#and I don't know if I can handle her just... not being as kind as maybe charlie believed..

[softjeekies]

Waiting After The Rain

↳ chapter 8

previous chapter // next chapter(coming soon)

Pairing: ot8!stray kids x pregnant omega!reader

Synopsis: An omega pregnant and alone after being kicked out by their alpha stumbles upon a pack willing to take them in and care for both the omega and their pup as if they were their own, because now they are.

Genre: strangers to lovers, angsty but lots of fluff to even it out.

Warnings: nothing explicit but they allude to the fact that the pack members have sex, a/b/o, past abuse physical and verbal, past sexual abuse(mentions of past non-con), mentions of past violence, trauma, self esteem issues, pregnancy, aftermath of abuse, panic attacks, anxiety, pack dynamics, angst but it will be okay, polyamory

A/N: enjoy :)

Changbin is a strong alpha. He’s physically strong, but he is also extremely emotionally intelligent. His pack is his life; he’d do anything for them, and he hates being put in situations he can’t fix right away. Nobody he loves should ever have to suffer.

“Changbin, baby what happened? Han and Felix are at Y/N’s door and she’s not answering, They’re scared, I’m scared.” Hyunjin’s calming voice echoes through the garage as he walks towards the alpha placing a gentle hand on his cheek.

“He found her. I knocked him out.” Hyunjin gasps, and his gaze drops down to Changbin’s irritated knuckles, which are a little swollen; you could tell they were going to bruise.

“Did you call the police? Did he touch her? Did he touch you? Oh my god, we have to call Chan.” Hyunjin spits out words faster than Changbin can really process but he hears the name he needs the most, Chan.

“Yeah, let’s call Chan. Help me get these groceries inside and we will call Chan, get everyone home and we can figure this out.” Hyunjin nods and immediately starts grabbing bags, The tension is high between the two as they load groceries inside and into their rightful spots. The smell of extinguished fire and wilting roses mix in the air as Changbin finally picks up his phone to call Chan, he needs his pack alpha but he knows Y/N needs him more.

“Hello?” he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding at the sound of his alpha’s voice.

“Chan! Please don’t freak out but we went grocery shopping and everything was fine until we ran into Y/N’s old alpha and he said these horrible things about her, I saw red, and I punched him. She’s been completely nonverbal since she saw him and when we got home Y/N locked herself in her room and won’t come out or even answer anyone. I’m the only alpha here and everyone’s so upset, I don’t know what to do” He hears a growl from the other side of the phone before Chan takes a deep breath.

“I’m coming home. I will call everyone else, don't worry we will all get home to you guys and we will handle it as a pack.”

“Thank you, Chan.” Changbin feels a tear slip down his cheek but brushes it off, just happy the rest of his pack will be here soon. He hangs up and stares at Hyunjin for a moment before running upstairs only to be met with two whining omegas sitting in front of your door.

“Changbin, Y/N won’t answer us, what happened?” Felix speaks desperately hoping to get some kind of answer from the alpha.

“We ran into her ex-alpha at the store, She’s okay physically I think it was just too much for her to handle,” Changbin speaks calmly, in hopes to keep his omegas calm as well.

“Oh my god, what if she went into a drop and that’s why she’s not answering? She can’t be under this kind of stress, it's not good for the baby.” Felix has always been the one who frets the most over the other pack members, he bursts at the seams with love for everyone so any pain or issue needs his full attention. Changbin takes it upon himself to try knocking on your door, and of course, he doesn’t get a response either.

“Come on bunny, you’re safe here. Nobody is going to hurt you.” The silence that follows rips Changbin’s heart apart.

They stay by the door for what feels like hours before the front door opens and the rest of their pack members join them. Everyone is pretty upset but Jeongin’s shaking form accompanied by the tears in his eyes is a sight that breaks them further. When Chan picked Jeongin and told him what happened, something in him snapped, he managed to growl and whine at the same time. A million emotions took over his body but this wasn’t shocking to Chan at all, he was a baby alpha his emotions were already all over the place and after their talk on the ride to work this morning he could understand why the young alpha felt so strongly about this.

“So, you took care of Y/N last night?” Chan was nosy when it came to his pack. He’d say he was just keeping tabs and caring like a good alpha should but he was truly in everyone’s business. Jeongin does his best to hide his blush, he loves his pack alpha but gosh he’s so embarrassing.

“I know we all love each other equally, we’re all practically soulmates but you and I both know we all have our person… You and Felix, Minho and Han, hell Changbin has both the betas. But what about me? I love our relationship but I think Y/N is what’s been missing.” Chan’s mouth gapes open for a moment thinking about the pack dynamics. Because yeah they all do love each other, they all kiss, cuddle, spend heats and ruts together, and even do that stuff outside of their cycle times but they did have a bit of a buddy system going on and somehow Jeongin had gotten kind of left out of that. Chan felt terrible but his heart warmed at the thought that maybe you were guided here for a reason, like a missing puzzle piece. As the car stopped in front of Jeongin’s job at the library Chan looked at him for a moment before placing a gentle kiss on his lips that of course Jeongin reciprocated.

“Just be patient with her, yeah? Have a good day at work baby.” A smile spreads across the younger alpha’s face before he nods and heads into work.

Jeongin takes gentle steps towards the door like he was walking through a land mine, he gives the door four gentle knocks before speaking up with desperation.

“Y/N, it’s me, Jeongin. I heard what happened, I’m so sorry that happened today. I wish I could of prevented that, fuck I wish I could kill him. But for now, I just want to take care of you, so please let me.” The whine of a desperate alpha feels like a stab to the heart for his pack members, they all want to fix it so bad. When Jeongin gets no response he turns to Chan with heavy tears.

“Do something.” Jeongin cries to his alpha, begging, pleading, it’s a pitiful sight.

