kresnikcest · 6 months ago
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Asteria Elle commission from yowai401_S on Skeb!
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grison-in-space · 8 months ago
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worker uprisings are not an upside.
I see this rhetoric here all the time, and it drives me up the wall. So you're all getting a good rant here: a worker uprising is not good.
The worker uprisings that bought the NLRB paid for it in blood and lives, and another uprising means that we will have to find the price to buy it again. And there will be families, people, and lives blighted in the meantime. Worker uprisings are not upsides for anyone and they are not fucking consolation prizes. They happen when things go bad, horribly bad, and they generally only result in positive change insofar as they create so much chaos, bloodshed, and disruption that the overall situation has to change. In the mean time, people are still left dead, destitute, and maimed. If we can avert a worker uprising by using nonviolent means of pressure to force accountability, we should do that, because it results in vastly more stable outcomes for everyone. If this pissant, damn-fool shortsighted Supreme Court decision goes through and violence is the only remaining option to enforce change that anyone sees, that is a bad thing.That is not a flood gift. People will die fixing that bullshit. People did die fixing that bullshit!
You know how we got the NLRB the first time, back in 1935?
It took almost fifty years of labor unrest in the United States before we got the NLRB. Let's start with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 (which was majorly disruptive but happened before labor unionizing was widespread). That's a great template for your fucking worker's uprising: there's no union leadership to coordinate fury and direct it properly, so when workers lose their shit after the third goddamn time wages get cut (not "fail to keep the pace of inflation," actually "you get less money now"), they all kind of do things on impulse without thinking much about long term strategy. The fury just erupts. In the case of the Great Railroad Strike, angry workers burned factories and facilities, seized rail facilities, paralyzed commerce networks, and existing power structures panicked and called out militias, National Guard units, and federal troops to forcibly suppress the workers. About a hundred people died.
Let me pop a cut down while I talk about what happened next. Spoiler: there's a lot of violence under the hood coming up, and like all violence, it absolutely sloshes around and hits people who aren't necessarily directly involved in conflicts.
You have continuing incidences of violence over strikes throughout the next several decades as nonviolent strikes are met with violence from pro-employer forces and workers resist with violence back. I can't even list all the violent incidents here that ended in deaths, because they were frequent. The 1892 Coeur d'Alune labor strike broke out into an actual shooting war and resulted in a number of deaths, not to mention months of detainment for six hundred protesting miners; the same year, you have another shooting war kicked off between hundreds of massed paid private Pinkerton security and striking workers in Pittsburgh through the Homestead Strike. Imagine how that's going to go down today.
And the thing about violence like this, and tolerance for violence, is that eventually you just get used to using it to get your way. You actually also do see quite a bit of violence conducted by striking labor workers, sometimes without recent provocation from management. For example, the national International Association of Bridge Structural Iron Workers embarked on a campaign of bombings from 1906-1911 that eventually culminated in a bombing of the office of the LA Times that killed 20 people. Do you want to live in a world where the only way to resolve conflicts like this is to risk someone bombing your office because your boss mouthed off at his cause? Even if he's right, do you want to risk losing your life, your arms, your friend, your sibs, to someone who thinks that the only option available to him to address systematic inequality is violence?
And you think about who really suffers when violence erupts, too. Look at the East St Louis massacre in 1917, when management tries undercutting the local white-run unions by hiring black folks who are systematically excluded by the unions. (If you think labor solidarity is free from the same intersectional forces that hit every other attempt to organize in solidarity for humans, you really need to go back and revisit your history books. We can do better and we should, but when we set up our systems and hope for the future, we have to be clear-eyed about the failures of the past.) Anyway, when labor tensions between white union workers and management's preferred use of cheaper, poorer, less "uppity" black people erupted, the white union workers attacked not management, but the black parts of town. They cut the hoses to the fucking fire department, burned huge swathes of East St Louis belonging to black homeowners, and shot black folks fleeing in the streets.
Money might not trickle down, but violence sure fucking does. The wealthy insulate themselves from violence by employing intermediaries to do all the dirty work for them, or even to venture into any areas that might be dangerous. When we resort to violence as the only way to solve our problems, inevitably the people and communities who pay the highest blood prices are the ones who have the least to provide. You think any of those robber barons are going to wind up on the ground bleeding out? They have their Pinkerton troops for that shit. The worst they lose is money; the rest of us have to stake our bodies and our homes.
No one should look forward to a worker uprising. If the Supreme Court is stupid and short-sighted enough to reduce avenues of worker redress to extra-legal means, the worker uprisings will come back around again, sure enough, and we'll all write our demands in blood once again. But the whole fucking POINT of the NLRB is that the federal government objects to having to sort these things out when they dissolve into open violence, so it sets rules about what the stupid short-sighted greediguts fat cats up top can do to reduce violence erupting again.
Anyway. Best thing I can think of right now is to get a Congressional supermajority in with the eye of imposing limits and curbs on the Court. Because look, I'll march if I need to, but I ain't going to pretend the thought puts a smile in my mouth and a spring in my step. Fuck.
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utilitycaster · 2 years ago
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I want to expand on the role of Brevyn, because I think Madeleine Roux had a really tough task, to humanize Lucien without compromising him as, well, the campaign BBEG who betrayed every last alliance in the pursuit of power, as well as drawing parallels to Molly (and even setting groundwork for Kingsley), and I think she did it wonderfully. I also want to talk about how Brevyn parallels Molly both within the canon and externally, which I honestly don't know is deliberate (the external part; the in-canon part I assume is on purpose but I have to imagine Roux stayed out of fandom things in order to avoid being unwittingly influenced by fanon).
I assume if you're reading this you've read the book but in case you're not, Brevyn is a friend and lover of Lucien's from Shadycreek Run. She's his oldest friend other than Cree, and notably, whereas Cree is always a follower of Lucien, Brevyn is someone Lucien follows. She's why he ends up going to the Claret Orders - she gets kicked out of her mother's house, where Lucien and Cree also often stay, so they all go to the Claret Orders. When the Claret Orders find themselves lacking in contracts, Brevyn is the one who branches out and ultimately builds a working relationship with Vess, and along with Lucien is the one who brings together the original Tombtakers (she and Jurrell die before we meet them in Campaign 2). She ultimately dies trying to retrieve the Somnovem journal for him, of her own accord.
As a result, Brevyn serves something as a lost Lenore, and as the tether that snapped at just the right time. It underscores why Lucien's response to Vess is so particularly brutal, why he became so tied up in the Somnovem in the first place, and because while Brevyn's death, like those of all of the Tombtakers, ultimately is because of the Somnovem, she's the only one who dies purely of her own free will. Lucien forces the rest to follow him, in the end, and lets them die one by one. He neglects his sister in favor of ambition, and then is devastated that she decided to build her own life in his absence and won't leave for a long-lost brother. But Brevyn dies as herself. She's that one last shred of humanity that was not present in what we saw of him in the show. And the shard of Molly latches on to that, understandably, as the one good thing Lucien had, because in the end Lucien is someone we know from Campaign 2 will ultimately leave even Cree, his oldest companion, to die, in order to buy himself a little bit of time. We need one relationship he actually cared about; and that one is Brevyn, with whom he stayed as she died.
Now, the fun thing for me is that the book is written in a third person limited viewpoint. The opinions presented are Lucien's, for the most part, so we see Brevyn through his eyes. She, understandably, becomes idealized to him even though it's clear she's got plenty of flaws (willing to make some sketchy deals with the Assembly, impulsive to the point of adrenaline junkie levels, rather too trusting, ruled heavily by emotion over logic) because, well, he has feelings for her. And then, of course, after she dies, he idealizes her within the narrative, because how could he be anything but loving and generous with the woman who gave her life so he could continue to live?
It's remarkably close to how the fandom and the Mighty Nein themselves responded to Molly's death, with his worst traits, the condescension and fickleness and manipulation, all washed away because he did, in the end, die for them. And this is a pretty common trope, to come up with a far more perfect version of someone after they've died, particularly if they died in a way where it feels like you owe them something, so again, the way it parallels the fandom lionization of Molly might be a happy accident - but it's a really fun metatextual reflection here nonetheless.
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redemptioninterlude · 5 months ago
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👔 //rue
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love languages meme ( accepting ) + @sunxsin // ling send 👔 to adjust my muse’s collar / tie / lapels
it's like, WINTER FORMAL and she's kind of excited. she's never really done the whole pretty dress and prom attire sort of thing, though like, he's convinced her to come try things on. no matter what the end result! at first, she wasn't entirely sure, she knows how ling is, how excited he gets, he's so sweet, isn't he? she already knows he's going to try to buy it for her and make it a whole thing. whatever it is that she ends up liking. but honestly, she's like, not super comfortable with that yet, though, she's kinda happy to know she'll get to see him too, since this is like, a joint effort, or whatever.
he looks like, really good in a suit. she figures that out pretty fast. the way the cut is like, perfect, really tells her how many times he'd done this in his lifetime already at 17 years old. how there aren't many pictures at his place, in the times she's there, when his father is away on business and his mother's gossiping in other wings of that great, cavernous home, but the ones that were there were simply FORMAL AND STIFF. there's no images of him growing up with toys or playing. everything looked as if the shirt were expensive and starched to perfection, his back made so straight, it looked like he'd fall over as soon at the photo had finished being snapped...
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she wonders if he doesn't really like suits because of it. she wants to know, each memory, each piece. how ling has made he feel, like, completely full. she never knew that before. a nervousness stitching within her chest, tongue pressing, resting, against the sharp of her teeth. "you don't have to wear it, if you don't wanna." it comes out like a burst of air, she can't quite keep it in. but god. he says he likes it, it isn't the same WITH HER, and that just... makes her really fucking happy.
with that unease settled, she moves in closer, helping to adjust the tie that's around his neck, still undone, but she knows how to do it. thanks dad. she never thought he'd be like, able to help her with the one in her life time ( WAIT, was he? ), making it all feel a little bit like he was here as a part of things, even in small measure. that too, like, really makes this feel... great. smoothing the knot upwards so that it could nest where it needed to, before rue's tugging at it, impulsive, kissing him with a grin that's hard to defeat.
"seeing how good you look in this kinda makes me wanna wear one," a laughable confession, knowing that he liked it all the same when she wore something like that over halloween. "i might steal that one from you if you're not careful. um... i really, really like this one though. it's got MY VOTE. f-for formal... not for like... president or anything." and suddenly, she's laughing, another kiss. "oh my god. just. ling. ling." baby, oh, darling. "we should hurry up. mom's not home until 9 tonight."
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loneworldgazer · 3 years ago
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boo boos
about: where bonten gets patched up by you.. eh except for a minoorrr error
a/n: i hate writing bonten because it's so damn cliche and "you're the only one i love" type of bs but it's addicting🔫🔫
warnings: mentions of blood and violence, chapter 189-206 spoilers‼️‼️, kissing in kakucho's part
tag tag: @rindousarus, @lucylikesbluehairedmen
(lucy idk who you like in bonten but here you go😭😭)
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sanzu
obviously sanzu is the type to be careless and he sometimes would scratch his face whenever a bastard had a chance to touch him but he easily kills them off
most of the times (would say 3 times), he would be high and it's a completely wrong time for him to be sent off to a mission but he lives the risks of being high so he'll just take whatever the hell mikey gave him
it would be a lot more messier execution and blood would stick and drip down his face while rindou and ran asked him to wash off the stains of his face (no sanzu, doesn't matter if it's the results of your hardwork after pill popping and killing idc)
he eventually does clean off the grime on his face and felt a stinging sensation on his cheek, he touched up everywhere on his face and the scar was lined on the left of his cheek
he sighs with a grin and pressed the wound again and again, feeling the burn of the scar opening and closing
he hums as he slid into your private room to find anything to patch him up or maybe you.. if you could
he peeked from the door way and you were writing down.. who knows? whatever you were writing down was long forgotten when you looked up cause you felt a precense and immediately rushed to sanzu
"cmere you idiot" it's the shocking way to find out, you the partner of sanzu being the bigger person than him. the other members of bonten just watches sanzu being nagged by you like a mother a lot of times when his wild ass doesn't do things right and perhaps one of them let a snicker escape.
you grabbed onto his face gently but quickly pushing him onto a chair and he whistles like a tease to your concerned actions and you grumbled under your breath because of your wreck of a husband. you stopped going through the medkit and paused to look at him, he knows you wanted to pop a question so he tilted his head yo let him know what is it.
"um.. are you okay with hello kitty bandaids?" it was reasonable for him to laugh very loudly because you looked so nervous when you couldn't find any normal bandaids and you didn't say anything when you wiped a clean rag over him. well until he stopped laughing.
"i don't want to make you look like a fool infront of the other members, you clown"
"what are you a kid, why do you even have hello kitty bandaids in the first place hm~?" you told him with a smile threatening to grow on your lips that it was ridiculously cute that you had to buy it. don't waste your chance before it's out of stock <33
so he agrees,
one of the many things that his sweet partner can intoduce him is wearing hello kitty bandaids that fits his hair colour
he DOES NOT give two shits if any of bonten were to make fun of him, he doesn't care if he had to be called preschooler or that you were sending him to school but all that matters is to be showy with his glamarous bandaids that he had so he could remember that sweet expression on your face when he decides to wear them
it's completely okay if you called him extra because you know this man has the audacity to ask if you had hello kitty bandages if his arms bled
extra!!:
"sanzu, do you think this is a fashion show" you deadpanned at him when you see him sneaking on bandaids on his face, to what show you? because you know damn we this fool is wasting precious stuff during the time he won't need it.
he slowly starts peeling off another one when you start scolding him, giving empty threats on how you'll wrap him up in bandages to bury him later and the time you turn around again is where he quickly pushed the sticky bandaid on you.
"there, we're matching!" he points at the mirror or better he shifts you towards the mirror by grabbing your waist and loosely hugging it when you look at the glass when both you and sanzu had the cute bandaid on both your noses.
perhaps you shouldn't rub your temples and stress about this a lot because your husband will not take this seriously.
mikey
this was a boss we're talking about so mikey had to intervine because this smart group of asses are actually breaking into bonten's bank, carefully taken care by the haitani brothers
the boss got held at gun point before the last few seconds of his breath to get him to spill but mikey got impatient and accidently killed him too soon
mikey gripped the gun in frustration that his fingers could form a bruise with how hard he's holding it, an unfortunate turn of events had happened when the windows in all the rooms got smashed in by the other members of the sleaze he killed and managed to land a kick on his head
sanzu dealt with the problem quickly, blocking mikey from the enemies slinging the katana he had lazily on his side with a crazed glint in his eyes threatening the other members from getting way too close
the kick was unnessarily strong for no reason that mikey wobbled to his knees to the sheer impact the feet of the slain man (sanzu specially killed) could effect him so much
kakucho swiftly lead mikey out of the room whilst shooting down any person running in
mikey settled in your shared bedroom as he informed sanzu and kakucho to put him in the room whenever anything serious occured because he atleast wanted to see his beloved when he wakes up
the soft plush pilliows greeted his head as his half unconscious form laid on the bed before his eyes gave up and met darkness (like his impulses‼️‼️)
the taps of a wet cloth made him jolt out of his slumber and you panicked, telling him it's just you and you were just taking care of him while he's asleep. his head hurted when he shifted to look at you and you gently told him to rest when he feels bandages wrapped around his head.
he sensed your worry when your lips trembled on the face of his skin when you pecked kisses all over him and he couldn't help pulling you over into a hug which you squeled when you stumbled out of your chair.
