#and he's like man I have such a crush on my very loyal and professional receptionist who's the most beautiful woman in the world

[softquietsteadylove]

in your latest piece of the receptionist au thena feared that gilgamesh would fall in love with somebody else one day. what if gil has a business meeting with a woman who wants to lay a hand on him. and one day thena wanted to grab something from her desk and has to see how this woman is kissing gilgamesh and Thena runs upstairs, tears in her eyes. and after gil is done with his crime business for the day he wants to spend some time with thena but she's avoiding him. he tries to talk to her but she's so angry and sad and so scared. she thinks gil has enough and doesn't want her anymore. some angsty fluffy drama :)

Thena taps her pen on the desk. Gil is in a meeting with some woman who runs casinos...or something. They have profit shares to discuss, and Thena has no reason to barge in on them.

No excuse, really.

She doesn't want to feel this way. It's not as if she would have any reason to feel insecure with someone as wonderful as Gil. For a hardened criminal, he really is the most wonderful partner she could imagine having.

Maybe that's it, though--the criminal part. Maybe she worries that he misses this life. He's been thriving since they came back to Korea to do some business again. So much so, that they extended their visit. And Thena can see some of the worries that settled into him since moving to London lift off of him.

Does he miss being a crime boss? Does he feel too suffocated in London, stuck in her flat all day, playing househusband for her?

Thena stands abruptly, determined to just...just...just ask if he needs anything before she runs out to the store. It's a lame excuse, but he's been a meeting with that woman for an hour, now. And Thena saw clear as day the way she looked at Gil.

Thena knows very well that Gil is a desirable man. She doesn't expect other people to be ignorant to it, after all. But it would be nice if she hadn't seen the woman literally lick her lips at the sight of him.

Thena opens the door, ready to ask if he wants a convenience store drink or something. But what she sees - before the door is even all the way open - is that woman, freely and happily leaning over Gil in his chair. Her hands are on his arms, and she's...she's kissing him.

Thena turns. She walks towards the elevators, practically sprinting the second half of the way. She slams her fingers against the buttons, desperate to escape what she just saw.

It's burned into her mind, though. That woman's silken black hair, the perfect ivory of her skin, her petite and willowy form. Her lips on Gil's. Her lips touching Gil's lips. Her hands on his arms--arms he uses to hold her every night, after work, after dinner, in their shared bed-

She storms off the elevator into the penthouse above his office. She feels absolutely sick, her breath coming in short gasps and her tears stinging her eyes. Her hands are shaking. She walks through the penthouse and directly to their bed, throwing herself onto it and pulling the covers up over herself. She curls herself up into a ball, trying to ignore Gil's half of the bed with his scent still clinging to it.

She doesn't know how long she lies there for. Obviously she's not doing a very good job as his receptionist, but fuck that. Fuck all of this. And fuck that woman for kissing her Gilgamesh like she has any fucking right.

She used to think about this, she reminds herself. She used to feel like such a lost little fawn when she first moved to Korea, literally trying to rebuild her life from the ground up. And then as she fell in love with her boss, her life got...rebuilt around that--around him. And the thought of having to see him fall in love with someone would plague her when she was harbouring those quiet feelings from afar.

She wonders if it would be as painful as this is now.

"Naekkeo?"

Thena sniffles, staying wrapped up in her cocoon of sheets and duvet. She could have left the building, she supposes. She could have locked the bedroom door and told him to go fuck himself. But why didn't she?

"Thena," Gil calls out softly as he walks into the bedroom. He takes cautious steps, trying to gauge how she's doing. "Sweetheart, will you look at me?"

She stays closed off. She doesn't hear him walk away, though. "Why?"

"Please, Gongjunim?" he tries again, with a different petname for her. He moves closer, sitting on her side of the bed at her feet. "I don't know what you saw-"

Thena stretches out her legs, giving him a bony kick right in the hip. She hears him grunt and finally pokes her head out. "You mean that associate of yours kissing you?"

Gil nods, and she wonders if she expected him to try and deny it or not. She wonders if she wishes he had at least tried to deny it a little. "Before I kicked her out?--yes, she did kiss me."

Thena throws herself against her pillow again.

"Baby, please," Gil sighs, leaning over so he can push the duvet down and brush her hair away from her face. "You know I don't want anyone but you."

She does know that, but she doesn't feel any less stupid over it.

"I told her to get away from me," Gil whispers, pressing light kisses wherever she'll let him. "That I'm very happy in my relationship with you."

Thena slowly turns over to look at him.

He sighs, more able to see now that she's been crying. He pulls her up to him, brushing his thumbs over the reddened corners of her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Thena. You know I would never do anything to hurt you."

She does know that.

"I love you," he whispers, kissing her softly, one hand on her waist and the other tangled in her hair, just the way he likes it.

Thena pulls away from him, and the devastated look on his face is almost enough to wipe away the vision of that woman all over him. "I can still see her, leaning over you-"

"I'm sorry," he whispers again, obviously prepared to keep on apologising as many times as it takes. "It came out of nowhere!"

Thena levels a look at him that makes the hardened crime lord shrivel. "Nowhere, Gil?"

He catches her meaning and offers her an impish smile, "come on, Sweetheart. You know what I'm like with that kind of thing."

Yes, she has extensive experience with how dense he is to someone having feelings for/being attracted to him.

"You really didn't notice," Thena glares, crossing her arms at him. He rests his chin on the hand on top of her knees, looking like a dog being scolded. "The hand brushing, the light arm touches, the eyelash fluttering?--none of it?"

Gil stares right up at her with those big dark eyes of his, "no. You think I can notice anything about her while you're in the room?"

Thena rolls her eyes in a huff, determined to stay strong and not get all charmed and fluttery over his cute little remarks. "You're terrible."

He winces, drawing up his shoulders, "a terrible boyfriend, maybe. But I'm telling you the truth, Naekkeo. I had no idea that woman was going to come onto me. Because I only have eyes for you."

Thena leans back against her pillows again, still crossing her arms and now pouting. He's so good at making himself at home in this heart of hers. She gives him a frosty side-eye. "You know, most women wouldn't care for your explanation. They would see you kissing another woman and that would be it."

Gil looks at her with hope in his eyes. He keeps his arm wrapped around her knees as he holds up a finger, "y'know, I don't consider it a kiss. She...put her mouth on mine."

Well, it does sound a little better when he puts it that way.

Thena takes in her loyal, devoted househusband, looking at her with puppydog eyes and a pouted lip. He knows she won't make him sleep on the couch. The only other time she'd tried it, she just brought him back to bed - because she couldn't sleep without him - anyway.

Gil senses her defrosting and leans forward, "I'm all done work for the day--what do you wanna do? Anything you want, baby. Are you hungry? D-Do you want me to take you to the spa?"

Thena cracks half a smile, if only at the sight of Gilgamesh - a major crime lord of Seoul - suggesting cute little things he can do to earn his forgiveness. She's going to make him work for it, but still.

"You name it," he smiles eagerly as she sits more upright against her pillows.

Thena maintains her right to withhold kisses from him, crossing her arms again and raising a brow. "I suppose I am hungry. I was about to ask if you wanted to order something when I walked in on you-"

"Okay, you got it!" he rushes, scrambling to stand off the bed and lean down to kiss her cheek and pull his jacket on all in the same second. "I'll get your absolute favourite, baby, you stay here--relax! Why don't you get into your comfy clothes? I'll bring food, and some wine, and we can spend all night here, okay?"

"Mm-hm," she smirks at him as he dashes out the door.

"I love you!"

Thena curls up under the blankets again. She will get changed into her comfy clothes, and she knows he's going to come back with a massive floral arrangement, and chocolates, and probably even more than that to go way overboard. She pulls out her phone, laying it on his pillow as she types.

I love you too. Hurry back xo

[feyhunter78]

Chapter One - A dance between mortality and desire, between that which you already know and the seductive lure of the unknown in the shadows of the morgue. Miguel, your new coworker, has this irresistible pull and seems to have set his sights on you. You try to stay professional, stay strong, but sooner or later you know you’re bound to fall. A fic in which vampire Miguel has found his lost love (you) once more, and he won’t let anyone, or anything stop him from reclaiming you.

Ch 2

There’s something strange about your coworker, Miguel. Maybe it’s how comfortable he seems to be with the late hours, or how he never seems to eat? At least not where you can see him eating, not that you’ve been watching him, waiting to see if he eats, and yes, the morgue is not really the place to eat, it’s entirely unsanitary, but in the break room? That’s fair game.

All he seems to do is work, drink those weird power shakes he’s so possessive over, and work out? He’s got to work out, there’s no other explanation for why he’s so built.

“Y/N, you need any help with that cadaver?” Miguel asks, a brilliant smile aimed your way, he’s dazzling, teeth straight as a military cemetery, white enough to blind you and his lips...they’re perfect, like unfairly perfect.

He’s handsome, and he knows it. A ladies man, the city mortician office’s Don Juan. You still can’t get over how you caught him and Cheryl from accounting, necking behind the building. Well, almost caught him, you heard the sounds they were making and all but sprinted to your car, face burning. And if your subconscious replaced Cheryl with you while you slept that night, then that was nobody’s business.

“No, no, I’m almost done, just wrapping up my notes.” You tell him, waving your voice recorder in the air, the standard one that the city gives every mortician. The one that annoying ass Dave always breaks, which means every project you work on with him takes twice as long because you have to wait for him to type up and submit his notes manually.

“We’ve got it, Manuel, no worries.” Dave says, the deliberate mispronunciation of Miguel’s name makes you cringe, but Miguel doesn’t even flinch, merely nods and heads back into the hall.

“You know his name is Miguel, right?” You know Dave knows, but you remind him anyways.

“Miguel, Manuel, same difference,” Dave says, brushing you off. “He thinks he’s so great just because all the normies fawn all over him.”

Normies aka everyone not tasked with cutting open dead bodies for a living.

“He’s nice, and he does good work,” You say briskly, finishing up your notes and zipping the body bag back up. “Put this one back in the freezer, yeah?”

“Why are you defending him, you got a crush or something?” Dave asks, leaning onto the slab, wriggling his eyebrows.

“No, I just don’t want to be called as a witness when you get hit with a discrimination lawsuit.” You drawl, clicking off your recorder and slipping it in your lab pocket.

Dave holds up his hands in surrender. “Whoa, hey, hey, I’m not being racist or anything, I’m just hazing the new guy.”

“Since when do we haze?” You snort, locking the freezer once Dave slides the body back in.

“Since we started hiring pretty boys.”

“Oh, so you think he’s pretty. You sure you don’t have a crush on him?”

Dave makes a fake gagging sound. “Excuse you, I am loyal to my wife.”

“That poor woman.”

“Hey fuck you, y/n,” Dave sputters.

You laugh and pat his shoulder. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding, I’m sure you and your wife are very happy together.”

“We are, thank you. It’s actually our anniversary next week, fifteen years.”

You’re taken aback. You knew Dave was married, but you didn’t think he’d be married for that long. “Wow, that’s amazing, seriously, congratulations.”

He smiles and pulls out his phone, showing you dozens upon dozens of smiling photos of him and his family. “Thank you, thank you, I’m a lucky man. Wait, don’t you have a boyfriend? How long have you two been together?”

Oh yeah, your boyfriend… “Oh, umm, like almost a year.”

“Hey, that’s not too bad,” Dave smiles.

You cringe internally. Almost a year of feeling like maybe your boyfriend doesn’t actually like you, compounded by your fear of being alone, driving you to do whatever it took to keep him. “Yeah, yeah, he’s great.”

A loud crash, the sound of metal crashing to the floor, and a low swear draws your attention.

You and Dave rush out into the hallway to see Miguel trying to lift a massive filing cabinet up from the floor. It’s dented on one side, almost the size of a…fist?

“Miguel, shit man, what happened?” Dave asks, hurrying over to his side and helping him lift the cabinet back to its rightful place against the wall.

Miguel’s eyebrows are furrowed, his hair disheveled, the sleeves of his lab coat rolled up exposing his forearms, his large hands flexing and unflexing. “I—I don’t know, I was walking down the hall, and it just fell, nearly broke my foot.”

“I’m glad you’re not hurt.” You tell him, searching the bottom of the cabinet for any loose parts or crooked corners that might’ve contributed to the crash.

He smiles at you, that Don Juan, panty melting smile, his warm brown eyes focused solely on you, as if you’re the only person in the world, the only one worth paying any attention to. “I’m just glad it was me and not you—or Dave, I wouldn’t want either of you getting hurt.”

“Aw, Manuel, you care about us,” Dave teases, going right back to his hazing.

“We’re a team,” Miguel says simply, rolling his shoulders back.

For a moment you wonder what his back muscles look like underneath his coat, his shirts always seem so tight. Do they ripple under the fabric, is it stretched taut, his back droolworthy and broad?

“A team that’s finally heading home, isn’t that right, y/n?” Dave’s arm landing across your shoulders brings you back to reality.

“Yeah, yeah, closing time,” you say, hoping you weren’t blatantly staring at Miguel’s back.

“You two go ahead, I have some things I need to finish up.” Miguel says, waving you both off as he heads back to his office.

You drive home in the dark, warm streetlights lining the street, soft music playing from the stereo. Miguel never left with everyone else, he always stayed late, and was always there early, like before the sun got up early. You did not envy his sleep schedule.

Digging through your purse, you fish out your keys and unlock your apartment door, flicking on the lights and sighing happily. There’s nothing like finally getting home after a long day and just getting to relax. Nudging off your shoes, you go to heat up some leftovers, letting the mindless reality TV shows keep you semi-entertained until you feel sleep tugging at your limbs.

You go through the motions, shower, skincare, pajamas, make sure all the doors are locked, turn down the air conditioning, and turn off the lights. Settling into your bed, you toss and turn, that fist shaped dent in the filing cabinet still bothering you. Did you need to call maintenance, or file a complaint with the city to let them know? It’s not like they’d give your department a new cabinet just because it was a little damaged, but still, at least you can say you tried.

Finally, you begin to drift off to sleep, breathing evening out, your heart rate slowing, the stress of the day melting away. Your dreams come quickly, cotton candy sweet and nonsensical, until a familiar figure appears.

Miguel’s hand caresses your cheek, his voice low, murmuring something in a language you don’t understand. He pulls you closer, and you can feel the press of his skin against yours, the toned muscles beneath your touch.

“Mi tesoro, tócame.” Miguel whispers, taking your hand in his and sliding it down, down, down his chest, stopping at his waistband, the fabric soft, his skin burning. Trsl: My treasure, touch me.

You take hold of the waistband, fingers slipping beneath it, as Miguel dips his head down trailing his nose up your neck, inhaling deeply before groaning, his free hand a vice grip on your hip.

“Touch me.” He breathes, his lips against your ear, his hand guiding your lower, more smooth flesh meeting your fingertips.

You want to, you want to explore Miguel, to find out if the rumors are true, but a shrill ringing draws your attention away.

“Te quiero y/n, no dejes que otros me roben tu atención.” Miguel pleads, his voice low and desperate, the hand on your hip pulling you flush against him. Trsl: I want you, y/n, don’t let others steal your attention away from me.

But the ringing won’t stop, and soon you’re jolting awake, alarm clock blaring, the sun streaming in through your blinds.

You throw off your covers, cringing at the sticky wetness between your legs. Really y/n? That’s what gets you going?

After eating breakfast and getting ready for the day, you check your phone, a few texts from your friends, some work emails, and a voicemail from Todd.

Hey babe, so I’m out at this bar right, and the drinks are fucking great, but I was talking to these girls about our issues, you know your whole not really enjoying sex thing? And they gave me some great advice, I want to try it out next time, so tomorrow night I’ll be at your place, get that couch ready, we’re going to tear it up.

He talked to other girls about your relationship? About your intimacy issues? What the fuck? You start to type out an angry text message but delete it halfway through. He’s trying at least, and you did ask him to try.

Maybe you should just hear him out on this, maybe those girls gave him actual advice like: “stop violently rubbing her labia thinking it’s her clit or listen when she tells you where her clit actually is, or maybe don’t be a dick and just give up once you’ve finished, your girlfriend deserves to get off too.”

You type out a neutral response and send it, before tossing your phone in your bag and setting out for work.

This fic was inspired by @sassyposssumm's kinktober request which was such an interesting prompt that I knew it needed to be expanded on! Also since this is a vampire fic there will be some instances of slight dubcon, I'll put warning in the beginning for those chapters with *slight* details in case anyone is uncomfy and wants to skip.

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

[phoenixcatch7]

Just finished oracle of ages!!! Good game, good game. I have Thoughts.

I actually really enjoyed the story and characters! I figured going into the oracle games that it'd be a simple, cliché story, not much nuance or depth, and with Seasons that's basically what I got: din gets fridged in a crystal at the start of the game -> go get her -> you need a set of maguffins to do so -> fight big monster.