“You think nobody is trying? We can’t force her to open the door, Innie, calm down.” The growl that erupts from the alpha’s chest should have been a warning sign. He starts screaming his pleas for somebody to help him help his omega, Seungmin does his best to hold him still and stop him from hurting himself or someone else, or worse breaking down the door. With one swift movement, Chan’s hand finds Jeongin’s neck and scruffs him. He instantly becomes putty in Seungmin’s arms and they drop to the floor softly together where the beta can scent him into further relaxation.

“You know I don’t like doing that Innie but I don’t need you scaring her any more than she already is.” The younger alpha whines at his pack alpha’s words and curls into Seungmin’s lap whimpering.

Chan places his forehead against your door to give one final plea to be let in.

“We’ll wait for you, okay? Whenever you’re ready we’ll be here.” So they waited. After a couple of hours, Minho made dinner for everyone and they ate it in front of your door, They even left a plate for you.

It was one in the morning when the pack had decided to rest, or at least try to. Seungmin suggested that maybe you just needed space and you would come to them when you were ready.

Little did they know you were behind the door listening to everything, fighting an internal battle of whether you should seek them for comfort or run away from them. Are they a threat? Everything and everyone feels like a threat, and you need to protect your pup at all costs. Once you were sure the coast was clear you opened the door, just to grab dinner. You weren’t hungry, but your baby needed food and nothing matters more to you than your pup. They waited so long for you and you felt terrible, but you couldn’t face them, you couldn’t admit how much this had set you back. The thought of interacting with your new pack members terrified you. The old ideals that alphas are threats to your pup and omegas are your competition replay in your head like a song, a horrendous out-of-tune song. But of course, your pup betrays you too, you need to pee so bad. Your ear is up to the door and you don’t hear anybody moving around, so you peek out, the coast seems clear. Gentle tip toes get you to the bathroom without any mishaps and you’re ready to bolt back to your room and continue your solitude but you freeze in front of a door. Hyunjin’s door. The beta’s scent fills your nose and it’s like you’re in a trance.

Beta safe. Beta will protect us.

You hesitate with your hand on the doorknob, the scent isn’t filling you with fear like the other scents were, maybe it would be fine. Growing up betas weren’t really in your life, you didn’t get to form much of an opinion on them just being told what your family thought of them. Betas are rare but not considered super important to more traditional packs, in a grand scheme of biology though they were vital. Betas are like glue for packs, biologically made to be calming, rational, and caring. Hyunjin could be dramatic but god does he have a huge heart. He is like love in werewolf form. You have to be safe with him, right? So you enter the room and slowly stride towards his bed taking a seat. This causes him to stir but before he can say anything you speak.

“Please don’t touch me.” Hyunjin’s mouth hangs open but if you were looking at him you would see how it turns into a smile.

“Of course. Did you want to lie down?” You don’t answer but you do lie down, that’s an answer enough. Hyunjin keeps his word and doesn’t touch but he looks, silently checking you over for any injuries even though Changbin said nobody touched you, he needed to see for himself to calm his instincts.

“Are they mad at me?” Your words sound like gunshots in Hyunjin’s ears, How could you think that?

“What? No! No no no! Nobody is mad at you, we get why you reacted like that. It’s scary, you have every right to be scared.”

“I shouldn’t be scared of you guys…” Hyunjin has to calm himself before speaking, holding back a whine from ripping out of his chest.

“You’re scared of us? Oh! I’m sorry, is there something we can do to help?”

“You can be upset with me. I’m upset with myself too.”

“There’s no need for any of that. Yeah, it’s upsetting that you’re scared of us but we don’t expect you to get rid of all the damage that coward did to you so quickly, You’re triggered right now, we get it. We’ll wait for you.” Your heart warms at his words, though you don’t feel deserving of their patience. Your body turns to face the beta, both looking at each other for a moment.

“May I touch?” His question bounces around in your head for a moment, the idea of your own consent feeling foreign once again. You give it nonetheless. Hyunjin takes in your nod of approval by placing a gentle hand on your bump.

“Is the puppy okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay?” The words settle deep in your brain.

“Not right now. I hope one day I will be.”

“I promise, we will do everything in our power to help you be okay.” Hyunjin pulls you closer to him before placing a gentle kiss to your hairline, so soft you’d almost miss it if you weren’t so hyper aware of your surroundings.

“What if you guys can’t fix me?” Your eyes bare your soul to Hyunjin.

“We don’t want to fix you, because you don’t need fixing. I know we haven’t known each other for that long but I know you’re perfect just as you are. Just thinking about you makes my heart do insane things, you have no idea how tremendously down bad we are for you.”

“I’m sorry for holding back from you guys, I’m scared, and today just really set me back.”

“My love I’d wait until the end of the earth for you. You’ll get back on track soon, back at square one doesn’t mean the race is over.” Your mind wanders, thinking about how you’d come out of this situation. A part of you wishes you could just skip to the good part, cuddled up with the entire pack, no fears just pure love and adoration. What if there was no good part?

“Why don’t you get some sleep? You and the pup have had a long day.”

“Can you scent me?” The question feels a little too intimate and scary, but before you can even second guess it the beta gives in without a question.

“Anything for you.” Hyunjin smiles before pulling you as close as possible, allowing for his fresh rose scent to engulf you and ease you into a relaxing sleep.

[devinescribe]

The Kinda Guy To…

Hiccup Haddock Ver.

- He knows you inside and out. Not like that you freaks, like he knows everything there is to know about you. You can look at him and he knows exactly what you want.

- I'm gonna say you were friends before he was a hot commodity. Because honestly, you were the only one that was nice to him the only one that actually cared about him and stayed by his side.

- Is he jealous? ... no. What are you talking about? Jealous? He's not jealous.

"Which is why Toothless scared that guy off?"

"...yep."

- Night rides. You love them as much as he does, and he loves showing off to you what a Night Fury can do.