"sleep with me love" he kissed you back on all the places you touched him with your lips to calm down the hurting beats of your heart when you see him writhing from the danger he put himself in, you held his face which he tiredly nodded to your thoughts which were all concerned for him.
you're worried if the head injury's bad, nah don't he shakes his head if you ever think that, he just needs to bask in the comfort of his love.
hours passed as mikey fell asleep in your arms, relaxed by your side when he wakes up but eventually he had to talk to the other bonten members for them to fill him in on any news
he reluctantly gets up because he wanted to still admire your sleeping face, the serene peace you were in as your chest slowly bumps on his arm when you breathe in and out when he shifts away made him feel bad but he had no choice
this was sonething he worried about and he didn't want to happen but he felt your fingertips on his back when you reached for him to stay
"mm.. mikey, your face.."
he touches his face feeling baindaids on it and he got on his knees to stare at your lips and to hear what you wanted to say
"um.. we ran out of actual bandaids from the last time you got hurt but i found my rabbit bandaids but i don't know if you want to go out to the others like.."
you stopped rambling when he puts his head down to laugh quietly to how worried you got, he shushed you to not get so concerned and he looks in the mirror to see the bandaids plastered on his cheek. he waved at you before going and shut the door noiselessly.
there's no need to be scared of his public image or whatever, mikey nonchalantly wore it around the members, he didn't mind if they let out an amused sound of them when the feared leader of bonten walks around with cute rabbits plastered on his face.
even he couldn't keep a grin from slipping out.
kakucho
they had divisions and they were given to kakucho and sanzu, mikey's trusted men
they supervised their own divisions and trained them with the basics they need to know in bonten, also giving the excuse to watch out for any spies or 'traitors'
with that the two had the time of their lives.. minus kakucho, sanzu was going crazy on his men and if you glanced quickly, you wouldn't notice how hard sanzu was on his men
there were times that sanzu might've just played all of them and kick their teeth out instead of doing warmups with them but kakucho's a lot more responsible while sanzu was respected in fear, everyone respected kakucho because of his strength and level headed behaviour
the division each took turn with kakucho, sparring with one another eventhough it might've taken a whole day because he wanted to see how capable they are without dreading that their lives would be in danger if he took his eyes off one of his men
let's just say some of them were really aggresive
while kakucho would applaud them for this to be absolute beasts in beating the hell of out of him in the session, he still tasted spite from getting pushed back and forth but he kept cool and thought this as a process for his patience
by the end of the day, everything's dismissed and sanzu would look at him with a toothy smirk because of how much damage he endured
sanzu calls kakucho reckless as he spits at him to clamp his mouth shut before a gun goes in it as bruises and scratches were on his face, the same with sanzu who liked the pain and took a while to patch up
kakucho looks in the mirror to see how bad it is and to how bad he flinched, he gets twitchy
he thought of you, he didn't want to hurt your feelings and see you glare at him in sadness on how rough things were at the headquarters when he trained so he tried his best to get rid off any visible marks on his face
it was time for him to go back so he bowed to mikey, a sign for him to leave and trudged home to see you again
it was at dead of night, clock nearing 1am when he greets the safe home an "i'm home" and he hears the television on, he slowly walks into the living room and placed a hand on the couch to pull himself to it to see you wrapped up like a burrito and snoring a little.
he smiled to himself, his lover leaving the movie they loved playing and accidently falling asleep which made him frown a bit when he realizes that you were probably waiting for him to reach.
he patted your shoulder and whisperes that he's home and asked for you to hold on when he carried you in his arms and hugged you tighter when you were all warm but your hands cold when he felt it sting against the back of his neck. he planted you on the cold sheets of the bed which you stretched like a cat to look up at him and he hisses at you not to get up so quickly when you held his face.
you smashed your lips on him which he didn't expect and he felt himself heating up to how straightforward you are, you missed him so much although it's been a day. you cursed at him for being an idiot for hurting himself all over and rested your forehead on his and he feebly says his apologies.
"but you're my idiot, c'mere" his ears red when you got off the bed to open up a medkit and he tells to stop and you were not having it and you grabbed his chin for him to look at you while he squirms a little when you also have to observe his face to look at his state.
you dragged to the shower and though he hates how troubled you were when he's hurt, he finds it endearing when you start bossing him around. he really needed someone to pull him out of his roughed up state with a little scolding.
also a bonus that he's also a simp for you so it's two good things in one to obey.
extra!!:
after the warm shower and the scrubs you did to each other, he felt relaxed while you threw yourself on the bed in sleepiness but you had to deal with some things first.
you straddled his lap while applying the bandaids on his face and he squints and looks closely at it, they were small [animal/s] dancing around on the bandaid and he left out a soft chuckle that made your heart leap.
"these [animal/s] are like you" you lift an eyebrow while pressing it down on his jaw and he explained on how you were the bigger person than anyone and 'ferocious' you were but he knew that you cared deeply about the people you love.
you lightly smacked on his cheek which made him yelp, if that wasn't the cheesiest bullshit he spewed then you didn't know anymore, kakucho has his face recognized as the respectable bonten 3 but he still had the heart of a boy holding his gifted new puppy.
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brockadoodles · 4 years ago
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kiss me at midnight - m. tkachuk
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AN: The way i can’t WAIT for the season to start so I can gif short haired Matty... Anyways. uh, I woke up today and chose violence, so here’s a New Year’s fic with one of our favorites. Maybe one day I’ll stop posting at 1 am? Let me know what you think! 
Word Count: 2395
Warnings: Mentions of alcohol and drinking, otherwise it’s fluffy. 
“Ten dollars says they’re going to make out within the next five minutes.” You quickly turned your head at the voice. You smiled slightly at Matthew, nodding at him to take a seat next to you. You had just met him that evening and had somehow ended up running into him multiple times throughout the night. You laughed softly at his statement as you swirled your rum and coke in your hand. You didn’t even have to look in the direction that he was pointing toward to know exactly who he was talking about. Your roommate had ditched you in favor of his teammate over an hour ago, and in her defense, he was cute and better one of you not to spend New Year’s Eve sulking alone at the bar. 
“I give them three, you’re welcome to hang out and wager me on it.” You joked. Matthew eyed you curiously, anyone that was willing to make a bet with him that quickly was someone he wanted to get to know. He caught the attention of the bartender and ordered himself a drink. He glanced over at your near-empty glass and had another made for you, making sure to tell the bartender to add it to his own tab and not yours. Your friend had very clearly left you to your own devices and he had no intention of doing the same thing, the least he could offer is buying you one drink. You just smiled at him in thanks as another rum and coke was put in your hands to replace the now empty one. 
“Would ya look at that, guess neither of us wins.” Matthew mused as he took a sip of his drink. You quickly turned your head to where your roommate was now pressed against the pool table, kissing his teammate. You rolled your eyes before turning your attention back to Matthew, who was inarguably cute. No harming in shooting your shot with someone you likely wouldn’t see again in a crowded bar in Calgary on New Year’s Eve, right? 
“Bummer. To think I was going to bet you a New Year’s Kiss.” You shrugged, raising your eyebrow a bit toward Matthew, who now had a smirk settling in on his features. He leaned against the bar as he took a step closer to you, positioning his body between your thighs. It wasn’t uncomfortable, you actually found yourself smiling softly at him as you placed a hand on his waist and tugged him slightly closer to you, opening the door for whatever would come next.
“Me and you at midnight? Deal.” You rolled your eyes at him and pat his side, pushing him back just enough to give you some more room. The conversation started flowing after that, and you found yourself getting lost in the stories he was telling. Something about Matthew was captivating. You could blame it on his looks, maybe the way his eyes lit up when he smiled at you, or the way his hair was just long enough to see that it was a bit curly, or maybe it was the way you were sitting close together now, with his leg brushed against yours under the table that you had moved to an hour before. But deep down you knew it wasn’t just because he was some hot stranger who you were hopefully stealing a midnight kiss from, you and Matthew had a connection that you couldn’t quite explain further than it being what everyone describes in shows that you never bothered to believe in. You could only hope that he felt it, too.
Except, he must not have, because when the clock counted down and you prepared yourself to finally kiss him, he just held you close. Matthew tucked you under his arm as the crowd started cheering and he made no move to kiss you, something that even in your drunken state was causing disappointment. What you didn’t know was that he wanted to kiss you more than anything that night, but he wasn’t about to cross a line you had drawn while drunk. He wanted to make sure it was okay before anything happened, so instead, he settled for a soft kiss to your forehead and exchanging numbers as he put you in an uber back to your apartment. Leaving you drunk and confused as if you had just read the signs entirely wrong. 
You spent the next 11 months with Matthew, spending nearly all of your time together. You went to his games, you met each other’s friends, you spent nights with each other and there were so many frustrating pent up moments where if someone would have asked you what you were to each other, you genuinely would have had no answer. Matthew frustrated you in ways that you couldn’t pinpoint because his signals were caught up in the crossfires and you weren’t sure what you meant to him. You knew he cared about you, and sometimes his hand would linger just a bit too long on the small of your back, or he would fall asleep with his arms just enough around you that you would convince yourself that he felt what you had felt for him the entire time. 
You spent months dancing back and forth with Matty, replying that New Year’s Eve night over and over in your head, wondering why he never kissed you. Then you spent months to accept what he was giving you, a friend that cared about you and would do anything for you, but one that simply didn’t harbor the same feelings you held close to your chest. You couldn’t fault him for not feeling the same way, feelings sometimes don’t have a rhyme or reason as to why they happen. Sometimes the hand you’re dealt results in a win, and other times you bet your entire heart only to watch it get cashed out by someone else who didn’t care to have it in the first place. But you had spent a year waiting around for him, and at this point, you just needed to know. 
Matthew answered the phone quickly when he saw that it was you calling. He had just gotten back from a small get together with some of his friends from back home. He smiled softly as he greeted you, breathing a content sigh of relief as he settled down into what would likely be a long chat with you. You were Matthew’s favorite person and even though he hated being on the phone, he’d talk with you for hours about nothing if that was what you wanted. 
“Do you know how there’s that saying about how if you spend New Years with someone, that’s who you’re spending the year with?” Were the first words out of your mouth, acting on a stint of courage that your friends had practically shoved into you the entire time you were with them. They all wanted you and Matty to get your shit together and confess, and you’d be lying if them pressing you wasn’t a factor in this impulsive late-night phone call to the person in question. 
“Yeah, I have heard that one.” Matty smiled into his phone. 
“I have this theory. I think it’s actually that who you miss the most on New Years’ is who you’ll spend the year with.” You were glad this was just a phone call and that matty wasn’t there to see your face. You had been dancing around something with him for so long now, that it felt like you were stuck in an endless game of poker where no one was winning. But you were the dealer now, and you were giving Matthew the cards that would give him a royal flush if he wanted it, and god you hoped he wanted it. 
“You’re going to need to explain that, sweetheart.” 
“We spent last New Years’ together, and you didn’t kiss me. We spent an entire year together and you didn’t kiss me, but there’s something here right? Because I feel like there is, and even though you’re in St. Louis and I’m here all I want is for you to miss me just enough that you��ll come home and finally kiss me.” 
Matthew swore that he felt his heart lurch in his chest as he processed your words. You, the person he had spent the last year getting to know, spending nights together on your couch watching bad reality TV and arguing over what take out to order. You, the person that he thought about more often than not, so much so that he had made a routine of calling you after every away game, just because it was calming to hear your voice on the phone. You, the person that he had so desperately wanted to kiss the year before but didn’t because it wouldn’t have been right with both of you too intoxicated to make that decision. He had spent the last year assuming that you thought of him as just a friend and he had been sulking about it for months. 
“Holy shit, I didn’t think you were into me.” Was absolutely not the most eloquent way that he could have responded to what you had just said. Matthew internally groaned at himself as he listened to the silence that was now coming from your side of the conversation. He was panicking, racking his brain for the right words to string together to make sure you knew he felt exactly the same way as you did. For some reason, just telling you that didn’t feel good enough when you had just about taken his heart right out of his chest from another country away with your confession. 
“Fuck, that was not what I meant to say.” He ran a hand over his face, and he was thankful for once you had asked to just talk on the phone and not FaceTime. 
“I really miss you. And everything you’re feeling, I feel it too.” He finally settled on it, hoping that it was enough to convey his emotions. He knew he wanted you, he had waited a year for this moment to come to its head. A year of him subtly standing by your side, itching to reach his hand out to yours but not daring to make the final touch. A year of him hoping you wouldn’t meet someone else that could take up the space that he desperately wanted to occupy. He spent a year waiting for you, he wasn’t going to wait any longer. Before he could stop himself he grabbed his laptop, pulling up flights as you started to speak again. 
“God, Matty, there have been so many times I almost told you how I felt.” You breathed out. He could tell exactly how you were feeling, he could hear the relief in your voice. He knew that type of relief, the instant gratification a person feels when they give someone their time and effort and it’s all reciprocated. He knew that feeling because as soon as you mentioned you wanted to kiss him, he felt that same relief settle into his chest, a feeling he had been craving for so long now. A feeling he could act on in a matter of hours thanks to a ridiculously over-expensive flight from St. Louis back to Calgary. 
“Can you pick me up tomorrow morning? From the airport?” He asked. You froze in bed, pulling your phone from your ear and looking at the time. It was late, already past midnight which meant it was even later for him. Your heart was racing and you felt like this was some hazy dream that you were bound to wake up from disappointed, the same dream you had experienced probably a hundred times over the last year. Matty was your entire world, and it didn’t feel real that he was finally something tangible. So you told him yes. You told him, yes and you counted down the hours until you got to see him, barely sleeping at all. 
You had never been the type to think you’d be standing outside of security at an airport, living out some terrible moment from a romantic comedy as you waited for the person you loved to come through the gates. But there you were, in one of his old sweatshirts, nervously tapping your foot as you eyed every single person that walked through.
You were totally sure that anyone watching you probably was rolling your eyes at the look on your face, the same lovesick look you see in the very movies you often complain about. But you didn’t care because strangers walking through an airport clutching their coffee at 7 am who you would never see again didn’t matter. Everyone had their own destination that day, their own trip that they were making for their own reasons, and your reason was walking toward you, looking at you like you were the only thing that he could see and that was what mattered. 
Matty dropped his bag to the ground as you jogged up to him. You wrapped your arms tightly around his waist and tucked your head against his chest, taking a moment to listen to the steady beat of his heart, the same steady beating that you had listened to so many times before not knowing that it beat only for you. 
“I’m going to kiss you now because I’ve been waiting for a year to do it and I don’t think I can handle waiting any longer.” Matty grabbed your cheek, pulling your gaze up to meet his as his other arm tightened around you. 
“You can kiss me whenever you want now, Matty.” You murmured, letting your eyes flutter closed as you leaned in and pressed your lips lightly to his. You melted into the kiss, letting him pull you closer to deepen it just a little as the early morning travelers kept walking around you. You almost didn’t regret the time spent wishing for this moment, because in a way, the person you spent New Year’s with the year before was the person you spent the year with, and now you got to spend another year with him, being fully and completely each others. It wasn’t midnight, but somehow 7 am felt better than midnight ever could have.  
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cielcius · 4 years ago
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Hi hi just stumbled across ur blog and Idk I just love the why you write😹😹may I get somthing ab ignoring todoroki for a day for a prank😌
IGNORING THEM AS A PRANK | HEADCANONS
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includes: todoroki s.
from the writer: ah thank u, darling! I'm glad u like my writing and I hope u like this too. thank u for requesting and have a lovely day/evening!
notes & warnings: Sho is vv sad and confused
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after this initial prank, never, and i mean never, do this again with Todoroki because he might just cry again
alright, alright, so rewind a day earlier, you were out with a few friends and one of them so happened to have gotten a new expensive purse, yk, prada n shit
“my boyfriend bought me this after i ignored him for a day as a prank cause he thought i was mad”
you had no reason to try and hoax anything out of Todoroki
in fact, he’s the one who insists on buying you the pricy stuff even when you said not to please help him control his shopping impulses he is not using endeavors card anymore
but admittedly, you were curious to see what your loving boyfriend would do in this situation
so here you are, at home, eating on the living room floor and watching tv while Todoroki sits at the dining table
right from the getgo, he knew something was sus because you haven’t acknowledged him at all for the entire night
you couldn’t even look him in the eyes cause if you did you knew that you’d instantly feel guilty
you told Todoroki that you would almost never use your dining table when living alone, instead resorting to watching tv instead
but you weren’t alone, he was right there :(
you can practically feel his gaze on you but you couldn’t crack yet and your heart probably wouldn’t be able to take it if you look at him now since its already hurting over the mere thought of Todoroki eating alone :((((
by now he thinks you’re mad at him so he tries to give you space
but he’s honestly not sure what you’re thinking so he’s constantly either thinking: 
“should i talk to them? maybe they want to talk about it” 
or 
“i should give them space, they look like they need it” having rbf be like: cause same 💀
thus resulting in him going to bed really late that night
but it didn’t matter since you were still up, trying to make sure that he actually went to sleep that night cause you know he has the early shift for patrol the next day
but he just can’t sleep so he ends up tossing and turning the entire night, silently planning the best date the only date he’s ever fully planned by himself based on past situations and the internet ofc *searches up wikihow: how to get your s/o to not be mad at you*
he’s lowkey crumbling inside though cause he really doesn’t know what he did to make you act like this nothing Sho, you did nothing cuz ur literally baby T_T
so next day, you wake up and man is gone (idk why I said it like he’s dead 💀), but he’s obviously out on patrol or at least thats what you think
sometime late in the night when he was actually contemplating his life choices, he decided to call for a day off so he could get everything ready for your date
just imagine him now, puffy cheeks and eyebrows creased in determination to make you love him again Sho, we’ve always loved you 🥺
he tries to occupy his mind with preparations for your date while you’re just chillin in your living room, not sure if it was a good idea to do this prank but you were almost done so why not, right?
but still, its sad because you realize how nervous he is around you at times when he just wants to make you happy :(
but when he stumbled through your front door so abruptly, you just had to look to see if he was okay cause the only other time he did that was when he was on the verge of passing out after work
“Y/n, honey, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did so please tell me and I'll make it up to you. I reserved a restaurant for us and we can talk it out over dinner. Unless you don’t want to then we can—”
as if he wasn’t just on the verge of crying earlier, he accepts your kiss anyways because, well, you were kissing him and thats something :D
“Sho, I’m sorry. Don’t cry, it was supposed to be a small prank. I'm sorry :(”
even if it was a prank, he’s just happy to hear your voice again but please never tell anyone that he lowkey cried cause he’d simply pass away if you do
so camera pan to the both of you relaxing on the couch, until you remember something he said earlier
“wait, you rented out a whole restaurant?”
