#(p.s. I realized I got a few things wrong in that other post so I fixed that)

[pineapplefulfillseveryneed]

The Revenge Of Two Hands One Mouth - O2 Academy Bristol (November 27, 2013) by Adam Gasson

[1800-fight-me]

Begin Again

Rick Grimes x Female!Reader

Rating: M (Mature- As always- MINORS DO NOT INTERACT)

Warnings: Angst, canon level violence, cursing, yearning

Word count: Almost 4k

Synopsis: You have feelings for Rick that you're convinced are unrequited and it's made you irritable with your group. But what if you were wrong?

Author’s note: This is set sometime after the jail but sometime before Alexandria, but I took liberties with the timeline as well. I hope you enjoy!

P.S. I do not have a taglist! Instead if you would like to be notified when I post new fics follow my side blog @jo-writes-fanfic and turn your post notifications on! Comments and reblogs make my day! Main Masterlist

“I need five minutes away from you and your incessant talkin’,” you grumbled as you sheathed your hatchet and walked away from Eugene. 

Of course it was your luck you got paired with the rambling coward in the group’s efforts to clear out the building for a safe place to sleep for the night. 

“Wait! But I-” 

“Don’t wanna hear it,” you snapped as you walked away. You’d already cleared out your designated area and the others would finish soon, you weren’t leaving Eugene in any danger. You just needed some air. 

It wasn’t his fault you were so irritable. It was your own fault for developing unrequited feelings for the leader of your group and then getting your feelings hurt every time he showed zero interest towards you.

You walked out the back of the abandoned warehouse and sat on the steps right outside the door. You took deep breaths as you looked up at the stars. 

It was ridiculous and embarrassing, you knew that. There were far more important things to worry about, to get worked up over- like surviving each day. Killing walkers and any who threatened your group- that was essential, not your stupid crush. 

And Rick, he had so many responsibilities on him- two children (one of whom is a baby), the safety and wellbeing of the entire group (which had been particularly difficult lately), and constant pressure to make life or death decisions (you had admit, he was pretty good at that). You couldn’t, and shouldn’t expect him to notice you or care about your emotions beyond the others in the group. 

But, God - you wish he would. You wish he wanted to be around you. You wished he trusted your capabilities more. But no, he never wanted you right by his side in dangerous situations. That honor was always given to Daryl, or Glen, or Michonne. People he had more trust in. 

You’d been there since the beginning- since the quarry camp and you’d come a long way in terms of fighting, just like so many others. But it seemed like all Rick saw was the scared young woman he’d first met. 

He always grouped you with others in the group he also didn’t trust as much- like Eugene or Gabriel. It was infuriating. 

You also knew that Rick was a man of few words, but you couldn't help but notice that he had even less to say to you than others he was closer with. Despite the fact that you volunteered to help take care of Judith more than anyone else in the group. 

Your feelings for Rick- of affection, of love, of lust, were turning sour and rotten inside of you and twisting into something closer to jealousy and resentment. 

Getting worked up was pointless, Rick would never look at you the way you look at him you realized as you wiped the tears from your eyes and took deep breaths. 

But maybe a few extra minutes alone wouldn't hurt. 

You leaned against the handrail on the side of the stairs and tried to think about anything but Rick. The gorgeous curls of his grey streaked hair, his beard that looked way too good even when coated in blood, his intense blue eyes, the low timbre of his voice, his protectiveness for those he cares about…

You hadn’t even realized you drifted off to sleep until the sound of growling and snarling woke you. The hatchet was in your hand immediately as you jumped up and took a defensive stance. Four walkers were close, one of which nearly grabbed you, but you side stepped it and buried your hatchet in its forehead. 

Its dead weight pitched forward, it was a man twice your size, and landed on top of you. 

“Shit!” you yelled as your head hit the concrete and your vision went momentarily fuzzy. You held tight to your hatchet and swung it with a groan as another walker launched itself and landed on top of the dead one on top of you. 

You heard a deep voice yell your name. 

“Here!” you gasped out as blood sprayed in your face as the second walker died- its dead weight crushed the air out of your lungs. Two more were reaching for you but they couldn’t quite reach you and you couldn’t quite reach them. 

You heard the disgusting sound of a blade slicing into the brains of the walkers before the bodies of the others were hauled off you. 

“Thanks.” 

You took gasping breaths as you sat up and your eyes met Rick’s blazing blue gaze. 

“Are you alright?” he asked- concern evident in his voice and in the tension of his body as he knelt beside you.

He placed his large hand on your shoulder and you looked up at him in surprise.

“Just peachy,” you replied, “not a bite or a scratch on me, I promise.” 

He hung his head in relief as he let out a deep breath and his fingers tightened slightly on your shoulder. 

“What the hell were you thinkin’ bein’ out here alone?” he hissed through gritted teeth. 

You sighed deeply. 

“I didn’t mean to doze off. You stuck me with Eugene again and I needed some alone time,” you grumbled. 

He let out a huff of what might’ve been a laugh as he placed a finger on your chin and tilted it upwards so you would meet his eyes again. 

“I thought you liked Eugene, you’re always laughin’ at him.” 

You blinked in surprise and your mouth opened slightly. 

“Like him? He’s an idiot… that’s why I laugh,” you said with your eyebrows furrowed. 

“Hm. Well I also pair you with him and Gabriel since you’re one of our best fighters and teachers and I was hopin’ they’d learn somethin’,” he hummed as he turned your face back and forth just to double check that you were unharmed. 

“Wait, what? That’s what you think of me?” you blurted out. 

He raised a brow at you and a small smile played on his lips. 

“Of course, what did ya think?” 

You shrugged and looked down as your face flushed with heat. “Thought you stuck me with ‘em cause you thought I was the same as them.” 

This time he did truly chuckle. 

“Wow. I thought you’d think better of my leadership. It wouldn’t make much sense to put the weakest links together, they’d die. Ya wanna put the strongest with the weakest so they learn to be stronger,” he explained while nodding his head. 

“Oh. Yeah. That does make more sense,” you muttered. 

He smirked at you and you swore your heart skipped a beat. 

“Promise me you won’t go sleepin’ outside on your own again and I’ll give you a break from Eugene,” Rick said fervently. 

“Deal,” you agreed all too quickly which caused a rough chuckle to slip past his lips again. 

“C’mon darlin’, let’s go back inside with the others- you can nap in there where it’s safer,” he encouraged as he stood and offered you his hand. 

Your heart fluttered at the affectionate nickname. You slid your hand into his much larger calloused hand and you had to actively stop your mind from wandering down a path of wondering how those hands would feel on the rest of your body. 

You followed him back into the warehouse and then into the big open room everyone had begun to make camp in. He placed a hand on your back as he led you to sit next to him. 

“You hungry?” he asked as he pulled granola bars out of a backpack and started to pass them out to everybody. 

“Yeah, thanks,” you mumbled and his fingers brushed against yours for far longer than necessary  as you took the snack that would count as everyone’s meal for the night from him. It was better than the group’s dinner last night of absolutely nothing. 

Today’s scavenging was more successful, thank God. Your group still needed to find a more permanent living situation, and this warehouse did not seem like the solution. But you weren’t in the habit of borrowing tomorrow’s worries. No, you were just glad you made it through another day alive and without losing anyone you cared about. 

Maggie handed Judith to Rick and he placed a kiss on her forehead before settling her on his lap. She giggled at you as you made silly faces at her. 

Your name was called in a very nervous voice and you looked over as Eugene approached you. 

“I would be remiss if-” 

“I’m sorry Eugene,” you cut him off. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was an ass.” 

“While I do appreciate that, I also understand that I have a tendency to over-articulate in a way that can be grating on the nerves at times. So, I do apologize for becoming a pain in your rear end lately,” he said with a nod of his head that shook his ridiculous mullet. 

You let out a soft laugh. “It’s fine, dude. We’re good,” you reassured him. 

He nodded again then went back to his spot near Abraham and Rosita. 

You looked over and realized Rick was watching you with raised brows. 

“What?” you asked. 

“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you be that nice before,” he said in a teasing tone and a playfulness in his light blue eyes. 

You opened your mouth to reply but he said, “To anyone but the kids at least.” 

“I’m plenty nice,” you snapped, “to everyone but you.” 

He laughed and you muttered, “Shut up” as you began to adjust your backpack so you could lay your head on it. 

You quickly turned your body away from him as you laid down so he couldn’t see the smile that adorned your lips. 

You woke the next morning after nearly a full night’s sleep, which was a miracle in the post-apocalyptic world you lived in, to a jacket with a woollen collar laid atop you. You weren’t quite as successful at hiding your smile this time. 

You yawned as you sat up and stretched and the jacket slid to your lap. It was clear you were one of the last to wake as most everyone was quietly moving around as they prepared for the day. 

“You’re up! Finally! Dad said I had to let you sleep, but Judith has been wanting you,” Carl said from across the room. 

You smiled, “I’ll take the little princess.” You reached your hands out and Carl crossed the room and placed Judith in your waiting arms. She giggled at your teasing as you spoke to her in a high voice and tickled her. 

You noticed the granola bar carefully left next to your backpack and your heart warmed before you tore into it and devoured it in a few bites. 

A few minutes later everyone seemed almost packed up and ready to go, you included. You’d gotten good at multitasking- holding and caring for Judith while taking care of other tasks (including sometimes killing walkers) had become a breeze for you. Rick came back inside the building as he holstered his gun and surveyed everyone’s progress. 

“Let’s move out in five. We’ve got a lotta ground to cover today,” he ordered and everyone either nodded or made sounds of agreement. 

He crossed the room as he came towards you and knelt down next to where you sat. He gently held Judith’s hand and the fondness in his gaze as he greeted her made your heart clench. As did the fact that he still had a soft look in his eyes when he looked up from where Judith sat in your arms and said, “Mornin’”. 

“Hey,” you replied with a small smile. “Thanks for letting me sleep in. I feel much less grumpy.” 

“Anythin’ for you, darlin’,” he said with a wink before he stood up and offered you his hand. You allowed him to help you stand and struggled to hide how flustered he made you, especially when he squeezed your hand before letting go. You handed him his jacket back, which he took and promptly put on.

“It’ll also help the overall morale of the group if you’re not snappin’ at everybody,” he teased. 

You scoffed and shoved your shoulder into his as you walked past him, but once again couldn’t stop yourself from smiling. You glared at Maggie when she wiggled her eyebrows at you which only caused her to laugh. 

The day continued on with your group once again hiking under the hot sun in an attempt to find more supplies and better shelter. The routine had become somewhat monotonous, but the constant life threatening situations made it feel a bit less so. 

Today, the group stumbled upon an abandoned superstore. Rick ordered everyone to split up in pairs to explore and scavenge. 

He asked Carl to stay outside with Judith and for Carol to protect them both. 

When he called your name, you expected as usual to be grouped with one of the less combat inclined of your traveling companions but couldn’t stop your expression of surprise as he said, “You’re with me. Alright everyone, be quick and quiet and grab anything that could be potentially useful. Let’s go.” 

The group split into their designated pairs and began to enter the store. Enough scouting had already been done that it seemed abandoned by walkers as well, but still it was always important to be cautious. 

You followed Rick as he made his way to the back of the store to explore your assigned area. Hatchets in hand, you both made your way through the aisles without speaking in order to ensure you didn’t draw any of the dead in case they were hidden out of sight. 

Finally, when everything seemed all clear Rick pulled off his backpack and you helped him to fill it with supplies. 

You quietly searched the shelves and shoved aside anything useless. You tossed a bottle of ibuprofen at Rick- which he caught and dropped in his pack before he turned to search the shelf across from you. 

Your gasp caused him to whip back around towards you with his hatchet raised. 

“Look what I found!” you said excitedly, still cautious enough to keep your voice low. 

Rick sighed deeply as he returned his hatchet to his belt and gave you an annoyed look as he glanced between your face and the unopened bag of mini chocolate donuts. They were most likely still good considering they’re chock full of preservatives. 

You didn’t even know how long it had been since you had chocolate and your mouth was already watering at the thought. 

“What?” you asked. “Y’don’t want any?”

He rolled his eyes and went back to searching for supplies. 

“Fine, suit yourself. I was willin’ to share with you, but I’m not sharin’ with anybody else,” you grumbled as you shoved the donuts into your own backpack. 

You heard him laugh softly and you smirked triumphantly. Your ability to dissuade the grumpiness and bring amusement to one another filled your heart with a light you hadn’t felt in a long time. 

“We should check that back storage room in case there’s extra stuff back there that they never had the chance to put out on the floor,” you whispered after the two of you had cleared several aisles having only found a couple of necessities. 

“Good idea,” he replied and led the way. 

You followed his lead as you kept your hand on your hatchet. 

There didn’t seem to be any walkers in the back, but it was dark. You held a flashlight while Rick ripped open boxes. You looked around the dark room, searching for any kind of movement in the dark as a sinking feeling plagued you.

He looked back at you with a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye as he held up a protein bar. 

“I think you might be a genius, this whole box is full of ‘em,” he said as he gestured to the large cardboard box before him. 

Your eyes widened in a look of horror. His brow furrowed but before he could even open his mouth to ask, you threw a knife at him. 

It flew so close to his head that his curls rustled in the wind it created before it buried itself in the forehead of the walker whose teeth were inches away from Rick’s shoulder. 

A look of shock overtook his expression as he looked between you and the walker, but you weren’t done. You yanked out your hatchet and stalked past him and took out the two walkers who were rounding the corner and heading towards the two of you. 

Rick came up behind you with his hatchet in hand as well, but all seemed to be clear. 

You took heaving breaths to calm the adrenaline that ran through your body. 

You both holstered your weapons, including yanking the knife out of the walker’s forehead and wiping it clean, and Rick's hand encircled your wrist as he pulled you to turn to face him. 

His eyes were still wide with surprise. 

“Thanks.” 

You shrugged. “Don’t mention it.” 

“No, I’m gonna. You just saved my ass,” he said fervently as he stepped closer to you. 

It was like he’d just had this realization that you always supported him, always helped him, always had his back.

“Isn’t that what we do for each other? We’ve got each other's backs. That’s why our group works,” you replied. 

He nodded but continued to look at you with such intensity that it made you take a step backwards and your back bumped into the wall behind you. 

“Do you look at Daryl like this when he saves your ass?” 

He shook his head and in a low gravelly tone said, “No.” 

He looked ready to devour you as he took another step closer. Your breath caught in your throat. 

“Rick?”

“Fuck it,” he muttered under his breath. 

He practically lunged forward, one hand landed on the wall next to your head and the other spanned the side of your face to the back of your neck as he tilted your head up. His body pressed against yours, effectively trapping you between his heat and the wall. 

Before you could even breathe, his lips were on yours. The brush of his beard was harsh against your skin as his lips firmly pressed against yours.

Your hands reached up to grip the curls at the base of his head, threading your fingers through the surprisingly soft hair. He took that as encouragement and deepened the kiss. 

With a groan his lips pried yours open and his tongue pillaged your mouth with an intensity that left you whimpering. The heat of him, the taste of him, the fierceness of him was overwhelming and you kissed him back with all the passion he gave you. 

It could’ve gone on for minutes, or maybe hours, you didn’t know but you never wanted it to end. You were ready to give him everything he wanted and more, but the sound of footsteps behind Rick had him yanking back from you. He whipped around, his gun already raised and cocked as he held a hand behind him to protect you and keep you safe behind his back. 