Admittedly it was the first game, which meant less story, but even if I hadn't linked (heh) the games for extra end game content Ages just did so much more.

Unlike din, naryu has someone else willing to help her. Ralph (the twinkiest twink to ever twink) was a young man who was her devoted friend (there was a weird crush triangle thing going on with him, Link and naryu, I always felt like I was missing subtext) and, spoilers for a 20yo game?? I guess?

He was the dethroned descendant of the ancient queen Ami. His family definitely still have big money though. He was pretty clearly supposed to be a comic relief character with a twist, but I ended up really liking him! He was over enthusiastic and over confident, but not unintelligent, a decent swordsman (I think) who was incredibly loyal to his friends and held some deep rooted responsibility for the people his family used to rule. Kind, determined, good with kids and people in general, he was terrified but willing to sacrifice his very existence to save the people.

The world building was also great! I don't think I've ever played a zelda game without gorons, but hylians were in short supply. To be expected outside of hyrule, I guess? Anyway, there were also lizard people on an island (tokay!) whose entire deal was.. A bit outdated? Rude, brazen and aggressive to outsiders, they lived in crude huts, worshipped things they didn't quite understand and were generally the old Hollywood stereotype of an isolated jungle tribe.

There was also, like, zora racism? There's a zora village underwater, and one of them was like 'us sea zora are nothing like those river zora 😒' which handily solved both my question of if the river/ocean zora divide was canon or fanon and the relationships between the two. Are they even the same species?? It just makes the rito even weirder but hey lmao. In all honesty I was pretty sick of the river zora at that point too, I swear there were two of them popping up in every screen that had even a sliver of water deeper than the knees and they CONSTANTLY shot fireballs istg they were such a pain. They were literally everywhere and so hard to kill.

On the plus side mermaid suit ^u^!! A dungeon item (the mermaids cave), the item had a desc like 'the skin of the mythical beast' which raised SO many more questions than it answered. The zora were delighted to see a young mermaid! The use of 'maid' implied either a) the zora all thought link was a girl and he didn't correct them (eyo genderqueer androgeny) b) the zora don't subscribe to gender the way humans do (eyo genderqueer androgeny) or c) all fish people look like mermaids regardless of their specific gender (eyo genderqueer androgeny). It literally could have been all three who knows. Maybe one day we'll actually meet a mermaid in zelda.

Also, there's a mini game in Seasons, which I played first, the subrosian dance. It's a pretty popular part of their culture, it's got music, it's got professional dancers. In Ages, you find the gorons doing the exact same dance! Rosa, a subrosian performer you meet in Seasons, is also there, saying her people's dance is better (tbf it is), but if you go to the past you'll find the gorons actually invented the dance first, as part of their love of games and entertainment, and you can talk to two subrosians who are talking about bringing the dance home! It's so interesting to see little details like this, where the travelling subrosians visited their fellow cave dweller lava eating people centuries ago, brought it back home where it exploded in popularity and centuries later became refined as a whole folk dance with spinning and everything, with the people forgetting where it came from, where the gorons keep their dance exactly the same (having to do a rhythm game without rhythm is hard).

Actually, there was so much political fantasy drama going on in the past?? Like, you've got the childless queen taking care of her people, a budding village and a few more settlements across the kingdom. Early in her reign she tried to build a tower to act as a beacon to her fiancé lost at sea, which is a romance story all on its own, but it was cut short (maybe because of funding?). Centuries in the future, it's just ruins. You've got people living on an ACTIVE VOLCANO starting a symmetry cult around a artifact called 'tuni nut' which, presumably, stabilises the volcano? And it's entirely cut off from the outside world. The goron elder is crushed under rocks and their economy is failing. The zora king got poisoned and he's about to die without an heir because a witch turned the fairy queen into an octorock, but the man in charge of the only cure refuses to hand it over until someone passes his tests.

Most of it is solved relatively easily by link and a copious amount of time travel, but the thing with the ruling queen only gets worse. When the evil witch invades the kingdom, she possesses the oracle of ages, naryu (who's a little implied to be the Actual Creation Goddess Naryu reincarnated) and travels back to the past to bring about an age of despair in the present. She does this by slipping into the royal court and befriending the queen as a serving girl, rising up the ranks to become her closest advisor and corrupting her (pretty sure mind control magic is used a li'l). She convinces her to restart the black tower project, pouring all of her and the towns resources into it - forcibly conscripting every able bodied worker and working them to the bone, all while monsters start to circle the tower. With all the fear and resentment, it quickly becomes a beacon of dark energy, a perfect focal point to perform black magics.

Link (and Ralph) end up in the past and get hauled in front of the queen, with possessed naryu at her side, who basically jeers at them and ensures the queen won't listen to their untrustworthy lies. The townsfolk are getting increasingly stressed as their village fills with rubble and their men are worked to the point of collapse. Armed guards start to appear to keep the workers under control. Eventually, Ralph uncovers a hole in the guard rotation, and he and link sneak into the palace through a secret entrance Ralph oh so casually knows about. Link and naryu fight, but with stupendous timing the queen walks in to see naryu collapsed on the floor, Link standing over her with a sword. She calls for the guards, but before anyone can react, the witch, banished form her first vessel, leaps into the queen herself instead. Ralph shoves past the arriving guards and into naryus arms, while link moves in from of them. The queen orders the guards to attack, but naryu, reawakened, pulls them back to the present in the nick of time. In the present, the black tower is magically growing, reaching higher and higher into the sky, terrifying the people of the city.

Then! Ralph, who at this point is suspiciously invested now his actual goal is completed and naryu is safe, vows to go back into time again, away from naryu, to live under the now evil queen and bring protection and comfort to the villagers as a direct act of resistance, because the witch is feeding on their sorrow to power an unknown ritual (link knows. Link, canonically, has told nobody). So this teen in fancy robes and cape goes back to the oppressed, poverty stricken town under the thumb if someone who wants him dead and lives there for weeks if not months dedicating himself to supporting the village and bringing people's hopes and spirits back up, presumably while living out of someone else's wooden hut. In the middle of a literal depression inducing miasma that's sapping everyone's joy and will to live.

That just. Takes insane strength of character. That's a feat of pure, distilled, compassion as anarchy.

Link's off bouncing between past and present doing dungeons and solving easier issues through either sword or magic item, but Ralph is out here doing the long hard slog for little reward.

Link finally returns to the black tower completed, affecting even the people of the present, and, preparations complete, rushes to the past. Ralph is nowhere be seen. Talking to the villagers reveals several have a crush on him, but an old man saw him running for the tower, sword drawn. There's a man pacing by the entrance, who saw the kid run in, tried to stop him. He said Ralph said that he no longer cared what happened to him. That the man realised that Ralph had quietly succumbed to the same curse of despair they all were under. Link fights his way up to the top of the tower, where Ralph confronts the evil queen, sword at her heart, but every step she takes into it, he steps back. The witch laughs. She asks him if he's really willing to write himself out of existence - being the queens descendant, and all. Ralph leaps back, into links chest. He's shaking and stuttering, but he lunges, and is knocked out in one blow. The queen now asks link the same question: is he willing to erase Ralph? If he strikes her, kills her, the queen will die, childless, and he will never live. She leaves, and link rushes to Ralph. He's awake but unresponsive, defeated. With a heavy heart, Link leaves him to chase the queen. It's naryu who finds him, brings him out of the tower.

When the witch is defeated, the curse is lifted, and Ralph is once more energetic and kind. He's a little quieter now, though, sticking close to naryu. For all he was a loud and headstrong kid, I gotta say I was very impressed.

He would have made a good king.

[starstruckunknown-princess]

Daffodil - Javi G. x Reader

Daffodil (Narcissus) - Unrequited love

Summary: You've fallen in love with your boss, and he's about to propose to someone who isn't you.

Pairing: Javi G. x Reader

Word Count: 871

Warnings: Angst, unrequited love, complicated relationships, mentions of abandonment, Javi is clueless until it's too late

This one is angsty, everyone! Day 22 of In Bloom kinda hurts, but I hope you like it anyway!

In Bloom Masterlist

Likes, Comments, Reblogs are super appreciated! ❤️

You’d dreamed of this moment for as long as you’d worked for Javi. Him down on one knee, a ring box held out to you and a broad smile on his face. 

“So? What do you think?” he asked, but you could barely hear him over the sound of blood rushing in your ears. 

Your mouth was dry, your palms sweaty. “I-I think she’ll love it, Javi.” 

Javi nodded, looking down at the ring again. “Yes, it’s very Gabriella, isn’t it? Classic, beautiful. I knew it was perfect!” 

He snapped the ring box shut and rose to his feet, “Will you get a reservation at Saint Angelo’s for this Friday? It’s her birthday, I think it’ll be the perfect opportunity to ask her to be my wife.” 

Javi’s brown eyes were sparkling as he talked about his plan to propose to Gabriella. You wore a smile so fake you were sure he would notice and say something, but what else could you do when your heart was breaking? 

“Yeah,” you choked out, but he didn’t notice. He simply nodded, thanked you, and left your office. The second he was gone, you slumped back in your chair. 

You’d been in love with Javier Gutierrez for almost as long as you’d been working for him as his Personal Assistant. He was so sweet and loyal, and sure his obsession with Nicolas Cage was a little weird but over time you came to find it endearing. When your boyfriend had dumped you and kicked you out of the apartment you shared, Javi hadn’t hesitated to offer you his pool house rent-free. 

“You’re here all the time anyway,” he’d smiled, “Might as well get rid of that long commute.” 

Gabriella had finally joined him from Mallorca, which meant you’d come face-to-face with the reality that Javi was taken. When she’d been in Spain, it had been way too easy to forget. As a big-shot producer, Javi was invited to parties and premieres and openings all the time, and you’d usually accompany him as his plus-one. Those days were over. 

And, as of Friday, they’d be gone forever. 

Oh well, you thought, not like those nights meant anything anyway. 

You knew you’d be involved in the wedding planning. The engagement party, wedding shower, bachelor/ette’s parties…could you handle that? Watching the man you were in love with marry another woman? 

On one hand, you were a professional. Falling for your boss was your own damn fault, and if it had been so easy to fall in love how hard could it be to fall out of it? Maybe all the wedding stuff would shake you out of it. 

On the other, you knew yourself. Once you’d fallen you were down forever. This crush on Javi wouldn’t go away, especially not as you waited for him to be officially off the market. From here, you couldn’t see another way to deal with this entire situation. 

You called the restaurant first and secured Javi’s reservation, requesting a special bottle of champagne and a private table. 

A few more phone calls and you had a plan. 

You just had to wait until Friday.

_________________

Friday morning started as usual — you rolled out of bed and walked to the main house to get coffee and breakfast, then upstairs to your office until Javi woke up around ten. 

He sauntered into your office as usual, sleep-rumpled and absolutely adorable. 

“Hola, querida,” he said, voice lower than usual with drowsiness. “Any good news to start the day?” 

“Contracts are rolling in for the crew on your next project, but Amy needs confirmation on audition times for next month,” you reported, “and your reservation for tonight is all set. I’ve got some errands to run today, so you’ll have to get yourself ready but I laid out some outfit options for you in your closet.” 

You got up from your chair, packing up your bag. Without warning, Javi rounded your desk and gathered you in his arms. You tensed in his hug, knowing that it wasn’t anything to read into. He only saw you as his employee, at best a friend. 

“What would I do without you, hmm?” he asked, letting you go but grabbing your hands and squeezing. 

You could only shrug. 

_____________

Gabriella said no. Javi’s footsteps were heavy as he made his way back into the house. Her life was in Mallorca, his was in LA. They loved each other, but the long distance and different life goals had made things too complicated. 

Javi sighed and scrolled through his phone, texting your number. A few seconds later, he heard the chime coming from his kitchen. He smiled at the thought of you there already, waiting for him to come home with good news. 

When he rounded the corner, you weren’t there. Your phone was propped up on the side of the fruit bowl, sitting on top of a white envelope. 

He pulled a folded few pages out of the envelope. It was your resignation letter, no forwarding address, and a personal letter thanking him for his kindness and wishing him every happiness with his future marriage. 

Javi had never felt so empty. No Gabriella, no you. How would he manage? 

[stinkysatan]

Assistant

Il Dottore x fem! Reader NSFW

Estabilished relationship, body worship, mentally unstable reader, violence, gore, mentions of cockwarming, sub! Reader, blood kink, unprotected sex, praise kink, biting, marking NOT PROOFREAD

As someone who's morality was basically non-existant, and who's view on the world was very similar to a certain harbinger, it was no surprise that the Fatui had approached you after your expulsion from the Akademiya. You, of course, agreed. Even way too enthusiastically - some might say. It didn't take long for Il Dottore to appreciate your work.

As a medicine student you didn't leave room for failure, and your cryo vision proved to be quite useful whenever your master's test subjects were being too... difficult.

Your relationship didn't remain professional for long, it was only a matter of time until the Doctor realized how sickly obsessed you were with him. It amused him how you were even willing to be one of his subjects, trusting him with your life. Despite everything, you knew he wouldn't kill you - he was too used to your presence at this point.

The nights when he usually would just sit, filling out various documents were spent more pleasantly with you cockwarming him, ans giving him some advice while doing so. After work he would bend you over his desk, your moans a music to his ears as you chanted his name like a prayer. He believed his actions to be driven purely by lust, not once indulging you whenever you let out a breathless 'I love you'.

That illusion soon shattered, due to your careless scheming. One especially lively specimen was subjected to your own experiment. You weren't afraid to put your life at risk, and if Dottore were to save you - it would surely mean he felt the same way, right? At least that what you told yourself while loosening the man's restraints while he was unconscious.

When it was time for a test, the doctor instructed you to wake up your subject. You obediently walked over to the man, opening up a flask with a liquid which awakened the brain almost immediately. As expected, you has no time to react before the man grabbed you by the neck, slamming you on the table next to him. "Fucking bitch." He wheezed out to your amusement. Somehow he still hasn't lost his voice.

Dottore's stoic smile faded as he noticed your lack of vision. How careless. The subject was crushing your throat as you instinctively tried to get away, but to no avail. He was an enhanced human after all. Your eyes met the doctor's mask, who clicked his tongue and with one quick motion cut off the brute's hand. "Touching MY assistant? How brave of you" He chuckled, watching you stagger back and lean against the wall, wheezing and coughing.

The trial was wrapped up rather quickly, and once the segments got rid of the subject, Dottore mentioned for you to sit on his knees, which you gladly did, wrapping your hands around his neck. He pulled his mask up, revealing those wonderful crimson red eyes. "I suppose you had something to do with today's... issue, yes?" He asked, squeezing your thigh.

His touch alone sent shivers down your spine. "Perhaps. I may have wanted to test you this time." A sweet smile graced your lips as you played with your master's hair. "I knew you would help me. Your loyal worshipper... I wonder if your feelings will match mine, someday." You giggled, sinking your teeth into Dottore's neck.

He didn't complain, instead his fingers sank further into your flesh as he gasped, feeling you draw blood. You moved away, lapping up the red liquid and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. He hummed in amusement, cleaning your lips with his tongue.

"I can overlook this disobedience. I must admit it would be quite unfortunate if you died, especially from someone else's hands." The last words came out as a whisper, as you felt gloved fingers trace the marks of another man's hands. "How bothersome, I will have to cover those marks with my own. Were you hoping for that to happen?"

The question was rhetorical of course, he already knew the answer and began marking you by sucking and biting on all the red spots. Your gasps filled the otherwise quiet lab, loud enough to let all the segments passing by know, not to disturb their creator.

Dottore pulled away with a playful smirk, admiring your flushed face, glossy eyes, slightly parted lips and that needy look. He motioned for you to hold on, to which you wrapped your legs tight around him. He carried you over to his bedroom - which was mostly now yours considering the fact he doesn't sleep much and you still do.

All the segments passing by in the hallway either did their best to ignore you two, while some of the younger ones couldn't seem to look away. They always were curious about you, but unfortunately for them - in the absence of the original, you always were found around his newest versions, mostly the ones that had already developed some feelings towards you.

Not bothering to properly lock the door, Dottore's lips attacked yours as soon as he stepped into the room. He laid you on the bed, climbing on top and not once breaking the kiss, which grew messier with every second. You knew better than to keep him waiting and reached down to unbutton your pants. But before you did so, the harbinger slapped your hand, clicking his tongue. "I want to take my time with you today, (y/n)."

Hearing your name fall from his lips made you whimper. You don't get to hear it often, but when you do - it's enough to melt you. "Using our names now, Zandik?" You teased him, well aware that you had the similar effect on him. His gloved hands traveled under your shirt, tracing the delicate skin and cupping your breasts. "I suppose you got me in the mood today." He said, pulling back and getting rid of his lab coat, revealing the clothes beneath and that slutty harness that you adored.