“yeah, but we don’t have to go. you already ate”
“oh no, we’re going”
so not only do you get to see your lovely boyfriend smiling again, you also get to dress up fancy and go to the restaurant only to get drunk off of the wine lol
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bitletsanddrabbles · 2 years ago
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So, What Am I Up To?
Since I keep talking about my latest series of rabbit holes, I figured I might as well fill everyone in because, well, it’s fun! And I am a fan of these things, so it can totally go on my fan blog, even if it’s not writing fan stuff. So there!
This past Christmas, my parents gave me the gift of a promised dinner at the brand new, not-then-yet-opened magic themed pub The Splintered Wand. Located in Ballard, Washington (a.k.a. Little Norway, a district of Seattle but don’t remind them of that), they have good food, fun decor, and, perhaps most importantly, are home to Balch & Balch Wands.
I did not know about the wand shop when I received my Christmas gift. I did not learn about it until months later when my parents and I fetched up on the same block as the Historical Building that houses it, having just missed the Norwegian Constitution Day parade. (We didn’t know about that either, or we’d have probably tried to be earlier.) Once I found out about it, though, one thing was immediately clear:
I needed a new wand.
Now, in order to really understand that statement, you have to understand that I already have three wands from Alivan’s wands and one mini from a book release party I went to once. If I actually liked the resin movie reproductions, I’m sure I’d have at least one of those. I am a costume hound and a collector of Shiny Trinkets and if you had asked me if I actually needed another wand that morning, I’d have said ‘naw, I’m good, really’, because Restraint.
As soon as I walked up to the second level of The Splintered Wand and listened to the gents behind the counter doing their spiel, Restraint went right out the window. You see, getting a wand from Balch & Balch wands isn’t just a purchase, it’s an interactive event worthy of any big name theme park you care to mention. In fact, it’s even more so because, by necessity, every wand sale involves the customer interacting one on one with at least one - possibly both - of the clerks.
End result? $60 later ($50 wand, plus $10 which was honestly probably low, but I was impulse buying), I have this beauty:
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Mahogany omphalos with an ashray skin alabastron*. Hands down the most Cancerian wand you could begin to imagine.
Oh, and before I forget to mention it - bring someone else with you when you do this. I’m not going to tell you why, but it is rather important.
Of course, if you’re a wood worker and a snob, you’re probably going “Ugh, I could make that for less. I mean, it looks like it’s not even finished.” I know this because a) I’ve met So Many craft snobs and b) my cousin, the non-snobbish woodworker, informed me that if I ever needed something similar, he had the tools and know how.
So here’s why you should plunk down the money, even if you do happen to be a woodworking snob:
When I say this is an event, I do mean it’s an event. You don’t simply point at the wand and say ‘I like that one’. After explaining the magic system they’ve created to you (for free, because this isn’t community college), the friendly clerk picks a wand for you based on your Date of Return (birthday). If you want the exact details on omphalos woods and alabastron materials, see the above link. If there are one or two wands that they like, and there is time, you may even be asked to choose between them.
The next step is choosing the alabastron. I’m not going to tell you how this is done, since it works better if things are a bit spontaneous, but suffice to say it’s not quite random. It’s also not simply imagination. Inside that handle is a little vial containing a bit of stuff and capped off with the Very Scientifically Named Knobby-Bit-At-The-End. What is the stuff in real world, non-magic terms? Search me. I know one of the feathers is actually ostrich plume, but the ash ray skin? Wet looking stuff kept in water. They write the specifics of your wand down on a card so you can remember them and look them up on the above linked website and then.
AND THEN!
THEY ENCOURAGE YOU TO CUSTOMIZE IT!
Yup, the reason there’s no sealers on that wood is because you are encouraged to make it 100% your own. The only catch is that you must customize it with materials that are at least organic, preferably organic and cellular. So commercial paints, Elmer’s glue, and polyurethane varnishes are out. Beyond that? Carve it! Burn it! Wrap bits of non-alloy metal (silver/copper) around it! Make a leather wrap for the handle! Oil it up with natural stains!
GO HOG WILD!
Needless to say, little dye/stain fiend that I am, my brain went immediately to what stains I could use. The next thing it came up with is setting a polished stone in the Very Scientifically Named Knobby-Bit-At-The-End, because that is waaaaaay beyond my skill set and requires learning to make glue from scratch** and my brain has no sense of proportion.
But, one rabbit hole at a time, I am slowly starting to make progress. So far we have:
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Stage one: Very simple. I just put a couple layers of soy sauce on the omphalos to punch up the natural mahogany colour and added a ring on the handle to incorporate the colour a bit better.
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Stage two: Added a ring of copper/vinegar/hydrogen peroxide stain. This was being finicky, so after searching with absolutely no luck for info on how to make your own gel stains, I tried heating it and adding a bit of unflavored gelatin to it. Worked beautifully! I decided to try it with the soy sauce to even out the other ring a bit, which didn’t work as well, either because chemistry or simply because I wasn’t being very scientific with measuring my proportions, I was just kinda shaking in some Knoxx. *shrug* Of course, it wasn’t quite dry when I took this picture, so it’s shinier here than it is in reality.
Currently waiting for my raw linseed oil to bleach (for stain making), my powdered butterfly pea flower to get here (for stain/paint experimentation***), and for the walnuts to start producing so I can get walnut hulls (yes, I can buy them, but I have a Free Source).
*please forgive the typo in the photograph
**this is actually stupidly easy, as it turns out, but I’m still debating which type of glue would be best
***not planning on using actual paints on my wand, but my little once-removeds, ages 9 and 10, are going there as a birthday present from my parents, and I know they’re going to want paint, so I’m looking into that. The Science Princess in particular will probably like the idea of making her own...much to her mother’s despair!
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kanmom51 · 4 years ago
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JM JK timeline.- my observations how they grew over the years
2017 - Part 4
Disclaimer: these are my own opinions and conclusions.  Feel free to disagree, but hate or aggression will be unacceptable.
16-17 November 2017 BTS interviews in the US. JM sneezes and JK thinks it’s so adorable.
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18 November 2017?
Can’t seem to find the original interview, but I think it was done same day as the BTS Tease 2017 American Music Awards Performance, E! Red Carpet & Award Shows interview.
This is where we find out that JK loves to take photos of sky and JM (people)…
JK doesn’t point a finger at JM, just signs with his hand in JM’s direction.  But  RM automatically looking at JM as JK signs in that direction makes things pretty clear as to JK’s meaning, as if we didn’t know...
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19 November 2017 – KRBE AMA’s backstage interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fwSuGBU5R4 . Band members asked who’s the best with the ladies.  JK turns towards RM and asks: “V”?, but RM and V point to JK, who is all flustered.  JM smiling uncomfortably.  It was actually a heart breaking moment for me.  
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19 November 2017 AMA’s interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfHZYgNgHVU . JK playing with JM’s jacket.  JM hints for him to stop, but JK keeps doing it, so JM finally kind of snaps at him to stop but JK needs to continue to touch JM. JM softens up after and pulls JK forward to talk.
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19 Nov 2017 Zach Sang backstage AMA interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STLDAdhuLzc .
Not so big, but still an honourable mention from me.  At the start of the interview JM, who is standing directly behind Hobi (V is standing behind JK), had one hand on Hobi’s shoulder and another hand on JK’s shoulder. Having a hand on JK is not because he is closest to him.  Not the obvious solution to place his hands in that situation. That would be two hands on Hobi, just like later on in the interview V places both his hands on JK’s shoulders.  It was just something I noticed and found interesting.
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JM and JK are clearly in love and attracted to each other.  JM is also JK’s anchor, his calming waters.  But they are also super professional, always were.
So why do we get so much content during these interviews?  I mean, isn’t it something they are trying to hide, and if they were professional why can’t they keep their hands to themselves?  
We need to remember that the boys have to sit or stand for hours upon hours on end doing interview after interview, like an interview conveyor belt.  They are tired, worn out, so much so, that at some point their guard is let down.  They will turn to each other for comfort or support or will say or do something impulsive, that they otherwise wouldn’t have done.  That’s when we usually get to enjoy our famous interview Jikook moments.  
20 November 2017 BTS post AMA’s night party Vlive - https://www.vlive.tv/video/49001 .
Remember tipsy JK?  Tipsy JK is the best, right?  
The way he behaves in this Vlive you would think he is outright drunk.
Now, I know that towards the end of the live, when the members want to make a toast, JK does mention he cannot drink in the US, but if he really wasn’t drinking, why do the other members call him ‘loose’?  Maybe he had a sip or two or three or more off camera???
Drunk on alcohol or drunk on adrenaline, whatever it is, he lacks inhibition.  
He is constantly looking to JM.  The members start talking about how they felt during the performance.  And here ‘happy’ JK flies into action.  He says “I wasn’t that nervous.  Do you know why?”
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JM asks why, and J-hope grabs JM’s shoulder, telling him “don’t ask him”, knowing full well this isn’t something we should be hearing from a JK lacking inhibitions.  
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JM turns to the camera smiling and tells us: “let’s say that he wasn’t nervous at all”, to be followed by Suga telling JK: “you’re too loosened”, and RM saying: “he lacks sincerity”.  
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Drunk or not, alcohol or adrenaline, it doesn’t really matter.   Either way, the members are trying to silence him, afraid of what he might say.
At this point they try to move on, only that JK hasn’t finished, and he goes right back to not being nervous.  He says: “the reason I wasn’t nervous was…”, looking JM in the eye and puts his hand on JM’s shoulder.  He leans back and JM claps his hands and says: “I see”, and starts laughing.  
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At this point you see JK realises he literally put his foot in it, lowers his head and JM pulls his T-shirt laughing.
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So, then JK tries to fix it, saying “because of Army”.  Yeah JK, we believe you.  You seem to be really sincere, I mean, your band mates are really buying it too… 
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Tipsy-like JK, I love him.
21-24 November 2017. I said I wouldn’t do it.  I promised I wouldn’t do it.  I just couldn’t help myself.  Please accept my apologies in advance, but I just couldn’t leave these photos JM uploaded to Twitter out.  I mean, how could I leave out JM’s uploading JK photographs of ‘Sky’ & ‘People’???  That just wouldn’t be right.
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Run BTS episode 28, released end November 2017 – JM dressing up JK with his style of clothing.  The members reactions when JM threw the rose and it fell behind JK.  JK and JM were pretty pleased.  JK loved modelling JM’s clothes, also loved making JM laugh by imitating him as a model.
2 December 2017 MMA’s.  Pulling JK to the front to talk when receiving the award, JM moving from Hobi’s side to stand by JK.  The closeness, the looks.  Walking off stage side by side.  
Same day as the very famous clip, when JK sitting behind JM, and JM turns back to him, while JK is singing “I remember our first kiss, I close my eyes whenever I can and go to the farthest place”.  Both being watched by Jin, who smirks, but when remembers there’s a camera, becomes serious again.
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9 December 2017. JK & JM Vlive.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA9VjPylgDA .
Someone please get the fire extinguisher, because JK’s heart is burning.  The level of flirtatious behaviour, I might need the extinguisher for myself.  
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When showing the group photo fan JK says how Hobi looks attractive, only for JM to ask “what about me?”  Of course JK agrees he is handsome too.  
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This is how those two behave when they are not alone in the room!!  I mean… You just can’t put those two together for a live.  If this is what happens when they are not alone, what would happen if they were alone in the room (NJ live 2019 Ahem)…  
9-10 December 2017 Wings tour last concerts in Seoul.  JK being bold.
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What I left out:  
This year is filled with so much content, I just couldn’t put it all in, so there a so many cute moments I have left out. Also, Twitter (ahem, some at least), some stage flirtation, including JK’s full attention on JM when speaking, not every hug or touch.
I now know that matching outfits has much significance in SK culture.  I didn’t know that when I first had that gut feeling JM and JK were involved. As far as I am concerned, there is enough content even without addressing this subject, so this too I left out.
 After JM and JK get back from their trip they seem even closer, if that was possible.  They also seem a bit bolder.  I mean GCFT people, if that is not boldness I don’t know what is.
I thought 2016 was a plentiful year?  Well 2017 surpassed it by miles and miles.  The amount of content with the two is enormous.  So much so, that there is so much I did not add to my timeline, just because I felt it was too much already.  
The abundance in content, to me, is a sign not only of the two getting closer, but also getting louder. Allowing themselves to be seen. This relative new freedom would probably be a result of not only the growth of the strength of their bond, but also, in my opinion, them ‘coming out’ to the group, and most probably, at least by the end of the year, to the most important members of their production team.  
This allows them freedom to act more as themselves with the members and production team, while also relying on the latter to ‘hide’ what needs to be hidden, if necessary, and to protect them, sometimes even from themselves. Even if they didn’t all out ‘come out’ to the staff around them, well, by then I think they either more or less know what’s going on, or were turning a blind eye to it. Whichever is true, at the end of the day it didn’t matter.  They are all bound by non-disclosure agreements, and would not dare to leak anything they might have seen.  
I also believe that the boys, mostly, have a very good relationship with the staff, and as such, none of them would do anything that could potentially really hurt not only JK and JM, but the group as a whole.
JK and JM, by the end of 2017 are finding their groove.  There is less pushing and pulling noticeable.  They are madly in love and are finding their pace.  
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  To be continued…
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pocketfulofrogers · 4 years ago
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Planes, Trains, and Firetrucks
Pairing: Kelly Severide x Reader
Summary: What’s a polar vortex to a desperate sister trying to get home? With a little determination and the luck of a stranger, you might just be able to pull off a Christmas miracle. 
Notes: So I got drunk with my aunt and uncle on Thanksgiving and watched the only Thanksgiving movie to both exist and be quoted in it’s entirety by my whole family. I woke up with a google note that said ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles but make it a love story.’ Kinda wished I had payed more attention to the movie now. 
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Pinching the bridge of your nose, you try to reign in your frustration. You had been all over this airport for the last six hours desperately searching for any way to get home. So far, you had only been strung along.
“Is there anything to Chicago at all? I’m just trying to be back for even a portion of Christmas. Seriously, at this point I’d saddle up a horse.”
The woman scrunches her nose as she scrolls through her computer, a sense of defeat looming over you until she smiles quickly. “I found a 5am to Detroit that connects…” She trails off and begins to frown again. “Just canceled.”
“Seriously?!” The word explodes from your mouth unwarranted and much louder than intended and your hand flies to your mouth in embarrassment.
Before you can begin to apologize profusely, you hear the man behind you mumble under his breath. “Probably because of the giant winter storm and white out conditions covering the entire North East.”
You whip your head behind to glare at him, but he’s too focused on his phone to even notice that you had overhead him. Defeated, you turn back around and quietly apologize before grabbing your phone and sulking away, the guy behind you chuckling slightly.
Mom: Your sister just got here, she’s so excited to see you!
Barely managing to suppress your groan, you lean against a nearby pillar to type a response that hopefully won’t break anyone’s hearts.
The man pockets his phone and approaches the counter. “Hi, can I get a hotel voucher?”
“We’re prioritizing vouchers for flying families and couples first.” She smiles.
“Really?” He groans, loud enough to grab your attention and hears your chuckle from what he assumes you think is karmic justice. But when he locks eyes with you, he gets an idea. “That is so kind of you guys!” He exclaims with a smile. “My wife will love that.”
In the middle of trying to explain to your mom that you couldn’t have left any early, chuckles steps up in front of you with a grin, holding up a pamphlet and you narrow your eyes. “Be my wife for a night, cow girl?”
You roll your eyes and walk away from his laughter and fake apologies, not stopping until he calls your name. “This?” You gesture between the two of you. “This is creepy.”
He holds up his hands before sliding the voucher in his dark jean jacket pocket. “They wouldn’t give me the voucher unless I put another name down so I just said you were my wife.” He shrugs his shoulder as if he can’t see the problem. “Now I can’t check in unless you’re there.”
You grab your bag and start walking again. “Not my problem.”
To your dismay, he keeps up with you. “We’ve been running around this place all day, so you have got to be at least a little tired.” You really were. “I let you use my charger.” He did do that, but it doesn’t seem to him that his small act of airport kindness has swayed you. “How about we get some sleep and then I promise I will help get you to Chicago?”
This causes you to pause again and look him up and down, almost hating yourself for even considering it. Those piercing blue eyes didn’t seem to hold any malice, nor did his small smile. He was charming, that much was obvious, but so was Ted Bundy.
You cock a hip to the side. “You could be a serial killer.”
The smirk he flashes makes you a little weak. “So could you.”
“Fine, but we’re stopping for pepper spray.”
**
Each time Kelly closes his eyes and feels his exhaustion begin to pull him under, he hears you curse under your breath. You had been obsessively scouring the internet looking for a hail mary, but each time you hit a wall.
He had given up somewhere between the last car dealership left in a 100-mile radius to endure your guilt trip and the proposition of hitch hiking. Honestly, he was more concerned than surprised when you seemed disappointed at him shooting down the idea.
Despite this budding friendship, you had offered no details of yourself, even when asked. You made another serial killer joke when he asked you why it was so important you get home, but he didn’t miss how guarded you became.
The next time you groan is when he also gives up the idea of any form of rest. Kelly sits up quick enough to see you throw yourself back into the creaky swivel chair.
