#cay is rambling again | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

street-smarts00 · 2 months

Text

Complimentary Colors

Spencer Reid x BAU!Reader

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WC: 7.3K

Summary: After recently joining the team, you and Spencer could never get along. What started off as you two ignoring each other turned into bickering at work. What happens when a stressful moment for you turns into an opportunity to get to know this fascinating coworker of yours?

tags: enemies to lovers, fluff, brief mentions of crime/murder at the beginning (talking about cases/kidnapping), reader is shy and anxious, reader looks young for her age. (reader might be female but i don’t think i specified)

A/N: I haven’t written anything in years and I’ve been on a criminal minds kick for a while. I had this idea loosely based off a prompt I saw on cai by (ApolloTheBoykisser) so thanks babes ;) also for once I had a fic of mine beta read lol my bestie beta read this for me. This is also posted on my AO3 page.

You had been working at the BAU for the last few weeks. You tried to get to know most of your coworkers and it seemed like you were making great progress. You had heard a lot about the team before you joined and were pretty intimidated by them at first. Okay- you were still pretty intimidated by them. But you pushed through your quiet exterior little by little and slowly but surely tried to get to know them.

All except for Spencer Reid. It seemed like he was trying to avoid you. He was always very quiet and would barely talk to you. Being a shy person yourself, you thought maybe he was just shy or a quiet guy. However, he continued to ignore you except for when he had to acknowledge you for work.

His coldness towards you was increasingly annoying as time went on, and your perception of him had slowly warped. The things about him you once found endearing, you now forced yourself to hate about him. If he rambled for too long, it could potentially make your blood boil. However, you could never stop paying attention to when he rambled on about facts or statistics. You didn’t want to admit it, but you found him fascinating.

It didn’t take that long for him to start acknowledging you, but this soon turned into the two of you bickering like children. When you were discussing cases or profiles, you both would argue over motives, victimology, crime scenes- literally anything about the case- you two could turn it into an opportunity to contradict the other. You both still kept a level of professionalism to not let your rivalry affect your job.

But there was always this tension between the two of you when you were in close quarters for too long.

And at some point you both reached your boiling point.

Last week, while the team was on a case, you and Spencer had gotten into a little spat once again. This time it went beyond the slight bickering or contraction. In the middle of the local precinct, you two were at each other's throats.

“What was that?” You asked after you and Spencer left the interview room that held a victims family.

“I was working off of the profile . . .”

“You mean the profile we haven’t finished?” You interrupted. “The one we are still currently working on and have yet to disclose?”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t work off of the information we already have,” he objected.

“You told her information we are still unsure about. We don’t know for a fact how long he keeps them alive,” you accused while placing your hands on your hips, trying to conceal your frustration but failing.

“Guys.” Someone tried to tone things down. Neither of you heard who and you weren’t backing down.

“If I remember correctly, I heard you discussing this very subject and inputting your thoughts . . .”

“You still shouldn’t have told her! Especially when you don’t know for sure if her daughter could be alive,” you seethed stepping closer.

“Would you rather me hide everything from the mother who’s suffering from the disappearance of her daughter?” He asked, matching your tone and taking a step forward.

“I didn’t say that!”

“It sure sounded like it.”

“Reid. Y/N.” The two of you turned your heads to your boss like two deer caught in headlights.

“With me, now.” Hotch demanded and led you to an empty interview room.

You could tell how angry he was- despite the fact that his stoic face represented almost every emotion in the book. But by the tone of his voice, you knew you and Spencer had messed up.

“You two do not only represent this team, you represent the bureau. These cops are already not pleased with the idea of their boss calling us in and I do not need you arguing in front of them and giving them a reason to take us off this case. You must learn to respect and cooperate with one another or I will take you both off this case. Do I make myself clear?” He lectured.

You both replied with a monotone “yes.”

“Good”

Ever since your argument, you both had been relatively quiet towards one another. Like it had been in the beginning when you were ignoring each other. But that didn’t stop you from letting him invade your mind at every waking minute. It almost saddened you in a way there was no more bickering or quick remarks with him. With how much it annoyed you, you never thought you would miss it.

The team had just finished a case and before everyone packed up and went home, Rossi announced that tomorrow everyone should come over for a little ‘get our minds off work’ get together. Your coworkers all thought it was a great idea to relax after the last few very stressful cases.

As excited as you were to finally go to one of Rossi’s house parties, you were also scared shitless. Parties with relatively new people in your life were hard. You were so quiet around new people and were scared to approach others; you often waited to be approached. To you, being a profiler was easier than having a social life.

But, maybe this time would be different. There’s not that many people on the team and you’d already started to familiarize yourself with them.

The next day, you were pulling up to Rossi’s house. If there was anything else to be intimidated by with this man- besides his years of experience in the BAU- it was this giant house. You were greeted by the man himself at his front door.

“Y/N, glad you could make it.” He opened the door and welcomed you in.

He led you inside to where everyone else was gathered. Everyone was cheery at your arrival. Penelope with her clicky heels ran up to you and greeted you with a hug. It was refreshing to be around people who were so welcoming. It made it a little bit easier to really let your walls down.

Well, almost everyone. Spencer gave you a small wave from where he stood.

The night continued on and you would occasionally engage in conversation with the team. At this point, you were off to the side- standing in the kitchen and occasionally sipping some wine that Rossi had been bragging about and was just so excited for everyone to try. You were a bit too overwhelmed to go back to talking. The music was getting a bit loud and the lights seemed to be too bright. You opted for sitting on the barstool next to the counter and observing everyone around.

They were all off in small groups or pairs around the house. All except for you and Spencer. He was another outlier and standing away from all the commotion. You looked over in his direction and he caught your eye. You both glared at each other and you quickly averted your gaze away from him. Your thoughts started to race and you began playing with your hair.

After a moment, he glanced over in your direction again when you weren’t looking. He was unintentionally profiling you and noticed you getting overstimulated. Your eyes laser focused like you zoned out, your foot tapping against the chair, and your hand anxiously playing with your hair.

While he wasn’t exactly your friend, he did understand what it felt like when social gatherings got overwhelming. He made his way over to you, careful not to make you more nervous or uncomfortable.

“You okay?” He asked you. You were pulled away from spacing out. His voice sounded a bit concerned- which took you by surprise. You were partially relieved someone approached you to help bring you back down to earth. That someone noticed something was off. What confused you was the fact that person was Spencer.

“I’m fine.”

He was well aware of what it meant when someone was “fine” and you were clearly not fine. He felt bad that you were so quick to shut down his attempt to check on you. After all, it was his fault and he knew that.

“Do you wanna step outside?” He asked.

You were conflicted. You didn’t want to be outside alone with him, but at the same time, you needed some time away from everything. Maybe it would help calm your nerves.

“Maybe for a bit.”

You followed him outside onto the back patio. You took note of the fresh air and the muffled sounds from inside. It all felt like a weight lifted off your shoulders. Pretty soon though, you realized how awkward it was to be outside alone with him.

Spencer cleared his throat and spoke to break the silence, “Sometimes these parties can be . . . a lot.”

“A little bit. I was doing fine for a while but I think my social battery is running low.” You confessed to explain your discomfort.

“Yeah” he replied. He appreciated the fact that you felt comfortable enough to express this with him. He tried to relate to you. “It’s the same with me. Sometimes I just need a moment to collect myself.”

“Exactly.” You were relieved to hear that he felt the same way. “Plus it doesn’t help that I'm so new to the team.” You crossed your arms and slightly closed yourself off.

“I was the same way when I first joined.” He told her to try and ease your concerns. You were just like him at some point. The new guy and just trying to figure out how you fit in.

“It’s difficult at first, but you settle down after a bit. Once you get to know everyone.”

“Yeah it’s just the whole getting to know them part is a bit . . .” You abruptly stopped, hesitating to reveal too much to him.

“A bit what?”

“Intimidating,” you confessed, avoiding his eyes.

He obviously noticed your hesitance and avoided his usual behavior with you. You were always so strong and quick to banter with him. But now you seemed vulnerable, and he didn’t want to take advantage of that.

“It’s not just you, I promise.” He was being honest. This was the calmest and most genuine conversation the two of you had ever had. “I find them all pretty intimidating.”

Your eyebrows raised at his confession. How could he possibly be intimidated by these people?

“Really? But you’ve known them for so long. You all are so close.”

“Close doesn’t mean you can’t be a little intimidated,” he replied. It might not make much sense, but it was the truth.

“I mean Hotch is always stonewall and silent, no matter what you say to him. And don’t even get me started on Morgan.” He joked, knowing you would understand.

You lightly chuckled at his joke. “I get what you mean.” You were starting to understand him more. You thought it was ironic that one of the team members you were first intimidated by was also intimidated by the team. Now he was starting to seem less intimidating or annoying and more approachable. You kinda liked seeing this new side of Spencer.

“I guess I’ve always been like that. Worried to get to know people or open up.” You weren’t entirely sure why you were telling him this, but you knew he would understand.

"I think when you're afraid of being hurt or judged or misunderstood by people, you try to keep your guard up." He told you, speaking from experience. From a young age until now, he's always felt misunderstood.

"And I think...maybe that's why you're on edge with me? You're not sure what to expect from me."

“Are you profiling me?” You asked jokingly. Spencer however thought you were serious and you noticed him tense up.

“I’m kidding.” Your expression softened to let him know you weren’t actually accusing him of profiling you. “I’m gonna be completely honest, I’ve been on edge with you cause I thought you didn’t like me.”

He was a bit taken off guard by your statement. But at the same time, he couldn't deny it. He didn't dislike you now, but at first, he wasn't exactly fond of you. And now he was ashamed of that.

"I didn't like you." He admitted. "I thought you were pretentious, too eager to be accepted. I think I saw you as competition."

Spencer’s comment did sting. It was never sunshine and rainbows to hear someone doesn't like you. However, you did take note of his language. He said “didn’t,” “thought” and “saw,” all past tense. Does this mean he doesn’t dislike you now? What you did appreciate was his reciprocated honesty. You both were making some progress in your relationship and you wanted to continue it.

“I was eager to be accepted. I wanted to feel like I belonged.”

“I know how you feel.” He expressed his sympathy. “I regret not giving you a chance. You’re not like I thought you were.” He also appreciated seeing this different side of you.

“You’re not like I thought you were.” You admitted.

A little smirk tugs at his lips, “So I’m not as pretentious and selfish as you thought?”

You lightly chucked, “I never thought you were selfish, but I did think you were a ‘know-it-all’ and trying to show off.”

