#and as I said I’ll never write this in anything but bullet points anyway

[wheeler-things]

Man, I’m never going to write it properly because I don’t have the patience or time, but one day I’m going to talk about my Crazier Things roleswap au.

Where—

Joyce kicked Lonnie out much earlier, and, instead of getting work at Melvald’s, decides to angle for a better paying job at the police station. Nobody believes she can handle being an officer because she’s Joyce Byers and she’s tiny and lbr a woman, but through her ferocious tenacity when the safety of her boys is on the line plus a pathetically slim pool of applicants (and the fact that I am the god if this au and I want her and Hop to swap roles because I’m swapping all the mains), eventually she’s brought on in a trial capacity. She ends up sticking around when her skills as a detective become apparent (yes, she still faces sexism in the workplace on the daily, but she is legitimately good at her job).

Meanwhile, Sara died when she was 2 or 3, so Hop’s divorce happened earlier. El wasn’t an experiment in this au (though she does have latent powers), but through some situation, Hopper ended up with El being shoved in his direction when she was a toddler. He wasn’t really in a fit place to care for her, but (for whatever reason that I have not and will not figure out) he ends up adopting her anyway. He moves the two of them back to Hawkins, and picks up a job at Melvald’s, because it’s what’s available at the time. Because all the stress doesn’t actually help his substance abuse issues (and because I need a reason for other people to doubt his sanity/perception a la s1 Joyce being doubled), he still drinks too much, and he’s not in a very mentally healthy place at all, but he’s trying his best.

Mike Wheeler might only be a little kid, but there’s already something weird about him. Even as a baby, he gets chronic nosebleeds. The lights flicker when he’s upset. Sometimes, the tape suddenly skips to or repeats a song that he loves, despite nobody touching the tape deck. Ted doesn’t notice any of this as more than a strange coincidence. Karen does her best not to think about it, but she can’t help but worry about her son.

Mike and Will still meet on the swings when they’re 5, and within the day, they’re best friends. Within the week, they also meet El, and the three of them become best friends.

The summer after Kindergarten, Karen takes Mike to see a doctor because she’s worried that his chronic nosebleeds haven’t stopped. That’s how he ends up on Brenner’s radar. And just before the start of first grade, Mike Wheeler disappears without a trace.

Max moves to Hawkins that October, and she becomes El and Will’s friend pretty quickly (she also gets a front row seat to the slow progression of the two of them losing more and more hope that their third best friend— who Max never met but knows everything about because both talk about him constantly— is ever coming home).

Karen obviously fights to look for her son, and the searches go on for months, but they find nothing. With her money and connections, Karen actually gets the current police chief kicked out of the position, because she doesn’t believe he’s doing everything he can to find her son. That’s how Joyce takes on the role of Police Chief because she might be the best detective the station has, but she’s also a woman so the thought is that Karen will probably get HER fired as well which for totally unknown reasons is the most palatable option to a bunch of people with power over the station (//sighs in sexism). Joyce actually listens to Karen, though, and is as transparent as possible about the search, even though it’s very cold at this point, so despite being dissatisfied and upset, Karen at least believes Joyce is doing her best. And that’s how Joyce ends up police chief.

Mike’s disappearance puts added pressure on the Wheeler house, so Nancy ends up acting out more for attention which is how we get Nancy in Steve’s canon s1 role as the popular party girl (though she’s still Nancy— smart as a whip and ambitious as hell, it’s just hidden better). Meanwhile, Jonathan ends up in her canon nerd role (he’s studying hard for a full ride to NYU!) with Barb as his best friend. And Steve… well, Billy showed up earlier with Max, so he got to work putting Steve down long before Steve’s rep was secure, and Steve is now something of a loner. He’s still a jock, but he does solo stuff like track instead of team sports. The upside is that this means he and Robin (who mayyyy or may not be the cool anti-establishment teen running this universe’s Hellfire Club, when the canon era starts) became friends earlier.

Steve and Jonathan know each other loosely, and are assigned to do a project together (Jonathan’s a nerd who’s taking a class above his grade level and Steve had no friends in the class so they got paired up by default), so Steve goes over to Jonathan’s house and sees Will, El, and Max huddled over their first dnd manual. Somehow (Steve doesn’t remember exactly how, but he’s pretty sure El and Will’s twin puppy dog eyes had something to do with it), a simple “oh, dnd, huh?” comment turns into thirteen year old Steve agreeing that the kids can use his place as a quiet place to play (his parents are never around anyway), and maybe he’ll get his cool friend who knows how to play to stop by and help out if they need it, and telling Joyce that it’s fine he wouldn’t mind babysitting because, really, he’s really bored a lot of the time in his big, empty house. And from then on, Steve’s place is this version of the Party’s Wheeler Basement.

Lucas shows up in fourth grade, and joins the Party. Obviously this changes his dynamic with Max— they get a slower burn in this one (and I’m still undecided whether it would ultimately end with El/Lucas/Max or Dustin/El), but he gets accepted really readily.

So… on November 6, 1983, the Party bikes home from Steve’s place after a session, and El vanishes (which is Will’s actual worst nightmare because now BOTH of his Kindergarten best friends have vanished without a trace). This leads, ultimately, to Will, Max, and Lucas going looking for El in the woods the next night. They don’t find her, but they do find a very bewildered boy with black, shaved hair and dark eyes, with the number 014 tattooed on his wrist.

[garbinge]

10 Years

Chibs Telford x F!Reader

30 Day Fic Challenge

Word Count: 4k A/N: I'm realizing now it took me so long to write all these fics because they're all easily over 1k lololol. Back in my chibby erraaa <3

Warnings: All my fics are 18+ regardless of content. Mentions of guns, violence, blood, bullet wounds, getting shot, death, and pining.

SOA Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics

You gave up the hope that the bell on the door gave you years ago. Everytime they hit the door, you’d look up to see who was there. It started with a smile, everytime you looked up you had a smile on your face, then it eventually faded to a neutral one, then somewhere along the line, you didn’t even bother looking up and just greeted the door with some remark. 

“Welcome to Ashby’s, holler if you need anything.” You didn’t even look up from the inventory you were doing. 

“Take your time, love.” 

The voice was enough to trigger all that hope again. You felt your body shake, your heart skipped, and your eyes immediately looked up to a sea full of leather at the door. 

“Mother of Christ.” You mumbled the words as you looked at the group of them, but mainly just at Chibs. 

“I’m looking for Maureen Ashby.” The blond you knew as Jackson Teller spoke up, his face looked tired, between the black bags under his eyes and the stubble growing from chin. 

“Maureen!” You called out, not taking your eyes off the boys. 

“Aye, don’t blow a fuse.’ She also had her head down similarly to you earlier.

“We got company.” You knew that would get her attention. 

Maureen didn’t seem as shocked to see them, but more so just not expecting them so soon. She brought them to the apartment out back, leaving you no time to talk with Chibs. It didn’t stop him from coming to leave a quick kiss on your forehead before he walked with the rest of the group. 

Work went by so slowly, your eyes were watching the clock and the door and you swore time went back minutes instead of forward. It didn’t help that the store wasn’t exactly booming with business, large groups of bikers hanging outside seemed to deter a lot of everyday business. 

You were closing up, locking the cash register and turning off the lights. As you went to the front door, you stretched up to grab the metal arm of the locking mechanism drilled to the top of the door. 

“Was coming to see you.” His voice didn’t startle you like one would have during closing time. You simply just turned around to see him standing at the doorway in the back that connected to Maureen’s place. He still had his SAMCRO jacket on, his hair was oily, likely the result of a long, stressful day. 

“Funny enough, so was I.” You went back to locking up the door, grunting to make sure the locks were tight. 

“Drink on me? Outside?” Chibs was pointing over his shoulder behind him. 

You nodded and walked towards but not without stopping to grab the gun you kept behind the counter and tucking it in your waistband. 

“In case you boys brought fireworks to the party.” It was said dangerously close to Chibs as you paused in front of him before walking up the stairs to Maureen’s place. 

“Mother of Christ.” He mumbled under his breath and looked up to the sky before following you upstairs. 

“Locked up, sent in the inventory order and I’ll be here tomorrow mornin’ for the keg shipment.” You spoke to Maureen who was smoking a cigarette at her kitchen table. 

“Aye,” she nodded, “don’t worry about the kegs, I’ll have McGee put a prospect on it, it’s theirs anyways.” She smirked slightly and looked at Chibs behind you. “Enjoy your night, loves.” 

You nodded with a gratuitous smile and opened the door to walk downstairs. The noise was loud, it was incredible what Maureen’s house muted, it was insane out here. Tons of yelling, laughing, fighting, a large fire pit going on. 

Stopping on the landing of the stairs you looked out to take it all in, despite you working so closely with the Ireland charter, you never went to these types of things. 

“We can go somewhere more private if you’d like.” Chibs’ voice was precariously close to your ear. 

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you.” As you looked over your shoulder you saw how close you were to him and it was hard to stand by your statement of not wanting to be somewhere private with him. But you held strong and started your descent down the stairs. “Get me a beer, will ya?” 

Plopping down on one of the wooden picnic benches, you made yourself comfortable, eyes glued on the fight happening between some of the guys until it moved onto Jax who was getting ready to fight. 

“Looks like Jackie boy made himself a bet.” Chibs spoke up placing the bottle in front of you and sitting down on top of the table, his head looking over his shoulder to continue looking at Jax. 

“Crazy to see him so grown up. Remember him in naps practically.” You teased. 

“We’ve all done some growing up, I think.” Chibs wasn’t looking at you as he said it but you knew what he was insinuating. 

“Have we?” Your eyebrows raised, curious how he was going to respond. 

“Aye.” 

One word, spoke enough volume to you though. 

“How’s Kerianne?” You matched how he was carrying himself, not looking at him as you spoke, sipping your beer as a way to give yourself something to do. 

“She’s good, upstairs with Trinity in her room.” 

“How was the ride over?” You were exhausting your small talk options. 

“A pile of shite.” He laughed at that one remembering the mess of just trying to get here. 

“It true?” You nodded towards Jax who was starting to get into the ring. “‘Bout Jax’s boy?” 

“Not too sure, was going to ask you if you knew or heard anything?” 

That made your face drop. “You’re kidding me, right?” Now you weren’t afraid to look at him. “That’s why you came to speak with me, to pull out any information I might have, what was your plan, Filip? Sleep with me and get me to pillowtalk any information I had? Maybe drown me in a little Irish courage and hope I’d spill it? Well here, I’ll save you the trouble, love, I don’t know shite, I’m lucky if I get a heads up about the fucking kegs let alone club business.” 

After you went off on him, you started to stand up to leave when he caught your arm. “You know that’s not why I asked.” 

Turning around with speed and fury, the anger faded almost immediately when you looked at him. After all these years, you could still tell when he was being genuine. 

“I don’t know anything about Jax’s boy, just know Jimmy’s boys like to come around a lot and rough up anyone who's not down with the cause.” 

It was like you spoke it to existence because as the words left your mouth, the gunshots from outside the fence began. 

Chibs was quick to jump in front of you and bring you down behind a couple crates and kegs. You were in his lap, his left arm was holding you tight against him, while his right was following his body and peering over the side of the wooden crate letting out shots back to where they were coming from. Your mumbled grunt of pain caused him to look back down at you where he saw the blood slightly pooling at his hand. 

“You’re hit.” He scrambled to find where the bullet was to apply pressure. 

“No shit, Chibs.” His nickname flew out of your mouth like it was so effortless, any other time he might’ve smiled at it but he was too busy pressing his arm against your shoulder. Despite the pain you were in, you were trying to take your good arm and reach for your waistband. 

“Stop squirming, you’ll bleed out.” He whispered it so he didn’t compromise your position. 

“I’m trying to get my gun.” You whispered back. 

That’s when his eyes fell on your pants and saw the handle of the gun. He knew he was low on ammo, one of the reasons why he stopped shooting haphazardly along with the fact that you were bleeding all over the place. 

He reached down to grab the gun from you and you practically slapped him with your head as you turned up to look at him. 

“What are you doing?! That’s MY gun, let me shoot at them.”

 “Trust me, I much rather you have it, love.” Chibs said with humor knowing very well that you could easily take out a person for every bullet in the magazine. “But you can’t even reach for it, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to use it.” 

“Might as well shoot me with it while you’re at it.” You said jokingly, out of frustration, as you leaned over so Chibs could grab it. 

“Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but someone already beat me to it.” He was leaning over himself now and looking to see where the shooting was but it had just stopped and the sound of tires squealing filled the air. 

After a brief second of silence, the terror and chaos on the lot began. Yells and screams replaced the silence. You heard the SAMCRO boys calling out for one another, you heard other names first but then you heard them call out for the man who was stopping you from bleeding out. 

“Over here! We’re hit!” He yelled out, now trying to adjust you in the best way possible. 

“We aren’t shit, Filip, I’m hit!” You corrected him despite part of you being smug by his use of we. 

“Love the commitment to the attitude, love, but let’s focus on just keeping you from bleeding out.” 

Jax materialized in front of you and was helping to stand the both of you up. Chibs moved in front of you now, still holding your shoulder with pressure, but the blood was still dripping down your chest. 

“We gotta bring her upstairs.” 

“Yea, her and a few others.” Jax said as he looked quickly at the lot where a good chunk of people were injured, some likely dead. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine, just give me a patch up and take care of me last, it’s my shoulder not an artery, I’m dripping blood because you’re using the arm of your jacket to apply pressure, give me gauze or something.”

“Hap!” Jax yelled and within seconds the bald, tall, skinny, and a little bit scary man appeared. “Get a rag or a shirt or something and come put pressure on this and then bring her upstairs.” Just as quick as Jax was delivering orders was as quick as both of them were walking away. 

Now with Chibs in front of you, the only thing you could really do was look at him. The adrenaline was obviously still coursing through both of your bodies as your chests rose and fall.  Your grip on him was tight and as the two of you just stood there with the madness happening around you. The reality began to settle in and the pain in your shoulder started to throb and to make matters worse you started to take in the scene around you. 

The screaming was now more apparent and you heard it alongside the ringing in your ears. As your mouth opened, and your heart sped up, your voice got hitched in your throat and almost inaudible sound came from your mouth. A hand was then cupping your cheek and lightly pushing your head to face forward. That’s when you looked at his eyes and they were calm, and grounded while yours must’ve looked panicked and worried. 

“Breathe.” He said it so soft it was insane to think someone could be so relaxed at a moment like this. In fact, you had once been the type to be relaxed at moments like this, years ago, which at this moment felt like lifetimes ago. But all that changed when you were shot, the first time, in a situation so similar to this. 

“I know what’s happening and you just gotta breathe.” Chibs spoke again, this time wiping the tear from your cheek with his thumb, while his other hand pressed against your shoulder. 

Before you could answer, Happy had come back and everything changed within seconds. Chibs was no longer applying pressure to your wound, Happy was, and you were being rushed up the stairs. 

You took one more look around and saw Chibs helping Jax with the chaos, and that’s when you told yourself to keep it together. As you were ushered up the stairs, you swallowed your panic and just fully went into disassociation. 

“So why they call you Happy?” You spoke to the man who was applying rough pressure to your shoulder now. 

“Because I’m a happy guy.” He grunted, not bothering to look you in the eye when he spoke. 

As you reached the top quarter of the steps, only about 7 of them left, the door swung open. You expected to see Maureen but instead were met with Trinity and Kerianne looking mortified and curious as to what was happening. 

“Inside, NOW!” You yelled at them as you made it up the rest of the stairs. 

“Just like that.” Happy was a little impressed by your shout and comparing his explanation of himself being a happy guy to your outburst. 

Both of you stepped into the house and Maureen appeared and yelled similarly at the girls but ordered them to grab first aid. 

“Bring her here.” Maureen was clearing off the kitchen table. Happy helped you up on the table and stood there pressing the rag deep into your shoulder. It worked, the blood had stopped dripping down your body, you felt the throbbing ten times now. 

The chaos continued around you, you heard Chib’s voice a few times, giving medical orders, a few of the other guys too. 

“Talk to me, Happy.” It was the only way your mind wasn’t going to spiral. 

“Uh,” He said thinking of what to say, he wasn’t much of a chatter, he just did what he was told and killed people. 

“Think of something, anything.” You begged him as the panic started to set back in. “Talk to me about the fucking weather, about your hobbies, about your fucking favorite food, I don’t care, Happy but I need you to talk to me.” Your eyes were burning into his skull. 

“I like noodles.” He said confidently. 

“Noodles?” You questioned as you let out a laughy breath. 

“Noodles.” He nodded. 

“Well Happy, I make a mean Lo Mein and after this, I’ll owe you a meal.” 

There was a slight smirk to Happy’s face before he nodded. “Does it hurt?” 

“Not my first time being shot, so the pain’s familiar.” You spoke up through your gritted teeth. 

Happy leaned down to show you the scar on his head that looked about a year old. “Not my first rodeo either.” 

“Forgive me, Happy, but that doesn’t surprise me.” You laughed. 

“Why?” He genuinely looked confused. 

“You’re terrifying, Happy.” Your head now was turned the other way trying to get a glimpse at what was happening down the hall. 

“Thank you.” This time his smile was large as he accepted what he thought was a compliment. 

What felt like hours passed but it was likely only minutes. The sweat was starting to pool at your forehead, the chills were starting to take over your autonomy. It was obviously alarming enough because Happy was calling out for help. 

One of the guys from the SAMBEL charter, Paddy, Chib’s nephew, came over and immediately started to pour liquid down your arm and grab whatever he could to pull the bullet out of your shoulder. Your screams were drowning out everything around you. As a few more people moved around you to help, you hoped one of them would be him but when you didn’t see his face, you didn’t have enough time to ask for him because everything eventually went to black. 

You woke up feeling someone rubbing your leg, the pain in your arm was more achey now, more stiff, and you felt exhausted. Sitting up, you saw Chibs at the foot of the bed you were in. 

“Trinity’s room?” You looked around taking in the posters and chachkeys around the room. 

“Aye.” He nodded, not looking at you. 

“I yelled at the girls earlier, told ‘em to go inside, think I scared ‘em.” 

“You did.” Chibs let out a chuckle. “But it was good, they needed to be scared so they stayed inside.” 

“You scared me too.” His head turned to look at you for the first time since you woke up. “I was patching up this lad who got a bullet to his abdomen. Heard your screams, reminded me of–.” His sentence stopped short, his words getting stuck in his throat. 