Your lips still tingled from his affection, and as you peered around his shoulder you huffed in annoyance. 

“S-sorry. I was elected to determine the whereabouts of both of you but as I have observed with my own two eyes, your safety is not currently in question. Therefore, I will take my leave, but you should know should this rendezvous continue on that the whole group is ready to move on out and is waiting on your approval and presence to do so. Yours truly will take leave now and report to the others that the waiting will continue for a little while longer,” Eugene rambled. 

Rick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he lowered his weapon. He still didn’t move an inch so you continued to be stuck between him and the wall. It honestly wasn’t a bad place to be, you weren’t complaining. 

“Jesus, Eugene, it’s fine, just tell everyone to come help us carry these supplies,” Rick ordered. 

“Yes sir,” Eugene replied quickly and turned around and left just as quickly. 

You laughed quietly and Rick turned back around- still not giving you an inch of space- and placed both hands on the wall on either side of your head and leaned down so his face was incredibly close to yours. 

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” he murmured before he kissed you again. This kiss was slow, gentle, and full of warmth. The kind of kiss that might’ve been your first kiss if you weren’t living in a time of death and desperation for survival. 

His lips lingered on yours long enough that you worried others would stumble upon the two of you again. You weren’t keen on having an audience, particularly not Eugene- you’d heard a rumor that he was into voyeurism of his friends which you certainly didn’t want to have anything to do with. 

“Then what took you so long?” you asked in a teasing voice as Rick’s lips finally separated from yours and he took a step back as he ran a hand though his grey streaked curls. 

“Well at first I thought you had a thing for Eugene, not me,” he replied. 

You rolled your eyes. “Thought you were smart,” you muttered. 

He grabbed your shirt and yanked you into his body. “Don’t be a smartass,” he reprimanded, but his lips found yours again in a brief kiss that negated all the harshness in his tone. 

“I worried, I worried about too many things. But yesterday almost losin’ you and today with you saving me… I realized all those worries were ridiculous when none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I couldn’t even think about losing you, especially not without you knowin’ how I feel about you,” he said with such fervency. 

His confession left you breathless. 

“I- I worried too much too. Worried that you’d never feel the same way I did. Worried that if I ever told you I’d lose you,” you said, your voice so quiet it was practically a whisper. 

All of the reasons you’d both withheld yourselves seemed frivolous now as light filtered through the murky window on the other side of the room and bathed Rick in the brightness of new opportunity and fresh start. A chance for new love despite the horrors of the world. 

So you kissed him once more, this kiss but a brief touch of lips, a taste of something more that was to come, a sweetness only utter devotion could bring. 

All too soon, he stepped back far enough that as many in your group came through the swinging doors it would not appear that anything had changed between the two of you. 

To everyone else, finding the stock of food in the back of that abandoned grocery store was the only life altering thing that had occurred. But when you met Rick’s ocean blue eyes you realized you could drown in the affection you found in his gaze. 

All the former awkwardness and miscommunication between the two of you was completely forgotten as you smiled at him and he smiled back- eyes crinkling- and the whole world felt anew with possibility. 

[star-s-631]

hi kou-san, it's me again (<- prev ask) with more ✨ thoughts ✨ on the #rosquez:hate to love?au where who gets swapped across realities really determines how the scenarios play out

(p.s. i de-anoned because i thought, if I was going to yap more, i'd let you know who's clogging up your inbox hahaha)

Scenario 1 - Marc the reality hopper

Hater!Marc (post-recovery timeline around 2021 onwards) ends up in Lover-verse world where he and Vale are in the middle of reconciling just before Vale is going to retire in 2021 (assuming in this verse Vale feels nostalgic/wants to tie up loose ends before he retires and this verse's Marc IS receptive -> they are finally on speaking terms again). But then hater!Marc crashes this verse, and when asked about his thoughts on Vale's retirement, he (not realizing the swap) ends up going on a Valentino Rossi smear campaign on media when asked and inflamed a war they all thought was put to rest. (The journos crash out because their Marc has never been this hostile, ever). This version of Vale feels hurt/betrayed thinking the progress of the past few months was a trap/lies, and then yeah the war is back on. Vales goes on a podcast the next day and retaliates (the usual stuff).

Lover!Marc (from 2015) swaps into the hater verse post Jerez-2020 (not long after Hater!Marc told Vale to gtfo of his life). His arm hurts like crap, he doesn't realize the discrepancy in timeline/universes on account of all the pain+meds (thinks he was in a random crash hence his memory is vagueish), but to learn that Vale actually came to visit and wanted to make up, and he calls Vale back. They kiss and makeup blah blah sunset and rainbows all is well

Then next day, both Marc's are back in their respective universes, but they don't really rmbr the swap (inspired by Your Name the movie's concept). So. Chaos. Confusion. Drama. And then the swaps keep happening.

So in both verses, the two Vales are confused as heck, like, wtf is going on with marc and his hot & cold treatment.

Somehow Luca (both verses) figures out what's going on at first. (like you said kou-san, Luca is probably one of the few vr46 kids Hater!Marc tolerates & they would even bond as they try to figure this out) (but i also just rlly like luca as a character who keeps his head even when things go super wrong) (they might even be honda teammates in one of the verses! because alternate reality rules :))

Imagine here Hater!Marc sneering Bez out the door after a crash out; and I fear wet mouse Pecco is going to be eaten alive if he crashes out Alex, like this Marc will have no-o-o mercy.

But essentially, Marc's swaps happen frequently and randomly & across diff timelines & they don't realize at first.

I think it would be fun also to analyze the 2021-jaded Marc mindset vs the young-still-hopeful pre-injury 2015 Marc in this

Scenario 2 - Vale goes through the reality grinder instead

Alt!Hater-verse!Vale (post the hospital convo where Hater!Marc kicks him out) ends up in a reality post 2015-Sepang.

It is the weekend after Sepang. This is the week the Italian journalists harass Marc and his family at their home. Vale has no idea how he got here but he books it out of there to get to Marc's place in spain. 2015marc cannot believe his eyes that Vale is there to save him, to want to protect him after he started everything. No one gets physically assaulted/hurt here <- this is important.

Vale sees how heartbroken 2015 Marc is and wants to make it up to him. And Marc is more than happy to put this behind them (even though his family really wants to round up the neighbors and lynch Vale, or drive him out of the country at least). but Vale has realized what he's missing out on, what he's done. Never wants to swap back. This is the redo he's wanted PLUS he gets to be young and race (Marc) again. He tells himself he will do it right this time.

Meanwhile, Other!Vale (from post-Sepang2015) is living out the consequences of him losing his crap in front of the media and he's now living the reality of Marc hating his guts while also losing spectacularly in races (he's in his flop-most era, in 2020s). He does not like it. Also he's old(er) now. He wants his time back pls.

Luca is his go to person because Uccio thought he'd lost his mind (once more Luca saves the day). Luca reasons out that this might be a sign from the universe for Vale to correct his old wrong and make up with Marc in order to go home. Vale insists he's done absolutely nothing wrong. Ever.

Except that in Hater!Marc-verse, the italian home invasion incident had escalated compared to his verse - in this one, alex actually got hurt and that's the tipping point (on top of vale's crappy comments) for this verse's marc that turns it into hatred (because his little brother is, ultimately, more important than a hero's fickle love). This is an event not canon in his verse, and Vale is starting to think Luca is right but also he cannot turn back time to 'fix' this.

Cue enemies to lovers!arc - ft snarky!suspicious!Marc, anti-Vale campaigner Alex, longsuffering Luca and at-his-wits'-end!Vale

The Vales swap only once and seemingly permanently hence Vale's freak out at being trapped in the alt verse.

But I imagine at the end, in Haterverse, Vale does get Marc to accept his apology, like Marc might finally forgive him even if Marc is already with someone else (some element of tragedy is needed here), and in Lover-verse, that Vale is getting flashes of dreams/visions of the universe he came from and he suspects his time in this 'paradise' is ending. He knew it was coming, deep down. So he wakes, one night, and this Marc (not his, never will be his again) is asleep next to him, blissfully oblivious and so, so peaceful that Vale's heart hurts. He tries not to wake him as he searches for a pen, a marker, and writes on his palm, a message to his counterpart that basically states, "You love him. Don't waste this." Or some variation of thereof before they swap once more (and for the last time) to their respective worlds so that the Vales each get what they 'deserve' in a sense. The Vale who spent his time in Haterverse genuinely remorseful and trying to make up with Marc comes back to a universe where Marc chooses him and they get to be together; while other Vale manages to right the wrong - the journalist escalation incident - so that no one gets hurt, but he himself doesn't get 'his' Marc but his guilt is forgiven and they can move towards being friends once more.

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

Some words on this: I think in scenario 1 there's a lot of shenanigans to be packed in that it can be a multi-chap dramedy fic, but scenario 2 can probably be fitted into <10k word oneshot (if i ever get around to writing it lol). But also scenario 2 was inspired by me finally reading the articles on what went down when the italian journalists went to harass the marquezs and I was mortified by extent of their actions (the fake podium and that parody of an award?? evil! marc was so brave to keep smiling even in the face of all that) and then i imagined what if it did escalate...? and of course the ending should have the 'it's too late, vale' vibes that your art was depicting all along.

Sorry if it got confusing at times, it's just super raw ideas and flashes of ideas that came together. but uh that's all i have for today i think. good day to you! :)

OMG HIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m so sorry for replying super late I’ve been on my training teacher program.Anyway, heyyyyyyy this is soooo good???!?!? I love all of your words and ideas of this but scenario 2 is delicious…

I love the idea of the hater vale realizing how awful he was to Marc back then and he suffer from the love that he could have had with Marc if he wasn’t an asshole.

And I imagine that congrats it’s too late drawing as a start of the story which does not exist yet. Like in 2025, Marc finally snaps and he starts to show disgust and anger to the media and other riders. And vale slowly realizing that what he was doing was wrong and he should had been beg for forgiveness. But this Marc doesn’t seem like he’d listen to anyone’s words including Dani and dovi. He became aggressively protective to his brother and his young boys.he ignores Italians and other people who had said something disrespectful to him and his people. Only Fabio and Fermin (also ai and Chantra)could talk to him on the grid except Alex. But I also think Luca would be the one Marc can’t be rude or harsh to. Maybe because he has his eyes. Maybe because he looks a lot like his dear brother. Maybe because Luca had never mocked him or Alex. Maybe because he still wanted to have a hope. Oh well o think we both love Luca. Or else I just love Marc being soft to Luca. Our poor beautiful boy…

Okay back to your beautiful beautiful angsty ideas, alex and Luca gonna be my fav. This au’s vale is such a You only realize it after you've lost it man that old man needs to be suffering yay! And if you gonna make or write something with it please feel free to do so!!

I’m so sorry for answering this late again! Hope you’re having a good one💐⚡️✨love ya!

[ekwolfwriter-blog]

WIP Zutara Challenge: Divine intervention

Man oh man, do I love this prompt. As I have a few fics that I guess fall under this. Most of them are posted in Ao3 is people are curious. I will be posting them at the end so no worries. But honestly anything with the spirits - at least how I consider it - divine intervention - and I have too many ideas for it

Such as one fic idea of the spirits allowing Katara to go back in time with all the memories but cannot physically touch people that she was close to as it could make them remember the horrible future - for angst.

A transformation fic that I have been sitting one - well two - where both Katara and Zuko get turned into animals and find out that the other loves them through the barrier of the lack of human ego getting in the way. (Katara being turned into a fox-snow leopard is also on the docket with Blue Spirit, which I will share in a bit). And a few other ideas like OC's coming in and helping out with the time line or changing it to make it make sense - if you know, you know.

And I also have some links for on going projects with spirit intervention and if people are curious about what I will be doing and going with it, please read and leave a comment!

First on the docket is my all time fav and an intro to an OC that I adore and is definitely one that helps with the story more times than I can count: Fortune Teller Rewrite

Next is one I have to work on, but it does have some spiritual intervention with transformation: Right Time Wrong Tea

Another one is my Forget Me Never fic with implications of spirit intervention.

And Lastly, my new project that will have lots of Divine intervention and spirit shenanigans is Ghost of a Waterbender (of which a new chapter will be posted soon)

As for the WIP challenge, here is a snippet of WIP where Katara unknowingly makes a deal with a spirit intervening for her (P.S. mention of alcohol):

Damasu took another sip of the sake that got brought as he seemed to think for a moment. “Well, it seems to me you already have an idea about what you want. But are conflicted because it does not match what others think or who they think you should be with.”

“Well, yes!” Katara snapped. “I know I should choose but I always had to choose for everything when we were traveling! I always had to care for people and make sure they were cared for. Final decisions on what we ate and did. And yet, never was it my choice completely. And even if I choose, I know people will get hurt and it will be my fault. And just once, I want something easy given to me.”

“Hmm,” Damasu smirked. “Sounds like a way to go, to have things given to you. Much like an animal that gets pulled around and does what it’s told. Is that what you want?”

“What?! No! No way, I will never be jerked around like that. I am not some prize that can be flaunted and told to obey on command.”

“And yet you feel like you are now?”

Katara realized what she said and bit her lip as she looked away from the strange man.

But Damasu only gave a mischievous grin. “From what I can see, you have a wild heart, and that is good. At least for you. You want to have your freedom to fight your own battles and prove yourself but at the same time, would like to know someone will be there for you. Protect you and love you for the powerful and beautiful woman you are, right?”

Katara did not face Damasu again, but she could not help but nod to his question.

Damasu smirked as he took another sip of his drink and poured some more for Katara. “Well, then I think I can help with that. A little wager if you will.”

Katara scoffed. “Oh, and what would this wager be?”

“I bet that the man that will fulfill your wish will be able to see you for who you are, even if you are… shall we say, not looking your best.”

“What? Would I look like I just woke up and have massive bed hair?” Katara asked with slurred words. All the drinks of the night were starting to get to her.

“Something like that,” Damasu said softly, then continued. “The catch is, you must stay that way until either of them figures out it is you. And only then will you be able to find the one that loves you with an act of true love. Either by words or actions. In this new look that is.”

Katara squinted at Damasu as she felt suspicious of him again. “What is in it for you, if this is a proper wager?”

Damasu smirked. “Even while becoming intoxicated, you are still sharp. I love that. And the only thing I want… is a good show.” He said with that continuous mischievous look in her eyes.

Katara chuckled from his answer as she was finding it hard to believe. “So let me get this straight, I will look a certain way. Unrecognizable to the world, and will stay that way until the one who loves me the most figures out that it is me and I get my answer, and all you want is to just watch?”

“Yup,” he answered as he gave her drink and he poured some for himself.

“No strings attach?” Katara grilled him.

Damasu smiled as he reached for Katara’s necklace and tapped it. “In honor of the water and moon spirits that watch over us, I swear. That is all I am offering.”

Katara looked down at his hand then at him. Katara’s vision was getting a bit blurry but while it might be the drinks talking, it did sound nice to have that option. She then reached for the drink and raised it to Damasu. “You have a deal then.”

Damasu smirked as he raised his glass and clinked it to hers. “A deal then,” he quietly cheered. They both took the drink and then Katara sighed. “I should get home.”