Spencer really didn’t want you to think he was a show off. Sure- he had a vast amount of knowledge, but he never wanted you to think he was bragging or that he knew better than you. “I do know a lot but I promise I’m not trying to show off. I just have all this information in my head and I want to share it with people or I’m really passionate about something and want to talk about it.”

You understood that feeling all too well. There were so many times you wanted to ramble on about things you cared about or had knowledge on, but for the most part just stayed quiet. Meanwhile, he didn't keep quiet. He would go on and on. And while almost everyone else was either rolling their eyes or trying to shut him up, you were listening intently. You didn’t want to admit it back then, but now you were feeling up to it.

“I will admit, while I did think of you as a know it all, I found a lot of your tangents interesting.” You admitted.

His eyebrows raised in surprise. He was so used to people dismissing him. It was nice to hear you often would listen. “Really? You didn't mind me babbling on?" He asked, relieved with your response.

"I mean, it is something I have trouble with. I tend to talk too much.”

“Oh Dr. Reid I am very familiar with rambling and being worried about talking too much.” You paused for a moment- considering how much more you wanted to share with him. “I know it may not seem like it because I’m always quiet around the team but.. once I get comfortable around people, I actually get very rambly”

"You do?" He asked, sounding surprised. “About what?”

“Really anything. Mostly things I’m passionate about like you. I’ll also tend to go on tangents about memories or just things happening in my life.”

You made your way to a bench on the patio as you spoke. Spencer followed and sat down on a chair adjacent to you. You brought your attention back to him and noticed his focused gaze on you and he quickly licked his lips, a habit you noticed he did all the time.

"You really are a lot like me. You're just quieter at first." He added, teasing you a little. While he was not one for social cues, he had the sudden urge to be bold and make a joke. "Maybe next time I see you rambling, I won't immediately contradict you."

You dramatically dropped your jaw and placed your hand over your heart. “Wow, you really know how to give a compliment,” you said, pretending to be offended.

He laughed with a bright grin. "I'm sorry. Let me rephrase. The fact that you're so silent and reserved makes it that much more thrilling when I find out how much of a chatterbox you actually are." He joked, being playful as before.

Your cheeky smile slightly falters for a moment. You hoped he wouldn’t notice but he did. “I think you won’t be so thrilled once I actually turn into a chatterbox around you.”

"Actually I think I would find it intriguing." He told you, looking directly into your eyes. "The quiet ones tend to be the most interesting and complex when they do end up talking."

“I’m not that interesting.”

“I beg to differ. You’re very interesting. Probably the most interesting person on the team.”

Did he really say that? Did he mean it? Or was he just being nice? You tried not to profile him, but couldn’t help it. His body language expressed he was being honest. Uncrossed legs and arms, open palms, eye contact. The only thing you didn’t notice when studying his body language was his dilated pupils.

“Thank you,” you smiled at his compliment, “I doubt I’m the most interesting though. You maybe, Mr. Three PHDs and can read 20,000 words per minute.”

He smiled back at you, “Just because I'm well educated doesn’t mean you can’t be as interesting as me, if not more.”

You couldn’t believe he was saying such nice things to you. This was the first time you guys were actually making some kind of connection.. and it felt wonderful.

“I still can’t believe we’ve known each other for this long but are just now talking. And by talking, I mean not getting into a spat after speaking for more than 3 minutes.” You confessed with a hint of playfulness in your voice at your joke.

“Yeah, I feel like I barely know you.”

“What would you like to know?” You asked.

He thought for a moment trying to think of a question to ask. You noticed once again that he licked his lips, trying to concentrate.

“Let’s start with something simple. What’s your favorite color?” He asked.

“Wow, I think that’s a bit too personal.” You said, voice laced with sarcasm. You tried your hardest to contain your amusement but started to smile. He smiled back at you. At first, he was always confused with sarcasm and social cues. To be honest, he still was. But he could just tell with you. He knew when you were joking and when you were being serious. He found your sense of humor amusing.

“Yellow.” You answered. “What’s yours?”

“Purple.” He replied.

You intended to leave it inside your head- but a quiet “huh” made it past your lips as an idea came into focus.

“What? Is it my choice for my favorite color?” He tried to joke with you but was also a little bit serious.

“Oh no, it's just I thought it was interesting because those are complementary colors. You know how they are opposite on the color wheel?” You asked even though you figured he knew.

He nodded his head, “Yes! Because they are on opposite ends of the color wheel, when they’re used together it creates a vibrant contrast and enhances visual appeal. The two colors almost balance each other out and support each other's intensity. Complimentary colors are a key component to color theory.” He suddenly noticed how long he was talking and his posture stiffened. He pressed his lips into a thin line and avoided eye contact. “Told you I talk too much.”

“And I told you that I find your rambling interesting.”

His head perked back up at you. You genuinely wanted to listen to him. It was refreshing to talk to someone that didn’t cut him off or zone out.

“That’s kinda like us though, don’t you think?”

“What’s like us?” He asked confused, still thinking about the fact that you actually enjoy listening to what he has to say.

“How our favorite colors are complimentary colors. Like you said, they support each other's intensity. When you first see them they’re opposites, but the more you look the more they compliment each other.”

He softly smiles. “That does sound like us. The more we learn about each other, the more we find we have in common.”

There was a short pause where you both considered his statement. You did want to know more about him. You wanted to know all of him.

“Can I ask you a question this time?”

“Of course.”

“So, you're always reading. Like everywhere you go, you carry a book with you. I wanna know: what’s a book you could read over and over again and never get tired of?” You wanted to know beyond his favorite color. You wanted to get to the various building blocks that made him the way he was.

Spencer considered your question for a moment. Trying to go through the near infinite list of books he’s read in his life. You could tell he was concentrating on his answer because licked his lips. “Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.”

“Is he one of your favorite authors?”

“Yes.” He said almost immediately, confident in his answer.

“How come you like that book so much?” You asked.

You could see this sort of spark enter his eyes the more you asked about it. Giving him the chance to share his passions. ”Oliver Twist was one of the first books that used satire to deliver social commentary. Particularly in this book the social commentary was aimed at poverty in 19th century England. The book also quickly gained attention after its publication due to the scandalous subject matter in which crimes, such as murder, were depicted in detail.”

Spencer finally stopped rambling and almost looked as if he caught his breath from the endless talking. But what he was met with was your undivided attention.

”That sounds really interesting, maybe one day I should give it a read.” You say with a soft smile.

“You should,” he matched your smile, but it seemed a bit more sheepish due to his brief tangent. “Have you ever read Charles Dickens before?”

You shook your head in response. “I’ve never read anything by him. I actually don’t read much. But I used to in high school.” You revealed.

“What have you read?” He asked. He leaned slightly forward and unconsciously mirrored your body language and placed his right hand on his leg like you did yours.

“Pretty much the same books everyone else had to read for school.” You paused and tapped your fingers trying to refresh your memory.

“To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, 1984, um.. a few Shakespeare books.” You answered with the few books you could remember.

“Which one did you like the most?”

“I’m not sure”, you sighed and thought about his question, wanting to give him a genuine answer. “Maybe.. Macbeth. I remember finding the story interesting and I did a group project on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's descent into madness. Like the scene where she’s hallucinating the blood on her hands.”

Your voice started to pick up speed and volume ever so slightly. He could tell you were getting more passionate the more you spoke. Subtly displaying how you could ramble once you opened up to someone. He smiled as you continued, happy to see that you felt comfortable enough around him to let a hidden part of yourself out into the open.

“I guess that kinda explains why I wanted to be a profiler and learn about psychology and forensics. I was interested in how Lady Macbeth's guilt manifested and caused her delusions. I wanted to understand why people did the things they did.”

“I can tell, you have this curiosity. You want to understand. Know the ‘why’. He mentally recalled the times you would express your curiosity during work.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

He pressed his lips in a line. “Is it- is it my turn to ask you something now?” He stuttered slightly.

“I mean you don’t have to. It’s nobody’s ‘turn’ but you can if you want.”

“I do.” He replied immediately. The corners of your mouth perked up into a small smile. He mirrored you.

“I may be stealing your previous question. Like you said you don’t read much. But I have noticed you listen to music a lot. I want to know a song you could listen to over and over again.”

He was right, you often listen to music. Mostly on your way into work or on the jet, you would be wearing your signature headphones and have some playlist on. It was your own way of coping with the stress of your job. You looked down at the ground as you recalled the songs in your favorite playlist.

“Dreams by The Cranberries.” You brought your eyes back up to face him. But what you saw was confusion in Spencer’s eyes. He tried to hide it but you knew better. “Have you heard that song?”

He did that little sideways pout you often saw him doing when he was in awkward situations.

“I’m not sure,” he replied. Spencer broke eye contact, embarrassed he didn’t know something from pop culture.

“It’s okay. Remind me next time I have my headphones and I’ll show you.” You spoke calmly to reassure him there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

He brought his attention back to you. Relieved to hear your gesture instead of a quip about his lack of pop culture knowledge like he was used to.

“I will.”

“Alright my turn.” You shifted your weight and brought your legs up to your side so your whole body could face him. “Um, it's kind of a personal question though. I’m curious about something.”

“Go ahead. What is it?” He asked, giving you his whole undivided attention.

“Does it ever bother you when people question your age when you say how educated you are?”

He was somewhat thrown off by your question, but something told him you've wanted to ask him this for a while.

He furrowed his eyebrows, “I wouldn’t say it bothers me. Considering I have had such an extensive education so early in my life, it’s completely understandable that someone would question how I did it at a young age.”

“Hmm,” you hummed in response. He knew that wasn’t the answer you were looking for.

“Can I ask you something personal?” He asked before asking his real question. He appreciated your concerns about potentially pushing a boundary and he reciprocated it. He didn’t want to break this newfound friendship- if he could call it that- by making you uncomfortable.

You nodded your head, silently telling him it was okay.

He slightly fidgeted with his hands. “Did you ask me that because people question your age?”

“Yes,” you answered hesitantly. “I’ve never looked my age.”

He thought about his next question before asking. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, I’m just trying to understand. Why does that bother you?”

“It bothers me when people don’t take me seriously. I mean I’m in my late 20s and some people still think I look fresh out of college. It hasn’t happened as often since I joined the BAU but so many people in law enforcement don’t take me seriously. People tend to think I’m too innocent to have a job like this.” You confessed to him as you avoided looking him in the eyes.

"I wouldn't say you're innocent.” His comment brought your eyes back to him.

“But you do have a soft demeanor. It makes you approachable. If anything, those qualities are an incredible asset to this job whether it be when you're speaking to victims or their family members.”