“To your point, it was extremely reminiscent of what happened all those years ago.” You bent your legs closer to you and patted the bed for him to get closer to you. “Paddy sewed me up good, though.” You referred to his nephew who was the one taking care of you, your eyes looking down at the gauze on your shoulder, a little blood was leaking through but it was normal. 

“Yea, after he spent 5 minutes trying to find the bullet in you that went straight through, the dumb lad.” Chibs shook his head at the stupidity of his nephew. 

“Just didn’t want me losing my life on a kitchen table in Belfast.” You shrugged with one shoulder, your good one. “Reminds me of another Scottish lad.” 

“You, uh, wanna come back to the states with me?” Chibs’ face was frowning, he was confused like he was trying to figure out what to do. 

“If it was that simple, I would’ve come with you when this first happened.” 

“When this first happened, I was in the IRA, this is different now, the club can protect you, I can protect you. Take you away from here, from Jimmy, from the mess of this Irish Catholic shiteshow.” 

“What would I do in the lovely United of States?” You asked him, entertaining his idea. 

“Could run the books at T M, could get you something at the club, or I don’t know, you could just be an ol’ lady.” 

“Ahhh yes, where I wait for you to come home and sit completely in the dark on everything happening, does that sound like my type of life, love?.” 

“Doesn’t sound too far off from what you’re doing now, love.” A female voice sent both of your gazes to the door to see Gemma holding a tray with an orange pill bottle, a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of tea

“Gemma.” The greeting wasn’t cold persay, but it definitely wasn’t a warm welcome. 

“Meds.” She lifted the tray and placed it on the desk to your right. “Don’t let your stubbornness stand in the way of your happiness.” 

There were a million things you could respond back to her with, but you weren’t exactly in the best position to argue with her, nor did you honestly want to. 

“All I’m saying is, we’d be happy to have you.” It was said in the most kind way for Gemma, still with a little control and attitude in her tone, but probably as genuine as she could be. 

Chibs stood up to grab the medicine and bowl of porridge for you, placing it on the nightstand so it was easily reachable. 

Before either of you could speak to what Gemma said, Jax was knocking on the door. 

“Sorry to interrupt. Just wanted to check in.” He wasn’t cleaned up at all, there were still smudges of blood on his neck, his shirt, in his hair. 

“It’s like a bus station in here anyway, the more the merrier.” You waved him in. 

“Just wanted to see how you’re feeling, darlin’.” He didn’t step in further, just stayed leaning on the door. 

“Like shite.” You laughed as you popped the pill into your mouth and grabbed the mug of tea to wash it down. “How’s Happy? Hope I didn’t give ‘em a scare when I passed out.” 

Jax laughed, “I think you made an impression on him. He keeps talking about how you’re gonna make him Lo Mein?” Jax spoke confused but with a chuckle. 

“Glad I could provide a silver lining.” 

‘Maureen told me to give you these.” The packaged gauze was lifted up and then tossed on the desk next to the tray. 

“We should probably change those out soon.” Chibs nodded to the exposed shoulder that had the bloody gauze on it. 

“Couldn’t help but overhear.” Jax raised his eyebrows, knowing his window was closing, he didn’t want to interrupt an intimate moment of bandage changes between you. “And for what it’s worth, we’d love to have you.” 

“Would love to sit in anxiety in tandem with the other SAMCRO women.” You teased. 

“Yea,” Jax’s head fell. “Well, you could do that with Tara, at the hospital, where she works, as a doctor.” It was a humble brag that usually didn’t work in Jax’s favor, people tended to look at their relationship with confusion and wonder but he knew it’d help Chibs in this situation. 

You took in what he said, your idea of an ol’ lady was very old school, very misogynistic, and you were absolutely positive it still was, but hearing that Jax’s ol’ lady was a doctor, had her own path, well that was something that sat differently with you. 

“Coulda used her here, instead of Paddy.” This was your way of making light of the conversation, not wanting it to feel too heavy since you knew it was exactly that for Chibs. 

Jax smiled and looked at the ground and nodded. “Well, if you were in Charming you’d be taken care of.” And with that statement he was kicking off the door. “Holler if you need anything.” It was his way of lightening the mood, repeating what you said when they first arrived, trying to convince you to come back home with them. 

Chibs was starting to take your bandage off, not in the mood for the airy back and forth. He looked at the bullet wound and then his eyes flashed down to your hip where he knew where your other wound was. “This one isn’t going to heal as nicely as the one I patched up.” He was tossing the bloody bandage in the trash. 

You lifted your shirt to show the first scar. “But it’ll make for a good story.” 

“Everyone in Charming will love to hear it.” He tried to be nonchalant but it was everything but. 

“I can’t just jump into this, Filip. I haven’t seen you in almost a decade. Haven’t heard from you, not a note, not a phone call, nothing. And now I’m just supposed to give up my life to come with you to a whole other country?” 

“Well it ain’t like we’re leaving yet.” He was placing the new bandage over the wound. “We could spend some time together, catch up, you could make your decision once we’re getting on the cargo plane to go home.” 

“Cargo plane?” You raised your eyebrows and laughed. “You sure keep me on my toes, Filip.” 

He laughed, bringing his hand up to your face, cupping your cheek again. “I love you, lass.” His lips were moving onto yours and you melted into it. This was the only medicine you needed, it made every thought of pain and ache fade to nothing. 

Pulling away, he rested his forehead on yours and sighed. “And when I’m out, you could uh, catch up on these.” His hand was reaching into his jacket and a pile of letters were being dropped to the bed. “I did write. Just never sent ‘em. Really thought not bein’ in your life would be better but I never stopped thinkin’ of ya.” 

Staring at the letters, you let it all sink in. You were weighing the options, even though you knew which one you’d end up with. 

“Stay with me? Here?” You moved over on the bed so he could slide in next to you. “Tell me about the last 10 years.” 

[sapphicscholar]

Hacks Episode 3x09 Thoughts

Okay, so back during S2, I wrote up my thoughts about each pair of Hacks episodes as they dropped – partially for sharing but largely as an archive for myself of my own thoughts/feelings to revisit when I watched the episodes later to see how they held up, how it compared to watch them serially vs. as a whole season, etc. Anyway, I was incredibly stressed out and busy for much of this season (after over a year of that being the key set of words to describe my life), but I wanted to throw out my thoughts about the finale before they grow too stale! And maybe I’ll come back and revisit the prior episodes in posts later when I have the time (hopefully in just a couple short weeks!) to enjoy them properly

As always, disjointed bulleted lists are the name of the game, going from the big picture to the detailed:

Overall, this felt like a very solid episode in the vein of season 1 in many ways! It brought us back to the interpersonal as the primary ground of conflict after many episodes (here and in S2) of the new hour, the special, and the Late Night host gig quest being our main plot drivers (which, at many times, made for weaker storytelling for reasons that exceed the scope of this post!). In particular, I felt like this episode hit its stride around the halfway point, and never really faltered after that in impressive ways!

That being said, I had two somewhat significant critiques of the finale (both of which reflect larger trends about strands of the show that continue to leave me a little disappointed)

We should have seen Marcus' conversation with Deborah about the new job. Period. I'll get into what could have been cut in my second critique, but even if there weren't weak spots in the episode, I still would have been deeply disappointed in the show for this oversight, especially since they apparently filmed it. Although Hacks is clearly a show with a leading duo, it once had a core ensemble, but S2 saw them moved more and more to B-plots and bit roles, and now S3 has seen many of the characters we know and love eliminated almost entirely--a point that's particularly galling given that it's almost entirely characters of color (many of them canonically queer) who have been cut in favor of new white characters. Moreover, this scene would have been SO IMPORTANT - I could have seen it going 2 ways: a) Marcus quits after the convo where Deborah tells Ava she's willing to lose her, and Deborah has a reaction that is so utterly outsized because it's the terror of losing the person she's had with her the longest now compounded with the reality setting in that she's also driven away the woman who gave her new life when she most needed it; or b) Marcus shows up to quit, and Deborah immediately launches into a rant about Ava's leaving, which puts Marcus in the awkward spot of adding to that at a pivotal moment in the career of the woman he's spent much of his adult life with or giving up something he needs to do for himself; it could have been a lovely callback to S1 when he shows up with his whole speech prepared but then accepts the promotion without ever telling Deborah how he feels - only this time Marcus would have changed so much, and he'd have the opportunity to showcase that growth by insisting that he needs to do this for him. So many lost opportunities...

re what could have been cut because imo it did NOT work: Kathy Vance's return. Now, I love Hacks in large part because it insists on the complexity of its characters. No one is purely the victim or the hero of the story, and Deborah's "click" moment showcased that better than anything. AND YET the writing here did not work. Back in the Christmas ep, I messaged a friend saying I was glad that they brought Kathy back but seemed not to ask us to side with her - after all, she comes crashing back into Deborah's life, doesn't take ownership over her actions and in fact insists she was in the right because it only happened a few times, because Deborah wasn't sleeping with him (very "you weren't playing with it, so it's mine now" little sister energy that is deeply unappealing in a grown ass adult), and because they were the "better couple" which is, I'm sorry, NEVER the fucking thing to tell someone whose marriage and life you destroyed. I joked then that I'd take back my compliments if her role in the finale suggested that actually we should be on Kathy's side here. And lo and behold... What's a real bummer is that there were ways to do this better! Because you can have sympathy for an imperfect character--this show is a testament to that fact!--but not like this. We as an audience have no reason to side with Kathy when she insists that Deborah will be worse than ever and berates her for cutting their weekend short. Instead, we see a woman with a large sense of entitlement she's done nothing to earn and directorial choices that don't make it a smooth transition. But what could have been lovely is, for instance, treating the Christmas and finale reunions as these deflationary moments of anticipation and disappointment because they are, after this many decades, essentially strangers to one another. Had we seen two women who longed for the deep affective ties of their childhood relationship only to be confronted with the cold hard fact of their estrangement from one anther, it would have been so much more powerful. And here you could ACTUALLY garner sympathy (some) for Kathy by having it be this moment of "I lost my sister" partially through her own actions "to Late Night once, and now, right when I have a chance to try to build something with her again, I feel like I'm going to lose her again before I can even really try to do right by her this go around." THAT could have worked. This was just too much time on something that did almost nothing in the grand scheme of the plot (because we didn't have the emotional connection to feel it as another compounding loss for Deborah in an episode where Ava's "and you're going to die alone" could have landed with even more force)

Okay so it turns out this is getting hella fucking long, so some shorter praise and giddy feelings things:

I LOVE how often Ava got to say the things we've all been squeeing about for years during this episode - especially that the material is good because of their relationship, not the other way around; their dynamic is not incidental to the work, and that's so important to me personally.

I had guessed that Ava would be offered head writer and quit her current job, only to have it taken away because Deborah was too scared to rock the boat, but I did NOT see the end coming! In fact, I kind of thought Ava might end up suing Deborah for intellectual property theft (using material Ava wrote outside of her contractual appointment for the new show because, surprise surprise, the writers who sucked when she was a guest still suck now compared to Ava!) In fact, I sort of thought that end scene might end up being a return to the car scene, and was relishing the thought of Ava's mimicking Deb's "It'll be fun, honey." But the blackmail as a form of love/devotion was soooo much better. Truly chef's kiss.

Also the way this rewrote the S2 finale even as the underlying message remained the same is so special to me - I'll stay with you even when it's bad for me (sacrificing my career -> sacrificing my morals) because it's good for you and more importantly it's good for us and the work. JPL know how to write a finale, and I'd give up a kidney to have that same energy be there throughout a whole season again (not that the eps are bad, but they lack some of the sharpness in writing and emotional depth that JPL do so well with finales and also often with the first couple eps of a season too)

Lastly JPL going on the record that Deborah was turned on by that final scene + Ava's "I would, wouldn't you?" and "Let's begin" - truly some of the hottest TV. We're so back babyyy. No more half naked superheroes with all the eroticism of a desk chair. Give me messy women determined to fling themselves into the air because they know the thrill is worth everything good and safe they're leaving behind, even if they hit the ground with no parachute!

I have many, many thoughts about S3 and what's to come, but I'll save them for another post because phewww this got long as fuck

[hanlimz]

JUNGWONSPIDERMANAU

cass. pls dont say that and just. LEAVE. expand. i would like to hear your thoughts 🎤

bc truly spider-man/peter parker was my first love and personally i have had the idea for a jake as spider-man au for quiet a bit now but it has never really taken off but now i NEED to hear all your thoughts.

(also if u have any good spider-man au fic recs pls send them my way thnx 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩)

PLSSS I COULD TALK FOREVER!!!! BUT OKAY—here are some bullet points plus a small blurb/summary/idk? i literally am going to write so much im so SORRY??? (this has convinced me n i will be writing a fic LMAOO)

(+ two vvvv good spiderman fic recs!!)

it’s safe here (with me) by @enhypenandpaper !! | very cute story, well-written, i love when writers can put their own unique spin on scenes that inspire them it’s rly motivating and wonderful (i need to rb this on my fic rec blog asap) (jake x reader)

i’ll save you (again) by @jayflrt !! | amazing stupendous wonderful show-stopping ,, literally one of my Favorite reads on this app .. this author manages to encapsulate both spiderman And jake sosososo well .. they also make it a point to rly flesh out the other friendships mentioned and I Love That (jake x reader)

general hcs (?):

won is the dorkiest spiderman ever .. stutters over his quips, never has anything cool to say to the villains he fights, doesn’t know how to respond to ppl thanking him

one time someone he saved tried to ask for his number and he panicked and said he was banned from both t-mobile and verizon (he’s not btw)?? 

another time he just got done saving a group of ppl n said “no thneeds necessary” ?? bc he was trying to say “no need to thank me” n “no thanks necessary” at the same time

but he’s also the sweetest .. any time someone asks to “repay him” he’s a double it n give it to the next person kinda guy .. he always tells them to stop by the soup kitchen or donate old clothes to thrift stores or just be kind to someone else

also ,, on another note ,, won has the Biggest crush on u and knows u like to help out at the local preschool, so he always tells ppl to buy and donate extra school supplies

sometimes when he’s out patrolling late at night, he’ll see u on ur way home from the library n quietly follow u to make sure u get home safe

tries to talk to u once after seeing a spiderman article open on ur computer and u indulge him for a moment, saying how bad u felt abt the daily bugle’s tabloid pieces .. won’s p sure his heart exploded

but overall, he’s very gentle and kind .. ever the king of duality tho .. he can beat a bitch up when need be, but most of the time—won’s just a high school senior trying to get into MIT and make the person he’s been in love with since the beginning of fall semester feel the same way abt him

ANYWAYS in a high school!au setting i see a lot of ppl like to hc jungwon as class/stuco president, but i think he’s definitely more on the quiet side .. he’s popular, yes, but not too popular if that makes sense. for him, though, this is perfect ... he flies under the radar, and him missing school a couple days in a row every month or so goes virtually unnoticed. HOWEVER, you’ve always had a sneaking suspicion .. it’s not like you and won are Rivals—there would be no merit in picking an unnecessary fight with the boy who volunteers at the soup kitchen on the weekends and feeds the stray cats near the gym and asks the lunch ladies how their days are going—but, there’s something strange going on. you’re sure of it.

jungwon comes into school one day w a busted lip and a black eye. everyone is fawning over him, asking him what happened—did he get mugged, did his face hurt, did he give the other person a run for their money? you don’t bother checking in on him when he takes his seat next to you. you just hand him his calculus test (he did better than you again n it’s infuriating) and clench your jaw, willing yourself to disappear. that familiar, green monster hangs in the shadows behind you, and its breath fans across your neck as it attempts to coax a physical manifestation of jealously from your lips. eventually, you excuse yourself to the nurse’s office and skip the rest of the day.

later that night, you’re trying to study in your room, but you keep getting distracted by the daily bugle’s twitter updates. spiderman is out and about again, and they won’t let the poor guy’s good reputation rest. it’s all “spiderman fights villain and knocks over streetlight onto local man’s car” and “spiderman forgoes saving lady’s churro to destroy half of grand central station”—and, honestly, you feel a bit bad. he’s trying his best. but, as rain patters against your window, the sound threatens to lull you to sleep. exhaustion overtakes your body, your eyes are drooping, and your head keeps falling from your hands. and then BOOM—the loudest noise you’ve ever heard startles you from your fatigue-induced trance. with a look of fear in your eyes, you glance over your shoulder to look at the window and the sight that greets you is enough to freeze every molecule in your body.

the aforementioned hero is clinging to the side of your building, banging his fist on the glass and practically begging to be let in. his movements are frantic and a bit scary. you open the window as quick as you can and let him slide through the small gap you’ve created. there are copious tears in his suit, blood flows from a nasty gash on his shoulder. rushing around on some crude form of auto pilot, you grab a clean shirt from your closet and press it into his wound. you tell him to hold it there and instruct him to sit in your desk chair. he's sopping wet from head to toe, and all you manage to think about is how glad you are that your parents are away for the weekend.

eventually, after only almost vomiting once, the cut is clean and bandaged up. "you're so lucky that i've been trying to get rid of this shirt forever, mr. spiderman," you scoff as he perches on the sill of your window, preparing to swing away into the night. "if i had grabbed one of my favorite outfits, i would've killed you before that wound could have."

a giggle escapes from his lips, and for a moment, you find yourself taken aback. he sounds like a high schooler—young, lively, and everything but the twenty-something year old man you thought he would be. "sorry about that ... i'll have to swing by and drop off some laundry detergent one of these days," he laughs. his voice sounds so familiar, but your mind is still reeling from your recent discovery. the hero offers you a wave and gestures toward his previous seat. "sleep well—and, good luck on that calculus homework."

the next day at school, jungwon is nowhere to be seen. you thank whatever happens to reside in the sky that he can't see the bright red 67 at the top of your most recent calculus test. the next next day, however, jungwon comes in with his arm in a sling. as his seatmate, you're the one that has to help him out for the rest of the week. but, when you're sitting in free period, you happen to take another glance at the bandages around his shoulder as jungwon naps next to you. a sharp column of ice pierces through your lower abdomen; under jungwon's sling, the lowest layer of bandages are covered with dried blood and sweat.

they look eerily familiar. almost like the ones you used to patch spiderman up over the weekend.

but, jungwon couldn't be spiderman. he couldn't be—he's too sweet, too gentle, too kind. peeking over at his backpack, you note that it seems a bit bulkier today; a recognizable purple cap winks at you from the unzipped main pocket. a chill tickles the length of your spine as you register what happened to be resting against his class notebooks.

laundry detergent?

you pause for a moment.

oh.

oh god.