“Fair, after all, it will be a busy day tomorrow,” Damasu said as he got up.

“Will I see you tomorrow then?” Katara’s words slurred more as she was getting tired.

Damasu did not answer as he put down something on the bar then tapped Katara’s forehead. “You will see me very soon,” he whispered to her and left.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

[antispopausandstuff]

https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/ftid1u/what_is_your_opinion_on_this_last_person_saying/

I’m not interested in what the main post is about (I do not give a shit if it said that season 1 Catra was so sexy that she’d also make straight girls want to have sex with her when the 2018 show was starting) but the comment made by A_Alien_From_Earth?

Do…do they not realize that the 1985 She-Ra show was specifically made for the girls who were watching Filmmation’s He-Man when it came out earlier a few years ago?

By that logic, Nate shouldn’t have even thought about touching the rights to reboot the show since She-Ra’s “degrading” looks (and I say this with heavy sarcasm) is something that will always be corrupting girls and other afab minors (like Nate once was) that were born after its creation.

What a slap that specific comment is to kid me who was surprised when she (a self-confessing 90’s baby) found out about it after already watching He-Man beforehand and who is still bummed today that 2002 He-Man hadn’t reached Adora yet because while I know the writing isn’t perfect (looking at you, episode that introduced Sy-Clone since the resolution was stupid even when *I* was watching it in elementary school), man was He-Man a glow-up in the face and hair department. I *know* She-Ra would be gorgeous as well and their combined strength-show in that series’ artwork and animation would’ve been talked about in the fandom (at the least) to this specific day.

P.S. My apologies for the word vomit. TLDR: The 1st “best” (🤢🤮😤) comment pissed me off massively when I saw it as a someone who saw She-Ra reruns the first time as a wee ankle biter.

i saw the post and comment and...

why do people say this?

no, seriously, why do they always say this? this show was for children. if the very first thing you think of is that it's a way to turn on men, you've got a few issues.

they do know that it wasn't just men working on this show, right? women were involved too. and they do know that, at the time this show came out, it was powerful and moving for women?

why is it that just because it doesn't seem to be relevant now ( even though it absolutely still is, considering the world's current circumstances ), that every aspect of it is either misconstrued to shit or just bashed on by people who haven't even seen it, and just make a bunch of assumptions about it?

"there's nothing wrong with being flat-chested either". no one said that, and pretty much all of the women in the reboot can be deemed as flat-chested, with maybe a few exceptions.

i can't stand it when people do this.

[skzdarlings]

Hey Darling ♡

After long consideration I decided to finally write you this message. It will probably be really long and you don't have to answer it! I just want to let you know a few things:

I came across your account a few months ago when you released the first chapters of the 'sharing a bed' series. I was immediately impressed! You are so talented and it may sound stupid but I can 'feel' how much thoughts and love you put in your works.

TW: depression and suicidal thoughts

I also found your account when I was at a very difficult time in my life. After four years of therapy (depression) I tried to get my life back. I've managed to get a part time job but I quickly realized that it exhausts me too much and makes my symptoms worse. But I didn't want to admit that it's only worsening my depression so I didn't stop. And I remember a time when I was at work on the toilet having a panic attack and thinking about ending things. It sounds super cliché but at that moment I got a notification that you postet a new bodyguard Felix chapter. And suddenly my thoughts went like 'I will never know how your bodyguard story ends if I give up now'. Don't get me wrong, I have other 'things' that give me strengh to continue (family) but on that day, it was you and your amazing story that pushed my dark thoughts away. And I really want to thank you for this ♡

I also remember the night you released that one chapter where the main lead had to say goodbye to Jisung because she wanted him to be safe... I cried. You can't imagine how thankful I was to finally cry again. I couldn't cry in a long time no matter what I tried. After your story basically forced me to cry I could let everything out. And even though my head was exploding afterwards, it felt so good. Thanks to you I also realized that I can still feel emotions because at that time I felt like all my emotions were just gone. When I think about this time I also realize that this chapter made me more excited and happy than the SKZ comeback. So again, thank you so much.

A lot of stuff happened, my whole situation got worse and at some point I decided to go back to a familiar psychiatric ward to get some help. I'm in there since August now and last week they started to treat my depression with ketamine. It's super exhausting but maybe it will get better!

I didn't want to write this message for you to feel sorry for me or feel preassured to write more. I wanted to tell you that your stories have a positive impact on others! Before depression hit me like a train I wrote my own fanfictions. I never posted them but I loved writing them. You are such an inspiration to finally start writing again. It's still exhausting as I'm not able to concentrate for too long but it gives me so much joy. Your stories and the effort and love you put in them gives me so much motivation and I can't say this enough but I'm so thankful for everything you and your stories gave me over the past few months! Thank you so so much ♡

P.S I can't wait to read the last chapter from the bodyguard fic! I'm such a big fan and even though I'm really sad that it's the last one I can't wait to read what you've planned for the end. But no preassure! Take all the time you need ♡

I assume this is okay to post because it's anonymous, that way I can reply haha but let me know if you want me to private this at any time! <3

But oh my goodness, such a thoughtful message took so much heart to write and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time and effort to do so. I don't even think I can formulate a good response that it deserves! But please know how much you have touched me in return. I have personally lived with similar things, though I find it hard to talk about so I really do respect and appreciate you doing so here.

I also understand what you mean about something like a story update being one of the things to hold onto for a while. i think the small things can make a difference and there's nothing wrong with that. It's nice to think there are other small things waiting around the corner that you might not even know exist yet, but they will also add to good moments too.

I wish you so so much love, really and truly. I hope you find some help and relief with these new treatments. Thank you for reading and again thank you for messaging. All the best!!

<333

[gardenofthesacredheart]

I was going to post a few songs, but then realized that I need to clarify something before I do so. I know spiritual songs tend to have a lot of that whole think positively and let go of your fears type stuff. I'll admit, toxic positivity is a legit thing and needs to be taken seriously.

I assume that since y'all are in the dark night of the soul you probably feel pretty down right now. And if not, yay! By the way, for some of us awakening happens in stages. You could be coming out of the dark night of the soul and starting to awaken at the same time over time like I have been. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I'm the last person who would ever just be like look at all the great things you have and just be happy. Just snap out of it. I personally am in a place right now where I can do that for the most part and am trying to work on doing it more and more often, but not everyone is.

I had a spiritual shift in the awakening process about a year and a half ago that was the start of me feeling better and being able to be more positive. I have also done a lot of self-work and have started to eat better so I don't doubt that contributed as well to be fair.

As long as I can remember before that though, I've always struggled with depression and anxiety. There were times such as in my teens where it was worse than others. I was lucky to have had parents who when their teen tells them they think something is really wrong, they listen and get them help. So, yeah, just know all this good vibes stuff is coming from someone who's spent the majority of the last 16 years in counseling. Who's put in countless hours of reading, and consuming stuff, about religious and spiritual practices, as well as therapy and self-help content. Partially because I was into it, but also in the hope that something would make me feel better!

If you can relate to any of that on some level at all here are some things that have helped me.:

-Feel yours feelings. I was always told I was emotional so I thought that I was feeling them. I wasn't. Feeling the pain is how you heal.

-Validate yourself. If you're having a hard day talk to yourself like you would your loved one or a best friend. Oh, you did something you weren't proud of today? It's OK. Maybe you didn't get enough sleep last night or are particularly stressed. Or maybe it was just a mistake. It's all good, bro. We're all human.

-I am a firm believer that everyone should go to counseling. No one's childhood or life in general was/ is perfect. If for some reason you don't want people to know, you might be able to figure out a way you could go without anyone knowing. If there's some reason you absolutely can't go (I do know that finances are tight right now. To me though this is as vital as going to the doctor.) there are a ton of books and content out there by licensed reputable people. Go find some of them and let all the helpful free stuff people put out there help you!

That's all. For anyone going through it right now, I've been there. I feel you. I'm here for you. You got this!

P.S. Are we sad yet I didn't just stick to Spotify descriptions? 😂

[charzard-lord]

You’re The Mystery I Need To Solve (Doctor/Reader) Part Eight END

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: Drama, angst, fluff, language, brief mentions of blood and needles, minor moment of negative self talk but nothing too serious

Key: 🎭💣😋❤☂️

Pairings: Eleventh Doctor/Reader

Summary: You've had several dreams about a madman with a box and when you finally meet him in real life, you realize that something is very wrong. For some reason, the TARDIS doesn't react well around you. In fact, it seems to completely stop working and turns into a regular police box. The Doctor is terrified yet fascinated, and completely determined to solve this mystery.

Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven - Part Eight (you are here)

Taglist: @iloveangstposts​

A/N: AHHHH!!!! IT’S FINALLY DONE!!!!! And I’m posting a little early as a special treat. I’m so excited for you guys to read this chapter! I’ve really enjoyed writing this story. I might come back and edit these parts eventually, just to make the syntax and grammer better, but no promises. Thank you so much for reading this far and for all your support! I hope you enjoy reading this part as much as I enjoyed writing it! Sending you lots of love! (P.S. I will start working on the last requests I got now that this story is finished. I still won’t be taking any new requests for the time being, but I will work on the ones I was sent.)

You toss and turn. Vivid, nightmarish images greet your eyelids each time you close them. Terrifying creatures, big needles, excessive amounts of blood, and all other kinds of violent things are all that you see. Sleep will be nearly impossible at this rate. 

With a defeated sigh, you move to get up, only to realize that you are still in massive pain. A silent whimper escapes your throat as you realize how helpless you truly are. You want to call out for someone, but you’re afraid the Doctor will show up, and that would be way too awkward right now. 

Seeing no other viable option, you decide to take a chance and call out for Amy, hoping she is somewhere nearby. Lady luck must be smiling down upon you, because no more than 30 seconds later, she comes running into the room. 

“Is everything alright?” she looks a bit frantic, obviously concerned for your wellbeing, and you smile. It’s nice to be cared about. 

“Yes and no,” you reply, as Amy moves to take a seat next to your bed. 

“How so?” she asks.

You explain the troubling images that you see every time you try to rest your eyes, and the way your whole body still hurts like hell. You purposefully leave out your conversation with the Doctor, not wanting to think about that at the moment.

She listens intently and nods, thinking hard, before an idea seems to pop into her head. Her eyes light up and she stands quickly, saying she’ll be right back. She exits the room in a hurry and you’re left sitting there, completely dumbfounded. 

She returns a few minutes later with a small glass bottle, filled with a strange liquid. She pushes the bottle into your hands and you take it, examining it curiously. 

“What is it?”

“It’s this incredible medicine the Doctor bought for me at an alien market. It doesn’t heal you instantly, but it speeds up the recovery process a lot. I had forgotten about it until now. I once broke my wrist during one of our trips. I drank a bit of this and I was completely healed in a week! It was amazing!” she grins with excitement, clearly wanting you to give it a try as well. 

“How much do I need to drink?”

“Just a small sip will do,” 

You unscrew the lid and sniff the contents. It smells surprisingly fruity. 

You glance at Amy, who is still smiling encouragingly, before taking a small swig. It’s sweet, with just a hint of bitterness at the end. It’s not bad, for a supposed medicine. 

Almost instantly, you feel some of the tension melt away. You still have some pain, but it seems a bit duller than before. You also notice how much more relaxed you feel. 

“Wow, I feel…” 

“Really chill, right?”

“Yeah, super chill,”

“That’s one of the side effects. It makes you relaxed. Also, some people have good dreams as well. I thought it’d be worth a shot,” 

“Thank you,” 

“Of course! Anything for a friend,” 

A warm feeling builds in your chest. You’re not sure if it’s the medicine or just knowing that you have a friend as amazing as Amy, but it feels almost euphoric. 

You smile at her and she returns the gesture, before suddenly, you feel very sleepy. Amy seems to notice and gently takes the bottle from your hands, says goodnight, and leaves the room, just as you fall into a pleasant dream. 

***

You wake feeling happy and refreshed. You’re not nearly as sore as you were last night and your thoughts are in a much better place. In fact, you don’t feel any pain at all. You make a mental reminder to thank Amy again when you see her. 

You get up without any hindrance, a huge smile on your face. Throwing on a light sweater, you make your way down to the console room. There is a definite pep in your step, so much so, that you’re almost skipping. You feel incredible! 

“Good morning!” you exclaim, greeting both the Doctor and Amy, your smile still ever present. 

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Amy says, walking over to you. The Doctor gives you a passing side glance but remains silent. 

“Yeah, that medicine you gave me is wonderful! I feel completely fine! No more soreness or pain anywhere,” you bounce happily before the Doctor is suddenly in front of you. 

“May I?” he asks, reaching out for the bandage on your neck. You are slightly surprised at his abrupt appearance, but you nod your head in confirmation. He avoids your gaze, instead choosing to focus intently on studying your neck. 

He tenderly removes the bandage and examines the area, his eyes widening in shock. He moves back slightly before coming closer and running his fingers gently along where your wound was. You shiver involuntarily at his touch, causing the Doctor to briefly meet your eyes. He looks away just as quickly and steps back, clearing his throat awkwardly. 

“You’re healed. Completely. No trace of the wound at all,” he makes his way back to the console and continues working on whatever it is he was working on when you entered the room. 

“What? But how is that possible? I mean, I know the medicine I gave them is powerful, but there’s no way they could’ve healed that fast,” Amy is astonished (as are you) but the Doctor seems mostly unfazed. 

“I don’t know. I’m guessing it has something to do with their extraordinary abilities,” he turns to look at you as he continues with,

“You keep finding new ways to surprise me,” his expression is almost melancholic, but he looks away before you can get a good read on him. 

The next few days pass rather uneventfully. The Doctor monitors your condition and you spend time with Amy, reading, talking, and drinking lots of tea. 

You’ve just finished having a ‘tea talk’ moment with Amy, when the Doctor calls out your name, beckoning you to the console room. As soon as you enter, he starts rambling like mad, still refusing to look you in the eye. 

“And so basically, I think I’ve created a way to keep you off the radar,” you really weren’t listening to anything he said, but his last line catches your attention. 

“Off the radar?” you repeat and the Doctor nods his head, grabbing something from the console and making his way over to you. 

“Yes. I still don’t fully understand your powers, but I think I’ve learned enough to create a dampener of sorts that will prevent other ‘interested parties’ from tracking you down,” he looks up at you for a brief moment while simultaneously reaching for your hand, as if silently asking for permission. You nod in approval and he delicately slips a silver band on your ring finger. 

“Oh,” is all you can say, heat rising to your cheeks at the implications of him putting a ring on your finger. 

“And I’m sure now,” he continues, meeting your gaze, “I’m in love with you,” his words make you draw in a sharp breath. You’re certain your face is as red as a tomato at this point. 

“Oh,” 

Is that really all your brain can muster up? He just confessed his love for you and all you can say is ‘Oh’? You want to smack yourself. 

“You don’t have to say anything,” he says, seeming to sense your shock. “I don’t expect you to return my feelings, I just wanted you to know,”

You simply nod your head, not trusting your own voice. The Doctor gives you a small smile before returning to the console to work on… whatever it is he does at the console. 

For a moment, you’re frozen in place, unsure what to do next. Bless the stars that Amy decides to make an appearance at this very moment. 

“So,” she says, as soon as she walks in, “where are we going next?” 