Even though he would often throw snarky retorts to you in the past and try to get under your skin, he always admired how good you were at your job. Of course, you were an amazing profiler and had no trouble standing against dangerous unsubs. But the way you handled incredibly sensitive situations with such calmness and comfort with others was admirable. During cases with children, you were able to ease their worries and provide a safe space.

“While you are very sweet and shy, I would never call you innocent.”

“Thanks,” you smiled at his compliments. You felt understood hearing his affirmation. It also warmed your heart to hear that he thought so highly of you. Especially since the last few weeks, you thought he hated your guts. Although- his comment did make you more curious about how you were perceived. “Half the time I don’t realize how shy I am or how I present myself,” you weakly chuckled.

“There were actually a lot of ways to deduce that you're shy,” he matched your lighthearted tone but also kept a sense of seriousness to prove he was being genuine.

“Was it the fact that I was sitting by myself and scared to talk to them?” You half joked as you figured that’s what he was going to imply.

"That was part of it, yes. But besides that, it was the way you often avoid direct eye contact, and the tone of your voice. It's gentle and low, as if you're afraid of coming on too strong.” He was too caught up in his thoughts and observations to realize how much he was divulging. “You keep your distance and your words are always measured or not overly assertive. Almost like if you do come off assertive you will receive backlash."

When he met your eyes again, he noticed how frozen you were. On the outside you didn't reveal much, simply had a stoic expression. He knew you better than that. He knew that he had hit a nerve and started to panic that he went too far. He had finally wrecked this slowly growing friendship like he thought he would, by being himself.

“Wow, yeah that sounds pretty spot on,” you agreed. You sounded soft spoken and played with your hair again, of course without your knowledge.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He abruptly spattered in a panic.

“No it’s okay really,” you interrupted trying to reassure him. “I just didn’t expect you to be so ... correct.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line, relieved he didn't mess things up, but still slightly worried he had left you feeling exposed. "I guess I'm just good at noticing things about people,” he shrugged.

“You forget, we get paid to notice things about people,” you joked with him, trying to make him feel better by lightening the situation. Of course, it worked.

"That's true." He chuckled and paused for a moment to consider. Then he continued with his profile of you.

"It's just the way your voice softens whenever you become uncomfortable, almost whispering or lowering in tone. Or your nervous habits, like when you play with your hair." It was a gesture he was pretty keen on catching.

You suddenly were very aware of the fact you were playing with your hair. You quickly dropped your hands and crossed your arms.

"It's not bad that you do that, you know,” his voice had a slight crack in it. “It's just something you do subconsciously." He told her, trying to be comforting.

“Do you wanna know something you do subconsciously?” You asked, your voice with a hint of teasing. You decided that if he was going to profile you, you were going to profile him back.

He noticed your tone and that you had gained a bit more confidence. "Sure, hit me." He said as he awaited your reply with curiosity and interest.

“You poke your tongue out a lot or lick your lips. Most of the time when you’re concentrating or lost in thought. Which means you definitely need to start using chapstick. I’ve seen you do it a lot since we’ve been out here.” You explained.

"So, are you telling me my lips are dry?" He replied playfully, his grin widening.

“They probably are,” you lightly laughed at the silliness of his question. He laughed along with you and subconsciously went to lick his lips again, but caught himself.

“I'm gonna be thinking about this so much more now,” he confessed.

“Consider it payback for pointing out how much I play with my hair when I'm anxious. I don’t know what to do with my hands now,” you remarked as you dramatically waved your hands in the air.

“Sorry,” he awkwardly apologized.

“I already told you it’s alright. You're not the only one who analyzes behavior. I’ve noticed plenty of things you do and why you do it.”

“Like what?” He furrowed his eyebrows, curious what particular things about him you had profiled. He noticed something though. The confidence you once had, had washed away after you collected your thoughts.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” you stated.

"You won’t make me uncomfortable,” he responded almost immediately. “I promise. I really want to know.”

You took a deep breath before explaining your observations. “You desperately want to be heard. You love to share the endless knowledge you have, but when someone walks away or cuts you off your reaction is almost that of deflating. And when someone does show a bit of interest in what you have to say your voice perks up and almost cracks with excitement. Then you talk a lot faster, probably a mixture of excitement and as a way to keep the other person engaged and to not lose their attention.”

Spencer carefully listened to every word you said. Not a single deduction was false. You had read him like a book in the short time you knew him. You noticed something about him that most of the team couldn’t pick up on.

"You're right about everything,” he said with a soft tone. Almost everyone interrupted him, you never did. This got him thinking. Of course everyone on the team made observations about each other, they’re profilers of course. However, he wondered why you had made so many about him.

"Are you always this observant about everyone? And I mean everyone. Or is it just me that gets the special treatment?" He asked his last question with a hint of a teasing tone.

You scoffed, “yeah right, like you get special treatment.” You thought about your response, not wanting to reveal too much.

“I guess I might have paid attention to you because you were the only one who was so closed off to me. I wanted to know why. I wanted to know who you were even if you weren’t going to tell me.”

He was right, you were paying him special attention. The fact that you wanted to know who he was despite his closed off nature revealed enough.

“So you admit it, I get special treatment?" He cheekily asked.

“Oh shut up,” you retorted.

“Make me.”

Your lips pursed, holding back a smile.

Spencer noticed you were trying to hold back a smile and found it endearing. He also noticed something else about your reaction. You were blushing. You blushed as a result of his taunting. He got lost in the thought of you blushing from him.

“Something you wanna share with the class?” You teased.

He didn't want to admit it, not yet at least. He wanted to make you sweat just a little bit and get a reaction out of you.

"I'm curious about something. Could you tell me what would cause someone's cheeks to flush?" He tried to seem genuine but of course he came off with a hint of cheekiness.

You furrowed your eyebrows. You were completely oblivious to your red face and were confused by his random inquiry.

“Are you questioning my profiling skills?” You lightly scoffed, not knowing what his true intentions were.

"No, not exactly. I just want to know what you think.”

Your expression changed to one of confusion but also amusement. You decided to play along with his little game.

“Well psychologically blushing could mean a multitude of things. Embarrassment, stress, anxiety, attraction.” While your voice stayed consistent, he noticed the change in your breath and how your eyes darted away from him. It was a brief expression, but he caught it. He got the answer he was looking for.

"And which one of those can explain why you’re blushing?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked as he leaned closer to you.

Your stomach dropped and eyes widened. You shifted your weight in your seat and touched your cheeks. “I’m not blushing..” You ignored his question.

"You are.”

You sighed and stood up, “Well if I am it’s probably because you just pointed it out and I’m embarrassed.”

"Oh, really?" He taunted and followed you. "I think that you might be blushing for a different reason."

You bit your lip out of frustration and crossed your arms. “Are you profiling me Spencer?”

"Maybe I am,” he smirked. "I would say that maybe you've been so interested in me that you've been paying a lot of attention. That's why you took note of so many of my habits and behavior."

Your face got redder and you started playing with your hair again. You huffed, “I told you before, the reason I paid attention to you was because I didn’t know you.”

"Sure, but you pointed out how you kept noticing I licked my lips. Why were you looking at my lips in the first place?"

You were caught between a rock and a hard place. “Why are you so interested in why I’m blushing or looking at your dumb face anyway? Why do you care so much?” You asked defensively.

He couldn’t respond, he froze up.

“I mean, you question why I pay so much attention to you but here you are doing the same thing to me. Trying to read me like a book,” you accused.

He cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I guess we're both curious about each other."

“I guess we are,” you responded. You saw his cheeks turn pink in reaction to your questioning. “Look who’s red now.”

If his face could even get redder, it did. For a man that could probably say a thousand words a minute, it seemed like none of them could fall from his lips.

It was your turn to smirk. “I can’t believe I’ve managed to leave you speechless. Never thought that would happen.”

"Shut up,” he sheepishly scoffed.

“Make me.”

Spencer felt his stomach flutter, he smiled bashfully at your mimicking his own teasing. The seconds passed and neither of you spoke, neither of you had words. Both of you in your own heads. In your head, you got a stroke of confidence. You didn't know where it came from, maybe the teasing, maybe the fact that you had him speechless. But you took it and ran with it.

”Maybe the reason you wanted to know why I was blushing so badly, is the same exact reason I was blushing,” you mumbled.

The realization hit him in waves. You just admitted to the very thing he was trying to get out of you in the first place. He was speechless once again, but this was different. He stared at you with a stunned look, not knowing what to do.

You took his blank expression as a negative reaction, thinking you came off too strong. You slowly backed away from him, regretting putting yourself out there.

“Sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Just forget it.” You turned around to go back inside but felt something on your wrist. You turned around and saw Spencer had grabbed your wrist to stop you. His eyes wide and breath heavy.

"No. Don’t,” he begged.

"Really?" You whispered softly.

He smiled, "yes. Please don't take it back."

You smiled back at him bashfully. Spencer’s reaction make your stomach do backflips, but it made you wonder.

"Can I ask, why did you pay such close attention to me?

He released his light grasp on your wrist and instead placed your hand in his. "I couldn't stop analyzing every single detail about you. I wanted to know you inside and out. There was something about you that felt intoxicating. After every time I spoke to you, even if it was just us bickering or arguing, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

He looked down at your joined hands and started to rub his thumb over your hand. You looked up at him and smiled, glancing at his lips. “Well you definitely must be thinking about something now, you licked your lips.”

He couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. You made him feel like he was on full display, like he was a book that only you could read.

He slightly blushed at your comment. “I am. Can you guess what I'm thinking about?"

You grabbed his other hand with yours as a smirk grew on your face, “How close we are. How it’s probably driving you crazy..” You nearly whispered the last part as you leaned closer to him, “how I’m making you crazy..”

"You do.” Spencer wrapped one of his arms around your waist and placed his hand on the small of your back. A shiver ran down your spine as his hand touched your back. Of course, he could tell and was light headed by the effect you had on him. He’d never felt so intoxicated by someone before. “You’ve made me a mad man ever since I met you.”

Your heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of your chest.

“What about you?” He asked. “Do I make you crazy?”

You glanced between his eyes and his lips.

“Yes..”

It was like you both were on the exact same wavelength. You both dove in at the same time and slammed your lips together. Both of you just so desperate to get a taste of the other. The kiss was tender and passionate, with no single person in control. You both moved together in synced motions. All of the arguments, all the tension that had been slowly building up could be released.

When you finally parted, Spencer rested his forehead against yours. You felt his airy breath as he tried to come back down to earth. You placed a hand on his face and stroked his cheek with your thumb.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for weeks,” he breathed.