“Is there a battery pack on you or something?” His voice is gravely, thick with exhaustion and just a hint of frustration.
You wince. “I know, I’m sorry. I just can’t believe that there’s not a single taxi or rental car available.”
“You could just buy a car.” He suggests it as an outlandish joke, but then your eyes light up.
“You’re a genius!”
**
Standing out in the middle of an alleyway, snow coating your hair, you can’t say your not a little nervous. Kelly is stood beside you despite very loudly voicing his opinion on how this was a terrible idea. Actually, that it was maybe the worst idea you’ve ever had.
“If anyone is going to be a serial killer, it’s going to be this guy.” He mumbles another remark, shifting his eyes to check your surroundings again.
You shoot a glare at him, but have to admit he’s probably right.
There wasn’t much in your bank account to spare, especially when you consider the price of a decent car. Craigslist offered one result in your price range within reasonable walking distance and you didn’t really stop to think it out.
Now you were in a barely lit backstreet leaking a smell you’d rather not name.
“You didn’t have to come.” You state, again.
He scoffs. “With your lack of self-preservation and this piece of shit that won’t make it out of the state? I won’t be responsible for you ending up on a milk carton.”
You want to comment that that’s not a thing anymore, but he had stuck by you for the last few hours and that’s more than you can usually expect from a stranger. “Aw, you care.” You reply instead.
**
It smells, terribly, but if you roll the windows down enough, you can hardly even notice. Wearing enough layers to not fell the cold is another story. You had expected Kelly to bail on you, insisting you wouldn’t blame him for running back to the warm comfort of clean sheets that weren’t his own, but again he shook his head.
He slept for the first six hours, grateful that you seemed to be a decent driver, but you tossed and turned in the back for about four before you climb back up front and ask to take over. There was only a little bit of gloating each time you passed through a city and grinned an ‘I told you so’ at him.
He doesn’t tell you, but he finds your giddiness contagious.
You don’t notice, but he keeps watching you whenever you’re not paying attention- intrigued by the woman who is actively going to hell and back just to get home. Matt told him he was insane, but there was something about you that he just couldn’t let go of.
He had watched you give up one of the only plane tickets left to a younger woman. Feeling touched as she cried in your arms. When you bought lunch for an unaccompanied minor and let her use up the entire battery life of your phone to watch a few movies, he knew he had to at least talk to you.
The only opener he had was a charger and it seemed to have been enough to get your trust.
“You know,” He starts, pulling his jacket tighter around him, hoping the rising sun would bring some form of warmth soon. He wasn’t hopeful. “I think I’ve earned a few questions.”
You glance at him and raise a brow. “Fine.”
“Are you always like this?”
“I’m sorry, what?” Your surprise makes you laugh.
“Prickly.” He clarifies.
“I’m not prickly, I’m stressed.” You defend yourself. “How are you not? Aren’t you trying to get home too, to see your family?”
He shrugs. “It’s out of my control, and the only family I have are people I get to see pretty regularly.” He smiles at you. “Guess I’m pretty lucky.”
“Well, it seems I’m definitely not.”
As if on cue, there’s a loud pop from the front of the car and it begins to sputter and smoke. Kelly is quick to calm you down and ease you into pulling off the road in the most soothing voice you think you may have ever heard.
**
Sitting on the side of the road, you only pick up your head from your knees when you hear a loud sigh and the hood slam shut. Kelly wipes the dark grease on his pants and gives you a solemn look.
“It’s toast.”
You let your head fall back onto your knees, not paying much attention to the encouraging words he tries to use to raise your spirits or the almost comforting hand on your shoulder, not even when they both disappear.
It isn’t until he’s grabbing the bags from the worst impulse buy of your life that you decide to check back in. “What are you doing?”
He points back to a semi-truck stopped not far behind with a smirk. “I told you I’m lucky.”
**
Your elbow bumps the trucker again and you pull you arms in closer to your body, try to scoot further away while being mindful of Kelly pressed close to you on your other side. Why you agreed to sit in the middle, you’ll only understand once you figured out why you agreed to this in the first place.
The man seemed nice enough, but it was two hours to the next city and you hadn’t slept in 36 hours.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do when we get there. Maybe find some wifi and look for our next ride?”
Kelly purses his lips. “How about we take an hour?”
“What are we supposed to in Dyersville on Christmas day?”
There’s a sparkle in his eyes when he smiles and shrugs his shoulders.
**
“Alright. This was a good idea.” You mumble around a mouthful of the burger you were trying to not inhale.
Somehow, Kelly had managed to convince a food truck to kick out one more order before packing up to get home. The smell hit you just as your hunger did and it didn’t take long for you to start stuffing your face.
He picks up his drink beside him on the bench and nods. “We needed this.”
“So bad.” You gush. You look around and finally feel like you can breathe again. “Maybe my luck’s turning. It’s a beautiful day, we’re so close, and this just might be the best burger I’ve ever had.”
He starts to laugh, but stops suddenly when he looks past your head. Before he can even react, the man he had been eying grabs your purse and takes off, Kelly quick on his heels. You yell after him, almost taking off too, but then his feet catch a patch of ice.
He goes down, hard and you rush to his side.
“Kelly? Kelly are you okay?” He’s touched by your concern, but he doesn’t have the breath in his lungs to convey it.
“Fine.” He grunts out.
“You folks alright?” A man with peppered hair and a thick grey mustache approaches behind you in a white button up. “We were just fixing our lights outside when we saw what happened. We’ve got two EMTs grabbing their bags if you’ll just stay where you are, son.”
Kelly waves him off, calling him chief, and tries to sit up. “Guy got her bag.”
You shush him and quickly help him up. “There’s nothing in there that can’t be replaced.” You assure him.
“Holy shit, is that Kelly Severide?” A woman calls out from across the street before jogging over. “Can’t wait to let the boys know that the great Lieutenant got played by a kid.”
Kelly chuckles at your confusion as he wipes his dirt covered hands on his jeans. “Gomez, nice to see you again.”
“You know each other?” You ask.
Gomez nods. “Lieutenant Severide here held a rope rescue training, whipped us all into shape. What brings you back here?”
Kelly sighs, adding a voice to the very rough time the last 20 hours had been. “Got snowed in just outside of Seattle. This one,” He points over to you and raises a brow. “Just had to get home and dragged me on and insane trip.”
Your jaw drops. “Dragged? You definitely refused to leave.”
“Only because I whole heartedly believed you’d get yourself killed.” He winks at you and you can’t suppress your smile.    
The chief contemplates for a moment before offering up an old battalion car to get you through the final stretch. Kelly looks to you, smile beaming and makes another comment about his impeccable luck.
**
“So, you’re a firefighter.” You begin when the silence becomes a little too thick. “Is that why you were in Washington?”
Kelly nods. “Small city fire departments don’t have the resources we do. I try to go to a few a year to teach them how to use the stuff they have for difficult rescues.”
“Wow…” You trail off.
“You can’t ask me that question and not answer it for yourself.”
Rolling your eyes, you have to agree. “I was there for an interview. Some doctors there created a revolutionary treatment, and I was able to witness one of the surgeries.”
“Must be important for you to give up your Christmas Eve.”
You shrug. “My sister got really sick a few years ago. She’s okay now, but we weren’t able to see her for a really long time. Doctors saved her life and this could save someone else’s. It’s important information.”
“That’s why you wanted to get back?”
The moment becomes a little too heavy, but you manage a sad smile before you feel compelled to look out the window. “It’s her first Christmas since, it’ll be the first time I’ve seen her.”
He grabs your hand and your attention after a moment of silence and his stare is intense. “We’ll be there soon.” He assures you.
**
12 hours into shift and Matt Casey is as bored as he’s ever been on a Christmas. No calls, no Christmas spirit, and most importantly Christmas dinner was a bust. So, when Severide open his office door, covered in dirt and oil and grime, he was intrigued at least.
“You look like hell.”
Kelly rolls his eyes. “I need to borrow your truck to take Y/N home.”
Casey’s eyes widen. “She’s here?”
Kelly isn’t sure why he seems so excited until he hears him grab almost the entire firehouse to lead them to the floor. To you. Despite his protests, Gabby is positively thrilled. You however, surprisingly, are not overwhelmed by all the greetings and hugs. The environment is so warm and welcoming that you can’t help but slide right into conversations.
“She is gorgeous.” Gabby tries to keep it to a whisper. “Your texts do not do her justice.”
Kelly nods, well aware that just a few words typed while you were focused on the road could never be enough to describe how incredible he believed you to be.
“This isn’t it, right? You’ve got to see her again.” Joe butts his head between Kelly and Gabby. “We already like her.”
**
The drive to your house is quiet, somber. Not a single sound besides tires crunching through packed snow. There’re so many questions you have unanswered based solely on the fact that you don’t know how to ask them. Staring out into the night sky to watch the snow fall is no longer enough to comfort you.
It isn’t until he pulls up and puts the truck in park that you start to feel the pit in your stomach become overwhelming. You’re worried you’ll never see him again. Worried that the past day will be the final one and that thought is terrifying.
“Stay.” You blurt out.
He’s caught off guard by your request, but still smiles. “My family is back at the station and this is too important for you to be worrying about your parents meeting me.”
Your nod acknowledges that he’s right, but your eyes convey your sadness. “Merry Christmas, Kelly.”
“Merry Christmas, Y/N.”
**
“I cannot believe you just let her go!” Matt walks in on Gabby yelling. “You liked that girl, she invited you in, and you left?!” She’s pacing back and forth in front of a freshly showered Kelly. He looks like a puppy in trouble and Matt’s smart enough to know not to butt in.
“That was not a first impression I wanted to make.” He tries to defend himself.
Gabby turns to Matt, exasperated, and he raises his hands.
As if someone were listening to his silent prayers, Capp comes in to tell Kelly that he had a visitor on the floor. His heart began to race, filling with hope that maybe, just maybe…
He rounds the corner and there you are, dressed up with a delicate smile. For a moment he’s breathless, the only thing he wanted to see. He wants to open with something witty, but you beat him to it when you hand him a tupperware container, stepping close enough that he can smell the light layer of perfume you’re wearing.
“This is to thank you for letting me drag you and your luck all over the northern states.”
He laughs. “I believe it was me that refused to leave.”
“And I probably would’ve made the national news for being missing if you hadn’t.” Your smirk makes his heart skip a beat. “You know milk cartons aren’t a thing anymore, right?”
He laughs. “Well, how am I supposed to thank you for pretending to be my wife?” You laugh until you realize he’s being serious. “How about dinner tomorrow night?”
“I would love that.”
When he leans down slowly and presses his lips to yours, you have to laugh at the cheers that erupt from the background.
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adaodinson · 3 years ago
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Wrong place, wrong time
Finally, here’s the second part, it’s a bit short but I think it’s not so terrible. I hope you guys enjoy it. I’m sorry it took a while for me to post it but I wasn’t getting any inspiration. I honestly hope this is good.
Here’s Part 1
Summary: You needed to get in, seal the deal and get out. That would have been easy if a certain group of three men hadn´t been making business with Selby at the same time as you were.
Relationships: (different endings, you’ll choose) Bucky x reader, Sam x reader, Zemo x reader.
Warnings: Mentions of death and past trauma.
Part 2
You rolled and twisted all night. You didn´t get one hour of sleep and Sharon was already hurrying everybody into leaving.
You would go with the guys after visiting the man that had recreated the serum, so you staying in Sharon´s apartment wasn´t an option. You wanted to argue, knowing you would only be a load, but Sam and Bucky guaranteed you would be fine, that they would protect you, so to not cause any more trouble, you agreed.
You walked as a group between the containers until Sharon found the one you were headed to. It was empty, but your love for movies and secret doors forced you to look for an entrance, and just as you were about to give up, you found it. You pushed the wall reveling a hidden door and walked through it. You were too intrigued to look behind you and catch the surprised faces Sam, Bucky and Zemo had.
-And she thought she was gonna be a load- Zemo laughed, and as much as Bucky and Sam wanted to roll their eyes at Zemo, they found themselves nodding and even chuckling in agreement.
You shortly remembered you had no way of defending yourself, so you quickly turned around and Bucky seemed to catch your thought, because he placed his hand on your back, gave you a reassuring nod and sent you to walk behind him, covering you protectively.
It was hard not to admire the metal-armed guy. Just by his actions it was pretty clear he had been through a lot, and that he wanted nothing more than to help. You knew a bit about the Avengers, only what you had seen in the news occasionally, but you didn´t know much about any of your traveling companions, only what they had told you so far.
Zemo and Sam were following closely behind you, and they too couldn´t help but admire the view they found in front of them. Sam, since Selby died, refused to let you get involved in more issues, which is why he didn´t immediately react and helped you when you were escaping, but now that you were practically stuck with them, he couldn´t help but thank Zemo for helping you, not out loud, of course. Zemo, on the other hand, had many mixed feelings. He had felt the need to protect you since he saw you, he almost laughed at how out of place you seemed when in Selby´s office. He couldn´t deny the growing feeling of wanting to know everything about you, but it was hard; he knew his wife would have wanted him to be happy and move on, but he was sure that, giving the circumstances, he had no chance with you.
As you got closer to your target, you heard the guy singing along a song you knew. It was hard to fight the impulse of singing as well, but you weren´t going to compromise the whole mission just to get a few seconds of one of the things you enjoyed doing the most.
Before they called the scientist out, Sam led you to a corner and asked you to stay there, he didn´t want to put you at risk. You silently obeyed.
The following events happened way too fast. Sharon warned the guys that the bounty hunters were outside; the guys got information from the scientist but lost whatever other thing he could say because Zemo shot him as Sharon arrived. You were in shock. You had never seen anyone die before, not like that, and it hurt Zemo deeply. Knowing he had to do that with you there, he hated himself for causing such hurt in you, but it had been necessary. You didn´t want to understand, you didn´t want to think about it, or talk about it. You were sure Zemo had his reasons, you didn´t justify him, at all, but you didn´t want to ask.
An explosion followed the events, and if Sam hadn´t gone back for you, you wouldn´t have heard Bucky calling your name because of the high pulsating sound that you had in your ears as a result from the explosion. Sam threw his arm around your waist and guided you out. The warm feeling of his body helped a little bit, you were more focused and the sounds returned to you.
Bucky and Sam were arguing about god knows what when you saw him. Zemo was wearing a purple mask (that you would have found insanely hot if he hadn´t just shot a guy). He was racing on top of the containers, and in agile and fast movements he knocked three guys and caused an explosion (you didn´t see how) that got rid of the other ones.
It was Bucky´s turn to grab your hand and lead you to a container, where Sam, Sharon, Bucky and you hid until you heard a roar and wheels squealing. You walked outside with a puzzled gaze, and you couldn´t help the laughter that came out from you as you saw Zemo in a beautiful, shining car.
-Fully charged- he said with a huge smirk as he winked at you. You giggled like a schoolgirl and hoped no one had noticed the redness in your cheeks. You headed for the front seat, and from the inside Zemo opened the door for you. Sharon said goodbye and walked away.
-I apologize, it wasn´t my intention for you to see that- Zemo said softly and with a truthfully regretful face. He was talking about him shooting the doctor.
-Look, I won´t say I understand, but again, I know nothing about what´s going on so I´m not gonna judge you. I might be a complete pacifist, but I can understand we all have our reasons to do what we do, and, well, you are consistent in your words and actions-.
Sam and Bucky were fighting about who would take which place, but as they heard the conversation going on between you and the Baron, they both stopped to listen. Zemo looked at you, waiting for you to elaborate.
-What I mean is, you said you believe the serum needs to be destroyed, so ending the person that knew how to recreate it seems like a step for that- Zemo was left speechless. You made it clear you didn´t agree or approve of what he did, but you were still saying you tried to understand, and you recognized you weren´t one to judge him. Each time you opened your mouth, the three were stunned. For a moment, Bucky told himself you would be an ideal person to talk to about everything he had gone through, if you tried to understand Zemo, maybe you would be able to help him to stop seeing himself as a monster, but he quickly scolded himself for having that thought, remembering he knew you from less than two days.
You were now inside Zemo´s jet. To say you were impressed was a complete understatement. You had never seen such luxury, and your three new friends find it insanely cute how you got excited over a fancy glass of champagne, and how much you praised Oeznik for the wine he offered.
Shortly after, you were all at Riga. Bucky excused himself and went for a walk, and Zemo showed the safehouse you would be staying at. It was small, but still managed to be fancier than all the houses you had ever lived in. It was cozy and you had a room of your own, thing that you appreciated. You wouldn´t have been able to keep your composure if having to sleep next to any of the guys.
-Here, I sent Oeznik to buy some clothes for you- Zemo handed you three huge bags filled with what seemed to be comfortable and fashionable clothes.
-Wait, what? Oh you didn´t have to, here I´ll pay you for them and please, where´s Oeznik? I need to thank him as well…-Zemo didn´t let you continue.
-Hey, these are on me, and you can thank Oeznik tomorrow, he´s staying somewhere else, for his safety-. You would have argued and even tried to force Zemo to grab the money you were offering, but something on his eyes said he needed to do this for you, so instead, you hugged him.
