#8 Ways to Make Old and Boring Topics Feel New and Exciting Again

[alldayangst]

gold rush (Tom Holland)

All of my fics are LGBT and PoC friendly. Inspired by gold rush by Taylor Swift. Everybody wants Tom, but you don’t like a gold rush. WC: 2.7K words. 

“Y/N, I just wanted to say again, thank you for coming in today and doing this for us.” Tom’s dad, Dominic, said as he displaced papers across desks, earl grey swaying like an angry lake in his mug. Approaching footsteps hinted that the star of the show was soon to be hold. In other words, Tom was running behind.

The door creaked and light from the corridor crept through like Sun peeping through curtains of the Night. It refusing to shut after Tom budged and pushed was maybe divine punishment for him being so late, and maybe provided the bit of laughter you needed after rolling out of bed at 6am for this, for him. When the door eventually did close, Tom turned around and saw you in all your glory; much taller than he remembered, more assured than he’d imagined, and more gorgeous than drowned out and half forgotten memories of you could ever fabricate.

You and Tom ran in the same social circles, but hadn’t seen each other since Tom’s career imploded when you were both nineteen. As much as Tom felt he owed his heart and soul to the UK, he maintained an almost permanent fixture on the States. It started to feel like his trips back to England were in fact actual holiday. At one point, you were in love with Tom, but meeting became a constant battle of ‘here, not there’ and your heart grew tired of the duck and goose chase. The gravity of the situation was too much for you, whom hadn’t even tasted their twenties yet. 

“Y/N!” Tom launched at you and held you in tight embrace. You let go of the hug, but he didn’t. And his dad watched on in momentary awe as you wrapped your arms around Tom once again, who breathed in every part of you with unwavering adoration.

“Tom!” You rubbed along his back as he hummed. “When I was told we were gonna have a ghost writer, I had no idea it was gonna be you.”

Tom and his dad (being an author) were collaborating on a book, a million dollar idea that’d been years in the making. Tom had stalled it, his dad told you out of simple insecurity. Now that the world was a stage, he was worried people would criticise his dyslexia with every line he wrote, that every stroke of his pen would reveal him as a rare type of monster that lacked intellect, he pondered that he wasn’t insightful enough in some way. His dad may have written a book about Tom outfaming him, but Tom felt like he’d always live in Dom’s shadow in this respect. Fresh from Oxford with an English Bachelor’s degree, Dom employed you to get grease on the gears to commence writing. Tom had always come out of his shell when you were around.

Your writing session lasted from 8 til noon, when Tom had promo with LadBible or Entertainment Weekly or whoever had bid the highest from his presence that day.

The door swung open and three men in all black and mics saddled around their waists called for and led Tom out of the room.

“Tom, session’s over. We need to get you to your BBC promo in 30 and we’re already running behind schedule.’ One cloaked Tom in a jacket you were sure was more expensive than your own home and another whispered something into a walkie talkie: “Holland is on the move. Check the back entrance is clear.” With that, Tom rose to his feet and left completely opposite of the way you came in. Without a word, no goodbye.

You and Dom left the building together around ten minutes later, where ten men with large cameras stood, lenses focused on you, glaring at you, not sure what to make of you. One of the men screams “Hey! You dating Tom Holland” and after that all you hear is clicks and all you see is bright flashing lights and Dom clenches your hand and leads you to your taxi cab.

The next time you see Tom is sooner than expected. The Hollands were hosting a last minute dinner party and you found yourself sitting opposite Tom, feeling his hard, hot and heavy gaze on you. The tension in the room was so thick not even a chainsaw cut through.

“Next topic,” You picked up a card from the deck and read it aloud. “Politics!” You said devilishly as you sip on what was left of the white wine in your cup, and now that your thought process is blurred; Tom’s longing gaze puts you at dismay.

“Fuck!” Harry exploded, and you hear their mother hiss. “Fuck I hate politics, there’s no making it out alive!” he remarked as he drummed on the table cloth, drunken excitement brewing a new energy in the room.

You go on like this for hours until dinner party is dinner party no more. And while Dom, Nikki and all of Tom’s siblings have chosen to exit stage left, it’s 1am and you and Tom have yet to leave the scene.

Tom sets down your deck of debate cards in favour of a genuine moment.

“What are you doing these days, Y/N?” Tom’s not looking at you, he’s looking at your knee as he rubs circles on it. You want to look down there too, see what he finds so intriguing; but you decide against it in fear you might spontaneously combust. You don’t know if this moment’s supposed to be intimate or innocent and you’re not sure if you want to find out.

So you put up a wall.

“I should be asking you the same thing, Holland.” You say sarcastically. “What have you been doing these days? I haven’t seen you around.” Your eyebrows scrunched up together but you’ve got a big, idiot grin on your face that’s more than telling. Tom giggles at your facetiousness.

Tom scratches his head in mock thought. He never clocks out, always putting on a show. “I don’t know - uh.” You’re laughing before Tom has even told the punchline, ‘cause I guess anything’s funny when it’s said by the one you love.”I’m kind of -” He snatches an old Spiderman comic off the floor. “I’m kinda doing this acting thing at the moment. Playing, y’know, this guy.”

“Well I wish you better luck in the future.” Tom has stopped rubbing circles but instead places his two hands on your knees as you rock back in laughter.

“I’m serious, Y/N. What do you do now?”

“Um.” You suddenly forgot your entire career as Tom, with no shade of subtlety, stares right into your soul. “I got my degree. I write like little stories, y’know? Have you ever heard of folklore?”

Tom shook his head.

“They’re like these little, old beautiful myths. And I write them for a living. And if I’m lucky, they get published in The Times. If I’m even luckier, I get to work with my old best friend - ” You feel your world stop temporarily as you call Tom your ‘best friend’ and you pause for all of 0.3 seconds to register Tom’s reaction but his face doesn’t flinch. “-Writing a book with him and his dad.” And that makes Tom smile. So he doesn’t have to tell you he missed you, you just know.

‘Undivided appearance’ and ‘undivided attention’ don’t necessarily mean the same thing in Hollywood as they do in real life, and you learn that the hard way in your writing session.

Tom may have been sat right next to you, but he was miles away. He was doing press with Cosmo, who hadn’t stopped tagging him with blue hearts on his Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat stories, causing his phone to go off every two seconds. You looked at the phone and then at him who then got the hint and put it on silent. Then there was a knock on the door. Tom rushed to open it, expecting that Dom had sent down a food delivery to egg you on finishing this chapter. You rehashed his childhood like a million times - in fact, you were part of it - so when it came to writing the parts that hurt, where you took a more supporting role in his life, you needed his help. The fact is, the knock at the door had come from one of Tom’s men (Tom liked to call him Man In Black no. 3) who hadn’t said as much as a ‘hi’ before he made his announcement. “Tom, you’re on the line with Cosmo in 10.” The man stepped back and pulled out his walkie talkie, “Holland knows he’s on the line with Cosmo at 10.” And then continued to pace around the hallway.

Cosmo called as he said they would and you almost felt for. second like tom might enjoy an entertainment magazine’s company more than yours. The interviewer made glaring comments and passive flirts at Tom who just blushed and chuckled and sipped his water like the woman on the phone calling him ‘hot’ was just too much to handle. At one point, she says: “What must it be like to grow up that beautiful, Tom? With your hair falling into place like dominoes.” You’re not expecting it when Tom tilts the phone so you’re in view. “Well I’m with the most beautiful being on Earth right now so..” Tom looks at you as if to ask ‘is this okay?” and you know it’s too late for these kind of questions, because that moment is headline fodder, so you smile not to make him feel bad for opening Pandora’s box. But Tom is merciless and likes to rub salt in the wound. “This is Y/N! Y/N’s helping me write the book with my Dad! We go way back.” He covers his mouth as soon as he says it. “Shit! They’re not supposed to know about the book yet.”

This is the moment, you think, where you believe when they say your first love is the one you never let go.

And you can’t think of anything purer than the love you have for him.

Tom thinks being on land is boring. He likes being strung from chords 30 feet in the air, and drowning in despair through scenes of emotional turmoil. You want to tell him you’re an arrow from Cupid’s bow about to reach him, but you couldn’t recover from the splinters if Tom shut you down. After all, Tom was a gold rush. A treasure that everyone had discovered but nobody owned. How precious is a jewel that anybody could take home with them?

Tom had invited you to a visit to Brighton with him, a city near the coast, for some inspiration on writing his section of the book. 

You accepted. And because you did, you found yourself at the beginning of the end, on Tom’s boat in Brighton. “We don’t have to talk about the book right now.” Tom throws a stack of blue tinted paper on the floor. His dyslexia meant that spelling and reading was so much easier when done on blue pages, and you could only guess that was the reason the body of water around you brought him so much peace. So when you saw that something might compromise your best boy’s happiness, you point it out. To give Tom a little bit of time to exit before things got ugly.

“Tom, I see someone in the bushes.”

“Yeah. It’s a pap.” Tom mumbled nonchalantly. 

“They’re here to get pictures of me,” He turned to face you. “and you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, the fans ship us. Think we’d be a good couple after that Cosmo stunt. We would have been a good couple when we were like, 18.” He laughs.

“Huh, yeah.” You look down.

“The best one around.” And you can’t tell if he’s serious.

You rip off one of his blue sheets. “I’m coming. I got hit with inspo.” And you trail to a different section of the boat. A very obvious click of the camera from a shrub nearby coaxes your pen to write without a second thought, How is he so accustomed to this? Fake private moments, protected by sheer glass curtains?

You scrunched your paper, well his paper, into a ball. 

Your mind had turned his life into folklore. You weren’t sure if that was crossing a line, so you just put the ball into your bag and hide it until he hits you with the spark again.

“Let me see it.” Tom says.

“No.”

“You ran off to write it and won’t let me see it?” 

You held your bag at your hip in defence. “No, Tom. Drop it.” 

Tom’s face drops a little bit, but then he reaches into his own bag and reveals a deck of your debate cards. “I know what will cheer you up, good ol’ Y/N.” He sets a card on the wooden table between you two. 

“Do you believe in a higher power?”

You toyed with the pendant around your neck which revealed your faith. “Do you?”

“I don’t. But I believe in soulmates.”

You look to the left to really ponder on what Tom is saying, and a paparazzis captures another photo of you in the corner of your eye.

“And you don’t think there’s a higher power that manufactures our souls to make our soulmates?”

Tom feigns a scowl. “That’s ridiculous.”

You scoffed. “How very contrarian of you.”

“What the fuck does that mean.”

“It means you contradict yourself, Thomas.” You laugh as he holds his chest in fake hurt.

“Are you implying I’m anything less than perfect?”

“Never.”

Never. Because you didn’t believe that to be true. 

“Good. Cause you’d have to be punished.” Tom picks you up and throws you in the water below before jumping in with you.

On your way home you stop at the yours and Tom’s writing booth, scavenging through your bag to drop off Tom’s notepad, some scrunched up blue and white papers you and Tom thought could still help you write his book. You’d made an addition to your love-hazed scribblings about Tom and reckon you’d die if he found it. You managed to throw the other in the water, excusing yourself with “It’s utterly awful.”, to which you and Tom agreed you wouldn’t throw any more paper in the ocean cause the poor fish already had it hard enough.

You and Tom had a session the next day. Tom was excited for the day, and you could tell because he’d given his phone to one of his big babysitters for the time he had you.

“I think that’s all of yours.” You and Tom made a business out of unscrunching your paper balls to see if they had any useful ideas. You were certain you reached the end of Tom’s. All of his notes had ‘T.H’ written on the back in big and were scribed on blue paper. When it came to your little ‘secret admirer’ notes you weren’t worried - you had an English degree and were quick to think on your feet and was ready to make something up when it came to opening it. 

“No, this one’s mine.” He’s confident, so you let him have it. He goes to pick up your tea and then realises it’s nowhere near warm, and was the one you made for yourself when you crept in yesterday evening. Tom has a smile on his face, and then he doesn’t. Before he goes to read it aloud, his eyes tell you he’s reading it again and again and again. “At dinner parties, I’ll call you out on your contrarian shit, and the coastal towns we wondered round will never see a love as pure as it.”

The look on Tom’s face gives you the splinters. He tries to look at you but you know he can’t. You don’t blame him. You can’t look at him either. “I really thought this was a good friendship.”

You hum and nod your head in agreement, pull your lips into a thin straight line as streaks of tears abandon your eyes. This was worse than Tom rubbing salt in your wounds. He’s rubbing dirt in your painful fucking gashes and you are reminded of why this didn’t work before, why it will never be.

And you wouldn’t dare to dream about him anymore.

Masterlist

Upcoming Works

[silentfcknhill]

FAVORITE SHOWS IN POSTERS

Well, we’re back for another installment of this tagged meme, this time for TV shows! I also stole this from/was indirectly tagged by @jcmorrigan. My taste in shows also differs a bit from my taste in movies, as I tend to like a lot of comedy shows with not as many horror ones. I’m not into shows as much as movies overall, but there are some that I am very passionate about so I picked twenty again. So, here we go for part 2, in order:

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend Of Korra (2005-2014)

I'm including these as one show since they take place in the same universe and tell a continuation of the same overall plot. Altogether this is probably the best piece of media to ever exist, including movies. It has so many great characters and villains especially and some of the most epic sequences, charming humor and heartwarming moments ever. I've never met a person who didn't like these shows, even people who normally don't like cartoons. My dad, who is biased against animation? He loved it. My mother? She loved it, watched it with her multiple times. My grandmother? Loved it. My ex-boyfriend? Loved it. My best friend? Loved it. I dare anyone not to, and I'm so glad it's making a resurgence since it's on Netflix for a new generation to enjoy.

2. Black Butler (2008-2014)

I never was big into anime growing up and only really started watching anime when I was like 16 and above, but this is one of the exceptions because holy shit is it ever dark and epic. I'm not sure I'd really recommend it for kids, it's more of a teens and young adults kind of anime and that's probably why it's so good, because it isn't afraid to explore dark and mature topics and do it with all of the intensity and gravitas required to do said topics justice. It has lots of great characters, and the story of demons who make deals with children who have a dark side is fun to watch play out.

3. Seinfeld (1989-1998)

My dad was a huge fan of this show so I watched it growing up since I was a toddler and it became a classic for me. I've watched thw hole show through at least 8 times, and I'll never stop because it never gets old or boring. It's also my only comfort show when I'm having a panic attack because of one time a few years ago when I was having a drug-induced psychosis episode and watching it calmed me down, so now it's like the opposite of a trigger and whenever I'm having an episode or something I watch it to bring me back to reality. For that reason it's more than a show to me, it's a medical treatment and I'm forever grateful to it.

4. The Good Place (2016-2020)

The big four shows made my Michael Schur all made it on this post (The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office and Parks And Recreation), either in the main list of the honorable mentions, but this is my personal favorite of the four. It's so funny, quirky, relatable and basically tailor-made to suit my interests. Not only is it an entertaining and wholesome show, but I think watching it helped me come to terms with a lot of things like mortality, ethics, philosophy, religion and my relationships with other people. It gets  alot of different viewpoints across and if you're a very analytical and philosophical person like me you'll probably enjoy seeing it all play out. Not to mention, every single character is 'favorite character' material. It's rare you find a show with no filler characters in the main cast, but I genuinely can't choose who is best.

5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-?)

Another of Michael Schur's shows, this one is just barely under The Good Place and to be honest it was tough to pick my favorite between the two because they're both equally funny. I know it's kind of controversial right now because of the whole law enforcement thing, but I actually think they do a good job of handling social issues in the show and remaining respectful of real-life systemic problems. As for the characters, this is another one of those shows where every single character is gold and I think that tends to be a trend among Schur's shows in general. He produces damn good comedy, and damn good characters. I can't wait to see what they bring next.

6. Rick And Morty (2013-?)

This is unfortunately one of those cases of 'great show, horrible fandom' and for that reason I don't get involved in the fandom even though I love the show. It's a shame because it really is a great show, so funny and, again, such good characters. I think it's a lot more accessible than the fandom likes to claim, so I'm hoping more people will give it a chance and not get put off by the intellectual elitism of the fandom because it does have some of the most entertaining and batshit crazy episodes ever, poking fun of some of the staples of science fiction in media while also poking fun of itself the whole time. Unlike the fandom, the show doesn't take itself seriously and that's enjoyable nowadays.

7. Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019)

While this show is a comedy, it is also a lot of other things and it's probably made me ugly-cry just as many times as it's made me laugh. Well, maybe not as often, but those few scenes (if you've watched the show then you know the ones I'm talking about) made me hysterically sob hard enough to be worth like fifty minor sads. But I didn't even mind because the show is just that good, and it makes you /feel/ something in a real way. Probably because of just how real it gets in terms of telling stories that happen all the time in the real world, sometimes with inevitably tragic endings. But these things do happen every day, and it's important to shine a light on that. It's not just representation for LGBTQ+ but also for POC, the neurodiverse, the poor, and many more. Give it a watch to broaden your perspective!

8. Big Mouth (2017-?)

This is probably the grossest show I've ever seen but by god is it ever funny. Maybe it's because I have an immature sense of humor or something, but I love this show. It definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea and I don't recommend you watch this show with anyone else around because it will get awkward. I think part of its appeal to me is that everyone I talk to who likes it considers it so relatable to their lives growing up but for someone like me who grew up on the autism and asexual spectrum and who was physically an early-bloomer by years, nothing about this show is relatable to me in any way so it makes it all the more crazy and bizarre watching how the people around me must have experienced things. Did y'all really have these experiences with puberty in middle school???

9. Dexter (2006-2013)

I recently heard that this show is coming back for a reboot soon and I'm so excited because this is my absolute favorite drama/thriller show, as evidenced by the fact that it's the highest one on the list so far that isn't a comedy. I love the idea of having a protagonist who is sort of a villain (or at least morally dubious), and the idea of a serial killer who only kills bad people is particularly satisfying for some reason. Maybe because he's the vigilante we all deserve and want in this unjust and evil world of modern times? Idk but the very premise of this show set it up for big things and aside from the ending I think it delivered consistently.

10. Once Upon A Time (2011-2018)

This show took us on some journeys, and you can't deny that. Sure, maybe it didn't always finish what it started and didn't always end in the most satisfying way, but part of its charm is that you didn't care because the experience was just so much fun. They took characters and stories that have been told to death and somehow managed to put a unique and unexpected twist on them, and that alone is admirable. Good twists, good villains, and pretty much every cliffhanger known to man will keep you hooked on binge-watching every episode.

11. RuPaul's Drag Race (2009-?)

A bit different than the other entries on my list in that it's not fiction but a reality competition show, but I couldn't leave Drag Race out because it's just so fucking iconic and perfect. Even when you disagree with the judges or can't stand a certain contestant you'll still be having a good time. It's got the personalities you love to love, the ones you love to hate, and the comedy that's completely meme-able. I mean just how much has this show contributed to pop culture and the internet? More than most of us, henny. I've watched every single season, even the international ones and all of the spinoffs. This show will probably be on for another thirty years when Ru is throwing shade from a hospital bed and I'll still be watching.

12. House (2004-2012)

Some people hate on this show, and I don't get it. I love House. Yes, he's an ass. That's the point. He's supposed to be unlikeable, and that's why I like him. Maybe because I always love the rude, sarcastic, misanthropic jerkass-genius characters for some reason. And I also love procedural shows, so it's a win-win. I also work in the healthcare field so it appeals to me for that reason too, because obviously the whole premise is outlandish which is what makes it funny. Of course it's not realistic for a hospital, so just enjoy the absurdity and don't get too hung up on the details of medical accuracy and professional ethics and you'll be fine.

13. The Office (2005-2013)

The third of Michael Schur's show and the last one that made the main list (sorry Parks And Rec, I love you too but there was just so many good shows to choose from and I saw you last so the nostalgia isn't as strong!) I don't think I need to hype this show up any, it's already a classic and you can't even turn around online without getting hit in the face by a dozen Office memes. You'll have to pry this show and it's relatable characters (especially Michael Scott) from my cold, dead hands.

14. All Hail King Julien/The Penguins Of Madagascar (2008-2017)

Like Avatar/Korra, I also consider this as one show for the sake of this list because it also takes place in the same universe (Madagascar, specifically) and I just couldn't choose one over the other because they're both so perfect. They're funny and I love all the characters (it cut out the weaker links of the Madagascar film series and just focuses on expanding the standout side-characters like King Julien and the penguins). It also delved into some lore, particularly the first show, and even though I didn't also agree with the directions it took (you may have seen me get salty about the ending because I cared too much), I can't deny how much I love it.

15. Bones (2005-2017)

One of the other scarce non-comedy shows on this list, it still has it's funny moments. It's also, like House, another procedural show that involves some medical stuff, but this time on a more scientific and forensic level which is even more interesting. It's nice to see a lead female with Asperger's, too. There's a lot of cop/law enforcement shows where they try to solve crimes, but this one is the best, and I'm saying that as a fan of CSI as well. Don't fight me on this, I'm right. Oh yes, it's corny, it's campy, it's cheesy, but I love every minute of it. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach though.

16. The Simpsons (1989-?)

We all grew up with this show, don't lie. It's been around longer than most people on tumblr have even been alive. Should it have ended seasons ago? Hell yes. But that doesn't take away what the first like 20 or so seasons gave us (there's a lot of argument about when the show jumped the shark, for me it wasn't until much later than the popular consensus). The characters are amazing, but the secret to the show's longevity is that they always return to status quo and there's comfort and nostalgia in that. Bart will still be in 4th grade when you're out there pushing 90. This show is persistent. This show is eternal. This show will outlive us all.

