#Angel + Spike 10

[madeleinelovescolours]

Buffy fans can have a little gaslighting

As a treat

[alfhildr-the-word-weaver]

I was thinking about how a lot of people who are into the Vampire Diaries are also into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and how there are some obvious parallels between the shows and between the relationships of Angel & Buffy and Stefan & Elena and then Spike & Buffy and Damon & Elena, but obviously they aren't exactly the same ships or characters, and it's made me curious. Fans of both, is there a correlation in what you ship?

[wolfstrong]

Giles sicko mode

[oveliagirlhaditright]

So, I've decided to try and look at pics I had on my old laptop and post any of them that I meant to, before I probably end up giving it to my sister. And I came across this one that I saved some ages ago.

I'm actually not certain about this at all... but is that the necklace she received from Angel, that Buffy's looking at in the fourth panel? It doesn't entirely look like it. But I think I've seen depictions of it in other Buffy comic art, where it wasn't drawn 1:1. And maybe some artistic liberties were taken here. Or maybe it isn't it and is just another of Buffy's cross necklaces. -shrugs-

But part of me thinks it might make sense if it is, given Buffy and Spike's conversation here. It's them talking about if they made the right decision regarding the Vampyr book, where you can now write the new rules of magic into it--or if perhaps they just made the easy one--and Buffy perhaps having regrets much here, and she's looking at the necklace for part of the discussion here (a double meaning could certainly be going on).

And we definitely saw in season 10 (actually, this is also season 10), Buffy wondering when Angel came to help the Scoobies with a mission, if she was making the right decision in choosing Spike over him. Like, she was with Spike at the time. But it almost seemed like she could have possibly been persuaded to break up with him and get back with Angel, perhaps, if things had gone a certain way. And Buffy was definitely debating things there. Though that didn't end up happening, of course. (I've posted some of those comic panels in another post. I don't think I'll be redundant and do so again. But if someone wants me to, maybe I will.)

But we also know that even though a side of Buffy does want to be with Angel (though she is also interested in exploring what she and Spike could be; don't get me wrong), a part of her feels like she can't be. Because after the whole Twilight thing in season 8--which was of course following the Angelus thing in season 2--she's now worried that she and Angel are just doomed. And she's not allowed to want that. And any time they try to be together, death and destruction follows.

That's what Buffy means with the "hurting the people I care about" line above.

But by season 12, she seems to be over it and is interested in Angel again. Perhaps because they pretty much eliminate a good portion of all threats forever? And she doesn't think their relationship could ever be a threat to anyone anymore? Maybe? Edit: Also probably because I'm, like, 90% sure Illyria bound Angel's soul at the end of the story.

[jilixthinker]

i always know

=͟͟͞♡ seungmin × fem!reader

=͟͟͞♡ fluffy period sex

word count: 4K

content warning: smut, explicit sexual content, established relationship, kinda sub!seungmin, period sex, unprotected sex (piv), fingering, oral sex (f receiving), it's grafic and fluffy

a/c: i wrote this for my pure enjoyment because period!sex should be debunked and seungmin is just so... fitting. enjoy this ♡

=͟͟͞♡ please, consider reblogging if you like my works!

"What do you need again?"

Seungmin's voice is ruffled and far. You can hear people talking in the background and the annoying beeping sounds of cash registers.

"Just the regular pads I always buy." You huff, hot bottle strategically placed on your lower stomach and phone on speaker. The fact that you had to do anything today is literally a crime. You had to go to work, 8 infinite hours of cramps and shivers, and then grocery shopping. And, of course, you forgot to buy your pads.

Seungmin finished his shift 30 minutes ago, and he called to check on you, asking if you were feeling like eating Chinese for dinner. That's when it popped into your mind.

"Uhm. The purple ones, right?". You can hear him searching through the boxes to find the right one.

"Yes, just those." You mutter, another dart of dull pain spikes through your abdomen, making you curl on yourself.

The painkiller you took with lunch wore off hours ago and you cannot take another one without eating before, or it will upset your stomach.

"Okay. 10 minutes and I'll be home. I am so sorry".

You roll from your side onto your back, hugging the hot bottle tighter to your tummy and drawing your knees towards your chest. Kim Seungmin is the best boyfriend in the entire world, a true angel, and you know it. That's why you say it all the time.

"Kim Seungmin, you are the best boyfriend in the entire world."

Seungmin's laugh is quiet and shy while you hear him paying for your box of pads.

"I'm not. Coming."

You close your eyes trying to relax, but it doesn’t work. You watch your own chest rise and fall in the overwhelming quiet of the room until the silence is too much, and you look for the remote, stuck under the million of cushions on your sofa. You put one of your favorite kdramas on, and you lazily start to watch it until you hear the sound of keys just outside the door.

You sit up, keeping your hot bottle on your stomach. The sound is followed by the shuffle of footsteps and the sound of Seungmin's soft voice.

"Hi." He waves as soon as he sees you, splayed on the couch.

"Hi," you respond. You try to keep the discomfort out of your voice, even if Seungmin knows how much painful your periods can be. Your pale face doesn't hide anything as well.

He rounds the corner and he tilts his head at you. His new blondish hair partially covers his puppy eyes, but it makes him look so soft and cuddly that you don't mind.

"Are you alright?". He asks you while he starts to set the table for the take-out.

"Yeah, fine". You rub your face and move against the arm of the couch. "Always the same".

"Mhm." Seungmin nods and places two napkins and your chopsticks on the table before heading for the kitchen. You watch him opening two boxes of stir fried noodles and one of caramelized tofu, together with some mushrooms and veggies.

"Ready." He smiles and comes toward you, offering his hand as a support for standing up. When you both sit at the table, he fills your plate before his.

"Why are you so sweet today?" You ask, picking up your chopstick and starting munching on some veggies.

He ducks his head with a cute wink. "I am always sweet. Also, you are hurting." He squeezes your hand and brings it to his mouth, kissing your knuckles. You stuff a piece of tofu inside your mouth.

"I am not hur-".Then another cramp twists through your lower belly and you groan.

"Oh, love." He coos, and looking up, you realize he has a worried look in his eyes. "Wait, let me help you eat".

Before you can mount any protest, he takes your chopsticks from your hands and bring a piece of tofu and mushrooms in front of your mouth. You look at him steadily.

"I am not a child." You huff, but the pain humbles you quickly with a sharp cramp.

"How many times have you mothered me when I was sick? Let me pamper you every once in a while." And then he looks at you with the softest eyes he could master. "Please?"

You lift your legs to place them on his laps and you silently open your mouth. The flavorful taste of the food calming your senses just a little. Seungmin alternates one mouthful of food for you and one for himself for a few minutes. The vision is so caring and sweet that makes your heart ache.

When you both finish eating, Seungmin places a tiny kiss on your cheek before starting to clear the table. You patiently wait for him to finish and, when he is done, he hands you a big glass of water with one of your painkillers.

"I feel awful". You admit after chugging the pill together with half of the water.

Seungmin nods, and he gently circles your hips with his arm, helping you standing up again. He rests one of his hands on your hipbone and caresses it. "What can I do?".

"Nothing, Min." you reply. "I'm not dying. It will pass, eventually. It happens every month". You glare and hope he can stop worrying that much before you start feeling guilty.

"Why don't you choose something nice to watch while I prepare the bed and make another hot bottle?"

The thought of you two cuddling on your warm bed until the painkillers kick in and you can fall asleep is very tempting.

"Sure. I am gonna change my pad real quick and put my pajamas on."

Seungmin smiles and you pick up the box he bought for you from a shopping bag, heading to the bathroom.

After taking the quickest shower and putting a fluffy set of pajamas, you enter in your room. Seungmin turned on just the background lights, the softer ones, and he is waiting for you under the covers. He created what it seems to be a nest of blankets, soft and warm. You snuggle next to him and he covers you with one of them, the hot bottle waiting for you.

You hug his chest and he places one arm around your shoulders, pressing the bottle on your stomach and making sure you are all covered with the blankets. The TV in front of your bed is already on.

"I don't deserve you." You whisper, nuzzling your nose in the crook of his neck. He smells nice, fresh and clean as always.

"You deserve any of this and more". He turns his head to press a peck on your forehead, and he tightens his hug. You puff some air while snuggling up. The warmth of his body feels just right against your aching stomach, and in just a few seconds you begin to feel better already.

"How can you always find out what I need?" You ask, the sound of your voice is muffled by the skin of his neck, and Seungmin lets out a tiny laugh.

"Well, it's simple. I love you. I always know." He murmurs, settling his hand on the nape of your neck. Your eyes slip shut, you still  feel an uncomfortable tightness in your lower stomach, but it's definitively decreasing.

Seungmin finds the remote control and clicks on the same episode of the drama you were watching before. His touch melts down your skin, warm and soft, soothing the tension of your muscles and bringing you the relief you’ve been craving the whole day.

The voices of the drama seem far while you bring your right leg to straddle Seungmin's.

"This feels so nice". You whisper on his skin.

Seungmin smiles and starts to hum a lullaby. The vibrations are low and you start to think you might even fall asleep like this. Then, another cramp hits you and suddenly you are wide awake again.

"That bad?" Seungmin's hands settle on your hips and travel to your back, massaging your spine in tiny circles, trying to help you with the pain.

"Uhm." You reply. His fingers catch on the hem of your pajamas shirt and he starts to press the pads on your bare skin. He keeps the pressure consistent and your back arches slightly into his. You shuffle closer to him. The heat of his hands on your back is a pleasing distraction from the ache spreading through your pelvis.

"Does it help a little?" He whispers while pressing another kiss on your temple.

"It feels good." You mumble. The noise is muffled in the soft fabric of Seungmin's sweater.

He nods, and for a few minutes he keeps alternating between applying pressure to your back and running his hands up and down your spine. You hum from deep in your chest as you feel yourself go loose in his arms. The cramps on your abdomen lighten and you tilt your head to the side to face him.

"Kiss?" You demand, voice all groggy and low.

Seungmin lowers his face to press his lips against yours. They are plump and soft, and they taste like mint. You lazily open your mouth and let your tongue lap his lower lip. He lets you do it for a bit, until you start nibbling at it and you feel getting restless under the warm covers.

"Getting better?" He asks without letting your mouth go.

You nod and his right hand comes up to cup your cheek. The other one is still on your lower back, caressing the skin over your pajama pants.

Seungmin hums slowly and the sound vibrates into you. He parts his lips and licks into your mouth while your grip on him becomes tighter.

"Can I try something?" He breathes on you. The pressure of his hand on your back is firmer than before, and his fingers feel hot against your sensitive skin.

"Something like?" you stop to look up to him. He looks a little bit flushed, but you're sure you look worse.

"Something than can help you. And something that I wanted to try for a while."

You feel a slight shiver on the skin of your back. You nod and lower your face to press your lips on his cheek, leaving an open mouthed kiss on it. Seungmin cups your chin again and slips the tip of his tongue inside your waiting mouth. You hum pleasantly, trying to deepen the kiss, until finally Seungmin gives in and lets you.   

Your lower stomach is still throbbing with pain, but you quickly feel a wave of warmth spreading on your belly. It feels like Seungmin is making everything hot, every little part of you that he gets to touch. He starts to drag his warm tongue along your lips while his hands tease the place where your skin meets the fabric of your pants. When he starts to play with the elastic band underneath, you lazily detach your mouth from his.

"Min?"

"Uh?" He leans back a little, but his lips find the tender spot under your ear and he begins to kiss you there.

"I am getting really horny." You admit. Your eyes slip shut and you lean on his touch.

"That's perfect." He murmurs, sucking a tiny portion of skin into his mouth and bringing his hands to cup your ass over the fabric of your pajamas. You moan at the touch and you press your body firmly against his.

"Is this okay?" He asks, sucking another bite into the skin of your neck.

You roll your head back onto the pillow under you, giving him more space. The soft light reflects on his brown eyes, glazy and dusted with arousal.

"Very."

