#god the tags of this one are a trainwreck

[lock-my-feelings-in-a-jar]

[spider-man-2o99]

Just wanted to say that I have been thinking of you and pre-emptively empathizing with the nonsense you are no doubt being flooded with and the psychic damage it must be causing. Keep stanning the king ignore the weirdos <3

thankg u.,, i feel like ive been trapped in a fuckign . Torture Labyrinth these past coupl days . but. wwe will. We Will Yet Persist onwards w/ our hand on the left wall till we;re either out or at the center i swear 2 fucking GOD,

[trashlie]

ILY FP 201 and 202

I never had a chance last week to getting around to talking about FP 201 even though I really wanted to, and I’m kind of glad for it, because it ties so neatly together with 202. I’m not sure if our flashback arc ends here or not, and part of me feels like I should wait until we finally return to the present, but I’m never good at that and I like to lay down my thoughts while they remain fresh, if I can, especially in regards to this flashback. For something that has spanned so many episodes, we really were thrown a lot of information in these last episodes. I mean, in general, I think this whole arch has been a ride, and it’s been full of details we either never knew or were wrong about all along, and I have really enjoyed that aspect. But I cannot lie: episodes 200 and 201 were SO, SO HARD for me to read. I was dreading coming up on episode 200, but to tell you the truth, 201 hit me even harder. 

Something about the way we opened, with Shinae laying so helpless and broken, with the bird we’ve seen before in her dream flying away from her and her empty eyes; her wish to be like a bird and take flight (PARALELLS!), the fact that no one had even called for help that her teacher had to come along and find her?!, the way even! after! a fall! she still apologized and tried to hold it together TRIED SO HARD TO BE THE PERSON SHE THOUGHT EVERYONE NEEDED HER TO BE! There’s something so well-done about the pacing - that moment of tranquil peace before the teacher’s appearance and the urgency, the shifting panels as Shinae is blacking out and the fear it instills, even knowing full well how it turns out. It’s SO well done to me! 

There was something that struck me so hard in that moment, that Shinae had yet to grow used to adults caring and respecting her feelings. It can’t have been an hour prior, in the timeline, that she was worried her homeroom teacher would get mad if she went to the math club meet and thought she had to sneak, was so stunned that the teacher apologized for her mistake. Coming from a place where she’d been bullied so badly the bully’s mom had attacked her, where no other teachers came forward or stepped in to stop it, and here she’s got two different teachers who all show concern for her and respect her, and how there’s something so very SAD about it being one such teacher who is the one to get her help, because no one else had.

What would have happened if she didn’t have a math meet to be at? What would have happened if she was just on cleaning duty? Who would have found her? 

The fragmented memories of Shinae in and out of consciousness, all of people who care about her, all jagged and out of focus. I absolutely lost it when Minhyuk burst in the way he did - Shinae came to this school in hopes of making friends, of fitting in, or at the very least not being bullied. She just wanted to have friends and not be seen as the weird kid or picked on and ostracized and in the end, it was only Minhyuk. Only he got to know her enough to care about her, only he was concerned about her. His savage, emotional outburst and that awful, true line: I’m the only damn kid in this entire school that cares about her. 

It’s no wonder present-day Minhyuk turned out the way he did. It’s something we knew already - that Minhyuk knew her back when it happened so yes he’s overprotective as a result, but it was still easy to take Dieter’s side, that Minhyuk needs to step back and let Shinae live her life. But the thing is, Minhyuk isn’t just overprotective in the way of a big brother who thinks he needs to fight a younger sister’s battles. Minhyuk is protective in the way of knowing that only HE cared about her, that only HE could see through the rumors and be the friend she needed, that only HE could see everything for what it was. It’s even worse when you consider that no one else knows of Alyssa’s involvement, or how Shinae even fell, what lead to it, that there are rumors everywhere that paint Shinae in the worst light, that at the end of the day no one else cared, except him. Minhyuk is overprotective in the way of a parent who thinks the only way to protect their child is to shield them, or to fight their battles for them. The day he was away, winning his competition, Shinae was left helpless with no one, not one single person, on her side, and given the fact that it seems like she never opened up about it, never once talked about it, it all makes perfect sense and puts everything into a better perspective.

Minhyuk finishing up classes early so he could take the first flight home he could because Shinae finally broke down and for presumably the first time, opened up about everything she was going through, all the struggles that were too heavy for her to bear, all the horrors she endured that she never should have. You can’t blame him for wanting her out of her job with the Hiraharas after everything that has happened, you can’t blame him for not trusting the people around her, you can’t blame him for knowing that she’s been here before and not wanting her to go through it again. I think that’s what’s especially interesting about Dieter’s interpretation of Minhyuk - he thinks that Minhyuk is infantilizing Shinae, that he can’t see how much she’s grown, but for Minhyuk, it’s that it’s such an aspect of who he is, something that’s become so deeply ingrained, it’s eclipsed his ability to even see when his protective nature is hurting his sister, when it’s causing strife. The weight of being the only person who would ever have defended and protected Shinae, of being the only person who could have protected her, and the guilt of not being there when she needed him the most formed at such a formative age. What else could he do but adopt this as part of his personality, a swear forged in guilt to never leave her defenseless again. When you consider it this way, it must have been one hell of a struggle for Minhyuk to decide to attend school in a country halfway across the world. For him to make the choice to leave Shinae’s side and trust that nothing horrifying would happen to her again - ONLY FOR IT TO ACTUALLY HAPPEN - must be heavy on his shoulders. 

Likewise, we’ve got some interesting insight into Maya, too. I’d always operated on the assumption that everyone knew about Alyssa’s involvement - that teachers and parents knew, that the Parks were aware, that it was a bigger affair than it ended up being, but it sounds now more like Alyssa probably went home that day and begged and begged her parents to remove her from school and I’m willing to bet she never said why. Maya had already left, had been given the opportunity to wait after school with Rika and instead chose to leave Shinae for tragedy, and knew only that Alyssa was not a good friend, that she didn’t defend Shinae when she wasn’t around. It’s funny - when Shinae comes face to face with an ad of Alyssa, Maya’s response had seemed awfully cavalier, to essentially write off Alyssa as Shinae’s sucky ex-bff, but, well, that’s all Maya knew, wasn’t it? She had no idea just how twisted all of the layering is. Like Minhyuk, Maya also operated out of guilt, but hers was combined with her feelings of jealousy and inadequacy. I don’t know if we can read into it deeper, but I wonder if part of why it was difficult for Maya to become friends with Shinae, besides their different personalities, is that she feels saddled with all that guilt and feelings of inadequacy. Not just the feeling like people look out for Shinae more than they do for her but the knowledge that she, too, once abandoned Shinae, and who is she to try to befriend her, even at her brother’s request? Obliging out of guilt - because once upon a time she could maybe have intervened, or been there to get help - but struggling to accept that she’s allowed to be friends with someone who she has begrudged and abandoned. I think there’s a lot of signs that Maya cares about Shinae but is very affected by the complexity of her dark and negative feelings. I don’t think Maya necessarily called Shinae to help at the bakery the day after the formal because Shinae is a yes girl or something, I think she called Shinae because she’s Shinae. 

Actually, again, this brings me back to what I love the most about this story - it’s all the shades of grey, the layers of complexity, how nothing is ever black or white, one way or another. 

Alyssa liked Shinae, but she was a terrible friend. She wanted her cake and to eat it, too, and she couldn’t make it work. She never managed to deal with confrontation, she couldn’t face her fear of ostracization. Even with all the hints that it could never work she still tried. 200 highlighted that so well - though to Shinae’s face she acted like their brief friendship meant nothing, when the other girls were messing with Shinae’s belongings, she still tried to get them to stop and leave her (and her stuff) be. And sure, we could easily say it’s because Alyssa was afraid of getting in trouble, but she still showed so much concern over Shinae crawling out on the window ledge to retrieve her backpack, SHARPLY contrasted with the absolute lack of concern the bully girls showed, and her pure horror when she accidentally knocks Shinae out the window. Alyssa is a mess and she’s not good at handling crisis and she rarely, if ever, chooses to do the right thing. The moment it all starts coming down, she buckles and folds under pressure. I know a lot of people are upset that she didn’t call 911, but frankly, I think she couldn’t. With what we know of Alyssa, it wouldn’t be the first time she froze and panicked in a situation of crisis. Compare her going home “feeling sick” because her attempt to make friends (selling their project) blew up in her face to the actual horror of shoving someone out the window and, yes, the trouble that would come from it? I assume Alyssa went into a panic attack or some kind of crisis and froze up, too afraid to deal with what happened. I’m not saying it’s right, but I also don’t think Alyssa’s lack of interaction is as malicious as people make it out to be. I think she’s a middle school child ensnared by intense guilt and horror and fear and didn’t know how to react. I imagine she went home and never breathed a word of this, only begged her parents to withdraw her, told them she changed her mind, she didn’t want to do public school, told them it was awful and she never ever wanted to return again. 

All the time I thought that Alyssa never had the therapy or closure that she needed was because I thought her parents and their obsession with image probably never gave her the opportunity, but now I realize it’s probably that Alyssa, much like Shinae, likely buried this deep, deep down where she could pretend it was something that never happened, something that happened to a person she no longer is. That’s probably how Alyssa is able to face Shinae at the formal - because she has to, because masking and putting on a show is her literal career, because if she gives that incident or her guilt even one moment to breathe, her entire carefully constructed facade would fall apart. 

Again, Alyssa is so much like Kousuke in the sense of denial - that they have to deliberately look away from things in order for their personal truths to hold value. The moment Alyssa has to face her past, to revisit what happened, how she treated Shinae, there’s a good chance for it all fall apart. Sure, she can dig her heels in the way she does with Nol and deflect, but we also know that for a brief period of time, Shinae was important to Alyssa, even if Alyssa couldn’t let it be true. How much would she be able to deflect? How much would she be able to shift blame? I think the only way for Alyssa to ever come to terms with what happened in the past is if she is confronted, if she and Shinae ever talk it out, but I also don’t think, at least certainly not at this stage, that Alyssa would ever be as honest as she needs to be. Maybe Shinae would be able to one day accept that this is the sum of Alyssa: a messy attempt at trying to be the impossible, that she never meant to hurt Shinae, but was still willing to throw her under the bus. 

And despite it, Alyssa left a get well soon present, with the most cavalier note in the world. I... can’t lie, I kind of laughed about it, because that note comes across so cold and empty, but also what else was she going to write? Sorry I pushed you out a window. Sorry I threw you under the bus. Sorry I was the most undeserving friend to you? Again, they are children, and frankly they are dealing with something bigger and darker than they are probably ready to. I think this is Alyssa’s weird way of trying to show care and concern, but so bogged down by guilt that she can’t truly face Shinae. Even if she knew the hospital Shinae was in, I don’t think she would have been able to do it, to face her in a hospital gown with a scar where her skull was literally cut open. To face her and know the role she played in this, who it all transpired because of her. Like Shinae, she buried it so deep down it felt like a whole other lifetime. But I think much like with Shinae, there’s only so far you can repress things before your past returns to haunt you.

This is something I’m now thinking about: the weight and impact of an Alyssa bullying reveal in the light of knowing how few people know of her involvement. We’ve talked before about how a bullying scandal could affect Shinae but that was under the assumption that everyone already knew Shinae was involved. Imagine a rumor coming to light, that Alyssa had been a bully in middle school, that she and another student ganged up against other students, and that she even pushed that student out a window before disappearing. Minhyuk and Maya would instantly know it was Shinae - something she’s kept from them for so long would be made public without her consent, possibly before she’s even ready to deal with it. Depending on the wording, it could be easy to accuse Shinae of making the accusation to take down her career, and given that Alyssa tends to mirror Kousuke, I wouldn’t be surprised by this, but I like to hope that Alyssa would have better sense to expect the other two girls if there was any other background information alluding to her and the “other bully girl” aka how they all saw Shinae.

