#webbs from the bad guys

[alilweirddragon]

I find it SO funny how I absolutely HATE spiders, but if there's a spider inspired/designed character of any kind in any media, they become one of my favourite characters of all time

[maybank5]

𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭

pairing ⤜ yn x jj / yn x rafe cameron

request ⤜ "something where JJ flirts with Topper’s sister, who’s super sweet with everyone and really fun to hang out with, not knowing she’s Rafe’s girl"

a/n ⤜ aww thank you babe for the lovely message and my first ever request!! it kinda took on a life of it's own, and i hope that's alright!!! also i cannot write rafe and jj without rafe being The Bad Guy so i hope you don't mind! i hope it turned out good for you and that you enjoy it a lot! sending hugs and love to you xx

song inspo ⤜ whiskey don't cheat, jay webb

"One whiskey please."

"On the rocks?"

"Excuse me?"

The man behind the bar squints at you, "You sure you're old enough to be here?"

"Of course," you flick your long hair over one shoulder, sit up straighter, hope you blend in well enough. It's just this isn't your usual place, and you know you must stand out like a sore thumb. From the look he's giving you, it's clear you don't belong. You reach into your purse and slap your ID down on the sticky wooden bar counter.

"Mm," he glances at the date, slides it back to you, "Have you ever even had whiskey before, princess?"

You frown, "No. But I'd like one whiskey please. To start."

"To start," his brows shoot up and he lets out a little bemused chuckle, "Alright. One whiskey, coming up. Never did determine if you'd like that on the rocks or not."

"On the rocks," you confirm, "And...can I get a couple maraschino cherries in that."

An amused smile crosses the bartender's face as he turns to prepare your drink. "Sure thing."

You put your elbows up on the bar, twist the gold ring around your thumb, before lowering your arms and crossing your hands in your lap. You feel awkward and out of place. Everyone else here is dressed so casually, and here you sit in your white sundress and heeled sandals. This isn't your usual side of the island, but you needed to get away, find some place to go where Rafe and your brother can't track you down; somewhere where no one will report back to either of them that they saw you throwing drinks back at a bar.

Sometimes it feels like there's no escape. Why you ever got with your brother's best friend is beyond you. The two of them report back to each other and discuss you like you're some sort of specimen. It still makes you queasy knowing that right after your first time, Rafe had texted Topper. Sometimes you just wanted to run away and leave them both in the dust.

So you'd come here, to this side of the island, to The Cut. You'd been here a few times before. You knew a few people that lived on this side. Had met a girl named Kiara at a Beach Clean-Up Weekend awhile ago, and she'd been really sweet. Then there was Sarah Cameron, infamous in the gossip among the Country Club. Rafe's sister who'd left, who'd gotten out. You would never admit it to anyone, but sometimes hearing the ladies gossip about her over their long island iced teas and games of bridge made you jealous. What would that be like...to run away from it all and leave it all behind?

You jolt as a glass is set down in front of you, three maraschino cherries speared with a plastic sword floating on the top.

"Thank you." You take a sip and immediately cough. It tastes like cough syrup and you can't help but wince.

"Need something lighter, princess?"

You look up at the bartender with a scowl. "No," you say, determinedly, "This is fine." And as if to prove something to him, you take another sip. It burns, but you don't cough this time.

"So you wanna tell me what's got a girl like you in a place like this, drinking a drink like that?" The bartender wipes his hands on a rag hanging from his pocket, leans his elbows on the bar in front of you. A little bit too close for comfort. You raise your eyes and get lost in the blueness of his. He's looking at you so intently. Rafe used to look at you like that, once upon a time. Now, you feel like you're barely even a blip on his radar. It makes you squirm to be under someone's attention like that.

"No," you say, "It's none of your business."

"Point taken," he raises his hands in surrender, backs off, and leaves you to your drink.

You felt like an idiot. You'd known you and Rafe weren't exclusive. Still though, you didn't realize that he was out running around sleeping with a bunch of other girls from Figure Eight, right under your nose, until that night. You felt cheap. Like a joke. Like everyone was laughing at a joke behind your back at your expense. And worse...Topper had known and hadn't said anything. Because why would he? When it came to "the boys" you knew you were not even a priority.

You finish off your whiskey, and another bartender comes over. "Another one, miss?" He asks.

"No thank you," you say, feeling already a little floaty from the first, "I think I'm ready for my bill."

"Sure thing." He disappears to the register and you put your forehead against your hand. You always were a lightweight when it came to drinking, and the hardest thing you'd ever had was champagne at New Year's. You pay your tab and head out. You spot the first bartender on his smoke break, sitting up on the wooden patio balcony. Something in your stirs, and before you can stop yourself, you make your way over to him. You jump up on the balcony, sitting on the other side of the column from him.

"Hey," he turns to face you, brows pulled together.

"Just...don't say anything," you say, "I need someone to talk to and if you're willing to listen...well, I guess you're as good as anyone."

A scoff. "You sure do know how to make a guy feel flattered."

"Shut up," you fight back a smile. You are not in the mood to smile tonight. Why is he making you smile? "You wanna know why I was here tonight drinking?"

"If you wanna tell me."

"It's stupid. I don't even know if it can count as cheating if I knew we weren't exclusive. I just...I didn't expect that."

"What happened?" The smoke of his cigarette drifts to you, making you feel floaty again, and you realize it's not tobacco he's smoking. You lean your head back against the wooden pillar.

"I found out my boyfriend has been seeing other girls. And not just seeing them either, but like, sleeping with them. Lots of them. And I know we weren't exclusive, and I probably have no right to be upset by this, but I just...I feel sick. And the worst of it is he's my brother's best friend, and he knew and didn't tell me. Because clearly I'm not the one his loyalty lies with."

"Fuck," he passes you the rolled paper between his finger, "Sounds complicated."

You aren't a big smoker, but you put it to your lips anyway and take a hit.

"Thanks," you say, passing it back to him.

"What are you gonna do?"

"No idea," you say, running a hand through your hair, "Part of me tells me to just break up with him, end it. Walk away and let him just do whatever he wants like he's gonna do anyway."

"And the other part?"

"It's complicated. We've been together for so long. He's all I know."

"Sounds like you need to get to know some new things."

"Probably," you say.

"For what it's worth," he says, taking another hit and passing it back to you, "I think it's bullshit what he's doing to you, and you deserve better than that."

"I've already closed my tab," you say, "You don't need to gun for a tip."

He tosses his head back and laughs, "Damn," he says after a moment, "Your boyfriend really doesn't know what he's missin' out on, does he?"

You blush, bring your thumbnail to your lip to bite.

"You want some unsolicited advice? It's kinda my specialty, bein' a bartender an' all..."

"Sure," you say; what could it hurt. Besides, who else have you got to talk to about this?

"I think you should dump his ass. Kick him to the curb. It's not even about being exclusive, it's about taking your feelings into consideration; about respecting you."

You feel your stomach tighten. "That's exactly how I've been trying to explain my feelings to myself," you say in disbelief, "You just put it perfectly into words! I feel disrespected, like how I feel about it just doesn't matter. To him or to my brother or anyone from that fucking place."

"You know, princess, The Cut isn't a closed club. If you're ever needing to get away from Fig Eight, you know where to go."

"Thank you," you can't help but smile, "That's sweet of you."

"Gettin' called sweet from the girl who can't order a drink without maraschino cherries," he chuckles softly. A familiar rumble pulls you from your thoughts. The black Range Rover has pulled up in front of the bar and you feel sick as you see Rafe slam the door shut and hop out. Topper's behind the wheel.

"Y/N!" Rafe calls. You feel sick as he marches over to the patio.

"Rafe Cameron is your boyfriend?" The bartender raises his brows in disbelief.

You wince. Of course he knows who Rafe is. Rafe has a reputation across the entire island.

"Yes," you admit.

"Good," he says to your surprise, dropping the joint and hopping up from the balcony, cracking his neck, "Rafe and I have history."

"What's that mean?" You ask.

"Maybank!" Rafe hollers as he storms over.

"Look what the tides dragged in. Lost, Cameron?"

"Fuck off, Maybank. I'm here for one reason only and that's to get Y/N. She's the one that's lost here. C'mon, Y/N. You don't belong here. I still can't believe you just took off like that! Thank God for Find My Iphone because Topper and I'd never have been able to track you down. Get in the car, we're going."

"The hell we are," you stand your ground, suddenly feeling brave with "Maybank" standing at your side.

"Pardon?" Rafe raises a brow, "C'mon, Y/N. Let's go."

Topper rolls down the window of the Rover, leans his head out, "C'mon, Y/N. Stop throwin' a tantrum and get in the damn car."

"No," you say, crossing your arms, "I don't have to go anywhere with you, Rafe Cameron. In fact, we're done. As of this moment. You are free, go fuck whoever you want, do whatever you want, but just know that I'm done. This is over."

"This is your doing," he turns on the bartender at your side, "I know you've got into her head somehow, JJ."

"JJ" just shrugs, "Maybe. Or maybe your ex is smart enough to come to her own decisions and that decision is that she's better than whatever it is you've got to offer. Which trust me," JJ raises a brow and smirks, "From what I hear from the ladies, isn't much."

Rafe takes a step forward. So does JJ.

"You don't want to do this," Rafe says.

"Oh, but you see I do. You forget, Cameron. It's you who doesn't want to do this. How many reminders do you need, that every time you cross me, it's you who loses. Runs back to Fig Eight with his tail between his legs."

"Fuck you, Maybank."

"You've got twenty seconds to march back to that Rover and for you and your lap dog to get the fuck out of here."

You stare in shock as Rafe's fist clenches at his side, but he does as JJ's said.

"This isn't over, Maybank," Rafe calls over his shoulder.

"Always a pleasure, Cammy," JJ says, giving a little wave as Rafe climbs back into the Range Rover.

"Whoa," you turn to him.

"Yeah," JJ runs a hand through his hair sheepishly, "Sorry about that. I probably shouldn't have stepped in like that without your signal, I just...I cant stand that guy. Either of them."

"Yeah, me either," you say with a little chuckle, "That was pretty impressive though. How did you do that though? How did you get him to back down like that? Rafe doesn't back down from a fight. Ever."

JJ smirks, "Let's just say it's not our first rodeo. He knows better than to mess with me, or any of my friends."

"And does that include me?" You raise a brow.

A smile crosses his face as he holds out his hand for you to take, "What do you think?"

You join him back inside for the remainder of his shift. Instead of whiskey, he and the other bartender, whom you come to learn is named Pope, keep you spoiled in Shirley Temples. The three of you chat, and as the night carries on, you feel a comfort settle over you that you've never experienced before.

After their shift ends, JJ invites you over to come hang out at their place with some of their friends.

"Yeah," you say, taking the hand he offers you, "Like you said, it's high time I get to know some new things. Introduce me to your world, Maybank."

You spend the night hanging out with him and his friends, Pope, John B, and come to find Sarah Cameron and Kiara are also very good friends with JJ. You spend the night laughing and playing board games with them, drinking PBR (which you realize you can handle much better than whiskey; even if JJ teases you and asks if you're sure you can drink beer without cherries in it).

It's almost three in the morning when Kiara puts some music on the porch speakers. JJ reaches out and grabs your hand, pulling you out to the grass to dance with you under the moonlight.