Seungmin licks a stripe up your throat, all the way to your ear, and he gently rolls you on the bed until you are laying completely on your back. Even if his touch is light, you wince when he lays a hand on your stomach, slipping his fingers under your waistband. He dips his head to kiss the corner of your mouth, and then at the exposed skin of your collarbones, where the collar of your pajamas has slipped to the side.

You gasp when he slowly slips his hand underneath your pants and his fingers find your underwear. You stop tensing your legs, letting them fall apart slowly, and his fingers brush lower, over your inner thighs.

You’re so sensitive like this that you feel you could explode any moment now. The warmth of the room, combined with all the hormones flooding your body, heighten every little touch.

Seungmin's knuckles brush against the fabric of your cotton panties, and he slips a finger under the elastic band, finally pulling them off together with your pants. The induments fall on the floor, and that's when you remember your conditions.

"Minnie... I think we should grab a towel."

Seungmin kneels on the mattress in between your parted legs, and grab your knees to keep them open. "I don't care about the towel."

You are about to protest when one of Seungmin's hands slips lower and you feel the first brush of his fingers on you. A moan escapes from your mouth and your eyes flutter shut. And when he finally touches you, you keen.

He cups you fully, his palm resting over your pulsating core and thumb starting to rub your clit. You feel his pad tickling the tight bundle of nerves before dipping his fingers lower to tease at your entrance.

"Fuck."

You smell your own blood and arousal thick in the air, and it's so primal and raw that you feel lightheaded.

Seungmin presses in, his fingertip just dipping into you, and you drop your head against the pillow with a long a whine.

"You look beautiful." He murmurs. He inches his middle finger deeper and you can feel the squelching noise your pussy is letting out. The gushing sound reverberates in the room and it makes your head spin.

He presses the heel of his hand down and grinds it against your core, while he places his other hand on the lowest part of your belly.

"You look so good between my legs." You breathe out, circling your hips into his touch. His finger is fully inside inside you, but you are so wet that you need something more to feel stuffed.

Seungmin chuckles and he kisses your abdomen, pushing his finger in and out and pulling lewd noises out of you.

"Give me another one."

"Yes." He eases another finger into you, circling your folds with his pad before fucking it into you.

"Good boy."

He holds your body steady with his arm around your left thigh. He crooks his fingers to rub against the spongy spot inside you and your leg twitches. Your whole body is thick with desire and you feel so sensitive that you could come just from the obscene sound of Seungmin fucking your own blood into you.

He keeps you open like this for a few minutes, thrusting his fingers inside, and then smearing all of your liquids around your folds. Then he curls them again deeper into you.

When he slides his third finger in, you can feel yourself dripping on his wrist. And it should be gross, it should be revolting, but the only thought your brain can produce is hot hot hot hot. You bring your hand down and grab Seungmin's forearm, regulating his pushes and feeling his muscles flexing under his skin as he fuck you steadily.

"I wan' taste." Seungmin hums after a minute. His chocolatey eyes are staring hungrily at the way you pussy ingulfs his fingers.

"Yes, fuck. Taste me." You moan, the noises stuck in your throat come out groggy and low.

You drop the hand that was holding his arm and Seungmin just leans in, tongue lolling out of his mouth before he brings his lips on your pussy, flicking his warm muscle on your clit.  

You hiss and your body tense up feeling Seungmin get lost in you. He closes his lips around your bundle of nerves and he sucks, hard.

"Seungmin."

You moan, hips bucking into his face while he dips his tongue against your entrance and you let out an audible gasp. Your eyes flick down to meet his, fully blown out with arousal. He pulls his tongue out and he keeps giving kitten licks, as if he was savoring a rich glass of wine.

Your head fall back on the pillow as you let him continue. Seungmin brings his fingers to your entrance once again, and he push just his index in, licking a fat strip from your entrance to your clit, purring with enjoyment.

"Taste good?" you ask, and you sound out of breath. Everything is so hot around you and you feel more drops of blood gushing out of you.

"You cannot believe how good." Seungmin whispers, looking up to meet your eyes and licking you deep at the same time.

The whole room is almost dark, the few lights that are still on don't allow you to see Seungmin in his interity. But it's enough for you to see him almost suffocating himself in your drooly cunt with your blood smeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Baby... Min, god. Need you inside."

Seungmin hums against your folds and sucks one more time before he wipes his mouth on his own wrist, pressing a wet kiss on your inner thigh.

He reaches down to fumble with the elastic band of his pants, clumsily tugging his erection free from the constriction of his underwear as he leans into you and smashes his lips against yours. You moan loudly when he opens his mouth and swirls his tongue inside, the metalic taste of your blood filthy and intoxicatic. Seungmin bites on your lower lip, and then he soothes it with his tongue. Everything is so raw that you feel yourself getting close already.

"It's not gonna be impressive." He whispers, bringing his hand down to messily stroke himself, thrusting into his own fingers just a couple of times. You can feel his tip bumping into your hip, all red and puffy, precum dribbling on your skin.

"I didn't touch you". You huff on his lips, licking his cheek and biting it lazily.

"You tasted too good. I almost came." He admits. He brings his cock in front of your pussy and he slides its chubby head on your clit. There is a mess of blood, spit and slick all mixing together and you moan at the feeling.

"Don't care. I am close. I jus' need your cum."

Seungmin swallows, fidgeting a little as his cock taps against your swollen clit. You circles your hips against him and your pussy catches the tip. You kiss him.

"Baby, Minnie. Wanna see my blood and your cum leak out of me after you fuck me nice and hard?"

Seungmin lets out a small noise at that, biting his lip. You can tell he is close by the way his breathes come out staggered.

"Yes, please". He agrees, finally pushing himself inside of you in one thrust, trying his best not to come immediately.

You moan pleasantly at the strech as he bottoms out. You feel his swollen balls rest on the fat of your thighs and from the sound you hear, you are making a mess on the bed sheets under you. You try to remember why is this the first time you are doing this, and you cannot find a reason.

Seungmin is shivering on top of you, and he delivers a first shallow push. You sigh in pleasure and he starts rocking his hips against yours. The wet sounds fill the room together with Seungmin's sweet hiccups. He held back for too long, and now he cannot help himself no more.

You cup his chin with your hands and you press a light kiss on his lips.

"You like it Minnie, uh? How long did you wait for this? You could have asked, you know. I would have said yes from the first time. I would have let you shove your cock inside me and cover it in blood. All nice and wet for you. Nasty boy."

Seungmin blushes heavily as you open youd legs, lowering a hand to spread apart your folds.

"Cum inside me, c'mon."

His thrusts are messy and errating, unable to bring himself to look at you in the eyes out of embarrassment. You dig your nails into his broad shoulders and he whines loudly as he pushes frenetically into you.

It is just a matter of time considering how close both of you have been from the start. The wet sounds that come with every thrust, together with the sight of your pussy stretched around his cock, are so sinful that Seungmin has to look away, a tight ring of slick and blood forming on his girth.

"G'na cum." He stutters, giving a few hard thrusts.

You nod and bring your hand in between your bodies to start rubbing at your puffy clit. The pressure combined with Seungmin's thrust is enough to bring to to the edge in a few seconds, and with your free hand you cup his face and you kiss him deep.

"Cum, baby boy. Fill me up."

Seungmin trembles and gives two final pushes inside of you before hitting his limit, groaning out as he cums. His fingers grips tight at your legs as he spurts hot cum all over your walls.

You whine as you feel his sperm coating your insides, dragging your nails down his back and letting out a loud moan as you finally cum around him, pussy swollen and tight, milking him till his last drop.

After what it seems to be hours, Seungmin collapses onto you and pants on your neck, his soft bangs all sweaty and curly on his face. You catch your breath for a few seconds before feeling him pulling out.

As his softening cock is pulled out of you, you feel all of your liquids leaking out of your entrance, mixed with his cum. You whine and Seungmin kisses your chin.

"Did I hurt you? Are you alright?"

"You didn't hurt me. I am great." You move your head to face him and he kisses your cheek. Then your nose. Then your lips. "I am just concerned about the state of our bed."

"Oh, well. I think Jeff Dahmer had a cleaner bed." He chuckles, after taking a quick look at the sheets underneath. "It's my fault. I will clean them myself."

"You better." You laugh. Seungmin laughs with you and it's a soft exhalation of breath that tickles your cheek.

"Yes ma'am". He shifts a little in your embrace, and you turn over so your cheek can rub against his shoulder.

"Does it still hurt?" He asks.

You let it out on a satisfied sigh, your cramps long forgotten. “Nope.”

"Good." He smiles softly and he kisses you on your forehead. You wrap your arms tightly around him and bite his shoulder.

"How can you always know... wait, no, it doesn’t matter."

The voices of your kdramas are still a background noise.

Seungmin chuckles. "I told you. I love you. I always know."

©️ jilixthinker, 2024. please do not copy, translate, or republish my works anywhere.

[faithshouseofchaos]

The good in him — Spike x gn!reader

Fluffy slightly suggestive Word count 2k

Warnings — talks about killing but no actual killing and one use of Lady other than that I kept it Gender neutral.

@urfriendlywriter I used prompts — 9. kisses where their lips are barely hovering over urs, fingers tracing over ur jaw with a tantalizing gaze!!!!

10. ^ AND they plead, their voice whiny, "please, [name], please kiss me already. don't torture me.." (HELLO?? CHOOSE ME. PICK ME.)

This is not edited or beta read

When you moved to Sunnydale California you were thrown into the world of the supernatural which was predictable due to living on top of a literal gate to hell. Sure it was a bit of a strange place to live and literal monsters and demons were lurking around every corner of the small town but it was worth it in a sense. Like how you were training to become a watcher for the future and how you helped Buffy and your friends save the world from ending multiple times.

It was safe to say that the world of the supernatural was growing on you, especially Spike. Spike was a vampire, one of history's most dangerous, next to his maker Angel. He was a pain in your ass at first, constantly making fun of you and calling you several different silly names, but you couldn't deny that something was charming about him. Maybe it was how blunt and honest he was about everything or maybe it was the fact that he could quote Shakespeare off the top of his head that piqued your interest. The Shakespeare thing made a lot of sense to you when you learned that Spike was a poet in his human life.

You tried to brush off any sort of feelings towards the demon in question. You couldn't have a thing for a vampire. Especially not one that was over a century old, had tried to kill you and your friends on multiple occasions and was always going on and on about how much he was into Buffy. It was a fruitless endeavor, after all, if Buffy didn't feel anything towards him then why should you?

Despite that, you found yourself seeking him out more often. You would pass by The Bronze hoping to catch a glimpse of him, you'd make a few trips to the cemetery in the guise of patrolling only to find and talk to him, and you'd even sit through listening to his endless rambling about Buffy on the off chance he said something nice about you.

He was always there to greet you with a snarky comment. Like "Look who decided to drop in" or even "Decided to leave the comfort of your home and visit some real company" and despite how aggravating it was at times to listen to his constant banter, it was almost...welcome. You found yourself enjoying his company. He was rude and a smartass but he was also witty and charming. His quips and jabs at you and the rest of the group never really seemed to hold any malice when he made them towards you, only to Buffy and Xander. When you were with him he was almost sweet in an odd sort of way.

"You can't seriously still be hanging out with him" Buffy practically yelled at you, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"Why not? What's the big deal?" You asked, not knowing why she was so worked up about you and Spike.

"The big deal is that he's evil! And a vampire! He doesn't have feelings! He's probably just using you!" She shot back angrily, the rest of the group nodding in agreement. "Not to mention he tried to kill you. Multiple times" Willow piped up, adjusting her glasses nervously. "You're wasting your time. You're going to get yourself killed" Xander said, folding his arms. You huffed and rolled your eyes. "I can take care of myself. Besides, he hasn't tried to kill or hurt me in a long time" you stated matter of factly.

"That's another thing! Why aren't you questioning why he hasn't tried to kill you or hurt you? Something isn't right about this-" Buffy said before you cut her off. "Maybe he just likes me. Have you ever thought of that?" You retorted, your tone just as sharp. Buffy opened her mouth to say something but was cut off once again by Xander.