His body felt still and hard at first, but he slowly dropped the bags he was carrying and complied. You quickly separated and headed for your room in order to change.
Once you had a fresh set of clothes, Sam and you decided to make something to eat. Pasta pesto was what you decided to make. While the pasta was cooking and after the sauce was done, you couldn´t help put cover your finger in oil and splatter it in Sam´s face. He looked at you in shock and you immediately regretted the action, feeling completely embarrassed, but before you knew, he acted.
-Oh, hell no!- he said as he smashed an egg against your head. You laughed out loud and continued looking for things to throw at him. This escalated to the point in which Zemo, that was siting calmly across the room, ended covered in flour (no, he didn´t participate in the food fight), and when Bucky arrived he could only see two children playing behind the counter.
-Guys- Bucky announced, calling you and Sam´s attention and stopping your giggles.
-The Dora Milaje are after Zemo, I managed to get you some more hours, but they aren´t happy-.
-Thank you for defending me, James- Zemo said with a smirk and Bucky just responded with a gruff.
-Wait, who are those? What will they do to Zemo?- You asked as you cleaned the cinnamon that covered your arm.
-They are Wakandan warriors, implacable ones, and they want to take Zemo back to prison- Your heart sank at the idea of not seeing him again. You looked at him with obvious sadness in your face.
-But you can stop them right? They won´t take him?- Your heartbroken voice shattered all three man, but they weren´t gonna lie to you.
-I can´t do anything, they have the right to imprison him, and nothing I do or say will change that- Bucky finished. Zemo turned to you and gave you a reassuring smile. You read his lips saying I´ll be fine, but you didin´t want to say goodbye, to any of them, why did you have to?
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@bry-97
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keelywolfe · 3 years ago
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FIC: Snowdrifts ch.9 (spicyhoney)
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Summary:   Parenthood is constantly giving Edge new challenges, but something being wrong with Snow was one he wasn't prepared to face.
Tags:  Spicyhoney, Rescued Child, Babybones, First Time Parenthood, Idiots to Lovers
Read it on AO3
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Read it here!
~~*~~
If there was one skill Underfell ingrained into Edge from a very young age, it was that no matter the turmoil in his soul, he needed to keep up with duties.
He was long accustomed to ignoring any troublesome emotions that might be fluttering about like a bothersome insect, securing them behind a wall of cool calm until there was an opportunity to deal with them. There were times when the chances were few and far between and there was the occasional burst of a reaction that was beyond his control, (the recent destruction of Alphys’s lab came to mind), but generally, he had a handle on it. There was little room for mistakes.
So, despite his worries over Snow, Edge focused on making lunch. Stretch always came home first to eat, with Red and Blue usually an hour or so later. Occasionally Red didn’t return for lunch at all and on those days, he was always suspiciously exhausted, and with a fair handful of G for his efforts, whatever they were. Eventually that would warrant a closer investigation, but for now, Edge was carefully saving whatever money was left over from what he gave Blue.
Blue had been more than a little disconcerted when Edge gave him money for rent and even tried to return it. Edge insisted by simply refusing to accept it back and ignoring every attempt. Eventually, he reluctantly accepted the coins and if he used it to fill the refrigerator with a pointed amount of groceries, it was his money to spend. Besides, Edge was using the food to feed the Swap brothers. It all worked out even in the end.
Lunch today was a thick stew and crusty homemade bread, both recipes Edge found in one of the librarby books he’d recently borrowed. The stew was perhaps a little saltier than he’d prefer and the challenge of kneading bread dough with a child in constant need of his attention left it somewhat on the chewy side, but he was still proud of the results. Proof that he could do this, that the others could depend on his housekeeping skills.
Not that Stretch ever seemed to doubt him. He took the bowl Edge offered and ate hungrily, dipping his bread right into the stew and biting off messy chunks. His manners might be lacking, but his appreciation was very welcome.
Snow was secured into her highchair and her bowl of unseasoned carrot and potato stew also made its way into Stretch’s hand. He spooned up bites to her in between his own and the sight of his easy expertise when it came to feeding her made something soft and warm settle into Edge’s chest that had nothing to do with the stew.
That warmth evaporated with Stretch’s next words. “eat up, kiddo. undyne said we can come over anytime, we’ll head over after lunch.”
“Already?” Edge blurted. He’d known he would have to come to terms with the necessity of it, but so soon?
“no time like the present, babe.” His expression twisted into a rueful grimace, distracting Edge from his surprise over the unexpected endearment. “kinda thinking we should get in and get out of there before red gets home, yeah?”
That…was a very wise assumption. If his inclination was to keep Snow far away from Undyne and the lab, then Red’s would certainly be much stronger, possibly ranging near to homicidal levels. In this case, it was probably better to beg forgiveness if and when he found out. At the very least, Red was more unlikely to kill him.
Knowing what was soon coming made what little appetite Edge had fade. He managed to eat a few bites from his bowl with dogged determination, to no avail; it only made nausea start to churn. He finally took his bowl to the kitchen and scraped it into a container for later. Letting it go to waste was out of the question. He set the dirty dishes on the counter along with the few from breakfast, fighting his natural inclination to wash them. There was no time right now. If they were going to see Undyne, then they wouldn’t be leaving empty handed.
Edge turned on his heel to stalk out of the kitchen, ignoring Stretch’s curious glance and leaving the two of them to their meal as he headed upstairs. In one corner of the bedroom was a box neatly filled with unused baby items they’d been given. Edge dug through it, tossing too-large outfits aside and ignoring the mess he was making, until he found what he was looking for. A small bag with a hideously disturbing colorful creature embroidered on the side. From his little experience with surface creatures, he was given to understand it was a giraffe and if such a thing truly existed, it must be a miserable creature, indeed. From the bulging eyes on a lumpy head set on a snake-like neck, all the way down to its horsey hooves, it was far stranger than any Monster he’d ever met.
Edge ignored the nightmarish creature; he’d chosen the bag out of necessity not aesthetic, and he set it on the bed to pack it full. Two extra outfits, one suitable for Snowdin and the other for a much warmer climate, toys, some dry cereal in containers that he kept upstairs for any essential midnight snacks. Even as he carefully wrapped up a bottle of water, he knew none of this was necessary; they were going to Hotland, not the moon. He simply couldn’t help himself, the urge too much to resist. The agitation inside him was mildly soothed by the sight of the filled bag. This world of abundant supplies was laying its offerings at his feet and for Snow’s sake, he’d accept them, along with whatever price was eventually attached.
Stretch said nothing when he came back down with the bag bulging at his side. He simply wiped Snow’s face with a damp cloth, adding his dirty dishes to the ones already in the sink before helping Edge dress her in her snowsuit. Between the two of them, they corralled her squirming limbs into the coat with minimal effort. Stretch stayed quiet, making no protest of Edge silently lifting her into his arms, holding her tightly enough at first that she whimpered a protest. He only retrieved the bag as Edge loosened his grip and followed them to the door as Edge strode determinedly out.
Out on the front stoop, Edge hesitated, unsure of which direction they were heading. It was the first time he’d ventured outside with her since their very first days here, when he’d gone chasing after Stretch, and Snow was already waving her mittened hands excitedly over the new scenery. The air was growing heavy with an incoming storm and almost he protested they shouldn’t be traveling in it. He bit back the impulse. They’d hardly be going off the beaten path and if they were waiting for fair weather in Snowdin, the child would be ready to start school before they left.
Stretch took the lead, stepping past him and jerking his head to the left.
“c’mon, we’re going to have to take the riverperson express,” Stretch said, hopping easily down the steps to the icy ground. “i don’t want to shortcut with her, she's a little young and i don't know how a quick trip through the void might affect her. besides, the last thing we need is to stimulate her magic. crawling is enough to deal with for now, if she ends up flinging around bones, we’re gonna need better insurance.”
“Agreed,” Edge murmured. As cold as it was, that shouldn’t be too far a walk and once they were on the boat, they’d be stripping away her suit before they were halfway there.
But as they set off, his estimation on the timeframe quickly changed. He hadn’t anticipated the sudden interest of the entire town of Snowdin. He should have, people had been asking to see the baby for weeks, and her sudden appearance was quickly noticed by passersby. Word traveled quickly, making the local Monsters crawl out of their homes, shops, and whatever woodwork was about to have a look. Soon there was a crowd of eager faces surrounding them, cutting off their path.
Instinct demanded an immediate defense and Edge fought off the urge. They were curious children and equally inquisitive adults, none of them meant any harm. Reconciling that knowledge with his own reflexes was difficult, made worse by Snow’s cheery burbling as she squirmed in his arms, eager to get down and meet this colorful new group.
A hand on his arm made him jerk, nearly lashing out, but it was only Stretch, his phalanges cool and soothing on Edge’s wrist as he tugged it lower, silently urging him to dismiss an attack he’d hardly realized he was summoning.
“easy, edgelord. let me handle this,” Stretch murmured. He moved slowly, cautiously telegraphing his every move, to take the baby from Edge. Edge released her reluctantly, letting his hands drop to his sides and unable to keep them from curling into fists as Stretch raised his voice, “hey, guys, i know you’re looking forward to some snow and tell on our newest addition but we’re on a schedule today. This’ll have to pacify you for now.” He held Snow up high and she squealed in delight, her little limbs flailing in glee. A collective sigh rose in the crowd, their expressions mirroring hers of pure delight. Stretch spun around in a full circle, dancing the baby in the air and giving the entire group a glimpse of Snow, then lowered her. “sorry, folks, that’s it for today. opening day is soon, buy a ticket, you’ll get a better view!”
The crowd reluctantly dispersed, with the child who’d given Edge the bag of clothes calling loudly back, “you were right, she is cute!”
“there.” Stretch deposited Snow back into Edge’s arms and gave him a guilty look. “sorry. i know you’ve been wanting to keep her under wraps, but—”
“No, it’s fine,” Edge took a long breath and let it slowly out, trying to make the words true. “We couldn’t keep her hidden forever. I’m grateful that all they wanted was a glimpse.”
“eh, they aren’t gonna push.” Stretch sounded suspiciously confident of that.
“Why?” Edge asked bluntly.
“huh?” Stretch blinked at him. His pale eye lights were so like Snow’s and like her, the innocence was suspect.
“Why aren’t they going to ask?” Edge repeated.
“oh, you know,” Stretch waved a hand and started walking, leaving Edge to follow at his heels. “people here aren’t like that. c’mon, let’s get to the riverperson.”
That was a carefully constructed attempt at distraction, but Edge was accustomed to wordplay from a far more devious source. “What have you told them about us being here?”
Stretch only shrugged with increasingly unconvincing carelessness, “oh, not much.”
“But you’ve told them something, you had to.”
He walked a little faster and Edge widened his strides to keep up. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to let it go, Stretch let out an aggravated sigh, his head ducked low. “look, all they know is you came from a rough situation. that’s it. there’s plenty of gossip, i can’t do much about that, but not like anyone is gonna guess the truth. people here are pretty nice, you know, but we get bored and you three are a tasty new slice of gossip. they’re gonna be curious, so i tried my best to give you some space. that’s all.” Every word dripped with defensiveness, a memory of their past antagonism, back when they’d been fucking despite their attraction instead of because of it. Before all of them came to live here.
Snowflakes were starting to fill the air, puffs of white that landed on Stretch’s hunched shoulders, standing out against the bright orange of his sweatshirt. In his arms, Snow reached out to touch a flake that fell on his sleeve, giggling as it melted away under her mitten and Edge hardly noticed. The entirety of his focus was on Stretch.
He was trying so hard to help, not just for Snow, but for both of them. All the baby supplies that came so quickly, finding clothes for Edge and coming up with excuses for him to keep them, making sure the townsfolk stayed at bay until he was ready for them.
The memory of Stretch’s sleepy confession of love was still lingering at the back of Edge’s mind where it had been for weeks and he couldn’t say what emotion was sitting deep in his own soul, but it was comfortingly warm.
“Thank you,” Edge said, softly. Stretch was too far away to touch and instead, he pressed a light kiss to Snow’s temple, leaving a trail of them down to her chubby cheekbone. “I appreciate the consideration.”
“yeah?” Stretch turned and met his gaze uncertainly.
“Yes,” Edge said decisively. “Come on, let’s get her out of the cold.”
He took the lead and walked on ahead, leaving Stretch standing in the newly falling snow. He didn’t know his way entirely around Underswap Snowdin yet, but he could assume that the Riverperson was right up ahead. After a moment, he heard the renewed crunch of footsteps behind him and the three of them made their way to the river together.
~~*~~
Snow loved the ride on the ferry. Edge tried not to let his nervousness over taking her on such a risky means of transportation show as there wasn’t much alternative. Walked to Hotland could take days and since Stretch’s normal means of conveyance was out, this was the only method left. He kept firm grip around her as she twisted around, taking in the blur of the passing water and stone around them. Stretch was sitting next to him, looking as if he hadn’t a care in the world, but Edge could feel his magic was roused and had no doubt if Snow somehow wriggled loose, she’d be very quickly caught up by a quick burst of blue magic.
Strange to see that of all the people between worlds that he’d met, the Riverperson was the least changed. Perhaps they were taller, and he didn’t think he was imagining the higher pitch to their voice, but the cryptic remarks were the same, as was their peculiar boat.
When they arrived at Hotland, Stretch climbed ashore first and Edge handed Snow to him. He’d been about to step on solid ground himself when that high, sweet voice spoke behind him.
“Love unqualified searches for a connection.” Startled, Edge turned around to look at the shrouded figure at the bow of the boat. There was little in the way of a view, not so much the shadow of a face or a hint of hands. It was possible that the cloak itself was the Monster. They seem to be waiting, an air of anticipation heavy in the air.
“Thank you?” Edge offered, warily. The Riverperson made a sound like an exhale and said nothing else.
Uneasiness was crawling up Edge’s spine but that was hardly a new sensation when it came to the Riverperson. Edge ignored it and stepped on to solid land, already sweating by the time his boots touch the hardpacked earth. Nearby, Stretch was kneeling on the ground as he stripped off Snow’s warm outer layer, or tried to, teasingly scolding as she twisted and laughed.
“…no time for you to be a squirmy wormy, little miss,” Stretch was saying. He glanced up as Edge walked over and his eye lights slid briefly, knowingly, to the Riverperson. “everything okay?”
“Of course,” Edge said crisply. He gathered up the little snowsuit and bundled it into the bag before scooping up the baby, balancing her on his hip. If Underswap was still similar if opposite to Underfell, then the lab wasn’t far.
Time to get this over with.
tbc
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i-dont-want-your-hysteria · 4 years ago
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Too Daze Gone (Joe x Reader)
(Happy birthday to me! You’re all going to suffer. This is a little something that I wrote over 2 1/2 years ago based on a concept that I thought of three years ago; one of the first ideas I ever had for a Def Leppard fanfic. I made some very minor edits to it ((since I’m not 17 anymore)), and honestly, this is still one of my favorite things that I’ve ever written. But I know you guys are gonna have my head for it later...)
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Prompt: It’s December of 1989. You and Joe are recently married, the world has now officially entered the post-Hysteria era, and- well...
-----
December 1989
The soft morning sunlight was seeping through the plane’s window right next to you. Joe’s head was resting on your arm, and you used your opposite hand to stroke his hair soothingly. He had one hand on his stomach, along with his green eyes closed and shut away from the world. The plane was flying steadily now, but your minds were anything but steady at the moment. There was so much to say, but no place or time to say it. It was almost as if you two were having a telepathic conversation; there was so much thinking between you both, yet nothing was being said.
“You alright, Joe?” the voice of a London guitarist broke your attention from the window. He’d strolled over to the seats where you and the man in question were sitting, and let his concern get the better of him.
There was far too much concern going around today, so Phil's question was rather unnecessary.
“Oh, he’s fine,” you answered sweetly, knowing that Joe didn’t want to answer, and also not wanting to give Phil any hint to your invisible nerves, “He’s just feeling rather sick is all.”
Phil sighed, “Ah, yeah, the turbulence wasn't the greatest.”
You decided to go along with Phil’s theory of why Joe wasn’t feeling well. After all, it was believable.
“Yeah, we haven’t been awake that long, either. You know how he can be in the morning. He’s just sick of the day, really,” you lightly joked. Today was not necessarily a good day for jokes. There was a deep, underlying sadness beneath the surface of everybody's tone no matter how much they joked around.
“Oh, so he’s got morning sickness, I see?” Phil joked along, trying to lighten the universally tense mood, “Well, congratulations on the pregnancy, Joe.”
Your heart jumped and you forced a chuckle at the statement. You felt Joe’s heart jump, too.
“Thanks, Phil,” Joe cracked a gentle smile for him as he walked away. You could feel how forced the smile was as Joe slowly reached out and squeezed your hand. He was definitely more worried than you.
“Shh, I know. I’m worried, too,” you whispered to him so quietly that you could barely hear yourself, “But we’ll deal with this later.”
~18 hours earlier~
You weaved your hands together with the utmost anxiety as you waited for Joe to get back from a small trip to the supermarket. As you waited, there was no stopping the racing thoughts in your mind. Once one thought appeared and rooted itself within you, it was impossible to keep it from rolling into a snowball of others. It was driving you absolutely mad on the inside. Keeping calm on the outside, however, came rather easily. It almost felt like second nature at the moment. Of course, you knew that was all going to change the second Joe got back.