17. Ash Vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018)

Sorely underrated. This show is hilarious, gruesome and campy as hell and I love it. I don't think you necessarily have to watch the Evil Dead movies beforehand in order to get the plot of the show, although it would probably help. In my opinion this show ended way too soon and I'm hoping someday we'll get a comeback because Ash is the reluctant, self-absorbed hero we all need and it's 2020 so at this point there really might actually be a demon-zombie apocalypse and who's gonna save us then if not for the impulsive womanizer with a chainsaw for a hand?

18. Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006)

Another show I grew up with, I don't think it gets as much credit as it deserves. It has some damn funny episodes and great characters, and it did a lot of the popular sitcom tropes before they were 'cool'. Some other great sitcoms, The Middle in particular, took a lot of influence from this show and it helped pave the way for the future of sitcoms at a time when they were about to make a comeback. If you want a good show about the real experiences of growing up, this is a much more accurate representation of the highs and lows of being an awkward tween from a dysfunctional home.

19. A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)

Unlike most people I actually liked the movie version from the early 2000's, and I read the books growing up so I was excited when I saw there was a live action television adaptation of it on Netflix because I felt like they cancelled the movie franchise too soon. I was interested to see how new actors would handle the roles, and I was not disappointed. I wouldn't say I liked either portrayal of the characters better or worse, they both added their own twist to it and this show is a great and loyal adaptation to the books, probably because the author was so heavily involved. He knew just when to stick to the books and when to improve upon what he had done with the benefit of hindsight. This show is basically the books, but remastered.

20. Winx Club (2004-?)

Sort of an odd one out on this list, but I really love this show even as an adult and it may surprise you to learn it is still going on and the most recent season came out last year. They take big breaks sometimes in between seasons, but it's still going strong and in multiple countries. The only thing I don't like about watching this show is all the different and inconsistent dubs since the original show is Italian and each dub only goes for a couple seasons so by the time you get used to one set of voices/names for the characters oyu have to abruptly switch to another, but it's still worth it for the beautiful animation and cool characters (especially the villains!)

Honorable Mentions: 

13 Reasons Why, America's Next Top Model, American Horror Story, Arrested Development, Bates Motel, Battlestar Galactica, Black Mirror, Care Bears, Chernobyl, Courage The Cowardly Dog, Criminal, CSI, Duck Dodgers, Goosebumps, Kenny Vs. Spenny, Kim Possible, Kingdom Hospital, Lazytown, Lost, Making A Murderer, Mayday, Mindhunter, Modern Family, Monster High, Obsession: Dark Desires, Parks And Recreation, Prison Break, Project Runway, Queer As Folk, Queer Eye, Salem, Schitt's Creek, SCTV, Spongebob Squarepants, The Emperor's New School, The Good Doctor, The Haunting Of Hill House/Bly Manor, The Middle, The Pretender, The Walking Dead, The X-Files, Through The Wormhole, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Unsolved Mysteries, Yugioh

Tagging: @bullet-farmer​ and anyone else who wants to!

[zodiactalks]

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SAGITTARIUS ZODIAC SIGN

Blunt, straightforward, ambitious, spontaneous, and always on the move, Sagittarius is one of the most dynamic and energetic signs in the Zodiac, always pursuing their goals with an enthusiasm few can match.

They're well known for often being too direct, their fear of commitment and their curiosity, but there's more to them than what meets the eye.

Here are twenty fun and interesting facts about the Sagittarius zodiac sign.

#1. Sagittarius loves adventures.

Sagittarius is one of the most energetic signs out there, and as such, they constantly crave excitement and new adventures, no matter how big or small.

Routine is boring to Sagittarius, no matter how comfortable, and they're always looking for ways to avoid it.

#2. They're always willing to help their loved ones.

No matter the time of the day or the kind of emergency, Sagittarius is always ready to help those they care about.

They're loyal to a fault and fearless when it comes to protecting their loved ones, no matter if they're friends, family, or lovers.

#3. They don't hold grudges.

Sagittarians don't like the idea of holding on to a grudge and prefer moving on as fast as possible. They know that life is to be enjoyed, and they don't see the point in wasting time and energy holding grudges on others.

#4. They conceal their emotions.

Sagittarians have a hard time showing their emotions to the world, particularly when they're intense.

Sure, they have no problem expressing happiness or annoyance, but when they're stress, worried, concerned, or sad, they tend to bottle that up and hide it from everyone.

#5. They don't commit easily.

When it comes to romance, Sagittarius plays it carefully, avoiding casual relationships whenever possible.

They're cautious about who they get involved with, and even when they find someone they like, they can be scared off if the other person moves too quickly.

#6. They hate drama and gossip.

Sagittarians prefer focusing on their life, goals, and achievements, rather than on other people's.

They might listen to some gossip now and then, but for the most part, they stick to their life and let others live theirs; however, they see fit.

#7. Tell them they can't do something, and they'll do it.

Sagittarius loves proving people wrong, and they're not afraid to work twice as hard and twice as long to achieve what others said was impossible.

They're ambitious, they're competitive, and they'll take any challenge to demonstrate that it can be done.

#8. They're very spontaneous.

While they're ambitious and know when to work and when to play, Sagittarians can be very spontaneous, as they have a playful side and a lot of enthusiasm for life.

Surprise trips, weekend adventures, or little city outings just because, are part of the Sagittarius lifestyle. After all, they hate to do the same old things over and over again.

#9. They're very curious.

This creative and cerebral sign has an innate curiosity for the world. They love finding out how things –and people– work, and they're always trying out new things just to see how it goes.

They love learning about a variety of subjects, some completely contradictory, and they're always open to new experiences.

#10. They're willing to take risks.

Sagittarians aren't known for playing it safe, and in fact, can be quite reckless.

They're willing to risk a lot to get more in return, knowing full well that progress exists mainly outside of the comfort zone.

#11. They're ruthless.

When wronged, angry Sagittarians won't stop at anything to get their revenge.

They see no point in holding grudges, sure, but that doesn't mean they don't get back to people. It just means they do it quickly and without a second thought.

#12. They need a lot of freedom.

Part of Sagittarius' difficulties to commit come from their need for freedom.

Sagittarians hate feeling trapped, pinned down, or contained, literally or metaphorically.

#13. They're great at planning.

Sagittarians are very smart, and, despite their spontaneity, they're always thinking ahead, making plans and contingencies to ensure they meet their goals no matter what.

They understand that, while spontaneity keeps their life from being boring, a good plan allows them to have the freedom they crave.

#14. They don't tolerate selfishness.

People often mistake Sagittarians lack of commitment as selfishness, but they couldn't be more wrong.

Sagittarius cannot stand people who take and take without never giving, and that's one of the biggest reasons they don't commit unless they're 100% certain it's what they want.

This way, they can give freely and happily, without worrying about being selfish simply because they feel trapped.

Sagittarius loves giving, and they hate it when people don't give in return.

#15. They hate dishonesty.

Sagittarians are honest to a fault and fully expect others to return the favor, so they're understandably upset when people try to fool them.

Emphasis on the try, as Sagittarians are very good at detecting lies and deceit.

#16. They're great at reading people.

Sagittarians are very observant and curious people, always paying attention to the world and its inhabitants.

Because of this, they're great at reading people. They consciously and unconsciously pick up on non-verbal language, changes of tone, and other little signs that let them know how people feel about specific topics, scenarios, or even other people.

#17. They're impatient.

This high-energy sign doesn't like having to wait for long. They're always looking after the next big thrill, and they move through life at breakneck speeds.

When things aren't moving fast enough to their taste, they get restless and frustrated.

The one big exception to this? Relationships. They rarely are in any hurry when it comes to those.

#18. They're tremendously independent.

Sagittarians live their lives at the beat of their drum. Period.

There's no compromise, no commitment, no exception to this rule. They want to live how they want, do things the way they want, and are not afraid to part ways with anyone trying to control them.

#19. They have a very keen sense of humor.

Thanks to their observational skills, honesty, and creativity, Sagittarians have developed a witty and slightly dry sense of humor, based primarily on sharp observations that nevertheless get a laugh out of everyone.

Some might call it catty, but there's no doubt you'll be laughing regardless.

#20. They're ambitious.

Sagittarius are very ambitious individuals who aren't afraid of dreaming big and tackling even the fiercest challenges.

What's more, they're optimistic and cheerful when facing these challenges, making them excellent and inspiring leaders to follow.

[baconpal]

pokemon rant time

this one’s about the 2 new things, and is at least slightly intended for people actually excited/interested in them, click keep reading or perish

Gonna try and keep stuff short cus there's a lot of topics this time and I've already gone off about how pokemon Isn't meant for me or meant to be a good video game anymore, but gamefreak is right back on their bullshit, so I feel I need to at least point it out.

I'd like to preface all this with, if you are a fan of pokemon still, please realize you can ask for more out of this series. Expect perfection, even if you don't think you'll get it anytime soon. Pokemon won't go anywhere, the old games won't go anywhere, and gaming is a hobby, not a necessity; don't accept low quality products from a company just because you feel like you're supposed to.

With this next wave of pokemon games, gamefreak is clearly testing how little they can put in to a $60 game while still keeping the 2 major audiences they've cultivated. By responding to the most obvious and vocal complaints from the community, gamefreak is aiming to make games that seems like what most players want, without having to put in the work on quality products.

GEN 4 REMAKES Pokemon BS (I am not calling this shit BDSP) is intended for the audience that put up with let's go and RS remakes. The most vocal and obvious complaints for these games is their failure as definitive versions of the games they are remakes of, such as missing features/content, or drastically changed story/dialogue/style. In a way, the recent remakes are inferior versions of incredibly old games, which shows a lack of improvement in pokemon as a whole.

To address these issues, BS is very, very, VERY clearly aiming for a more 1-to-1 recreation of the DS games, but with fully 3d graphics. Clearly the map layout has been transferred exactly, and gen 4 already had mostly 3d environments to begin with, and everyone knows about the future-proof pokemon models at this point, so the amount of effort required to create something like this is absolutely minimal. Assuming dialogue, trainer teams, move lists, etc. are also lifted directly from DP, then this game could be developed in basically no time at all, leaving the team time to ensure the product is of decent quality and includes ALL of the content of the originals, if not more, like the earlier pokemon remakes did to ensure they were truly definitive versions of the games. That being said, it is unlikely the team behind BS has been making use of this saved time to improve the game.

One failing already clear is that the quality is not very good, at least graphical quality. The footage we have shows environments lacking in color compared to the original, with messy, unpleasant textures that contrast poorly with the simplistic environments. The characters especially do not work. As cute and fun the fanart of tiny dawn has been, BS dawn and all other characters look awful. They have gorilla arms that reach down to the floor and lifeless faces, as well as incredibly stiff/simplistic animations. As it stands, BS is a visually inferior game to DP, though most consumers will simply see it as 3D>2D without any understanding of what an artstyle is, so this might not be a problem for many, but that doesn't mean you should accept it.

What remains to be seen is what content will be added/missing from pokemon BS. It is very possible that massive parts of the game, such as the underground, variety of online modes, postgame areas, and content from platinum could be missing entirely. We also do not know if pokemon from after gen 4 will be worked into the region, or even supported. Gen 8 still currently does not support a large number of pokemon, and the remakes may continue this limited dex trend.

Even assuming the remake includes everything from the DS games and doesn't add anything that slows down the story or harms the experience, it will still only be an exercise in forced obsolescence. The main reason people can't really play DP still is that the online isn't supported anymore. If BS turns out to be exactly the same as DP, then you're buying the same game for at a higher price, only to play it until the online service goes away again, or the next game comes out, if both don't happen at the same time.

Don't let yourself buy a 13 year old game at twice the original price.

GEN 4 NOT-REMAKE KIND OF NEW THING On to legends now, gamefreak is targeting the people who put up with sun/moon and sword/shield. The obvious problem with those games to most people was simply a lack of change from the standard pokemon formula. Even when changing the gyms to trials or stadiums, most people still understand that the format and story structures are mostly unchanged. Of course, this problem has seemingly been addressed by changing the game structure a fair bit, but almost entirely by removal.

Trainer battles, and by extension, gyms and tournaments/elite 4 have been confirmed to be absent, meaning all battles are only vs single pokemon, in spite of the player likely having a team of 6 pokemon. Even if battle difficulty is increased to compensate (doubtful), this will still drastically increase the simplicity of combat and make it even less likely for the game to include any meaningful challenge. Exploring towns and meeting NPCs is also seemingly missing, as the game is confirmed to have only a single village, which frankly looks incredibly boring and we've yet to see a single NPC inhabiting the village.

Battles now use an ATB format instead of a turn-based format (for those of you who don't know what that means, it basically means nothing, it's still turn based, it just means the speed state determines who gets more turns instead of who goes first, that's it), but beyond that there seems to be no noteworthy changes, pokemon learn 4 moves with limited PP, type advantage will still definitely be the most important aspect to battle, and the player being able to walk around during battle provides no meaningful impact. While the little dash the pokemon do to approach each other is cool, it is already a sign that gamefreak will not be addressing the issue of lacking animations for pokemon battles, as they can't even be assed to animate and program pokemon walking around the environment during combat, and lucario doing 1 kick for a move described as a series of punches isn't a great sign either.

On the topic of lacking animations, the new "pet simulator feature" for legends seems to be an advancement on the ride system from sun/moon, which presumably people missed from sword/shield. Being able to ride on your pokemon to do stuff sounds cool, but in all likelihood, this system will be limited to only a select few pokemon who will each do a select few actions, and is not a reasonable replacement for all the other pet raising features that have been removed in the past. Similar to BS, the total number of pokemon included may also be limited arbitrarily, in spite of the fact that no new pokemon need to be added, as these games are not claiming to be a new generation.

The largest issues I personally have with this new game is the horrible technical quality and gameplay quality shown in the initial trailer. Unfortunately, these types of problems seem to be difficult to explain to the average consumer, even though the issues seem incredibly obvious and inexcusable to people like me.  Most people were able to understand the problem with the berry trees in gen 8, because it was easy to explain, "this tree doesn't look like the other trees, and it sticks out, isn't that weird?", and so gamefreak has eliminated any immediately obvious issues like that, sticking with a very consistent artstyle for legends, making it almost impossible to easily explain its faults to the average pokemon fan.

People have been really quick to compare legends to BoTW; the game that invented grass, trees, and mountains. In spite of these comparisons, nobody seems to point out that legends looks dramatically worse than that almost 5 year old game from the previous generation. Plants are stiff and lacking in energy, draw distances are poor, colors are drab, and textures are messy. Many parts of legends seems to ape BoTW on just the surface, essentially just following market trends. Even the controls seem to follow after modern 3rd person shooters/stealth games, including a seemingly pointless roll and a clunky looking ball lobbing arc that feels unfun before even getting to play it myself.

The largest issue, painfully obvious to some, and impossible to explain to others, is the framerate. The trailer clearly was ran on actual switch hardware, and not prerendered, which would be a good mark for gamefreak if it didn't result in a trailer that never once hit 30fps. Even with empty fields, with only 1 or 2 characters on screen, the game was incapable of meeting the target speed, and had to resort to optimizations like reducing the frame rate of pokemon only inches away from the player to stop-motion levels of choppy. If situations with almost nothing going on result in slow-down, how will the game perform during actual gameplay? Even though slow-down is something everyone can feel, many people aren't capable of identifying it.

The major things to wait and see for legends is if the removed aspects of the series are made up for by some additional systems or content, and definitely wait to see if the performance improves. As with BS, preordering a game like this only shows that gamefreak only has to market the game by saying it's different, not improved, like they've been doing for years now.

TL;DR FUCK GAMEFREAK One major thing of note is that gamefreak is releasing 2 games based on gen 4 at the nearly the same time, meaning they have no obligation to design new pokemon or even include pokemon not from sinnoh, and also that the sales of each game can be used as an indicator for which of their 2 audiences is more loyal to them. Both BS and Legends are in a position to be pushes aside if they fail, but if either succeeds, gamefreak can continue in the direction of the more successful game and reap the benefits, without any need to innovate, improve, or adapt to criticism.

The last thing I feel I have to remind people about is that gamefreak is a company; you don't need to be "grateful" to them. I've seen that word thrown around far too much by people who seem to buy pokemon games like its a tax, and not something they want to do. You don't have to suck up to a company that made games you liked as a kid if the games aren't what you want anymore. Pokemon is so wildly successful that it can't possible die, so don't buy the games out of pity, or out of some feeling of obligation. Buy the video games you want to play and nothing more.

Basically, if you are considering getting any of these new games, please wait until the games are out before purchasing them, and decide for yourself if they are worth your money, and more importantly, your time. Preordering these games only lets gamefreak know their audience will buy and put up with anything. They have no real competition at the moment, so the only thing the audience can do to encourage improvement is show some of restraint.

[writingwithciara]

Take Me Home For Christmas ~Sebastian Stan~

summary: in order to avoid all the questions about his love life while home for the holidays, Sebastian seeks out help from his best friend. she agrees to go with him but she has no idea what she’s about to walk into.

word count: 3.5k

pairing: sebastian stan x reader

warning: crappy ending. sorry :(

note: the lyrics of Take Me Home For Christmas by Dan & Shay inspired this little fic. it was supposed to be part of my holiday contributions but i forgot about it. I kinda veered off topic a little at the end & i’m very sorry that the ending is gonna suck. I finished this on no sleep so I’m a little out of it.

masterlist

“Come on, Seb. Christmas is next week. Are you coming home or not?” Sebastian listened to his mom whine on the phone while we rushed around his room & packed.

“Fine. I’ll be there in 4 days.” he rolled his eyes as his mom continued to talk.

“Good. Your great-aunt Maggie says she has a pleasant surprise for you when you get here.” 

His great-aunt Maggie. His eyes widened when he heard her name and his stomach dropped. It’s not that he didn’t love her. He did. Everyone did. She was the type of lovely old lady who would go out of her way to make everyone happy. 

Sebastian just didn’t like the fact that every time he saw her, she would ask him about his love life.

“I think she’s bringing the granddaughter of one of her old bingo friends.”

“Mom-”

“You’ve met Judy, right?” 

“Mom, I-” Sebastian could not get a word in when his mother got to talking about his life.

“She’s such a sweet girl. I’m sure you two will hit it off.”

“Mom!” he raised his voice slightly, managing to get her attention. “I’ve actually got someone I want you guys to meet. I’m sure you’ll love her. She’s awesome.”

“Oh. Sweetie, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. You didn’t mention her the last time we talked. How long have you been together?”

“It’s coming up on 8 months right now.” he chuckled when his mom gasped, knowing that it was her happy gasp. “Christmas will be the 8th month mark.”

“Oh. I’m so excited to meet her now.” he knew his mom was smiling. “I gotta call Maggie and tell her to just forget about Judy. I’ll talk to you later, honey. Goodbye.”

Before Sebastian could say goodbye, the call had ended. He slowly sat on the edge of his bed and looked at his phone.

Although, he had lied about his girlfriend, he knew there was only one person who would be willing to go along with the whole thing. So, he hit the call button on her contact.

Y/n was at work, becoming increasingly bored when her phone lit up & Sebastian’s picture flashed on the screen. Not wanting to be too eager, she waited until the 4th ring before she picked up.

“Hey, Seb. What’s up?”

“You’re coming with me to New York for Christmas.”

“Do I get an option?”

“Yes, of course. But I would really love it if you came with me. My mom really wants to meet you.”

“What did you tell her about me that would make her want to meet me so bad?”

“Mhm. What did you really say to her?”

“Not much. Just that you’re awesome & I may have mentioned something else.”

“What did you say?” by now, Y/n was sitting up straight in her chair.

“She told me that my great aunt was gonna bring me a girl to set me up with so i told her that I was bringing a girl. Naturally, she assumed that it was my girlfriend so I went along with it.”

“Okay. Well, I gotta go. The boss is coming but I’ll be home in 2 hours so we can talk about this more. Goodbye.”

Once again, the call was over before he could say bye.

2 hours later, y/n walked into the loft apartment she shared with Sebastian, and was greeted with a lovely aroma. She set her bag down on the table and followed the smell into the kitchen. 

Sebastian was standing with his back to her as he moved from pan to pan, trying to cook up something good.

“That smells delicious.” y/n walked over to him and touched his arm. He nearly attacked her with the spatula that he was holding.

“You can’t just sneak up on a man when he’s cooking dinner. It’s mean.”

“I apologize.” she giggled and looked at the pans. “It looks delicious. What is it?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s some kind of beef meal.”

“Alright. I’ll take your word for it.” she smiled and began the get plates and cups out of the cabinet. “So, tell me more about what you and your mom talked about.”

“There’s not a whole lot left to tell.” he shrugged and looked at her. “But if anyone asks you, we’ve been together for 8 months.”

“So when we get to New York, we’re supposed to act like we’re in love & that we have been for 8 months? Should we create a story to the relationship?”

“Yeah. I think it’ll make it more believable.”

That night, as they ate, their story started coming together piece by piece and the next 2 days were spent memorizing every little detail.

The plane ride to New York was shorter than either of them had expected but it was fun. 

When it came time to walk into his old home, y/n looked at Sebastian skeptically.

“What if I mess it all up? What if I forget a detail or something? What happens if they don’t like me?”

“Will you relax? They’re going to love you so much.” he held her hand for reassurance as they knocked on the door. His mom quickly opened the door and smiled.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” she pulled her son in for a hug and looked over at y/n with a smile. “You must be, y/n. Sebby, she’s so beautiful. Where have you been hiding her?”

