#but someone literally told me i should be ashamed for liking this movie and fuck that

[starlite-writes]

Hello I am here to be a problem! Anyway!

1 -> Angel 11 -> for any 5 of your kids bc I would ask for all of them but that's excessive so I am just asking for 5! 19 -> Asirli 21 -> Silk and Tussah C: 33 -> Mal 36 -> A......a.......angel......asking for a friend....................also Dr Silk

!! Thank you for asking i appreciate you... dropping these under the cut because BOY did it get long

1. If your oc was to host a TV show, what would it be about? Would your oc be good at it? What sorts of guests would appear?

God, could you imagine Angel hosting any kind of TV show? LMAO But I think, if they had to... maybe some kind of weird psychology show... How To Gaslight 101... /hj They have no guests ever it's just Angel all the time because they can't share the spotlight... but you know, of course, there was a guest on last week; don't you remember? No? Hm, weird. There was definitely someone there. Perhaps you should pay closer attention next time.

11. What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to your oc?  Do they still feel ashamed for it? Were there any witnesses?

Oh, God. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Luke! I think he's still really embarrassed about punching Maximilian when he first showed up... it was really out of character for him, but to be fair this was immediately after Mal in his mind and he was extremely combative and disoriented... he's apologised many times and so has Maximilian for making it worse but that. it took them a while to get over that first impression LMAO like a week before they would even say a word to each other kind of while. But now they're friends so it's cool.

Maximilian... even though it's probably not canon anymore, the masquerade was one of his top three for sure. Being paraded around in fancy clothes and forced to act like you like your kidnapper while you're stuck in a fucked up mass dream with your co-workers, who should have kept you from being here in the first place? That shit scarred him. In Trinity, it is 100% Silk putting him under curfew like a grounded teenager. Absolutely humiliating he has never recovered from that.

Tinashe... she was super excited when she first got her android body,,, but when it inevitably broke down the first time you know she was hella embarrassed and cursing Remy to hell and back. Imagine trying to pass as a person and then your body just breaks??? Awful.

For Mal,,, canonically, I got no idea. in Trinity, his first meeting with Starling. You try to beat someone up and you just beat yourself up instead???? Fucked up. But at least he got a hot black-magic-witch partner-in-crime out of it.

Rixi... that time Tina called her out about being in love with Remy and told her she was crazy for it. Rixi is really good at pretending things don't bother her or brushing them off after she has a cry but I think that's one of the few things that's stuck with her even though she never addressed it again.

The Raven Prince... [All of these words have been stolen from me sorry.]

19. If your oc were to be arrested for something, what would it be for? For being too kind, for a legitimate crime?

Asirli,,, stole a priceless map, probably. They were going to return it! They just wanted to study it a little! Is that so wrong? :(

21. Are there any public events your oc would love to go to? Concerts, plays, movies, parties, etc? What about ones that they would hate? Why?

Oh, hmm... I mean, there's not really anything they couldn't get themselves invited to, if they really wanted, but I think Silk would want to go to a casino and let loose for a weekend. I think she would really enjoy it, actually, especially given her competitive streak, but alas... that would require her to take time away from work. For Tussah... literally anywhere he would not be recognised would be great. Let him be Aurelius for a single day. Let him go to like. an art studio and paint with a group for a day without being hounded about work.

Places they would hate... Silk's is the beach. Tussah's is literally anywhere further than five feet off the ground. In all seriousness, Silk doesn't really enjoy large gatherings all that much, and Tussah gets bored during movies. He's a talker.

33. How does your oc’s own perception of themselves compare to how other people see them? Is your oc aware that other people see them differently (if it’s different)?

Thank you for choosing Mal out of everyone; he is The character for this question!

Mal definitely sees himself as someone who is much smarter and more mature than he is. He thinks he's cunning and strong and all, but he's really just extremely lucky (and being in league with Angel doesn't hurt). Mal's one of those who outwardly has a very inflated sense of self, and to a degree, he's definitely tricked himself into believing it. He's certainly aware that Angel (and most other people) sees him as childish and impulsive, but he doesn't really care too much, because regardless of what Angel says or thinks, they still need him, and vice versa.

36. What is your oc’s ideal night out like? Or would they rather spend it at home?

Wow, I can't imagine why you'd be asking this for them (/lh /s).

For Silk! Her ideal night out is a quiet visit to a planetarium so she can infodump at you about the stars,,, maybe a trip out to the middle of nowhere to look at constellations and have a cup of coffee and some dessert...

For Angel! Good luck getting them rested enough to go anywhere! But if you did manage, they'd probably enjoy a really fancy dinner and a formal concert... or like,,, a night at the opera. You know. Something pretentious.

[winderlylandchime]

1/2 And we are at 5x03 and he is excited to see Britin move in together….yeah… ‘i don’t understand in what world Brian would suck at filling up a club? Maybe the first day, sure BUT DAYS? Plural? Come on, they are making my baby boy look bad’ The groan that he let out when Mel and Linds came on screen is actually hilarious ngl. He was just dead silent and every time either of them would speak, he would just groan loudly. ‘Hold the fuck up, she’s now venting to Brian? What is he? The local therapist? Wow her hair is horrible. Nevermind, I guess he’s the local charity organization.’ And we are now at Justin/Ben/Mikey painting the house scene ‘Justin needs to paint a painting for Brian’s office. Why hasn’t he yet? (Ben mentions Britin getting a house) I highly doubt that will ever happen. I like the loft. Why is Justin so doubtful about it? See! Even Blondie knows the loft is better (ben says he needs to carry mikey in and justin says he wouldnt know what married people do) me and Justin are both gonna puke right now.’ ‘Why is Mike such a bitch? Also where the fuck is Hunter? Did he forget he has another kid? I will give my kidney up to get Brian and Justin back and not see this anymore’ Brian pops up on screen literally a second later ‘I’LL TAKE IT! They want to tear down the club for a gallery? WAIT *pauses ep* imagine a world where Brian is struggling with starting up his club like this and that someone who wants to tear it down for a gallery is Justin. Oh the hatred they’d have for each other, theyd fuck it out and be angry that theyre fucking, I should write scripts for movies. OH he said galleria not gallery. Never mind then but my idea still sounds dope. Brian looks so fucking pretty.’ The scene where Em is introduced as the Queer Guy is up *looks at his cast* ‘well this is feeling like an attack now. Why is everyone so rude to Emmett? Fuck them.’ ‘DEB IS LEAVING THE DINER?! Why? She’s retiring FOR A MAN? We aren’t worth all that. Why is blondie making me feel like he regrets being back in Pittsburgh?’ And we are finally getting some Britin and he got all happy finally ‘MY BOYS! FINALLY! (Brian hugs Justin from behind) AHHHHHHHHH LOOK AT HIM ALL AFFECTIONATE AND SHIT! Wait he dropped out again? Of course Bri Bri wants him to go back to school. Man, where was this 20 years ago? I feel like I would’ve actually graduated if I saw this and had 5 years of Brian telling me to go to school. *looks at me* dont tell dad. Of course Brian is offering him a job! Thatd be cute. Why am i having feelings over Justin putting away Brian’s suit? (The sunshine how did i scene is up!!!!) OH MY FUCKING GOD *pauses tv and slides down from the couch on the floor so he’s now sitting on the floor* no he fucking didn’t! I’m glad all three of us are aware of that!’ ‘Not Ted and Justin being Blondie Besties. Okay, Queer Guy let’s go Emy! Oh god this is bad. *covers up his face* this is so bad. What did they do to my Emmett? IS THAT ROSIE FUCKING O’DONNELL?! That was so bad. And youre telling me justin didn’t have a single joke?’ Rosie (i forgot her name) tells Deb that her husband caught her kissing her friend while making cinnamon buns ‘i can see how that makes a person wanna kiss a friend.. it’s homies supporting homies *forgets about the cast and tries to make a fist realizes it, so he makes a fist with his left arm* Ally…that was weak. I’m so sorry Rosie O’Donnell, you deserve better. I’m ashamed of this’ ‘oh Lindsay. She’s just as dumb as Michael. And that hair is still horrible’ ‘THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! I told you Brian would make Babylon insane but you thought I was dumb! The place is PACKED! Look at Blondie standing next to his man at his club. Supportive boyfriends. Wait the club is empty?! HE PAYED THEM? That’s actually smart. Did Blondie come up with this? I love this so much.‘ ‘YOU GO ROSIE O’DONNELL! Im confused why she’s here but you go girl!’ ‘THEY THINK EMMETT IS NOT QUEER ENOUGH?’ the scene cuts to the custody bullshit ‘did Mel forget that she also cheated? All three of them are so fucking stupid. OH LINDSAY IS A BITCH.’

Hold the fuck up, she’s now venting to Brian? What is he? The local therapist? Wow her hair is horrible. Nevermind, I guess he’s the local charity organization. YEAH he's the local therapist, charity organization, fundraiser, etc etc.

I HATE MIKEY AND BEN in this season with a passion. Ugh. And then they go roping Justin into their nonsense.

Yeah Emmy being the Queer Guy is going to make a lot of uncomfortable commentary about that show given your brother is a fan. Remind him that the original version of the show was not what it is today (I definitely watched it back then too, I won't lie)

Also can we have your brother write a fic where Justin wants to open a gallery in place of Babylon and it's an enemies-to-lovers fic? OMG Justin got sent to conversion therapy, comes back this uptight version of himself, wants to take down the big bad gay club and meets Brian and...

LBR your brother, at this point, would do anything BriBri asked him. ;) including go back to college.

The how did I scene is everything. These are the moments we need to survive this awful season.

And the Rosie O'Donnell plot line. I don't even know...

[insanely-lovely-and-random]

So this is my rant about Shallow Hal, I recently rewatched it because the song "Love Grows" is on the radio again (which also yay) and I've always loved the movie and I didn't even realise people found the movie problematic.

Ya know what I get that people find issues with things that came out years ago and some are valid but when people try to tell me I'm literally wrong for liking something, THAT I have a problem with.

Fats suits and fat jokes are a problem and the early 2000s were full of those jokes but honestly I have a much greater issue when I see them in current media than old because yeah they probably should know better now but I don't really want to talk about its problems I want to say why I love it.

The fact that Jack Black was a leading man on a romcom is fantastic, he's a very attractive man but lets not lie hes not Hollywood's version of one and I LOVE that they made a movie like that. I also like the fact that he starts off like the name says shallow, he's a dick at first and he goes through actual growth which is honestly amazing because usually when the main characters not conventionally attractive they make the character too nice and honestly boring this movie feels honest with his flaws.

Yes Gwyneth Paltrow is wearing a fatsuit and most of the movie she's just herself but this was 2001 how many movies since have actually had an overweight woman as the love interest? I mean actually overweight and not Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones? Cause I could count em on one hand.

The fact that it ended the way it did I honestly think it was ahead of it's time. This and Shrek came out the same year and both have very touching endings with Shrek loving Fiona even with her being an Ogre and in this movie he comes to love Rosemary for the person she is and appearances really don't matter to him anymore. He loves an overweight woman and neither of them change to become more attractive by societies standards , that's fricking cool as hell!!! I don't know how many other movies I know that do that even today and let me say the fact that HE IS A MAN.

Before anyone gets angry at me what I mean is just think about how many movies have a woman loving a man who starts as a monster or scarred or considered ugly by the movies world. There's hundreds, recently we had Shape of Water where as nice twist yes the man remains a fish man and she loves him anyways. But movies where the man loves a woman who's considered unattractive? Far fewer and of those movies 9 outta 10 the womans just tall, clumsy, not a size 6 or something else completely ridiculous. She's almost never scarred or a frightening creature or genuinely over weight.

Beauty and the Beast has always confused me because the Beast is bad and can't see past an outer appearance but the solution isn't to have him fall for a woman with an ugly outer appearance it's to give him one and have a woman have to fall for him despite it.... but why?? Why should a woman have to learn to love him when it should clearly be him who has to learn that, I never got it but Shallow Hal did. Shallow Hal a movie from over two decades ago did that. It had a man learn that he is cruel, obnoxious and shallow and only by growing as person and saying a big old Fuck you to society's standards could he become incredibly happy with the woman he loves. Because Hal isn't the only bad guy in the movie, the whole world is. As shown by how embarrassed his friend is when he finds out Hals with Rosemary, so self concious just because of what other people would think?!

Hal changed by the end of the movie but people haven't changed a goddamn bit and that's sad. People seem to fat shame and look down on others more than ever and yes it has problems and it's just a goofy romcom from two decades ago but I swear to God I was genuinely changed by seeing it when I was 10. I felt empathy and shame for how I'd looked at other people who were bigger than me and it was thanks to this movie and so I still love it. Peace out ✌✌

[dragynkeep]

I get it can be viewing a situation with another character as something to heal, a coping mechanism.

Writing nightmares and episodes and shit, fine by me, as long as you recognize it or depict it as something that shouldn’t be happening, yet happen. That goes for abuse, abuse should never happen, etc.. It’s always in movies and shit. Though I do not agree with writing children with old people in sexual situations on any account. That is written CP... Anything sexual with children in a manner that you yourself are writing to be attractive or “hot” is gross, in reality it really is.

It does happen to people, writing it so that people know it’s a bad thing and the weight of it and how much it can have an effect on someone, probably better? Instead of you know, “normalizing it”

I would not want some 20+ year old writing about me like that against my will. These characters aren’t real, yet you have to think about it. Thinking things through is always important.

I just don’t agree with it, you’re not gonna stop because of this I know. Though, I implore you to think about it harder and why is it that you find this Fun to write, or depict.

It’s not being “uptight” it’s going along with gut, experience and thought. I have been groomed before and all that shit, stuff I haven’t even told anyone. It’s just that personally I wouldn’t want anyone to go through the shit I went through, or what has anyone went through.

And the proshipping community IS a safe space for pedophiles. Everywhere. It’s like a ground where they have literally every damn say. You can’t just say “no its not” because that’s like closing your eyes and pretending someone isn’t there. I have seen plenty of people in the proshipping community be outed as pedophiles. Its fucked. Not necessarily saying all of them are, but it’s still fucked because WHY are you giving into that behavior.

Not to mention minors get into this community and that has them vulnerable. They just get into it and learn “oh its fine to be under 18 and with an adult” when its fucking not fine but they believe it because they learn that from adults or other children who have been groomed by adults who happened to be their “friend”.

It’s a fucking system man, one moment you’re fine with some bullshit, the next you have now convinced a teenager it’s fine that an adult is talking to them sexually because they see it in fanfiction and as something desirable.

You can't normalise something that society sees as wrong. Someone writing fanfiction about age gaps and noncon is not gonna suddenly change everyone's perspective any more than Game of Thrones did.

All this says is you want adults to baby teenagers on the internet. Outside of tagging triggering content and warning those who are affected by it to not read it, we are not required to do anymore. If you are old enough to be on these sites unsupervised by your parents, you are old enough to make decisions not to engage in fiction that is not written for you.

Because a proshipper is just someone who believes that fiction does not equal 1:1 with reality. Fiction can conjure up feelings like happiness or sorrow, but it cannot on its own tell someone that something socially unacceptable is actually okay. What is needed for it to be able to do that is ignorance, and that's where you have propaganda. Teenagers should not be getting their socially acceptable behaviour lessons from a buncha strangers on the internet writing and drawing shit. That's on their parents.

Also the fact that you literally wrote "written CP" is fucking gross. There is no such thing as written CP, because it has to be pictures of an idenfiable child who is real. Not pixels, real. Because at the end of the day, that is a real human being that is being hurt and exploited for other people's gain. To equate that with a fictional character going through a story is dishonest and you should be ashamed.

Both of us have been groomed. We have been hurt in horrible ways, so no, you don't get to use the "I was groomed" card to shame other survivors because you personally don't like it.

Cause that's what this long ass ask is about. You're not being smart, you're not helping people, you're shaming them for doing stuff that you personally don't like. And rather than be an adult and click off or simply don't interact, you get on your high horse and you look down at the proshippers who are gross and have nasty likes in fiction. Grow tf up.

Any proshipper who is one knows that pedophiles are not welcome in this community. Are there gonna be some? Yeah, because pedophiles use anything they can to groom children and abuse them. It's not the object they use, it's the trust they build with their victim in order to get them to do what they want. You think they just sprung up when fanfiction became more widespread and easily accesible? No, you fucking doughnut.

And I've seen many antis being outed as pedophiles. Almost like every community is in danger of them, lmao.

You don't have to agree with proshipping. You don't have to like it. No one is making you.

But you are literally the one coming into proshippers' spaces, many of whom talk about their past with abuse and assault, and shame them into going back into privacy with things that don't have to be private. Why don't you block and create your own space away, so that you're comfortable with other people who like the same stuff that you do?

Oh wait, cause you'd rather sit in my inbox and cry over it. Piss off.

[mayyourshipsbewithyou]

Things I loved about In the Heights

-The sounds of the city are part of the music of the opening song

-The frame story is the only way this story should be told; the story only works if it shows the results of Usnavi's decision to stay

-Anthony and Lin shaking hands

-Yay to random mixed race couple asking for directions

-“I hope you’re writing this down I’m gonna test you later” only makes sense with kids

-Showing different residents of Washington Heights provides scale

-I’m not sure about the decision to cut Camila, but if it means less Nina drama, then I love it

-I love how Usnavi has his friends’ orders all ready to go

-LOVE how Usnavi announces Benny’s entrance

-Everything about Vanessa in this movie is perfect=> she’s given so much more depth, her beauty is downplayed, she’s kind of a nerd, but has a beautiful smile

-Nina’s heels=> metaphor for her reaching for the stars

-I love the actress that plays Nina; she’s the right age and her singing voice is so sweet

-Nina’s hair is straight when she’s at school; as soon as she comes home, it’s curly=>she can be herself at home

-When Nina turns around and sees the crowd of people counting on her=> I felt that

-I love seeing Nina get her acceptance letter; I remember what that was like for my brother

-Camila must have died while Nina was at college in this version; Nina lost her mother recently which helps explain her different reason for dropping out; she feels lost

-I don’t know why Sonny is using this deep voice, but I love it!

-Whoever decided to have 96,000 take place at the pool is a genius

-The graphics at the beginning of 96,000 are good for helping regular people understand the rap

-Pete just put his arm around Sonny=> are they dating?

-Sonny yelling 96,000 as he enters the pool=> the sound design

-Pete nodding along to Usnavi=> sucking up to the family

-Usnavi is such a proud cousin-uncle during Sonny’s part in 96,000

-Vanessa making her “I'll be downtown” walk down a ramp

-The dancer doing flips is now a diver doing spins into the pool

-On stage, the lighting was dark; in the movie, it’s underwater

-The circles of people in the pool reflect the zeros in 96,000

-Lin and Chris being rivals is perfect; their bromance is everything

-Nina and Benny being together before the events of the movie means they are the beta couple and have less drama than Usnavi/Vanessa which is how it should be

-Benny joins in during “on that fire escape”=> like West Side Story

-Benny’s “Let me in” against the fence is hilarious

-Nina and Benny are FUN, not angsty like in the original

-Nina following the little girl=> following herself, following her dreams which eventually lead her to the sea; all of this is done while she’s talking about her past

-Nina and Benny instrumental™ part 1 in the middle of “When You’re Home”, Benny interrupts=> their story isn't complete yet

-Benny says he believes in her without discounting her feelings

-Everyone loving Nina=> I finally get it

-Nina is home geographically and with people who love her

-Benny is Nina’s home

-In the Heights is about how dreams are great, but the life you have now can be so beautiful

-Nina’s hair during the dinner/club scene is great

-Usnavi is wearing his dad’s hat for his date with Vanessa; he knows that she is to him what his mom was for his dad

-Family dinners are the same in every culture

-Awkwardness of long-time friends going on a date

-Vanessa offers Usnavi his first drink of the night; he thinks that’s what she wants; because why would she want him and only him?

-Usnavi whispering in Vanessa’s ear is so sexy

-Love that Benny is on Nina’s side instead of being mad at her

-I wonder if they thought 5 years of Benny working for Kevin was too much or too little since they changed that line to "all these years"

-Benny’s reactions to Vanessa dancing at the club are hilarious

-Vanessa laughing at Usnavi dancing with someone else

-Nina is always smiling and laughing at the things going on around her; not as self centered

-Nina and Benny dancing at the club=> all of the yeses

-Usnavi is too nervous about being alone with Vanessa that he un-dated himself; he wasn’t quite ready

-Love that they consciously cut all the “Usnavi, help me” parts=> Vanessa is not a victim

-Fireworks are a romantic setting for Sonny and Pete, just saying

-Usnavi/Benny/Nina talking about the fourth member of their square gives me feelings; I need more of these four in fanfic, my dreams

-“I got to wait for Vanessa”=> the stuff dreams are made of

-Benny is such a good person; he’s even better than the original which is what he deserves

-Usnavi is relieved to have Vanessa call his name

-“Don’t walk away from us tonight”=> great addition

-To give Usnavi and Vanessa some of Nina and Benny’s original lines is to see the face of God

-The first time I saw this, I’m ashamed to admit, I thought Benny was going to steal money from the dispatch; I was a fool

-Dancer with fireworks on his shoes

-Benny is smart and good; he isn’t doing this for Kevin or Nina but for the people of New York

-Abuela was able to see stars again on the last night of her life

-I’m sad Blackout isn’t exactly the same but the orchestral parts that cover up what is unsaid is so beautiful it makes up for it

-Abuela’s family is her “fireworks”; they are what light up the Heights

-Sonny came to Usnavi instead of being with his dad during the blackout; his real family

-Abuela’s smile as she looks at her family while reflecting on her childhood is the most beautiful thing there will ever be

-Paciencia y Fe as a dream sequence is how it was meant to be

-The transition on the subway from reality to memory

-Paciencia y Fe is a mixture of cultures; like Abuela’s memories

-“Wide awake”=> stepping off the subway

-The same actress played Abuela on Broadway and in the movie

-Abuela may be in a musical, but she’s still an old woman

-“As I feed these birds”=> back to the present

-Calor means heat in Spanish but in English it sounds like color

-Abuela dying during the night of the blackout is perfect

-Usnavi saying “she was just here” twice: when she was literally just there and many years, maybe a decade, after the fact

-Usnavi’s daughter is the life that goes on after Abuela is gone

-Usnavi and Nina crying together

-Those closest to Abuela are inside and everyone else is outside

-Iris was sitting on the outside and now she’s in the middle; needed comfort from her friends

-“Should we take a break?”=> we’re past the point of an intermission

-“No daddy, keep going”=> does this look like a stage production to you? It’s a fucking movie

-There isn’t a clear point for an intermission; the action stays strong over where the intermission should be; this is a movie, not a play, and movies don’t have intermissions

-Everyone’s holding candles; like the stars Abuela loved so much

-Iris called Usnavi Daddy for the first time because that was the point in the story where he needed to hear that the most

-“I thought about the people I care about the most, I thought about you”

-Anthony makes Usnavi sexy in a way Lin never could

-So many people love Vanessa, but no one better than Usnavi

-Abuela paid to have Camila's napkins cleaned after all

-Usnavi is the kind of parent that doesn’t sugarcoat life

-Vanessa listed no emergency contacts even though she had people

-“That’s senorita to you”=> yes girl, get it

-Love Daniela for getting everyone out of their asses

-“Tonteria” means foolishness=> the more you know

-How fast Carla says no to “ask me why” shows how quickly she wants to please her love

-Usnavi’s Nueva York t-shirt=> I need it

-Daniela’s first effect being on a woman whose hair is terrible

-Carla pushing that man away from her woman with a bullshit excuse

-My friend was laughing at the parts that were meant to be jokes

-Usnavi’s entrance being announced in Carnaval del Barrio; just like Benny in the opening song

-“There’s nothing holding me down”=> assuming he was rejected

-The different communities dancing with their flags

-Nina being part of Carnaval del Barrio is great

-Even Kevin, kind of an old man, can get down

-Since Nina and Benny sex scene wasn’t shown on screen (praise Jesus), I have to assume Nina told Daniela even though she knows she’s a huge gossip

-Everyone stops because Sonny, a kid, starts singing

-Vanessa and Sonny are so powerful together

-Vanessa’s hand on Sonny’s shoulder

-A kid providing Usnavi with the “flag I’ve got in my hand”

-Usnavi and Vanessa dancing together is muy romantico

-Everything about Nina’s appearance in “When the Sun Goes Down”

-“Let me just listen to my block”=> peak Nina

-Abuela wrote “for Usnavi” on her lotto ticket 😭

-They cut so many songs but kept Champagne=>I love their priorities

-The pause before “you outta stay”

-Everyone has such great chemistry; especially Usnavi and Vanessa

-The choreography in Champagne is what I’ve always imagined

-Usnavi didn’t have time to cash in because Vanessa came over

-Vanessa and Pete friendship for the win

-“Best days of my life” is said thrice=> good things come in threes

-Usnavi staring at the room where Vanessa kissed him

-Iris knows he stayed; she loves her dad so much

-Usnavi looking out his window in Washington Heights and seeing his friends on his dad’s beach

-When Usnavi talks about Kevin at the dispatch, the camera flashes to an abandoned building

-“Vanessa at the salon”=> Usnavi sheds a tear

-Vanessa being front and center during Usnavi’s decision to stay

-Hearing the sounds of the beach during the unveiling

-It’s all about Vanessa=> perfection

-Lin being at the ending is perfect no matter the context

-“Say it so it doesn’t disappear”=> the sad reality is your neighborhood probably will disappear

-Usnavi telling his daughter “you’re it” is everything

-Iris understanding all of the little details of her father’s store now that she knows his story

-Iris is the goddess of the rainbow like the light that appears when water appears on a sunlit day

-“Man, you talk forever”=> that’s so “How I Met Your Mother”

-Iris has a necklace of seashells, like the islands

-Vanessa would sooner get wet than let go of Usnavi’s hand

[oitommothetease]

Invisible String (4/?)

Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Female reader (Modern AU)

Description: James Buchanan Barnes, the owner of the most expensive-looking club in town and your new apartment. He was a dick and you hated him. What could possibly go wrong when you, the new girl in town, start bartending at his club to pursue your dreams?

Word Count: 2.6k words

Warning: 18+ (discussion of assault, nervous breakdown, anxiety attack, just don’t read this whole series if you are a kid)

You woke up to a night of dreamless sleep like you always did, but then the events of the previous night hit you. You wished it was a dream, but one look in the mirror and a bruise running along your cheek was enough to confirm. Not only that, but you remembered asking your boss to stay over, but you didn't expect him to. The blanket on your living room’s couch and the bowl of fruits and a glass of juice situated out for you on the kitchen counter proved that he did stay.

And then the reality sunk in, you have a decision to make. You can either go to the cops or let that guy get away. The latter sounded not so great, but you knew going to the cops isn't going to be great either. You've seen enough detective shows to know that. You've had enough, and you just wanted to forget it. 

What did Mr. Barnes mean when he said you were going to talk about this? Are you supposed to visit him before work? Is he going to come to your place?

You decided to work on your book but ended up not being able to concentrate, so you started watching a show and fell asleep while watching it. Maybe some Chinese take-out could make you feel better. It didn't. Nothing made you feel better. You wished you had some friends in this new town because you didn't want to burden your work friends. 

After a horrible day of trying to cope, when you finally made your way to the club, you noticed the security was increased. Usually, security guards weren't present inside the club, but today it was different. Everyone was so vigilant and you felt a little safer. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Mr. Barnes did it for you, but again he would have done the same thing for any other employee. 

"Boss wants to see you," Pietro told you. You were about to head for Clint's office when the blond twin spoke again and pointed his finger towards the stairs." The boss."

Okay, well maybe playing naïve couldn't avoid this meeting, so you slowly walked upstairs. How bad could this go, it's not like he saw you in your most vulnerable state? Oh, wait, he did. 

You knocked on his office door, wanting to rip the band-aid and get over with it. 

"Hey," you said, faking a smile. "Thanks for getting me home last night and for breakfast today. I didn't even know I had fruits and juice at home because let's be honest, I'm a toast and coffee kinda gal."

Mr. Barnes didn't say anything, he just looked at you as if you were a confusing puzzle that he couldn't solve. He raised a hand towards the seat in front of him and you took it, nervously fiddling with your fingers under the table.

“You do that a lot, you know?” he asked, it wasn't a question, it was merely an observation.

“What?”

“Deflecting a serious issue by using a joke.” Mr. Barnes observed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What are you? My therapist?”

He arched an eyebrow, indicating that you were literally doing the thing he pointed out. 

"Yeah, well, it's called having a healthy coping mechanism. You should try getting one, brooding is only gonna help you this far."

 "It's not healthy if you're not dealing with it," Mr. Barnes pointed out. 

You scoffed in incredulity and you felt very, very attacked. 

What is it? Attacking y/n day?, you thought. 

"Anyway, I think I want to press charges," You changed the subject to a more serious conversation to avoid him calling you out on your bullshit. 

"Okay, I understand.” 

“You do?” You asked, bewilderment clearly written all over your face. “I mean, letting an employee go to the cops is not gonna be great for your club's reputation and yours too. And, you know, considering the shady business, you do-” 

"What exactly do you think we do?" He asked.

And that's when it hit you, you didn't know what he did or mob bosses do in general. All your knowledge about it came from movies and Wattpad, both of them are not a great place to gain knowledge.

“What exactly do you do?” you pondered.

 He obviously wasn't expecting you to directly ask him, nobody has directly asked him or even made it known that they are aware of his work. It was kind of like a silent pact that everybody signed for, everybody except you, apparently. 

“Um, you know, I've been working for almost 2 weeks here now, and I haven't seen any drugs around here, so it's obviously not drugs. You don't look like the sex trafficking types-”

 "Jesus, woman!" He exclaimed, offended by your assumptions. 

"Then just tell me what you do."

You expected him to tell you something, but he just kept looking at you with a face void of emotions.

 "Fine, don't tell me," you mumbled, raising your hands dramatically in defeat. 

“So you don't mind me ruining your reputation by going to the cops?” 

“I told you I don't care. Your safety is my utmost priority,” your face might have given away the surprise you felt because he quickly backpedaled. ”I mean, the safety of my employees.”

“The safety of my employees is my utmost priority,” he told you, providing an extra emphasis on the word employees. “Anyway, one of my people would take you to the police station near-"

You cut him off immediately. 

"No, you can't tell anyone else. I don't want everyone hopping on the pity train. I'm already ashamed that you know about it," you pleaded but your voice was firm, telling him that this was not up for a discussion.

At this, his eyes and features softened. Bucky didn't want you to feel guilty or ashamed for somebody else's actions, but clearly, you did. 

"Okay, then I can take you. You just had to explain to the officer last night’s events, and they'll ask you to recognize Rumlow and then we can-"

Mr. Barnes’s voice faded into the background when it finally hit you.

"You know what, I changed my mind. It's too much. I don't want to press charges anymore. I didn't think this through," you backtracked. You did think this through, but now all the factors were adding up in your brain. You'd have to explain the details to a cop who is probably going to be another man and a stranger, and then they'd ask you to identify the guy. You didn't think you had it in you to face him. At least not now. 

He interpreted your thought process and promptly changed the topic. "Okay, we can work with whatever you want, and at least let Peter escort you home after work."

"What? No!” You quickly declined.

“It's for your own safety,” Bucky tried to reason. He wasn't letting you get off this easily.

 “I'm a strong, independent woman and I'm not scared of anything.” 

That was a lie. You were scared of many things like heights, dark, spiders, confrontation and the list goes on and on. 

You remembered all the lectures your mom gave you telling you that women should be scared because men are monsters, and you'd lose your honor if you are reckless and some other patriarchal crap that you didn't pay attention to. But you weren't scared, you were just always careful. You'd always put the keys between your knuckles when you went home alone. In your previous job, you used to laugh it off whenever your coworkers made a sexist joke. You'd ignore the subtle shoulder touch that your previous boss did. You told yourself that this is what it takes to make it. If you were to run away every time someone eyed you in a wrong way, then you'd spend your whole life running. 

Women usually shrug this behavior off as it is what is, but the truth is it shouldn't be like this.

“Please, I insist.” 

“I'm very capable of taking care of myself. Just because one bad incident happened doesn't mean I'll fucking break!” You stated, your voice louder than your regular voice to get across your point.

That was also a lie. You were walking on a thin line and you were ignoring your emotions. You were one outburst away from a breakdown, and you just couldn't bring yourself to feel anything. 

Mr. Barnes tried to call your name, but you were already bolting out of his office. 

You needed a drink. No, fuck that. You needed multiple drinks. It wasn't exactly wise to get drunk during work, but it couldn't get any shittier than this, right?, you thought.

Right?

 Wrong. It could get way shittier than this. Now it was almost midnight, you were kind of tipsy, and you could see two Mr. Stark, your regular customer, in front of you. 

Did he have a twin? Is he and his twin brother one of those identical twins that dress up the same? Because that's what it looked like.

 “Earth to y/n," Mr. Stark said, or was it his twin? It was getting hard to keep track anymore.

 And that's when you noticed. 

“Holy, Shit. You're triplets, Mr. Stark," you announced. 

"Okay, kid, close my tab.”

“Hey, y/n. Are you okay?” Peter asked, noticing the concerned look Mr. Stark gave him before leaving.

“Yes, I'm fine. Absolutely fine.”

***

Turns out you were not fine. You've been pretty much hammered for the past week, and you could barely get a sentence out without giggling or slurring. Your colleagues took notice of your state and whenever someone pointed it out, you'd just shrug it off as a bad day or a bad week. There was no concept of time in your drunk state.

You couldn't concentrate on your book, you could barely look at someone without squinting, and you've been eating takeout and leftovers for the past few days. 

James would have fired if someone working under him was this irresponsible, but he knew your reasons. He knew you clearly weren't coping with the trauma well. Your work ethics were shoved down the trash that even Clint asked why you weren't fired yet.

Bucky didn't want to talk to you, he thought that maybe giving you some space would do you good, but clearly it wasn't working. Usually, the mob boss didn't interfere in the affairs of his employees, it was Clint's job, but when you smashed a bottle on the head of a customer, he had to interject.

“I TOLD THIS FUCKER NO!” you yelled, Peter’s hand around your middle from behind. Another empty beer bottle was in your hand, ready to be smashed across the face of the drunk dude in front of you.

Pietro and Wanda were enjoying the show. Peter, being the peace lover he is, held you back when you smashed a bottle across a drunk customer's face. Even though Peter was younger than you, he was stronger, and he was not only holding you back but also himself. He didn't want to cause a scene and that is why he was mulling comforting words in your ear like, he's not worth it, you're gonna kill this guy.

Damn right I am, you thought.

It was ironic because everyone in that club had killed someone except you.

When Bucky walked into the room, the drunk guy turned towards him and pointed at you. ”You are hiring crazy bitches now? Just called her baby girl and she went psycho!!!”

Bucky didn't understand what was happening. He told the security guards to take that man outside his club and he walked towards you. He firmly yet gently took a hold of your left arm, signaling Peter to let go of you. Without a word, he started walking in the direction of his office, dragging you along with him.

Once near his office, he lightly yanked your hand and shoved you inside, making you stand in front of him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he inquired, having had enough of your incompetence.

You were seething with rage. "Wrong with me? I told him no, but he didn't listen."

Bucky stepped forward, his anger dissipating into sympathy. " I know, he mumbled, "and I'm so-"

 "No, you don't know!" you yelled, body trembling and tears welling up in your eyes. "I told him no multiple times, I even tried to push him off me, but he just kept coming back."

Bucky's eyes furrowed in confusion. He didn't understand your words, the drunk customer didn't touch you. And that's when he realized, you weren't talking about the drunk customer. He cognized that the drunk guy purely triggered something that you've been suppressing for days now. Bucky was aware that you needed to get it out of your system to cope healthily.

“I told him no, you know? But he just wouldn't listen,” you stated, trying to convince yourself that you didn't lead him on. ”And he was so…. so strong and… and then he hit me and everything just went blur, I couldn't see but... but I could still feel him with me.”

Not realizing that you were not in that place anymore, you wrapped your hand around yourself to seek some sort of protection and comfort, bottom lip quivering, the welled up traitorous tears were streaming down your face and all you could think about was that night. 

“I… I can't get his touch out,” you stammered. ” I shower, multiple times a day, but I still can't get his touch out.”

With that, you broke down completely and shattered on the floor, sobbing ferociously. Your knees ached because of the position you were situated in, but the emotional pain was enough to overshadow the physical one.

For once in his lifetime, Bucky did not know what to do. Cautiously, he made his way towards you and knelt down in front of you. He did not know what to say or do to make you feel better.

You launched your body towards him, snaking your arms around his shoulder to settle on his neck as if he was the only thing grounding you. You lurched onto him like he was your anchor, and maybe he was. It took a minute for Bucky to register your actions, and when he did, he wrapped his arms around your middle and closed the minuscule distance separating you.

He surprised himself with the way one of his hands automatically reached for your hair and whispered words of comfort in your ear. He caught you as you crumpled physically and emotionally. 

”You're going to be okay, doll,” he whispered and kissed your temple with sincerity. ”I will make sure of that.”

The second part was barely audible, it wasn't meant for you, it was a promise he made to himself.

Bucky held you tightly yet gently while you sobbed on his shoulder.

 He didn't know how long he held you, it felt like an eternity to him with the way he could feel the guilt and rage inside him. When you passed out in his arms, he gently placed you on one of the comfortable couches in his office and draped a blanket around you that he had for when he would work late at night.

An office chair might not be the most ideal place to spend the night in, but it didn't matter to Bucky. All that mattered was you.

TAGS: @bananapipedreams​ @akkinda10​  @rivers-rambles21​  @emmabarnes​@goodcleanfunsis​ @valsworldofcreativity​

[miraculouscontent]

(non-Miraculous asks)

Anonymous said:

Ok this may just be me but I hate deconstructions. I feel like they are always mean spirited and try to be dark and edgy and thinks that every single person is an asshole because that’s “realistic” when no it’s not. This maybe because I like superhero stories and love it when the heroes overcome their struggles.

I can agree for the most part. Whenever I hear “okay but what if it was dArK--” I’m just okay, gonna stop you right there.

Anonymous said:

I swear, nothing bothers me more than people who want Miraculous Ladybug to literally just be Yandere Simulator(with Marinette as Ayano, Alya as Info-chan, Adrien as Taro, Chloe as Osana, Lila as Kizana, Kagami as Megami, and Luka as Budo). It just grinds my gears, especially because they're, once again, framing Marinette as a stalker, which just makes her look bad, AND pits all the girls against each other for Mr. Generic Harem Protagonist, once a-fucking-gain. Just go play the actual game, ok?

All I'm hearing is that now I have to ship Ayano and Budo and write a fic where the ghost girl uses fancy fantasy magic to merge her soul with Ayano and lets her actually have emotions, healing her from being a yandere while the ghost girl (in a way) gets to live a life she was cut short of, also allowing Ayano to be happy and go onto be friends with all the rivals.

Extremely convoluted but that’s the only way we get happy endings in this house.

Anonymous said:

I remember how, when writing Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi refused to bow to older male writers wanted, say, for the girls to be stereotypical manga characters, with one being overweight, one being a stereotypical nerd, etc. But Naoko wanted each of the girls to be beautiful and feminine. While I don't like that they all share a body type, I admire how she didn't listen to grown men when writing for and about young girls. And I can't help but think about how Madoka is the antithesis of all that.

I can appreciate writers who put their foot down to stick to their values. There are limits of course, but yeah, a women writing women probably shouldn’t be listening to a man’s input. I’m sure good advice exists buuut...

Anonymous said:

What is your ranking of the seasons of the year from most to least favorite and why?

Summer - I work best in the warmth

Spring - Always brings images of flowers blooming to mind

Autumn - Things are getting cold and I don’t like it

Winter - It can go choke for all I care

Anonymous asked:

Someone on TV Tropes actually said that the name Feminist Fantasy should be changed because "feminism excludes men the same way meninism excludes women" and actually had the nerve to link that to the "Not So Different" trope, as if women haven't been excluded throughout the history of almost every human society. Fortunately, someone responded to them in a way that technically amounted to "do your damn research" but I'm still facepalming so hard at TV Tropes' "what about the men" rhetoric.

I feel like I lost braincells reading this.

Anonymous asked:

I feel like in fiction written by men there are only three flaws that female protagonists are allowed to have: clumsy, boy-crazy, or ashamed of their flat chests. I hate it.

Don’t forget, “having to listen to the men for how they’re supposed to feel.”

Anonymous asked:

Jatp. Nominated. For. Seven. Emmys. SEVEN!!!! Miraculous could NEVER. Literally.

omg!! Congrats to Julie and the Phantoms!

Anonymous asked:

WHAT ARE YOUR FLASHBACKS TO EVER AFTER HIGH?? I GOTTA KNOW? OMG?

Oh, I’ve seen basically the whole series, though the one I remember most is definitely Epic Winter. It was my favorite one though Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie so I’m biased.

I also like a lot of the “twists” and just--crazy concepts they rolled with, like with Red Riding Hood’s story and how Apple White gets woken up from her slumber.

Anonymous asked:

You're gonna be happy to hear this...I just started watching Cardcaptor Sakura today, and holy shit not only do I love it, but I also love how freaking META it is! I know you said you're not all that knowledgeable about Magical Girl, but this show is AWARE that it's a Magical Girl show! From Tomoyo(the main reason this show is so meta, tbh) realizing Sakura is a Magical Girl and asking if she has a transformation pose, to designing outfits for her(more on that later) to videotaping her(aka literally making a Magical Girl anime out of her Magical Girl friend), it just has fun with itself and plays with Magical Girl tropes without making a mockery of them like all those "dark" male-aimed ones do(lookin' at you, Madoka Magica and Yuki Yuna!).

And not only is it hilarious and adorable(especially with Sakura's crush on Yukito, Tomoyo's crush on Sakura, and Touya picking on Sakura, but playfully), but I love how it's riddled with girl power. While watching some of the first episodes I was looking forward to seeing Syaoran(partly because I love male Tsunderes and partly because I can't pronounce his name), and was surprised that he wasn't in the first few episodes, but more importantly I was so happy to see a show that treats its female characters with respect and shows women unironically receiving support from other women and being shown possessing power and authority.

I love Sakura and Tomoyo's friendship even if I hate the trope of "Lesbian Never Gets The Girl"(not that I think she's entitled to Sakura's affections or anything, but still.) and watching her support Sakura in her magic endeavors without being jealous or vindictive, I love that they're allowed to be independent and smart but that the show doesn't forget that they're kids, instead of making them like Manon and Chris, and I love that the show passes the Bechdel test in pretty much the first or second episode, and that pretty much every important and unimportant character we meet that's not Sakura's family members, Kero, or Yukito(plus maaaayyybe the Shadow Clow Card) are female.

Even little things, like all FOUR of Tomoyo's bodyguards in the second episode being female without there being a "reason" or the show making a big deal of it(either in a "yay girl power!" way or a "what but women can't x" way or an objectifying way) fills me with insurmountable joy. Also, I love that the show follows the Magical Girl trend of pretty much admitting that femininity is power, since frilly dresses are stated to be the most "fitting" thing for a Cardcaptor to wear, as without it, they might not be mentally up to the task, and this is an unironic truth rather than a joke(although Sakura is shown to be embarrassed, but it's much more likely that she's simply not used to that kind of gear due to not being rich as Tomoyo is.) or a gag.

I just thought I should tell you this because I know you like Cardcaptor Sakura, and with the crappy episodes that just came out of this show, I think you deserve to read an ask that's about a GENUINE girl power Magical Girl show, instead of yet more Miraculous Ladybug salt or Madoka Magica hate(not that there's anything wrong with either of those two, but it just gets grating after a while.). Overall, I'm looking forward to watching this show, since I've been looking for a Magical Girl show to watch nowadays(I've been meaning to watch Star Twinkle Precure but I can't find the third episode and all of Cardcaptor Sakura is on YouTube now, so.). So excited!

Hey, I’m glad that you’re having fun with it!

Though, just a warning, you might wanna steer clear of the Clear Card arc. It’s a sequel to the original series made waaaay after the original (think the equivalent of Yashahime for Inuyasha, though continuing with the original characters) but omg I hated it.

Anonymous asked:

With the crappy Season 4 episodes that just came out I'm glad I got into Cardcaptor Sakura when I did. Who needs "Marinette needs to make a mistake every episode and learn something from it" when you can have genuine girl power and sweetness incarnate?

Alya could never compete with Tomoyo, I’m just sayin’.

Anonymous asked:

Your comment about white men feeling "disenfranchised" because more shows are about black people and/or women(I say and/or because the two aren't mutually exclusive.), as if there aren't a million other things they could be watching instead is so true! It reminds me of how I was talking to someone recently about the new generation of MLP, in which I stated that we didn't need a male mane pony(spoiler alert: they have one, sadly.), and he claimed that it would be beneficial since many shows aimed at boys at least try to include at least one main girl, and that it would be good for G5 of MLP to have at least one strong male lead so that boys could have a role model and know that the show isn't "girly".

Okay, so far, so good, but this I could chalk up to just unconscious internalized misogyny, especially since he didn't say it in any sort of "way". So I respectfully told him that the scale regarding representation is already not equal and that boys can look up to girls and that a show being girly is not a bad thing and all that stuff that you already know about. Then he responded claiming some stuff about how he keeps trying to pitch stories about straight white male characters and how nobody is accepting his offers and so this means that straight white men are underrepresented compared to everyone else. He even explicitly said, and I quote "White people are actually critically underrepresented in media right now. Especially boys."; I swear to the Goddess above.

At this point I was officially upset as a black girl, to hear this white(and presumably adult) man telling me that he was underrepresented in media compared to me, even saying that the media execs are practicing "quotas and tokenization"(and yes, he repeatedly used those terms for any instance of representation, even when I asked him politely to stop.) by replacing women with men or white people with pocs and are making white men look like incompetent doofuses.