"You can't seriously believe that. He doesn't like anyone besides himself and Buffy" he said. "That's not-" Buffy started but you interrupted her once more. "Is it so hard to believe that a guy, even a guy like Spike, could like me?" You questioned.

Giles, who had been silently standing by watching the argument unfold finally spoke up. "It's not the fact that it's impossible, but it's the fact that it's highly unlikely. Vampires can't feel like humans do" He said in his usual blunt manner. You clenched your jaw, irritation starting to wash over you. "Not all vampires are like Angel. They can feel love and affection. Spike proves that" you retorted.

"And how, exactly, does Spike prove that?" Giles asked, his tone holding a condescending note. "When I'm with him he's-" you paused, fumbling over your words.

"He's nice," you mumbled.

"Spike? Nice? That's a joke" Buffy said in disbelief. "He's nice to me. He gives me attention"

"He doesn't give you 'attention' in some sweet and loving way. He's probably just treating you how he treated Dru. Like a toy." Buffy retorted, her voice dripping with anger.

"I've seen enough over the years to know that he's a heartless demon that only cares about himself" Buffy shot back with irritation clear in her voice.

"He's not heartless! And I'm sick of all of you going on and on about how evil he is. I happen to care about him!" You shouted, your patience wearing thin.

There was a brief silence before, "You're in love with him" Xander mumbled, shock clear on his face. The room was eerily quiet as everyone stared at you with wide eyes of disbelief. Your face flushed and you averted your gaze down to the ground, embarrassed. "I, um-" you were at a loss for words. How were you supposed to tell your friends that you had feelings for the vampire they all hated?

"Is it true?" Buffy asked, her voice hard and cold. You hesitantly nodded your head, confirming your friend's suspicions. "How long have you felt this way?" Willow asked, her tone soft. "A few months.." you mumbled, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt nervously. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Xander chimed in, his expression one of bewilderment. "Because I didn't want you guys to think I was insane" you admitted with a sigh. "I can't believe this..you're in love with a monster," Buffy said with an incredulous tone. Her expression was full of shock and disappointment.

“You're one to talk Buffy” you replied sarcastically. There was a brief moment of stunned silence before Buffy's eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?” She questioned, her tone turning sharp. "You say Spike is a monster but forget that you dated Angel who has a soul" you retorted, your irritation flaring up once again at the hypocrisy that was clear to see. "Angel has a soul, he's not a monster-" Buffy started but you cut her off. "He still killed people! Just because he feels bad about it now doesn't make him any better than Spike!" You exclaimed.

“You know what, I'm going home,” you replied, grabbing your coat and leaving. You stormed out of Giles' apartment, seething in anger. Your friends called out after you but you didn't care as you slammed the door behind you. You didn't feel like dealing with their judgmental bullshit. Once you were outside you paused. Now that you'd made a dramatic exit what were you supposed to do? You couldn't go home, Buffy and the gang would come after you anyway. You couldn't go to The Bronze, someone was bound to be there. So that only left one place.

With a resolute sigh, you started down the sidewalk towards the cemetery. The journey to the cemetery was silent and rather peaceful, even though it was night and any number of monsters could be hiding in the shadows. After about 10 minutes of walking, you reached your destination.

You looked around the area expecting to see a familiar mop of bleach blonde hair but you didn't. That was strange, where was he? You walked through the cemetery, checking all his usual spots but coming up empty time and time again. As the night grew on and it started to get even later you began to get worried. Sure, it wasn't like Spike could die but what if a group of angry hellhounds managed to catch up with him? You had just about finished searching through the cemetery when you heard a familiar voice call out.

"What are you doin' out here at this time of night, love?" You whirled around to see Spike standing behind you, a sly smirk on his face. The relief that washed over you was overwhelming, he was ok and not mangled or missing a limb or worse. You huffed and attempted to seem annoyed, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Looking for you, idiot" you replied. "Oh? Missed me, did ya?" He teased, sauntering over to you. You gave an exasperated sigh and attempted to look as nonchalant as humanly possible. "You're conceited, you know that? I was worried that you would've gotten yourself turned into a pile of ash" you said, feigning annoyance though you were relieved that he was ok. He chuckled and leaned down, his face only inches away from yours.

"Aww, you were worried about me? I didn't know ya cared, love" he teased, his voice holding a slightly mocking tone. You rolled your eyes and attempted to seem unfazed at his proximity.

"Don't get a big head, I was not worried about you. I just didn't want to deal with Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang nagging me" you retorted, your voice wavering slightly. His smirk widened as he leaned impossibly close to you, his chest now brushing yours. He took a few strands of your hair in between his fingers before speaking.

"And yet here you are, all alone with a big bad vampire. Wouldn't your friends just throw a fit if they knew" he said, his tone low and sultry. You shuddered involuntarily, the close contact causing your heart rate to speed up. God, this man was insufferable.

"They would, but I don't care. And I can take care of myself, thank you very much" you argued, tilting your head up to meet his gaze properly. He let out a low chuckle, his hand finding its way to the side of your neck. He brushed his thumb over your pulse point, his smirk growing when he felt how fast your heart was beating.

"Such a fierce little thing you are, aren't you? But I wonder what they'd say if they saw us like this" he said, his voice a low murmur. Your heart fluttered, the feeling of his hands on your skin and his voice in your ear causing a fire within you. You cursed yourself, how was it that this annoying, smart-mouthed pain in the ass was able to turn you into a mess so easily.

"They'd probably tell me to stay far away from you" you replied, your voice barely above a whisper. He leaned closer, his breath ghosting over your ear as he chuckled. "And would you listen to them, pet?" He questioned, his hand still lingering on your neck while the other found its way to your waist. You shivered at the feeling of his cool breath brushing across your skin. His hand on your waist was suddenly very distracting.

"Probably not" you mumbled, unable to think straight. This was dangerous, the two of you alone in the quiet darkness. His smirk deepened, his hand sliding from your neck down to your hip as he began to pull your body against his. You were now flush against his chest, your faces only inches apart from each other. You could feel the coolness of his skin through your clothes along with the faint scent of smoke and musk. Your breathing became uneven and you could feel your heart hammering in your chest from being so close to him.

His gaze darkened as he looked down at you, his eyes filled with a mixture of amusement and desire. "You have no idea what you do to me, love" he murmured, his voice a low husk. His grip on your waist tightened, his thumb rubbing slow and lazy circles on the exposed sliver of skin showing where your shirt had ridden up.

Every nerve in your body was on fire, your senses overrun with him. You looked up at him, meeting his gaze and finding your resolve fading rapidly. "You are a nuisance, you know that?" You murmured, half-heartedly trying to keep up the act of annoyance.

He laughed quietly, his eyes roaming over your face before resting on your lips. "You think so, do you?" He inquired, his tone holding a note of amusement. He took your chin in his hand and tilted your head up, his face now hovering over yours. His cool breath ghosted over your lips as his smirk widened. "You're a really bad liar, pet" he murmured. You shivered, the distance between you and Spike narrowing by the second. Your heart was practically in your throat and every muscle in your body was tense. "It's your fault, you're a bad influence" you mumbled, unable to keep up the facade of annoyance that was rapidly fading.

He let out a low chuckle, his thumb running across your bottom lip as he spoke. "Oh, I'm a bad influence am I?" He teased, his face only inches from yours. He continued his torturous game of keeping you just out of reach of where you wanted him, the smirk on his face only growing wider at your clear growing desperation for him.

"Please, Spike, please kiss me already. don't torture me.." you pleaded your voice had a slight whine to it. He chuckled darkly, clearly pleased with the effect he was having on you.

"Well, since you asked so nicely...." he replied slyly, his hand shifting from your chin to the back of your neck. “Who am I to deny a lady as sweet as you?”

And with that, he finally closed the distance, his lips meeting yours in a searing kiss. You gasped at the contact, the feeling of his cool lips against yours setting your entire body on fire. His hand on your hip pulled you flush against his body as his other hand held firmly on the nape of your neck, holding you in place. You couldn't keep the soft whimper that left your lips at the action.

He chuckled against your mouth, the low sound sending a shiver down your spine. He nipped at your bottom lip before gently asking for entrance, which you gladly gave him. The feeling of his tongue slipping into your mouth sent a wave of heat through your body, your hands moving to grasp at the lapels of his duster. You were now completely at his mercy, your body aching to be as close to him as possible.

He broke the kiss for a brief moment to murmur hotly in your ear, “You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that" his voice holding a low whisper. You could feel the heat rising in your face at his words, a thrill coursing through you at the knowledge that he had been wanting to kiss you as much as you wanted him.

You opened your mouth to say something but you were unable to form any coherent words as he began to trail his lips down your neck and began to nip and bite at the sensitive skin.

A low moan escaped your lips, your hands clenching tightly into the material of his coat. This man was going to be the death of you.

[justblades]

⌕ SUCK HIM DRY, 18+

⟢ CHARACTER : jing yuan x afab! reader WC : 1.7k

⟢ WARNINGS : EXPLICIT, MDNI. dubcon, succubus! reader, hypnosis

⟢ SUMMARY : a succubus preys on a luofu general — a battle of wits, who will outsmart the other given that both parties should not be underestimated? perhaps only time can answer.

the mara-struck, the ambrosial arbor— the legends drift to outsiders once they set foot on the xianzhou luofu. almost everything is possible in this setting, it was natural for devils who feed on sins to exist along with these species, and so you descend into the ship undercover, looking for a particular victim.

your interest was piqued by a distinct foxian lady whose ears are tall and in tan color, especially the notable, fluffy tail wagging just behind her. she has a little wooden table set in front of her and atop the birch surface are multiple pictures of a silver long haired male, smile as cunning yet blithe at the same time. the most notable feature however is the angel mark just below his left eye, followed by his long onyx lashes framing his aureate irises.

from the clothing he dons, it was clear-cut he's someone of a high ranking. you were not to be underestimated now that you're running low on your fill, so you opted for unconventional methods: by buying intel about the person and immediately found almost everything the luofu general does. a small price to pay for your deprivation.

apparently his name is jing yuan. it rolls off your long tongue smoothly. his charisma, his aura and his name: he's a perfect target. your adrenaline levels spike as you envision what you'll do to him once you lay your hands on the male, dozen scenarios flashing from one to another.

at present with a remarkable entrance, you finally emerge out from the shadows and make an appearance for your victim. although jing yuan's eyes are heavy lidded as he was a second apart from completely dozing off, he manages to brandish his weapon in an instant, hoisting it at your figure. the indolence he displayed from earlier immediately dissipates into thin air, his masculine voice cuts through the thick ice of tension lingering in the vicinity.

"you finally showed yourself. i've been waiting since earlier." it was just 10 words but he exceeds your expectations. never have your presence been sensed by anybody as that is one of your skills, to be able to conceal yourself and your true identity. jing yuan isn't to be taken too lightly, it appears. but no matter how he was able to anticipate your arrival, he still fell prey on your yearning hands.

he suddenly grunts in struggle as his limbs get pinned down on the sculpted, hazel chair before him. jing yuan loses control of his own body and you continue to stride towards him, a lecherous smile carved on your lips. "general jing yuan . . you're quite an attractive man." you whisper as you lean closer to his face, your hot breath ghosts a caress on the very shell of his ear.

the general was addled at first, trying his best to discern what kind of creature you really are. "you look confused, i'll grant you the privilege of knowing what i am." your words were honeyed as your eyes lock a wary gaze with his golden hues. "i'm just a demon who feeds on people . . the sin of lust particularly, and i'm here to claim your life once i successfully do so."

forcing a kiss on his sultry lips, your fingers grab a hold of his chin, making sure to deepen further your tongue in— making you feel more tantalized than before. jing yuan's brows furrow, continuing to struggle to break free from the curse you laid upon him. quickly breaking the seal of the kiss, you couldn't help but chuckle, "you taste so delicious general! i wonder if it's the same down here."

jing yuan glances at where your other clawed hand trails, his vision landing on his erection, all exposed from how you swiftly ripped his pants open. slowly gliding your digits against his prominent veins of a reddish tan mixed of violet shades, you merit yourself with the general's grunts of arousal as he closes his eyes shut.

he grinds his teeth, "i've heard of such creatures but i never would've imagined they were true." he struggles to speak eloquently like he always does now that he's under your teasing touch. suddenly, a warm feeling envelops his twitching length, only to realize you were sucking his girthy cock. "does it feel good, general?" you query, bobbing your head up and down while making a vacuum like suction as you suck all of him in, your tongue fiddling his dick's folds.

the silver haired throws his head back in defeat, unable to budge a movement as he was stuck in a sitting position. with a succubus pleasuring him, he couldn't deny it was a wonderful sensation. he eventually lets his guttural moans come undone and follow suit one after another, sounding into your ears like awards or prizes for doing your job well. amidst of this, he starts to think of a way to free himself from these invisible restraints but you heeded no mind and continue to indulge yourself in carnal desire.

however as you didn't underestimate jing yuan, the same could be said for you. after all, you meticulously planned to draw away everyone's attention in jing yuan's office just so you can prey on him. time flashes by rather quick and liquids of release sprawl into the hidden depths of your throat as you also toy with your sloppy cunt, growing eager to lap all of him even more.