He pressed his fingers to your lips, and you understood what he wanted you to do. You bit down on the glove, pulling it off. He did the same with his left hand, and threw the pieces of clothing somewhere across the room. He unbuttoned your shirt, really taking his time now. If it were any of the segments you would get impatient, but it was rare for your real lover to not be in such a hurry. You savored every moment.

Your hands traveled to his stomach, silently asking for permission to get rid of his shirt. No words were exchange, instead a silent agreement in a form of him pulling you into sitting position so he could pull down your own clothing. You weren't as patient as you'd like to be. You fumbled with the buttons, cursing under your breath. Dottore chuckled, but was interrupted by you pulling him by the harness, his laugh dying in your lips and turning into a low groan.

Each of you hastily discarded your bottoms, growing too horny to wait. The bulge in his boxers was painfully obvious, the sight alone causing your mouth to water. "You're drooling darling." He teased, causing you to roll your eyes and pull down his last bits of clothes. "Can't help myself when you look so good." You replied, licking a straight line along his shaft, to which you were rewarded with a sharp hiss. You lapped up his precum, careful to not let even a drop go to waste.

You felt the doctor's hand on your head, his fingers grabbing onto your hair, as you took him all in. You could hear him mutter praises as you choked on his veiny cock, your tongue caressing It gently. He pushed your head further, so that your nose was now touching his skin. You looked up at him, as his eyes were now barely opened, pupils dilated and filled with lust. "That's my good girl." He muttered out, scooping up a single tear that fell from your eye.

Dottore used your mouth like his fleshlight, ruthlessly pounding into you, as you grabbed onto his hips for some sort of support. Your groans sending vibrations down his long dick, causing your lover himself to groan and pant heavily. As he could feel himself getting closer his moves came to a halt as he pulled out of you with a 'pop sound.

Before you could even say anything, he roughly flipped you onto your stomach, pressing your head down into your pillow, and plunging into your wet cunt without a warning. Your muffled moan echoed in the room, as Dottore circled your ass with his palm. "Fuck, you're so wet already. Such a good fucking girl." He whispered into your ear, thrusting his hips roughly, one of his hands reaching down to masage your sensitive clit.

The rhythm of his movements was fast, the room was filled with your noises and loud sounds caused by his flesh colliding with yours. Dottore's cock stretched you so perfectly, as always. It was like you were made for him and only him. Your nails dug into the silky sheets as you let out a breathless gasp when his tip was hitting that sweet spot. "Oh fuck, dear Archons..." You mumbled into the pillow.

At your words, your lover grabbed you by the throat, pulling you up so your back collided with his sweaty chest. You held onto his leather harness for support, as Dottore pushed his fingers into your lips, leaning into your ear. "I am your Archon, darling." He groaned out, and proceeded to bite into your shoulder. A silent scream left your lips as your hold on the harness tightened.

The sensation of his dick pounding into you mercilessly, his fingers abusing your poor clit, as you swirled your tongue around his other hand were all too much. "Za-andik 'm close!" You managed to whimper out, to which he pulled you closer. "Then cum for your God, darling." He demanded, muffling your desperate moans with his lips on yours. Salvia dripping from the corner of your mouth, as you grabbed onto his bicep, nails breaking skin and drawing blood.

Waves of pleasure caused your legs to tremble, your body momentarily weakened as your grip on Dottore gave out, making you fall limp onto the soft bed. The doctor's movements didn't slow down even a bit, but they grew more irregular as your walls clenched around him. His breath hitched and his voice was strained. "Such a good girl —ah! 'm gonna fill you up." He managed to mutter in-between grunts, not even realizing you were getting drunk off his voice when he was in such state.

The harbinger grabbed your ass roughly, pulling you as close as possible as his seed filled up your plush walls. A low moan escaped his lips as he laid above you, body almost giving out. You could feel his dick twitch inside you, which was the most wonderful feeling in the world. After what felt like forever for him, the doctor laid beside you, cleaning the drool from your face with his fingers.

Your eyes half lidded, the serotonin was quickly wearing off as you buried your head in your lovers chest. "Stay with me tonight?" You asked hopefully, only earning a hum of agreement in reply. Dottore played with your hair, lost deep in thoughts about whether he truly began to reciprocate your feelings. Perhaps he was.

He sat up for a moment to get rid of his leather harness, causing you to look up at him questioningly. Was he actually willing to stay with you for the first time? You did get your answer once he resumed your previous position, as he hesitantly kissed your forehead. Maybe it was time to explore his newfound feelings.

[the-heat-is-0n]

Snippet of “My own worst enemy” (a q!tntduo bar AU)

“Hey darling,” Wilbur croaked. His words blended together and were barely audible from his raspy timbre. He registered Quackity’s humored smirk and raised an eyebrow. “What, what’s so funny? Is it my misery?”

Despite his pessimistic question, Wilbur said it with no mirth. In fact, it sounded more like a genuine, innocent query.

Quackity realized his complete lack of a poker face and cleared his throat. A light blush dusted his cheeks at Wilbur’s use of ‘darling.’ “No, not at all!” he rubbed the other man’s shoulder in comforting movements. “It was just how your smile always makes your whole face scrunch up. I found it a little funny in an ironic way, is all.”

Wilbur hummed in response, leaning his head onto the hand on his shoulder. Quackity internally screamed like an excited little girl at the gesture. Keep it professional, he scolded himself, this is one of your customers. Don’t even think about it.

But fuck, the feeling of Wilbur’s soft, messy curls on the back of his hand made his heart flutter. It took all his self-control not to lean down and press a light kiss to the crown of the mans’ head and bury his nose into his hair.

“Did you hear me?” Quackity asked softly. He was grateful that everyone else was out of the bar and the door was locked. At this hour, he doubted that anyone would even be in the main building to catch him breaking the unspoken rules of his job.

The barkeep knew that this was wrong. Not only was he going against his workplace by being so sweet on Wilbur, but it also broke his moral code. Sure, Quackity had gotten into trouble from time to time. He’d been sent to the principal’s office for a plethora of reasons in school. His mischief with Roier (and later Cellbit) got him plenty of groundings and social restrictions at home growing up. But this was different. This was his livelihood. If he got fired in this job economy, he would be back to bumming off friends – or worse, living with his parents in suburbia again. He could not afford to break the rules this time. He had to keep focused, and his feelings for Wilbur were distracting him. He couldn’t date one of his most loyal customers – it would be unethical and unprofessional, at the very least in his eyes.

But the temptation to kiss Wilbur; to hold him and never let go; to be able to roll over in bed and say good morning to that gorgeous face of his; to imagine saying goodbye and I love you before every shift to the man he loved, was so great.

The temptation to break the rules and go against his own moral compass just for Wilbur felt like something straight out of the Book of Genesis.

Wilbur was the Biblical serpent to Quackity’s Eve. He was the apple that could open up a whole new world for the other.

And the choice to bite that godforsaken fruit was up to the infatuated barkeep.

Context:

Mowe!wilbur frequently comes to the bar Quackity works at and has this routine they both follow where Wilbur gets a drink, talks for a bit, and then leaves and gives Quackity an exhorbitant tip cause he’s just like that ig. Q very quickly falls for him but he’s terrified of being fired for basically courting a faithful customer and potentially shirking his work. (It’s mostly a moral thing to him cause it’s not even a rule at his job that he can’t date customers lol). Wilbur, on the other hand, is an idiot and doesn’t realize that Quackity has a crush on him. So they just have this weird awkward dance and it’s really silly and cute :)

This AU was originally created as a prompt for TNTduo week 2023 and I’ve decided to expand a lot on it by making it its own thing outside of that challenge week :D

[tkblythofficial]

TAROT PART 2 - 03 Feb 2024

Part 3 will be up soon! She’s making the notes and details too :) I love Tarot 2.0! She’s amazing!

* Entertainment purposes only *

Me: People love your rant on T. You didn’t hold back.

Tarot 2.0: I don’t like or care about these people so my opinion is my opinion. T is selfish to me. He’s goofy and good hearted but there’s an underlying cunning and sly nature to him particularly about things he thinks he’s right about. He’s such an Aquarius man. He points fingers at everyone else except himself. When things blow up in his face, he’s quick to either run or place blame elsewhere. It pisses me off tbh. Sorry, I know he’s your celebrity crush of the week or whatever but he needs to grow up too. In all my readings he thinks R is immature and too intense for him right now but he’s immature with dealing with his feelings. Like okay? You’re attracted to R so you deny it because you’re in a relationship? You should’ve kept it professional from the beginning to avoid this. But deciding to kiss her during rehearsal knowing you felt more is shitty. You weren’t thinking about BB when he had your tongue down R’s throat. You weren’t thinking of BB when you were in your bed with your dick in your hand while R and J had sex in her trailer—

Me: Girl…WHAT?

Tarot 2.0: I don’t give a fuck! Moving on, now I understand why he’s running from R (she's a little crazy imo) but refusing to talk to someone and hurting their feelings isn’t the right way to go about things. He triggered her by saying she needed to be professional over kissing her. How does the make any fucking sense? You had a great kiss which meant something. He knows that people called her unprofessional during the hate campaign so he knew he was hurting her by saying that. All of this over a kiss? He’s losing his mind because he’s trying to be respectful of BB (what a fucking joke, too late dude!) and she’s crying with her bf beside her because T hurt her badly. R can’t express what’s wrong with her to J, the dumbass, who’s stuck on stupid. She’s crying on his shoulder and J doesn’t know what’s wrong. R and T are nuts!

Me: Oh.

Tarot 2.0: I need a drink.

Me: ANYWAYS! T is a good lover? Condoms? Tarot 2.0 stop! We need details!

Tarot 2.0: I keep pulling the Lovers and Knight of Wands cards for him. It’s the ultimate good in bed type of card. It’s at least 7 and thick! Snow lands on top!

Me: …What?

Tarot 2.0: 7 inches of pound town! Thick and creamy like buttermilk.

Me: :0

Tarot 2.0: :)

How did R feel about the kiss?

Pulled: Eight of Cups (reversed)

Tarot 2.0: R has such sad energy, I feel sorry for her. If she were a Barbie doll, I would throw her away. She’s in a relationship but very lonely. She knows this relationship with J is bad but refuses to be alone. She’s emotionally immature. I agree with T on this but he’s the reason why she’s clinging onto this trash relationship. If T talked to her after the kiss, she wouldn’t feel the need to cling more to J. It’s funny in a way. T did the opposite of his goal, he pushed R closer to J because of his kiss reaction. He told her to move and be professional? So guess what? She ran into her bf’s arms and J once again saved her! A sad cycle she’s in. But the kiss was toe curling and she thinks it’s one sided. Yikes!

How did T feel about the kiss?

Pulled: King of Cups

Tarot 2.0: What a little bitch! His ass is feeling like a king after kissing R! Meanwhile she’s lonely and felt isolated after the snowbaird kiss because he told her it didn’t mean anything. His Aquarius selfishness is coming through strong here. However, I hate to admit it but this is a great card for R. It means T is dedicated and loyal. Also it usually represents an older man since kings tend to be older and more experienced. Something that she wants. A King is very charming and a great partner to have. It’s kind of a good thing he shut down things? Because he’s trying to be loyal to his gf despite his growing feelings for R.

Why didn’t R leave T after he hurt her feelings?

Pulled: Seven of Wands (reversed)

Tarot 2.0: not surprising with this girl. She’s trying not to let T affect her or her relationship. She’s blaming herself for thinking too much about the kiss. Poor girl doesn’t realize that T made her feel bad on purpose. She feels guilty because she didn’t protect her feelings or J. She carries a huge burden from this and is very self critical over it. So she doesn’t blame T for his reaction, she thinks he reacted appropriately and she was being delusional. She’s very delusional but not about this. I wish I could tell her that but she’s a love struck idiot when it comes to J.

More importantly, R and T are magnetic. They can’t let each other go no matter what. R would rather have T in her life than not at all. She’s very possessive of him and holding on tightly. She’s been hurt before so while it stings, she still loves T dearly.

What draws R to T?

Pulled: Page of Wands

Tarot 2.0: oh wow *speechless*

Me: what?

Tarot 2.0: She loves him a lot. Now I feel bad for going off on him slightly.

Me: Really? You love going off on people!

Tarot 2.0: I do but he truly brings her a lot of joy. He’s very exciting to her and passionate. He makes her feel alive. That's how deep of a connection she has to him. It’s overwhelming. Her energy lights up when talking about T. I understand why she overlooked him hurting her. A few days of pain doesn’t take away from the months of pure joy he brought her.

What draws T to R?

Pulled: Queen of Swords

Clarification card: Ace of Pentacles

Tarot 2.0: oh lord. He thinks she’s strong. He admires her resilience through adversity and her compassion. He respects her a lot and thinks she’s the best thing that’s happened to his career so far! He’s so glad he’s met her. She’s truly a positive influence on his life. They also share common interests! I’m see long and fulfilling conversations with these two! They clicked immediately. Yin and yang feelings here.

How does J feel about R?

Pulled: Three of Cups (reversed)

Clarification cards: Four of Cups and Queen of Wands (reversed)

Tarot 2.0: oh he’s not as dumb as I thought! Still dumb, poor thing but not as dumb! He knows about R and T’s hidden feelings and it made him pull away slightly. However, he’s happy Zeglyth is over with now and is ready to move on and start fresh with R possibly. But he’s very burdened by her too so he’s debating if he'll let her go eventually. I agree with him here actually. He’s not a therapist! Sure your partner should be there for you emotionally but he carries a lot of her emotional distress which makes him distressed and tired of dealing with it. The project he’s doing now is a much needed break from her. Sounds harsh but it may have rejuvenated his feelings for her when he gets back.

What would happen if R and T dated? What does all hell break loose mean here?

Pulled: Ace of Swords

Clarification cards: Two of Swords and The Star

Tarot 2.0: Ah, I see it! Okay. So if they get together, a lot of people will be hurt. Exes, friends, family because it’s basically like “I knew they would get together, they lied to us when we asked them about it”. They would face a lot of scrutiny. People would accuse them of cheating and being deceitful. Two swords suggesting either R or T will leave their partner and choose each other which is a painful decision. The first few months of Zeglyth dating will be rocky as hell. However, the star tells me everything will be okay after a while! They will heal and move on!

What is the secret between R and T?

Pulled: Nine of cups

Tarot 2.0: these two are hilarious! They dodged my question and their energy shifted immediately. Whatever secret it is, they really don’t want me to know. But I still pulled a love card here. How interesting is that??? Whatever the secret is, they’re happy about it! Distant but happy! It really connected them. Usually when I have blocks on secrets it’s because of childhood trauma (so the secret has been buried for so long!) or it’s a hidden secret or inside joke between the couple. It may be an unspoken secret between them. Perhaps they didn’t talk about it but they know about it? Does that make sense? Like a secret can be shared information or you can look at someone and know exactly what they're thinking without using words? I think that’s what’s happening here. They have an inside joke of some kind and the rest of us want to laugh but they won’t share the joke. I hate these two. I want to fucking laugh. Tell me the secret, bitch!

Explain the kiss! Shoving tongue down each other’s throat? Moaning and grinding? What the hell?

Pulled: Six of Wands

Tarot 2.0: what a card to pull at this question. Spark flew! They felt on top of the world during their kiss. Whew. They are very successful together. A power couple. Turning heads and thriving in attractiveness. A lot of raw energy and emotion is overflowing at this question. No wonder T is spooked. That’s actually scary. Meeting someone and having a life changing kiss. Okay. Now I feel bad for really criticizing him earlier. He’s trying to be a good boyfriend to BB but that’s a type of kiss he wasn’t expecting. I sympathize with both of them god damn. Being in a relationship and a kiss changing everything is very painful. The guilt is eating them alive. I see why T hurt her feelings. It wasn’t the right thing to do but I understand why he was very harsh about it. He could have handled it better but they needed a reality check at that moment. And he’s sorta of right? They should be professional about this. The kiss wasn’t professional and they needed to remain focused. J was on set too. Disaster avoided and movie saved! No scandal. I see his vision now.

-

she’s currently doing the notes for:

How does T feel about R and J’s relationship?

Is it possible R and T ever get together?

What is the future between T and BB?

How does R currently feel about T?

How does T currently feel about R?

What T date someone else besides BB and R?

Will R fully heal mentally and emotionally?

Are they actually friends? Is it PR? Are the feelings romantic or just attraction?

What about will R’s career be like in the future?

What about will T’s career be like in the future?

What will T and R be 5 years from now?

[lpsluvblr]

Ok so about this whole Sunil and Vinnie being silly in heaven in sorta Lute and Adam roles but not fully.