“You know how I am with my relationships. I try to stay as private as possible to protect her from the spotlight.” 

“Yes. I do remember you telling me that.” she smiled again. “Come on in. Everyone is already here and they’re all dying to meet her, especially your aunt Maggie.”

Y/n began to follow Sebastian’s mom but she was stopped when he pulled her back. 

“Aunt Maggie can be very critical but I wouldn’t be worried. She’ll love you, I guarantee it.”

The pair continued into the living room where the rest of his family was gathered. They all stopped talking when they saw Sebastian, quickly erupting into cheers and running to hug him. Y/n stepped back to give them all some room and she stood there quietly as they surrounded him.

When Aunt Maggie came into view, y/n visibly tensed up as she approached her. Everyone sent silent as Maggie looked her over.

“Sebastian, you idiot. You lied to us.” everyone froze as the woman turned towards all of them. “She’s way more beautiful than an angel.”

The family exchanged looks of relief as Sebastian joined his aunt and y/n. 

“Yeah, she really is, isn’t she?” he smiled and held her hand, causing her heartbeat to quicken unexpectedly. “She keeps getting more beautiful with every passing day.”

“Oh, stop it.” y/n blushed and looked around the room. “8 months later & he’s still as charming as the day we started dating.”

“Aren’t you two just the cutest couple?” Sebastian’s mom smiled and went back to the kitchen.

“Come on, love. Let’s go up to our room.” he pulled her towards the stairs and up to his old room. “Told you they’d love you.”

“Your family is wonderful, Seb. I can’t wait to get to know them better later.”

“You’re going to love our family traditions that last all week, I guarantee it.”

“Well, you’ve been right every time so far, so I see no reason to not believe you.” she put her bag on the bed and let his hand go. “What’s the first one?”

“Since there’s a bunch of snow, we split up into 2 teams and go out to the backyard, where an arena has been assembled, and we have a snowball fight. It’s so much fun.”

“I hope so.” she smiled and looked up at him. “What else do you guys do?”

“We decorate the tree, bake cookies, go caroling. Sometimes we go ice skating on the pond in the park. We also go to the annual Christmas parade & watch the kids in the neighborhood show off their talents at the talent show.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of stuff. When I was growing up, all my family did was go caroling on Christmas Eve. Then we’d come home, get into our matching pjs and drink cocoa while watching Christmas movies.”

“We do that too. And we also stay in our pjs all day on Christmas day.”

“I do that still.”

“I know.” he smiled. “I remember when we got snowed in the first year we lived together and when I woke up that morning, you were drinking your cocoa and you gave me those pjs that matched yours and when you told me what you did during the day, I thought you were insane. But I’ve enjoyed it every year since then.” he smiled.

“Every year? You’re telling me that you wear your pjs ALL day on Christmas?”

“Yeah. It makes me feel a little safer because I know you do it too when you’re with your family at Christmas. It feels like we’re together at Christmas.”

“Awe, Seb. That’s adorable.”

“Okay, you two. It’s time for the snowball fight. I’ve already put all the names on the board downstairs. Let’s go.” his mom squealed giddily before disappearing down the stairs. Sebastian and y/n followed quickly, curious to see what team they were on. They ended up being on opposite teams and the final two in the fight. And since, Sebastian went easy on her, it was easy for her to bring her team to victory.

As the week progressed quickly, but in a good way, all kinds of traditions were celebrated. 

It was now Christmas Eve and the family members who weren’t getting food ready for tomorrow, were out caroling. Y/n, Sebastian, his mom, his aunt Maggie, and his cousins travelled from house to house in the neighborhood and sang their hearts out. Y/n had heard Sebastian sing before but there was something different about him when he was belting out Christmas tunes. It was mesmerizing. When they were done caroling, Sebastian and his mom exchanged a look.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, we thought that since you didn’t go to Tulsa for Christmas this year, we’d bring a little bit of Oklahoma here for you.” Sebastian smiled.

“What’s that mean?”

“Well, darling, it means that we’re taking you to see our homemade version of the  Chickasha Festival of Light. We got a bunch of people from the neighborhood to help us set it up in the park. It may not be Oklahoma but we hope you’ll appreciate it just as much.” 

“I’m sure I will.” y/n smiled and walked alongside Sebastian as they talked with his mom. “How did you guys know about that?”

“Seb told us last week. He told us that he wanted to do something special for you this year since you’re always doing wonderful things for him.”

“You raised quite the gentleman.”

“Thank you.”

The group continued their walk to the park. In the middle of the walk, one of Sebastian’s cousins approached y/n & asked her for a piggy back ride, which she gave him. One of his other cousins asked him the same thing & jumped on his back. When they got to the park, the lights turned on.

“Wow. This looks really great.” Y/n smiled and looked around. “Thanks for doing this.”

“Anyone who’s important to our little Sebastian is important to us. You’re family now, dear.” Aunt Maggie spoke kindly.

“I know it’s only been a week but I love you guys so much.”

They all continued to walk through the park. Y/n couldn’t help but shed a few tears as they continued their journey. Sebastian noticed this and held her hand tighter. When they got to the end of the light festival, they obviously stopped to take a picture.

Back at the house that night, after the younger kids and older family members were in bed, the adults were hanging out in the living room, drinking cocoa and talking about the events of Christmas day.

“I hear that Seb has something big planned for tomorrow.” his mom smirked as she nudged her sons arm.

“Mom, you’re making it out to be bigger than it is. It’s just a present for y/n that I know she’ll love.”

“I don’t think anything can top that light show. Honestly, being able to see it this year was amazing. I clearly have the best boyfriend ever and the best family here. I can’t thank you guys enough for everything this week.”

“No need to thank us, dear.” Aunt Maggie smiled. “We’re more than happy to do it.”

Y/n offered a smile in return and rested her head on Sebastian’s shoulder. When she yawned, he knew it was time to say goodnight to everyone.

“It’s been a fun night everyone but I’m afraid my sweet little baby here, is tired so I think we’re gonna call it a night.” He stood up and helped y/n to her feet. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

After the goodnights were exchanged, Sebastian nearly carried y/n up the stairs and set her on the bed.

“Do you want to change into your Christmas pjs?”

“I didn’t bring them.”

“I know. But, you see,” he paused and reached into his bag. “I did.” He held up the pair of matching pjs that she had gifted him the first year they lived together. When her eyes landed on them, she sat up.

“Have I ever told you that you’re the best?” she smiled and grabbed hers from his hand.

“I don’t recall.” He smiled and began to change.

“I’m gonna go change then I’ll be right back to tell you.” She smiled and went into the bathroom to change quickly before heading back to the room. “Okay. You’re the best.”

“I know.” He winked at her and moved over to give her some room. She laid down and faced him.

“Thank you for inviting me here. I’ve had the best week pretending to be your girlfriend, Seb. And it’s all thanks to you.”

“You’re my best friend & if I hadn’t invited you, you would’ve stayed at home all by yourself. I didn’t want you to be alone on Christmas. Plus, my mom was starting to get tired of hearing me talk about you & she wanted a face to match the stories.”

“It’s so cute that you talk about me with your mom.” She smiled. “What do you tell her about me?”

“I tell her about everything. I told her how funny you are & how smart you are. I also told her that you’re super successful at work.”

“I work a crappy office job that pays less than it should.”

“Yeah but you’ve only been there for a few months & you’ve already been promoted twice. That’s incredible.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right.” She smiled and began to play with the strings on her pants. “You know, I owe a lot of my good luck & fortune on you.”

“How’s that?”

“You push me to work hard & you’re a solid support system when I feel like everything is falling apart. I can’t count the times you were there for me when I needed someone. You drop everything whenever I call & I know I’ve pulled you away from a lot of dates with those calls.”

“I’m always going to be there for you. No matter what.” He smiled and pulled the blanket over them. A brief moment passed between them where there was no line between platonic and romantic. “We should probably get some sleep. The kids like to wake up early & wake everyone else up with their excitement so we should be well rested when that happens.”

“Yeah. Goodnight, Seb.”

“Goodnight.” He kissed her head and faced away from her.

Morning came faster than expected and y/n woke up before anyone else did. Or so she thought. When she made her way down to the kitchen, Sebastian’s mom was already awake, preparing breakfast for the entire family.

“Good morning & Merry Christmas.”

“Oh, good morning dear. You’re awake early. Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yeah. I slept fantastic. Thank you for asking.” y/n walked over to the woman. “Do you need any help?”

“No, sweetie. You’re a guest in this house. You don’t have to help with anything.”

“I know but I want to. Besides, cooking breakfast for 15 people is probably exhausting. And I want to thank you for inviting me int your home with open arms. I’d be more than happy to help.”

“You are just the best. Thank you.” She looked around the kitchen. “There’s not a whole lot left to do, actually. Maybe you can help me with these dishes.”

“Okay. That works for me.” She grabbed a dish rag from the counter and followed her over to the sink.

When Sebastian woke up, he was surprised to find y/n’s side of the bed empty. He knew how much she loved sleeping in when she had an opportunity. He climbed out of bed and checked the bathroom first. When he didn’t find her in there, he went to the kitchen, figuring she probably got hungry and went to find food. He was not expecting her to be helping his mom with the dishes.

“Merry Christmas, lovely ladies.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“What’s going on here?”

“Your lovely girlfriend offered to help with breakfast, but I had everything done so we decided to do the dishes that I dirtied. She is a freaking saint, Seb.”

“She really, really is.” He smiled and kissed both of their heads. “Babe, when you’re done here, I got something for you upstairs.”

“Okay. I’ll be back up there shortly.” She returned to helping with the dishes while Sebastian went upstairs to look for the present he got y/n.

A few minutes later, she was in the room with him.

“What did you get me?”

“The first present is something I didn’t want to give to you in front of everyone else because they would’ve made a bigger deal out of it than it is.” He handed her a box and watched as she opened it.

“Okay,” she flipped the lid of the box and an evermee necklace was sitting inside. “Seb, this is amazing. I love it so much.”

“I already loaded it with a couple of our best photos together.” He helped her put it around her neck. “There. It looks beautiful.”

“This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever given me. Thank you.” She smiled and looked into his eyes. Before their lips would’ve met, Sebastian’s cousins came running into the room, ruining the moment they were having.

“It’s Christmas. Santa came. Come on. There’s presents.” They both shouted and  ran back out of the room.

“We should follow.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” y/n followed Sebastian down to the living room where everyone was gathered around the pile of presents. The kids went first and got toys, the adults went last and got stuff they wouldn’t break easily.

“Alright, I have an announcement to make you guys. And it’s a big one.” Sebastian stood up and looked over at y/n. “I’m sorry but I’ve been fooling you all. Y/n isn’t actually my girlfriend.”

“Are you sure? I know what love looks like & there’s no way that what you two have been doing all week, isn’t real love.”

“Well, she’s been my roommate and best friend for 8 years. I brought her here to see if you guys liked her and I didn’t want to be set up with a random girl. Especially not when I know exactly who I want to be with.” He walked towards y/n and pulled out another box. “The day you showed up to the apartment, I knew the connection we had would last forever. You are my best friend in every situation & I couldn’t ask for anybody else. I love you & want you to know that I will never ever let you go, if you give me the chance to try.”

“I love you too, Sebastian. Nobody knows me better than you do & there’s nobody I’d rather have by my side through all the troubles. You’ve helped me grow and become a better person. And I am definitely willing to put in the time with you so we can be together for the rest of our lives.”

“Wait, are you guys getting engaged or something? Because that’s what it’s starting to sound like & there’s a ring. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“We’re not getting engaged, but I do have a ring for her. It’s nothing fancy. Just a simple birthstone ring with the date we met engraved on the band.”

Y/n opened the box and smiled. “It’s beautiful, Sebby. I love it.”

“Do you love me?”

“Yes, you idiot. Weren’t you listening before?” y/n giggled and looked at the ceiling. “How convenient.”

“What?” Sebastian followed her gaze and grinned when he noticed the mistletoe. “So, does that mean-“

“Oh, just kiss her, you idiot.” His mom smiled while gently shoving them towards each other. Sebastian stabled them & looked into her eyes before finally pulling her close and making sure that this time, their lips actually met in a kiss filled with electricity.

[svu-ncis-criminalminds]

Auction

The Rafael Barba x Reader fic that no one asked for but I had a wonderful time writing. (will be proof reading better tomorrow :) )

“Barba” He turned his head to watch as one of coworkers caught up with him. 

“Yes?” He answered drily, he was late. 

“Are you going to the benefit dinner on Saturday?” Barba frowned. That was this Saturday? The man patted his shoulder and Barba attempted not to look too displeased. “Come on man, bring a date! Buy a new one, it's for charity.” He grinned and Rafael wasn’t a fan of the glint in the man's eyes. 

“Not sure any of the women in my life are willing to be auctioned off. Even for charity. Sorry Wilkins.” The man just continued to grin. 

“What about that one cutie always hanging around? Y/N? Bring her, I’m sure she’d fetch a pretty penny.” Rafael narrowed his eyes at that but chose to bite his tongue. 

“I’m sure she’s busy. Excuse me, I have to get this to the station.” Without listening for a response Barba was off towards SVU to drop off some paperwork for a case just going to court. On his brisk walk over he got thinking to himself. He really /should/ show his face at the auction for the Association to Benefit Children considering he hadn’t been to a benefit in ages. But he needed a date, the point of this benefit, as barbaric as it was, is for the gentleman to attempt to bid each other out for their dates. The money all went to a good cause but it wasn’t an idea Rafael was particularly fond of. But he should go. And he should try and bring a date. 

----

“Hey Mr. Barba,” You bounced up to the man once he stepped foot off the elevator, “Are those my Phillips files?” You grabbed for them and Barba shifted his coffee to one hand to allow you to snatch them from him. 

“Always so patient.” He snarked and you grinned, already moving back to your desk as you shifted through the papers. Rafael paused at your desk watching you momentarily. 

“Can I help you?” You asked, tossing the files down onto your desk and turning to the man with a slightly crooked smile. He cleared his throat. 

“Saturday, there is an auction benefit for the Association to Benefit Children and I’m supposed to bring a date, would you like to go?” He tried to seem more nonchalant than he felt, crossing his arms over his chest. You smiled and shifted from foot to foot and Rafael had to admit Wilkins was right, men would be falling over each other to out bid him for you. 

“Sure, I doubt I’ll be able to buy anything. Far too fancy for me.” You laughed and he smiled wincing slightly. 

“Actually.” He sighed, “It’s the dates that get auctioned.” You made a little o with your mouth and nodded before laughing again.

“You want me to be your date so you can sell me for charity?” You asked, smiling. He nodded. “But I get to get all dressed up right?” You asked and he nodded again. 

“Of course, black tie event.” You nodded your head and shrugged your shoulders. 

“Alright.” 

“Really?” 

“Sure, but you better be bidding for me, I don’t wanna get stuck with some uptight lawyer.” you paused, grinning, “No offense.” Barba smirked.

“None taken. Though I think I'll have to battle Wilkins for you-” You groaned. 

“The creep from your office with the beard? Gross. You better win, or I’ll be mad.” He nodded at you and crossed a finger over his heart.

“Promise, though 5 grand is my limit for the evening so anything above that and you’re on your own.” He was only partially joking. 

----------

The uber pulled up to your apartment and Barba got out, doing the gentlemanly thing and going to the other side to open the door for you. You burst out of your apartment buildings front door and Rafael was stopped in his tracks. You looked beautiful with hair and makeup done and wearing a floor length golden dress that was currently hidden under a long dark green coat. 

“It’s freezing,” You practically ran towards him and Barba shook himself getting his attention back on the car door. You stopped next to him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek as you tossed yourself into the car. “Thank you.” Barba shut the door and came back to his side getting in and turning to you, his hands felt clammy despite the weather. 

“You look lovely,” He assured you, and you smiled, reaching over to brush some snow from his shoulder. 

“So do you! I’m excited for tonight, I haven’t been out in ages.”

“I wouldn’t call this out. More like pulling teeth.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Try and have some fun, Mr. Barba, loosen up. We look nice, we’re gonna drink nice alcohol, and eat nice food. You’re gonna purchase me!” You grinned and he couldn’t help but smile slightly, your joy was contagious. Everything about you was. 

“I will try. There will be plenty of richer men there, and I’m sure you’ll be top of everyone's list.” You blushed slightly and shrugged. 

“Nah,” You brushed the comment off before turning back to talking about how you were looking forward to the evening. Rafael wanted to press the topic, to make sure you understood he was serious and that you’d most likely be bought from under him. But he didn’t want you to change your mind so he kept his mouth shut. 

-------

Thirty or so minutes later and you were inside the party, drinks in hang as you stood with some of Barba’s coworkers and their dates they brought. Wilinks tried and failed several times to start a conversation with you, and while you were polite you were doing your best to make it clear you weren’t very interested. 

Every time you got too close to Rafael, or heaven forbid, touched him he felt his skin prickle. He couldn’t help it, you looked absolutely stunning. Rafael excused you both to go get another drink before the auction began, he was gonna need it and he was sure you would too. 

“So, you’re gonna buy me right?” You teased, sitting together at Rafael’s table, facing each other as you spoke. Barba smiled and shrugged, taking a sip of his whiskey. 

“I’m gonna try, but I mean it my cut off has to be 5,000 tonight and you’re worth at least a million.” He hoped he wasn’t laying it on too thick, or passing some sort of boundary but you threw your head back and laughed. 

“Why don’t they auction the men?” 

“No one wants to buy an earpiece in a suit.” You grinned and someone got onto the stage calling everyone back to their seats. Rafael put an arm around the back of your chair and settled in to watch the show. It was good natured at least. Husbands buying their wives before tossing them over their shoulder, old ladies being scooped up by young lawyers looking for brownie points. You were smiling and clapping along and laughing and that made Rafael feel content enough to participate, smiling along with you. Finally they called your name and you got up, patting Barba on the arm as you went. 

“Let’s start the bidding at $500.” Rafael raised his hand. 

“A grand,” Wilkins raised his own from two tables over and so did a couple of other men, some Barba recognized and some he didn’t. “Two grand,” Barba called again. The price went up and up and you stood there looking sheepish on stage in front of everyone. Wilkins dropped out when you hit 4,000 but a partner from some white collar crimes business kept one upping Barba and he was starting to get fed up. 

“43 hundred.” The man was calm as he raised his hand, Barba’s brows were drawn angrily over his eyes, you thought he looked cute and it made you smile down at him. Barba caught you eye and smiled back slightly, mouthing ‘I told you so,’

“$5,000.” Rafael tossed in all his chips, metaphorically of course. 

“52 hundred.” The man out bid him again.

“$5,500.” Barba called again. Plan be damned.

“8 thousand.” The man nailed Rafael into his coffin. Barba floundered and looked apologetically at you, and you smiled sweetly in return. You were too good natured for him. 

“We’ve got a winner!” The MC announced and Barba had to watch you climb gracefully from the stage. Instead of walking towards him, you walked towards the other man who stood up to greet you, kissing you cheek and pulling your chair out. Barba wasn’t to toss him out the front door. But he wouldn’t. He turned back sullenly to the auction. His money would unfortunately have to go elsewhere. 

----

“Y/N,” The man was handsome, that was for sure, older than you but still young to have the salt and pepper hair he donned. Being a lawyer made you go grey, at least that’s what Sonny told you.  “I’m Oliver White.” You smiled politely, laughed at his jokes when he made them, danced when he asked. It wasn’t unpleasant, and he seemed like a nice enough man but you couldn’t help but to continue to steal glances of Barba with his new date across the room. 

Barba didn’t bother with small talk. He was sulking. And the girl who had won wasn’t up for dancing, not that Barba partially wanted to dance with her. He rather alternate between staring at his whiskey and gazing at you. 

After several dances you finally sat back at your table with Oliver, glancing over at Rafael again who met your eye this time. You smiled and offered a small wave which he returned. 

“Is he your boyfriend?” Oliver asked and you turned your head shaking it and a small laugh.

“No. We’re work friends. I just feel bad, he was supposed to win my auction so he wasn’t stuck bored all night.” You admitted and Oliver nodded. 

“I assumed the way he was trying to outbid everyone he had to be your boyfriend.” You blushed slightly.

“He’s not.” Oliver smiled nodding his own head.

“Alright good. So I can ask for your number then?” You tried not to glance over at Barba again, that was rude, you had to remind yourself. You smiled. 

“Sure, but I’m not totally in the market right now..” Oliver nodded his head and raised his hands in mock surrender. 

“I can wait.” With that he dropped it and you were thankful so you took another glance over. Rafael was already watching you. You looked down first then away again. God what had you gotten yourself into. Towards the end of the night to MC announced there was only a few more dances. By this point in the night most couples had reunited so you smiled at Olivier and slowly gathered your bag.

“Do you mind,” You nodded towards Rafael, “I promised him at least one dance,” You lied. Really you were done keeping up formalities. You wanted to go back to where you were comfortable. Oliver smiled and nodded his head towards the dejected looking man. 

“Only if you give him a chance.” You laughed. 

“He doesn’t- It’s not like that.” Oliver smirked and shook his head. 

“Whatever you say,” He shrugged and you frowned, gathering the rest of your stuff. 

“It was nice to meet you.” You said goodnight and made your way over to Barba, plopping down beside him with a smile. 

“Hey,”

“Hey,” He answered surprised, looking behind you back to where you’d just been sitting, “Everything alright?” You nodded your head. 

“You looked like you could need some fun.” The girl beside him snorted and gathered her own things before rushing out a goodnight and storming off. You both watched her go and Rafael turned back to you smiling slightly.