[thxnks4themrms]

I just realized I never properly made an intro for myself so under the cut is where you can find it :)

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Hi! Since I can't come up with a nickname for myself right now you can kinda just call me Vampy because I can't really think of anything else rn. Anyways, to make things easier I'll just write most of the basic stuff in bullet points :)

I’m Cambodian (Asian)

I use she/her and they/them pronouns

My favorite colors are pink and black

I’m an INFJ

I’m a Sagittarius

I love music - metal and rock to be specific

I like reading

I love horror movies

I enjoy things like taxidermy and bones

I’m bi and polyamorous

I’m Buddhist

I’m 13 which makes me a silly minor 😋😋

I literally have the best lovers ever <33

I love you Mikey Way

Bands / Artist I listen To The Most <3

My Chemical Romance - and their side projects

Fall Out Boy

Paramore

Pre-split Panic! At The Disco

Arctic Monkeys

The Last Shadow Puppets

Mitski

Lana Del Rey

Melanie Martinez

Korn

Slipknot

Limp Bizkit

Blink - 182

Dazey And The Scouts

Weezer

Pierce The Veil

Radiohead

The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smiths

The Cure

Këkht Aräkh

The Neighborhood

TV Girl

Waterparks

Mötley Crüe

Queen

Nirvana

The Offsprings

6arelyhuman

Okay so now that I’ve said a little about myself I plan on doing more stuff to this blog but that’ll be coming in 2024 :p but other than that here’s my dni list and when more stuff comes it’ll be here :D

Thin Ice <\3 (PLEASE DONT BE MAD IM SORRY)

Swifties

Harry Styles fans

Billie Eilish fans

Wet leg fans

DNI <\3

Homophobes

Racist

Transphobes

Ppl who fetishize homosexuality

Ppl who fetishize Asians

Rcta

Rude ppl in general

Ppl who force their religion on others

Ppl who have stuff to say about politics (this is mainly a music blog :’) plz don’t bring heavy/sensitive topics into this)

Animal haters

MANIA AND DANGER DAYS HATERS

2019 GERARD HATERS

LANA AFTER HER CHANGES HATERS

RAY TORO HATERS

People who listen / support nsbm

WAYCEST/PROSHIPPERS GET THE FUCK OUT YOU ARE NOT WELCOMED

People of any age can’t interact with me I don’t mind at all :))

WARNINGS

This blog will contain things that some people may find disturbing or uncomfortable. Things under this could include:

Blood/gore

Images of cemeteries/graveyards

Eerie/dark images in general

I do post a lot of shit sometimes that mention things about sex, substances, and a lot of other things I DONT recommend / encourage minors use - when I say stuff that mentions stuff like that im joking pls don’t take it seriously 😭😭😭

If you don’t like these things please don’t get upset! I’ll try my best to add tw for the things listed above. If you spot anything on my blog that you think might need a tw then feel free to dm me or put it in my inbox :)

Just so you know

This blog isn’t my main blog this is actually my side blog - my main is @tousyposay so don’t be kinda weirded out by that :p

My additional side blogs include:

@blxxdbxgs - a place where i simp over nurse Gerard

@urmyfavexplosion - my blog where i choose one album and post that for an entire month or some shit like that

MY SOCIALLLLSSSS

TikTok - edgelordbolos

Insta - bolosisagirlkisser

Discord - vxmpywllnvrhrtu

Man I can’t think of any other of my blogs ☠️☠️☠️ I’ll add them when I remember

Sorry if I upset any of you guys I really hope I didn’t mean to :(

Anyways that’s all I have to say for rn but thanks so much! I’ll be adding more to this as the days go on but for now thanks :)

Have a good day/night I love you guys so much! <3

-Vampy

[pinknightsinmymind]

Hello! can i request a Ellie x fem reader who likes to play the piano? Like Ellie ask the reader to play something for her during their day off, a lot of fluff please :')

have a great day!

【 miss piano man - ellie williams 】

ellie williams x fem!reader

wc: 2.7k

warnings: mentions of weapons, one mention of blood, clickers, etc.

content: devoted gf ellie, lots of fluff, some kissing, so much fluff your teeth rot, somewhat protective ellie

a/n: besides the mention of the singular clicker, this is all fluff!! so dw! this was such a cute request! writing this made me realize how much i LOVE the ellie williams devoted gf agenda bc it's literally her she'd do anything for the person she loves

She never knew you could play piano until one fateful day out on patrol. You came across an abandoned music store, and as soon as you saw the dirty windows with the faded music notes, you begged her to let you go in. The door was locked, so you’d have to find another entrance inside.

“Please, please, please, can we go in?” you pleaded.

“Baby, we’ve never cleared this store before. We don’t even know what’s in there.”

“How bad can it be? Come on, I wanna see what’s inside. You’re a guitar player! You should wanna go in, too.”

“Yeah, I wanna go in,” she said, “but who knows how many Clickers or Bloaters are in there.”

“Hear me out. I have a plan.”

“Let me hear this,” she teased, placing her hands on her hips.

“You see that window pane above the doors? It’s broken. You’re gonna hoist me up—”

“Absolutely not. You’re not going in there on your own.”

“Oh, my God, just listen. That’s not what I was gonna say. Anyways, you’re gonna hoist me up and I’m gonna look through the window, throw a bottle in the store, and see if anything reacts.”

“And what are you gonna do when a Bloater comes tumbling through and breaks down the door?” She made a good point, but you weren't going to take no for an answer.

“There won’t be one because I’m praying and hoping there won’t be one.”

“I’m not allowing you to go through with that plan.” She had such a stern look on her face, and although you wanted to take her seriously, she was too cute.

“Why are you being such a downer today?” you joked. “Come on. I’ll have my pistol ready just in case.”

“And what if a bunch of Clickers or Runners come after us out here because they hear the gunshots?”

“You’re no fun.”

“I’m just messing with you. We’ll go through with your plan, okay? We can do it.”

“Finally.” Ellie cupped her hands together and hoisted you up to the window pane. At first glance you saw no signs of Clickers, only a dirty store with sunlight coming in through the windows. Some things here and there were knocked over, but everything else seemed pretty much intact. You pulled the bottle you gathered from your bag and threw it into the store. The bottle shattered loudly, and you waited in still silence for any sign of undead life. A few seconds passed until you heard it. The running footsteps and clicking noises echoed as it came close to the front door. You drew your pistol quickly, almost like second nature, as you shot two bullets at the Clicker’s head and it fell. You released a breath and stayed silent in wait of anything else that may have been in the building. Seconds faded until a minute had passed and still nothing. You nodded your head to yourself and grabbed onto the ledge.

“All clear,” you said to Ellie as you hopped over it and into the store. You braced yourself as you landed before standing up and brushing your clothes. You unlocked the door for Ellie who walked in with a big smile.

“Hey, pretty lady,” she greeted you. You laughed.

“Hey,” you said back.

“You kill that Clicker all by yourself?” she asked, shutting the door behind her.

“Sure did,” you answer. You watched as Ellie walked around its dead body and its puddle of blood in order to come closer to you.

“You’re a good shot,” she complimented. “I like that in a woman.” You felt her hands grab onto your waist, her thumbs rubbing circles on your sides

“Really? And what do you think I like in a woman?”

“Someone like me, obviously.”

“You’re such a dork,” you say, which makes her laugh a little and let you go.

“Now, what did you want to come in this store for?”

“I miss music, that’s all.” You began wandering the store, maneuvering around the Clicker’s body, and looking at the store’s stock. They had different band posters on the walls, music notes painted everywhere, old vinyl records on shelves and hanging on display. You found strings for guitars, cellos, and violins, and you quickly grabbed all the guitar ones that were still in good shape for Ellie. “Here, take these,” you said and shoved them in her backpack to continue looking around. She followed you around silently, curious as to what you were looking for so earnestly. You also found old, broken guitars hanging on the walls, which really was a shame considering how beautiful the colors and designs were. It was when you got to the back of the store you finally found what you were looking for.

A piano.

It had been so long since you’d seen one or even touched one. You hurriedly pulled out the bench and pushed up the keylid. The piano was sleek and black, more modern, which was completely different from the one you played at the old church. It had been old and wooden with carvings of angels and saints on it. The keys were a little dusty, but at least none of them were broken. Your fingers hovered over the black and white keys lightly, testing them to see if any were out of tune or if they didn’t play anymore. Miraculously, they were all in good condition. You felt Ellie take a seat next to you as she glanced at your face, then the piano.

“You know how to play?” she asked.

“Yeah. I learned it when I was younger. I stayed at this camp for a while with my family, and there was a guy there who was friends with my father. He knew how to play piano, and there happened to be one at the old church nearby, so he taught me.”

“I didn’t know you could play,” she said softly.

“Well, I haven’t played in years, and it’s hard to come by pianos, anyway.”

Ellie hummed in agreement. “True.” She leaned her head on your shoulder, her presence being one of the most glorious things you’ve ever experienced in your life. She was so warm. “Play me something.” How could you ever deny her anything? You played her some of the old melodies you learned that you could remember, hands moving between the keys like a careful dance. Some days it felt like your hands itched as you were desperate to get them on a piano again, and here you were with Ellie at your side. You glanced at her for a second while you played to see her eyes closed as she listened. She seemed so relaxed and at peace. The sight warmed your heart as you continued to play more softer pieces. Well, what little of them you could remember.

“I didn’t realize how much I missed playing.” You felt Ellie kiss your shoulder as she listened to you. “I’d play every day if I could.”

“Can you read sheet music?” she asked.

“A little bit, but I was no master.”

“I can’t believe you hid this amazing talent from me. We could’ve been playing duets all this time.”

“With what piano?”

“Minor detail,” she remarked. She always knew how to make you laugh.

“We should probably get going soon, huh?” you asked.

Ellie shook her head. “No, keep playing for a little bit. I want to hear. Everything else can wait.” She’d listen to you play for all eternity if she could. She didn’t want you to stop playing, to stop doing this one thing that you loved and missed more than anything. In a perfect world she envisioned you as some famous piano prodigy, which she knew you’d argue with her if you brought it up. You’d say you weren’t that good, but to Ellie that didn’t matter. She admired you for what you were capable of, and didn’t care about whatever you considered yourself incapable of.

You played a little longer, just for her, so she could listen. You wished you could play some of the beautiful, classical pieces your teacher could instead of old folk songs, but that would have required years of practice. You barely got a year seeing that your teacher passed away tragically.

“I think you’re an amazing player,” Ellie finally said. She placed a kiss on your shoulder again.

“Thanks, babe,” you said in return.

“We go when you’re ready to go. I don’t wanna make you stop playing.”

“We can stay for a few more minutes.” And you held onto your word, because after a few more minutes of playing you pulled the piano’s keylid down. Your hands hovered over the soft, wooden surface, thinking how long it’d be until you come across another piano again. By then you’d probably have forgotten everything, and although it saddened you, it was a gift and a blessing to have even known how to play at one point in time. Maybe in another life you’d get a better chance to be a piano player.

+ + +

You had been lounging lazily in your small house at Jackson when you heard a knock at your door. Today was your day off from patrols, so you had been spending most of it just doing nothing. When you opened the door, you found a certain girl waiting for you.

“What are you up to?” Ellie asked.

“Nothing much. Just being lazy.” She nodded, then smiled. That’s how you knew she was up to something. “You only make that face when you’re planning something.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Tell me, then.”

“How about you come sleep over at my place tonight?” she offered. “You can come over right now if you want, and we’ll just watch movies and be lazy together. It is our day off, after all.”

“I’m sold,” you said. “Let me get some things together, and I’ll be right there.”

“Okay. I’ll go clean a bit while I wait for you.” Ellie placed a quick kiss on your lips before walking away. You shut the door and quickly gathered some of your things in a bag. You didn’t really bother bringing clothes to change into because you figured you’d just borrow some of Ellie’s. She wouldn’t mind, in fact, she’d even love it. As you walked to her place, you realized it’d been a while since you’d stayed at her place. Lately she had been coming over to your house, or both of you had been too busy for a sleepover, so this was a nice change. When you knocked on her door it only took her a few seconds to open it. She grabbed you and dragged you into her place, slamming the door shut as she pulled you into a hug.

“You act like you haven’t seen me in years.”

“It has been. I last saw you twenty minutes ago. That is years.”

“You’re so dramatic.”

“You love it.” She placed a bunch of kisses on your face before placing one on your nose and pulling away. “I have a surprise for you.”

“What kind?” you asked. You watched as Ellie went over to her desk and picked up three different books that had been laying there and handed them to you. You looked through them, completely in awe at what she had gotten you. One was a book full of sheet music for popular songs, one was a guide on reading sheet music, and the other was sheet music for classical music pieces.

“Like them?” she asked.

“Yes! When did you get these?”

“I snuck them from the music store when you weren’t looking.”

“Ellie, I love them, but I don’t have a piano to play.”

That’s when Ellie grew a giant smirk on her face. “I thought you’d say that.” Ellie walked over to the closed garage door by her desk, and that’s when you noticed the shelf that had always been there was moved across the room close to the bathroom door. Whatever was there was covered by a white sheet, and when she pulled it off, you stared in complete shock. Where did Ellie ever manage to get a piano from?

“You—you got me a piano? How?” It wasn’t the one from the store because that one was painted a sleek black, while this one was a dark, wooden brown. It looked new and well-taken care of, unlike the one from the store.

“Well, you know Miss Margie? The old lady who makes the pies? Well, this used to be her son’s before he passed away. I asked all over town for a week if anyone had a piano they didn’t use, and she did. So I traded her a couple jars of pickled foods with her in return for it. She was happy someone would finally have use for it.”

“But Miss Margie lives pretty far away from you. How’d you bring it all the way here?”

“I asked Jesse for some help, and we dragged it all the way here this morning while you were sleeping.”

“And on my day off,” you realized.

She nodded. “Yep. All arranged by me.” She had planned all of this. Now you understood why she had been so adamant about you taking this day off with her.

“You’re an evil genius.” You stepped closer to the piano, completely unable to process that it was now yours. You placed the books on top of the piano and threw your arms around Ellie in a giant hug. You buried your face in her neck as she returned the hug immediately and rubbed your back comfortingly. “Thank you so, so much. I can’t believe it.”

“Anything for you.”

You pulled your face out of her neck and immediately pulled her into a kiss, which she had no problem reciprocating. God, you loved her so much. You felt her hands grabbing onto your face like she always did. Always the most passionate person you knew. She pulled you even closer to her, and you could tell she would hold onto you forever if she could. Eventually she pulled away from you, staring into your eyes for a moment, before kissing your forehead.

“Come on, let me hear you play something, piano man.” She patted your back as you stepped away from her and took a seat on the bench where she immediately joined you. After pushing the keylid up, you couldn’t believe how clean and well-kept the keys were. Miss Margie and her son really cared for this piano. You began testing out the keys before finding middle C and getting ready to play. You started steadily, playing soft and sweet melodies that drifted into the air. It provided its own kind of lovely atmosphere to Ellie’s already cozy place.

“Thank you so much for this. I literally can’t thank you enough.”

“You’re welcome. I couldn’t help myself when I saw how happy you were playing. I couldn’t bear to see you never play again, either.”

“You’re so thoughtful.” Your fingers moved through the keys a little more smoothly than they did last time. That was the point of practice, wasn’t it? “I could teach you some basics, if you’d like.”

“I’d love that.” Ellie rested her head on your shoulder again, letting out a content sigh. “I think this is what Heaven would be like. Just listening to you play and feeling you next to me.”

“Always the romantic,” you commented. Ellie smiled at that.

“How can I not be romantic when I get to listen to you play like this?” Ellie watched your hands move, and heard as you transitioned from one song to another. So beautiful, she thought. “Whenever you wanna practice, just come over here. Anytime. I’d love to listen to you play whenever.”

“I’ll be sure to.”

“And eventually we can play together.”

“That would be amazing! We could write a song together,” you said.

“Definitely.” You stopped playing for just a second to rest your hands, seeing as it had been a while. Ellie took that as an opportunity to grab them and place kisses on the back of your hand and your knuckles. “I’m happy you like it. Never stop playing, okay?”

You nodded, and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

[mae-i-scribble]

wip wednesday! this time bc today’s mood has been angst everywhere plus i read another great post epilogue fic, i’ll be presenting a snippet from my orv post epilogue fic. its more a tiny collection of bullet points and conversation snippets but the one i have penned down for heewon and dokja is my favorite

anyways, beware of spoilers and of pain :D

“Joonghyuk and Souyoung told us after we first tried to get you back from the train- that the fourth wall said you scattered your soul because you knew we would try to save you. Is it true?” 

Dokja knows he spends far too long staring at Heewon, trying to understand. The words echo around inside his skull, sharp and taunting. Joonghyuk and Sooyoung had told her- they also believed that he- and he- 

He can barely remember anymore. It’s such a hazy thing, his time on the train. The pain is a vivid memory, as is the loss that permeated his skin knowing he would spend the rest of his life atoning, far out of their reach. He would like to reassure Heewon that it isn’t true, that he had never thought of abandoning them. With his mind the way it is though, it would be a lie. He doesn’t want to lie to them anymore. 

“Right-” Heewon laughs again, somehow more bitter than the first. “Right. Maybe you’ve always been like this.” 

“Heewon-ssi…” Dokja says, at a loss. A long time ago, he was told that even if a wall existed between people, it was important to write something, anything, even if it isn’t heard, even if it isn’t understood. He doesn’t know what to do with a wall completely of his own making, stone by stone piled on by his decisions. Maybe it’s better this way. Even with the sacrifices he knows his mother made for him, he can’t help but have a part of him that despises her for it. 

If that’s what he has become to Jung Heewon, then perhaps this too, is for him to bear. 

Dokja stays quiet. What is there to say, in the face of her righteous anger? As Judge of the Apocalypse, nothing had ever escaped her wrath. He doesn't deserve to be the first. 

Heewon stares at him, expectant even though Dokja hasn't a clue what she's waiting for. Tears silently drip down her face, hands locked into trembling fists, and without either of them saying another word, she turns on her heel and walks out. 

The room is empty after she leaves. He wonders if the sound of train tracks is imagined or a vestige of his dreams coming to pull him back. 