You know tomorrow you're going to have to face the consequences of this night. You're going to have to go home and have a proper conversation with Rafe Cameron. At the end of the day, he's still important to you, and you want to end things the right way. You're going to have to face Topper too, and deal with his comments. And you know the ladies at the Country Club are fixing to have some new gossip to add to their rosters. It's worth it though. It'll all be worth it, for more nights like these, with friends like those, and dancing with a boy like this under the moonlight.

[whumpdoyoumean]

Whumptober #8

xxx forced to stay awake

"Do not let him sleep!" Louisa's voice, sounding strange and distant. It reminds River of the vinyl records he used to listen to with the OB as a kid, the really old ones that made his granddad get that wistful look on his face that disappeared again as soon as he caught River looking at him. Things were so much simpler back then. If he closes his eyes, he can almost pretend he's back there...

"Cartwright!" Lamb snaps, shaking him a little. "Do you want to be fired from the Service for good?"

In this moment, that actually doesn't sound like too much of a bad thing if River is being honest. He doesn't say so.

"That wasn't rhetorical." Lamb's voice is loud, sharp. "We both know how your last job interview went. No one that's any good'll take you, which means you'll be stuck behind a desk at some basic mid-level office job. Or maybe a private firm'll take you on, like your old pal Webb! Imagine working for those arseholes. Is that what you want?"

"No," River mutters.

"No? Then keep your fucking eyes open!"

River forces himself to comply. There's not much to look at, really: the back of the passenger seat; the blood on his hand; Jackson Lamb's knees; the back of Louisa's head and, when he lifts his gaze a little, a glimpse of her worried face in the rear-view. The inside of his eyelids offered a better view.

The car hits a bump, jolting him and ripping a cry from his throat as pain tears through his side and chest where the bullets had struck. His vision goes dark for a second, and then he's pulled back to awareness by the sound of Lamb's raised voice.

"Jesus Christ," he's saying. "Who taught you how to drive?"

"I'm sorry!" Louisa, voice pinched. "River, come on!"

River groans, and prying his eyelids apart is harder this time. Breathing is hard, too. Everything is hard.

"River, talk to me! You okay?" Louisa cries.

"Yup," River gasps. Another groan. "Hurts."

"I'll bet it does," Lamb says. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before running off on your own like a fucking dickhead, eh? Course, I thought the same thing the last two times you did it. It's like you never learn, no matter how many times I tell you to stop doing stupid shit."

"You can..." River really shouldn't be wasting his breath on this, but he can't help it. "You can lead a horse to water."

Lamb makes a noise that could be a snort of laughter or, more likely, he's hacking up something disgusting.

"I don't know that I could lead you fuck-ups to water if we were on a-a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific."

River tries to draw in another breath to respond, but his chest hitches and he lets out a wet cough. His mouth fills with the taste of iron and he almost gags, but coughs again instead, blood flecking his lips, and he just keeps coughing. Panic is creeping in, black dancing at the edges of his vision. He can't get enough air...

"Keep breathing," Lamb commands, his words filtering through the ringing in River's ears. The pressure he's been holding on the hole in River's chest increases as he tightens his grip.

He doesn't know how long it takes, it feels like a lifetime, but the coughing fit finally subsides. His chest is burning, head pounding. He can't catch his breath. And, more than anything else, he's so, so tired. It's a deep, heavy exhaustion. He just wants to sleep.

"Cartwright! You open your fucking eyes, now."

Fucking Lamb. Louisa is speaking too, but River can't discern the words. She's too far away. He suspects she wants him to stay awake too, though, damn her. Damn both of them.

"Now!" Lamb repeats, tapping River's face. "You hear me, Cartwright? That's an order. I know you're shit at following those, but you had better follow this one. Come on. Eyes open. If you won't do it for me, do it for Guy. You saw what happened after Min. What do you think'll happen if you die in her backseat?"

That sparks something, the faintest bit of anger, and River's eyes open a little. He doesn't know how he manages it.

He doesn't know if he'll manage it again.

xxx

[incognit0slut]

Right Kind of Wrong (10)

She never thought she would be involved in a murder investigation and encounter her one-night-stand again, the awkward guy who isn’t exactly that good in bed—Or is he? Offended by the sentiment, Spencer is determined to prove her wrong… But as he gets tangled with the beautiful stranger, he realizes there is more to her than what meets the eye.

Part Summary: she finds herself as a pivotal lead in the case. wc: 4k

Series Warnings: 18+ explicit content, graphic details of murders, mentions of suicide

a/n: I’m so sorry this took so long. I realize I’m not smart enough to be writing a crime-mystery plot so this went through a lot of editing😭

Other parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Y/N NEVER THOUGHT SHE WOULD SPEND HER MORNING THIS WAY, the unfamiliarity of this foreign place had her questioning how her life turned out the way it did. Becoming a witness to a heinous crime was already overwhelming enough for her, and now sitting in this cold, empty interrogation room was making her lose her mind.

She had never thought of being in this situation—a scenario that solely belonged to crime novels and thrilling movies. Yet, here she was, feeling more uncomfortable as time passed by. She slowly glanced toward the two-way mirror and the thought of watchful eyes observing her every movement intensified her discomfort, leaving her feeling judged and exposed. But above all that, there was one question that seemed to float at the top of her head.

Was Spencer there?

She heaved out a sigh. The one time she allowed herself to indulge further with her one-night-stand, it didn’t go the way she expected. She had thought that maybe—maybe—opening her heart was something she could try again. After a long time of not wanting to be romantically involved with anyone, waking up in his bed hadn’t seemed so bad...

Now it was just wishful thinking, her past naive self becoming a mockery to her now.

She was engrossed in her own thoughts when the door to her left suddenly creaked, drawing her attention, and she couldn't stifle the disbelief laugh slipping through her mouth.

"Out of all the agents in this building and they decided to send you?" She wondered as Spencer cautiously walked into the room with a file in his hand. "Isn't this against the rules?"

"What is?" He asked, pulling out the chair across from her.

"Questioning someone you know personally."

He regarded her with a look she couldn't quite decipher. Something about him seemed so different, it was baffling how someone could change so drastically in such a short period. Last night he had been sweet, attentive, and full of affection. But now, as she looked at him, it was as if he had morphed into a completely different person. The warmth that had once radiated from his eyes was replaced by a distant, guarded gaze.

Spencer Reid and Doctor Reid were really two different people.

"My personal matters won't intervene in the work I do."

"Somehow I doubt that," she murmured, watching as he sat down. She leaned back and crossed her arms. If he was going to act like they hadn't spent the night sleeping on the same bed, she might as well give him the same reserved attitude. "So, what now? Are we going to continue where we left off?"

"Actually, there's something else I'd like to know." He pushed the folder in his hand across the table and opened it. "I'm aware that you were associated with Harvey Webb?"

What the—

A sudden chill ran down her spine as the name slipped from his mouth. It was the last person she wanted to remember, a name she had fought so hard to push into the depths of her subconscious. But now it all came rushing back, threatening to engulf her in a wave of memories. She saw glimpses of piercing eyes that held malice, a voice dripping with menace, and a presence that loomed like an ominous shadow.

As she laid her eyes upon the files in front of her, a shiver coursed through her body. The face that stared back at her from the photograph was etched with lines of time. His eyes, once filled with unsettling intensity, now bore the weight of years gone by, their depths guarded and inscrutable.

"Why are you showing me this?" She asked quietly, trying to think of any possible reason why she was forced to recall her past.

"Did you know him?"

With a hesitant pause, she uncrossed her arms. "I did."

"And how did you know him?"

"He—" she stopped, trying to decide how to describe the nature of her relationship with that awful, dreadful man, and finally responded with, "He was my landlord."

"Was that all there is? Was your relationship with him simply one between a landlord and a tenant?"

She met his gaze. "What are you trying to imply?"

"One of our agents visited his wife before this."

Oh.

This was probably why he seemed so guarded, his words laced with a hint of something familiar yet unspoken. She was sure he already knew what happened. It was in the way he carefully chose his phrases, the slight pause that followed, and the knowing glimmer in his eyes that gave it away. But even when the buried memories were fighting to resurface in her head, a sense of unease gripped her. Why was he delving into her past?

"Why are you—" She shook her head. "What does he have to do with the current case?"

There was a pause before Spencer replied, "We believe he might be a link to the investigation."

She narrowed her eyes. "How?"

The room suddenly fell into an uneasy silence, punctuated only by the quiet hum of tension that seemed to hang in the air. Their eyes locked.

"Let's make a deal," he suggested. "If you answer all the questions I have for you, I'll tell you what you want to know."

She considered his words and slowly nodded. "Fine," she agreed. "But you probably know who he was to me if one of your agents had already questioned Mrs. Webb."

"I want to hear it from you."

The weight of her past bore down upon her, pressing against her conscience. She understood, with unwavering certainty, that the time had come to lay bare the chapters of her history that she had kept hidden. With a breath that carried the weight of her past, she finally mustered the courage to speak her truth.

"Harvey and I had an affair."

A subtle change swept across his face as her words hung in the air. His expression remained stoic, a reflection of the knowledge he carried within him. She wasn't sure how much he already knew, but she continued.

"It wasn't my proudest moment," she admitted. "I was young, it was my first time in the city and I got this great apartment at an affordable price. Harvey helped me when I moved in so we talked a lot back then and easily became friends. He eventually mentioned how his divorce had gotten to him very badly, and I... I guess I took pity on him."

"He told you he was divorced?"

"Yeah, he told me the property that he owned, this apartment building of his, was the only asset he got for their divorce settlement. I was too young and naive to even consider he could be lying, I guess I was too smitten by the attention he constantly gave me."

"How long did it happen?"

"A couple of months. It wasn't until he kept on disappearing that I started to suspect him. He said he had to go out of town for his work, but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to follow him one day." She gave him a pointed look. "Turned out he wasn't leaving town, he was going back home to his wife and kids."

"What happened then?"

"I confronted him about it..." Her body shifted uncomfortably. "That was when I realized how messed up he really was."

"What do you mean?"

"Harvey was a manipulative son of a bitch." He raised his eyebrows at her choice of words, which she shrugged in return. There really was no other way to describe him. "It was as if a switch had turned inside him the moment I confronted his lies. He became overbearing, controlling, possessive, and just—he became someone I was very afraid of."

He studied her closely, trying to decipher the unspoken layers of her narrative, the nuances hidden beneath the surface. "Did he ever hurt you?"

“Physically? No—well, there was this one time he got physical when he got so mad, but that was it," she confessed as her past flashed through her mind. "Although mentally, he was draining me. He would often threaten to harm me, or himself, if I ever left him. I think he was also diagnosed with a lot of mental disorders."

"Was his wife aware of everything happening?"

She nodded. "One day I visited their house when he wasn't home and confronted her about everything. Instead of blaming her husband's questionable behavior, she blamed me for ruining their marriage and started calling me a slutty home wrecker."

"Did he find out about this?"

"Yes," she replied. "He was not happy about it."

"And how did you get out of that situation?"

"I got accepted for the current job I work at now."

"He was fine with that?"

"I didn't tell him about it." She looked down, her gaze focusing on her hands sitting in her lap. "I had to move my things secretly whenever he went home to his family. When most of the stuff I needed was secured at my new place, I finally left, changed my number, and never looked back."

