “Most of the time, he’d be like, ‘You were too straight on that,’” he recalls with a laugh. “I was happy for that permission … a sign of a great filmmaker is to always give you the permission to go into a direction or not.”

The believability of both performances — like the others released before it — evidence a centeredness that O’Brien attributes to his increasing capacity for identifying nurturing, creative environments. “By that I mean your filmmaker, the piece in and of itself and the confidence you feel in it,” he says. “A helpful tool to either have or try to develop is to be able to identify whether you’re in safe hands or not.”

Though he admits that being in a music video is a “space that makes me really uncomfortable,” O’Brien indicated that two of those safe hands belonged to Taylor Swift, who in 2021 enlisted him to play the male lead in “All Too Well.” “For that to be her first time directing, Taylor had the absolute right instinct to be like, ‘I hired these actors because I am a fan of the work that they’ve done, and I’m going to let them come in and do that work’,” he says. “I loved what she was trying to tell with that. And I fully felt like I understood my role in it, and that excited me.”

Indicating he’s finally “being able to operate with choice,” the actor says his future plans include a reunion with Sweeney (“James and I are definitely going to partner up again on something”), and the June 27, 2025 release of “Ponyboi,” which first premiered at Sundance in 2024. “I’m very fortunate to be in some kind of position to pick these projects that I feel really drawn to and inspired by — and I have in me,” he says.

“These choices that I’ve been making, that you’ve seen in this past year, identify with what I want to be doing,” O’Brien adds. “It’s not like I don’t identify with my role on ‘Teen Wolf’ or the ‘Maze Runner’ movies. Those were my building blocks. But it doesn’t tell the whole story of who I am as a creative person.”

Source: variety.com

[cuteandhughesy]

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart | Matt Rempe (instagram edit)

summary: spending the season and offseason with your boyfriend matt rempe and his family - shared on instagram

warnings: none <3

face claims: phoebe dynevor (y/n) & simone ashley (shay)

a/n: another one!! this was my favourite instagram edit to create because when I wrote the fic, phoebe was my inspiration for y/n and her mannerisms so getting to portray her as y/n ( or you!) was so fun. also I forget the last name I gave shay so I made a new one lol

link to I can do it with a broken heart

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

liked by alleyrempe, shaymatthews, and others

yourusername so hard to stay away from NY 🗽

tagged mattrempe

comments

user1 new york looks good on you

user2 IS THAT REMPE?

allyrempe love u and this

user3 stunning

yourbrothersusername matt 😍

mattrempe my guy 🙌🏻

user4 that JACKET yes

user5 you’re so cute

mattrempe look at you pretty girl

user6 YES I NEEDED THIS

liked by mattrempe, tessavirtue17 and others

yourusername back to it ⛸️💌

comments

user1 I can feel the talent through the screen

shaymatthews ugh yesssss

tessavirtue17 doing gods work

user2 I fear nobody can compete with you

user3 what lip product is that?

user4 you make me want to become a figure skater

stephrempe love to see it

user5 baddie

mattrempe no yeah this is everything

nyrangers talented queen

liked by mattrempe, yourbrothersusername and others

yourusername always down for a selfie post (p.s. matt hates coffee what’s up with that?)

comments

mattrempe it’s a normal thing to hate coffee babe

stephrempe no it’s not

user1 YES YOU ATE

user2 hot

user3 black coffee is DA BEST

_johnbeecher matt’s a baby

user4 you are stunning

shaymatthews you’re look stunning

user5 mirror selfies will always remain superior

user6 hottie

mattrempe but youre so gorgeous im bowing at the screen

liked by mattrempe, nyrangers and others

yourusername photo dump from the filming of teaching nhl players how to figure skate 🤩 also peep my delicious avocado toast matt said reminded him of boogers - he’s ridiculous.

tagged mattrempe, shaymatthews & nhl

comments

user1 i’ve been WAITING because I knew the two of you fell in love filming that

alleyrempe matt ruins everything- including avocado toast

mattrempe shut up

user2 he’s so BIG

user3 avocado toast is so good

user4 so cute

dawson1417 miss it

user5 my fav couple - straight out of a book ❤️

nhl call us the best matchmakers

mattrempe you’re such a cuddle bug. i’m glad everyone knows it now

nyrangers mr. and mrs. rempire state building

liked by stephrempe, tessavirtue17 and others

yourusername matt taught me how to play hockey and I accidentally highsticked him🫣 (see last pick for the damage)

tagged mattrempe

comments

user1 him tying your skates. I’m SICK

nyrangers you’re in next game. suit up

user2 stop this is everything

user3 hahahhaha

mattrempe you should see the other guy (the stick is fine)

user4 but I already know you ate it up

shaymatthews and that’s on period

user5 stop the little innocent smile 🤣

user6 hope they filmed this 🤞🏻

_johnbeecher stay in your lane 🤺

yourusername threatened?

liked by olympics, tessavirtue17 and others

yourusername double fisting at the olympics honorary ceremony 🥂🎖️ mom I made it

tagged tessavirtue17

comments

user1 yes !!!!!!

user2 who can I send this to?

user3 😍

tessavirtue17 love love love

user4 so obsessed

mattrempe you look absolutely gorgeous

shaymatthews you are that BITCH 😍

user5 the dress is GIVING

yourbrothersusername not the double fisting

mattrempe 🍺🍺🍺🍺

user6 my icon 🙌🏻

olympics not a party until y/n shows up

stephrempe proud of you

ilohnamaher too real i love you

liked by alleyrempe, mattrempe and others

yourusername weekend getaway with alley 💌 (of course I couldn’t not watch the playoffs though)

tagged alleyrempe

comments

user1 girl core

user2 to spend the weekend with y/n and alley 😩

alleyrempe need this for the rest of my life

user3 🤩🤩😍

mattrempe not the gas station photoshoot

alleyrempe not you being ugly

yourusername it’s couture baby

user4 this is so me coded

user5 beautiful girls

liked by yourusername, kandre.miller and others

mattrempe baevaction

tagged yourusername

comments

user1 the hottest couple

user2 she is so stunning

nyrangers rest up those fighting hands 🤛🏼

user3 you’re so lucky bro

kandre.miller 🤤

foxyclean simp

yourusername honey

user4 my fav ranger ❤️💙

hartford_wolfpack all grown up 🥲

user5 looks amazing

trocheck_21 ah young love

liked by shaymatthews, stephrempe and others

yourusername a collection of some of my favourite vacation pics. had the best time with you ❤️

tagged mattrempe

comments

user1 jealous omg

user2 my dream vacation

mattrempe should’ve added you falling off the bike at the end

yourusername how dare you …

user3 angel

user4 a talented and sexy queen

user5 🤩🤩

alleyrempe you two are so cute

willcuylle rempe gone soft

stephrempe mom says she thinks you are the cutest

youeusername love her and you ❤️

user6 GOALS

liked by shaymatthews, alexlaff11 and others

yourusernane recently ☀️

tagged mattrempe, shaymatthews & bostonskatingclub

comments

user1 you and shay are everything

user2 dream life

mattrempe look at my biceps holy fuck

yourusername babe.

user3 actually the most perfect human

user4 respectfully your boyfriend is hot

user5 need to see you competing again

shaymatthews YAS MY GIRL

bostonskatingclub so good to have you visit

user6 those cookies look phenomenal

mattrempe you’re amazing pretty

alleyrempe my fav girl

user7 you two are my roman empire

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

a/n: not spell checked 😬 make sure you check out the rest of the published insta edits for my fics and stay tuned for the upcoming ones 🤍

I do not own any of these photos - full credits to original owners.

[lieutenantfloyd]

Hi! I'm fairly sure you're taking asks at the moment but feel free to ignore this if you aren't. But would you consider doing a "How they'd react to you on your period" but for the top gun: maverick characters?

How they react when you’re on your period (Headcanons)

Includes: Rooster, Bob, Hangman, Cyclone, Maverick, and Phoenix

Warnings: fluff, domestic bliss, mentions of pain, blood, marriage, and general domesticity— Reader is gender neutral but has a uterus

Authors Note: Life decided to get wild for a minute so this accidentally sat half finished in my drafts for a month and a half along with a Cyclone request I'm now working on again. Also, I included a headcanon each for Coyote and Fanboy at the end as a bonus :)

Rooster:

Bradley, as much as he tries, is still very much "A Guy™"

He's not malicious and he's far from incompetent, he just genuinely doesn't understand what you're going through

He's hesitant to ask questions, so instead he just pays extra close attention to you

If you like to cuddle, he's all over it

And if you don't, he's always lurking nearby, waiting for you to need him

Either way, he's noticing everything, and he's kinda horrified

Once your relationship is fairly progressed, he'll pull you aside and ask all the questions he was too scared to ask before

He wants to know all about your symptoms, emotions, and any way he can make the time a little less miserable

Rooster is such a family fan, and once he has a grasp on what you need, he's jumping head first into action

He shows his affection by being strong for you but also accidentally super clingy

Like he’s genuinely not letting you leave his sight

He's still a little hesitant at first about upsetting you or getting things wrong, but he's the type of man willing to do whatever he can to keep you happy

He isn't the best cook, but he tries

Do you both end up eating cereal for multiple meals? Yes

Does your teasing being met with his apology kisses make them the best bowls of cereal you’ll ever have? Absolutely

Will 1000% get you your favorite snacks though, even if that means making an emergency trip to the store at midnight because you offhandedly mentioned something

Bob:

Your sweet darling angel Bob has zero clue what's happening or how to help, but he's determined to try his absolute BEST

If your relationship is still new and you're staying together when you get your period, this man straight up thinks you're dying

Like obviously he knows how this works—far more than other guys you’ve been around, because that's just how Bob is

But he lives his life always a bit on edge and has a massive tendency to panic

So his mind instantly goes to worst case scenario aka there’s been an accident and you're now bleeding out

He just loves you SO MUCH and he is SO SCARED

It takes a bit of effort to calm him down, mostly in the form of kisses and reassurance, but once you explain everything he's good as new

…minus his still racing heart

Bob is the type to bombard you with questions when he's concerned

"Are you comfortable?" "Are you hungry?" "Do you need anything?"