I think it does also bring us back to the Other Bully Issue. When the bully girls tease Alyssa for defending Shinae, they pull the “if you care so much why don’t you marry her?” line, which in and of itself is not very nefarious, but Alyssa’s reaction to it still comes across as.... heated? It’s hard to read in the moment, since she’s trying to clear her name and make it seem like she has no lingering attachment towards Shine, but at the same time, it’s been a quiet, running theme, a thing that Alyssa so vehemently fears getting out that I feel like we still cannot definitively rule it out. I still think there could be a good chance that bullying accusations could possibly be entangled with potentially trying out to Alyssa (which I feel is frankly far too much). 

On a different note, tethering back to our current story, I am absolutely blown away by the reveal that the orange sweater Shinae has worn before was from Alyssa. Literally, this blew my mind so much! I think it’s some kind of testament to Shinae’s level of repression, too, that she can still wear it in the present without feeling any type of way about the person who gave it to her. Like, if she had any resentment towards Alyssa, that sweater would be burnt up or at least donated. Of course, this doesn’t tell us anything new, because numerous times throughout the story, we have seen that Shinae has mostly confusion towards that time of her life, and usually wishes Alyssa well.

In fact, as a “fun” (depressing) fact, in episode 16 we are shown a vague, blurry flashback of Alyssa pushing Shinae - and she is wearing this exact sweater as she thinks back on it. In fact, she was literally wearing a yellow tee-shirt at the end of the episode prior! The fact that she appears wearing it while thinking about the very incident that afforded her this sweater?! (The fact that she wonders how she is, well she hopes and the scene cuts to Nol trying to get in touch with Alyssa and her not answering the call? What a segue!)  

Actually, it’s kind of darkly funny that this is the sweater Shinae is wearing when Maya set her up to meet with Kousuke and Nol - the latter of whom has unearthed all this deeply buried trauma of not meaning something to the person you care about, of being abandoned and cooly tossed aside like trash. LISTEN YOU KNOW THIS IS MY SHIT. I cannot! Deal with this detail! 

(That said, after Shinae was splashed by that child’s mom, she thinks “this isn’t even my sweater”. The bird is also facing a different way on the shirt Shinae wears early in the series. I wonder if that’s an oversight of quimchee’s part or if there’s something more to reveal to us in time.) 

I also cannot deny the irony of Shinae falling and likening it to flying, of looking at that bird and wishing she, too, could take flight and and feel the freedom of the sky, and that being the design on the shirt Alyssa gives her. It just.... feels SO deeply ironic. 

I think we are at the end of the flashback - maybe another episode or two, but if it goes back now, I wouldn’t be surprised! I’m curious to see where this brings us in the present. I’d noted on reddit that I think there is a lot of room for Shinae to take a stumble, for this recollection to affect her and be a pushback on the growth she’s made, but narratively that would be SUCH a disappointment and frankly, anti-climatic, after the efforts she went through to bring Nol back. I think - or at least I hope - that reliving this nightmare in her past with given Shina renewed resolve, to face Nol, to embrace friendships, to dig her heels in on what she was saying - that things happen to them and maybe it’s not punishment, maybe the universe has no sense of rhyme or reason and they shouldn’t believe that they are being punished for things beyond their control, for things they could not affect. They did not choose to be born the people they are, but they can choose to defy what life has offered them. 

[kafkasmuses]

girlnextdoor

( chapter one :

studyme.png )

words: 3,525

tags: 18+!!!! mdni , camgirl ! reader , camming, sex worker ! reader , masturbation , falling in love , body worship , religious / greek imagery , voyeurism, semi ! sub coriolanus , fantasizing

p.s : this is also on my ao3! ( divider by i92-93 )

a/n : i don’t know how i managed to make this an emotional story with greek references, but i did it somehow LOLL hope u enjoy!!

PROLOGUE : COMPETITION .

festus had an irrational mouth, he had dared coriolanus to do stupid things before, like asking girls out, or to have one night stands with them. it was awful, coriolanus hated being around festus because he was like a fly buzzing around in his eardrums, circling around his head and refusing to leave no matter how many times he swipes at it. coriolanus wasn’t the only victim unfortunately, sejanus was the main one for festus, because sejanus was weak, pliant, and could easily be peer pressured into anything.

“i dare you to ask her out,” he points to a girl in the library, a girl with clemensia and arachne.

dear fucking god, save us all, this is going to be a crucification performed in the middle of the academy’s library.

“you’re joking, right?” sejanus coughs out an awkward laugh.

festus’ eyes narrow, a dangerous seriousness, “no, it’s not that hard.”

“why don’t you do it then?” coriolanus slices in the conversation.

“i have a girlfriend,” festus shrugs, “can’t.”

coriolanus barks out a bitter laugh, “who would date you?”

“okay, that’s fucking rude, and she’s hella hot, so fuck off, please,” festus rolls his eyes, “go on, sejanus!”

sejanus frowns, festus was talking so loud that the girls were now looking at them, with their judgemental, pristine stares.

so he sighs, and raises to a stand, making coriolanus’ eyebrows furrow, he knew sejanus was weak, impulsive, but not to this level, “you aren’t actually gonna do it, are you?”

“i am,” sejanus sounds confident, but he isn’t. poor, sweet sejanus.

what a trainwreck, like something you try to hard to look away from, but you just can’t. your eyes follow him as he moves over to the girls, a small smile curving his lips when he finally approaches them, an opposite to their sharp eyes. clemensia’s head tips to the side, “yes, sejanus?”

sejanus inhales, trying to remind himself that he does have a way with words, so just use that.

his eyes move down to you, “i was wondering if—“

“no,” you respond quickly.

he swallows, “okay.”

and festus is laughing, god it’s more of a cackle than a laugh.

but the girls don’t laugh, they know festus’ game, if anything they hate festus more than any of the poor boys that are dared to ask them out for dates.

“who’s your girlfriend?” coriolanus asks, having a feeling that he’s lying.

festus’ laughter immediately calms down, “she’s a pornstar, and she’s like super in love with me.”

“does she even know you exist?” coriolanus scoffs, “‘m sure she’s just doing her job.”

“shut the fuck up,” he rolls his eyes, “you’re just mad you could never get with a girl like mine.”

“let me see her,” coriolanus offers, and of course, festus pulls up a picture of a girl who hardly shows her face.

you can only see her lips, and from then on she’s in very tight and revealing clothing, coriolanus stares at the picture for a second, then looks at festus.

festus smirks cockily, “hot, right?”

hot, is that all he views his so called girlfriend as?

“you can’t even see her face,” he confronts, and festus rolls his eyes.

“that’s not the point—“

“then what is?”

“her videos, dude, they’re so good,” festus’ voice becomes a loudly hushed whisper now.

coriolanus’ jaw ticks, “you sure she even knows you?”

“okay, she doesn’t— but like—“ he groans, “why don’t you try to get her to notice you, asshole?”

“i don’t watch porn,” coriolanus shrugs simply.

festus coughs out a laugh, “yeah, say that again when you’re searching girlnextdoor tonight.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

coriolanus, in his own defense, should be saying that it was curiosity. at first it was, yes, pure innocent, unshielded curiosity. then it became what it truly was underneath all of his guards, admiration. with each video, each picture, it had his teeth gritting. he didn’t want to pay to see your exclusive content at first, but with how little you showed on every other platform, it almost felt necessary. girlnextdoor, what a peculiar name, he was itching to know more about you.

maybe it was the competition festus had set him up for that had him wanting this, coriolanus was never one for porn, or for jerking off. but god, he might now be. it was disgusting, how much his mind raced with every suggestive picture, ones where you teased the contents underneath your bra, or a video where you were taking off your panties but still showing nothing.

he went back to your original website, only to find, in bold letters, LIVE.

live? he swallows thick, cursor moving to click on the maroon enticing him.

the sight that came nearly had him clicking off almost immediately, you had been moved into a cowgirl position, riding a dildo. your moans filled his eardrums almost immediately, each whine, each movement of your hips delivering a squelching sound. he felt like a dehydrated man, throat run dry, tongue devoid of any saliva. aphrodite, in her natural habitat, sex, love, devotion, she is putting herself on display— yet with the camera placed to show everything only from below her nose, she is so hidden at the same time.

he was biting the delicate skin on the inside of his cheek, peaking near the metallic taste, but he didn’t even realize over the heat rushing to his dick. he breathed out, wondering what it would feel like if you were to be on him, with those experienced hips, that body which looks like it was crafted from the gods himself, your pussy swallowing his dick whole—

he clicks off as soon as the thought sears in his mind, he doesn’t need to be thinking of a pornstar like this.

his eyes close for a minute, and all he can see in that darkness is the shape of your body, the bucking of your hips as you ride the dildo, and he sighs.

he should sleep. it’s late.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

INTERLUDE : HAUNTED .

adoration, a statue by stephen abel sinding, made from delicate marble. it depicted a man at a woman’s feet, as she sat upon a pedestal. he was on his knees, eyes staring up at the goddess in front of him, as she sat with her back straight, eyes falling upon the man that worshipped her. he kissed her legs with care, admiration, hands slipping onto her calves as he plants his lips upon her shins. she was gorgeous above him, allowing him to take every part of her into his hold, to kiss her and devote his whole pride to her.

coriolanus swallows thick, he thought that when his eyes moved to a close, his thoughts would dissipate.

they got worse, so, so much worse. they were more vivid now, dirtier, his longing worsening.

he imagined what words would spill from your mouth as your hips swayed on him, he allowed you to take the lead, restraining himself from fucking into you like a desperate man. to be honest, he was desperate, he was needy, the feeling of your puffy walls closing in on him had him almost whimpering himself. a god is no match to his goddess, he will always fall to his knees in front of her, no matter what. coriolanus had pride, surely, but the idea of your clit rubbing against his abdomen as your hips stuttered on him had his pride becoming weak façades.

say that again when you’re searching girlnextdoor tonight.

fuck you, festus. he was the reason that coriolanus even knew this camgirl existed, the reason for the painful stains on his mind.

festus wouldn’t be so cocky if the girl he calls his girlfriend had coriolanus’ dick in her mouth.

the feeling of your mouth on his dick became vivid as well now, he could see it so clearly, your doe eyes staring up at him through those velvet lashes as your pillow lips move to press sloppy, open - mouthed kisses onto the tip of his cock. you were teasing him, surely, and he couldn’t take it. he would grit out a small plea for you to actually suck him in, and he would feel your lips curl onto his tip, “beg.”

begging, coriolanus always hated the idea of it, he thought it was weak, gross, submissive.

but in this moment, he was so clouded with lust that he didn’t care for the repercussions of a simple please.

“please, just fucking— god, i need—“ he couldn’t even get his words right, it was sweet. your eyebrow cocked at him, his piercing blue eyes staring down at you through dilated pupils and lazy lids. you finally took pity, lips parting further so your tongue could snake out and slide underneath his cock as you take him in finally. the warmth was all too much for coriolanus, wetness, warmth, his fingers move to thread through the weaves of your hair, his bottom lip falling tight underneath his top teeth.

his hips buck ever so slightly, again, desperation. you don’t react though, if anything, you just moaned around him.

no gag reflex? dear god, you’ll be coriolanus’ ruin.

god will not be present in this moment though, as though this is a reenactment of the martyrdom of saint sebastian. arrows shooting at him as he falls to his fate, he was strung up, shot with the painful spears, and left for his death. isn’t that so alike to now? festus had tied him up, fed him stories of this woman and allowed him to fall into sin, then left him for his own demise.

apples began to taste sweeter, even with their poison, as coriolanus finds his hand dipping below his waistband, his long fongers fell along his painful hardness. he mumbled a curse into the gentle air as he finally relieves himself from all of his sins, as of he’s sitting in the confessional of a church, whispering all of his sins to the judgemental priest. the scales tipped as his fingers moved to curl around his cock, fist moving up and down on his length.

the pictures continued, he thought of how he would take care of you first, now if he was the one dominating.

he would go rough, he always loved the idea of fucking someone senseless, making every vein buzz with only pleasure, mind forming thoughts solely of lust. he imagines holding you close as his fingers curl inside of you, he doesn’t push them in and out fast at first, but when your hips buck up against him— he becomes harsher, the intention of bruising your lips evident.

next, he moves to press you against the mattress, fucking you senseless into it.

he hums into the air, “ah— fuck..”

his breathing is labored, eyes scrunching shut as the pictures of your eyes rolling back becomes a mere oil painting in front of him, perched on the walls of the most pristine museums. his fingers would pass through your hair again, now the back of your head, pulling you back so your spine is flush against his chest. you’d lean back against him, melting into his skin and begging for more. surely, you had enough experience from your dildos and other sexual toys, or partners, but none of them could compare to coriolanus as his hips snap into you.

he groans into the air, seething in the pleasure, “i’ll fuck you so good..— mm.”

he moves to now fuck into his hand, imagining his hand a depiction of your velvet walls around him, clenching as you near your high.

you moan against his flesh, his fingers moving from your hair to your neck, pulling you until your flesh molds with his, adoration and lust merging you two together.

he went faster, harsher, fucking into his hand until his thighs grew sore, finally reaching his high.

he spills into his hand, sighing into the humid air.