- randomly starts rambling to you. Let's set the scene, it's late at night, you're in his bed, head on his chest and all of a sudden he starts talking about one of the pages in the book of dragons or in the personal notes of Bork.

- He really likes your kindness. You never once doubted him, and you're always so kind to him. It's what makes him fall in the first place.

- Toothless... loves you. Almost more than he loves Hiccup. Hiccup always watches as you coo and give Toothless scratches, how you giggle and copy the dragon.

- Not only are you good with dragons, you're good with people. You're always willing to help the village in any way you can, often opting to stay behind on missions to help the village prepare for what may be coming. Weather proofing houses, helping make more coats, or more swords. Whatever it is, he knows you'll do it, and you'll do it well.

- With that... he's future chief... so when his dad says, "oh and Hiccup... that lass that's always with ya?"

"Oh um... Y/N?"

"Yeah... that's the one. I like her. You should keep her... she'd make a great future chieftess."

"Th-that's... um... that's the plan... dad."

- Another thing? You're fearless. Well, you don't show it if you are. You jump into action, defending him or yourself. Against dragons or other threats.

- You go along with him for dragon training. He loves how you have learned to handle every dragon they have. Even the terrible terrors! But his favorite is watching you fly Hookfang and Hookfang listening to you. Just because it makes Snotlout speechless and upset. He loves that.

- He loves when you play with his hair. Loves it. Doesn't want you to stop. Ever. Actually whines when you stop. You have to laugh and tell him your hands are tired.

- Speaking of, if you do something for him and later you say x or y part of your body hurts or is sore, he feels bad because he knows it's because you were helping him. Will make it up to you.

- He's strong. I don't make the rules. He's strong. He worked in a forge for years. He handles a dragon. He's strong. If you fall asleep somewhere that's not a bed, you bet he's picking you up and taking you to a bed.

- tinkers and makes you different tools to help you. Whether to defend yourself or just to make certain tasks easier. These things include:

A ring that can flick open with a twist. Inside? A sharp blade. If you get trapped, it’s easy to cut.

Makes you a pair of fire proof gloves(how??? I dunno) not only do you help with dragons, but often times with fires, so it just helps.

A journal. Just a regular journal… fireproof…

- You could be messy and dirty from a hard day’s work and he’s saying you’re the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen.

- He wasn’t praised as a kid. Nor was he given lots of physical affection. Those are his favorite love languages to receive and give.

- Willing to do anything to keep you safe and to make you happy.

- That being said, when you’re captured his first instinct is to just go and get you. He has a night fury how hard can it be? But then he remembers that he needs a plan to keep you safe and get you out unharmed.

- Let’s you engrave your initials oh his stuff. His saddle, his shield, the hilt of his sword, he would let you do it on his metal leg if he didn’t lose them so often.

- At first, when he brought you to the edge, he wanted you to have your own place. And you do. That you barely ever use. Because you basically live with him.

- Has a really good sense of what you need. Do you need to be alone or do you need comfort? Do you need quiet or do you need talking? He knows what you need.

- Gets sick and tries to refuse your help saying he’ll get you sick too, but he literally will not stay down for more than five minutes. You have to remind his he needs rest to feel better and he can’t help anyone if he’s sick. He knows you’re right. Doesn’t mean he likes it though…

[ofcourseiwillmydarling]

Is this where I send requests? I’m new to tumblr so i have no idea help. If so I would love to request a smut with Jax teller x female reader. Low key something enemies with tension kind of like they hate each other but reader is kind of a bitchy bimbo girl. Maybe readers a daughter of one of the older guys and she’s a bit younger than jax but only like 3 years.. Readers kind of like she thinks she can get away with anything because of her dad being one of the sons. Jax is annoyed by her but wants to put her in her place?

Hope you get what I mean, english isn’t my first language 😭🙏🙏 Love your work!!!

a/n: This is really short and I'm not entirely sure it captures your request, but I really wanted to post a short blurb ❤️‍🩹 I hope you enjoy!!!

Jax Teller had seen a lot of shit in his life, but nothing irked him quite like her.

Loud, obnoxious. Entitled.

He hates you and yet he can't leave you alone - you're the best fuck he's ever had.

You're still incredibly sore between your legs and fuck, it's incredibly uncomfortable because everything Jax filled you with is now drying on your inner thighs.

"Fuck...fuck...look at that...look at that pretty cunt stretch for me." He stares down at where you're joined - you're stretched to your limit, knees crushing your tits - where the puffy, swollen folds of your cunt are sucking him dry.

He has no respect for you. The worst part was that you knew. You saw it plainly on his face every time his hips snapped against the back of your thighs.

"You're a big girl, y/n" Jax grunts into your hair as he fucks you. "You can handle it," he breathes before he delivers another sharp thrust that makes you whimper. "I know you can".

"Sore?" He goads, and the arrogance is audible. He’s acting out - overcompensating because he knows that he’s hooked on your cunt.

You fist your hand into his hair - scraping across his scalp - pull his lips to yours. "Do all the boys make you do that?" he croons.

"Fuck off, Teller." You don't want him to know how bad you like it. Still, you thought of only him - at all times.

You shake your head. "no - fuck - no one." you gasp and you're not even trying to boost his confidence - you're certain he has loads of that.

His teeth stretch across his face and smiles all smug like he could eat you.

He slams himself into your dripping pussy for one final push and you're muttering against the slope of his cheekbone: jackie - you feel so good - fuck. You shudder beneath him - your knees spearing into his ribs.

"That's my girl," he says - under his breath - just like a secret.

[sweetdispatch]

V, we love you queen! Will always stick by you as always! 💘

Could I request 3 water, 4 air, 5 earth, 6 fire!