May or may not accidentally propose when he's initially worried (even if you're already married)

Now you’re both slightly panicking, cuddled up in bed together looking at rings or your wedding album

Bob takes his role as your partner so seriously, and just wants to feel useful in any way he can

You might spend an almost equal amount of time comforting Bob as he spends comforting you, but it nonetheless gets your mind of things

Relationships are about give and take, and a life with Bob is sweet as pie

Hangman:

Hangman, despite his flirtatious personality, is the type of guy parents want their kids to end up with

He’s a total l lover boy at heart, priding himself in keeping you happy at all times

That means he's shockingly well prepared for this, and is genuinely confused if you didn’t think he wouldn’t be

To him it’s basic stuff, simply just “what a good boyfriend does”

And if you try to explain how men typically are about periods, he’s looking you dead in the eyes and saying, “We both know I’m one of a kind.”

The argument pretty much ends there, and he’s right back to being boyfriend of the year—this time without your questioning protests

Shortly into your relationship he’ll ask you out of the blue about your needs and preferences, and ever since then has kept them STOCKED

To him you're the #1 priority, and making sure you have everything you need to be comfortable is just as intuitive for him as knowing what size clothes you wear or adjusting the air conditioner on your side of his truck as soon as he gets in

He'll take it upon himself to make everything he can control as calm and stress free as possible, with laundry is done, dishes washed, and dinner on the table before you can even think about it

If you're feeling up to it, he'll take you on cute little dates to get your mind off things

He stays hyper aware of you the whole time, ready to whisk you away if you start to feel bad or you’re social battery is suddenly empty

He’s physically clingy by nature, and that only triples when he thinks you need some extra love

He's 120% committed to being a gentleman to you always, so he won’t ambush you with cuddles

but he will open his arms any time you look even vaguely in his direction :)

Cyclone:

Whether you're dating, married, or even just friends with benefits, this man is nothing if not a provider

If you are in any way connected to him, he has made it abundantly clear that you are to call him whenever you need anything—no matter how insignificant

He's admittedly out of his element when it comes to periods, but he’s a grown man, competent enough to admit what he doesn’t know and not let that phase him one bit

On days when time got away from you and you’re now out of pads/tampons and the store is closing in thirty minutes, he's in his car the second your text comes through

He’ll show up at your door in under an hour, carrying multiple packs of exactly what you need, along with groceries for the week and frozen yogurt from your favorite shop across town

When you question him about it, he simply says he does it “because he can”

Choosing to conveniently leave out the fact that he knows you have a busy week ahead, and not having to worry about getting to the grocery store is an easy way for him to take a little bit of stress off of your plate

He’s the type to have meticulously organized notes in his phone that list all your favorite things, what's on your wishlist, your go to restaurant orders, etc

This comes in handy not only when he wants to spoil you (which is always), but also when you’re not feeling well and are in need of some extra love and care

Like Phoenix, you’re his number one priority, and knowing something is off triggers both his protective and caregiver tendencies.

He will do anything he can to make your life easier, and gets genuinely angry at the thought of you having to expend any more energy than absolutely necessary

He's shockingly big into quality time, and loves to spend nights with you on the couch or in bed

He runs insanely warm, and while you often joke about him being the human equivalent of a space heater, your complaints become nothing but praise when you have cramps or just want a comforting hug

In the same vein, he gives the best massages ever

His hands are big and just as warm as the rest of him, plus he's strong with fingertips just rough enough to feel great against your skin

He’s not the type to ever bombard you with his presence, but if he’s not working, he’s more than happy to spend all the time he can with you

Phoenix:

this lovely lady would be the absolute sweetest

She's all too familiar with what you’re going through, and is committed to making this week of your life unnotable in the best possible way

Seeing you at all uncomfortable or feeling down sends her protective tendencies into overdrive

Every minute she's not in the air, she's waiting on you hand and foot

Phoenix is such a caretaker, and it comes second nature to her

You’ll have to promise that you really are fine, and while she isn’t 100% convinced, she will at least let you walk your dogs or help with dinner

She absolutely loves taking baths with you, so much that it’s practically one of her love languages

Physical touch and quality time are both such big things for her, and there are few things more intimate than talking about your day while you share a glass of wine and wash each other's hair

At the end of the day she just wants her partner to feel comfortable and loved at all times, and she'll do anything she can to make that happen

Maverick:

When your period comes, this man is certifiably lost It’s not because he doesn't care, he's just a little (endearingly) oblivious

A facet of your relationship centers around how, between his free-spirited personality and after so many years spent dedicated only to his career, Maverick just isn't used to having to think about anyone else

but if theres one thing Mav has proven time and time again, it’s that he isn't one to back down from a challenge

Once he's caught on to your "situation" (as he calls it), he's going to ask questions that total in the hundreds

Asks about your cravings, type and descriptions of your pain, preferences over products and medications, etc

He genuinely wants to know everything, because then he’ll know how to help

He's a bit of a walking disaster, and he'd far too restless to cuddle

but if it’s your thing he’ll try for you, so long as you’re ready to listen to his endless wild stories :)

Instead of simply assuming you're down for his spur-of-the-moment adventures (or just disappearing for days like he used to before you got together), he'll actually come out and invite you along

He also makes a conscious effort to check in with you throughout the day, sending you quick texts to let you know he’s safe and thinking about you

This eventually gets fully implemented into your relationship when Maverick realizes he's very invested in what you do all day—no matter how mundane it seems to you

If you spent all day in bed scrolling your phone, he wants to know all the details about everything you looked at

If you went grocery shopping that afternoon, he wants to know all about what you’re cooking and what new products and snacks you saw while you were there

To him everything has the potential to be an adventure, you just how to have the right outlook

Slowly, you'll start noticing more and more of your favorite things popping up around the hangar

Your favorite snacks and a bottle of your preferred painkillers in the cabinet, extra pillows and fluffy blankets left lying around, a heating pad or two…

You don't say anything and he’ll never address it, but you can't help but notice the soft look in his eyes when he sees you using something he bought just for you

Cyclone:

Whether you're dating, married, or even just friends with benefits, this man is nothing if not a provider

If you are in any way connected to him, he has made it abundantly clear that you are to call him whenever you need anything—no matter how insignificant

He's admittedly out of his element when it comes to periods, but he’s a grown man, competent enough to admit what he doesn’t know and not let that phase him one bit

On days when time got away from you and you’re now out of pads/tampons and the store is closing in thirty minutes, he's in his car the second your text comes through

He’ll show up at your door in under an hour, carrying multiple packs of exactly what you need, along with groceries for the week and frozen yogurt from your favorite shop across town

When you question him about it, he simply says he does it “because he can”

Choosing to conveniently leave out the fact that he knows you have a busy week ahead, and not having to worry about getting to the grocery store is an easy way for him to take a little bit of stress off of your plate

He’s the type to have meticulously organized notes in his phone that list all your favorite things, what's on your wishlist, your go to restaurant orders, etc

This comes in handy not only when he wants to spoil you (which is always), but also when you’re not feeling well and are in need of some extra love and care

Like Phoenix, you’re his number one priority, and knowing something is off triggers both his protective and caregiver tendencies.

He will do anything he can to make your life easier, and gets genuinely angry at the thought of you having to expend any more energy than absolutely necessary

He's shockingly big into quality time, and loves to spend nights with you on the couch or in bed

He runs insanely warm, and while you often joke about him being the human equivalent of a space heater, your complaints become nothing but praise when you have cramps or just want a comforting hug

In the same vein, he gives the best massages ever

His hands are big and just as warm as the rest of him, plus he's strong with fingertips just rough enough to feel great against your skin

He’s not the type to ever bombard you with his presence, but if he’s not working, he’s more than happy to spend all the time he can with you

Bonus:

Coyote is the type of guy to ask you to go hiking with him on the worst day of your period. He doesn't see anything wrong with this because "being active will make you feel better".

Fanboy uses your self care time to cuddle up with you, with the ulterior motive of making you rewatch the Star Wars franchise for the millionth time, with fun facts and his original commentary included.

[orimuraa]

𖧷₊˚˖𓍢ִ🍓 Just stay with me - OT7

(synopsis) ☕︎ enhypen when you’re on your period ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟ

ot7 enhypen x fem!reader ☕︎ flufff, crack ☕︎ mentions of blood, kisses, petnames ☕︎ wc 904

𝑳𝒆𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒆����𝒆𝒖𝒏𝒈 - 이희승

"baby? i got you some medicine, chocolate, pads, and my hoodie," your boyfriend slowly emerged through your bedroom door holding a bag containing all the things you needed at that moment. it was that dreaded time of the month and you were in peak pain right now. so, heeseung being the bestest boyfriend he is, came bearing your period remedies. "thank you hee, you're a literal life saver," you mumbled, looking up to give him a thankful smile. heeseung knew you were in pain right now so he placed the bag next to your bed and hopped in beside you, knowing that you usually just opted for his cuddles as your remedy. "anything for my baby."

𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒈 - 박종성

when jay came home, he was most definitely not expecting a human-sized burrito on the floor. to explain, you were on your period and had absolutely no motivation to get up. "princess? what are you doing on the floor?..." jay asked, slowly approaching the burrito. the sound of your voice made your ears perk up, slowly turning over to look at your lovely boyfriend. "cuddles?" you ask in a quiet voice, ignoring his previous question. how could jay say no to someone so cute, wrapped in a big and fluffy comforter, lying helplessly on the floor? anddd probably in immense pain? the answer is that he can't say no. "okay baby, let's get you to the bed, okay?"