***

For the next three weeks, you train intensely to hone and manage your powers. The Doctor works with you to make a specialized training routine and it’s actually helping a lot. You have a lot more control than you did when you started. Now, you can do almost anything with ease. You’ve even traveled in time on your own and navigated your way back safely. 

You’ve also discovered a number of other things you can do, from teleportation to creating new matter from nothing. You can even manipulate objects with your mind. On top of all that, you have a ridiculous amount of stamina and you’ve become extremely agile, strong, and incredibly fast. You’ve discovered that you can lift up to 230kg and run up to 96 kph. Basically, you can do just about anything. If you can think of it, you can probably do it. 

It’s another full day of training, this time back on Earth, and things are going well. To be honest, you really don’t need to do any more, but you like the routine and the way it distracts your mind. 

“997, 998, 999, 1000!” you finish the last push up and collapse onto the ground, feeling accomplished, yet hardly tired. You’ve barely broken a sweat. 

“Wow, you broke your time record too. 1000 pushups in 30 minutes. Good job!” Amy congratulates you as she hands you a water bottle. 

“Where’s the Doctor?” you ask, before taking a long drink.

“He went to get snacks. He should be back any-” Amy is cut off by the sound of an explosion nearby. The ground shakes, causing both of you to momentarily lose your balance. You share a look with her for only a moment before you take off running, telling her to stay put. 

You round the corner just in time to see the Doctor being forcefully taken away by some strange looking creatures. He struggles in their hold, trying to assure them that it’s all just a big misunderstanding, but they pay him no mind. You hide behind a nearby wall, watching as they load him into the back of what looks like a military truck, with a dull green canopy stretched over the trailer. 

You close your eyes and imagine all four tires popping, all the air quickly being sucked out of them. Not even a second later, you hear the sound of rubber bursting and you open your eyes to see that your manifestation was successful. You smirk as you watch the aliens scramble to figure out what happened, using the opportunity to sneak over to the back of the truck. 

Just as you are about to look inside, the Doctor pops his head out. You both shriek in surprise before shushing each other. You stare at one another for a moment before suddenly bursting out in quiet laughter, giggling in glee as you make your escape. 

You are able to find your way back to the field undetected, and you all decide to call it a day. You head back to the TARDIS, ready to kick your feet up and relax. 

“Well, I’m gonna go catch some Z’s,” Amy says and yawns. You say goodnight and she retreats to her room, leaving you and the Doctor alone in the console room. 

The two of you sit in heavy silence for a long while. You haven’t really been alone with him at all since… well, since he put that ring on your finger. 

Your emotions have been all over the place since then and you’ve thrown yourself into training to avoid thinking about it. Honestly, you think you feel the same, and that terrifies you. You’ve never really been in love. Not like this, at least. This love is overwhelming and all consuming. It’s almost too much to bear. 

“You alright, love?” the Doctor’s voice breaks you out of your trance and you jump slightly at his close proximity. He is standing right in front of you. When did that happen? 

“Uh, yeah, yeah I’m fine,” you try to brush him off, but he doesn’t move away. 

“You sure? Because you seem on edge lately. I’m worried about you,” he reaches out to gently caress your face. Without even thinking, you lean into his touch, letting out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding. 

You meet his eyes and suddenly, something comes over you. You reach out, wrap your arms around his neck, and pull him down into a passionate kiss. He seems a bit surprised at first, but quickly melts into you. 

By the time you pull away, you’re both gasping for air. Neither of you says anything for a while, simply enjoying each other’s warmth. Finally, the Doctor breaks the silence. 

“Where did that come from?” he asks, still slightly out of breath. 

You struggle for a moment to find the right words, simply gazing at him in awe. 

“I- I think- no- I know that,” you start, stumbling over yourself. You pause and take a deep breath before blurting out:

“I love you,” 

The Doctor just stares at you like a deer in headlights before a smile slowly spreads on his face. 

“Do you mean it?” he whispers, leaning his forehead against yours. 

“Yes,” you whisper back, and this time it’s his turn to capture you in a kiss. 

The two of you kiss for what feels like an eternity, before he finally pulls away to look at you. 

“Say it again,” he says softly, and you instantly know what he means. Even still, you want to tease him a little. 

“It again,” you smile and stick your tongue out at him, causing a small laugh to bubble up in his chest. 

“No, you know what I mean,” he lightly pinches your sides and you giggle, deciding that you like this game. 

“You say it first,” you swear you see a blush rise to his face, but his smile never falters. 

“I love you,” he says it with ease and you feel your heart soar. You resolve to let him get what he wants, just this once. 

“I love you, too,” you say and his smile grows, shining as bright as the sun. 

You and the Doctor. Your Doctor. Forever and always.

< Previous Part

[thestarrynightslover]

How to Say I Love You

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Word count: 2,582

Warnings: Smut implied.

Summary:  One day, Jay takes it upon himself to be an extra-cute boyfriend. The reason? It takes (y/n) a while to find out.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the One Chicago shows, or its characters, also not associated with it in any way or know anyone involved with it.

A/N: Posting super late because the day was hard. So, just some more Jay fluff to brighten our days. Hope you like it!

(y/n) = (your name) (y/l/n) = (your last name) (y/n/n) = (your nickname)

| masterlist |

As soon as you woke up, you felt light kisses being pressed to all of your very exposed skin, and an inevitable smile came to your lips.

“Good morning, princess.” Jay whispered in your ear with a husky voice.

“Good morning for you too, baby.” You answered him while bringing his face closer to yours. On that movement, before you could kiss him, you caught a glance of your bedside clock. “Oh my God, Jay! Look at the time! I thought we’d agreed to get as much sleep as we could after last night!” You quickly reprehended him. “Or have you forgotten that both of us still have to go to work today?” You asked, trying to sound annoyed at him when the most you managed to do was breathe out was a moan, as he nibbed your earlobe.

“Oh, I know how much you like sleeping, babygirl. But I know that there are a few things you’d give up your sleep for.” He stated in a very sexy tone.

“And what exactly makes you think that you’re one of those things?” You teased your boyfriend, hoping he’d respond to it like you thought he would.

“Ah, just a little something,” he teased back while slowly putting his hand between your legs, not even bothering to lift the hem of the shirt you were wearing, “like this.”

“Oh, Jay…” And, just like that, you were completely fine with waking up early.

                                                          ---

Throughout the day, you just couldn’t keep the smile off your face, as your boyfriend took it upon himself to be the cutest person in the world. Why? You had no idea. All you knew was that he'd gotten the day off but, since you couldn't the same, he'd decided to go to work nonetheless.

His romantics for no apparent reason started with a bouquet of your favorite flowers and a note that read:

“Will you be my lunch date today? *blinking face*

P.S.: 12:00 - 13:00 is all I have. Sorry, doll :(

Meet me at our spot?

⎼ Your bae.”

He used bae. If he wasn’t so cute, and if you didn’t love him so much, you would have cringed at the choice, and he knew it. Ah, that man...

A few hours after that, you went to meet Jay for lunch at your spot ⎼ which was one of the benches along the Riverwalk, where you’d first met ⎼, absolutely decided on calling him out for being so mushy. But, as you walked closer towards him, you could see that your boyfriend was holding a picnic basket in one hand, and a bottle of champagne in the other, and, as corny as that was, you couldn’t help but grin. 

“Drinking on duty now, detective?” You asked, raising your eyebrow at him.

“Nope. This one’s without alcohol. And, trust me, you’ll like it.” He told you, a sweet smile on his lips.

“Hum, maybe... But I wouldn’t really mind if it was bad either.” You half-whispered at Jay.

“Oh no?” He asked you with a smirk this time.

“No. The company makes up for anything else.” You said while moving to kiss him.

“Geez, babe, you're such a dork!" He said, making fun of you after the kiss was over.

"Really? That's what you're going with?" You, the dork? Big joke.

"What else can I say if it's the truth?" Jay asked you through his lashes, an innocent expression in-face.

"Look who's talking!" You said while rolling your eyes.

Not long after that, he put an end to your little banter. Saying that he didn't wanna spend another second of the few moments the two of you had until the evening arguing was an understatement. You agreed, even though you knew that both of you secretly enjoyed the bickerings as well as you did everything else.

Later, on that same day, when you were about to leave work, you decided to call your boyfriend.

"Hey, babe." He answered, on the fourth ring, voice letting on some tiredness.

"Hey there, handsome! I'm already leaving work, think I’mma go swim a little. Unless… There's a chance you're getting off a little earlier yourself?" You tried your luck, thinking about making him relax a little before you two left for dinner.

"Uh… Sorry, babe, I don't think I'll be able to." A deep sigh. Something was wrong.

"Jay. Is everything okay?" Another sigh. Shit.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, baby. Just a pain-in-the-ass case we can't seem to solve. When all I wanted to do was be home with you." He confessed.

"Huh. Now, tell me, who's the dork?" You heard his muffled laugh over the phone.

"I am. You know it. I know it. Everyone who knows us knows it." At that, you were the one who giggled. "And, believe me, I bear the title with pride." More laughing, from both of you this time.

"Okay, then… So, um, is there anything I can do? Maybe we cancel that dinner reservation?"

"No! No, not at all! You just… Go do your swimming and don't worry about me, okay?" Jay sounded a bit weird this time, but you brushed it off, thinking that it was just the stress of the day.

"Okay…" You replied, still unconvinced. 

"Alright, I gotta go now. Love you."

"Okay, bye. Love you too. Be safe!"

"Always, baby." With that, he hung up quickly, which he never did ⎼ always dragging the conversations for as long as he could. But, once again, you decided to do what your boyfriend told you to and not worry about it.

It was already a bit into the evening and you were stretching your body to leave the swimming pool, when you saw him. Jay. So you got out and walked over to him.

"Fancy meeting you here, miss (y/l/n)." He greeted innocently.

"Well, this is a surprise. Yet another one. On the same day." You said, just to let him know that his weird behaviors weren't going by unnoticed.

"Ah, you know what they say… Gotta keep the relationship interesting!" Ha, ha. He was up to something. So you just gave him a suspicious look. To which he answered with a huge smile, saying: "What?"

"Nothing. Nothing besides the fact that you're up to something. What is it?"

"Oh. My. God." Jay said emphatically, faking offense. "I'm offended. You think that poorly of me?"

"What do you mean?" You asked him, a bit confused this time.

"You really think that I can't just try and brighten my princess's day?" He said, walking closer to you this time.

"Well, I guess that I wouldn't object to that, but what I'm saying is tha-" Before you could finish your sentence, he was pulling you towards him, pressing your bodies on a tight embrace and kissing you passionately. 

"Oh no, Jay, you should let me go! I'm all wet!" You squeal out as Jay keeps holding you up in the air against his firm abdomen.

"I don't mind." He told you with a shrug of shoulders. "I'm used to having you like this." He, then, whispers in your ear and you can feel his smirk, as he kisses your neck.

"Jay!" You hissed in fake disapproval. "We're in public! You can't be saying these things to me in public!"

"Sorry, baby. But you know that I just can't help myself around you." He tells you, deliberately taking his time. At that, you just throw back your head in laughter. "Besides, it doesn't seem to me like you're feeling all that bothered with my actions…"

"But I am!" You said assertively. But then you remembered your conversation from earlier and asked him, in a softer tone: "Hey, um, how did the case go? Are you still feeling up for the dinner thing?" As soon as the words left your mouth, you watched Jay shift his entire demeanor.

"Yeah! We're definitely still going! And, as I told you before, the case was just a pain in the ass, nothing more." He sounded nervous. Weird. Like he was hiding something.

"Jay…"

"Let's just go, okay? Cause we still need to get ready for dinner. I already put your stuff in the duffel bag. My car's right outside." Jay told you quickly, like he didn't wanna give you time to make any conclusions.

"Okay, then…"

                                                           ---

“C’mon, (y/n/n)! We’re running late!” You heard your boyfriend shouting for you to come out of your shared bedroom.

“Hey! Don’t you dare to rush me! Not when you’re the reason I’m running late in the first place!” You sharply answered, stepping out into the living room whilst putting your earring on. “Besides, that place we’re going is just too fancy. I need to look perfect.” You added more calmly, only now realizing how Jay was staring at you. “What? Is something wrong?”

“Wha- wrong? No! No!” He quickly assured you and closed the distance between the two of you. “You already look perfect. Every single day.”

“What? Jay, I’m serious!” You pouted, giving him an annoyed glare.

“I am too! You look gorgeous, baby.” He told you with that glorious smile of his. “And, really, there’s just no place on the planet that could make you look any less gorgeous.”

“Okay, now you’re just trying to get me to hurry up!” You accused, hitting him with considerable strength in the chest.

“Ouch! That hurt! And, yes, I am trying to hurry you up! Because we have a reservation!” He yelled at you in response. If it was any other time, you would’ve argued with him, of course. But even you had to admit he was right, you were on the clock.

“Okay, okay! I’m just gonna grab my purse and we’ll go!” You shouted back, already from the bedroom.

After that, the two of you managed to leave your apartment and get to the restaurant on time, due to Jay promising the cab driver a doubled pay if he went faster.

As soon as you arrived, though, you saw it was worth it. You still had no clue of what got in your boyfriend’s head to take you out on this kind of date for no apparent reason like that, especially after everything else he’d already done, but you obviously weren’t about to complain either.

 The maître walked both of you two to a table on the upper floor of the establishment, it had an amazing view of the city and it was a pretty reserved space. So, right after you'd placed your orders and been left alone, you half-squealed at Jay:

"Oh. My. God." Your smile was wide and your eyes were shining. "This place is incredible, babe!" He looked at you with devotion, clearly amused by your reaction.

"I know right? I'm really glad we got to come here." He stated, his whole behavior letting you know that he was just as impressed.

And, like that, the evening flew by and you caught yourself stifling yawn after yawn.

"Baby, you’re not too desperate to go home, are you? Because there's still one thing I wanna show you." Your boyfriend said, pulling you by your hand to get up. Then, he guided you to that part where you'd been able to view most Chicago, earlier in the night.

"Wow," you said, leaning against the balcony to see the details, "this really is great, babe." When you’d walked past this part you wondered about why they hadn't put any tables there, only a small couch, but now you knew. They didn't want to make that space ⎼ that landscape ⎼ prisoner of one couple, or one family, that would most likely stay there the entire night.

"It is." He agreed with you.

"You know, I hadn't brought it up yet, because I thought that you'd eventually tell me on your own, but you've been acting a little weird the whole day. This morning in bed, the flowers, then the picnic lunch, picking me up at swimming, and now this… You didn't sound too good on that call either, and I gotta admit that when you said we were going out for a fancy dinner, I didn't think it'd be here, where it's practically impossible to get a reservation. So, just… Talk to me, Jay."

"(y/n/n)... Would you even believe me if I told you that that's what I've been preparing to do the whole day?" He asked you with a shy smile.

"Will you be mad at me if I say no?" You asked, a bit apprehensively. He just laughed.

"Nah, not really." He told you jokingly. "But I have." He said, more serious this time. “Baby, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” He started telling you.

“Jay-” You whispered nervously, sort of anticipating what was about to happen.