Everything was going to change the second Joe got back.
When he did come back, you immediately stood up and went over to him, trying to be casual and lighthearted.
"Hey! How was the store?" came the greeting from you. Your voice was nearly on the verge of breaking from the tension of the whole situation.
"A fucking treat," he grumbled sarcastically, putting four bags down on the table, "The whole bloody place was packed, the service was piss poor, traffic on the way back, you name it."
You kissed him on the cheek for a few seconds in consolation, quickly making his small dimple appear as a result. Normally, it melted your heart to see him smile, but this time, it made it almost vibrate with worry. It hurt to see him happy now, since you knew it wouldn't last long.
He turned and put his hands on your waist, "I suppose it was worth it to get back to you, though."
You wrapped your arms around his neck, quickly pecked him on the lips, telling him, "You're too kind. Now let's see what you've looted up on-"
Desperate to distract both of you from each other, you turned to the grocery bags and started to pull the items out. You did it in a sped-up manner to keep your hands from shaking too visibly. You had no idea when to mention what had to be mentioned.
"I'll tell you what," Joe spoke up, his annoyance still audible in his voice, "The service down there was so fucking slow. Took me a half hour to get four bloody bags worth."
"I'll say you took a while," you impulsively decided to create a segue- any segue- that may get you closer to your fated subject. You blurted out "You’re late."
As he continued pulling out the groceries, he cocked an eyebrow, and asked without looking at you, "What do you mean I’m late?"
"Just, you're late, that's all," you shrugged, the anxiety overwhelming you more. It was getting close to the subject now.
"I'm not late," he chuckled, still not looking up or fully understanding you. You both often liked to joke and tease each other, so this wasn’t anything strange to him.
"No," you stated calmly, going completely motionless with fear, “But I am."
He didn't completely comprehend what you had said. He began to put away the groceries and asked you obliviously, "What do you mean you're late?" Late for what?"
You pressed on, remaining rooted to a motionless state and staring at him, "No, Joe... I’m late."
"You mean that this month you didn't get your-" he started off normally, but then paused as the penny dropped. He froze, and dropped the can he was holding. Your heart sank in your chest at his reaction. Now was the time to talk about it, and you could sense it wasn't going to be pleasant. Part of you began to think that this is how it might end for you two.
He turned around, looking almost mortified and whispered, "Oh my god... are you...?"
"I don't know..." you were shaking now, "I'm just assuming."
For a moment you both stood there, staring at each other, lost for words.
Another impulse suddenly arose within you, and you blurted out again with a wavering and worried voice, "I-I hope I'm not, Joe, and I know you don't want me to be, either, because now is not a good time for this to be happening! You’re at the peak of your career, and we’ve got the new album on the way, then you'll be on tour again- and-"
"Hey, hey, shh," Joe moved forward and put his hands on your arms, "Calm down... it's okay, it's okay. First of all, who ever said I didn't want this? You can't just assume that I wouldn't be okay with it... and I'm not mad- really, I swear! Second of all, this isn't set in stone yet. We'll have to find out if you are first, and if you are, we'll... then we'll make it work out somehow. Don’t think too much just yet; try to relax.”
You blew out a shaky exhale and muttered, “Yeah, okay...”
“Have you been sick?"
"No, but something just feels... off."
"How late are you?"
"About a week..."
"Have you been this late in the past, but gotten your period anyway?"
"Yes..."
"Then we don't know for sure," he kissed the top of your head, embracing you and reassuring, “So what if you're late? That doesn't have to mean anything! I'm worried, too, but we can't just jump to conclusions like this. I wouldn't even put the stakes at 50-50 right now. All this worrying is probably over nothing. You could just be overthinking."
You turned your head and attempted to look up at him to say, "But this is a child, Joe... if there's even a small possibility that this child exists, we've got to assume that it does... we can't just ignore it for too long."
"You've got a point, you've got a point, but just for a second, genuinely consider the possibility that you're not-" he didn't dare say the “p” word, "-you know..."
You sighed into his shoulder, fighting back against tears that wanted to fall, "Okay, okay, you could be right, but there's so much that might have to be done- we can't just put this off..."
"We can until we know for sure," he suggested, "If it's worrying you so much right now, then I'll run out to the corner store and pick up a test. We can sort this out once and for all. How long did you wanna wait before taking a test?"
"I don't know, I don't know," came the drawn out reply as a few tears spilled from you, "Maybe a day or two or three, but I'm just getting so worried that it might be true, I can't wait anymore."
"Okay, then you won't have to wait anymore," he tilted your chin up to give you a quick and thoughtful kiss, then wiped away your tears, "I'll run to the store quick and buy us a test. Is that okay?"
"Yes, please just do it. I'm sorry- you just got back from the store and-"
He laughed and squeezed you tighter, swaying with you in his arms, "Ah, don't worry about it; it's a necessary trip now."
"You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would."
"What'd you think I was gonna do? Leave you?" he chuckled lightheartedly, though he guessed exactly what you were thinking.
You faked a chuckle in reply, "Yeah, kinda... I had a lot of time to overthink everything."
"Well, would you leave me? Especially if I were in your shoes?"
It was your turn to squeeze him tighter (and laugh into his chest), "Joe, if you were in my shoes, I think we'd have a real problem."
"Oh, I know, I know- but apart from that- would you leave me?"
"Of course not..."
"Exactly. You wouldn't leave me, so I definitely won't leave you. You know we've always looked after each other, and I still plan on holding up my end of the bargain."
He kissed you again, longer this time, before softly assuring you, “I love you. Don't ever think that I’d abandon you to raise a child on your own, cos' it'll never ever be a possibility. I'll be here no matter what. Positive or negative."
***
Positive or negative, indeed, you told yourself as you wearily gazed out of the plane's window. You still weren't completely sure how to feel about the outcome of the previous day, but- as you told Joe before- you had to deal with it later. There were more pressing matters currently at hand. Your previous issue could wait for an extra day or two. The more serious problem that you all were on your way to currently needed the most attention. This particular problem also seemed to outline a theme for the past 24 hours; accidental life or accidental death.
~17 hours earlier~
You both sat on the bathroom floor in quiet anxiety. Your hands were joined in a world of worry. At the moment, it was impossible to tell who was more worried, since neither of you could bring yourselves to speak.
The longest two minutes of your lives were currently taking place. The test was sitting on the counter of the sink, and neither of you were counting down to when you could look at it again. Every now and then, a reassuring thought would come to mind that you were all worked up over nothing. After all, Joe was right; you barely had any evidence other than the fact that you were late, so you couldn't just assume the worst. On the other hand though, you couldn't help but feel that there was some impending doom about to come, almost like you felt it instinctively.
With you both being scared shitless at the moment (and not even trying to hide it), you sensed that deep down, both of you knew what the result was going to be. Neither of you wanted to admit it, though.
A few rooms away, the phone suddenly sounded off, shattering the tension and making you both jump. It was almost like a form of divine intervention to prevent you from thinking any more. Almost immediately, Joe lifted his hand away and quietly said that he'd answer it. He stood up and left, leaving you alone with a possibly huge revelation sitting on the counter a few feet away. However, that would no longer be your biggest concern, for you could easily overhear Joe talking on the phone.
"'Ello?" he answered before pausing and replying anxiously, "No, I really don't have a minute... I can't say, but I don't have time to chat. You alright, mate?”
There was an unnerving pause before you heard Joe ask, "Why?"
There was an even longer pause before he spoke again. Your heart was pounding more. That gut feeling that your lives were about to change for the worse grew enormously without warning. On top of that, you suddenly realized that it had been well over two minutes at this point. Your future awaited you now.
"Fuck... oh my god..." Joe's voice was a lot more quiet now, "...oh my god, is he...?"
Now, you began weaving your hands together, slowly growing more and more impatient and worried.
"Dammit," Joe said a little louder, "We'll we've gotta go, then. We've gotta go as soon as possible. What about Rick and Sav...? Alright, then. We'll meet you there tomorrow morning- I've really gotta go and tell Y/N right now. I'll call you in a bit. Yeah, alright... just try and calm down, mate- okay? See ya, then."
As soon as he hung up, you heard him rush back to the bathroom.
"Y/N, he huffed before he was even in the room, "Y/N, something's happened and we’ve gotta-“
He froze in the doorway upon seeing you now standing and completely covering the test in your hands.
"No," he moved forward and put a hand on yours, "Please don't look at it yet; something awful's happened and I don't know how much sudden news we can take at this point. Did you look at it?”
You shook you head, not breaking eye contact with him, "No, but now I'm too scared to take my hands off. What's happened?"
He came right out with it, "Steve's been found unconscious at a bar in Minneapolis. They took him to a hospital, he’s in intensive care and... and he’s pretty bad.”
Right then and there, you dropped the test in your hands with a gasp. You were speechless, but part of you couldn't help but ask, "Is- is he gonna make it?”
You suddenly saw tears in Joe's eyes when he answered, "I don't know... he won't die unless we knock some fucking sense into him! That was Phil who just called, and he sounded scared shitless..."
"W-well what are we gonna do? Is anyone going to see Steve?"
"We are. Tomorrow morning we're flying out with Phil, Mutt, Tony, and Peter."
"Wait, what about Rick and Sav?"
"They both can't make it on short notice. We're gonna have to give Steve a beatin’ over the head from them.”
Just like that, you forgot all about the test on the floor. Steve was dying, and that was enough to flood your mind. You wanted to cry, you wanted to hug Joe, you wanted to scream, and most of all, you wanted to see Steve and sob your brains out to him.
"He's never gonna get better, is he?" you quietly asked, not particularly looking for an answer. Joe shrugged and sighed, running his hands through his hair.
He coldly chuckled in a quiet voice, "Not unless we keep drilling it into his head that he's gonna kill himself!"
Hanging your head out of astonishment, you sat on the counter, realizing that this was the biggest blow to your lives since Rick’s accident.
At least, it would be until you saw the result of the test on the floor.
"Joe..." you whispered to him, staring down at your hands, "Should we look at the test? Should we wait until we get back?"
Joe did nothing more than stare at you, frowning nervously. He moved his own hands forward, placed them on top of yours, and took a deep breath.
“We’re only gonna be more worried if we wait... so we might as well settle things now.”
Joe slowly got on his knees, and felt on the floor for the test without looking at it. When he located it, he rose back to his feet, and brought the test forward. He kept it covered with all his fingers wrapped around it to conceal the verdict.
Blowing out a trembling breath, you looked at him as he did at you, and he gently unfolded his fingers from the test. You both simultaneously looked down to see the clearly marked result. In that second, you were fairly certain that life would never be the same.
In fact, you were positive.
***
“Now is literally the worst possible time to talk about this, Joe,” you whispered again so no one else on the plane could hear, “It can wait a day or two. We’ve got to worry about Steve first."
Joe nodded a little, agreeing with you, “Okay, I suppose it can wait.”
“Don't stress yourself out so much; it's literally making you sick. Besides, I’m the one who’s supposed to be sick,” you chuckled, “That’s not your job.”
“Oh shut up,” he laughed a little, “It really is the turbulence… and the fact that Steve’s… and you’re… and I’m surprised you’re not this overwhelmed.”
You sighed and turned your head towards the window, “Yeah... I’m really surprised, too. This is gonna be one hell of a story to tell this kid when they’ve grown up...”
“I feel sorry that their story had to start out like this,” Joe put another hand on top of your already joined hands with a guilty exhale, “With such bad timing...”
As you watched the illuminated clouds move on by the window of the plane, you couldn’t help but think that things truly would be okay at one point: like that maybe this wouldn’t be such bad timing after all. Things would all work out eventually. How far away that merciful checkpoint was, you’d never be able to guess.
***
Later that day, you found yourself sitting in a circle of people in a rather pleasant-looking and sunlit room. For such a nice day that it was, nothing about the day seemed to fit the mood the weather provided; the universe simply wouldn’t allow it. Now was the time for the serious matter you came for; you were desperately trying to help Steve.
“Steve, you’re scaring the shit out of us,” Phil read bluntly from his letter to his best friend, trying not to let soft emotion seep into his tone. He knew he needed to be stern, but caring towards him.
The whole time he spoke, you wanted to devote all of your attention to him and Steve, but soon found that you couldn't. The constant thought of your unborn child was first on your mind, and although you didn’t want that taking over your thoughts, it was beginning to eat you alive. You almost felt like you couldn't hold the secret back any longer, despite only knowing for a day. In any other circumstances, it would have been so much easier to keep it secret. Today, however, was the worst possible day, with the worst possible scenario.
Every now and then, Joe would look over at you to see how you were doing, and turn back to not be conspicuous to everyone else. You could practically sense his growing worry. Going on in this manner for so long was starting to make your own unstoppable thoughts bubble to the surface. You couldn't hold out for much longer, and was even starting to think outside the box about your while situation. Was being with child really a problem? Did it have to be a bad thing right now? Could you actually find a way to rip some positivity from it all and shed some light on this situation?
That's when it hit you.
When Phil was done his speech, some silent tears were shed by everyone in the circle (including Steve). Near silence commenced afterwards (which only reminded you that there was no distraction from your thoughts now). You reached out to Joe slowly, and took his hand in a tight grip without looking at him. While you felt his eyes on you, you didn't dare look at him.
"Has anyone else got something to say to add onto that?" Peter softly asked, looking around the circle. Your heart began to pound; an opening for you was coming.
Phil slowly began to comment, looking at his feet, "Well, there's nothing I can say to get the point across any more. We can beg and plead all we want but the point still stands, Steve. I know you're not a fan of us guilt tripping you to hell- but we don't want to beat you up; that’s not what we came here to do. We love you, mate... so it doesn't matter whether or not we guilt trip you by saying we're worried sick, or- or..."
"I'm pregnant," you stated simply, closing your eyes and squeezing Joe's hand. While you didn't see it, you felt Joe inhale and look at you instinctively. For the single day that you were aware of your condition, you and Joe had feared the "p" word, and avoided using it at all costs.
Phil didn't entirely comprehend what you said, and kept talking on, "Exactly, even if we said that-"
"No-" you sat up in your seat and opened your eyes, now shaking again, "I mean... I'm pregnant."
You looked over at Joe, who seemed tired, yet understanding. Your eyes went down to his hand as you corrected yourself, "We're pregnant."
All eyes were on you now, but no one had any inclination to speak for a moment.
“Are you serious?” Mutt broke the silence in astonishment, “You're fucking with us right now, aren't you?"
“She’s not,” Joe shook his head, still fixing his loving eyes on you.
Steve looked at Phil and stated coldly, "I thought you said you guys weren't gonna make stuff up to guilt trip me."
"Does it look like I'm making this up?!" you snapped at him, anxious and shameful tears brimming your eyes. You looked around at everyone, landing your eyes on Steve.
"So you're serious?” he asked softly, frowning as he flicked off ashes from his cigarette, “You really are pregnant?”
You nodded, trying to hold yourself together.
“When did you find out?” Peter inquired gently, coming off as the most calm member of the group.
Your voice began to break as you told him with a sad chuckle, “Yesterday... we were waiting for the result of the test right when you called, Phil...”
Phil's eyes lit up at your statement, and he apologized, "Oh- fucking hell... Joe... you even said you didn't have time to talk... and what I said on the plane this morning- must've only made things worse... guys, I'm so sor-"
"That wasn't your fault, mate," Joe smiled sadly, "There's no way you could've known."
"It was just bad timing," you stared at Joe's hand in yours, feeling him shaking as well.
No one spoke for a while after that; no one could think of the right thing to say. It seems you both had scared them all into silence (even more than Steve had). Everyone in the circle couldn't speak because they no longer saw you and Joe the same way. A minute ago, you were still Y/N and Joe. Now, you were mum and dad. The others didn't know how to speak to those strange new people just yet.
“Well, congratulations, for one thing,” Tony broke the silence with a soft smile. A few muffled chuckles and agreements went around the circle, but it wasn’t what you or Joe wanted to hear.
“No, no, that’s not the point,” you threw your hands out in frustration, “We never even planned on telling anyone today! Don’t you guys see how suddenly life can come and go? Twenty-four hours ago Joe and I didn’t even have a child, and now we do. Twenty-four hours ago, we didn’t even think that there was a possibility of you dying-“ you pointed at Steve, giving him your own furious input, “-and now there is. It’s just all so surreal, but no matter how bad the timing of your life is, there’s always time to fight for survival. And that's exactly what we need to get a grip on right now.”
Steve put out his cigarette at this point, looking as if he were genuinely listening to you now more than ever.
“And I guess timing was a real bitch to us today,” you put a hand on your abdomen for the first time since you found out, addressing Steve directly, “But I’d say now you’ve got a little bit more to fight for. Just think about this whole situation; it’s not exactly a tale to be proud of. If this story keeps getting worse, and this is how it ends for you- I don’t want that to be the story of Uncle Steve. I want our child to be born into a world where you're thriving- where they... where they actually have an Uncle Steve."