𝑺𝒊𝒎 𝑱𝒂𝒆𝒚𝒖𝒏 - 심재윤

jake came rushing through the door, 3 bags in his arms, frantically looking around your apartment. there you were, sitting at the counter, wrapped in a warm sweater (jake's) and sipping a warm mug of most likely tea. "sweets?? i'm here with your remedies!! pain killers, pads, and most importantly....kisses!!!" he smiled brightly, resembling a golden retriever. "aww jakey, thank you! i could really do with some cuddles and kisses," you chuckle, setting down your mug and walking over to jake. he set down the bags and opened his arms, inviting you into them for a warm, comforting embrace. you melted right in his arms, the warmth quickly soothing your cramps. "c'mon, let's go have a cuddle party!" jake giggled, kissing your forehead before taking you by the hand and leading you upstairs.

𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒏 - 박성훈

"YOU'RE BLEEDING OUT??!?! I BROUGHT BAND-AIDS, BABY WHERE ARE YOU??" okay...maybe texting your boyfriend that you were bleeding out and felt like you were dying wasn't such a good idea...."hoonie- what? no- i'm fine..i'm just on my period.." you stated, looking at him with a concerned look on your face. "what- but- y-your text? so you're not on the brink of death???" sunghoon was so confused right now. "noo, i'm sorry i confused you. i'm just on my period," you laugh, placing a quick kiss to his cheek. "phew! i thought i was too late," sunghoon sighed, pulling you in by your waist and planting a chaste kiss against your lips. "band-aids? seriously hoon?" "hey!! it was in the heat of the moment!!!"

𝑲𝒊𝒎 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒐𝒐 - 김선우

"baby? i'm here!!" sunoo announced, a bag in his hand and a nice warm drink in the other. "huh? oh hi sun sun! what's up?" you asked, obviously shocked by the surprise visit. "i saw on the tracker app that you got your period today so i brought goodies!" he exclaimed, showing off the items in his hands. "aww baby...stopp that's so sweet of you! thank you," you pouted, touched by his sweet actions. since sunoo had an older sister, he was used to these types of things and was always prepared for this time of month. "anything for my baby. i have no idea how you woman bleed for a whole week straight and still manage to breath," he states dramatically, setting down everything on the table in front of you. "plus, you're way more enjoyable to be around than my noona during period week!"

𝒀𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒘𝒐𝒏 - 양정원

"jagi? i don't see the brand of pads you asked for. i don't know if they have it, i've look- oh! never mind they're right here!!" you were currently on a call with jungwon, trying to get him to buy the correct pads and it was....an inexperience. once he got home, he had a proud smile on his face, holding up the grocery bag triumphantly. "i have acquired them!!" he announces, walking over to where you are on the couch to show you. "after getting lost 100 times and ending up in the toy section," you tease, laughing at the thought. "hey! at least i got them and that's all that matters!" he huffs, pouting like a little kitty. "thank you wonnie. now come cuddle!"

𝑵𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒊 - 西村 力

you here the sound of the front door close, meaning riki was back form his errands. you sat up in bed and waited for him to enter the bedroom. the door opened and in walks riki with a plastic grocery bag and a...chicken take-out bag?...what?? "little love! i got the pads with the wings you asked for!" he smiles proudly, taking off his hat and jacket. ohhh pads with wings..."ki, i meant pads that had wings on them, not chicken wings," you giggle, laughing at the box of chicken wings on your desk now. "ohh that makes more sense! well..now we have food!" he says cheekily, rubbing the back of his neck. "come here you goof!" you laugh, beckoning him over. he brings the chicken wings too, sitting down next to you and kissing the top of your head. "you're one strong soldier."

this was genuinely so fun to write and i kept laughing the whole time. if you enjoyed, please make sure to like and reblog! thank you!!

𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: @en-diaries, @k-films, @k-nets

⚘. Perm taglist: @vmpivory, @yuvany, @seozii, @pinknjm, @greentulip

[reiderwriter]

Hii! Could you write a Spencer x fem reader, she's extremely confident & forward and Spencer gets all flustered, shy and overwhelmed at how forward she is with flirting with him and complimenting him (even tho he loves it), thank you:-)

A/N: This was such a cute request, thanks for sending it in! I love shy and oblivious Spencer he's so silly and cute ㅠㅠ

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female Reader

Genre: pure fluff

Word Count: 2k

Summary: Spencer Reid is a genius. But if he hasn't noticed you've been flirting with his for a week straight, he must be an idiot. Non-BAU!Reader.

Warnings: Alcohol intake. Kissing. Slightly suggestive ending.

Here's my masterlist, requests are open! 🎉

Working with the FBI as a consultant on a case was practically a dream come true for you, but what was even more dreamy was the man you got to work with whilst consulting. You’d arrived bright and early, really eager to help with the case you’d been called in for. On the phone, Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner had asked for your help decoding some documents that the team thought had something to do with the Literature you were teaching as part of your course at a local university.

In all honesty, you were a massive fan of detective novels, an early love for Agatha Christie and the Golden Age of mystery making you entertain an idea in law enforcement before you decided that really wasn’t for you, so you were eager to help out in anyway you could fathom.

“One of our Special Agents, Doctor Reid, has decoded most of it, but he says there are some key areas he may be missing and he wants to pick your brains, to see if you can help him come up with something,” he said, guiding you into a small sideroom.

Having previously heard that Doctor Spencer Reid had achieved no less than three PhDs and three additional Bachelor's Degrees in varying subjects, you weren’t quite sure to expect when walking into the room. You certainly weren’t expecting one of the prettiest men you’d ever seen in your life to be sat reading through a pretty thick tome at an incredible speed.

“Reid, this is Professor Y/L/N, she’s here to help you decode the cypher. Professor, this is Doctor Spencer Reid.” Hotchner introduced you, but as soon as you picked your jaw up off the floor, you instantly stepped forward.

“Please, call me Y/N. It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you… Spencer was it?” You smile and stick out your hand. You notice the flush on the man's face and your grin grows even wider as he hesitates to take your hand.

“I’m sorry, I don’t really shake hands, the number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering. It's actually safer to kiss.” He stutters through the words, almost struggling to get them out, but you don’t falter for a second.

“Kiss me then,” you say smirking up at him and you realise that the other agent had since left the room, leaving you alone with the object of your affections. Ignoring your response, but face tinged such a bright shade of red that you knew he was effected by it, he dives into the facts of the case.

“We think that he’s using some kind of cypher based on some books you’ve been researching recently at the University, which means we think he could possibly be a student of yours. I read through your PhD thesis this morning, and there are certain commonalities that suggest you could be the key to solving some of our unknowns.”

“You read my thesis? What did you think of it?” you ask, moving to sit in the chair directly next to him, scooting it a little bit closer than was polite.

“I don’t have a degree in Literature of the Renaissance Period, so I’m not sure how much value my opinion really holds in this scenario,” he looks at you and you’re pleasantly surprised at how genuine he’s being.

“Well, you’ve seen mine, can I see yours?” you allow the cogs in his brain to keep turning for a few seconds then continue. “I’m sure with three PhDs to your name, you’ve probably got a few research papers floating about, right?”

“Oh….” he blushes again, turning his eyes away from you and doing his best not to make eye contact. “I’m sure I could send them to you after we’ve completed this case if you think they would allow you a deeper insight into any of my fields of study.” He coughs a little to hide the way his voice pitched up as he spoke and kept his eyes trained on the book in his hands.

This consulting role was going to be the most fun you’d had in weeks.

–X–

A week later, you found yourself sat at a bar, surrounded by the members of the BAU team celebrating another case closed, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to fully partake in their merryments exactly. You’d assumed, after an entire week of flirting very openly with Reid, that when he’d asked you to the bar that evening to celebrate wrapping up the case, he’d meant just the two of you. Alas, you had discovered over the week that not only was he the most adorable man you’d ever met, he was also the most oblivious. Impressive for a man with an IQ of 187.

You couldn’t complain too much. Your help on the case had meant the rescue of two young girls, two of your students in undergrad courses nonetheless, so you’d at least made a difference. You had nothing against the rest of the team either, having become fast friends with Garcia, and enjoying your twenty minutes of small ltalk in the morning at the coffee station with Prentiss, Morgan and JJ as well. Hell, you even loved Rossi, who gave off the fun Uncle vibe that you found rounded out the team well. But you couldn’t curb your disappointment still, so you distanced yourself from the table a bit and removed yourself to the bar to grab yourself a new drink. You stayed there for a few minutes to nurse it.

“Hello, beautiful,” the man sat at the barstool next to you leered down at you, “you looking for some company in the bottom of that glass tonight?” He winked at you and your skin crawled. It wasn’t just his creepy smile, and the disgusting way he dragged his eyes over your body, it was that he was also very likely older than your own father. Some people were into that, but you certainly weren’t

“Not today, thanks,” you said, hoping that would be enough to get him to leave you in peace, but of course it wasn’t.

“Hot piece of ass like you, you need a real man to take care of you.” He pushed his hand out and for a split second you were convinced he was going to make an attempt to smack your ass. Before he was able to make contact, and, perhaps more importantly, before you could be arrested for aggravated assault, a hand was wrapping around your hip and pulling you away from the man, your back colliding with a firm chest behind you.

“Y/N, Special Agent Hotchner is about to leave and he wanted to thank you for coming to consult for us. The FBI is always really grateful for conscientious citizens like you willing to help us keep the streets safe.” Spencer turned you around and said, emphasising words to make it clear what his job was, speaking loudly enough that you knew the words were only for the creep behind you who’d thought to lay a hand on you.

