#they both clearly love each other so much wtf do you mean ones better than the other

[thebigqueer]

i agree that s2 was not written as well as s1 and arcane has its flaws however some people will just say anything.

[helenofjupiter]

assigning taylor swift songs to bridgerton couples (part 1)

with explanations that no one asked for (proceed with caution)

part 2 for e, f, g and h

so i’ve been going kinda crazy about bridgerton the past few weeks, i read (and reread) all eight books and at some point while reading i couldn't stop trying to find taylor songs in my mind which would fit each couple. so i chose two songs for every pair, some of these have actual thought behind them, others are mostly based on vibes. i hope you enjoy this unhinged tangent <3

anthony & kate - i was actually reading gregory’s book when this completely genius thought hit me - treacherous IS the kanthony song. i mean it starts with “put your lips close to mine as long as they don’t touch”. insert a picture of any one of the hundred times they almost kissed in the show. even the build up of the song reminds me so much of the slow burn we had in the series. also lyrics like “i hear the sound of my own voice asking you to stay” (anthony being “what?? no!!! you can’t go back to india. wtf do you mean you’re not staying once edwina marries???”),  “and all we are is skin and bone trained to get along forever going with the flow but you're friction” through the lens of kanthony i see this line as them just constantly aggravating each other.

the second song for them is dancing with our hands tied. i hadn’t thought about this song in a criminally long time. oh boy. (i also just now realised how long this post is gonna be) “i, i loved you in secret, first sight, yeah we love without reason” i’m sorry but these dumb bitches were in love since that first fateful early morning horse ride you can’t convince me otherwise. “people started talking, putting us through our paces // but we were dancing, dancing with our hands tied, hands tied” this screams when they got caught and were forced to marry in the book. their hands were tied - they had no other choice but to marry but they were dancing because they actually did love each other (awww). other than that there are two lines that sort of go hand in hand - “i loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us” and “i'm a mess, but i'm the mess that you wanted” in my head this is from anthony’s perspective. him dealing with his fear of morality and losing kate and while kate does have the eldest daughter syndrome, anthony is the bigger mess of a person in the relationship.

benedict & sophie - enchanted is a no brainer, it needs no explanation. now for their second song i picked the lakes. this resides in the vibes category. listening to this i can’t help but imagine benophie living an artsy quiet life in my cottage. i’m actually interested to see how their living situation will play out in the show because i feel in the books benedict wasn’t as involved in the ton. i guess it’s just a bit hard for me to envision show!ben being so chill about moving to some place in the middle of nowhere. 

colin & penelope - of course, dress. i listened to this on repeat while reading the whole book in one sitting. honestly a marvellous experience, can’t recommend enough . for the second song i had to go looking, had to travel far like colin one might say. and once i arrived in the long forgotten country of taylor’s debut album i found a piece of music so clearly polin coded that it’s baffling this fandom isn’t talking about it. the song in question is�� i’m only me when i’m with you. it feels silly to explain this one because being from taylor’s early career the lyrics aren’t terribly clever so let’s focus on the chorus. “i'm only up when you're not down, don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground” some people want colin to be just ken in the show but i actually really liked how they both have a career in writing at the end of the book (penelope better had published the book she started writing). “the other half i'm only trying to let you know that what i feel is true and i'm only me when i'm with you” you can’t tell me this isn’t colin telling penelope she is beautiful over and over again and how much he loves him because he was a fool not to realise it sooner. while in the book penelope feeling like she is truly confident and herself around colin, i think in the show this line works from colin’s side just as well. 

daphne & simon - while most of the fandom has crowned wildest dreams as the saphne anthem (taylor’s version), i just couldn’t get behind it. yes, they used the song in their season but in my mind it just does not embody their relationship. firstly, the great war, i mean the first line “my knuckles were bruised like violets”. simon… boxing… you see the connection, right? okay, i promise it gets (even) better. “and maybe it's the past that's talking, screaming from the crypt. telling me to punish you for things you never did” in case of simon, he was hanging on to his hate towards his father and refusing to have kids with daphne, punishing her while it wasn’t her fault what had happened to him as a child. “somewhere in the haze, got a sense i’d been betrayed” i hate this part of their stroy (i do not condone daphne’s actions) yet i can so clearly picture simon still partly on his high of pleasure but starting to realise what daphne had done to him. i think i like this as their song because well they both were all kinds of wrong in this situation and at the end of the song it’s acknowledged “there's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair” and still it has a happy ending just like saphne. their second song was hard to find and i’m not a hundred percent sure about it but a present to you so it goes…  “all eyes on us, you make everyone disappear” - season 1, episode 1 “stare into my eyes”. i felt i needed to give them a sexy song and i do feel like it matches their sexual tension but this one is definitely up for debate.

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

for the characters ask - what about eowyn? :)

oooooh, yessss I love me Eowyn-Dernhelm

First impression

You know, I initially didn't like her. At least in the movies. She came off a little too much of "I'm not like other girls~~~" for my tastes.

In the books, though, I always loved her because she was a stone cold bitch for 90% of the time until her personality transplant at the end.

Impression now

I still prefer book Eowyn to movie Eowyn (I personally find move Eowyn too 2D for my tastes).

I like book Eowyn for her flintiness. Strike her at the right (wrong?) angle and you'll start a forest fire. She would walk on you in a sexy way but it would also absolutely hurt. And that would be the point.

I also like book Eowyn's selfishness that runs equal to her brazenness, her fearlessness, her rage, her love. She's just as impulsive as her brother, it's simply masked more. I also really love her as a foil/mirroring to Grima - especially the mutual selfish Oath Breaking aspects of their characters. She's also just as likely to burn the world down, if for radically different reasons and done through a radically different way. I think that's a very nice, subtle touch on Tolkien's part.

The ambiguity of her gender subversion is also fun. It doesn't feel like the "~~I want to be a knight UWU I'm not like other girls UWU~~~" that a lot of characters can fall into who follow the same trope line as Eowyn. I'm so glad she escapes that and it feels more nuanced and complex.

I just love, love, love Book Eowyn's anger and recklessness and yeah. All her faults. She, like her uncle, is deeply human in a way that I appreciate.

Favorite moment

In the books - absolutely her argument/heated discussion with Aragorn before he leaves for the Paths of the Dead. Where she says that line about how when the men have died in battle and honour, women have leave to be burned in the houses the men left behind. And also that if someone tells her do her duty one more time she's going to shank a bitch (perhaps not exactly what she said, but the essence is there).

I also love the scene in the books when Theoden is like "but who will take care of Edoras while we're at Helm's Deep? My son is dead and Eomer won't listen to me if I told him to stay put. No one is left" and Hama is like, "???? Eowyn???? wtf how are you overlooking her???" And then she takes her vow/oath to stay and defend Edoras and she gets the great like about how there will be a Return of the King (to Edoras, she just means her uncle).

In the movies - I'm not sure. I suppose the scene with Grima at Theodred's deathbed is an interesting one.

Idea for a story

Same one as I did for Boromir: What if Boromir lives and Eowyn gets to shack up with him and Aragorn as the ultimate power couple? Let the woman be queen of Gondor!!

Unpopular opinion

I think movie Eowyn is a bit boring/too sad/needs way more rage in her. Be uglier! Be more insane! You're from the House of Eorl - no one in that family is normal!

In both book and movies, I don't think her relationship with Faramir is earned. And I know it's because Tolkien initially intended her for Aragorn then made a last minute change-up so there's really no building up of why they're good for each other and how it is she could possibly be happy settling for something we have been told over the course of last two books isn't what she wants.

Yeah, yeah, "she healed" or whatever and found a happier way to be after the war but it just reads as weak. Like, to me it just seems clearly shoehorned in as Tolkien absolutely pulled his punch so far as Eowyn's ending is concerned. He could have done better.

(Honestly, Aragorn has always made waaaay more sense as a partner for Eowyn than Faramir. It was such a let down to me as a kid watching the movies that they didn't end up together. I was like "whatever, Arwen has 2 minutes of screen time. Don't care. Let Aragorn get with this woman who sword fights and makes him laugh.")

I suspect my other unpopular opinion is that I don't think she and Eomer were ever very close. They do not give off vibes of siblings who confide in one another. It's clearly the sort of relationship where Eowyn is like "yeah that's my brother...I know absolutely nothing about him and vice versa. Despite his absence from my life he is still somehow overbearing and over-protective."

I mean we get that scene in the books where Eomer basically admits he doesn't know his sister at all and was always too busy to make time for her (and he regrets this).

But I know fandom likes to write them as besties.

Favorite relationship

Theoden, of course! I love her relationship with her uncle who is her veritable dad. I think it's so sweet and probably one of the most important relationships in her life. I can't imagine what she felt when he died in front of her. Like, the heart shattering and the anger and the grief and so on. It must have been a red-hot knife to the chest.

I also like her and Aragorn in the book. They have great conversations and clearly are able to push against one another yet still clearly respect and care for each other.

Favorite headcanon

(Power couple with Boromir and Aragorn)

She cut her hair when she became Dernhelm. None of this flowing locks down to her ass somehow hidden under her helmet. Do you know how much hair she would have? Absolutely not. She chopped that shit off Mulan-style. It was somewhere between chin and shoulders in the style of Rohirrim men.

----

Thank you so much for the ask! :D :D

[chocobothis]

Solus and Anakin for the alt ship ask! I'm curious about this level of fuckery.

WELCOME TO WHY OBI-WAN KENOBI DRINKS HARDER THAN EVER!!!

To start with they are absolutely a relationship capable of just happening in the Temple. Solus spends enough time in Just Enough Trouble that she gets various details as "punishment". Anakin is not at all any better. He may be worse because he's a self-admitted slow-learner and isn't exactly subtle. They've 100% had punishments together either working the radio transmissions or patrolling Coruscant.

She would help him cheat on his Padawan Homework. Absolutely no two ways about it because a.) She doesn't much care to be here and b.) It's not like she's not already ass deep in these history tomes anyway.

They have a general interest in flying and ships too. Also sparring because it's fun to tumble around against each other with various weapons.

Baby!Solus and Baby!Ani got to the Temple around the same-ish time. She went into Katarn Clan but he was taken as a padawan as Qui-Gon choose to exit the mortal coil. I refuse to believe Huttese isn't his first language and Basic came secondary. Meanwhile, Solus Ve'tra (now Solly Vetra) spoke almost exclusively Mando'a for the first five years of her life. So there's some Solidarity in that and both being Outer Rim Brats.

Solus discovering part of the Geonosis Buffoonery she's arriving for is because Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan checks out. This is now A Later Problem because hey there's Manda'lor Jango Fett (Coward and Traitor) and now there's his head on the ground. Anakin can take care of Anakin. She's got other shit to take care of.

Anakin has Interesting political views and well Solus thinks Death Watch is making sense so that's sure going to feed into each other. She's just far more Subtle in her approach because she's Total Politician. It also means she's Less Thrilled about Palpatine because Anakin talks about this like it's Totally Normal and she's just making WTF Faces. Also possibly debating if she could get away with this. Her ancestors stormed Coruscant and raided the Jedi Temple she can totally kill one dude anonymously.

You know what Family and Attachment Thing that Anakin has trouble with? Yeah, that's an Encouraged Mandalorian Trait so she's just out here like, "You know...we could just ditch the Temple and the Order and go live in the Mandalorian Sector? I'm technically a Countess on Krownest and it's all snow, no sand." Which would honestly do this child some good because play to your strengths. Also his engineering, flying, and fighting spirit are very appreciated and she absolutely brags about it. She wants him to feel good about himself.

"The Jedi aren't here to free slaves?"

Buddy you phrase it right and there's absolutely some Mandalorians itching for a fight and to tell the Jedi Order to go fuck itself. Look they just did it better. It's not at all something his tinier politician partner knows how to do. She's not good at rallying people at all. It's not like she's a born leader and trained at her grandfather, a man who served several Manda'lore as advisors, knee.

(Jai would vastly prefer Anakin to Pre. There's no question there.)

They're also kind of lean into each other's types. Anakin seems to enjoy shorter, cultured women who are excellent fighters and politicians. Solus, in her men, prefers Dumbass Blond in Armor (There's clearly other traits but like that will get her attention fast.) TCW!Anakin is hitting those requirements.

This is random but they both sky themes to their names. The tra in Ve'tra is straight up "star field".

Send me an OC + an alternate love interest for them and I’ll tell you what I think of the idea

[wack-ashimself]

The new 'Mr and Mrs Smith' just wasn't worth it...

Before I begin, I do want to say this is more a romantic comedy with action than a comedic action romance.

I say that because DEAR GOD DIALOGUE.

And only 1/2 of it's good.

Pros: This was CLEARLY expensive to make. They go all around the world and rent the most expensive places you could imagine. Ever watch something that makes you go 'I'm so poor, I didn't know that existed for rich people?' You will watching this. lol

You feel, tho rushed, being the circumstances, that their relationship naturally forms and they have some deep conversations that even married couples of decades don't have.

Most of the action was solid...not believable, but solid.

Cons: This was expensive to make. That's why it looks pretty, but you don't really give a fuck where they are. Because it seems a good chunk of the action was more where it took place than what occurred. I mean I love a good shootout as much as the next, but basically NEVER taking a SINGLE bullet from trained killer spies? BULL.

It was dragged out. OMFG. They love each other, hate each other, it was a roller coaster, but not worth the 8 episode wait line. By the end, you just didn't believe their connection anymore. On either side. Both...seemed too untrusting to make something work, IMO.

I mean, they took the original movie, SLIGHTLY changed the premise, stretched it the fuck out...but then the exact same scenes, some even dialogue, was repeated straight from the original movie. WTF. I didn't want just a LONGER version of a much better brad pitt flick.

Just...you could watch this and, like me, think FROM THE BEGINNING the organization they worked for were trying to kill them. Or them each other. But they kept going back to them. WHY? And when they first break up, it's kinda 'you've been talking thru all your problems, and NOW you want to quit?'

It was just all over the place. Then they introduce the main baddy, last episode, saying he is an all knowing god, then go 'see ya next season if you want answers.' See, in the original movie, that made sense. It wasn't who they were or what they wanted; you just know they couldn't have those spies surviving. This they just put click bait at the end of the season so you'll be pushed to ask for season 2 (please don't. Not a single fucking answer they could give would make another 8 fucking episodes of this worth it).

The leads are both great just...weak plot points, dialogue, and shit you could see coming from a mile away. This added nothing original or worthwhile to the mix. It's kinda like when they did those all black whoppers at burger king. Yeah, that's kinda cool, but mostly useless.

Mr. And Mrs. Smith, the long ass fucking movie: 6/10.

ps-best part? NOPE. Cuz I barely laughed and wasn't impressed with most of the series. So worst part. The last episode did what ALL the others were trying to do: milk nostalgia off the original movie. So after John and Jane's big confrontation, house a wreck, they know that they weren't trying to kill each other (finally. Even tho he swore earlier in the series he would NEVER kill her), so they know their employer is just trying to kill them...