He also kept saying stuff about how shows are always shoehorning people of color in where they don't belong by casting them in settings such as Shakespeare and medieval times when "realistically" there were no people of color during those time periods(which is obviously not true, it's just not what the history books show us.), and made a really insensitive comment about how black children in the USA today don't know the significance of having the first black president because the media supposedly already shows them black people in various professions(despite also claiming he couldn't speak to the "black experience" and yet here he is whitesplaining that shit.).

It got to the point where he was seriously and unironically using the word "blackwashing". When I pointed out to him that white men aren't underrepresented and that it's just his self-centered ego telling him that they are, that the word "blackwashing" isn't a thing, and that mis/underrepresentation in media DOES affect black kids negatively(even citing myself as an example) he went on to claim that I was being tone-deaf and that "blackwashing" is just as bad as whitewashing, and that making Ariel black is just as bad as making Jasmine white.

At this point I had to bang my head on the table and explain to him the difference; his ass still wouldn't get it. Eventually he started saying some really skeevy and hypocritical shite that white men say all the time when whining about how "oppressed and underrepresented" they are: that black people and/or women

(it looks like there might be an ask missing here, in which case, sorry if Tubmlr ate it!)

avor of supporting the commonly believed LIE that "women and/or minority groups don't have as much history worth learning about, so there's no point in focusing on them." He also kept using patronizing, condescending, mansplaining language such as "let me explain it to you" or "you still don't get it do you?", and when he said women had nothing to contribute to society because "oppression" he even had the nerve to tack on "welcome to the unequal society" as if I hadn't been lecturing him about just that.

Because obviously only white men did anything worthwhile or important in history. At this point, I had to block him. I couldn't take it anymore and this was on an MLP site of all places(although I'm probably just as guilty of that part, but at least I wasn't an ass!). I just can't stand white men who "want to be oppressed so bad" but still want to claim that their achievements are more important and deserve to be more prominent. Honestly, so many white men are so fragile the second they're not in the spotlight. I can't help but think that despite all the privilege afforded to their class being a white man sounds like the worst thing ever.

“he claimed that it would be beneficial since many shows aimed at boys at least try to include at least one main girl, and that it would be good for G5 of MLP to have at least one strong male lead so that boys could have a role model and know that the show isn't "girly". “

I might be looking too deep into that but I don’t like the idea of, “Well WE squeezed in a girl and therefore YOUR SHOWS--” like it’s some sort of matter of “fairness” or that boys’ shows aren’t putting in girls out of a genuine like for them but because they “need” one or it’s some sort of obligation.

Also, we need to stop this idea that boys can’t look up to female characters and vice versa for girls. You already said it but yeah.

And yeah, I hear "quotas and tokenization" and I officially tune out of whatever the person is saying, lol. White men are critically underrepresented???? Newsflash, maybe it’s just because others are being represented more??

Just the whole thing about whites being “underrepresented” boggles my mind. White people don’t have some sort of special ability or skill that other races can’t do themselves unless you count the “superpower” of white privilege.

Like, oh my god, all that “whitesplaining” and having to read the word “blackwashing” was physically painful. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I don’t know how they got hold of the technology to communicate with you from whatever time period their from, presumably the Stone Age.

Don’t even blame you for blocking them. There’s just a level of absolute... blindness? Arrogance??? That comes with the territory with them sometimes, I swear. You had every right to be upset; other races come to ask for equality and fair representation and suddenly you have these white men (not all obviously but damn) coming by and crying that they’re being oPpReSsEd. U_U

Like, honestly, my father in particular is absolutely that kind of person so I’ve heard that kind of stuff before. it’s all gross.

On a slightly unrelated note (trying to end this with some positivity), I hadn’t even heard about a fifth generation of MLP until I read this, and just wanted to let you know that I really hope you have a really good time with it! Hopefully the male character isn’t... well, you know.

[rin-00]

The Argument - Kieu My x Fatou

How the hell did they get to this point? In the past couple of days Fatou and her have been out of sync. First, their schedules haven’t matched up so they couldn’t see each other as often as they needed to. Then, when they did see each other it seemed like the skater girl was withholding information from her. Kieu My could practically reach out and feel the invincible walls the other girl has put up around her. Walls that she thought didn’t apply to her since she was her girlfriend after all. Every “How are you’s” are either met with a shrug, a vague answer, or a lie. She thought they were past this but apparently not.

They have been lying down on Kieu My’s bed for the past hour, watching a documentary on Netflix about sea life. If anyone were to walk in the room right now they would probably assume they were two awkward friends instead of a couple that has been together for almost a year because of the literal physical distance between them. Usually when they watch movies together, or are even in the same room together, they always have to be in each other’s orbit. Even if it was just pinkies touching. There was never more than just a thumb’s sized distance between the two. But right now? Right now there is about a foot of space between her and Fatou. A foot that manages to feel like a mile. The other girl is staring blankly at the laptop screen and Kieu My can tell that her mind is somewhere else because she herself has been staring at Fatou’s side profile for about 20 minutes now and she has yet to notice. If this was a regular day, Fatou would have turned to her with a warm smile and a slight blush painting her cheeks and teased Kieu My about how she couldn’t keep her eyes off of her. Instead there’s no smile on the girl’s face. All Kieu My sees are furrowed eyebrows and a clenched jaw. She wants to ask what’s wrong. In fact she has been asking for the past couple of days but she sensed a slight irritation from Fatou the last time she asked and she didn’t want to push. But she’s worried that if she doesn’t push then the distance between them will grow bigger and bigger.

Reaching over, Kieu My paused the film and turned her whole body she would be facing the other girl, “We need to talk.”

She hears Fatou let out an irritated huff, “I know what you’re going to ask, Kieu My. And I promise you I’m fine.”

She had a feeling this was going to be a long night. In fact she was wondering when this moment would come. Her and Fatou have been in a relationship for a while now and they had yet to argue (aside from the time outside her apartment complex) and she knew it would come around eventually. Every couple argues. She read somewhere that it’s part of maintaining a healthy relationship and with her and Fatou having so many differences in how they deal with conflict, she knew that the moment would definitely come. But that doesn’t mean she’s looking forward to it.

“Ok. I’ll believe your lie for now and accept that you’re fine. But something is obviously bothering you. So, what is it?”

Fatou scratches the side of her head and scrunches her nose. How cute. No, wait, Kieu My thought, now is not that the time for her to find Fatou adorable. She needs to put her foot down and tell Fatou that keeping her out of the loop isn’t okay. She’ll tell her she looks adorable once they’ve made up because she has a feeling argument might bubble over to a fight. She also has her own thoughts and feelings she has repressed and pushed aside in order to make Fatou feel comfortable. The insecure nights spent awake wondering if she was the reason the other girl has been so distant. The angry rants to Zoe about how she deserves transparency. The gut wrenching feeling that came with the thought that maybe Fatou was going to end everything.

“Kieu My, please, I really don’t want to talk about it. Okay?” Fatou stands up and walks over to the other side of the room to pace back and forth. Her fingers nervously wringing together.

What felt like a mile of distance now feels like a whole block and Kieu My has to swallow the lump in her throat before speaking, “No. not okay. You have been so distant the past week and I gave you your space. I asked and when you shut me off I didn’t push because I wanted you to come to me. I wanted you to have the space you needed. But, it seems like you’re not making any effort to open up.”

“Maybe I don’t want to open up. Maybe this is something I can figure out myself.”

“Well,” Kieu My said while walking over to the opposite side of the room. The distance between them now expanding as well as her voice level rising. “maybe I can help. I want to help you, Fatou.”

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

A simple sentence but it managed to open up everything inside Kieu My, “I know you didn’t ask for my help! You didn’t ask for anything! You’ve just been pouting and getting pissed off and going back to being sad for the past couple of days! At the very least, you should be able to trust me enough to be transparent with me.”

“This is something I can handle on my own! I don’t need you to try and babysit me. I can handle being sad for a couple of days.”

“I’m not trying to babysit you, I want to help you. I can help fix whatever the problem is!”

“I don’t need you to fix anything! Why can’t you just be there next to me and let me feel what I need to feel. Sometimes people just need to feel down without a need for some type of solution!”

“What, so you’re planning on just ignoring what is very obviously bothering you until it washes away? You know that’s now how the world works.”

“I don’t need you to lecture me on how the world works, Kieu My. I don’t want you to fix anything. I don’t need you to know everything! I just need you to be next to me while I figure it out the way I need to figure it out!”

“Well, it sounds like you’re asking me to just sit aside and do nothing. If that’s the case, then fine. But at the very least I need you to be honest with me about what’s going on! Are you having second thoughts about us or something?”

“What?”

“Are you having second thoughts? Are you planning on breaking up with me? Because that’s what it feels like right now.”

“No...I’m...no..”

“Then whats the fucking problem? I’m your girlfriend! I deserve more than just shrugged shoulders and a snappy response when I ask you about your life.”

“It’s not a big deal...”

“Then tell me,” thanks to Kieu My’s long legs she only needed to take 5 steps before she’s right in front of the other girl. “Please.”

Fatou’s shoulders drop and with it the walls she had up, “I have to repeat the year.”

Kneeling down so the taller girl can look at her girlfriend in the eyes, Kieu My takes Fatou’s hands in hers and tightens her hold at the sight of the skater girl’s teary face, “What do you mean?”

“I tried everything. I took tutoring lessons, I went to therapy, I did the math exercises, I even spent extra hours after school doing extra credit but it still wasn’t enough. I’m not enough.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because, I’m so embarrassed and ashamed of myself. This isn’t something you can fix, Kieu My. I fucked up. A Kieu My style studying session isn’t going to fix this.”

Opening up her arms, Kieu My takes hold of Fatou and immediately felt drops of tears hit her shoulder, “You didn’t fuck up. You did your best and that’s all that matters.”

“I’m sorry I was so distant,” Fatou presses a gentle kiss against Kieu My’s shoulder, “it’s just that when they told me that I have to repeat a year it’s like everything I did was for nothing. I started going back to bad habits like shutting you out. I shouldn’t have done that. I never want you to feel like I’m leaving because that’s one of the things I’m worried about.”

“You’re worried about me leaving?”

“I’m worried that when you’re off to college and I have to repeat a year that you will find someone better. Someone who doesn’t test your patience or is smarter.”

“Fatou..”, now sitting on the floor with Fatou in her lap, Kieu My took a moment to observe the girl. Find someone better? Than Fatou? Is that even possible? Kieu My has never been good with words. It was always Fatou who had the emotional intelligence in the relationship. She was the one who would leave notes with heartfelt words before leaving her house. She was the one who would randomly tell Kieu My why she loves her out of nowhere even in the middle of class. She was the one who knew what to say whenever she would have a fight with her parents. Hell, she was the one who managed to calm down Constantine and get through his thick head. Who else can do that? Not Kieu My. But she sure wishes she could, especially right at this moment. She wishes she can be as articulate as Fatou. She wishes she can find a way to say how much she means to her. How much it means to her whenever Fatou would just take a glance at her and immediately know what’s wrong and what would make her feel better. How much it means to her when Fatou would ask her about space or even something as mundane as her day working at the shop. How Fatou’s smile makes her heart stop. How Fatou’s voice makes life seem less chaotic. How she disliked the world a little less because they gave her the love of her life. But she can’t. So instead she tightens her hold on the smaller girl and kisses the top of her head.

“There’s nobody like you. What do you need from me, baby? What can I do to help you feel better?”

“I just need you to hold me right now.”

“Of course.”

A few moments of silence later Kieu My feels Fatou sit up right in order to look at her face to face, “I do trust you, you know. I trust you with all my heart. But, sometimes I feel like the only thing I do is lean on you. I can’t help but feel like I’m more than a burden than your girlfriend.”

“You’re not a burden. I want you to lean on me. I need you to. I need to feel you against me. I like knowing that you know I’m here for you the same way I know you’re there for me. I want you to feel loved, baby. Helping you is how I let you know that.”

“But, what if one day it’s too much? What if one day I end up messing everything up?”

“Fatou, I can never get enough of you. Like right now, you’re pressed up against me and you’re still not close enough.”

“I’m trying really hard to be the best I can be for you. And right now I feel like a failure.”

Kieu My sighs as her heart breaks at the other girl’s words. She leans forward to kiss Fatou on the lips before brushing away the tears on her cheeks.

“You’re amazing just the way you are right now.”

Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments as well as some fanfic ideas. ✨✨ this is very rough cuz I wrote it while waiting for my dog to poop.

[apocxlypticangel]

achievement unlocked🔓: [lovers]

SERIES (1/?) THIS IS THE PROLOGUE WHILST I FINISH WRITING THE FIRST PART.

Please let me know what you think.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x clumsygamergirl!Reader, eventually gamerboy!Bucky x clumsygamergirl!Reader

Spoilers: Probably none, I’m taking my Bucky Inspiration from before TFAWS so unless you haven’t seen any of the movies you should be good. Basically long-haired Bucky because my whole being belongs to his beautiful hair.

Warnings: This is probably just going to be pure fluff, MAYBE smut. I’ll add warnings as I write the series. Probably cursing.(Edit: most definitely, alot of cursing)

Author’s note: i thought of this cute idea and figured it’d be a oneshot but decided to turn it into a series. aha. along with the other two series ideas i have 💀 anyways, i thought this was cute so i hope y’all like it.

18+ puh-lease! Thank you!

Bucky had never met a girl like you. He was bewildered by you. You were brash, unashamed and you cussed like a soldier from his time in the army. He thought dames weren’t supposed to act like that, but he guessed times really had changed. He had been alive for nearly 110 years, but never had he ever met someone so badass yet... such a fucking hot mess -Sam’s words not his-. You may have been able to take out six Hydra agents in three minutes and were one of the only people to actually win against Steve and himself whilst sparring- with nothing but your bare fists. But, my god, were you a fucking clumsy dumbass when not in the field.

So much so Bucky found himself grimacing and groaning watching you go about your day to day life. You cooked something? You burnt the fuck out of yourself. Walking-literally anywhere-you were always tripping and splitting your lip or giving yourself a concussion. He knew you were making tea when you screamed, “Fuck! That’s fucking hot as balls!” because you dropped your spoon into the cup and couldn’t wait for it to cool before sticking your fingers in to fish out the spoon . You consistently had your nose buried in what Peter Parker told him was a.. Nintendo Gameboy?? Whatever that was. You literally couldn’t get the thing out of your fucking face, walking straight into people, doors, counters, chairs, falling down the stairs- or up occasionally. Trips to the med-bay were made almost everyday on your behalf.

Mostly, Bucky just watched you embarrass yourself- even though you were never embarrassed, you always just laughed your failures away. He couldn’t figure it out, he’d be so ashamed he’d want to die if he wiped out consistently like you did. He asked you why you didn’t just take your head out of your “video games” and pay attention to the real world one day, and your answer most definitely confused him even more.

You looked up at him with a slightly bleeding busted lip and a knot that was darkly bruised on the top right of your forehead and simply stated, “My entire life, I’ve always known that living inside a fantasy world was better than real life. I mean, look at what you’ve been through, Barnes. Wouldn’t you rather escape it for a day instead of facing everything head on without a break? Why should I be ashamed of living in my own world and being clumsy in the real one; when I could care less about boring day to day life?”

He didn’t get it. I mean, sure it sounded nice to have a break from the consistent pain he was in, but how does one completely lose themselves into something fictional??? He didn’t have the facilities to do that back in his day.

He didn’t understand you, but he definitely wanted to. So he made a vow to actually spend time with you and get to know the things you were interested in. Little did he know, you’d suck him into your fantasy world too and then you’d pull each other out, finding real life with each other was much better than fantasy.

[breaniebree]

What is your favorite moment of each ship in ASC ?

Hi, nuninho2000!

What a great question! This will take some thought!

Remadora -- I really love the moment he tells her that he's a werewolf and she's like "Duh" and Remus is completely baffled. One of my favourite lines is where Tonks basically tells him she thinks he's freaking out enough for the both of them:

He shook his head, swallowing slowly. Now that he had finally begun he was determined to get the words out. “The man’s name was Fenrir Greyback and he’s a notoriously well known and dangerous werewolf. I’m not notorious, but I am dangerous and… a werewolf,” he finished, lamely.

He tugged his hands away from her, marching into the kitchen, his hands in his hair again.

Tonks watched him march away from her and she followed him, spinning him around and slipping her hands into his back pockets again and holding him against her. “I know that already. So, what?”

Remus simply stared at her. “So what? That’s all you can bloody well say! I just told you that I’m a fucking werewolf!”

Tonks nipped at his bottom lip. “And, I figured that out already. Did you think I didn’t suspect when you always left me on the moon cycle? Your scars? Your possessive nature? I like a little danger, Remus. I’m an Auror.”

“Nymphadora, I am not a little danger! Do you have any idea what a creature like me can do? I can break through doors and walls with my strength! I can track you for kilometres, I can hear anything almost ten kilometres away. Look at me!” he exploded, pushing her away angrily and slapping his hands on his bare chest. “I did this! Me! I lock myself away and if I don’t take the Wolfsbane Potion without anything to hunt or to kill, I claw at myself; scratching my own skin off, clawing at myself in desperation! That monster lives inside of me! The wolf is inside of me all of the time! I am the wolf all of the time! The mask of the man just hides my true face. Do you understand? Why the fuck are you not freaking out?”

She moved towards him carefully. His eyes were wide and amber now, his hair tousled from his hands. He looked panicked, she thought, and even more like the sexy bewildered professor that she fancied. She placed her hands on his abs, sliding her palms along his rib cage, up his chest and over his shoulders.

“I think that you’re freaking out enough for the both of us to be honest,” she said teasingly, kissing the skin below his ear. “I like your mask, but I think that it’s time for you to take it off now.”

Remus stared at her in confusion. “Nymphadora, you’re not even listening to me!”

Tonks put her hand over his mouth. “No, you’re not listening and I’m pretty sure that’s a serious flaw in your personality. Are you honestly standing there waiting for me to change my mind about you?” His eyes flickered in pain before he masked it and her own eyes narrowed. “I’m a klutz, a complete spaz, if I’m honest with myself. I had hoped that I would grow out of it, but obviously it’s something that is part of me no matter what I do. The wolf is part of you and I think that it’s time that you get off your high horse and stop being so bloody ashamed of it.” -- Chapter 95 of ASC

Zeerius - hmm... I love a lot of moments with them. But I think one of my favourites is when he comes home after a full moon with Remus worried that Harry is still annoyed with him for not letting him go and he finds Harry sleeping on the sofa with Zee in the chair. He wakes up and she's making breakfast and wearing his clothes and he's just completely swamped with love over the normalcy of it.

Sirius rubbed his tired eyes as he unlocked the front door to Black Cottage and let himself inside. He stifled a yawn, smiling when Marauder came over to greet him, rubbing the dog behind the ears. “Good boy,” he whispered, “Did you keep Prongslet company all night, good boy.”

Marauder burrowed closer to him, eager for affection and Sirius pat him gingerly on the head, kicking off his shoes as he called Kreacher to him.

“How was he?”

“Kreacher did not stay. Master Sirius’ lady said she would stay.”

“What?” Sirius asked in surprise as his gaze zeroed in on Zee, stretched out across the armchair, his duvet burrowed around her, her mess of dark caramel curls hanging over the back of the chair. “Go back to Grimmauld Place, Kreacher, thank you.”

The elf vanished and he smiled at the image of ‘his lady’ curled up and walked over to her, bending his head to kiss her forehead and then he realized that Harry was stretched out across the sofa, glasses on the table next to an empty bowl of popcorn kernels with Lady Godiva sleeping in front of the couch as if keeping watch.

Sirius stared at the two of them, his heart quite literally swamped with love. He tenderly brushed Harry’s hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead. He stood up, pulled his jumper over his head and tugged his tee shirt down in its attempts to ride up and then he lifted his son’s legs to plop himself onto the couch, putting Harry’s legs on his lap. He pulled the duvet close to him and punched one of the throw pillows into position next to his head and was asleep in minutes. [...]

Sirius woke up less than three hours later to the smell of bacon. He rubbed a hand over his face, grinning at the sight of boy and dog snuggled on the sofa. He carefully extricated himself from the couch, wrapped Harry up a bit tighter and bent to kiss him. He was so innocent and young looking when he was asleep and his heart ached for the little boy that used to want to sit on his lap and ask for slooches. He kissed him again because Harry was asleep and he could and then he snapped his fingers at Marauder who jumped down, shaking his fur, and followed Sirius into the kitchen. Lady Godiva was still stretched out next to the couch as if keeping watch. He let Marauder outside and then grinned at the image of Zee at the counter frying up bacon and sausage and scrambling eggs in his sweatpants rolled at the ankles and his favourite worn jumper.

He slipped his arms around her waist, kissing her ear and her neck. “How do you look so fucking incredible all of the time?”

She laughed and tilted her head to the side so that he could kiss her neck some more. “With flattery like that, I’ll give you all the extra bacon you want.”

He smirked and blew a raspberry on her neck and she laughed. “When did you get back?”

“Last night. I came straight over.”

“You stayed the whole night with him?”

Zee shrugged, smiling as he held her in his arms, swaying gently too and fro while she continued to fry the meat and scramble the eggs. “Harry and I had a movie marathon and he did some of his homework. I didn’t really feel like being alone and since you had run off all mysterious like, I thought we could keep each other company.”

“Sometimes my wife needs attention, Zee and my kids… I mean, I’m a wanted man.”

She snorted and elbowed him. “I already know Remus is your wife, you prat.”

Sirius grinned and kissed her ear. “Thank you. You didn’t have to stay with him last night, but… thank you. I didn’t really want to leave him alone, but I’m trying this whole ‘he’s not a little boy anymore so I should trust him just a bit’ parenting attitude.”

“And how’s that working out for you?”

Sirius blew his hair out of his eyes and grinned, his arms still wrapped tightly around her waist. “Well, I don’t have him wrapped in a bubble yet so bully for me. I mean, this school year has been pretty easy going for him, outside of the Dementors, but with these Horcruxes and trying to figure out what the next step is, I just… sometimes I want to just hold him in my arms and never let go.”

Zee carefully put the scrambled eggs onto three plates along with the bacon and sausage before she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes and kissed him deeply.

“You are a wonderful father, Sirius Black, and Harry is very lucky to have someone as amazing as you loving him. But you do have to let him grow up. Even when it’s scary and terrifying and the thought makes you want to throw up at not being able to protect him all of the time, you still have to do it. But, he’s thirteen, not quite a boy, but not quite a man, and right now, you can still hold him close, but you have to learn to let go as well.”

Sirius kissed her, his hands sliding up her back to play with her messy curls, his lips on hers, his tongue meeting hers. He pushed her back up against the counter, lifting her hips to hold her up as he kissed her, hard and soft, long and deep as she sighed against him happily.

“Can you two at least snog in a room where the bacon isn’t?” Harry said, snatching the plate from behind the snogging couple with a grin. “I’d like to keep my appetite, thanks.”