“Thanks, Spencer,” you said as the man downed the rest of his drink and made to leave the bar, obviously embarrassed and threatened by Spencer’s arrival. He made to loosen his grip on you as the man left, but you through your arms around his neck, not letting him leave. If this was your last opportunity to make him realise what you wanted, you absolutely weren’t going to let it get away from you.

“I wanted to thank you for this week as well, Spencer. Hotch said it was you that recommended me for the consulting role.” He blushed and stood there a little awkwardly, but made no move to leave, his hands unmoving from your hips. It reminded you of your middle school prom, in all honesty.

“Oh that’s no big deal. It worked out pretty well in the end, though, right, with your students and everything.” You nodded and thanked him again, but you were still pretty reluctant to see him walk away, back to the table filled with his closest friends and colleagues.

“So, are you looking forward to going back home? I’m sure your boyfriend or husband or whatever will be really glad to see you again.” He mumbled and you felt your heart stop for a second.

“Spencer, I don’t have a boyfriend. Or a husband, or any kind of partner for that matter. I’m sorry if I made you think I do,” you saw his eyes widen in panic a little, and you relaxed a bit yourself as he started to talk again.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I just assumed that someone as pretty as you couldn’t be single.” He stuttered every single word out, and you didn’t quite register his words for a second.

“You think I’m pretty?” you ask looking up at him and he gapes down at you, realising this conversation is just him shooting himself in the foot over and over again.

“Shit… what I mean is…Y/N you have to know you’re gorgeous, right?” It was your turn to blush then, feeling the sincerity in his words.

“You know, I thought you were asking me out on a date tonight.” You tell him, watching his entire face crumple again in distress.

“But I told you we were going out to celebrate finishing the case!” He spoke in his defence.

“Spencer, what were your exact words?”

“Y/N, do you want to grab a drink tonight? It would be nice to celebrate now that the case is closed and- oh. OH.” The realisation dawned on his face, and you enjoyed the little look of devastation that played out there as his blush deepened.

“It’s fine, Spencer, really. If you’re not interested in me, you’re not interested, I get it.” You sighed, finally moving to let him go, resigned to your fate now.

“Wait, Y/N, that’s not what I meant!” He grabbed you by the hand gently, not quite as close as you were the moment before but still standing notably close. You realised you probably had an audience for this.

“I didn’t realise that you’d want to go on a date with me, you’re so beautiful and smart, I just never thought you’d be interested.” Your brain almost exploded with that, and you had to make a conscious effort to not have your jaw drop to the floor, but apparently the man wasn’t finished. “I just assumed you had a flirty personality, and like, really look at you and then look at me-” you absolutely had to cut him off before he said anything else, so you did.

Crashing your lips up into his was the most sensible thing you’d done since stepping into the bar that evening. He was statuesque at first, unmoving while your lips pressed against him, but he warmed up to it and began kissing you back with equal fervor. You moved the hands that were holding yours to your waist, then moved your own hands up to tangle in his hair, playing with a few curls at the base of his neck.

After a few minutes, you finally pulled away to see a dumbstruck expression on his face.

“Oh. Oh, I see now,” was all he could get out, unable to form more words as he panted into the space between you,

“Yeah? That’s good. I’ve been flirting with you all week, so it’s nice of you to finally notice.” You giggle up at him slowly, and he tightens his grip on your waist.

“What should….what should I do now?” He asked, obviously a little bit unsure of himself, and happy to let you take the lead.

“Well, you can either take me back to your place now, or you could start with asking me out on that date?” He looked like he was seriously weighing up his options for a minute, before he looked you in the eye again.

“Can I do both?”

--X--

🏷️ @w-windyy @multifandom-on-the-side @reidandhotchsgirl @babybluecakes @bluecandycake @hugyourlungs @prentissesredtanktop @reidscaffeine @bethanyhaas01 @average-sunflower @lover-of-books-and-tea @star0055 @daddy-dotcom @zaapsite @anniewhalelover @abbyshmaby @isabel-ffl-xoxo @sujan39 @frxcless @bluestuesday @busy-buzzing @breadbrobin @maxinehufflepuffprincess @l0v3cam @booksandwonderlands @myescapefromthislife @kat453 @ferrjulie @scoobydoopoo @aelinismyqueen @littlesingingbean @xohoneybun @anchovy89freya @dysphoricsanity @alyssaxstan @ghostheartbeat @beguiling3lavender @Casss2111 @zatannas-wand @rebloggiest-reblogger @kspencer34

[genderqueerdykes]

So I was terrified of taking T for the longest time because of what I heard about T making people more emotionally unstable (from transphobes but also I had one (1) person in my life get really violent with me after he started transitioning and that scared me and he said he couldn’t help it)

I was even more scared after my doctor gave me estrogen pills for my period (without my permission, I explicitly told her no female hormones and if that wasn’t possible, no pills) and I had a massive depressive and psychotic episode. The worst I’ve had in a decade for three straight weeks. And now I’m about to start T and everyone in my life is basically prepping for me to have an even worse mental breakdown on different hormones

And I’ve been fine. I’ve been better than fine. I’ve been so happy. I feel so much love and joy for life and the people around me and everything. I feel myself getting less spiteful and for once in my life I’m starting to like my body as it is. And it’s just wild. It feels like that one tumblr post that’s like “you’ve been without the Vitamin for so long and yet you prevailed? You’re so brave”

So I guess my blanket statement is that what happened to that other guy was unrelated to taking T and that the ppl fearmongering are cruel

hey i totally understand what you're saying, that's so fucked up. i'm sorry they forced you on to estrogen- that happened to me as a teenager and exact same as you. psychotic & depressive episodes. whenever my T levels drop severely i become very psychotic and depressed. it's not like i'm just like. upset that i don't have my T, my body's functioning just changes

i'm really glad to hear you're doing fine! i never understood the "T makes you violent" argument because most people who want/need it take it and feel relief after they start HRT. like for many it has an antidepressant like effect. and it's not because it's a steroid, it's because that person needed that hormone level to be higher. hormones also affect everyone differently and it's just nonsensical to apply a blanket statement to testosterone when people don't really do the same with estrogen

testosterone is awesome. like if people see me as chill for the most part, i have to tell you it's because i'm on T right now! it helps me not feel like absolute garbage all day long. i'm glad you've found it helps you too! take care, thanks for stopping by!

[lostinlovingrevery]

how much of a lovesick gentleman do we think he really is when he’s found someone he sees himself with for a long period of time

(in my mind he’s like perfect but if we’re being fr because men are men unfortunately)

Oh I think he most def is going to be the most lovesick gentleman on earth. Hes not perfect. But we just love that about him don't we?

Lets see if I can really put my thoughts out about this! I wanna be realistic here, but I also really do think logan would be the biggest sweetheart

Logans rough around the edges

but that doesn't mean he can't love!

I mean if we want to look at his history, comic-wise, when hes in love hes devoted to them.

The one lady he married after WW2, he absolutely adored her and still loved her even decades and decades after her murder. (i seen comic pages where he had a shrine to her. older comics)

Obvs he did move on when he met Jean, of course that was more unrequited

and you got the occasional timelines with Storm! They're really cute

theres a page of her asking him if he would really tear the world apart for them to be together

take a wild guess on his answer

and then theres Kayla(gag) in origins! I mean, Logans a big sweetheart with her.

Anyhoo we aren't talking about logans other timeline lovers

I truly think logan is a lover boy

I think, depending on what his history looks like since hes' got a lot of different versions (i like to pick and chose when I write my fics lol)

he would probably be a little rough around the edges at first. not in a way where he's a dick to you. I think he would just be nervous

Hes been stuck in a cycle of violence for so long

im mixed between him being scared of stepping out of that cycle, out of fear of getting you hurt, but also him being so desperate to just love

like how he liked jean so much and so quickly in the trilogy movies.

god just talking about that makes me irritated

anyhoo

SO

I think

When Logans in love, he's still that sarcastic, anger-proned, alcoholic we all know and love. But I think he's the type to want to become better for you

he's not going to be fake but he's going to be softer around you. he wants to love you. make you happy. take care of you.

He's thinking about you all the time

so much so i think he'd get himself physically ill because he loves you so much. he just needs you :( <3

I think you'll be spared of his smart mouth (for the most part...). He won't cease it when talking to other people around you tho.

He's happier when youre around. holds his head a little taller

hes going to make perverted comments. hes going to look at your butt. hes going to squeeze your boobs. maybe even name them

hes a man in that sense

but i think hes old enough (lol) that he knows how to treat people.

people tend to act like logans super arrogant (hell i even think of him like that) but i actually think he's the most open to criticism and being wrong about things

i think he can be very wise

anyhoo, honestly I think once he gets over the complication of having feelings for you and the mortifying ordeal of being percievied, hes going to be the softest boy over you

sweet kisses just because

he'll bring you flowers, he'll write you love notes even, they may not be full of fancy love language, little things like hes misses you, loves you, in his own logan language

hes traditional in that sense. hes from the 1800s. he remembers the original ways to woo someone

I think acts of service is def one of his love languages.

get you groceries, fix the leaky pipes, fill your car up with gas, he doesn't think you should be lifting a finger

he'll tear the world apart for you

his feelings run far and deep- even if he makes it seem like that's not the case. its merely to protect himself

but believe me that barrier is gone when he finds you.

maybe it's me, im a sappy romantic (even tho i have no love life lol) but I think Logan would just adore you

hes the type to get on his knees and worship you straight UP

will defend you to the death. you could straight up being going insane and threatening to kill everyone and hes like "leave my girl alone :(" (X3 Logan im looking at you)

he'll keep pictures of you in his jacket and wallet

looks at you with those big puppy eyes UGH

BABY LOOK AT HIM

probably has told scott to shut the fuck up bc he teased him over how he turns into a lil puppy dog when you're in the room

hes going to be all about learning about you. your career/job, special interests, your quirks, your goddamn favorite soap