“my god—“ he mumbles, eyes fluttering open.

what the fuck is his problem?

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

INTERLUDE : DARE ME ?

“so, did you talk to her?” festus interrogates him, per usual.

coriolanus’ eyes are heavy, he hardly slept after the events of last night, “no, i didn’t.”

“fucking loser,” festus snears, “she was live last night.”

“i know,” he swallows thick, the image of you riding the dildo returning to his mind, “did you talk to her?”

“yeah,” he shrugs, cocky, again, “i’m texting her right now.”

coriolanus’ eyebrows furrow, he leans over to see festus sending a message.

a phone goes off in the library.

as soon as the message is sent.

coriolanus blinks, once, twice, “send another.”

so he does, he types out another message and send it.

the same phone goes off again, just as the message says delivered.

coincidence?

coriolanus doesn’t believe in those.

“you’re so fucking weird dude, don’t try to read my messages,” festus pushes him away.

coriolanus groans, he couldn’t care less to read festus’ messages, “are you paying her to talk to you?”

“yes, but that’s not the point—“ festus quickly tries to save himself from the humiliation.

coriolanus scoffs, “she’s not your girlfriend, you can’t even get one, like ever.”

“and what about you, virgin?” festus leans in, a smirk growing on his lips. coriolanus knows what that smirk means, it means coriolanus will soon be sealing his fate, “why don’t you try to get one?”

“i’m good,” coriolanus shrugs, “nobody’s here for you to even dare me to ask out.”

“clemensia is,” he points to the table where you and clemensia always sit at, and of course, you’re both there, “and her friend.”

“i’m not asking them out,” coriolanus moves down in his chair.

“yes you are, i dare you.”

“no, you’re so fucking stu—“

“i’m gonna tell everyone you’re a virgin.”

coriolanus’ weakness was people knowing all the humiliating things about him, one of those things was the fact that he hasn’t had sex yet. coriolanus was an attractive man, he could get women if he truly wanted to and spend his nights with them, but he refused. and that made festus’ dares easy.

coriolanus’ jaw shifts, “you’re an asshole.”

every step he takes is slow, calculated, yet confident. it’s a certain stride that coriolanus always has, where he knows what he’s doing, but unsure at the same time. especially now, especially when your hair falls off your shoulder as you turn to have your eyes fall on him, sensing his approach. maybe it was a common thing for you, knowing festus would be daring his friends to come up to you, clemensia, or arachne.

always on high alert, he assumes.

his eyes fall the exposition of your shoulder, a key to one of those tight shirts that you always wear, even when it was against dress code.

a tight skirt and a short skirt, your motto, clearly. your twist underneath the table when he stands next to your seat, close, but not enough to make you uncomfortable. one thing he does notice though, is the strap of your bra. pink? a familiar shade, and as he follows it down, he notices the lace that starts on your bra. it looks an awful lot like the bra that the camgirl wore last night, the bra that coriolanus imagined you taking off for him.

his eyes narrow, he seems distracted, and you stare at him like he’s dumb, “hello?”

his eyes snap to your face at your words, “sorry— i—“

“what? are you gonna ask me out?” god, were you always this bitchy?

“i was planning on it,” his jaw shifts, eyes dipping to the plush of your lips, coated in that sparkly, strawberry gloss you always wore, “would you have said yes?”

“no, god, what is with you assholes?” you roll your eyes, pencil tapping impatiently against the desk.

“hm, not even a study date?” his eyes trail down to the book on your desk, “i saw your score on the test last week.”

“ew, fucking creep,” you snap, “i don’t need your help.”

“you sure?” his eyebrow cocks, your no isn’t stable yet, so he’s persuasive.

“coriolanus,” clemensia cuts in, “she said no.”

“did she?” he whistles, a cocky smile curving his lips, one that you want to slap off him, “must’ve not heard that.”

“then get some hearing aids,” you laugh, “i’m not sucking your dick.”

“didn’t ask you to, but we’ll see, sweetheart.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

we’ll see. he didn’t even know where those words came from, or his cockiness, maybe it was the fact that he suspected you to be the girl he had on his mind last night. if so, then he would know things about you that many don’t, and that gives him power.

greed : an insatiable desire for material objects, wealth, and power.

coriolanus snow was a greedy man.

he kept a closer eye on you now, eyes pinning to the back of your head, memorizing the way you style your hair, so that he can see if the hair that drips off your shoulders in all of your secret videos were the same. or if your lips were as sparkly and glossed in those videos as they are in person. did you wear the same mini skirt you wore to school in your videos? that would be dirty, wouldn’t it? capitol girl, dressed in her pristine clothes as she fucks herself in front of thousands.

what a slut.

he had to figure it out, it was an untamable hunger that not even the most holy prayer could exorcize out of him. rosaries dripped around the fingers he used to curl around his cock the night before, and even in his most innocent prayers, his mind reflected back onto the idea of pulling the rosary around your neck as he fucks into you. his eyes snap open, and now just another thing that he had done so clearly before was plagued with your existence.

was this you calling out to him? beckoning him to pray for you?

if so, he might just do it, dedicate all of his rosaries to you, replace virgin mary with yourself, and look at every cross and think of you moving onto it, sliding the wood into your womanhood.

coriolanus’ throat was dry again, his own thoughts making him want to vomit.

those were the kinds of things festus would be fantasizing about, not coriolanus— and yet, here he was, on his knees, imagining you on the pedestal. your hair dips past your shoulders as you look down at him, those judgemental, buggish eyes, now bleeding onto his skull. his fingers dip behind your calves, memorizing the touch of the flesh that smoothed over muscle and bone. his eyes cascade up your legs, past your breasts, to the eyes that look down on him.

he has a certain look in his eyes, a look that is saying he’s doing this all for you. dropping his pride for you, allowing his walls to crumble for you, tarnishing his name for you. sometimes snow doesn’t land on top, sometimes it melts and becomes weak in the sky, sometimes it crumbles underneath itself.

he plants gentle kisses to your shins, admirations, soft praises and prayers.

goddess, did you hear about the man who roamed lost? the man who fell weak? tell me of his efforts, what brought him to this point, the people he met, the worlds he crossed, to now be brought to his knees in front of his muse. he was complicated, hidden, and yet you peeled him apart like a pomegranate. the juice splatters against your face as he opens himself to you, and something about it is so very special.

scratches fall down his back, and again, he’s blinking himself to reality.

his fingers on the keyboard, he finds himself at your profile once more, now beckoning you to him. a twisted game of tug - of - war, isn’t it? pieces fall into place as he clicks on the link which leads him to paying for your exclusive content.

research purposes, of course.

he spends his money so easily, he doesn’t even take a second thought to it as the page reloads with his newfound access to all your hidden secrets. his fingers pry as he pulls down the website, scrolling through each aspect that you hold in the reflections of who you really are.

a whore? no, a temptress.

he sucks in a breath at the sights of you bending over in front of the camera, fucking a dildo into yourself, or the next one of you in a missionary position with a vibrator on your clit. or the next one of you fucking a dildo between your tits. coriolanus rasps out the breath he sucked in earlier, adjusting in his seat, this wasn’t another invitation to jerk off, it was studying.

he scrolls past a few more videos and then, his eyes catch it, the skirt.

a small smile curves his lips, power.

he has it.

or so, he thinks he does, you have his money, his admiration, him on his knees, have him confused on whether or not this is truly you. skirts and coincidences don’t tell much, he just likes to jump to conclusions. the hair didn’t even match up—

so does he really have the power?

we’ll see, sweetheart.

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles December challenge.

You Say Bark, I Say Bite

Prompt Day 1: Open Mic Night | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Language, Smoking | Tags: Pre-S4, Pre-Steddie, Platonic Stobin, Corroded Coffin

"No, no, no," Steve says, waving his hand in front of him. He's not doing this. 

"Steve, please," Robin begs, "it's just one night. For me. You love me." 

There are so many other ways they could spend a Saturday night that don't involve listening to shitty musicians. They'll all suck. He knows that. They've done this before, and he's never heard anything he's liked. 

"Steve. For me," she pleads, giving him the eyes. 

He sighs. He was always going, but he's not happy about it. And he wants Robin to know that. 

"Tammy Thompson sounds like a Muppet," Steve says.

"You've said," Robin mumbles, annoyed. 

That's the whole reason they're here in Indianapolis tonight, at some under twenty-one club, listening to teens and college kids play shitty music. To hear Tammy Thompson nasal her way through a song or two.

Someone brought a goddamn flute. To an open mic night. A flute. These people are all weirdos. No talent to be found.

Then the little stage is suddenly bustling with movement, bringing in actual instruments and equipment. Okay, maybe they're getting somewhere. This has to be better than another douchebag with a guitar.

Oh, no. 

That's definitely a douchebag with a guitar.

"Is that…Eddie Munson?" Steve asks, cutting Robin a look. 

"Well, duh," Robin says, totally unbothered by this very weird turn of events, "he has a band, you know that."

He knows that? He doesn't know that. He knows Eddie Munson is a dealer. He knows Eddie Munson is a freak. But he didn't know Eddie Munson played the guitar.

"I didn't fucking know that," Steve says, confused, wrinkling his forehead.

"They play at The Hideout every week. Eddie, Jeff, Gareth and Goodie. Corroded Coffin. You know that. Everybody knows that. Eddie is always hanging up flyers everywhere."

News to him. He doesn't know any of these guys. Who the fuck is Goodie? That's not even a name.

"I think you're making shit up. I don't recognize any of those guys. Like, not at all. Did they go to Hawkins? While I was there?"

Robin looks at him like he's an asshole. Okay, they must have. 

"They gotta be way younger," Steve finally says, indignant. "I know Eddie. Because he's been a senior for the last five years."

She gives him a withering look, "Three years. Last three years."

Like that's better. 

Eddie is quietly helping the drummer get his shit set up as fast as they can, and Steve watches. This should be good. This will be way more entertaining than Tammy Thompson. Because he can't fathom what Eddie Munson might think is good music. God, Steve hopes he tries to sing. 

He's positive this will be worth the cover charge, for sure. A trainwreck.

It's not a trainwreck. Eddie Munson falls back, and the black kid takes the mic. Okay, he didn't expect that. He expected Munson to be front and center.

"Who's the singer?" 

"Jeff Williams. His sister was in your class," Robin hisses. 

Oh, okay. Molly Williams was fun. She wouldn't give him the time of day when he tried to get her to go on a date with him, but fun. He didn't even know she had a little brother.

They start playing a song, and Steve doesn't recognize it.

Jeff shouts, "All aboard!" and laughs as the drummer starts clicking his sticks together, then playing, and it's okay. Fine. 

Then, Eddie starts playing the guitar. 

Goddammit. 

Steve hates to be wrong, and hates that this is really working for him. Eddie Munson looks at ease, happy, and kinda hot. Steve's never seen him look like that at school. Not once. Munson is snarky, snappy. Always quick to bite back. Funny, for sure, but Steve would avoid him, because Munson never shied away from trying to make Steve look stupid at every fucking turn. 

But he can play the guitar, apparently.

Robin nudges his shoulder, "They're good, right?"

He nods, not looking away. They're good.

They play another heavy song, but it's Queen. They're doing a metal cover of Bicycle Race, and that amuses Steve, he likes Queen.

After they're done playing, Steve makes excuses, and slips outside into the alley. He's pretty sure Eddie Munson isn't going to stay to watch this other shit.