“No, just- just please let me finish. I need you to understand how important you are to me, princess. Hell, I know that words aren’t really my strongest suit, but you deserve to know that you’re my light, my lifeline, my happiness… You’re my everything, (y/n/n). My entire world. And, because of you, now I think that it is actually okay to dream, to hope for a better future, for a future. That’s why I wanna ask you, tonight, to be my future, just like you already are my present.” At that moment you couldn’t keep the tears off of your face anymore, and you would’ve jumped him right then if he hadn’t gotten down on one knee. “Will you marry me, (y/n) (y/l/n)?” He asked you with a timid smile and teary eyes of his own. As you took in the man you loved, kneeled before you, holding an open box with the diamond ring you’d recognized as being his mother’s, you just stood there crying, not managing to say anything. “B- baby? Please say something.” Jay spoke again, letting out a nervous choked laugh. So you forced yourself to answer him.

“Oh m- my God, yes!!” You squealed out.

“Yes?!?” He repeated what you said, still on the ground.

“Of course, yes!!!” You confirmed, pulling him up to kiss you. While at it, your boyfriend, now fiancé, almost dropped the small velvet box he was holding.

“Okay,” he started, chuckling, after the two of you parted a little, “let me put this thing on your finger before you back down!”

“Ha, ha. As if I was going to! You’re only in a hurry because you’re scared you’ll drop your mom’s ring.” You bickered a little, letting him know that you recognized the jewelry, to which he responded with a bright smile, saying:

“It’s your ring now, princess. And, trust me, she’d love you almost as much as I do if she were still here.” He told you, shining eyes meeting yours, as he slipped the stunning piece in your finger.

“Jay.” You breathed out as the tears resurfaced in your eyes. “It is so beautiful…” You told him looking down at the ring you had in-hand. “And… You really mean that?”

“100%, princess. If I’m being honest, there are a lot of times when you actually remind me of her…” He said, tearing up a little.

“Awww, babe...” You said throwing your arms around him again.

And that’s how you two stayed. Just holding each other, under a very starry night in Chicago. More than ready to start walking down that new road together.

[sunnysunoo]

Love Letters ; Sim Jake

Pairing: Jake X Reader

warnings: explicit language and cursing

word count: 3k words

genre: friends to lovers au! fluff with tiny pieces of crack lmao

Jake was always known for being this perfect guy in school. I mean, they're not wrong. They always described him as if he's this walking piece of art in the hallways. People would stop to just stare at him. You'd stare at him all day too, but you set priorities first: writing him love letters.

You're no Lara Jean, but I guess you can say that she's what inspired you to write Jake letters. Who needs Peter Kavinsky when Jake Shim exists anyways?

note: Not me completely disappearing off of tumblr for like months and then showing up again suddenly lol. I got really busy the past few months since I was completing requirements for school, and I really didn't have the motivation to do anything at the time so I took so time off to take care of myself first so I hope you understand :) But now since it's summer break, I am given at least 2 more months until I go back to school in August :)) Here's the long-awaited Jake imagine that I completely forgot about lmao hope you enjoy <3

P.S I finished writing this at 1:26 am so please excuse the really shitty plot and grammar ill rewrite it once i wake up

tag list: @cha-raena ( sorry for the rlly late post bestie )

Dear Jake, First of all, I will never call you Jaeyun because calling you by your English name makes me feel like I'm your friend. Calling you by your Korean name makes us feel like we're cold strangers to one another and I don't want that. I want us to be something more than that, but it's hard when you don't even know who I am. I'm surprised how you don't grow tired of me just dropping letters right into your locker every time you open it, and that's one of the things I love about you. You don't just throw away people's efforts and you treasure them with care. It makes my heart beat so fast as if I ran miles away from here.

We're already one year left until we graduate high school, and I don't want to end my high school years without you realizing my feelings for you. I know for sure that you would never reciprocate the feelings that I have towards you, so I want to treat this as closure in case we do forget about each other in the future. Yours truly,

Moon

__

"How is this person not over you? That's like the tenth one this month," Jay said, looking over Jake as he reads the letter from his secret admirer. Jake has always been receiving these letters from the same person everyday for the past four months. He's thankful for the letters because they definitely make his day better, knowing that there's someone out there who loves him as who he is regardless of looks. He's not gonna lie that these little notes and letters make his heart race too. "Do you have any plans with finding the person behind the letters?" Jay asked as he watches his best friend trying to hide the small smile that's been growing. No one really knows who this mysterious person is and why they decided to name themselves the moon, but we don't judge anyone in here. If they want to be the moon in their next life, then so be it. "I really want to find the person who's making these letters," Jake shoved the letter in his backpack, trying to not wrinkle it. "But I don't know where to start." "Who's finding who?" A voice popped suddenly beside the presence of the two boys. You leaned beside the locker beside Jake's, watching him as he grabs his books from his locker. "Did Moon drop your daily letter today again?" "They did as usual," Jake wasn't even surprised. He would expect the letters every time he enters the school in the morning. He would open his locker to see the usual small letter placed inside his locker. He usually arrives at seven or earlier, but he's surprised that he could never even catch a glance of this anonymous sender around the campus. "Should I go to school at five in the morning?" "Five in the morning? Isn't that a bit too early?" You questioned, followed by a shaky breath. "The school doesn't even open until six." "I could just walk to that nearby convenience store I always pass by to grab a coffee." He argues, closing his locker shut before walking towards his classroom.

You and Jay followed beside him, and you sneered under your breath, "You don't even wake up to your alarm clock."

"Why don't you even want me to go early anyway?" He glances as you try to give him an answer. But before you could say something, Jay replies first.

"You’re probably hiding something." He said. You rolled your eyes and narrowed your eyes at him. "You are so weird." You grunted, before walking ahead of them. You feel panicked because you were scared that you made yourself obvious to them.

__

You were inside your classroom sitting on your desk. There were only fifteen minutes left before lunch, but you had eaten your packed meal before instead of going to your school cafeteria. You were fidgeting in your place, conflicted about Jake finding his secret admirer, not knowing that it was you who's been sending him letters the past few months. You're not scared of him finding out that the letters were from you; that was the entire reason why you wrote him letters in the first place. You're scared of how he was gonna confront you about it. Would he like you back? Would he hate you? Would he avoid you?

Your mind was full of scenarios but you were suddenly brought back to reality when a hand planted itself on your desk. You look up and saw Jay standing in front of you, eating sushi with his other hand. His face kinda looks like he knows something, and it's freaking you out a bit.

"What?" You asked, suddenly flustered over how his eyes stared right into you. He took the seat in front of your desk and flipped it so it was facing you. He sat down and blurted the phrase that you were dreading to hear from anyone.

"So, you like Jake?"

You suddenly feel like punching him in the face with his sushi.

"What??" Your body felt like, and you were left a nervous mess. Your heart like it was going to pump right out of your chest any minute, and your hands started to sweat.

Jay's mouth formed into a smirk. He caught you. "Jake may be a bit oblivious, but I can totally see right through you."

“Haha...no you don’t,” You tried to deny, but it was all useless when his expression looked unconvinced.

“Oh yeah? Then why are you all red? You look like a bursting tomato.”

“You don’t know that," You leaned further into your seat, playing with the strings of your hoodie.

“C’mon Y/N, you’re not even trying. Just give up and admit it,” Jay was trying to help you confess your feelings for Jake. Frankly, he knew it was you sending him letters this whole time—how can Jake not see it?

With a heavy sigh, you slumped and laid your head on your desk, embarrassed. “Fine. I like him, okay? Are you happy now?”

The smirk on his face grew wider, feeling proud of himself. You are not dealing with his annoying crap this early in the morning. He grinned and munched on his half-eaten sushi. “I knew it.”

“Congratulations,” It was muffled because you hid your red face away from him. All that was on your mind now was how you could book yourself a flight all the way across the world.

“But seriously, since when did you have a crush on him?” You raised your head to face him, giving him a look that could kill, except Jay finds it entertaining rather than intimidating.

“I started having a crush on him when we were in fifth grade. It was at a friend's birthday party, and he saw me being all quiet and lonely. Honestly, I forgot who’s birthday that was.” You told him the very first time you had discovered feelings.

“He saw how sad I looked so he accompanied me the whole time. He was even trying to feel more included in the games and stuff.” You felt a smile ghosting on your lips as you can still vividly remember how you felt your heart tug the first time. “It was kinda like I fell in love at first sight.”

Jay faked a gag, so you lightly punched him in the shoulder. He may be a bit of an asshole, but he’s one the most caring and kind people you’ve ever met. It honestly felt good spilling out your feelings about Jake to him.

Speaking of, Jake was watching you two play around and laugh at Jay's little jokes from outside, and he felt something burning from inside him. Was it that he felt jealous of you and Jay?

No, he can’t be...right?

Maybe it was because of how he felt separated from you and Jay because of him being a separate class.

Yeah, maybe it's because of that.

__

Dear Jake,

I just had the most bizarre day today, and I felt like telling you about it.

It was chemistry period, and we had to be partnered with someone for a lab project. I ended up getting paired with Yeojin. We kinda created this unexpected friendship, which I love. We would crack jokes at each other, tell funny stories, it was so fun to be with her that we had completely forgotten about our project. So now, we both got a detention slip for making an accidental explosion.

How about you? How was your day? I hope it was just as fun as mine. If you feel like the day just wasn't as happy or you're feeling down, just now that it's okay to feel that way because days like these just lasts for 24 hours. It will be all over before you know it and you'll be greeted by another day. Maybe it will be different, and you would be all happy again just like how my day went. Maybe being with you would be my happiest day yet, and I couldn't wait for that day to come. See you soon :)

Love,

Moon

__

"Yeojin!" Jake called, seeing her walk down the opposite way. "Hey, mind if I ask you something?"

"Hey Jake," She greeted him with a smile. "Sure, go ahead."

"Could you perhaps give me any information about your partner in Chemistry?" He had hopes of getting any kind of description about his mysterious sender, but he was instead given a sad frown on Yeojin's face.

"Sorry Jake, but that person told me not to tell you about their information." She gave an apologetic smile. "I wish you all the best in finding them!"

Jake muttered a small "okay," and sighed before walking away, feeling defeated.

Yeojin knew that he was gonna ask about Moon the moment he called her from across the hall. She couldn't wait to tell you about this.

__

"Hey Y/N," A voice said from behind. You turned around to see Jake with his backup hung on his shoulder. He brought his hand up and raked his hair, and you felt your face grow red. Jake is like a gift from the gods. How can someone look so ethereal even if they're just standing there? You could stare at him all day. You couldn't even understand a thing he said until he started waving his hands in front of you.

"Hello?" You blinked multiple times as you were brought back out to reality. You saw Jake's face grow into concern. "Are you okay? spaced out."

"O-oh..No, I'm completely fine." You reassured him, feeling embarrassed. "What were you saying again?"

"I was asking you if you wanted to go to school with me early tomorrow."

Well, shit.

Your eyes started to go wide, and your hands started to go clammy.

"Tomorrow?" You repeated, voice trembling.

'Well, yeah." He pouted his lips, and you felt like melting into a small puddle in your place. Your heart started to pound heavily.

Oh my fucking god, he is so adorable.

"Okay, sure I can go with you tomorrow," You weakly smiled at him, slightly tense.

How we're you going to give him the letter now?

__

"Good Morning," Jake said as he watches you close the gates of your house. It was past five in the morning, and you were a mess.

"Morning," You replied back before running your fingers through your hair, getting rid of any flyaways.

As you started walking your way to the bus stop, Jake kept on glancing towards you from time to time. He knew you were pretty, but since when did you become really beautiful in his eyes?

The walk was pretty quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. For him, mostly.

Meanwhile, you couldn't stop freaking out. You had written a letter the night before, but you don't know how you were going to slip it into his locker without him taking notice. If he saw you, he would know.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been like this since yesterday," Jake blurted. You looked at him before heaving a sigh.

"It's nothing," You mouthed, suddenly feeling anxious and gloomy.

"Something on your mind?"

"Something like that." It was hopeless. I guess he would have to miss this letter today. It was the first time you skipped a day, and you're feeling guilty that you would have to see Jake's face sadden that he wouldn't receive it today.

As you two stop at the bus stop, Jake looked slightly panicked as he was rummaging through the pockets of his blazer before looking through his bag. "Hey, do you have an extra pen? I left mine at home and I have a quiz today."

You snickered, "Out of all the days, Sim Jake. The same day you have a quiz is the same day you forget your pen."

"Very funny." He scoffed.

As you unzipped your bag to grab your pencil case, a folded piece of paper fell out without you realizing it. When Jake went to pick it up, he notices that it was folded the same way as the letters in his locker. It looked so identical.

Once you already got your pencil case out, you were about to hand it to him when you saw what he was holding that made your body freeze with your hand holding the case in the air.

"Why were one of my letters inside your bag?" He glanced at you, waiting for you to reply.

If you were freaking out before, this is a whole other thing. The thing that you were fearing the most is happening right before you.

"Maybe it fell into my bag yesterday..." You stammered, making up an excuse to look like it was an accident. You were tightly holding onto your pencil case, chanting many curse words in your head as you watch Jake unfold the letter.

"I don't think I've received this one yet," He said before he opened the letter and read it.

You watch as his expression formed into confusion as he reads through the paper. It only took a few moments before something in him clicked that it was you sending him the letters.

"Y/N," He began, and you started quivering in fear.

You should've known this would happen, but you didn't expect it to happen this sooner. In fact, you believed that this wouldn't happen at all. But it did.

"Let me explain," You eventually gave up and accepted fate and watch as your identity as "Moon" be revealed to your crush. You're now exposed so you didn't have any other choice but to explain everything. "Yes, I am Moon. I was the one writing you the letters that you've been getting in your locker."

Jake's face was unreadable. He looked bewildered and puzzled. He was trying to comprehend what was happening right now. All this time, it was you?

"I started crushing on you when we attended that birthday party before. I didn't want to confess my feelings for you because I was scared that you were going to harshly reject me, so I started writing down letters as a way to tell you how I feel about you without making you feel awkward around me." You continued, eyes suddenly taking an interest in your shoes. They were brand new too.

Jake was silent, and you felt your heart crack into pieces. You were mad at yourself for being so careless about it that he ended up finding out about you as his secret admirer. You wanted nothing else but to run back home, lock yourself in your room and cry with your sad playlist on loop.

You were expecting a harsh rejection coming from him, but what surprised was how he took dangerous steps towards you, minimizing the gap between you two. He placed his hand under your chin, forcing you to look up at him.

"I don't plan on rejecting you Y/N," You stare into his eyes as it reflects the sunlight of the early morning. "I'm actually happy that it was you."

You look at him, puzzled. He lowly chuckles under his breath before leaning over to place his lips against yours. It was a light, quick kiss, but it brought you feeling ecstatic. You've dreamed of this moment before, and now that it happened, you thanked your clumsiness.

As he pulled away, you were sure your face was a red mess.

"Thank you," His smile was as bright as the stars in the sky. It was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. "Thank you for making me like I'm special to someone."

You felt flustered over his words. You were scared that he could hear the sound of your heart pounding loudly. The butterflies in your stomach were going wild, and you felt like this was all a dream.

"So, what am I to you now?" You broke into a smile as he grabs your hand, intertwining your fingers with his.

Jake acted as if he was thinking, "Hm..maybe my best friend still?"

He bursts into a fit of giggles as he sees your smile slowly disappear, replacing it with a look of disbelief. You removed your hand from his and walked at a faster pace away from him.