Heewon's words echo in his head, louder than anything. Joonghyuk and Sooyoung had told her. Joonghyuk and Sooyoung thought the same. Did everyone? Were they keeping quiet about their fury for the sake of his recovery? He wishes they wouldn't. 

Something in him aches at the thought. How does he tell them that they're the best thing he's ever had, and thanks to that he'll be the worst thing to happen to them. After all, he can’t give them any more than who he already is.

[chaotic-timelord]

TSH spoilers ahead

“My stomach burned but I felt oddly calm. Getting shot, I'd always thought, would hurt a lot more than this.” — this is the way Richard, at least at first, reacts to bring shot. Why? I never got shot so I might be wrong here, but from what I’ve heard and read getting shot usually hurts a lot. So why is Richard that calm about it? He didn’t even focus the group’s attention on the wound until in between half a page and a page later, which means he was probably so caught in the events that he barely remember he should tell them [not that it helped much, but I’ll discuss this other topic later].

My first theory’s quite simply : he was lying. Instead of passing next to a fatal point maybe the bullet just went through his skin, but it wasn’t deep enough to damage anything at all, causing surely less pain than what’d have happened if it were deep. We know Richard’s a very unreliable narrator, and by making the wound sound more dangerous than it was he might’ve tried to make it all more dramatic. Or maybe he’s lying about the pain. I mean, do we really expect Richard, who didn’t describe how it felt to be basically killed by the col when he was in the hippie’s house? [if I remember this right, he described only the events, not the feelings] In reality he was at least sitting down in pain and focusing all the attention on himself, or barely resisting the attempt to do it to see how the tensions in the group’d develop. Richard doesn’t strike as someone who’d gladly write about anything he doesn’t want to write about, so perhaps he wanted to seem braver by narrating as if he was calm during the whole scene.

Of course he might not have gotten shot at all and written he did just because of a really plain reason which’d make it all look stupid- he got a bad grade in his french test and instead of writing that decided to make up a situation where he skipped it or something sounding as ridiculous [imagine the scene : Charles and Henry almost fighting, Francis and Camilla having no idea what to do {with Camilla standing there until nearly the end like the 🧍🏻emoji, Francis probably thinking ‘oh my bacchus I need to drink. And have sex. What if I propose this to the group when Camilla isn’t listening after we’re done here?’ and Richard thinking about how to make it all sound poetic}.

Anyways, back to the theories- he wasn’t lying and was somehow lost enough in thoughts to not even notice he was shot at first. He didn’t feel it, just realised when he looked down. This seems less realistic to me than the previous ones, but Richard got surely influenced a lot by the rest of the greek class - even though he clearly didn’t belong in it - so his first though could have been a quote from a book they’d been studying, or a thought about the translation of words like ‘bullet’ and ‘death’ into ancient greek [yes, I bet Richard would have tried to translate ‘bullet’ into ancient greek. At least he can sort of justify it by explaining how he was still ‘in shock’ about getting shot and so on].

Now, the group’s reactions. As we all know, the group basically didn’t give a damn about Richard in that moment. As I mentioned before they were all busy doing / trying not to do other things [except for Camilla, and I’m not sorry at all to say she lacks a backbone. What the hell was she even thinking before the end? ‘Oh too bad my qpp and my brother don’t get along together. What should I do? Ah, right, stand here like a statue’?], and they either ignored him or thought he was kidding.

I doubt they wouldn’t have seen the wound if they had looked at his shirt, but the majority of them was distracted and thinking about other things - and dealing with an injured person wouldn’t have helped - and Richard said that he looked at /him/. The normal reaction to being in some way called by someone is looking at them in the face, not looking at their shirt. Because of what he had said they should have checked whether he was alright or not, but seeing the situation I doubt any of them even thought it. The only ones who weren’t deep enough in problems to worry about it were Francis and Camilla, but Francis was surely used to Richard lying and saying things not the way they really were, and Camilla was too - scared, worried, overthinking about what’ll happen? I can’t relate to Camilla at all, so like with Richard I have no idea what she might have been thinking back then - to worry about Richard.

On the other side, they might have noticed the wound [and silently insulted Charles for causing that additional problem]. It’s possible that they just ignored it and truly didn’t care, but I doubt it. None of them was emotionally bound to Richard enough to try to help him - plus they were so absent from reality that I’d be very surprised to find out any of them had any medical knowledge - and they must have known their lives were about to change forever, since in a very little amount of time the owner of the place started knocking on the door, so what difference did a dead or injured classmate make? He wasn’t as close as they were. He never went on bacchanals with them. And they killed Bunny, someone they were much closer to, so maybe they silently agreed to focus on what they could still try to sort out and let the owners call an hospital instead, or directly let him die in case the owners weren’t fast enough. Feel free to add anything to any part of the post - I’ve just noticed I don’t have any other idea that makes much sense on the 2 topics, but I’m sure there’s lots of theories I haven’t thought about.

[mrthoughtbubbles]

Hi  Yeet,

I’m sorry if I didn’t have anything to comment on your recent post/story… I’m not good with regard to starting or maintaining conversations, and I spend time every now and then to have a bullet point of what I’ll write to these messages of mine, at the back of my head… If, at some point in the future, I don’t know what to comment or to tell you, please don’t get angry or hold a grudge against me… If at some point in the future I don’t know what to comment on your post, may I just leave a like on your post/comment…? That will signify that I don’t know what to write… Will that be okay with you…?

On another note, I noticed that I’m going back to stress eating again… It kind of feels like it comes in cycles, like I’ll have a good diet for a while, then there’s a sudden outburst of eating a lot when I get stressed, then go back to my normal diet… It’s been like that for a very long time now…

Expounding on what I said yesterday, about running away from problems, and victim mentality, I also think that I can never solve problems, that I just have to live with it, since that was my mindset back in childhood when my auntie and my eldest sister still lived with us, and when my eldest sister video calls us or visits us, or when I saw my auntie in a birthday celebration, I’m always anxious because I always expect that I’ll get shouted at again… To this day, that’s my mindset, that I’ll just have to live with the reality that they’ll shout/raise their voice again for something under the sun, even though there are a lot of times wherein I can’t stand it anymore…

I understand that I have a lot of issues, and I want to share them with you, since I want you to see my reality, but I don’t expect you to have the answers to my problems… I’m just sharing them with you so you’ll know me on a deeper level…  I hope that I’ll learn a thing or two from a certain YouTube account on how to heal from one’s trauma…

I guess I’ll end my message here tonight… I hope that when I leave a like on your post/comment, you’ll automatically know that I don’t know what to say or what to reply… Please don’t get angry or irritated when that happens… I’m just really not good starting or sustaining conversations after my mental illness diagnosis… Anyway, I hope that even though that’s the case, knowing what I shared with you tonight, you won’t feel that my love for you is diminishing… I love you, Yeet, and I hope that you’ll always remember that…

[stinkylittleanon]

Hello!! Here’s my description for the Pokemon Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet Matchup Trade!! I put it in bullet points to make it easier ☺️

- I’m 20 years old, so I need to be shipped with an adult. I personally headcanon Arven and Nemona as adults, so please keep that in mind

- I work as a librarian and enjoy writing, drawing and baking. I’d probably be working as a student library worker at Naranja Academy in this scenario. I LOVE researching things and am a huge nerd in general

- I’m 4’ 10” tall (so crazy short, 147 cm) with a slender and toned figure, long fluffy brown hair and glasses. My style switches between masculine and feminine a lot, and I tend to wear unusual but cute outfits

- I’m Autistic and Disabled with stuff like scoliosis, lightheadedness (I faint a lot :/), breathing issues, weak bones and chronic pain in my hands, back and hips

- I have a very good sense of humor. I love making people laugh!!!

- I’m very goal-driven (especially while playing video games) and love training my pokemon to get stronger. I love story-driven games that let me fulfill objectives lol

- My friends say I have warm, inviting vibes that make people feel at home. I love comforting people and am quite good at it! I rarely if ever get mad at anyone or anything. A fire Pokemon could burn my books and I'd still be like "You're fine sweetie, it's not your fault, don't even worry about it ☺️". I’m the type of person who could make friends with anyone. That being said, it is hard for me to put myself first sometimes and I tend to be a little self-sacrificing too often

- I get flustered really easily. Just call me any cute nickname or compliment and I'm on the floor. An online friend called me babe once and I nearly threw my phone across the bed and squealed

- That being said, I’m very affectionate. One of the easiest ways to relax me is by holding my hand, so I tend to do that or cling to people’s arms. But I also really respect boundaries and know when people don’t like being touched so it depends

- I'm very sweet and polite, but can also be a bit if a gremlin. My entire moral alignment is neutral good because it boils down to "Yeah, but it'd be funny". I know when to have fun and also when to take things seriously

- I have two main goals in life: Learn as much as I possibly can, and help people. I feel like those things are what I was put here to do

- I’m very booksmart but also incredibly stupid, in a high wisdom low intelligence kinda way. I’m a walking trivia machine but also have no sense of self preservation whatsoever.

- Though I might not seem like it, I can be very stubborn and blunt. Never to the point of picking fights, but once you’ve lost my trust, it’s honestly hard to get it back. So very sweet, but fierce when provoked

Thanks so much!! I can’t wait to do yours, I’ll have it out as soon as possible! Also sorry if this is too long, I like to talk lol ;-;

Hiii!! Thank you for putting it in lil' bullet points, it actually helps so much! Also it's not too long at all! For Scar/vio I match ya with...

Arven!!

The first thing that made me choose him was the height difference, I'm ngl! I headcanon that Arven is at least close to 6ft, not quite there but he's definitely taller. (I'm a sucker for height differences LMAO) Anyways! Arven is a carin' guy, and even if he kinda struggles with his anger a bit he's still the sweetest person you can meet when you get to know him. He's a bit of a mess too, but that's not something you can't handle! - When you first meet, it's after Arven graduates (finally) and begins working as a substitute for Naranja! I hc that he becomes one of the teachers in the future, so this is his lil' head start into that. - It's quite a mess when you two meet... Literally, this guy manages to knock everything over- And you're just- So nice about it... - Arven can't help the way his heartbeat quickens when you two meet. You're so sweet but... You've got this aura that just tells him you're ready for it all. - And after you two meet, Arven keeps going to the library to see you. He's a goof, and you seem to enjoy his company... And he really likes talking to you. You know so much!! And he can't help but look up to ya for how you reach your goals. - When you guys finally go on a date, the entire faculty knows how much he likes ya- He's like a puppy and it's so obvious - Anyways... Picnic date is the first thing! He plans on cooking for you, but when you show up with baked goods... Holy shit that's it for him, you're a keeper - You guys have a super cute relationship, but you also definitely help each other. Arven helps you take up for yourself more, and he makes sure that you realize how important you truly are. He's a bit stubborn over you putting yourself first LMAO - You two get into shenanigans, little jokes with other staff... And sometimes it'll make a mess, the staff does find it endearing. You two make sure it's not something that'll actually upset anyone! - Also... He's the same with the 'smart but stupid', Arven is a fuckin' himbo and a half. You know that meme about "If you get your leg cut off, what would hurt?"? That's you guys- - Fluffy hair couple!!! FLUFFY HAIR COUPLE- - Overall, you guys are literally just way too cute! The whole school knows about you two, and you're absolute goals >:) - Btw, Arven loves to fluster you with lil' kisses on the forehead!!

For sw/sh I match ya with...

Sonia!!

I couldn't help but think of two lil' nerds in love, and I think it'd be such a sweet relationship!! Sonia is a sweet but sassy gal, and very smart, so you two would match so well!! - With Sonia having so many books and doing research on Pokemon, you'd be the perfect assistant! Maybe that's how you two meet! - Like at first, you're just a new assistant after Sonia's last one kinda betrayed her, yk yk, but then you guys just get along so well... - And when Hop decides he wants to work with pokemon and starts helping Sonia out too, Sonia sees your caring nature and she's just... Head over heels - Like you're so caring, and smart, and funny and and and... She just can't wrap her head around it. - Sonia does research pokemon, yeah, but that wouldn't stop her from researching the disabilities you have! She'd accommodate your needs so well and find the best solutions! - Your relationship is more co-workers to friends to lovers, so it's something that slowly happens and it's so sweet - Also with Sonia being super fem presenting, she would LOVE to match outfits with you if you ever dress feminine. Or even masculine, she's still got a fashion sense! - She gets you lil' star hairclips to match her heart ones... And that's literally how she asks you out - Whatever date you go on, it's literally the sweetest thing ever. - Sonia is also sweet but with a stubbornness to her, so your energies match in a way! - You guys would work on researching together, just sitting by each other with books but sitting close enough that your arms are touching... - Hop always teases you two, but despite how flustered Sonia gets about it she'll just hold your hand and give you a kiss to drive him off - Also she just loves complimenting you... She truly means her words, but the way your face lights up with blush is. so. CUTE!! - Also her Yamper loves you, it loves sitting in your lap while you do your own research! --- Sorry if the way I wrote Sonia's is different from Arven's, these were written on different days LMAO but ty for the trade! It was super fun and it's been a long while!!

[subwaysurf45]

Love You to the Moon and Back

summary: Bucky notices you’re feeling down after a bad injury, he does his best to help.

words:  3817

warning: depressive episode, doctors, mainly fluff!

pairing: Bucky x Reader 

Masterlist!

Bucky could tell you were getting bad again. 

And it hurt him to see you like this but it always happened after a big mission, your job was traumatizing and it took a toll on all of you. Bucky knew he had his days but he also knew when you finally let yourself slip it was really bad. 

You were a very headstrong person, you didn’t like letting people see your weaknesses or just you being hurt in general. So it sucked when you had broken your shin and witnessed a school of kids get blown up by a bomb, maybe sucked is an understatement but it was what you always said. 

You had pretended to be a teacher because there was supposed to be a hit on most teachers at a private school, so when the school blew up before everyone was out of the building- including you -it left the memories very crystal clear. There was no way of saving everyone so you saved yourself, and the feeling of selfishness had never been more apparent than right now. You were lying in bed with a cast on your left leg, your left leg was on top of the duvet while the other leg was under. 

A tank top and shorts was all you wore even though you were cold. A pillow was placed between your legs down by your shins to keep the injured one elevated, Bucky had stuck it there the last time he came in to check on you. 

Speaking of Bucky, he walked into your shared room in the compound. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” Bucky cooed as he gently opened and closed the door without making any sound, you had become hyper-aware to sound and light so a loud noise or a flash of a camera could send you into a state of hysterics. Bucky sat himself at the edge of the bed at around your midsection, you were lying in the middle and facing him. You barely said hello, all you could muster was a groan that had the same rhythm as the word hello. “How’s my girl doing?” Bucky rubbed your thigh very carefully. 

It was so obviously a rhetorical question, you were absolutely shit and he knew it. You both just stared at each other and Bucky seemed to get the message, he nodded and looked down. The room was so dark from the lights being off and the curtains being pulled you barely registered that Bucky had a plate of cheese, apple slices, and crackers. Bucky saw you turn your nose up and he knew you would, you had been like this for what felt like weeks. 

“You have your two appointments today, you wanna use the crutches or the wheelchair?” Bucky asked as he gently caressed your thigh, a little hum came after a few sections to clarify this wasn’t rhetorical. 

“I don’t know,” you mumbled into your pillow. 

“Okay…” Bucky held onto the last syllable, he glanced over to the wheelchair and crutches. “How about you have a little snack and then when you got food- and I’ll get water -you can make your choice. You also know you can switch and I’ll be glad to grab it for you, alright?” he did a few quick pats on your thigh before setting the plate down on the bedside table, he grunted as he stood up and stuck his arms slowly beneath you. All Bucky did was sit you upright to eat, you had gotten better at eating and now didn’t need motivation to eat but just a little push at the beginning to keep going after the first bite. Bucky also found if he ate a few pieces from the plate you’d be more inclined to eat the rest. 

“Thanks,” your voice was low and barely audible. 

“No need, pretty lady,” Bucky got right beside you and grabbed the plate, he placed it between you and let you choose the first piece. “So, you’re at the doctor at two and then Doc at three-ten, do you wanna nap between for a little or for a while after?” he just took a cracker and plopped it into his mouth. 

“No, no nap between, I wanna sit outside Doc’s office like before to make sure I’m not late.” You mumbled and stacked a piece of cheese on an apple slice. Doc was your therapist that was assigned to you a little while before your injury, Bucky wasn’t the only one who got nightmares and manic episodes; you probably got them more. Bucky knew he couldn’t go into your therapy meeting, he could physically go in but it went against his morals, this was your time to be alone and completely vulnerable to a human that you only see one or twice a week, he didn’t want you to sugar coat anything just because he wa sitting there. 

Bucky nodded and hummed before pulling the notebook out of the bedside table’s drawer, your combat backpack which you used for everything between missions and a picnic in the park was curled over itself in the corner of your room. Bucky picked it up and headed back to bed to let it rest there as he packed. He did this when you weren’t injured, Bucky had sadly realized your memory was a little shot from the amount of bootleg brainwashing and head injuries. You’d constantly forget about appointments or missions, or even the date. 

“Baby, I told you, your birthday is today, that’s why I got flowers.” Bucky said and pointed to the counter with the bright flowers on it. 

“No…” you rubbed the front of your head. “My birthday isn’t today, I forget the day- but it’s not today, I swear.” 

He slid in your journal that you used to write down lists and memories, you had used a guitar pick as your bookmark even though you can’t play anymore. Sometimes when you’d show up to a therapy session you’d forget what you wanted to say, it hurt him when he’d walk you there and you’d be saying the list of things under your breath with your eyes closed. Nightmare, mom, picking my nails, ankle, nightmare, sand, flowers. 

“We gotta go soon, anyways, wanna get ready for the day?” Bucky softly asked, there was no nice way of telling your loved one they needed to shower. 

“Sure,” you looked down at the plate and grabbed the last of it before getting up, the apple and cheese was just curled in the palm of your hand, as you walked over you shoved it all into your mouth because you knew you had to shower and you didn’t like soggy cheese. 

“I’ll keep packing your bag, and I’ll fill a water bottle for you.” Bucky had been your human crutch as you walked to the bathroom, you had an itch down in your cast that was bugging you. 

Tony had wanted to add tech to the shower to help you stand because putting pressure on your left leg hurt after three minutes and seven seconds- not that you were timing to see how long you could go without collapsing. You had said no to tech and just asked for a bar, Bucky even thought it would be cool but it was all up to you. 