In walks alpha John and Jane (another older team). And instead of regrouping and going 'why the fuck are they here?', I swear to fucking god, just because they were running out of time film wise, they stand up and greet them. THEY ADMITTED TO KILLING OTHER TEAMS BEFORE, they show up after they assume 1 or both of you are dead, and you say 'HELLO'!? GOD DAMN IT. And to know Glover helped produced this show makes it SO much worse being Atlanta was one of the best shows EVER MADE. I ain't saying this is the worst thing he's ever done, but def in the top 10, easy.

[dmclemblems]

You know, something that really annoys me is when people say Shinon “betrays” the main group in PoR. That’s not what happened at all. He left because of circumstances involving Greil and Ike and is a mercenary. He gets hired by the commission and fights for pay. Daein was his best shot at getting good pay, and like Sothe also said to Ike, you could rise up in the ranks if you were good enough.

Crimea was the losing the war until Elincia got help from Sanaki. Begnion in general Shinon states to Oscar in their chapter 18 conversation that he would never rise above a middling commission because he was a commoner. His other options were a bunch of racist, beorc hating nations, and he at that time wouldn’t have wanted to work for them either (contrast to RD where Ike tells Ranulf "everyone” in the GMs told him they would rather be there in the Laguz Alliance army).

Daein was just his best shot at good pay. He didn’t do it out of spite for his at the time former comrades. If he did, he would have shot at them without conversing. He wouldn’t have literally given them all the chance to back down from fighting him before he took any shots.

Also the whole “Shinon is racist!” argument falls short of the fact that literally a good chunk of characters were racist in PoR. Soren, Jill, Tibarn, Janaff, Ulki, Naesala, Reyson, Lethe, then there’s entirety of Begnion with very few exceptions as well as Daein with the same problem. And let’s not forget that in RD, Soren is still pretty lowkey distasteful of laguz, even if he’s stated to have gotten better about it (Shinon falling under the same circumstance or god help us he would have left the group again when they got hired by Ranulf). Rafiel also explicitly states he “has doubts” that Elincia is as much of a good beorc as he’s hearing - especially regarding laguz/beorc relations.

Shinon also didn’t have to come back to the GMs at all just because Ike defeated him. He could’ve just said yeah sure great you beat me but I’m still not joining your army full of these beasts bc lol no that’s nasty. He didn’t. He accepted his loss and that Ike could be a commander he worked under, whether it meant fighting alongside laguz or not. People base Shinon entirely around racism and “he’s a jerk” (see: Soren is worse and I love him too), but then they totally ignore everything else and pretend that’s all his character is. Somehow, Rolf learned how to fight...

Funny how everyone loves Soren and hates Shinon even though they’re really not all that different lmao. Shinon just doesn’t like Ike. Other than that they have very similar pessimist attitudes and were both pretty damn racist in PoR (particularly the first half because Shinon gets better in the second half if he’s gotten his A support with Janaff).

Literally like racism is one of the main themes in Tellius and for some reason Shinon ends up taking the worst hit by the fandom for it even though far more major characters were racist too, and some of them didn’t fully overcome it by the end of PoR. And let’s be honest, Tibarn and Reyson were two of the biggest racists in the game. It doesn’t mean they didn’t get better and it doesn’t mean Shinon didn’t get better. He got a lot better - it’s just that people choose to ignore that because they decided they already didn’t like him. Compared to people like Tibarn and co, Shinon’s been implied to have a much worse life. “Reyson was sold by Naesala!” Tibarn wasn’t. Janaff wasn’t. Ulki wasn’t. They were raging and howling about their human hate. Lethe even gave Ike a hard time for quite a while despite him clearly not being racist. On top of it all, Reyson hated humans and blew up about it... even though he was sold by a laguz.

Also, Sephiran? He’ll sit there bitching about racism and shit when you can have an army in frontof him full of a mix of beorc, laguz and Branded. And you can have more than one or two of all of them. Ffs they even had the dragon tribe on their side. ...and somehow Shinon is the worst? Sephiran was ready to help Ashera destroy all beorc and laguz and Branded even though the proof of change was literally right in front of his face.

Let’s not get me started about Naesala and the fact that he’s like still totally racist by the end of PoR and totally not racist anymore and using the term beorc by/before the end of RD because I will defend him too lmao.

I was considering just writing a large post about Shinon like an analysis but I also decided this part of things just needed to finally come out lmao. I love his character and the fact that he’s not perfect and has flaws that he tries to overcome and doesn’t quite completely. I love the fact that he’s a good person with awful flaws that weren’t issues he was confronted with before so it’s hard to overcome them because he’s fucking 27 at the beginning of PoR and long set in his ways. ...yet by the end of RD, he’ll use the word laguz if you A support him with laguz that he gets personalized conversations with (ex. Tibarn and Caineghis).

tl;dr the argument that Shinon is racist and so xyz person hates him is an invalid argument unless, A: you’re going to both hate every single other racist character including strongly Soren (Branded excuse invalid because Stefan is nothing like him and also willingly joins a mostly beorc army and loves laguz), and B: you acknowledge he’s gotten better in his supports with Janaff in PoR and is much better by the end of RD.

And let’s not get me started on the fact that in RD Janaff i.e. a laguz is Shinon’s only optional support bond in RD lmfao (Gatrie and Rolf are built in support bonds and therefore not optional whether you’ve supported them or not in PoR).

[launching-a-thousand-ships]

Kurt Glee Rewatch: Home

Burt and Carol are such a wholesome couple. Prob the healthiest on the show lol.

These two are iconic. I also love how Kurt adds the armband bc even in a uniform, he needs to personalize it somehow.

He’s so supportive of Mercedes here... sadly not as much rest of the ep.

But also his expression at being told he has hips like a pear... awe. He’s so tiny though.

Cowboy wallpaper... *Kurt shudders*

Also, seems like ages since the Finn crush was a plot. And wow, Kurt going strong. 

Can I just say how happy I am they’ve started styling his hair? The bangs were cute, but like. This looks much better.

And yikes, Kurt... Mercedes is doing the right thing here, she’s having a very healthy lunch! And Kurt took the criticism so seriously like omg can he please eat real food. I get that he’s happy to not be bullied for once but like. Babe pls.

All Kurtcedes fights are in the cafeteria, apparently.

“Act as translator” Kurt, I thought you were doing well in your classes.

I love how protective he is of Burt. He really stepped into the caretaker role and even when their relationship was more strained, they both love each other and protect each other and I love it.

“Fate brought them together” gee Kurt, when did you change your name. I find it hilarious that this was all his scheme but it resulted in Burt and Carol being so besotted with each other. Who knew they could bond beyond just having dead spouses?

I am curious wtf Kurt’s plan was here. Like, did he think he’d get to spend more time with Finn but then Burt and Carol would break up? Was he hoping they’d get married?? This is such dumb teen boy logic. And I’m really not having the whole ‘predatory gay’ stereotype bc we don’t need to see that

He is very intense here. Like Kurt. Finn is clearly not comfortable here. and omg when he refers to Burt and Carol as ‘Mom and Dad’ like sweetie. No.

Again, Kurt is way too much here but omg the way he looks at Finn and then Puck mouths ‘Are you gay’ and I can’t stop laughing. 

But I do like how he sings the song, much smoother than Defying Gravity. ANd Mercedes is smiling at him and Brittana cuddle bc they like the song too, v sweet.

Not my fav Kurt song? But it’s nice. And I do like Kurt’s singing better than Finn’s. I find in general Finn does well at the upbeat/rock songs, but not a fan of the more ballad style.

Kurt’s crying at the end, he’s legit so in love. It’s also probably hard that he has just... no one to really talk to about it? We never see him discuss it with anyone. His dad is not ready for that kind of talk. And with the girls him being gay is fun for them bc he can talk about fashion etc, but lowkey him being gay is rarely about him liking boys? I mean, everyone knew bc of his clothes etc, he has never shown interest in an actual boy before. Him having feelings might break the illusion of the girls seeing him more as an accessory. 

I do wish he could talk about it with Mercedes though. She’d be a good voice of reason, and him having some sort of outlet could be helpful so he might be less intense around Finn.

I do appreciate that as soon as Finn is a threat to his dad, crush is on the backburner bc *Danger Danger Danger*

And you know it’s not intended as an insult, but how Burt brushes Kurt off and is so excited to talk sports. And you can see it on Carol’s face, that she spots it too and has sympathy for Kurt, while also happy for finn to have a fatherly presence. Ugh, this whole family dynamic, all 4 of them, best writing in the show.

Every Kurt and Burt scene is just a masterpiece. Kurt being passive aggressive, but Burt will call him out, try to talk it out.

And I love how you can see here that Burt is still in his beginning phases. ugh when he says “guy talk” and Kurt is just “I’m a guy” my heartt. Bc he is a guy but he’s a different type of guy and bc of that everyone treats him differently and just.

Burt is trying so hard, but he still makes these mistakes. And even though he accepts his son, he still has that ‘let’s just each do our own thing’ mentality.

But I am glad he does call Kurt out, asks why he fixed him out with Carol. Bc Kurt was being selfish about it, setting them up to get close to Finn, and now backtracking bc he feels like he’s losing his dad.

Bc his dad always comes first and just. Kurt s1 is so flawed bc he’s such an angsty/dumb teen and it makes him such a real character and fascinating to watch. Plus, his heart stays int he right place

Crush aside, s1 had some of the best Finn and Kurt interactions. I love how Finn knew right away that Kurt was hurt by Finn bonding with Burt. And Kurt isn’t even offended here by Finn not wanting to live with him bc right now his dad is his priority.

I’m so glad the whole ‘let’s break up our parents’ didn’t turn into a drawn out scheme. They quickly see how happy their parents are and accept that they’re together.

Bc different eps focus on different characters, I like how a lot of plots are wrapped up within the ep. The show has character arcs etc throughout, but I find I’m not a fan of certain plotlines going on for way too long. Like the fake baby, or Puck being the father, ugh or the student election. Those all had me like ‘just get on with it’ whereas character arcs, like kurt and his dad, the mercedes/troubletones, etc are much more interesting.

Aww I love them. And Kurt immediately says “I was wrong” and owns up to his mistake, yay.

So glad Mercedes got another song, but oof I want more of both of them performing with the cheerios! Only a few eps left of them on the team... And!! Apparently they cut a song from the ep?? Kurtcedes and the Cheerios were supposed to do Fergalicious (there are some pics of behind the scenes) and the fact that we missed out on that actively angers me.

K but first off, they’re at Finn’s house? Why was Kurt there? Was he visiting Carol? Did he just walk by?? I need answers bc it’s lowkey creepy lol

At least Finn has learned how Burt is legit the best dad and is happy to hang with him. And it’s well done, how Finn’s part is pretty wrapped up, but there’s still Kurt on the outside, bc it’s not all perfect yet.

I’ll say it every time. The best Glee writing went to this family dynamic. Mainly Burt and Kurt, but really the 4 of them together. I love it.

[m1kedefendr]

okay since we’re all still waiting imma give you some of my thoughts on Mike this season.

That boy is TERRIFIED. Look at how he looks after El says she loves him and kisses him in s3. look at his entire face that whole scene. look AT THE BACKGROUND. THE CLOSETS.

something clicked in him that day. Then look at him in s4, the first look we see is a COMPLETELY different Mike. He’s dressed in darker clothes, his hair is longer and less kept. He’s in a d&d club that is led by the schools biggest known “freak” that was held back and has NO SHAME in standing up against the popular kids. Mike looks at Eddie with complete adoration. Mike IDOLIZES Eddie.

Flash forward to California, now wtf is he wearing? That isn’t the new Mike we saw, and it isn’t even the old Mike 💀 Mike is trying to look “normal” in order to impress his girlfriend (like he has been since s3)

Mike can’t even hug Will. This is important later.

The roller rink. Oh the FUCKING Roller Rink. God how i love the Roller Rink. Mike is shooting looks at Will a lot during the entire time they’re there, and after the first half of what happened with angela and el goes down they start to argue. Will felt like a third wheel, but was he?

Mike seems to be able to tell Will about every single facial expression he had, how much he rolled his eyes, how much attitude he was giving. Mike couldn’t pick up that his girlfriend was lying to him the whole time, even though she was clearly acting weird and Will wasn’t being shy about trying to call her out, but he notices everything about Wills mood? hmm.

Mike then goes on to tell Will that WILL RUINED THE DAY! After his girlfriend just got humiliated in front of EVERYBODY. She is literally crying in an employee room and what is Mike doing instead of looking for her? Telling Will how much he paid attention to him and how Will ruined his day. He is arguing with his best friend instead of finding his girlfriend.

Will, being the boy who accepted his best friend probably won’t love him back, asks “what about us?” in probably the most platonic way. Mike? Mike shoots back “we’re friends. WE’RE FRIENDS.” Who said you weren’t Mike? Who implied anything different. “We used to be best friends” seems to stop Mike in his tracks, his only response being “well maybe you should’ve reached out more, why am i the bad guy?”

flash forward to El and Mike arguing about him loving her. The girl is sobbing, she is begging this man to say he loves her, but he doesn’t say it. He insists he loves her but refuses to utter the words out of his mouth. She is ruffling through letters, emphasizing the “FROM” on every one of them, and this man will not say he loves her. She tells him (a nearly direct parallel to Joyce talking to Lonnie in s1) not to look at her like she’s a monster. When she leaves, she leaves a note saying “Dear Mike, i’ve gone to become a superhero again. From, El.” FROM

Byler packing scene, dear god. The way they look at each other?? Anyways, notice how different Mike is in this conversation than when he was talking to El. Essentially in both situations they were talking about Mike’s behavior towards the person he is talking to, whether it was El or Will. So why was Mike so defensive and distant in his conversation with his girlfriend, yet so open and apologetic in his conversation with his best friend? because his best friend gets him. they get each other. they always have. it’s easy to talk to Will.

It’s so easy to talk to Will because Will loves Mike for who he is. Mike is constantly pretending to be someone he isn’t when he is with El. He’s trying to be what he THINKS a normal boyfriend is. El doesn’t know any better, i mean, this is the first relationship she’s ever had. But she’s starting to really pick up on the clues that Mike isn’t being honest.

Mike tells Will that hawkins isn’t the same without him. That everything feels weird because he’s not there. That he was worrying too much about El that he thought he LOST WILL. He was worrying too much about impressing his girlfriend and making her believe he’s someone he’s not that he lost himself, and in turn thinks he lost Will. Because Will loves Mike for WHO HE IS.

Speaking of, El was in hawkins for awhile. Why wasn’t it different with her gone? you could say that it’s because Mike and Will have been best friends since they were in first grade, i guess.

skip awhile, there’s not much i can think of in between then and the van scene at this moment, im going to have to rewatch s4.

The Van Scene. ugh, the thing i’ve been WAITING to read all day. Will had hope from that talk with Mike. Will brought the painting with him when they left the house because he knew he was going to give it to Mike.