Eventually, there he is, guitar case in hand. Steve thinks he'd like to ride him like a bicycle, and that's a new thought.

About Eddie. Not about men. 

"Oh, hey," Steve says, leaning against the wall of the alley, smoking a cigarette he bummed. Robin will kill him, but he needs an excuse to be out here. Like he wasn't waiting. Even if he totally was.

"Harrington," Eddie says with contempt, "what brings you out here with us freaks?"

"Robin," Steve says, and Eddie gives him a look.

"Buckley's really friends with you? I thought that was a terrible rumor."

Steve pretends that doesn't hurt, and just nods.

"Too bad, I like her," Eddie says, and this was a mistake. What the fuck was he thinking? Eddie Munson will just give him a tongue-lashing, and not in a fun way. He's an idiot for thinking otherwise. Steve isn't this hard up. 

"Okay, well, you guys looked good," Steve says, pushing himself off the wall. 

Eddie laughs, incredulous, "You thought we looked good?" 

"Sounded," Steve corrects. 

"You, King Steve, thought we sounded good? I've been to your house parties. You don't listen to metal. Do you even know who Ozzy is?"

Steve doesn't, and shakes his head. And Eddie's been to his house? Since when? Nevermind. Doesn't matter.

"You guys were good compared to all that other shit I had to sit through tonight. You sounded like, you know, actual music. I guess." 

Eddie raises an eyebrow, like he can see right through Steve. 

Shit. 

Shit, shit, shit.

Steve suddenly feels like he's in big trouble. Trapped. Backed into a corner.

Eddie smiles and takes a step towards him, and it's predatory.

Steve swallows.

Oh, he's definitely in trouble.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, head on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun! 🎤

If you want to see more of my entries into this month-long challenge, you can check them out in my tag, right here!

[queen-of-elves]

Acceptable

Armitage Hux x reader - Modern Office AU + some background Reylo

Summary: You have been working for First Order for years now slowly giving up on the idea of your dream project ever gracing your presence until it finally happened, however, there is a slightly cold and rude problem, other team leader Armitage Hux. 

REQUESTS ARE OPEN (And I'm begging you to send me some)

A/N: There is not enough classic fanfics for Armitage and almost zero AUs so I am here to satisfy the bitches, it’s me, I am the bitches

+not betaread so be kind

Words: 5.8K

Warnings: some swearing probably, there is always swearing in my fics, talking about f themself cause corporate life is annoying, some inappropriate thoughts

Tags:@l0stinth3nightsky @this-harl0t-shant-be-unalive

Everyone in the company knew how mean and bossy Armitage Hux was, even if you were from a completely different department, but this project was going to pull you in his inner work team and it terrified you to get first hand experience with him. You heard plenty of times how he made new interns cry and the older ones want to commit a suicide. So you weren’t exactly thrilled at working with him even on a project you have literally dreamed of since being accepted to work for the First Order company, the most prestigious company among prestigious companies. The project required two different departments that almost never interacted which also didn’t help.

You were ready for the first meeting between two departments, each under the supervision of completely different people and personalities, to be just a horrendous trainwreck. But Armitage Hux being the team leader of the other one? You didn’t have to be some kind of prophet to know this was going to be painful just to watch. Even though you were anxiously expecting disaster to occur in the first meeting, the sunshine side in you just had to shine through. So you had an exceptionally good morning, you were on time, had a delicious bagel and the sky was sunny, therefore there was no chance of Hux fucking up your day.

The office building was huge but not exceptional among the other skyscrapers littering the city, molding it into cement block maze. The windows provide enough clearance for you to see the busy people already moving around in the offices above, you even noticed some of your own team members anxiously waiting for your arrival while preparing the rest of the documentation for today's team meeting. 

You knew you were ready, your team also knew but that didn’t put to rest the anxious little monster growing inside your stomach. Still, you put on your best brave smile and entered the lobby, greeted the receptionist Clara and continued down the hall to wait for the elevator. Beeping your employee card on the scanner, to let you proceed to the elevator, put you right back into your morning routine, well, just for your coworker and a sort of subordinate, Rey bombard you with questions in the waiting line. 

“Did you hear it?” Her voice sounded an octave higher than usual or maybe it was just your tired brain not used to loud sounds yet, nothing a good old coffee couldn’t fix in minutes.

“Hm?” Your brain was still too tired to properly answer and so you only mumbled an acknowledgement to her question. Slow sips of your latté seemed to clear your mind a bit, thank god for sales like bagel plus free coffee at the local cafe otherwise you would be unusable these days.

“You know what I mean.” You were sure if you were to meet eyes with Rey, she would pierce you with that intense gaze. 

“The merge.” There was no merge, so far you weren’t even aware of any cuts in finances for this year or the one to follow. Whatever Rey was talking about was most likely just a bunch of bored employees gossiping and conspiring together, nothing major, nothing serious. This realization calmed you down even though The Merge sounded quite apocalyptic.

“I can assure you there is no merge, especially not between our two departments, Miss-” A voice interrupted but it did not intend to finish that sentence as if the owner was too busy to learn Rey’s name at all. He turned his attention to you, measuring you over, his calculating glare went over the ink stained hands to your low set black heels with that tiny cut on the left side you were so desperate to hide with black marker.

Armitage Hux waiting in front of the elevator for your arrival was definitely not on your list for today. He looked like a pristine image out of some magazine with men’s suits, his deep blue shaded suit with silver cufflinks perfectly paired with an expensive looking watch he was now checking printing itself in the back of your brain forever. Quite a nightmarish image of a handsome man with such a cold and cruel demeanor.

“You are both late. Meeting room 3 in 5 minutes.” And with that he was gone again, like a ghost, maybe he is a ghost of this building, stackup nitpicking cold monster that was stabbed by his tired employee centuries ago and now has to haunt the rest of you. He didn’t even turn around making you puzzle if he was truly addressing you.

“What’s going on?” Whisperyelled Rey, her wide eyes scanning the surrounding as if Armitage was going to pop up from the corner to remind her she has now 4 minutes left to be present in the meeting room.

“Trouble.” You simply answered your bewildered friend, there was no better answer to it after all. The morning you dreamed of was slowly fading into a nightmarish mess but at least you had now caffeined your brain enough to proceed to normal functions. Plus your team had your back, there was nothing to be afraid of except Armitage Hux and he was simply a man in a suit. Just an ordinary man in a tailored suit with a stoic expression.

And you were right, the team really had your back but Armitage definitely didn’t, he was mean and bossy and nitpicking and just so fucking insufferable. However, the meeting ended with both departments and their leaders arriving at a consensus, not a happy one. It almost reminded you of those messy divorce screaming matches in tv shows, except this was veiled in professionalism and formal language.

Of course your suffering didn’t end just as did the meeting, he was probably a sadist, prolonging your pain with his “Word?”. You were sure it wasn’t even a question, it was just an order for you to follow him straight to his office.

Armitage Hux’s office was neat as it can be, if it weren’t for the few scattered papers on the desk you would guess this was one of those exhibitions of furniture in Ikea. Well, even the Ikea display has more personality, some fakeass photos of happy couple/family. His office is neat until it’s bare, devoid of indicating anything about the owner’s personality. 

That’s kinda sad.

“Listen, I know that the project is not top notch of the quality it could be but I think we have a solid plan we can now expand upon.” You had to win this argument, you wouldn’t let him defeat you over a project you so desperately wanted for years. So, if he wanted to fight you were ready to bare teeth at this twig in a suit. 

“Oh, and before you say it’s-,” you couldn’t even finish before he interrupted you, “acceptable.”

 “What?” You blurted out, completely stunned by his remark. Did Armitage Hux, after all that tousling about in the meeting room, admit the plan your team created is acceptable. Yes, there were few changes happening after the “discussion” of both teams but nothing you have not foreseen already that also didn’t mean you were happy with said changes. But consensus between two completely different departments is everything the leadership asked for.

“The proposal is acceptable, I don’t understand why I should be doubtful, so far you have only proven to be a valuable asset for the company.” Armitage was always the epitome of professional and now he was complimenting you. He was complimenting you, right? Maybe you had too much coffee, maybe you had not enough coffee and maybe God was spinning on his chair and laughing at you up in the sky.

“Oh, thanks. I will take it as a compliment, even though you sound like a formal email impersonator.” Gosh, did you really just say that to him? There was a cold sweat pooling down your back, anxiety ranking up. Was he going to yell at you for such a statement, what you have heard so far it wouldn’t be unusual for him to yell at people over smaller things.

“I don’t.” His expression could be only described as a deadpan expression. It’s actually kinda funny, not entirely scary. He doesn’t laugh, noted, but you do and you also make people laugh and so you set your new target.You almost look around to see a hidden camera or an entire camera crew as if in The office. And while you amused yourself in your mind Armitage sported back his expression to emotionless stare before turning his attention back to the documents on the desk. 

“You do.” A small laugh escaped your lips at that moment and with his attention divided elsewhere you took it as an ideal time to run away exit the situation and also the office.

But before you could escape this storm of a man, he had to add. “Until the next meeting I expect you and your team to finish said plans.” And with that the conversation and mess of a morning comes to an end. However, there is still a lot of time for unexpected surprises before the day ends.

And so it began, the little you running circles in your brain over the thoughts of your new co-leader, the cold redhead slowly sneaking in your head again and again. It helped the clock to tick faster which was a good thing but the constant train of thoughts disassembling every part of your interaction with him over the time was like a cold shower every single time.

The last time you checked the clock read 5 minutes after 8pm and with that you started to pack your things ready to head home, have little dinner and continue with the paperwork over a random kdrama playing as a background noise. And as you bid everyone goodbye you noticed Armitage’s crouched figure in his office, going over some even more boring paperwork than was the one waiting on you at home. It was probably true, the first one to be in the office and the last one to leave that was Armitage’s schedule.

Sad.

And so you set your mind on a new plan, a horrible and cruel plan to ruin your late morning and exchange it for an early cold shower wake up and speed walk to a cafe not only for your favorite bagel but also a special delivery of coffee.

God, what am I even doing this early?

When the alarm buzzed you were around 100% sure you were making a mistake. Waking this early should be a crime. No, It is a crime. Especially when you were a busy little bee like you always are and spent the whole night until 3am working. But part of you knew it was going to be worthy, today was the day you were going to crack that tough ice cold exterior of Armitage’s facade.

If waking up this early wasn’t a mistake the cold shower definitely was but in all honesty you were just afraid you would fall asleep on the bus, so cold shower it was. In the end it was kinda worthy, you got your favorite bagel without having to wait in long line; got another free coffee, you had no idea if the sale was still on or if you just looked so terrible they felt sad for you and just had to give it to you; you also got Armitage his coffee and as a big finale you were on time, actually very early overall. 

The office was ruefully empty. And there was no Rey to talk to, you knew she wasn’t going to be in the office until 9am but you still hoped even she would find the idea of early start amusing. In reality you expected to get laughed at when she finally decides to grace the office with her presence.

You might have felt alone in the empty corridors of the building but it was not so empty after all. The curtain might have been drawn but you could see a slim light escaping in between them from his office, the artificial light was definitely not sunshine. 

He must have stayed up all night.

Mustering courage you knocked on his door before waiting on an invitation to let yourself in. It was useless, there was no sound coming from the office and so you knocked again and then again. Realizing he was not going to answer you decided to open the door and check up on him anyway.

He was sleeping on his desk with his suit jacket over the chair behind him and loose tie around his neck. The dress shirt slightly crumpled at the edges, his red hair tousled around and neck craned in such an uncomfortable position you were sure of his incoming back pain.

“Knock, knock.” You tried to say softly, just lightly waking him up but instead you groaned, your voice still not comfortable from no use this morning, startling him awake.

“I-” His form jolted, eyes flying open and searching the room for the culprit of his rough awakening. Blue eyes finally gazing upon you, Armitage looked boyishly handsome that morning, it was not just the wide expression but the state of disarray you found him in.

You decided against speaking, part of you afraid your blushing form would say something stupid, the stupid thoughts of the redhead not leaving you alone. The, almost like a cardboard, coffee cup made an uncomfortable noise once you pushed it on the table toward its owner, making the moment even more awkward.