Bucky helped you slip out of your clothes before leaving you be, he knew he would have to check on you periodically because you were too stubborn to ask for help if you had fallen or couldn’t get in the shower. You gripped onto the metal bar and helped yourself slip in, you turned the water on right away. 

You liked warm, long showers. You just let the water hit your skin as you stood in front of the shower head, the water pressure was high so you let the bullets hit your face when your eyes were closed. Your hair got wet as you stood there, you reached for the bottle of shampoo and expected it to be where it always was. The was getting into your eyes and when you squinted to see where the bottle was everything was double, as you reached for the bottle you had actually reached for the fake double and knocked the bottle off the ledge. A loud thump rang through the bathroom and it sounded like a bomb. 

There was one second of silence before you heard scrambling from outside the bathroom door, all at once you could see the door swing open by its shadow through the curtain. The curtain was pulled back so hard a couple of ringlets holding it up were ripped off. 

“Baby?” Bucky yelled before he registered you were standing upright. “What?” he breathed heavily, he was completely expecting you to be passed out on the floor with a cracked skull. 

“Shampoo bottle,” you said meekly. 

“Oh, thank god…” Bucky sighed to himself as he reached down to pick it up. “Are you hurt at all, did you fall?” He placed the bottle back on the ledge which made him reach across your naked body, on his way back his hand touched your shoulder then went to cup your cheek and move your head to look at him. 

“I’m all good, babe.” You smiled, an exhausting smile. 

“Alright, back-is-packed, finish up and I'll help you over to physio, alright?” Bucky closed the curtain to give privacy but waited for a verbal answer. 

“Perfect, thank you.” You grabbed the bottle again, your heart ached for him to be in the shower with you, it was something you did all the time before you were injured. 

“Don’t thank me, pretty lady.” Bucky reached for the door and opened it, before he could walk out, your voice quietly called his name, he could barely hear it over the water in the shower. “Yes?” he replied with the same softness. 

“Stay here with me, please.” the ‘please’ came after a beat, and extra plea. 

“Always,” Bucky sat on the toilet seat and gave the company you needed as you tried to stick your finger down your cast to itch that one spot on your leg. 

*****

Soon enough you were sat in the physio room, Bucky was off to the side with paper work in his lap and a binder in your backpack he packed for you. You liked the moral support when you were here because you never really had the best experience with doctors, Bucky would act like he wasn’t even there. That was a good thing, he did need to be the hovering boyfriend all the time because that can get tiring for both parties. He’d look up and listen to the doctor near the end, Bucky would write down the exercises and when to do them so he could gently remind you later. 

“Alright, you’re gonna get a new cast next week,” the doctor smiled at you, when you didn’t pick up on the excitement the doctor’s smile faded. “That means three quarters done!” Bucky had looked up and smiled, even clapped a couple times. 

“Then I have to learn how to walk again,” that was an exaggeration but it didn’t feel like one. 

The doctor gave a knowing look, “why do I feel like you’re already walking without the crutches?” You didn’t say anything because it was true. 

Your leg was examined and x-rayed, Bucky held onto your necklace as you went in. Your mind faded in and out as the doctor spewed ‘doctor stuff’ at you, you just didn’t have the care to listen; but Bucky did. He’s the type of guy to take notes and research later. 

Bucky would look over and see you looking at the floor, not even paying attention. He knew he couldn't get mad at you, you both dealt with injury very similarly. But something about seeing you shut down entirely made his heart ache, he wanted to reach out and lift the corners of your lips up into a smile because they seemed like they were being weighed down, he couldn’t remember the last time you smiled and real smile. He hadn’t been going on mission to keep you company, but now he knew his most important mission.

He walked you over to your therapy session that was still in the building, your Doc would come to the Avenger tower. He’d walk you right to the door of some random debrief room and kiss you goodbye. Bucky would hold your shoulders and gently rub your arms to hype you up before going in, he gave his little speech and said the same thing after. 

“You know I love you, and I know it’s hard.” he’d then kiss your cheeks and forehead. “I’ll be right here when you’re done, don’t even sweat it, pretty lady.” He then wouldn’t leave until the door closed and he heard muffled voices. 

The tower was right in the heart of the city, everything he needed was right there and a walking distance away. He slipped on a long sleeve and his gloves, he knew you took the backpack but you also had reusable bags, he took a few and headed out into the summer heat, it wasn’t humid today which was great but it wasn’t cold either. The tote bag was slung over his shoulder, all that was in it right now as a list. 

flowers 

chocolate

card

stuffed animal 

To call Bucky a romantic would seem weird to someone who only knew of him from the news or a museum, you knew him as a total hopeless romantic. Even in the 40’s, Bucky was the type of person to keep their walls up until he really got to know and trust you. It would normally be one little thing that would allow him to truly be himself around someone, he let his guard down that day you were walking to the restaurant he made a reservation at, Bucky placed himself so that arm or hand you’d hold would be his right but when you caught on you walk around him and looped both arms around his left, metal arm. After that, he was goner. 

He’d leave little sticky notes everywhere, a blue square paper in the coffee mug that read: ‘make sure you only drink one cup!’ or another on your shampoo bottle: ‘you look great naked ;)’. Bucky knew the little things mattered to you and vice versa, he knew that grand gestures didn’t mean anything without a little kiss that came before. 

The flower shop smelt great, Bucky didn’t know much about plants but he knew which ones you’d like. He was thinking of putting one on each bedside so whenever you’re lying in bed- which was a lot -you could look at some pretty flowers. They were a nice shade of purple and the stems were not too long, Bucky bought them and put them gently in his tote bag before heading over two stores to the grocery store you always shop at.

He was envyus of your clean eating, you’d eat what you want but you’d shop at fermer’s markets and organic stores. Bucky didn’t know it made a difference. He went to the frozen section and found chocolate covered strawberries. Bucky picked up a little pack of eight and headed to the front. There were also flowers there but they didn’t look nearly as nice. All he wanted was a very simple cute card with a blank inside, they were easy to find. It was cream coloured with a little sketch of a fuzzy, brown teddy bear holding a yellow balloon. All it said in dainty cursive at the top was: “look at you go!” Bucky knew this was perfect. Near the cards were little toys and stuffed animals. He found a bear that looked eerily similar to the one on the card but without the balloon. 

As he walked into the Avenger’s tower the bag was full and he had enough time to spare to set things up. Bucky headed to the rooms and made the bed, he changed the sheets as well because he knew you liked them when they were crisp. The teddy sat right in the middle with the card next to it. Bucky had written a little note that covered the entire right side of the card. He got a bowl from the kitchen and filled it with ice, he also found that white wine you liked and stuck it on there with the strawberries just to keep them cool but not melted. 

Bucky glanced at his watch and felt almost giddy as he realized it was time to head over to the conference room, he had to work on not giving it away when he’d first see you with his wide smile. The walk to the room was quick because of how fast Bucky was walking, he turned the corners sharp and almost jogged down the hall down the meeting rooms. He only stood there for about three seconds before the door slowly opened, Doc had opened the door and helped you out. Bucky’s smile turned into complete worry when you walked out holding a tissue to your nose, your eyes were red and puffy. Bucky also noticed that your fingernails were red and bleeding, that was one habit you were currently trying to break. 

“What’s going on?” Bucky asked in quiet disbelief, his eyebrows almost touching. 

Doc gave a curt nod, “we talked about a lot of things,” her answers were always so vague. 

You sniffled and waited for Doc to leave down the hall, Bucky was still looking at you. His hands held your shoulders and gently massaged the answer out of you. 

“It was a good cry, I needed that.” you sighed from exhaustion. 

A little piece of Bucky’s heart broke, if you needed to have a good cry then you could have told him, he would’ve listened. Bucky started to go back and see where it went wrong, if he was too overbearing and if this whole afternoon he had planned was created at a very wrong time. He wanted to ask what he did wrong but what came out was different. “Well that’s good to hear, I know Doc is good at that- helping you out.” His words were true but something about the delivery made it seem uneasy. 

“I just-” you looked to the ceiling and hoped to find the words you needed written there. “I like flushing it all out to her because I won’t see her for a week and I don’t need to keep up with what I’m feeling. I always cry to you but Doc is just really good at explaining how I feel, you’re there to validate it and make me feel soothed.” You held his left hand as you both walked down the hallway. “I feel lighter, like, I feel better.”

“That’s always good, sweetheart,” Bucky made sure you were putting weight on him because you didn’t bring your crutches but you really should have. “I have a little treat for you,” He turned to face you when you both stood at his door, Bucky kept his hand on the door handle. “I know it’s been a rough few weeks but I hope you know I love you all the same, and all I see is my strong, beautiful girlfriend.” Bucky saw your confused face, as he opened the door to reveal a dim lit room with flowers, wine and a teddy your eye welled up with tears again. 

You gasped and put your hands on your chest, “for me?” your voice shook as you walked in, you peered into the ice bucket to see your favourite wine and some food as well as a card beside the ice bucket, under the teddy. Tears flowed down your face as the feeling of being overwhelmed washed over you, you could barely string a sentence together. A hand waved the gifts all away, “too much,” was all you could muster. 

“No, baby,” Bucky smiled, he walked over and pulled you into a hug. “Nothing will ever be too much for you.”

He let you cry in his chest for a very long time, you both ended up sitting on the edge of the bed as he stroked all the way up your back. His hand would bunch up your hair as he went up to your neck. His lips were right at your ear, all he whispered were sweet nothings and a calming ‘shh’ once and a while. When you had a little composure Bucky reached for the card, as you read it your lips trembled even more. A hand stayed glued to your heart as your body warmed at loving words, you could barely read it with blurry vision from the tears but it still seemed crystal clear. Your finger traced over the signature: ‘love you to the moon and back, Bucky’. And you crumbled again, your forehead hit his chest as you cried away all the pent up emotion you thought you flushed out at your therapy session. 

With all the crying you were so tired, Bucky had thrown on a movie you two could watch while enjoying your strawberries and wine. You only had two and half a cup before you were snoring on Bucky’s shoulder, he tried to nudge you a couple times but nothing worked at all. He watched the movie on his own and saved the last two strawberries for you in the morning. You didn’t even wake up at him getting up and leaving the room. When he came back he got you out of your day clothes and into something comfy. 

*****

You woke up to the sun hitting your back, when your eyes opened they focused on the flowers and a smile graced your face. It was the first time in a long time since you smiled with your eyes, a little giggle even slipped out. 

At that sound Bucky walked out of the bathroom, “well there she is,” he smiled wide. 

“What does that mean?” you wiped the drool from the side of your mouth, “I had a nap, a really good one, too.” You seemed to be bragging. 

“A nap? Baby, it’s eight.” Bucky raised his eyebrows. 

“Ya, I fell asleep at about five so I had a three hour nap, no biggie.” You rolled on your back and stretched out, your gaze moved back to Bucky when you heard a giggle, “what?” you laughed back. 

“Eight in the morning, the next day. Your three hour nap was actually a well deserved fifteen hour hibernation.” Bucky joined you on the bed. 

“That’s why I feel so good,” you sighed, you looked over to Bucky and swatted his chest at his little smirk. “Don’t think like that.” 

“I bet I can make you feel just as good-”

You cut him off with a kiss.

[artzee-bee]

Now and for eternity| Lucifer Morningstar x reader

Fandom: Lucifer ( netflix)

Request:” Can you write an imagine where Lucifer’s wife is like this well known social light that owns her own luxury fashion brand and she starts receiving gifts from an obsessed secret admirer and Lucifer is unknowingly being targeted by the secret admirer who is trying to kill Lucifer in order to get the reader and Lucifer thinks it’s his father trying to ‘strike’ him down for some unknown reason until Chloe point out someone that correlates with the readers secret admirer and Lucifer’s attacker. Feeling some type away about it Lucifer decides to taunt the secret admirer by upping the PDA and romantic gestures getting a kick out in it much to Chloe’s dismay. And once the secret admirer is caught Lucifer rubs it in their face that the reader is his for now and all of eternity before showing the secret admirer his true face. ”