Looking forward for all the blurbs 😗

Don't be mad - S. Crosby

v' elements pairing: Sidney Crosby x fem!reader summary: One dinner with Sidney lead you to expressing your true feelings warning: heartbreak note: thank you so much, that's so kind of you!!! hope you'll like it❤️

You loved Sidney but the feelings weren’t mutual. You were way younger than him and he hadn’t seen a love interest in you. But you were raised to never give up. That’s why you tried to show him that you’re worth the chance. You were always there for him but he saw you as a friend and nothing more. 

Nevertheless, you were always showing up at his games. When Sidney needed your help, you would change your whole schedule just to be there for him. You thought that he would notice you more but still, he was treating you like a friend. Even when you were the first one to visit him when he was injured or to wish him good luck before every game. 

Your friends tried to tell you that you need to move on and find someone who wants you but you weren’t listening. You wanted Sidney to be your boyfriend but you didn’t want to throw yourself at him. You wanted him to realise this by himself. He didn’t realise it and he found another woman. 

When Sidney told you that he’s seeing this woman, your smile disappeared from your face. You realised that you’re no one to him. You wanted to be happy for him but you couldn't. You wanted to be this woman. The only thing you wanted was to be loved by Sidney. After a couple of weeks, Sidney invited you to dinner with him and this woman.

She was perfect and you knew why Sidney was in love with her. She was smart, kind and beautiful. You started comparing yourself to her and saw all the flaws that you had. This broke you and you left in the middle. You couldn't stand the sign of Sidney being happy with someone who’s not you. 

Sidney felt that something was off with you when you left. That’s why, right after the dinner, he went to see you. When he knocked on the door and you haven’t opened it, he grabbed the spare key you gave him in the past. He walked into your apartment and was welcomed with silence. He went straight to your bedroom but before he reached the door handle, he heard your cries from the bathroom. 

“Y/N, is everything alright?” Sidney asked you. You were surprised that he’s here and you tried to collect yourself. 

“Yeah” You said but from the tone of your voice, he knew that’s not true. 

“I hear you crying which means you’re not alright. What’s wrong?” Sidney asked you again standing on the other side of the door. 

“It’s stupid and embarrassing” You told him. 

“You know I won’t judge you” Sidney reassured you. 

“Okay but promise you won’t be mad” You said with a shaky voice. 

“I won’t be” Sidney said with a smile. 

“I love you and I know that you don’t love me back. I tried my hardest to show you my feelings but you only see me as a friend and when I saw you today with your girlfriend” You took a deep breath trying to steady yourself. “I get why you love her. She’s everything I’m not and never will be. I’m happy for you, I am but I wish it was me”

Sidney didn’t say anything. He sank in your words and didn’t even know what to tell you. When he heard your cries again, he knew he had to speak now. 

“Look, I’m sorry that it’s not a mutual feeling but I really care about you. Do you think we can stay friends?” Sidney said and you felt more tears coming down your face. 

“We can” You told him when you knew it’s gonna be impossible. You opened yourself for him and now he was aware of it too. You hoped that you can stay friends but you knew that the jealousy over his girlfriend will kill you.

[ohwolfling]

I think most of y'all accusing Squid Game of being cynical are actually the cynical ones. Acts of rebellion aren't rewarded with happy endings. You don't only die for something if it's a guaranteed success, you don't only try if your kindness and/or defiance is measurable.

If you need Squid Game to have a happy ending to believe it's worth fighting capitalism, then there isn't a revolutionary bone in your body. The Hunger Games has a more palatable ending because while its themes are greater, it was written for middle schoolers. You have to be able to handle allegory of corrupt systems above the level of 12-14 year olds to process Squid Game. That's not a failing of the show.

Choi Woo-seok has agency and a future after the cops slapped him with a prison sentence instead of taking the Squid Game seriously. His tragedy, and the ways the system made it worse, are something he can rise above because of relationships and personal development he likely wouldn't have without Gi-hun. In-ho is still who In-ho is and I think fanon delusions about that are why a lot of you are feeling betrayed but he reaches outside of the system in a way that, while still cruel, gives two girls some kind of future that will keep them out of the games. Jun-ho is trusted with Jun-hee's baby and that money because In-ho knows that he is a good person, LEGITIMATELY A GOOD PERSON. Jun-ho walks away from policing and aligns himself with former criminals because community >>> the system, in big and small ways.

Gi-hun dies a human being. Him dying to save a child is not about "pro life," and y'all have got to stop just digging for the worst possible takes on something whenever you're disappointed or upset. Jun-hee trusted him. Geum-ja trusted him. Hyun-ju died protecting those two. He was seeing the dreams of his community through. When he realized he couldn't win, he kept his word, protected the next generation as best he could, and died with his humanity in tact. His humanity was affirmed in his games by Sae-byeok & Sang-woo & while he fucked up with Dae-ho (which was the point of that, I don't know how y'all are missing that), Gi-hun was NEVER going to sacrifice his humanity, despite the many parasocial fantasies the fandom created there in many ways.

His death happens in part because Myeong-gi cannot decide who he wants to be. The games didn't come down to a bunch of men in suits fantasizing about their turn at being rich, led by a formerly wealthy hack, because Hwang Dong Hyuk hates women. Myeong-gi was a crypto grifter who got swindled by a richer, probably older weirdo. He NEVER takes accountability for that, despite the people in the games BECAUSE HE MISLED THEM. He did love Jun-hee and sometimes he wanted to keep his word & come through for her or his child, but he's endlessly pulled towards the vision of Wealthy Man in Suit as the end all, be all of success.

I could do more in depth breakdowns for any of this, and for every alliance that made it into season 3 and what their deaths represent. It's undeniably in service to what Squid Game has ALWAYS been and these deaths hurt so much because the show and the characterization is good actually. You feel betrayed because the characters were changed or killed or sometimes both by the system Squid Game critiques. That feeling doesn't mean any of those deaths were unjustified narratively.