“I can tell,” you chuckled. “what’s stopping you from doing it again?”

“Do you want me to?” He asked desperately.

You placed your other hand on the back of his neck, “I love hearing you talk.. but shut up and kiss me.

Before today he never liked the idea of you telling him what to do. But now, he was at your mercy. He didn’t hesitate and locked your lips with his once again. You both melted together like lovesick teenagers. But moments like these of course don’t last forever.

The sound of the patio door opening fell deaf on both your ears. It wasn’t until you heard Derek Morgan that you both pulled away from each other.

”What’s going on out here?” Derek questioned with a smirk.

You and Spencer couldn’t speak, too frozen to react.

His grin only grew, “My man,” he chuckled as he glanced at Spencer.

“Don’t kill each other while you're out here.” Derek left the way he came and closed the patio door.

You sighed, “He’s gonna tell someone isn’t he?”

“Yup”

He made his way back to his coworkers with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. “What’s got you all happy?” Emily asked.

“Looks like our two angry birds are now two love birds,” he answered.

“What? What are you talking about?” Penelope sprinted over as fast as she could with her heels.

“How I just caught Reid and Y/N making out.”

The room exploded with chaos at the reactions to his news.

JJ, who was standing off to the side with Hotch, furrowed her eyebrows, “I thought they hated each other?”

Hotch glanced towards the patio door and saw the light shadow of two figures. “No they don't. Not really.”

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid headcanon #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds x reader #spencer reid x you #criminal minds x you #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid fic #spencer reid imagine #criminal minds headcanons #enemies to lovers

1K notes · View notes

siren-serenity · 2 months

Text

a bouquet and scored dates

A bouquet of flowers is a surefire way to score a date with your crush. Seeing it go viral on Magicam immediately made Cater jump in on it too! Who wouldn't want to take this opportunity to blow up their account? And if Cater managed to score a date to the Unbirthday party too, then that's a lovely bonus.

characters: cater diamond, gn!reader, grim cameos!! warnings: fluff, tiny bit of angst and self-hate a/n: - i feel so bleh for not writing for slow long so here you go!! a small cater diamond x reader fic bc i love my husband 😍😍😍 - @ceruleancattail, this is also for you!! united by our love for cay-cay, who slay-slays hehe - feedback is appreciated!

A knock against the old, rickety door of Ramshackle made you blink your eyes wearily. Grim leaped off your stomach, walking around the wooden floors before yawning.

"Who disturbed the great Grim's nap?" He yowled out, obviously annoyed. "Come on, I was having such a nice sleep!"

You sat up, rubbing your eyes. "Mhmm...tell me about it."

The knock came again, this time more urgent. There was almost a playful pattern to it, a rhythmic beat building into a melody of taps and raps.

"Coming!" You yelled, sliding across the floors (and proceeding to trip over an uneven wooden board, making one of the three ghosts giggle at you) before landing in front of the door. You swung it open and a grin crawled onto your face. "Cay-Cay!"

The orange-haired student smiled sweetly before winking at you. "It's your favorite junior, Cay-Cay! Good morning, Y/N."

Leaning against the doorframe, you tilted your head. "It's always nice to see you in the morning, but whatcha here for? Classes don't start for another hour..."

You trailed off as a beautiful bouquet came into view. Cater blushed as your scrutinising glance shifted from the gorgeous array of flowers to his face. He fought the urge to hide his face behind the flowers and took a deep breath in. Hopefully, he won't butcher it up! He spent hours on making it perfect all by himself.

(Riddle and Trey let out a sneeze simultaneously before returning to their business.)

...But of course, when did things go to plan?

"So I saw this one Magicam trend online and was like 'OMG those flowers look so adorbs! So I decided to make a couple to follow the trend and wow, I blew up!! The flowers look so beautiful on pictures that people went crazy liking them and I got over a thousand likes in the first hour! So, realizing my talent, I was like 'hey, Y/N likes flowers right?" So I went in the botanic garden, BTW Leona says hi and warns you to never get anywhere near Savanaclaw or the guys will rip you up from limb to limb. IDK but anyways! I got some flowers, put a bit of tender, love, and care, and voila!"

Cater held out the flowers as an explanation. He internally frowned at the ramble he had spoken rather than the touching, sentimental paragraph he planned on reciting. But when your fingers brushed against his to grasp onto the bouquet, his mind blanked out.

Soft...your hands were so gentle against his. A soft breeze caressing a petal.

You took them and held them up to your nose to inhale its sweet scent. It wasn't overpowering, thankfully; It was the right blend of fresh wilderness and soft, subtle floral scents.

"This is...Cater, I'm lost for words," You breathed out.

He gulped and his heart stuttered at the joy in your eyes and your smile. He knew being magicless in a world like his was no easy feat. It was even harder to ignore when every lesson involved the use of magic one way or another; Being surrounded by mages day-by-day would have caused him to go insane if he were you. But, you simply stride onwards. He admired your persistence and optimistic approach to life and it was what had drawn him to you in the first place. Being able to put a smile onto your face made him yearn for an eternity to do that for you, right by your side.

Realizing he hadn't spoken in a while, he cleared his throat.

"Riddle's hosting an Unbirthday party tomorrow."

You raised your gaze from the bouquet to meet his, (E/C) eyes against emerald ones. Cater fiddled with the buttons of his dorm uniform.

It was now or never!

"Would you like to attend with me?"

You laughed and nodded. "Of course I do! I'll go and tell Grim about the party-"

"-I meant with me. As my date," Cater blurted out. His face must be as red as his vest because his cheeks felt as if they were set aflame. "Would you like to attend the Unbirthday party tomorrow as my date?"

"Oh Cater..."

He closed his eyes and tightened his fists involuntarily. He opened his mouth, ready to put a fake (fake feelings, fake friends, mask on his face as usual-) before he felt the softest of kisses against his cheeks.

His eyes shot open as Cater stared at you, faintly registering the close proximity between you and him. The bouquet paper crinkled against his uniform but it seemed that neither of you paid any attention to it.

"I would love too," You smiled softly. "Tell me how you'd like to match? I know you love coordinate couple outfits on Magicam."

Yet another reason why he loved liked you.

"Yeah," He breathed out. "Yeah, yeah I'm going to go do that."

You leaned back and he yearned for your presence again, like a plant bending to the whims of sunlight. It was simply intoxicating.

"See you in class, Cay-Cay," You winked. The bouquet remained clutched in his hands and he was forever grateful for that silly Magicam trend.

He blew you a playful kiss, elation in his veins and joy in every corner of his smile. "Can't wait!!"

Cater skipped all the way back to Heartslabyul, too busy planning your and his outfits to notice the odd glances cast his way.

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst #cater diamond #cater diamond x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #x reader #cater x reader #heartslabyul

107 notes · View notes

merakiui · 3 months

Note

wait hold on for clarification, did u (ALMOST) fall out of love w azul for the twins? (AND THEN SAW HIS PLATINUM) or you just (ALMOST) fell out of love with him in general?

Also what made you decide to write a full fic for cay-cay? In my mind he wasnt so high up on your list or i would have guessed a different character!

Also can we have a peek into your drafting? For example from an already released fic? M curious about how your 'planning/drafting/storyboarding' goes!

YES. T_T even I am surprised... I became so eel-brained that whenever I tried to think of concepts for Azul my brain turned up blank and my heart became hollow. (ಥ◡ಥ) surrounded by my Azul merch, I thought, is there still love in my heart???? But of course there is!!!! I saw his platinum jacket and fell face-first into love all over again. It's impossible to stop loving him!!!! He's too perfect!!!!!!

As for a full Cay-Cay fic, I quite like Cater and have always wanted to write a story exploring his character because he has so many layers! I'm also not immune to fwb tropes and I think an arrangement of that nature with Cater could lead to so many things!!!! <3

Aaaaa my drafting process,,,, ^^;;;; it varies between stories. Sometimes it's me rambling to myself about a scene concept (which you'll see below) or it's arranged in a very organized way. Here are the draft notes from The Most Dangerous Game, which are about as wildly crazy as you can imagine lol:

#twisted chit chat

61 notes · View notes

gigi-the-writer · 27 days

Note

I have a bunch more ramblings, (and if I ever turn the cai as a whole into a whole fic I’ll be sure to tag you!) but the lowdown of it is basically:

If you ask me, I think the ending of episode 6 was…pretty sad, actually. We don’t see the aftermath of how Flug handles the heartbreak, but the assistant would get a front row seat. He still reflects fondly on their past memories before everything went downhill, and the poor assistant is still trying to pick up his slack bc he’s so fucking scattered and messy now- all while still being very much in love with him. They’re like her polar opposite though, and just figure they’re not his type. They will nod along and listen to him rant (if they hear how silky smooth her hair is when their own is a mess, or how she just lit up a room when they’re far more reserved ONE MORE TIME-)

But they still try to help him out where they can, often working double time so BH doesn’t get pissed, until some 3rd party clues him in (either 505 or Dem) that hey; they’re gonna run themselves into the ground for you. Sorry about your ex and all, but just thought you should know you’re supposed to be a team damn it.

Somebody cares about him! Holy shit!!! How did he not see it? They even picked him up from the prison visit to get takeout and watch the new top gun together knowing damn well he’d talk through the whole thing. They didn’t do that out of pity or obligation, they did it out of love! All the little gestures are coming back to him. “I memorized your coffee order” here, “I taped that show you like so you don’t have to miss it” there-

And over time he starts to open his heart again and move on 😭 good ending! But yeah I thought the idea of healing being nonlinear was an interesting motif to explore, especially when the assistant sees it in real time everyday at work. They’re not helping him out in hopes that they can be next in line to date him, they’re doing it selflessly because romantic or not, they still care about him! And maybe that day comes when he realizes he feels the same, and seeks them out first ❤️‍🩹

GRRRR GRRRR *RIPS THIS APART WITH MY TEETH VIOLENTLY* THATS THE GOOD STUFF

#villainous #villanos #dr flug #dr flug villainous #dr flug x reader

9 notes · View notes

azulsluver · 2 years

Text

Masterlist/twst!au

bully!au ○

introduction to the cast

||Heartslabyul || Savanaclaw|| Octavinelle ||

you stand up to your bullies, an alter route in which you aren't always the victim.

cunnning!reader

vil meets you once again after the depart of NRC, his bloodlust for you is all you can remember and so are his pretty hands around your throat.

getting choked (vil)

vil's obsession further explained during NRC years.

high school causes (vil)

different scenarios with alter egos of you and some of the bully!cast.

alter egos of reader

idia and sebek nasty rambles nsfw-ish.

rambles (idia + sebek)

kalim treats you like entertainment prop and is mean about it.

rambles (kalim)

small thoughts about jamil who encourages kalim and being fake af.

rambles (jamil)

you leave campus for a long period of time due to being emotionally destroyed - believing disappearing would make everyone less angry. it doesn't.

reader disappearing for a couple of weeks + continuation with pettiness

fight back with words and actions that weren't thought through so well...