"You never saw him again after that?"

"The next time I heard of him was his own obituary printed on the paper." As the weight of her past slipped into the open, exhaustion suddenly settled over her. Her gaze then flickered toward the files on the table. "Now will you tell me how he's linked to the case?"

Spencer’s attention was completely focused on her, analyzing every detail of her movements. He paid close attention to the way she shifted in her seat, the way she blinked, and the way she tilted her head. "Were you aware of how he died?"

"Yes, he... he hurt himself."

Spencer shook his head, the lines on his forehead etched themselves deeper, highlighting the concentration etched upon his features. He leaned forward, his movements deliberate and controlled, as he turned the files over, taking out a few pictures before presenting them in front of her. "We believe his death was a homicide."

"What?" Her eyes widened in surprise as she gazed at the collection of photographs spread out before her. She should be appalled by the amount of blood seen in the shots, but her eyes darted across the blotched writing carved along the bruised skin. "Something was written on his arm?"

"You didn't know?"

"Of course not, why should I know of this?" She glanced up and was taken aback when she noticed the same doubt on his face she saw this morning. Her heart sank as the realization washed over her like a chilling wave. "You're still pining me down as a suspect."

"Your personal connections to all three victims have raised some concerns," he pointed out, voice carrying a controlled intensity, each word measured and deliberate. "And what's even more concerning is that they all had somehow wronged you in the past."

She suddenly felt a surge of anger as he leveled his accusations. Her lips thinned into a tight line, and her eyes narrowed as all her frustration and tension bubbled over. "I had nothing to do with their deaths."

"So it's a coincidence that they all suffered the consequences of their actions that affected you directly?"

"Just because I had issues with them doesn't mean I'd resort to murder," she spat. "Why are you so persistent in painting me as a suspect?"

"Your past grievances with these victims paint the picture." Spencer leaned forward, his palms pressed firmly against the cool surface of the table. His eyes, narrowed with determination, locked onto hers with palpable intensity. "Tell me, do you have an alibi for the times of their deaths?"

She leaned forward and held his gaze, not wanting to back down. "I'm not responsible for any deaths, so no, I don't have an alibi for something I didn't do."

"That's a very vague answer."

"You don't say?" She responded sarcastically. "Are you going to dump me with facts on how my body language is being defensive right now?"

"Would it help you to answer my questions clearly?"

She felt her patience breaking. She had been doing her best to remain calm and collected, but as his gaze remained fixed on her and he continued judging her with that harsh stare, she finally snapped.

"You know what, you want an alibi? I'll give you a damn alibi."

The tension she had been holding in her body suddenly exploded. With every inhale, her chest tightened, a reservoir of pent-up emotions yearning for release. And then, like an unleashed storm, she let it all pour forth.

"According to his obituary, Harvey Webb's death happened on Halloween and that was when I attended this stupid party held at the office. I was in the parking lot when Jamison called for my help before I scurried back only to witness his death. And don't get me started on Kevin Marshall."

She steadied her gaze on him.

"I studied his files for work so I'm aware of the time frame when it happened, and for someone with an eidetic memory, you sure had forgotten where I was that night so let me help you jog your memory back, Doctor Reid, because I spent the night in your bed before you fucking kicked me out the door!"

A heavy silence settled upon them only to be broken by her labored breathing and the pounding of her heart.

Had she really said that?

Y/n was never one with a foul mouth, but with the way the cuss word flew out of her lips in the heat of the moment, it was clear to her how furious she was. Although she did feel a sense of relief as if a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders after speaking her truth... But at what cost?

The room seemed to hold its breath, suspended in a fragile stillness, as his eyes locked onto hers. The weight of her words settled between them, casting a heavy shadow in the room. And there he sat, frozen in the moment, his face etched with shock and surprise. His mouth opened and closed, but no words emerged, as if the force of her words had momentarily robbed him of his ability to respond.

She wondered what was going through his mind right now. Was he processing her words, attempting to unravel the layers of her frustrations? Or was he grappling with his own emotions, struggling to find the right words to respond?

And suddenly she couldn't take it anymore, feeling an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washing over her. All of the emotions unleashed during her frustrated rant had left her feeling drained. Every fiber of her being ached for respite and seeing him again felt like an additional burden she wasn't ready to bear. So she let her eyes fall on the two-way mirror, focusing in nowhere particular.

"I want to request another agent in here."

She noticed the way his shoulders tensed from the corner of her eyes but decided to ignore it, keeping her gaze on her reflection instead. And just as she was about to accept the fact that nobody was going to listen to her, the sound of the door opening echoed throughout the space, its noise cutting through the silence.

A dark-haired woman stood by the entry, her hand gripping the door as she focused her attention on the only man in the room. "Dr. Reid, I can take it from here."

The weight of the situation suddenly settled him. He studied the woman sitting across from him who was trying to maintain her control. But beneath it all, he saw the cracks in her facade, the vulnerabilities concealed beneath her frustration. It became clear that her actions, though seemingly distant and cold, were rooted in a desperate attempt to protect herself from further hurt.

And he was responsible for it all.

With a heavy sigh, Spencer finally rose from his seat, the chair scraping against the floor as he pushed it back. His mind was telling him he was only doing his job, yet his heart was pointing out the unfairness of his judgment of her. And for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do.

"There you are," Emily announced, walking into the meeting room as she spotted Spencer standing by the large board adorned with webs of information, his back facing her. "Are you okay?"

Spencer turned around and regarded her with a sigh. "No."

She gave him a sad smile. "She left already." Then she crossed her arms, studying the way his expression fell at the mention of the woman she had questioned for the past hour. "Do you really think she has anything to do with the case?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, then shook his head, his shoulders dropping at the revelation of his words. "No."

"Then why were you being so hard on her?"

"I... I don't know."

As her gaze focused on his face, she observed the flash of vulnerability that briefly danced across his features. His eyes darted away, evading direct contact, betraying a flicker of unease that she couldn't ignore.

"I think you do," she noted. "I think you have this logic in your head that if she had something to do with the case, you'd have a reason to stop getting involved with her. But now that you know she's innocent, you think it's too complicated to harbor your feelings after the way you accused her. "

He drew his eyes back to her. "I thought we agreed not to profile each other."

"I wouldn't consider this profiling when you literally have your heart on your sleeves."

He let out a sigh, his voice trembling as he mustered the courage to acknowledge the truth of his actions and the pain he had caused. "What should I do?"

"You're asking the wrong person for relationship advice here," Emily remarked. "But what I do know is that if you wronged someone, you apologize."

But was it enough? Was apologizing to her enough to compensate for the hurt he had put her through?

Guilt has a funny way of coming after the moment has passed, like a relentless pursuer in the shadows of our conscience. Right now it was sneaking up on him, resurfacing with a relentless grip on his emotions. After he left the room, he got inside the small space behind the two-way mirror, continuing his job as an observer instead of the one questioning her.

Hotch had looked at him pointedly when he stepped to his side, and although his boss kept his mouth close the entire time, Spencer knew he was secretly assessing him with judgment. Especially when, after observing Y/n behind the glass, it was clear that she wasn't a suspect. He saw the scars of his misjudgment etched upon her face and the guardedness in her eyes.

It took him as an observer to comprehend she was innocent, that the darkness he had attributed to her was merely a reflection of his misguided assumptions. But it was too late now. He had allowed his biases to cloud his judgment, staining their relationship—or the potential of it anyway—with a hue of mistrust that was now difficult to wash away.

"I don't think she'll ever forgive me," he admitted, feeling dejected.

"Reid, you haven't even tried, and even if she won't, I'm sure you'll find a way to fix it." As the weighty words of their conversation hung in the air, a playful spark suddenly ignited in her eyes. "So."

Her teasing look cut through the tension, catching him off guard. "What?"

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," he quickly responded.

"After all that tension between you two and you're still denying it?"

"She's—" he stopped. "I'm not sure what we are, honestly."

Emily let out a soft chuckle. "Well, any type of relationships are complicated. That's why I don't bother with them anymore." Her eyes then shifted behind him, noticing the numbers written on the board that wasn't there the last time she was here. "What do you have there?"

Spencer let out a sigh of relief. Her request to shift the conversation to something else offered him a lifeline, a respite from the vulnerability of delving into his own feelings. A flicker of gratitude flashed in his eyes as he realized that she had unknowingly granted him an escape from his discomfort.

"I did the geographical profiling and these numbers are each respective coordinates of the location where all the victims were found." Emily nodded and he continued, "Basically, I did a coordinate rounding to eliminate the decimals until I come up with two digits for each location."

"And you think these numbers mean something?"

"They must. Here, take a look at this." He motioned her to step closer toward the round table before showing her the map he had drawn over with his handwriting, highlighting three precise locations that formed a triangle. "Even when Harvey Webb wasn't found at his house, he was found at his apartment which was technically his second residence. The same goes for Kevin Marshall, his body was found at home."

Then he pointed at one of the marks located at the top of the map.

"But Jamison Lynch was found at his workplace. The Unsub must have a reason to commit the crime six blocks away from his house."

Emily scanned the map before turning her attention back to the board. "So these numbers represent each location? Eleven is the first victim's residence, ninety-one is the second victim's workplace, and nineteen is the third victim's apartment?"

"Precisely."

"You know," she started, head tilted to the side and eyes piercing onto the numbers presented before her. "The third victim is technically the first victim if you consider the timeline."

As her words lingered in the air, a spark of realization ignited within him. It was as if a puzzle piece he had been searching for had finally fallen into place. "Wait." He walked over and grabbed the marker by the table. "You're right."

Emily watched as he rearranged the line of numbers.

19 91 11

"Does that mean anything to you?"

But Spencer couldn't hear her, his head was already turning its gear as shreds of evidence he had gathered these past few days swarmed his mind. "The Unsub has the same MO in all the victims and they're fixated using verses from the bible so if those numbers have an indication of that conviction then the first two digits could be the number of The Old Testament which means—"

He quickly wrote down his next words.

"Psalm 91:11," Emily read out.

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways,"Spencer recited. "That's it—a guardian angel."

Emily's eyes widened as she stared at the revelation before her. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, revealing a connection that had eluded her grasp until now. It was as if a veil had been lifted, granting them to reshape the narrative of the case.

"Y/n isn’t the killer," she mumbled, turning her head towards him. "She's being protected."

He returned her gaze with the same disbelief.

"Someone else is doing it for her."

>> NEXT PART

.

taglist #1

@tereresrock @casthings @vader-is-hot @maevethelesbian @whereintheworldisspencerreid @reidverseq @niyahwhoreworld @l4venderia @theintrovertedthespian @lovelyxtom @tayzerr-72 @mulbsstuff @dorothleah @stevenknightmarc @prettyboyspenceee @gracesmusings @kalulakunundrum @fearlessmoony @r5court @simp4f1 @thecrazytealady @nyeddleblog @ghostheartbeat @comfortzonequeen @iiheartbowie @louderfortheback @busy-buzzing @alexis-exe2008 @imtherealslimmoony @baeofevery @elamultistan @lyxennz @avid-fic-reader-05

@cowstealer427 @thollandsdarling @ghxst-heart @cashtons-wife @kyuupidwrites @you-sunshine @comboboo @sebastiansstanswhore @panic-monster @marimorena06 @alice-ace299 @uncle-eggy @bollzinurmouth @julezs-bl0g @ruhrohragu @eternally-passionate @kazuumii @spencerr3idd @withered-rxse @broken-pieces @siredtomsgilbert @kaiya3333 @furiousbanditnickelknight @pinkangelavenue

@slay-and-gay @woahnotmecryingoverafanfiction @zeysartzone @frxcless @sadroses98

PLEASE READ: If any of you asked me to be added and you're not on the list OR you want to be added in the future, please comment on this post so I could see it. But make sure your blog can be searched by anyone or I can't tag you. Thank you :)

Don’t forget to interact with the story!