The way I imagine it went, Sunil was already leader of the exorcists for a while before Vinnie on his own volition decided to join. In this universe exorcists being there is a common knowledge in heaven and so Vinnie very much knew of them and saw them many times also when they were going for extermination to hell. And he deicided to join. Why? Partly because he was bored, heaven was cool and all but it was a bit too perfect to the point he got bored. Partly because going to hell to kill sounded fun. But mostly he went there for Sunil :D.

It was love at first sight kinda thing because Sunil was just so damn attractive, Vinnie needed him! So tall, so charismatic, and deriving so much enjoyment from killing, sounded perfect. So he joined with the purpose of getting closer to Sunil. He figured the best way to make him notice him would be to get good at this whole extermination thing, so that's exactly what he did. He made sure to kill in Sunil's sight and to help him sometimes, not that Sunil needed it.

Well, needless to say it worked and after a while Vinnie was Sunil's unofficial right hand man. And Vinnie was so, so happy, he could shower in Sunil's presence all the time since he was at his side so often.

His raging crush was very much visible to everyone including Sunil and Vinnie did not try to hide it one bit. Why would he, it was Sunil, of course he had a crush on him, who wouldn't? So what if Sunil sometimes wants to use it? He takes some workload off of Sunil's hands and he in turn gets to be closer to his beloved, everyone wins!

I mean it when I say Vinnie was absolutely shameless about his crush, he made sure Sunil knew about it on his first day. He just kept staring at him with this adoration in his eyes, kept fainting when Sunil as much as looked at him and don't even get me talking about any touch, oh boy. He got nosebleeds if he was around him for too long, and he was so jumpy and flustered and fidgety, his wings were just flapping basically all the time. Plus he was so, so happy to do anything Sunil asked for, like fuck off everyone else, he's doing that >:(.

As for if Sunil reciprocates those feelings? I don't know, it can go any of the two ways. He might or might not, either way he is amused and will have a little loyal exorcist at his side who absolutely worships and adores him and is very much ready to kill for him and either way they're both bloodthirsty asshole angels who are just looking for some amusement.

Oh, and also Vinnie calls Sunil "Sir" cause I like that professional dynamic between them. Of course Vinnie could be more subtle about his crush, today I just am in the mood for him to be absolutely shameless about it, that's all :]

This is the best thing ever I love it so much and now I can read it anytime I want to!

I’d love to think that Sunil develops feelings for Vinnie over time and flirts with him for fun on occasion or just to mess with him

Not the nose bleeds thought

I also bet you Vinnie becomes stronger because of this need to impress Sunil so he gets a lot better at his job and Sunil might make sure he’s protected a bit more then the others

Thank you for this oh my gosh I need to write a fanfic about this sometime soon 😅

[sunlightandsuffering]

Good girl Mikasa and bad boy Eren is such a great dynamic for EM. I've seen multiple highschool au's of them with that dynamic and I think it fits so well in modern au's.

Mikasa being such a good girl, so prim and proper which makes Sasha and all her friends think she'll end up dating someone similar, a smart and sensible boy like her best friend Armin. Only for her friends to one day sneak a look at her phone when she's not in the room and they find a photo album titled something cheesy like "❤🥰😚My Most Beloved😻💋❤" and expect their suspicions of her dating Armin to be true.

But then they open the album and the man they see is the last thing they expect. Some super tall guy with long rockstar hair, multiple tattoos, and a chiseled body that resembles a Greek god. They get more than a good look at it since there's tons of shirtless snapchats he's sent her. Him at the gym, him at raves, him fighting in some form of professional martial arts, him getting high, etc. The exact opposite of the type of guy they expected Mikasa to be dating.

The last photo they see as they're scrolling through her gallery is a snap from him asking her to come over, a pic he took while lying down in bed so you can see most of his abs, but for once they're not the focus since below them he's wearing grey sweatpants and has a very noticeable bulge stretching down his leg that he's gripping with one of his hands. The girls gawk at the sheer size of him which is when Mikasa comes back into the room and catches them in the act.

Besides being really embarrassed her friends had discovered her secret boyfriend she first has to assure them that she's not dating a thug, or some dangerous criminal based on the unsavoury assumptions they made based off the pics they saw, that he's not some douchey fuckboy and is actually extremely sweet, protective and loyal.

But once those concerns are out of the way it's all about teasing Mikasa for apparently being into hot bad boys, how they never expected her first boyfriend to be anything like this and confess that they kinda thought she was secretly dating Armin based on how much they hang out which shocks Mikasa. Also pure disbelief about how big her boyfriends cock is and how she's able to take all those inches which has Mikasa blushing immensely but also makes her swell with pride when all the girls agree that they've never slept with a man that big.

ok! Do I finally have time to answer this!! Yes!! I hope! Ugh u know how much fun i find it to incorporate other characters in their romance lol, it's a fave trope I like, the outside looking in!!!

"Sasha," Annie hisses, "Give me back Mikasa's phone!" "No," Sasha tells her petulantly, already typing in the very well known passcode, '0330'. Mikasa had told them it was a lucky number, but they suspect it's the birthday of someone close to her. Despite her vehemence against it, even Annie herself thinks the '03' must have to do with Armin, Mikasa's best friend and possible boyfriend.

She feels a sharp pang in her heart at the thought, Mikasa had been friends with Armin first, and therefore of course it would make sense that they might date. They’ve known each other longer, been friends for longer.

So the possibility they're dating is something Annie has long come to accept, especially with Sasha encouraging it so vehemently. So Annie will concede the blonde boy she has a crush on without complaint, but only to Mikasa.

"Sasha," Annie persists, trying to snatch the phone from the gleeful girl but to no avail. Sasha easily evades, lounging herself across Mikasa's bed, already sleuthing through their friend's phone with ease.

"It's scary how naturally this comes to you." Sasha shrugs, "It's a gift, I've been stalking Mikasa's phone since the seventh grade when she had a crush on this Eren guy in our class and she wouldn't tell me about him." Sasha gives her a serious look over the phone, "It's necessary Annie, I'd never know anything about Miki if I didn't snoop." Annie resigns herself to the fact that this is happening no matter what she does, she just hopes Armin will forgive her for discovering their relationship this way.

Sasha makes disgruntled noises for a few moments as she scrolls through Mikasa's phone, and Annie very reluctantly comes around to see what she's doing, at the very least she can police her.

Sasha is whipping through apps at the speed of light, throwing them up into cyberspace aggressively when they don't yield the results she wants.

"What's wrong?" Annie asks curiously when Sasha makes an irritated noise, "She's gotten better at hiding her shit."

Annie sighs, she doesn't want to think about how many times Sasha has done this. "Aha!" Sasha yells in triumph as she taps into the photos app, "Jackpot." Annie looks over to find a hidden photo album mysteriously labelled, " 'Ren 💜".

By itself the photo album isn't too suspicious, but combined with the emoji and the fact that it's locked, there's no way it isn't incriminating.

Sasha guesses the password on the third try, the same as her phone passcode and despite Annie's misgivings about the whole thing she looks on with Sasha eagerly.

There are a few hundred photos in the album, all very obviously containing a guy, and at first, her and Sasha internally celebrate, assuming it must be Armin, but upon further inspection it is most definitely not their kind blonde friend.

It takes them a solid minute or so to really digest the images they're met with, Sasha clicking on the most recent one in the album and Annie gasps audibly as her brain finally puts together what she's looking at. It's a penis, a very large, very erect, very monstrous penis. "Holy fuck," Sasha whispers, "There's no way this is Armin." Most certainly not, not with a dick like that.

"Stop looking at it," Annie hisses, "At least go to the next one." Sasha reluctantly obeys and they finally get a glimpse of the boy packing so much heat in his pants, and he's hot she'll give Mikasa that, hot in the kind of way she'd never expected prim, proper Mikasa to go for.

He's tall, taller than Armin, probably six feet and with tattoos winding down his wrist into one sleeve, a handsome face complete with green eyes and a smirk that's downright wicked as he looks into the camera, his hand cupping the heavy weight of his cock through his boxers. Whoever, had been holding the camera, which she can only assume was Mikasa had definitely gotten some that night, his eyes promising dirty dirty things to the girl behind the lens.

And as Sasha scrolls farther, their fears are finally confirmed, picture upon picture of the two of them together, cuddled up in bed, half naked, the boy's hand cupping her boobs, nibbling at her neck, sleepy from too many orgasms, and Mikasa, the most shocking part.

She looks nothing like the friend they're used to, covered in hickeys, her body relaxed into his, face twisted in pleasure as she takes selfies while getting railed from behind. It's so explicit she has to look away sometimes, never expecting this of their prim and proper best friend. "We should really stop looking at these." "I can't look away!" Sasha responds in horror, "Is this even Mikasa, are you sure it's not some doppelganger?" Involuntarily, her eyes flash back down to the phone, where a more innocent photo is being displayed, Mikasa, all smiles, beaming at the camera, dolled up in a cute maxi skirt and a crop top while the boy behind her takes the photo, his form engulfing her own, arm clamped around her waist, lips pressed to her cheek. He looks utterly devoted to her too, it's actually kinda cute. "Okay i can't do it, we have to go back to look at his dick again there's no way Mikasa is--" Sasha is cut off as Mikasa opens the door, carrying a tray of cookies and milk, excitedly chattering about the different cookie varieties she's brought up from her collection. She almost drops the plate as she notices her phone in Sasha's hand, her face going white. "Shit," she curses, "How much did you see?" "MIKASA HOW BIG IS HIS DICK?" The normally calm Mikasa's face scrunches up in annoyance as she resigns herself to it, "It's like 8 inches at least." Sasha lets out an erratic squee next to her and Annie explodes, "What about Armin?" Mikasa sets her cookies down, snatching the phone from her friend and locking it firmly, "What about him?" "Aren't you two dating?" Sasha questions and Mikasa makes an immediate noise of disgust, "No way, he's like my brother."

Annie hates herself for feeling instantly relieved by the news, and Mikasa sighs, "That's Eren you were looking at, he's umm, my--" "Fuckbuddy?" "Boyfriend," Mikasa corrects and Sasha makes a noise of surprise, "No way, that's not boyfriend material, Mika, no, he's going to play you like a fiddle." Mikasa huffs in irritation, their prim, proper friend showing one of her rare hints of genuine emotion, genuine rage, always so calm and collected, "No, he's my boyfriend and we've been dating for like two years now Sasha." "WHAT!?" "You remember Eren? My seventh grade crush," Mikasa shrugs, absentmindedly unlocking her phone to admire her photo album of them, "We never really stopped talking and the rest is history."

She absently traces his face on the screen and both Annie and Sasha almost explode with the truth of her answer. Not only has their innocent friend hid a boyfriend for close to two years, but she's also dating one of the sketchiest looking guys they've ever seen.

Well, at least it's not Armin she supposes, maybe she finally has a chance!

[80s4life]

You Take Good Care Of Her Pt.1

Word Count: 1,416

Status: Not Requested!

Fandom: The Expendables {1-3}

A/N: So this was one of my writings I have on my Wattpad, and decided to have it brought over here to Tumblr. This isn't my best work, but it's okay I guess.

Relationship: Lee Christmas x Reader 

Summary: Y/N and Barney Ross are half siblings. With their lives not being easy, the only people they had were each other, Barney raising her as his own.  But, that all changes when she decides to serve our country, earning many scars outsiders will never see.  When she returns however, she might actually get the happy ending Barney and her have always dreamed of.

Warnings: language, a little bit of angst

Masterlist The Expendables Masterlist Part Two

{Not my gif}

For the next few years, with Barney's extensive training and knowledge with hand-to-hand combat, how to quick draw a weapon, and how to know how to use it, Y/N had become a strong woman.  Y/N never understood how or why he knew these things, but yet again, she never doubted her brother for a second.  Barney has always been there for her, as he was now, teaching her self defense in the best way possible.

After Y/N had graduated high school, she joined the army, starting out as a nurse but quickly changing ranking when a horrific war came in, needing her well hidden skills.  Barney was proud of his little Gumdrop, the nickname he had given her from the day she was born, but he would be lying if he didn't say he was the least bit nervous.  He knew she could handle herself, especially when Y/N had even made it a point in learning all different types of weapons, perfecting Barney's signature skills, and going way beyond anything either of them could imagine.  Barney was almost like a proud father.

To say that military didn't change a thing about a person would've been a full-faced lie.  It had made you hard, cold to the touch, maybe in the worst ways selfish, too.  Y/N was never one to put herself first, but in the military world, although you are all fighting alongside each other as a team, the main point was for you to take care of yourself and only focus on keeping yourself alive; no one else mattered on the battlefield.

Y/N had started to write a diary, trying to keep herself from driving off the deep end into insanity.  She was lonely, something that was expected in this way of life.  Battle was a different world, a separate one from the world of the more fortunate ones, the ones not in war.  Y/N had made a few friends, but as the wars raged on outside, they slowly died off, scaring her, and not wanting to have to hurt as much as she does because of how much she cares.

But after all, nothing is permanent.  No one stays forever, and that made Y/N miss her brother all the more.  As she writes in her diary, she also wrote letters home to Barney, those that could have a range of time before getting a response back.  After all, Barney was stuck on missions, making a group called the Expendables, and spending so much time up just to not be alone, worrying for his baby sister, and if she will actually come home alive.

After 10 years, Y/N was able to return home, different, but whole.  Barney, who had responded a few weeks before, had been the first to see her come down the escalator of the airport, more than ready to feel whole again, to have his family back.  When she had spotted him, she practically tackled anyone in her way, almost tripping down the steps to get to her brother.  With a lunge and a jump, she crushed her older brother in a rib shattering hug, tears of joy not only pouring out of her eyes, but his too, although he'd never admit to it.  Clearing his throat he said, "Let's get you home Gumdrop."

After loads of catching up, Barney told her there were people he wants her to meet, as he was going to show her what he had spent so much time training her for, to be one with the boys, the Expendables.  Barney had blabbed about what it is he had done on the ride before entering Tool's shop, which is what made Y/N so eager to meet the rest of the gang, knowing what and who they were before they even entered her life.

The first person she met was Tool, an older man with a rugged smile, warm eyes, streaked hair, and a creative eye for everything he sees.  Y/N enjoyed him and took a close liking to him immediately, becoming a weird yet funny father she never had.  She was caught up in a conversation with Tool, missing the warm smile her brother had as he watched his sister find someone so alike to her, talk to her, and share interests that normal fathers would, even if it wasn't by blood.  Then, multiple other men filled the room of Tool's tattoo shop, the smell of testosterone, grease, and smoke filling the room as the roaring of motorcycle engines came pouring in, soon shutting off.

Barney and Tool introduced Y/N to every person of the group before they all spread out and did their own thing.  Toll Road, one of the members, had talked to her, being kind and gentle, a total opposite of his professional career choice.  After that, Y/N had made her rounds, talking to everyone: Gunnar Jensen, quiet, handsome, tall, and quite funny.  Yin Yang, small, quick-witted, loyal, and very caring.  Hale Caesar, the most hilarious person Y/N had ever met, very playful, and a lot of fun to hang out with.  She had met everyone, except one; Lee Christmas.  

A few times during the night, their eyes had met, as if it were electric that made them shudder and stare on many occasions.  But, although many looks were made, he had made it his duty to avoid her like the plague.  "But why?" was a constant thought that crossed her mind.

As time passed, Y/N had become just one of the guys, squeezing her tiny self into the little family they had all made.  Tool had given her her own specialty Expendables tattoo to make it official too.  Decorating it with vines and flowers, "Matching your personality," Tool would tell her, "Beautiful and delicate alongside other flowers in a bundle, yet hard and piercing when messed with by the wrong hands."  Y/N enjoyed her tattoo all the much more, taking his words to heart and placing a sweet kiss on his cheek.  She never realized the eyes that watched her so calmly from afar though.

What Y/N didn't know was how Lee actually felt, and that was a charge he knew was on him.  It never stopped him from getting jealous though, stiffening as he watched her every moves.  He had fallen for her soft Y/E/C eyes, and Y/H/L, Y/H/C hair that only she could make beautiful the second he met her.  He would talk to her every now and then, but always kept his distance, knowing exactly who she belonged to.  Barney would have his ass hit by a train if he ever touched her, and that was because she had gone through so much already, Barney not wanting anymore pain in her life.

Despite his attempts, he knew he wouldn't ever be able to resist her, and for that, he didn't care what he had to go through, he was going to have her. Because she was his, and he was hers, no matter who knew.

To be continued...

[galaxina-the-pyro]

So I'm kinda curious, what is your "Like Father, Like Son" Au?

Oh my...I was honestly afraid someone was gonna ask me this, but I kinda wanna answer it so...yeah. X'D

The AU started off as a "Doof is Phineas' dad" fan fic that evolved into something else entirely...sort of. Doof's not Phineas' BIO dad in this AU to put it simply - that just wouldn't make sense for the story I've written for it.