“hot-headed” reader

holiday or breaks, you aren't getting away from them so easily.

holidays and breaks

your little hobby gets interrupted by cay-cay who is all too happy to blackmail you into submission.

serial killer!reader (cater)

not so good for him.

grim in the bully!au

you give idia a boost of confidence with your terrible ideal image of yourself.

insecure and overthinking reader (idia)

1. anon rambles 2. anon rambles

twst cast reaction to the reading breaking and going numb.

reader going numb

deity!au ○

sugar daddy!au ○

paramour relationship + dorm leaders

asylum!au ○

introduction to the cast

character roles

The beginning of it all; working within the asylum and meeting your first patient.

Cure Me Doctor

college!au ○

rollo is your roommate who has a bad habit of stalking you outside and inside of campus, he learns to appreciate spending christmas with you.

Merry Christmas (rollo)

lmao

Deflowering a king (malleus)

office!au○

azul rejects you but you still have feelings for him even as you work under his business, drunk, you’re confessing once again.

Rejected by Azul thoughts

jamil likes that you like him, a little too much.

Yan!reader nsfw/jamil

the handsome coworker who weasels his way into your life.

Rambles (jamil)

cult!au ○

slasher!au ○

introduction to the cast

Introduction

vacation ruined by a storm, you take shelter in the middle of nowhere by a fine hunter, whose more interested in keeping you rather than letting you go.

Hand tonguing + slasher!rook

haunted house!au ○

halloween event fic + multiple chapters with spooky boys who want the keys and you.

event related to au

wild west!au

ai!au

laboratory!au

125 notes · View notes

tallyanimatez · 2 years

Text

So anyways um...@jackplushie LES PRETEND YOUR ASKED WAS HERE AND ANSWERED HEH-

Your call is heard!

Crowds.

You hated crowds.

Whether was it your social skills or your hatred for the people's wings? You have no clue, but the later option seems stronger.

However to scout for your next victims, it's inevitable that you have to blend yourself to the crowd and find your next target to sabotage in the race, and avoiding the ones that you're already done with. There's just this one-

"Hey Yuu! Wait for ol' Cay Cay will you?"

Feathers! Cater Diamond information:

Cater Diamond, you like to call him a social addict since he always rambling about recent trends or post everytime you meet to the point you always try to ignore him when he speaks up

He was one of your past target, you shot his wings with a sharp pointed arrow, which cause him to having a not-so-peaceful landing. That injury forced him to be outed from many race till he recovered again.

You're not to sure if Cater suspects you but it's better to not get involved with him, despite not having many connections than your other targets, he's still a big threat to your work and you're not looking forward to go to jail.

He always try to engage in a conversation with you, to even desperately trying to get small talks out of you, you just never cared to respond and stayed silent in hopes he'll leave you alone which take HOURS

Although he had made some remarks about your wings, probably hinting that he knows your secret. You heed no minds to those remarks as long as you disposed of every evidence, without proof, you're just a normal citizen

His intentions may have more of a deeper meaning, he always look at you with those...eyes. They're weird, creepy and makes your stomach churn everytime you feel those eyes lay on your body.

"I've had a feeling I've felt your presence somewhere during that fateful day, maybe we're destined for eachother! Come on, it won't hurt if you just say one word~~"

You always hoped to avoid him in the future

But you always see him more everyday

Some secrets need to be kept no matter the cost, right?

#YOU GUYS SAW NOTHING #twisted wonderland #twst wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst #twst requests #tallyphoning #twst x reader #twst x yuu #twst x you #twst x y/n #twisted wonderland x mc #cater x mc #cater x reader #feathers au

105 notes · View notes

icedmetaltea · 1 year

Note

hello hello! this is gonna be ramble-y, telling you that now

i use character.ai a lot but reading your posts about it has made me rethink using it. so ty for writing that! going to check pygmalionAI out - i hadn't known about the character.ai community & devs being so bad. also, how did you learn that the devs were bad if i may ask? i'd like to get more informed now regarding AI since it IS becoming a bigger thing; laws and precedents need to be established sooner rather than later

on another note! i ADORE your titan au! loved the iron giant as a kid and love the way you're designing it with Sun, Moon, and Eclipse! do you have any more crumbs to share about it? (no pressure though! /gen)

have a wonderful day/night OP!

Well I used CAI back in December, joined their subreddit, and it'd be kinda impossible to summarize everything I watched unfold since then since it was such an explosion of a community.

Here's a good quick breakdown vid:

youtube

(ok for some reason the link isn't working for me so uhh just paste "Character dot AI and the controversy around it." into youtube)

This is a good written resource that has links and screenshots for all the info therein: https://rentry.org/CAInews

It's important to be informed about these kinda things so good on you!

Also thank you so much! ^-^ I don't really have too much info on the au since I haven't toyed with it that much, but I'd like to draw Sun and Moon since thus far I've only done Eclipse.

I've seen one or two people say that it'd be fun if Sun used to be like primarily a medical bot but got reprogrammed when the war picked back up, so I'm wondering if maybe he has some sort of medical logo somewhere on his chest/arms under a thick coating of paint.

He feels sort of embarrassed about it when y/n finds out (I suppose time has withered the paint and the cracks show through) because after a while, since after centuries of bloodshed humanity is like on the verge of extinction and yet unwilling to let their violence go, war was the only thing he knew.

Eclipse is neither good nor bad, he just exists to cause destruction lol. Specifically to end the Titan war, but since it's long over and the "bad side" as he's programmed to see it no longer exists, it's the only logical solution to re-focus his attention on destroying humanity.

Of course, this all pulls to a halt when Sun and Moon come back into the picture (and no I have no idea how they'd all miraculously re-animate at the same time 😂) Maybe either y/n is able to find some sort of on-twitch of a kind, like a power core that automatically powers on all the titans even in their long-dormant state, or Eclipse actually decides to spare humanity because y/n wants him to (who can resist those big pleading eyes honestly) and maybe because humanity just seems so... frail these days. Not at all the powerful armies that he remembers, therefore no challenge. Then he once again refocuses his attention on fixing Sun and Moon just so he can fight them.

#Answer tag #Metaltea Talks #storysiren #ai #character.ai #drama #Titan au #*gives siren a glowing green orb*#ifirehfuerfie au in which giant murder robots realize they have war trauma #and work to resolve it after nearly destroying each other a few times

12 notes · View notes

tobuo · 1 year

Text

oh also!!!! i know ive been going as cai for a little while now but i think im gonna swap back to spelling it as a kai so !!! please call me kai again lol (ramble why under the cut)

i mostly swapped to a C because it looked nicer and its the same initial as my legal name so if ppl sent me stuff i didn't out my birth name or have my family be like uhhhhh who is kai ??? because i could post is as "C. SURNAME" but ngl i've been super anxious (ridiculously bc its a stupid reason lol) that ppl have been pronouncing it like KAY and not KAI like in CAIRO?? so lol

anyway im gonna go back to kai and if u send me something in the mail and i ask u to address it with a C initial pls just pretend u saw nothing

#gonna be reblogging this for a lil while so everyone can see!!!

4 notes · View notes

hamliet · 2 years

Note

I don’t want to offend anyone but I can’t understand why you said Mel is biphobic ? Lindsay never said she’s bi, she said she’s lesbian but imo you definitely don’t fit the Label if you’ve sex with men / are attracted to men unless you feel forced to do so (if anything Lindsay’s comment can actually be hurtful to the Lesbian community because some women fight for the right of being attracted to women only). That’s why I think her sexuality is much more bi than anything else.

I can see your point, but I don't think it's so black and white. But it is complex and there's a lot of nuance needed, so... I kind of rambled? Hope that's okay! Also, it's fiction, so arguing about a fictional character's sexuality has a weird feeling to it.

That said, I called Mel's reaction biphobic because she does freak out that Lindsay was with a man specifically, and I know many bi people were offended by that. But, well, words and labels are--

See, labels are general categories that help us communicate and figure ourselves out, but labels aren't perfect. No word or words can capture every unique experience, and that's just one of the limits of language. This applies to sexuality, gender identity, and a whole host of issues.

For example, there are people who discover their sexuality later in life. Plenty of people grow up in environments where they can't even consider the idea that they might not be straight without associating it with extreme stress/hellfire/whatever, and so shut off that part of them. Later, when they're in a healthier place, they realize "oh shit, I've actually never been sexually attracted to men; I just thought I had to do this, but I never enjoyed sex. I never even knew what sexual attraction was until I met her." (I know people IRL for whom this is their story.) Because they had sex with men earlier in their lives, does that make them not a valid lesbian?

There are also people who wonder "what if" and are curious, only to realize no, actually, that's not really for me. That is fine. Exploration isn't inherently a bad thing. Yes, many people are certain of their identity from the start, but others aren't for various reasons, and that's okay. People often frame equality in binary terms, and while I get why we do that--again, language, aligning with the familiar helps communicate--I don't think it's the be-all-end-all of experience.

Also, then we have gender identity, which is itself divided weirdly and not nearly so binary as we might think. Not even just with nonbinary folks, but with those who identify as women, it's a rainbow! Trans women, intersex women with CAIS or any other syndrome... they don't always fit the binary. Caster Semenya, for example, is an intersex woman athlete married to a woman. I believe she identifies as a lesbian. She is, but then you have TERFs and conservatives arguing that she isn't because x,y,z, hormone levels and blah blah blah, and that's just... awful and unfair. There are plenty of genetic conditions and factors we don't even know about, and diseases that can affect hormones, and more. Does that make you not something you've always been, if suddenly you get Cushing's or your PCOS acts up and hormones go wild?

I just have 0 interest in policing peoples' identities because labels are the best way we have to communicate currently, but they are flawed and limited by language's limits (time periods, scopes, etc.--no word can cover every experience). Whatever someone says they are, if they like, actually mean it and aren't trolling or using it to hurt someone, I'll call them that. It doesn't do me any good to be like "hey, you're not actually what you say you are." So that's why I said that, but I do understand why people call her bi and don't think it's like, inherently wrong or a sign anyone's a bad person!