[lillotus17]

INTERTWINED SERIES (Spidermen!ENHA) Preview

SYNOPSIS: After being dead for two minutes and then brought back to life thanks to your coworker you start to get these weird visions of future events just minutes before they happen. During a train ride you witness the murder of three teenage boys in broad daylight and then suddenly the next second they're sitting back down in their seats, alive and breathing. Despite the want you have to keep your peace and leave it alone, you can't help but get a very bad feeling and it only intensifies when you recognize the man that murdered them in your vision three train carts away and walking in your guys' direction. Shoving the three boys off of the train, saving their lives, risking your own, and being accused of kidnapping was not on your bucket list after surviving death. You don't have any clue what is going on or what in the hell you're gonna do to help these three boys but thankfully the four of you bump into some help along the way.

RELEASE DATE: TBD

PAIRING: EnhaHyung!Line X Fem. Reader, Spider-men!EnhaHyungLine x Madame Webb!Reader, Superhero!EnhaHyungLine x Clairvoyant!Reader, Spider!EnhaHyungLine x Paramedic!Reader, [ft. Enha Kim Sunoo (Anya Corazon), Yang Jungwon (Julia Cornwall), and Nishimura Riki (Mattie Franklin); TXT Yeonjun (Ezekial Sims), Choi Soobin (Ben Parker), mentions of Choi Beomgyu (Richard Parker); Shin Ryujin (Mary Parker); more to be added].

GENRE: Superhero AU, Romance, Action, Comedy, Angst, Strangers to Allies to Friends to Lovers, polyamorous relationship, (let me know if I forgot anything) more to be added!

WARNINGS: profanity, sexual/suggestive content (intercourse, oral, masturbation, phone sex, sexting, etc) ONLY WRITTEN FOR HYUNG LINE, MINORS DNI (you WILL be removed/blocked), poly relationship, drinking/consuming alcohol, feminine pronouns/terms used for reader, MADAME WEBB SPOLIERS!!! If you haven't watched it already! This is based on the MADAME WEBB MOVIE with some twist added into it! Let me know if I forgot anything at all!

DISCLAIMER: This is purely a work of FICTION! This is not meant to portray any of the Enhypen Members or other mentioned idols in any way or shape or form.

I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE IMAGES/GIFS THAT MAY BE/ARE USED IN MY WRITING. IMAGES CREATED BY ME WILL HAVE MY WATERMARK OR BE COPYRIGHTED! THE MOOD BOARDS USED FOR THIS SERIES ARE ONES I PUT TOGETHER ON MY OWN BUT THE PHOTOS USED ARE NOT MINE!

ALL CREDITS GO TO THE OWNERS/CREATORS!

PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR REPOST MY WORK!

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION, STRICTLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES.

P.S. if you haven't already, you should definitely check out @artysse (credited) on TIKTOK! If you already have, then you know that it's an ENHA Fan Art Account of Spider ENHA! It's really fucking awesome! Go show some love!

NOT PROOF READ: Apologies for any grammatical errors, my loves!

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This takes place in New York, with mentions of South Korea and Japan. Reader is the same age as Jay, Jake, and Sunghoon. Jungwon, Sunoo, and Niki are the same age, in high school, and have a slightly bigger age gap between them and hyung line. Time gaps, mentions of MCU universe events/milestones. Slight spider-verse au, hyung line are all from different universes! Also note that maknae line don't have their spider powers (yet) because they develop it in series. ENHA hyungs already have their powers when they meet Y/N and the other boys.

CAST:

Y/N L/N as Cassandra (Cassie) Webb/Madame Webb

Yang Jungwon as Julia Cornwall (Carpenter in the Comics)/Arachne/Spider-(Wo)man

Kim Sunoo as Anya Corazon/Arana

Nishmura Riki (Niki) as Martha (Mattie) Franklin/Spider-(Wo)man

Lee Heeseung as Peter Parker (Tom Holland Universe)/Spider-Man

Park Jongseong (Jay) as Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield Universe)/Spider-Man

Sim Jaeyun (Jake) as Miles Morales (Spider-Verse)/Spider-Man

Park Sunghoon as Gwen Stacy (Spider-Verse)/Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider

More to be added!

[cfr749]

So in the interest of engaging in a respectful way, I wanted to put my thoughts into words about why this situation with the picture is far bigger than the picture for me personally. I also don't think the picture is that serious. I do think the pattern I talk about below is problematic.

If you love everything about the show and how Tim and Lucy got together, I think that’s wonderful. 

But before getting annoyed that people are voicing their opinions and concerns, I hope that people at least try and consider these are layered issues. 

Lucy is a woman of color in the LAPD who ended up in a relationship with her former boss, despite knowing it could come at a price for her professionally. 

For me, it is important to see a story where Tim and Lucy choose each other, respect each other, and support each other. Equally. 

And, for me, that is not at all the story we got in seasons 4 and 5 (and the end of season 3). These are my issues, and why I think it’s important the show be more balanced in its storytelling going forward: 

What we got for Lucy: Multiple instances of Lucy being petty, jealous, immature and unprofessional at work (and mind you this is a character that is hyperaware of how hard it is to be a woman in the LAPD, and specifically the optics of romantic relationships between officers, and I think it's shitty that the writers chose to portray her like this not once, but multiple times)

The Katie Barnes storyline

Webb and the cat personality test + vocally reacting in roll call in front of her fellow officers when Tim chose Smitty over her to be his aide

Being clearly invested and heavily focused on bets and competition with Tim

What we got for Tim:

a retcon of his bad behavior in S1 being because he needed to show Lucy the world could be a scary place. Because, as a woman who was literally threatened with sexual assault and a car jacking in the pilot, she was too naive and inexperienced and "empathetic" to know that.

Tim putting Lucy in her place and reminding her about the seriousness of their work by calling off the bet

***

What we got for Lucy:

Obvious jealousy over Ashley (you're in a relationship? you're dating a lifeguard? break up with her! the reaction to the proposal, etc.)

What we got for Tim:

Setting Lucy up with another man without a second of hesitation.

Encouraging her to end things with Chris (a WHOLE other issue I won't get into), after Ashley had dumped him

***

What we got for Lucy:

Being seemingly more invested in and concerned about Tim's relationship than her own (Tim's planning a vacation with Ashley, while Lucy doesn't want to meet Chris' parents and is very concerned about whether Tim is going to propose)

Dumping Chris, not of her own accord, but because Tim was able to “open her eyes”

Specifically dumping that guy FOR Tim, in a way that made her look like an asshole 

What we got for Tim:

being in a relationship with a woman he was absolutely into, despite their clear incompatibility (we heard from Eric himself that Tim was genuinely interested in Ashley, happy and invested in his relationship with her; we heard Tim say he could see himself marrying her)

Choosing not to break up with Ashley despite all of the indications they weren’t right for each other and being willing to cheat on her

Not being willing to retire for her, but still not ending the relationship

Being made into the victim when Ashley dumped him in a way that made her look like an asshole

Only pursuing a relationship with Lucy after he'd been dumped, while she was still in a relationship

If you don’t feel the story was lopsided and unfair to Lucy, or have a completely different perspective (I'd genuinely love to hear it!!), just don’t care, or find it that serious, that’s great for you, but it’s completely valid that people feel this way.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see a woman in a relationship be valued and treated well. That has nothing to do with insecurity or jealousy. That has to do with respect and representation. We all come from different perspectives and have different backgrounds that reflect in our perception of how women of color are portrayed on TV.

[clairifys]

Bastogne - Ronald Speirs x Fem!Reader

Summary: Being in Bastogne was a tiring and hard time for Easy Company. Luckily for (Y/n), a certain hazel-eyed man makes things a little better for her.

TW: Swearing, killing, war, female reader, she/her pronouns, gets a little steamy? not bad at all, kissing, Perconte getting shot in the ass

i don’t own any BoB characters and these fanfics are towards the actors not the actual soldiers, in no way am i trying to be disrespectful.

Word count: 1.8k

If you’d asked anybody who had the misfortune of holding the line in Bastogne, you’d know how much of a terrible nightmare it truly was. No supplies, Christmas creepin’ up, ass biting cold, and the Krauts bombing the forest day and night. 

Sitting in a foxhole watching the front of the line with Perconte, Webb, and Christenson was when I truly thought, ‘What the fuck am I doing here?’ 

I’ll be honest, sometimes I thought I should’ve stayed home with my siblings, and helped the war from home. Right now was one of those times. I was cold, wet, dirty, tired, and worst of all, on my period. It was horrible normally being on my period, but right now? In Bastogne? Absolute shit. I hated staying in the foxholes but Lieutenant Dike made me, Perconte, Webb and Christenson watch the line. 

I was sitting against the wall of the foxhole, squished into Christenson as it was freezing, and I didn’t care who’s body warmth I’d have to steal to warm up. We were all talking about something stupid when all of a sudden, men started walking past our foxhole and talking to us.

“Good luck ladies.” 

“Been nice knowin’ ya.”

“Wouldn’t drink too much if I were you.” 

“Hey, be careful if he offers you a cigarette.” 

Multiple men said as they walked by.

“What are they talking about? If who offers us a cigarette?” Christenson said while slightly smiling. “Speirs.” Webb replied.

“Who?” Christenson questioned, still not understanding.

“You’ve never met him?” I said, shivering.

“Lieutenant Speirs.” Webb replied.

“Supposedly Speirs shot one of his own men for being drunk.” Perconte told Christenson.

“You’re kidding. That’s unbelievable” Christenson said, incredulously.

“Yeah, and there's another one about him giving cigarettes to 20 German POWs before killing ‘em.” Webb said joining in on the conversation.

“He shot 20 POWs?” “Well, actually, I heard it was more like 30.” Christenson and Perconte went back and forth.

“Oh come on. Do you really believe that?” I asked Perconte, shaking my head. 

“Christenson.”

We all whipped our heads around at that.

“Lieutenant Speirs.” Christenson said nervously. 

“I got the name right, didn’t I, Christenson?” Speirs asked while looking at me. We made eye contact and I quickly looked down at my medic bag, pretending to look through it for something. I could feel my face heating up slightly, although it wasn’t my fault. Lieutenant Speirs was a very attractive man and his mysterious personality was hot. 

“Yes, sir.” He replied.

“What are you guys doing out here?” Speirs asked us.

“We’re watching the line, sir.” I replied, pulling my jacket farther up my face, as I didn’t have a scarf. He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t discern then said,

“Well, keep up the good work, while you're at it, you might wanna reinforce your cover.”