In the beginning, logan may try to be mr.cool guy but only bc he doesn't want to scare you off.

he likes the small touches between you both. brush of the hands, holding pinkies, playing footsie under the table

when you're alone though it is required that you are in his lap

an absolute rule

hes gonna get pissy over it

he will respect you in any way, with any boundaries I truly believe this honestly

i think if logans got a good feeling, ain't nothing going to bother him when it comes to you other than the fact that if you're not together he can't show his love for you

no relationship is perfect. You and Logan will argue, misunderstandings, such and such

but once again with logans age and experience, it makes him a very mature partner

he knows the little things aren't worth sweating, and hes smart to know when to really sit down and talk things over

i think different variant logans (which in some ways are just different stages of his life) would form different relationships based on their experience./lifestage but all of them are love boys once you get over the tough parts

just for example bc i love him, I think trilogy Logan would be so in love with you, but I think with not remembering his past at first, he may struggle to pursuing anything serious

its not that he doesn't want to, and hes not going out and flirting with other girls. its that maybe he thinks you deserve to have someone steady, someones who knows who he is, someone whos built a foundation for themselves

he prob thinks pretty low of himself. he gets cranky and sarcastic. he was cage fighting to get by. hes lonely. he probably sees you as someone amazing and hes...well, him.

but if you get over that hump, maybe when he gets his memories, or maybe you're just able to uplift him enough where he can see that you adore him for who he is, he'll be all over you'

I actually this would be fun to write about in deeper context so may make another post one day tweaking my thoughts on this but this is just what i'm thinking so far!!!

[darlingdaisyfarm]

Okay, so I do have my own hc about this but if you've had thoughts about this I def wanna know (plus I don't know if you've posted this before). It ties in with milking discussion so it's mainly about Ford, but I welcome Stan too! How would Ford react to being pegged and edged by y/n?

honey?? welcome to my mind because.... you won't believe but i DID write pegging these old men before. but guess what? i never posted it here, i totally forgot!!! i only uploaded it to ao3, AGHHH FUCKK. so waitttt i’m gonna post it here too, my bad. i genuinely blacked out and forgot i wrote it lmao

nsfw!

but about edging, GODDAMN, i love edging. and you know Ford, being the freaky pervert he is, would absolutely be into it too. like, let’s be real, this man didn't exactly have the most active sex life before you, so once you two start sleeping together, he’s not just having sex but running experiments and exploring his preferences, fetishes and kinks....i mean, the man’s a scientist through and through, so of course he’d be open to trying every kink on the periodic table, edging included :)

and ugh, the more you do it, the more he craves it. i can totally see him getting hooked on the feeling. you’ll catch him shifting awkwardly in his chair after long makeout sessions, already half-hard just thinking about the last time you left him dripping, trembling and untouched. i also fully believe he’d get hooked on the “reward“ aspect too. like when you stroke his hair or kiss his temple after you deny him release. because such nurturing praise makes his brain melt worse than the physical part

sometimes you’ll use toys on him too (cock ring.... ?? vibrator...? god), and Ford is so grateful for every second you don’t let him finish too fast. omg... literally right now, while im writing this, my brain just played out a scene where you’re edging him by jerking him off fast and suddenly stopping at the tip, telling him “you don’t cum unless i say, baby” while your other hand is shoved in his mouth, letting him suck on your fingers (because one night, drunk off his ass, he admitted to you that he loves it). AND AND... and that that quiet, hoarse “please” is music to ur ears especially with ur fingers in his needy mouth. he can't speak clearly.

if you make it a rule for a whole day, like no touching himself, no cumming, not until you decide, he’ll follow it religiously because Ford's self-control is terrifying.... he's trying so hard to be a good boy to you :(

and i think Ford is into mutual masturbation. but adding edging here when you let yourself finish, multiple times, making a mess all over yourself, but every time he gets close you stop him. and he has to just watch. and he’s so into it that by the end his cock is swollen and twitching, and he’s too out of it to even form words :(

if you blindfold him??? it multiplies the effect x1000. being unable to see his sweetheart, when you’ll stop or start again drives him half insane. his head tips back against the pillow, mouth open and you're saying “not yet, sweetheart” and that alone could make him spill without permission, which, of course, you don’t let slide

and yeah, at one point this man would straight-up start sobbing, real tears slipping down his face, but he’s so deep in it he doesn’t even want you to stop. my sweet desperate brilliant pervert. + if you combine both, pegging and edging you might just fry his poor genius brain

and once you finally let him finish (or don’t :) depending on your mood), he gets so soft, fuzzy. drunk look in his brown eyes. the high from being so worked up turns him into the most affectionate, lazy, pliant version of himself<3

anyways feel free to share with me ur own headcanons plss, im always glad to hear ur thoughts about this needy old man!! <3

and..i know you didn’t ask bout this but i can’t shut up. i think he’d love ruined orgasms too??, sorry i’m getting carried away. imagine the first time you let him tip over the edge only to cut it short halfway through. he'll whimper so loud... his body convulses but there’s no real release. and once the frustration settles, he realises he liked it. the tension still coiled in his gut. the fact that you can take his pleasure away just like that... yeah, he’s down BAD

[draculasfavoritewife]

Wild Honey

Summary: Gale is one stubborn son of a bitch, but if anyone could get him to open up, it's always been you.

Pairing: Gale Hawthorne x fem!District 12!Reader

Warnings: ANGST. Idiots miscommunicating and falling out. Heavy tension, sensuality, and implied smut at the end. Also by far the most sexually charged eating scene I have ever yet written, SO sorry everyone, that really deserves its own separate disclaimer lmao. Ye have been warned.

I would like to preface this by saying I know Gale stans sometimes receive hate, and while I do not condone his more problematic actions, I do deeply understand why he is the way he is -- most of my favorite characters in any franchise have done morally challenging things, but I will always fall in love with a survivor, and most times in dystopian fiction survival is messy and comes at the cost of someone else's. It is also worth mentioning that I was watching Hunger Games during one of the most difficult periods of my life a year ago, when a loved one's life was hanging in the balance and Gale became the comfort character I turned to in order to cope. He will always hold a particularly fond place in my heart 🖤

tl;dr -- If you don't like Gale Hawthorne, feel free to not read. No reason to be mean to anyone :)

*Takes place during Catching Fire

He hasn’t been the same since she came back.

That much is clear to anyone two degrees north of blindness. But it could be anything, really. His work in the mines is draining on both body and soul, the added responsibility of being the Everdeen family’s sole provider as well as his own would exhaust anyone.

Yet Gale Hawthorne is probably the only one who could still be standing tall at this point, his proud stride never faltering, shoulders broad enough to hold up all of Panem if he had to. 

The man’s just tired, people say.

Tired and angry at the world, let him be. 

What else is new?

Gale has been wearier than a young man should be and angrier than most could know for as long as you’ve been part of his life.

It’s not that. 

No, it’s the sadness darkening his gray-blue eyes and the new tightness in his full lips that you see setting in whenever he looks at her. Whenever her eyes dart away to seek out Peeta’s instead, or stare straight through him at the phantoms of horrors he would never quite understand. You see him reaching out more often, trying anything and everything to bridge the yawning rift that has opened up between him and Katniss ever since her return, and see how with each misplaced gesture, every time he tries to be soft, another piece of him turns to stone inside. 

And it breaks you, to watch and know you can do absolutely nothing about it. 

You’re surprised to find him hunting alone the next time you go out beyond the fence; you would have assumed she was with him as she usually is. You’ve known Gale at least as long as she has, but perhaps the fact that you don’t rely on him for sustenance has made the two of you less likely to travel together.

And besides, whatever complicated relationship the two of them had, you had never wanted to insert yourself into that mess. 

But for whatever reason, today he is alone, anger and something deeper sharply visible in the movements of his nimble fingers as they field-dress a wild turkey on the floor of the small clearing you’ve emerged into, his brow furrowed and mouth harsh. 

You say nothing for several minutes as you pull your bow and quiver from their stash, testing the pull of the string, fiddling with a crooked fletching on one of your arrows. Your relationship has always been different from what he has with Katniss — you would be lying if you said you weren’t sometimes jealous of how much time she gets him to herself, but you also doubt that he talks to her the way he does to you.

There are pros and cons to not needing him in the same ways. 

“What?” he snaps when you’ve stood there too long; he knows you’re too efficient to need that much time to prepare your gear. 

You shoulder your bow, staring down at those heavy eyebrows, long ebony lashes, and the rainy-sky eyes that are still stubbornly avoiding yours.

“I don’t know, Gale. You tell me.” 

He sighs, long and annoyed. “You’re gonna stand there all day if I don’t, aren’t you.” 

You give a noncommittal noise and make a show of leaning against a tree to keep watch for Peacekeepers while he finishes his work. 

The thanks you get for that is little more than a grunt. “Well don’t get comfortable, I’m almost done. And keep up — I still need more than this or we’ll have a lean few days.” 

“When have I ever not kept up with you, Hawthorne?” You raise your eyebrows at him, playfully miffed. 

There it is, the cocky smirk that pulls one corner of his pretty mouth slightly higher than the other. “That a challenge, Spark?” 

You roll your eyes in mock disdain of the nickname he’s used forever (“because you’re small, but I know you’ve got a blaze in there somewhere” he’d half-teased). “Why, are you gonna try and run away from me?” 

It’s his turn to shrug. “How badly do you want to talk, I guess?” He’s loading the bird’s carcass into his satchel, wiping off his hunting knife and preparing to head out. 

A quick grab and you’ve shouldered the bag instead, ensuring he can’t abandon you now without also abandoning his prize. “Pretty damn badly, I guess.” 

Gale huffs a breath out through his nose. “God, you’re stubborn.” 