Do I think that if the show were made today, or if Lindsay was a real human being who was alive today, she might consider herself bisexual? Yeah! I think she well might. I think the show in general doesn't acknowledge bisexuality, and that's a major flaw of it. But insofar as what she identified as on the show, she calls herself a lesbian, so I don't personally care to call her anything else. But again, fiction, so you do you.

#ask hamliet #qaf #lindsay peterson

2 notes · View notes

seokmattchuus · 1 year

Note

Hi! I’m a totally different anon. I don’t think it made Matthew look bad but I am certain it was INTENDED to make him look bad. This was a very clear example of mnet making up bullshit, asking very leading questions and editing in a very nasty way (with their stupid slowmos and close ups).

The way people could interpret it badly (and definitely how mnet intended it to be taken) is that Matthew was trying to take over while Hanbin was out of the room, that he was essentially trying to be the leader even though Hanbin was the actual leader (that Matthew wanted to be the leader and was ignoring what the group had ‘chosen’ because he’s selfish/greedy/a bad teammate). Like if you look at the subtitles they really emphasize ‘when leader hanbin leaves for a second, Matthew takes over’ and then having hanbin be like ‘he was leader last time and he obviously wants to be leader again’ makes it seem like matthew is trying to take control. Also the zoom in on hanbin’s face when he comes back in and the continued cuts to them talking bts combined with the earlier zoom in on matthews half hand raise when they were picking leader was meant to make it way more dramatic than it probably was.

and then having hanbin reasonably explain his teaching method and show Matthew doing the same thing over again right after only to have hanbin interrupt and then have Matthew ask to be sub leader (which I did think was weird because that’s not really a thing but Matthew was kind of awkward and was clearly just trying to help plus there are a lot of them). And the way they edited the end part of the scene made it look like Matthew just ignored everything hanbin said and that hanbin was frustrated. And maybe he was but it’s not this big problem mnet is trying to make it seem like and I doubt they actually argued or fought over it. But the editing was intended to make Matthew seem unreasonable and like he wasn’t listening to hanbin even though hanbin was the leader, like he was trying to take over and lead specifically because he thought it would make him look better.

I think Matthew was honestly just trying to help, especially since they three people he was working with were not exactly known for their dancing skills or they were less experienced. It’s easy for people to overlook that takuto was asking for help and take it like Matthew was just trying to take over (ignoring that the other half of the group was just doing their own thing so it wasn’t like he tried to lead everyone the second hanbin left like mnet implied)

Sorry this was long and ramble-y but I found the whole thing really irritating and awkward and I’m even more annoyed that it worked and people have been hating on Matthew because they think hanbin can do no wrong and MUST be annoyed/upset because of Matthew given how mnet edited it. But even if that were actually the case that is stupid because if hanbin was frustrated the way a good leader handles it is to take that person aside and talk to them but no instead hanbin is under attack by Matthew (his best friend?) and must be defended by jerks online who chose to say nasty things about Matthew despite loving him previously BECAUSE he’s friends with hanbin

I probably sound like a broken record but with the whole "greedy/selfish" bit, it doesn't add up because it was a whole group. It can't even be painted to be like that?

As for the sub-leader, it makes sense. I can remember that these missions always had two leaders because it's a lot of people. Even in some kpop groups (onf, treasure, svt, exo when they first debuted) like, it's not that uncommon. Though I think they did only had one leader to avoid another cai bing/dayeon type of situation (though mnet created that situation on their own)

I agree that everyone thinks hanbin is just a little angel who is just so pretty and perfect and how dare anyone do anything to him. I think people just saw that mnet was wanting this guys to be center and people were on board. I remember seeing on twt how some people are only voting for him so he can be the first person to rank 1st consecutively, even people that don't watch the show. Honestly, I don't even see how he got k-center. We didn't see a nomination or a "proving myself" part. We were just told who the centers were (which backs up the mnet pushing) But for me, it's pretty backwards. I'm okay with hanbin because he's matthew's friend, but hanbin never stood out to me for me to feel any type of connection to him. He blew up for waacking but that's more of a special talent than anything that screams "debut this man right now." I definitely think pretty privilege had a hand in all this.

All in all, everything I hear about how this made matthew look bad just doesn't make sense to me because when you look at the whole situation, the editing makes no damn sense??? Also, don't be sorry for rambling!! I rarely get a lot of interactions/asks so hearing what people think is actually really nice :)

#anon #anyways - hashtag savematthew #boys planet #boys planet problems

1 note · View note

jsvjbmh · 1 year

Text

His Little Deer Wife is Very Fierce

Some spoilers as usual Just finished this one today ^^ (By the time this gets posted it has already been some days). I quiet enjoyed it, but it felt like that at the end of the novel it realized "Oh wait, there is a problem that needs to be solved. Let's do that in the last 3 chapters or so".

The novel has 56 chapters + 3 extras. Even though the first extra is just a repeat of some of the earlier chapters? I have no clue why.. Anyways, it's a story about Lu Rong and Shen Jize (I had to look up his name..). It has a couple of time skips (I didn't count the ones where they are like: "A couple days/months later" or "The following days".

The first part is about when Lu Rong is 4 years old. The story starts immediately with how Lu Rong and his caretaker had to escape from something. You get to know why he gets separation angst and doesn't believe the words: "Wait here, I'll come back. I have business to do".

Then we skip 4 years where Lu Rong is 8 years old and meet the 11 (if I'm not mistaken) year old Shen Jize. This is where you get to see them grow to each other. I found it lovely. But at this point it doesn't really mention again about why Lu Rong and his caretaker got chased :'). It just happened.

A lot of stuff happens and I'm not going to explain them al (I tried and deleted it again, because I made it sound so bad so I don't wanna accidently make someone lose interest in reading the novel). But I do wanna mention that at the end of the novel they were like: "Oh, the caretaker can still be saved" and when they did it was like "Ok, now defeat this demon thing called Candlelight". I think those things were done in three chapters?

There is also a part in the story where the uncle of Shen Jize leaves and says something along the lines of: "Ok Shen Jize, you stay here with Grandpa Cai and I'll pick you up a couple of days later. Got work business to do". Where Lu Rong is thinking along the lines of: "Oh, Shen Jize is getting dumped by his uncle". But a couple days later the uncle does come back and Lu Rong is like: "?? Didn't you throw him away? What's this?".

I'm not the greatest in explaining stuff, gotta remind myself that that was not even the purpose of me making this blog. I just wanna ramble.

Feels like I nag about a story a lot as well. But I finished this novel in two days, so I definitely liked it ^^. If I don't like a story or feel bored, there is low change that I manage to finish it :').

Now, I gotta try and find something new to read

#His Little Deer Wife is Very Fierce #Couldn't find the abbreviation for this one...

0 notes

ristoranteivorykeys · 2 years

Text

i don’t want this juliet of a tragedy – oneshot

in which cater diamond gifts you a pair of running shoes that you were eyeing cater diamond x reader

╰┈➤ 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: hiii!! it just turned 12am in japan, so happy birthday to cater! i wanted to write this piece after getting hit by inspiration one day. this piece is based on romeo & cinderella by doriko~ i hope you enjoy the read! this will be under the cut with how long this is. ╰┈➤ 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: @mcdonaldsnumberone for being one of my closest friends and biggest cater simps i know!

“Hey hey hey, if it isn’t my cute little Romeo~!”

A familiar perky voice causes you to jump in your seat, startling you out of your reading. You hastily put your book down and whip your head to meet a familiar third year with his iconic diamond make up entering the classroom. “C-Cater! Don’t scare me like that! And why are you calling me Romeo? That’s not my name.”

“Ahaha sorry, can’t help it,” Cater scratched the back of his head as he flashed a sheepish smile. “Besides, didn’t you say you like being Romeo?”

“W-well...” You trail off, facing away from the Heartslabyul student. A mixture of embarrassment and giddiness bubbles in your chest. “I... I didn’t think you’d remember that...”

“‘Course I do,” he says with a wink as he takes a seat beside you. “That smile you got when you rambled to me about Romeo and Juliet was so bright, it can outshine a diamond sky~!”

“E-eh?” Your breath hitches in your throat.

“It was so worth taking a pic of, but I didn’t wanna interrupt you,” he continues in his perky voice. “It was so cute watching you rave about how you wished to be Romeo especially in the balcony scene where he wanted to find Juliet again. The way you talk about wanting to find someone you love that much that you’d do absolutely anything for them really got me, y’know~?”

“A–” Your tongue feels knotted, and your cheeks warm up. The fast thrumming of your heart reaches your ears, going ba-bum ba-bum ba-bum as it plays the rhythm of the song of your feelings. Damn it Cater and that easygoing smile paired with those flowery words. “Please forget about that! That was embarrassing.”

Yet you know you’re not being completely honest. Embarrassment may have plopped its weight in your stomach, but butterflies flutter happily inside as well. This boy you’re so hopelessly in love with remembers the story that you love, and a part of you wants him to know that you want to do absolutely anything for him.

He laughs, and you swear his laugh outshines the afternoon sunlight shining from the window. “Aww, stop that, you’re being too cute right now, y'know that?” He ruffles your hair, and you immediately duck away.

“S-stop it, Cater,” you exclaim as you try to mask the way his calling you cute caused your heart to beat faster. “What are you doing here, anywa–”

But just as you turn to face him once more, you stop mid-sentence. One hand hides behind his back, as if holding onto something. You raise a brow. “Cater, what’s that you’re hiding?”

“Eh?” Cater’s mirthful smile falters for a moment. “What are you talking about~?”

You aim a pointed look at him. “You’re not good at hiding, Cater. Come on.”

His shoulders slacken as he sighed. “Ahh, little Romeo’s too good~,” he says in a mock sulking tone. “And Cay-cay had a whole speech prepared too. But anyway...”

He pulls out a shoebox from behind and sets it on the table in front of you. Its cover shines red like the paint on his diamond, and it boasts of a logo that causes your eyes to widen from recognition.

“No way, that has to be fake,” you say.

“You really think I’m that broke,” Cater asks playfully. “But come on, open it up~!”

You stare at the box for a second longer before holding it and pulling it towards you. Slowly, you take off the cover, your eyes never peeling away from the brand logo. A gasp escapes your lips as you see what’s inside the box.

“Oh my Great Seven, this is not real,” you utter in disbelief. The cover falls from your hands and hits the floor with a clack, and if this was an anime, your jaw would have dropped the same way.

Cater silently watches as you pick up the pair of light blue shoes with white accents. Its laces are slightly darker than the base color of the shoe. Its underside curves much more than most shoes. Your hands shake, and your gaze trembles as you hold them in your hands/

“I... I always wanted these running shoes,” you speak in a quivering voice. “How did you know?”