"one out of three. once you cum thrice, it's a bye bye." the sentence cut off jing yuan's rowdy train of thoughts, but as he was powerless before such specie, you were able to insert his dick in, straddling his thigh, facing the male. he flinches as your tight walls coil around his shape, the head of his dick meeting with your cervix, " . . you're big!" you exclaim, your eyes widening into two full moons, shock coursing through your veins.

resting your hands on his broad shoulders, you begin to bounce on him, raising your ass and push your hips down on his thick, heating dick. your eyes never left jing yuan's, and you swear you could feel how much he's been thinking in spite of the low mewls he lets out— "yes, just keep looking at me like that!" taunting the general even more, his piercing, brazen stare sharpens, almost penetrating right through your soul.

"oh, general . ." you call out to him as you moan his name, "general jing yuan . . xianzhou luofu is such a pretty place!" naughty, squelching noises reverberate inside the vast space, accompanied by you and jing yuan's bit back moans of satisfaction. now locking your hands around his neck and fingers ruffling his long, luscious, ashy strands, you give him another open mouthed kiss, one that is much more gentler than the other, eyes closed to engage with the sensation.

noticing the littlest details of a person's body language, gifted to every succubus or incubus birthed into this universe, you could sense how his dick throbs, signaling for his release soon. the corners of your lips lift, displaying a smug smile once you pick up your speed and add more force on your movements, shaking your hips slowly to earn more sounds from the male's mouth.

"i— i'm—" jing yuan groans and the second round of his climax dawns, filling your velvet walls with his muddy white seed to the point that a good amount seeps into your womb. you feel your body lighten and improve in condition, "i wasn't wrong in choosing you at all. even your cum tastes refreshing— i can also make you do this."

the general's body moves by itself as he bends you over the table this time with one push, your face slapping against the varnished surface. his hand tightly clasped on your shoulder blades, you wiggle your pelvis so his head meets with your lips— and prods through your fluttering folds once more. he heaves deep breaths, more waves of pleasure crashing on him, even though it was against his will, he couldn't deny that he feels good from it.

your head spins as his thrusts were far more powerful than you expected. you didn't take into account how raw power works in these instances but it made the experience hundred times better— you were starting to lose your mind as he fills you with his cock, beads of his satisfaction trickling down past your thighs.

"what a naughty general!" you remark with absolute mockery, "is this what you fantasize about while you keep the luofu's peace, jing yuan?" snickering at the end of your sentence, you were surprised to hear him respond. "yes, and it seems like you're a perfect fit." you were taken aback by his reply.

he proceeds to flip your body around, carrying your figure with his mere two arms. he rises from his position and guides your legs to lock around his waist, his cock reaching deeper than before and rubbing on the other parts of your walls. "what— no! how could y—" jing yuan cuts off your protest with a passionate kiss, you could feel his lips tug into a smirk.

"where's your playful nature now?" jing yuan's words exude of irony and sarcasm: having enjoyment at how confusion washes over your facial features. "i'm not an ordinary being either - i'm afraid to say you only set yourself up for failure." the cocky aura from your stature ceases, jaw falling agape and your lustful eyes' gleam die down.

he speeds up his thrusts, intruding your tight cunt with an unrealistic speed. despite of worry gnawing at your perturbed mind, you couldn't stifle the mewls slipping from your lips. "it only took me . . a while to overcome your binds." the general clarifies and with one last stroke, more strings of milky like substance spring out from his cock, painting your walls white.

as soon as he fills you up, he lets go of your body, making a loud thud sound. you were left there unable to move, even more perplexed as to why. even though it didn't hurt you one bit, your mind was just occupied at just how powerful the general is. he exits your peripheral vision for a while, only to come back with new clothing donned as if the ones you ripped earlier weren't busted at all.

the seat of divine foresight's gates swing open, revealing numerous cloud knights in preparation for combat.

"be careful bringing her to the cell, this one's dangerous. i shall pay a visit later."

my masterlist !

[melrodrigo]

Hey Angel - Tardy Drabble

Tara Carpenter x F!Reader

Summary: You throw a welcome party for the whole university, where you meet a certain someone in an angel costume. Things happen.

Warnings: Underage drinking, parties, fluffy stuff

Word Count: 1.5k (yes this was supposed to be a drabble)

A/N: I wrote this while listening to hey angel, one direction rocks man. The start is a little iffy, but it gets better. This is set before the first chapter btw!

“YN! YN! YN!” The crowd roars your name, cheering you on as you eagerly chug the rest of the beer.

Once you finish the 10 bottles they had filled the keg with, you let go of the tube and raise your hands in victory.

You let out an unintelligible sound, and the adrenaline that rushes through you at the sound of people still cheering your name is like nothing you’ve ever felt before.

You’d arrived to the party, your party, fashionably late. But once you stepped foot downstairs your friends were already ushering you to to the kitchen and challenging you to a drinking game.

That was how you ended up here, damn you and your competitive streak.

But the consequences of your actions had caught up quick, because not 10 minutes later you’re starting to feel a little queasy.

“Um…guys, I’m going to go sit down for a while.” You say to no one in particular, and try to make your way through the sea of teenagers to sit down on your couch.

You feel a little bump at your side.

“Woah- sorry about that.” A girl’s voice squeaks from underneath you. You blink, looking down and realizing that she had probably ran into you. Or you into her, probably the latter.

She was an angel, wait no- she was wearing an angel costume. White feathery wings extended from both sides, and a halo placed on her head.

She was so pretty. Like, so so pretty. What other adjectives are there to describe pretty people again?

“Uh, are you okay?” The girl asks again, and you realize you must’ve been staring at her a little too long.

You try and smile, but the queasiness mixed with the oncoming headache you know is about to hit makes you grimace.

“Sorry. Really….drumk.” You manage, and watch as a small smile makes its way to her face.

She touches your arm gently, and it sends a spike of energy through you.

“Do you wanna go sit somewhere? I have an amazing cure for hangovers.”

Hangover…yeah that might just be what you were having. How did you already have one?

You nod, happily.

She grabs your wrist and leads you to your original destination, the couch.

“Your hand is so soft.” You mumble on the way there, not meaning for her to hear. She perks up, and looks back at you for a moment.

“Thanks?”

You nod seriously, “Soft hands are a major thing. It’s the highest of compliments, I love hands man.”

The girl chuckles, shaking her head slightly.

She sits you down onto the couch, tells you she’ll be right back. When she returns, it’s with a different variety of things in her arms. Bananas, a couple of slices of pizza, a full loaf of bread, and a mint.

You’re struck with the realization that you don’t even know this girls name, and that you should probably ask her if you ever want to see her again.

“My name’s YN, and you m’lady?” You slur, trying your best to put on your smoldering face. You extend your hand to hers, waiting for her to reciprocate the handshake.

She laughs in your face, and you frown.

“A handshake?”

“My mom says when we meet someone new we should always offer them a handshake. It’s good manners.” You say, matter of fact-ly.

She giggles, and nods slightly, indicating she’s listening to you. Then shoves the burger and bread into your hands.

“Eat them. Just trust me.”

It might be the alcohol in your system, or the fact that she’s the prettiest girl you’ve ever laid your eyes on, but you heed her orders immediately.

You’re not really sure how to eat the bread, and she seems to realize your struggle. She smiles sheepishly, and runs over to grab a knife and slices you a couple pieces.

When you finish munching on those, she grabs an advil out her back pocket and extends them to you. You take it happily, wanting to get rid of the headache that’s terrorizing you.

She pops the mint in her mouth as she watches you eat, admiring the sight in front of her.

When you start feeling a little better, you turn to her and say, “That’s all you got?”

She raises an eyebrow, amused.

“If that’s what your magic hangover cure is, I can tell you that’s the most basic set of hangover foods ever.” You continue, tone playful.

“Oh yeah? I’d like to see you try better.” She taunts, kicking her feet up to rest them on the table in front of you.

You grin, send her a wink.

“Next time you get drunk, hit me up. I’ll work wonders in under 5 minutes.”

She purses her lips, pretending to think before nodding.

“Okay. You have a deal.”

You guys sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching the party. It’s weird that you feel so relaxed in her presence already, seeing to the fact that it usually takes forever for you to open up to someone.

She looks so good under the party lights, you get the intense urge to kiss her. You decide, fuck it, what’s the harm in trying?

“Hey mystery girl? Can I kiss you?” You shout over the loud music, hoping she can hear you.

You know she does, by the way her eyebrows raise up. She stares at you for longer than you’re comfortable with, and you take that as an answer.

“Okay, that’s- that’s fine. You just look really pretty is all.” You say, somewhat nervous but still flashing a toothy grin at her.

“You know what-“ She starts, moving so that she’s side by side with you. Your eyes widen a bit, obviously taken back that your pickup line actually sort of worked.

When she leans in, your eyes are so wide it’s comical. But once again, your bad luck cuts in, and her phone starts ringing. She jumps a little, seemingly startled by the sound.

You peer at her phone and see the name ‘Sam’ appear.

“Shit.” She mutters, quickly declining and slapping her hand to her forehead.

You frown, could that be her girlfriend?

“Hey I’m really sorry YN, but I gotta go deal with something, i’ll see you around?” She hurries out, already getting up and looking like she’s ready to dart.

You’re stuck in a daze, and way too drunk to remind her that you guys didn’t have any contact. Therefore, it would be extremely hard to ‘see her around’, but you can’t bring yourself to speak.

She leaves your rear of view, and you groan, falling back into the couch.

“Stupid!“ You whisper to yourself, eyebrows furrowed.

It’s not very much fun to watch the party anymore, not without mystery angel at your side. So you decide to call it a night, and walk up the stairs to your room.

You shoo away the couple making out, whining and complaining that they can’t keep it in their pants.

The moment your face hits your pillow, you let out a sigh of relief. It doesn’t take very long for you to fall asleep, mystery girl still fresh in your mind.

You don’t bother to get up when you hear a fight starting downstairs, sure that you’re roommates would be able to take care of it and drift off.

______

Ring. Ring. Ringgg.

You groan loudly, damn alarms having to wake you up from the best sleep you’ve had in ages. You reach over to silence it but catch sight of a calendar notification at the bottom of your phone.

Eng lit test, 8.00 am

You glance up at the time display, only to find out it’s 9.30 and you’re already extremely late to your first exam of the semester.

“Holy shit!” You yell, and shoot up out of your bed. You get dressed in record time, grabbing at anything that’s clean. You swipe a piece of bread that was lying around and sprint out your front door.

You don’t know why it takes you so long to notice that you don’t have a headache, which is strange because you always end up with one after getting shit-faced.

“Guess it’s my lucky day.” You mumble, now in front of the hall room door where you’re having your exam. Wiping your hands on your shirt to try and relieve some of the nervousness, you push open the doors.

In your hurry, you forget that your shoes are untied, and somehow trip over the laces, stumbling into class like a wild animal.

Eyes burn into your head immediately, everyone turning to look at the commotion. You try and smile, signal everyone to look away.