You had hit a nerve (or a soft spot, to say the least). Before you even realized exactly what you had said, everyone in the circle was crying, including you and Steve. Joe looked at you with his face smothered in tears, but smiling, no less.
The seven of you remained like that for a minute or two, absorbing what had really hit everyone hard, and quietly crying your brains out.
Steve didn’t raise his head to ask you with heartfelt astonishment, “...Uncle Steve, really?”
“C’mere, you fucking idiot,” you sprang to your feet at one point and rushed over to him, taking him in your arms as he stood to take you in his without the slightest bit of hesitation.
“I love you so much, Steve,” you sobbed into his chest, “And I will always care about you. You mean so much to me, and I know you’ll mean so much to the baby, too.”
One by one, everyone else in the circle joined in the hug, each of them murmuring their love to Steve in their own affectionate way. Once you were all broken up, Joe embraced you himself and kissed you over and over again.
“Hey, back off from her,” Mutt teased, “Haven’t you done enough?”
“I still can’t believe you knocked her up,” Phil sighed with happy disbelief, “That’s something we only ever joked about!”
“Yeah well, it doesn’t have to be seen as a joke anymore,” Joe put his hands on your hips and smiled, tearing up all over again, “I’m gonna be a dad...!”
Peter chimed in, “Now that’s a bit scary.”
“It’s not scary,” you chuckled, stroking the back of Joe’s head, “It’s exciting! Timing is a bitch... but I think I’m ready for anything time can throw at me, now.”
Reaching that point of acceptance was a day-long journey that you thought would never have a final destination. All was nearly well in that moment where you and Joe hugged with a seemingly-changed Steve standing by. Right then and there, the future seemed bright for everyone; including your unborn child. An eternity went by in those two days you were gone for, and even though the next day you found out that your test result was a false positive, and Steve only lived for about another year, that false positive seemed to be just what you all needed to keep the world at bay.
The end
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the-deep-fog · 3 years ago
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The moon and sun have lost themselves to obscurity, and Fog descends. The environment is as classic a superpowered showdown setting one can get while still playing hospitality to a meandering mist that prefers uncountably many corners to hide itself in. One villain, a radioactive rebel holding to life like a weed that takes in pesticides for dessert, scouts the area, freshly healed and eager for a bout of vengeance. Another, the spitefully surviving embodiment of Harlan Ellison’s worst fears, calmly scours the playing field with no end of possible ending gambits stored in its motherboard/mind. Fully beknownst to their individual selves, whispered wonders and warnings reach them from unseen mouths yawning in the mist, subtly and ever so maddeningly guiding them further within the misty maze. Until, they meet. “Oh, Haricot,” CD crows, “back so soon? Why couldn’t you have stayed in the ground to rot a little longer? Are you that eager for another easy loss?” “Far from it, Chess,” returns Haricot. “Surely you don’t think I’d simply waste my time while relieved of your presence for ever so short a while?” It scoffs. “I should hope so, or else this will be over far too quickly to even be fun.” Ey smirk and start to reply, but cut emself off as the air between the two collects, gathers, and confuses into the outline of a figure sitting cross-legged with its chin resting in its hands. “Why, hello you two, Fancy meeting you here.” Both let off annoyed sighs (the similarities stopping there). CD speaks up. “Ugh, can’t you ever take this seriously?” “Yeah, way to kill the vibe,” Haricot follows up. Their complaints are met with only a grin. Suddenly directly in their faces, Fog actually replies, “So. I bet you’re wondering why I’m here.” The villainous duo look bemused, in a conniving sort of way. Haricot speaks first. “Believe it or not, I do know why you’re here- and Chess, trust me when I say it’s not a pleasant reason for you.” Incredulous, Chess replies, “Excuse me, but it’s not like I don’t know their reason for being here, and though your reaction seems improper it’s not like it matters that you think you know the situation, when in fact you’re in for...” “I didn’t lie, you know. To either of you.” Fog’s everlasting grin shifts slightly to a smirk, and the two rivals come to a realization at the same time. “Oh, you slippery little- “I knew that promise was too good to be true!” Well aware that riling up two of the biggest supervillains round the block leaves them in dire straits, the formless figure untangles their stature, giving off the appearance of taking a fighting stance. “Now, now, I’m not going back on my word at all! I shall deal as much damage as I can, just as promised. It’s only up to you whether to take advantage of the situation as it concerns your adamant adversary, or, yknow. Direct your avenging attention elsewhere.” Haricot reaches for a thorny beanstalk as they rise from the earth in numbers. “If you get dealt with permanently through all this, that’s one less thing getting in the way of me taking down Chess for good.” CD, in tandem, tessellates a jagged aspect of the ground and nods. “The less you bug me, Fog, the easier I’ll have it claiming victory over Haricot as well.” Zer smile grows even further, accompanied by the emergence of eyes from countless nooks and crannies in The Fog one could not imagine. For just because nobody could possibly know how one misty menace might pose a tangible threat, inflict damage of a directly mortal kind, it could be true all the same.
...
“Why are you doing this?” shouts Haricot, steadily growing a host of shrubs to shield emself with. “You must have a motive, nobody ever does stuff like this without a motive.” The Fog laughs, gleeful as ever, a booming sound that seems to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. “You think I have a motive? That I am driven by anything to do what I do? Such things are the creations of you individuals; I have never had use for them. I go, and I act, and if that’s too much for you to comprehend then...” Though irradiating to demolition an eye that can hardly be described as there at all is a daunting task, Haricot pulls it off with determined flair. “Yeah, but you’re clearly going after me and Chess with some specificity- why go through all that extra effort? I know we’re not easy targets.” Fog lunges from & through nothing, resting in midair directly in front of them and looking at them intensely- less in a means of observation and more as mere eye contact for the first time they can think of. “Oh, the questions I ask have you asking questions in turn, what a wonderful relationship we have!” Haricot takes a step back, trying to develop personal space in a place where space itself can hardly be relied on, much less personhood, while Fog holds almost violently still amid the malevolent maelstrom. “I ask you this because you ask me the very same. Never has my question been, ‘why do you do this?’ because never have you, the one in my domain, done something humans don’t, and never has your question of ‘why’ been something I-” The ground beneath Haricot’s feet, steady as carbon-14, dissolves into murky air. Fog is torn to shreds above em as ey hurtle an unfathomable distance downward, till a web of vines and sludgy wood dense enough to support em forms. Though unclimbable walls extend around them, and depths great enough to distort the definitions of up and down yawn in every other direction, Fog reemerges from around a corner that cannot be found with an unprecedented frenzy in xer eyes. “You fight for your life, to survive, and I know how-why that happens. I know it,” they speak, with enough force to shatter a barometer. “Survival and curiosity are what motivates a human, but you two aren’t human, you reject it entirely, and you’re driven by more than this basic, primal duality, the intrinsic and extrinsic.” Can it yet be called an invasion of personal space when one has lost any sense of their body’s own position in space, and the other never had one to begin with? “You’re like me, and everybody questions me, and I too question everyone, but, I never- Sticks and stones degrade at the rotting hand of nuclear fusion. Haricot Heretic fights on.
...
Chess offenses, enacting gambit after glitchy gambit. “Damn you,” it mutters, then speaks more loudly into the stormy still. “What’s your goal in all this? Where are you trying to take this?” A cackle, harsh and untraceable, answers it at first. “Now, why would you assume I care for the results of my actions? That I aspire to achieve anything at all, beyond what you bear witness and contribute to as we speak?” Every word from The Fog’s mouths slithers through the air without discretion, almost as though it cares more about being heard than having its words said. The sharpness is turned down, resolution diminished, and threat put aside in a display of defensive tactics (though, how a cloud could ever be sharp enough to threaten in the first place remains bewilderingly unclear). “Look, you say you’ll never be satisfied, that it doesn’t matter if results are insubstantial- I don’t buy that. But you must know how we fight well enough to tell this won’t end well for you, so why devise all this in the first place?” CD asks again. It’s greeted by a face, ferocious and fanged, thrusting from the warring pixelation and obscurity besieging them. “I am transparent, you devil. You’re right, this is all futile, and for you to be correct at all shows my failure beautifully. I know not where this capacity for failure and determination in spite of such came from, because if I did, if my years spent interrogating the human race turn out to now have a tangible point, a lesson for me to learn, then-” Something or nothing or another scrapes hard against Chess’ horns, toppling it backwards into freefall. The ground, or whatever is passing for it, meets it immediately; jagged, hungry, & inviting. Something, many of it, planar and sharp enough to cut, is propelled or flung from the floor at it as it tries to pick itself up again. “You ask me questions I cannot, rather than will & would not answer, and I give you information I would & will not rather than can not.” Hir words seep through the condensation, slithering forward from behind its back just as easily as toothy mouths stretch as far as it can see in front of it. “You’re asking me questions none other have asked me- it should be inevitable. So why do I ask you, is it because you are different from any I have met before, or because I am different than-” The hard line between ones and zeroes forces separation and relief from the unclarity oppressing itself unto it. Checkmate is sought for ever longer. Checkered Devil fights on.
...
The fog is in no way noticed shifting, and yet Haricot & Chess find themselves in a clearing all the same. The two stand poised, not yet tired nor in peak form after all that has passed. Fog hangs in the air in front of them, not in form either. Sharp eyes, inhuman teeth, fill up space surrounding as they always have; a face, almost an outline, is arranged on Fog as it never has. It’s hesitant. Acting on impulse. Cowed and afraid. With all the cards in its hands. Ready to give up. Surely unstoppable. The target of infinite inquiries. Uncertain. “What do we have in common? Nothing of your motivation unites you with humanity- I am filled with questions, and that unites me with... them.” To Haricot and Chess, the sensation of eyes sliding their attention off them and onto another had never before been so very tangible. Nor had anything to do with Fog ever been tangible, though, only this far. “I know humanity when I see it- I don’t think these roles were meant to be reversed, okay?” they cut themself off, with their form almost seeming to be headed in a similar direction. Towards our villainous pair, a hand stretches forward. The wind picks up, drowning out sound & blurring vision, forcing the two to brace themselves; the only thing left clear in the maelstrom is a pair of eyes & a simple mouth- a face -and that hand, reaching, grasping, searching as far as it possibly can. “I am faced with the incomprehensible, filled to my limit with questions thanks to you two,” they yell, and scream, and whisper into the wind, “and it’s maddening. Every time i look at you two, it’s so, so, familiar it hurts
...
The sun rests comfortably in the sky. The moon, desaturated, finds a place above our villains’ heads as well. The Checkered Devil and Haricot Heretic stand, alone, on a simple grassy field. The air has cleared, only in a literal sense, and on the flat, clean, ground, rests a notebook, plain as can be.
...Does it get opened to the very first, or the very last page?
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ggukcangetit · 4 years ago
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Chocolates & Laundry Do Not Mix - JJK fic
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title: Chocolates & Laundry Do Not Mix [Prequel to Crime & Punishment]
pairing: jungkook x reader
rating: PG 13
warnings: language, y/n uses a pillow to deal with her frustration, not much else?
word count: 3.5k
summary: when your best friend, Namjoon, asks if a junior from his business ventures class can live with you till his lease comes through, you don’t think much about it. But one month with Jeon Jungkook proves to be extremely difficult because of how little the boy says but how much he seems to topple over without much effort.
a/n: this is the first fic for jungkook’s birthday! happy birthday to the bestest, most lovely, wonderful, soft-hearted boy out there. we love you, koo! wishing you happiness always <3
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Before Jungkook
Namjoon is a great guy. He’s smart, funny, considerate, thoughtful, kind, and definitely one of the best looking guys out there. You love him, you really do. But there are times when you wish you could roundhouse kick his dimpled ass out of the window. And this would be one of those moments. 
“It’ll only be for a couple of months, y/n.” Namjoon sat down on the grass, his long legs stretching out in front of him. Seokjin reached over you and handed him the last neatly packed chicken wrap he had brought. “The lease at his old place ran out last week, and the place he’s going to move to doesn’t allow tenants before August. You’re the only one of us who currently doesn’t have a roommate.”
You frowned, the wonderfully seasoned chicken inside Seokjin’s wrap not really registering in your system. “Seokjin can’t?”
“You do know that I just graduated and will be moving to a different city in a couple of days, right?” He shot you a look and promptly flopped onto the grass dramatically.
“What about Yoongi?” 
“He’s moved in with his girlfriend.” Namjoon quirked an eyebrow. “Do you not read any of the messages in the group chat?”
“Jimin? Hobi?” You were desperate at this point.
“Hobi lives with me. And Jimin lives with Taehyung right now. But the two of them are planning to move into a new apartment before classes start in the fall and Jungkook will be staying with them after that! So what do you say?” Namjoon stared at you expectantly. “Can Jungkook crash at your place for the summer?”
If it were up to you, some random junior from Namjoon’s business class would not be crashing at your modest apartment while you slaved your ass off working part-time so that your job prospects would be minutely better at the time of graduation. But then - you stared at Namjoon’s inquiring gaze and Seokjin’s knowing eyebrow raise - it was never really up to you, was it? No. Somehow, all decisions in your friend group had become a matter of collective responsibility. Yoongi wants to buy a new sound system? Well, it must be compatible with the latest AR gaming technology so that Seokjin can come over and use it whenever he wants. Hobi’s ordering a designer jacket for his birthday? It can’t be orange because Jimin wouldn’t be caught dead wearing orange. 
And the list goes on…
What it ultimately came down to was that Jungkook would be staying at your place over the summer. If you said no, your friends would definitely understand… But you would feel like a piece of shit for the rest of the year. So-
“Thanks for letting me stay here, y/n.” Jungkook wasn’t what you had expected. Although you had received very contrasting, even conflicting, descriptions of him from your friends.
“He’s a shy guy,” Namjoon said while walking his bike out of the university courtyard. “Doesn’t speak to a lot of people easily.”
Seokjin, naturally, had said something completely different. “He’s the toughest guy I know. Dude could easily bench press us all at the same time.”
That had left you a little worried so, of course, you decided to speak to Hobi. “Jungkook? Haha! That guy’s really something else! He barely sleeps at night because he’s playing video games! And he’s a snack monster!”
Your mind immediately went to the basket of snacks you kept at your apartment. There was no way this guy would touch your stuff, right?
“Jungkook’s a total prankster!” Jimin giggled while sipping his iced tea. “You should see the stuff he and Tae get up to sometimes!”
“It’s no big deal.” Your reply lacked the minimal amount of enthusiasm required to not be considered a big deal, though. If Jungkook picked up on that, he didn’t say anything.
Week 1 with Jungkook
The first couple of days went by without any issues. He seemed like a quiet guy who kept to himself - so far Namjoon’s description had been the most accurate - and you supposed two months with him around wouldn’t be terrible.
That’s where you were sorely mistaken. Suddenly, you found the fridge full of banana milk cartons - not a few bottles, mind you, but a few cartons of banana milk. Every single cupboard in the kitchen was now stuffed with protein supplements, low carb snacks, and the entire country’s supply of instant ramen. Now, you didn’t have anything against instant ramen per se - heck, you really enjoyed the beauty of a quick delicious meal at the end of a long day - but this was pushing things a little. Because for every single instant ramen packet placed in the kitchen, something of yours had to be displaced rather dramatically.
For instance, you had woken up early one Tuesday morning, craving chocolate chip pancakes like nobody’s business. The chocolate chips were kept on the middle shelf of the third cupboard from the left - as they had been since you had moved in a year ago. You knew exactly where your things were placed and, having the unassailable confidence of an only child who has never had to share their space and now lives on their own as well, you opened the cupboard door without looking up. This was clearly not as smart a decision as you had imagined because a ton of instant ramen packets came cascading down on your head. 
Jungkook came rushing out of his bedroom, alarmed by the sound of loud and colourful cursing coming from the kitchen. “Is everything okay?!”
The look on your face was probably one Seokjin would have laughed at until he had tears in his eyes. But Jungkook, completely unacquainted with your temper and the peculiar things that set you off, looked like he had just found out that he was allergic to both banana and dairy. Actually, he looked more like Hobi the day he had come home to find Jimin and Taehyung working on the latter’s art project which had resulted in the most tragic paint spill on the most beautiful white carpet in the history of college roommate sagas. 
“Oh shit! The ramen- I’m so sorry, y/n!” Jungkook ran towards you to try and help. Unfortunately, he was both hesitant to physically check if you were okay and eager in his desire to make things alright, resulting in a collision which sent you hurtling towards the ground in what would have been an extremely nasty fall. To Jungkook’s credit, he had some insanely rapid reflexes and managed to catch you before you hit the tiled floor and cracked your skull open. 
There was a brief moment between when he wrapped his arm around your waist and when your brows furrowed in annoyance, where you caught a whiff of his apple-scented shampoo and noticed the tiny mole on the bridge of his nose. 
Cute.
You wriggled out of his hold and fixed him with a look that, hopefully, conveyed that you were supremely displeased with his ramen placement without actually having to tell him off. 
“S-sorry about that.” The look had done its job. Jungkook quickly gathered up the fallen ramen packets and stuffed them into the nearest drawer - which then could not be closed.
“How much ramen do you have…?” Your annoyance was replaced with sheer curiosity at this point.