He took a slow sip, still not fixing his hair or attire and part of you wished he never would, it suited him and you probably liked it even more than it actually suited him. 

“How did you know what coffee I drink?” His voice still hoarse and laced with sleepiness painted your cheeks even more crimson red. God it made you imagine things, you didn’t even know from where the thoughts were coming but there was somehow no way to stopping them. Your view of Armitage Hux completely shattering and rearranging itself into a different image.

“It's just black coffee, Hux, I assumed you would like black coffee, you are like the embodiment of black coffee.”

“Thank you, that's very considerate of you.” His lips touched the cup in a cautious move before he took a sip, trying to hide his small smile but you noticed it, you definitely noticed it and you knew you won. You won Armitage Hux over with a simple gesture of kindness.

”Was it a compliment or?” You wanted to laugh and you wanted to see more of a happier Armitage from now on. You felt like you got closer to Hux at that moment, a possible friendship started to blossom between the two of you. 

“Who knows.” Shrugging, he moved on to finally fix himself a little, smirk still apparent on his lips complimenting his tired stare. In that moment you wanted to experience more moments like this and you sure were going to try.

********

Finally it was the day the board would either accept the project or deny it. You couldn’t sleep for two days prior and even before that you slept only around 15 hours in a week, you felt almost dead. Both of you, Armitage and you, were now staring at your notebooks, ready to receive the final answer to your now weeks long struggle. 

Armitage's notebook beeped, a notification sounding off, sending you flying across the desk almost into his lap, not even considering it could be a completely different email or even personal thing.

You and Armitage got closer, just as the both of your teams, over the weeks you spent on this project, countless nights together in the office seemed to harden your relationship even more. You had fun, Armitage was not only a hardworking perfectionist and handsome man, he was also very funny, like ridiculously funny in your opinion.

The email was long, like unnecessarily when it comes to formal corporal emails but the end of it was just so promising. Both of you skimmed over the words, searching for the phrases denied. There was none, the only thing in the end it contained was so sweet and wanted approval for your project, relieving you both of disappointment.

You were not sure who was the first, if you or Armitage, but now the both of you were jumping as high as you could while clinging to each other, a victorious hug. It could take only seconds or minutes, you squealing and Armitage yelling, hugging each other and jumping once again, but when it was over, the embarrassment in both parties was apparent. 

Anyone could come into this office at any time, it was not uncommon for most of the higher ranking employees to just not knock and barge in and if they saw the team leaders of the current biggest project in the company disheveled and out of breath, who knows what they would think.

There was a common understanding of this premise and so the following actions were understandable, while you tried to smooth your skirt down, Armitage did the same to his hair and also his tie. He was still out of breath and a bit flushed, his look of happiness making you warm again.

“You should trust your guts more.” And again with his disheveled appearance, this man was going to be the death of you for sure. And while he was busy sporting himself back into his usual calm and perfect form you had to admire how far the both of you have come. 

“Trust my guts? Armitage, I have a crippling anxiety.” Wholehearted laugh clawed its way out of your throat, making him smile. “That’s like the worst advice ever.” You continued still giggling like a little girl with your cheeks starting to hurt from all the happiness flowing inside you.

“I tried.”

“I appreciate it.” You gave him a small shy smile, your cheeks were still too warm for you to completely concentrate. “Thank you.” You whispered in the end.

“You are welcome.” Nodding fondly over this conversation, Hux gave you a smug expression, which you have completely missed because you turned your attention back to the documents you had to prepare for the next meeting.

“Even though you should be the one thanking me for my amazing advice.” Armitage chimes in, relaxed expression kept in place while he slightly nudged you in the ribs.

“Was it a joke?” Your face morphing into a shocked amused grin, you turned to him, observing the man momentarily. “Did Armitage Hux just make a joke?” You were not aware that Armitage Hux, the cold hearted redhead, could joke but you liked it and hoped it would stay like this for a while.

“I regret ever interacting with you.” You could see the slight smirk forming on Armitage's face when he spoke, unable to contain it. Since starting working on this project you and Armitage really got close, you would even call him your friend now. Yeah, he was still sometimes a cold prick but you could see the appeal of him. Handsome, smart and very passionate for his work with a decent sense of humor, Armitage Hux was definitely a catch. This project really opened your eyes when it came to him.

“You don’t.” Your elbow met what you firstly assumed would be a bony mass but in reality was well defined muscles under what you deemed was branded suit.

“I do.” He couldn’t fight the smirk off now. It was awfully obvious. The past you would probably be slightly horrified over the thought of Armitage Hux smirking. The picture of it being painted under the impression that he is obviously an evil corporate man. However, seeing him smirk now sparked something completely different in you. The silly picture of an evil man from a cartoon you used to hold in your mind when someone said his name was replaced with a charming looking redhead man in a suit with a warm aura around him. 

“Nah.” You felt silly, stupid and giddy over this man and how warm he made you feel even though everyone viewed him as a cold and mean man he never was. “You love it.” 

“Yeah, I do.” The stare he gave you made something carnal turn in you, it was not an alien feeling but with Armitage there was a new intensity to it. Red liquid heat pooled inside your belly under his loving gaze.

Oh.

“I-I have to go and- inform the team, you know- so they like- know and- stuff.” You titered a bit, unsure how to continue such a conversation. Did Armitage Hux really make your heart skip a beat now? First he jokes and now he makes your heart flutter, the world truly is full of wonders

.

“Yeah, totally. I-” He seemed absentminded for a second, something you could hardly ever see on the young team leader’s face. Everyone might talk about his cold attitude but no one could deny how dedicated Armitage was to his work. Even though you weren’t from the same department you knew long before this project presented itself in front of you, that he was the first in the office and also the last one to leave. His workaholism seemed even more prominent with his quick responses to your emails regarding the shared project no matter at which hour you would send them. It was something worth admiring and fearing at the same time. And now you were the one stuck in their mind and still staring at him. 

“Hey, would you like- to go for a coffee or something?” His voice cracked in the middle, maybe it was trying to stop him from continuing but he still pushed through, the final bits of courage sending him past the finish line, finally asking.

OH.

“Your proposal is acceptable.” You tried to imitate his voice, those words as a reminder to the conversation you had with him after the first meeting.

“Thank god.” The relief on his face was comforting to see. Armitage was really keen to go out with you and it made you happy beyond anything.

Bonus little bits with Armitage’s POV:

He really hoped he could avoid Ben this morning but luck seemed not to be on his side this time. Armitage and Ben have been friend-workers since they both started in the company. They actually knew each other even before since they both went to the same college. At first they were not awfully close, Ben liked to annoy the fuck out of Armitage while he was trying to enjoy his morning coffee, lunch or evening run. Basically destroying nice things he liked but somehow the two of them stuck together and formed a sort of friendship over some time. That of course didn’t change anything on Ben annoying him with every single ounce he had in himself, which was the exact reason he really wanted to escape him this morning. This perfect late morning, he decided to enjoy himself and to read in bed until it was completely necessary to go to work. He never did that but recent sunshine in his office seemed to brighten his life and mood all the time so why not to enjoy a slow morning, he was after all always on time for 5 years straight now.

Armitage could see Ben towering over the cubicles scattered over the big room on the second floor of the company building. Ben was currently laughing over something some brown haired woman said, Armitage recently learnt her name was Rey and Ben was incredibly fond of her. This information was obviously carefully and pragmatically locked down inside his brain to be used later if the time called for it.  

And so Armitage hoped he could silently walk down to his office without Ben annoying him so early in the morning, leaving him to reminisce about what today could bring him, especially if it was in the form of a cute co-leader he recently had the chance to meet. He was wrong, obviously, well not really, but yes, he was wrong.

The young redhead was correct when his thoughts browsed back to you and if you would be as cheerful in his presence as you were yesterday. What he however didn’t mean to summon was not only your attention but also Ben’s.

“Armitage!” And there you were, a sunshine smile and loud voice directing everyone's attention, including Ben’s, to yourself before they turned to see him.

He simply nods in acknowledgement without realizing his face was graced with a slowly spreading smile. Ignoring his previous distaste in morning conversation, giving her a small wave didn’t seem so annoying as greeting Ben.

“Well, well, well, who is trying to sneak by.” God, just his voice could irritate Armitage to death on most days but today it was exceptionally nightmare inducing.

“I wasn’t sneaking by. I was simply walking to my office.” He answers curly, not giving even a glance to Ben, his expression still souring into deadpan one.

“You should take your coffee with some milk, you are awfully bitter in the morning.” Ben sniggers, amused at his joke.

“You're the one who is quite giddy today. Did the board meeting yesterday go that well?” But Armitage is ready to fire back right at him.

“Nah, not really.” This finally got Ben to shut up and Armitage to go about his morning in silence.

******************

“I didn’t think you were the type to go crazy over a woman.” Ben’s laugh is loud and childish, echoing on the open walls of the main hall between offices. 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” The look he gave to Ben was one of his favorites, offended and beyond believe irritated. It was a perfect illusion for him to uphold, ‘cause in reality Hux’s mind was in a midst of complete panic but still he kept on his killer pace to his office, maybe to lose Ben in the big space where the rest of the desk of their subordinates was located.

How much does he know?

This thought however, stopped Armitage in his walk, contemplating if he should address it more. And finally where he was sure his tongue wouldn’t twist itself in his mouth when he spoke of you, he turned around. 

“You talk like a cartoon villain, you know that, right?.” Ben’s tall form was not leaning on the side of one of the tables , his gaze partly fixed at his phone before it’s lifted to assess the redhead’s reaction. It was deliberate, it was all planned out, a humiliating and uncomfortable situation Ben could trap him in easily, to get all the answers he wanted.

Now he knew he couldn’t win against that ridiculous giant, this was always a losing game. If he took it too seriously Ben would admit to only be joking, trying to get a rise out of him, if he continued to ridicule or ignore his questions Ben would only tease him more, a truly lost game in Armitage’s eyes. “God, please go and do your job.” But still he could try to collect any advantage he could get his hands on, the advantage being taking everything and shutting himself in his office until the end of the day.

-collects all his things and gets up to leave

“I am working.” Ben’s cheerful voice still followed him, digging into his back in a teasing manner. “No, You are not!” Armitage was aware how his voice boomed through the office making some employees turn their heads over the ruckus but Ben was quite oblivious to his friend’s voice’s effect. He actually couldn’t help but laugh at his friend for moments still unaware of the attention he was given by his colleagues hidden among the various desks in that room. However, even Ben was deemed to notice the confused look he was given by one of the younger secretaries over the small cubicle wall.

“Sorry.” His hands flew up in an apology or a manner that reminded most of them of surrender, before he decided to lift himself up from the desk and proceed to an elevator. Ben of course caught a glimpse of her, so familiar brown haired woman who was already entering one of the elevators. Feeling his chance, Ben's quick walking, caused by his slight embarrassment from the situation prior, turned into jogging when he thought he was already out of sight for the rest of his colleagues.

“Hi.” The elevator was empty except for the said brown haired woman, she looked pretty, exceptionally pretty. Well, she always looked beautiful and so to level the playing field, Ben put on one of his charming smiles before he glanced her way.

**************************

“You should ask her out.” This was coldly stated in the midst of conversation about going for a drink since both of the men’s projects were going to finish soon. The sentence positively stunning Armitage into a statue with a cold sweat pooling slowly down his back while his dark haired counterpart continued to munch on his sandwich.

“Ask her out or I will.” This time those words were slurred between Ben finishing the prelast bite and attempting to stuff the rest of the sandwich in his mouth. Ben’s tall form was stashed between the seating area and one of the tables, he was crunched over but no one of it helped to not make him stand out in the crowd of eating people with his broad shoulders. Ben always towered over everyone, except over Phasma from accounting actually, but everyone else was a victim to his high stature. It was almost comical just as his words. Still, Armitage fumbled with his hands, dropping from one the document he was reading while not being able to control the other, his grip on the sandwich slipping until it unceremoniously slammed in his lap and into the napkin he thankfully unfolded on it.

“What?“

“Ask her out or I-”“I heard you the first time.” Ben was used to Armitage’s cruel remarks or even interruptions but this was the first time he did so with such a vigor.