Mike admits it himself, that he’s not acting like himself. He compares El to superman and himself to Lois Lane. He even says El might realize he’s “a nerd who got lucky”

Will knows what Mike needs to hear, but Will can’t possibly confuse Mike, and Will has accepted he probably won’t ever be with his best friend. So Will gives him the painting, lying about how El commissioned it (which cmon Mike, you know your gf doesn’t know shit about d&d). Will confesses about just how much he loves mike, how much he needs mike, and how he loves him for who he truly is all under the veil of El’s name. Will cries. Mike holds onto the painting for dear life.

The Surfer Boys place. fruit on pizza? that’s blasphemous. blasphemous.

I saw a lot of people point out how queer coded it was to say “fruit on pizza” but how about it being followed by “that’s blasphemous”

you can argue that he was using it for emphasis, but in a scene about trying something new with a phrase “try before you deny” attached so strongly to it, it seems like it makes the situation a whole lot more queer.

Piggybacking, El is mind fighting and she’s trapped. Mike is basically helpless. Will tells him to talk to her. To confess. To be the heart. Mike pretty much takes Wills speech and tells El what she thinks she wants to hear. but it’s super contradictory. “i love you with or without your powers” you compared her to Superman, my guy. not to mention he then encourages her to fight and calls her a superhero again. He confesses that he loves her. He says his life started the day they found her in the woods.

Now with Max, and obviously previous seasons with other characters, we can tell the Duffer Brothers are super capable of putting cute and happy flashbacks or sad and scary flashbacks about characters/moments. Why did El only have one memory? Why was it when they found her in the woods? There’s more, i know there are. It could be Mike making up her nickname El. It could be Mike showing her how to use a La-Z-Boy, It could be Mike and her reuniting in s2, it could be mike and her at the snow ball, it could be mike and her at the beginning of s3. But no, there was nothing but the DAY they found her. She obviously knew his confession wasn’t truthful, and it didn’t even help her because nothing went right.

2 days later.. like seriously what was up with that?

This is where the nonexistent Byler hug comes in. Mike has NO problem hugging Lucas when they get to the hospital. He literally goes right in for it. You can argue it’s bc their friend nearly just died, she’s basically brain dead, but it’s still weird.

Will asks Mike if he and El had talked, and Mike said they hadn’t really. Right before this is a parallel to when El was mad at Mike in s3. She goes to her room and slams the door.

Mike and Will talk yet again, this time about Vecna and how now that Will is back in Hawkins he can still feel him. That he is hurt, but he’s alive. Mike just stares at him in complete concern. He is barely moving, barely blinking. He is solely focused on Will. The lighting in this scene is phenomenal as well, the way El walked out of the sun beams and Will sat in them. Mike is in the dark. The colors of the scene looking to be a warm tone.

Conclusion? Mike is in love with Will, and he realized it that day Will left to California. That’s why he rarely called, that’s why he didn’t want to hug him, that’s why he paid so much attention to him at the roller rink, that’s why he can talk to will so much easier. Mike cannot tell El he loves her because he doesn’t love her, and telling her that he does would be the biggest lie of all.

[adoringhaikyuu]

arguments

summary: what arguments (and the making up) are like with them.

characters: ushijima + tendou

warnings: mentions of smut for tendou’s

icons by @voleicons​

ushijima:

he doesn’t mean to get into an argument with you

he’s not always good at expressing how he feels, but he knows deep down that he cares about you more than anything and would never want to be the cause of your pain

let’s just say that you had procrastinated a lot more than you meant to and now you had an overwhelming amount of work left which had you stressed as hell

you’d be so frustrated with yourself, groaning as you worked on your assignments 

you’d be working since the morning and it was now a little after noon

you’d be complaining and you know that you put yourself in this position, but that doesn’t mean you’re gonna enjoy it

you’d let your head fall back and sigh loudly

“this is so stupid, i can’t do this––”

and ushijima ever the realist replies “sure you can, y/n just sit down and do it.”

and you just groan dramatically “but i caaan’t––i have like no time” essentially just throwing it out there even though you know you wasted your precious hours doing everything but your work when you could have over the week

and without meaning to piss you off at all, your boyfriend says “well we both know who’s fault that is, y/n.” 

and you just pause, “...”

he takes your silence as confusion so he decides to explain further, thinking he’s only helping

“if you hadn’t waited so long to start working, you wouldn’t be here struggling right now. and this could even affect your grade too since you have yourself limited time.”

with each word he adds, the more the weight of everything piles on top of you, making your shoulder sink

you can feel your eyes start to water from all the stress, and from his words––deep down you know he doesn’t mean any harm, but the way he’s speaking makes it sound like he’s not supportive of you or sympathetic at all

tears pool up in your eyes and you quickly get up, glaring at your boyfriend as best you can as you try to hold the tears in

“fuck you ushijima. you’re supposed to be my boyfriend, not my dad.”

you storm off to another room with your laptop and he sits there on the couch, blinking in confusion

he sits there in silence for a bit, trying to make sense of everything that just happened 

it’s only when he realizes that he’s had a fight with you and caused you to cry that it really hits him and his chest starts to hurt

ushijima felt bad. really bad. he gave you a few hours before going to find you, deciding it would be best to let you cool off since you probably didn’t want to face him right away and it would give you time to work uninterrupted. 

he got up from the couch when the sun started to set and made his way to the bedroom. he found you there on the bed, your laptop on your lap, a furrow between your brows as you typed away at your laptop. your eyes glanced over to him for a split second but you were quick to look away. you weren’t really mad at him, just a little annoyed, and the stress you were experiencing only added to that feeling.  

when you didn’t say anything, he slowly walked into the room and took a seat near the edge of the bed, in front of where you were sitting with your legs crossed, his hands in his lap. he waited silently until you pushed your laptop to the side, stretching to take a small break.

“i––i’m sorry for hurting you.” he looked up at you and sighed when you averted your eyes, biting your lip nervously. “i didn’t mean to make you upset. i really am sorry.” 

you could feel his eyes piercing you as he waited for you to say something. he was about to get up and leave you alone when you reached for his hand. he paused and sat back down, turning to you as you climbed into his lap. you buried your face in his sweatshirt and he was quick to let his arms go around your waist and hold you in place. 

“it’s okay.” you mumbled into his chest. “i’m sorry too. i didn’t mean what i said––i was just... stressed. and annoyed that you were right.”

he tightened his hold on you. “i didn’t mean what i said either.” 

you let out a light breath of laughter. “yes you did toshi. but it’s okay.”

he paused and looked up for a moment, in thought. “i may have meant what i said, but i did not mean it as an insult. i would never want to hurt you. or make you cry.” 

though he wasn’t showing much emotion, you could tell he was beating himself up about this in his head and pulled away to look at him and he almost didn’t want to let you. you looked into his eyes, a small smile on your face as your hands came up to hold his cheeks and he nuzzled into your touch. “i know toshi. i’m not mad, really. i forgive you.” you pressed a light kiss to his lips. “i love you.”

he softly squeezed your sides, relieved. “and i you.” 

tendou:

you and tendou would have a very playful relationship 

meaning you would tease each other a lot

and most of the time it was just harmless banter

“you’re just sad because i’m better than you, y/n. it’s okay i get it. i would be sad too.”

“oh shut up, my ass is fatter than yours so ha.” 

you honestly enjoyed spending time with him and teasing each other

some people thought it was a little weird that you would literally insult ?each other ? 

as you’re walking home from practice after you’ve waited up for tendou, ushijima turns to look at you guys when you start like verbally attacking each other, so confused

“are you guys fighting?” 

and you’d both turn to him, pausing your banter, looking at him like wtf??

and would simultaneously go “no? what makes you say that?”

and ushijima is so confused he just decides to ignore it and keep walking silently

but the banter was honestly how you showed your love for each other in your own weird way

if you bullied each other it meant you cared about each other

but one day you’d be in a pissy mood, stressed from work or whatever 

and you and tendou would be teasing each other, well really he was going in and really going for it

and you’d be giving him shorter responses than usual, trying to give him the hint that you weren’t in the mood 

but he wasn’t getting it

with each “insult” the more annoyed you could feel yourself getting, and you were frustrated that you were feeling this way because you knew this was his love language but you just couldn’t help yourself

as his smile widened you felt yourself get more and more upset

you’d be getting so upset, feeling your throat back up and your eyes get heavy with tears the more he went on

you’d be silent for a bit and he’d tease

“what, no comeback?” 

when you didn’t respond like you normally would he’d lean down to look at you, his wide and playful eyes looking into yours and he’d notice the your glassy eyes and he’d frown immediately

“what’s this? what’s wrong?” 

and you’d try to just walk past him but he’d be having none of that

his hands were quick to grab your waist and spin you back to him but you only sighed and kept your head down, trying to get out of his grasp. “let me go, tendou.” your voice was sharp but clearly pained and honestly shocked him.

“ah ah.” he held you still and bent his head down. “look at me baby girl. what’s wrong? did i go too far?” 

and you just let out a small sob at how sweet he was being. you crashed into his chest and he wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight as a few tears soaked his shirt. “i––” you sniffled. “it’s not you really. i just...” you pulled away and his hands came up to wipe your tears, making you smile. “i’m just stressed out and it’s getting to me, and your comments only put me in a bad mood. but it’s not your fault! i should have said something.”

he frowned, pulling you in for another hug. “you have nothing to apologize for, dumbass. i’m sorry for not paying closer attention to my princess.” 

he pulled away and leaned down to kiss you deeply and pulled away with a smirk. “i guess i’m just gonna have to be nicer to you now since you’re so sensitive, baby.”

you rolled your eyes, smacking his arm lightly. “shut up.”

“ooh feisty.” he pushed you down on the bed and hovered over you. “you know what it does to me when you fight back.” his lips grazed yours and you let out a small gasp feeling him grind his hips into you. of course your messed up boyfriend got turned on just after seeing you cry. 

he bit your lip softly. “you know,” he licked his lips, looking at you as if you were his last meal. “i think i know how i can help you relieve that stress baby.”

“oh yeah?” you asked softly only making him smirk.

“mhm.” he nodded, sliding down between your legs. he started to pull off your sweats. “why don’t we see if you’re just as sensitive down here too.”

you rolled your eyes, a smile on your lips. “fuck you tendou.”

his grin was sinister. “oh i plan to.” 

[homoose]

Weird is Good

Summary: A story about two people tryna make it through the age of COVID-19 in a country where people are fucking dumb lmao. My hc is that Spencer would be like wtf at all these science-denying anti-maskers. Also, two teachers just tryna make it through quarantine and remote teaching in a one bedroom apartment (this is taking place during a mandatory leave/lecture cycle).

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Category: fluff

Warnings/Includes: no warnings. reader is both a kindergarten teacher and a bruh girl with a pirate’s mouth. lots of Spencer x factz.

Word count: 3.1k

———

“We’re home for the next two weeks. ”

Spencer looked up from his desk to see Y/N kicking off her shoes, dropping her bag, and walking directly to the sink. “Starting when?”

“We get to go in on Monday to say goodbye to the kids and get any materials we might need. Then we’re home for two weeks. They’re calling it an early, extended spring break.” Y/N began her hand washing routine. As a kindergarten teacher, she’d always been a strict hand-washer. In the time of COVID, she had only become more zealous. She looked at Spencer. “Have you heard anything?”

“Since we’re so close to the end of the semester, the department head thinks they’ll try to finish out the year as normal.” He set down his pen. “I honestly don’t know. It will all depend on whether people follow the CDC guidelines. The spread of any virus is deducible mathematically, and SARS-COV2 is no different. Based on the outbreak in Italy prior to their lockdown, we can accurately describe its reproductive number, or Rt, to between 2.43 – 3.10.”

Y/N shut off the water and dried her hands on a paper towel. “In layman's terms, Dr. Reid.”

“The Rt tells how many people are infected by the contagious host,” he explained. “In the case of this strain, each infected person is infecting between two and three others. For comparison, the standard seasonal flu has an average Rt between 1.4 and 1.7.”

“So in other words, fucking yikes,” Y/N groaned. She moved to perch on the edge of Spencer’s desk.

“Indeed,” Spencer agreed. “We know how fast the flu can travel through an office or a classroom, so imagine if it was two times as transmissible. But it's also really important to understand that this number changes depending on the mitigations in place. Even prior to full lockdown, mask wearing and social distancing was somewhat common in Italy, so it’s likely the uncontrolled Rt is higher.”

“Jesus Christ.” Y/N scrubbed a hand over her face. “We’ll probably never go back.”

Spencer rubbed his hand up from her ankle to the inside of her knee. “The good news is there’s nothing special about this virus compared to others in terms of how it spreads— it’s just aerosols. So if everyone wears their mask, we’ll be able to keep the spread low.”

⧭⧭⧭

“It’s safe to say that everyone did not wear their fucking masks,” Y/N snapped. She watched from the couch as Mayor Bowser delivered the news that DC Public Schools would remain closed for the remainder of the year. “This is crazy. I mean, I knew it was coming because people in this country are absolute buffoons.” She looked at Spencer, fingers pressed to her temple. “But holy shit, are we ever going to be able to go outside again?”

“With schools and universities closed, people working remotely, and lockdown orders in place, the Rt in the US could stay low. But masks have to be worn at all times, and social distancing has to be strictly followed.” Spencer pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I just— I can’t believe people are refusing to wear masks. The empirical, peer-reviewed data clearly shows—”

“This is ‘Murica, boy.” Y/N mocked. “Ain’t no tyrannical government gonna tell me what to do!” She rolled her eyes. “Trust me, your choice to abstain from social media is paying dividends to your sanity right now.”

Spencer looked truly dumbfounded, setting his newspaper down in his lap. “But that’s just it. It’s not just in social media circles.” He gestured to the article in front of him. “This economist just argued for ‘reopening’ the economy using the justification of herd immunity. Herd immunity can be a plausible option for less lethal diseases. But this virus is not like varicella—the chickenpox,” he clarified at Y/N’s raised eyebrow. He waved his hands around in exasperation. “Putting aside the fact that one facet of herd immunity is vaccinating as many people as possible, its success completely hinges on the Rt of a disease. If you model a population based on an Rt of 2.5, herd immunity wouldn’t be achieved until approximately sixty percent of the population has been infected. Consider that the US population is currently 328 million, and sixty percent of that is 196.8 million. The current mortality rate for SARS-COV2 is 3.06 percent. 196,800,000 multiplied by 0.0306 is 6,022,080. Over six million people would die. It's simple mathematics.”

Y/N let out an exasperated breath. “It used to be that simple math and facts were enough. Now you’ve got basement scientists who think they know better than actual, literal scientists who’ve spent their entire lives studying these things.” She ran a hand over her face and gestured at the news conference still playing. “How long do you think it’ll be before we’re both trying to teach from this tiny ass living room?”