“I’m a bad date.” He admitted and you laughed. You dropped your purse onto the table and stood up again holding out a hand. “What?” He asked, confused. 

“Come on, let's dance. I didn’t see you out there once tonight. Why do you think I came?” You joked and Barba took your hand, letting you pull him up. Once on the dance floor, Rafael spun you around before pulling you a polite distance towards him, one hand taking yours the other resting on your hip. You held his hand back and placed your free one on his shoulder. Together you swayed to the music. Rafael was a good dancer, just like you had expected him to be. He moved effortlessly and moved you with him. You slipped closer to him until you were swaying together- no room left for jesus. Rafael spun you again at the end of the last song and you grinned, letting out a giggle. 

----

“Ready to go?” Barba asked you, helping you to put your coat on before handing you your purse. You smiled and thanked him, grabbing his arm to take some of the weight of your feet.

“My feet are killing me,” You admitted. 

“I’ll carry you,” He joked and you tossed your head back into his shoulder laughing. All the champagne you had made you feel lighter then you were, it was nice. You got outside and shivered pulling the coat tighter around you. Rafael withdrew his arm from yours and wrapped it around you, helping you walk and hopefully keeping you arm. The lyft he ordered was already outside waiting for you. 

“Thank you for coming tonight,” Barba smiled once you were huddled into the warm backseat and on your way towards your apartment. “Sorry you had to spend it with a stranger. At least he was good looking.” Rafael tried not to spit out the words, “Did you get along well.” You shrugged and leaned on Barba slightly. 

“Meh. It was fine, not unpleasant. Nothing really there though besides a decent face.” Barba put his arm around you nervously but you just relaxed further into him. He bruised some hair over your shoulder and sighed. “How was your date. She was pretty.”

“Pretty dull.” He replied and you rolled your eyes. You sat in silence for the rest of the drive, Barba’s arm around you shoulder playing with your hair. The lyft pulled up to your apartment and you untangled yourself from him. 

“Goodnight.” 

“Y/N. Wait.” Rafael caught your hand. He cleared his throat, “Do you want to go on a date sometime, a time where I don’t have to watch another man flirt with you for most of it?” He asked and you laughed. You paused for a moment before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. 

“Call me,” You murmured into his ear, “I’d love that.”

[kiribaku-queen]

Secret Hero [2/10]

Pairing: Bakugou x reader

Angst, Drama, AU

Word Count: 2.3K

A/N: Slow start, but I promise it gets good soon! We got to gradually introduce all the characters for the drama to begin! Let me know your thoughts and if you want to be put on the tag list! :) Happy reading!

Summary:  After becoming the number 2 hero, Bakugou accomplished everything he ever wanted. He beat Deku in a few matches, even if he wasn’t the number 1 hero. He got all the fame, beat countless villains, was acknowledged by all his friends and family. But he wasn’t satisfied. He wasn’t happy. Bakugou realized that this wasn’t the life he wanted. So he left the life of a hero and decided to hide to live the rest of his life as a normal person.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

If only your parents could see you now: free and full of spirit. Unlike back at home where you have to act proper and sophisticated, you can act like yourself when you’re alone in your apartment.

It wasn’t easy getting away from your parents. They controlled every little part of your life, from what you ate, to the clothes you wore, to who you got to hang out with. And it was all to keep the family’s image intact. That was the typical life growing up in a rich family. But you hated it. You didn’t enjoy that life style. You wanted a taste of freedom and independence. So what did you do? Move away from your parents and your family to live outside the city and live your dream.

Your parents might have been controlling, but you didn’t hate them. They provided you with a good life with good resources, even if you had to act a little. Although your parents, your mom especially, was reluctant to have you leave the nest, they allowed you to leave with a few conditions. You had to be within 30 minutes from the city. That was pretty easy. Your parents had to pick your apartment for you. You guess that was the up side of having rich parents. The apartment they picked out was much nicer than you wanted. The apartment had a huge living room with lots of space for walking and decorating, a decent sized, marbled kitchen, one master bedroom and a spare bedroom for guests. You also had to come home once every week so that your parents know that you are alive. And that’s where you were now.

“Darling! It’s been forever!” your mother immediately greeted you as soon as you came through the door. She embraced you, almost in a crying fit.

“Mother, it’s only been a week. Why do you act like this every time?” you asked, already used to her behavior.

“Because I’m so worried about you. Is work okay? How about your apartment? Do you need to move back home? I heard more crimes are happening in town,” your mother kept rambling on and on about how worried she was. But this was nothing new. Every time you came home, it was the same old thing. And you had to always reassure her that you were doing fine. Actually more than fine.

“And how about your love life? Have you found somebody yet?” Ah, there is was. The forbidden question that you were dreading. But it wouldn’t be like her if she didn’t bring this topic up.

 “No, mother. I’m not seeing anyone,” you sigh, not wanted to hear the rest of it.

“Honey, if you’re having boy problems, I know of one that is perfect for you. You should really consider it. You’re already at that age,” your mom persisted. Yeah, you were getting older now. All your friends were either in relationships, getting engaged or already married and have a family of their own. You? Still single. And you’ve always been single. You never liked it when your mother brought up this topic because it just reminded you of how undesirable you were. You’ve never had a boyfriend. Maybe a confession on the rare occasion, but it always led to one thing. But you hated thinking about it.

“Mom, let’s drop it already, yes?” you pleaded her with sad eyes.

“Alright, but I’m serious, (y/n). I don’t want you dying alone and old. If you don’t find someone within the next year, I will intervene. You hear me?” she asks in a stern tone, making herself loud and clear. Your mother was a weird one. One moment she’s soft and then the next she’s demanding. You didn’t want to feel pressure into finding someone but she gave you no choice.

“Yes, ma’am.” Your mood now down but you tried your best to hide it. “Now what’s for lunch?”

“You’re going to eat without me?” a female voice appeared out of nowhere. Before you could turn around, you were hugged from behind.

“Momo? When did you get here?” you asked your cousin. The beautiful, jet-black hair colored woman sat next to you, awaiting her lunch as well.

“At least 15 minutes earlier than you,” she replied. Momo Yaoyorozu. Your cousin. And the reason why you don’t have a boyfriend. The moment you think that someone likes you, as soon as they see her, all feelings are ditched. A guy magnet is what she is. But she can’t help it. She was born naturally gorgeous, smart and talented. Not that you were complaining. It was nice being single. But sometimes it made you want to be wanted. That’s why you stop having feelings for men because the end result is always the same. But for some reason, no matter how many guys throw themselves at her, she’s also stayed single.

“The party’s all here!” your mother cheered. Right behind you, more family members, adults and kids alike, were storming through the door with food in hand. “Time to eat!”

  It’s already been a week since Bakugou started residing in this quirkless town and he’s got to admit, this was probably what he was looking for. It was peaceful. The people were friendly. No one suspects a thing. He might have made a name for himself as the newbie in town… and also with the hero stuff but he was going to keep that a secret. Whenever there was trouble, he couldn’t help but jump in. He did that for a living and he couldn’t give it up so easily. And he couldn’t ignore the fact that some people were getting hurt in the process.

Bakugou was on his way back to the farmers’ market as it was another Saturday morning. While reaching closer and closer to the market, he started to think back to you and something inside was starting to bubble. Was he really getting nervous? To see you again? He tried to brush off that feeling because what if you weren’t there. Then he would be feeling all that for nothing. Oh, but you were there. You arrived before him, talking to the old lady that ran the vegetable stand.

“Okay, play it cool,” Bakugou talked to himself. He did a few jumps in place, shaking off the nerves and casually walked towards you.

“Good morning,” he comes up behind you and whispers dangerously close to your ear. His actions made you jump and you spun around to see his face right in front of yours.

“Katsuki!” you exclaim, your heart beating out of your chest. At first from fright but now it was beating because of something else. “You’re still in town?” you asked.

“Why? Don’t want me around?” he teases, straightening his back to look down at you.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” you wave your hands in front of you. “We don’t get visitors often. Even if we do, they don’t stay more than a night. But you’ve been here for a whole week now…” your voice started to trail off at the end. Geez, you were rambling on and on about something so irrelevant. You must be looking like a crazy person now. But Bakugou just smiled at your antics.

“I think I’m going to stay for a while,” he informs you which makes your eyes sparkle in excitement.

“Is that right? Well you’ll have to find a place to stay. Maybe find a job. Meet some new people. Get to know the town a little better…” you started talking nonstop again. You knew this but why won’t your mouth shut up already? Embarrassed by your behavior because you’re usually not like this, you started backing up. Dumb you, you didn’t even notice your surroundings. The more you backed up, the closer you were getting to all the goods. And before long, you bumped into the stacks of vegetables behind you, causing you to fall backwards as well. Bakugou was quick to notice. As soon as you bumped into the goods, he already had his hand on your back to prevent you from falling.

“Are you okay?” he asked. You looked up at him as if the whole event was happening in slow motion. With his arm around your waist and with how close in proximity you were to him, you felt the heat rush to your cheeks and your whole face was burning up.

“I’m sorry!” you screamed a tad too loud and pushed him away. Bakugou, as well as you, were shocked by the sudden push. That made you even more embarrassed.

“Sorry! I mean, thank you for saving me. And sorry I pushed you, I don’t know what-”

“Don’t worry about it,” the blonde interrupted you. Thank god he did because you swear you could have went on for hours again because you were such a nervous wreck. You both stood there awkwardly, neither of you saying a word. You didn’t want to leave and it seemed like Bakugou didn’t want to either. He took a deep breath and decided to do something daring.

“Did you want to go out for coffee?” he asked. You were taken aback by his sudden question but in the end, you smiled.

“Yeah, yeah. I’d like that.”

 It wasn’t like you to hang out with a complete stranger. It wasn’t like you to talk to strangers in the first place. But you were glad you did it because now you were having coffee with the most handsome man you have ever seen. There were a fair share of attractive people in your town, but nothing compared to who sat right across from you. Your coffee date experience was nothing like how you imagined it. Back at the market, you were expecting it to be a little awkward with lots of pauses and you talking nonstop. But now that you were here, your conversation was going too smoothly. Laughs and smiles were being exchanged. Several conversations being shared, none being boring or too dry. It was comfortable. And you really liked it.

“I just found an apartment. Now to find a job. That’s the hard part,” Bakugou was telling you his plans.

“What job are you looking for?” you asked, quietly blowing on your coffee for you to sip. That put Bakugou in a train of thought. He honestly doesn’t know. He’s only ever wanted one job in his entire life and never thought about alternatives. Because he never had to. Right after high school, he got a job working as a hero in a big agency. His name got big as a hero but now he was here. What could he possibly do?

“I don’t know,” Bakugou replied, sighing. Finding a job that he liked and would be useful at would be a challenge.

“I can always help you,” you pitched the idea. If he didn’t know what he liked, then he might as well try everything. “We can start looking at the local places around here and then search online for some jobs!”

“That’s be helpful, thanks. But if I can’t find a job, then it’s no big deal. I’m only here for a little while. But I’ll might stick around longer if something happens,” he says. The only reason for him to get a job was to fit in with society and also to pass the time. He wasn’t going to sit at home and do nothing all day. And if he couldn’t get a job, no worries. He made bank as a hero anyways so it wasn’t like he was low on money. But if finding a job meant getting closer to you, he might just take it.

“Hmm, something huh? Wonder what that could be. Nothing happens here, anyway. I’ve been meaning to ask. Why stop in this small town? There’s nothing interesting enough to stay,” you ask, taking another sip of your hot coffee.

“I think you’re interesting,” Bakugou says, leaning on the table and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. But before you heard his reply, you didn’t blow on your coffee long enough. So when you took that sip, the temperature of the beverage burned your tongue, causing you to welp in pain and totally disregard his response.

“Ow! Sorry, what did you say?” you asked him to repeat his answer. Bakugou covered his mouth and started laughing.

“It was nothing important,” he waves it away. And like that, you two carry on the conversation for a few more hours in that coffee shop.

 Within the next few days, Bakugou continuously searched for a job with the help of you. You tried retail stores, grocery stores and even positions at top companies. But Bakugou wasn’t feeling any of those options. And it wasn’t because he couldn’t do it. It was because he felt like he could do more to help. That’s when he found a help wanted poster for construction work. Didn’t seem too bad. The pay looked good. And he could put his muscles to use. He grabbed the flyer and took it with him, making sure to call the number on the flyer later. As he’s walking down the street, he’s looking at the poster in more detail. But then he feels something bump into his shoulder. Out of instinct, he reaches his hand out, and catches whoever he just ran into.

“Are you okay?” he asks at the woman in his arms. She had dark, black hair up in a ponytail. Very preppy clothes on, like she’s from a wealthy family. Bakugou helps her stand tall again as the woman dreamily stares at him.

“Y-Yeah. I’m okay.” She softly replies. He got a good look at her face now. And something about her reminds him of you. But he didn’t want to stare too long. He smiles, relieved that she’s okay and continues about his day. The woman, on the other hand, turns and watches him go. She continues to stare back at him until his figure it gone.

“He’s the one.” She whispers to herself.

Tagged: @superblyspeedydragon

[antpernas]

7/20/21

Today was really good!!

Got up pretty late because I kept hitting snooze, but eventually got up and had breakfast, then got ready for the gym immediately after since my mom said she wanted me to help out earlier today. Didn't hit shoulders like I wanted to, but I went up in weight on chest reps so I'm feeling good! Deliveries took a while, but traffic wasn't tooooo bad, so I got home at 6:00. Ate some food then I took a nap since I wasn't able to muster the drive to play Cello. I've been up since about 8:00 - 9:00, tucking in after I finish this. Played some guitar, washed the dishes, shaved and did my skincare, so I'm not too mad about the little deviation from my normal sleep.

Some main thoughts from today!

1) I've been thinking about why it is I'm only sad about being the first one to reach out in some relationships, and in others it doesn't bother me at all. For example, when I talk to my friends in Hawaii, it's always me texting first. With old childhood friends, it's mostly the same. So why does it only bother me that other people, specifically ex-romantic partners, don't respond? And I realized that it has nothing to do with me reaching out first; it's the fact that when I reach out to my friends, I know they'll respond. But these others have continuously seen my messages and ignored them. I don't mind being the "active" one in my relationships at all! As long as that's appreciated, and my interest in the connection isn't taken for granted. I've been focusing way too much of my attention on the amount of people who don't appreciate my energy as opposed to the ones who do, and I've known that for a while. There's not much to do about this, since I have already and continue working towards that realignment of attention, and I think I've even made this observation before, but I thought I'd jot it down.

2) Another thing I've always been aware of, but again something I just want to jot down, is just how appreciative I am of the fact that I was raised with such a body-neutral point of view. Like, it's not something anybody actively instilled in me; but in the entirety of my childhood, I was never once made to believe that my body type, attractiveness, or race bore any significance. And now when I hear/see about how much people care about their physical appearance, I'm really thankful for the fact that I've had the privilege to never care about mine. Like, I've never beat myself up for "being ugly" for having acne. Even when I was super scrawny and wanted to put on weight, the motivations behind that were to be physically stronger to be able to protect people, not to look better. And now, my body being healthy is all that matters to me, not what it looks like. I'm really lucky on that front, I think.

3) This topic is a little more abstract, so I'm not sure how to describe it, and it's definitely more understandable in certain contexts over others, but I've always had a certain degree of separation in my sense of self. I think it ties into with my body-neutrality, in some ways. Sometimes I talk to myself, and it's as if my mouth carries one end of the conversation, and my internal voice carries the other. Often, I'll have multiple points of view at first reaction when I obtain new information. It's like there's a me that experiences and reacts to the world, and then another "me" that actually processes and thinks about that information. But at the same time, I know that "both" of these mes are just, one me!

And if you expand that idea even further, for example, to parts of your body, there's hundreds of "mes." Like, when people think of themselves, they usually have set characteristics or traits that they associate with their person. But there's no reason your idea of who you are should be limited to just your personality, really! Your arm is just as much "you" as your brain is! So is your leg, your stomach, whatever it may be. These are all different parts of YOU that let you experience and understand the world. This topic can go onto many tangents, like culture, linguistics, colonization, etc., but the main thing I want to say is that I feel that modern life has sort of separated the consciousness from the body, and made one more important than the other, when in reality these things are both (or, should be) equally as integral. One person is just a person, but they're also a collective! It's weird, but so cool!

4) There's a lot of power, especially when we're being introspective, about the way we word things. I've talked about this before, but it specifically makes me think about how I'm describing the experiences I'm going over while I think of them. Am I being obsessive, or are they just being apathetic, for example? I pay attention to this a lot now since I know I have a tendency to place undue blame on myself so as to ensure I'm not culpritting somebody unjustifiably, which leads to me just not holding people accountable at all.

Waaay more thoughts than I anticipated I'd write about, but I'm glad I'm jotting it down. Going to get to bed now, since my Cello professor responded earlier today and we set a lesson for 11:30 AM, and I really want to make sure I don't miss it!! I'm super excited to work with him again :D

Good night!!

[babyboy-bangtan]

By Chance Chapters 5-8

A misunderstanding gone viral puts you on BTS’s radar, which leads to a series of events that finally culminate with you meeting them for the first time.

✚ Pairing: Sub!BTS/Female Reader ✚ Word Count: 4.9K ✚ Rating: M ✚ Warnings: Reader mentions having been told to kill herself on the internet. ✚ A/N: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Read on AO3 / Chapters 1-4

Chapter 5: Hoseok, Taehyung & Namjoon

To no one's surprise, Jungkook is once again watching one of your movies after they had dinner. It's almost begun to feel like a routine; unless it's his turn to clean up, Jungkook just plops down and starts watching with his earphones on, and very often it's a movie he's already seen. He says it's because he doesn't want to go through your movies too fast, and this way he can enjoy them as much as possible.

"I don't think he has that many things left to watch of her." Namjoon says, looking over his shoulder at Jungkook sitting cross legged on the couch staring attentively at his phone with his earphones on, completely oblivious to the fact that he's their topic of conversation.

"He'll be upset once he's done." Hoseok adds, cleaning the table with a rag as Taehyung picks up up the takeout containers. "He has a crush."

"Well, she's very pretty." Taehyung comments absentmindedly, throwing the containers in the trash. Namjoon shares a look with Hoseok, both rising their eyebrows with a smile. "I saw one of her movies last year."

"I knew her only from the perfume commercials. She looked beautiful in them." Hoseok says, washing the rag on the sink. "I can't remember if it was Dior or Givenchy... I think it was Dior..." He whispers mostly to himself as Jin walks into the kitchen, freshly showered and dressed for bed already.

"Who do you know from the perfume commercials?" He asks, opening the fridge.

"[Y/N]." Hoseok replies casually as he washes his hands. "Jungkook is watching another one of her movies." He points to the couch where Jungkook has shifted positions, wrapping a blanket around himself that makes him look like a human tent. "Aww, so cute." Hoseok says, smiling at the youngest.

"Ah." Jin replies, grabbing a bottle and leaving without saying anything else.

"What's gotten into him?" Taehyung asks, staring at the place where Jin was a moment ago suspiciously. 

"Who knows?" Namjoon replies, shrugging his shoulders.

Jin is known for having his moments, so he's pretty sure it’s not a big deal. It's likely he's a bit fed up with Jungkook's crush on you; he keeps bringing you up whenever he has a chance, and sharing little fun facts about you he's picked up from all the interviews he's watched. To Namjoon it's very cute, but he wouldn't be surprised if Jin is tired of it already— mainly because Jungkook's attention has been diverted almost entirely to you, and Jin doesn't particularly enjoy when that happens.

There's probably nothing to worry about, but just in case he'll wait a bit to see if this passes. And if it doesn't, Jin will have to open up about what he's feeling and talk to them, eventually.

Chapter 6: Yoongi

Even though he tries, Yoongi can't hold back a smile as he watches Jungkook get everything ready for his movie marathon. Yoongi can't remember which movies he's going to see, but he does remember you starred in the sequel of something and Jungkook never watched the first part, because you weren't it. But a couple days ago, he saw in an old interview that you said watching the first one was important to understand your character, so he decided to correct that and watch the first part once and for all. And then rewatch the second part, again.

He explained this situation to everyone in great detail. 

"Hyung, do you want to watch with me?" Jungkook yells at him, still preparing his snacks and drinks on the table. Yoongi smiles at him but shakes his head.

"Another day. I have some work to do." He ruffles Jungkook's hair teasingly as he walks past him on his way to his room.

Most of the reason he refused is that he has to work, that wasn't a lie— but another reason is that Yoongi knows very well what Jungkook is like when he gets someone to watch one of your movies that he's already watched himself. If he hasn't watched it yet, there's no problem; he'll be laser-focused on the movie and most likely won't say a word until it's done. But if he has watched it already, he'll constantly tell whoever has joined him to pay attention when a scene he likes is coming, or he'll scold them if they're not being as attentive as he thinks they should be.

Yoongi likes to enjoy movies peacefully, so that particular environment isn't his favorite. He'll watch one of your movies with Jungkook when it's one he hasn't seen beforehand, which might take a little while to happen considering Jungkook has bulldozed through your entire filmography already.

As he closes the door to his room, he hears Jungkook calling for Jimin to join him, which Yoongi is sure he will do. Jimin seems to be the most likely to agree to watch any content related to you, so he's not worried about Jungkook being upset at him for refusing his request.

To tell the truth, Yoongi is still a bit perplexed about Jungkook's sudden fascination with you. After the thing where people thought you'd met them went viral, Jungkook watched one video of you and then another and then another, and soon enough he made his way through everything you've ever been in.