A giggle sounds from somewhere at the back, near where you are.

You lock eyes with the perpetrator, and are struck with someone who looks somehow familiar and not familiar at all.

“Take a seat please YN.” The teacher from across the room booms.

You nod eagerly, and move towards said girl.

When you sit down next to her, still eyeing her, it’s like déjà vu.

Déjà vu for what you can’t seem to remember. You shrug the feeling away, thinking if you ever saw a girl this pretty, you would’ve remembered her right away.

Oh well, you’ll figure it out later. Right now you have a test to ace.

[madeline-kahn]

@pscentral event 17: vibrance

DANCING IN FILM: @rogerdeakinsdp birthday edition

A Life Less Ordinary (1997) dir. Danny Boyle, chgph. Adam Shankman Do The Right Thing (1989) dir. Spike Lee, chgph. Rosie Perez To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) dir. Beeban Kidron, chgph. Kenny Ortega Clueless (1995) dir. Amy Heckerling, chgph. Mary Ann Kellogg Charlie's Angels (2000) dir. McG, chgph. Marguerite Derricks What's Love Got To Do With It (1993) dir. Brian Gibson, chgph. Michael Peters Barb Wire (1996) dir. David Hogan Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) dir. Ol Parker, chgph. Anthony Van Laast Legally Blonde (2001) dir. Robert Luketic, chgph. Toni Basil Flashdance (1983) dir. Adrian Lyne, chgph. Jeffrey Hornaday Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) dir. Howard Hawks, chgph. Jack Cole 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) dir. Gil Junger, chgph. Marguerite Derricks Blade Runner 2049 (2017) dir. Denis Villeneuve, chgph. Viktória Jaross Billy Elliot (2000) dir. Stephen Daldry, chgph. Peter Darling Mamma Mia! (2008) dir. Phyllida Lloyd, chgph. Anthony Van Laast

[in1-nutshell]

Hello! I was just babysitting a friends toddler a while ago. He was four and already LOVED transformers. He expecially loved Bumblebee, and got this mini figure of a Bumblebee (I forgot what version unfortunately) that he thinks is like a guardian angel that can chase away nightmares and monsters and even turn him into a transformer one day as well! And this was SOO cute! So may I request a scenario of G1, TFP, TFA, as well as ROTB Bumblebee meeting a human equivalent of a sparkling that absolutely ADORED him and think he can do anything? Who even claims when he grows up he wants to be a transformer too just like Bee and fight alongside him one day?

All of this... so CUTE! First time I'm doing a multi version of the same character, so hopefully this turns out good! If this isn't what you wanted please let me know!

Hope you enjoy!

Human Buddy the Toddler wanting to be like Bumblebee

SFW, Platonic, Human reader

G1, TFP, TFA, ROTB

G1

Bumblebee is flustered by the toddler wanting to be just like him when they grow up.

He makes them an honorary Autobot.

He chuckles to himself when they tell him about their dream of actually becoming a Cybertronain like him.

“Is that what you really want?”--Bumblebee

“Yeah! You’re so cool and, and you transforming is cool!”--Buddy

“Well, just don’t let Wheeljack or Grampa Sparkplug find out.”--Bumblebee

“Why?”--Buddy

Flashbacks to Autobot Spike incident.

“Trust me, you’re much better off being yourself.”--Bumblebee

“Really?”--Buddy

“Of course! Now let’s go see what the others are doing.”--Bumblebee

When he hears them talking about fighting alongside him, he tries to distract them with telling them about all the better ways of fighting the Decepitcons as a human.

This usually works and they get fixated on other things for the time being.

He does keep a close eye on the toddler in case they do try and go outside of the base or near Wheeljacks lab.

Gets Chip, Carly, Spike and Sparkplug to help better understand the dangers of being a bot and being out in the field.

Occasionally bringing in a guest bot… that’s fit to tell things to them.

“That should be that last speaker. Thanks again Blaster.”--Bumblebee

“No probs Bee! It was fun to talk to the little one.”--Blaster

“Yeah—wait why is the door still closed? I thought that was the last speaker.”--Bumblebee

“Oh, yeah I let Red in there. He said he wanted to have a short talk with Tiny.”--Spike

“Red… Red who—”--Blaster

“Spike, did you let Red Alert in the room?”--Bumblebee

“Yeah?”--Spike

“Oh Primus!”--Blaster

Blaster trying to open the door.

“Red! They’re too young! Open the door!”--Blaster

“You can’t make me! They are never too young to learn about safety protocols.”—Red Alert

“But not ALL of them!”--Bumblebee

“I will call Inferno if you don’t open the door in the next 10 seconds.”--Blaster

“Its okay Mr. Bumblebee! Mr. Blaster! Mr. Red Alert is teaching me how to lock a lock! It’s so cool! It’s like I’m in a spy movie!”--Buddy

“No, not cool, not cool! Someone get Inferno!”--Bumblebee

TFP

Bee, like G1, is a bit flustered that they want to be just like him when they grow up.

When they mention about actually wanting to be a bot, he humors them a bit.

“Beep bop bep? (So you think you got what it talks to be a big bot?)”--Bumblebee

“Yes!”--Buddy

“Bop boop bep beep bep bop.(But being a big bot means that you can’t help Miko color anymore.)”--Bumblebee

“… I’ll think about it.”--Buddy

But he is immediately against them going out to fight.

 He’ll highlight all the things they can do that he can’t do, that he needs their help to be able to do it. Buddy changes their mind… for now.

Bumblebee needs their help, so they are going to help him!

He is now on the lookout in case tiny decides to pull a Miko.

Teams up with Raf to explain why they can’t run head first into danger.

Bumblebee looking over to see Buddy and Miko ‘playing’ a video game with Raf and Jack.

“Hey Bee! Mind giving me a help with the cart for a second? I forgot to attached the cart but I’m already in vehicle form…”--Bulkhead

“Beep! (sure!)”--Bumblebee

Bumblebee attaches a cart to Bulkhead.

“Thanks!”--Bulkhead

Bulkhead driving with the cart into the groundbridge.

Bee waving goodbye before looking back at the kids.

Miko and Buddy are nowhere to be seen.

“Bop, bep beep bep? (Raf, where’s Miko and Buddy?)”--Bumblebee

“Oh, they went to get some soda’s in the other room.”--Raf

Bee’s com link sounds.

“Bep? (Hello?)”--Bumblebee

“I am so sorry…”--Bulkhead

“Bep? (what?)”--Bumbleee

“Hi Mr. Bumblebee! I’m with Mr. Bulkhead and Miko! The caves are so pretty here!”--Buddy

“…”--Bumblebee

“Bee?”--Bulkhead

Sports car transforming noises intensifies.

TFA

Bumblebee lives for the attention and absolutely hypes them up too.

They want to be like him when they grow up. Of course, who else wouldn’t want to be this? The fastest thing on 4 wheels is a great honor.

They actually want to be a bot? Okay, maybe not bot bot but technorganic is still new.

Maybe Buddy might be one too, there is only one way to find out!

“Bumblebee did you bring the circuit—What in the Allspark are you doing!”--Ratchet

Buddy on a high shelf with a helmet on while Bumblebee is at the bottom of the shelf with a pillow.

“Hi Mr. Ratchet! I’m gonna try and fly like Sari! Bumblebee is helping me!”--Buddy

“Oh, is that right? Well as soon as you’re on the ground I need to have a word with Bumblebee.”--Ratchet

“Why?”--Buddy

“Because… the grownups need to talk.”--Ratchet

Ratchet looking at Bumblebee with the ‘I will throw my wrenches at you when they are gone’.

Actually, fight by his side? He puts a stop there.

He tries to reason with them a little bit, mainly pointing out that they could get really hurt and then he would be very sad.

He is surprised that this has worked for a long time.

Teams up with the rest of the team and Sari to explain to Buddy about not going out into dangerous places yet.

Yet.

“C’mon you two it’s time to show everyone your costume!”--Ratchet

“… You promise not to laugh?”--Buddy

“Of course, not now come out we got some trick or treating to get too! You don’t want to best candy to get eaten.”--Bumblebee

“It’s okay I’ll come out with Buddy.”--Sari

“Okay on the count of three… two… one… go!”--Optimus

Sari coming out in her modified Optimus Prime costume with Buddy holding her hand with a homemade Bumblebee costume.

“Aww! Look at that love the color you two! Hey Bumblebee, what do—”--Bulkhead

Bumblebee trying so hard not to cry.

“Are you crying?”--Bulkhead

“N—no”--Bumblebee

“I did after my hero Bumblebee!”--Buddy

Bumblebee is now trying to hold back a full-on sob.

“You sure you’re not crying?”--Prowl

ROTB

Bee is warmed when he hears that the little one looks up to him like that.

It is nice to hear someone say that.

“Bumblebee! Bumblebee!”--Buddy

Bumblebee looking at them waving.

“Look what I drew today!”--Buddy

Bumblebee looking at a picture of him and Buddy holding hands with ‘My Hero!’ written in blue crayon.

“Do you like it? It’s yours!”--Buddy

Bumblebee gently holding Buddy in his servo giving a hug while whirling happy tunes.

When Buddy talks about wanting to be a real bot, he explains as simply as he can that right now it isn’t possible.

Yet there is still hope.

Fighting by his side is completely out of the question. He is not letting them anywhere near the fight if he can help it.

Will have a spark attack if he sees that they stowed away.

Bumblebee has to get help from Noah and Kris so Buddy can understand why it’s dangerous to stowaway.

“But I want to go too!”--Buddy

“So do I Buddy but things can get really bad out there.”--Kris

“And you can’t stowaway in cars. That’s a bad thing to do.”--Noah

“But Mirage said that you tried to carjack him when you two met. I’m pretty sure that that’s even more illegal.”--Buddy

Bee laughing through his radio with Mirage while Kirs is trying to hold it in.

“… Mirage you’re not babysitting them for the next month.”--Noah

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Intuit: “Our fraud fights racism”

Tonight (September 27), I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine. On October 2, I'll be in Boise to host an event with VE Schwab.

Today's key concept is "predatory inclusion": "a process wherein lenders and financial actors offer needed services to Black households but on exploitative terms that limit or eliminate their long-term benefits":

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2329496516686620

Perhaps you recall predatory inclusion from the Great Financial Crisis, when predatory subprime mortgages with deceptive teaser rates were foisted on Black homeowners (who were eligible for better mortgages), resulting in a wave of Black home theft in the foreclosure crisis:

https://prospect.org/justice/staggering-loss-black-wealth-due-subprime-scandal-continues-unabated/

Before these loans blew up, they were styled as a means of creating Black intergenerational wealth through housing speculation. They turned out to be a way to suck up Black families' savings before rendering them homeless and forcing them into houses owned by the Wall Street slumlords who bought all the housing stock the Great Financial Crisis put on the market:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords

That was just an update on an old con: the "home sale contract," invented by loan-sharks who capitalized on redlining to rip off Black families. Back when banks and the US government colluded to deny mortgages to Black households, sleazy lenders created the "contract loan," which worked like a mortgage, but if you were late on a single payment, the lender could seize and sell your home and not pay you a dime – even if the house was 99% paid for:

https://socialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Plunder-of-Black-Wealth-in-Chicago.pdf

Usurers and con-artists love to style themselves as anti-racists, seeking to "close the racial wealth gap." The payday lending industry – whose triple-digit interest rates trap poor people in revolving debt that they can never pay off – styles itself as a force for racial justice:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/29/planned-obsolescence/#academic-fraud

Payday lenders prey on poor people, and in America, "poor" is often a euphemism for "Black." Payday lenders disproportionately harm Black families:

https://ung.edu/student-money-management-center/money-minute/racial-wealth-gap-payday-loans.php

Payday lenders are just unlicensed banks, who deploy a layer of bullshit to claim that they don't have to play by the rules that bind the rest of the finance sector. This scam is so juicy that it spawned the fintech industry, in which a bunch of unregulated banks sprung up to claim that they were too "innovative" to be regulated:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/01/usury/#tech-exceptionalism

When you hear "Fintech," think "unlicensed bank." Fintech turned predatory inclusion into a booming business, recruiting Black spokespeople to claim that being the sucker at the table in the cryptocurrency casino was actually a form of racial justice:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/business/media/cryptocurrency-seeks-the-spotlight-with-spike-lees-help.html

But not all predatory inclusion is financial. Take Facebook Basics, Meta's "poor internet for poor people" program. Facebook partnered with telcos in the Global South to rig their internet access. These "zero rating" programs charged subscribers by the byte to reach any service except Facebook and its partners. Facebook claimed that this would "bridge the digital divide," by corralling "the next billion internet users" into using its services.