[moonlight-yelena]

for natasha | y.b.

yelena belova x reader | 0.8k

Warnings: mentions of nat in past tense. endgame canon

ˏˋ°•*⁀ i used to write a lot of aroace yelena and reader, don't think i have all that many yelena x r romantic fics

any and all feedback, comments, reblogs etc are very appreciated and welcome <3

The 5 year anniversary of half the world’s population returning from the blip was fast approaching. For Yelena, this meant it has been 5 years since she returned to discover her sister Natasha was no longer with her. Yelena had gone through and dealt with a lot since she returned, it took a while for her to be content with how life is now.

‘Why don’t you get a tattoo?’ Kate shrugged like it was the obvious choice, 'I know this cute tattoo artist,’ Kate wiggled her eyebrows smirking, Yelena just rolled her eyes but decided to think about her best friend’s suggestion.

Yelena had never given tattoos a second thought, not thinking anything was worth the lifelong commitment. Years of being controlled and not knowing who she is or what she likes, Yelena had never been ready for anything like that. But a tattoo to honour her sister would make the perfect first tattoo.

'Alright, you know a place. Set me up,’

'You’re serious?’ Kate was surprised Yelena agreed so easily.

——————–

'Yelena?’ You questioned the blonde that stood in front of you. She gave you a nod so you continued, 'I’m Y/N, welcome. So this session we’ll come up with some ideas and designs and then next session we’ll make it permanent. How does that sound?’ You led Yelena over to your desk where your iPad sat ready to start planning and designing.

'You’re Natasha’s sister?’ After Yelena walked you through the basics of what she would like her tattoo to have, it all clicked, 'I knew Natasha,’ Yelena raised her eyebrows at you waiting for you to continue, 'She lost a bet so she came in to get a tattoo done. She always came back. Her last tattoo was a Y with a spider hanging from it. She told me about you, I can’t believe I’m meeting you,’ You shook your head in disbelief, 'I wish we met when Nat was still here though,’

'She got a tattoo for me?’ Yelena didn’t know if her sister had thought about her since their last reunion. Yelena was still on the fence about the idea of a tattoo but to know Natasha had gotten one for her made Yelena know this was the right decision. She would be able to feel closer to her sister again.

'Nat was devastated,’ You both talked more about Natasha and everything else you had in common. The time flew by and at the end of the session you both couldn’t wait for the next one so you could see each other again.

——————–

'Welcome back, you nervous?’ You smiled at Yelena. Normally your clients were some level of nervous for the pain so you would joke around to lighten the mood. But Yelena was different.

'Why would I be nervous?’ Yelena’s frowned in confusion. It was only a needle, nothing she couldn’t handle.

'Oh you know the pain. Most people are nervous,’ You were trying to figure her out but Yelena was hard to read.

'I’m sure I’ve felt worse pain,’ You didn’t know whether to laugh or be concerned so you stuck to somewhere in the middle. You and Yelena kept talking throughout the entire process.

'Oh you know that other design we came up with? I had my next client cancel so if you want we can do that one today?’ Yelena instantly agreed since it meant more time with you. Neither of you wanted the day to end, you were both having too much fun with each other.

'These are great. Thank you,’ Yelena admired your work while you cleaned up your station, 'Can I have your number?’ You were taken back at how bold you thought Yelena was.

'Oh you know, uh, I’m not really the relationship kind of person,’ You were flustered not wanting to disappoint the blonde, you wanted to continue seeing her either here at the tattoo parlour or as friends. Either way you wanted her to stay in your life.

'Neither am I. Friends?’ Yelena smiled at you.

'Friends,’

Bonus:

Kate seeing Yelena’s tattoo of a vest with a bow and arrow for the first time when Yelena arrived at their shared apartment:

'Wait, that’s for me?’ Kate points to the bow and arrow on Yelena’s arm

'No it’s to remind Clint when he sees me that I didn’t kill him and now we’re besties,’ Yelena said with a straight face. Rolling her eyes as she watches Kate’s face drop, 'Of course it’s for you,’

Her eyes welled with tears, she didn’t know she meant that much to Yelena.

'You just want to see me cry,’

'That’s a lot of effort just to see you cry. Especially when you’re so emotional,’

Kate instantly makes a booking with you so she can get the same tattoo and then her and Yelena can have matching tattoos

[thenexusofsouls]

Hearing that Wanda felt he was helping her just by talking with her and allowing her to get to know him made him so happy. This amazing woman who had taken time out of her life to help someone so strange and different when they were struggling deserved to have that kindness and positivity come back to her in some way. Energy had a way of balancing itself, Xenos knew. Humans sometimes called it karma, whether good or bad. He wanted to make it a point to help the beautiful energy Wanda had sent his way find a way back to her. She deserved to smile and feel as happy as he did right now.

"Would... love... to get to know... you too," he said. "If you... are ever... com-... comfortable... with that." He didn't want to press, but he also didn't want her to think he wasn't interested in knowing more about her, because he most definitely was.

He appreciated so much the way Wanda respected his boundaries and gave him choices instead of simply doing whatever she wanted. Although there was a significant amount of sensory overload that entered into his fear of touch, it was also the way those sensations were thrust upon him when he wasn't prepared for them. If he had a second to anticipate how it would feel, that alone made it feel less intense to him, less overwhelming. And of course the way she'd hugged him was gentle and loose, so he didn't feel caught, held, trapped, or restrained. She seemed to understand so well, and he supposed that was because maybe she had such boundaries herself, in her own way, and she was merely treating him the way she wished to be treated herself. He would certainly do that for her.

When she laid her head against his shoulder, Xenos couldn't help the way he bowed his face against her hair, taking in her scent. It felt so wonderful to have someone want to be that close to him, for he tended to frighten nearly everyone he came across. He supposed he didn't help matters much by being so standoffish, but he'd never felt that way with Wanda.