Now he's just rewatching all your movies, while he awaits the upcoming Netflix movie you recently finished shooting. A couple days ago, if he remembers correctly. Jungkook likes keep them all updated.

Jungkook insists you're sweet and kind and so beautiful and nice, and Yoongi simply can't tell him that what he has a crush on is just an idealized version of yourself, that he can't truly know you through videos and interviews. At least he can't tell him yet; because if this infatuation persists Yoongi will bring him back to reality. Jungkook knows very well what it's like to have people crush on you and decide you're perfect because you're only showing them your likeable side, and he has to understand that's what he's doing with you, too.

After hitting an annoying slump in his work, Yoongi spins around in his chair, feeling the stress starting to build up. He can hear the very faint sound of Jungkook watching his movie and after giving it a moment of thought, he pulls out his phone out of his pocket.

Youtube.

He quickly types “[Y/N] interview” and hits search.

He scrolls a little until one catches his eye, because it says it was uploaded just 8 hours ago. He wonders if Jungkook already watched it, which is very likely, but it’s also possible he didn’t because he tends to inform everyone when there’s a new interview you did for him to watch. He puts his earphones on and thinks "fuck it" because he wants to see for himself what Jungkook has been so obsessed with.

It's a 19 minutes long filmed radio interview, but Yoongi figures he only needs to listen to a couple minutes of it to get a feel of what you're about. If it starts out boring, he'll just skip until there’s something interesting. It's even possible that people in the comments have already put on the timestamps of the best moments, and he won't even have to do any work for himself.

“[Y/N], welcome! I’m so happy you could join us this morning.” The host says, and Yoongi quickly notices he has an amazing voice.

“Thank you.” You say politely, smiling. “I’m happy to be here.” “So, you have a new movie coming to Netflix soon—” Yoongi fast forwards a few minutes, because he does not need to know more about that movie than he already does. Jungkook is so excited about it, he’s shared every single detail there is to know about it with him and the others.

“—around 2014, right?” The hosts says, looking a bit more serious.

“Yeah, around the end of the year. It was my first big—” You make quotes with your fingers and roll your eyes, even though the people listening wouldn’t be able to see you. “—movie role and I got like 800 thousand new followers on Instagram in 2 days. At first it felt amazing, it really did, but when a lot of good comes your way, bad is bound to come as well.” You sigh, and Yoongi notices you suddenly look tired. He goes back around 1 minute, trying to find when you started talking about this. He wants to know where what you’re saying comes from.

“They do! You can see some videos of me on the official Instagram account for the movie.” You say with a smile.

“Because you’re not on social media anymore.” The host adds, like it’s a well-known fact. Jungkook has probably mentioned it before but Yoongi truly doesn't remember, so that caught him by surprise.

“Yup. Been clean for a few years now.” You joke, and all the people at the table laugh. Even Yoongi cracks a tiny smile.

“You’ve talked about this in the past, how you quit because it got too toxic. So, that was around 2014, right?” Someone else asks, and you nod.

Yoongi ponders for a second if he should fast forward what he’s already seen, but ultimately decides not to. It’s different to watch it now that he knows where the conversation is coming from. He patiently waits for you to say everything he’s already heard, paying more attention this time.

“There were a lot of negative comments at the time, was that it?” The host asks, and you raise your eyebrows, huffing.

“You could say that.” You say sarcastically. “A group of people were very, very angry when I was cast for my second movie. Since it was based on a book, they said I wasn’t what they had imagined and they made sure to let me know it.” You shake your head. “It was bad when I was cast, but when the first trailer came out it got worse. It was hard to deal with because I’d never gone through something similar before. I had only done one indie film and one episode of CSI. That was it. And all of a sudden I have comments on every single thing I post saying that my acting sucks and I should just quit. Some people even told me I should kill myself.” You pause for a second as the people around you shake their heads, visibly disappointed. “Those were the least, but it’s still jarring to see people wishing that on you.”

Yoongi gasps, pausing the video. For some reason he hadn’t considered something like that happening to you, at all. That’s not the kind of thing about you Jungkook shares; he shares your favorite things, stories you’ve told about your costars or meeting other famous people, but not this. He never shares anything negative like this. He wonders why, even though part of him thinks it’s because Jungkook doesn’t feel comfortable sharing something that feels this personal. 

He takes a couple seconds before hitting play again.

“So one day I just said screw this, and decided to delete all my social media. I posted a goodbye letter to my fans first explaining the situation and left it up for like an hour before I deleted everything. The only way you’ll see me on social media is through promotional stuff or on some friends’ accounts.” Your tone shifts on this part; it becomes more cheerful, but Yoongi has been on your side of the story enough times to know you’re just deflecting, and this is something that still bothers you.

He gets it.

It bothers him, too.

“And then you won several awards for that role.” The host says with a laugh, successfully lightening the mood.

“Yep, I did.” You say, laughing as well.

The interview moves on to other topics, much more light-hearted than the previous one, but even though Yoongi ends up watching the entire video, that one thing manages to stick to his mind like a magnet. He feels a bit ashamed that he dismissed you, that he didn’t consider that you’re a celebrity too and your life is bound to be hard as well, even if the ways you deal with that status are different from the ways he and the others have to deal with their own. Jungkook always being so happy when he shares things about you made Yoongi make the mistake of thinking he had you figured out, but now he realizes he actually doesn’t really know anything about you.

He sighs, covering his face with his hands before moving them up and running them through his hair, messing it up completely.

As of right now, there's an new, annoying feeling at the pit of his stomach, an annoying feeling that makes Yoongi want to know more about you.

Thanks a lot, Jungkook.

Chapter 7: After

Timotheé is staring at you with a very cute smile on his face, which can only mean one thing.

He wants something.

"What now?" You ask, sighing.

“Can I have some of that, please?” He asks as you sip your coffee, resting his chin on your shoulder and hugging your waist while you eye him suspiciously. You know he’s tired, but it’s only been a few minutes since you were given the cups. How fast did he drink his?

“Where’s yours?” You ask, staring down at his empty hands.

“I finished it.” He grins. “Pleeease, I’m sleepy.” You roll your eyes and give him your cup, and he kisses your cheek in response before releasing you to take it from your hand.

“Thank you!”

“It’s not free!” You say immediately, watching him gulp down the rest of your drink. “You’ll have to get me another one later.” He nods, still drinking. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Not really.” He says, rolling his shoulders with a grimace. “I’m still jetlagged as fuck.”

“Come here.” You move him in front of you to start massaging his shoulders, and his knees go weak when you do. “Timmy! Work with me here, man. Try to stay up.” You joke, and he laughs.

“Sorry, sorry.” He apologizes, looking back at you for a second before bowing his head forward. “Thank you so— ah—much.”

“This feels like it’s turning erotic real fast.” You tease him, but you don’t stop rubbing his shoulders. You don’t see his face, but you’d bet anything he’s as red as a tomato. He gets shy immediately when you make that kind of comments, it’s adorable.

“Shut uhhh— up.” He laughs, smacking your side lightly with his hand, not turning around.

“I’m not the one moaning—”

“Guys, come on. It’s time to start. Let’s go.” Your publicist approaches you both, pointing at the direction you’re supposed to go to.

“Coming!” You say, giving Timotheé a couple pats on the back before pushing him forward. “Time to work, mister.” He groans in response, but walks ahead of you nonetheless.

Once you’re both seated and ready, the people behind the cameras start giving you instructions on what to do. It's not really hard to keep up, and since you've both watched previous interviews of this type you already know what you're in for.

“So I say my name, she says her name, and then it’s one word each and we finish together.” Timotheé asks for clarification one last time. The producers nod and you give them a thumbs up.

“And… go.”

“Hey, I’m Timotheé Chalamet.”

“And I’m [Y/N]. And this is the—”

“Wired—”

“Autocomplete—”

“Interview.” You both finish in unison.

Chapter 8: The Interview

Namjoon smiles fondly at Jungkook, who is sleepily eating his breakfast with his eyes half open and his hair sticking up everywhere. He'd spent the most part of the previous night sulking, because he has to wait until Sunday to be able to sit down to watch your new movie without interruptions. Thankfully, once they all promised to join him in a movie night he became excited once again. Seeing him sad makes everyone else immediately sad as well; he always does his best to cheer them up and make them laugh, so it’s their job to do the same for him whenever they can.

Jungkook’s phone vibrates and he casually looks at the screen, seeing that a new interview you did has been uploaded. He’s familiar with this type, it’s the one where people answer things based on Google searches. He grabs his phone and gets ready to start watching it, that is until he sees the thumbnail and chokes on his food.

“Jungkook! Are you okay?” Namjoon asks worriedly, leaving his mug on the table and walking up to him. Jungkook nods, drinking milk to unclog his throat.

“Look, Hyung.” He rasps, handing him his phone. Namjoon grabs it from his hand and it takes him a moment to process what he’s seeing.

It’s a video of you, that’s unsurprising.

[Y/N] & Timotheé Chalamet Answer the Web’s Most Searched Questions | WIRED

It’s not until he takes notice of the Google search bar on the thumbnail that he realizes what made Jungkook react like that.

Did [Y/N] Did [Y/N] get married Did [Y/N] work in Criminal Minds When did [Y/N] meet BTS

Apparently, Namjoon takes too long staring at the phone because Jungkook snatches it from his hands and immediately presses play.

“What happened?” Jimin asks, walking into the room already dressed.

“Jungkook lost it because [Y/N] talked about us in a new interview, apparently.” Namjoon responds, shrugging his shoulders. He can hear you introducing yourself in the video.

Jimin’s mouth forms an “o” shape and he places himself behind Jungkook to watch the video as well, resting his chin on his shoulder.

“What did she say?” He asks the youngest, noticing Timotheé is the one answering questions about himself right now.

“I haven’t gotten to that part yet.” Jungkook answers, trying with all his might to not fast forward the video until your part begins. It’s a 15 minutes long video, and something tells him they will have left that question for the final part.

The questions you answer about yourself are mostly things Jungkook already knows but you're elaborating on, or other new little details about your life.

He checks to see how much is left of the video during Timotheé’s turn, and it’s not much. He’s sure after this come the last Google searches for you, and his heart starts beating a little faster.

“Okay, did [Y/N]…” You say, grabbing the board and placing it over your lap. “Did [Y/N] go to college?”  You say, ripping off the white paper.

“She did!”  Timotheé responds first, seemingly excited. 

“What are you guys doing?” Hoseok asks, entering the kitchen, but both Jungkook and Jimin shush him at the same time.

“That's true.”  You say in the video. “NYU, baby! I majored in Film and Television. Okay, next one.”

“[Y/N] spoke about us in an interview.” Namjoon explains to him in a whisper, and Hoseok raises his eyebrows in surprise.

“Did [Y/N] get married?”  You read, and Timotheé bursts out laughing next to you.“I honestly don’t know what possessed enough people to ask this so it is one of the most searched things but no, I did not get married.”  The video cuts to the next question, and Jungkook’s nervousness increases by the second.

“Did [Y/N] work in Criminal Minds?”  You say. “I did not. I did, however, work in another famous crime show you might have heard of called CSI. I played a girl who was into BDSM and got arrested for murdering her boyfriend. Spoiler alert: She didn't do it. But if you want to know who did, just watch the episode.”

“What?!”  Timotheé exclaims, looking honestly shocked. “You were on CSI?” You stare at him, looking very offended.

“How do you not know this?! It was my first role ever!”  You cry out.

“Do you know what my first role ever was?”  Timotheé retorts, staring at you. You look away and stare at nothing for a couple seconds, and Jungkook can’t help but laugh at your reaction. He hears Jimin snickering as well.

“Let's move on to the next question.” You say, making Timotheé laugh again.

You pull the white paper covering it, and there it is.

“When did [Y/N] meet BTS?”

“You met BTS? What else do I not know about you?” Timotheé says before you can respond.

“Okay, here’s the thing. I did not meet BTS, but there is a whole story behind why people thought I did.”

“Please share it.”  Timotheé urges you, crossing his arms with a smile.

“You know, this actually happened while we were filming.”  You tell him, and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “So, what happened was that someone uploaded some of the extras of one of my movies to YouTube, and they just named the video [Y/N] BTS. They meant it like [Y/N] Behind the Scenes, but some people thought it meant it was a video of me with, you know, the group BTS and then someone made a joke about it and that tweet went viral. I remember we were getting our makeup done and my friend texted me, and she sent me like screenshots of this tweet with thousands of likes. I thought it was very funny that it was all a huge misunderstanding, honestly.”

For some reason, Jungkook hadn’t considered the fact that you could also know what had happened with the video. It’s like he assumed you might have heard about it, but he didn’t think you’d know the details about it or that you cared about it enough to know.

“So you haven’t met BTS?”

“Tragically, I haven’t.”  You respond, and Jungkook gasps. Does that mean you’d like to meet them? “I wish I had, but alas, here we are.”

The video continues a little bit longer, but Jungkook is rooted to the spot even after it ends. When he finally looks up, he sees Namjoon and Hoseok trying to hold back smiles.

“Did she say…” He manages to croak out, throat dry.

“That she wants to meet you? Yeah.” Namjoon teases, sharing a look with Hoseok.

“She said she wants to meet all of us!” Jimin objects, standing up straight and looking slightly offended. “Not just Jungkook, she said BTS.” He emphasizes the last word, making it clear that he’s also included in the group of people you want to meet.

“Who wants to meet us?” Yoongi asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he enters the kitchen, with Taehyung and Jin right behind him.

“[Y/N]!” Jungkook exclaims, playing the video for the three of them, from the moment you start replying to the question about BTS.

“Well, I doubt we’ll meet her.” Yoongi says absent-mindedly once you’re done talking. Namjoon gives him a disbelieving look, and Yoongi quickly amends what he said. “For now, I mean. We have a lot of things to do here and we won’t be visiting America for a while. But I’m sure it’ll happen soon.” Jungkook smiles at him, but Yoongi knows he’s not as excited as he was a moment ago and he feels really guilty for taking that away from him.

“I’m gonna go take a shower.” Jin says suddenly, leaving the room.

“Is there something wrong with him?” Jungkook asks the rest, his shoulders falling down. “He acts weird when I show him stuff of her.”

“I have no clue.” Hoseok responds, while the others shrug their shoulders. 

Except for Namjoon.

He confirmed that Jin's weird behavior appeared every single time Jungkook did so much as mention your name a couple weeks ago, and he's been waiting for him to come clean to them and tell them what's happening on his terms, but he can't give him more time. Jungkook already noticed and it seems like it has started making him upset, which will throw off their entire dynamic even more than Jin acting off already has been doing.

While the others eat their breakfast and Jungkook calls his mom to tell her that you mentioned him in an interview, Namjoon patiently waits for Jin to be done with his shower, so he can get him alone and finally confront him about what's been going on with him.

Once Jin enters his room, Namjoon follows right after, closing the door behind him.

"What's going on with you?" He asks in a low voice, walking up to Jin. "Why are you acting like this?"

"What are you talking about?" Jin asks, pretending to be confused. If it weren't for the fact that Namjoon knows him so well and that he knows for a fact that something is wrong, he wouldn't be able to tell that he's faking it. 

"You have a problem with Jungkook liking [Y/N]. You're making it more and more obvious every day. It's making him upset." Namjoon gets straight to the point, because he has no idea how much time he has until someone comes in and interrupts them, and if that happens he knows Jin will get out of the conversation.

Jin is good at hiding his emotions, but not good enough to hide the flash of nervousness on his face when Namjoon says that.

"That's not—"

"I knew it." Namjoon interrupts him. "But why? We've never even met her, why don't you like her?"

"It's not that I don't like her—"

"Then what is it? Because it's obviously something, and that something is making Jungkook sad because you know how much he loves sharing what he likes with us. You have to tell us what's the problem because—" 

"I used to masturbate to her!" Jin whisper-screams, his ears immediately turning red. In any other circumstances, Namjoon's current face would be hilarious, but right now it only serves as a reminder to Jin that he actually is as dirty and gross as he's been feeling all this time.

"You—  I— When—" Namjoon stammers, completely at a loss for words.

Jin's shoulders fall and he sits down on his bed, holding his head on his hands.

"I know it's horrible, you don't have to tell me."

Namjoon scratches the back of his neck and walks up to the bed, sitting down next to Jin. He places a hand on his back and gives him a few pats, trying to comfort him as much as he can considering how shocked he currently is. Out of all the reasons he had imagined that were the cause of Jin's behavior, that he felt ashamed for jerking off to you was definitely not one of them.

"When did you... you know..." Namjoon pries, and Jin groans before burying his face between his knees. His ears are darker than Namjoon has ever seen them.

"Years ago. It was her CSI episode. I didn't even know she was a famous actress now."

Namjoon does the math quickly in his head, because if he remembers correctly what Jungkook said and what he managed to hear in the interview he was just watching, CSI was your first job, back in 2013.

That's a long time ago.

"Jin-Hyung..." He says, but all he gets in response is another embarrassed groan. "Okay, look at me." No movement. "Hyung, come on."

"I know it's gross." Jin says, lifting his head up and looking mortified. "And now Jungkook is obsessed with her and what if we actually do meet her one day?"

"Hyung... This happened years ago."

"And?"

"And we've all done stuff like that! I have! Everyone has!"

Before Jin can say anything, Yoongi enters the room, but he quickly closes the door behind him when he sees the state Jin is in.

"What's going on?" He asks, walking up to them and sitting on a chair. "Are you okay?"

"I can't say it again." Jin groans, burying his head on his hands once again. "You tell him." Namjoon sighs, but does as told.

"He used to jerk off to [Y/N]'s episode of CSI." Yoongi snorts, but quickly covers his mouth when Namjoon glares at him.

"I'm sorry. So that's what got you acting so weird? Jin-Hyung, come on. It's not that bad." Yoongi says, squeezing Jin's shoulder. 

"You know it's only a matter of time before we meet her, right? What am I supposed to do then?" Jin says, looking at him with an embarrassed frown.

"Okay." Yoongi says, rolling his eyes. "I've met several people I used to masturbate to. It happens. I don't do it anymore, and that's fine. Besides, what makes you think she hasn't done it as well? She's famous and she's American. Everyone masturbates to American actors."

"I'm not sure you're helping." Namjoon says, shaking his head.

"Whatever. Pull yourself together, because you'll hurt Jungkook if you don't." Yoongi says, squeezing Jin's shoulder one last time before getting up and leaving the room.

"He's right, you know." Namjoon says once he's gone. "It's really not that bad, Hyung, I promise."

Even though years of repressed shame are hard to deal with and Jin will definitely need more time to fully process what he's been told, let alone accept it— something about having shared this with Yoongi and Namjoon makes the constant pressure he'd been feeling on his chest a lot lighter.

Maybe they are right, and maybe it's not that bad.

Jin can only hope that if— or when— they do meet you, that moment comes later rather than sooner.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in any way you want!

[therokoko]

“A bad attitude on set is deadly” - Interview with Alex Rider Director and Producer Andreas Prochaska 

Andreas Prochaska on adapting the books, casting Otto Farrant and the challenges of releasing the series in times of Corona

Based on a podcast interview with Austrian news outlet Der Standard titled “Schlechte Laune am Set ist tödlich”. I’ve translated the important bits. 

1. How he came in contact with Alex Rider: 

Well, that was relatively simple. I have an agent in England, and he sent me the script for the first episode as well as an outlook, a kind of series bible about how things were going to proceed, and I read this and thought: “This works for me. That’s something completely different.” 

I mean, especially … you mentioned “Das Boot” earlier, which was the production I worked on before, and which was burdensome in every way, I mean not only because of the time it took but also because of the topic, because we killed, I think, 26 characters in “Das Boot”, not counting extras, and of course that has an effect on you. And then I also filmed “Spuren des Bösen” [Traces of Evil, a German 8 part crime series made between 2010 and 2019, A/N), in which a mother jumps out of a window with her baby, and I was looking for something with a lighter tonality, and something which I hadn’t done before in this particular form, and “Alex Rider” was perfect for that.

I also didn’t know the book series at all. I read it completely unbiased and thought: “This is actually a cool, daring concept – so to speak somewhat exaggeratedly Coming-of-Age meets Jason Bourne....

[This job] was a result of “Das Boot” insofar as someone working for the distributor, Sonar, knew someone at Eleventh Hour – and it’s not just over here that people talk, and when someone says “listen, this guy has done a decent job, take a look” or something, that helps, and in this case it’s probable that the people became aware of me through these contacts.

2. How they approached adapting the books:

Well, it already started with the fact that our series is a mixture of the first book of the book series, namely “Stormbreaker”, and “Point Blanc” – I don’t remember right now whether that’s the second or a later book.

In Stormbreaker, the drama of the protagonist is established with the uncle who dies and the realization that this uncle wasn’t who he appeared to be. Stormbreaker had been made into a feature film which was produced by Harvey Weinstein and for which Anthony Horowitz had written the script, and that was pretty much a lead balloon. And because of that it was relatively clear that everything bad that had happened with that feature film needed to be avoided, namely that everything was totally over the top.

And my job was to [adapt] this material, which actually … I started reading the novel afterwards, and I stopped after 20 pages because I realized that that wasn’t helping me because they are actually books for 12 year olds, or at least Point Blanc is – when I read it I thought: “This is an English, better-quality version of the ‘Knickerbocker Gang’ [a German children’s book series about a group of child detectives, A/N] or something like that”. And the task was to just adapt this material for an older audience and to just draw the characters in a different way emotionally, to draw them in a more realistic way. When you look at the entire season it does occasionally reach into almost absurd spheres, but it was important for me to pave the way for the audience by starting out realistically with a protagonist that could just be the boy next door.