⧭⧭⧭

“Goooooooood morning, kindergarten! It’s Friday, and no Friday is a bad Friday!” Spencer smiled. As he poured his first cup of coffee, he hummed along with Y/N and 23 six-year-olds as they sang their morning song. Observing fourteen days of remote kindergarten from across the living room had given Spencer a new appreciation for elementary school teachers, particularly Y/N. She sang, danced, conducted science experiments, held puppet shows, read stories, led art projects, and fielded questions for four hours a day— three hours less than when they were in the school building. He was exhausted by proxy.

But he was also grateful for the opportunity to watch Y/N in her element. Even though they were at home, she still got dressed every day in bright, patterned sweaters and dresses— her Ms. Frizzle attire, she’d told him once. She was able to channel her personality into a kid-friendly version that her students clearly adored, never afraid to be silly or strange to get their attention and keep them engaged during the long days. He worked from home whenever possible, strangely happy to have the background noise of kindergarten over his quiet university office.

...

“Okay, but where do I put the biiiiiiiiiiiig number?” Y/N made a wide gesture with her arms. “Ariah, where should I put it? In the big box, yes! But oh no, my small number needs a friend. My three is soooooo lonely!” Y/N drew her mouth into a pout. “DJ, how can I help my three not be so sad? You’re absolutely right, let’s put that two right next to him in our number bond.”

…

“I’ve been waitin’  for a girl to mute,” Y/N sang into the gold karaoke mic. “I said, muuuuuuuuuute, I’m blinded by loud sounds. No, I can’t hear the friend who’s tryin’ to talk.”

…

“Oh boy. Kev, honey, we can— we can see you. Kevin, Kevin, Kevin. We can see all of you. I can’t turn your camera off, buddy. You gotta— there we go.”

…

“Mute please, I need— I need everybody to mute, please. Oh my goodness where is that music coming from?” Y/N frantically searched for her index card with the picture of the mute icon, as the sounds of a highly inappropriate song blared through the computer speaker. “I know it’s so loud, guys. Why is my mute power gone?! This is why we need to make sure we keep our mute button on, kindergarten.”

…

“No sweetie, it’s not time to log off yet. I’m sorry, I know it’s such a long day. We have about an hour left. Do you guys wanna do a countdown? It’s the fin-al count-down! Do-do doo dooooo. Do-do-d-do-dooo…”

…

“Annnnnd, I should see all my friends on mute. William, hang on just a second. All my friends need to look at my picture, it’s an oval with a line through it… Okay, William, what did you bring to show us?” Y/N leaned toward the computer screen. “Grandma Kathy? O-oh, she’s— she’s in the—“ Y/N’s eyes widened. “Is that— is that an urn? Oh wow. Um, well, wow. It’s beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that with us, William. Grandma Kathy, may she rest in peace.”

⧭⧭⧭

A week into Y/N teaching kindergarten from their living room, the university had announced its transition to online coursework for the remainder of the academic year. Spencer had to host his first zoom lecture, and he was absolutely dreading it.

“Spence, it’s going to be fine. It’s not like you’ve never been on a video conference,” Y/N assured him. She sat cross-legged on the couch, waiting for him to let her in to his practice zoom.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t running those meetings. I just showed up.” He squinted at the computer screen. “Are you in?”

Y/N barely resisted the urge to make a joke, knowing that Spencer probably wouldn’t appreciate the innuendo. “No, you have to admit me.”

“What do you mean? How do I do that?”

“There should be a box with a button that says admit.”

Spencer gestured at the computer. “Well there’s a bunch of boxes— which one should I be looking at?”

Y/N sighed and got up from the couch. “IQ of 187 and can’t find the box.”

Spencer dragged a hand through his hair. “I know I shouldn’t find this so difficult. I’m sorry you have to waste your time on this.”

“Hey, it was a joke.” Y/N grabbed his hand from where he was frustratedly pulling on his frazzled curls. “I’m sorry. That was mean and you’re already stressed enough.” She used her free hand to smooth his hair back into place. She scrunched her nose. “I love you and your limited technology skills. And honestly it’s kind of nice to have one thing I can actually teach you about.” She squeezed his hand, leaning over him to peer at his computer screen. “All right, let’s find that elusive admit button.”

When the day of his lecture rolled around, Spencer thanked all the atoms in the observable universe that Y/N had a break during his class. Within the first ten minutes, he’d managed to accidentally kick himself out of his own meeting and then somehow lose track of the screenshare button.

“No one can see me and I don’t know what happened to the screenshare option. It was there and now it’s just… gone,” he told Y/N.

She leaned over his desk, eyes tracking over the screen and mouse clicking around the desktop. “How in the world did you manage to block your camera?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t even touch it!” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t understand how it’s even possible to be this bad at this.”

Y/N bumped his knee with her own, pulling up his camera settings and preferences. “Relax. You can’t be good at everything. It’s a refreshing reminder that you’re a mere mortal like the rest of us.” With a few rapid clicks, Y/N unblocked his camera and located the screenshare bar. “There. Crisis averted. I’m just going to share your whole screen in case you want to toggle between application windows. So just be aware that they’ll be able to see everything. And then you just click here when you’re ready to stop sharing.”

When Y/N turned her head toward him to check that he understood, Spencer grabbed the side of her face and caught her lips in a kiss. Y/N smiled against his mouth, heart speeding up as he traced the seam of her mouth with his tongue.

“Um, Dr. Reid? Your um— your camera’s working now.”

Spencer nearly fell out of his chair, his cheeks about the color of the Leave Meeting icon. Y/N dropped her head, debating whether she wanted to laugh or let the earth open up and swallow her whole. She ultimately decided to compose herself, stepping back and giving a little wave to the sea of tiny, grinning zoom faces before slinking out of frame, miming sorry to one very mortified professor.

⧭⧭⧭

“Would you want to be our mystery reader next week?” Y/N asked, bookmarking the page of her novel and reclining back in bed. “You just have to pick a story to read. Oh, and think of four clues about your identity to give the kiddos.”

Spencer raised his eyebrow, continuing to read. “Any story?”

Y/N laughed. “Well they’re six, so maybe hold off on the Chaucer and Bradbury for now. A picture book would be preferable.”

“Did you know that the first picture book, Orbis Sensualium Pictus, or Visible World in Pictures, was published in 1658?” He looked up from his own book. “Czech educator John Amos Comenius wanted to create a book that would be accessible to children of all levels of ability. The educational theories he explored are actually still in practice in the field of early childhood education.” He turned toward her from his spot under the covers. “For example, when you have your students make a hissing sound and slither their arms when they produce the sound represented by the letter s? Comenius included an alphabet chart with various animal and human sounds representing each letter. He wanted to demonstrate that the incorporation of multiple senses could help increase learning.”

“I guess you don’t fix what isn’t broken,” Y/N mused. “300 years later, and we’re still using the same methods.”

“362, actually,” Spencer corrected.

She gave him a look. “Maybe we can save the Comenius for another time.”

“The genre of children’s literature encompasses some of the most profound and philosophical story telling of all time.” Spencer returned his attention to his reading.

“...So is that a yes?”

Spencer smiled. “I’ve got a book in mind.”

“And clues,” Y/N reminded him, snuggling down under the covers and reopening her book. “We need some fun clues, mystery reader.”

…

“Kindergarten, we have a very special mystery reader this week. Oh man, are you ready for the first clue? The mystery reader loves jell-o! Raise your little hand if you love jell-o, too. Okay, kindergarten, I see you! Lots of jell-o lovers in the house.”

…

“Okay, clue number two! Our mystery reader works as a community helper— remember we learned about all different kinds of community helpers; firefighters, nurses, police officers. But if the mystery reader could be anything, they’d want to be a cowboy! How cool is that?”

...

“Clue number three for our mystery reader!” Y/N sucked in a gasp. “You guys. The mystery reader can do magic. Oh my goodness, I am so excited for Friday,” she sing-songed. “Will they show us a trick? Hmmm, I don’t know. Maybe if you ask nicely.”

…

“Okay, my friends, the last clue. The mystery reader loves reading. They read every day, and they’ve been reading since 1983! Yes, that was a very long time ago.”

⧭⧭⧭

“Okay, any last guesses about who our mystery reader might be?” Y/N questioned.

“I think it’s your dad,” a little voice called out.

Spencer made a choking noise from where he sat, slightly off camera. Y/N laughed. “The mystery reader is decidedly not my dad, Keyshon. Remember I showed you guys the picture of him— my dad’s a farmer, so he’s kind of already a cowboy.” She clapped her hands together. “Okay, without further ado, drumroll please... Our mystery reader is…” Y/N pushed her desk chair out of frame to allow Spencer to roll in, holding her hands out. “Spencer!”

He gave a little wave, smoothing his hair, suddenly painfully self-aware and nervous about the opinions of two dozen six-year-olds. “Hi guys.”

“You’re the boy on Ms. Y/L/N’s phone.”

“Your hair is so fluffy!”

“Do you have a cowboy hat?”

“I like your sweater.”

“Can you really do magic?”

“What’s your favorite jell-o?”

“Whoa, okay, let’s remember our mute button,” Y/N, holding up her index card. “I promise you’ll get to ask Spencer all your questions after he reads the story.”

Spencer smiled at the excited faces beaming through the screen. “Yes, I’m on Ms. Y/L/N’s phone; I don’t own a cowboy hat, yet; yes, I really can do magic; and the red jell-o is my favorite.”

Y/N watched with interest as Spencer pulled out his book. He’d been secretive about his choice, so she was as curious as her students.

“This is one of my favorite stories. It’s written by Munro Leaf, and illustrated by Robert Lawson. It’s The Story of Ferdinand.” Spencer held the cover up to the camera. “Ferdinand is the bull here on the cover. This story was written in 1935, which was a long time ago! Okay are you ready?” Spencer looked out on a sea of thumbs up, turning the page to the beginning of the story. “Once upon a time in Spain, there was a bull, and his name was Ferdinand.”

Y/N smiled as she listened to Spencer read each page, recounting the story of the peaceful bull. He was an excellent storyteller, changing the inflection and expression of his voice to match each sentence. He held each page up for just the right amount of time, panning it so her students could see each detail of the black and white pictures. He added his own wonderings and exclamations here and there, and her students were decidedly enthralled. Her heart ached at how comfortable he was, how natural this was for him. She rested her chin in her hand, trying to keep her mind in the present— ignoring the persistent little mental image of Spencer as a dad.

“So they had to take Ferdinand home. And for all I know, he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly. He is very happy… And that’s The Story of Ferdinand.” Spencer closed the book with a soft smile. “I love this story. Ferdinand is a very special bull. What do you think makes him so special?”

“Ferdinand didn’t fight,” a little voice piped up.

“Yes!” Spencer agreed. “He practiced pacifism in the face of the persistent, ingrained militarism of his country’s culture.”

Y/N placed a hand on Spencer’s knee and gave a quick squeeze. “Right, Ferdinand chose not to fight, even though everybody else he knew wanted to.” Y/N winked at him before turning back to the screen full of kids. “All his friends thought he was kind of weird, but he just really wanted to hang out in the shade and smell the flowers, huh? Sounds pretty good to me.”

“He wasn’t bothered that the other bulls thought he was strange for wanting to be peaceful,” Spencer added. “Sometimes being different can be a good thing. The Story of Ferdinand reminds me that it’s okay to be yourself, even if other people think you’re weird.” His eyes met Y/N’s. “Because there will always be people who love and appreciate you for who you are.”

[curiosity-killed]

Lang Qianqiu deserves more love goddammit: a post, unfortunately

This brought to you by the wonderful @veliseraptor & @/yuer on Twitter but also mostly out of spite and the fact that it’s preventing me from writing a very dumb poke-the-bear post abt the entire weird social media culture around The Minors

As always ✨SPOILERS!! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE✨

So first off: when I hit the scene where lqq confronts xl and screams “I will never be like you” I sat up in bed, did a little shimmy of delight, and hissed “fuck yes” at like 2 AM so. Now you have a preview of wtf this train wreck will be

1 ) lqq is a good character

We don’t get a ton of time with lqq because tgcf is 87 side characters running across stage with The Most Interesting Concept constantly one-upping each other before vanishing. But what we do get is, I think, enough to make a pretty compelling story: Lang Qianqiu is a kind and generous prince who is also the sole survivor of the bloody massacre of his entire family, committed by the people dearest to him (both in his belief that Gusohi Fangxin did it and in the reality of An Le’s involvement), who goes on to peacefully lead his fractious nation into a peaceful reign before he ascends as a powerful enough (aka beloved and worshipped enough) god to be ranked among the top heavenly generals. That’s like. Pretty fucking classic protagonist vibes right there.

And, as usual with mxtx’s characters, we get a lot more than this lovely little backstory. In his interactions in canon, lqq is capable of great grief and anger; he is willing to sacrifice himself if it means avenging his murdered family; and he simultaneously holds both great hatred and great respect for his old teacher. And, of course, he winds up raising and taking care of his enemy’s son which shows a remarkable depth of compassion and emotional messiness that I find terribly compelling. He struggles with a simplistic view of justice that is supported by lies told to “protect” him and that is uprooted by the truth and forces him to try to make sense of the world without the guardrails that others installed around him (looking at you mister fangxin sir).

Also I’m stealing my own tweets bc I’m Right but:

*pulls up single barstool to lqq is a good character table* I think it’s interesting & Says Things abt the continued relationship btwn lqq & xl that lqq *didn’t* recognize xl, implying that he left fangxin’s mask in place even when he went to kill him

Like here is the man who killed his family & best friend, who left him abandoned in bloodshed on his 17th bday—& here is also the man who saved his life, who taught him, who lqq looked up to & wanted to be like

Even when lqq *does* recognize xl, he still has so much respect for him paired with that hatred that it’s honestly rlly tragic? Like man. There’s so much grief in lqq’s repeated demands for a duel & insisting it’s fine if xl kills him as long as he doesn’t hold back

*pats lqq pompom* this bb is so sad. And so much more like his teacher than either of them seem to realize or necessarily want

Despite being a pretty minor character, lqq gets a lot of complexity and nuance! Look at this child trying to be grown up while desperately turning to his old master for guidance and “the truth”! Look at him! Be sad!!