She would hug and touch him to help him get used to happy touching? As if Wanda couldn't get any more amazing to him, she just did. Xenos smiled so brightly then. "I... give you... permission... to touch... and hug. I trust you. Warning first... does help... though," he said. "Would like... to get used... to your touches, Wanda. Never knew... touch... could feel so nice."

Xenos thought for a moment, though. Since she was doing so much for him, he felt like he ought to do more for her, he just didn't know what she might need from him. "Anything... you want... from me? Can do... something... for you?" he offered, eager to make her as happy as she'd made him.

- - - - -

"I am doing it to be able to trap him, just not right now," Stephen admitted. "I want to know that I can get control of the situation if he threatens the general public. He doesn't need to know that's what I'm doing, but I've got a responsibility to make sure I can handle him if I need to."

"Yeah, well, just don't piss Wanda off, okay, we have to live with her. You go home to your... magical... library... place... and-"

"-magical library place?"

"-leave us here to face the wrath of a very short but very angry woman, and that's really not fair," Tony said, talking right over Stephen. "Keep that in mind."

"I'll try to," Stephen said, forcing a smile.

"Why do I think he's going to get us all in trouble with Wanda?" Tony asked Steve after Strange had left. The playful banter between them, though, was a welcome change of subject. "Well, I have to make sure they're straight, you know, and you can't do that if you're... right up... in there," he said, putting a flat hand in front of his face to demonstrate. "I gotta step back and get perspective. Plus you can lift a lot more than I can. Don't make me get the suit. I don't wanna spend my afternoon filling out property damage claims if I overshoot something," he joked.

They made their way to one of the vacant rooms near Wanda's own, and Tony was happy to see a pile of boxes in the hallway. "Oh good, here they are." Once they'd carted the panels into the room, unboxed them, and got them installed, a little over an hour had passed. They'd made several changes to the room besides that, including changing the bedding, changing the settings on the intercom, and Tony even had a quieter toilet installed. "Anything else you can think of for someone with uh... sound and sensory issues?" he asked Steve.

what are you afraid of? (Xenos)

Xenos should never have come this close to this developed of a human city. Even wandering the suburbs of New York City had been a trial for him, with car horns blaring, people yelling, and a sense of too many things moving around him all at once. But once he'd reached deep into the city, he knew he'd made a mistake. There was a stark lack of awareness from the people walking around him. Some bumped into him without warning while others simply seemed to have no spatial awareness whatsoever. There were even more car horns, and more yelling, and Xenos felt his chest tightening from the stress of it all.

Soon, he couldn't breathe, and try as he might to get out of there, it seemed the more he walked, the deeper into the city he embedded himself. "Back!" Xenos shouted to someone who had bumped into him hard, pushing him away with one of his hands.

"Hey man, screw you!" the human said to him as he kept on walking.

He hadn't realized that he'd wandered into a roadway until he was almost hit by a car. It screeched to a halt and Xenos lifted his hands to cover his ears as the sound of the car's horn blared so loudly he thought he would die. "Get away!" he yelled, and it happened. His magic lashed out, creating a dome of isolation around him, encompassing the entire block. Everything went silent, for he'd removed all the humans from within the dome, leaving them outside its invisible border. Inside, he left the animals and insects for they did not bother him, but the cars, trucks and buses were now uninhabited, turned off, still.

The silence was wonderful, and he felt the tension begin to release him. The dome's barrier kept out the sounds of the surrounding city, as well as those of the angry and confused humans who had been moved from their vehicles, or who could no longer pass down the street because of the invisible barrier. While Xenos paced back and forth in the middle of the street, slowly calming himself, people outside the dome where already calling emergency services and police, angry and scared by what had occurred.

The Avengers were called in.

Xenos moved inside a building, where it was dim and peaceful, taking deep breaths as he slowly wandered around. This was better. Much better. He didn't care or even realize the disruption he'd just caused within a major human city.

Outside, people were telling tales of a strange man who had somehow made invisible walls in the city, not fully understanding what all had happened. When the Avengers arrived, they were met with a large block of New York City that looked... empty, uninhabited. Cars left abandoned, doors to buildings left open. It looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse... but where were the zombies?

Steve couldn't punch through the wall. Tony's repulsors couldn't penetrate it either. They couldn't even see what it was they were trying to knock down. But not all members of the team were as hindered by the magical barrier as the rest...

Xenos knew the moment someone had entered the dome, and he twitched with the sensation of his magic being disturbed. Perplexed, for this had never happened before, he walked to the door of the building and peered out. A human was there... but how? No human should be able to defy his magic. None ever had before. He watched her from afar for a bit, until it seemed that she was, either intentionally or inadvertently, headed right for him. Did she know he was there? No, no, she could not. Humans lacked such senses, he knew, especially in this time. The sorcerers of old were all but gone from the world now, or... or at least Xenos hadn't encountered any for a very long time.

Slowly, he stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk, his body tilting awkwardly to the right as his head did the same, as though he was trying to size her up and see her better. When she spoke to him, he recoiled suddenly from the sound of her voice. He didn't take steps back from her, but rather only leaned back, his head snapping backward a bit as a dog or cat might do if they were startled while curiously trying to get the scent of something. He thought about her words for some time before responding.

"Not afraid," he said, but his voice was barely there. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spoken to anyone to any real capacity, and his voice suffered from a lack of use. He didn't think it was loud enough for communication purposes, so he tried again. "Not... afraid." Xenos put up his hand almost as if he was making a wait a minute motion with it, but moved it up and down, as though pressing some imaginary buzzer in the air, his fingers outstretched. He was merely thinking of the right word, his head turning this way and that like the word might suddenly be floating in the air somewhere he could see. "Overwhelmed," he finally decided upon. "The city is... too much." His hands found his head and he swayed a bit, as thought he was in pain. "So I have expelled it... from this space." He then made a pushing away motion with both his hands, moving them out from his body.