Sirius smirked and cuffed Harry lightly across the head making his son grin. “Brat.” -- Chapter 123 of ASC

Hinny - Like Zeerius, I have so many moments I love with them. I love when Ginny kisses him when he's five and I love when Harry's in denial of his feelings for her. But one of my favourite scenes I've written is the one where they compare scars. I think it really shows the depth of their friendship, their relationship, and I just think it's totally sweet.

Ginny gently brushed his fringe off his forehead. “I remember everything about you, Harry.”

“I thought your parents would never let me back there. I thought Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus would send me away because I did freak things… that’s what… that’s what the Dursleys had told me.”

Ginny tenderly stroked his cheek and down his jaw with her knuckles. “In that memory I saw… you said that they beat you?”

Harry nodded. “That first night when Uncle Siri tried to give me a bath, I guess my whole back was cut up from the belt, it was about a week old, but they hadn’t been taken care of properly and they’d festered a bit. I have a few tiny scars on my back from it, barely noticeable.”

Ginny lifted his tee shirt and he shifted to show her four tiny white scratches that were vertical just under his shoulder blades. She leaned in, gently brushing her lips over each scar and he shivered before he pulled his tee shirt back down and turned to hold her back in his lap.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Ginny told him.

He shrugged, his fingers playing with the tips of her hair. “I didn’t know any different. I just knew that my parents had died and that they were my only relatives. They didn’t want me and made sure to tell me almost every day. I was a burden, a freak of nature, and they didn’t want my unnaturalness under their roof. I slept in the cupboard under the stairs. They’d lock me in the dark as punishment, and they would starve me. I remember being afraid to tell my dads that I was hungry or too afraid to get up in the middle of the night to use the loo… but Uncle Rem and Uncle Siri, they gave me a home and I never looked back.”

Ginny took his hands in hers and brought them to her lips. “Only look back at the good.”

“You’re amazing, you know that, right?”

She smiled, her hand brushing over the palm of his left hand. “How did you get this scar?”

Harry glanced down at his palm to see the thin white line in the centre. “Broke a glass when I was four and it wasn’t properly treated.”

Ginny nodded and rolled up her right sleeve to show him a small crescent scar on her elbow. “From when I fell off Charlie’s broom when I was eight. I told Mum I fell out of a tree.” At his grin, she pushed her shirt aside to show him the scar on her left shoulder. “And this is where Ron pushed me off the roof of the shed when I was seven and I landed on my arm on the side, tore it open pretty bad. Percy patched me up after I made him promise not to tell Mum, and then he helped me get Ron back by pranking him into thinking there were spiders in his bed. Percy and I snuck into his room in the middle of the night and put itching powder in his sheets so he woke up all red and covered in itchy spots and Percy told him that they looked like spider bites.”

Harry laughed. “That’s pretty evil. I remember that. When I came to stay we had to check every nook and cranny of his room before he’d let me turn out the light to go to sleep.”

She grinned. “Don’t mess with me.”

“I’ll remember that,” he said on a strangled laugh. He stared at her for a moment before he lifted up his tee shirt again to show her the long thin jagged scar in the centre of his back. “Horntail.”

Ginny rolled up the left leg of her pants to show him a tiny scar the size of a sickle just behind her knee. “Gnome bite.”

Harry pointed to the small scar near the elbow of his right arm. “Rogue Bludger.”

Ginny lifted her right arm to show him a tiny half moon scar under her elbow. “Fred clipped me with his toy broomstick and the wood broke and cut my arm.”

Harry bent his head and lifted his fringe to show her a tiny thin barely noticeable red line on the top of his head. “Fell out of the treehouse.”

Ginny pulled her sock off and showed him a small cut on the bottom of her heel. “Stepped on a cactus leaf that KJ snipped off her plant.”

“That’s fresh,” Harry said. “And it’s not going to scar.” He took her foot in his hand and bent his head to press a soft kiss to the cut, making her shiver.

“I ran out of battle wounds.”

He chuckled and kissed her foot again. “We’re we competing?” He touched the lightning bolt on his forehead. “I win — Horcrux.”

Ginny smiled, her fingers slipping under his tee shirt to slide up his chest. “Emotional scars don’t leave physical marks, but I know that you can feel those scars just the same. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Harry, but if you ever do want to talk about it, you know that I’m always here for you, right?”

Harry’s hands rested on her hips. “I know that.”

Ginny’s lips curved slightly before she leaned in and kissed him softly. “We can snog now if you’d like.” -- Chapter 217 of ASC

Romione - I don't write as much Ron and Hermione as I should. But I think one of my favourite scenes with them is when Ron is trying so hard to be the perfect boyfriend and not complain to her like he usually would and Hermione is like who is this? Where is my Ron?

Hermione snuck a glance over at Ron, admiring his tall frame as he walked next to her. She loved how attentive he’d been over the last month and a half. She loved how sweet and caring he’d been and most of all, she loved snogging him senseless. But she found herself missing the less agreeable Ron more than she wanted to admit.

The friend Ron would be complaining by now. They’d been in the bookstore for almost twenty minutes and while she had a stack of four new books that she was interested in, she was browsing without any real purpose, wondering how long she could spend in here before he complained. The fact that he hadn’t complained yet, worried her a bit.

Ever since they’d made their relationship official, he’d been the perfect boyfriend. Attentive and sweet. Affectionate and kind. He still made her laugh and complained about his homework, but he didn’t pick fights with her anymore either. She was making an effort to say things that would normally set him off. His blue eyes would spark in fire before he’d grind his teeth and not respond.

She hated that he didn’t respond.

It wasn’t that she wanted to argue with him. Who wanted to fight all the time? It was exhausting. It was just that fighting with Ron was… well, foreplay. The word surprised her when she admitted it, but she knew that it was true. She liked arguing with him. She liked watching his blue eyes fire up, the way his face would flush and the muscles in his neck would contract. She’d had more fantasies of shutting him up with her lips than she was willing to admit to.

But now that she had the opportunity to snog his brains out when they fought, he never fought back. It was a contradiction she hadn’t expected.

They spent another thirty minutes in the bookstore before she bought the four books in her hand and led him outside.

“It’s so lovely in there, maybe we should browse around a bit more?”

Ron’s mouth twitched. “Or we could go for a walk, maybe hit up Zonko’s?”

“I’d rather go back to the bookstore,” she said, smiling at him. “We can look at the romance novels again.”

Ron looked like he wanted to do just about anything else. “Um, yeah, I guess, if that’s what you want.”

“Ron, stop letting me do what I want!” Hermione exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

Ron only stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“This! The bookstore! I love it there!”

“I know,” he said. “You love books. They’re like your happy place, I get it.”

“But you don’t like books!”

Ron frowned. “I have nothing against books. I just don’t see the appeal of spending hours looking at them. It’s a colossal waste of time.”

“But you just spent fifty minutes letting me do just that! And now, when I mentioned going back inside, you immediately agreed to do so!”

“Because you said you wanted to!”

“Ron, if this relationship is going to work, you can’t just do everything that I want all the time!”

Ron was looking at her as if she had two heads. “So, you don’t want me to go to the bookstore with you?”

“Of course I do! I want you to do things with me that I love!”

“That’s what I’m doing!”

“But I don’t want you to!”

Ron gave her a confused a look. “I’m not a Seer, Hermione. If you have a problem you have to bloody well say it.”

“You’re being too nice to me!”

Ron looked positively dumbfounded. “What do you want from me? I’m trying here, okay! I’m trying to be the man you deserve and doing the things that you want to do to make you happy! And now you’re telling me that I shouldn’t do that? What do you want me to do? Drag you into Zonko’s under protest? Tell you that I have no desire to spend another minute in that sodding bookstore!”

“Yes!”

Ron shoved his cold hands into the pocket of his coat. “I don’t understand you. You’re mental!”

Hermione gave him a light shove. “Don’t call me mental!”

“Don’t act mental, then!” Ron retorted. He grabbed her arm before she could shove him again.

“Why are you like this?”

“Why are you like this?” Ron repeated. “Merlin knows I don’t know how to act when you become a mental shrew!”

“Daft prat!”

“Sassy witch!”

“Absolute tosser!”

“Mental bint!”

“Wanker!”

Ron grabbed her, ignoring the way she hit his arm and pulled her up against him, his voice low. “Absolutely, when I’m thinking about you.”

Hermione’s face flushed. “Ron!”

He tilted his forehead down to hers. “Why are we screaming at each other? Aren’t we supposed to be done fighting now?”

Hermione slid her hands up his chest, linking them behind his neck. “Says who?”

She pulled his face down to hers to kiss him and he made a growling sound in his throat as he lifted her. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he held her and she lost herself in his kisses. A part of her was very aware of the fact that they were only a few metres outside of the bookstore, in the middle of the street where anyone could see them. But another part of her wanted his lips on hers more than she wanted to take another breath, let alone think about the embarrassment of their very public displays of affection. When her mouth moved down to his throat, she felt the hardness against her and she smiled, suddenly feeling more bold.

“Is fighting with me turning you on?”

“No,” he insisted, his hands sliding down to boldly cup her bum. “Absolutely not.”

Hermione slapped his hands off her bum and slid down his body. “Ron, we don’t have to agree on everything. We don’t have to always do the things that I want to do or the things that you want to do. If we’re going to make this work, we have to go back to how we were. My friend Ron would never have let me mosey around a bookstore for almost an hour. He would have cut me off at twenty minutes and made me leave to go to Zonko’s.”

Ron pulled her close again and kissed her. “I guess I’m just wondering if as your boyfriend if I do something like that, you’d stop snogging me.”

Hermione nipped at his lips, a soft smile on her face. “I have no plans of that. Do you plan to stop snogging me?”

“Hell no,” he muttered, his lips moving to her ear. -- Chapter 252 of ASC

Feo - Theo and Finn, they do have a lot of moments together, mostly smutty which we all love (or maybe just me LOL 🤔). But one of my favourite moments I wrote with them is actually one of the smutty ones. I absolutely love the scene where Finn takes him against the window of the study in Norfolk Manor.

But he also didn’t want to leave Finn.

He’d gotten used to waking up wrapped in his boyfriend’s arms. He loved the support Finn gave him; the calming way he had about him. Finn was always assuring him that everything would be okay. He’d gotten used to Finn being there day after day and the thought of going back to school and only seeing him on the weekends was more painful than he could bear.

As if he’d heard him, arms encircled his waist from behind and a warm mouth pressed against the side of his neck.

“How was the session today?”

“Good. Really good,” Theo told him. He turned his head to kiss him. “Did you just get back?”

Finn nodded and began to unbutton Theo’s shirt. “I did.”

Theo chuckled as his dress shirt was spread open and Finn began to work on his black trousers. “Let me take off my Wizengamot robe first.”

Finn’s mouth sucked on his ear so sharply that Theo felt the sensation between his legs as he pushed Theo’s trousers down, followed by his boxers. “No.”

Then his hands were all over and Theo felt a whoosh of magic as suddenly all of his clothes were gone except for the open purple robe. Finn turned him around and knelt in front of him. He started with soft kisses on his thighs, on the back of his knees, and then his mouth was wrapped around him and Theo could do nothing, but hold onto his boyfriend’s hair as he pleasured him.

Finn’s mouth brought him right to the edge before he stood up, kissing Theo’s cheek and turned him around towards the window. Theo groaned when he smelt the oil and then his boyfriend’s hands were doing the most delectable things to his arse.

“Finn...” he begged. “I want to touch you.”

Finn ignored this and Theo groaned when he felt his boyfriend’s finger rock into him. Then Finn was tugging his clothes off and Theo caught a glimpse of his boyfriend’s reflection in the window standing gloriously naked behind him before Finn pushed him up against the glass, and slid into him.

Theo cried out at the intrusion and then there was nothing but pleasure. Finn’s hands slid around to grip him, pumping him in rhythm with every thrust. His thumb stroking under the head, circling and tugging, and it wasn’t long before Theo cried out his name as he came all over the window pane. Finn rode him harder, pinning him against the glass. One hand continued to gently fondle Theo’s spent cock, the other held his hip as he thrust himself forward. Theo was panting, the pleasure building more and more as Finn’s lips brushed the back of his neck and then Finn panted his name as he emptied himself.

Theo sighed in contentment when Finn slid out of him. Finn’s arms turned to pull him into his embrace and they stumbled towards the sofa in the library, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“So, you like my robe then?”

Finn chuckled against Theo’s hair as he snuggled him closer on his chest. “Yes. More than I expected. You look incredibly sexy in it. Proud and confident and it makes me think of all of the great things I know you can accomplish. Then it makes me think of how much I want to be part of your life while you do those things. Then I just want you. All of you. I’m so proud of what you’re doing, Theo.”

“You make me want to aspire to be more,” he said.

Finn gently brushed Theo’s hair away from his face. “I love you.”

Theo smiled and kissed Finn’s chest before he froze, eyes widening as they locked onto his boyfriend’s green ones. “Finn! I think Blaise was in the bloody garden!”

Finn grinned. “He was. He disappeared rather quickly when he caught sight of us in the window.”

Theo blushed scarlet. “And I... I can’t leave that mess on the window for Kiki.”

“Mmm,” Finn said absently, running his hand down Theo’s chest and down to grip him in his hand.

Theo groaned as he felt Finn revitalize him with magic. “I only would have needed a few more minutes, you know.”

Finn shifted him so that he was under him on the sofa. “I know, but I need you in my mouth right now.”

Theo gasped as Finn did exactly that and he again wondered how he was going to survive the whole school year without seeing this perfect man every day. -- Chapter 236 of ASC

Deamus - Dean and Seamus, I did play around with them a lot. They have a lot of moments I like as well. I love how much they are friends first and lovers second which I think says a lot about their relationship. I love writing them playful and teasing the way best mates are, but to still show how passionate they are for each other. I love how they don't just say "I love you" but that it's "I really love you." I don't know, I think that sums them up really well.

“Ditto. I really love you, Seamus. How often can a bloke say that he’s in love with his best mate?”

Seamus reached for the soap to help his boyfriend wash up as he spoke. “I really love you, too.”

Dean smiled as Seamus washed his chest. “I finished Katie and Jason’s engagement portrait last night.”

“You did? Why didn’t you show it to me?”

“Well, probably because you crawled into bed, climbed on top of me, and snogged my brains out.”

“Oh? I did do that, didn’t I? Maybe if you’d tell me how good my new muscles look, I wouldn’t feel so self-conscious.”

Dean ran his hands over Seamus’ flat stomach where the beginning of abs were coming in. His constant workouts with the Gryffindor Quidditch team had really done wonders for his body over the last few months. “You don’t have a single self-conscious bone in your body.”

“Sure, I do! Now, tell me how sexy I am.” -- Chapter 262 of ASC

Bleur - They have a lot of moments too, most are with family. And I know I had a lot of lovely compliments on the last Bleur scene where she basically tells him she doesn't care how he looks because she loves him. But one of my favourites is actually their first kiss. I like the way Fleur is very into him while at the same time being like, I'm more than just a pretty face and you will know that about me and respect me.

“Did you still want to grab some dinner and discuss the new project tonight?”

Fleur smiled warmly at him. “Oui. I caught up on some reading of za history we found in Anguilla ze ozzer day and I might have come up with a new plan to open za cursed box we found in za ship.”

Bill grinned. “Great. I can’t wait to hear your idea. I want to talk to you about the new project the goblins are trusting us with as well. We’ll be heading down into the London Catacombs. Have you ever been?”

She shook her head. “Non, but I was in ze ones in Paris. Zey are very terrible, I theenk.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure going down there isn’t going to be a walk in the park. It’s definitely going to involve some cleanup as well. We’ll talk more over dinner. How does Italian sound?”

Fleur moved closer to him as more people climbed onto the train. “It sounds très bon.”

Bill’s breath hitched slightly as her body pressed into his and her pheromones assaulted him. He saw the man’s eyes change behind her and he immediately wrapped his arms around her in a possessive fashion that surprised him.

“Miss, may I —”

“— No,” Bill growled. “Run along.”

The man’s eyes met his and he seemed to come out of his trance.

Bill looked down at Fleur, who’s blue eyes were staring up at him. “Sorry, I don’t like seeing men throw themselves at you like you’re up for auction.”

“You never do.”

“I never do what?”

“Zrow yourself at me like ze ozzers.”

Bill’s eyebrow rose. “We work together. I respect you too much to allow myself to act like an imbecile.”

Fleur stood on her toes, her lips brushing his cheek. “You theenk I cannot tell ze difference?”

The feel of her lips on his cheek made his whole body tremble in response. He moved his arms away.

“Fleur…”

“I know zat you find me attractive, n’est pas?”

“Of course I find you — you’re beautiful! That’s not the… we work together.”

Fleur smiled seductively. “And zis makes you not want to kiss me?”

Bill stared at her, his fingers twitching at her waist. “No.”

Fleur moved away from him, her eyes flashing in hurt before she masked it. “Je suis désolé, my mistake.”

Bill swore under his breath. Being around her was harder than he wanted to admit. She was incredibly beautiful, that was a given. She smelt like heaven and when she laughed, her eyes danced and her lips parted in the sweetest way. She was smart and creative and her willingness to learn intrigued him. She picked up on things fast and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, was one of the best new recruits he’d ever had.

The fact that being around her made him as hard as rock was another situation all together.

They stepped off the train and Fleur started moving across the platform. He grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her back into his arms. Her lips parted in surprise and her eyes widened as he simply bent his head to hers.

The moment his lips touched hers, he knew that it had been a mistake. Now that he had kissed her, no one else was ever going to make him feel like this; no one else would ever come close. He tugged her closer, his hands moving into her hair, deepening the kiss and when she moaned against him, it was enough to pull him out of his trance.

Her cheeks were flushed and her lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes.

“If you think that I don’t think about doing that a few thousand times a day along with a few naughtier things then you’re stupid.”

Fleur’s eyes flashed in anger. “‘Ow dare you call me stupid!” Her fists hit him angrily on the arm.

“I didn’t mean — fuck!” He dragged his hand over his face. “I think that you’re far from stupid, Fleur. You’re one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. One of the bravest as well and the sexiest. I just meant… of course, I’m attracted to you. You’re bloody gorgeous! I love the way that your eyes dance when you laugh. I like watching your little booty dance when you bypass the puzzle piece when we’re exploring. I like spending time with you and I spend most of my time with you trying to convince myself why I can’t touch you. You have men throwing themselves at you all the time, even some women. I don’t want you to think that what I’m saying is because of your Veela thing — because it’s not.”

Fleur stepped towards him, her eyes softening. “I can tell ze difference, Bill. I want you to touch me.”

Bill’s breath hitched. “You do?”

She nodded. “I want you to kiss me again.”

He did. Long and deeply until someone whistled at them and he broke away, smiling at her. “Will you go out with me, Fleur?”

She smiled. “Oui, but if you call me stupid again, I will make you wish you hadn’t, oui?”

Bill grinned widely. The fact that he just found her threat as incredibly sexy as the rest of her made him question his own sanity. “Oui.”

But he couldn’t wait to find out what came next. -- Chapter 189 of ASC

Georgelina - George and Angelina are fun to write because I love the idea of someone loving George for who he is and not comparing him to Fred. I love how when he takes her to the Yule Ball, she knows he's not Fred, but he's afraid to hope because as much as he loves his twin, this is the first time in his life he wants someone to really see him as separate from Fred. Angelina does that. I love her friendship with Fred as well and how she's not afraid to tease and poke at him. But one of my favourite moments with them is still when Molly shows up at the twins' flat and finds Angelina in the closet.

George woke up slowly, the early morning sunlight reflecting through the small dingy window of his bedroom. He blinked a moment before he turned to smile at the woman sleeping next to him. Her dark hair was swept up in a silk head wrap, but he was greeted by the lovely nakedness of her back. He grinned, shifting so that he could plant kisses down her spine. She stirred under his lips and when she rolled over, he merely moved his lips to her breasts.

“Good morning,” he murmured as his mouth continued to plant kisses over her skin.

“Morning,” Angelina said, her fingers moving into his hair. “What time is it?”

“Still early,” George answered, sucking the dark peak into his mouth.

“Mmm, the sun comes up late in the winter, so that’s not true.”

George chuckled and looked over at the clock. “Almost nine.”

“Nine... and you’re still here?”

“I’m closing the store tonight so Fred agreed to open. There were some early deliveries to the Ministry that needed to be shipped off. You look delectable.”

Angelina chuckled as his stubbled jaw slid down her stomach. “I doubt that. But after I shower, eat your heart out.”

George’s lips curved and her thumb reached down to trace his lips.

“I love that smile. The one that lights up your whole face. Especially when I’m the one who gives it to you.”

“You always make me smile,” George told her. “You’re still coming with me on Sunday?”

Angelina tugged his face up to hers to kiss him. “Even if I didn’t want to, your mum would insist on it.”

George chuckled. “She likes you.”

“Well, she thinks I'm a good influence on you because you wrote your NEWTs.”

“But you’re a bad influence,” George finished. “Downright naughty in fact. Seducing her son all over London without a care in the world. Tut tut tut.”

Angelina grinned. “In my defence, her son wasn’t putting up much of a fight.”

George kissed her, covering her body with his. “None whatsoever.”

Angelina’s hands slid down his back and into his pyjama bottoms. “When did you put on clothes?”

“When I got up to use the loo a few hours ago,” George said. He used her momentary distraction to kiss her breasts again.

“It’s not like you have something he hasn’t seen before,” Angelina pouted, her hand wrapping around him

George smiled. “True. But you know how Fred is, knowing that I’m the better looking twin is one thing, but seeing me in all of my naked glory is something else entirely.”

She laughed. “Prat. You’re ridiculous”

“And you’re beautiful. I love you, Ange. I love you more every day. You make me so happy.”

Angelina kissed him deeply. “Me too. My teammates say that I’m always smiling and that’s because of you. I love you.”

George deepened the kiss as her hands fondled him just as Fred’s voice interrupted them.

“Oi! You two decent? I’m coming in!”

George barely managed to cover Angelina’s tits before the door to his room burst open. “Fred, boundaries!”

Fred shrugged. “I’ve seen it all before. Right, Angelina?”

Angelina scowled at him. “Walking in on me in the bathroom hardly counts as seeing it all.”

“Which was an accident and I am truly sorry for that, but listen!”

“Who’s running the shop?” George interrupted.

“Ron, nitwit. He’s home for the holiday. Now, I received another shipment of mirrors in and I think that after this batch we’ll be able to sell them. I know with all of the supplies we were making for the Ministry, we got a little backlogged, but this is it, Georgie!”

George grinned. “Yeah?”

Fred nodded, leaning against the doorjamb. “I figure we’ll gift one to Charlie and to Mum and Dad, because that will make us Mum’s favourite, and starting in the new year, VainMuch will be a go!”

Angelina sat up, holding the sheet over her breasts. “And it was important for you to tell us this right this very second because...”

Fred wiggled his eyebrows. “That was just to help cool you off because Mum’s on her way up and I don’t know how much longer Ron can distract her.”

Fred had barely turned around before George and Angelina jumped to their feet and attempted to find clothes. Angelina had just pulled one of George’s G jumpers over her head before George urged her into the closet to hide at the sound of Mrs Weasley stepping into the boys’ flat.