“Oh actually sir, Lieutenant Dike said not even to bother, that we're only gonna be here one day.” Perconte spoke up.

“Lieutenant Dike said that, huh?” Speirs asked while me and Perconte nodded back.

“Then forget what I said.. Carry on.” He finished while getting up. 

“Oh, anyone care for a smoke?” He asked, slightly smirking. 

“You?” He questioned Christenson as Christenson was shaking his head.

“How about you little lady?” He asked me. When I saw he had Lucky’s I decided to test my luck.

“Sure, why not?” I replied calmly, although in the back of mind hoping he wouldn’t shoot me.

He looked content as I leaned onto the edge of the foxhole, holding myself up as he gave me a cigarette. High off accomplishment, I decided to push my luck.

“Mind givin’ me a light?” I asked in a sweet tone, hoping it might help persuade him. His already dark eyes got darker as they were fixated on me. He pulled out his lighter, smirking, and maintaining eye contact he lit the cigarette in my mouth. After it lit, he stood up and turned away, walking back to do whatever he normally did.

I turned around and all three men were staring at me, shocked.

“(Y/n)! What the hell! Didn’t you hear what we said? I thought you knew these stories, you've been with Easy since Toccoa!” Perconte said, starstruck. 

“Oh calm down! He offered! You’re just jealous I got a cigarette and you didn’t.” I shrugged my shoulders and playfully stuck my tongue out at him.

He just grumbled and went back to brushing his teeth while the other men, still shocked, went back to doing whatever they were doing.

The next few days weren’t anything special. We had East and West of Foy cleared out, so we were getting ready to attack and capture Foy. The day came and I, along with several other Easy Company men, were going to be led by Dike. I had no confidence in his ability and I was nervous for us all. I was a field medic, so I’d have to be on my A game in making sure these men got their wounds treated. Captain Winters was giving Lieutenant Dike a run down and I was standing next to Speirs, shivering. 

“You seem to be cold a lot Private, colder than most.” He said, looking down at me.

“Well we are in Bastogne, sir.” I replied sarcastically while smirking.

“Oh I’m well aware (L/n).” He said back, smiling albeit barely. At that, he ended up taking off his own scarf and wrapping it around my neck. Feeling my face heating up, I blushed moving to take the scarf off

“Sir! Don’t give this to me, you need it!” I replied, getting ready to hand it back to him. 

“Keep it. I’m not as cold as you.” He said walking away. 

I ended up unzipping my coat and tucking it in, but boy was he hard to understand at times.

“(L/n), you got a boyfriend we don’t know about?” Luz shouted at me, causing the others to laugh, “Such a shame, you’re quite the beautiful dame.” He said while winking at me. Slightly blushing at the connotation of Speirs being my boyfriend, and at the compliment I just ended up shaking my head and laughing. What I didn’t know was that a certain dark haired man was listening in and blushing as well.

I knew Dike wasn’t a good leader. I had been running around, dodging bullets and mortars trying to patch up men and get them to cover while Lieutenant Dike was sitting on his ass, cowering behind a hay bale. I went over to Dike and started yelling at him about moving so more men wouldn’t keep getting hit.

Suddenly, when we thought all hope was lost, Speirs came running out like a knight in fucking armor and relieved Dike of his position. I gave him a look of relief and he in return gave me a smile. I went back out to go patch up Perco’s ass right after.

After we took Foy, thanks to Speirs, we were stationed in a church for the next few nights. There was a choir singing, as men were either talking or trying to get some shut eye. I was in a different room of the church that had a mirror, alone, busy brushing, detangling, then braiding up my hair when Speirs came over to sit by me. 

“Thanks for saving our asses back there, guess we should start calling you Captain now huh?” I jokingly said to him.

“No problem (L/n). The other men can call me Captain, you can call me Ron though.” He said smiling next to me. My face started heating up at his words.

“Then you have to start calling me (Y/n).” I said shyly, smiling at him. 

“(Y/n)..” He tested out, “Will you do me the pleasure of letting me kiss you?” He asked, a little nervous. Without replying, I pounced on him, kissing him with as much fervor and longing as I could. He kissed back immediately with the same passion. Breaking apart for air, we stared at each other. He went in for another kiss, and I met him halfway. This time, he bit down on my lip, causing me to groan into his mouth and he slipped his tongue into mine. His hands started to roam, slowly crawling up my waist almost cupping my-

Ahem

A voice awkwardly coughed causing us to spring apart. Sergeant Lipton was standing at the entrance awkwardly holding papers.

“I uh, need you to sign these for me.. Sorry to, uh, interrupt.” He said stiffly. 

“Hand them here.” Ron said while digging for a pen. While Ron was busy signing the papers, I took the chance to talk to Lipton.

“This is gonna stay between us right..” I said uncomfortably, face turning red each passing moment. Lipton looked at me, slightly chuckled then responded,

“Of course, just, make sure next time I don’t have to almost walk in.” I gave him an awkward smile and Ron handed him the papers back smirking.

When Lipton left, Ron dug his hand into his right pocket, pulling out a little black box. He handed it to me, and waited for me to open it. When I did, I wasn’t upset. Sitting in the center of the box was a beautiful, small, rhombus shaped diamond attached to a silver, thin chain. It was the most beautiful, and probably expensive, gift I had ever gotten.

“Oh Ron.. this is beautiful!” I said, looking between him and the necklace fondly.

“Will you put it on for me?” I asked, smiling up at him.

“Of course, I’m glad you like it. I found it in Holland and I thought you’d look even more beautiful with it.” He replied while clasping the chain together on me. I blushed, and when he finished, I wrapped my hand around his neck. His arms immediately went around my waist as I slowly swayed us to the muffled choir in the beautiful church.

AN: I am SO sorry it took so long! I've been super busy with Christmas and finals, and I was drained. I'll be trying to post more regularly, I promise.

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Today - March 12th, 1974 - Queen Story!

Interview with Freddie Mercury – NME

by Julie Webb

It was clear for all to see that Queen’s Freddie Mercury wasn’t in the best of health. His hair lacked the recent attention of heated curling tongs; a cold sore was erupting above his upper lip; and horror – seems he’d not been able to summon enough strength to apply Biba black nail polish to more than one hand.

Mercury was worried as the camera lens zoomed in on him. He beseeched us to “touch up the picture to remove the cold sore if you can.”

I know it sounds like we’re setting the guy up, but he takes it all in good heart. Why, last time we met he stated he was “gay as a daffodil” – and here he was, willingly holding a daffodil in hand, outside Buckingham Palace. He posed regally, shirt temporarily coming unhitched from his trousers, revealing a hairy chest.

The British tour sapped most of the Mercury energy. Bedridden with laryngitis when it finished, he had just a few free days to repair any mental or physical damage before Queen joined Mott The Hoople on their two-month tour of America.

He is, in short pretty knackered – and if the American tour seems to be happening too soon after Britain, there’s no way he can change things.

I’d like a couple of weeks off, but you’ve got to push yourself. But we’re at a stage in our careers, my dear, where it’s just got to be done. I shall be resting on my laurels soon…”

He stops, considers the last remark and realises he may have said the wrong thing. Hurriedly he comes in with, “To put it another way, I shall try and reap my profits. I’ve worked my ass off these past few months. I’ve worked till I’ve dropped and after a while you physically can’t do it.”

Didn’t he think the British tour was a bit too busy, what with so many gigs included. “Yes it was a heavy tour, but it put us in a different bracket overnight. It’s a tour we had to do and I think now we’ve done it we can do the next British tour on our own terms, exactly how we like.

“With this tour we were booked in well beforehand at semi-big venues and, by the time we came to doing them, we had the album out, we’d got a bit of TV exposure and everything escalated. I think if we’d waited we could have done all the big venues – it’s just a matter of timing. But I’m glad we did the tour when we did. Even though there was a lot of physical and mental strain – so many things to worry about other than the music.”

A situation not improved by the fact that all members of Queen are, according to Mercury, “very highly strung”. Add to that his admitted bad temper. “I’m very emotional. Whereas before, I was given time to make my decisions, now nearly all of us are so highly strung we just snap. We always argue but I think it’s a healthy sign because we get to the root of the matter and squeeze the best out. But lately so much is happening, it’s escalating so fast that everybody wants to know almost instantly, and I certainly get very temperamental.”

“You’ve got to know where to draw the line. But the public always come first – it’s a corny thing to say but I mean it. Lately I’ve been throwing things around which is very unlike me. I threw a glass at someone the other day. I think I’m going to go mad in a few years time; I’m going to be one of those insane musicians.”

It’s at this point that I begin to wonder about Mercury. On stage he lords it around like some old slag. Offstage, he’s vain, camp – yet a nice enough dude.

He just has an unfortunate way with him during interviews, coming out with quotes and stories that are bound to be misconstrued or lay him wide open to mickey-taking. This could well account for some of the unkind press the band have received.

“I think, to an extent, we are a sitting target because we gained popularity quicker than most bands and we’ve been talked about more than any other band in the last month, so it’s inevitable. Briefly, I’d be the first one to accept fair criticism. I think it would be wrong if all we got were good reviews – but it’s when you get unfair, dishonest reviews where people haven’t done their homework that I get annoyed.” Unlike many British bands, they’ve waited until the time was right and are appearing on the same bill as Mott, who will assuredly pull in large crowds.

So the present and the future seem well assured I enquire about the past – like, what kind of family background does a guy like Mercury have?

“Middle-class. Musicians aren’t social rejects any more. If you mean; Have I got upper class parents who put a lot of money into me? Was I spoilt? – no. My parents were very strict. I wasn’t the only one, I’ve got a sister, I was at boarding school for nine years so I didn’t see my parents that often. That background helped me a lot because it taught me to fend for myself.”

Boarding school… if we are to believe stories that circulate about boarding schools – brutish behaviour, homosexual goings-on – well, the mind positively boggles in Freddie Mercury’s case.

I broach the subject…

“it’s stupid to say there is no such thing in boarding schools. All the things they say about them are more or less true. All the bullying and everything else. I’ve had the odd schoolmaster chasing me. It didn’t shock me because somehow boarding schools… you’re not confronted by it, you are just slowly aware of it. It’s going through life.”

So was he the pretty boy who everyone wanted to lay?

“Funnily enough, yes. Anybody goes through that. I was considered the arch poof.”

So how about being bent?

“You’re a crafty cow. Let’s put it this way, there were times when I was young and green. It’s a thing schoolboys go through. I’ve had my share of schoolboy pranks. I’m not going to elaborate further.”

Oh dear. And just when we were doing so well.