But then Xenos' head tilted again, his face obscured by the draping hood of his long coat. "How...?" he asked, pointing back in the direction she came. "How... did you enter?"

[nightblightowl]

Just some Lilith thoughts:

I do not believe for one second that Lilith is as cool and composed and effortlessly poised as some of the fandom make her out to be. Now this is just personal opinion (and I know we don't actually know much about her) Look at the man she married. Look at the child she raised. I don't think she'd be quite as CHEERY/overly optimistic as Charlie or as goofy as Lucifer. But there is no way that woman is 100% serious all of the time. She's gotta have a sense of humour. I want her to seem as graceful/regal as she appears... and I also want her to be kind of a dork. She gets flustered too, she makes faces, maybe she snorts when she laughs, maybe she makes really really bad jokes... I just like the idea that all of the Morningstars are a lil' silly in their own way. Look at them.🥺

[froschli96]

you know, i always find it really funny when dudebros complain about syndicate and odyssey being too "jokey" or not "taking its characters seriously" or whatever…

like, did y'all collectively sleep through "it's-a me, mario!", "i meant besides vaginas", ezio inventing the latte, bartolomeo's... just... *gestures vaguely* entire character, etc?

like, it's fine to have preferences of course, i myself prefer a more serious and grounded tone, but these are usually the same people who tout the ezio trilogy as "peak assassin's creed", call ac1 a glorified tech demo and hate on connor for being "too serious and boring", like? make it make sense!

[freedelusionshere]

Totally agree with you on these points.

Claire is a connection to his past, and I know how she's been and being positioned in the media, but it's just not accurate. it's like a lot of people intentionally want to ignore all of the context the show offers as usual and write their own script on top of it.

Claire is fascinated by his family's mess, because this season makes it clear that it lets her not have to unpack her own, which is kind of what I want to get into here. She likes to watch other people be messy, so she feels less messy, and she told Carmy this as soon as they met at Potash in the freezer section. They have circular and surface conversations, and she moves on quickly as soon as they get too challenging.

The show even brought in Stevie, who is divorced from Michelle now and bitter AF towards her, to mirror Claire about Carmy, and they both talk to Frank about how they just showed up to see some Berzatto messiness like its entertainment.

Carmy tries to thank Stevie in front of Syd and show her a part of his past, and Stevie basically tries to sabotage it and makes it about himself and shows Syd family who isn't being very nice about a female relative and is looking to see some mess to feel better about himself.

It's a very common way of coping with trauma, to compare yourself to other people and always be looking at what everyone else is doing so you don't have to look at yourself. Single Francine does this with her brothers and dogs on Kelly while telling them to get their shit together when she can't even handle dealing with Natalie.

Meanwhile, Michelle is triggered by seeing Donna, and they intentionally keep her away from all of this stuff, she's hiding out from this family, and when she's talking to Tiff, she's comforting her and focusing on Tiff and her situation with her own mother.

The wedding is sad. It's not even a great wedding! It's just this messy family airing all their laundry again like Fishes.

Cicero telling Carmy and Richie that they messed up about Claire and Tiff when this man's been married more than once and is an asshole to his own kid, and the show makes a point to bring this up about him.

In fact, Tiff's conversation with Carmy as soon as he shows up and the way she squirrels away with Michelle tells me Tiff is doing this to be performative and doesn't even want to be there herself. But she can't let this family down. Same with Frank and his mother. They use Chester being there to make it clear Frank's mom is the one who wanted all of this.

This is all about messy families and the expectations involved. I would say specifically, messy white families who all like to compare themselves to how everyone else is doing to feel better about where they are at. Well, at least I'm not like Cousin Michelle.

Donna, who does microagressions to Syd, as many of us predicted she would, disappoints them by removing herself from this whole triggering scene and doesn't deliver the mess they had expected. So instead, they all have to move on and focus on Eva and dogpile the shit out of this kid for just not wanting to dance and because none of the adults can stand being alone. Eva was just fine with being alone.

Probably what Carmy had to deal with growing up, btw. And we know that, because Carmy is the one that looks at Eva and gently asks, "What about you?" to her.

They're making a huge deal out of nothing and forcing her to have to listen to all of these insecure adults, when basically the whole point of her not wanting to dance in the first place is because she didn't want to be the center of attention. She finally does dance with Frank once they mind their own business, and she can blend into the background.

This is a slow burn for sure, and I keep asking myself what do they mean by being bears at this point? Is that a good thing? I'm starting to think it's saying that it's not.

Michelle's behavior at that wedding sure seems like a full reversal of her speech about how bears are all these great things in Fishes, didn't it? She didn't want her mess aired; that's for sure.

The more I start to rewatch things about this season, the more I keep feeling Syd's apprehension about this situation. Where you want something, but the trust and the level of security is just not there. And she has Emmanuel and her friends to compare this to.

Why would you want to be a Berzatto? Does Carmy even want to be one? He loves his family, but they're a lot. They're too much, to be honest. And they're too much for Syd, too.

Donna triggered the fuck out of Syd at that wedding. She tries to play it off, because, what else is she going to do? She could've left, too, but she was there for Richie. Her family is there in the restaurant; they're not his family and shouldn't have to be.

If we get a S5, I'd like to have this explored more, and like I've always said from the start, for Carmy to choose Syd above his family and not feel like he has to participate in this mess or let it affect his life or his relationship with Syd.

That is part of what needs to change here.

Syd actually admitted in S4 that she doesn’t just admire Carmy because he’s great at his job.

She’s in love with him and wants him to be her partner outside of the restaurant.

Because she didn’t sign that agreement and she never opened any version of it.

She told on herself to his mom and to TJ.

She doesn’t want to have to deal with his crazy ass white family but she wants him to be there for her while she’s pushing him away at the same time.