Basically, the AU takes place in "another 2nd Dimension" - the 2nd Dimension with the 2D cast still exists, this just takes place on another route (because I doubt that the number of dimensions is that finite if the movie is to be believed). Kinda like @lyllaotterofhalfworld's Platydad AU, everyone there is kinda the opposite of their canon counterparts, only I take a different approach.

Phineas is the main protagonist of this AU - he is an orphaned/abandoned little ragamuffin that Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel ended up taking in after finding him in a dumpster. He is creative and fun-loving much like the Phineas we know, but has a much more destructive way of going about it, often choosing to blow stuff up than build something in particular (though he CAN build things and has - his favorite part is just the demolition). He's a little troublemaker who likes to break rules, worldly possessions, and starts some fires here and there. He's also inhumanely strong and indestructible, with boundless amounts of near-unhealthy optimism. He can be pretty selfish and a brat, often at odds with the people who took him in, but ultimately is very caring towards others in spite of his more unstable tendencies. He's an adventurous daredevil that is incredibly extroverted.

Doofenshmirtz is the deuteragonist, and much like in the 2nd Dimension, he is a dictator (though his reign goes far beyond just the 2nd Dimension). He is almost nothing like his counterpart - rarely cracks jokes or smiles, is very no-nonsense, and is incredibly intimidating - it's also very clear that while he never wanted to be a dictator, he is the only reason why the inhabitants of Danville have not been killed by their own hubris. He's often the straight man to everyone else's insanity, though he too is quite the character, often displaying the same kind of reckless behavior and Phineas (and even somewhat encouraging it). He tends to keep people at arms length, but cares a lot for Phineas and Schnitzel's well-being and happiness. He lost both Charlene and Vanessa in a blimp accident and was never the same ever since. He also has a softer side when it comes to animals, stating that they're easier to understand than most people. Though he often is fine with Phineas' antics, he's equally overprotective of him.

Schnitzel (my OC) is the tritagonist, and is Doof's righthand (wo)man. She's a medical professional who's in charge of multiple factions of DEI, and is always stressed and suffers from high levels of anxiety. Always having to keep an eye on Phineas and to make sure Doofenshmirtz doesn't feel like being an idiot, she's often the voice-of-reason, or at least tries to be, her fear often driving most of her decisions. She is incredibly motherly, but can be very blunt and violent when provoked to rage. The universe seems to absolutely hate her, seeing as she's often the target of a lot of the slapstick in the AU. She's Doofenshmirtz's love interest and closest friend, being incredibly loyal to him and Phineas, as well as to Charlene even after she died. In spite of being the universe's punching bag, she often comes through when the call to action arises.

The AU centers on these three dealing with multiple antagonistic forces such as the OWCA, a "heroic" organization that experiments on animal agents to take on DEI (led by Monogram, the man that supposedly was responsible for Charlene and Vanessa's deaths), The Resistance, a group of teens bent on overthrowing Doofenshmirtz by any means necessary (that's also lead by Phineas' older sister, Candace, who very much hates him and is sadly blinded by anger to see that she's not being reasonable), and even LOVEMUFFIN, the very organization that rules over most of the planet that Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel both work for. They also deal with a bunch of misadventures as well, some typical familial drama, that kinda stuff.

A lot of the times Isabella, Phineas' best friend/crush (the boy just...loves her so very much, he can't even, if only she frigging knew, come on, it's so obvious), will tagalong on these adventures along with the likes of Ferb (who is NOT Phineas' stepbrother in this, but is considered his OTHER best friend - really, Ferb is trying to assassinate Doofenshmirtz for Candace, but grows attached to the very annoying triangular redhead), Buford, Baljeet, Irving, Django, and the Homicide Girls (the Fireside Girls of this AU). There's more to them as well, but that's about the gist of it.

Phineas also has a hamster named Freddie (ala @sortofcaffeinateddoodles) instead of Perry - I'm not actually entirely sure what Perry's role IS in this AU, anymore. He's definitely THERE, I'm just not sure what his relationship is with everyone else, or even if he's a good guy or a bad guy. Freddie's fun - he's got a knife. No one knows where he got it from, but he has one, and Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel are concerned.

This is mostly a very self-indulgent AU, that I guarantee is not for everyone - especially since I portray certain characters like Candace and Linda in particular in a very bad light, some characters like Vanessa are dead/are probably gonna die, and the fact that there are OCs in this story, blahblahblah. Oh. And they cuss a LOT - this isn't a kid friendly AU. I do plan on writing a fic where the canon-verse meets this AU, cuz I feel like it would be interesting for the characters to interact. Though I already do that with @lyllaotterofhalfworld, and our three-way AU where her AU, my AU, and the canon-verse Phineases all interact and stuff, and it's great and I wanna do more of that.

[donutloverxo]

Nude

Run through - Steve wants to try new things so he takes a painting class with a nude painting subject. Only the woman he has to paint are you, Peppers assistant and his crush.

Pairing - Steve Rogers x reader

Word count - 2k

Masterlist is linked in the bio!

Steve Rogers was many things. He was an artist, an amateur cook (who really does try), a loyal friend, a good citizen, a soldier. Yet when people looked at him, they only ever saw the captain. His friends called him cap. He'd go weeks without hearing his own name. Sometimes he felt the lines were blurred. When did Steve Rogers end and Captain America begin?

He had a big wake up call when he confronted Tony, saying he wasn’t iron man, it was an alter ego. To which Tony said that Steve was basically captain America. And Steve couldn’t argue or disagree, because it was true. He didn’t want to lose himself in his work anymore than he already had. His therapist told him to make healthy boundaries, which is what he’s going to do.

So he ordered some colors and pencils online and got to work on his art, for the first time in a long time. It was exhilarating and freeing. He could lose himself in it, go on for hours without thinking and seeing anything but the colors and his canvas. Which was extremely rare for him. He could rarely ever shut his brain off or run from his traumatic memories.

Everyone could see the visible change in him. How he seemed happier. Clint even joked about it saying

“Cap must be getting some”

To which Steve only snorted. There was no room for anything as complicated as a relationship or sex in his life, not right now.

But wouldn’t it be nice? To have a woman to hold and to paint. To love and care for. He didn’t let himself delve too much into that fantasy. Because even if it was a nice escape once in a while, he knew that while Steve Rogers might make a good partner, Captain America would certainly not. He would never subject any woman to deal with either of them.

With some encouragement from Sam and his old friends he started attending painting classes at his alma mater, the Brooklyn College, every Saturday evening. It helped him make some friends. He didn’t know if he could call them friends. Most of them were too different from him. They seemed like different types of 'tortured artists'

When he heard that there would be a nude subject to paint the next class, he was a little bit hesitant. Such a thing would’ve been scandalous in the 40s. But he was trying to open himself up and that meant pushing his comfort zone, even just a little bit.

When he set up his canvas, oil colors and brushes that Saturday he expected male subject. He didn’t however expect to hear a woman’s voice. He was too focused on his set up to look up, whatever. He didn’t care if it was a man or a woman. There wouldn't be anything erotic about it. This was strictly professional and educational.

He looked up to take a good look at his subject, when he felt as if his soul was knocked out of him. There you stood, his crush, Pepper Potts' assistant, and the woman who turned him down.

“You know back in my day they used to play elevator music” He said to drown out the awkward silence. Even after all this time, he still didn’t know how to talk to women. He had had a crush on you since the moment he laid eyes on you. You were always so funny and sweet. Asking him and everyone about their day, if they were doing well. Always willing to help others.

When he let it slip that he likes banana bread, you baked him a whole loaf of it, which chocolate chips so ‘so you think of me when you have them. They’re my signature of sorts' you had said proudly. Of course he’d be thinking of you when he ate it. Overthinking actually. Wondering If you like him as he likes you, or if you’re just being your sweet self.

“Oh we still have that!” You chirped “but not in um professional or business buildings like these”

He just nodded. Tapping his foot impatiently. You would get off in just six floors it was now or never. “Hey uh – what are you doing this Friday?” he asked shyly.

“Oh just watching some Gordon Ramsay with my dog probably. I have no life” you laughed at your own self depreciating joke “Why?” you tilted your head.

“I was thinking, maybe we could get dinner? Only if you uh – you wanted to, you're free to say no” he promised. Maybe he should’ve asked you to ‘hang out' or 'for a coffee' like most people these days. But he felt that was no way to treat a lady, especially one like you.

“Oh Steve” he was already disappointed upon hearing your tone “I would’ve loved to. But even though we don’t work together, it wouldn’t look good you know? I mean I don’t care much for 'my image'” You said making air quotes “But I don’t, it’ll be complicated” You looked completely defeated. As if it hurt you to say no more than it hurt him to hear it.

“I completely understand” He nodded “no hard feelings” he gave you a smile as he watched you walk away. It did break his heart a bit, but he’d respect your feelings.

He looked at you taking off your satin robe revealing your bare body to the class of twenty or so artists. His breathe hitched. Your hair flowing down your back and covering a bit of your left breast, your soft stomach and thighs, the patch of soft curls at your core, your nipples hard against the chilly air, and how your stomach rolled a bit as you sat uncomfortably on the stool. You were beautiful. A work of art even. There was absolutely no way he could do you justice. He started drawing an outline on his canvas. You would very well be his best subject.

You looked around a bit, your fingers holding onto the stool for dear life so you could stave off the anxiety and feeling of being so exposed. Then your eyes landed on him. You thought you were dreaming, maybe you didn’t see properly, so you did a double take. Then you were frozen on the spot. There he was, Captain Rogers, the first Avenger, the man you often dreamt about, sitting right in front of you while you were naked as the day you were born.

You had no idea what you should do. This was literally like a nightmare come true. If you flee it would look bad, if you didn’t it might look worse. You decided you’d follow his lead. So you peeked a glance at him from the corner of your eyes and saw him, sketching you? Holy shit Steve Rogers was drawing a nude portrait of you. What has your life become?

You had always been insecure about your body. You knew magazines, porn and movies were meant to feed people lies to get them to buy more things. That didn’t make you feel any less bad about not looking anything like the women in them. You tried to remind yourself that you have many things going for you. Like your supporting family, your loving friends, your cute labrador, your amazing job.

Speaking of your job, exactly why you turned Steve freaking Rogers down! A man that looks like him asking you out and you say no. Your friends flat out laughed in your face at your unfortunate predicament, where the cake is right there but you can't eat it. Now that you thought about it, it was funny.

Your co-workers weren’t kind to you. Even on your best day you didn’t look anything like the women you worked with, who would stab you in the back the first chance the get. You were kind to everyone, but you knew by now not to expect the same treatment back. Which was why you had to say no to the beefy blonde. You didn’t want to be branded as the ‘office slut’.

Which now you were sure you would be. You didn’t know Steve enough to know he’d be willing to keep this a secret. He didn’t seem like someone who would do that to you. But you still couldn’t help but think the worst.

You squirmed and shivered in the chair for a good part of the next two hours. By the end your back was sore and you did everything you could to avoid looking at Steve, only sneaking glances here and there, while he seemed too engrossed in his work.

You had done this a couple of times before, to accept your body for what it is and get comfortable with it. If you weren’t going to love it no one would do it for you. Finally the time was up and the artists were asked to pack up for the day.

You quickly got up from your stool putting the robe back on. You turned your back to Steve, stretching your muscles. You couldn’t wait to lay down on your comfy bed and just get out of here. But you knew you needed to have that inevitable conversation. You probably would never be able to look Steve in the eye after this.

You walked towards him as he was cleaning up his work station. “Fancy seeing you here” You cringed at your embarrassing attempt at a British accent.

“Hey there” He gave you a bashful smile scratching the back of his head “I didn’t expect to see you here”

“Right back at ya” you returned his smile, no longer feeling on edge. It was strange how his presence served to comfort you.

“You do this often” he asked casually. You couldn’t really hear any judgement in his tone, not what you would expect from a hundred year old.

“No not really. It just uh – I’m trying to love myself. Which I already do! Of course” you let out a nervous chuckle “just trying new things and stepping out of my comfort zone”

“That makes two of us” he said as he was done packing his bag, which he was deliberately doing at a slow pace. He didn’t want to leave. Not yet.

“Can I... Look at your painting?” You asked nervously. You didn’t know if you wanted to see his interpretation of your naked body, what if it was bad? But what if it was good? What if he was impressed by you...

“Uh it’s not done yet. And frankly I’m not that good”

“I seriously doubt that. I’ve seen the sketches in your office” You caught your slip of tongue. You couldn’t let him know about your borderline unhealthy obsession with him.

“Well, have a look then” he relented showing you his canvas.

You let out a breathe you didn’t even know you were holding at the painting. It was breath-taking. The woman looked like you, but why was she so beautiful and graceful? In the painting she was sitting on a stool, like you, in front of a tree admiring a rose in her hand. She was naked as well. It reminded you of classic Greek paintings where women weren’t perfect, but were celebrated for their imperfections.

“It’s amazing Steve. I – do I look like that?” You stammered not being able to tear your eyes off the painting.

He shook his head at your shock “On the contrary you look much better I’m glad you like it”

“You’re a great artist” you gushed

“I don’t know about that. I’ve seen much better” he said humbly.

You would argue with him. But you knew it would be of no use. Looking at the beautiful woman in the painting gave you the surge of confidence you needed “Steve, does the offer for that dinner still stand?” You straightened your back looking up to lock eyes with him.

“Yes” He blurted without even thinking “how about tomorrow evening?” He asked.

“Yes that will be awesome! You can pick me up at seven. I’ll text you the address“ you said making an mental note to do so.

You could hardly wait for your date. You didn’t really care about what your co-workers would think of you. As long as you were happy their opinions didn’t matter.

Tags will be in the reblog! If you want in on the taglist click the link in the bio or send me an ask!

Please do not steal or repost my works. Reblogs are welcome.

This was actually a request. But I can't fir the life of me find the person who requested it. I hope you see it babes❤

[madamewriterofwrongs]

Soft Eddie thought: the first time he mentions Buck in passing as 'my husband' and then all of a sudden it hits him for the first time that, holy shit, he has a *husband*! And either tears up a little or can't stop smiling.

Hey Nonny, I hope you see this, I know it’s been awhile. 

Subconsciously Drawn Together

911/Buddie

Eddie would never call what he feels a crush – after all, he’s a grown adult who hasn’t had a crush on anyone since Jenny Rodriguez broke his heart in eighth grade by picking Eugene as her lab partner instead of him. (Coincidentally, they are both married to someone named Makayla and neither of them lived outside of Texas for more than a few months).

He always thought that would be him. Not, married to Jenny or Eugene (or either Makayla for that matter), but there was a part of him that knew he was destined to live a quiet life. Marriage, children, maybe a dog and a white picket fence if they wanted to be really cliched. And he was okay with that – he really was. For Eddie, there was no other life than the one laid out for him.

Going to war didn’t change that. A poor country boy joining the military to provide for his pregnant wife back home? Even pulp fiction novelists thought it was too obvious. But, again, he never minded living an uninteresting life. Not everyone was destined for adventure and drama. Most people were made to get through the day.

Even when the nightmares came and he struggled to keep his family together, it just seemed like the next chapter in his boring novelization of a life. Everyone had marital troubles after coming home, everyone had bad dreams and phantom pains. Everyone worried where the money would come from to support their family. Everyone snuck into their son’s room to watch him sleep because they were afraid to admit that they’d forgotten what he looked like while he was away. Everyone felt guilt and shame and fear and regret. It was a part of life.

And then his wife left and his parents offered to take Christopher and for one moment, the thought crossed his mind. Could he let his son go (be with people who could stay at home and give him the care he needed)? Could he forget about Shannon and move somewhere else? Could he start over (relive his 20s in the carefree manner he’d seen others struggling to find)? Could he run away again and make it stick this time?

By the end of the week, he and Christopher were packed into his truck and headed to Los Angeles.

It didn’t feel like running away when he was mumbling his way through the Frozen soundtrack or listening to his son talk about his old school’s pet turtle that he’ll miss (and wonder what kind of pets the kids in Los Angeles got to have). It didn’t feel like running away then. It felt like they were running towards something.

Running towards a new life, of sorts, as it turned out. Sure, he still dealt with his parents’ criticism, and Shannon came back into their lives and for a moment, it felt like she’d never left him. But in LA, he had a purpose, he had freedom. For the first time in a long time, Eddie looked forward to opening his door in the mornings; for the first time in a long time, he never knew exactly what to expect, and LA was full of surprises.

The biggest surprise of all was named Evan Buckley.

Buck was a lot of things: a friend, a skilled firefighter, endearingly enthusiastic, subtle as a brick, and the first person outside of his real family that he called ‘family’ and truly meant it. He loved the men and women he served with in Afghanistan, but the moment they departed at the airport, he lost that connection. Joining the 118 had been a way to get that back and it had worked out fantastically. He had sports fanatics to cheer with, parents of blended families to vent with, people who knew his past and loved him despite it all.