3. How he went about filming a spy series:  

Well, the most important thing for me in every story are the characters and to get as close to them as possible. I developed a sympathy for this unwilling hero quite quickly. And, as I said, I tried to make the surroundings as British as possible given my Austrian view of things, and to draw a character that you believe and for whom failure is always a possibility, because I find it incredibly boring when you have these superheroes and you already know that they are never in any real danger.

And this was very important to me also in working with Otto Farrant, who plays Alex, to guide him and direct him in such a way that you get the feeling that it’s possible for things to not turn out well, so that you go on this journey with him emotionally, and as to the rest it is … I don’t approach things mathematically. It’s not as if I feel: “Ok, in minute 10 this particular thing must happen, and in minute 20 this thing must happen.” For me, every story is a journey, and you try to make these journeys as good as possible following your instincts.

Like, for instance, the opening scene. In the script the villain was sitting on a roof manipulating some things on his laptop. And then the thing that happens with the man happens – I don’t want to spoil anything, because it’s actually a pretty nice surprise – and this was only 2 thin pages, and I thought: “Actually, to start this series off in an epic fashion, I’d rather like to introduce another character here, too, to charge this scene as much as possible so that you’re just drawn into this world.” And equally in episode two, that’s so to speak the episode of the test, where he has to pass the test designed to show whether he’s suited for this mission, and the script called for a hut in the woods and a road in which things happen, and I thought: “Ok, if we are dealing with a secret service, the military is not that far off.” And so I told the location scout to look for abandoned military bases, and we ended up on a former nuclear weapons base somewhere in the South of England, which made the producer sweat quite a bit because this was a relatively complex location compared to what had been in the script. But those are the things where I, as a director, can try to create visual appeal for a global audience. The series has been sold to a hundred countries, which comes with certain expectations, and of course you don’t want to disappoint these expectations.

4. On the circumstances of the release and viewer reactions: 

It came out in England in the beginning of June, which is sad, of course, because we had planned to have a premiere celebration at some festival, which wasn’t possible because of the current situation. And so this release on Amazon almost felt a little stepmotherly. So I just refreshed the link on Amazon.uk again and again to see how the people reacted to it, and there were actually many very positive reviews in a relatively short time. I think we are at 4.6 out of 5 stars at the moment, whatever that means, …

There are of course, again, total haters who only give one star and say: “What a bunch of crap.” But the majority of people seem to really like it. So hopefully, or it seems we have managed, at least in England, to … that the fans who read it as children watch it, so to speak, in retrospective joy and that they remember the times in which they read it, and still [feel like the series] adds something new.  

5. On the casting process: 

There was … even before I came on board, they made an England-wide, i.e. Britain-wide casting call. And in England, there are quite a lot of youth theatre projects, which were also contacted. And we received, I think, more than 3000 e-castings, which were screened beforehand. I still saw about 200 e-castings, and then this number was reduced bit by bit. In the end there were 3 people left in the room, one boy was from Game of Thrones, another one was very young – barely over 16, which would have been difficult -, and then, to be honest, there was only Otto. On the one hand, that was surprising because you think that there are loads of great actors in England, that it would be difficult to find the right hero, but in the end it was just very clear. It was an interesting casting situation: there was Anthony Horowitz, then there were the two executive producers from Eleventh Hour, then there was Wayne Garvey from Sony International Co-Productions, and also a casting agent from Sony America, and they all sat behind me like an assembly, and I just took the camera and worked with the actors and just tried to ignore the audience – I also felt like I was being cast again as well in my work with the actors, but … it was, yeah, it was very interesting and exciting.

I virtually grilled him for hours, tried again and again to draw the different scenes in different temperatures and with different emotions out of him, just to see what his range is and how much I would be able to work with him later on in terms of fine-tuning. Because carrying 8 episodes is an extreme challenge for a young actor, and it doesn’t help me if the boy is just dashing and then he carries only half an episode and then breaks apart. That is why it was so important to really test him thoroughly, also in combination with Brenock, who plays his best friend - we tried different combinations – and with Ronke, who plays his confidante in the household, just to try and find the right chemistry. And that was a very exciting and very satisfying process. What was really great was, when he had those three, there wasn’t any discussion anymore at all, we all agreed – I mean it would have been equally possible for Anthony to favour someone else or for Sony to like somebody else better, but it was really incredibly harmonious and unanimous.

6: On what made Otto Farrant stand out: 

Well, it was his perseverance. I mean, really, we had one scene which we really tried in 10 or 15 variations, and every time I felt that he understood where I wanted to go. To direct often means to change the temperature of a scene using only short adjectives, and for that you need someone who understands you and who can also implement that. And I just saw that he doesn’t give up that he really has stamina, and that was essentially – apart from the fact that he really comes across as incredibly natural and likeable – the deciding factor for me in the end.

7: On the responsibility of making Alex Rider and the first weeks on set: 

Well, I mean the … Alex Rider is, I mean to English fans, a promise like James Bond, on a different level. And you need someone who – and of course you need that with every film and with every series – you need an actor who touches the people emotionally, to whom they can connect. That is, of course, something you can’t … beforehand … I mean, of course you can, as we did, try everything out during the casting process, but you only know whether it really works out after a week of shooting.

And I really – especially in the first 3-4 weeks, in which I was still searching, too – I mean with every production you start on the first day of shooting and you want to throw away all the material you shot on the first day right away and start over on the next day – but he was searching, I was searching, and in a way I became – it sounds a little exaggerated right now – I became a little bit of a surrogate father during that time, because I noticed that he needed a certain type of attention and a certain security that only I as the director could give him. That is, he could come to me with every problem and with every decision concerning the character, and that worked out really well …

8. On the challenge of “carrying” a series as a lead: 

As for the “carrying”: on the one hand he has to, so to speak, function technically, i.e. he must be able to, so to speak, deliver every scene, i.e. to know the dialog, to have the right energy, and do that over the course of months - now, luckily, Otto is 21; I don’t think that would have worked with a 16 year old. And that meant that while we were shooting Otto had to read the other four scripts, which were still being written while we were shooting, and he had to comment on them and to learn them by heart, and the transition was seamless. I had to interrupt my shooting schedule for two weeks because we had a location that was only available at a specific time, and so I left the set and flew to Austria to start the cutting process, and on the next day the other director came in and just kept working with him. That means Otto had to adapt to the other director, and that’s a challenge for every actor, but especially for a young actor. ...

I [as a director] could only keep it together up to a certain point in time, until my episodes where done shooting. [...] And of course, when the lead actor is in a bad mood when he comes to the set in the morning, that is at least as bad as when I come to the set in a bad mood. That emanates in all directions. So the strength of character of someone, who also knows … I mean, he doesn’t know yet about the power he may have in the second or third season, when he maybe becomes executive producer or I don’t know … but [it’s important] that you, as a human being, just treat everyone with respect in such an environment.

Source: Der Standard AT 

[petersasteria]

Oof - Harry Holland (8)

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

Pairing: Harry Holland x Model!Reader

Based on my Harry Holland one shot of the same title.

Harry Holland Masterlist || Ultimate Masterlist || Oof Materlist

DISCLAIMER:  *This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.*

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: He liked her for a long time, but she didn’t know he existed.

Harry had nothing planned for today and he's completely bored out of his mind. He's never been this bored before. He wanted to do something; anything. He's desperate. By the grace of God, Harrison knocks on his bedroom door before poking his head in, "Hey, I'm going to get a haircut. Want to come?"

Harry sits up and quickly nods, "I'll take a shower now."

Harrison chuckles and nods, "I'll wait downstairs, yeah?" He closes the door and Harry scrambles from his bed and pieces together a comfortable outfit. He and Harrison aren't going anywhere fancy anyway and it's not like they'll be meeting the queen or something. It's just a normal day out.

After Harry's ready they take an Uber to town. Harry looks out the window and for some reason, he was genuinely excited about going out.

'Am I really THAT bored?!' He thinks to himself. He shakes off the thought and they arrive at the barber shop where Harrison usually gets his haircut. They enter and Harrison is immediately greeted by his barber. Harry sits on one of the chairs and pulls out his phone to pass the time.

There aren't anything interesting on his social media so, he puts his phone back in his pocket. He looks around and his eyes fall on the magazine rack across from him. He gets up and checks out the magazines. There's one magazine in particular that catches his eye.

It's a magazine with Y/N on the cover. A smile makes its way to Harry's face and he quickly grabs it, goes back to his seat, and reads it. After a while, someone clears their throat and Harry looks up to see Harrison with his fresh new hairdo.

"Let's go. I'm done paying as well." Harrison says. Harry nods and puts the magazine back on its original place before leaving with Harrison. They walk around in silence before Harrison breaks it with a sigh, "It looks bad, doesn't it?"

Harry looks at his friend who's pointing his hair. Harry bites his lip and shakes his head, "Nah, you're good."

"You're lying." Harrison whines. "It's a bad haircut!"

"Haz, it's not even THAT bad." Harry chuckles at his friend.

Harrison groans, "Shut up, Holland. It's too fucking short."

"You hair will grow back anyway." Harry shrugs. "Besides, no one will notice." he continues with a smile as he pats Harrison on the back.

Harrison huffs, but chooses not to say anything. Harry changes the topic as they walk together. They talked about random stuff that came to mind until they ended up with a game of 'would you rather...'

"Okay, my turn." Harrison states. "Would you rather die in a sex related accident or die a virgin?"

Harry makes a face and looks at Harrison. He just shrugs, "It's just a question, Harry."

Harry looks down at his shoes, "I guess I'd rather..." He looks up from his shoes and he immediately sees the one person he didn't expect to see.

Y/N Y/L/N.

"You'd rather what?" Harrison nods for him to continue, not noticing that Harry's attention has diverted to something or someone else.

Harry just stares at Y/N, forgetting everything else in the world. He felt like he was in a movie and everything is in slow motion as he watches Y/N walk in his direction.

"Harry? Mate? Are you there?" Harrison claps his hands in front of Harry's face, snapping him out of his trance.

Harry looks at him, "Physically? Yes. Mentally? No." He looks back at Y/N as they continue to walk together.

Y/N could feel someone staring at her as she walks and looks at the shops. She looks around for someone looking at her and she sees Harry. She flashes him a bright smile, showing her pearly whites.

Harry swore that he died just then. Y/N's smile made his day!

Of course, he smiles back. Too enchanted by her smile, he doesn't notice the pole in front of him. It all happened so quickly. One minute he was smiling at her and the next, he's walking into a pole.

"Oof!" Harry hisses in pain as he falls to the ground after the impact. Harrison gasps and immediately kneels down next to him.

"Mate, what happened?" Harrison asks, inspecting his younger friend's face.

They hear footsteps approaching them and they look up to see the one and only Y/N.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?!" she shrieks in concern and crouches down next to Harrison. She's never seen or met someone walking into a pole after seeing her. Harry smiles at her and nods, "Yeah, but I think I'll have a bruise."

Harrison helps him stand up and she stands up too.

"Yeah, I think you should put some ice on that." she chuckles. Her chuckle was like music to Harry's ears. Y/N stares at Harry for a bit and furrows her eyebrows, "I'm sorry, but I think I recognize you. Or maybe I'm wrong. What's your name?"

Harry blushes at the thought of Y/N knowing who he is. Harrison just looks at the two 21 year olds in front of him, watching the whole scene unfold.

"I'm-I'm H-Harry." Harry stammers.

Y/N opens her mouth to say something, but immediately gets cut off by Harry, "Holland."

"What?" she asks in confusion. "You're from Holland? Are you on vacation here?"

Finding the scene funny, Harrison laughs and leans on the pole Harry bumped into not too long ago and crosses his arms, "This is entertaining. I love this!"

"N-No! No, I'm not- I MEAN- I'm from here." Harry stutters. At this point, he's embarrassed. 'She probably thinks I'm an idiot.' Harry thinks.

She just smiles politely and nods, "Okay, then. How hard did you hit your head, love?"

'FUCK.' Harry says to himself.

Y/N's eyes widen and she raises her eyebrows in shock, "Excuse me?"

"Did- Did I say that out loud?" Harry asks, scratching the back of his neck. Y/N laughs and nods. Harry groans in embarrassment, "Can't believe I said that out loud."

Harrison decides to help his struggling friend, "His name is Harry Holland and he'd like to ask for your number, please."

Impressed by the other man's confidence, Y/N looks at him and flashes her million dollar smile, "And you are?"

"Harrison Osterfield." he smirks as he takes her hand and kisses it. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He lets go of her hand and she slightly blushes and giggles, "So YOU'RE Harrison! Everyone's been telling me about you, because we'll do a photo shoot together."

"What?!" Harry and Harrison say at the same time.

Harry says it in shock, because how in the world did that happen?

Harrison also says it in shock, because he didn't even know he had a new thing going on.

Y/N just nods, "Check you e-mails. I just got mine a few minutes ago. But I have to go now. I'll see you around, okay?"

Y/N takes out her wallet and hands Harry her calling card, "Call or text me when you feel better." Harry gulps and takes it with a nod. She winks at him and smiles at Harrison before leaving.

"Have you seen the look on your face?!" Harrison laughs. "It was so funny!"

"It wasn't funny! It was embarrassing!" Harry groans.

"It was both." Harrison chuckles as they continue their walk. "This is payback for laughing at my haircut. Karma's a bitch."

"Please put in a good word for me when you see her again?" Harry pleads. "Tell her I'm not usually like this?"

"I'll tell her that you're not usually like that when you don't act like that in front of her anymore." Harrison bargains. "I don't want to lie. We all like her too, y'know."

"What?" Harry asks.

Harrison just shrugs.

-

"Guess who acted like a divvy div div today!" Harrison calls as soon as he and Harry enter the house. Harry groans and goes straight to the kitchen.

"Was it Harry?" Tom shouts from the living room.

"Yup!" Harrison laughs and joins his best mate on the couch. "We saw his crush today and he bumped into a pole and Y/N saw the WHOLE thing!"

"At least I have her number now." Harry says, entering the living room.

"How on earth did you get her number?" Tom asks. Harry smirks, "She gave it to me."

"Yes, but I'll be working with her days from now." Harrison smirks as he looks down at his phone, reading the e-mail.

Tom grins, "Really?! You'll model with her?"

"Yup!"

"What's the theme?"

"Summer." Harrison answers. "Which means I get to hang out with Y/N whilst both of us are in bathing suits. How fun!"

Tom snickers as he looks at his little brother who was pouting. Harry begs, "Please say nice stuff about me so that I can ask her out!"

"I will!" Harrison says, pretending to be annoyed. "I'll tell her your undying love for her since pre-school."

"Fuck you, mate."

* * * *

dfjsgsj yay they finally met!

Harry Holland Taglist: @sufwubi​

General Taglist: @marvelousell​

[katherinemallory]

#2 The late-night date with James Bond

You can read the previous chapter here.

I could feel the increasing heart rate in every inch of my body. I have already learnt a few important facts about my new mission and I’ve been going home in order to find out more. I was so curious I even wanted to open the files Mallory had given me earlier while I was still sitting in my car, but my professionalism didn't allow me to do it.

When I arrived home, I could barely think straight. My black double-breasted coat felt like it was made of lead. I was probably way too sensitive for this job... I knew I needed a bath to be able to relax and look at the files once again with a clear head. I put a kettle on, because a huge cup of Earl Grey would always do the trick, and went to the bathroom.

After at least ten minutes (I wasn’t sure how much time I had spent in the bathtub, but honestly I couldn’t care less...) I went to my bedroom and changed into more cosy clothes. I chose a velvet turquoise track suit, and then tied my short hair as I headed to the living room. I sat on the sofa, looking at the files with a cup of Earl Grey in my right hand.

What I had found inside didn't surprise me at all. I would meet 005 tomorrow. Standard procedure, I thought. The man we had to observe in Geneva used to collaborate with a crime syndicate from Milano, but Italian intelligence lost the track of his links to the criminals after the assassination of one of the secret agents involved in the investigation. Such an unusual beginning to the mission that would require the involvement of two field agents... I started to get pretty sarcastic, as I was reading the details. The operation seemed like it was just another undemanding mission, and it didn't excite me at all. Maybe a secret mission shouldn’t ever get you excited, but I always felt that a bit of positive emotions wouldn't hurt that much. In that case I couldn’t spot *anything* to look forward to...

Nevertheless, ironic way of thinking wasn't the right one either. In order to change my indifferent attitude, I kept recalling what Mallory had said about the mission earlier, and, to my surprise, I couldn't focus on the information properly. The only image I had in my mind was the one of my supervisor looking incredibly dashing in his suit. I tried to forget his mysterious green eyes, as I continued to browse the files and photos of Abbruscato and his friends.

I got both bored and hungry really quickly. I didn't intend to eat much, because I remembered I would spend the upcoming evening with James Bond. Sure, he mentioned only "a drink", but I predicted he wouldn't like to spend the whole date having just one drink. I’d lie if I said I didn’t expect a fancy dinner.

I started to dress up as 8 P.M. got closer (Bond was supposed to pick me up one hour later). I wasn't sure what kind of outfit would be appropriate, because it all depended on Bond’s views on the character of our date. If it was just a drink, an evening dress would be definitely too much, and I didn't want to end up as overdressed for the occasion. On the other hand, it was more or less obvious that Bond would wear one of his favourite suits - maybe not one of his most luxurious ones, but it would still be a suit.

I didn’t see that coming, but I ended up wearing a violet suit myself. I guess that regardless of his views on the matter, I needed Bond to understand the message. I wasn’t interested in anything else than just a one-night date (not to be confused with a one-night stand)... I didn’t care if he wanted to get to know me better or if he only intended to spend one night with me. My intentions remained the same.

However, it didn’t necessarily mean I looked ordinary. Just the opposite. I found some time to do my hair the way it suited me best, and chose one of my favourite diamond earrings (I bought them years ago after my first pay from the SIS). As usual, I refused to do my make-up (I didn’t even know how to do it... I always preferred my natural look).

When I was ready, I looked in the mirror for one last time, just to make sure my outfit was right. It definitely was. The delicate colour of my suit contrasted my dark brown layered hair. My hair was short and wavy, exposing the diamond drop earrings. It was a deadly look, both powerful and feminine.

I enjoyed the view for a few seconds and out of the blue an insane thought came to my mind: how would it feel if Mallory was gazing at me right now? Would he enjoy the view as much as I did? What would he say...? I closed my eyes and imagined my supervisor sitting behind his wooden desk, as I entered to his office just before going on a date with him. There was a combination of astonishment and delight in his sight when he undid the top button of his deep blue shirt and run his fingers through his hair to seem more attractive.

Such vision turned me on really quickly. I got a chill, and then I suddenly realized I shouldn’t have been fantasizing about M. He was my supervisor after all and I was dead sure he wouldn’t reciprocate my interest. And apart from that, he was probably married... Oh, come on. M wouldn’t comment on my look. He would just instruct me to stop smiling so foolishly and focus on the mission.

It was only a few minutes left until 9 P.M. I looked through the window and saw Bond’s silver Aston Martin DB10 parked outside. He might be a bit annoying if you focus on his enormous ego, but this guy’s got style, I thought. I was ready, so I locked my apartment and went down.

Bond was standing next to his Aston Martin, looking like a million dollars in his grey suit. Or maybe the suit was silver, just like his car. I couldn’t tell because of the night’s darkness.

“Evening, Targett,” he said with his hands still in his pockets. “We meet again.”

“Evening, Bond,” I replied, trying to form a smirk on my face. “Impressive. You already know my surname. And I wondered how you knew where I lived...”

He smiled.

“Did I just surprise one of our best secret agents?”

“Not so loud! I thought you were more responsible than that,”, I sighed.

He came closer to me and murmured into my ear: “I thought so too, but it seems your presence affects me so much... I lose my mind easily.” He looked me right in the eye as he opened the car door.

...

That Aston Martin car was really *something*. I’ve never even *seen* such an expensive car in my life, so I didn’t feel truly relaxed riding shotgun. When Bond started the engine and tried to look at me, I avoided his sight, turning my head to the right window. I felt a bit ashamed. I observed the city streets as we travelled into the night. London seemed quite peaceful in the evening. Me and Bond were both quiet and after a few minutes I heard a tender melody. It matched how I felt inside. At first, it felt kind of weird and uncomfortable to listen to the song, as I wondered if the words had some hidden meaning.

... but I can’t see a thing in the sky I only have eyes for you...

I turned to Bond.

“This song really does create an atmosphere,” I stated.

“It’s the Flamingos,” said Bond. “One of those really old songs I happen to enjoy.”

“Oh,” I teased him.

“Don’t you like it?” he asked and you could observe a small sign of concern at the corner of his mouth, even though his voice sounded as overconfident as usual.

... maybe millions of people go by But they all disappear from view And I only have eyes for you...

“Just the opposite. I love it,” I laughed loudly, and then realized I had absolutely no idea where we were going. “So where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see. I do not plan to ruin the surprise,” Bond answered immediately, catching a glimpse of me. Another double-meaning song came from the speakers.

... I don't have plans and schemes And I don't have hopes and dreams I don't have anything Since I don't have you...

...

It turned out Bond had invited me to his own apartment. It was pretty small and unarranged, as he probably didn’t spend a lot of time there. But honestly, it didn’t matter at all to me. I instantly forgot where I was, because Bond did everything he could to make me feel truly special.

“Can I offer you a drink?”