2 ) lqq is an excellent parallel to xl

Okay stealing my own tweet again don’t look at me I yell the same shit everywhere

Xl didn’t want lqq to become like him (self-sacrificing, vengeful, alone) but lqq not only became alone, chasing vengeance, & willing to sacrifice himself for revenge—he also became kind, open-minded, & remorseful!! & he still clearly respects xl @ novel end 🙃🙃

We all know hc’s “they’re not very alike at all” and yeah sure baby go support your man but narratively, there’s a lot of importance given to cycles, parallels, and foils in mxtx’s writing and most explicitly (compared to mdzs, haven’t read svss) in tgcf. For example, *gestures at beefleaf, gestures at Xianle Trio vs Wuyogn Crew, gestures at Xie Lian & Jun Wu’s whole uh. Deal.* And while I’d argue xl and lqq are part of a triumvirate rather than a pair, we’re not including mister three-face in this conversation so just looking at xl and lqq:

Both adored and sheltered crown princes

Both taught by a guoshi who was seeking to prevent the repetition of their own tragedies and in their efforts, lied/omitted information and failed to protect their charge from tragedy

Both were betrayed* by their closest friends

Both are the last living members of their respective royal families

Both caught the interest of supernatural beings from a young age

Etc etc I’m getting v bored and distracted writing this so moving on

Most importantly to me, we have their betrayal by a very close and adored mentor and how they react. The confrontation I mention at the start of this shitshow is really imo one of the most important scenes in the novel because it a) illustrates the differences in xl and Jun Wu and b) sort of gives you a preview of how xl ultimately wins

So a) Jun Wu and Xie Lian both take a talented, marked-for ascension young prince under their wing. Jun Wu sees himself in the boy and obsesses over shaping him into Jun Wu’s own image in the belief that this will make him the perfect heir. Jun Wu pushes his chosen heir into situations where Xie Lian is repeatedly harmed in an effort to show that the common people are fickle and cruel and don’t deserve his compassion and care.

Meanwhile, Xie Lian is reluctantly roped into mentoring his prince due to his inability to stand aside when he feels he could do something to prevent hurt or injustice befalling another (simultaneously his great strength and great weakness! God I love him). Xie Lian tries to teach his student to believe in and care for the common people and not to sacrifice himself (see: flashback convo re:taking the force of the sword strike into his own body).

When Xie Lian refuses to bend in the shape Jun Wu demands, Jun Wu bashes his head into the wall. When Lang Qianqiu cries “I will never be like you!”, Xie Lian laughs and says “Good!”.

B) this of course feeds directly into foreshadowing! Like Lang Qianqiu’s bold words, xl ultimately refuses to become like his mentor and remains defiant even when it would stop him from being hurt. Xl beats lqq and says so what if I tricked you, so what if I lied, I still won. Naturally, xl beats Jun Wu not through standard swordplay but by using a trick he learned while forced to busk and wander the earth alone and unlucky for centuries.

…okay so I have fully forgotten what I was actually saying here! Anyway!

Like Xie Lian, Lang Qianqiu spends a time consumed with the need for vengeance, hunting his enemy and rejecting the heavens. And like Xie Lian, he winds up caring for his enemy’s “son” and trying to both comfort him and maintain what’s left of Qi Rong’s life force despite having previously been hellbent on destroying him—bc he sees the impact it has on another person. In the end, he even gives a gift to Xie Lian—his mentor, his role model, and the one who killed his father—that was once given to him as a symbol of unexpected kindness. Sound familiar?

But, importantly, and contradictory to what I have been yelling abt but whatever it’s 12:30 am, Lang Qianqiu is not a direct mirror of Xie Lian but a closing of a vital loop in the story. Lqq is very similar to xl (I will die on this hill!! Only I won’t bc I’m stronger than y’all and will keep swinging these pots and pans) but bc xl tries to do better and keep lqq from suffering the way xl has, lqq is able to have a gentler and more optimistic path forward. He’s proof that even a small act of kindness or even kindness to only one person still matters and has a ripple effect that can’t be seen when you’re in the middle of it—a thread started with xl giving the coral pearl to Lang Ying and closed with Lang Qianqiu returning the pearl to Xie Lian.

So I have no idea if any of this is coherent or compelling but I meant to be asleep two hours ago and the points are:

A) Lang Qianqiu is good actually

B) parallels!!!

C) look ive already started another wip about Lang Qianqiu and Xie Lian and I didn’t want this but no one else wrote it so now I have to so pls just accept this as a warning

*sort of air quotes around this for Xie Lian bc frankly Mu Qing was right & Xie Lian kicked feng xin out BUT on the other hand, it was experienced as a betrayal and we also again have all of Jun Wu’s shit so it evens out

[natbarzal]

Mathew Barzal - Always and forever

hi guys! first of all, sorry for not posting an imagine for so long, I literally had no ideas😅

this is one of my longer pieces and I think it's quite good, so I hope you'll like it!

warnings: unplanned pregnancy

word count: 1.8k

he's so gorgeous wtf

anyway, enjoy! and please don't hesitate to give me some feedback! 💙

_________________________________________

Y/n's pov:

"Baby?" I asked Mat and looked at him as we were having a breakfast in our kitchen together.

"Yeah?" Mat responded, not looking up from his phone that he was probably scrolling through Instagram on at the moment. I hesitated for a minute, looking back down at the half eaten meal on my plate before speaking up again.

"What do you, clearly hypothetically, think about the idea of.. having kids?" I asked as I started picking at my food, my heart beating hard in my chest. When I got no answer from Mat, I looked up at him to find him looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"What?" I questioned. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, looking down at the table then back into my eyes as he started to speak.

"Well um.. I mean, kids are great and everything, and I would love to have children of my own at some point in the future for sure, but I think we're still a bit young for that, you know? I mean, you just turned 23 and I'm turning 24 next month." he said and took a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah.. yeah sure, you're right. We've got plenty of time." I said with a nervous laugh, hoping he wouldn't suspect anything.

"Why were you asking anyway?" he asked as he turned his attention back to his phone.

"As I said, just hypothetically." I said, forcing a little smile. He hummed before locking his phone and standing up from the table, taking his plate to the sink and finishing his coffee.

"Well I gotta go now, see you after the practice?" he asked as he came closer to me to peck my lips.

"Sure."

"I love you." he said, winking at me and giving me a cheeky smile as he walked backwards out of the kitchen.

"I love you too."

After Mat left, I sat at the table by myself for another 15 minutes, thinking about what I was going to do.

'At some point in the future'

Little did he know the point would come in less than eight months.

~~

"So, have you told Mat yet?" Lauren, Jordan's wife, asked me excitedly while we were standing outside of the locker room after a game, waiting for our men to come out. I didn't say anything and just looked at her, the guilty look in my eyes giving the answer away.

"Y/n! Why haven't you told him yet? It'll start showing soon you know." she scolded me slightly and I looked down at my shoes, picking nervously at my nails.

"I know. It's just.. I'm scared." I admitted quietly as I picked my head up to look at her again.

"Why? You know Mat would never leave you or anything. He's so head over heels for you!" she tried to reason but I shook my head, feeling my eyes get a little watery. Hormones.

"How can you be so sure? I actually asked him what he thought about having kids and he said he doesn't want them yet! That we're too young and.. I'm just scared." I whispered the last part as I looked at her. Her eyes softened a little at my explanation and she brought me into a hug.

"You know why I'm so sure he wouldn't leave you?" she asked and rubbed my back a little in an attempt to calm me down a little.

"Why?"

"Because if he did, I would end him." she explained and I giggled. Feeling a little better, I was about to pull away from the hug when I suddenly heard a cheery voice that I quickly recognized saying "Group hug!" and I felt one strong arm wrap around me, the other being wrapped around Lauren.

"You really need to find yourself a girl, Beau." I laughed and we stayed in the hug for a bit before we all pulled away, seeing that Mat and Jordan have already come out of the locker room as well. Anthony placed his hand over his heart in fake hurt and I laughed once more, punching his shoulder in a joking manner before I felt two strong arms wrap themselves around my waist. I turned around to face Mat and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Hey babe." I said, giving him what I intended to be a sweet short kiss, but apparently he had different plans. Taking one hand from my waist, he placed it on the back of my head and kept me from pulling away, deepening the kiss. I pulled away after a few moments in need of air and Mathew whined at the loss of contact.

"What was that for?" I asked him as I blushed, trying to catch my breath.

"I missed you." he responded simply and leaned back in, kissing my nose.

"You literally saw me just a few hours ago you dork." I told him as I played with the hair on the back of his neck, looking into his gorgeous hazel eyes.

"I know, but I miss you every single minute I spend without you." he said, looking at me with, soft eyes. I felt myself blush some more, still not taking my eyes off my man.

"Wow, you flatter me Mathew Barzal."

"I try." Mat winked at me. We looked for each other for a minute before we heard someone clearing their throat, snapping us both back into reality.

"Alright, alright you lovebirds, enough with the PDA. You're so cute it makes me sick." Tito said as he made a disgusted face.

"Oh shut up Beau, you're just jealous." Mat said as we both pulled away from each other and intertwined our fingers together, laughing together with our friends as we all slowly started to make our way out of the arena.

~~

"Go ahead honey, I'd like to talk to Y/n here for a quick minute." Lauren said, kissing her husband and letting go off his arm that she was previously holding onto.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, looking at his wife.

"Yeah, don't worry. Just some girl stuff." she told him. He nodded and looked at Mat who looked at me with concern in his eyes.

"Go babe. I'll catch up in 5." I assured Mat, giving him a quick peck on his lips and he nodded, turning around and walking over to where our cars were parked with Tito and Jordan. I took a breath and turned to look at Lauren.

"You're going to tell him tonight, right?" she asked, looking right at me. I stayed quiet for a moment before answering.

"Yeah.. probably." I said as I have her a tight lipped smile. She smiled back at me sympathetically.

"Alright, although I'm 99,9% sure everything is going to go just fine, just in case doesn't, you can always come to mine and Jordan's place, okay?" she offered.

"Thank you." I nodded and gave her an appreciative smile.

"Good luck." she said with a smile and gave me a quick hug. I mumbled a faint 'thanks' and we pulled away. After that we caught up with our men, saying our goodbyes as we all went to our respective cars.

"What was that about?" Mat asked me as we got into our car.

"Nothing. Don't worry." I said, but he just looked at me in a way that told me he definitely didn't believe me.

"Babe I know you better than I know myself. Just tell me." he looked at me with gentle eyes and reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together.

"We'll talk once we get home, yeah?" I offered. He looked at me for a moment with concern still visible on features and then he nodded, bringing my hand up to his lips and kissing my knuckles before starting the car.

The whole car ride home was silent except for the faint sound of music playing. I was looking our of the window the entire time, trying to think of a way to tell Mat what I had to, Mathew giving me concerned glances here and there through the ride.

~~

"Alright, we're talking." Mat said immediately after he closed the door of our apartment behind himself, only stopping to drop his hockey bag and take off his shoes before he took my hand and dragged me over to the couch in our living room. He sat down on it and looked up at me expectantly. I sighed, running my hand through my hair before sitting down beside him, looking nervously at my hands in my lap.

"Promise you won't get mad?" I asked quietly, picking at my nails. Mat placed one of his hands under my chin, gently picking up my head, making me look at him.

"I promise. Please tell me Y/n, you're starting to worry me." he encouraged me, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm pregnant." I quietly blurted out, feeling tears starting to slowly appear in my eyes. Mat didn't say anything for a moment as he just looked at me, processing what I had just told him, his hand dropping from my chin.

"You're.. we're.. okay, well this is unexpected." he said, finally looking away from me and letting out a long sigh as he rubbed his face with his hand.

"I'm so sorry Mat I- I didn't mean for this to happen and I-" I started rambling as the tears slowly started to escape my eyes, but I was quickly cut off by Mathew.

"Whoa, slow down there, what are you apologising for?" he asked, wiping my tears off with his thumbs and looking at me with soft eyes.

"You're not mad?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"Why would I be mad?"

"Because.. because you said the other day that you think we're still too young to have a baby and all so I just figured-" I was cut off once again, but this time by a soft kiss being placed on my lips. After we pulled away, Mat leaned his forehead on mine.

"Babe.. I'm not mad, okay? This is great, and although we weren't exactly planning it, I already know that you will be the best mom ever to our little one, and I promise I'll try to be the best dad I can possibly be. It's fine babe, it's all good. We're in this together." Mat said in a hushed voice, placing soft kisses all over my face in order to calm me down.

"I love you so much Mat." I told him, getting lost in his beautiful eyes.

"I love you so much more. And I'll always be here for you and our little one, please remember that." he promised, brushing some of my hair out of my face.

"Forever and always?"

"Forever and always."

[cc-0420]

au of an au: han and boba parent trap cody and obi-wan

“i’m not doing it.”

“is it really that bad?”

“there is no negotiations. you are his excellency’s best bounty hunter,” the droid translated as the slug looked to boba, “and you are his best smuggler,” he said turning to han. “the two of you will have to work together for this job or neither will get paid nor have his services again.”

“if it’s full pay, i’m in,” han responded, “no reason to turn away from this job.”

“you doubt pirates, child?” han scowls at that. “both you and fett will get the pay promised if you complete the task.”

fett didn’t even glance at han from his helmet, “if he dies, it’s not my fault,” and walks out the door.

“man, you need to chill,” han follows him like a loth-cat, “we got a better chance together, right?”

not responding to the question, “we’re taking my ship,” boba sneers, continuing his path.

“you know, my ship made the kessel run in less than 12 parsecs!”

“i don’t care.”

~~~

the ride to florrum was silent as the two men were up to their own devices. upon landing they were greeted by a group of pirates.

“what can i do for you, boys?” what han assumed was the leader inquired.

before han had a chance to speak, his companion butt in, “we were hired to pick up the product for jabba. i assume you are hondo?”

i see he avoided mentioning that were to capture this hondo under jabba’s orders, han thought, would cody do this? Maybe he should’ve commed him for advice.

“captain hondo, i am. best pirate in the galaxy,” he made a jester to the building, “come on in and we can get you a drink to settle in-“

everything went black.

~~~

“why did you do that? the drugging normally works!” a voice broke out from the ringing in his ears

“sorry, boss, but I thought the helmeted one was going to pull a blaster on you.”

after a moment, han’s eyes were finally able to peel open. he was inside a cell, it seemed, with two weequays watching him, one of which being hondo. before he could quip to them, they already left and locked the door.

han began to look around, his mind running the simulators cody would make him go through for situations such as these, when his eyes landed on the body in armor.

he snorted, not so mighty, are you, fett?

han worked to untie the bonds from his arms, then shifting to the door. kriff, he’s never seen anything like it.

suddenly, a moan was heard as fett began waking up, “what the kriff happened?”

“we got captured, no thanks to you.”

“well, it’s not like you did anything!”

“i’m a smuggler. hurting people is not my job!”

fett didn’t respond, but han would bet 10 credits he was rolling his eyes under his helmet.

“did you try and get out?”

“if i could, i wouldn’t be here,” yet still held up his free wrists, “I’ve never seen a lock like this,” han continued pointing towards the door.

“i wouldn’t have expected you to. hondo has captured jedi before. he knows his stuff,” by then, fett already freed his hands.

“how do you-?”

“ah! you boys are up!” before han could finish his question, hondo was already barging in, “and yes. i once captured my best friend, obi-wan kenobi and a few other force users in this cell.”

“oh, i know. though he wouldn’t consider you a best friend.”

“how would you know? sadly, he is long dead. i was sad to hear when the jedi were killed. he will always have a special place in my heart.”

fett scoffed, “thanks for the story. can we leave?”