The fact that this would make "Facebook" synonymous with "the internet" was just an accidental, regrettable side-effect. Naturally, this was bullshit from top to bottom, and the countries where zero-rating was permitted ended up having more expensive wireless broadband than the countries that banned it:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/02/countries-zero-rating-have-more-expensive-wireless-broadband-countries-without-it

The predatory inclusion gambit is insultingly transparent, but that doesn't stop desperate scammers from trying it. The latest chancer is Intuit, who claim that the end of its decade-long, wildly profitable "free tax prep" scam is bad for Black people:

https://www.propublica.org/article/turbotax-intuit-black-taxpayers-irs-free-file-marketing

Some background. In nearly every rich country on Earth, the tax authorities send every taxpayer a pre-filled tax return, based on the information submitted by employers, banks, financial planners, etc. If that looks good to you, you just sign it and send it back. Otherwise, you can amend it, or just toss it in the trash and pay a tax-prep specialist to produce your own return.

But in America, taxpayers spend billions every year to send forms to the IRS that tell it things it already knows. To make this ripoff seem fair, the hyper-concentrated tax-prep industry, led by the Intuit, creators of Turbotax, pretended to create a program to provide free tax-prep to working people.

This program was called Free File, and it was a scam. The tax-prep cartel each took a different segment of Americans who were eligible for Freefile and then created an online house of mirrors that would trick those people into spending hours working on their tax-returns until they were hit with an error message falsely claiming they were ineligible for the free service and demanding hundreds of dollars to file their returns.

Intuit were world champions at this scam. They blocked their Freefile offering from search-engine crawlers and then bought ads that showed up when searchers typed "freefile" into the query box that led them to deceptively named programs that had "free" in their names but cost a fortune to use – more than you'd pay for a local CPA to file on your behalf.

The Attorneys General of nearly every US state and territory eventually sued Intuit over this, settling for $141m:

https://www.agturbotaxsettlement.com/Home/portalid/0

The FTC is still suing them over it:

https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/192-3119-intuit-inc-matter-turbotax

We have to rely on state AGs and the FTC to bring Intuit to justice because every Intuit user clicks through an agreement in which we permanently surrender our right to sue the company, no matter how many laws it breaks. For corporate criminals, binding arbitration waivers are the gift that keeps on giving:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/24/uber-for-arbitration/#nibbled-to-death-by-ducks

Even as the scam was running out, Intuit spent millions lobby-blitzing Congress, desperate for action that would let it continue to privately tax the nation for filling in forms that – once again – told the IRS things it already knew. They really love the idea of paying taxes on paying your taxes:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/20/turbotaxed/#counter-intuit

But they failed. The IRS has taken Freefile in-house, will send you a pre-completed tax return if you want it. This should be the end of the line for Intuit and other tax-prep profiteers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/17/free-as-in-freefile/#tell-me-something-i-dont-know

Now we're at the end of the line for the scam, Intuit is playing the predatory inclusion card. They're conning Black newspapers like the Chicago Defender into running headlines like "IRS Free Tax Service Could Further Harm Blacks,"

https://defendernetwork.com/news/opinion/irs-free-tax-service-could-further-harm-blacks/

The only named source in that article? Intuit spokesperson Derrick Plummer. The article went out on the country's Black newswire Trice Edney, whose editor-in-chief did not respond to Propublica's Paul Kiel's questions.

Then Black Enterprise got in on the game, publishing "Critics Claim The IRS Free Tax Prep Service Could Hurt Black Americans." Once again, the only named source for the article was Plummer, who was "quoted at length." Black Enterprise declined to tell Kiel where that article came from:

https://www.blackenterprise.com/critics-claim-the-irs-free-tax-prep-service-could-hurt-black-americans/

For Intuit, placing op-eds is a tried-and-true tactic for laundering its ripoffs into respectability. Leaked internal Intuit memos detail the company's strategy of "pushing back through op-eds" to neutralize critics:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6483061-Intuit-TurboTax-2014-15-Encroachment-Strategy.html

Intuit spox Derrick Plummer did respond to Kiel's queries, denying that Intuit was paying for these op-eds, saying "with an idea as bad as the Direct File scheme we don’t have to pay anyone to talk about how terrible it is."

Meanwhile, ex-NAACP director (and No Labels co-chair) Benjamin Chavis has used his position atop the National Newspaper Publishers Association to publish op-eds against the IRS Direct File program, citing the Progressive Policy Institute, a pro-business thinktank that Intuit's internal documents describe as part of its "coalition":

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6483061-Intuit-TurboTax-2014-15-Encroachment-Strategy.html

Chavis's Chicago Tribune editorial claimed that Direct File could cause Black filers to miss out on tax-credits they are entitled to. This is a particularly ironic claim given Intuit's prominent role in sabotaging the Child Tax Credit, a program that lifted more Americans out of poverty than any other in history:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/29/three-times-is-enemy-action/#ctc

It's also an argument that can be found in Intuit's own anti-Direct File blog posts:

https://www.intuit.com/blog/innovative-thinking/taxpayer-empowerment/intuit-reinforces-its-commitment-to-fighting-for-taxpayers-rights/

The claim is that because the IRS disproportionately audits Black filers (this is true), they will screw them over in other ways. But Evelyn Smith, co-author of the study that documented the bias in auditing says this is bullshit:

https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/working-paper/measuring-and-mitigating-racial-disparities-tax-audits

That's because these audits of Black households are triggered by the IRS's focus on Earned Income Tax Credits, a needlessly complicated program available to low-income (and hence disproportionately Black) workers. The paperwork burden that the IRS heaps on EITC recipients means that their returns contain errors that trigger audits.

As Smith told Propublica, "With free, assisted filing, we might expect EITC claimants to make fewer mistakes and face less intense audit scrutiny, which could help reduce disparities in audit rates between Black and non-Black taxpayers."

Meanwhile, the predatory inclusion talking points continue to proliferate. Nevada accountants and the state's former controller somehow coincidentally managed to publish op-eds with nearly identical wording. Phillip Austin, vice-chair of Arizon's East Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, claims that free IRS tax prep "would disproportionately hurt the Hispanic community." Austin declined to tell Propublica how he came to that conclusion.

Right-wing think-tanks are pumping out a torrent of anti-Direct File disinfo. This surely has nothing to do with the fact that, for example, Center Forward has HR Block's chief lobbyist on its board:

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4125481-direct-e-file-wont-make-filing-taxes-any-easier-but-it-could-make-things-worse/

The whole thing reeks of bullshit and desperation. That doesn't mean that it won't succeed in killing Direct File. If there's one thing America loves, it's letting businesses charge us a tax just for dealing with our own government, from paying our taxes to camping in our national parks:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/30/military-industrial-park-service/#booz-allen

Interestingly, there's a MAGA version of predatory inclusion, in which corporations convince low-information right-wingers that efforts to protect them from ripoffs are "woke." These campaigns are, incredibly, even stupider than the predatory inclusion tale.

For example, there's a well-coordianted campaign to block the junk fees that the credit card cartel extracts from merchants, who then pass those charges onto us. This campaign claims that killing junk fees is woke:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/04/owning-the-libs/#swiper-no-swiping

How does that work? Here's the logic: Target sells Pride merch. That makes them woke. Target processes a lot of credit-card transactions, so anything that reduces card-processing fees will help Target. Therefore, paying junk fees is a way to own the libs.

No, seriously.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/27/predatory-inclusion/#equal-opportunity-scammers

[raisedbythetv89]

excuse the ranting here but just had someone try and argue that a fully evil literally on the hunt for the Slayer (bc he’s stalking his PREY to fight and hopefully kill) Spike - finding Buffy attractive (according to an interview James gave where he talks about that moment and said he embodied the kinds of predatory men who literally are “on the hunt” for real life women in bars) as anywhere NEAR the same level of creepiness as a SOULFUL aka SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD angel stalking and falling in love at the sight of an innocent and crying 15 year old Buffy….

Anti spike/spuffy ppl always try and use that interview to make Spike out to be “just as creepy” as Angel which is always just so embarrassing to me that they don’t grasp the basic difference between one was the most evil and literally is a predator to her prey but buffy is also a predator to spike’s kind so there is even still a balance of power between them even then and he’s literally just explaining how he played the scene to get the attitude and body language right as a predator bc he understands that’s what Spike is to Buffy at that time (literally had zero clue he would ever be a love interest of Buffy’s). And the other who is not supposed to be a predator anymore…. hides his identity as a vampire AND hides the fact that he’s been watching her for over a year is still acting as a predator but instead of stalking an experienced slayer to attempt to fight and kill he is stalking a freshly called still weak and vulnerable slayer who he wants to sleep with aka corrupt.

Angel is supposed to be GOOD yet is still acting like a predator. Spike IS EVIL and so is simply acting as someone who has killed two slayers should 💀💀💀💀 the fact that soulless evil Spike and soulful “good” Angel’s behavior can be compared AT ALL is bad for angel and angel alone bc spike is supposed to be evil and treating buffy as someone he is hunting and as an opponent. Angel is supposed to be HELPING Buffy….

But regardless of all that the argument is James said Sarah is beautiful so of course he played up that angle as well so canonically Spike thinks a 16 year old Buffy is pretty and these people really don’t understand the difference between the two 😭😭

First of all I personally have heard Sarah call herself “not the prettiest” at least 10 times in 10 different interviews - how often do you think the people in her life heard her make jokes or comments about her appearance??? To me that always seemed like James just paying a compliment to his costar who doesn’t understand how literally fucking STUNNING she is by basically being like HAVE YOU SEEN HER OF COURSE MY CHARACTER THINKS SHE’S PRETTY LOOK AT HER!! James literally rizzed his way into a main character and love interest like of course he’s gonna be charming in real life by paying compliments to everyone he can every chance he gets. He had sex appeal and a dream AND IT WORKED 💀 and we also see him have chemistry with practically every person on the show that’s just who he is 😹😹😹

But I also just cannot emphasize how much of a difference there is between finding someone attractive or thinking they’re beautiful vs actually ACTING on it and ESPECIALLY acting on it when you call her friend of the same age “just a kid” and say over and over again how wrong it is and that she’s too young AND THEN DO IT ANYWAY. Like it’s a supernatural show with vampires who are 100 & 200+ years old if angel hadn’t constantly acted like her dad and treated Buffy like a kid and everything is season 3 didn’t happen there could be sooooooo much more leniency with angel and buffy’s age differences and I probably wouldn’t care bc applying irl rules to the supernatural doesn’t make a lot of sense but angel always treats her like a child and says over and over again how wrong it is and THAT is what makes it a problem within this supernatural show bc Spike never treats her like a child or like she isn’t his equal ever no matter what age she is

But unfortunately it makes sense people who like a character whose main personality trait is !catholic guilt! (when he’s got a soul) don’t understand the difference between thoughts and actions and how we should only be defining ourselves and other people by their actions. Because we are not every single thought we’ve ever had both good and bad. If you think to do good things but don’t that does not make you good and if you think to do bad things but don’t that does not make you bad.

So evil Spike thinking a beautiful Buffy dancing with her friends is hot at 16 is not even CLOSE to the same as a supposed to be good angel activity pursuing a relationship with her by breadcrumbing the absolute fuck out of her, manipulating her like crazy and lying to her about practically everything and flirting with her under false pretenses after falling in love at the sight of her looking like a child with her lollipop on the school steps at 15 and then watching her cry in the bathroom mirror as he watches her from the bushes with a smile on his face and hope in his eyes and if you don’t understand that there is literally nothing I can do or say to help you

[divine0rdainment]

I had a horrible realization while looking at a buffy the vampire slayer TikTok... OF COURSE I LIKE ADAM FROM HAZBIN HOTEL! MY FIRST CRUSH WHEN I WAS 10 WAS FUCKING SPIKE FROM BUFFY

GOD DAMN IT! CONFIDENT MAN WHO HAS NO RIGHT TO BE SO FULL OF HIMSELF!