Genre: fluff? I guess

Warnings:death threats, stalking, attempted murder

~~~

It wasn’t unusual to receive gifts and flowers at your office. After all, with the job you worked and the wealthy people you collaborated with, the presents simply represented one of the many perks of being a designer. Except, one friday morning, while examining a particularly beautiful bouquet of pink lilies, you noticed the little card that came with it

“I know they are some of your favorite - <3 “

Usually, work associates would leave a name. Some way for you to know that they value your work and are thinking of you (and maybe to flatter you into giving them a discount), but there was no name on this card, just a tiny heart in a glittery, pink gel pen. Pink lilies were, indeed, your favorite.

You brought the flowers home and told your husband, Lucifer, all about the mysterious gift. You had talked to your secretary and even she didn’t know where the flowers came from, since no one came to drop off lilies that morning. You presumed the sender must have simply forgotten to sign the card, and perhaps your secretary had forgotten about them, with the busy morning she’d had. You and Lucifer had a laugh, imagining the shy and anxious intern that was probably assigned the job, and the scolding they’ll get when their boss finds out about their mistake.

The next morning, a box of your favorite chocolates were waiting for you on your desk. There wasn’t any note, just the same heart, written in the same glitter pen. You dismissed it as a weird coincidence and moved on to working on your designs.

Without you knowing, this also happened to be the first time Lucifer would be faced with a very interesting note. As he was getting ready to leave the police station, he noticed a piece of yellow paper, stuck to his windshield

“Back off of Y/N. Consider this your first and last warning” no signature. Anyone in Lucifer’s place would have lost their shit, but he paid it no mind. He was the devil after all! If anyone wants to take his precious Y/N away from him, well, they can try. It would make things all the more fun. He folded the paper and stuffed it in his pocket before heading home.

The couple shared Y/N’s chocolates that night, talking about who this person might be. Lucifer wasn’t as amused as he had been the night before, if anything he was rather concerned but he didn’t want to say anything about the note to Y/N, because she would freak out. 

Nothing really happened for the next week. Anonymous gifts stopped showing up at Y/N’s office, Lucifer didn’t get any more notes and things were falling back in their place, until the day right after Y/N’s latest photoshoot went public and viral. It was all to promote her upcoming clothing line. As soon as she walked into the office the next day, she spotted a red, velvet box, the size of a notebook, in the middle of her desk. On top of it, a note written in the same glittery pink as the other gifts

“Congratulations on your new line. Those photos are gorgeous - J.P. <3”

Inside the box was a gorgeous diamond necklace, looking like it was worth millions. If you hadn’t been concerned about the sudden apparition of all these gifts so far, you sure were now. You immediately called your husband to tell him about the mysterious jewelry, but he didn’t pick up. Unbeknown to you, he was busy ranting to detective Decker.

“I mean, not to be dramatic, detective, but the situation does feel like it’s spiralling out of control. Death threats, sure, those come every other weekend, kind of like fanmail, y’know? But actual gun shots fired at my head, well, that’s where I draw the line.” he ended with a giggle. Lucifer was leaning on Decker’s desk as she was examining the bullet casings Lucifer had brought her from his apparent ‘attempted assasination’

“Where did this happen again?” she said, not taking her eyes off of her work

“Right by that coffee shop ms. Lopez always talks about. I may have lost a bet to her the other day and have to get her coffee for the rest of the week, so I was just exiting the shop when a masked man in a dark blue BMW zoomed by, pointing his gun at me and shooting blindly. I mean, that is the most basic attemp at murder I have ever witnessed. At least make it interesting!”

“Lucifer, if someone is out for your life, it’s serious business”

“Why would it be? It’s not like I can actually die, detective! Plus, it’s probably not that deep anyways. Just, dear old dad coming after me again for no particular reason. Very characteristic of him.”

“ You’re getting ahead of yourself. Whoever sent this wants you and Y/N apart, why would your dad want that?”

“Because he’s a prick who disagrees with everything and anything that makes me happy?” Lucifer concludes with an innocent smile “And, of course, Y/N being moral, our marriage goes against the heavenly rules of the almighty, so he’s trying to break us apart, but worry not detective! Me and Y/N are stronger and more in love than ever. My father will simply have to accept that. Nothing will break us apart” he said, puffing his chest out with confidence

“That’s good to hear Lucifer, but I still think we should stay open to different possibilities”

“Oh, come on detective, that would be a waste of our time. I know my father better than anyone, believe me when I tell you this is his hand and no one else's. Case closed! Now, let’s move to the next one! Chop chop detective, murders won’t solve themselves!” Lucifer said, marching out of the precinct. Chloe rolled her eyes at her partner, before hiding the bullets and the note in her desk and going after him.

Although it didn’t bother you, you couldn’t help but notice how much more touchy Lucifer had been with you, ever since the necklace incident. He needed to touch you at all times: when you were out for coffee, at lunch, at the station, in your office, in Lux. His hand was always either around your waist or tangled in yours. You felt sort of bad, thinking he must be a little insecure with this secret admirer being after you at all times, but you wanted him to know that you loved him more than anything and that no matter what, you would never leave him for a faceless man, no matter how many pearls and chocolates he bribes you with. And so, you decided to play along with him, giving him as much attention as you could. Your visits at the station almost doubled, you always cleared your schedule to make time for him and even decided to start work later in  the day than usual, so you could spend more time with him in the morning. 

One afternoon, as you were enjoying your time with Decker and Lucifer during their lunch time, one of the notes from your secret admirer slipped out of your pocket. You didn’t realise it until Chloe picked it up

“Oh, I was going to throw that out”

“Where’s this from?” she asked, studying the note

“Just one of this week's gifts” you confessed awkwardly. Without a second thought, the detective reached for her drawer, pulling out another note from inside and inspecting them side by side. Eventually, she placed them both in front of Lucifer

“Notice something interesting about the writing?”

“They are remarkably similar…”

“More like identical”

“What is that?” you asked, looking at the unknown note. Your heart sank as you read it

“I’ll explain everything at home dear, I swear” Lucifer said

“You’ve received death threats because of me?”

“I’ll tell you everything at home, I promise”

“You have initials…” Decker noticed

“Yeah, ever since my photoshoot, they’re present on every package”

“What floor is your office on again?”

“5th, why?”

“How can someone enter your office every morning without anyone, not even your secretary noticing, and exit just as mysteriously?” “Unless he found a different way in” Lucifer replied

“My window” you realise “You can step out directly onto the emergency staircase from there”

“He knew when to sneak in without being seen, so he must have known your schedule like the back of his hand. Who could know?”

“The only people who know it are my secretary and Lucifer”

“A stalker?” your husband suggested

“Maybe” Decker turned quickly to her computer “I’m going to check any business owners around that neighbourhood who could have had a close shot of when you enter and exit your studio, see if any initially match the ones on the notes. We’ll go from there” 

You thanked Chloe for the help and went home with Lucifer, who spent the entire car ride explaining the note to you and the events of the previous days. You were angry at him for keeping all of it away from you, but ultimately happy that he was safe. You spent the night drinking wine and rewatching all of your comfort movies, to calm your nerves.

You decided to try working from home for the next couple of days, too scared by the idea of a stranger following your every move. It was a challenging process but Lucifer did his best in helping you get accustomed to this new routine. His homemade meals could not compare to anything you would eat while in a meeting with your business associates. Plus, the company was much more delightful.

Chloe texted you, almost a week later, to come down to the station as quickly as possible. They had found the guy. You hopped into your car and when you finally arrived, Lucifer was waiting for you outside

“They found him?” 

“Yes dear, they did”

“How?”

“Well, as it turns out he lived in the apartment building next door. His living room window had a great view of everything happening in your office. We’ve found a week’s worth of gifts he was planning to deliver. It’s him for sure” 

“Thank you” you whispered before collapsing into Lucifer’s arms and hugging him tight

“It’s alright lovely. It’s over now. Let’s go see how the detective is handling it. I think they’re in the interrogation room now.”

From behind the glass, you watched the man that threatened your marriage and your husband's life, confess to everything. Admit to stalking you, in order to learn your schedule. Break into your office and open fire on Lucifer. More than enough to get him behind bars for a long time. Decker and Lucifer got up and were ready to leave, but your husband requested a couple of minutes alone with the man. The detective agreed, cautioning him to not do something stupid, before leaving them alone. Lucifer turned on his heels to face the man in handcuffs and you could instantly tell he was furious

“Truly an honorable try. Y/N is one of a kind, you were right about that, the only detail you missed is that, you see, she’s taken. By me” the mischievous smile on his face let you know that he was up to no good “Our bond is indestructible and it’s really laughable to think that you’ve risked so much to tear us apart when you didn’t stand a chance to begin with” Lucifer leaned over the table, now his back was facing you “Me and Y/N are, and forever will be, together. There is nothing you or anyone else can do to change that. She is mine and I am hers, now and for eternity” as his little speech came to an end, you noticed the man in handcuffs go pale with terror. He began shaking in his chair, screaming incoherently about the devil. Even tho you hadn’t see what your husband did, you could tell by the man’s reaction. You laughed to yourself, not even mad that Lucifer had used his devil face against this man. You would have done the same if you had the option.

[midgardianweasley]

I‘d love to see you write an angsty fanfic with Natasha x reader (male or female is up to you) with a bad ending of your choice.

No pressure of course ✨

as requested Violet!! I hope it's okay<3

How could you do this to me?

Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: Natasha hasn’t been around recently and Y/N’s been really missing her company, but that changes when some CCTV footage is discovered.

Warnings: Cheating, swearing.

Word Count: 3.6k

there was an attempted proof read, but sorry in advance if i've missed anything!!

message/ask to be added to the taglist<3

Requests are open!

You weren’t surprised when you woke up to an empty bed once again, the space beside you missing a red-head assassin. You’d grown used to the sight of bedsheets spread lazily on your side of the bed, almost completely thrown off of the edge. It wasn’t unusual, however, the feeling of disappointment that lingered in your chest every morning never eased with time.

‘I’m just off to train, baby.’

‘I need to go and see Fury about this next mission, you go back to sleep’

‘I forgot to debrief the team last night, so we need to have a meeting this morning instead.’

‘Off to get some breakfast, my love. I’ll save you some eggs.’

Those were the typical reasons you received whenever you questioned where she was going in such a hurry in the mornings. You knew she was busy, of course you did. But, you missed the mornings when she’d pull you back into her chest, refusing to let you leave until you gave her a few kisses, which never ended up just being kisses, but you always gave in either way.

Now that you think of it, you can’t remember the last time she held you. Not properly. She used to hold you in a death grip, so tight that you could almost feel her heartbeat in your own chest. Nowadays, you were lucky to get more than a few taps on the back, it felt like you were being congratulated for something.

You’d always brushed it off, thinking that you must’ve been selfish for wanting so much of her attention, you had to be more understanding of how demanding her job is. It wasn’t like you never tried, you did, everyday. It would just be nice to feel her love for you a little more, even if it was just a quick peck before she left in the mornings.

“Hey Wan’, Hey Vis” You smiled at the pair as they stood at the kitchen counter, cracking eggs and buttering some toast. They loved cooking together, Wanda always told you how cute it was when Vision was trying to learn, especially after his fiasco with the Paprika.

“Hi Y/N, want something to eat?” Wanda handed you some toast, which you took gratefully, slowly munching on it.

Vision looked up as though to engage in conversation, when he then looked around in confusion. “Where’s Ms. Romanoff?”. You shrugged.

“I’m not sure, I think she’s training, I’ve not heard from her yet.”

You were looking at Vision, but it was near impossible to miss the sympathetic look Wanda was giving you. She knew about how you’d been feeling with Natasha not being around so much, she had tried to help, to hint to Nat that you’d been feeling a bit neglected for a while now, but she hadn’t gotten very far.

“Nat, nat, I just think that maybe you should spend a little more time with Y/N” It was obvious the assassin wasn’t listening to her, shrugging it off and trying to walk past the witch, only to have a hand pressed on her chest to push her backwards.

“Wanda, I need to go, I'm running late.”

“you’re always running somewhere. I'm sure Fury, or Tony or whoever you’re in such a rush to see, can wait. You haven’t seen your girlfriend in forever.”

“I saw her last night.”

“Crawling into bed in the early hours of the morning and sleeping next to her, isn’t seeing her, Nat.”

Her words fell on deaf ears as she watched her friend turn around and walk the other way. She could’ve used her powers to stop her, she didn’t see a point though. She wasn’t listening, and she couldn’t force her to.

“It's fine though, honestly! I can hang out with you guys today if you’re not busy?”

the couple shared a look of awkwardness before looking back towards you.

“Actually, we were going to go into town and do some sightseeing. You’re welcome to join us though!” She smiled, not wanting you to be alone, which you were grateful for, but you couldn’t intrude.

“No no, don’t worry! I think I've got something Tony wanted me to check out in the Lab, now that I think about it.” You didn’t. “You guys have fun though! take pictures!” You winked, knowing full well that your best friend didn’t believe you, she hesitated before nodding her head in agreement and beginning to walk off with Vision in tow.

__________________

An hour or so went by, you still hadn’t seen Natasha at all, or anyone, really. They all seemed to have disappeared to do their own thing, leaving you to find yours. So, you found yourself wandering into your lab, where you found Tony observing the screens with an endless amount of data changing every couple of seconds. You never really understood how he made sense of it all so quickly, but you’d always been intrigued nonetheless.

He must’ve sensed someone was there, as he broke away from his train of thought and glanced over towards you, fully acknowledging how your shoulders were slumped and your eyes lacked your usual sparkle. Tony alway had a soft spot for you, he’d known you for years, taking on a role similar to a father’s. Seeing you look so defeated recently, it’d hurt him a little more than he cared to admit.

Gesturing for you to come in with a gentle smile before moving and adjusting various chunks of metal on the table in the centre of the lab.

“Ah ah!” He tapped the bridge of his nose

“You can’t be serious! Tony I-”

“Nope”

“I’m a grown woman!” You laughed in disbelief at his

“Yes, you are, and I do not plan on taking said grown woman to medical because she got a shot of electricity through her eyeball. Put them on.”

You rolled your eyes, picking up a pair of the obnoxiously large lab goggles and put them over your face. He really took being a ‘father figure’ too seriously sometimes. With your goggles on, you took yourself over to where he stood, hoping to help him out somehow and keep yourself occupied.

You watched him move around blueprints on the screen above. “So, whatcha working on?”

“Well, remember that last mission we went on? How that ended?”

“Well, considering I had to get bullets removed for the last two hours, I’d say I remember pretty well.”

His face cringed slightly “Yeah, that’s the one. I’m basically just trying to layer the suits more, but keep the weight to a minimum so that there’s more protection, but the speed and mobility is almost, if not, the same.” He pondered, mind wandering off again to try and figure out how he could make this work.

Suddenly springing to action, he started assembling some pieces together, chucking some aside and reaching for different tools he required.

Looking towards you, he tilted his head “Can you pass me the-”

His sentence was interrupted. “Hey Tony, hey-” Banner. You didn’t mind Bruce, he was always quite quiet and polite most of the time, a little awkward, but, when you have a literal Hulk inside of you, it’s probably the least of your concerns.

You waved at the Avenger. “Hi Bruce” You gave him a friendly smile, for it to be returned with an awkward gaze, which he tried to quickly shove off.

“Yeah, uh, hi, Y/N. W-what brings you here?”

“Oh, no particular reason, I wanted something to do so I thought I'd come down, just pay a visit.” He nodded, acknowledging your words but appearing a little on edge, almost.

“Hey, you okay?” You asked “You look a little pale?”

“Yeah, yeah n-no I'm fine, just a-a bit tired.” He stuttered before suddenly directing his attention towards the man standing beside you. “How’s it coming along, Ton’?”

“Not bad, I have a wonderful assistant to help me out.” he nudged you playfully.

“Haha, yeah. She’s great. Anyways, you seem to have a good hold on things, so, I’ll leave you to it and come back later.”

Neither of you had managed to get a word out before Banner had walked out and was already out of sight. You turned to face Tony again.

“Was that- did you find that weird at all?”

“I find most of the people in this compound weird.”

It was a serious question, but you couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the millionaire’s response.

“I do pride myself on it.”

“As you should. You’re the weirdest one.”

“Hey!” You slapped his arm. “Rude!”

“I’m kidding! Now, pass me that screwdriver, goggles.”

Chuckling, you threw him the screwdriver and zoned out thinking about Bruce’s weird behaviour. While Tony was right, the majority of us are weird. You couldn’t stop thinking about how unusual it was, even for him. You put it to the back of your mind though, focusing back on what the man beside you was working on. You’re sure it’s fine.

________________________

You thought you were going crazy. First you had Nat, who was disappearing every chance she got, Then you had Bruce who couldn’t look you in the eye and when you finally believed it couldn’t get any weirder, you picked up on some strange vibes from Steve.

“Oh finally! I was beginning to think no one else actually lives here.” You approached Steve who seemed to be walking and talking with Bruce, both taking a step back when they looked towards you.

“Hey Y/N, we were just-”

“We were just about to go and have a shower. Training.” Steve cut in, earning himself a glare and a shake of the head from the scientist beside him, subtle, so you hadn’t noticed, otherwise you would’ve questioned it.

“Oh? You were training too, Bruce?”

“Well, I-” He glanced at Steve. “Yeah. Yeah, I, uh, wanted to get some combat down, just in case I needed it.”

“Considering our last mission, I think we all should.” the super soldier quickly added, sending you an enthusiastic smile, which you had returned. You went to speak again, possibly inquiring as to whether or not they knew where your girlfriend was, but you hadn't had the chance as the pair of them quickly rushed off, muttering something about catching you later, leaving you on your own, once again.

What the hell was going on?

_____________________

Feeling defeated, you trudged your way into your bedroom, just wanting to shower, get into bed and sleep, and hope for some form of normality.

What you hadn’t expected, was to walk in and see the back of a familiar figure sporting the black suit she practically lived in, tying her hair into a low bun and beginning to change into some more comfortable clothes.

You were dating, so it wasn’t new to see Nat changing, but you still thought it would be decent to make her aware of your presence. The small “ahem” was enough to make her spin round and flash you a smile, her pearly white teeth on show.

“Hi babe, i’m just changing for bed. You okay?”

The words felt so unfamiliar to you, having not heard them in what felt like forever. Still, you decided to humour it.

“Yeah, yeah I'm okay. A bit of a weird day is all.”

She laughed, returning to laying out her clothes. “Well, we are surrounded by some weird people.”

“That’s what Tony said.”

There was an atmosphere in the air that you couldn’t quite pinpoint. It had always felt comfortable with Natasha, you would describe her company as being like a safety blanket, enveloping you with warmth and a sense of security. This felt different. It didn’t feel familiar anymore, it was like you were face to face with a stranger and the more you looked at her, the more it upset you.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Natasha put her palms on your cheeks, bringing your Y/E/C eyes to meet her emerald ones in the process. You hadn’t realised that tears had fallen until the pad of her thumbs gently brushed them away.

“I just, it sounds so stupid.”

“Tell me.”

You let out a sigh, eyes beginning to dart around the room. “It just feels like I’ve never seen you, I don’t remember the last time we’ve spoken and it’s, it’s been lonely.” Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at your response, lips falling into a frown, but you were quick to speak again.

“It hasn’t just been you though, I understand that work gets in the way, but, it felt like some members of the team were acting differently around me.”

“Really? Like who?”

“Well, I mean, Bruce could barely bring himself to say anything more than a sentence to me and I tried to speak to Steve just before I came here and he rushed off like his life depended on it. I don’t know, maybe I’m just being a bit paranoid.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Detka, I wouldn’t worry about it.” She whispered, hands pulling you forward with ease to bring your lips together. You smiled at the contact, you’d missed it.

You were so caught up in it, that you hadn’t noticed you were the only one smiling.

It wasn’t long before the both of you were interrupted by an electronic voice in the room.