 “Why did you ask then?” There was a knowing smirk painted on his lips, the redhead falling into his trap one more time.

“I know you won’t ask her out.” This confused Ben greatly. What did he mean? The dark haired man adored teasing his pale friend on a daily basis but it was almost unheard of Armitage opposing him. He did attempt to oppose several times and it was not exactly as playful as Ben wished for, usually it consisted of Hux reminding him to get back to work and where is the fun in that? But this time, this time Armitage had something on Ben and he absolutely didn’t like it.

“Rey wouldn’t like that, would she now?” What was left of the knowing smirk on Ben’s face disappeared seconds after those words were muttered into the air between the two men. This time it was Ben who was left with red cheeks and ears, absolutely flabbergasted and fumbling hands with the wrappers of his now gone lunch.

************************

Armitage didn’t even realize how organized you were but now that he had the chance to see inside your office he was lost for words. Who would have thought someone like you would have neatly organized folders with color marked projects and spreadsheets for time management not only for your team but your work.

“You are awfully organized.” He truly was in awe at how your space looked. 

“Thanks?”

“I expected to find a battlefield in your office but it’s- surprisingly tiddy?” He didn’t mean tiddy, he meant a perfect, absolutely and adoringly perfect environment for him to exist, something that almost seems to be made just for him.

“That’s kinda rude, Armitage.” He was not known for making a lot of people laugh, maybe Ben but it was more of a laugh at his own account, with you it was somehow ridiculously easy, apparently.

“I was complimenting you.” He objects, trying to defend his honor, it was not in his intentions to come off as rude as it might have seemed. 

“Sure.”

 Again with the laugh.

“You should take it as a compliment. Organized people are h-,” he paused, gulping down his words until it weighed heavy in his stomach,”good.” 

“Good?” There was a suspicious smirk playing on your lips as if you knew what he wanted to say but Armitage almost sure you had no clue, you simply wanted to tease him a bit more.

 But God, what if you did catch his misstep? No, surely you didn’t. He gave you one more questioning look to make sure you were none the wiser. 

“Yes.” He had to clear his throat, to compose himself a bit by bit but there was an unbearable weight at his chest, almost too consuming. “For business. Organized people are known to be very reliable and hardworking employees.”

Yes, good. They are good. I totally didn’t mean hot. Because organized women are totally not absolutely hot. And I totally just didn’t realize it’s a thing for me. Ha ha. Please, act normal.

Armitage’s brain must have looked like a scrambled egg now, trying to unravel all his thoughts into a coherent solid state so he could function properly while unsuccessfully avoiding all his thoughts involving you and this office.

“Found it.” You held up a blue folder with a little yellow sticky note poking out of the main pages.

Oh, yes, the scripts for the main document, that’s what brought the two of you inside your office. That’s why he was now stuck between walls adored with shelves upon which sat dozens of cute plants. A complete opposite of his office but very cozy, it was obvious you decorated the room with a clear idea of making it a positive and comfortable environment. The purple sofa in the corner ideal for-

Yep, Armitage was fully aware he was fucked.

[lohengreen]

Fic Chain Tag

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

/ Whee. Okay. I don’t even have that many works. 🥲 Welp. Does it even count, then? Anyway, I’ll try this. Thank you so much for tagging me Juni, dear. @theprodigalpragmatist ❤️ (omg)

“Go on”, the Doctor said. -> Like you‘re my universe and I‘m your stars (tensimm, part 4, based on ep: closing time. This was a gift for my dear friend @thecreatorfromgallifrey <3, love you, which wasn’t a work that was planned to exist at all, but happened anyway and wraps it up nicely.)

Her thief stole another Time Lord. -> Words (tensimm, but from a tardis pov. Based on ep: The doctor’s wife. Also part 3, as I couldn‘t stay away from writing them.)

Eleven. -> Ice (tensimm through S5, part 2 of my Three little words series, which got so much more emotional than I could have ever planned it to be. Whoops.)

“You’ve got to be kiddin‘ me.” -> Fire (tensimm travelling through S4 after the Valiant. This is the fic that started as a simple and fun oneshot, then got 3 bus rides, a 14 hour flight and a 2 week road trip away from me and turned into a 90k series by the end of it. Still don‘t know how that happened.)

“You mean like-” Crowley leaned forward in his seat. “a sudden rainstorm. -> Just a bit unlikely (Aziracrow fluff, also written to cope. Which I still can‘t.)

“I can’t see what’s so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil anyway.” -> 5 times Crowley almost kissed Aziraphale and the one time he finally did (and it shattered his heart) (Aziracrow through the ages, written to cope with the emotional trainwreck that was the end of S2. By writing even more heartbreak. Well done, me.)

The words are still ringing in Bucky´s ears. -> Afterglow (Winterbaron, my first ever work back in my marvel phase. Oh god. What a time. It was such a struggle trying to actually write stuff down for once.)

HMH.

What can I say. Looking at this, I don‘t think my first lines are very strong? I‘ll try to work on that if I ever manage to be back at it.

Ah, well. I love basing my works on episodes, rewriting and changing and adding to them in some way or another. Guess that shows there, too.

This was fun! Seeing your first lines like that is quite interesting.

I seriously don‘t know who to tag, though? Sorry if it‘s double or triple or something…

@godteethed @tardis-ghost-blog

Also, I figured out how to add links to words on a post thanks to this. Look at me go!!

[laundrybiscuits]

(purify our misfit ways tag | AO3)

So, Eddie goes back to Scoops. What else is he gonna do? He’s not sure if Robin's aware of it or not, but he’s not going to be saying no to her for a while; at least not until he stops feeling guilty about certain things that they’re not ever talking about again.

He looks at himself in the water-flecked bathroom mirror and says, out loud: “He’s just a guy. Just a typical…guy. You can be normal about this. Be fucking normal for once, Munson.” Then he grabs his keys and hurls himself out the front door before he can talk himself out of it.

It’s usually a twenty-minute drive, but he makes it in a tight sixteen. He thinks if he slows down enough to give himself any kind of excuse to weasel out of this, he will. Plus, the less time he spends thinking about it, the less likely he is to fuck this up for Robin somehow. Because—right, yeah, this whole thing is about Robin, and how Steve’s still the kind of asshole who won’t take no for an answer.

Actually, getting mad about that is helping Eddie get a grip on reality. It doesn’t matter how hot the guy is, if he doesn’t fucking listen when he’s told to back off. But it's not like Eddie can come roaring in like a jealous boyfriend, that’ll just make things a million times worse; he’d love to be able to follow Robin’s lead on this, but if he knows her at all, she doesn’t have any kind of plan aside from pointing at Eddie and going see? Not boyfriend material.

Which, yeah, obviously he’s not. He doubts Steve will see it that way, though—probably thinks Eddie’s a perfect freaks-and-geeks match for Robin, with her refusal to be any of the things that Hawkins High rewards. So, Eddie needs a plan, and he needs one fast, because he can't keep sitting in the parking lot like this, stewing in his own indecision.

Fuck it. He'll have to improvise, he's good at improvising. It'll be fine. It has to be fine.

He sidles into Scoops Ahoy, sees Steve and Robin bickering, and doesn't immediately tap out. That's progress.

"Robin," he says, nodding. "And…Harrington."

"Hi. Eddie." Steve looks really fucking uncomfortable, and why wouldn't he be?

The three of them stand there in a weird suspended tableau, until Robin throws her hands in the air. "Oh my god, just get over it already. Eddie got spooked last time when his high school nemesis appeared out of nowhere like a total psycho, and he was too embarrassed to come back until now. Okay? Everyone caught up yet?"

"He was not my nemesis! Christ, Robin!" Eddie sputters.

"Um, nemesis?" says Steve at the same time.

Eddie glances over at Steve, feeling a kind of kinship in the face of Hurricane Buckley.

"I wasn't…your nemesis, was I?" asks Steve. He sounds a little confused, and Eddie wonders uncharitably if he knows what the word nemesis means.

"No, Harrington, you were just generally a dick. My true nemesis is and always has been the collective insanity of Hawkins High itself. The esprit de corps, so to speak."

"God, I see why you and Robin get along so well," sighs Steve. Eddie suddenly remembers that he's here for a purpose, and he currently appears to be failing very badly at that purpose.

"Yeah, well…" he shrugs. "All I'm saying is, I'm willing to live and let live. It's a character flaw."

"So, what, we're just gonna forget high school and be friends now?"

"Whoa whoa whoa," says Eddie, alarmed. He's about to add nobody said anything about friends, but his Spidey-sense is going off. It doesn't actually take fictional-level superpowers to hear the way King Steve doesn't sound as disgusted by that prospect as he should be.

Robin had mentioned something about Steve being sort of a trainwreck, but Eddie had (unfairly, as it turns out) written that off as Robin blowing stuff out of proportion like she does sometimes. He does it too, that's why he knows not to take her at face value too much.

But it seems like maybe if anything, she was underplaying how fucked Steve's life must be right now, to have that poorly hidden thread of eagerness in his voice when he talks about being friends with Eddie "the Freak" Munson.

What the actual fuck.

All of this flashes through Eddie’s head in a jumbled rush, just quick enough to stop him from inadvertently completely crushing Steve’s spirit or whatever, so instead he just says, "I mean, forgetting high school's not so much an option for me. Buckley might not have mentioned, but you're looking at a genuine two-time total failure here, man."

Great. Real smooth move there, Munson. Never a bad idea to announce how much of a loser you are to cute boys as soon as possible. Once his obligation to Robin is discharged here, Eddie is going to move to Siberia and live in a hole in the ground. He bets it's nice and quiet there, with a minimum of indecently tight blue sailor suits that clearly have mind-altering powers.

But hey, on the bright side, he might be able to salvage his primary quest here after all. Maybe if he just leans into what a fuckup he is, Steve will stop seeing him as a viable match for Robin’s genius brain.

"You’re not—" Steve is starting to say, weakly, and good god does Eddie not want to hear how that sentence ends. He cuts Steve off by spinning around, arms outflung, only colliding a little bit with a nearby chair.

"Oh, but I am, Ser Harrington. Scourge of teachers, they call me. Object lesson to degenerate slackers everywhere. Blackboards quake and tender schoolgirl hearts break as I stalk the halls which have ensnared me lo these many years. Decades in the future, my agéd corpse will be found within the walls of Hawkins High while my spectral remains wail: run far away, lest the Munson Curse befall ye too."

Steve stares at Eddie for a second, then bursts out laughing. To Eddie’s consternation, it doesn't sound mocking or derisive at all. "Shit, you're funny, man. You remind me of—of a friend. You would like him. He's kind of a shit sometimes, but you'd like him."

"If you're telling me I remind you of Hagan, I'm gonna drown myself in the Raspberry Ripple," says Eddie, genuinely horrified.

"No! God, no. You're not anything like—no. I was thinking of my, uh, my friend Dustin."

"And…who is this friend of yours who is perchance my long-lost twin?" Eddie frowns, trying to scour his memory for any Dustins at Hawkins High.

"Not—" Steve's going suspiciously pink. He looks away in poorly feigned nonchalance. Eddie wants to dip him in chocolate and eat him with a spoon. "Friend isn’t, I guess…he's really just a kid I looked after for a while. Like as a favor, I mean. I was—it doesn’t matter. Anyway, he's a cool kid, that's all. Kinda hyper, like you."

That is…a lot to digest. Eddie doesn't really know where to start, but luckily Robin’s there to pick up his slack.

"Oh my god, are you comparing Eddie to one of the infants you let use the staff corridor last week? Is that what's happening?"

"No!" yelps Steve. "...he's not even in town right now."

"But he is in some way affiliated with those toddlers," drawls Robin, not really a question.

Eddie cocks his head. "I would like significantly more information about any alleged toddlers I may be accused of resembling, please."

"Christ, how are there two of you," groans Steve.

"Man, you keep comparing me to other people and I'm gonna start getting offended," says Eddie. "You've known me for about five minutes at this point. No," he adds, seeing Steve start to protest. "High school does not count. I will bet you a million bucks you don't remember me at all from high school."

Steve frowns. "Of course I remember you. You were kinda hard to miss."