“Well duh, I follow you on Magicam,” he answers. “You posted about wanting these one time.”

“But... but why,” you ask as you face him. “What for? It’s not my birthday or anything.”

“Ehh, can’t Cay-cay give his Romeo a gift,” he asks with a shrug, as if your question sounds almost nonsensical. “We have unbirthday parties, so why not gift giving for no reason?”

“I... I guess.”

“And after all...” Cater’s face melts into a smile. It’s one that you never seen before. It’s not a smile that aims to please people, whether it’s the follower count or the students. It’s genuine, it’s soft, it takes your breath away.

“You wanted those shoes.” His voice is just as soft as his smile, traces of his usual perkiness gone. “So I wanted to get them for you.”

No words comes out of you.

How do you breathe, you almost ask yourself as you gaze at Cater’s smile and repeat his words in your mind. Why does he always make your heart beat so much, why does he charm you like so? At this moment, the feelings harboring in your heart pound endlessly, wanting to be set free and be known to him. But you don’t let them come out. Not yet. Not everything.

Step by step. You’ll tell him in little steps.

You put down the shoes in your hands and move closer to Cater. The third year gasps and stiffens as you wrap your arms around him, holding him with the care of how you would hold glass. “Thanks, Cater.”

His green eyes tremble slightly from the shock of the embrace for a few more moments. Soon, he holds you close to him, his expression melting from shock to contentment. “You’re welcome.”

Neither of you make a move to break out of the hug. You relish in the shared heat between the two of you, imprinting the feel of his waist in your arms. Perhaps your guard is lowered, or perhaps your emotions are taking over for just a bit, but you speak, breaking the silence between the two of you.

“... Hey Cater.”

“Hm?”

“Do you know why I like those shoes?”

“Mmm...” He hums for a bit. “Nope, why?”

“Because I want to run to the person I love like how Romeo ran to find Juliet,” you say. “But I don’t want to run to a tragedy. I want to chase for a happy ending with the person I love like how the prince chased the Glass-Shoed Princess. Even if that person will travel to all the ends of the world, I want to keep on running until I can have my happy ending with them.”

I know you live with a family that moves around a lot, you say in your mind, the part that you can’t say yet. And so I want to run after you even if you graduate because I want to be with you, Cater.

Cater gasps. The sound causes you to stiffen in worry, and you pull away, catching a glimpse of his surprised expression. “Did, uh, did I say something wrong,” you ask nervously.

“A-ah, not at all,” he says with a dismissive wave, a smile returning to his face. “I actually think that what you said was really beautiful! Definitely something I’d like to see on a quote image on Magicam!”

Tension leaves your shoulders as you sigh in relief. “That’s good to hear.”

“Anyways, I gotta go,” Cater says as he stands up, his perkiness returning. “Riddle’s gonna be really mad at me if I’m late for the next study session we have together, after all~.”

“Ahaha yeah, we don’t want a return of the red rose tyrant,” you say jokingly, masking the disappointment upon having to say goodbye. “Take care, Cater.”

“Will do~. Enjoy the shoes too,” he says while flashing a peace sign and a wink. “See ya~.”

“Bye, Cater!” You wave at him as he exits the classroom. As his orange hair and animated way of walking disappear, you place a hand on your chest, feeling your pounding heart and swirling emotions.

With the quiet click of the closing door, Cater leans on the wood. He takes a look at his phone once more, smiling at the picture of a cute cafe and liking a selfie of a Heartslabyul student.

Then he turns it off and pockets his phone. He slides down to the floor, sitting with his knees against his chest. The smile he wore earlier falls, replaced with a more forlorn gaze that looks around the room, from his emoji pillows to his desktop.

He sighs as he pulls out his pen. A glow emits from the gemstone.

“Split Card,” he says in a monotonous voice, and in a flash, a person who looks exactly like him appears. The other person appears happier, wearing the trademark smile that people know him for.

“So Cay-cay, how’d giving those shoes go,” the copy asks him.

“Well,” a small smile makes its way onto Cater’s face, “it went well. In fact, it went a little too well.”

“Ehhh, but aren’t you happy about what they said,” the copy asks with a tilt of his head. “Isn’t this what you always wanted? Someone who’d care about you this much to chase you to the ends of the world?”

“Mmm...” The smile fades away. The forlorn look returns. “Yeah... but it’s pretty cruel.”

“Eh? How so?”

“They’re gonna be gone eventually, just like everyone else,” he says, his gaze facing the ceiling. “I hate promises that can’t be kept.”

Silence enters the room. He can hear the breathing of his clone from where he sits. Breathing, yet not real, only a figment of his imagination made physical by the magical bippity boppity boo.

“... If you think they’re gonna be gone eventually, then why are you still hoping,” the clone asks. “You and I both know that you didn’t just give those shoes because they wanted them. You still want someone to save you from your tragedy, don’t you?”

Cater smiles. It’s no happy smile. “You’re right. I’m still hoping. And it hurts.”

#twisted wonderland #twst #cater diamond #twst x reader

121 notes · View notes

huntertherapyeras · 2 years

Text

a little autistic marcy fic inspired by @titanhood's ask, which said, "Mayyyybe… a happy one could be that Marcy feels ashamed that they infodump so much, so they try to stop, but Anne and/or Sasha notice and find ways to encourage them and let them know that they love hearing them talk about their passions.":D

i'm not 100% sure if this completely fit the prompt, but i did enjoy writing it! a lot! thank you for the idea, cay!!!!

Despite what other people may think, Marcy is not oblivious. Reading social cues has never come naturally for them, not like it seems to for Anne and Sasha and pretty much everyone else. But they can be observant, sometimes. And when your people ignore your ramblings about things you love time and time again, you eventually begin to realize that they aren’t actually as interested as you thought. But Anne and Sasha did try. They really did. Probably harder than Marcy deserved. Much harder than their parents did, at least. They let them ramble on and on some days. And sometimes, they even listened.

Marcy never thought to ask for more than that, even if it did sting sometimes, the way even they would sometimes lose interest.

As a child, Marcy wore their heart on their sleeve. They felt everything, it seemed, ten times stronger than everyone else. This could be a good and a bad thing. Good feelings felt so, so good. These feelings would consume Marcy entirely. The only way Marcy knew how to let it out most days was through movement. Spinning, bouncing, wiggling, humming. It was like soaring through the sky, that feeling. Like going supernova.

Marcy does not like to think about the other feeling. The feeling of not being understood. The soul sucking emptiness of loneliness and despair – comparable to a black hole. Since their death and subsequent possession, that feeling has become much more common. It’s an exhausting feeling, only fed by the things that the core tortured them with while they had no control of their body.

It’s been a long time since they’ve felt that carefree joy in its full capacity.

It’s a surprise, when Anne and Sasha drag them out of their cave one day to go to the movies. The film adaption of the first Cynthia Coven book just came out. They’d wanted to go, initially. But between physical therapy, school, and needing more sleep than usual for whatever reason (Not Depression.), they just hadn’t made it out yet.

So here they were. Since it was just the movies and they would spend most of their time sitting, Marcy decided to forgo their rollator. There were seats at the theater anyway, they reasoned. So, date money in hand and hidden drinks in Anne’s backpack, they went to the movies. Marcy didn’t have high hopes for this movie. All too often, movie adaptations were a real letdown. Marcy much preferred their own vivid imagination to a bunch of boring actors who probably didn’t even live up to their roles.

Despite this, Marcy can’t help but get sucked in. They stare at the screen avidly the entire movie, occasionally grabbing onto SashAnne’s arms to make sure they are paying attention during the exciting parts. The quips are funny, the acting is good, and the cinematography is beautiful.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t fully follow the plot. Which does bother Marcy quite a bit.

“How’d you like the movie, Marshmallow?” Anne asked as they left the theater, ruffling Marcy’s hair with fingers covered in butter.

“It was. Good.” Marcy says, looking down at the floor – partially to ensure they don’t trip, but also because –

“C’mon, Mar. I know that you have more to say than that. It’s your favorite book, dude.”

Marcy bites their lip, “Well, the effects were good. The acting could was good too.”

“And?”

“... They didn’t follow the plot. Entirely.”

“Really?” Sasha asks.

Anne gently pokes their shoulder, “C’mon, Marcy. Tell us how you really feel.”

Marcy takes a deep breath.

“Well, if you really want to know–it drove me crazy that they took out the scene where Cynthia meets–”

And they’re off. Unbeknownst to Marcy, whose gaze is still locked on the ground in an effort to not trip over the obnoxious movie theater carpet, whose hands are dancing in the air, Sasha and Anne lock eyes and give each other a conspiratorial grin. They’ll get their passionate Marcy back, one infodump at a time.

#autistic marcy wu #disabled marcy wu #amphibia #amphibia fanfiction #aster.exe #titanhood #op

39 notes · View notes

fairestwriting · 3 years

Text

title: to admire from afar

summary: Cater and Lee — Cater, mostly — come up with a plan to get them to talk to Rook again, but once they’re in Pomefiore, going through with it proves itself to be even more difficult than they initially thought it’d be...

word count: 2352

commissioned by @curiousdandelion ! kinda a sequel to the previous one? either way i hope you enjoyed it, also available on ao3 here !

if you’re interested in my commissions too, guidelines are here!

Cater’s eyes go wide, sparkling like a kid walking by a toy store.

“You’re actually gonna do it?”

“Don’t yell it like that!” Lee protests, voice high pitched as they toss a pillow at Cater’s face, received with an oof as it hits him. “I j-just thought… since he knows I was the one giving him the gifts, it’d be weirder if I didn’t say anything.”

“Aw, look at you, you’ve come so far!” Cater cheers, holding the pillow on his lap, rocking back and forth a little on the bed. Lee sighs, shoulders dropping. They regret hanging out with their friends, sometimes. “You gotta invite me to the wedding!”

“There’s not gonna be one! Just… I wanna have a conversation with him… b-but I don’t know how to approach him again, so I need your help.” Cater stares at them with that huge grin, and Lee wishes there was another pillow to throw. “Stop looking at me like that! I’m just gonna ask Lilia for help if you keep doing it.”

“Okay, okay, sorry.” The redhead says, grin still on, Lee knows him well enough to be aware that means he’s not, and they pout. “I mean, I could get an excuse for you to go to Pomefiore? And then you can like, ‘run into him’ and make some small talk?”

“Mmh…” Lee looks down at the mattress, face feeling warm. “But what do I say? If I mess up he’s gonna think I’m weird.”