📸 Pic: 1974 - Freddie Mercury posing

[imposterogers]

Me watching the raimi movies, this is relatable and I hope Peter makes it out of this. Me watching MCU spiderman movies, I agree with the villains, fuck them kids.

most spiderman villains (raimi, itsv, webb) are either greedy capitalists/corporations (kingpin & norman osborn) or victims of scientific research done by greedy capitalists/corporations. as peter is usually a struggling lower class worker, he fights for the little guy & oscorp is viewed as the main evil. while we are always rooting for peter to save the city and stop the villain, we can still feel bad for them bc if peter sees the greedy capitalists as the problem, so do we

in the mcu spiderman, peter parker is figuratively in bed with the greedy capitalist. (before anyone says “oh peter parker is best friends with harry osborn usually tho” yes….. but norman is an emotionally abusive father who harry hates, and always framed as bad. not to mention peter refuses to accept any money from them.) the vulture is a villain bc the greedy capitalist took away all the jobs w a massive corporation & completely ignored the smaller business he ruined. mysterio had intellectual property stolen from him by the greedy capitalist.

everyone always makes fun of the fact that all these villains have beef with tony stark and he doesn’t know who they are. that’s the point !!!! corporations and rich people don’t care about the little guys! spiderman does!!!! but the mcu films completely miss the mark because tony / stark industries / corporate greed is never explicitly framed as the villain. peter is on tony’s side, not “ours”

[sweaterkittensahoy]

Apparently, Tucker Carlson had a guy on his show to argue that Hitler was actually the good guy because he "said he wanted peace" in his speeches. And that Churchill was the bad guy for going to war against Hitler because ::stares at literally everything Hitler did to get to and then hold power::.

And, like, you remember the "Are We the Baddies" sketch from Mitchell and Webb? Here it is if you don't know it:

I include this here because I have found it to be a particularly brilliant breakdown of the sudden realization that perhaps you are on the wrong side and should maybe consider how that happened.

And, like, Tucker Carlson has had many, many, MANY points in his career where you think he would have gone, "Wait. Am I the baddie?"

And now, in complete control of anything he wants to do on his program on whatever fucking weird Fox News bastard fuckery he's on, he brings on a guy trying to claim that Hitler REALLY WANTED PEACE YOU GUYS.

Neville Chamberlin should haunt that dude's dick and give him UTIs for the rest of his life.

But also, Tucker Carlson. Holy shit. And the worst part is--for me, anyway--I don't even think he really BELIEVES anything of what he's currently peddling. He's just so determined to draw attention he'll do anything for it. Like, I'm not trying to give him an out to be like "Oh, but I never BELIEVED any of it! It was for the MONEY!" I truly find "I did it for the cash" a much worse excuse than "I did it for the ideological purity," which at least can mean someone looked at all the ways they could be in the world and intentionally and knowingly chose a shitfuck path because they truly believed in the path of the shitfuck. And that I can understand, you know?

[saintbeelzebub]

Guys, please, check it out. Tags under the cut.

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic UniverseWolverine (Comics)Deadpool (Movieverse)Moon Knight (TV 2022)The Punisher (1989)Venom (Marvel Movies)The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb)Daredevil (TV)

Relationships: Logan | Worst Wolverine (Deadpool Movies)/Wade WilsonMarc Spector/Wade WilsonFrank Castle/Matt MurdockFrank Castle/Marc SpectorFrank Castle/Steven GrantFrank Castle/Jake LockleyEddie Brock/Frank Castle/Matt Murdock/Peter Parker/Wade WilsonPeter Parker/Wade WilsonEddie Brock/Steven Grant/Marc Spector/Venom SymbioteEddie Brock/Matt MurdockLogan | Worst Wolverine (Deadpool Movies)/Peter Parker/Wade Wilson

Characters: Wade WilsonLogan | Worst Wolverine (Deadpool Movies)Marc SpectorSteven Grant (Marvel)Jake LockleyFrank CastleMatt MurdockEddie BrockVenom Symbiote (Marvel)Peter ParkerDogpool | Mary Puppins (Deadpool Movies)

Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega DynamicsNon-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega DynamicsPolyamoryPolyamorous PackPolyamorous CharacterNestingSteven Grant and Jake Lockley and Marc Spector Share a BodyOmega Marc SpectorOmega Steven Grant (Marvel)Omega Jake LockleyOmega Eddie BrockAlpha Wade WilsonAlpha Logan | Worst Wolverine (Deadpool Movies)Alpha Frank CastleAlpha Matt MurdockBeta Peter ParkerKnottingPregnancyPregnancy KinkLogan | Worst Wolverine Is Bad at Feelings (Deadpool Movies)Logan is head overheels for WadeMarc Spector does not switch so much like in the show or comicbooksMarc Spector has DID - Dissociative Identity DisorderProtective Jake LockleyJake Lockley Speaks SpanishSoft Jake LockleyMarc Spector Needs A HugWade and Logan live in a 5 room 3 bathroom house in New Jersey because i said soHonda OdysseyLogan and Wade are two steps from getting marriedEveryone moves into Wade and Logans houseThis Is STUPIDThis is self indulgent x3000Keep in mind the tags will be getting updated ALOTEventual SmutThis is borderline crackBut im so passionate about this that its not crackDomestic FluffDomestic Bliss

Language: English

[fireleaptfromhousetohouse]

Old-style Paedoing, Before It Got Such A Bad Name

Epistemic status: understanding the recent past, which I wasn’t around for, mainly through the lens of comedies, rumour, and scuttlebutt

The story goes that it was an open secret for many years that Sir Jimmy Savile, knight of the realm, was a horrible sex pervert before it all came to light and he was declared a posthumous monster. And this is true - but the specifics are rather vague.

A lot of sources (or, as they are now, brave prescient voices) were bang-on certain he was into some kind of sex crime, but weren’t sure exactly what. Viz simply painted him as a man whose (unspecified) confessional was worth hearing. An early Mitchell and Webb bit came in on some shocking report midway through, leaving the actual deeds as a noodle incident but quite clear they were appalling: ‘you think you know a guy, and then he goes and does something like that.’ Even Johnny Rotten, back in ‘78, went no further than charging him with ‘seediness’ and saying ‘I know some rumours’ in an edgy-kid stream-of-consciousness about all the people he’d like to kill, where he displays a bit too much knowledge about what does and doesn’t constitute libel.

The general charge, if any, seemed to be necrophilia. Lee and Herring’s bit where they dressed as Savile ended with the punchline ‘bagsy I take him to the morgue’. One of Irvine Welsh’s earlier novellas has a Cornish Savile-alike wantonly indulging in any corpse he had access to - Welsh’s version is a more general TV personality rather than specifically a children’s entertainer, probably for fear of litigation. This was no idle fear, Savile was well-known for taking such insinuations courtside, and of course he did sue when Chris Morris falsely announced his death on Radio 1, with the coda ‘the patients [at Savile hunting ground Stoke-Mandeville Hospital] are far from mourning...The majority, if not all of them, are extremely relieved that he’s now dead, although I suspect that some of them will be sorry that he didn't suffer a great deal more’.

Interestingly, Lee and Herring - as they’ve stated publicly - weren’t brave prescient voices. Hanging around Television Centre in their mid-twenties, they’d become aware of this - to them, absurd - rumour that Savile troubled the corpses. They decided that if nothing else it was game for a laugh, presumably with a BBC lawyer standing nervously in the wings and demanding they not get too specific.

Until Savile’s death, this remained a rather murky Soviet truth, and Savile himself remained a respected public figure. Within the third millennium, even as Chris Morris was being castigated for the Paedogeddon special of Brass Eye, BBC brightly-coloured-blobs children’s show The Tweenies had one of its blobs dress up as Savile as a bit of lighthearted fun - in an edition of the show which was, unwisely, repeated in 2013.

(Side note: the same tabloids which threw an ape over the obviously satirical Paedogeddon regularly ran pictures of topless 16-year-olds, until a change in the law in 2003 forced them to stop.)

It’s all out now, of course, but like the sun is one of those things people are wary of looking at directly for fear of the damage it could do. Savile made full abuse of his position as a public figure, to the point that he himself admitted to the necrophilia in idle conversation. Even by the loose standards of the British constabulary they admit there were over 200 actionable complaints made against Savile over the years.

The crux is this - Savile having committed all these beyond-the-pale acts becomes a very convenient way to paper over the point at which, in the broader consciousness, paedophilia went from ‘crime’ to ‘unforgivable, lowest-circle-of-hell crime’ in the vein of necrophilia. Because it was far more acceptable not too long ago, as many legendary musicians can attest. Gary Glitter generally just seemed shocked people were suddenly taking it so seriously - as did Jeffrey Epstein. 

Louis Theroux’s rather regretful pair of documentaries about Savile has the man himself being quite blase about his attitude to underage girls - as were the girls themselves, some of whom, while young at the time, were by their own account quite aware what might be on the cards. Does this make them culpable? Of course not, they were children. But there are those who would disagree. At the time, many would have and did disagree - including, quite likely, serving police constables. The Rotherham grooming gang, so beloved a talking point of those who just want to have a go at Pakistanis in general, were enabled top to bottom by a police force who considered their victims to be ‘slags’.

[badassbutterfly1987]

Madame Web (2024) mild spoilers

So I saw Madame Web and I think I liked it. If you enjoyed the Venom movies for their awkward fun, then you might have a good time. Script is definitely messy and there's notable moments of awkward dubbing (especially for the bad guy's lines).

I do have mixed feelings about its handling of disability. In the comics, Cassandra Webb is an older woman who uses a wheelchair and is blind; these are caused by myasthenia gravis (MG), a neuromuscular junction disease, a major symptom being skeletal muscle weakness. Movie Cassandra is a young healthy paramedic; it's revealed in a flashback that she was diagnosed with MG in utero (not possible in real life but anyway), her mother died of a gun shot wound while giving birth to her, and a special spider bite cured her as a newborn (also gave her pre-cog abilities but those didn't activate until an adult near-death experience). Cassandra does end the movie using a wheelchair and blind, but both are due to in-battle injuries.

On the one hand, I kinda get it. The writers wanted an active character running around and protecting these three scared teenagers. It's the lazier option but I wasn't exactly expecting high-quality disability rep from the same writers of Morbius.

But it does feel like a missed opportunity, because they could have chosen an interesting middle ground: have Cassandra start getting the early symptoms, getting a diagnosis, and struggling to come to terms with that. It could tie into her character in an interesting way. She's awkward around people but also pushes people away in fear they'll see her as a burden in a few years, which could also tie into her existing abandonment issues from being in foster care after her mother's death. As a paramedic, she's trying to do as much good as possible before her disability means adjusting to a new way of doing things. And since this disease causes muscle weakness especially after exertion, that could be shown after an action scene where she has to debate how much to trust these girls with her illness while she's trying to protect them, eventually finding a balance where they support each other. That way the movie would be doing something interesting with a disabled character instead of having it tagged onto the end scene.

These changes wouldn't fix the script (and I don't really trust Sony to do it well) but it would make for an interesting layer to Cassie's character. Maybe a fic writer will do something interesting with it.

[lillotus17]

INTERTWINED SERIES MASTERLIST (Spidermen!ENHA)

SYNOPSIS: After being dead for two minutes and then brought back to life thanks to your coworker, you start to get these weird visions of the future events just minutes before they happen. During a train ride you witness the murder of three teenage boys in broad daylight and then suddenly the next second they're sitting back down in their seats, alive and breathing. Despite the want you have to keep your peace and leave it alone, you can't help but get a very bad feeling and it only intensifies when you recognize the man that murdered them in your vision, three train carts away, walking in your guys' direction. Shoving the three boys off of the train, saving their lives, risking your own, and being accused of kidnapping was not on your bucket list after surviving death already. You don't have any clue what is going on or what in the hell you're gonna do to help three boys but thankfully the four of you bump into some help along the way.