“nope, jabba’s been a pain in my side for years. instead, we’ll bargain you off for the highest bidder. you both seem pretty valued by the empire…” hondo ended walking out.

“that hypocrite!”

“oh, stop pouting under there.”

the next day passed slowly, the door only opening for food. han was growing homesick. he was with cody for 5 years now and chewbacca 2. he’s taken jobs without them, but at least he was kept busy. fett lounged in his corner, sitting still. it was creepy how he never took off the mask, and han made sure to let him know.

one night, he pulls out his holo of cody. it was hard to forget, but it was easier to have on him on long missions away. the glow from it lit up the room and caught the bounty hunter’s attention.

“what’s that?”

“none of your business,” han reached to turn it off. fett clearly saw it and reached into his own armor.

he pulled out his own holocron and the same picture emerged, cody and a man with red hair and beard. when he first received the holo, han would ask cody about the man in the robes, but would always get brushed off. he learned not to ask as he recognized the faraway look in his eyes.

“how do you have that?” han spit out. cody was his family, through thick and thin and fett wasn’t welcome.

“ben is my guardian,” he said pointing to the other man.

“you know him?”

“obviously.”

the thick air was broken by fett first

“how do you know cody?”

“he’s my father,” and before fett could respond, “well, the closest thing to a father i ever had.”

fett stared again and before han could say anything else, he reached for the helmet.

underneath was the eyes he knew to love. the lips that pulled into a firm line whenever han misbehaved. the nose that would scrunch up when han disgusted him. in front of him was a young copy of cody. a clone.

“you’re a clone.”

“i’m a person.”

“why are you younger than cody?”

“cause i’m a person.”

that didn’t answer han’s questions.

“do you work for the empire like the clones?” fett asked.

“what do you mean? cody doesn’t work for the empire. the clones are there against their will! there’s chips in their brain! cody told me!”

“really?” unlike most times he talked, fett wasn’t being sarcastic, “if that’s true…”

“so, cody knows ben?” han pushed. cody told him many stories of his brothers, but not much of anything else.

“he was his jedi general before he shot him down,” fett’s eyes trailed their faces on the holo, “no one knew of the chips and began blaming the clones.”

“is that why you wear the mask?”

“no!” boba rose from his makeshift seat, “how many times do i have to tell you i’m not one of them? this helmet was my fathers. i was never a mindless soldier.”

“they’re not mindless soldiers!” growing irritated, han thought back to all the times cody stood up for him when he was in trouble. the tales he would tell of his brothers.

boba shrunk at that and whispered to himself, “they’re not mindless soldiers.”

the silence fell over them again. han trying to make out the emotions on boba’s face, while he was looking anywhere but at han.

“cody was a better brother to me than he should have been. i treated the clones like scum, but now i know this truth,” boba waved his hand around, “he never would have wanted us to fight. neither would ben.”

“i’m sorry for your loss.”

“excuse me?” boba stared, “ben is not dead,”

han stared back, “what? you said cody shot him. and cody never talks about him.”

“well,” boba paused, thinking of the pros and the cons. pros being that ben could see cody again and boba wouldn’t have to watch him be all weepy. con would be that han is lying. he weighed his options before coming to a decision, “that was the point. the jedi had to be believed to have been wiped out.”

han contemplated on his end. despite never talking about ben explicitly, cody always talked about how amazing his general was. if fett really knew him, and it seemed like he definitely did, maybe they could come to an agreement, “cody would want to know.”

“i know,” before thinking, boba added on, “they cared for each other too much.”

rather than dwell on that phrase, “can we get them to meet up again? after we get out of here.”