“Mum!” George exclaimed loudly in front of the closet door. “What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?”

“Hi, George,” Molly said, standing on her toes to kiss her son’s cheek. “Ron and Fred were just showing me the new stock. The store is really looking grand!”

“We told you that we knew what we were doing amidst the explosions and general chaos.”

Molly nodded. “I should have had more faith in you boys. I’m very proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mum,” Fred said as George smiled next to him.

Molly pursed her lips. “I’m sure that you’ve both heard by now what happened a few days ago in Hogsmeade. Theo is staying with us for the holiday. I don’t want that poor boy to be alone in his grief. He needs friends and he needs family.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” George said. “Want us to come by and cheer him up then?”

“This isn’t the sort of thing one cheers up, George,” Molly insisted. “We just have to be there for him as much as we can be and show him that the world will go on, no matter how much he thinks it may not!”

George nodded. “We can do that.”

“Good. Now, is Angelina still joining us for Christmas?”

“On Christmas Eve,” George corrected, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pyjama bottoms. “I’m going to have dinner on Christmas Day at her house.”

“Oh, but George that means you’ll miss Charlie.”

“We’ll pop by after dinner. Her family does Yule at tea time.”

“Good,” Molly said, her hands on her hips. “Don’t you think that it’s about time you pick up after yourself in here, George? It looks like a pigsty!”

George shrugged. “Just a place to sleep, Mum.”

“Well, this ‘just a place to sleep’ needs to be cleaned. No, not cleaned — decimated!”

George grinned. “Mum, that’s a bit extreme. It’s not like we have mice living about. It’s just some old clothes on the floor. Fred and I moved out, remember? We can take care of ourselves.”

“Hmm,” Molly murmured as she began to move around the room and pick up her son’s clothes. “At least pick your clothes up off the floor. Dirty socks and piles of unwashed clothes and this?”

George swallowed when she pointed to the black and white striped bra on the floor. “Er. I sometimes like to wear those.”

Molly rolled her eyes before they suddenly narrowed at the closed door behind her son. “George Fabian Weasley, are you making that poor girl hide in your closet?”

She pushed him aside and pulled the door open and Angelina managed a small smile.

“Er, hi, Mrs Weasley.”

Molly looked between the two of them. “Do you two think that I was born yesterday? At your age I was already pregnant with my second child. Come out of there!”

Angelina carefully extricated herself from the closet, pulling George’s jumper down a bit. It almost hung to her knees, but it was all she was wearing.

“Are you angry?” Angelina asked, hesitantly.

Molly’s eyes were kind as they looked at her. “No, of course not, dear. You two are no longer children. And considering some of the ways that Bill and Charlie concealed their overnight guests, the closet is kind of funny.”

“You knew about those?” Fred asked from the doorway.

Molly turned to stare at her son. “A mother always knows. Just like I knew about Melinda Cummings sneaking down the drain pipe under your room two years ago, Frederick.”

Fred swallowed. “Blimey!”

George gave his mother a sheepish smile. “I love her, Mum.”

“I know that, too. Angelina, dear, please don’t let him live like a slob. I’ll see you boys tonight for dinner and you too, dear. You’re always welcome.”

She kissed them all on the cheek and then was gone.

Fred stared after her in wonder. “You don’t think she knew about the time Alicia and I shagged behind Dad’s work shed, do you?”

Angelina slipped her arm around George’s waist. “I wouldn’t bet against her.” -- Chapter 254 of ASC

Nevannah - Neville and Hannah are still very much exploring their relationship, but to choose one moment between them so far... I think I rather like the scene where he helps her bake. I think it's so sweet and shows how enraptured he is with her.

Neville licked his lips and watched her get to work. It wasn’t long before the lemon fairy cakes were baking and she started to make red velvet ones. By the time the fairy cakes were cooling, they were making frosting. He watched in amazement as she waved the spatula over each cake like an artist. His own attempt in comparison looked like a small child had stomped on it.

Hannah giggled. “It’s all about the movement in the wrist, like this.”

He watched her again frost a perfect cake and when he tried, he ended up with a splotch of frosting on the table next to him. When she giggled again, he scooped it up with his finger and put it on her nose.

Hannah’s eyes widened in surprise before her own finger dug into the chocolate and spread it on his cheek. It took no time at all before both of them were spotted in frosting. Hannah was laughing as he chased her around the kitchen, his fingers full of frosting. The house-elves were busy chasing after them, mopping up the frosting that they left in their wake, but neither of them noticed. Neville cornered her against the counter by the cupboard and leaned in to steal a kiss.

“You taste like chocolate,” he whispered.

Hannah’s hands slipped up his chest, spreading frosting as she went, but neither of them noticed as her lips met his. They lost themselves in long, slow kisses that left both of them breathless and it was only when the charm rang to signify that the fairy cakes were done, did Neville pull away, licking frosting off his lips.

“I think I rather like baking.”

Hannah’s cheeks flushed as she fumbled to wipe her hands on her apron. “We have to um… the cakes.”

Neville watched her hurry off to get the red velvet cakes out and he grinned. Yeah, he definitely liked baking. -- Chapter 268 of ASC

Perdrey - As to Percy and Audrey, well, I love writing the two of them being naughty and having fun. I think they are both very good for each other, but my favourite moment with them so far is still when Arthur catches them kissing and Percy is amazed at how easily she charms his father. I think that's the moment where you can see he's falling for her.

Audrey ran her hands through her hair as Percy buried his face on her shoulder. “I’m starved, but this was a much better lunch.”

He kissed her shoulder. “You’re going to be the death of me. This is how we’re both getting fired.”

She grinned. “Worried you’ll get caught in a compromising position?” She fixed his crooked glasses. “I’ll protect you.”

“You can’t just send me your knickers in the middle of the bloody day!”

“I can,” she said. “I did. Are you going to give them back?”

“No,” he growled. “Absolutely not.”

Audrey smiled. “So, you do like it when I send you my knickers.”

“Audrey...”

She grinned. “That’s what I thought, Mr Weasley.”

Percy sighed as she kissed his chin. “Miss Mayfair, you will be appropriately punished later today for this misbehaviour.”

“Absolutely, Mr Weasley,” she murmured against his neck. “I may have borrowed a pair of handcuffs from the office.”

Percy grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged her mouth back to his for a long, deep kiss that left both of them breathless. They stumbled out of the unused restroom like drunks, giggling and laughing. Audrey had just kissed him once more when he heard a familiar voice clearing their throat behind him. Percy rested his forehead against Audrey’s before he slowly turned his head and grinned sheepishly at his father.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Percy,” Arthur said, his ears reddening. “This must be the lovely Audrey.”

Audrey extended her hand. “Good afternoon, Mr Weasley. Audrey Mayfair, it’s lovely to meet you.”

“And you,” Arthur said, shaking her hand. “I’ve wondered about the woman who has made my son smile constantly over the last few months.”

“I’ve been keeping him to myself, I’m afraid,” she said, smiling up at Percy.

“We’ve noticed that as well,” Arthur said.

“How did you get roped into working on a Saturday?” Percy asked.

Arthur sighed. “I’m woefully behind in my paperwork. I came down here to log in some evidence in the Department of Files and Records. What are you two doing down here?”

“I was working on something for Mr Scrimgeour in courtroom ten. Percy came to steal me for lunch,” Audrey said, smiling up at her boyfriend.

Arthur smiled. “There’s a new deli that opened down the block. I had a corned beef sandwich on rye yesterday. It was almost as good as your mother’s. Speaking of, Ginny and Ron are coming home for the holiday today, Percy. Charlie and Aydin are coming in tonight as well. Why don’t you bring Audrey round for dinner tomorrow? We’d love to have you join us. Molly’s quite the cook.”

“I’d love that,” Audrey admitted, smiling at Percy.

Percy nodded. “Yes, Dad. That sounds… great.”

Arthur chuckled. “Good. We’ll see you then.”

When Arthur turned to head off, Audrey kissed Percy smartly on the lips before she hurried forward and linked her arm through Arthur’s.

“Actually, Mr Weasley, we’re going up to the same floor and I need to grab my bag. Perhaps I could accompany you back to work?”

Arthur’s eyes crinkled. “I’d love that.” He patted her arm gently before Audrey turned to smile back at Percy over her shoulder.

“I’ll meet you in the atrium in a bit and we’ll grab something from that deli, yes?”

Then the two of them marched off ahead.

Audrey smiled warmly at Arthur. “Percy tells me that you run the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. That must be terribly fascinating?”

“It has its moments,” Arthur assured her as the two of them marched off leaving Percy staring after them.

Percy shoved his hands into his pockets, the feel of her knickers there making him smile, and he thought so much for careful planning. Audrey was about to be shoved into the lion’s den.

He was surprised by how much he was suddenly looking forward to it. -- Chapter 266 of ASC

Lavenmae - I think my favourite scene with these two is when they tell Parvati that they are a couple.

“There you two are!” Parvati exclaimed. “Our parents barely said goodbye and you were running off towards the train, Mae. Hi, Lav!”

“Hi, Vati,” Lavender said.

“I just wanted to find a good compartment,” Padma told her sister. She started to get up to move, but Lavender grabbed her arm.

“No, she wanted to come and snog her girlfriend.”

Parvati laughed. “You finally found someone to fall for your charms, Mae? That’s great news! Unless you tell me it’s Li or Bones then we’re going to have words after how those two treated you.”

Lavender slipped her hand back into Padma’s and smiled. “No, it’s… Padma and I are together, Parvati. I’m her girlfriend and she’s… mine.”

Parvati’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked between her best friend and her twin. “You two! When did… Anthony’s party! Of course! I knew something had changed between the two of you.”

“We didn’t mean to keep it from you,” Lavender began. “It’s just that it was new and… it’s still new, but… Parvati, you’re my best friend and I know that this is weird, me dating your identical twin sister, but —”

“— I didn’t say that it was weird,” Parvati interrupted. “Padma, have anything to add?”

Lavender snuck a glance over at Padma and the girl’s dark eyes were smiling at her and then she grinned widely when Padma leaned in and kissed her softly before she answered.

“Kissing her makes me feel like I could be floating without a levitation charm.”

Parvati grinned. “Good. Now budge over and try to keep the enthusiastic snogging to a minimum when I’m around, yeah?”

Lavender blushed, but couldn’t stop smiling. Padma Patil was her girlfriend and suddenly, nothing else really seemed to matter. As she listened to her best friend start talking about her plans for the year, she knew that she still had a big goofy grin on her face and there was nothing that she liked better. -- Chapter 238 of ASC

Gransy - This is a couple I adore writing! I thought it would be so fun to add in two people we don't usually get to see much of, two people who you would never imagine getting together, and I love how many people have grown to love them as much as me. I think my favourite moment with them so far hasn't actually been published yet but it will be in chapter 284. I think it really shows a turning point in their relationship. Otherwise, I love the scene where he finds her the door.

The sound of movement in the doorway made her look up at her husband.

“How was the meeting?”

“Okay,” he said. “Did you remember to eat?”

“Yes. Mitzy brought me a sandwich and a salad.”

Greg nodded, clearing his throat. “Good. Um… I think I found a door for the shop.”

Pansy’s eyes widened. “You did? Where?”

“An antique place in Muggle London.”

Pansy wrinkled her nose. “Why were you in Muggle London?”

“I was doing something for the Dark Lord,” he said. “But I found the door. It’s wood and painted a deep turquoise green with gold inlets carved into it. I thought it looked… sophisticated.”

Pansy’s smile widened. “Can I see it?”

Greg offered his hand to help her up and led her into the entrance hall where he had the set of double doors propped up against the wall.

“Greg! It’s perfect!” she shrieked.

It was sophisticated looking and it would make her shop stand out among the vast assortment of places in Apricity Lane.

“Good. I’ll get it installed in a few days." -- Chapter 270 of ASC

Thanks so much for this ask! It was fun to take a trip down memory lane!

[thrillridesz]

rsvp ▫ hyunjae

➳ pairing: frenemy!hyunjae x female reader ➳ genre: fluff ➳ word count: 1.4k ➳ warnings: mentions of alcohol, language, PG 15 ➳ requested?: no

a/n: this is written as a birthday special for our one and only tbz fried chicken lord, Hyunjae ^^ Happy Hyunjae Day everyone 🥳 please go shower him with lots of love and well wishes =) 

i’m so sorry if this was trash, I kept rewriting this and i think i must have screwed it up big time but i hope you guys like it! this is also unedited.

If humiliation and shame got together to create a person, it’d be you. As you stood by the snack table, you wished with all your heart that you had never accepted Hyunjae’s birthday party invitation in the first place.

The house was abuzz with activity and a catchy song blared from The loudspeakers at the DJ’s stand as people swayed and popped to the beat. Balloons and party streamers decorated the room, the smell of alcohol and fruit punch permeated the air but nobody seemed too bothered by it for they were too busy living in the moment. Everyone, literally everyone had gotten out on a limb to dress well for the party of the year. The ladies were clad in their beautiful party dresses while guys were in their best tops, reeking of their musky cologne. Everyone was having fun, the sweat clinging to their necks in wet tendrils as they simply danced. The drinks in their hands sloshed messily but nobody care as they lived for the night.

Everyone but you.

You had shown up in a vampire costume with the works. Red contact lenses, the fangs and even the freakishly long fake fingernails that practically resembled claws. With everyone shooting you weird looks every now and then, you didn’t even dare look in the mirror. You are sure you must look like a complete fool. Either that, or you just looked like you’re attending the wrong party.

“Hey, Halloween’s next month.” A guy in a blue flannel with a cup of vodka in his hand hollered at you, laughing along with his friends at his own remark.

You kept your eyes trained on the floor, refusing to look up as the shame burned in your face, your grip on your cup getting tighter. The plastic crunched in your hand while you cursed silently under your breath.

“Fuck you, Hyunjae.”

“No, thanks. I’ll pass.” A voice whispered in your ear from behind, nearly causing you to spill your drink.

You turned to look behind you, only to come face to face with the birthday boy himself. You narrowed your eyes, eyes shining with anger.

“You.”

“Wow, no ‘Happy Birthday’? Not even a smile for the birthday boy? That’s kind of rude.” Hyunjae laughed, his grin only growing wider at the frown on your face.

“If you think I’m going to do either of those, you are sadly mistaken. You told me this was going to be a horror themed costume party!” You hissed, jabbing at his chest with your finger only to wince. How the hell is his chest so firm?

“Jesus, are you wearing a breastplate?”

A knowing smirk tugged at his lips, his eyes glittering with mischief and amusement.

“Is that a compliment?”

“No. As if I would want to feed onto your overinflated ego,” you rolled your eyes and Hyunjae clutched onto his heart, his face twisted into an expression of overexaggerated and highly dramaticised agony.

“Ouch. Right where it hurts.”

“Whatever. I’m done playing your game. You’ve successfully shamed me tonight. Congratulations. I’m going home.” You sighed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and just… Tired.

Why had you even bothered showing up? You should have known better than to trust Hyunjae. The two of you have been frenemies ever since the two of you could crawl. With your parents constantly comparing the two of you, it was normal to naturally forge a more competitive, rivalrous relationship between the two of you. On every single turn, Hyunjae had always tried to undermine you for as long as you could remember. From stupid pranks to just fighting for the extra credit just to maintain his lead over you, he had always wanted the upper hand.

Well, now he’s got it.

Hyunjae’s smile disappeared from his face, his eyebrows burrowing into a V shape in confusion as you turned to leave.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“Look, you’ve won alright? Just… I’m tired so I’m going to go home first. Have a good birthday.”

It took you a split second to realise that he had latched his fingers over your wrist, pulling you back towards him as you fell backwards. Spinning you into his arms, you felt your breath hitch as you came chest to chest with Hyunjae. Looking up at him, you released a shaky breath when you noticed just how close he was to you, the tip of his nose almost touching yours. His eyes shone with an unexplainable passion as you felt his arms tighten round your waist.

“Hyunjae…”

As if shaking out of a spell, he quickly let you go, withdrawing his hands as if he was burned. You didn’t want to admit it but when you saw his reaction, part of you felt a twinge of disappointment.

“I… I’m really sorry I did that to you. Don’t go. At least stay for some cake.”

Was it just you or did it sound vaguely like he was actually pleading?

“No, thanks. I’ll pass.” You replied in a snide tone before storming out the door with Hyunjae hot on your heels.

“Wait!”

The party guests were starting to stare at the commotion unfolding between the two of you, some whispering and others shooting you looks of disapproval. It must be rather disconcerting on a lot of levels to see the birthday boy chasing after a particularly scary vampire with looks that could kill. The Hyunjae who has never had to chase after a girl is now doing so at his own birthday party? Did someone drug his drink?

“Y/n! Stop! This isn’t a romantic movie, stop being a brat and making me chase after you.” He panted. 

How the fuck does someone run that fast in heels and in that ridiculous get up?

“It’s time you hit the gym then.” You called back, laughing at his pathetic plight, breaking out into a full sprint and running into the night. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Hyunjae screamed, forcing his legs forward. 

“You... Are seriously unfit.” You chuckled mockingly as you watched Hyunjae lurch over, placing his hands on his knees, his chest rising and falling rapidly. 

“Oh, shut up. It’s the alcohol getting to me.”

You laughed, the melodious sound of your voice floating in the peaceful night and you looked out over the horizon. Somehow, the two of you had managed to bring the direction of the chase all the way to the beach just downtown. The ocean waves crashed gently against the shore as the town lights from afar made it seem as though the two of you were far from civilisation, as if at that moment only the two of you existed in each other’s eyes. 

You turned to Hyunjae. The moonlight against his glistening skin made him look almost ethereal, bringing out not just the clearness of his skin but also the brightness of his eyes. The white button down he wore clung to him from his sweat and you realised with a start how it showed off his defined body. 

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, you turned away and tried to ignore the burning sensation in your cheeks and the pounding of your heart. Before you could stop yourself, the question that had been lingering in your mind for almost the entire night was out of your mouth in an instant.

“Why even invite me today if you’re just going to humiliate me?”

Hyunjae looked up at you, slicking his hair back away from his eyes and you almost felt your heart did a flip when you saw the way he was looking at you. There was an unexplainable passion behind those dark orbs that always shined with a sort of youthful mirth and mischief. As he walked towards you, you felt like you were unable to move away. It was as if you were rooted to the ground and strangely, you didn’t feel like moving away but rather, you found yourself anticipating what was coming next.

Leaning forward, his face was so close such that if you were to move even an inch forward, the two of you would be locking lips. Your hands were starting to turn clammy from all your nerves as you held your breath in anticipation for what his next words.

“Because I get a kick out of seeing you suffer.” Hyunjae grinned, enjoying the annoyed expression on your face. 

“Ugh, get a life.” You shoved him away, feeling ashamed that somewhere deep inside you, you had wished he would have said something else.

He shrugged nonchalantly.

“If I told you the real reason, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Oh yeah? What is it?” You asked, not even caring what his answer was as you trudged away.

“What if I asked you to come in a ridiculous costume because I didn’t want to have to any other guy hit you up at my birthday party?”

[lovely-ateez]

Silver Nights With You~

ꕥPosted: 12/18/20

ꕥGenre: College!au, Christmas Imagine, Fluff, Angst & Smut (You know it’s gonna end happy, I’m a sap)

ꕥPairing: FemReader! x Mingi

ꕥSummary: You get stuck in a cabin with Mingi and shit goes down( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

ꕥWord Count: ~4.9k (Holy shit I’ve never written this much before I am so sorry)

ꕥWarnings: Angst, Thigh riding, Unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it my dudes), Praise (m & f receiving),

ꕥA/N: This is the most angst I will ever write, I was genuinely on the brink of tears while writing this because I honestly can’t stand people being sad. Anyway this literally took me days to write and I really hope you all like it :)

ꕥTagging: @raysanshine​

“It’s fucking cold.” I took a sip of my hot cocoa, burying myself deeper in the mountain of blankets on my lap, glancing at the snow falling outside.

Wooyoung scoffed and spread his arms along the back of his couch, “It’s December, of course it’s gonna be cold.”

I turned back to him, “Okay, yeah, but I’m still gonna complain about it.”

“You complain about everything.”

“That is a gross over-exaggeration that portrays me in an unfair light and, frankly, you should be ashamed.”

My closest friend smiled, showing his slight dimples. His eyes drifted to my own, smile fading slightly. “What do I have to do for you to join us? Even for an hour or so?”

I sighed. Wooyoung had been bothering me about coming to our friend Yunho’s annual Christmas party for days now, but I simply wasn’t in the mood.

“I’d rather not go at all.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

A year ago at the same party, my boyfriend Mingi broke up with me. It wasn’t a bad breakup, but it still hurt. He was set to study abroad for the next year and it just made the most sense to him, he told me. So who was I to stand in the way of his dreams? We decided to cut contact shortly after, it being too painful for us to even have small talk. We hadn’t talked since.

I’d spent the following year in a limbo, trying my hardest to enjoy my newfound independence, but ultimately failing, my thoughts somehow finding their way back to Mingi. Everything reminded me of him.

Rainy days made me think of the way he loved to dance with me in the rain, spinning me and smiling wide, warm raindrops messing up our hair. Sunny days made me think of the times we’d both take off work to have picnics, making wishes on dandelions. Stormy days made me think of how we’d cuddle up to one another and watch a trash movie, making fun of the characters’ bad choices. He was a part of me. He always would be. I suppose two years of dating does that. I suppose they take a part of you with them, too.

I told myself I healed. I told myself I was over him. But deep, deep down I knew I wasn’t. Part of me never would be.

“He won’t be there this year, if that helps at all.”

I remained silent, refusing Wooyoung a response, looking down at the carpet.

“I get it. I know what you’re going through. It really wasn’t that long ago that Aisha broke up with me.”

My eyes darted up. Wooyoung hadn’t talked about their breakup with me yet. I refused to push him, knowing he was still in pain and that he’d tell me when he was ready.

“It was for the best but I can’t pretend like I’m gonna move on soon. We were dating for a year and a half for god’s sake.” He let out a bitter laugh and turned to me, “I know it’s tough, but would you do it for me? Please come.”

“Okay.”

-

The high shrill of a female voice rang out through my phone, leading me to pull the device away from my ear.

“I knew Wooyoung could get you to change your mind!”

“Arin I get that you’re excited, but I’m gonna go deaf if you keep yelling.”

“Ack I’m sorry! I’m just so excited to see you! It’s been, what? Five months since I saw you last?”

“Yeah something like that.”

“Well anyways, I know it’s probably tough for you but I really appreciate you going. I know everyone else will, too.”

I tried to push down the longing I felt for Mingi, remembering the previous year in far too much detail.

“Yeah it’ll be nice to see them.”

“Okay I hate to cut it short but my boss might actually fire me if he finds me on my phone again.”

“You’re literally dating him. There’s no way in hell he’d fire you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

“Shh not so loud!”

I rolled my eyes, knowing I was speaking no louder than usual.

“Alright. Take care then. I’ll see you at the party.”

“Yep! Love you, girly!”

“Love you, too. See ya.”