PAIRING: EnhaHyung!Line X Fem. Reader, Spider-men!EnhaHyungLine x Madame Webb!Reader, Superhero!EnhaHyungLine x Clairvoyant!Reader, Spider!EnhaHyungLine x Paramedic!Reader, [ft. Enha Kim Sunoo (Anya Corazon), Yang Jungwon (Julia Cornwall), and Nishimura Riki (Mattie Franklin); TXT Yeonjun (Ezekial Sims), Choi Soobin (Ben Parker), mentions of Choi Beomgyu (Richard Parker); Shin Ryujin (Mary Parker); more to be added].

GENRE: Superhero AU, Romance, Action, Comedy, Angst, Strangers to Allies to Friends to Lovers, polyamorous relationship, (let me know if I forgot anything) more to be added!

WARNINGS: profanity, sexual/suggestive content (intercourse, oral, masturbation, phone sex, sexting, etc) ONLY WRITTEN FOR HYUNG LINE, MINORS DNI (you WILL be removed/blocked), poly relationship, drinking/consuming alcohol, feminine pronouns/terms used for reader, MADAME WEBB SPOLIERS!!! If you haven't watched it already! This is based on the MADAME WEBB MOVIE with some twist added into it! Use and reference of japanese folklore, not accurate. Let me know if I forgot anything at all!

DISCLAIMER: This is purely a work of FICTION! This is not meant to portray any of the Enhypen Members or other mentioned idols in any way shape or form.

I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE IMAGES/GIFS THAT MAY BE/ARE USED IN MY WRITING. IMAGES CREATED BY ME WILL HAVE MY WATERMARK OR BE COPYRIGHTED! THE MOOD BOARDS USED FOR THIS SERIES ARE ONES I PUT TOGETHER ON MY OWN BUT THE PHOTOS USED ARE NOT MINE!

ALL CREDITS GO TO THE OWNERS/CREATORS!

PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR REPOST MY WORK!

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION, STRICTLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES.

P.S. if you haven't already, you should definitely check out @artysse (credited) on TIKTOK! If you already have, then you know that it's and ENHA Fan Art Account of Spider ENHA! It's really fucking awesome! Go show some love!

NOT PROOF READ: Apologies for any grammatical errors, my loves!

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This takes place in New York, with mentions of South Korea and Japan. Reader is the same age as Jay, Jake, and Sunghoon. Jungwon, Sunoo, and Niki are the same age, in high school, and have a bigger age gap between them and hyung line. Time gaps, mentions of MCU universe events/milestones. Slight spider-verse au, hyung line are all from different universes! More to be added!

Character Introductions:

| Introduction 1 | Introduction 2 | Introduction 3 | Bonus

CH. 1: Resuscitation

CH. 2: Kidnapping

CH. 3: In Progress...

CH. 4: TBA...

CH.5: TBA...

TAGLIST (OPEN) : @praliliaaa @clara12o @llvrhee

comment if you'd like to be added to the taglist!

[frasier-crane-style]

Blue Beetle (2023)

Blue Beetle reminds me mostly of the first Amazing Spider-Man movie. It's not capital-B bad, but it could be a lot better. Part of it is that Angel Manuel Soto, like Marc Webb, simply isn't a cinematic genius like Sam Raimi.

Another is that the adaptation changes a lot of the source material, not to make it more interesting or anything, but to make it MORE generic. The plot is almost exactly like Ant-Man, for fuck's sake.

OG hero used to run a benevolent corporation, but he's been forced out by the villain, who wants to use his tech for military purposes (wait, wouldn't that mean we'd be sending all that evil military technology over to Ukraine to help fight Putin? I guess we're not supposed to think about that.) Legacy hero stumbles into the OG hero's tech and gets help from OG hero's daughter to take back the corporation. There's similar wholesale plagiarism from the Iron Man and Spider-Man movies (how many missiles are there that have manufacturer logos on them, really?).

Another weirdness is that in the comics, Jaime actually has friends. In the movie, the only people he ever talks to are his family, his love interest, and the villains (which doesn't stop the movie from doing a THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY epilogue--yeah, where were you guys when the Reyes family was getting their shit pushed in on the front lawn?). It's odd to think nerdy loser Peter Parker was at least friends with Harry and on speaking terms with MJ, while clean-cut, handsome everyman Jaime has no social skills.

It's not saying much, but the movie is a little better at tone than modern Marvel. It plays way too many pop songs during serious moments, but it can also shut up at times. It still gets cartoony as hell with Jaime's grandma turning into John Wick--yeah, she kills people with a machine gun--and his uncle knowing how to pilot a hover-ship--which doesn't mesh well with the director dropping references to social issues like they're Green Lantern story arcs. Okay, are we a wacky cartoon or are we trying to make a statement about gentrification? I guess both!

Speaking of which, the movie keeps Jaime's no-kill rule, but lets his family blow up, blast, and even fucking IMPALE henchmen like there's no tomorrow. And it makes a point of having sympathetic villains and spelling out how desperately the disadvantaged Reyes family needs jobs. I guess none of those mooks just needed to pay for their family home. They all willingly chose to do evil by... working for a legitimate military contractor and trying to recover stolen property/guard private property.

And it's another movie where they make the villains cartoonishly racist instead of faux progressive like any real evil billionaire would be. There's a bit where a receptionist is told Jaime's name when he introduces himself (pronounced Haime) and she keeps mispronouncing it Jamie because... she knows how it's spelled and she's willingly pronouncing it the Anglo way instead of how he just told her it was pronounced? Like this sort of thing wouldn't immediately get recorded, posted on Twitter, and end up costing her her job? But, you know, I guess that's a sign of how evil Victoria Kord is, that she's carefully choosing racist receptionists who assume that a Mexican in a business suit must be a deliveryman.

That whole sequence... which is how Jaime gets his powers... is kinda a mess. Okay, he texts Jenny Kord for a job interview, but she doesn't know he's coming or set an appointment, because that's when she's stealing the Scarab. So I guess this pre-law college grad just decided to show up at Kord Industries and lie about having an appointment with a member of the board... so he could get a job interview... instead of waiting for her to text him back?

I know the movie is about alien technology and flying superheroes, but can we at least have them act like real people when it comes to things like job interviews, when everyone in the audience knows how those work?

Still, the movie stays mostly on the rails until the third act, where you get a patent example of just how bad modern blockbuster making has gotten. Everywhere Raimi's Spider-Man movies were smooth, streamlined, and organic, this movie's third act is cluttered and clumsy. Jaime himself is sidelined for an unbelievable interval, while every member of his family gets a hero moment and/or a pep talk to give to Jaime. They all blend together, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of them got more than one.

And still the climax crams in more STUFF, from a last-minute redemption arc (again, more than one!) to a teachable moment between Jaime and his AI. None of this comes across as earned or stirring. And there's an unforgivable bit where Jaime's final power-up is blended with the villain going Super Saiyan and yet more side characters setting off one in a long line of explosives.

There's some many obviously cruddy writing moments like that. There's a scene where Jaime and Jenny easily escape pursuit, right next to a scene where they have their first encounter with the villainous Carapax in the exact same circumstances... couldn't some of that be merged or dumped so we had more time to spend on the development that's shoved in willy-nilly?

I'm not saying the first Spider-Man was Shakespeare, but we got a good idea of Peter, May, Mary Jane, Harry, Norman, and how they all related to each other... even foreshadowing of where their paths would continue on in future movies. In the last five minutes of Blue Beetle, they're still explaining Carapax's motivation! His last words are basically "I just remembered my backstory!" No, director-man, you gotta weave that into the narrative. We can't care about something when we heard about it for the first time ten seconds ago!

[mygif2u]

do you see (me, this, us)?

Pairing: Julyandra Character(s): Julia Carpenter/Anya Corazon/Cassandra Webb Rating: T Warnings/Tags: Clairvoyance, Found Family to Lovers, Jealousy, 2000s, Domestic, Realisation of feelings

Anya doesn’t think much of it at first. With the whole ‘being kidnapped by a clairvoyant stranger and running for their lives from some super-powered bad guy who wants to kill them’ situation, it hadn’t left much time to actually think about her feelings towards the 3 new people in her life.

But now said super-powered bad guy is dead, and Anya’s no longer at risk of being homeless – hell, deported – now that she’s moved in with said 3 people. She has the time and breathing space to actually reflect on her new life – and just how much of it is spent thinking about Cassie and Julia.

Read it below, or on AO3.

A/N: Written for an exchange; I loved this movie, IDC what anyone else has to say about it – like, 4 women who had to go through their lives alone, coming together to beat the bad guy? And then having the most important relationship in their lives being each other? There is so much that could be explored between them all, and I think they deserve a bit more love from the fandom. So here you all go. Enjoy!

Anya doesn’t think much of it at first. With the whole ‘being kidnapped by a clairvoyant stranger and running for their lives from some super-powered bad guy who wants to kill them’ situation, it hadn’t left much time to actually think about her feelings towards the 3 new people in her life.

Gratitude, yes, and a bond built by the knowledge that sticking together was what would keep them alive, but it’s weird to think that they all know each other’s crappy backstories but not something as simple as what each other’s favourite colours are.

But now said super-powered bad guy is dead, and Anya’s no longer at risk of being homeless – hell, deported – now that she’s moved in with said 3 people. She has the time and breathing space to actually reflect on her new life – and just how much of it is spent thinking about Cassie and Julia.

Julia, sweet, adorable Julia, with her Bambi eyes and eagerness to please, had at first made Anya think she wouldn’t be cut out for life on the run, but had proven to be stronger and braver than Anya had given her credit for.

And Cassie, the whole reason they had all found each other in the first place. Cassie, despite having been a paramedic, had no idea how to best look after herself, let alone 3 teenagers. And yet had come to their aid time and time again, proving to be the most reliable adult in Anya’s life – or really, any of their lives.

Anya has come to love Mattie too, of course she has, and Anya’s become protective of them all, but there is something about Cassie and Julia that she cannot shake from her mind.

And it’s because they’re on her mind so much that she sees it; sees the way Julia and Cassie are with each other. She isn’t sure if it had always been there, from the moment they had all been thrown together at the beginning of all this, but with the clarity that comes from having a stable home and no longer fearing for their lives, Anya knows something is going on between Julia and Cassie.

There are the times where Anya will get home from school, and see Julia and Cassie in the living room, Julia talking a mile a minute to Cassie, who takes it all in stride with that amused but fond smile she definitely did not have for Julia when they were all first getting to know each other.

Or Anya will look up from the homework she’s finishing at the dining table to the kitchen, where Julia and Cassie will be making dinner, and Julia’s and Cassie’s hands will brush and even linger as they pass utensils and ingredients between them. Or when Julia will come home, face tear-streaked from getting an A- instead of an A+, and fall into Cassie’s open arms, who cradles her as best as she can in her chair, letting Julia bury her face into the hollow of her neck.

It stirs an ugly feeling in the pit of Anya’s stomach, one she had felt when her ex-best friend Sonia had told her she was moving to a different state. One she had felt when her father had called to tell her he wouldn’t be coming home. One she had felt when Cassie had left them in that forest. It’s stupid, because it’s not like either Cassie or Julia have gone anywhere; they’re both still right here. But Anya can’t shake the thought that they’re closer to each other than Anya could ever be. And that she is being left behind. Again.