GOT REJECTED BY TWO LOVE INTERESTS AND IT SHAPES HIS LIFE FOR THE WORST!

HATES A GUY WHOS STRONGER THEN HIM AND ALSO DATED ONE OF HIS LOVE INTRESTS AND THEN IS SHIPPED WITH SAID GUY BY 1/4TH OF THE FANDOM (Lucifer/Angel)

LIKES ROCK AND ROLL AND CAN PLAY GUITAR AND SING

KILLS PEOPLE FOR FUN AND MAKES A GAME OUT OF IT (the slayers/ the sinner)

MAKES CUTE NICK NAMES FOR THE GIRLS IN HIS LIFE! AND THEY ARE NOT FLATTERING NICKNAMES AT ALL ( Spike calls buffy like 15 nicknames and Adam calls Lute anger tits and bitch)

THEY ARE THE SAME FUCKING PERSON GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!

[brian-in-finance]

Instagram

•••••

•••••

WHAT THE STARS ARE SAYING

Check out why so many famed actors use Backstage

Trusted since 1960

Founded in 1960, Backstage has a storied history of serving the entertainment industry. For over 60 years Backstage has served as a casting resource and news source for actors, performers, directors, producers, agents, and casting directors.

Over that time, Backstage Magazine has also appeared on numerous TV shows, such as “Mad Men,” “Entourage,” “Glee,” “Oprah,” NBC's “Today” show, Comedy Central's “@Midnight”, NY1's “On Stage,” and “Saturday Night Live,” as well as multiple mentions on shows like “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” “Girls,” and appearances in films such as “13 Going on 30,” the Farrelly brothers' “Stuck on You” and Spike Lee's “Girl 6,” and even a mention in Woody Allen's short-story collection “Mere Anarchy” and Augusten Burroughs' novel “Sellevision” – and Backstage has received accolades from multiple Academy Award-, Emmy-, and Tony-winning actors and directors. (Plus, the hit musical “The Last Five Years” even includes Backstage in its lyrics: “Here's a headshot guy and a new Backstage / Where you're right for something on every page.”)

CAITRÍONA BALFE

ACTRESS

"I still get Backstage emails 'cause I still subscribe to Backstage. [Backstage is) kind of the Bible in the beginning, which is amazing. Samuel French and Backstage go hand in hand, you know? You go there for your plays when you're in classes, and then you get your Backstage."

Backstage 1

•••••

Brian’s Note: The following story originally appeared in April 2015. Most recent update is December 2020.

The Gorgeous Determination of Caitríona Balfe

Caitríona Balfe is on the move. That's been true most of her adult life— especially the 10 years she was modeling for Victoria's Secret, Dolce & Gabbana, and others—but as she sits on the rooftop patio of a West Hollywood hotel in mid-March, she mentions that she's pulling up stakes from Los Angeles.

"It just feels silly to have an empty place for 10 months until I figure out what I'm doing with my life," the Irish-born actor says. "I've rented the same place for the last four years and now I have to give it up." Her apartment is being razed to put in condos, but her departure from L.A. is extra poignant considering this is the city where Balfe journeyed when she decided to put aside that successful modeling career and focus on the vocation she'd always wanted: acting.

Photo: Luc-Richard Elie

"I've moved so much since I was 18," she says. "I mean, l've lived so many places. New York, I lived in for almost eight years [while modeling], and that's been the longest of anywhere since I left Ireland. But L.A. is where I came and said, 'OK, this is what I wanna do with my life.' "

She refuses to think of her move as a permanent one, though. "I'll be back," she declares, "but it feels really sad. My little apartment, it's got so many memories."

Balfe's sadness is no doubt mitigated by the fact that part of her need to move is due to the precipitous rise in her fortunes. She'll soon be flying to Scotland to shoot the second season of "Outlander," which returns to Starz April 4 to conclude Season 1.

When last we saw Balfe's Claire, the resourceful British nurse who comes home after World War |I only to be inexplicably teleported into the 18th-century Highlands, she was half-naked with a knife to her breast. Don't worry: Claire will get out of that scrape, but more perils await-to say nothing of the emerging multi-era romantic triangle developing between her, the Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), and her 20th-century husband, Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies), who wonders where she's gone.

Based on the much-beloved Diana Gabaldon novels and developed for television by "Battlestar Galactica" rebooter Ronald D. Moore, "Outlander" is an ostensibly lush period-piece-within-a-period-piece drama that's consistently richer and thornier than its romance-novel trappings suggest. And much of the credit goes to Balfe, who had managed small parts in films such as “Super 8” and “Now You See Me” before landing the central role in this adaptation.

In person, Balfe is far less imposing than the steely Claire, who has to weather the dangers of being a woman in sexist, violent Scotland in the 1740s. Cast late in the preproduction of “Outlander”—Moore has mentioned in interviews how hard it was to find the right Claire—she didn’t have time to consider what the role would do to her life. “I’m so bad on social media," she confesses on this warm afternoon, nestled underneath a cabana. "I had set up an account on Twitter maybe a year or so before I got this job and had, I thought, a lot of followers — 250 or something, and most of them are my friends. Within about a month or two, it was thousands of people — and my phone, I didn't know how to turn off the alerts, so it was just going all the time. That was the beginning of the awareness."

Growing up in the small Irish community of Monaghan, Balfe had considered acting from an early age. ("I was devastated that I wasn't a child actor," she says, smiling. But after traveling to Dublin to study theater, she changed course once she received an offer to model. It wasn't a secret passion of hers, but who turns down a trip to Paris? "My parents felt that I should finish college," Balfe recalls, "but l'm slightly headstrong, so l took their advice and I completely ignored it."

Over the next decade, she lived in France, Italy, Germany, and Japan, her modeling inexperience hardly a detriment. "You'd be amazed how little information or training goes into it," she says. "When I first arrived in Paris, I was told to take a bus to the office. I left my suitcase — I barely spoke any French — and someone took me across the street, helped me buy a Carte Orange. They printed out five addresses that I had to go to that day, and then they sent me off." She still remembers at 18 riding the subway alongside 16-year-old aspiring Russian models, who knew no French or English, homesick and sobbing their eyes out. "That was just the way it was," says Balfe. "You become pretty tough. When I went to Japan, it was similar: They would drive you to their castings, but the minute you got a job, it would be like, 'Here's an address, here's a map. Good luck.' They don't have signposts in English in Japan, so the map and the address are not always very helpful."

Hear Balfe recount her early misadventures in modeling and you can't help but think of Claire, who's equally thrown to the wolves once she arrives in the 18th century amid people wary of the English in general and assertive women in particular. "Honestly, l've been in so many situations in my life where you just are completely displaced," Balfe says. “You have to adapt very quickly and figure it out. I definitely think that informs Claire a lot. It helped me understand her."

Did moving to Paris at such a young age teach Balfe that she can cope in any circumstance? "I think I didn't really realize that until many years later," she replies. "I have a great knack of not thinking about things and just going for it. You learn the hard way sometimes that you're able to get through, but sometimes it's quite tough when you're in a situation where you don't know anyone and you're trying to find your way around cities. But if an opportunity presents itself and it seems like a good idea, l'm just like, 'OK, let's do it, then I'll figure it out.'”

The decision to reconnect with her acting ambitions was conducted just as boldly. Ready to quit modeling, she moved to Los Angeles because a writer she was dating lived there. He was the only person she knew, but she had read a Vanity Fair interview with Amy Adams in which she said she trained with Warner Loughlin. "I could walk to that place from my ex-boyfriend's house," she says, "so l was like, 'Well, I'm gonna go there because I can't really drive. I started from scratch. I didn't have any managers, I didn't know any agents, I hadn't acted in almost a decade." But she just kept taking classes, moving from Loughlin to the studios of Sanford Meisner and Judith Weston. "I think when I first got here, I had a nice little air of delusion: 'It's gonna work out,'" she says with a laugh. “You just don't know how."

And then came "Outlander." By email, Moore admits that he didn't know Balfe's work until her audition tape came unsolicited to his office from her agent. Once she was chosen for Claire, he made it clear how demanding the job would be. “I told her in our first meeting that this was going to be an even bigger responsibility and workload than the normal TV lead," he writes. "Because the story was being told from Claire's point of view, Cait was going to be in every scene, every day for months, which is an extraordinary amount of work, far beyond what most actors are ever asked to do."

Moore's warning didn't faze Balfe. Writes Moore, "After she met with the president of Starz... and it was clear that she was going to land the role, I walked her to the elevator and just before the doors closed on her, I said 'Your life is about to change forever,' and she gave me a grin that was both thrilled and slightly nervous. I never saw her hesitate after that."

She's never hesitated before. As Balfe prepares to say goodbye to L.A. (for now, she thinks back to her early days in the city, trying to convince casting directors that she was more than just a model. "I went on many, many, many, many auditions that were Hot Girl No. 2 — you wanna shoot yourself," she says, laughing. "But, you know, I'm very lucky that l was even getting those auditions in the beginning. And it toughens you up. At least for me, to have that fuel to prove people wrong—it definitely spurs me on and makes me wanna work harder." Then she smiles conspiratorially. "And shove it to them."

Backstage 2

Remember… I told her in our first meeting that this was going to be an even bigger responsibility and workload than the normal TV lead. — Ronald D Moore

[jaegeraether]

Sunsets and footballers (Part 2)

Lucy Bronze x Reader (2)

Masterlist (other parts here)

Jordan looked slightly better after the shower, however her demeanour was still down. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked even more slight in Lucy’s larger clothes. As she rounded the corner, YFN gave her a warm smile and Jordan took a seat next to her at the kitchen counter. Lucy slid a hot drink across to her and squeezed her hand for support.

Jordan held the cup in between her hands and looked at YFN. “Thank you for everything. Y…you…I didn’t realise how upset I’d beco…” Her lips quivered as she tried to stop herself from crying to no success. She became frustrated. “Argh I’m so sorry.” She buried her face in her hands again and YFN stood next to her, again wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and squeezing. Jordan leant into her. Lucy looked at YFN with wide, intrigued eyes. They’d only met an hour ago and Jordan was already so trusting of her. Who was she? What had they talked about?

“You’re okay, Jordan. You’re okay. Let it out, but don’t dwell, just like we said before, okay?”

Jordan nodded, her head moving against YFN’s torso as she hid her face. YFN took the tissue box extended to them by Lucy and put it in front of Jordan. She grabbed some tissues gratefully and blew her nose, leaning back. YFN took her seat again.

“Y…you’re my Australian guardian angel, honestly. I…” She looked at YFN with eyes that reflected her sadness. “Can…can you stay? Please?” She looked at Lucy. “Can she stay? She’s really nice I promise.”

Lucy gave her friend an amused smile and turn to YFN with a look of ‘I told you so.’ “Of course she can.”

Jordan looked at YFN. “I can stay for a little longer, but perhaps not the night. I am still a random stranger, after all.. and you two are officially the first people in this country I know!”

They both smiled at that, again the slight disappointment reflected on both of their faces. YFN wiped the rain that had dripped onto her face from her hair, and looked at Lucy, gesturing to the bathroom. “May I?”

Lucy watched her closely and held her stare with an interested one. “Of course – let me get some clothes for you.”

The shower was a much needed boost of warmth after the downpour. YFN wondered whether or not she should wash her hair, feeling unsure if it would be rude to use Lucy’s shampoo and conditioner. From what she could already tell of the woman, she decided she wouldn’t mind. Hopping out, she quickly dried and put on the clothes Lucy had given her, an unopened sports bra and underwear, along with some comfy grey sweatpants, a shirt and a hoody. Almost all of the sizes were just slightly too big, but she loved that. She could tell also that the hoody was not new, as it smelled like vanilla and bitter orange. Was that Lucy’s smell? Her stomach tingled with little butterflies, but she pushed aside the feeling. How was it possible to be attracted to someone after just knowing them for 10 minutes?