My phone beeped, signaling the end of the call.

I checked the calendar hanging on the wall of my bedroom. Three more days till the party and I was dreading it more and more.

A knock at the door startled me and I made my way over, opening the door to find Wooyoung standing before me with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“What are you doing here?”

“What? Can’t a guy just drop by to say hello to his best friend?”

“He can, but you only do when you’re up to something. What is it this time?”

“Nothing! Scout’s honor!” He lifted a hand to make the famous three-fingered salute. 

“You were never a boy scout, dumbass.”

Wooyoung brought a hand to his chest, mocking offense, “I’ll have you know that I simply brought flowers over as a thank you for agreeing to come with us.”

“Aww really? Do you wanna come in?”

“Yeah, really. But nah I can’t stay, I just wanted to drop them off.”

“You’re sweet.”

A cocky smile formed on his face, “I know.”

He passed the flowers over to me, giving me a hug and saying his goodbyes. I watched him walk to his car, a little skip in his step, wondering how anyone could let him go.

-

I grabbed my warmest jacket and walked out to my car. Today was the day I’d been dreading for weeks. Today was the day I’d have to put on a brave face and pretend I was alright. I mentally hyped myself up as I slid into the driver’s seat.

You’ll be okay. You’re strong. You can do this.

Snow was already starting to fall and I made a mental note to be careful. After all, Yunho’s cabin was roughly an hour away.

As I drove, the snow began to fall much faster, leaving me no choice but to feel concerned. My car didn’t have four-wheel-drive and what if my car got stuck? I was only fifteen minutes away but in snow like this with such a low temperature, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk the rest of the way.

The sun had already begun to set and seeing the road becoming much harder. Only four more minutes with the current speed I was going. I could make it.

Of course, the universe wasn’t having it and my car broke down almost immediately after I had the thought.

“Fuck.”

I panicked for a brief moment, trying to start up my car with no success.

Wait. My phone.

Grabbing my phone at rapid speed, I found it out of battery.

“I literally just charged it what the hell?”

I tried my best to cope with the fact that I had no choice but to walk the rest of the way. Taking a deep breath, I opened my car door and braced for the cold wind.

Trudging through the snow storm, I felt my ears and hands begin to hurt from the cold. I could barely see where I was going, having to rely on remembering where the cabin was based on the times I had been there prior.

Eventually I spotted a cabin in the distance and kept going, feeling myself lose heat with every step.

Finally, I climbed up the stairs and reached the main doorway.

I knocked loudly against the large wooden door, silently pleading for someone to answer. After waiting a few seconds with no response I tried to turn the door knob, grateful to find it unlocked. 

I pushed the door open and entered, quickly closing it behind me. Warm air rushed over me and I never felt so thankful for indoor heating. The inside looked the same as it always did; the main door lead to the living room which had the same snow globes above the fireplace as always, the same Christmas decorations scattered throughout, and the Christmas tree in the same corner as usual.

I shivered and moved to find a blanket when I saw a tall figure enter the living room. I looked up, feeling my heart drop. Standing before me was the one man that I didn’t want to be here.

Mingi’s eyes widened and mouth opened, looking at me with surprise. It seemed both of us were frozen, unable to do anything other than look at one another.

His rich chestnut hair was longer than when I saw him last, it was parted in the center, reaching his eyes. He was wearing a fitted green sweater that complimented his honey skin and tight ripped jeans. I refused to allow myself to acknowledge how attractive he truly looked. I refused to tell myself how much I missed him and how I wanted nothing more than to jump in his arms.

“What are you doing here?” I managed to say, hating how timid my voice sounded. It’s because of the cold, I thought.

He seemed to come out of his trance, “I could ask you the same.”

“I’m here for the Christmas party.”

Mingi gave me a confused look. “The party isn’t until the twenty third.”

Annoyed, I narrowed my eyes, “It is the twenty third.”

He raised a brow and took his phone from his pocket, turning it to me, ‘December 19th’ it read.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I huffed, moving to sit down on the couch while running my hands along my arms for some sort of warmth. Mingi noticed immediately and left the room only to bring back several thick blankets.

I removed my jacket and wrapped the blankets around me as tight as I could.

“My car broke down a while back and my phone is dead. Is there anyone here that could give me a ride?” I didn’t want to spend more time with him than I had to. It hurt too damn much.

Mingi gave an apologetic smile, “I’m the only one here, actually.”

I gave the man a confused look, “Why are you here?”

“My second semester ended so I’m no longer studying abroad. I came back to visit friends but didn’t have a place to stay so Yunho has let me stay here for a few days.” He was silent for a few seconds before adding, “I was gonna leave before the party I-”

“You don’t have to explain yourself. It’s fine.”

Silence.

“I would take you home if I could, but my car is being fixed right now so it isn’t here. We could call someone maybe if that-”

“Yeah that’s fine. Can I borrow your phone?”

He nodded and handed it over. I didn’t notice it when he showed me his phone before, but his lock screen was different. It shouldn’t have hurt to see that it changed from a selfie of us to a picture of him with friends I assume he made abroad. It shouldn’t have. It had been a year, I should be over him.

I opened his phone without needing a password and tried to hide a smile. He never had a password in all the time I’d known him.

Good to know some things never change.

I dialed Wooyoung’s number and pressed the call button.

“We are sorry, but at this time your service provider is out of range. Please-”

Great.

I handed back his phone, “You don’t have any signal.”

“That’s odd, we always have service here...Do you wanna charge your phone? Maybe you’ll have better luck?”

“Yeah.”

He left the room and I placed my head in my hands, trying to process seeing him for the first time in a year. He was devastatingly handsome and still as kind as always.

I really miss him, don’t I?

His voice started me, “Hand me your phone, I’ll plug it in for you.”

I passed my phone over, accidentally touching his warm hands and I felt a spark run through me which I did my best to ignore. With almost comical timing, just as Mingi reached a plug-in, the lights went out.

“Uhh...that’s not supposed to happen.”

I scoffed, “No kidding. Do we have a generator?”

“Honestly, I don’t think we do.” Mingi gave me a sad look, “It’s been snowing hard outside for hours so there’s no way we’ll be able to leave now. Even with a car.”

“Awesome. I love to hear that.”

“At the very least we’ve got food to last us a few days. We should be okay-”

“Do I look like I want to spend several days here?” I snapped.

He looked taken aback at my words and I felt a pang of regret in my chest.

“I’m not sure we have a choice.”

I hated to admit it, but he was right.

“Do you want any food?”

“Huh?” I asked, confused.

“Are you hungry? I could make you something if you’d like.”

I thought for a moment. “Yeah, actually. If you don’t mind, anyway.”

Mingi shook his head, walking to the kitchen. I didn’t realize how hungry I really was until he mentioned it, so I didn’t care what he made for me.

Minutes later he placed a plate and cup on the coffee table in front of me.

My favorite sandwich and chips. He remembered.

It should have been considered kind, but it just broke my heart a bit further. It was a simple act, but it proved that he stored it in his memory.

He remembered.

“I hope it’s still your favorite. I got you your favorite lemonade, too.”

I nodded, trying to prevent tears from spilling.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure what to do.”

“Lighting the fireplace would probably be a good start.”

He laughed, “Ah you’re totally right. I’ll be back with a lighter, call out to me if you need anything.”

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

Stuffing my face with the sandwich, I hummed. I always loved his sandwiches. There was something special about them, knowing that he made them for me, and this one was no different.

Mingi once again returned, this time with a lighter and a blanket, lighting the fire and sitting down on the couch across from me, wrapping himself in the blanket.

I couldn’t help but wonder how I possibly ended up in the current situation. Maybe the universe was out to get me. Who knows?

I took another bite of my sandwich, hoping I’d be able to leave soon.

-

I briefly glanced over at Mingi to find him on his phone.

Lucky. I wish I had mine so I wouldn’t be so damn bored.

The crackle of the fireplace was the only noise for what seemed like an hour. Neither one of us spoke. Growing tired of not doing anything, I stood and walked towards the fireplace to admire the snow globes. I noticed that behind the globes rested a photo album. I debated whether or not I should open it for the span of a few seconds before my curiosity got the best of me.

Opening it up, I saw pictures of all of our friends from the previous years of Yunho’s Christmas party. I began to walk back to the couch with my eyes on the book when I tripped, some of the pictures falling out. Mingi noticed and quickly rushed over to my side.

“Are you alright?” He was careful not to touch me, I noticed, but he was still right by my side.

“I’m fine, just help me pick these up.” I motioned towards the pictures scattered across the floor.

“Of course.”

We resumed our silence, picking the photos up and placing them back in the book. Noticing Mingi had stopped helping me I looked at him, prepared to make a quick jab at him for not helping, when I saw why he stopped.

In his hands he was holding a picture of the two of us kissing, dated two years prior.

I let out an empty chuckle, devoid of all humor, “I don’t know why that’s still there. Here,” I reached out to take the photo, “I’ll throw it away-”

“Don’t.” His response was immediate, taking me by surprise. He shifted awkwardly, clearing his throat, “I’d like to keep it.”

My heart felt like it stopped for a moment, hoping he missed us as much as I did.

“Why?” I asked.

Mingi smiled, still looking at the frozen image of the two of us. “Do you remember this day?”

“Of course I do.” My eyes began to water without me realizing, “That day was the first time you told me you loved me.”

His eyes found mine, sadness within them, “Yeah. Yeah it was.” His voice became horse as if he was fighting back tears.

“I didn’t want to let you go.”

“Then why did you?”

His eyes drifted down. “I was traveling halfway across the world for a year. I guess part of me thought you would meet someone else. I wanted to save myself the heartbreak in case you did.”

“I would’ve gladly stayed with you if you had asked. I have no desire to meet anyone else. Ever. You are the only one for me.” I froze, the realization of my words hitting me.

Mingi looked at me, “When I was abroad, I missed you every second of every day and I have missed you every second of every day since.” His hands cupped my face as if I was made of glass and a single tear fell down his cheek, causing my own tears to spill.

I was no longer able to speak, and so I did the only thing I could think of: I kissed him.

I kissed him with all the hurt that I felt after he left me. I kissed him with the deep love that I still felt for him. I kissed him with the fear that I’d lose him once again.

Our kisses soon grew heated, the photo album quickly forgotten, and I found my arms wrapped around his neck, hands running through his soft hair while his found their way to the bottom of my sweater, toying with it.

“Do you want this?” He growled, voice much deeper and raspier than before.

“Yes.”

With that, he pulled my sweater over my head, eyes scanning the red, lacy bra I was wearing.

His favorite.

Mingi chuckled, “This is still my favorite bra of yours.”

“I don’t know, I’ve got some new ones that are pretty hot.”

He let out a groan and began to leave kisses down my neck, setting my skin on fire.

I stopped him, needed to know one thing before we continued, “Did you...have you...since we last...?”

He smiled, “How could I? I’ve only ever been yours. Have you?”

I gave a slight smile, “No. No, I haven’t.”

I kissed him again and lifted his sweater, tossing it across the room. He had slightly defined abs when I was with him before, but they were far more prominent now. His arms were much more defined and it took all of my concentration to keep from drooling.

“Like what you see, doll?”

My voice was a borderline squeak, “Yes.”

“You still into praise, sweetheart?

I nodded, pulling on his jeans. Only slightly embarrassed with how eager I was.

“Not yet, baby.” Mingi easily lifted me to the couch and helped me remove my jeans. He grabbed my hips and placed me on his thigh, tightening his muscles as he dragged my clothed core across his own jeans. In mere seconds I became a quivering mess. I realized how truly long it had been since I’d been with anyone like this, and I had to admit I was needy.

“What a good girl you’re being for me. Aren’t you? You’re doing wonderfully, my love.”

I whimpered and pulled myself closer to him.

“Are you close, baby?”

I nodded, maybe too quickly, and felt my orgasm wash over me. I panted, already out of breath.

“Good girl.”

Bringing my lips to his I reached for his pants again and this time he helped me remove them. As I grinded down against him, he let out a deep growl.

“Let’s rid you of these, hmm?”

He eagerly removed my panties and bra and stared at me for a minute.

“God, you’re beautiful.”

I blushed fiercely. “You’re so incredibly handsome. Somehow even more so than when I saw you last.”

Mingi looked at me with a shy smile then resumed his actions. He removed his underwear and ran his length across my slit, teasing me slightly.

“Mingi, I need you.” I begged.

His eyes darkened and he entered me without hesitation. My back arched as he reached a steady pace and littered my neck with kisses, most likely leaving hickies, marking me as his.

I pulled his hair, bringing him closer to me. Mingi was always fairly vocal, but he could never get enough of me pulling his hair, always moaning in response.

He reached down and toyed with my clit, causing sparks to fly through me.

“Fuck—babe don’t stop.”

“Wasn’t—shit—planning on it, doll.”

Both of us quickly reached our high, cumming at the same time. I pressed a hand against his chest as I caught my breath.

“You’re still really, really good at that.”

Mingi laughed, “You are too, sweetheart. Oh wait-”

He got up and returned with a warm towel, cleaning me up and looking at me fondly.

“You’re cute.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mingi smiled, placing the towel aside,“Now, how about we get under some blankets? We’ll feel cold soon enough.”

I nodded and began to put my undergarments on, reaching for my sweater.

“I think not.” He said, now with his pants on, handing me his own sweater which I gladly took.

“You look hella good in my clothes, miss.”

I giggled at his choice of words, feeling happiness bubble in my chest for the first time in a long time.

“You look hella good without a shirt, mister.”

Mingi raised a brow and ticked my sides, making me squeal.

“I’ll fight you!” I yelled.

He stopped and rubbed his nose against mine, “Sorry I can’t help it. Your laugh is the most beautiful sound in the world.”

“Shut up.” I laughed, feeling shy.

He placed arm around me, nuzzling my neck.

I turned to him, worry in my eyes, “I’m really sorry for lashing out at you earlier. That’s not like me.”

He smiled, “I know it’s not. But don’t worry about it, I understand. It’s a defense mechanism I guess.”

I cuddled up to him then realized I needed to use the restroom. I tried to get up when he pulled me closer to him.

“Please don’t leave me.”

“Silly, I just have to use the restroom. I don’t want a UTI.”

He laughed aloud, “Fine but you better come right back.”

“I will,” I told him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before I walked away.

I soon looked in the mirror of the bathroom, observing my flushed cheeks and the wide smile I couldn’t seem to wipe off my face.

This girl looks happy. I think I can get used to seeing her in the mirror.

I returned and was instantly pulled back into his arms.

“I love you.”

I felt a tear run down my face, feeling beyond happy, “I love you, too. So much.”

I wasn’t sure when, but I felt my eyes began to droop, slowly falling asleep in the arms of the man I loved.

-

The day following, Mingi’s phone recieved signal and I was able to call Wooyoung. Apparently the power lines had fallen, everyone in the immediate area losing power. The nearest roads had been somehow cleared overnight and he’d be able to come pick me up.

“Wooyoung’s on his way over, apparently everyone lost power.”

“Hmm. well I, for one, am glad we did,” Mingi pulled me into a tight hug.

“Yeah, me too.”

A silence fell between us, but it was comfortable this time.

Mingi spoke up, his voice becoming playful, “I’m taking you on a date soon. There’s nothing you can do about, I’m afraid you cannot refuse.”

“As if I would refuse.”

“Mmm.” I didn’t think he could, but he pulled me even closer to him.

“Mingi you’re literally gonna break my bones.”

He let go of me, eyes wide, “Did I hurt you? Gosh I’m so sorry I can—”

“You didn’t hurt me you goof.”

“Oh good. You scared me.”

The honk of a car horn scared me and I jumped, Mingi hiding a smile.

“Call me if you need anything, okay? You’ve got my number.”

“Of course.” Giving him one last kiss before I bid him goodbye and left the cabin, hopping in Wooyoung’s car.

“Holy shit are you okay? Was anyone even home? My god I feel so bad—”

“Mingi was there.”

Wooyoung’s face froze, quickly turning into a scowl, “I swear if he did anything to you—”

“No, don’t worry about it. We’ve made up,” I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.

He didn’t say anything, he only stared at me before he spoke again, “You two totally fucked, didn’t you?”

“Wooyoung!” I slapped his arm in shock.

“You didn’t deny it!”

“Oh shut up. Just take me home.”

He playfully rolled his eyes and put the car in drive.

“Just so you know, I’m happy for you. I get why he did it but I am still a little pissed. I swear to fucking god if he breaks your heart again I will actually break his knee caps.”

“Oh I don’t doubt it. I wouldn’t worry to much about it, though.”

“If you insist, okay.”

“I do.”

-

December twenty third. The day that I had been dreading once, now one that I had been very much looking forward to. I checked my makeup and outfit once more before texting Mingi.

Me: I’m ready whenever you are!

Mingi Mango: I’m outside :)

Me: Shit, already?

Mingi Mango: Language

I scoffed, grabbing my purse and running outside to meet him.

“Babyyyyyy!” Mingi yelled as he saw me.

“Mangoooo!” I yelled back, jumping into his arms.

“How are you? I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Mingi it’s been two days.”

“But it feels like forever! You look absolutely stunning, by the way.”

“You cheese. You look really good yourself.”

“You know it,” Mingi winked and opened his passenger car door for me, “My lady.”

I was unable to keep from smiling, giving him a little kiss on the cheek and climbing into the car. The entire car ride was filled with lighthearted conversation, not a single silent moment between us.

“We’re here, doll.”

“Yes I see the cabin in front of us.” I teased him.

“Well just in case you didn’t I thought I’d let you know.” He laughed, eyes disappearing into crescents, and I felt my heart swell.

We held hands as we walked into the cabin, finding several pairs of eyes turning to us, then to our intertwined hands. I was pleased to find smiles on my friend’s faces, feeling happy that they were happy for us. Arin came running towards me at a seemingly inhuman speed and wrapped her arms around me.

“Ahhh how are you, girly? I’ve missed you so much! And you look gorgeous! I love that sweater on you! And your makeup! Wow! How’d you do that? Have you been eating well?”

“One question at a time, Arin.” I smiled.

“Sorry! I’m just so happy!”

"Me too!” I looked around, “Do you know where Wooyoung is?”

“Oh he’s out back with San. They’re having a competition to see who can build the better snowman.”

I shook my head with a smile.

At that moment she took a step back, looking at our hands. I had told her about Mingi and I dating again over the phone and she seemed happy for me, but I had to admit I was nervous to see her reaction in person.

“You,” She pointed a finger at Mingi, “If you hurt even a hair on her head I will actually fight you.”

Mingi’s eyed widened, assuring her that he would never hurt me.

She clapped her hands, “Well, good. Now that that’s over, do you all want a drink?” Arin cocked her head, the change in mannerisms throwing me a little.

“Yeah that’s fine.”

“Okay! I’ll be right back! Catch up with everyone you two!”

As if he was a ghost, Yunho appeared next to Mingi, scaring us both.

“Christ, Yunho. Give a man a warning first.”

“Sorry,” He chucked, “How are you both?”

“We’re doing well, thanks.”

“We’re happy.” Mingi turned to me and looked at me with heart eyes, butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

“You all are cute. Speaking of, you haven’t met Mia, have you?”

Mingi and I exchanged confused looks.

“No, I don’t believe so. Who’s that?”

“She’s my new girlfriend. We’ve been dating for a little over a month but if I’m being honest, I’m already head over heels for this girl.” Yunho turned, calling out to a girl surrounded by people, “Mia, can you come here?”

The short brunette walked over, a smile plastered on her face as she made eye contact with Yunho.

“I’d like you to meet my friends from high school.” He introduced us and she nodded, fully invested in the conversation.

“I’ve heard a lot about you both! I’m so excited to get to know you all better!”

I smiled at her enthusiasm, “Aww you, too!”

Arin walked over and handed Mingi and I our drinks, skipping off to meet another friend.

Yunho and Mia wondered off soon after, greeting more people coming in.

“Hey I’ve got something I wanna show you.” Mingi whispered in my ear.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Come with me.”

Before I knew it, Mingi was pulling me into a bathroom and locking the door.

“I know what you’re doing, Mango.”

“And what’s that?” He asked as he leaned down to reach my neck, kissing me gently, arms resting on my hips.

“We’re at a party.” I said, whining at him but doing nothing to stop him.

“I saw that couch when we walked in, you know? I’m never going to be able to look at it the same.”

“Me either.”

My head eventually won the fight I was having with myself, and I promised that if he could wait till he dropped me off I’d be all his. It seemed to appease him as he gave me one last kiss and led us out of the bathroom. Somehow, no one noticed and I was grateful, sure that my flustered expression would certainly give us away.

“Hey, look at this.”

My eyes moved in the direction Mingi was pointing, seeing a mistletoe directly above us.

“Oh you definitely planned that.”

“And if I did?”

“I’d kiss you all the same.”

Mingi bent down to kiss me, a hand on my face, another around my waist. As I wrapped my own hands around his neck, deepening the kiss, I couldn’t help but think that this was what true happiness felt like.

Thank you, Mingi. Thank you for giving me the greatest gift of your love. Merry Christmas, my love.

[khaleesiofalicante]

HI, IT'S ME! YOUR LOCAL CHAOTIC WEIRDO!!!!! I'M BACK AGAIN LIKE I AM TWICE EVERY WEEK

IT'S MY BOY DAVID THIS TIME! WHY AM I SO HYPER! MAYBE BECAUSE THEY KISSED! AND I HAD TO SUPPRESS MY SCREAMS BCAUSE IM IN CLASS AND THE REST OF MY FAMILY IS OUTSIDE MY DOOR (NOT LITERALLY OFC)

OK OK OK OK OK OK

MAX AND DAVID ARE AT THE LONDON INSTITUTE YESYESYESYES

He rather liked that part in a story – when the hero fell, and everything seemed bleak. It always meant that hope was just around the corner. Because darkness never lasted. It was always followed by light. There was nothing more beautiful than that kind of sunrise.

THIS

I literally live my life by this analogy

AHHH DAVID IS ON HIS TRAVEL YEAR AND MAX IS WITH HIM

SCREAM

well i can't scream because my mom is sitting right there and I have class in 4 minutes so imma smile really wide

“Are you planning to read the entire library during your travel year?” Max chuckled.

“Of course not,” David replied. “I will need longer than a year to accomplish that goal.”

Me.

Wait

does max not being able to make portals have something to do with his lineage?

like

demon parent

ok so my programming class started 2 minutes early but screw programming I'm gonna be studying minds not this shit

ok that's a very bad attitude for someone who needs good grades in this year

Max was always hungry.

this is so me

KIT

KIT

KIT

KIT

KIT

KIT

TY

THEY MENTIONED TY

also if David doesn't become an institute head in the future THEN WHAT'S THE POINT

“Where is the kitchen?” Max interrupted.

max is such a mood

He had told Max that he had centuries to perfect his magic, that there was no need to rush it. Max had given him a noncommittal nod and nothing more.

HE'S GONNA MAKE THE BEST PORTALS YOU'LL SEE

“I won’t tell the Consul,” Kit winked.