"Fucking liar," says Eddie, rolling his eyes, but he grins so Steve knows it's not that big a deal.

"No, you were in the play, a couple years ago," says Steve. "You were…the magic guy, right? The, uh, elf king."

"Close enough," says Eddie, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels, a little dazed. Because yeah, he'd been Oberon that year, he just—really hadn't thought Steve Harrington had paid any attention to the drama nerds at all, much less remembered the specific part Eddie had played. "Shit. Guess I owe you a million bucks."

Steve smiles, bright and boyish and also kind of annoyingly smug, and leans his elbows on the counter. "Guess so. I'm willing to figure out an installment plan, if you wanna start coming around more often. Bet Robin would appreciate it."

“Right,” says Eddie. “Look. I don’t know what you think’s going on, but Buckley’s like a sister to me.”

“And Eddie’s like a sister to me too,” Robin chimes in, smiling all sweet and venomous.

“Okay,” says Steve. “You can still come visit her, can’t you? Free ice cream samples, man, you can’t turn that shit down.”

This is a trap, clearly, but Eddie can’t find it in himself to do anything but give in.

“Yeah, okay then,” he sighs. “Keep me sugared up and I’ll keep on coming around like a bad penny. You two are gonna be so sick of me by the end of the summer, that’s the Munson Guarantee.”

[kharmii]

I wrote this as a reply to a post, but maybe it should get added to the tags so anybody getting into the ship has a place to look up origins all in one place for context. There are too many people with 'Queen Bee Syndrome' going around pissing in people's cheerios telling them what they can and can't ship. It isn't as bad as they say, yo. It was supposed to be humorous! Anyway....

I've been seeing so much Catholic guilt on Twitter these days where people be like, "I can't believe I used to like Trainwreck! It makes me want to vomit! Why would I think it was sexy to see a guy beating up another guy!" It's either pretentious virtue signaling, or it's coming from scared young girls being brow-beaten by the threat of cancel culture into having to prove how good and perfect they are in fandom. Get over yourselves and check out my collection of vintage Trainwreckshipping posts that (facetiously) explain the context of why violence was funny.

Emmet goes to fight God but Arceus hides behind a pillar and points to Volo.

Manipulative Volo laughs about what he did but...oh no! Here comes the pissed off brother!!

Princess bride meme rough handling of Volo.

Emmet chokes Volo.

TAKE THAT YOU VILE FIEND!! (Emmet punches Volo meme)

Emmet chases Volo riding on Arceus.

Emmet chokes Volo but ends up with a knife pressing into his gut.

Volo plays a mean prank to mess with the twins.

Sexual tension with a knife part 1.

Sexual tension with a knife part 2.

Sexual tension with a knife part 3.

Volo so smug and manipulative; Emmet so crazy.

Death threat.

Emmet bloodies Volo's nose.

Where Volo is actually evil and bad ends Emmet.

Emmet coming to whoop some ass.

Giratina possessed Emmet threatens to assault Volo.

Emmet goes after Volo with a brick.

Brave soul who is still doing toxic trainwreck in modern times.

Oops (It never gets old).

Me taking the piss part 1.

Me taking the piss part 2.

If I missed any, please pm me and I'll add them (and I'll keep adding to this post as I finds 'em).

This might be an unpopular opinion, but if someone gives you a hard time for being into this ship, you could always reply along the lines of, "Fuck you, pretentious, virtue-signaling twat. I don't owe you or anybody else anything. Nobody should be judging a person's morality based on what silly thing they ship" It might not get you any friends now, but I'm holding out hope we one day get past cancel culture. Currently, we give too much power to seasoned bullies who use the current political environment as a way to get around the social stigma of anti-bullying campaigns.

[cleromancy]

LMAO @pythiasaint ur tags on that dick/babs post u reblogged from me SO true. it was like simultaneously one of the interesting things about their trainwreck and one of the things that made me want to grab dick by the neck and just. Shake Him. he has such a bad case of nostalgia poisoning sometimes and wanting the world to fit into the narratives he fashioned for it and that was such a fun messy dynamic btwn him and barbara but also OH MY GOD RICHARD. IF SOMEONE SAID SOME OF THE SHIT TO U ABOUT ROBIN YOU SAID TO HER ABOUT BATGIRL YOUD BITE THEIR HEAD OFF AND THEY WOULD DESERVE IT. a little perspective pease!!!!!!!

[90stvqueen]

I was tagged by @tunemyart in 20 Questions for Fic Writers like a week ago and I just now saw it so THANK YOU FRIEND

How many works do you have on AO3?

27

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

235,642

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Xena: Warrior Princess (14 works)

Abbott Elementary (10 works)

The X-Files (2 works)

Stranger Things (1 work, is an outlier adn should not be counted bc I wrote it to meditate on internalized homophobia and not bc I ship it)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

say it again (Stranger Things LOL)

remind me tomorrow (Xena)

succ (Xena)

Fritole (Abbott)

No Matter What (Xena)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! It depends on how swamped I am with life stuff, but I like responding to comments because for me, writing is about starting a conversation and building community and connecting.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Depends on how you define angst but probably the fic with the angstiest throughline (like, it starts angsty, stays angsty, ends angsty) is glory glory glory to the night that shows me what i am (Abbott Elementary). But I think the best angst I've written is probably After (also Abbott) because it's a smutty slow-motion trainwreck.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

take these years of mine (Abbott) is probably the happiest thing I've ever written, period. remind me tomorrow has the happiest ending (and is the most lighthearted) of all my Xena fic.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, but sometimes I get demands for more or for specific plotlines. I worry that if (and WHEN) I don't follow those requested/expected plotlines, there might be some pushback.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Almost exclusively. Although I've been branching out a little more. But yeah. Mostly F/F, some F/F/M and F/F/F, also a decent amount of gender fuckery in various configurations. I would say my smut leans more vanilla, but I've written some kink, and there are definitely elements of kink in some of the vanilla stuff, too.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I do not write crossovers. Maybe someday. But probably not, unless it's purely for the lols

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

God I hope not! Not that I'm aware of!!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Somebody asked me if they could translate my fic once, but I don't remember what the fic was, and I don't think it ever actually happened. Would love that, though!!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Lots and lots. My first big foray into cowriting was with @angelsarenamederika, with whom I wrote a massive amount of trans!Mulder X-Files fic that we never posted anywhere but was an absolute blast to work on. I'm also working on a 5+1 piece for the Work Wives (Abbott) fandom with @the-frankenman-writes, @this-barbie, @katiehoughton, @wolf-government, and @vanillabeanwrites. OH AND! @deirdresart adapted Eromenas into a comic and it's AMAZING.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Xena/Gabrielle

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I refuse to answer this question. I WILL FINISH ALL MY WIPS SO HELP ME GOD

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and interpersonal dynamics and internal reflection (or, in unreliable narrators, lack thereof)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Stealing @tunemyart's response word for word here: Action, movement, and description of setting. I'm really trying to get better about grounding the characters in the world around them instead of some nebulous room. Also writing action without getting bogged down in unnecessary details. It's hard!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Maybe if you know the language and it serves the story or the way the story is being told. Never say never, but it's not something I usually do, because I don't ever really have a reason for it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter lol

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Right now, it's After. I worked so hard on it and I learned a lot writing it and I found a community (partially) because of it! I think it's just a really satisfying, angsty/bittersweet read, start to finish. Honorable mention to Eromenas (again plugging the comic here) and five times it was quiet and once it was loud.

This was fun! I'm tagging the people I've already tagged in this (my dear friends and collaborators) and anyone else who might want to do this <3

[ichangemyusertoomuch]

from your post about torchwood character analysis - do you have anything to say about owen? about his death maybe? or his dynamics with other characters?

personally I think Owen's progression is so ignored! many people really don't like him, and I think that's because they buy into his "mean guy" front too much, right from the start, when I prefer to see that as shield of some sorts.

chronologically: his childhood? sucked. in season two, episode five 'Adam', he talks about his mother, claiming that she said that she "didn't have to like him in order to love him". straight off the bat - what the hell - we see that she clearly was some form of abusive. presumably in an emotional manner, by not caring at all and being neglectful. therefore, possibly being a stem for his almost attention-seeking behavior (specifically in season one), where he acts 'mean' in order to get a reaction from others. alternatively it could suggest his self-neglect, as he doesn't actually look after himself, as shown through the means of sexual relationships without any long-term point.

the reason for this??

KATIE! his fiance. the one who literally died of an alien parasite before they could get married. in season two, episode twelve 'Fragments', we see a chunk of his backstory, before he became this 'selfish jerk'. I think that he was a really normal dude, genuinely in love. and the way that that relationship became an absolute trainwreck really mentally damaged him, the way he sees the world, the way he sees love and relationships. I think that kind of loss absolutely destroys a person and hence, as a defense mechanism to avoid the world from hurting him again: he decided to be an extremely unlikable idiot.

in 'Adam' Owen is stripped of his cool-ness and turns into - not many ways to put this - a needy geek. in a deleted scene I found on YouTube (I'll tag the series of deleted scenes below, it's somewhere in that vid), he calls his mother and tries to arrange meeting up with her. that is the only time we ever see him talk to her, and he's very much not himself: he's weaker and so he's dropped the emotion floodgates, calling his mother even though she hurt him. therefore, I feel that Owen isn't actually the jerk he pretends to be. supported by how literally just before he dies (for the final time), he reverts to being a normal person. his plain and sweet self. (which entirely heartbreaking, but I had to add that in, for his depth, my apologies everybody)

he had the affair with Gwen at the peak of the not-caring-about-anybody phase and really seemed to end up regretting it. he and Gwen (as friends) are really sweet, their vibes match so well and I love how they basically have a sibling dynamic.

as for Jack, well, Jack has this amazing power how everyone in Torchwood remains good friends no matter what. Owen shoots Jack? "I forgive you". Ianto shoots Owen? they're friends again in season two. and so I really do think that Jack and Owen are friends. they have trust. a lot of trust, but there is friction (look at the season one finale, for god's sake). Jack resurrected Owen because he emotionally wasn't ready to give him up, and that may have ended up being a selfish move because of how crushing it was on everyone involved.

the zombie arc was a massive challenge and he conquered it so incredibly. from episodes 9-13 (season two) he was fine, give or take the sarcastic comment. in season two, episode eight 'A Day in the Death', Jack provides nothing but tough love to Owen. being what he needed but didn't exactly want.

when Owen died fully in episode thirteen he was ready to stop living like he was. a walking corpse. he did not want to die, but he knew that his insanely fragile existence wasn't worth it.

in conclusion, I think Owen's progression is immaculate. he learns to drop the tough guy brick wall to the point where he has actual two way friendships. although, I do wish he'd had the date with Tosh. although I understand why it wasn't going to happen. they're destined away from each other. (maybe how Owen is destined to find anything but happiness)

thank you for reading, if you made it to here you're a real one 💪

the deleted scene:

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Welcome to the Cave of Delphi!

I promote love, not hate on this blog.

Apollo love (platonic) in particular.

If 1,000 people love Apollo, I am one of those people. If 100 people love Apollo, I am one of those people. If 10 people love Apollo, I am one of those people. If only 1 person loves Apollo, I AM that person. If nobody loves Apollo, than I have left this world. If the world is against Apollo, I am against the world.