Eddie never told anyone (except his therapist who never commented on it, but made a face that said they’d circle back to it at a later date), but he felt as though he’d known Buck for years. Once the man opened up to him, the trust he felt was strong, and the way he took an instant affection to Christopher made it easy to let this man into his life.

Within less than a year of joining the LA Fire Department however, his world imploded.

Or exploded, actually. First Shannon died, then Buck was injured, then his son was nearly taken by a natural disaster and he didn’t even know it. He spent so much time after that trying to put the pieces back together. For all the things he’d assumed his life would be – a wife and kid and a white picket fence – the only thing he had left was a son now dealing with immense trauma for such a young child to handle. And he had Buck (who was so bright and eager to please that one might describe him as a puppy at times). Nothing of his life had turned out the way it was meant to.

Suddenly, a year had passed since Shannon’s death and his life was still an unrecognizable sort of decagon shape instead of the standard cookie cutter circle. But none of that mattered because he was staring into bright brown eyes and a luminescent smile that was telling him that he was doing a wonderful job of raising Christopher on his own.

Others had been trying to tell him that for years (never the ones whose opinion meant to world to him, but he was learning to let that go) but that beautiful face was so sincere that he forgot himself. He forgot that he was a widow with a grieving son. He forgot the fear and regret that went along with the phantom pains when the weather turned cold. He forgot that he had failed in his ambition to live an entirely ordinary life. For a moment he thought: ‘when she smiles at me, I feel happy’.

He wanted to feel that way again.

There were several reasons that things just wouldn’t work out with Ana. For one: she was Christopher’s teacher, and even if it wasn’t against the rules, it still felt wrong. Two: he’d seen the moment she thought differently about him after he yelled at her at school. She was too professional and kind to say anything but even if it was possible, she was definitely no longer interested. The third reason was that he was a firefighter who worked insane hours and when he wasn’t at work, he was home with his son. There wasn’t exactly a lot of time for dating. Fourth: she wasn’t Buck.

That thought had been the one that kept him up at night. It had come to him while he stood in the shower, recounting his day, wondering how long he had until it would be time to pick up Christopher from school. He wasn’t feeling overly ambitious so he figured spaghetti and meatballs would be perfect for supper. He wondered what it would be like to cook for someone who wasn’t ten years old. Someone he could cook beside without having to keep a constant eye. There were times (in the early days with Shannon) where the two of them would cook together, do laundry, clean, do all the domestic things side by side. She had been insistent that they both learn to care for the house that they shared and he was happy to stand beside her in all things.

Remember to throw Buck’s gym clothes in the laundry next time he comes over. He keeps forgetting to throw them in his basket.

A simple little thought, really. He’d thought it before. His friend would leave his gym bag by the door for work and forget to empty it out when he went to do laundry. It was unlikely that anyone other than Eddie noticed the state of Buck’s clothes, but he’d been paying closer attention to him lately. Like how after the train derailment, his smile seemed easier; his shoulders relaxed more often – especially when he was with the 118 or Christopher. Buck seemed happy now that he’d gotten his closure from Abby.

He deserves to be happy. He makes me feel happy.

Buck did make him feel happy. The way he interacted with Christopher, the way he entrusted his son to this man without a second thought. But even when Christopher wasn’t around, Eddie enjoyed Buck’s company. Going to baseball games (dragging him, more like), sitting together when the crew went out for drinks after work. With Buck, he felt…

Safe.

Which wasn’t surprising, really. Buck was a kind man. Sweet and thoughtful. He put other’s first – just like Eddie does, he could hear Frank’s voice in his mind – and cared deeply about the people in his life. Not to mention, he was physically a very strong figure. In some other life, he and Buck met on the wrestling circuit but never fought. Him: with his MMA, and Buck: with his Greco-Roman Wrestling. With those broad shoulders and firm arms, he wouldn’t mind being pulled into a stronghold once or twice.

He knew Buck was conventionally attractive from the day they met. There was no hiding the sharp blue eyes or curly blond hair and rounded jaw.

Nothing like Ana.

Another correct statement that still seemed ominous in context. Why was he comparing Buck to Ana – or Shannon, for that matter? It wasn’t fair to compare friends to lovers. Although, Buck did fit into several categories on both sides.

Buck was a loyal friend, caring and trustworthy. He made Eddie and Christopher feel safe and loved. He wanted to do Buck’s laundry. He thought he was attractive. Slowly, one side of the column began to build in size.

Perhaps Buck was a bigger part of Eddie’s life than he realized. He hadn’t thought seriously about dating anyone until Ana and that never felt right but Buck…

Buck always felt right. Like he belonged with them. Like he’d known them all his life.

Could it be that Eddie wanted something other than friendship? Had he been climbing the wrong ladder all this time only to find himself at the top with no way across? After all: Buck had never given any indication that he was romantically interested in Eddie.

Though, to be fair, Eddie had given no indication either.

But that was because he’d just figured it out. Surely Buck had some idea that best friends didn’t act the way they did. Or maybe he didn’t. Maybe he wasn’t interested, in any way, with Eddie. Could he forget it and go back to the way things were? Now that his fingers seemed to tingle with the new realization, could he take it back? Could he put those feelings in a box until someone else came along?

Would there be anyone else?

What did he want to happen with Buck?

Kissing him, for starters, might be interesting. Those plump, pink lips exploring his entire body. Having someone in his bed every night would be nice – and not just anyone, but someone who understood his work and the stressors of the day. If anyone was going to stand by his side while he freaked out about Christopher going on his first date, it should be Buck. Next to Eddie, that man was the most protective when it came to that little boy. He’d only seen it once or twice but Eddie knew that Buck looked good in a suit. Would he look even better in a tux? Years from now, when he retired from the LAFD, it would be nice to feel the weight of a ring on his finger, knowing he had someone he loved waiting at home.

Oh.

Oh damn.

Eddie’s shower ran a little bit longer than expected that day.

That simple thought had sent him on a spiral two weeks ago and every night that he struggled to fall asleep, he found himself rolling to the empty side of the bed, wondering what it would be like to wake up next to his best friend.

The conclusion he inevitably came to: it would be wonderful.

If the worlds aligned, of course. He hadn’t spoken to anyone about his sudden, escalating realization (not even Frank). There was no way to know if Buck reciprocated his feelings in any way. Though he knew with uncanny certainty that he would be safe to confess his feelings without fear of losing his relationship entirely, it still seemed safer to gather more information before making any sort of move.

I’m safe with Buck no matter what.

So, no. Eddie would not describe what he felt for Buck as a simple ‘crush’.

It was everything.

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

The accident scene was a mess. It always was. They so rarely rolled up on an event that was neatly organized – not that it would make him any less stressed or worried for the safety of his patients. It was his job to worry, to be surrounded by chaos. Perhaps that was his new normal now, and his idea of an ordinary life had shifted to one that involved heavier boots.

There was still a sense of satisfaction and ease, knowing that he got to go home to his son every night, that he was helping people, and there were people in his life who loved and supported him. Unlike his old army mates (as strong as those relationships were), he also knew that if he woke up and decided to be a baker instead of a firefighter, the 118 would still treat him as one of their own.

Perhaps ‘baker’ wasn’t the best example, baking had never been one of his favourite activities. A florist, or a construction worker, maybe. Firefighting meant a lot to him but it wasn’t his calling – the way it was for his… for Buck. How would the man react if one day, Eddie told him that they would no longer be partners in work? There was no doubt in his mind that Buck would still be over on Thursday nights with pizza and video games. And perhaps if Eddie was working more regular hours, he could go over to Buck’s on occasion and make dinner for the three of them. That would be a nice surprise. Buck would smile that impossibly bright smile and open his arms to Christopher, swinging the boy around gently because he was overly cautious about roughhousing with him – something that only made Eddie’s heart beat faster. Then, Buck would make his way over to Eddie and kiss him with a sort of reverence; like he can’t quite believe that Eddie’s real. He could rest assured that the feeling was mutual.

What a ridiculously outdated fantasy. He’d clearly grown up watching too much ‘I Love Lucy’.

The firefighter shook his head as he hopped out of the truck, turning his thoughts towards the work at hand.

That was something he’d always been good at: focus and calm under pressure. It was what had made becoming a firefighter so appealing. Sure, being a combat medic meant he was more than qualified for field rescues, but all that stoic strength he possessed was better used at work rather than at home. At home, he could be Christopher’s dad. At work, he was Firefighter Diaz.

There was no room for fantasies in Firefighter Diaz’s mind.

The chaos of the accident mostly consisted of cries of pain from passengers trapped in their vehicles as they tried in vain to free themselves before the qualified company could arrive. It wasn’t uncommon to come across a major pile up in the middle of the day, when Angelenos weren’t kept at a complete standstill, and impatient drivers were a staple of life in the LAFD.

Eddie took his orders from Bobby, clearing a path of bystanders for the heavy equipment, and assisting those who were stuck somewhere between freeing themselves and receiving a particularly crude hemicorporectomy. For all the noise, it was a relatively calm affair. Sure, some were screaming and crying – and one woman definitely threw a fit when told to climb out the passenger-side window of her shattered vehicle. But those in need of help received the assistance they required, and the worst injury they encountered was a broken rib and neck bruise from a young man who remained conscious throughout his entire extraction.

It was messy, it was chaotic, it was loud, but it was all right. There were still a few people with minor concussions and bloody wounds that could hopefully be tended to at the scene (most of them unwilling to take the ambulance ride if it wasn’t strictly necessary). He was admittedly a little hyper-focused today, his mind fighting the urge to wander away from its regular duties. Eddie chided himself for feeling so lovesick at work. He’d gone all this time loving Buck, he could handle a few more hours. It was that hyper focus which would be his undoing.

“All right, I think you’re going to be just fine. Head on over to my husband over there and he’ll get you some gauze for your arm.”

An innocent enough sentence – one that didn’t register in his mind through the haze of moving from one patient to the next – but one that only fed into that dangerous fantasy of his.

“What did you call Buck?”

And one that Chimney had apparently heard loud and clear.

Eddie blinked, as he kept his eyes trained on the man before him (some poor bystander who’d bumped his head when he’d stumbled backwards to avoid the oncoming collisions), determined to remain professional in the face of his own idiocy.

Clicking his penlight on with a little too much enthusiasm, he shook the device over his patient’s face. “Can you look up, sir?” Eddie felt his coworker’s eyes trained on him but he kept his focus on his work. As he continued his examination, Chimney crept closer, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and amusement but still, the ex-soldier remained stoic as ever. Some part of Eddie knew that ignoring his friend now would only lead to a confrontation later but right now, he had work to do. And dividing his attention between his duty and his teasing friends was not how he wanted to spend his afternoon. So, he stayed focused. After a few moments, he saw Chimney shake his head and move away, letting Eddie take a much-needed breath of relief.

He was safe from his own stupid brain. For now.

Eddie knew it was coming when Chimney let him be during the rest of their scene cleanup. It was inevitable; but knowing and experiencing were two entirely separate matters.

“So.” Chimney wore what could only be described as a ‘shit-eating grin’ as he began his sentence, pulling all eyes in the back of the truck to him. “Is there something that Buck and Eddie would like to tell us?”

Buck, innocent as ever, turned to Eddie for guidance. “No…?” Eddie could only stare out the window, sorely tempted to remove his headphones if only to prolong the inevitable conversation. Was he blushing or was his face simply burning from the inside out?

“Are you sure?” The man was unrelenting, his voice growing higher with his escalating amusement. As if giving them a chance to confess would be easier than Chimney spilling the truth.

Not that there was any truth to confess. There was just one, very, very, idiotic man who got one simple crush and couldn’t keep it in his pants.

“Chim, what’s going on?”

There were two options Eddie faced in this moment where his head filled with warning sirens (not dissimilar to the ones that normally filled the truck). He could come clean and confess his sins to the team, facing the consequences with what meager amount of dignity he had left. Or, he could lie and pretend Chimney had misheard him, and they could all go about their day. That seemed the safer option. Of course, he hated lying to his team – to his friends – but what was the alternative?

“I called Buck my husband at the scene.”

Apparently, the alternative was exclaiming his idiocy in front of his teammates and denying the flash of a smile on his partner’s face. It was a simple upturn twitch of his lip, hardly noticeable, but the only opinion that mattered to Eddie as he gave his confession was from the man sitting across from him – and he was decidedly attuned to Buck’s ever-changing expressions. On a normal day, he enjoyed the way their knees bumped as the truck bounced through the streets of Los Angeles; it was just another reminder of how connected they were. Now, it made the space between them feel too close – yet still not close enough.

Buck’s face, upon hearing the news that Eddie had tied them together in the mind of some random stranger, flickered once before falling to something neutral and curious (almost amused). As if he was studying something.

“Oh, I don’t mind.” His partner shrugged and Eddie’s heart stopped. “Were they hitting on you?”

Again, Eddie appeared at a crossroads. “No.” And chose the more embarrassingly honest answer.

“Were they hitting on me?”

“No.” So many forks in his path but he continued to veer in one direction, as Buck furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Then why did you”

“I don’t know.” Eddie tried to sound casual as he grumblingly cut him off before he could continue his innocent interrogation. Through the headset, he could hear Chimney snort in disbelief but his eyes remained solely locked on his partner.

He knew why Chimney might scoff at his dismissal – those type of slipups didn’t ‘just happen’, after all – but it was as close to the truth as he could muster. He didn’t know why he’d said what he said. His mind was still frazzled from long hours contemplating what he wanted and what he felt.

Apparently, his subconscious had taken over and now he had his answer.

An answer which was decidedly too large to attempt to unpack while he was still on duty.

He wanted Buck to be his husband. He was ready to get married again – and to his best friend, no less. All wonderful information to process at another time.

The rest of the trip back to the station was filled with noise: the roar of the engine, the shout of the horn when someone inevitably cut them off, the clank of metal against metal. Eddie’s head was silent. He stared out the window at the passing world, feeling the eyes of his partner drilling into his cheek for a time, and then return to his phone. No one spoke, but the absence of voice was deafening. Teasing or pestering would have been better than the juxtaposing silence that told him everyone knew what he’d meant.

Buck had given him every out for his little mistake and, instead, Eddie had barreled straight into his own demise. There was no other explanation as to why he’d said what he said: he’d meant it. Or wanted to mean it, rather. Sure, his dirty little secret had been outed, but Buck had yet to make a comment one way or the other.

I don’t mind.

One friend helping out another: that was what it meant to Buck. And he loved that. But there was no mistaking now what Eddie felt in his heart.

He wanted it to mean something else.

Climbing out of the truck at the end of their journey was harder than usual. The silent stares wouldn’t stop because they were back at the station, it would only be worsened by the fact that there was nothing else to focus on. Eddie never prayed for a call – and he still wouldn’t now – but if there was any mercy in the world, he could avoid all of his friends and co-workers for the rest of their shift.

Simple enough.

“Hey.” Eddie cursed at the familiar voice following him towards the cubbies. Naturally, they were alone, naturally, there was no real excuse to leave – and apparently, he’d decided to suppress his ability to tell white lies for the sake of his pride today – naturally, his heart pounded behind his eyelids as Buck stopped jogging in front of him.

“I just want to say…” and here came the inevitable turndown Eddie dreaded and secretly hoped would never come. “It’s okay, I get it.” Buck’s smile was small but sincere. That man couldn’t be anything less than sincere.

It’s one of the reasons why I lo-

“It was just a slip of the tongue,” Eddie cut off his own thoughts before they betrayed him the way his subconscious had. He needed at least some of his faculties to survive the day. “Don’t worry about it.”

He stepped to the side, intending to escape his own personal hell – was it always this hot in the station? Did they always stand so close to one another? How had he never realized his feelings before now? – but Buck blocked his path.

“No, really, it’s fine.” Was Buck blushing now? “I kind of think of you as my work-husband, too.”

Another perfect opportunity for an out. He could flounder excuses about being tired and meaning it in a work-related setting the way Buck implied.

“Right.” His words sounded weak to his own ears. Who knew what they sounded like to Buck, as the man finally let him pass. Freedom secured, Eddie quickened his pace so as to escape the curious eyes of his fellow crewmates as quickly as possible.

Or at least, that was the plan, until Buck called out: “But you know, I’m free tonight if you wanted to talk about it.”

It felt as though the world stopped spinning – but the distant sound of clanking cutlery from the loft reminded him that it had not. His stomach dropped into his shoes, and his skin burst into flames from the buzzing in his ears. Eddie pivoted on his heel slowly to face his partner, uncertain he’d even heard the words he’d said. But there was Buck, blushing as brightly as he felt, but smiling a much more lopsided grin.

“Talk about what?” He cautiously asked.