“Look who’s talking.” You brush past him, aiming for a deer trail that takes you through some hidden haunts that usually yield rabbits and even some bigger game on occasion. “Now come on, spill. You’ve been acting more pissed than usual, and that’s saying something.” 

“Hm. Very funny.” He easily lifts his own hunting gear once more and falls into step behind you. “Hunt first. Talk later. I’ll be even more pissed if we scare off our dinner.” 

You turn and give him a brisk nod, grinning to yourself when you face forward again. 

It may not sound like much, but that was practically a promise that he will talk to you eventually. 

And you’re nothing if not patient enough to outlast him. 

The times the two of you have hunted together, your ambition and his tenacity tend to be a deadly combination, and as luck would have it, a rare buck deer had crossed your path today, resulting in an even more substantial promise of survival than the turkey. As the two of you worked quickly to prepare the carcass for packing it out, you could feel the tension ebbing away between you, could tell by the way Gale’s strong shoulders relaxed and his jaw unclenched that the immediate worry of ensuring his mother and younger siblings had enough to eat this week had faded.

He would never say as much out loud, but you know it keeps him up at night when they do go hungry, can imagine how he must pace the floors of his house at night, cursing himself for falling short of the herculean standards that the loss of his father set upon him.

He should be able to sleep somewhat peacefully tonight, knowing they will survive another day thanks to him. 

“That was a good shot,” he says after a while of working in silence, and there’s a deep-running warmth threaded through his tone. “You really slowed him down.” 

You shove his shoulder, making him laugh and then scold you for jostling him with a knife in his hands. “Not so shabby on that killing shot yourself, Hawk-eyes. You’ll have food for awhile.” 

“You’re not getting away without some of it,” he insists. “It’s as much yours as mine.” 

And because you know refusing Gale an act of service is a surefire way to start an argument and guarantee his sullen silence again, you agree that you’ll take a sizable portion back to your family when the two of you head back. Placated for the time being, he finally lets his tongue run — about how he’s managing in the mines, what his siblings have been up to, how even in the midst of his exhaustion, he still lives for the end of the work week when he can escape to the forest again. There are new themes of thought that surface and submerge like fish between his words, murmurs of rebellion, thoughts of standing up to the Capitol at last, but they are hushed and quickly moved on from. 

No matter how much you might support him, he doesn’t want to worry you too much yet. 

“What about you and Katniss?” you finally prod, trying to ignore the familiar jolt of envy that tastes so sour on your tongue whenever you say their names together in the same breath. 

He stills; when his eyes flicker up to yours again they’re guarded and cold. “What about me and Katniss?” 

“Well, she’s conspicuously not here with you.” You flick flyaway hairs away from your face in irritation, the damp air making them cling to your skin. “Don’t be like that, Gale. I’ve been your friend long enough to not deserve your cagey act anymore. Let me in. Please.” 

He stares up at you for so long from his position kneeling on the forest floor, you standing over him, pleading him with your eyes to let someone else shoulder part of the heavy load he carries for once. And you’re struck by those traitorous thoughts again in the silvery silence — how unreasonably lovely he is, with that sharply angled jawline, and those softly curving lips, that thick dark hair you’ve always secretly wanted to tangle your fingers in as he leans down, your name on his tongue and a teasing glint in his melancholy eyes — 

“I think I made a mistake,” he finally mutters. “I know I can’t understand fully what she’s seen or who she is now, but is it completely wrong of me to just wish things didn’t have to change?” 

The man who means more to you than anything has never looked more lost and uncertain than in this moment of admission, and you sink to your knees in front of him, suddenly overtaken by a wave of softness that takes a second to fully process. “I’m sorry, Gale, I am. We all change, and I know how it feels to wonder if someone still cares or not.” You shake away your own uncertainties you’ve been having ever since she came back and he’s been chasing her attentions around.

“It’s only natural to want to pick up right where you left off, I get it.” 

His gaze sharpens, though the rest of his face remains calculated and unreadable. “Have I been ignoring you lately, Spark?”

It seems like a genuine question, as if running back through the last few months in his mind he now acutely senses your absence from them. 

You reach out, trailing the tips of your fingers ever so lightly down his cheek. The gesture isn’t novel, you’ve used it to comfort him before, especially when you aren’t sure how much physical contact he wants on a given day, but something feels different about it today, some electric shiver passing between you that makes his mouth twitch and causes you to pull your hand away as if shocked. 

“I need you too, Hawk-eyes,” you murmur, almost under your breath. “I need you.” 

To your dismay, the intimate moment abruptly ends; he tears away from the echo of your touch and is on his feet again in an instant, eyes now pale and hard as ice as he smolders down at your upturned face. 

Reeling with confusion and hurt, you try to understand what just happened. “Gale, wait! What did I —?” 

“It’s that damn word,” he half-snarls, but you hear the raw pain bubbling beneath his attempt at anger. “Need. My family needs me, the District needs me, Katniss needs me to be there when she can’t find what she needs from anyone else. Everyone needs me, Spark.” 

You stare wordlessly into his face, silently begging him to help you understand. His eyelashes glimmer with droplets from the mist and maybe something else, the anger draining away as quickly as it had appeared. 

“I would just like to be here because I’m wanted for once.” 

He’s gone in only a handful of long strides, the undergrowth rattling in his wake. 

And you’re left alone in a space all at once too cold and quiet, wondering what the hell it will finally take to make it through those impenetrable walls and at last touch his solitary wounded heart. 

The sun has sunk lower in the sky by the time you find the fallen tree beside the stream and discover its unexpected bounty. You’re not too far from where you left the deer, knowing neither you nor Gale can pack it out by yourself, but far enough away to give him space if he goes back there first. 

He and his prickly attitude leave your thoughts momentarily, however, when you see the bees returning to the gutted form of the dead tree. Where there are bees there might be honey, and your mouth waters at the distant memory of that sweet, energy-filled delicacy. You swiftly fall to the work of building a small, smoky fire and holding the billowing branches underneath their main entrance, waiting for the buzzing to slow and finally fade out before carefully peeling away some of the cracked wood and extracting your prize, leaving a piece behind of course for the hardworking insects to enjoy themselves. 

Wrapping the majority of the honeycomb in leaves that you know are safe to be in contact with food, you settle at last in a spot looking over the water, ready to enjoy a taste of your labors.

Closing your eyes, you let the first drop of sun-warmed sweetness land on your tongue, and the sound of appreciation that escapes your throat is shamelessly suggestive of something else.

So you freeze for a second in horror when Gale’s familiar voice rumbles through your senses. 

“So is this your little secret, or were you planning to share with me?” 

You compose your thudding heart and suddenly hot face, glancing up at where he now towers over you, arms crossed over his broad chest and a wicked smirk on his handsome face. By the high-tilted eyebrow that asks a sensitive question without really asking, he definitely heard you, and he wants you to know that. 

So you hold eye contact with him, even as the thick honey continues to drip down, painting your tongue in cloudy golden shades of wildflower sugar.

And to your gratification, you don’t think you imagine the way his eyes dart away ever so briefly, or how his own tongue runs across his lower lip. 

“I was gonna share,” you finally say, your own voice coming out slow and sticky after swallowing. “But I didn’t know where you’d run off to.” 

“Hm. I’m not convinced.”

He lowers his tall body to the ground beside you, reaching for your piece of honeycomb, and because he seems to have let go of his earlier flash of annoyance, you let him take it, gaze now glued to the entrancing picture of him as he opens his own mouth and lets the sweet amber substance drizzle between his parted lips, tongue lifting to capture any stray drops that threaten to escape. 

“Don’t be selfish,” you tease, but it comes out strangely heavy, and something kindles deep in your chest as his eyes slide sideways to pin themselves to yours.

It’s an oddly incriminating image almost, though you couldn’t name why, to see him stare you down like that with fresh honey glistening on his lips and fingers; he, however, doesn’t seem to feel any such sense of indignity. 

Without a word, he holds the waxy section out once more, his free hand coming up to your face so that his thumb gently coaxes your lips apart again. 

“You want more?” he asks, a silky hum. 

You have no idea if he’s even talking about the honey anymore, but you nod anyway, too breathless at how close he is, how much bigger he is than you. 

So he complies, trickles the comb’s gleaming goodness into your mouth with an intense focus that you can hear in the roughness of his hot breath as it washes across your skin. His chest is inches away from yours, one of his muscular thighs resting between your legs. You’re aware that your own breathing is turning shaky, and you gasp softly when a splash of honey rolls from the corner of your mouth and starts running down your face. 

Gale is quick, but not quick enough, and though his other hand catches some of the rogue rivulet, he can only watch as the rest rolls to your chest, landing on the stretch of exposed skin right at the tops of your breasts, a single drop of gold hovering just above the scooping neckline of your black shirt, daring him to take some sort of action to solve the predicament he has caused. 

His eyes move up from the now very rapid rise and fall of your chest to your widened, startled gaze.

You look like a wild animal he’s surprised on the hunt, and he now finds that he fiercely hopes whatever comes next doesn’t spook you away. 

“Can I?” he whispers, honeycomb now forgotten and set aside. 

You nod your assent, keeping your focus fixed on his face. 

A hand approaches your body with all of the steady patience you’ve seen him exercise when stalking his prey, and the touch of two fingers to the delicate skin below your collarbone is warm and gentle. His hands are beautiful too, broad and long-fingered, the veins that hint at his great strength clearly delineated in the low-slanting sunlight.

You watch like a fascinated outside observer as those work-roughened fingers swipe the honey away, a shiver fluttering across your flesh as you feel the way he smoothly follows the swells of your bust and the dip between. 

He catches the tremor he caused and pulls away, looking back up at your face even as he licks the honey from his fingertips, and you wonder what’s running through his mind, and if it’s nearly as incendiary as what that simple action sends through yours. 