“Miss Romanoff, Miss Y/L/N.” It was F.R.I.D.A.Y. “Mr Stark is asking for you both in the conference room.”

“Alright, thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y., we’re on our way.” Your girlfriend replied, rushing away from the kiss and leading you to the door.

Why was everyone in such a rush today?

_______________________

“So, I was messing around with some things in the lab, and I think I've found a solution to our suit issue. It’s still a work in progress because I'll need to tweak some things and then tailor them blah blah blah, but I thought I'd show you guys the latest. JARVIS?”

“Bringing up footage 182.”

While you waited for the video to be up and running, you took note of everyone sitting around you. For the most part, they looked tired, though you don’t blame them, it was pretty late.

Shuffling to your left, you held Natasha’s hand in yours, sending her a loving gaze before resting your head on her shoulder, just content that she was close by. She sat a little straighter at the action, careful not to push you off of her, but not entirely relaxing either.

The large tv screen lit up, a view from the corner of the lab came into sight where you could see Tony installing different wires and pieces of loose metal into the suit, watching it light up as he did so. He was in the middle of explaining what he was doing as the recording went on, when the screen suddenly turned to static, black and white lines taking over the screen.

“JARVIS?”

“Minor technical issue, working on it, Mr Stark.”

You caught Wanda’s eye across the table, a playful smirk plastered onto her face at the mishap, watching the billionaire get stressed over a television. You couldn’t help but laugh at the words flying from his mouth as he started hitting the remote, as if he was someone who didn’t understand technology.

It wasn’t long before an image appeared back on the screen, however, this wasn’t the same recording. This is from the gym. It focused on one of the square mats in the middle of the room where two people were sparring. One of which, you immediately recognised as Natasha.

The other person definitely wasn’t a girl, their hair was short and muscles so big you were worried that one slice would be the end. It zoomed in a little, and from the blonde hair and dark blue outfit, you pieced together who it was.

“Oooh, Black Widow and the SuperSoldier, one vs one. Now this should be interesting.” A previously tired looking Sam clapped his hands and leaned forward, now fully invested in the scene in front of him.

You turned to Nat, who now looked a little paler than she did before.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost, don’t tell me, you lost this spar?” You joked, expecting her to join in and tease you back. Instead, her face displayed an emotion you weren’t entirely sure of.

Before you could question it, you noticed the room fall silent. Not even a breath could be heard in the room. Your head turned slowly, meeting a mixture of shocked and sympathetic faces. And that was when you saw it.

Nat had kissed Steve, and he didn’t stop her.

If you weren't aware of your heartbeat before, you couldn’t be now, for it felt like it had completely stopped. Your jaw fell as your eyes filled with tears, only worsening the longer you saw the two of them on the screen. It was only turned off when a third person walked into view, not needing to ponder on who it could be, you immediately faced guilty stares. Three of them.

“You- you kissed-” You stuttered, incapable of forming a sentence towards your teammate. “And, you knew?” Your voice broke, tears now beginning to find their way down your cheeks for the second time as Bruce couldn’t bring himself to answer you.

You swiftly rose out of your seat, attempting to keep yourself composed until you could be alone.

“Baby-” Natasha murmured, trying to take hold of your hand, which you snatched back before she could lay a finger on it.

“Don’t.”

“Please-”

“Leave me alone.” You spat, speed walking out of what now felt like an overcrowded room.

You didn’t hear it, you’d left too early, but if you had stayed, you would’ve heard the team give Nat and Steve the scolding of their lives, mainly from Wanda and Tony, telling them how disappointed they were in them both. How they’d be lucky if you were to forgive them for what they did.

________________________

You don’t know how long you’d been sitting on your shared bed for. It could’ve been an hour, it could’ve been a couple of minutes. All you knew, was that you couldn’t stay in this room much longer, looking at the picture frames and the shared wardrobe, it just felt painful.

So, you walked over to your wardrobe and gathered every item of your clothing into your arms, lacking any care for if there were hangers or labels in the way, and chucked them on the bed and started to chuck it all into a suitcase intended for holidays but, you don’t see that happening anytime soon.

The sound of sniffles and rustling was all you could hear in the room, so much so that it was suffocating, and it didn’t help when you heard the door creak open.

“What are you doing?” A voice squeaked. Natasha stood beside the door, fidgeting with her fingers as she anxiously bounced from one foot to the other. You didn’t even bother to look up in her direction, focusing solely on getting out of there as soon as you could.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened, I didn’t mean it.” You scoffed at her attempt at an explanation. “I love you.”

That’s what made you whip your head to see her red and puffy eyes, if this was any other situation, you would’ve rushed over and engulfed her in a hug, tell her that everything would be okay and you’re there for her. Now? All you felt was anger.

“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have kissed him.”

“I didn’t know-”

You stood up straight, almost laughing at her choice of words. “You didn’t know? Bullshit. I’m pretty fucking sure everyone is aware when they kiss someone. Did you know when you were kissing me then? Or did you not know that either?”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

“I don’t think I care.”

She tries to step closer to you, only for you to take one back, holding your hand out, indicating for her to stop.

“No. no, you know what Nat, you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to treat me like a stranger for weeks, like I'm sharing a bed with someone I don’t know, for you to then kiss someone else and expect me to forgive you. You have no idea how I've felt these past weeks, blaming myself and thinking I was selfish for wanting your time. It’s funny, really.”

She looked away from you, regret taking over her features, both of you now having tear stains covering your rosy red cheeks.

You broke the silence once again. “Was that the first time?”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Y/N-” She pleaded

“Answer the question, Natasha.” You spoke through gritted teeth.

Silence returned to the four walls.

“Get out.”

“No, no, we-” She stepped forward, only to halt herself when she realised what she was doing.

“There is no ‘we’. We’re done. I’ll have my stuff moved back into my room by tonight, though I'm sure it won’t make much of a difference to you.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“Whatever.”

She walked out of the room, hesitating slightly, wondering if it’s worth staying and trying to figure out whatever this is. She shook her head to herself, knowing she’d fucked up. There wasn’t a fight anymore. It was done.

Collapsing on the bed, the feeling washed over you again as the finality of it all set in. You didn’t stop though. You packed your clothes, your perfumes, all of your loose hair ties and left the room with only one thought on your mind.

Natasha won’t even notice the difference.

Taglist: @natashas-favourite-knives @wandaromanova

[miekasa]

random armin/mikasa/jean headcanons (college au)

↯ pairing: armin x (fem) reader, mikasa x (fem) reader, jean x (fem) reader

↯ genres and warnings: college au, fluff, lets see how many times i can mention eren in writing that has absolutely nothing to do with him

↯ notes: this.... probably won’t be a regular thing, i don’t know that i can consistently continue writing for them, but this sure was fun and reminded me that i actually have feelings for someone other than levi :// didn’t ask for that, but here we are

ARMIN ARLERT

Would most likely get pretty good grades, but he can definitely be lazy about it and hear me out.

If it’s a class that he likes and is genuinely interested in (which is the majority of them), he’s going to put in the work—sometimes too much work—to make sure he’s doing well. He usually studies very meticulously, and stays on top of his game throughout the semester.

But if it’s one of those bs classes the university makes you take, or some kind of stupid elective that was the only course that could fit into his schedule? Well, Armin is smart enough to bullshit his way through anything, so he’s not going to exert himself for a class he doesn’t even care about. 

Oh, and he’s very vocal about complaining to you about said bullshit courses. (Completely justified, go off king).

“I swear sometimes the TA just lowers marks randomly to ‘keep the class average.’ Granted, I didn’t really study for the quiz, so I wasn’t expecting a stellar grade or anything, but I know they do that sometimes.” “Well, babe, why didn’t you study.” “Because I hate it, (Y/N).”

Like I said, takes school seriously and tries his best; but even he knows he doesn’t have to be at 100% all the time. It’s also kind of a flex how smart he is and how much he can get by on doing the absolute bare minimum.

Poor Connie is studying his ass off for their shared elective and Armin barely looked at the first page of the textbook, and he’ll probably get a 90 anyways.

Imagine he’s so caught up with his other classes, he actually forgets about a midterm for his stupid elective, and at first he’s freaking out, so you kind of have to remind him of who tf he is. You finally get him to relax and he blinks at you, “Oh right, I didn’t study because I didn’t have to haha nice.” 

Helps you prepare for presentations by letting you practice them in front of him. Actually gives good feedback, but sometimes he’s just watching you and not really listening.

Sometimes, you have to be the one to remind him to take a step back and take care of himself, before his schoolwork. He doesn’t like to worry you, and likely feels guilty when he sees you walking up to him in the library at 2am; so he won’t fight you on it, and just lets you help him pack up all his stuff and head home for the day.

Likes head massages. Maybe sometimes has faked a little bit of a headache to get you to massage his head and play with his hair. He’ll never tell.

If you rub his cheek while he’s laying on top of you, he will knock out like a baby. Almost immediately. It’s a surefire way to get him to go to sleep.

Schedules dates with you, and plans them out meticulously. Sometimes gets playful and sends you a whole ass e-vite.

“Armin, why do I have an email invitation for our date to the library?” “So that you don’t forget, of course.” “How could I forget, it’s later today, and you’re literally helping me study for my midterm.” “With popcorn!”

Probably the type to get a job on campus. You and your friends come to visit him when he’s on shift and annoy him. He secretly likes it.

Oh, he’s kind of shady. Scratch that, can be very shady. He complains about school to you, but also just complains to you in general; he doesn’t outwardly do that a lot, but you’re his confidant.

Sometimes you get surprised and call him out on it and you’re like “Oh my god, Armin, the poor girl didn’t mean to mess up the project,” and he’s like “Well. Sometimes people are idiots and it has to be said.”

Has a bad habit of rolling his eyes and he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. “Did you just roll your eyes at me.” “I don’t know, did I?” Bye.

His hands are always covered in some kind of ink/markings. Accidental brushes of his pens, streaks from his highlighters or markers, a little bit of lead from his pencil along the side of his palm.

Speaking of which, he strikes me as the kind of guy to keep a bullet journal. Not necessarily decked out and fancy with Polaroids and extravagant fonts; but definitely neat, and decorated to some extent, depending on how he’s feeling. It makes him feel organized.

He would pencil in important dates and markers of your relationship into said journal. “Friday night: museum date—remember to buy the tickets in advance.”

If anyone is going to buy, wash, peel, and cut up fruit for you, it’s going to be Armin.

Lowkey tutoring all of his friends, and might be the sole reason that Connie hasn’t dropped out yet. He likes tutoring you the most, though. 

Get this, sometimes he asks you to tutor him, even if he knows damn well he doesn’t need it. Maybe he’ll even sign up for a stupid elective if it’s a class you’ve taken before, just to have an excuse to get you to teach him something. 

Likes trying new things with you. He might not always like the new things that you try, but he’s open to trying them at least once. Well… most things anyways. Just don’t ask him to get up at dawn and go jogging with you.

I genuinely cannot tell if he would be a morning person or not. Maybe mid-morning. Probably not a rise-and-shine at 6am kind of guy, but is up by at least 10:00am every day. Very cute when he’s groggy though, and stumbles around a bit like a baby deer when he first gets up, especially if he’s hungry.

He likes to bike. And really likes when you go on bike rides with him. As long as you both are on your own bikes, you learned the hard way that tandem biking isn’t cut out for you.

Knows that all-nighters aren’t good for you, but sometimes you have to pull them anyways. If you both have a lot to get done, he’ll stay up with you and make sure you both take breaks and drink water.

Can twirl his pens in that really fast and fancy way, and can do the thing where he rolls it between all his fingers too. I’ll let you think bout the implications of that for yourself.

He likes watching cartoons, and reels you into all his favorites. Definitely likes to stay in on weekends watching cartoons with you and just chilling.

Will go to a party with you if you ask, or if his friends are hosting, but nothing beyond that. You didn’t hear this from me, but he’d probably like to smoke more than drink.

Sometimes you think he needs a break and you commission Eren to take him out for the night, but Armin still comes back looking more composed than him. A little sleepy and maybe a bit out of it, but not sloshed, much to your disappointment. “Eren, you really couldn’t have tried to be more a bad influence?? I was counting on you!!”

Eren’s confused, like, “Did you want me to get him white boy wasted??” “Yeah, kinda!! It’s what he deserves every once in a while. Ugh, next time I’m calling in Sasha, she knows how to drink.”

By the way, if you’re dating Armin, you’re kind of dating (or at least babysitting) Eren too. Or vice versa. Either way, they will also go on dates without you. (“Hanging out. We’re hanging out, and I’m tutoring him so he doesn’t fail Biology, (Y/N).” “Likely story, ocean eyes.”)

Can be touchy in a very absentminded way. He’ll reach out to play with your ears/earrings, habitually rub at your shoulders if you’re standing in front of him, mindlessly toy with the ends of your clothing. Half the time he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it, he’s so cute.

Plays one sport—is on the soccer team. It keeps him busy, and forces him to focus on something that isn’t academics once in a while. He’s pretty good at it, too; he and Eren make a good team when they play together.

You and Eren tried to get him to join the baseball team too. Eren, because he likes playing with Armin. You, because, well… the uniforms. He would look so good in the uniform.

MIKASA ACKERMAN

Makes her classes look like a breeze, even though it’s at least 300 pages of reading and writing per week.

Kind of gives me Elle Woods “What, like it’s hard?” kind of vibes when it comes to schoolwork. You’re in awe of how she just did 75 pages of reading with a tiny ass font in one sitting, and she just blinks at you like “Was it supposed to be difficult?”

Speaking of which, she likes to read in general; for leisure, outside of her school work. She’ll recommend you books, too. If you don’t like to read, she’ll still try and rope you in with shorter stories, or just read them aloud to you herself. 

Sits at a table across from you while you both do your schoolwork independently. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a quiet, almost implicit sense of intimacy that she really likes.

Bundles you up when it’s cold, and won’t take no for an answer. You will wear a hat, whether you like it or not.

Always prepared—and by that I mean, she carries things on her that she realizes you might need. Tissues, extra pens, an extra pair of mittens. She strikes me as the kind of person to pay attention to details like those.

Likes to walk you to class, even if her class is very far away from your building. She doesn’t mind.

On that note, she knows your schedule pretty well, where it pertains to classes and personal interests.

If you’re the type of person who can slack off or even just get caught up in other things when it comes to school work, she’ll be there to keep you on track and hold you accountable. Usually through setting aside times to study with you, but can even be through small things like asking you how your assignment is going.

(Nevermind that you completely forgot about the assignment, and hadn’t even started it—but that’s the point; she knew that).

Hear me out: holding pinkies. Maybe not when you’re walking, but when you’re seated next to each other. The longer you’re together, the more likely she is to initiate it, too.

Would rather study at home/in her apartment than in the library, but if you like to study there, she can compromise a few days out of the week.

Makes you playlists, and they’re usually really good, because she knows you so well. Sometimes she gets cute and customizes the cover art to a picture of the both of you.

She’s your ride or die, so if you complain to her about a prof you don’t like or a TA you don’t think is fair she’s 100% on your side. She might not always be able to do anything about it, but she’ll definitely let you complain to her.

Texts you throughout the day to check up on you, but usually disguised through other questions. Asks what you want/had for lunch when she’s really checking to make sure you ate. Asks you what time your lectures end, just to make sure you didn’t skip it (again). Asks you what time you’re going to be done studying to make sure you don’t stay up all night cramming again.

Takes a genuine interest in your courses, and absolutely loves to listen to you talk about them.

If your classes are vastly different, she’ll still try and help you however she can, even if it’s only in small ways, like proofreading something for you.

Doesn’t use emojis alot, so your contact doesn’t have a bunch of hearts next your name on anything. But she does put your last name in as Ackerman. 

Has social media, but mostly uses it to keep up with her friends, and you. You’re in most of the few pictures that she does post, and she might not say it, but she really likes it when you post photos of/with her. 

Not sure why, but I think she’d be a pretty decent artist if she tried. That trend of doing glass paintings on TikTok? I think she’d be into that, and would plan out the whole thing as a date with you.

Keeps up with all your favorite shows to talk about or watch them with you. Sometimes she’ll purposely miss a few episodes so that she can spend the night and marathon them with you.

Likes to stay in and drink cheap wine and just watch or talk about whatever with you. You could watch a terrible show just to laugh and comment on it the entire time and she would be so happy. 

Doesn’t like to sit down on public transportation, and honestly would rather you didn’t either, but she’s not going to stop you from taking a seat. If you’re sitting, she’ll stand in front of/over you, and always keeps wire headphones long enough for you to share music that way.

The most insufferable human when she’s sick and she knows it. She hates being sick. And she knows you shouldn’t be around her or else you might get sick but she also just wants you to hold her. (You do).

Likes to sleepover at your place. Talks with you about your day while you lay down. Always smells good. Very cuddly when sleepy. 10/10.

Hates the act of doing her laundry, but likes doing it with you. Lowkey starts buying and using the same detergent and fabric softener as you because it makes her smell like you.

Gets very embarrassed if you kiss her in public. Very red in the cheeks, it’s kind of cute, so I wouldn’t blame you if you did it on purpose.

JEAN KIRSTEIN

Jean is… quite smart, if you ask me. Or, at the very least, analytical, which can be applied to a variety of academic settings.

The only thing is, he’s incredibly lazy about it. He wants to do well in school, and can definitely pull himself together for a midterm or an exam; but is horrible at keeping pace with all his other work and assignments on a regular basis.

He also can’t sit still, which is why even though he is very kind and chivalrous and brings many snacks to your study sessions, he is also competing for number one worst study partner. Right next to Eren and Sasha.

Gets pouty when you tell him you don’t want to study with him. “But… but… but I brought snacks! And bubble tea!” “Yes, but you also have the attention span of a rabbit, Jean.”

At the end of the day he understands… that doesn’t mean he’s not going to be bitter about it LOLOL. It’s fine, you can make it up to him by hanging out with him afterwards.

Is, like, classically trained in at least two instruments because his mom put him in lessons as a child. He used to hate it growing up, and he doesn’t practice much now, so he never talks about it.

One day you happen to mention something about comparing two songs, telling him they remind you of each other but you don’t know exactly why or why, and very nonchalantly he’s like, “They sound similar because they share the same major chord in the chorus, and they’re in the same key.” 

And you just kind of blink at him like, “Okay, Beethoven. How. How did you know that.”

Once you realize he can, like, actually play the piano and violin really well you’re always begging him to play for you. It doesn’t happen often—it’s not like he owns a violin anymore and he certainly doesn’t have a grand piano in his shitty college apartment—but sometimes you sneak into the music room when it’s empty and he’ll play something for you.

He’s a romantic at heart, so he doesn’t mind, and if anything kind of enjoys you watching him play. It’s much better than playing for random parents in a recital. You’re dead if you ever mention it to any of his friends though.

Also not a frat boy, but definitely likes to party. Everything with reason. If he crushed a midterm on Thursday, he deserves to throw back a few beers on Friday night, you know?

Touchy when he’s drunk. Well, touchier than normal; he’d be the most affectionate out of every one on a regular basis. But he’s touchy and messy when he’s drunk, so he’s all over you.

Messy, but happy. All smiles and giggles and red cheeks, with his arm around your shoulder, boasting you anybody who will listen about his super hot girlfriend.

He and Eren throw the best parties when they team up together. (Only slightly related, but those two, when drunk together, could probably pass as a couple; they’re so uncharacteristically happy, and affectionate. You may or may not be keeping some photo and video evidence of Eren and Jean drunk cuddling).

Sends you videos when you’re in the middle of class. And only then. He plans it to be annoying. Because he is annoying.

Also always sending you those in-messsage games while you’re in the middle of lecture or studying. “PLEASE play virtual pool with me!! I’ll even let you win one round!!” “I AM TRYING TO LEARN!!” “LEARN LATER 😡😡😡”