Buck moved first, filling the minimal space Eddie had put between them with his broad chest and bright, eager eyes. He smelled of smoke and pine (despite interacting with neither today) and a thin sheen of sweat made him appear more disheveled than perhaps he was. Had he always been so intoxicating? What were they talking about?

“About being husbands… outside of work.”

“What?” Now Eddie was certain that he’d misheard his friend.

Buck simply smirked in response to his question, eyes moving slowly over Eddie’s face. He was always examining, questioning, confident. He had been doomed from the start.

“Christopher’s in bed at eight, right?”

“We’re pushing it to eight-thirty.” His mouth moved on autopilot, too stunned to comprehend the sudden shift in subject.

Again, Buck’s blue eyes circled his face slowly, absorbing all Eddie’s focus as he felt himself physically affected from the mere sight of his partner with his knowing grin and wandering eye. So entranced was he, that he didn’t notice how closely the other man had leaned into his space until he felt his hot breath against his skin. Eddie swallowed the lump in his throat.

He was absolutely doomed.

When Buck spoke, his tongue danced along his teeth, an enticing show of some unfulfilled fantasy that had never occurred to Eddie in the first place.

“Then I’ll be there at eight-thirty-one.”

Buck’s flirtatious demeanor melted into a giddy smile that snapped through the tension he’d pulled between them. “I was a little- a lot worried you didn’t feel the same.” He confessed, still filling Eddie’s space with his infectious energy. One word from him, and Eddie melted.

“You…were…” No more words filled his mind beyond a string of victorious swears and the sound of panicked cheering, but Buck seemed to understand him nonetheless. Buck had always understood him.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

If he hadn’t been so preoccupied with using the truck to keep his legs underneath him, he would have turned to see Buck walk away, pumping his fist in excitement. As it was, several crewmembers looked on from the balcony, shaking their heads at the pair of idiots acting like lovesick teenagers over a single date.

Chimney shooed them all away before taking the opportunity to shout: “Buck, tell your husband that lunch is ready.” Which earned him more than a few chuckles from the firefighters upstairs, and two overexaggerated groans from the men below.

They were definitely not going to be living this down for a while.

For once, Eddie didn’t mind – and if the grin plastered on Buck’s face for the rest of the shift was any indication, neither did he.

[maldito-arbol]

Let’s talk about zodiacs and TPN Part 1

This is largely inspired by the fact that I talk about the characters’ zodiacs nonstop in the fanfic I’m working on for my tpn witch au, and I’ve been chortling to myself the entire time about how well some of them fit their sign and how some of them just... don’t. I’m going to simply infodump about each character, their sign, element, and some attributes they fit to a t while others don’t make sense. I will also touch on compatibility for all you shippers out there, don’t worryyy. Now this isn’t at all a critique or review of the characters themselves— I know astrology is not the first thing authors consider when choosing character birthdays, if they even do at all, this is simply me rambling about my hyperfixation and projecting onto fictional characters like we all do.

A couple last notes— one character in particular (cough cough Ray) has a different “canon” birthdate from “actual” so I’ll discuss both. Also, while I will be doing surface level research to make sure I’m not talking out of my ass, im not a professional astrologist, I’m simply a witch with an enthusiasm for zodiacs. Well then, without further ado, let’s talk about the kiddos.

Emma

Birthdate: August 22nd

Sign: Leo

Element: Fire

An overview: The funniest thing to me about Emma is that she’s literally the epitome of a Leo. Fire signs are generally very outgoing and energetic—they talk a lot and tend to be the leaders of the packs. Leos in particular are incredibly admirable and truly know their way around a conversation. If I ever wanted to get stuck in an elevator for 48 hours with no wifi or connection to the outside world and only one random stranger to talk to for the entire duration, I would pick a Leo in a heartbeat. Emma is very much the leader-type, she’s someone everyone pauses and listens to when she calls for their attention, and she always prefers to talk her way out of conflict rather than fight—but not in an underhanded manipulative way, no, Leos are very genuine with their feelings and will be upfront about their reasons for their actions.

Take this scene between Emma and Leuvis for example— this to me is about the closest to perfect of a summary of what Leos are like, and how Emma fits her sign beautifully.

She doesn’t want to fight, but she will if she has to—for the good of her friends and the good of humanity. She can stick to her ideals and yet extend a hand to the enemy anyway. This is what makes Leos such a force to be reckoned with in leadership roles.

Compatibility and ships: I know I know, this is the part you’re most excited about. I’m going to attempt to refrain from sharing my opinion on each ship itself, I will simply point out which have the highest compatibility levels. First of all, essentially all signs are most compatible with 1. Other signs of the same element and 2. Their compliment sign, their elemental opposite.

Since Emma is a fire sign, she’s generally compatible with other fire signs (Sagittarius, Aries, and of course Leo) as well as Air signs (Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra). So speaking broadly, she’s compatible of course with Norman as an Aries, as well as Ray IF he truly is an Aquarius. But if we narrow it down a little bit, I should mention that fire signs being fire signs can often clash with each other because both their energies are so high (personal experience lmao), and therefore their elemental opposite, air, are generally the way to go. Usually you’ll find on astrological charts and sites that Leos are most compatible with Geminis and Aquariuses, so Ray again if he is an Aquarius, and then we bring Violet into the picture because she’s a Gemini. (Uh, speaking as a Gemini, Leos are my favorite people to date, and I always seem to crush on them as well. I have a problem. A Leo problem.) I’m so sorry Gilemma shippers but fire and earth signs are like the worst combo, I don’t know how this happened because I love Gilemma with all my heart. The stars simply did not align for us this time

Norman

Birthdate: March 21st

Sign: Aries

Element: Fire

Overview: okay listen. I didn’t believe Norman was an Aries at first because he’s not as high energy as most fire signs, but then the more I thought about it, the more it just makes sense. The most key trait to an Aries is loyalty. They are so incredibly loyal and caring to the people they love that they often neglect themselves in the process. They can be very quick to anger if someone hurts or insults their friend, and are unafraid to start a fight or commit morally gray or even black actions in service of their loved ones. Point is you don’t mess with an Aries’ family or friends. You will get burned.

All the loyalty applies to Norman so incredibly well—the way that his plans and actions revolve entirely around Emma and Ray, and the way that he sacrifices himself for their escape even though he’s terrified of dying. But even more so this loyalty strikes you in the face when he returns as William Minerva, willing and committed to full on genocide all to keep his friends alive and safe. As I’ve said Aries are quick to anger, which seemingly isn’t very present in cool-headed, thoughtful Norman, but then you remember this:

Look at his expression. Even if he doesn’t easily lose his cool, when he does it’s terrifying. So essentially Norman is a much more subtle Aries— he’s not in your face aggressive or full of energy, but he has all the hidden signs. So yeah, I honestly can’t think of any other sign that describes him better. Norman is an Aries.

Compatibility and ships: being a fire sign and all, Norman’s compatibility is actually very similar to Emma’s. He’s compatible with other Fire signs (Sagittarius, Leo, and Aries) as well as Air signs (Libra, Aquarius, and Gemini). Speaking broadly that makes him compatible with Emma and Ray again, but narrowing it down Aries are much better in general with Libras and Leos so congrats Noremma shippers you won.

Ray

“Canon” Birthdate: January 15th

“Actual” Birthdate: February 5th

“Canon” sign: Capricorn

“Actual” sign: Aquarius

“Canon” Element: Earth

“Actual” Element: Air

Overview: alright Ray is a bit of a mixed bag to unpack. Because it’s been stated that Ray’s January 15th birthday is not his actual birthday outside of the source material, then it’s reasonable for me to count both birthdays because people have different ideas of what’s canon and what’s not. Interestingly enough though, Ray does indeed fit well enough into both the Capricorn and Aquarius signs, however I personally believe one shows through him better than the other.

We’ve been talking about fire signs for Emma and Norman so it’s finally time to dive into two other elements! We’ll start with Capricorn then, the Earth sign. The most important thing to remember is that the Earth signs are the most grounded and practical. If you want someone who can give you logical and rational advice, your best bet would be the Earth signs (Air signs are also good at this but this ain’t about them. Although you will notice some overlap in traits between these two, particularly in Capricorns and Aquariuses).

We can already see the ‘practical’ side show through in Ray by the way he hyperfocuses on taking Norman and Emma to escape but insists on leaving the other kids behind. This isn’t to say he doesn’t feel for them, on the contrary, Earth signs are indeed very in tune with their emotions and empathy, but Capricorns really know how to set that part of them aside in favor of the calm and certain route. They like tangible solutions, things they can grasp with the least amount of risk, and they’re very resistant to changes—like giant rocks. This is also noticeable in how Ray gets so very flustered by Norman and Emma’s impulsivity. He clashes with both of them because Earth signs prefer to take things slow while Fire signs just like to make a leap and hope for the best.

Note how Emma says “not that I mind...” meanwhile Ray is out here going “I MIND!!” Which we learn is because of his identity as the spy. He’s got his own plan and a tangible solution to shoot for, and Norman and his impulsivity and Emma going along with it is messing everything up. Thus, he forcibly retakes control of the situation via making a deal with Norman after the traitor is revealed. Very Capricorn stuff.

And if you want an image that just completely sums up the Capricorn in Ray, here you go:

On the OTHER hand, if we’re to go off Ray’s “actual” birthdate, which was so lovingly calculated by Tempo, then we get Aquarius Ray, the Air sign. The most important things to note about the air signs is that they’re the thinkers—the farthest from impulsive, they’re the least in tune with their emotions, and they are oh so horribly indecisive. Where Earth signs will be able to give advice that adheres to both logic and emotion, Air signs stick purely to logic. Where Earth signs are able to make calm and rational decisions, Air signs will agonize over options and often find themselves lost, searching perpetually for a solution with no cracks in it. Hello. I’m an Air sign. :’))

I’m gonna come right out and say it. I hate Aquarius men. Aquarius women and enby folks, they’re great. But Aquarius men? I may, as a Gemini, get along with them in surface level casual conversation, but behind every Aquarius man’s back is a Mal waiting to strangle him the moment I am given the opportunity. I’m so sorry Ray my son but you are not an Aquarius okay. Alright. Well, let’s just talk about the parts of him that do fit Aquarius.

So from the very start Ray is obviously a thinker, someone who considers his options very carefully before he makes a decision, and someone who hates making choices based solely on emotion. In fact, he hates expressing emotions at all. Aquariuses are very good at repressing or hiding their emotions behind other emotions (most air signs are). The most common way to do this is to put up a wall of either numbness or full-on rage. We can see both in Ray.

Instead of showing vulnerability in a healthy way, he would rather do that. Ok cool Ray.

Aquariuses can also be very quiet people, and Ray’s pretty dang quiet for most of the series too. They’re the intellectuals you know are intellectuals even though they aren’t up in your face about it. Their reserved nature makes them 10x scarier when they’re genuinely angry, because boy can an Aquarius rage.

The thing about Aquarius Ray for me here is that while Ray does indeed have Aquarius energy, it’s not the Core of Ray. To me he’s so much more of an Earth sign, so therefore I diagnose Ray with Capricorn.

Compatibility and ships: ok this is a mixed bag again. Now if you got Aquarius Ray then of course he’s compatible with other Air signs (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius) and Fire signs (Leo, Aries, and Sagittarius), which would make him compatible with Norman and Emma for sure, as well as probably Ayshe for you Rayshe shippers because my personal HC is Aquarius Ayshe.

If you’ve got Capricorn Ray, then Capricorns are compatible with other earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) and their compliment water signs (Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio), though they’re best with Cancers and Tauruses. So yes, Anna is a Taurus, which makes Rayanna a compatible pair. But guess who’s a Cancer. Don. ALL MY RAYDON SHIPPERS GET OUT HERE YOU COWARDS IM CALLING YOUR NAME. YOU WIN THE SHIP GAME.

Gilda

Birthdate: May 13th

Sign: Taurus

Element: Earth

Overview: So again with the practical and grounded Earth signs. Tauruses now, are the most stubborn of them, which can be a little irritating at times, but it’s also a great asset when you consider how reliable they truly are. They’re bulls, which makes them solid and difficult to move, and you can always fall back on them when you’ve leapt too far ahead. Gilda is of course the epitome of reliable, and her stubbornness does show through at times—like when she’s the one person against Emma going out into danger all the time, constantly trying to talk her down into a more practical and certain solution. She’s also the first to attempt to bring Emma to see Ray’s side of the escape plan, which is very earth sign of both of them good job guys.

Compatibility and ships: I know I know I’m still upset Gilemma isn’t compatible astrologically but we can talk about other Gilda ships! Tauruses are most compatible with other earth signs (Capricorn, Virgo, and Taurus) and water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces) which makes her compatible with our other lovely Taurus, Anna! Gilanna shippers unite. But they’re best with Cancers and Scorpios, which means Gildon is is at highest compatibility.

Don

Birthdate: July 4th

Sign: Cancer

Element: Water

Overview: HEY YALL ITS TIME TO TALK ABOUT MY LEAST FAVORITE SIGNS: W A T E R. (I’m sorry my water friends, I’m sure you’re lovely, but as an air sign I am always extremely suspicious of water signs at first meeting because our compatibility is so low it might as well not exist) So the water signs are at the absolute highest emotional level. This can make them extraordinarily kind and nurturing, but it can also make them absolutely unreasonable and destructive. None is this more present than in Cancers, one of the most sensitive signs, but also one of the most empathetic. We can tell very clearly in Don that he wears his emotions on his sleeve—he’s unafraid to cry or show his anger, but he also takes very good care of his younger siblings and shows such an intense concern for them that it can become frightening.

He’s such a good boy 🥺

Compatibility and ships: okay so same drill, Cancers are generally compatible with other Water signs (Scorpio, Pisces, and Cancer) as well as Earth signs (Taurus, Capricorn, and Virgo) though their highest compatibility is with Tauruses and Capricorns. So again. GILDON AND RAYDON SHIPPERS R I S E.

God I’m so sorry if I cause a ship war. I rambled for too long and I’m very tired, so you only get these five characters for now. BUT! That’s why it’s a part 1. If you want more please feel free to harass me in my ask inbox about the characters you want me to overanalyze the signs of. Gemini out!

[youwontlikethisblog]

Betty, My Betty! Part 2

Okay as I'm writing this I'm rewatching this scene over and over to make sure that I'm picking up the vibes correctly.

After all the entire point of my commentary is to digest what the writer, Fernando Gainta, the director and actors wanted us to know.

We're still in the same time frame of Armando finding out Betty has a boyfriend, though to the audience we are fully aware that Nicolas is just Betty's friend and the person she used to disguise her crush on Armando, in other words, Betty's true love is Armando and he doesn't know that but believes that Nicolas is which feeds the cycle of paranoia this man has.

The day between Marcela and Armando started off estranged due to their argument the night before. Though at first they seemed to tolerate each other when Marcela went to yell at Betty for the checks not being in cash, like she said she had told her, Armando went to Betty's aid and yelled at Marcela(in the hall before she made it to Betty's office) and then he got the worse news of his life and has been on a rollar coaster of emotions.

In this first scene I'll be talking about: Marcela enters Armando's office, pissed off. Her eyes are shooting bullets at Armando and his voice is.. how do I say nonchalant but annoyed? It's mostly an oxymoron.She's asked about the money. He does have a sharp tone as he tells her "My love, I just signed the papers for her to do that." His eyes aren't behind as he too is shooting bullets at his fiance.

I have a love hate relationship with Marcela. One moment I really like her and the next I could strangle her, not enough to actually do it but enough to imagine it.

Marcela has her arms folded in front of her looking apprehensive while shifting on her feet and shaking. Not only does her tone of voice allow us to pick up on her mood, so does her body language. She truly dispieses Betty.

I want to add here that the previous night when Marcela insulted Betty as she was leaving you could tell Betty was upset and not only because of the insults towards her and Marcela insulting her work ethics and role in the company but she stared dead at Armando as if also upset at him. I placed myself in her shoes and my inner monologue was "If only this dude could keep it in his pants and stop being such a whore so I wouldn't get told that I don't do what my father paid for me to study and instead I'm his pimp that would me great! I hate this and you." because we do see Betty being level headed and understanding where Marcela is coming from though Marcela also never makes Armando take accountability for his infidelity which is annoying on both their parts.

Back to this scene.

Armando glares at her and says "Can you give me a second, my love?" he mocks at the end. In the next frame we see Marcela rolling her eyes, arms folded in front of her and our dear and sweet(this is sarcastic) Mario Calderon sticking to the shadows observing and inspecting everything silently. This is important to take into account as this is what allows him to be such a good manipulator because you're not even aware that he's doing it.

Armando without taking his eyes off of Marcela then yells for Betty, twice and Betty runs towards him and in her very sweet and calm voice says "Yes Sir?". I've seen this scene one too many times because I often rewind to study certain scenes, even before I started to write these post and it wasn't until now that I paid attention to Marcela's reaction.