It’s a thought that bothers Anya to the point where she brings it up to Mattie one day when it’s just the two of them home.

“Oh that – you know they’re together right?”

It’s an answer that floors Anya. It makes sense, now that she thinks about it – they spend a lot of time together when she and Mattie are out. And Julia always has that deer in the headlights look whenever she or Mattie enters the room, interrupting whatever conversation she had been having with Cassie.

But still – the idea of Cassie and Julia.

Together.

Like that...

It makes Anya’s head spin so much she just gapes for a few seconds.

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“They are way too close for it to be platonic.”

“But you haven’t seen them do anything?”

“If you mean the nasty, then no, but I don’t need to.” Mattie grins and wriggles her fingers in the air, “My spidey senses tell me all I need to know.”

Anya shakes her head, mind reeling from this new information. OK, so clearly she had been right that something has been going on between Julia and Cassie.

But this – this is not what she had been expecting.

“Have you got a problem with that?”

The hardened edge to Mattie’s voice makes Anya look up from where she had been staring at the floor. It’s not immediately clear what Mattie’s getting at. It’s only when Anya takes in her defiant gaze and tight jaw that she realises the assumption Mattie has just made.

“Oh it’s not ‘cause they’re lesbians, or whatever,” Anya says quickly, waving her hand uselessly in the air as she scrambles for the reason this revelation is so upsetting.

“It’s ‘cause…”

Anya trails off, leaving the words hanging in the air. Why is this bothering her so much?

“’Cause what Anya?”

She frowns, trying to dig into the feelings she has been having for the last few months, replaying how Cassie and Julia have been with each other. And how she feels when their attention is turned on her. How Cassie gives her the same indulgent smile she saves for Julia when Anya worries over how her team will do in the Math Olympiad, or that one time Julia had kissed her cheek in thanks for teaching her how to burn CDs. How it warms her from the inside out, and makes her cheeks burn, and her stomach flip.

And then it hits her.

It’s the same feeling she had when Sonia would hold her hand whenever they went around their local mall, or when she saw Britney and Madonna kiss at the VMAs. How she would feel whenever she looked at the models in lingerie stores, or when she made Danica, the pretty girl who worked at their local movie theater, laugh at a lame joke she had made.

She looks back at Mattie helplessly.

“I just...didn’t think either of them were an option.”

The accusatory look Mattie had been sending her melts away at that, and soft, almost sympathetic understanding replaces it instead.

“So it’s not because they’re dating each other, it’s because they’re not dating you.”

Anya can barely wrap her head around the fact that both Julia and Cassie like women, let alone the idea of being with not just one, but both of them. She thinks about burying her own face into Cassie’s shoulder, or Julia aiming for Anya’s lips rather than her cheek when she kisses her. It makes her heart race.

Anya nods absently, before abruptly shaking her head.

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter. They’re together and happy. There’s no room for 3 people in a relationship.”

Mattie makes a noise of disagreement, before giving her a considering look. “Y’know, I think you might have a shot.”

Anya’s gaze snaps back to Mattie incredulously, “What are you talking about?”

Mattie raises an eyebrow, and shrugs, “Whenever Cassie hugs you, she reacts the exact same way as she does whenever she hugs Julia.”

“Like what?”

“Like she wants to kiss you.”

Anya shakes her head, even as the image of Cassie’s lips on hers appears in her mind.

“She doesn’t do that, I would know.”

“Clearly not.”

Anya opens her mouth to argue again before Mattie barrels on, “And Julia gets way more excited talking to you than she does to me.”

“Well that’s because I actually try to listen to her without making fun of her.”

“You do make fun of her though.”

“Maybe, but I’m not mean when I do it.”

“I’m not mean, I’m so nice!” Anya shrieks as a pillow from the couch gets thrown at her head.

“In fact, because I’m so nice, I’m going to suss them both out for you.”

Anya looks up at Mattie’s smug face, her own eyebrows rising.

“You would do that for me?”

“Yeah, chica. Don’t say I never did nothin’ for you.”

**

As it turns out, Anya doesn’t have to wait for Mattie in the end.

Anya gets let out from school early one day and comes home to an empty apartment. She drops her stuff off in her room and is halfway through changing out of her clothes before she hears the jingling of Julia’s keys, and the front door opening and closing. Julia and Cassie’s voices fill the apartment; Julia is chattering away as usual, with Cassie answering every so often.

Anya finishes pulling a new shirt over her head before she walks out the door and into the kitchen, only to be met with the sight of Julia leaning down to press her lips against Cassie’s.

It’s brief, almost chaste, nothing more than a peck really, so much so that when Anya first sees it, she thinks Julia was aiming for Cassie’s cheek. But as Anya’s sneakers squeak against the linoleum floor when she takes an involuntary step backwards, both Cassie and Julia break apart so quickly Anya knows she’s interrupted something that was not meant for her eyes.

“Anya!” Julia chirps in that too high, too peppy voice she makes when she gets caught doing something she shouldn’t, like sampling Mattie’s stash of Girl Scout cookies without asking, or using up the last of the toilet paper without replacing it. And apparently, from kissing Cassie.

Anya blinks rapidly and takes another step back. Mattie was frickin’ right.

"Sorry, sorry, I just – ”

“We were – ”

“Anya.”

Both Anya and Julia stop talking when Cassie speaks.

“Will you please let us explain?”

A tightness grips at Anya’s throat – she wants to scream that there isn’t anything to explain, she gets it, she does, yet at the same time she can barely get the words out. She takes in Cassie’s measured words and Julia’s beseeching look, and she...deflates.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me. It’s fine.”

Julia’s eyes flick to Cassie. Cassie’s are hidden behind the glasses she wears, but she tilts her head to the side in a way that tells Anya that she doesn’t believe her.

“Are you sure?”

Anya swallows, and wrings her hands together.

“Yeah, I totally get it. You’ve been through so much together, and you spend so much time together. You’re both so amazing, like I get this kinda weird, nervous, but happy feeling whenever I’m in the same room with either of you. Like with you Julia,” Anya looks over at the girl in question, and damn there is that doe-eyed look that makes Julia win everyone over, “you’re so cute when you ramble on about school to Cassie. And Cassie,” Anya turns to look at the other woman, who’s brow rises just slightly,“when Mattie’s messing with Julia, you always have her back if Mattie takes it too far, and you’re both so beautiful, like, how could you not fall for each other?”

Julia looks over at Cassie again, although this time it’s less in distress and more in...hope?

Cassie’s lips morph into that serene smile she gets whenever she’s experienced another one of her visions. Anya never knows what to make of it, as the visions range from being about important moments of their lives – like them getting their own super powers – to something as simple as what they would be having for dinner. Anya both loves and hates it at the same time.

“Well, I can’t speak for Julia,” Cassie says as she wheels her chair closer to Anya, “But what you’ve just described is exactly what I have felt for her.”

Cassie reaches behind her unseeingly to catch hold of Julia’s hand. A pang of bitterness hits Anya as their fingers intertwine.

But then, Cassie extends her other hand out for Anya.

“And for you.”

Anya stares at the hand stretched out to her, and she looks at Julia, who does not look surprised. At all. In fact, the small, demure smile Julia gets when she’s trying to hold back how excited she is about something, appears on her lips.

Heart thundering in her chest, Anya reaches out to take Cassie’s hand. It’s steady, warm, and…

...it’s pulling her in so she is practically towering over Cassie.

Cassie squeezes her hand, before slipping Anya’s arm along her shoulders.

“Come here.”

Cassie draws her in, and Anya closes the distance, turning her face so she can accept the hug that Cassie is going for -

But Cassie’s sure fingers, used to dressing wounds and pushing gurneys, catch her jaw and hold her still.

They draw her in, and then Cassie’s lips are on hers.

It’s different from the few kisses Anya’s had, from the heated, stolen kiss she had shared with Sonia at her quinceañera, to the begrudging first – and last – kiss she had with a guy in sixth grade. No, Cassie’s lips are cool, soothing against hers, filling her with a sense of ease. She relaxes into Cassie, and follows her lead.

There’s no urgency as they move against each other, Anya’s own hands curling around the nape of Cassie’s neck and threading into her hair. Cassie is gentle but firm, and the sliver of tongue she treats Anya to makes her gasp.

It is much, much, better than Anya had thought it would be.

It’s over too soon, though.

They pull away, and Anya is met with a satisfied smile from Cassie.

“That was so much better than when I saw it.”

Heat rises in Anya’s cheeks and curls in her stomach. Cassie’s seen this. It. Them.

And then it catches up to Anya – she’s just kissed Cassie. Who more or less just confirmed she was with Julia.

Anya looks up at Julia, ready to apologise, steeling herself for the jealousy to burn in her gaze. And there is definitely heat in Julia’s eyes, but it’s far hungrier than Anya’s expecting, and it makes her shiver.

“Shit, Julia, I don’t - ”

“It’s OK, Anya.”

Anya frowns. How is this OK? She just kissed Cassie. In front of Julia. And she liked it. A lot.

“You can kiss Cassie.”

What?

Anya can’t believe her ears. Why is Julia not more upset?

And why is she coming closer, and smiling like that, trapping her lip between her teeth in a way that makes Anya want to replace them with her own?

“As long as I get to kiss you.”

Anya gapes.

No. Way.

Julia’s eyes flick over to Cassie, who has been a silent observer this entire time.

“Can I kiss her, Cassie?”

The other woman quirks her mouth at the question, before she chuckles lightly.

“Go ahead, baby girl.”

The words barely leave Cassie’s mouth before Julia surges forward, pressing her lips to Anya’s.

Although Anya’s still shocked at the action, she’s more ready for it, and soon gives as good as she gets. Julia’s kiss is searing where the kiss with Cassie was cool – it makes Anya’s blood run hot, whereas with Cassie it calmed. It’s push and it’s pull, and Anya relishes in Julia’s surprised squeak as she sinks her teeth into Julia’s bottom lip, just like she imagined only moments ago.

Anya slowly draws back, tugging gently on Julia’s lip, before releasing her with a soft pop.

Anya can’t help the smirk that curls at her mouth as she watches Julia take in ragged breaths, gratified at knowing she’s not the only one who has been affected.

“And that was hotter than when I saw it.”

Anya startles a bit; she had once again almost forgotten they had an audience. Almost.

Cassie tilts her head between the two of them, her own smug smile on her lips. There is a blush that colours her cheeks, along her neck, and travels below the collar of her sweater. Anya wants to peel the sweater off and see just how far the blush spreads.

It leads to another thought.

“Did you see all of this, Cassie?”

At this, Cassie tilts her head towards Julia, who, Anya notes with some pride, still looks a bit breathless. Cassie turns back to face Anya.

“Yes.”

Of course she had. And she had told Julia.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You had to realise your feelings on your own.”

Cassie wheels herself away. And heads towards her bedroom. She calls over her shoulder.

“But it’s what comes after that I’m really looking forward to.”

Anya feels the urge to follow her, but finds herself rooted to the floor. Julia reaches out and takes her hand.

“Let’s go make those visions reality.”

A/N: These three X0 . Any combination of the 4, really, is gold, but there’s something about Cassie x Anya x Julia that just gets me. Until next time ; )