A fucking fiend in your Instagram comments. It’s a miracle none of them have been removed or reported for inappropriate content. Replies to OTHER people’s comments complimenting YOU!! He’s so much

@sashabraus: aww you look so cute @youruser!! that color looks so good on you 💕 @jeannotjean: omg omg tysm @sashabraus 😊 i picked it myself @youruser: SHE WAS TALKING TO ME @jeannotjean!!! ME!!! @jeannotjean: @youruser you have no proof 🙄 @youruser: SHE USED MY @!!!! GET OUT OF MY COMMENTS!!! @jeannotjean: you’re so hot when you yell at me via insta comments 🥵🥵🥵 would it be better if i slid into your dm’s instead 😫😫😉 @youruser: @jeannotjean BLOCKED!! EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!!

You try explaining your coursework to him and he’s just looking at you with puppy dog eyes like, “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about, babe, but you look hot while doing it, so, please, continue.”

He’s another cocky annoying bastard (endearing). Always tilting you head up to look at him and smirk at you. Pisses you off just to put his arm around your shoulder and be like, “It’s okay, I know you love me anyways.” Winks at you in public just to embarrass you. He’s the worst. The worst.

King of picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder for absolutely no reason at all.

He lowkey wants to get an ear piercing and uses you to talk him into it. “Don’t you think I’d look hot with a piercing? I think I would.” “You would look good regardless, Jean. So, do it if you want to.” “Right. But, like.... do you think I would look hot.”

For as annoying and cocky as he can be, the second you actually genuinely tell him you think he’s attractive or talented or whatever, he gets kind of shy. It’s very cute. 

Likes trying new restaurants with you, even though he really should stop spending all his money on food. Sometimes trying new restaurants means ordering from a new place, but it’s whatever, you know.

Honestly… the two of you would probably have a ridiculously high Uber Eats bill. You really should go outside and, like, be people every once in a while LOLOL

Okay, but it’s mostly Jean’s fault. For as much as he likes to party, and doesn’t mind hosting a party, he doesn’t do much beyond that. He hangs out with his/your friends, and with you, obviously, but he’s not the kind of guy to have his weekend booked up all the time.

He would much rather stay in with you, and talk trash about his stupid group project partners, and lay on your stomach and try to teach you how to play his favorite video games.

Spoiler: he fucking lies and/or leaves out key parts of the gameplay!! Just so he can crush you and laugh about it!! Annoying, but you’re the one keeping him around, so, who can you really blame but yourself.

[wincestisasincest]

The Barrel - Ch. 1 (LOTR x Reader)

Okay, so time for a fun and sexy take on Modern Girl in Middle Earth that no one asked for - what if the Modern Girl had a gun? I wanted to try and write something where the Modern Girl in question was not completely defenseless, and had a fair amount of experience that the others lacked.

This will be very slow burn, I think.

Chapter: 1

Words: 1452

Warnings: Blood, guns (obviously)

Pairings: None (yet)

The butt of the rifle cracked against your cheek. You bit your tongue, but kept your arms rigid and eyes open. The taste of copper slithered between your teeth.

The orc staggered, his head reeling back with the force of the bullet that had just been lodged into it. His spine arched, and his arms flailed. Before he could catch his balance, his heart finished beating and he collapsed to the ground. Pungent, dark blood oozed into the dirt.

The wizard hardly flinched. His weary, sloped brow and buggish eyes were fixed on you thoughtfully. He tugged a strand of his curly brown beard - the one that had been blanched with bird crap.

You dropped your arms and let the rifle relax into the natural dent of your hands. They were clammy, but the crisp chilliness of the forest kept them from being sweaty. Everything about you, from the fresh redness pooling in your cheeks due to the recoil of the gun to the congested nose you had that made you sniff every couple of minutes, put you on the edge of sickness. And yet, here you were, shambling and corpse-like, but still upright and alive.

You stepped towards the wizard, your eyes occasionally darting back to the orc. You hadn’t registered yet that you were the one who killed it. You’d give it some time.

“Are you Radagast the Brown?”

You kept your voice monotone and deep to not risk exposing the rasp extending up the back of your throat.

“Who’s asking? Friend or foe?”

“Friend. I’m (y/n).”

“No family?”

“None that are around here. I’m, uh, not from here. If it wasn’t already obvious.”

You swayed nervously on your legs. Your combat boots were worn beyond repair, though their gaudy artificial stitching that was loosely holding them together still stuck out like a sore thumb. The black tank top clung to your body, and though you mostly kept it hidden with an oversized jacket, you couldn’t help the occasional peak of bare flesh and tight fabric. Oh, and, of course, your jeans were bright-ass blue and had a leather tag on the back with an impeccably printed logo.

“Indeed,” the wizard nodded, “I’ve never seen a bow quite like that before.”

You neither. This whole shooting business was about as new as Middle Earth. When you had woken up in a small pile of freshly fallen leaves, the gun, along with a few packages of ammo, were about 10 feet from your stiff body. You hadn’t dared to practice anything besides loading and unloading the gun, lest you run out of ammo in the middle of your hour of need. You had abstained from counting, knowing that it would just make you more nervous.

“Yeah...” you trailed, “but anyway, I know you don't know me, but you know Gandalf, right? He needs help.”

“Help? Now, there’d have to be something mighty strong that could get that old goat in trouble,” he raised an eyebrow hawkishly.

“Saruman.”

“Saruman? Well now, that can’t be.”

“He’s working with Sauron. Looking for the ring, and-”

“Hush!” he finally broke eye contact with you and warily scanned the tops of the trees. Nothing but a wall of silence.

“The forest... it’s quiet. Someone is listening. Come, come. Matters like these ought to be discussed inside,” he turned around and waved for you to follow, hustling in between long, imposing trunks that looked like they were ready to fall on you and crush the life out of you at any second.

******

You had killed the moth. Not on purpose, of course. You seemed to have fallen on it after you crashed through the sky of Middle Earth.

You could remember hearing its screams. You rolled over, looking for the source, grinding the roots further into your ribcage. When you finally saw the tiny thing flitting on the ground, trying to get your attention, you dumbly watched its crushed wings and snapped legs twitch with jolts of desperation.

“I have a message! A message for Radagast the Brown! Friend of the Eagles! You must take it in my stead - it is urgent. The fate of Gandalf the Gray depends on it.”

You said nothing, barely able to keep yourself conscious as you rapidly inhaled and expelled stilted breaths.

“Gandalf the Gray was betrayed by former friend Saruman the White. He is on top of the tower Orthanc, in Isengard, dying with each passing moment. He dispatched me to tell Radagast to seek out the aid of the Eagles - he fears that they may be his only chance at rescue from the tower.”

“Are... are you real?” you finally sputtered.

“I am alive, but not for much longer. My strength fails me. But you must go. Follow along the edge of Mirkwood until you find the brown wizard. The fate of Gandalf, and perhaps the realm, may depend on you. Please, time is of the essence. You must leave.”

The creature’s mouth never moved. You never heard the sound of its voice. But you felt the words in your head, bouncing around there after being injected by some foreign source. The moth pointed its head straight at you.

“Please. It does not matter who you are - your future depends on the knowledge that only Gandalf holds.”

A throbbing pain blossomed in the back of your head, just under your neck. The moth flitted its wings once more, and then the telepathic force that had been drilling into your skull blinked out.

You took a long sip of murky liquid in a cracked glass teacup. Warmth stirred in your void of a stomach, which you had been trying to ignore.

“My word. Then it is true. Saruman has turned to the darkness,” Radagast said to no one in particular. He looked out the window, as if waiting for the silhouette of his friend to appear over the horizon, completely fine.

“I’m sorry,” was all that you could say.

He turned to you, eyes still flickering with life but in danger of going out.

“So am I,” he said grimly, “but, no matter. Gandalf was right. The Eagles are his only chance of salvation from a place as wicked as Isengard. I’ll get the message to them at once.”

He looked at his feet. You couldn’t actually recall much about Radagast from the books - you knew more about how low of an opinion Saruman had of him. But the look of despair that was settling deep within his chest was a grave reminder that he was just as capable of complex thought as anyone else.

You realized that you had just seen a man accept that there would be war on their hands, and that there was nothing he could do to avoid it.

“It will be alright in the end,” you found yourself saying.

Finally, he looked up at you sadly.

“I know. The world will always be okay in the end. And I, who have lived many years and will live many more, will be around to see it. But what will happen to everyone in between?”

“I dunno,” you shrugged, “but in the meantime we’ll just... do our best to protect them. That’s all we can do, right?”

You tilted the edge of your lips up, not quite forming a grin but far from the hopeless neutrality that you had carried with you into the house. He analyzed you, squinting his eyes and pursing his lips, not caring if you noticed.

“Who are you?”

“I’m (y/n).”

“A person is more than their name, especially one such as you.”

“I’m nobody important to this world. I don’t belong here.”

“And yet here you are. You’ve become somebody important,” he scratched his chin, “this appears to be beyond me, but I suggest that you consult with Gandalf. You’re already heading in his direction anyway.”

“What?”

“I’m sending you with the Eagles. The fellow will be in a mighty poor condition when you find him, it’d be irresponsible for me to send him back all by himself. And besides, you seem like a useful person to know.”

He smiled coyly. Your mind buzzed.

“There must be someone else that you can send?”

“Nope. Well, no one humann, anyway. One of the quirks of dedicating your being to the plants and the animals. Now, on you get! I can hear them circling overhead.”

You had no idea how he had summoned the Eagles, and at this point, you were almost too afraid to ask. You gritted your teeth and let your stomach do a cartwheel as you realized that you were about to come to terms with your fear of heights in the worst way possible.

So be it.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 305: Worst Intervention Ever

Previously on BnHA: Shinomori, whose name took me an entire week to memorize, was all, “nice to meet you Deku, I’m ten feet tall, do you want to know how I died?” and without waiting for an answer explained that he kicked it from old age at forty thanks to good ol’ OFA. Deku was all “wait a minute, then how come All Might, who’s fifty-five and is definitely dyeing his gray hair, is still alive?” First and Shino were all, “we really have no fucking clue but we think it’s cuz he’s quirkless, JUST LIKE YOU!” So basically, since quirkless people don’t exactly grow on trees these days, Deku is probably going to be the last user of OFA. The chapter ended with Nana being all, “psst, Deku, about my grandson. Uh, can you kill him?” which is sure to lead to a very interesting conversation this week.

Today on BnHA: Nana And The Gang are all “so, Deku, how can we put this delicately. The thing is, we’re pretty sure that AFO really fucked my grandson up, so on the off chance you can’t save him, how would you feel about, you know... [throat slitting gesture].” Deku is all “idk you guys, I kinda feel like he’s really just a traumatized child at heart and he’s in a lot of pain and stuff and so I should try to help him.” The Vestiges are all “BUT WHAT IF YOU CAN’T” and Deku is all “BUT I WANT TO TRY, DAMMIT” and the Vestiges are all “well when you put it that way, we, uh, were just testing you, so congrats, you passed!” The chapter ends with First being all, “ANYWAY SO WHY DON’T YOU TWO SHY BOYS STANDING OVER THERE IN THE SHADOWS COME SAY HELLO” before we CUT AWAY FOR ANOTHER WEEK, goddammit.

seriously, Nana

just... have you met Deku?? look, if you really want Tomura dead, just sic him on the U.A. first years and tell Shouto and Honenuki that it’s a training exercise

oh my god lmao

we’re too far away to see Nana’s face here so I will just assume that she turned and is staring DIRECTLY INTO THE CAMERA for this one line lmao. “I just wanted to clarify in case anyone felt inclined to take my dialogue out of context and spend an entire week complaining about it”

oh my god?! are you all purposely trying to make me sad??

someone stop me before I launch into an impromptu rant about all my Tomura feels. WHY IS NOBODY STOPPING ME. oh my god but yes, exactly. he’s just in pain all the time. this is exactly why I think Tomura has such high redemption potential even though so far he seems to lack so many of the redemption arc essentials such as feeling remorse, wanting to change, and taking responsibility for his actions. the reason why I’m willing to overlook all that in his case is because Tomura has essentially had zero agency his entire life. AFO molded him into a killer by making sure he was in constant mental agony, and making it so that the only thing that even slightly relieved that agony was killing peeps. like, please don’t think I’m making excuses for him or anything, but if you take a child and manipulate their existence to make it virtually impossible for that child to grow up as anything other than a killer, and basically never give him the chance to be anything else, then no shit he’s gonna be a killer?? he’s basically never had the choice not to be. it’s never been an option for him. anyways I feel like I am EXPLAINING MYSELF SO BADLY but nonetheless I am prepared to die on this hill

anyway so now Nana is all “that’s a rhetorical question btw because Our Hearts And Minds Are One so we can feel everything you feel bro.” so yeah, that’s interesting

now Banjou is getting started on the “let’s try and talk Deku out of wanting to save Tomura because it’s insane” part of their OFA Mystical Space Void Reunion agenda

look, Banjou, I feel you, I really do. you guys don’t think it’s realistic that Deku can defeat Tomura without killing him. so if it’s a choice between killing Tomura vs letting Deku and everyone else in the entire world die, then duh, you think Deku should kill him. I get it! and if this were a real life mass murderer I’d totally agree with you. but the problem is that this isn’t real life, this is a sympathetic shounen villain with a tragic past who might as well have FUTURE REDEMPTION ARC RECEIPIENT stamped on his forehead at this point

so First is all “look, there’s absolutely no doubt my brother has fucked this kid up good and proper by now”, which, again, fair

though, that’s kind of exactly my point though. everything that Tomura is, everything he’s done, he’s done because of AFO. AFO has so effectively shaped his personality and his worldview by this point that it’s all but impossible to penetrate that. he’s AFO’s puppet. but the problem is that rather than treating him like a victim, you all are treating him like a casualty. like he’s already a lost cause. but good luck trying to convince Deku of that

WHOA WHAT, RANDOM SUPER-IMPORTANT AND BIZARRELY UNRELATED EXPOSITION DROPPED IN JUST LIKE THAT??

way to still not reveal Sixth’s name, btw. THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, DAMMIT. but also so this confirms something we basically already knew already, which is that not even AFO can steal OFA. it literally can’t be taken away by anyone unless the owner wills it. SO SUCK ON THAT AFO YOU EGG

(ETA: so I have no idea why this was omitted from this translation, but apparently the Sixth’s name was revealed as “En”, which is obviously not his full name but at least it’s something. also he most likely has a fire or smoke-related quirk based on the kanji used, 煙.)

so Banjou is saying that Deku’s “lack of an iron will” could be a disadvantage against AFO. hahaha what?? Midoriya “I’ll break all of my bones without blinking an eye just to protect someone” Izuku lacks an iron will? do tell

he says this is going to be a test of Deku’s determination. well yeah, no shit. but just not in the way you guys think

OH HELLO AGAIN

darker hair again here! but I don’t trust the contrast in these scans at all after last week. his coveralls are way darker than they looked before too, and you can clearly see he’s standing in the shadows now

(ETA: yep, once again the raw shows that his hair is considerably lighter than what’s shown in these scans here. although there’s no mistaking now that his hair is consistently being colored in this slightly darker shade, and it’s not just the lighting.)

anyways lol First was saying something about how AFO can’t steal OFA, and they’ve spent all this time cultivating it as the ultimate weapon against AFO, and blah blah blah. go on then, keep lecturing

NANA GODDAMMIT NONE OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT

girl what?? you did everything in your power to protect your family, and AFO, fucked up man that he is, targeted them anyway. there is one person and one person only to blame for what’s happened to Tomura, and that potato-faced asshole needs a good kick in the balls

NANA GODDAMMIT DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE

SO HELP ME GOD!! I WILL GIVE YOU THE BIGGEST HUG YOU’VE EVER HAD!! THAT IS A THREAT

so now Nana is all “I’m just going to call my grandson a Thing to ensure that fandom has only the freshest, grass-fed no-hormones-added discourse this week”

I don’t even need to drop into the tags to know exactly which specific people are going to respond to this, and what kind of posts they are going to write lmao. everyone’s all caught up in the “that thing”, and meanwhile I’m over here completely hung up on this “nay” that’s appeared out of NOWHERE you guys. look at that. she really said “NAY”

Nana, my love, my dearest, I feel you girl I really do. but he’s not an unforgivable manifestation of pure evil, Deku is exactly right actually, he’s a boy in pain. you guys need to stop questioning Deku’s shounen protagonist instincts here and just let him work his sparkly magic. “let’s try and convince Midoriya Fucking Izuku that he can’t save someone” is a plan that is NEVER going to turn out well you guys

“DEKU GODDAMMIT WHAT IF WE CAN’T SAVE HIM” lmao it’s like an intervention

“DAMMIT DEKU JUST ADMIT YOU HAVE A SAVING PEOPLE PROBLEM!”

RED ALERT IT’S ANOTHER CLOSE-UP OF THE BACK OF MISTER TWO BON CLAY’S HEAD OMG

(ETA: I was too distracted with freaking out about Two and Three to really appreciate how ridiculously handsome First looks in this panel. but on my second readthrough it stood out so much that I had to go back and add an extra bullet point just to talk about how hot he is. look at him. wtf.)

THAT IS DEFINITELY AN UNDERCUT. THE PLOT THICKENSSSS. also those are fucking exhaust vents on Mister Three’s neck. MISTER THREE COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE RELATED TO THE IIDAS, PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SECRETS I’M DYING OVER HERE

so now Deku is launching into what will undoubtedly be a “saving people problems require SAVING PEOPLE SOLUTIONS” heroic counter-speech!

I mean, they can already feel the “lol nah I’m gonna try and save him” feelings running through him lol. ~OuR hEaRtS aNd MiNdS aRe CoNnEcTeD~ and all that. this is just a formality, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love a good shounen protag speech

oh wait hold up, do you mean to tell me that the whole “hearts and minds are connected” thing I was just mocking just a paragraph ago actually allowed Deku to feel what Tomura was feeling?? like literally feel it??

YET AGAIN these Tomura feels are pounding on my front door you guys?? they just will not quit?? people my house is already full of feels, does it look like I need you to sell me any more of them?? -- what do you mean, they’re free??

AW YISS THAT’S IT DEKU. THAT’S SOME GOOD SPEECH RIGHT THERE

I appreciate the contrast here between the Douchebag Triumvirate of Overhaul, Muscular, and Stain versus the Misguided Twosome of Gentle and La Brava. never let it be said that Deku doesn’t know the difference between a redeemable villain and an unredeemable one

OH NO -- OH MY GOD

someone please help me I need directions to the OFA Spooky Galactic Nebula Realm in this fictional Japanese manga land. it’s not on google maps. I need to give these two babies a big hug and wrap them up in a blanket and treat them to some McDonalds Happy Meals please help

other things: (1) ENDEAVOR CHILLING OUT IN DEKU’S “PEOPLE I HOLD DEAR” PANEL LMAO NEON DISCOURSE EXTRAVAGANZA, (2) “ONE FOR ALL IS A POWER TO SAVE, NOT TO KILL” I’M ABOUT TO CRY DEKU I LOVE YOU SO MUCH HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO FEEL ALL THIS LOVE, (3) [SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE] THERE’S YOUR MOTHERFUCKING IRON WILL!!!!!!!! -- I’m sorry, please don’t call security, I’ll be good

I just randomly remembered that Deku is still saying all of this in his muffled “FMMPHHMMPHMM” voice and I’m somehow cracking up lol. so actually it’s a very good thing Their Hearts And Minds Are Connected, otherwise they’d no doubt be all, “...what?”

(ETA: so I completely missed this on account of it literally not being visible in the scan at all, but in the raw you can clearly see Baby Kacchan and Baby Shouto fanboying over All Might in two of these panels, and excuse me, ma’am??

thank you very much Deku for including them in your montage, particularly since you’ve never seen Baby Shouto before lol. amazingly accurate image you managed to conjure up, all things considered.)

SDKFJLSKHG -- AS IF ON CUE???

HE’S SO ADORABLE HELP?? Trippy Space All Might looks like he’s about to cry, and First is all “don’t crack a smile... you have to be Firm and Serious here... dammit, don’t smile” omg

anyways! YOU GO DEKU. “MY QUIRK MY RULES, BITCHES” damn, son

KLJLKKHLG TRIPPY SPACE ALL MIGHT LITERALLY ACTUALLY IS CRYING ALL MIGHT HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

“I JUST... [CLENCHES FIST] REALLY LOVE SAVING PEOPLE” FUCKING HELL LMAO THIS IS THE WORST INTERVENTION OF ALL TIME

Deku is literally all “sure, maybe I’ll have to kill him, but have you guys also considered, MAYBE NOT??” it’s no use Nana he’s too powerful

LMAO FIRST

“like I’ve been saying this whole time, you should definitely try saving Shigaraki Tomura.” “but, uh... First, didn’t you just -- ” “shut up”

(ETA: clearly it’s not just his brother who inherited those smooth-talking genes.)

so now Deku has turned back into a sixteen year old and his clothes have gone missing again. just OFA things

dskljdlsklgk

yes... sure... “testing” you...

HEY

FIRST OF ALL, DAMN YOU HORIKOSHI YOU MADE NANA CRY. even if I’m pretty sure they’re actually tears of happiness/relief. and SECOND OF ALL, “TELL MY BOYFRIEND I SAID HI” DJSKDLKJJL ANYWAY MAYBE GRAN, NANA, AND MR. SHIMURA WERE IN A THROUPLE

[SCREAMS]

WHY WOULD YOU END IT THERE?? WHY WOULD YOU END IT THERE!!!!!

(ETA: and two-to-one odds that we cut away to some other scene once they finally start to turn around next week. I’M CALLING IT NOW. giving myself a week to brace myself for the rage.)

fucking hell. well if anyone needs me I will be adding Horikoshi fucking Kouhei to the list of irredeemable villains, peace