“Oh, come on, it’s Rook. He’s like, the weirdest guy around here.” Cater’s eyes roll. “I bet he won’t even let you say like, two words before he goes into a ramble about the beauty of Pomefiore’s garden or something.”

A huff leaves Lee. “He’s not weird…” They mutter, meaning to only be heard by themselves, but of course that doesn’t work out the way they want, the universe is hellbent on embarrassing them now.

Cater stops to stare. The heat on their face flares up further. What? He’s not that weird! He’s just— It’s just that—

“Damn, you’re in deep, huh?” Cater laughs, but he hops forward, swinging an arm over Lee. “But don’t worry! Cupid Cay-kun’s gonna help you, Lee! And then, you’re gonna have to invite me to that wedding.” He says, leaning over with a grin.

Lee opens their mouth to say something, but then ends up just sighing, not knowing if they’re coming out of this interaction defeated or not.

Of course it was all a mess. But a part of them feels hopeful now — Recalling the smile Rook had given them when they placed the box into his hands, shaking like a leaf, blinded like they’d been staring straight into the sun at midday.

Lee’s heart beats fast. They wanted that to work out, of course. Thinking of anything further than brief interactions was far too intimidating for now, but… maybe, even they could go that far, if they took the baby steps required to get there first.

. . .

The cool, springlike wind of the Pomefiore dorm’s gardens blows across them, Lee’s bangs swaying along with it, they take cautious steps through that emerald green grass as Cater leads the way, a spring on his step.

“Uugh, Cater, I don’t think this is a good idea.” They grumble as they walk by the gates, stepping into that unknown territory. “Y-Y’know, maybe I should talk to him in class first? Or something…”

“You can’t really talk in class, though.” Cater says, looking back at them. “Like, you can’t have a conversation, ‘cause the teachers are so strict. Unless you get there super early and he does too, and what’s the chance of that happening?”

“Okay, yeah, but how am I gonna pretend it’s a coincidence I’m here?” They argue, pulling at their blazer’s sleeve to show off the ribbon tied around their arm. “I’m in Savanaclaw! I’m not a dorm or club leader, I don’t even have a good reason to be here, he’s gonna know I’m here to try to talk to him and he’s gonna think it’s weird.” They lament, and Cater rolls his eyes.

But he doesn’t get it, really — Pomefiore is a scary place. Or, well, not exactly scary, they wouldn’t say they’re afraid of it, Lee thought it was actually pretty pleasant, the garden was pretty and the weather was nice, but everything looked so sparkly, so eye-catching it made you afraid you’d walk into a tree because you kept staring at something else.

Pomefiore students had that aura too. And with that rivalry between it and Savanaclaw, can you blame Lee for feeling like they’re gonna be eaten alive here? It’s somehow wilder-feeling than the sprawling savannah of their dorm, it still carried a homey feeling and had this sort of easygoingness to it. You could sit down under a tree and relax under the sun back there.

“Now, where is Rook…”

Here, though? The competition is constant and barely hidden, sugar-coated. In Savanaclaw, if you had a problem with someone, you’d just duke it out and whoever wins takes everything, by dinnertime it was all settled. Maybe you’d be bitter about it if you lost, but that just means you’d have to try harder to win next time. In Pomefiore, nothing is straightforward like this, battles were about status, you needed to one-up your opponents in what you were, instead of what you did.

...and they also had people like Vil Schoenheit. And Vil Schoenheit just sort of instantly made them feel bad about themselves, especially regarding the stuff with—

“Oh, Vil’s there! Lemme ask him where Rook is.”

Lee’s blood runs cold instantly, Cater’s chime a sharp jab to the thought bubble that had formed around their head, popping it just like that.

Looking up from the grass, Lee sees Vil himself, sitting at a table with a textbook and a teacup, in all of his glory.

Their eyes widen, they reach for Cater to hold him back. “Wait, Cater don’t—”

But he doesn’t listen, of course he doesn’t — Cater runs a couple steps ahead, ready to bring forth the disaster, and in a hop, calls for the man Lee is sure could kill them. “Hey, Vil! What’s up!”

Vil barely looks up from the book, eyes narrowing as soon as he detects Cater.

“Are you insane?” Lee screeches at their friend, grabbing at his arm in a failed attempt to pull him back. “There’s no way we’re gonna make it look like a coincidence if you ask Vil, and he’s...”

Oh no, here he is, walking towards them, Lee should have known this wouldn’t be a good idea at all—

“What are the two of you doing here?” Vil’s voice, imposing as always, enters the scene, stilling every other aspect of it. Lee feels the color draining from their face. “Diamond, and…”

“Um, Lee Daystar.” Lee mutters. Vil stares at them intently, taking in every detail from head to toe, like he’s searching for defects on them.

“You know where Rook is? Lee’s covering for Ruggie on an errand so we needed to talk to him!” Cater speaks, and… well, that’s a smart excuse, actually, but still…!

“Leona keeps pushing his tasks on you, I see.” He sighs, arms crossing. “I’m pretty sure he went hunting or… whatever he does when he’s gone.” Eyes narrowing again, he seems to be deep in thought for a moment. “Is it anything you need to deliver to him? You can leave with me.”

“Oh, no, we just gotta discuss something with him! Right, Lee?”

Cater looks at Lee with a smile, tilting his head towards them. Lee doesn’t know if their instincts are telling them to just run away from that place or bonk Cater on the head so hard he’d never have an idea that had them in a situation like this again.

Vil, meanwhile, has clearly noticed there’s something going on there, if the way he furrows his immaculately done brows at them means anything. Lee just swallows dryly.

Oh, Seven, why them?

“R-Right!” Lee bites out, avoiding to look directly at Vil.

“Right.” The model repeats, continuing to eye Lee up and down — Really, why did he have to be like this? Why did things have to be like this in general? Lee wishes they’d gotten a crush on someone that wasn’t Rook Hunt. “...are you sure that’s really what you’re here for? You’re getting a suspicious look on your face, Cater.”

“Ehh, what do you mean?” Cater giggles, swinging back and forth on his feet, and, yeah, this is a disaster.

They definitely weren’t leaving a good impression on Vil, now, and just the thought makes them cringe — Wouldn’t that kind of be a requirement if they wanted to get along with Rook? They did seem very close…

They really looked close, now that they thought about it. Was there anything going on between them? The thought definitely doesn’t help all the anxiety coiling in Lee’s stomach, already, turning it into a sickly feeling now. If that was the case, then they really had no chance with Rook at all…

Because… well. There’s a gap between them — Vil and Lee, and Vil and everybody else, really — that no one could deny. Vil was a whole model and actor, a dorm leader and insanely skilled sorcerer, he had all these things going on for him, not to mention he carried a sort of elegance that made every other student in school look graceless in comparison.

It’s not like Lee thinks they’re particularly bad looking or anything, but… it’s Vil Schoenheit. He wasn’t anywhere near him in any level of being, and if Rook had any sort of interest in Vil, that just meant he definitely wouldn’t have any interest in them.

And it’s not like they had much of a chance from the beginning, but—

“Salut! Roi du Poison, Monsieur Magicam!” And of course, because everything needed to get worse, Rook’s voice echoes into the scenario, coming from afar but growing closer as he runs towards them, hopping into the conversation like that. “Oh? And Petite Lapin as well, what a pleasure to see you!”

A wide smile spreads across his face as he extends a hand for Lee to shake, and — Oh no, he looks good, way too good for someone who seemed to be rolling around on grass, leaves all over his uniform .

They feel like they’re going to burst into flames already. It never ends, huh?

“Y-Yeah, you too!” Lee replies, their hand on his politely, watching every movement of the shake like they can’t believe it, they could feel their heartbeat in their throat now—

“Seven, what were you doing that got all this dirt on your clothes?” Vil’s eyes widen, taking a step towards Rook immediately. “Didn’t I tell you to not go chasing anything in your dorm uniform? I swear…”

“Deepest apologies, Roi du Poison.” Rook chuckles. “It seems my enthusiasm got the better of me once more.”

“Believe me, I can see that.”

...and, great. Lee gets that sinking feeling now.

Vil glares at Rook, but it’s not that glare you usually see on him. There’s something a bit softer to it, whatever that was had been, without a doubt, what led him to approaching the hunter like that, batting the dirt off his uniform like it would do much of anything.

Lee’s posture shrinks a bit. Ugh. They had no chance, did they? They should’ve known this wouldn’t work out as they wanted, but they had the gall to come here like this and everything…

“Oh, but you would have understood why I ended up like this, if you were in my situation!” Rook responds, cheerful as ever, and Cater glances at Lee in vague concern now. Lee is just about to tug at his sleeve in a silent plea to go back, but the hunter suddenly shoots them a look. “You see, I was actually looking for you now, Petite Lapin. Since you’ve given me that gift, I had been looking for something that could match the gesture, you see!”

And now Lee’s heart stops.

“You— You what?” They stutter clumsily, the hunter skips away from the ministrations of Vil, approaching Lee in a way that would have had them recoiling if it wasn’t for the shock. “Um, you really didn’t have to, it was just…”

“Please, it was a lovely gift, I couldn’t let a gesture so kind go without a response, non?” Bright green eyes, like that pristine, fantasy-like greenery of the Pomefiore dorm, stare straight into Lee’s, and from behind his back, Rook suddenly pulls out a hand they hadn’t noticed he was hiding, holding onto a flower. “I had been wondering what to give you in return when I came across this flower. Do you know what it means, Petite Lapin?”

“Um.” Lee stutters, the flower placed on their hands carefully, they hold it like it was the most fragile thing in the world. It seemed similar to a hibiscus, about as large as their palm, but sporting two petal colors instead of just one — A side in stark white, the other in pale pink. “N-No, I don’t think I do.”

“To give someone a hibiscus means to acknowledge their delicate beauty. I would still like to give you something more in return, but coming across that flower, especially with the petals reminding me of you… I had to get it, despite the trouble I had in the way.”

He chuckles, that smile still so bright.

“R-Right! Thank you so much, it’s…” A nervous laugh leaves them, their other hand hovering over the flower they held, not fully believing they held it. “...wow. I don’t even know what to say. And, um, I’m happy you liked my gift, I really thought it suited you…”

Exchanging smiles with Rook, Lee feels a sort of euphoria that hadn’t been fully known by them before. By their side, Cater grins, Vil stares.

...hey, maybe they did have a chance.

And in true Savanaclaw stubbornness, they’d be doing their best to reach their goal.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst oc #rook hunt #rook hunt x oc #cater diamond #vil schoenheit #lis writing #commissions tag

23 notes · View notes