New followers, Please:

Change your profile picture;

Add a description to your blog; and/or

REBLOG!!!! THINGS!!!! :D

So I know you aren't a bot and I won't block you :3

Tumblr thrives on reblogs :3 as do us other bloggers :3

thank u <3

About Me

Age: 19

Nationality: American

Religion: Roman Catholic

Pronouns: She/Her

Romantic Orientation: Demiromantic (sometimes I use Panromantic)

Sexual Orientation: Asexual

Current Obsessions: Greek Mythology, Apollo, Trials of Apollo, Apollo, Ancient Greece, Apollo, Roman Empire, & Apollo

My Cohost

My Youtube Videos

My Posts

Favorite Posts

The Copollo Fic Masterlist

Fic Recs

🏹➳~My Fanfics~➳🏹

Fanfic Update Order

The Works of Apollo - RRverse Canon Compliant

Adventures in (Grand)Parenting: Featuring Koios - Our favorite grandpa and his many trials and errors at grandparenting

Alder's Mess of ToA AUs - RRverse Canon Divergent AUs within the series

The Crew of Dodona - ToA Pirate AU

Mythology Fics - The OG myths

Tag List:

#ramblings of an oracle - me spouting whatever i what

#the oracle speaks - asks i have answered <3

#my incorrect quotes - IQs from my own fanfics, not from the myths or ToA

#my art - self-explanatory lmao

#fic asks - asks about my fanfics <3

#ask game - responses to an ask game

Mythology

#apollo love

Duos

#sun n moon twins - Apollo n Artemis <3

#truth n lies - Apollo & Hermes

#logic n chaos - Apollo & Dionysus

#knowledge & wisdom - Apollo & Athena

#theives' hunt - Hermes & Artemis

#poetry and love - Apollo & Aphrodite

#light and fire - Apollo & Hephaestus

#plague and war - Apollo & Ares

#stepduo - Apollo & Hera

#harmony & order - Apollo & Zeus (mainly ToA)

Groups

#the disaster trio - Apollo, Artemis, & Hermes

#queer quartet - Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, & Dionysus

#troublesome triad - Apollo, Hermes, & Dionysus

#raggamuffin kids - all of the second-gen Olympian sibs

#civilization trio - Apollo, Hermes, & Athena

#the music gang - Apollo & the Muses

#chaotic crew - Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, & Persephone

#tasteful trio - Apollo, Dionysus, & Aphrodite

#delphic triad - Leto and her babies <3

#regal trio - Zeus and the twins

#raggamuffin parents - 1st gen Olympians AKA the children of Kronos

#delphic fam - the maternal side of the twins' family <3

The Stuff

#greek mythology analysis

#incorrect greek mythology quotes

#mythology aus

#greek myths

#greek myth fanart

#greek myth memes

#greek myth headcanons

#greek myth vines

#greek fam tree

#greek history

#apollocinthus - Apollo & Hyacinthus Supremacy Here

#apoly - Apollo's polycule because he is <3

Then just type in a god/goddess to find stuff with them in it. I can reassure you i will have plenty of stuff with Apollo, Artemis, & Hermes.

sometime tho i will put extra stuff behind it (ex: #pan the god)

for reference: I classify a "meme" as a funny post with pictures or something like that. A "quote" would be, well, quotes.

The Trials of Apollo (RiordanVerse)

*stuff that is exclusively from ToA*

#sunflower siblings - apollo & meg

#sibling shenanigans - apollo, artemis, thalia, & jason

#triumvirite holdings - the three nasty emperors

#prophecy pair - apollo & rachel

#incorrect trials of apollo quotes

#nero

#commodus

#caligula

#meg mccaffery

#python

#copollo - the guilty-pleasure, absolute TRAINWRECK of a ship between Apollo and Commodus. *slaps ship* i can fit so many ISSUES into this ship!

#toa fanart

#toa theory

#riordanverse headcanons

#toa memes

#toa polls

#toa fanfiction

#apollo fanfiction

#if i was a demigod

ToA Fanfics

#tsari: eclipse

Epics

#the iliad

#the odyssey

#the aeneid

#the trojan war

#trojan war memes

#incorrect trojan war quotes

then just type in a character's name (Ex: #diomedes) and it should pop up. However, some characters I've put extra stuff with like:

#prince hector

#helen of sparta

#jason the argonaut

so as i go/find those names with extras in them i'll place them above

Other

#not myths but it's related

#rome

#poetry

#music

#the haiku bot

#resources

#blood of zeus

#roman emperors

#sacred animals

#statues

#paintings

#notes for later

#not myths

#rhymes

i have a tag for other deities so just type in their name and then what religion they are (Example: #frey norse god; thoth egyptian god; bast egyptian goddess; ect.) <- all one tag

i won't do it often, but i also may reblog stuff from other mythologies like norse or egyptian (HA I SPELT IT RIGHT FIRST TIME WHOOP)

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 12 – OTHER MARVEL SHIPS

CLINT/BUCKY

I Hate Running by copperbadge

Pairing: Bucky/Clint Rating: T Words: 916 Tags: Running, Flirting, Murder Strut

Summary: Clint and Bucky go running. This was a potential mistake.

Reasons why I love it: This fic is so goddamn funny, it cracks me up every single time. Poor Bucky and his moonshine crackpot serum, he never stood a chance. There are so many fantastic lines in this that I can't possibly quote them all, so I hope you go and check this one out, because it's amazing!

Trainwreck Through A Rear Window by flawedamythyst

Pairing: Bucky/Clint Rating: T Words: 9,840 Tags: No Powers, PTSD, Deaf Clint

Summary: Through Clint's big main window, you could see straight across the street and into the apartment opposite, where a man was standing, staring at Clint as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. When he caught Clint's eye, he just shook his head slowly. -- The guy in the apartment opposite spends way too much time watching Clint make a fool of himself, which wouldn't matter as much if he weren't also smoking hot.

Reasons why I love it: They're so fucking cute, ugh, I can't. Clint The Trainwreck Barton is just the best, I laughed my ass off multiple times. And everyone rooting for him and Bucky from the sidelines is just adorable. The way they finally meet is perfect too. This fic is amazing, and I hope you give it a shot, if you haven't already!

crack the whip, shape-shift and trick by shatteredhourglass

Pairing: Bucky/Clint Rating: T Words: 2,347 Tags: Trans Clint, Protective Bucky, Chest Binding

Summary: “Remember when Tony sat you and Steve and Thor down and started that god-awful PowerPoint Presentation about queer people?” Bucky snorts. “Did he think that they just fuckin’ appeared out of nowhere after the war? Honestly. I nearly shot his computer. Steve liked it.” -- A request from Tumblr for some trans Clint

Reasons why I love it: I would pay good money to see that presentation Tony whipped up. I love Bucky's reaction to Clint's gender identity, and the fluff that follows is pure gold. This fic is lovely, and I hope you give it a shot for yourself!

Maybe If You're Good by circ_bamboo

Pairing: Bucky/Clint Rating: E Words: 3,984 Tags: PWP, Wall Sex, Banter

Summary: "So, we share an ex." Bucky seriously thought about grabbing one of the knives on the counter and stabbing Clint for trying to talk to him before coffee, but he'd promised Steve he wouldn't do that and promised Tony that he wouldn't get any more blood on surfaces that didn't clean easily. (And then there is snark and wallsex.)

Reasons why I love it: Honestly, when Clint flexes, I dare anyone to keep their concentration. This fic is so much fun – Clint and Bucky sassing each other and Bucky teasing the fuck out of Clint is great. And on top of that, the smut is hot as hell. I love this fic to bits, and I bet you will too!

Got Me Lyin' (for your love) by Kangofu_CB

Pairing: Bucky/Clint Rating: T Words: 4,266 Tags: Meet-Cute, Veteran Bucky, Deaf Clint

Summary: Clint advertises himself as a ‘semi-acceptable to totally inappropriate boyfriend for all your family holiday, family dinner, corporate Christmas party, and other fake-dating needs’. It's surprisingly lucrative, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and he is always very clear with his ‘dates’ exactly what he is and isn't willing to do, and anything physical beyond some hand-holding or maybe a light peck on the mouth is completely off the table. So when Natasha asks him for a favor - to help out one of her friends with his own special brand of help, Clint readily agrees. But James 'Bucky' Barnes is nothing like Clint's other clients.

Reasons why I love it: Clint falling head over heels for Bucky's murder strut, we love to see it. I can totally see Clint offering services like this, and I love that bit with Todd in the beginning there. This fic is super funny and sweet, so I hope you check it out for yourself!

Synchronicity by AvaKelly

Pairing: Bucky/Clint Rating: M Words: 7,346 Tags: Avengers Tower, Bed Sharing, Clint Needs a Hug

Summary: James ends up berating himself internally while the meals get ready. He can't stomach any food right now, so he leans onto the counter with his coffee while everyone else eats. That's when Clint stumbles in, eyes half closed and hair in disarray. He's wearing one of James' hoodies, the one Tony's given him as a joke, that says Cyborg on the front and Murderous Kitten on the back, but is surprisingly soft. OR: the one where Clint falls asleep everywhere and James takes it upon himself to carry him to bed.

Reasons why I love it: This one is just beautiful. Bucky slipping so effortlessly into his role as the one who takes care of Clint, giving him everything he needs – I could read that all day. The story beats that touch on their trauma are heart-breaking, but it just makes the fluff that follows all the sweeter. I love this fic, and I highly recommend that you check it out for yourself!

[klausbens]

writing pattern tag game

i wasn't tagged but i saw this circulating and i wanted to See; i'm bending the rules a little and making it a paragraph instead of a line

rules: list the first paragraph of your last 10 posted fics and see if there’s a pattern.

Blitzø is curled up in a fetal position on a small corner of the couch. He’s hugging a pillow, burying most of his face in it as he stares at his phone’s screen with one eye only, almost as if he were afraid of it. [nuance, stolitz]

The rustling of leaves wakes Gale up, as it does most nights. Before Mystra, or rather before the Orb, he’d never had trouble sleeping. Even after, his constant search for a cure often left him exhausted well before dinnertime, head aching from all the information he’d forced himself to take in during the day. He slept heavy then, if not easy—a deep, dreamless slumber that temporarily stopped his body from craving, demanding. Threatening. [rustle, bloodweave]

When Atlas releases the pixie, Astarion can’t stop annoyance from bubbling to the surface. Curses get stuck in his teeth, almost out but not quite. He finds it harder to object to his questionable good deeds these days, and even when he does he tries not to be too rude about it. It doesn’t always work, but Gods, is he trying—and it’s worrisome. [lantern, tavstarion]

Gale loves books. He loves learning and, by extension, enjoys the feel of parchment under his fingertips, of pages upon pages of knowledge surrendering to his touch like a lover would to a gentle caress. [bookshelf, gale dekarios]

Buggy is many things. The Clown, the Flashy Fool, the Genius Jester. A trainwreck waiting to happen, a bomb about to go off, always a step away from something that could either ruin him or make him whole again—or both, in no particular order. He’s abrasive, determined, rough around the edges, but he knows how to show people a good time. When he wants to. If he feels like it. [stump, shuggy]

A gilded cage is still a cage, Helmeppo knows it. [cage, helmeppo]

To Helmeppo, Koby is the sun, blinding. [mutual pining, kobymeppo]

Buggy used to love to swim. [dried salt, shuggy]

At the bottom of the barrel, lid closed over him for the night, all Buggy can do is think. [barrel, implied shuggy]

In his mind, Buck is kissing him. [good things take time (great things take a little longer), buddie]

skipped over my recent fics in italian + my bostonnick which starts with a line from the trailer. i guess the most obvious pattern is that i tend to start with a one-line paragraph for emphasis lmao but also i am big on introspection and character studies so i generally focus on a single character’s inner turmoil i suppose. idrk who to specifically tag, but if you see this and you're a writer, consider yourself tagged!

[firealder2005]

Tag nine (9) people you'd like to know better!

@snakeplantships tagged me!!!!

Last song: Listening to my Copollo playlist right now, and current song is Red by Taylor Swift. Before it was Warrior by Beth Crowley and Lover. Fighter. by SVRCINA

Currently reading: The King's Assassin, a book about the plot to murder King James I. Got through Act I so far. Also, trying to read The Iliad, and am contemplating whiting-out the Roman names of the gods because I prefer the Greek ones lmaooo XD

For fanfics, became OBSESSED with Hunger Games Trials of Apollo AUs. Bloody Eclipse, Still The Mockingjay Won't Sing, The Sun Must go on Rising, The Golden Gates...luv em all <3

and they break my heart </3 :')

Currently watching: Watching The Hunger Games series! Finished Mockingjay part 1 last night. Also watched Puss in Boots: The Last Wish last night :)

Current obsession: THE TRIALS OF APOLLO. THE TRAINWRECK SHIP OF COPOLLO. THEY MAKE ME SCREAM.

let's see here...

@meadowfoxglen, @ukelele-boy, @createandchaos, @please-help-this-little-lesbian, @worlds-oldest-teenager, @aeithalian, @moodyseal, and @txny-dragon!