Is she struggling because she fell for this messy white guy and doesn’t want to admit it to her dad or her friends?

I think there’s a lot of evidence this season that it’s what’s on her mind and why she likes to keep her work life separate from her personal life.

Interracial relationship struggles are like this I have friends that deal with this and it’s messy and complicated.

And also how often is it portrayed from a Black woman’s perspective?

[bumblingbabooshka]

One of the best Voyager scenes to indicate Tuvok & Neelix's dynamic and how I think Tuvok is just as if not more 'annoying'(positive) than Neelix is when Neelix pours Tuvok a fresh squeezed glass of a fruit juice blend and Tuvok's like (paraphrased) "I don't want to drink this." and Neelix is like "Can you please try it?" and Tuvok's like "I don't want to, you're really bad at this sort of thing. It's going to taste bad." and Neelix says that Ensign XYZ said she LOVED it, she even had a second glass! And Tuvok says Ensign XYZ could drink poison without a second thought and Neelix is like "Tuvok could you please just TRY it? Just try a little SIP of it PLEASE??" and Tuvok sighs and rolls his eyes and sniffs it before taking a sip and it turns out he loves it. Turns out it tasted good actually. And then after all that Neelix tries to talk to him over eggs (which he's again cooking fresh for him) and Tuvok tells him he doesn't wanna hear "the life history of his breakfast." Absolutely insufferable this man I would have burned his eggs on PURPOSE!!!!

[daisywords]

\

[mauerfrau]

She's disappointed when he puts the file away and says he'll look over it tomorrow. Does he really think she can't handle looking at a paper even now? He ought to have more faith in her than that! Well, maybe she can convince him once she gets him home. Right now, they have a journey ahead of them.

As they're walking out, she watches him pass his number on to Alex and touch his face. Alex winked back at him as he pocketed the number. Lily kept her face as neutral as possible and turned away before anyone could see her falter.

The evening air cools her down though, as they reach the outside. She takes a deep breath in through her nose. Nothing smelled unusual, but this city was skilled at masking scents. As she led him down the street and he spoke, she looked at him with an amused face. "Margo? Oh please. The one thing she wants from you is for you to pay her credit card debt. And to try to make me jealous. She's just still mad that I called her 'adequate' once and wouldn't go out with her again." A pause. "We're going to turn left here."

She was getting that feeling on the back of her neck that meant someone was watching her. She knew this wouldn't be an easy journey tonight, but she had hoped to get Ludwig out of harm's way at least.

"Don't look around, Ludwig, but we're being followed. And I don't know about you, but I don't fancy either my father or that lot from today finding out how to get to your world and your house. So we're going to turn again." To the right this time, and into a busy crowd. Had Lily been on her own, she might have lost the pursuer here. But Ludwig's bigger frame made that more difficult. Well, this wasn't her first time dealing with this kind of problem. She was prepared for it.

She took him through several turns and several crowds, but still, she could tell their tail was close behind. Growing frustrated, she realized she was going to have to resort to more desperate measures. If they wanted this one gone before they reached the spot where their worlds met, she was going to have to permanently end their career.

"Ludwig, I know you said no heroics tonight. But we might need some more action." As the darkness crept over them, she turned down a dirty alley. When they turned a corner and reached a dumpster, she motioned for Ludwig to crouch down behind it. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I know you don't like this. But we have to keep you safe." She put a finger to her lips to say that he shouldn't speak right now as she crouched next to him. She readied herself, and then waited.

It was not long before the sound of confident footsteps could be heard coming down the pavement. A little whistle joined the sound. And then, a voice. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty," it said mockingly. "Come on out. You didn't really think you could get me with this trick, did you?"

As the steps turned the corner, Lily tensed. They drew closer and closer, and then...

She leapt out from her hiding spot. In a flurry of fists and a knife, she tackled the man who had just appeared. He was shocked, but not enough for it to be an easy win. A kick, a dodge, a punch, a block. The fight was on.

"Right, of course, your summit. And the file. I can go over it tonight, I think. I shouldn't take it home though. My father might show up again. But don't worry, I have other places I can go that he doesn't know about. I think."

She reached out a hand for the file, but when Ludwig held it back, she dropped it. She tilted her head at his question. "Am I...Oh, am I fine? You mean all this?" She gestured to herself and laughed just a little. "It'll be okay. It's just a regular Tuesday for me, you know? I'll clean up and I'll heal right as rain soon enough."

She leaned in to talk more quietly to him. Not that it really mattered here, given the noise and lack of interest from anyone else, but she felt better doing it. "I got a phone call from a friend this morning. He was, ah, in a tight spot. Got himself into trouble with a nasty lot. So he asked for a favor. And he's good at returning them, so I couldn't say no. I thought it would be over and done with quickly, but they had more people than he told me. And more guns. But the important thing is that I got him out and to a safe spot for now. The whole thing isn't over yet, but I need more people to put a solid end to it. And that's not something I can procure in an hour."

"Alex told me you were with him and that Herr Beilschmidt was in my place. I got so worried about you. I tried to come as soon as I could. Good thing he found you though. Our father would never come here, especially right now. I don't know if he knows you're here though, but it's possible. He has eyes lurking around, and I swear one was following me tonight. So I'm not going to let you walk home by yourself. I lost that tail, but if it's one of his, they might circle back to this area. But I'm going to keep you safe, alright? Just promise me one thing: that you'll do what I ask you to do tonight. I know that's not your favorite thing in the world, but you're in my world in more ways than one right now. I'll get you home safe no matter what. So, if you're ready, we'll leave out the back way."

[livingdeaddoctor]

would that knowing the thoughts were irrational would Make Them Go Away!!!!

[bredforloyalty]

well not every shift is good it took me a while but i have taken notice of this

[wereh0gz]

Issue 69 (nice) is very good and very fun :]