Once again Armando has eyes on Marcela the entire time. Not even when Betty enters the room does he turn to look at her. His tone continues to be strong, allowing us to know that the frustration or anger he's feeling is not directed towards Betty here but Marcela.

However Marcela(Let me just say the actress is so pretty) is now playing her neck, and rocking on her feet. As Armando says "Tell me, did you get the money for the lady?" Marcela's body language is very interesting. As she goes to rub her chin and sports a smirk on her face.

I'm trying to understand why she would react that way as just a second ago she was fuming and then annoyed because Armando was yelling.

These are my two conclusions:

1) Since her back is towards them she could be assuming that he is directing that tone of voice and anger towards Betty, which would make her happy that Betty is paying the price for their argument.

2) That it brings her joy to anger Armando. In a previous post I talked about how Marcela always seems to be looking for an excuse to lash out at Armando and it could be that she enjoys to get him riled up as she says in some episodes back (the make up seggs is always good) or she just likes making him miserable.

Betty goes to hand her the money and asks her if she'd be kind to sign the papers. Betty, even when Marcela had insulted her, her profession, and her role in the company, speaks to her with respect and kindness. Marcela doesn't even look at her. Instead she just grabs the money and starts counting. Mario is in the background taking it all in.

When Marcela laughs at this and tells her "Ha! Are you suspicious? (insinuating that Betty was calling her a thief) or what?"Mario's eyes grow big as he panics(remember that he is worried that if people yell at Betty she'll turn against them(he too isn't that bright as he later leaves a letter that does just that))

Now Armando's reaction is different as his expression softens and he shifts from being annoyed or angered to now trying to buffer the situation. He goes to say "My love you know perfectly well that's just formality. Stop bothering so much" his eyes are wide, his tone of voice shifts from annoyed to apprehensive and Marcela yells and tells him "Don't scream at me!" and he hisses her "You are unbearable."

Betty is really just standing between the both of them uncomfortable as I would too.

Marcela reminds Armando of what they talked about the previous night and how he hasn't done neither one thing or the other. We get a brief frame of Armando, lips tight in a line in anger to then softening them a bit to stare at Betty. This allows us to know that it is an unpleasant idea, in a sad way, for him to fire Betty or even think about it and not because she's the owner of Eco Moda.

Marcela proceeds to tell him not to expect a different Marcela or for her to be kind and we get music that sounds like the jaws song as she exits the office.

Now Mario has been there the entire time. He hasn't said a single thing or done anything to aid the situation. All he has done is read the room, hear and observe everything and everyone.

This is reminiscent of what we come to see of Armando and Marcela's relationship. This is the day where it is solidified that their relationship is doomed and over with. At least the side of their relationship that kept them off each others throats for long. Where Armando would at least make the effort to talk to her and be open, even when she always turned it around to make it about herself and he always had to swallow down his feelings and comfort her when it was him who needed it. Their relationship had some sort of fighting ground. That's what kept them fighting but if we're being honest here their relationship was mostly based on two people who just enjoyed screwing each other. It wasn't based on love, respect, honesty, or loyalty but based on the commitment to their parents and family and seggs.

When I was in middle school I had this teacher talk to us girls about lust and love and how at our age, which was emotional immaturity, we could assume that because we felt attraction it was love but that they were two different things.

Lust is based on physical wants and needs whilst love is based on emotional and spiritual wants and needs. Love is the desire to give while lust is the desire to receive.

Armando and Marcela have never been in love with each other instead they've been in lust with each other except one mistakes this lust for love and mistakes love for possession.

Knowing to tell these things apart in our romantic life helps us establish a healthy relationship and sadly Marcela hasn't learned to tell these two things apart and this scene shows us that very well. Their relationship is doomed and there is no going back because she asked for the head of the person who is changing the life of Armando Mendoza and not just professionally and economically but in a mental and emotional way and though he isn't aware of that yet his subconscious is and it's made up its mind.

As Mario proceeds to ask him what she's talking about he[Armando] tells him that Marcela asked for Betty's head. We then see Betty standing by her closed office door listening in.

Mario asks shocked "What?" because of course, how could he allow Marcela to ask for the head of the secret owner of Eco Moda?

Again our dear and stupid Armando is in another planet, or solar system, point is he isn't in the same wavelength that Mario is in. He goes to explain that Marcela thinks Betty is his accomplice and fixes him up with his dates which then leads to Mario frantically telling him that she's crazy and he can't contemplate that option.

Armando again is biting his thumb nail, he's nervous but agrees and his mood changes drastically. He looks determined as he tells Mario "I know, I know. Look, no one is going to touch Betty!"(in spanish he says "Nadie me va a tocar a Betty" making it possessive that no one will take Betty from him) and we get a cut to Betty hearing him say that.

Here's the important thing to note throughout this scene. Armando's body language and his reaction is shown directed towards Marcela, not Betty. While Mario directs the topic to Betty being the new owner of Eco Moda, therefore shouldn't be yelled at or fired, Armando is sticking to the emotional aspect of it all. How could he fire the girl who is unconditional and loyal to him? How can he fire the girl he likes? and most importantly that no one is taking his Betty away from him. Be that Marcela asking for her head(he's willing to pay the price and whatever Marcela throws at him but he isn't firing her) or Nicolas Mora being her boyfriend.

What makes this concrete? When he tells Mario that Marcela is just taking advantage of the situation with Claudia and that she's always wanted Betty out it shows us hIS thought process. He isn't concerned over Betty being the new owner. If he were he'd mentioned it, just like Mario has. He would say "Marcela isn't aware she's the new owner but we are and I can't fire her." but those words never escape his mouth, even in secrecy with Mario. However, Mario does say those words even when Betty is in the room over or at least insinuates it.

Fast-forward a bit we get a scene of Claudia picking up a bottle of an alcoholic beverage and we get a clean cut to Armando pouring himself a drink. The parallel would be Claudia is drinking because she is heartbroken due to Armando kicking her out of his office so angrily the previous night and then we have Armando pouring himself a drink in the same time frame, he is stressed and he has started to drink more in the past few days but the back to back scenes with the same music tell us that he's also drinking due to a broken heart.

Armando can't catch a break right now.

Again this isn't speculation as when Mario point that out and tells him that it's too early to be drinking Armando gives him a list of excuses saying "Don't you think I've got a pretty sinister day today? Marcela and I are at each other's throats and today is the new[collection] launch. Plus! In that hotel there's a crazy model waiting for me and I don't know what she's going to do when I get there" The problems go escalating little by little as he list them and then he says "and on top of that, on top of everything-" when we say that phrase it means that we've already established we've got problems but what makes all those problems worse, what makes your situation worse is the next problem you're about to list which is the worst. His tone goes from being frustrated like he was naming the other problems to bringing his voice down and in a solemn tone saying "My Betty, has a boyfriend." he then proceeds to say that they are in his[Nicolas aka Betty's eternal love] hands.

Now one again could argue that his concern is Eco Moda because now he is untrustful of Betty and Nicolas with Eco Moda and I will argue back that the writing tells us otherwise.

[Read my two previous post regarding this because it makes it clear that the writer wanted us to know that Armando did trust Betty and Nicolas previous to the knowledge that Nicolas is Betty's eternal love.(I like to say that because I imagine that's what Armando hears in his head when he thinks of Nicolas)]

Had that been his concern he would have said this: 'Don't you think I've got a pretty sinister day? Tonight is the launch for the new collection, there's a crazy model waiting for me at the hotel and I don't know what she's going to do to me when I get there and plus we're in Betty and Nicola's hands now because I've lost the company and on top of that Marcela and I are at each other's throats!' but he continues to hang onto the fact that Betty, his Betty, has a boyfriend which is his biggest concern next to Nicolas existing.

His anguish is that: Betty has a boyfriend.

His concern is that: The boyfriend works in Terra Moda.

His pain in the butt is: Marcela is at his throat asking for Betty's head.

Mario then tells him that he won't deny that he is worried about Betty's situation but that they need to handle the situation delicately and that Armando cannot judge her for it. Cut to a frame of Armando staring at his glass of whisky to squinting his eyes at Mario; who then tells Armando not to criticize Betty's personal life. Again Mario is trying to keep Armando from pushing Betty against them in turn taking away the company.

"You can't question her for not telling you about the boyfriend. You can't take away your trust!" he hisses at the end.

Armando's eyes are the main reaction we get here as the rest of his face is covered by the whisky glass he had in hand. His eyes narrow. He is concentrating on what Mario is telling him and is paying attention to him.

This is setting ground for the later manipulation as Armando begins to do this a lot.

The music changes to a more intriguing one. Mario stands up and leans towards Armando on the desk and whispers "you know what we have to do? What we have to do is to really figure out who he is, what he does and what kind of person he is before we start to panic."

Now who is Nicolas?

We know he is Betty's oldest friend and longest friendship and that he cares about Betty. He went to defend her against Roman and his friends even when he got hit for it. We know that he is protective of her and besides having a crush on a woman we know and he knows bullies and mistreats Betty, he is a good friend to Betty.

He prioritizes her feelings and he does anything to make her happy. Even going along with Betty's lies and schemes.

He tries to advise her to put everyone in their place when they abuse her for her looks when she becomes the owner of Eco Moda, once again showing us that he wants Betty's best interest and doesn't like that people treat her poorly. He is naive and somewhat dumb when it comes to real life problems like dating and social interactions.

Personally I find Nicolas endearing and I think Nicolas has always been very kind to Betty and always done his best to put a smile on her face.

He does let himself get distracted with the idea of riches and he brags about what he doesn't have but even then Nicolas is still morally and ethically correct. He has those tendencies and desires but he never goes through with them because his love for Betty and his loyalty to her keep him from it.

Nicolas is a good person flaws and all.

We know this, Betty knows and Armando knows this.

How are we sure he knows this?

Betty herself said to him "He is my other me" I don't have to breakdown what that means because we know she means that he is basically the same person within that she is therefore, Armando knows who Nicolas is and his distrust isn't based on Nicolás taking the company away. When he said that they were now in his hands he could have meant "Betty is in his hands".

It's important once again to understand this because it isn't until later that day that he finds out about what Mariana told Betty, again we know that Nicolas is the alias Betty uses for Armando, but he doesn't know this.

Right now his true anguish is that Betty has a boyfriend and that boyfriend is Nicolas Mora, an object of disdain to him now and we understand his mistrust isn't based on Eco Moda and what they could do to it but that Nicolas is Betty's boyfriend and he can take her away from him.

It isn't until after Bertha tells him everything Mariana said about Betty and her eternal love(I am referring to the real one being Armando) that he begins to distrust Nicolas as an individual(without Betty) who can "manipulate" Betty with love to turn against them and this then shows the true disgusting nature that two egocentric and selfish people will show.

Armando did use Betty to secure Eco Moda and it is wrong. Mario thought that the only way a girl like Betty could ever get anyone interested in her or get someone to love her was only on interest of money. However and I need to remind you of this, Armando had another reason to go with the plan and it wasn't just that he is a disgusting human being at this point of the novela, but he subconsciously already liked Betty. He already had feelings for her that he didn't understand and he tried to justify for other things.

My personal theory regarding this topic is that Armando in a sense thought he was saving the company and Betty. He thought that by going along with this plan to make Betty fall in love with him he was saving her from Nicolas, who didn't truly love or care about Betty in his opinion and was only going to use her for the money but unlike him [Nicolas] Armando did care for her even if he didn't understand how and the depths of his feelings towards Betty. So he killed two birds with one stone.

He would secure that Nicolas wouldn't convince Betty to take away Eco Moda by promising her love and that Nicolas didn't take Betty away from him therefore saving Betty from pain.

I still haven't gotten to those episodes, I have seen them so I'm going off by memory but again, these three minute or five minute scenes give so much information. Fernando Gaitan did a tremendous job with foreshadowing and parallels(also the actors all have so many ticks that identify their moods that it's so fun to watch!) that it's really fun to pick apart these scenes because they have later consequences in the following episodes.

This post is already long enough lol so I will make another post about this same episode.

[kira-fluff]

hi! so I was wondering if you'd be able to do a hc for MC having a disability? i haven't seen any and I myself have something that makes my hip turned in, I have a big ports wine stain up my right leg which just makes me look like red tie dye. I was wondering how the RFA would help or deal with it? i can't run and walking hurts sometimes and I'm in pain most of the time and just have spasms where I can't move. if it's too much sorry, but thank you if you do ❤️!

MC with a Disability

a/n: I would LOVE too! As someone who is a huge disability advocate it makes me so happy that I received this request!! :) I wasn’t sure whether you wanted varied disabilities, but I assumed I’d include yours because you specified, but let me know if you want another headcanon featuring other disabilities!! Also, again, I have updated my rules limiting RFA requests to four people so I will choose based on what I feel like writing, but since your request came before I updated my rules and faqs, I would be happy to cover anyone you specifically would like to read about!! 

- 

Saeyoung

It didn’t take long for Saeyoung to notice the pain you tried to hide

He remembered when he’d pulled you in for a side hug while you were walking

Muttering a silly pun in your ear 

But you didn’t laugh 

Instead, you sucked in a breath through your teeth

Holding back a cry out in pain 

He immediately stopped 

“Hey, babe, are you okay?” he leaned down in concern 

You gasped for another breath, “yeah, yeah I’m fine.” 

It was then Saeyoung recalled the medical records he discovered 

When he was performing a background check on you upon discovering you were in Rika’s apartment

“Oh my gosh y/n i’m so sorry!” 

You looked at his surprised, “you know about…?” 

“When V ordered me to do a background check I found your medical records. I shouldn’t have looked. I’m sorry”, he said, playing with his hair at the nape of his neck.

This man would do his UTMOST to make sure you’re always comfortable 

He’s never shy talking about how beautiful your special mark was

When you’d had a spasm attack, he panicked

Gaining his composure, he stroked your hair, assuring you everything would be okay 

LOTS OF CUDDLES 

He’d definitely carry you if you’d let him 

Little kisses on your thighs and legs

I think he’d nickname you “precious” 

I know it 

Saeran 

So very gentle 

He knows how strong you are, but disability or no, he’s going to treat you like a flower that could be crushed 

He loves you so much 

It almost broke him to watch you struggle to walk or cry tears of pain when you’d tried to run but couldn’t 

He adores you 

Saeran is a really good listener 

He knows what it’s like not to be heard 

So when you’d sat down with him and told him about your disability, he almost cried 

Not out of pity, of course, but because you were so, so strong. 

He honestly looks to you as a source of strength for himself 

When crippling anxiety takes over him, you ground him 

If we’re talking mental disabilities, Saeran has many, so he knows what it’s like (to an extent) to not feel like others 

But that never stopped either of you 

He’s a little bean honestly 

Soft compliments 

Ice cream dates 

You can’t probably comprehend how precious you are to him 

Jumin 

Jumin is spending bills like “If it’s hurting you I will help you alleviate your pain” 

He never wants to see you suffer 

Especially when you are just trying to walk 

Also, as a wine connoisseur I think he’d make a really bad joke about your big ports wine stain but it’d just end with an eye roll or pity laugh

He’s all business and trying to be professional 

and then he comes home from work and he is S O F T 

Let’s be honest he’d do anything for you

None of that “if it’s within my power”

he seriously would not hesitate to denominate the world if you so desired. 

Also, he thinks you’re incredibly cute 

But when he sees you attempting to walk but there’s so much pain going throughout your body 

he quickly goes into his serious mode 

He will probably try to convince you to go to the hospital every time you have an attack 

“Y/N, this shouldn’t be something you just have to ‘deal with’.” 

“It’s alright, Jumin.. I’m used to it.” 

He gently held your shoulders, “But it shouldn’t be that way!” 

Tears welled in your eyes, “I know, but what can I do?” 

Jumin held you in a tight hug

“You don’t have to do anything. Just tell me what you need, I’m here.” 

He gently kissed you, looking into your eyes reassuringly. 

“I’m here.” 

V 

V is most well-known for always being a loyal and extremely kind person 

So if you’re his girl

He will be the sweetest ever 

Probably the most well-equipped to handle your disability 

I know he loves photography but something tells me he would/should be a psychology or special ed major 

He has a very caring soul 

I think more than anything he’d spent a lot of time with you just laying on the couch or bed and holding you in his arms

softly stroking your arm as you just reveled in the silence 

Your his everything 

He looks at you when you can’t see him 

A soft smile on his face 

Let’s be honest you’re the focus of his photography now 

He loves your beauty and uniqueness 

He has really cute dimples change my mind 

So when he smiles, his little dimples peek out 

The first time he said he loved you was when he’d rushed you to the hospital during a spasm 

You couldn’t speak from the pain 

So when you sat in the hospital bed he held your hand 

Whispering a quiet, “I love you” 

You gently replied, “I love you, too.”