“Alright?” 

It’s a one-word question that leaves his mouth as something like a purr, though you sense the true concern behind it.

He worries he’s gone too far, and he’d never forgive himself if he pushed you into anything you didn’t want, no matter how small. 

He cares about you too much for that. 

“Yes.” You blink and gather your scattered thoughts. “Better than alright. Gale…?” 

He leans even closer, bringing your faces only a mere breath apart.

The blue-gray eyes have gone as feathery soft as mist in the early morning, and the sight makes your chest ache with something you cannot quite name. 

“You didn’t get all of it. I’m still sticky.” 

Gale searches your expression for confirmation, wary of his next move. “You know what you’re asking?” 

Your hands are on his chest now, and you can feel that despite his much more outwardly collected demeanor, his heart is beating just as hard as yours. 

“I want your help,” you tell him firmly, and you feel the way that simple word, want, finally pierces his armor, makes him twitch like the bite of a gnat. 

So he bends down, and the moment his mouth connects with your chest, time stops. 

It’s a lightning strike, crackling through your entire body. 

His lips are cool, chilled by the evening air, and they’re every bit as perfect as you’ve always imagined. You could stay there forever in the mesmerizing trap of his kiss, but the addition of his sultry tongue, sweeping a slow track along the path his fingers had gone only a few minutes before, is what fully unravels you, sending his name from your own mouth in a whine and prompting one of your hands to slide up his neck and into his hair — and it, too, is everything you’ve dreamed of, dense and wild and begging to be tamed by your grasping desperation. He growls in surprise at the unexpected sensation of your fingernails, but you feel rather than hear it, the vibrations of his voice thrumming deep inside your body. 

You know the entire exchange must only take a few minutes, but it seems like an eternity that he’s there, sucking the honey trail from your skin, his still-sticky fingers leaving behind more prints that he also endeavors to remove. You pull his body closer to yours, until it seems you breathe one breath, share one heartbeat as he rocks you back and forth with the barely restrained desire to push you over until he can cover you completely. 

But it can be deadly to lose concentration in the woods, especially so close to nightfall, and regretfully the pair of you pull away in unspoken agreement, staring at each other and trying to understand fully what just happened. 

“We should get a move on,” Gale finally huffs. “That deer won’t carry itself.” 

Temperamental, taciturn Gale.

Always concerned with the practical side of things. 

No more words are exchanged between the two of you as you pack up the day’s yield and slip back into the somewhat relative safety of the Seam. The meat is stored away at Gale’s house (he knows you’ll come back for your share, or else he’ll find you and force you to take it) and at last there is really nothing more left to do, so you step out the door and into the lengthening shadows. 

When you look back, however, he’s still standing there in the doorframe, and there’s a tentative curiosity written across his face, a reluctance to have this be goodnight and goodbye until his next free day. 

And you could lie and say you don’t feel the same way, but you and Gale have never lied to each other. 

“What?” you tease, echoing his demand of much earlier. 

He opens his mouth, then closes it again and shrugs helplessly. “I…I don’t know, Spark. Where do you want…this…to go?” 

You ponder that, taking in the familiar sight of him with warm fondness. He looks tired, shoulders slouched and face smudged with gray dust from the mines, but there’s something different there tonight, a fragile hope behind his resting sullen expression, some aura about him that pleads with you not to leave him alone tonight. 

Even a man as strong as Gale Hawthorne has his limits. 

So you give in to temptation. 

“The washtub at my house is bigger, you know. And we both could use a hand cleaning up.” 

He steps down from the threshold to follow you back to your home. 

You know what you’re really offering to him. 

And so does he. 

When you wake with first light, he’s already long gone. Only the dip in the other side of your worn mattress remains to suggest another body was actually there. 

You’re not surprised, and not really hurt. He has his job to get back to, after all, a family to feed and a whole village to look after. But you wonder briefly, after having watched him fall asleep with his arms wrapped around you and his face hidden in your chest, long eyelashes leaving butterfly kisses against your flesh, what it would be like to watch him wake up, too. 

You imagine his eyes are even prettier then, hazy with sleep and not yet hardened to withstand the day’s toils ahead. 

Last night feels like a strange dream of lukewarm water and skin on skin, sporadically interspersed with starkly clear images of his well-muscled form and those clever hands traveling across the width and breadth of yours. When you close your eyes you can still feel his heavy weight on top of you, pressing you deeper into the mattress, and you feel oddly empty and untethered now in its absence.

Only the dark blossoms his mouth left behind on your body and a selection of new — but not unpleasant — aches tells you that what you shared was in fact as real as this morning. 

What it means going forward, you don’t know. 

But you don’t regret a single moment of it. 

As you dress and prepare to head out for the day, your mother’s voice calls you into the main room. “One of the younger Hawthorne children brought you something — said it’s from your friend.” 

You see it there on the table, a folded scrap of rough paper and a single daisy, still fresh enough to mean he probably cut it on his way back to his house. 

A small smile creeps across your lips as you unfold the note. 

Spark — 

I don’t want this to be just a one-time thing. At least, not if you feel that way too. 

Sorry I had to go. I wish I could have stayed. 

You may not need me to survive, but you made me realize something. 

I need you. 

— Gale 

Hastily re-folding the paper, you tuck it away into your shirt pocket, close to your heart. 

Stubborn Gale Hawthorne. 

He’d never been much of a talker, so you know just how much those simple three words at the end of his message really mean. 

For the man who needs no one to admit he can’t go on without you?

He might as well rival the old poets in their epic declarations of love. 

Gale is much like the wild honey that started all of this, you realize, as you snatch a piece of the comb on your way out into the harsh world beyond. Once you manage to get past his defensive sting, there are so many intoxicating flavors to taste within. 

And whatever he still needs to work out with Katniss…. 

He doesn’t want this to be a one-time thing. 

[trademarkblue]

I almost didn't post this, but I kinda like having my thoughts organized. It's way too long and very rambly and totally not based on any scholarly wisdom, obviously, because I posses exactly zero of that. These are just my very subjective thoughts based on obsessing over Nick and June. So please feel free to skip right on over this! xx

I understand the individual pieces of thinking June is selfish or she's using Nick, or thinking Nick should have left Gilead a long time ago (based on the show not giving us great reasons that he stayed, beyond hopelessness), or June is cheating, or Nick is cheating, or she should have chosen Nick somehow and left Luke…

But to me it’s just so much more complicated than that that I think it’s not really fair to reduce the scope of what’s happening to those basic traits or emotions. So I'm trying to break them down here to what I see and believe about these characters and what I think adds to the tragic beauty of it.

June is selfish

This one is kinda heartbreaking to me, because I feel like people forget that no one really looked out for June in Gilead except for Nick. Sure the Handmaids helped her after the gunshot in 3x13-4x01, and they did show kindness to her in the Red Center when her feet were whipped, and I'm sure there are a lot of other small examples of them coming together and caring about June during a specific period of time or after abuse. We can assume Rita organized June's escape attempt in season 2, so that's major. And of course she loves all of these women and they love her, but it's Gilead, and everyone was experiencing their own daily traumas. And Lawrence has helped her too. But that's all been mostly physical assistance.

I just think no one deeply cares consistently about her mental wellbeing, other than Nick. And most of the other people she had to interact with tried to fuck with her mental health, actually making it worse. Nick was desperately trying to keep her afloat. So in a way, I feel like she’s also very, very alone a lot of the time, and this continues on into her experience in Canada. She's just spent years only talking to Nick about anything of substance. Opening up to other people after that would be blinding.

So, when you’re the only one looking out for yourself over a prolonged period of time, one of only two options (in my opinion) is to become what looks like traditional selfishness from the outside. And sometimes it is actually just straight up selfish and not self-preservation, for sure - like June thinking she has a right to use the phone first in Alaska 16 times in a row in 6x01, while there's a queue behind her.

And I’m certainly not saying any of this is right or that June shouldn’t examine this about herself now and work on becoming better. She totally should. But I do feel sad for her too, because I wish she felt like she could rely on people who are physically in her life right now when she does need support. So that's complicated.

June is using Nick

For years, she was a woman with no power, with one trustworthy person in her life. One. Of course she’s gonna ask him for help. So that dynamic gets established pretty fast, and other than Nick occasionally telling her he can’t do something, we never see him explaining what he’s actually doing in his day to day life. June is left to imagine - as an Eye, as a Guardian, and then as a Commander - what he’s capable of.

I absolutely think she needs to face the fact that she’s put Nick in this fantasy box where he’s just over there doing “something” and he’s fine, and that’s problematic. I want her to face that this season, and I think she might. I'm really glad that Nick told her directly in 6x03 that he's risking his life and everything he has to save her husband, to help her any time she calls, and this is a Gilead survival dynamic that has to change. But there was so much unsaid in season 5, and so much Nick hasn’t shared with her, ever. I’m not saying it excuses anything, but it’s also complicated.

Nick should have left Gilead

This is so inconsistent within the show that it’s kinda hard to even take seriously. So could he have skipped across the border at any point, or would he have gone to prison? I always thought the latter, though I think he would have been able to secure a deal pretty easily by giving up Gilead intel. But once June was free in Canada, Nick was her only tie to Hannah from the inside. I don’t think he takes that lightly, and I will believe until the writers can strongly prove otherwise that Nick would have wanted to stay largely out of hoping to be accessible in order to help with getting Hannah out, even if it takes years and costs him his life.

But in the meantime, he’s telling June in 4x09 that Hannah is out of reach for now, so if Nick is stuck in Gilead for potentially a very long time, he has to remarry. And he isn’t going to ever tell June that he did this - that he stayed - partly for her benefit.