“ben wouldn’t want to give up his position,” boba put his holo away, “but you are right about them wanting to know. i have an idea.”

~~~

the escape was easy once the two worked together. they also decided, screw jabba and abandoned their mission. both of them were smart enough not to have a debt with him anyway.

they decided that they will each send a signal to their respected guardians saying they need help on tatooine due to a mission gone wrong. it was easy for han to come cody, in which the commander responded he’ll be there in a few hours. on the other hand, boba didn’t have a comm for ben, with the fear of giving up his position. instead, he got in contact with a tuskin raider.

han stared in shock as boba let out a series of growls and hand motions to the creatures before they ran off. at his disgruntled look, boba replied with a simple, “ben helped them out a couple times,” that didn’t answer any of his questions.

ben got their first. he looked much more aged compared to the holo. the man gave boba his best wtf face. “kenobi,” han’s head shot up at that, “sorry to bring you out here.”

suddenly, the man locked up, all emotion wiped and reaching in his robes, “are you turning me in boba?”

“no, i didn’t mean to scare you,” he looked to han, “this is a companion i made on my last bounty. he has some news for you.”

really, fett? you’re making me talk? luckily, cody’s ship was pulling in overhead, but the elderly man got more on edge. han quickly reached for his holo and pulled open the picture of the men.

“umm, this is my father figure,” he said pointed to cody, “boba said he knew you and that you should talk it out.”

ben glanced between him, boba, and the ship that was slowly opening up.

“i didn’t give away our position, but you need to know,” boba said, looking towards the ship.

cody emerged and rushed to han, enveloping him into a hug, “are you alright? did these people help you?”

his eyes swept over boba, not recognizing the armor and turned to ben who was looking at him like he saw a ghost.

“general?”

“cody?”

“i’m sorry. i couldn’t- i’m sorry…”

before he could go on, obi-wan swept him into a hug, “it’s okay, commander, it’s okay…”

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Hi Dear Jalebi, I demand your analysis :)   What are your thoughts on IPKKND might have some typical track if the audience, TRP, actors departure didn't influence it otherwise? Let me explain, IPKKND was supposed to have a longer office track (that wasn't common though, I would've loved it) but the TRP was low, so Shantivan track was introduced. Then, I read that, Sana Maqbul (Lavanya) wanted to quit IPKKND, that's why the quick breakup???

Is that why they didn't give us the COMMON AF *jealousy and hero's ex GF turns villain* track? Then again, Anjali was jealous and sad about Khushi after the first reveal of Shyam, and it looked like track about Didi Ki Saut was beginning. But again ratings dropped and the fandom didn't react well (kinda protested), Anjali quickly stopped showing jealousy and Dadi was introduced to give ArShi a common saas-bahu vibe.

Hello Dear Analysis Anon!

I am going to over answer this with a lot of detail because I have a lot of thoughts, as always! Time to get into my thinking cape/coat:

This analysis is going to cover:

(1) every example you just mentioned,

(2) my thoughts on external things affecting plot of the story,

(3) things/plots/ tracks that could've been if not for external factors

Examples

1) IPKKND was supposed to have a longer office track (that wasn't common though, I would've loved it) but the TRP was low, so Shantivan track was introduced

As far as I can remember from one of the writers' interviews, the office track was cut short because this was a show on Star Plus - which, as a channel, caters to 'family audience' therefore needs to have sanskaar and stuff at its core. Hence the rude shortening of the office track and weird 'makeover' and 'desi-dying' Lavanya. And hence we had a very weird four months of an eighteen-twenty years old Khushi teaching someone about sanskaars and suddenly knowing everything about a household when Bua-ji or even Payal would've been a more apt choice for this 'tutoring'.

If this was a Star One show, they might've not shifted out of the office for the longest time!

2) Sana Maqbul (Lavanya) wanted to quit IPKKND, that's why the quick breakup??? Is that why they didn't give us the COMMON AF *jealousy and hero's ex GF turns villain* track?

I did not know that's why the quick end happened. Honestly that happened perfectly. I think Lavanya had an inkling about their relationship heading south right when Arnav told everyone he's getting engaged to her. But she chooses to not see it until one day she couldn't. Maybe we could've gotten more from La but if you see carefully, La clearly knows that this relationship is now just for face. Bless her heart for trying though, trying with a smile!

Also, again I think the writers never thought of making Lavanya a vamp. They had enough material with Arnav-Khushi's own differences, Shyam and Buaji playing enough roles to mess up Arnav-Khushi's love story. I probably think they always had planned Lavanya as a beautiful person who was unintentionally caught in all of this. I feel they planned La and Khushi's friendship - they clearly enjoyed writing two completely different people becoming closest of friends.

The writers/creators deserve full credit for this.

3) Then again, Anjali was jealous and sad about Khushi after the first reveal of Shyam, and it looked like track about Didi Ki Saut was beginning. But again ratings dropped and the fandom didn't react well (kinda protested), Anjali quickly stopped showing jealousy and Dadi was introduced to give ArShi a common saas-bahu vibe.

This is all true.

My Thoughts on External Things Affecting Plot

It's not necessarily bad that external things affect plot. Feedback, from channel or fans, can help the show to pivot and understand what is working and what's not. The problem is when feedback is implemented regardless whether or not it matches the theme of the plot.

I loved:

1) The channel moving out of the office because the power dynamic was too great and the contract terms were very unhealthy and Arnav Singh Raizada deserved to get sued at least 10 times by the end of this contract so yes, the shorter the office track the better. Literally the saving grace is they didn't "fall in love" there.

2) The fans protesting against Didi Ki Saut track. Not because I hated the track - I think it was executed in the worst manner! From identical visual languages to show Arnav-Anjali and Arnav-Khushi scenes (which didn't work to show Arnav being equally torn between the two most important women in his life, but just made the audience get creeped by Arnav-Anjali's relationship) and writing scenes of Anjali getting offended by Arnav-Khushi's intimacy/Arnav spending time with his wife, on her birthday, in his bedroom... did she expect Khushi would just *disappear* in a her and Arnav's bedroom? Like that was the worst way to show a compelling plot line and giving people some weird thoughts about Anjali-Arnav (which I hate because I LOVE Anjali-Arnav).

3) Barun walking out when the plot was literally done. Yes, thank you!

4) Barun going to do a movie led to the kidnapping track, which I liked a lot. No, not the nonsense of Manorama Bond fishing out Delhi's security camera footages in vintage recording system - but the fact that given the chasm and angst between Arnav & Khushi, only something bigger than their misunderstanding could force Arnav to give weight to his feelings and for Khushi to be able to forgive him. And his life was at stake. It was a sharp reminder to both of them that they lost so much by not communicating that it doesn't matter what they had to say - they loved each other, they just needed to get back and fight off everything together.

And then again, there are things I HATED that happened because of external factors:

1) The channel for the whole La becomes Desi. And the overdose of sanskaar and tradition that followed for a few months *uggggh* Clearly the channel demanded this from the plot because family, traditions and all are important to Star Plus (wtf are they thinking for Ghum Hai Kisi Ke? though or YRKKH?) And even the Aarav track and Mrs. India - two tracks with terrible execution - were very Star Plus recommended content. Just now Saath Nibhana Saathiya 2 had a Mrs. Surat/Gujarat track and Yeh Hai Chaahatein had a miracle child popping up...

2) The fans demanding Arnav & Khushi's proximity. The whole hut scene was *noooooo*. Lack of consent, body doubles, GLARING logical loopholes and them just trying to do it when one of them is really not in the mood and they were both so out of character. @phati-sari explains this really well in her post (just search for the hut to get all relevant posts on her blog)

3) Barun? Not exactly - he's never in control of the plot so really it's the writers that kinda know what to do with his presence and absence. Even if they get a short time, it's upto the creators who know if they use the last 2-3 weeks for stretching a random track as much as they can and give a rushed ending or quickly wrap up a crap track and give a satisfactory ending. A good example of this is Lavanya's exit - although rushed was dealt with grace, important conversations and memorable hugs. Bad one is the end of the show - I know Barun gave his papers but I wish they went the La way with the end of the show - important convos, teary hugs and a sweet moment (they tried their best tho...)

It's an ITV trend though to not plan for the end of a show... they stretch a crappy track as much as they can and have like a 2 min epilogue. Kasautii 2.0 was the funniest cause they had all misconceptions cleared, Komolika and Mr. Bajaj die and then have a weird 2 min pillow fight to show 'happy family'... guess in that way I'm glad we had whatever we did with IPKKND!

Possible Tracks Then

So if external factors didn't influence the show, we might have had the following:

1) A longer office track. It would end the way it did in canon though. I think it was prewritten that at one point Khushi would tear up the contract and hold him accountable for everything Arnav did. Just instead of 3-4 days it would've been 10-15 days after the contract.

2) Didi Ki Saut track. Honestly that was compelling if executed right. Sometimes you can have an antagonist without becoming a villain, Anjali the perfect character for that.

3) A separation track. I'm pretty sure Arnav-Khushi could have separated at some point in their six months marriage - this is just my inkling and not something I heard in an interview unlike the above two. If given full reign to writing, we probably would've gotten an angst heavy stuff at some point post marriage/6 months.

4) A remarriage track sans Dadi. We know why Dadi was introduced (honestly I didn't mind her, it was a track done well and kinda to redeem Arnav in front of the public eyes. It's a perfect track cause Arnav is 'nice' for standing up for her and kinda heals the wounds he caused in the first few months of the marriage by retorting someone who tells Khushi everything he told her...) But anyway I do think a remarriage was in the works, not because of TRPs but the way their whole 'marriage' was framed and how Khushi was broken because of the lack of everything in it. And they deserved one w/o the devastation that night brought.

5) The 'marriage' would've been a live in. Arnav and Khushi's elopement was supposed to be darker in nature*. Their 'marriage' would've had no religious nor legal validity, therefore a stark contradiction to everything Khushi stood for... but you can't have that in ITV. *By dark I don't mean sexual violence - never.*

6) The whole IPKKND was meant to be darker. I am glad for the romantic comedy though! I think their balance of angst and comedy pre marriage was perfect! Not sure post marriage because it felt like a loop of going back to square one with no progress. But I think things were meant to be less subtle, more tragic and dramatized. So I think we could've gotten extremely angsty periods post marriage with a slow, gentle lull to the romance/comedy. While I am extremely glad for the lightheartedness, I wish I could've read what the whole original concept for Arnav/Khushi was!

7) Arnav revealing the truth to Khushi would've been different. We know the distasteful suicide track quickly came as a way to push Arnav's buttons and have him confess the truth of his elopement to Khushi. And that came from Barun going away - hence the quick kidnapping track and everything. So if Barun didn't go away, I honestly don't know how the revelation would happen. Would Arnav start piecing things together from information and things about Shyam in Laxminagar? Would Arnav end up helping and hospitalizing Shashi who would tell him the truth? Would Arnav come across any hidden wedding card Buaji could've had printed for Shyam-Khushi or even Shyam's fake kundili? Given the Gupta house wasn't the place where Shyam covered his tracks... was this where Arnav would start seeing things? Or guilt ridden, would Garima/Khushi/Madhumati tell Arnav the truth? Something was meant to happen for this revelation, whether it's Arnav believing Khushi or just getting further evidence against her - I... don't know! I wish I knew what the writers had in store.

We highly appreciate for not showing a typical Nanand against Bhaabi trope, also for not making La villain, but would it result differently if things didn't have a hand? Imma cry thinking Anjali jealous and La villain! meh!  What a feast for the eyes it was to see ONLY ONE VILLAIN and less negativity in a tellywood show. Baas bohut hua my casual verbiage. By demand I mean no pressure, please take your valuable time and reply whenever you feel like it.Take Loads of Care and Chocolates your way <3

I hope the above answered all your queries :) Thank you for all the chocolates and care!!!

Phew this was rather long! A big hug to anyone who went through it! See ya later!

- Jalebi

[erensonly]

Cuddle Buddies (Bakugou x Black! Reader)

Chapter 10: I’m Sorry

[series masterlist],[previous chapter],[next chapter]

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Banging on the door, you pleaded,"Katsuki, open the door! It was a joke." He won't even respond back to you at this point. It wasn't supposed to go like this. You should've never listened to Mina, Denki, and Sero.

"Leave me alone! Go cuddle back up to that moss headed asscrack!"

Ok let me explain what happened.

You were sitting in your room with Mina, Denki, and Sero. You were just chilling and messing around, giving each other dares and bullying people in the dorms.

You and dared Denki to go to class 1B's dorms and ask Shinsou out, which went surprisingly well. Sero dared Mina to go beat Iida up, (don't tell anyone but he lost), and Denki dared Sero to dress in your clothes for the rest of the week, and now your dare.

They all ganged up on you and dared you to cuddle with Deku until Bakugou came back from training. They did this apparently to get back at him for giving them the wrong answers on the last test Aizawa gave to the class.

You were reluctant to do this. One, because your relationship had been going strong for a little while, and two because obviously Bakugou still had a small problem with Midoriya. But the forfeit was almost, it not worse than the dare.

If you didn't go along with the dare, they would make you embarrass yourself in front of the whole school for the rest of the year.

Thinking it was mostly harmless (mistake #1) you went along with it, thinking you could just explain it to Bakugou and he would still be somewhat upset , but not as much (mistake #2)

Walking to Midoriya's room, whom you had gotten quite close to at this point, you explain the dare and dragged him to your room knowing that's where Katsuki went right after his shower.

Laying on your bed. Midoriya lied down next to you, pulling out his phone to wait for Bakugou to come back. You pull yours out to text Katsuki.

Big Head🐥

what time will you be back?

Bakuboy💥

i'll be back in 25 minutes

Responding with a simple k to make it seem like something was off since you never replied with 'k', you open tiktok and start to scroll.

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Hearing the door close, and another open, you immediately know that it's Katsuki going to shower. "Izuku, he'll be here in like 20 minutes. We gotta get ready."

"This is kinda nerve wracking. You sure you wanna do this?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah it should be fine."

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You heard footsteps coming towards your room, scrambling to get into position, you lay down on Izuku's chest and try to curl up without looking awkward. You see the door open. We're so dead.

"What the fuck is this?!"

"What are you talking about?" you ask, pretending to be clueless.

"Is this what we're doing now?! Going around getting close to everybody you see?"

Sitting up, you try to act surprised. "What are you talking about? You know me and Izuku are friends."

"Fuck it. Keep cuddling him." He walked out of the room looking dejected. You expected a bigger reaction out of him, but he looked... tired and sad.

Jumping off the bed, you follow him to his room, trying to get his attention. He just ignored you. He slammed the door in your face, locking it.

"Katsuki! It was just a dare, nothing was really happening."

"Leave me alone! I don't wanna talk to someone who cuddles every dude she sees!" Damn.. that kinda hurt. But can you blame him?

It was almost like he wasn't paying attention to what you were saying, just wanting to get you to leave him alone.

And that's why we're here now.

"Katsuki, open the door! It was a joke."

"Leave me alone! Go cuddle back up to that moss headed asscrack!"

You went silent, trying to figure out how to get him to let you in the room. But then, you heard small sniffles. By now, everyone had went back to their rooms, not trying to get involved, but if they were there you wouldn't even have heard the sniffling.

Is he crying? You had never heard, let alone seen him cry, over anything. He was always so tough around you, especially when you needed him in times of stress and frustration.

You didn't think it would hurt him this much. Obviously, he won't text you back, no matter how much you plead, and you can only think of one thing to do. Call Kirishima.

Pulling your phone out, you text Kirishima to come to Bakugou's door, explaining to situation to him. When he arrives, he can hear to sniffling as well. "Do you think you can talk to him? He won't even respond to me anymore."

"I'll try. But I'm not sure it'll work."

"Thank you so much. I owe you one."

Stepping away from the door, you see Kirishima try to plead with Bakugou to let him in. "I don't wanna talk to you or her or anyone. Leave me alone." This was heartbreaking enough, but what he said next really twisted the knife.

"I'm finished." The only thing you could think about him being done with is the relationship. Not wanting to pressure him anymore, you leave, thanking Kirishima for trying.

You walk to the roof, taking your phone out and opening spotify. Turning on Fight Song, you start to sing along. You really got in your feelings, feeling tears slide down your face. Hearing clapping behind you as the song ended, you turn and see the whole school clapping. Bakugou ran up to you and kissed you passionately. "I love you so much. I could never be mad at you-

(I'm sorry wtf. I cry laughed while writing this. i'm fucking with y'all. now for real this time)

You walk back to your room, feeling rejected and frustrated. You should've known better than to do this to him. But you didn't, and now your relationship was probably, no, was ruined. Midoriya had left by now, so you just sagged onto your bed.

You were so angry with yourself, you didn't know whether to cry or cut your own leg off. Decking to cry, you just layer there, tears streaming down your face as you silently cried. You had no right to cry here, but the only person you ever really got close to after the incident just dumped you.

Still crying, you curl up into the pillow Katsuki always slept on when he spent the night in your room. Smiling slightly at the thoughts of the sleepless nights you both had, and the meaningful conversations you both had, it just mad you more sad. How could you mess up like this?

'I'm sorry Katsuki' was the last thing you could clearly think straight before your head went into a clouded mess. Thoughts running rapid in your mind. Voices in the back of your head yelling at you that everything was your fault. That this wouldn't have happened if you weren't so stupid.

You knew none of this wouldn't have happened if you just refused the dare, but you just had to be stubborn.

This went on for hours on end. It went on so long, you lost track of time. But what snapped you out of your daze was a loud bang. At first you thought it was someone playing around but you heard it again. And again. And again.

Getting curious, you walk slowly to where the noise was coming from. You realized it was coming from Bakugou's room. Panicking when you couldn't get the door open,you run to Kirishima's, bursting through the door, you start to shake him awake.

"Kirishima, wake up. You have to help me."

"What are you talking about?" He tried to turn away but you kept shaking him.

"Something is wrong with Katsuki. Kiri, you have to help me." Now being alert, you runs with you to Katuski's room, now hearing the loud noises. Apparently other people had heard it too because you saw groggy people waking out of their rooms, wondering what the noise was about.

Kirishima tried to get the door open but he couldn't because it was locked. "Break it down," you said suddenly.

"What?" he asked confused.

"You have to break the door so we can help him. Quickly."

"But-"

"We have no time to be discussing this! We have to help him. Now!" Not meaning to raise your voice at him, you look at him apologetically. He seems to get it and uses his quirk to help him break down the door.

When he can finally get in, you see Katsuki sleep walking almost. He was standing up and getting ready to fire another explosion. Kiri covered you when it came. "You can't take her from me! Please!" He was.. crying? Is he dreaming?

Walking up to him, you try to touch his arm. He flinches and gets ready to attack again. He kept screaming about someone trying to take someone away. About him being scared to lose someone. Then he mutters your name.

"Y/N, please don't leave me. I need you to help me." Help him what? Kiri helped you try to calm him down. He grabbed his hands while you maneuvered him into a sitting position on the floor near the bed. He was struggling trying to get away, still pleading with someone to let you go.

This was to heartbreaking to watch. You gently lowered his head to his favorite place on your body. Your thighs. He often liked to lay on them and watch TV or scroll on his phone.

"Hey," you whispered, "it's ok. No one is taking me away." Trying to comfort him, you stay to stroke his hair, scratching his scalp gently. He started to calm down a bit. Kirishima saw this and let go of his hands whispering that he was going to get Aizawa just in case.

Continuing to whisper calming things to him, he gets calmer and calmer as time goes on. You notice Aizawa and Kirishima standing at the door. You tell them you have to situation under control and that you would you would call if you needed help.

Nodding, they leave the doorway.

You noticed that Katuski was starting to wake. "Hey," whisper to him, trying to not have him on high alert anymore. Seeing you, he looks away and tries to move.

"You don't have to move. Stay here as long as you need." Reluctantly laying back down on your lap, his breathing calms. "You wanna talk about it?"

Silence. "Can I explain what happened at least? You don't even have to forgive me, just let me tell you what happened"

He grunts in response. Taking that as a yes, you start to explain that it was just a dare, and no one would ever come between the two of you. Explaining how he doesn't have to worry about anyone trying to take you away from him because it won't happen.

"You mean it?" You had never seen him this vulnerable. "Of course I do." You kiss his forehead, still combing you fingers through his fluffy hair that was slightly matted down to his forehead with sweat.

"Now do you wanna talk about what just happened?"

Nodding his head, he gets to explain. "I fell asleep and at first it was normal. But then I was back in the dusty place I ended up in when I got kidnapped the first time. But this time, you were there and that burnt idiot was holding a knife to your neck."