I decided to use my best weapon: a joke.

“Isn’t that the purpose of my visit here?”

He laughed. “This is the exact reason why I like you, Targett. The sense of humour which doesn’t allow you to take everything people say too seriously.”

“Is that the *only* reason to like me?” I teased him again.

He showed that *famous* Bond smirk and refused to comment on my question. “So, what is your pleasure?”

“A glass of dry red wine will do.”

He poured me a glass and let me sit behind the table. It took him a while to serve me a dinner, which, to my surprise, he had prepared himself earlier. I still can’t remember what we have eaten, but it definitely was delicious.

“How was it?” asked Bond with curiosity in his eyes.

“Do we really have to talk about work?” I replied, being clearly disappointed with the topic of our conversation.

“We don’t, but actually I have one question for you,” he insisted.

I agreed to hear that one question. A forced smile appeared on my face.

“Shoot,” I said.

He laughed at me again. “I have to admit I didn’t expect a different reaction from someone whose name’s *Targett*,” he said and looked me directly in the eyes. “This is a name for the job, isn’t it?”

“Yeah”, I replied, still faking the smile.

“So,” said Bond after he took a sip from his glass, “which of the numbers has been assigned to you?”

“Assigned?” I faltered. “It hasn’t been assigned to me, I have chosen it.”

“Oh, really? Tell me,” he requested.

“You know, when I came to M’s office earlier today he passed me a list of spare double-0 numbers. Then he ordered me to pick one of them and I had no doubts...”

“Interesting,” interrupted Bond, and continued to talk, as he noticed my confused face. “Mallory’s never allowed anyone to pick their number before. When there is more than one number to choose from, he does it himself and you just get informed about his decision.”

I was still a bit surprised and I didn’t know how to react.

“That kind of special behaviour,” added Bond, “means Mallory truly likes you.”

His last sentence left me speechless. Putting my thoughts into words wasn’t easy.

“Okay, you’re just confusing me now,” I confessed after a few seconds of silence. “Probably he just respects my previous work and for some reason...” I couldn’t finish the sentence and got a bit annoyed. ”You should stop looking for whatever you’re looking for,” I added, and immediately felt it sounded a bit too harsh.

“His reason is totally understandable,” said Bond calmly. “I would have let you choose your own number anytime... Especially if you looked like that,” he commented, then paused for a while and looked deeply into my hazel eyes. “That violet shade does suit you well. You’re a very attractive woman and you are aware of that.”

I blushed as if I had been caught naked. I couldn’t deny that his words had pleased me, but he didn’t know the reason behind my reaction. The truth was, I imagined that this implicit special treatment from Mallory had been really caused by both my skills and beauty.

“Thank you, James,” I said, realizing I called Bond using his first name for the first time.

“It’s the truth, Katherine,” he replied, refusing to call me by my surname as well. “So...” asked Bond, “... which one’s your number?”

“It’s double-oh-two.”

“Why?”

“It’s a very personal story. I do not think I can tell you right now.”

“All right,” he said and it seemed like he had really understood. “I noticed that you said *double-oohhh* instead of *double-0*. Does it mean anything?”

“Yeah, it means you are interested in only one thing,” I said and started to laugh at him.

...

Later that evening, probably around midnight, Bond ordered a cab for me. He wanted to make sure I got home safe, so he went with me, holding my hand for the whole time. I was fully satisfied with the way our date had gone and I even enjoyed his confident, but gentle touch... However, I couldn’t articulate my feelings when we got out of the cab.

“It was a lovely evening and...,” I struggled with words again that night. “I don’t know how should I thank you for this. I really enjoyed it.”

“A simple kiss would do,” he replied, looking at me with his cold blue eyes. I could tell he was hoping for the prize.

“Thanks, James,” I whispered into his ear and placed a kiss on his right cheek. After a few seconds of silence, I asked: “Is James Bond disappointed?”

“Not at all,” he said, but I didn’t believe him this time. “I’ll have to earn it, I suppose.”

I didn’t answer, I just gave him a smile and then turned around.

...

Even though I knew I had to wake up early and report to Q, I kept wandering around my apartment. Ironically, I was pretty tired, but couldn’t sleep because of the intense emotions I had experienced during the day. First of all, I met my new supervisor and received my first double-0 mission. Then, I went on an *actual* date with James Bond, which had gone better than I could possibly imagine. For a moment I wondered if I began to fall for his charms.

I needed to distract my mind with something, so I checked my e-mails. It seemed like I had received a new one. It was sent at 10 P.M.

002,

Meet me in my office tomorrow after the medical. I will introduce you to 005.

See you there at 11 A.M.

Yours sincerely,

M.

I wasn’t sure if M had mentioned this during our meeting earlier today. It was a long day and in the end the details didn’t matter that much. Wow, I thought. Was he really still working at 10 P.M.? And can you be more specific than him? What a man.

I looked through the window and observed the stars. Peace. Nothing needed to be done until tomorrow. The next day would be full of new experiences. Time to meet both Q and 005, then.

And see Mallory once again before I leave for Switzerland.

***

To be continued.

[wickedbarnes]

Forbidden Fruit (Pt. 3) | Keanu Reeves x Reader

Part 2

WARNING: Daddy kink/issues. Age gap. Smut (18+ readers ONLY).

NOTE: 2nd picture above is the picture of your outfit.

--

If Keanu was a good man, he wouldn't be doing this. If he was anywhere near as good as people told him to be he wouldn't be standing in the shower, letting the cold water run down his back while he had his calloused hand wrap around his own cock.

He wouldn't be stroking it to the thought of his girlfriend's daughter. He wouldn't be hissing and cursing her name underneath his breath. And he definitely wouldn't be fantasizing about her all the time. But here he is, teasing his twitching cock by swirling his thumb around his tip, whimpering at the thought of you being on your knees for him and just being the best girl by running your soft warm tongue on his thick length.

Keanu should be thinking about your mom. Not that he didn't find her attractive, he did. Your mom is very beautiful and there was certainly no denying you got your good looks from her but... Keanu already felt their relationship was reaching its end.

There just wasn't anything left to fight for anymore. They both lived in the same house and yet they acted like complete strangers. Yes, Keanu is busy with his motorcycle company and your mom is busy with her own job, but he couldn't help but feel as if your Mom no longer put the same effort in the relationship. It felt completely one sided.

But they had come to the agreement of trying again. Of trying to see if this would still work. So they had tried to go out for dates, tried to spend more time together and everything was going well so far. Keanu loves your mother, there's no doubt about that. But then you came in.

Not that he's claiming he loves you. But Keanu is certainly lusting over you. Your beauty and innocence is so refreshing to him. And the fact that something filthy hid underneath that innocence drove him crazy. He tried his best to distance himself from you, he really did. But something about you just drew him in. And he couldn't even pinpoint what it was.

So for today, Keanu has made the decision of going out and visit Arch, the company he had co-founded, finish what needs to be finished today instead of working at home. With your mother away for work, he wouldn't even know if he could control himself around you. Not that he didn't like your company, but deep down he knew he needed some time apart from you.

Once he got out of the shower after he just finished a sinful activity in there, Keanu began to dry himself off and began to get ready for work.

Meanwhile, after your interesting encounter with your mother's boyfriend this morning, you had decided to catch up with some of your old friends here in town since it had been quite a while the last time you saw each other. Thankfully, your boss was kind enough to let you get about three weeks off at work. And in all honesty, you deserved to have the break. You worked your ass off in order to have the chance to go back home.

It was already 11 AM and you had took the chance to start getting ready. Rummaging through your closet, you had eventually found an old flowy white mini dress that had cute little puff sleeves. You had completely forgot about this dress and immediately regret that you didn't pack it with you when you moved away. Thankfully, it didn't have any stains on it so you decided to wear that one since it was perfect for a weather like this.

After changing into the dress, you quickly did your make up, making sure you opted for a natural look before you let your hair down from your bun, letting it fall into loose waves. Once you did one last check in your mirror, you grabbed your black purse and shoved in your essentials inside before slipping in a pair of white sandals on.

You were going to meet up with your chilhood friends, Layla and her older brother, Landon who just came home from a business trip in Greece. You were very excited to see them again that when you got out of your room, you immediately collided with Keanu's body causing him to almost lose his balance before his put his other hand on the wall to steady himself while the other grabbed your arm to keep yourself from falling.

"Woah, easy there, sweet girl." Keanu chuckled and you blushed a light shade of pink from embarrassment before you gained your balance and stepped back from him a bit.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." You replied sheepishly, refusing to look at Keanu in the eye after the conversation you two had earlier but it was so hard standing there when you felt his eyes on you.

Keanu took in your appearance and how... innocently tempting you look. The white dress looked so good on you and the fact that it stopped mid-thigh drove him closer to the edge. You looked like a delicate little angel and Keanu wanted so badly to ruin you then and there. To corrupt you like no one else has. But he quickly pushed those sinful thoughts away before he could actually push you up against the wall and devour you.

"You're going out, I see." He spoke after some time, clearing his throat in the process and you nodded your head, finally having the courage to look up at him and Keanu had to fight the urge to cup your face and kiss you roughly on your plump lips.

"Mhm. I'm spending the day with some friends. I'm meeting them downtown at the pizzeria." You smiled and Keanu seemed to perk up at the news.

"Is that so? I'm on my way to work and I usually pass by there all the time. Alberto's Pizzeria, correct?" He asked causing you to nod.

'Oh God, please don't tell me he'll give me a ride.' You silently thought but fate is never at your side.

"Lemme give you a ride, it'll save you some time and effort." He offered and you immediately shook your head causing him to frown a bit.

"N-No! No, it's okay, I can manage. It's not really that far and I don't want you to be late for work." You quickly reasoned out, hoping he would just drop it.

"Nonsense, sweet girl. They can't really scold me for being late if I own the company." He joked, causing you to widen your eyes a bit. You had no idea he owned a company.

"Wait, you own the company you're working at?" You saw the slight blush on Keanu's cheek as he averted his gaze to the floor and smiled bashfully as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I do. I co-founded it with my friend. It's a motorcycle company called Arch." His answer caused you to look at him with amazement written on your face and Keanu chuckled at how adorable you looked.

"That's amazing, Keanu. How many motorcycles have you manufactured?" You asked, genuinely interested with the topic and Keanu's heart swelled in pride once he saw how curious you are to know how his company worked.

Your mom had never been interested with these kind of things. Although she'd listen to Keanu ramble about his love for motorcycles, he could see and sense her disinterest towards the topic that he would just eventually stop talking about it in front of her. He didn't want to bore her with a topic she's not bothering to listen to.

"Well, I can't really count it on my fingers anymore but if you want, I can show you the latest motorcycle we just launched. It's the one we're riding today." His words caused your eyes to lit up as a smile made its way to your face.

"Really? I've never ridden a motorcycle before, I actually want to try it but I don't think my outfit is appropriate for motor riding." Your pouted at the realization and Keanu couldn't help but let out a laugh at your expression as he shook his head.

"Don't worry too much, sweet girl. Come, I'll show it to you." Keanu nodded his head over to the stairs and you followed him down just in time for the door to open to reveal your Mom coming in looking tired as ever.

Your Mom's schedule had recently changed from day shift to night shift. And now, she just came home from work after going overtime. Usually, she'd be home by 8 AM but that wasn't the case today.

"Mama." You greeted softly and made your way towards her and kissing her cheek.

"Hey, baby. You going out?" She asked and you could perfectly see the bags underneath her eyes. She looked so tired. You nodded your head and stepped aside as she went over to greet Keanu.

You silently watched as Keanu dipped his head down and pressed a soft kiss on your mom's lips before giving her a quick hug. It seemed that Keanu already knew how tired your mother was that he immediately let her go upstairs so she could get some rest. But you somehow caught the flash of sadness on his face.

You weren't dumb. You saw how things between him and your mom seemed quite rough lately and you somehow felt guilty for lusting for Keanu behind your mother's back. You quickly looked away when Keanu turned his attention back to you. You two eventually made your way outside the house afted Keanu locked it, making sure no one would break in especially with your Mom at home all alone.

"Wait here, sweetheart." You watched as Keanu made his way to the garage and disappeared inside. You looked around and softly hummed a random song under your breath as you waited patiently for Keanu to come back.

And when he did, your jaw dropped at the sexy looking motorcycle that Keanu rolled out. His company logo plastered on the vehicle. You stepped closer and lightly ran your fingers over to the ride and Keanu stood there, silently watching you observe the vehicle he had proudly made with his partner.

"This is amazing, Keanu, it looks great, it's beautiful." You smiled and Keanu smiled sheepishly at your comment.

"Thank you, sweet girl. This is the Arch KRGT-1. It sounds great and it rides amazing. This one has different other colors of course but I chose to take home the black one." He chuckled.

"It suits you though." You replied causing Keanu to raise his eyebrows at your comment.

"Really now? How so?"

"Uhm... well, it looks sophisticated. It looks great for adventures, I take it you're an adventurous person. It also looks vintage in a way." You paused and looked into his warm brown eyes, "Fast."

Your last word caught Keanu completely off guard. He was old enough to know that was a secret code for something more. Fuck, you were such a huge fucking tease and he couldn't do anything about it although he damn wished he did.

You saw the change in Keanu's expression and how his eyes somehow got darker. His stare eventually got more piercing and you had to look away, gulping. Eventually, Keanu handed you a helmet.

"Put it on for me, baby." He gently ordered you, his voice deeper which made you press your thighs together a bit. He had no idea how badly that voice did things to you.

Taking the helmet from him, you put it on and secured it on place before you stepped aside for a bit and let him get on the vehicle. The sight of him on a fucking motorcycle almost made you fall onto the concrete floor on your knees.

You knew Keanu wearing a white v-neck shirt, jeans, boots along with a black leather jacket made him more delicious than he already is but him wearing that outfit while riding a motorcycle, you were thankful your panties weren't hitting the floor at this moment.

Keanu put his helmet on and secured it on his head before looking back at you.

"Hop on, baby, just grab onto my shoulders." He smiled and you nodded your head as you placed your foot on the footpeg before grabbing onto Keanu's shoulders as you swung your left leg over to the other side until you lowered yourself down onto the seat.

"Good girl." He praised, his lips tugging into a smirk and you were thankful you're sitting behind him so he couldn't see the blush on your face.

"Put your arms around my waist, honey." Keanu instructed and you immediately obliged as you wrapped your arms slowly around his waist and you somehow felt his body tensing a bit under your touch before he relaxed. Interesting.

"Hold on tight, baby. We're going fast today." You giggled at his comment and with that, Keanu started the engine and rode away from your house, smiling at the feeling of the wind hitting his face while your arms were securely wrapped around his waist.

This was the first time you had ridden a motorcycle and you couldn't believe you hadn't tried and done this before. You had co-workers who offered you a ride on their motorcycle passed up the opportunity since they had always got off before you did. You were happy Keanu had offered you to ride with him.

Keanu had even gone a little faster which caused you to squeal and playfully hit him on the shoulder and you could hear his melodius laugh over the noise of the busy street. You had eventually reached the pizzeria and you could see Layla and Landon waiting inside as they conversed with each other, they hadn't seen you yet.

As Keanu parked his motorcycle to the side, you carefully got off and took off the helmet he lended for you and gave it to him with a smile on your face.

"Thank you, Keanu, that was really fun." You giggled and Keanu bowed down his head for you.

"The pleasure was all mine, mi lady." He replied in a posh british action which made you burst out laughing.

"Hey, that was a great British accent." He says, his lips pouting and you had tried your best to stop your giggles and the sight caused Keanu's lips to tug into a grin.

"Never said it wasn't." You teased before you looked back at the restaurant, "Well, I best be on my way. Thank you for the ride, Keanu, I really appreciate it."

"It was no big deal, baby. Just gimme a call if you need a ride home, okay?" You blushed at his offer but nodded your head in response as you watched him start up the motorcycle once again.

"Drive safely, okay?" You said in a soft voice which made Keanu smile.

"I will, sweet girl. Have a nice day today. And be safe."

"Same goes for you." And with that, Keanu rode away with his motorcycle and you gave him a little wave which he saw in his side mirror.

This was a very good day for him.

--

It was around 10 PM by the time you got home and thankfully, Landon had brought his car with him and gave you a ride home. You had thanked them for a wonderful day before you had walked up to the front door and opened it with your keys.

Your Mom is already at work by now and you assumed Keanu is already asleep since he went to work today. You guessed he was just as tired as you are. Dropping your purse on the coffee table, you made your way to the kitchen to drink some water when you heard some noises upstairs.

After taking big gulps of water, you put the empty glass in the sink and carefully made your way upstairs where you heard the noises starting to progress louder making you freeze in place. It was Keanu.

You heard his muffled groans and his moaning and despite the fact the noises caused your cunt to go wet, you really weren't planning on walking in on him having sex with your Mom but that seemed impossible. Your Mom was at work and you didn't hear anyone else with him. Unless your mom or whoever it is with him is good at keeping quiet.

You took a deep breath and silently tiptoed your way to the master's bedroom where Keanu had made a mistake of leaving the door slightly open. You didn't know what you were expecting. Did you expect Keanu having sex with your Mom? Yes. Did you expect him having someone else in the bed with him? Perhaps. But did you expect to find him stroking his own fucking cock with his eyes closed and brows furrowed as sinful noises escaped his lips? Certainly fucking not.

This was a sight to see. It seemed that Keanu didn't hear you come home because if he would have, he would've stopped what he was doing. Or maybe... maybe he knew but he decided to continue.

You bit your bottom lip as you watched his hands go up and down on his cock, his thumb swirling around the tip of his cock, smearing the oozing pre-cum all over his shaft and you wanted nothing more than to run your tongue across it, wanting to know how he tastes.

You quietly pushed the door open more to get a much clearer view of Keanu pleasuring himself. You didn't know what came over you but you found yourself hiking up your dress and slipping your hands in between your thighs and teasing your folds over your white laced panties.

The noises he made caused your breathing to go erratic but what completely made you whimper right then and there was when you heard these exact same words that came out of Keanu's lips.

"Oh God, I- Y/N, doll, you're so fucking good, how are you so good, baby?" Keanu groaned as he cupped his balls with his other hand and threw his head back as a growl emits from his mouth, "Fuck, Y/N, you make daddy feel so good."

Your name. You heard your fucking name from him. He was moaning your name. He was masturbating to the thought of you. The fact made you whimper and Keanu's eyes immediately shot open to find you standing at the doorway, hand in between your thighs and lust swimming in your eyes.

You gulped nervously as you saw his dark eyes staring at you. Keanu knew he should get dressed and apologize for whatever it was that he was doing right now. Apologize for letting you see him like this. And apologize for masturbating to you. But he couldn't find himself to do it. Not when you were standing there in front him, possibly touching yourself while he was stroking his own fucking cock.

"I-I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just-" You stammered, not really knowing what to say as you pulled your hand away, embarrassment slowly seeping its way into your body when Keanu had cut you off.

"Come here." His words caught you off guard causing you to stop and stare at him for a moment.

"W-What?" You watched as Keanu smirked before he shifted on the bed as he sat upright with his back against the headboard, his gaze never leaving you.

"I said come here." He repeated himself, his voice gruff and husky.

"You knew better than to watch me, baby doll. You're such a naughty girl, aren't you?" Keanu asked, giving you a shit-eating grin.

Oh, you were fucked.

--

TAGS: @fanficsrusz @a-really-bi-girl @fan-wicktion @baphometwolf666 @mikaneonox @coloursunlimited @ficsnroses @autumnsoidier @paanchu786 @thatonemultifandombeast @glamorizedtrainwreck @keanuvibe @laura-doitnow-rememberitlater @lillytalebi @wiskey-chaser @jokersdoll

[rieraclaelin]

Okay, so because I couldn't decide, you get all the ones you tagged except the last one, because there are only 10 AUs and you tagged 11 ships xD But here goes: 1 Sterek, 2 Steter, 3 Stetopher, 4 Stackson, 5 Drarry, 6 Harringrove, 7 Stucky, 8 Stony, 9 Winterhawk, and 10 Winteriron =D Have fun! xD ♥♥♥

Oh gosh, hi, hello, thanks for this! This will be fun :P Also, this is going to be long, so, I have a feeling I’ll have to add in a read more, which, oops?

1. Coffee shop AU: Who is the barista, and who frequents the coffee shop? (Sterek)

Derek is the barista, and he doesn’t know why Laura always puts him up front to deal with customers. He doesn’t like people, it’s hard for him to talk to them and he knows his smiles look as fake as they feel. But. He promised he’d help Laura out, so, here he is.

They have plenty of regulars, for sure, but it’s Stiles who always catches his attention whenever he comes in to study for finals, or do homework, or for some odd reason just to talk to Derek. And it’s Stiles who Derek gives his first genuine smile to, and later his phone number.

2. Highschool/College AU: Who is the straight-A student, and who’s the backrow slacker? (Steter)

We’ll make this a college AU, but with the age difference, this might be tough. But. Possibly Peter is going back to college later in life, wants to broaden his horizons. It never hurts to be a little smarter, because knowledge is power, and Peter definitely loves having the power. He puts his all in it, out of pride, and also because he gets a thrill with showing these snotty students that are younger than him that he’s smarter than them. He’s an asshole, he knows.

How he ended up getting stuck tutoring Stiles, the brat in the back row who’d rather get the professor going on other topics than what they are learning, he’ll never know. But he thinks it might have been the best thing that has ever happened to him by the end of the semester.