At the mention of the Consul, David straightened up. He had been trying to get into Alec Lightwood’s good graces for years now. He didn’t think sharing a room with his son would do him any favors.

DAVID UDUCDFUHKDUHVUHSDH

PLEASE IF WE DON'T GET A CUTE ALEC AND DAVID SCENE SOON

KIT CALLED TESSA MOM

oh my god

Word was that Mr. Herondale had gone back to his obsession with brewing tea.

JACE

I have so many emotions right now but all I'm gonna say is that I'm so so proud of Rafael

“Do you not want to sleep with me?” Max asked.

UH-

WELL-

DAVID STOP THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE AND ALL THE SHIT

STOP IT

OH MY GOD THE ONE BED TROPE

MAX IS IN HIS ARMS I'M ABOUT TO-

takes a deep breath don't scream. everyone outside this door thinks you're taking programming class

OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY

AWW JULIAN PAINTED PORTRAITS FOR THE INSTITUTE

The one of Will Herondale and Tessa Gray – A love that had transcended reality and lasted a lifetime.

The one of James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs – A love that had started with a lie and then blossomed into nothing but happiness and devotion.

The one of Lucie Herondale and Jesse Blackthorn – A love that had been so powerful that it rewrote the past.

The one of Jace Herondale and Clary Fairchild – A love that had walked through hell and shaken up the heavens.

And then there the final one. The one of Kit Herondale and Tiberius Blackthorn – A love that had survived distance and darkness and doom.

This omg...

He wanted a love story. The kind he read in the books. The kind he saw in these portraits.

But he wasn’t a Herondale. He wasn’t sure if he was destined for that kind of love.

HEY

DON'T THINK LIKE THAT

The first part though

same

He might have been a little too excited. It was biologically impossible to control yourself when you find a stranger reading your favorite book in the whole world.

SO TRUE

“I see you already made a new friend,” Max said.

He sounded a little…odd. As if he was not pleased that David had made a new friend.

honey...

take a guess

can I jump in and bash their heads together?

“You are thinking of conjuring chocolate syrup, aren’t you?” David chuckled.

“How do you always know what’s on my mind?” Max chuckled back.

Because I know you, David wanted to say. I just wish I knew what’s in your heart too.

OH MY GOD I CANT WITH THIS

“You get chocolate syrup! You get chocolate syrup! You get chocolate syrup!” Max was yelling, standing on the chair.

They residents laughed harder, and David shook his head fondly. He hoped one day Max would pursue a career in theatre. He was a born showman.

can I have chocolate syrup?

also, the way David is just so fond of him like DYUSDGYJCDYUJM

“By the angel, do you have to be a drama queen about everything?” the boy next to them muttered – not so quietly.

David blinked. That was uncalled for.

But Max being Max was completely unfazed. “Of course I do. My Bapa would be personally offended otherwise.”

exactly you rude little shit

Max often pretended like people’s words didn’t hurt him - just as he pretend that fire doesn’t burn or wounds don’t bleed.

wow ok stop calling me out

Is max jealous??????

is he??????

how are people so good at languages like damn

TY

TY

TY

TY

“Oh my god,” Max groaned. “Is he already telling people to check on me?”

LMAO

using mundane medicine...

that's risky

but it's also something that WILL help

can't warlocks tamper with the blood samples?

A part of him wondered if that’s why he had agreed to send Max away to London – at least for a week. Because sometimes you didn’t want other people to see you were hurting.

alec I really goddamn hope you're dealing with this well

some of whom had even decided to die than get help from a warlock.

alright then gets my knives but you chose this :D

Nobody brought a book down for breakfast if they didn't like to read.

yes but sometimes also to seem busy so people won't bother you or you won't look alone.

“I know,” the boy said as he walked past them to the gate. “I sat on the stairs and thought about life for a few good minutes.”

his family is the one who took over David's previous institute (i can't spell that. marse- marselli- wat??) methinks.

The gang always visited whenever all of them were in the city together. They would have so much fun! Of course, the 'fun' mostly entailed Rafael stopping Georgia from drinking random potions she found in the stalls, Selena stopping Lexi from opening a psychic booth to help people talk to Raziel and of course David stopping Max from running to the gambling booths.

LMAO, I CANT WITH THIS-

Rafe: I am anxiety.

me at any given moment

EW TESTICLES HE'S EATING THOSE-

ok maybe I'm the only person who's really picky when it comes to food and doesn't eat the majority of things

“Anything on Magnus Bane?” Max asked.

“No,” the woman snapped and shoved some of the letters into a bag and hide it under the table. “Leave Magnus Bane alone!”

“Appreciate your loyalty,” Max winked at her and started examining a diary.

I like her.

"Everyone should be participating in this" -my programming teacher

me, an intellectual: participating in what?? goes to the class web THE FUCK IS THAT

“Something for the shadowhunter?” the woman smiled. “Perhaps an unpublished snippet from the Beautiful Cordelia?”

“Do you have any love letters?” David asked.

“Hmmm,” the woman went through the pages. “I do have a correspondence between an Iblis demon and Christopher Lightwood? Would you be interested in that?”

if u don't mind I would love to see both of those-

you know I just remembered I have a computer assignment I need to submit by the end of this week fml

“Never fall in love with an immortal,” she giggled again. “We don’t like staying in one place.”

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

MAX WHERE ARE YOU

why are we using x and 3 in programming class what the heck is going on

“I’m not just some warlock,” Max said, his voice low. “I’m Magnus Bane’s son.”

GIVE HIM THAT NECKLACE BACK

we usually have programming once a week on our physical school days and those are fun because my and my friend are continuously passing notes and talking to each other through writing

The scene where Max fought off all the evil people who tried to steal his valuable belonging. He would fight without breaking a sweat and throw magic fireballs at everyone and then get his necklace back. And then he would kiss David in front of everyone and it would somehow rain all of a sudden.

But life wasn’t a movie or a book. Life was just life.

life's boring

fuck life

I just heard a student ask "why are we not taking out the values of b and c" BESTIE I THOUGHT WE WERE DOING PROGRAMMING AND NOT ALGEBRA?????

“I know there wasn’t anyone to protect you before,” Magnus Bane had said. “But we are here now. We will protect you. This will protect you.”

He hadn’t wanted it back then. He didn't even want it even now.

He didn’t want something to protect him. Most importantly, he didn’t want to cover his scar. He didn’t want to hide it. He wasn’t ashamed of it. It wasn’t a mark of a victim. It was the mark of a survivor.

So, David had smiled and given the bracelet back.

“I never wanted to be protected,” David had replied. “I only ever wanted to be loved.”

The warlock had smiled at that and given David a hug. It had felt different than other hugs he had experienced since he had come to New York.

It wasn’t just the magic. Magnus Bane carried so much love inside himself you could literally feel it through him.

I'm gonna cry during my programming class (where we're doing variables apparently all of a sudden??)

this is so beautiful

“I wasn’t talking about Bapa,” Max said now. “I was talking about the other one.”

David chuckled at that. “Oh, yeah. He is definitely going to kill you.”

what flowers would you like at your funeral?

so Jackson has family troubles

I've definitely got that

yeah I know what it's like to be jealous of someone else's perfect family

JACKSON WTF

Is he trying to ruin max's relationship with his family???

oh hell no

JACKSON THE AUDACITY

“One stolen necklace, One broken nose and One bruised cheek,” he said. “And you’ve been in London for less than a day.”

kit seriously? but is he wrong though?

“This is what I get for falling for a Lightwood-Bane,” David sighed and walked through the portal.

WELL AT LEAST HE'S SELF AWARE

Jackson...

in some ways, I can empathize with him. my younger self anyway. but Jackson this is not how you do things

There was a moment of silence and then Magnus Bane giggled.

“I do love it when the quiet ones go feral,” the warlock grinned.

MAGNUS

NOT.THE.TIME

(me too)

“David!” Mr Herondale gasped. “Is your hand okay?”

yup that's Jace y'all

David hated violence. He hated fighting – which he was often not allowed to say out loud considering he was a shadowhunter.

But it was the truth. He hated hurting people – or even things. It made him feel sick.

“It’s alright, Chouchou,” Mr Herondale ran a hand through David’s hair. “Next time, just-”

“Use my words?” David asked.

“Just don’t get caught,” the man winked.

and that is why I would never want to be a shadowhunter.

I know saying that doesn't do anything but when I first read tsc I wanted to be a shadowhunter really badly and damn that was some time ago but now...violence of any kind is my biggest trigger idek why. and I hate that so much because what kind of a person gets triggered by loud voices and fighting EVEN ON SCREEN??? I usually just push myself to watch stuff because it's dumb. I refuse to see trigger warnings before reading a book or watching a show because damn it, I should be able to stand those things I'm, not a child. and it may be doing me more harm than good but I shouldn't feel like this in the first place

okay...that was long

ANYWAY

“David, I appreciate you standing up for Max,” the Consul said. “But next time, please try not to punch anyone in the face.”

“Yes, sir,” David nodded. “Because it’s wrong.”

“Because it means more paperwork for me,” the Consul groaned and then straightened up. “But yes. Absolutely. Very wrong. No punching people!”

LMAO ALEC

Jackson...

oh

oh

oh

I was wrong then

He was grinning. Magnus Bane must have raised hell in the shadow market.

that must have been fun

Max was doing that thing where he was not trying to pout but he was mostly definitely pouting. It made David want to kiss him. But then the Consul spoke, and David reminded himself he didn’t want to be the third person to get punched in the face this evening.

well-

“I understand that Jackson has been through a lot. But that’s not an excuse for him to hurt those around him. I learned that lesson the hard way. So, you shouldn’t excuse his behaviour.”

someone's trauma and pain is never an excuse to hurt others

but that doesn't mean we should invalidate their trauma either

“You can stay back and try to help him. I won’t stop you,” the man got up now. “But if he tries to hurt you-”

“You will unleash hell?” David chuckled.

“Worse,” the other man grinned. “I will unleash Lexi.”

that is much much worse

Books brought him comfort in so many ways. Just holding one in his hands automatically made him feel better.

oh my god

he gets it

I always have a book with me when I'm out even if I'm not gonna get the time to read it because just the weight and comfort of it in my hands or in my backpack brings me so much comfort and helps with my social anxiety so much

no one understands when I try to tell them that

you get it...

someone gets it finally

AYYY IRENE

“David, it’s very sweet that you want to protect Jackson,” Kit pointed out. “But literally no one is buying that. Not even Irene.”

The lynx purred on his lap as if she agreed with Kit.

“I could break into a liquor cabinet,” David said a little indignantly.

David is the nicest you can get

David wouldn’t. Apparently, everyone already seemed to know that - even the lynx he had met five minutes ago.

we are solving something in class and it's really quiet because we're all doing our work (I'm reading the fic so-) and this one person had their mic open and they kept on whispering their steps and it was so weird I cant-

BUT YES DAVID IS A CINNAMON ROLL. EVEN THE LYNX KNOWS

“We were talking about shitty fathers,” Jackson pointed out. “You’re welcome to stay.”

“I’m gonna need something stronger than red wine for this conversation,” Kit chuckled.

I remember that bitch

David used to do it when he was a child. He used to pretend his life was a story. He used to pretend everything that happened to him was happening to some other boy – a boy who wasn’t real. A boy who lived inside a book. Because it hurt a little less when you pretend like it wasn’t happening to you.

But the pain was still very real.

OK YOU CAN STOP CALLING ME OUT NOW

“I fucking hate ogres,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Was your father an ogre too?” Jackson asked.

“He was more like a harpy,” Kit snorted. “He was always flying and fleeing. I didn’t know how deep his talons were in my head until it was too late.”

you really like traumatizing all your characters, don't you?

I really fucking hope the ogre got what he deserved

and if the angel is dead then fuck everyone

“I mean, there was that time when Sebastian Morgenstern turned my father into the endarkened, and then he went around killing people. So, I would say he was more like a zombie,” the man was explaining now. “The zombie father tried to kill me but my brother killed him first.”

“Good lord!” Jackson said in shock.

Kit chuckled softly. “Boy do shadowhunters need therapy.”

they really do

He knew about those from New York. He knew Mr Herondale and Miss Fairchild went for one together.

YES GET THEM THERAPY

“Yikes,” Kit chuckled. “I’d prefer something classier. How about London Boys?”

“None of us are from London though,” Tiberius pointed out.

“The Beatles are not actually beetles, Ty,” Kit chuckled. “It’s just for pizazz.”

damn guys

Then the idea of a band turned into a possible YouTube channel where they would react to cute animal videos.

YS DO IT

“When people do awful things, really awful things, at one point we stop being surprised. Like what Valentine did to his children or what our fathers did to us or what those women did to Rafael. We might have been shocked or disgusted. But it wasn’t unrealistic, was it?”

“I guess not,” the boy said.

“Even when they did the most unimaginable acts of cruelty, it somehow managed to fit into our imagination. We accepted that the world can be unrealistically cruel. The kind of cruelty we will never understand. But why isn’t it the same for kindness? Why is that when someone is too kind, we automatically feel uncomfortable? We judge their intensions or think they are just pretending to be nice. We think they are being unrealistic. Why is that?”

we get so used to cruelty that kindness feels weird

“But that’s how our life works, doesn’t it? It’s a giant ball of what ifs and could have beens and if nots. What if my father had loved me instead of hurt me? Could I have been kinder if I was hugged instead of being abused? Would have I been a different person if not for my trauma? Our lives are an endless collection of theories about our real selves. The one didn’t we never had the chance to become.”

THIS

I used to spend a bunch of time on the what-ifs but those are useless. so screw the what-ifs and live in the present

“I guess we’ll never know, Jackson. None of us will never know how we would have turned out if things had been different for us. We never got the chance to be who were meant to be. Instead, we became who we had to become to survive what we went through. We will never know our true selves. We only know the version of us that made it through all the trauma.”

“Christ, that’s depressing,” Jackson said.

“It is,” David nodded. “But we made it through. We survived. I think we should focus on that.”

you survived. that's what matters

“There is nothing wrong with wanting to be rescued,” David smiled.

I wish I had heard this before...

maybe I don't always have to be strong. maybe it's ok sometimes just want to be saved.

I'm so happy that both Jackson and David found each other

David had learned Gaelic. Jackson had learned how to play the piano.

They had laughed and lived and loved and learned.

And they had survived – one day at a time. The London Boys.

they survived.

I know I'm always key smashing and screaming but these words, these lines, all these chapters mean so so much to me.

“You’ll write to me, won’t you?” David asked, hugging Jackson closely.

“No,” Jackson replied. “I will FaceTime you like a normal person, you weirdo!”

David laughed at that. “I prefer letters. They are more emotional.”

“I’ll text you,” Jackson countered. “With emojis.”

oh to have someone write me letters.

I love writing letters

once at the end of a school year, I wrote little letters to everyone in my class anonymously. even the people who had been mean to me. that was like 1-2 years after my transfer to that school and everyone practically hated me but I wanted to do something nice because who knows what someone is going through. I ended up not putting them in people's desks...

I threw them all away :)

but writing letters is superior

I often write my feelings down and give the letter to someone rather than talk to someone

if you receive a letter from me or a custom-made gift...you have reached my ultimate friendship

oh my god. THIS IS HOW I SHOULD TALK TO ONE OF MY FRIENDS ABOUT MY FEELINGS

It's kind of been a mess between us and I want to talk to her but I didn't know how to.

this is why i shouldn't send asks-

JACKSON CATCHING UP ON MAX AND DAVID

“You know what it means,” Jackson grinned harder. “Also, if that wanker tries to break your heart, I will break his face.”

“You know he is the Consul’s son?” David giggled.

“I’ve done it once and I will do it again,” Jackson shrugged. “He better treat you right.”

"wanker"

I HAVE A BRITISH ONLINE FRIEND AND THEY CALLED OUR AMERICAN ONLINE FRIEND A WANKER

AND OUR OTHER BRITISH FRIEND JOINED IN

WHILE ALL THE NON-BRITISH PEOPLE WERE LIKE "huh"

Lexi had cut her hair even shorter. Her girlfriend apparently got something called an undercut.

“Just in case someone dared to assume we were straight,” she had winked at him.

how many years has this fake dating been going on...

CENTURION SELENA

fterA the twins went to bed, David stepped out of the institute and went looking for his heart.

"went looking for his heart"

OH FUCK I FORGOT TO JOIN MY CLASS

MAX STOP DEPLETING YOUR SELF GODDAMN

And then somewhere along the way, Max’s heartbeat had become the steadiest thing in David’s life.

Max, with all his chaos and drama and danger, had become the steadiest thing in David’s life.

oh my god that's a parallel from canon

“Tell me why.”

“Ain't nothing but a heart break!!"

Max-

Max could make fireballs that killed demons on the spot. He could summon things from anywhere. He could heal people with his eyes closed. He was one of the youngest warlocks allowed to visit the spiral labyrinth.

Max was a warlock in every sense. A good one. A great one even.

he is so talented...

Only idiots would underestimate Magnus Bane’s power.

EXACTLY

He is probably going to be Consul like next week.”

David chuckled. “Next week?”

next week????

“Yeah, his smoking habits,” Max rolled his eyes.

Rafael wasn’t the smoker in the family. He knew who it was, but David would never open his mouth. It wasn’t his secret to tell.

this keeps on getting better

“It’s my hair!” David laughed.

“And you’re my David!” Max argued. “I say you are not allowed to grow your hair.”

MY DAVID

MY DAVID

MY DAVID

“I don’t want to downworld-splain it to you.”

Max blinked and then laughed. “You don’t want to what?”

“Downworld-splain,” David mumbled. “It’s when shadowhunters explain downworlders how to be downworlders.”

they were SO close to kissing

I'm gonna get in there and lock them in a closet together and tell them to FUCKING GET WITH IT

Remember who you are. Remember where you stand.

remember who you are. remember where you stand...

I know this is supposed to be about portals.

OH MY GOD THEY KISSED

THEY KISSED

IM SO CLOSE TO SCREAMING CLASS AND EVERYONE OUTSIDE THIS ROOM BE DAMNED

OH MY GOD DAVID FELL

reminds me of when alec fell down the stairs-

OH MY GOD I'M GONNA SCREAM

WE'RE GONNA GET MORE MAVID CONTENT SOON I'M SCREAMING INTERNALLY UYDRVFY7VSDU7UYVFSDUYGCADUYIGJCDSHJKGDVCSUGISDVHVF

ok, I have a computer assignment to get to and tests to study for. BUT I LOVED THIS CHAPTER SO SO MUCH!! THEY FINALLY KISSED I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!

Also I know I tend to go off track and you can totally ignore that. i just go crazy. BYEE

This live blog gives me so much life you don't even know. I am go glad you enjoyed the chapter. I love hearing you rant about it. It's refreshing lol.

And I looooooove the lil anecdotes you share in between. Also wtf is a programming class like nobody wants to learn programme what kind of hetero nonsense I-

FINISH YOUR ASSIGNMENTS AND STUDY FOR YOUR TESTS I'LL SEE YOU SOON :)

[astrovian]

the official ranking of Claude Becker outfits

the official ranking of Daniel Miller outfits here

the official ranking of Adam Price outfits here

all Claude Becker outfits & rankings under the cut

we all know RA looks good in a suit, blah, blah, blah

after two of these rankings, this outfit is the physical embodiment of a yawn

I do appreciate the patterned tie to change things up a tad even if I’m not into the pattern itself. the intent is there, just not the execution

I will give props to the team for giving Claude a patterned dress shirt here (you have to squint a bit on the second image - more on patterned dress shirts later), but they really should have upped the game a little - change the tie & be less subtle with the shirt pattern

and I ask you, does Claude Becker not strike you as a man who would insist on at least a pocket square with his suits?? dream bigger stylists

3/10

@whoever stores old movie props if these weren’t disposed of immediately after filming i will pay you for a copy of one of these

putting aside the hilarious social commentary and fucking literal writing on this magazine cover done by some poor prop designer at 2am (”How to starve artists and other capitalist things”, as well as ”Claude Becker rolls up his shirtsleeves and unties his tie and puts on a vest and casually hangs his hands from his pockets” etc.), this is a nice change-up that made me question why we don’t have RA in just a waistcoat and dress shirt more often

also that tie pattern? fab. I love it. that is how to do a patterned tie. I hope we all know RA looks good in a suit, blah, blah, blah is paying attention

that being said, minimal points because we don’t actually see Claude wearing it in real life

4/10

where, oh where is my polo shirt? oh look, it’s right there

is there any RA character who is not afflicted with a polo shirt? not recently, apparently

I genuinely thought that it was a dress shirt for a moment which had me disappointed at the banality but then that turned into utter devastation as I realised we actually are looking at a long sleeve zip up polo shirt

the draping of the coat? phenomenal and what really brings this entire thing together

the long/three-quarter sleeves? the zip-up rather than buttons? better than one can normally expect from a polo shirt... and then they went and added stripes to the collar and sleeves?? regret

could be a lot worse but could ultimately also not be a polo shirt as well 4.5/10

could have tried harder during lessons but was a pleasure to have in class

I’m sure you all know my long-sleeve shirt obsession with RA but I made a promise to be honest with myself on these lists. the only feeling this outfit evokes is a ‘eh’

the equivalent of a middle slider 5/10

the Claude you’d actually have a fun day with

there’s something about RA in a hoody that just bangs. good lord I also have a weakness for those forearms

I also thought for a good moment these were dark jeans, but they disappointingly turn out to be sweatpants? however, it has made me think that we need to see RA in some darker denim shades more often 

this Claude is could have tried harder during lessons but was a pleasure to have in class but with just a little more fun and class to boost it *just* outside of the ‘eh’ zone

5.2/10

now this is how we do a long-sleeved shirt

I think it’s been fairly well-established by now that loose, long-sleeved RA is my ultimate weakness, so it’s nice to see that Ocean’s 8 is also making a concerted effort to murder me

also Claude’s obsession with sweatpants is giving me life

this is the Claude you make pasta with. and that pasta would be damn tasty, too

5.9/10

come hither

just-woken-up Claude is made 100x better by the bed head hair and the sleepy gaze

this man needs to get back into bed for a snuggle (preferably with me)

I can’t decide if I’m into the loose boxers or missing the tighter Adam Price undies. either way, it’s definitely not a bad aesthetic. and it reminds me, like dad chic Adam Price, that we don’t get enough of RA in shorts

I feel bad assigning numbers to a a shirtless one BUT Claude does transform into being fully-clothed in this scene so I’m going with it 6.4/10

you can kiss my hand anytime

the blessing of this film is not only the visual assault of attractive actors from all sides and genders, but it also instigates in me the thought that RA is wearing printed dress shirts and I can’t remember the last time I saw this?? I never even realised how much I need to see a lot more of this kind of look on RA until we were blessed with this vision

look at those lil’ elephants!! adorable. I hope Claude has a closet full of these with different animals on them

this outfit was so good, RA even wore it in his behind-the-scenes interview

7/10 for a printed, suited dream

the Claude you take home to mom & dad

god, it’s even better without the suit jacket

this is my honest appeal to the powers that may or may not be to put RA in more printed dress shirts

7.6/10

sometimes I think I should be more ashamed of myself

I feel like I need to preface this one thusly: okay, but like hear me out for real this time

I know this is ultimate hipster white-dude look and RA plays into that character so fantastically with Claude here. I mean just look at his expression. something about this whole look makes me want to simultaneously punch this man in the face and also take him home with me

this is a man who you know is a mistake before you make it, but choose to follow through anyway. he’s that last shot of tequila or the 5th glass of wine. you know you would go for him too. don’t even try to deny it

is the high ranking because of the novelty factor? is it because I’ve never seen RA wear a beanie like that and honestly the infamous running Daniel Miller could take notes? is it because I can’t take anyone who wears a beanie like that seriously?

all we do know is that I also can’t believe this is so high on the list

7.8/10

the moment we all learned Claude is 100% a bottom

one of the most iconic Claude moments in the film. RA plays the ‘dumb horny idiot’ character so well in this scene

not so into the pinstriped suit jacket but the hoodie peeking out from underneath combined with the thin scarf makes it for me

8/10

question: how may teeny-weeny scarves does Claude own, exactly?

who could forget the iconic moment when Sandra Bullock nearly shivs RA?

we have another printed dress shirt and I am HERE for it. it even has birds this time!! nice to see that Claude is not just a land mammal sort of man

I will concede that this is the sort of pattern that few men can pull off but RA is making it work and I am living

8.7/10

I’m not sure I can make a comment on this one that is even remotely appropriate except for “I told you Claude is a bottom”

safety first, buy some proper restraints for the bedroom please Claude/10

 modern royalty au Thorin

this is the moment that every single Hobbit fan went “hell yeah, now I have the perfect new aesthetic for my modern royalty Hobbit AU” (as an avid lotr/hobbit fan, I am not joking here)

RA looks like royalty here because he should be. please sign my petition to have RA usurp the British Queen

for real though, that baby blue sash is the 1000% perfect added touch to this suit and we love RA in a baby blue. a decent (and clearly successful) effort to match the faux Met Gala theme: European royalty. however, it is also pretty accurate re: the imaginative effort that most men have with altering their Met Gala outfits to fit that year’s theme

we need more RA in ‘modern royal’ roles for the #aesthetic and also so that he can dress like this more often

9.3/10 for a princely (or dare I say kingly?) figure

James Corden looks so gleeful running after Claude that it makes me happy. I get it, James. I get it

there’s really nothing spectacular about the general outfit here - except for the swagger RA is giving this

pants? shirt? boring, meh

check scarf? a brilliant switch up from Claude’s normal thin scarves. 

the popped coat? now we’re cooking

the sunglasses and wind-ruffled hair that screams “I’m hungover but I still look effortlessly handsome”? delectable

the dogs?? the best set dressing one could ask for

the attitude and ‘I’m too cool for you’ swagger? priceless and what makes this the second-best outfit of the whole film

9.6/10 this man could punch me and I would be grateful

hot diggity dog, someone get me Claude’s handcuffs

from the front view, it could be argued that this outfit (well, technically it may not really be a separate outfit as it’s the undone version of modern royalty au Thorin), while fairly exceptional, does not first place make

however, someone had the idea to shoot RA from a side angle in this and for that I am eternally in their debt

it’s all about the tease with this one. the glimpse of the suspenders (and holy shit, RA in suspenders was not a look I had thought about before). the way the waist coat hangs off Claude’s chest like that, just enough to make its presence obvious. the cufflinks. the delicate pocket watch chain.

if previous outfits on this list have been all sex and swagger, this is the foreplay. the subtle strip tease.