"They were demanding that I join them or they would hurt you. They just kept digging deeper with the knife." He let out a shaky breath.

"You looked terrified. I couldn't bare it, so I started begging them to let you go. But that wasn't enough. He started to cut you all over with that damned knife. He wanted me to join them and then he would let you go."

"You told me to just listen for my safety, but i didn't care about my safety, just yours. I want you to be safe." Tears started to stream down his face.

"You don't have to continue," you reassured. So he didn't. He just cuddled further into you and let go. He looked so small and vulnerable. Continuing to reassure him, you just tried to make sure he was ok.

Finally settling down, he grabbed your hand tightly in his. "Promise you'll never leave?"

"I promise." He gets up and drags you to the bed. You looked at the clock. 4:47 in the morning. "You're still not fully forgiven m, you know that right."

"I know," you cuddled up to him. "And you know you're gonna have to make it up to me, right?"

"Anything you want."

He smirked mischievously. He pulled you closer and kissed your head a few times. Finally settling down, you both fall asleep, glad that you could help him and explain what happened.

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(and that is a wrap! over 2k words just for y'all since i haven't updated in a while. i hope you enjoyed and i'll see you soon with a new update 🖤)

[prettyboybarzal]

Dancing with Our Hands Tied (6)

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: Smut (because of course there would be)

Previous Chapter // Masterlist

The arm around your waist was heavy, tattooed, and most definitely not Charlie’s. 

“Pierre,” you hissed. “Get up.” He stirred and tugged you closer. You pushed back against his chest, sounds of struggle falling from your lips as he curled his arms around you. “Let go of me.”

“YN, I’m severely hungover,” he grunted. “Can we fight later?”

“No.”

It’d been two weeks since you ended up in Pierre’s bed after a failed attempt to tell him off and since then, you’d slept with him at least three more times. You fell into a strict routine, one that didn’t include sleepovers. Surprisingly, though, you didn’t put up a fight when he started to nod off on the pillow the night before.

You shoved him one last time, this time successfully, and pulled yourself from bed. The first thing you did was pull the shades back to allow light into the room. He exclaimed at the invasion and pulled a pillow over his head.

“I’ll make you coffee, but then you gotta leave because I have things to do.”

Pierre watched you leave and sighed as soon as you were out of sight. Before getting back to your apartment the night before, he was yearning for you. Each time you were near him, he felt his hands twitch. Your midriff was exposed, jeans sitting low on your hips, and each time you passed, he wanted to sink his fingers into your flesh, or better yet, his teeth. But he couldn’t do that, not with all the eyes around you, not when Josh was clearly confused by the lack of fighting going on. 

It felt like he could breathe when you texted him to come back to your place, and when he finally slipped through your front door and his lips met yours, he was satisfied.

“You know,” he spoke as he entered the kitchen where you were making coffee. His voice was still rough from sleep. “We’ve never fucked in the morning.”

“And I’m okay with that.”

He laughed out loud, shuffling to grab a mug from the cabinets above him. You reached out and placed it back inside, then handed him a to-go cup. He rolled his eyes. 

“You’re the worst host.”

“That’s not what you were saying when I was blowing you last night.”

There was a knock at the door that prompted both your heads to snap up in confusion.

“That better not be one of the boys,” you grumbled. “I don’t think I could explain your shirtless presence in my kitchen.”

“Sure, you could,” he murmured, dropping his hands to either side of the counter beside you. He leaned in close, whispering, “You could just tell them what you tell me every time I’m inside you; I fuck you so good. You just can’t get enough.”

If there was one thing you’d learned about Pierre throughout these past few weeks, it was that he knew exactly how to throw your own attitude right back at you. 

“Gross, Pierre,” you said, slipping beneath his arms.

“You were the one that started talking about giving me head before either of us has even had coffee!”

You only allowed yourself to laugh once you were out of the kitchen and away from his ego. 

The person started to knock again and you stepped up to the door to pull it open, revealing your overly excited parents.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, panic in your eyes as they pushed past you to enter the apartment. “What do you mean?” your father asked as he helped your mother shed her jacket and hang it on the hook beside the door. “It’s your birthday! You didn’t think we’d forget to celebrate with you, right?”

“A warning would’ve been nice,” you muttered, thoughts fleeting to the shirtless man in the next room. You stood in their way, blocking the path to the kitchen in hopes that they’d just head straight to the living room and you could discreetly get rid of Pierre. Your mother had other plans, grabbing a cooler bag from your father’s hand before marching to put the food she’d brought away in the fridge.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, hands fluttering up to her eyes as she shielded herself from Pierre’s naked chest. You were only a step behind her, your father two behind you, and when she turned to look at you, you could see the blush on her cheeks. “I didn’t know you had company.” “Pierre’s leaving.”

“Pierre? No way! He’s gotta join us for your birthday brunch!” your father exclaimed. Pierre’s eyes flickered to you and then went back to your father. “We still have to thank you for dealing with Sadie when she came to visit, and also for dealing with this one every day.”

“You have your work cut out for you with her,” your mother grumbled from where she stood in the kitchen, already reorganizing all your draws and cabinets.

“Just send him a fruit basket or something.”

“YN,” your mother chastised, plates set on the counter for just a moment so she could glare at you. “If your father wants to treat him to brunch, then we will treat him to brunch.”

“I love brunch,” Pierre spoke, voice just above a whisper. You glared at him and that stupid little smirk toying at the corner of his lip, but then your father clapped in excitement. “Besides, it’s your birthday,” he emphasized, eyes wide. “I couldn’t miss that.”

“Great! Then, it’s settled,” he spoke. “I’m just going to run to the bathroom, and maybe your little boyfriend will put on a t-shirt.”

You spoke in unison.

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“I’m not her boyfriend.”

But your dad was already down the hall, not that he would’ve listened to either of you anyway.

Pierre narrowed his eyes at you, you stuck your tongue out at him, and then he tried to catch it between his fingers, but you shoved him away to the hallway.

“Put on a damn shirt.”

As soon as he disappeared, your mother was cooing, “That’s Pierre?”

“Why do you say his name like that? Sadie says his name like that too.”

“Well, I mean, look at him.”

“I’d prefer not to,” you grumbled. She began chastising you about how miserable you were, and how there was a handsome man right in front of you, right in your kitchen as a matter of fact, and you better take advantage of it! You’re another year older! But, you let the words fall on deaf ears before leaving to find Pierre in your bedroom.

He was still shirtless, shuffling about the room for his belongings. He glanced up when you entered, and smiled as he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”

“Because it doesn’t matter,” you said. “I don’t know when yours is either.”

“Mine’s June 24th.”

“It doesn’t matter,” you repeated. He rolled his eyes at you and pulled the shirt over his head. “This isn’t how this is supposed to work. We fuck and you leave, or I leave. That’s it. You don’t need to spend the day with me and my parents. Are you out of your mind?”

“I think it'll be fun,” he said. “Maybe not for you, but definitely for me, and that’s my favorite kind of fun.”

---

From: Sadie

WTF? Why is Pierre at brunch with you guys? What’s happening? Call me ASAP. I’m freaking out!!!!!

You and Sadie were freaking out for entirely different reasons. She was freaking out because she thought this meant something. You were freaking out because you were stuck with Pierre for longer than you ever wanted to be.

“You’re one of Josh’s friends?”

“Teammates,” you corrected. Pierre took a glance over at you with a soft smile. “They play for the Blue Jackets together.”

“Oh! Oh, wow,” your mother remarked. She gave you not-so subtle wide eyes that screamed, again, how perfect she thought he was. “That’s an excellent job!”

“I’m very lucky to get to do what I love for a living.”

“And you two met because of Josh?”

“Yes,” you answered tersely, not wanting to entertain this conversation for the sole purpose of keeping your mother’s nose out of your personal, or not-so personal, life. But Pierre gave in to her, as you expected him to.

“Yeah, he introduced us during my rookie season,” he answered after swallowing a forkful of eggs. “I’ll admit that I made a really bad first impression,” he began, meeting your eyes over the mimosa you were bringing to your lips. “But she never really gave me the chance to fix it, so we just went on hating each other for a really long time.”

“Well, look at you two now,” your mother raved, waving her hands between the two of you. “All is well.”

“What fixed it?” your dad asked. “I mean, this one can be as stubborn as a mule.”

“Dad.”

“Sweetheart, I love you, but sometimes you just make your mind up and that’s that. You don’t budge. I want to know how he got you to change your mind! Teach me your ways, Pierre.”

“Uh, well,” he began, choking a bit on the drink in his mouth. He knew he couldn’t give them the real reasons. He couldn’t explain that the only way you could stand each other was if he was inside of you, so he met your eyes with a look of uncertainty. 

“It was after he helped Sadie,” you answered for him. “I figured that if he’d ruin his own night to make sure she didn’t die of alcohol poisoning then maybe he wasn’t as bad as I thought he was.”

Pierre looked up at you again, eyes softer than before, but you avoided his gaze and instead focused on the food in front of you. 

Conversation picked up again, but it didn’t involve him. Your parents asked about work, you asked about home, and the conversation ended up circling back to Sadie once more. Pierre remained silent, taking in the relationship you had with your parents and how much you cared for your sister. He felt like he saw another side to you during brunch, a side that every other guy on the team had experienced and he’d yet to see. 

When the bill came, Pierre immediately reached for it, but your dad was faster and you yourself had placed your hand on his to push it away.

“They made you come,” you reminded him. “You don’t have to pay.”

“I wanted to come,” he corrected you. He leaned forward to speak directly to your father. “Mr. YLN, at least let me pick up the tip.”

Your dad sized him up for a moment, then sighed, “Fine.”

Pierre sat up victoriously, turning his hand in yours to squeeze the fingers that were resting against it before taking some cash out of his wallet. You flushed at the intimate moment and pulled your hand away. 

“Your father has one last request,” Mom announced as the group of you exited the restaurant. You turned to face her on the sidewalk, panic in your eyes. She glanced at your father, already nose deep in his phone. “Honey?”

“Huh?”

“Your next birthday surprise for YN?”

“I’m really okay with the birthday surprises, guys,” you murmured. “You being here is definitely enough.”

Pierre stifled a laugh beside you, and this time didn’t earn a glare. “Your father wants to go mini-golfing,” Mom butt in. “It’s this indoor glow-in-the-dark mini-golf he’s been following on Facebook for months now. If he doesn’t go, I’m gonna hear it for the next three months.”

“I can head home,” Pierre spoke, low and intended for you, but your father clapped him on the shoulder.

“No way, hockey star, I want to see that golf swing of yours.”

“Dad!”

“It’s not every day I get to hang out with an NHL player!”

And that’s how you ended up playing golf, in the dark, with your parents and your fuck buddy.

You never thought you’d be thankful to have Pierre around, but you were glad he stayed for mini-golf. Truthfully, you’d never been very athletic, but your dad loved sports, so you played them to humor him. Having Pierre with you just meant that all the competitiveness could stay between the men and you could enjoy sucking at sports with your mom. 

Then, you started losing all the golf balls. Honestly, your dad should’ve expected this very outcome when he decided to bring you to a glow-in-the-dark mini-golf place. 

You lost your ball, and then Pierre offered his and you lost that one too. Three holes later, there was only one ball left and your parents, as well as Pierre, were doubtful that you wouldn’t lose the last one.

“We’ll go get some more,” your dad muttered. “Hopefully, you don’t lose those too.”

You glared at him, earning a chuckle from both of your parents before they walked off to the front desk. As soon as they were gone, Pierre asked, “You’re not very good at this, huh?”

The smile was evident in his voice. 

“I don’t get three months of the year for golf practice like you do,” you muttered, refocusing on the club in your hand. “So, no, I’m not very good at this.”

“Well, for starters, you’re holding the putter all wrong,” he said. His voice was closer now and when you peeked back at him, he was only a few steps away. “Can I show you how you’re supposed to hold it or are you going to hit me over the head with it?”

“Try your luck.”

Pierre stepped up behind you, hands curling over yours to fix their placement. He peeled your fingers off the club, then placed them a bit higher than they had been. His breath fanned across your neck and your shoulders pulled up as a reaction, the tuft of air sending shockwaves through your body. He almost leaned in to place a kiss against your skin, but shook his head as if to scold himself for even thinking about it. 

“Don’t hit the ball too hard,” he spoke before taking a step back. You did as he coached you to and the ball went in the hole with one put. You exclaimed at your hole-in-one and twirled around to share the moment with him. His arm wrapped around your shoulders to tug you into his chest.

“Atta girl,” he remarked in the same voice he used in the bedroom. His hand trailed along your spine and down to your ass, fingers curling into the flesh as he drank you in. You almost got lost in the moment with him, despite yourself, but then your parents appeared over his shoulder and you were shoving him away.

“What are we celebrating?”

“Tiger Woods over here,” Pierre answered, nodding at you. “She just got her first hole-in-one.”

“She’s never done that before,” your dad laughed heartily. His hand came down to pat Pierre’s shoulder. “Maybe you’re rubbing off on her.”

“Maybe,” he repeated, eyebrows quirking up at you. The twitch of your lips gave away the smile that you were suppressing, but he let it go, considering it a small victory.

---

Your parents said goodbye after mini-golf, citing the long drive home as the reason for an early departure, but your mother gave you and Pierre a fleeting look that gave you the impression that they were only leaving to give you time with him. You must’ve said it a hundred times in a hundred different ways that you weren’t dating him, but your mom always liked to believe her own delusions and you could never change her mind. 

Pierre was quiet as you drove away from mini-golf and in the direction of your apartment building, but you weren’t any more talkative than he was. How could you speak when the day sent you into a tailspin? For the first time ever, you enjoyed being around him and when the day was coming to an end, you didn’t want to see him go. 

“Are you hungry?” you asked, voice light, simultaneously trying to keep the day from ending and also all serious conversation at bay.

“Yes, starving,” he answered. “It feels like we ate forever ago.”

“Do you wanna grab something quick?”

Pierre nodded and ended up pulling into a McDonalds not far from your apartment. He ordered a large meal after you ordered your usual, and then he threw a few other unnecessary things, like a kid’s meal and a third McFlurry. 

When you got back to the apartment, he spread it all out like a buffet and you filled your paper plates with food in silence. He felt like he was struggling to come up with something to say to you for the first time ever. It was always easy to rile you up and get you talking, but he was at a loss now and he didn’t have a clue what to say.

He settled on, “I like your dad. Not that it matters, or whatever, but he’s a funny guy. Loves to chirp you almost as much as I do.”

“That’s why I can put up with you,” you responded. “I’ve had years of dealing with him.”

“Did you just compare me to your father?”

“Don’t be gross,” you barked, smacking his arm. He laughed heartily at that, crinkles at the edge of his eyes as he dug into the fries in front of him. You laughed with him, amazingly so.

Conversation died as you ate with both of your minds running at warp speed. It was hard to make sense of the day, of how much you enjoyed each other’s presence, when you were still together. But you didn’t want him to go, and he didn’t want to leave, so neither of you even suggested it. 

As he started cleaning up what was left of his meal, your phone chimed and Charlie’s name flashed across the screen. He met your eyes over the phone momentarily before you unlocked it to read the message. You stared at it, biting the inside of your cheek as you thought, then responded quickly and placed the phone face down on the counter. 

“I’m going to run to the bathroom,” he spoke. “And then, uh, I guess I’ll head out.”

He disappeared down the hall and left you feeling slightly stupid after texting Charlie that you were busy. In hindsight, maybe you shouldn’t have done that, but you had and now you needed to convince Pierre to stay. That’s what you wanted anyway, right?”

When he came back to the kitchen, you were throwing your food out and as soon as he stepped in to grab some of his belongings, you stepped up in front of him. 

“You’re not actually leaving, are you?”

“Don’t act surprised,” he murmured. He took a step forward, forcing you to tilt your chin up further to keep eye contact with him. His thumb came up to caress your cheekbone. “You wanted me gone all day.”

“And now I want you to stay,” you whispered. You pulled him closer from the belt loops and watched his eyes rake over your body. “At least for a little while longer.”

“Why are you playing with my head?”

The smirk you shared with him was wicked as you answered, “Because it’s fun.”

His fingers slid to the back of your neck while his other arm curled around your waist to pull you into his chest. You kissed in the kitchen for what felt like an eternity, much longer than you’d ever spent on doing it before, and finally, he lifted you up to carry you down the hall to your bedroom. 

He laid you back on the bed and undressed you slowly. He kissed each inch of skin as it was exposed from beneath the fabric covering you and his hands were everywhere, squeezing the meat that he hadn’t been able to touch all day, the skin he was dying to touch. He kissed down your stomach to your thong, finger hooking beneath the waistband to tug them down and get you completely naked in front of him.

“YN, tu es si belle,” he whispered, eyes flickering back up to your face. You flushed beneath his gaze and gasped as he situated your legs over his shoulders and leaned in, breath fanning across your core. He kissed the inside of your thighs while his blue eyes drank you in. Your chest heaved in anticipation.

He held your hips down as he dove in, and within minutes your back was arched and your legs began to shake over his shoulders. You cried out as you came, fingers curled into his hair, grinding against his mouth and nose as he worked you through it. 

When he finally pulled away, he kissed up your inner thigh to let you come down from your high. Then, he crawled up the bed to hover over you, shuttering as your hands slid beneath his t-shirt to pull it over his head. His jeans were next, and finally, his boxers. When his cock was finally free, he reached over to the drawer and grabbed a condom. You slid it on for him and he dropped his head to your shoulder at the touch of your fingers around him. 

The moment it was on, you began to flip onto your stomach. That’s how he usually wanted you, but he stopped you from moving and gathered your wrists in his hand to pin them above your head. His lips met yours again, desperate and needy.

You felt the head of his cock against your mound and groaned in sexual frustration, so he reached down with his free hand and aligned himself with your core. 

“You’re okay?” he asked. You nodded, bottom lip pinned between your teeth to the point of breaking the skin. He kissed you once more, hoping that you’d relax with him and you did. With his knee, he nudged your legs apart and then he pushed his head past your folds. As you arched, his lips met your collarbone. 

“Happy birthday, baby.” 

The pet name set you on fire, but you could hardly focus on it as he thrust into you. The movement of his hips was shallow and slow, nothing like the other times he’d been between your thighs. He held you close, chest-to-chest. The level of intimacy so intense compared to those times you’d shared before when you were simply using each other to chase a feeling. This was different, and you both knew it. 

“Luc,” you sighed as he filled you up, stilling inside of you for a moment to breathe and take in the way you spoke his name--a name you’d only ever called him once and he’d wanted to hear every day since then. “Please.”

“Patience,” he spoke, rolling into you some more. “I’ll take care of you, but I wanna take my time.”

So, you let him take his time and basked into the feeling of the way he filled you up and surrounded you. You listened to the way he spoke to you, softly and often in French, and you noticed the way he responded to your body, the way that no other man ever had. He read you like a book, as terrifying and insane as it felt to realize that, and you couldn’t get enough.

He finally dropped your hands and immediately, your nails curled into his back as he worked your body. He propped your leg up on his hip to thrust even deeper than he had before and with each roll of his hips, you felt him deep inside you. You moaned against his shoulder and he cursed loudly in French as you rolled your hips to match the movement of his.

“I want to cum with you,” you whispered in his ear. He sighed, then nodded before pulling back to thrust into you with a little more power behind it. His hands found your hips as he leaned back on his knees and thrust into you, pulling you down onto his cock as he did so. You were a mess beneath him and he watched your breasts bounce as he fucked you. 

“Cum, baby,” he whispered, returning to the position he’d been in moments ago. He knew you were close, he was right behind you, and as he returned to the previous position, you shouted out. “Come on. With me.”

“Luc, you’re so good,” you moaned. “You fuck me so good.”

Pierre’s hand found your clit, thumb circling the sensitive nub as his lips met yours in a rough kiss. His heart pounds in his chest as your orgasm finally reached you, whimpering and moaning beneath him as he chased his own high. It wouldn’t take long with you unraveling beneath him and, finally, he cums, hips stuttering as he filled up the condom. He dropped his weight onto you, breathing ragged, and your hands began to scratch the skin of his back soothingly as you both caught your breath. 

About a minute later, he rolled over onto his back and discarded the condom while you ran to the bathroom. He rested against the headboard and waited for you to come back, heart still hammering in his chest from an orgasm like no other. You returned and his eyes tracked your movement across the room. 

“Do you want me to go?”

You looked up at him, a bit like a deer in headlights, and answered, “Um, no. You can stay, if you want.”

“Okay,” he said, voice cracking just a bit. He coughed to clear his throat and nodded. “I’ll stay.”