3. Rivals to loves AU: Who takes their rivalry seriously, and who is half in it just to push the other’s buttons? (Stetopher)

Hmmm, I think maybe at first it’s Chris who takes their rivalry seriously. Competing Horse Racing families and all that, it seems like for as long as he can remember the Argents and the Hales never played well together. Peter is the worst out of all the Hales because he clearly doesn’t take it as seriously. It’s obvious that he says stuff or shows up in places where Chris will be at just because he knows it will rile him up. And then that always seems to start a fight, which almost always puts a stupid sparkle in Peter’s eyes, and it makes Chris want to punch him in his stupidly pretty face.

Stiles is the outsider and the one who manages to pull them together, since they both like Stiles, but neither is willing to share unless they are all together. Peter still likes to rile up Chris, and Stiles, the gorgeous little shit that he is, joins right in, but that’s okay. Chris knows how to handle them both now in a way that makes them all happy.

4. Enemies to lovers AU: Which one switches sides? (Stackson)

For as long as Jackson can remember he’s been envious of Stiles. He had everything Jackson has ever wanted. A family he’s close with, a family who loves him, friends always by his side. Sure, Stiles doesn’t have the money that Jackson has, but despite what he might say to those around him, money can’t actually buy him happiness. So he takes his envy out on Stiles with anger, and Stiles dishes everything right back to Jackson. It makes him itch for more because no matter how much they snarl at each other, it never seems to satisfy that fluttery feeling inside his chest whenever he’s around Stiles.

It’s only after one of their arguments outside of a grocery store -- where Stiles stormed off towards his Jeep when a driver who wasn’t paying attention slams into Stiles -- that Jackson realizes that maybe that something in his chest is more of the pining feeling. He sits in the hospital room with Stiles every day until he’s released, and his words become a little nicer, his eyes a little softer. The first time Stiles grabs his hand and holds it, well, Jackson feels the walls crumble to dust.

5. Soulmate AU: Who is eager to meet their soulmate? Who absolutely does not want to meet their soulmate? (Drarry)

Draco looks forward to meeting his soulmate. He knows whoever it is will have to be smart, and witty, like him, to keep him on his toes. Surely fate wouldn’t send him someone boring and dull. He gets enough of that with the snooty families his parents invite to parties. He wants someone who will give him adventure, and excitement. So, yes, he’s very eager to meet his soulmate.

Harry, on the other hand, not so much. His whole life has been decided for him by other people, and when he learns that he is a wizard, he learns that part of that includes having a soulmate. He doesn’t need fate telling him who he can and cannot fall in love with, thank you very much. He decides to do everything he can to ignore the fact that he has a soulmate. But an irritating blond git by the name of Malfoy seems to have other plans.

6. Single parent AU: Which one is the single parent? (Alt. if they’re both single parents: Which one is open to starting a new relationship from the start? Which one is never planning on finding love again… Until they meet the other and are instantly smitten?) (Harringrove)

Steve is the newly single parent living in an apartment building with his two-month-old daughter, Josie, and he has no idea what he’s doing, oh god, why is he in charge of this tiny little human, how he is supposed to be a single parent, and he has no idea why she’s crying, she’s been fed, she’s been changed, he’s burped her, he’s sang to her, he’s rocked her, he’s so sleep-deprived, and there’s no way he can do this, and...

Billy is the one who can’t handle the crying anymore, comes knocking on Steve’s door. He takes one look at this frazzled man with his hair sticking up everywhere and his eyes red like he’s about to start crying as loudly as the baby. He’s obviously about to have his own meltdown, so Billy decides right there and then that he’s going to help out as much as possible.

They are living together by the time Josie turns one.

7. Doctor AU: Which one is the longsuffering doctor? Which one is the patient? (Stucky)

Bucky is a doctor in the emergency room. He loves his life, usually. It’s busy, keeps him on his toes, and there’s rarely a dull moment. Sometimes it’s a little too busy, but, that’s part of being a doctor in an emergency room.

It’s rare that he has many repeat patients. Or, at least, not often enough that he remembers them. But Steve... Steve is something else. If he’s not in treating his asthma, he’s in because he decided to play hero again and met someone with a nastier punch who wasn’t afraid to pick on someone half their size.

Steve’s cute, and Bucky would really like to be able to sit down and talk to him over coffee sometime without having to stitch him up first.

8. Bodyguard AU: Who is the bodyguard? Who are they protecting? Which one is secretly pining for the other? (Stony)

Steve is hired to be Tony’s bodyguard after Tony was kidnapped and held for ransom for his family’s fortune. He managed to escape all on his own (and somehow blew up the warehouse he was being held in, oops), but despite the fact that he could, and did, look after himself, his mother insisted on a bodyguard.

Steve is, well. He takes his job very seriously. A little too seriously for Tony’s liking. But he is nice, whenever he can get him talking, and he treats his robots as if they are actual human beings. It’s not until he catches Steve reading, of all things, to DUM-E one day that he realizes he’s falling in love with Steve. What even is his life?

9. Pirate AU: Who is the pirate? Who is the member of the royal family who did not sign up for this? (Winterhawk)

Clint ran away from his dad and brother when he was fifteen and stowed away on a ship. He didn’t know at the time that the owner of the ship was the famous Pirate Romanoff, and by the time he found out they were already well out to sea. He thought for sure he was going to be killed, but instead, Romanoff took Clint in, taught him how to live a pirate’s life. Ten years later and he has his own crew and his own ship.

A Hydra ship attacks him one night, but he and his crew manage to take them down. It’s while Clint is looting their ship for goods that he discovers the young nobleman chained in their cargo hold. He’s clearly a prisoner, and the way his arm is laying makes Clint think that it’s been broken in more than one place. The chances of him not losing that arm are very slim, but Clint decides to take him on his ship and take him to shore for help. He later learns his name is Bucky, and he makes his displeasure quite known the whole way to port, where Clint learns that Bucky, unfortunately, loses part of his arm. He stays around town for a while to help out, but eventually, needs must, and Clint and his crew prepare to depart.

It ends up as a pleasant shock to Clint, and Bucky, when he decides to come back aboard after he’s been released.

10. Childhood best friends AU: Which one was super obviously in love with the other the whole time? Who was oblivious until they were older? (Winteriron)

Tony and Bucky have been best friends since they were ten. Steve moved away, and yeah, Steve will always be Bucky’s first best friend, but, still. Steve left, and talking on the phone and seeing each other a weekend here and there just wasn’t the same. Bucky met Tony, and they hit it off quickly, and they have been best friends ever since. Steve even likes him, which is a bonus, since all three of them can hang out together whenever Steve can come to visit.

It isn’t until they move in together to save money during college that Bucky realizes that he’s in love with Tony and has been for most of his life. He tries to hide it once he realizes, but, Steve always did say that he had a terrible poker face. He’s not sure if Tony just doesn’t know, or if he’s being kind and not saying anything, but he’s thankful that Tony has never brought it up. He doesn’t want to ruin what they have, and he’s sure that jumping into any sort of relationship would do just that.

It takes Tony another year and a half before he realizes that Bucky has feelings for him, and once he does, it’s like the floodgates open and he couldn’t stop his own feelings from coming even if he wanted to. Which he absolutely does not want to stop them, thank you very much.

Wow, yeah, that came out long! Sorry! This is probably the most “writing” I have done in a long, long time :P

Ask me some more OTP Questions!

[purplesurveys]

1029

[found at: zelthie]

What were you doing before you got on the computer? I took a long-ass shower after the humid nightmare that was today.

Is there anything you really want right now? I wish I had some pastry to go with my iced coffee. I miss my studying sessions at coffee shops :( and it’s not like I’ll get to have them again once Covid is over, because I’m not even in school anymore. Sigh. Also, a longer weekend. I can hardly believe it’s Sunday again tomorrow, and that after that will be Monday again. I love my work, but I also want to reeeeeeeeest.

What's the best gift you've ever gotten? Probably the front-row concert tickets my dad got me for Paramore. Outside of my parents, I really appreciated the scrapbook Gabie made for me three years ago. It turned out to be the first and only handmade gift she’d ever make for me, so I think of it fondly.

What's a song you think the world needs to listen to? Idk, people have different tastes and so it may not be possible to name a song that would successfully appeal to everybody.

Has there ever been a person you regret ever being friends with? As much as I like to firmly believe that regretting friendships should be avoided as much as possible because those people made me happy at one point, I’ve got nothing nice to say about Marielle.

Do you think you have a good understanding on love? I don’t know anything anymore.

You just discovered a new color! What would you name it? No thanks, please don’t ask me to be creative any time of the day.

What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Cookies and cream, and recently, chocolate chip cookie dough.

What do you want to do on your honeymoon? I have not had one but should I do, I’d love to go somewhere non-beachy for a change.

What's one thing you remember learning in school? Spelling difficult words. English (the language, not literature) was my favorite subject in middle school and I always liked the pop spelling quizzes we had. There are some words I could still remember getting wrong, like ‘rendezvous’ and ‘coup d’etat’ but I was always excited about learning their correct spellings so that I could start using them on my own time as well.

Are you more of a cat or dog person? Dog for sure.

How do you want to be remembered by people? [trigger warning] Idk. Whenever I think about...leaving, I always also think about leaving some kind of note instructing whoever’s in charge of stuff to keep things hushed, because I don’t want the whole thing to be a big deal and for it to spread. I don’t really want to be remembered for anything.

Do you like road trips? Yaaaaaaaaas. As long as I’ve got the right playlist that’s also long enough as well as several seasons of Friends, I’d be good to go.

Do you think Medical Marijuana should be legalized? I haven’t read much about it and that topic in general is still widely taboo over here, but I personally have nothing against it.

If you were forced to dye your hair another color, what color would you get? Brown.

Excited for anything? My first paycheck :D :D

What do you think of your parent(s)? They’re doing their best.

Are your grandparents dead? Just one.

What celebrity do you think should have never become famous? Amber Heard and the Paul brothers.

What's your favorite thing to do online? Watch stuff on YouTube. These days I’ve been revisiting wrestling again so I’ve been watching loads of matches and promos I enjoyed throughout my teenage years. I’m scared to dip my toes into today’s content though, because I barely know anyone anymore and there would be a lot of storylines I’d have to get acquainted with; but idk, I might get there someday.

Are you glad George W. Bush is out of office? I didn’t know his presidency all that well because I was way too young when he was still in office. Apparently he’s not very popular.

If you could appear on any TV show, what show would you choose? I’ve always wanted to try out The Amazing Race. I was definitely hooked to that show as a kid.

What does your full name look like without the letters t,a,i,o,e,l,n or s? Rby.

Your mood summed up into one word? Emotionless. I’m literally not feeling anything at the moment, but this is still a lot better than being miserable so I’ll take it.

How often do you talk to other people about the weather? Only when we’re experience extremes, like if it’s painfully, annoyingly hot out or if there’s a bad typhoon. Otherwise I try to find something else to talk about.

Are you doing anything else besides taking this survey right now? Nope, my full attention is on here.

What's a name you wouldn't mind having? At this point, I’ve learned to be okay with my name and don’t feel the need to whine about it anymore.

What's your favorite thing to wear that you own? My mom jeans or denim jacket.

What do you think of Barbie dolls? Boring, mostly. I grew up with boys, so we had more toys marketed for boys and those are what I ended up liking more.

When you were little, did you ever want to go to Disneyland? Not really.

Do you currently have a job? What kind of job do you *want* to have? I do. I’m already in the job/career I had wanted and aimed to be in.

What do you like to do on your free time? Being on YouTube, playing with my dogs, surveys, eating.

What's your relationship with your parents like? With my mom, it’s permanently strained after years of verbal and emotional abuse, but at some point I just learned to live with the trauma – it’s like, we get along these days and we barely get into screaming matches anymore, but at the back of my head I’m still constantly reeling from the hurt she had put me through when I was younger.

My dad and I act like each other’s buddies, but we silently look out for one another. For example he’ll sometimes make a plate of corndogs just for me while I’m at work, and that’s his way of saying “Are you ok? Here, have this. I’m worried about you” without ever having to say it to my face.

Do you own any pets? Yes, I’ve got two dogs.

How many places have you traveled to? Six countries and all over my own country, except Mindanao.

Do you own a cell phone? If so, what kind? iPhone 8.

What are your goals for the future? For things to fall into place, whatever that would bring me.

What's your favorite kind of drink? Just plain old cold water, or coffee.

Did you ever get into the Twilight saga craze? What about the Harry Potter craze? I was (and am, heheh) into Twilight; I wasn’t into Harry Potter.

Where is your mind at: The Past, the Present, the Future, or all around? My mind tends to make space for all three of these.

What's a really good movie you've seen recently? I haven’t seen any films recently but I am planning to watch Ammonite, which I have high hopes and expectations for.

Are you happy where you are right now? Career-wise, yes. As for everything else...could be a little better.

What's the first thing you thought in your head when you woke up today? AHHHHHHH SATURDAY.

If your best friend confessed that they can see the future, you would...? Ask how they were able to get such an ability.

Write a random quote that comes to your head: I’ve been watching Friends all day so the first set of quotes I thought of upon reading this question was, “I just don’t want to face three failed marriages.” “At what point did you think this was a successful marriage?” hahahahaha.

What's your opinion on milk chocolate? Like it, but sometimes can be too sweet.

What about Dark Chocolate? I don’t like dark chocolate bars themselves – too bitter; but I don’t mind it being incorporated in other sweets, like cookies that have dark chocolate bits.

You do know that white chocolate isn't even really chocolate, right? Yes. But it’s my favorite kind.

Do you get annoyed when surveys mention a band you've never heard of? If they mention it excessively or if they name too many unfamiliar bands, then I’m likely to get annoyed, yeah. But I skim through potential surveys anyway, so if I observe that a survey has too many music references I can’t relate to then I just don’t take it.

What's your opinion about Katy Perry's song "I kissed a girl"? Cool song and ahead of its time tbh, but she has so many other better singles.

What's your least favorite pizza topping? Pepperoni, beef, and pineapples.

What would you do if you discovered the US was now drafting for the war? Don’t care.

Are you even living in America, or are you from another country? Bingo for the latter.

What's your favorite social website? Twitter.

Do you believe in heaven? If so, what's it like? If not, why? No. I associate heaven with gods or higher beings, so believing in it would just kill the point of being atheist. I do like to find comfort in some sort of afterlife where I’m not in pain and am reunited with all my loved ones, though. I don’t necessarily believe in it, but it’s just comforting to think about and makes death a lot less scary.

What's your favorite video game? Super Smash Bros. Brawl would probably be my all time favorite. I do plan to get Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Switch, so that might get dethroned soon.

In your opinion, is Bzoink the best place to find fun surveys? Yes.

What's your opinion of high school? It only got fun once I found the right friends. Without them, I’m sure my experience would have been miserable.

Do you prefer the country or city? City.

Texting: Is it fun, evil, boring, or none of the above? It can be all of these things depending on the context of the conversation.

What email service do you use for your main (or only) email account? I’m mainly on Gmail. I have an Outlook account that’s still active, but I’ve been listing it less and less for social media sites.

What's your favorite dumb pick-up line? I don’t do pick-up lines, really. I find the entire concept pretty lame.

What are your plans for the next 48 hours? I got hooked to Friends again, so I’ll probably continue watching for the whole of tomorrow. For Monday, I’ll be at work again.

Did you ever read "Captain Underpants" when you were little? Yes. I lovedddd those books, but I always had to read them in secret (my cousin owned the books and I just asked to borrow) because my mom disapproved of them. My favorites were the Flip-O-Rama sections.

What's better: The old Cartoon Network, or the new one? Or do you not care? I’m not aware of the new version, so that leaves me with one choice. Generally, though, Cartoon Network was my least favorite channel out of the big 3 of kids’ channels.

Disney Channel shows are all pretty cheesy, aren't they? The ones they air today are, but maybe I’m just saying that because I’m already outside of their target demographic.

What's your opinion on the Jonas Brothers? I can’t think of a reason to dislike them. They’ve always been likeable, whether as individuals or as a band.

What are some of your favorite singers/bands? Beyoncé, Paramore, Hozier, alt-J, Coldplay, Against Me!, The Japanese House are the main favorites I like mentioning.

Why do the lead singers in bands always get the most recognition?! Probably because they’re the ones mainly heard. I always recognize all the members in my favorite bands, though.

Did you ever believe in the Tooth Fairy? I did, but when I didn’t receive any money  after placing my tooth under my pillow, my hopes and belief got shattered pretty quickly.

What's your favorite type of weather? Cold, cloudy, and rainy.

What's your opinion on reading books? I think it’s great when people are able to find the time to read books, and lots of them. I wish I didn’t grow out of it.

You're given a chance to act in a Hollywood Blockbuster! Would you accept? Nope.

What it if it was a movie directed by Tim Burton?(He directed Sweeney Todd) He ranks pretty low for me. He’s a great director and I respect his craft, but his filmography is not a personal favorite of mine.

How do you feel about Taco Bell? I wish I can have it more often, but we only have two branches in the Philippines and they are both far away.

Are you hungry right now? I can honestly go for a snack right now :/ Like chicken tenders or pad thai. I’m super tempted to order from Grab since I have more than enough cash on me, but I don’t want to be irresponsible with my money so very early on lol

How often do you go on to Youtube? Everyday, and most of everyday.

It's possible to be addicted to anything... What are you addicted to? Curry.

What's your opinion of Wallgreens? Unfamiliar.

Back when Spongebob Squarepants was famous, were you interested in it? Yes, it was my favorite cartoon.

What's your dream pet? Dogs.

You see a mermaid while relaxing on the beach with friends. What now? Think that it’s probably a social experiment and let them be.

Who's been your favorite teacher growing up, and why? My music teacher always gave amazing life advice alongside her lessons, and she was so graceful and so classy and she simply invited respect everywhere she went. I’ve always wanted to be like her.

When you were little, did you ever like Pokemon? Yes. I watched the anime and collected Pokemon pogs and cards. My cousin had a lot of the video games and I’d watch him play those, while my sister had a couple of Pokemon books that explained each Pokemon.

How often do you get headaches? These days, everyday. Hahaha work is super hectic.

Do you have any songs stuck in your head right now? If so, what? Saw You In A Dream by The Japanese House.

[organized-chaotic-disaster]

5 8 and 12 for the asks!

Ah thanks for sending an ask!! o: let’s see...

5. What’s a new hobby/interest you’ve gotten into since quarantine started?

I’m, uh... pretty boring tbh 😅 I haven’t really picked up anything new per se, but during summer I got a LOT of writing done for my novel, so that’s neat! It’s largely due to a combination of COVID restrictions, having more time because I wasn’t taking classes, and getting to some scenes I’ve been looking forward to writing for literal years!

8. Have you picked up a new identity label since quarantine started?

This one’s kind of a weird one? Because yes and no. Be warned, this gets quite rambly and maybe a little personal? Not in a way that I’m uncomfortable with, but some others might be (it’s entirely sfw tho)

A while back, I was exposed to the idea that some people consider PCOS to be an intersex condition/something that qualifies someone as being intersex. I didn’t think much of it for a while because of some backlash I got when I made a post asking about it (basically people saying “that’s dumb, PCOS doesn’t make someone intersex, it’s a FEMALE condition,” backlash which I know now was worded in an aggressive way and comes across as very icky). It wasn’t until early this year that I thought about it again and started thinking more about it and my own feelings toward how it impacted my relationship with gender. It all started with something that’s honestly completely irrelevant to the topic, but it planted a seed, essentially, but this was around the same time quarantine was starting

I’m still thinking it through tbh. I do feel my best when connected with femininity, but part of me feel like I’m not entirely feminine? Though I do have some rare moments when I do feel completely feminine. I’ve been sort of privately trying out some different labels, primarily genderfluid, genderflux, girlflux, genderqueer, nonbinary, or intergender if I feel comfortable identifying as intersex. I’m not sure if I’ll ever fully figure it out? But we’ll see. Gender is weird sadfsSDKLFJKDLSJF

I’m kind of scared that I’m just faking it tbh, like, though my PCOS does impact my body to behave differently than a typical AFAB person, but it’s certainly not as extreme as other cases I’ve seen? So it feels like an overreaction at times. And even then, one’s physical body doesn’t dictate their gender, so why am I so stuck on that in the first place? 

I will say that I have a much more nuanced understanding of gender than I had before or would have had if not for the PCOS, at the very least lmao

12. Have you experienced anything new, fun, or exciting during these past few months?

Ehhhhhh I mean kinda sorta? Like, a lot has changed, but also not a lot has changed, if that makes any sense

My sister moved out to rent a basement suite with her best friend, so that’s been a pretty major change! And I moved from my room to her old room, which I’m LOVING (my old room was tiiiiiiiny, my new one is bigger and frankly much better. I actually have a desk now!!!! I used to do everything on my bed but now I have a desk and don’t have to ruin my back!!!!)

I also saved up to buy a used car this summer! I was planning on saving before COVID started tbh, it’s something I’d been planning to do for a while. My old car, the one I learned to drive in, was a 2005 Toyota Echo, so it was very old, My parents bought it back when my sister was learning how to drive, which would be... 10 years ago at this point? My current car is a 2015 Honda Fit, so a 10 year difference in models is a nice upgrade :P

Something else that’s changed is my antidepressant medication! I used to take trintellix, which was... okay? But tbh it was so much more expensive than it was worth or than I could afford, so I decided to switch to sertaline, which is completely covered by my (admittedly limited) school health insurance ;v; I personally feel like it’s helped more than trintellix, so that’s also nice! The main thing is I get acid reflux more easily now but it’s a decent tradeoff in my books

Thanks again for the ask!! I hope you have a lovely night <3