I also agree that Nick doesn’t feel worthy of having a life outside of Gilead and that it’s something he actually fears, as in he’s scared to be free. He sees himself as worthless, and the world will also likely see him that way (in his opinion), and there’s no place for him. Gilead and New Bethlehem have made a place for him, as fucked up as that is.

I still wish June would look him directly in the eyes and ask him point blank to leave. Back in season 2, June asked the man transporting her away from the Boston Globe if Nick was coming, and this was well after she'd found out that Luke was alive. So I do think she has a history of wanting Nick to leave with her.

She tried a strained version of asking him in season 5, after he turned down Tuello’s deal. But I also choose to believe that Hannah is one of many reasons that Nick didn’t want to take that deal, because any additional heat on him makes it so much harder to do the one thing he thinks he can still do for June from the inside.

And if this is true, June doesn’t know this, even though I do think she should come to this likely conclusion and ask Nick about it. You don’t just go from “here’s a folder of everything I’ve been collecting on Hannah for you in your absence” to “I’m just staying in Gilead for fun” in a matter of a few weeks or months… But he is telling her in season 5 that he’s essentially moved on, or is really trying to, and that he has a pregnant wife he's not leaving.

Nick also apparently wanted June to come to New Bethlehem, which is still fairly out of character to me, for a few reasons. Why would he want her to risk living so close to Gilead again? Why would he be talking about Rose and the pregnancy a single breath after lamenting that June didn't choose to move into the house next door to him? What's he expecting to come from that?

The only thing I could make sense of before is that Nick was conspiring to get Hannah out and needed June's agreement to New Bethlehem to stand as a distraction for another plan. And now, in season 6, I'm wondering if he wanted her there in the same way that Rita is now, reuniting with her sister, with the promise of that leading to them getting out together in a year or two. It's all a bit naive, because New Bethlehem is a smoke screen that only Lawrence and Nick actually somehow believe in. But I could accept this explanation if the show gave it to us.

But I guess my point is, Nick is fully twisted up in Gilead - in legal, emotional, and obligatory ways. So it’s very complicated.

June is cheating

June thought Luke was dead, started sleeping with Nick, found out Luke was alive, continued the relationship with Nick, assumed she would probably die in Gilead. I’m not saying that’s the reason she kept seeing Nick - I think she would have anyway, because she was already falling in love with him - but it just adds an extra layer to everything. She desperately wants her old life back and to be free, but another part of her must know that’s a long shot.

Then June sends Holly to Canada and tells Luke at her first opportunity that she’s in love with Nick. As soon as she arrives in Canada in season 4, Luke starts acting like June's his uncomplicated wife again and never asks her about Nick until he tries to use Nick to get info on Hannah. June could have spoken up about Nick, yes, but she’s the one coping with her trauma while Luke knows there’s at the very least a complicated emotional connection between June and Nick. So no one is blissfully ignorant, even if they try to act like they are.

I would almost say June sleeping with Luke in Canada after leaving Gilead is more like cheating on Nick. I don’t think any of them see it that way, because Nick has always been fully aware of Luke, and I’m sure he assumed that they (June and Luke) would be together again when/if June escaped from Gilead. And Nick aids in her escape attempts, knowing he’s sending her to another man. I guess he didn't definitively know that Luke waited for June, but I think that’s been his assumption, probably because Nick would have done the same thing in a free world.

Staying with Luke for as long as June has after arriving in Canada is sometimes kinda hard to swallow. But she does still love him, even if she's just now coping with the fact that it's shifted to a different kind of love and no longer a romantic attachment, something she's having to remove the guilt noose about too so she can honestly express this to Luke.

June sways under pressure and guilt, and Luke is frozen in her past, the past she thought she wanted back. So when she's plunged back into that past, it makes sense to me that she would let the current take her for a while. I hope we're nearing the end of that now, and then it will be a lot less complicated.

Nick is cheating

We find out right away in season 5, in the scene where we actually meet Rose, that Nick has told her at least some information about June. I thought this was a bit weird and risky at first, but I think he just wanted to have a sliver of honesty between himself and the person he was probably going to have to spend the rest of his Gilead life with.

Even if Nick sought Rose out as potential Gilead wife material - which seems accurate based on some comments later about how they met in DC - he did so under abstract threat at the very least, because an unmarried, fertile man in Gilead is not only suspicious but pitched as borderline illegal after a certain point. Nick can go ahead and choose someone he can tolerate now, or he can risk being forced into another marriage with a child, or with someone scheming to make a claim for Holly, or with someone who hates him.

But choosing a better option before a worse one is forced on you isn't actually a choice, so this can't even be compared to June, a real relationship, or actual love, in my opinion. He didn't Eternal Sunshine himself to forget June exists, so he's gonna be emotionally cheating on absolutely anyone else for the rest of his life anyway.

So this one is actually the least complicated on the list to me, because Nick's relationship with June pre-dates Rose (not that this ever excuses cheating), he told Rose about June, and to be honest, I think you could even say Nick is cheating on June with Rose if you wanted to stretch the meaning of that further. I don't actually think June sees it that way, both because she's currently back with Luke anyway and because she knows how Gilead works. But I just think it could be viewed that way nearly as easily as "June is cheating on Nick" by being in Canada with Luke.

June should have chosen Nick

How? The options I see are she asks him to leave or she moves to New Bethlehem and risks being taken back into Gilead, executed, or made a Handmaid again. She could have chosen him in a more abstract sense by telling him she’s leaving Luke, but that’s the journey that’s still in progress, in my opinion.

And she also didn’t know until 6x03 that Nick is literally still in love with her to the degree that it’s ruining his life (arguably not ruining anything since his daily life is currently a masquerade and his love for her is his oxygen). She absolutely knew he still loved her and would do anything for her, but I think 6x03 is where she finally sees the depth of how much this is weighing on him and that he still wants to be chosen. I totally think she could and should have guessed this, but season 5 fucked with all of our heads, including June’s, on what Nick was up to or what he actually wanted.

And to be totally honest, I think if we’re saying that June should have chosen Nick - in whatever way that could have been possible - we kinda also have to say that Nick should have chosen June… by leaving Gilead, by not marrying again and starting a new family in a matter of months (a necessity if he's not leaving Gilead, so I do get it based on the long rant I did about that topic above), even at the risk of June not actually leaving Luke... because June would be doing the same thing in choosing Nick, at the risk of him not actually leaving Rose.

The last time June even vaguely attempted to get Nick to come to Canada was the same scene where he told June that Rose was pregnant. So, it makes sense that June would think he’s committed to this new family. Even in 6x03, before he starts slicing open his heart and telling her how he really feels, she’s sadly saying that he has a whole life and a baby on the way. So that’s all very complicated too.

I honestly think one more really raw conversation between Nick and June before season 6 is done could clear up like 90% of all of the above, and then they could really figure out how to be together. And I would give up all my dreams of ever seeing another sex scene between them just to get that conversation.

[crowlhoard]

So, about everything that is wrong with Veilguard have already been expressed, but I have one more issue I have barely seen mentioned anywhere, and my annoyance with it is buzzing in my skull like an angry hornet's nest, so I want to let it out.

The issue's name is Assan. And I loath him.

Specifically, I can't stand his archetype of a cute mascot, replacing an animal companion. I'm used to this archetype oversaturating kids cartoons, but I definitely didn't expect Dragon Age of all things to fall victim to it.

First - a mini tangent about dragons. Some posts here already mentioned how DAV dropped out a chunk of dragon lore, equating them to simple animals (although the change started already in DAI), instead of "The blood of the dragons is the blood of the world". Dragons, massive superpredators, living in a world with no comparable size of prey animal (maybe elephants or whales, at best), somehow find enough prey to diverge into whole different species with specific adaptations to certain habitats, kind of locking them in their territories. Unlike a more reasonable DAO approach, where there was one species of dragons, periodically going onto massive hunts, devouring whole regions to feed their brood and being comparable to a natural disaster. Which made their rarity also very reasonable, given the absolute swaths of territories they would need to sustain themselves. DAV did make an attempt at thinking environmentally about such creatures by mentioning that one beach dragon species that eats marine life.

Now - back to griffons. That one dragon is where environmental thinking ends. Griffons, supposed half-lions, half-eagles. The mixture of two HYPERCARNIVORES that somehow created a facultative omnivore, like a dog. That needs carrots and truffles in their diet. When the majority of their fiber and vitamins needs should be covered by stomach contents of their prey. Like, say... I dunno.... nugs? But Maker forbid some kid sees an animal eating another animal.

The species, with such an obvious hybrid look, but conveniently NOT created by the evil Elven Goddess, that is known for creating the whole new species for her people. Mother of the Halla and all that. They also conveniently hate everything Blight related, behave like an absolutely domesticated animal and not a tamed one, so they have no hunting behaviors and just wanna feed sick animals and protect the forest! While acting like a cutesy pug!

Mabari in the first and second game were fascinating. A breed, magically created to potentially have a human comparable intelligence, and an ability to pass their own judgment to pick a side. We are informed straight away that they are allies, companions, not some lap-warming pets.

While mounts in Inquisition are props, their codex descriptions are still fascinating. Proud Hallas, having little tolerance for stupid riders. Vicious dracolisks, ready to snap away your extremities at the slightest show of weakness.

But griffons? Nah. It's a baby to the single dad Davrin and a convenient pet to snuggle with. Not a look at an ancient species of valiant flying hunters, ferocious enough to challenge an Archdemon with their riders. Not a mysterious species, with their own unique behaviors and adaptations and abilities.

Assan is a Disney cartoon mascot and nothing more.

P.S. The commentors from the community in which this was posted first, brought up another important detail to my attention: those griffons are 10 years old! For them to be this small, they'd have to be a second generation. And Wardens are keeping them in cages for some reason? I guess it's for easier kidnapping... This game seems to intensely hate the Wardens.