He ran to match your pace beside you before holding your hand again, "I'm sorry, I won't ever do that again. Is my girl mad at me?"

"Oh my god, it's only five-fifty, Jake." You too broke into laughter over his cheesiness, but your heart fluttered over the thought of Jake calling you his.

__

HERE’S A LITTLE BONUS! since I've made you guys wait for 4 months :(

"What the fuck?" Was the first thing You heard from Jay as you and Jake entered the classroom. All of your classmates were staring at your and his hands intertwined together.

Jay stood in front of you two, crossing his arms together. "Can one of you explain when this happened?" he motioned towards your linking hands. You and Jake smiled at each other before walking away, leaving Jay in a fit of joy, and confusion.

[seyaryminamoto]

Happy Birthday ! :) Go Capricorns <3 Hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for giving us this beautiful story. If I may ask, as a writer, how do you keep yourself going? How do you stay motivated and inspired for so long? It’s amazing! And the story you deliver is absolutely breathtaking. I admire you so much <3 P.S Thoughts on the new comics/ movies that avatar studios is coming up with ??

Sorry for taking so long to answer! Happy birthday to you too, Anon! I'm assuming it already passed, with Capricorn season wrapping up and all x'D

So, how do I stay motivated...? To be honest, it's a bit tricky to answer that X'D

I've told this story a few times in the past, I think, but the truth is, I actually wound up writing ATLA fics because I was stuck, absolutely stuck, with an original story over some worldbuilding elements I couldn't figure out. I was infuriated and frustrated by it, so I decided to clear my head and go watch this TV show people kept telling me was soooo good, so I settled on doing that and no longer stressing out about my story...!

... Poor story's been fridged for ten years :') so very cruel of me to do that, I know. And I think that, on top of the fridging, I'm actually bound to have to rewrite the whole thing from scratch one day, so... yeah :'D

The point of sharing this is explaining that, as much as I write up a storm sometimes, I don't ALWAYS do it, it doesn't work with everything, writer's block is no stranger for me, if anything I got waaaay too acquainted with it as a teenage writer who was writing whatever came to mind with zero pressure because it was for her eyes only.

My time writing original fiction as a teenager taught me many lessons, though, and among them, the discipline to write on a regular, constant basis. This isn't something EVERYONE can do, every writer works differently, and I can't pretend I'm permanently, constantly ready to write. But just waiting for inspiration to strike is a dangerous game to play, because... often inspiration arrives for the wrong things, or at the wrong time. I don't write anything out of order if I can help it (though my god, Part 3 is sooo trying to mess with that, organizing this chaotic chunk of the story has NOT been easy x'D), precisely because if I don't push myself through the transition scenes, through the lead-up, and I just jump right into the big moments I REALLY want to write? I'll never write the build-up to it because I'll never feel like it :'D

So, for starters, discipline. The discipline I developed is mostly about being ready to power through when things aren't super engaging. And then, if things didn't feel right because you forced them, you scrap and redo it, specifically by pinpointing the problems that caused things to feel forced. I've had to scrap soooo many ideas that just weren't flowing correctly, and I've had to go around that and figure out other ways to write something, both to make it more engaging and to make it actually work better than whatever I had in mind at first...

... Therefore, secondly, gotta learn to adapt! Once you identify something's not right, or a GREAT idea comes to mind but it potentially derails your previous plans, you slow down to figure out how to adapt, if adapting is possible at all. I actually had some very strange ideas for the arc I'm currently posting in Gladiator, and upon reaching the point where I finally had to write them... I realized that concept didn't work. It might work better on a TV show, maybe, in something audiovisual, because it would have required a lot of switching, back and forth, between two situations that looked the same, at the same time? Kinda? And it just didn't feel right when I finally was supposed to write it, it was too confusing. So... I adapted to what felt right, and I think the result is infinitely better for it :D

Thirdly... which probably should be the first thing, honestly: building scenes.

It sounds weird to say it this way, but this is a key element of how I write stories. It's become such an important part of it that nowadays I've become disgustingly critical of how scenes are built in any content I consume -- I'll have to try and figure out if someone's put my feelings about this into words, maybe in academic essays or books or so, because I admit I really don't know how to explain something that feels so instinctive to me...

But anyway: scene building is the core of how I write. If I were planning on writing a car race, I'd have to think about how that race will end, probably even before I think about how it begins. If it ends with a triumph for the hero, or a defeat, or a brutal accident that causes the race to be cancelled? I have to think about how that would happen, depending on the story I'm telling. Once I settle on the outcome, that retroactively informs then, of what I need to do in order to build this conclusion: how do I develop the characters in order to take them in that direction? And once the conclusion arrives... it has to be the biggest moment of the story. It has to carry narrative weight. A lot of that can be built by setting the stage, something I've found a lot of people don't really seem to think about... but even a small room in a house can be a grand stage for a big story's conclusion if the scene is set properly to pay off there.

So... I build up scenes. When I start thinking about telling stories, the first thing my brain is wired towards is envisioning scenes. Once I come up with a scene that I REALLY want to write, or in some cases, multiple scenes, I start to thread things together. Let's take for example... my "Azula and Sokka as spies" AU from Sokkla Saturdays 2020.

First thing I came up with was the idea, of course, of Sokka and Azula having to work together to save Kuei somehow. The exact threat they were saving him from only came to mind later, what mattered was that they would be in Ba Sing Se, cooperating to put a stop to something dangerous.

Then, I thought of the idea of the two of them being stuck together in a closet or a very tight space, unable to move or do anything because the enemy was right there and would catch them snooping about in the wrong place at the wrong time :'D This specific scene, then, became the core of how I built up that story.

From that core, I started to come up with the conclusion (do they win or lose), as well as how they landed in that situation, what's the threat, why they're working together but as separate agents, what their dynamics would be like in this setting, how their mutual attraction reaches a boiling point in that very specific scene...

And at that point, I just focused on preparing everything and setting the stage in order to tell the story of... how Sokka and Azula wound up locked inside a tight space together in Ba Sing Se's Palace X'D

For me, generating those core scenes is crucial for building a story that I can flow through with the right amount of motivation. I don't really know how other people do it, some people love writing stories without planning anything beforehand, and all the power to them if they can do that. I really prefer building things up towards the outcome I'm aiming for, though. At times, new elements come up in the middle of writing anyway, and you can be surprised by unexpected twists that actually bring new life to your story. You just have to let yourself ride the waves and figure out whether you'd rather choose your destination or let your story choose it for you, in a sense. But for me, setting at least some of the course is what seriously pushes me towards creating the story I want to write.

Gladiator-wise, the key has been this same principle, but in higher frequency. Basically, pretty much every arc I've written has one or multiple core scenes that I built up at the center of it all. Sometimes those core scenes could be very small and contained things... sometimes they could be something massive and chaotic. But I basically have pushed through Gladiator without breaking (even when things did get me down at times) because I had those highlights, important moments to look forward to that motivated me (and still motivate me, we're not done yet!) to keep going and push past the build-up that's necessary for everything that comes next.

... Alright, I hope that made sense X'D

As for Avatar Studios and its upcoming projects, as well as Hicks's next comic... I don't really have a lot to say on that front. I'm on a strict "live-and-let-die" policy with canon since North and South Part 1, pretty much, the last comic I ever read in full... because unless canon actually catches my attention and does things in a way I can respect/enjoy, I'm better off not engaging with it. As I mentioned in another ask not long ago, what really bothers me about the latest direction of this franchise is the lack of purpose in the stories they've been telling. Aang's story doesn't feel that way... but pretty much everything else does. Until I get the sense that they do have a direction and a purpose, I don't think I'm going to be overly concerned with whatever canon does. If I'm told Azula's comic is great, I'll definitely give it a read, but I don't hold out a ton of hope for my peace of mind, too. Better not to get excited only to be disappointed later on, as The Search taught me :'D I'd love it if Hicks can do a good job with the comic, of course, but I'm not passing judgment for or against it until it's out... and after it's out, I'll only pass judgment if I actually decide it sounds like something I want to read. Canon is free to do what it wishes to... I live very happily in my AUs and I have no need for canon validation to do what I do. So... that's my stance on that :'D

[lazypeachsoul]

IVAR RAGRARSSON'S CHARACTER ALPHABET.

first time posting vikings content and i'm so happy! this is just me warming up for the ivar request i'm posting next week. I hope you like it! You can find the alphabet masterpost HERE if you want to request more for other characters. thank you @imnotusedtobeingloved for creating it!🌼

P.S. there's no kind of warning. I put it under a read more because it's quite long and I don't want to clog the tags.

Masterlist

You can be added to my taglist through THIS LINK

C- commitment (how quick are they to commit?)

Ivar would expect commitment from his partner from the beginning, even when he does not reciprocate that commitment. I don't think Ivar wouldn't emotionally commit, he would just keep trying to flirt with other women.

We all know about Ivar's constant need of proving himself. So even if he loved his partner to death, he would still try to equate himself to Hvitserk or Ubbe and their conquests.

He would probably fully commit after his partner gives him a wake up call. And after a screaming match and a few threats of leaving he would realize how wrong he was (although he would never admit it outloud).

And he would realize that even if he looked up to Ragnar for everything, looking up at him for a relationship was not a good idea. And instead he should look up to Floki and Helga.

I- i love you (who says the three magic words first and why?)

He would. Probably in that screaming match I mentioned earlier. Although a highly emotional person Ivar does not like to express them. So in the middle of the screaming match he would probably just shout it angrily.

"You can't leave!" Ivar shouted so loud probably all of Kattegat heard their fight. "Where are you going? You've got nothing!"

With a huff he could see them pacing the floor and one more he wished he could do the same, it seemed to be a good way of letting off frustrationgs.

"Anywhere, Ivar! Anywhere" Was the answer and now he was the one huffing. It was a stupid answer. "As long as I don't have to see you I'll be fine."

"Don't be stupid, you would die without my protection. The world is not sunshine and flowers once you leave Kattegat."

Ivar's sarcastic tone, although not uncommon, was the thing that seemed to break them. He could see the look on their face change and the pacing stopped.

"Why do you even want me here if you think me so stupid?" Their voice was soft and eerily calm, making Ivar worry.

"Because I love you." The worlds left his mouth before he could control them and the silence settled in the once noisy room. "And i don't you are stupid."

M- memory (what's their favourite memory of the relationship?)

His favourite moments come either from celebrations or moments alone. Or what was even better, a celebration alone together.

He remembers with special fondness the moments spent together after he returned from an especially long raid. While goodbyes were bitter and sad, welcome backs are full of relief and love. He remembers the moment his eyes allowed him to see the figures standing in the shore from his boat. Remembers his heart skipping a beat when he recognized a figure fighting their way to the front of the group.

Getting out of the boat was never easy but as soon as he stood on the dock and came face to face with his person nothing else really mattered. The rest of the people, the noises around the shore, even the treasure were forgotten.

Staggering forward, land sickness not helping his cause, he landed himself in his lovers arms. "I missed you"

N- newborn (how would they react to expecting a child? how would they deal with the pregnancy?)

He would be surprised, proud and terrified. Wich is a mix that is never good when it comes to Ivar. He would doubt it was true, then he would doubt if it's really their child and finally he would doubt his capacity to be a father. All within a few days.

After talking with Hvitserk (which wasn't really helpful) and a long time to overthink the situation, he would go back as if nothing really happened. And as much as his partner would want to be angry, they wouldn't be able to resist his puppy dog eyes.

After the rocky start he would actually really enjoy the pregnancy. Seeing his love glow and grow as time passes would make him fall in love even more. He would remind everybody how he would have an heir to carry out his legacy.

He would be curious to the changes, sometimes too curious not knowing when to shut his mouth. Like when he would talk about the weight gain or the mood swings. And for a moment he imagined if that's how the people he lashed out at felt.

[duuhrayliegh]

male chivalry

warnings: okay so there is a trigger warning of sexual harassment and attempted sexual assault, language, men being gross, protective!bucky, angst a bit, i think that’s it, if you see anything else let me know

word count: 3230 :)

a/n: idk why it took me so long to finish this, but it’s here now!!! also this is based off this post from @teaboot (just the op bc the rest of it pissed me off :)) i hope y’all like it. i hope it’s what y’all expected idk, i’m proud of it.

i really hope i did the topics justice, if you don’t think i did, please shoot me a message and help me figure out how to do better. <3

p.s.: my requests and tag lists are open! also this is not beta read, so all mistakes are my own.

xoxo ray

ray’s m.list

************************************

It had been about three weeks since Bucky had first met the group of four at the protest. Bucky made sure to check in with Steve and let him know what he was doing. Steve was always worrying about Bucky, which was totally understandable because of everything they had been through.

Bucky’s day was a relaxed one with little to no time to dawdle. Over these three weeks, he had learned more from an eighteen year old than he ever thought he would. It was easier to open up to her, for some reason. Bucky hadn’t fully figured that out yet either, but he wasn’t going to question it.

Bucky had been going to his court mandated therapy with Dr. Raynor, to say they were making progress would be a lie. Honestly, Bucky was making more progress with the new individuals in his life. They knew what he did as the Winter Soldier-- no they know what the Winter Soldier did, Cassie made sure the distinction between the two was crystal clear. Bucky was still a bit cautious around them, not wanting to hurt them or be a burden to them.

It amazed Bucky how open they were with each other. Back in the 40’s, you didn’t express your feelings. Especially if you were a man, for fear of being labeled something unsavory. Even stranger still to Bucky was the encouragement and support that everyone gave to those in hard times. It warmed Bucky’s heart to see Penny comforting Freddie after his recent break up.

“Freddie and Ted had been together a little over six months,” Cassie explained to Bucky one night after the group had dispersed from the dining table. Bucky and Cassie were standing over the sink washing the dinner plates and cutlery. “Freddie was so in love with him. I thought Ted felt the same, but I guess that’s just how it goes, right?”

Bucky shrugged, this was one of his first experiences with modern romance. Dating in the 40’s was very rigid, which was to be expected, but nowadays everything is very fluid. It truly fascinated Bucky.

“I honestly don’t know.” Bucky shrugged as he dried the pristine plates. Just as he began to get lost in thought, Evie pulled him into a subject that he hadn’t thought of in a real long time.

“What was it like with women in the forties, Buck?” Bucky blinked at her and considered his answer carefully. The group had been teaching him how to handle some subjects sensitively.

“To be honest? The last date that I went on was to the World Expo of Tomorrow in 1943, the night before I shipped out to England.” He turned, leaning his weight on the counter behind him and crossing his arms over his chest. “I went with Steve, this was before he was Captain America, so when he was a little ol’ gangly thing. I had hooked us up with two women, one for me and one for Stevie, their names were Dot and Connie, I think.”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean, Buck. What was it like with women?”

Bucky tilted his head in question.“What do you mean?”

“What was it like with them? Like, how were they treated as a whole?”

“Oh, uh I think they were treated well? My Ma always told Steve and I to treat women with respect, so we did.”

“Right, but what about everyone else? How did they treat women?” Bucky was confused by the question and he began to think that he was giving the wrong answers.

“Um, I guess I don’t know. I guess they were treated how they are today?” Both of the girls in front of him released disdained scoffs.