Jordan was on the couch when YFN came out. Lucy gave a smile, brushing past her as she headed to the bathroom to shower, and YFN joined Jordan on the couch, settling into the corner.

“How are you feeling, mate?”

Jordan laughed at the Australian term. “Better… Luce has been great, she’s made me feel a bit better about it all. Though, she is upset I didn’t let her know sooner.”

“Why didn’t you..?”

“It’s a bit difficult, to be fair. She plays in another country, and there’s no point worrying her from all the way over here. She can’t exactly pack up and leave to take care of me.”

YFN’s interest spiked at this a little. Lucy didn’t live in England? “No, but she can give you advice from afar and I’m sure she has people to contact here to make sure you’re safe and happy, you know? I bet you have a whole community of people around you. Shutting people out because you think it’s what’s best for them is not what you need right now. You need the support of your friendships.”

Jordan nodded slowly. YFN could tell it was not a comfortable thing for her – to say she needed help. Not out of pride, but purely out of worry she’d burden others.

They spoke a little more, and Lucy eventually joined them on the couch. She sat on the opposite corner of the couch, with Jordan between the two women. She laid her long, bronze legs out and stretched her arms over the back of couches, partially resting one hand on Jordan’s shoulder. Jordan reached up and placed her hand on Lucy’s without looking at her. They were definitely close friends.

“So how long are you staying here?” Jordan asked YFN.

Lucy pushed her transparent glasses up the bridge of her nose and answered for her. “2 weeks here, wasn’t it?”

YFN nodded, happy that Lucy had paid attention. “2 weeks in England, maybe, and then backpacking Europe. Any of those plans are subject to change though.”

“And you don’t know anyone here?”

“Nope. Never been here, and I do… I know you two.” She gave a cheeky grin.

Jordan laughed. “Isn’t that lonely?”

YFN got the impression that Jordan could sometimes be quite direct without realising or meaning it.

“Not at all! I’m old enough to enjoy my independence. No Contiki tours or raves or needing to worry about other people wanting to do things I don’t want to. I get to just explore what I want, when I want. And look! I met two footballers.” She gave a laugh and shook her head in disbelief.

Jordan turned to Lucy. “She’s never heard of either of us before.”

Lucy looked sceptical and then seemed to accept it. “You don’t follow football?”

“Ah, I do, of course! But my football is called AFL or ‘footy’ in Australia, and it’s an entirely different game, VERY brutal and fast paced.”

“I’ve heard of that but I’ve never watched any…”

“Oh please.. pull up AFL on YouTube. You won’t regret it.”

Lucy leaned across Jordan and handed her phone to YFN, their fingers brushing briefly, sending a shiver down her spine. YFN played AFL greatest hits for the two to watch. Their expressions of amazement and pain were hilarious to her as the AFL players crashed into each other, sacrificing their bodies for the ball. She explained the rules to them, and they both seemed quite interested and into it. At their request, she pulled up the latest game and they watched the highlights.

Lucy watched with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open. Jordan laughed and nudged YFN. “You’ve got a new ‘footy’ fan in that one!”

“How is that legal?! Are there rules?!” Lucy asked as she leant backward, cringing as a player was knocked unconscious.

“There are rules but as long as you’re going for the ball, it doesn’t matter if players get injured.” She laughed. “In a few states in Australia, they don’t even have grass. They play on gravel.”

They both turned to her with jaws hanging open. “WHAT.”

She laughed again, and the sound made Lucy smile. “If you two ever come over to Australia, please let me know so I can take you to a game. You need to see the MCG! It’s huge.”

They trio spent the rest of the night laughing and bonding over a surprising amount they had in common. On multiple occasions where Jordan had her head back, laughing hard, Lucy and YFN shared a look and large smiles seeing Jordan so happy. She eventually tired herself out and fell asleep, her little body curled up between the two. They left her like that for a while, her head leaning on Lucy’s thigh, and her legs draped across YFN, under a blanket the two shared. Lucy’s arm was still over the back of the couch, and YFN was very aware of how close it was. They watched some more TV in silence before Jordan started softly snoring. Lucy and YFN caught each other’s eye and both silently laughed. YFN tilted her head, a dimple appearing on one cheek and Lucy sharply inhaled at the sight. YFN gestured towards the door with a gentle expression. Lucy nodded and the two carefully extracted themselves from under Jordan. YFN’s only escape path was to move backwards and hoist herself over the back of the couch. The couch tipped slightly and she slipped, her knees still over the couch, Lucy running to catch her before the couch tipped and her head hit the ground. With one hand on the back of her neck and the other under her back, the two were laughing so hard and silently that their bodies were shaking.

With the support of Lucy almost under her, YFN let herself slide the rest of the way onto the ground. Jordan snored a little more loudly this time. YFN clutched her stomach with one hand, and Lucy’s arm with the other, trying her best not to laugh out loud. Lucy’s vibrating body was not helping her to control her amusement. They both made their way to the front door as quietly as they could, gasping for air.

“Wait a second.” Lucy left her at the door, which gave her time to order an Uber. Lucy returned with a bag and handed it to the woman. YFN looked confused, opening it to see her freshly washed and dried clothes.

“Oh!” She whispered, surprised. “Thank you!” She looked down at Lucy’s clothes on her. “I’ll get changed.” She went to move towards the bathroom.

“No..” Lucy put her arm out to stop her, her hand lightly touching her stomach. “Don’t worry. Maybe I’ll see you again, and I can get them back then? Otherwise, you can keep them.”

YFN smiled, that dimple appearing again. “Maybe.”

Lucy blinked and regained her composure, reaching out to take keys off the hook near the door. YFN reached out and lightly touched her hand. “No..” She said as Lucy just had. “I ordered an Uber. I think it’s best to stay with her right now… I’m glad she’s had a bit of fun tonight, but she really needs to not be alone any time soon.”

Lucy felt disappointed and tried to not show it, however she was blatantly aware that their hands were still touching. She couldn’t help as her eyes went from YFNs eyes, to her dimple, to her lips, and back up. YFN blushed slightly and pulled back her hand as she heard a car stop outside. She turned to look and confirm it was her Uber.

“I need to go.” She whispered.

“Thank you for…everything. Thank you for looking out for my friend. If you ever need me for anything, you know where I am.” Lucy smiled. She reached into her pocket to get the little piece of paper she’d written her number on but before she could, YFN gave her a soft hug. “Thanks, Lucy. You’re a really great friend to her, you know.”

With that, she walked away, leaving Lucy in the doorway wondering after her.

The next morning, YFN woke up with a disappointed feeling. She was disappointed that she didn’t have the number of Jordan, or Lucy. She was feeling worried about Jordan and wanted an update, even if they didn’t know each other well. She knew exactly what Jordan was feeling and it hurt her. Unfortunately, she’d let her pride get in the way and left quickly after hugging Lucy, not wanting them to get the impression that she was trying to get involved into their presumably famous footballer lives. She knew her best bet to see Jordan would probably be beach, but she also hoped she wouldn’t be there. She hoped Lucy had managed to get her back on a good path, and so she wouldn’t need to be alone at the beach. Regardless, YFN went about her day exploring. She took time to try some local foods, and spend time to relax by reading a book in a little park she came across. By sunset, she was back at the beach. Again, storm clouds loomed overhead which just made the sunset even prettier. She wriggled her toes so they were covered in the cool sand and thought about the squeaky white sand in Australia. She missed home already. But only for the scenery. YFN wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, watching the sun begin to disappear. She felt a hand on her back and jumped, her head pivoting as she locked onto a pair of amused green eyes. She could just fall into those and keep falling.

Lucy pushed the glasses up her nose. “May I join you?”

YFN smiled and nodded. They watched the sunset for a while in comfortable silence.

“How’s Jordan?”

Lucy sighed. “She’s doing okay. She’s with some more friends at the moment. I have a game on Friday night so she insisted I have my prep time. I’m surprised you two didn’t exchange numbers.”

“Me too – I’ve been worrying about her all day to be honest. She seems sweet.”

“The sweetest. And usually a little ball of happy energy too. Breaks my heart to see her upset.”

“I’m guessing you asked her where we met?”

Lucy gave a cheeky smile. “Of course. I wanted to see if you want to come to the game Friday night. I have an extra ticket in the family and friend section, and I think Jordan would love the company. My brother can be a bit…overwhelming and loud.”

YFN laughed, tilting her head back. Lucy couldn’t help but watch as she did. “So, nothing like you then?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She grinned.

“Lucy, I’d love to go.” She beamed. “But I’m going to need someone to explain the rules to me.”

They watched the rest of the sunset talking and laughing, and ended up having to sprint to Lucy’s car as the rain began. Lucy drove YFN back to her hotel so she wouldn’t have to walk in the rain. She made sure to walk her up to her room and gave her both hers and Jordan’s numbers. “Jordan wanted you to have hers also. She wants to meet with you tomorrow I think… just text her anyways.”

“Oh, I will.” She looked up at Lucy again, beaming that she had made friends in a new country, and also excited at the prospect of her first football game. Her expression softened Lucy’s heart. “You can text or call me as well, for anything you need.”

“Won’t that be a distraction from training?”

“Yes… but a very welcome one.” She gave her cheeky, wide grin again.

“Can I ask you a random question?”

Lucy’s heart jumped. “Shoot.”

“I’m not really used to any accents around here yet.. what’s your accent?”

Lucy laughed. “Northumberland.” She said proudly. “Terrible innit?”

“No, I love it to be honest. You sort of just decide to lose letters along the way. It’s great.”

“Alright, settle down. I’ll see you on Friday then.”

“I’ll be the one with the Australian Flag.”

[niuniente]

I got Buffy The Vampire Slayer tarot deck. As my attempt is to get to back to tarot and learn to read them intuitively via images, too, I always go through tarot decks to see if any of the cards pick my interest. If the illustration is somehow different or in a way or another chances the atmosphere of the card's usual meaning (for example a broken Tower VS an intact Tower).

Here are my faves from BTVS deck:

The Lovers is a card for Tara and Willow. Not only it is nice to see The Lovers depicting a same sex Lovers, this The Lovers feels like "I found you! Finally, I found you!" The Sun (The Spirit) is shining its blessing on this love. This is very easy, relieving and fulfilling love, where possibly two different kinds of people (lush tree & scorched tree) come together. (Typically, The Lovers card for me represents love which requires some work and effort, and might be challenging at first).

The Tower in this deck is intact and seems to be able to hold its form despite everything going around it. It is a message tower, so this The Tower underlines communication, knowing, intuition and the gut feeling. Notice the person leaping into freedom from this Tower. This Tower represents circumstances which ask you to leave more than everything crumbling around you whether you want it or not, and taking part of you with it.

10 of Swords in this deck is the most peaceful 10 of Swords I've ever seen. It's like "Well, it is how it is and there's no changing it". Things have ended and there's really nothing you can do anymore but go with the flow and let the old die. Don't take the hand of old (Angel) trying to reach back to you - it is going and it needs to go. Keep your head clear and calm (Buffy).

Judgement card has a message on it: "Please check ALL bags/backpacks at counter". What are you carrying in your bags? What are you bringing under the eye of Judgement? You will be judged based on that because what you put in your bag, that will go with you and you have to deal with it. So, check your bags!

The Sun card with Buffy and Spike looks a lot like traditional The Lovers, which is a really nice touch, as both cards are good - and when combined together, SUPER good! Fans of Spuffy might also be happy to know that The Sun represents the highest point in one's potential. It has now been reached, you have reached your personal enlightenment in a way or another. Hardships are behind and one has survived them.

5 of Cups is probably my favorite! Typically this card depicts a person crying after 3 fallen cups, while 2 are still fine. Buffy here, however, doesn't mind the fallen cups but keeps going, filling her own cup with the strength, resilience and stubbornness she's got. A really positive card for 5 of cups.