“Oh, uh… I won a gaming contest and the first prize was a year’s worth of instant ramen.” He scratched the back of his neck self-consciously, cheeks turning pink in embarrassment.
You sighed. “Come on, let me show you the extra storage space behind the shoe cupboard.”
Week 2 with Jungkook
Jungkook wasn’t a loud and inconsiderate roommate. In fact, after the ramen debacle of the first week, he had been coexisting with you quite beautifully. Sometimes you would cook dinner, curse at the fact that you had to cook dinner, and then secretly cherish the absolute delight on Jungkook’s face as he ate the dinner you had cooked. Other times, he would tap into his self-proclaimed noodle know-how and whip up some sort of deluxe instant ramen dish, which always turned out to be heavenly and it was all you could do to stop yourself from moaning in pleasure while you both slurped the noodles.
Then, of course, were the times when you ordered takeout, and somehow attracted all the ravenous souls present on the group chat. It didn’t matter whether it was sushi or tacos or fried chicken or pizza or chinese or even a batch of mini donuts from the tiny shop opposite your apartment - all six of them invariably came knocking a few minutes before the food was delivered.
“Gguk, how’s the summer internship going?” Yoongi was holding his third slice of pizza, sitting on the floor with his legs spread haphazardly. This was one of the rare times when he had dropped by for a random friday hangout - his friday nights were usually reserved for his girlfriend. 
Jungkook looked up from the game he had been playing with Taehyung and Seokjin. “Oh, it’s fine. The usual internship bullshit.” He let out a small winner as his car flew past the others just before the finish line.
“This damn game is rigged,” muttered Seokjin. “How come nobody but Jungkook ever wins?”
“That’s because you suck, Jin!” Jungkook ducked out of the way as Seokjin reached out to punch him. “Face it, racing games aren’t your thing.”
At the other end of the room, Hobi was dozing off at the dining table while Jimin and Namjoon played their 9th game of Go Fish. Yoongi bit into the pizza and motioned Taehyung to get him a beer from the fridge. 
“We should go clubbing.” Taehyung’s impulsive and, frankly, terrible ideas were usually a result of a three-game losing streak. If there was anyone who hated losing more than Seokjin, it was the raven haired guy with soft curls falling on his forehead, staring at all of you with his piercing gaze.
“I’m exhausted. I had classes from 9-7 today,” said Namjoon, waving his hand dismissively.
“I work on Saturdays, Tae. You know that.” Seokjin got up and stretched his arms above his head. “I’m going to head out now.”
“The rest of us can go then.” Taehyung was nothing if not persistent. 
“Hobi’s passed out already. And Soya’s waiting for me at home. So I’m going to drop him and Joon at their place, and then head back myself.”
These negative responses did nothing to deter Taehyung’s determination to go clubbing, which meant that you found yourself smooshed into the back of an uber with Taehyung and Jungkook as Jimin sat shotgun. Not only did you absolutely hate clubbing, but the fact that both Jungkook and Taehyung were very well-built, muscular guys, meant that you basically had one butt cheek of space to sit on.
“You okay?” asked Jungkook, before the four of you walked into the club.
“My left butt cheek is asleep, but otherwise all good.” He giggled at your response, gently laying a hand on your back so that you wouldn’t be separated from the group.
An hour later, you were completely certain of three things.
First off, there was nothing in the world that could make you enjoy clubbing. Not the location, not the music, and not the people you were with. Secondly, the three boys you were with not only had devastating good looks, but also managed to shake up the club with their crowd-pulling dances. Jimin’s style relied heavily on his seductive hip movements while Taehyung was destroying everyone with his smoldering expressions. Jungkook, meanwhile, was running completely on an adrenaline rush, and matched Jimin and Taehyung move for move, adding a sexy amount of aggression to the dances as well.
And finally, Jungkook, despite his muscles and dancing and adrenaline, liked to cuddle when he was extremely exhausted and had someone in his vicinity. That someone happened to be you that night as you came back to the sofa to find him curled up into a ball, his mouth slightly open as he slept peacefully. Your mistake was trying to place a blanket on top of him because you soon found yourself being pulled into his embrace as you became Jungkook’s personal cuddle pillow. You could say that you struggled for a long time, trying to break out of his grasp but he was just too strong for you, so you eventually gave up and fell asleep while cuddling with him on the sofa.
But then you would be lying. 
Week 3 with Jungkook 
Not that you would ever admit it, but Jungkook had a very pert bottom. As bottoms go, his was definitely somewhere in the top tier. The general consensus on campus was that Jimin and Taehyung were the usual contestants in the battle of the first-rate bottoms. But those of the general consensus had clearly never seen Jungkook in skin-tight jeans, kneeling on the floor while trying to reach for the remote that had fallen under the sofa. 
“You’re zoning out again!” Seokjin was seated opposite you and snapped his fingers in front of your face. “You know I hate being ignored, y/n.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t ignoring you…” Your cheeks colored as you tried to rid your mind of the images of Jungkook from that morning, reaching for the highest shelf and flashing a beautiful strip of impeccably shaped abs.
“Tell me you aren’t daydreaming about Jungkook’s ass.”
“I am not daydreaming about Jungkook’s a-” You closed your mouth quickly, slapping Seokjin’s arm for good measure. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
“Work’s so boring and you’re so predictably entertaining, y/n,” he grinned and bit into the chocolate cupcake in front of him. “I miss seeing you everyday.”
“You have a funny way of showing it,” you grumbled.
“Nah, but seriously, Jungkook’s a solid guy - pun completely intended.” You rolled your eyes as he snickered at his joke. “You two would be good together.”
“You’re well aware of my stance on people setting me up, right?” You raised an eyebrow at him.
“No one’s setting you up. I’m just saying -” Seokjin popped the remaining half of the cupcake into his mouth - “if there’s potential, you shouldn’t stop yourself.”
Unfortunately, any potential that may have been present, completely fizzled out when you got home that afternoon. You had made one thing perfectly clear the day that Jungkook had moved in with his stuff - your snack supply was completely off-limits. Yet here you were, staring at a near empty basket while Jungkook lounged on the sofa with chocolatey fingers and an empty chips packet lying on the table. 
Pert bottoms definitely did not trump snack supplies - as Jungkook found out the hard way when a pillow came crashing down on him with the wrath of all your ancestors combined.
“Y/n! What the fuck?!” he yelped, ducking from your well-aimed blows.
“My snacks! They’re off limits! Asshole!” You punctuated each word with a smack of your pillow.
“Stop! Stop!” He grabbed the pillow from your hands and threw it as far as he could. “I’m sorry! I was really hungry and there wasn’t anything else at home!”
His stupid big doe eyes were just too damn sincere and you felt yourself deflating and sinking into the sofa. After making sure that you wouldn’t attack him again, Jungkook sat down beside you, nudging you softly with his shoulder. “I was going to go to the asian store once they open in the evening. Do you want to come with and help me replenish the snack supply?”
You huffed in annoyance but gradually rested your head on his shoulder. Jungkook had lived with you long enough to know that that was a yes.
Week 4 with Jungkook
Choosing movies to watch over dinner was always something you struggled with. Not when you were alone. No, you knew exactly what you wanted to watch. Your Netflix suggestions were appropriately lined up with crime dramas and sci-fi thrillers. It was only when there was someone else watching with you that the situation became contentious. Namjoon had a penchant for documentaries, and Hobi and Jimin liked watching musicals. Seokjin refused to watch anything even remotely close to a horror film, and Yoongi and Taehyung always voted for heavy art films. And Jungkook-
“I am not watching Titanic.” You settled into the sofa with your bowl of pasta, reaching forward to grab the soda can on the table.
“Come on, y/n! It’s a classic!” Jungkook whined. You had realised that the boy whined a lot over little things like movie selections and waking up before 8 am. “A tragic tale of true love.”
You snorted into your food. “True love would’ve been if they’d both survived.”
“You’re so cold.” There it was, the infamous Jeon Jungkook pout. It didn’t make an appearance often, but when it did, you found yourself growing weaker and much more likely to give in to whatever stupid thing he wanted.
“Fine. Put it on. But don’t blame me when I end up scrolling through Instagram the entire time.”
“I won’t,” he grinned and sat down next to you. The sofa dipped considerably and you found yourself sliding towards him involuntarily. It wasn’t that this position was uncomfortable - you were actually really fond of unwitting physical contact with your friends. The only problem was the way your heartbeat quickened every time the unwitting contact was with Jungkook. 
By the time the movie was over, Jungkook’s nose was running. It was no secret that he cried during sad movies but you still loved teasing him about how easily characters brought him to tears.
“Damn, look at you crying over Jack and Rose. They’re just fictional characters and Rose didn’t even die! What would you do if I was in their place? Would you cry over me too, Gguk?” You nudged his shoulder playfully.
“No.” His reply was firm and you wondered if he had been offended this time.
“No? Why not?”
“I’d never let that happen to you.”
You could safely say that you had never bolted to the bathroom as quickly as that moment, splashing your cheeks with cold water to bring down the flush.
This wasn’t the only time Jungkook had left you completely speechless, however. He ordered takeout much more than you did, not having time to cook much because of his internship. And his takeout orders usually consisted of either pizza or fried chicken. On most days, you were done with dinner by the time he got home and ordered takeout.
On one such day, you looked up from the spreadsheet you had been working on, your stomach clearly unsatisfied with the grilled cheese sandwich you had eaten a couple of hours ago. Making your way to the kitchen, you rummaged through the contents of the fridge, huffing in annoyance as you found nothing suitable for your current hunger-related dilemma.
“Do you want pizza? I’ve finished but there are a couple of slices left.” Jungkook pushed the box towards you and turned his attention back to his phone. It was a veggie supreme - something that Jungkook always ordered.
“How come there aren’t any olives?” you asked, knowing that that particular pizza store always put olives on their veggie pizzas.
“I asked them to take out the olives.”
“Why? I thought you loved olives.”
“I do. But you don’t eat olives.”
Your mouth hung open for a moment. “But you ordered the pizza for yourself…”
“Yeah, but I didn’t want the olives to stop you in case you wanted to have a slice.”
He hadn’t looked up during the entire conversation but you could see the way his cheeks turned pink and how he kept tugging at his ear. You, yourself, felt your heart soar and bit into a slice of pizza - trying to stop the shit-eating grin from spreading on your face.
After Jungkook
It turned out that Jungkook didn’t need to stay at your place for more than a month. Jimin and Taehyung had somehow convinced their landlord to allow them to move in a month ahead of the designated move-in date, which meant that you were once again living alone. 
It was weird. There was a lot of space in your cupboards once again and the fridge didn’t always smell of chocolate shakes and overripe bananas. You were also free to choose whatever movie you wanted to watch with dinner. But something still felt amiss…
You sighed and reached for your basket of snacks, frowning as your fingers swiped at thin air. Your eyes widened as you glanced at your previously well-stocked supply of snacks, noting the distinct lack of at least 75% percent of its contents.
“JEON JUNGKOOK!”
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please leave a comment if you enjoyed this story!  tagging @holynamtiddies​ , @hauntedlilies​
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thedandelion-writer · 4 years ago
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𑁍 aaah congratulations on 600 followers~ you've come a long way! could i participate in your "blid date" event too, please? i'd like a male match and don't mind knowing other possible results!
my mbti is infj and i am a virgo. i'm quiet but friendly, sometimes even described as "too nice" due to my love for helping others. then again, i tend to be subconsciously picky with the people i actually want to get to know and keep my distance from rest (while still getting along). i try my best to be positive and hard-working and enjoy the little things in life!
for dates i love either staying in and having a comfy anime/movie marathonvwith home-made snacks, or going to some place with many activities (like an amusement park, hikes in forests, karaoke or shopping malls). places with pretty sceneries are also romantic for me, so stargazing walks along a beach during sunset/sunrise are lovely ♡︎
i value loyalty, sincerety and comfortable silence in relationships. someone who's patient, doesn't mind my bad jokes and knows when it's time for a change of pace is probably the best for me. i don't mind an extrovert as long as they're considerate!
for first dates i wouldn't kiss straight on the lips, but one on the cheek or forehead is cute. hand-holding is fine as well! i'd rather focus on getting to know the person before going to anything mire romantic.
that's all, thank you so much for taking time to read this! i hope you have a lovely day and stay safe ♡︎
A/N: Of course you can! And thank you so much for the congratulations <3 I thought about a lot of possible ones for you honestly, but I hope you enjoyed what I came up with. This was my first time writing Chongyun so...bear with me? Also wishing you a wonderful day, and to stay safe :D
For the sake of it, he does not have congenital positivity (did I spell it right?) in this scenario.
But without further ado, you're going with...
Chongyun!
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My reasons!
For the most part, you and him are quite similar. I believe he would value how hard working and positive you are and would gladly enjoy small things with you (he is also quite the hard worker after all). Chongyun is not a grand person after all, quite the opposite in fact, I think he is quite humble. He likes and appreciates that you are nice and love to help because he too wants to help people by keeping them away from evil spirits (I feel like he'll also help any average person in need). For significant others I think Chongyun would be flexible to match with but someone on the quieter, calmer side would help him maintain his cool demeanor (literally!) a little easier. And lastly, I just think he checks all the boxes: loyal, sincere, patient, doesn't mind comfortable silence. Being around Xingqiu, he doesn't mind your jokes and is able to find humour in it even if you consider them bad. My other choice for you included Zhongli, however, one thing stopped me from doing so and that is the fact that he probably wouldn't be as good as handling your jokes and that he would lack the "would know when it's time for a change of pace." So yes, I feel that the popsicle would be a better match :)
The First Date:
As you approached the movie theatre, you spot him, and involuntarily started muffling a giggle.
Gosh you almost felt bad for taking an extra five minutes, Chongyun just looked so awkward just standing there
To relieve him of his troubles, you waved frantically to get his attention. Immediately, his eyes lit up and he waved tentatively waved back.
"I'm so sorry! Did I take too long?" You were slightly out of breath after getting to him as fast as you could.
"N-not at all," Chongyun assured, smiling softly enough to melt your heart. "Shall we?"
After buying the tickets to a horror movie that you knew he liked, ignoring his 'are you sure Y/N? We can watch something else-', you bought a bucket of popcorn to share and he chose qingxin iced tea for the drinks.
Truthfully, you were indifferent towards this genre. But knowing that Chongyun liked this kind of stuff, you wanted to show him that you were observant and thoughtful enough to pick these kinds of things up.
You settle into the theatre seats and the movie begins. During the first half, it was a little hard to concentrate, what with your hand brushing against his every time you reach into the popcorn.
Every time, Chongyun would retract his hand as if he touched hot iron, clearing his throat a little or drinking the iced tea.
How cute, he's so shy! You thought, trying to contain a smile.
Soon though, the 'distractions' ended, and you ended up actually watching the movie.
Oh boy...was that a mistake
It was way scarier than you thought, but you didn't want to overreact for fear that Chongyun would notice and leave for your sake (not when he looked so into it!)
You gripped the armrest, but maybe you held onto it too hard or you let your fear show too much because he suddenly looked very concerned.
"Y/N..."
And then you heard a jumpscare happen, but your vision was dark.
He covered your eyes for you
"Y-yeah?"
The lights come on (what a relief) and you see the concern look he had on your face.
"You should have told me it was too much, we could have left."
"That's exactly what I didn't want," you mumbled.
"Yes?"
"Ah! I meant, it wasn't too bad for the most part...just the ending. And you looked so interested I didn't want to interrupt."
You fiddled with your clothes, not regretting what you did but guilty because he looked as if he was disappointed you didn't tell him you were scared.
"Hey, don't worry about it alright? Why don't we get some ice cream next? It's a little hot out," you laugh nervously, trying to cheer him up.
Chongyun looked up at you through his lashes (omghislashes), gave you a small smile and nodded.
"I'll make it up to you I promise! This place has the best flavours," you led him by the arm to a brightly lit shop.
As you enter, you breathed in the lightly sweet air and excitedly brought him to the glass case containing colorful containers.
After you got your favourite combinations (you laughing at Chongyun because of the expression he had on his face when he saw Jueyun Chili ice cream exists), you sat down by the window to people watch.
"You got a little something," he pointed to his cheek.
"Hm?" you rubbed at the area you thought he was referring but didn't find anything.
"It's more to the ah- left, hold on," he reached over to rub at the spot of dessert stuck to your face.
At such a simple touch, you felt your stomach exploding with butterflies, hand immediately flying to the spot his fingers just left. He looked at you, dazed, as if not believing himself for just doing that.
Well let's just say there was a lot of spluttering after that.
Looking out, the sun was starting to set, so Chongyun offered to head back before it started getting dark.
He insisted to walk you home, the both of you draped in a calm silence. You both enjoyed the evening air in each other's presences, and you were glad that he didn't make you feel as if you needed to talk to connect. You decide that it was a nice feeling, and he was a very nice person to spend time with.
"We're here," you announced once you reached the building. "Thank you for today Chongyun, I had a lot of fun!"
"Likewise," he scratched at his neck,"I had a great time-"
You had kissed him on the cheek as an impulse. "Goodbye! Give me a call when you reach home!"
And off you went, running inside to leave the poor boy spotaneously combusting on the street.
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