“Well, that’s unfortunate, right Cas?” Cassie nodded at Evie and dropped her head in disappointment.

“Why do you say that?” Bucky asked. He was genuinely curious about what the girls were referring to. “I mean, I get that the treatment of women hasn’t always been good but it’s not that bad right?” The girls shared a knowing look, and then Evie sighed. She hauled herself out of her chair and nodded to Bucky.

“Alright, let’s go take a walk, just you and me.”

“Where are we going?”

“Oh, just a couple blocks away to the Walgreens. Sound okay?” Bucky agreed, grabbing his jacket and waiting for Evie by the doorway. “We’ll be back soon, Cas.”

“Uh, are you sure that’s a good idea, Evelyn?” Bucky had only ever heard Cassie use Evie’s full name when she was getting in trouble.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine, Cas, I swear.” Evie glanced at Bucky, “Besides, I’ve got a Sargent escorting me, so we’ve got nothing to worry about.” She threw a smile to her older sister whose face was just a veil of worry and doubt.

Bucky and Evie exited the apartment building and neither of them had said anything since. Bucky was wondering what this whole exercise was all about, but he wasn’t going to say anything until Evie did. The pair walked up onto a crosswalk, causing them to stop and wait so Evie was able to turn the man beside her.

“So, before we go any further, I just want to set the scene for you.” She took a calming breath and it was now that Bucky realized that this was the first time that she was noticeably scared. His brows furrowed and he nodded as she continued. “It’s ten o’clock on a Wednesday night and you’re in Brooklyn, walking to your local Walgreens because you need tampons.” Bucky huffed out a small laugh as Evie playfully glared at the man.

“Yeah, yeah. The female menstrual cycle is hilarious as is the pink tax that is put on feminine hygiene products. Laugh it up, James.” She shook her head and pulled Bucky closer to the front of a building. “I’m trying to tell you something, ya asshole. So, you see that it’s dark outside because it’s late but you decide to risk it anyway because you have a flight to catch at four the next morning. You leave your apartment and you are greeted with this.” She gestured to the expanse in front of her.

“Alright, let’s go. And just a word of wisdom real quick before we really get going. Women are considered fragile but I’ve never seen anything as easily wounded as a man’s ego.”

“Wow, that’s quite a pearl.” Bucky caught up to Evie as she made her way down the street.

“So being a woman and even more so, being a woman at night, means that you have to constantly be on guard.” As they were walking, a man in a greasy white tank top passed them. The man’s head turned and he scanned Evie’s body.

“Goddamn, that’s a sweet little body there, baby girl.” Bucky’s head snapped around to the man, but Evie kept walking. Bucky looked over to Evie with concern riddling his features.

“Hey, sweetcheeks! Let me talk to you for a while!” The greasy man was now following Evie and Bucky. “I bet I can show you a better time than he can, baby girl. Come on, let me talk to you.” He reached his hand out, gripping Evie’s arm and pulling her to face him.

“Please don’t touch me.” “Get your fucking hands off her, you dick.” The man took a step backwards away from the pair.

“Well, fine you bitch! I didn’t want you anyway, fucking fat ass.”

“Hey, you don’t just get to fucking walk away, you jackass! Apologize to her.”

“Why should I apologize to her? I was giving her a compliment.” Bucky’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. Did this guy just fucking--

“Okay, buddy.” Bucky went to approach the man to settle their disagreement when Evie stopped him.

“James, leave it. Let’s go.” She kept walking and Bucky didn’t want to leave her alone, not after that whole debacle.

“What the fuck was that Evie?” He questioned quickly, she shook her head in response but never verbally responded to him. A few paces later, the pair was about to pass a group of men leaned up against the brick wall behind them. Brown paper bags crunched around bottles were grasped in their hands. Drunken laughter was ringing out through the near empty streets.

“Hey baby! Why don’t you come on over here so we can talk to ya!” One of the men began to step in front of Evie effectively stopping her movement. The eighteen year old took a few steps backwards, coincidentally into Bucky’s chest. His arms came up to meet hers, about to move in front of her in a protective stance.

“Woah, you got a bodyguard baby?” The man tilted his head and stared at Evie. “You know you don’t need him sweetheart.”

“Damn, baby girl. You’re fine as hell.” Another man walked to stand next to the first. “What do I gotta do to get you in my bed?”

“Please leave us alone.”

“No, baby girl I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen.” Bucky stepped in front of Evie protectively.

“I think she told you to leave us alone.” The two men in front of Bucky didn’t waver. Two raised brows and a fit of laughter later, they still maintained their ground.

“Why? You guys going somewhere to fuck? Already got a piece of that ass and don’t want to share it big man?”

“That’s just cold. You gotta share sometime. And it’s just easier to do it now rather than later.” Evie trembled behind Bucky and leaned up so only Bucky could hear her.

“Come on Bucky, let’s just go back to the apartment.” She tugged on his right arm, fingers digging into his soft flesh. Bucky was sure that he would have crescent shaped indentations where her nails laid in because of how much she was gripping him.

Bucky’s eyes flicked up and down the two men in front of him, assessing how much of a threat they were. They were clearly enough of a threat to frighten Evie to the point of wanting to go home. Bucky gave Evie a stiff nod, not taking his eyes off of the men.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going baby? We’re just getting started!” One of them yelled at the pair as he reached out to grab Evie’s forearm. A split second later, Bucky’s left hand balled into a fist and he launched it at the man’s face. A loud crack resounded and a groan left the man’s mouth as he hit the ground. A look of shock fell across the other’s faces as they saw Bucky standing over their fallen comrade. The group took several steps away from the pair, holding their hands up in surrender.

“Don’t you ever touch a woman without her permission, you fucking prick.” Bucky then turned quickly, grabbing Evie’s wrist tightly and hauling her away from the men. Several paces later, Bucky still held a tight grip on the girl's arm.

“Bucky, you’re kind of hurting me.” Evie’s voice broke through Bucky’s barriers. He let up on how fast he was walking and then dropped Evie’s arm.

Worried eyes scanned her body for any bruising, “I’m so sorry, doll. Are you okay?” Evie laughed as she was rubbing her sore wrists.

“Bucky, that’s normal for any woman. Ever.” Shaking her head, she began walking back towards the apartment. “We could’ve kept on going to Walgreens, but I wasn’t sure your fragile heart could take it.” Bucky drew in his brows and a deep frown etched itself into his features.

“What the hell do you mean that’s normal, Evelyn?” He thrust his arm behind them, gesturing to what they just went through. “Nothing about that was normal.” Still shaking her head, the eighteen year old shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s normal for women.” She glanced at Bucky as she continued on her way. “Also, I know that you were probably just defending my honor or protecting me or whatever, but I want you to really think back, Buck. Think about when you were picking up women in the forties, did you ever push when they didn’t want to have that drink with you? Did you continuously ask for them to dance with you?”

“No, I told you. My Ma raised me the right way.” They walked up to the apartment building and Bucky reached for the door handle. Evie began making her up the stairs, Bucky not far behind her. She stopped suddenly, a few flights before Cassie’s apartment.

“What about your friends?” Bucky was taken aback. His memories were still a bit fuzzy about those times, but he could remember clearly enough. Although he wasn’t quite sure what she meant by the questions she was asking.

“What are you getting at Evie?” He huffed while opening the door to Cassie’s apartment. Freddie and Penny were lounged on the couch with an almost empty bottle of wine. Cassie’s head shot up at the sound of the two walking in the doorway. Evie dumped her things off on the granite countertop and turned on her heel to stare at Bucky.

“Did you ever stop your friends when women said no?” The quiet laughter between Penny and Freddie stopped suddenly as Evie’s question hung in the air. All eyes were on Bucky as he gulped and thought back to the times at the bars. Out with Steve and the other Howling Commandos, did they ever do that? He tried to think of a time when they pushed for what they wanted to happen. Of a time when the woman they were pursuing reluctantly gave in because they wouldn’t leave her alone. Evie didn’t wait for an answer, she could see that he was processing everything.

“So why did you stop those guys back there?” Her brows raised and her head tilted in question. Bucky took a deep breath and was about to answer when Evie cut him off. “By punching that guy out there, you’re a hero and we should all thank you and congratulate you for doing the right thing.” She stepped closer to Bucky and the three in the living room understood where Evie was going.

“What do you think would have been said if I would’ve punched him? Sure, you would’ve said something snappy and nice about how I can take care of myself. The general public though? They would say that I overreacted.”

“Easy Evie, he’s still learning.” Cassie said quietly. Bucky was thankful for that, he still did have a lot to learn but it felt like Evie was attacking him. That’s the point, you fucking dumbass. If you had been berating her for putting herself in danger by punching that guy, you would think she was reckless.

“Her point, Bucky, is that the double standard for men and women goes beyond what we expect. Everyone goes crazy for the knight saving the damsel, but everyone hates the damsel for saving herself.” Freddie explained from the comfort of the couch. Bucky nodded, starting to understand the concept. “And her questions about your old buddies. That has to do with the fact that you’re part of the problem.”

“What problem is that?” Bucky was honestly scared to know the answer but he knew to fully learn, he had to get all the facts, both good and bad.

“Stunting the growth of feminism. Being one of the people perpetuating the fact that it’s okay for men to be violent, but not for women.”

“Violence in the form of defending oneself in any capacity.” In Bucky’s line of work, he sees tons of capable and strong women. Natasha, Okoye, Shuri, Sharon, he could think of so many. Then he tried to think of when any of them got the limelight like Steve or himself.

“So it’s like anytime that there would be press releases for the team, and the interviewers would come and ask us questions,” he paused to think how to word what he wanted to say, “they always ask the guys about like super important things like how we’re keeping the city safe and stuff. But when they talk to the girls, they ask about their workout schedule and if they can wear underwear under their suits?”

“Yes, it’s exactly like that Bucky. That’s just a different form of it.” Evie replied quickly. She came up to hug Bucky. “I didn’t mean to attack you or anything, but this is something that we all feel is really important for you to grasp now that you’re back out there.”

“And now that you can recognize when it’s happening, the next important step is to stop it before it happens.” Penny yelled from the living room as she downed the last of the bottle in her hand.

“I’m so sorry, Evie. I didn’t know.”

“I know, I’m sorry too. You’re still figuring stuff out, but I needed you to see what it was really like for women.”

“Okay.” Bucky nodded. “How can I help this situation?” The group exchanged proud looks.

“Well, educate everyone around you. Don’t let it happen when you’re around.” Cassie said as she walked into the kitchen to crack open another bottle of wine. “And just support women. Push our problems into the public’s eye.” Bucky smiled, he could handle that, he was good at that.

Considering he was on his way to becoming a member of the Avengers, he would be able to influence from up high. He could openly support groups that were run by women, for women. He was used to standing in the background for things he didn’t believe in, so standing for something that he did was going to be a cakewalk.

A concern floated into the forefront of Bucky’s mind. He looked down at Evie, who had just recently released him from her death grip of a hug. “You know how to defend yourself right?”

Evie’s brows raised in a challenging manner, “Do I look like I don’t know how to defend myself?” The man shook his head and smiled as the surrounding group laughed. Cassie poured a glass of wine and cracked open a bottle of beer for Bucky.

They all made their way to the comfy couches to snuggle in for a movie night, satisfied with their teachings for the night.

“What are we watching tonight?”

“Well, in the spirit of feminism, we are going to watch Legally Blonde.” Penny commented as she picked up the remote. “And it’s Freddie’s favorite so yeah.”

The lights clicked off as the opening credits ran for the movie. Bucky looked around his group of friends as they giggled at the screen. Evie had her head in Cassie’s lap and she was stretched across the sofa with her feet tucked under Bucky’s thigh. Freddie and Penny were curled up in the loveseat across from where Bucky was. Pieces of popcorn and glasses of red wine were being passed from person to person, with the exception of Evie who was still underage. The energy surrounding the five of them was something Bucky hadn’t experienced in a long time and he wasn’t going to give it up anytime soon either.

A large grin overtook his face, although today was one of the harder lessons for him to learn, he wouldn’t want anyone else to be teaching him.

***********************

@mishaandthebrits

[b-lessings]

Salam sister ive got a consultation please

Yesterday someone came asking for marriage. The guy has seemingly good manners and good deen. However I didn't like him, he's short he could be barely 160 if not shorter, and looks wise he's very normal. I don't wanna sound judgemental based on looks but I wholeheartedly didn't feel like we're good or compatible. Tbh i didn't give him that much attention as we spoke together for a little bit because my brain kept wandering. I feel so bad for the guy he left with great hopes, he even brought red roses but I don't see myself marrying him. To add I'm not tall myself so I'm thinking about future kids they'll be even shorter!!

His uncle seemed to be a little proud about his city and that's you know he's from this and has "pure blood" for lack of better words, i don't like that mentality, it repels me. The guy doesn't seem to have/show it, yet...

Is my thinking wrong? Please advice me

I'm going to pray istikhara, they need an answer by the coming few hours, if we want to meet again before he travels Sunday morning

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuhu dear 🤍

First of all and before I say anything, I have a little " disclaimer " , see if you had sent this to our new page @sisterssafespace maybe it would have been more beneficial as more sisters could see when I post the ask and if they could relate or if they had been in a similar situation, they could share their input and it would be more helpful for you. But also, this might not be something you'd be seeking " help and support " for that's why I understand you coming to me about it rather than the page. So in shaa Allah I will be able to give you a satisfying answer.

P.s. I did ask the opinion of another sister because I didn't want to be very bias on the subject. I hope you don't mind.

Moving on, let's start with the following:

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has advised and encouraged young men and women to chose a partner/spouse based upon religiousness and adherence to the teachings of Islam. In other words, when a woman wants to marry a man, then from among all the reasons she can look at, she should give priority to the religiousness of the person. She must look at how much he is obedient to Allah and his Messenger, and how much he practices Islam. If his Islam is good, then this should be the reason for her to accept him in marriage. Regarding this, the Prophet (S.A.W) is reported to have said,

‘When someone whose religion (Islam) and character you are pleased with, proposes to you, then marry him. If you do not do so, then there will be fitnah (turmoil) in the land and abounding mischief’. (Tirmidhi).

This Hadith shows that a woman should give priority to one who adheres to the teachings of Islam and is a sincere practicing Muslim with good character, (for marriage). This should be preferred above the looks of a suitor. Howbeit, notwithstanding this, there is no harm/objection if a woman rejects a proposal on account of the physical looks of a person. It is permissible to do so.

One must understand that marriage is a lifelong commitment which must be filled with love between the spouses and happiness, and there is no doubt that when one spouse is physically attracted to the other, it brings about love and affection for each other. It is for this reason, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ advised one to look at the person with whom he is marrying so that he may be pleased with the woman he chooses for his wife. In this regard, it is narrated from the companion, Mughiraa bin Shuba (R.A) that he said, ‘I once proposed to a woman, and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said to me, ‘Did you look at her? I said, ‘No’. He said, ‘Then look at her, because this is better so that love be created between both of you’ (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, An Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, and Ad Darimi)

Here, in this tradition, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ encouraged a person to look at the other, when the intention is for marriage, so that each party will be pleased with the physical looks of the other, and this will help in creating love and attraction between both parties. (who wish to marry each other)

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

With that being said, it is also important to remember amongst all this, that the minor matter of height is not really the best reason to decline marriage to someone. It may be that he is short, but is a decent, man who will fulfill his role very well as a husband. Likewise, it may be that a taller man, that physically meets your requirements may be a rotten man, who doesn’t practice and treats you poorly.