10/10 

[imagines-mha]

class 1-B and night routines

Monoma: if monoma doesn’t annoy at least 2 people per night he simply will not sleep. Wears the comfiest pyjamas- like a 100% cotton top and plaid pj bottoms and everyones so fuckin jealous. He tells everyone he has a 16 step self-care routine he does every night but he really just brushes his teeth and then sits on his phone for like 2 hours? Ike what do you GET out of lying??? 

Tetsutetsu: he thinks going to bed after 11pm is criminal. Literally doesn’t understand the cryptidcrew™️ who DONT MF SLEEP. Works out before bed which is 👌🏻👌🏻 OOF. Aw hes the type of friend to make everyone tea and toast and send them asmr videos if they cant sleep i love him. He usually spends his night dancing around with pony and working off all his ENERGY

Kendo: “yall im turning into bed i’m too tired for this shit” “kendo it’s 7pm”

My girl will retire to her room as early as she can (usually with the rest of the girls) and she just RELAXES. Like self-care to the max: paints her nails, watches tv, plans her tomorrow, showers. She’s usually asleep at 10pm and wakes up the next morning full energy I want what she has

Awase: he has the WORST sleep schedule like fr. Literally sits up on tiktok until 3am and he’s just like “oh shit i’m up at 7…” *continues scrolling* like bro GET UR ASS TO BED U HAVE TRAINING AT 6AM. His night routine ain’t anything special- he sleeps in sweats and always keeps his window open (although someone told him about banshees once and now hes lowkey terrified lmao)

Kaibara- the type to fall asleep on the sofa and wake up at 4 in the morning to find tsuburaba in the kitchen eating a full course meal and he just SIGHS and goes up to bed in the worst mood bc why tf are his friends so WEIRD. Likes to watch the stars and edit pictures before he sleeps- its so therapeutic to him and also productive so he’s winning

Rin- he drinks coffee every night after midnight and then goes “oh my fuck shit i just drank coffee why am i like this” like congrats u fuckin dumbass now u ain’t gonna sleep. And he never fuckin learns. Always does his hw at like 11pm, Also stays up way too late binge-watching star wars smh 

Tsuburaba: he gets up every night and treats himself to a three-course meal in the kitchen no cap no sound awareness my man will be blending shit full blast at 2 in the morning. Usually falls asleep sitting at the kitchen table and he 👏🏻 needs 👏🏻 a 👏🏻 chiropractor 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. Also always forgets to do his homework until everyone’s packing up to go to bed and hes like “please,, anyone,, the math?”. Shoda wants to punch him so bad

Ibara: the most well-structured person in the entire building. At 7pm she has her shower, at 8:30pm she goes to pray, at 9:30pm she journals and draws to calm her mind, and at 10pm she meditates until she falls asleep- which is usually 10:20pm.. Everyone wants her self control and independance like damn how does she FUNCTION. Also queen of vegan self-care remedies 

Pony: girl is chaotic as fuck it’ll be like 10pm and rin’s like “yo pony can i copy the hw??” And shes like “WHAT HOMEWORK.” . *cue two idiots freaking tf out*. She’s always wearing matching pj sets and fluffy socks and loves sliding around in them like a dork. Dances every night before bed to tire herself out like shes just in the lounge deadass vibing to taylor swift and a new person joins her everytime . people would be dead without her

Kodai: movies every night or she won’t go to class the next morning. Shes always just sitting on her phone w earphones in like she has absoloutely no time to deal with monoma’s shit so she just peaces tf out of existence. Cutest pyjamas ever i love her pyjama queen. The go-to girl for homework she just leaves her bag open, as long as u return it shes cool

Tokage: oh my god shes so CRYPTIC and FOR WHAT. Pranks pranks pranks pranks pranks. everyone hates her for it and she loves it so bad. Like she has the balls to prank kamakiri and that TAKES BALLS LET ME JUST SAY . she’ll just leave her body parts in people’s beds and its SO annoying. They usually just pick up her stray arm and fling it at the wall in revenge then act confused the next morning when she complains abt the bruises 

Komori: cryptic as fuck. Does she sleep? Why is she always sitting at the table? What is she doing? . Closes her tabs whenever someone comes into the dining room and just stares at them til they leave again like :)). In the garden every night til she can’t bear the coldness- watches the stars and makes flower crowns and worships the moon i love her

Kuroiro: nighttime is the time he just evaporates like where tf is he like 🙄🙄 reel it in randy from monsters inc . Hiding in the walls and listening to everyones conversations and secrets is his only skill in life . Everyone thinks he doesn’t sleep and just wanders around (he does, he just likes to have an edgy reputation)

Kamakiri- did you hear that?? oh its just kamakiri fistfighting monoma in the hallway again. Fr takes no prisoners he needs his beauty sleep (or idk do bugs sleep lmao??). If you’re in his way while he’s RAMPAGING to his room youre dead bro when i say he takes bedtime routines seriously i MEAN it. He does self-care and tells NOONE but its lowkey cute idk lmao why do i have a crush on a bug lemme call my therapist real quick

Bondo- 9pm. Wind down time. A good book is all my mans needs and he’ll be out for the count in absolutely no time at all. Fukidashi will die jealous and bondo fucking loves it. Milks tf out of it too he’s like YAWN I AM SO TIRED OFF TO BED NOW TO SLEEP PEACEFULLY GOODNIGHT and everyone who WISHES they could sleep as early as that wants him to choke

Manga- king of never having hw done until 1am at the earliest 🤡. He lives on 1 hour sleep most nights and his speech bubble just says “no <3” until like 11am. Its cus of his crippling hyperactivity he’s running the halls at 3am practicing the entire mamma mia choreography ffs fukidashi U HAVE A CAREER AHEAD OF U 

Reiko: energy drink addiction 101 if she doesn’t drink monster every night before bed she’s convinced she’ll die. “I sleep all day and party all night” she says, crying over math hw at 2am. Plays music too loud and has LED strobelites on ALL NIGHT. Shes deadass doing witchcraft in the lounge w komori all night during finals week she doesnt give a single fuck x

Shishida: another reader,, mans will finish an entire book in a night by the force of sheer willpower alone. Takes a bath every night and it makes his fur so fluffy and smell like apples smdnwjdnwd. Perfect snuggle buddy for wintertimes (pony LOVES HIM) and he’s that good man who carries tsuburaba to bed when he falls asleep at the kitchen table

Shoda: “please don’t speak to me while im doing my homework im 👌🏻 this close to having a mental breakdown and all it takes is a single poke to reel me over the edge.” Complains all day about being tired then goes to bed at 2am?? Like no shit ofc ur tired bitch . Always up for a deep talk at night he knows EVERYTHING abt EVERYONE and hes so trustworthy hed never tell a soul

Honenuki: he meal preps and does yoga before bed 🤢 like WHO HAS THAT MOTIVATION. Irons and sets his uniform out for the next day before getting his homework FINISHED by 9pm . He’s pretty flexible w what he does at nights it 100% depends on his mood. Usually he’s helping Tokage with pranks or working out w tetsutetsu tho. Used to annoy people who were up doing hw after 11 like “really tsuburaba? You should be ashamed”. Shoda almost DECKED him once for it tho and he was #traumatised and never did it again

[i-did-not-mean-to]

Never say never - Chapter 13

Here's a new chapter of my main story (I forgot to go on posting lol)

Fandom: RPF- Richard Armitage

Characters : OC x RA

Rating : Mature

Warnings : RPF (and factually incorrect and very soppy)

°13° ­~Victoria~

She had expected questions and intrusive crowding, but her friends and their friends, sat motionless around the table still. Victoria saw that they had unpacked every single book and movie she had bought and put them into piles, though she could not discern the logic governing the separate piles.

“Have a nice chat?” Liza asked after a moment of Victoria just standing in the door, wordless, chewing on her lower lip.

Victoria, in turn, gave an assenting grunt and handed Martin back his phone with a grateful smile.

“More information, please?” Angie demanded, crossing her legs, and putting her folded hands upon them like a school mistress ready to listen to the recitation of a particularly hopeless student. Victoria bristled.

She had to dig her heels into the floor to keep herself from turning around and fleeing the room. Adulthood somehow boiled down to the absence of the heavy, constraining hand at the back of her neck, and Victoria had a tendency to bolt every chance that she got. Afterwards, she always felt ashamed because she knew that she had not solved anything by just leaving a situation in which she felt uncomfortable, but she had not learned how to face her instincts and overcome them.

For her, it had always been a matter of being able to follow her reflexes or being forced to go against them.

It pained her to discover that her instincts were all wrong and, what was worse, not only did they neither soothe nor protect Victoria herself, no, they also usually ended up hurting someone else.

“We…we talked. I said he’s welcome to come here if he cares to. He said he’d help me set up any other furniture I might need.” She felt and sounded sheepish, Victoria knew, but she didn’t know how to make that very normal conversation sound like the outrageous exchange of dark confessions the others apparently expected.

“Oh, so I’ve been made redundant? And I had hoped you’d let me watch the movie with you.” Hiddleston winked at her.

Big breath, Victoria told herself, this was good, this was healthy, don’t run, stand your ground.

“You’re welcome here, little fairy-lord. You can come watch the movie with me.” She said in a tiny voice.

“Oh goodie good good, we have made piles of movies we want to watch along with you…on your fancy new TV…” Angie clapped her hands and, finally, Victoria understood the piles. “You naughty girl, you.” Liza laughed.

“Naughty?” Victoria blinked. She did not see why she would be naughty for watching movies. Had her father been right, and they corrupted the impeccable morals he had tried to instil in her? Were movies the devil’s dark corruption after all?

Martin had called it “porn”, she remembered, and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

“What are you talking about? Have I done something wrong?” Panic seeped into her voice now and she was starting to feel a little dizzy. She knew that Liza sometimes made crude jokes, but up to this point, she had never been the butt of these jokes.

“Liza!” Angie hissed, rushing to Victoria’s side to soothe her with shushing noises and tender caresses. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” She said, but Victoria could hear that she was lying, as noted before, Angie was a terrible liar.

“Yeah, low blow, I’m sorry. So, what else does Armitage say?” Liza lifted her hands apologetically and leaned back in her chair, knowing that Victoria would most probably shrink back from her if she was to approach right now.

“He wanted to go over some comments in the script with me. We might meet up if he finds the time. I gave him my number.” Victoria narrated in an emotionless voice; her mind still occupied by the accusation of being a naughty girl.

Angie threw a look at her wife that was so earth-shatteringly severe that Liza didn’t even dare make a face at that. Unfortunately, Jenna had not picked up on it and so, still snacking on the pizza crust, she asked: “Really? You gave him your number? Cute.”

Victoria stared at her for a solid 2 minutes; her mouth was bone-dry, and her tongue seemed to be glued to her teeth. She barely heard the warning hiss Angie gave her employee. Her head was spinning; she was entering territories of supposition and innuendo she was painfully unfamiliar with, and it scared her.

“Cute?” She gasped, feeling the tears of helpless perplexity burn behind her eyes, ready to spill over. Victoria had never given this number to any man, because the last time she had given a man her private telephone number, she had had another number, she had lived in another city, she had led a very different life.

“It’s not like that. It’s professional.” She tried to defend herself weakly. It was true, she had met that man twice in her life, and both times, it had been with Liza in the context of that ludicrous side-job she had accepted to keep busy.

On the other hand, she was a single woman and, as far as she knew, he was a single man. She was a recent divorcee; he had never been married. He had slept with a thousand and one nameless women in his life…and she had only ever had one sexual partner and had never expected having to think about another one.

“Fuck.” She cursed. There were no Saints that came to mind to call upon in this situation. She should have trusted her gut feeling and pull out of this whole story while she was ahead; she should have left this first evening right away and never return to that damn room. She should have kept her door closed tightly.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry…I’m sure that he knows that it’s strictly professional.” Jenna tried to calm her, but her eyes were wide and worried now.

“OH! Will he? I’ve invited the man into my home, haven’t I? Like Delilah to Samson, oh Lord…” Victoria groaned, all of her compounded trauma harrowing her to the brink of tears once again. What would he think of her? Did he believe that she wanted to throw herself at him like a common prostitute? Did he expect that? Would he be violent if she refused?

If he thought that her intentions had been indecent, surely, he would not try to contact her in any way or form, would he?

“Like…Vic, do you intend to seduce him and cut his magic…hair?” Liza mocked, but when she saw the expression Victoria’s face, she fell silent instantly. She waved Hiddleston and Martin aside, feeling that they should not draw attention to themselves.

“Vic,” she pleaded, “look at me, girl. It’s okay, you’re safe. It was a dumb joke, nothing more.”

Liza knew that she had gone too far too fast; Victoria was in her living room while it was dark outside, together with 4 people who were attracted to women and yet, she had only made the connection once Armitage had been mentioned.

Devout and faithful, Victoria had only ever known the man she had married, in the biblical sense, and it had been overzealous of her to believe that she might take another lover so easily. There were too many things to unravel before.

“What have I done?” Victoria sobbed and the dam broke; hot tears broke their way out of her system, and she cried pitifully for a few minutes straight, shaking so much that her teeth clattered as if she was standing naked in the snow.

“Victoria? Is there anything I can do for you? You can talk to me.” Hiddleston offered and his calm demeanour managed to pacify her enough to shake her head slowly. “I have acted abominably. I…just can’t do anything right.” She croaked.

“That is not true. You’ve been frightened and overwhelmed at first, but you’ve been a kind hostess tonight. We had fun this afternoon, didn’t we? What is it that upsets you so?” Hiddleston took her hands and brushed his thumbs lightly across them in slow, gentle circles.

“What does that poor man think of me now? He will believe I am completely insane!” Victoria lamented, tears still running down her cheeks in regular intervals. “No, he won’t. He’s not a monster. We all can see that you’ve been through some things, but we’re here to make it better. And, as you said, it’s strictly professional. I’m sure he knows that.”

Hiddleston exchanged a look with Martin. Richard knew, but that didn’t prevent him from maybe hoping that one day, it wouldn’t be so. As far as one could make any assumptions based on Victoria’s erratic behaviour, she seemed half scared to death that it might turn into something that wasn’t all that professional anymore as well.

“You’ve had a stressful day, why don’t we leave you alone? I’m surprisingly free the next few days, so if you want me to, I can swing by tomorrow and while I go have my picture taken, you can choose some more furniture. And then, we finish the movie? What about that?” He coaxed her into calming down until a puffy face and a pathetic hiccup were all that remained of her passionate outburst. “Yes, I’d like that. We can go have cakes in the afternoon?” Victoria replied.

It was easy to like Hiddleston, and that discovery surprised and amazed her. He was kind and unobtrusive; he had a good sense of humour, and, most importantly, she was in no way attracted to him.

Oh, he was glorious, there was no denying that, but he reminded her too much of that friend she had dreamt up as a child – when she had lain in bed, lonely as can be – to be in any way titillating to her. He made her wish that she wasn’t an only child; he made her long for siblings, for someone to go to for advice and solace.

Never would she look at him like Jenna did: with big, longing cow-eyes that were starry with wordless adulation.

Vic’s mind slammed on the brakes again. Jenna did stare at that man like he had literally just fallen from the sky and, when Vic had proposed to go to the tearooms, her breath had stumbled for a second there.

Jenna had a crush on Liza’s friend.

Victoria was utterly baffled. Were things that easy in the normal world? Did people just meet someone handsome and kind, and then allowed their heart to leap into their eyes? Victoria could not fathom being that brazen and reckless.

“He’s right. Let’s retreat. I’m sorry, Vic.” Liza shooed the others out of the room. “Good night, dear Victoria. Thanks for the pizza. I hope we can be friends now.” Martin spoke gently as if to a sick child or to a fretful mare.

“Sorry for being such a mess. Yes, sure we can be friends. Thank you so much for the poppets.” She picked them up gingerly as she followed the others out of the room and turned off the lights in the living room.

“Not the kind of plastic dick people usually keep next to their bed.” Liza mumbled under her breath, which made Victoria skewer her with a scandalised, speechless look. “Sorry, it was too good to miss out on. You know, because…”

Victoria lifted her eyebrows in an expression of annoyed impatience; the joke went completely over her head.

“Richard is abbreviated Dick. You know…” Liza wagged her head from side to side to make very clear that she was only making a very tasteless joke and not attacking Victoria in any way. “Funny.” Victoria commented, her face so stern and forbidding that she would have given Armitage and Macfadyen a run for their money.

“They will not be kept next to my bed…once I get the proper décor for them.” Victoria then snarled. “Décor?” Martin was interested by that comment, his hand on the doorhandle already but his face turned to Victoria, eager to hear how she would proceed.

“I guess I’ll have to go to the pet shop to get a proper set-up where they’d feel at ease.” Victoria shrugged.

“They’re inanimate dolls.” Liza cried out, horrified at the idea that her friend would procure a cave and a hobbit-hole for two toys. “They’re the only friends I have now.” Victoria shot back with a dark smile.

“Ah, come on. I love you, girl. You know that I love you, don’t you? I’d never want to do you harm.” Liza smiled warmly, hugging Victoria to her chest, and breathing in her warm, clean smell. “Go to bed.” She breathed and left.

And so, Victoria went upstairs with her poppets, laying them gently on the pillow next to hers before getting ready for bed. She brushed her hair and her teeth, applied creams and serums, and put her clothes in the laundry basket…only to return to an empty bedroom. For all anybody cared, she could have gone to bed dirty and dishevelled; nobody would ever have known.

Shaking her head, she dispelled those thoughts forcefully. She had made progress today, she had opened her home to other people, and she had taken two different, hasty, and informal meals with them. She was not sure that her friends were aware of the fact that she had never lived alone before in her life and that those experiences were completely new to her, but she felt the excitement of having had acquaintances over.

A couch, she would buy a proper couch for her little sanctuary so more people could come and enjoy movies with her.

She was on the right track, she could feel it, and so she fell asleep, her poppets next to her, with a blissful smile.

~Richard~

He was an idiot. He had nothing to do the next few days, but he had made it sound as if he was terribly busy.

She had assumed that, and he had been too proud to clear the misunderstanding up, which made it only fair that now, the ball was in his court, and he would have to contact Victoria to plan a…meeting.

He would not call it a “date”, because first of all, it wasn’t a date, and second, he didn’t want to play into the hands of Martin and Elizabeth who had been aiming for that kind of thing apparently.

She had sounded breathless but not as hostile as before tonight. She had given him her number and he couldn’t stop fidgeting with the paper; by now, he had saved her number in his phone and on his laptop, just in case that he reduced the poor note to dust by handling it so much.

What would he say though? Should he give her a call or just text? He had said he’d text her, but he wanted to be on the phone with her again; it seemed that they were doing alright on the phone even though she frequently checked out of the conversation to talk to other people.

By now, the others were certainly gone…No, he would not call her again when he had nothing new to tell her. He wondered if she would have reached out if she had his number; women were usually better at that than men.

Sexist, cool, he was going insane at a rapid pace. Pictures of her, kneeling on the floor and praying to her various saints to protect her from whatever it was that haunted her so, rose inside his mind; he wondered if she slept in long, flowing, weirdly anachronistic nightgowns or if she went to bed in an old ratty sweatshirt. Both had their own appeal.

God, it was late, and his mind was wandering in all the wrong directions. He would not think of her in bed, he had no reason or right to do so, she had not given him any cause or encouragement to take that path down a very slippery slope, but he could not forget the small moans he had caught now and again.

Of course, they might have been groans of exasperation and impatience, but even so, there was something within him, deep beneath the parts of his mind he had any control over, that had responded ferociously to the breathless sound.

Maybe, he should just get it over with and send her one of those texts that only informed her of his number…