Until one actually marry someone, you are not bound to anyone, so there is no harm during this time to continue your search. If Allah has planned someone else for you.

In the mean time, don’t close yourself to other potential proposals and keep your options open. In sha Allah the best person will cross your path whether it is the present man in question, or someone else. And Allah knows best.

May Allah guide you to make the best decision and grant you a righteous spouse.

Finally, my very personal very subjective input: advice from one sister to the other: listen to your GUT feeling. As women, we do have a strong intuition, I say if you didn't feel "it" since the beginning then it's probably not "it". And also, this is gonna sound a bit bad but I don't like the fact that they came to ask for you like yesterday and they need an answer by Sunday which is Tomorrow??? Like give the girl some space 🙄 but that's irrelevant. The most important thing is that you are going to pray Istikhara on it in shaa Allah, let's see how things go.

P.s. it is also very okay and there is nothing wrong if you say yes and get to know the person to only realize no you are not compatible and then decline and break it off. There is no harm in that, it is your right, so don't be afraid of that option, okay? The most crucial thing for me is that you be " comfortable " and satisfied with whatever decision you make. Kheir in shaa Allah. May Allah grant you and us the righteous spouse, the one that helps you strive in the path of Allah swt. Ameen.

Good luck dear sister, and always follow your heart 🤍.

[waitingat-thefrontgate]

Hell Was The Journey

Summary: Max and Spencer's almost meet...two times before they do

Word Count: 1769

Authors Note: I love Max. I love Spencer and Max's relationship. I also LOVE Taylor Swift, so when I was listening to invisible string I couldn't help but wonder how that'd be a cute Maxcer fic. So here I am! I made a separate account to post this. I hope you enjoy!

p.s this isn't probably the first fic inspired by that song, but I am pretty sure it is the first Maxer one. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

4x8

Max let out a deep sigh as she checked her watch. She had an hour before she had to head to her student teaching placement, an hour she wouldn’t have if her professor didn’t end class early.

“Come on Max, let’s act like college students and do something on campus” her classmate Leah said.

Before Max could respond, Leah had already pulled Max off to a direction.

“You know we could be lesson planning. Or even better, go somewhere to eat!” Max grumbled as she would have preferred to spend the hour decompressing her teaching credential program’s tough schedule. Although she looked forward to seeing her students and loved being able to share the passion of art with others, Max still couldn’t help but wonder if this was what she was supposed to do with her life. She followed her mom’s advice about pursuing something she loved, but an art history degree unfortunately isn’t getting her job interviews.

Ignoring her, Leah stopped at a bulletin board that listed all the current events that were going on campus. “Max! They are holding an FBI recruitment seminar in a few minutes, we should go!”

“I don’t think the FBI will be impressed with my 5’2 stature and art history degree” Max snorts and shakes her head. “Besides, we are pretty knee deep in another career path.”

“I know that, but who knows who we’ll meet. Maybe some cute guys are interested, or better yet, maybe there’s some hot FBI agents here already. Let’s go!!” Without giving Max the second to respond, Leah at pulled her off to the direction of the building the FBI seminar was held.

They arrived a few minutes before it started. The presenter was an older man, who seemed to be already chatting with another attendee, who seemed to be dressed to impress wearing a suit and tie. It wasn’t until the younger man turned around that his holstered weapon was visible.

“What have I been doing wrong if he’s in the FBI. He looks about our age” Leah whispered.

Before Max could respond, her phone starting buzzing. Leah sent Max death glares as she picked up the phone, her brother-in-law Jared doesn’t call her unless it’s important.

“Hello?”

“Michelle’s in labor! We’re on our way to the hospital now. Meet us when you can!” Jared hung up right after his last words, probably calling the rest of the family.

After a few seconds of shock and the reality that her sister was going to be a mother, and Max would be an aunt registered, Max gathered her things right as the presenters started introducing themselves.

“Hello, good afternoon my name is David Rossi and I hav-“Leah looked at Max waiting for an answer as to why she was just leaving so quick.

“Sorry I’ll call you later” Max whispered, “let me know how it goes!” She slides out the door and starts running towards her car, knowing she will be meeting her niece or nephew very soon

10x9

Max couldn’t believe the news about her friend Jessica. Although her and Jessica haven’t been close ever since she went behind Max’s back and dated Mike Davis a week after they broke up, she was still horrified and saddened by the details of her death. Max knew that Jessica wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but she was a business owner, and her responses were always out of fear and stress about making ends meet.

She had already been in contact with other mutual friends she shared with Jessica, and she began scrolling through old pictures she had.

Max thought for a very long time that Mike Davis was going to be the man she’d marry. After a tough time getting a steady teaching job and losing her mother, Max so desperately wanted something she could say was hers. This led to her moving quickly with Mike and missing (and ignoring) the clear red flags. Even after the cheating and lying, Max was willing to forgive Mike. No matter how many times they broke up, Max always hoped for the day Mike would just pick her, and only her.

Feeling guilty about practically ending her friendship over a guy like that, Max sighed as she grabbed her keys to head to work. That’s when she jumped over her phone ringing.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Maxine Brenner?” a deep voice asked.

“Yes, yes this is her. May I ask who I’m speaking with?”

“My name is Aaron Hotchner, I work with the FBI and I’m calling to ask you questions about your friend, Jessica Harris. She had you listed as an emergency contact.”

Max’s heart stopped. She didn’t know. “Yes, yes of course. We haven’t been in contact as much, but I want to help however I can.”

“Would you be able to stop by our office this morning?”

Max bit her lip. She had already used all personal and sick days, and her current principal was everything but understanding. “I’m on my way to work right now, and unfortunately won’t have time until this afternoon.”

“I understand. Give me a second and I’ll connect you with another agent who can talk to you on the phone, and they’ll see if you should come down again this afternoon.” At the bureau, Aaron looks out his office window. He sees Spencer looking at the board of the case with the pictures of the victims and their location.

Aaron steps out of his office, enough for Spencer to hear him, “Hey Reid, I have a contact that knows Jessica on the phone right now, can you ask her some questions?”

Spencer doesn’t turn around. “I can’t right at this moment, I’m still putting together information about our other victim”

Aaron scans the room and noticed Anderson without a task. “Anderson! I’m gonna patch you with someone who knew one of our victims. If anything seems worthy have her come down this afternoon.”

Max twiddled her thumb until finally she hears another voice, “Hello, my name is Agent Anderson and I’ll be asking you a few questions about Jessica.”

During her entire commute, Max answered questions about Jessica truthfully. She winced when she realized she didn’t have many good things to say about her. Agent Anderson thanked her, and as of right now he doesn’t see a need for her to come down. Max thanked him and grabbed her things and walked towards her school. She knew her students would be able to make her smile.

15x4

It was Saturday morning and Max smiled as her nephew talked about school over breakfast. Her nephew was almost as tall as she was, but she still remembers how small he was when she first held him all those years.

She finally felt like she was in a good place. After many years of struggling silently Max got the strength to go to therapy and take the time and energy to truly heal. It was hard, she always found pride in her independence and her high walls. The decision to go wasn’t easy, but when she realized how much it was affecting her relationship with Sammy, she knew she had to go. For the first time, she talked about her childhood and the pressure of growing behind her sister Michelle’s shadow, losing her mother and her toxic, fast paced and short lived relationships.

For almost two years, she had been applying the advice her therapist had gave her. She took care of herself, began putting effort in her relationships with her family, especially Michelle, and instead of ignoring the topic of her mother, she talked and remembered her fondly. She even got in touch with a headhunter, considering maybe it was time to leave teaching and find something that was meant for her. The other day she even thought about asking her brother-in-law if any of his coworkers were single, but she didn’t because she still wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

“Max, can we get cinnamon rolls at the coffee shop we always go with my mom?” Sammy looked up with big puppy dogs eyes.

“Sammy, we just finished eating. You sure you have room?” Max raised her eyebrow as she paid the bill.

Sammy thought for a minute, “I actually don’t know. But the park is right there so we can always go there for a bit.”

“Mhhh,” Max thought for a minute herself. She looked out and saw that it was a beautiful day in D.C and she would appreciate more time with her nephew, “Alright, let’s swing by the park!”

When they got there, the parking was full. She did a few laps, and she was ready to give up, “Sammy, I don’t think it’s possible we’re gonna have to try again another time.” Max turned her blinker to turn on the road again to drop Sammy off at his house.

“Awe come on Max! It’ll be quick I promise!” Sammy gave his best puppy eyes and Max knew who would get their way.

She turned her car around and parked on a no parking area and turned to Sammy. “We have to be SO quick.”

Sometime past season 15

Max looked out the window of her dad’s house as she plans the summer programs for the Smithsonian. Spencer was teaching Sammy a new magic trick as the rest of her family preps dinner outside. It had been almost two years since that Saturday at the park. Something that wouldn’t have happened if she didn’t make that spur of a moment decision.

Spencer and Max had already realized the two times their paths would have crossed. It was more decisions that delayed their meeting, but they both agreed that they were supposed to meet on that Saturday. They had to go through things, change, hurt and grow to be the person they were today. The person that was right for the other.

Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven.

Max put her things away. There was something that connected her with Spencer, and today, she thanked that thing a little more. She reached her bag that had a positive pregnancy test. Holding it close to her heart, she thought back of all the things that had happened, and she would do it again to be with Spencer and grow their family.

Spencer saw Max walking down to join them, he grins and thinks to himself he will never get over seeing her. He still feels like that Saturday night when he found her again after waiting in the hospital.

“Took you long enough” Spencer says as he laugh

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

The Fight

Reggie x ghost!reader

Summary: You hear the band fighting and so you help Reggie through it.

Requested?: Nope

Fandom: Julie and the Phantoms

A/n: This is my first Julie and the Phantoms fic, I hope y'all like it!!

You heard the voices before you had even arrived at the garage. You immediately recognized the shouting as Julie, Alex, and Luke fighting. However, it was the voice that you didn’t hear that caused you to worry.

You had been friends with Reggie since the nineties, you had even died together. That was how close you were, though, death hadn’t exactly been your choice. Being that close meant you knew him and his past well.

Back in the nineties when his parents fought you had always done your best to help him escape the raised voices, angry door slams, and side choosing. You had also done your best to mediate arguments in the band so they couldn’t escalate. Unfortunately what you were hearing was an escalated band fight and you knew you had to get Reggie out of there.

You quietly poofed in, grabbed Reggie and poofed out. The rest of the band didn’t seem to notice, which irritated you. You would have to talk with them when you got back. It wasn’t like them to ignore other’s feelings, but you were glad you were able to notice Reggie in time.

When you poofed back into existence, you were at the beach. It was the exact same spot you had met and fallen for Reggie at.

You continued holding Reggie’s hand and led him down to a spot right before water. You didn’t say anything, waiting for the soothing movement of the waves to calm him.

It was only a few minutes before he spoke, “Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m sorry they got upset.”

“It’s fine, they were just arguing about something silly and it escalated. I-it just reminded me of my parents.”

You wrapped your arm around Reggie, pulling him into a hug. “It’s going to be okay. They’ll work things out and when we get back everything will be okay.”

The two of you sat there for a while in silence watching the pushing and pulling of the tide. Suddenly you got an idea. “Why don’t we go to the dog park and play with some dogs?”

“Really?” Reggie asked, looking like his normal, excited self.

You smiled at seeing him so happy. Instead of answering you poofed the two of you into the large gated park. There were tons of big dogs running around and if you looked to your left there was another enclosure for small dogs.

Reggie looked at you, a big goofy smile on his face. “This is awesome. I’m so grateful I could kiss you!” He said, immediately blushing afterwards.

“I mean, this is a really nice first date,” you said, leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek. He turned his face so that you were actually kissing.

After you pulled away, the both of you were now wearing big goofy smiles. A dog came up to sniff you and you bent down to pet it. You focused on making your hand solid and stroked the fluffy Irish setter.

Reggie bent down next to you and began petting the dog. Another dog, this time a boxer, came up to you and you used your other hand to begin petting it.

Soon more dogs were coming over to you. A bernedoodle came up to Reggie with a rope toy and dropped it. It was interesting how the dogs seemed to have a sixth sense for you. Reggie looked around and when he saw that there was no one looking he threw the toy.

Most of the dogs ran after it, but the goldendoodle stayed as Reggie rubbed her tummy. You checked her tag and saw her name was Moose.

“Hi Moose!” You cooed, rubbing her ears.

“Aren’t you just a precious little thing?” Reggie asked.

An all black border collie came up to you and you read her tag: Morticia. You smiled as you remembered watching the old black and white Addams Family.

“Remember watching the reruns?” You asked.

“Yeah,” he smiled. The two of you had enjoyed the newer Addams Family shows and then gone back to watch the old ones.

“Well, she’s such a pretty puppy,” you cooed to Morticia.

“She’s almost as beautiful as you,” Reggie flirted. You felt your face heat up.

For the rest of the date you spent a large majority of your time hanging with the big dogs, but during the end you went to play with some of the more hyper little dogs. There was one little corgi there who loved to get his ears scratched.

After the two of you decided to leave, you checked your watch and saw that the two of you had been having fun together for the last three hours.

You were a little nervous about bringing Reggie home though. You hoped that everything had settled down.

“That was a fun date,” Reggie said as you walked along the beach. He was gently swinging your hand and the both of you had bright smiles adorning your faces.

“It was a lot of fun.” The two of you continued to chat and you were really enjoying yourself, except for the fact that you were worried. You were nervous that the band hadn’t made up. You knew they really loved and cared for each other, but their fight seemed really bad.

Reggie, being the emotionally intelligent ghost that he was, seemed to pick up on your worry. “What’s wrong?” He asked after you had lapsed into silence.

“I’m just worried about the band. They seemed pretty upset.”

“Well, if they’re still upset then we can just continue the date,” Reggie suggested and you smiled.

“Good plan.”

“We can always continue the date no matter what...”

“Alright,” you gave him a quick kiss before proofing the two of you back to the garage.

You once again heard voices, but they weren’t arguing. This time the voices were laughing. Everything came to a halt when you and Reggie walked in.

“Hey,” Julie said, seeming embarrassed.

“Hey,” Reggie responded, his smile faltered a bit, but when you gently squeezed his hand he perked up.

“We’re really sorry we got so upset,” Luke apologized.

“Yeah, it was stupid of us to not realize that our argument was upsetting you,” Alex added.

“It’s fine,” Reggie said, brushing it off.

“No, it’s not. We should know better to not fight,” Luke said. You let go of Reggie’s hand so he could go and hug the band.

After they made up, he came back over to you and grabbed your hand. “I see something came out of this,” Alex teased, pointing a drumstick at your intertwined hands.

“Yep.” You smiled. “And now we’re about to go on our second date.”

****

Voila, I hope y'all enjoyed this. I loved writing for Reggie and I hope y'all have a beautiful and safe day/night.

P.S. I am open to requests, but it'll take me a week or two to get to them :) Please check my blog for the pinned post before requesting.

P.P.S. if you want to be on my taglist for all things Julie and the Phantoms, feel free to ask. I hope it works and please message me if it doesn’t.